The Sure Word Bible Study

Copyright  2012
William (Bill) R. Chambers

All rights reserved. These lessons may not be

reproduced in any form, except for the inclusion of
brief quotations in a review, without permission
from the author. (Which will be freely given.)

Unless otherwise noted all scriptures quoted are

taken from either the King James Version (KJV) or
the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by
permission. All rights reserved.

You may order additional copies of this study or

contact the author through the following:

Mail: Bill Chambers

115 Lazarus Dr
Hiram, Ga 30141

Phone: 770 530-2308

E-mail: [email protected]
This is a study of biblical teachings designed
primarily for use in a student / teacher setting as a
study in preparation for baptism. However, this
book contains many helpful studies that will be
beneficial to anyone seeking to learn biblical truths.

This series of study topics include:

Lesson 1 - The Word
Lesson 2 - The Origin of Evil
Lesson 3 - What is God Really Like?
Lesson 4 - God Wants to be Your Friend
Lesson 5 - Sin the Enemy of Good
Lesson 6 - Understanding Forgiveness
Lesson 7 - The Sleep of Death
Lesson 8 - The Second Coming
Lesson 9 - The Millennium
Lesson 10 - Lost Forever
Lesson 11 - The Passion of Christ
Lesson 12 - The Second Death
Lesson 13 - The Healing Model
Lesson 14 - The Health Message
Lesson 15 - The Sabbath Rest - Part One
Lesson 16 - The Sabbath Rest - Part Two
Lesson 17 - Commitment and Baptism
Lesson 18 - The Church
 The Sure Word Bible Studies
Lesson 1

The Sure Word of Truth

One thing is certain – we live in uncertain times. And as always,

most people depend upon their fellowman for truth and spiritual
guidance which leads to more uncertainty. The Catholic Priest, the
Jewish Rabbi, and the Protestant preacher, all say they speak for
God. They all claim to have the truth, yet they all are teaching
different things! How can that be? Common sense tells us that all
of them can’t be right. In fact, the Bible warns us that even some
ministers will be agents for Satan!

II Corinthians 11:14,15 "And no wonder! For Satan himself

transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great
thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of
righteousness, whose end will be according to their works."

This being the case, how can we know for sure what is true? Jesus
praying to the Father, said: "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your
word is truth" (John 17:17).

God’s word is truth and is found in the Bible. The Bible is the only
constant, unchanging guide we have to help us navigate the
uncertain times in which we live.

Here are some important facts about the Bible:

 The Bible is not one book, but a collection of books in one

binding.
 Over 40 different men wrote the Bible over a period of
1500 years.
 Each Bible writer wrote in his native language, Hebrew,
Aramaic, or Greek.
 These men came from various backgrounds, different
levels of education and different cultures.
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Scripture is not the thoughts and ideas of these individual men, but
the Bible itself tells us: "for prophecy never came by the will of
man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy
Spirit." (II Peter 1:21)

The Bible is not a word for word dictation from God, but rather
God speaking through the human mind with each writer
expressing it in their own way.

The Bible was written in a way that enables it to speak to all men
in every age, language and culture. Because of this we will find
some difficulties which will require more than a casual reading to
understand.

The Bible was first circulated as a complete unit during the 4th
century and copied by hand until 1469 A.D. and the invention of
the printing press.

The original writings had no chapters, verses, or punctuation.

Punctuation was not added until the Bible was translated into the
English language. Verses were added to the Old Testament in by
Jewish rabbis in 900 A.D. The Bible was divided into chapters by
Stephen Langston, professor in the University of Paris, during the
12th century and finally verses were added to the New Testament
in A.D. 1551 by Robert Stephens.

The Jewish Bible has 39 books. (The Old Testament only)

The Catholic Bible has 73 books, the Old and New Testaments
plus seven additional "apocryphal" (which means "hidden") books
which were rejected by the Protestants as un-inspired.
The Protestant Bible has 66 books including both the Old and New
Testaments.

The combination of books selected to be included in the Bible are

known as the "canon" of scripture. They meet the criteria set by
the church qualifying each one as an inspired writing.

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Today the Bible has been translated into more than two thousand
languages and many different versions. The versions can be
divided into three different types of translations.

(1) "Word for word" translations. Examples are the King James
KJV, New King James NKJV, New American Standard NAS and
the English Standard Version ESV.

In these versions the translators have attempted to stay as close to

the original wording as possible.

(2) "Thought for thought" translations. Examples are the New

International NIV and New Living Translation NLT.

In these versions the translators have attempted to convey the

thought the writer had in mind rather than the exact words.

(3) "Paraphrase" translations. Examples are the Clear Word, the

Message, or the Living Bible.

These versions are usually done by one person rather than a group
in which the translator puts into his own words what he believes
the writer was saying.

The "word for word” translations are considered the best for study
and teaching while the others are considered best for public and /
or personal reading.

A casual reading of the Bible isn’t enough. We need to know for

ourselves how to study and correctly interpret and understand its
contents.

If our study is to be fruitful it will involve work, effort, and

patience. There will be times of discouragement, especially in the
beginning, but we must be persistent. Because we do not
understand or can’t make sense of something should not cause us
to lose confidence in the scriptures, if we keep studying –
understanding will come.

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Some of the problems we find as we study may be products of our
inaccurate perception rather than actual mistakes in the Bible. We
must be careful that we do not put God on trial when we come
across a text that we cannot understand. Remember, God is
infallible - we are not.

The following is a list of helpful tools for Bible study.

1. Different versions of the Bible for comparison.

2. Exhaustive concordance with Hebrew and Greek dictionary.
3. Bible dictionary.
4. Bible commentaries.
5. Computer Bible programs. (There are some free ones, like
Bible Explorer and E-sword.)

The following ten principles will help us better understand the

Bible and correctly apply it to our lives.

1. Before studying the Bible always first ask for the guidance
of the Holy Spirit.

John 14:26 "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will
send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your
remembrance all things that I said to you."

The same Holy Spirit that inspired the writing of the scriptures
will help us to understand them.

2. Approach Bible study with humility, an open mind,

seeking to learn, never with preconceived ideas or
pride of opinion.

Matthew 18:3,4 "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are

converted and become as little children, you will by no means
enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself
as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

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“Become as little children.” That is, being inquisitive, open
minded and willing to be taught. No matter how old or how well
educated we may be, that must be our attitude when studying the
Bible if we are to know the truth.

3. Develop the practice of asking questions about what is

read.

When we read the Bible or engage in conversations with other

Christians, we will hear or read words and phrases we do not
understand. There may have been times when we may have
repeated them even though we couldn’t explain them.

For example, can you clearly explain the meaning of the

expression, “covered by the blood”? Or can you explain the
meaning of words like “justification, sanctification, and
propitiation?” If we can’t explain it, it usually means we don’t
understand it.

Often the problem is that we don't ask, “What does that mean?”
Because after all, a good Christian should know what all those
words and phrases mean, shouldn’t they? But if we don’t know,
we should set aside our pride and ask “What does that mean?” and
diligently seek the answer.

4. Consider all scripture on a subject before drawing any

conclusions on that subject.

A concordance is a must for this. We begin by looking up the key

words of the topic or subject we wish to learn more about; for
example, the baptism of Jesus. The key words would be “baptize,”
“baptism,” or “baptized,” and “Jesus.” Next we look at the verses
that include these words. In this example, we begin with a text in
the book of Luke.

Luke 3:19 - 23 "But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him

concerning Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, and for all the
evils which Herod had done, also added this, above all, that he

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shut John up in prison. When all the people were baptized, it came
to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the
heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form
like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said,
"You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased." Now Jesus
Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age,"

These verses tell us 1) Jesus was baptized. 2) That the Holy Spirit
came upon Him at that time, and 3) that He was 30 years old. But
they do not tell us who baptized Jesus or where. So we look at
another account of this event in the book of Mark.

Mark 1:9,10 "It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from
Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And
immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens
parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove."

This text has given us more detail; it tells us who baptized Jesus
and where. Then reading another passage relating to this subject in
the book of Acts we learn even more about Jesus baptism.

Acts 10:37,38 "that word you know, which was proclaimed

throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism
which John preached: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with
the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and
healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with
Him."

Here we learn that Jesus’ baptism signified His anointing by God

with the Holy Spirit prior to His beginning His ministry. This is
when He actually became, the “Christ” or the “Anointed.” (The
word Christ means “anointed one.”)

By looking at everything the Bible has to say on a subject we can

better know the truth about that subject. Remember, never say,
“The Bible says” until you’ve looked at everything the Bible says!

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5. Word Studies.

Since the Bible was not originally written in English it must be

translated. Translation is a difficult work because some Hebrew
and Greek words have no equivalent in English. In addition to
that, the translators may be strongly biased to a particular doctrine
and unintentionally allow that to impact their translation.

Therefore doing word studies by examining the original Hebrew

or Greek words used in scripture to better understand their
definition and use is critical to Bible study.

The exhaustive concordance and Hebrew and Greek dictionaries

are essential for this. This is especially true if you use the King
James Version of the Bible. Hundreds of the words used in the
translation of that version back in A.D. 1611 have completely
changed meaning and some are no longer used at all.

An example of a word no longer used is found in Philippians 1:22

“But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I
shall choose I wot not.” (KJV - King James Version)

Few people know what “wot not” means. “Wot” is an old English
word for “know.” He is saying “I know not.”

An example of a word that has changed in meaning is Luke 17:7 –

“But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will

say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit
down to meat?” (KJV)

The phrase “by and by” is translated from one Greek word
“euthos” which means “immediately.” Today the expression “by
and by” means just the opposite, it means later on. These are just a
couple of simple examples that show the benefit of word studies.

It also should be remembered that in the original languages of the

Bible, just as in modern English, some words have more than one

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meaning and only by the way the word is used can we determine
which meaning to apply. Note the following examples of the word
“day.”

In the first example, a day is a literal 24-hour period.

Genesis 1:5 "God called the light Day, and the darkness He
called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day."

In the next example, a day is an indefinite period. It could be a

day, a week, months or even years.

Ecclesiastes 7:14 "In the day of prosperity be joyful, But in the

day of adversity consider:"

The final example speaks of “a day for a year.”

Numbers 14:34 "According to the number of the days in which

you spied out the land, forty days, for each day you shall bear
your guilt one year, namely forty years,"

The use of a “day for a year” only applies in the setting of Bible
prophecy which relates the foretelling of future events found
mainly in the books of Daniel and Revelation.

Word studies are essential in whatever version we choose to use

for study. We want to determine as best we can what the writer of
the text intended to say, and not necessarily what the translator
determined he intended to say.

6. Consider the context

The “context” is the main subject of a certain passage (a passage

is a group of verses). Read the following passage and look for the
context.

Romans 14:1 - 7 "Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to
disputes over doubtful things. For one believes he may eat all

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things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. Let not him who
eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not
eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. Who are you to
judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls.
Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him
stand. One person esteems one day above another; another
esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own
mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he
who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it.
He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he
who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God
thanks. For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to
himself."

Now think about what is being emphasized in these verses. It is

obvious that the emphasis here is on judging others. Therefore
judging others is the “context” of this passage. We must be careful
that we do not take one or more verses out of this “context” and
use them to teach something unrelated to the subject of judging
others. Taking things “out of context” is how people can make the
Bible say anything they want it to even though it may not be true.

7. Consider the cultural setting and time in which a passage

of scripture was originally written.

By “cultural setting” we mean the way of life and customs of the

people the writer of scripture was speaking directly to at the time
he wrote. Once this is known, we can often times identify and
apply the key principle of the text to our own culture and age.
Note the following example.

I Corinthians 11:5,6 "But every woman who prays or prophesies

with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for that is one and
the same as if her head were shaved. For if a woman is not
covered, let her also be shorn. But if it is shameful for a woman to
be shorn or shaved, let her be covered."

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The context here is women being "covered" in public. If we look
up the word “covered” in the Greek dictionary we find it is
translated from a word meaning “a veil hanging down.”
Researching customs in Bible times in that part of the world reveal
that it was considered disgraceful for a woman, especially a
married woman, to be seen in public without a veil. This was seen
as shameful to her husband which according to Ephesians 5:23 is
her “head.” “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as
Christ is the head of the church:”

We can apply this in principle to our modern day society. Today

women do not wear veils in most parts of the world, but they can
dress in sexually provocative ways that may bring shame upon
them in the eyes of society, their husbands if they are married, and
to Christ if they claim to be Christians.

8. The principle of interpretation of figurative speech or

symbolism.

How do we know when a passage is to be understood literally or

figuratively in the Bible? The rule is this: If it makes good sense as
it stands – if it does not violate the laws of nature, then it can be
understood as literal. However, if that is not the case, then it must
be taken figuratively or as a symbol. Here are two examples of
this.

Matthew 5:29 "If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out
and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of
your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into
hell."

Common sense tells us we need to take this figuratively. Jesus

would not have us poke our eye out! Now note the following
verse.

Revelation 13:1 "Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a
beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns,

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and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous
name."

We know a creature as described here does not exist; therefore it

must be a symbol. To understand the meaning of this symbol we
must let the Bible interpret it. For this we need a concordance. In
the concordance we look up all the places the Bible mentions a
“beast” until we find one that explains the symbol. In this case this
can be found in the book of Daniel.

Daniel 7:23 "Thus he said: 'The fourth beast shall be A fourth

kingdom on earth, Which shall be different from all other
kingdoms,"

Now we understand that in Bible prophecy, a beast is a symbol for

a kingdom or a political power. Using a concordance in this way is
very helpful in other areas of Bible study as well. This is allowing
the Bible to interpret itself rather than depending on speculation or
guesswork.

9. Dealing with discrepancies in the Bible.

As we study the Bible we will find some discrepancies. One

example is found in the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and
John. As you read through them you will find differences in details
of the same events. But that does not mean that the writers were
untruthful. The four gospels represent the life and teachings of
Jesus through the eyes of four different men. A similar situation
would be four people witnessing the same accident. The four
people would most likely give four different views of the accident
depending on how they saw it from where they were. That does
not mean that any one of them was untruthful or that an accident
didn’t occur.

It’s the same with all the different writers of scripture. That’s
another reason we need to read and study the entire Bible,
comparing text with text so that we get all the evidence rather than

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looking at only one or two verses and possibly drawing the wrong
conclusions.

The good news is that with study and applying the correct
principles of interpretation, we can learn from the discrepancies
we find in the Bible rather than be confused and discouraged by
them.

But the main thing in Bible study is that we come to know the One
the Bible testifies about. Speaking of the scriptures Jesus said –

“These are they which testify of Me.” (John 5:39) and “this is
eternal life, that they might know You the only true God, and Jesus
Christ, whom You have sent.” (John 17:3)

When we say "know" we mean more than just intellectual

knowledge, we mean a personal, intimate relationship with Him
and Bible study is key to that end.

10. Study with persistence.

A superficial reading of the Bible will only result in a superficial

understanding of the Bible. We must study the Bible for ourselves.

II Timothy 2:15 “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a

workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the
word of truth.” (KJV)

II Timothy 3:16 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and

is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness.” (KJV)

“All scripture.” Remember, we must study the Bible as a whole

and that it takes time and effort to correctly understand the
scriptures. And don’t forget to take advantage of the many tools
available to help us with this work. The concordance, the Hebrew
and Greek dictionary, Bible commentaries, computer programs, all
these will greatly enhance our studies.

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Response Questions:

1. Do you understand the importance of Bible study?

Yes __ No __

2. Do you better understand the principles of Bible study?

Yes __ No __

3. If you have not already, will you begin a persistent study

the Bible? Yes __ No __

NOTES
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 2012 Bill Chambers

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 The Sure Word Bible Studies
Lesson 2

The Origin of Evil

All of us are aware of the existence of evil in the world. All of us
have experienced it first hand. But where did it come from? Most
people would say that the Devil is behind it all. OK, but then
where did the Devil come from? Did God create the Devil and his
demons to torment and punish us? The Bible will help us find the
answer to our questions. We begin in the book of Revelation.

Revelation 12:7 - 9 "And war broke out in heaven: Michael and

his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels
fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in
heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent
of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world;
he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."

As a result of this war in heaven Satan or the Devil was cast out.
Note the words of Jesus long ago -

Luke 10:17,18 "Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord,
even the demons are subject to us in Your name." And He said to
them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven."

Jesus said He witnessed Satan’s fall from heaven. This means that
Satan would have been cast out of heaven before Jesus came to
earth. But we can go back even further; there is another reference
to a fall from heaven in the Old Testament book of Isaiah.

Isaiah 14:12 "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of
the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who
weakened the nations!"

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Here we find that the one fallen or cast out of heaven was called
“Lucifer” which means the “shining one” or “light bearer.” This
fallen angel was once an angel of light in heaven!

But titles and names can be deceiving and the devil never comes in
his own “name,” he always comes in disguise, or in someone
else’s “name.” In the following passage the King of Tyrus is
addressed, but it becomes obvious the Lord is really speaking to
the one who is behind the evil King of Tyre – Satan himself.

Ezekiel 28:12 - 15 "Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king

of Tyre, and say to him, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "You were the
seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were
in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your
covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and
jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The
workmanship of your timbrels and pipes Was prepared for you on
the day you were created. "You were the anointed cherub who
covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God;
You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were
perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity
was found in you."

The king of Tyre was not in the Garden of Eden. There were only
three persons in Eden, Adam and Eve and Satan disguised as a
serpent.

Our question - Did God create the devil? is answered here.

According to the passage in Ezekiel, God did not create a devil,
but the most beautiful, glorious, powerful angel of all. Lucifer
“sealest up the sum,” in other words he had it all. He was said to
be “perfect in thy ways from the day thou wast created.” But
unfortunately he didn’t remain in that state because “iniquity was
found in him.” After a time as a light bearer, Lucifer began to
develop a rebellious, sinful nature and is no longer called Lucifer,
but is now called Satan.

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He is now called by a different name because in the biblical
accounts when someone’s character changes they are many times
given another name. Lucifer has “fallen” from his high position;
therefore his name has changed from “light bearer” to Satan which
means “accuser” and “Devil” which means “deceiver.” In
Revelation he is called the “Dragon,” which means a “fiery
serpent,” a deadly poisonous snake.

What led up to Lucifer’s fall? That is a question the Bible does not
specifically answer. A thoughtful suggestion is that Lucifer was
probably the first angel God created. As such, Lucifer would not
have witnessed his own creation, but he likely would have
witnessed the creation of all the other angels. Thus the possibility
that Lucifer may have begun to think that he was not a created
being as the angels were and that he was somehow equal with God
and that God was not being truthful with him about that in order to
keep him in subjection. If Satan thought himself to be equal with
God, he would also have thought he should be worshipped as God.
This would explain why he asked Jesus to fall down and worship
him.

Matthew 4:8 - 10 "Again, the devil took Him up on an

exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of
the world and their glory. And he said to Him, "All these things I
will give You if You will fall down and worship me." Then Jesus
said to him, "Away with you,Satan! For it is written, 'You shall
worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.' "

At this point it is important that we understand that God’s

character and trustworthiness is the central issue in the war that
began in heaven. That can be clearly seen when that “old serpent,
the devil and satan,” spoke to Eve in the Garden of Eden.

Genesis 3:1 - 6 "Now the serpent was more cunning than any
beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to
the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree
of the garden'?" And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat
the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which

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is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it,
nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' " Then the serpent said to the
woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day
you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,
knowing good and evil." So when the woman saw that the tree was
good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable
to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her
husband with her, and he ate."

Clearly the serpent, or Satan, is insinuating that God is selfish and

arbitrary and that He has lied to them and therefore cannot be
trusted to tell them the truth. It is obvious that the war that began
in heaven was not about God’s power, the fact that Satan and his
followers (angels who sided with him now known as demons)
were cast out of heaven is evidence that God is more powerful.
But from this exchange between the serpent and Eve, we can see
the key issue in the war is God’s character and whether He can be
trusted, and whether one can safely follow His word.

Eve knew what God had said about eating from the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, but as she listened to the serpent, she
came to believe him and willfully ate of the tree, as did her
husband. Now that they had joined Satan’s side in the conflict the
earth was soon filled with suffering, pain, disease and death as the
result.

The Bible says that God knows the future.

Isaiah 46:9,10 "Remember the former things of old, For I am

God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me,
Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times
things that are not yet done, Saying, 'My counsel shall stand, And I
will do all My pleasure,"

This being the case many have asked, why didn’t God destroy
Satan before the war started? Didn’t He see all the suffering that
would result? Yes He did, and He saw that He would suffer far
more than anyone else.
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That’s why Revelation 13:18 describes Him as “The Lamb slain
from the foundation of the world.” God has been suffering since
the very first sin.

Isaiah 63:9 "In all their affliction He was afflicted, And the Angel
of His Presence saved them; In His love and in His pity He
redeemed them; And He bore them and carried them All the days
of old."

God has not changed, He is still afflicted and grieved with His
wayward children and He still carries them in His heart of love.

God is love and created the entire universe to operate on the

principle of love. But there can be no love where there is no
freedom; you can’t make someone love you, love must be given
freely. And because of God’s high regard for individual freedom,
He must allow sin to run its course, as painful as it is. That’s the
only way Lucifer could have rebelled in heaven itself!

When someone does something terribly wrong – we ask, “Why

did God let that happen?” But where would our personal freedom
be if God stopped us dead in our tracks every time we started to do
something wrong? God’s insistence on our freedom is so absolute
that He has granted us the power to live as though He did not exist
if we so choose! Unfortunately most choose to live that way and
thus this earth is now a dangerous place where even good people
get hurt.

You may ask, why didn't God "nip this in the bud"? Why has He
let it go this far? The angels, although they are supernatural
beings, are not all-knowing as God is.

Therefore the destruction of Satan in the beginning of the war in

heaven would have been misunderstood and seen as arbitrary and
unfair. The consequences of sin would have remained unknown.
As the result, in heaven, instead of peace and freedom, there
would have been fear, doubt, and unanswered questions. The
angels would be saying, “You had better be careful, remember

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what God did to Lucifer!” Angels would not be freely serving
God from love and admiration of His character, but from fear of
His punishment.

God does not ask men or angels to take His word alone for His
love and trustworthiness or for the nature of sin and death. Rather,
God’s plan is that through demonstration, the entire universe sees
for itself the answers to Satan’s charges. Then, with that first hand
knowledge, everyone can freely make their own decision about
who has the truth – God or Satan.

The way God has chosen to handle this conflict, when it is over,
the result of “eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil”
will be clear to the entire universe. It will have become very clear
that sin and rebellion against God's way of love is the cause of
suffering, disease, death and every kind of evil! When this war
between God and Satan is over, no one will choose to go down
that deadly path again.

Nahum 1:9 says "What do you conspire against the LORD? He

will make an utter end of it. Affliction will not rise up a second
time."

Rebellion and controversy will never rise again and yet the
universe will still be free. We will be just as free to rebel against
God as Lucifer was in the beginning but we won’t! Not for fear of
what God will do to us, but because we all will have learned from
demonstration and experience, the pain, the suffering and death
that is caused by sin! It will be understood that this is the reason
sin is wrong, and we will want nothing to do with it ever again.

Even today, every human being, just as Adam and Eve in the
beginning, must make a personal decision about God’s
trustworthiness. We must decide whether we will follow God’s
word or trust in man as our guide as to what we believe and how
we live. Will we place our eternal future in the Creator or the
creature?

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What about you? Have you seen enough pain, sickness, hatred,
cruelty and death? Have you seen enough to realize that God’s
way of love and peace is the best way to live?

This is not a war between God and man! It is a war between God
and Satan. Yet, man has been caught up in it with the seed of evil
being planted and taken root in his mind long ago.

Mark 7:21 - 23 "For from within, out of the heart of men,

proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts,
covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye,
blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from
within and defile a man."

In spite of our condition, our gracious, all-powerful God has a plan

to restore us to His likeness -

II Corinthians 3:18 "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as

in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the
same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord."

And then ultimately to restore peace, not just to earth, but to the
entire universe.

Colossians 1:20 "By Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by

Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made
peace through the blood of His cross."

Today, the battle still rages here on earth and you and I must
choose whose side we are on, Christ or Satan. God calls us in
freedom to make our choice.

Deuteronomy 30:19 "I call heaven and earth as witnesses today

against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and
cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants
may live;"

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In this conflict we cannot remain neutral. To refuse to make a
choice is to side with the devil. Note the words of Jesus –

Matthew 12:30 "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he

who does not gather with Me scatters abroad."

It is important that we be well informed so that we are able to

make the right choices, because the closer we get to the end the
greater the deceptions of Satan will be! Note the following texts:

II Thessalonians 2:9,10 "The coming of the lawless one is

according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying
wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who
perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they
might be saved."

Revelation 16:13,14 "And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs

coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the
beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are
spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of
the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of
that great day of God Almighty."

God is not the source of all miracles. Satan and his demons can
perform miracles too. Satan works with power and signs and lying
wonders to deceive. Therefore we must be careful that we do not
rely on miracles, but trust only the Word of God as our guide in
the last days.

Remember II Corinthians 11:14,15 "And no wonder! For Satan

himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no
great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into
ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their
works."

As mentioned previously, we may not be able to trust every

preacher or teacher who claims to speak for God therefore we

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must learn to study for ourselves that God may speak directly to us
through His word.

In conclusion, the answer our first question: What is the origin of

evil? is answered in Jesus’ words to the Pharisees -

John 8:44 "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."

“A liar and the father of it.” The word “father” is defined as

"source" and thus Satan is the source of the lie and thus the origin
of evil. And since the beginning his most damaging lies have been
about God, which, to this day most of the world still believe.

Response questions:

1. Is it clear to you that there is a “spiritual war” being waged in

the universe and this world is the battleground?
Yes __ No __

2. Is it clear to you that we must choose which side of this conflict

we will be on and to make no decision is to be on the devils side?
Yes __ No __

3. Is it clear to you that we cannot trust miracles or preachers in

the last days, but only the Word of God?
Yes __ No __

4. If you have not already - will you make the decision today to be
on God’s side in this conflict – to be a soldier of Jesus Christ?
Yes __ No __

It may be you need more answers before you make a decision.

You may find the answers in the next lesson – “What is God
Like?”

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 NOTES
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11
 The Sure Word Bible Studies
Lesson 3

What is God Really Like?

We have learned that the Bible is God’s Word and therein is the
truth we can depend upon. We have also learned that Satan has
deceived us about God. The good news is that God has answered
the lies of Satan by sending His Son to reveal His true character
and to show us that God really wants us to be His friends. In this
lesson we will look to the Bible to get a better understanding of
what God is really like.

Throughout Genesis chapter one, “God” is translated from the Old

Testament Hebrew word “elohim,” which means “gods,” plural.

The concept of God being more than one person is seen

throughout the Bible beginning with the creation story.

Genesis 1:26 “Then God (The Hebrew is Elohim, "gods," plural)

said, "let us (plural) make man in our (plural) image according to
our likeness”

In the New Testament we find evidence of three persons who

make up the Trinity, or Godhead.

John 14:26 "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit (one person), whom
the Father (two persons) will send in My name (Christ, three
persons), He will teach you all things, and bring to your
remembrance all things that I said to you."

The three persons of the Godhead have taken specific “roles” in

order that we human beings, though unable to see God, can
understand and relate to Him and His activities.

We speak of the three persons of the Godhead as the "first"

"second" and "third" person as a means of distinguishing them

1
from one another and in no way to assign them positions of rank
as they are all equal.

The Father is the first person – He has taken the role of the
Almighty God. He is understood as being seated on the heavenly
throne. He is in total control of the entire universe. Nothing
happens without His knowledge and permission and He remains
on the throne continually.

I Corinthians 8:6 "Yet for us there is one God, the Father, of

whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom are all things, and through whom we live.”

Ephesians 4:6 "One God and Father of all, who is above all, and
through all, and in you all."

The Son is the second person – His role is to be understood as the

embodiment or the express image of the Father God.

Hebrews 1:1 - 5 “God, who at various times and in various ways

spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last
days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all
things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the
brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and
upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by
Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty
on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has
by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For to
which of the angels did He ever say: "You are My Son, Today I
have begotten You"?

The Son is the One who lives among God’s creatures that they can
better understand what God is really like. The Son once lived and
walked among the angels and later He came to earth and lived and
walked among men. He is “Emmanuel,” which means, “God with
us.”

