SAT – Encounter on Mars Hill

inTro

Read This Week’s Passage: Genesis 1

KJV ¹ In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. ² And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. ³ And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. ⁴ And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. ⁵ And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. ⁶ And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. ⁷ And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. ⁸ And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. ⁹ And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. ¹⁰ And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. ¹¹ And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. ¹² And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. ¹³ And the evening and the morning were the third day. ¹⁴ And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: ¹⁵ And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. ¹⁶ And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. ¹⁷ And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, ¹⁸ And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ And the evening and the morning were the fourth day. ²⁰ And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. ²¹ And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. ²² And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. ²³ And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. ²⁴ And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. ²⁵ And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. ²⁶ And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. ²⁷ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. ²⁸ And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. ²⁹ And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. ³⁰ And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. ³¹ And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. CEV ¹ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ² The earth was barren, with no form of life; it was under a roaring ocean covered with darkness. But the Spirit of God was moving over the water. ³ God said, “I command light to shine!” And light started shining. ⁴ God looked at the light and saw that it was good. He separated light from darkness ⁵ and named the light “Day” and the darkness “Night.” Evening came, then morning — that was the first day. ⁶ God said, “I command a dome to separate the water above it from the water below it.” ⁷ And that's what happened. God made the dome ⁸ and named it “Sky.” Evening came, then morning — that was the second day. ⁹ God said, “I command the water under the sky to come together in one place, so there will be dry ground.” And that's what happened. ¹⁰ God named the dry ground “Land,” and he named the water “Ocean.” God looked at what he had done and saw that it was good. ¹¹ God said, “I command the earth to produce all kinds of plants, including fruit trees and grain.” And that's what happened. ¹² The earth produced all kinds of vegetation. God looked at what he had done, and it was good. ¹³ Evening came, then morning — that was the third day. ¹⁴ God said, “I command lights to appear in the sky and to separate day from night and to show the time for seasons, special days, and years. ¹⁵ I command them to shine on the earth.” And that's what happened. ¹⁶ God made two powerful lights, the brighter one to rule the day and the other to rule the night. He also made the stars. ¹⁷ Then God put these lights in the sky to shine on the earth, ¹⁸ to rule day and night, and to separate light from darkness. God looked at what he had done, and it was good. ¹⁹ Evening came, then morning — that was the fourth day. ²⁰ God said, “I command the ocean to be full of living creatures, and I command birds to fly above the earth.” ²¹ So God made the giant sea monsters and all the living creatures that swim in the ocean. He also made every kind of bird. God looked at what he had done, and it was good. ²² Then he gave the living creatures his blessing — he told the ocean creatures to increase and live everywhere in the ocean and the birds to increase everywhere on earth. ²³ Evening came, then morning — that was the fifth day. ²⁴ God said, “I command the earth to give life to all kinds of tame animals, wild animals, and reptiles.” And that's what happened. ²⁵ God made every one of them. Then he looked at what he had done, and it was good. ²⁶ God said, “Now we will make humans, and they will be like us. We will let them rule the fish, the birds, and all other living creatures.” ²⁷ So God created humans to be like himself; he made men and women. ²⁸ God gave them his blessing and said: Have a lot of children! Fill the earth with people and bring it under your control. Rule over the fish in the ocean, the birds in the sky, and every animal on the earth. ²⁹ I have provided all kinds of fruit and grain for you to eat. ³⁰ And I have given the green plants as food for everything else that breathes, including animals, both wild and tame, and birds. And so it was. ³¹ God looked at what he had done. All of it was very good! Evening came, then morning — that was the sixth day.

Encounter on Mars Hill

The book of Acts records a remarkable encounter of Paul with the intelligentsia of Greece. He went to the Areopagus to share the gospel, and “around him gathered poets, artists, and philosophers—the scholars and sages of Athens.” (Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press, 1911), 236.) Paul spoke to them of the Creator of heaven and earth, the brotherhood of all humanity, the futility of idolatry, the need to find the Unknown God, and the judgment to come (Acts 17:22-31

