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Bible Study Guides – “THEY THAT ARE CHRIST’S AT HIS COMING”

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By Gordon Anderson

MEMORY VERSE: “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:17.

STUDY HELP: Great Controversy, 635–647.

INTRODUCTION: “Moses upon the mount of transfiguration was a witness to Christ’s victory over sin and death. He represented those who shall come forth from the grave at the resurrection of the just. Elijah, who had been translated to heaven without seeing death, represented those who will be living upon the earth at Christ’s second coming, and who will be ‘changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump’; when ‘this mortal must put on immortality,’ and ‘this corruptible must put on incorruption.’ 1 Corinthians 15:51–53. Jesus was clothed with the light of heaven, as He will appear when He shall come ‘the second time without sin unto salvation.’ For He will come ‘in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.’ Hebrews 9:28; Mark 8:38. The Savior’s promise to the disciples was now fulfilled. Upon the mount the future kingdom of glory was represented in miniature, Christ the King. . . .” Desire of Ages, 421.

“SINCE BY MAN CAME DEATH”

  1. How did God make clear that death is the consequence of sin? Genesis 2:16, 17.

NOTE: “Satan deceives many with the plausible theory that God’s love for His people is so great that He will excuse sin in them; he represents that while the threatenings of God’s word are to serve a certain purpose in His moral government, they are never to be literally fulfilled. But in all His dealings with His creatures God has maintained the principles of righteousness by revealing sin in its true character—by demonstrating that its sure result is misery and death.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 522.

“Evil, sin, and death were not created by God; they are the result of disobedience, which riginated in Satan.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 503.

  1. Why was that death sentence on Adam not immediately executed? Genesis 3:21.

NOTE: The death sentence was carried out that very day, but an innocent substitute was killed instead to provide a covering for man’s nakedness. Thus was brought home to the guilty pair the true consequence of sin and that their only hope lay in the sacrifice of Christ on their behalf. “After Adam and Eve had sinned, they were under bondage to the law. Because of their transgression they were sentenced to suffer death, the penalty of sin. But Christ, the propitiation for our sins, declared: ‘I will stand in Adam’s place. I will take upon myself the penalty of his sin. He shall have another trial. I will secure for him a probation. He shall have the privileges and the opportunities of a free man, and be allowed to exercise his God-given power of choice. I will postpone the day of his arraignment for trial.’” Atlantic Union Gleaner, August 19, 1903.

“BY MAN CAME ALSO THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD”

  1. How certain can we be that Christ rose from the dead? 1 Corinthians 15:4, 8.

NOTE: When Frank Morrison set out to examine the life of Christ, he did so “with a very definite feeling that, if I may put it so, His history rested upon very insecure foundations.” While he had a deep respect and even reverent regard for the person of Christ, he had been taught to believe that “miracles do not happen.” He set out to study the last seven days of Christ’s life, simply because the accounts of those days “seemed remarkably free from the miraculous element which on scientific grounds I held suspect.” Carefully he examined all the alternatives to the resurrection, that Joseph of Arimathea removed the body, that the body was removed by order of Pontius Pilate, that the body was removed by the Jewish authorities to prevent possible generation of the tomb, that Jesus recovered in the tomb, that the women went to the wrong tomb, that no one went to the grave and the stories were fabricated later. One by one, he had to reject all these possibilities. He concluded: “There certainly is a deep and profoundly historical basis for that much disputed sentence in the Apostles’ Creed, ‘The third day he rose again from the dead.’” The result of his investigations was the book, Who Moved the Stone?

  1. When Christ died, did He go to heaven? John 20:17.

NOTE: “Christ did not go to heaven directly after His death. It is claimed by some that when He died, although his body was laid in the grave, His spirit went to heaven. But after His resurrection He said to Mary, ‘Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to My Father: but go to My brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto My Father, and your Father; and to My God, and your God.’ If, after He bowed his head and died, He went directly to heaven, certainly He did ascend to his Father. Christ remained in the grave the allotted period of time, and then He took up His life again. In the hearing of the people He had said, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up,’ referring to His body. He came forth from the grave a conqueror, proclaiming, over the rent sepulchre of Joseph, ‘I am the resurrection, and the life.’” Review and Herald, April 26, 1898.

  1. Did Christ Jesus do anything between His death on the cross and the Resurrection? 1 Peter 3:18, 20.

NOTE: Some have claimed that Christ spent the time between His crucifixion and His resurrection preaching the Gospel of salvation to those who died in Old Testament times. (Many of these same people also claim that Christ accompanied the repentant thief to Paradise at the same time.) The “He” in 1 Peter 3:19 is Christ. The “which” refers to the Spirit. (See verse 18.) Who were “the spirits in prison”? Nowhere does the Bible describe death as a prison. Galatians 3: 22, 23 describes sin as imprisonment. 1 Peter 3:20 explains that it was disobedience that imprisoned these people. These were people shut up in the prison house of sin with no power to save themselves. When did Christ preach to these people? 1Peter 3:20 explains that these were the ones alive during the 120 years while Noah was building the Ark. How did He preach to them? He preached to them through the Spirit. Verses 19, 20. Noah was the mouthpiece of the Spirit. See 2 Peter 2:5. What was the outcome of this preaching? Only a few, eight souls, were saved. Verse 20.

“AS IN ADAM ALL DIE”

  1. Why has death passed upon all men? Romans 5:12.

NOTE: “The wickedness that fills our world is the result of Adam’s refusal to take God’s word as supreme. He disobeyed, and fell under the temptation of the enemy. ‘Sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.’ God declared, ‘The soul that sinneth, it shall die.’ And, apart from the plan of redemption, human beings are doomed to death. ‘All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.’” Review and Herald, March 15, 1906.

  1. Will a person die for his own sins or for Adam’s sin? Ezekiel 18:19, 20.

NOTE: “It is inevitable that children should suffer from the consequences of parental wrongdoing, but they are not punished for the parents’ guilt, except as they participate in their sins.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 306.

“EVEN SO IN CHRIST SHALL ALL BE MADE ALIVE”

  1. What is the link between the resurrection of Christ and the Christian’s hope of resurrection? 1 Corinthians 15:12, 19.

NOTE: “At the very beginning of his first letter [Peter] the aged servant of God ascribed to his Lord a tribute of praise and thanksgiving. ‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,’ he exclaimed, ‘which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” Acts of the Apostles, 517.

See also Prophets and Kings, 445, 446.

  1. How did Jesus Himself express the truth that all men will be raised from the dead? John 5:28, 29.

NOTE: “In consequence of Adam’s sin, death passed upon the whole human race. All alike go down into the grave. And through the provisions of the plan of salvation, all are to be brought forth from their graves. ‘There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust;’ ‘for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.’ Acts 24:15; 1 Corinthians 15:22. But a distinction is made between the two classes that are brought forth. ‘All that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.’ John 5:28, 29. They who have been ‘accounted worthy’ of the resurrection of life are ‘blessed and holy.’ ‘On such the second death hath no power.’ Revelation 20:6. But those who have not, through repentance and faith, secured pardon, must receive the penalty of transgression, ‘the wages of sin.’ They suffer punishment varying in duration and intensity, ‘according to their works,’ but finally ending in the second death. Since it is impossible for God, consistently with His justice and mercy, to save the sinner in his sins, He deprives him of the existence which his transgressions have forfeited and of which he has proved himself unworthy. Says an inspired writer: ‘Yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.’ And another declares: ‘They shall be as though they had not been.’ Psalm 37:10; Obadiah 16. Covered with infamy, they sink into hopeless, eternal oblivion.” Great Controversy, 544, 545.

“EVERY MAN IN HIS OWN ORDER”

  1. Who was the first person to be raised from the dead? Romans 5:14. Compare Jude verse 9 and Matthew 17:1, 3.

NOTE: See Patriarchs and Prophets, 478.

  1. What other resurrection has taken place also? Matthew 27:50, 53.

NOTE: “As Christ arose, He brought from the grave a multitude of captives. The earthquake at His death had rent open their graves, and when He arose, they came forth with Him. They were those who had been co-laborers with God, and who at the cost of their lives had borne testimony to the truth. Now they were to be witnesses for Him who had raised them from the dead. During His ministry, Jesus had raised the dead to life. He had raised the son of the widow of Nain, and the ruler’s daughter and Lazarus. But these were not clothed with immortality. After they were raised, they were still subject to death. But those who came forth from the grave at Christ’s resurrection were raised to everlasting life. They ascended with Him as trophies of His victory over death and the grave. These, said Christ, are no longer the captives of Satan; I have redeemed them. I have brought them from the grave as the first fruits of My power, to be with Me where I am, nevermore to see death or experience sorrow. These went into the city, and appeared unto many, declaring, Christ has risen from the dead, and we be risen with Him. Thus was immortalized the sacred truth of the resurrection. The risen saints bore witness to the truth of the words, ‘Thy dead men shall live, together with My dead body shall they arise.’ Their resurrection was an illustration of the fulfillment of the prophecy, ‘Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.’ Isaiah 26:19.” Desire of Ages, 786.

“THEY THAT ARE CHRIST’S AT HIS COMING”

  1. How did Job express his confidence in the resurrection? Job 19:25, 27.

  2. When will the dead in Christ be raised? 1 Corinthians 15:23, 52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16.

NOTE: “Nowhere in the Sacred Scriptures is found the statement that the righteous go to their reward or the wicked to their punishment at death. The patriarchs and prophets have left no such assurance. Christ and His apostles have given no hint of it. The Bible clearly teaches that the dead do not go immediately to heaven. They are represented as sleeping until the resurrection. 1 Thessalonians 4:14; Job 14:10–12. In the very day when the silver cord is loosed and the golden bowl broken (Ecclesiastes 12:6), man’s thoughts perish. They that go down to the grave are in silence. They know no more of anything that is done under the sun. Job 14:21. Blessed rest for the weary righteous! Time, be it long or short, is but a moment to them. They sleep; they are awakened by the trump of God to a glorious immortality. ‘For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible. . . . So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.’ 1 Corinthians 15:52–54. As they are called forth from their deep slumber, they begin to think just where they ceased. The last sensation was the pang of death; the last thought, that they were falling beneath the power of the grave. When they arise from the tomb, their first glad thought will be echoed in the triumphal shout: ‘O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?’ Verse 55.” Great Controversy, 549, 550.

Bible Study Guides – “SHOULD NOT A PEOPLE SEEK UNTO THEIR GOD?”

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MEMORY VERSE: “Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.” Leviticus 19:31.

STUDY HELP: The Great Controversy, 551–562.

INTRODUCTION: “We have an enemy who is ever seeking whom he may devour; and it is his purpose to draw away men’s confidence in God, to make them dissatisfied with their condition in life, and to lead them to seek to know what God has veiled from them, and to despise what he has revealed in his holy word. He controls the minds of evil men, and the spirits of devils become the counselors of those who reject the wisdom of God. But shall we who have a holy God, infinite in wisdom, go unto wizards, whose knowledge comes from a close intimacy with the enemy of our Lord? Shall we be among those who turn ‘after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them,’ and thus prove false to our best friend until His face be set against us? We are living in an age of peril, in an age of apostasy; evil men and seducers are waxing worse and worse, Satan is working with all ‘deceivableness of unrighteousness,’ and the servants of God must make no concessions to the enemy.” Signs of the Times, August 19 1889.

“HE DOETH GREAT WONDERS”

  1. What warnings did Jesus give about deceptions in the last days? Matthew 24:4–5, 11, 23–26.

NOTE: “These deceivers will come, and, while claiming to be doing a special work for God, while professing to have advanced piety, to be sanctified, to see visions, and to have dreams, they will be doing the work of the enemy, and be found breaking the commandments of God. We should be on our guard, and bring these pretenders to the test; ‘to the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.’ Shall we take heed to the solemn warnings of Christ, of Paul, and of John upon this point, and not be deceived by the subtle devices of the enemy, for Christ has said that the signs and wonders wrought by these deceivers will be so great that if it were possible they shall deceive the very elect.” Signs of the Times, July 4, 1895.

  1. Are miracles always evidence of the power of God? Revelation 13:13–14.

NOTE: “Christ said, ‘Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.’ Many false messiahs will appear, claiming to work miracles, and declaring that the time of the deliverance of the Jewish nation has come. These will mislead many. Christ’s words were fulfilled. Between His death and the siege of Jerusalem many false messiahs appeared. But this warning was given also to those who live in this age of the world. The same deceptions practiced prior to the destruction of Jerusalem have been practiced through the ages, and will be practiced again.” Desire of Ages, 628.