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The Father is continually on the throne. The Son is the "express
image" an embodiment of the Father God. Then the Bible says
God is also omni-present, that is, everywhere at once. We are able
to comprehend this truth through the third person of the Godhead,
the Holy Spirit.

Even though God has all power, He prefers to use the power of the
truth spoken to the human heart softly in love. “Not by might, nor
by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord” (Zechariah 4:6). This is
the role of the Holy Spirit.

While the Father continually reigns on the throne of the universe,

the Son is ministering in the heavenly sanctuary (later lesson) and
the Holy Spirit is working in the hearts and minds of men and
women throughout the world.

Even though the three members of the Godhead have taken these
different roles, they are yet the same. Note the words of Jesus in
the following text -

John 14:8 - 9 “Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and
it is sufficient for us." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so
long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen
Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?

Jesus said if you have seen me you have seen the Father. The same
as saying, if you’ve seen Jesus you’ve seen God, they are the
same. Jesus then added -

John 14:15,16 "If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I

will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He
may abide with you forever"

Jesus said “another Helper” – the Greek word is “allos” which

means “another of the same kind.” In other words Jesus said, “I
am just like the Father, and the Spirit is just like Me – We are all
the same!” All three persons of the Godhead are fully, equally,
and eternally God!

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If they are all the same, that means that they all love us in the same
way and are all working together for our salvation. This is the
Father’s plan, carried out by the Son, impressed on our hearts by
the Spirit, and witnessed by the angels.

Wherever you see the title “Father” or “Son” or “Holy Spirit,” you
can replace it with the word or title of “God.” But no one word or
name can describe the Infinite and Almighty God - therefore He is
known by many names -

Isaiah 9:6 "For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name
will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting
Father, Prince of Peace."

Note in this verse all the names listed for God apply to the Son,
just as to the other members of the Trinity. In the following texts,
we see the Son in His role as Creator.

John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.
All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was
made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of
men."

Verse 14 "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and
we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the
Father, full of grace and truth."

Ephesians 3:9 "and to make all see what is the fellowship of the
mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in
God who created all things through Jesus Christ."

Colossians 1:16 - 18 "For by Him all things were created that are
in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether
thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were
created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and

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in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the
church,"

The Son fulfills a significant role in relation to this world; Not

only is He the Creator as confirmed in the previous passages, He is
also the Lord God of the Old Testament as well as the Lord Jesus
in the New. Read carefully the following passage:

Nehemiah 9:6 - 15 "You alone are the LORD; You have made
heaven, The heaven of heavens, with all their host, The earth
and everything on it, The seas and all that is in them, And You
preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You. You are the
LORD God, Who chose Abram, And brought him out of Ur of the
Chaldeans, And gave him the name Abraham; You found his heart
faithful before You, And made a covenant with him To give the
land of the Canaanites, The Hittites, the Amorites, The Perizzites,
the Jebusites, And the Girgashites-- To give it to his descendants.
You have performed Your words, For You are righteous. You saw
the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, And heard their cry by the
Red Sea. You showed signs and wonders against Pharaoh, Against
all his servants, And against all the people of his land. For You
knew that they acted proudly against them. So You made a name
for Yourself, as it is this day. And You divided the sea before them,
So that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; And
their persecutors You threw into the deep, As a stone into the
mighty waters. Moreover You led them by day with a cloudy pillar,
And by night with a pillar of fire, To give them light on the road
Which they should travel. "You came down also on Mount Sinai,
And spoke with them from heaven, And gave them just ordinances
and true laws, Good statutes and commandments. You made
known to them Your holy Sabbath, And commanded them precepts,
statutes and laws, By the hand of Moses Your servant. You gave
them bread from heaven for their hunger, And brought them water
out of the rock for their thirst, And told them to go in to possess
the land Which You had sworn to give them."

According to this passage the Son is the member of the Godhead

through whom God created the earth. He is the One who led the

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Israelites through the wilderness and gave the law on Mt Sinai. He
is the Lord God in the Old Testament and the Lord Jesus Christ in
the New. That’s what Peter had in mind when he said -

Acts 4:10 - 12 "Let it be known to you all, and to all the people of
Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you
crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man
stands here before you whole. This is the 'stone which was rejected
by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.'
Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name
under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

And Paul in I Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God, and one
mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus”

There is “One mediator (intermediary or connector) between God

and man.” It’s not the Father – He remains on the throne. It’s not
the Holy Spirit – He’s the Helper living in our heart. The mediator
is the Son. He is the link between heaven and earth; this has
always been His role. We can’t go up to heaven to God – God
must come down to us, and the Son did that as Creator and Savior.
Christ is Savior in the Old and New Testaments!

Some picture Jesus pleading with the Father to forgive us. But if
the Son has to plead with the Father on our behalf before He will
forgive – then they are divided, they are not one! Two statements
from Jesus should clear this up –

John 10:30 “I and My Father are one."

John 16:26,27 “In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not
say to you that I shall pray the Father for you, for the Father
himself loves you.”

Jesus came to show us that God the Father loves us just as much,
is just as kind and tender, just as loving and compassionate,
merciful and forgiving as Jesus.

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Those religions that don’t accept Jesus as God, as One with the
Father, have a difficult time understanding God’s true character.
They usually focus on God’s wrath and judgment they see in the
Old Testament. God the Father is thus understood as arbitrary,
rigid and severe. As a result they also become rigid and severe!
This is the picture of God that motivates the terrorists!

But since we now understand the Old Testament God is the Son,
we might ask, “How could Christ Jesus do some of those harsh
things we read about in the Old Testament?” Hebrews 13:8 says
“Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.” That’s true,
God never changes – but people do. Note the following text.

Hebrews 8:7,8 "For if that first covenant had been faultless, then
no place would have been sought for a second. Because finding
fault with them, He says: "Behold, the days are coming, says the
LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel"

“Finding fault with them” – Again, God doesn’t change, but

people do! In the days of Moses, God could not have sent Jesus to
preach the Sermon on the Mount to those hard hearted, rebellious
people he led out of Egypt. They weren’t ready to hear things like
“love your enemies and do good to them.” They would not have
listened to a God like that. God had to do some drastic things to
reach them. But thankfully God understands the nature of men and
meets them where they are and leads them no faster than they are
able to follow.

That may be the reason the Bible rarely mentions Satan in the Old
Testament. There the name “Satan” is found in only 15 verses of
4 books. The New Testament is some better, but there “Satan” is
only mentioned in only 34 verses of 12 books. In fact, in the
31,173 verses in the entire Bible - the word “Satan” is found in
only 49. All the biblical references to Satan under all his various
names only add up little over a hundred.

But on the other hand, the name “God” is found in 3,876 verses,
and “Lord” in 6,668 verses of the Bible. It is clear the Lord is

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much more interested in revealing Himself than His adversary,
Satan.

One Bible scholar wrote this thoughtful comment –

“When we talk of Satan’s strength, he fastens his power more

firmly upon us. When we talk of the power of God, Satan is
driven back. As we draw near to God, he draws near to us.”
(E.G. White, Youth’s Instructor)

Rather than studying Satan, God wants us to think and talk about
Him and thus become more like him and less like the devil.

II Corinthians 3:18 "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as

in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the
same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord."

It is a basic law of life, that by beholding we are changed into the

same image of that which we admire and revere. If we love and
focus on the world, we will become more worldly, but if we love
and focus on Jesus, we will become more like Jesus!

But in the book of Genesis we find a drastic loss of the knowledge

of God. The descendants of Jacob (Israel) migrated to Egypt
where they became enslaved for hundreds of years. When the time
came for Moses to deliver the Israelites, their spiritual condition
was very poor. Many of them had forgotten the God who had
revealed Himself to their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Ancient Israel came out of bondage contaminated with the pagan
gods of Egypt and they gave Moses a difficult time. God called
them “stiff-necked.” The Hebrew word is “qasheh,” meaning:
hard, cruel, severe, obstinate or hard headed.

The pagan gods seemed very real to them and they were always on
the verge of deserting the “new” God of Moses for the old
familiar gods of Egypt. To tell them about Satan and his power
would only put them in danger of worshipping Satan in addition to
the pagan gods. So the first step that God asked His people to take

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as they traveled in the wilderness was simply - “Have no Gods
before me - worship the one God who brought you out of Egypt”
(Ex. 20:2,3). The knowledge about the existence of Satan would
have to come later when their faith in the true God was more
stable.

And because the ancients were unaware of the existence of Satan,

God himself took the blame for both good and evil. Note what the
Lord said -

Isaiah 45:6,7 “That they may know from the rising of the sun, and
from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and
there is none else. I form the light, and create darkness: I make
peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.” (KJV)

Because we have all the scriptures from which to learn about God,
we know that God does not create evil. But God was meeting the
Israelites where they were in hopes that once they came to see that
He was the true God and there really is no other, then, they would
be willing to listen and follow Him only. We can see this in the
story of Job.

Job 2:1 - 10 "Again there was a day when the sons of God came
to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also
among them to present himself before the LORD. And the LORD
said to Satan, "From where do you come?" So Satan answered the
LORD and said, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from
walking back and forth on it." Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have
you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the
earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns
evil? And still he holds fast to his integrity, although you incited
Me against him, to destroy him without cause." So Satan answered
the LORD and said, "Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will
give for his life. But stretch out Your hand now, and touch his
bone and his flesh, and he will surely curse You to Your face!"
And the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, he is in your hand, but spare
his life." So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD, and
struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown

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of his head. And he took for himself a potsherd with which to
scrape himself while he sat in the midst of the ashes. Then his wife
said to him, "Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God
and die!" But he said to her, "You speak as one of the foolish
women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall
we not accept adversity?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips."

Who brought all the evil calamities upon Job? Who smote him
with boils? Satan. But who got the blame? God. Why? Because
they were unaware of Satan’s existence and God did not see it
wise to tell them about Satan knowing some of them would have
worshipped Satan as another pagan god.

Therefore in the minds of people in Bible times, if a woman was

barren, it was because God had closed her womb. If a woman had
a baby, God had opened her womb. If a nation came up against
another nation – God sent them. If a man dies – God killed him. A
good example of this is in the story of the death of King Saul.

I Chronicles 10:3 - 5 "The battle became fierce against Saul. The

archers hit him, and he was wounded by the archers. Then Saul
said to his armorbearer, "Draw your sword, and thrust me
through with it, lest these uncircumcised men come and abuse
me." But his armorbearer would not, for he was greatly afraid.
Therefore Saul took a sword and fell on it. And when his
armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword and
died."

This clearly indicates that Saul killed himself by falling on his

sword. But note what is said a few verses later -

Verse 13 - 14 "So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had

committed against the LORD, because he did not keep the word of
the LORD, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance.
But he did not inquire of the LORD; therefore He killed him, and
turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse."

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This is another apparent contradiction which we must think
through to a logical conclusion. Did God kill King Saul, or did the
King commit suicide? Saul clearly killed himself by falling on his
sword, but as we noted, in the minds of many of the writers of
scripture, what God allowed God is responsible for, good or bad,
and they wrote it that way as we see in this story.

The Old Testament nation of Israel, though many were “stiff-

necked” they were the only people in the entire world who
acknowledged God at all – they were all He had! And because
many of them were rebellious and hard headed, God had to do
some harsh things or else lose the entire human race and God
loved us too much for that.

It is a mistake to think that the way God reacted in the “emergency

situations” of those days is the way He is all the time; to think that
that it is His nature to be wrathful and judgmental. But just as a
loving parent has to do some difficult things at times in order to
discipline a child, though they hate doing it, their goal is always
for the good of the child. God hated doing those harsh things as
well, but they had to be done for the overall good. But the Bible
records that when the time was right God sent His Son to clear all
these things up.

Galatians 4:4 "But when the fullness of the time had come, God
sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,"

John 3:16,17 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only
begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but
have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world
to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be
saved."

Jesus shows us exactly what God is like in a way that everyone,

both young and old can understand. That is what we all need to see
and we see it perfectly in Jesus. And this is why it is so important
to study the life and teachings of Jesus. So that one day it will be
said of us, "as He is so are we in this world." (I John 4:17)

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So the answer to our question - What is God really like? God is
just like Jesus! If you’ve seen Jesus, you’ve seen God!

God is not what His enemies have made Him out to be, He’s just
like Jesus! This is the good news! This is the true, the everlasting
gospel.

Response Questions;

1. I understand the God of the Bible includes three persons in their

distinctive roles of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Yes __ No __

2. I understand the three persons which make up the Trinity are the
same in character and purpose.
Yes __ No __

3. I believe the good news is that God the Father is just like Jesus!
Yes __ No __

NOTES
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 2012 Bill Chambers
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13
 The Sure Word Bible Studies
Lesson 4

God Wants To Be Your Friend

When man sinned in the Garden of Eden, in mercy God withdrew
His glorious presence from the earth. God is recorded in Exodus
33:20 as saying “No man can see my face and live,” meaning that
sinful man could not live in the literal presence (face) of God. So
after they had sinned, God could no longer walk with Adam and
Eve “in the cool of the day” as He had in the beginning. Sin had
caused a separation between God and man, God did not choose to
leave man – but man chose to leave God. And though sin resulted
in separation, God still longed to be with the man He made and the
time came when God said to Moses -

Exodus 25:8,9 “And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may

dwell among them.”

The detailed instructions God gave for building the sanctuary are
found in the book of Exodus. As seen in the diagram below, the
sanctuary had three basic apartments. The Courtyard – The Holy
Place – The Most Holy Place.

COURTYARD

MOST HOLY
PLACE
Lampstand
Altar of
Sacrif ice
HOLY PLACE
Alter of
Incense Ark of the
Covenant
Table of Show bread
Laver

1. The Courtyard contained the altar of burnt offering and the

laver (a type of basin used for ceremonial washings).

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2. The Holy place contained the table of showbread, a seven-
branch lamp stand, and the golden altar of incense.

3. The Most Holy place was separated from the Holy place by a
veil and contained the Ark of the Covenant, in which was
placed the Ten Commandments.

New Testament texts confirm that the furnishings in the

sanctuary were symbols pointing to Christ. For example:

John 6:35 “And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life: he who
comes to me shall never hunger.”

Symbolized by the table of showbread in the Holy Place.

John 8:12 “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, I am the light
of the world.”

Symbolized by the lamp stand in the Holy Place.

Hebrews 10:19, 20 "Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter

the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which
He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh,"

Symbolized by the veil that separated the Holy Place from the
Most Holy Place.

In Leviticus are the detailed instructions of how to perform all the

rituals and sacrifices that were to take place at the sanctuary.

Certain things were to be performed by the priests every day on

behalf of the people. These rituals were known to the Israelites as
“The Daily.” These were a representation of the work of Christ on
behalf of mankind.

Example: The most common sacrifice was called the “Burnt

Offering.” This offering clearly represented Christ’s sacrifice as
the “Lamb of God.”

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Leviticus 1:3,4 "If his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let
him offer a male without blemish; he shall offer it of his own free
will at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the LORD.
Then he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it
will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him."

This says that the burnt offering would be a “male without

blemish” and, “he shall offer it of his own free will.”

The Apostle Peter connected this part of the sacrifice with Christ
when he wrote - “But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a
lamb without blemish and without spot” (I Peter 1:19).

Verse 9 in Leviticus continues: "but he shall wash its entrails

and its legs with water. And the priest shall burn all on the altar
as a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the
LORD."

The Apostle Paul in the New Testament makes the connection to

this when he wrote – “And walk in love, as Christ also has loved
us and given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a
sweet smelling aroma” (Ephesians 5:2).

This sacrificial offering clearly represented Christ who came of

“his own voluntary will” and “gave all of Himself for us.”

Other ritual sacrifices listed in Leviticus included:

“The Meat or Meal Offering.” This offering signified thanks -

giving to God for His provisions.

“The Peace Offering.” This offering signified thanksgiving for

peace, either with God or with another person with whom there
was once disagreement or conflict.

“The Sin Offering.” This offering was made for atonement of sins
of ignorance.

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“The Trespass Offering.” This offering was made for atonement
of willful sin.

The New Testament helps us understand that the sacrifices

were intended to remind the people that sin leads to death and
to point them to God, their Savior.

Hebrews 10:3 says, “But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of

sins every year.”

Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death.”

John 1:29 says that Jesus is “the lamb of God who takes away the
sin of the world.”

In addition to the daily rituals, the book of Leviticus lists seven

annual ceremonies. These ceremonies, called "feasts" in the KJV
Bible, pointed to Christ’s work in the plan of salvation.

1) The Feast of Passover pointed to His death.

2) The Feast of Unleavened Bread pointed to His burial.

3) The Feast of Firstfruits pointed to His resurrection.

4) The Feast of Weeks pointed to the outpouring of the Holy

Spirit at Pentecost fifty days later.

5) The Feast of Trumpets pointed to the warning of a time

judgment soon to come.

6) The Day of Atonement pointed to the time of judgment.

7) The Feast of Tabernacles pointed to the time when

judgment was over and all God’s people are gathered in
their heavenly home.

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All of these annual ceremonies and daily rituals were “a
shadow of good things to come.” They all pointed forward to
Christ’s coming and man’s salvation.

Hebrews 10:1 says "For the law, having a shadow of the good
things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never
with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by
year, make those who approach perfect."

The “good things to come” was 1) the knowledge of the heavenly

sanctuary of which the earthly sanctuary was only a model, and 2)
a righteous, divine High Priest that would take the place of the
fallible human priest.

Hebrews 4:14 - 15 "Seeing then that we have a great High Priest

who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us
hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who
cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points
tempted as we are, yet without sin."

Hebrews 8:1,2 "Now this is the main point of the things we are
saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right
hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of the
sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and
not man."

Hebrews 9:1 "Then indeed, even the first covenant had

ordinances of divine service, and the earthly sanctuary."

The earthly sanctuary and its services served as a visual aid until
“the time of reformation.” It was the "old covenant,” or a better
way to state it would be that it was the “old arrangement.” The old
arrangement with all its visual aids and symbols would be replaced
with a new covenant or a new arrangement which was much better
because, instead of visual aids, God himself in the person of Jesus
Christ came to show mankind the Way of Salvation.

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Hebrews 9:8 - 12 "The Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way
into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first
tabernacle was still standing. It was symbolic for the present time
in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make
him who performed the service perfect in regard to the
conscience-- concerned only with foods and drinks, various
washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of
reformation. But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to
come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with
hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and
calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place
once for all, having obtained eternal redemption."

Christ did not enter into the earthly sanctuary as High Priest, but
into the heavenly sanctuary.

What is the work of Christ’s as our High Priest in the heavenly

sanctuary today?

Romans 5:10 "For if when we were enemies we were reconciled

to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been
reconciled, we shall be saved by His life."

Two points to be made here.

1) We are reconciled to God by the death of Jesus. Being

“reconciled,” means we are won back into relationship with God
by the death of Christ. (Commonly referred to as “being
justified.”)

2) However, having been being won back, we still have the

tendency to stray away. Therefore we need His help to keep us
close to God once we have been won back. That’s where the next
text comes in. It helps us to understand what it means to be “saved
by his life.”

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Hebrews 7:25 "Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost
those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to
make intercession for them."

Christ “always lives,” that is, He is always there in the heavenly

sanctuary to “make intercession for them.” Intercession is from a
Greek word which means to communicate, to stay in touch with
another. Jesus is not there pleading with His Father to forgive us,
but rather Christ is pleading with us to stay close to Him, to
remind us of His sacrifice that won us back to Him and to
continually remind us that He wants to keep us with Him forever.
That is what it means “to be saved by His life.”

Hebrews 4:16 "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of

grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of
need."

We can go directly to God ourselves. It is not necessary to go to a

rabbi, or a priest, or a preacher for intercession with God as many
people believe.

Where did the idea that we must have a human intercessor with
God come from? It came from the picture of God in the Old
Testament, where some see God as a God of wrath. We see this in
Exodus chapter twenty and the time that God came down on Mt.
Sinai and gave the Ten Commandments.

Exodus 20:18,19 "Now all the people witnessed the thunderings,

the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain
smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar
off. Then they said to Moses, "You speak with us, and we will
hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die."

In an awesome display of power, God got the attention of that

“stiff-necked” people Moses led out of Egypt, and they listened.
But they were afraid and wanted someone between them and God.
Since they knew that Moses was close to God, they wanted him as
a “go-between,” to talk to God for them.

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 But think this through. Was Moses a man? Yes. Then who was
between God and Moses? No one. What was the difference? The
difference was that those people didn’t really know God and not
knowing Him they were afraid of Him as many are yet today
because of the lies of Satan about God’s nature.

As we learned in a previous lesson, we can’t go up to heaven to

learn about God, so God, in the person of the Son came down to
make teach us about Him. This is what it means when the Bible
says He is our intercessor or intermediary. Remember - Jesus
came to show us what God is really like and to teach us that there
is no reason to be afraid of Him. Jesus is the only “go between”
we need.

Having said that, there is another who stands between us and God,
but rather than trying to connect us with God, he is trying to
separate us from God. He is an enemy. Who is this enemy? Satan,
the accuser who continues to do everything he can to keep us from
the truth about God.

Is God your friend? He wants to be – Jesus tells us exactly how

God wants to relate to us:

John 15:14,15 "No longer do I call you servants, for a servant

does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you
friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made
known to you."

It is wonderful to be God's servant – we want to hear Christ say to

us “Well done thou good and faithful servant.”

And we rejoice that we are considered the children of God –

“What manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we
should be called the sons of God.”

But our Heavenly Father wants us to come even higher and closer
still. He wants us to be His faithful, loyal friends! Proverbs 18:24

8
says “there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” That
friend is God in Christ.

Through Christ, God is extending His hand in friendship to you!

Will you reach out and grasp it? Will you continue to study to
learn more about the God who loves you and wants to be your
friend?

Response Questions:

1. Is it clear to you that God loves us and wants to be with us?

Yes __ No __

2. Is it clear to you that sin separates us from God?

Yes __ No __

3. Is it clear to you that Jesus came to show us what God is like?

Yes __ No __

4. Do you want to be God’s friend? Yes __ No __

NOTES
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_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
 2012 Bill Chambers

9
10
 The Sure Word Bible Studies
Lesson 5

Sin, the Enemy of Good

What is sin? What does the Bible say? When asked this, many
people immediately think of I John 3:4 which in the King James
Version Bible says:

“Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is

the transgression of the law.”

For many when the word “law” is seen in the Bible, the Ten
Commandments automatically come to mind. But when the Bible
uses the word “law” it is not always referring to the Ten
Commandments.

The Ten Commandments have the distinction of being the only

words written by the finger of God Himself. However, God
through Moses, gave other laws as well, such as civil law, health
law, and ceremonial law. Looking at the following passages, we
see that in the Bible law can be placed into one of five
classifications.

1) Health law – Laws given to ensure physical health.

Exodus 15:26 "If you diligently heed the voice of the LORD your
God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His
commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the
diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am
the LORD who heals you."

Remember, we learned in a previous lesson that to the writers of

scripture, what God does not prevent He causes. He did not afflict
the Egyptians with disease, they were diseased because they did
not follow good health practices. God gave the Israelites many

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health laws, many of the “clean and unclean” regulations were
meant for the prevention of diseases.

2) Civil law – Laws given to govern civil society, laws that act
as a deterrent to crime.

Deuteronomy 21:21 "Then all the men of his city shall stone him
to death with stones; so you shall put away the evil from among
you, and all Israel shall hear and fear."

The civil laws applied only to the ancient nation of Israel and
ceased to be in force when Israel ceased to be an independent
nation. The law to stone people became obsolete long ago.

3) Ceremonial law - Laws regulating the sacrificial services at

the Sanctuary.

Numbers 9:3 "On the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight,

you shall keep it at its appointed time. According to all its rites
and ceremonies you shall keep it."

These particular laws expired with Christ’s death and the

destruction of the temple.

4) Moral (right) law - Laws that deal with individual behavior.

Psalm 119:172 “My tongue shall speak of Your word: for all
Your commandments are righteousness.”

Moral means right, doing the right thing. The moral (right) laws
will always be effective.

5) Law as a principle or a force -

Romans 7:23 “But I see another law in my members, warring

against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the
law of sin which is in my members.”

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This is not speaking of any written law or code, but the force or
power of good or evil within the human being that causes a person
to act in a certain way.

We should always consider the setting in which the word “law” is

used to properly understand which class of “law” is being referred
to. Otherwise we might “throw the baby out with the bath water”
as some have done with the Ten Commandments, claiming they
were discarded along with other laws given to the ancient Jewish
nation of Israel.

“Transgression of the law” is a four-word phrase that is translated

from one Greek word, “anomia,” which means, “without law,”
most often translated “law-lessness” or law-less. It means more
than breaking this or that rule. It is an attitude. It is an attitude
rooted in selfishness, determined to have our own way no matter
what. Without law everyone would be doing whatever he or she
wanted to do regardless of others – this is known as anarchy.
Anarchy would be a serious problem in a world full of selfish,
sinful people.

Thus it is a problem in this world. The Bible says “All we like

sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own
way.” (Isaiah 53:6)

The Old Testament tells how Moses counseled the children of

Israel he led out of Egypt concerning this -

Deuteronomy 12:8 “You shall not at all do as we are doing here

today--every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes"

The later Moses commended the same people -

Deuteronomy 13:18 "Because you have listened to the voice of

the LORD your God, to keep all His commandments which I
command you today, to do what is right in the eyes of the LORD
your God."

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When you keep God’s commandments – you are doing that which
is right in the eyes of God. But why should we do what God says?
Why should we keep His instructions or His law? Some people
will say because God is the Sovereign – the most powerful being
in the universe and that gives Him the right to tell us how to
behave.

You have probably seen the bumper sticker - “God said it, I
believe it, and that’s all there is to it!” Some would add to that,
“and if you don’t, you know what will happen to you!” But is that
all there is to it? Is there is no better reason to keep God’s law?

We will find the answer to that question when we find the answer
as to why God gave the law in the first place.

Romans 3:20 “Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be

justified in His sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

I Timothy 1:8,9 “But we know that the law is good, if one uses it
lawfully; knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous
person, but for the lawless and insubordinate”

The law is given to inform the lawless what it is to be lawful. For

example, when kids are misbehaving, doing disorderly and hurtful
things, the parents must “lay down the law” for the good of the
household, in the same way our Heavenly Father has had to do
that with the human race.

Deuteronomy 6:24,25 "And the LORD commanded us to observe

all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always,
that He might preserve us alive, as it is this day."

God is not arbitrary – He does not have a “my way or the

highway” attitude. God wants only our good and His law is only
given to help us. God's laws are expressions of natural principles
rather than arbitrary pronouncements meant to control others.

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Because heaven's laws are expressions of natural principles, the
principles themselves inherently have their own consequences for
compliance or violations. There is no need for external imposed
punishments under such a system.

When we look at the Bible as a whole we can see that God’s law
forms a pyramid. In the book of Exodus we read that after
bringing His people out of bondage in Egypt, because they needed
them, God gave them many laws and commandments. Later in the
New Testament, Jesus lumps them all into two commandments -

Matthew 22:36 - 40 "Teacher, which is the great commandment

in the law?" Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God
with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'
This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it:
'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two
commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."

But then when we get down to the book of Galatians, all the law is
condensed down into one – “love.”

Galatians 5:14 says: “For all the law is fulfilled in one word,
even in this; you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

The word love in this text is translated from the Greek word
“agape,” which is not the warm affection we feel for family or
friend, but rather is defined as an unselfish decision to be
concerned about the welfare of another, no matter what they’ve
done or who they may be, spouse, friend, family or even an
enemy. This is the unconditional love that originates with God.

As we move through the Bible, we find we have come from many

“laws” and “commandments” to only one. So the abiding, eternal
principal of God’s law of love – formed by the ten, the two, and
then the one, make up a pyramid of love!

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 Love

Love God & Love others

Many laws of the Old Testament

Including the Ten Commandments

Yet today some Christians have misunderstood this concept and

are teaching that Jesus replaced the Ten Commandments with a
“new commandment” found in John 13:34 where Jesus says: “A
new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I
have loved you, that you also love one another.”

Saying this Jesus did not do away with the Commandments, but
rather He magnified them! It is not God’s desire that the law of
Ten Commandments be abolished – but rather that they are moved
from the tables of stone to the tables of the heart.

Hebrews 8:10 says "For this is the covenant that I will make with
the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My
laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be
their God, and they shall be My people."

