♪ theme music ♪

(Derek) Welcome to Hope Sabbath School,

an in-depth, interactive study

of the Word of God.

I'm glad you joined us today

as we continue a life-changing series

of studies on the Gospel of Matthew.

Today we're going to talk

about "The Teachings of Jesus

about the Last Days."

A relevant topic,

and I know you'll be blessed.

So welcome to Hope Sabbath School

and welcome to our team.

What a great series of studies.

I'm so thankful that the Spirit of God

inspired a former tax collector,

Levi Matthew, to write this account,

and I'm excited today because

one of our team, T ricia Lee,

is going to be leading in our study.

Tricia Lee, thanks for your commitment

to the Word of God,

and I know God is going to bless us

in wonderful ways.

We're just so glad

that you're part of Hope Sabbath School,

and when you write to us it brings joy

to our hearts to hear
how God is blessing you.

You can write to sshope@hopetv.org.

You can also write a note

on our Facebook page;

we've got more than 150,000 followers

on Facebook now, and it's wonderful.

Sometimes we'll put a picture of you,

if you send one.

We're just part of a global family

seeking God and wanting to be used

to bless others with His Word.

So thanks for writing.

Ely writes from California.

Anybody from California?

Some of you have lived
in California, right?

Okay.

"Greetings to every Hope
Sabbath School member."

Several of you look happy.

"I watch your program every day.

I learn a lot from the discussion.

I also downloaded the app,

and I love to watch the archives.

I feast on the Word of God every day."

Well, Ely, thanks for letting other

Hope Sabbath School members know

that if you go to our website,

hopetv.org/hopess,

you can not only watch programs

in this series on the Gospel of Matthew

that you might have missed,

but you can watch a
multitude of past programs

with wonderful topics

that will be a blessing.

If you have the app on your iPhone

or your smartphone, you can access

the archives there; you can watch

all kinds of wonderful Bible studies.

So thanks for putting in a little promo,

Ely, for the app, and that's

a wonderful blessing to many people.

James writes from Ghana.

Anyone with Ghanaian roots?

We do have some occasionally on our team,

don't we?

"I enjoy your class and the contributions

you make.

I pick your contributions,

and I replicate them in my class

when I teach in my church."

Is that good?

(Team) Yes.

(Derek) That's exactly
what we're hoping for.

"Oh, how I wish I could contribute live,"

says James.

"Send my greetings to the
Hope Sabbath School team."

Well, James, if you come over

when we're filming, we'd love to have you

as part of the program,

but, you know, we're equally excited

to know that you're leading a Bible study

program there in your homeland of Ghana,

and, along with tens of thousands

who are downloading that outline,

we're glad you're teaching
the Word to others.

Benson writes from Kenya,

and I know we've got one Kenyan.

Eric, wave to your brother from Kenya.

All right, a big smile for Benson

writing from Kenya, "I
follow your programs.

I am a Sunday School teacher."

So Benson's teaching the Word

in his church.

"Please don't give up because your work

is not in vain."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) Ah, that's awesome!

"God bless you all, amen."

Well Benson, to know that you're a witness

there in your church in Kenya

brings great joy to our hearts.

You encourage

your other Sunday School members

to watch Hope Sabbath School,

and they'll learn much more about

the Word of God, too.

Here's one last note, actually, I've got

a couple here; lots of people writing.

I want to thank Jean

for writing from Russia.

You say, "Jean doesn't sound Russian."

Well, Jean is from Rwanda,

studying in Russia.

"I greet you in the might name of
our soon-coming Savior Jesus Christ."

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) "Peace be with you.

I am Rwandese, currently living

and studying in Russia."

Now I want you to listen
to Jean's testimony.

"I discovered Hope Sabbath School

in late 2014 shortly
after I came to Russia.

I used to go through the
Sabbath School study by myself

because I didn't have
anyone to study with me.

Even after I discovered
a church in the city,

it was still difficult because all
of the services were held in"...?

(Team) Russian.

(Derek) "...Russian, and I just
was learning the language.

As a response to my longings,..."

Somebody is going to say "amen" here,

"As a response to my longings,

God revealed Hope Sabbath School to me,"

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) "...and I was able to be part

of the in-depth study of
the Word of God in English.

It blessed me so much that even though

I've now acquired enough language skills

to discuss the lesson in Russian,

I still watch Hope Sabbath School,

and I'm blessed by that.