KJV ²² Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. ²³ For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, To The Unknown God. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. ²⁴ God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; ²⁵ Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; ²⁶ And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; ²⁷ That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: ²⁸ For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. ²⁹ Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device. ³⁰ And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: ³¹ Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. CEV ²² So Paul stood up in front of the council and said: People of Athens, I see that you are very religious. ²³ As I was going through your city and looking at the things you worship, I found an altar with the words, “To an Unknown God.” You worship this God, but you don't really know him. So I want to tell you about him. ²⁴ This God made the world and everything in it. He is Lord of heaven and earth, and he doesn't live in temples built by human hands. ²⁵ He doesn't need help from anyone. He gives life, breath, and everything else to all people. ²⁶ From one person God made all nations who live on earth, and he decided when and where every nation would be. ²⁷ God has done all this, so that we will look for him and reach out and find him. He isn't far from any of us, ²⁸ and he gives us the power to live, to move, and to be who we are. “We are his children,” just as some of your poets have said. ²⁹ Since we are God's children, we must not think that he is like an idol made out of gold or silver or stone. He isn't like anything that humans have thought up and made. ³⁰ In the past, God forgave all this because people did not know what they were doing. But now he says that everyone everywhere must turn to him. ³¹ He has set a day when he will judge the world's people with fairness. And he has chosen the man Jesus to do the judging for him. God has given proof of this to all of us by raising Jesus from death.
). All listened attentively until Paul spoke of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. At that point some mocked, and others said, “ ‘We will hear you again on this matter’ ” (Acts 17:32

KJV ³² And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter. CEV ³² As soon as the people heard Paul say a man had been raised from death, some of them started laughing. Others said, “We will hear you talk about this some other time.”
). Paul’s reasoning was not fruitless, because “some men joined him and believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them” (Acts 17:34

KJV ³⁴ Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them. CEV ³⁴ some of the men put their faith in the Lord and went with Paul. One of them was a council member named Dionysius. A woman named Damaris and several others also put their faith in the Lord.
).

Why did many of the luminariesluminaries of Athens mock Paul? The answer is that the apostle believed in the resurrection of the body, while the philosophers believed in the immortality of the soul. The Greek philosophers who mocked could not understand how anyone in his right mind would want to have a material body after death. While Paul’s worldview spoke of a longing for the redemption of the body from the relentless ravages of time and matter in a sinful world, the philosophers on Mars Hill longed for their immortal souls to escape the relentless cycle of time and space. Is it just possible that the Christian world has embraced the theology of Socrates and not of Jesus?

inScribe

Read Genesis 1:1-31

KJV ¹ In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. ² And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. ³ And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. ⁴ And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. ⁵ And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. ⁶ And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. ⁷ And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. ⁸ And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. ⁹ And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. ¹⁰ And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. ¹¹ And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. ¹² And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. ¹³ And the evening and the morning were the third day. ¹⁴ And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: ¹⁵ And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. ¹⁶ And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. ¹⁷ And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, ¹⁸ And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ And the evening and the morning were the fourth day. ²⁰ And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. ²¹ And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. ²² And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. ²³ And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. ²⁴ And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. ²⁵ And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. ²⁶ And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. ²⁷ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. ²⁸ And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. ²⁹ And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. ³⁰ And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. ³¹ And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. CEV ¹ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ² The earth was barren, with no form of life; it was under a roaring ocean covered with darkness. But the Spirit of God was moving over the water. ³ God said, “I command light to shine!” And light started shining. ⁴ God looked at the light and saw that it was good. He separated light from darkness ⁵ and named the light “Day” and the darkness “Night.” Evening came, then morning — that was the first day. ⁶ God said, “I command a dome to separate the water above it from the water below it.” ⁷ And that's what happened. God made the dome ⁸ and named it “Sky.” Evening came, then morning — that was the second day. ⁹ God said, “I command the water under the sky to come together in one place, so there will be dry ground.” And that's what happened. ¹⁰ God named the dry ground “Land,” and he named the water “Ocean.” God looked at what he had done and saw that it was good. ¹¹ God said, “I command the earth to produce all kinds of plants, including fruit trees and grain.” And that's what happened. ¹² The earth produced all kinds of vegetation. God looked at what he had done, and it was good. ¹³ Evening came, then morning — that was the third day. ¹⁴ God said, “I command lights to appear in the sky and to separate day from night and to show the time for seasons, special days, and years. ¹⁵ I command them to shine on the earth.” And that's what happened. ¹⁶ God made two powerful lights, the brighter one to rule the day and the other to rule the night. He also made the stars. ¹⁷ Then God put these lights in the sky to shine on the earth, ¹⁸ to rule day and night, and to separate light from darkness. God looked at what he had done, and it was good. ¹⁹ Evening came, then morning — that was the fourth day. ²⁰ God said, “I command the ocean to be full of living creatures, and I command birds to fly above the earth.” ²¹ So God made the giant sea monsters and all the living creatures that swim in the ocean. He also made every kind of bird. God looked at what he had done, and it was good. ²² Then he gave the living creatures his blessing — he told the ocean creatures to increase and live everywhere in the ocean and the birds to increase everywhere on earth. ²³ Evening came, then morning — that was the fifth day. ²⁴ God said, “I command the earth to give life to all kinds of tame animals, wild animals, and reptiles.” And that's what happened. ²⁵ God made every one of them. Then he looked at what he had done, and it was good. ²⁶ God said, “Now we will make humans, and they will be like us. We will let them rule the fish, the birds, and all other living creatures.” ²⁷ So God created humans to be like himself; he made men and women. ²⁸ God gave them his blessing and said: Have a lot of children! Fill the earth with people and bring it under your control. Rule over the fish in the ocean, the birds in the sky, and every animal on the earth. ²⁹ I have provided all kinds of fruit and grain for you to eat. ³⁰ And I have given the green plants as food for everything else that breathes, including animals, both wild and tame, and birds. And so it was. ³¹ God looked at what he had done. All of it was very good! Evening came, then morning — that was the sixth day.
from the translation of your choice. Write out Genesis 1:26-31