  1. What will be the culminating act in the work of deception? 2 Corinthians 11:14.

NOTE: “Rebellion and apostasy are in the very air we breathe. We shall be affected by them unless we by faith hang our helpless souls upon Christ. If men are so easily misled now, how will they stand when Satan shall personate Christ, and work miracles? Who will be unmoved by his misrepresentations then, professing to be Christ when it is only Satan assuming the person of Christ, and apparently working the works of Christ? What will hold God’s people from giving their allegiance to false christs? ‘Go not after them.’” Notebook Leaflets, 58.

“AND ROSE UP TO PLAY”

  1. What example of pagan worship are we shown among the people of God? Exodus 32:1–8.

NOTE: “The manner in which the meetings…have been carried on, with noise and confusion, does not commend them to thoughtful, intelligent minds. There is nothing in these demonstrations which will convince the world that we have the truth. Mere noise and shouting are no evidence of sanctification, or of the descent of the Holy Spirit. Your wild demonstrations create only disgust in the minds of unbelievers. The fewer of such demonstrations there are, the better it will be for the actors and for the people in general. Fanaticism, once started and left unchecked, is as hard to quench as a fire which has obtained hold of a building. Those who have entered into and sustained this fanaticism, might far better be engaged in secular labor; for by their inconsistent course of action they are dishonoring the Lord and imperiling his people. Many such movements will arise at this time, when the Lord’s work should stand elevated, pure, unadulterated with superstition and fables. We need to be on our guard, to maintain a close connection with Christ, that we be not deceived by Satan’s devices. The Lord desires to have in His service order and discipline, not excitement and confusion.” General Conference Daily Bulletin, April 23, 1901.

  1. Which Bible verses are used to justify dancing, shouting, clapping and the use of secular musical styles in church worship? 2 Samuel 6:14–16; Ezra 3:11 (See also Exodus 32:17, 18); Psalm 47:1; Psalm 150:3–5.

NOTE: “The things you have described as taking place in Indiana, the Lord has shown me would take place just before the close of probation. Every uncouth thing will be demonstrated. There will be shouting with drums, music and dancing. The senses of rational beings will become so confused that they cannot be trusted to make right decisions . . . A bedlam of noises shocks the senses and perverts that which, if conducted aright, might be a blessing. The powers of satanic agencies blend with the din and noise to have a carnival, and this is termed the Holy Spirit’s working. . . . Those things which have been in the past will be in the future. Satan will make music a snare by the way in which it is conducted.” Last Day Events, 159. (Written in 1900.)

  1. What verses are used to justify the introduction of glossolalia into church worship? 1 Corinthians 14:2–19.

NOTE: “Some of these persons have exercises which they call gifts and say that the Lord has placed them in the church. They have an unmeaning gibberish which they call the unknown tongue, which is unknown not only by man but by the Lord and all heaven. Such gifts are manufactured by men and women, aided by the great deceiver. Fanaticism, false excitement, false talking in tongues, and noisy exercises have been considered gifts which God has placed in the church. Some have been deceived here. The fruits of all this has not been good. ‘Ye shall know them by their fruits.’ Fanaticism and noise have been considered special evidences of faith. Some are not satisfied with a meeting unless they have a powerful and happy time. They work for this and get up an excitement of feeling. But the influence of such meetings is not beneficial. When the happy flight of feeling is gone, they sink lower than before the meeting because their happiness did not come from the right source.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 412.

“FOR THE LIVING TO THE DEAD?”

  1. What clear condemnation does the Bible give of attempts to communicate with the dead? Isaiah 8:19–20; Deuteronomy 18:10–11.

NOTE: “Nearly all forms of ancient sorcery and witchcraft were founded upon a belief in communion with the dead. Those who practiced the arts of necromancy claimed to have intercourse with departed spirits, and to obtain through them a knowledge of future events. . . . This same belief in communion with the dead formed the cornerstone of heathen idolatry. The gods of the heathen were believed to be the deified spirits of departed heroes. Thus the religion of the heathen was a worship of the dead. This is evident from the Scriptures.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 684.

  1. How are we shown that Saul’s resorting to a medium was forbidden? 1 Samuel 28:3. (Compare verse 9.)

NOTE: “Saul had a full knowledge of the character of necromancy. It had been expressly forbidden by the Lord, and the sentence of death was pronounced against all who practiced its unholy arts. During the life of Samuel, Saul had commanded that all wizards and those that had familiar spirits should be put to death; but now, in the rashness of desperation, he had recourse to that oracle which he had condemned as an abomination.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 676.

  1. What warning are we given of the deceptions of evil spirits in the last days? Revelation 16:14.

NOTE: “Those who oppose the teachings of spiritualism are assailing, not men alone, but Satan and his angels. They have entered upon a contest against principalities and powers and wicked spirits in high places. Satan will not yield one inch of ground except as he is driven back by the power of heavenly messengers. The people of God should be able to meet him, as did our Savior, with the words: ‘It is written.’ Satan can quote Scripture now as in the days of Christ, and he will pervert its teachings to sustain his delusions. Those who would stand in this time of peril must understand for themselves the testimony of the Scriptures. Many will be confronted by the spirits of devils personating beloved relatives or friends and declaring the most dangerous heresies. These visitants will appeal to our tenderest sympathies and will work miracles to sustain

their pretensions. We must be prepared to withstand them with the Bible truth that the dead know not anything and that they who thus appear are the spirits of devils.” Great Controversy, 559–560.

“THOU SHALT NOT BOW DOWN THYSELF TO THEM”

  1. How does God regard the attempt to create a likeness of Him? Isaiah 40:18–20; Psalm 115:4–9.

NOTE: “God leads His people on, step by step. He brings them up to different points calculated to manifest what is in the heart. Some endure at one point, but fall off at the next. At every advanced point the heart is tested and tried a little closer. If the professed people of God find their hearts opposed to this straight work, it should convince them that they have a work to do to overcome, if they would not be spewed out of the mouth of the Lord. Said the angel: ‘God will bring His work closer and closer to test and prove every one of His people.’ Some are willing to receive one point; but when God brings them to another testing point, they shrink from it and stand back, because they find that it strikes directly at some cherished idol. Here they have opportunity to see what is in their hearts that shuts out Jesus. They prize something higher than the truth, and their hearts are not prepared to receive Jesus. Individuals are tested and proved a length of time to see if they will sacrifice their idols and heed the counsel of the True Witness. If any will not be purified through obeying the truth, and overcome their selfishness, their pride, and evil passions, the angels of God have the charge: ‘They are joined to their idols, let them alone,’ and they pass on to their work, leaving these with their sinful traits unsubdued, to the control of evil angels. Those who come up to every point, and stand every test, and overcome, be the price what it may, have heeded the counsel of the True Witness, and they will receive the latter rain, and thus be fitted for translation.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 187.

  1. What sad picture was Ezekiel shown of the state of God’s church and its leaders? Ezekiel 8:5–16. (Compare Revelation 3:15–17.)

NOTE: “Many have a form of godliness, but in their daily life deny the power thereof. They have ceased to be convicted of their sins or alarmed at their state. They say in their hearts, ‘The church is flourishing. Peace and spiritual prosperity are within her borders.’ The words of the prophet may well apply to these selfdeceivers, ‘They have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations. I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them.’” Review and Herald, November 7, 1882.

  1. What work must take place to prepare the church for the coming of her Lord? Hebrews 12:26–27. (Compare Amos 9:9.)

NOTE: “We have been inclined to think that where there are no faithful ministers there can be no true Christians, but this is not the case. God has promised that where the shepherds are not true He will take charge of the flock Himself. God has never made the flock wholly dependent upon human instrumentalities. But the days of purification of the church are hastening on apace. God will have a people pure and true. In the mighty sifting soon to take place we shall be better able to measure the strength of Israel. The signs reveal that the time is near when the Lord will manifest that His fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 80.

The Struggle for Unity

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Today the revival and reformation movement in Adventism is being attacked from several different directions.

  1. It is attacked by professed Adventists in the organized church structure.
  2. It is attacked by the world.
  3. It is being attacked, and will be more and more, by the powers of Babylon.

However, none of these attacks are our most serious threat. The most serious problem that the revival and reformation movement in Adventism has today is what I call the attack from within.

Zechariah 13:6 speaks about the experience which Christ went through when He was here on this earth. “And one will say to Him, ‘What are these wounds between your arms [or between your hands].’ Then He will answer, ‘Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.’”

Where was Jesus wounded? In the house of His friends! What was the most serious attack that Jesus had to meet? Was it the Romans? No, it was not. It was the attack from within.

In The Great Controversy, 187, 188, we find a statement about the reformation in the time of Martin Luther. “The opposition of the Pope and the Emperor had not caused him so great perplexity and distress as he now experienced. From the professed friends of the reformation had risen its worst enemies.”

Where did the worst enemies of the reformation come from? From her professed friends. Where is our greatest danger today? Is it from the world, or Babylon, or is it from the structure church? No, the worst danger for the revival and reformation today is our professed friends. We are our worst enemies!

“From the professed friends of the reformation had risen its worst enemies. The very truths that had brought him so great joy and consolation were being employed to stir up strife and create confusion in the church.” Ibid.

Is there strife and confusion in the revival and reformation movement in Adventism today? Yes, it is all over the world. We are in a battle: not against human beings, but against the greatest deceiver of all times and he deceives human beings and uses them to wound the very work which they profess to be strengthening. This is why we have so much strife and confusion in our midst today.

However, look at what the Lord desires for us. In Christ’s most famous prayer He said, “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.” John 17:20–23.

Do you believe that, by the grace of God, we are going to develop unity and harmony? Are we going to learn how to get along with each other or must we just go on scrapping and fighting until the Lord takes us to heaven and works a miracle in our hearts so that, suddenly, we will be able to get along? Even if we wished that it could happen this way, we know that the Lord will not change our characters when we go to heaven. We must finish that work here, with His help.

Do we have work to do? We have much work to do if we are going to be part of the one hundred and forty-four thousand who will be perfectly united. I cannot say that I have all of the answers, but through studying the inspired writings on this subject I am trying to learn all that I can on how we can have unity. In this article, we will study just a few of the thousands of inspired quotations on this topic, as we consider character traits that we must develop or character flaws that we must overcome if we are going to have unity among us today.

Respect and Honor

As I have studied the Ten Commandments, I have come to the conclusion that every one of the Ten Commandments has to do with the concept of respect and honor. We will never have the harmony and unity that we want until we learn to respect one another.

Much is said on this topic in inspired writings. Inspiration instructs that in the home we are to cultivate honor and respect. Children should never see their father say or do something that is disrespectful to their mother. Likewise they should never see their mother say or do something that manifests a lack of honor or respect for the father. (See Child Guidance, 239.)

However, this concept is not just for the home. We must especially learn respect in our relationships with others in the church. We must have respect, not just for certain people, but for every person in the church. We need to ask ourselves, Do I respect my brother when he does something that I do not like? Or when he holds a different opinion on some issue, do I still respect him? I do not have to think the same way that every one else thinks, but I must still respect them, even though I do not agree on every point.

In 1888, Ellen White wrote a letter to Dr. John Harvey Kellogg. At the time that this testimony was written, Kellogg was trying to promote health reform in the Adventist Church almost single handedly, and was receiving opposition from other leading men in the church. And, as can easily happen when one is standing alone, he became discouraged. The following is a part of the message Sister White gave him: “We must have unity. These representative men [physicians and ministers in Battle Creek that Kellogg was having difficulty working with] must respect one another and work in harmony. You have a most responsible position, and the Lord will greatly bless you if you walk in humility before Him. But do not, my brother, expect every mind to be constituted like your own. Do not expect that your brethren will see everything in the same light, and attach the same importance to some matters that you do, for you will certainly be disappointed.” 1888 Materials, 1156.

Did you notice the two major points that Sister White made in this statement? They were that:

  1. We must have respect for all our brothers and sisters in the faith.
  2. While we must respect each other, we must not expect that everyone else is going to think just like we think on everything.

It is only when we learn these principles about respect and honor that we will be able to find true unity and harmony.

As we noted earlier, these lessons should first be learned and practiced in the home. Children need to learn it because, the fifth commandment says, “Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” Exodus 20:12. No one will go to heaven who has not learned to keep the fifth commandment. A young person may not agree with the way his father or mother manages the household (and he does not have to think exactly as his parents do), but he still has an obligation, written in the law of God, that he is to honor his parents.

