HSS_2022_Q4_EP13

♪ theme music ♪

(Derek) Welcome to Hope Sabbath School,

an in-depth, interactive study

of the Word of God.

I'm so glad you joined us today.

This has been a great series

on Life, Death, Resurrection,
and Eternal Life.

The topic today, The Judging Process,

could make some nervous,

but actually we'll discover,

for those who belong to Jesus,

the judgment's good news.

It means we're almost home,

and you'll be encouraged

as you study with us today,

so welcome to Hope Sabbath School

and welcome to the team.

Good to see you all again.

And, by the way, Travis,

I'm looking forward to the study,

and I'm thankful you'll be leading us

in the study today.

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Tigist, good to have you back with us,

from Minnesota, glad you're with us today.

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Cameroon, is that anywhere close

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Right now, we're going

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You've learned it during this series,

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You know the story now.

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♪ music ♪

(Derek) Well, I love that song.

It's the word of Jesus Himself,

and, Travis, as you lead us

in the study today,

we're going to see that Jesus our Savior

is also our Judge and soon-coming King.

(Travis) Amen.

(Team) Amen.

(Travis) Let us pray.

Father in Heaven, we want

to thank You again for this time

to open up Your Scriptures.

You said that Your Word

is a lamp to our feet

and a light to our path.

Lord, we need some light

as we study the judging process.

And I pray that by the end of this study

that everyone watching will come to know

that judgment is good news

for those who have surrendered to Jesus.

That's my prayer; in Jesus' name. Amen.

(Derek, Team) Amen.

(Travis) Well, I'm sure many of you

have heard or maybe even have said

to someone, "Don't judge me," right?

And you know, when you think of judgment,

it normally comes across

as something negative,

certainly not in a positive light.

But I pray, by the end of today's study,

that we're going to find out

that judgment is not only a good thing,

it's a great thing, and we see

the immeasurable and unfailing love
through the study.

Nicole, would you start off our study

this morning by reading 2 Corinthians,

chapter 5, verse 10?

(Nicole) I'll be reading

from the New International Version:
it says:

(Travis) So, the Bible says we must all

appear at the judgment seat of Christ.

Stephanie, why do we all have to appear

before the judgment seat of Christ?

(Stephanie) So that our works

can be judged, whether our life

was in alignment with our confession
for Jesus.

(Derek) But that could make a person

very nervous if they don't know the gospel

because the Bible says, "All have sinned

and fallen short of the glory of God."

So, actually, I think what happens

in the judgment, Travis,

is it reveals the most important choice,

which is which side we choose to stand on.

Do we say, "Jesus, save me"?

Now, we know transformation will happen,

but if I'm just going

to have all of my sin,

I don't know how many perfect people

there are on the team today, you know,

we will stand condemned,

which is why, as you said,

the judgment is great news for those

who have accepted Jesus as Savior.

(Travis) Well, Derek, I'm glad

we have more verses,

because we're going to read

some words from Jesus, and I think

we're going to find out

it is good news. Yes, Pedro.

(Pedro) I think of judgment

and remember the work I used to do

being a process server;

I used to deliver documents for the court.

And sometimes I was asked by an attorney

to go into the court records
to make copies,

and sometimes a copy of a case

would be a hefty amount of paper.

But I always loved when the clerk

would say, "This case has been purged."

It means it's been destroyed.

So, I have to go back and say,

"We have no records anymore

because it has been so many years."

And I'm looking forward

for my record to be purged,

and the records of Jesus

to be put in place of mine.

(Derek, Travis) Amen!

(Travis) When I first thought of judgment,

I thought of all the things

that I have done in my life, whew.

I didn't feel very good.

But then I thought,

as I've studied the Scriptures

and come to a greater knowledge

of the immeasurable and unfailing love

of Jesus and judgment,

I thought, when Satan

brings those accusations to Jesus,

He's going to open up the book,

and all those sins are going
to be covered.

And He's going to say, "He is redeemed."

(Derek) Praise God.