To illustrate – A loving parent doesn’t need a law written on the

wall or in a book to remind them not to steal from their children.
Why? Because they love them and wouldn’t think of doing such a
thing. In the same way, when we come to love God and one
another we won’t need the Ten Commandments displayed on the
wall to remind us of how to behave towards God and one another,
it will come naturally. That is what it means to be written in the
mind and heart.

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In the beginning of this lesson we read that the Bible tells us why
we should do what is right in the eyes of the Lord.

Deuteronomy 6:24 “And the LORD commanded us to do all these

statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always.”

If God’s commandments are for our good always – then what can
we expect if we ignore or refuse to follow them?

Galatians 6:7,8 "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for

whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to
his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the
Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life."

This universe is founded on physical and spiritual laws - the law of

“reaping and sowing” or “cause and effect.” Bad actions = bad
consequences. Right actions = good consequences.

The law of gravity is an example. The law of gravity is God’s law.

He put it into place and it serves for our good. If a man ignores the
law of gravity and jumps out of an airplane at 12,000 feet without
a parachute he would be killed. Did God kill him because he
violated His law?

No, he died because the law of gravity caused him to be pulled

rapidly to the earth with such force he could not survive the
impact. His death is the natural consequence of violating the law
of gravity and not because God got angry and punished him for
disobeying His law.

It is the same with spiritual laws. If we ignore or refuse to abide by

God’s law of love, bad things will happen as result. If I commit
adultery, someone gets hurt. If I bear false witness, someone gets
hurt. And every time someone sins it hurts God. There are natural
and unpleasant consequences to every violation of the law of love.
Understanding this can help us understand how a person could
claim to be free from the law as the Apostle Paul did when he
wrote -

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I Corinthians 10:23 “All things are lawful for me, but not all
things are helpful: all things are lawful for me, but not all things
edify.”

Paul is saying we are really free to do anything we want to - but -

sooner or later there will be consequences, either good or bad,
depending upon our actions. Note carefully the next two verses.

Ecclesiastes 8:11 “Because sentence against an evil work is not

executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set
in them to do evil.”

Numbers 32:23 “But if you do not do so, then take note, you have
sinned against the LORD; and be sure your sin will find you out.”

Sooner or later, be sure “your sin will find you out.” The only way
to stop the consequences of sin is to stop the sin! The word “sin”
is translated from the Greek word “harmatia” and it means, “to
miss the mark.”

Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of
God;”

And what is the mark we miss? The glory of God. What is the
glory of God that we come short of?

II Thessalonians 2:14 “to which He called you by our gospel, for

the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

II Corinthians 3:18 "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as

in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the
same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord."

Being like Jesus is our goal, our target – and by beholding Him we
are changed into the same image, we become more and more like
Him! But we often fall short and “miss the target” – we do not do
everything that is right, but if we are willing to listen, and if we

8
put forth our best effort, we are accepted by God just as if we were
perfectly righteous, like Jesus.

We are not “under the law” – but rather we “agree with the law.”
We agree that the law (God's law of love) is good and we do not
willfully rebel against it (the basic definition of sin). We no longer
keep the law just because God said so. We keep it because we
want to behave that way! And if we are doing the things we want
to do – we are truly free!

Here is the bottom line - remember what Satan told Eve back in
the garden when tempting her to eat of that tree? He said, “You
will know good and evil, you will be wise" – In other words, Satan
was saying, you don’t need God to tell you what’s right and what
is wrong, you are wise enough to determine for yourself what is
right and wrong.”

Today, most people believe that lie too. But regardless of what
Satan has said or men may think, the truth is that man by himself
is not capable of knowing right from wrong. However, if we
believe God is who the Bible says He is - the Almighty Creator -
all wise - all knowing - knowing the end from the beginning. That
He is good - He is love, and His love is an unselfish love that gave
itself up at Calvary for us. If God is all that - wouldn’t it be wise to
listen to what He says? Wouldn’t it be best to do those things He
says we should do? Wouldn’t it be foolish not to?

True faith is trusting God enough to do those things He says are

right. We will not do it all perfectly, we will struggle and we will
fail at times. But as long as we do not turn away from God and do
the best we can, He will never leave us, and we have the assurance
of eternal life.

Jude 1:24 “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with
exceeding joy,”

In conclusion, sin is not simply breaking God’s law or some rule.

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James 4:17 “Therefore, to him that knows to do good, and does
not do it, to him it is sin.”

But sin is simply rebellion against what a person knows is good

and right and deliberately chooses their own selfish way regardless
of who may get hurt because of it.

God hates sin! Why? Because He wants things done His way?
No - God hates sin because sin hurts and destroys His children!
Don’t let sin destroy you – God will help you overcome.

Response Questions:

1) Is it clear to you that sin is simply rebelling against what God

says is good and right?
Yes __ No __

2) Is it clear to you that sin hurts and destroys?

Yes __ No __

3) Will you take a closer look at God’s law of unselfish love and
see if there is some area in your life that needs improvement?
Yes __ No __
NOTES
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_____________________________________________________
 2012 Bill Chambers

10
11
 The Sure Word Bible Studies
Lesson 6

Understanding Forgiveness
In the previous lesson we learned that sin is “missing the mark”
and that we all fall short of the glory of God. But even though we
sin and fall short of God’s glorious ideal, the Bible assures us that
He freely forgives.

I John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to

forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

As we look at God’s forgiveness, keep in mind the following text:

Isaiah 55:8,9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are
your ways my ways, says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher
than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My
thoughts than your thoughts.”

As we study God’s forgiveness we should keep in mind that He

does not think as man thinks. For example, when we read texts
like Psalm 7:11 that says, “God is angry with the wicked every
day,” we need to remember that God is not like us. When the
Bible speaks of God’s anger it is not the same as ours – “getting
mad and getting even.” In fact, one definition of the word anger
given in the dictionary is “extreme or passionate displeasure.”
Anger can mean “getting mad,” but it can also mean the
passionate displeasure of anxiety and heartbreak a loving parent
feels when his child does something terribly wrong. Most often,
rather than getting mad, the parent is broken hearted. So in the
same way, as God’s children, when we do something wrong, our
Heavenly Father is not mad at us, but grieved and broken hearted.

Psalm 103:10 - 14 "He has not dealt with us according to our

sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the
heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward

1
those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, So far has
He removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his
children, So the LORD pities those who fear Him. For He knows
our frame; He remembers that we are dust."

Verse 17 "But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to

everlasting On those who fear Him, And His righteousness to
children's children,"

This passage tells us two important things.

1) “Like as a father pities his children, so the LORD pities them

that fear him.” The Lord is like a loving father who cares deeply
for his children and understands they make mistakes because they
are immature with lots of learning and growing to do. Most of us,
especially those who have children can relate to that.

2) “His mercy is from everlasting to everlasting.” This says that

God always has, and will continue throughout the endless ages of
eternity, to constantly and compassionately forgive. That is the
nature of true love and God is love.

It’s important to realize the forgiveness of sin, as important as it is,

is not for God’s benefit. God does not need “closure” nor does He
have a need to “get even.” God does not hold bitterness, animosity
and anger in His heart like men do. Neither is He waiting for us to
come crawling on our knees begging His forgiveness and if we
don’t, there is “hell to pay!”

Forgiveness is for our benefit. First, when we forgive and we “let

go” of those feelings of revenge, animosity and bitterness against
those who have wronged us, it brings peace and healing to our
own heart and mind.

On the other hand, when we are remorseful and are forgiven for
the wrongs we committed against another, that helps free us from
our own guilt that can eventually consume us. That’s why we need

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to know God forgives our sin against Him, so the Lord promises
that “all manner of sin will be forgiven men.” (Matthew 12:31)

To forgive in the original languages of the Bible means basically

to “let go, to disregard, or set free.” That means to forgive is
letting go whatever we would normally feel one owes us or is
obligated to do as a payment for an offense or a debt. If I “let it
go,” that means they are not expected to do anything as a
condition of my forgiveness for an offense against me. For
example, if someone owes me money and can't pay and I forgive
the debt, they are not expected to pay me back, ever. I willingly
take the loss.

When we say, “Father forgive me, I have done wrong!” – God’s

reply is always - “you are forgiven.” Actually we were forgiven
before we asked. God doesn’t have to “let go” because He never
held our sin against us in the first place (Psalm 103:10). The
problem is, we have been deceived about God’s forgiving nature
and don’t know that! How many times have we been reluctant to
come to God because we fear He is angry with us, or He won’t
forgive us even if we do ask?

But God wants us to know that we are forgiven - that’s why Jesus
cried from the cross “Father forgive them” - when no one asked
and no one repented! In the book, “The Story of Redemption,”
E.G. White, a noted Bible scholar, said it this way –

“That prayer of Christ for His enemies embraced the world. It

took in every sinner that had lived or should live, from the
beginning of the world to the end of time. Upon all rests the
guilt of crucifying the Son of God. To all, forgiveness is freely
offered.”

When we go to the cross we can see that in spite of our sin God
does not hold bitter or resentful feelings towards us, but always
and only compassion and love. And if we don’t resist, seeing this
self-sacrificing love will transform our heart and change our mind
about the way we live and about the way we see God! We will see

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for ourselves “the goodness of God that leads to repentance”
(Romans 2:4). This is what it means to be redeemed by the blood
of the Lamb – to be reconciled to God.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only
begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but
have everlasting life.”

Jesus did not die to compel God to love those He otherwise hated
or to forgive those who otherwise would not be forgiven. He died
because of the love that already existed in His heart! To show that
we are already forgiven.

Jesus didn’t die to change God’s attitude toward us, but to bring us
to God, that we might be changed! To change our attitude towards
God!

John 12:32,33 "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw

all peoples to Myself." This He said, signifying by what death He
would die."

1 Peter 3:18 "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for
the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in
the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,"

Remember there are only two paths for us in this world -

Man’s way – Proverbs 16:25 “There is a way that seems right to

a man, but its end is the way of death.”

God’s way – John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the
truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through
me.”

While God loves us and freely forgives us – forgiveness, though it

eases our guilt, will not cancel out the consequences of sin. The
only way to stop the painful consequences of sin is to stop the sin.
Then there can be no unpleasant consequences!

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The problem is, we can’t do that on our own. Only as we are
willing to begin to trust and co-operate with God can this be
achieved. God saves us – not by forgiving us – but by changing
us! As discussed in a previous lesson, we need to change and only
by consistently beholding Him can that happen.

II Corinthians 3:18 "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as

in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the
same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord."

This is why it is important that we understand what is called the

“unpardonable sin.”

Matthew 12:31 - 32 "Therefore I say to you, every sin and

blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the
Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against
the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks
against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this
age or in the age to come."

To understand blasphemy against the Holy Spirit we must first

understand the work of the Holy Spirit. Note the following -

1. He teaches - John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit,

whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all
things”

2. He convicts / warns - John 16:8 “And when He (the Holy

Spirit) has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of
righteousness, and of judgment”

3. He guides to the truth - John 16:13 “However, when He, the

Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth”

“Blasphemy” is the Greek word “blasphemeo” and it means “to

abuse” “to denounce” or “to injure.” That means that once a
person is taught, convicted, and warned by the Holy Spirit, if they

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then turn away and shun Him, He is injured, He is put down, He is
grieved. Compare the following texts:

Isaiah 63:9,10 "In all their affliction He was afflicted, And the
Angel of His Presence saved them; In His love and in His pity He
redeemed them; And He bore them and carried them All the days
of old. But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit;"

Ephesians 4:30 "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by

whom you were sealed for the day of redemption."

“Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit” has to do with how a person

relates to the Holy Spirit’s work. We cause grief and extreme
emotional pain to God when we rebel and resist His work for us.
In other words, it breaks His heart! It’s not about breaking the law
and making Him angry – it’s breaking His heart and making Him
hurt!

The Bible talks about this kind of behavior in the book of

Hebrews.

Hebrews 6:1 - 8 "Therefore, leaving the discussion of the

elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not
laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of
faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of
hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And
this we will do if God permits. For it is impossible for those who
were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have
become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good
word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away,
to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for
themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame. For the
earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears
herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing
from God; but if it bears thorns and briars, it is rejected and near
to being cursed, whose end is to be burned."

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“Let us go on to perfection” (Perfection is from the Greek “telios”
which means to grown up or maturity). The danger for the
Christian is that one becomes complacent and fails to grow to
spiritual maturity.

Hebrews 10:26,27 warns: "For if we sin willfully after we have

received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a
sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment,
and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries."

This does not mean committing one sinful act. If it did none of us
would have any hope. According to the Greek tense it means to
willfully keep on practicing sin after we have been convicted by
the Holy Spirit that it is wrong.

Therefore, the unpardonable sin is to be understood, not as a single

act - but the continual, persistent rebellion against the work of the
Holy Spirit upon the heart as He tries to (1) teach us (2) convict us
of right and wrong and (3) warn us of the consequences of sin.

When the Holy Spirit brings truth to the heart, one of two things
happen: 1) The heart responds, or 2) the heart hardens.

When the Holy Spirit speaks, we usually hear Him the loudest the
first time. And if we continue to resist the Holy Spirit long
enough, His voice gets quieter and quieter and quieter and we will
come to the place we can no longer hear Him at all. At this point
there is no more God can do.

When we have resisted, made excuses and rebelled until there is

no remedy, no way back, it is then that we have committed the
unpardonable sin. This is a very subtle danger, anyone, even
Christians, need to be aware of.

Matthew 7:21 - 23 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,'

shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My
Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord,
have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your

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name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will
declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who
practice lawlessness!'

Even active Christians must be careful that they do not rationalize

and justify some “pet” sin until they convince themselves that they
are not doing anything wrong. Because once a person has
completely severed their conscience the Holy Spirit can no longer
reach them and there’s no more that God can do to save them.
Jesus spoke of people who did this -

Matthew 13:15 "For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest
they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should
heal them."

It is not that God won’t forgive them or help them change, but that
they don’t feel the need because they think they’re o.k. just as they
are!

There are three basic reasons a person falls into this dangerous
position, 1) They become indifferent – they simply don’t care 2)
they become too busy – won’t take the time or 3) they become
opinionated / hard-hearted and refuse to change.

But now let’s go back to Matthew and answer our original

question. This time let’s notice the setting in which Jesus made
His statement about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 12:22 - 24 "Then one was brought to Him who was

demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the
blind and mute man both spoke and saw. And all the multitudes
were amazed and said, "Could this be the Son of David?" Now
when the Pharisees heard it they said, "This fellow does not cast
out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons."

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The point here is, when one comes to the place that they turn
against the work of the Holy Spirit even to the point of calling it
demonic, as these men had, how can God convict that person of
sin and thus allow them to receive the forgiveness and help that He
makes so freely available?

As previously stated, when we come to the place that we no longer

hear God’s Spirit speaking to us, there is nothing more God can
do. The working of miracles or the fear of punishment will not
change the heart. The Lord says: “not by might, nor by power, but
by my Spirit.” It will only be by “the still small voice” of the Holy
Spirit that we are convicted of the truth and our characters
changed. Only by a willingness to listen and follow the truth will
we be saved at last!

Let none of us think we are safe from this ever present danger.
Today, while our hearts and conscience are still tender - Let us
continue to submit to God’s Sweet Holy Spirit - that still small
voice inside that says – "this is the way, walk in it."

In conclusion, remember, forgiveness, as important as it is to our

well being, is not the key issue. We are not saved by being
forgiven, but by receiving a “new heart and right spirit,” by being
“born again.” (The Greek is "born from above.") A work done in
us by the Holy Spirit.

Response Questions:

1. It is clear to you that sin draws us away from God.

Yes __ No __

2. It is clear to you that God has forgiven your sin.

Yes __ No __

3. It is clear to you that only with the help of the Holy Spirit can
you overcome sin and live a righteous life.
Yes __ No __

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4. Today will you make the commitment to turn from man’s way
of death and begin a journey on God’s way to eternal life.
Yes __ No __

NOTES
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 2012 Bill Chambers

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11
 The Sure Word Bible Studies
Lesson 7

The Wages of Sin

Romans 6:23 says “The wages of sin is death.” But back in the
beginning when God was literally present here on the earth, death
did not exist; it had never been experienced. But even though
death had never been experienced, God warned Adam and Eve
that it could become a reality.

Genesis 2:17 "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil
you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely
die."

When God told Adam the consequences of eating of the tree of

good and evil, it is important to note that He didn’t say you will
burn in hell, nor did He say I will put you to death. God was not
threatening them rather He was warning them of the consequences
of that experience. He simply said, “You will die” which in the
Hebrew is, “dying you will die.” God was warning them of a
process that would begin working within them that will ultimately
result in their death if they choose take that path.

Was God really telling them the truth? Satan, disguised as a

serpent in the Garden of Eden, questioned Eve about this.

Genesis 3:1 - 4 "Now the serpent was more cunning than any
beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to
the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree
of the garden'?" And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat
the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which
is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it,
nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' " Then the serpent said to the
woman, "You will not surely die."

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In Satan’s declaration to Eve that she would not die he implied
that man is immortal, that he cannot die. And more than that, that
God cannot be trusted to tell them the truth!

Surprisingly, most of the world believes Satan about this. Most

people believe that man is immortal, except the atheist, who
believes there is nothing after this life ends. But most people
believe that life continues in one form or another after death. For
example, the Hindu believes in re-incarnation and the Buddhists
believe in nirvana. Most Christians and Muslims believe while a
person’s body does die, their soul is immortal and at death it
leaves the body and immediately goes to heaven or hell for
eternity.

If that is true – if immediately after death a person reaches their

final destination – then why have a resurrection? If at one's death
they receive their just reward, then why have a judgment day?
This view can present more questions than it answers. If we are to
find the truth we must go to the Bible and examine the evidence
there.

After Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden tree, God no longer
allowed them access to the Tree of Life.

Genesis 3:22,23 "Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has
become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put
out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live
forever"-- therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of
Eden to till the ground from which he was taken."

God could have allowed sin with its suffering to go on for eternity,
but He would not to do that, it’s too painful. God is however,
going to allow sin to run its course so that the universe can see
beyond a shadow of a doubt what the consequences of sin are.

As the result of being banished from the “Tree of Life” (the

symbol of the source of life), Adam and Eve became mortal,

2
which means they became subject to death and through their genes
mortality was then passed from them to the rest the human race.

Romans 5:12 "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the
world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men,
because all sinned"

However, this death that comes to all people, good and bad, as the
result of being cut-off from the Tree of Life is not eternal
annihilation. Jesus said that everyone who dies this death will live
again.

John 5:28,29 "Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in
which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come
forth--those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and
those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation."

Yet most religions, including Christianity, teach that humans have

an “immortal soul” that lives on after the death of the physical
body. But the Bible does not say that. The word “immortal” is
used only once in the entire Bible and that is in I Timothy -

I Timothy 1:17 "Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to

God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever."

I Timothy 6:15,16 "He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the
King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality,
dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can
see, to whom be honor and everlasting power."

As you can see, the Bible says only God has immortality. This
means only God possesses life within Himself. It is not given to
Him by another.

However, the word "soul" is used more than 600 times in the King
James Version Bible and is never said to be immortal. It does say
it will die!

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Ezekiel 18:4 "Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father As
well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul who sins shall die."

Contrary to popular teaching, the “soul” is not implanted into the

body as a separate part of a man or animal. Note the following:

Genesis 2:7 “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the
ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man
became a living soul.” (KJV)

The New King James Version translates: "And the LORD God
formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being."

Notice, man was not “given” a soul, but he “became a living soul”
or "living being." The word for soul in the original Hebrew is
“nephesh” and it means simply “a living creature,” that is, a living
body which can refer to either a man or an animal as it does in
Revelation.

Revelation 16:3 “And the second angel poured out his vial upon
the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every
living soul died in the sea.” (KJV)

The New King James Version translates -"Then the second angel
poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead
man; and every living creature in the sea died."

The living being or living creature is made up of two parts that can
only exist together – body and breath. Take away the breath, and
you no longer have a soul or living creature, but only a dead body.
The “soul” of the person simply no longer exists.

Many people speak of the soul and the spirit as though they were
one and the same, but the “soul” is not the “spirit.” These are
two different words with entirely different meanings.

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As we discussed, the word "soul" means a living creature
including the body and breath. However, the word “spirit” is from
Hebrew and Greek words that mean “wind” or “breath” or
“moving air.”

If the air in you is moving as when you breathe, it implies a life

force is present, thus it is called the “breath of life.”

The spirit, or the “breath of life” is given by God at the beginning

of life and returns to God at death.

Ecclesiastes 12:7 “Then shall the dust (body) return to the earth
as it was: and the spirit (breath of life) will return unto God who
gave it.”

We see an example of this in the book of Luke -

Luke 8:52 - 55 "Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said,
"Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping." And they ridiculed
Him, knowing that she was dead. But He put them all outside, took
her by the hand and called, saying, "Little girl, arise." Then her
spirit returned, and she arose immediately."

Notice, her “soul” did not return, but her “spirit,” that is, her
breath, or life force did. Also note that Jesus said she was not
dead, but “sleepeth.”

More than fifty times in the Bible death is referred to as

"sleep." The following are some examples:

Psalms 13:3 “Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: enlighten

mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death”

Daniel 12:2 “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the
earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and
everlasting contempt.”

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Matthew 27:51,52 "Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn
in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks
were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the
saints who had fallen asleep were raised;"

John 11:11 - 14 "These things He said, and after that 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."

Sleep is the perfect illustration for death which the Lord himself
used. The following texts help us better understand this concept.

Ecclesiastes 9:5 "For the living know that they will die; But the
dead know nothing,"

Psalms 146:4 “His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth;

in that very day his thoughts perish.” (KJV)

(Most modern translations of the Bible will use the word "plans"
instead of thoughts. But, it is important to note that the Hebrew
word is "eshtonah" and it has only one definition and that is
"thought." It is a mystery as to why they chose "plans" instead.)

If the dead “know not anything,” and the very day they die their
“thoughts perish,” that implies a state of mental unconsciousness.
Just as when a person is sound asleep, they are unconscious of
anything going on around them and have no awareness of the
passage of time. Whether they sleep for one hour or ten, it is the
same to them.

In the same way, the “sleep of death” is only a temporary

unconsciousness while a person awaits the resurrection when all
shall awake and come forth from the grave.

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According to the book of Acts, that is true even for "saints" like
King David -

Acts 2:29 "Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the
patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is
with us to this day."

Verse 34 "For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says
himself: 'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I
make Your enemies Your footstool."

There are a few exceptions to this. Examples are Enoch, Elijah,

and Moses as well as those saints mentioned in Matthew 27:52
who arose at Christ’s death on the cross.

In the following passages, other than those exceptions, the Bible

makes it very clear that God does not bestow immortality to the
faithful at death - but at the second coming of Jesus.

I Corinthians 15:22, 23 "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ

all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the
firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming."

I Corinthians 15:51 - 54 "Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall

not all sleep, but we shall all be changed--in a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. (this is the second coming
of Christ) For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised
incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must
put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So
when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has
put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is
written: "Death is swallowed up in victory."

Another illustration of death being like sleep is to think of a

computer. You connect it to a power source and it comes to life.
The screen lights up and all kinds of information are fed into it.
All that information is “saved” in the computer’s memory. When
it is disconnected from its power source it goes to “sleep.” It may

7
remain idle for a long period, but once re-connected to the power
source it lights up and all that information stored in its memory
will come back up.

When we sleep the sleep of death, our bodies turn back to earth
from which they came, but our spirit, the breath of life, returns to
God. Our character or nature is stored in God’s memory bank in
an unconscious state until Jesus comes again and gives us a new
body, reconnects us to the power source and we come back to life.
We come back to life with the same spirit or nature as we had
before we died, but with new, glorified bodies.

Philippians 3:20, 21 "For our citizenship is in heaven, from

which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His
glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even
to subdue all things to Himself."

The Bible refers to the body, soul and spirit. The following will
help us understand these terms as they are meant to be:

Body – Refers only to the flesh and bone, the physical being of
man or animal. At death it returns to earth.

Soul – Refers to the physical body including the breath of life, in

other words, the entire living being. When the body dies, the soul
or living being no longer exist, because in the Bible “soul” only
refers to a living body.

Spirit – Refers first to the life force or breath of life itself. It

returns to God at the death of the person. It also may refer to the
nature or character of a person, which upon death, is preserved in
an unconscious state until the resurrection.

Having studied this issue thus far, there remains the question about
the thief on the cross; didn’t Jesus say to him, “Today you will be
with me in paradise”?

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Before we look at that, remember there was no punctuation in the
original languages of the Bible. That was added when it was
translated into English. In the King James Version some mistakes
were made in the punctuation. For example, note the missing
comma in the following verse.

Acts 19:12 “So that from his body were brought unto the sick
handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them,
and the evil spirits went out of them.” (KJV)

There is no such thing as a “sick handkerchief.” Obviously a

comma should have been placed after the word “sick.” Then it
would read - “So that from his body were brought unto the sick,
handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them.”
(Modern translations have made the correction in this verse.)

Now re-examine the verse in Luke used to support the idea that
when a person dies they immediately go to heaven or hell.

Luke 23:43 “And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To
day shalt thou be with me in paradise.”(KJV)

Now move the comma putting it after the word “today” and read it
again - “And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee today,
shalt thou be with me in paradise.

Structured this way, Jesus was making him the promise that day,
the day they were there on the cross that he would be with Him in
paradise at a future time. The evidence for this conclusion is found
in the gospel of John.

John 20:1 "Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene
went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the
stone had been taken away from the tomb."

Verses 16,17 "Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to
Him, "Rabboni!" (which is to say, Teacher). Jesus said to her, "Do
not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go

9
to My brethren and say to them, 'I am ascending to My Father and
your Father, and to My God and your God.' "

Jesus died Friday evening, this was Sunday morning. Jeus could
not be with the thief in paradise that Friday he died when He did
not go to heaven himself until Sunday. Jesus slept the “sleep of
death” in the tomb from Friday evening until Sunday morning.
Jesus as the “Son of man” lived the entire human experience
“from the cradle to the grave” and then the resurrection.

Finally there’s the verse that is often quoted - "To be absent from
the body is to be present with the Lord." The problem is it is
misquoted. Look closely at the verse as it is written.

II Corinthians 5:8 “We are confident, I say, and willing rather

to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. (KJV)

Paul does not say “is to be,” but “willing rather to be…” Many
people probably feel that way, willing to be with the Lord rather
than going through the trials of this life. Paul knew that when a
person died, to them, it would seem only a second until they were
with the Lord. He is not saying that when a person dies they
immediately go to heaven, contradicting all the other things the
Bible says about death. Remember - don’t say, “The Bible says”
until you’ve looked at everything the Bible says.

The declaration of Satan to Eve in the Garden of Eden - "You shall

not surely die" was the first teaching on the immortality of the soul
and it was a lie! Yet this teaching, based solely upon the authority
of Satan – is taught in most churches today. This lie of Satan came
through the false teachings of paganism and Greek philosophy and
then “Christianized” in the church during the dark ages.

Note the following quote under the heading of Greek Philosophy

from Funk and Wagnalls Encyclopedia by Readers Digest Books
Inc., published 1958.

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“The philosophical concepts developed by the Greeks,
particularly during the flowering of Greek civilization between
the years 600 and 200 B.C., lie at the root of all later
philosophical speculation in the western world. The intuitive
hypotheses of the ancient Greeks foreshadowed many of the
theories of modern science, and many of the moral ideas of
pagan Greek philosophers have been incorporated into the
body of Christian moral doctrine.”

One of the “moral ideas of pagan Greek philosophers that was

incorporated into Christian moral doctrine” was the immortality
of the soul as taught by the famous Greek philosophers such as
Plato and Socrates. This is a verifiable part of church history.

You may ask – OK, but why is this important anyway? What
difference does it make whether I believe one immediately goes to
“a better place” at death or sleeps in the tomb until resurrection?
The answer is that it is through the teaching that the dead are not
really dead that men are enabled to have direct communication
with the spirit world.

An biblical example is in the story of King Saul and the Witch of

Endor.