Do we honor each other in our homes? Do we honor each other in the church? Consider for a moment how the principle of respect applies in practical situations. Take the following example: If I am going to honor you and respect you, even though you think completely different than I do on some points, will I try to prove that you are wrong and make you look like a fool in public? Will I do that? No, I will not. I may go to you privately and say, “I do not see this the way you do,” but if I truly respect you, I will not try to make you look foolish before others.

Pride and Passion

Consider this statement: “There is nothing which will weaken the strength of a church like pride and passion. If one engaged in the work of God does things in contradiction to another engaged in the same work, that is strife and variance. If we do this to be esteemed or to exalt self, it is vainglory, and death to spirituality and to Christian love and unity of action.” Review and Herald, July 5, 1887.

Pride is a very serious problem according to Malachi 4:1. “‘For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up’ says the Lord of Hosts.” Is pride a serious problem? It will send you straight to hell. And it is one of the most deeply ingrained problems in fallen, sinful, human nature.

What really is pride? Pride is a disease of the heart that you and I cannot see. So, I do not have any right to go to anyone and say, “You are proud.” Only the Lord could do that through His prophet. However, pride is one of the roots of disunity and I need to know something about the symptoms of pride so that I can check myself to see if pride is still alive in my heart.

I have found two major symptoms of pride in inspired writings. First, pride leads people to make a display. This love of display can be seen in the clothes we wear, the homes or cars we buy or in the way that we behave. In The Desire of Ages, 261, we read about the life of Christ: “ In that life no noisy disputation, no ostentatious worship, no act to gain applause, was ever witnessed. Christ was hid in God, and God was revealed in the character of His Son. To this revelation Jesus desired the minds of the people to be directed, and their homage to be given.” Christ never behaved in any way that would lead others to look to Him; He never sought the applause of others.

We need to teach this principle to our young people. I think it is wonderful when we train our young people to be musicians, but we must be careful that the motive in learning to play music is not to demonstrate skill so that we attract attention to ourselves. That is pride; the desire to make a display. And remember there is nothing that will weaken the strength of a church like pride.

The second symptom of pride is the desire for self-exaltation. When pride first developed in heaven, this is the symptom that was manifest in Lucifer. It finally led him to the point where he wanted to control the angels and possess the position that Jesus Christ alone was worthy to hold. He wanted to be in control of the government of God. He wanted to be in control of the work. Have you ever been in a church where there is one or more persons that think that they ought to control what goes on there? If you or I desire to control others or we demonstrate that we want to control the work, we still have a problem with pride. And if we get upset because someone else does not do exactly what we told them to do, it is time that we begin searching our hearts and realize how deeply pride is rooted there!

Brotherly Love

“Our strength is in our unity. We are weak when we do not love one another.” The Kress Collection, 84.

When we do not love one another, what is the problem? We are weak. We may know all the right theology. We may be able to prove all of our positions, but if we do not love one another, we are weak. Ellen White wrote many testimonies and counsels to people that needed help in this area.

I would like to quote a few lines that are pertinent to our study, from a testimony that Sister White wrote to a Seventh-day Adventist woman. She said: “You see the truth, and then you mark out how this one and that one should practice it; and if they fail to come up to the mark you set, you feel to draw off from them. [When did she begin to condemn others? When they did not come up to how she thought they should behave.] You cannot fellowship with them, and love dies out of your heart for them, when in reality they are just as near right as you are. [This is quite a warning for us!] You make yourself enemies when you might have friends. You are ardent and positive in your temperament, and when you see points of truth, you carry matters to extremes. You thus repulse persons, instead of winning and binding them to your heart.

“You look upon the objectionable features in the character of those with whom you associate, and dwell upon their seeming inconsistencies and wrongs, overlooking their redeeming traits. I was referred to this scripture: ‘Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.’” Testimonies, vol. 2, 437.

This sister was looking on the objectionable points of other’s temperaments. But do we not all have objectionable traits of character which require mercy from others. Shouldn’t we then be willing to give mercy to other people who have some objectionable traits of character, as we do? If God treated us the way we treat each other, I do not believe any of us would be here today. We serve a wonderful God of mercy; are we really His children?

“Here, dear sister, you may meditate and speculate with profit. Dwell upon the good qualities of those with whom you associate, and see as little as possible of their errors and failings.” Ibid. If we could just put this sentence in our mind and say, “Lord, help me to dwell on the good qualities of those with whom I associate.”

Did you know that there are people that you associate with who already know about some of their objectionable traits of character and they sometimes abhor themselves because of the way they are? They need a word of encouragement so that they will be encouraged to fight the battles with self and to overcome their objectionable traits of character. Just think, Is it easier for you to overcome an objectionable trait of character if someone is encouraging you or if they are condemning you?

“You possess too much of a spirit of war, and throw things into confusion and strife. You must change your life and character if you are ever classed with those who hear the words: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.’” Ibid.

“The great lesson that Christ taught by His life and example was that of unity and love among brethren. This love is the token of discipleship, the divine credentials which the Christian bears to the world. ‘By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another.’ Love to God and man must be an inwrought principle in the soul; for there is no other way that the Christian can become a ‘partaker of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.’” Review and Herald, August 12, 1884.

Humility

“In humility and union there is strength.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 15, 357. We are never going to have unity that we must have, according to John 17, until we learn how to be humble. And friend, it does not matter how wicked the world becomes or what Babylon does, I do not believe that the Lord will return to this world until John 17 is fulfilled. And it will never be fulfilled unless we become humble people. Are we humble enough yet so that the Lord could bring in unity among us through the Holy Spirit? Are we humble enough to realize that the Lord is in charge of the work and that we do not have to get everything straightened out? Is this a lesson that we need to learn?

“Another great need of the church is humility,—the deep humility of Christ. Believers need to see the necessity of working as Christ worked. O for that devotion and humility of heart that will lead God’s people to do those things that Christ has commanded, and still in all humility and truth say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done only that which it was our duty to do!’ But many, many are swelling with pride and importance, who in God’s estimation are lukewarm. Self-gratification is revealed because of a few things accomplished. Where do we hear the testimony of hearts that are broken in repentance and confession before God? Where do we see professed believers wearing the yoke of Christ? How little time is given to fervent prayer, the result of which would be the possession of a meek and quiet spirit, which in the sight of God is of great price.” Review and Herald, September 16, 1909.

Death to Self

One of the greatest reasons that we have so much strife is that self is not dead yet. The Holy Spirit wants to create unity among us, but it says in Manuscript Releases, vol. 20, 268, “Just as soon as self gains the supremacy, the Spirit of God is quenched.” When self is still ruling the hearts of those in the church, the Holy Spirit cannot work to bring unity.

When I read this statement, I wanted to know what the symptoms are of self still being alive so that I could examine my own life, and so I started studying the Spirit of Prophecy. Here are some of the symptoms that demonstrate that self is not dead and is gaining the supremacy in the human heart. They are taken from many different places in the Spirit of Prophecy.

The Basis of Unity

“The truth is one. It will take people . . . and, mingling them with other elements, soften and refine them through the truth. Teach them that in humility and union there is strength. The love of Christ and living faith would have a transforming power upon the man, upon his ideas, upon his character. The temper and the life experience will be softened and ennobled by divine truth. The influence of the truth is to take away from man that which is impetuous and rebellious, and bring him into harmony with heaven. God’s purpose is to bring all into harmony and unity on the platform of truth as it is in Jesus.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 15, 357, 358. [Emphasis supplied.]

The basis for true unity and harmony is whether or not we are willing to stand on the same platform of truth. When we talk about unity and harmony, we are not talking about it in an ecumenical sense. We are not talking about unity and harmony with all the world. We are not even talking about unity and harmony with all professed Adventists. We are talking about unity and harmony with the people that are all willing to stand on the same platform of truth. And what is that platform?

In the book Early Writings there is a chapter entitled “A Firm Platform.” In that chapter Sister White identifies the Three Angels’ Messages as an immutable platform. She also states that these three messages are infallible (this is a very strong statement if you consider what Adventists believe about the infallibility of the inspired writings), and will triumph over the whole world. A proper understanding of them will guide you to a complete chain of truth and prepare you for the Second Coming of Christ.

Many people ask, “Do you think the church is going through?” The truth is that the church which stays with the Three Angels’ Messages is going to go through and none of the rest of the churches are going through. Even if you meet in a tiny homechurch, if your church stays faithful and true to the Three Angels’ Messages, it will go through. Because, the Three Angels’ Messages, Ellen White says, will triumph. Conversely, if your church, no matter how large and respected it is, does not remain faithful and true to the Three Angels’ Messages, it will not go through. (This same principle applies to a sisterhood of churches or even a world-wide system of churches, for if these organizations apostatize from the truth, they will certainly not go through to the end, either.)

The truth is the platform on which unity is built. Do you want to be on the platform that is going through? People talk about the ship that is going through. However, contrary to popular opinion, the ship that is going through is the ship that is based on the Three Angels’ Messages. If there was only one person in the world that believed them, that person would go through and the rest of the world would go down, because these precious messages are infallible. The people that believe them, and are willing to change their ideas to come into perfect harmony with them, will triumph with them. Is this your great desire? Then diligently study the Word and ask the Lord to help you to stand faithfully on the platform of eternal truth.

If self is not dead the person:

  1. Is ready for a contest.
  2. Has an ambition to be noticed and is afraid of being in some way mistreated.
  3. Regards their judgment as the best of all.
  4. Is not willing to forgo his wishes. (He feels that he should have his own way.)
  5. Has too high an appreciation of himself and eventually he becomes “too good” to labor with his brethren unless he is in charge.
  6. Becomes self-sufficient.
  7. Feels that he can manage the work.
  8. Reveals self in his management.
  9. Is a part of many religious controversies which result.
  10. Is not tender when dealing with others.
  11. Is ready to express his own mind and will, all the time.
  12. Is strenuous to have his will regarded as the will of God.
  13. Wants rules and regulations concerning even the details of the work.
  14. Seeks for knowledge or skills that will bring him into notice.
  15. Shows exhibitions of self. (This has to do with being angry, being harsh or impatient.)
  16. Is jealous of others.

Bible Study Guides – “A More Sure Word of Prophecy”

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April 2-8, 2000

MEMORY VERSE: “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.” 2 Peter 1:19.

STUDY HELP: The Great Controversy, 299–316.

INTRODUCTION: “The prophecies which the great I AM has given in His Word, uniting link after link in the chain of events, from eternity in the past to eternity in the future, tell us where we are today in the procession of the ages, and what may be expected in the time to come. All that prophecy has foretold as coming to pass, until the present time, has been traced on the pages of history, and we may be assured that all which is yet to come will be fulfilled in its order. Today the signs of the times declare that we are standing on the threshold of great and solemn events. Everything in our world is in agitation. Before our eyes is fulfilling the Saviour’s prophecy of the events to precede His coming.” Prophets and Kings, 536.

“Enoch Also, The Seventh From Adam, Prophesied”

Who was the first prophet to speak of the Second Coming of Christ? Jude 14.

NOTE: “Enoch was the first prophet among mankind. He foretold by prophecy the Second Coming of Christ to our world, and his work at that time. His life was a specimen of Christian consistency. Holy lips alone should speak forth the words of God in denunciation and judgments. His prophecy is not found in the writings of the Old Testament. We may never find any books which relate to the works of Enoch, but Jude, a prophet of God, mentions the work of Enoch.” Manuscript 43, 1900.

How did Job show his understanding of the closing events of this earth’s history? Job 19:25–27.

NOTE: “The doctrine of the Second Advent is the very keynote of the Sacred Scriptures. The coming of the Lord has been in all ages the hope of His true followers. The patriarch Job in the night of his affliction exclaimed with unshaken trust: ‘I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: . . . in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another.’” The Faith I Live By, 348.

“Our God Shall Come”

How does the Psalmist describe the Second Coming of Christ? Psalm 50:3–6.

NOTE: See The Great Controversy, 300.

What insights does Isaiah give to the Second Coming of Christ? Isaiah 25:8–10, 66:15–16.

NOTE: See Prophets and Kings, 727–728.

How does Zephaniah describe the Day of the Lord, so far as the wicked are concerned? Zephaniah 1:14–15.

NOTE: See Prophets and Kings, 389.

What contrasting picture does the prophet give of the Day of the Lord for God’s people? Zephaniah 3:17.

