Sabbath School with Branch Davidians: Recent Episodes
Mary Zebrowski
We present or expound on a principle or belief related to the SDA Sabbath School quarterly each week. We invite you to visit our website www.bdsda.com to learn more about who we are and, just as important, who we are not. Tune in each week for new and interesting insights to your Sabbath School studies.
In The Gospel of John 3 Jesus presents being born again as necessary for anyone to enter God's Kingdom. So, obviously it's really important to understand what it means to be born again. That's what we're going to talk about in this episode.
Here's the link to the podcast called:
"There's two Kinds Of People In The Gospel Net"
https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/40922745
For more study, see:
The Full Article: What Jesus Taught About Doing Right and Wrong," by Trent Wilde
https://www.bdsda.com/what-jesus-taught-about-doing-right-and-wrong/
Only the section:
You Must Be Born Again to Enter God's Kingdom" by Trent Wilde https://www.bdsda.com/what-jesus-taught-about-doing-right-and-wrong/#you-must-be-born-again-to-enter-gods-kingdom
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
Email us at SabbathSchool@bdsda.com for comments and study requests.
All three of the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) deal with Jesus answering the question:What shall I do to inherit eternal life? We all know the simple answer is to keep the commandments. While we're going to focus on a lesson we can learn from the Gospel of Luke, to better understand the point in Luke, we'll first take a brief look at different aspects within Matthew and Mark and develop a fuller answer to the question. They help to ILLUMINATE the passage in Luke.
For more study, see:
The Full Article: "What Jesus Taught About Doing Right and Wrong," by Trent Wilde
https://www.bdsda.com/what-jesus-taught-about-doing-right-and-wrong/
Only the section:
"Entire Consecration is Necessary for Eternal Life" by Trent Wilde
https://www.bdsda.com/what-jesus-taught-about-doing-right-and-wrong/#entire-consecration-is-necessary-for-eternal-life
For more on Matthew 19:16-19:
Keep The Commandments to Inherit Eternal Life
https://www.bdsda.com/what-jesus-taught-about-doing-right-and-wrong/#keep-the-commandments-to-inherit-eternal-life
For more on Mark 10:17-27:It's Possible With God https://www.bdsda.com/what-jesus-taught-about-doing-right-and-wrong/#its-possible-with-god
2026 Sabbath School, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life?"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
Email us at SabbathSchool@bdsda.com for comments and study requests.
The parable of the net or the dragnet is familiar to most of us, but why are some of the believers caught by the gospel – "The Gospel Net" – in the parable not acceptable? I'll read the passage (which is Matthew 13:47-50), discuss it, and answer this question.
For more study, see: The Full Article: "What Jesus Taught About Doing Right and Wrong," by Trent Wilde
https://www.bdsda.com/what-jesus-taught-about-doing-right-and-wrong/
Only the section:
"The Gospel Net—Catching Isn't Keeping"
https://www.bdsda.com/what-jesus-taught-about-doing-right-and-wrong/#the-gospel-net-catching-isnt-keeping
2026 Sabbath School, "There's Two Kinds of Fish in The Gospel Net"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
Email us at SabbathSchool@bdsda.com for comments and study requests.
Most people are familiar with the parable of the wheat and the tares. Well, there's an important lesson often overlooked concerning whether good deeds (our works) are necessary for entering God's kingdom. We'll read the parable (which we find in Matthew 13:36-43) and then we'll discuss it a bit.
For more study, see:
The Full Article: "What Jesus Taught About Doing Right and Wrong," by Trent Wilde
https://www.bdsda.com/what-jesus-taught-about-doing-right-and-wrong/
Only the section:
The Wicked Will Be Weeded Out
2026 Sabbath School, "THERE'S ONLY TWO WAYS"
www.bdsda.com
Email us at SabbathSchool@bdsda.com for comments and study requests.
Will inequity (or sin) keep us from entering God's kingdom? In this study we'll look at a couple of passages that answer this question: Matthew 7:21-23 and Luke 13:23-27.
For more study, see:
The Full Article: "What Jesus Taught About Doing Right and Wrong," by Trent Wilde
https://www.bdsda.com/what-jesus-taught-about-doing-right-and-wrong/
Only the section:
The Fate of Those Who Work Iniquity
https://www.bdsda.com/what-jesus-taught-about-doing-right-and-wrong/#the-fate-of-those-who-work-iniquity
2026 Sabbath School, "The Way To God's Kingdom Is To STRIVE In This Life—Now!"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
Email us at SabbathSchool@bdsda.com for comments and study requests.
Have you ever wondered: ultimately what is the deciding factor, the decisive factor that determines if we make it to God's Kingdom? Today we're going to read a passage from The Gospel Of Mark where Jesus himself answers that question.
Join us as we take a look at what Jesus taught about ending our destructive sin to make us fit for God's kingdom.
For more study, see:
The Full Article: "What Jesus Taught About Doing Right and Wrong," by Trent Wilde
https://www.bdsda.com/what-jesus-taught-about-doing-right-and-wrong/
Only the section:
Destruction of Sin or Destruction of Self
https://www.bdsda.com/what-jesus-taught-about-doing-right-and-wrong/#destruction-of-sin-or-destruction-of-self
2025 Sabbath School, "How To Stop Our Destruction And Make It To God's Kingdom?"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
Email us at SabbathSchool@bdsda.com for comments and study requests.
Have you thought about the standard God sets to reach His Kingdom? Is there a point on the continuum from morally bad to moral perfection, where we are acceptable for the kingdom of God?
Join us as we take a look at what Jesus taught about what level of morality is necessary to reach God's kingdom.
For more study, see:
The Full Article: "What Jesus Taught About Doing Right and Wrong," by Trent Wilde
https://www.bdsda.com/what-jesus-taught-about-doing-right-and-wrong/
Only the section on repentance:
Jesus Continued John The Baptist's Teaching About Repentence
https://www.bdsda.com/what-jesus-taught-about-doing-right-and-wrong/#jesus-continued-john-the-baptists-teaching-about-repentance
Podcast:Are Good Works Important? Jesus and John Said "Yes"
https://youtu.be/VmrL3z51s2k?si=7t7mu50iihajCJZ7
2025 Sabbath School, "What Level of Morality is Necessary to Reach God's Kingdom"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
Email us at SabbathSchool@bdsda.com for comments and study requests.
Season 13 Lesson 2
What does Jesus mean by this statement: “You shall be perfect, just as your Father in Heaven is perfect. (Mathew 5:48)” What kind of perfection does He mean?
Join us as we look at the six laws Jesus covered in the Sermon on the Mount to discover the answer.
For more study, see: “What Jesus Taught About Doing Right and Wrong,” by Trent Wilde
https://www.bdsda.com/what-jesus-taught-about-doing-right-and-wrong/
2025 Sabbath School, “Will Those Who Break the Least of the Commandments Be In Heaven?”
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
Email us at SabbathSchool@bdsda.com for comments and study requests.
Many Christians interpret the passage Matthew 5:17-20 to teach that people who break the least of the commandments and even teach others to also break them will make it into God’s Kingdom, but be given the title “LEAST.” Is that consistent with Jesus’ teaching?
Join us as we look at 6 reasons to understand what Jesus is saying in Matthew 5:17-20 differently.
For more study, see: “What Jesus Taught About Doing Right and Wrong,” by Trent Wilde
https://www.bdsda.com/what-jesus-taught-about-doing-right-and-wrong/
2025 Sabbath School, “Will Those Who Break the Least of the Commandments Be In Heaven?”
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
Email us at SabbathSchool@bdsda.com for comments and study requests.
The record of Jesus’ answer to a Pharisee’s question highlights Jesus’ emphasis for Moral Perfection in our lives. Jesus would not have taught that we should keep the law and achieve moral perfection if He didn’t believe we could do it.
Jesus taught we could achieve total consecration to God.
For more study, see: “What Jesus Taught About Doing Right and Wrong,” by Trent Wilde
https://www.bdsda.com/what-jesus-taught-about-doing-right-and-wrong/
And,
Jesus Taught Practical Morality - "Keep the Commandments" https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/35061000
2025 Sabbath School, “Entire Consecration = Moral Perfection”
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
Email us at SabbathSchool@bdsda.com for comments and study requests.
Jesus said no one can serve two masters. He also said that everyone who commits sin is the bondservant of sin. In this study, we address the unavoidable conclusion these statements lead to as far as what being a servant of God entails.
For more study, see: “What Jesus Taught About Doing Right and Wrong,” by Trent Wilde
https://www.bdsda.com/what-jesus-taught-about-doing-right-and-wrong/
Jesus Taught Practical Morality - "Keep the Commandments" https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/35061000
2025 Sabbath School, “Service to God = Not Sinning”
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
Email us at SabbathSchool@bdsda.com for comments and study requests.
In John 5:14 and John 8:11, Jesus tells people to sin no more. Did He believe people could possibly live without continuing to sin? Join us in this study as we talk about the implications of the words of Jesus in these verses.
For more study, see: “What Jesus Taught About Doing Right and Wrong,” by Trent Wilde https://www.bdsda.com/what-jesus-taught-about-doing-right-and-wrong/
Jesus Taught Practical Morality - "Keep the Commandments" https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/35061000
2025 Sabbath School, “Jesus Said We Can Sin No More From This Day Forward”
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
Email us bdsdalit@gmail.com for comments and study requests.
Sabbath School Quarter 2 Lesson 2, 2025
Do we have the potential to do the same works Jesus did? According to what Jesus taught, yes we do. In this study we look at a number of teachings of Jesus in the Gospel of John in which He flat out says that His followers have the potential to not walk in darkness but rather do the works of truth and come into the light, and that if we do this, we will be able to do the same sorts of things that He did, and even greater.
For more study, see: “What Jesus Taught About Doing Right and Wrong,” by Trent Wilde
https://www.bdsda.com/what-jesus-taught-about-doing-right-and-wrong/
Why Did Jesus Liken Himself to a Doctor? https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/34721615
2025 Sabbath School, “Jesus Said We Have the Potential to Do the Same Works He Did”
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
Email us bdsdalit@gmail.com for comments and study requests.
What is our moral potential according to Jesus? In Mark 10:17-20, Jesus tells His disciples that moral perfection is necessary in order to receive everlasting life, and that although this is impossible with man, moral perfection is possible with God’s help.
For more study, see: “What Jesus Taught About Doing Right and Wrong,” by Trent Wilde
https://www.bdsda.com/what-jesus-taught-about-doing-right-and-wrong/
Jesus Taught Practical Morality - "Keep the Commandments" https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/35061000
2025 Sabbath School, “Moral Perfection is not Possible with Man, but It Is Possible with God”
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
Email us bdsdalit@gmail.com for comments and study requests.
Is it possible to always do the right thing and always avoid doing wrong? Many Christians think this is impossible, nor the standard for the Christian here in this life. But what we will look at in this podcast is one teaching of Jesus found in Matthew 4:17 and 7:16-18, and also in Luke 6:43-44, that dispels the idea that Jesus thought moral perfection is impossible for us here in this life.
For more study, see:
“What Jesus Taught About Doing Right and Wrong,” by Trent Wilde
https://www.bdsda.com/what-jesus-taught-about-doing-right-and-wrong/
Are Good Works Important? John the Baptist and Jesus Said, "Yes!" https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/34121406
2025 Sabbath School, “Is It Possible to be Morally Perfect? (Jesus’ Teaching on Repentance Using Fruit Trees)”
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
Email us bdsdalit@gmail.com for comments and study requests.
Christians, for the most part, have the idea that if they “believe in Jesus,” and if they love Him, they’re golden, so to speak, on the basis of this profession or sentiment towards Him alone. But is this really the case? Today We’re going to look at a teaching of Jesus found in John Chapter 14 that shows practical morality – the actual doing of right and the avoidance of doing wrong is inseparable from belief in Jesus and love for him, thereby emphasizing the importance of practical morality in the Christian’s life.
For more study, see: “What Jesus Taught About Doing Right and Wrong,” by Trent Wilde
https://www.bdsda.com/what-jesus-taught-about-doing-right-and-wrong/
2025 Sabbath School, Jesus Emphasized Practical Morality: "If You Love Me, Keep the Commandments"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
Email us bdsdalit@gmail.com for comments and study requests.
There are places in the gospels where we can plainly see that Jesus was very much concerned about teaching us the importance of practical morality. He emphasized the actual doing of right things and the avoidance of doing wrong things. Once such example is Matthew 19:16-19, where Jesus tells a questioner, "If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments." Join us as we discuss what this means, and how this statement by Jesus relates to the teaching that we are saved by grace through faith.
For more study, see: “What Jesus Taught About Doing Right and Wrong,” by Trent Wilde
https://www.bdsda.com/what-jesus-taught-about-doing-right-and-wrong/
2025 Sabbath School, “Jesus Taught Practical Morality – ‘Keep the Commandments’”
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
Email us bdsdalit@gmail.com for comments and study requests.
Jesus likens Himself to a doctor in Mark 2:15-17 when answering the scribes and Pharisees as to why He was meeting with sinners and tax collectors. Does this analogy line up with how many Christians understand Jesus’ way of dealing with sin?
For more study, see: “What Jesus Taught About Doing Right and Wrong,” by Trent Wilde
https://www.bdsda.com/what-jesus-taught-about-doing-right-and-wrong/
2025 Sabbath School, "Why Did Jesus Liken Himself to a Doctor?"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
Email us bdsdalit@gmail.com for comments and study requests.
In today's study we look at Luke 6:46-49, where Jesus was speaking to a group of people who called Him "Lord,” but weren’t doing what He said to do. Join us as we look closely at Jesus’ warnings about hearing Jesus’ words but not doing what He said.
For more study, see: "What Jesus Taught About Doing Right and Wrong," by Trent Wilde, https://www.bdsda.com/what-jesus-taught-about-doing-right-and-wrong/
2024 Sabbath School, Quarter 4, "Jesus Emphasized Works Over Profession"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
Email us bdsdalit@gmail.com for comments and study requests.
Many people believe that what Jesus wants most from us is for us to associate with Him – like, by acknowledging Him as Lord and Savior. But in today's study, we'll look at Jesus' teaching concerning the importance of practical obedience to God's will, and we'll see that see that He held it of higher importance than association with Himself.
For more study, see: Are Good Works Important? John the Baptist and Jesus Said, "Yes!" https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/34121406
2024 Sabbath School, Quarter 4, Study no. 2, "Jesus Emphasized the Importance of Doing God's Will Over Association With Himself"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
Email us bdsdalit@gmail.com for comments and study requests.
We're going to start doing something a little different with our Sabbath School podcasts. Instead of doing studies that directly pertain to the subject matter presented in the quarterly lesson, we'll be addressing various important and current topics that relate to us as SDAs.
That said, today's topic is on the question of the importance of works. Many Christians don't place a lot of emphasis on works in comparison with other aspects of Christianity - works pretty much take a backseat as far as importance goes. But Jesus didn't shy away from emphasizing works. To the contrary, He actually placed great importance on works within his own teachings. We start with John the Baptist's teaching about works in Matthew 3 and then get into how that connects to Jesus' own teachings on works in Matthew 4. For more study, see: “What Jesus Taught About Doing Right and Wrong” https://www.bdsda.com/what-jesus-taught-about-doing-right-and-wrong/ “Is God the Source of Morality?”
https://youtu.be/vu_ho2uaXKo?si=bKQ2Lwr2_T2bwIXP
Does God Have a Moral Standard Outside of Himself?https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/32452277 2024 Sabbath School, Quarter 4, week 1: "Are Good Works Important? John the Baptist and Jesus Said, ‘Yes!’"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
Email us bdsdalit@gmail.com for comments and study requests.
The Sabbath School quarterly mentions that,
"Adventists have sometimes shied away from resurrection morning because of the way it is misused to support Sunday sacredness." Sabbath School Quarterly Lesson, Saturday, September 21, 2024.
Some who feel this way might think that whatever is used to support Sunday is a potential threat to the Sabbath truth. But really, even if Sunday could be shown to be divinely appointed as a day of worship, this wouldn't show that the Sabbath has changed from Saturday to Sunday, nor would it show that the command to keep the 7th-Day Sabbath is no longer binding. In today's study, you'll learn why this is the case from an article that was circulated among early Seventh-day Adventists, called "The True Issue," which James White published together with other articles on the Sabbath in 1851. Link to "The True Issue," The Bible Sabbath, p. 45.1 – 47.3
https://m.egwwritings.org/en/book/1486.206#206
For more studies, see:
Ellen White on Experimental Knowledge and Religion (1 of 2)
https://youtu.be/uRQvAxd7ZI0?si=sG8Orfu_8ga0b0Y8 Ellen White on Experimental Knowledge and Religion (2 of 2)
https://youtu.be/8NoEH-7WhHo?si=O30Vpq-VeACejozV
2024 Sabbath School, Quarter 3: The Book of Mark – Week 13, The Risen Lord, September 21–27
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
Email us bdsdalit@gmail.com for comments and study requests.
Have you ever wondered about the calculus of Jesus' "sign of Jonah" statement? Jesus said, "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the huge fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Matthew 12:40 WEB). This is usually understood as referring to Jesus' time in the tomb, but this interpretation runs into some obvious difficulties. The gospels leave a very plain record that Jesus was buried Friday evening soon before the Sabbath and that he was resurrected early Sunday morning. That's a span of about 36 hours, which is only half of "three days and three nights," which is 72 hours. So, the suggestion that the "three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" refers to Jesus' time in the grave, simply doesn't match the facts of Jesus' burial and resurrection. In our study today, we look at an article by J.N. Andrews from "The Present Truth," December 1849, in which he comments on the phrase "the heart of the earth," gives reason why the common interpretation isn't correct, and then explains what it really means.
For more study, see: "The Sign of Jonah, " by Victor Houteff,
https://www.bdsda.com/the-sign-of-jonah/
2024 Sabbath School, Quarter 3: The Book of Mark – Week 11, "Taken and Tried"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
Email us bdsdalit@gmail.com for comments and study requests.
Was there a bible canon in Jesus' day? A bible canon is a set list of writings that are considered to be THE list that's authoritative for a religious community. That means that if we want to know if there was a bible canon in Jesus' day, we have to determine if, at a minimum, the Jews were agreed on which books were scripture. Did they have some sort of official list of books they accepted to the exclusion of others - did they have that sort of thing or not? Did they have a council that approved a list, or was there a list that everyone had a consensus on?
Today we are going to look at a few pieces of evidence that will help answer this question. For further study see: Our "Scripture Canon" playlist on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLw8ykUZG-bwezbikTsIHG2_eaNcbLd0SW&si=JNZ3pEiRmjdkgr-1 2024 Sabbath School, Quarter 3: The Book of Mark – Week 9, "Jerusalem Controversies"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
Email us bdsdalit@gmail.com for comments and study requests.
Why is God's law good? Often, people think it's good because God said it and whatever God says is good by default. While this might initially sound good and honoring to God, we need to consider whether this sort of explanation really makes sense.
Consider, if anything God says is good by virtue of him saying it, could anything be good so long as God said it? Like, hypothetically, if God were to say, "Thou shalt not take care of the sick, the elderly, or the infants," would that actually be good just because God decided to make it a commandment? And how about other things, like racism, torture, exploiting child laborers, selfishness, etc.? Would these things be morally right if God had decided to command them instead of other things? If your answer to any of these questions is "no" then it shows that you understand morality must be based on something other than God's arbitrary decree. Of course, God's law should be our source of moral instruction, but we need to know that the law itself isn't the basis of morality. If it were the basis, it would mean that it doesn't have a basis. But as we'll see, God's moral law does have a basis. So, what is it? What is the basis of morality?
Join us today as we take a look at what scripture has to say about this moral standard.
For more study, see:
“What is Truth?” (1 of 2) https://youtu.be/WNU5xzHIAzU?si=FOSBpvb8Rl3VVVK5
“What is Truth?” (2 of 2) https://youtu.be/AeDNYW-wvqw?si=2R7J9x_3dN63UdmR
2024 Sabbath School, Quarter 3: The Book of Mark – Week 6, "Inside Out"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
Email us bdsdalit@gmail.com for comments and study requests.
In the parable of the mustard seed, Jesus taught his audience that the kingdom will start small then grow large, and by implication, that we shouldn't disregard or bias ourselves against something on the basis of its small size. Of course, this was very relevant when Jesus spoke the parable since his band of followers was very small as compared to other religious groups in the world and even as compared to other groups among the Jews. But now that the SDA membership is 22 million or so, is it safe to say we are done now with the principle Jesus laid out in the parable of the mustard seed? Today we will look into the history of God’s movement upon the earth, the writings of Ellen White, and the principles of truth to find the answer. For more study see the playlist, Logical Fallacies, by Trent Wilde https://youtu.be/gvoi4GyCxqQ?si=3HCB2qJFJKuAzO1g
2024 Sabbath School, Quarter 3: The Book of Mark – Week 4, "Parables"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
Email us bdsdalit@gmail.com for comments and study requests.
None of the 4 gospels in the New Testament list the name of is author, nor are they listed anywhere in the bible. So, is it okay to question the traditional authorship of the gospels? Or is that a doctrinally off limits thing to do? Like, is someone who questions these authorship traditions to be considered someone who doesn't really have a high view of scripture or something like that? Is it theologically okay to question a tradition if we are basing our doctrines on scripture alone? In our study today, we consider this.
For more study, see:
Is Merely Mental Prayer Scriptural?
https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/29436503
Playlist: Before Spirit Was Spiritualistic - Philosophical Materialism from Genesis to Jesus https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLw8ykUZG-bwfEmIpzu49trhT7hZdeeFUh&si=cyLx7yCNJDUOX8yW
2024 Sabbath School, Quarter 3: Mark – Week 1, "The Beginning of the Gospel"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
Email us bdsdalit@gmail.com for comments and study requests.
Are humans dualistic beings – two part beings, composed of a material body plus an immaterial soul? The reason some have this idea is the belief that matter cannot be organized to think, and therefore, the thinking ability of humans must be attributed to something immaterial. This is then used as a basis for the belief in the soul's naturally immortality. If it's immaterial, it has no parts, so it can't be destroyed and must endure forever. While that might seem to make sense, it depends on the idea that the mind is immaterial. And the apparent necessity for that vanishes if matter can be organized to think.
In this study, we continue looking at a pamphlet written by SDA pioneer D. M. Canright called "Matter and Spirit," which was taken from his earlier series of articles called, "Can God Organize Matter to Think?" published in the Signs of the Times by James White.
Canright made a second set of arguments in regard to the premise that humans have an immaterial part of them that is responsible for thought. These arguments point out the difficulties involved in coming up with a coherent conception of this supposed immaterial part of humans. On one hand, people claim this part is immaterial, but then, when attempting to say specific things about this immaterial part, they often end up saying things that would logically imply that it is material after all. Join us as we unpack this.
For further study see:
Part 1 of this 2 part series - "Can Matter be Organized to Think? | Early SDA D.M. Canright"
https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/31758605 "MATTER AND SPIRIT, OR, THE PROBLEM OF HUMAN THOUGHT" A PHILOSOPHICAL ARGUMENT. BY ELDER D. M. CANRIGHT. https://www.bdsda.com/matter-and-spirit-the-problem-of-human-thought/ "The Early SDA View of the Nature of Man | Are We Dual Beings or Unitary Beings?" https://youtu.be/dVp_VPkjYxw?si=6fEb5S7N-3ueF2HE "What is Materialism? The Seventh-day Adventist Foundation" https://youtu.be/iIEoLnNr71g?si=ruDQlazn6vqLHEKn
2024 Sabbath School, Quarter 2: The Great Controversy – Week 11
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
Email us bdsdalit@gmail.com for comments and study requests
Can matter be organized so that it can think? Or is there an immaterial part of humans that is responsible for thought, reason, and emotion?
The SDA doctrine of the non-immortality of the soul is very well known among SDAs today, but what is less well known is the core reason behind this doctrine. This core reason is really the foundation on which the non-immortality of the soul rests, and it was plainly understood and explained by the SDA pioneers. If we don't understand this foundation, we're prone holding other beliefs that are actually in conflict with it, without even realizing it.
One such conflicting belief is that although the soul is not immortal - although the soul cannot live on after death separate from the body, there is an immaterial part of humans that is responsible for thought, reason, intellect and emotion that resides inside the body. In other words, it is thought that there is a conscious immaterial something inside of humans that just becomes unconscious upon death. It's the idea that humans are dualistic beings – two part beings, composed of a material body plus an immaterial soul. Not all SDAs conceive of human nature in this way, but some do.
The pioneers, though, did not believe that humans are dualistic beings. They often wrote that humans are unit beings, or unitary beings – singular beings made of matter, with no immaterial part. They believed that it is the body, and in particular the brain, that is conscious during life and that becomes unconscious upon death, not that there's an immaterial part of us that is conscious during life and that becomes unconscious upon death.
And a great publication on this subject is a pamphlet entitled "Matter and Spirit" by D.M. Canright. He argues in favor of the unitary materiality of human nature from a philosophical perspective, using logical argumentation and empirical facts. Join us as we go through Canright's reasons for believing that matter can be organized to think. For further study see: "MATTER AND SPIRIT, OR, THE PROBLEM OF HUMAN THOUGHT" A PHILOSOPHICAL ARGUMENT. BY ELDER D. M. CANRIGHT. https://www.bdsda.com/matter-and-spirit-the-problem-of-human-thought/ "The Early SDA View of the Nature of Man | Are We Dual Beings or Unitary Beings?" https://youtu.be/dVp_VPkjYxw?si=6fEb5S7N-3ueF2HE "What is Materialism? The Seventh-day Adventist Foundation" https://youtu.be/iIEoLnNr71g?si=ruDQlazn6vqLHEKn 2024 Sabbath School, Quarter 2: The Great Controversy – Week 10
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
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Who is benefited by Jesus' priesthood in the Heavenly Sanctuary? Many are under the impression that people are benefited by just professing Him as their lord and savior, or accepting that He is the savior of the world. But is this the case? In this study we are going to take a look at a book which has Jesus' priesthood as the central theme – the book of Hebrews.
For further study, see:
"What Jesus Taught About Doing Right and Wrong," by Trent Wilde, https://www.bdsda.com/what-jesus-taught-about-doing-right-and-wrong/
“What Are The Streams of Water In Psalm 1?" https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/30057238
2024 Sabbath School, Quarter 2: The Great Controversy – Week 8, "Light From the Sanctuary"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
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As SDAs, we all know about the Great Controversy. We all have this idea in mind that there is this controversy between Christ and Satan going on in the background. At least Satan wants us to think it's just that—a background scenario that's mainly independent from our every day lives. In light of the Great Controversy between Christ and Satan, our controversies could be called small controversies in the scheme of things. But, as I'm sure we all would admit, we tend to think of our personal controversies as though they're great controversies, and sometimes THE Great Controversy between Christ and Satan becomes pushed out of our thinking as something irrelevant to our every day choices.
In this study learn about how viewing things from the perspective of the Great Controversy can help pull into our every decision the knowledge of the two ways - the ways and principles of Christ versus the ways and principles of Satan- and this hopefully will help us make our choices easy ones because we can see more clearly the end result which our choices lead to. This is hard to accomplish when we are tricked into looking at the small picture - our small controversies - without keeping a knowledge of the Great Controversy in the forefront of our minds.
For further study, see:
Is it “Fake” to Do the Right Thing When it Doesn’t “Feel Natural”?
https://www.bdsda.com/2021/07/29/is-it-fake-to-do-the-right-thing-when-it-doesnt-feel-natural/
2024 Sabbath School, Quarter 2: The Great Controversy – Week 7, "Motivated by Hope"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
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Today we are going to look at a key aspect of what brings about successful reformation, because one thing we all know about the Protestant Reformation was that although many great truths were restored, it didn't finish the gospel work. And in fact, as Adventists, we know that while the Protestant Reformation was a good thing, the churches it produced are actually Babylon. As Seventh-day Adventists we should all know that the second angel's message was directed primarily at the Protestant Churches and declared that they were the Babylon that fell. Note, it's not that these churches became Babylon. No, they were already Babylon from their beginning, and when they rejected the light of the first angel's message, they fell.
So, how does God intend to give us a better reformation? Ellen White tells us! We hope you join us to learn her message on this.
For more study, see:
“The 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/ 2024 Sabbath School, Quarter 2: The Great Controversy – Week 6, "The Two Witnesses"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
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You know the bible verse that says no prophecy of scripture is of private interpretation, (2 Peter 1:19-21)? Well, it's the subject of one of Friday's discussion questions in the SDA Sabbath School Quarterly this week, and it's also the subject of our study today. We'll find out what the deal is with private interpretation, and we'll also learn how we're supposed to approach the task of interpreting scripture.