KJV ²⁶ And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. ²⁷ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. ²⁸ And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. ²⁹ And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. ³⁰ And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. ³¹ And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. CEV ²⁶ God said, “Now we will make humans, and they will be like us. We will let them rule the fish, the birds, and all other living creatures.” ²⁷ So God created humans to be like himself; he made men and women. ²⁸ God gave them his blessing and said: Have a lot of children! Fill the earth with people and bring it under your control. Rule over the fish in the ocean, the birds in the sky, and every animal on the earth. ²⁹ I have provided all kinds of fruit and grain for you to eat. ³⁰ And I have given the green plants as food for everything else that breathes, including animals, both wild and tame, and birds. And so it was. ³¹ God looked at what he had done. All of it was very good! Evening came, then morning — that was the sixth day.
. You may also re-write the passage in your own words, or outline or mind-map the chapter.

SUN – Matter and Time

inGest

The Bible tells us that God created time. He created the day, week, month, and year (Genesis 1:14

KJV ¹⁴ And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: CEV ¹⁴ God said, “I command lights to appear in the sky and to separate day from night and to show the time for seasons, special days, and years.
, Genesis 1:31

KJV ³¹ And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. CEV ³¹ God looked at what he had done. All of it was very good! Evening came, then morning — that was the sixth day.
; Genesis 2:2-3

KJV ² And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. ³ And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. CEV ² By the seventh day God had finished his work, and so he rested. ³ God blessed the seventh day and made it special, because on that day he rested from his work.
). God also created matter from which He formed the earth, the vegetation, the birds, the fish, the land animals, and the bodies of man and woman. When creation week ended, God declared that everything He had made was very good (Genesis 1:31

KJV ³¹ And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. CEV ³¹ God looked at what he had done. All of it was very good! Evening came, then morning — that was the sixth day.
). However, God placed a tree in the Garden and told the man that if he ate its fruit he would die (Genesis 2:9

KJV ⁹ And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. CEV ⁹ The Lord God filled the garden with all kinds of beautiful trees and fruit trees. Two other trees were in the middle of the garden. One of these gave life — the other gave the wisdom to know the difference between right and wrong.
). With the inception of sin, in the passing of time, matter decayed, and the decay not only affected man but also the entire creation (Romans 8:19-24

KJV ¹⁹ For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. ²⁰ For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, ²¹ Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. ²² For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. ²³ And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. ²⁴ For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? CEV ¹⁹ In fact, all creation is eagerly waiting for God to show who his children are. ²⁰ Meanwhile, creation is confused, but not because it wants to be confused. God made it this way in the hope ²¹ that creation would be set free from decay and would share in the glorious freedom of his children. ²² We know that all creation is still groaning and is in pain, like a woman about to give birth. ²³ The Spirit makes us sure about what we will be in the future. But now we groan silently, while we wait for God to show that we are his children. This means that our bodies will also be set free. ²⁴ And this hope is what saves us. But if we already have what we hope for, there is no need to keep on hoping.
). The decaying of matter with the passing of time is a post-sin phenomenon. Decay and death of material substance does not occur because time and matter are evil but rather because of sin (Romans 5:12

KJV ¹² Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: CEV ¹² Adam sinned, and that sin brought death into the world. Now everyone has sinned, and so everyone must die.
; Romans 6:23

KJV ²³ For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. CEV ²³ Sin pays off with death. But God's gift is eternal life given by Jesus Christ our Lord.
).