NOTE: “All heaven appreciates the struggles of those who are fighting for the crown of everlasting life, that they may be partakers with Christ in the city of God, the very streets of which are pure gold, ‘as it were transparent glass.’ God wants you there, Christ wants you there, the heavenly host wants you there. The angels are willing to stand in the outer circle, and let those who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus stand in the inner circle. Do you realize your value in the sight of God?” Sermons and Talks, vol. 2, 114. (See also Testimonies, vol. 6, 63.)

“The Lord Himself Shall Descend”

How does Paul describe the Second Coming of Christ? Titus 2:13.

NOTE: “We are pilgrims and strangers who are waiting, hoping, and praying for that blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. If we believe this and bring it into our practical life, what vigorous action would this faith and hope inspire; what fervent love one for another; what careful holy living for the glory of God; and in our respect for the recompense of the reward, what distinct lines of demarcation would be evidenced between us and the world.” Manuscript 39, 1893.

How does Paul picture the fate of the unrighteous? 2 Thessalonians 1:7–8.

NOTE: See Patriarchs and Prophets, 339.

“The Dead in Christ Shall Rise”

What comfort does Paul give to those who mourn the death of loved ones? 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18.

NOTE: See Acts of the Apostles, 258.

How does Paul describe the transformation that will take place when Christ returns? Philippians 3:20–21; 1 Corinthians 15:51–54.

NOTE: “Those who believe the important truths that we profess, should act out their faith. There is too much seeking after amusements and things to take the attention in this world; the mind is left to run too much upon dress, and the tongue is engaged too often in light and trifling conversation, which gives the lie to our profession, for our conversation is not in heaven, whence we look for the Saviour.” Early Writings, 111.

“Be Patient Therefore”

What counsel does James give to those awaiting the Second Coming of Christ? James 5:7–8.

NOTE: “It will not be long till we shall see Him in whom our hopes of eternal life are centered. And in His presence, all the trials and sufferings of this life will be as nothingness….Look up, look up, and let your faith continually increase. Let this faith guide you along the narrow path that leads through the gates of the city of God into the great beyond, the wide, unbounded future of glory that is for the redeemed. ‘Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord.’” Christian Experience and Teachings, 236.

What consolation does Peter reveal for those whose faith is being tested? 1 Peter 1:7.

NOTE: “The apostle’s words were written for the instruction of believers in every age, and they have a special significance for those who live at the time when ‘the end of all things is at hand.’” His exhortations and warnings, and his words of faith and courage, are needed by every soul who would maintain his faith ‘steadfast unto the end.’ Hebrews 3:14.” Acts of the Apostles, 518.

Bible Study Guides – “They Lived and Reigned With Christ a Thousand Years”

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June 11-17, 2000

MEMORY VERSE: “Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?” 1 Corinthians 6:2, 3.

STUDY HELP: Great Controversy, 653–661.

INTRODUCTION: “After the saints are changed to immortality and caught up together with Jesus, after they receive their harps, their robes, and their crowns, and enter the city, Jesus and the saints sit in judgment. The books are opened—the book of life and the book of death. The book of life contains the good deeds of the saints; and the book of death contains the evil deeds of the wicked. These books are compared with the statute book, the Bible, and according to that men are judged. The saints, in unison with Jesus, pass their judgment upon the wicked dead. ‘Behold ye,’ said the angel, ‘the saints, in unison with Jesus, sit in judgment, and mete out to the wicked according to the deeds done in the body, and that which they must receive at the execution of the judgment is set off against their names.’ This, I saw, was the work of the saints with Jesus through the one thousand years in the Holy City before it descends to the earth.” Early Writings, 52, 53.

“The Rest of the Dead”

1 What are we told about those who are not raised at Christ’s Second Coming? Revelation 20:5, first part.

2 What will happen to those wicked people who are alive when Christ comes? 2 Thessalonians 1:7, 8. Compare Hebrews 10:27; Hebrews 12:29; 2 Peter 3:7.

NOTE: “At the Second Advent of Christ the wicked shall be consumed ‘with the Spirit of His mouth,’ and destroyed ‘with the brightness of His coming.’ 2 Thessalonians 2:8. The light of the glory of God, which imparts life to the righteous, will slay the wicked.” Desire of Ages, 107.

“They Lived and Reigned With Christ”

3 What are we told about the people of God during the thousand years following Christ’s Second Coming? Revelation 20:6.

4 What work will they engage in during that time? Revelation 20:4. Compare 1 Corinthians 6:2, 3.

NOTE: “During the thousand years between the first and the second resurrection the judgment of the wicked takes place.…At this time the righteous reign as kings and priests unto God. John in the Revelation says: ‘I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them.’ ‘They shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.’ Revelation 20:4, 6. It is at this time that, as foretold by Paul, ‘the saints shall judge the world.’ 1 Corinthians 6:2. In union with Christ they judge the wicked, comparing their acts with the statute book, the Bible, and deciding every case according to the deeds done in the body. Then the portion which the wicked must suffer is meted out, according to their works; and it is recorded against their names in the book of death.” Maranatha, 335.

“Bound Him a Thousand Years”

5 What will happen to Satan during the thousand years? Revelation 20:1, 2.

NOTE: See Great Controversy, 658, 659.

6 How does this experience of Satan fulfill the symbolism of the sanctuary? Leviticus 16:20–22.

NOTE: The word translated ‘scapegoat’ (Leviticus 16:8) literally means ‘the goat for Azazel.’ Azazel is a name of the devil. (See also Great Controversy, 658.)

“For a thousand years, Satan will wander to and fro in the desolate earth to behold the results of his rebellion against the law of God. During this time his sufferings are intense. Since his fall his life of unceasing activity has banished reflection; but he is now deprived of his power and left to contemplate the part which he has acted since first he rebelled against the government of heaven, and to look forward with trembling and terror to the dreadful future when he must suffer for all the evil that he has done and be punished for the sins that he has caused to be committed.” Great Controversy, 660.

“Coming Down From God Out of Heaven”

7 How is the return of Christ to the earth at the end of the thousand years described? Zechariah 14:3, 4.

NOTE: “At the close of the thousand years, Christ again returns to the earth. He is accompanied by the host of the redeemed and attended by a retinue of angels. As He descends in terrific majesty He bids the wicked dead arise to receive their doom. They come forth, a mighty host, numberless as the sands of the sea. What a contrast to those who were raised at the first resurrection! The righteous were clothed with immortal youth and beauty. The wicked bear the traces of disease and death. Every eye in that vast multitude is turned to behold the glory of the Son of God. With one voice the wicked hosts exclaim: ‘Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord!’ It is not love to Jesus that inspires this utterance. The force of truth urges the words from unwilling lips. As the wicked went into their graves, so they come forth with the same enmity to Christ and the same spirit of rebellion. They are to have no new probation in which to remedy the defects of their past lives.” Great Controversy, 662.

8 How is the return to the earth of God’s people described? Revelation 21:2, 10.

NOTE: See Great Controversy, 663.

“Satan Shall Be Loosed”

9 When will Satan be free to take up again his work of deception? Revelation 20:7. Compare Revelation 20:5.

NOTE: “At the close of the thousand years the second resurrection will take place. Then the wicked will be raised from the dead and appear before God for the execution of ‘the judgment written.’” Great Controversy, 661.

10 What will Satan then set out to do? Revelation 20:8, 9.

NOTE: “Now Satan prepares for a last mighty struggle for the supremacy. While deprived of his power and cut off from his work of deception, the prince of evil was miserable and dejected; but as the wicked dead are raised and he sees the vast multitudes upon his side, his hopes revive, and he determines not to yield the great controversy. He will marshal all the armies of the lost under his banner and through them endeavor to execute his plans. The wicked are Satan’s captives. In rejecting Christ they have accepted the rule of the rebel leader. They are ready to receive his suggestions and to do his bidding. Yet, true to his early cunning, he does not acknowledge himself to be Satan. He claims to be the prince who is the rightful owner of the world and whose inheritance has been unlawfully wrested from him. He represents himself to his deluded subjects as a redeemer, assuring them that his power has brought them forth from their graves and that he is about to rescue them from the most cruel tyranny. The presence of Christ having been removed, Satan works wonders to support his claims. He makes the weak strong and inspires all with his own spirit and energy. He proposes to lead them against the camp of the saints and to take possession of the City of God. With fiendish exultation he points to the unnumbered millions who have been raised from the dead and declares that as their leader he is well able to overthrow the city and regain his throne and his kingdom.” Maranatha, 337.

“The Great White Throne”

11 How is the judgment of the wicked described? Revelation 20:11–13.

NOTE: “As soon as the books of record are opened, and the eye of Jesus looks upon the wicked, they are conscious of every sin which they have ever committed. They see just where their feet diverged from the path of purity and holiness, just how far pride and rebellion have carried them in the violation of the law of God. The seductive temptations which they encouraged by indulgence in sin, the blessings perverted, the messengers of God despised, the warnings rejected, the waves of mercy beaten back by the stubborn, unrepentant heart—all appear as if written in letters of fire.” Great Controversy, 666.

12 What will be the fate of the wicked? Revelation 20:15; Revelation 21:8; Malachi 4:1.

NOTE: ‘Fire comes down from God out of heaven. The earth is broken up. The weapons concealed in its depths are drawn forth. Devouring flames burst from every yawning chasm. The very rocks are on fire. The day has come that shall burn as an oven. The elements melt with fervent heat, the earth also, and the works that are therein are burned up. Malachi 4:1; 2 Peter 3:10. The earth’s surface seems one molten mass—a vast, seething lake of fire. It is the time of the judgment and perdition of ungodly men—‘the day of the Lord’s vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion.’ Isaiah 34:8. …Some are destroyed as in a moment, while others suffer many days. All are punished ‘according to their deeds.’ The sins of the righteous having been transferred to Satan, he is made to suffer not only for his own rebellion, but for all the sins which he has caused God’s people to commit. His punishment is to be far greater than that of those whom he has deceived. After all have perished who fell by his deceptions, he is still to live and suffer on. In the cleansing flames the wicked are at last destroyed, root and branch—Satan the root, his followers the branches.” Great Controversy, 672, 673.

“A New Heaven and a New Earth”

13 After the destruction of the wicked, what will the Lord do next? Revelation 21:1–5.

NOTE: “The fire that consumes the wicked purifies the earth. Every trace of the curse is swept away. No eternally burning hell will keep before the ransomed the fearful consequences of sin. One reminder alone remains: Our Redeemer will ever bear the marks of His crucifixion. Upon His wounded head, upon His side, His hands and feet, are the only traces of the cruel work that sin has wrought.” Great Controversy, 674.

14 How is this new earth described? 1 Corinthians 2:9; Isaiah 65:17–25.

NOTE: “In the Bible the inheritance of the saved is called “a country.” Hebrews 11:14-16. There the heavenly Shepherd leads His flock to fountains of living waters. The tree of life yields its fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree are for the service of the nations. There are ever-flowing streams, clear as crystal, and beside them waving trees cast their shadows upon the paths prepared for the ransomed of the Lord. There the wide-spreading plains swell into hills of beauty, and the mountains of God rear their lofty summits. On these peaceful plains, beside those living streams, God’s people, so long pilgrims and wanderers, shall find a home.” Great Controversy, 675.

The First Lie, Part I

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Some time ago, when we had some visitors from Europe, we had a special weekend. We visited and studied God’s word together and we studied some of the pillars of our faith. After that weekend, I received many questions; the one most frequently asked was, Are there other pillars of the Adventist faith that we need to know?

There are many people going to Seventh-day Adventist churches who do not know the pillars, the foundations of our message.

Rooted and Grounded

If you really want to get rooted and grounded in the Adventist message, ask the Lord to help you find somebody with whom you can study the Bible. I personally believe that my own ministry would not amount to very much if I were not out studying the Bible with people. It keeps you in contact with reality.

What are the questions on people’s minds? If you are studying the Bible with people, it is easy for you to think that the pillars of the Seventh-day Adventist faith are fundamental things. We have studied these doctrines, and we have studied them over and over with other people, so we do not study them in the church. We assume that people in the church know them, but Ellen White has told us that many people in our churches want to understand the way of salvation (see Evangelism, 350), but they do not. They need to know the fundamental doctrines.

Facing the Hard Texts

We need to know the objections that people have to our faith, so we are going to look at some hard texts that, if you live until Jesus comes, I can guarantee people are going to use to try to overthrow your faith.