The pillars of the SDA movement were founded on the revelations given to Ellen White, not on private interpretations of the pioneers. She says that all the brethren at that time were in unity regarding this. Ellen often spoke against private interpretation – the uninspired ideas of men concerning the scriptures. In this study we look at a few statements she made regarding the danger the SDA movement was in back in her day regarding such interpretations.
So, what about today? We address a topic that is very misunderstood when it comes to this, and it is regarding the question, "What is the Holy Spirit?" We hope you join us.
For more study, see:
“The Personality of God: An SDA Pillar Doctrine,” https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbPVtTaj0MXEsuRokPxciM7PjCTveaTi1&si=yu840gEXdS8Xcnji
“The 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/ 2024 Sabbath School, Quarter 2: The Great Controversy – Week 3, "Light Shines in the Darkness"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
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As you might know, the full title of the first edition of Ellen White's book, "The Great Controversy" was "The Great Controversy, Between Christ and His Angels, and Satan and His Angels." By this longer title, we can see that the angels have taken either one side or the other. These two sides operate by two completely different sets of principles. Christ's angels are wholly and consistently devoted to His principles;—they don't live by His principles some of the time and by Satan's principles some of the time. And likewise, Satan's angels are entirely on Satan's side—they don't have partial union with Christ; they have no union with Christ.
By becoming a human with the same flesh that we all have and overcoming every temptation while in that flesh, Jesus showed that it is possible to not let sin reign in our mortal bodies, as Paul said in Romans 6:12. If we think it's impossible to stop sinning, then we'll likely buy into the idea that we can keep sinning and yet be followers of Jesus. But the fact of the matter is that it is possible to stop sinning. And we need to stop sinning since sin is of the devil and so long as we sin, we are servants of sin and are giving in to Satan's side in this great controversy. But we don't need to obey the our flesh; we can obey the truth. To quote Paul again, "...as you presented your members as servants to uncleanness and to wickedness upon wickedness, even so now present your members as servants to righteousness for sanctification." Romans 6:19. By exercising faith - that is, trust - in Christ, we can do this and this is how we can play our part on Christ's side of the Great Controversy and help to bring the controversy to an end.
For more study please see:
Are You Minding What Matters? https://www.bdsda.com/are-you-minding-what-matters/
2024 Sabbath School, Quarter 2: The Great Controversy – Week 1
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
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Podcast link for "Sabbath School with Branch Davidians:" https://branchsabbathschool.libsyn.com
Satan has long been keen on misconstruing the words of God's messengers, and Ellen White is no exception. Ellen wrote that Kellogg was misconstruing the meaning of her words to mean something almost opposite of their intended meaning, and as we know by the state of confusion about her writings today, this problem has only worsened since her death. So, today we're going to address this issue and point out least one thing we can do to guard against misunderstanding Ellen's writings.
For more study, see:
“The Personality of God: An SDA Pillar Doctrine, https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbPVtTaj0MXEsuRokPxciM7PjCTveaTi1&si=yu840gEXdS8Xcnji
Did Ellen White Teach Jesus Had a Beginning? https://traffic.libsyn.com/branchsabbathschool/SS2024Q1W11fixmp3.mp3
Did Ellen White say Jesus is Co-eternal with the Father?https://traffic.libsyn.com/branchsabbathschool/SS2024Q1W10B.mp3
For early SDA pioneer resources see: http://www.bdsda.com/other-authors/#early-sda https://egwwritings.org/allCollection/en/16
2024 Sabbath School, Quarter 1: Psalms – Week 13, "Wisdom for Righteous Living"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
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There seems to be a lot of confusion over what Ellen White taught about the duration of Jesus' existence. Did she teach that Jesus had a beginning at some point in eternity past? Or did she teach He has always existed with the Father as a co-eternal member of the Godhead? Is there anything Ellen White said that let's us know what she taught on this issue?
In this study we look at statements by the SDA pioneers and statements by Ellen White and discover if she agreed with the then-prevailing among the pioneers that Jesus did indeed have a beginning – at the point He was begotten of the Father, or the now-prevailing view that Jesus and the Father are co-eternal members of the Godhead.
For more study please see: "Did Ellen White say Jesus is Co-eternal with the Father?" https://traffic.libsyn.com/branchsabbathschool/SS2024Q1W10B.mp3
"The Personality of God, An SDA Pillar," https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbPVtTaj0MXEsuRokPxciM7PjCTveaTi1&si=YPCfKGp2iQ8DsgIW
2024 Sabbath School, Quarter 1: Psalms – Week 11-12
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
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There seems to be a lot of confusion over what Ellen White taught about Jesus. Did she teach he had a beginning at some point, or that he always existed with the Father as a co-eternal member of the Godhead? So, for the next two episodes we'll be going off topic from the Sabbath School Quarterly to address this issue.
In this study we focus on one particular statement she made.
Here's the statement:
In Signs of the Times, August 29,1900, Ellen wrote,
"Christ is the pre-existent, self-existent Son of God…. In speaking of his pre-existence, Christ carries the mind back through dateless ages. He assures us that there never was a time when He was not in close fellowship with the eternal God." Ellen White, Signs of the Times, Aug. 29, 1900. (Evangelism, p. 615)
So, there are two aspects of her statement we look at today. The part where she says that Christ is "self-existent," and the part where she says that “there never was a time when Jesus was not in close fellowship with the eternal God.” What did she mean?
One way to know is to see how this term and phrase were generally used at the time Ellen wrote this, and find out whether Ellen's use of them enables us to know whether or not she thought Jesus had a beginning.
For more study, see:
“The Personality of God: An SDA Pillar Doctrine (2022 Series)”
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbPVtTaj0MXEsuRokPxciM7PjCTveaTi1&si=CffjlgHfZyehEc_5
“2010 Seventh Day Adventist General Conference Agenda Addendum”
https://www.bdsda.com/2010-seventh-day-adventist-general-conference-agenda-addendum/
2024 Sabbath School, Quarter 1: Psalms – Week 10
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
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This week's lesson is called "Blessed Is He Who Comes in the Name of the Lord." This is from Psalm 118 and was applied to Jesus by the crowds who welcomed him into Jerusalem at his triumphal entry, as recorded in Mark 11. So, Jesus is said to have come in the name of the Lord. And Jesus also said this about himself. So, what does it even mean to come in someone's name? Join us as we study what scripture has to say by looking at examples of Jesus coming in the name of His Father, a disciple welcoming a child in Jesus’ name, praying in Jesus’ name, God proclaiming His name to Moses in Exodus 34, and finally, the example of the Holy Spirit coming in the name of Jesus.
For more study, see:
“The Personality of God: An SDA Pillar Doctrine (2022 Series)”
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbPVtTaj0MXEsuRokPxciM7PjCTveaTi1&si=CffjlgHfZyehEc_5
2024 Sabbath School, Quarter 1: Psalms – Week 8, "Blessed Is He Who Comes in the Name of the Lord."
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
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Today's lesson is about Psalm 1, and as you'll see, there are important lessons to learn here that you probably haven't noticed before. If you don't remember what Psalm 1 is about, Thursday's lesson in the Sabbath School Quarterly expresses it really nicely by saying that it depicts the righteous by a simile of a tree planted by streams of water. And it's that "streams of water" part that we're going to really focus on today. And what we find is that if you want to be someone who could be likened to a tree that's transplanted by the streams of water that's drawing nourishment from God's direction that's like that stream, then you need to make sure that you find, not just some still body of truth – a body of truth that came in the past – and that is here entirely already – no, you need to find something that's not that – you need to find God's ever flowing instruction. You need to be looking for God's continual and progressive direction, and transplant yourself there.
For more study, see:
“What is the Spirit of Prophecy? SDA Edition” by Trent Wilde https://www.bdsda.com/what-is-the-spirit-of-prophecy-sda-edition-2/
2024 Sabbath School, Quarter 1: Psalms – Week 8, "Wisdom for Righteous Living"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
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Email us bdsdalit@gmail.com for comments and study requests.
You know the line, "for His mercy endures forever"? Most likely, you've heard it many times since it's repeated in several Psalms. But here's the thing, not all translations use the word "mercy" here. So, in this study, we'll be considering whether God's mercy really does last forever, and also what these psalms are really saying when they say God's "something" lasts forever. For more study, see:
Jeremiah Against Orthodoxy (Ancient and Modern) https://www.bdsda.com/2023/01/24/jeremiah-against-orthodoxy-ancient-and-modern/
2024 Sabbath School, Quarter 1: Psalms – Week 7, "Your Mercy Reaches Unto the Heavens"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
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Most SDAs are aware that the judgment commenced in the sanctuary in heaven on October 22, 1844. As we know, the Millerites got the date right, but the event wrong. When they came to understand that the sanctuary would be cleansed on that day, they thought the sanctuary was the earth. But, as God soon showed, it was the sanctuary in heaven. Okay, so we know all of that, but, is there any evidence of there ever being a cleansing of the sanctuary on earth?
For more study, see: "Do You Know About the Judgment of the Living?" https://youtu.be/ZHfjOCjnMm0?si=w66FUqa5SXY0Izne "The Two Phases of the Pre-Advent Judgment" https://traffic.libsyn.com/branchsabbathschool/SS2022Q4W13_judgment.mp3
"The Judgment and the Harvest," https://www.bdsda.com/the-judgment-and-the-harvest/
2024 Sabbath School, Quarter 1: Psalms – Week 6, "I will Arise"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School Lesson.
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In our study this week, we are going to deal with issues addressed in both of the two latest Sabbath School lessons from the quarterly on Psalms for this quarter – and that is, what are we to think about the times of adversity we experience in this life, even with all the wonderful promises in the scriptures about God’s protection and deliverance from evil?
For further study on the deliverance at the voice of God, see: "The Two Deliverances:" http://www.bdsda.com/the-two-deliverances/
Ellen White's Testimonies for the Church, Volume 3, chapter 27, titled, "The Laodicean Church," starting on page 252: https://m.egwwritings.org/en/book/119.1152#1153
For further study on deliverance from sinning – Justification by Faith, see:
"What is Justification:" https://youtu.be/E1xAiDdAnaE?si=8XUW7Jgo5RkXKUXu And "Justification by Faith" playlist: https://youtu.be/E1xAiDdAnaE?si=8XUW7Jgo5RkXKUXu
2024 Sabbath School, Quarter 1: Psalms – Weeks 4 and 5
A Branch Davidian Seventh-day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School Lesson.
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In this study, we build on last week's study on prayer. What we showed in last week's study, ("Is Merely Mental Prayer Scriptural?" linked below) is that Scripture contains many examples and admonitions to pray audibly with our mouths while it contains no admonitions or examples to pray merely mentally. Even though the idea of merely mental prayer is popular today, it is ultimately foreign to Scripture.
Today we continue with this topic by looking at another aspect of prayer; specifically, how scripture portrays the role of angels in taking our prayers to God – and that since angels do bring our prayers to God, obviously God isn't receiving them through mind-reading our merely mental prayers.
Then we get into the implications of these scriptural aspects of prayer. Why use angels if God is already personally everywhere present? If God is personally everywhere present, wouldn't that make the ministry of the angels useless? Ellen White addressed this issue. She said that "extreme views of 'God in nature' undermine the foundation truths of the personality of God and the ministration of angels." Join us as we deal with the realities of the scriptural view of prayer, the personality of God, and the ministration of angels.
For further study: "Is Merely Mental Prayer Scriptural?" https://youtu.be/S-cntY9BJhk?si=ImTN7ThWSMgiLB0X
"The Personality of God" playlist, https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbPVtTaj0MXEsuRokPxciM7PjCTveaTi1
"Angels: Their Nature and Ministry," written by Dudley Canright and later revised by Joseph Waggoner, https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p1441.107(1441.106)&index=0
"Why SDAs Should Care About The Apocrypha," https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t-9IodBtaY&list=PLq5exKaBCIq-7c-U5hkiZLPEUS37S4NFF&index=1&t=1269s
2024 Sabbath School, Quarter 1: Psalms – Week 3
A Branch Davidian Seventh-day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School Lesson.
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Podcast link for "Sabbath School with Branch Davidians," https://branchsabbathschool.libsyn.com
In our study today, we're going to look at what Scripture has to say about whether prayer should be spoken out loud or merely thought in our minds.
Even though the idea of merely mental prayer is popularly practiced today, does scripture portray it as a means of communication with God?
For further study, see our series, "Before Spirit Was Spiritualistic: Philosophical Materialism from Genesis to Jesus" (Series Info and Videos) – April-May 2023 https://www.bdsda.com/2023/04/03/before-spirit-was-spiritualistic-upcoming-series-april-may-2023/
Sabbath School Q1 2024: Psalms – Week 2
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
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Podcast link for "Sabbath School with Branch Davidians:" https://branchsabbathschool.libsyn.com
In this study we discuss a principle to keep in mind when reading any author's work - a principle that will help us understand more clearly what an author is trying to communicate. The principle: it's important to judge the writings of each author on their own merits rather than judging them by their association with other writings. This is important when we're talking about any writing that could potentially be a product of divine inspiration.
As we go through this, we'll introduce you to some facts that might be new and even surprising in regard to the Psalms, the topic of this quarterly study. For example, did you know the 150 psalms in the Protestant bible aren't the only psalms out there?
In the 1940s and 50s, Bedouin and archaeologists discovered a significant number of ancient manuscripts in locations by the Dead Sea. These became known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. Included among these manuscripts were 40 Psalm scrolls dating from the 2nd century BC to the first century AD. Some contain familiar psalms in an unfamiliar order, and several of the scrolls include others psalms side by side the psalms in our bibles simply as part of the collection. This includes Psalm 151 as well as the psalms known as Psalm 154 and 155. But there are also psalms that were completely unknown to modern people until they were found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. This is hugely significant because it is plain manuscript evidence showing that at the time of Jesus and the apostles, there was no one book of Psalms like we have in our bibles today.
We've included links to where you can read English translations of the Psalms scrolls from the Dead Sea Scrolls along with the Psalms known as Psalms 151-155.
Dead Sea Scrolls Psalm Scrolls - http://dssenglishbible.com/ScrollsPsalms.htm
Psalm 151 - https://opensiddur.org/.../psalms-151-according-to-the.../
Psalm 152 and 153 - https://opensiddur.org/.../psalms-152-and-153-a-hebrew.../
Psalm 154 - https://opensiddur.org/.../psalms-154-according-to-the.../
Psalm 155 - https://opensiddur.org/.../psalms-155-according-to-the.../
For further study, see our "Scripture Canon" playlist:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLw8ykUZG-bwezbikTsIHG2_eaNcbLd0SW&si=uBo_5B3_t3Ie-rk-
Sabbath School Q1 2024: Psalms – Week 1
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.
As SDAs we are called to proclaim the present truth, but what preset truth has the denomination accepted since Ellen's death over 100 years in the past? Given that Ellen spoke so much about the importance of keeping up with new light and advancing truth, it seems strange that there has not been any in over 100 years.
Basically the things that have been updated as far as the fundamental beliefs are concerned have not been anything that the rest of the world doesn’t already have too. The doctrines newly accepted by the SDA church over the past 100 or so years simply don't qualify as present truth. The most we could possibly claim regarding those doctrines is that they're past truths that SDAs were behind the other churches on. If our SDA leadership, the General Conference, has not accepted or claimed to have received any new light since Ellen's death over 100 years ago, should we personally be satisfied with this? Join our study as we investigate this topic.
For further study, see:
"The Study of Knowledge" Playlist, https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLw8ykUZG-bweNGaL5X92Lm_fUj4dBjVS8&si=wzPA6wVhC8baEGLf
Sabbath School Q4 2023: "The End of God's Mission" - Week 13
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.
In this study we look at the story of Esther and Mordecai and the turn of circumstances that occurred for the Jews and for those who attacked them under Haman's decree. Esther found a way to turn the King against Haman and to petition the King to revoke the decree. But since no decree of the King could be revoked according to Persian law, they had to devise another way to protect the Jews. So, the king permitted Esther and Mordecai to write a new decree in the name of the king. Their decree gave the Jews the legal right to inflict on them all the things which Haman's decree had planned against the Jews.
Interestingly, in the portion of Esther that describes what happened when the attack came, it says the Jews killed their attackers, and it specifies that they didn't take their possessions, even though that was part of the decree. So, even though the Jews had a legal right to take the possessions of their attackers, they chose not to exercise that right. This brings us directly to the principle that is the main lesson of our study. Simply stated, the principle is this: Our rights, as important as they are for society, are not a good guide for determining what we as individuals should do.
Join us as we take a look at what rights are all about, and ask, what should guide our choices and actions? For more study, please see:
"Are You Minding What Matters?" by Trent Wilde,
https://www.bdsda.com/are-you-minding-what-matters/?highlight=are%20you%20minding%20what%20matters
Sabbath School Q4 2023: God's Mission, My Mission - Week 12, "Esther and Mordecai"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
In Galatians 2:11-14, clearly, there is some tension here between Paul and Peter - and Barnabas. But what exactly is going on? The way some people see it, there are 2 sides: the circumcision faction on one side and Paul on the other. In this view, James, Peter, Barnabas, and however many other Jewish followers of Jesus were part of the circumcision faction, while Paul was on the other side of the issue. What we'll be addressing in this study is whether this was really the case. Were either Peter or James of the circumcision faction? And who were "those of the circumcision"?
For more study, please see: “Are We Judged By Our Works If We Are Saved By Grace?”
https://youtu.be/vrmSURoGrXg?si=DNOhAtRBTkzMRqeZ “Are Good Works Required At All?” https://youtu.be/hIcZleuSrAE?si=RRLzwFzWITPEK7Bs Sabbath School Q4 2023: God's Mission, My Mission - Week 11,
"Mission to the Unreached: Part 2"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
How would we approach people whom the scriptures mean nothing to? If that common ground simply isn't there, then what?
The Apostle Paul encountered people in the Athens marketplace. Among them were certain philosophers of the Epicureans and Stoics – people who did not share the common ground of the scriptures with Paul. Ellen White wrote that Paul was "…able to meet all classes with convincing arguments in support of the doctrines he taught. Thus the apostle stood undaunted, meeting his opposers on their own ground, matching logic with logic, philosophy with philosophy, eloquence with eloquence." (AA 235)
How did Paul do this? There must something even more fundamental than the scriptures by which we can determine if an idea or statement is true. In this study, we look at what this foundational, fundamental standard is, and show that this standard was the foundation, not only that was use by Paul, but that the SDA pioneers also used to make sound arguments in the doctrines they taught, and it is the foundation we must use as well.
For more study on this, please see our playlist: “Experience Not Reliable – 3T 67,” https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLw8ykUZG-bwexJTiTOQ-S5ON_V1zt1-hy&si=RBaXT8lv2tPGl68Q
"Materialism: Our Forgotten Foundation," https://www.bdsda.com/materialism-our-forgotten-foundation-2/
Sabbath School Q4 2023: God's Mission, My Mission -
Week 10, "Mission to the Unreached: Part 1"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
This week’s Sabbath School Lesson looks at examples of God reaching powerful people, such as Nebuchadnezzar, Naaman, and Nicodemus. In our study, we look at Naaman's request to take two mule-loads of dirt from the land of Israel back to Syria with him so he could worship YHWH instead of the other gods. This might seem a little strange to us today. But why was he thinking this? The lesson rightly points out that Naaman associated the God of Israel with the land of Israel. But actually, the idea involved here is quite a bit broader than that. It isn't just that God is connected with the land of Israel by some particular means; it is that each land is connected with a different deity. Israel was the land of Yahweh, while Syria was the land of Rimmon, which is another name for the deity Hadad, more commonly known as Baal. Naaman knew that when he went back to Syria, he was going back into Rimmon's territory and would be required to go to his temple, as he actually mentions right after requesting to take Israelite dirt to Syria (see 2 Kings 5:18). The idea that different territories are associated with different gods isn't just an idea Naaman had; it's actually a scriptural idea. We covered this in a recent study called "Are There Many gods Ruling Various Nations?" linked below, and we saw that God inheriting all of the nations is connected to the judgment which began in 1844, in the study entitled, “The Pre Advent Kingdom of Refugees and Immigrants,” also linked below.
In this study we will see that this pre-advent judgment and pre-advent kingdom are also connected to the overthrow of the wicked gods, and that this kingdom of God wins citizens by the gospel. We will see in terms of practical reality that the way we can hasten the return of Christ is by sharing the gospel for the purpose of growing the kingdom. This is how the kingdom of the wicked gods will be overthrown, and Christ will reign forever and ever.
For more study on this, please see: "Are There Many gods Ruling Various Nations?" https://youtu.be/LSbEUgwnyjY?si=L2J1XGdElMcxJjrJ
"The Pre-Advent Kingdom of Refugees and Immigrants," https://youtu.be/52bgzFm5J8E?si=fymnkRi9QXqvjAcP Sabbath School Q4 2023: God's Mission, My Mission - Week 9, " Mission to the Powerful"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com Our podcast link, "Sabbath School with Branch Davidians,"
The Sabbath School lesson discusses the topic of refugees and immigrants that have been displaced by war, natural disasters, or the hope of a better future. In our study today, we look into what Micah has to say about a kingdom that is coming on the earth that people will flow into rather than be displaced from because of war or famine or lack of hope. And as we'll see, this kingdom will be established before the second coming of Christ.
For further study, see:
"The Stone," by Ben Roden, https://www.bdsda.com/the-stone/?highlight=kingdom
Sabbath School Q4 2023: "Mission to the Needy" - Week 8
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.
How are we saved from eternal death? Jesus said it was by loving your neighbor as yourself. Paul said the same thing. But often, people think the main thing we need to do to inherit eternal life is to accept as truth that Jesus came to die for us, and that by merely accepting this as truth, we thereby receive Jesus' righteousness vicariously, without needing to make His righteousness our own in our daily actions, and then the whole necessity of putting others first becomes easily lost sight of. With this means of salvation in view, we might tend to think of loving others as something that is generally good to do, and something Jesus prefers, but not necessary for inheriting eternal life, not a "salvation" issue, if you will. But the whole purpose of the judgment is to evaluate our lives to see if we will be good neighbors in heaven and the new earth, or not.
In this study, we look at the imperativeness of practical righteousness, and the the inevitable result of selfishness, even of one being.
For further study, see: Jeremiah Against Orthodoxy (Ancient and Modern), https://www.bdsda.com/2023/01/24/jeremiah-against-orthodoxy-ancient-and-modern/
Sabbath School Q4 2023: "God's Mission, My Mission" - Week 7
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.
In Acts chapter 2, we see that Peter was speaking to a Jewish audience that had come from far and wide to celebrate Pentecost, or the Feast of Weeks. Peter confronted their incorrect beliefs and offered new explanations for what people were seeing and experiencing.
These incorrect beliefs being confronted were the incorrect beliefs of God's denominated people at the time. And these corrections were not coming from the established religious leaders.
It's easy to read Acts 2 and imagine that we would have been the ones accepting these corrections and getting baptized into these new beliefs, but before we jump to that conclusion, let's examine ourselves for a moment. How do we handle new teachings that go against long held beliefs? And do we honestly investigate teachings that do not come from the established religious leaders in the SDA church, God's denominated people of today? Are we like the 3000 who honestly considered Peter's teachings? Or are we like the majority of the Jews, God's denominated people of that day, who rejected these new and strange teachings on the basis that they did not come from the established leadership, or went against long held ideas, or both?
Today we will look into what Ellen White had to say about how to handle what seem to be new and strange teachings that come about in the church.
For more studies on this, please see: "The 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/ Sabbath School Q4 2023: God's Mission, My Mission - Week 6, "Motivation and Preparation for Mission"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
In this study, we going to look at the worldview mentioned by the Quarterly, or at least the part of the worldview that suggests various gods rule over various lands and their inhabitants. Is this idea only a traditional pagan worldview, or was it a view also held by the ancient Israelites, and particularly, the writers of scripture? To find this out, and to bring out the main point for this study, we look at some passages that show that the authors of Scripture used two terms translated "God" and "gods" to mean something different from what we often mean by "God" today. Our main point is that it's important to understand scripture according to its own use of terms rather than reading it through the lens of our own definitions. When we read Scripture through the lens of modern definitions, there can often be a clashes, and this can cause a lot of confusion. To avoid this, it helps to understand each author's actual message, which we hope you will all agree is important to do.
For more studies on this, please see:
"Who are the 'sons of God' in Genesis 6?" https://youtu.be/BbizxkcTAaE?si=d_Ee3K8t1NjCtFlw
Sabbath School Q4 2023: God's Mission, My Mission - Week 5, "Excuses to Avoid Missions"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
Today we focus on something the lesson mentions, and that is what is said in Amos 3:7, which reads, "Surely the Lord Yahweh will do nothing, unless he reveals his secret to his servants the prophets." Amos 3:7 (WEB)
From this key text, we not only learn that the role of prophets is to reveal the secret things of God, but also that the Lord won't carry out his plans unless he lets his servants, the prophets, know about it first.
Also, notice how this arrangement of God revealing His secret to His prophets in connection with His deeds is spoken of as simply being how God operates. And this isn't the only passage that conveys that idea.
Many Christians have a jaded opinion about prophets in the last days, or as SDAs, a jaded opinion about there being more prophets after Ellen's passing. But why would we even have these jaded positions? Does Scripture give us any reason for being cynical about there being end time prophets?
For more studies on this, please see:
"The 'Every Wind of Doctrine' Problem," https://youtu.be/S2unTxZhuzE?si=NdBlVypoTUldlVym
"The 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
Sabbath School Q4 2023: God's Mission, My Mission - Week 4, " Sharing God's Mission"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com Our podcast link, "Sabbath School with Branch Davidians,"
https://branchsabbathschool.libsyn.com
How exactly Jesus is the solution to the sin problem?
Some think Jesus solves the sin problem by changing the way God looks at the sinner, while leaving the sinner still committing sin in their hearts and lives. But if sinners still sin, is that really a solution to the sin problem? No. When you think about it (and you can even see it with your own eyes today), living in a society where sin still abounds, harbored in our own hearts, but is considered understandable and "atoned for" while not eliminated in reality, doesn't make for a great society. If allowed to continue, it simply would eventually end in death for all. In other words, how is life in heaven going to be any different than life in the world today if we have not overcome every temptation to sin?
And if we are inclined to think that in heaven or in the new earth sin will not abound on the basis that we will be with Jesus, consider that Satan and some of the angels chose to sin in that environment.
Join us as we look at what scripture tells us is the only true and logical solution to the sin problem.
For deeper study, please see our study: "Are We Judged By Our Works If We Are Saved By Grace?" https://youtu.be/vrmSURoGrXg?si=caCr91s_YRHEH7ip "The Only Way to Life," by Trent Wilde, https://www.bdsda.com/the-only-way-to-life/?highlight=the%20only%20way%20to%20life Christian Experience and Teaching, Ellen White, p. 102.2 https://m.egwwritings.org/en/book/11.484?hl=my+blood&ss=eyJ0b3RhbCI6NDU0NSwicGFyYW1zIjp7InF1ZXJ5IjoibXkgYmxvb2QiLCJ0eXBlIjoiYmFzaWMiLCJsYW5nIjoiZW4iLCJsaW1pdCI6MjB9LCJpbmRleCI6MTJ9#496 Ellen White's teaching on Ezekiel 9 in Great Controversy, p. 656.2, https://m.egwwritings.org/en/book/133.2954?hl=slaughter+weapons&ss=eyJ0b3RhbCI6MTQ0LCJwYXJhbXMiOnsicXVlcnkiOiJzbGF1Z2h0ZXIgd2VhcG9ucyIsInR5cGUiOiJiYXNpYyIsImxhbmciOiJlbiIsImxpbWl0IjoyMH0sImluZGV4IjozfQ%3D%3D#2972 Sabbath School Q4 2023: God's Mission, My Mission - Week 3, " God's Call to Mission."
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
How is the concept of judgment linked to the “everlasting gospel” in the first angel’s message? Why must the gospel be central to the idea of judgment?
Some might say that the gospel is central to the idea of judgment because it is thought that acceptance of the gospel equals salvation from judgment, and if we don't have to be judged, there is nothing to fear about the judgment.
Another thing people might say concerning the gospel and its relation to the judgment is that the gospel makes it so that believers won't have to be judged by what they actually do.
