Believes Unasp: Recent Episodes
Believes Unasp
The Living God of Wonders Read Joshua 3:6–17. What does the miraculous crossing of the Jordan tell us about the nature of the God whom we serve? ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ The crossing of the Jordan River is described in Joshua 3:5 by the Hebrew word niphla'ot, “miracles, wonders,” which usually refers to the mighty, supernatural acts of God that demonstrate His uniqueness (Ps. 72:18, Ps. 86:10). Later, the Israelites meditated on these acts and, as a result, praised the Lord (Ps. 9:1) and proclaimed Him among the nations (Ps. 96:3). The plagues in Egypt (Exod. 3:20, Mic. 7:15), the crossing of the Red Sea, and God’s guidance in the wilderness (Ps. 78:12–16) were recounted as such wonders. The authors of the Bible knew and testified to the fact that the God who created the world was never limited or constrained by His creation. Nothing is impossible (Heb. “too wonderful”) for Him to accomplish (Jer. 32:17). His name and His nature are wonderful (Judg. 13:18), and He is beyond our comprehension. In contrast with the gods of the other nations, who cannot save (Ps. 96:5, Isa. 44:8), the God of the Bible is a “living God,” active and alive, whose followers can trust Him in anticipation of His interventions on their behalf. The prophet Zechariah used the same term (from the same root as niphla'ot) as he envisioned a future for Israel after the Babylonian exile. He saw that Jerusalem would be fully rebuilt with old people sitting in the streets of the city and boys and girls playing there. To the seemingly incredulous inhabitants of the capital still displaying the signs of its destruction, Zechariah declared: “ ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: If it is marvelous in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, should it also be marvelous in my sight, declares the Lord of hosts? Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will save my people from the east country and from the west country, and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem’ ” (Zech. 8:6–8, ESV). Read Luke 18:18–27. How does Jesus’ answer to His disciples encourage you to trust God with what seems impossible?
Crossing the Jordan
(page 23 of Standard Edition)
Read Joshua 3:1–5 and Numbers 14:41–44. Why did God ask the
Israelites to specially prepare for what was about to happen?
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This is the first time the ark of the covenant is mentioned in the book of
Joshua. Until this point in the Old Testament narrative, the ark has appeared
in the context of the sanctuary (Exod. 40:21) in Israel’s journey from Sinai
(Num. 10:33–36), and at the unsuccessful attempt to begin the conquest of
Canaan (Num. 14:44). It was the most sacred object in the Israelite sanctuary,
and it held three objects, each expressing Israel’s special relationship with
God: (1) the tablets containing the Ten Commandments; (2) the rod of Aaron,
the high priest; and (3) a jar of manna (Exod. 16:33, Heb. 9:4).
The ark and the preparations to cross the Jordan reminded the
Israelites that they were not entering Canaan in their own manner and
time. The conquest would be successful only if they followed God’s
way and timing. God—who is described as enthroned above the cheru
bim that were covering the ark of the covenant (Exod. 25:22, Num.
7:89) and whose movements are identified with the ark’s movements—
enters Canaan in front of the Israelites as the One leading the conquest.
The term translated “sanctify” (Josh 3:5) or “consecrate” (ESV)
refers to a purification process similar to what the priests followed
before beginning their service in the sanctuary (Exod. 28:41, Exod.
29:1) and what the people of Israel carried out prior to God’s revela
tion at Sinai (Exod. 19:10, 14). This consecration involved the laying
aside of sin and the removal of all ritual impurities. The same command
appears in Numbers 11:18, relating to an impending miracle of God.
Such a preparation also was required before battles were fought in a
war (Deut. 23:14). Before God can fight for Israel in battle, they must
show their allegiance to Him and trust in Him as their Commander.
The miracle of crossing the Jordan was going to prove to the Israelites
that the Lord’s promise to drive out these people in the land could be
trusted. He who could secure a dry passage through the Jordan also could
grant them the gift of the land.
God does not always part the Jordan. His interventions are not
always so obvious. How do you think we can develop the spiritual
preparedness to experience and discern God’s interventions on
our behalf?
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Read for This Week’s Study: Joshua 3, Num. 14:44, Luke
18:18–27, Joshua 4, John 14:26, Heb. 4:8–11.
Memory Text: “ ‘For the Lord your God dried up the waters of
the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the Lord your God did
to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over, so that
all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is
mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever’ ” (Joshua 4:23,
24, ESV).
The police officer signaled. John had to pull over. The officer
asked for his driver’s license, and, at that moment, it dawned on
John that he had left his wallet, with his driver’s license, in the
office. John explained what happened, and the officer asked about his
job. John responded that he was a professor. As the officer gave John a
ticket, he told him not to think of it as a fine.
“It’s tuition,” he said. “When people want to learn something, they
pay tuition. This is your tuition to learn not to forget your license when
driving. Have a good day, professor!”
As human beings, we are prone to forget things that are not con
stantly in our sight. We forget to return phone calls, respond to emails,
water the plants, send birthday wishes, and so forth. The list could go
on. Forgetting about our spiritual needs, however, could have more
severe consequences than simply receiving a fine, especially because
we are dealing with what is, literally, our eternal destiny.
Let’s study the crossing of the Jordan by the Hebrews and see what
we can learn from their experiences.
- Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, October 18
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Crossing the Jordan,” pp. 482, 483, in Patriarchs and Prophets.
After this story of Rahab and the spies, the rest of the Old Testament is silent about her until she emerges again in the genealogy of Jesus. It is stated that she became the wife of Salmon (from the tribe of Judah), the mother of Boaz, and the mother-in-law of another remarkable woman mentioned in the same genealogy: Ruth (Matt. 1:5; compare with Ruth 4:13, 21). Through her faith in God, the prostitute of Jericho, condemned to total destruction, becomes a significant link in the royal line of David and a progenitor of the Messiah. This is what God is able to accomplish through faith, even if it might be only the size of a mustard seed (Matt. 17:20, Luke 17:6). “And her [Rahab’s] conversion was not an isolated case of God’s mercy toward idolaters who acknowledged His divine authority. In the midst of the land a numerous people—the Gibeonites—renounced their heathenism and united with Israel, sharing in the blessings of the covenant. “No distinction on account of nationality, race, or caste, is recognized by God. He is the Maker of all mankind. All men are of one family by creation, and all are one through redemption. Christ came to demolish every wall of partition, to throw open every compartment of the temple courts, that every soul may have free access to God. His love is so broad, so deep, so full, that it penetrates everywhere. It lifts out of Satan’s influence those who have been deluded by his deceptions, and places them within reach of the throne of God, the throne encircled by the rainbow of promise. In Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free.”—Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, pp. 369, 370. Discussion Questions: Ê Discuss the whole question of “second chances” (and more) and how we are to extend them to others. At the same time, how can we also be careful not to abuse this concept? Think, for example, about a woman in an abusive relationship, in which she is counseled to keep going back (“grace”), only in some cases for the abuse to continue? How do we find the right balance here? Ë Discuss Rahab as a model of faith. How can we appreciate the openness of people to God, even if their lifestyle is far from the biblical ideal? How is it possible to appreciate their faith while not condoning some of their practices? Ì Joshua managed to combine justice and grace in a practical way in order to solve the predicament caused by the deceit of the Gibeonites and through his own negligence in not consulting the Lord. Think of a situation in your life that requires both justice and grace. What are some practical ways of merging the two?
Surprising GraceRead Joshua 9:21–27. How did Joshua’s solution combine justice withgrace?________________________________________________________________________________________________________Even if the people of Israel had wanted to attack the Gibeonites, theywould not have been allowed to pursue it because of the oath sworn bythe rulers of the congregation. The Israelite leaders acted according to theprinciple that an oath, as long as it does not involve wrongdoing or criminalintent (Judg. 11:29–40), is binding, even if it leads to one’s personal hurt.In the Old Testament, being prudent before making an oath and thekeeping of one’s oath are seen as virtues of the pious (Ps. 15:4; Ps.24:4; Eccl. 5:2, 6). Because the oath was made in the name of the Lord,the God of Israel, the leaders could not change it.With the solemn oath taken by the leaders of Israel, the destiny ofIsrael was indissolubly linked to that of the Gibeonites. In fact, throughtheir designation as woodcutters and water carriers for the house ofGod (Josh. 9:23), the Gibeonites became part and parcel of Israel’sworshiping community. Joshua’s answer, in contrast to the verdict ofthe rulers of Israel, which decreed servitude for “all the congregation”(Josh. 9:21, NKJV), transformed the curse into a potential blessing forthe Gibeonites (compare with 2 Sam. 6:11).The subsequent history of Gibeon testifies to the high religiousprivileges the city enjoyed, as well as to their loyalty to God’s people.The vow taken by Israel remained in place down through generations,so that when the Israelites returned from the Babylonian captivity, theGibeonites were among those who helped rebuild Jerusalem (Neh.7:25). Their actions will have eternally positive consequences but onlybecause of God’s grace.What might have happened had the Gibeonites disclosed their identityand requested mercy as Rahab did? We don’t know, but we cannot ruleout the possibility that even a consultation of God’s will could haveresulted in an exemption of the Gibeonites from destruction. God’sultimate purpose is not to punish sinners but to see them repent and togrant them His mercy (compare with Ezek. 18:23 and Ezek. 33:11). Thesubterfuge of the Gibeonites has to be perceived as an appeal to God’smercy, to His kind and just character. It was the Canaanites’ refusal torepent and their defiance of God’s purposes that led to the decision fortheir annihilation (Gen. 15:16). God honored the recognition of Hissupremacy by the Gibeonites, as well as their desire for peace rather thanrebellion, and their willingness to give up idolatry and to worship theonly true God.
Conflicting ValuesRead Joshua 9:1–20. What are the similarities and differences betweenthe story of Rahab and that of the Gibeonites? Why are they meaningful?________________________________________________________________________________________________________This chapter of Joshua starts by informing us that the Canaanitekings who usually ruled over small city-states decided to create acoalition against the Israelites. By contrast, the inhabitants of Gibeondecided to establish a covenant with Israel.In order to trick the Israelites into making a covenant with them, theGibeonites resort to the scheme of being ambassadors from a foreigncountry. According to Deuteronomy 20:10–18, God made a distinctionbetween the Canaanites and people who lived outside the PromisedLand.The word translated as “craftily” or “cunningly” can be used with apositive meaning, denoting prudence and wisdom (Prov. 1:4; Prov. 8:5,12), or negatively, implying criminal intent (Exod. 21:14, 1 Sam. 23:22,Ps. 83:3). In the case of the Gibeonites, behind their treacherous actionlies a less-destructive intent of self-preservation.The speech of the Gibeonites is strikingly similar to that of Rahab.Both acknowledge the power of Israel’s God, and both acknowledgethat Israel’s success is not simply a human feat. In contrast to otherCanaanites, they do not rebel against Yahweh’s plan to grant the landto the Israelites, and they admit that the Lord Himself is driving thesenations out before Israel. The news of the deliverance from Egypt,and the victories over Sihon and Og, prompt both Rahab and theGibeonites to seek an alliance with the Israelites. However, instead offully acknowledging their willingness to surrender to the God of Israel,as Rahab does, the Gibeonites resort to a subterfuge.The law of Moses made provisions for learning the will of God insuch cases as this (Num. 27:16–21). Joshua should have inquired forthe will of the Lord and avoided the deception of the Gibeonites.The fundamental duty of a theocratic leader, and of any Christianleader, is to seek God’s will (1 Chron. 28:9, 2 Chron. 15:2, 2 Chron.18:4, 2 Chron. 20:4). By neglecting it, the Israelites were compelledeither to violate the fundamental conditions of conquering the land or tobreak an oath made in the name of the Lord, which was equally binding.How often have you found yourself struggling between whatappears to be two conflicting biblical values?
New AllegianceRead Joshua 2:12–21 and Exodus 12:13, 22, 23. How do the texts in Exodushelp you understand the agreement between the spies and Rahab?________________________________________________________________________________________________________Rahab’s deal is very clear: life for life and kindness for kindness. Theword cḥesed (Josh. 2:12), “loving-kindness,” has a richness of meaning that is difficult to express in one word in other languages. It refersprimarily to covenantal loyalty, but it also carries the notion of faithfulness, mercy, benevolence, and kindness.The words of Rahab also are reminiscent of Deuteronomy 7:12, whereYahweh Himself swore to keep His cḥesed toward Israel. “ ‘Then it shallcome to pass, because you listen to these judgments, and keep and dothem, that the Lord your God will keep with you the covenant and themercy [cḥesed] which He swore to your fathers’ ” (Deut. 7:12, NKJV).Interestingly enough, the same chapter (Deuteronomy 7) prescribesthe ban (cḥerem) on the Canaanites. Here is Rahab, a Canaanite who isunder the ban, and yet she claims, by her emerging faith, the promisesthat were given to the Israelites. As a result, she is saved.The first image that inevitably comes to mind related to the conversation of the spies with Rahab is the Passover at the Exodus. There,in order for the Israelites to be protected, they had to stay inside theirhomes and mark the doorposts and lintels of their houses with the bloodof the sacrificial lamb.“ ‘ “Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where youare. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shallnot be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt” ’ ” (Exod.12:13, NKJV; see also Exod. 12:22, 23).“By obedience the people were to give evidence of their faith. So allwho hope to be saved by the merits of the blood of Christ should realizethat they themselves have something to do in securing their salvation.While it is Christ only that can redeem us from the penalty of transgression, we are to turn from sin to obedience. Man is to be saved by faith,not by works; yet his faith must be shown by his works.”—Ellen G.White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 279.In that case, the blood was a sign that saved them from the destroyingangel of God. As God spared the lives of the Israelites during the lastplague in Egypt, the Israelites were to save Rahab and her family whendestruction reached Jericho.What powerful gospel message can we find in these two stories?What gospel lessons can we take from them?
Value in Unexpected PlacesRead Joshua 2:2–11, Hebrews 11:31, and James 2:25. What do thesetexts tell us about Rahab?________________________________________________________________________________________________________Central to Rahab’s story is the lie told to protect the spies. In considering her lie, we have to realize that she was embedded in a societythat was extremely sinful, which finally led to God’s decision to judgethat society (Gen. 15:16, Deut. 9:5, Lev. 18:25–28). While it is true thatthe New Testament commends her faith, a careful analysis of the NewTestament references to Rahab’s act reveals that none endorse everything about her, and none validate her lie.Hebrews 11:31 confirms her faith in casting her lot with the spiesinstead of choosing to hold on to a corrupt culture. James 2:25 commends her offer of lodging to the two Israelite spies and for giving themdirections on how to return by a safe route. In the middle of a decadent,corrupt culture and Rahab’s own sinful lifestyle, God, in His grace, sawa spark of faith through which He could save her. God used what wasgood in Rahab—which was manifest faith in Him and in her choice tobelong to His people—but never commended everything she did. Godvalued Rahab for her exceptional courage, for her brave faith, for beingan agent of salvation, and for choosing Israel’s God.After seeing what was happening, she declared, “ ‘For the Lord yourGod, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath’ ” (Josh. 2:11,NKJV). It’s significant to hear a Canaanite woman acknowledging thatYahweh is the only God, especially on a roof where, in her pagan religion,prayers were usually offered to what they believed were celestial deities.The expression of Rahab is previously found only in the context ofGod’s exclusive right to receive worship (Exod. 20:4, Deut. 4:39, Deut.5:8). Her words bear witness to a premeditated, conscientious choice toacknowledge that the God of the Israelites is the only true deity. Her confession demonstrates her understanding of the close relationship betweenGod’s sovereignty and the judgment under which Jericho is doomed.Her moral choice recognizes that, in light of Yahweh’s judgment,there were only two possibilities: to continue in rebellion against Himand be annihilated, or to choose to surrender in faith. By choosing theGod of the Israelites, Rahab became an example of what could havebeen the destiny of all the inhabitants of Jericho had they turned toIsrael’s God for mercy.What does this story teach us about how God must have ourultimate allegiance?
Second ChanceRead Joshua 2:1, along with Numbers 13:1, 2, 25–28, 33; and Numbers14:1–12. Why would Joshua start the mission of conquering thePromised Land by sending out spies?________________________________________________________________________________________________________The place from which the two spies are sent out, Acacia Grove (Josh.2:1, NKJV), is called Shittim in the Hebrew text, and it reminds us oftwo negative episodes of Israel’s history.The first is another spy story (see Numbers 13) featuring the sameessential elements: the commissioning of the spies, the secret incursionof the spies into enemy territory, the return of the spies, the report ofthe spies on their findings, and the decision to act based on the report.The other incident at Shittim represents one of the most defiant, idolatrous violations of the covenant by the Israelites, when, at the instigationof Balaam, they committed a debauchery with the Moabite women andworshiped their gods (Num. 25:1–3, Num. 31:16). In this context, the nameShittim creates an extraordinary tension as to the outcome of the wholestory. Will it be another failure on the border of the Promised Land? Or willit lead to the long-awaited fulfillment of the ancient promise?Read John 18:16–18, 25–27, and John 21:15–19. What parallels do youdiscover between the second chance given to Israel as a nation andto Peter as a person?____________________________________________________God is a God of second chances (and more!). The Bible callsthe second chance (and more!) “grace.” Grace is simply receivingwhat we don’t deserve. The teaching of the Bible is replete with theconcept of grace (compare with Rom. 5:2, Eph. 2:8, Rom. 11:6).God graciously offers everyone the possibility of a fresh start (Titus2:11–14). Peter himself experienced this grace and urged the churchto grow in grace (2 Pet. 3:18). And the news gets even better: weget much more than a second chance, don’t we? (Where would webe if we didn’t?)Think about the experience of the Israelites when they were givena second chance to enter Canaan and about the grace extendedto Peter after he denied his Lord. What should these incidentsteach us about how we should extend grace to those who need it?
Read for This Week’s Study: Josh. 2:1–21, Num. 14:1–12,Heb. 11:31, Exod. 12:13, Joshua 9, Neh. 7:25.Memory Text: “By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish withthose who did not believe, when she had received the spies withpeace” (Hebrews 11:31, NKJV).W hy did I do this again?” Perhaps we all have uttered thesewords. After all, not only history repeats itself but so doeshumanity in general and we ourselves in particular. Howoften we repeat the same mistakes!Israel has a second chance of entering the Promised Land, and Joshuatakes this mission seriously. The first step is to have a clear understanding of what Joshua and the Israelites face. Joshua sends out two spiesto bring him valuable information about the land: its defense system,military preparedness, water supplies, and the attitude of the populationin the face of an invading force.One would think that God’s promise of giving the land to theIsraelites did not require any effort from them. Yet, the assurance ofdivine support does not override human responsibility. Israel stands atthe border of Canaan for a second time. Expectations run high, but thelast time Israel was at the border and had the same task, it resulted inan abysmal failure.This week, we will explore two of the most fascinating stories of thebook of Joshua and discover their relevance to our faith today. God’sgrace has infinite possibilities to surprise us.* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, October 11.
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Crossing the Jordan,” pp. 481, 482, in Patriarchs and Prophets; “Entering the Promised Land,” p. 175, in The Story of Redemption.
“In His promises and warnings, Jesus means me. God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that I by believing in Him, might not perish, but have everlasting life. The experiences related in God’s word are to be my experiences. Prayer and promise, precept and warning, are mine. . . . As faith thus receives and assimilates the principles of truth, they become a part of the being and the motive power of the life. The word of God, received into the soul, molds the thoughts, and enters into the development of character.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 390, 391.
“There is not a point that needs to be dwelt upon more earnestly, repeated more frequently, or established more firmly in the minds of all than the impossibility of fallen man meriting anything by his own best good works. Salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ alone.”—Ellen G. White, Faith and Works, p. 19.
Discussion Questions:
- However different the circumstances of Joshua’s life and experiences are from ours, what spiritual principles can we take away from his life that we can apply to our own? Why, though, must we always keep context in mind when seeking to draw analogies?
- Discuss the relationship between God’s promises and our obedience to Him. How do they complement one another? What are the dangers of overemphasizing one at the expense of the other? That is, what danger comes from pushing the law at the expense of eclipsing grace? Or of pushing grace at the expense of eclipsing the law?
- Based on this week’s lesson, how would you define success from a biblical perspective? What place does prosperity have in a Christian definition of success?
- Imagine how Joshua might have felt, following Moses. What promise did God give to him that surely sustained him (see Josh. 1:5) in his great responsibilities?
Prosperous and Successful
Read Joshua 1:7–9 together with Genesis 24:40, Isaiah 53:10, and Psalm 1:1–3. Based on these texts, what does it mean to be prosperous and successful?
The Hebrew term tsalakh, “prosperous” (Josh. 1:8), implies the satisfactory accomplishment of what was planned, or a state of favorable circumstances.
The term sakal, “to be wise” (Josh. 1:8), can be translated as “prosper” or “be successful.” But it also can mean “to be prudent,” or “to act wisely.” It occurs frequently in Job, Proverbs, and Psalms, where the notion of success is closely tied to acting wisely by fearing God and obeying His Word.
According to this insight, success is not necessarily defined as material prosperity, though it does not exclude it. Success has to be seen as a state of harmony with the spiritual values and principles that lie at the foundation of God’s created world and that are expressed in His law.
Indeed, trust in God’s promises, especially the promise of salvation by faith alone and obedience to His law, are not opposed to each other. They represent two sides of the same coin.
To pit faith in the atoning and sacrificial death of Jesus in our behalf against obedience to God’s law is to set up a false and dangerous dichotomy. Law and grace always go together. Only a superficial understanding of the role of the law can lead to perceiving “law” and “grace” as opposites.
The writers of the Old Testament had a high regard for the law and considered it a source of delight (Ps. 1:2; Ps. 119:70, 77, 174). Rightly regarded and used, the law will lead to a deeper understanding of one’s own sinfulness (Rom. 7:7) and the need for Christ’s righteousness (Gal. 3:24).
Read Romans 3:31. What does this text say about the relationship between law and faith?However much by God’s grace you seek to keep His law, how has your own experience shown you your need for Christ’s covering righteousness?
Be Strong!
Read Joshua 1:7–9. Why did the Lord need to emphasize twice to Joshua that he had to be strong and courageous?
The task set before Joshua seemed to involve overwhelming challenges. The walls of the Canaanite cities appeared unassailable, and the population of the land was trained for battle. In contrast, the Israelites, simple nomads, did not possess even the most primitive war machines to take on the fortified walls. History tells us that not even Egypt, the superpower of those times, was able to gain a steady foothold in Canaan.
Yet, the summons to be strong and courageous is not related here only to battle morale or to war strategies. Courage and strength are needed to stay faithful to the Torah and its specific requirements, which defined Israel’s covenant with Yahweh.
Today, in fulfilling the mission entrusted to them by Christ, Christians face similar challenges to those of Joshua; that is, they are required to wage war against their own sinful tendencies, against the principalities, powers, and rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the hosts of wickedness. Like Joshua, they also have the assuring promise of Christ’s presence: “ ‘I am with you always, even to the end of the age’ ” (Matt. 28:20, NKJV). As the supporting presence of the Lord was enough to expel the fears of Joshua, so it should be sufficient to banish our doubts and anxieties today.
The challenge for us is to know the Lord well enough to trust in Him and His promises to us. And that is why, more than anything else, we need that personal relationship with Him.
Read Ephesians 6:10–18. Although we are not required today to participate in military combat, how can we apply the words of encouragement given to Joshua in our daily spiritual struggles?The crucial question for us today is not different from that faced by Joshua. How can we stay true to what the Word of God says, even when it is unpopular or inconvenient to do so?
Heirs of Promises
In Joshua 1:2, 3, the Lord tells Joshua that He is giving the land to them. On the other hand, He said that He has already given it. What does that mean?
The land was a gift from the Lord, who was the real Owner. In Joshua 1:2, 3, two different forms of the verb “to give” are used, reflecting two significant aspects of inheriting the land. The first form expresses the process of giving the land. Only the Transjordan territories had been occupied by Israel. Most of the Promised Land had yet to be taken.
In Joshua 1:3 the verb is used in its perfect form, giving the impression that the land had already been given to them. When God is the subject of such actions, the form is called “the prophetic perfect.” And that’s because what He promises in His Word is an assured fact that can be trusted as present reality.
The pronouns in verse 3, “you” and “your,” are plurals, so the promise is given not only to Joshua but to the entire people of Israel. The reference to the promise given to Moses conveys the continuity of God’s cause.
Also, the word kol, “all,” “every,” is repeated numerous times in the first chapter. The pervasive presence of this noun expresses the totality and integrity that is crucial to attaining the objective set before Joshua. There has to be a perfect alignment between God, Joshua, and the people of Israel in order to assure success in the forthcoming conquest of the Promised Land.
Read Joshua 1:4–6 and Hebrews 6:17, 18. At that moment, the Promised Land was exactly that, a promise. Yet, God calls it an inheritance. What does it mean to be the heirs of God’s promises?
There is nothing magical about the promises of God. They don’t have the power in and of themselves to secure their own fulfillment. The guarantee that they will come true lies in the presence of God, who says: “ ‘I will be with you.’ ” Indeed, the presence of the Lord was crucial for the survival of the Israelites. Without it, they would be only one among many nations, with no special call, identity, or mission (Exod. 33:12–16). The presence of the Lord was everything Joshua needed to succeed.
Nothing today has changed, which is why we have the promise of Jesus found in Matthew 28:20.
Cross! Take! Divide! Serve!
Read Joshua 1. What can we learn about the structure of the book from this opening chapter?
The first chapter of Joshua serves as an introduction to the whole book. It comprises four speeches that correspond to the four main sections of the book: crossing (Josh. 1:2–9); conquering (Josh. 1:10, 11); dividing the land (Josh. 1:12–15); and serving by obedience to the law (Josh. 1:16–18).
The book of Joshua can be seen as a series of divine initiatives. In each initiative, God gives a specific task to Joshua related to the conquest of Canaan, and each one is acknowledged later in the book after its successful completion.
In the end, the promises of God concerning the occupation of the land would be fulfilled. From then on, the responsibility of keeping the land lay in the hands of the Israelites and could be accomplished only by true faith and by the obedience that such faith always engenders.
God’s initiatives, expressed by the three verbs—“cross,” “take,” and “divide”—receive a proper answer in the people’s obedience, which derives from the final initiative: service.
Again, the book of Joshua has four major sections, each characterized by a specific concept expressed through the dominating presence of a Hebrew word:
- Cross (Josh. 1:1–5:12)
- Take (Josh. 5:13–12:24)
- Divide (Josh. 13:1–21:45)
- Service (Josh. 22:1–24:33)
Thus, the structure of the book itself conveys its main message: God’s initiatives are not accomplished automatically. Instead, they require the faithful response of His people. That is, with all that God has done for us—including all that He has done for us that we cannot do for ourselves—we are then called to do what we can do for ourselves, which is to obey what God commands us to do. This is how it has always been in all of sacred history, and it remains so today. For example, the depiction of God’s end-time people in Revelation 14:12 conveys the same idea: faith in what God has done for us, which leads to obedience.Think about some of the promises of God’s Word that are most precious to you. What kind of response do they require on your part in order for them to become reality?
A New Moses
Read Deuteronomy 18:15–22 and Joshua 1:1–9. Why is it significant that the book of Joshua starts by echoing a promise related to what would happen after the death of Moses?* Your notes will not be saved!
Though Moses had died and a new leader, Joshua, had been appointed by God, there are parallels between them. Both men had been told by God that they would lead their people into the land promised to their fathers. As the Lord said to Joshua: “ ‘Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses’ ” (Josh. 1:3, NKJV). Joshua would finish the work that had originally been given to Moses. He was, really, a new Moses.
At this stage, the promise that God would “raise up” a prophet similar to Moses (Deut. 18:15) is only a possibility rather than an accomplished reality. The opening words of the book of Joshua remind the reader of this promise and, at the same time, create an expectation to see it fulfilled.
Though dead, Moses still dominates the first chapter. His name is mentioned ten times, Joshua’s only four. Moses is called “the servant of the Lord” while Joshua is referred to as “Moses’ assistant” (Josh. 1:1, NKJV). It will take a lifetime of faithful service and obedience for Joshua to receive the title “servant of the Lord” (Josh. 24:29, NKJV).
Even if the first chapter of Joshua captures a transition between two great leaders of Israel, the most important character is the Lord Himself, whose words open the book and whose guidance dominates it. There are no questions as to who is the real leader of Israel.
Read Exodus 33:11; Numbers 14:6, 30, 38; Numbers 27:18; Numbers 32:12; Deuteronomy 1:38; Deuteronomy 31:23; and Deuteronomy 34:9. What do these texts tell us about Joshua? Your notes will not be saved!Throughout the ages, God has called men and women to lead His people. Why is it crucial to remember who the true, invisible leader of the church is?*
4th Quarter 2025 - Second Chances - Joshua - Adult Bible Study Guide
The book of Joshua marks the transition from the leadership of Moses to that of Joshua. It begins with the story of Israel entering the Promised Land and ends with them settled in that land.
Joshua, indeed, had a tough act to follow. That is, to pick up where Moses (Moses!) had left off. But that challenge was only the beginning. Joshua was to do what Moses never did: take the nation, after 40 years in the desert, across the Jordan and into Canaan, according to the promise that God had made to the fathers years before.
“Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel” (Josh. 1:2, NKJV).
The key to the whole story is found here, in the Lord’s words to Joshua: they are going to enter “the land which I [YHWH] am giving to them.”
Yes, Joshua is not going to do it alone, but only through the power and guidance of the Lord, who would have brought the people into the land a generation earlier had they obeyed their end of the covenant. Unfortunately, they didn’t, and thus, they met the consequences of their actions.
The fact is, during the preceding 40 years, Israel had faced the negative side of the covenant. Because of their rebellion against God, the entire adult generation who experienced the wonders and marvels of Exodus, with the exception of Caleb and Joshua, perished in the desert. Four of the five books of Moses deal with what happened to them as they wandered in the desert all that time. Now, under the leadership of Joshua, the second generation was ready to undertake the challenges of possessing the land.
“Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, ‘Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall cause them to inherit it. And the LORD, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed” (Deut. 31:7-8, NKJV).
The promises of God given to the patriarchs and to Moses are about to be fulfilled. There is an air of expectation and excitement, a new beginning for the people, long homeless and dispossessed. God has been faithful in delivering them from slavery, and He can certainly be trusted to fulfill His promises concerning the land.
“The primary purpose of the book of Joshua is to describe Israel’s entry into the land of promise, the conquest of the land, and its division among the tribes. This purpose underlies the message of the book, namely, the faithfulness of God in fulfilling the promise of land made to Abraham. The book emphasizes God’s faithfulness to His covenant promises (Josh. 21:43-45).”—Andrews Bible Commentary (Andrews University Press, 2020), p. 365.
We will discover together that, though the book of Joshua was written more than three millennia ago, the world in which we live today is not so different from that of Joshua’s in its spiritual challenges. We might face challenges of a different nature, but nonetheless there are challenges, especially spiritual ones, that threaten our security, our faith, and the fulfillment of the mission God has entrusted to His people. The example of Joshua will certainly inspire us to claim God’s promises concerning our times and to succeed through His power, as he did.
Main Author and Contributor: Barna Magyarosi currently serves as the executive secretary of the Inter-European Division and chair of the Biblical Research Committee of the division. He began his service for the church as a pastor and department director in the South Transylvania Conference, Romania, and continued as a theology teacher and president of Adventus University, Romania.
Read for This Week’s Study: Deut. 18:15–22; Joshua 1; Heb. 6:17, 18; Eph. 6:10–18; Ps. 1:1–3; Rom. 3:31.Memory Text: “ ‘Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go’ ” (Joshua 1:7, NKJV).
Benjamin Zander, musical director of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, taught a music interpretation class. He observed the students’ anxiety as they faced the evaluation of their performance. In order to put the students at ease and to open them up to their full potential, he announced on the first day of the class that everybody would get an “A.” This “A” was not an expectation to live up to “but a possibility to live into.” The only requirement was for the students to write a letter within the first two weeks of the semester but dated at the end of the class. The letter explained why they deserved the high grade.
The book of Joshua is about new possibilities. Moses, who had dominated 40 years of Israel’s history, belonged in the past. The Exodus from Egypt and the wanderings in the wilderness, tragically marked by rebellion and stubbornness, had ended. A new generation, willing to obey God, was ready to enter the Promised Land, not as an expectation to live up to but as a possibility to live into.
Let’s study the way God opened up a new chapter in Israel’s life and how He can do the same in ours, as well.
* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, October 4.
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, "The Tabernacle and Its Services," pp. 353-358, in Patriarchs and Prophets.
"The construction of the sanctuary was preceded by a divine act of redemption, namely, the deliverance of Israel from the enslaving power of Egypt. This, in turn, was followed by God’s willingness to enter into a permanent covenant relationship with His people. He would be their God, and they would become His people (Ex. 6:7). The way they would relate to Him and to each other was defined by the covenant law. The tabernacle was indeed a place of meeting, a place where God and humans came together. It was only after redemption and the establishment of permanent union with God through the covenant that the people had access to God in His dwelling place."—Andrews Bible Commentary: Old Testament, "Exodus" (Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Press, 2020), p. 226.
Meanwhile, Ellen G. White describes the purpose of the sanctuary services: "Thus in the ministration of the tabernacle, and of the temple that afterward took its place, the people were taught each day the great truths relative to Christ’s death and ministration, and once each year their minds were carried forward to the closing events of the great controversy between Christ and Satan, the final purification of the universe from sin and sinners."—Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 358.
- Central to the worship services in the sanctuary was the shedding of blood. All sorts of animals were sacrificed, and their blood was used in almost all of the temple rituals. What did the blood symbolize, and what did all these sacrifices ultimately point to?
- However amazing it is that God, the Creator of the universe, would in the sanctuary dwell among His people, how much more astonishing is it that He would come to dwell among us as one of us, a human being. That itself would have been an amazing expression of love. But then to offer Himself as a sacrifice for sin—that is, to die in our behalf? What does this teach us about the character of God? Also, what does this teach us about how much God wants to see us saved into His eternal kingdom?
- Read Hebrews 8:1-6. What does it tell us about how the earthly sanctuary reflected what Jesus is doing for us now in the heavenly sanctuary?
Discussion Questions:
Jesus Tabernacled With Humanity
Read John 1:14. How is Christ’s incarnation compared to the tabernacle?
The incarnation of Jesus is a mystery as well as an exclusive science that the redeemed will study throughout eternity. The apostle John states that Christ, by taking upon Himself our body, revealed that He dwells with us in a tangible way. Jesus here in the flesh resembles the God of the Old Testament, who dwelt with the Israelites in the tabernacle at Sinai and in the wilderness as they journeyed to the Promised Land.
During His incarnation, Jesus tabernacled with humanity. What an unfathomable concession! The eternal God comes down to us, as one of us, in order to assure us that He truly is "Immanuel, God with us."
In Matthew 18:20, Jesus said that if two or three are gathered in His name, He will be there among them. Christ is with His people through the presence of the Holy Spirit. Christ invites His followers to be in close relationship with Him: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me" (Rev. 3:20, ESV).
Read Revelation 21:1-3. What is presented to us here?
The New Jerusalem will come down from heaven to the earth, and John declares: "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God" (Rev. 21:3, NKJV). There is no temple in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:22) because the whole city is the temple, God’s sanctuary. The city’s length, breadth, and height are equal (Rev. 21:16) as it was with the Most Holy Place in the sanctuary, which was in the shape of a cube, with all sides equal. For eternity, in a world without sin, death, or suffering, we will dwell in the immediate presence of our God.
Looking at what we have been promised in Jesus, how can we learn to endure to the end?
God’s Presence in the Tabernacle
Read Exodus 40:1-38. How did the Israelites discern God’s presence?
The final chapter of Exodus (Exodus 40) describes the dedication of the tabernacle and the gift of the Decalogue. The tabernacle’s dedication was the culminating event of Israel at Sinai.
God’s glory is His holiness, His character, and His loving presence, which is goodness itself (Exod. 3:5; Exod. 33:18-19). His presence filled the tabernacle and was visible as the cloud, the Shekinah glory. The book of Exodus ends with the emphasis on God’s guiding presence, in the cloud of the Lord by day, and in the cloud of fire by night. In a very real and powerful way, the Hebrew people were to experience not just the reality of God but also His close and abiding presence as He led them.
Moses set up the tabernacle on the first day of the first month in the second year (Exod. 40:2-17). He also consecrated everything—including Aaron and his sons to the priesthood (Exod. 40:9-13-15)—with anointing oil. He went through the Most Holy Place, the Holy Place, and the courtyard, dedicating it all to the Lord. Through this process, he inaugurated the services for the whole sanctuary (also see Num. 7:1). Only during the inauguration of the tabernacle was Moses able to enter the Most Holy Place; thereafter, the high priest alone could minister there each year on the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:2-17).
On three occasions, the biblical text states that the work was finished: (1) at the end of Creation week, God underlines the completion of His creative works (Gen. 2:1-3); (2) on the completion of the tabernacle, the biblical text declares: "So Moses finished the work" (Exod. 40:33); and (3) it is also expressed when Solomon finished the work on the temple (1 Kings 7:51).
This connection between the Creation and Israel’s sanctuary points to the cosmic dimension, the time when the Lord will dwell with the redeemed on the new earth in the New Jerusalem, which is "the Tabernacle of God" (Rev. 21:2-3; compare with Rev. 22:1-4).
God’s filling the tabernacle with His presence (Exod. 40:34) was the grand climax to events that began with the birth of Moses and continued with the defeat of the Egyptian gods during the 10 plagues, with the escape from Egypt, with the defeat of the Egyptian army, and, finally, with God’s revelation on Mount Sinai.
What are ways that, even now, you can experience the presence of God? Why is it important that you do so?
The Tabernacle Built
Skim through Exodus 36:8-39:31&version=NKJV" target="_self">Exodus 36:8-39:31. Why do you think such explicit instructions were given? What does this teach us about how God cares about every detail?
Moses carefully constructed the tabernacle, and the instructions he had received on Mount Sinai were diligently implemented. The biblical text enumerates the following: (1) the tabernacle with its different fabrics, curtains, and parts (Exod. 36:8-38); (2) the ark (Exod. 37:1-9); (3) the table for the showbread (Exod. 37:10-16); (4) the lampstand (Exod. 37:17-24); (5) the altar of incense (Exod. 37:25-29); (6) the altar of burnt offering (Exod. 38:1-7); (7) the basin for washing (Exod. 38:8); (8) the courtyard (Exod. 38:9-20); and (9) the material used for the tabernacle (Exod. 38:21-31). Exodus 39 continues with the descriptions of the ephod, breastplate, and other priestly garment pieces.
The tabernacle’s services were visual object lessons of the gospel, demonstrating God’s entire plan of redemption. The various ceremonies depicted (1) how God abhors and deals with sin, (2) how He saves repentant people, (3) what is the fate of the wicked, and (4) how He will secure a glorious future that will be without evil.
Two different but closely related services were performed in the sanctuary during the year: the daily and the yearly. This two-phase ministry illustrated how God treats sin and saves sinners. Through the daily sanctuary services, God assured those who repented that He forgave their sins and graciously offered them salvation. To receive this gift of salvation, a sacrifice had to be made, and these sacrifices pointed to the death of the Messiah, whose blood "cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7, NKJV). Confession of sin and accepting the robe of Christ’s righteousness was at the center of this gift (Ps. 32:1-2). In this way, the repentant sinner was assured forgiveness and could rejoice in salvation.
The yearly service, performed on the Day of the Atonement, demonstrated how God eradicates sin, solves the sin problem, and secures the sinless future (Leviticus 16, John 1:29). Presently, Christ’s twofold ministry in the heavenly sanctuary is another expression of God’s work for us (Heb. 7:25) and will bring the final solution to the problem of evil (Dan. 7:13-14, 22, 27; Dan. 8:14; Rev. 21:4).
The sanctuary was a place for worshiping God, praising Him, and giving thanks. Worship is about maintaining one’s relationship with God, who invites believers into that fellowship.
Offerings and the Spirit
Read Exodus 35:4-36:7. What important lessons are here for us today?
An abundance of various precious materials was needed to build the tabernacle, and it was accomplished by generous donations from God’s people, who gave from the bottom of their hearts, willingly and with joy. They gave gold, silver, bronze, fine linen, precious stones, unique fabrics, acacia wood, olive oil, spices, and many other needed items. People also donated their labor, because many specific objects needed to be crafted through their artistic and diligent work on the tent or its furniture. Also, tailors had to weave garments for the priests, who would be ministering in the tabernacle, and for the high priest, whose very elaborate garments included a breastplate and turban.
God had abundantly blessed the Israelites through the gifts that the Egyptians had given them on their departure from Egypt. Now it was their opportunity to give offerings of gratitude for God’s merciful and mighty leadership, and their hearts were moved to accomplish this work to His glory.
The people were giving with such joy and abundance that Moses was told: "The people are bringing more than enough" (Exod. 36:5, NIV). So, Moses had to stop their donations, "because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work" on the tabernacle (Exod. 36:7, NIV).
Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, God equipped and empowered the people to accurately build the tabernacle. Bezalel, Aholiab, and others were "filled … with the Spirit of God" (Exod. 35:31, NKJV), which means that they were endowed with skills, wisdom, and artistic knowledge to perfectly do all the work. It was an enormous project and had to be created exactly according to the model God showed Moses.
It is significant that the gift of the Holy Spirit was related to people’s different abilities and skills, which needed to be employed in building the tabernacle. To be filled with the Spirit is not a magical process and does not mean that special spiritual forces are within humans. To advance God’s cause and fulfill His mission, God empowers His followers to accomplish His objectives and to do it well.
What spiritual gifts have you received when you were filled with the Holy Spirit? Remember that the spiritual gifts can flourish only when you cultivate the fruits of the Spirit in your life (Gal. 5:22-23).
The Sabbath of the Lord
However much those opposed to the seventh-day Sabbath argue, falsely, that it was for the Jews only (the seventh day was set apart and sanctified in Eden [see Gen. 2:1-3]); or they argue, falsely, that the Jews first heard about it at Sinai (the Jews were keeping the Sabbath before Sinai [see Exod. 16:22-29])—there is no question that the Sabbath was very much a part of the life of the Hebrew people from the start.
Read Exodus 35:1-3. What truth was reiterated to the people here in the context of the building of the sanctuary?
The Sabbath and its message was, is, and always will be about God—who He is and what His mighty works are. The Sabbath reminds us of His creative and salvific acts and focuses our attention on God, who wants to dwell with His people. In this way, the Sabbath and the sanctuary point in the same direction: God’s presence in our lives.
The Sabbath of the Old Testament church conveys a manifold message. One may summarize its essence in five crucial points:
The Jews have a saying: More than Israel kept the Sabbath, the Sabbath kept Israel. Though we as Adventists probably wouldn’t express it like that, what important role does the Sabbath have in the life of our church family?
(1)God is the Creator,and the Bible opens with this stunning and cornerstone proclamation (Gen. 1:1). The vivid memorial of God’s creation is the Sabbath (Gen. 2:2-3;Exod. 20:8-11). From this truth—God as our Creator—all other biblical truths flow. (2)The Messiah will come, and this hope centers around God’s promise of the Seed, who would overcome the serpent (Satan) and bring victory over evil. (3)God will establish His kingdom, and the Sabbath is its foretaste.(4)Salvation comes from the Lord, and God’s people testify that God is their Savior and Redeemer and that salvation comes as a result of His grace and His grace alone. (5)God is the ultimate Judge of all people. Those who persistently defy and deny Him will have no future, but He freely gives eternal life to those who follow Him.
Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Exod. 35:1-36:7; Gen. 1:1; Exod. 36:8-39:31; Heb. 7:25; Exod. 40:1-38; John 1:14
Memory Text: "Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. … For the cloud of the LORD was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys" (Exod. 40:34-38, NKJV).
The principal task of God’s people in the Old Testament (as well as for us today) was to live in close relationship with the Lord; to worship and serve Him; and, also, to present the right picture of God to others (Deut. 4:5-8).
In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve hid from God because their sin made them afraid of Him. Sinfulness makes humans naturally afraid of God, and this fear twists our view of His character. The good news is that God takes the first step to span this rift and, on His initiative, He repairs the gap and the broken relationship. He calls the sinner back to Himself: "Where are you?" (Gen. 3:9, NKJV).
Thus, our primary mission is to present the correct character of God and His loving and righteous acts to those around us. When people are attracted to God and are convinced of His unselfish love toward them, they will give their lives to Him and obey what He tells them to do, knowing it’s for their own good.
The sanctuary demonstrated God’s closeness to humanity and revealed the greatest truths to them, which is how He saves those who come to Him in faith.
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, September 27.
Further Thought: Carefully read Ellen G. White, "Idolatry at Sinai," pp. 327-330, in Patriarchs and Prophets.
On a gloomy day, a father and son visited a cathedral. As they looked at the stained-glass windows with beautiful depictions of different biblical scenarios, the Sun suddenly began shining through the glass picture of people, brightly illuminating them with impressive light. The small boy asked his father: "Daddy, who are these people?" The father didn’t know much about Christianity, Christ, or His disciples but quickly replied: "These people are Christians." This dazzling picture stayed in the mind of the son. One day the boy’s teacher asked in class: "Children, do you know who Christians are?" The small boy remembered the bright picture in the cathedral and answered: "I know, Christians are shining people." Along the same line, Jesus said to His followers, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matt. 5:16, NKJV). Only shining people can be agents of change.
- "If we would humble ourselves before God, and be kind and courteous and tenderhearted and pitiful, there would be one hundred conversions to the truth where now there is only one."—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 9, p. 189. What powerful message is here for all of us about how our characters, our actions, and our attitudes impact our witness?
- Exodus 34:6-7 is rightly called the John 3:16 of the Old Testament. Why?
- How can you explain the beauty of God’s character, based on the self-revelation of God in Exodus 34:6-7, to people who ask who your God is?
- In class, let people discuss how the character and actions of people professing Christ impact their walk. That is, what has been the influence of those who were kind, gracious, humble, and forgiving on your own experience? At the same time, how have unkind, unforgiving, and arrogant "Christians" impacted your walk with the Lord?
Discussion Questions:
The Shining Face of Moses
Read Exodus 34:29-35. What was the cause of Moses’ radiant face?
After God revealed His character of love to Moses, Moses descended to Israel’s camp with a radiant face. Did Moses know at first that his face was radiant? Not at all. The closer one is to the Lord, the more keenly aware the person is of his or her imperfections compared to God’s holiness.
What was the cause for Moses’ transformation that resulted in his face becoming radiant? The reason was not in the simple fact that he was in God’s presence, because several times previously he had been with the Lord and his face did not become radiant after those encounters. However, if he had never been in the Lord’s presence, his face would never have shone. It was only when he understood God’s goodness and kindness, and he completely opened himself to God because of the beauty of His character, that Moses was transformed, and his face shone. Our hearts and minds can experience a change when we surrender to God and allow Him to be the Lord and King of our lives.
Read 2 Corinthians 3:18. How can Jesus gradually transform you into His image?
Paul compares Moses’ shining face with Jesus Christ and that the glory of Jesus (in whom God’s law and grace were personified) surpasses the glory of the law with Moses. Christ, together with His law, can be engraved in our characters only when we fix our eyes on Jesus (Heb. 3:1, Heb. 12:2) and only by the power of the Spirit of God (2 Cor. 3:12-18).
Moses is a model for us, demonstrating what God can do for us when we allow Him to change our characters and to mold us into His divine image. This is what Paul means when he talks about walking in the "newness of life" (Rom. 6:4).
What areas of your character need to reflect the character of God better? Probably every area, right? However, how can focusing on the Cross, and what it means, give you encouragement and assurance of salvation?
The Self-Revelation of God
Read Exodus 34:1-28. How did God reveal His glory to Moses?
Moses had to take with him two stone tablets like the first ones, which he had broken (Exod. 32:19). He was going to meet with the Lord on Mount Sinai for the seventh time. His previous climbs are mentioned in the following texts: (1) Exod. 19:3-7; (2) Exod. 19:8-14; (3) Exod. 19:20-25; (4) Exod. 20:21, Exod. 24:3; (5) Exod. 24:9-12-18; Exod. 32:15; (6) Exod. 32:30-31. Moses started his climb early in the morning.
Moses was now prepared for this glorious insight into God’s character. The beauty of God’s character is best explained in this stunning self-revelation of Himself. It is the most important description of who God is; it is the golden thread woven throughout the Bible (Num. 14:18, Neh. 9:17, Ps. 103:8, Joel 2:13, Jonah 4:2). The Lord’s proclamation here is the John 3:16 of the Old Testament. In crucial places, biblical authors apply, repeat, or expand on this self-proclamation of the living God, because God’s character must be correctly understood.
When Moses received the exceptional, unprecedented, and unparalleled explanation of God’s name, he bowed down and worshiped the Lord. When we get glimpses of God’s love, grace, mercy, compassion, goodness, faithfulness, forgiveness, holiness, and justice, we also are attracted to Him. It is when we see and admire His exceptional qualities that we start to love Him, a love that leads to the desire to serve and obey Him. Because He loves us, we love Him back (1 John 4:19).
In this self-revelation, God assures Moses that He will perform marvelous deeds for His people and lead them into the Promised Land. He renews the covenant with them, promising that other nations will see His majesty and awesome work. "Behold, I make a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the LORD. For it is an awesome thing that I will do with you" (Exod. 34:10, NKJV).
However, the Israelites needed to obey God and follow ten clear stipulations in order to secure their prosperity. Then Moses was asked by God to write the content of that covenant, which had already been broken (Exod. 34:27-28).
"Please, Show Me Your Glory"
After the golden calf apostasy, Moses interceded for God’s people and wanted to be assured that the Lord would continue leading them to the Promised Land. Deep down within his being, he also wanted to know the Lord better.
Read Exodus 33:18-23. How did God answer Moses’ request to see His glory?
"Please, show me your glory," Moses asked the Lord. In His mercy, the Lord did reveal His glory to him. However, when answering Moses’ request, God promised to show him His "goodness." One can safely conclude that God’s glory is His goodness, that is, His character (see also Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 576; Christ’s Object Lessons, pp. 414, 415; Prophets and Kings, p. 313).
"It is the glory of God to give His virtue to His children. He desires to see men and women reaching the highest standard."—Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 530. His glory is to embrace repentant sinners (see Prophets and Kings, p. 668) and supply everything needed to change them. At the same time, it is our "glory" to reveal His character in our own lives and to make it known to others.
This reflection of God’s character, His goodness, kindness, and tender love, must be seen in our actions. This way, we have a chance to be not only a blessing to the world but a shining light to the onlooking universe. As Paul states: "For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings" (1 Cor. 4:9, NIV). This cosmic dimension gives to our lives and service a meaning and purpose that we can barely begin to imagine.
In Romans 2:4, Paul says that "the goodness of God leads you to repentance" (NKJV). That is, it is God’s goodness and character pointed out by the Holy Spirit that convince people of their sinfulness and need of salvation. Indeed, when we look at the cross and know Who was there (the Lord Himself) and why He was there—because He loved us and this was the only way to save us—we have the greatest revelation possible of His goodness and character.
How much time do you spend focusing on the Cross and what it tells you about the character of God?
That I May Know You
Read Exodus 33:12-17. What did Moses ask the Lord to teach him? Why did he demand God’s presence to guide them?
Moses’ growth in the Lord was steady. He drew closer and closer to the Lord and sought to model himself after God’s image. One day when he was conversing with God in the tent of meeting, Moses suddenly realized that he did not know Him, and he uttered a specific prayer: "Show me now Your way, that I may know You" (Exod. 33:13, NKJV). Moses was aware of his deep need to understand God on a new level. He discovered that the more he knew the Lord, the more he did not know Him. He recognized his need and wholeheartedly desired to know Him better. God willingly granted Moses’ wish.
By looking at the experiences of Moses so far, we can observe how Moses was drawn into a deeper, intimate relationship with the Lord and how he grew spiritually.
First, Moses climbed the mountain and "went up to God" (Exod. 19:3, NKJV). Then he went "to the top of the mountain" (Exod. 19:20, NKJV) and afterward approached the cloud, "the thick darkness" in which God resided (Exod. 20:21, NKJV).
On another occasion, "Moses entered the cloud" where God was, and he stayed with the Lord 40 days and 40 nights (Exod. 24:18, NIV). During these 40 days, God gave Moses two precious gifts: (1) the gift of the Decalogue written by God Himself on the two tablets, also chiseled by Him (Exod. 24:12), and (2) the instructions on how to build and furnish the tabernacle (see Exodus 25-31).
Then he spent another 40 days and nights with the Lord, interceding for sinners (Exod. 32:30-32, Deut. 9:18).
Yet, even after all this, Moses desired to know God’s character more concretely, and God soon gave him special insights to understand who He is. This knowledge Moses desired was not a mere intellectual understanding of God but an experiential knowledge of His person.
No wonder centuries later Jesus would say: "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent" (John 17:3, NKJV). What better way for God to make Himself known to humans than by becoming a human Himself?
Do you know God, or do you just know about Him? What is the crucial difference between the two?
The Tent of Meeting
Read Exodus 33:7-11. Why did God ask Moses to build the tent of meeting?
We must not confuse "the tent of meeting" (built outside of Israel’s camp) with the tabernacle, which was later constructed and located in the center of the camp. We do not know how often Moses consulted with God in the tent of meeting. However, one thing we know for sure: Moses’ encounters with God resulted in a close friendship between them. "The LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend" (Exod. 33:11, NKJV). A friend is a person we can consult and openly discuss most everything with and trust that he or she will never reveal it to others. A friend is one of the nicest things to have and one of the nicest persons to be.
As recorded in Exodus 19-34, the story of Moses is very instructive of how God transforms our lives. How did God build a relationship with this outstanding leader? A study of the life of Moses shows how he grew in his knowledge, not only of God’s power but of His love and character. This is a crucial component of having a relationship with God.
Prior to arriving at Mount Sinai, Moses was mightily used by God even while being prepared for a special leadership role. In the land of Midian, while taking care of sheep, God inspired him to write two books: Job and Genesis. Then, in the dramatic event of the burning bush, he was called by God to lead Israel out of Egypt. He saw the defeat of the Egyptian gods and the mighty Egyptian army in the Red Sea. He observed for many weeks how God led Israel from Egypt to Sinai. After the experience resulted in his shining face, he led Israel for another 39 years, to the brink of the Promised Land. The biblical message states that Moses was a faithful servant of God (Deut. 34:5, Josh. 1:1), an unimpaired light in the darkness, a model prophet by whom others would be measured (Deut. 18:15-18). He was an agent of change, even though the people did not always follow his directions and words. When they did, they prospered.
We may learn from Moses, because his exceptional life story tells us what God can do when we let Him change us. What were some turning points in your walk with God, where you recognized how He worked powerfully in your life?
Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Exod. 33:7-34:35; Deut. 18:15-18; John 17:3; Rom. 2:4; John 3:16; 2 Cor. 3:18
Memory Text: "And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation" (Exod. 34:6-7, NKJV).
We all need to grow in our walk with God. Without growth, we are dead. The apostle Peter declares: "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen" (2 Pet. 3:18, NIV). We need to be willing to grow. We are daily in God’s university, where there is no graduation but a constant learning process. In each stage of growth, you can be perfect if you allow God to mold you into the person that He calls you, in Christ, to be.
Think of a school. If first graders learn how to read and count to 100, they receive a passing grade because their knowledge is perfect at that stage and scale of growth. However, if this same level of knowledge, and no more, was detected in a high schooler, it would indicate a colossal failure in his or her education. It is similar with our growth in the grace and knowledge of God. In each stage of our development, we can be as perfect in our sphere as Christ was in His.
This week we study how Moses, through knowing and following God’s instructions, was growing in his walk with the Lord.
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, September 20.
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, "Idolatry at Sinai," pp. 315-327, in Patriarchs and Prophets.
This week’s lesson presents a special focus on God’s work in believers. The Lord can do in us "immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine" (Eph. 3:20, NIV). We should not focus on ourselves and gratify our personal desires, because this leads to idolatry. Instead, our attention should be on God and His power. He gives the strength, which leads to a new and victorious life (Phil. 4:13; Jude 1:24-25).
"Love no less than justice demanded that for this sin judgment should be inflicted. God is the guardian as well as the sovereign of His people. He cuts off those who are determined upon rebellion, that they may not lead others to ruin. In sparing the life of Cain, God had demonstrated to the universe what would be the result of permitting sin to go unpunished. The influence exerted upon his descendants by his life and teaching led to the state of corruption that demanded the destruction of the whole world by a flood. … The longer men lived, the more corrupt they became. So with the apostasy at Sinai. Unless punishment had been speedily visited upon transgression, the same results would again have been seen."—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 325.
- Dwell more on the question at the end of Monday’s study. What are ways that we can worship the creation itself, as opposed to the Creator? For example, how can we seek to be good stewards of the earth and seek to protect the environment without worshiping it or making it into an idol itself?
- One may discern the gravity of the situation by the consequences and results of an action or by the seriousness of the reaction to the event. Why did Moses order the execution of those who stubbornly refused to repent and continued in their rebellion against God and His teaching?
- Why is substitutionary atonement the only correct model of atonement? Why is any theory of atonement that denies, or downplays, the substitutionary foundation of the gospel a grievous theological error? Read 1 Peter 2:24. How does it powerfully reveal the idea of Jesus as our Substitute?
Discussion Questions:
Intercession
Read Exodus 32:30-32. How far did Moses go in his intercessory prayer for sinners?
Because of their rebellion, terrible things happened in the Israelite camp, including the deaths of many people (Exod. 32:28). The following day, Moses declared to the people: "You have committed a great sin. So now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin" (Exod. 32:30, NKJV).
"Moses went back to the LORD and said, ‘Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written" (Exod. 32:31-32, NIV).
No wonder Moses is considered to be a type of Christ! Because of his intercessory prayer for sinners and his willingness to offer his own life for them, he surely reflected what Christ would do for all of us. What an exemplary compassion for transgressors! He demonstrated his total dedication to the Lord and His sacrificial love for people. The book of Exodus does not state how long Moses stayed with the Lord on the mount this particular time, but the book of Deuteronomy reveals that he was on Sinai this time for 40 days (see Deut. 9:18).
In Exodus 32:32, the word translated "forgive" is from a verb whose basic meaning is to "bear" or "carry," such as in Isaiah 53:4, which reads (about Jesus): "Surely He has borne our griefs" (NKJV). It is the same verb—translated "forgive" in Exodus 32:32, and "borne" in Isaiah 53:4. What a powerful insight into the process of salvation and forgiveness and what it cost God to save us.
Indeed, Moses was asking the Lord to "bear" the people’s sin, which of course is what He did at the cross thousands of years later. Exodus 32:32 shows not only the idea of substitutionary atonement but also who does the substituting: God Himself.
This text shows how forgiveness comes. God in Christ bore our sins, the only way we could be forgiven them. What a powerful expression of the plan of salvation and a demonstration to us and to the cosmos about what it cost God to save us.
Moses asks God Himself to bear the sins of the people, and eventually, in Jesus, He does just that. How do we wrap our minds around this amazing truth? What does it tell us about God’s love for fallen humanity?
God’s Righteous Wrath
Read Exodus 32:9-29. What was Moses’ reaction to God’s threat to destroy Israel?
While Moses was still on Mount Sinai, God said that He would destroy the rebels and make Moses’ posterity into a great nation. But that was not what Moses wanted. Instead, he pleaded with the Lord, pointing out that the Israelites were not Moses’ people—they were God’s. He, Moses himself, had not brought them out of Egypt, but God had done it through His mighty works. And so Moses pled with God, stressing His early promises to the fathers. Moses was truly working as an intercessor between God and humanity.
After the "LORD relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people" (Exod. 32:14, NKJV), Moses returned to them. There is no record—unlike what would happen in Exodus 34:29-30—that his face shone from the presence of the Lord. His face probably reflected his anger.
"When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain" (Exod. 32:19, NIV). Breaking the tablets containing the Decalogue was an external sign of breaking its content. God rebuked Moses for it, but later He commanded Moses to chisel two tablets to replace "the first tablets, which you broke" (Deut. 10:2, NKJV). God Himself would rewrite the commands.
Moses sharply rebuked Aaron for surrendering to the demands of the people. "What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?" (Exod. 32:21, NIV). Aaron tried to excuse his transgression by (1) blaming others, and (2) by magic: "I threw it [the gold] into the fire, and out came this calf!" (Exod. 32:24, NIV). What made matters worse was that Aaron himself had been greatly honored of God, having been given many privileges, which included going on the mountain with Moses and the 70 elders (Exod. 24:1).
What a dark irony! By claiming that a miracle had happened, Aaron wanted to trick his brother (notice how one sin leads to another; in this case, idolatry to lying). However, Moses was not fooled as he saw how wildly the people behaved. The negative consequences were evident, and Moses had to stop the rebellion immediately.
What should this story teach us about the power of intercessory prayer? Whom should you be praying for right now?
Corrupting Themselves
Read Exodus 32:7-8. Why did God send Moses back to the camp of Israel?
By turning to an idol, the Israelites were in the process of divorcing themselves from the true God, the One who had delivered them from Egypt. The Lord squarely placed the blame on them, saying that they have "corrupted themselves" (Exod. 32:7, NKJV)—even crediting this statue with having delivered them from Egypt. What a direct contradiction to what God said to them (Exod. 20:2)! This denial of God’s presence and mighty acts was a serious matter. Their thinking and feelings were distorted and completely corrupted.
For the prophet Ezekiel, idolatry lay at the core of all the misery of God’s people, and from there springs all other sins (see, for example, Ezek. 8:1-18, Ezek. 20:1-44, Ezek. 22:1-12). We often wonder why ancient believers were so naïve and uncorrectable when they engaged in worshiping different human-made idols. We are quite sure that we would never do something like that. Are we really free of idols? The idols of today may have different shapes and forms, yet they have a similar appeal.
An idol is something that replaces God, and even though we know it is not right, we still worship it, often repeatedly. It captures our imagination, affection, time, and mind more than does God. It can even enslave our thinking. In fact, we become what we behold, and we will rise no higher than whatever "god" we serve.
If God is not at the center of your life, then other gods will fill His place. If we do not enjoy and cultivate God’s living Presence, we will enjoy and devote our lives to something or someone else. What we substitute for Christ may have different appearances: pride, self-centeredness, money, power, sex, food, TV, drugs, alcohol, impure thoughts, pornography, pleasures, work, sports, family, video games, films, shopping, ideas, politics, music, position, titles, grades, and so forth. The list has no end.
We are very creative and inventive in this regard. We can turn anything that is good, beautiful, and meaningful into an idol. Idolatry is extremely dangerous because it transforms our personality, our way of thinking, our affections, and our social life. It changes our identity and replaces genuine personal relationships with hollow and ultimately meaningless interactions that, in the end, cannot save us.
Idolatry and Evil
Read Exodus 32:6. Where did their idolatry quickly lead them? (See also Ps. 115:4-8; Ps. 135:15-18; Isa. 44:9-10.)
The golden calf resembled the Egyptian bull-god, called Apis, or cow-god, called Hathor. This was a blatant transgression of the first and second commandments (Exod. 20:3-6). This violation could not go unpunished because it openly broke their relationship with the living Lord. Instead of worshiping their Creator, the Israelites worshiped their own creation, which could not see, hear, smell, speak, care, love, or lead.
The Creation order was reversed: instead of understanding that they had been created in God’s image, they now made a god, not even in their own image—which would have been bad enough—but in the image of an animal. This was the god whom they wanted to serve? Thus, they had greatly sinned against the Lord (Isa. 31:7; Isa. 42:17).
In what ways does the golden calf apostasy reflect what is written in Romans 1:22-27?
Idolatry denies the theological understanding that God is God and man is man. Idolatry erases the gap between God and man (Ecclesiastes 5:2) and breaks the connection with Him. Whether it is blatant and open or something concealed in the heart, idolatry quickly ruptures our relationship with the Lord and leads toward a downward moral spiral. No wonder the text talks about what they did the next day: after offering sacrifices to the idol, they then began to party, in what Ellen G. White depicted as "an imitation of the idolatrous feasts of Egypt."—Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 320.
Humans are geniuses at fabricating their own idols. They create their own gods, which is bad enough, but then they go and serve those gods. The Creator is replaced with things that, sooner or later, lead to moral degeneration.
What are ways today that humans worship the creation instead of the Creator?
Failed Leadership
God called Moses to spend time with Him. Forty days and forty nights might have been a short period for Moses, but it seemed long, too long, for the Israelites. Their visible leader was absent. They became disoriented, impatient, fearful, and insecure. They wanted to have a visible god who would lead them, the "gods" whom they had seen all their lives in idolatrous Egypt.
Read Exodus 32:1-6. How was it possible for Aaron’s leadership to fail so spectacularly?
Aaron did not rise to the occasion. He failed to seize the moment and do what was right. Instead of trusting the Lord, he wilted before the majority. The people demanded the unthinkable: "Come, make us a god who will go before us" (Exod. 32:1, NASB), and he consented.
People willingly gave gold to make the idol, and Aaron not only did not stop them, but in fact, he invited them to donate. He then participated in the molding of this false god. Afterward, the people declared: "This is your god, Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt" (Exod. 32:4, NASB). So sinful, wicked, and shortsighted. They had just fabricated this idol and then stated that it, the idol, had delivered them. Isn’t it amazing how sinful desires can pervert our thinking and actions? People celebrate their own creations, and their humanity and morality become debased in the process.
"Such a crisis demanded a man of firmness, decision, and unflinching courage; one who held the honor of God above popular favor, personal safety, or life itself. But the present leader of Israel was not of this character. Aaron feebly remonstrated with the people, but his wavering and timidity at the critical moment only rendered them the more determined. The tumult increased. A blind, unreasoning frenzy seemed to take possession of the multitude. There were some who remained true to their covenant with God, but the greater part of the people joined in the apostasy. Aaron feared for his own safety; and instead of nobly standing up for the honor of God, he yielded to the demands of the multitude."—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 316, 317.
How could Aaron, a leader, have been so weak? In what ways might Aaron have sought to justify in his own heart his terrible actions?
Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Exod. 32:1-6; Ps. 115:4-8; Isa. 44:9-10; Rom. 1:22-27; Exod. 32:7-32; Isa. 53:4
Memory Text: "Then Moses returned to the LORD and said, ‘Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold! Yet now, if You will forgive their sin—but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written’" (Exodus 32:31-32, NKJV).
Moses had been absent from the camp of Israel for only 40 days and what happened? God’s people had turned away from Him and worshiped a human-made idol, the golden calf. After so many mighty signs, experiences, and miracles, how could they have done that?
There could be many answers, and perhaps some truth in them all. Did the people not understand who God really was? Or were their powerful experiences with Him overshadowed by their carnal and sinful desires? Did they not appreciate what God had done for them but, instead, took it all for granted? Was their understanding clouded, marred by their everyday preoccupations and old sinful thinking? Were they simply ungrateful for God’s merciful actions on their behalf? Did they so quickly forget the mighty acts of God (Ps. 106:13-21-23)? Or could it all be blamed on Aaron’s failed leadership? "The LORD was very angry with Aaron and would have destroyed him" (Deut. 9:20, NKJV).
Whatever the reasons for this terrible apostasy, what lessons can we draw from it, not only about human sinfulness but about God’s gracious love for humans, despite their sinfulness?
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, September 13.
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, "The Tabernacle and Its Services," pp. 343-353, in Patriarchs and Prophets.
The tabernacle was a special place where atonement was accomplished for the confessed sins of God’s people. It was the place where, indeed, the entire plan of salvation had been revealed, and in some detail, too, to the children of Israel while they were in the wilderness. Justification, sanctification, and judgment were all taught there. Every animal sacrifice pointed to the death of Jesus, the forgiveness of sins, and, eventually, the blotting out of sins. And, too, along with the sacrifices was the presence of God’s law, the standard of righteousness.
"The law of God, enshrined within the ark, was the great rule of righteousness and judgment. That law pronounced death upon the transgressor; but above the law was the mercy seat, upon which the presence of God was revealed, and from which, by virtue of the atonement, pardon was granted to the repentant sinner. Thus in the work of Christ for our redemption, symbolized by the sanctuary service, ‘mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.’ Psalm 85:10."—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 349.