We will start with the sixth commandment. In John 8:44, Jesus is talking to the Jewish people. It is one of the strongest rebukes that He gave to them. Jesus said to the Jewish leaders, “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.”

I do not believe the devil understood that he was a murderer. When he began walking down this path, he did not see where it was going to lead him. Thousands of years ago if you had said to the devil, You are getting ready to break the sixth commandment, he would have said, Oh, no, I am not; I am just trying to make things better. But he was starting down a path that was going to lead him to attempt to destroy God.

If you were told straight out, You can be part of the kingdom of light and life, or you can be part of the kingdom of death and darkness, which would you choose? That would not be a hard choice to make, would it? Everybody would choose life. Well, if that is the case, how did the devil get any followers? The answer is found in John 8:44. He is the father of lies. In order to get people to follow him, he had to tell a lie, because no one would intentionally choose death over life.

His kingdom is literally the kingdom of death and darkness, and it is filled with murderers. He is called the Prince of Darkness. To get any followers he had to use deceit, and he used deceit first of all on the angels. Then he used deceit on Eve. What was the first lie that the devil told Eve in the Garden of Eden? You will not die. (See Genesis 3:4.)

The Father of Lies

God said, If you eat of this fruit, you are going to die. The devil said, No, you will not. He was trying to get Eve to do something that would cause her death. He was trying to do something that would bring death to every single descendant that she had. He was breaking the sixth commandment. I have come to the conclusion that all murderers are liars. Jesus linked murdering and lying in John 8:44.

The devil, in the Garden of Eden, murdered Adam and Eve. He caused their death. In order to get them to take the hook, he had to put some bait on it, and that was a lie. The lie was that they would not really die. After Adam and Eve sinned, the devil had murdered them. He had brought about their death and the death of every living thing. Trees died; plants died; animals died, and all men and women died.

So the devil was proved to be a liar. God told the truth. But the devil has told this same lie over and over again, right up to the present time, and has gained repeated victories. Ellen White says the lie that you will not really die is one of the two lies by which the devil will gain control over the whole world in the last days. (See The Great Controversy, 588.)

Obviously the devil is a liar, because everybody does die. So what the devil did then, was to create this fiction that there is something in you that does not die. Now in the English language it is called the soul or the spirit. This apparently is a belief of almost all heathen religions also.

Chasing Fables

I have a book at home on Tutankhamun. Some time ago, when my wife and I were in Cairo, we went to the Cairo Museum, and we actually saw some of the things that are pictured in this book. We saw a gold plated box with four women on each of the four sides. They were goddesses in the Egyptian religion.

At the top there were the hooded heads of cobras, probably 25 or 30 on each side. On the top of each one of these hooded heads of the cobras, was a sun disc. We saw carved snakes everywhere in the Museum. The snake is a symbol of Satan worship as far back as we can go. It is interesting that Satan worship and sun worship are that closely related. There must have been 100 snakes around the box.

We read that when Tutankhamun died, they made a mummy of him, but they cut out his internal organs—heart, liver, kidneys and those kinds of things, and they put them in this box. The carved goddesses were placed around the box to guard these organs.

When these people were buried, a food supply and a chariot with lots of clothes and money were buried with them. They still do this today in heathen countries. That is why, over the centuries, the graves have been robbed.

Why did they bury all of these things with these Egyptian kings? They did it because the devil had convinced them that there was an afterlife.

The Spirit of “Ka”

They had been taught, and they believed, that there was what they call the “ka.” They had different words for it in the Egyptian language. It was something within you that went on living when you died. They thought that, as long as you could keep the body intact, then, at some future time, this spirit “Ka,” whatever it is, could come back and enter the body again.

You find this, incidentally, in all the heathen religions. You find it in the Greeks. Where did the church in the Middle Ages develop that idea of the immortality of the soul? Did they get it from the Bible? No, they did not. They got it from Plato, who was a Greek philosopher, who got it from the Egyptians, who got it from the high priests of their heathen religion, which was actually demon or devil worship.

This is the lie that the devil started telling at the beginning of time. He told it to Eve, he convinced the ancient nations, and this lie has come into the Christian Church. It has come clear up to our time.

If you believe this deception, what further deception are you ready to accept? Let us put it a different way. Suppose you have a relative who dies. Suppose the form of one of these dead relatives should appear to you at some time.

I have gone through this scenario in my mind many times. What would I do? Well, I would immediately have to ask the Lord to deliver me from this demon. I understand what happens to a person when they die, and therefore if a form of one of my dead loved ones or relatives comes to me, I know immediately that somebody is trying to trick me. I am not going to go and put my arms around them, because it is not who it looks like. Are you clear on that point?

Misunderstanding the State of the Dead

Interestingly enough, most of the people who translated the Bible, and this includes the Old King James Bible from 1611, did not understand the truth about the state of the dead. They were coming out of the Dark Ages. Martin Luther, in the beginning of his career, was trained to be a priest, and he studied Aristotle and Greek philosophy. If you are mixed up on the state of the dead, is there a possibility that your own thinking could color your translation of the Bible? There most certainly is. That is exactly what happened. In fact, the most serious errors in the Old King James Bible have to do with the state of the dead.

We need to know what these errors are. They remain uncorrected in most of the English translations, so we need to understand these things. We will go over some of the “hard” texts. I believe that this is so serious, and the devil is deceiving so many millions of people today, that we should know every text in the Bible that can be thrown at us on this subject, and we should know how to answer.

Some of the texts say, unequivocally, what happens to a person when they die. In the book of Genesis there is a hard text. Let us see if we can understand this.

Collecting Objections

When a person becomes a professional salesman, the professional salesman collects objections. He knows what all the objections are to his product. Not only does he know what all the objections are, the professional salesman has written down the best answers to every objection. When you are talking to him, and you bring up an objection, he will casually give you the answer word for word—the very best answer there is to your objection. If you still object, he will give you, word for word, the second-best answer to your objection. And if you still object, he can just as casually give you the third-best answer to your objection.

Do you think that the children of light should be as wise and as intelligent as the people of this world? I believe we should. As Christians who expect that Jesus is coming soon, who want to help others get ready, we should know what the objections are to what we believe, and we should be able to look in the Bible and explain them. Let us see if we can.

Genesis 35 talks about the death of Rachel. “And so it was, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name Ben-Oni; but his father called him Benjamin.” Genesis 35:18. What do you do with that text? Someone says, Well, a person has a soul, and when they die their soul departs. It says so right here in this text. What is your answer?

The word soul comes from a very common Hebrew word. It is translated as soul over 400 times in the Bible, but it has another translation. It is translated as the English word life over 100 times in the Bible. If you put the other translation in this text, it would read, “And so it was, as her life was leaving (or departing) for she died, that she called his name Ben-Oni, but his father called him Benjamin.”

If you have ever talked with somebody who is dying, or who has come very close to death and has been revived, they will tell you that life departs from the feet first, and they can feel the life leaving their body. The feeling comes right up, and when it gets up to the heart, that is the end, life departs. But that does not mean that there is some conscious entity that goes up in the clouds somewhere. Life just departed.

What Really Happens When We Die?

Let us consider some texts in the book of Job that prove exactly what happens to a person when they die. We will also look at some hard texts that people think we cannot answer. You might think the book of Job would be a depressing book to read, yet this book has been one of the favorites for people who are in trouble, for thousands of years.

The book of Job was one of the favorite books among the Waldenses, those who were being persecuted and martyred for their faith. There were Waldenses who could quote the entire book of Job, word for word. In Job 3, he is bemoaning the day of his birth and then in verses 11–19 he says, “‘Why did I not die at birth? Why did I not perish when I came from the womb? Why did the knees receive me? Or why the breasts, that I should nurse? For now I would have lain still and been quiet, I would have been asleep; Then I would have been at rest With kings and counselors of the earth, Who built ruins for themselves, Or with princes who had gold, Who filled their houses with silver; Or why was I not hidden like a stillborn child, Like infants who never saw light? There the wicked cease from troubling, And there the weary are at rest. There the prisoners rest together; They do not hear the voice of the oppressor. The small and great are there, And the servant is free from his master.’”

So the dead do not hear anything; they are not doing anything; they are resting. They are asleep. “As the cloud disappears and vanishes away, So he who goes down to the grave does not come up. He shall never return to his house, nor shall his place know him anymore.” Job 7:9, 10.

Visited by Demons

The dead are not going to come back home. If somebody comes to your house in the form of your dead loved one, it is a fraud. The devil is trying to deceive you by impersonating your loved one. Ellen White says that the devil can impersonate, and that the impersonation is perfect. (See Signs of the Times, September 3, 1894.) That is quite a statement. The form, the features of the face, the sound of the voice, are a perfect impersonation.

That spirit might tell you something that only you and the dead person knew, but it is still a fraud. It is more deceptive; that is all, because Job says that the real person who dies is never going to come to his house again.

Now let us look at a hard text and see if we can figure it out. “‘But man dies and is laid away; indeed he breathes his last And where is he? As water disappears from the sea, And a river becomes parched and dries up, So man lies down and does not rise, Till the heavens are no more.’” Job 14:10–12.

He tells us how long he is going to lie down. When will he rise again? When the heavens are no more. Now you can find out when that is if you look in the last chapters in the book of Revelation. They will not awake nor be roused from their sleep until the heavens are no more. (See Job 14:12.)

Let us look at a few texts that will give us Job’s understanding of death.

“If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, ‘Til my change comes. You shall call, and I will answer You; You shall desire the work of Your hands.’ ” Job 14:14, 15.

A Proof Text?

I was taught to use Job 14:21 as a proof text to explain the state of the dead. I never use it however, and you will see why if you read verse 22.

When a person dies, “His sons come to honor, and he does not know it; They are brought low, and he does not perceive it. But his flesh will be in pain over it, and his soul will mourn over it.” Now what are you going to do with that? I do not need to bring up all the objections that a person might have.

Job 14:21 is very clear, but what are you going to do with verse 22? Let us investigate verse 22 a little bit. Look, first of all, at Isaiah 58:7. “Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; when you see the naked, that you cover him, and hide not yourself from your own flesh?” Whose flesh is it talking about?

This is a Biblical expression, and it is talking about your family, your loved ones. We still use that terminology today concerning our family—we say they are our own flesh and blood.

In Job 14:22 he says, “His flesh will be in pain over it.” He is talking about his relatives. His loved ones are in pain. Are you in pain if you have a loved one die? Yes, you are in a lot of pain. His flesh, his kinfolks, his relatives, are going to be in pain. That makes sense, does it not?

However, we are only half way through. What do you do with the last part of the verse? “His soul will mourn over it.” That is just about as much trouble as the first part of verse 22.

Next month we will look at the word mourn, and see what the Bible is trying to tell us.

To be continued. . . .

The First Lie, Part II

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Last month we began looking at some of the texts in the Bible dealing with the state of the dead, which we might find hard to explain. We learned that we are going to have to give an answer for each of our beliefs, and we need to be prepared to do that. Let us look at a few other texts in the Bible and see how we can explain them. These texts all contain the same word, mourn. I want you to see how this word is used in the Bible.

Mis-Translated Words

In Amos 1:2 it says, “And he said: ‘The Lord roars from Zion, And utters His voice from Jerusalem; The pastures of the shepherds mourn, And the top of Carmel withers.’” Have you ever seen a pasture mourn? No, pastures cannot mourn.

Isaiah 24:4 uses this same word: “The earth mourns and fades away, The world languishes and fades away; The haughty people of the earth languish.”

In verse 7, you will see this same word used again, although some versions of the Bible have translated the word as fails in this text. The Greek word translated as fails is the same word that is translated as mourn. “The new wine fails [mourns], the vine languishes, All the merry-hearted sigh.”

Isaiah 33:9 says, “The earth mourns and languishes, Lebanon is shamed and shriveled; Sharon is like a wilderness, And Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits.” That word, mourns, is also used in Job 14:22.

So what are these texts saying? In each one of the verses it said that something which is inanimate, like grass, or the earth, or a vine, mourned. The word that means to mourn was used. What does that mean? It means, literally, that it is languishing, languid, falling, failing, or dried up.

With this knowledge, let us look at Job 14:22, and put that same definition in there. “His relatives or his kinfolk will be in pain over it [that is over his death], And his soul will be languishing [dried up, failing, or falling—any one of those].” You see, when a flower gets droopy and falls, that is a sign that the life has gone out of it. The same word is used here. This word is also used concerning people—they mourn. But it is used, very often, in regard to inanimate things that have no life in them at all; they are languished or dried up or falling or failing. Dried up is a good translation there. So Job 14:22 is not a hard text to explain, if you have an understanding of the words.