However, scripture is clear that all of us, including believers, are judged by our works, and each will receive according to what they have done, whether good or bad. Many passages say this. To name a few, there's Romans 2:6; Matthew 16:27, James 2:24 and 2 Corinthians 5:10.
In this study, we look at this problem: on one hand, it is commonly thought that the gospel of being saved by grace makes it so that whether we go to heaven or not isn't determined by our works. On the other hand, Scripture plainly tells us that we are judged by our works, whether good or bad. These two ideas just don't jive.
For deeper study, please see our study:
“The Real Meaning of Jesus' Substitutionary Death,” https://youtu.be/rQQaPMOMyTY?feature=shared
“The Truth of Sacrifice” - Oct. 1, 2015 - Trent Wilde (FOT'15 S3), https://youtu.be/0YOcg3kd74Q?feature=shared
Sabbath School Q4 2023: God's Mission, My Mission - Week 2, "God's Mission to Us, Part 2"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
In this study, we focus on what scripture has to say about God's nature, and by "nature" we mean the essential qualities of God that make Him what He is. In other words, our focus in this study isn't on God's actions or His character but on his being.
Now some might think it is unnecessary to know what God is, and some might think it is off limits to even study the topic, and some might think is just unknowable. If our intention were to search into the mysteries of God, then these objections would certainly be legitimate. But our goal here isn't to explain God or to invent means of answering questions we might have about the hidden aspects of His nature. Instead, our goal is simply to make sure we understand what God has revealed about Himself. To neglect His own explanations about Himself would be just as bad as inventing our own. Deuteronomy 29:29 tells us that the hidden things are for God, but what is revealed is for us and our children forever. So this is our question: What has God revealed about His nature?
The SDA pioneers considered knowledge of what God is to be supremely important and, interestingly, they encountered the objections we just mentioned and they answered them similarly to how we just did. And, as we'll see in a moment, early SDAs did have a view regarding what God is. In fact, their view is something Ellen White referred to as a pillar of our faith, and she said it is "everything to us as a people" (Lt300-1903). For deeper study, please see our series:
The Personality of God: An SDA Pillar https://youtu.be/CJSYUSfohsQ?feature=shared See also: “Materialism, Our Forgotten Foundation,” http://www.bdsda.com/materialism-our-forgotten-foundation-2/
Sabbath School Q4 2023: God's Mission, My Mission - Week 1, "God's Mission to Us, Part 1"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
Ephesians 4:14 says that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by trickery of men. From this statement we know that obviously the early church struggled with internal struggles from the "trickery of men." How about the end-times remnant church? Does it face internal struggles from the "trickery of men?" It's doubtful any Seventh-day Adventist would say "no." But the problem is that everyone thinks those in the "other group" are the ones being tricked, being "carried about with every wind of doctrine." That being the case, how do we know for sure we are not the ones being tricked, and carried about by every wind of doctrine?
For further study, see: "What Is the Spirit of Prophecy? SDA Edition," by Trent Wilde,
http://www.bdsda.com/what-is-the-spirit-of-prophecy-sda-edition-2/
Sabbath School Q3 2023: Ephesians - Week 14, “Ephesians in the Heart."
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
Ellen White wrote of a future state of the church in which its members are all clad in this armor – the armor of Christ's righteousness. She wrote, "Clad in the armor of Christ's righteousness, the church is to enter upon her final conflict. 'Fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners' (Song of Solomon 6:10), she is to go forth into all the world, conquering and to conquer." Ellen White, Prophets and Kings, p. 725.23
We want to be members of the church triumphant, the conquering church, and the way to do that is to array ourselves in the armor to fight against our true enemy – Satan and his angels. But before the church is in its triumphant stage, Ellen calls it the church militant - the church co-mingled with wheat and tares. Obviously, this is the stage the church is in at the moment, not only because the church has members that harbor sin in their hearts, but because it is a church that is fighting against itself - against its own members, with seemingly no means of truly settling any of our disagreements. Join us as we go through each piece of God's armor delineated in Ephesian 6 so you can be prepared to be part of His army in the church's triumphant stage. For more study: "God Gives Us the Armor He Uses Too!" https://youtu.be/JCoVw4-g4IQ?feature=shared "Love Walkers," https://youtu.be/IqV4XRPkJGI?feature=shared
"Bodies in the Beyond: The Faith with a Physicalist Future," https://youtu.be/GpsBcWhVztM?feature=shared
"A Palpable Paradise: Scripture Without a Spirit World," https://youtu.be/aL10U4Yt9ok?feature=shared
"What is Truth? (1 of 2)," https://youtu.be/WNU5xzHIAzU?si=7OSQASO2DzGZ57Am
"What is Truth? (2 of 2)," https://youtu.be/AeDNYW-wvqw?si=x3B54qZgG3B8DHer Sabbath School Q3 2023: Ephesians - Week 13, "Waging Peace"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
The strength of the Lord is linked with the armor of God. The way we become strong in the Lord is by wearing 6 pieces of armor, and when each piece is put on and used correctly, we will be able to stand in the evil day. Having on the armor gives us the same strength God has. Not only does it personally equip us, but it identifies us as part of God's army and thus we have the protection offered by the rest of His army, including the angels. An important, yet often missed, aspect of this is that the armor is not only given by God, but He Himself uses it too.
In this study we look at not only Ephesians 6, but also Isaiah 59:15-17, where we are told that Yahweh Himself put on righteousness as a breastplate in His war against injustice to protect Himself, and a helmet of salvation on His head for the same reason.
We ask the question, why would God need a breastplate of righteousness and a helmet of salvation? Join us to learn the answer. For further study, see: "Are You Minding What Matters?" by Trent Wilde https://www.bdsda.com/are-you-minding-what-matters/?highlight=are%20you%20minding%20what%20matters
Sabbath School Q3 2023: Ephesians - Week 12, " A Call to Stand "
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
In this study, we talk about slavery in New Testament times, with a special focus on the principles promoted by Jesus and his early followers regarding how to deal with slavery, and examine the incredible wisdom involved in their approach. For further study, see: "Are You Minding What Matters?" by Trent Wilde https://www.bdsda.com/are-you-minding-what-matters/?highlight=are%20you%20minding%20what%20matters
Sabbath School Q3 2023: Ephesians - Week 11, "Practicing Supreme Loyalty to Christ"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
This week's study investigates the merits of arbitrary headship based on gender, or any other factor other than truth.
The writings of Genesis 1 and Galatians convey the fact that God doesn't distinguish between men and women as far as having dominion over the earth or being Abraham’s offspring and heirs according to promise goes, but do we have any reason to think that God distinguishes between men and women in regard to church leadership? In other words, even though God gave both men and women dominion over every living thing that moves upon the earth, and intended for both men and women to be heirs of promise, even in Abraham's day, did God intend for only men to have headship in the church?
For further study, see:
"God Ordains Women," by Doug Mitchell,
http://www.bdsda.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/GOW-BDSDA-FULL.pdf
And for deeper study on following the Lord because His ways are based on truth, see:
"Love Walkers," https://youtu.be/IqV4XRPkJGI?feature=shared
Sabbath School Q3 2023: Ephesians - Week 10, "Husbands and Wives: Together at the Cross."
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
According to Ephesians 5:1-2 we are to be imitators of God by walking in love. But what does that mean? How do we do that?
In this study, we look back at Ephesians 4, the chapter Paul was building on, to find the answer, and additionally discuss Ellen White's admonitions against "making flesh your arm," and the ad hominem fallacy.
For further study, see:
"How Does Faith Stop Us From Sinning?
https://youtu.be/rHrjyYnY-Zc
Sabbath School Q3 2023: Ephesians - Week 9, " Living Wisely."
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
What's up with the Holy Spirit? Is the Spirit a person? Or is the Spirit a power or influence? As you probably know, this is a hot debate right now at least among some Seventh-day Adventists.
Many SDAs today assume that there was no diversity of views about the personhood of the Holy Spirit among the SDA pioneers. It is thought that since the pioneers were clearly and adamantly against Trinitarianism, they were clearly and adamantly against the personhood of the Holy Spirit. But this is not the case.
In this study, we take a look at the early history of this issue within Seventh-day Adventism, and the light God eventually gave to Ellen G. White to settle the matter
For further study, see:
"The Personality of God – An SDA Pillar Doctrine"
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbPVtTaj0MXEsuRokPxciM7PjCTveaTi1
"Materialism: Our Forgotten Foundation"
http://www.bdsda.com/materialism-our-forgotten-foundation-2/
Sabbath School Q3 2023: Ephesians - Week 8, "Christ-Shaped Lives and Spirit-Inspired Speech."
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
Does the Bible validate the functioning of the gift of prophecy in the church only during the time of the apostles? Or does the gift continue until the return of Christ? The early Adventists found their answer in Ephesians 4:13 and shared it through a story by Uriah Smith about the captain of a ship who was bound to follow the instructions provided for a voyage. Does this pioneer's perspective apply still today? Are we part of the rebellion Uriah Smith speaks of? Or are we consistent with the pioneer's understanding of the scriptures on these points?
For further study, see:
"What Is the Spirit of Prophecy? SDA Edition," by Trent Wilde,
http://www.bdsda.com/what-is-the-spirit-of-prophecy-sda-edition-2/
"Are We Satisfied to Have All Our Prophets Dead Prophets?"
https://youtu.be/qD8Vu6-G4wc
Sabbath School Q3 2023: Ephesians - Week 7, "The Unified Body of Christ."
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
This week's Sabbath School lesson notes that in Ephesians 3:1-6, Paul receives new light on the mystery of the gospel, that is – that it is to go to the Gentiles.
Paul tells us that this mystery was made known to him, and also to the other apostles and prophets, and that this mystery was something that was not known to previous generations. In other words, this mystery revealed to Paul and the other apostles and prophets was radically new light for the people of their day, but, as the lesson said, not much of a surprise to us in our day. Basically, this mystery was "present truth" to the people of Paul's day, but not for us in our day. For us, this is a past truth.
As we know from John, Jesus did not give all the light that could have been given to His disciples, as they could not yet bear it. So, Jesus told them that He would continue to communicate with them through the Holy Spirit, who would guide them into all truth.
As SDAs, we know that all the light that could be given was not given to the first century apostles and prophets. In this study, we look at the introduction to Ellen White's book, Spiritual Gifts Volume 1, written by pioneer Roswell Cottrell, who was commissioned by Ellen to address the question of the continuance of revelation of new light for the church in the last days.
Do Cottrell's arguments that show we should expect more prophets after John the Revelator also show we should expect more prophets after Ellen White?
For further study, see:
"What Is the Spirit of Prophecy? SDA Edition," by Trent Wilde,
http://www.bdsda.com/what-is-the-spirit-of-prophecy-sda-edition-2/
Sabbath School Q3 2023: Ephesians - Week 6, The Mystery of the Gospel."
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
People sometimes say that in order to have reconciliation, one of the two parties must decide to just let go of their position solely for the sake of unity – one party needs to suck it up. But all of us know that this method really doesn’t bring true reconciliation or true peace. How could it? We would just be saying, "'Peace! Peace!' when there is no peace," right? Furthermore, Ephesians 2 says nothing about achieving peace and reconciliation this way. It says that what brings about reconciliation between two parties is the cross. It says that by the cross Jesus abolished the enmity, that is, the law of commandments in ordinances.
In this study, we look into what the enmity, the law contained in ordinances, refers to, and how the cross of Christ abolished it.
For further study, see:
Who May Travel Into Yahweh’s Tent?
http://www.bdsda.com/2023/01/04/who-may-travel-into-yahwehs-tent/
Sabbath School Q3 2023: Ephesians - Week 5, " Horizontal Atonement: The Cross and the Church."
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
Many know Ephesians 2:8-9 by heart: "“for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, that no one would boast." (WEB)
Saved from what? The very next verse (10) tells us, saved from bad works, or wrong-doing. So, we are saved from sinning through faith.
People often assume that what we are saved from is the penalty of sin, even while we continue to commit sin in our actual experience. But as we show from Scripture, the salvation offered in the Gospel is salvation from sin. And only by abandoning sin can we be saved from its penalty. God offers us, not a cloak for sin, but deliverance from sin.
And we learn from Ellen White that genuine faith is more than belief that Jesus is not an impostor. It is more than believing that the name of Jesus is the only name under heaven whereby man may be saved. Just knowing what the truth is about Jesus, and believing that it is true, is not what genuine faith is. Genuine faith is something that enables us to keep His commandments.
So today, we take a look at faith, since it is the means by which we are saved from sinning, the means by which we can become righteous – which is to walk in good works.
For further study, see:
"If We Are Never Able to Keep the Law, Wouldn't Satan Be Right?"
https://youtu.be/G16Ohuz2dHY
Sabbath School Q3 2023: Ephesians - Week 4, "How God Rescues Us."
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
This week’s Sabbath School study is called, “The Power of the Exalted Jesus.” One of the things it considers is the “now” and “not yet” statements in scripture in relation to the scope of the reign of Jesus. Fridays first discussion question reads,
“Ponder the ‘now’ and ‘not yet’ of the exaltation of Jesus. In what sense is Jesus already the Lord of ‘all things,’ with the demonic powers subservient to Him—that is, the ‘now’? And in what sense does His full reign over all things look toward the future—the ‘not yet’? (See 1 Corinthians 15:24-28.)” Sabbath School Quarterly Lesson, Friday, July 14, 2023
So, what about the time between now and then? Are we to just wait for that time to come? I mean, after all, Jesus’ enemies are ultimately our enemies too. Can we hasten the coming of Christ and the end of death?
Yes. And to hasten His coming and the end of death, we have to stop sinning in the power of God’s might, being clad in His armor. Then we can go into all the world, conquering and to conquer. And when you think about it, doesn’t this just make sense? How could the great controversy between Jesus and His angels and Satan and his angels end with, well, no practical victory on the earth over sin this side of the second coming?
Remember that Satan’s contention was that the law of God was too difficult, and that humans would never be able to keep it? Well, if we never are able to keep it, wouldn’t Satan’s contention have been accurate? Wouldn’t Satan therefore have had actually won the great controversy?
In this study, we look at the practical way we can hasten the coming of Christ.
For further study, see:
"Is It Possible for Us in Our Human Nature to be Moral All of the Time?"
https://www.bdsda.com/is-it-possible-for-us-in-our-human-nature-to-be-moral-all-of-the-time/
Sabbath School Q3 2023: Ephesians - Week 2, " God's Grand, Christ-Centered Plan."
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
Wednesday's Sabbath School study is entitled, "The Holy Spirit: Seal and Down Payment."
First, we look at what it means to be sealed with the Holy Spirit. Then, we take a look at something Ellen White said about being sealed. She wrote, “The 144,000 were all sealed and perfectly united. On their foreheads was written, God, New Jerusalem, and a glorious star containing Jesus’ new name.” Ellen White, Early Writings, p. 15.1.
In particular, we study the chain of truth concerning "the glorious star containing Jesus' new name" through the gospel of John, the Old Testament, and Ellen White's writings.
For further study, see:
Is There More to the Seal than the Sabbath? https://youtu.be/BV4VkQkyKHw]
Do You Know the Mystery in Ephesians? https://youtu.be/TCMiQRlMSRg
Sabbath School Q3 2023: Ephesians - Week 2, " God's Grand, Christ-Centered Plan."
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
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The memory text for this week is Ephesians 1:9-10. It speaks of a mystery that has been revealed by Jesus before He went to the cross. When we understand what the mystery is by comparing Ephesians with John 14 and 17, we will recognize that Satan has done everything he can to shroud it again in mystery, and thereby frustrate God's plan for all of us in heaven and on earth.
For further study:
"The 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=the%20king%20of%20crises
Sabbath School Q3 2023: Ephesians - Week 1, "Paul and Ephesians."
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
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Ellen says that the message from the Revelation 18:1 angel is an addition to the third message, joining it as the Midnight Cry joined the second angel's message.
The Midnight Cry was a message that came in the summer of 1844. It built upon the 1st and 2nd angel's message, but it was distinct from them and had content of its own. It was a new message teaching them something they didn't already know. So, in light of this, we can know that the Loud Cry is its own distinct message. It must have content that builds on and yet is distinct from the third angel's message. Furthermore, its content isn't known until God sends it. In other words, it is a new message telling us what we didn't know before.
And Ellen said it might come in an unexpected way, in a way that would not agree with the ideas that many have conceived.
What are you expecting? Ellen said to expect something unexpected.
For further study:
"Are You Minding What Matters?"
https://www.bdsda.com/are-you-minding-what-matters/?highlight=are%20you%20minding%20what%20matters
Sabbath School Q2 2023: Three Cosmic Messages - Week 13, " Ablaze With God's Glory."
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
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Last week, we focused on the "faith of Jesus," since this is an imperative distinction for the saints who are allowed to proclaim the third angel's message. We learned that Jesus' faith was ultimately in truth - that Jesus had faith in His Father, not merely because He was His Father, but because of the way His father lives – the way His father conducts Himself. He knew His Father was just, merciful and loving. If His Father wasn't these things, then no, He probably wouldn't have trusted Him, nor should He have. But Jesus had evidence that His Father was just (a right-doer), so, when on the cross, Jesus determined to put his feelings of despair aside and focus on what he had already tested and knew to be true. He had to rely on faith, not feeling (See Desire of Ages, p. 753.2 and 756.3). Check out last week's study, "The Patience of the Saints – Having the Faith of Jesus, Part 1," for evidence on this point.
We continue in today's study, "The Patience of the Saints – Having the Faith of Jesus, Part 2," where we left off. Why did Ellen say that justification (or righteousness) by faith is the third angel's message in verity? (See Review and Herald, April 1, 1890.)
In this study, we look at how "righteousness by faith" is the third angel's message in verity, and we look at how we can keep the commandments of God (righteousness) by means of having the faith of Jesus (having the same faith that Jesus had).
For further study:
"Understanding the 1888 Message, Rejected Then, Accept It Now,"
http://www.bdsda.com/understanding-the-1888-message-rejected-then-accept-it-now/ "The Patience of the Saints – Having the Faith of Jesus, Part 1," https://traffic.libsyn.com/branchsabbathschool/SS2023Q2W11_faith_of_Jesus.mp3 Sabbath School Q2 2023: Three Cosmic Messages - Week 12, "The Seal of God and Mark of the Beast Part 2."
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
www.bdsda.com
Having the "faith of Jesus" is an imperative distinction for the saints who are allowed to proclaim the third angel's message (see Revelation 14:12).
In Desire of Ages, Ellen White writes about the extreme feelings Jesus experienced while on the cross of despair, that He had no hope of ever being resurrected, and thought that He would never see His Father ever again. Jesus, while on the cross, thought that the Father did not favor Him anymore.
But Ellen tells us that Jesus finally did overcome these feelings of despair, and the "sense of the loss of His Father's favor was withdrawn." How? Ellen tells us, it was by Jesus' faith. Faith in what? We might be quick to answer, faith in God. And yes, this would be true, but why did Jesus have faith in His Father? Because He was His Father? Actually, that is not one of the reasons Ellen gave. It's become common to think that we're supposed trust God purely based on the fact that He is God, or that we should believe Scripture purely based on the fact that it is Scripture. But really, that would just be another way of saying that we believe just because we believe. In other words... It wouldn't actually be providing a reason at all - it's only making an assertion of belief.
Scripture doesn't support the idea that we should "just believe." Instead, it gives reasons to believe God. And Ellen gave these same reasons that Jesus had faith in God in His darkest hour.
Join us as we take a closer look at what it means to have "the faith of Jesus."
For further study:
"Spiritual But Not Spiritualistic: Matter in Motion with Morals and Meaning" https://youtu.be/KGcp88ILAww "Should We Believe the Bible with Blind Faith?" https://youtu.be/BxUMl7JY_tE
"Is Your 'Faith' Actually Presumption?" https://youtu.be/a2lvGLcF98k Sabbath School Q2 2023: Three Cosmic Messages - Week 11, "The Seal of God and Mark of the Beast Part 1"
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.
It is true that "The belief that the soul continues its existence after the dissolution of the body is . . . nowhere expressly taught in Holy Scripture." But, even though scripture does not teach that the soul continues its existence after the dissolution of the body, does scripture teach that there is a separate entity in the body called a "soul" that exists while the body is alive? In other words, does scripture teach that the living human is made of two substances: a material body and an immaterial soul – the immaterial soul being ultimately responsible for human consciousness? Do living humans have a "thinking part" that is separate from the physical body?
To answer this, we look at how the scripture authors used the word often translated as "soul" in order to learn what they meant by it. Did they use the word in any way that is similar to our definition of the word "soul" today - which is that it is an immaterial part of man that is responsible for human consciousness? Or did the Hebrew word usually translated "soul" (nefesh) have a different range of meanings than it is typically used to mean today? For further study: "Supposed Spiritualisms: What Scripture Really Says About Souls and Spirits," https://youtu.be/KlZEOQ0EVto
"What Does it Mean to 'Keep the Sabbath Holy'?"
https://youtu.be/QyXKi0kXpIc
Sabbath School Q2 2023: Three Cosmic Messages - Week 10, "Satan's Final Deceptions"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
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In today's study, we discuss the main principle behind prophetic symbolism and typology that will help us understand how and why they are used, and that even hopefully will help us understand God's character a little better.
Did God to purposely make someone's life terrible, like Hagar's, just so that people of a later generation could enjoy the benefit of a typological symbol? Are types and anti-types some kind of pre-planned design of God's that is just playing itself out? Do types control our actions or our destiny, or is our destiny in our own hands? Join us for a study into the principles behind types and symbols in scripture.
Sabbath School Q2 2023: Three Cosmic Messages - Week 9, "A City Called Confusion"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
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This week's lesson is about the Sabbath. So, we thought we'd take the opportunity to bring some clarity to two aspects of the Sabbath: First, what the word "Sabbath" means, and second, what it means to keep it "holy." "Sabbath" is actually just the English pronunciation of the Hebrew word "Shabbat." In other words, the word "Sabbath" isn't actually a translation of the Hebrew word - it is just a way of pronouncing the Hebrew word. While it's cool to know that the Hebrews referred to the seventh day of the week as "Sabbath" or "Shabbat" - the downside is that this doesn't tell us what the word means.
the second aspect of the sabbath we hope to bring clarity to is what it means to keep the sabbath holy. Holiness is one of those ideas that people often have only vague notions of. Some people seem to have the impression that "holy" simply means "related to God." Others have the idea that it means "set apart." But really, when you look at how the Hebrew word translated "holy" was used, what it really means becomes more plain.
Join us as we look closely at scripture usage of the words "Sabbath" and the Hebrew word translated "holy" to understand their true meanings, and therefore, a deeper understanding of what remembering the Sabbath day is all about.
For further study, please see:
"What Work Is Lawful on the Sabbath?" https://youtu.be/9Sk19DxLSUg
"What Do the New Moon and Sabbath Have in Common?"
https://youtu.be/ruuDzXUJ3M8
Sabbath School Q2 2023: Three Cosmic Messages - Week 8, "The Sabbath and the End"
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.
In this study, we talk about the idea of God's transcendence and immanence; that is, the idea that God is above and beyond all creation and yet in our world at the same time. Theologians also explain it as God existing outside of space and time while also existing in every point of space and every moment of time.
Of course, to say that God is outside of space and time is to say that God is immaterial (or, bodiless). Every bodily entity has location and a time and thus can't be in two places at once, let alone everywhere at once - unless it were to be so large as to occupy the whole universe to the exclusion of everything else. But this isn't what most people believe. Most believe God exists everywhere and other things exist besides God. But how could this be? Well, the thing that supposedly makes this work is that God is thought to be everywhere not as a body; but as something non-bodily - something non-material.
But could something non-material exist? The SDA pioneers didn't think so. Join us as we read from some of the pioneers writings, including both James and Ellen White, to see what they taught on this all important subject – and one of the pillars of our faith.
For further study, please see our video series:
"The Personality of God: An SDA Pillar Doctrine."
https://youtu.be/CJSYUSfohsQ
Sabbath School Q2 2023: Three Cosmic Messages - Week 7, "Worshiping the Creator"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
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In the EGW notes for Friday's lesson, it is suggested we read Selected Messages, "The Claim to Sinlessness," book 3, p. 353. The last paragraph on the page reads,
"Why is it that so many claim to be holy and sinless? It is because they are so far from Christ. I have never dared to claim any such a thing. From the time that I was 14 years old, if I knew what the will of God was, I was willing to do it. You never have heard me say I am sinless. Those that get sight of the loveliness and exalted character of Jesus Christ, who was holy and lifted up and His train fills the temple, will never say it. Yet we are to meet with those that will say such things more and more."
So, is Ellen White saying here that we are not able to or expected to have victory over sin? Many SDAs today think yes, she is saying that. But any student of Ellen White's writings has to recognize that it is a repeated theme throughout her writings that we are both able to, and expected to, have victory over sin by the power of Christ.
As a quick example of this, in the Review and Herald, April 1, 1902, paragraph 8, she wrote,
"Christ came to this world and lived a sinless life, that in His power His people might also live lives of sinlessness."
So, here is an example of Ellen telling us that we are to be sinless - that in Christ's power, we can live lives of sinlessness like He did!
In this study, we look closely at what Ellen was referring to by the word "sinlessness" in each of these contexts, and examine if she was in conflict with her own writings, or in conflict with the scriptures on the point of living a life of "sinlessness."
For further study, please see: Justification by Faith - A Sinless Life? -
https://youtu.be/7YGsaSd-mqA
Freedom From Sin Indeed - https://youtu.be/GZf6ecBfyrA
The Lost Gospel of Christ by Trent Wilde - https://youtu.be/OjvrBR3GQMg
Even the Unsaved Will Praise His Judgments -
https://youtu.be/9jlEfDR7bKE
Sabbath School Q2 2023: Three Cosmic Messages - Week 6, "The Hour of His Judgment"
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.
Between Revelation 5:11-14, Romans 14:10-12, and Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, it's clear that eventually everyone will be satisfied with God's judgments. Everyone will acknowledge the love of God and the righteousness of Christ - even those who don't receive salvation. How could that be?
God's judgments are true and righteous; basically, they are correct and when all the evidence brought forward in the judgment will be laid open before all, it will be indisputable.
What is God correct about? Well, among other things, His determination of whether someone is righteous or not.
But will the lost confess that God is just if they can see that God has judged according to a legal fiction? Will they be convinced that God's judgments are true if people who continued to sin in their actual lives were declared to be righteous by God simply because they accepted a legal action that is pretty much a copy and paste of Jesus' record to their file?
We encourage you to take your next opportunity to read all of 1 John. We think you'll see that the passages we've read from 1 John in this study mean just what they seem to mean - that God intends for us to have a righteousness that isn't a legal fiction, but that is a real, practical, lived-out righteousness.
Sabbath School Q2 2023: Three Cosmic Messages - Week 5, " The Good News of the Judgment"
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.
What did Paul mean by saying, "Don’t you know that you are a temple of God, and that God’s Spirit lives (or dwells) in you?" 1 Corinthians 3:16. Was Paul saying that the Holy Spirit is a disembodied immaterial "being" who actually takes up residence in each Christian's body? Or is he saying that the Holy Spirit is not a being at all, but a force or an influence that acts upon the human body to makes us do righteous things? Or did Paul mean something else?
For further study, see:
"What is the Spirit of Prophecy? SDA Edition," by Trent Wilde, http://www.bdsda.com/what-is-the-spirit-of-prophecy-sda-edition-2/
And, "The King of Crises in the Seventh-day Adventist Church," by Trent Wilde, http://www.bdsda.com/the-king-of-crises-in-the-seventh-day-adventist-church-2/?highlight=king%20of%20crises
Sabbath School Q2 2023: Three Cosmic Messages - Week 4, "Fear God and Give Glory to Him"
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.
As you may know, the SDA pioneers unitedly believed and taught that the investigative judgment began at the fulfillment of the 2300 days of Dan. 8:14 in on Oct. 22, 1844. But many in the church today question this doctrine. In this study, we'll be looking at some of the scriptural evidence for the investigative judgment, and the timeframe within which scripture narrows it down to, saying nothing of the 2300 days of Daniel 8 nor the word to restore and rebuild Jerusalem from Daniel 9.
For deeper study:
"The Judgment and the Harvest," Victor Houteff:
http://www.bdsda.com/the-judgment-and-the-harvest/
Sabbath School Q2 2023: Three Cosmic Messages - Week 3, "The Everlasting Gospel"
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.