I pray that you keep serving,
letting people know

about the Word of God and that you

might even broadcast
in different languages

to reach many unreached
places for Christ."

Well, Jean, I want to ask you to pray

because we are moving forward 
with closed captioning,

and we are looking for the opportunity

for volunteer translators in a multitude

of different languages so that people

who don't have English as their language,

even a major second language,

will be able to watch and
read the closed captioning

because, you know this
Gospel of the KIngdom

is going to go the whole World,

and then Jesus will come back,

isn't that right?

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) So thank you for
being a witness there

while you're studying in Russia.

One last note from Alexander in Zimbabwe.

Anyone from Zimbabwe?

Simiso, hold your hand up
and wave to your brother,

and we'll get that on the screen,

all the way from Zimbabwe.

"Greetings, Hope Sabbath School team."

(Team) Greetings!

(Derek) "I'm blessed to be watching

Hope Sabbath School in Harare,

capital of Zimbabwe.

I really enjoy the discussions;

they're so interactive and informative.

May God bless you, the entire
Hope Sabbath School team,

for spreading the Word of God."

Well, you say that's a lot of emails

coming from around the world,

and, you know, we are just so glad

that we can be part of a global family.

And we're going to sing together now

as a global family,

and then Tricia Lee's going to lead us

in a powerful study of the Word of God,

"The Teachings of Jesus
about the Last Days,"

but were singing now, Psalm 148.

I hope you've learned it for this series,

"Praise Him in the Heights."

♪ music ♪

(Derek) You know, I've got a feeling

when we're done with this series,

we're going to be singing
this in our sleep,

but what a great Psalm to sing,

"Praise Him in the Heights,"

and, Tricia Lee, as you lead our
study today, I know we'll have a lot

to praise Jesus for as He gives
us hope for the last days.

(Tricia Lee) Amen, amen.

Let us pray.

Dear Lord, we need your Holy Spirit

to help us to understand the times

that we're living in.

We need your Holy Spirit to help
us understand Your Word to us

about the Last Days.

Please bless this study,

in Christ's name we pray, amen.

(Derek, Team) Amen.

(Tricia Lee) I am so excited that God

has not left us in the dark about
what to expect will happen

in the Last Days.

Some people are very anxious
or nervous about the things

that happen at the end of time.

Some people have heard rumors or
strange stories of the apocalypse

or even science fiction zombies,

but God's Word reveals
to us what to expect.

So as we study together, let's just
thank God that He has not left us

in darkness about what
will come in the Last Days.

(Derek, Team) Amen.

(Tricia Lee) Let us turn our study

to the Book of Matthew chapter 23.

Before we hear what Jesus
teaches about the Last Days,

first we find our study right
after the Triumphal Entry.

Jesus has entered Jerusalem, and
He has met the religious leaders,

and unfortunately they are filled
with envy and anger towards Him,

and with a sorrowful heart He beings
to pronounce series of woes to them.

Woe means misery or trouble to come,

bad things that are happening, so 
He's arning them about the condition

of their hard hearts and what that means.

So let's see first, before
we talk about the Last Days,

what Christ says to the religious
leaders and to the people at the time

about these woes, this miserable
condition that they are unfortunately now

finding themselves in
because they've rejected Him.

Let's start in Matthew chapter 23.

I'll ask Gary if he would
please read for us

Matthew chapter 23, verses 1 through 12.

(Gary) Okay, I'll be reading
from the New King James Version:

(Tricia Lee) Amen.

So before addressing the
Scribes and Pharisees,

Christ first addresses the people,

and He actually gives them some warnings.

Nicole, would you summarize for us

what has Christ warned the people
about in the verses we just read.

(Nicole) Sure, I'm thinking back
to humility again and not being

caught up in names and being
in certain places in society,

and so I think He is warning
against being kind of hypocrites,

you know, saying one thing out of
your mouth, but acting and living

a way that's not reflecting
what you're saying.

So I think this whole kind of 12 verses
talks about hypocrisy and warning

against living a life that
you're not actually living.

(Tricia Lee) That's correct.

Let's keep reading now 
n verses 13 through 15,

where now Jesus is speaking directly

to the religious leaders and
pronounces these woes upon them.

Olric will you please read
Matthew chapter 23:13-15?