1 Samuel 28:3 - 20 "Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had
lamented for him and buried him in Ramah, in his own city. And
Saul had put the mediums and the spiritists out of the land. Then
the Philistines gathered together, and came and encamped at
Shunem. So Saul gathered all Israel together, and they encamped
at Gilboa. When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was
afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. And when Saul inquired of
the LORD, the LORD did not answer him, either by dreams or by
Urim or by the prophets. Then Saul said to his servants, "Find me
a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of
her." And his servants said to him, "In fact, there is a woman who
is a medium at En Dor." So Saul disguised himself and put on
other clothes, and he went, and two men with him; and they came
to the woman by night. And he said, "Please conduct a seance for

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me, and bring up for me the one I shall name to you." Then the
woman said to him, "Look, you know what Saul has done, how he
has cut off the mediums and the spiritists from the land. Why then
do you lay a snare for my life, to cause me to die?" And Saul
swore to her by the LORD, saying, "As the LORD lives, no
punishment shall come upon you for this thing." Then the woman
said, "Whom shall I bring up for you?" And he said, "Bring up
Samuel for me." When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with
a loud voice. And the woman spoke to Saul, saying, "Why have you
deceived me? For you are Saul!" And the king said to her, "Do not
be afraid. What did you see?" And the woman said to Saul, "I saw
a spirit ascending out of the earth." So he said to her, "What is his
form?" And she said, "An old man is coming up, and he is covered
with a mantle." And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he
stooped with his face to the ground and bowed down. Now Samuel
said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?"
And Saul answered, "I am deeply distressed; for the Philistines
make war against me, and God has departed from me and does
not answer me anymore, neither by prophets nor by dreams.
Therefore I have called you, that you may reveal to me what I
should do." Then Samuel said: "Why then do you ask me, seeing
the LORD has departed from you and has become your enemy?
And the LORD has done for Himself as He spoke by me. For the
LORD has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your
neighbor, David. Because you did not obey the voice of the LORD
nor execute His fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore the LORD has
done this thing to you this day. Moreover the LORD will also
deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines. And
tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The LORD will also
deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines." Then
immediately Saul fell full length on the ground, and was dreadfully
afraid because of the words of Samuel. And there was no strength
in him, for he had eaten no food all day or all night."

Note verse 6 said that the Lord would not speak to Saul by
prophets making it unlikely this would actually be Samuel because
Samuel was a prophet.

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Note verse 14 said Saul “perceived” it was Samuel; Saul just
thought it was Samuel, he did not actually see him.

Note in verse 15 the so-called Samuel said, “Why have you called
me up?” The Bible says a man’s spirit (breath) goes up to God,
not down in the tomb.

Note in verse 16 the “spirit” said, “the Lord is departed from you
and has become your enemy.” The Lord did not leave Saul, Saul
turned away from the Lord and could have come back if he had
only repented. But because of the discouraging words of this
demonic spirit impersonating Samuel, Saul was driven to despair
and finally suicide. (One of the likely reasons God forbids people
to consult mediums who claim to communicate with the dead).

There are at least three other reasons why this could not have been
Samuel come back from the dead to speak to King Saul.

First - The Bible makes it clear the dead cannot come back to
communicate with us.

Job 7:9,10 "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."

Second – Being aware of Satan’s ability to deceive men in this

way, God condemned calling up the dead. The people who did this
were said to have a “familiar spirit.”

Leviticus 20:6 "And the person who turns to mediums and

familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face
against that person and cut him off from his people."

Third - If we seek answers about life we should go to God’s

Word, and not to the dead to find the answers!

Isaiah 8:19,20 "And when they say to you, "Seek those who are
mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter," should not a

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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."

Back in the beginning when God told Adam that sin leads to death
He was telling the truth. God’s word can be trusted!

The following texts make it clear that the spiritual warfare

between God and Satan becomes more intense as we get closer to
the coming of Jesus and we need to be clear on this issue.

II Thessalonians 2:8 - 10 "And then the lawless one will be

revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His
mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.
The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of
Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all
unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did
not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved."

Revelation 16:14 "For they are spirits of demons, performing

signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole
world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God
Almighty."

Note there will be “spirits of devils,” that is, demonic spirits that
will go to the “whole world.” These demonic spirits will
impersonate dead loved ones as well as prophets such as Peter and
Paul who will seem to have miraculously returned from heaven to
communicate with us. But they will be "lying spirits" and the
deception will be overwhelming! Are you ready for that?

But if we know the dead are “asleep” in the grave awaiting the
resurrection, then we can’t be deceived by a demon impersonating
someone who has supposedly returned from heaven to tell us lies
about God.

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Today, let us decide that whether we live to see Jesus come, or
whether we die and sleep until resurrection day that we will be
ready to meet Jesus!

In this lesson we have spoken only of the sleep of death, the first
death - but many will experience the “second death.”

Revelation 20:14 "Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake
of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in
the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire."

What is the second death? How is it different? What is hell and the
lake of fire? These questions will be answered in lessons to follow.

Response questions:

1. It is clear to me from the Bible that the dead are asleep in the
grave awaiting the resurrection.
Yes __ No __

2. If someone were to appear to me from the dead, I know it would

be a demonic imposter.
Yes __ No __

3. I know my only safeguard against Satan’s subtle deceptions is

to trust the Word of God.
Yes __ No __

NOTES
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 2012 Bill Chambers

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16
 The Sure Word Bible Studies
Lesson 8

The Second Coming of Jesus

John 14:2,3 “In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were
not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And
if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive
you unto myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”

Jesus is coming back! Because of the immense importance of this

event, Christ gave a warning of deception concerning His Second
Coming.

Matthew 24:3 - 5 "Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the

disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these
things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the
end of the age?" And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take
heed that no one deceives you."

Verse 24 "For false christs and false prophets will rise and show
great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect."

Deception will continue until the end. The Bible warns us -

II Timothy 4:3,4 "For the time will come when they will not
endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires,
because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves
teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be
turned aside to fables."

Today we see many books written depicting the Second Coming

of Christ and the events surrounding that great event. Though
many of these books are best sellers, yet many of them are
“fables” or “novels” and are not true to the biblical record.

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Rather than reading novels, we should carefully examine all the
texts in the Bible referring to the Second Coming to get it clear as
to what the Bible really says about it.

There are three key points that the Bible makes clear -

First - The Second Coming of Christ will be literal.

Acts 1:9 - 11 "Now when He had spoken these things, while they
watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their
sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went
up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also
said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven?
This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so
come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven."

When Jesus went back to heaven after His resurrection, it was not
a secret event that only those of faith could experience, but it was
a literal and real event witnessed by all those who were there.

Second - Everyone will see Him.

Revelation 1:7 "Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye

will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the
earth will mourn because of Him."

Matthew 24:30 "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in
heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they
will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with
power and great glory."

These texts are clear as they are written and there is no reason for
them to be understood in some figurative manner.

Third - Everyone will hear Him

Matthew 24:30,31 "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear
in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they

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will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with
power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great
sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from
the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."

I Corinthians 15:51 - 53 "Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall

not all sleep, but we shall all be changed--in a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will
sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be
changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this
mortal must put on immortality."

I Thessalonians 4:15 - 17 "For this we say to you by the word of

the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the
Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord
Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of
an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in
Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be
caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the
air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord."

Note that all these accounts of the Second Coming of Jesus are
very similar. There is mention of a trumpet sounding, the dead
being raised and clouds.

The Bible says at the second coming of Christ the heavens will be
rolled back as a scroll, so where do these clouds come from? The
Bible tells us that too -

Psalms 104:3 "He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the
waters, Who makes the clouds His chariot, Who walks on the
wings of the wind,"

This verse tells us that the “clouds” are His “chariot.” A chariot
is a mode of travel. The "clouds" are representative of thousands
of angels who accompany the Lord -

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Psalms 68:17 “The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even
thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the
holy place.” (KJV)

Matthew 25:31 "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all
the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His
glory."

The clouds are His chariot and His chariot is thousands of angels.
This is saying that when Jesus returns He will be accompanied by
thousands of glorious angels dressed in glowing white. At a
distance they will appear as bright, glowing white clouds in the
sky.

But many say He “comes as a thief?” Meaning He comes

secretly. Let’s examine those texts used to support this in their
context -
Matthew 24:42 - 44 "Watch therefore, for you do not know what
hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the
house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have
watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore
you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you
do not expect."

In this passage the expression, "coming as a thief," clearly implies

coming unexpectedly and not secretly.

I Thessalonians 5:2 - 5 "For you yourselves know perfectly that

the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they
say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon
them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not
escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day
should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons
of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness."

This passage tells us that as Christian believers that day should not
come to us as a thief, that is, unexpectedly, we should know when
it is near.
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II Peter 3:10 "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the
night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and
the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the
works that are in it will be burned up."

This passage makes it clear that His coming, rather than being
secret, will be a catastrophic event; It will not be secret, the entire
world will be aware of it. Note the following texts that make
support this -

Psalms 50:3 “Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent; a
fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous
round about him.”

Isaiah 13:9 - 11 "Behold, the day of the LORD comes, Cruel, with
both wrath and fierce anger, To lay the land desolate; And He will
destroy its sinners from it. For the stars of heaven and their
constellations Will not give their light; The sun will be darkened in
its going forth, And the moon will not cause its light to shine. "I
will punish the world for its evil, And the wicked for their iniquity;
I will halt the arrogance of the proud, And will lay low the
haughtiness of the terrible."

What causes all the devastation and calamity when Christ

returns to this world?

In the past when God visited our planet, He usually came veiled in
the flesh because as the Lord told Moses, “no man can see my face
(that is, stand in His literal presence) and live” (Exodus 33:20).
But note how the literal, physical presence of God is described in
the Bible as “fire” –

Exodus 24:16,17 "Now the glory of the LORD rested on Mount

Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day
He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. The sight of the
glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire on the top of the
mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel."

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Hebrews 12:29 “For our “fire” God is a consuming fire.”

The that is seen accompanying God’s literal presence is different

from fire as we know it that burns fuels such as wood and
gasoline. The fire that surrounds the presence of God is something
we have never seen or can explain exactly what it is.

The Prophet Isaiah asked the question – Who can live in this
“devouring fire”?

Isaiah 33:14 “The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath

seized the hypocrites: Who among us shall dwell with the
devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting
burnings?”

This question is answered in the next verse –

Verse 15 "He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, He

who despises the gain of oppressions, Who gestures with his
hands, refusing bribes, Who stops his ears from hearing of
bloodshed, And shuts his eyes from seeing evil:"

Since only the righteous can live in the presence of the

“consuming fire,” the literal presence of God, the Bible tells us
that the believer will be changed when Jesus Comes -

I Corinthians 15:52,53 "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,

at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will
be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this
corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on
immortality."

The righteous are “changed” at His coming and are thus able to
live in the literal presence of God as they are taken to heaven. But
what will happen to those “left behind”?
Since “no man (in his corrupt, sinful condition) can see God and
live,” they will be destroyed by the presence of the “consuming

6
fire,” that is by the “brightness of His coming” (II Thessalonians
2:8).
Jesus will not come veiled in the flesh when He comes the next
time, but in power and great glory – a consuming fire! But, this
will not be a willful act of vengeful retaliation, but simply the
consequence of His coming in unveiled power and glory!

II Thessalonians 2:8 "And then the lawless one will be revealed,

whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and
destroy with the brightness of His coming."

The Second Coming as described in the book of Revelation –

Revelation 19:11 - 15 "Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a

white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True,
and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like
a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a
name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed
with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of
God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and
clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a
sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He
Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the
winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God."

The "armies in heaven" and the “clouds” are holy angels who
accompany the Lord at His return as we discussed earlier
(Matthew 25:31). But notice the wording, “He treads the
winepress,” "He strikes the nations", and "rule with a rod of iron."
These terms are taken from the Old Testament, with each one
denoting destruction. The following are examples -

Psalm 2:7 - 9 "I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to
Me, 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I
will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the
earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of
iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel.' "

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Isaiah 11:4 "But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And
decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the
earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips
He shall slay the wicked."

These texts imply Christ is ruling over the act of destruction, not
ruling over people as a king over a nation.

Lamentations 1:15 "The Lord has trampled underfoot all my

mighty men in my midst; He has called an assembly against me To
crush my young men; The Lord trampled as in a winepress The
virgin daughter of Judah."

Treading the winepress and crushing the grapes, are a metaphor

for destruction. Revelation chapter 19 confirms what happens to
those “left behind.”

Revelation 19:16 - 21 "And He has on His robe and on His thigh

a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. Then I
saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice,
saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, "Come and
gather together for the supper of the great God, that you may eat
the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the
flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all
people, free and slave, both small and great." And I saw the beast,
the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make
war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. Then
the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who
worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who
received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image.
These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with
brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which
proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all
the birds were filled with their flesh."

In this passage the “rest” are those who are “left behind” at the
Second Coming. Clearly they are destroyed, they are not left and

8
given another chance to repent, they become food for the vultures.
Jesus spoke of this -

Luke 17:26 - 37 "And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be

also in the days of the Son of Man: They ate, they drank, they
married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that
Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank,
they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that
Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven
and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son
of Man is revealed. In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his
goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away.
And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back.
Remember Lot's wife. Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it,
and whoever loses his life will preserve it. I tell you, in that night
there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the
other will be left. Two women will be grinding together: the one
will be taken and the other left. Two men will be in the field: the
one will be taken and the other left." And they answered and said
to Him, "Where, Lord?" So He said to them, "Wherever the body
is, there the eagles will be gathered together."

The “eagles” are vultures or other birds of prey. That can be seen
in the book of Job.

Job 39:27-30 "Does the eagle mount up at your command, And

make its nest on high? On the rocks it dwells and resides, On the
crag of the rock and the stronghold. From there it spies out the
prey; Its eyes observe from afar. Its young ones suck up blood;
And where the slain are, there it is."

God shows the prophet Jeremiah visions of the devastation that

takes place at the coming of the Lord -

Jeremiah 25:30 - 33 "Therefore prophesy against them all these

words, and say to them: 'The LORD will roar from on high, And
utter His voice from His holy habitation; He will roar mightily

9
against His fold. He will give a shout, as those who tread the
grapes, Against all the inhabitants of the earth. A noise will come
to the ends of the earth-- For the LORD has a controversy with the
nations; He will plead His case with all flesh. He will give those
who are wicked to the sword,' says the LORD." Thus says the LORD
of hosts: "Behold, disaster shall go forth From nation to nation,
And a great whirlwind shall be raised up From the farthest parts
of the earth. And at that day the slain of the LORD shall be from
one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth. They shall
not be lamented, or gathered, or buried; they shall become refuse
on the ground."

Jeremiah 4:23 - 28 "I beheld the earth, and indeed it was without
form, and void; And the heavens, they had no light. I beheld the
mountains, and indeed they trembled, And all the hills moved back
and forth. I beheld, and indeed there was no man, And all the
birds of the heavens had fled. I beheld, and indeed the fruitful land
was a wilderness, And all its cities were broken down At the
presence of the LORD, By His fierce anger. For thus says the
LORD: "The whole land shall be desolate; Yet I will not make a full
end. For this shall the earth mourn, And the heavens above be
black, Because I have spoken. I have purposed and will not relent,
Nor will I turn back from it."

Clearly this is a picture of total devastation upon the earth as result

of the “coming of the Lord.” The earth will be “broken down,”
the wicked will be “slain by the brightness of His coming,” and
the righteous will be gathered by the angels and taken to heaven as
Christ promised. “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come
again and receive you unto myself that ye may be where I am.”

It is critical for those living in the end times to know Jesus and the
manner of His return because before the actual coming of Christ –
there will be a great counterfeit.

Matthew 24:24 "For false christs and false prophets will rise and
show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the
elect."

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The Bible tells us Satan will be transformed into an angel of light -

II Corinthians 11:14 "And no wonder! For Satan himself

transforms himself into an angel of light."

And the Bible tells us there will be two “comings” -

II Thessalonians 2:8,9 "And then the lawless one will be

revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His
mouth and destroy with the brightness of His (Christ) coming. The
coming of the lawless one (the Anti-Christ, Satan posing as Christ)
is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and
lying wonders,"

Verse 8 is referring to the coming of the Lord and verse 9 is

referring to the coming of Satan claiming to be Christ. Satan will
come as the final and original “anti-Christ,” the evil one who
wants to be worshipped as God.

II Thessalonians 2:3,4 "Let no one deceive you by any means;

for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and
the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and
exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so
that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is
God."

One day soon Satan will come claiming to be Christ himself,

performing great miracles and with great demonstrations of power
which will deceive the whole world. There is only one way can we
be safe from this great deception in the last day. Read the words of
Jesus in the gospel of John -

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

We must “know” God as seen in Christ – we must know the truth

about God from personal experience and personal study. The key
will be understanding God’s great character of love. Satan cannot

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counterfeit that! God is not what his enemies have made him out
to be! God is like Jesus! Jesus came to show us that! And only
when we know the original, can we easily spot the counterfeit!

There will be signs of Christ’s coming that indicate it is near,

“even at the doors” but Jesus also said: “But of that day and hour
knows no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only.”

Though we cannot know the day and hour, we can know when it is
near, and in what manner Christ will come. Jesus told His people -
"Watch therefore: for you do not know what your Lord is coming."
(Matthew 24:42)

The key word here is “watch.” In the original Greek it means a

“state of readiness.” That means that everyday we should be doing
those things that get us ready.

Those things that get us ready are Bible study, prayer, opening our
hearts to the Holy Spirit that He may help us in overcoming our
sin and selfishness. This normally leads to being involved in
Christian witness and service, being actively involved in the body
of Christ, the Church.

The Church we attend and serve should be selected with great

care. The Bible says that God’s Church is “The pillar and
foundation of truth” (I Timothy 3:15). Therefore we should be
careful that the church we attend and support is teaching and
proclaiming truth and not fables and speculation.

Response questions:

1. It is clear to me that the Second Coming of Jesus will be –

a. literal
b. audible
c. visible Yes___ No___

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2. It is clear that at the Second Coming of Jesus the righteous will
be “changed” and taken to heaven.
Yes ___ No ___

3. I understand that at the Second Coming of Jesus those left

behind will be destroyed by the “brightness of His coming.”
Yes___ No___

4. I want to do those things that I may be ready for the coming of

Christ that I may go home with Him.
Yes ___ No ___

NOTES
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 2012 Bill Chambers

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14
 The Sure Word Bible Studies
Lesson 9
The Millennium

The word millennium is not found in the Bible; it is a Latin word

for one thousand. It is a word used to refer to the one thousand
year period spoken of in Revelation chapter twenty. While there
are many different ideas about the Millennium, there are only
three major views among Christians.

1. Amillennialism. In this view, the one thousand years is a

figurative time period that represents the "Church Age." That is,
the time span between Christ’s first and second coming. The
"binding of Satan" is only a symbol of Satan’s defeat at the cross
which causes his activity to be so limited that he cannot prevent
the spread of the gospel during that time period. Few Christians
still hold this view.

2. Post-millennialism. This view teaches that the world will get

better and better and eventually usher in a thousand years of peace
at the end of which Jesus comes and sets up His kingdom on earth.
This view, which was very popular in the church during the 17th
and 18th centuries, has since been abandoned.

3. Pre-millennialism. This is the most popular view today. In this

view, at the start of the one thousand year period Christ returns to
earth to gather his people and take them back to heaven. However
there are several different views among Christians as to what takes
place after that.

As we have previously done in our studies, we set aside any pre-

conceived ideas about this topic and honestly search the Bible to
determine the truth for ourselves. We begin in Revelation chapter
twenty, the only chapter in the Bible that specifically details the
one thousand year period.

1
Revelation 20:1 - 5 "Then I saw an angel coming down from
heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in
his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is
the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he
cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on
him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the
thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be
released for a little while. And I saw thrones, and they sat on them,
and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of
those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the
word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and
had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands.
And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But
the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years
were finished. This is the first resurrection."

The words “they lived” in verse 4 is translated from the Greek

word “zao“ which means “came to life.” In other words, this group
of people were resurrected in the first resurrection. In contrast, the
group in verse 5 “lived not again,” or did not come to life again
until a thousand years later. This means there will be two separate
resurrections.

The Bible speaks of two resurrections -

Daniel 12:2 "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth
shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and
everlasting contempt."

John 5:28,29 "Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in
which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come
forth--those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and
those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation."

The dead in Christ are raised first -

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I Thessalonians 4:16 "For the Lord Himself will descend from
heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the
trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first."

This is the first resurrection. And as we learned in a previous

lesson, since the Son of God is God and Savior in the Old
Testament as well as the New, this resurrection will include not
only New Testament Christians, but all those people who from the
beginning have trusted in God for their salvation.

We can conclude that the second coming of Christ and the first
resurrection begin the one thousand year period, the millennium.

Revelation 20:5 "But the rest of the dead did not live again until
the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection."

"This is the first resurrection" refers back to those previously

mentioned in verse 4. And if the redeemed mentioned in verse 4
are resurrected first, that means that the “rest of the dead,” would
have to be the unsaved, which, according to this verse, will not be
resurrected until the thousand years are ended.

From the previous texts it should be understood that the

Millennium will begin with the resurrection of the righteous and
end with the resurrection of the lost.

The following is a list of the events that mark the beginning of

the 1000 year Millennium:

1. The second coming of Christ.

2. The resurrection of the righteous.
3. The righteous taken to heaven.
4. The wicked slain by the “brightness of His coming.”

We learned the details of this in the previous lesson – The Second

Coming of Christ.

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The following are events that will take place on earth during
the millennium.

We begin this section by looking at the condition of the earth as

the result of the second coming of Christ.

Revelation 20:1,2 "Then I saw an angel coming down from

heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in
his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is
the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;"

"The bottomless pit" is translated from the Greek word “abyss”

which means, a dark, desolate place. The abyss is a symbol of the
desolated earth after Christ's second coming as described in the
book of Jeremiah also seen in the previous lesson -

Jeremiah 4:23 - 28 "I beheld the earth, and indeed it was without
form, and void; And the heavens, they had no light. I beheld the
mountains, and indeed they trembled, And all the hills moved back
and forth. I beheld, and indeed there was no man, And all the
birds of the heavens had fled. I beheld, and indeed the fruitful land
was a wilderness, And all its cities were broken down At the
presence of the LORD, By His fierce anger. For thus says the
LORD: "The whole land shall be desolate; Yet I will not make a full
end. For this shall the earth mourn, And the heavens above be
black, Because I have spoken. I have purposed and will not relent,
Nor will I turn back from it."

The "great chain" that binds Satan during the thousand years is a
chain of circumstances. Just as we may hear someone say, “I can’t
go shopping with you today, I’m all tied up,” we realize that is not
to be taken literally but rather as a figure of speech that means that
circumstances will not allow them to go. The binding of Satan is
to be understood this way as well; there is no literal, earthly chain
that will bind Satan.

The binding of Satan means that he is no longer allowed to freely

travel the universe, he is “sealed” and “bound” on this planet by a

4
chain of circumstances that resulted from the second coming of the
Lord. The following text’s help us understand the circumstances
that causes him to be bound, unable to do what he would
otherwise do.

Revelation 12:9 "So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of
old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world;"

Satan’s main goal is, and always has been, to deceive the whole
world about God, but now...

Revelation 20:3 "He cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut
him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the
nations no more till the thousand years were finished."

Now, due to the circumstances, the earth being desolated, the

righteous taken to heaven and the wicked all dead, for a thousand
years Satan is unable to deceive anyone. This is the “chain” that
binds him in the “abyss,” the desolated earth. But Satan will be
“loosed” -

Revelation 20:7,8 "Now when the thousand years have expired,

Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive
the nations which are in the four corners of the earth," Gog and
Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the
sand of the sea."

At the close of the one thousand years, the “rest of the dead”
(verse 5), the wicked, are resurrected and Satan is “loosed,”
meaning he is now able to resume his work of deception. He is
able to deceive the wicked the same as he did before they died and
under the leadership of Satan come up to fight against the
“beloved city” (Revelation 20:9).

Events that take place in heaven during the millennium.

1. The Redeemed judge the lost -

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Revelation 20:4 "And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and
judgment was committed to them."

Since it will be obvious at this point in time who is saved and who
is lost, what is there to judge? “Judgment” in this verse is
translated from the Greek word "krima" meaning - a sentence
pronounced / ratified, or confirmed. The Bible refers to this
judgment in another place -

I Corinthians 6:2,3 "Do you not know that the saints will judge
the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you
unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Do you not know that we
shall judge angels?"

In this session of judgment the righteous will be able to “confirm”

the decision previously made by each individual who is lost
because of their rejection of God during their life on earth. They
will also see the record of each of the fallen angels who sided with
Satan and were cast out of their heavenly home.

As "the books are opened," they will see all the details of the lives
of the lost, and how God had done all He could to save them, but
they resisted. They will understand that God had no choice but to
give them up. By the evidence recorded in the heavenly records,
the redeemed will clearly understand the lost were truly unsafe to
save.

2. During the millennium the redeemed will “grow up” -

Malachi 4:2 “But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of
righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go
forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.” (KJV)

All believers redeemed from the earth will be at different levels of

knowledge and spiritual maturity. But during the millennium
everyone will sit at the feet of the Jesus and understand things that
they had no time or opportunity to learn, things that while on this

6
earth were great mysteries. Everyone will be “brought up to
speed,” so to speak in knowledge and spiritual maturity.

During the millennium God will prepare the redeemed to witness

the Great White Throne Judgment and the destruction of those
who are lost outside the holy city.

The following are the events that take place during the 1000
years –

1. Satan is bound.
2. Earth is dark and desolate.
3. Wicked are all dead.
4. Judgment in heaven by the Redeemed.
5. The redeemed “grow up.”

The events that close the millennium period –

At the end of the 1000 years the wicked are resurrected; they come
back to life the same as before they died, the subjects of Satan’s
clever deceptions.

Revelation 20:5 "But the rest of the dead did not live again until
the thousand years were finished."

Verses 7 – 9 "Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan

will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the
nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog,
to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of
the sea. They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded
the camp of the saints and the beloved city."

The references to “Gog” and “Magog” are simply symbols of the

enemies of God’s people. This comes from ancient times as seen
in Ezekiel 38:2 -

Ezekiel 38:2 "Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land
of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy

7
against him, and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I am
against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal."

“Gog” means the “chief prince” or leader of the enemies of God’s

people. “Magog” means the people who, as a nation, follow Gog.
In this prophecy, Satan is “Gog” and his nation of wicked
followers are “Magog.” The wicked under the leadership of Satan
come up to fight against the “beloved city,” the “New Jerusalem”
which is made up of all God’s people and described in symbolic
detail in Revelation chapter 21.

It is at this time the stage is set for the final judgment at the
Great White Throne.

Revelation 20:11,12 "Then I saw a great white throne and Him

who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away.
And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small
and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And
another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead
were judged according to their works, by the things which were
written in the books."

Satan again deceives the nations convincing them that because of

their great numbers they can take the "beloved city” by force.
They surround the city, and as they do everything comes into place
for this final phase of judgment.
This is the only time in all the history of humankind that everyone
that has ever lived on earth is alive at the same time in the same
place.

Inside the “beloved city” will be the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
and the Holy Angels. With them will be all the righteous who have
been redeemed from the earth.

Outside the city walls will be Satan and all his fallen angels and
with them all the lost whose number is as the “sand of the sea.”
The Prophet Isaiah prophesied of this -

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Isaiah 40:5 "The glory of the LORD shall be revealed, And all
flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

”All flesh shall see it together” - The “glory” that is revealed to

them is God’s omnipotent power and majestic beauty, but it is
more than that – Note what Moses saw when he asked to see
God’s glory -

Exodus 33:18,19 "And he (Moses) said, "Please, show me Your

glory." Then He (God) said, "I will make all My goodness pass
before you,

Exodus 34:6,7 "And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed,
"The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering,
and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for
thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin."

When the Lord passed by Moses, Moses didn’t see the form or
literal presence of the Lord described in the Bible as a “consuming
fire” (Hebrews 12:29), rather the Lord proclaimed His “name,”
that is, His gracious character. God’s infinitely merciful, good,
righteous and gracious nature. That is the “glory” of the Lord He
wishes all of us to see.

The entire universe will see this together as God’s glory is openly
and accurately portrayed at the Great White Throne. There the
truth about God’s character, His righteousness, goodness, and love
will clearly be seen by all. God’s great name will be vindicated.
No one will any longer doubt or question God’s character or
purposes then. All will bow in agreement, even Satan! The
Scripture will be fulfilled that says:

Romans 14:10,11 "But why do you judge your brother? Or why

do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand
before the judgment seat of Christ (some inside the city and some
outside). For it is written: "As I live, says the LORD, Every knee
shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God."