(Travis) And I can't wait for that day,

because I don't deserve eternal life,

but that gift is a free gift

that Jesus has given

each and every one of us.

And we're going to dig

into some Scriptures, and we're going

to see what this judgment is all about.

Tigist, if you don't mind taking us

to John, chapter 5:22-30,

we're going to read some words of Jesus

and see what He has to say

about the judgment.

John, chapter 5:22-30,

would you read that for us, Tigist?

(Tigist) And I'll be reading

from the New King James Version.

This is John 5:22-30, and it says:

(Travis) Well, even if we had

just that verse, it would be enough,

but we may even read that the wrong way.

Because those who have done good,

to the resurrection of good,

and those who have done evil,

to the resurrection of condemnation,

and we're thinking, we've all

read Romans 3; maybe some of us haven't,

"There is none [who does] good,
no, not one."

But when we stand

under the banner of Jesus, right,

clothed in His righteousness,

He covers our sins,

we, if we die before Jesus comes,

can be in the resurrection of the just

because the things we've done wrong

have been covered by the blood
of Jesus. Amen?

And then, one of the other things to come,

He says we won't come into judgment,

and I thought, "But all of us
will be judged."

But there's a difference

between coming into judgment

and being judged, right?

When we say, "You can keep

Your own righteousness, Jesus;

I have my own," well, that's when we

can fall into judgment, right?

Well, let's take a look at another verse,

Matthew 12:35-36; Lilica,

would you read that for us?

Matthew 12:35-36, again, words of Jesus.

Let's see what He says about judgment.

(Lilica) I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,
Matthew 12:35-36:

(Travis) I'm so happy for a Savior,

because records are being kept.

We just mentioned in a previous study,

you know, cell phones,

we can talk on them,

or we can look at things,

and we think nobody's watching.

But Somebody's watching, right?

Angels are taking account of everything

that's happening, and God knows.

But that's actually one

of the greatest things about God

is He knows, but He still loves us

and wants to redeem us.

We don't even have to try

to hide anything from Him.

(Derek) Whatever idle words we've spoken -

I thought of the words

of that tax collector or publican

that Jesus saw, you remember?

He cried out, "God, be merciful
to me, a sinner."

And those are the words

that will affect our eternal destiny.

(Travis) Amen! We'll be judged

on our response to God's love. Amen?

We'll be judged on a response
to God's love.

We could say, "No, we

don't want to be loved;

we don't want to be happy,"

which is a foolish thing

to choose, by the way,

or we can choose our own destiny that way.

Let's read from another text again.

Luke 11:31, 32, Livinia,

would you read that for us?

And again, similar words of Jesus.

(Livinia) I'll be reading

from the 21st Century King James Version:

(Travis) Well, we know that the Queen

of Sheba came to visit Solomon.

Of course, this was prior to him gaining

all his wives and him falling.

Of course, we know

that he also repented, right,

at the end of his life.

Praise God for a loving Savior, right?

Whew, I mean, to be redeemed

is a great feeling, right?

So, what do you think, Livinia, it means

that the Queen of Sheba

and those who listened to Jonah,

what do you think it means

that they would judge them?

(Livinia) I think here the Lord is saying

that, for instance, in the case

of the people of Nineveh,

this was an audience that wasn't expected

to respond to the words of God

and the love of God, but they did!

And, you know, for those

who maybe know a little more,

who have been exposed

to a little more about God,

that ideally we would be more receptive
to the response.

Likewise, the Queen of Sheba,

a stranger from a foreign nation,

she was, I don't want to say enamored,

but she was very receptive.

(Travis) Could we say, even the people
of Nineveh, do you think they saw

the immeasurable, unfailing love of Jesus?

(Derek) Absolutely.

(Travis) They certainly did!

And he was preaching

of a Christ to come, I'm sure;

he was a preacher.

And now here Jesus

is right in front of them,

and they're not accepting Him.

(Derek) So, I think the bottom line,

Travis, is God loves us so much,

we will be without excuse.