The second law of thermodynamics and simple observation reveal an undeniable fact: in the passing of time, matter deteriorates. As time passes, the body wrinkles, gets old and sick, and eventually dies and decomposes. This was not God’s original plan—it is the direct and inevitable result of sin acting upon matter. So, the solution is not to get rid of time and matter but rather to get rid of sin!

The Bible does not depreciate the material body. In fact, it teaches that Jesus, the very substance of God, took upon Himself a real material body of human flesh (John 1:14

KJV ¹⁴ And the Word was made 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. CEV ¹⁴ The Word became a human being and lived here with us. We saw his true glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father. From him the complete gifts of undeserved grace and truth have come down to us.
; Romans 8:3

KJV ³ For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: CEV ³ The Law of Moses cannot do this, because our selfish desires make the Law weak. But God set you free when he sent his own Son to be like us sinners and to be a sacrifice for our sin. God used Christ’s body to condemn sin.
). Even the glorified resurrection body of Jesus was composed of real hands, feet, flesh, and bones (Luke 24:39

KJV ³⁹ Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. CEV ³⁹ Look at my hands and my feet and see who I am! Touch me and find out for yourselves. Ghosts don't have flesh and bones as you see I have.”
). So serious was the coming of Jesus in the flesh that whoever taught the contrary had the spirit of the antichrist (1 John 4:3

KJV ³ And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. CEV ³ But when someone doesn't say this about Jesus, you know this person has a spirit that doesn't come from God and is the enemy of Christ. You knew this enemy was coming into the world and now is already here.
).

The Greek philosophers such as Plato and Socrates could conceive of great humans becoming gods after discarding the body and time. The idea of God taking on human flesh and dying on the cross, however, was not only scandalous but foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:23

KJV ²³ But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; CEV ²³ But we preach that Christ was nailed to a cross. Most Jews have problems with this, and most Gentiles think it is foolish.
). Who in their right mind would want to take on human flesh? To the Greeks and Romans, the ideal was for the soul to leave the body and thus escape the limitations of time and matter.

With the “immortality of the soul” mental block, the Greek philosophers found it virtually impossible to believe in the Christian hope of the resurrection of the body. For the philosophers, the great hope was not the redemption of the body but deliverance of the soul from the prison of the body. On the other hand, the Bible concept is the redemption of the body and all creation from the curse of sin to incorruption and immortality (Romans 8:23

KJV ²³ And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. CEV ²³ The Spirit makes us sure about what we will be in the future. But now we groan silently, while we wait for God to show that we are his children. This means that our bodies will also be set free.
; 1 Corinthians 15:50-55

KJV ⁵⁰ Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. ⁵¹ Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, ⁵² In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. ⁵³ For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. ⁵⁴ So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. ⁵⁵ O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? CEV ⁵⁰ My friends, I want you to know that our bodies of flesh and blood will decay. This means they cannot share in God's kingdom, which lasts forever. ⁵¹ I will explain a mystery to you. Not every one of us will die, but we will all be changed. ⁵² It will happen suddenly, quicker than the blink of an eye. At the sound of the last trumpet the dead will be raised. We will all be changed, so we will never die again. ⁵³ Our dead and decaying bodies will be changed into bodies that won't die or decay. ⁵⁴ The bodies we now have are weak and can die. But they will be changed into bodies that are eternal. Then the Scriptures will come true, “Death has lost the battle! ⁵⁵ Where is its victory? Where is its sting?”
; Philippians 3:20-21

KJV ²⁰ For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: ²¹ Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. CEV ²⁰ But we are citizens of heaven and are eagerly waiting for our Savior to come from there. Our Lord Jesus Christ ²¹ has power over everything, and he will make these poor bodies of ours like his own glorious body.
).

The Bible teaches that there will be matter and time in the earth made new, so time and matter in themselves are not evil. There will be days, weeks, and months there (Revelation 22:1-2

KJV ¹ And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. ² In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. CEV ¹ The angel showed me a river that was crystal clear, and its waters gave life. The river came from the throne where God and the Lamb were seated. ² Then it flowed down the middle of the city's main street. On each side of the river are trees that grow a different kind of fruit each month of the year. The fruit gives life, and the leaves are used as medicine to heal the nations.
; Isaiah 66:22-23

KJV ²² For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. ²³ And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord. CEV ²² I also promise that you will always have descendants and will never be forgotten, just as the new heavens and the new earth that I create will last forever. ²³ On the first day of each month and on each Sabbath, everyone will worship me. I, the Lord, have spoken.
). Because there will be no sin, however, matter will not decay over time.