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Philippians 2:10,11 "At the name (seeing the character) of Jesus
every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth,
and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

As those outside the city look at Jesus seated on the Great White
Throne they will clearly see the contrast between God’s unselfish,
self-sacrificing love for everyone, even His enemies, and their
sinful love of self over others.

As they look at Jesus they will remember every sin they have
committed, they will see just where their feet diverged from the
path of right, just how far pride and rebellion have carried them in
violation of God’s law of love. The blessings perverted, the
messengers of God despised, the warnings rejected, the waves of
mercy beaten back by their stubborn, hardened heart. Then with an
overwhelming sense of remorse and condemnation they realize
there is no hope, that the “wages of sin is death.” It is not God that
condemns them - they condemn themselves. (The final end of the
wicked will be studied in the next two lessons.)

Psalm 9:16 “The LORD is known by the judgment He executes;

the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands.”

This final phase of judgment is for the benefit of all the universe -
God wants all men and angels to know and understand that life
and every good and perfect gift come from our gracious God…but
the day by day decisions of those outside the Holy City have led to
the hardening of their hearts until there is no remedy.

The purpose of the second resurrection is that the universe may

see that if the wicked are given a second chance and are clearly
shown all the evidence first hand so there can be no doubt or
questions, they still will not repent! That the hardened heart is
incurable! There’s nothing else God can do for them! He will
forgive them, but forgiveness will not heal the damage done – they
are simply not safe to save!

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And finally -

Revelation 20:9 "And fire came down from God out of heaven and
devoured them."

The wicked are devoured by a fire that comes down from heaven.
The wicked suffer the horrible second death! (next lesson).

After the Great White Throne Judgment and the earth cleansed by
fire, God will create a new heaven and new earth.

II Peter 3:10 - 13 "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in
the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise,
and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the
works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these
things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be
in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the
coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be
dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent
heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new
heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells."

The events that close the Millennium -

1. The second resurrection.

2. New Jerusalem comes down to earth from heaven.
3. The wicked surround the city.
4. The execution of final judgment.
5. God creates new heavens and new earth.

Where will you be in that final judgment day? Safe, inside the
city with Jesus, or outside looking in -

The same choice Moses gave God’s people long ago is still
available to God’s people today –

Deuteronomy 30:19,20 "I call heaven and earth as witnesses

today against you, that I have set before you life and death,

11
blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your
descendants may live;"

It is your choice! Today is the day of salvation - but the “day of

the Lord” will come – are you ready?

Response questions:

1. I understand the word millennium means one thousand years.

Yes___ No___

2. It is clear to me that the millennium begins with the first

resurrection at the second coming of Christ.
Yes ___ No ___

3. It is clear to me that the millennium ends with the resurrection

of the wicked and the Great White Throne Judgment.
Yes ___ No ___

4. It is my choice to be with the righteous inside the beloved city

on that day.
Yes ___ No ___

NOTES
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© 2012 Bill Chambers

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13
 The Sure Word Bible Studies
Lesson 10

Lost Forever
The Bible says the wages of sin is death. We have learned the
Bible teaches that all people, both good and evil, will sleep the
sleep of death, but Jesus has promised He will awaken all of them
out of that sleep. Some in the first resurrection at His coming, and
the rest in the second resurrection at the end of the millennium.
But then the Bible says at the final judgment some will face the
“second death.” What is the “second death,” that many people
refer to as “hell”?

According to traditional Christian belief hell is a place of unending

anguish and pain reserved for the wicked. Islam, the religion of the
Muslims, regards hell as a vast fiery crater that the souls of the
dead cross on a narrow bridge. As they do the wicked fall off the
bridge into everlasting torment. In Hinduism and Buddhism, a soul
may descend into one of many hells as a result of wicked karma
(thoughts, words, and deeds) but the stay in hell is not eternal. It
lasts only until the effects of the evil karma have been removed.

In modern times, some Christian theologians have questioned

whether a just and loving God would have created such a place as
hell. According to these scholars hell is not a place, but a symbol
of the anguish caused by the loss of God or goodness.

Obviously there are differences of opinion as to just what hell is.

To discover the truth about this issue our question must be as
always - What does the Bible teach?

Remember our rule… “Don’t say “the Bible says” until you’ve
looked at everything the Bible says.”

We begin by looking at the original words of the Hebrew and

Greek. In the Old Testament Hebrew, “hell” is translated from

1
“sheol” meaning - underworld, grave or pit. In the King James
Version Bible (KJV) it is translated as “hell” thirty one times and
as “grave” thirty one times, and as “pit” three times.

In New Testament Greek, “hell” is most often translated from the

Greek word “hades” meaning – the Greek god of the lower regions
or the realm of the dead, the grave. In the KJV it is translated as
“hell” ten times and as “grave” once. Twelve times hell is
translated from the Greek word “gehenna.” Gehenna was
commonly known as the Valley of Hinnom, a place south of
Jerusalem where trash and the bodies of executed criminals and
dead animals were cast out and burned.

In II Peter 2:4, The word “hell” is translated from the Greek word
“tartarus” which means the “deepest abyss.” This is the only time
this particular Greek word appears in the New Testament.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary 1993 Edition, the

English word “hell” came from the old English word “hele”
which originally meant “to cover over - to hide.” It is evident that
the word hell in all these languages originally meant primarily the
grave, where the dead body is covered over or hidden.

However, over the years the word hell has come to mean a place
of torment where the wicked suffer in flames through the endless
ages of eternity.

In the KJV Bible the word “hell” is used 53 times, but only 12
times does it refer to Gehenna, the place of burning; all the others
refer to the grave.

Since the word hell can imply either the grave or a burning place,
when using the KJV we must look at the underlying Hebrew or
Greek word in order to know how it is to be understood. For
example, both of the following verses use the word Hades, but in
one it is translated “hell” and in the other “grave.”

2
I Corinthians 15:55 “O death, where is thy sting? O grave
(hades), where is thy victory?” (KJV)

Acts 2:31 “He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of

Christ, that his soul was not left in hell (hades), neither his flesh
did see corruption.” (KJV)

This may not be the case in many modern translations such as the
New King James Version which translates these verses as follows-

I Corinthians 15;55 "O Death, where is your sting? O Hades,

where is your victory?"

Acts 2:31 "He, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection

of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh
see corruption."

This version does not translate "hades" but leaves the original
word in place, which assumes the reader is familiar with the
meaning. (A good reason to keep those dictionaries handy.)

In any case, the majority of people think of hell as a burning

place, therefore there are three basic questions we need to
consider on the subject of hell.

First – when will it burn? After learning the truth about the state
of the dead in a previous lesson, that the dead are not in heaven or
hell, but asleep in the grave, logic will give us but one answer as to
when they meet their final destiny and that is after the resurrection.

Then in the parable of the wheat and tares Jesus reveals when the
wicked will be cast into the fire.

Matthew 13:37- 40 "He answered and said to them: "He who

sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the
good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons
of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the
harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.

3
Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it
will be at the end of this age."

In this passage Jesus says the wicked will be burned in the fire “in
the end of this age” or "the end of this world." Then Peter adds to
this these words -

II Peter 2:9 "Then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of
temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day
of judgment,"

This passage makes it clear the wicked are “reserved” (in the
grave) “for the day of judgment.” So from these verses we can
conclude that no one is burning in hell now.

Our next question is where does the fire burn?

Some say hell is "down yonder." That idea came from the ancient
Greeks who believed that Hades was in the center of the earth. But
what does the Bible say? Revelation chapter twenty speaks about
the final day of judgment and the “lake of fire” at the end of the
1000 year millennium.

Revelation 20:7 - 10 "Now when the thousand years have expired,

Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive
the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and
Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the
sand of the sea. They went up on the breadth of the earth and
surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire
came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. The
devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and
brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will
be tormented day and night forever and ever."

According to this passage, the wicked were on “the breadth of the

earth” when the fire comes down and devours them.

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Now that we know when (end of this world) and where (on the
earth), our third question is - how long will hell-fire burn?

The Bible teaches that man is mortal, saying, “the soul who sins
shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4), but, if the wicked burn for eternity, that
would be eternal life! The Bible says the tree of life is in heaven –
not in hell. It seems clear that “The soul who sins shall die,” it will
not burn forever.

But what about those expressions in the Bible like -

"Eternal fire" - Jude 7 "Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities

around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves
over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set
forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire."

The text does say “eternal fire,” but is Sodom and Gomorrah still
burning today? No, the Bible says they were turned to ashes.

II Peter 2:6 "Turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into

ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to
those who afterward would live ungodly;"

According to this we understand that the results of the fire was

eternal not the fire itself. Those destroyed in that fire are never
coming back, but the fire itself has gone out.

"Unquenchable fire" - Jeremiah 17:27 "But if you will not heed

Me to hallow the Sabbath day, such as not carrying a burden
when entering the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I
will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of
Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched."

Jeremiah 52:12 - 14 "Now in the fifth month, on the tenth day of

the month (which was the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king
of Babylon), Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, who served
the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He burned the house of

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the LORD and the king's house; all the houses of Jerusalem, that is,
all the houses of the great, he burned with fire."

Is Jerusalem still burning today? No. It said the fire could not be
quenched – meaning that man could not quench it, but when it
burned up the city, the fire went out.

"Forever" - I Samuel 1:22 "But Hannah did not go up, for she
said to her husband, "Not until the child is weaned; then I will
take him, that he may appear before the LORD and remain there
forever."

Verse 28 "Therefore I also have lent him to the LORD; as long as

he lives he shall be lent to the LORD."

The Hebrew word Hannah used translated “for ever” is “olam”

which means either a long duration, everlasting, perpetual, or a
long time. As you can see, it has several meanings and does not
always mean “never ending.” When Hannah said “forever” she
only meant as long as he lives.

The Greek word translated “forever” is "aion" meaning - an

unbroken age, perpetuity of time, period of time, or an age.

This word too can mean forever, but it can also mean only a period
of time, whether long or brief as we see in the following verse -

I Corinthians 8:13 “Wherefore, if meat make my brother to

offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my
brother to offend.” (KJV)

In this verse the phrase, “while the world standeth,” is from the
same Greek word, “aion,” here meaning only as long as the world
stands, or at the most as long as he lives, and not for all eternity.

More than 50 times the Bible speaks of things lasting forever that
have already ended, such as Samuel’s service or King Solomon’s
reign. We still use this term in the same way today. You may hear

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someone say - “I sat in traffic forever!” We know they only meant
that it was to them a long time.

In the Bible there are 134 texts that state the wicked do not burn
forever, but will be destroyed or annihilated. Before we look at
those, remember, many of us are “programmed” to believe in
eternal torment so we will need to look at these passages very
thoughtfully. The following are a few examples:

Psalm 37:9 - 10 "For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who
wait on the LORD, They shall inherit the earth. For yet a little
while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, you will look
carefully for his place, But it shall be no more."

Verse 20 "But the wicked shall perish; And the enemies of the
LORD, Like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish. Into smoke
they shall vanish away."

Psalm 92:7 "When the wicked spring up like grass, And when all
the workers of iniquity flourish, It is that they may be destroyed
forever."

Destroyed forever – meaning they are gone forever.

Malachi 4:1 - 3 "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, "That will leave them neither root nor branch."

Burn them up - leave neither root nor branch - there is nothing left,
it will be as though they had never been.

Matthew 7:13 "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and
broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who
go in by it."

Note it says, “Leads to destruction,” not burning forever in hell.

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John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only
begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but
have everlasting life."

“Perish” – destroyed, not burning in the flames of hell for

eternity.

Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is
eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

The wages, meaning the reward or the consequences of sin is

death – not eternal life in hell or any other place.

James 1:15 "Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to

sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death."

This verse clearly states that sin results in death.

Mark 9:43 "If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better
for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to
go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched--where 'Their
worm does not die, And the fire is not quenched."

This verse says "the worm does not die, and the fire is not
quenched," NOT the body that is thrown into it. The body will be
consumed by the worms and the fire with nothing left.

Jesus probably had the following text in mind when He made the
previous comment -

Isaiah 66:24 "And they shall go forth and look Upon the corpses
of the men Who have transgressed against Me. For their worm
does not die, And their fire is not quenched. They shall be an
abhorrence to all flesh."

Note it says the “corpses” of the men who have sinned. The fire
and worms are devouring dead bodies, not burning living people
to death.

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Matthew 10:28 "And do not fear those who kill the body but
cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy
both soul and body in hell."

Again, the word used is “destroy.” The unrepentant sinner will be

completely destroyed in the end. These texts are not speaking
about the “sleep of death,” but the "second death." The death from
which there will be no awakening, no resurrection. The second
death is an everlasting, forever, eternal, death.

Matthew 25:46 "And these will go away into everlasting

punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

The result of the “punishment” is everlasting, but not the

“punishing.” We should be careful not to read more into the
Bible than it says.

Now let’s look at one of the key texts in Revelation that some use
to support an unending fire in hell.

Revelation 20:10 "The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the
lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet
are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever"

Now that we understand “for ever” comes from a Greek word that
does not always mean without end, but a certain period of time,
and according to the other passages we studied, even though the
period of time may be short, the results will be everlasting.

But then what happens to Satan? Is he down there “prodding

the wicked in the flames?” Is Satan immortal?

Ezekiel 28:13 - 19 “Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God;

every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the
diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the
emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy
tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou
wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I

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have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou
hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou
wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till
iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise
they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast
sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of
God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of
the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty,
thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will
cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may
behold thee. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of
thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I
bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and
I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them
that behold thee. All they that know thee among the people shall
be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou
be any more.” (KJV)

This must be Satan, because he (disguised as the serpent) and

Adam and Eve were the only ones in the Garden of Eden. In the
end Satan is “devoured” by a “fire” that comes from “within”
him. What kind of fire could that be? We will discuss that in more
detail in the next lesson.

From the beginning it has been Satan’s purpose to make our

gracious Heavenly Father one to be feared and dreaded. A fact that
should help us understand how these false teachings got into the
church where Satan does his most deceptive work!

From Funk and Wagnalls Standard Reference Encyclopedia by

Readers Digest 1958 under the heading “hell” we find this
teaching was adopted by the Roman Church long ago:

“The second council of Constantinople, in 533 AD, a belief in

the eternity of the punishments in hell became characteristic
of both the Orthodox and the Roman churches. It also passed
into the creeds of the churches of the reformation.”

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In the dark ages, during an age of superstition and ignorance, the
Roman Church developed the doctrine that hell was a place where
the lost would suffer eternal torment so that people would fear
God and the Church. It was a way of gaining power and control
over them in hopes of better church attendance and more
offerings. It appears some preachers still use this tactic today.

There are millions of people attending church every week, giving

their money and saying, “I love the Lord,” when in reality they are
afraid of what God will do to them if they don’t. The teaching that
God will torture in hell forever those who do not do as He wishes
or reject Christ, has actually turned thousands of people away
from God and the church. But learning the truth about God will set
them free of that fear.

In the next lesson we will continue the study on the punishment of

the lost.

Response Questions:

1. Is it clear to you that there is no one burning in hell now?

Yes __ No __

2. Is it clear to you that hell is not a burning place in the center of

the earth?
Yes __ No __

3. Is it clear to you God will not burn the wicked for all eternity?
Yes __ No __

NOTES
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 2012 Bill Chambers
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12
 The Sure Word Bible Studies
Lesson 11

The Passion of Christ

Before we continue to study the final death of the wicked it would
be helpful to study the death of Christ. Everyone agrees Jesus died
the death of the sinner, and that being the case, if we want to know
how the wicked die all we have to do is go to the cross and see
how Jesus died.

Hebrews 2:9 "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than
the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and
honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for
everyone."

II Corinthians 5:21 "For He made Him who knew no sin to be

sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in
Him."

Jesus, being sinless, was somehow “made to be sin for us” in order
for Him to “taste death for everyone.”

But how was Jesus death different from that of any other man?
There have been many men who have given their lives to save
others. There have been many good men who have suffered
terribly being painfully tortured as they were executed. But dying
in these ways does not make them the Savior of the world.

Yet it is true, one unique thing regarding the death of Christ was
that He is the only one who has experienced what the lost sinner
will experience in the end. The death God warned Adam and Eve
about in the beginning was not the “sleep” from which all will be
awakened, but the final and eternal cessation of life, the second
death.

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According to traditional church teaching, the unrepentant sinner
will suffer the “wrath of God” against sin which is what Jesus
suffered on the cross in our place. But remember God is not like
us, His ways are not like ours. The wrath of God is not being
beaten up or burned up, but rather God “giving us up” to the
consequences of our choices in life. Note the following texts that
make this clear beginning in the Old Testament –

Deuteronomy 31:16 - 18 "And the LORD said to Moses: "Behold,

you will rest with your fathers; and this people will rise and play
the harlot with the gods of the foreigners of the land, where they
go to be among them, and they will forsake Me and break My
covenant which I have made with them. Then My anger shall be
aroused against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I
will hide My face from them, and they shall be devoured. And
many evils and troubles shall befall them, so that they will say in
that day, 'Have not these evils come upon us because our God is
not among us?"

II Chronicles 15:2 "And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him:
"Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you
while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you;
but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you."

Note that it is only after men forsake God that He forsakes them.

II Chronicles 29:8 - 10 "Therefore the wrath of the LORD fell

upon Judah and Jerusalem, and He has given them up to trouble,
to desolation, and to jeering, as you see with your eyes. For
indeed, because of this our fathers have fallen by the sword; and
our sons, our daughters, and our wives are in captivity. Now it is
in my heart to make a covenant with the LORD God of Israel, that
His fierce wrath may turn away from us."

In His "wrath," God had simply “given them up to trouble,” in

other words He let them go their own way and suffer the
consequences.

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II Chronicles 30:7 "And do not be like your fathers and your
brethren, who trespassed against the LORD God of their fathers, so
that He gave them up to desolation, as you see."

Psalm 81:11 - 12 "But My people would not heed My voice, And

Israel would have none of Me. So I gave them over to their own
stubborn heart, To walk in their own counsels."

We see the same principle in New Testament as well.

Romans 1:18 - 28 "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven

against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress
the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God
is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the
creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen,
being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal
power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because,
although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor
were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish
hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools,
and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image
made like corruptible man--and birds and four-footed animals and
creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to
uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies
among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and
worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is
blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them up to vile
passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for
what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural
use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with
men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the
penalty of their error which was due. And even as they did not like
to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a
debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;"

According to the Bible, God does not inflict pain and torture on
the unrepentant sinner, but rather “gives them up” to suffer the
consequences of their choices.

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Galatians 6:7 "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for
whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to
his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the
Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life."

Therefore, God’s “wrath” is simply giving the unrepentant sinner

up to go his or her own way. God is love and this is the only way
love can respond to rejection!

If this conclusion is correct, then there should be a text that says

Christ was “given up” and there is -

Romans 4:24,25 "It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him

who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered
up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our
justification."

Romans 8:32 "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered
Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us
all things?"

The phrase “delivered him up,” is translated from the Greek word,
“paradidomi,” which means “to give over” or “to give up” and
translated in some modern versions as follows -

“He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all.”
(English Standard Version, ESV)

And if we look at the biblical record of the crucifixion we will find

that is exactly what happened. Beginning with the prophet David
writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit as he foretold the
crucifixion experience of Christ in the book of Psalms.

The following is a comparison of the verses in Psalms with the

verses in Matthew’s account of the crucifixion that demonstrate
this -

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Psalm 22:1 “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? why
are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my
roaring?”

Compare - Matthew 27:46 “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried
out with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is,
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

(Note: Jesus did not say, "My God, why are you killing me, or
punishing me," but, "why are you forsaking me, or giving me
up?")

Psalm 22:6 - 8 "But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of

men, and despised by the people. All those who see Me ridicule
Me; They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, "He
trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him; Let Him deliver Him,
since He delights in Him!"

Compare - Matthew 27:39 - 40 "And those who passed by

blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, "You who
destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You
are the Son of God, come down from the cross."

Psalm 22:16 - 18 "For dogs have surrounded Me; The

congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My
hands and My feet; I can count all My bones. They look and stare
at Me. They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing
they cast lots."

Compare - Matthew 27:35 "Then they crucified Him, and divided

His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was
spoken by the prophet: "They divided My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots."

In comparing Psalms 22 with Matthew 27 it becomes clear that

David is describing the experience of Christ as He is crucified
centuries before it actually happened.

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In the same way, the writer of Psalms chapter 88 also records the
thoughts in the mind of Christ as He experiences the suffering of
death.

Psalm 88:14 "LORD, why do You cast off my soul? Why do You
hide Your face from me?"

Remember Jesus cry – “My God, my God, why have you forsaken
me?”

Verse 15 "I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth; I
suffer Your terrors; I am distraught."

“I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth:”

As we earlier read in Hebrews, Jesus knew from an early age that

He was born a human for the suffering of death.

“While I suffer your terrors; I am distraught.”

The word “distraught” is translated from the Hebrew word “poon”

which means, “to be perplexed, confused, unable to think
logically.”

Though Jesus knew and foretold that He would suffer and die, yet
as He actually suffered the terrors of this death He became
distraught, perplexed, unable to think logically.

Verse 16 "Your fierce wrath has gone over me; Your terrors have
cut me off."

As Christ suffers the experience of being “forsaken” by God, He

senses that He is cut off – separated from the source of all life and
facing the second death from which there is no resurrection. This
becomes clearer as we go back and read verses 3 - 8.

Psalm 88:3 - 8 "For my soul is full of troubles, And my life draws

near to the grave. I am counted with those who go down to the pit;

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I am like a man who has no strength, Adrift among the dead, Like
the slain who lie in the grave, Whom You remember no more, And
who are cut off from Your hand. You have laid me in the lowest
pit, In darkness, in the depths. Your wrath lies heavy upon me, And
You have afflicted me with all Your waves. Selah. You have put
away my acquaintances far from me; You have made me an
abomination to them; I am shut up, and I cannot get out;"

“Whom you remember no more.” Christ senses he will be

eternally forsaken and forgotten. “I am shut up and I cannot get
out.” He feels there is no hope of coming forth from the grave, no
hope of resurrection from the tomb he is about to enter. We find
more evidence of this view recorded in the book of Matthew -

Matthew 12:40 "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in
the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and
three nights in the heart of the earth."

Here Jesus is comparing the experience of Jonah in the belly of the

whale with His own experience with suffering and death He
knows is soon to come.

Jonah 1:17 – 2:1 - 6 "Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to
swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days
and three nights. Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the
fish's belly. And he said: "I cried out to the LORD because of my
affliction, And He answered me. "Out of the belly of Sheol
(Hebrew for the grave) I cried, And You heard my voice. For You
cast me into the deep, Into the heart of the seas, And the floods
surrounded me; All Your billows and Your waves passed over me.
Then I said, 'I have been cast out of Your sight; Yet I will look
again toward Your holy temple.' The waters surrounded me, even
to my soul; The deep closed around me; Weeds were wrapped
around my head. I went down to the moorings of the mountains;
The earth with its bars closed behind me forever;"

Though the text says Jonah was in the belly of the whale only
three days, how long did Jonah say he was there? Not three days

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and nights, but “forever.” This implies that to Jonah this
experience was like hopelessly being buried in the earth forever!

In the same way, though the Bible says in three days Jesus was
tried, tortured, crucified and buried, Jesus says, just as Jonah did,
that his experience of suffering and death would be to him like an
eternity.

The thing we need to realize is this - as Jesus suffered the horrors

of the crucifixion and separation from His Father, for a time He
became distraught and could not think logically. While in this
confused condition He lost sight of his own resurrection he had
himself foretold. For a short time He actually lost any hope of
coming forth from the tomb.

All those who have given their life for others did so believing they
would live again. But Jesus did so feeling his death was eternal.
That made His death different from any other.

Yet, even though He felt this death would be eternal, He refused to

come down from the cross! He was committed to die the eternal
death if it meant by His sacrifice that men and women would be
drawn to God so that they would have eternal life!

Hebrews 12:2 "Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our
faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross"

John 12:32,33 "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw

all peoples to Myself. This He said, signifying by what death He
would die."

I Peter 3:18 "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for
the unjust, that He might bring us to God,"

Christ’s death was the perfect demonstration of God’s

unselfish, self sacrificing love in its purest form. When we
comprehend that, if we do not resist, it will change us forever!

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Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in
that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

If God did not execute Christ on the cross, then what caused
His death?

First of all, Christ did not die as the result of being crucified. Note
the following texts –

John 19:31 - 33 "Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day,

that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for
that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs
might be broken, and that they might be taken away. Then the
soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who
was crucified with Him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that
He was already dead, they did not break His legs."

Crucifixion was a slow torturous death that usually took three or

four days. In this case, because the Sabbath was approaching their
legs were broken to hasten their death.

Mark 15:44 "Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and

summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for
some time."

The reason Pilate “marveled that He was already dead” was

because men simply did not die by crucifixion as quickly as Jesus
did. The following verse gives us a clue as to what actually killed
Jesus.

John 19:34 "But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear,
and immediately blood and water came out."

Physicians say that the fact that blood and water came from the
opening in the chest made by the soldiers sword is evidence that
Jesus actually died from traumatic shock. Today this is known as
the “broken heart syndrome.” That is a condition that occurs when
a person suffers from extreme stress, just as Jesus would have

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during this experience. A condition which causes the body to
release excessive amounts of adrenalin which accumulate in the
sac that surrounds the heart eventually causing the heart to stop.

Just as Christ on the cross, the lost sinner will also be under
enormous stress as they stand outside the walls of New Jerusalem
at the Great White Throne Judgment feeling the terrible weight of
guilt, despair, self condemnation and having no hope realizing
they have cut themselves off from the very source of life and face
only an eternal death. This weight is more than the sinner can bear
and he will perish under its weight.

But there is a difference in their death and the experience of

Christ. As Jesus experienced this awful death, no matter how
hopeless things looked to Him, He still trusted God’s word that
had told Him he would be raised on the third day and as He died
He cried, “Father into your hands I commend my spirit.” This is
the “Faith of Jesus.” We all need that kind of faith, a faith that
trusts in God no matter how hopeless and dark things may look to
us.

The good news is this - Even though Christ would not come down
from the cross that day – He did come up from the tomb on
Resurrection Sunday and eternally reigns on God’s Throne!
Moreover, because He lives, you and I can be among those who
will live eternally with Him in the earth made new.

In the next lesson we will continue our study in the final death
of the wicked, the final end of sin and sinners.

Response Questions:

1. Do you understand that if one willfully continues to cling to

sin eventually they cut themselves off from the source of life
and will die the awful second death?
Yes __ No __

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2. Do you understand Jesus died to demonstrate the gift of God is
life and love but the wages of sin is death?
Yes __ No __

3. Do you realize that there is no reason to be afraid of God but

rather it is our own selfish, sinful nature that we should fear?
Yes __ No __

NOTES
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 2012 Bill Chambers

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12
 The Sure Word Bible Studies
Lesson 12

The Second Death

As we continue to study the subject of the final end of the wicked,
we need to keep these two verses in mind:

Job 4:17 “Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can a man
be more pure than his Maker?”

Isaiah 55:8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your
ways my ways," declares the LORD.”

The teaching of the eternal torments of hell has turned more

people against God than any other lie of Satan! Many people
choose be an atheist than to believe in a God who will torturously
burn people for eternity. Unfortunately most Christians believe in
an eternal hell, when in fact God’s great desire is that our
relationship with Him be prompted from a heart of understanding
and love, not superstition, ignorance and fear.

I John 4:16 - 18 "And we have known and believed the love that
God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in
God, and God in him. Love has been perfected among us in this:
that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He
is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect
love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who
fears has not been made perfect in love."

In fact fear will produce the character of a rebel. We see that in

young people who are anxious to leave home because of the
constant fear of harsh discipline from overbearing parents. Fear
may make a person behave in certain ways, but fear will not
produce love and respect, only resentment and rebellion.

Punishment can be used in one of two ways:

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1) Punishment as a means of “justice.”

According to the English Dictionary, over the years the definition

of justice has changed from "rightness" to "retaliation." Justice is
understood as giving a person what society feels they deserve for
misdeeds or violation of the law. In this evil world there is a place
for that. But at the same time there are laws against cruel and
unusual punishment of even the worst criminals. There are also
laws against parents exerting excessive punishment upon children.