- How many times have you said, "All that the Lord tells me to do, I will do"? How successful were you in your efforts?
- At the end of Moses’ 40-day stay with the Lord on Mount Sinai, God emphasized that the Israelites must observe His Sabbath, because it would be a sign between God and them that it was the Lord who would make them holy. What role do holiness and sanctification play in keeping the Sabbath?
- The Lord wanted them to make a sanctuary so that "I may dwell among them." How fascinating that this place was the center of salvation for Israel. It was here—in this sanctuary, where God dwelt among His people—that the plan of salvation was wrought out in types and shadows. What does this tell us about our total dependence upon God for salvation?
- What does it mean that through the blood all their sins were brought to the sanctuary, God’s house? How does this amazing truth reflect, even if dimly, what Jesus did on the cross for us and what He is doing for us now in the heavenly sanctuary?
Discussion Questions:
Filled With the Spirit of God
God instructed Moses on every detail in preparation for the tabernacle’s services. Priests were to have priestly garments, but the high priest wore a special ephod, which contained the names of the sons of Israel. He also wore a breastplate, which contained the Urim and Thummim and was to be on his heart (Exodus 28). All priests were to be consecrated (Exodus 29). Other items to be carefully prepared were the altar of incense, the basin for washing, the anointing oil, and the incense (Exodus 30).
Read Exodus 31:1-18. What special assistance did God give so that all the tabernacle’s details and related services would be prepared and built in a beautiful and proper way?
For the first time in the Scriptures, one reads that God would fill a person with the Spirit of God. What does that mean? Bezalel was empowered to work artistically on the tabernacle. He was filled, i.e., equipped with new skills, understanding, and knowledge on the needed craftsmanship. Additionally, God gave Aholiab and many other craftsmen the same Spirit to assist in this work.
In the midst of all this creativity, God’s Sabbath is presented as a sign between God and His people that the Lord makes them holy. It means that the observance of the fourth commandment is associated with sanctification. Ezekiel later observed: "I gave them my Sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them" (Ezek. 20:12, ESV).
The Sabbath is a reminder that the Lord is not only our Creator (Gen. 2:2-3), Redeemer, and God (Deut. 5:15; Mark 2:27-28) but also the Holy One. He transforms people by His presence; through His Spirit and Word they grow to reflect a loving, kind, unselfish, and forgiving character.
The culminating present that God gave to Moses was the Decalogue (Exod. 31:18). God Himself wrote and gave the two stone tablets with the ten precepts (Exod. 31:18, Deut. 9:9-11). These tablets were to be placed in the Most Holy Place and inside the ark of the covenant, which was under the mercy seat (Exod. 25:21).
The phrase "mercy seat" comes from one Hebrew word, whose root meaning is "to atone." Why, then, would this "mercy seat" be set right over God’s law? What hope should we see in this fact?
In the Midst of His People
God was teaching His people through various means, and one of them was through the sanctuary. All its services pointed to Jesus; they were object lessons in the plan of salvation, which would be wrought out through Jesus many centuries later.
Read Exodus 25:1-9. What crucial, practical, and theological truths are seen in these verses?
Even though God was leading the Israelites and already was close to them, He instructed Moses to build a sanctuary: "Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them" (Exod. 25:8, NIV). God wanted to show them tangibly that He indeed was with them. Even though they had done wrong many times, He had not forsaken them, and "after they were again taken into favor with Heaven" (Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 343), they were given the divine command, and the process of building the sanctuary began.
The Bible assures us that God does not live in human-made temples and buildings (Acts 7:47-50) because He is bigger than the heaven of heavens, and heaven cannot contain Him. Paul at Areopagus in Athens states: "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands" (Acts 17:24, NIV). Also, King Solomon states: "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built!" (1 Kings 8:27, ESV). The sanctuary was to be where God would manifest His presence to them.
The Israelites were to bring a voluntary offering for the building of the sanctuary. They were to give precious and expensive gifts, including gold, silver, bronze, acacia wood, various kinds of fine cloth, olive oil, and spices.
In Exodus 25:10-27:21, we are given many details about the tabernacle and its services. God provided Moses with a blueprint containing specific instructions on how to build and furnish the tabernacle, including the ark of the covenant, the shewbread table, the lampstand, the altars, the curtains, the colors, and the measurements.
Moses had to build the tabernacle according to the pattern God showed him (Exod. 25:9-40; Exod. 26:30), which was a reflection of the heavenly sanctuary (Heb. 8:1-2; Heb. 9:11). The earthly sanctuary had served a crucial function until the death of Jesus and His ministry in the heavenly sanctuary, which rendered the earthly sanctuary null and void, a truth symbolized by the rending of the curtain before the Most Holy Place at Christ’s death (Matt. 27:51, Mark 15:38).
Power to Obey
Read Ezekiel 36:26-28. How does obedience take place in our lives?
On three occasions, the Israelites fervently declared that they would obey God (Exod. 19:8; Exod. 24:3-7). Obedience is important, even if the Bible teaches that we humans are weak, broken, fragile, and sinful. This sad truth has been revealed not only through the history of ancient Israel, but through the history of all His people.
How, then, are we enabled to follow God faithfully?
The good news is that what God commands, He empowers us to do. The help that is not inside of us comes from outside, enabling us to do what God requires. It is His work. In the core of his theological summary in Ezekiel 36:26-27, the prophet Ezekiel makes this point very clear. Only God can perform a heart transplant, and He does so by removing our heart of stone and replacing it with a sensitive heart of flesh. As Joshua reminded his audience: "You are not able to serve the LORD" (Josh. 24:19, NIV).
We can decide to follow God; that is our role. We have to make the choice, the moment-by-moment choice to surrender to Him. And that is because we do not have the power to fulfill even our conscious choice to serve Him. But when we give our weakness to God, He will make us strong. Paul says: "When I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Cor. 12:10, NKJV).
Notice the divine "I" in Ezekiel 36:24-30: God gathers, cleanses, removes, gives, puts, and moves you to carefully keep His law. What He is doing, you will do. He identifies with you, and if you associate closely with Him, His doing will be your doing. The unity between God and you will be dynamic, powerful, and lively.
Again, the emphasis in this passage is on God’s doing. The New King James Version reads: "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them" (Ezek. 36:27, NKJV). God commands people to obey and then gives the power to obey. What God requires of His people, He always helps them to do. Obedience is God’s gift (not just our performance or achievement), just as justification and salvation are His gifts, too (Phil. 2:13).
If we have been promised the power to obey, why do we find it so easy to fall into sin anyway?
Seeing God
Read Exodus 24:9-18. What amazing experience were the children of Israel given here?
After the firm reestablishment of the covenant with God, Moses again climbed Sinai. In the beginning of this climb, Moses was not alone. He had the excellent company of 73 Israelite leaders. For the leaders, this was the pinnacle experience: they saw God (theophany), and twice the text underlines this amazing reality. It was also a time for the leaders, by eating together, to seal the covenant with God. This was a banquet, and the God of Israel was their Host. These leaders were deeply honored by God.
In the Middle East during biblical times (and to a certain extent today), eating together was a high experience, great honor, and privilege. It offered forgiveness and formed a bond of friendship. It implied being there for each other and staying together in times of crisis and problems. By eating together, they promised each other, without words, that if something should happen to one party, the other would be obliged to come and help. To be invited to a meal was a special treat that was not extended to everyone.
Meanwhile, to refuse an invitation was one of the worst kinds of insults. This insight helps us to understand the stories in the New Testament where Jesus Christ was heavily criticized for eating with sinners (Luke 5:30). When believers celebrate the Lord’s Supper, they also establish this close bond with other believers who are sinners like themselves. During this meal, we celebrate the forgiveness and salvation that we have in Jesus (see Matt. 26:26-30, Mark 14:22-25, 1 Cor. 11:23-29).
Tragically, some of the men who had gone up with Moses later fell into sin and lost their lives (see Lev. 10:1-2, 9). Even though they had such a deep experience with God there, they were not transformed or converted by that experience. What a powerful lesson about how possession of truth and sacred privileges does not automatically mean conversion. Having experienced what they did, these men should have been the last ones to have done what they would later tragically do.
Dwell more on the story of these very privileged men, even sons of Aaron. What warning should this give to us, as Adventists, who, with the light we have been entrusted with, are indeed privileged?
The Book and the Blood
Read Exodus 24:1-8. What roles do the reading of the Word of God and the sprinkling of blood play in the ratification of the covenant between God and His people?
The living God of the Bible is the God of relationships. The important element for our Lord is not a thing or an agenda but the person. Thus, God pays close attention to people, and the primary purpose of His activities is to build a personal relationship with humans. After all, a God who "is love" would have to be a God who did care about relationships, for how can there be love without relationships?
Jesus said: "And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself" (John 12:32, ESV). God is interested not only in our ethical behavior, right doctrine, or in a set of proper actions, but, above all, in a personal, intimate relationship with us. Both creation institutions (Genesis 1-2) are about relationship: the first about the vertical relationship with God (the Sabbath) and the second about the horizontal relationship between humans (marriage).
The ratification of the covenant at Sinai was to reinforce the special relationship that God wanted to have with His people. In the ceremony, the people twice shouted that they would obey God in everything that He required. "All that the Lord has said we will do," they proclaimed. They meant it, too, but they did not know their brokenness, fragility, and lack of power. The blood of the covenant was sprinkled on the people, indicating that only by Christ’s merits was Israel able to follow God’s instructions.
We do not want to accept that our human nature is fragile, weak, and thoroughly sinful. We have an inherent tendency toward evil. To be able to do good, we must have help from outside ourselves. This help comes only from above, from the power of God’s grace, from His Word, and from the Holy Spirit. And even with all this at our disposal, evil still comes so easily to us, does it not?
That’s why a close personal relationship with God was as essential to the people then, at Sinai, as it is to us today.
"Everything the LORD has said we will do" (Exod. 24:3, NIV). How many times have you said the same thing, only to fail? What is the only solution?
Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Exod. 24:1-18; 1 Cor. 11:23-29; Lev. 10:1-2; Ezek. 36:26-28; Exod. 25:1-9; Exod. 31:1-18
Memory Text: "So Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, ‘All the words which the LORD has said we will do’" (Exodus 24:3, NKJV).
As their God, Creator, and Redeemer, the Lord desired to be with His people and to dwell in their midst. He created us to be in close fellowship with Him. Yet, if meaningful relationships with other people can be built only with time and effort, the same is true with our vertical relationship with God. It can be an uplifting and growth-filled experience, but only if we spend time with Him. In practical terms, this means studying His Word (God speaking to us), praying (opening our hearts to God), and witnessing to others about Christ’s death, resurrection, and return (engaging in God’s mission). As God blesses us, we will be a channel of blessings to others.
The focus should be on God, not on ourselves (Heb. 12:1-2). By our connecting with Him, God can empower us to follow His teachings, which means obedience to His Word. No wonder the end-time generation of Christ’s followers are described as people "who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus" (Rev. 14:12, NKJV).
It's simple, really: we love God, and, out of that love, we obey Him.
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, September 6.
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, "The Law Given to Israel," pp. 310-314, in Patriarchs and Prophets.
Because we live in the territory of our enemy, it is no wonder we may be hurt in real life by his skillful and deceptive schemes. Who among us has not known pain and suffering, all brought about because of sin and the sinful fallen world in which we live? It’s just part of life now, unfortunately. However, God gives us power to cope.
"The precious Saviour will send help just when we need it. The way to heaven is consecrated by His footprints. Every thorn that wounds our feet has wounded His. Every cross that we are called to bear He has borne before us. The Lord permits conflicts, to prepare the soul for peace. The time of trouble is a fearful ordeal for God's people; but it is the time for every true believer to look up, and by faith he may see the bow of promise encircling him."—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 633.
- People through the centuries have struggled with the fact that the Lord had those pagan nations driven out of their land, and sometimes even wiped out. It is, indeed, troubling. However, how should realizing that God’s love must also manifest justice help us trust that, even in these events, His love, not just His justice, was revealed?
- Dwell more on the fact that right after all Jesus’ words about loving others, even our enemies, and even those who hate you, He says to us, "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect" (Matt. 5:48, NKJV). Why would Jesus have this command follow right after these other commands? What was He telling us here about what it means not only to be "perfect" but to be as perfect as "your Father in heaven"?
- The apostle Paul had a positive and uplifting attitude toward God’s law and its functions, yet he was against the misuse of the law. What does his statement mean that "you are not under the law, but under grace" (Rom. 6:14, NIV)? What are ways that we can misuse the law?
- What is the difference between justice and vengeance? Are they completely different concepts or just different manifestations of the same idea? How do we know if our desire for justice is not really a desire for vengeance?
Discussion Questions:
Vengeance
"Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord" (Rom. 12:19, ESV; see also Deut. 32:35).
What promise and command are found in these verses, and how are they closely related?
Until the Lord brings the justice so lacking now, it was the duty of the judges in ancient Israel to implement the law and to determine a just punishment when harm or injury occurred. But they needed the facts first. The problem was that the teachers of the law in Christ’s time applied this law in a way that opened the door for personal vengeance. By doing so, the principle was taken out of its context, and the initial purpose was missed. Consequently, they were defending what the law actually forbade.
Read Matthew 6:4-6; Matthew 16:27; Luke 6:23; and 2 Timothy 4:8. What do these texts tell us about how Jesus viewed the principles of reward and punishment?
Jesus was not against the principle of reward and punishment. Justice is a matter of principle; it is a crucial part of life. However, no individual is to take the role of judge, jury, and "executioner" upon himself or herself. How easy it would be for us to pervert justice! It is not up to us to repay harm. If some evil is to be addressed, this must be performed by an objective court; it is the work of judges.
In this context Jesus tells us to be as perfect as our "Father in heaven is perfect." How can we be as perfect as God Himself? Unselfish love is the overarching characteristic of God. He teaches His followers how to love their enemies and to pray for those who persecute them. True perfection is to love, to be forgiving, and to be merciful (Luke 6:36), even to those who do not deserve it. This principle, and the actions it leads to, is what it means to reflect God’s character.
What are ways in which, day by day, we can learn to love in the way that we are commanded to? Why does this always involve a death to self?
An Eye for an Eye
Read Matthew 5:38-48. How does Jesus interpret the meaning of the retaliation law? How should we apply it today?
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus Christ cited texts from the Old Testament, texts that people were surely familiar with. However, He was speaking against the current rabbinical interpretations, which over the centuries had moved away from the original purpose of these laws. That is, human tradition not only hid the purpose of God’s Word but, in some cases (think of the Sabbath regulations and what they had done to the Sabbath commandment) had perverted their intent and meanings. By His words, Jesus was restoring the original meanings of these laws.
On the Mount of Beatitudes, by pointing His hearers back to the texts’ original intent and meaning, Jesus was seeking to correct some of these false interpretations.
The text from Exodus 21:24 that talks about an "eye for eye, tooth for tooth" was quoted in Matthew 5:38 ("you have heard … but I say to you") and referred to the lex talionis, the so-called retaliation law. This verse is also used in other places in the Bible (Lev. 24:20, Deut. 19:21).
The original intention of this law was formulated against any personal revenge. It was to stop blood feuds, or retaliation without an investigation first. Injury had to be evaluated by judges, and then a proper monetary compensation would be established and paid. This practice was done in order to stop people from "taking the law into their own hands." Justice was to be done, but it had to be done according to God’s law.
Jesus Christ, who gave these social laws to Moses, knew the purpose of this law; therefore, He could apply it in an objective way, according to its original intention. The motive behind it was to bring justice and reconciliation, and to restore peace.
One could argue that, in a sense, justice implies a kind of vengeance. The proper application of these laws was, it seemed, an attempt to find the right balance between the ideas of justice and vengeance.
How should the realization that one day justice will come help you deal with all the injustice that we see in the world now?
God’s Original Plan
Read Exodus 23:20-33. What methods did God desire to use for conquering the Promised Land?
It was not God’s intention for the Israelites to fight for their new territory; it was to be given to them. It had been promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and should have been received as God’s special gift to Israel.
The model for the conquest of the Promised Land was demonstrated during the crossing of the Red Sea. God fought for His people and gave them total victory over those planning to kill them (Exod. 14:13-14). The Egyptians were defeated because the Lord miraculously intervened. Similarly, in the time of the Assyrian king Sennacherib, God also defeated the vast, heavily equipped, and well-trained Assyrian army, but without the Israelites having to fight. God granted victory because King Hezekiah believed God’s word given to him through the prophet Isaiah (2 Kings 19:35, Isa. 37:36).
God informed Abraham that the Promised Land would not be immediately given to his posterity, but only after 400 years (Gen. 15:13-16). Why? The reason was related to the wickedness of the inhabitants of the land of Canaan. God was mercifully working with those people and gave them another period of grace to repent. However, they continued in their rebellion against God and His values, so when the iniquity of those nations was complete, God was ready to give their territory to the Hebrews as a new homeland.
In addition, God promised that He would drive the nations out ahead of Israel by two unusual but very effective methods: (1) by sending terror and fear upon wicked nations, and (2) with hornets that would drive the people away. Before the Israelites arrived in the new territory, their enemies would abandon the place, and "turn their backs and run" (Exod. 23:27-28, NIV).
The crucial role in the conquest of the Promised Land is played by the Angel of God. This Messenger was Christ, who guided Israel, conquered territories, and protected them. He was the pillar of cloud guiding them during the day and the pillar of fire during the night. Israel had to pay careful attention and listen to Him because He had divine authority (Exod. 23:21). Defiance of God’s will and unbelief in His leadership would complicate their advancement.
What does this idea, that of God giving those pagans many years to change their ways, teach us about God’s grace, but also about the limits of that grace for those who refuse to accept it?
More Laws
In God’s mercy, He taught the judges how to deal with people in various situations regarding property rights. Several case studies are enumerated, indicating what to do if a bull attacked a neighbor’s bull, if people stole a domestic animal and sold it, if animals grazed in the field or vineyard of another owner, if an item a person borrowed was stolen from him, or if a hired animal was injured or died (Exod. 21:33-22:15).
Read Exodus 22:16-23:9. What issues were dealt with in these laws and how?
God’s laws included different issues. There were specific regulations against putting down or humiliating people. He did not want any kind of exploitation. In His mercy, God corrects the sinful tendencies of the human heart and restrains people’s natural inclinations. Society was to be kept safe, evil eliminated, and good interpersonal relationships cultivated. Justice and love must rule all actions.
Read Exodus 23:10-19. What important issues were dealt with here?
The Sabbath and the festivals were about worship and were reminders about crucial events in salvation history. Worship was carefully regulated because this was the theological basis for all other activities. The Sabbath was established at Creation (Gen. 2:2-3; Exod. 20:8-11), was connected to Israel’s deliverance and redemption (Deut. 5:12-15), and, in a powerful way, points to worshiping God as our Creator, Redeemer, and Lord (Mark 2:27-28).
Meanwhile, there were three crucial festivals that Israel was required to celebrate each year: (1) the Passover or the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the spring (usually about mid-March to mid-April); (2) Pentecost or the Feast of Harvest (or the Feast of Weeks) seven weeks after the previous festival, thus beginning 50 days later; and (3) the Feast of Tabernacles (or Booths) or the Feast of Ingathering in the fall (usually about mid-September to mid-October; see also Exod. 34:18-26, Lev. 23:4-44, Num. 28:16-29:40, Deut. 16:1-16).
The Code of the Covenant
At Sinai, with the giving of His law, God set the foundation for teaching His people how, through connection with Him, they could live holy lives. But the principles of the law needed to be applied in everyday life, so God gave them additional laws, the so-called "Code of the Covenant." It was the responsibility of judges to watch over these laws and to apply them correctly.
"The minds of the people, blinded and debased by slavery and heathenism, were not prepared to appreciate fully the far-reaching principles of God's ten precepts. That the obligations of the Decalogue might be more fully understood and enforced, additional precepts were given, illustrating and applying the principles of the Ten Commandments. These laws were called judgments, both because they were framed in infinite wisdom and equity and because the magistrates were to give judgment according to them. Unlike the Ten Commandments, they were delivered privately to Moses, who was to communicate them to the people."—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 310.
Read Exodus 21:1-32. What specific regulations were given regarding Hebrew slaves, homicide, and bodily injuries?
The Code of the Covenant is described in several chapters (Exod. 21:1-23:19). All these regulations and laws were issued to stop the avalanche of evil and to build an orderly society.
The slavery laws were special and should not be confused with the vicious and evil practice of modern or medieval slavery. Hebrew slaves were, in fact, protected and valued. In modern and medieval societies, servants and slaves were the property of their owner, who could do whatever they wished with them. In contrast, biblical laws regulated things differently. Servitude was limited to six years (Exod. 21:1-2; Jer. 34:8-22), and in the seventh year, all slaves had to be liberated unless they wanted to stay with their master. Masters also had to give them Sabbaths off (Exod. 20:9-10) and provide for their basic needs.
Though in most of the world the evil practice of institutionalized slavery has for the most part been abolished, what are ways in which some of the principles of it still exist, and what can we do, in our own limited sphere, to fight against these principles?
Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Exod. 21:1-32; Exod. 22:16-23:33; 2 Kings 19:35; Matt. 5:38-48; Rom. 12:19; Matt. 16:27
Memory Text: "Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: "You have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. You shall not make anything to be with Me—gods of silver or gods of gold you shall not make for yourselves" (Exodus 20:22-23, NKJV).
God desired His people to be different from the surrounding nations. He wanted them established as a devoted community of faith who would live under His leadership and authority. Everyone would be subject to His law. Judges were to be appointed as administrators of the law, and the priests were to teach it. Parents also played a crucial role.
In any culture, the laws reveal the ideals, goals, intent, and character of the lawmaker. For example, when Pharaoh ordered every Hebrew male baby killed, this law revealed what he was like: evil. In contrast, if a king made a law that every 18 year old in the kingdom would be awarded a free higher education, many would consider this evidence of the king’s generosity and desire for his country to prosper.
God’s law reveals Him, that is, His goodness, love, values, righteousness, and His restraints against evil. As the law is holy and just, so is God. While creating space for an abundant life, the law also helps protect us from dangers and calamities. Respect for God, for each other, and for life’s values were the basis of His legislative system.
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 30.
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, "The Law Given to Israel," pp. 303-310, and "Satan’s Enmity Against the Law," pp. 331-342, in Patriarchs and Prophets.
"God purposed to make the occasion of speaking His law a scene of awful grandeur, in keeping with its exalted character. The people were to be impressed that everything connected with the service of God must be regarded with the greatest reverence."—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 303.
This principle of reverence is valid today. It springs from an understanding of God’s greatness, transcendence, and majesty. Seeing God’s glory creates gratitude in our hearts and humbles our pride. The closer we see God’s holiness, the more imperfections we will discern in our lives, leading us to thirst even more for His transforming Presence and to desire to be more like Him.
And, too, knowing what we are in contrast to Him and to His holy law makes us totally dependent upon Christ’s substitutionary death for us.
At the same time, Jesus made it clear that, if we humbly accept God as our Lord and King, His commands are not difficult to obey (Matt. 11:28-30). Christ made it plain that the divine law has permanent validity (Matt. 5:17-20). When we keep God’s laws out of love and gratitude to Him because of the salvation He has freely bestowed upon us, we can experience the fullness of a saving relationship with Him. While enjoying the great advantages of keeping the law (after all, look at the pain and hardship that violating it brings), we can also enjoy the assurance of knowing that our salvation is found in Jesus, not in our law-keeping.
- The preparation for receiving the law helped the people understand the sense of reverence they needed. Today, in our church and church life, where is there a similar sense of reverence and awe before God? Or have we slowly and somehow lost it?
- Dwell more on this covenantal formula: "I will be their God, and they will be my people." What does this mean to us today, and how should it be revealed both individually and as a corporate people?
- What God commands us to do, He enables us to do. Ellen G. White states that "all His biddings are enablings."—Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 333. How does one put this promise, this dabar, into practice?
- How are we to respond to the common argument we hear, that after the cross, the law has been done away with? In most cases, what are they really saying has been done away with?
Discussion Questions:
The Law as God’s Promise for Us
Read Romans 3:20-24. Though Paul is very clear that we cannot be saved by keeping the Ten Commandments, how then should the commandments function in our lives?
The Hebrew meaning of the term dabarim used in the writing of Moses to describe the Ten Commandments (Exod. 34:28, Deut. 4:13, Deut. 10:4) does not literally mean "commandments," but "words." This "word," dabar (singular), can have the meaning of a "promise." That is why, in numerous places (1 Kings 8:56; 2 Chron. 1:9; Neh. 5:12-13; Deut. 1:11; Deut. 6:3; Deut. 9:28; Josh. 9:21; Josh. 22:4; Josh. 23:5), dabar is translated either in a noun or verb form expressing the idea of promise.
Ellen G. White offers an insight into the function of the Decalogue: "The ten commandments … are ten promises."—Ellen G. White Comments, The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 1, p. 1105. The Decalogue should be understood as promises from God that will guide us on the right path so that He can do wonderful things for us. But we must obey them.
Read Romans 10:4. How should we understand Paul’s statement that Christ is the "end" of the law?
Paul states that Jesus Christ is the telos of the law, but not in the sense that Christ abrogates the law or does away with it. Instead, this means that Christ is the goal and intent of the law; it does not mean that His atoning sacrifice terminates the validity and perpetuity of it.
On the contrary, Paul speaks about the importance of the law, about its legitimacy, and about its enduring authority (Rom. 3:31, 1 Cor. 7:19, Gal. 5:6). The meaning of the word telos is primarily purposeful and goal oriented, not time related. Christ is the key to unlock the true meaning and purpose of God’s law. Thus, it would be incorrect to state that Christ invalidated, superseded, or abrogated the law. Christ is the goal of the law, the One to whom it points.
How does the law point us to Jesus? That is, what does the law reveal to us about ourselves that would indeed point us to Jesus?
Different Functions of God’s Law
The law of God reveals God’s character, who He is. As God is holy, righteous, and good, so also is His law. Paul confirms: "So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good" (Rom. 7:12, ESV).
In the Bible, the law of God is seen in a very positive light (Matt. 5:17-18; John 14:15; 1 Cor. 7:19). One may create poems on the law (like Psalm 119), sing about the law (Psalm 19), and meditate on it day and night (Ps. 1:2, Josh. 1:8). The law helps keep one from evil and gives wisdom, understanding, health, prosperity, and peace (Deut. 4:1-6, Proverbs 2-3).
- God’s law is like a fence that creates a large free space for life and warns that, beyond a specific point—danger, problems, complications, and even death await (Gen. 2:16-17; James 2:12).
- The law is also a signpost pointing to Jesus who forgives our sins and changes our lives (2 Cor. 5:17, 1 John 1:7-9). In this way, it leads us as a paidagogos, a custodian/guardian, to Christ (Gal. 3:24).
Read James 1:23-25. What is he saying, and how do these words help us realize what the function and importance of the law is, even though it cannot save us?
A mirror can reveal your defects, yes. But there is nothing in the mirror that can cure them. The mirror points to the problems but offers no solution to the problems. It’s the same with God’s law. Trying to be justified before God by keeping the law would be like staring at the mirror in hopes that, sooner or later, the mirror will make your defects go away.
Because salvation is by faith and not by works—including works of the law—some Christians claim that the law is done away with, and that we no longer have to keep it. Of course, considering that the law itself is what defines sin— "I would not have known sin except through the law" (Rom. 7:7, NKJV)—this claim is a gross misinterpretation of the relationship of the law to the gospel. The existence of the law is precisely why we need the gospel.
How successful have you been in your attempts to obey God’s law? Well enough to base your salvation on it? If not, why do you need the gospel?
The Gift of the Decalogue
Read Exodus 20:1-17. What are the principles of the Decalogue, and how is it organized?
Note that the Decalogue does not begin with the commands but with God’s gracious action for His people:
"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery" (Exod. 20:2, NIV). The Lord first shows His grace by giving freedom and salvation to Israel, and only then does He reveal His will. These commandments were to be observed out of love and gratitude for what God did for them.
God’s key summation word for the Decalogue is "love" (Rom. 13:10). The greatest commandment is the commandment of love, which is expressed in two ways: love to God (Deut. 6:5) and love to our neighbor (Lev. 19:18).
In the first four commandments, the Decalogue interprets what it means to love God; in the following six commandments, the law interprets what it means to love your neighbor. The Decalogue begins with honoring God above all (vertical love) and continues with respecting others (horizontal love):
- Honoring and revering God by giving Him the first and the highest place in every situation of our life (the first commandment);
- Honoring and preserving God’s unique position and not replacing Him by an idol in any form, either physical, symbolic, or spiritual. Our purest affections belong to the Lord (the second commandment);
- Revering God’s name—His reputation and character (the third commandment);
- Honoring His day of rest and worship—the Sabbath (the fourth commandment);
- Respecting parents (the fifth commandment);
- Respecting life (the sixth commandment);
- Respecting marriage (the seventh commandment);
- Respecting people’s property (the eighth commandment);
- Respecting the reputation of others (the ninth commandment); and
- Respecting self so that no selfish desires will mar our character (the tenth commandment).
As Jesus Himself said: "If you love me, you will keep my commandments" (John 14:15, ESV; see also 1 John 4:20-21). Thus, true obedience is simply an expression of love and gratitude toward Jesus, a love expressed most powerfully in how we treat our neighbors.
Preparing for the Gift
Read Exodus 19:9-25. How did God prepare Israel to receive the Ten Commandments?
God gave specific instructions for what the Israelites were to do in preparation for the giving of the law at Sinai. Their external purity was to reflect their total dedication to God. They needed to be ready for the splendid manifestation of the Lord’s glory that was about to come. And when it did, it was accompanied by "thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled" (Exod. 19:16, NKJV).
The Decalogue (the Ten Commandments) is the heart of God’s revelation and biblical ethics. It forms the substance and foundation of divine standards for all humanity; its principles are eternal and universal.
According to the biblical account, the Decalogue was announced by God (Exod. 19:19; Exod. 20:1; Deut. 5:4-5, 24), and was written by Him (Exod. 24:12, Exod. 31:18, Deut. 5:22). It was twice given to Moses as a special gift (Exod. 32:19; Exod. 34:1; Deut. 10:1-2).
In the book of Exodus, the Decalogue is called "the Testimony" (Hebrew: ‘edut; Exod. 31:18); or it is named "the words of the covenant" (Hebrew: dibre habberit; Exod. 34:28). In the book of Deuteronomy, they are written on "the tablets of the covenant" (Deut. 9:9-11, 15, NKJV). Neither book in Hebrew uses the term "the Ten Commandments" (Hebrew: mitzwot, "commandments"). Instead, three times they call it "the Ten Words." The Hebrew is ‘aseret haddebarim, from dabar, meaning "word, sentence, matter, thing, speech, story, promise, utterance." (See Exod. 34:28, Deut. 4:13, Deut. 10:4.)
There are two versions of the Decalogue with very slight differences; the first one is recorded in Exodus 20:1-17 and the second in Deuteronomy 5:6-21. The second version, presented orally by Moses to Israel, occurred almost forty years after Sinai, just before the people entered the Promised Land (Deut. 1:3-4; Deut. 4:44-47). These circumstances explain the slight differences between the two.
When Paul summarized the law as being love, he quoted from the Decalogue (Rom. 13:8-10). Love is, indeed, the sum of God’s law because He is a God of love (1 John 4:16).
How do you understand the idea of the Ten Commandments as an expression of God’s love? What does that mean? How is God’s love revealed in them?
At Mount Sinai
Read Exodus 19:1-8. What did God promise them here, at the base of Mount Sinai?
God led the Israelites to Mount Sinai, where He would soon give them the Ten Commandments (the Decalogue). Jebel Musa (elevation: 7,497 feet or 2,285 meters) in the Sinai Peninsula is likely where Moses met with God several times (for example, Exod. 3:1, Exod. 19:2, Exod. 24:18), and, years later, Elijah encountered God here (1 Kings 19:8). This is the same mountain where God called Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt (Exod. 3:1-10). At that time, God informed Moses that he would worship God with liberated Israel in this same location, which would be a sign for Moses that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was leading them (Exod. 3:12).
After two months of traveling, the Israelites arrived at Sinai (Exod. 19:1), where they would remain for about one year (compare Exod. 19:1 with Num. 10:11-12). During this year, many laws were issued, as described in Exodus 19-40, Leviticus 1-27, and Numbers 1:1-10:10. Israel’s stay at Mount Sinai is the central piece of the narrative found in the first five books of Moses. Here is the foundation of their becoming God’s chosen people, the only nation not steeped in paganism and idolatry.
God takes the initiative and establishes the covenant between Himself and Israel. On the condition of the people’s obedience and their maintaining a relationship with Him, God promises to make them a special treasure, a kingdom of priests, a holy people.
To be a holy people means to be dedicated to God and to reveal His character to others, especially to the nations around them. They were also called to function as a kingdom of priests who would connect other people with God, leading them to Him and teaching them His ways and His laws. They were to be God’s special treasure because He wanted Israel as His channel to illuminate the world with knowledge of Him and His character.
This covenant was the legal establishment of a relationship between God and His people. The general covenant formula, which slightly varies in different texts, is: "I will be their God, and they will be my people" (see Exod. 6:7, Lev. 26:12, Jer. 24:7, Jer. 31:33, Heb. 8:10, Rev. 21:3).
Imagine being God’s "special treasure"! What special privileges would that encompass? What special responsibilities would you have?
Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Exod. 19:1-20:17; Rev. 21:3; Deut. 5:6-21; James 1:23-25; Rom. 3:20-24; Rom. 10:4
Memory Text: "You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Exodus 19:4-6, NKJV).
Where did God lead Israel after He had liberated them from Egypt? To the Promised Land—where else? However geographically correct, that answer is theologically wrong. God Himself answers it: "You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself" ’ " (Exod. 19:4, NIV; emphasis added). Thus, the biblical-theological answer to the question reveals God’s priority and goal: the Lord brought them to Himself.
When humans depart from God, He searches for them and calls them back to Himself. The best model of this profound truth is in the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve sinned against God, disobeyed His command, and hid from Him. He took the initiative and called: "Where are you?" (Gen. 3:9, NKJV). He always makes the first step. Jesus states this eloquently: "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest" (Matt. 11:28-29, NKJV).
God calls out to all of us; our eternal destiny depends on our response.
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 23.
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, "From the Red Sea to Sinai," pp. 291-302, in Patriarchs and Prophets.
Not long after the incident with the water, the nation faced a new danger (see Exod. 17:8-16)—a fierce and warlike tribe, the Amalekites, had attacked them. "The Amalekites were not ignorant of God’s character or of His sovereignty, but instead of fearing before Him, they had set themselves to defy His power. The wonders wrought by Moses before the Egyptians were made a subject of mockery by the people of Amalek, and the fears of surrounding nations were ridiculed. They had taken oath by their gods that they would destroy the Hebrews, so that not one should escape, and they boasted that Israel’s God would be powerless to resist them. They had not been injured or threatened by the Israelites. Their assault was wholly unprovoked. It was to manifest their hatred and defiance of God that they sought to destroy His people. The Amalekites had long been high-handed sinners, and their crimes had cried to God for vengeance, yet His mercy had still called them to repentance; but when the men of Amalek fell upon the wearied and defenseless ranks of Israel, they sealed their nation’s doom."—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 300.
- Dwell more on the idea of how Jethro learned about the true God from what God did for His people. (See Exod. 18:8-10.) Why does that principle hold true today? Ask yourself and your class: What kind of witness does our church present to the world? What do we say to the world about the nature and character of our God?
- Read again 1 Corinthians 10:4. What should this teach us about the ancient heresy, which some believe today, that says the Old Testament God was vengeful, hateful, and unforgiving, in contrast to what we see in Jesus? How does this verse show why that belief is wrong?
- Read again what Ellen G. White wrote above about how the Amalekites had the opportunity to learn about the true God. Contrast their attitude to Jethro’s. What lessons can we learn about why God brought judgment upon not just them, but upon many of the tribes in the ancient world that Israel came in contact with?
Discussion Questions:
The Bread and Water of Life
Read 1 Corinthians 10:11. What reason does Paul give for these events to have been recorded?
Paul explains that all the things that happened to the Israelites are examples and warnings for Christ’s followers and will help them avoid the same troubles; that is, they will learn from these examples. This is pertinent instruction for us, we who live at "the end of the ages" (ESV). God gives His people the Holy Spirit to strengthen the believers with "power, love and self-discipline" (2 Tim. 1:6-7, NIV) so they can make correct decisions and follow His teaching. Jesus Christ is the Source of new life (John 14:6), and only He can turn us into "a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. … Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Rom. 12:1-2, ESV).
Later on, in His Ministry, Jesus picked up lessons from these Old Testament accounts, particularly with the manna and the water, using those images to teach truths about Himself, the One who led the Israelites through the wilderness.
Read John 4:7-15 and John 6:31-51. What truths are revealed here for us as Christians?
The Samaritan woman discovered that Christ offers something that she would not get anywhere else. The inner thirst for peace, joy, and happiness comes from God, and thus only God can satisfy it (Ps. 42:1-2).
Later, in the context of the manna, Jesus explained that it was God, not Moses, who provided it for the people. Then Jesus declared: "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger" (John 6:35, ESV). Jesus repeated two times that He is the Bread of Life (John 6:35-48).
As the manna in the wilderness was "bread from heaven" (John 6:31-32), so the water from the rock was Christ’s gift to satisfy their thirst. Besides these physical aspects, bread and water also had spiritual significance, for Jesus Christ is "the bread of life" (John 6:35-48) and "the living water" (John 4:10-11, 14; John 7:37-38). Only in Him, then, can our spiritual thirst and hunger truly be satisfied.
Jethro
Moses was visited by Jethro, his father-in-law, who is also called Reuel (Exod. 2:18). Jethro brought with him Moses’ wife, Zipporah, and two sons, Gershom and Eliezer. When Moses heard that they were coming, he went out to welcome them.
Read Exodus 18:1-27. What major steps in the history of the nation took place here?
Jethro came because he had heard about the astonishing deliverance God had done for Israel. Moses narrated to Jethro in detail "everything the LORD had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake and about all the hardships they had met along the way and how the LORD had saved them" (Exod. 18:8, NIV).
Jethro praised God’s kindness and extraordinary interventions on behalf of His people, declaring, "Blessed be the LORD, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh and has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods, because in this affair they dealt arrogantly with the people" (Exod. 18:10-11, ESV).
What we see here is an example of how God’s work among His people was to be a witness to the world of who the true God is and of what He can do for His people.
At the same time that Jethro learned about the true God, he himself had something to offer God’s people: wise and beneficial advice. Moses needed to organize the legal system with just and fair principles. He also needed dedicated and faithful judges, men of integrity. Jethro wisely enumerated the following qualifications: (1) men who fear God; (2) who are trustworthy; and (3) who hate dishonest gain. Capable people of good character had to be appointed over different units of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. In this way, Moses’ administrative load would be reduced, and he could focus on significant problems. Thus, the people would be well served.
Moses accepted Jethro’s wise counsel (Exod. 18:24) and appointed leaders to different administrative roles (see also Deut. 1:9-18).
Moses could have just brushed off the old man and told him to mind his own business. He didn’t. What important lessons can we learn from his willingness to listen to this person who wasn’t even a Hebrew?
Water From the Rock
In the wilderness, you need plenty of water. God took care of this problem, even though the people were quarrelsome, did not trust Him, and even tested His ability and willingness to give them water. In their unbelief, they looked back to Egypt.
Read Exodus 17:1-7. What lesson should the people have learned from this incident?
Moses called the place Massah, meaning "testing," and Meribah, which signified "quarreling." The Lord gave the Israelites water despite their unbelief. These two names should have reminded the Israelites not to test God and not to quarrel with Him (Heb. 3:7-8, 15). They seriously questioned God’s presence among them, although they had already seen much tangible evidence of not only His presence, but of His power and His authority.
"Moses smote the rock, but it was the Son of God who, veiled in the cloudy pillar, stood beside Moses, and caused the life-giving water to flow. Not only Moses and the elders, but all the congregation who stood at a distance, beheld the glory of the Lord; but had the cloud been removed, they would have been slain by the terrible brightness of Him who abode therein."——Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 298.
Water is a symbol of life because, without water, there is no life. Every cell in our body needs water. We are 60 percent water ourselves. Even our bones are composed partly of water. Thus, providing water in the wilderness for them was a sign for the Israelites that God cared for their needs and that they could trust Him. But, again, they had to obey.
Many centuries later Paul, in 1 Corinthians 10:4, reminds believers that the experience of the Israelites in the wilderness was unique. Christ Himself not only guided them but provided them with water (Ps. 78:15-16) and met other spiritual and physical needs. Paul proclaimed: "That Rock was Christ." For them, Christ was the Source of life and the Giver of eternal life. As a rock is solid, so God firmly led His people. One can count on Him because He does not fail to fulfill His promises.
What are some things that, right now, you need to trust God with? How can you learn to submit to His will and wait for Him to act in His time? Why is this not always so easy to do?
Quail and Manna
Unfortunately, there is a repetitive pattern of rebellion in these pilgrimage stories. The people were notoriously forgetful that the mighty hand of God had helped them in the past and that He had provided solutions to their problems. They let their present problems blind them to their ultimate goal and their promised wonderful future. It’s a common problem even among God’s people today, as well.
Read Exodus 16:1-36. What was the cause of the Israelites’ grumbling, and what followed?
It is important to notice that temptations in the Bible are often related to food. In the Garden of Eden, the Fall was related to eating from the forbidden tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:16-17; Gen. 3:1-6). In Jesus’ wilderness temptations, Satan’s first shot at Him was through food (Matt. 4:3). Esau lost his firstborn rights because of his undisciplined appetite (Gen. 25:29-34). How often was Israel’s disobedience connected to food and drink! No wonder Moses reminded later generations:
"Man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD" (Deut. 8:3, ESV).
Manna, of course, was a heavenly bread that God supplied the Israelites with during their 40 years of sojourning in the wilderness. Through this gift, He taught them that He is the Creator and the Provider of everything. Also, God used His supernatural provision of manna to show them how to keep the seventh-day Sabbath.
Each week four miracles happened: (1) for five days, God gave a daily allotment of manna; (2) on Fridays, a double portion of manna was given; (3) the manna did not spoil from Friday to Sabbath; and (4) no manna fell on Sabbath. God was constantly performing these miracles so the people would remember the Sabbath day and celebrate God’s goodness on that day. God said: "Bear in mind that the LORD has given you the Sabbath" (Exod. 16:29, NIV).
People like to eat. We were created to like to eat. The rich abundance of food, growing out of the ground (our original diet), reveals not only that God wants us to eat, but that we are to like what we eat, too. How, though, can this wonderful gift, that of food (and our liking to eat it), be abused?
Bitter Waters
In biblical narratives, different roles are played by different characters, good or bad, and we need to pay close attention to plots, places, timing, and villains. However, the most important point in a storyline is usually the solution and the lessons learned. It’s no different in these accounts.
As the episodes show, God is the Problem Solver and the Peacemaker; however, His work is complicated by people’s unbelief. Due to their constant murmuring and disobedience, the Hebrews experienced serious complications, even tragedies. They brought upon themselves many difficulties because of their incredulity and unrepentance.
Read Exodus 15:22-27. After crossing the Red Sea, what was the background to the first miracle performed?
The first test of Israel’s faith is associated with the need for water, not surprising given the harsh, hot, and dry desert environment. After three days of traveling, the people finally found water, but it was undrinkable. Marah means "bitter," and because the water was bitter, Israel’s faith in their caring Lord quickly floundered. However, God reacted with compassion, and the first miracle was performed with a piece of wood. Of course, it was not the wood but the Lord who made the water sweet and drinkable. The people had to learn important lessons: (1) patience in waiting for the Lord’s timing, and (2) that God does things in cooperation with humans.
However, the children of Israel took so many things for granted and quickly forgot the great miracles that God had done for them——miracles for which they had just so passionately Sung praises to Him, declaring: "Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?" (Exod. 15:11, ESV).
And yet, even after their grumbling, God promised that He would not bring upon the Israelites "any of the diseases" (Exod. 15:26, NIV) that had plagued the Egyptians. He would protect them. They could experience this promise only on the condition that they stayed faithful to Him.
What trials and struggles have you brought upon yourself? What comfort can you get in knowing that God will still work in your behalf if you cooperate with Him?
Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Exod. 15:22-16:36; Gen. 3:1-6; Exod. 17:1-7; 1 Cor. 10:4; Exod. 18:1-27; 1 Cor. 10:11
Memory Text: "And the LORD said to Moses, ‘How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws? See! For the LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let every man remain in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.’ So the people rested on the seventh day" (Exodus 16:28-30, NKJV).
After leaving Egypt, Israel was on an unknown journey to the Promised Land. The people faced a demanding and long trek, and they needed to learn a multitude of new lessons. The Lord would lead and care for them; and, yes, He desired to help them grow, but they must learn discipline, self-control, sacrifice, unselfishness, trust in the Lord, and especially obedience.
Moses was a visible leader, and the people had to follow him and his leadership if they were to triumph. It was crucial for them to stay together, to cooperate as a community, and to assist each other. There were many hindrances and challenges ahead. So much of their spiritual growth would depend on how they met those challenges and how they responded to Moses, especially when the challenges became great.
The familiar Chinese saying that "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" was true in their situation, and they needed to trust the Lord’s directions with every footstep. Tragically, as we will see, they didn’t learn those lessons so easily.
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 16.
But then again, who does?
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, "The Exodus," pp. 281-290, in Patriarchs and Prophets.
God was for the Israelites despite their little faith. He wished to teach and guide them in how to think and behave as His chosen people. God led them patiently and directed them to a location where they would encounter fewer challenges. Ellen G. White explains: "The Israelites … had little knowledge of God and little faith in Him, and they would have become terrified and disheartened. They were unarmed and unaccustomed to war, their spirits were depressed by long bondage, and they were encumbered with women and children, flocks and herds. In leading them by the way of the Red Sea, the Lord revealed Himself as a God of compassion as well as of judgment."—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 282.
Talking about the Song of Moses, the Andrews Bible Commentary says: "The certainty of this redemptive act of God in history assures us that we have nothing to fear for the future. The last stanza focuses on future enemies who would be faced in conquest of Canaan. Because of God’s powerful ‘arm,’ they would be ‘as still as a stone’ (v. 16). When we face certain impossibilities, when we feel cornered and do not know which way to turn, we can find assurance in ‘The Song of Moses,’ for it commemorates a great event in the history of God’s people."—Andrews Bible Commentary, "Exodus" (Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Press, 2020), p. 214.
- Why do we find ourselves so often in the position of the Hebrews after their incredible deliverance from Egypt, but before the challenge of the Red Sea? That is, in the face of so much evidence for God’s goodness toward us and of His power, why do we still find it so easy to show, and even express, a lack of faith?
- Even after all that had happened, including the loss of the firstborn sons, why would Pharaoh still pursue Israel? What should this tell us about how dangerous it is for any of us to get hardened by sin (or to sin)?
- Though we all face terrible trials at times, many of us have had (and still have) some very good days, some very good times, when nothing bad happens to us or to our loved ones. Why should we see these times as evidence of God’s grace and protection because, after all, we understand that we live in "enemy" territory? That is, why should we always remember to praise God in the good times, because we never know what calamities we have been spared from?
Discussion Questions:
The Song of Moses and Miriam
The whole Egyptian army was overthrown; no one survived, including Pharaoh (see Ps. 136:15). It was a stunning defeat for the Egyptians and a complete victory for God’s people. No wonder all through their history, and even to this day, the Jews recount this story.
Read Exodus 15:1-21. What is the content of Moses’ song?
This song praises the Lord because He is a mighty warrior who defeated those who opposed His people. Moses personally elaborates on this theme by stressing that the Lord, his God, is also his strength, song, and salvation. No one is like Him, "majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders" (Exod. 15:11, NIV).
Moses’ song is all about God, about who He is and what He is doing. The Lord is exalted, praised, and admired for His outstanding work for His people. Gratitude and worship are natural outcomes of God’s goodness toward us. Appreciation for His love is the prerequisite of a vibrant spiritual life. God’s steadfast love is especially emphasized and glorified because He will lead the people whom He has redeemed, and He will guide them to the holy abiding place. Moses predicts that God will establish the sanctuary on the mountain of His inheritance (Exod. 15:17), all pointing ahead to Zion and to the temple in Jerusalem.
In Revelation 15:2-4, the redeemed sing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. Can you imagine how this will sound in heaven, this praise to God for His great and marvelous deeds, praise to God for His just and true judgments, and praise to God for His righteous acts and His holiness?
Notice the last line of the song. "For all nations shall come and worship before You. For Your judgments have been manifested" (NKJV). That is, when all of God’s judgments—especially His judgments upon the evil and oppression that have for millennia gone unpunished—have all been made manifest, the redeemed of the nations will praise Him for those judgments.
Immanuel Kant said that if God is just, then there must be some kind of afterlife. Why is that statement so true, and how can we learn to trust that one day the justice so long lacking here will come? How can you draw comfort from that hope?
Marching Forward by Faith
Read Exodus 14:13-31. Despite their lack of faith, what did God do for the children of Israel?
Because Moses wholeheartedly trusted God and His Word, he encouraged the people. He presented four crucial points on how to act in difficult situations:
- "Do not be afraid" (Exod. 14:13, NKJV). The first appeal is to trust the Lord, because only in this way can fear be overcome. Isaiah reminds us of this truth by stating that believers are in God’s hands, and He will act for them when they accept Him as their God and Lord: "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. … For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you" (Isa. 41:10-13, NIV).
- "Stand [firm] still" (Exod. 14:13, NKJV). To "stand still" does not mean only to stop murmuring and to expect great things, but to trust God and to wait patiently for His mighty intervention, because He will act.
- "You will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today" (Exod. 14:13, NIV). For our faith to grow, it is important to recognize God’s leadership and help and to be grateful for His promised assistance. To "see" means to open one’s eyes (because disbelief is blind). Only God can provide victory, safety, and salvation. God is always for us, caring and providing what is needed at the appropriate time.
- "The LORD will fight for you" (Exod. 14:14, NKJV). This indicates what God will do: He will personally fight for His people. Calvary is the ultimate proof of this reality, for on the cross Christ defeated Satan in order to give us eternal life (John 5:24; Heb. 2:14; Rev. 12:10-11). Later, even the Egyptians recognized that the Lord was fighting for the Israelites (Exod. 14:25).
God’s command to Moses was clear: "Move on." God unfolded His action plan step by step: (1) the Angel of God and the pillar of cloud moved from the front of Israel’s camp and stood behind them, protecting them from the Egyptian army; (2) by faith Moses had to stretch out his hand over the sea; (3) the Lord divided the water and dried it up with a strong wind; and (4) the result was that the Israelites went securely through the sea on dry ground to the other side. The Egyptians blindly pursued them, because they did not see that God was doing extraordinary things for His people; that is, they didn’t see until it was too late, as their confession in Exodus 14:25 revealed.
Crossing the Red Sea
Read Exodus 13:17-14:12. How did God guide the Israelites when they left Egypt, and what happened next?
Following God’s instructions to Moses, the Israelites left Egypt as a well-organized army. The Hebrew terms tsaba’ and makhaneh testify to that description, namely, "army," "division," "camp," and "hosts" (Exod. 6:26; Exod. 7:4; Exod. 12:17-41, 51; Exod. 14:19-20; compare with Exod. 13:18). They were divided into units and marched like an army. Later Balaam saw from Moab’s hills that Israel was "encamped tribe by tribe" (Num. 24:2, NIV).
Meanwhile, "Moses took the bones of Joseph with him" (Exod. 13:19, NIV). This is a very important detail in the text, and it reveals the fulfillment of Joseph’s faith in God’s promises. Joseph never lost sight of the Promised Land, even though he lived in the splendor and privileges of Egypt. He requested that his bones be taken to the land of Canaan (Gen. 50:24-25). He believed that the Lord would surely visit Israel in Egypt and bring them to the land, as He had sworn (Heb. 11:22). On Israel’s arrival in Canaan, Joseph’s bones were "buried at Shechem" (Josh. 24:32, NKJV).
The pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire were the visible signs of God’s presence among His people. The Lord dwelt there and spoke also from the cloud (Exod. 14:24; Num. 12:5-6).
Meanwhile, Pharaoh reveals the true motives of his heart. He is not converted, and he never truly repented. His asking God to bless him was a farce, perhaps a deception in his own heart. He gathered his army, and they went after their escaped slaves. How totally blinded by sin this man really was.
When the people saw Pharaoh’s army coming, they spoke words and expressed sentiments that would be echoed by them more than once: "Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt?" (Exod. 14:11, NKJV).
That is, having already seen such dramatic manifestations of God’s power, which included the sparing of their own firstborn sons, the people still displayed a stunning lack of faith.
Think of the last time you faced a terrible situation. What was your first reaction: faith in God or a lack of faith? What lessons should you have learned from that situation which could help you the next time another comes (and come it will)?
Consecration of the Firstborn
The promised time of redemption, of deliverance, was about to arrive. The people needed to be prepared. They needed not just to believe but to act on those beliefs. God had told them what they needed to do; by faith, they now needed to do it. Though in a totally different context from what James was writing about, the principle fits very well: "But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?" (James 2:17-20, NKJV).
Read Exodus 13:1-16. The Israelite firstborns were spared by God’s grace during the final plague. Why this perpetual command, and what should it mean to us today?
God mercifully guarded the Israelite families who were under the blood because, by faith, they had marked their doorframes. These new directions came from the Lord through Moses: "Consecrate to me every firstborn male" (Exod. 13:2, NIV). This legislation was valid for humans, as well as for animals.
One principle behind this injunction is that everything belongs to Him because He is our Creator and the Owner of everything: "The earth is the LORD&RSQUOS, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it" (Ps. 24:1, NIV). "The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the LORD of hosts" (Hag. 2:8, ESV). The Israelites’ firstborn sons were the first fruit of God’s blessings, which He had bestowed upon them; they were also a sign of their total consecration to Him and of their understanding that all they possessed came only from Him.
Also, we see the idea of redemption, of salvation, here. The firstborn sons were spared death because they were covered by the blood. They were redeemed from death, as are all who are under the blood of Jesus. As Paul writes about Jesus: "in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins" (Col. 1:14, NKJV).
Meanwhile, regulations were given about how this dedication should be offered, a celebration of their deliverance from Egyptian slavery. They were to sacrifice the animals, but their sons were to be redeemed (Exod. 13:12-13, 15).
Exodus 13:16 tells about what they were to put on their hands and between their eyes. How does this symbolize the important spiritual truth that, regardless of how much faith we have, we must act upon that faith?
Go, and Worship the Lord
On the night of Passover, divine judgment fell on those not covered by the blood (Exod. 12:1-12). No one escaped because of position, education, social status, or gender. Punishment struck all families, from Pharaoh to slaves, and even the firstborn of the animals. The pride of Egypt was in the dust.
Read Exodus 12:31-36. What strange request does Pharaoh make and why, even as he gives permission for them all to leave?
How interesting that Pharaoh, in telling the Hebrews to go and worship, adds this request: "And bless me also."
Pharaoh was humiliated. And, given the tragic circumstances from the worst plague of all, he gives permission for Israel to leave Egypt. What he refused to grant all previous times, and no matter the suffering his actions brought upon his nation, he now permits.
And the Egyptian people, understandably, are eager for the Hebrews to go, as well. As they said, please leave, or else "we shall all be dead."
God, meanwhile, made provision so that the Israelites did not leave Egypt empty-handed, but with things they would need for what, in the end, would turn out to be a much longer sojourn than anticipated. The Egyptians gave the Jews these precious articles only to hurry the people out of the country, but the items were wages long denied the Israelites for centuries of slave labor. Surely for the Egyptians, the price of getting the Hebrews out of their land was cheap enough.
How often have we "repented" of actions only because of their consequences and not because those acts were themselves wrong? Why is that not true repentance? How can we learn to be sorry for the sins that, in a sense, we "get away with," at least in the short term?
And bless me also?Why would he, the king of Egypt, a "god" on earth among his people, ask that? It sounds as if he’s finally catching on to the power of the Hebrew God and would like to benefit from it. However, how can God bless him while he is steeped in rebellion, stubbornness, sin, and pride? Sure, he finally gave his consent, but it wasn’t out of submission to the will of Yahweh. It was, instead, out of defeat. He wasn’t repentant—as his later actions will reveal. He simply wanted to stop the devastation that was destroying his kingdom.
Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Exod. 12:31-36; James 2:17-20; Exod. 13:1-14:31; Heb. 11:22; Exod. 15:1-21; Rev. 15:2-4
Memory Text: "And Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace" (Exodus 14:13-14, NKJV).
The Exodus is the most dramatic and glorious experience of God’s people in the Old Testament. This event is the divine model of how God defeated the Hebrews’ enemies and brought the Israelites victoriously into the Promised Land. It’s also a symbol of salvation and redemption in Christ.
From a human standpoint, the children of Israel were in a desperate, even impossible, situation—one that they, in and of themselves, could not save themselves from. If they were to be delivered, it would have to be by a divine act. It’s the same with us and sin: in and of ourselves, we are in a hopeless situation. We need something even more dramatic than the Exodus. And we’ve got it: the cross of Christ, and what Christ did there for us all.
The events of Israel’s departure from the land of Goshen, mentioned in Exodus 12, until the song of Moses, joyously Sung in Exodus 15, are breathtaking and incredible. God’s signs, wonders, and miraculous redeeming works are at their peak.
But even these do not compare to what Christ did for us at the cross, of which the drama of the Exodus was a mere foreshadowing.
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 9.
Further Thought:
Read Ellen G. White, "The Passover," pp. 273-280, in Patriarchs and Prophets.
"The Passover was to be both commemorative and typical, not only pointing back to the deliverance from Egypt, but forward to the greater deliverance which Christ was to accomplish in freeing His people from the bondage of sin. The sacrificial lamb represents ‘the Lamb of God,’ in whom is our only hope of salvation. Says the apostle, ‘Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.’ 1 Corinthians 5:7. It was not enough that the paschal lamb be slain; its blood must be sprinkled upon the doorposts; so the merits of Christ's blood must be applied to the soul. We must believe, not only that He died for the world, but that He died for us individually. We must appropriate to ourselves the virtue of the atoning sacrifice."—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 277.
To this day, observant Jewish families around the world celebrate Passover, Pesach. They have what they call a "Passover Seder" ("Seder" means "order/arrangement") during which they recount the Exodus and then enjoy a special meal as a family. Amazing that this has been kept since, literally, the time of the Exodus! Only the seventh-day Sabbath, which observant Jews keep as well, goes back even farther into antiquity.
- How can we understand the "fairness" of the Lord in striking dead the firstborn, many of whom were surely "innocent"? How can we harmonize this with the powerful reality of God’s love? Think, too, of the Flood. How do we understand this?
- What is the meaning of the symbolic saying that believers are covered by the blood of Jesus and that His blood cleanses them from all their iniquities?
- Read the following words: "The followers of Christ must be partakers of His experience. They must receive and assimilate the word of God so that it shall become the motive power of life and action. By the power of Christ they must be changed into His likeness, and reflect the divine attributes. … The spirit and work of Christ must become the spirit and work of His disciples."—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 278. How do we allow Christ to do in us what is written here?
Discussion Questions:
The Divine Judgment
Read Exodus 12:29-30 on how God struck down the firstborn in Egypt. Why did God focus on the firstborn? (See also Heb. 11:28.)
The last Egyptian plague fell on the firstborn. It was a divine judgment on all the gods of Egypt and upon all the families who worshiped these false gods, which were worthless idols that reflected the people’s own passions, desires, and fears.
As the earlier plagues had shown, these idols were unable to save the people. Their worthlessness was even more apparent now, during the tenth plague, which brought, by far, the greatest consequences on the Egyptians.
"Throughout the vast realm of Egypt the pride of every household had been laid low. The shrieks and wails of the mourners filled the air. King and courtiers, with blanched faces and trembling limbs, stood aghast at the overmastering horror."—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 280.
Pharaoh represented the ultimate power and god of Egypt, and his firstborn son was considered a son of a god. Isis was a goddess protecting children; Heqet was a goddess attending women at childbirth; and Min was a god of reproduction. Besides these, there were several Egyptian gods of fertility. All these gods were powerless in comparison to the living Lord. Moses says: "Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?" (Exod. 15:11, ESV). Jethro later testified: "Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly" (Exod. 18:11, NIV).
According to Exodus 1, the Egyptians had killed newborn sons of Israel on the command of Pharaoh to weaken the Israelites, and to subdue and humiliate them. Now God’s punishment strikes the firstborn sons of Egypt. What people sow, they reap.
Our decisions and actual behavior bring consequences. And the painful truth, which we all have experienced, is that we alone don’t suffer from the consequences of our wrong actions. Others, sometimes many others, even innocent others, suffer, as well. Such is the nature of sin.
In what ways have you suffered from others’ sins? Or, what are ways others have suffered from your sins? What is our only hope?
Passing the Torch
The psalmist states how our children can know God and His loving care: "One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts" (Ps. 145:4, ESV). One family should speak to another family about God, about His marvelous deeds, and about His teachings, all in order to pass biblical knowledge on to another generation.
Read Exodus 12:24-28. What important point was being made here?
Parents were the first teachers in Israel and were to recount the story of the Exodus to their children. It was not to be told as a past historical event only, but to be presented as their own experience, even though it happened a long time ago. By celebrating this festival, they were to identify with their forefathers, and the history was to be relived and actualized. The father would say: "I was in Egypt, I saw the defeat of the Egyptian gods and the plagues on Egypt, and I was set free." In the book of Exodus, it is twice underlined how parents should answer their children’s questions regarding the Passover (see Deut. 6:6-8 and Exodus 13:14-16).
It is worthwhile to notice that the Israelites were still in Egypt when told to celebrate their liberation from Egypt. The whole celebration, then, was an act of faith. After receiving their directions, "the people bowed down and worshiped" (Exod. 12:27, NIV) their Redeemer, and then they followed the Passover instructions.
In the book of Deuteronomy, the Israelites is reminded to tell their story in such a way that they can internalize it as their own journey. Notice the collective tone of this account as well as the stress on the present experience: "My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down into Egypt with a few people and lived there and became a great nation, powerful and numerous. But the Egyptians mistreated us and made us suffer, subjecting us to harsh labor. Then we cried out to the LORD, the God of our ancestors, and the LORD heard our voice and saw our misery, toil and oppression. So the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders. He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey" (Deut. 26:5-9, NIV).
Also, by recounting and retelling the story of Passover (or any events in sacred history) to their children, parents would be greatly helped in remembering what God had done for them and for the people. Telling it was as much for the speaker as for the hearers.
Pesach
Read Exodus 12:17-23. What role does blood play in the celebration of this new festival?
The blood of the sacrificed animal is a key element in this celebration. Those who participated in this feast had put the blood of the slain lamb on the doorframes of their houses. In this way, they demonstrated their faith in God, believing that He would deliver them from what those not covered by the blood would face.
The Passover lamb had to be without blemish, because it pointed to Jesus Christ, "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29, NKJV). The animal’s blood played a crucial role: it symbolized protection and was the sign of life at a time of death.
"Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt" (Exod. 12:13, NKJV).
The whole gospel was associated with the celebration of the Passover because it pointed not only to freedom from slavery and going to the Promised Land, but to Jesus Christ’s sacrifice for our sins and His merits applied to all who are covered by His blood.
Centuries later as Paul looked back on this celebration, he wrote: "Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us" (1 Cor. 5:7, NKJV).
Yeast, or leaven, was used to prepare dough of various kinds. When it is first mentioned in the Bible, it is in connection with the preparation of the unleavened bread on the eve of the Israelites’ departure from Egypt. Yeast also had to be removed from their homes (Exod. 12:8-15-20; Exod. 13:3-7). In this particular context, yeast was a symbol of sin (1 Cor. 5:6-8); therefore, it was not to be used during the Passover festival for a week.
The unleavened bread is a symbol of the sinless Messiah, who overcame all temptations and gave His life for us (John 1:29, 1 Cor. 5:7, Heb. 4:15). A "bunch of hyssop," in which the blood was dipped, symbolized God’s purifying grace (Ps. 51:7). In short, all through Pesach, the redeeming work of Jesus is revealed.
What does the fact that it took the blood of Jesus, God Himself, to atone for sin teach us about how bad sin really is?
What a powerful expression of the gospel!
The Passover
Read Exodus 12:1-20. What specific instructions does God give to Moses and Aaron before Israel leaves Egypt?
One would expect God to instruct Moses and Aaron about how to organize the departure from Egypt: that is, how to make provisions for the escape, especially for the elderly, mothers with small children, animals, and so forth. Instead, God’s instruction is surprising: He tells them how to celebrate the Passover. In other words, the focus is on worshiping the Lord, who was going to redeem them. Everything else would follow in due time.
Each family was to prepare a lamb, with nothing wasted. Everyone had to eat his or her portion, and if the family could not consume the entire lamb, they were to eat the meal together with another family.
Read Exodus 12:13-14. What was the Lord going to do for them when the final plague came? What does all this symbolize?
The Exodus was to be celebrated regularly each year, not merely as a commemoration of a past event of what God had done for their forefathers, but also as the actualization of God’s liberating act for the present generation. This was to be a fresh experience for each group.
Verses 12 and 13 explain the meaning of the Passover: the divine judgment of destruction will "pass over" the Israelites; thus, they were to commemorate "Passover." This word is a combination of two words, "pass" and "over," because the destruction "passed over" the Israelite homes on which the doorposts had been marked by the blood of the lamb, the sign of life and salvation. In Hebrew, the name of Passover is Pesach, from a verb that means "to pass over."
The celebration of the Passover was to remind every Israelite of the mighty and gracious acts of God on behalf of His people. This celebration helped to secure their national identity and seal their religious convictions.
Why is it so important always to remember the good that God has done to you in the past and to trust that He will do good for you in the future, as well?
One More Plague
The prophet Amos declares that "the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7, ESV), and through the prophet Moses He revealed to Pharaoh what was coming next. The most solemn warning was given to Pharaoh. This will be a just judgment upon pride, exploitation, violence, and idolatry, all of which have triggered these calamities upon Egypt.
Read Exodus 11:1-10. What warning did God give before executing judgment upon Egypt?
God gave Egypt time—three days of darkness (Exod. 10:22-23)—to think about recent events and what they meant. He also provided their last explicit warning, the last chance to do the right thing.
But Exodus 11:8 says that Moses "went out from Pharaoh in great anger" (NKJV). Why would Moses leave in anger? Most likely because he knows the tragedy, the tenth plague, is going to hit a lot of innocent people—all because of Pharaoh’s hardness of heart.
Also, the number ten is significant in biblical symbolism. Ten represents fullness or completeness. (Think of the Ten Commandments as a complete revelation of the divine moral law.) The ten Egyptian plagues point to God’s full expression of His justice and retribution.
God is the Judge, and He is against pride, injustice, discrimination, arrogance, exploitation, cruelty, and selfishness. He is on the side of the sufferers, the abused, the mistreated, and the persecuted. God will execute justice, which truly is another expression of His love. (See Ps. 2:12, Ps. 33:5, Ps. 85:11, Ps. 89:14, Ps. 101:1, Isa. 16:5, Jer. 9:24.)
We, too, should try the best we can to be both loving and just. However, we can easily fall into extremes, one way or another. Out of "love" we turn a blind eye to wrongs, to things that need to be corrected. Or we can coldly execute justice as if it were something made of steel. Neither extreme is correct. Instead, this is the ideal: "And what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8, NKJV).
If we can’t get the perfect balance (which we can’t), why is it better to err on the side of mercy instead of justice? Or is it?
Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Exod. 11:1-10; Mic. 6:8; Exod. 12:1-30; 1 Cor. 5:7; Exod. 13:14-16; Heb. 11:28
Memory Text: "And it shall be, when your children say to you, "What do you mean by this service?" that you shall say, "It is the Passover sacrifice of the LORD, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households" (Exodus 12:26-27, NKJV).