Most SDAs invariably know that not every mention of Jesus riding on a cloud in the bible represents the physical return of Christ to the earth. For example, we know that Daniel 7:13, in which the cloud riding Jesus goes before the Ancient of Days to receive his kingdom, does not depict the second coming of Christ to the earth, but the coming of Christ to the Ancient of days in the Heavenly Sanctuary at the commencement of the Judgment.
So what about the mention of Jesus riding on a cloud in Revelation 14:14? Does this appearance of Christ here represent the second coming, or something else? In this study, we compare scripture with scripture, including Ellen White's writings, to gain a deeper understanding of what the Son of Man on a white cloud in Revelation 14 refers to, and what it isn't referring to.
For further study, see:
"What is the Purpose of the Special Resurrection of Daniel 12?" https://youtu.be/xxtExDNi5zQ
"Dry Bones Extra: The Resurrection of Ezekiel 37," by Doug Mitchell:
https://www.bdsda.com/dry-bones-extra-the-resurrection-of-ezekiel-37/?highlight=dry%20bones
Sabbath School Q2 2023: Three Cosmic Messages - Week 2, "A Moment of Destiny"
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.
Revelation 12:17 is the most solemn message from Jesus on how to find God's end-time church - how to know it from all others that claim to be God's church.
We note that the remnant people "keep the commandments of God and have, (present tense), the testimony of Jesus, which is the Spirit of Prophecy." Now we might be inclined to assume that the Seventh-day Adventist church must be the remnant church because we "have" the writings of Ellen White, the end-time prophet. But is that what Ellen White and the pioneers thought, or what the book of Revelation itself teaches? For a deeper study, please see:
"The 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
"What is the Spirit of Prophecy? SDA Edition," by Trent Wilde: http://www.bdsda.com/what-is-the-spirit-of-prophecy-sda-edition-2/
Sabbath School Q2 2023: Three Cosmic Messages - Week 1, "Jesus Wins – Satan Loses"
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.
Revelation 21:8 is what might be called a "laundry list" of descriptions of people who will experience the second death. There are other such lists in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Ephesians 5:5, and Galatians 5:19-21. The prophets John and Paul are basically telling us the same thing: those who practice sin will not inherit God’s Kingdom.
There are also "laundry lists" for those who will not experience the second death, like 1 Corinthians 6:11, Galatians 5:22-24, and Matthew 5:3-12.
The difference between these two groups? One knows Jesus, and has stopped sinning, and the other, according to 1 John 2:3-6, continues in sin and therefore does not know Jesus.
In this study, we look at how to really know Jesus, remain in His word, and be free indeed from sin!
For further study,
"She is a Tree of Life," by Doug Mitchell, http://www.bdsda.com/she-is-a-tree-of-life/
"You Can Access the Tree of Life Today!" https://youtu.be/Kladt_TE_Jo
"You Can Control Your Thoughts Every Moment," https://youtu.be/Ie_lpPBsNpE
Sabbath School Q1 2023: Managing for the Master - Week 12, "Rewards of Faithfulness"
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.
How many Seventh-day Adventists today really understand the investigative judgment?
Some may think, we have other doctrines more important than this doctrine of the investigative judgment, right? Do we really need to understand this doctrine in order to make it to heaven? I mean, if Jesus' death for the sins of the world made it so all we need to do to make it to heaven is believe this, and then our sins, past, present and future are covered by the vicarious righteousness of Christ, then what is all the fuss about the investigative judgment?
If it were the case that the standard for entering God's kingdom was vicarious righteousness, then the investigative judgment and any writings that encourage practical righteousness would be basically irrelevant. And this is a big problem for many SDAs who are under the impression that the bible prophets teach that the gospel is all about the vicarious righteousness of Christ, particularly because so many of Ellen White's writings do speak of the need for actual personal righteousness in order to enter the kingdom of God.
In this study we look at why many are leaving the SDA faith, and fewer are joing. And just as importantly, we look at the danger sincere SDAs are in through believing in a gospel involving a vicarious righteousness of Christ, and we look at its incongruence with both Scripture and Ellen White's teachings about practical righteousness, and the investigative judgment.
For further study on "Justification by Faith," "The Lost gospel of Christ," by Trent Wilde: http://www.bdsda.com/home-3/the-lost-gospel-of-christ/ "Justification by Faith," by Trent Wilde: https://youtu.be/7YGsaSd-mqA "Justification by Faith Through Correction:" https://youtu.be/9wbyuO1bhLQ
Sabbath School Q1 2023: Managing for the Master - Week 11, "Managing in Tough Times"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
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Most of us focus on the wrong things that we think we need for security – like acquiring lots of food and clothing and money. We work so hard to have money, and then we hoard it for fear that if we don't, we will be destitute someday. But Jesus tells us to not worry about these things, but to seek first the Kingdom of God.
Christ commanded his followers to give up their personal earthly wealth and share with their brothers and sisters in Christ (see 1 John 3:17). By living according to these Kingdom principles, no one needs to lack anything. We will be provided for in this life, and beyond that, we will gain life eternal.
In this study we look at the security to be gained from living by Kingdom principles.
For further study:
"Forsaking Possessions: Jesus' Teaching Explained," https://youtu.be/2TLl0AiFtME
"You Can Access the Tree of Life Today!" http://www.bdsda.com/you-can-access-the-tree-of-life-today/
Sabbath School Q1 2023: Managing for the Master - Week 10, "Giving Back"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
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It is incredible to me that the Ten Commandments are so comprehensive, even being our schoolmaster of thought. Covetousness is based in selfishness, and selfishness is the foundation for every other sin. As Sunday's lesson points out, covetousness could even be considered the original sin – that of Lucifer.
Covetous thoughts are immoral. And covetous thinkers will not enter the kingdom of heaven, as the lesson for Sabbath points out, according to 1 Corinthians 6:9-10.
In this study, we discuss the erroneous idea of "original sin," that sin is an action as stated in 1 John 3:4, and that all actions can be controlled, even the action of controlling our thoughts - Just like Jesus proved could be done while in sin-affected human flesh (Romans 8:3), just like ours.
For further study, see:
"Is That a Salvation Issue?" https://youtu.be/lUXH8i6gMdE
"Are You Minding What Matters?" by Trent Wilde, http://www.bdsda.com/are-you-minding-what-matters/
Sabbath School Q1 2023: Managing for the Master - Week 9, "Beware of Covetousness."
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.
The basic meaning of success is the achievement of an aim or a goal, and the sorts of goals people usually have in mind when talking about success have to do with bringing about some different set of circumstances in the future. If the circumstances come about, the person is considered successful while if they don't come about, the person is thought to be unsuccessful.
John the Baptist's life seems unsuccessful from the standpoint of most ideas of success. Let's face it, no one would probably include being beheaded as an end goal or aim in life. And yet, probably none of us that are followers of Jesus would consider John the Baptist's life unsuccessful. So, what is true success for a follower of Christ? For more studies, please see: "What Does It Mean for the Righteous Man to Fall Seven Times?" by Trent Wilde:
http://www.bdsda.com/what-does-it-mean-for-the-righteous-man-to-fall-seven-times/
"Does 'Imputed Righteousness' Mean God Views Us as Righteous Even If We Are Not?":
http://www.bdsda.com/does-imputed-righteousness-mean-god-views-us-as-righteous-even-if-we-are-not/
Sabbath School Q1 2023: Managing for the Master - Week 8, "Planning for Success"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
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What did Jesus do for the poor? Well, we know that not every thing He did was written down (John 21:25), but, from Matthew 11:5, we know one thing He did for the poor - He preached the gospel to them.
The Sabbath School lesson rightly says that things like war, famine, sickness, and crime, among other things, cause poverty. And what does the gospel do to these things? Well, if received and put into practice, it will be the end of them. Basically, where there is selfishness, lust, greed, and gluttony – or any sin - there will always be these problems. Providing for the temporal needs of the poor is good, but it wont put an end to the cause of poverty: sin. The gospel is the only thing that will make a difference in any of these areas, because the gospel puts an end to sin. This is why giving to the gospel ministry, and getting the message of the gospel to the world (and living by it – putting it into practice ourselves), is the most beneficial thing we can do for the poor and for everyone.
Sounds simple enough, and it is in reality. But it also draws attention to a massive problem - the fact that the world doesn't understand the gospel message, and this is because most Christians don't understand it either - in fact, they misunderstand it.
Today we look at the three angels' messages, which is justification by faith - the everlasting gospel, and check our understanding of what exactly this message is all about - and how it can truly put an end to poverty once and for all. For further study -
"Understanding the 1888 Message: Rejected Then, Accept It Now" by Analiza Guzman: http://www.bdsda.com/understanding-the-1888-message-rejected-then-accept-it-now/
"Forsaking Possessions: Jesus' Teaching Explained:" https://youtu.be/2TLl0AiFtME
"The Second Tithe and the Worthy Poor:" https://youtu.be/g7bhHd80FWs
"The Storehouse and the Messenger of the Covenant:" https://youtu.be/FhCEsV0-pSI
Sabbath School Q1 2023: Managing for the Master - Week 7, "Unto the Least of These"
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.
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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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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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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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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
Are Good Works Required At All? https://youtu.be/hIcZleuSrAE If Lucifer Fell In Paradise, Could We? https://youtu.be/ZlL_TJGcbr8 The Lost Gospel of Christ http://www.bdsda.com/home-3/the-lost-gospel-of-christ/ 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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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:
The Bride of Christ is...Who? https://youtu.be/YqhM723iDe8 Is SHE The Angel of Mercy? https://youtu.be/0qmPLkwXes0 Is the Holy Spirit Our Female Priest? https://youtu.be/y1gC4IlcnDk 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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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," its 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 puiners 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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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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Ellen says that the purpose of redemption is to restore in man the image of his Maker, to bring him back to the perfection in which he was created. This sure sounds like we are to fully expect, and are fully expected to be equal to the moral character of Jesus, as it is the very purpose of redemption.
It's common for Christians to think we can't be morally perfect in this life - that we can't really have Jesus' character - and Christians also tend to believe that having a perfect character simply isn't necessary.
But in this study we look at the statements by Jesus and Paul that call for moral perfection, and the logical implication that it is therefore necessary for
redemption, and not just a vain request. Christians often overlook these admonitions because they see moral perfection as impossible and unnecessary, and this stems from a misunderstanding of the plan of redemption. So we also take a look at the plan of redemption as it is commonly misunderstood verses the way Ellen, Jesus and Paul understood it.
To say we can't embody the same moral character as Jesus is to limit ourselves by focusing on our own capabilities. But if we're in the business of looking to ourselves and what we can and cannot do, shouldn't we admit we can't do any of it? But let's not look to ourselves. When we look to God and His ability, the word of faith says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
For further study:
The Lost Gospel of Christ, by Trent Wilde:
http://www.bdsda.com/home-3/the-lost-gospel-of-christ/
Justification by Faith - A Sinless Life? by Trent Wilde:
https://youtu.be/7YGsaSd-mqA
Justification - Being Made Righteous, by Trent Wilde:
https://youtu.be/usvbOA8q_sY
Sabbath School Q4 2022: On Death, Dying, and the Future Hope - Week 12, "The Biblical Worldview"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
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The Sabbath School lesson this week looks at bible verses that conflict with the idea of reincarnation. This is great if your audience is made up of people professing to believe in the teachings of the bible, but what if you have an audience that doesn't share that belief, as would most likely be the case if you were witnessing to someone who actually did hold a belief in reincarnation, such as a Hindu?
Peter, in 1 Peter 3:15, admonishes us to be able to give a reason to everyone who asks. And as Hindus have different writings they consider sacred, "the bible says so" is just not going to cut it as a defensible reason against the idea of reincarnation.
In this study, we take a look at some arguments from the early SDAs that would work equally well for putting the kibosh on any hope of life after death, excepting resurrection, for a Hindu, Atheist, Christian, and, well, anyone, as long as they had an honest desire to know what is truth. They give defensible reasons from material reality that should be able to persuade anyone, because everyone shares the same material reality upon which their arguments are based.
For deeper study, see:
The Idea of Truth - Jan. 22, 2016 - Trent Wilde: https://youtu.be/aekBZ5AvE8c What is Truth? (1 of 2): https://youtu.be/WNU5xzHIAzU What is Truth? (2 of 2): https://youtu.be/AeDNYW-wvqw Sticking a Stake and Refusing to Pull It Up If Evidence Demands? https://youtu.be/ZsxWi41nHPQ
Sabbath School Q4 2022: On Death, Dying, and the Future Hope - Week 11,
"End-time Deceptions"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
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The Sabbath School lesson for this week reads, "Italian poet Dante Alighieri (1265–1321) wrote his famous work, The Divine Comedy, about a fictional journey of the soul after death. The soul went either to the inferno (hell) within the earth; or to purgatory, where the human spirit can purge itself and become worthy of ascending to heaven; or to Paradise, to the presence of God Himself. Though only a poem, fiction, Dante’s words ended up having a great deal of influence on Christian theology, especially Roman Catholic theology." Sabbath School Quarterly Lesson, Saturday, November 26, 2022
In this study we discuss a similar scenario in regard to how the theology of mainstream Seventh-day Adventism became influenced by a book, the Living Temple, authored by John Harvey Kellogg.
Now, it is commonly understood that John Harvey Kellogg ended up becoming a pantheist, and most SDAs don't imagine that modern SDA doctrine has been influenced by his ideas. We compare some of Kellogg's teachings on the person of God with Ellen White's teachings on the same subject.
We note of the following facts. Prior to Kellogg promoting the idea that God is literally and personally everywhere, no Seventh-day Adventist believed in such a doctrine. When Kellogg started promoting this idea, many accepted it and started to promote the same. As the church grew, fewer and fewer people understood the old doctrine of the personality of God and more and more took it for granted that God is literally everywhere. We are now at the point where modern SDAs can read Kellogg's statements about God being literally and personally everywhere present and not think there is anything strange or incorrect about it, while it is a great surprise to read Ellen White and other pioneers explain the pillar doctrine of our very own faith that God is a material person with body and parts and that he isn't personally and literally everywhere.
Ellen wrote, "The new theories in regard to God and Christ, as brought out in The Living Temple, are not in harmony with the teaching of Christ. The Lord Jesus came to this world to represent the Father. He did not represent God as an essence pervading nature, but as a personal Being. Christians should bear in mind that God has a personality [or physical form] as verily as has Christ." Ellen White, 18 Lt Ms, Lt 212, 1903, par. 23.
For further study:
To read about the various forms of pantheism in Britannica's article on the subject, see: https://www.britannica.com/.../God-as-absolute-or-relative
The Personality of God: An SDA Pillar Doctrine (Playlist): https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbPVtTaj0MXEsuRokPxciM7PjCTveaTi1
Omnipresence and Angels: https://youtu.be/ItkJxyDtlwo
For more studies on the SDA teaching that human don't have a non-physical aspect at all (from our other SS studies this quarter), see:
On Death, Dying and the Future Hope: Sabbath School With Branch Davidains (Playlist): https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbPVtTaj0MXGbMtWwT0ljtwb6WdwH672b
Sabbath School Q4 2022: On Death, Dying, and the Future Hope - Week 10,
"The Fires of Hell"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
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Peter, in 1 Pet. 3:15, admonishes us to be ready to defend our position, our hope, with a reason. And we should have these reasons at the ready. In other words, we ourselves should know the reason we believe something. And these should not be any old reason, but one that would actually serve to defend our belief.
The word "reason" in the Greek is "apologia," where we get the word "apologetics" from. An "apologia" is a "reasoned statement or argument." Unfortunately, many Christians do not have defensible reasons for their beliefs. Their reasons for believing things do not make for sound arguments.
The lesson this week asks us how we can protect ourselves from a hardness to the truth - to avoid the pitfall some fell into in the days after Jesus rose from the dead. Some believed the evidence that was fairly presented, some didn't believe after having the exact same evidence presented to them.
In this study, we look at admonishments and counsel from Ellen White that assures us that dealing fairly with evidence is always the right thing to do. It is imperative for our salvation that we do not hesitate to pull up that steak in our old beliefs and advance when irrefutable evidence is presented that demands acknowledgment - of course only upon scriptures that Ellen White did not have light on in her lifetime, so did not expound upon. (No prophet of God ever had all the light on everything). There were many beliefs that the early SDAs held to be true in common with the other Churches. They were part of the common Christian understanding of their day. God hadn't corrected them on everything, and we shouldn't think we are in no need of correction even now.
When presented with evidence, we must either acknowledge the truthfulness of the evidence or address the problems with it. This, as Ellen counseled, is the only fair way to interact with people and with reality. And if we acknowledge Ellen White's writings to have come from inspiration of the Holy Spirit, then we must be consistent and abide by the principles of dealing with evidence. And abiding by these principles is critical to our salvation - critical to our finally being able to land with the rest of the remnant "without fault" on the heavenly Mount Zion.
For deeper study on new light for the SDA people, please see:
"The Spirit of Prophecy" tag cloud,
http://www.bdsda.com/tag/spirit-of-prophecy/
Sabbath School Q4 2022: On Death, Dying, and the Future Hope - Week 9, "Contrary Passages?"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
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According to 1 Corinthians 15:16-19, 32; 1 Thessalonians 14:13-18; John 6:39-40; Genesis 3:19, among others, our hope is in the resurrection. Without it we can have no hope for those who have fallen asleep. If humanity possessed an immaterial spirit that continued to exist after death, these words would make no sense, as a resurrection would not be necessary in order to be with the Lord, because they would already be with the Lord, albeit without their physical bodies. And yet, that is what most of the professed Christian world believes.
The Hebrew perspective that Jesus and the apostles plainly promoted is thatreality is purely materialistic - not including any belief in immateriality, which is the same as non-physicality. With all that said, it's easy to affirm certain truths while not fully understanding their implications. This often leads to holding two contrary views at the same time without even realizing it.
Case in point, the lesson from week 6 took a position against the idea that all reality is only material. That lesson said that materialism means there is no God and no supernatural realm of existence, which means that from the lesson's perspective, God is obviously not material, but instead is an immaterial spirit, and by the same line of reasoning holds that the lesson believes in an immaterial realm of existence as well.
But think about how strange this idea is, especially in light of the resurrection being our only hope of a future existence. Like, where is the physical Jesus going to take us, his purely physical, bodily, redeemed followers? To an immaterial realm of existence? And where is that? Everywhere? Nowhere? Where are we going to stand? Are we just going to float around for eternity? And then we're supposedly going to worship an immaterial God in this immaterial realm? Will we be the only material things in this immaterial realm besides Jesus?
In this study, we go through many statements from the early SDAs, to show that spoke very plainly in their writings against the idea of an immaterial God and an immaterial realm of existence.
For further study:
"Materialism: Our Forgotten Foundation," by Trent Wilde:
http://www.bdsda.com/materialism-our-forgotten-foundation-2/
See also the studies on our "Resurrection" tag cloud at this link:
http://www.bdsda.com/tag/resurrection/
Sabbath School Q4 2022: On Death, Dying, and the Future Hope - Week 8, "The New Testament Hope"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
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Why doesn't modern sentiment allow for something like the resurrection of Jesus? Clearly, as the lesson says, the historical evidence is strong enough that even those who don't believe Jesus rose from the dead tend to at least acknowledge that many people believed that they had seen the resurrected Jesus. We look at the arguments made by anti-resurrection apologists in an attempt to explain what caused all these different people to believe they had seen the risen Christ just aren't sound.
Also, many believe that a resurrection is a supernatural event, and as such, is beyond the bounds of historical investigation. But do the earliest accounts of the resurrection paint it as a supernatural event?
Another argument against the resurrection we address is that Jesus's resurrection is statistically improbable.
Some say it is improbable and therefore can't be accepted as historical since history is about establishing what probably happened in the past. This version of the argument doesn't say people shouldn't believe in the resurrection; it just says one can't establish it using historical methods. Another version of the argument says the resurrection is statistically improbable and therefore it probably isn't true and people simply shouldn't believe it.
To answer both of these contentions, we look at the difference between history and statistics, and the importance of actually doing the work of testing a hypothesis by considering the relevant evidence, and we also look at the flawed way of using statistical probability for an individual as if they were a randomly selected member of a group.
Enter: The Furry Feet Fallacy example of poor reasoning.
For deeper study on materialistic theism:
http://www.bdsda.com/tag/materialistic-theism/
Sabbath School Q4 2022: On Death, Dying, and the Future Hope - Week 7, "Christ's Victory Over Death"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
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The lesson this week correctly defines "materialism" as "the idea that all reality is only material. It also says that materialism is part of the wisdom of the world, which is clearly a bad thing. Next, it also says that materialism means there is no God or supernatural realm. So clearly, for the lesson to say that materialism means there is no God shows that the lesson is taking the position that God is not material - in other words, that God is immaterial. The same applies for all the things the lesson places in the "supernatural realm of existence."
Now, this may come as a surprise, but this stance against materialism would be completely shocking to the early SDAs. The reason why is that the early SDAs actually were materialists and they were accused of being atheists by members of the fallen churches for the very reason that they promoted materialism. The ideas advocated by the Sabbath School Lesson in what we just quoted are the same ideas expressed by early opponents of Seventh-day Adventism as anti-SDA arguments. So, on one hand, the SDA pioneers wouldn't be shocked by the statement itself, since they had seen these sorts of statements many times. If they read it, they would assume that it is from something written against Seventh-day Adventism. What would have shocked them about it is the fact that it is written by Seventh-day Adventists and is passing for the SDA position. In this study, we'll be showing you that early SDAs were materialists and that their opponents charged them with atheism for that very reason.
Links:
"The Personality of God: An SDA Pillar Doctrine"
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbPVtTaj0MXEsuRokPxciM7PjCTveaTi1
"Matter and Spirit," by D.M. Canright,
http://www.bdsda.com/matter-and-spirit-the-problem-of-human-thought/
"Immateriality," an article published in "The Personality of God," by James White,
http://www.bdsda.com/materialism-our-forgotten-foundation-2/#:~:text=.%20J.%20W.-,IMMATERIALITY,The%20Lord%E2%80%99s%20to%20all%20eternity.,-20
Sabbath School Q4 2022: On Death, Dying, and the Future Hope - Week 6, "He Died for Us"
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.
In this Sabbath School lesson it is pointed out that Jesus uses the metaphor for sleep in talking about death. But in what way is death like sleeping? Well, the main thing is inactivity and unconsciousness. But at least for death prior to the second death, there is also the fact that sleep is usually followed by awakening, a fitting parallel to resurrection. Of course this is all metaphor – it is just an analogy from an experience we understand to explain something we have not experienced ourselves.
But where do you draw the line with the metaphorical similarities? Some SDAs tend to think that in death there is some part of us that is still out there, albeit unconscious and with God, waiting to be revitalized. Now I'm not saying every SDA or even most SDAs think this way, but I did and I know others do.
In this study we look at quotes from Martin Luther, and see that his philosophy holds that in man there is a soul that at death simply becomes unconscious. We also look at a quote from SDA pioneer R.F. Cottrell, who summarizes the SDA position on the matter.
For further study:
"Matter and Spirit," by D.M. Canright,
http://www.bdsda.com/matter-and-spirit-the-problem-of-human-thought/
"Dirt You Are: Israelite Anthropology," by Trent Wilde, https://trentwildeblog.libsyn.com/dirt-you-are-israelite-anthropology
"Are Thoughts Immaterial?," Sabbath School with Branch Davidians, https://youtu.be/_KfoBoMwJZo
"Resurrection: Our Only Hope," by Trent Wilde, https://trentwildeblog.libsyn.com/resurrection-the-only-hope-of-future-life
"The Materialist Foundation: A Forgotten Foundation of Adventism," by Melissa DiLernia, https://youtu.be/YzVorvLuVFw
Sabbath School Q4 2022: On Death, Dying, and the Future Hope - Week 4, "Resurrections Before the Cross"
A Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist perspective on the Sabbath School lesson.
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When does the special mixed resurrection of the wicked and righteous as prophesied in Daniel 12 occur? Many SDAs have the idea that it occurs right before the return of Christ, even the same day.
What would be the point of having a distinct resurrection of those who died in the faith of the third angel's message together with some vile and wicked opposers of truth just hours before Christ's return and the resurrection of the rest of the righteous?
If the purpose of this resurrection is just so they could see Christ, you'd think they could all just be raised as part of the general resurrection at Christ's coming. But the fact that this is described as a distinct resurrection shows that there must be more going on here.
So, what is the point of the special resurrection? And do we have any information that helps us better know when the special resurrection takes place in the itinerary of last day events? In today's study, we will break down Daniel 12:1-3 and look at what Ellen White said about this event in order to try to understand all of this a little better.
For a deeper study on this, please see "The Two Deliverances: The Two Atonements of Leviticus 16; The Enrapturing and Rapture of the Church," by Doug Mitchell:
http://www.bdsda.com/the-two-deliverances/
Sabbath School Q4 2022: On Death, Dying, and the Future Hope - Week 4, "Old Testament Hope"
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.
The Sabbath School lesson wonders about the mysterious is the nature of consciousness. It asks, "How does the few pounds of material tissue (cells and chemicals) in our heads, the brain, hold and create immaterial things, such as thoughts and emotions?"
So what about thoughts? Are they immaterial? We may be inclined to think so, because a thought is not a concrete object.
The word "thought" is not describing an object, but is describing a process of the physical brain. It isn't like a thought is literally floating around in the air or anything.
In this study we take a look at the official position of the SDA church back in 1882 as published by the Review and Herald Publishing House in the pamphlet, "Matter and Spirit," by D. M. Canright, on the nature of thought.
For deeper study:
"Our SDA Pioneers Were Materialists!"
https://youtu.be/2Wa5uulB_zA
"The SDA Forgotten Foundation: Materialism"
https://youtu.be/GR6BWCimpxg
"Matter and Spirit: The Problem of Human Thought" by D. M. Canright, with Introduction by Trent Wilde,
http://www.bdsda.com/matter-and-spirit-the-problem-of-human-thought/
Upcoming Zoom Meetings: The Personality of God, An SDA Pillar Doctrine
http://www.bdsda.com/2022/10/09/upcoming-zoom-meetings-oct-11-17-2022-the-personality-of-god-an-sda-pillar-doctrine/?fbclid=IwAR2JUy5TjNvOiV_BmZQjEkN-WjWV5ekWjAQujpeNnR5nYsENsPCdHI0sqnM
Here’s the link for the upcoming Zoom Meetings (the same link will work for each meeting): https://us05web.zoom.us/j/83687957644?pwd=Y0crL3U2b3RBK1NLbHA1d25TbVRMdz09
Sabbath School Q4 2022: On Death, Dying, and the Future Hope -
Week 3 "Understanding Human Nature"
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.
Eve's poor choices are a classic example of relying on personal experience. After Eve ate the forbidden fruit, she felt no ill effects, she didn't immediately die , and actually felt a euphoria come over her. Seemingly, she made a good decision. Her personal experience seemed to be a positive one. But was her personal experience reliable? No.
Ellen White had a lot to say about this. In this study we look at a testimony given to a "Sister N." who decided, based on her feelings, governed by her personal experience, that her own judgment was correct in regard to her health protocol. But, Sister N.'s judgments were based on her personal experience, not the reliable judgment of the doctors at the Health Institute who based their judgments on the findings of scientific experiments. Ellen goes on to compare this scenario to that of Eve and Adam in the Garden of Eden.
For more studies on this topic, see:
"How and Why Did Sin Arise?"
https://youtu.be/2xu3EdjdMeU
"If Lucifer Fell in Paradise, Could We?"
https://youtu.be/ZlL_TJGcbr8
"Experience Not Reliable - 3T 67," Playlist on Branch Davidian SDA YouTube Channel:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLw8ykUZG-bwexJTiTOQ-S5ON_V1zt1-hy
Sabbath School Q4 2022: On Death, Dying, and the Future Hope - Week 2
"Death in a Sinful World"
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.
What can we learn from Lucifer's fall? One thing is that it is not that there will ever be a situation, even in perfect paradise, where it will be technically impossible for free will beings to sin.
Here is where the sacrifice of Christ comes in. The Savior's cross revealed in no uncertain terms that Lucifer was wrong in his perception of Jesus and the Father. Jesus' sacrifice also showed us that it is possible, as Ellen said, to keep the law, even under the most trying circumstances. Jesus showed us that it is possible for a human (Romans 8:3; Hebrews 2:14,17), to never give into temptation, even in the midst of extreme torture. He showed that there is never a reason to sin. Jesus' life, including the closing scenes of his life, should arouse us to forsake sin. The Great Controversy was settled at the cross for all the unfallen worlds.