Check the Context

There are a few texts in Ecclesiastes with which some people have trouble, such as Ecclesiastes 3:21. Remember, verse 21 is a question, not a statement: “Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth?” Somebody could object and say that the spirit of man goes up, but the spirit of the beast goes down.

We ought to look at the whole context. Let us see what it says in verses 19 and 20: “For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity. All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust.”

So what is the answer to verse 21? The answer is to say, Let us read verses 19 and 20. Verses 19 and 20 say that man has no advantage over the beast; they all go to one place. They are all dust. When a man dies, he is in the same condition as a beast. The only hope is the resurrection, the future.

Ecclesiastes 9; 12; Psalm 6:5 and 115:17 are texts where the wise man talks about the state of the dead, that they do not know anything. But some of the most troublesome texts in the Bible, concerning the state of the dead, are in the New Misplaced Commas

Probably the easiest one of all to explain is what Jesus said to the thief on the cross. (See Luke 23:43.) Jesus said, “Truly I say to you today . . . .” Say it right, and it will help the person understand. After you say “today” just pause for a long time.

“Truly, I say to you today [right now, when we are both on the cross], you will be with Me in paradise.” Jesus did not say, “Today you will be with Me in paradise.” How do we know that Jesus did not mean to say, “Today you will be with Me in paradise”? Can you prove it from the Bible? The answer is simple. He did not go there that day! How do we know that? Because, three days later, on the first day of the week, He said to Mary Magdalene, “I have not yet ascended to My Father . . . .” John 20:17.

According to Revelation 2:7, God’s throne is in paradise. Since, three days later, Jesus said, I have not gone yet, He was not intending to say to that man that he would be in paradise with Him that day, because He did not go there that day.

Incorrect Translations

Let us examine a text that is a little harder. “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.” Philippians 1:21–23.

Now when you just read this text the way it is stated in the English Bible, you are in deep trouble. You can read it over and over again, and you only have two choices: you live here in the flesh, or you depart to be with Christ. But there is a problem here, and the problem again is with the translation. Because in verse 23, the word between is an incorrect translation.

It was translated that way by translators who were trying to make it agree with what their preconceived opinion was, but that is not right at all. The Greek word that is translated between here, is the word that means out of. If you look in a Greek Lexicon, you will not find this word ever translated as between, except in this one text. It is not translated that way any place else in the Bible or in any other Greek literature, to my knowledge. Now if you put the words out of in this text, you will find that this text says something completely different. Look at verse 23 again. “For I am hard-pressed out of the two.” What does he mean hard-pressed out of the two? Paul did not want to stay here in the flesh, and he did not want to die either.

He said, Really, I am hard-pressed. I have a different desire, either staying with you or dying. What did he want to do? He wanted to be translated as was Enoch and go live with Christ. That would be far better than staying here, and it would be far better than death. Nevertheless, he says, to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. So that is a little bit harder to explain than Luke 23:43, because here you have the problem with a bad translation.

I worked with an evangelist one time who used to have many Bible translations, and he would take the one that had the right translation of the text to show the person. I found that was a very convincing technique. I have never found an English Bible that has this right, so I do not ever bring it up to people, because most people cannot read Greek. They would be taking my word for it, unless they got a Strong’s Concordance and an Interlinear Bible and checked it out, which they could do. However, we need to know the facts. If it comes up, we ought to know what the truth is, so we can explain it any time.

Difficult Texts

Another text that is difficult to understand is 11 Corinthians 5. In 11 Corinthians 5:1–8, Paul is talking about the very same concept that he was talking about in Philippians 1—how we can remain here in this body of flesh or we can die and be unclothed, but he really does not want to do either of those things. He would rather go and be with the Lord.

It will take you several minutes to go through these verses. You have to go through them phrase by phrase by phrase, then analyze, what is he saying? Being clothed, being naked as in the state of death, being clothed in this temple, or to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. He is talking about three things, not two. If you keep that in mind, you will

Let us go now to the hardest one of all. The hardest text (passage) in the whole Bible about the state of the dead, for me, is Luke 16.

Now, this could happen to anybody—suppose you come up to a passage of Scripture that you cannot explain; it seems to teach contrary to what all the rest of the Bible teaches. What are you going to do? Are you going to throw out 100 Scriptures because there is a Scripture that you cannot explain?

That would be dangerous, would it not? So even if you could not explain this passage (Luke 16) at all, you would not want to throw out all the rest of what the Bible says on this subject. To really understand this passage, I recommend you read Christ’s Object Lessons, 260–271. The title of the chapter is “A Great Gulf Fixed.”

Luke 16:19–31 is the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Ellen White says, “In this parable Christ was meeting the people on their own ground.” Ibid., 263. The next question is, What was their own ground? Did the people, in Christ’s day, understand the truth about the state of the dead? They did not. You can look in the writings of Josephus and the Jews. The Jews had developed a theory about how, after you died, you went down to a hot place. They even had described what kind of a place it was.

Jesus Meets Us Where We Are

Mrs. White says, “The doctrine of a conscious state of existence between death and the resurrection was held by many of those who were listening to Christ’s words.” Ibid. So did they believe that after you died you were in a conscious state? Yes, they did. They were confused. Now, friends, we are going to get into something that I cannot fully explain. Why did the Lord not choose to correct them?

We know what Jesus believed about death, because when we read John 11, the story of Lazarus, Jesus said when he was dead that he was asleep. Nevertheless, notice what Ellen White said Jesus did: “The Saviour knew of their ideas.” He knew these people believed that you were conscious after death. He knew what they were thinking, and what did He do? “And He framed His parable so as to inculcate present important truths through these preconceived opinions.” Ibid.

He took their preconceived opinions, which were all mixed up, and He said, I am going to teach you something. I am not even going to straighten you out on that, I am just going to teach you something. Now before you and I get to arguing too much with the Lord about why He did this, let me ask you this question. Has God ever taught you something when you were all mixed up, but He did not teach it all to you at once; He just taught you a little bit? Has that ever happened to you?

That has happened to me. God does not wait until our thinking is all straightened out on everything before He starts to teach us. Sometimes He starts to teach us right where we are. We may be all mixed up, and He just comes to us on our own ground. He says, Well, I am going to tell you a story. And what a story!

Teaching by Parables

What do we learn from this story? There are several things. First, the Jews thought that they were the favorites of heaven. Who went to heaven, and who went to hell in this story? The Gentile went to heaven, and the Jew went to hell! (See Ibid., 262, 268.) That was just the beginning. They also thought that if you were rich, that proved you were honored and blessed by God. If you were poor, that meant that the curse of God was upon you. Who went to heaven, and who went to hell in this story? The rich man went to hell, and the poor man went to heaven.

I am telling you, Jesus was turning their heads pretty hard in this story. But that is not all. There is something even more important. It taught that we are judged in the future by the life that we live in this world. Our eternal destiny is determined by the life that we live, and after we die, it cannot be changed.

After you die, your eternal destiny is fixed! Ellen White says, “He held up before His hearers a mirror wherein they might see themselves in their true relation to God. . . . Christ desires His hearers to understand that it is impossible for men to secure the salvation of the soul after death. . . . The rich man had spent his life in self-pleasing, and too late he saw that he had made no provision for eternity.” Ibid., 263, 264. Then she talks about the fact that everyone has a certain amount of light, and if they do not make use of the light that they have, they will be lost.

Remember what Abraham said to the rich man who begged, “Please, if somebody went to them from the dead, if a miracle were worked, then they would believe.” Abraham said, “No, they have Moses and the prophets. If they do not believe them, they will not believe even somebody who rose from the dead.” (See Ibid., 264.) Did that turn out to be true in the case of the Jewish nation? It did.

“The conversation between Abraham and the once-rich man is figurative.” Ibid., 265. Jesus is not describing something that ever happened or that ever will happen in reality. It is a parable to illustrate certain things to the Jewish nation. Now if you study this chapter in Christ’s Object Lessons, you will find that this parable is a special teaching device of Jesus, not just for the Jewish nation. There is a whole section in this chapter to show that this parable has a special application to people who are living in the time of the end of the world. That is you and me. Now we have not exhausted the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. We have barely scratched the surface. This parable is one of the most instructive and comprehensive parables that Jesus told.

Preparing to Give an Answer

Do I have the right, on the basis of this story that Jesus told, using their preconceived opinions and giving it in figurative language, to say that you are conscious after death? No, I do not at all. Jesus has told us plainly in John 11 what He believes about the state of the dead and so have the prophets and so have the apostles.

There is a gulf, an uncertain time, and when a person dies, that gulf is fixed. That is why death is so serious and so solemn, because once a person dies their eternal destiny is fixed.

As long as you are alive, if you are on the wrong side—you can still change your destiny. You can change it either way, according to Ezekiel 18. Do you want to be headed toward the right place? Do not wait and think that you will do it just before death. That is not so easily done, and besides that, very often death comes suddenly, without time to change.

This parable about the rich man and Lazarus helps us to look at death in a completely different way. Death is not something to be afraid of or about which to worry. It is simply something for which to be prepared. We need to always be prepared.

The only way to live, and the parable of the rich man and Lazarus teaches us this, is to be ready all the time, to have your life committed to the Lord Jesus all the time, because then you are ready to live for Him. But if you die, you are ready for that, too. You do not need to worry about it, because if you are in Christ, the moment you close your eyes in death, in what will just seem a second to you, you will open them up again and have a new body.

You will have eternal life. According to the parable, you will be in Abraham’s bosom. That is figurative language, too, of course, for Heaven.

Friend, every one of you is going to be tested on this pillar of our faith. I hope that you are all ready for that test. I hope that you are ready to give an answer for your faith, with meekness and fear, to everyone that asks you. Show them what the Bible teaches, so when they hear about an apparition, and when they hear about Peter, or James, or John, or Mary, the Mother of Jesus, appearing, they will know who it is and will not be deceived. [Bible texts given in literal translation.]

Bible Study Guides – Kingdom of God

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July 7 – July 13, 2002

By Ruth Grosboll

MEMORY VERSE: “For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16.

Study Helps: The Desire of Ages, 627–636.

INTRODUCTION: “One of the most solemn and yet most glorious truths revealed in the Bible is that of Christ’s second coming, to complete the great work of redemption. . . . The doctrine of the Second Advent is the very keynote of the Sacred Scriptures. . . .

“The coming of the Lord has been in all ages the hope of His true followers.

“The patriarch Job in the night of his affliction exclaimed with unshaken trust: ‘I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: . . . in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another.’ Job 19:25–27.” The Faith I Live By, 348.

1 How did God pronounce the earth to be at the end of creation? Genesis 1:31.

NOTE: “How beautiful the earth was when it came from the Creator’s hand! God presented before the universe a world in which even His all-seeing eye could find no spot or stain. Each part of the creation occupied the part assigned to it, and answered the purpose for which it was created. Peace and holy joy filled the earth. There was no confusion, no clashing. There was no disease to afflict man or beast, and the vegetable kingdom was without taint or corruption. God looked upon the work of His hands, wrought out by Christ, and pronounced it ‘very good.’” The Faith I Live By, 37.

2 With the disobedience of Adam and Eve, what curses came upon the earth? Genesis 3:16–19, 23.

NOTE: “God cursed the ground because of their sin in eating of the tree of knowledge, and declared, ‘In sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.’ He had apportioned them the good, but withheld the evil. Now He declares that they shall eat of it, that is, they should be acquainted with evil all the days of their life.

“The race from that time forward was to be afflicted by Satan’s temptations. A life of perpetual toil and anxiety was appointed unto Adam, instead of the happy, cheerful labor he had hitherto enjoyed. They should be subject to disappointment, grief, and pain, and finally come to dissolution. They were made of the dust of the earth, and unto dust should they return.” The Story of Redemption, 40.

“And through man’s disobedience a change was wrought in nature itself. Marred by the curse of sin, nature can bear but an imperfect testimony regarding the Creator. It cannot reveal His character in its perfection.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 256.

“The curse, which has rested heavily upon the earth, and has been felt by the whole race of mankind, has also been felt by the animals. The beasts have degenerated in size, and length of years. They have been made to suffer more than they otherwise would, by the wrong habits of man.” Selected Messages, Book 2, 418.