Memorize your favorite verse in Genesis 1. Write it out multiple times to help with memorization.

Where in society do you see the teaching today that the body is evil?

How do you react when you meditate on Christ’s incarnation into a human body?

MON – Friend or Deadly Enemy?

inTerpret

Greek philosophers such as Socrates and Plato had no special revelation from God, but they were keen observers. They saw that with the passing of time, matter decays. They also saw that the material body displays the basest of evil passions. They concluded, therefore, that the body and time are inherently evil, and their goal was to dispose of the material body to escape the limitations of time and space. Thus they could get rid of their evil passions and the inevitable consequences of matter and time.

The Greek and Roman thinkers believed that humanity is composed of two separable entities—the corruptible, mortal, material body with all its vices, and the pure, immaterial soul that resided within the body. William Barclay wrote,

“The evil of the body became one of the dominant ideas of Greek thought: Soma Sema, the body is a tomb, ran the Orphic jingle. . . . Epictetus can say that he is ashamed to have a body, that he is a ‘poor soul shackled to a corpse’. . . . Seneca speaks of ‘the detestable habitation’ of the body, and vain flesh in which the soul is imprisoned. . . . ‘Disdain the flesh,’ says Marcus Aurelius, ‘blood and bones and network, a twisted skein of nerves, veins, arteries.” (William Barclay, Flesh and Spirit: An Examination of Galatians 5:19-23

KJV ¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, ²⁰ Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, ²¹ Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. ²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, ²³ Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. CEV ¹⁹ People's desires make them give in to immoral ways, filthy thoughts, and shameful deeds. ²⁰ They worship idols, practice witchcraft, hate others, and are hard to get along with. People become jealous, angry, and selfish. They not only argue and cause trouble, but they are ²¹ envious. They get drunk, carry on at wild parties, and do other evil things as well. I told you before, and I am telling you again: No one who does these things will share in the blessings of God's kingdom. ²² God's Spirit makes us loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, ²³ gentle, and self-controlled. There is no law against behaving in any of these ways.
(Nashville: Abingdon, 1962), 10, 11.)

Plato concluded that,

“no man can be a lover of wisdom and a lover of the body.” (Barclay, Flesh and Spirit: An Examination of Galatians 5:19-23

KJV ¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, ²⁰ Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, ²¹ Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. ²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, ²³ Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. CEV ¹⁹ People's desires make them give in to immoral ways, filthy thoughts, and shameful deeds. ²⁰ They worship idols, practice witchcraft, hate others, and are hard to get along with. People become jealous, angry, and selfish. They not only argue and cause trouble, but they are ²¹ envious. They get drunk, carry on at wild parties, and do other evil things as well. I told you before, and I am telling you again: No one who does these things will share in the blessings of God's kingdom. ²² God's Spirit makes us loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, ²³ gentle, and self-controlled. There is no law against behaving in any of these ways.
, Galatians 5:11

KJV ¹¹ And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased. CEV ¹¹ My friends, if I still preach that people need to be circumcised, why am I in so much trouble? The message about the cross would no longer be a problem, if I told people to be circumcised.
.)

Socrates wrote that,

“the soul is contaminated by the body. If we are ever to know anything we must be freed from the body. The body is the fetter of the soul.” (Barclay, 11.) Philo of Alexandria exclaimed, “The body is a prison and a corpse.” (Oscar Cullmann, Immortality of the Soul or Resurrection of the Dead? (Barclay, 11.)

Reformed scholar Oscar Cullmann wrote a treatise in which he drew a sharp contrast between how Jesus and the Greek philosopher Socrates viewed death (Oscar Cullmann, Immortality of the Soul or Resurrection of the Dead? (London: Epworth, 1958), 19-27.). When Jesus gathered with His disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane, He faced death with trepidationtrepidation, looking at it as a deadly enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26

KJV ²⁶ The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. CEV ²⁶ and the last enemy he destroys will be death.
). He shuddered in fear as He sweated great drops of blood (Luke 22:44

KJV ⁴⁴ And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. CEV ⁴⁴ Jesus was in great pain and prayed so sincerely that his sweat fell to the ground like drops of blood.
). On the other hand, Socrates considered death a friend and encouraged his disciples to drink the hemlock in order to deliver their souls from the chains of the body and thus experience true freedom. The apostle Paul did not believe in death as the emancipation of the soul from the body but rather as the moment when “the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21

KJV ²¹ Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. CEV ²¹ that creation would be set free from decay and would share in the glorious freedom of his children.
). He knew “that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs . . . eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:22-23

KJV ²² For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. ²³ And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. CEV ²² We know that all creation is still groaning and is in pain, like a woman about to give birth. ²³ The Spirit makes us sure about what we will be in the future. But now we groan silently, while we wait for God to show that we are his children. This means that our bodies will also be set free.
).