He will have shown so much mercy and grace

and evidence, whether through Solomon

or through Jonah, or He says,
"Now, I'm here."

God so loved the world

He sent His own Son into humanity.

He is not trying to keep us

out of eternal life with Him.

He's trying to save us.

(Travis) I was impressed, Derek,

by the Scriptures that Livinia just read

because I thought, there was

judgment already passed on Nineveh,

and what he saw was a loving God

who actually, what?

Who forgave them all, right?

And he goes on to even say

the animals and all the other things

that were there, God is a God of love,

and He didn't want that town

to come into judgment,

but He'd rather that they would repent.

That's what He wants

for each and every one of us.

Well, what is the clear message
that we hear

from Jesus about the judgment?

What is the clear message

from these verses? Yes, Jason.

(Jason) That there is a lot of opportunity

and we get to make the choice

which side we want to be on.

(Travis) Anybody else?

(Stephanie) Judgment is real,

and it will happen.

And it is by a just and righteous judgment

that is placed - righteous.

(Travis) Thank you for adding that,
Stephanie.

It is a righteous judgment.

Can you imagine if we all faced a judge

who was biased maybe one way or the other?

Maybe he liked one skin color
over the other.

Can you imagine if that was the judge?

But the fact is, He loves us all

with an immeasurable and unfailing love,

and He will judge righteously.

Of course, when we think

of the word righteousness,

we know that our own righteousness

is as filthy rags, so He's judging us

according to His righteousness.

And when we've covered ourselves,

clothed ourselves in His righteousness,

we stand vindicated.

(Derek) Praise God.

(Travis) Where else in the Scriptures

do we find references

to this final judgment?

I'm going to have Richard,

if you would read Daniel 7:9-10.

We see a courtroom scene here.

Daniel 7:9-10, would you

read that for us, Richard?

(Richard) Sure, Daniel 7, verses 9 and 10,

reading from the New King James Version:

(Travis) Well, here we get a picture,

at the end of time, of a courtroom scene.

The Ancient of Days, that's the Father God

in Heaven, seated; the books are opened,

and a judgment is going to be made.

I would like Nancy to read Psalm 9:7, 8,

and I want to focus on verse 8;

something in verse 8

that just caught my attention

as I was preparing this study.

Psalm 9:7-8, would you

read that for us, Nancy?

(Nancy) Yes, I'm reading

from the New King James Version:

(Travis) A righteous Judge.

He's our Lawyer, and He's our Judge.

It seems like things are tipped

in our favor slightly.

(Derek) If we choose

to stand under His banner.

(Travis) Under His banner.

We certainly aren't getting
what we deserve.

Did you have a comment, Pedro?

(Pedro) I see the beautiful aspect here

of this judgment is the favor of God.

I have watched a video one time

about this judge who gave the opportunity

to the person to choose:

Should you be guilty,

or should you be innocent?

And the person says, "Well, I

have done the wrong thing,

but would you give me a break this time?"

And the he says, "I looked

at your records; they are good records.

I will give you this break."

Now, when we look into the Bible,

we see Jesus saying here,

whosoever believes in Him

shall not perish but have
everlasting life.

And Jesus is saying, "Just believe in Me,

and I'll give you a break."

And that's God's grace.

That's His righteousness saying,

"I'm taking your place

if you just believe in Me.

I can scrap your sins

by your having a relationship with Me."

(Derek) It's a little different, though,

isn't it, because any earthly,

maybe even an unrighteous judge,

could give a break to someone.

But here we've got a righteous Judge.

He's just, and so there is something

that happens in order for Him to say,

as Pedro said, "We're going to blot out

all of that record

of your past transgression."

So, someone might be watching

and saying, "I'll just hope for the best,

and maybe the Judge

will give me a break."

But there is actually a provision

so that we can face

the judgment without fear.

(Travis) And for those who don't even,

God is transparent in that,

well, we're going to learn later

in our study that He's transparent enough
to even know

or for us to see how He judged them.