But the controversy continues on earth in the hearts and minds of fallen humanity, who are still on probation which is soon to close. If any of us still harbor sin in our hearts, the controversy is not settled for us. There is still a work to do to receive the mind of Christ.
For deeper study, please see:
"How and Why Did Sin Arise?"
https://youtu.be/2xu3EdjdMeU
"Accusations of Favoritism and Self-exaltation - Why Jesus is the Perfect Sacrifice," https://youtu.be/MDfbR10w4wk
Sabbath School Q4 2022: On Death, Dying, and the Future Hope - Week 1
"Rebellion in a Perfect Paradisee."
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.
Lucifer and the angels who sympathized with him did abuse the freedom God had given them (Patriarchs and Prophets 35.1). But how was this freedom abused? We know that freedom wasn't the problem. What went wrong?
How and why did sin arise?
How and why are two different questions of course. "How" asks, "by what means?" or "by what conditions?" or "under what circumstances?" "Why" asks, "for what reason?"
We can know there will never be a satisfactory answer to the "why" question. There simply is no reason for sin to have come into existence. It is actually due to lack of reason. The best we can do to grasp the origin of sin is to understand the circumstances in which it arose. The "how," if you will.
Today we wanted to look deeper into how sin arose and why sin arose.
For deeper study:
"Does God Determine What is Moral?"
https://youtu.be/cFdZZTr3HQw
The Idea of Truth - Jan. 22, 2016 - Trent Wilde https://youtu.be/aekBZ5AvE8c
Sabbath School Q3 2022: In the Crucible with Christ - Week 13 "Christ in the Crucible."
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.
This week's lesson is entitled, "Dying Like a Seed." In the week at a glance section, we read, "What example of submission has Christ left for us?"
Today we wanted to talk about an essential lesson we can glean from the example of submission Christ left for us, which is this: There is never a reason to submit to temptation to sin.
Jesus gave us the example of submission to the truth, which is the basis for righteousness. He did this by cooperating with divine power. We are to follow his example and do the same. Through grace, just like Jesus, we can conquer temptation to speak wrong and do wrong.
Even though many of us have heard this precept before, the profound truth of it hasn't really sunk in, as evidenced by the fact that most Christians deny the possibility of being like Christ, and consider the notion when stated this way heretical. We are inclined to believe that we are not capable of or not expected to actually overcome every temptation to sin like Jesus did. We think of Christ's example as an ideal, but not something we could ever live up to.
But Jesus' example is only beneficial if there is a possibility we can actually follow it.
For more studies on this, see:
"The Lost Gospel of Christ," by Trent Wilde
http://www.bdsda.com/home-3/the-lost-gospel-of-christ/
"Free from Sin - Actually Free!"
https://youtu.be/kVLfyOD8-3E
"We Must Walk in the Light, Just as God Walks in the Light,"
https://youtu.be/qEXzDY56BJw
"Jesus Came to 'Bear With' Our Sins, Not Take Responsibility for Them,"
https://youtu.be/xXIl6NcE0QY
Sabbath School Q3 2022: In the Crucible with Christ - Week 12
"Dying Like a Seed."
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.
The lesson this week asks why Jesus is waiting so long to come a second time. Thankfully, Ellen White had a fair amount to say about this.
In this week's study, we look into the writings of Ellen White, a parable of Jesus, and other bible verses to find the reason why Jesus is waiting so long to return!
For a study on the foreknowledge of God, please see:
"If God Exhaustively Knows the Future, Then Free Will Is an Illusion,"
https://youtu.be/170odhPCpvc
See also:
"God and Time," parts 1 and 2,
https://youtu.be/Ha64w3LJWB0
https://youtu.be/5n-vpGV1T78
For more links to Ellen White's writings on the delay of the return of Christ, see:
https://m.egwwritings.org/en/book/140.1133?hl=%22If+all+who+had+labored+unitedly+in+the+work%22&ss=eyJ0b3RhbCI6MTAsInBhcmFtcyI6eyJxdWVyeSI6IlwiSWYgYWxsIHdobyBoYWQgbGFib3JlZCB1bml0ZWRseSBpbiB0aGUgd29ya1wiIiwidHlwZSI6ImJhc2ljIiwibGFuZyI6ImVuIiwibGltaXQiOjIwfSwiaW5kZXgiOjN9#1150
https://m.egwwritings.org/en/book/54.1138?hl=%22I+think+that+Elder+A.+T.+Jones+should%22#1162
https://m.egwwritings.org/en/book/821.15247?hl=%22If+those+who+claimed+to+have+a+living%22#15257
https://m.egwwritings.org/en/book/130.3081?hl=%22by+giving+the+gospel+to+the+world%22#3112
https://m.egwwritings.org/en/book/821.20539?hl=%22will+not+tarry+past+the+time+that+the%22#20548
https://m.egwwritings.org/en/book/30.3848?hl=%22we+may+have+to+remain+here+in+this%22#3861
https://m.egwwritings.org/en/book/13.590?hl=%22if+every+soldier+of+christ+had+done+his+duty%22#591
Sabbath School Q3 2022: In the Crucible with Christ - Week 11,
"Waiting in the Crucible."
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.
The SDA people were not always in the Laodicean condition. But unfortunately, very early in our history - in 1852 - Ellen wrote, "As I have of late looked around to find the humble followers of the meek and lowly Jesus, my mind has been much exercised. Many who profess to be looking for the speedy coming of Christ, are becoming conformed to this world, and seek more earnestly the applause of those around them, than the approbation of God. They are cold and formal, like the nominal church, that they but a short time since separated from. The words addressed to the Laodicean Church, describe their present condition perfectly." RH June 10, 1852, par. 1,2
This week we look at what caused, and continues to cause, the Laodicean condition.
For further study:
"Justification is to be Made Right Through Correction"
https://youtu.be/wChmvDd79vk
"The Nature and Influence of the Testimonies" Youtube Playlist:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLq5exKaBCIq-T83u8C4Rsd9YJEJtgH_-b
Sabbath School Q3 2022: In the Crucible with Christ - Week 10, "Meekness in the Crucible."
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.
Ellen White admonished us to spend an hour each day in contemplation of the life of Christ, especially the closing scenes. (See Desire of Ages, p. 83) Now, we know that God has instituted rituals and symbols to remind us of His crucifixion and death so the truth about Him does not slip from our minds. One such ritual that almost all SDAs partake in is the communion service. But only coming once a quarter, it hardly fulfills the purpose of keeping the truth of Jesus from slipping our minds between services.
Ellen also said, "The light shining from that Communion service in the upper chamber makes sacred the provisions for our daily life. The family board becomes as the table of the Lord, and every meal a sacrament." The Desire of Ages, p. 660. We know from the New Testament that the early disciples of Christ broke bread daily from house to house. They ate their food and praised God at these home meals (Acts 2:46-47).
Ellen White wrote, "The Scriptural Ordinance of The Lord's Supper had been supplanted by the idolatrous sacrifice of the mass." The Story of Redemption, p. 334
Mass took the Lord's supper from the family board, or table, where every home meal is to be a sacrament, to the church altar instead. The emblems became part of a "mock meal" so to speak. Again, this is certainly not the scene we see in scripture, with Jesus, at the Passover meal, reclining with his disciples around a table, and taking his bread and sopping it in a dish, probably of oil, to give to his friends. (See John 13:21-30).
In this study, we look closely at the admonition of Christ as recorded in the gospels and 1 Corintians to see if we are following his words in the way that he intended. Was the communion service ever intended to be a church service as a mock meal? Or did Jesus intend the daily bread and drink from the home table to be the perfect symbol of his body and blood - representing his nourishing words of life - to be taken frequently to keep his sacrifice fresh in our memory?
For further study:
The Lord's Supper, From the Table to the Altar, and Back, by Doug Mitchell
https://www.bdsda.com/the-lords-supper-from-the-table-to-the-altar-and-back/
YouTube Playlist: "The Lord's Supper Daily"
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLw8ykUZG-bwfpzJZsvQBoZ6KiaHuMXcfM
Sabbath School Q3 2022: In the Crucible with Christ - Week 9, "A Life of Praise."
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.
The Sabbath School lesson this week discusses Hebrews 11:27 which tells us that Moses "persevered because he saw him who is invisible." It then goes on to quote Hebrews 11:1 which reads, "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see."
The lesson asks, "As a class, talk about the kinds of things we believe in that we do not see, things that we know are real yet are beyond our sight. How can this help us understand what it means to see 'Him who is invisible'?" Sabbath School Quarterly Lesson, Friday, August 19, 2022
Now the lesson doesn't say one way or the other whether the things that are unseen are non-physical, but, when most people talk about believing in things they don't see they automatically start thinking that we are talking about a wholly different realm from what we experience with our senses – a non-physical realm. So the first thing we will need to address in this study is, is that what Hebrews 11 is talking about? Is it even talking about a non-physical realm?
In this week's study, we investigate the nature of the things that the bible says we should have assurance about that we do not see. Are they unseeable in principle, or just shielded from our senses for one reason or another? Is there evidence that these "things" are part of the physical realm even though we can't see them?
For deeper study:
"The Historicity of the Resurrection of Jesus" (1 of 2) - May 13, 2016 - Trent Wilde https://youtu.be/Exrj7ozal_E
"The Historicity of the Resurrection of Jesus" (2 of 2) - May 14, 2016 - Trent Wilde https://youtu.be/f9cEKrDxhp0
"Materialism: Our Forgotten Foundation," by Trent Wilde
http://www.bdsda.com/materialism-our-forgotten-foundation-2/
"False Impressions Concerning Experience," by Ellen White, Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, p. 109-110
https://m.egwwritings.org/en/book/14.520#520
"Experience Not Reliable - 3T 67," playlist on YouTube
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLw8ykUZG-bwexJTiTOQ-S5ON_V1zt1-hy
Sabbath School Q3 2022: In the Crucible with Christ - Week 8, "Seeing the Invisible."
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.
Sabbath School Q3 2022: In the Crucible With Christ - Week 7
In this week's study, we take a look at correction. Correction, or discipline, helps us go from wrong to right.
Basically, justification is to be made right, according to the parallelisms of Romans 5. And how do we receive that gift of justification? Through the graciousness of correction or discipline. How else are we going to be made right? Wrongdoers who believe in Christ are still wrongdoers. The whole idea of being able to continue in sin, or wrongdoing, after justification is not substantiated in scripture or the writings of Ellen White. Ellen White said that "The righteousness of Christ will not cover one cherished sin." (COL 316).
Correction, which is education, is the key to becoming righteous. Correction is to be righted so we can give up our wrong. Righteousness is acting on ideas that are correct, or true. Unrighteousness is wrong doing, or acting on ideas that are false.
For deeper study please see:
"The Nature and Influence of the Testimonies" by Teresa Wilde,
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLq5exKaBCIq-T83u8C4Rsd9YJEJtgH_-b
and "Being Corrected," by Trent Wilde,
https://youtu.be/fPSTFpz8vNQ
Sabbath School Q3 2022: In the Crucible with Christ - Week 7
"Indestructible Hope"
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.
The lesson for this week asks, "Have you ever prayed 'Please, God, make me good!' but little seems to change? How is it possible that we can pray for God’s great transforming power to work within us, but our lives seem to remain the same?" Sabbath School Quarterly Lesson, Sunday, July 31, 2022
Many make the mistake of thinking that relying on God means to expect God to do everything himself and to think that nothing hinges on us. In reality, reliance on God means to fully submit our will and ways to His will and ways. In other words, it is to fully obey God knowing that His wisdom is vastly superior to our own.
Salvation is a result of collaboration between the human and the divine. We must walk in Jesus' footsteps and carry our cross as Christ did. He is our example, and as overcoming every temptation to sin required effort on his part, it will surely require effort on our part. Yes, the Holy Spirit was his all-sufficient helper, but in order to receive this help and overcome every temptation he still had to choose to depend on God, on His ways. And we have the help of the Holy Spirit in the same way that Jesus did.
For deeper study, please see"
"What is Truth?" (1 of 2)
https://youtu.be/WNU5xzHIAzU
and "What is Truth?" (2 of 2)
https://youtu.be/AeDNYW-wvqw
"The Lost Gospel of Christ," by Trent Wilde
http://www.bdsda.com/home-3/the-lost-gospel-of-christ/
"Justification by Faith, A Sinless Life?," by Trent Wilde
https://youtu.be/7YGsaSd-mqA
"Are You Minding What Matters?," by Trent Wilde
http://www.bdsda.com/are-you-minding-what-matters/?highlight=are%20you%20minding%20what%20matters
Sabbath School Q3 2022: In the Crucible with Christ - Week 6
"Struggling with All Energy"
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.
The lesson this week points out that the life of Hosea has some powerful lessons to teach us. In this study, we take a look at the life of Hosea, his wife Gomer, their legitimate son Jezreel, and Gomer's illigetimate daughter "Lo-Ruhamah," and her illigetimate son "Lo-Ammi," and how this family relates to the SDA church today.
We show in scripture that Gomer's illegitimate children represent Israel and Judah respectively.
But how could Israel and Judah be represented as illegitimate children? Didn’t God establish these kingdoms? Hosea’s answer is, "No!" You can’t have a kingdom without a king and Hosea proclaimed the shocking truth that God was not behind their act of setting up kings over themselves. Hosea 8:4a reads, "They set up kings, but not by Me;
They made princes, but I did not acknowledge them." Hosea 8:4a
Ellen White had some enlightening things to say along this line that will help us understand the reason for the crises we find ourselves in today.
Citation for quote from Ted Wilson: Ted Wilson at 3:21:21-3:22:39 mark at the 2018 General Conference session in Battle Creek, Michigan.
For further study, please see:
"Will We Say, 'We Will Not Have This Man Rule Over Us'?"
https://youtu.be/ou0XljjQn4I
and "King of Crises in the Seventh-day Adventist Church," by Trent Wilde
http://www.bdsda.com/the-king-of-crises-in-the-seventh-day-adventist-church-2/
Sabbath School Q3 2022: In the Crucible With Christ - Week 5
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.
It is thought that the person who professes Christ is "saved" while still harboring sin in their hearts and can still be in right standing before God because of the righteousness of Christ. But is this the case?
In this episode we will look at many scriptures and the writings of Ellen White that teach that you can't be sort of righteous. You either are or you aren't. It is a true dichotomy.
We know this can be an overwhelming topic to digest, although very exciting as well. Seriously, who wouldn't want to be truly free from sin? It is possible.
We have more studies for you on this, including:
"Justification by Faith, a Sinless Life", by Trent Wilde
https://youtu.be/7YGsaSd-mqA
"The Lost Gospel of Christ", by Trent Wilde,
http://www.bdsda.com/home-3/the-lost-gospel-of-christ/
"Understanding the 1888 Message: Rejected Then, Accept It Now,"
http://www.bdsda.com/understanding-the-1888-message-rejected-then-accept-it-now/
And "Is the Robe of Christ's Righteousness a Vicarious Righteousness?"
https://youtu.be/z_Hi9wfNghQ
Sabbath School Q3 2022: In the Crucible with Christ - Week 4
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.
This week's lesson is entitled, "The Birdcage," and revolves around a quote from Ellen White in Ministry of Healing which reads,
"In the full light of day, and in hearing of the music of other voices, the caged bird will not sing the song that his master seeks to teach him. He learns a snatch of this, a trill of that, but never a separate and entire melody. But the master covers the cage, and places it where the bird will listen to the one song he is to sing. In the dark, he tries and tries again to sing that song until it is learned, and he breaks forth in perfect melody. Then the bird is brought forth, and ever after he can sing that song in the light. Thus God deals with His children. He has a song to teach us, and when we have learned it amid the shadows of affliction we can sing it ever afterward."—Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing, p. 472
Notice here that the Master has only one song to teach us. If this is the case, there should be no diversity of messages coming from SDA pulpits. There may be diversity of gifts, diversity of personalities, but not diversity of messages. This is made clear, not only in Ellen Whites writings, but throughout the bible as well, and we will look at 2 writings by the Apostle Paul that deal directly with this topic.
The lesson this week asks if there any corporate temptations, things that we as a church or a local church family might have to guard against as a group? If so, what? Ellen White pretty much answered this for us. She wrote, "In reviewing our past history, having traveled over every step of advance to our present standing, I can say, Praise God! As I see what God has wrought, I am filled with astonishment, and with confidence in Christ as leader. We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history." Ellen White, Christian Experience and Teachings, p. 204
Here, Ellen tells us we as a church have nothing to fear, but only if we don't forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teachings in our past history. This implies that if we do forget these things, there is something to fear. In light of this, we have every reason to believe that Satan is interested in tempting us as a people to forget these things.
In this study we consider these two things Ellen told us we need to remember in order to ensure we have no need to fear.
For deeper study, please see:
"Materialism: Our Forgotten Foundation," by Trent Wilde
http://www.bdsda.com/materialism-our-forgotten-foundation-2/
and "What is the Spirit of Prophecy? SDA Edition," by Trent Wilde
http://www.bdsda.com/what-is-the-spirit-of-prophecy-sda-edition-2/
We know from Ellen's writings, that our physical health has a huge impact on our ability to discern sacred things (Counsel for the Church, p. 230).
While most SDAs today would not argue with the need to take care of our bodies as a part of Godly stewardship, there is quite a bit of confusion over what that looks like. Is it safe and healthy to eat meat? How about fermented foods? Should we ever use pharmaceuticals? Should we vaccinate or not? Today, we wanted to bring out one important principle of the health message that will help answer these questions.
If you would like to study more about the foundational truths of the SDA health message, see our study playlists going through Ellen White's testimony "Experience Not Reliable" on the Branch Davidian SDA YouTube channel:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLw8ykUZG-bwexJTiTOQ-S5ON_V1zt1-hy
And also check out the "science based medicine" tag on the bdsda website:
http://www.bdsda.com/tag/science-based-medicine/
And if you'd like to see what science-based experts have to say on various health topics, check out the websites listed in the health section of our resources page:
http://www.bdsda.com/resources/#health
Also, see our study entitled, "Materialism: Our Forgotten Foundation," by Trent Wilde: http://www.bdsda.com/materialism-our-forgotten-foundation-2/
And for other "Sabbath School with Branch Davidains" videos on the topic of materialism, see: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtANvWt-xgun27b9cUg6Mww/search?query=materialism
See also our video entitled, "We Took a Second Look at the Health Message" https://youtu.be/CzlbDAgjOv4
This quarter's lesson is entitled, "In the Crucible With Christ." This week's study is called, "The Shepherd's Crucible." It goes through Psalm 23, and in Monday's lesson, focuses on the "paths of righteousness" that the Shepherd leads us on.
Monday's discussion question asks, "How conscious are you that righteousness is the Shepherd’s priority for your life? How can trials change your life so that you better reflect the character of Christ?" Sabbath School Quarterly Lesson, Monday, June 27, 2022
We might be inclined to think that personal righteousness is a secondary priority for our lives. Almost like the frosting on a cake - with the cake being our salvation through accepting the righteousness of Christ as a vicarious righteousness – that is, thinking that by having the righteousness of Christ, we are accounted as righteous in the books of heaven while still harboring sin in our hearts. Of course, if we are under the impression that a vicarious righteousness is the necessary and sufficient key to receiving the inheritance of the saints, then personal righteousness would be like icing on the cake. It would be a nice touch, but not necessary.
But is that the case?
People too often conflate a whole bunch of things into the word "saved" or "salvation," when in reality, being saved from our sins is one thing, and receiving the inheritance of the saints is another
In this episode, we discuss the pre-requisites to being saved from sin, and the pre-requisites to receiving the inheritance of the saints.
For more on these topics, please see our studies, "The Lost Gospel of Christ," by Trent Wilde:
http://www.bdsda.com/home-3/the-lost-gospel-of-christ/
And "Are You Minding What Matters," by Trent Wilde:
http://www.bdsda.com/are-you-minding-what-matters/
Sabbath School Q3 2022: In the Crucible with Christ - Week 1
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.
Sabbath School Q2 2022: Genesis - Week 13
Is it possible for us to have free will and at the same time be possible for someone, anyone, to intimately know the future?
The answer must partly depend on what we mean by "intimately?" The most common view of God's knowledge of the future is that it is completely exhaustive in every detail and also that it is infallible. So, that is the meaning of "intimately" we'll be addressing here.
If God’s foreknowledge is both exhaustive and infallible, the future cannot be anything other than what it is already fated to be. This doesn't mean God necessarily wills everything to happen the way it does or that He causes everything, but if God knows the entire future exhaustively and infallibly, that would still mean that nothing can happen other than what God already knew would happen and that means that the future is essentially fated; there is only one way it can be - the way God knows it will be. If there is only one path to take, then our ability to make free choices is just an illusion. On the other hand, if we have free will and are truly able to choose our next thought and action, then the future, in reality, has an infinite number of possibilities. The future, in this case, does not exist yet - not even for God. This fact is very exciting!
According to scripture, our futures have real and varied possibilities caused by our free will choices. Additionally, scripture indicates that God is even affected by our free will choices. In other words, the future is not set for God either.
For examples of these scenarios in the bible and Ellen White's writings, please see our study, "The Future Is Not Determined, Not Even For God,"
https://youtu.be/kbYcvebhKd8
If we believe that our destiny is set, we might not be as proactive in life as we would if we believed that our futures were full of many different possibilities. But the fact of the matter is that we have the power to direct our future to a large degree simply by choosing to exercise our free will. We can even choose, through depending on Christ, to stop sinning.. Satan wants to keep us in sin and to do this he needs to demoralize our will. He does this through a variety of false ideas, including the idea that the future is already set. To make these deceptions appealing, they are often presented in ways that make it appear that they honor God when in reality, they don't. For example, most believe that God knows the whole future because he is outside of space and time. People often like this idea because it sounds like it is exalting God since it supposedly places him "above" and "beyond" humanity. But the idea that God is outside of space and time is nowhere even implied in the Scriptures. This belief really took its current form with medieval philosophers and theologians and they plainly admitted that they got these ideas from ancient Greek philosophers, especially Plato. In truth, these ideas about God don't exalt Him at all, they actually make Him a nonentity and totally unrelatable. And, as we've already explained, they undermine our will and our futures. Scripture presents us with a future that is not fixed, not for us, and not for God. And it calls us to exercise our will to bring about a future full of blessings rather than one full of curses.
For more on these important topics, see our studies, "Are You Minding What Matters," by Trent Wilde:
http://www.bdsda.com/are-you-minding-what-matters/
and "The Lost Gospel of Christ," by Trent Wilde:
http://www.bdsda.com/home-3/the-lost-gospel-of-christ/
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.
Should We Compromise Truth for Family Unity?
Sabbath School Q2 2022: Genesis - Week 12
This week's lesson is entitled, "Joseph, Prince of Egypt." We know that Joseph came from a very broken family. Sometimes, people turn on someone in their family just because that person is following truth or received some special revelation from God - as was the case for Joseph.
We know that in the end, Joseph's brothers repented of their evil, and were restored into right standing with God. Joseph's loyalty to truth at first put him in the place of disunity with his brothers, even to the point where they hated him and did evil to him. But in the end, Joseph’s loyalty enabled him to save them and they were finally united - and on the platform of truth too! Jesus also went through this kind of experience.
The gospel of Mark records the events surrounding the beginning of Jesus' public ministry...his baptism, the healings he administered, the choosing of the 12, the crowds that gathered to hear him preach...this all caused quite a stir, and was obviously very disconcerting for his family as can be understood from their reactions and Jesus statements recorded in Mark 3, which make it clear that Jesus' family thought he was out of his mind, and that according to Jesus, his mother and his brothers were not among those who were doing God's will. Also, John 7:5 tells us that Jesus' brothers did not believe in Him.
Jesus can actually relate to us in having family disunity and he gives us the best example for what we ought to do. We need to press forward to obey the truth, not compromising what is right. Both Jesus and Joseph did this and eventually at least some of their family repented by the end and they were able to be united. Jesus' brothers, James and Jude (and maybe some other of his brothers), eventually became active members of the early Jesus movement.
For further study on the importance knowing and following truth, see: "Are You Minding What Matters?" by Trent Wilde http://www.bdsda.com/are-you-minding-what-matters/
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.
Sabbath School Q2 2022: Genesis - Week 10
In this video we talk about idolatry, and try to understand a bit about the ancient beliefs involved in idolatry, or the "logic" behind idolatry, so we can better understand the root issue with it.
Ancient people, including the ancient Hebrews, believed there were many gods. This belief, in and of itself, is not incorrect. Scripture acknowledges the existence of other gods (See Exodus 20:3 and Psalm 82).
Of course, the God of Israel – our God, as can be known from Psalm 82, is the head God over all other gods (see also Dt. 10:17), even though some of them evidently became wicked and now influence humanity toward evil under the leadership of Satan, the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4).
It is thought by many today that ancient idolaters worshiped man-made statues, thinking the statue itself was a god. But this is not the case. Ancient people fashioned the idol in the god’s likeness, but the thought was that they could beckon the disembodied spirit of the god to inhabit the idol, and by making offerings before the idol, could have a relationship with that particular god. Ultimately, this practice was a way to manipulate the god to the wants and desires of the owner of the idol. The ancient idea of idolatry depended on a mystical or spiritualistic view of reality. The practice of invoking the disembodied spirits of the gods into the physical idols requires belief in an immaterial realm, which is also the basis for the belief that humans have an immaterial spirit or soul that lives on after death. What we will soon see is that ancient idolatry is not so different at its root from the idolatry of today. The true and living God, in whose image we were made and with whom unity can be obtained only through imitation of his character, has been supplanted by the notion of a disembodied spirit who has no physical form and with whom unity is experienced through an inhabitation of the spirit within the person in the same way ancient idolaters imagined disembodied spirits inhabited their idols. But this idea of God being, or even having, a disembodied spirit was completely opposed by Ellen White and the pioneers.
For a deeper study, please see:
“Discussing Wicked Gods and the Divine Council” - Oct. 3, 2014 - Trent Wilde https://youtu.be/B3KOZsPh05E
"So, What is the Doctrine of the 'Personality of God'?" https://youtu.be/a4e113q3EO0
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.
It's true that merited favor isn't grace. After all, grace (by definition) is unmerited favor. Yet, we all know that grace alone isn't all there is to salvation. Like Ephesians 2 says, "For by grace you are saved through faith…" Paul also conveys this same truth in Romans 3:23-26. We are justified by His grace...through faith. We can see in Romans 3:23-26 that in God's forbearance He is willing to pass over sins that were previously committed - for those who have who have faith in Jesus. Obviously, if Paul meant that God passes over future sins as well, he wouldn't have specified past sins. The reason for this is that having faith in in Jesus and continuance in sin are incongruent with each other. Faith in God should cause us to stop sinning, as we will see. By trusting in and following God's ways, we no longer will be slaves to sin.
To have faith in God is to trust in God and His promises. But Satan twists God's promises into something that looks appealing to our carnal hearts, but is in reality just an empty package when you really look at it. For example, the carnal heart wants God to pass over all our sins, past, present and future. The carnal heart wants a way to continue to cherish sin. Satan has us convinced that if we have faith - if we simply believe - that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, then we won't be held accountable for our sins, not only our past sins but our present and future ones too. But this understanding is a corruption of the gospel. Jesus did die on the cross for our sins, and thereby showed us the end result of sin – that sin affects not only the sinner but the innocent as well. His death on the cross also showed us that it is possible for a human being to overcome every temptation to sin. But it is not true that just believing that Jesus did this, in and of itself, does anything for us. We have to learn the lessons shining from Jesus' life and death, and apply these lessons to our own lives. We should be so repulsed by sin and its end result that we choose to abandon sin and live in righteousness.
Genuine faith is inconsistent with continuance in sin. Grace is unmerited love God gives to all, but faith is the response we must give to God in order to make use of that grace - so that we don't receive grace in vain. Through faith we forsake sin and embody Jesus' life, which is free from sin.
For further study: "The Lost Gospel of Christ," by Trent Wilde - http://www.bdsda.com/home-3/the-lost-gospel-of-christ/
"Understanding the 1888 Message: Rejected Then, Accept It Now" - http://www.bdsda.com/understanding-the-1888-message-rejected-then-accept-it-now/
"Jesus' Death for Us Is Comparable to the Death of One Person for Another" - https://youtu.be/Fpg0Z0lx-gk
"Sabbath School With Branch Davidians" Podcast link - https://branchsabbathschool.libsyn.com
Sabbath School Q2 2022: Genesis - Week Nine
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.