The tenth and last plague is about to fall. The last warning is given; the final decision must be made. It’s truly a matter of life or death. Not only the life of an individual, but the prosperity of families and the entire nation is at stake. Pharaoh and his officials will be responsible for the fate of many people, either for life or for death. His attitude toward the living God of Israel will determine not just his future but that of his nation.
How do we feel, and what do we do, when the gravity of circumstances lies heavy upon us, and we have to choose the next step and direction, a choice that can greatly impact the lives of many others besides ourselves?
God is more than willing to grant us wisdom, understanding, and power to do what is right (1 Cor. 1:30, Phil. 2:13).
The problem, however, is that, in our own stubborn hearts, we don’t always want to do what is right. We know what it is, but we refuse to do it. In the account of the Exodus, one man’s refusal to submit to God, even in face of overwhelming evidence, brought tragedy upon many others besides himself, which is often how it works, anyway.
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 2.
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, "The Plagues of Egypt," pp. 265-272 in Patriarchs and Prophets.
"His [God’s] people were permitted to experience the grinding cruelty of the Egyptians, that they might not be deceived concerning the debasing influence of idolatry. In His dealing with Pharaoh, the Lord manifested His hatred of idolatry and His determination to punish cruelty and oppression. … There was no exercise of supernatural power to harden the heart of the king. God gave to Pharaoh the most striking evidence of divine power, but the monarch stubbornly refused to heed the light. Every display of infinite power rejected by him, rendered him the more determined in his rebellion. The seeds of rebellion that he sowed when he rejected the first miracle, produced their harvest."—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 268.
"The Sun and moon were objects of worship to the Egyptians; in this mysterious darkness the people and their gods alike were smitten by the power that had undertaken the cause of the bondmen. Yet fearful as it was, this judgment is an evidence of God’s compassion and His unwillingness to destroy. He would give the people time for reflection and repentance before bringing upon them the last and most terrible of the plagues."—Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 272.
- Dwell more on the question of why Pharaoh allowed himself to be so hardened that, in the face of what must have been the obvious and correct choice—Let the people go!—he still refused. How could someone become so self-deceived? What kind of warnings should we take from this for ourselves about how we can truly get so hardened in sin that we make utterly disastrous decisions when the correct decision and the right path have been right before us the whole time? What other Bible characters have made the same kind of error? Think, for example, of Judas.
- At one point, amid the devastation that Pharaoh had brought upon his own land and people, he declared "I have sinned this time; the LORD is the righteous one, and I and my people are the wicked ones" (Exod. 9:27, NASB). Though a wonderful confession of sin at the time, how do we know that it wasn’t a genuine one?
Discussion Questions:
Hail, Locusts, and Darkness
Read Exodus 9:13-10:29. How successful are these plagues in getting Pharaoh to change his mind?
Nut was the Egyptian goddess of the sky and heavens and was often depicted as controlling what happened under the sky and on the earth. Osiris was the god of crops and fertility. In the Bible, hail is often associated with God’s judgment (Isa. 28:2-17; Ezek. 13:11-13). During this plague, those who hide their property in a safe shelter will be protected (Exod. 9:20-21). Everyone is now tested: will they, or will they not, believe God’s Word and act accordingly?
God announces that his purpose in letting Pharaoh live is for the whole earth to know Him (Exod. 9:16). The king of Egypt now confesses that he has sinned, but later he changes his mind.
The Egyptian god of storm, war, and disorder was called Seth. Together with Isis, they were considered agriculture deities. Shu was a god of the atmosphere. Serapis personified divine majesty, fertility, healing, and afterlife. Not one of the Egyptian gods could stop God’s judgments (Exod. 10:4-20) because idols are nothing (Isa. 44:9-10, 12-17).
Pharaoh’s servants urged him to let Israel go, but he refused again. He offered a compromise, which Moses rightly rejected because women and children are a vital and inseparable part of worship and the faith community.
Finally, Ra was the principal Egyptian god, the Sun god. Thoth was a moon god. Neither was able to give light. Pharaoh again tries to bargain, but in vain. A three-day period of darkness struck Egypt, but there was light where the Israelites lived. The separation could not be more spectacular.
Yet, no matter the battering that his nation took, Pharaoh was determined to fight back and not to relent. Though we don’t know his deeper motives, at some point it could have become purely a pride thing. No matter how powerful the evidence, no matter how obvious it was what was happening (even his own servants declared, "How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God. Do you not yet know that Egypt is destroyed?" [Exod. 10:7, NKJV]), and no matter that the correct choice was right there before him—after a bit of waffling, Pharaoh still refused to surrender to God’s will and let the people go.
What a dramatic example of the words, "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall" (Prov. 16:18, NKJV).
Flies, Livestock, and Boils
Read Exodus 8:20-9:12. What does this account teach about however great may be the manifestations of God’s power and glory, humanity still has freedom to reject Him?
The Egyptian god Uatchit was the fly god of swamps and marshes. The god Khepri (of the rising Sun, creation, and rebirth) was depicted with the head of a scarab beetle. These "gods" were defeated by the Lord. In this account (Exod. 8:20-24), while the Egyptians were suffering, the Hebrews were protected. In fact, no further plagues affected them.
Again, all this was an attempt by God to let Pharaoh know that "I am the LORD in the midst of the land" (Exod. 8:22, NKJV).
Thus, Pharaoh began to bargain. No doubt the pressure was mounting. He was willing for Israel to worship their God and to sacrifice to Him, but only in the land of Egypt (Exod. 8:25). His conditions could not be met because some of the animals were considered sacred in Egypt, and sacrificing them would have caused violence against the Hebrews. Also, this was not God’s plan for Israel.
Meanwhile, the next plague (Exod. 9:1-7) falls on the livestock. Hathor, the Egyptian goddess of love and protection, was depicted with the head of a cow. A bull god Apis was also very popular and highly regarded in ancient Egypt. Thus, in this fifth plague, additional principal deities were defeated when the Egyptians’ livestock died.
In the sixth plague (Exod. 9:8-12), the total defeat of Isis, the goddess of medicine, magic, and wisdom, is made manifest. We also see the defeat of deities like Sekhmet (goddess of war and epidemics) and Imhotep (god of medicine and healing). They are unable to protect their own worshipers. Ironically, now even the magicians and sorcerers are so afflicted that they cannot appear in court, which shows that they are helpless against the Creator of heaven and earth.
For the first time in the story about the ten plagues, a text says that "the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart" (Exod. 9:12, NIV). However confusing this phrase might be, when understood in the full context, it reveals again that the Lord will let us reap the consequences of our own continual rejection of Him.
Pharaoh’s problem wasn’t intellectual; he had enough rational evidence to make the right choice. Instead, it was a problem of his heart. What should this tell us about why we must guard our hearts?
The First Three Plagues
The ten plagues in Egypt were aimed not at the Egyptian people but at their gods. Each plague hit at least one of them.
Read Exodus 7:14-8:19. What happened in these plagues?
God instructed Moses that the dialogue with Pharaoh would be difficult and almost impossible (Exod. 7:14). However, God wanted to reveal Himself to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians. Thus, He decided to communicate with them in a way that they could understand. Also, the Hebrews would benefit from this confrontation because they would learn more about their God.
The first plague was aimed against Hapi, the god of the Nile (Exod. 7:17-25). Life in Egypt was totally dependent on water from the Nile. Where there was water, there was life. Water was the source of life, so they invented their god, Hapi, and worshiped him as the provider of life.
Of course, only the living God is the Source of life, the Creator of everything, including water and food (Gen. 1:1-2, 20-22; Ps. 104:27-28; Ps. 136:25; John 11:25; John 14:6). Changing water into blood symbolizes transforming life into death. Hapi was not able to provide and protect life. These are possible only through the power of the Lord.
God then gives Pharaoh another chance. Instead of life, the Nile produces frogs, which the Egyptians This time the frog goddess, Heqet, is directly confronted (Exod. 8:1-15). fear, detest, and abhor. They want to get rid of them. The precise time when this plague was taken away demonstrated that God’s power was also behind this plague.
The third plague has the shortest description (Exod. 8:16-19). The type of insect here (Heb. kinnim) is not clear (gnats, mosquitos, ticks, lice?). It was directed against the god Geb, the Egyptian god of the earth. Out of the dust of the earth (echoes of the biblical Creation story) God brought forth gnats, which spread throughout the land. Unable to duplicate this miracle (only God can create life), the magicians declared, "This is the finger of God" (Exod. 8:19). Pharaoh, however, still refused to budge.
Think how hard Pharaoh’s heart was. Repeated rejection of God’s prompting only made it worse. What lessons are here for each of us about the constant rejection of the Lord’s prompting?
Who Hardened Pharaoh’s Heart?
Read Exodus 7:3-13, 14, 22. How do we understand these texts?
Nine times in Exodus the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart is ascribed to God (Exod. 4:21; Exod. 7:3; Exod. 9:12; Exod. 10:1-20, 27; Exod. 11:10; Exod. 14:4-8; see also Rom. 9:17-18). Another nine times Pharaoh is said to have hardened his own heart (Exod. 7:13-14, 22; Exod. 8:15-19, 32; Exod. 9:7-34, 35).
Who hardened the king’s heart—God, or Pharaoh himself?
It is significant that in the Exodus story of the ten plagues, in each of the first five plagues, Pharaoh alone was the agent of his heart hardening. Thus, he initiated the hardening of his own heart. From the sixth plague on, however, the biblical text states that it was God who hardened Pharaoh’s heart (Exod. 9:12). What all this means is that God strenghtened or deepened Pharaoh’s own choice, his willful action, as God had told Moses He would do (Exod. 4:21).
In other words, God sent plagues to help Pharaoh repent and to free him from the darkness and error of his mind. God did not create fresh evil in Pharaoh’s heart; instead, He simply gave Pharaoh over to his own malign impulses. He left him without God’s restraining grace and thus abandoned him to his own wickedness (see Rom. 1:24-32).
Pharaoh had his free will—he could choose for or against God—and he decided against.
The lessons are obvious. We have been given the ability to choose between right and wrong, good and evil, obedience or disobedience. From Lucifer in heaven, to Adam and Eve in Eden, to Pharaoh in Egypt, and to us today— wherever we abide, we choose either life of death (Deut. 30:19).
An analogy: imagine Sunshine that beats on butter and clay. Butter melts but clay hardens. The heat of the Sun is the same in both cases, but there are two different reactions to the heat, and two different results. The effect depends on the material. In the case of Pharaoh, one may say that it depended upon the attitudes of his heart toward God and His people.
What free will choice(s) are you going to make in the next day or so? If you know what the right choice is, how can you prepare yourself to make it?
God vs. gods
Read Exodus 7:8-15. What lessons are here in this first confrontation between the God of the Hebrews and the gods of Egypt?
The upcoming battles were going to be between the living God and the Egyptian "gods." What made things worse was that Pharaoh considered himself to be one of those gods. The Lord did not fight against the Egyptians, or even Egypt per se, but against their deities (the Egyptians venerated more than 1,500 gods and goddesses). The biblical text is explicit: "On all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD" (Exod. 12:12, ESV). Later, it is once again emphasized, this time when Israel’s journey from Egypt was recounted: "The LORD had brought judgment on their gods" (Num. 33:4, NIV).
An example of this judgment on their gods was well demonstrated by the miracle of the rod turning into a serpent (Exod. 7:9-12). In Egypt, the Uraeus goddess Wadjet was personified by a cobra and represented sovereign power over Lower Egypt. The symbol of a cobra appeared in Pharaoh’s crown, a sign of his power, deity, royalty, and divine authority because this goddess would spit venom at his enemies. The Egyptians also believed that the sacred serpent would guide the Pharaoh to his afterlife.
When Aaron’s staff became a snake and ate all the other serpents before the king, the supremacy of the living God over Egyptian magic and sorcery was manifested. The emblem of Pharaoh’s might was not only conquered, but Aaron and Moses clutched it in their hands (Exod. 7:12-15). The initial confrontation demonstrated God’s power and lordship over Egypt. Moses, as God’s representative, had greater authority and power than did the "god" Pharaoh himself.
It is also significant that the ancient Egyptians considered a snake god, Nehebkau ("he who harnesses the spirits"), to be sacred, adored, and worshiped. According to their mythology, this serpent god had great power because he swallowed seven cobras. Thus, God communicated to the Egyptians that He, not the serpent god, has sovereign power and authority. After such a powerful confrontation, they were able to understand this message immediately and distinctly.
How can we allow the Lord to have sovereignty over any of the "gods" seeking supremacy in our lives?
Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Exod. 7:8-10:29; Num. 33:4; Rom. 1:24-32; Ps. 104:27-28; Isa. 28:2-12-17; Isa. 44:9-10; 12-17
Memory Text: "So the heart of Pharaoh was hard; neither would he let the children of Israel go, as the LORD had spoken by Moses" (Exodus 9:35, NKJV).
A farmer was trying to get his donkey to move; the beast wouldn’t budge. So, the farmer took a thick branch and walloped it. He again spoke to the donkey, who then started moving.
When someone asked the farmer why that worked, he replied, "Well, first you have to get its attention."
Putting aside whatever issue one might raise about cruelty to animals, there is a point to be made here, especially in the context of the Exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt. Moses has been given his marching orders and goes to Pharaoh with God’s famous words, shalach et ami, which is, "Let My people go!"
Pharaoh, however, does not want to let God’s people go. The Scriptures never explicitly explain why Pharaoh was so reluctant, despite the military threat that the Egyptians feared the Hebrews could pose (see Exod. 1:10). Most likely, as is often the case with slavery, it was pure economics. They were cheap labor, and so he didn’t want to lose whatever economic advantages these slaves gave him. Thus, he was going to need some persuasion not only to get his attention but also to change his mind.
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, July 26.
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, "The Plagues of Egypt," pp. 257-265 in Patriarchs and Prophets.
Look at how badly things started off for Moses and his people after Moses first approached Pharaoh.
"The king, thoroughly roused, suspected the Israelites of a design to revolt from his service. Disaffection was the result of idleness; he would see that no time was left them for dangerous scheming. And he at once adopted measures to tighten their bonds and crush out their independent spirit. The same day orders were issued that rendered their labor still more cruel and oppressive. The most common building material of that country was Sun-dried brick; the walls of the finest edifices were made of this, and then faced with stone; and the manufacture of brick employed great numbers of the bondmen. Cut straw being intermixed with the clay, to hold it together, large quantities of straw were required for the work; the king now directed that no more straw be furnished; the laborers must find it for themselves, while the same amount of brick should be exacted.
"This order produced great distress among the Israelites throughout the land. The Egyptian taskmasters had appointed Hebrew officers to oversee the work of the people, and these officers were responsible for the labor performed by those under their charge. When the requirement of the king was put in force, the people scattered themselves throughout the land, to gather stubble instead of straw; but they found it impossible to accomplish the usual amount of labor. For this failure the Hebrew officers were cruelly beaten."—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 258.
- Think of a time when, as you heeded God’s call in your life, things did not go well, or certainly did not start off well. What lessons have you learned over time from that experience?
- Tell others how God intervened in your life when you prayed for His help or when you did not expect it. How can we believe in God’s goodness when bad things happen, even to those who trust the Lord?
- What would you say to someone who declares, "I do not know the Lord"? However, suppose the person said it, not in a way of defiance, but as a simple fact about his or her life? What could you do to help him or her "know the Lord" and explain to the person why it’s important that he or she do so?
Discussion Questions:
Like God to Pharaoh
Read Exodus 6:28-7:7. How does the Lord deal with Moses’ objection?
God presents Himself to Moses as Yahweh, which means that He is the personal and close God, the God of His people, and the God who entered a covenantal relationship with them.
This immanent God again commands Moses to go and speak with Pharaoh. With a lack of self-confidence, Moses again objects, "Why would Pharaoh listen to me?" Here again we can see not just Moses’ humility but, again, his desire to get out of the task, which so far has not gone too well.
"When God ordered Moses to go back to Pharaoh, Moses showed self-distrust. The term ‘aral sepatayim—literally ‘uncircumcised lips,’ which is used here to express Moses’ lack of speaking ability (Exodus 6:12-30)—is similar to that found in Exodus 4:10: ‘slow of speech.’"—Andrews Bible Commentary: Old Testament, "Exodus" (Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Press, 2020), p. 205.
God in His mercy gives Aaron to help Moses. Moses will speak to Aaron, who will then speak publicly to Pharaoh; thus, Moses will play the role of God before the Egyptian king, and Aaron will be his prophet.
This account provides an excellent definition for the role of a prophet. A prophet is a spokesperson for God; he or she is His mouthpiece to transmit and to interpret God’s word to the people. As Moses spoke to Aaron, and then Aaron announced it to Pharaoh, so God communicates with a prophet, who then proclaims God’s teaching to the people. This can happen verbally, in person; or, as was most commonly done, the prophet received the message from God and then wrote it down.
God also explains to Moses what he can expect from the encounters with Pharaoh. He warns him that the confrontation will be tense and long. For the second time God stresses to Moses that Pharaoh will be very stubborn and that He will harden his heart (Exod. 4:21, Exod. 7:3). The result, however, will end in something good, for "the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD" (Exod. 7:5, NIV). That is, even amid the chaos that follows, God will be glorified.
Moses ran out of excuses for not following what God had called him to do. What excuses might we use to try to get out of what we know God wants us to do?
Uncircumcised Lips
The Lord had indeed given Moses some powerful promises about what He was going to do. Though that encounter must have encouraged Moses, his encouragement was probably short-lived, given the response that he received from his people.
Read Exodus 6:9-13. What happened next, and what lessons can we take from this story about times of disappointment and struggle in our lives?
The Hebrews are so disheartened by their grief, suffering, and hard labor that they do not listen to Moses’ words of reassurance that God will act to fulfill what He promised. They have waited so long for it, and their expectations have not been met. Why should it be different now? They were losing heart and hope, which much have been even more bitter because, perhaps for the first in all their lifetimes, they saw real hope of deliverance.
And yet, who hasn’t been in a similar place? Who hasn’t at some point felt depressed, disappointed, dissatisfied—even abandoned by God?
Remember the story of Job? What about Asaph, a psalmist who struggled with his questions regarding the prosperity of the wicked and the suffering of the righteous. Yet, regardless of his struggles, Asaph has one of the most beautiful confessions of faith: "Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever" (Ps. 73:23-26, NIV).
Through sacred history, God has assured His people that He is with them (Isa. 41:13, Matt. 28:20). He gives them His peace, His comfort, and He strengthens them to make it through life’s challenges (John 14:27; John 16:33; Phil. 4:6-7).
The covenant formula, "I will take you as My people, and I will be your God" (Exod. 6:7, NKJV), expresses the intimate relationship that the Lord wanted to have with His people.
Think through the phrase, "I will take you as My people, and I will be your God" (Exod. 6:7, NKJV). Though the context was corporate, how does this apply to each one of us individually, and how should this relationship be manifested in our daily lives? (See also 2 Cor. 6:16.)
The Divine "I"
Poor Moses! He first gets berated by Pharaoh, and now his own people all but curse him.
Thus, Moses brings his complaint to God. In his bitterness and disappointment with the worsening of Israel’s conditions, he asks: "Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued your people at all" (Exod. 5:22-23, NIV). Moses’ discontent with the Lord is obvious and, considering the situation, understandable.
God’s response, though, is powerful. He will act, and very decisively, as well. "Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh" (Exod. 6:1, NIV).
Read Exodus 5:22-6:8. What is God’s response to Moses, and what important theological truths are revealed here?
God will no longer only speak; He will now mightily intervene in favor of His people. He reminds Moses of a few pertinent facts: (1) I am the LORD; (2) I appeared to the patriarchs; (3) I established My covenant with them; (4) I have promised to give them the land of Canaan; (5) I have heard the groaning of the children of Israel; and (6) I have remembered My covenant to give you the Promised Land.
Notice the repetition of the divine "I." I, the LORD your God, I have done such and such, and so you can trust that I will do for you what I have promised.
These four divine actions secure and reestablish His relationship with His people. God is the subject of all these activities, and the Israelites are the recipients of all these benefits and grace. God offers these gifts for free, out of love; He did it then, to them, and He does it now, for us, as well.
What other Bible characters have cried out in complaint before God—and with good reasons? Why is it OK, at times, to pour out your soul to God and even complain about your situation? Why, though, must you always do it in faith and in trust?
The Lord now solemnly proclaims that He will do four great things for Israel because He is their living Lord: (1) "I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians;" (2) "I will free you from being slaves to them;" (3) "I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment;" and (4) "I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God" (Exod. 6:6-7, NIV).
A Rough Start
Though Moses must have known, even from the beginning, that what the Lord had tasked him with was not going to be easy (hence his attempts to get out of it), he probably had no idea of what was coming.
Read Exodus 5:3-23. What were the immediate results of Moses and Aaron’s first recorded encounter with Pharaoh?
Even before going to Pharaoh, Moses and Aaron gathered the elders and people of Israel, told them God’s words, and showed them God’s signs, which resulted in Israel’s believing that the Lord would deliver them from their slavery. Thus, they worshiped the Lord (Exod. 4:29-31). Expectations surely were high: the Lord was going to deliver the Hebrew people from their bondage—finally!
Moses then went to the king of Egypt with God’s demands, and things became even worse for the Israelites. Their suffering increased, and their daily labor became more burdensome and demanding. They were accused of being lazy; they were treated more harshly; and their service became more difficult than it had already been.
Their leaders were not happy, and the confrontation between them and Moses and Aaron was ugly, and (as we will later see) it simply portended the kind of conflicts Moses would have with his own people for years to come.
Read Exodus 5:21, and then put yourself in the place of these men as they confronted Moses and Aaron. Why would they say what they did?
It’s not that hard to see why they would have been upset with Moses ("Let the LORD look on you and judge, they said"). They thought Moses was coming to free them from the Egyptians, not to make their lives under the Egyptians even harder.
Thus, besides dealing with the Egyptians, Moses and Aaron had to deal with their own people, as well.
What are some better ways you and others might be able to deal with local church leaders when disagreements arise, as they inevitably do?
Who Is the Lord?
Following God’s orders, Moses goes to Pharaoh to begin the process in which he, Moses, would "bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt" (Exod. 3:10, NKJV).
What was Pharaoh’s response to God’s demand, "Let my people go" (see Exod. 5:1-2), and what significance can be found in this response?
"Who is the LORD?" Pharaoh declares, not in any desire to know Him but, instead, as an act of defiance or even denial of this God, whom he admits that he does not know.
"I do not know the LORD" (NKJV), he says, almost as a boast.
How many people through history have uttered the same thing? How tragic because, as Jesus Himself said, "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent" (John 17:3).
Egypt, with the Pharaoh as king, is symbolic of a power that denies God’s presence and authority. It is an entity that stands in opposition to God, His Word, and His people.
Pharaoh’s next declaration that "I will not let Israel go" reveals even more this rebellion against the living God, further making Egypt a symbol, not only for the denial of God but for a system that fights against Him.
No wonder many saw this same attitude, millennia later, in the French Revolution (see also Isa. 30:1-3 and Rev. 11:8). Pharaoh thought he was a god or the son of a god—a broad reference to a belief in one’s own supreme power, strength, and intelligence.
"Of all nations presented in Bible history, Egypt most boldly denied the existence of the living God and resisted His commands. No monarch ever ventured upon more open and highhanded rebellion against the authority of Heaven than did the king of Egypt. When the message was brought him by Moses, in the name of the Lord, Pharaoh proudly answered: ‘Who is Jehovah, that I should hearken unto His voice to let Israel go? I know not Jehovah, and moreover I will not let Israel go,’ Exodus 5:2, A.R.V. This is atheism, and the nation represented by Egypt would give voice to a similar denial of the claims of the living God and would manifest a like spirit of unbelief and defiance."—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 269.
If someone asked, Do you know the Lord? How would you respond? If Yes, what would you say He is like, and why?
Memory Text:
“Afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: “Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.” ’ And Pharaoh said, ‘Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go’ ” (Exodus 5:1, 2, NKJV).
Many believers think that when one decides to follow God, he or she will experience only happiness, prosperity, and success. That’s not necessarily the case, however, as the Bible itself often shows. Sometimes many obstacles appear, as well as new difficulties. This can be very frustrating, and it prompts hard questions that don’t always have easy answers or, it seems, any answers at all.
Those who trust in God will face numerous trials. When we persevere, however, God brings solutions that come on His terms and in His time. His ways may conflict with our expectations for quick and instantaneous solutions, but we must learn to trust Him regardless.
Thus, the topic for this week: Moses and the command to lead God’s people out of Egypt—about as clear a call from God as anyone could have. Indeed, it included miracles, as well as God Himself speaking directly to Moses and letting him know exactly what He wanted Moses to do.
How much easier, then, could it have been for Moses, knowing that he had been called by God and even given a specific task?
It should have been simple then, right?
Read on.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, July 19.
Read Ellen G. White, “Moses,” pp. 251–256, in Patriarchs and Prophets.
The dramatic burning bush call was probably the most transformative experience in Moses’ life. All other high points in his life depended on his positive, obedient response to God’s commissioning him to lead the Hebrews out of Egypt and to the Promised Land.
Sure, we know now how it all turned out. But put yourself in Moses’ place at the time of the burning bush. He had fled from Egypt to save his life. A new generation of Hebrews had come on the scene over the 40 years, many of whom probably knew little about him, or maybe even what they heard about him was wrong, filtered through stories that over time get distorted. And yet now, he was called by God to lead this same people away from a powerful nation? No wonder he was reluctant at first!
Yes, it was an extremely demanding task, but imagine what he would have missed if he had given a final no to God. He might have just disappeared into history instead of—through the power of God working in him—literally making history and becoming one of the greatest and most influential people, not just in the Bible but in the world itself.
Discussion Questions:
In the quiet years spent in the desert, Moses did what God called him to do: he was a family man, took care of sheep, and wrote two biblical books under God’s inspiration before he was called to be a great leader of God’s people. What does Moses’ experience teach us about our duties in life?
One could argue that, on the surface, Moses’ excuses were, in and of themselves, pretty reasonable, were they not? Why should the people believe me? Who am I to begin with? I can’t speak well. What should this story tell us about how to learn to trust that God can enable us to do what He calls us to do?
Dwell more on the point made in Sunday’s study about Moses’ authorship of the book of Genesis and how important that work is to understanding sacred history and the plan of salvation. Why must we fight against every attempt (and there are many) to weaken the authority of the book, especially by denying the historicity of, particularly, the first 11 chapters?
Read Exodus 4:18–31. How do we understand this strange story, and what lesson can we take from it?
Bible students are shocked when they read that, after Moses obeyed the Lord and started his journey back to Egypt, the Lord “was about to kill him” (Exod. 4:24, NIV). From the context of the story, it is evident that the issue was circumcision. His youngest son was not circumcised, as the Abrahamic covenant demanded (Gen. 17:10, 11).
Moses, as the leader of God’s people, needed to show his perfect submission and obedience to God, in order to be qualified to lead other people to be obedient. He had to be a model of that total surrender to God. His wife, Zipporah, was a woman of action and circumcised her son in order to save the life of her husband. She touched Moses with the “bloody foreskin,” and this blood represents atonement, life, and the sealing of the covenant. The fact that it was done so quickly added to the drama of the situation.
An important lesson can be learned from this episode: never fail to do what we know is right.
“On the way from Midian, Moses received a startling and terrible warning of the Lord’s displeasure. An angel appeared to him in a threatening manner, as if he would immediately destroy him. No explanation was given; but Moses remembered that he had disregarded one of God’s requirements . . . he had neglected to perform the rite of circumcision upon their youngest son. He had failed to comply with the condition by which his child could be entitled to the blessings of God’s covenant with Israel; and such a neglect on the part of their chosen leader could not but lessen the force of the divine precepts upon the people. Zipporah, fearing that her husband would be slain, performed the rite herself, and the angel then permitted Moses to pursue his journey. In his mission to Pharaoh, Moses was to be placed in a position of great peril; his life could be preserved only through the protection of holy angels. But while living in neglect of a known duty, he would not be secure; for he could not be shielded by the angels of God.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 255, 256.
What should this story say to you if you are indeed guilty of neglecting what you know you should be doing? What changes do you need to make, even right now?
Read Exodus 4:1–17. What set of signs did God give to Moses to perform in order to strengthen his position as God’s messenger?
Moses again tried to excuse himself from the task God asked of him (see Exod. 3:11). He did not want to go to Egypt and confront Pharaoh. After all, he had already failed when he previously tried, on his own, to help the Hebrews. Also, his own people didn’t believe in or accept him as their leader. That’s why he formulated a third objection: “ ‘What if they do not believe me or listen to me?’ ” (Exod. 4:1, NIV). This was not a question to learn something new; it was an attempt to say no to the responsibility that God asked him to undertake.
Two miraculous signs are given to Moses to perform before the elders of Israel and, later, before Pharaoh: (1) his staff turning into a snake and then back into a staff, and (2) his hand becoming leprous but then instantly healed. Both miracles should convince the elders that God is at work for them. But if not, the third miracle, that of turning water into blood, was added (Exod. 4:8, 9).
Although God gave Moses these mighty wonders, he still expresses another excuse, the fourth: he is not a good speaker.
Read Exodus 4:10–18. How does the Lord respond to Moses, and what lessons can we take from that for ourselves, in whatever situation we believe God calls us to?
This set of four excuses shows Moses’ reluctance to follow God’s call. With “reasonable” objections, he masks his unwillingness to go. The first three excuses are in the form of questions: (1) Who am I? (2) Who are You? and (3) What if they do not believe me? And the fourth objection is (4) the statement: “I am not eloquent.” God reacted to all of them and brought a powerful solution. To these excuses God presents many uplifting promises.
Then Moses delivers his fifth and final plea and directly asks: “ ‘O my Lord, please send someone else’ ” (Exod. 4:13, NRSV). In response, God tells him that He is already sending his brother, Aaron, to meet him for support. Finally, Moses silently concedes and asks Jethro for his blessing before departing for Egypt.
Read Exodus 3:13–22. Why did Moses want to know God’s name, and what is the significance of His name?
God presents Himself to Moses as “’ehejeh ’asher ’ehejeh,_” which literally means “I will be who I will be,” or “I am who I am.” In Exodus 3:12, God uses the same verb _’ehejeh as in verse 14, when He states to Moses, “I will be” (with you). It means that God is eternal. He is the transcendent God, as well as the immanent God, and He dwells with those “who are contrite and humble in spirit” (Isa. 57:15, NRSV).
The proper name of God, “Yahweh” (translated in English Bibles usually as “the Lord”), was known to God’s people from the beginning, even if they didn’t know its deeper meaning. Moses also knew the name Yahweh, but, like others, he did not know the real meaning. His question, “What is your name?” is a query about that deeper meaning.
A helpful hint is in Exodus 6:3, where God stated: “I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself fully known to them” (Exod. 6:3, NIV). It does not signify that Adam, Noah, Abraham, and the patriarchs did not know the name “Yahweh” (see Gen. 2:4, 9; Gen. 4:1, 26; Gen. 7:5; Gen. 15:6–8; etc.). It means, instead, that they did not know its deeper meaning.
His name, Yahweh, points to the fact that He is the personal God, the God of His people, the God of the covenant. He is a close, intimate God who intervenes in human affairs. The Almighty God (Gen. 17:1) is the God who miraculously intervened by His power. But Yahweh is a God who demonstrates His moral power by love and care. He is the same God as Elohim (“mighty, strong, transcendent God,” the “God of all people,” “the Ruler of the universe,” “the Creator of everything”), but different aspects of His relationship to humanity are revealed by the name Yahweh itself.
Knowing the name or calling on God’s name is not something magical. It is about a proclamation of His name, which means teaching others the truth concerning this God and the salvation that He offers to all who come in faith. As Joel says: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Joel 2:32, NIV).
In what ways in your own life have you experienced the closeness and intimacy with Yahweh that He seeks to have with all who are surrendered to Him?
“The angel of the Lord” appeared to Moses in flames of fire “from within a bush” (Exod. 3:2, NIV). It was the Lord Jesus Himself speaking to Moses “from within the bush” (Exod. 3:4, NIV).
Do not be confused with the title “angel of the Lord” as a depiction of Jesus Christ. The term angel itself simply means “messenger” (Hebrew mal’akh), and it always depends on the context whether this angel is to be interpreted as human or divine (see Mal. 3:1). There are many instances in the Bible where “the angel of the Lord” refers to the divine person (study, for example, Gen. 22:11, 15–18; Gen. 31:3, 11, 13; Judg. 2:1, 2; Judg. 6:11–22; Zech. 3:1, 2). This angel of the Lord not only speaks in the name of the Lord, but He is the Lord Himself. Jesus is God’s messenger to communicate the Father’s Word to us.
Read Exodus 3:7–12. How did God explain to Moses why He wanted to intervene on behalf of the Israelites enslaved in Egypt?
The suffering of God’s people in Egypt is colorfully described as a groaning and a deep cry for help. God heard their cry and was concerned (Exod. 2:23–25). He called them “my people” (Exod. 3:7). That is, even before Sinai and the ratifying of the covenant, they were His people, and He would cause them to dwell and prosper (if they would obey) in the land of Canaan, as He had promised their fathers.
God said to Moses that He was sending him to Pharaoh for a specific task: “So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt” (Exod. 3:10, NIV). Again, God calls them “my people.”
What a task God presented to His servant! Moses, therefore, responded with a question: “Who am I?” That is, grasping the significance of what is going to happen and what his role is going to be in all this, Moses wonders why someone like himself would be chosen. Here, early on, we have an indication of his character, his humility, and his sense that he is unworthy of what he is being called to do.
Why is humility, and a sense of our own “unworthiness,” so important for anyone who seeks to follow the Lord and do anything for Him?
After Moses fled to Midian, he had a relatively easy life. He married, had two sons, Gershom and Eliezer (Exod. 18:3, 4), and was part of the extended family of Jethro, his father-in-law and a priest in Midian. He spent 40 relaxed years being a shepherd, like David (2 Sam. 7:8), enjoying God’s presence, especially as revealed in nature.
Yet, this time was not simply for Moses to smell the flowers (or perhaps, in this case, the desert cactus?). These years of walking with the Lord changed him and prepared him for a leadership role. God also used Moses in this quiet wilderness to write, under divine inspiration, two of the oldest biblical books: Job and Genesis (see Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 251; Francis D. Nichol, et al., eds., The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 3, p. 1140). Moses also received from God crucial insights about the great controversy, the Creation, the Fall, the Flood, the patriarchs, and, most important, the plan of salvation. Thus, Moses was instrumental in passing on to all humanity the true knowledge of the living God, our Creator and Sustainer, and knowledge about what God is doing in view of the sin that has wreaked havoc on this planet. Biblical and salvation history make little sense apart from the crucial foundation that, under inspiration, Moses gave us, especially in the book of Genesis.
Read Exodus 3:1–6. What significance can be found in the fact that the Lord introduced Himself to Moses as “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”?
Moses saw that the burning bush was not being consumed by the fire, and thus he knew that he was seeing a miracle and that something dramatic and important must be taking place right before him. As he moved closer, the Lord told him to take his shoes off as a sign of deep respect because God’s presence made the place holy.
The Lord presented Himself to Moses as “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Exod. 3:6). The Lord had promised these patriarchs that their descendants would inherit Canaan, a promise Moses surely knew about. Thus, even before saying it, God was already opening the way for Moses to know what was coming and what crucial role he was to play.
Moses needed 80 years before God deemed him ready for his task. What might this truth teach us about patience?
Read for This Week’s Study
Exod. 18:3, 4; Exod. 3:1–22; Gen. 22:11, 15–18; Exod. 6:3; Joel 2:32; Exod. 4:1–31; Gen. 17:10, 11.
Memory Text:
God’s call to us will often change the direction of our lives. However, if we follow that call, then we discover that God’s path is always the best route for us. However, sometimes—at first—it isn’t easy to accept God’s call.
Such is the case for Moses and his call by God, which specifically began at the encounter with the Lord at the burning bush. Although Moses may or may not have known about the laws of combustion, he knew that what he was seeing was a miracle, and it certainly caught his attention. No question, the Lord was calling him to a specific task. The issue was: Would he answer the call, regardless of the radical new change in his life that this call would bring? At first, he was not very receptive to it.
You may recall instances when you had specific goals, but God redirected those plans. It is true that we can be useful to God in many ways, but following God’s call in our lives, and doing what He leads us to do, is surely the path to the most satisfying existence. It might not always be easy, and it wasn’t easy for Moses, but how foolish to go our own way when God is calling us in another direction.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, July 12.
“And the Lord said: ‘I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey’ ” (Exodus 3:7, 8, NKJV).
Read Ellen G. White, “Moses,” pp. 241–251, in Patriarchs and Prophets, which will give you significant insights into the studied portion of the biblical text for this week.
The biblical text states that “the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive” (Exod. 1:17, NKJV). Ellen G. White aptly comments on the faithfulness of the midwives and the Messianic hope: “Orders were issued to the women whose employment gave them opportunity for executing the command, to destroy the Hebrew male children at their birth. Satan was the mover in this matter. He knew that a deliverer was to be raised up among the Israelites; and by leading the king to destroy their children he hoped to defeat the divine purpose. But the women feared God, and dared not execute the cruel mandate. The Lord approved their course, and prospered them.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 242.
The good news in all this is that, despite Satan’s plans, God overruled, and He used faithful people to thwart the enemy. We do live in the territory of our enemy, whom Jesus called “the prince” or “ruler of this world” (Eph. 2:2, NKJV; John 14:30). Satan usurped this position from Adam, but Jesus Christ defeated him in His life and through His death on the cross (Matt. 4:1–11, John 19:30, Heb. 2:14). Although Satan is still alive and active, as revealed in his attempt to kill those children, his own execution is certain (John 12:31; John 16:11; Rev. 20:9, 10, 14). The good news is that life’s difficulties can be overcome by God’s grace (Phil. 4:13). That grace is our only hope.
Discussion Questions:
Why did God allow the Hebrews to live in Egypt and be oppressed? Why did it take so long for God to intervene on their behalf? Remember, too, that each person suffered only as long as the person lived. That is, the time of suffering for the nation was long, but each person suffered only as long as that single person lived. Why is making that distinction important in seeking to understand human suffering in general?
Dwell more on the questions regarding how God was able to use Moses’ hotheaded act of killing the Egyptian. Suppose he hadn’t done it? Would that have meant the Hebrews would not have eventually escaped from Egypt? Explain your reasoning.
Read Exodus 2:11–25. What events quickly transpired to change the entire direction of Moses’ life? What lessons can we learn from this story?
What would Moses do? Would he succumb to the lure of Egypt and to the pleasures of the court, or would he endure hardship with his embattled people? Events soon forced a decision for him.
“When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian; and he sat down by a well” (Exod. 2:15, NKJV).
After the killing, Moses really had no choice, at least as far as remaining in Egypt. Thus, whatever plans there were for him to ascend to the throne of Egypt and to become a “god,” those plans were quickly ended. Rather than becoming a false god, Moses would serve the true God instead. No doubt, at the time when he fled, Moses had no idea what the future held for him.
“The whole matter [of Moses’ killing the Egyptian] was quickly made known to the Egyptians, and, greatly exaggerated, soon reached the ears of Pharaoh. It was represented to the king that this act meant much; that Moses designed to lead his people against the Egyptians, to overthrow the government, and to seat himself upon the throne; and that there could be no security for the kingdom while he lived. It was at once determined by the monarch that he should die; but, becoming aware of his danger, he [Moses] made his escape and fled toward Arabia.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 247.
Moses lived 120 years (Deut. 34:7), and his life can be divided into three parts of 40 years each. The first 40 years were in Egypt, much of them in the royal palace. The second 40 years he spent in Jethro’s house in the Midian territory.
It’s the last 40 years, however, that take up the bulk of the first five books of Moses (and this quarter), and they tell the story of Israel’s early calling to witness to a world steeped in idolatry, revealing the nature and character of the true God (see Deut. 4:6–8).
Was it God’s plan that Moses kill the Egyptian? If not, what does this story teach us about how God can overrule in any situation and use it for His own purposes? How does Romans 8:28 help us understand this important truth?
Read Exodus 2:1–10. What role did God’s providence and protection play in Moses’ birth story?
The historical background of Moses’ birth and life is thrilling because he lived during the time of the famous Egyptian eighteenth dynasty. One king during this dynasty—Thutmose III, called the “Napoleon of Egypt”—is considered one of the most famous pharaohs of ancient Egypt.
Though under a death sentence at birth (see Exod. 1:22), Moses was born as a “special” son (NLT; Hebrew tob, lit. “good”; Exod. 2:2). The Hebrew term describes more than external beauty. This word is used, for example, in characterizing God’s work during Creation week, when He declared everything was “good,” even “very good” (Gen. 1:4, 10, 31).
As a new creation, this “good” child will, according to God’s plan, become the adult who will lead the Hebrews out of their bondage. At this baby’s birth, especially under such dire circumstances, who could have envisioned his future? Nevertheless, God will fulfill His words to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He covenanted with them that He would give their descendants the Promised Land (Exod. 2:24, 25). And, yes, He would use this tob infant, decades later, to do just that.
Until then, the Egyptian princess Hatshepsut adopted Moses as her son. The name given to Moses has an Egyptian origin, meaning “son of” or “born of,” as reflected in the names of Ah-mose (“son of Akh”) or Thut-mose (“son of Thoth”). His name is, thus, rendered in Hebrew as Mosheh, namely “drawn out.” His life was miraculously spared when he was “drawn out” of the river.
We know only a few things about his early life. After being miraculously saved and adopted by Hatshepsut, Moses lived for his first 12 years with his original family (_Exod. 2:7–9_; Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 244). Moses then received the best Egyptian education, all in order to prepare him to be the next pharaoh of Egypt (Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 245). How fascinating that, ultimately, so much of this education would be useless for, or even work against, what really mattered: the knowledge of God and of His truth.
How much are you learning that is ultimately useless for what really matters?
One cannot understand the book of Exodus without presupposing the teachings of Genesis. The Jews moved to Egypt, and, after a time of great prosperity and peace, they were enslaved.
But God did not abandon His people to their problems, even though it may sometimes have seemed so. No doubt many of the Hebrew people despaired of their plight. Yet, in the time of distress, God comes to help with His mighty hand. Our Lord encourages His followers: “Call upon Me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me” (Ps. 50:15, NKJV).
Read Exodus 1:9–21. What key role did the faithful midwives play, and why are they remembered in history?
No pharaoh has a name in the book of Exodus. They carry the title of “Pharaoh” only, which means “king.” The Egyptians believed that the pharaoh was a god on earth, the son of the god Ra (or Osiris or Horus). Ra was considered the highest Egyptian deity, the sun god himself.
Yet despite all his power, this “god” was not able to force the midwives to go contrary to their convictions. In fact, in contrast to the nameless pharaoh, the two midwives are named, Shiphrah and Puah (Exod. 1:15); they are highly esteemed because they feared the Lord. Pharaoh’s wicked command had no effect on them because they respected God more than the orders of an earthly ruler (see also Acts 5:29). Thus, God blessed them with their own large families. What a powerful testimony to faithfulness. These women, regardless of how little they knew of theology, knew not only what was right but chose to do what was right.
When Pharaoh saw that his plot had failed, he commanded the Egyptians to kill all the male babies born to the Hebrews. They were to throw them into the Nile River, probably as an offering to Hapi, the god of the Nile, and also a god of fertility. (This is the first recorded time that Jews are to be killed only because they are Jews.) The purpose of the death decree was to subdue the Hebrews, to annihilate all male descendants, and to assimilate the women into the Egyptian nation, thus ending the threat that Pharaoh believed the Hebrews posed to his nation.
The midwives not only knew what the right action was to take, but they took it. What’s the obvious message here for us?
When Jacob’s family arrived in Egypt after experiencing famine in Canaan (Genesis 46), the Egyptian king was friendly toward the Hebrews because of Joseph and all that he had done for the Egyptians.
“And Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.’ Then Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand; and he clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. And he had him ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried out before him, ‘Bow the knee!’ So he set him over all the land of Egypt” (Gen. 41:41–43, NKJV).
What was the key to Joseph’s amazing success in Egypt after such a rough start? (Read Gen. 37:26–28 and Gen. 39:2, 21.)
The most plausible historical background to the Joseph story is the following: the new ruler, in Exodus 1:8 (ESV), “who did not know Joseph,” is Ahmose (1580–1546 BC). Next came Amenhotep I (1553–1532 BC), the ruler who feared the Israelites and oppressed them. Later Thutmose I (1532–1514 BC) issued the death decree for all the Hebrew male children. His daughter Hatshepsut (1504–1482 BC) was the princess who adopted Moses to be her son. Pharaoh Thutmose III (1504–1450 BC), who was for some time coregent with Hatshepsut, was the pharaoh of the Exodus.
The Exodus occurred, according to the best calculations, in March 1450 BC (see William H. Shea, “Exodus, Date of the,” The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, edited by Geoffrey W. Bromiley et al., vol. 2 [Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1982], pp. 230–238). To understand the time of the Exodus, study the following biblical texts: Gen. 15:13–16; Exod. 12:40, 41; Judg. 11:26; and 1 Kings 6:1 (see also Acts 7:6; Gal. 3:16, 17).
The first chapter of Exodus covers a long period—from the time of Joseph, when his father, Jacob, with the entire family entered Egypt, to Pharaoh’s death decree. Though some debate exists over the exact number of years, what matters is that, even with His people enslaved in a foreign land, the Lord did not forget them.
That is, even though many details about the Hebrews in Egypt at that time remain hidden, at least for now (see 1 Cor. 13:12), the revelation of God’s character still shines through the pages of this book, as it does all through Scripture. We can know that no matter how bad things seem, God is always there, and we can trust Him in whatever bad situation we find ourselves.
The book of Exodus is called in Hebrew shemot, literally “names” in English, according to the opening words of that ancient document. “And these are the names” is how it begins. The names of the patriarch Jacob’s family are enumerated right at the start.
Read Exodus 1:1–7. What crucial truth is found here?
The book of Exodus begins with a reminder of God’s blessing. When the patriarch Jacob and his family settled in Egypt, they were only 70 people (Gen. 46:27, Exod. 1:5); but the Israelites “were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them” (Exod. 1:7, NKJV). By the time of the Exodus, however, they counted “about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children” (Exod. 12:37, NKJV).
Read Exodus 1:8–11. What was the situation of the Israelites at the time of the Exodus?
The biblical text paints the story of the children of Israel in Egypt in dark colors. The book of Exodus begins with their enslavement by Egyptian taskmasters and the oppressive labor that they imposed upon the Hebrews. The book of Exodus ends, however, with God’s peaceful and comforting presence in the tabernacle, at the center of the Israelite camp (see Exodus 40). In between these two opposite poles, God’s triumph is described. By the Lord’s liberating His people from slavery, by His opening the Red Sea, and by His defeating the strongest army of that time, God’s spectacular victory over the forces of evil is revealed.
The story paradoxically stresses that the more the oppressors “afflicted them [the Israelites], the more they multiplied and grew” (Exod. 1:12, NKJV). That is, no matter the human machinations, God is still sovereign and will save His people, even if circumstances appear hopeless, at least from a human perspective.
A new king arose who knew not Joseph. What does this account tell us about how we should never take circumstances, especially good ones, for granted?
Read for This Week’s Study
Exod. 1:1–22; Gen. 37:26–28; Gen. 39:2, 21; Acts 7:6; Gal. 3:16, 17; Exod. 2:1–25.
Memory Text:
The book of Exodus resonates with accounts of the oppressed, the marginalized, the persecuted, the exploited, and the degraded. Thus, people today who feel abandoned, forgotten, and enslaved can find hope, because the same God who saved the Hebrews can save them as well.
The book of Exodus speaks to the existential battles of life and to the injustices and trials that are part of this life. Everyone can be encouraged by the stories of God’s interventions in favor of His suffering people. God hears the cry of the oppressed, sees their struggles, notes their tears, and, in their agony, comes to help.
God takes the initiative to deliver those who trust in Him. We need simply to accept, by faith, what He offers us. This is why the book of Exodus should be studied, for it points to what Jesus has done for us all. It is a book about redemption, deliverance, and final salvation—all of which are ours, by faith, in Christ Jesus and what He has secured for us.
In the midst of the turmoil and darkness, if our eyes are fixed on God, we can recognize His presence, care, and help as He guides us to the eternal Promised Land.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, July 5.
“The children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage. So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them” (Exodus 2:23–25, NKJV).
The God revealed in the book of Exodus is the loving Lord who at the
appointed time—and with His mighty actions—brought salvation and
deliverance to His people (Gen. 15:12–16). The exodus from Egypt
and the crossing of the Red Sea were pivotal and unique events—God’s spectacular
and marvelous acts. No greater or more glorious event ever happened in the history
of ancient Israel before the Cross. It is the gospel, but according to Moses.
God miraculously and repeatedly arose to demonstrate His care and protection for the
Hebrews, despite their constant backslidings. His mercy surpassed all their understandings
and feelings. With His outstretched arm, the Lord led His people to freedom. It was an
unprecedented act. This unexpected series of divine interventions was the beginning of their
renewed journey with God, a journey from Egypt to (eventually) Canaan.
Though Moses plays an important role in Exodus, this book is not about Moses but
about God—the God of love, truth, justice, freedom, and forgiveness, the God who ultimately went to the cross for us. By studying Exodus, we get a unique look at what our God
is really like.
And what is He really like? He is a God who was faithful to His people despite their
unfaithfulness. He was constantly for them, even when they were against Him. Again
and again, He showed them His mercy, bringing encouragement, correction, and divine
instruction. Leading them in the best possible way, He wanted them voluntarily, out of love
for Him and His character, to worship and obey, all for their own good.
The God of Moses is the God of relationships. The most important objective of God
was not to accomplish something or to fulfill an agenda; instead, His prime objective was
to create a meaningful relationship with His chosen people, Israel. He led them to Sinai in
order to establish this deep fellowship.
The apostle Paul teaches that what happened to God’s people in the past is an object
lesson for us so that we could learn from their mistakes
and faithfully follow the Lord today: “Now these things
happened to them as an example, but they were written
down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages
has come” (1 Cor. 10:11, ESV). These past events should
be a warning and a source of unforgettable instruction for
us now. We should read them, study them, and learn from
them, because no matter how different the circumstances,
the spiritual principles behind them remain the same.
Our plan for studying the book of Exodus during these
13 weeks is transparent. The book is divided into weekly
chapter readings of various lengths (divided thematically
for convenience): (1) Slavery in Egypt, the birth of Moses, and Moses’ first 40 years (Exodus
1, 2). (2) Commission of Moses (Exodus 3, 4). (3) Complications: when life becomes
worse (Exodus 5, 6). (4) The first nine plagues (Exodus 7–10). (5) The tenth plague and
the celebration of the Passover (Exodus 11, 12). (6) The liberation from Egypt, and the
Red Sea experience (Exodus 13–15). (7) The journey to Mount Sinai (Exodus 16–18).
(8) The gift of God’s covenant and the Decalogue (Exodus 19, 20). (9) God’s law applied
(Exodus 21–23). (10) The covenant confirmed and the blueprint of the tabernacle (Exodus
24–31). (11) The golden calf apostasy and Moses’ intercession (Exodus 32). (12) God’s
self-revelation and the radiant face of Moses (Exodus 33, 34). (13) The tabernacle built and
dedicated (Exodus 35–40). Each week we focus on key passages and events from indicated
chapters.
May our gracious Lord bless us as we study this pivotal book that reminds us of how
God wants to lead His people from slavery to freedom, from death to life, and from the
wilderness to the New Jerusalem (Heb. 12:22).
Jiří Moskala is professor of Old Testament exegesis and theology, and dean of the
Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University
Read Ellen G. White, “The Unseen Watcher,” pp. 535–538, in Prophets and Kings.
“Every nation that has come upon the stage of action has been permitted to occupy its place on the earth, that the fact might be determined whether it would fulfill the purposes of the Watcher and the Holy One. Prophecy has traced the rise and progress of the world’s great empires—Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. With each of these, as with the nations of less power, history has repeated itself. Each has had its period of test; each has failed, its glory faded, its power departed. While nations have rejected God's principles, and in this rejection have wrought their own ruin, yet a divine, overruling purpose has manifestly been at work throughout the ages.”—Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, p. 535.
In Jeremiah 18, Jeremiah observes a potter doing what a potter does: molding and shaping whatever he is working on. It is this imagery, that of a potter molding his clay, that God uses to explain the principle of conditionality in biblical prophecy. And just to make sure we understand, the Lord speaks through Jeremiah, saying: “ ‘The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it’ ” (Jer. 18:7–10, NKJV).
Discussion Questions:
Think about Jesus’ statement that the judgment will be easier for Nineveh than for the people of God who had strayed from the truth. (See Matt. 12:39–42.) What lesson can God’s church derive from this warning?
Notice Ellen G. White’s statement that with each succeeding empire, “history has repeated itself.”—Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, p. 535. What do you see as common threads among all the empires listed in prophecy? In what ways did they follow the same prophetic path? How is our current world following them, as well?
Think through the idea that it’s not often the mind, the intellect, that keeps people from faith, but the heart. How might this knowledge impact how you witness to others?
When Cyrus sacked the city of Babylon, the years of captivity for God’s people were over, and the Persians permitted the Jews to return to the Promised Land and rebuild the temple. Under Cyrus, the Persian Empire became the largest in history, with what historian Tom Holland calls “the largest agglomeration of territories that the world had ever seen.”—Dominion (New York: Basic Books, 2019), p. 25.
As was the custom among the Persians, Cyrus was even called “the Great King” or “King of kings.”
Cyrus foreshadows what will happen when Christ returns for His church: He is the King who comes from the east (compare with Matt. 24:27), waging war against Babylon, and liberating His people finally to escape from Babylon and return to the Land of Promise. (See Rev. 19:11–16.) This is why God refers to Cyrus as “His anointed” (Isa. 45:1, NKJV); not only did this famous Persian liberate God’s people, but his campaign against Babylon is also a type of Christ’s second coming.
Read 2 Chronicles 36:22, 23. In what ways does the story of Cyrus parallel that of Nebuchadnezzar? In what ways does it differ? What is the significance of the decree? After all, how did it impact the whole first coming of Jesus centuries later?
The original order of Old Testament books has been changed in our day to end with Malachi, but originally, this is where the Old Testament ended—with this declaration from Cyrus. The next episode in the canon of Scripture would be Matthew, which begins with the birth of Christ, the antitypical Cyrus. Cyrus would orchestrate the rebuilding of the earthly temple; Jesus would inaugurate His ministry in the heavenly sanctuary, leading up to His return and our liberation.
Cyrus, of course, was not a perfect representation of Christ; no type lines up perfectly with antitype, and we must be careful not to read too much into every tiny detail. Nevertheless, he broadly functions as a type of “Savior.”
How fascinating that God would use a pagan king in such a marked manner to do His will. Despite how things appear to us on the outside, how can we learn the truth that, long term, the Lord is going to bring about end-time events as prophesied?
One of Babylon’s strengths was the way that the Euphrates River flowed underneath its walls, providing the city with an unlimited supply of water. It also proved to be its weakness. Nitocris, an ancient Babylonian queen, had created earthen works along the river to develop it as a route to the city. In the process, she had diverted the river into a swamp to allow crews to work comfortably. Cyrus realized that he could do the same thing: dry up the Euphrates enough that he could comfortably march his troops under the wall. Once inside the city walls, he found the defensive walls that followed the river through the city unguarded, and the city fell in a single night. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus tells us that “those who lived in the centre of Babylon had no idea that the suburbs had fallen, for it was a time of festival, and all were dancing, and indulging themselves in pleasures.”—Herodotus, The Histories, trans. Tom Holland (New York: Penguin, 2015), p. 94. Can there be any doubt that this is the same feast as portrayed in Daniel 5?
Read Daniel 5:18–31 and Revelation 16:12–19. What parallels do you find between some of the plagues of Revelation and the story of Babylon’s fall?
In explaining how to discern the signs of the times, Jesus warned His disciples, “ ‘Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into’ ” (Matt. 24:42, 43, NKJV). Just as in the fall of Babylon, the sudden appearance of Christ will catch modern Babylon by surprise. It does not need to be this way, however; we have been given ample evidence of the soon coming of Jesus in a multitude of detailed prophecies.
The world will not be caught by surprise merely because it is ignorant of what God has predicted; it will be surprised because it has chosen not to believe what God has said would happen.
Read Revelation 16:15. Even amid these end-time warnings, what gospel message is found there? What does it mean to not “walk naked”?
After the city of Nineveh had been humbled (612 B.C.) by a coalition army that included both Medes and Babylonians (led by Nebuchadnezzar’s father), the city of Babylon experienced a revival, the likes of which the city had not seen since the days of Hammurabi, their great lawgiver. Under Nebuchadnezzar, who was now free from the problem of Assyrian raids, the city of Babylon grew in wealth and influence to the point where the neighboring nations had little choice but to grudgingly acknowledge her dominance. She was queen of the world, and nations who wished to prosper declared their loyalty to her.
Meanwhile, as far as we can tell, Nebuchadnezzar died as a believer, professing that Daniel’s God was, indeed, the rightful ruler of all nations (Dan. 4:34–37). The next account that Daniel provides is that of his successor, the vice-regent Belshazzar.
Read Daniel 5:1–31. What important spiritual messages can we take from this account? What ultimately tripped up Belshazzar?
Perhaps the saddest, most tragic part of this account is found in Daniel 5:22. After recounting to the king the downfall and then the restoration of Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel says to him, “ ‘But you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this’ ” (NKJV). That is, though he had the opportunity to know truth, though he might have even witnessed firsthand what happened to Nebuchadnezzar, he chose to ignore these events and, instead, embarked on the same course that brought his predecessor so much trouble.
As Nebuchadnezzar had done by erecting the golden statue, Belshazzar was openly defying what Daniel’s God had predicted. By using the temple vessels in a profane manner, he was likely underscoring the fact that Babylon had conquered the Jews and now possessed their God’s religious articles. In other words, they still had supremacy over this God who had predicted their demise.
It was, indeed, an act of total defiance, even though Belshazzar had more than enough evidence, proof, to know better. He had enough head knowledge to know the truth; the problem, instead, was his heart. In the last days, as the final crisis breaks upon the world, people will be given the opportunity to know the truth, as well. What determines their choice, as with Belshazzar, will be their hearts.
Jonah had a very distinct message for the people of Nineveh. “And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then he cried out and said, ‘Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!’ ” (Jon. 3:4, NKJV). It seems pretty clear: the place was doomed. After all, was that not a word directly from a prophet of the Lord?
Yet, what happened to Nineveh?
Read Jonah 3:5–10. Why was this prophecy not fulfilled?
Yes, the whole city repented, and the prophesied doom was averted, at least for a time. “Their doom was averted, the God of Israel was exalted and honored throughout the heathen world, and His law was revered. Not until many years later was Nineveh to fall a prey to the surrounding nations through forgetfulness of God and through boastful pride.”—Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, p. 271.
Can we expect something like this in the last days, with the final message to the fallen world? Yes—and no. That is, there will be, all over the world, many people who heed the call, “ ‘Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues’ ” (Rev. 18:4, NKJV). All over the world, people will take their stand and, in defiance of the beast, will “keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus” (Rev. 14:12). These people, like those in Nineveh, will be spared the judgment that falls upon the lost.
Some prophecies, such as God’s announcement that Nineveh would be destroyed, are conditional. (Ninevah would be destroyed unless the people turned away from their evil [see Jer. 18:7–10].) Yet, some prophecies don’t come with these conditions. They are going to be fulfilled, no matter the human response. The Messianic prophecies of Christ’s first and second comings, the mark of the beast, the outpouring of the plagues, end-time persecution—these are not conditional; they will take place regardless of what humans do. What humans do, and the choices they make, will determine instead what side they will be on as final events, foretold by the prophets, unfold.
What choices are you making now that could help determine what choices you will make when the issue of worshiping God or the image breaks upon the world?
The story of Jonah (see Jonah 1–4), while brief, delivers considerable impact. Many believers have found reflections of themselves in this reluctant prophet. The story also contains remarkable overtones of future events.
Read Matthew 12:38–42. Which parts of the story of Jonah does Jesus refer to as He addresses the scribes and Pharisees? What lessons about the judgment are found in His statement?
Jesus declared that He was greater than Jonah. He knew that coming to this world would mean the Cross, and still He came to “seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). Jonah spent three days in the great fish because of his own sins; Jesus spent three days in the tomb because of ours. That’s what it took to save the lost.
Today, we know Jonah as a reluctant prophet, unwilling to go to Nineveh. From a human perspective, it is easy to understand—the Assyrians ran a brutal regime. Assyrian murals are replete with scenes of unusual cruelty; conquered peoples were put to death by the most cruel methods imaginable. Who would want to face the prospect of preaching repentance in their capital city?
There is an important moment in the story that may point forward to the last-day remnant movement. When Jonah is asked who he is, he responds, “ ‘I am a Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land’ ”—a statement much like the first angel’s message (Jon. 1:9, NKJV; Rev. 14:7). Indeed, his emphasis on the Lord as the One “ ‘who made the sea and the dry land’ ” is, of course, pointing to Him as the Creator. This fact is foundational to why we should worship Him, and worship is central to last-day events.
At the same time, we, too, have been charged with preaching a potentially unpopular message in spiritual Babylon. To say “come out of her, my people” (Rev. 18:4, NKJV) is to tell the world they must repent—a message that has almost always provoked a negative response from many people, even when delivered in the kindest way possible. Who of us when witnessing has not received negative, or even hostile, responses? It just comes with the job.
How much of Jonah do you find in yourself? How can you move beyond this wrong attitude?
Read for This Week’s Study
Matt. 12:38–42; Jonah 3:5–10; Rev. 18:4; Dan. 5:1–31; Rev. 16:12–19; 2 Chron. 36:22, 23.
Memory Text:
This week will be our final look at accounts that help elucidate our understanding of last-day events. This time we will look at the mission of Jonah to Nineveh; the fall of Babylon; and the rise of Cyrus, the Persian king who liberated God’s people and enabled them to return to the Promised Land.
As with the other stories we’ve examined, these historical accounts have held profound meaning for every generation. But they also have special relevance to the final generations living before Christ returns. That is, we can mine from these historical accounts various elements that can help us better understand what we call “present truth.”
At the same time, we must remember one thing concerning all these stories that appear to foreshadow last-day events: we must be careful to look at broad themes and allusions and not try to parse every detail to the point of creating prophetic absurdities. As in the parables of Jesus, we should look for the major points and principles. We should not milk every detail in hopes of finding some hidden truth. Instead, we should look for the outlines, the principles; and from these we can discover elements relevant for the last days.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, June 28.
“So he said to them, ‘I am a Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land’ ” (Jonah 1:9, NKJV).
Read Ellen G. White, “God’s People Delivered,” pp. 635–652, in The Great Controversy.
“In all ages, God has wrought through holy angels for the succor and deliverance of His people. Celestial beings have taken an active part in the affairs of men. They have appeared clothed in garments that shone as the lightning; they have come as men in the garb of wayfarers. Angels have appeared in human form to men of God. They have rested, as if weary, under the oaks at noon. They have accepted the hospitalities of human homes. They have acted as guides to benighted travelers. They have, with their own hands, kindled the fires at the altar. They have opened prison doors and set free the servants of the Lord. Clothed with the panoply of heaven, they came to roll away the stone from the Saviour’s tomb.
“In the form of men, angels are often in the assemblies of the righteous; and they visit the assemblies of the wicked, as they went to Sodom, to make a record of their deeds, to determine whether they have passed the boundary of God's forbearance. The Lord delights in mercy; and for the sake of a few who really serve Him, He restrains calamities and prolongs the tranquillity of multitudes. Little do sinners against God realize that they are indebted for their own lives to the faithful few whom they delight to ridicule and oppress.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 631, 632.
Discussion Questions:
Read 2 Timothy 1:7. Discuss the things in prophecy that have worried you most. How do we shake off the spirit of fear and find God’s message of hope even amid the prophecies that talk about persecution for our faith?
Though right now it might be hard to see how Sabbath and Sunday could become front and center in final events, look at how quickly the world can change. What should this truth teach us about not basing our faith on current events, which can change in an instant, but only on the revealed Word of God?
Think about Daniel 2 (and even 7). All the empires came and went exactly as predicted. Today, looking back over history, we can see that they did, as predicted. From our perspective today, only one more kingdom is to come. Which one is that, and why can we be assured that it will, indeed, come as predicted?
As the years have passed and final events—such as the death decree and the enforcement of the mark of the beast—have not yet happened, some have expressed doubt, even skepticism, about our interpretation of final events, including how Sabbath and Sunday could be central to the final conflict.
The book of Revelation is clear: we either worship the Creator or the beast and its image. And because the seventh-day Sabbath is the foundational sign—going back to Eden itself (see Gen. 2:1–3)—of God as Creator, it should not be surprising that, in an issue about worshiping the Creator, the Sabbath would be central. Also, it is no coincidence that the beast power is the same power that claims to have changed the Sabbath commandment from the biblical day to Sunday, which has no sanction in the Bible. With this background in mind, the idea of Sabbath and Sunday being involved in the issue of worship—again, either the Creator (see Rev. 14:6, 7) or the beast—makes good sense. And we have in the New Testament a precursor to the issue of the seventh-day Sabbath versus human law.
Read Matthew 12:9–14 and John 5:1–16. What issue caused the religious leaders to want to kill Jesus?
In Matthew 12, after Jesus healed on the Sabbath the man with a withered hand (Matt. 12:9–13), how did the religious leaders respond? “But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus” (Matt. 12:14, NIV). Death because of the seventh-day Sabbath? In John 5:1–16, after another miraculous healing on the seventh day, the leaders “persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath” (John 5:16, NKJV).
Death because of human tradition (nothing in the Bible forbade healing on Sabbath, just as nothing in the Bible has put Sunday in place of Sabbath) versus the seventh-day Sabbath? Though the specific issue here with Jesus isn’t the same as in final events, it’s close enough: human law versus God’s, and, in both, the contested law centers on the biblical Sabbath.
Dying over one of the commandments of God? How could one easily seek to rationalize one’s way out of that?
It’s not just the Old Testament that gives us precursors to final events; the New Testament does, as well. Life was not easy for first-century Christians. They were hated by many of their own fellow religionists, who saw them as a threat to the faith of Moses. They also faced the wrath of the pagan Roman Empire. “The powers of earth and hell arrayed themselves against Christ in the person of His followers. Paganism foresaw that should the gospel triumph, her temples and altars would be swept away; therefore she summoned her forces to destroy Christianity. The fires of persecution were kindled.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 39.There is a story in the book of Acts that demonstrates, quite powerfully, what God’s people might expect as we head toward the scenario found in Revelation 13.Read Acts 12:1–17. What elements of this story might foreshadow last-day events?James had been beheaded, and Peter was to be next; there was a death penalty against Christians. Perhaps one of the most remarkable aspects of this story can be found in the fact that Peter is sleeping on what should be the worst night of his life—so soundly that the angel actually has to strike him to wake him up!Peter, of course, was miraculously set free and found his way to a meeting of believers who had trouble believing that he had really been delivered, even though they had been praying. The Bible says they were _astonished_—which makes one wonder how often we pray and scarcely dare to believe that God will actually answer us.Some believers were spared; others were killed. As we approach the end time, the same thing will happen. Even Peter, though spared then, eventually died for his faith. Jesus Himself even told him how: “ ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.’ This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, ‘Follow Me’ ” (John 21:18, 19, NKJV).Notice that Jesus, after telling Peter how he would die, nevertheless still says to him, “ ‘Follow Me.’ ” What should this tell us about why even the threat of death should not keep us from following the Lord?
Bible students have long seen the connection between Daniel 3 and what Revelation teaches about last-day events. And with good cause, too, because Daniel 3—with the command, punishable by death, to “worship the image” (Dan. 3:15)—reflects what Revelation teaches about the command, punishable by death, to worship another image. “He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed” (Rev. 13:15, NKJV).
Read Revelation 13:11–17; Revelation 14:9, 11, 12; Revelation 16:2; Revelation 19:20; and Revelation 20:4. What contrast is present here that pits the commandments of God against the commandments of men?
