Loopholes In the Great Controversy? Part 9
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Draft Substitute During Civil War
$300
Someone to go in our place.
The Great Controversy
between Christ and Satan
started with accusations
against God.
His
character
law
governorship.
This is why
the redemption of humanity
is more than saving us.
It show the
onlooking universe
who God is
and what length he goes
for love.
The controversy ends when
every being in the universe
sees God for who He is
sees Satan for who he is.
Therefor it can be said,
the great controversy
is primarily about the
Vindication of God’s Character
Vindication of God’s Character
Summary of Series
Today:
Final Part
Series on
The Great Controversy
Cosmic Conflict
Between God and Lucifer.
Talked about beginning
a created angel
rebelled against creator.
Attacked God,
convinced 1/3 of angels
rebel with him.
Accused God of many things.
Government is not good.
Law is not good/necessary.
God is not fair.
God is not just.
God is selfish and demands worship.
Creatures would be better without Him.
Through these
lies
confusion
deception.
The universe was plunged
into great schism.
Who is right?
God
Satan?
How would conclusion
be made?
God would prove Satan wrong.
Not by power.
Not by might.
Not by physical warfare.
The foundation of the argument
was regarding God’s character
and God’s law.
God would vindicate
His own character
and His law.
How?
Satan would be allowed
time to model his
ideal government
without God’s law
or character.
God would then model
His character of love.
Covered all of that.
From the beginning.
To the Mark of the Beast.
What is the final showdown?
How does it come to an end?
Starts with
the second coming.
Remember,
by this time
everything has already
been proven.
God is shown as
selfless sacrifice.
God’s law has been
proven to be holy
and lead to happiness.
Rejecting God’s law
lead to much sorrow.
God even proved that
humans filled with His Spirit
could uphold the law
through the world’s worst hour.
What next?
God Wins
God Wins
I know things look ugly today
but I need to remind you
we’ve read the last chapter
of the book already.
We know how the story ends!
God wins!
Heaven Proclaims God
as the victor!!!
After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out,
—
“Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”
He is right!
He is just!
He is holy!
Don’t worry saints.
we know how
the story ends!
God wins!
Hold on!
Final Judgments
Final Judgments
What happens next?
God come to rescue
his waiting saints.
They have been persecuted.
They have gone through
the final conflict.
Through fear of
abuse,
imprisonment
and murder
they held to the truth.
They did not receive
the Mark of the Beast
but the Seal of God.
Seven Last Plagues
Seven Last Plagues
Now comes the judgment
against those murderers
who enforce the
Mark of the Beast.
The final plagues
are poured out
on the wicked
while the righteous
are shelters by
God’s seal of protection.
Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.
...
And one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever,
...
Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”
These are final judgments
against those who
rejected God’s grace.
What next?
The Second Coming
The Second Coming
The Christ Comes.
He takes off Priestly clothes.
There is no more need
for intercession.
He puts on
different clothes.
Battle clothes:
Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.
—
His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.
—
And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron.
—
He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
Christ comes as warrior.
Fight for His people,
rescue them from
abuse and murderous designs
Dragon
Beast
False Prophet.
The last battle
is a quick one.
Human enemies of God
stand no chance.
… when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
They rejected God.
The reject the gospel.
They refused the truth.
They killed the true believers.
Now they are put
out of their misery.
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.
As the wicked see Jesus,
in all of His glory
the wicked are destroyed
by the brightness
of His Coming.
Our Change
Our Change
At that moment,
the righteous will be
raptured and changed.
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 imperishable, and we shall be changed.
As Christ comes,
bodies are changed.
Perfect
Healthy
Glorious.
And we are
caught up
into the air.
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
—
Then we who are still alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so we will always be with the Lord.
Journey Through the Stars
Journey Through the Stars
We take a journey.
It is better than Space X
or any other.
This intergalactic travel
leads us from this earth
to the heaven of heavens
where God dwells.
No movies
hold a candle to
this amazing story.
Now Hollywood rendition
can scratch the surface
of the splendor
and the joy
of these days.
Heaven
Heaven
We are introduced
to our temporary dwelling place.
And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.
We live in this glories city
with God himself!
God kept his promise!
All that
Adam and Eve lost
are restored.
(and more).
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city;
—
also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
The tree of life.
different fruit each month.
River of life.
perfect beverage.
Streets of God.
I can’t wait to be there.
Amen!
But that is not all.
We are given crowns and thrones.
Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God,
—
and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
There we are in heaven
on thrones
with Christ
for 1000 years.
Even more than this.
Read this:
The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.
We have our own thrones
but Jesus invites us
to sit on His throne!!!
All of the accusation
against God
selfish
arbitrary
ruthless ruler.
again proven false.
What are we doing
on those thrones?
Bible said that,
judgment was committed to us!
Paul said the same:
Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases?
—
Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!
But how will we
judge the world?
By what method.
Speaking of a
different judgment scene
Bible describes judgment process.
And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.
We judge by
reviewing the books.
The righteous
are not overturning
God’s judgments.
They are reviewing
God’s judgments.
They are understanding
why the lost are lost.
and the saved are saved.
In each case,
we see the grace of God.
Grace that
the righteous accepted.
or
the wicked rejected.
For those absent,
Truth was rejected:
Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
God offered them truth
they wanted the lie.
God offered them righteousness
they wanted evil.
God offered them grace
they chose destruction.
Once again
voices are heard
in heaven saying:
And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,
—
“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”
Everyone worships God
they know
God is good.
God is fair.
God is righteous.
God is gracious.
