2022-Q4-L13

2022-Q4-L13: The Judging Process

Read for This Week’s Study: Matt. 25:31–46; Dan. 7:9–14; 1 Cor. 6:2, 3; 2 Pet. 2:4–6; Mal. 4:1; Rev. 21:8.

Memory Text: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10, NIV).

Notes

What is the purpose of judgment?

What does it mean: God remembers your sins no more.

Isaiah 43:25: I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.

Hebrews 8:12: For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.

"Remember" notion. It's not about memory, but relevance or purpose. God *does* remember, but your past no longer becomes relevant.

The "blotting out" of sins is both the sinner and God with respect to relevance. It no longer becomes important and has no effect on anyone. For example, if a surgeon removes a cancerous tumor, neither the surgeon nor you will care to think and dwell on that memory for long.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5: For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

John 17:3: And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

SUNDAY. The Final Judgment. Daniel 7:22 (NKJV): until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High

Scripture

Daniel 7:22 (KJV): Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was GIVEN to the saints of the most High

Daniel 7:22 (ESV): until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was GIVEN for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom.

Notes

The Hebrew is "judgment was GIVEN" which favors the KJV and the ESV translations over the NKJV which is more interpretive.

That is, there is a difference between judgment in favor of the saints (NKJV) and judgment given to the saints?

Our (SDA) understanding is that there will be a period of judgment that we will perform. We will be judges.

God is judged. There will be a time when we will effectively be judging God—the truthfulness of His words and deeds. God will be on trial. First, God will judge us to be worthy to be saved and then we will judge Him to be worthy to be loved and obeyed.

Thus, the final message is about God’s character and government of truth, love, and liberty

Notes (2)

Four kinds of judgment:

(1) Legal judgment. Based on human law which is flawed and with flawed judges and juries. Human judgment (can be arbitrary). Sanhedrin and Jesus being judged. Not based on guilt and innocence.

(2) Reality based judgment. Adam's sin was not a legal problem but a lethal problem. A change of state of being. Born with a terminal condition.

(3) The millenial judgment. This occurs in heaven in the millenium. Revelation 20:4-6. “Do you not know that we will judge angels?” (1 Corinthians 6:3 NIV84).

First angel (Revelation 14:6-7). The "hour of His judgment." It can be argued that the judgment is not only about us, but about God as well. *Everybody* is being judged: God, Satan, angels, and mankind.

(4) White Throne judgment. Revelation 20:11-12. Judgment based on names recorded in a "book". Name is representative of "character." This book or books stand as "medical" records.

The gospel message is the change of heart.

MONDAY. The Pre-Advent Judgment

From the lesson: [Well written and should be read in its entirety]

Notes

Three basic biblical teachings:

(1) all the dead—righteous or unrighteous—remain unconscious in their graves until the final resurrections (John 5:25–29)

(2) the existence of a universal judgment of all human beings (2 Cor. 5:10, Rev. 20:11–13).

(3) the first resurrection will be the blessed reward for the righteous, and the second resurrection will be eternal death for the wicked (John 5:28, 29; Rev. 20:4–6, 12–15).

Two pre-advent judgments. danWhat this means is that if all human beings will be judged, they should be judged prior to their respective resurrections, because at those resurrections they will receive their final rewards.

TUESDAY. The Millenial Judgment

WEDNESDAY. The Executive Judgment.

From the lesson: During the Middle Ages there was a strong tendency to portray God as a severe, punitive Judge. Today the tendency is to describe Him as a loving, permissive Father who never punishes His children. Yet, love without justice will turn into chaos and lawlessness, and justice without love will become oppression and subjugation. God’s judging process is a perfect blend of justice and mercy, both of which derive from His unconditional love.

The executive judgment is God’s final and irreversible punitive intervention in human history. Limited punitive judgments occurred, for example, in the casting out of Satan and his rebellious angels from heaven (Rev. 12:7–12), the driving out of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3), the great Flood (Genesis 6–8), the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19, Jude 7), the death of the firstborn in Egypt (Exodus 11, Exodus 12), and the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1–11). So, it is no surprise that there also will be an executive judgment of the wicked at the end of human history.

EGW notes

DA 761.4: In the opening of the great controversy, Satan had declared that the law of God could not be obeyed, that justice was inconsistent with mercy, and that, should the law be broken, it would be impossible for the sinner to be pardoned. Every sin must meet its punishment, urged Satan; and if God should remit the punishment of sin, He would not be a God of truth and justice. When men broke the law of God, and defied His will, Satan exulted. It was proved, he declared, that the law could not be obeyed; man could not be forgiven. Because he, after his rebellion, had been banished from heaven, Satan claimed that the human race must be forever shut out from God's favor. God could not be just, he urged, and yet show mercy to the sinner.

GC 665.1: Now Christ again appears to the view of His enemies. Far above the city, upon a foundation of burnished gold, is a throne, high and lifted up. Upon this throne sits the Son of God, and around Him are the subjects of His kingdom. The power and majesty of Christ no language can describe, no pen portray. The glory of the Eternal Father is enshrouding His Son. The brightness of His presence fills the City of God, and flows out beyond the gates, flooding the whole earth with its radiance.