I just wanted to mention,

I remember a pastor saying

to me about the judgment, he said,

"The judgment is totally unfair

because it's heavily skewed in our favor."

Jason, and then we'll move on.

(Jason) And I think it's heavily skewed

because there is a penalty.

There is a punishment that did

have to happen for a violation of the Law.

And there is Someone who took

that penalty for us,

if we make that choice,

and that was Jesus, our Judge, our Lawyer.

He suffered the punishment for us,

so there was a penalty to happen,

but we don't have to go through it

because He did it for us.

(Travis) That's right.

And so, I have a question:

If we're saved by grace alone

through faith alone, in Jesus alone,

then why is there a judgment?

Why does there have to be a judgment

if we're saved by grace through faith.

(Nancy) I think it's the benefit

of the entire universe

to see that God is actually just.

We're going to spend a thousand years

judging the angels and also those who are

going to rise in the second resurrection,

the resurrection of the lost.

And so, that's the reason

there has to be a judgment.

(Travis) Okay. Pedro and then Lilica.

(Pedro) When we look in the Bible

we see that God is love,

but also the Bible tells us

that God is justice,

and God is a God of due process.

And He wants to make sure

that things happen and things are clear.

There is nothing put under the rug,

but there is transparency

in His Kingdom because He says,

"Trust Me, but don't trust Me blindly.

Trust Me because I will

show you My righteousness."

(Travis) Amen. Thank you. Lilica.

(Lilica) I think that everybody
wants judgment.

Even if the person is not a Christian,

the person wants judgment,

because, if you were wronged,

you want justice to be made.

So, when we are looking

to us being judged, we fear judgment,

but I thank God for going to the Bible

and seeing the picture

that is favored to us;

we should not fear it.

But, to those who wronged us,

we want judgment to be made,

and our God won't be quiet

about all the evil.

(Derek) But the good news is,

even the person that wronged us

can be showed mercy.

(Travis, Team) Amen!

(Travis) That's the love of God.

(Derek) When we get to the Kingdom,

we'll say, "What are you doing here?"

and they'll say, "I got here

the same way you did,

by the grace of God."

(Travis) I was thinking

as I was preparing the lesson, I thought,

what if there wasn't a judgment?

I mean, in our condition, without a judge

to judge in our favor, how do we stand?

(Derek) Lost.

(Travis) We stand lost.

So, actually, if we set ourselves

under the banner of Christ,

we want a judgment because we want Jesus,

our righteous Judge,

to judge in our favor.

Without that, we stand condemned, right?

So, the judgment is good news.

Well, we have to keep moving on.

We're going to talk

about the phases of judgment.

There are three different phases
of judgment.

I would say the last phase

is more an execution of the second phase

of the judgment, but let's talk

about the pre-advent judgment.

Let's turn to Revelation 14:6, 7,

and, Jason, do you mind

reading that for us?

We're going to look for some evidence

in Scripture of judgment

prior to the return of Jesus,

the pre-advent judgment.

Would you read that for us, Jason?

(Jason) The New King James Version says,

in Revelation, chapter 14, verses 6 and 7:

(Travis) Well, we know this theme

is consistent through Scripture.

Jesus hasn't returned yet, right, Jason?

And the hour of His judgment has come.

We're going to read later on in our study

that there's a day in which God

has appointed to judge the world.

And even in the book of Hebrews,

it's mentioned that at the end of age,

the judgment would come.

So, here we see that the judgment

is prior or after Jesus comes?

(Derek) Well, the message is before.

If you read Revelation, it's before.

(Travis) It's before Jesus comes.

As a matter of fact, it's one

of the last pleas to the world,
to get ready,

the hour of judgment is come,

prepare yourself, hide yourself

under the banner of Jesus

so that He will judge in your favor.

Stephanie, would you mind reading

Daniel 7:9-14 for me?

Daniel 7:9-14, again, we're looking

at some evidence that the judgment

would be prior, the pre-advent judgment,

prior to the coming of Jesus, go ahead.