Yet many people believe our loving Heavenly Father will torture
His disobedient children for eternity for a brief lifetime of sin and
that is not justice! And no matter how it may be sugarcoated -
whether for eternity or a few minutes - inflicting pain upon a
person for no other purpose than “to make them pay” for their past
actions is not justice, it is torture!

2) Punishment as a tool in discipline or training.

A loving, responsible parent does not punish a child to “bring him

to justice” or to “give him what he deserves.” But when other
methods of corrective training have failed, the responsible parent
punishes the child in appropriate ways to teach them that certain
types of conduct will result in unpleasant consequences. The Bible
speaks about this -

Hebrews 12:6 - 11 "For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And

scourges every son whom He receives." If you endure chastening,
God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a
father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of
which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not
sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us,
and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in
subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a
few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our
profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no
chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful;

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nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of
righteousness to those who have been trained by it."

The purpose of the “chastening,” (the Greek word means

“training children”) spoken of in this text is to produce “the
peaceable fruits of righteousness” – that is, right behavior that
results from a right character.

But if God subjects the wicked to painful suffering after the final
judgment, aware that they are hardened in their sin and will not
change, what purpose would that serve other than saying to the
rest of the universe “If you disobey Me this is what I will do to
you!” Then the motive for obeying and loving God would be the
fear of what He will do to us if we don’t do as He wishes.

Which of these two methods we believe God uses depends upon

our understanding of God’s character. Jesus wanted the disciples
to understand that the “spirit,” (the nature of a person) that would
painfully burn sinners alive is not of God.

Luke 9:52 - 56 "And as they went, they entered a village of the

Samaritans, to prepare for Him. But they did not receive Him,
because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. And when
His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You
want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume
them, just as Elijah did?" But He turned and rebuked them, and
said, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the
Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them."
And they went to another village."

It is at this point that many would naturally ask about the “wrath
of God.” This is a question that should be asked, but only as we
let the Bible interpret itself will we find the correct answer. We
studied this question in the last lesson, but it is worth going over
again, take time to go back and review it.
According to the Bible God does not inflict pain and torture on the
unrepentant sinner but rather “gives them up” to suffer the
consequences of their own choices -
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Galatians 6:7 "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for
whatever a man sows, that he will also reap."

God’s “wrath” is God sadly giving the determined sinner up to go

his or her own way. God is love and this is the only way love can
respond to rejection! We find more evidence of this truth in the
following verses:

Psalm 9:15 - 16 "The nations have sunk down in the pit which
they made; In the net which they hid, their own foot is caught. The
LORD is known by the judgment He executes; The wicked is
snared in the work of his own hands."

Psalm 34:21 "Evil shall slay the wicked, And those who hate the
righteous shall be condemned."

Proverbs 11:5 "The righteousness of the blameless will direct his

way aright, But the wicked will fall by his own wickedness."

Ezekiel 22:29 "The people of the land have used oppressions,

committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they
wrongfully oppress the stranger."

And does the Lord do to these wicked people?

Verse 31 "Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them; I

have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have
recompensed their deeds on their own heads," says the Lord."

In these texts it is clear that God allows the wicked to suffer the
consequences of their own actions. They suffer because of what
they are and what they do – not because God is inflicting pain or
trouble upon them to punish them.

If God intentionally inflicts trouble and pain upon those who reject
Him – we have reason to fear Him. On the other hand, if we suffer
and die as the natural consequence of sin, of ignoring God’s
warnings and going our own selfish way, we have no reason to

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fear God, but every reason to fear sin! Every reason to cling to
God - for He is our only help!

Make no mistake, there will be torment for the unrepentant sinner;

but it will not be the physical pain of literal fire. The suffering of
the wicked in the end will be a heart wrenching, agonizing pain of
despair, terror, and remorse as they come to realize the truth of
their hopeless condition.

Let’s go again to the book of Revelation and take a closer look at

the Great White Judgment to better understand the final fate of the
wicked. Begin by reading verses 7 - 10 which portrays the period
at the end of the one thousand year millennium.

Revelation 20:7 - 10 "Now when the thousand years have

expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to
deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog
and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as
the sand of the sea. They went up on the breadth of the earth and
surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire
came down from God out of heaven and devoured them."

This is a summary statement of what John saw in vision. In the

following verses he gives more detail of what happened prior to
the fire coming down and devouring those outside the city.

Revelation 20:11 - 15 "Then I saw a great white throne and Him

who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away.
And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small
and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And
another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead
were judged according to their works, by the things which were
written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and
Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And
they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death
and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the
lake of fire."

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As hardened sinners gather themselves outside the “beloved city,”
the “The Great White Throne Judgment” takes place. Picture
again this scene in your mind. Every person who has ever lived on
earth is alive at the same time and place with all the righteous
inside the city and all the wicked outside the city walls. This is the
time the Bible speaks of when it says, “we shall all stand before
the judgment seat of Christ” (Romans 14:10).
Christ describes the despair of the lost when they find themselves
outside those walls.
Luke 13:28 "There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when
you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the
kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out."

At last the terrible realization of the final consequence of sin will

be visited upon them. For those who find themselves outside the
walls the severity of suffering will correspond with the measure of
guilt – because the measure of guilt depends on the amount of
knowledge. The more knowledge of God and His righteous ways
they have rejected, the more guilt and condemnation they will
experience and the reality of that will be clearly shown to them at
the Great White Throne Judgment.

The word “name” in the New Testament Greek is a word for

“character.” When Christ is seen on the Great White Throne, His
gracious “name” or character will be revealed to all present. As
they see this, everyone, including Satan, will bow in
acknowledgement of the truth.

Philippians 2:10, 11 "That at the name (seeing for themselves the

gracious character) of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in
heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and
that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the
glory of God the Father."

As the wicked witness the glory (gracious character) of God as

revealed in Christ at the final judgment they will finally
acknowledge the truth. All their excuses are gone, they have seen
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it all with their own eyes and they will be speechless. The stark
reality of their lost and hopeless condition is now before them.

Remember the text in Revelation says “fire comes down from God
out of heaven and devours them.” However, there is biblical
evidence that the fire does not kill them, but that they are already
dead and the fire devours only their dead bodies. This is not the
first time that fire comes down from heaven and devours. One
example is in II Chronicles -

II Chronicles 7:1 "When Solomon had finished praying, fire came

down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the
sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the temple."

As we studied in a previous lesson about the sanctuary services,

the sacrifices were to teach that sin kills. The sacrifice being killed
by the sinner, was dead before being placed on the altar and
burned. No sacrifice in the temple services were burned alive.
A text from Isaiah confirms this concept -

Isaiah 66:24 "And they shall go forth and look Upon the corpses
of the men Who have transgressed against Me. For their worm
does not die, And their fire is not quenched. They shall be an
abhorrence to all flesh."

Jesus referred to this fire that would not be quenched (Mark 9:43).
But note again this fire is burning “carcasses,” dead bodies, not
living people.

And as we learned in the last lesson, intense emotional pain and

stress can cause painful suffering and ultimately death. This is
what killed Christ. Note the following report from the website,
ReligionNewsToday.com

“During the January 17, 1994, Northridge/Los Angeles earth -

quake, over one hundred Californians literally died of fright.
This was the conclusion of Robert Kloner, cardiologist at
Good Samaritan hospital in Los Angeles. Apparently a

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terrorized brain can trigger the release of a mix of chemicals
so potent it can cause the heart to contract - and never relax
again.”

As also mentioned in the last lesson, medical scientists have

acknowledged a similar condition they call the “broken heart
syndrome.” This is a condition where under extreme stress the
body secretes excessive amounts of adrenalin which build up in
the sac that surrounds the heart, and unrelieved, will eventually
cause the heart to stop beating. This could be what most of those
outside the Holy City on that day will experience. This may be
what Isaiah is speaking of in chapter 33 -

Isaiah 33:10 - 12 "Now I will rise," says the LORD; "Now I will be
exalted, Now I will lift Myself up. (The Great White Throne
judgment) You shall conceive chaff, You shall bring forth stubble;
Your breath (Hebrew “ruwach” which also means spirit or
character), as fire, shall devour you. And the people shall be like
the burnings of lime; Like thorns cut up they shall be burned in the
fire." (Words in parenthesis are mine)

Stubble is the short stalk left in the field after the grain harvest.
The stubble is dead. Notice when the Lord is exalted the wicked
"conceive" or 'bring forth stubble." In other words, as a woman
brings forth or conceives a child from within her body, the wicked,
in the same way, bring forth or conceive a spirit or nature within
themselves that is as dead stubble and "as thorns cut up" will be
burned in the fire. Again the point is made that the wicked will be
dead when the fire comes down and devours them.

Now note the question asked in verse 14 –

"The sinners in Zion are afraid; Fearfulness has seized the

hypocrites: "Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire?
Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?"

What or who is the “devouring fire”? In a previous study we

learned that according to the Bible, it is God himself. Hebrews

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12:29 was one among other texts that say “Our God is a
consuming fire.”

So the question really is: Who can live in the literal presence of
Almighty God? Who can dwell "in the light which no man can
approach unto" ? (I Timothy 6:16)

Now note the answer in Isaiah 33 verse 15 as to who can live in

God’s literal presence –

"He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, He who despises

the gain of oppressions, Who gestures with his hands, refusing
bribes, Who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed, And shuts
his eyes from seeing evil:"

Because the righteous have been changed, their "corruption

putting on incorruption" (I Corinthians 15:53) at the second
coming of Christ, they can live in God's literal presence; and they
will rejoice as they “see the King in His beauty.” (Isaiah 33:17)

On the other hand, when the wicked witness the glory of God
revealed they will perish. Not because God lashes out at them in
anger but because they cannot bear the reality of what they are
compared to what Jesus is! The enormity of their guilt will crush
them. As we saw in the last lesson, the clearest evidence of how
the sinner dies is seen at the cross.

As God at last reveals His glory and the wicked die (see note at the
end of this lesson), the redeemed will stand at the walls of the city
and watch. How will you feel as you see those people suffer and
die the awful second death?

When we look back into the Father’s face as His lost children die,
what will we see? A vengeful, vindictive God crying out “Now at
last My justice is satisfied!”

No, we will see a loving Father weeping over His lost children!

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Yet the Bible is clear, God “will by no means clear the guilty”
(Exodus 34) - it would do no good. He must give them up - they
are incurable. At the last, God will fully unveil His “power and
glory” and “fire comes down from God out of heaven and devours
them." The fire that consumes the already dead bodies of the
wicked also purifies the earth.

II Peter 3:10 - 13 "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in
the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise,
and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the
works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these
things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be
in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the
coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be
dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent
heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new
heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells."

This will be the end of sin and sinners! The universe will be
returned to the state it was before sin entered – freedom and trust
and unselfish love will abound throughout. When this is all over
the redeemed will witness God’s mighty power as He creates a
“new heaven and new earth.”

Revelation 21:1 - 5 "Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth,

for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there
was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride
adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven
saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will
dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be
with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear
from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor
crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have
passed away."

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No more sorrow, no more pain, no more crying - How can this
statement be true if there’s a place somewhere where the wicked
are suffering in agony and pain as they burn for eternity?

What a glorious inheritance we have reserved for us!

I Peter 1:3 - 5 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us
again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and
that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,"

“Reserved in heaven for you”, put your name there. God created
no other one like you; you are an original! God will miss you if
you are not there!

There will be an eternal void in His heart for all those who reject
His gracious love. Be there! Make your reservations today!

END NOTE: It is clear from scripture that the wicked will perish
in the literal presence of God. We have seen His awesome
presence described in as "fire," 'light" and "glory," but since no
living human has experienced or seen it, exactly just what it is no
one knows for sure. However, since we do know that the angels
live in His very presence and that Adam and Eve also lived in it in
the beginning before their fall, we can say with some certainty that
the "glory" of God that would consume the corrupt sinner will
actually be life-giving to the righteous.

So when God finally unveils His glory before the entire universe,
no longer shielded by His grace, sinners will perish because of
what they are, and not because God is punishing them by slowly
burning them to death. The very fire that consumes the wicked is a
good fire and gives life to the righteous, it is the "everlasting fire"
that we never want to go out. But still the most important question
is - How is God involved in the final death of His lost children?
Hopefully that question has clearly been answered.

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Response Questions:

1. Is it clear to you that the wicked will be

(1) Destroyed – forever.
(2) On the earth.
(3) At the end of the 1000 years.
Yes __ No __

2. Is it clear to you that the wicked are already dead when the fire
comes down from heaven and “devours” them?
Yes __ No __

3. Is it clear to you that “The wages of sin is death – but the gift of
God is eternal life?”
Yes __ No __

NOTES
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 2012 Bill Chambers

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13
 The Sure Word Bible Studies
Lesson 13

The Legal Model vs the Healing Model

What does a person have to do to ensure that they will have eternal
life? The answer varies depending upon who you ask. Most people
today understand the plan of salvation, or the way a person is
saved, in the setting of a judicial, legal model. There are a number
of reasons for this, but a man who may have had the most
influence on this view was John Calvin. John Calvin was
considered a leader among the great reformers of the Protestant
Reformation. Calvin was originally educated as a lawyer, but later
became a priest in the Roman Catholic Church with his legal
training naturally influencing his views and ideas.

Many major doctrines held in mainline churches today can be

attributed to a large four-volume work completed in the sixteenth
century by Calvin entitled “The Institutes of the Christian
Religion.”

These include doctrines such as pre-destination - the immortality

of the soul - the eternal punishment in the fires of hell, and the
topic we will study in this lesson, the legal view of the plan of
salvation to name a few.

The word “legal” in this context means a system with laws which
carry prescribed punishment for their violation. In order to avoid
the penalty the violator must receive pardon.

Though there are variations, the following is a list of the basic

points of the legal model.

1. God is the Almighty Sovereign Creator of the universe

and as such has the authority proclaim a law or code of
conduct to be obeyed by all His creatures.
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 2. Violators of God’s law must be punished.
3. The punishment for violation (sin) is suffering and death.
4. God is the Judge and Executioner of the penalty against
sin.
5. To avoid punishment, the guilty party must be pardoned.
6. All humans are violators of God's law – all are guilty and
condemned to suffering and death.
7. The innocent son of God came and paid the penalty on
behalf of the guilty.
8. If a person accepts Christ death on his behalf he is
pardoned and will not be punished but granted eternal life.

The popular King James Bible, because it was translated at a time

when the reformers such as Calvin were having such a great
influence on the church, reflects this “legal model.” Because of
this most people are taught that God as an awesome deity
watching over the universe, a loving God, but yet a just God, one
who will punish you if you break His law because justice requires
it. That’s the way the legal system works. With all mankind guilty
before God then it stands to reason that the major focus in the
legal model of salvation is forgiveness, or to use the legal term,
pardon.

If a person is at the place in their understanding that they see God

in this way, they need to know God will pardon them for breaking
His law. So the Bible says – “If we confess our sins, He is faithful
and just to forgive us our sins” (I John 1:9).

However, there are a number of problems with this legal model of

salvation. The major problem is that with the legal model there is
little or no focus on character change because it is preoccupied
with forgiveness seeing that as all that is needed to avoid the
penalty.

It also questions God’s willingness to forgive, thus distorting the

truth about His character. When asked why Jesus had to die, most
will answer, Jesus had to die so God would forgive our sin. That
only by the sacrificial death of His own Son could we be forgiven!

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In saying that, they are saying that God requires the blood of His
own Son before He will forgive us! This is preached from the
pulpit, taught in Bible classes and written in the words of church
hymns. The following quotes taken from a set of widely circulated
Bible study guides demonstrate this view.

“Jesus had to die so God could forgive us of our sin.”

“Sin can be forgiven only by death.”

“When Jesus died, all our sins were forgiven.”

The problem is, this is not what the Bible teaches! For example;
note the following text:

Psalm 40:6 "Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; My ears
You have opened. Burnt offering and sin offering You did not
require."

God does not require that the sinner appease Him in some way
before He will forgive. That was not the purpose for the sacrifices
in the Old Testament system. When Jesus was nailed to the cross,
what did He cry out? “Father forgive them….” and no one had
repented, confessed or asked to be forgiven!

If God required the death of Jesus as payment before He could

forgive our sin that means God is not forgiving. For example, if
you owed someone a million dollars and was unable to repay the
debt and a friend, seeing your dilemma came to you and said
"forgive my friend the debt, I will pay you the million dollars." So
your creditor accepts the money from your friend and says to you
"your debt is forgiven." But the fact is your creditor did not
forgive your debt, he just accepted payment from someone else!

If God would only forgive us if Jesus paid our debt, then God has
not forgiven us, He has only accepted payment from Jesus. If a
person carefully thinks this through, it can readily be seen that
Satan has artfully crafted a theory of salvation that makes God

3
look no better than the pagan gods of old who required a blood
sacrifice before they would forgive and bless!

Therefore an important message from the cross is that God has

forgiven us even before we ask as we learned in a previous lesson,
but of course we don’t realize that until we go to the Cross!

The expression, “Jesus died to pay for our sins,” which, by the
way, is not in the Bible, is not a well thought out statement. If that
statement is true, then all people will be saved whether they accept
Christ’s death or not. If He paid for all my sins, they are paid for
whether I accept it or not. If the bill is paid, it is paid, and no
longer owed whether I acknowledge it or not! Again, if these
things are carefully thought through they do not make good sense!
Another problem with the legal model is that it leads to
presumption because it leads many to feel forgiveness is all they
need to be saved. Since Jesus has secured that for them, that’s all
that matters. Thus they have no lasting motivation to change or to
live a righteous life. This is the foundation of the “once saved
always saved” doctrine.

Thought question: Will simply being forgiven save us? Will

forgiveness change our nature? Will being forgiven make a violent
person safe to live with?

The obvious answer to each of these questions is “No.” Only a

new heart and right spirit will make us safe to live with, now, or in
the hereafter. When Nicodemus came to Jesus that night asking
Him about salvation – did Jesus say to have eternal life “You must
be forgiven?” or “You must be born again?” Jesus said we must
be born again! (John 3:1-3) Jesus was saying that God’s grace
changes a person so drastically that it is like being born all over
again. One becomes “a new creature in Christ.” (II Corinthians
5:17)

We need to re-examine the age-old question, “What must I do to

be saved?” putting aside the old “legal model” and begin looking
at salvation in a new way, within the setting of a “healing model.”

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In the "healing model" model, instead of seeing all human beings
as being born as guilty criminals under the sentence of death, all
human beings are born with a terminal illness that will destroy
them if they are not healed. This is a spiritual infection, they are
“sin-sick.” The major focus in this model is not forgiveness, but
finding the remedy whereby one may be cured so that they will not
die.

This model, as with any other teaching, must be found true to the
scriptures to be accepted. The following verses are just a few that
clearly demonstrate this model is biblical.

Isaiah 1:5,6 "Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt
more and more. The whole head is sick, And the whole heart
faints. From the sole of the foot even to the head, There is no
soundness in it, But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores;
They have not been closed or bound up, Or soothed with
ointment."

Isaiah 53:5 “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was

bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon
him; and with his stripes we are healed.”

Jeremiah 17:14 “Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save

me, and I shall be saved: for you are my praise.”

Mark 2:17 "When Jesus heard it, He said to them, "Those who
are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did
not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."

Matthew 13:15 "For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest
they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should
heal them."

It is clear that these texts are not referring to the healing of

diseases of the body, but rather spiritual healing of the heart and

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mind. We are all familiar with the New Testament term used for
salvation, the word “saved.” The Greek word is “sozo” - and it
means, “to be whole” “to be well” or “to be safe.” This word can
be understood as “being healed,” as well as “being saved.” It is
translated both ways:

Mark 5:22,23 "And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue

came, Jairus by name. And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet
and begged Him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter lies at the
point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be
healed, and she will live."

In this verse the word “healed” is the Greek word “sozo.”

Mark 10:25 - 26 "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of

a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." And
they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, "Who
then can be saved?"

In this verse the Greek word “sozo” is translated “saved.”

In all these passages we can clearly see the Bible supports the
“healing model.” By looking at salvation in the setting of this
model we will begin to find answers to our questions that make
sense. Questions like, how did we get in this sinful condition in the
first place? As we learned previously, the sin problem began in
the mind of Lucifer and then later spread to this earth.

Isaiah 14:12 "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of
the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who
weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: 'I will
ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;"

“You have said in your heart…” A person’s thinking is not done

in the organ called the heart, but in the mind. When Adam and Eve
made the decision to follow the suggestion of the serpent in the
Garden of Eden, their brains were changed, literally. This “brain
damage” was passed on to their children.

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Note the following statement from the book, The New Brain –
How the Modern Age is Rewiring Your Mind by Richard
Resak, M.D. Published by Rodale 2003

“We now recognize that our brain isn’t limited by

considerations that are applicable to machines. Thoughts,
feelings, and actions, rather than mechanical laws, determine
the health of our brain. Furthermore, we now know that the
brain never loses the power to transform itself on the basis of
experience, and this transformation can occur over very short
intervals.”

The brain can transform itself, and that change can occur over very
short intervals. When God created Adam and Eve they were
created with their minds “wired” for righteousness. But when the
serpent introduced the new thought to their minds that God could
not be trusted, and they made the decision that Satan was right and
ate of the tree which God said not to eat of, their brains were
changed. Their brains were actually rewired and they began to
think differently. As result, they had alienated themselves from
God. If God had not intervened on their behalf, they would not
survive the damage they had done to themselves.

Researchers have discovered that certain behavior affects the

genes and can be passed on to the offspring - a proven example is
alcoholism. In the same way the psychological damage incurred
by Adam and Eve has passed through the genes and D.N.A. of
every generation since that fateful day in the garden. As we read
previously -

Romans 5:12 "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the
world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men,
because all sinned"

One Bible commentator described the problem in a book entitled

God’s Amazing Grace, page 313:

“Man was originally endowed with noble powers and a well-

7
balanced mind. He was perfect in his being, and in harmony
with God. His thoughts were pure, his aims holy. But through
disobedience, his powers were perverted, and selfishness took
the place of love. His nature became so weakened through
transgression that it was impossible for him, in his own
strength, to resist the power of evil. He was made captive by
Satan, and would have remained so forever had not God
specially interposed.”

“Selfishness took the place of love” and where did that happen? In
the mind! This becomes clear as we realize every child is born
with an inherited trait of selfishness. Things like greed, hatred,
jealousy, lying, stealing, adultery, violence, murder - are only
symptoms of the greater psychological disorder of self-
centeredness.

Every sin can be traced back to self – its all about me – my needs -
my wants – my rights! If not checked, this psychological disorder,
like cancer or leprosy spreads and grows until it consumes its
victim and in the end destroys him!

Most of us have seen enough in life to know this, so why do we

cling to it - why do we justify it? Have we convinced ourselves we
are fine just as we are – that we need no change? Thinking we can
go on through life doing the same selfish, sinful things and yet
somehow it will come out different for us? That is insane! It is
insanity! In fact, that’s what sin is – it’s insanity!

This situation in the setting of the healing model can be likened to

a father who has a child who is mentally ill and sometimes
behaves badly. The child’s father hates what his child does, but he
loves his child. He pities the child and he realizes the child doesn’t
know what he’s doing. Therefore the father doesn’t punish the
child, but does everything he can to help. This helps us to
understand what Jesus had in mind when He said - “Father forgive
them – they know not what they do.”

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Understanding this helps us to understand how God loves the
sinner while hating the sin. More than that, it helps us see better
how we should relate to others whom we see as sinners. We
should love them and pity them – the worse they are behaving, the
more they need our sympathy and our help! We are all sin-sick,
some more than others.

So in this healing model the question changes from “What must

we do to be forgiven” - to - “What must we do to be to be healed –
made well?”

What is the healing process? What must one do to be saved or

to be healed?

I John 1:9 says “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

First Step - We must "confess," that is admit that we have a

problem. Like an alcoholic in denial, some people insist that they
do not have problem. So the first step, just as with an alcoholic,
the sinner must “confess” they have a problem – they are sick!

Even then, if they try to correct their behavior by sheer will power
they will fail, time after time. However, once a person is willing to
admit they are sick (a sinner) and realize that they can’t heal
themselves then they are ready for the next step. Remember Jesus
said -“They that are whole do not need a physician, but those who
are sick”

Second Step - Next we need to find a physician. This needs to be

done with great care. We don’t want to go to a quack, or a doctor
who has not proven to be reliable. We want to find one whom we
can trust with our eternal life! The Bible says – “Trust in the Lord
Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.” (sozo - healed)

As the Lawgiver, Jesus forgives us. Then as the Creator, only He

can “Create in us a clean heart and a right spirit” - only He can

9
re-wire our damaged brains. He is the Great Physician - the only
One who can heal us.

Third Step - We must go to our physician. Jesus said, “Him that

cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” – but He will not force us
to be well. If we won’t come to Him – he can’t help us.

Fourth Step - We must faithfully keep our appointments. This

includes - daily devotions - Bible study - prayer - witness -
keeping the Sabbath. If we are too busy, if other things (even good
things) take up our time and there is no time left for treatment, our
recovery will be greatly hindered!

Fifth Step - We must do what our physician prescribes. Everyone

wants to be well – to be saved, but some don’t want to do what the
doctor says. The doctor may say they need a little surgery, or they
may need to get some exercise or take some medicine. This is an
important step. In order for us to get well, we must co-operate with
our physician. If we refuse to do what the doctor prescribes can we
expect to get well?

Doctors cannot save their patients who do not trust them, or have
enough faith in them, to keep their appointments and do the things
they prescribe. Doctors may love their sick patients; they may
forgive them for not taking their medicine – but the patient will
not get well, because love and forgiveness will not heal the
damage.

The Bible says God has “Loved you with an everlasting love” and
that “His mercy endureth forever,” but if we harden our heart and
will not listen, if we will not follow God’s instructions, He will
still forgive us and love us – but He can’t heal us – He can’t save
us!

That means, if we don’t go to church – don’t study the Bible –

don’t pray – if we don’t do the things the Bible says we should do,
God will forgive us, but the changes in our brain that we need will

10
not take place. Our characters will not be changed and thus we
will not be safe to enter the kingdom.

Ultimately, we are either in the recovery process and our sinful

condition is in remission, or, we are getting sicker and closer not
only to physical, but to spiritual death as well.

But again, we must trust and co-operate with the Great Physician,
or healing will not take place and eventually we will be so
hardened in sin that we will be incurable! Jesus says the same
thing in a different way in the following passage.

Luke 6:47- 48 "Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and

does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man
building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the
rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently
against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on
the rock.

Note the steps –

1) Come – Come to Jesus.
2) Hear – Carefully listen to what He says we should do.
3) Do – Co-operate, do the best you can to do those things
He says to do, and you shall be saved. This is the simple
formula Jesus gives us for salvation.

The following chart will help to compare the two models

The Legal Model The Healing Model

God as the Sovereign Creator of God as the Sovereign Creator of
the universe has arbitrarily the universe has established the
proclaimed His law by which law of love by which the
the universe is to be governed. universe is to be governed.

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 Violators of God’s laws will
Violators of God’s law must be
suffer the natural consequence
punished.
of violating those laws.

Sin punishes sin. The ultimate

The ultimate punishment for
consequence of violation is
violation (sin) is death (hell).
death by sin, not at God’s hand.

God is the Great Physician and

God is the judge and the
only source of life. He alone
executioner.
can heal the sin sick and restore
life to the dying.
To avoid suffering and death
To avoid punishment, we must one must be healed; forgive-
be pardoned / forgiven. ness only being a part of that
process.

Since all humans are violators All human beings have been
of the law – all are guilty and infected with sin - sickness,
condemned to death. thus subject to death.

God sent His Son that by His

The innocent Son of God came
life and death we may be won
and paid the penalty for the
back to trust God and thereby
guilty so God could pardon us.
healed of our deadly infection.

If a person will come to God

If a person accepts Christ as
(the Great Physician) and
savior he is pardoned and will
follow His divine instructions
not be punished but granted
(prescriptions) he will be healed
eternal life.
and will never die.

In the healing model, God does not stand as the executioner of the
sentence against the wicked just as medical doctors do not kill
their diseased and dying patients. They do everything possible to
heal and save them! In the same way, God, the Great Physician

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does not kill His sick and dying children either! Remember the
following text from the lesson on the final death of the wicked.