What questions emerge after studying this passage?

What parts are difficult?

What other principles and conclusions do you find?

How does your faith determine your reaction to death?

TUE – inSpect

inSpect

How do the following verses relate to the primary passage?

Romans 8:19-24

KJV ¹⁹ For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. ²⁰ For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, ²¹ Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. ²² For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. ²³ And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. ²⁴ For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? CEV ¹⁹ In fact, all creation is eagerly waiting for God to show who his children are. ²⁰ Meanwhile, creation is confused, but not because it wants to be confused. God made it this way in the hope ²¹ that creation would be set free from decay and would share in the glorious freedom of his children. ²² We know that all creation is still groaning and is in pain, like a woman about to give birth. ²³ The Spirit makes us sure about what we will be in the future. But now we groan silently, while we wait for God to show that we are his children. This means that our bodies will also be set free. ²⁴ And this hope is what saves us. But if we already have what we hope for, there is no need to keep on hoping.

Luke 24:36-43

KJV ³⁶ And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. ³⁷ But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. ³⁸ And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? ³⁹ Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. ⁴⁰ And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet. ⁴¹ And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? ⁴² And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. ⁴³ And he took it, and did eat before them. CEV (Matthew 28.
16-20; Mark 16.
14-18; John 20.
19-23; Acts 1.
6-8) ³⁶ While Jesus' disciples were talking about what had happened, Jesus appeared and greeted them. ³⁷ They were frightened and terrified because they thought they were seeing a ghost. ³⁸ But Jesus said, “Why are you so frightened? Why do you doubt? ³⁹ Look at my hands and my feet and see who I am! Touch me and find out for yourselves. Ghosts don't have flesh and bones as you see I have.” ⁴⁰ After Jesus said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. ⁴¹ The disciples were so glad and amazed that they could not believe it. Jesus then asked them, “Do you have something to eat?” ⁴² They gave him a piece of broiled fish. ⁴³ He took it and ate it as they watched.

Philippians 3:20-21

KJV ²⁰ For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: ²¹ Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. CEV ²⁰ But we are citizens of heaven and are eagerly waiting for our Savior to come from there. Our Lord Jesus Christ ²¹ has power over everything, and he will make these poor bodies of ours like his own glorious body.

John 1:14

KJV ¹⁴ And the Word was made 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. CEV ¹⁴ The Word became a human being and lived here with us. We saw his true glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father. From him the complete gifts of undeserved grace and truth have come down to us.

John 2:19-21

KJV ¹⁹ Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. ²⁰ Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? ²¹ But he spake of the temple of his body. CEV ¹⁹ “Destroy this temple,” Jesus answered, “and in three days I will build it again!” ²⁰ The leaders replied, “It took 46 years to build this temple. What makes you think you can rebuild it in three days?” ²¹ But Jesus was talking about his body as a temple.

1 Corinthians 15:42-49

KJV ⁴² So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: ⁴³ It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: ⁴⁴ It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. ⁴⁵ And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. ⁴⁶ Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. ⁴⁷ The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven. ⁴⁸ As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. ⁴⁹ And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. CEV ⁴² That's how it will be when our bodies are raised to life. These bodies will die, but the bodies that are raised will live forever. ⁴³ These ugly and weak bodies will become beautiful and strong. ⁴⁴ As surely as there are physical bodies, there are spiritual bodies. And our physical bodies will be changed into spiritual bodies. ⁴⁵ The first man was named Adam, and the Scriptures tell us that he was a living person. But Jesus, who may be called the last Adam, is a life-giving spirit. ⁴⁶ We see that the one with a spiritual body did not come first. He came after the one who had a physical body. ⁴⁷ The first man was made from the dust of the earth, but the second man came from heaven. ⁴⁸ Everyone on earth has a body like the body of the one who was made from the dust of the earth. And everyone in heaven has a body like the body of the one who came from heaven. ⁴⁹ Just as we are like the one who was made out of earth, we will be like the one who came from heaven.