(Stephanie) And I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,
Daniel 7:9-14:

(Travis) I'm getting excited, Stephanie,

because I want to be part of that Kingdom.

And by the way, how many are invited

to be a part of the Kingdom?

(Derek, Team) All who believe.

(Travis) Anyone who calls on the name
of the Lord...will be saved.

(Travis) Stephanie, is this

before Jesus returns,

or, according to the text,

is it after Jesus returns?

(Stephanie) Judgment is before.

(Travis) Judgment is before,

the pre-advent judgment.

When did this judgment begin?

Pedro, when did that judgment begin?

(Pedro) Well, according to Daniel,

if we continue reading,

in the next chapter we find that it's

after the 2300 days were finished.

(Travis) You're talking about Daniel,

chapter 8, verse 14, right?

Would you mind reading that for us,

because here we see a prophecy

about the sanctuary, which we know

to be the judgment, right?

It was the Day of Atonement, right?

And this pointed forward

to the Day of Atonement when Jesus,

in the heavenly sanctuary, would move

into the judgment phase

of His ministry, go ahead.

(Pedro) I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,

Daniel 8, verse 14:

(Travis) So, the cleansing

of the sanctuary was a final removal

of all the blood, right?

All the sins had come into the sanctuary

for 359 days a year, and this cleansing,

the last day, the three-hundred-

and-sixtieth day of the year,

it would be cleaned out, right?

The sins would be gone from the sanctuary.

Of course, you say, "How do

we know that it's 1844?"

Well, we're not going to be able

to cover that in today's study,

but we're given a clue

in Daniel, chapter 9:25,

that the beginning to restore

and rebuild Jerusalem,

that's the time prophecy, the beginning,

and that brings us to 1844,

and we know that this

was what Revelation 14:6
was talking about,

and 7, "The hour of His judgment
has come."

Good news for those who have

set themselves on the side of Jesus.

Well, why is this pre-advent judgment

good news for those who have accepted

the gift by grace through faith?

Well, we have some exciting verses

that we're going to read.

Nancy, would you read for us

Daniel, chapter 7:21, 22?

And then, Enoch, I'm going

to have you read John, chapter 5:24

for us after that.

(Nancy) Yes, I'm reading

from the New King James Version:

(Travis) So, judgment is made, what?

(Team) In favor...

(Travis) In favor of the saints

of the Most High.

Is judgment good news or bad news?

(Derek) Well, it depends if you're

saints of the Most High,

which is a choice you make

to stand under His banner, right?

Because the rest of the prophecy

there in Daniel talks

about this little horn power

persecuting the saints of the Most High.

So, the judgment results in a resolution

of all of that persecution and conflict.

(Travis) Accepting the righteousness

of Christ instead of our own

is just a choice that we can make, right?

"There is none [who does] good,

no, not one," but we stand

under the banner of Jesus, vindicated.

Would you read, Enoch, for us,

from John, chapter 5:24?

(Enoch) Okay, and I'll be reading

from the New International Version,
and it reads:

Amen.

(Travis) Well, how do we

miss out on the judgment, I mean,

as far as falling into judgment,

how do we do that, Pedro?

(Pedro) We believe in Jesus,

and we are absolved.

(Travis) We pass, what, from?

(Team) Death to life.

(Travis) We pass from death to life.

I hope and pray that this

is the wish of each and every one of us,

or choice, I would rather say,

is to stand with Jesus and accept the life

that He freely gives. Yes, Pedro.

(Pedro) And it's beautiful here.

We read in Daniel and now John, that God

is preparing judgment for a battle.

We learned last week

about the Great Controversy.

Now, God needs to set judgment

before this great battle happens

so He can create the environment

for us to choose,

because He knows Satan is trying

to rage against us.

He says, "No, let Me protect My people

by giving them the choice,

and so they can be on My side

during this battle."

(Travis) Amen. Each and every one
has a choice.