“Although the earth was blighted with the curse, nature was still to be man’s lesson book. It could not now represent goodness only; for evil was everywhere present, marring earth and sea and air with its defiling touch. Where once was written only the character of God, the knowledge of good, was now written also the character of Satan, the knowledge of evil. From nature, which now revealed the knowledge of good and evil, man was continually to receive warning as to the results of sin.” Education, 26.

3 What does God plan to do with this sin-cursed earth? 2 Peter 3:12, 13.

NOTE: “The fire that consumes the wicked purifies the earth. Every trace of the curse is swept away.” The Great Controversy, 674.

“God created the earth to be the abode of holy, happy beings. That purpose will be fulfilled when, renewed by the power of God and freed from sin and sorrow, it shall become the eternal home of the redeemed.” The Adventist Home, 540.

4 When did God first inform man of history’s coming climax? Genesis 3:15.

NOTE: “The first intimation of such a hope [the coming of a Deliverer] was given to Adam and Eve in the sentence pronounced upon the serpent in Eden when the Lord declared to Satan in their hearing, [Genesis 3:15 quoted].

“As the guilty pair listened to these words, they were inspired with hope; for in the prophecy concerning the breaking of Satan’s power they discerned a promise of deliverance from the ruin wrought through transgression.” Prophets and Kings, 681, 682.

5 What did Enoch know about future events? Jude 14.

NOTE: “The Lord opened more fully to Enoch the plan of salvation, and by the Spirit of prophecy carried him down through the generations which should live after the Flood, and showed him the great events connected with the second coming of Christ and the end of the world. (Jude 14.)” The Story of Redemption, 58.

6 How did God show Nebuchadnezzar the final outcome of this earth? Daniel 2:31–35.

NOTE: “‘This is the dream,’ confidently declared Daniel; and the king, listening with closest attention to every particular, knew it was the very dream over which he had been so troubled. Thus his mind was prepared to receive with favor the interpretation. The King of kings was about to communicate great truth to the Babylonian monarch. God would reveal that He has power over the kingdoms of the world, power to enthrone and to dethrone kings. Nebuchadnezzar’s mind was to be awakened, if possible, to a sense of his responsibility to Heaven. The events of the future, reaching down to the end of time, were to be opened before him.” Prophets and Kings, 497.

7 What did the stone in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream represent? Daniel 2:44, 45.

NOTE: “The interpretation offered by Daniel is of itself sufficient to identify the symbol.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 4, 776. (On Daniel 4:45.)

8 What was the end of earth’s history as revealed to Daniel? Daniel 7:17, 18, 27.

NOTE: “The great plan of redemption results in fully bringing back the world into God’s favor. All that was lost by sin is restored. Not only man but the earth is redeemed, to be the eternal abode of the obedient. For six thousand years Satan has struggled to maintain possession of the earth. Now God’s original purpose in its creation is accomplished. [Daniel 7:18 quoted.]” Patriarchs and Prophets, 342.

“The church of Christ is to be clean, pure, and sanctified unto God. Its members stand before the world as representatives of the heavenly government. They are embarked, so long as time shall last, upon an enterprise of mercy.

“It is God’s desire that all who profess to believe in the truth of His word shall make it known. Their persevering fidelity will be richly rewarded. [Daniel 7:27 quoted.]” Sons and Daughters of God, 265.

9 What is prophesied to happen before the saints inherit the kingdom of God? Matthew 24:4–14.

NOTE: “That time is at hand. Today the signs of the times declare that we are standing on the threshold of great and solemn events. Everything in our world is in agitation. Before our eyes is fulfilling the Saviour’s prophecy of the events to precede His coming. [Matthew 24:6, 7 quoted.]

NOTE: “The present is a time of overwhelming interest to all living. Rulers and statesmen, men who occupy positions of trust and authority, thinking men and women of all classes, have their attention fixed upon the events taking place about us. They are watching the strained, restless relations that exist among the nations. They observe the intensity that is taking possession of every earthly element, and they recognize that something great and decisive is about to take place—that the world is on the verge of a stupendous crisis.” Education, 179.

10 What declaration is made in the last book of the Bible? Revelation 10:5–7.

NOTE: “In a view given June 27, 1850, my [Ellen White’s] accompanying angel said, ‘Time is almost finished. Do you reflect the lovely image of Jesus as you should?’ Then I was pointed to the earth and saw that there would have to be a getting ready among those who have of late embraced the third angel’s message. Said the angel, ‘Get ready, get ready, get ready. Ye will have to die a greater death to the world than ye have ever yet died.’ I saw that there was a great work to do for them and but little time in which to do it.” Early Writings, 64.

11 Among the last words of the Bible, what promise is given? Revelation 22:6, 7, 20.

NOTE: “God stands back of every promise He has made. . . . The rainbow about the throne is an assurance that God is true; that in Him is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. . . . The honour of His throne is staked for the fulfilment of His word to us.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 23.

“The angels of God in their messages to men represent time as very short. Thus it has always been presented to me [Ellen White]. It is true that time has continued longer than we expected in the early days of this message. Our Saviour did not appear as soon as we hoped. But has the word of the Lord failed? Never! It should be remembered that the promises and threatenings of God are alike conditional.

“God had committed to His people a work to be accomplished on earth. The third angel’s message was to be given, the minds of believers were to be directed to the heavenly sanctuary, where Christ had entered to make atonement for His people. The Sabbath reform was to be carried forward. The breach in the law of God must be made up. The message must be proclaimed with a loud voice, that all the inhabitants of earth might receive the warning. The people of God must purify their souls through obedience to the truth, and be prepared to stand without fault before Him at His coming.

“Had Adventists, . . . held fast their faith, and followed on unitedly in the opening providence of God, receiving the message of the third angel and in the power of the Holy Spirit proclaiming it to the world, they would have seen the salvation of God, the Lord would have wrought mightily with their efforts, the work would have been completed, and Christ would have come ere this to receive His people to their reward.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 67, 68.

12 How does Daniel describe conditions just before Christ’s second coming? Daniel 12:1.

NOTE: “The world has rejected His mercy, despised His love, and trampled upon His law. The wicked have passed the boundary of their probation; the Spirit of God, persistently resisted, has been at last withdrawn. Unsheltered by divine grace, they have no protection from the wicked one. Satan will then plunge the inhabitants of the earth into one great, final trouble. As the angels of God cease to hold in check the fierce winds of human passion, all the elements of strife will be let loose. The whole world will be involved in ruin more terrible than that which came upon Jerusalem of old.” The Great Controversy, 614.

13 What happens to all the faithful who have died? 1 Thessalonians 4:16.

NOTE: “We are looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ. We may not be living when Christ shall come in power and great glory, for all are subject to death at any time, but if we are righteous, in harmony with the law of God, we shall respond to the voice that will call the people of God from their graves, and shall come forth to receive immortality. It is only the blessed and holy who will be ready for the first resurrection; for when Christ comes, he will not change the character. The change that will take place will be that change spoken of by Paul when he says: ‘We shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.’ The word of God declares that we must be found blameless, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. Now we are to learn obedience, submission to the divine will, that God may work in us to will and to do of his good-pleasure, and that we may work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. But our own efforts are of no avail to atone for sin or to renew the heart. Only the blood of Christ can atone for us; his grace alone can create in us a clean heart, and enable us to obey God’s law. In him is our only hope.” Signs of the Times, February 9, 1891.

14 What condition will exist on the earth when the controversy is over? Revelation 21:4, 5.

NOTE: “In the Bible the inheritance of the saved is called a country. There the heavenly Shepherd leads His flock to fountains of living waters. The tree of life yields its fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree are for the service of the nations. There are ever-flowing streams, clear as crystal, and beside them waving trees cast their shadows upon the paths prepared for the ransomed of the Lord. There the widespreading plains swell into hills of beauty, and the mountains of God rear their lofty summits. On those peaceful plains, beside those living streams, God’s people, so long pilgrims and wanderers, shall find a home.” The Faith I Live By, 368.

15 What invitation is extended to all? Revelation 22:17.

NOTE: “The cry of Christ to the thirsty soul is still going forth. . . . The fountain is open for all. The weary and exhausted ones are offered the refreshing draught of eternal life. Jesus is still crying, . . . ‘Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.’ . . . John 4:14.” The Desire of Ages, 454.

Do You Worship the Devil?

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And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose [them]. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret.” —Ephesians 5:11, 12.

Many Christians will allow and even encourage their children to pay respect to the devil on October 31 without knowing they do so. Many Christian churches will fully sanction such action with parties, decorating with witches, cats, brooms, jack-o-lanterns and bobbing for apples.

What is the harm? How did this originate?

The Festival of Death

The custom of Halloween is traced to the Druid festival of the dead. The Roman Pantheon was built by Emperor Hadrian in the first century as a temple to the goddess Cybele and other Roman deities. It became the principle place of worship where Roman pagans prayed for the dead. Emperor Phocas captured Rome and gave the Pantheon to Pope Boniface IV in 609 a.d. He reconsecrated it to the Virgin Mary and resumed using the temple to pray for the dead, only now it was “Christianized,” as men added the unscriptural teaching of purgatory. In 835 a.d. , Gregory IV extended the feast for all the church and it became known as All Saint’s Day, still remembering the dead. It was hoped the Druid celebration would be eliminated by offering All Saint’s Day as a substitute. The truth is that Halloween’s deepest roots are decidedly pagan, and it has kept those pagan roots, despite its now Christian name.

Birth of Halloween

In the British Isles, All Saint’s Day came to be called All Halloweds since it was a day to worship all the “hallowed ones,” the Christian dead. Since the festival of the dead always occurred the evening before All Halloweds, it came to be called All Halloweds Evening or just Halloweds E’en. From this it evolved to Hallows E’en and, finally, to Halloween as we know it today. Because of the relationship in the names, and the adjacent dates, many today entertain the completely unfounded idea that Halloween is somehow a Christian holiday. This has made it much easier for the ungodly festival to move right into the churches each October and flourish there, spreading its occult poison.

Customs

Trick-or-treat came from an ancient Druid practice. One of the basic tenets in witchcraft is to control the will of another by use of fear. Even in jest, when one threatens to punish if a treat or offering is not given, they are imitating an occult practice of controlling the will of another by use of fear. Prosperity was promised to all who were generous donors, and tricks to all who refused during the Irish Druid event of trick-or-treat.

The festival of the dead celebration used nuts, apples, skeletons, witches and black cats. Divination and auguries were practiced as well as magic to seek answers for the future. Black cats were considered to be reincarnated beings with the ability to divine the future. During this festival, supernatural beings terrified the populace. Even today witchcraft practitioners declare October 31 as the most conducive time to practice their arts.

Most of the customs connected with Halloween are remnants of the ancient religious beliefs and rituals, first of the Druids and then transcended amongst the Roman Christians who conquered them.

Christian Beware

The uninformed Christian has no idea that demonic spirits are contacted and activated as people call out to them in jest or in seriousness. Every act around Halloween is in honor of false gods, which are spirits in the realm of the Satanic.

The Bible instructs us to have nothing to do with the deeds of darkness. We are forbidden to participate in the occult practices listed in Deuteronomy 18:10, 11. Such participation places us in forbidden territory, on the enemy’s dangerous ground.

Through the ages, Halloween has gone by various names but all have been tributes to the same dark force, Satan. There is no place in the life of a Christian for such participation.

The Race to Contact the Dead, Part I

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There is something that no skeptic in the world can deny. The Bible, heaven, God and Jesus may all be rashly denied, but none dare deny the fact that all are headed toward death. Because of this undeniable fact, a haunting question vaunts itself into the minds of many: “After death, what?” The subject of death creates a range in the emotional spectrum that can go from paranoia to fascination. The fascination with death, and the realization of the impossibility of escape from death, has led many into a race to contact the dead.

Recently there has been an explosion of interest in the unknown mysteries of death. The phenomenon of claiming to contact the dead is becoming almost common place. Hollywood movies fill the screens with plots revolving around contact with the dead. The television program Crossing Over features a host who claims to contact the dead. Books, movies, television programs, magazines, the Internet, all seem to be feeding America’s interest in contacting the dead. A popular magazine once caught my attention while standing in line at the grocery store. The cover said, “A hit movie has people asking, is there a Sixth Sense? Whether they’re mediums with a message or phonies after a fast buck, a new breed of psychic has made believers of millions who long to talk to the dead.” J. D. Reed, Ivory Clinton, Natasha Stoynoff, Eric Francis, Fannie Weinstein, Johnny Dodd, Glenn Garelik, “Across the Great Divide,” People Weekly, October 25, 1999, 117–126.