God’s people are called to worship “ ‘Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.’ ” That is, the Creator, as opposed to the beast and its image. The three Hebrew boys, facing a similar threat, refused to worship anything other than the same Creator God. Hence, however different the circumstances between what happened on the plain of Dura, with the command to worship the image, as opposed to the Creator and what will happen worldwide with the call to worship the image as opposed to the Creator—the principle is the same.
Read Romans 1:18–25. (Notice the link between Romans 1:18 and Revelation 14:9, 10 about “the wrath of God.”) In what way is the issue over worshiping the image just another manifestation of this same principle regarding to whom humans ultimately give their allegiance?
Worship doesn’t necessarily mean bowing and offering incense, though it can. We worship whatever holds our ultimate allegiance. When you consider who God is, our Creator and—after what He has done for us in Jesus—our Redeemer as well, then of course He alone should be worshiped. Anything else is idolatry. Perhaps this helps explain Jesus’ hard words here: “ ‘He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad’ ” (Matt. 12:30, NKJV). Final events are simply going to be a dramatic manifestation of this truth.
However much fealty Nebuchadnezzar, impressed by what Daniel had done, at first paid to Daniel and to his God (see Daniel 2, especially vv. 46–48), it didn’t last.
Read Daniel 3:1–12. What significance can be found in the fact that the statue was all gold and that the king demanded that it be worshiped?
The king underscored his defiance of God’s message by constructing a statue made entirely of gold. The message? Babylon will never fall, and Nebuchadnezzar will always be king. And anybody who dared to challenge that idea would be put to death. It serves as a powerful reminder that our human desire for self-determination can quickly blind us to the truth about how the great controversy will most certainly play out.
In some ways, Nebuchadnezzar displays characteristics of Lucifer: he was ambitious, self-important, and prideful enough to rebel openly against God’s authority. In other ways, of course, there are marked differences: Nebuchadnezzar eventually came to faith in the true God, and it is likely that we will meet him in the kingdom he originally fought so hard to defy.
Read Daniel 3:17, 18, the words of the three Hebrew boys in defiance of the king. What does this teach us about faith and what at times it could demand of us?
Think how easily these three men could have rationalized their way out of this dangerous situation. After all, were they not being fanatics, willing to be burned alive over merely bowing down? Couldn’t they have just faked it, bowing to tie their shoelaces while praying to their own God? Was it really worth what they were facing? Obviously, they thought so, even though their words showed that they knew that they might not escape with their lives.
How can we avoid the easy rationalizations that present us with opportunities to compromise on our faith? What does this text say that addresses a similar temptation: “ ‘He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much’ ” (Luke 16:10, NKJV)?
One of the most powerful prophecies in all Scripture is Daniel 2. Writing more than five hundred years before Christ, the prophet set out world history, starting from his time in Babylon and then through Media-Persia, Greece, Rome, and the breakup of Rome into the nations of modern Europe as they exist today.
In fact, talking about these European nations, one text says that “ ‘they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay’ ” (Dan. 2:43, NKJV). This prophecy has been amazingly fulfilled. That is, despite all sorts of intermarriage between the people (from princes to plebes) of these nations, they remain divided.
For example, the British monarchy is called the House of Windsor, a nice English name. However, that name is a relatively recent development—1917, actually. Before then, the family was called Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, a distinctly German name, because many of the British royalty—through mingling “with the seed of men”—were blood relatives with the Germans. However, those blood ties were not enough to keep them from war, and so, during World War I, wanting to dissociate themselves from their hated enemies, they changed the name to the House of Windsor.
Read Daniel 2:31–45. What was Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, and how did Daniel interpret it?
The apocalyptic prophecies in Daniel all follow the foundation set in Daniel 2. That is, the rest of these prophecies, like Daniel 2, follow the sequence of one world empire after another until God establishes His eternal kingdom (see Dan. 2:44; Dan. 7:13, 14). In other words, the prophecies go through history in an unbroken sequence of empires, starting in antiquity and ending in the future, even to our time. This is the historicist approach to interpreting prophecy and is what the texts demand. This use of the historicist approach is crucial for understanding last-day events, particularly as they are depicted in the book of Revelation.
How does Daniel 2 prove to us that not only does God know the future but that He is, ultimately, in charge of it?
Read for This Week’s Study
Dan. 2:31–45; Dan. 3:1–12, 17, 18; Rev. 13:11–17; Rom. 1:18–25; Acts 12:1–17; Matt. 12:9–14.
Memory Text:
This week, we will look at two more Bible stories that foreshadow last-day events in remarkable detail.
First, we will examine the account of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, which has obvious allusions to the issues portrayed in Revelation 13. Then we will turn to the New Testament, where we find that the experience of the early Christians also can help us understand what to expect between now and the return of Christ.
Both examples highlight remarkable courage and provide keys to finding peace of mind under the most trying of circumstances.
Again and again, Jesus said such things as “Do not fear,” and “Why do your thoughts trouble you?” It is important to remember that the focus of prophecy is Christ, and, as such, we must be able to find the same counsel throughout the scenes portrayed in earth’s closing moments. “ ‘Let not your heart be troubled,’ ” He taught His disciples, “ ‘you believe in God, believe also in Me’ ” (John 14:1, NKJV).
In other words, yes, last-day events will be difficult and trying for those who seek to stay faithful to God. But ultimately, we should view these events with hope, not fear.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, June 21.
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7, NKJV).
“The First King of Israel,” pp. 605, 606, in Patriarchs and Prophets.
“Satan will arouse indignation against the minority who refuse to accept popular customs and traditions. Men of position and reputation will join with the lawless and the vile to take counsel against the people of God. Wealth, genius, education, will combine to cover them with contempt. Persecuting rulers, ministers, and church members will conspire against them. With voice and pen, by boasts, threats, and ridicule, they will seek to overthrow their faith. By false representations and angry appeals, men will stir up the passions of the people. Not having a ‘Thus saith the Scriptures’ to bring against the advocates of the Bible Sabbath, they will resort to oppressive enactments to supply the lack. To secure popularity and patronage, legislators will yield to the demand for Sunday laws. But those who fear God, cannot accept an institution that violates a precept of the Decalogue. On this battlefield will be fought the last great conflict in the controversy between truth and error. And we are not left in doubt as to the issue. Today, as in the days of Esther and Mordecai, the Lord will vindicate His truth and His people.”—Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, pp. 605, 606.
Discussion Questions:
Why do you think God allows His people to pass through trying times? What is the point of allowing it?
How does a believer prepare himself or herself for any potential hardship that may come with loyalty to Christ? Where do you find hope in the midst of difficult circumstances?
Why do you think we tend to dwell on the harder things of prophecy and allow them to eclipse the bigger picture that provides good news?
A friend comes to you after reading the book of Revelation and confides that she finds it “terrifying.” What approach would you use to help her understand more clearly and find peace of mind?
Someone says, “I’m not convinced that God loves me or wants me. If you knew what I’ve done, you would understand why.” What response would you give? How do the stories of Ruth and Esther inform your approach?
There is an unfortunate tendency among some Christians to dwell on the hard things of Bible prophecy. We see that trying times lie ahead, and the study of prophecy can become fear-based, focusing on hardship instead of the promised resolution to the story. While God does not sugarcoat the future, and He is honest about the events that will transpire between now and the close of the great controversy, it is important always to read the story to the end.
There is a general pattern in prophecy in which God reveals the truth about the mess created by our human rebellion, and He shows us the consequences. But then He always holds out hope. Some have looked at the predictions of a final crisis—the “time of Jacob’s trouble”—with fear and trembling. Undoubtedly, the closing moments will not be easy ones for God’s people. But just as the prediction of hard times is reliable, so is the promise of deliverance.
In Revelation 12, the devil pursues Christ’s bride with hateful vengeance, but God intervenes to save her. The story of Esther also has a beautiful queen playing a central role in the drama, and God uses her powerfully to save His people.
Read Esther 4:13, 14; Esther 5:1–3; and Esther 9:20–28. What lessons can we draw from these passages regarding our plight in the closing moments of earth’s history?
God raised up His remnant church for a specific moment in history. As the 1,260 days of the Dark Ages drew to a close, God brought His bride out of hiding (compare with Rev. 12:14) to carry His final message of mercy—the three angels’ messages—to the world. We are here “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14).
Esther discovered she was not alone in facing the persecution being unleashed on her people by Haman: she found favor from the king, and her people were ultimately delivered. Neither are we alone as we enter the final moments of earth’s history—the King is on our side, and God’s people will be delivered, as well.
Things worked out well, at least in this story, for God’s people. It doesn’t always happen that way, though, does it? Why, then, must we always take a long-term view of things in order to maintain the hope that we have in Christ?
In the story of Esther, we meet Haman, who is hungry for position and power. He is given a great degree of prominence in the empire, above all the other princes (Esther 3:1).
If we read Ezekiel 28:11–15 and Isaiah 14:12–15 about Lucifer, we can find some parallels with Haman, an evil antagonist to God’s chosen people, who refuses to bow to God’s supremacy. Satan’s overarching intentions are revealed in the story of the temptation of Christ, where he takes Jesus to a high place to show Him the kingdoms of the world (Matt 4:8–11). Christ, as we have seen, came to redeem the world and claim it as His own—and He did it as one of us. Jesus is the kinsman redeemer, and the price He paid to redeem the world was exceedingly high.
In the book of Revelation, we see that Satan’s lust for power and worship brings this world to its final crisis. His deceptions convince the world to “marvel” and follow the beast (Rev. 13:3, 4, NKJV), except for notable exceptions who refuse to worship him. With these people, he resorts to force.
Haman notices that Mordecai—one of God’s chosen people—would not defer to him or acknowledge what he believed to be his right to “worship.” He is “filled with wrath” (Esther 3:5, 6, NKJV), and he becomes determined to eliminate all of Mordecai’s people from the face of the earth.
Read Esther 3:1–14, Revelation 12:14–17, and Revelation 13:15. What parallels do you find between these passages? How is John’s description of God’s remnant church like Haman’s description of God’s people?
The devil has laid claim to this world, but the presence of people who stay loyal to God—who keep His commandments—disproves his claim of complete supremacy. “When the Sabbath shall become the special point of controversy throughout Christendom, the persistent refusal of a small minority to yield to the popular demand will make them objects of universal execration.”—Ellen G. White, Signs of the Times, February 22, 1910.
Think about the “small” things that test your faith now. If you compromise on them, the “small” things, how will you do when the big test comes?
Boaz falls deeply in love with Ruth and wishes to marry her, but there is a significant barrier: there is a closer relative who also has a claim on the woman and the land. If we consider Boaz to be a type of Christ, this situation may reveal an issue at stake in the great controversy. Christ loves us, but there is a “closer relative” who also has a claim: Satan.
What do the following passages reveal about Satan’s claim on humanity? (Job 1:6–11; Matt. 4:8, 9; Jude 1:9; Luke 22:31).
When Satan appeared in the heavenly council, he told God that he had been “ ‘going to and fro in the earth’ ” (Job 1:7), and when God asked him if he had noticed the righteous Job, Satan laid claim to him as one of his own, suggesting that Job’s heart did not really belong to God. That is, he really follows You only because You are good to him. Stop being good to him and see who truly has Job’s allegiance.
In Jude, we see a brief reference to a story that was well known in Israel: after Moses had been buried by God (Deut. 34:6), he was later resurrected. Though we are not privy to the details, the text itself, which says that they disputed over the body of Moses, implies that Satan was making some kind of claim on it.
“For the first time Christ was about to give life to the dead. As the Prince of life and the shining ones approached the grave, Satan was alarmed for his supremacy. With his evil angels he stood to dispute an invasion of the territory that he claimed as his own. He boasted that the servant of God had become his prisoner. He declared that even Moses was not able to keep the law of God; that he had taken to himself the glory due to Jehovah—the very sin which had caused Satan’s banishment from heaven—and by transgression had come under the dominion of Satan.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 478. Obviously, Christ refuted Satan’s claim, and Moses was resurrected (see Matt. 17:3).
In Ruth 4:1–12, Boaz travels to the gate of Bethlehem—the town where Christ would enter our world as our close relative. The elders gather, and finally a sandal (a symbol of ownership) is exchanged.
The gate of a village is where cases were decided: this is a type of judgment scene. It reflects the judgment scene of Daniel 7:13, 14, 22, 26, 27. We must not miss this critical aspect of judgment: judgment is in “favor of the saints” but only because Christ paid the price for us, just as Boaz did for his bride.
Naomi asked that her name be changed to Mara because of the bitterness that had fallen over her life (see Ruth 1:20). Our relationship with our Creator has been irreparably damaged by sin, forcing us into spiritual poverty. Our prospects are dim, and we spend our lives gleaning what we can from the edges of the field, living on the scraps of joy that can still be found in a broken world. But it all changes the moment we make a remarkable discovery: God has not forgotten us.
Read Ruth 2:5–20. Why is this such a pivotal moment in the story? Why do you think Naomi’s discovery of the benefactor’s identity was such good news?
Naomi could not take possession of her husband Elimelech’s land without obtaining assistance from her husband’s family. She hopes that Ruth can marry a close relative of her deceased husband and bear a child in Elimelech’s name. God had made provision in Israel for individuals to reclaim their inheritance in the Promised Land: a close relative was needed to redeem Elimelech’s inheritance. Boaz was not just a kind farmer; he was a kinsman of Elimelech who could redeem the land.
The discovery that Boaz was not only kindhearted and generous but a relative was the best possible news: the poverty in which these two women existed did not have to last forever.
Christians have long understood Boaz to be a type of Christ, who is not only our Creator but chose to become our kinsman—a real, flesh-and-blood human being, one of the reasons why, again and again, He called Himself “the Son of man” (Matt. 12:8, Mark 8:31, Luke 22:22, John 3:14).
Far too many people think of God in harsh terms—e.g., “Perhaps He will let us into heaven if we check all the correct boxes on a moral inventory, but He will do so grudgingly because we have scraped by on a technicality.” The picture of Christ revealed in Boaz completely displaces such notions. God not only notices us, but, in spite of our deep spiritual poverty, He wants us as His bride.
Try to wrap your mind around not only the Creator’s becoming part of His own creation but then dying for it. How should this astonishing truth impact how we view our own existence?
Critics of the Christian faith have often pointed to the brutal reality of living in this world as evidence that: (a) God does not exist, (b) He is powerless to intervene when bad things happen, or (c) He doesn’t care when we hurt. Many of the stories of the Bible, however, provide abundant evidence that none of these assumptions are correct. True, God is allowing the human race to reap the consequences of rebellion against Him. But without violating our free will, He is always present, always working in human history, always moving us toward the ultimate resolution of the problems of sin and suffering. The story of Ruth provides one such example.
Read Ruth 1:1–5. What hardships fell on Naomi and Ruth, and what caused them? How does this reflect the situation that the entire human race now faces?
There is irony to be found in the opening statement of this story: there was a famine that affected Bethlehem, a town whose name means “house of bread.” One is reminded of the abundance of Eden, where God told Adam and Eve, “ ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat’ ” (Gen. 2:16, NKJV). The human race began its existence in abundance, under the care of a generous Creator, but then exchanged its role as caretakers of creation for the slavery of sin. “ ‘In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground,’ ” God told Adam (Gen. 3:19, NKJV).
Like Naomi, we have been dispossessed from the inheritance that God originally planned for us to have, and our lives have become a hardship. Eden was given as a gift, but not unconditionally: humans were free to rebel, but that would mean they would have to take responsibility for their own well-being. Originally, we were meant to “subdue” the whole unfallen world under God’s blessing, but now we are faced with the task of subduing a fallen one. Selfish human beings competing for scarce resources leads to much heartache and suffering.
The tragedy is unspeakable: the earth still produces abundantly, a powerful testimony to God’s love. But between human greed and the ravages of sin, the world at times seems to subdue us more than we subdue it. One day, however, all this will end.
Even after six thousand years of sin and death, how does the earth still reveal the wonders of God’s love and creative power?
Read for This Week’s Study
Ruth 1:1–5; Ruth 2:5–20; Job 1:6–11; Matt. 4:8, 9; Esther 3:1–14; Rev. 12:14–17.
Memory Text:
This week we continue to explore stories that prefigure last-day events. By using real-life events and people, God helps us to see things from His perspective and helps us understand how to interpret the prophecies that come later, which are given to help strengthen our faith.
Our attention turns to two important women whose stories have touched the hearts of countless generations: Ruth and Esther. One is a dispossessed widow who finds hope after meeting the kindly Boaz, her kinsman redeemer. Their marriage has become a favorite love story for Christians because of the way it reflects Christ’s love for us. The other is a young girl living in a foreign land who becomes aware of a plot to destroy her people and finds herself thrust onto the main stage in the drama that unfolds to save them.
In prophecy, of course, a woman is a powerful symbol for God’s church, shedding much light on how God regards His people. Let’s look at the biblical accounts of these two women, whose life circumstances have been immortalized in the Word of God, and seek to draw whatever lessons we can from their experiences.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, June 14.
“So it was, when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, that she found favor in his sight, and the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther went near and touched the top of the scepter” (Esther 5:2, NKJV).
Read Ellen G. White, “The Flood,” pp. 101, 102, in Patriarchs and Prophets.
“The high priest cannot defend himself or his people from Satan’s accusations. He does not claim that Israel is free from fault. In filthy garments, symbolizing the sins of the people, which he bears as their representative, he stands before the Angel, confessing their guilt, yet pointing to their repentance and humiliation, and relying upon the mercy of a sin-pardoning Redeemer. In faith he claims the promises of God. . . .
“Satan’s accusations against those who seek the Lord are not prompted by displeasure at their sins. He exults in their defective characters; for he knows that only through their transgression of God’s law can he obtain power over them. His accusations arise solely from his enmity to Christ. Through the plan of salvation, Jesus is breaking Satan’s hold upon the human family and rescuing souls from his power. . . .
“In his own strength, man cannot meet the charges of the enemy. In sin-stained garments, confessing his guilt, he stands before God. But Jesus, our Advocate, presents an effectual plea in behalf of all who by repentance and faith have committed the keeping of their souls to Him. He pleads their cause, and by the mighty arguments of Calvary, vanquishes their accuser. His perfect obedience to God’s law has given Him all power in heaven and in earth, and He claims from His Father mercy and reconciliation for guilty man.”—Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, pp. 583–586.
Discussion Questions:
Jesus told His disciples that they were in the world but not of the world. (See John 15:19, John 17:14–16.) How do we balance our responsibility to win the world with the need to keep ourselves “unspotted from the world” (James 1:27)?
What does Noah’s public ministry prior to the Flood teach us about how the great controversy works? In what ways do we play the same role today?
Prior to devouring the wicked with fire from heaven (as He did with Sodom), God raises them from the dead and allows Satan to work with them for a short while (Rev. 20:7–9). What reasons can you think of that this would be a necessary last step before God sets everything right?
As you consider the stories we studied this week, what cautions do you find for your own life? What do these stories teach you about your hope in Christ?
The description of judgment found in Daniel 7 gives us a glimpse behind the veil—to an awe-inspiring opportunity to see how God is resolving the problem of sin while still redeeming those who wish to live in a covenant relationship with Him.
Read the description of the investigative judgment provided in Daniel 7:9, 10, 13, 14, 22, 26, and 27. What is the primary focus in the judgment? What is the verdict rendered at the end of the process? What does this tell us about the plan of salvation?
There is little question that the human race is judged by God. Ecclesiastes 12:14 assures us that “God will bring every work into judgment” (NKJV), and Paul reminds us that we do not need to judge each other, because “we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ” (Rom. 14:10). God, of course, does not need records to know who is saved or lost, but angels—who have been examining the plan of salvation all along (1 Pet. 1:12)—would naturally have questions. They were witnesses to the rebellion of Satan and saw a third of heaven’s angels expelled from heaven (Rev. 12:4)—and now God is bringing us into His presence. God opens the books and allows the saints to see everything.
The story of Abraham’s pleading for Sodom and Gomorrah—a type of the judgment—offers us some important insight into judgment. The sins of Sodom were obviously being investigated; God mentions that the wickedness of the city had given it such a reputation that the outcry against it was great (Gen. 18:20). But it was not only Sodom and Gomorrah that were investigated prior to their destruction. God also opened the door for Abraham to study whether or not God was acting righteously in His decision to destroy the wicked.
Meanwhile, who appears amid the heavenly judgment, in Daniel 7, but “the Son of man,” Jesus (Dan. 7:13; see also Matt. 20:28), whose appearance is the only reason why this judgment is “made in favor of the saints of the Most High” (Dan. 7:22, NKJV). His perfect righteousness alone gets His people through judgment.
Imagine standing in judgment with all your secrets exposed before our Holy God. What is your only hope at that time of judgment? (See Friday's study.)
Just prior to the destruction of Sodom, there is a curious story that takes place on the plains of Mamre. God, accompanied by two angels, appears to Abraham. When Abraham sees them, he invites the heavenly visitors to a meal, and it is at this point that God promises that Abraham and Sarah will have a son who would lead to the Messiah. Jesus, indeed, came from the line of Abraham (compare with Gal. 3:16). Then the story suddenly turns to the matter of the wicked cities of the plain.
Read Genesis 18:17–32. What do we learn from these verses about the character of God and the way He ultimately plans to deal with evil on our planet?
God does not owe us an explanation, but He chooses not to veil His motives and plans from the human race. “Surely the Lord God does nothing,” the prophet Amos tells us, “unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7, NKJV).
Before God destroys Sodom and Gomorrah, He declares that the only right thing to do is inform Abraham of what is about to happen, about what he can soon expect to be witnessing.
God lingers with Abraham while the two angels go to the wicked city to call out those who will heed their warning. One cannot help but think of the prophetic angels who perform the same task in the last days, calling those of God’s people who live in Babylon to come out of her (Rev. 14:6–12, Rev. 18:1–4). As the final warning is being issued, God discusses with Abraham what is about to happen, and He willingly subjects Himself to the patriarch’s questions.
“ ‘Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked,’ ” Abraham comments, and then asks, “ ‘Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?’ ” (Gen. 18:25, NKJV). Abraham is not only examining the case of Sodom, but he is also examining the character of God. Likewise, before the end comes, God opens the books of heaven (Rev. 20:4, 11–15) and allows us to investigate the evidence before He finally brings fire down on the earth. That is, we will have a thousand years to get a lot of questions answered that, for now, remain unanswered.
Before the Lord will bring down final judgment upon the lost, He gives us a thousand years to understand what will happen to whom and why. What does this tell us about His character and about how open He is to scrutiny by created beings—beings fully dependent upon Him for existence—and who have no inherent right to know these things?
There is another key Old Testament story to which Peter makes direct reference when describing last-day events: the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The cities of the plain were legendary for their wickedness and became the first example of population centers destroyed by fire from heaven.
Read 2 Peter 2:4–11, Jude 5–8, and Ezekiel 16:46–50—and note all of the details. What were the moral conditions that led to the destruction of these cities, and what parallels exist today?
The warning offered to the last-day people of this planet through the account of Sodom and Gomorrah is plain: eventually, the wicked will also be destroyed by fire, as described so clearly in Revelation 20. Sin is remarkably deceptive in that it blinds us to the state of our own hearts, veiling our transgressions under a layer of self-approval, while the wickedness perpetrated by others often remains obvious to us. In the same chapter that God talked about how much love He had poured upon His nation, He also has to warn the nation that, while it did not commit the very same sins (Ezek. 16:47), it has actually become more wicked than Sodom.
Israel had been “playing the harlot” (Ezek. 16:41), committing spiritual adultery. Imagine the surprise of God’s people when they heard that they were more wicked than people who were legendary for their wickedness.
This is nothing new, not just with ancient Israel but with all humanity. In Romans 1:18–32, Paul presents a long list of human evil that could have been written based off of today’s newspapers. Paul’s description of Gentile sin was not intended to create feelings of superiority among the Jews but so that God’s people finally could understand the seriousness of their own sins. Nathan did the same thing when he spoke to David: he told the story of a rich man who stole a lamb from a poor man. This story “greatly aroused” David’s anger (2 Sam. 12:5, NKJV), because the injustice seemed obvious; even then, it took Nathan’s declaration, “You are the man!” (2 Sam. 12:7, NKJV) to make David see himself in the story.
It is important to remember that the Bible is not primarily addressed to the outside world but to God’s own people. When we see the heinous sins of others described in a passage such as Revelation 13 or 17, it is a warning that we, too, can fall into the same trap.
Peter reminds us that many will be unprepared for Christ’s return because they “willfully forget” (2 Pet. 3:5, NKJV) what happened at the Flood. Today, even though the world has a collective memory of a great deluge (an astonishing number of global cultures tell the story of a devastating flood, from the ancient Greeks to the Mayans), the story of Noah is today perhaps one of the most ridiculed of the Bible’s accounts. As predicted, the world is willfully setting the story aside as a myth, no matter how clearly and explicitly it is depicted in the Old Testament and referred to numerous times in the New Testament.
Jesus said that the world situation would resemble “the days of Noah” in Matthew 24:37–39. Compare this passage with Genesis 6:1–8. What were the moral conditions that led to the Flood? What parallels exist between the two times?
There is another important lesson for God’s last-day remnant people that emerges from careful study. Hebrews 11:7 tells us that Noah “prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith” (NKJV).
Imagine preaching for more than a century with nothing to show for it but your own family in the ark. If Noah had been a modern evangelist, we might be tempted to write him off as a failure: decades of preaching and what would appear to be no results.
Fortunately, at the moment, many parts of the world are very responsive to the three angels’ messages. Evangelistic outreach—the preaching of our unique remnant message—is proving incredibly effective in many places, and many are coming to know the Lord. We have not yet reached the point where there are no results, although we have been told the moment is coming when “probation will close, and the door of mercy will be shut. Thus in the one short sentence, ‘They that were ready went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut,’ we are carried down through the Saviour’s final ministration, to the time when the great work for man’s salvation shall be completed.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 428.
Until then, we have a work to do as a church.
How can we learn not to get discouraged if our personal evangelistic efforts don’t seem to be bearing much fruit for the moment? Why must we continue our efforts? (See John 4:37.)
Read Revelation 6:12–17. Consider the details of these people’s response to seeing last-day events suddenly play out. What do you notice about their response?
It is interesting to note that the lost are not crying out, “What is this?” or “Who is behind this?” They appear to know what is happening. They refer to Jesus as the Lamb, which would require knowing something of the story of Christ. They also seem aware that “the great day of His wrath has come,” and that they are caught in a hopeless position: “Who is able to stand?” (Rev. 6:17, NKJV).
Prior to the end, the gospel is carried to every nation on earth (Matt. 24:14), and the three angels’ messages are delivered to the entire planet. And yet, there will be people who are caught off guard—not for lack of information but because of their refusal to believe and to obey. This will be the reason that such people are lost in the last days.
Read Matthew 24:36–44. What lessons does Jesus tell us we should be drawing from the story of Noah?
Jesus points to the story of the Flood to warn us that His second coming will come as a surprise to many. As with the Second Coming, the Flood did not come as a surprise to the world because of a lack of information. Noah preached for 120 years to a world that refused to believe. All were told what was going to happen. They just didn’t believe.
Meanwhile, many people assure themselves that the passage of long periods of time means that the prophecies are false. Using the Flood story as context, Peter writes “that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation’ ” (2 Pet. 3:3, 4, NKJV). As each year passes, this sentiment will only grow.
In each person’s own experience, the second coming of Jesus (or in some cases, the third coming) is never more than a moment after death, and we all know how quickly life goes by. How might this perspective help us deal with the “delay”?
Read for This Week’s Study
Rev. 6:12–17; Matt. 24:36–44; Gen. 6:1–8; 2 Pet. 2:4–11; Gen. 18:17–32; Dan. 7:9, 10.
Memory Text:
The Bible is filled with accounts of God’s people that point to future events and that hold keys to helping us understand present truth. In fact, some of those accounts foreshadow last-day events with surprising detail, providing us a broader foundation for understanding the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation clearly.
Without violating an individual’s freedom of conscience, God can perfectly steer the events that will happen in the last days, events that He revealed to the prophets. Some of these important stories are obvious, because the New Testament refers to them specifically in describing last-day events: Sodom and Gomorrah, the Flood, and so on. Others require careful thought and exploration in order to mine from them the truths that have been given to us in the Word of God.
During the next couple of weeks, we will be searching through a number of key stories in order to see what they might have to say about events such as the Second Coming, the investigative judgment, the final crisis, and more. And, through it all, we find Christ as the center, for He must be the foundation as well as the end goal of all our prophetic endeavors.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, June 7.
“Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:11, 12, NKJV).
Read Psalm 133, Acts 1:4–9, and Revelation 5:4–7.
“During the patriarchal age the influence of the Holy Spirit had often been revealed in a marked manner, but never in its fullness. Now, in obedience to the word of the Saviour, the disciples offered their supplications for this gift, and in heaven Christ added His intercession. He claimed the gift of the Spirit, that He might pour it upon His people.”—Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 37.
The disciples were instructed to bear witness to Christ “ ‘to the end of the earth’ ” (Acts 1:8, NKJV), a work that would herald the return of Christ (Matt. 24:14). We are to continue what they started.
When Christ told us to carry the gospel to the world, He did not leave us alone to figure out how it might happen. The work is directed from heaven’s sanctuary. Our work is intimately wrapped up in Christ: He guides and empowers us. This is His work, not ours: we are asked to follow His lead. You will notice this is how it worked with Israel: God asked them to follow His instructions, and then He made the impossible happen. The Spirit is already at work in the hearts of our neighbors; we are asked to be there when the moment of decision arrives so that we can invite them to join God’s people as they stand with the Lamb on Zion. We do not have to invent new means and methods because we have never been in charge of the work.
Discussion Questions:
There are lots of unreached people, even though the three angels’ messages have gone all over the world. In class, discuss how we as a church can better fulfill the task that Christ is using us to fulfill. How can we learn not to despair when we think of all the people who still have not heard of these truths for the last days?
In Revelation 5, John witnesses the sealed scroll being given to the Lamb because He is worthy. When the seals on the scroll are opened in Revelation 6, we see the history of the New Testament church clearly predicted down to the end of time. From this description, what lessons can we learn about the way God intends to finish the work?
What are the present events we see in the world that could easily lead to what we know is coming in Revelation 13 and 14? What obstacles remain?
Read Psalm 67. How does this hymn of praise inform your understanding of the role of God’s people in Revelation 14:6–12?
Engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have created a new black coating that renders objects painted with it nearly invisible. Created from nanotubes, it is many times darker than any black material previously created. This new material can absorb 99.995 percent of all visible light. Even the brightest light fails to make objects covered in this coating visible.
Psalm 67 begins with an appeal for God to “cause His face to shine upon us, that Your way may be known on earth” (Ps. 67:1, 2, NKJV). In the plan of salvation, God has provided a way for sinners to be readmitted to His immediate, glorious presence without being destroyed by His glory; and even now, in this life, the cross of Christ makes it possible for God’s face to shine on us.
But there is more: God intends that we reflect His light to the rest of the world. This was the task given to Israel: the temple was to be a house of prayer for all nations: “ ‘Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’ ” (Isa. 56:7, NKJV).
In this psalm, David reminds us that God wants His “way [to] be known on earth, [His] salvation among all nations” (Ps. 67:2, NKJV). Tragically, God’s people have often failed in this task. Israel’s record in the Old Testament contains some dark chapters, as does the record of the Christian church during the past two millennia. It is as if we have painted our hearts with an ultra-dark substance, content to absorb God’s light without reflecting it.
Sometimes, we treat God’s last-day movement as a kind of privileged departure lounge reserved for spiritual frequent flyers, and we seem quite content that the rest of the world must sit in the noisy, uncomfortable gate lounge, unprepared for the journey ahead. The remnant church of Revelation 14, however, is not content just to stand on Zion with Christ, basking in His presence. Instead, they fly across the face of the earth, urging the world to join them on God’s holy mountain.
What obligations should we as a church, and as individuals, feel toward teaching others the truths that we love so much?
Read Psalm 75. Read also Matthew 26:26–29 and Revelation 14:9–12. What does this psalm reveal about some of the issues at stake in the judgment, and how do these other texts help us understand these issues?
There is some thought that this psalm would have been sung upon the miraculous destruction of Sennacherib’s army (2 Chronicles 32, 2 Kings 19)—a story that appears to point forward to the final destruction of the wicked in Revelation 20. The people of God are inside the Holy City with their righteous king when the armies of evil come up and surround them, and then they are destroyed by God Himself.
One of the things that God corrects in the judgment is the misappropriation of power that has taken place in our fallen world. Fallen humans no longer live for others or for the glory of God but for self. Today, in many ways, we are living with the consequences of choosing to believe that there is no meaning or objective moral standard in the universe. If there is to be a meaning, the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche insisted that we must invent it for ourselves and pretend as if the universe exists for our benefit. Each individual, in effect, behaves as if he or she is a god.
(One might justifiably ask: How well did this philosophy work out for Nietzsche himself? Not too well, actually. He went insane, collapsing on a street in Italy after trying to stop a man from beating a horse. He then spent the next 11 years of his life in a semi-catatonic state before his death in 1900.)
However bad the problems are, as believers we are reminded to live with hope and not to judge the future by current events. It is easy to despair as we see the pillars of civilization being steadily eroded by the hearts and minds of the godless or by those whose views of God are not found in the Bible. We are currently living in a period in which moral values, even things as basic as human gender, male and female, have come under assault, at least in some parts of the world. Certain types of immorality, things that many people would have been ashamed to talk about, even privately, are now lauded and applauded publicly. That’s how bad things are getting.
Though we must do our part now to try to make life better for others, why is it always important to remember that it’s going to take the total destruction of this present world and the supernatural re-creation of it before all things are, ultimately, made right?
Read Psalm 47:1–4. What does it say about our place, ultimately, in Christ’s kingdom?
Long term, the future is bright. Until then, humanity ceded dominion over the planet to Lucifer, and by the time Satan appeared at the heavenly council in Job, he boasted that this earth belonged to him.
“ ‘From where do you come?’ ” God asked.
“ ‘From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it,’ ” he replied (Job 1:7, NKJV).
Satan was declaring ownership; the foot was used in antiquity to represent ownership. “ ‘Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land,’ ” God instructed Abraham, “ ‘for I will give it to you’ ” (Gen. 13:17, ESV).
Compare 1 Thessalonians 4:13–17 and Zechariah 14:4, and pay attention to Christ’s feet. What differences do you find between these passages, and what do they teach us about these two different, though related, aspects of Christ’s ultimate sovereignty of this world?
Talking about what Christ does at the end of the millennium, Ellen G. White wrote: “Christ descends upon the Mount of Olives, whence, after His resurrection, He ascended, and where angels repeated the promise of His return. Says the prophet: ‘The Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with Thee.’ ‘And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof, . . . and there shall be a very great valley.’ ‘And the Lord shall be King over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and His name one.’ Zechariah 14:5, 4, 9. As the New Jerusalem, in its dazzling splendor, comes down out of heaven, it rests upon the place purified and made ready to receive it, and Christ, with His people and the angels, enters the Holy City.”—The Great Controversy, pp. 662, 663.
Look at the hope we have been given in Jesus. Think about how hard life would be if everything ended, forever, with death. It would all be futile, would it not?
Much of the language in the book of Psalms is symbolic, but when it comes to the language that points forward to the ultimate resetting of our planet, we have little reason to believe that it is merely symbolic. Psalm 46 reminds us that the physical earth will be deeply affected by Christ’s return. But it is not merely the rocks and ocean that will be affected; the grand climax of earth’s history will mean the breakdown of worldly kingdoms—the miserable systems of human government that have caused so much suffering over the millennia.
In the end, all these powers, and all the evil and suffering that they have brought upon humanity, will come to a complete end.
Read Jeremiah 4:23–26. What is this telling us about the fate of this world, at least until there’s a “new heaven and a new earth” (Rev. 21:1)?
Bible prophecy shows us what will happen to this world. The vision of Daniel 7, for instance, shows us a stormy sea from which the nations of the world arise. The winds of strife and warfare blow across the Gentile sea (the earth), producing one worldly kingdom after another, and not one of them can solve the very real problems that beset the human race. The worldly leaders we dare to trust almost always prove to be as sinful and selfish as the rest of us.
None of the kingdoms shown to Daniel proved to be a secure home for God’s people (though some were better than others). But we know that we have citizenship in the kingdom of God (Phil. 3:20), and, high above the chaos of this planet, there is a throne that cannot be moved (see Ezek. 1:26). Jesus taught that the world will move into deeper disorder as we approach the moment of Christ’s return (Matthew 24), but we can hold out in faith, regardless of the condition of our planet, because we know that God has not lost control, and that He will fulfill His promises: “The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved; He uttered His voice, the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge” (Ps. 46:6, 7, NKJV). Short term, things are not going greatly nor will they. Long term? That—thanks to Jesus—is a whole other matter.
No question, our world seems chaotic and out of control. How should the prophecy of Daniel 7, for instance, help us see that ultimately things will work out well for us if we remain faithful?
Read Psalm 46. What message of hope can we take from this amid the turmoil of life now and what we know is going to come upon the earth in the last days as the great controversy plays out here?
Psalm 46 appears to touch on a theme that we find in the book of Hebrews: that of something better. Jesus is better than the earthly high priest, His sacrifice is better than all the animal sacrifices, and the heavenly sanctuary is better than the types that existed on earth.
This psalm takes a different approach, however. The author is not taking good things and contrasting them with better things; he is contrasting a world in rebellion—and the terrible consequences it has brought—with promise of the better things that God is planning for us.
Indeed, this psalm is filled with hope and promise that, even amid the desolation and trial and suffering and wars that we face, ultimately we are to “be still, and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10) and to rest in the assurance that one day all of this is going to end and that God “will be exalted in the earth” (Ps. 46:10).
Notice, too, what is written here. “Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea” (Ps. 46:2, NKJV).
One cannot help but be reminded of the scenes that will take place at the Second Coming: “Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place” (Rev. 6:14, NKJV). And this: “Looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat” (2 Pet. 3:12, NKJV). Our present world, with all its attendant evils, isn’t going to last forever, and what comes afterward promises us something that our minds now can barely fathom. For now, though, we just need to hold on, persevering in faith and clinging to the revelation of God that we have, especially in Jesus on the cross.
However bad things are in this world (and we know they are going to get worse), what hope should you draw from your knowledge of the goodness, power, and character of God (think: the Cross)?
Read for This Week’s Study
Psalm 46, Jer. 4:23–26, Ps. 47:1–4, 1 Thess. 4:13–17, Psalm 75, Rev. 14:6–12.
Memory Text:
When thinking of final events, we tend to focus on the beasts and the powers of Revelation. And, of course, they have a big role—an important one, too. Otherwise, God would not have put them in the Bible for us to understand them (see Rev. 1:3).
Prophecy, however, also deals with key issues associated with sin and suffering, judgment, the battle between good and evil, the nature of justice and injustice, persecution, and more.
The Psalms also deal with these issues in great depth, exploring nearly every possible human emotion—from dark despondency to unbridled joy. We see Israel preparing for battle against the forces of darkness. We read about individuals wrestling with the question of why doesn’t God address evil more directly and immediately, a question that no doubt we all have asked. We are directed to the sanctuary for answers, and there also are repeated appeals to God’s status as Creator. Are these not issues and questions that we, in our context today, wrestle with, as well?
Of course, this is why we will continue unpacking the book of Psalms in order to learn more about these crucial truths.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, May 31.
“Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You. Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For You shall judge the people righteously, and govern the nations on earth. Selah” (Psalm 67:3, 4, NKJV).
“The psalms of David pass through the whole range of experience, from the depths of conscious guilt and self-condemnation to the loftiest faith and the most exalted communing with God. His life record declares that sin can bring only shame and woe, but that God’s love and mercy can reach to the deepest depths, that faith will lift up the repenting soul to share the adoption of the sons of God. Of all the assurances which His word contains, it is one of the strongest testimonies to the faithfulness, the justice, and the covenant mercy of God. . . .
“ ‘I have sworn unto David My servant . . . with whom My hand shall be established: Mine arm also shall strengthen him. . . . My faithfulness and My mercy shall be with him: and in My name shall his horn be exalted. I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers. He shall cry unto Me, Thou art my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation. Also I will make him My first-born, higher than the kings of the earth. My mercy will I keep for him forevermore, and My covenant shall stand fast with him.’ Psalm 89:3–28.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 754, 755.
Discussion Questions:
The human race has been a miserable failure in keeping up our end of God’s covenants with us. David, the “man after God’s own heart” despite some big mistakes, was still used powerfully to communicate the terms of our salvation to us. In what sense does David foreshadow Jesus, who did keep God’s covenant perfectly in our behalf? And why is what Jesus did in our behalf our only hope?
What passages in the Psalms have you found particularly helpful or meaningful in that they reflect the kind of experiences that you have gone through yourself?
Why do the Psalms make such frequent reference to the temple? What can we learn from David’s love for the sanctuary? How can this help us appreciate what we have in Jesus, as our heavenly High Priest “who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us” (Rom. 8:34, NKJV)? Why do we, even as redeemed people, need Christ interceding for us in heaven?
Based on the Ellen G. White quote above, what has been your own experience with how God has lifted your “repenting soul to share the adoption of the sons of God” after the “shame and woe” of sin?
After the Lord had appeared to Isaiah in the throne room scene of Isaiah 6:1–8, and after Isaiah had been told that his “iniquity is taken away” and his “sin purged,” he then answered God’s call by saying, “ ‘Here am I! Send me’ ” (Isa. 6:8, NKJV). That is, once he knew that he was right with God, and despite knowing his faults, he was ready to work for the Lord.
Is it not the same with us? How can we proclaim salvation to others if we don’t have it ourselves? And we can have it, by faith in Jesus and what He has done for us.
Read Psalm 51:7–15. What does David promise to do after he has been pardoned and purged from his sin?
To be called into God’s presence is, ultimately, to be sent back out. In His wisdom, God has commissioned the redeemed to serve as His primary voice to a fallen world. At some point, the impact of His people on earth is going to be powerfully felt. Revelation 18:1 tells us that His final plea with the fallen planet will illuminate the whole world.
“No sooner does one come to Christ than there is born in his heart a desire to make known to others what a precious friend he has found in Jesus; the saving and sanctifying truth cannot be shut up in his heart. If we are clothed with the righteousness of Christ and are filled with the joy of His indwelling Spirit, we shall not be able to hold our peace. If we have tasted and seen that the Lord is good we shall have something to tell. Like Philip when he found the Saviour, we shall invite others into His presence.”—Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 78.
In Revelation 14, the three angels’ messages are founded on the “everlasting gospel” (Rev. 14:6). That is, even before the proclamations go out about worshiping the one “ ‘who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water’ ” (Rev. 14:7, NKJV) or about the fall of Babylon (Rev. 14:8) or about worshiping the “beast and his image” (Rev. 14:9), the foundation of the gospel, of salvation in Jesus, is proclaimed. And that is because the warnings and messages of the three angels mean nothing apart from the hope and promise that those who proclaim these messages have in Jesus and what He has done for them. Apart from the “everlasting gospel,” we really have nothing of any value to say to the world.
Dwell more on the fact that, even before the proclamation of the three angels’ messages begins, we are pointed to the “everlasting gospel.” What should this tell us about how foundational this truth is to all that we believe?
Read Psalm 5. In this work, David draws sharp contrasts between those who are lost and those who have been redeemed. Compare this psalm with the language of Revelation 14:1–12. What similarities do you find, and how does this inform your understanding of what it means to be a part of God’s last-day remnant movement?
It is instructive to note that David insists that evil “may not dwell” with God (Ps. 5:4, ESV). The point of the tabernacle was that God might dwell among His people, and the same will be true in the kingdom of Christ (see Rev. 21:3). Those who would approach the throne of God must be redeemed.
It is also noteworthy that David describes an act of worship in Psalm 5:7, which is the core issue at stake in the great controversy. Revelation 13 mentions “worship” five times, and the three angels’ messages call the world to “worship Him who made.” David tells us that he “fears” God, and the message of the remnant calls the world back to “ ‘fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come’ ” (Rev. 14:7, NKJV).
Also notice how the redeemed of Revelation 14 are said to have “no deceit” (Rev. 14:5, NKJV) in their mouths; they are truth-tellers whose words and deeds reflect the righteous character of God. The wicked, according to David, have “no truth in their mouth” (Ps. 5:9, ESV).
It is an astonishing scene that John presents in this key part of Revelation: mere sinners have been pulled back from death and are privileged to stand in God’s presence. They did not earn this right; it is granted to them by the fact that the Lamb of God—the righteous Son of man—stands there with them. They are forgiven, redeemed; they no longer have to bear their own guilt (compare with Ps. 5:10), because the Lamb of God has borne it for them (compare with Isa. 53:12 and 2 Cor. 5:21).
Once God’s name is inscribed in your heart, it is hard to remain silent. God’s people deliver one final offer of mercy with a “loud voice” (Rev. 14:7). “But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; let those also who love Your name be joyful in You” (Ps. 5:11, NKJV).
Imagine standing before a holy and perfect God in judgment, with every deed you have ever done fully exposed before Him. What does this prospect tell you about your need of Christ’s righteousness?
The remnant gathered on Zion have a name engraved on their foreheads: the name of the Father and the Lamb. (Whether this is two different names is doubtful; Jesus is the very image of the Father!) A “name” in the Scriptures signifies more than a label by which people address each other; it stands for character. To this day, many cultures still say that someone has a “good name” when people think highly of their character.
Read Exodus 33:18–23, Exodus 34:1–7, and Psalm 119:55. When Moses asked to see God’s glory, what did God promise to show him? Then when God proclaimed His name to Moses (Exod. 34:5), what followed?
Some picture God’s glory as an unapproachable, brilliant light, which is certainly an apt description. But God’s glory is more than simply a visual display; His glory is His character. The same is true with God’s name.
When the Bible describes a remnant with God’s name inscribed in their foreheads, it is not a matter of having literal letters written there; it is a matter of having God’s character inscribed in your mind, your heart, and so now in our lives we reflect the love and character of God. You have been pulled close to God, and you love Him for who He is and what He has done for you.
How interesting, too, that when God describes Himself to Moses, He does it in conjunction with Moses’ receiving another copy of the Ten Commandments, which is also a transcript of His character. Likewise, the people who have God’s “name” in Revelation 14 are described as those who “keep the commandments of God.” Then notice the words found in Hebrews: “ ‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,’ then He adds, ‘Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more’ ” (Heb. 10:16, 17, NKJV). What an expression of the gospel: though God’s law is reflected in our lives, we still need our sins to be remembered “no more.”
God’s name is His character. His moral law is a transcript of His character. And those who are gathered on God’s holy hill in the last days are infused with a love for God, a love manifested by obedience to His law.
If we are saved by faith and not by the law, what then is the importance of God’s law? (See 1 John 5:3.)
In Revelation 14, we find God’s people standing on Mount Zion. The original Mount Zion was located just west of the old city of Jerusalem today and was thought of as the seat of God’s throne, or presence, among His people. In time, the temple mount, located on Mount Moriah, came to be identified with Mount Zion, as well.
In other words, this important depiction of God’s last-day remnant is presented in sanctuary language, as with most of the key scenes in the book of Revelation. Thanks to the Lamb, God’s people are on His holy hill!
Read Psalm 15 and Psalm 24, in which David asks an all-important question: “Who shall dwell in thy holy hill?” Compare his reply in these psalms with the description of the people standing on Zion in Revelation 14:1–5. What parallels do you find? How does one join this group? What is the significance of the fact that the Father’s name is inscribed in their foreheads? (Rev. 14:1).
The description found in David’s psalm of those permitted into the presence of God is a pretty tall order for mere sinners to fulfill. Who among us can honestly say that we have always walked uprightly? Or have always spoken the truth in our hearts (Ps. 15:2)? None of us can say that we “shall never be moved” (Ps. 15:5, NKJV). If we say that we have never sinned, the Bible teaches that we have no truth in us (1 John 1:8).
We can come to no conclusion other than it is the Lamb who enables us to stand on Zion. The Lamb is not mentioned in David’s psalm, but He suddenly appears in the description found in Revelation 14. It is almost as if Revelation 14 is answering David’s question. Now that the Lamb of God is established on Mount Zion, in the sanctuary, we can also be present there because of His perfect righteousness credited to us by faith. We can have the “boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh” (Heb. 10:19, 20, NKJV). Without His blood, what hope would we have? None, actually.
Think about all the Bible promises of victory over sin. Why, even with those promises, do we still find ourselves falling short of the perfect example Jesus has set for us, and why do we need His perfect life as our substitute?
When Moses oversaw the construction of the tabernacle, he was not permitted to use just any design he wished. God gave him a blueprint to follow. “ ‘See to it that you make them according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain’ ” (Exod. 25:40, NKJV). We discover in the book of Hebrews that the pattern used was that of a higher reality, the heavenly sanctuary.
Read Hebrews 9:11–15, about Christ as our High Priest in heaven’s sanctuary. What does this teach about what He is doing for us?
The earthly sanctuary foreshadowed Jesus in astonishing detail, from the priest and the offerings to the furniture and other design details. All of it speaks of Jesus.
The book of Revelation, of course, is very rich in sanctuary imagery. We find the sanctuary lampstand in the opening verses, the ark of the covenant explicitly mentioned in chapter four, and numerous other allusions to the temple. Without an understanding of the Old Testament sanctuary, it becomes impossible to grasp what John is driving at in his descriptions of his visions. The experiences of Israel, Paul writes, “happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (1 Cor. 10:11, NKJV).
There is much we can learn from studying the details of the temple. In the book of Psalms, we find an important component for understanding some of these details: how God’s people personally related to the temple. We catch glimpses of how David related to the sanctuary and its services, and we see the heart response of God’s people to what the Messiah would do for them. It is not just the patterns that help us see Jesus; we also can mine the personal experiences of those who understood what God was teaching us through the sanctuary and draw lessons for ourselves and for our own experiences with God.
Read Psalm 122. Though we cannot go literally to the earthly “house of the Lord” (it’s not there, and even if one were built in the same place, it would be meaningless), what elements are found in this psalm that can encourage us about what Christ has done for us? Notice the themes of peace, security, praise, and judgment.
Read for This Week’s Study
Heb. 9:11–15, Psalm 122, Psalm 15, Psalm 24, Exod. 33:18–23, Psalm 5, Ps. 51:7–15.
Memory Text:
As Seventh-day Adventists, we are used to searching for the symbols of Revelation in the stories of the Old Testament to help us understand those symbols. These narratives, though far from the only good source, are found all through the Old Testament.
One particularly rich source of information is the book of Psalms, a collection of sacred poetry that explores many human experiences and possible interactions with God—ranging from despondency over sin and suffering to unbridled joy in His presence and His repeated promises for forgiveness and salvation.
A careful reading of the Psalms yields details that make the book of Revelation come alive, especially Revelation 14, which describes the final work of God’s remnant church on earth. God’s last-day people have been given the same assignment as Israel of old: we are to be a light to the nations, a final merciful call to all people to worship and obey their Maker.
Some details provided in God’s songbook can give us new ways to understand and appreciate our role in the final moments of earth’s history.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, May 24.
“Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads” (Revelation 14:1, NKJV).
Read Ellen G. White, “The Controversy Ended,” pp. 669–671, 676–678, in The Great Controversy.
Satan, once a covering cherub, sought to destroy confidence in God’s throne. God has allowed fallen angels to continue in their rebellion to show the universe the depths of wickedness that come from self-exaltation—and while Satan managed to deceive the human race into joining his war against God, Christ utterly defeated him at the cross, securing a place for humanity where fallen angels once stood. Sinners, in Christ, publicly turn against Lucifer’s claims. The final scenario is, in some ways, an even greater revelation of God’s goodness and love than had existed prior to Lucifer’s fall. Though God never ordained that evil should exist, and it’s a tragedy with eternal consequences, when it’s all done, the goodness and love of God will be revealed in ways they otherwise never would have been.
Christ “looks upon the redeemed, renewed in His own image, every heart bearing the perfect impress of the divine, every face reflecting the likeness of their King. He beholds in them the result of the travail of His soul, and He is satisfied. Then, in a voice that reaches the assembled multitudes of the righteous and the wicked, He declares, ‘Behold the purchase of My blood! For these I suffered, for these I died, that they might dwell in My presence throughout eternal ages.’ And the song of praise ascends from the white-robed ones about the throne: ‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.’ Revelation 5:12.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 671.
Discussion Questions:
Imagine standing before God with every flaw, every character defect, every wrong act, every wrong thought, every wrong motive fully exposed before Him! What would you rightfully and fairly deserve? What, then, is your only hope? Why must we have “the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe” (Rom. 3:22, NKJV) covering us now, and in the judgment, when we need it most? In short, why do we need the gospel?
As we have seen, John the Baptist played the role of a seraph—a burning and shining lamp. (See John 5:35.) He was, of course, the forerunner to Christ, heralding the Messiah’s first appearance. How do God’s last-day people hold a similar prophetic role?
It seems incomprehensible that Lucifer once held the position of covering cherub, occupying an exalted position next to the throne of God. Surely his existence would have helped reveal the glory of God to the universe. Instead, he began to consider his own glory, not the glory of his Creator; or, to be more precise, he started to imagine that he was not being given the deference due to him.
Read Ezekiel 28:11–17 and Isaiah 14:12–14. What led to Lucifer’s downfall? Compare these passages with Revelation 14:1–12. How does the contrast between Lucifer’s fall and humanity’s high position in Christ inform your understanding of what takes place in Revelation 14?
Notice how Lucifer was removed from the holy mountain, while the redeemed stand on Mount Zion with the Lamb of God. Lucifer is said to have been in Eden; the human race was also once there, but in contrast to Satan’s fate, humanity is being restored to Paradise through Christ. (See Rev. 22:1–3.)
In this context, the following quote from Ellen G. White is very instructive: “Heaven will triumph, for the vacancies made in heaven by the fall of Satan and his angels will be filled by the redeemed of the Lord.”—Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, May 29, 1900.
And they are there, in heaven, only because of the gospel. In fact, the theme of the gospel, of redemption, is found in a graphic manner in the throne room in Revelation 4 and 5. For instance, the angels cry out: “ ‘ “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God, persons from every tribe and language and people and nation” ’ ” (Rev. 5:9, NIV). What a picture of the gospel: the death of Jesus for the redemption of humanity!
Notice, too, how the language reflects the first angel’s message, in which we are called to preach “the everlasting gospel . . . to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people” (Rev. 14:6, NKJV). What a powerful representation of the fullness of what Christ has done for the world. There is not a human being in all earth’s history for whom Christ has not died. Each person just needs to learn about it and choose to accept it.
What role do we have as a church, and as individuals, in letting people know about what Christ has done for them?
the tabernacle, and then the tribes would pitch their camps around it—three tribes on each side. The Presence of God would descend into the Most Holy Place and take up residence in the midst of His people.
There was one dominant tribe on each of the four sides of the tabernacle. According to Numbers 2, who were these four dominant tribes?
Num. 2:3 (East):
Num. 2:10 (South):
Num. 2:18 (West):
Num. 2:25 (North):
Notice that each dominant tribe flew its own “standard,” or special flag, to designate who they were. While the Scriptures are not explicit in describing what was on each flag, there is an interesting tradition—loosely based on the tribal characteristics described in Genesis 49 and Deuteronomy 33—that assigns one of the four faces to each of the four compass points. “According to rabbinical tradition, the standard of Judah bore the figure of a lion, that of Reuben the likeness of a man or of a man’s head, that of Ephraim the figure of an ox, and that of Dan the figure of an eagle; so that the four living creatures united in the cherubic forms described by Ezekiel were represented upon these four standards.”—Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2011), vol. 1, p. 660.
It is possible to read too much into tradition, of course, but it is still interesting to compare this ancient tradition with the Bible’s description of the New Jerusalem. An interesting pattern emerges: there are gates representing three tribes on all four sides of the city (Rev. 21:12, 13).
The descriptions of both the camp of Israel and the New Jerusalem underscore one crucial fact: God intends to pull humanity close to His throne. The book of Revelation teaches us that “the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple” (Rev. 21:22, NKJV).
Of course, we don’t live in the camp of Israel. But how can we, in our own lives now, draw close to the presence of God?
Cherubim, either as living beings (Ezek. 10:8) or the gold symbols of them (Exod. 25:18), appear all through the Old Testament. They are often depicted as standing immediately next to God’s throne, radiating His glory to the universe. Cherubim also are embroidered into the curtain before the Holy of Holies (Exod. 26:1). In the book of Psalms, God’s supreme power over creation is poetically pictured as God being borne through the air by cherubim (Ps. 18:10). God commanded that the ark of the covenant be topped by two solid gold cherubim with their wings extended toward one another (Exod. 25:18–20).
Read Ezekiel 1:4–14. What similarities do you see between this passage and the scenes depicted in Isaiah 6:1–6 and Revelation 4:1–11?
Ezekiel is presented with an impressive display of God’s power. It is a confusing scene to begin with, matching the predicament that God’s people found themselves living with at the moment: the chosen people not in the land of promise but in Babylonian captivity. As Ezekiel studies the scene placed before him, he looks up and sees God’s throne above it all.
Notice the important similarities with other “throne” visions. The living creatures that Ezekiel witnesses have the same faces as the living creatures in John’s vision: a lion, an eagle, an ox, and a man.
The mysterious creatures with four faces are not specifically named in Ezekiel’s initial description; later, in another throne room scene (see Ezek. 10:1–21), they are called “cherubim,” and we also find the burning coals from Isaiah’s vision of the seraphs. They share the faces of the living creatures mentioned in John’s vision.
Whenever we see God’s throne—whether in the typical ark of the covenant, which served as God’s meeting place with Moses (Exod. 25:22), or the breathtaking visions of the prophets—the cherubim are always there. They are intimately tied to the throne of God. All of God’s creatures were designed to reflect His glory—whether we are talking about the human race made in His image or the angelic beings who are posted immediately next to His glorious throne.
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. How do you measure up in contrast to the holiness that Ezekiel witnesses here? What does your answer tell you about your need of the gospel?
As soon as our first parents were expelled from the Garden, God offered the hope of Messiah (Gen. 3:15). Then He established a powerful symbol at the gates of Eden: two cherubim with a brilliant flashing light between them. It should not be lost on us that this scene so closely resembles the ark of the covenant, a symbol of God’s throne (Exod. 25:18).
Read Genesis 3:21–24. What job were the cherubim tasked with—and why?
While the cherubim were certainly given the responsibility to keep sinners from accessing the tree of life (Gen. 3:22), they also were a symbol of hope, of promise, that one day humans would be restored to Paradise. “The Garden of Eden remained upon the earth long after man had become an outcast from its pleasant paths. The fallen race was long permitted to gaze upon the home of innocence, their entrance barred only by the watching angels. At the cherubim-guarded gate of Paradise the divine glory was revealed. Hither came Adam and his sons to worship God. Here they renewed their vows of obedience to that law the transgression of which had banished them from Eden. . . . But in the final restitution, when there shall be ‘a new heaven and a new earth’ (Revelation 21:1), it is to be restored more gloriously adorned than at the beginning.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 62.
The wording in Genesis 3:24 is also interesting: the Bible indicates that God “placed” the cherubim to the east of Eden, and the original Hebrew word used is shakan, the root word for the sacred “tabernacle” (see Exod. 25:9, Num. 3:26), where the presence of God dwelt among His people. Though the common term Shekinah, for the presence of God, does not appear in the Bible, it, too, is based on this word often translated “tabernacle.” A literal translation of shakan could read, “God tabernacled cherubim at the east of the Garden of Eden.”
In the Bible, cherubim are associated with the presence of God (see 1 Chron. 13:6, Ps. 80:1, and Isa. 37:16), in particular with His throne, which is the place where His name is proclaimed. We should not fail to notice that the 24 elders who attend God’s throne in Revelation 4 and 5 sing His praises and declare His right to rule as the One who created all things (Rev. 4:11). This can help us understand the throne room scene and our role as forgiven sinners in relationship to our Maker.
Years ago, a church decided to renovate an outdated basement to create a new fellowship hall. One of the first things they did was to install new lights, believing that they would make the space seem more beautiful. Once they were installed, however, the space looked even worse, because bright lights have a way of revealing flaws.
Isaiah’s stunning vision of God’s throne left him painfully aware of his shortcomings. “ ‘Woe is me,’ ” he lamented, “ ‘for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts’ ” (Isa. 6:5, NKJV). We would feel the same if we were suddenly escorted into the presence of the Lord. The light is bright enough to remove all of our excuses. In God’s presence, we sense that we are lost. Isaiah was in for the surprise of a lifetime.
Read Isaiah 6:6–8. Isaiah knew that sin means that we are “undone.” The wages of sin is death. But instead of leaving us to the consequences of sin, a God of love pulls us closer. What was the outcome of this meeting, and why is it important?
Isaiah was purged of his sin when a seraph took a coal from the altar and touched his mouth with it. This was likely the altar of incense, where intercession was made by and for God’s people (see Rev. 8:3, 4). His sins were forgiven, and he was now considered fit to stand in God’s presence—but, more than that, he was also commissioned to represent God to the world.
Interestingly enough, the word “seraph” means “the burning one.” Notice Jesus’ description of John the Baptist’s ministry in John 5:35—“ ‘He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light’ ” (NKJV). Though, of course, John himself was a sinner in need of grace and salvation, his ministry pointed to the only One who could bring grace and salvation.
Jesus came as the perfect representation of the Father’s glory—and God sent a prophet, a sinner, who performed a similar task as one of heaven’s seraphim.
Only after Isaiah knew that his sin was purged, did he say, “ ‘Here am I! Send me’ ” (Isa. 6:8, NKJV). How can each one of us, our sins purged by the blood of Jesus, respond as Isaiah did here?
Read for This Week’s Study
Isa. 6:6–8, Gen. 3:21–24, Ezek. 1:4–14, Rev. 4:1–11, Num. 2:3–25, Isa. 14:12–14.
Memory Text:
God's right to rule the universe is founded upon His position as the Creator of all things (Rev. 4:11) and also upon His character. It is in discovering God’s righteous character that we begin to understand how and why sinful human beings fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23).
This week, we move further into the vision of the throne room and consider how the human race relates to a holy God and how the sacrifice of Christ restores us and brings us close to the throne. God plans to restore us, not just as individuals but also as a race, so that we once again reveal His glory to the rest of creation. By searching through the rest of the Bible, we can find important clues that help us understand and begin to appreciate the high calling that God has extended to us, a race of forgiven and redeemed sinners.
Human rebellion, ultimately and forever, will be ended. And, more than that, God’s loving character, His self-denying and self-sacrificing character, will shine even brighter than it did in His original design for humanity. Though God never intended for humanity to fall, through the Cross, God’s loving character has been put on display in a remarkable way.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, May 17.
“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me’ ” (Isaiah 6:8, NKJV).
The Scriptures make it clear that Christ is the only One worthy to secure our salvation. His life was the only sinless human life, the only example of a life that rendered perfect satisfaction to the glory of the Father. He is the spotless Lamb of God, and now He stands at the head of the human race as our eternal security. At the same time, He took our guilt on Himself, satisfying the judgment that is God’s response to wickedness. As John witnesses the incredible scene of heavenly beings gathered around God’s throne, he is told to stop weeping because “ ‘the Lion of the tribe of Judah . . . has prevailed’ ” (Rev. 5:5, NKJV).
Think, too, just how bad sin is, and just how fallen the human race really is, that only the death of Jesus, God Himself, would suffice to solve the problem of sin. No doubt, if there were some other way that God could have saved us, without violating the principles of His divine government, surely He would have done it.
“The broken law of God demanded the life of the sinner. In all the universe there was but one who could, in behalf of man, satisfy its claims. Since the divine law is as sacred as God Himself, only one equal with God could make atonement for its transgression. None but Christ could redeem fallen man from the curse of the law and bring him again into harmony with Heaven. Christ would take upon Himself the guilt and shame of sin—sin so offensive to a holy God that it must separate the Father and His Son. Christ would reach to the depths of misery to rescue the ruined race.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 63.
Discussion Questions:
John sees the Lamb enter the throne room looking as though He had been “slain.” Revelation 13:8 informs us that Jesus has been “slain” since the foundation of the world. What can we learn about God through the fact that the plan of salvation was already in place before we needed it?
Many atheists believe that we are alone in a cold, uncaring universe. In contrast, the Bible talks not only about God but about how He loved the world so much that He came down to it and even died for it. How differently should we view the world and our place in it, in contrast to those who don’t believe in God at all? In other words, how should the reality of the Cross impact all that we do?
Why was the life, death, and resurrection of Christ the only means by which the human race could be saved? Again, what does such a cost tell us about how bad sin must really be?
On a handful of occasions, prophets have been brought close enough to God in vision that they were permitted to see God’s throne. Ezekiel saw it above the firmament (Ezek. 1:26); Isaiah visited the temple in heaven to see it (Isa. 6:1); and in one of the most explicit descriptions provided to us, John was escorted there in vision in Revelation 4 and 5. The Old Testament types in the sanctuary service indicated that there was only one path by which humanity could enter God’s presence: the blood of Christ. (See Lev. 16:2, 14, for example.)
Read Isaiah 6:1–5 and Revelation 4:7–11. What elements of these two visions are similar? Pay attention to the order of events: What subject is presented first? What comes next? What truth about God is being stressed in these visions?
In each of these throne room visions, the first thing that happens is that heavenly beings underscore the holiness of God. In Isaiah’s vision, the scene is impressive: the temple is filled with smoke, and the “posts of the door” were shaken as seraphim proclaim the holiness of God. In John’s vision, cherubim make the same announcement, “Holy, holy, holy.” (See Ezekiel 10:14, 15 to find the living creatures described as cherubim.) Each prophet was shown a dazzling scene of God’s glory.
Then we are shown the prophet’s reaction to the scene. Isaiah cries out that he is a man of unclean lips (Isa. 6:5), and John weeps because he is faced with the tragic truth that no one worthy can be found (Rev. 5:4). When we are directly presented with the worthiness of God, we then finally begin to comprehend the human situation: we are utterly unworthy, and we need Christ as our Redeemer.
Satan has hurled many accusations against God, arguing that He is arbitrary, selfish, and severe, but even a brief moment in God’s throne room exposes Satan’s lies. It is in seeing Christ for who He truly is, “ ‘the Lamb who was slain’ ” (Rev. 5:12, NKJV), that enables us to see the Father as He truly is. How comforting to know that by seeing Jesus, we see what the Father is like (John 14:9). And the greatest revelation of what the Father is like is seen in Jesus dying on the cross for us.
The cross, then, should show us two things: first, just how much God loves us that He would sacrifice Himself for us; second, it should show us just how sinful and fallen we are that only through the cross could we be saved.
There is tension throughout the entire story of salvation. God wishes to restore the communion that we once enjoyed with Him and longs to draw close to us. But bringing sinners into His presence would destroy them. “For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness,” David writes, “nor shall evil dwell with You” (Ps. 5:4, NKJV). At the same time, David also writes, “But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy; in fear of You I will worship toward Your holy temple” (Ps. 5:7, NKJV).
Read Haggai 2:7–9. As the second temple was being constructed, the prophet Haggai made an astonishing promise: the new temple would be more glorious than the previous one. What was meant by that prophecy?
When the first temple was dedicated by Solomon, the Shekinah glory—the presence of God that had accompanied the children of Israel en route to Canaan—filled the temple, and so the priests could not remain to complete their work of ministry (1 Kings 8:10, 11). When the second temple was dedicated, the ark of the covenant, representing God’s throne, was missing because some faithful men, upset at the nation's sins, had hidden it. The literal presence of God did not fill the temple this time. It was heartbreaking. How could Haggai’s promise possibly come true?
It was in the second temple that Jesus, the incarnation of God, appeared in Person, in flesh and blood. God Himself had stepped out from behind the veil to become one of us and to join us in this broken world. Because the Son of God was now the Son of man, we could see His face, hear His voice, and witness, for example, when He touched an unclean leper and made him whole (Matt. 8:3). Instead of bringing us closer in His direction, God brought us closer to Him by moving in our direction. He came down, personally, to us. No wonder the Bible said about Jesus: “ ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us’ ” (Matt. 1:23, NKJV). Think about what this means: the Creator of the cosmos condescended not only to live among us but to die for us.
