Today, we discuss the fact that there are two phases of the pre-Advent judgment, as both inspiration and reason attest to. The two phases are the judgment of the dead and the judgment of the living. Obviously, if when Christ returns his reward is with Him, to give every man according to his work (Revelation 22:12), the living necessarily have been judged by the time He comes. Ellen White also attests to this fact.

It is clear that at some point, the judgment of the cases of the dead would be "all caught up" so to speak, and then the only ones left to judge would be the cases of those living. Obviously if probation closes when there are still people alive on the earth, then there is a point prior to the close of probation when the cases of the living are being judged.

Now, it is clear from Ellen's statements that although she was shown that at some point the judgment of the living would commence, she was not shown *when* it would. And considering that when the judgment of the dead commenced, God informed his people who were alive on earth at the time about this fact even though their own cases weren't under review and even though those who were being judged couldn't do anything about it since they had already died, wouldn't it be unreasonable if, at the commencement of the judgment of the living, God leaves the living uninformed? After all, their own cases will be under examination and they will be alive to actually make choices that could affect their eternal destiny and could thus benefit from knowing about their own judgment. This is not to diminish the importance of the message of the judgment of the dead, but it is just to show by reason how important the message concerning the judgment of the living is to those being judged while living.

We also discuss the parallels between Daniel 7 and Revelation 4-22, showing that both are a vision of the investigative judgment. We get into the statements by Ellen White that reveal the content of the scroll sealed with seven seals, and the symbolic key that unlocks the meaning of the first horse and rider of Revelation 6.

We believe the messages for the judgment of the living has already come. We invite you to investigate this claim for yourselves using the links provided. See:

"Do You Know About the Judgment of the Living?" https://youtu.be/ZHfjOCjnMm0

"To the Seven Churches, the Breaking of the Seven Seals," by Victor Houteff: https://www.bdsda.com/to-the-seven-churches/?highlight=to%20the%20seven%20churches

"What is the Spirit of Prophecy? SDA Edition," by Trent Wilde: http://www.bdsda.com/what-is-the-spirit-of-prophecy-sda-edition-2/

"The Idea of Present Truth," by Trent Wilde: https://youtu.be/Kone4bDjUOg

Sabbath School Q4 2022: On Death, Dying, and the Future Hope - Week 13, "The Judging Process"

A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.

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We are going to see in this study that the term "spirit" and its variants: "spiritual," "spiritualistic," "spiritualism," and "spiritualize," have multiple different uses. And this is of course not peculiar to the word "spirit," it's just the way that all words work. People use words in different ways and understanding an author's meaning is not always as simple as we might imagine. This is especially the case when dealing with a word with a long history and we're considering it's use in writings from different times. And what complicates things even more with the word "spirit" is that when we read it in the bible, it is actually a stand-in for a Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek word, and each of these words has its own range of meanings that isn't exactly the same as the range of meanings for the English word "spirit" nor are they the same as each other.

When you see the word "spirit" in the New Testament, it's usually a translation of the Greek word "pneuma" and when you see it in the Old Testament, it's a translation of the Hebrew word "ruach." Spiritus, pneuma, and ruach, all originally referred to breath and wind. But this similarity in basic meaning shouldn't be confused for an equivalence of meaning in every respect. Words often acquire new meanings through metaphorical uses, and different cultures use different metaphors. So in Hebrew, one metaphorical usage of ruach had to do with life, while in Greek, a metaphorical usage of pneuma had to do with the mind. As we discus, the word "spirit" is sometimes used to mean "non-physical" or "immaterial," although this usage came about around the 14th century - way after the time of Jesus and the writings of the Apostles.

We also take a look at the different ways the SDA pioneers used the word "spirit" and its variants, making special note that when they used the words "spiritualism" and "spiritualistic." to our knowledge, the early SDAs always used the word "spiritualism" to mean "immaterialism." And a "spiritualistic" idea to them was the same thing as an "immaterialistic" idea. They always used these terms to describe something they rejected.

This will hopefully be a great help, not only when it comes to understanding the biblical authors, but when it comes to understanding the writings of Ellen White and the early SDAs as well. Misunderstanding an author's writings, especially an inspired author's writings, can result in huge amounts of harm, as the history of the dark ages more than demonstrates. So, let's be careful and be attentive readers.

For further study, see:

"Materialism: Our Forgotten Foundation," by Trent Wilde -

http://www.bdsda.com/materialism-our-forgotten-foundation-2/

Sabbath School Q4 2022: On Death, Dying, and the Future Hope - Week 14, "A New Heaven and a New Earth"

A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.

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Email us at bdsdalit@gmail.com for comments and literature requests.

Ellen White took note of the places in scripture that parallel the church with the bride of Christ, but she also expounded upon scriptures where the church obviously isn't the bride of Christ, but is instead depicted as the wedding guests.

We know from Revelation 21 that the bride, the Lamb's wife, is the New Jerusalem. And as Ellen White said that "in the Revelation all the books of the Bible meet and end," (AA 585) we look to find more information about this city elsewhere in Scripture. And what we find reveals the person whom this Holy City represents, and the identity of the children born by her.

For deeper study:

Holy Spirit Feminine Playlist https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLw8ykUZG-bwcHF7R6NS1bBT2DOeldsWAP

Sabbath School Q1 2023: Managing for the Master - Week 1, "Part of God's Family"

A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.

