Lesson No. 18
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY
ABOUT THE LAST THINGS ?
  
A Look At God's Word
by Oswald Riess

1. WHAT TAKES PLACE AT THE MOMENT OF DEATH ?
 THE BIBLE SAYS -

  (a b) Eccl. 12:7. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
  (a b) 2 Cor. 5:8. (We are) willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.
 *(b) Luke 23:43. Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with Me in paradise.
 *(b) Rev. 14:13. Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth.
   (c) 1 Pet. 3:19, 20. He went and preached unto the spirits in prison; which sometime were disobedient.

FROM THIS WE LEARN -
 (A) When man dies his immortal soul leaves his mortal body.
 (B) The soul of the believer is at once received into heaven.
 (C) The soul of the unbeliever immediately finds itself in hell.

2. WHAT DO THE SCRIPTURES TEACH OF CHRIST'S SECOND COMING ?
 THE BIBLE SAYS -

  (a) Acts 1:11. This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.
  (a) Rev. 1:7. Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him.
  (b) Matt. 25:31. When the Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory.
 (c d) Acts 17:31. (God) hath appointed a day in the which He will judge the world.
 *(c) Mark 13:32. Of that day and that hour knoweth no man.
   (c) 2 Pet. 3:10. The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
  (c) 1 Pet. 4:7. The end of all things is at hand. (Concerning the signs of Christ's coming see Matt. 24; Luke 21; 2 Thess 2; 2 Tim. 3:1-4.)

FROM THIS WE LEARN -
 Christ will return
 (A) Visibly;
 (B) In glory;
 (C) On the Last Day, known only to God, which will mark the end of the world;
 (D) To judge mankind.
 

3. WHAT DO THE SCRIPTURES TEACH OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY?
 THE BIBLE SAYS -

  (a) John 5:28, 29. The hour is coming in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice and shall come forth.
  (a) John 6:40.  I will raise him up at the last day.
 *(a) Job 19:25-27. I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon
  the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another.
  (b) Phil. 3:21. (Christ) shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body.

FROM THIS WE LEARN -
  (A) On the Last Day Christ will raise up all the dead, reuniting their souls with their former bodies.
  (B) The bodies of the believers will be glorified. (Those living at the Last Day will be changed. 1 Cor 15:51, 52; John 6:40.)
 

4. WHAT DO THE SCRIPTURES TEACH OF THE FINAL JUDGMENT ?
 THE BIBLE SAYS -

 *(a) 2 Cor. 5:10. We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.
   (a) Acts. 17:31. He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom He hath ordained.
  (a) John 12:48. The Word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the Last Day.
  (a b c) Mark 16:16. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
 (a b c) Matt. 25:31-46. (Read this passage.)
  (c) Luke 16:23, 24. In hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
  (c) Matt. 10:28. Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
  (c) Is. 66:24. Their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be and abhorring unto all flesh.

FROM THIS WE LEARN -
 (A) Christ will on the Last Day judge all men in righteousness by His Word.
 (B) The believers will accompany Christ, according to both soul and body, into heaven.
 (C) The unbelievers will be condemned, according to both soul and body, to eternal torment, shame, and contempt in hell.
 

5. WHAT DO THE SCRIPTURES TEACH OF THE BLESSEDNESS OF HEAVEN ?
 THE BIBLE SAYS -

  (a b) 1 John 3:2. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.
 *(a b) Ps. 17:15. I will behold Thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Thy likeness.
  (b) 1 Cor. 13:12. Now I know in part; but then I shall know even as also I am known.
  (c) Rev. 21:4. God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
  (d) Ps. 16:11. In Thy presence is fullness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore.
 *(d) Rom 8:18. I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. (Degrees of glory. 2 Cor. 9:6.)

FROM THIS WE LEARN -
 The blessedness of heaven consists in this, that
  (A) We shall be with God and see Him as He is;
  (B) We shall possess the fullness of the divine image, consisting in blissful knowledge of God and in perfect righteousness and holiness;
  (C) We shall be free from all ills;
  (D) We shall live in eternal and indescribable joy and glory.
 

6. TO WHOM WILL GOD GIVE ETERNAL LIFE ?
 THE BIBLE SAYS -

  (a) John 3:16. God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
 (a) Matt. 24:13. He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
 (a b) John 3:36. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: but he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

FROM THIS WE LEARN -
 God will give eternal life
 (A) To all believers;
 (B) To believers only.
 

7. WHAT, THEN, MUST BE THE MAIN PURPOSES IN OUR LIVES ?
 THE BIBLE SAYS -

   (a) Acts 16:31. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.
 *(a) Rev. 2:10. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
   (b) Matt. 24:14. This Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
   (b) Mark 16:15, 16. Preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.

FROM THIS WE LEARN -
 The main purposes in our lives must be
 (A) To believe in Jesus Christ and remain faithful unto the end;
 (B) To bring the Gospel of salvation to our fellow men.
 

Before the Next Lesson
FILL OUT Work Sheet No. 18
MEMORIZE the Bible passages marked with an asterisk (*).
READ Psalms 32, 46, 51, 73, 84, 90, and 91.


Work Sheet No. 18

 
ONE

(A) At death the soul .................................... the body.

(B) The soul of the believer immediately goes to ............................ ; the body returns

to.................................

(C) On the Last Day the body will be ...........................and ................................with the soul.

(D) Thereupon the Christian, according to both body and soul, will live with

................................. in .............................. forevermore.

(Supply the missing words.)
 

TWO

Which Bible passages would you use against

(A) The Roman Catholic doctrine of purgatory?

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B) The claim of Spiritualists that the spirits of the departed hover in the vicinity of their former home, endeavoring to guide or to communicate with the living?

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 (C) People who try to predict the time of Christ's coming to judgment?

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THREE


Some teach that Christ will return visibly to this earth to reign here for a thousand years. (Millennium.) Other Millenarians, or Chiliasts, believe that He will come not before, but immediately after, the Millennium, and that the Millennium itself will be a period of time during which the Church will be in a dominating and flourishing condition. What do the following Scripture passages tell us concerning these two teachings ?
 John 18:36; John 6:40; John 11:24; 2 Thess. 2:3; Matt. 24:12, 37.
 

(A)...............................................................................................................................................

(B)...............................................................................................................................................

 
FOUR

Sentimentalists often ask: "How can a loving God punish sinners eternally?"
How would you answer this question ?

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FIVE

Write a brief prayer in which you ask God the two main purposes of your life may be fulfilled.

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