(Derek) We know everyone

will stand before the judgment,

but the outcome of the judgment

is already settled for those

who belong to Jesus, right?

It says you've already passed

from death to life.

It's like the verdict has already
been passed,

because Jesus stands in our place.

(Travis) I was just thinking

of a verse, Derek, "Therefore, there is

no condemnation for those

who are in Christ Jesus."

I think that's Romans 8, [verse] 1,
isn't it?

(Derek) 8, verse 1.

(Travis) It's just a beautiful verse.

And by the way, Romans

finishes out that nothing

can separate us from the love

that's in Christ Jesus.

We're dearly loved by a Savior

who has given everything.

I know that He's as excited

about the Second Coming as we are.

Well, there's another phase

of this judgment,

the millennial judgment.

There are a thousand years which pass,

and then another judgment.

Well, actually, the judgment takes place

during that 1,000 years.

We're going to read

a little bit about that.

Livinia, if you wouldn't mind reading

from 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 for us,

we're going to see what happens

to the righteous dead

and the righteous living

after the return of Jesus.

(Livinia) Reading from the 21st Century
King James Version:

(Derek) Amen.

(Travis) Amen. Enoch, what do you think

about what happens to the righteous living

and the righteous dead?

What do you think,

after reading this verse?

(Enoch) I just think it's beautiful,

this experience, and it just shows

that Christ is willing to give us

second chances and opportunities

to get closer to Him.

So, I think that's what it shows.

(Travis) I like how the last part

of the verse ended, "So shall we

always be with the Lord."

Wow, what a promise.

We always get to be with the very God,

with Jesus, who has redeemed us.

(Derek) And I think the key point

is that the righteous dead are raised.

They're not dead anymore, right?

The ones who were dead, righteous,

trusting in Jesus the Savior,
they're raised,

and the living trusting in Jesus

together with them are caught up

to meet the Lord in the air.

And of course, the question is,

where do they go, and is anyone

left alive on Earth,

because the wicked living are destroyed

by the brightness of His coming.

(Travis) That's right, and we're going

to find this out as we keep studying.

So, what will the redeemed,

the question is, what will

the redeemed be doing

during this second phase of judgment,

the millennial judgment?

Jason, would you read Revelation 20:4-6,

and then I'm going to have Tigist

read for us from 1 Corinthians 6:2, 3.

What are the redeemed doing

during this 1,000 years?

(Jason) The New King James Version says

in Revelation, chapter 20,

verses 4 through 6:

(Travis) Thank you, Jason.

So, if I'm getting the picture correctly,

for this 1,000 years, the books
are opened,

and it seems that the righteous

are now seeing if God has judged -

Jesus, our righteous Judge -

has judged the wicked fairly.

Is that the picture that's beginning
to unfold?

Tigist, I'm going to have you take us

and read from 1 Corinthians 6:2, 3,

just to put some emphasis

on what's happening here.

(Tigist) And I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,

and it says, verse 2:

(Travis) So, this is really amazing.

The love of God, I think,

is just magnified here in the fact

that He's being transparent.

Many of us, I pray that all of us

will be in Heaven.

We may have a loved one

or someone we know that doesn't show up,

and we're going to have questions.

Would that be something that's plausible?

Sure, we're going to have questions,

and God has allowed this time

for us to open the books and see

that not only did He judge fairly,

but He judged righteously.

And we can see that they

actually didn't want to be there.

They didn't want to choose life.

We have to keep moving on

because we're going to look again

at where the wicked are

during this millennial judgment.

And, Pedro, would you read

Revelation 20, verse 5, the last part,

and then 6:14-17, would you

read those verses for us?

(Pedro) Yes, I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,

Revelation 20, verse 5, and it says:

Now, Revelation 6:14-17, and it says:

(Travis) What's happened to the wicked?

(Derek) You know, it's so sad

because the righteous have chosen

to stand under the banner of Jesus

and are saying, "Lo, this is our God;

we've waited for Him," and the ones

who have not accepted the grace of God

see this as a terrible and, what,

a frightening event and actually cry

for the rocks to fall upon them

and are basically destroyed

by the brightness of His coming.