God is holy.
The End of the Millennium
The End of the Millennium
1000 years complete.
Everyone trusts God.
Sees His Character.
Law is vindicated.
All questions answered.
One last thing to do.
Final destruction of sin.
Righteous had been
in heaven with God
But:
The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended...
The wicked
throughout all history
Cain -
first murderer
Enforcers of Mark of Beast
last murderer.
Brought back to life.
And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations...
Satan deceives nations.
who?
The wicked that were dead.
They are resurrected.
Evil is released again!
At this point,
many are confused.
Why resurrect them?
They were already dead.
But that was before,
saints and onlooking universe
had chance to review
every case
for 1000 years.
Now every case
has been decided
in the hearts of
God’s people.
Now must come
executive phase
of the judgment.
But first,
Satan attempts
one last overthrow.
The saints
are in the holy city.
And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
It had come down
from heaven
and is now resting
on the earth.
The wicked see
they are on the outside.
Satan deceives them
one more time.
“Attack the City!”
Zombie Apocalypse
Zombie Apocalypse
And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city...
Think about this.
When righteous resurrected.
We have glories bodies.
Wicked don’t get
glories bodies.
Resurrected in
broken bodies of earth.
So it is true,
“Zombie Apocalypse.”
Movies
Games
But it is real.
No fear though.
Righteous are protected
by walls of city.
The resurrection of
the wicked prove
once again that
Christ’s judgments are right.
None of the wicked repent.
None say, I want to change.
They want in the city
but not by being changed
but by murderous attacks.
Had they been willing
to repent of their sins
they would have been
in the city.
The attack is
halted quickly.
Their judgments are
made public:
And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.
Each person knows
why they are lost.
Even Lucifer must admit
God is fair.
He would have
allowed anyone in
that was willing
to receive His grace.
so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Then the final judgment happens.
Hell
Hell
Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Sin and sinners
are incinerated in flames.
It happens
just outside the walls.
We will see it.
At this sight
nobody takes pleasure.
We see God’s heart:
Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked,
—
but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?
We may recognize
family and friends,
on the other side
of the wall.
Our hearts will break
as we see people
who are lost
who could have
chosen to be saved.
As much as our hearts
will break that day.
The heart of God
will hurt the most.
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!
George Mattheson had discovered early in life that his failing vision would eventually leave him completely blind. As a young man, his fiancé had walked out on him, citing her lack of desire to be married to a 'blind man'. Undeterred, yet with deep heartache, George continued his theological training with he aid of his three sisters. With the dimming of his vision came a growing dependance on his sisters care. Written on the evening of one of his sister's marriage, George sat alone in darkness and penned his now famous words, first published in 1882.
1
O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in Thee;
I give Thee back the life I owe,
That in Thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.
3
O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to Thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain
That morn shall tearless be.
This world is
full of pain
but there will be
restitution
resolution
and
redemption.
A Clean Universe
A Clean Universe
Sin finally purged
from the universe.
No more questions.
They’ve all been answered.
God is good.
God is just.
God is selfless.
God’s law is good.
God’s government is perfect.
All the accusations
are proven false.
This creates
a place where
nobody will
doubt God again.
What do you plot against the Lord? He will make a complete end; trouble will not rise up a second time.
The universe is
eternally secure!
As we look back,
try to remember
hardships...
Review and Herald July 21, 1851: To the Remnant Scattered Abroad
We tried to call up our greatest trials, but they looked so small compared with the far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory that surrounded us, that we could not speak them out, and we all cried out Alleluia, heaven is cheap enough, and we touched our glorious harps and made heaven’s arches ring.
We realize,
God had to
let sin reign
for a short time
to destroy sin.
And it was worth it!
A world-class woman runner was invited to compete in a road race in Connecticut. On the morning of the race, she drove from New York City, following the directions -- or so she thought -- given her over the telephone. She got lost, stopped at a gas station, and asked for help. She knew that the race started in the parking lot of a shopping mall. The station attendant also knew of such a race scheduled just up the road and directed her there.
When she arrived she was relieved to see in the parking lot a modest number of runners preparing to compete. Not as many as she'd anticipated; an easier race than she'd been led to expect. She hurried to the registration desk, announced herself, and was surprised by the race officials' excitement at having so renowned an athlete show up for their race. No, they had no record of her entry, but if she'd hurry and put on this number, she could just make it before the gun goes off. She ran and, naturally, she won easily, some four minutes ahead of the first male runner in second place.
Only after the race--when there was no envelope containing her sizable prize and performance money-- did she confirm that the event she'd run was not the race to which she'd been invited. That race was being held several miles farther up the road in another town. She'd gone to the wrong starting line, run the wrong course, and missed her chance to win a valuable prize.
D. Bruce Lockerbie, Thinking and Acting Like A Christian, p. 52.
There was a reward.
she would have won it
but she showed up
for the wrong race.
Many today,
are showing up
for the wrong race.
They are in a
popularity race
beauty pageant
strongest man
a race for the most wealth
best social feed.
If you want the reward
enter the right race.
The good news is
in the race of faith
you don’t have to be 1st.
Just finish the race!!!
Appeal
Appeal
Already but Not Yet
Already but Not Yet
We live during
this time of the
already
but not yet.
God’s promises are sure
the end is eminent.
God will redeem
and judge.
But here we are
still awaiting
the culmination.
Hold On!!!
Don’t lose hope!!!
These days are dark.
But it will be over soon!!!
Sigs of the nearness
of the Second Coming
happening all around.
Words of Jesus:
Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