The Cross is by far the greatest manifestation of God’s love. What are other ways we can see and experience the reality of God’s love?
The book of Revelation refers to Jesus as “the Lamb” nearly 30 times. From the earliest days in the plan of redemption, God’s people have used lambs as a symbol of the coming Messiah. Abel offered “the firstborn of his flock” (Gen. 4:4, NKJV), and before the Israelites departed Egypt for the land of promise, they were instructed to redeem every firstborn person or animal with a one-year-old lamb (Exod. 12:5).
Read Exodus 12:1–11; Isaiah 53:7, 8; 1 Corinthians 5:7; and Revelation 5:6. What do these verses teach us about Jesus as the Passover sacrifice? What does that mean for each of us?
Years after the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, Peter reflected on what had transpired, and he wrote, “Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Pet. 1:18, 19, ESV).
Jesus lived the one human life that satisfied the holiness of God; the rest of us have sinned, and the way we live our sinful lives quite literally tells lies about the nature of our Maker.
Jesus, however, became the “last Adam” (1 Cor. 15:45). Where we had failed, He lived perfectly. In His humanity, He was everything the human race was supposed to be. He reflected God’s glory perfectly. “If you have seen me,” He told Philip, “you have seen the Father” (John 14:9, CEV).
Jesus, meanwhile, was crucified on Passover, further demonstrating that He is the antitypical Lamb. In John 18:19, 20, Jesus said that He “spoke openly” (NKJV) of His doctrine. In a parallel way, regarding the Passover lamb in Exodus 12:5, 6, the children of Israel were instructed to choose a lamb for Passover, and “keep it,” or put it on display during the days leading up to the sacrifice. When the high priest questioned Jesus about His teachings, Jesus made reference to the fact that He Himself had been on open display in the temple for everybody to consider. His life, His works, His teaching—all revealed who He really was. He is the Lamb without blemish, the most powerful expression of God’s righteousness and glory.
How can we better reflect the perfect character of Jesus in our own lives?
Some have criticized the entire concept of sacrifice, claiming that it is cruel, harsh, and, in a sense, unfair. Yet, that’s precisely the point. Christ’s death was cruel, harsh, and unfair—the innocent dying for the guilty. That’s what it took to solve the sin problem. And Christ's death was what all these harsh, cruel, and unfair sacrifices pointed to.
Read Hebrews 10:3–10. What does this passage teach us about the sacrifices God’s people offered in the Old Testament? If sinners could not actually be saved by them, why offer them at all?
The lambs and other sacrificial animals were mere symbols pointing forward to the atoning sacrifice of the Lamb of God. They were acts of faith, giving sinners a tangible way to express faith in the work of the coming Messiah. We often refer to these kinds of symbols as types, which are fulfilled by an antitype, or the appearance of the thing or event they foreshadowed. Some have even described the sacrifices as “mini-prophecies” of the death of Jesus on the cross.
The rituals associated with sacrifice were a little like paying for a trip. When you purchase a train, bus, or airplane ticket, you do not immediately receive the journey you paid for. Instead, you are given a ticket or boarding pass, a symbol or promise of the journey to come. You can sit on that piece of paper all you want, but it will not convey you to any destination. Once you have boarded and the journey begins, however, you have received what you paid for, and the paper ticket becomes unnecessary.
So it was with the sacrificial animals. They had an important role to play, but once the real sacrifice was made, they became meaningless—a reality depicted when the veil between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place in the earthly sanctuary was rent asunder at the death of Jesus. “Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (Mark 15:38, NKJV). The whole sacrificial system, temple and all, pointed forward to the death of Jesus on the cross. Once Jesus fulfilled His promise at the cross and rose victorious over death, the types became unnecessary.
Think about just how bad sin must be that only the death of Jesus, the incarnate Word (see John 1:1–3, 14), could atone for it. What should this tell us about what our attitude toward sin must be?
Sometimes contrasting two ideas can be very instructive. Much can be learned about the nature of sacrifice in the biblical perspective from when God actually rejected the sacrifices of His people.
Compare Isaiah 1:2–15 with Isaiah 56:6, 7 and Psalm 51:17. What important lessons about sacrifice are taught here?
This tragic episode in Israel’s history was not the first time that God rejected a sacrifice; something similar happened near the beginning of salvation history, when Abel’s sacrifice was approved and acknowledged by God, and Cain’s was not. That early episode gives us another opportunity to contrast acceptable and unacceptable sacrifices. (See Gen. 4:3–7 and Heb. 11:4.)
In Isaiah’s time, Israel was going through the motions, mentally checking off religious boxes in a minimal attempt to appease God, all while living as they pleased. Their sacrifices were anchored in self, just as Cain’s were, and not in an attitude of surrender and submission to God.
It is the same spirit that animates the kingdoms of this world: the spirit of self-sufficiency. Cain would live as he pleased and render mere ritual to God on his own terms. One can only assume that he viewed God as an inconvenience, a roadblock to setting his own course, but he feared God just enough to go through the motions.
Abel, however, offered the sacrifice God had requested, the sacrifice that exhibited the promise God had made of a coming Messiah (Gen. 3:15): a lamb, pointing forward to the saving act of Christ at Calvary.
“Abel grasped the great principles of redemption. He saw himself a sinner, and he saw sin and its penalty, death, standing between his soul and communion with God. He brought the slain victim, the sacrificed life, thus acknowledging the claims of the law that had been transgressed. Through the shed blood he looked to the future sacrifice, Christ dying on the cross of Calvary; and trusting in the atonement that was there to be made, he had the witness that he was righteous, and his offering accepted.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 72.
How crucial that we protect ourselves from simply going through the motions! How can each one of us experience what it means to depend totally upon the death of Jesus as our only hope of salvation?
Read for This Week’s Study
Isa. 1:2–15, Heb. 10:3–10, Exod. 12:1–11, 1 Cor. 5:7, Hag. 2:7–9, Isa. 6:1–5, Rev. 4:7–11.
Memory Text:
“And they sang a new song, saying: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation’ ” (Revelation 5:9, NKJV).
When Jesus came toward him, John the Baptist declared: “ ‘Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’ ” (John 1:29, NKJV). This was an unmistakable reference to the idea of animal sacrifice, all of which pointed to Christ’s substitutionary death in behalf of all humanity.
In the Bible, we cannot escape the theme of animal sacrifice; it runs like a scarlet thread throughout its pages and plays a central role in the grand scene in Revelation, where John is escorted into God’s throne room (Revelation 4 and 5). The fact that Jesus appears in this pivotal scene, looking like a slain lamb (Rev. 5:6), is an important key to understanding the entire prophetic episode.
This week we will look at some of the themes of sacrifice that inform our understanding of Jesus, the slain Lamb, the clear protagonist of the throne room scene. He is accepted as worthy, where no one else is, and His unique worthiness speaks volumes about what the Lord was doing through the sacrificial system. It reveals Him as a God of infinite love who made the ultimate sacrifice, an act that we, and the other intelligences in the universe, will marvel at for eternity.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, May 10.
Read Ellen G. White, “The Tower of Babel,” pp. 117–124, in Patriarchs and Prophets.
“ ‘I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away.’ Revelation 21:1. The fire that consumes the wicked purifies the earth. Every trace of the curse is swept away. No eternally burning hell will keep before the ransomed the fearful consequences of sin.
“One reminder alone remains: our Redeemer will ever bear the marks of His crucifixion. Upon His wounded head, upon His side, His hands and feet, are the only traces of the cruel work that sin has wrought. Says the prophet, beholding Christ in His glory: ‘He had bright beams coming out of His side: and there was the hiding of His power.’ Habakkuk 3:4, margin. That pierced side whence flowed the crimson stream that reconciled man to God—there is the Saviour’s glory, there ‘the hiding of His power.’ ‘Mighty to save,’ through the sacrifice of redemption, He was therefore strong to execute justice upon them that despised God's mercy. And the tokens of His humiliation are His highest honor; through the eternal ages the wounds of Calvary will show forth His praise and declare His power.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 674.
Discussion Questions:
In the end, all earthly accomplishments, no matter how grand, no matter how great, no matter how awe-inspiring and glorious, will be turned to dust, to ashes, and ultimately vanquished forever. That includes whatever great and glorious earthly things you might have accomplished or are accomplishing now. Why is it always important to keep this perspective in mind? How should this perspective help you keep your priorities straight?
Have a careful look at the sea beast of Revelation 13:1–10. In what ways is this beast the natural consequence of the mindset of Babel? It is clearly the sum total of all human “nations,” from Babylon through to the little horn power. What characteristics of each empire have you noticed that have persisted throughout time? In what ways does the world still reflect the values of Babylon or Rome, for example?
How do we as Adventists strike the right balance between following the Lord and obeying the laws of whatever nation or government we live under? What happens when obedience to one leads to disobedience to the other?
The remnant church was born in the New World, precisely where those seeking religious liberty had fled during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Given the long-standing religious and political obstacles that existed elsewhere, it is doubtful that the launch of this movement would have been as swift or powerful in some other location as it was in the new land that became the United States.
Read Revelation 10:1–11, which describes the birth of the movement. Look for some of the elements we have studied, such as “the nations,” the land, and the sea. Applying appropriate caution so that you do not read too much into the passage, what potential insights can you find in this account?
The angel cries with a loud voice, much as the three angels of Revelation 14 and the angel of Revelation 18 do. This is an urgent moment in history when the work of the remnant church is established for the sake of “ ‘many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings’ ” (Rev. 10:11, NKJV).
The angel holds a “little book”—likely the book of Daniel (see Dan. 12:4)—which is open for the first time in many generations. He has one foot on the sea and another on the earth. This might be in reference to the idea that the message covers the globe, both the Old World and the New. It might also be a reference to the idea that this message is for all nations: those who live on the land and those who live in the “Gentile” sea.
The world, at long last, will be lighted up with the glory of God, and the final messages of Revelation 14 are carried to everyone. As with Israel, our mandate as a church is to preach the gospel “ ‘in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come’ ” (Matt. 24:14, NKJV).
God is pushing human history toward its grand conclusion: the end of human empires and the permanent enthronement of Christ. Read Daniel 2:34, 35, 44, 45. The Bible makes it perfectly clear, without any ambiguity, that all these worldly kingdoms will be eradicated, without a trace of them and their ugly legacies left, and will be replaced by God’s eternal kingdom, where sin, suffering, sickness, evil, and death will never rise again.
Look at how accurately the prophecies of Daniel 2 and 7 predicted the rise and fall of all these worldly empires. Why should that accuracy, amazing if you think about when Daniel was written, help us trust Him on the promise of God’s final and eternal kingdom?
The land and sea imagery in the Bible, especially for prophecy, can be very instructive. Consider the case of the symbols of land and sea in Bible prophecy, which are contrasted sharply.
“Symbolically, when earth and sea are juxtaposed, earth often represents the ordered world, or even the land of Israel, while sea refers to the Gentile nations that menace it as the sea menaces the land.”—Beatrice S. Neall, “Sealed Saints and the Tribulation,” in Symposium on Revelation, book 1, ed. Frank B. Holbrook (Silver Spring, MD: Biblical Research Institute, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1992), p. 260.
In this thinking, land is a place of stability, established on the government of God; sea represents the unstable turmoil of nations established on human pride.
With the idea expressed above as the background, read Revelation 12:15, 16 and Revelation 13:1, 11. Notice the juxtaposition between water and earth. How are they used, and what can they teach us about how to understand prophecy?
Notice that the dragon uses water to persecute the woman (the church). As we have seen, in prophecy water often symbolizes worldly governments and the turmoil and chaos that often attends them. Hence, we can see how Satan was able to use the masses, prodded by their leaders, to persecute God’s people through much of church history.
Also, Seventh-day Adventists have understood Revelation 12:16 to refer to the migration of persecuted believers to the New World. If our understanding of land and sea is correct, what does this say about the founding of the American republic?
Could we consider it to be “the earth” in the same way that the “Promised Land” was—a place set aside for God’s people? Could this be why the land beast first appears to be lamblike? Though America has never been the “New Israel” as some of its early founders liked to see it, for a long time it has been a land of religious freedom for millions of the world’s religiously oppressed.
Unfortunately, this lamblike beast will one day speak “like a dragon” (Rev. 13:11, NKJV). The United States, so long a beacon of religious freedom for the persecuted, will become the dominant religious persecutor! This is another example of what happened when humanity chose to rule itself instead of being ruled by God.
The dream of Daniel 2 was first presented to a Babylonian king. The vision of Daniel 7, in contrast, was presented to a Hebrew prophet, a member of God’s covenant people.
Daniel is shown the same subject as was Nebuchadnezzar but from a different perspective. Instead of a statue, he sees a series of nations rising up out of the sea, the result of wind churning up the water. These nations were in a continual state of strife, causing a perpetual shift in power among them. Such passages as Psalm 65:5–8; Isaiah 17:12, 13; and Jeremiah 46:7, 8 use the analogy of floods and waves to depict the tumult among the nations.
In contrast, the Promised Land existed, at least for a period of time, as an island of peace and safety amid a sea of Gentile kingdoms—a sacred nation established on the solid foundation of God’s government, as opposed to the unruly nations around it.
Read Daniel 7:1–3. There is a lot of movement in this scene. What lessons can we draw from this imagery, such as the beast first arising from the sea?
Daniel watches the chaos of Gentile warfare from the shore, when suddenly the beasts start coming up on the land_—into his territory! Gentile problems had now become his people’s problems. They had chosen to live _like Gentiles, so now they would live with (and under) Gentiles. Starting with Babylonian domination, God’s covenant people never again enjoyed complete or long-lasting autonomy.
This loss of autonomy for God’s people today will persist until the close of time, when Christ is finally restored to His rightful place as our King. In the New Testament, God’s people continued to suffer under the thumb of the Roman Empire and then under the persecutions of the little horn, pagan Rome’s successor.
Though, historically, some nations have been better than others, and some eras have been more peaceful than others, the vast majority of the history of nations, peoples, and empires has simply been going from one tragedy to another, from one oppressor to another. And often this is all done under rulers claiming only the best of intentions for their own people. What a contrast to the rule that God had wanted for His people, if only they would have chosen it.
How does Romans 3:10–19 help explain so much of our world? How does verse 19 especially show why we so desperately need the gospel in our lives?
It was during the Babylonian captivity, through the prophet Daniel, that God presented the most compelling descriptions we have of the relationship between His people and the kingdoms of this world. His people were no longer autonomous; they would now be reaping the consequences of their choices. (And, perhaps, learning from them?)
Read Daniel 2:31–35, which gives a sweeping panoramic view of world history until the end of time. What important truths can we learn from this amazing prophecy?
At the end of the nineteenth century, many people were exuding a new confidence in human progress. The Paris Exposition (1900), for example, was a remarkable showcase of optimism about the future. Surely, with all of our technological and scientific advances, many of humanity’s worst problems would be at an end! As humanity entered the twentieth century, among many thinkers there was this great optimism that Enlightenment ideals—such as human perfectibility and the power of reason—would usher in a wonderful new era for humanity.
World War I, however, quickly shattered those dreams, and by the end of the twentieth century, we had lost more than 200 million people to warfare. We may have advanced in a technological sense, but certainly not in a moral one. To paraphrase Martin Luther King Jr., we have guided missiles but misguided men. And that’s a very scary combination.
Many students of prophecy have noticed that the metals in Daniel 2 move from most valuable to least valuable: gold devalues to silver, silver devalues to brass, and brass to iron, until we end up with only iron and clay.
Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, and other nineteenth-century thinkers attempted to convince us that humanity is somehow tracking upward—that we are evolving biologically and socially. And though in some ways human existence has improved (at least at a physical level), who actually looks ahead to the future of this world, as it is now ruled and governed, with much optimism about peace, security, and prosperity?
Jesus warned, “ ‘And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. . . . For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places’ ” (Matt. 24:6, 7, NKJV). Despite these warnings, how can we draw comfort from knowing that we have been warned beforehand about them?
The Garden of Eden was a classroom for God’s first people, a place where their interaction with the creation would endlessly teach them and their offspring more about the Creator. “The holy pair were not only children under the fatherly care of God,” Ellen G. White pointed out, “but students receiving instruction from the all-wise Creator. . . . The mysteries of the visible universe—‘the wondrous works of Him which is perfect in knowledge’ (Job 37:16)—afforded them an exhaustless source of instruction and delight.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 50, 51.
Read Genesis 2:9–17. What was the first command, a prohibition, that God gave to humanity, and why was it so important?
The first use of the root verb tswh, “to command,” that God gave to humans was in Genesis 2:16, 17, the command not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. How can some knowledge be forbidden? Isn’t it always useful to experience and to know more?
Not according to Scripture: God was intent on educating His people thoroughly while sparing them from the long-term suffering that some knowledge would cause, such as what would later happen when people chose to rule themselves rather than to be ruled by the Lord Himself.
Millennia later, when Israel asked for a king, the Lord laid out the consequences (as we discovered last week), and He informed His people that the decision to step away from His direct rule would last until the end of time.
As the kings of Israel became progressively more wicked, God’s covenant people became so worldly and so removed from their purpose that He gave them even more of what they wanted: human government.
Approaching the book of Daniel with this background in mind can be enlightening. Not only is the march of empires depicted in the book’s visions an indictment of “the nations”—the Gentiles—it is also an indictment of Israel’s failures, their refusal to follow His mitswot (commandments). Centuries of subjection, instead of the freedom first given in Eden, would become a new classroom in which willing hearts could witness the striking contrast between the kingdoms of this world and God’s kingdom.
Think about the kinds of knowledge, even now, that many of us would be better off not knowing. How does this help us understand what was forbidden in Eden?
Read for This Week’s Study
Gen. 2:9–17; Dan. 2:31–35; Isa. 17:12, 13; Dan. 7:1–3; Rom. 3:10–19; Rev. 12:15, 16; Rev. 10:1–11.
Memory Text:
Through the centuries, some people have argued that God wanted the Fall, that it was His intention for humans to descend into sin and death and thus lead Him—in the person of Jesus—to the cross. After all, how else could He have so powerfully and graphically displayed the depth of His love for humanity than by dying on the cross for them? In short, the thinking goes, God needed humanity to fall.
That is a horrible and wretched position to take. It was never God’s intention for either Satan or humanity to fall. The rebellion of Satan, and then of humanity, was a tragedy of immense consequence, and our joy in Him would have remained complete had our first parents not fallen.
This week, we will continue looking at the problems caused by the Fall and the desire for human government as opposed to God’s governance. These truths are powerfully revealed in the book of Daniel, which shows that God was right when He warned His people about what would happen when they turned away from Him and chose earthly monarchs instead. This is exactly what they got: earthly monarchs and sinners lording it over sinners—never a good combination.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, May 3.
“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” (Psalm 46:10, NKJV).
Read Isaiah 44:24–45:13.
“Little by little, at first in stealth and silence, and then more openly as it increased in strength and gained control of the minds of men, ‘the mystery of iniquity’ carried forward its deceptive and blasphemous work. Almost imperceptibly the customs of heathenism found their way into the Christian church. The spirit of compromise and conformity was restrained for a time by the fierce persecutions which the church endured under paganism. But as persecution ceased, and Christianity entered the courts and palaces of kings, she laid aside the humble simplicity of Christ and his apostles for the pomp and pride of pagan priests and rulers; and in place of the requirements of God, she substituted human theories and traditions. The nominal conversion of Constantine, in the early part of the fourth century, caused great rejoicing; and the world, cloaked with a form of righteousness, walked into the church. Now the work of corruption rapidly progressed. Paganism, while appearing to be vanquished, became the conqueror. Her spirit controlled the church. Her doctrines, ceremonies, and superstitions were incorporated into the faith and worship of the professed followers of Christ.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 49, 50.
In line with the question at the end of Wednesday’s study, are we not all in danger, especially the longer we are here, of setting “aside the humble simplicity of Christ and his apostles” for the pomp, power, accolades, and temptations of the world? If we think we’re not, we are fooling ourselves.
Discussion Questions:
When God exiled His people to Babylon, it was a particularly painful moment. Abraham had been called out of Chaldea to establish a covenant people as a light for the planet, and now they were taken away in chains. During their captivity, God showed Israel what might have been if they had been faithful. Nebuchadnezzar, the very head of a system utterly opposed to God, comes to Christ (Daniel 4). At the end of the Israelites’ captivity, God raises up a Persian king to serve as a type of Christ, releasing His people from Babylon and returning them to the Promised Land. Cyrus was not an Israelite, and yet God chose him to demonstrate the plan of salvation to the world as he returned God’s covenant people to Jerusalem. What lessons can we learn about how God views humanity from the fact that He was now using people outside of Israel to accomplish His goals?
We might not be in Babylon, but how much of Babylon might be in us? How do we recognize this problem, and how can we change?
The primary purpose for which God established the nation of Israel was not to condemn the rest of the world but to save it. Certainly, most of us feel condemned when we are confronted by righteous behavior in someone else; so the existence of Israel also served to highlight the sin and selfishness of the nations around it. Believers living in harmony with God highlight His righteous character, which naturally leads to conviction. Ideally, the lives of people who “keep the commandments of God” (Rev. 14:12) should showcase His character.
However, had the Israelites acted as they should have and done what they had been told to do, the nations would have come to them in peace, seeking to know more about them and their God. Tragically, as the Babylonian captivity showed, these nations came to wage war instead.
The ultimate showcase of God’s character, of course, was Jesus—the only human who has perfectly demonstrated it. But His perfect example, which certainly brought conviction to hearts, was intended as an invitation (see John 3:16–21).
The ultimate purpose for establishing the nation of Israel was the same as God’s purpose in establishing the church: He longs to use His people to draw sinners toward Christ. The call of the three angels’ messages, delivered through His church, goes out, not to a select few but to “every nation, tribe, tongue, and people” (Rev. 14:6, NKJV). Revelation 18:1 predicts that the whole earth will be lighted up with the glory of God prior to Christ’s return.
What do the following passages teach us about God’s intended role for His people in this world? How can we apply these principles to ourselves?
(a) Num. 14:17–21
(b) Isa. 42:6, Isa. 49:6, Isa. 60:3
(c) Rev. 18:1–4
Read again Revelation 18:1–4, the call for “my people,” that is, God’s people, to come out of Babylon. How is that going to happen? In other words, how can we, as a church that is not in Babylon, be used by God to call out God’s people who are still in Babylon?
God’s dealings with Israel provide rich insights into His dealings with the New Testament church. In fact, in many ways, the nation of Israel served to foreshadow the errors of the church. Far from being able to claim any kind of superiority to ancient Israel, Christians have been, and still are, very much susceptible to the same temptations.
Read Matthew 20:25–28. What error did Jesus warn His disciples to avoid in establishing the work of the Christian church?
Israel asked for a human king, a request that led to the moral downfall of the nation. The kings became progressively more wicked until God allowed the Babylonians to take His people captive as a matter of course correction.
Something similar happened in the history of the Christian church. Even though they were not to structure themselves like a Gentile nation, when Constantine came to power and professed to be a Christian, believers were relieved—persecution was now ended! That in itself was a blessing, but then it occurred to the church that they might be able to leverage the power of the emperor to their own advantage.
Several major disputes broke out among Christians in the fourth century, and when the church found itself incapable of resolving them, it allowed the emperor to intervene. Gradually the bishop of Rome rose in prominence, where he had once been one senior bishop among equals. The church allowed the state to intervene in the religious matters, and once the state had a foot in the door, things went from bad to worse.
Like Israel of old, many of the darkest chapters in Christian history are the direct result of the church compromising with the world. Where Israel turned to idol worship and her kings were corrupted by their appetite for power—to the point of offering children to idols—the church gradually adopted many of the means and methods of a pagan empire to the point that many faithful believers were martyred because they were perceived as threats to the church-state institution.
In your own culture, your own society, what are the ways in which these same temptations can jeopardize the integrity of our faith?
As originally established, Israel was not to have a human monarch, the way that other nations did. In time, however, the people’s faith faltered, and they found themselves pining for the things that “the nations,” the Gentiles, had.
Read 1 Samuel 8:4–18. Why do you suppose the elders found the idea of a king appealing? In what ways do we fall prey to similar temptations?
It is important to notice that the request for a king was a rejection of God’s reign over His people. As established, the nation was to answer directly to the Creator, and their relationship to Him was put on display through the sanctuary and its services, among other things. By requesting a king, they would bring the same kinds of suffering on themselves that the Gentile kingdoms experienced: military conscription in the king’s wars, confiscation, taxation, and other ills. They would discover that human potentates tend to rule in their own favor instead of benevolently, as God does.
Also, the new arrangement would be permanent: Israel would be given what they asked for, but when they realized that it was a downgrade, they would be stuck with it. “ ‘And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in that day’ ” (1 Sam. 8:18, NKJV).
God knows the weakness of His people, and He predicted early on that Israel would request a human king. They did, and so much of sacred history is the story of the consequences of that choice.
Read Deuteronomy 17:14–20. Notice that God does not say, “I will give them a king,” but rather, His people decide that they want one. God put safeguards in place to protect His people from some of the evils of human government—though, as the history of the nation and its kings showed, the safeguards often were ignored.
One simply has to look at the history of Israel after they decided to have a king in order to see just how badly things went for them under these kings. Though some kings were better than others, even the “good” ones had done wrong (think of David and Bathsheba). In many cases, the nation lived under the rule of one king after another who did “evil in the sight of the Lord” (see 1 Kings 11:6, 1 Kings 15:26, 1 Kings 16:30, 2 King 3:2, etc.).
Back then, or even today, all human governments share one thing in common: sinners governing other sinners. What possibly could go wrong?
In the tenth chapter of Genesis, we see the birth of various nations. The word usually translated “nations” is goyim, which also can refer to Gentiles. Genesis 10 tells us that the human race divided up into lands, languages, families, and “nations” (Gen. 10:5; see also Rev. 14:6).
Almost immediately after the introduction of this concept, God calls Abraham out of one of those nations to be different from them and from what they represent.
Read Genesis 12:1–9. Why did God call Abram (later Abraham) out from his country of origin?
God intended to use Abraham to establish a nation that would stand in contrast to human kingdoms. They were not to have a king other than God Himself. The people were to show what would happen if the human race returned to their Creator. Israel was established to be a blessing to “ ‘all the families of the earth’ ” (Gen. 12:3, NKJV). God had poured out upon the Israelites light and privileges that had not been seen in the world since, perhaps, before the Flood.
Read Deuteronomy 4:5–9. What was the Lord telling the children of Abraham, the nation that had become a fulfillment of the promise God had made to Abraham?
This was not a single individual bearing witness in a single community; this was an entire nation that, by working together and in cooperation with God, could exhibit the glory of His character. Notice, too, in the words spoken to them that it wasn’t just “statutes and judgments” that God had given them that made them so special, but their adherence to them that would cause the other nations to say, “ ‘ “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people” ’ ” (Deut. 4:6, NKJV). However wonderful the truths given to the people, their failure to live up to them, to obey them, would bring curses instead of blessing and death instead of life.
How does the same principle, that of not just knowing these truths but obeying them, apply to us as Adventists today?
Eden was created as the ideal home for the human race. Once sin entered, God had no choice but to separate humanity from the Garden and the tree of life, at least for now.
Outside of the Garden, humans were required to work hard to provide for their own continued existence. Life became harder; we had to live with pain and by the sweat of our brow (Gen. 3:16–19). Our first parents trusted that the rightful King would provide a path back into the Garden, and they brought sacrifices to the gates of Eden in faithful anticipation of the redemption that God, right from the start, offered the fallen world.
“The Garden of Eden remained upon the earth long after man had become an outcast from its pleasant paths. . . . Hither came Adam and his sons to worship God. Here they renewed their vows of obedience to that law the transgression of which had banished them from Eden. When the tide of iniquity overspread the world, and the wickedness of men determined their destruction by a flood of waters, the hand that had planted Eden withdrew it from the earth. But in the final restitution, when there shall be ‘a new heaven and a new earth’ (Revelation 21:1), it is to be restored more gloriously adorned than at the beginning.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 62.
Others, however, worked on man-made “solutions” to our newfound problems, and we see the birth of city-states, an attempt to create an easier life, and perhaps to try to recapture what was lost in Eden.
Read Genesis 10:1–12. This is where the Bible introduces a number of key political players found throughout the rest of the Bible, including Nineveh and Babylon. Given what we know about the roles of those cities later on, what can we deduce from these texts?
Some have read about Nimrod and concluded that he is a noble hero, much like the conquering heroes of pagan mythology. But when the Bible describes him as “a mighty one on the earth,” and a “mighty hunter before the Lord,” it is not a compliment. Nimrod is great in his own estimation, and he stands “before” the Lord in the sense that he defies God. What we see in these texts is the spreading of the rebellion against God, a rebellion that will exist until, ultimately, all rebellion will be forever eradicated.
Why is the sin of rebellion against God more subtle than we might realize? How can we protect ourselves against this very human trait?
Read for This Week’s Study
Gen. 10:1–12, Gen. 12:1–9, 1 Sam. 8:4–18, Matt. 20:25–28, Rev. 18:1–4.
Memory Text:
The book of Revelation shows us God’s solutions for our fallen world. In the final chapters, access to the tree of life is restored, the curse is lifted, and we are readmitted into the presence of God. Revelation, in some ways, is the book of Genesis in reverse, which is why Genesis remains an important key to understanding how the world’s problems developed in the first place.
One of the key issues in both Daniel and Revelation is worldly government, a succession of human attempts to control a planet that rightfully belongs to God, who will—once this horrible episode of sin and rebellion is forever ended—ultimately rule in righteousness.
It is a very long process that leads to this moment, covering thousands of years of human experiments in self-government. They have never worked; even those expressing the highest ideals have always fallen short, often terribly short, of those ideals. So much of the sad history of humanity through the millennia is nothing but accounts of the tragedy that these failed systems have brought upon us. And it only will get worse until God’s “everlasting kingdom” (Dan. 7:27) finally is established.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, April 26.
“ ‘Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed’ ” (Daniel 7:14, NKJV).
Read John 2:1–11, Matthew 22:1–14, 2 Corinthians 11:1–5, and Matthew 25:1–13.
Once you realize how much data is available in the rest of the Bible to help you broaden your understanding of prophecy, it can be tempting to over-apply it. Throughout the centuries, some Christians have emphasized the symbolism and imagery found in Bible stories to the point where they virtually begin to treat the historical narrative as a myth. While layers of meaning are to be found just about everywhere in Scripture, we must always remember that God has a way of taking real events that involve real people and using them to teach us things about His future interactions with the church.
The wedding feast in Cana, for example, may offer insights into the metaphor of marriage used by prophecy, but the wedding was a literal event. “The word of Christ supplied ample provision for the feast. So abundant is the provision of His grace to blot out the iniquities of men, and to renew and sustain the soul.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 149.
Or as she writes here: “ ‘The Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets.’ While ‘the secret things belong unto the Lord our God,’ ‘those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever.’ Amos 3:7; Deuteronomy 29:29. God has given these things to us, and His blessing will attend the reverent, prayerful study of the prophetic scriptures.”—The Desire of Ages, p. 234.
Discussion Questions:
Read John 2:1–11. There are many elements in John’s Gospel that foreshadow Christ’s future work, and commentators have noticed the deliberate way in which John moves his readers forward to the Cross. Where do you see various aspects of Christ’s character and future kingdom being demonstrated in this story? What does it teach us about the plan of salvation or about the ultimate marriage feast that has been promised to God’s Son?
The parable of the ten virgins is widely known and much loved by students of the Bible. What does this important story teach us about last-day events? Is it significant that the groom is delayed? What lessons might this parable teach about our individual relationships to Christ versus the way that Christ relates to the church corporately?
Think about false practices that have entered into Christianity from outside the faith. Besides the obvious one, Sunday, as opposed to the biblical Sabbath, what other false beliefs have come in? How have they come in, and what can we do not only to protect ourselves from them but to help others see what they really are? In what ways are the three angels’ messages an attempt to do just that, to help people see the false beliefs that have entered the faith?
Read Revelation 19:1–9. Two things are celebrated simultaneously: the end of the harlot and the marriage of Christ with His bride. How is it possible that both events are actually demonstrations of God’s righteous and loving character at the same time?
Infidelity comes with a very painful price tag. The fallout spills over into the lives of children and others. Even the most patient of wronged spouses may eventually discover that there is a moment of no return, past which the marriage can no longer be redeemed. When our world reaches a point where hearts have hardened deeply enough that there will be no more repentance, no point exists in continuing history and allowing the unbridled suffering of sin to continue. Even though there is heartbreak over the lost, those who have suffered under this world’s dispensation of sin can celebrate that it is finally over—and that the world is being restored to the way God originally designed it. This time there will not be a turning away from God, because we have learned, the hard way, that God was correct about the devastation that comes from separating ourselves from Him.
Read Revelation 21:1–4. What does the marriage imagery here mean, and why is it full of hope and promise? What is our assurance of the hope presented in these verses?
“Marriage, a union for life, is a symbol of the union between Christ and His church. The spirit that Christ manifests toward the church is the spirit that husband and wife are to manifest toward each other.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 7, p. 46.
Christ suffered unimaginable pain as the human race rejected Him and gave the affection that belongs to Him to other gods. And yet, even then, He gave Himself for us, paying in Himself for our infidelities and adulteries so that, if we repent and turn away from them, we have the promise of eternal life.
Read 1 Peter 1:18, 19. What are we told in these verses that gives us the assurance of the end as depicted in Revelation 21:1–4?
When Abraham was old and no doubt thinking about the promises made to him by God about his posterity (see Gen. 15:5), he gave his oldest and most trusted servant a solemn task.
Read Genesis 24:1–4. Why was it so important to Abraham that his son not marry “ ‘from the daughters of the Canaanites’ ” (Gen. 24:3, NKJV)?
However exclusivist his admonition could seem, the issue for Abraham was spiritual, not ethnic; it was theological, not national. Abraham knew very well the moral degeneracy of Canaanite religious practices, not to mention their worship of false gods, and he knew how easy it would be for his son to fall into these practices were he to marry from among them.
Indeed, the story of so much of ancient Israel, and even of the Christian church through the centuries, has been one in which God’s people—who should have been witnessing to the world—get caught up instead in the world and in its false teachings and religious beliefs. Perhaps the greatest example of this sad reality has been the introduction of Sunday, the pagan day of the sun, in place of the biblical seventh-day Sabbath, a reality that will play a prominent role in the last days.
Read Genesis 24:57–67. What lessons can we glean about Christ and His church from some details we find in this story? What is there to learn, for instance, about our fallen state from the fact that Rebekah was a distant, separated relative to Isaac?
We are undoubtedly related to our Creator, having originally been made in His image. We have been separated from Him by sin, and yet, we are still considered to be the right bride for Him though our choices can make the marriage more turbulent than it needs to be.
Yes, God loves us, His bride, more than we love Him. What are the choices we can make—and should make—every day that can strengthen our love for God? At the same time, what choices will only deaden our love?
God’s request of the prophet Hosea may be one of the strangest assignments ever given to one of His servants: marry a harlot—on purpose! But God was using Hosea to help us understand, from His own perspective, the pain of human sin and rebellion. God had lovingly chosen a wife, Israel, who repeatedly cheated on Him, and yet, astonishingly enough, He took her back and restored her.
Compare Hosea 1:2; Hosea 3:1; Revelation 17:1, 2; and Revelation 18:1–4. What is the harlotry mentioned here? What lessons can the Christian church learn from the story of Hosea? In what ways has the church repeated the sins of the Old Testament?
The Bible reveals that the errors of Israel in the Old Testament would be largely repeated by Christ’s New Testament church. God’s covenant people went wildly astray prior to their exile, bringing the idolatrous practices of neighboring nations into God’s covenant nation. “Concerned over the growing rift within the church over Arius's ideas, Constantine both convened and intervened in the Council of Nicaea.” — Christopher A. Hall, “How Arianism Almost Won,” Christianity Today, (2008). In each case, God’s people wandered outside of their relationship with Him in order to find “solutions” for perceived problems.
God’s choice of words makes it seem obvious that He is not only trying to show us what we’ve done wrong but also sharing how it makes Him feel. Those who have been betrayed by a spouse can begin to grasp the feelings of devastation that our infidelity to Christ might stir in the courts of heaven. Perhaps the most amazing part of Hosea’s story is the lengths to which the prophet went to redeem his wayward wife.
When we see the final cry to humanity, calling God’s people to come out of Babylon, it is noteworthy that He is calling His own people, and not strangers. He knows them intimately. He loves them. And as the world pitches toward its worst hour, He is still offering the redemption price that He had paid in order to purchase us back with His own blood. The cross of Christ, more than anything else, should show us just how earnestly the Lord wants to save His wayward people.
What are the ways today that any church, even our own, can be dallying with spiritual fornication?
Ezekiel 16 shows us an astonishing picture of God’s regard for His people. He describes the nation of Israel as an abandoned baby, left in a field to die. He takes her home, cleans her up, and when she is fully grown, he marries her. It is a powerful picture of an unlikely marriage.
Read Ezekiel 16:4–14. What do the details about this bride’s exaltation teach us about God’s intentions toward us?
God told Israel that, under His care, she grew “ ‘exceedingly beautiful’ ” (Ezek. 16:13, NKJV). When God first found her, nobody found her beautiful; she was a reject among other children, cast aside in the hopes that she would die. But as God showered His attention on her, she became more and more beautiful, until she was the talk of the world. In the earliest days of the Hebrew kings, under David and Solomon, this was particularly true. The queen of Sheba even made a special trip in order to see the splendor of Israel for herself!
Israel’s beauty, however, was entirely the gift of God. She was beautiful—the talk of the nations—precisely because she was His bride. God says that her beauty “ ‘was perfect through My splendor which I had bestowed on you’ ” (Ezek. 16:14, NKJV).
This is a recurrent theme in the Bible: God’s bride is beautiful, not because of anything she has done but because God has showered His favor on her and made her that way. In a similar way, believers appear beautiful in the estimate of heaven, not because of anything we have done to earn it but because of the favor of God, the salvation that He has showered on us. We are beautiful because we are covered in His righteousness, the “righteousness of God” Himself (2 Cor. 5:21).
All was good, however, until the next verse in Ezekiel: “ ‘But you trusted in your own beauty, played the harlot because of your fame, and poured out your harlotry on everyone passing by who would have it’ ” (Ezek. 16:15).
We were created to reflect the goodness and glory of God. When God’s creations assume that their beauty is their own, that beauty is cheapened, and trouble awaits.
What are the dangers of us trusting in our “own beauty”? That is, how might we think that there is anything in and of ourselves that gives us merit with God or makes us deserving of His love? How can we always guard against spiritual pride?
Few biblical metaphors underscore the intimacy that God desires with the human race more than that of marriage. This metaphor is used so frequently in the biblical narrative—and shows up so pointedly in Revelation—that it is imperative for Bible students to grasp what God is driving at when He uses it in the Word.
Read Genesis 2:23–25 and Ephesians 5:29–32. In what ways does a human marriage mirror Christ’s bond to humanity?
On an occasion when Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees, He quoted the Genesis account of Adam and Eve’s marriage, to which the Pharisees quickly raised the question, “ ‘Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?’ ” (Matt. 19:7, NKJV).
Moses, of course, was deemed a founding prophet for the nation. Imagine questioning the Author of the institution of marriage by pitting Him against His own prophet. Their tact was typical of their approach to Jesus; they often attempted to prove that His teachings contradicted the Scriptures.
Lifetime, faithful marriage was the ideal established by God at the foundation of the human race. Fallen humanity, unfortunately, damaged this foundational gift from God.
Perhaps, given the importance that Scripture assigns to marriage, it is not a coincidence that the institution has always been under relentless attack. Along with the Sabbath, it is one of the two gifts bestowed on us in Eden, and both were intended to demonstrate God’s desire for an intimate relationship with His creation.
Marriage, the intimate pairing of two imperfect people, will always give cause for tension. A marriage between the church and Christ is the pairing of a perfect Savior with a very imperfect bride. Nevertheless, we can learn about God’s love from what a good marriage offers.
Here are three principles for marriage. First, forgive your spouse, however undeserving, just as Christ forgives us, however undeserving. Second, accept your spouse, faults and all, just as Christ accepts us, faults and all. Third, just as Christ put us before Himself, put your spouse before yourself. How could all three of these gospel-based principles help us not only to understand how God relates to us but also to help any marriage?
Read for This Week’s Study
Gen. 2:23–25, Eph. 5:29–32, Ezek. 16:4–14, Rev. 18:1–4, Gen. 24:1–4, Rev. 19:1–9.
Memory Text:
The Bible is replete with love stories that powerfully reveal aspects of salvation and of God’s love for His people. The most intimate of relationships, marriage, proves to be a school in which, if we allow ourselves to experience it the way that God had intended, we can discover deep lessons about His love for us, about our relationship to Him, and about the lengths to which He has gone to redeem us.
Modern conceptions of love and marriage have skewed our ability to appreciate what God is trying to teach us through the marital covenant. Though human sinfulness has greatly perverted marriage (and just about everything else), marriage can still be a powerful way of revealing truth, even prophetic truth. More than just to make us happy, marriage should be a school in which we learn deep lessons about ourselves and our relationship to God.
This week we will explore different ways the Word of God talks about marriages, good and bad. We can then draw lessons from these examples to understand better how God relates to His people, even when they fall short, and we can learn some truths about His love that can help us better grasp last-day events.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, April 19.
“Then he said to me, ‘Write: “Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!” ’ And he said to me, ‘These are the true sayings of God’ ” (Revelation 19:9, NKJV).
Read Ellen G. White, “The Revelation,” pp. 578–581, in The Acts of the Apostles.
Many world religions simply deal with ideas; in powerful contrast, the ideas found in the Christian religion are anchored firmly in historical events. The Bible is the story of God’s interacting with humanity throughout history, and by studying thousands of years of such interactions, we can learn much about the consistent character of God.
Sometimes, however, Christians complain that they are getting tired of hearing the same things. Sometimes, when our distinctive prophetic message is being preached publicly, we think that we already have heard it and have nothing new to learn.
The fact that our message is unchanging and consistent, however, does not mean that it is simplistic or unchallenging. Quite the opposite: when you are studying information relayed to us from the mind of an infinite God, you quickly discover that you will never reach the end of a subject.
Ellen G. White states that one of the reasons the book of Revelation was written was to anchor the Christian church in its historical message for all time. “Some of the younger workers [at that time] . . . had become weary of oft-repeated truths. In their desire for something novel and startling they attempted to introduce new phases of doctrine.”—The Acts of the Apostles, p. 580. To that extent, it is not merely a book about the future; it is also a book about the past, designed to keep us rooted in our historical faith so that we are not led astray by a desire to seek originality.
Discussion Questions:
The Scriptures never fail to yield new information and new understanding. How does one balance the desire to learn something new with the importance of staying anchored in the truths that we already have been given?
How should the church respond to new interpretations of prophecy? Though we know that there is always more to learn, how do we discern whether the new light is essential or just a fad, or even error?
In World War II as a sailor in the Pacific lay dying, he cried out to the medic, “I am an orphan. When I die, who will remember me?” The medic responded, “I will always remember you.” However well-meaning the medic’s words, sooner or later he also would die, and so would the memory of the orphaned sailor. How does this account help us realize the futility and meaningless of all our lives if death, ultimately, has the final say?
The issue of worship is a key subject in the book of Revelation. The perpetrator and enabler of false systems of worship is identified as the “dragon” (Rev. 13:2–4), and the serpentine description of this fallen cherub is no accident. It clearly points us back to the Garden of Eden, where a serpent entered Paradise and persuaded Adam and Eve to follow him into rebellion against the Creator.
Compare Genesis 3:1–5 with Revelation 12:1–9. What are some of the common themes in each account? How do the details found in the introduction of the serpent in Genesis help us to understand some of the issues that had previously led to the war in heaven mentioned in Revelation?
There are two accounts in the Scriptures in which Satan leads the whole world astray. In Genesis, at a moment when there were only two people in existence; and then in the account given in Revelation 12 and 13, in which Satan is identified as the one who “deceives the whole world” (Rev. 12:9) and as the one who enables the sea beast power so that “all the world” marvels and follows it (Rev. 13:2, 3). One of the themes found in Bible prophecy is the unchanging nature of the great controversy. God’s character and Word do not change, and neither do the ambitions of the devil.
Fortunately, because the nature of the great controversy does not change, and because we have clear reference points in the prophetic Scriptures, Christians are able to sift through trends and begin to recognize where spiritual pitfalls might lie. God will always be who He is, and the same is true of the devil. Satan may wear a thousand disguises, but millennia of fallen human history, coupled with the prophetic scenario painted in Revelation, demonstrate that he never strays from the game plan he used in Eden. God has promised us wisdom and discernment (James 1:5), and armed with the certainty of the Scriptures, we need not fall for the devil’s lies. Unfortunately, many have fallen for them, and many more—the majority—will, as well.
Consider how culture changes over time. Societal norms shift; things that were once acceptable become unacceptable and vice versa. Given that the underlying issues and actors in the great controversy do not change, what things should a Christian consider in examining the shifting cultural landscape? For example, the original lies that the devil told, such as you shall not die and you shall be as gods: where can you find them being told in your culture today?
Perhaps the cruelest aspect of living in a world detached from its Creator is the way that death lurks in the background of every life, ready to strike at any moment. It is the “wages of sin,” the penalty that we pay for having been disconnected from the only Source of life in the universe: the Creator. As such, it plays a major role in Bible prophecy, both its reality and, even more important, its solution, which is found only in Jesus and His death and resurrection.
Both the first mention of death in the Bible and its first occurrence shed much light on this major theme in prophecy, helping us to understand the gravity of the sin problem and giving us important tools to understand God’s solution to the problem.
Read Genesis 2:15–17, Genesis 4:8–15, 1 Corinthians 15:15–19, and Revelation 1:18. What do these passages—which include the first mention and occurrence of death—tell us about why people die, how God views death, and what His solution is for our problem?
We often say that “death is just part of life.” That is a lie. Death is the opposite of life, the undoing of life; it is an alien intruder that was never meant to be part of our experience here. Even though we have become accustomed to death, our hearts still protest strongly when we encounter it, as if the human race still collectively realizes that there is something fundamentally wrong with it. As painful as death is, there are some instances of death that seem even more tragic than others, such as the death of a child. For the most part, we expect that parents will precede their children in death, and we have come to accept that as the normal order of things.
The first death recorded in Scripture, however, goes against the expected norm. Before Adam and Eve went through death themselves, they experienced the tragedy of death when their righteous son was murdered by his unrighteous brother. It was a particularly unjust death.
Think about Jesus, the righteous murdered by the unrighteous, as was Abel. What death could have been more unjust than Christ’s? What other parallels might one find between the death of Abel and of Christ on the cross? How might the nature of Abel’s death help us to understand why Jesus has “the keys of Hades [the grave] and death” and what God is offering us in Him?
Without the problem of death being solved, why are our lives ultimately useless, meaningless, and futile? What does this fact teach us about how thankful we should be for what Jesus has done for us?
The Bible’s first mention of a seh (Hebrew: a lamb) occurs in the same story as the first mention of love: Genesis 22. The lamb, of course, is one of the most persistent symbols found in the book of Revelation, in which Jesus is called “the Lamb” more than 20 times. In one of the most powerful scenes of Revelation—John’s visit to the throne room of God in chapters four and five—the Lamb plays the central role.
Read Genesis 22:7, 8; Exodus 12:3–13; and Revelation 5:5–10. How does the story of Isaac’s near-sacrifice help us understand how lambs are used symbolically? How does this story tie into what John sees in Revelation 5?
The first mention of a seh (lamb) in the Bible comes in the form of Isaac’s question: “Where is the lamb?” (Gen. 22:7). Interestingly enough, the rest of the Bible answers that question in great detail. The other 38 books of the Old Testament lead the reader along a path where Isaac’s question is progressively answered with more and more details, from the Passover rituals to David’s early occupation and onward. The entire story is punctuated with countless Messianic prophecies that anticipate the answer to Isaac’s question. Then in the New Testament, the question is answered when Jesus appears in flesh and blood, ministers among His people, and finally sacrifices His life at the cross.
Meanwhile, look at the first mention of a Lamb in John’s Gospel, in John 1:29–34. It would almost seem as if John the Baptist is personally answering Isaac’s question, and the setting couldn’t be more apropos. Sinners are repenting and going under the water in baptism, symbolizing the death of the sinner and the beginning of a new life. In this context, Jesus, the Lamb of God, suddenly appears and, according to Matthew’s account, the heavens open to announce Him: “ ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’ ” (Matt. 3:17, NKJV). Notice how a voice, the Angel of the Lord, also announces from heaven the solution to Abraham and Isaac’s problem (Gen. 22:11–14).
When you weave all the threads together, it is clear that Jesus, the Lamb of God, is our Substitute. That sheds much light on our understanding of the slain Lamb in John’s vision.
Why is knowing that Jesus is our Substitute so foundational to our salvation? What hope would you have without Him, as that Substitute, especially in the judgment?
Part of inheriting a sinful nature means that our perception of the universe has been tainted by our own propensities toward selfishness and pride. We see the world from our own limited perspective rather than from God’s omniscient one (obviously). Perhaps no concept has been more skewed by the sinful human race than that of “love.” Popular culture tends to promote an understanding of love that centers on self-fulfillment rather than on others. This self-centered approach to the subject makes it hard for us to understand how God views the subject.
Understanding the nature of love is an important key to understanding Bible prophecy. One of the key themes in the great controversy is the existence of a substantial misunderstanding about God’s character. Ellen G. White, after all, ends her summary of The Great Controversy by writing: “The entire universe is clean. One pulse of harmony and gladness beats through the vast creation. From Him who created all, flow life and light and gladness, throughout the realms of illimitable space. From the minutest atom to the greatest world, all things, animate and inanimate, in their unshadowed beauty and perfect joy, declare that God is love.”—Page 678.
Read Genesis 22:1–13. The first mention of “love” in the Bible is found in Genesis 22:2. What does this story teach us about the nature of God’s love?
Occasionally, in addition to finding the first occurrence of a concept in the Bible, it can be useful to find the first mention of that same concept in individual books of the Bible—especially in the Gospels. In Matthew 3:17, Mark 1:11, Luke 3:22, and John 3:16, we find the first mention of “love” in each of the Gospels.
For example, the first mention of “love” in John (John 3:16) is particularly enlightening: it appears to allude to the story of Isaac on the altar. Abraham’s faith in God was such that he trusted Him, choosing to believe that God could raise his son if he went through with the sacrifice (Heb. 11:19). It foreshadowed God’s love for the human race. He loved us to the point where He “gave His only begotten Son” (see Gen. 22:2, 12, 16)—and, then, raised Him from the dead. Thus, we are given a revelation of the kind of love, the self-sacrificing love, that God has for us.
How do we even begin to manifest to others the kind of self-sacrificing love that God has for us? Why, for most of us, is this kind of love not necessarily basic to us?
Most academic programs begin with a general survey course (often given the number “101”), a course that covers broad and basic principles that will form the basis for further study as you dig deeper into the subject. Likewise, when you read through the entire Bible, you quickly discover that God also has a general survey course in the book of Genesis, where He introduces ideas that will be examined in more detail throughout the rest of the Bible.
Generally speaking, the first time a concept or symbol is mentioned in the Bible—particularly in the opening chapters of Genesis—you will discover that it establishes a general understanding of that concept, which will help you understand how it’s being used later on.
Some Bible students refer to this as the “law of first mention,” although it would more properly be labeled a principle (or a pattern) rather than a law, because it is certainly not ironclad, and there are many exceptions to the rule. The pattern that seems to emerge, both in general Bible study and in Bible prophecy, is that God slowly feeds His children information over time, beginning with a basic concept and then enlarging on it many times over the years, or even the centuries.
Read Isaiah 40:7, 8; Malachi 3:6; and Hebrews 13:8. What principle can you derive from these texts that would help you properly anchor your study of prophecy?
Much of the modern world speaks about “truthiness” instead of “truth,” because it is assumed that “truth” is a malleable thing that can change over time. Or, in some cases, the very concept of “truth” itself is deemed suspect.
When God establishes truth, however, He does not change His mind. Once He begins teaching His people truth, we can count on the fact that repetitions of the same biblical principle or theme do not change its meaning but, in contrast, shed further light on that meaning. It makes great sense in studying prophecy, therefore, to develop a good understanding of the book of Genesis, where you find many key concepts explained for the first time, and then take that foundational understanding with you as you explore the rest of the Bible.
Why is it so important that we not allow anyone or anything, no matter how smooth or logical, to weaken our faith in the Bible and the infallible truths it teaches? What are subtle ways that this weakening can happen?
Read for This Week’s Study
Isa. 40:7, 8; Gen. 22:1–13; John 3:16; Rev. 5:5–10; 1 Cor. 15:15–19; Rev. 12:1–9.
Memory Text:
One of the key problems with modern interpretations of Bible prophecy, such as in Revelation, is that they fail to recognize the ancient roots of Revelation. The author assumes a knowledge of the Old Testament and uses concepts that would have been well-known to his audience. While searching the entire Bible for passages that resemble the text you are studying in Revelation is useful, there are also core texts that set the stage for understanding the book better than other texts do. This is particularly true of Genesis, which lays out the path by which our world descended into sinful chaos. Nearly every key concept mentioned in Revelation appears—in some form—in the opening chapters of the Bible.
This week, we are going to study a handful of big concepts at the core of Revelation. There are many, and so we will choose a few to illustrate the all-important point that understanding the ancient foundations behind Revelation enables the student to see countless nuances in the text, each of which can yield important lessons about the nature of humanity, of God, and of the conflict being waged in our universe and, thus, in our lives, as well.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, April 12.
“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’ ” (John 1:29, NKJV).
Read Ellen G. White, “An American Reformer,” pp. 319–324, in The Great Controversy.
“Ministers and people declared that the prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation were incomprehensible mysteries. But Christ directed His disciples to the words of the prophet Daniel concerning events to take place in their time, and said: ‘Whoso readeth, let him understand.’ Matthew 24:15. And the assertion that the Revelation is a mystery, not to be understood, is contradicted by the very title of the book: ‘The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him, to show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass. . . . Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.’ Revelation 1:1–3. . . .
“In view of the testimony of Inspiration, how dare men teach that the Revelation is a mystery beyond the reach of human understanding? It is a mystery revealed, a book opened. The study of the Revelation directs the mind to the prophecies of Daniel, and both present most important instruction, given of God to men, concerning events to take place at the close of this world's history.
“To John were opened scenes of deep and thrilling interest in the experience of the church. He saw the position, dangers, conflicts, and final deliverance of the people of God. He records the closing messages which are to ripen the harvest of the earth, either as sheaves for the heavenly garner or as fagots for the fires of destruction. Subjects of vast importance were revealed to him, especially for the last church, that those who should turn from error to truth might be instructed concerning the perils and conflicts before them. None need be in darkness in regard to what is coming upon the earth.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 341, 342.
Discussion Questions:
How can the study of prophecy greatly increase your faith? What prophecies—some written thousands of years ago about events that would happen hundreds, if not thousands of years later—have helped increase your trust in the Bible and, more important, in the God who inspired it? How, for example, does Daniel 2 give us powerful, and logical, reasons to trust not only that God exists but that He knows the future?
What are the best ways to protect ourselves from the many wild and speculative attempts to interpret prophecies, sometimes even from those within our own church? Why must we be careful to “test all things; hold fast what is good” (1 Thess. 5:21, NKJV)?
One of the key issues students of prophecy need to deal with is how to determine whether the language of the Bible is to be taken literally or figuratively. How does one determine if the author was using symbolic language, and how does one know what the symbol represents? The crucial way to do this is to see how that figure, the symbol, has been used all through the Bible, as opposed to looking at how a symbol is used in contemporary times. For example, some see the bear symbol in Daniel 7 as pointing to Russia, because that image is often used today as a symbol of Russia. This is not a sound or safe way to interpret prophetic symbolism.
Look up the following texts, allowing the Bible to be its own expositor (to define its own terms). What is the prophetic symbol common to the texts in each case, and what does the Bible say it represents?
Dan. 7:7, Dan. 8:3, Dan. 7:24
Rev. 1:16, Eph. 6:17, Heb. 4:12
Rev. 12:1; Rev. 21:2; Eph. 5:31, 32; Jer. 6:2
By following the simple rule that the Bible must be allowed to define its own terms, most of the mystery behind prophetic symbolism simply disappears. For example, we see that a horn can symbolize a political power or a nation. A sword can symbolize the Word of God. And, yes, a woman can symbolize the church. Here we can clearly see the Bible explaining itself.
What remains to be answered, however, is why God would speak in symbols instead of being forthright? Why, for example, would Peter cryptically refer to the city of Rome as Babylon, in 1 Peter 5:13?
There may be many reasons why God has chosen to communicate symbolically in prophecy. In the case of the New Testament church, for example, if the book of Revelation had plainly named Rome as the perpetrator of so much evil, the already bad persecution of the church might have been even worse. Whatever the reasons, we can trust that God wants us to understand what the symbols mean.
Even if some symbols and prophecies remain mysteries, how can focusing on what we do understand strengthen our faith?
Seventh-day Adventists owe much to William Miller for their understanding of Bible prophecy. While his understanding of key passages (such as Daniel 8:14) was not perfect, Miller’s methodology was, nonetheless, important, because it paved the way for the birth of our last-day remnant movement.
Read Matthew 5:18, 2 Timothy 3:15–17, and Luke 24:27. What do these verses teach us about the way we ought to approach Bible prophecy?
In some ways, studying the Bible is not unlike assembling a large jigsaw puzzle. If you gather just two or three pieces together, it is nearly impossible to discern the entire picture. Perhaps in those two or three pieces, you can see a horse, and so you conclude that you are assembling a picture of horses. But a few more pieces reveal a chicken and a cow, and then once you have assembled hundreds of pieces, you can finally see that you have been working on a picture of a landscape, which includes a city, a farm, and a range of mountains in the distance.
One of the central ways in which some Christians err in their study of the Bible is that they treat the Scriptures as a loose collection of sayings or proverbs that they can use to address a specific situation. Some will turn to the simple study guide at the front of a Gideons Bible, where they can find helpful verses on a number of topics, and assume that it represents the sum total of the Bible’s teachings on a given subject.
Unfortunately, they take the same approach to prophecy, lifting an individual text out of its context and comparing it to current events instead of the rest of the Bible. This, in part, has led to the constant stream of modern books on prophecy that have to be updated every few years because they were wrong on what they said was going to happen—and when.
That’s why it’s so important not merely to select some specific texts on any given topic but instead to study carefully everything the Bible says about that topic and to take into consideration the context in which it says it, as well. It is very easy to pull a passage out of context and make it say whatever we want.
What has been your experience with those who use only certain selected texts to try to make their point about, say, the state of the dead? Or even the Sabbath? What is the best way to respond?
Read Daniel 12:4. What was the Lord telling Daniel here? (Contrast this with Rev. 22:10.)
It is not uncommon to hear preachers use Daniel 12:4 to predict the rise of technological and scientific knowledge just prior to the advent of Christ. Many also use it to describe the advances in rapid travel that have taken place over the past century or so. Many of our own books have taken this approach. Though certainly reasonable interpretations, it might mean something else, as well.
Read the passage again. The angel’s instruction to Daniel begins with an injunction to “shut up the words, and seal the book.” The subject being discussed is the book of Daniel itself. Perhaps, then, could that knowledge which would suddenly increase at the end of time be knowledge of the book of Daniel itself?
This makes the book of Daniel somewhat different from Revelation, in that John was told not to seal his book (Rev. 22:10). Revelation was meant to be understood from the first, because “ ‘the time [was] at hand.’ ” In contrast, Daniel would be understood more clearly at some point in the distant future.
Over the centuries, many fine Christian thinkers attempted to explain the book of Daniel, and some made great headway. Understanding of Daniel increased rapidly, however, after the end of the 1,260–year prophecy, which ended in 1798, when multiple expositors around the globe started concluding that something spectacular was going to happen around 1843. The most notable of these, however, was William Miller, whose preaching launched the Great Advent Movement of the nineteenth century and began a chain of events that would give birth to the “remnant” church and a clear understanding of the three angels’ messages.
The birth of our global movement, in other words, is a fulfillment of Daniel’s prediction that “knowledge shall increase” at “the time of the end.”
In contrast, and without judging people’s salvation, think about the “darkness” that so much of Christendom exists in. Something as basic as the seventh-day Sabbath, established in Eden, is ignored, even dismissed, in favor of Sunday, a day rooted in Roman paganism. Or think of the utter ignorance about death, with the vast majority of Christians believing the pagan idea that the dead immediately go soaring off to another existence, which for some means an eternally burning hell.
In contrast, we should be thankful—and humbled—by the knowledge of the truth.
Nothing is quite as frustrating as urgently needing to communicate, perhaps at a clinic or pharmacy, while in a foreign country where you barely speak the language. You know what you need to say, but you do not have an adequate vocabulary to say it.
With God, a different problem emerges. “ ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth,’ ” He says, “ ‘so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts’ ” (Isa. 55:9, NKJV). The problem isn’t that God doesn’t have the vocabulary to communicate with us; the problem is that we don’t have the vocabulary or intellectual capacity to understand Him fully.
What do the following passages suggest about God’s understanding in comparison to our own?
Ps. 139:1–6
Ps. 147:5
Rom. 11:33
1 John 3:20
The truth of the matter is that we will never fully understand the mind of God because He is infinite and omniscient. After all, we can barely understand everything about the creation; how would we fully understand its Creator? We can’t.
Though we will never understand everything, we can understand what is necessary for our salvation. (See 2 Tim. 3:14, 15.) When the apostles explained the gospel to their audiences, they frequently referred to fulfilled prophecy, from which we can deduce that one of the key purposes of prophecy is to illustrate the plan of salvation. Indeed, in the end, Bible prophecy must ultimately, in one way or another, lead us to Jesus and the promise of salvation that He offers to all humanity.
After all, the Lord, through whom all things were created (see Col. 1:16, John 1:1–3), comes down to this earth and then offers Himself as a sacrifice on the cross for the sins of every human being, even the most wretched. That is how much God loves all of us. Having done all that for us, the Lord would obviously want everyone, wretches included, to know what He offers us in Jesus. And prophecy can do just that.
Though, yes, there is much that we don’t know, why is it crucial to focus now on what we do know and to follow what we know—as opposed to obsessing over what we don’t know?
Walk into any Christian bookstore and scan through the titles on Bible prophecy. You will quickly discover that there is a mind-boggling assortment of views and interpretations, and it can be tempting to believe that no one can truly understand what books such as Revelation are saying. For example, one author says the antichrist is nothing but a metaphor; another says he is still coming in the future; and another that he was a reference to something or someone in the days of the pagan Roman Empire. As one old preacher put it, “Perhaps the Bible is like an old violin; you can play any tune you’d like on it.”
The Bible itself, however, does not suggest any such thing. Instead, it invites us to read, assuming that God is not speaking in vain and that we can know the truth of what He is saying through His Word.
Read Matthew 24:15; Revelation 1:3; Matthew 11:29; and Jeremiah 9:23, 24. What do these texts suggest about God’s intention to make Himself understood?
Many universities offer courses named “The Bible as Literature” or something similar. For the believer, it can be astonishing to sit through countless lectures, only to discover that the professor reads the Bible the same way one might read pagan mythology. The idea is that there may be a kernel of moral “truth” in the stories, but one can make of the stories whatever one wishes. To these teachers, the idea that this book was inspired by God is laughable.
Thus, the instructor reads the Bible but does not hear the voice of God speaking. Others come to conclusions clearly at odds with the message of the Bible. Without being surrendered to the Lord, and without a heart open to learning the truth, those who read the Bible will likely come away not only missing its message but misunderstanding the loving and holy character of the God revealed in its pages. This could be easier to do than many realize, which is why just reading the Bible without the right tools and (most important) the right attitude under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, can be hurtful.
Someone not known to be pious was found reading the Bible. When asked what he was doing, he responded, “Looking for loopholes. Looking for loopholes.” Why is that exactly the wrong attitude to have when reading God’s Word?
Some Principles of Prophecy
Jer. 29:23, 24; Ps. 139:1–6; Dan. 12:4; Rev. 22:10; 2 Tim. 3:15–17; Heb. 4:12.
Memory Text:
As with most everything else in Scripture, Christians disagree about prophecy, which often convinces others that Bible prophecy is a waste of time. After all, if Christians fight over every prophetic jot and tittle, how valid could it be? Unfortunately, many believers also begin to think that some books of the Bible, such as Revelation, are simply incomprehensible. Instead of reading them, they avoid them, sometimes with the encouragement of a well-meaning pastor who thinks that studying prophecy causes more problems than it solves.
It was not always so. For the first eighteen centuries of Christian history, most Christians were very comfortable with biblical prophecy, and there was a surprising level of agreement on what the key messages of the prophecies were. This is how God intended for it to be: “Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” (1 Cor. 1:10, NKJV).
This week, we will explore some principles that yield a consistent and reliable understanding of prophecy.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, April 5.
Read for This Week’s Study“ ‘But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,’ says the Lord” (Jeremiah 9:24, NKJV).
PRECURSORS FOR PROPHECY
During the First Gulf War (1991), a well-known Protestant writer and speaker was convinced that the book of Revelation predicted this conflict. His argument was based on the fact that some of the helicopters in the war looked like the locusts depicted in Revelation 9. “And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit. Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power” (Rev. 9:2, 3, NKJV).
Not exactly the best way to interpret biblical prophecy, is it? Yet, interpretations like this are fairly common. In fact, over the decades a stream of books, articles, videos, and now
websites, all dedicated to prophecy, have made many predictions, including date setting, about final events—usually centered on wars or turmoil in the Middle East.
And, surprise of surprises, in every case those predictions have not come true. As Seventh-day Adventists, we take a different approach, a Christ-centered approach, in which the focus of prophecy is no longer on a single geographic location in the Middle East and whatever military conflicts unfold there. Instead, we view the prophecies through the lens of the great controversy between Christ and Satan—a
worldwide spiritual struggle that will climax when God’s people, Jew and Gentile (see Rev. 12:17, Rev. 14:12), face the final crisis, which centers on worshiping the Creator
(see Rev. 14:7), as opposed to the beast and his image.
A key element in understanding these last-day prophecies is Daniel 2, which contains not only the historical outline of the prophecies but the nterpretive key to unlocking theirmeanings, as well.Daniel 2 depicts four world empires—Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome—followed by God’s establishing His eternal kingdom, “ ‘which shall never be destroyed;and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever ’ ” (Dan.2:44, NKJV). The parallel prophecies in Daniel 7 and8 contain this same basic outline, that of these worldlyempires arising and vanishing until God’s kingdom isforever established.In Daniel 7, the angel interpreter sets it all out for us:“ ‘ “Those great beasts, which are four, are four kingswhich arise out of the earth. But the saints of the MostHigh shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdomforever, even forever and ever” ’ ” (Dan. 7:17, 18, NKJV).Four worldly empires (Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece,and Rome) move in an unbroken succession through history until, after the second coming of Jesus, God establishes His eternal one.Of course, we are still here, in the t me of the division of Rome, the fourth and final earthly kingdom before Christ returns.With this historical perspective as the foundation for understanding prophecy, we are going to study this quarter the theme of how to interpret Bible prophecy, specifically some of the allusions, stories, images, and metaphors that unlock prophetic truth and final events.We go from the Genesis creation account—important for understanding not only prophecy but for what follows, especially the cross and the atoning death of Jesus—tothe tower of Babel, to the sanctuary service, to the Psalms, even to some Old Testament marriages. In all these, and more, we can find images, symbols, and metaphors that, when studied prayerfully and with a humble, submissive spirit (if you go to the Bible with a rebellious heart, you are wasting your time), will help make end-time prophecies, specifically in Revelation, come alive.One quarter is certainly not enough even to begin to study all the stories and images that help unlock prophetic truth. Who knows—we might need eternity for that. Until then, byGod’s grace, we will study what we can.
Read Ellen G. White, “The Least of These My Brethren,” pp. 637–641, in The Desire of Ages.
“Those who minister to others will be ministered unto by the Chief Shepherd. They themselves will drink of the living water, and will be satisfied. They will not be longing for exciting amusements, or for some change in their lives. The great topic of interest will be, how to save the souls that are ready to perish. Social intercourse will be profitable. The love of the Redeemer will draw hearts together in unity.