Notes

Punitive judgment. In the mind of the lesson author(s), there were many "punitive judgments" from God throughout history. However, was the "death of the firstborn in Egypt" punitive? Why was the firstborn being punished? What was the fault or guilty of all the firstborn of the Egyptians?

Question: Are God's judgments on this earth punitive? Answer: Rarely, if at all.

Question: Is God's final judgment at the end of time punitive? Answer: It depends on how you understand the death of the wicked. Is it to "punish" or is it to eradicate? With a deadly disease, do you not want to eradicate it? In a perfect world, sin and sickness and disease cannot exist by virtue of who God is. Darkness cannot exist in the light; lies cannot exist in a world of truth telling; hate cannot exist in a world where everyone loves by nature, etc. The eradication of sin is the full revelation and power of God.

The final judgment is unveiling (unshielding) God's glory. What convicts the wicked and causes them great anguish is the guilt, shame, lost opportunities, and the inability or desire to give up sin. They effectively choose death over life. They ultimately let go their hold on life. Each "sin" passes before them as a kind of judgment on themselves.

Two fires. The spiritual "fire" of conviction and the physical "fire" of cleansing. The first fire comes from Jesus. The second fire comes from God.

Satan and sin destroy

The sinner destroys himself. This case is placed on record for our benefit. Just what took place in Pharaoh’s heart will take place in every soul that neglects to cherish the light and walk promptly in its rays. God destroys no one. The sinner destroys himself by his own impenitence. When a person once neglects to heed the invitations, reproofs, and warnings of the Spirit of God, his conscience becomes seared, and the next time he is admonished, it will be more difficult to yield obedience than before. And thus with every repetition. Conscience is the voice of God, heard amid the conflict of human passions; when it is resisted, the Spirit of God is grieved. – {Testimonies vol. 5, p. 120.}

Protection of God withdrawn. The Jews had forged their own fetters; they had filled for themselves the cup of vengeance. In the utter destruction that befell them as a nation, and in all the woes that followed them in their dispersion, they were but reaping the harvest which their own hands had sown. Says the prophet:“O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself;” “for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.” Hosea 13:9; 14:1. Their sufferings are often represented as a punishment visited upon them by the direct decree of God. It is thus that the great deceiver seeks to conceal his own work. By stubborn rejection of divine love and mercy, the Jews had caused the protection of God to be withdrawn from them, and Satan was permitted to rule them according to his will. The horrible cruelties enacted in the destruction of Jerusalem are a demonstration of Satan's vindictive power over those who yield to his control. Great Controversy 35.3

By placing yourself in Satan's domain/territory/stronghold, you become his play thing.

Punishment is self inflicted. We are not to regard God as waiting to punish the sinner for his sin. The sinner brings the punishment upon himself. His own actions start a train of circumstances that bring the sure result. Every act of transgression reacts upon the sinner, works in him a change of character, and makes it more easy for him to transgress again. By choosing to sin, men separate themselves from God, cut themselves off from the channel of blessing, and the sure result is ruin and death. Selected Messages vol.1, p 235.

It is Satan's power that brings calamity and distress. I was shown that the judgments of God would not come directly out from the Lord upon them, but in this way;They place themselves beyond His protection. He warns, corrects, reproves, and points out the only path of safety; then if those who have been the objects of His special care will follow their own course, indepentent of the Spirit of God, after repeated warnings, if they choose their own way, then He does not commission His angels to prevent Satan's decided attacks upon them.It is Satan's power that is at work at sea and on land, bringing calamity and distress, and sweeping off multitudes to make sure of his prey, and storm and tempest both by sea and land will be, for Satan has come down in great wrath. He is at work. He knows his time is short and, he is not restrained; we shall see more terrible manifestations of his great power than we have ever dreamed of." Manuscript Release vol. 14, p. 3

THURSDAY. The Second Death.

From the lesson: God is leading human history toward its end-time climax. At the end of the millennium all the wicked dead are raised from their graves to receive their final punitive sentences (Rev. 20:5, 11–15). Then, when the whole judging process is completed and nothing else can be added to it, the wicked will acknowledge God’s justice.

“They [the lost] would long to flee from that holy place. They would welcome destruction, that they might be hidden from the face of Him who died to redeem them. The destiny of the wicked is fixed by their own choice. Their exclusion from heaven is voluntary with themselves, and just and merciful on the part of God.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 543.

FRIDAY. Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Without a Wedding Gar-ment,” pp. 307–319, in Christ’s Object Lessons; “Desolation of the Earth,” pp. 653–661; “The Controversy Ended,” pp. 662–673, in The Great Controversy.

“In the day of final judgment, every lost soul will understand the nature of his own rejection of truth. The cross will be presented, and its real bearing will be seen by every mind that has been blinded by transgression. Before the vision of Calvary with its mysterious Victim, sinners will stand condemned. Every lying excuse will be swept away. Human apostasy will appear in its heinous character. Men will see what their choice has been. Every question of truth and error in the long-standing controversy will then have been made plain. In the judgment of the universe, God will stand clear of blame for the existence or continuance of evil. It will be demonstrated that the divine decrees are not accessory to sin. There was no defect in God’s government, no cause for disaffection. When the thoughts of all hearts shall be revealed, both the loyal and the rebellious will unite in declaring, ‘Just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints. Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? . . . for Thy judgments are made manifest.’ Rev. 15:3, 4.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 58.