(Travis) Derek, I agree with that,

and something that's always caught me

with those verses

is that it's "the wrath of the Lamb."

Being raised around lambs,

I've never...Of course, you know,

we've had rams that were

a little mean, but lambs?

There was nothing hurtful about...

And so, we see the character of God

even in the description,

"the wrath of the Lamb."

Of course, we know that Jesus

isn't willing that any should perish,
right,

but that all should come to repentance.

(Derek) But the bottom line

is that the wicked die with the glory

of the coming of Jesus,

when they could, if they had chosen

to accept His grace, they could have

welcomed Him with joy.

And so, during that 1,000 years

while the judgment's happening,

the wicked...of course,

the wicked dead stay dead.

They'll all come up

in the second resurrection

at the end of the 1,000 years.

(Travis) And of course, we know

from previous studies

that they're just sleeping in the graves.

They're not in peril and burning,

but they're sleeping in the graves

for the second resurrection.

We're going to move on in our study

to the execution of the judgment,

the last phase in the judgment,

the executive judgment

and the second death.

Let's read Revelation 20:7-8.

Livinia, would you read that for us?

Revelation, chapter 20:7-8, what event

precipitates the final phase
of the judgment?

(Livinia) Reading from the 21st Century
King James Version:

(Travis) I have a question, Enoch:

Why doesn't Satan just give up?

Why doesn't he give up?

He's a defeated foe already,

but it seems like he's going back out.

The wicked are raised, and he's going

to deceive the nations once more.

Why doesn't he give up?

(Enoch) Well, the devil knows his fate,

and at any time he's going to try

to bring down as many people with him.

So, it's just a shame, but when we

put our trust in God

and we put our faith in Christ,

we can be victorious.

I mean, we don't have

to go down that route,

but he's going to be very persistent,

but we have to be more persistent

and just continue to have

that faith and trust in God.

(Travis) That's right. Tigist.

(Tigist) I feel like this shows us

the wrath of sin and the nature of sin,

that it doesn't stop

until it completely destroys you.

And it also dawns upon me,

when God lets go and says,

"You who are evil, continue doing evil,"

at that point, the Holy Spirit
is lifted out.

There is nothing that is within you

that is inclined to hear what God says.

And so, it's the evil in you

that overwhelms you

until your destruction,

and so at that point the devil

does not stop until he thinks

that he could do this.

And that's just the darkness of sin

and the nature of sin

and the devil at that time.

(Travis) Thank you for sharing that point.

You reminded me of a pastor one time

who said, "Sin is its own enemy."

And even Satan himself,

deception has deceived him,

that he could win this battle, right?

It's even deceived himself.

So, now we know that he's going out;

he's going to deceive

the nations once more.

So, when does the final execution
of this happen?

And I'm going to have Lilica read for us

from Revelation 20:11-13,

the final judgment,

the great white throne judgment.

When does it occur?

(Lilica) I'll be reading

from the New King James Version,

Revelation 20, verses 11 to 13:

(Travis) So, when does

this great white throne judgment occur?

(Derek) It appears to occur...

Satan's gone out trying to get

the confederation of evil,

those who have been dead

during that millennium period.

Of course, those who have been dead

throughout all generations

all the way back to Cain,

to get them to come and attack the city,

which has come down from God

out of Heaven with the saints.

And somehow he convinces them

as they go toward the city...

Before we talk about fire coming down,

there's this judgment,

and maybe that's when,

as it says in Philippians,

every knee will bow.

That God has shown His character of love,

and even the angels of Heaven see

the rebellion will never end

without a final judgment.

(Travis) But even in this,

I see the love of God,

that He is being transparent enough

to let all the righteous

go through the books,

allows the judgment to take place,

so that when the final destruction

of the wicked comes,

they can see that they are

going to live forever

with their righteous Judge,

not questioning, "I wonder

if He didn't do this right?" or, "I wonder

if He judged that person unfairly?"