“When we realize that we are workers together with God, His promises will not be spoken with indifference. They will burn in our hearts, and kindle upon our lips. To Moses, when called to minister to an ignorant, undisciplined, and rebellious people, God gave the promise, ‘My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.’ And He said, ‘Certainly I will be with thee.’ Ex. 33:14; 3:12. This promise is to all who labor in Christ's stead for His afflicted and suffering ones.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 641.
Discussion Questions:
Read 1 Corinthians 13:4–8. How does 1 Corinthians 13 shed light on the kind of people we ought to be?
What separates the sheep from the goats in Matthew 25:31–46? How can we understand what Jesus says here in a way that does not teach salvation by works?
What does it mean to you that “when we love the world as He has loved it, then for us His mission is accomplished. We are fitted for heaven; for we have heaven in our hearts” (see Thursday’s study)? What does this reveal about the nature of God and the nature of heaven itself? How can we live more like citizens of heaven here in this respect, relative to spreading God’s love in a way that brings light and justice to the oppressed?
What practical steps should be taken in your local church to reflect God’s concern for love and justice in your local community? What are you doing well in your community? What do you need to improve and focus on more? What tangible steps can you take individually and collectively to act on what we have studied about God’s love and justice?
If love is the fulfillment of the law, then one cannot keep God’s law in the full sense simply by refraining from doing wrong things. The law of love itself (expressed in the fullness of Scripture) not only commands us to refrain from doing evil but the law prompts us to do acts that reveal the love of God to others—not only to other church members but also to the world at large, which is so desperately in need of a true Christian witness.
Read James 2:1–9. What crucial messages are we given here?
Here, James strongly decries injustice in society, specifically identifying the dishonoring of the poor and oppression by some who are rich. Then, he calls attention to the law of love for one’s neighbor, saying if you fulfill this law, then “you do well” (James 2:8, NKJV).
As Ellen G. White has expressed it: “Love to man is the earthward manifestation of the love of God. It was to implant this love, to make us children of one family, that the King of glory became one with us. And when His parting words are fulfilled, ‘Love one another, as I have loved you’ (John 15:12); when we love the world as He has loved it, then for us His mission is accomplished. We are fitted for heaven; for we have heaven in our hearts.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages p. 641.
When we love the world, as Christ has loved the world—then we are fitted for heaven. What a powerful expression of what it means to be a follower of Jesus!
Jesus commands His followers to “ ‘love one another;’ ” even as “ ‘I have loved you’ ” (John 13:34, NKJV). Jesus also proclaims: “ ‘By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another’ ” (John 13:35, NKJV). Love is so central to Christian faith because God is love (1 John 4:8, 16). And those who claim to love God must love one another (compare with 1 John 3:11; 4:20, 21).
Accordingly, 1 Peter 4:8 exhorts Christians: “And above all things have fervent love for one another, for ‘love will cover a multitude of sins’ ” (NKJV; see also Heb. 10:24 and 1 Thess. 3:12).
Dwell more on the idea of loving the world as Christ loved the world. How might this help us better understand the concept of Christian perfection and how we are made fit for eternal life? Bring your answer to class on Sabbath.
Special Podcast Episode: "From the Mouths of Children"
In this heartwarming special edition, we bring you something truly precious—2.5-year-old Beatriz reciting the Lord’s Prayer. There’s something deeply moving about hearing such profound words spoken with childlike innocence.
"Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:3)
Join us as we listen to Beatriz’s sweet voice reminding us of the beauty of simple, sincere faith:
The Lord’s Prayer
"Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom,
And the power,
And the glory, forever. Amen."
Let this moment inspire you to pray with the same trust and purity as a child. 💛✨
As we have seen, law and grace are not opposed to one another. Instead, they serve different functions in accordance with the love and justice of God. A sharp contrast between law and grace would have puzzled ancient Israelites, who saw God’s giving of the law itself as a great display of God’s grace. While the “gods” of the surrounding nations were fickle and entirely unpredictable, leaving people without a way to know what the “gods” desired and what would please them, the God of the Bible very clearly instructs His people about what pleases Him. And what pleases Him is just what is for the ultimate good of all His people, individually and collectively.
Yet, the law cannot save us from sin or change human hearts. Because of our innate sinfulness, we need a spiritual heart transplant.
Read Jeremiah 31:31–34. What does this teach about God’s promises to give us a new heart? Compare this with Christ’s words to Nicodemus in John 3:1–21 about the new birth. (See also Heb. 8:10.)
The Ten Commandments were inscribed by God Himself on the tablets of stone (Exod. 31:18), but the law was also to be written in the hearts of God’s people (Ps. 37:30, 31). Ideally, God’s law of love would not be external to us but internal to our very characters. God alone could inscribe His law on human hearts, and He promised to do so for His covenant people (see Heb. 8:10).
We cannot save ourselves by law-keeping. Rather, it is by grace we are saved through faith, not of ourselves but as the gift of God (Eph. 2:8). We do not keep the law in order to be saved; we keep the law because we are already saved. We do not keep the law in order to be loved but because we are loved, and thus we desire to love God and others (see John 14:15).
At the same time, the law shows us our sin (James 1:22–25, Rom. 3:20, Rom. 7:7), shows us our need of a Redeemer (Gal. 3:22–24), guides us in the best ways of life, and reveals God’s character of love.
What is your hope in the judgment? Is it your diligent and faithful law-keeping or is it Christ’s righteousness, which covers you? What does your answer tell you about the function of God’s law regarding what it can or cannot do?
As we have seen, law and grace are not opposed to one another. Instead, they serve different functions in accordance with the love and justice of God. A sharp contrast between law and grace would have puzzled ancient Israelites, who saw God’s giving of the law itself as a great display of God’s grace. While the “gods” of the surrounding nations were fickle and entirely unpredictable, leaving people without a way to know what the “gods” desired and what would please them, the God of the Bible very clearly instructs His people about what pleases Him. And what pleases Him is just what is for the ultimate good of all His people, individually and collectively.
Yet, the law cannot save us from sin or change human hearts. Because of our innate sinfulness, we need a spiritual heart transplant.
Read Jeremiah 31:31–34. What does this teach about God’s promises to give us a new heart? Compare this with Christ’s words to Nicodemus in John 3:1–21 about the new birth. (See also Heb. 8:10.)
The Ten Commandments were inscribed by God Himself on the tablets of stone (Exod. 31:18), but the law was also to be written in the hearts of God’s people (Ps. 37:30, 31). Ideally, God’s law of love would not be external to us but internal to our very characters. God alone could inscribe His law on human hearts, and He promised to do so for His covenant people (see Heb. 8:10).
We cannot save ourselves by law-keeping. Rather, it is by grace we are saved through faith, not of ourselves but as the gift of God (Eph. 2:8). We do not keep the law in order to be saved; we keep the law because we are already saved. We do not keep the law in order to be loved but because we are loved, and thus we desire to love God and others (see John 14:15).
At the same time, the law shows us our sin (James 1:22–25, Rom. 3:20, Rom. 7:7), shows us our need of a Redeemer (Gal. 3:22–24), guides us in the best ways of life, and reveals God’s character of love.
What is your hope in the judgment? Is it your diligent and faithful law-keeping or is it Christ’s righteousness, which covers you? What does your answer tell you about the function of God’s law regarding what it can or cannot do?
Love is the foundation of God’s law. When God upholds the law, He upholds love. This is why Jesus died in order to save sinners, so that He could uphold the law while also extending grace to us. Thus, He could be both just and the justifier of those who believe (Rom. 3:25, 26). What an expression of love! Accordingly, the law is not invalidated by the process of redemption; rather, it is further confirmed.
Read Romans 6:1–3 and then Romans 7:7–12, with particular emphasis on verse 12. What are these verses telling us about the law, even after Christ died?
While some believe that grace and redemption cancel the law, Paul is clear that we are not to continue in sin so that grace increases. Rather, those who are in Christ by faith have been “baptized into His death” and are therefore to count themselves as dead to sin and alive to Christ.
The law of God is not sin, but (among other things) it makes sin and our sinfulness apparent to us. That is why, yes, “the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good” (Rom. 7:12, NKJV). It reveals, as nothing else does, our great need of salvation, of redemption—the salvation and redemption that come only through Christ. Accordingly, we do not “make void the law through faith” but “on the contrary, we establish the law” (Rom. 3:31, NKJV).
Christ came not to do away with the law but to fulfill all that was promised in the Law and in the Prophets. Thus, He emphasizes that “ ‘until heaven and earth pass away,’ ” not even “ ‘the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law’ ” (Matt. 5:18, NASB 1995).
The law of God itself represents God’s holiness—His perfect character of love, righteousness, goodness, and truth (Lev. 19:2; Ps. 19:7, 8; Ps. 119:142, 172). In this regard, it is significant that, according to Exodus 31:18, God wrote the Ten Commandments on the stone tablets Himself. Written in stone, these laws are testimony of the unchanging character of God and of His moral government, which is founded on love—a central theme of the great controversy.
How does this link between law and love help us better understand Jesus’ words, “ ‘If you love Me, you will keep My commandments’ ” (John 14:15, NASB)?
God’s law does not consist of abstract principles; instead, God’s law is an expression of relationship. This can be seen explicitly in the Ten Commandments. The basic principles of the Ten Commandments were in place already in the Garden of Eden, the principles of love that were to govern the relationship between God and people and between people themselves.
When the Ten Commandments proclaimed in Exodus 20 were afterward written in stone, they were given to Israel in the context of the covenant relationship. The commandments were written down after the Lord already had delivered the people from Egypt, and the commandments were based on God’s love and on His promises to the nation (see Exod. 6:7, 8 and Lev. 26:12). One can see in the two divisions of the Ten Commandments that they are aimed at the flourishing of a human relationship with God and of relationships with one another.
Read Exodus 20:1–17. How do these verses reveal the two principles, those of love for God and of love for others?
The first four commandments deal with people’s relationships with God, and the last six with people’s relationships among themselves. Our relationship both to God and to other people must be regulated by the principles of God’s law.
These two parts of the law correspond directly to what Jesus identified as the two greatest commandments—“ ‘ “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart” ’ ” (Matt. 22:37, NKJV; compare with Deut. 6:5) and “ ‘ “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” ’ ” (Matt. 22:39, NKJV; compare with Lev. 19:18).
The first four commandments are the ways in which we are to love God with all of our being, and the last six are ways we are to love one another as ourselves. Jesus makes it explicit that these two great love commandments are integrally related to the law. “ ‘On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets’ ” (Matt. 22:40, NKJV).
The entirety of God’s law, then, is grounded in God’s love. God’s love and law are inseparable. We often hear people say, We don’t need to keep the law, we just need to love God and to love others. Why does that idea not make sense?
How could we express love to God, or love to others, if we are violating any one of the Ten Commandments?
Read for This Week’s Study
Exod. 20:1–17; Rom. 6:1–3; Rom. 7:7–12; Jer. 31:31–34; Matt. 23:23, 24; James 2:1–9.
Memory Text:
While they were dealing with a problematic member, someone on the church board said to the pastor, “We can’t make decisions based on compassion.” We can’t? The pastor wondered what this person’s understanding of God and of God’s law must have been. Compassion certainly needs to be central in how we deal with people, especially erring ones. Compassion is part and parcel of love, and as Romans 13:8 tells us, to love one’s neighbor is to fulfill the law.
If love is indeed the fulfillment of the law, then we should be careful not to think of law in a way that is separate from love or to think of love in a way that is disconnected from law. In Scripture, love and law go together. The divine Lawgiver is love, and accordingly, God’s law is the law of love. It is, as Ellen G. White put it, the transcript of God’s character. (See Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 305.)
God’s law is not a set of abstract principles but commands and instructions intended for our flourishing. God’s law is, in its totality, an expression of love as God Himself expresses it.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, March 29.
“Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law” (Romans 13:8, NKJV).
Read Ellen G. White, “The Sabbath,” pp. 281–289, in The Desire of Ages.
“The spies dared not answer Christ in the presence of the multitude, for fear of involving themselves in difficulty. They knew that He had spoken the truth. Rather than violate their traditions, they would leave a man to suffer, while they would relieve a brute because of the loss to the owner if it were neglected. Thus greater care was shown for a dumb animal than for man, who is made in the image of God. This illustrates the working of all false religions. They originate in man’s desire to exalt himself above God, but they result in degrading man below the brute. Every religion that wars against the sovereignty of God defrauds man of the glory which was his at the Creation, and which is to be restored to him in Christ. Every false religion teaches its adherents to be careless of human needs, sufferings, and rights. The gospel places a high value upon humanity as the purchase of the blood of Christ, and it teaches a tender regard for the wants and woes of man. The Lord says, ‘I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.’ Isa. 13:12.
“When Jesus turned upon the Pharisees with the question whether it was lawful on the Sabbath day to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill, He confronted them with their own wicked purposes. They were hunting His life with bitter hatred, while He was saving life and bringing happiness to multitudes. Was it better to slay upon the Sabbath, as they were planning to do, than to heal the afflicted, as He had done? Was it more righteous to have murder in the heart upon God’s holy day than love to all men, which finds expression in deeds of mercy?”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 286, 287.
Discussion Questions:
Why and how is it true that “Every false religion teaches its adherents to be careless of human needs”? How can we act intentionally so as to avoid such carelessness in our church communities and beyond?
Who is my neighbor? Who is your neighbor? In what practical ways should following Christ make us more like the Samaritan who crossed the boundaries of his day to act out love?
If God loves justice and mercy, how should we act in accordance with what matters most to God? How can we be more focused on what Jesus called “the weightier matters of the law”?
When we think and talk about judgment, how often do we emphasize that a primary way Jesus discusses judgment is in terms of whether, and to what extent, we actively love others, particularly the oppressed and downtrodden? Reflect on this in light of Matthew 25:31–46.
In Luke’s account, just after Jesus declares the two greatest commandments of love for God and love for a neighbor, a lawyer, “wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’ ” (Luke 10:29, NKJV). In response to this, Jesus tells the now-familiar, but then shocking, parable of the good Samaritan.
Read the parable of the good Samaritan in Luke 10:25–37. What is this passage saying in light of the cry of the prophets for mercy and justice and of the kinds of injustices that different people groups have inflicted on “others” throughout human history?
Jesus did not just talk about justice; He came to bring it. He was and will be the fulfillment of the prophetic call and longing for justice (see Luke 4:16–21 in light of Isaiah 61:1, 2). He is the desire of all nations, especially those who recognize their need for deliverance.
In direct contrast to the enemy, who grasped for power and sought to usurp God’s throne, Jesus lowered Himself and identified with those under sin, injustice, and oppression (without being infected by sin), and He defeated the enemy by giving Himself in love in order to establish justice as the One who is just and the Justifier of all who believe. How can we claim to be concerned about the law that Christ died to uphold if we are not concerned about what Christ calls the weightier matters of the law?
Psalm 9:8, 9 proclaims, “He shall judge the world in righteousness, and He shall administer judgment for the peoples in uprightness. The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble” (NKJV). Likewise, Psalm 146:7–9 adds, God “executes justice for the oppressed” and “gives food to the hungry. The Lord gives freedom to the prisoners. The Lord opens the eyes of the blind; the Lord raises those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the strangers; He relieves the fatherless and widow; but the way of the wicked He turns upside down” (NKJV).
How much clearer could the Word of God be in regard to how we should seek to minister to those around us who are in need and are hurting?
What can we learn from the life and ministry of Jesus about reaching out to those in need? Even if we can’t perform miracles as He did, for many hurt people, how could our help be deemed “miraculous” enough?
The prophets in Scripture continually highlight God’s call for justice in society. Again and again, Scripture does not shrink back from highlighting issues of injustice and oppression. Indeed, the call for God to bring judgment was itself the call for God to establish justice.
For example, the prophet Isaiah does not mince words about the injustice in Israel at the time. His words and call for justice should ring loud and clear in our ears today. “ ‘Learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow’ ” (Isa. 1:17, NKJV). Further, he proclaims “ ‘woe’ ” against those who “ ‘decree unrighteous decrees’ ” and “ ‘rob the needy of justice’ ” (Isa. 10:1, 2, NKJV), warning: “ ‘What will you do in the day of punishment, and in the desolation which will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help? And where will you leave your glory?’ ” (Isa. 10:3, NKJV).
Likewise, the prophet Jeremiah proclaims God’s message: “ ‘Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness and his chambers by injustice, who uses his neighbor’s service without wages and gives him nothing for his work. . . . Did not your father eat and drink, and do justice and righteousness? then it was well with him. He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well. Was not this knowing Me?’ says the Lord” (Jer. 22:13, 15, 16, NKJV).
Read Matthew 23:23–30. What does Jesus teach here about what is most important? What do you think He means when He refers to “weightier matters”?
Lest one think that injustice was a concern only of Old Testament prophets, we see clearly here and elsewhere in Jesus’ ministry that this was of utmost concern to Christ Himself. As He puts it: “ ‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone’ ” (Matt. 23:23, NKJV). In the parallel passage in Luke, Jesus laments that they “ ‘pass by justice and the love of God’ ” (Luke 11:42, NKJV).
If you were to focus on the “weightier matters” today, what would that look like as opposed to whatever “tithe of mint and anise and cumin” we might be focusing on instead?
Scripture declares that God loves justice and hates evil (for example, Ps. 33:5, Isa. 61:8), and He is deeply concerned about injustice, which evokes righteous indignation on behalf of all those who are the victims of injustice. Throughout the Old and New Testaments, God is consistently passionate in favor of the downtrodden and oppressed while expressing righteous anger against the victimizers and oppressors.
Read Psalm 82. How does this psalm express God’s concern for justice in this world? What might it mean for us today?
As many commentators understand it, this passage decries both the earthly rulers responsible for the injustice in society and is also a reference to when God judges the celestial rulers (the “gods”) behind corrupt earthly judges and rulers (demonic forces, obviously). Specifically, the rulers are asked, “How long will you judge unjustly, and show partiality to the wicked?” (Ps. 82:2, NKJV).
Further, they are charged: “Defend the poor and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy; free them from the hand of the wicked” (Ps. 82:3, 4, NKJV). Here and elsewhere, the prophets of the Old Testament set forth a clarion call for justice. This is no peripheral concern of Scripture; it is central to the message of the prophets throughout the Old Testament and to what Jesus spoke when here in the flesh.
It is no secret what God desires and requires of those who would claim to love and obey Him. He specifies very clearly in Micah 6:8 (and in similar passages elsewhere): “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (NKJV).
This sentiment is echoed throughout Scripture. For example, Jesus said: “ ‘By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another’ ” (John 13:35, NKJV; compare with 1 John 4:8–16).
What would our families and churches look like if we focused on Micah 6:8 and intentionally put it into practice in both word and deed? In whatever context you are in, how could the application of these principles be made manifest better?
According to Jesus Himself, the two greatest commandments are love for God and love for one another. And carrying out these commands involves sacrifices that tangibly show love to others, which is what following in the footsteps of Jesus is really about.
Now, if the two greatest commandments are love for God and love for others, what are the two greatest sins?
Read Psalm 135:13–19. What does this reveal about a common sin emphasized throughout Scripture?
The Old Testament continually emphasizes the importance of love for God above all (see Deut. 6:5). This is closely related to the great sin of idolatry, which is the opposite of love for God.
Read Zechariah 7:9–12. According to the prophet Zechariah in this passage, what does God decry? How does it and the sin of idolatry relate to the two great commandments?
It is not just idolatry to which God responds with the anger of love but the mistreatment of His people, whether individually or corporately. God becomes angry at injustice because God is love.
The two great sins emphasized throughout the Old Testament are failings relative to the two great commandments: to love God and to love one another. The two greatest sins are failings of love. In short, then, you cannot keep the commandments if you do not love God and if you do not love others.
Indeed, 1 John 4:20, 21 states: “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also” (NKJV).
How do you explain why love for God cannot be separated from love for others? How do you understand this unbreakable link?
To reflect on what we might do, individually and corporately, to advance God’s love and justice in our world, it is appropriate to begin by focusing on what God has commanded us.
Read Matthew 22:34–40. How did Jesus answer the lawyer’s question?
According to Jesus Himself, the “ ‘first and great commandment’ ” is “ ‘ “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” ’ ” And, Jesus adds, “ ‘the second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ’ ” These commandments do not stand alone, however. Jesus further instructs: “ ‘On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets’ ” (Matt. 22:37–40, NKJV). Indeed, they are themselves quoted from the Old Testament.
Read Matthew 19:16–23. How do Jesus’ answers to the rich young ruler’s questions relate to His answers to the lawyer’s question in Matthew 22?
What was going on here? Why did Jesus answer this man as He did? And what should these encounters say to us all, regardless of our position or station in life?
“Christ made the only terms which could place the ruler where he would perfect a Christian character. His words were words of wisdom, though they appeared severe and exacting. In accepting and obeying them was the ruler's only hope of salvation. His exalted position and his possessions were exerting a subtle influence for evil upon his character. If cherished, they would supplant God in his affections. To keep back little or much from God was to retain that which would lessen his moral strength and efficiency; for if the things of this world are cherished, however uncertain and unworthy they may be, they will become all-absorbing.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 520.
Though we might not all be called to sell all that we have, as was this rich young ruler, what might you, personally, be clinging to that, if you don’t give up, could lead to your eternal ruin?
Read for This Week’s Study
Matt. 22:34–40, Zech. 7:9–12, Psalm 82, Micah 6:8, Matt. 23:23–30, Luke 10:25–37.
Memory Text:
Though we have confidence that God will make all things right in the end, it still matters what we, as Christians, do in the here and now. Though there may be many injustices and evils that God will not now eradicate (because of the parameters of the cosmic conflict), this doesn’t mean that we can’t be used to help alleviate whatever suffering and evil we come across, at least to whatever degree possible. In fact, we are obligated, as Christians, to do just that.
As we have seen, love and justice go together; they are inseparable. God loves justice. Accordingly, if we love God, we will love justice, as well.
Likewise, if we love God, we will love one another. Part of loving one another is sharing a concern for the well-being of those around us. When others are afflicted by poverty, oppression, or any kind of injustice, we should be concerned. When others are oppressed, we should not turn a blind eye. Instead, we should ask ourselves what we can do, individually and corporately, to advance God’s love and justice in a way that reflects to our broken world our Lord’s perfect character of righteousness and love.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, March 22.
“If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?” (1 John 4:20, NKJV).
Read Ellen G. White, “The Reward of Earnest Effort,” pp. 285–288, in Testimonies for the Church, vol. 9.
“All that has perplexed us in the providences of God will in the world to come be made plain. The things hard to be understood will then find explanation. The mysteries of grace will unfold before us. Where our finite minds discovered only confusion and broken promises, we shall see the most perfect and beautiful harmony. We shall know that infinite love ordered the experiences that seemed most trying. As we realize the tender care of Him who makes all things work together for our good, we shall rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 9, p. 286.
Discussion Questions:
Have you been perplexed in trying to understand the providences of God? How does it comfort you to know that all such things will be made plain in the end?
Ponder what Christ gave up in order to become human and to die for this world. Further reflect on what this tells us about God’s love and whether God can be trusted. What more could He do?
What is so important about God’s “name”? What implications does this have for those of us who call ourselves Christian? In what ways have Christians sometimes brought disrepute on the name of Christ, and what can we do in our local communities to show people what following Christ looks like in practice?
In the end, even our best “answers” relative to the problem of evil are incomplete for now. What can we do in practice to draw close to those who are suffering and be agents of relieving suffering in this world as we await the final, eschatological solution to the problem of evil that only God can bring?
Dwell more on Isaiah 53:4, on the fact that Christ bore our “griefs” and “sorrows.” What happened corporately at the Cross that helps us understand the plan of salvation and what it cost God to save us?
Ultimately, God’s name is vindicated in every way. Through the work of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the plan of redemption, the perfect righteousness and love of God is manifested beyond any reasonable doubt (see Rom. 3:25, 26; Rom. 5:8).
Read Romans 3:1–4 in light of Isaiah 5:3, 4. What does this teach about God Himself being vindicated in the cosmic conflict? What more could He do than what He has done?
In Romans 3 and Isaiah 5, we see that God (in some limited sense) invites mere creatures to judge His character, even though we have no right or standing to do so. In the end, when all the “books” are opened, we will see the evidence that God is perfectly just and righteous. God will vindicate Himself before all intelligent creation.
Read Revelation 15:3 and Revelation 19:1–6. What do these passages teach about the vindication of God’s name in the end? What more could He do than what He has done?
Throughout Scripture, God shows concern for His name. Why? You cannot have a deep love relationship with someone whose character you detest or do not trust. If someone told your spouse or spouse-to-be horrible lies about your character, you would do what you could to counter any such claims, for if such claims are believed, they would fracture your love relationship.
In the end, God is vindicated at the cross and through the entire plan of redemption. In the pre-Advent judgment, God is vindicated before the onlooking universe.
Then, in the post-Advent judgment, during which the redeemed will even “judge angels” (1 Cor. 6:2, 3), God is vindicated, as the redeemed have been given the opportunity to review the records and see for themselves why God has acted as He has, and that all of God’s judgments have always and only been perfectly righteous and loving. Who among us doesn’t have a lot of questions that need answering? Before it’s all done, we will have those questions answered (see 1 Cor. 4:5).
Finally, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord (Phil. 2:10, 11). This is all part of the vindication of the character of God.
In the parable of the vineyard owner, in Matthew 21, Jesus picks up where Isaiah 5 left off, shedding additional light on the character and actions of the vineyard owner on behalf of His vineyard.
Read Matthew 21:33–39 with particularly the question of Isaiah 5:4 in mind. What more could He do than what He has done?
The first part of Christ’s parable quotes directly from the song of Isaiah 5 about the vineyard owner and His vineyard. Then, Jesus adds, the vineyard owner “ ‘leased’ ” His vineyard “ ‘to vinedressers and went into a far country’ ” (Matt. 21:33, NKJV). Yet, when the vineyard owner twice sent His servants (the prophets) to collect the produce, those renting His vineyard beat and killed His servants (Matt. 21:34–36). Finally, He sent His Son (Jesus), saying, “ ‘They will respect my son’ ” (Matt. 21:37, NKJV). But they murdered His Son, too, saying, “ ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him” (Matt. 21:38, 39, NKJV).
What more could He do? The Father loved us so much that He gave His beloved Son (John 3:16). If the cosmic conflict is of the kind suggested here, it could not be settled prematurely by exercise of divine power but required first a public demonstration of God’s character. This demonstration has been set forth ultimately in the work of Christ (Rom. 3:25, 26; Rom. 5:8). What more could we ask than that God (in Christ) give Himself to die for us so that He might justify us without in any way compromising His justice and perfect love?
The cross event demonstrates that God has done everything that could be done to mitigate and eliminate evil, but without destroying the context for the flourishing of genuine love. If there had been any preferable avenue available to God, would He not have chosen it? While people suffer greatly in this cosmic conflict, God Himself suffers most of all. When we look at the Cross, we can, indeed, see what suffering and pain sin has brought to God Himself. Yet, so sacred was the freedom inherent in love that Christ was willing to endure this in our behalf.
Read Isaiah 53:4. Whose “griefs” and “sorrows” did Christ bear on the cross? What should this tell us about all that God has done for us and what salvation has cost Him?
In amazing ways, God has manifested His love and righteousness amid the cosmic conflict. Yet, some might ask, Should God have done more than He has done to prevent and/or remove evil? We have seen a cosmic conflict framework that indicates that God has acted in order to respect the free will necessary for the maximal flourishing of love relationships between Him and humanity. Further, He has apparently acted within moral constraints, or rules of engagement, within the context of a cosmic dispute over His character, which can be settled only by the demonstration of His love.
Read Isaiah 5:1–4. Who is speaking in these verses? Whom is Isaiah speaking about? Whom do the vineyard and vineyard owner represent? What is the significance of the actions of the vineyard owner on behalf of the vineyard? What is the result?
In these verses, Isaiah sings a song of his beloved, a vineyard. The vineyard owner is God Himself, and the vineyard represents God’s people (see, for example, Isa. 1:8, Jer. 2:21). But the implications here can also be expanded relative to God’s broader work in this world. According to these verses, the vineyard owner (God) did everything that reasonably could be expected to ensure the flourishing of His vineyard. The vineyard should have produced good grapes, but it produced only “wild grapes,” which other translations refer to as “worthless.” Indeed, the Hebrew wording here literally could be translated stink-fruit. God’s vineyard brings forth rotten grapes.
Isaiah 5:3 shifts to God Himself speaking, inviting people to “judge” between Him and His vineyard. And, in Isaiah 5:4, God Himself sets forth the all-important question: “ ‘What more could have been done to My vineyard that I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes?’ ” (NKJV). What more could He do? How fascinating that He even asks others to judge what He has done.
When you look at the cross, where God offered Himself as a sacrifice for all our sin, how do His words—“ ‘What more could have been done to My vineyard that I have not done in it?’ ”—take on an utterly amazing significance?
At every turn, Christ’s work undoes the work of the devil. And, according to 1 John 3:8, Jesus “was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8, NRSV) and to “destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil” (Heb. 2:14, NRSV). Yet, the total defeat of the enemy’s rulership takes place in two stages. First, through the work of the Cross, Christ disproves Satan’s slanderous allegations. And, later, Satan and his kingdom will be destroyed.
Read Romans 3:23–26 and Romans 5:8. What do these passages reveal about the way Christ defeats the allegations of the devil?
As we have seen, the enemy claims that God is not fully righteous and loving. However, in Christ, God provides the ultimate manifestation of God’s righteousness and love, and He did so through the Cross.
After the death of Jesus, “Satan saw that his disguise was torn away. His administration was laid open before the unfallen angels and before the heavenly universe. He had revealed himself as a murderer. By shedding the blood of the Son of God, he had uprooted himself from the sympathies of the heavenly beings.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 761.
Read Revelation 12:10–12 in light of Genesis 3:15. How does this passage shed light on the cosmic significance of Christ’s victory at the cross?
The history of redemption provides abundant evidence for us to be confident that God always works to bring about in the end what is good for all concerned. The God of Scripture always does what is good and preferable, given the avenues available to Him in the great controversy (Deut. 32:4, 1 Sam. 3:18, Ps. 145:17, Dan. 4:37, Hab. 1:13, Rev. 15:3, Gen. 18:25).
Why is the demonstration of God’s righteousness and love in the cosmic conflict so important? When you reflect on the Cross and all of God’s works in the plan of redemption, how do God’s works give you confidence in the love of God, even amid trials and sufferings?
Although there is an enemy at work whom Christ Himself refers to as the (usurping) “ruler of this world,” the true king of the universe is Jesus Christ. Jesus wins the victory for us, and in Him we can have victory, even in the midst of hardship and suffering. Indeed, the work of Christ counters the enemy at every turn.
We have seen that Scripture describes the devil as:
- The deceiver of the whole world from the beginning (Rev. 12:9, Matt. 4:3, John 8:44, 2 Cor. 11:3, 1 John 3:8);
- The slanderer and accuser of God and His people in heaven (Rev. 12:10; Rev. 13:6; Job 1, 2; Zech. 3:1, 2; Jude 9); and
- The usurping ruler of this world (John 12:31, John 14:30, John 16:11, Acts 26:18, 2 Cor. 4:4, Eph. 2:2, 1 John 5:19).
Read John 18:37. What does this tell us about Christ’s work to counter the deceptions of the enemy? What does it mean that Jesus is King?
Though Scripture teaches that Satan is the arch-deceiver, slanderer, accuser, and usurping ruler of this world, it also teaches that Jesus is the victor over Satan in every way:
- Jesus came “ ‘into the world, to testify to the truth’ ” (John 18:37, NASB);
- Through the cross, Jesus supremely demonstrated God’s perfect righteousness and love (Rom. 3:25, 26; Rom. 5:8), thereby disproving the devil’s slanderous allegations (Rev. 12:10, 11); and
- Jesus will finally destroy the kingdom of the devil, who “ ‘knows that his time is short’ ” (Rev. 12:12, ESV; compare with Rom. 16:20), and Christ “ ‘will reign forever and ever’ ” (Rev. 11:15, NLT).
In the end, no matter what Satan does, he is already a defeated foe, and the key for us is to claim Christ’s victory for ourselves every day, moment by moment, and also to claim the promises that the Cross has offered us.
In the great controversy, we know which side wins. How do our day-by-day choices impact which side we ultimately end up on? How can we make sure that we are on the winning side even right now?
Read for This Week’s Study
John 18:37, Rom. 3:23–26, Rom. 5:8, Isa. 5:1–4, Matt. 21:33–39, Isa. 53:4, Rom. 3:1–4.
Memory Text:
Some years ago, an insightful children’s story was printed in Guide magazine. The story focuses on a boy named Denis, an orphan living as a foster child with a family in medieval times. Denis passionately hates the king of his land because, when his parents were sick, the king’s soldiers carried him away, and he never saw them again. Only later did he learn that the king separated them in order to spare the living all the horrors of the Black Plague. The truth about the king sets Denis free from the hatred that he had harbored almost his entire life. The king had always, and in every case, acted out of love for his people.
Many people today view God somewhat like Denis viewed the king. The evil they have witnessed or experienced brings them to hate or dismiss God. Where is God when there is suffering? If God is good, why is there so much evil? The cosmic conflict sheds light on this crucial issue, but many questions remain. Yet, when all our attempts at answers fail to satisfy, we can look to Jesus on the cross and see in Him that God can be trusted, even with all the questions that remain unanswered for now.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, March 15.
Supplemental EGW Notes
“Pilate therefore said to Him, ‘Are You a king then?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice’ ” (John 18:37, NKJV).
Read Ellen G. White, “The Power of Satan,” pp. 341–347, in Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1.
“Fallen man is Satan’s lawful captive. The mission of Christ was to rescue him from the power of his great adversary. Man is naturally inclined to follow Satan’s suggestions, and he cannot successfully resist so terrible a foe unless Christ, the mighty Conqueror, dwells in him, guiding his desires, and giving him strength. God alone can limit the power of Satan. He is going to and fro in the earth, and walking up and down in it. He is not off his watch for a single moment, through fear of losing an opportunity to destroy souls. It is important that God’s people understand this, that they may escape his snares. Satan is preparing his deceptions, that in his last campaign against the people of God they may not understand that it is he. 2 Corinthians 11:14: ‘And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.’ While some deceived souls are advocating that he does not exist, he is taking them captive, and is working through them to a great extent. Satan knows better than God’s people the power that they can have over him when their strength is in Christ. When they humbly entreat the mighty Conqueror for help, the weakest believer in the truth, relying firmly upon Christ, can successfully repulse Satan and all his host. He is too cunning to come openly, boldly, with his temptations; for then the drowsy energies of the Christian would arouse, and he would rely upon the strong and mighty Deliverer. But he comes in unperceived, and works in disguise through the children of disobedience who profess godliness.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 341.
Discussion Questions:
What does it mean to be “Satan’s lawful captive”? Does that mean the devil can do whatever he wants with people? If not, why not? How does this relate to what we might call the “rules of engagement” in the cosmic conflict?
Why would God grant Satan any jurisdiction in the cosmic conflict, even if only temporarily? What does this tell us about how God seeks to answer Satan’s accusations?
How do you respond to those, even Christians, who deny the existence of Satan as a real, personal being? Though we cannot prove Satan’s existence, what evidence can you marshal that might help someone who is so greatly deceived?
The cosmic conflict is primarily a dispute over God’s character, caused by the devil’s slanderous allegations against God’s goodness, justice, and government. It is a kind of cosmic covenant lawsuit.
Such a conflict cannot be settled by sheer power but, instead, requires demonstration.
If serious allegations are brought against a person in power, the best (and maybe only) way to defeat the allegations would be to allow for a free, fair, and open investigation. If the allegations threaten the entire government (of love), they cannot simply be swept under the rug.
What does all this mean for understanding the cosmic conflict and relating to the problem of evil? If God makes a promise, would He ever break it? Of course not. Insofar as God agrees to rules of engagement, His future action would be (morally) limited. As such, evil will fall within the temporary domain of the kingdom of darkness.
Read Mark 6:5 and Mark 9:29. What do these texts display about how even divine action might be integrally related to such factors as faith and prayer?
In both these narratives, some limits or rules of engagement seem to be in place, dynamically related to such things as faith and prayer. Elsewhere we see abundant evidence that prayer makes a difference in this world, opening up avenues for divine action that otherwise might not be (morally) available. However, we should not make the mistake of thinking that faith and prayer are the only factors. There are likely many other factors of which we might be unaware.
This fits with what we’ve seen previously about rules of engagement. As we said, there are ceratin rules of engagement in the great controversy that limit what God can morally do, at least for now.
Read Romans 8:18 and Revelation 21:3, 4. How do these texts give you confidence that even though there are many things we do not know, we can trust that God knows what is best, wants what is best, and will bring an end to evil and usher in an eternity of bliss?
We have seen in previous lessons that, within the cosmic conflict, Satan and his cohorts are temporarily granted significant jurisdiction in this world, limited according to some kind of rules of engagement.
These rules of engagement limit not only the actions of the enemy—the devil and his cohorts—but they also limit God’s action to eliminate or mitigate the evil that (temporarily) falls within the jurisdiction of the enemy. Because the Lord will never break His promises, to the extent He has agreed to the rules of engagement—thus affording some limited and temporary rulership to the devil—God has morally limited His future course of action (without lessening His raw power).
Read John 12:31, John 14:30, John 16:11, 2 Corinthians 4:4, and Luke 4:6. What do these texts teach about the rulership of the enemy in this world?
The New Testament sets forth a clash of kingdoms, the kingdoms of light and darkness, with the darkness coming from Satan and his rebellion. Part of Christ’s mission was to defeat the kingdom of Satan: “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8, NKJV).
Nevertheless, there are “rules” that limit what God can do while remaining true to the principles behind His government. These limits include at least (1) the granting of free will to creatures and (2) the covenantal rules of engagement, which we are not privy to, at least now. Such impediments and limitations on divine action have significant implications for God’s moral ability to reduce and/or immediately eliminate evil in this world. Thus, we see continued evil and suffering, which can indeed cause many people to question either God’s existence or His goodness. However, once the background of the great controversy is understood, and the limits God has placed on how He will deal with evil, we can to some degree better understand why things are as they are—at least until the final triumph of God over evil.
How does the fact that Jesus calls Satan the “ruler” of this world help, at least somewhat, our understanding of the evil that exists in the world now? How comforting to know that it is, indeed, only a temporal rule!
In the book of Job, we are given some fascinating insights into the reality of the great controversy.
Read Job 1:1–12 and Job 2:1–7. What principles of the great controversy do we see unveiled here?
Many significant details can be gleaned from these verses. First, there appears to be some kind of heavenly council scene, not merely a dialogue between God and Satan; other celestial beings are involved.
Second, there is some existing dispute, signaled by the fact that God asks whether Satan has considered Job. Considered Job for what? The question makes sense in the context of a larger, ongoing dispute.
Third, while God declares Job blameless, upright, and God-fearing, Satan claims that Job appears to fear God only because God protects him. This amounts to slander against both Job’s character and God’s (compare with Rev. 12:10, Zechariah 3).
Fourth, Satan alleges that God’s protection of Job (the hedge) is unfair and makes it impossible for Satan to prove his allegations. This indicates some existing limits on Satan (rules of engagement), and that Satan has apparently tried to harm Job.
God responds to Satan’s accusation before the heavenly council by allowing Satan to put his theory to the test, but only within limits. He first grants Satan power over “all that he has,” but prohibits personal harm to Job (Job 1:12, NKJV). Later, after Satan claims that Job cares only about himself, God allows Satan to afflict Job personally, but Satan must spare his life (Job 2:3–6).
Satan brings numerous calamities against Job’s household, yet in each case Job continues to bless His name (Job 1:20–22; Job 2:9, 10), falsifying Satan’s charges.
We learn many things here, such as that there are rules of engagement in the cosmic conflict. There are parameters in the heavenly court within which the allegations raised against God can be settled, but without God violating the sacred principles inherent in love, the foundation of God’s government and how He rules the universe and the intelligent beings in it.
These heavenly scenes in the book of Job offer us fascinating insights into the reality of the great controversy, and how it is played out here on earth.
The overarching perspective of celestial rulers in the cosmic conflict is encapsulated in the book of Revelation, where the devil is depicted as “the great dragon” who opposes God and “deceives the whole world” (Rev. 12:9, NKJV).
Read Revelation 13:1–8. What does this reveal about the extent of the dragon’s jurisdiction?
The dragon (Satan) not only wars against God (Rev. 12:7–9) and His servants (for example, Rev. 12:1–6), but he is depicted as the ruler behind the earthly kingdoms who persecute God’s people throughout the ages.
The dragon “gave . . . his power, his throne, and great authority” to the beast from the sea (Rev. 13:2, NKJV; compare with Rev. 13:5; Rev. 17:13, 14). This beast from the sea is “given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months” (Rev. 13:5, NKJV).
So, Satan (the dragon) gives power and ruling authority to a beast (an earthly religious-political power). This power is exercised in order to usurp the worship due to God. The beast blasphemes God’s name; it also wars against, and even overcomes, God’s holy ones (saints), at least for a period of time. This worldwide authority and jurisdiction is given to him by the dragon, the usurping ruler of this world.
Yet, there are clear limits on Satan and his agencies, as well, including temporal limits. “ ‘Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time’ ” (Rev. 12:12, NKJV).
Satan “knows that his time is short” (Rev. 12:12, ESV), and the events described in Revelation proceed along prophetic time lines, which show specific limits (see Rev. 12:14, Rev. 13:5) to the reign of these evil forces.
Indeed, God finally triumphs. “ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away’ ” (Rev. 21:4, NKJV).
However hard for us to see it now, in the end good will eternally triumph over evil. Why is it so important that we never forget this wonderful promise?
As we have seen, the false “gods” of the nations were demons in disguise. And elsewhere we see evidence that demonic celestial rulers are sometimes behind earthly rulers. Even angelic agents sent by God can be opposed by the forces of the enemy.
Read Daniel 10:1–14, with special attention to verses 12, 13. What do these verses teach that is relevant to the cosmic conflict? What do you make of the angel sent by God being “withstood” for twenty-one days?
How could it be that an angel sent by God could be “withstood” for three weeks? Being all-powerful, God possessed the power to respond to Daniel immediately—that is, had He chosen to. If He exercised His power to do so, He could make an angel appear to Daniel right away. Yet, the angel sent by God was “withstood” by the “prince of the kingdom of Persia” for three entire weeks. What is going on here?
“For three weeks Gabriel wrestled with the powers of darkness, seeking to counteract the influences at work on the mind of Cyrus. . . . All that heaven could do in behalf of the people of God was done. The victory was finally gained; the forces of the enemy were held in check all the days of Cyrus, and all the days of his son Cambyses.”—Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, p. 572.
In order for such a conflict to transpire, God must not be exercising all of His power. The enemy must be afforded some genuine freedom and power that is not removed capriciously but is restricted by some parameters known to both parties (the details of which are not revealed to us). It seems there must be parameters in the cosmic conflict that even God’s angels are operating within, which in the coming lessons will be referred to as the “rules of engagement.”
In a certain sense, understanding these limits might not be hard if we grasp the idea, already talked about, that God works only by love, and that love, not coercion, is the foundation of His government. This idea, that God works only through the principles emanating from love, can help us better understand the great controversy.
How have you experienced the limits of working only through the principles of love and not coercion? What lessons did you learn about the limits of power?
Read for This Week’s Study
Dan. 10:1–14, Rev. 13:1–8, Job 1:1–12, Job 2:1–7, John 12:31, John 14:30, Mark 6:5, Mark 9:29.
Memory Text:
A powerful narrative that reveals the nature of the cosmic conflict can be found in 1 Kings 18:19–40, Elijah on Mount Carmel, where the Lord exposes the so-called “gods of the nations.” Yet, there is more behind the scenes about these “gods” than that they are mere figments of pagan imagination. Behind the “gods” that the nations surrounding Israel thought they were worshiping was, actually, something else.
“ ‘They sacrificed to demons, not to God, to gods they did not know, to new gods, new arrivals that your fathers did not fear’ ” (Deut. 32:17, NKJV). Paul adds, “The things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons” (1 Cor. 10:20, NKJV).
Behind the false “gods” of the nations, then, were actually demons in disguise. This means, then, that all of the texts of Scripture dealing with idolatry and the foreign gods are “cosmic conflict” texts.
With this background, the cosmic conflict theme is better understood. And this truth has massive implications for understanding more about the nature of this conflict and how it sheds light on the problem of evil.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, March 8.
“He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8, NKJV).
Read Ellen G. White, “The Origin of Evil,” pp. 492–504, in The Great Controversy.
“Nothing is more plainly taught in Scripture than that God was in no wise responsible for the entrance of sin; that there was no arbitrary withdrawal of divine grace, no deficiency in the divine government, that gave occasion for the uprising of rebellion. Sin is an intruder, for whose presence no reason can be given. It is mysterious, unaccountable; to excuse it is to defend it. . . . Had he [Satan] been immediately blotted from existence, they [the inhabitants of heaven and of other worlds] 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.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 492, 493, 499.
Discussion Questions:
Many people wonder how a sinless creature like Lucifer could sin for the first time. Why is sin so “mysterious” and “unaccountable”? How can we explain this first sin without excusing it or justifying it? That is, why would explaining its origin be the same as justifying it?
Why did God not simply blot Satan out of existence right away? Why must evil “be permitted to come to maturity”? How is this “for the good of the entire universe through ceaseless ages”?
Why is it so important to understand that the conflict between God and Satan is not one of sheer power but a conflict of a different kind? How does a conflict over character make sense in ways that a conflict over sheer power could not?
How does understanding the nature of the conflict pull back the curtain, so to speak, on ways in which your own life might be a microcosm of the cosmic conflict? In what ways are you even now experiencing the reality of this conflict? How should you respond in ways that show whose side you truly are on?
We have seen some passages that teach a cosmic conflict between God and Satan. But how is such a conflict even possible? How could anyone oppose the omnipotent God? If the cosmic conflict were over sheer power, it would have been over before it started. It must be of a different kind. Indeed, Scripture reveals that the conflict is a dispute over God’s character—a conflict over slanderous allegations raised by the devil against God, that (among other things) He is not fully good and loving. Such claims cannot be defeated by power or brute force but by comparing the two competing characters.
“In His dealing with sin, God could employ only righteousness and truth. Satan could use what God could not—flattery and deceit. He had sought to falsify the word of God and had misrepresented His plan of government before the angels, claiming that God was not just in laying laws and rules upon the inhabitants of heaven; that in requiring submission and obedience from His creatures, He was seeking merely the exaltation of Himself. Therefore it must be demonstrated before the inhabitants of heaven, as well as of all the worlds, that God’s government was just, His law perfect. Satan had made it appear that he himself was seeking to promote the good of the universe. The true character of the usurper, and his real object, must be understood by all. He must have time to manifest himself by his wicked works.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 498.
Read John 8:44, 45 in light of Revelation 12:7–9. What do these passages reveal about the character of the devil and his strategy?
The devil’s plan from the beginning has been to try to make creatures believe that God was not really just and loving and that His law was oppressive and hurtful to them. No wonder Jesus refers to the devil as “a liar and the father of” lies (John 8:44, NKJV). In contrast, Jesus came to “ ‘testify to the truth’ ” (John 18:37, NASB) and directly counter the lies and slander of Satan, defeating and, ultimately, destroying the devil and his power (1 John 3:8, Heb. 2:14).
Revelation 12:9, 10 identifies Satan (1) as the “serpent of old” (NKJV), (2) as the one who in the heavenly court accuses God’s people, and (3) as the dragon ruler who deceives the world. The Greek word translated “devil” just means “slanderer,” showing once again that the nature of the conflict is over beliefs, including beliefs about God’s character.
Satan’s quest to usurp God’s throne is also revealed in the temptation narratives found in Matthew 4 and Luke 4. In the striking encounter between Jesus and the tempter, much is revealed about the nature of the conflict. Here we see the reality of the great controversy between Christ and Satan, but played out in stark and graphic terms.
Read Matthew 4:1–11. How is the reality of the great controversy between Christ and Satan revealed here?
The Spirit had “led” Jesus into the wilderness for the express purpose that Jesus was “to be tempted by the devil” (Matt. 4:1, NKJV). And before facing this encounter, Jesus fasted for forty days. So when the devil came, he tempted Jesus to turn stones into bread, playing on Jesus’ extreme hunger. But Jesus countered this temptation with Scripture, and Satan’s ploy failed.
Then, in an attempt to get Jesus to act presumptuously, the devil tempted Jesus to throw Himself down from the pinnacle of the temple. Satan twisted Scripture to suggest that if Jesus were truly the Son of God, angels would protect Him. But with Scripture read rightly, Jesus again counters the temptation.
The third temptation clearly reveals just what the devil is trying to accomplish. He wants Jesus to worship him. Satan attempts to usurp the worship that is due to God alone.
And to do so, he shows Jesus “all the kingdoms of the world and their glory” and then claims: “ ‘All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me’ ” (Matt. 4:8, 9, NKJV). Indeed, in Luke 4:6, a text that parallels Matthew, the devil claims: “ ‘All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish’ ” (Luke 4:6, NKJV).
Once again, Jesus counters the temptation with Scripture, and again Satan fails.
In all three cases, Jesus used Scripture to defend against the enemy’s attacks.
Ephesians 6:12 reminds us that “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (NKJV). Though we shouldn’t live in fear, why must we always remember the reality of the struggle going on around us?
Genesis 1–3 alone shows that evil existed before the fall of Adam and Eve. Even if evil was not a concrete reality in Eden, conceptually, “evil” has already appeared, in the name of “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Gen. 2:9, 17). Then the serpent accuses God of lying when, in fact, he, the serpent, is the one lying. The existence of the serpent (Rev. 12:9), along with his lying, shows the reality of evil there. Thus, even in Eden before the Fall, the presence of evil is manifest.
Read Ezekiel 28:12–19 in light of Exodus 25:19, 20. What is the nature of this being’s fall?
According to this passage, the origin of evil and the cosmic conflict began in heaven.
Before he fell, the being who became known as Satan was a covering cherub. Beyond being identified as this cherub, he was “ ‘the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty’ ” and was “ ‘in Eden, the garden of God’ ” (Ezek. 28:12, 13, NKJV). Neither of these things could be said of the human king of Tyre (or any other human). Hence, we know that we have been given here a glimpse into the fall of Lucifer.
Read Isaiah 14:12–15. What additional light does this shed on the origin of the great controversy?
According to Isaiah 14, Lucifer decided to exalt himself and make himself like God. This verse complements what we saw in Ezekiel 28, that his “heart was lifted up” because of his “beauty” (Ezek. 28:17), which should have brought him to glorify the God who made him beautiful. Instead, he became proud. Worse, in this pride, he set out to take God’s place and to slander Him. The Hebrew term for “trading” in Ezekiel 28:16 also means “slander,” an indication of how Satan will operate against God and against us, as well.
How do we understand the fact that Lucifer, who fell, was originally “perfect . . . from the day” he was created “till iniquity was found” in him (Ezek. 28:15)? How could a perfect being fall unless being “perfect” included true moral freedom?
Parallel to the question in the parable—about why there is bad seed in the field if the owner planted only good seed—is another question: if God created the world entirely good, how did evil arise here?
Read Genesis 1:31. What do God’s words reveal about the state of creation when God finished creating, and why is this answer important?
According to Genesis 1:31, when God finished creating the world, it was “very good.” In Genesis 1, there is no hint of evil in God’s creation of this planet. How, then, did evil come into the human experience?
Read Genesis 3:1–7. What does this tell us about how evil got here on earth? What light does this shed on the nature of the cosmic conflict? (See also Rev. 12:7–9.)
In this narrative, we see lies about God’s character raised by the serpent, identified as the devil himself (that “serpent of old” [NKJV]) in Revelation 12:7–9. The serpent first uses a question to cast doubt on God’s command, nearly reversing what God had commanded in his question. Then, the serpent directly challenges what God had said, saying to Eve, “ ‘You will not surely die’ ” (Gen. 3:4, NKJV).
Someone, either the serpent or God, lied to Eve, who now has a choice to make about whether she will believe what God told her or what the serpent did.
Here and elsewhere in Scripture, the nature of this conflict is primarily over what and whom to believe, which is itself integrally related to love. And that is because your beliefs about someone, the kind of person that he or she is, and whether he or she can be trusted, deeply impact whether you will love and trust that person and, in this case, listen to what that person tells you.
Read Genesis 3:15. God’s statement to the serpent that the Seed of the woman, referring to the Messiah, would crush the serpent’s head is often identified as the first gospel (protoevangelium) in Scripture. How does this both reinforce the reality of the conflict and yet provide hope for us in the midst of it?
Read Matthew 13:24–27. How does the parable help us understand evil in our world?
Jesus tells the story of a landowner who sows only good seeds in his field. However, tares spring up among the wheat. Upon seeing this, the servants of the owner ask him, “ ‘ “Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?” ’ ” (Matt. 13:27, NKJV). This is similar to the question often asked today concerning the problem of evil: If God created the world entirely good, why is there evil in it?
Read Matthew 13:28–30 in light of Christ’s explanation in Matthew 13:37–40. How does this also shed light on the nature of the cosmic conflict?
The master replies to his servant’s question: “ ‘ “An enemy has done this” ’ ” (Matt. 13:28, NKJV). Jesus later identifies the one “ ‘who sows the good seed’ ” as “ ‘the Son of Man,’ ” who is Jesus Himself (Matt. 13:37, NKJV), and explains that “the field is the world” (Matt. 13:38), and the “ ‘enemy who sowed’ ” the tares is “ ‘the devil’ ” (Matt. 13:39, NKJV), explicitly depicting a cosmic conflict between Christ and Satan. Why is there evil in the world? Evil is the result of the enemy (the devil) who opposes the master. “ ‘An enemy has done this’ ” (Matt. 13:28, NKJV).
This answer, however, provokes the follow-up question, “ ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ ” In other words, why not uproot the evil immediately? “ ‘ “No, ” ’ ” the master replies, “ ‘ “lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest” ’ ” (Matt. 13:29, 30, NKJV; compare with Mark 4:29). According to the parable, God will finally put an end to evil, but uprooting it prematurely would result in irreversible collateral damage that harms the good.
What are some of the dangers in seeking to uproot the tares from the wheat now? At the same time, why does this not mean simply ignoring the evil that we encounter?
Read for This Week’s Study
Matt. 13:24–27; Gen. 1:31; Ezek. 28:12–19; Isa. 14:12–15; Matt. 4:1–11; John 8:44, 45.
Memory Text:
Central to biblical theology is the great controversy between Christ and Satan. Although the idea of a cosmic conflict between God and celestial creatures who have fallen and rebelled against God is a prominent motif of Scripture (Matt. 13:24–30, 37–39; Rev. 12:7–10) and also is prevalent in much of Christian tradition, many Christians have rejected or neglected the whole idea.
From a biblical perspective, however, the theme of a cosmic conflict, in which the kingdom of God is opposed by the devil and his angels, is not one that we can neglect without missing a great deal of what the biblical narratives are about. The Gospels alone are filled with references to the devil and demons who oppose God.
To begin with this week, we will address how the two following questions might be answered according to some crucial biblical passages:
- Where does Scripture teach that there is a cosmic conflict between God and Satan?
- According to Scripture, what is the nature of the conflict?
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, March 1.
“ ‘And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel’ ” (Genesis 3:15, NKJV).
Read Ellen G. White, “ ‘God With Us,’ ” pp. 19–26, in The Desire of Ages.
“The plan for our redemption was not an afterthought, a plan formulated after the fall of Adam. It was a revelation of ‘the mystery which hath been kept in silence through times eternal.’ Rom. 16:25, R. V. It was an unfolding of the principles that from eternal ages have been the foundation of God’s throne. From the beginning, God and Christ knew of the apostasy of Satan, and of the fall of man through the deceptive power of the apostate. God did not ordain that sin should exist, but He foresaw its existence, and made provision to meet the terrible emergency. So great was His love for the world, that He covenanted to give His only-begotten Son, ‘that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ John 3:16.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 22.
Discussion Questions:
If God does not always get what He wants, how does this fact impact the way you think about what occurs in this world? What are the practical implications of understanding that God has unfulfilled desires?
If we go back to the cake analogy in Thursday’s study, we can understand why, even though “God and Christ knew of the apostasy of Satan,” they went ahead and created us anyway. Love had to be in the mix, and love meant freedom. Rather than not create us as beings able to love, God created us so that we could love, but He did so knowing that, ultimately, it would lead Jesus to the cross. What should it tell us about how sacred, how fundamental, love was to God’s government that Christ would suffer on the cross rather than deny us the freedom inherent in love?
Often we lament the evil and suffering in this world, but how often do you take time to ponder that God Himself laments and is grieved by suffering and evil? What difference does it make to your understanding of evil and suffering when you recognize that God Himself suffers because of evil?
How does this truth—that many things happen in this world that God does not will—help you deal with your own suffering, especially when it doesn’t make sense and seems to lead to no good at all?
If everything occurred according to God’s ideal will, there would never have been evil but only the perfect bliss of love and harmony. Eventually, the universe will be restored to this perfect, ideal will of God. In the meantime, God is working out His will in a way that takes into account the free decisions of His creatures.
Imagine a baking competition in which all participants are required to use some particular set of ingredients, but they can add any other ingredients they want in order to bake any kind of cake they want, as well. In the end, whatever cake a baker ends up making will be determined, at least partially, by some ingredients that the baker did not choose.
Similarly (in this limited respect), because God has committed Himself to respecting creaturely freedom of the kind necessary for love, many of the “ingredients” that make up world history are not chosen by God but are actually the opposite of what God desires.
In this view, divine providence is not simply one-dimensional, as if God unilaterally controls everything that happens. Rather, this requires (at least) a two-dimensional view of God’s providence. Some things in this world are caused by God, but other occurrences are the result of the free decisions of creatures (as are all evils). Many things happen that God does not want to happen.
Read John 16:33. What hope, even amid tribulations, does this text offer us?
Particularly in times of suffering or trial, people’s faith may waver because they hold the mistaken belief that God will or should spare them from suffering and trials in this life. But Jesus tells us a very different story, warning His followers they will experience trials and tribulations in this world, but there is hope, for Christ has overcome the world (John 16:33).
The fact that we encounter suffering and trials does not mean that this is what God ideally wants for us. We must always keep in mind the big picture: the great controversy. However, we can be confident that, while evil itself is not necessary for good, God can bring good even out of evil events. And, if we trust God, God can use even our sufferings to draw us closer to Him and to motivate us to be compassionate and to care for others.
Read Ephesians 1:9–11. What is this text saying about predestination? Are some people predestined to be saved and others to be lost?
The Greek term translated “predestination” here and elsewhere in Scripture (prohorizo) does not itself teach that God causally determines history. Rather, the Greek term simply means “to decide beforehand.”
Of course, one can decide something beforehand unilaterally, or one can decide something beforehand in a way that takes into account the free decisions of others. Scripture teaches that God does the latter.
Here and elsewhere (for example, Rom. 8:29, 30), the term translated “predestined” refers to what God plans for the future after taking into account what God foreknows about the free decisions of creatures. Thus, God can providentially guide history to His desired good ends for all, even while respecting the kind of creaturely freedom that is required for a genuine love relationship.
Ephesians 1:11 proclaims that God “works all things according to the counsel of His will” (NKJV). Does this mean that God determines everything to happen just as He desires? Read in isolation, Ephesians 1:9–11 might seem to affirm this view. However, this interpretation would contradict the many texts we saw earlier that show that people sometimes reject “the will of God” (Luke 7:30, NKJV; compare with Luke 13:34, Ps. 81:11–14). If the Bible does not contradict itself, how can these passages be understood in a way that is consistent with one another?
This passage makes perfect sense if one simply recognizes a distinction between what we might call God’s “ideal will” and God’s “remedial will.” God’s “ideal will” is what God actually prefers to occur and which would occur if everyone always did exactly what God desires. God’s “remedial will,” on the other hand, is God’s will that has already taken into account every other factor, including the free decisions of creatures, which sometimes depart from what God prefers. Ephesians 1:11 appears to be referring to God’s “remedial will.”
So powerful is God’s foreknowledge of the future that, even knowing all the choices, including the bad choices, that people will make, He can still work “all things together for good” (Rom. 8:28, CEB). What comfort can you draw from this truth?
That God is all-powerful does not mean that He can do the logically impossible. Accordingly, God cannot causally determine that someone freely love Him. If freely doing something means to do something without being determined to do it, then by definition it is impossible to make someone freely do something. In short, as we have seen, and must re-emphasize—God cannot force anyone to love Him, for the moment it’s forced, it is no longer love.
Read Matthew 22:37 and Deuteronomy 6:4, 5. What do these verses teach about the reality of free will?
The greatest commandment, to love God, provides evidence that God does, indeed, want everyone to love Him. However, not everyone does love God. Why, then, does God simply not make everyone love Him? Again, that is because love, to be love, must be freely given.
Read Hebrews 6:17, 18 and Titus 1:2. What do these texts teach about God?
According to Numbers 23:19, “ ‘God is not man, that [H]e should lie’ ” (ESV). God never lies (Titus 1:2); God always keeps His word and never breaks a promise (Heb. 6:17, 18). Accordingly, if God has promised or committed Himself to something, His future action is morally limited by that promise.
This means that, insofar as God, in most cases, grants creatures the freedom to choose otherwise than what God prefers; it is not up to God what humans choose. If God has committed Himself to granting creatures free will, humans possess the ability to exercise their freedom in ways that go against God’s ideal desires. Tragically, many people do exercise their freedom in this way, and accordingly, there are many things that occur that God wishes did not, but that are not, strictly speaking, up to God.
What have you done that you knew God didn’t want you to do? What does this teach about the reality—and possible frightful consequences—of free will?
Throughout Scripture, God’s amazing power is made manifest. The Bible includes countless narratives of His exercising His power and working miracles. And yet, despite this, many things happen that God does not want to happen.
Read Revelation 11:17, Jeremiah 32:17–20, Luke 1:37, and Matthew 19:26. Consider also Hebrews 1:3. What do these passages teach about God’s power?
These texts and others teach that God is all-powerful and that He sustains the world by His power. Indeed, Revelation repeatedly refers to God as the “Lord God Almighty” (for example, Rev. 11:17; compare with 2 Cor. 6:18, Rev. 1:8, Rev. 16:14, Rev. 19:15, Rev. 21:22) and the word translated “Almighty” (pantokrator) literally means “all-powerful.” The fact that God is all-powerful is not only affirmed in words but also manifest in the many amazing instances in which God uses His power to deliver His people or otherwise miraculously intervenes in the world.
However, to say God is “all-powerful” does not mean that God can do anything whatsoever. Scripture teaches that there are some things God cannot do; for example, 2 Timothy 2:13 declares, God “cannot deny Himself” (NKJV).
Accordingly, most Christians agree that God is all-powerful (omnipotent), meaning that God has the power to do anything that does not involve a contradiction—that is, anything that is logically possible and consistent with God’s nature. That some things are not possible for God because they would involve a contradiction is apparent in Christ’s prayer in Gethsemane. While Christ affirmed that “with God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:26), He also prayed to the Father as the crucifixion neared, “ ‘O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will’ ” (Matt. 26:39, NKJV).
Of course, the Father possessed the sheer power to deliver Christ from suffering on the cross, but He could not do this while also saving sinners. It had to be one or the other, not both.
Scripture also teaches that God wants to save everyone (for example, 1 Tim. 2:4–6, Titus 2:11, 2 Pet. 3:9, Ezek. 33:11), but not everyone will be saved. What does this fact teach about the reality of free will and the limits of God’s power with beings granted free will?
“God is sovereign,” the youth pastor taught his middle school group. “That means He controls everything that happens.” One puzzled middle schooler replied, “So God was in control when my dog died? Why would God kill my dog?”
Trying to answer this question, the youth pastor replied: “That’s a tough one. But sometimes God lets us go through hard times so that we’re prepared for even more difficult things in the future. I remember how hard it was when my dog died. But going through that helped me deal with an even more difficult time later when my grandma died. Does that make sense?”
After a long pause, the middle schooler replied, “So God killed my dog to prepare me for when He’s going to kill my grandma?”—Marc Cortez, quoted in John C. Peckham, Divine Attributes: Knowing the Covenantal God of Scripture (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2021), p. 141.
People sometimes assume that everything that occurs happens just as God wants it to. Whatever happens in the world is precisely as God wanted to have happen. After all, God is almighty. How, then, could anything occur that God does not want to occur? Hence, no matter what happens, no matter how bad, it was God’s will. That, at least, is what this theology teaches.
Read Psalm 81:11–14; Isaiah 30:15, 18; Isaiah 66:4; and Luke 13:34. What do these texts say about the question of whether God’s will is always being done?
While many people believe that God must always get what He wants, the Bible tells a quite different story. Again and again, Scripture depicts God as experiencing unfulfilled desires. That is, what happens often runs counter to what God states that He actually prefers to happen. In many instances, God explicitly declares that what is happening is the opposite of what He wants. He willed one outcome for His people, but they chose another instead. God Himself laments: “ ‘My people would not heed My voice. . . . Oh, that My people would listen to Me, that Israel would walk in My ways! I would soon subdue their enemies’ ” (Ps. 81:11, 13, 14, NKJV).
Think through the implications of any theology that attributes everything that happens to God’s direct will. What kind of deep problems, especially in the context of evil, would such a theology create?
Read for This Week’s Study
Luke 13:34; Jer. 32:17–20; Heb. 1:3; Deut. 6:4, 5; Eph. 1:9–11; John 16:33.
Memory Text:
Providence is the term used to describe God’s action in the world. How we think about God’s providence makes a huge difference in how we relate to God, how we relate to others, and how we think about the problem of evil.
Christians hold various understandings of divine providence. Some believe that God exercises His power in a way that determines all events to happen just as they do. He even chooses who will be saved and who will be lost! In this view, people are not free to choose other than what God decrees. In fact, people who believe this way argue that even human desires are determined by God.
In contrast, strong biblical evidence shows that God does not determine everything that happens. Instead, He grants humans free will, even to the point where they (and angels) can choose to act directly against His will. The history of the Fall, of sin, and of evil is a dramatic and tragic expression of the results of abusing this free will. The plan of salvation was instituted in order to remedy the tragedy caused by the misuse of free will.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, February 22.
“ ‘These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world’ ” (John 16:33, NKJV).
Read Ellen G. White, “Why Was Sin Permitted?” pp. 33–43, in Patriarchs and Prophets.
“Even when he was cast out of heaven, Infinite Wisdom did not destroy Satan. Since only the service of love can 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 the worlds, being unprepared to comprehend the nature or consequences of sin, could not then have seen the justice of God in the destruction of Satan. Had he been immediately blotted out of existence, some 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. For the good of the entire universe through ceaseless ages, he must more fully develop his principles, that his charges against the divine government might be seen in their true light by all created beings, and that the justice and mercy of God and the immutability of His law might be forever placed beyond all question.
“Satan’s rebellion was to be a lesson to the universe through all coming ages—a perpetual testimony to the nature of sin and its terrible results. 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 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 beings, to prevent them from being deceived as to the nature of transgression, to save them from committing sin, and suffering its penalty.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 42, 43.
Discussion Questions:
“Theodicy” is a term for the justification of God in the face of evil. But it is not the justification for evil itself. Imagine someone in heaven saying, “Oh, yes, Jesus, now I understand why my family was tortured and murdered before my eyes. Yes, it all makes great sense now. Thank You, Jesus!” That’s absurd. How can we come to understand that it is God, not evil, that is ultimately vindicated in the great controversy? (See lesson 9.)
Have you ever felt somewhat like Job? Have you ever been tempted to think that there could not possibly be a good explanation for the suffering you or your loved ones have experienced? How does Job’s final realization that he “uttered what” he “did not understand” (Job 42:3, NKJV) shed light on the position we are in relative to our own questions?
God has granted creatures free will because it is necessary for love; misuse of this free will is the cause of evil. Again, many questions remain. God allows evil (for a time), while passionately despising it, because to exclude its possibility would exclude love, and to destroy it prematurely would damage the trust necessary for love.