Romans 5:6-8 compares Jesus' dying for us to another person dying for someone else. The point here is that while maybe someone would die for a righteous and good man, Jesus died for sinners. These verses are comparing Jesus' death for us to anyone's death for another. The striking thing from Paul's perspective is that Jesus died for sinners as opposed to dying for the righteous, acknowledging that some might die for the righteous.
The very fact that Jesus' death for us is comparable to the death of one person for another can certainly help us understand what Jesus did for us on the cross. Consider this, the things people assume that it must mean to say "Jesus died for you" aren't assumed when we hear about people dying for other people. In fact, it's common to think that Jesus dying for us is actually not comparable to ordinary humans dying for other humans. But Romans 5:6-8 says it is comparable. In this video, we see what we can learn by considering the example of someone who died for others.
About 200 years before Jesus' ministry, Judea was ruled by the Seleucid Empire, and its king at the time, a man named Antiochus IV Epiphanes, terribly persecuted the Jews. His persecutions included forbidding the Sabbath, forcing Jews to eat unclean meats, and compelling everyone to adopt Greek ways. Those who remained faithful to God were tortured and put to death. Some who were martyred at that time become famous among the Jews as models of steadfast obedience to God even in face of death. It is probably to these martyrs that the author of Hebrews refers to at the end of Hebrews 11 when he says, "Others were tortured, refusing to accept release, in order to obtain a better resurrection." As you'll see, this was the experience of a man named Eleazar, whose martyrdom is recorded in books such as 2nd and 4th Maccabees.
We also look at Colossians 1:24-26 where Paul says he was filling up what was lacking in the afflictions of Christ. This doesn't mean that Jesus' death is insufficient to save us, but obviously, many who even know what Jesus did for them harden their hearts and go on in sin anyway. This means that what Jesus was accomplishing through his afflictions hadn't fully accomplished its desired outcome and Paul's afflictions could actually accomplish the same thing as Jesus' afflictions. This also informs us of how Jesus' death can save us.
For a deeper study, see: "The Truth of Sacrifice" - Oct. 1, 2015 - Trent Wilde (FOT'15 S3) https://youtu.be/0YOcg3kd74Q
"Q&A Why Jesus Came and Died (Romans 5)" - June 18, 2016 - Trent Wilde https://youtu.be/85lVLF0w6qQ
"Justification by Faith - A Sinless Life?" - Trent Wilde https://youtu.be/7YGsaSd-mq
A Visit our podcast, "Sabbath School With Branch Davidians," at: https://branchsabbathschool.libsyn.com
Sabbath School Q2 2022: Genesis - Week 8 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.
Today we talk about Genesis 14:18-20 (about Abraham, and therefore Levi, tithing to Melchizedek), and how it sheds some light on some quotes Ellen White made about the nature of Jesus and his relationship to the Father. We also go over what the early pioneers had to say about Jesus' relationship to the Father. The pioneers taught that in reality, a father cannot also be his son, and a father is necessarily older than his son. These two facts, in addition to the bible's support of these two facts, were the reasons that the pioneers and Ellen White were opposed to the trinitarian creed, which promoted the exact opposite idea concerning the relationship between the Father and the Son. We show how the Son, Jesus, can be eternal in one sense, and yet not as old as the Father in another sense.
In Hebrews 7:9, 10, it is written "Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak, for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him." [Hebrews 7:9, 10]
There we find that which explains how Christ could be "the eternal, self-existent Son," "in close fellowship with the eternal God," "in union and oneness with His Father," and have in Him, "life, original, unborrowed, underived," and yet also be "a Son begotten in the express image of the Father's person," when He "proceeded and came forth from the Father" "so far back in the ages of eternity as to be far beyond the grasp of the mind of man." That is, Christ was, as it were, in the "loins" of His Father (who "has a form") as His living Seed, just as Levi was in Abraham's loins as his living seed. Levi did not derive his life from Abraham any more than Abraham derived his life from Adam. Adam's seed was alive within him when he was created. There is a sense in which a parent gives life to a child, but there is also a sense in which they don't. The "seed" in a father is alive by virtue of being part of himself. He doesn't have to give it life. Just so when the Father begat the Son, there is a sense in which He gave Him life, but there is another sense in which He didn't. Christ did not come into existence by the Father performing an act of magic to suddenly make a life appear out of nothing, nor did the Father take a lump of non-living matter and make it come alive. Rather, the Son was begotten of the Father as any son is begotten of a Father. The Father certainly must be older than the Son, and yet the life of the Son isn't some secondary created or manufactured life; it is the Father's own original life. That's what nature (i.e., the creation) teaches us about the Godhead. We've been given nothing else by which to understand the mystery of God. We can either accept that revelation and rejoice in it, or be as ship afloat at sea without an anchor, being blown about by every wind of doctrine in the darkness of mystical speculation and unbelief.
"Was God Both On His Throne and Visiting Babel Simultaneously?," https://youtu.be/JHhYuLAtXqc
"What is the SDA Doctrine of the Personality of God?" http://www.bdsda.com/2022/03/19/what-is-the-sda-doctrine-of-the-personality-of-god/
"What Did Ellen White Teach About the Personality of the Holy Spirit?" http://www.bdsda.com/what-did-ellen-white-teach-about-the-personality-of-the-holy-spirit/
Sabbath School Q2 2022: Genesis - Week Six
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.
The story of God coming down from heaven to visis the building project of the tower of Babel (Genesis11:5-6) kinda seems ironic if we have the understanding that God can be everywhere personally at once.
If God is omnipresent – in the sense of Him being literally everywhere at once – why would He be described here in Genesis 11 as, well, seemingly needing to go down to Babel to see for Himself what was going on?
Interestingly, this kind of scenario – the one here in Genesis 11 - actually is in line with what Ellen White and the SDA pioneers understood the reality of God to be – that being that God is a physical being in one physical location at any one moment.
In this episode, we look at statements from the SDA pioneers and Ellen White concerning their unerstanding of the personhood of God, and the nature of every sentient being - Jesus, Angels, Satan...everyone.
For deeper study, please see:
"The Holy Spirit A Person," by R.A. Underwood
http://www.bdsda.com/the-holy-spirit-a-person-by-r-a-underwood/
"What Did Ellen White Teach About the Personality of the Holy Spirit?" by Trent and Teresa Wilde,
http://www.bdsda.com/what-did-ellen-white-teach-about-the-personality-of-the-holy-spirit/
"Materialism, Our Forgotten Foundation," by Trent Wilde,
http://www.bdsda.com/materialism-our-forgotten-foundation-2/
"Spiritualism vs Materialism," Trent Wilde
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLw8ykUZG-bwfuHcE8rmGm9SQU4ziUSlOb
If you have ever read Genesis chapters 6, 7, 8 and 9, you may have noticed that some things in the flood story are repeated, and some things even conflict with each other.
For example, does the flood last for forty days and nights, as in Genesis 7:4, 12, 17, and 8:2b-3a, which read,
4 For after seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, 12 And the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights.
17 Now the flood was on the earth forty days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth.
6:2b And the rain from the sky was restrained.
3a And the waters receded from on the earth; they went and receded. Genesis 7:4, 12, 17, and 8:2b-3a
or does it last for 150 days, as in Genesis 7:24, which reads,
24 And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days. Genesis 7:24
In this episode, we check out all the clear contradictions and seemingly arbitrary instances where the same story is repeated for no apparent reason, and look at "the Documentary Hypothesis," which is a theory that attempts to explain the reason for these issues.
If you'd like to read the flood story in full with the sources separated, we recommend clicking the link in the description to:
"The Mosaic Torah." by Trent Wilde:
http://www.bdsda.com/the-mosaic-torah-2/
"Why Are There Two Creation Stories?"
https://youtu.be/jhtCVzecao8
"Should We Believe based on Faith or Sufficient Evidence?"
https://youtu.be/kbm_25wEw5c
To visit the "Bible Canon" tag cloud on the www.bdsda.com website, please see:
http://www.bdsda.com/tag/bible-canon/
To visit the "Scripture Canon" playlist on "The Branch Davidian SDA" YouTube Channel, please see:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLw8ykUZG-bwezbikTsIHG2_eaNcbLd0SW
Today, we take a look at the "sons of God" in Genesis 6 and try to get a clear understanding of who they are by paying attention to details in the chapter itself as well as considering the broader context provided by other passages. Now, you may be wondering why we would be doing this, since, as many Adventists know, Ellen White referred to the "sons of God" here in Genesis 6 as being the descendants of Seth. Doesn't that mean the case is closed? Ellen White referred to them as the descendants of Seth, so that's what Genesis 6 means - end of story, right? Well, today we will see what Ellen had to say about whether that way of approaching the issue is in harmony with good principles of investigating Scripture.
For a deeper study on the documentary Hypothesis, please see our video,
"Why Are There Two Creation Stories?" https://youtu.be/jhtCVzecao8
For a deeper study on how to understand a prophet's message, please see our study,
"Inspiration and the Common Understanding of the Day,"
https://youtu.be/6dwuiH4AHHo
We know that in Ellen White's day women suffered many arbitrary discriminations based on gender. Ellen White was not trying to reinforce the male-centric culture norms of her day, but she was trying to go in another direction, towards emphasizing God's original design and intent of equality for men and women. (see Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 484.)
We all know that Ellen was given spiritual authority over both men and women, speaking God's testimonies to both. She did not need a man's approval to speak to anyone on behalf of God. She spoke freely from the pulpit. She both taught men and exercised authority over men, and women of course. In other words, her authority had nothing to do with her gender one way or another. (See Selected Messages, Vol. 2, p. 31)
In this video, we look at 1 Timothy 2:11-15, and examine the context and culture of Ephesus in the first century, including the cult of Diana and the refrences to gnostic-like ideas that help us better understand this text. We also look at some translation issued that have coulded things.
In this episode, we look at the two creation stories in Genesis 1 and 2. We investigate the differences between them, and discuss the importance of evaluating each story on its own merits. Differences aren't necessarily contradictions - sometimes two passages are just talking about different things, in which case it doesn't make much sense to compare them to see whether they contradict. With these two stories in Genesis 1 and 2, if you do take them to be talking about the same thing, you run into problems. One such problem is the sequence events.
We then get into a discussion on the differences that scholars have noticed throughout the Pentateuch, and the theory known as the "Documentary Hypothesis."
For deeper study on the authorship questions surrounding the Pentateuch, see: "The Mosaic Torah," by Trent Wilde:
http://www.bdsda.com/the-mosaic-torah-2/
And see our YouTube playlist study on the different sources in Exodus:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLw8ykUZG-bwdDQO4tSvt-5_fVb-gSMgJQ
It is certainly true that Hebrews contains counsel to obey our religious leaders. And this advice, rightly understood is certainly true and important. Yet, it is a piece of advice that can certainly be abused and misunderstanding it could have detrimental effects. For example, you could easily imagine people in Sunday-keeping churches studying the SDA message, but then their pastor tells them to not investigate, warning them that Seventh-day Adventists are wolves in sheep's clothing. Should that person obey their pastor and stop investigating the three angel's messages? I'm sure you would agree that the answer is a definite "No!" But of course, a pastor from another denomination could quote from Hebrews 13:17 where it says to obey and submit to your leaders and they could point out that, as a pastor, they have been set in charge of the spiritual wellbeing of the congregation and that therefore the layperson should obey. If you disagree with the pastor's reasoning in our scenario, that means you recognize that this counsel to obey leaders is limited and doesn't apply in every circumstance.
In the hierarchy of God's leadership, God of course is at the top, but through the Holy Spirit he appoints apostles and prophets as his earthly spokespersons who communicate his message to guide the church. Teachers and pastors take the message conveyed by these prophets and apostles to the rest of the congregation and trains them to take it to the world. At least this is how things are supposed to work.
But what happens when you have a church with no apostle or prophet? Where are the pastors and teachers supposed to get the present counsel from God for the people?
For a deeper study, see: "What is the Spirit of Prophecy? SDA Edition," by Trent Wilde
http://www.bdsda.com/what-is-the-spirit-of-prophecy-sda-edition-2/?highlight=%22sda%20edition%22
And, "The King of Crises in the Seventh-day Adventist Church," by Trent Wilde
http://www.bdsda.com/the-king-of-crises-in-the-seventh-day-adventist-church-2/?highlight=%22king%20of%20Crises%22
Today, we wanted to read some biblical prophecies that relate to this unshakable end-time kingdom, and simply look at what these texts plainly say in order to learn more about this topic. But unfortunately, many come against these plain biblical statements on the grounds that Ellen did not comment on them. But this would be tantamount to pitting Ellen White against the bible, something we are quite sure that you would not want to do.
We look at
Micah 3:12; 4:1,2.
Ezekiel 36:22-28
Revelation 14:1-5
Isaiah 11:3-11
For deeper study, see out YouTube study: "Daniel 2: The Stone and the Mountain,"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k37F68WF0Ac
And a study by Victor Houttef:
http://www.bdsda.com/authors/victor-houteff/timely-greetings/timely-greetings-vol-2-nos-43-44/?highlight=%22signs%20of%20Christ#039;s%20second%20coming%23page=29
Ellen wrote, "God never asks us to believe, without giving sufficient evidence upon which to base our faith. His existence, His character, the truthfulness of His word, are all established by testimony that appeals to our reason; and this testimony is abundant. Yet God has never removed the possibility of doubt. Our faith must rest upon evidence, not demonstration. Those who wish to doubt will have opportunity; while those who really desire to know the truth will find plenty of evidence on which to rest their faith." Ellen White, Steps to Christ, p. 105
In this episode, we take a look at how to determine what sufficient evidence is. We must have reasons for our faith, and sound reason depends on legitimate evidence.
Please see our YouTube studies on genuine experience and legitimate evidence for deeper study!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLw8ykUZG-bweUIEv4xR54dc6x1z1lo-bk
It is so common for people, even SDAs, to think that God is beyond time. This is one of those things that is often just assumed, even without considering whether it has scriptural backing or whether it conflicts with fundamental truths.
For a deeper study, see:
"Did God Create Time?" - Trent Wilde
https://youtu.be/vOoXdCCRqhg
"God and Time part 1" - May 11, 2013 - Trent Wilde
https://youtu.be/Ha64w3LJWB0
"God and Time part 2" - May 12, 2013 - Trent Wilde
https://youtu.be/5n-vpGV1T78
Sabbath School Q1 22: In These Last Days: The Message of Hebrews - Week 10 www.bdsda.com
Accusations of Favoritism and Self-exaltation - Why Jesus is the Perfect Sacrifice This week's lesson is entitled, "Jesus, the Perfect Sacrifice." In this study we thought we would discuss why it is that Jesus is the perfect sacrifice!
It is generally understood that Jesus had to be the one to sacrifice himself. Ellen White tells us that the angels even offered their lives in Jesus' stead, but Jesus refused their offer and told them that it had to be him (1 SG 24.1). But why would only Jesus' sacrifice do?
Many think that God decided that restoring the state of justice lost by sin requires death and that God just need the most valuable person in the universe - a person who is a deity and of a higher position than the angels - to die in order to adequately recompense the debt cause by everyone's collective sin. But when you think about this idea, it doesn't really make much sense. Why would God require death in order to restore the balances of justice? And even if God were to make such a requirement, would it really satisfy justice to kill the innocent while letting the guilty go free? Would you think it would be just if an earthly justice system were to follow such a policy?
So why did Jesus sacrifice himself, and why did it have to be him and no one else?
To understand why Jesus is the only one whose death is sufficient, we first need to understand the problem to begin with. What transpired in heaven that lead to the origin of sin and Satan's rebellion in the first place?
As most Adventists know, Satan became jealous of Jesus because of the honor given to him by his Father. He started to question the character and love of God (Patriarch and Prophets, 34-35).
While the ultimate origin of sin is unexplainable, we can understand the circumstances in which it arose. What were those circumstances? It was a misapprehension of God's character - a misapprehension that originated with Lucifer. Ellen Wrote,
"To dispute the supremacy of the Son of God, thus impeaching the wisdom and love of the Creator, had become the purpose of this prince of angels. To this object he was about to bend the energies of that master mind, which, next to Christ's, was first among the hosts of God." PP 36.1
Ellen said that to dispute the supremacy of the Son of God was also to impeach the wisdom and love of the Father. Even though Lucifer was next to Christ in honor, Lucifer did not understand the loving nature of the government of God.
In Spirit of Prophecy volume 1, Ellen wrote,
"The great Creator assembled the heavenly host, that he might in the presence of all the angels confer special honor upon his Son. The Son was seated on the throne with the Father, and the heavenly throng of holy angels was gathered around them. The Father then made known that it was ordained by himself that Christ, his Son, should be equal with himself; so that wherever was the presence of his Son, it was as his own presence. The word of the Son was to be obeyed as readily as the word of the Father. His Son he had invested with authority to command the heavenly host. Especially was his Son to work in union with himself in the anticipated creation of the earth and every living thing that should exist upon the earth. His Son would carry out his will and his purposes, but would do nothing of himself alone. The Father's will would be fulfilled in him." 1SP 17.2
"Satan was envious and jealous of Jesus Christ. Yet when all the angels bowed to Jesus to acknowledge his supremacy and high authority and rightful rule, Satan bowed with them; but his heart was filled with envy and hatred." 1SP 18.1
Here we can see that the Father ordained that Christ should be equal to Himself, and that he would carry out his Father's will and purposes invested with authority equal to God Himself. Satan was very jealous.
But God bore long with Lucifer (GC 495.3), and Jesus and many of the angels tried very hard to reason with Lucifer to show him that it was not the case that God or His government – including the high honor of Jesus - were unloving or unjust (PP 35.3). In spite of this, "Lucifer allowed jealousy of Christ to prevail, and he became the more determined" (GC 494.2). Satan accused God of showing favoritism to Christ and He accused Christ of self-exaltation. So, how was God supposed to overcome these accusations from Lucifer, the one next in honor to Christ?
He could have just exterminated Lucifer right then, but God knew that this would likely cause any insinuated uncertainty about His character to remain. Ellen White wrote,
"Even when it was decided that he could no longer remain in heaven, Infinite Wisdom did not destroy Satan. Since the service of love can alone be acceptable to God, the allegiance of His creatures must rest upon a conviction of His justice and benevolence. The inhabitants of heaven and of other worlds, being unprepared to comprehend the nature or consequences of sin, could not then have seen the justice and mercy of God in the destruction of Satan. Had he been immediately blotted from existence, they would have served God from fear rather than from love. The influence of the deceiver would not have been fully destroyed, nor would the spirit of rebellion have been utterly eradicated. Evil must be permitted to come to maturity. For the good of the entire universe through ceaseless ages Satan must more fully develop his principles, that his charges against the divine government might be seen in their true light by all created beings, that the justice and mercy of God and the immutability of His law might forever be placed beyond all question." GC 498
God the Father needed to let everyone see the end result of sin, and He needed everyone to see the truth about His character. How could God the Father answer the charges against Him and His government?
The answer had to come from the accused themselves – The Father and the Son – They needed to demonstrate that they were not guilty of the crimes Lucifer intimated against them. Since the accusation against the Father was that he had favoritism for the Son above everyone else, the only way to show that this accusation was false was for the Father to be willing to give up his Son for the sake of others. And since the accusation against the Son was that he was self-exalting, the only way to show that this accusation was false was for the Son to be willing to lower himself to the very lowest point, even sacrificing his very life, if need be, for the sake of others. As amazing and inspiring as it is for an angel to be willing to risk their life to save us, this wouldn't vindicate the character of the Father and the Son. Even if the Father were to come to earth and die himself, this wouldn't answer Satan's charges since it could be asserted that the Father did this to save his Son (again out of favoritism) and the Son would still be enjoying his exalted state. But the plan of salvation is designed perfectly to answer Satan's charges and thus reveal the rebellion for what it really is - baseless and evil. By the Son of God coming to earth, Jesus would reveal that he has no air of superiority and God would reveal that he loves us as fully as he loves his own Son. Both of these aspects amount to Jesus revealing the character of the Father, which gets to the root of the circumstances in which sin originated in the first place. Thus, a misapprehension of God's character such as Satan had should never happen again. Ellen White said,
"God has bound our hearts to Him by unnumbered tokens in heaven and in earth. Through the things of nature, and the deepest and tenderest earthly ties that human hearts can know, He has sought to reveal Himself to us. Yet these but imperfectly represent His love. Though all these evidences have been given, the enemy of good blinded the minds of men, so that they looked upon God with fear; they thought of Him as severe and unforgiving. Satan led men to conceive of God as a being whose chief attribute is stern justice,—one who is a severe judge, a harsh, exacting creditor. He pictured the Creator as a being who is watching with jealous eye to discern the errors and mistakes of men, that He may visit judgments upon them. It was to remove this dark shadow, by revealing to the world the infinite love of God, that Jesus came to live among men.
In this great controversy, God had to let Satan's rebellion come to its full realization. Ellen wrote,
"Satan’s rebellion was to be a lesson to the universe through all coming ages, a perpetual testimony to the nature and terrible results of sin. The working out of Satan’s rule, its effects upon both men and angels, would show what must be the fruit of setting aside the divine authority. It would testify that with the existence of God’s government and His law is bound up the well-being of all the creatures He has made. Thus the history of this terrible experiment of rebellion was to be a perpetual safeguard to all holy intelligences, to prevent them from being deceived as to the nature of transgression, to save them from committing sin and suffering its punishments." GC 499
When God gave the world His only begotten Son, He did it out of pure love. He knew that by sending His son to earth in the likeness of sinful human flesh, He was going to be allowing his Son to experience the most extreme temptation, suffering and sorrow so all could see the nature of transgression in order to save us from committing sin. This plan, of course, was Jesus' plan. He loved His Father, the angels, and us so much that it filled Him with peace to sacrifice himself in this way (1SG 22.2). The Father loved us so much that that, even thought it was terribly difficult to risk losing his Son forever, He agreed to allow it. Jesus had to come to earth to reveal the truth of His Father's loving character to every for these human and angel, and reveal to all the terrible consequences of sin – so we could have evidence that God and His will is rooted in love and righteousness – and so we would be saved from partaking in this mistrust of God and His ways - as Ellen said, so we could be saved from committing sin and suffering its punishments.
The ultimate realization of the terrible results of sin came in the crucifixion of Jesus. Ellen wrote,
"The prince of evil exerted all his power and cunning to destroy Jesus; for he saw that the Saviour's mercy and love, His compassion and pitying tenderness, were representing to the world the character of God. Satan contested every claim put forth by the Son of God and employed men as his agents to fill the Saviour's life with suffering and sorrow. The sophistry and falsehood by which he had sought to hinder the work of Jesus, the hatred manifested through the children of disobedience, his cruel accusations against Him whose life was one of unexampled goodness, all sprang from deep-seated revenge. The pent-up fires of envy and malice, hatred and revenge, burst forth on Calvary against the Son of God, while all heaven gazed upon the scene in silent horror." GC 501.2
It was at this moment that God was vindicated. Satan was forever seen as the arch deceiver by all the unfallen worlds. Ellen wrote,
"The angelic host who watched the scenes in the betrayal and crucifixion of Christ, knew that it was Satan who entered into Judas and led him to betray Christ into the hands of the murderous mob... Satan has now revealed his true character as a liar and a murderer. It is seen that the very same spirit with which he ruled the children of men who were under his power, he would manifest if permitted to control the intelligences of heaven. The question is settled in all the worlds that there is no place for him in their dominions.... Now that the issue is determined, all are free to express their indignation at Satan’s rebellion; and with one voice unite in extolling the divine administration..." Review and Herald, March 9, 1886.
It is in this way that the sacrifice of Christ saves us... Ellen White wrote of Paul's experience with the revelation of love of God revealed at the cross. She said,
"[I]n Paul’s day the cross was regarded with feelings of repulsion and horror. To uphold as the Saviour of mankind one who had met death on the cross, would naturally call forth ridicule and opposition. …
But to Paul the cross was the one object of supreme interest. Ever since he had been arrested in his career of persecution against the followers of the crucified Nazarene he had never ceased to glory in the cross. At that time there had been given him a revelation of the infinite love of God, as revealed in the death of Christ; and a marvelous transformation had been wrought in his life, bringing all his plans and purposes into harmony with heaven. From that hour he had been a new man in Christ. He knew by personal experience that when a sinner once beholds the love of the Father, as seen in the sacrifice of His Son, and yields to the divine influence, a change of heart takes place, and henceforth Christ is all and in all." The Acts of the Apostles, p. 245.
So, here we see the truth of the sacrifice of Christ. It reveals the ultimate result of sin...the torture and death of an innocent loving man, it reveals the love of the Father towards all his creation through God's sacrifice in giving us His Son, and it vindicated the character of His Father as a loving and wise God, because Jesus was just like His Father in his character. Satan's accusations against the Father and the Son are proven to be false and the Father and Son have used this terrible circumstance of sin to reveal their character more fully and establish us firmly on the principles of truth and righteousness so that sin will never rise up again.
Please see our other studies on this topic:
"The Real Meaning of Jesus' Substitutionary Death" https://youtu.be/rQQaPMOMyTY
"Does Jesus Blood Enable Us to Stand in the Judgment as Sinners?" https://youtu.be/vE8Eru1BsvA
"Jesus came to 'Bear With' Our Sins, Not to Take Responsibility for Them!" https://youtu.be/xXIl6NcE0QY
"The Priesthood According to the Order of Melchizedek and the Royal Priesthood"
Sabbath School Lesson for 2022, 1st Quarter
In These Last Days: The Message of Hebrews
Week 6
by Mary Zebrowski
Edited by Trent Wilde
This week's lesson is entitled, "Jesus, The Faithful Priest," and discusses Jesus' priesthood according to the order of Melchizedek, focusing on Hebrews 5:1-10 and Hebrews 7: 1-28. So before we go further, let's take note of a few things concerning this priesthood. First, the word "Melchizedek" means "King of Righteousness." Jesus came in the likeness of Melchizedek (Hebrews 7:15), which would obviously include the fact that he came in righteousness. Second, the purpose of this priesthood was to bring perfection – to us (Hebrews 7:11). Jesus came to make us perfect – without sin. We know that Jesus wants to make us into a righteous offering to His Father. Now Sunday's discussion question notes that we too are called to this royal priesthood. The question reads, "First Peter 2:9 says that we are 'a royal priesthood.' What does Jesus’ life tell you that your relationship with other human beings should be because we are in this sacred role?"
Sabbath School Quarterly Lesson, Sunday, January 30, 2022
Well, I highly doubt anyone would answer that we shouldn't be like Jesus in our relationship with others, but at the same time, many think it is understandable or permissible to not be like Jesus completely, because, well, we are humans that can't help but be sinful, at least some of the time. But isn't that just being like everybody else in the world by and large?? How can we belong to a royal priesthood if we harbor sin in our hearts towards others just like the other people of the world? Let's look more closely at some of the verses in the bible that describe the priesthood we are called to, and see what we should expect to be as a part of this royal priesthood.
First, let's look at the verses the lesson brings out, 1 Peter 2:4-10. It reads,
4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture,
"Behold, I lay in Zion
A chief cornerstone, elect, precious,
And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame."
7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient,
"The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone,"
8 and
"A stone of stumbling
And a rock of offense."
They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.
9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. 1 Peter 2:4-10
Here we see that we actually have parallels with Christ in this royal priesthood. Jesus is a stone - the cornerstone, and we are also stones. Jesus offered up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God (Hebrews 9:11-14, 23), and we are to do the same, through Jesus Christ. And just as Christ was and is obedient (Hebrews 5:8), so too are we to be.
And Revelation 1:5-6 reads,
"To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever."
Here again, Jesus washed us from our sins, and made us kings and priests together with Him. To be washed from our sins is what the atonement is. This work is what Jesus is doing as our high priest in the heavenly sanctuary. It is not the work of covering up of sin, so we can be spuriously seen as righteous while still harboring sin in our hearts, but the work of washing away sin – truly cleansing us of all unrighteousness. Notice we are first washed from our sins, or actually made righteous, then made priests. Once we are made righteous, we are then fit for the royal priesthood.
Next, the apostle Paul writes,
15Yet I have written you quite boldly on some points to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me 16to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:15-16
Here Paul himself is performing priestly duties, ministering the message of righteousness to the Gentiles, and offering them to God. Of course, this offering is not an offering involving killing of any sort, but one of presenting his converts in righteousness before God, the fruits of his ministerial efforts. This is the same thing Jesus is ultimately doing as we mentioned earlier. Again, note that Paul and Jesus are working towards the same goal – towards presenting a spotless offering before the Father. If Paul's ministerial efforts produced converts (so called) that still harbored sin in their hearts, how would that be a spotless offering? How would that be something special - worthy to give to God?