James 1:14,15 "But each one is tempted when he is drawn away

by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived,
it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth
death."

Sin is the ultimate source of death – just as a deadly disease like

cancer. God is the ultimate source of life, and rather than
condemning us, God is trying desperately to save us – not so He
won’t have to punish us – but so that sin will not destroy us! Sin
kills! God heals! God gives life! Sin takes it!

We must realize who our enemy is so that we are not fighting the
wrong battle. We blame sin and evil on Satan and rightly so, but if
the devil died today it wouldn’t change much – the seeds of evil he
planted in the minds of Adam and Eve took root and have been
passed down from generation to generation to everyone of us. Our
worst enemy is within us! Our worst enemy is our selfish, sinful
nature and it will destroy us if we don’t have help!

Today, if you realize you are sin-sick – if you are not doing well,
may I recommend Jesus? He accepts walk-ins - you need no
appointment – and He still makes house calls. He can heal any
illness – no matter how hopeless it may seem to you, but you have
got to call on Him. You have got to trust Him - “Believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.”

Response Questions:

1. It is clear to me that I need more than God’s forgiveness to be

saved.
Yes __ No __

2. It is clear to me that sin is like a deadly disease.

Yes __ No __

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3. It is clear to me that the healing model of salvation is biblical.
Yes __ No __

4. I am willing to come, listen, and do the things the Lord says that
I may be saved, or healed, and have eternal life.
Yes __ No __

NOTES
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 2012 Bill Chambers

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15
 The Sure Word Bible Studies
Lesson 14

The Sure Blessings of Health

Today there is a lot of emphasis on health and it seems whenever
this topic comes up there usually are a lot of counsel given on diet.
With some religious groups one might be led to think that even our
salvation depended on what we ate! At the same time others scoff
at the idea that we should be particular about diet or any other
lifestyle issues. In the view of these people, these kinds of things
have nothing to do with the spiritual aspect of our lives. To help us
find the balance to this issue we must turn to the Bible.

I Corinthians 6:12 “All things are lawful for me, but all things
are not helpful: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be
brought under the power of any.”

This goes back to cause and effect, which include both physical as
well as spiritual law and principles.

Galatians 6:7 - 8 "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for

whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to
his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the
Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life."

God does not punish those who follow poor health practices, but
they will suffer the natural consequences of violating the
principles of good health.

And it is a fact of life that regardless of how healthy a lifestyle

people live, some will not live out their normal life expectancy.
Accidents and unavoidable diseases can strike those who are in the
best of health and cut their lives short.

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The Bible teaches there is a more meaningful reason for doing our
best to be healthy other than simply living longer. Let’s look back
to something Jesus said recorded in the book of Mark.

Mark 7:18 - 23 "So He said to them, "Are you thus without

understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a
man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not enter his
heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?"
And He said, "What comes out of a man, that defiles a man.
For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts,
adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness,
deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All
these evil things come from within and defile a man."

Remember one of the rules of Bible study from lesson one was
asking the question: Who is the primary audience the speaker is
addressing? To whom is Jesus speaking in this verse? The answer
is the Jews, and to the Jew in those days, eating unclean meats,
hormones and chemicals in meats, processed foods, not drinking
enough water – lack of sleep – lack of exercise, none of these
things were a problem so Jesus did not mention any of these as
things they should avoid.

But, what would Jesus say to us today here in America? Could

what we eat and the lifestyle we live affect what comes from
within, that is, affect the way we think and our ability to make
good decisions? Absolutely!

The main reason to maintain good health is so that we may protect

the mind, the control center of our being.

From the book “Why God Won’t Go Away” - Ballantine

Publishing Group Copyright 2001 by Andrew Newberg M.D.

“The brain is a collection of physical structures that gather and

process sensory, cognitive, and emotional data; the mind is the
phenomenon of thoughts, memories, and emotions that arise

2
from the perceptual processes of the brain…The mind cannot
exist without the brain”

“Every event that happens to us or any action that we take can

be associated with activity in one or more specific regions of
the brain. This includes all religious and spiritual experiences.”

“If God appeared to you in some incarnation, you would have

no way of experiencing his presence, except as a part of a
neurologically generated rendition of reality. You would need
auditory processing to hear his voice, visual processing to see
his face, and cognitive functions to comprehend his meaning,
and input from the brain’s emotional centers to fill you with
rapture and awe… There’s no other way for God to get into
your head except through the brain’s neural pathways. God
cannot exist as a concept or as a reality anyplace else but in
your mind. Even if there were a soul through which God could
communicate, it would have little cognitive meaning to us
without a brain.”

This helps us to understand the importance of the proper function

of the brain, which of course relates directly to the working of the
mind.

We all know alcohol and drugs can cause problems with the
brain’s ability to function. But what we may not realize is that
things like overeating - eating a lot of processed foods - too many
sweets - animal products - caffeine - lack of fresh air and sunshine
- lack of exercise, all these things pose a health risk and thus can
cause problems with the brain’s ability to function properly.

For example, if our arteries are restricted with cholesterol and our
blood flow is sluggish because of fats, there will be lack of blood
to nourish the heart and the brain.

In the book – “Exploring the World of Psychic Powers” Southern

Publishing Assoc. copyright 1971 by Fernando Chaij, Ph.D., Dr.
Franz Volgyesi speaking about hypnosis states:
3
“A lack of blood to the brain induce the hypnotic state…the
activity of the control centers of the cerebral cortex is
suspended… and one’s individual consciousness and will
power are therefore replaced by those of the frontal cerebral
region of the brain of the hypnotist…."

The lack of blood to the brain makes it easier for someone else to
“get into our head.” Satan gets in our head this way! This is why
diet and exercise and lifestyle are so important. Diet and exercise
promote healthy blood as well as proper blood flow to the brain so
we can think clearly and make good decisions that would be of
benefit to us and pleasing to God.

Galatians 5:22 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-
control. Against such there is no law."

Note the last virtue in this list of fruit of the Holy Spirit is self-
control. We all need self–control, the power of mind over body.
That is, the ability to do what is best regardless of how much our
“flesh” may crave those things that are harmful. Let’s look at some
texts that relate to this.

Luke 10:26 - 27 "He said to him, "What is written in the law?

What is your reading of it?" So he answered and said, "'You shall
love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul,
with all your strength, and with all your mind,"

II Corinthians 8:12 "For if there is first a willing mind, it is

accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he
does not have."

1 Peter 1:13 "Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober,

and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to
you at the revelation of Jesus Christ"

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Romans 7:25 “I thank God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! So
then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the
flesh the law of sin.”

Romans 12:2 "And do not be conformed to this world, but be

transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove
what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

Living on earth as a man, Christ knew the importance of this

health principle in relation to the mind -

Matthew 27:34 "And when they had come to a place called

Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull, they gave Him sour wine
mingled with gall to drink. But when He had tasted it, He would
not drink."

Vinegar mingled with gall was a potion given to men who were
being crucified to help deaden the pain. But as with all painkillers
it also deadens the ability of the mind to think clearly.

The Desire of Ages, Pacific Press Publishing, pg 746 brings out

this point -

“To those who suffered death by the cross, it was permitted to

give a stupefying potion, to deaden the sense of pain. This was
offered to Jesus; but when He had tasted it, He refused it. He
would receive nothing that could becloud His mind. His faith
must keep fast hold upon God. This was His only strength. To
becloud His senses would give Satan an advantage.”

Jesus needed His mind to be clear so that He might stay focused

on His mission. What about us? As the followers of Christ, isn’t
that important for us too?

Right health principles promote:

(1) Mental superiority and Intellectual power
(2) Physical strength, and longevity

5
All of these things depend upon unchangeable laws. There is no
happen-so, no chance, about this matter. Nature's God will not
interfere to preserve men from the consequences of violating
nature's laws. We will reap what we sow!

There are a number of reasons why this is especially critical for us

living at this time.

1) Because “every wind of doctrine” is blowing today (Eph 4:14),

we need clear minds to discern the true from the false. We need to
be able to clearly hear the still small voice of the Hoy Spirit that
says “This is the way, walk in it.” (Isaiah 30:21)

2) In our world today obtaining food untainted by contaminants is

difficult. That being the case, our greatest safeguard is a strong
immune system to fight off the diseases that may attack our
bodies. Only with proper diet and exercise can we be assured of a
healthy immune system.

3) If our blood flow is sluggish, laden with fats and contaminated

with chemicals, if our arteries are restricted with cholesterol build
up, if our blood pressure is high from gluttony and lack of
exercise; We will be like the drunk who thinks he’s ok when he’s
not. If we can’t think clearly, our ability to reason will be crippled.

4) If our mind is clouded in this way we may not be able to

correctly understand God’s Word and be more open to Satan’s
subtle temptations. These problems may lead us to make poor
decisions and in the end be lost because of it! Perhaps even worse,
we may confuse someone else and cause them to be lost too!

There are seven basic keys to good health –

1. Rest.
Proper rest is essential for health of mind and body. Overwork
should be avoided, and getting 7- 8 hours of sleep per night is
vital. Periods of rest provide much needed quietness and
communion with God. The Sabbath plays an important role in rest.

6
2. Pure Water
The human body is 75 percent water, but this vital fluid is being
lost through exhaled air, perspiration, and waste products.
Therefore drinking plenty of pure water every day is needed to
maintain efficient health. Another important function is its use in
cleanliness, daily bathing, and washing hands often.

3. Sunlight
Sunlight is essential to life; it powers the process that provides the
nutrients that nourish and energize our bodies and releases the
oxygen we must have to live. Sunshine is the best source of
vitamin D which promotes health and healing. But, too much
exposure to the direct rays of the sun can be dangerous.

4. Fresh Air
Impure air hinders the blood from carrying the oxygen required for
the best function of every cell, including that of the mind which
makes a person less alert and responsive. It is important that we
secure a generous supply of fresh air every day. The following is a
list of things that help provide your body with optimal oxygen.

1. Give the body an oxygen flush by frequently taking slow deep

breaths.
2. Don’t smoke and don’t breathe anybody else’s smoke.
3. Air out your house often.
4. Surround yourself with green plants.
5. Be active, exercise.

5. Exercise
Regular exercise results in increased energy, a firm body, stress
relief, weight control, healthier skin, improved digestion, and
reduced risk of heart disease and cancer, and self-confidence.
Exercise is not an option; it is essential to maintaining good
health!

Note the following quotes from Time Magazine’s Health Report -

(Sources: American Journal of Medicine; Institute of Medicine;
Cancer Causes and Control)

7
“Tobacco is the primary non-genetic contributor to death in
the U.S.; among other things, it doubles the chance of having a
stroke. Poor diet and lack of exercise are second, alcohol abuse
is third, microbes and viruses are a distant fourth.”

“Score another point for healthy living. Half of all fatal cancers
are linked to poor diet, smoking and lack of exercise – all
factors that individuals can control.”

6. Stimulant free, Drug free life

There are many harmful drugs through which Satan destroys lives
everyday, speed, heroin, cocaine - but more commonly used drugs,
drugs people try to justify, are just as deadly! Alcohol and nicotine
are both toxic (poisonous) substances. Do not use them in any
form. Caffeine is another widely used addictive drug that causes
many physical and mental problems.

Note the following:

Quote from Time Magazine Health Report :

“A survey of 22 published studies shows that heavy coffee
drinkers face a 40% greater risk of heart attack than non-
drinkers.”

Quote from Self Magazine:

“We found that caffeine impaired recall ability by about 20%.”

Quote from the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry:

“In a study of the demographic characteristics of the people
who use caffeine, it was found that high consumers were also
less active in religion.”

Where do we get caffeine? The most common sources are coffee,

tea, colas, and chocolate.

Since God communicates with us through our minds, it is well to

remember that nicotine, caffeine and alcohol adversely affect its

8
function. A Christian who is truly, sincerely seeking to know God
better, will abstain from using these or any mind-altering drugs.

7. Nutritious Food
Food produces blood, and blood nourishes the mind, therefore
what we eat is very important. To the first humans on earth, the
Creator gave the ideal diet. According to the Bible, in the
beginning there was no death and thus humans were given a
vegetarian diet. Man’s body was designed to function best on that
kind of food.

Genesis 1:29 "And God said, "See, I have given you every herb
that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree
whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food."

While it is true that God later allowed men to eat flesh foods, it
was not the best diet for them. Today eating of flesh foods and
other animal products including dairy products is much worse than
in the past. Considering the hormones, chemicals, and other
harmful things used in the food of animals raised for human
consumption, as well as the fat and other harmful substances
contained in animal products, nutritionists today agree that the
vegetarian diet is the most healthful diet.

There is too much material to provide all the information and

evidence for this in this study guide. There are numerous materials
available for that purpose. It would be best to research those
materials and keep abreast and follow the best diet available to
you.

An excellent book on this topic is The China Study by T. Colin

Campbell, PhD Published 2005 by BenBella Books.

The New York Times commenting on this book issued this

statement -

9
“The most comprehensive large study ever undertaken of the
relationship between diet and the risk of developing disease
are challenging much of American dietary dogma.”

Two helpful sources of information on health and nutrition are the

following -

McDougall Wellness Center - drmcdougall.com

NutritionFacts.org

Both these websites have helpful newsletters, weekly videos,

books and other heath resources available.

3 John 1:2 “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things
and be in health, just as your soul prospers.”

Response Questions:

1. The reason for a Christian to be concerned about physical

health is clear to me.
Yes __ No __

2. I will study to learn more about good health habits.

Yes __ No __

3. I will commit to the practice of good health habits that my mind

may be alert to the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to me.
Yes __ No __
NOTES
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 2012 Bill Chambers
10
11
 The Sure Word Bible Studies
Lesson 15

The Sabbath Rest - Part One

Throughout these studies we have talked about trusting in God’s
Word. What we mean by that is that we believe what God says is
true, that following His word is for our best good, it is right, it is
life. The Bible teaches that there are a number of things that
demonstrate whether or not a person really trusts God’s word. The
next two lessons are concerned with one of those issues and that is
the Sabbath, the Lord’s Day.

There is apparently some confusion about this day that needs to be

cleared up. For example, it is common knowledge that ALL Jews
believe Saturday is the Sabbath. At the same time ALL the
Muslims believe Friday is the proper day of worship, but, some
Christians keep Sunday while others keep Saturday as the day of
worship.

Have you ever given any thought as to why this is? Does it matter?
Maybe the most important question is - who is truly trusting and
following God’s word on this issue? To answer that we must once
again turn to God’s Word.

Revelation 1:10 “I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I

heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet”

This text tells us the Lord has a day, but it does not tell us which
day is the Lord’s Day.

Mark 2:27 "And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for
man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is
also Lord of the Sabbath."

This text tells us the Sabbath is the "Lord’s day," but it does not
tell us which day is the Sabbath. We need another text.

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Exodus 20:10 "But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD
your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your
daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor
your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates."

This text tells us that the seventh day is the “Sabbath of the
Lord.” By the way, note it is the Sabbath of the Lord, not the
Sabbath of the Jew or my Sabbath or your Sabbath, but the Lord's.

But some argue that we don’t know for sure which day is the
seventh day, assuming it has been lost tract of back in ancient
times. But the Bible has never lost track of the seventh day from
the Creation even to the time of the Apostles.

Genesis 2:2,3 "And on the seventh day God ended His work which
He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work
which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and
sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God
had created and made."

In establishing the seventh-day as the Sabbath at Creation, God

“sanctified it.” That means that He set aside the seventh day to be
honored and observed. It was not set aside for a certain people, but
as we just read Mark 2:27 where Jesus said it was "made for man"
(the Greek word translated "man" is "anthropos" meaning
"mankind," or all people including men and women.) The fact that
there were no Jews at the time of Creation is evidence that it
couldn’t be just for the Jew.

Then before Moses and the Israelites arrived at Mount Sinai,

where they would be given the Ten Commandments, God
reminded His people of the seventh day Sabbath that was
established back at the Creation. We find the story in Exodus.

Exodus 16:4 "Then the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain
bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather
a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will
walk in My law or not."

2
Verse 26 "Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day,
which is the Sabbath, there will be none."

Keeping the Sabbath was to “prove” or test them to see if they

would trust God’s Word and follow it. That was God’s purpose in
withholding the manna on the seventh day. But note what
happened -

Verses 27, 28 "Now it happened that some of the people went out
on the seventh day to gather, but they found none. And the LORD
said to Moses, "How long do you refuse to keep My
commandments and My laws?"

Why did those people go out on the seventh day to gather when
God had told them there would be no manna that day? Because
they did not trust His Word. They failed the test.

When they finally arrived at Mount Sinai God himself then wrote
the Sabbath commandment on the tables of stone to indicate its
permanence. God has continued to watch over the Sabbath day
throughout the ages; it has not been lost.

We have evidence in the New Testament that clearly shows which

day is the Sabbath. Note the following verses. from the record of
Christ's crucifixion.

Luke 23:50 - 54 "Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a

council member, a good and just man. He had not consented to
their decision and deed. He was from Arimathea, a city of the
Jews, who himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God.
This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he
took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was
hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before. That day
was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near."

This is what later became known as “Good Friday” – the day

Christ was crucified.

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Verses 55,56 "And the women who had come with Him from
Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His
body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and
fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the
commandment."

This is the day following Good Friday, which would be Saturday

or the seventh day of the week.

Luke 24:1 "Now on the first day of the week, very early in the
morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the
tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. But they found
the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then they went in and did not
find the body of the Lord Jesus."

This was Sunday morning, the first day of the week, what the
Christian world now celebrates every spring as “Easter Sunday.”

What day lies between Good Friday and Easter Sunday? Saturday
or the seventh day Sabbath. The seventh day has not been lost.

If the Jews had been keeping the wrong day as Sabbath, Jesus
would have told them. As we learned in a previous lesson, as the
Son of God, Jesus is the Creator and Lawgiver as seen by the
following passages.

Ephesians 3:9 "And to make all see what is the fellowship of the
mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in
God who created all things through Jesus Christ"

Nehemiah 9:6 "You alone are the LORD; You have made heaven,
The heaven of heavens, with all their host, The earth and
everything on it, The seas and all that is in them, And You
preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You.
You are the LORD God"

Verse 13 "You came down also on Mount Sinai, And spoke with
them from heaven, And gave them just ordinances and true laws,

4
Good statutes and commandments. You made known to them
Your holy Sabbath, And commanded them precepts, statutes and
laws, By the hand of Moses Your servant."

The Lord who created the world also blessed and sanctified the
seventh day as a day of rest. But who needed rest that first
Sabbath? God never gets tired, Adam and Eve were just created,
so they didn’t need rest. However, having just been brought to life
they would not have know who God was. Surely they had many
things to learn. Therefore, God set aside that first seventh day for
Adam and Eve to get to acquainted with Him. One of the primary
reasons for the Sabbath is to spend time with God, getting to know
him better. This is so important that when God wrote this precept
He began it with the word “Remember.”

Exodus 20:8 - 11 "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day
is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work:
you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor
your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is
within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and
the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh
day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed
it."

This day was to be a weekly reminder that God is the Creator of

heaven and earth and all that is in them, thus keeping men from
developing other theories of how this world came into existence
eventually leading them into atheism.

The seventh-day Sabbath was not a part of the ceremonial law of

the sacrificial system that was a “shadow of good things to come”
(Hebrews 10:1) pointing to the coming Messiah. The Sabbath is
part of the moral (right) law that points back to the Creator and
Lawgiver.

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Approximately 4000 years after Creation, as Christ died on the
cross, He declared, “It is finished,” and rested in the tomb the
seventh-day Sabbath.

Note according to John 20:17, the morning of His resurrection, He

told Mary He had not yet gone to the Father, which means He had
remained in the tomb during the Sabbath hours.

John 20:17 "Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to Me, for I have not
yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them,
'I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God
and your God.' "

Just as the Creator rested the Sabbath after His work of Creation,
the Redeemer rested in the tomb on the Sabbath after His work of
redemption.

The Hebrew noun “Sabbath” comes from the verb “sabat” which
means, “to take intermission.” The Sabbath day is a day of
“intermission,” a time for us to stop and remember - both our
Creator AND our Savior!

Some teach that the Apostles, acting on a commandment from

Christ, changed the day of worship to the first day for the
Christian believer because Jesus was resurrected on that day. If the
Lord had given them a commandment that important they would
have told us! It would be in their writings, as Luke tells us in the
book of Acts.

Acts 1:1,2 "The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that

Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was
taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given
commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, to whom He
also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible
proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the
things pertaining to the kingdom of God."

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According to Luke’s own words, if Christ had commanded a
change in the day of rest and worship from the seventh to the first
day in honor of the resurrection, we should be able to find it in his
writings, either in the Gospel of Luke or the book of Acts.

In a careful reading of both books there is no record of such a

change. However, the following are some of the verses in Acts
that clearly show the apostles worshipped on the Sabbath.

Acts 13:42 - 44 "So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the
Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the
next Sabbath. Now when the congregation had broken up, many of
the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who,
speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.
On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear
the word of God."

Acts 16:13 "And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the
riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down
and spoke to the women who met there."

Acts 18:4 "And he (Paul) reasoned in the synagogue every

Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks."

There is one text that does mention Paul’s preaching and breaking
bread on the first day of the week.

Acts 20:7 "Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples
came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day,
spoke to them and continued his message until midnight."

Think about what is being said here. Does breaking bread or

communion make a day a Sabbath? No, churches have
communion on different days of the week. Does preaching make a
day a Sabbath? Again, no, preaching services are held on different
days of the week as well.

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The Wycliffe Bible Commentary makes the following comment
on Acts 20:7:

“This is the earliest clear reference to the Christian practice of

observing Sunday as a day of worship. The first Christians, as
Jews, probably continued to observe the Sabbath as well as the
first day of the week. We are not told when or how the
practice of Sunday worship arose in the church.”

(From The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Electronic Database.

Copyright © 1962 by Moody Press. All rights reserved.)

This is true, we are not told in the Bible “how the practice of
Sunday worship arose in the Church,” the reason being that the
practice of Sunday worship did not begin until many years after
the Bible was written!

The fact is that all the New Testament books were written 20 to 90
years after Christ’s resurrection – in those writings the Jews
argued with the Christians about Moses’ law, fasting,
circumcision, and the traditional teachings of the Pharisees. But if
the Christians had made an attempt to change the Sabbath day
there would have been a tremendous controversy over that and it
would have been faithfully recorded in the Bible just as the other
issues were. But there is no mention of changing the day of
worship in the entire New Testament.

Note this honest admission of a Baptist theologian, Herschel H.

Hobbs from his book, “The Baptist Faith and Message” copyright
1971 – Convention Press, page 94 -

“There is no specific command in the New Testament to

change from the seventh to the first day.”

If the change is not in the Bible, then who, when and by what
authority was the seventh day Sabbath changed to the first day
Sunday? Before we answer that question read the following
verses.

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Psalm 89:34 “My covenant will I not break, nor alter the word
that is gone out of my lips.”

Ezekiel 22:28 "Her prophets plastered them with untempered

mortar, seeing false visions, and divining lies for them, saying,
'Thus says the Lord GOD,' when the LORD had not spoken."

In these verses God says that He will not change His Word but
some church leaders will. Church history tells us the change from
the seventh day Sabbath to the first day Sunday came about during
the fourth century long after the scriptures were finished and all
the Apostles had died.

The change was subtle and prompted by two things. The first was
compromise – the blending of pagan holidays making them
Christian Holy Days in the Church. Note the following excerpts
from a book written by the Catholic scholar - Charles Panati.

“Sacred Origins of Profound Things” Published by Penquin 1996

Page 216 Under the heading “Christmas.”

“It is important to note that for two centuries after Christ’s

birth, no one knew, and few people cared, exactly when he was
born. Birthdays were unimportant…. On December 25, pagan
Romans, still in the majority, celebrated “Natalis Solis Invicti,”
(Latin for) “Birthday of the Invincible Sun God,” Mithras….
Mithraism was so popular with the masses that the Emperor
Aurelian proclaimed it the official state religion. In the early
300’s the cult seriously threatened Christianity, and for a time,
it was unclear which would emerge victorious. Church fathers
debated their options. It is well known that Roman patricians
(high society) and Plebeians (common people) alike enjoyed
festivals of a protracted (prolonged) nature. The Church, then,
needed a December celebration. Thus, to offer converts an
occasion in which to be pridefully celebratory, the Church
officially recognized Christ’s birth. And to offer head-on
competition to the sun worshippers’ popular feast, the Church
located the Nativity (Christ’s birth) on December 25th.”

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And then on Page 204, 205 Under the heading – “Easter Sunday.”

“In the Christian faith, Easter is the most sacred of holy days
because it commemorates the cornerstone miracle of the
faith…But the holy day’s name derives from an ancient pagan
festival and is the name of the Saxon goddess of spring and
offspring (fertility), Eastre. It just so happened that Eastre, a
fertility goddess, had as her earthly symbol the prolific hare, or
rabbit. Hence the origin of the Easter bunny. Named “the
Lord’s Day,” Sunday became a symbol by which Christians
differentiated themselves from the Jew. However, it was not
until Christianity became the official religion of the Roman
Empire in the early decades of the fourth century that the
Lord’s day took over the full significance of the Sabbath, and
that the observance of the seventh day was dropped and left
entirely to the Jews.”

The second thing that prompted the change was hatred for the
Jews whom many people blamed for the death of Christ as well as
for the Jewish-Roman War in the first century. The following is a
statement made in the fourth century by the Roman Emperor
Constantine which reflected those feelings among many early
Christians.

“We ought not therefore have anything in common with the

Jews, for the Savior has shown us another way. We desire
dearest brethren, to separate ourselves from the detestable
company of the Jews.”
Quoted from the Council of Nicea 325 A.D.

The change from the seventh day Sabbath to the first day Sunday
was officially adopted by the Church fathers in A.D. 338 at the
Council of Laodicea as noted in the Revell Bible Dictionary,
Wynwood Press, New York, N. Y. 1973. Under the heading of
“The Lord’s Day.”

“However, there was no transfer of the concept of a day of rest

from Sabbath to Sunday. In the first century, the first day of the
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week was a normal work day. Yet the tendency to transfer
elements of Sabbath observance to Sunday soon appeared and
is reflected in the pronouncement of the fourth council of
Laodicea that while “Christians must not Judasize by resting
on the Sabbath, they should, if possible, rest on the Lord’s
Day.”

Later, in A.D. 1234, Pope Gregory officially mandated Sunday

rest for all Christians. The Roman Catholic Church claims to have
made the change from Sabbath to Sunday as recorded in the
following church document.

The Converts Catechism of Catholic Doctrine, by Rev. Peter

Geiermann, C.SS.R, pg 50 –

Q. What is the third commandment?

A. The third commandment is: Remember the Sabbath day to
keep it holy.
Q. Which is the Sabbath day?
A. Saturday is the Sabbath day.
Q. Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?
A. We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the
Catholic Church transferred the solemnity from Saturday to
Sunday.

It is a historical fact that the Church made the change, not based
on the Bible, but based on the authority of the Church. But does
the Roman Church, or any church, have the authority to change
the commandment of God for any reason? The Apostle Peter
answers:

Acts 5:29 "Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said,
We ought to obey God rather than men."

If the commandment to keep Sunday is not in the Bible, then it is

clearly a precept or a law of man. The dictionary defines the ideas
of men as “tradition.” Jesus warned us about keeping the
traditions of man in place of the commandments of God.

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Matthew 15:1 - 9 "Then the scribes and Pharisees who were
from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, "Why do Your disciples
transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their
hands when they eat bread." He answered and said to them, "Why
do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your
tradition? For God commanded, saying, 'Honor your father and
your mother'; and, 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put
to death.' But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or mother,
"Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to
God"-- then he need not honor his father or mother. 'Thus you
have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.
Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 'These
people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with
their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship
Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men."

Though most Christians do not realize it, Sunday is a tradition that

has replaced the commandment of God, “Remember the Sabbath
day to keep it holy.”

This brings us back to the initial point – the Sabbath command is

an issue that can demonstrate whether or not we trust God’s Word.
It is a test in the sense that if one knows the word of God and
refuses to honor it, that is evidence that they:

1) Don’t trust God’s Word, just as those people in the Old

Testament who went out on the Sabbath to gather manna after God
told them there would be none.

Or, 2) they possess a rebellious spirit – they will do only that

which they want to do or what they find convenient for them,
regardless of what God says.