“The earth was dark through misapprehension of God. That the gloomy shadows might be lightened, that the world might be brought back to God, Satan’s deceptive power was to be broken. This could not be done by force. The exercise of force is contrary to the principles of God’s government; He desires only the service of love; and love cannot be commanded; it cannot be won by force or authority. Only by love is love awakened. To know God is to love Him; His character must be manifested in contrast to the character of Satan.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 22.
Without free will, there could be no love, and if God is love, then it seems clear that it is not really an option for God to negate love or the freedom needed for love to exist. One could suppose, too, that if we knew the end from the beginning, as God does, we would not want Him to get rid of our freedom. After all, who would want to live in a loveless universe?
Read Romans 8:18 and Revelation 21:3, 4. How can these texts give us confidence to trust in God’s goodness, despite all the evil in our world?
Even when we cannot see through the darkness, God can see the end from the beginning. He can see, too, the eternal bliss promised to all who place their faith in Jesus. According to Romans 8:18, “the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (NKJV). Do we have the faith and trust to believe this amazing promise?
Also, so sacred, so foundational, was love, and the freedom inherent in love, that rather than deny it to us, Jesus knew it would send Him to the cross, where He would suffer greatly. Yet, He granted this freedom to us anyway, knowing what it would cost Him. Why is this such a crucial thought to keep before us always?
How does keeping in mind the fact that God grants us free will help protect us from thinking that everything that happens is God’s will?
However much we don’t understand of God’s ways and thoughts, Scripture does reveal some things that help to address the problem of evil. One avenue for addressing the logical problem of evil is known as the freewill defense.
The freewill defense is the view that evil is the result of the misuse of creaturely free will. God, then, is not to blame for evil, because evil is the result of creatures misusing the free will that God has given us for good reasons. Why, however, would God give such free will? In this regard, C. S. Lewis once wrote that “free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having. A world of automata—of creatures that worked like machines—would hardly be worth creating. The happiness which God designs for His higher creatures is the happiness of being freely, voluntarily united to Him and to each other. . . . And for that they must be free.”—Mere Christianity (New York: MacMillan, 1960), p. 52.
Read Genesis 2:16, 17. How do these verses display the moral freedom granted to Adam and Eve?
Why command them unless they had free will to begin with? Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, and since then our planet has been filled with evil. In Genesis 4, the next chapter after the Fall narrative, the terrible consequences of sin are seen in the murder of Abel by his brother. The narrative of the Fall shows how the misuse of Adam and Eve’s free will brought sin and evil into the history of our planet.
All through Scripture, we see the reality of free moral will. (See Deut. 7:12, 13; Josh. 24:14, 15; Ps. 81:11–14; and Isa. 66:4.) Every day of our lives, to one degree or another, we ourselves exercise the free will given to us by our Creator. Without free will, we would not be recognizably human. We would be more like a machine, or even a mindless robot.
Sony Corporation has created a robot dog called Aibo. It will not get sick, not get fleas, not bite, not need shots, and not shed fur. Would you trade your flesh-and-blood dog for an Aibo? If not, how might your choice help you better understand why God created us as He did, with free will—despite the risks?
God proclaims in Isaiah 55:8, 9, “ ‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts’ ” (NKJV).
God’s thoughts are far higher than ours. We cannot even imagine the complexities of God’s plan for history. Given this, why should we expect to be in a position to know just what God’s reasons are for what He does or does not do in various situations?
One way of approaching the problem of evil, based on recognizing how little we know, is called “skeptical theism.” The skeptical theist is one who believes God has good reasons for acting as He does, but given our limited knowledge, we should not expect to be in a position to know just what those reasons are. The skeptical theist is skeptical regarding the human capacity to be aware of or to understand fully God’s reasons relative to the evil in this world. Just because one cannot see, for instance, germs floating in the air all around us does not mean there are no germs floating in the air all around us. The fact that one does not know what God’s reasons are certainly does not mean that God has no good reasons.
Read Psalm 73. How does the psalmist approach the evil and injustice around him? What does he see that puts his understanding in a different perspective?
The psalmist was deeply troubled by the evil in the world. He looked around him and saw the wicked prospering. Everything seemed unjust and unfair. He had no answers to give. He wondered whether it was even worth believing in and serving God. Until, that is, he looked into the sanctuary.
The sanctuary provides part of the key to the problem of evil—namely, recognizing there is a righteous Judge who will bring justice and judgment in His own time.
How can the Adventist understanding of the judgment and the sanctuary doctrine shed light on the problem of evil? Is it helpful to you to know that, while we have many questions now, the details of history and God’s righteous judgments will be revealed in the end?
The end of history will come with the triumph of love over evil. But, in the meantime, many troubling questions remain. How can we think and talk about the problem of evil in a way that might be helpful?
Read Job 38:1–12. How does God’s answer to Job shed light on the problem of evil? How much do we know and not know about what might be going on behind the scenes?
In the narrative, Job had suffered much and had voiced many questions himself about why so much evil and suffering had befallen him. He requested an audience with God in order to seek answers to his questions, not knowing that far more was going on behind the scenes, in the heavenly court (see Job 1, 2).
God’s response to Job is striking. Specifically, “the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said: ‘Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge?’ ” (Job 38:1, 2, NKJV). One translation puts it this way: “Why do you talk so much when you know so little?” (Job 38:2, CEV). And, God adds in Job 38:4, “ ‘Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding’ ” (NKJV).
Read Job 42:3. How does Job’s response illuminate what we should recognize about our own position?
By His responses to Job, God made it clear to Job that there are many things that Job did not know and did not understand. Like Job, we, too, should humbly recognize that there are many things going on in the world, and behind the scenes, that we know nothing about. The fact that we may not know the answers to our questions does not mean there are no good answers or that one day everything will not be resolved. Until then, we need to trust in the goodness of God, which has been revealed to us in so many ways.
Think about how little we know about anything. Why, then, should we learn to live with unanswered questions about the most difficult of subjects: evil and suffering?
The problem of evil is voiced not only in contemporary contexts but also in Scripture itself.
Read Job 30:26, Jeremiah 12:1, Jeremiah 13:22, Malachi 2:17, and Psalm 10:1. How do these texts bring the problem of evil to the forefront of human experience?
These texts raise many questions that are still with us today. Why does it seem as though the wicked prosper and those who do evil benefit from their evil, perhaps not always but still often enough? Why do the righteous suffer so much? Where is God when evil occurs? Why does God sometimes appear to be far from us, even hidden?
Whatever we say about these questions and the problem of evil more generally, we should be sure not to trivialize evil. We should not try to resolve the problem by downplaying the kind, or amount, of evil in the world. Evil is very bad—and God hates it even more than we do. Thus, we might join in the cry that rings throughout Scripture in response to the many evils and injustices in the world: “How long, O Lord?”
Read Matthew 27:46. How do you understand these words of Jesus? What do they convey about how evil touched God in the most striking of ways?
On the cross, Jesus Himself voiced the question: “ ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’ ” (Matt. 27:46, NKJV). Here especially we see that God Himself is touched by evil, an amazing truth powerfully highlighted in the suffering and death of Christ on the cross, where all the evil of the world fell upon Him.
But even here there is hope. What Christ did on the cross defeated the source of evil, Satan, and will eventually undo evil entirely. Jesus quoted those words from Psalm 22:1, and the rest of the psalm ends in triumph.
On the cross, Jesus looked forward to a hope that, at the time, He could not see. How can we draw comfort from His experience when we, too, cannot see hope before us?
Read for This Week’s Study
Job 30:26; Matt. 27:46; Job 38:1–12; Psalm 73; Gen. 2:16, 17; Rev. 21:3, 4.
Memory Text:
Perhaps the greatest problem facing Christianity is the problem of evil—how to reconcile the fact that God is perfectly good and loving, with the fact of evil in this world. In brief terms, if God is all-good and all-powerful, why is there evil, and so much of it, too?
This is not merely an academic problem but something that deeply troubles many people and that keeps some from coming to know and love God.
“To many minds the origin of sin and the reason for its existence are a source of great perplexity. They see the work of evil, with its terrible results of woe and desolation, and they question how all this can exist under the sovereignty of One who is infinite in wisdom, in power, and in love. Here is a mystery of which they find no explanation.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 492.
Many atheists identify the problem of evil as the reason that they are atheists. But as we will see in this week and in coming weeks, the God of the Bible is entirely good, and we can trust Him—even despite the evil that so infects our fallen world.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, February 15.
“ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away’ ” (Revelation 21:4, NKJV).
Read Ellen G. White, “God’s Love for Man,” pp. 9–15, in Steps to Christ.
“The word of God reveals His character. He Himself has declared His infinite love and pity. When Moses prayed, ‘Show me Thy glory,’ the Lord answered, ‘I will make all My goodness pass before thee.’ Exodus 33:18, 19. This is His glory. The Lord passed before Moses, and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.’ Exodus 34:6, 7. He is ‘slow to anger, and of great kindness,’ ‘because He delighteth in mercy.’ Jonah 4:2; Micah 7:18.
“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.”—Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, pp. 10, 11.
Discussion Questions:
Why is it so important to recognize that God’s glory is bound up with His goodness? How does this correct a theology of glory that emphasizes sheer power without emphasizing the love and character of God?
Have you ever questioned God’s goodness? Do you know anyone who has questioned God’s goodness because of the way those who claim to follow God sometimes act, or simply because of all the evil in the world? How did you work through that question for yourself, and how might you be able to help someone struggling with the question of God’s goodness? See next week’s lesson.
In class, flesh out the answer to Monday’s question. How does the reality of the great controversy help us understand all the evil that exists now?
Scripture consistently teaches that “ ‘the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments’ ” (Deut. 7:9, NKJV). His character of goodness and love was supremely demonstrated by Jesus at the cross (see Rom. 3:25, 26; Rom. 5:8). According to Psalm 100:5, “The Lord is good; [H]is steadfast love endures forever, and [H]is faithfulness to all generations” (ESV; compare with Ps. 89:2). Thus, God can be trusted; He gives only good gifts to His children (James 1:17; compare with Luke 11:11–13). In fact, He bestows good things even on those who position themselves as His enemies.
Read Matthew 5:43–48. What does this teach about God’s amazing love? How should we act toward others in light of this teaching of Jesus?
Matthew 5 describes God’s love as perfect love. Imperfect love is the love that loves only those who love you. But God loves even those who hate Him, even those who position themselves as His enemies. His love is complete and, therefore, perfect.
Though God’s love and mercy far exceed any reasonable expectations, it never overrides or contravenes justice. On the contrary, it brings justice and mercy together (Ps. 85:10). Likewise, the Bible exhorts us: “ ‘Observe mercy and justice, and wait on your God continually’ ” (Hos. 12:6, NKJV). As another version puts it, “Hold fast to love and justice” (Hos. 12:6, ESV; compare with Luke 11:42).
In the end, God Himself will bring about perfect justice. Romans 2:5 teaches that His “righteous judgment will be revealed” (ESV). Finally, the redeemed will sing: “ ‘Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints! Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, for Your judgments have been manifested’ ” (Rev. 15:3, 4, NKJV; compare with Rev. 19:1, 2).
Isaiah 25:1 proclaims, “O Lord, You are my God. I will exalt You, I will praise Your name, for You have done wonderful things; Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth” (NKJV). How can we learn to praise God, even in bad times? In what ways can your life itself be an offering of praise to God in a way that furthers justice in your sphere of influence?
Can God “repent”? If so, what would that mean? We have seen that God’s character never changes. However, some biblical texts speak of God as “repenting” or “relenting.” At least for humans, repentance involves recognition that one has done something wrong. How, then, can some biblical passages depict God as “repenting”?
Read Exodus 32:14 and compare it with Jeremiah 18:4–10. What do you make of these descriptions of God’s “relenting”?
In these and many other passages, God is depicted as relenting of judgment in response to some repentance or intercession by people. God promises that, if the people will turn from their wickedness, He will turn from the judgment He planned. God’s turning from bringing judgment in response to human repentance is a common theme throughout Scripture.
Read Numbers 23:19 and 1 Samuel 15:29. What do these texts teach with regard to whether or not God “relents” or “repents”?
These passages explicitly declare that God “ ‘is not a man, that He should relent’ ” (1 Sam. 15:29, NKJV) and “ ‘God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?’ ” (Num. 23:19, NKJV). Read in light of the other passages, these texts cannot be taken to mean that God does not “relent” at all, but instead they convey the truth that He does not “relent” or “repent” in the ways that humans do. Rather, God always keeps His promises, and while He will change course in response to human repentance, He does so always in accordance with His goodness and His Word. God relents from judgment in response to repentance, precisely because His character is good, righteous, loving, and merciful.
What is the significance of the biblical depictions of divine “relenting”? What does this convey about the constancy of God’s character alongside the fact that God enters into genuine give-and-take relationships that actually make a difference to Him?
Read Malachi 3:6 and James 1:17. What do these passages teach about God’s character?
In Malachi 3:6, God declares, “ ‘I am the Lord, I do not change’ ” (NKJV). While some read this part of the verse and take it to mean that God does not change in any way whatsoever, the rest of the verse and its immediate context shows that the changelessness of God affirmed here is God’s moral changelessness. The rest of the verse indicates that God may change relationally, for God says: “ ‘Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.’ ” And in the very next verse, God proclaims to His people, “ ‘Return to Me, and I will return to you’ ” (Mal. 3:7, NKJV).
So, God does enter into back-and-forth relationships with His creation, but through all such back-and-forth relationships, and through everything else, God’s character is constant. This is likewise affirmed in James 1:17, which proclaims that all good and perfect gifts come from God, with whom there is no variation. God is not the source of evil.
Here and elsewhere, Scripture repeatedly teaches that God’s character is unchangeable. In other words, the Bible consistently teaches that God is morally changeless. Yet, God can and does enter into real relationship with creatures, to whom God responds, but always with love and justice.
Read 2 Timothy 2:13; Titus 1:2; and Hebrews 6:17, 18. What do these texts teach about God?
God cannot deny Himself; God never lies; and God’s promises are unbreakable. We can be confident that the God of the Bible is the same God who (in Christ) willingly gave Himself for us on the cross. He is a God who can be trusted, without reservation, and we can have confidence and hope for the future because, as Hebrews 13:8 puts it, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (NKJV).
How can you learn to trust in the goodness of God even when things have gone really badly in your life? What does the image of God on the cross do to help you learn to trust in His goodness?
God does not simply claim to love justice and call people to love and do justice, but God Himself perfectly and unwaveringly exemplifies these traits. Scripture teaches that God is entirely holy, faithful, righteous, and loving. God only and always does what is loving, righteous, and just. He never does any wrong.
Read Deuteronomy 32:4 and Psalm 92:15. What do these passages teach about the faithfulness and righteousness of God?
These and many other passages declare that God is just and loving—“there is no unrighteousness in Him” (Ps. 92:15; compare with Ps. 25:8, Ps. 129:4). God “will do no unrighteousness. Every morning He brings His justice to light; He never fails, but the unjust knows no shame” (Zeph. 3:5, NKJV). Notice the direct contrast of God’s character over and against that of those who love injustice.
God knows what is best for everyone, wants what is best for everyone, and continually works to bring about the best outcome for all involved.
Read Psalm 9:7, 8 and Psalm 145:9–17. What do these verses teach about God?
The God of the Bible is “a just judge” (Ps. 7:11, NKJV), and no evil dwells with Him (Ps. 5:4). As 1 John 1:5 teaches, “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all” (NKJV). Indeed, God is not only perfectly good, but according to James 1:13 (NKJV), “God cannot be tempted by evil” (compare with Hab. 1:13).
In all this, God’s goodness and glory are inextricably connected. While many idolize power, God is all-powerful, but He exercises His power only in ways that are just and loving. It is no coincidence that when Moses asked God, “ ‘Show me Your glory,’ ” God responded by saying, “ ‘I will make all My goodness pass before you’ ” (Exod. 33:18, 19, NKJV).
Why does such a good God allow for so much of the evil that is in this world? Discuss your answer in class.
Throughout Scripture, love and justice go together. True love requires justice, and true justice can be governed by and meted out only in love. We are not used to thinking of these two concepts together, but that is only because both love and justice have been greatly perverted by humanity.
Read Psalm 33:5, Isaiah 61:8, Jeremiah 9:24, Psalm 85:10, and Psalm 89:14. How do these texts shed light on God’s concern for justice?
These texts explicitly declare that God loves justice (Ps. 33:5, Isa. 61:8). In Scripture, the ideas of love and justice are inextricably linked. God’s love and God’s righteousness go together, and He is deeply concerned that righteousness and justice be done in this world.
For good reason, then, the prophets consistently decry all kinds of injustice, including unjust laws, false scales, and injustice and oppression of the poor and the widows or anyone vulnerable. Though people perpetrate many evils and injustices, God is the one constantly “ ‘exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth’ ” (Jer. 9:24, NKJV). Accordingly, throughout Scripture, those faithful to God greatly anticipate divine judgment as a very good thing because it brings punishment against evildoers and oppressors, and it brings justice and deliverance for the victims of injustice and oppression.
In fact, righteousness and justice are the foundation of God’s government. God’s moral government of love is just and righteous, quite different from the corrupt governments of this world, which often perpetuate injustice for personal gain and personal power. In God, “mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed” (Ps. 85:10, NKJV).
And God makes it clear what He expects of us. “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8, NKJV). If there is anything that we should reflect of God’s character, love—and the justice and mercy that stems from it—would be central.
What are examples, even now, of perverted human justice? How, then, can we not cry out for God’s perfect justice to come one day?
Read for This Week’s Study
Ps. 33:5, Ps. 85:10, Deut. 32:4, James 1:17, Titus 1:2, Exod. 32:14, Matt. 5:43–48.
Memory Text:
In the ancient Near East, the “gods” of the nations were not only fickle, immoral, and unpredictable, but they also commanded atrocities, such as child sacrifice. And even then, the pagan masses could not count on their favor, and so they dared not cross their tribal “deities.”
According to Deuteronomy 32:17, behind such “gods” were demons (see also 1 Cor. 10:20, 21). And their forms of worship were ripe for exploitation, leaving the people in great spiritual and moral darkness.
The God of the Bible could not be more different from these demonic forces. Yahweh is perfectly good and His character changeless. And it is only because of God’s constant goodness that we can have any hope, now and for eternity.
In stark contrast to the false gods of the ancient world, and even to the modern “gods” of today, as well, Yahweh is deeply concerned about evil, suffering, injustice, and oppression—all of which He constantly and unequivocally condemns. And, most important, He will one day eradicate them all, as well.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, February 8.
“ ‘But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight’ says the Lord” (Jer. 9:24, NKJV).
Read Ellen G. White, “Idolatry at Sinai,” pp. 315–330, in Patriarchs and Prophets.
In the context of the sin of the golden calf, Ellen G. White wrote: “The Israelites had been guilty of treason, and that against a King who had loaded them with benefits and whose authority they had voluntarily pledged themselves to obey. That the divine government might be maintained justice must be visited upon the traitors. Yet even here God’s mercy was displayed. While He maintained His law, He granted freedom of choice and opportunity for repentance to all. Only those were cut off who persisted in rebellion.
“It was necessary that this sin should be punished, as a testimony to surrounding nations of God’s displeasure against idolatry. By executing justice upon the guilty, Moses, as God’s instrument, must leave on record a solemn and public protest against their crime. As the Israelites should hereafter condemn the idolatry of the neighboring tribes, their enemies would throw back upon them the charge that the people who claimed Jehovah as their God had made a calf and worshiped it in Horeb. Then though compelled to acknowledge the disgraceful truth, Israel could point to the terrible fate of the transgressors, as evidence that their sin had not been sanctioned or excused.
“Love no less than justice demanded that for this sin judgment should be inflicted. . . . It was the mercy of God that thousands should suffer, to prevent the necessity of visiting judgments upon millions. In order to save the many, He must punish the few.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 324, 325.
Discussion Questions:
Why do you think so many people struggle with the concept of divine wrath? What helps you to understand it?
What problems always arise when people seek vengeance that never arise when God seeks it?
How was God’s judgment against Israel after the golden calf rebellion also an instance of divine mercy? What other examples in Scripture show that even God’s judgment is an act of love?
Even though we understand that God righteously becomes indignant against evil and brings judgment with perfect justice, how important is it for us to refrain from condemning others? Discuss this particularly in light of 1 Corinthians 4:5.
While divine wrath is a “terrible” thing, it is by no means immoral or unloving. On the contrary, in the Old and New Testaments, God expresses wrath against evil because of His love. Divine wrath is terrible because of the insidious nature of evil in contrast to the pure goodness and splendor of God.
In this regard, love is essential to God; wrath is not. Where there is no evil or injustice, there is no wrath. In the end, God’s most loving action of eradicating evil from the universe also effectively will eliminate anger and wrath. And that is because never again will there be any injustice or evil. Forevermore, there will be only the eternity of bliss and justice in a perfect love relationship. There will never again be divine wrath because never again will there be the need for it. What a wonderful thought!
Some worry that divine anger might unintentionally be taken as giving license to human vengeance. Read Deuteronomy 32:35, Proverbs 20:22, Proverbs 24:29, Romans 12:17–21, and Hebrews 10:30. How do these texts guard against human vengeance?
According to Scripture, God has the right to bring judgment; and when He does, He always does so with perfect justice. Both the Old and New Testaments explicitly reserve vengeance for God. As Paul writes in Romans 12:19 (NASB), “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord” (quoting from Deuteronomy 32:35).
While God eventually brings judgment against injustice and evil, Christ has made a way for all who believe in Him. Indeed, it is “Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come” (1 Thess. 1:10, NKJV; compare with Rom. 5:8, 9). And this is according to God’s plan: “For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 5:9, NKJV). Divine wrath is not nullified, but those who have faith in Jesus will be delivered from such wrath because of Christ.
In what way has Christ’s atonement upheld justice while also delivering us from wrath? Recognizing that provision had been made for you, despite your shortcomings, how much more gracious should you be to others?
Throughout the Bible, God repeatedly displays His passion in favor of the downtrodden and the oppressed and His corresponding righteous indignation against the victimizers and oppressors. If there were no evil, God would not be angry. His anger is only and always against that which harms His creation.
According to Lamentations 3:32, 33, God does not afflict willingly (literally, God does not afflict “from His heart”). He does not want to bring judgment against evildoers, but love finally requires justice.
This truth is exemplified in how long God continued to forgive His people and repeatedly grant them opportunities to repent and be reconciled to Him. Again and again, through the prophets, God called out to His people, but they refused to listen (see Jer. 35:14–17, Ps. 81:11–14).
Read Ezra 5:12 and compare it with Jeremiah 51:24, 25, 44. What does this explain about the judgment that came upon Jerusalem via the Babylonians? (See also 2 Chron. 36:16.)
According to Ezra 5, after the people persistently and unrepentantly provoked God to anger, He eventually withdrew and “gave” the people “ ‘into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon’ ” (Ezra 5:12, NKJV). But God did so only after there was “no remedy” (2 Chron. 36:16), and God later judged Babylon for the excessive devastation it inflicted upon Judah (Jer. 51:24, 25, 44; compare with Zech. 1:15).
Many other judgments that Scripture describes as brought about by God are explained as instances in which God “gives” the people over to their enemies (Judg. 2:13, 14; Ps. 106:41, 42), in accordance with the people’s decisions to forsake the Lord and serve the “gods” of the nations (Judg. 10:6–16, Deut. 29:24–26). God’s anger against evil, which will finally culminate in the eradication of all evil once and for all, stems from His love for all and from His desire for the final good of the universe, which itself has a stake in the whole question of sin and rebellion and evil.
How does the fact that God does not want to bring judgment against anyone affect your understanding of divine anger and wrath? If God is slow to anger, should we not be more patient and long-suffering with those around us? How can we do so while also protecting and caring for the victims of wrongdoing?
God becomes angry at evil because God is love. God is so compassionate and gracious that one biblical prophet even chastised God for being too merciful!
Consider the story of Jonah and reflect on Jonah’s reaction to God’s compassionate forgiveness of the Ninevites, in Jonah 4:1–4. What does this tell us about Jonah, and about God? (See also Matt. 10:8.)
Jonah’s reaction to God’s mercy is telling in two primary ways. First, it displays Jonah’s own hardheartedness. He hated the Assyrians so much for what they had done to Israel that he did not want God to show them any mercy.
What a lesson for us! We must be careful to guard against this same attitude, however understandable it may be. Of all people, those who have received the grace of God should recognize unmerited grace and thus be willing to extend grace to others.
Secondly, Jonah’s reaction reinforces how central God’s compassion and grace are to His character. So familiar was Jonah with God’s mercy that—precisely because God is “gracious and merciful” and “slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness” (Jon. 4:2, NKJV)—Jonah knew that the Lord would relent from bringing judgment against Nineveh. God deals justly and mercifully with all peoples and nations.
The Hebrew phrase translated “slow to anger” or “longsuffering” could be literally translated “long of nose.” In Hebrew idiom, anger was metaphorically associated with the nose, and the length of nose metaphorically images how long it takes for one to become angry.
References to God as “long of nose,” then, convey that God is slow to anger and long-suffering. While it does not take long for humans to become angry, God is exceedingly long-suffering and patient, and bestows grace freely and abundantly, yet without justifying sin or turning a blind eye to injustice. Instead, God Himself makes atonement for sin and evil via the cross so that He can be both just and the justifier of those who believe in Him (Rom. 3:25, 26).
Have you ever failed to show mercy or grace to someone who has wronged you? How can you best remember what God has done for you so that you become more gracious to others in response to the abundant grace God has shown you? And how do we show mercy and grace without giving license to sin or enabling abuse or oppression?
God becomes angry at evil because God is love. God is so compassionate and gracious that one biblical prophet even chastised God for being too merciful!
Consider the story of Jonah and reflect on Jonah’s reaction to God’s compassionate forgiveness of the Ninevites, in Jonah 4:1–4. What does this tell us about Jonah, and about God? (See also Matt. 10:8.)
Jonah’s reaction to God’s mercy is telling in two primary ways. First, it displays Jonah’s own hardheartedness. He hated the Assyrians so much for what they had done to Israel that he did not want God to show them any mercy.
What a lesson for us! We must be careful to guard against this same attitude, however understandable it may be. Of all people, those who have received the grace of God should recognize unmerited grace and thus be willing to extend grace to others.
Secondly, Jonah’s reaction reinforces how central God’s compassion and grace are to His character. So familiar was Jonah with God’s mercy that—precisely because God is “gracious and merciful” and “slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness” (Jon. 4:2, NKJV)—Jonah knew that the Lord would relent from bringing judgment against Nineveh. God deals justly and mercifully with all peoples and nations.
The Hebrew phrase translated “slow to anger” or “longsuffering” could be literally translated “long of nose.” In Hebrew idiom, anger was metaphorically associated with the nose, and the length of nose metaphorically images how long it takes for one to become angry.
References to God as “long of nose,” then, convey that God is slow to anger and long-suffering. While it does not take long for humans to become angry, God is exceedingly long-suffering and patient, and bestows grace freely and abundantly, yet without justifying sin or turning a blind eye to injustice. Instead, God Himself makes atonement for sin and evil via the cross so that He can be both just and the justifier of those who believe in Him (Rom. 3:25, 26).
Have you ever failed to show mercy or grace to someone who has wronged you? How can you best remember what God has done for you so that you become more gracious to others in response to the abundant grace God has shown you? And how do we show mercy and grace without giving license to sin or enabling abuse or oppression?
The God of the Bible loves justice and hates evil. Sin and evil, therefore, provoke Him to passion, a passion expressed on behalf of those oppressed and abused, and even in cases in which one’s evil affects primarily oneself. God hates evil because evil always hurts His creatures, even if self-inflicted. In the biblical narratives, God is repeatedly provoked to anger by what biblical scholars refer to as the cycle of rebellion. This cycle goes as follows:
The people rebel against God and do evil, sometimes even horrendous atrocities, such as child sacrifice and other abominations in His sight.
God withdraws according to the people’s decisions.
The people are oppressed by foreign nations.
The people cry to God for deliverance.
God graciously delivers the people.
The people rebel against God again, often more egregiously than before.
In the face of this cycle of egregious evil and infidelity, however, God repeatedly meets human unfaithfulness, but with unending faithfulness, long-suffering forbearance, amazing grace, and deep compassion.
Read Psalm 78. What does this passage convey about God’s response to His people’s repeated rebellions?
According to the Bible, love and justice are intertwined. Divine anger is the proper response of love against evil because evil always hurts someone whom God loves. There is no instance in Scripture where God is arbitrarily or unfairly wrathful or angry.
And while God’s people repeatedly forsook and betrayed Him, over the centuries God continued patiently to bestow compassion beyond all reasonable expectations (Neh. 9:7–33), thus demonstrating the unfathomable depth of His long-suffering compassion and merciful love. Indeed, according to Psalm 78:38, God, “being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them. Yes, many a time He turned His anger away, and did not stir up all His wrath” (NKJV).
Surely, you have been angry over the evil done to others. How does this emotion help you better understand, then, God’s wrath toward evil?
Read for This Week’s Study
Psalm 78; Jonah 4:1–4; Matt. 10:8; Matt. 21:12, 13; Jer. 51:24, 25; Rom. 12:17–21.
Memory Text:
Though God’s compassion is often celebrated, many find the idea of His wrath disturbing. If God is love, they think He should never express wrath. That notion, however, is false. His wrath arises directly from His love.
Some claim that the Old Testament God is a God of wrath and that the New Testament God is a God of love. But there is only one God, and He is revealed as the same in both Testaments. The God who is love does become angry at evil—but precisely because He is love. Jesus Himself expressed profound anger against evil, and the New Testament teaches numerous times about the righteous and appropriate wrath of God.
God’s anger is always His righteous and loving response against evil and injustice. Divine wrath is righteous indignation motivated by perfect goodness and love, and it seeks the flourishing of all creation. God’s wrath is simply the appropriate response of love to evil and injustice. Accordingly, evil provokes God to passion in favor of the victims of evil and against its perpetrators. Divine wrath, then, is another expression of divine love.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, February 1.
“But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and did not destroy them. Yes, many a time He turned His anger away, and did not stir up all His wrath” (Psalm 78:38, NKJV).
Read Ellen G. White, “The Beatitudes,” pp. 6–44, in Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing.
“All who have a sense of their deep soul poverty, who feel that they have nothing good in themselves, may find righteousness and strength by looking unto Jesus. He says, ‘Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden.’ Matthew 11:28. He bids you exchange your poverty for the riches of His grace. We are not worthy of God's love, but Christ, our surety, is worthy, and is abundantly able to save all who shall come unto Him. Whatever may have been your past experience, however discouraging your present circumstances, if you will come to Jesus just as you are, weak, helpless, and despairing, our compassionate Saviour will meet you a great way off, and will throw about you His arms of love and His robe of righteousness. He presents us to the Father clothed in the white raiment of His own character. He pleads before God in our behalf, saying: I have taken the sinner’s place. Look not upon this wayward child, but look on Me. Does Satan plead loudly against our souls, accusing of sin, and claiming us as his prey, the blood of Christ pleads with greater power.”—Ellen G. White, Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, pp. 8, 9.
Discussion Questions:
Look at what inspiration above said about how, thanks to Jesus, we are presented to the Father. “He presents us to the Father clothed in the white raiment of His own character.” No matter how discouraged we might get at times over our faults and shortcomings, or how often we don’t reflect to others the kind of love that God pours out on us, why must we always come back to the wonderful news that we are accepted by the Father because Jesus “presents us to the Father clothed in the white raiment of His own character”?
Imagine how the mother must have felt in the case of the two women who came before Solomon claiming the same baby was their child. Consider again the language of emotion described in 1 Kings 3:26. How does this shed light on the same kind of language that is used to describe God’s emotions for His people, in Hosea 11:8?
Throughout the Gospels, we have seen that Jesus often was moved by the needs of people. And what did He do? He acted in a way that addressed the people’s needs. What are practical ways that you as an individual, or even perhaps as a class, can meet the needs of those who need comforting?
The God of the Bible is compassionate and passionate, and these divine emotions are supremely exemplified in Jesus Christ. God is sympathetic (compare with Isa. 63:9, Heb. 4:15), deeply affected by the sorrows of His people (Judg. 10:16, Luke 19:41), and willing to hear, answer, and comfort (Isa. 49:10, 15; Matt. 9:36; Matt. 14:14).
Read 1 Corinthians 13:4–8. In what ways does this passage call us to reflect God’s compassionate and amazing love in our relationships with others?
We long to be in relationship with persons who exemplify the kind of love described in 1 Corinthians 13:4–8. But how often do we seek to become this kind of person toward others? We cannot make ourselves long-suffering and kind; we cannot make ourselves not be envious, conceited, rude, or self-seeking. We cannot muster a love in ourselves that “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things,” and “never fails” (1 Cor. 13:7, 8, NKJV). Such love can be exemplified in our lives only as the fruit of the Holy Spirit. And praise God that the Holy Spirit pours the love of God into the hearts of those who, by faith, are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 5:5).
By the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, in what practical ways might we respond to, and reflect, God’s profoundly emotional, but always perfectly righteous and rational, love? First, the only appropriate response is to worship the God who is love. Second, we should respond to God’s love by actively showing compassion and benevolent love to others. We should not simply be comforted in our Christian faith but should be motivated to comfort others. Finally, we should recognize that we cannot change our hearts, but that only God can.
So, let us ask God to give us a new heart for Him and for others—a pure and purifying love that elevates what is good and removes the chaff from within.
Let our prayer be: “may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, . . . so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints” (1 Thess. 3:12, 13, NKJV).
Why is a death to self and to the selfishness and corruption of our natural hearts the only way to reveal this kind of love? What are the choices that we can make in order to be able to die this death to self?
The God of the Bible is the “compassionate God.” In Hebrew, God is called el raḥum (Deut. 4:31). The term “el” means “God,” and raḥum is a different form of the root for compassion (raḥum). Yet, God is called not only the compassionate God but also the jealous God, el qana’. As Deuteronomy 4:24 puts it, “ ‘The Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God [el qana’].’ ” (See Deut. 4:24, Deut. 6:15, Josh. 24:19, Nah. 1:2.)
First Corinthians 13:4 declares that “love is not jealous” (RSV). How could it be, then, that God is a “jealous God”? Read 2 Corinthians 11:2 and consider the way God’s people were unfaithful to Him throughout the narratives of the Bible (see, for example, Ps. 78:58). What light do these passages shed on understanding divine “jealousy”?
The “jealousy” of God is often misunderstood. If you refer to someone as a jealous husband or wife, you likely do not mean it as a compliment. The term jealousy often has negative connotations in many languages. However, in the Bible, divine jealousy has no negative connotations. It is the righteous passion of a loving husband for an exclusive relationship with his wife.
While there is a kind of jealousy that is against love (1 Cor. 13:4), according to 2 Corinthians 11:2, there is a good and righteous “jealousy.” Paul refers to it as “godly jealousy” (2 Cor. 11:2). God’s jealousy is only and always the righteous kind and may better be spoken of as God’s passionate love for His people.
God’s passion (qana’) for His people stems from His profound love for them. God desires an exclusive relationship with His people; He alone is to be their God. Yet, God is often depicted as a scorned lover, whose love is unrequited (see Hosea 1–3, Jer. 2:2, Jer. 3:1–12). Thus, God’s “jealousy” or “passion” is never unprovoked but always responsive to the infidelity and evil people. God’s jealousy (or “passionate love”) lacks the negative connotations of human jealousy. It is never envious but always the proper righteous passion for an exclusive relationship with His people and for their good.
How can we learn to reflect that same kind of good “jealousy” toward others that God displays toward us?
In the New Testament, the same kind of imagery as in the Old is used to depict God’s compassion. Paul refers to the Father as the “Father of mercies and God of all comfort” (2 Cor. 1:3, NKJV). Further, Paul explains in Ephesians 2:4 that God is “rich in mercy” and redeems humans “because of His great love with which He loved us” (NKJV).
In various parables, Christ Himself repeatedly uses terms of visceral, gut-wrenching emotion to depict the Father’s compassion (Matt. 18:27, Luke 10:33, Luke 15:20). And the same language that depicts divine compassion in the Old Testament and New Testament also is used in the Gospels to depict Jesus’ compassionate responses to those in distress.
Read Matthew 9:36, Matthew 14:14, Mark 1:41, Mark 6:34, and Luke 7:13. See also Matthew 23:37. How do these verses shed light on the way Christ was moved by the plight of people?
Again and again in the Gospels, Christ was said to be moved to compassion by people in distress or in need. And He not only felt compassion, He addressed the people’s needs, as well.
And yes, Jesus also lamented over His people. One might imagine the tears in Christ’s eyes as He looks out over the city—“ ‘How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!’ ” (Matt. 23:37, NKJV). Here, we see that the lament of Christ matches closely with that depicted of God throughout the Old Testament. In fact, many biblical scholars note that the imagery of a bird taking care of her young is imagery only used of divinity in the ancient Near East. Here, many see an allusion to the imagery in Deuteronomy 32:11, of God as a bird hovering over, protecting, and taking care of its young.
There is no greater example of God’s great compassionate love for us than Jesus Himself—who gave Himself for us in the ultimate demonstration of love. Yet, Christ is not only the perfect image of God. He is also the perfect model of humanity. How can we model our lives after the life of Christ, focusing on the felt needs of others, and, thus, not merely preaching God’s love but showing it in tangible ways?
The incalculable depths of God’s compassionate love for humanity are manifested in Hosea. God had commanded the prophet Hosea, “ ‘Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry and children of harlotry, for the land has committed great harlotry by departing from the Lord’ ” (Hos. 1:2, NKJV). Hosea 11 later depicts God’s relationship with His people, but with the metaphor of a loving father for his child.
Read Hosea 11:1–9. How does the imagery in these verses bring to life the way God loves and cares for His people?
God’s love for His people is likened to the tender affection of a parent for a child. Scripture uses the imagery of teaching a young child to walk; taking one’s beloved child in one’s arms; healing and providing sustenance; and otherwise tenderly caring for His people. Scripture also states that God “carried” His people just “ ‘as a man carries his son’ ” (Deut. 1:31, NKJV). In “His love and in His mercy He redeemed them” and “lifted them and carried them all the days of old” (Isa. 63:9, NASB).
In contrast to God’s unwavering faithfulness, His people were repeatedly unfaithful, ultimately pushing God away and bringing judgment upon themselves and deeply grieving Him. God is compassionate, but never to the exclusion of justice. (As we will see in a later lesson, love and justice go together.)
Have you ever been so upset about something that your stomach churns? That is the kind of imagery used for the depth of God’s emotions over His people. The imagery of one’s heart turning over and compassions being kindled is idiomatic language of deep emotions, used of both God and humans.
This imagery, of compassions being kindled (kamar), is used in the case of the two women who came before Solomon, each one claiming the same baby as her own. When Solomon ordered the infant cut in two (with no intention to harm the child), this imagery described the emotional reaction of the real mother (1 Kings 3:26; compare with Gen. 43:30).
Anyone who has ever been a parent knows what the lesson is talking about. No other earthly love begins to compare. How does this help us understand the reality of God’s love for us, and what comfort can, and should, we draw from this understanding?
Perhaps the greatest love common to human experience is the love of a parent for a child. The Bible often uses the imagery of the parent-child relationship to depict God’s amazing compassion for people, emphasizing that God’s compassion is exponentially greater than even the deepest and most beautiful human expression of the same emotion.
Read Psalm 103:13, Isaiah 49:15, and Jeremiah 31:20. What do these depictions convey about the nature and depth of God’s compassion?
According to these texts, God relates to us as His beloved children, loving us as a good father and mother love their children. Yet, as Isaiah 49:15 explains, even a human mother might “forget her nursing child” or “not have compassion on the son of her womb” (NKJV), but God never forgets His children, and His compassion never fails (Lam. 3:22).
Notably, the Hebrew term raḥam, used for compassion here and in many other texts describing God’s abundant compassionate love, is believed to be derived from the Hebrew term for womb (raḥam). And thus, as scholars have noted, God’s compassion is a “womb-like mother-love.” Indeed, it is exponentially greater than any human compassion, even that of a mother for her newborn.
According to Jeremiah 31:20 (NKJV), God views His covenant people as His “dear son” and “pleasant child,” despite the fact that they often rebelled against Him and grieved Him. Even so, God declares, “My heart yearns for him” and “I will surely have mercy on him.” The term translated “mercy” here is the term used above for divine compassion (raḥam). Further, the phrase “My heart yearns” can be translated literally as “My innards roar.” This description is the deeply visceral language of divine emotion, signifying the profound depth of God’s compassionate love for His people. Even despite their infidelity, God continues to bestow His abundant compassion and mercy on His people and does so beyond all reasonable expectations.
For some of us, recognizing that God’s compassion for us is akin to that of a loving father or mother is deeply comforting. However, some people might struggle because their parent or parents were not loving. What other ways could God’s compassion be revealed to them?
Read for This Week’s Study
Ps. 103:13, Isa. 49:15, Hos. 11:1–9, Matt. 23:37, 2 Cor. 11:2, 1 Cor. 13:4–8.
Memory Text:
Emotions are often viewed as undesirable and to be avoided. For some people, emotions are intrinsically irrational, and thus, the good man or woman would not be described as “emotional.” In some ancient Greek philosophy, the idea of the “rational” man, who is (mostly) either impervious to passions or who rules over his emotions by way of unemotional reason, is prized as the ideal.
Unbridled emotions can be problematic, yes. However, God created people with the capacity for emotions, and God Himself is displayed throughout Scripture as experiencing profound emotions. If God can experience deep emotions, as the Bible consistently portrays, then emotions cannot be intrinsically bad or irrational—for the God of the Bible is perfectly good and possesses perfect wisdom.
In fact, there are beautiful truths to be garnered from the realization that God’s love for us is a deeply emotional love, but always with the caveat that though God’s love (emotional or otherwise) is perfect, it should not be thought of as identical to emotions as humans experience them.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, January 25.
“ ‘Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you’ ” (Isa. 49:15, NKJV).
Read Ellen G. White, “ ‘Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled,’ ” pp. 662–680, in The Desire of Ages.
“The Lord is disappointed when His people place a low estimate upon themselves. He desires His chosen heritage to value themselves according to the price He has placed upon them. God wanted them, else He would not have sent His Son on such an expensive errand to redeem them. He has a use for them, and He is well pleased when they make the very highest demands upon Him, that they may glorify His name. They may expect large things if they have faith in His promises.
“But to pray in Christ’s name means much. It means that we are to accept His character, manifest His spirit, and work His works. The Saviour’s promise is given on condition. ‘If ye love Me,’ He says, ‘keep My commandments.’ He saves men, not in sin, but from sin; and those who love Him will show their love by obedience.
“All true obedience comes from the heart. It was heart work with Christ. And if we consent, He will so identify Himself with our thoughts and aims, so blend our hearts and minds into conformity to His will, that when obeying Him we shall be but carrying out our own impulses. The will, refined and sanctified, will find its highest delight in doing His service. When we know God as it is our privilege to know Him, our life will be a life of continual obedience. Through an appreciation of the character of Christ, through communion with God, sin will become hateful to us.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 668.
Discussion Questions:
What might it mean to “unselfishly receive”? What do you think the relationship of giving and receiving will be like in heaven and in the new earth?
Coming from a distant part of the cosmos—farther perhaps than the James Webb Space Telescope’s most squinting eyes can reach—heavenly messengers referred to the prophet Daniel as chamudot, “beloved, desirable, precious.” And they did so three times. In Daniel 9:23, Gabriel says ki chamudot attah, “for you are greatly beloved.” In Daniel 10:11, a heavenly being (perhaps Gabriel again) calls him ish chamudot, a “man greatly beloved,” a phrase repeated to Daniel later _(Dan. 10:19)_. Think about what it says about God and how close He is to us. What hope can you draw for yourself from this amazing truth?
How do the examples of the heroes of faith discussed in Hebrews 11 relate to the content of this week’s lesson? Specifically, what do such examples reveal about how one can be “pleasing to God” by faith? What can you learn and apply to your day-to-day life from such examples of faith and faithfulness?
Under the umbrella of God’s mercy and mediation, God takes pleasure in even the smallest positive response to His love. Through the One who alone is worthy of love and is Himself perfectly righteous, each one of us can be counted righteous and counted among God’s beloved who will live with Him in perfect love for eternity. This is the great hope of the redemption, which involves Christ’s work for us in heaven.
But, you might wonder, can this include even me? What if I am not good enough? What if I am afraid that I do not have enough faith?
Read Mark 9:17–29. How does God respond to the man in the story? How much faith is enough faith?
The disciples could not cast out the demon; all hope seemed lost. But Jesus came and told the father, “ ‘If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes’ ” (Mark 9:23, NKJV). And the father tearfully replied,“ ‘Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!’ ” (Mark 9:24, NKJV).
Notice, Jesus did not say to the man, “Come back to me when you have more faith.” Instead his cry, “ ‘Help my unbelief,’ ” was enough.
Without faith, it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6), and yet Jesus accepts even the smallest faith. And by faith (through the mediation of Christ), we can be pleasing to Him. Through faith and because of Christ’s work on our behalf, we can respond in ways that please God, similar to the way that a human father is pleased when a child brings him a gift that is otherwise worthless.
Thus, we should follow Paul’s counsel to make it our goal to “be well pleasing to” God (2 Cor. 5:9, 10, NKJV; compare with Col. 1:10, 1 Thess. 4:1, Heb. 11:5). And we should ask God to transform our interests to include the best interests of those whom we love, and to expand our love so that it reaches out to others. “Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality” (Rom. 12:10–13, NKJV).
If God accepts us through Christ, how much more should we accept others? What light does the command to love your neighbor as yourself (Lev. 19:18, Matt. 22:39) and the golden rule to treat people the way you want to be treated shed on this idea?
How is it that we, as fallen, sinful beings, can be pleasing to a holy God?
Read Romans 8:1 and Romans 5:8. What do these texts teach about our standing before God?
God bestows grace on people prior to any human response. Before anything we say or do, God reaches out to us and gives us the opportunity to accept or reject His love. As Romans 5:8 puts it, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (NKJV; compare with Jer. 31:3). And we can be reconciled to God and even pleasing in His sight, by faith through the work of our Redeemer.
Read 1 Peter 2:4–6 and compare it with Hebrews 11:6. What does this tell us about how we can be pleasing to God?
Without God’s intervention, fallen people are incapable of bringing anything valuable to God. Yet God, in His grace and mercy, has made a way, through the work of Christ. Specifically, “through Jesus Christ” we may “offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God” (1 Pet. 2:5, NKJV). Although “without faith it is impossible to please Him” (Heb. 11:6, NKJV), by the mediating work of Christ, God will “make” believers “complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen” (Heb. 13:21, NKJV). Those who respond to God by faith are accounted righteous in His sight through the mediation of Christ, whose righteousness alone is acceptable. And those who respond to God’s loving overtures are accounted worthy through Christ’s mediation (Luke 20:35), and He transforms them into His likeness (1 Cor. 15:51–57, 1 John 3:2). God’s redeeming work is not only for us but in us, as well.
Why is the idea of Christ mediating for you in heaven so encouraging?
How could it be that the God of the universe takes delight in mere humans, fleeting blobs of protoplasm on one tiny planet amid what is probably an infinite universe? How could it be possible that humans could matter so much to the Supreme Being, who is all-powerful and who needs nothing? These questions can be parsed into two aspects. First, how could God Himself be delighted? Second, how could humans bring Him delight, particularly given our sinfulness? The first aspect of these questions is the topic for today and the second for tomorrow.
Read Isaiah 43:4; Psalm 149:4; and Proverbs 15:8, 9. What do they tell us about God taking delight in His people?
As we partially saw yesterday, God can be pleased by humans because God loves people in a way that takes account of their best interests, as would anyone who loved and cared for others.
Conversely, God is displeased by His people when they do evil. Indeed, Proverbs 15:8, 9 teaches that, while the “sacrifice” and the “way” of the wicked are each an “abomination to the Lord,” the “prayer of the upright is His delight” and “He loves [the one] who follows righteousness” (NKJV). This passage shows not only that is God displeased by evil but also that He delights in goodness. It also puts divine delight and love in direct relationship with one another, showing the deep connection between God’s love and His delight, which appears throughout Scripture.
According to Psalm 146:8, “The Lord loves the righteous” (NKJV). Second Corinthians 9:7 adds, “God loves a cheerful giver” (NKJV). Notice, first, what these texts do not say. They do not say that God loves only the righteous or that God loves only the cheerful giver. God loves everyone. Yet, for these texts to convey anything at all, they must mean that God loves the “righteous” and the “cheerful giver” in some special sense. What we have seen in Proverbs 15:8, 9 provides the clue: God loves these and others in the sense of being pleased with them.
Think about how closely tied heaven and earth must be that God, the Creator of the universe, can be so intimately involved, even emotionally, with us. What hope should this amazing idea give you, especially if you are going through a hard time?
Hard as it is for us to imagine, God considers each person of incalculable value, which is why He rejoices over the salvation of even one soul.
Read Zephaniah 3:17. How does this verse shed light on the parable of the prodigal son?
Zephaniah 3:17 emphatically displays the delight of God over His redeemed people. Just about every word for joy and delight in the Hebrew language is packed into this single verse, descriptive of God’s delight over His redeemed people. It’s almost as if no one of the terms by itself is sufficient to describe the magnitude of God’s delight on that day.
Notice, too, where God is according to this verse—in the “midst” of His people. The reconciliation that arises from the relationship of love comes with the immediate presence of God. Just like the father—when he sees the son afar off, he comes running—here God is in the midst of His people.
In Isaiah 62:4, similar imagery is couched with a marriage analogy. According to Isaiah 62:4 (NKJV), God’s people will “be called Hephzibah,” which means “My delight is in her,” and the land will be called “Beulah,” which means “married.” Why? Because, the text says, “The Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married.” The very pinnacle of God’s joy is reserved for the day of restoration, when He will receive His people and rejoice over us, even as the father rejoiced over his prodigal son.
Read Ephesians 5:25–28. What does this say about the kind of love we are also called to display?
This passage exhorts husbands to love their wives “just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,” and to love their wives “as their own bodies” (Eph. 5:25, 28, NKJV). These texts not only highlight the kind of unselfish and sacrificial love a husband is to have for his wife but also show that Christ Himself loves His people (the church) as part of Himself.
As we saw in an earlier lesson, there is no one—even the worst sinner or worst evildoer—whom God does not love. And because God values people more than we could possibly imagine, He is displeased by sin because He loves us and knows what sin does to us, as well.
Read Luke 15:11–32. What does the parable of the prodigal son reveal about God’s compassion and love? What warning does it provide for those who, like the other son, remained home?
In this story that Jesus tells, the man’s son requested his inheritance early, effectively rejecting his father and his father’s household. The prodigal son then goes on to squander his inheritance and is reduced to poverty and hunger, envying pigs that eat from a trough. Realizing that the servants in his father’s house have more than enough food, he decides to return home in hopes of becoming a servant.
What follows is powerful. Some fathers would turn such a son away upon his return. “You took your inheritance and cut yourself off from my house. You no longer have a home here.” That would be a logical, even reasonable, attitude, would it not? In the eyes of some human parents, the son had gone too far to be accepted back home, especially as a son.
But, in the parable, the father (representing God Himself) does not respond in any of these ways. Rather, “ ‘when [the prodigal son] was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him’ ” (Luke 15:20, NKJV). Even though it was considered less than dignified in such times for the master of the house to run out to meet someone, the father in his great compassion ran out to meet his son and, more astonishingly, restored him to his household, even throwing a celebration in his behalf, signifying the great compassion of God for each wayward person and the delight He takes in even a single person returning home. What a picture of God!
Interesting is the reaction of the other son. Why was this reaction such a human reaction, based at least in part on fairness, and so understandable, as well? What, however, does his part of the story teach us about how human concepts of fairness don’t capture the depth of the gospel or of God’s love for us?
Read for This Week’s Study
Luke 15:11–32, Zeph. 3:17, Eph. 5:25–28, Isa. 43:4, Rom. 8:1, Rom. 5:8, Mark 9:17–29.
Memory Text:
Imagine the following scenario: a five-year-old child comes to his father with a poorly wrapped gift on Father’s Day. Excitedly, he hands the gift to his father.
Imagine that the father says, “Son, I do not care about your gift. After all, there is nothing you could give me that would please me. Anything you could give me, I could get for myself, and anything you give to me was either bought with my money or made from materials that I paid for. So, keep your gift. I do not need it or want it. But I love you, anyway.”
Ouch!
What do you think of this father’s reaction? Such words as heartless, cold, and unfeeling come to mind. Is this the way God responds to us? Can we actually be pleasing to God? Hard as it is to imagine, even we as fallen beings, corrupted by sin, and prone to evil—yes, we can be pleasing to God! In other words, God does not look upon us, or the gifts that we bring Him, with the attitude of that father. On the contrary, we can be pleasing to God, but only through Christ.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, January 18.
“The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17, NKJV).
Read Ellen G. White, “The Privilege of Prayer,” pp. 93–104, in Steps to Christ.
“Keep your wants, your joys, your sorrows, your cares, and your fears before God. You cannot burden Him; you cannot weary Him. He who numbers the hairs of your head is not indifferent to the wants of His children. ‘The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.’ James 5:11. His heart of love is touched by our sorrows and even by our utterances of them. Take to Him everything that perplexes the mind. Nothing is too great for Him to bear, for He holds up worlds, He rules over all the affairs of the universe. Nothing that in any way concerns our peace is too small for Him to notice. There is no chapter in our experience too dark for Him to read; there is no perplexity too difficult for Him to unravel. No calamity can befall the least of His children, no anxiety harass the soul, no joy cheer, no sincere prayer escape the lips, of which our heavenly Father is unobservant, or in which He takes no immediate interest. ‘He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.’ Psalm 147:3. The relations between God and each soul are as distinct and full as though there were not another soul upon the earth to share His watchcare, not another soul for whom He gave His beloved Son.”—Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 100.
Discussion Questions:
Dwell on the sentence above: “The relations between God and each soul are as distinct and full as though there were not another soul upon the earth to share His watchcare, not another soul for whom He gave His beloved Son.” What comfort does this give you, and how should you live, knowing the closeness of God to you and His care for you? How can you learn to live with the reality of that wonderful promise? Imagine if, day by day, you could truly believe it.
In light of this week’s lesson, how do you understand Psalm 103:17, 18? What does it reveal about how God’s love is everlasting and yet how the benefits of a relationship with God are dependent upon whether we will accept His love?
In what ways does knowing this make a difference in your relationship with God? How does it affect the way you think of the sorrows of others?
Just as the servant could never repay his debt to his master, we can never repay God. We could never earn or merit God’s love. “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8, NKJV). What amazing love! As 1 John 3:1 puts it, “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” (NKJV).
However, what we can and should do is to reflect God’s love to others as much as we possibly can. If we have received such great compassion and forgiveness, how much more should we bestow compassion and forgiveness on others? Recall that the servant forfeited his master’s compassion and forgiveness because he failed to bestow them on his fellow servant. If we truly love God, we will not fail to reflect His love to others.
Read John 15:12, 1 John 3:16, and 1 John 4:7–12. What do these passages teach about the relationship between God’s love, our love for God, and love for others?
Just after John 15:12, Jesus told His disciples, “ ‘You are My friends if you do whatever I command you’ ” (John 15:14, NKJV). And what did Jesus command them? Among other things, Jesus commanded them (and us) to love others even as He loved them. Here and elsewhere, the Lord commands us to love God and to love one another.
In short, we should recognize that we have been forgiven an infinite debt, one that we can never repay, a debt paid only at the cross for us. Therefore, we should love and praise God and live with love and grace toward others. As Luke 7:47 teaches, the one who is forgiven much loves much, but “ ‘to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little’ ” (NKJV). And who among us doesn’t realize just how much he or she has been forgiven?
If to love God entails that we love others, we should with urgency share the message of God’s love, both in word and in deed. We should help people in their daily lives here and now, and also seek to be a conduit of God’s love and point people to the One who offers them the promise of eternal life in a new heaven and a new earth—an entirely new creation from this world, which is so marred and ravaged by sin and death, the doleful fruits of rejecting God’s love.
What specific steps can you take to love God by loving others? What could you do today and in the coming days to show people God’s love and (eventually) invite them to enjoy what it means to have the promise of eternal life?
God’s love is everlasting and always unmerited. However, humans can reject it. We have the opportunity to accept or reject that love, but only because God freely loves us with His perfect, everlasting love prior to anything we do (Jer. 31:3). Our love for God is a response to what has already been given to us even before we asked for it.
Read 1 John 4:7–20, with specific emphasis on verses 7 and 19. What does this tell us about the priority of God’s love?
God’s love always comes first. If God did not first love us, we could not love Him in return. While God created us with the capacity to love and to be loved, God Himself is the ground and Source of all love. We have the choice, however, whether we will accept it and then reflect it in our lives. This truth is exemplified in Christ’s parable of the unforgiving servant (see Matt. 18:23–35).
In the parable, we can see that there was no way the servant ever could have repaid what he owed the master. According to Matthew 18, the servant owed his master 10,000 talents. One talent amounted to about 6,000 denarii. And one denarius was what an average laborer would be paid for one day of work (compare with Matt. 20:2). So, it would take an average laborer 6,000 days of labor to earn one talent. Suppose, after accounting for days off, that an average laborer might work 300 days per year and, thus, earn 300 denarii in a year. So, it would take an average laborer approximately 20 years to repay one talent, which consisted of 6,000 denarii (6,000/300 = 20). In order to earn 10,000 talents, then, an average laborer would have to work 200,000 years. In short, the servant could never repay this debt. Yet, the master felt compassion for his servant and freely forgave his huge debt.
However, when this forgiven servant refused to forgive the far smaller debt of 100 denarii of one of his fellow servants and had him thrown in prison over the debt, the master was moved with anger and rescinded his merciful forgiveness. The servant forfeited the love and forgiveness of his master. Although God’s compassion and mercy never run out, one can finally reject, even forfeit, the benefits of God’s compassion and mercy.
Think about what you have been forgiven and what it cost you to be forgiven by Jesus. What should this tell you about forgiving others?
God calls and invites every person into an intimate love relationship with Him (see Matt. 22:1–14). Responding appropriately to this call involves obeying God’s command to love God and to love others (see Matt. 22:37–39). Whether one enjoys the benefits of this relationship with God depends on whether one freely decides to accept or reject His love.
Read Hosea 9:15, Jeremiah 16:5, Romans 11:22, and Jude 21. What do these texts teach about whether the benefits of God’s love can be rejected—even forfeited?
In these and other texts, enjoying the benefits of a love relationship with God is repeatedly depicted as conditional upon the human response to His love. Yet, we should not make the mistake of thinking that God ever actually stops loving anyone. As we have seen, God’s love is everlasting. And, although Hosea 9:15 includes God saying of His people, “ ‘I will love them no more,’ ” it is important to remember that later in the same book God declares of His people, “ ‘I will love them freely’ ” (Hos. 14:4, NKJV). Hosea 9:15 cannot mean that God entirely ceases to love His people. It must refer, instead, to the conditionality of some particular aspect or benefit of a love relationship with God. And how we respond to His love is crucial for this relationship to continue.
“ ‘He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him’ ” (John 14:21, NKJV). Likewise, Jesus proclaims to His disciples, “ ‘The Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father’ ” (John 16:27, NASB).
These and other texts teach that maintaining the benefits of a saving relationship with God depends upon whether we will accept God’s love (which involves willingness to be vehicles of that love, as well). Again, this does not mean that God’s love ever ceases. Rather, just as we cannot stop the sun from shining but can cut ourselves off from the rays of the sun, we cannot do anything to stop God’s everlasting love, but we can finally reject a relationship with God and, thus, cut ourselves off from what it offers, especially the promise of eternal life.
What are ways that people can see and experience the reality of God’s love, whether or not they return it? For example, how does the natural world, even after sin, reveal His love?
The Bible often depicts God’s special love relationship with us by using family or kinship metaphors, particularly metaphors of the love between a husband and wife or of a good mother for her child. These metaphors are used particularly to depict the special relationship between God and His covenant people. This is a relationship of covenantal love, which involves not only God’s love for His people but also expectations that people will accept this love and will love Him (and one another) in return.
Read Deuteronomy 7:6–9. What do these verses teach about the relationship between God making covenants and God’s loving-kindness?
Deuteronomy 7:9 describes a special kind of love that God has with His covenant people, a relationship that is partially dependent on whether or not they remain faithful. God’s love is not conditional, but the covenant relationship with His people is.
The word translated “lovingkindness” or “mercy” in Deuteronomy 7:9, ḥesed, itself exemplifies the covenantal aspect of divine love (and much more). The word ḥesed is often used to describe the greatness of God’s mercy, goodness, and love. Among other things, ḥesed refers to the loving-kindness, or steadfast love, for another within an existing reciprocal love relationship. It also initiates such a relationship with the expectation that the other party will show this loving-kindness in return.
God’s ḥesed shows that His loving-kindness is extremely reliable, steadfast, and enduring. Yet, at the same time, the reception of the benefits of ḥesed is conditional, dependent upon the willingness of His people to obey and to maintain their end of the relationship (see 2 Sam. 22:26, 1 Kings 8:23, Ps. 25:10, Ps. 32:10, 2 Chron. 6:14).
God’s steadfast love is the basis of all love relationships, and we could never match that love. God not only freely gave us existence but also in Christ He freely gave Himself for us. “ ‘Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends’ ” (John 15:13, NKJV). No question, the greatest expression of God’s love was revealed when the Lord “humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:8, NKJV).
What are ways that you can constantly keep the reality of God’s love in your thoughts? Why is it important to do that?
Scripture is clear: God loves everyone. The most famous verse of Scripture, John 3:16, proclaims this truth: “ ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life’ ” (NKJV).
Read Psalm 33:5 and Psalm 145:9. What do these verses teach about how far God’s loving-kindness, compassion, and mercy extend?
Some might think that they are unlovable or that God might love everyone else but not them. Yet, the Bible consistently proclaims that every single person is loved by God. There is no one whom He does not love. And because God loves everyone, He also wants everyone to be saved, as well.
Read 2 Peter 3:9, 1 Timothy 2:4, and Ezekiel 33:11. What do these texts teach about God’s desire to save everyone?
The verse after John 3:16 adds: “ ‘For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved’ ” (John 3:17, NKJV). If it were up to God alone, every human being would accept His love and be saved. Yet, the Lord will not force His love on anyone. People are free to accept or reject it.
And even though some do reject it, God never stops loving them. In Jeremiah 31:3, He proclaims to His people: “ ‘Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you’ ” (NKJV). Elsewhere, the Bible repeatedly teaches that God’s love endures forever (see, for example, Psalm 136). God’s love never runs out. It is everlasting. This is hard for us to understand because we often find it easy not to love others, don’t we?
However, if we as individuals could learn to experience the reality of that love—that is, to know for ourselves God’s love—how differently we might live and treat others.
If God loves everyone, this means He must love some pretty despicable characters because there are some (a lot, in fact) despicable characters out there. What should God’s love for these people teach us about how we should seek to relate to them, as well?
Read for This Week’s Study
2 Pet. 3:9, Deut. 7:6–9, Rom. 11:22, 1 John 4:7–20, John 15:12, 1 John 3:16.
Memory Text:
Many have been taught that the Greek word agape refers to a love that is unique to God, while other terms for love, such as phileo, refer to different kinds of love, more deficient than agape. Some claim, too, that agape refers to unilateral love, a love that only gives but never receives, a love entirely independent of human response.
However, careful study of divine love throughout Scripture shows that these ideas, though common, are mistaken. First, the Greek term agape refers not only to God’s love but also to human love, even sometimes misdirected human love (2 Tim. 4:10). Second, throughout Scripture, many terms other than agape refer to God’s love. For example, Jesus taught, “ ‘The Father Himself loves [phileo] you, because you have loved [phileo] Me’ ” (John 16:27, NASB). Here, the Greek term phileo is used not only of human love but also of God’s love for humans. Thus, phileo does not refer to a deficient kind of love but to God’s love itself.
Scripture also teaches that God’s love is not unilateral but deeply relational, in that it makes a profound difference to God whether or not humans reflect His love back to Him and to others.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, January 11.
“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him’ ” (John 14:23, NKJV).
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “ ‘To Meet the Bridegroom,’ ”pp. 405–421, in Christ’s Object Lessons.“It is the darkness of misapprehension of God that is enshroudingthe world. Men are losing their knowledge of His character. It has beenmisunderstood and misinterpreted. At this time a message from God isto be proclaimed, a message illuminating in its influence and saving inits power. His character is to be made known. Into the darkness of theworld is to be shed the light of His glory, the light of His goodness,mercy, and truth.“This is the work outlined by the prophet Isaiah in the words, ‘OJerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength;lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and His arm shallrule for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work beforeHim.’ Isa. 40:9, 10.“Those who wait for the Bridegroom’s coming are to say to thepeople, ‘Behold your God.’ The last rays of merciful light, the last message of mercy to be given to the world, is a revelation of His characterof love. The children of God are to manifest His glory. In their ownlife and character they are to reveal what the grace of God has donefor them.“The light of the Sun of Righteousness is to shine forth in goodworks—in words of truth and deeds of holiness.”—Ellen G. White,Christ’s Object Lessons, pp. 415, 416.Discussion Questions:Ê Worse than the thought of there being no God would be thethought that God hated us. How different a world would we exist inif that were the truth?Ë Why do you think there is so much misunderstanding of God’scharacter in our world today? Think about and discuss ways thatyou might help people to see God’s character of love more clearly.Ì What is the message that is to be proclaimed about God’scharacter today? How would you explain this message to someonewho is not already familiar with the reality of God’s love? Whatevidence can you point to that shows the reality of His love and Hiswonderful character?Í Talking about God’s love is one thing. Revealing and reflectingthat love in our lives is another. What “deeds of holiness” mightreveal God’s love to those around us?
God invites everyone into a love relationship with Him, but onlythose who freely accept the invitation enjoy the eternal results. As seenin the parable of the wedding banquet, many whom the king called“ ‘were not willing to come’ ” (Matt. 22:3, NKJV).Accordingly, shortly before His crucifixion, Christ lamented: “ ‘OJerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stonesthose who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your childrentogether, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you werenot willing!’ ” (Matt. 23:37, NKJV). Christ wanted to gather them, butthey were not willing. The same common Greek verb that means “towill” (thelo) is used both of Christ’s wanting to save them and of theirnot being willing to be saved (and the same term is in Matthew 22:3above, as well).Yet, Christ went to the cross for these people and for us. Amazing love!While human sin merits death, God Himself (in Christ) paid the price andhas made a way to repair the ruptured relationship between heaven andearth. Meanwhile, He continues to bestow His love on us, though He isunder no obligation beyond His own free commitment to do so.Read John 10:17, 18. Compare with Galatians 2:20. What’s the message to us here in these texts?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________In the ultimate display of God’s love—the Cross—we see that Christgave Himself for us of His own free will. Christ laid down His life ofHis “own initiative.” No one took His life from Him; He freely offeredit, according to the plan of redemption agreed upon in heaven beforethe foundation of the world.“The plan for our redemption was not an afterthought, a plan formulated after the fall of Adam. It was a revelation of ‘the mystery whichhath been kept in silence through times eternal.’ Romans 16:25, R. V. Itwas an unfolding of the principles that from eternal ages have been thefoundation of God’s throne. From the beginning, God and Christ knew ofthe apostasy of Satan, and of the fall of man through the deceptive powerof the apostate. God did not ordain that sin should exist, but He foresawits existence, and made provision to meet the terrible emergency. So greatwas His love for the world, that He covenanted to give His only-begottenSon, ‘that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ John 3:16.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 22
God not only loves people of His own free will, but He also invitesthem to love Him in return. That God grants them the ability to freelychoose whether they will accept or reject His love is apparent in(among other places) Christ’s parable of the wedding banquet.Read Matthew 22:1–14. What is the meaning of this parable?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________In Christ’s parable of the wedding banquet, a king arranges a marriage for his son and sends out his servants to “ ‘call those who wereinvited to the wedding,’ ” but “ ‘they were not willing to come’ ” (Matt.22:2, 3, NKJV). More than once the king sent out his servants to callthem, but they ignored his call and, even worse, seized his servants andkilled them (Matt. 22:4–6).Later, after dealing with those who had murdered some of his servants,the king told his servants, “ ‘The wedding is ready, but those who wereinvited were not worthy. Therefore go into the highways, and as many asyou find, invite to the wedding’ ” (Matt. 22:8, 9, NKJV). After anotherepisode of a man without a wedding garment being cast out, signifying the need to receive a wedding garment from the king to attend thewedding banquet, Jesus closes the parable with the cryptic but highlymeaningful phrase, “ ‘Many are called, but few are chosen’ ” (Matt.22:14, NKJV).What does this mean? Those who are finally “chosen,” the “elect,”are those who have accepted the Lord’s invitation to the wedding. Theterm translated “call” and “invite” throughout the parable is the Greekterm kaleo (to call, invite), and what determines who is finally “elect”(eklektos) is whether one has freely accepted the invitation.In fact, God calls (that is, invites) everyone to the wedding feast.However, any one of us can refuse God’s love. Freedom is essential tolove. God will never force His love on anyone. Sad to say, we can rejecthaving a love relationship with God.The “elect” are those who accept the invitation. For those who loveGod, God has prepared things more wonderful than anything that wecould possibly imagine. Once again, it all comes down to the questionof love and the freedom inherent in love.What about your life reveals that you have accepted the weddinginvitation and have come appropriately clothed?