We get to live forever with a God

who has been completely transparent,

and I think that that's just a beautiful
thing. Pedro.

(Pedro) I agree with you.

When we look at judgment,

sometimes we are afraid,

but we see His love

and His grace in this passage.

We have seen here so far that God

has compassion for us

and obviously for the rest
of the universe;

that's why He brings the first judgment,

for the universe to know

that His work has been accomplished,

then for us, the redeemed ones in Heaven.

And even He has compassion for those

who have been lost here at the end.

It says they need to know

why they are being lost and show

their judgment for their wickedness.

(Travis) Thank you

for sharing that, Pedro.

Nancy, can I have you read

Revelation 20:14,15 and 9,10,

Well, just read 20:14,15 for us.

What happens at the conclusion

of the executive judgment?

(Nancy) I'm reading

from the New King James Version,
and it reads:

(Travis) "Death and Hades,"

that brings peace to me that death

is going into the lake of fire,
and the grave.

As a matter of fact, our song

that we sang before says

that Jesus has the keys,

but even death is going

to be destroyed once and for all.

How does the Bible

describe this second death?

I want to talk about that quickly.

If I could have Nicole, would you read

Revelation 20, verse 6, for us?

(Nicole) Yes, and I'll be reading

from the New International Version,
and it reads:

(Travis) Amen. So, how is it

that death has no power over us,
the second death?

(Derek) Because we've chosen Christ.

(Travis) Because we've chosen
to be with Jesus. Amen.

So, I have a question: Is there still time

to avoid the second death

and spend eternity with Jesus?

(Team) Yes.

(Travis) Is there?

(Derek) The answer will be, it depends.

If you're still breathing, and you

can still hear, and the Holy Spirit

is speaking to your heart, there's time.

(Travis) Amen. I do want to read...

I may not have time to read,

but 2 Peter 3:9-13, could someone

just give me, Jason, would you

talk about that verse for a second for us?

(Jason) Sure, so it basically says

it's not that God doesn't want to come,

but He's merciful, and He wants

to give us all a chance to be with Him.

But He is coming, and when He comes,

there will be a judgment,

things will change, there will be

a finality for what's happened
on this earth.

(Travis) For those of you watching,

I just want to tell you

that judgment is a good thing,

especially if you've given

your heart to Jesus,

and He has clothed you

in His righteousness.

Of course, if you haven't,

today's the day; choose Jesus,

and He will judge in your favor.

The judgment is not only a good thing,

it's a great thing, because without it,

we stand condemned.

(Derek) Thank you so much, Travis.

And you know, I imagine, as that fire

comes down from God out of heaven,

as it says in Revelation 20 and verse 9,

that there are tears in the eyes

of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

and the angels who see other angels

who refused to accept the mercy of God.

And there may be tears in our eyes, too,

because there will be loved ones

outside of the city.

But the good news is that the Lord

will wipe away all tears from our eyes,

and there will be a new heaven

and new Earth, 2 Peter 3:13,

where righteousness dwells.

I'm looking forward to that day, are you?

As Travis just mentioned, today's the day

to say, "Lord, by Your grace, save me

so that I can be part

of that eternal Kingdom with you."

Let's pray together.

Lord, as we think about judgment,

we realize there is none

that is righteous, no not one.

We have nothing to earn your favor

except to say thank You for Your grace

and Your immeasurable, unfailing love

so clearly revealed

through Jesus our Savior.

And I pray, if there is someone thinking

about saying yes to Jesus today,

that they would do it now

while there's still time, for we are

living in the time of the judgment.

And may we realize

that when we stand in Jesus,

that the judgment is good news.

In Jesus' name. Amen.

(Team) Amen.

(Derek) Thanks for joining us

for Hope Sabbath School.

If you made a decision for Jesus today,

write to us, tell us the good news,

but don't keep the good news to yourself.

Go out and be a blessing

to those around you.

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