We are all called to this priesthood to be righteous ministers of the word like Paul was. The royal priesthood is based on righteousness, something we are all able to attain through Christ (see Matthew 5:48; John 8:11; Romans 6:12-13; 1 Cor. 15:34; 2 Timothy 2:22; 1 John 2:2-9; Revelation 19:7-8, etc.).
The two biggest obstacles to becoming righteous is, first of all, our lack of knowledge and understanding on the topic. Satan has convinced us, mainly through ministers who misunderstand this topic as well, that some amount of unrighteousness is expected and permitted. This is a lie. There are many positive statements in scripture, including the writings of Ellen White, that clearly state that we are expected to be righteous in order to be a part of this royal priesthood. Concerning a lack of understanding on biblical truths, Ellen said,
"To many the Bible is as a lamp without oil, because the knowledge of the Word is turned into channels of speculation that bring misunderstanding and confusion to minds. This has been done by some to such a degree as to give occasion for those who are watching us to make of none effect the message of truth. I am instructed to ask our leading men and ministers, Are you laborers together with God? or do you place your own interpretation upon the Word? It is the duty of every worker to ask himself the question, Whom am I serving? Beware, brethren, lest self be interwoven with your exposition of the Word. Beware lest you lead any soul to a misunderstanding of the Word. The Lord now calls for the truth to be presented in its simplicity, that all, even the most ignorant, may understand its requirements." Ellen White, RH September 17, 1908, par. 2
Many do not realize that righteousness is required from us. This comes from a misunderstanding of the cross, the blood of Jesus, and the purpose of Jesus' high priesthood. Please see our studies linked in the description for a deeper investigation into these misunderstandings.
Regarding the purpose of Jesus becoming human, Hebrews 2:17-18 says,
17 Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.
Here we clearly see the reason Jesus became a human - to be our high priest. This was so that he would be able to aid us when we are tempted. By becoming human, he could more effectively help us overcome sin – because he himself had gone through the same temptations and experiences, and even more intense temptations and experiences that most of us will ever face.
A second obstacle to becoming righteous is our unwillingness to change. Most, if not all, truly don't even recognize their unwillingness to change until the scripture truths about the standard of righteousness are pointed out. Then comes the biggest choice of our lives. Will we humble ourselves, battle against our sinfulness, and trust Jesus' aid, or fight him with some cherished belief that we cannot evidence as truth from scripture? Ellen said,
"Even Seventh-day Adventists are in danger of closing their eyes to truth as it is in Jesus, because it contradicts something which they have taken for granted as truth but which the Holy Spirit teaches is not truth. Let all be very modest, and seek most earnestly to put self out of the question, and to exalt Jesus. In most of the religious controversies the foundation of the trouble is that self is striving for the supremacy." Ellen White, Testimony to Ministers, p. 72
But take heart! Concerning our faithful high priest, Hebrews 7:25 reads,
25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
We should have high hopes and high expectations that Jesus is able to save us FROM our sins. All of them. James 2:10 says, if we are guilty of one sin, we are guilty of all. Righteousness is an all or none thing. We need to trust in our faithful, merciful high priest, and work with Him, so we can become righteous ministers of the word - part of the royal priesthood - just like Jesus, so we can both be an offering and bring an offering!
This week's lesson is entitled, "Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant." Sunday's discussion question reads, "Why can’t the law save us? After all, if we keep all the commandments, and keep them well—even flawlessly—why shouldn’t that save us?" Sabbath School Quarterly Lesson, Sunday, February 13, 2022 The first issue we need to address here is the fact that, so often, people use words like "save," "saved," and "salvation" as heavily loaded theological terms - even without realizing it. When Christians say that someone is saved, they usually mean the person has been reconciled to God, their guilt has been wiped away, God has justified them, and they are granted their passport to heaven. Notice how several concepts are all grouped together in this one word. In reality, the scriptures use words like "saved" and "salvation" in a huge variety of contexts, and in each instance it means something pretty simple - basically to be delivered or rescued from something. For just a few examples, it is used for being saved or delivered from illness (Luke 8:48), to be rescued from calamity (Matt. 8:25), to be saved or delivered from sin (Matt. 1:21), and to be saved from the coming wrath (Rom. 5:9). The way we talk about being "saved" today as a catch-all phrase for all things related to sin, guilt, and our final destiny, simply isn't how the scriptures talk about being saved. Some passages speak of being saved from sin, and others speak of being saved from destruction or from death, but these are separate instances of salvation, or deliverance. Someone could be saved from some calamity or destruction, but it doesn't mean they have been saved from their sins. Someone could be saved from illness, but it doesn't mean they are saved from the second death. But since we are in the habit of combining a whole series of things together and labeling it as "salvation" or "being saved" we end up applying things that really only relate to one aspect, to a whole bunch of other things.
For example, Ephesians 2:4-10 relates the beautiful truth that we can be saved from sin (from transgressing the law) by faith in Christ. This salvation cannot be achieved by any good works of our own, which only makes sense because while we are sinners we don't have any good works. If we sin, we transgress the whole law and all our works are tainted by sin and are filthy rags. While sinners, we don't have any genuinely good works by which we could save ourselves and thus God wouldn't be so unreasonable as to require good works as a pre-requisite to receiving salvation from sin. To be saved from sinning is a salvation that can only be achieved by grace and through faith, that is trust, in Christ and his truth.
This is a plain scriptural truth that is taught in many passages. But Because of conflating the idea of salvation from sin with other scriptural ideas, people end up believing that since good works aren't (and can't be) required for salvation from sin, they must not be required at all. But this isn't the case. Scripture also plainly declares that actual righteousness is required of us as a condition for entering the kingdom of heaven and receiving everlasting life. Notice, entering the kingdom and receiving everlasting life are not the same thing as being saved from sin. Being saved from sin is something we can experience here and now and it has to do with a transformation of our thoughts and actions - a change in character. Entering the kingdom and receiving everlasting life, on the other hand, while we can have the guarantee of them now, we won't actually experience them until later. They are the inheritance of the saints. Being saved from sin and receiving our inheritance are two very different things - even though they are related.
We are saved from sin by grace through faith, without works (Rom. 3:28), yet we are judged by our works (2 Cor. 5:10), and the conditions for entering the kingdom and experiencing everlasting life are to be free from sin, doing only righteousness (1 John 3:4-10 with John 3:3). The way this fits together is this: Being saved from sin is not a theory or a legal fiction - it is a practical reality. If we actually sin, we haven't been saved from sin. If we have been saved from sin, we won't sin, but will instead do only what is right - which is what it is to live the life of Christ. We need to die to self - to give up our own ways, and be born again to live Christ's life of pure unadulterated truth and right-doing. We can only die to self and live the life of Christ by having faith in Christ - trusting him. But the results of this salvation are manifest in our works. This is why we can be judged by our works even though were are saved from sin by faith. The investigative judgment reveals whether or not we have received the salvation from sin that Christ offers and thus whether or not we are safe for the society of heaven and everlasting life. If we show that we cherish one sin, we, like Adam, will be barred from the tree of life, but if we give up our own ways and live out Christ's way, we will be judged as righteous and will one day receive our inheritance as born-of-the-Spirit sons and daughters of God.
Now, let's look at some passages that deal with these wonderful realities.
Matthew 7:21-23 reads,
21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' 23 And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'" Matthew 7:21-23
It is clear from these verses that practicing the law is the critical prerequisite for entrance into the kingdom of heaven. Those who worship Jesus as "lord" but do not keep the commandments, according to Matthew 7, are not even known by Jesus.
In the verses just prior to this (Matt. 7:15-29), Jesus warned against false prophets. He likens the prophet, true or false, to a tree, and the teaching of the prophet, to fruit. Bad fruit is paralleled with teachings leading to lawlessness. True prophets, obviously, bear good fruit, that is, they teach of righteousness and the keeping of the law.
Unfortunately, most teachers today do not teach righteousness, but allow little loopholes for sin. Most fail to recognize that righteousness is an all or none thing. James 2:10 reads,
For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. James 2:10
So, while the law can't save us from sin, so long as we keep committing even one sin, we are guilty of breaking the whole law. But Jesus can save us from sin so we can keep the whole law. Ellen White wrote,
"The apostle Paul clearly presents the relation between faith and the law under the new covenant. He says, 'Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.' 'Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid; yea, we establish the law.' 'For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh,'—it could not justify man, because in his sinful nature he could not keep the law,—'God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.' Romans 5:1; 3:31; Romans 8:3, 4." Ellen White, RH October 17, 1907, par. 10.
Basically, we can become keepers of the law through faith in Jesus. Jesus will help us, through his teachings via the prophets, and by the example of his life, to be willing and able to live without sin (Jude 24). It is in this way that we are saved by grace, through faith. Jesus came in the likeness of sinful flesh, or, as a human, to condemn sin. In other words, he did the will of his father, as he wants us to do (Matthew 7:21), while in human flesh – proving to the unfallen worlds and to us as well - that humans can keep the law of God.
See our video, "Why Do So Many Of Us Still Struggle With Sin?" for a deeper study on how Jesus helps us overcome sin.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4mwlYgS60o
If we think we have been saved by grace, through faith, and yet we continue to harbor sin in our hearts, we are deceived. And we are most likely deceived, at least in part, by the bad fruit being fed to us by the teachers we are listening to. If your pastor is not giving you good fruit - teachings that lead to a sinless life - he or she is intentionally or unintentionally misrepresenting the writings of Ellen White and the other inspired scriptures.
How devastating it would be to hear Jesus say to us, "Depart from me, I never knew you!" This is why He warned us about false teachers - so we will never have to hear those words. So, how do we become known by Jesus? Well, Jesus gives the answer in the very next verse. Let's take a look. Matthew 7:23-24 reads,
23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'
24 "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:" Matthew 7:23-24
Jesus will know us when we listen to his teachings on keeping all the law – teachings on sinless living - and put them into practice! And this is how grace abounds. Paul, in Romans 5:20-21 wrote,
20Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, 21so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 5:20-21
Here we see that sin reigns in death, and grace reigns through righteousness to eternal life. Grace reigns through righteousness, not through sin.
So, in closing, although the law does not save us, we must keep it - we are saved from sin to keep it. So, let's seek Christ in faith, and let him save us from our sins so that we can have the law of truth written in our hearts and manifested in our lives. Ellen said,
"The 'new covenant' was established upon 'better promises,' —the promise of forgiveness of sins, and of the grace of God to renew the heart, and bring it into harmony with the principles of God's law. 'This shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel: After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts.... I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.' Jeremiah 31:33,34." Ellen White, RH October 17, 1907, par. 8
For more on this, see our study, "The Lost Gospel of Christ," by Trent Wilde.
http://www.bdsda.com/home-3/the-lost-gospel-of-christ/
Hello and welcome! My name is Ed. My wife Mary is away visiting with family. We're Branch Davidian Seventh Day Adventists and we're excited you're joining us today. We present or expound on a principle or belief related to the SDA Sabbath School quarterly each week. This quarter's study is called, "In These Last Days: The Message of Hebrews." This week's lesson is entitled, "Jesus, the Anchor of the Soul." One of Friday's discussion questions asks, "Why does God require a total surrender of our lives to Him? What is the relationship between free will and salvation?" Let's repeat that first question again: "Why does God require a total surrender of our lives to Him?" Very often, people think that God has a right to require total surrender because...well, he made everything and so he sets the rules - he has a right to do anything he wants. Some have a really hard time with this because if God's requirements for us are based on God saying, "Look, I'm God so I can require whatever I want!" - it's ultimately arbitrary. You can imagine someone who truly wants to follow God and do the right thing, asking God, "God, I understand that you require all the things you've specified, but I'm so confused - couldn't you have just as easily not required these things, or required something else instead? Please help me understand!"
What can God say to such a person? If he actually could have just as well not required what he has, or required other things instead, then he couldn't appeal to anything beyond himself as a reason for his requirements - everything would boil down to God saying, "Because I said so!"
Many are under the impression that God is the one who set the moral standard. But if this were the case, God could have set anything as His moral standard. For example, God could have made his moral standard so that stealing is moral, or cheating, or lying. What if God decided that racism was moral, or sex trafficking? If morality was based on someone's choice, even God's choice, then morality would be simply arbitrary. Under this theory, anything could be moral or immoral - morality would ultimately be based on someone's opinion. So, as we can see, this theory of morality has some problems.
Not only is it arbitrary, but in this scenario, the mightiest one's opinion would be the standard.
This is exactly how Satan portrayed the law of God in heaven. Ellen White said,
"In heaven he complained against the law of God, declaring it unnecessary and arbitrary. He misrepresented the Lord Jehovah, and the high Commander of heaven."
If God's law isn't arbitrary, it must be based on something. If God just said, "Well look, I'm God - I made everything, so I get to make the rules." Then Satan would actually be right in saying that God's law is unnecessary and arbitrary. But, as Ellen White said, this is a misrepresentation. God's law actually does have a basis.
Ellen said: "By precept and example, the workers are to instruct those who come within the reach of their influence to obey the words of Christ, teachings that magnified the righteous principles which are the basis of God's law."
Notice, Ellen does not say here that God's law is the basis of righteous principles. No; it's just the reverse. The righteous principles are the basis of God's law.
What is this standard that is the basis of God's law? Well, Ellen White said, "He charges them with disbelieving the Scriptures which they profess to revere, carrying out its forms and ceremonies while ignoring the great principles of truth that are the foundation of the law."
Here we can see that the foundation of God's law is actually the great principles of truth.
So, what is truth?
Well, most people understand that an idea or statement is true if it matches reality - if it doesn't match reality it isn't true - if it does match, it is true. But we can go a little further. What is it that really makes reality…reality? As we've talked about elsewhere (see the description), all that is real is material, or made of matter. This view is called materialism, and though it may be surprising to many SDAs today, materialism is foundational to SDA doctrine. Please see the links in the description to read what the SDA pioneers had to say, overtly promoting materialism. So, with this in mind, we can have an even clearer idea of truth: Truth is whatever comports with material reality.
So, since truth is any idea or statement that matches material reality and since God's moral law is based on truth, that let's us know that ultimately, morality is based on material reality. If I tell you President Biden is in my kitchen right now, that statement would be false. And all it means to call it false is that it doesn't match the material facts. Likewise, my act of telling you Biden is in my kitchen would be immoral - it would be a lie. And all it means to call it immoral is that my act would be based on an idea that isn't true - an idea that doesn't match material reality. It isn't wrong because anyone's opinion says it's wrong. It has nothing to do with my opinion, or your opinion, or God's opinion...lying is an action of trying to get someone to believe something that doesn't match material reality, and it is thus immoral regardless of anyone's opinion.
Ellen White said, "Righteousness is right doing."
Right doing is thinking and acting according to truth as it is in material reality. And this is the basis of morality, which is the basis of God's law. God's law is what it is because it IS truth, not because it is his arbitrary decree of what he has decided should be moral.
Jesus' ways are truth because he has chosen to act in accordance with the standard of material reality. This is why we need to give up what we want and instead do what Jesus wants. What Jesus wants isn't based on his opinion or arbitrary desires - it is based on truth, of which he is expert! Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, because his ways are the ways of truth as it is in material reality, and these ways of truth are necessary for everlasting life.
This is why Paul said, "The wages of sin is death," (Romans 6:23) because ultimately, acting sinfully – unrighteously - will lead to death. Even though some people don't realize the deadly effect their sins have on themselves and others, every little thing does indeed have an impact, either for good or for evil. Period.
Now, we can certainly rejoice in the fact that our Heavenly Father only thinks and acts according to truth as it is in material reality. And this is love. And when we are judged by Jesus, our actions are judged based on the standard of material reality as well. Did we act lovingly towards ourselves and others with the choices we made?
It is common to think that we will be exonerated for harboring sin (transgression of the law of truth) in our hearts because we accept Jesus' death as a substitute for the death we deserve. But just as this would be immoral for an earthly judge to treat criminals as innocent because someone else died the death they deserve, it would be equally immoral for God to judge this way in heaven – because it would be out of harmony with the truth as it is in material reality.
But be assured that Jesus and the Holy Spirit, our two intercessors (Romans 8:26, 27 and Romans 8:34), are working hard to make sure we know and understand what makes something true and right and loving so we can make an educated decision whether or not to choose to be in harmony with it. This is a key part of the work of atonement – the wiping away of our sin.
Let's read Ellen's quote concerning this. She said, "Having brought conviction of sin, and presented before the mind the standard of righteousness (or morality), the Holy Spirit withdraws the affections from the things of this earth and fills the soul with a desire for holiness. 'He will guide you into all truth' (John 16:13), the Saviour declared."
So, we can see that to surrender our lives to Jesus is to surrender our lives to the truth as it is in material reality, It is not at all to bend our will to the will of another simply because they are more powerful than us, but to bend our will to the will of God, because God's will is based in the principles of righteousness and we have every reason to believe that God is the ultimate expert in truth and morality.
This is a very important topic. We must use our free will to choose to think and act according to truth as it is in material reality. For more on this subject, we recommend listening to a few episodes of the Trent Wilde Blog podcast. The first episode is all about materialism and the next two are all about the basis of morality. All three are linked in the description. Thank you for staying till the end. We invite you to visit our web site WWW.BDSDA.COM to learn more about who we are and just as important who we are not. Please join us each week, as we will continue to offer new and interesting insights for your Sabbath School studies.
God Bless!
And from Mary Many Blessings!
Links:
https://trentwildeblog.libsyn.com/materialism-or...
https://trentwildeblog.libsyn.com/theories-of-the-basis...
https://trentwildeblog.libsyn.com/material-reality-as-the...
This week's lesson is entitled, "Jesus, the Giver of Rest." Wednesday's lesson is called "Entering Into His rest." It says,
"The Sabbath rest celebrates the fact that God ended, or finished, His work of Creation (Gen. 2:1–3, Exod. 20:8–11) or Redemption (Deut. 5:12–15). Similarly, Jesus’ enthronement in the heavenly temple celebrates that He finished offering a perfect sacrifice for our salvation (Heb. 10:12–14)." Sabbath School Quarterly Lesson, Wednesday, January 26, 2022
When Jesus was established as our high priest in the heavenly temple, it's clear that he did so after sacrificing himself for us. He died once and was raised to live forevermore. In this sense, his sacrifice for us is certainly finished. Yet, as SDAs, we should all know that Jesus is not yet finished the work of atonement. After the cross, Jesus didn't just go to heaven to wait around - he entered upon a work in the heavenly temple - a work focused on purifying us from sin. But how often do we contemplate what his work consists of? Today, we'll be focusing on an aspect that's little known, yet clearly important. Let's start with this statement from Ellen White:
"Children of the Lord, how precious is the promise! How full the atonement of the Saviour for our guilt! The Redeemer, with a heart of unalterable love, still sheds his sacred blood in the sinner's behalf. The wounded hands, the pierced side, the marred feet, plead eloquently for fallen man, whose redemption is purchased at so great a cost. Oh, matchless condescension! Time nor events can lessen the efficacy of the atoning sacrifice. As the fragrant cloud of incense rose acceptably to Heaven, and Aaron sprinkled the blood upon the mercy-seat of ancient Israel, and cleansed the people from guilt, so the merits of the slain Lamb are accepted by God today as a purifier from the defilement of sin." Ellen White, Review and Herald, January 9, 1883, par. 21
Here Ellen informs us that Jesus still sheds his sacred blood in the sinner's behalf. Ellen said that his blood is shed for us today as a purifier from the defilement of sin. In previous lessons, we've talked about the fact that people usually have misconceptions as to how Jesus' blood cleanses from sin. Sometimes people think God just decided that someone needed to die for sin and He thus required the blood of Jesus as a condition that must be met in order for Him to forgive people. This is hugely problematic, both in its representation of the character of God and of forgiveness. Others think that Jesus' blood has mystical, or even magical, properties and that it does something to our sins or to the record of our sins, but this also can't be right since Jesus' blood is just like ours, as we're directly told in Hebrews 2:14. Plus, in John 6, Jesus, while speaking of his own flesh and blood, says his flesh (in which is his blood) profits nothing; rather, it is rather his words that give life (see John 6:63). What we have shown in our previous videos (linked in the description) is that Jesus' sacrifice and his blood cleanse us from sin by the impression they leave on us. In other words, by contemplating what Jesus gave up, and why, we learn certain lessons that persuade us to forsake sin. There's a lot that could be said about this, but two basic lessons are this: On one hand, we see how terrible sin is that it could lead people to murder such an innocent and righteous man - and not just any man, even the Son of God. Anything that could drive people to such hate and insanity is simply not worth playing with. We should be repulsed by it and should be determined never to sin again. The second major lesson is that in spite of knowing how terrible sin is, God and His Son were willing to loose what was most precious to Them in order to reach us with truth. The Son of God became human and walked among us preaching repentance, knowing full well that his efforts might be rejected and he might be killed as were many of the prophets before him. Furthermore, he placed himself in a position of weakness - he was within reach of the great Tempter, and he had taken on a nature that had all the inclinations toward evil that we experience day to day. He could have sinned, and if he had fallen, he would have died, He and His Father being separated forever. That God loved us so much that he gave His Son, and that the Son loved us So much that He gave Himself, is simply astounding. Jesus, even in the midst of torture didn't lessen this love to save himself - he went all the way - for us! In view of such love, how can we fail to have love aroused in us in response! And this love should lead us once again to forsake sin and to instead emulate Him who first loved us. This love from God will turn into love to God and to each other; and this love will result in fulfilling the law rather than transgressing it; i.e. rather than sinning. This is how Jesus' blood cleanses us from sin; it is by teaching us these beautiful truths that lead us to abandon sin and being truly reformed, God can justifiably wipe the record of our past sins (Rom. 3:25), given that they are truly past and we are determined to not commit them again.
Sometimes people undervalue the sacrifice of Jesus thinking that He only came to earth for a bad weekend and then got to return to Heavenly bliss. But this isn't the case. First of all, He risked everything by coming. Secondly, Jesus ministration in the Heavenly Sanctuary isn't bliss. It is a solemn work. As we just read from Ellen, Jesus, still sheds his blood on our behalf. It isn't the case that Jesus has finished his suffering on our behalf once the crucifixion was over. Ellen states this poignant truth in the following testimonies:
"The work of Christ in the sanctuary above, presenting His own blood EACH MOMENT before the mercy seat, as He makes intercession for us, should have its full impression upon the heart, that we may realize the worth of each moment. Jesus ever liveth to make intercession for us; but one moment carelessly spent can never be recovered." Ellen White, Testimonies on Sabbath School Work, 85, 86
And Ellen also wrote,
"Jesus was clothed with priestly garments. He gazed in pity on the remnant, then raised His hands, and with a voice of deep pity cried, 'My blood, Father, My blood, My blood, My blood!'" Ellen White, Early Writings, p. 38
Jesus still sheds his blood on humanity's behalf. How sad that very few of us realize what He is going through in the heavenly sanctuary every moment as our high priest. In light of the fact that Jesus is ever living to make intercession for us, we should not waste one moment of our lives.
Ellen, in Patriarchs and Prophets, wrote,
"Our Saviour was not to be sacrificed a second time; and it is only necessary for those who seek the blessings of His grace to ask in the name of Jesus, pouring forth the heart's desire in penitential PRAYER. Such prayer will bring before the Lord of hosts the wounds of Jesus, and then WILL FLOW FORTH AFRESH THE LIFE-GIVING BLOOD. . ." Ellen White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 411.
Again, Ellen said that penitential prayer will bring before the Lord of hosts the wounds of Jesus, and then WILL FLOW FORTH AFRESH THE LIFE-GIVING BLOOD.
Ellen also wrote of this reality when teaching about the atonement. She said,
"The wonderful symbol of the living bird dipped in the blood of the bird slain and then set free to its joyous life (Lev. -14:4-8), is to us the symbol of the atonement. There was death and life blended, presenting to the searcher for truth and hidden treasure, the union of the pardoning blood with the resurrection and life of our Redeemer. The bird slain was over living water; that flowing stream was a SYMBOL of the EVER FLOWING, ever cleansing efficacy of the BLOOD of Christ. . ." Ellen White, Sons and Daughters of God, p. 226
Ellen told us that we need to keep this reality ever (daily) before us. She wrote,
"Thank God that He who spilled His blood for us, lives to plead it, lives to make intercession for every soul who receives Him. 'If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.' The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.... We need to keep ever before us the efficacy of the blood of Jesus. That life-cleansing, life-sustaining blood, appropriated by living faith, is our hope. We need to grow in appreciation of its inestimable value, for it speaks for us only as we by faith claim its virtue, keeping the conscience clean and at peace with God. This is represented as the pardoning blood, inseparably connected with the resurrection and life of our Redeemer, illustrated by the ever-flowing stream that proceeds from the throne of God, the water of the river of life." Ellen White,15Letter 87, 1894.
Notice that Ellen here points out that Jesus' blood does not itself do anything; it is only as we appreciate it's value and by faith claim its virtue that we are cleansed by it. It's like we explained before: it is only by learning the truth of the sinfulness of sin, on one hand, and the abundance of the love of God, on the other, that we are cleansed from sin through repentance. As we learn these lessons and turn away from sin, we will be cooperating with Jesus and his work of atonement in the heavenly sanctuary. And we should definitely want to do this, not only for our sake, but for Jesus sake. By forsaking sin and persuading others to do the same, we should work to hasten the day when there will be no more need for shedding of blood and no more need for cleansing from sin - the day when all is restored and made new.
"Why Do So Many of Us Still Struggle With Sin?
Sabbath School Lesson for 2022, 1st Quarter
In These Last Days: The Message of Hebrews
Week 3
This week's lesson is entitled, "Jesus, Our Faithful Brother," and discusses Jesus' humanity. The memory text for this week is Hebrews 2:14, but let's read verses 14-18 for context: Hebrews 2:14-18 reads,
14Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. 16For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. 17Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.
So, in order to help us when we are tempted, the Son of God became human – like us in every way – so he could experience exactly what it is to be human, even partaking of our suffering. In fact, his suffering went well beyond the level of suffering common to most humans. He did this so that he could relate to our trials and temptations, even the most extreme trials and temptations, so that he would be able to help us overcome the various trials and temptations that we go through. And it is by helping us successfully overcome that our sins are atoned for.
Obviously, since Jesus wants to help us overcome the temptations we face, He wants to work a change in us - he wants to form our characters to be like his character so that we won't sin. Notice, Jesus' work as a priest is not about changing God's perception of our sin; it is about changing us so we don't sin. This is made clear later in Hebrews where it says,
"For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment..." (Heb. 10:26).
Clearly, Jesus' sacrifice isn't to make God view us as righteous while we continue to sin. Instead, through Jesus' sacrifice, we are supposed to receive a knowledge of the truth which will lead us to not sin. If we go on sinning anyway, no sacrifice will save us.