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People sometimes equate "legalism" with the belief that we earn salvation by works. In reality, while these are both pitfalls, they aren't the same pitfall. To understand what legalism is and how you might be falling into it without even realizing it, we recommend another study of ours called "Legalism: Treating the Law as Policy Rather Than Principle," linked below. But in this study, we'll be talking about recognizing the importance and even necessity of good works without falling into the trap of believing we earn salvation by works.

People often ask, "Is that a salvation issue?" in regard to various "good works." The premise here is that if being saved is a free gift, then good works are not required, and are not "salvation issues." In other words, whether you do it or not doesn't impact whether or not you are saved.

But there are problems with this way of talking about works and salvation.

As we've discussed in past studies, like, "Are Good Works Required at All?" linked below, the bible uses the word "saved" to mean delivered or rescued from something – and what that something is depends on the context it is used in. So when we see the word "saved" or "salvation," we need to ask, saved from what?

For deeper study, see our studies:

Legalism: Treating the Law as Policy Rather Than Principle, https://youtu.be/Vuwh2BEmqME

Sabbath School Q1 2023: Managing for the Master - Week 2, "God's Covenant With Us"

A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.

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Malachi 3 tells us that tithes are to be given to support God's house. And the Sabbath School lesson this week rightly points out that God's dwelling, and thus the storehouse for tithes, has transferred from place to place over time. This means that we can't simply assume that where God's storehouse was in the past must be where it is today. To be sure we're tithing to the right place, we need to keep pace with God's movements instead of mistakenly thinking He is where he only used to be. Scripture contains illuminating testimony on this point. We look at testimony from Jeremiah 7 and Malachi 3 to see that we shouldn't assume that a certain place is God's dwelling if the voice of God is not heard or answered there.

For deeper study, please see:

"The Revival and Reformation Crowned with the Purification", by Victor Houteff - http://www.bdsda.com/.../timely-greetings-vol-2-nos.../...

Sabbath School Q1 2023: Managing for the Master - Week 3, "The Tithing Contract"

A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.

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Email us at bdsdalit@gmail.com for comments and literature requests.

This week, we learn more about the perfect fulfillment of Malachi chapter 3's prophecy relating to tithes and offerings and see that the message that the final antitypical Elijah brings during the judgment of the living (the judgment or cleansing that comes after the period of the judgment of the dead - see Ellen White, The Spirit of Prophecy Volume 4, p. 314.3), will purify those who heed it before the church is purified from sinners. We will also show how God's reproof regarding robbing Him of tithes and offerings in Malachi 3 is particularly relevant to the SDA church today.

For deeper study, see:

The Storehouse and the Messenger of the Covenant - https://youtu.be/FhCEsV0-pSI

"The Revival and Reformation Crowned with the Purification", by Victor Houteff - http://www.bdsda.com/.../timely-greetings-vol-2-nos.../...

Sabbath School Q1 2023: Managing for the Master - Week 4, "Offerings for Jesus"

A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.

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Email us at bdsdalit@gmail.com for comments and literature requests.

Sunday's lesson discusses three reasons people get into financial difficulty. First is ignorance in regard to good financial principles, second is greed or selfishness, and the third listed in the lesson is personal misfortune. In this lesson, we address the third reason people get into finacial difficulty...personal misfortune. Does the church church organization have any responsibility in these cases, assuming the person who has fallen on hard times because of no fault of their own is a faithful member of the church, has honestly endeavored to walk in all the light that has been given to them, and is a faithful tither? Or should their hope rest only in "the support of Christian friends, the counsel and/or assistance of godly counselors, hard work coupled with a good education, and the blessing and providence of God" as written as the options for hope in the lesson?

To answer this, we look at scripture and the writings of Ellen White to see what God's system requires of the church organization in these cases.

For deeper study, see:

"King of Crises in the Seventh-day Adventist Church," by Trent Wilde:

https://www.bdsda.com/the-king-of-crises-in-the-seventh-day-adventist-church-2/?highlight=king%20of%20crises

"The Storehouse and the Messenger of the Covenant:"

https://youtu.be/FhCEsV0-pSI

"The Final Elijah, The Judgment of the Living, and Tithes and Offerings:"

https://youtu.be/VD_zSVhiFPg

Sabbath School Q1 2023: Managing for the Master - Week 5, "Dealing with Debt"

A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.

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Email us at bdsdalit@gmail.com for comments and literature requests.

This week, we talk about the idea of giving up everything, specifically as it relates to the Sabbath School's theme this quarter - financial stewardship. In the past few lessons, we've talked about God's requirements in returning to him a tithe (that is a tenth) of our income along with offerings, and we also covered the much neglected second tithe.

We might think that once we have given God our tithes and offerings, we've done our financial duty to God and the rest of our money is ours to do with what we will. But is this really the case?

Jesus had instructed those who would be his disciples to recognize all their possessions as not really being their own, but as belonging to God. And He knew that they would be tempted to worry that following these instructions would leave them without food and drink. But Jesus' promise is that if seek the kingdom, God will ensure that we have everything we need.

We look at Jesus' teachings on the principles of the Kingdom to learn the object of forsaking all, its incredible viability, and the security it provides.

For further study:

"The Second Tithe and the Worthy Poor," https://youtu.be/g7bhHd80FWs

"The Final Elijah, The Judgment of the Living, and Tithes and Offerings," https://youtu.be/VD_zSVhiFPg

"The Storehouse and the Messenger of the Covenant," https://youtu.be/FhCEsV0-pSI

Sabbath School Q1 2023: Managing for the Master - Week 6, "Laying Up Treasure in Heaven"

A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.

www.bdsda.com

Email us at bdsdalit@gmail.com for comments and literature requests.