(Olric) Yes, I'll be reading
from the King James Version:

(Tricia Lee) Wow, wow, strong words

from Jesus here.

Jonathan,would you summarize for us

what is the rebuke that Jesus is giving
to the Scribes and Pharisees here?

(Jonathan) It seems like
He is just underpinning

their whole approach to the religion.

They had set up all these rules and
set up all these different things,

and He's calling their bluff.

It's like, "You talk about My Kingdom,

but you don't actually want people in;

you don't invite people to
really live these things out.

It's more this external thing for you."

(Tricia Lee) Strong
rebukes, but there is more.

Juliana, will you continue reading for
us Matthew 23, verses 16 through 24?

(Juliana) Sure, and I will be reading
from the New King James Version:

(Tricia Lee) Wow, wow.

Simiso, summarize for what is Jesus
rebuking the religious leaders.

(Simiso) I think Jesus is rebuking

the religious leaders to
be genuine and authentic

and be ____16:30 rounded in terms of what

Scripture requires of them.

(Tricia Lee) That's correct.

When we look at verses 21 and
22, it seems as though they have

a lack of reverence for
the things that are holy.

They're not really reverencing
what God is saying.

What do we see in verse 24

about the tithing of mint and anise?

Olric, what is Christ telling them or
for what is Christ rebuking them?

(Olric) They had this teaching
back then that they were not

to eat anything unclean, and the
gnat would be an unclean animal.

So they will take time to make sure

that the water does not contain any

of these little bugs, but, you know,

He is saying, "Your hypocrisy

is so evident; you take time to pay tithe

and cummin and this stuff.

You're being outwardly religious,

but inwardly you're not there because

things like faith and mercy, love,

that you don't have.

You take time to look
at these little things,

but there are bigger things
that you're not doing."

(Tricia Lee) Have you
ever heard the phrase,

"the letter of the law but
not the spirit of the law,"

being able to keep
certain requirements

but not really having and
living the love to motivate it?

Let's keep reading.

There's some more rebukes
that Jesus gives them.

Jason, would you read for us
Matthew 23, verses 25 through 36.

(Jason) I'll be reading from
the New King James Version.

Matthew chapter 23, verses
25 through 36, says:

(Tricia Lee) Wow, these
are some strong words.

I can't even imagine calling
someone a viper or a snake.

It's hard to even picture Jesus doing it.

You can imagine Him with tears in His eyes

telling those people that he loved

those scathing rebukes.

Why do you think the rebukes of Jesus

were so harsh?

Why was He speaking to them so severely?

Nathan.

(Nathan) I think we can read this in two
different ways, but we should read it

thinking of Jesus with tears
in His eyes and in His voice.

When you look at the next verse that
follows, verse 37 in Matthew 23.

Can I read it from the New King
James Version, where He says:

I mean, the pain in His voice; He's
longing for them to be saved, and He says,

"You're not willing to come to it."

It reminds me of, I think in Isaiah, God
speaking through the prophet says,

"All day long I stood with My
arms open wide to a stiff-necked

and rebellious people," -- Here
He is calling you to salvation,

and you're turning away, not just
turning away but rebelling against Him.

(Tricia Lee) And it's sad; it's sad.

In a previous study, we've talked about
the choices that we all have to make,

and that God wants us to choose Him,

but we do have the free
will to choose otherwise.

(Derek) You know, I'm thinking,

Tricia Lee, I really appreciate what
Nathan said about the love of Jesus.

And there were some Pharisees,

Nicodemus was a Pharisee

and also a member of the Sanhedrin,

who did repent.

(Tricia Lee) Yes, praise God.

(Derek) So you know, if Jesus was

just kind of harsh and kind of fighting

with the weapons of this world

or acting like they acted,

they'd have an excuse,

but I think He is speaking
with love in His heart.

And, praise God, some of
the Scribes and Pharisees

said, "We need to repent;

we need to turn our lives around."

(Tricia Lee) Amen, amen.

Reading through this passage,

something was very interesting,

and I'd like to ask the
class this question:

How could He say that the guilt of all
the righteous blood, all the martyrs

would fall on this generation?

What does that mean?

How are they guilty of all these things?

They're just living their little lives;

how is it that He can say that the
blood of all the righteous from Abel

to Zechariah would fall
on this generation?

Any idea what was the significance
of that statement, Missy?

(Missy)