This should make it obvious that overcoming sin isn't optional. People, even SDAs, often think that overcoming sin is just something nice we should do for Jesus (if we can) in return for something nice he did for us. But the fact is, we cannot be saved in our sins; to be saved is to be saved from our sins. As we just read here in Hebrews, Jesus utterly sacrificed himself, he gave up his very being to become a human with all our weakness and suffering in order to understand exactly what we face for the very purpose of helping us overcome our various temptations. To view overcoming sin as optional, as something we don't need to actively pursue, is simply to discard Jesus' ministry on our behalf - it is to fail to appreciate his sacrifice. Consider this statement from Ellen White:
"Satan is constantly trying to make the salvation of the soul an indifferent matter,—that man has but little to do to secure this priceless treasure. This is why eternal things are not discerned; this is why there is a cheap, spurious article passed off as religion. There are many who say, 'I am saved; I am sanctified; I have nothing to do, Jesus has done it all,' and they care not to search the Scriptures or to hear the voice of God in his word, or to be doers of the word. This belief is like a building erected on sliding sand. It is a refuge of lies, and the storm and tempest sweep it away, and 'great,' says Christ, 'is the fall of it;' because the false hopes were built so high, and the builder felt so perfectly secure. It was a delusive hope. Our faith, the hope we claim of one day obtaining immortality, calls for the stretch of every muscle, and the strain of every nerve. We cannot be saved in sin and in transgression of God’s law. We cannot be saved in indolence and inactivity. We must search the Scriptures if we would have spiritual enlightenment. We have to wrestle against pride and against the human passions, which the light of God’s word reveals. Every soul saved will present unwearied petitions for the assistance of Jesus Christ, and will use thankfully and appreciate all the helps which God has provided for them." Ellen White, YI August 31, 1887, par. 8
Tuesday's discussion question asks:
"Since we have the promise of victory through Jesus, why do so many of us still struggle with sin? What are we doing wrong, and, more important, how can we start living up to the high calling we have in Christ?" Sabbath School Quarterly Lesson, Tuesday, January 18, 2022 Could it be that the reason it's so common to continue sinning and to fail to live up to our high calling is that we view it as unessential? If we can be saved and yet keep sinning, why would we put in the effort? If our theology tells us that God looks at us as righteous even while we are sinning and that eternal life is assured to us just by our "acceptance" of Jesus as our substitute in God's sight, is it any wonder that keep struggling in sin? Jesus came, according to Hebrews - so He could help US change. He came as a human like us in every way in order to know how to better help us obey and understand the messages of God. He wanted to know how to most effectively connect with us so we would understand the truth, and change. Ellen White said,
"The work of transformation from unholiness to holiness is a continuous one. Day by day God labors for man's sanctification, and man is to co-operate with Him, putting forth persevering efforts in the cultivation of right habits. He is to add grace to grace; and as he thus works on the plan of addition, God works for him on the plan of multiplication. Our Savior is always ready to hear and answer the prayer of the contrite heart, and grace and peace are multiplied to His faithful ones. Gladly He grants them the blessings they need in their struggle against the evils that beset them." Ellen White, Acts of the Apostles, p. 532
By misunderstanding the purpose of Jesus becoming our human high priest, we misunderstand what Jesus is doing in the heavenly sanctuary for us. If we don't know that Jesus is trying to help us stop sinning, then we won't be likely to join our efforts with his to that end. Most don't realize that we even need to stop sinning, or that we even could stop sinning. We tend to think that Jesus is the only one who needs to do work – fixing everything between us and God in heaven and just waiting for Him to return and fix everything between us and our fellow man here on earth. We need to understand the high priesthood of Jesus so that we can become righteous priests ourselves and and effectively minister the true gospel to others. And if you think overcoming sin is just too hard, stop looking to yourself, but look instead to Jesus. Follow the admonition in Hebrews 12:1-4
"...let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin."
This admonishes us to look to Jesus and take him as our example. He was tempted in all points and yet strove against sin, resisting even to the point of bloodshed. He did not fail, nor was he discouraged and we need to consider Him and His endurance so that we don't become weary. He authored our faith and He will finish it so long as we put our trust in him unto the end.
For a deeper study on this, see "The Lost Gospel of Christ," by Trent Wilde.
"So, What Is the Doctrine of the 'Personality of God'?"
Sabbath School Lesson for 2022, 1st Quarter
In These Last Days: The Message of Hebrews
Week 3
This week's lesson is entitled, "The Promised Son." It goes over Hebrews 1:1-5, and delves into the aspects of each of these verses. Interestingly, the Sabbath School class in Battle Creek in a special session after the General Conference for June 27, 1868 covered these same verses, and the deliberations of the class were printed for the edification of the readers of the Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, July 6, 1868. Let’s check out what they had to say about Hebrews 1:3. It reads,
"[Hebrews chapter 1] Verse 3. Who, being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. ... Q. What is meant by 'the express image of his person?' A. Material resemblance. A strong proof-text in favor of the personality of God." Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, July 6, 1868.
The 1868 lesson informs us that Hebrews 1:3 was a strong proof text for the personality of God for the pioneers. Notice how this lesson explains the statement that Jesus was the express image of the Father's person. It says this refers to material resemblance. In other words, it isn't about Jesus' character being like his Father's character; it's about Jesus' material form being like his Father's material form. And this statement of material resemblance is said to be a proof-text in favor of "the personality of God." In our lesson today, we would like to show that the truth of the personality of God is one of the pillar doctrines of the SDA movement, and we'll read some of the many, many quotes from Ellen and the pioneers on this subject.
While it might be unexpected to learn that the SDA faith has a pillar doctrine regarding the personality of God, that's only because it has been obscured for so long. But the fact that there is such a pillar doctrine is plainly stated by Ellen White in Manuscript 62 paragraph 14, which reads,
"Those who seek to remove the old landmarks are not holding fast; they are not remembering how they have received and heard. Those who try to bring in theories that would remove the pillars of our faith concerning the sanctuary, or concerning the personality of God or of Christ, are working as blind men. They are seeking to bring in uncertainties and to set the people of God adrift, without an anchor." Ellen White, Ms62-1905.14
The fact that one of the pillars of the SDA faith is about the personality of God indicates that its something the SDA people had a clear understanding of, at least at the time the pillars were established. Ellen White also implied this same thing by saying that the truth of the personality of God is everything to us as a people. This is what she said to J.H. Kellogg when he started introducing ideas that undermined the truth of the personality of God. Here are Ellen's words to him: "You are not definitely clear on the personality of God, which is everything to us as a people." Ellen White, Lt300-1903.7
So, what is the doctrine of the Personality of God? As we're about to read from the pioneers, the SDA doctrine of the personality of God is that God is a person and what it means for Him to be a person is that He's a strictly material Being with a body and parts in the shape of man, occupying both space and time, just like we humans do. The pioneers state it thus. This first quote is from D.M. Canright, in an article he wrote with the personal help of James and Ellen White.
Now what is the meaning of the word person? … It does not and cannot mean an immaterial, intangible, shapeless, formless essence. It always means an intelligent being, having a body, shape and form. … The God of the Bible is not a mere principle, an essence or soul of the universe, but he is a real, personal being, having a body, form, shape, and local habitation… ─ Elder D. M. Canright, The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Sept 12, 1878
That's really clear, isn't it? God is a person and what it means to be a person is to be a material being with a body, parts, shape, etc. Here's another one from pioneer A.C. Bourdeau:
…God is a material, organized intelligence, possessing both body and parts. — A. C. Bordeau, Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, June 8, 1869
Next, J.N. Loughborough said:
…Christ is said to be “the image of the invisible God.” …Christ has a body composed of substance, flesh and bones; and he is said to be, “the image of the invisible God.” … God is a person with a body and form. — J.N. Loughborough, Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, September 18, 1855
And consider this statement from James White:
God is a person, for he made man in his own image; so is his only begotten son … they both exist with body and parts … the ancient of days, or God, has a head, and hair on his head, and a body… – James White, A Letter from James White to Enoch Jacobs, originally published in The Day-Star, January 24, 1846
These quotes are just a tiny sample of a large body of literature produced by the early SDAs on this subject of the personality of God. They all taught the same thing; God is a real physical person. It's also worth noticing that this sample we've given contains quotes from the first four decades of the SDA movement.
Now let's take a look at something Ellen said in a sermon on Sabbath, March 24, 1906 in St. Helena, California at the Sanitarium Chapel. Ellen White told the congregation,
"We are on the very same foundation; we have the same evidence, and we worked on it day and night, to know in regard to the sanctuary question, and in regard to the personality of God, and of Christ, and of all these subjects.
There were only a few of us, but we would get together, and we would begin in the early evening, and work through the truth, and then they would get to the point: 'We cannot handle that; we must give it up; we cannot handle it.'
The power of God came upon me then, and light was reflected through the frail instrument, and it was brought out clearly. Again and again, and over and over, as it was opposed, there substantiated; every species of doctrine that we had been holding.
Now, you see, it is not possible for us to let go of this and take hold of some of these new suppositions and fallacies. We cannot do it. And I mean to present before the people, how God has wrought.
You have listened to Elder Loughborough. He was with us from almost the first of our work, and he knows and he understands these things, and others understand them." Ellen White, Ms138-1906.40-44
Here Ellen explains how the truths regarding the sanctuary and the personality of God were established. The early pioneers would gather together and labor to understand the truth by study and prayer. When they got to the point where they couldn't handle the subject - they couldn't understand it, the power of God would come upon Ellen and light would shine to make the subject clear. In other words, these pillars, and remember she specifically mentions the personality of God here, were established by God. And then, Ellen points to J.N. Loughborough as one who understands these truths and how they were established; and she said others understand them too. Well, we just read a quote from Loughborough where he plainly explained the personality of God saying, "God is a person with a body and form." And the other pioneers we quoted said the same thing. This statement we just read from Ellen in 1906 clearly and overtly endorses this teaching of the personality of God and makes it clear that it was just as true, and just as firmly established, in 1906 as it was back when it was established. Since Ellen specifically mentioned Loughborough as one who understood this subject, let's look at another sample of what he had to say.
In his book, "An Examination of the Scripture Testimony Concerning Man's Present Condition and His Future Reward or Punishment," Loughborough, wrote,
"Daniel speaking of God, calls him the Ancient of days. Daniel 7:9. 'And the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool.' This personage is said to have a head, and hair; this certainly could not be said of him if he was immaterial and had no form. But Paul’s testimony in Hebrews 1:3, ought to settle every candid mind in regard to the personality of God. Speaking of Christ, he says, 'Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his (the Father’s) person.' Here then it is plainly stated God has a person. Christ is the express image of it."
J.N. Loughborough, "An Examination of the Scripture Testimony Concerning Man's Present Condition and His Future Reward or Punishment" (1855), p. 31. MPC 31
As mentioned earlier, we can see here that Loughborough, like the 1868 Sabbath School lesson, is using the word "personality" to refer to God's physical personhood, not his character traits. Loughborough shows that God the Father has a physical form, a material body with parts, and he uses Daniel 7:9 and Hebrews 1:3 as proof-texts.
And now for the grand finale! Let's take a look at a statement where Ellen White summarizes what she had often seen in vision regarding the personality of God. She even recounts a time when she asked Jesus himself about God the Father's "personality." She asked him plainly whether his Father has a form, and Jesus answered plainly. Ellen wrote,
"I have frequently been falsely charged with teaching views peculiar to Spiritualism. But before the editor of the Day-Star ran into that delusion, the Lord gave me a view of the sad and desolating effects that would be produced upon the flock by him and others in teaching the spiritual views. I have often seen the lovely Jesus, that He is a person. I asked Him if His Father was a person and had a form like Himself. Said Jesus, 'I am in the express image of My Father’s person.' I have often seen that the spiritual view took away all the glory of heaven, and that in many minds the throne of David and the lovely person of Jesus have been burned up in the fire of Spiritualism." Ellen White, Early Writings, p. 77
Here she relates a conversation she had with Jesus in which Jesus himself uses the wording in Hebrews 1:3 to communicate that His Father has a physical body like He has.
As we read from Ellen earlier, the pillars of our faith, including the truth of the personality of God were established by God. The pioneers would study a subject with a deep desire to learn, but when they would come to the point where they couldn't understand, God would give Ellen visions like those she recounted in what we just read. Through these experiences, the SDA people came to understand that God is a physical person having a body and parts and a local habitation. This is something all early SDAs understood and accepted and they wrote many articles explaining this subject from the scriptures. At the end of the 19th century, when some like J. H. Kellogg started abandoning this truth, Ellen pointed back to her early visions and to the pioneers who understood and wrote about this truth. This is a vital pillar of our SDA faith, and while most today seem to be unaware of it, it is as important as ever. If we remember these truths we have nothing to fear, but if we forget them, we have lost our way, or rather God's way, and need to urgently seek it and find it.
For more on this, please see our study, "Materialism, Our Forgotten Foundation," by Trent Wilde, for more quotes from the pioneers on the physical personhood of God, and also check out "The Personality of God" tag cloud on the bdsda website as well.
"Inspiration and the Common Understanding of the Day" Sabbath School Lesson for 2022, 1st Quarter
In These Last Days: The Message of Hebrews
Week 2
This week's lesson is entitled, "The Message of Hebrews." We thought we would take a look at a topic that was presented in this week's teacher's guide regarding the authorship of Hebrews. It reads,
"As we noted last week, the early New Testament Christians read Hebrews as a letter from the apostle Paul. Strictly speaking, however, the writer of the book of Hebrews appears to be anonymous. Speculation has given rise to at least 13 possible authorial candidates, such as Luke, Barnabas, Jude, Stephen, Priscilla and Aquila, Apollos, or even Mary, the mother of Jesus. What we safely can infer about the authorship from the epistle itself are four facts: First, the author must have been well educated. Hebrews has, by far, the best Greek of the New Testament. Second, the author was acquainted with Jewish methods of interpreting Scripture, such as gezerah shavah (argument by analogy), and other such techniques. Third, the author is steeped in the Jewish Scriptures. Hebrews has the most extensive use of Old Testament quotes. Fourth the author knew Timothy (Heb. 13:23). All of these facts speak in favor of, rather than against, Pauline authorship. Certainly, the author chose to remain anonymous for undisclosed reasons. His anonymity may even suggest that his message is more important than his identity. At the same time, we would be remiss if we failed to acknowledge that Ellen G. White attests to Pauline authorship of the book of Hebrews. Moving forward in faith in that divine disclosure, we shall refer throughout the lessons with confidence to the author as Paul." Sabbath School Teacher's Comments, January 1-7, 2022, page 29.
So, it is true that the author of Hebrews does not identify himself or herself. The recipients of the epistle are not identified either. The authorship of this work has been debated for almost 2000 years! Origen, an early church scholar from the second to third century is quoted as saying, "God only knows" who wrote Hebrews. (See Eusebius, Historia Ecclesiastica, 6.25.11-14). Also, both John Calvin and Martin Luther doubted that Paul wrote it. With the limited information we have, we just cannot say for sure who wrote Hebrews.
But the teacher's lesson notes that Ellen White speaks of Paul as the author of Hebrews. Since Ellen White was an inspired messenger, does this mean that the mystery is solved? Today we are going to look into this, and deal with the interesting phenomenon of inspiration.
Ellen wrote,
"The Bible is written by inspired men, but it is not God's mode of thought and expression. It is that of humanity. God, as a writer, is not represented. Men will often say such an expression is not like God. But God has not put Himself in words, in logic, in rhetoric, on trial in the Bible. The writers of the Bible were God's penmen, not His pen. Look at the different writers.
It is not the words of the Bible that are inspired, but the men that were inspired. Inspiration acts not on the man's words or his expressions but on the man himself, who, under the influence of the Holy Ghost, is imbued with thoughts. But the words receive the impress of the individual mind. The divine mind is diffused. The divine mind and will is combined with the human mind and will; thus the utterances of the man are the word of God." Ellen White, Manuscript 24, 1886 in 1SM 21
So, although inspiration is a function of the Spirit of God, the mode of thought and expression in inspired writings is "that of humanity." And this applies not only to the inspired writings in the bible, but of Ellen White's inspired writings as well. Basically, God inspires a prophet's mind with thoughts, and then the prophet communicates these thoughts using their own words unless the words are spoken by an angel, in which case they are enclosed in quotation marks. Ellen said,
"Although I am as dependent upon the Spirit of the Lord in writing my views as I am in receiving them, yet the words I employ in describing what I have seen are my own, unless they be those spoken to me by an angel, which I always enclose in marks of quotation." Ellen White, The Review and Herald, October 8, 1867
So, the prophet's job is to communicate God's message as clearly as possible. God is trying to get His message to humanity through a human messenger of His choosing. But, this task is a nuanced one. Why?
Well, for starters, we have a limited understanding of many things. Our understanding of the way things are has changed over the millennia. As the Angel Gabriel told Daniel, in the time of the end, knowledge will increase (See Daniel 12:4). "The truth is an advancing truth," (See Review and Herald, March 25, 1890) as Ellen said. Knowledge can increase or even decrease, depending on various factors. Truths well known in one age may become lost to later generations.
To these points, people, including prophets, are subject to the context of their day. For example, in ancient times people thought the earth was flat and covered by a solid sky dome, with a sun that moved across this firmament. Because of this context, the inspired prophets of God in that day often wrote with this understanding of the cosmos as a given. In order for God's message to be received by the human mind of that day, especially if it had nothing to do with the nature of the cosmos, God made allowances for human ignorance in such matters.
For example, in Psalm 19, David used the common understanding of the way "the heavens" operated to communicate truths about God's word. In David's day, the common perspective was that the earth was stationary and the sun moved on a circuit across the sky-dome that was pitched over the earth like a tent (see Psalm 19:4-6). So while David was inspired by the Holy Spirit to communicate the truth that God's word enlightens us like the sun enlightens the earth, God accommodated the common understanding of the day in order to reach the hearts and minds of the original audience of the Psalm. Whether the sun moves around the earth or the earth moves around the sun was, and is, incidental to main point of the Psalm; that is, that the word of God is like the sun - enlightening, glorious, and greatly to be desired.
When communicating a God-inspired message, God's messengers naturally do so using language and imagery reflective of the common ideas of their own time. What is the main point or message of Psalm 19? Is it that the sun moves around the earth, or is it that the word of Yahweh is enlightening, glories, and dependable? Of course, the latter. The fact that the Psalmist expressed the common assumption that the sun revolves around the earth wasn't a divine disclosure that that is how the cosmos actually works.
But sometimes people mistake these incidental statements expressing "the common understanding of the day" for a God-given fact, when actually it is the prophet's main point that is the God-given message.
So, when it comes to Ellen White's statements concerning Hebrews, was her main point that Paul was the author? Or was it something else? We can know the answer by simply looking at what she wrote. For example, if she wrote something like, "I was shown that Paul was the author of Hebrews," then we would know that this is a divinely revealed message to us. But it wouldn't even have to be that overt. She could have also said something like, "We can know Paul is the author of Hebrews because of x, y, and z," where she would give specific reasons for us to responsibly believe this as a fact. Basically, she would have to in some way actually teach, as her point of focus, that Paul wrote Hebrews. But this isn't what we find in Ellen's writings. Instead, what we find is that she simply speaks of Hebrews as though it was written by Paul in the process of making some other point. For example, in Great Controversy pages 411 and 413, she says things like "And Paul says that the first tabernacle..." and then she quotes from Hebrews. Her point here isn't at all that Paul wrote Hebrews; her point is that there is a real physical sanctuary in a real physical heaven and she's quoting Hebrews to support her point. If tradition had settled on the idea that Hebrews was written by Barnabas and if Ellen assumed that authorship instead, her point in the Great Controversy wouldn't be affected in the least.
Now, to be clear, we are not saying that Paul did not write Hebrews, but we are saying that we do not have enough evidence to believe this as a resolved conclusion. And we are also saying that Ellen White did not make the authorship of Hebrews one of her main points in any of her writings. She only mentions Paul as the author of Hebrews incidentally while making her main points. As you probably know, many people have the common understanding that Paul wrote Hebrews, both today and in Ellen's day. To get off into the weeds about the authorship of Hebrews could have detracted from the main message God was trying to give, especially if the authorship of Hebrews had little to do with the main message, and also if there is little if any historical evidence to back it up.
Ellen White said,
"In regard to infallibility, I never claimed it; God alone is infallible. His word is true, and in Him is no variableness, or shadow of turning." Ellen White, Letter 10, 1895. 1 SM 37.4
God surely knows who wrote Hebrews, but He has not made it a special point of revelation to us today. And for whatever reason, the author of Hebrews did not make it a special point of revelation either. The letters known to be from Paul start off with an introduction of himself as the author, and also an identification of his audience. As we have already mentioned, neither of those things happen in "Hebrews." But who knows, maybe Paul just didn't do that for this particular letter? If it even is a letter – maybe it is a written sermon, or a written record of a spoken sermon.
Ultimately, there just isn't conclusive evidence as to who wrote Hebrews, and since Ellen White never made a special point of the subject, we shouldn't take her words that incidentally refer to Paul as the author as a "divine disclosure" that Paul, in fact, wrote it. Ellen didn't teach that Paul wrote Hebrews any more than the Psalmist taught that the sun revolves around the earth. If we don't take geocentrism as a divine disclosure, we shouldn't take the Pauline authorship of Hebrews as such either. The bottom line is, we shouldn't try to make something that God didn't show into something that God did show.
For more on the nature of inspiration, please see our studies linked here.
"Jesus Could Have Come By Now!"
Sabbath School Lesson for 2022, 1st Quarter
In These Last Days: The Message of Hebrews
Week 1
This quarter's study is called, "In These Last Days: The Message of Hebrews." This week's lesson is entitled, "The Letter to the Hebrews and to Us." Thursday's lesson is, "These Last Days," and will be the focus of our study today.
The lesson makes the comparison between the first century audience contemporary to the author of Hebrews and the readership of Hebrews today. It notes that the author of Hebrews, (who the Sabbath School lesson portrays as Paul, but we must note that this is not actually stated in the book itself, it is just a theory), believes that he is living in "the last days," not unlike what we believe today. The lesson also points out that the author of Hebrews compares the believers' experience in the first century with the experience of those on the verge of the promised land in Moses' day. Interestingly, Ellen White did the exact same thing in her writings in regard to the experience of the SDAs of her day, which we will get to in a minute. But first, the lesson reads,
"There is a very important element that the apostle emphasizes that adds urgency to his exhortation: the readers are living in the very 'last days' (Heb. 1:2) and the promises are about to be fulfilled (Heb. 10:36– 38). It is interesting, as we will see, that throughout the document Paul compares his audience with the desert generation that stood right before the border of Canaan, ready to enter into the Promised Land. He reminds them, '"For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry"' (Heb. 10:37, NKJV). And then he encourages them: 'We are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul' (Heb. 10:39, NKJV). This last exhortation reminded the readers, and us, about the dangers that the people of God have historically experienced right before the fulfillment of the promises of God."
Sabbath School Quarterly Lesson, Thursday, December 30, 2021
Many have noticed that quite a few prominent people in the movement of God throughout the ages have thought they were living in the "last days."
First, as the Sabbath School lesson points out, we have the author of Hebrews believing this, as written in Hebrews 1:1-2 which reads,
1God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;
But we can see this in other places as well. Peter in Acts 2 clearly applies Joel's prophecy concerning the "last days" to the experience that the 120 in the upper room were having at the third hour of the day on Pentecost.
John the Revelator also seemed to believe that Jesus was coming in his day. In Revelation 22:20 even Jesus himself is recorded as saying,
20 He who testifies to these things [Jesus] says, “Surely I am coming quickly.”
Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Ellen White also clearly thought she was going to experience the second coming of Christ in her day. In "Last Day Events," pages 36-37, there is compiled a collection of her statements that indicate that she was under the impression that Christ was to come in her day.
So, what accounts for the fact that all these thought Jesus was going to return in their day, and yet he didn't? Were they just wrong, or is there some other reason? Well, as we've evidenced in other videos, history unfolds in a free, or undetermined, way. Too often, people think that God has already planned exactly how and when everything in history is going to happened, as though the exact date of the second coming was predestined before the world was even made. In reality, God interacts with the humanity in a very dynamic and genuine way. Our choices actually make a huge difference, even to such an extent that we can hasten or delay the second coming. There have been times in the past when the second coming was genuinely close to happening, but then was delayed through...well...let's let Ellen explain that. Here something she said regarding just such a delay...
Ellen wrote,
"The history of ancient Israel is a striking illustration of the past experience of the Adventist body. God led his people in the Advent movement, even as he led the children of Israel from Egypt. In the great disappointment their faith was tested as was that of the Hebrews at the Red Sea. Had they still trusted to the guiding hand that had been with them in their past experience, they would have seen of the salvation of God. If all who had labored unitedly in the work in 1844 had received the third angel's message, and proclaimed it in the power of the Holy Spirit, the Lord would have wrought mightily with their efforts. A flood of light would have been shed upon the world. Years ago the inhabitants of the earth would have been warned, the closing work completed, and Christ would have come for the redemption of his people." Ellen White, The Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. 4, p 291
Here we see that just like the author of Hebrews, Ellen compares the Advent experience with that of the ancient Israelites. But beyond that, Ellen speaks of a rejection of the third angel's message by many Millerites. Many Adventists from the Millerite movement did not receive these messages as they should have, and therefore they did not finish the gospel work and Christ did not "come quickly" back in the years following the Great Disappointment as He obviously wanted to.
And I think all will admit that according to Revelation, Jesus wanted to come again very soon to take unto himself his church in the first century. But as we all know, apostasy was taking root, and the very truths that formed the pillar and foundation of the faith of Jesus and the apostles were being corrupted and ultimately rejected. This rejection of the light of truth is what delayed the second Advent and instead brought about the dark ages. Light and darkness are constantly battling. Light to hasten the completion of the plan of redemption and darkness to delay it. In fact, this has been going on since before Christ's first advent and is an impart part of why Christ came. Consider this statement from Ellen White:
"Cherubims and seraphims, angels and archangels, are watching the battle that is going on in this life. Between whom? The Prince of life and the power of darkness. And what does God do? He shows us how we must do, how we must conduct the battle. He left the royal courts, laid aside His royal robe, and clothed His humanity with divinity. He became a man among the sons of men, and here He walked the world as what? A representative of the love of God, an example that we may study, a character that we may imitate every phase of, that we may see that He did not live to glorify Himself, but He lived to point to God. He came to live the law of God, because Satan was bringing his power to bear upon men, and his lying fallacies were all the time pressing upon them." Ellen White, 1 SAT 241.1
Jesus came at a dark time in earth's history. As we can read here from Ellen, fallacious thinking ruled the day; that is, logical fallacies and cognitive biases reined in their minds. And we hope you can see that the same thing is true today. We are in the midst of a misinformation crises. And it isn't just in the world; it's in the church too. We clearly need a wake up call.
Ellen told us over a century ago that we rejected the message of Justification by faith, which is the third age's message in verity, (see The Review and Herald, April 1, 1890). Basically, in 1888 we, like the early church and the Millerites at large, also rejected God's message.
Concerning the message of justification by faith which was rejected in 1888, Ellen wrote,
"The Lord designed that the messages of warning and instruction given through the Spirit to his people should go everywhere. But the influence that grew out of the resistance of light and truth at Minneapolis, tended to make of no effect the light God had given to his people through the Testimonies. 'Great Controversy,' Vol. 4 has not had the circulation that it should have had, because some of those who occupy responsible positions were leavened with the spirit that prevailed at Minneapolis, a spirit that clouded the discernment of the people of God.
"The work of opponents to the truth has been steadily advancing while we have been compelled to devote our energies in a great degree to counteracting the work of the enemy through those who were in our ranks. The dullness of some and the opposition of others have confined our strength and means largely among those who know the truth, but do not practice its principles. If every soldier of Christ had done his duty, if every watchman on the walls of Zion had given the trumpet a certain sound, the world might ere this have heard the message of warning. But the work is years behind. What account will be rendered to God for thus retarding the work?" Ellen White, GCDB February 28, 1893, par. 4-5
A few years later, Ellen said,
"If those who claimed to have a living experience in the things of God had done their appointed work as the Lord ordained, the whole world would have been warned ere this, and the Lord Jesus would have come in power and great glory." Ellen White, RH October 6, 1896, par. 7
Clearly, the 1888 message was rejected and it resulted in a delay in Christ's coming. In fact, he could have already returned were it not for rejecting this light. If we rejected the message in 1888 and in the years that closely followed, why do we think we have an understanding of the message today? After all, if we've accepted the 1888 message and have been proclaiming it as a church for many decades, shouldn't Christ have returned by now? Did Ellen ever say we ever accepted the message of Justification by faith in her lifetime? Not to our knowledge. So, why do we think we are in need of nothing?
Jesus said,
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!" Matthew 23:37
Jesus said this, of course, right before they killed him. Their minds were so dark with misinformation that they did not recognize their messiah. The cause of this? It was the rejection of the God-breathed messages Jesus Himself had sent by the Holy Spirit through the prophets over the years. Nothing has changed. If Christ is not here, it is because we have done the same thing. We have failed to accept the light God has given. This is true of old light as well as new light. Ellen said,
"In every age there is a new development of truth, a message of God to the people of that generation. The old truths are all essential; new truth is not independent of the old, but an unfolding of it. It is only as the old truths are understood that we can comprehend the new. . . . But it is the light which shines in the fresh unfolding of truth that glorifies the old. He who rejects of neglects the new does not really possess the old." Ellen White, Christ's Object Lessons, p. 127
How urgently, then, should we seek new light God has given to build on the old. We believe that the Spirit of Prophecy (the testimony of Jesus by the Holy Spirit through a prophet) is still active in the SDA church today, although unrecognized by most. Mercy still tarries, but time is short. We invite you to look deeper into this claim by reading our study, "The King of Crises in the Seventh-day Adventist Church," by Trent Wilde.