The article took a look at mediums (those who claim to communicate with the dead) and their opponents. It declared, “In a 1994 USA Today-CNN-Gallup poll, almost 70 million Americans said they think it’s possible to communicate with the dead. Meanwhile, the afterlife business is booming in the U.S. [United States]. Books about contacting the dead have crowded onto The New York Times bestseller list in the past two years, and the paranormal is at full boil on TV. Leeza, Montel, and Larry King Live regularly feature segments on the spirit world. . . . On the Internet, hundreds of niche sites spread the ghostly gospel, including some devoted to home snapshots of eerie ectoplasmic forms floating around backyard parties, and instructions on how to have your own ADC (after death communication) with loved ones.” Ibid., 118. Clearly the race to contact the dead has well-nigh swept across America.

With the increased interest in afterlife, it becomes necessary for every Christian to thoroughly investigate the Scriptures to see what God’s word teaches about what happens at death. If this is something that the Scriptures commend, then surely Christians should not be left out of the race to contact the dead, but if this is something that the Scriptures explicitly forbid, every Christian should be foremost in warning their friends of this dangerous deception.

The Abomination

The Bible is actually remarkably clear upon whether it is safe for a Christian to contact their dead loved ones. “Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I [am] the Lord your God.” Leviticus 19:31. Clearly it is defiling to seek after mediums. The Lord said to “give no regard” to them. “When you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you [anyone] who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, [or one] who practices witchcraft, [or] a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things [are] an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you. You shall be blameless before the Lord your God. For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the Lord your God has not appointed such for you.” Deuteronomy 18:9–14. This even gives us an idea as to why the Canaanites were driven from the land of Canaan. They had become inundated with practices of spiritualism. There is an entire list that the Lord gives us so we will not be misled. The very foundational cornerstone of most of the ones mentioned in the list above is the supposed ability to contact the dead. Just so there is no misunderstanding, the Lord adds, in unmistakable words, “or one who calls up the dead.” It is an abomination before the Lord to go to someone who claims to contact the dead. This was one of the reasons the Lord’s anger was kindled against the inhabitants of Canaan, and it will rekindle His anger if we get involved with the deceptive practices of spiritualism.

It is an insult to the God of heaven to communicate with the dead for any reason. When King Ahaziah of Israel fell through a lattice and was injured, he sent a messenger to ask of Baal-Zebub of Ekron whether he was going to recover from his injury or not. Elijah met him with the stern message, “[Is it] because [there is] no God in Israel [that] you are going to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?” 2 Kings 1:3. Because the king had gone to inquire of Baal-Zebub instead of the God of Israel, he was to die, and it happened exactly as prophesied. The Lord regards it the same way if we turn to the dead instead of to the God of heaven. “And when they say to you, ‘Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,’ should not a people seek their God? [Should they seek] the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, [it is] because [there is] no light in them.” Isaiah 8:19, 20. By going in search of what the dead have to say, we are turning our back upon the God of heaven. He says, “Should not a people seek their God?” Why do those who profess His name turn to the dead instead of to the living God? It is an abomination and an insult to God to attempt to contact the dead instead of seeking Him for wisdom and guidance.

In ancient Israel, this act was so offensive to God that He gave the instruction that anyone who went against the word of God and attempted to contact the dead should be stoned. “A man or a woman who is a medium, or who has familiar spirits, shall surely be put to death; they shall stone them with stones. Their blood [shall be] upon them.” Leviticus 20:27. One who attempted to contact the dead or one who dealt with spirits was not to live long. A similar warning is given in the New Testament: “But outside [the New Jerusalem] [are] dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.” Revelation 22:15. “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” Revelation 21:8. This time it is not just physical death; the sorcerers receive the lake of fire. (Sorcery is based on the supposed contact with evil spirits and the spirits of the dead, and is grouped with contacting the dead in Deuteronomy 18:9–11.) God is very clear upon this subject. Those in Israel’s day who ventured onto the forbidden ground of communication with the dead met the sentence of death, and those who follow suit today will partake of the lake of fire.

It is clear from the Bible that neither anciently, nor now, are God’s people to have anything to do with mediums or with calling up the dead. It is an abomination, and the Lord explicitly tells us to give no regard to them. Paul, writing in the New Testament, counsels, “have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose [them].” Ephesians 5:11. Although the seriousness of this matter can be seen, the question naturally arises, why such a strict prohibition? Is it not simply an innocent communication with our loved relatives? We communicated with them while they were alive; what could be wrong in talking with them once they are dead?

The Impassable Gulf

God in His great love and mercy for us has put an impassable gulf between the dead and the living. The living cannot communicate with the dead, and the dead cannot communicate with the living. “As the cloud disappears and vanishes away, so he who goes down to the grave does not come up. He shall never return to his house, Nor shall his place know him anymore.” Job 7:9, 10. The word of God plainly declares that once a person dies, he does not come back up from the grave. Job says that he is like a cloud; once it disappears and vanishes, it does not return. Though there will, of course, be a resurrection. Job was not trying to say that once a person died it was all over, but he was making it clear that once a person goes down to the grave, they will not return to this earth again. “So man lies down and does not rise. Till the heavens [are] no more, they will not awake Nor be roused from their sleep.” Job 14:12. The same concept is explained in the following verses, but with more detail given. Once man dies, he is not going to come back until the heavens are no more. Since the dead are never going to return to their place, it would be futile to attempt to communicate with them, for his place shall know him no more.

God, in His love, has given us this prohibition so we will not be deceived. We are warned in the New Testament about this deception. “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.” 1 Timothy 4:1. “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” 1 John 4:1. There are deceiving spirits out there, so we are exhorted to test the spirits in order that we are not deceived. If we are not testing the spirits, we will inevitably be deceived. That the dead cannot cross the gulf back to the living, is one of those tests. God has given us this test because He knew that without it the devil could counterfeit our loved ones and thus deceive us.

The Bible tells us that the devil can, and frequently does, transform himself! “And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.” 2 Corinthians 11:14. The devil can be transformed into an angel of light, and his agents put on his wily masks as well. “Therefore [it is] no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.” Verse 15. It is no great thing for the devil or his fallen angels (see Revelation 12:9) to appear in the guise of a loved one. After all, did not Satan first come in the form of a serpent in the Garden of Eden? (See Genesis 3:1–5, 14, 15.) God knew that these deceiving spirits could impersonate our dead loved ones and that we would be unable to tell the difference, so He put an impassible barrier between the dead and the living. We know from the Bible that if someone claims to be a deceased loved one, they are not from God. God has said that will not happen. Once a person goes down to the grave, they will not come up again. Thus, if there is one who claims to be able to hold conversation with the dead, in reality he is conversing with the devil or with one of his angels. When we understand this, it is not hard to see why God calls communicating with the dead an abomination. It is not hard to understand why God instructed that all who did this be put to death. It is not hard to explain that those who continue to do this without repenting will have their part in the lake of fire.

The Sleep of Death

In order to understand this subject fully, it is also necessary to understand how death is described throughout the Bible. In the overwhelming majority of texts, in both the Old and New Testaments, death is referred to as a sleep. Job was probably one of the earliest patriarchs, and he knew what death was: “Why did I not die at birth? . . . For now I would have lain still and been quiet, I would have been asleep; Then I would have been at rest.” Job 3:11, 13. Moses knew what death was: “And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers . . . .” Deuteronomy 31:16. David knew what death was: “Consider [and] hear me, O Lord my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the [sleep of] death . . . .” Psalm 13:3. Jeremiah knew what death was: “‘And I will make drunk Her princes and wise men, Her governors, her deputies, and her mighty men. And they shall sleep a perpetual sleep And not awake,’ says the King, whose name [is] the Lord of hosts.” Jeremiah 51:57. Daniel knew what death was: “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame [and] everlasting contempt.” Daniel 12:2. Our Lord Jesus Himself testified as to the state of death: “He said to them, ‘Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.’ Then His disciples said, ‘Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.’ However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus said to them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead.’” John 11:11–14. There is no mistaking what Jesus was talking about. Jesus plainly calls death a sleep. Paul knew what death was: “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15:51. Lastly, we find that Peter also called death a sleep: “Scoffers will come . . . saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as [they were] from the beginning of creation.’” 2 Peter 3:3, 4. This is such predominant terminology in the Bible that in the King James Version similar words such as “sleep, sleepeth, asleep,” are used to describe death in no less than 60 verses.

Since this is something that is so widely taught throughout the Bible, we must take note of it and try to understand what it is telling us. Over and over again death is referred to as a sleep. What is sleep? Sleep is an unconscious state when man is totally oblivious to all that goes on around him. A person that is peacefully sleeping does not know of the calamities and problems or anything else that is happening. World War III could break out, and they would not know it. The silent sleeper is unaware of anything taking place around them until the moment they awake. The first thing that they have cognizance of when they awake may be the alarm clock ringing or the sun rising. There may have been ten minutes that have elapsed or eight hours, but it was as a moment of time to the sound sleeper. How fitting and comforting a representation of death. Instead of trying to explain the soaring of some spirit to unknown worlds afar, the one who dies is simply sleeping in the grave where he was laid. This is something that our ancestors knew. Years ago the letters R.I.P. (Rest in Peace) were engraved upon many tombstones—sleep silently in the grave until your Maker calls you forth. Thus, if death is a sleep, a resting in the grave as the Bible testifies over and over again, it can clearly be seen why there is an impassable gulf between the dead and the living. None can awake until they hear the voice of the Creator Himself, so it is an impossibility to communicate with our dead loved ones. They are sleeping in the grave awaiting the voice of the Son of God.

Conscious or Unconscious

While we are taking a nap, it is common to have dreams or even nightmares. What kind of sleep is this “sleep of death”? Is it an unconscious, dreamless sleep or is there a conscious existence? Once again, our only safety is in turning to the word of God. There is no one who truly knows the mysteries of death aside from the One who said: “You shall surely die.” Genesis 2:17. The testimony of the Bible is once again unmistakable. “For the living know that they will die; But the dead know nothing, And they have no more reward, For the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished; Nevermore will they have a share In anything done under the sun. . . . Whatever your hand finds to do, do [it] with your might; for [there is] no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.” Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6, 10. Solomon, the wisest man that has ever lived upon the earth, declared, “the dead know nothing.” Obviously the sleep of death is an unconscious state. He further says that all of the emotions of the dead have perished. They have no more love or hatred. Then the warning is given to the living to do what they can with their might, because in the grave they will be unable to do anything; there is no wisdom or knowledge in the grave. The Psalmist testifies of this same thing: “Put not your trust in princes, [nor] in the son of man, in whom [there is] no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.” Psalm 146:3, 4. The thinking process comes to a standstill. Problems are no longer wrestled with; solutions are no longer sought or found. The amazing organ of the brain ceases to turn; the neurons and electric currents of the brain no longer carry their messages back and forth. At the moment of death every thought ceases to exist. The conflicting emotions stop. Knowledge and wisdom come to an end. The thoughts perish. Instead of this life of turmoil and problems, there is a silent and peaceful sleeping in the grave. Time is frozen for the dead. Although life moves on in our world, it is all unbeknownst to the deceased. They are neither writhing in anguish and pain, nor looking down from bliss, seeing the agony and suffering that the living are enduring. The dead are unconsciously sleeping in the grave where they have been laid.

Another way we know from the Bible that the “sleep of death” is an unconscious state is because we are repeatedly told that the dead are not praising God. “Will You work wonders for the dead? Shall the dead arise [and] praise You? Shall Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave? [Or] Your faithfulness in the place of destruction?” Psalm 88:10, 11. “For in death [there is] no remembrance of You; In the grave who will give You thanks?” Psalm 6:5. “The dead do not praise the Lord, Nor any who go down into silence. But we will bless the Lord From this time forth and forevermore.” Psalm 115:17, 18. The Psalms repeatedly declare that it is the living that praise God. “The dead do not praise the Lord.” Surely if the righteous dead have a conscious existence, they would be praising God. If they had ascended to heaven where all worship and praise the Lord, they would certainly join in the praise. But no, the inspired record declares that they do not praise the Lord and that there is not even remembrance of Him in death. Why? Because in the very day of death the thoughts perish. The righteous, with the wicked, are sleeping in their graves, awaiting the call of the Master.

[All Emphasis Supplied.]

To be continued . . .