The bottom line is that the issue here not about this or that day –
it’s about trusting God and being willing to follow His Word. And
instead of being a sign that we are attempting to work our way to
heaven, keeping the Sabbath is a sign that we “rest,” or trust in
God’s Word.

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Remember Jesus said, “the Sabbath was made for man” (Mark
2:27). The Sabbath was a gift from God to man, it is to be a
blessing and a delight and we would be wise to take advantage of
the blessings that come with keeping all the commandments of
God including the Sabbath.

In part one of this lesson we have examined the biblical evidence

for the seventh day Sabbath. Next in part two we will examine the
biblical evidence for Sunday and see if there is any reason for us
to worship that day in place of the Sabbath.

NOTES
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 2012 Bill Chambers

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14
 The Sure Word Bible Studies
Lesson 16

The Sabbath Rest - Part Two

In the previous lesson we learned that the Bible teaches the

seventh day Sabbath is the Lord’s Day, the true Sabbath. Yet
many churches still keep Sunday as the day of worship. Does the
Bible in any way support this? To be honest in our search for truth
we must look at all the biblical passages that may support the first
day as the day of worship. We will begin by looking at all the texts
that mention the first day –

Matthew 28:1 "Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week
began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see
the tomb."

This text tells us the Sabbath was past. Two days are mentioned,
the Sabbath and the first, drawing a distinction between the two.

Mark 16:1,2 "Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene,
Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they
might come and anoint Him. Very early in the morning, on the first
day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen."

Verse 9 "Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He
appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven
demons."

Again two days are mentioned, the Sabbath and the first day. But
no change is made.

Luke 23:54 - 56 "That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath
drew near. And the women who had come with Him from Galilee
followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was
laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils.
And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment."
1
Luke 24:1 "Now on the first day of the week, very early in the
morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the
tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared."

This passage "lines up" the two days before the first day -

1. Preparation Day (Good Friday) - verse 54

2. Sabbath (Saturday) - verse 56
3. First day (Resurrection Sunday) - verse 1 of chapter 24

These were the events that the yearly "feast days" we studied in
the sanctuary service pointed forward to:

1. Feast of Passover, which pointed to Christ sacrifice.

2. Feast of Unleavened Bread, which pointed Christ’s burial.
3. Feast of Firstfruits, which pointed to Christ’s resurrection.

Next - John 20:1 "Now on the first day of the week Mary
Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw
that the stone had been taken away from the tomb."

John is restating what the other gospel writers have already

mentioned. But note verse 19 where he mentions a meeting held
on the first day:

Verse 19 "Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of
the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were
assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst,
and said to them, "Peace be with you."

It is clear that this was not a worship meeting. John writes they
were "assembled for fear of the Jews." The disciples were afraid
the Jews would have them crucified too! In fact, up until that time,
they did not believe Jesus had been resurrected.

Compare Mark 16:9-11 "Now when He rose early on the first

day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of
whom He had cast seven demons. She went and told those who

2
had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. And when they
heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not
believe."

The disciples did not believe until they saw Him themselves later
that day. The next passage that mentions the first day is in the
book of Acts which we discussed in the last lesson.

Acts 20:7,8 "Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples
came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day,
spoke to them and continued his message until midnight. There
were many lamps in the upper room where they were gathered
together."

There are three points we need to recognize in this account.

1. It was nighttime - "there were many lamps" - Paul spoke

"until midnight."
2. This could have been the beginning of the first day which
would be a Saturday night meeting (in Bible times the
days began at sunset).
3. Breaking bread does not make it a holy day or a Sabbath,
this is a Jewish term that simply meant they ate together.
According to Acts 2:46, they "broke bread" everyday.

This was a farewell meeting for Paul. They sensed they would
never see him again as this was to be his last missionary journey.
In no way does this text suggest that Sunday was a holy day.

The next passage is found in I Corinthians.

I Corinthians 16:1 - 3 "Now concerning the collection for the

saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you
must do also: On the first day of the week let each one of you lay
something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no
collections when I come. And when I come, whomever you
approve by your letters I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem."

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This was not a Sunday school offering being taken up in church.
Note the following points.

1. The term "lay something aside" - refers to keeping it at

home.
2. ‘‘storing up" - meant it was to be put aside until Paul came
to gather it. Paul was calling for a collection for the saints
suffering in the famine in Jerusalem at the time. This is
confirmed in the book of Acts also.

Acts 11:27 - 30 "And in these days prophets came from

Jerusalem to Antioch. Then one of them, named Agabus, stood up
and showed by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine
throughout all the world, which also happened in the days of
Claudius Caesar. Then the disciples, each according to his ability,
determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea. This
they also did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas
and Saul."

In none of the previous texts mentioning the first day is there any
evidence of a change made regarding the day of worship by Christ
or the apostles.

Now we will look at some other texts used to support Sunday

worship even though neither Sunday or the first day are mentioned
in them.

Colossians 2:16 "So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or

regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths," Verse 17 "which
are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ."

Before we draw any conclusions on this verse, note verse 17 says,

"which are a shadow of things to come" – These are the
ceremonial days celebrated in the annual feasts. Note the
following evidence.

Hebrews 10:1 "For the law, having a shadow of the good things
to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these

4
same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make
those who approach perfect."

This text in Hebrews is also speaking of the laws concerning the

sacrifices made in the sanctuary services and ceremonies which
pointed forward to Christ and “the good things to come.”

Read chapter 23 in Leviticus that describes these yearly

ceremonies. After reading the entire chapter, note the following
verses.

Leviticus 23:37 "These are the feasts of the LORD which you shall
proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire
to the LORD, a burnt offering and a grain offering, a sacrifice and
drink offerings, everything on its day--"

These feasts described in Leviticus 23, because they were

holydays and no work was to be done on those days, they were
called sabbaths. But they were not to be confused with the seventh
day Sabbath of the fourth Commandment. Note verse 38.

Verse 38 "besides the Sabbaths of the LORD, besides your gifts,

besides all your vows, and besides all your freewill offerings
which you give to the LORD."

The Hebrew word translated “beside” means "separate." In other

words, these feasts or annual sabbaths were to be separate from the
weekly seventh day Sabbath. Plus the ceremonial “sabbaths” could
fall on any day of the week. Note the next verse.

Verse 39 "Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when

you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep the feast
of the LORD for seven days; on the first day there shall be a
sabbath-rest, and on the eighth day a sabbath."

Just as Christmas falls on a different day of the week each year, so

the “fifteenth day of the seventh month” would fall on a different
day each year. These ceremonial sabbaths were to be celebrated

5
until the Messiah came. Then when the good things which they
pointed to, Christ, came, they were no longer necessary.

Again, this is speaking of the annual ceremonial sabbaths and not

the weekly seventh day Sabbath contained in the law of the Ten
Commandments. Next passage is used to say it doesn't matter
which day we keep as the Sabbath -

Romans 14:1 - 6 "Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to
disputes over doubtful things. For one believes he may eat all
things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. Let not him who
eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not
eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. Who are you to
judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls.
Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him
stand. One person esteems one day above another; another
esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own
mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he
who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it.
He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he
who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God
thanks."

As discussed in Lesson #1, the context of this chapter in Romans

is judging others. But some quote verses 5 and 6 out of their
context and use them to argue that it doesn’t matter which day is
kept as the Sabbath day. They quote the following -

"One person esteems one day above another; another esteems

every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He
who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does
not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it."

This is verse 5 and only part of verse 6. They leave out the part
about judging others and in doing so they are clearly taking this
out of context. The truth is that neither the Sabbath nor the first
day is mentioned in this passage and Paul’s intentions were not to
say it didn’t matter which day was kept as the Sabbath.

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Today many preachers read things into these texts they do not say
and in doing so they are saying “Thus says the Lord – when the
Lord has not spoken.” (Ezekiel 22:28)

Many say the reason for not keeping the Sabbath is that it is not
mentioned in the New Testament as the others are. But the
Sabbath is mentioned in the New Testament.

Luke 23:56 "Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant
oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the
commandment."

Hebrews 4:4 "For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh

day in this way: "And God rested on the seventh day from all His
works" Verse 9 "There remains therefore a rest for the people of
God."

The word translated “rest” in this verse is the Greek word

“sabbatismos” which literally means “Sabbath rest.”

Hebrews 4:9 actually says, “There remains a Sabbath rest for the
people of God,” and many of the modern translations of the Bible
correctly translate it this way.

In this study we have looked at the texts commonly used by many

Christian preachers and teachers to support worship on Sunday. In
a previous study we looked at all the biblical evidence for keeping
the seventh day Sabbath.

Now it’s up to you to make an intelligent decision based on the

evidence. Again, it is more than just a day - it’s a holy day which
was given to us “for our good always.” There are blessings in
keeping the Sabbath according to God’s commandment.

Many people after learning the truth about the Sabbath have
become concerned about the past. The Bible gives us assurance
that the past is not counted against us when we, after learning the
truth, choose to do what’s right.

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Acts 17:30 "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but
now commands all men everywhere to repent"

When we learn truth – we must be willing to follow it – remember,

it’s all about trusting God’s Word!

Response Questions:

1. I agree Saturday is the Sabbath, the "Lords Day" of Scripture.

Yes___ No___

2. I believe I should keep the Sabbath day holy.

Yes___ No ___

3. Today I want to make a commitment with God’s help, to begin

keeping the Sabbath.
Yes___ No ___

NOTES
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 2012 Bill Chambers
8
9
 The Sure Word Bible Studies
Lesson 17

Commitment and Baptism

Mahatma Ghandi once said – “I like your Christ. I don’t like your
Christians. They are so unlike Christ.”

Too many people are Christians in name only. There is no real

change in the life, no surrender of self, no commitment to God.

I Peter 2:21 - 23 "For to this you were called, because Christ also
suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His
steps: "Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His
mouth"; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when
He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him
who judges righteously;"

Christ committed himself to God. And Christ, being our example,

means that we are to be committed to God as He was. A sign of
that commitment is baptism. Baptism is usually thought of as a
ceremony signifying a person’s joining a church, and it is that, but
much more.

I Corinthians 12:13 "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into

one body--whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free--and
have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is
not one member but many."

Baptize is translated from the Greek word “baptizo” which means

to dip under or to submerse. Due to the lack of understanding on
this issue, some churches have endorsed "sprinkling" in place of
immersion. This is not biblical, but rather another tradition.

In the early centuries most came to understand baptism only as a

symbol of the washing away of sins, so many waited until they
had committed all their sins and were on their death bed and then

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called the priest to baptize them. Since they were bed-ridden, the
water had to be poured on them in bed which made a big mess. So
the decision was made to sprinkle them with "holy water." Later
they reasoned if it’s good enough for the dying, it’s good enough
for everyone so the Catholic Church officially adopted this method
of baptism for reasons of convenience at the Council of Ravenna
in 1311 A.D.

However, the Bible teaches only one method of baptism. We find

that John the baptist baptized by immersion. Phillip the evangelist
baptized by immersion. Jesus was baptized by immersion.

Matthew 3:13 - 16 "Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the

Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him,
saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?"
But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for
thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed
Him. When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately
from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and
He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting
upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This
is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

Many ask the question, since He had not committed any sin, why
was Jesus baptized at all? He didn’t need His “sins washed away.”
Jesus asked to be baptized to “fulfill all righteousness,” that is,
“right doing,” or doing what is right.

He was baptized to set an example in right doing for His followers

as well as to identify with the message of John the Baptist.

Note that when Jesus was baptized, He “went up out of the

water,” which implies He first went under the water as He was
baptized.

Baptism by immersion is the biblical symbol of a person’s

acceptance of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection on their
behalf and their willingness to follow His example in life.

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The evidence for this is in Romans chapter six.

Romans 6:3 - 5 "Or do you not know that as many of us as were

baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore
we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as
Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so
we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united
together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in
the likeness of His resurrection"

When a person is baptized, the eyes are closed and the breath
suspended as they are lowered, or "buried," beneath the water.
Then they are brought up out of the water – “resurrected” as a new
creature in Christ, committed to a new life, a new way of living.

Note verses 10 through 13 of the same chapter -

"For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the
life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon
yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ
Jesus our Lord. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body,
that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your
members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present
yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members
as instruments of righteousness to God."

Baptism is a perfect illustration of the death and burial of the old

way of life and resurrection to new life in Christ. The main
purpose of baptism is to identify with Christ and to confirm a
person’s commitment to live for and serve God just as Jesus gave
us example.

Acts 10:38 "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit
and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who
were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him."

To live a life of service to God one needs the power of the Holy
Spirit within. And just as the Holy Spirit came down upon Jesus at

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His baptism, we too are anointed with the Spirit when we are
baptized.

Acts 2:38 “Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of
you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of
sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

When a person is baptized they “receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”
to be a helper to them just as He was to Christ. They are given
special power to be His witnesses.

Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has
come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Mein Jerusalem,
and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

The Spirit and the gifts that accompany the Holy Spirit’s presence
are given to believers that are needed to do God's work. That work
is to witness His love and grace to others.

I Corinthians 12:7 - 11 "But the manifestation of the Spirit is

given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word
of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge
through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to
another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working
of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits,
to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation
of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things,
distributing to each one individually as He wills."

This is only a partial list of the gifts of the Spirit. But the point
here is that every person is given gifts from the Holy Spirit for the
purpose of witnessing for God in their lives.

The “baptism of the Holy Spirit” is not necessarily a separate

baptism as some teach. The Bible says there is only one baptism
and that is by water and the Spirit.

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Ephesians 4:4,5 “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you
were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one
baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through
all, and in you all."

John 3:5 "Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless

one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of
God."

There is only “one Spirit” and only “one baptism” and that one
baptism is with the water and the Holy Spirit! Being “baptized
with the Spirit” is simply being given the power to live a righteous
life and be an effective witness for Jesus.

All committed believers who are baptized have that Holy Spirit
power available to them. Some “receive it,” that is, they are aware
of it and take advantage of it immediately after baptism but others
aren’t.

Others, because they do not understand, or do not feel they are

ready, may not take advantage of it until later in their Christian
walk. But when they do, big changes are seen in their witness for
God. They are not “baptized in the spirit” later by means of some
kind of sudden miracle, but they have just come to the place that
they are ready to take advantage of the power that has been theirs
all along!

Often the question is asked, is water baptism necessary? The

words of Jesus help to answer that.

Mark 16:16 “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but
he who does not believe will be condemned."

Baptism is necessary only for those who “believeth,” that is, those
who are converted or born again. Without conversion baptism is
worthless. Why? Because there is no real change or commitment
in the life.

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When we commit to live for God, there is a ceremony that
confirms that commitment - a public declaration of one’s
acceptance of Christ and their commitment to live a new life for
God. Baptism is as necessary to the Christian believer as the
wedding ceremony is to the married couple. Just as the married
couple makes vows to one another publicly, the believer is making
a public vow as well. He is saying before witnesses: "I love the
Lord, and I am committing my life to Him"

If a person is not willing to make this public commitment it is

evidence that the relationship is weak and there is no real
commitment! That is why baptism is necessary. It is not the
ceremony; it’s the commitment! Without total surrender and
commitment to the Lord we cannot be saved.

Of course there are exceptions to the necessity of baptism. There

may be circumstances that will not allow the ceremony to take
place, but the heart must be willing just the same. Like the thief on
the cross for example, if he could have come down from the cross
and been baptized he would have gladly done it.

Re-baptism

The question often comes up regarding re-baptism. Is it biblical?

And if so, when is it appropriate? The Bible gives us an example -

Acts 19:1 - 5 “And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth,

that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to
Ephesus. And finding some disciples he said to them, "Did you
receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" So they said to him,
"We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit."
And he said to them, "Into what then were you baptized?" So they
said, "Into John's baptism." Then Paul said, "John indeed baptized
with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should
believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ
Jesus." When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of
the Lord Jesus."

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These were not disciples of Jesus, but of John the Baptist. The
baptism of repentance was a type of baptism that was done before
Jesus’ death and resurrection. Later after these men learned about
Jesus and the Holy Spirit from the teaching of Paul they were re-
baptized with a new commitment to follow Christ and be
identified with Him.

There are two reasons for re-baptism:

1. After learning significant, life-changing truth that a person now

wants to be identified with as these men had.

2. After a person has drifted away from the Lord and for years
lives apart from Him and by all appearances are counted with the
worldly. But one day the Lord touches the heart and they return to
Him and then want to re-commit their lives to God.

Three steps a person should take before being baptized:

1. Taught - Matthew 28:19 - 20 “Go therefore and make

disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to
observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with
you always, even to the end of the age."

2. Believe - Acts 8:35 - 38 “Then Philip opened his mouth, and

beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. Now as they
went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch
said, "See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?"
Then Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may."
And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son
of God." So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both
Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized
him."

3. Repent - Acts 2:36 - 38 "Therefore let all the house of Israel

know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified,
both Lord and Christ." Now when they heard this, they were cut to

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the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and
brethren, what shall we do?" Then Peter said to them, "Repent,
and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ
for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy
Spirit."

How many of them did Peter say should be baptized? “Every

one.”

When you have been taught the truth and you believe it and are
committed with God’s help to put away sin and live for Him - you
are ready for baptism. This is why babies need not be baptized;
they are not capable of making this decision.

A person should not wait until they feel they have victory over all
their sin to be baptized – baptism is not a graduation – it is a new
beginning. Jesus says “come as you are” - “come as a little child”
- willing to listen and anxious to grow up to be like Him.

Jesus is calling –

Revelation 3:20 "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone

hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine
with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to
sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with
My Father on His throne."

Jesus will not come in uninvited – Will you open your heart
and invite Him in today?

Do not put it off – make that commitment today - today is the

day of salvation!

Response questions:

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1. I understand that the biblical method of baptism is immersion
and that it is necessary for the Christian believer who is committed
to living for Christ.
Yes __ No __

2. It is my desire to be baptized (or re-baptized).

Yes __ No __

3. I am already a member of the church and do not sense a need to

be baptized, but I would like to commit my life to God anew.
Yes __ No __

4. I have already been baptized but I would like to re-affirm my

baptismal commitment, and join the__________ Church by
profession of faith.
Yes __ No __

NOTES
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 2012 Bill Chambers

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10
 The Sure Word Bible Studies
Lesson 18

The Church
In the New Testament the English word “church” is translated
from the Greek word “ekklesia” which basically means “an
assembly.” In the Old Testament, the words “convocation” or
“congregation” is used instead of the word “church.” The Hebrew
word from which they are translated is “miqra” which means
“called out - as a public meeting,” similiar to the Greek word
“ekklesia.” Note the way it is used in Leviticus Chapter 23.

Leviticus 23:3 "Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day
is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no
work on it; it is the Sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings."

In this verse the Bible says we are to have a holy "convocation,"

meaning a meeting together, an assembly, or gathering, on the
seventh-day Sabbath. It is God’s plan for His people to assemble
together on the Sabbath and should not be neglected. Note what
the Bible says -

Hebrews 10:24,25 "And let us consider one another in order to

stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of
ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one
another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching."

Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three are gathered together in

My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

The church, meaning the collective body of people who have

responded to God’s calling, are to be held in great respect for they
are the object upon which Christ bestows His supreme regard,
calling them His "Bride."

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Believers become members of His body, the two become as "one"
and have been divested with divine authority by Christ.

Matthew 18:18 "Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on

earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth
will be loosed in heaven."

This does not mean that the Church has been given the authority to
modify or change God’s word as some have done. The Bible says,
“For ever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven” (Psalms
119:89).

What Jesus is saying in Matthew 18 and in similar texts is that the

Church will be in complete harmony with heaven's principles as
taught in God's Word and that it has the authority to administer
that Word, but only within the body itself, the church has no
authority over those "in the world."

Today there is the visible and the invisible church. The invisible
church is composed of all God’s people throughout the world
whether or not they belong to any organized religious institution.
The visible church is God’s organized church, a group of people
organized for service. The organization enables it to better fulfill
the great commission, "Go into all the world and preach the
gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15).

Even though many feel that organized religion is not needed, the
fact is that without organization it is very difficult for any
institution or movement to prosper. It is also important as to what
kind of governmental organization the Church utilizes. There are
four basic forms of church government.

1) Episcopal - Church government and authority is vested in its

ministry, usually with three orders of ministers, as bishops, priests,
and deacons.

2) Papal - Church government in which supreme authority is

vested in an individual such as the pope. From him, cardinals,

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archbishops, bishops, and priests govern the church. The local
church or church member has no authority in church
administration. An example is the Roman Catholic Church.

3) Independent - Church government that makes the local church

congregations supreme and final in its own domain. An example is
the Southern Baptist Church.

4) Representative - Church government that recognizes that

authority in the church rests in the church membership, with
executive responsibility delegated to representative bodies and
officers for the governing of the church. The leaders administer
the policies of the church and do not make the policies.

An example is the Seventh-day Adventist Church which has a

representative form of government and works within the
"sisterhood of churches” - that is, each church is responsible to the
others to adhere to certain biblical standards.

Often God leads His people from the invisible Church into union
with His visible church. In the visible Church, many find they are
more able to fully experience God’s love and fellowship. Just as
there can be no living, active human body unless all its members
are united and functioning together under a central control, the
human head, so there can be no living, growing, prospering church
unless its members are organized into a body, all performing their
God-given duties and functions under the direction of their
divinely constituted head, Jesus Christ.

Thus God has given gifts to the Church in order to edify, build-up,
comfort, and encourage, individually, as well as corporately.

I Corinthians 12:4 - 7 "There are diversities of gifts, but the same

Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And
there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works
all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one
for the profit of all:"

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Verses 25 - 27 "That there should be no schism in the body, but
that the members should have the same care for one another. And
if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one
member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are
the body of Christ, and members individually."

For a listing of specific gifts see both I Corinthians 12 and Romans

12. Those and other needed gifts are to be found in the Church. As
members of the Church, all of us should ask God to show us our
specific gift and make an effort to find the ministry God has in
store for us.

Church members are to support the church not only with their
spiritual gifts, time and talents, but also with financial support as
well in tithes and offerings. This is a principle that goes back to
the beginning. Just as the Sabbath was instituted before the law
was given, so was the tithing principle. Abraham gave tithes long
before Israel reached Mount Sinai.

Genesis 14:18 - 20 "Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out

bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he
blessed him and said: "Blessed be Abram of God Most High,
Possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High,
Who has delivered your enemies into your hand." And he gave him
a tithe of all."

The word tithe means tenth. The tithe of our total income God
instructs to be set apart (the meaning of the word Holy) as His.
This is the portion that we are to return to God.

Leviticus 27:30 "And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed
of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD'S. It is holy to the
LORD."

Verse 32 "And concerning the tithe of the herd or the flock, of

whatever passes under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to the
LORD."

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Note in Malachi that God refers to tithes and offerings –

Malachi 3:8 - 10 "Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me!
But you say, 'In what way have we robbed You?' In tithes and
offerings. You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me,
Even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this," Says
the LORD of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of
heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be
room enough to receive it."

There is the tithe which we "return" because it belongs to God,

and then in addition, there is the opportunity to "give" offerings
which are to be given from a heart of love as we desire and are
able.

Deuteronomy 16:17 “Every man shall give as he is able,

according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has
given you.”

Jesus confirmed the giving of the tithe in the New Testament.

Matthew 23:23 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!

For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have
neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and
faith. These you ought to have done (tithing), without leaving the
others undone."

The tithe is to be used to support the ministry of the church. This

principle was established in the Old Testament. The tribe of Levi
were the ministers of the tabernacle and were to be suported by the
tithe -

Numbers 18:21 "Behold, I have given the children of Levi all the
tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work which they
perform, the work of the tabernacle of meeting."

This principle is also found in the New Testament.

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I Corinthians 9:13,14 "Do you not know that those who minister
the holy things eat of the things of the temple, and those who serve
at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar? Even so the Lord
has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from
the gospel."

The Bible says that God loves a cheerful giver. We should give
cheerfully as Christians because the words of David are true – “All
things come of You, and of your own have we given You.” (I
Chronicles 29:14) All things do come from God; we are only
stewards of His property and goods.

Being part of the church and claiming to be Christians, that is,

being Christ-like, the way we act, talk and dress is very
important.

II Corinthians 5:18,20 "Now all things are of God, who has

reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us
the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ
reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to
them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now
then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were
pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be
reconciled to God."

As Christians, we are ambassadors, the representatives of Christ in

this world. Next we will examine some of the guidance the Bible
gives for the Christian living in our world today.

First, our speech should be honest and clear.

Matthew 5:33 - 37 "Again you have heard that it was said to

those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your
oaths to the Lord.' But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by
heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His
footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor
shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair

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white or black. But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' For
whatever is more than these is from the evil one."

We should be thoughtful about what we put into our minds.

Philippians 4:8 "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true,

whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever
things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of
good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything
praiseworthy--meditate on these things."

This applies to the music we listen to, the books we read, and the
TV and movies we watch. These have great power of influence
and the Christian should avoid music, novels, and shows with
suggestive words, melodies, and pictures that bring thoughts of
sex, drinking, drugs, and violence.

Movies and TV have a greater impact on the mind and life of an

individual than does any other single activity in America. A clear
biblical principal relating to this is found in Psalms -

Psalms 101:1 - 4 "I will sing of mercy and justice; To You, O

LORD, I will sing praises. I will behave wisely in a perfect way.
Oh, when will You come to me? I will walk within my house with a
perfect heart. I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the
work of those who fall away; It shall not cling to me. A perverse
heart shall depart from me; I will not know wickedness."

David says that he will do what is right even when he is at home

and no one would know any different. He says he will set no
wicked thing before his eyes because he knows that will
eventually affect his mind and influence his character.

He says he will not “know” wickedness, or a wicked person. The

word "know" in the Hebrew is “to esteem” or “idolize” a wicked
person as some idolize some movie stars and sports heroes today.
Sincere Christians will not “idolize” any man but “the man Jesus
Christ”!

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The committed Christian who wants to protect his mind will turn
away from unwholesome, violent, sensual movies or TV
programs, computer games, and novels.

These things are harmful in three ways:

1. They consume our time.

2. They influence us to do wrong.
3. The mind and health are wearied by over-stimulation.

A good rule to follow as a Christian is to ask yourself - If Jesus

were with me would He approve?

Next, as Christians, the way we dress will reflect on Christ’s

good name; therefore we will dress moderately and modestly.

Christians do not do this as a legalistic requirement, but realizing

we are His representatives in this world. The Bible gives us
guidance on dress.

I Peter 3:3,4 "Do not let your adornment be merely outward--

arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel--
rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the
incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very
precious in the sight of God."

I Timothy 2:9,10 "In like manner also, that the women adorn
themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not
with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but, which
is proper for women professing godliness, with good works."

Christians, men or women, are not to mar the beauty of their

characters with styles that arouse the “lust of the flesh” (dress
provocatively) or the “pride of life” (with expensive worldly
fashions). Christians will influence unbelievers, not by looking
and acting like the world, but by revealing a refreshing difference!

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Worldly fashions and jewelry have no purpose except that of
prideful adornment. Much money is spent on fashion and luxury
items that would be much better spent on spreading the gospel and
helping the poor. Mother Teresa once said speaking of the poor
and starving children in India –

“They don’t starve because God does not care for them. They
starve because you and I don’t give, because you and I don’t
care!”

If we are spending our money on fashionable and expensive

clothes, houses, furniture, cars and other material goods,
neglecting the church and the poor, what does that say about
where our heart is? Jesus said –

Matthew 6:19 – 21 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on

earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and
steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither
moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and
steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

It could be said the following way as well – “Where your heart is,
there your treasure will be also.”

The Church is organized to accomplish God’s plan to fill this

planet with the knowledge of His glory, grace and love. The
visible church has the great responsibility to provide the number of
functions vital to meeting this end. But to accomplish this, the
church needs all its members actively involved. If you haven’t
already, will you make that commitment today?

Response Questions:

1. Do you see the importance of church organization today?

Yes ___ No ___

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2. Is it clear to you that offerings are to be given from a heart of
love in addition to tithes?
Yes ___ No ___

3. Do you believe that God gives everyone a gift of the Spirit to

enable them to be effective witnesses for Him?
Yes ___ No ___

4. Will you do your part so that you may hear the Lord say to you
on that day – “Well done, thou good and faithful servant; enter
thou into the joy of thy Lord.”
Yes ___ No ___

NOTES
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 2012 Bill Chambers

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