What other parables come to mind in connection with an understanding of the body?

WED – The Implications of Immortality

inVite

Belief in the immortality of the soul has several devastating implications that impact our relationship with Christ. First, the immortality of the soul doctrine glorifies the creature rather than the Creator (Revelation 14:7

KJV ⁷ Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. CEV ⁷ The angel shouted, “Worship and honor God! The time has come for him to judge everyone. Kneel down before the one who created heaven and earth, the oceans, and every stream.”
), who alone has immortality (1 Timothy 6:15-16

KJV ¹⁵ Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; ¹⁶ Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen. CEV ¹⁵ The glorious God is the only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords. At the time that God has already decided, he will send Jesus Christ back again. ¹⁶ Only God lives forever! And he lives in light that no one can come near. No human has ever seen God or ever can see him. God will be honored, and his power will last forever. Amen.
). Immortality, omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence belong exclusively to Deity. Furthermore, if the soul of man is immortal by nature, why would Jesus have to live and die to give us what we already possess (1 Corinthians 15:3

KJV ³ For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; CEV ³ I told you the most important part of the message exactly as it was told to me. This part is: Christ died for our sins, as the Scriptures say.
)? The doctrine of the immortality of the soul smears God and makes Him a liar (Genesis 2:16-17

KJV ¹⁶ And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: ¹⁷ But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. CEV ¹⁶ But the Lord told him, “You may eat fruit from any tree in the garden, ¹⁷ except the one that has the power to let you know the difference between right and wrong. If you eat any fruit from that tree, you will die before the day is over!”
) and Satan a truth teller (Genesis 3:4

KJV ⁴ And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: CEV ⁴ “No, you won't!” the snake replied.
). God said, “You will surely die.” Satan said, “You will not surely die.”

If our soul is what really matters, why would it be necessary to care for what we are going to discard at death anyway? The Bible teaches that we are to care for the physical body because it is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20

KJV ¹⁹ What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? ²⁰ For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. CEV ¹⁹ You surely know that your body is a temple where the Holy Spirit lives. The Spirit is in you and is a gift from God. You are no longer your own. ²⁰ God paid a great price for you. So use your body to honor God.
; Romans 12:1

KJV ¹ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. CEV ¹ Dear friends, God is good. So I beg you to offer your bodies to him as a living sacrifice, pure and pleasing. That's the most sensible way to serve God.
) and the health of our spiritual nature depends to a great degree on the condition of our physical nature.

“The body is the only medium through which the mind and the soul are developed for the upbuilding of character. Hence, it is that the adversary of souls directs his temptations to the enfeebling and degrading of the physical powers. His success here means the surrender to evil of the whole being. The tendencies of our physical nature, unless under the dominion of a higher power, will surely work ruin and death.” (Ellen G. White, Counsels on Diet and Foods (Washington, DC: Review and Herald, 1938), 73.)

The doctrine of the immortality of the soul leads many to lose a sense of urgency and expectancy for the second coming of Jesus. If our soul goes to heaven to be with Jesus at death, why should we be so excited about being with Him at His second coming (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17

KJV ¹⁵ For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: ¹⁷ Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. CEV ¹⁵ Our Lord Jesus told us that when he comes, we won't go up to meet him ahead of his followers who have already died. ¹⁶ With a loud command and with the shout of the chief angel and a blast of God's trumpet, the Lord will return from heaven. Then those who had faith in Christ before they died will be raised to life. ¹⁷ Next, all of us who are still alive will be taken up into the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the sky. From that time on we will all be with the Lord forever.
)?

Finally, the doctrine of the immortality of the soul opens wide the door of the church to the manifestations of spiritualism. If souls go to heaven at death, what would prevent them from coming back to earth to communicate with the living? We have been warned:

“The last great delusion is soon to open before us. Antichrist is to perform his marvelous works in our sight. So closely will the counterfeit resemble the true that it will be impossible to distinguish between them except by the Holy Scriptures. By their testimony every statement and every miracle must be tested.” (Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press, 1911), 593.)

How does the biblical belief in the soul, body, and self impact your definition, motivation, and lifestyle of health?

How do you see Jesus differently or see Him again?

Prayer: How do you respond to seeing Jesus in this way?

THU – Conversation with Mother

inSight

“One day I listened to a conversation between my mother and a sister, in reference to a discourse which they had recently heard, to the effect that the soul had not natural immortality. Some of the minister's proof texts were repeated. Among them I remember these impressed me very forcibly: ‘The soul that sinneth, it shall die.’ Ezekiel 18:4

KJV ⁴ Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. CEV ⁴ The lives of all people belong to me — parents as well as children. However, only those who sin will be put to death.
. ‘The living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything.’ Ecclesiastes 9:5

KJV ⁵ For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. CEV ⁵ We know we will die, but the dead don't know a thing. Nothing good will happen to them — they are gone and forgotten.
. ‘Which in His times He shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; who only hath immortality.’ 1 Timothy 6:15-16

KJV ¹⁵ Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; ¹⁶ Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen. CEV ¹⁵ The glorious God is the only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords. At the time that God has already decided, he will send Jesus Christ back again. ¹⁶ Only God lives forever! And he lives in light that no one can come near. No human has ever seen God or ever can see him. God will be honored, and his power will last forever. Amen.
. ‘To them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life.’ Romans 2:7

KJV ⁷ To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: CEV ⁷ He will give eternal life to everyone who has patiently done what is good in the hope of receiving glory, honor, and life that lasts forever.
.

“ ‘Why,’ said my mother, after quoting the foregoing passage, ‘should they seek for what they already have?’

“I listened to these new ideas with an intense and painful interest. When alone with my mother, I inquired if she really believed that the soul was not immortal. Her reply was, that she feared we had been in error on that subject, as well as upon some others.

“ ‘But, mother,’ said I, ‘do you really believe that the soul sleeps in the grave until the resurrection? Do you think that the Christian, when he dies, does not go immediately to heaven, nor the sinner to hell?’

“She answered: ‘The Bible gives us no proof that there is an eternally burning hell. If there is such a place, it should be mentioned in the Sacred Book.’

“ ‘Why, mother!’ cried I, in astonishment, ‘this is strange talk for you! If you believe this strange theory, do not let anyone know of it; for I fear that sinners would gather security from this belief, and never desire to seek the Lord.’

“ ‘If this is sound Bible truth,’ she replied, ‘instead of preventing the salvation of sinners, it will be the means of winning them to Christ. If the love of God will not induce the rebel to yield, the terrors of an eternal hell will not drive him to repentance. Besides, it does not seem a proper way to win souls to Jesus by appealing to one of the lowest attributes of the mind,—abject fear. The love of Jesus attracts; it will subdue the hardest heart.’

“It was some months after this conversation before I heard anything further concerning this doctrine; but during this time my mind had been much exercised upon the subject. When I heard it preached, I believed it to be the truth. From the time that light in regard to the sleep of the dead dawned upon my mind, the mystery that had enshrouded the resurrection vanished, and the great event itself assumed a new and sublime importance. My mind had often been disturbed by its efforts to reconcile the immediate reward or punishment of the dead with the undoubted fact of a future resurrection and judgment. If at death the soul entered upon eternal happiness or misery, where was the need of a resurrection of the poor moldering body?

“But this new and beautiful faith taught me the reason why inspired writers had dwelt so much upon the resurrection of the body; it was because the entire being was slumbering in the grave. I could now clearly perceive the fallacy of our former position on this question.” (Ellen G. White, Christian Experience and Teachings of Ellen G. White (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press, 1922), 39-41.)

After this entire lesson’s study, what has resonated with you the most?

How can this now be applied in your life?

FRI – inQuire

inQuire

How has Greek philosophy influenced Christianity?

What evidences do we find in the creation story of Genesis 1 that time and matter are good?

How did sin affect the entirety of creation, including time and matter?

What doctrine of the Bible was the bone of contention between Paul and the philosophers of Mars Hill? Why? (See Acts 17:18

KJV ¹⁸ Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection. CEV ¹⁸ Some of them were Epicureans and some were Stoics, and they started arguing with him. People were asking, “What is this know-it-all trying to say?”Some even said, “Paul must be preaching about foreign gods! That's what he means when he talks about Jesus and about people rising from death.”
, Acts 17:32

KJV ³² And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter. CEV ³² As soon as the people heard Paul say a man had been raised from death, some of them started laughing. Others said, “We will hear you talk about this some other time.”
.)

How did the incarnation of Jesus reveal that the material body and time are not evil in themselves?

How is spiritualism playing an important role today in gathering the world for the final battle against God and His people?

How can the desires of sinful flesh be overcome in this life?

What serious theological implications flow from the doctrine of the immortality of the soul?