God not only continued to bestow His love freely on Israel, despite
repeated rebellions, but God also continues to bestow love freely upon
us, even while we are sinners. We do not deserve God’s love, and we
could never earn it. Conversely, God does not need us. The God of the
Bible does not need anything (Acts 17:25). God’s love for you and for
me and for all persons is entirely of His own volition.
Compare Revelation 4:11 and Psalm 33:6. What do these verses tell
us about God’s freedom relative to Creation?
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God freely created this world. And, because of this, God is worthy
of all glory, honor, and power. God did not need to create any world.
Before the foundation of the world, God already enjoyed the love relationship that existed within the Godhead.
Read John 17:24. What does it tell us about God’s love before the
world existed?
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God did not need creatures as an object of His love. But, in accordance
with His character of love, God chose to create the world and enter into
a love relationship with creatures.
Not only did God freely create this world as a bestowal of His generous love, but God also continues freely to love humans, even after
humans fell into sin in Eden, and even after we personally sin.
After the Fall in Eden, Adam and Eve had no right to continue to
live and receive God’s love. But God, who upholds “all things by
the word of His power” (Heb. 1:3, NKJV), in His great love, mercy,
and grace sustained their lives and has made a way to reconcile
humanity back to Himself in love. And that reconciliation includes
us, as well.
What does the fact that God continues to bestow love on this
world, despite its fallenness and evil, tell us about His love and
character? How should this truth cause us to love Him in return?
God’s striking instance of His love for fallen humanity is found inthe story of Hosea. God commanded the prophet Hosea, “ ‘Go, takeyourself a wife of harlotry and children of harlotry, for the land hascommitted great harlotry by departing from the Lord’ ” (Hos. 1:2,NKJV). Hosea and his unfaithful wife were to be a living object lessonof God’s love for His people, even despite Israel’s unfaithfulness andspiritual harlotry. That is, it is a story of God’s freely bestowed love onthose who do not deserve it.Indeed, despite God’s faithfulness and love, the people rebelledagainst Him, again and again, too. Accordingly, Scripture repeatedlydescribes God as the unrequited lover of an unfaithful spouse. He hadloved His people perfectly and faithfully, but they had scorned Him andserved and worshiped other gods, deeply grieving Him and breakingthe relationship, seemingly beyond repair.Read Hosea 14:1–4. What do these verses reveal about God’s steadfastlove for His people?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ In the aftermath of repeated rebellion by His people, God declares: “ ‘Iwill heal their backsliding, I will love them freely’ ” (NKJV). The term“freely” in the phrase “ ‘I will love them freely’ ” translated a Hebrewword (nedabah), which connotes that which is offered voluntarily. It isthe same term used of the freewill offerings in the sanctuary system.Throughout Hosea, and throughout the narratives of Scripture, Godshows amazing commitment and compassion to His people. Eventhough they repeatedly went after other lovers, breaking the covenantrelationship, seemingly beyond repair, God of His own free will continued to bestow His love on them. The people did not deserve God’slove; they had rejected and forfeited any rightful claim to it. Yet, Godcontinued to bestow love on them without any compulsion, moral orotherwise. Here and elsewhere, Scripture consistently displays God’slove as free and voluntary.Many people think of God as a distant and harsh ruler andjudge. How does the imagery of God’s being scorned and grievedas the unrequited lover of an unfaithful spouse help you see Goddifferently? How does it change the way you view your own relationship with God?
God not only asks us, “Do you love Me,” but God Himself loveseach person, and does so freely. Indeed, He freely loves you and meand every other person more than we could possibly imagine. And weknow this love by the way He has acted in the history of His people.Read Exodus 33:15–22 and consider the context of these verses andthe narrative in which they appear. What does this passage, especially verse 19, reveal about God’s will and love?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________All seemed lost. Not long after God’s amazing deliverance of Hispeople from slavery in Egypt, the people of Israel had rebelled againstGod and worshiped a golden calf. When Moses came down from themountain, he saw what they had done, and he threw down the tabletscontaining the Ten Commandments and shattered them. Though thepeople had forfeited any right to the covenant privileges and blessingsthat God had freely bestowed on them, God freely chose to continue withthem in covenant relationship anyway—despite their unworthiness forthe covenant blessings.The words of Exodus 33:19, “ ‘I will be gracious to whom I will begracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion’ ”(NKJV), are often misunderstood to mean that God arbitrarily choosesto be compassionate and gracious to some, but not others. However, incontext, God is not stating here that He will arbitrarily be gracious andcompassionate to some and not to others. That is not how God works, contrary to some popular theology in which God predestines some to be lostand to face eternal condemnation.What, then, is God proclaiming here? Essentially, God is proclaiming that, as the Creator of all, He has the right and authority to grantgrace and compassion freely to even the most undeserving of people.And He is doing so in this situation, even after the golden calf rebellion, by granting mercy to His people, Israel, even if they didn’tdeserve it.This is one of many instances in which God manifests His love anddoes so beyond any reasonable expectations. Good news for us all, isit not?In what ways has God continued to reveal and manifest His loveto you—even beyond any reasonable expectations?_________________________________________
Read for This Week’s Study: Exod. 33:15–22; Hosea 14:1–4; Rev. 4:11; John 17:24; Matt. 22:1–14; John 10:17, 18.Memory Text: “ ‘I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely, for My anger has turned away from him’ ” (Hosea 14:4, NKJV).Though Peter had denied Jesus three times, just as Jesus had predicted (Matt. 26:34), these denials were not the end of the story.After the Resurrection, Jesus asked Peter, “ ‘Do you love Me morethan these?’ ” And Peter replied, “ ‘Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.’ ”And Jesus said, “ ‘Tend My lambs.’ ” Then, Jesus again asked Peter,“ ‘Do you love Me?’ ” And Peter replied, “ ‘Yes, Lord; You know that Ilove You.’ ” And Jesus said, “ ‘Shepherd My sheep.’ ” Then, yet again,a third time Jesus asked Peter, “ ‘Do you love Me?’ ” And “Peter wasgrieved because He said to him the third time, ‘Do you love Me?’ ” AndPeter replied, “ ‘Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.’ ”And Jesus said, “ ‘Tend My sheep’ ” (John 21:15–17, NASB 1995). Justas Peter had denied Jesus three times, Jesus—by way of the crucial question, “ ‘Do you love Me?’ ”—restored Peter three times.However different our circumstances may be from Peter’s, in manyways the principle is the same. That is, the question that Jesus hadasked Peter is really the ultimate question that God poses to each of usin our time and place: Do you love Me?Everything depends on our answer to that question.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, January 4.
God is love. So says 1 John 4:8 and verse 16. The entirety of the Bibletestifies to this fact. The Christian faith is centered on God’s characterof love. Love is at the core of who God is, at the core of everything thatwe believe, and should be at the core of everything we do. Accordingly, the waywe understand love affects the entirety of our faith and practice. If, for example,one believes that God’s love must be earned or merited, a person might think thatGod does not love them because they are sinful and unworthy. And, in relation toothers, one might expect others to merit love—a recipe for disaster.In this and many other ways, how we understand God’s love has massive implications for our faith and practice. Yet, what is love? If you ask ten people to definelove, you might get ten different answers. Even among Christians, there are manymyths and misunderstandings about God’s love.For example, Christians offer different answers to such questions as:Does God’s love only give but never receive? Is divine love purely self-sacrificial, ormight God also delight in and be pleased by humans? Is God’s love emotional? DoesGod really care about humans? Can God’s love be rejected or forfeited? Does God enterinto a back-and-forth love relationship with creatures? Is anger incompatible with love?How do love and justice go together? If God is love, why is there evil in this world, andso much of it? Can humans love the way God does? If so, what would that look like?
The answers to some of these questions might seem obvious but are oftendisputed in Christian treatments of divine love. And many answers that are sometimes taken to be obvious, turn out on closer inspection to be incompatible withwhat Scripture teaches about God’s love.We will not address all these questions at once, but we will take up these andother questions throughout this quarter. And we willsee that God’s love is far greater than we might think.God’s love as depicted in Scripture is far superior tothe ideas that pass for “love” in much of our worldtoday. In the coming weeks, we will look moreclosely at some of the most prominent and beautifulaspects of God’s love that are revealed in the Bible.And, as we continue on, we will see how divinelove and justice are inextricably connected. The Godof the Bible loves justice (see, for example, Isa. 61:8).And, as the Bible portrays them, divine love and justice go together in such a waythat you cannot have one without the other. Because God is love, He is deeplyconcerned about injustice and suffering in this world, and He identifies Himselfwith the oppressed and the suffering, willingly entering into the pain and grief thatevil has wrought in creation—Himself suffering most of all, so much so that GodHimself is the greatest victim of evil.Throughout the Bible, God is repeatedly grieved and pained by evil and sufferingbecause He loves each person more than we can possibly imagine. One can see thedepth of God’s love in the lament of Christ over His people when He said: “ ‘OJerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sentto her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers herchicks under her wings, but you were not willing!’ ” (Matt. 23:37, NKJV).The God of the Bible, who is love, is often portrayed throughout Scriptureas brokenhearted and grieved by love rejected and love lost. The entire story ofScripture is about what God has done and is doing to restore love to every cornerand crevice of the universe. This and much more is the topic of this quarter’slessons.
John C. Peckham is an associate editor of the Adventist Review and is a professor oftheology and Christian philosophy at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary atAndrews University
God’s perspective is vastly different from that of humans. God shares His perspective with us through His Word, the Bible, under the power of the Holy Spirit. It is our choice whether we wish to walk in darkness or accept the light coming from Jesus Christ as revealed in the Word.
Integral to this choice is our own personal surrender to Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Redeemer of humanity. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God the Father has revealed to us—in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus—the depth of His love. And we know about Jesus because His life, death, and resurrection have been recorded in the Word of God.
“The angels of God are ever passing from earth to heaven, and from heaven to earth. The miracles of Christ for the afflicted and suffering were wrought by the power of God through the ministration of the angels. And it is through Christ, by the ministration of His heavenly messengers, that every blessing comes from God to us. In taking upon Himself humanity, our Saviour unites His interests with those of the fallen sons and daughters of Adam, while through His divinity He grasps the throne of God. And thus Christ is the medium of communication of men with God, and of God with men.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 143.
Discussion Questions:
Of all the stories in the book of John, which one speaks the loudest to you about the love and character of God? Share with your class why you find that story so compelling.
In practical terms, how should one go about the search for truth?
Why is it usually difficult to lay aside self as the arbiter of truth? Can we ever fully do it, or will our humanity, to some degree, still impact how we view the Scriptures? Why must we recognize this fact, and how does humility come in to help us surrender our prejudices to the Word of God?
The history of Western Christianity is filled with horrific examples of what happens when the Word of God is made subject to the politics and prejudices of humans. What are some of those examples, and what lesson can we learn from them today about just how dangerous it is when human perspectives become the dominant filter to “interpret” the Bible?
Summarize in your own words the big picture of the Gospel of John. What is its central message for us today?
Read John 12:32. In what ways does this striking statement describe the authority of Jesus Christ?
As we have seen throughout this quarter’s lessons, the Gospel of John draws us to Jesus, but only if we are willing to know God and to do His will. Throughout John’s Gospel, people who encounter Jesus either accept the light and grow or reject the light and become blind. Nicodemus, the woman at the well, the royal official, the man at the pool of Bethesda, the 5,000 fed loaves and fishes, Jesus’ brothers, the religious leaders, the man born blind, Mary and Martha, Pilate—all encountered Jesus and made choices about the truth and light He brought.
Theology from below begins with human argumentation to determine and examine the existence and nature of God. The human perspective—flawed, fallen, and prejudiced—takes precedence over the Divine, holy, perfect, and omniscient. Theology from below is guaranteed to lead people astray, as it has done in the past and will do in the future (see Rev. 14:1–12), when human wisdom, seeking to supersede the Divine, will attempt to force false worship upon the world.
Read John 15:1–11. What is the secret of spiritual growth and health?
The secret is to stay connected to Jesus. He is the Word of God, the Bread of Life, the Light of the world, the Door of the sheep, the Good Shepherd, the Resurrection and the Life, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and the True Vine.
The Members of the Godhead and Their Word, the Bible, are like magnets. If not resisted, they will draw us to them. “The voice of God is speaking to us through his word, and there are many voices that we will hear; but Christ has said we should beware of them who will say, Here is Christ or there is Christ. Then how shall we know that they have not the truth, unless we bring everything to the Scriptures?”—Ellen G. White, The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, April 3, 1888. And then, we must surrender our own views to those presented in the Word of God.
Read John 4:46–54. What problem brought the official to Jesus, and what was the real underlying issue here?
This man came to Jesus, the Light of the world, but he had made up his mind to believe only if Jesus healed his child. We could say this man’s theology was a “theology from below.” Theology from below sets rules and standards for God and His Word. Human ideas, as flawed and as limited and as subjective as they are, become the final authority on how people interpret the Word of God. What a dangerous trap to fall into!
Theology “from above,” in contrast, responds by faith, with belief in God and His Word first (John 4:48; John 6:14, 15; 2 Tim. 3:16). When the Bible is accepted by faith, it becomes its own interpreter. The worldview of Scripture, rather than the philosophy of the age, is the guide to understanding and interpreting Scripture. Human views must be subjected and subservient to the Word of God, and not the other way around.
We must believe the words of Scripture if we are to believe the words of Jesus (John 5:46, 47). “ ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed’ ” (John 8:31, NKJV). If we doubt God’s Word, His Word cannot abide in us (John 5:38). “ ‘He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak’ ” (John 12:48, 49, NKJV).
To hear God’s Word is more than a passive intake of information. It means also to do God’s will. And this is the active response to hearing the Word. “ ‘If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority’ ” (John 7:17, NKJV).
And this hearing, and doing, of God’s Word is an expression of love for Him. “ ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him’ ” (John 14:23, NKJV).
What is the relationship between our love for Jesus and obedience? Why is any kind of “obedience” not based on love in danger of being legalism?
Read John 1:4–10; John 3:19–21; John 5:35; John 8:12; John 9:5; John 11:9, 10; and John 12:35. What great contrast is present here, and why is this contrast so foundational to understanding truth?
The world is in darkness; it shuns the light and cannot, on its own, find its way to the true God, the personal God of Creation, revelation, and Redemption.
“Never can humanity, of itself, attain to a knowledge of the divine. ‘It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?’ Job 11:8. Only the spirit of adoption can reveal to us the deep things of God, which ‘eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man.’ ‘God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit.’ ”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 412.
Only Jesus Christ “has declared Him,” the Father (John 1:18, NKJV). The Greek verb is exēgeomai, which means “to interpret,” “explain,” or “exposit.” John presents Jesus as the heavenly Messenger, the One who explains what it means to know God. Only through Jesus can we truly know God.
Read John 8:42–44. How does Jesus describe the false foundation on which the religious leaders of Israel had based their faith?
Those who do not stand in the truth speak from their own resources. They “see” the meaning of a text only from a human perspective. By contrast, we must accept that Christ is the light of the world and follow Him in our interpretation of His Word. In contrast, the devil speaks from “his own resources” (John 8:44, NKJV). If we are not careful and are not surrendered in faith and obedience to God, we are in danger of doing the same thing: reading the text based only on our own desires, wants, and perspectives, which is much easier to do than we might realize.
How do you respond to truths that “step on your toes,” as opposed to how you should respond to those truths?
Read John 21:20–22. What question led Peter down a wrong path? How did Jesus straighten the path?
Jesus had just restored Peter to ministry and told him, “Follow me” (John 21:19). It was probably an actual physical following of Jesus down the beach. And that is because Peter turns and sees John following Jesus as well, and he inquires about John. “ ‘But Lord, what about this man?’ ” (John 21:21, NKJV).
In restoring Peter to ministry, Jesus had predicted Peter’s manner of death (John 21:18). It seems Peter was curious about John’s death, as well. Jesus redirects Peter’s attention instead to the issue of following Him, not worrying about what will happen to another disciple.
Read John 21:23–25. How was Jesus’ statement misunderstood? How did the apostle John correct that misunderstanding?
People misunderstood what Jesus meant when He said, “ ‘If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!’ ” (John 21:22, ESV). They thought it meant that Jesus would come back before John died. As time passed and John grew old, it would become a crisis if he were to die (which, of course, he did) and Jesus had not returned. John corrects this misconception by indicating that it was a matter of Jesus’ will, not a prophecy of what would happen.
The idea of focusing on Jesus, instead of on other people, is a powerful lead into the rest of the week’s lesson. Jesus, and Jesus alone, is our Savior. People will inevitably disappoint you, perhaps even hurt you, as well.
The truths covered for Tuesday through Thursday will pick up on the theme of understanding the Word of God, with the aim of knowing and following Jesus, who alone should be our Master and Guide—regardless of the help, counsel, and guidance that others might give us.
How often have others, whom you might have looked up to, disappointed you? What lessons, however hard, did you learn from that experience?
Read John 21:1–19. What crucial truths are revealed here, especially about God’s grace—and human humility?
John 20 ends with the purpose of the book, which would be the logical place to conclude, but there is one more chapter. Chapter 21 begins with some of the disciples back in Galilee, with Peter suggesting a night on the lake. It looks as though old times have returned, and the disciples are back to their old trade, fishing. But they catch nothing that night.
In the morning, a mysterious stranger on the shore tells them to cast their net on the right side of the boat. They then catch so many fish that they cannot pull in the net. It was like the beginning of their ministry with Jesus (see Luke 5:1–11). John immediately recognizes Jesus and tells Peter, who immediately jumps in the water and swims ashore.
Jesus asks Peter three questions, all concerning love for his Master. Before the Crucifixion, Peter insisted that he would lay down his life for Jesus (John 13:37). That is when Jesus predicted his threefold denial (John 13:38). At this meeting in Galilee, Peter does not make himself the reference point but rather makes it Jesus: “ ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you’ ” (John 21:17, ESV).
Some note that Jesus uses the verb agapaō, which means to love, in questioning Peter (except for the last time), and that Peter always responds with phileō, which means to love, but just as a friend. The implication is that Peter has not achieved the higher kind of love.
Actually, Peter’s response is focused on humility. With Peter’s failure ever before him, it is more likely that he humbly uses a “lower term,” daring not to claim too much for himself. And it is this humility that Jesus affirms, and which becomes crucial in restoring Peter to ministry. No question, humility is one of the greatest qualifications for ministry because the focus then becomes Jesus Christ and not self.
Peter’s restoration and role as leader in the early church is one of the strongest evidences that Jesus rose from the dead. It would be hard to explain Peter’s prominence if Jesus had not, in the presence of the other disciples, restored him to ministry.
Why is humility so key in anyone seeking to know the Lord? In light of the Cross, what do any of us have to be proud of?
Read for This Week’s Study
John 21; John 11:9, 10; John 8:42–44; John 4:46–54; 2 Tim. 3:16; John 15:1–11.
Memory Text:
John’s Gospel, like Mark’s, ends with a meeting in Galilee. This final lesson on John deals with that meeting but integrates it with the theme of how we know Jesus and the Word of God—a concept that runs through the fourth Gospel.
Though they were with Jesus more than three years, the disciples were still greatly unprepared for the Crucifixion and Resurrection, even though Jesus had told them again and again what would happen.
Unfortunately, they didn’t take Him at His word.
We today can be in danger of doing the same thing: hearing or even reading the Word of God but not listening to it, not abiding in it, and not obeying it. That is, not accepting it as the light that should guide our thoughts and actions. This, unfortunately, is where, perhaps unwittingly, too many Christians are.
In this, our last week in John, we will look at some of this Gospel’s key points, which can help us move beyond the mere head knowledge of Jesus to, instead, knowing Him better and more closely abiding in Him and in His Word.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, December 28.
“ ‘You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me’ ” (John 5:39, NKJV).
Read Ellen G. White, “ ‘It Is Finished,’ ” pp. 758–764; “ ‘The Lord Is Risen,’ ” pp. 779–787; and “ ‘Why Weepest Thou?’ ” pp. 788–794, in The Desire of Ages. See also, Clifford Goldstein, Risen: Finding Hope in the Empty Tomb (Nampa, ID: Pacific Press, 2020).
“Pilate longed to deliver Jesus. But he saw that he could not do this, and yet retain his own position and honor. Rather than lose his worldly power, he chose to sacrifice an innocent life. How many, to escape loss or suffering, in like manner sacrifice principle. Conscience and duty point one way, and self-interest points another. The current sets strongly in the wrong direction, and he who compromises with evil is swept away into the thick darkness of guilt.”—The Desire of Ages, p. 738.
“Christ did not yield up His life till He had accomplished the work which He came to do, and with His parting breath He exclaimed, ‘It is finished.’ John 19:30. The battle had been won. His right hand and His holy arm had gotten Him the victory. As a Conqueror He planted His banner on the eternal heights. Was there not joy among the angels? All heaven triumphed in the Saviour’s victory. Satan was defeated, and knew that his kingdom was lost.
“To the angels and the unfallen worlds the cry, ‘It is finished,’ had a deep significance. It was for them as well as for us that the great work of redemption had been accomplished. They with us share the fruits of Christ’s victory.”—The Desire of Ages, p. 758.
Discussion Questions:
What decision-making processes can help you avoid making the kind of mistake that Pilate made?
Why did Jesus have to die in our place? Why did He have to be our Substitute? Why was His death necessary if we were to have salvation? What Scripture passages support your answer?
What is the relationship between Scriptural evidence and historical evidence when it comes to belief in Jesus’ resurrection? That is, what is the historical evidence that powerfully confirms Jesus’ resurrection?
Think about 1 Corinthians 15:12–20. How does one make sense of the idea that, without Christ’s resurrection, “those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished” (1 Cor. 15:18, NKJV), if those who have “fallen asleep in Christ” immediately go to heaven? How do Paul’s words here confirm the truth that the dead sleep until the resurrection at Christ’s return?
Read John 20:11–13. What happened here that shows why Mary Magdalene still did not understand the meaning of the empty tomb?
The last reference to Mary in the text before this one is her telling Peter and John about the empty tomb (John 20:2). They ran to the tomb, and she came back there a little later. After Peter and John inspected the tomb, they left it. But Mary returned and, weeping, lingered there. No doubt she had done a great deal of crying during the last few days. And now—this as well? Stooping over, she looked inside.
To her surprise, two angels in white were in the tomb, sitting where Jesus’ body had lain. They asked her, “ ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ ” (John 20:13, NKJV). Her pained reply was that they had taken away her Lord, and she did not know where they had laid Him.
Read John 20:14–18. What changed everything for Mary?
Through tear-dimmed eyes, Mary turned and saw someone standing behind her. In words similar to those of the angels, the Stranger asks, “ ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?’ ” (John 20:15, NKJV). She thinks she is talking to the gardener and asks for his help in finding the body of Jesus.
The Stranger says one word, “Mary.” It was a one-word revelation that changed the world. Suddenly, the surprised Mary recognizes that the risen Jesus is talking to her and acknowledges Him. Jesus insists that she not detain Him, as He must ascend to His Father. But her task is to go and tell the disciples that He is ascending “ ‘to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God’ ” (John 20:17, NKJV). Mary fulfilled her mission. She told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and also told all the other details He had shared with her (John 20:18).
Read 1 Corinthians 15:12–20. According to Paul, what good is our Christian faith if Christ had not been raised from the dead?
Read John 20:1–7. What is the importance to us about what is depicted in these verses?
Jesus died late on a Friday afternoon and rose early on Sunday. Because the Sabbath was near when He was buried (John 19:42), the burial process was done hastily and not completely. However much they loved Jesus, His followers kept the Sabbath day and did not go to the tomb (compare with Mark 16:1, Luke 23:56). After the Sabbath, a number of women bought spices to the tomb on Sunday morning. To their shock, the stone was rolled away, and the tomb was empty.
Mary Magdalene was one of those who came early to the tomb. She ran to tell Peter and John what she saw. The two men ran there. John outran Peter and arrived first. Stooping down, he looked inside and saw the linen cloths with which Jesus had been wrapped. But he did not go in.
Peter, however, went inside and saw the linen cloths lying there. He saw, too, the face cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, but it was not with the rest of the cloths. It was folded up and sitting apart.
Read John 20:8–10. What was the meaning of the folded face cloth?
After Peter entered the tomb, John also entered. John 20:8 says that he went in, saw, and believed. Why would seeing the grave cloths lying there and the face cloth lying separately, folded up, lead John to believe Jesus had risen from the dead?
To answer this question, it is necessary to ponder why the tomb would be empty in the first place. The most typical answer would be grave robbers. But this explanation fails for three reasons. First, Matthew tells us that the tomb was guarded (Matt. 27:62–66), making grave robbery unlikely. Second, grave robbers typically steal valuables, not rotting bodies. Third, grave robbers are in a hurry and do not fold up grave cloths. No wonder, then, that when John saw the face cloth folded, he believed that Jesus had risen from the dead.
As John 19:17–22 shows, Pilate wrote an inscription in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew that said, “ ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews’ ” (John 19:19, ESV). The religious leaders wanted it changed. Pilate would have none of it, and the inscription remained, a mute witness to the truth about Jesus and one of the markers that Jesus is enthroned on the cross as the King. Here was Jesus, truly their King, the King of the Jews, hanging on a cross like a common criminal.
“A higher power than Pilate or the Jews had directed the placing of that inscription above the head of Jesus. In the providence of God it was to awaken thought, and investigation of the Scriptures.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 745.
Read John 19:25–27. What touching scene regarding Jesus’ mother happened at the cross?
Among those standing at the foot of the cross that day were John, the beloved disciple, along with Mary, the mother of Jesus, and others. Many years before, Simeon had predicted this very experience when Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to the temple to dedicate Him (compare with Luke 2:34, 35). Now in His dying moments, Jesus speaks to His mother: “ ‘Woman, behold your son!’ ” To John He says, “ ‘Behold your mother!’ ” (John 19:26, 27, NKJV).
Read John 19:28–30. What is the significance of Jesus’ dying words, “It is finished”?
The Greek verb teleō (to finish, complete, carry out) in John 19:28 (“all was now finished,” ESV) is the same verb as used in verse 30 (“It is finished”). Furthermore, a related word, teleioō (to finish, make perfect) also appears in verse 28 in reference to the fulfillment of the Scripture (“to fulfill the Scripture,” ESV). However horrific the scene, everything was being fulfilled, accomplished, and completed.
When Jesus says, “It is finished!” He is completing, fulfilling, the work that the Father gave Him to do.
When Jesus said, “It is finished,” what does that mean for each of us? What was finished, and how does that apply to our lives?
Read John 18:38–19:5. How did Pilate try to persuade the people to ask for Jesus’ release?
Pilate did not wait for an answer from Jesus concerning truth. Instead, he went back out to try to persuade the people. By dialoguing with them instead of just letting Jesus go free, Pilate placed himself at a disadvantage. The religious leaders recognized that they could manipulate the governor through the crowd.
Pilate refers to a custom of letting a prisoner go free at the time of Passover and asks if the people want him to release “the King of the Jews.” Surprisingly, and quite ironically, the people ask for the release of a brigand named Barabbas rather than the innocent Jesus.
Now begins the mockery and shaming of Jesus. The Roman soldiers plait a crown of thorns, put a purple robe on Him, and keep coming up and mockingly hailing Him as King of the Jews. This type of greeting by soldiers would be similar to the way they greeted the emperor, but here it was done in mockery.
By playing on the pity of the people, Pilate seems to be seeking some way to release Jesus. He brings Jesus out wearing the crown of thorns and purple robe. The scene, uncommented on by John, displays Jesus in mock kingly garb, with the governor calling on the people to “ ‘Behold the man!’ ” (John 19:5, ESV). This reminds the reader of John the Baptist’s words in John 1:29, ESV, “ ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’ ” It is ironic that the pagan governor presents the Messiah in this kingly attire before Israel.
However, as John 19:6–16 shows, the mob calls for Jesus’ crucifixion, based on His claim to be the Son of God. This frightens Pilate, who seeks all the more to arrange Jesus’ release. But the leaders seal Jesus’ fate by claiming that to release Him is to oppose Caesar. They know that Pilate’s loyalty to Caesar would mean he could not release someone claiming the same role. The leaders say they have no king but Caesar. Thus, their deep hatred of Jesus was greater than their national aspirations. To rid themselves of this Jesus, they were willing to sacrifice claims to national autonomy.
How scary—a pagan ruler wants to release Jesus while the spiritual leaders of the nation, who should have recognized Him, wanted Him crucified instead! What lessons can we take from this for ourselves?
In John 18:28–32, the trial of Jesus is not described in detail. The focus is on Jesus brought before Pontius Pilate.
Read John 18:33–38. What did Pilate and Jesus talk about?
The governor asks Jesus if He is the king of the Jews (John 18:33). It is the first reference to this title but will not be the last. Jesus asks Pilate if he is asking this on his own or did others say that He was. His question turns the tables on the governor, querying if he understands to whom he is speaking. The reader already knows that Jesus is the King. Will the governor?
Pilate responds with his own query: “ ‘Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?’ ” (John 18:35, NKJV). It was an evasion, rooted in irritation at the close application of Jesus’ question. It was the governor’s first step away from the truth, letting prejudice block his perception.
Jesus responds that His kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). Pilate then perceptively deduces that Jesus does claim to be a king (John 18:37). This leads to Jesus’ important explanation that He was born to bear witness to the truth and that every person who is “ ‘of the truth’ ” hears His voice (John 18:37).
Pilate then asks, “ ‘What is truth?’ ” (John 18:38, NKJV). But he doesn’t wait for the answer. Instead, he goes outside to try to save Jesus from the crowd.
Truth is a theme in John’s Gospel. As the eternal Word (logos, John 1:1–5), Jesus is the Light and the Truth. All this is in contrast to darkness and error. He is full of grace and truth (John 1:14). Grace and truth came through Him (John 1:17). John the Baptist bore witness to the truth (John 5:33). Jesus affirmed that His Father is “true” (John 7:28). Jesus Himself heard the truth from His Father (John 8:40). Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). The Word of God is “truth” (John 17:17). Despite his question, Pilate missed his opportunity to know the truth because of his prejudice, his earlier decisions, and the pressures upon him.
How do you understand the idea of Jesus as the Truth?
Read for This Week’s Study
John 18:33–19:5; John 19:17–22; John 19:25–27; Luke 2:34, 35; John 20:1–18; 1 Cor. 15:12–20.
Memory Text:
Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection are the climax of John. The first ten chapters cover roughly three and a half years; chapters 11–20, in contrast, cover about one to two weeks.
The four Gospels present the death of Jesus in different ways. Though their accounts are compatible, each author emphasizes key points that especially resonate with the themes of his Gospel. Matthew emphasizes the fulfillment of Scripture; Mark emphasizes the parallel between the baptism of Jesus and the Cross; and Luke focuses on the Cross as healing and salvation (the story of the thief on the cross).
But John presents the Cross as the enthronement of Jesus, particularly tied to the idea of the hour, which is referred to numerous times throughout the book (John 7:30, John 8:20, John 12:27). This idea of enthronement is an ironic picture since crucifixion was the most ignominious and shameful way to die that the Romans used. This contrast points to the deeply ironic depiction that John presents: Jesus is dying in shame, but it is, at the same time, His glorious enthronement as the Savior.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, December 21.
“Then Pilate said to him, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice’ ” (John 18:37, ESV).
Read Ellen G. White, “ ‘Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled,’ ” pp. 662–680, in The Desire of Ages; “Additional Note on [John] Chapter 1,” The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5, pp. 911–919.
In assessing who Jesus is, His opponents judged by human standards “ ‘according to the flesh’ ” (John 8:15, NKJV). This is probably even worse than judging “by mere appearances” (John 7:24, NIV). Here they resorted to the criteria of the flesh, of fallen humanity in a fallen world, without the compelling control of the Spirit (see John 3:3–7). They saw His “flesh,” as it were, but never contemplated the possibility that He could be the Word made flesh (John 1:14). To regard Christ by such limited criteria is to weigh Him from a worldly point of view (2 Cor. 5:16).
“The Comforter is called ‘the Spirit of truth.’ His work is to define and maintain the truth. He first dwells in the heart as the Spirit of truth, and thus He becomes the Comforter. There is comfort and peace in the truth, but no real peace or comfort can be found in falsehood. It is through false theories and traditions that Satan gains his power over the mind. By directing men to false standards, he misshapes the character. Through the Scriptures the Holy Spirit speaks to the mind, and impresses truth upon the heart. Thus He exposes error, and expels it from the soul. It is by the Spirit of truth, working through the word of God, that Christ subdues His chosen people to Himself.”—The Desire of Ages, p. 671.
Discussion Questions:
Eternal life is to know God (John 17:3). What does it mean to know God, as opposed to merely knowing certain facts about Him, that is, that He is mighty or loving or a God of justice? If someone were to ask you, “Do you know God?” what would you say? How does Jesus fit in with your answer?
In practical, everyday terms, what is implied by Jesus’ words “Thy word is truth” (John 17:17)?
Jesus prayed, “ ‘I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one’ ” (John 17:15, NKJV). How do our own choices impact how well this prayer can be answered in our own lives?
John 17 is sometimes called the high priestly prayer of Jesus. It concludes the farewell discourse. Jesus came to this earth so that humanity might be restored, ultimately, to its original personal relationship with God. He faithfully performed the signs that God gave Him to do. In words and acts, He communicated God to the people.
Jesus would soon be leaving this earth. He desired to share once again His love for His disciples. He wanted them to understand the close relationship between Himself, the Father, and the Holy Spirit. And He wanted to bring them into the same personal relationship with God the Father and the Spirit that He Himself had.
Read John 17:1–26. What words or phrases in this chapter express the desire of Jesus for a close relationship of love between Himself, the Father, and His disciples?
Many read John 17 to mean that the only thing that matters is unity and love. No question, God’s purpose is to restore us to a personal relationship with Him and with all people. But a more careful reading suggests a much more vital connection between love and truth.
“ ‘This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God’ ” (John 17:3, NKJV), not God, whoever we think He is. “ ‘I have made your name known to those whom you gave me, . . . and they have kept your word . . . and know in truth that I came from you’ ” (John 17:6, 8, NRSV). “ ‘Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth’ ” (John 17:17, NKJV).
Christ came to reveal the Father. This revelation was important because of the many misconceptions about God. The Gospel of John shows how seriously Jesus took this mission. He rightly represented God’s Word and actions. If truth did not matter, why go to such lengths?
Jesus lived a life of great difficulty ultimately to be rejected by the religious authorities. He suffered indifference from the people and even, at times, from His own disciples. One of His disciples betrayed Him, and another denied Him three times. He went through an unremitting trial and died on a cross at the hands of the very ones He came to save.
How can you better reflect the love of God, such as exists between Jesus and the Father, in your own life?
The Holy Spirit is not as prominent in the Gospel of John as the Father and the Son are. Yet, His role is crucial to the success of Jesus’ mission.
Read John 1:10–13. What does this text teach us about the importance of the Holy Spirit for conversion?
In the first chapter of John, we can see just how central the role of the Holy Spirit is. John tells us that as many as received the Word (that is, as many as believed in Him) became children of God, those “who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13, NKJV). This comes only from the work of the Holy Spirit.
What do the following passages tell of the activities of the Holy Spirit? John 3:5–8, John 6:63, John 14:26, John 15:26, John 16:7–11.
“In describing to His disciples the office work of the Holy Spirit, Jesus sought to inspire them with the joy and hope that inspired His own heart. He rejoiced because of the abundant help He had provided for His church. The Holy Spirit was the highest of all gifts that He could solicit from His Father for the exaltation of His people. The Spirit was to be given as a regenerating agent, and without this the sacrifice of Christ would have been of no avail. The power of evil had been strengthening for centuries, and the submission of men to this satanic captivity was amazing. Sin could be resisted and overcome only through the mighty agency of the Third Person of the Godhead, who would come with no modified energy, but in the fullness of divine power.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 671.
What a blessing, then, to receive the Holy Spirit, who certifies that God is true (John 3:33). It is the Spirit that convicts of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment (John 16:8–11). Hence, the key for us to know what is right, what is true, and what is good is our submission of our reason and life experiences to the Word of God through the convicting and convincing power of the Holy Spirit.
Throughout the Gospel of John, the apostle describes how Jesus, the Son, does activities that point to the Father. Jesus explains who the Father is and shows what His relationship to our world is. This is all in keeping with John 1:18, which says that He makes the Father known (Greek exēgeomai: to explain, interpret, exposit). Again and again Jesus does this. The word Father (patēr) appears 136 times in John and 18 times in 1–3 John, more than one-third of the entire uses in the New Testament. The farewell discourse is one of the prime locations in the Gospel where Jesus makes the Father known.
Jesus was the Father’s representative on earth, and He came to live out, in human flesh, the Father’s will. In fact, Jesus said that in all things He sought to do the Father’s will, and not His own (John 5:30). This may seem at first a startling statement, but it shows how totally surrendered Jesus, as a human being, was to the Father.
Jesus said, too, that He had been sent by the Father to finish His work—the salvation of humanity—and that the Father Himself bore witness to His work (John 5:36–38).
Jesus proclaimed that the Father sent Him to serve as the only one through whom humanity may come to the Father (John 6:40, 44). The Father wants people to have the eternal life found in Jesus, who promises to raise them up in the resurrection.
What do the following texts teach us about the relationship between Jesus and the Father? John 7:16; John 8:38; John 14:10, 23; John 15:1, 9, 10; John 16:27, 28; John 17:3.
Jesus’ claims about His relationship to the Father are astonishing. He asserts that all of His teachings are the teachings of the Father; that all He says He had personally heard from the Father; that belief in Him is the same as belief in the Father; that both His very words and His works are all of the Father; and that He and the Father are united in loving and working for the salvation of humanity. What a powerful testimony to the closeness of Jesus to His Father in heaven!
How would your life be changed if your thoughts and actions were fully an expression of God’s will for your life? That is, how can we better live out what we know from Jesus is God’s will for our lives?
We were created by the Godhead for a personal relationship with Them (Gen. 1:26, 27). Yet, because of sin, that relationship was radically disrupted. We can see the immediate impact of this disruption in the Garden of Eden story.
Read Genesis 3:7–9. How does this reveal the breach that sin caused, and what does it mean that it was God seeking them out, not vice versa?
The intention of the Godhead was to offer healing to all humanity for that breach caused by sin, even if all humanity would not accept what They offered.
To accomplish the restoration of this relationship, one Member of the Godhead became human. Thus, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, manifesting the glory of God (John 1:14–18). As a result, humanity has received His fullness and grace. This is what Jesus came to share, to declare the glory of God so that the relationship broken by sin might be restored, at least to all who were willing to accept by faith what has been offered them in Christ Jesus.
What wonderful hope is seen for us in these texts? John 1:1, 2; John 5:16–18; John 6:69; John 10:10, 30; John 20:28.
“In Christ is life, original, unborrowed, underived.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 530. Yet, as the incarnate Son who had “emptied himself” (Phil. 2:7, RSV) of the exercise of His prerogatives, Christ, speaking of His existence on earth as a man among men, could refer to His possession of life as a gift from God. “The divinity of Christ is the believer’s assurance of eternal life.”—The Desire of Ages, p. 530.
God was not recognized by humanity (John 17:25). Thus, He sent His only Son (John 9:4, John 16:5) in order that He, the Father, might be known.
In the context of the cosmos, an atheist wrote, “In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.” What does the Bible teach, which shows just how wrong this man is?
The Gospel of John is written from the standpoint of the overall biblical narrative, beginning with our origins. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). Or: In the beginning the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit created the heavens and the earth. They are the Source of all that exists. They created the universe, including the beings who inhabit it. On our planet there was a special creation of life, and the most special of that creation was humanity. And God’s purpose for creating humanity was that we should live in loving harmony with Him and with one another.
Unfortunately, Lucifer brought sin into this world. Sin is, among other things, a disruption of our relationship with God. It misrepresents who God is. Thus, Jesus took upon Himself our human nature in order to restore knowledge of God and to bring salvation to humanity.
While here, Jesus submitted His life to the Father, living according to His guidance. He said, “ ‘I and My Father are one’ ” (John 10:30, NKJV). “ ‘The Father is in Me, and I in Him’ ” (John 10:38, NKJV). “ ‘If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me’ ” (John 10:37, NKJV).
What were some of the roles of the Father, as described in the following passages?
John 3:16, 17; John 6:57
John 5:22, 30
John 6:32; John 14:10, 24
John 6:45
John 15:16, John 16:23
These verses present the Father in close connection with Jesus Christ, His Son. The Father has intimate contact with our world and a deep investment in our salvation. What does this truth teach us about God’s love for us?
Read for This Week’s StudyJohn 14:10, 24; Gen. 3:7–9; John 16:27, 28; John 16:7–11; John 17:1–26.Memory Text:The Gospel of John is a mosaic of themes. John calls upon signs (miracles) to show that Jesus is the Messiah promised by the prophets. John uses an array of witnesses to proclaim Jesus as the Christ. He also uses the “I AM” statements to point to His divinity.All three members of the Godhead are mentioned in John 1 (John 1:1–4, 14, 18, 32–34). For centuries humans have tried fully to understand the nature of the Godhead, but because we can’t, many reject the idea. How foolish, though, to reject something just because we can’t fully understand it or because it doesn’t fit within the narrow limits of human reasoning.John says that if you want to understand God, you must look at Jesus and what has been revealed in the Word. This approach opens to us a whole new world of relationships—among the Three Members of the Godhead, between the Members of the Godhead and humans, and among humans themselves. This week’s lesson looks at how the Gospel of John presents the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but now within the context of the farewell discourse (John 13–17).*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, December 14.“ ‘The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you’ ” (John 14:26, NKJV).
Read Ellen G. White, “ ‘The Light of Life,’ ” pp. 463–475, in The Desire of Ages; E. Edward Zinke, “The Authority of the Bible and the Certainty of the Second Coming,” The Certainty of the Second Coming (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2000), pp. 23–36.
When Jesus said, “I am the light of the world,” He “was in the court of the temple specially connected with the services of the Feast of Tabernacles. In the center of this court rose two lofty standards, supporting lampstands of great size. After the evening sacrifice, all the lamps were kindled, shedding their light over Jerusalem. This ceremony was in commemoration of the pillar of light that guided Israel in the desert, and was also regarded as pointing to the coming of the Messiah. At evening when the lamps were lighted, the court was a scene of great rejoicing. . . .
“In the illumination of Jerusalem, the people expressed their hope of the Messiah’s coming to shed His light upon Israel. But to Jesus the scene had a wider meaning. As the radiant lamps of the temple lighted up all about them, so Christ, the source of spiritual light, illumines the darkness of the world. Yet the symbol was imperfect. That great light which His own hand had set in the heavens was a truer representation of the glory of His mission.
“It was morning; the sun had just risen above the Mount of Olives, and its rays fell with dazzling brightness on the marble palaces, and lighted up the gold of the temple walls, when Jesus, pointing to it, said, ‘I am the light of the world.’ ”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 463, 464.
Discussion Questions:
In class, talk about your answer to Thursday’s final question. What crucial truths taught by the Bible could we never, even in principle, learn from science? For example, the Cross? Or the Resurrection? Or the Second Coming? What other important biblical truths must be revealed to us—otherwise, we would never know them?
Think about the fall of Lucifer, a perfect being with so much intellectual knowledge of God and of what God is like. And yet, even with all that, he rebelled against Him. What does this tell us about the reality of free will, the same free will that we have—and why, moment by moment, we need to choose to surrender that will to God?
Throughout the Gospel, Scripture plays an important role in telling us about the One who is the way, the truth, and the life. All through the Gospels, as all through the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, the Scriptures play a key role in revealing truth. This is especially true when it comes to teaching us about who Jesus is and what He came to do.
Read John 5:38–40. What is Jesus saying here about the Scriptures?
Jesus and His disciples pointed to Scripture again and again to validate Him as the Messiah. Christ said, “ ‘If you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?’ ” (John 5:46, 47, NKJV).
Read Luke 24:27. Why is it important that Jesus first pointed to the Scriptures in order to reveal the significance of His ministry?
In another place, while quoting from the book of Exodus, Christ said, “ ‘Have you not read what was spoken to you by God . . . ?’ ” (Matt. 22:31, NKJV). Zacharias referred to the promises of God that “He [God] spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, who have been since the world began” (Luke 1:70, NKJV). In his sermon on the day of Pentecost, Peter said, “ ‘This Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of David’ ” (Acts 1:16, NKJV).
The Bible is not a textbook on science. It does not explain how to split the atom or perform brain surgery. But it does something even more significant. It provides the context within which our universe has meaning. It is the key that opens the door, the light that makes it possible to see. Without it, we would be in the dark about the existence of God, His role in the universe, our own origin, the meaning of life, and the future.
What are some truths taught in the Bible that science, even in theory, can never teach us?
Read John 1:14, 17; John 8:32; John 14:6; and John 15:26. How does John tie the concept of truth directly to Jesus?
Again and again in John’s Gospel, truth is connected to Jesus, to His Father, and to the Holy Spirit. Truth is connected with Jesus, the Word (logos), and with light—in contrast to darkness (John 1:1–14, John 3:19–21). And, too, falsehood is connected with the devil and sin (John 8:44–46). Consequently, truth in John is not simply a matter of facts and figures. It does involve such things, but more than this, the idea of truth contains a moral aspect of faithfulness to God and to His will.
“There are many who are crying out for the living God, longing for the divine presence. Philosophical theories or literary essays, however brilliant, cannot satisfy the heart. The assertions and inventions of men are of no value. Let the word of God speak to the people. Let those who have heard only traditions and human theories and maxims hear the voice of Him whose word can renew the soul unto everlasting life.”—Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 40.
Think about what it means for Jesus to be the Truth. Jesus is the logos, the Word who was with God from the beginning and who was the Creator of all things created (John 1:1–4). One with the Father from eternity to eternity, Jesus has the characteristics of the Father, and thus is also the “I AM.” His being is not subject to anyone or anything else. Nothing that exists, including knowledge, exists apart from Him. And everything that does exist, that was created, was created only by Jesus and exists only in Him, as well. “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist” (Col. 1:16, 17, NKJV).
Jesus is not simply the embodiment of the truth; He is the Truth. Truth is not a concept or a construct. It is a Person!
The Truth, Jesus Christ, can be likened to the sun that lights up the world (John 8:12). It is parallel to what C. S. Lewis stated about Christianity: “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”—“Is Theology Poetry?” (n. p.: Samizdat University Press, 2014), p. 15, originally presented in 1944.
It is by Jesus, the Truth, that we are able to interpret the world around us rightly.
Read John 14:5, 6. What query did Thomas make about where Jesus was going? How did Jesus respond?
Thomas’s query seems logical enough. If you do not know where someone is going, how can you know the way to follow that person? Jesus upends the query by indicating that He Himself is the way. The way to what? The way to the Father. In the Prologue (John 1:1–18), the intimate connection between the Word (logos), Jesus Christ, and the Father is emphasized.
John 1:18 says that the only begotten (better translated here as unique) God is the One who has made the Father known. To make known in this text is the Greek verb exēgeomai, meaning to explain, interpret, exposit. We get the word exegesis from this. It means to bring out the meaning. Thus, Jesus Christ is the link to the Father, the One who explains or interprets the Father to a fallen world. Consequently, He is the way or path to the Father. Without Him, we are limited in our understanding.
Read John 14:7–11. How did Jesus clear up Philip’s misunderstanding?
Philip asked to see the Father, something no sinful human can do and live (compare with Exod. 33:17–34:9, John 1:18). Jesus reproves the lack of understanding and points out that if you have seen Him, you have seen the Father (John 14:9). Consequently, it is clear that Jesus is the pathway to God. Without Him, the pathway grows dark and uncertain. He is the light that illuminates the way to God.
Jesus ties together three terms: way, truth, and life. The term way is used only in John 1:23 regarding John the Baptist’s preparing the way for Jesus, and it is used here in John 14:6. But truth and life are major themes in the Gospel. Our study on Wednesday and Thursday will emphasize the concept of truth, a crucial topic, especially in a world where the very idea of “truth” is called into question.
Why is it so comforting to realize that Jesus is the best revelation we will have here of what God the Father is like?
Read John 14:1–3. In what context did Jesus say these words?
At the end of John 13, Jesus says that He is going away (John 13:33). This elicits from Peter a query about where He is going (John 13:36). The disciples do not understand that Jesus is talking about His death, resurrection, and ascension. Peter says he is ready to lay down his life for Him (John 13:37). This is when Jesus predicts Peter’s denial (John 13:38).
It is in this context that Jesus tells His disciples not to let their hearts be troubled (John 14:1). The verb troubled is translated in Greek as tarassō, which means to stir up, disturb, unsettle, throw into confusion. It is not surprising that the disciples would be thrown into confusion at Jesus’ words.
But, countering their fears, He talks about His Father’s house, where there are many rooms (not mansions but rooms as in an inn). He is going there to prepare a place for them. His words look beyond the coming storm of the cross to the time when He will return to redeem His people. He is looking to the time when this whole tragedy with sin is finished once and for all (see Dan. 7:27).
Jesus says, “ ‘If I go . . . , I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also’ ” (John 14:3, NKJV). It is clearly a promise of His second coming.
What is the basis for confidence in that promise? Many would say the fulfillment of Bible prophecy, and that is certainly true. But in John 14:3, the basis is stated differently. In this verse, I will come is actually in the present tense in Greek (I am coming). This is a use of the present tense in Greek called the futuristic present. It is a future event spoken of with such certainty that it is described as though already happening. Thus, it is fair to translate the phrase as, I will certainly come again.
The basis of our hope in the return of our Lord is not simply the fulfillment of Bible prophecy. It is also, and more certainly, based on our confidence in the Man who made the promise. He said He will certainly return for His people. We can place our confidence in that promise because of Who made it.
What does the Cross teach us about the certainty of Christ’s second coming? Without the Second Coming, what good did Jesus’ death do us at the first coming?
The farewell discourse (John 13–17) provides instruction for Jesus’ disciples concerning the future. Its literary pattern is similar to Moses’ farewell in Deuteronomy or Jacob’s blessing his children (Genesis 47–49) or David’s instructing Solomon (1 Chronicles 28, 29). Jesus consoles His disciples regarding His departure. He promises a surrogate to represent Him (the Holy Spirit; John 14–16). He predicts grief to come (John 15, 16), and He exhorts the disciples to stay faithful (John 15).
Read John 13:1–20. What happened here, and why is this story so important? What lessons did Jesus seek to teach?
In that part of the world in Jesus’ day, people wore sandals or went barefoot. The feet would become dusty and dirty. It was a custom for a servant or slave to wash the feet of those coming to a meal. But no servant was present for this function on the night Jesus ate His last meal with His disciples before His arrest.
To everyone’s surprise, Jesus Himself arose from the supper and washed all of their feet. John 13:4, 5 tells Jesus’ actions step by step. It is told in such detail to emphasize the Master’s doing this unbelievable act of humility.
By telling about Peter’s response, John 13:8–11 deepens the sense of dismay and incomprehension of the disciples at Jesus’ actions. How could Jesus, the Master, the Messiah, be doing such a lowly task? Peter refused to allow Jesus to wash his feet, only to be told by Jesus that if he did not cooperate, he would have no part with Jesus. Then Peter asked for more, expressing his desire to be connected with Jesus all the way.
The significance of Jesus’ action is tied to who He is. He states in John 13:13 that He is the Teacher and the Lord. That is what they called Him, and He indicates that it is so. These titles express authority and power.
Yet, Jesus teaches that power and authority are to be used for service, not for self-aggrandizement. The Adventist Church has embraced this sense of Jesus’ example, taking what is rightly called the Ordinance of Humility as a preparatory service for the Lord’s Supper.
What does the Ordinance of Humility teach you about following in the footsteps of Jesus and how to humbly serve others?
Read for This Week’s Study
John 13:1–20; John 14:1–3; Dan. 7:27; John 14:5–11; John 1:14; Col. 1:16, 17; John 5:38–40.
Memory Text:
The Gospel of John is divided into four main sections: The Prologue (John 1:1–18), the Book of Signs (John 1:19–12:50), the Book of Glory (John 13:1–20:31), and the Epilogue (John 21:1–25). Our study so far has focused mainly on the Prologue and the Book of Signs, laying out who Jesus is via His miracles (signs), dialogues, and teachings. The lessons now shift particularly to the third section of John, the Book of Glory.
Interestingly, the famous seven “I AM” statements form a bridge across the Book of Signs and the Book of Glory. These are “the bread of life” (John 6:35, 41, 48, 51), “the light of the world” (John 8:12, John 9:5), “the door” (John 10:7, 9), “the good shepherd” (John 10:11, 14), “the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25), “the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6), and “the true vine” (John 15:1, 5).
This week’s lesson will begin with the purpose of the farewell discourse and its introduction with the significant episode of Jesus’ washing His disciples’ feet. Then it will turn to the “I AM” statement in chapter 14 (“I am the way, the truth, and the life”).
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, December 7.
“No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him” (John 1:18, NKJV).
ead Ellen G. White, “ ‘God With Us,’ ” pp. 19–26; “Controversy,” pp. 601–609, in The Desire of Ages.
“In stooping to take upon Himself humanity, Christ revealed a character the opposite of the character of Satan. But He stepped still lower in the path of humiliation. ‘Being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.’ Phil. 2:8. As the high priest laid aside his gorgeous pontifical robes, and officiated in the white linen dress of the common priest, so Christ took the form of a servant, and offered sacrifice, Himself the priest, Himself the victim. ‘He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him.’ Isa. 53:5.
“Christ was treated as we deserve, that we might be treated as He deserves. He was condemned for our sins, in which He had no share, that we might be justified by His righteousness, in which we had no share. He suffered the death which was ours, that we might receive the life which was His. ‘With His stripes we are healed.’ ”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 25.
Discussion Questions:
Jesus gave so much to save the world. What do you consider the best ways to help others see this amazing truth and come to Him in faith?
What are the key differences in making decisions on a human, worldly level versus making decisions on the basis of divine revelation?
How do such things as logic and reason fit with understanding the Word of God? What logical and rational reasons do we have for coming to faith? How do such things as the fulfillment of prophecy or the astonishing beauty and complexity of the created world point us logically and rationally to the existence of God and to the truth of the plan of salvation?
In class, talk about your answer to the question at the end of Tuesday’s study. What is your faith based on? If someone were to ask you why you believe in Jesus and the claims of the gospel, how would you respond?
“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because [he has] not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. . . . Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that [his] deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light” (John 3:18–21, NIV; compare with John 1:10).
Why do people come into judgment? John 3:18, 36; John 5:24, 38; John 8:24; John 12:47.
The rejection of Jesus Christ, the Light of the world, leaves us open to doubt and to the temptations of the devil. It is to turn from light to darkness.
Eve was given light on how to relate to the tree in the center of the garden. Satan tempted her to bring the light into question. She tested God’s word by reasoning that a God of love would not destroy the creatures whom He created. She also relied upon the data of her senses. The serpent has eaten of the fruit and now has the power to speak. Perhaps the serpent is right. If I partake of the fruit, I may become like God! Deceived, she turned away from the light. And her husband chose the same path.
Read Matthew 4:1–4. What principles did Christ use in the wilderness of temptation to combat the deceptions of Satan?
Christ had at His disposal the same humanistic tool of thought used by Adam and Eve, the antediluvians, and Israel at Kadesh Barnea. He could have asked why a God of love would leave His Son in the wilderness for 40 days and nights without food and protection. He also could have determined to prove His Sonship by turning stones into bread! Instead, He answered with the Word of God. He operated on the level of heavenly things rather than on earthly patterns of thought. How easily He could have rationalized His way to a wrong decision, which so many people, even people of faith, often do.
Some of the saddest accounts in all of Scripture occur in the Gospel of John. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. . . . [The Light] was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him” (John 1:5, 10, 11, NKJV). The “I AM” was rejected by many of His own people.
No wonder Paul later warns, “Do not cast away your confidence” (Heb. 10:35, NKJV). As we have seen again and again, Christ was rejected because people did not accept His Word.
“The contemporary humanistic way of thinking begins with doubt. People question everything in order to determine what is truth. That which survives the fire of cross-examination they accept as rock-solid knowledge, something on which to place one’s faith. Some apply the same method to the Bible, calling everything into question from a scientific, historical, psychological, philosophical, archaeological, or geological perspective in order to determine what is truth in the Bible. The very method itself starts with and builds upon doubt in the veracity of Scripture. Christ asked, ‘When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?’ (Luke 18:8).”—E. Edward Zinke and Roland Hegstad, The Certainty of the Second Coming (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2000), p. 96.
Read Numbers 13:23–33. What made the difference between the two reports the spies brought back about Canaan?
The sin of the Hebrews when they were at Kadesh Barnea was to doubt the Word of God. God had asked them to go up and take the land. Twelve spies were sent to Canaan to spy out the land. They came back with two reports. The majority gave a negative report. There are giants in the land, walled cities, weapons we have never seen before, and well-trained armies. By contrast, we have been slaves in the land of Egypt with little military experience. Ten spies voted no, based upon the overwhelming evidence from a human standpoint. Two spies voted yes based upon their faith in the overwhelming power of the Word of God.
How do we avoid making the same kind of mistake made here? And yet, how do we also avoid presumption, doing something foolish but believing that we are doing God’s will and, therefore, cannot fail?
Read John 1:12, 13. What are the steps described here about becoming a Christian?
John wrote his Gospel so that we would believe in Jesus and that by believing we may have eternal life in His name (John 20:31). In John 1:12, 13, this process is described in two steps. First, we receive Him, that is, believe in Him. Second, He gives us authority or power to become God’s children, described in verse 13 as being begotten by God. Thus, there is a human and divine aspect of becoming a Christian. We must act in belief, receive Him, and be open to the light, but He is the one who regenerates the heart.
In fact, faith itself is a gift of God that comes by hearing His Word (Rom. 10:17). “In order to have true, abiding faith in Christ, we must know Him as He is represented in the word.”—Ellen G. White, Fundamentals of Christian Education, p. 433. “The Spirit operating upon and enlightening the human mind, creates faith in God.”—Ellen G. White Comments, The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 940.
Those who believe or accept the Son as the Messiah receive everlasting life. John also emphasizes accepting or believing the Word that Jesus spoke (John 5:24, 38, 47). It is the role of the Holy Spirit to bring conviction (John 16:7, 8; compare with Rom. 8:16).
Read Romans 8:16. What principle about salvation in Jesus is found here?
Faith, biblical faith, based on the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, is the foundation of our faith. “Faith is . . . the great blessing—the eye that sees, the ear that hears.”—Ellen G. White, In Heavenly Places, p. 104. The humanistic approach to faith states that we must find a foundation, the criteria for faith, and then believe. In contrast, the biblical approach states that faith is the foundation, a gift from God (Eph. 2:8, 1 Cor. 1:17–24, 1 Cor. 2:1–6). We start with the foundation of faith, and then from there we grow in understanding and grace.
If someone were to ask you what your faith is based on, how would you respond?
Read John 6:61–68. When Jesus asked the disciples if they would leave Him, what was the meaning of Peter’s answer?
Peter’s words about “eternal life” tap into a theme that runs throughout the Gospel of John. A concentration of phraseology about eternal life appears in John 6, in the context of the feeding of the 5,000 (John 6:27, 40, 47, 54, 68). Jesus says that He is the Bread of Life (John 6:35), meaning that His life, His death, and His resurrection are the source of eternal salvation.
The phrase everlasting life or its equivalent occurs at least 17 times in the Gospel of John. This term does not refer to a spirit existence, or to becoming part of an eternal being, or to some other ethereal concept. Rather, it refers to that life-giving power that brings salvation and meaning to our existence now and to life without end when our Lord returns. Just as Jesus became flesh, so the resurrection that Jesus talks about takes place in time and space and in a physical body. It is a resurrection from the dead, a renewal of the life that we once had in Eden.
How do we receive eternal life? John 3:15, 16; John 5:24; John 6:40, 47; John 8:31; John 12:46; John 20:31.
By faith alone we believe that Jesus Christ came to live and to die on our behalf. This faith comes to us as a gift, but we must consciously choose to surrender ourselves to Jesus, to repent, and to claim His blood for the forgiveness and cleansing of sin.
When Jesus asked Peter if he, too, was going to leave, Peter’s answer, “ ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life’ ” (John 6:68, NKJV), encapsulates the essence of salvation and how we attain it. It doesn’t come from philosophy, history, or science—all human disciplines. It comes from Jesus, who—possessing in Himself eternal life—offers it freely to all who, responding to the Holy Spirit, will accept it.
How does the promise of having eternal life impact how we view our temporal life here? How should it impact how we view it?
In John 1:1, the apostle clearly states that Jesus is God, the divine Son. Consequently, in John 1:4—“In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” (NKJV)—the reference to life here has to be divine life, underived eternal self-existence. Because He has life within Himself, He can lay down His life and take it again (John 10:17). And, because He has life within, He can give life to whom He will (John 5:21; compare with John 14:19).
This term life (zoē) appears 36 times in the Gospel of John, about 25 percent of the uses in the New Testament. In John 1:4, 5, besides referring to the Source of life on our planet, the word is also linked to salvation. Throughout the rest of John, this idea of life (zoē) is most often expressed as everlasting life, the promise of salvation (see John 3:15, 16, 36; John 4:14, 36; John 6:27, 40, 47, 54, 68; and John 10:27, 28). Thus, the One who gave life at Creation is the same One who brings salvation, eternal life, to a lost world.
Why did Jesus come to this earth? John 1:29, John 3:16, John 6:40, John 10:10, John 12:27.
“ ‘As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life’ ” (John 3:14, 15, NKJV).
Just as the bronze serpent took the place of the Israelites who had been bitten by serpents, so Jesus took our place, we who have been struck down by sin. He took the penalty that was ours so that we might have the life that was His.
Christ also desires that we have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10). Thus, for “as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12, 13, NKJV).
Christ came to reveal the Father to us. For, “no one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him” (John 1:18, NKJV). By seeing the character of Jesus, we can see the character of the Father.
What can we learn from the life of Jesus about the character of the Father? Why is this revelation such good news?
Read for This Week’s Study
John 1:4; John 10:10; John 1:12, 13; John 6:61–68; Num.13:23–33; Matt. 4:1–4.
Memory Text:
In the Gospel of John, when asked who He was, Jesus answered with the term that designates deity. “I AM” was an unmistakable reference to the Lord Himself, who had appeared to Moses in the burning bush. “ ‘I AM WHO I AM,’ ” He said to Moses (Exod. 3:14). And this same God, the “I AM,” then “became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14, NKJV).
The theme “I AM” threads throughout John. This week’s memory verse reflects that theme: “ ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life’ ” (John 14:6, NKJV). The “I AM” is the Light of the world, the Bread of Life, the Gate or the Door of the sheep, the Good Shepherd, and the True Vine.
This week continues with the revelation of God as given us in John. We will also more fully explore the flip side of things, in which, despite the powerful evidence for Jesus as the Messiah, some rejected Him. We will study this idea for two reasons: to avoid the same mistake, but also to consider how we might be able to reach out to those in danger of making that mistake, as well.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, November 30.
“ ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me’ ” (John 14:6, NKJV).
In our study of John so far, we’ve seen that John shows how Jesus, indeed, is the promised Messiah, the great hope that the Jewish people had been longing for.
And yet, many of the religious leaders, the spiritual guides of the people, were His biggest enemies instead.
Why?
Read John 8:12–30. What is the dynamic here between Jesus and these religious leaders? Which texts best explain why many rejected Him?
Jesus says that they know neither Him nor the Father (John 8:19). They should have known both, but these men were self-deceived. They were so caught up in their own traditions and philosophies that even with Jesus right before them, doing all the things that He did and saying the things that He said—all powerful revelations of the Father—they still rejected Him.
Second, Jesus says to them, “ ‘You are from beneath’ ” (John 8:23, NKJV). In other words, however religious they might be, these were not spiritual, godly men. They had a “form of godliness” (2 Tim. 3:5), but that was all. They had outward piety but inward disbelief.
This was nothing new: “ ‘Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men’ ” (Isa. 29:13, NKJV). This very concept is echoed by Jesus centuries later, when He said, “ ‘And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men’ ” (Mark 7:7, NKJV). Their human teachings, their human commandments, were “of this world” (John 8:23) and, as Jesus then said, “I am not of this world” (John 8:23). It was bad enough that these men had been deceiving themselves; the tragedy was made worse because they also led others astray, even though, interestingly enough, John wrote that as a result of the exchange depicted in these verses, “many believed in Him” (John 8:30, NKJV).
Thus, even despite bad leadership, many Jews were able to get beyond it and see, for themselves, who Jesus was.
What lessons do you draw from Jesus’ exchange with the religious leaders? How can we be “from above” and not “from beneath”—and how can we know the difference?
In our study of John so far, we’ve seen that John shows how Jesus, indeed, is the promised Messiah, the great hope that the Jewish people had been longing for.
And yet, many of the religious leaders, the spiritual guides of the people, were His biggest enemies instead.
Why?
Read John 8:12–30. What is the dynamic here between Jesus and these religious leaders? Which texts best explain why many rejected Him?
Jesus says that they know neither Him nor the Father (John 8:19). They should have known both, but these men were self-deceived. They were so caught up in their own traditions and philosophies that even with Jesus right before them, doing all the things that He did and saying the things that He said—all powerful revelations of the Father—they still rejected Him.
Second, Jesus says to them, “ ‘You are from beneath’ ” (John 8:23, NKJV). In other words, however religious they might be, these were not spiritual, godly men. They had a “form of godliness” (2 Tim. 3:5), but that was all. They had outward piety but inward disbelief.
This was nothing new: “ ‘Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men’ ” (Isa. 29:13, NKJV). This very concept is echoed by Jesus centuries later, when He said, “ ‘And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men’ ” (Mark 7:7, NKJV). Their human teachings, their human commandments, were “of this world” (John 8:23) and, as Jesus then said, “I am not of this world” (John 8:23). It was bad enough that these men had been deceiving themselves; the tragedy was made worse because they also led others astray, even though, interestingly enough, John wrote that as a result of the exchange depicted in these verses, “many believed in Him” (John 8:30, NKJV).
Thus, even despite bad leadership, many Jews were able to get beyond it and see, for themselves, who Jesus was.
What lessons do you draw from Jesus’ exchange with the religious leaders? How can we be “from above” and not “from beneath”—and how can we know the difference?
Jesus said to the religious leaders: “ ‘You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me’ ” (John 5:39, NKJV). What an incredible claim to make about Himself!
Estimates vary, but some scholars argue that Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled hundreds of Old Testament prophecies. Whatever the amount, the odds against one man’s fulfilling even a few of them, much less them all, are staggering. Every now and then someone will use an image like this: imagine filling an area the size of Texas with coins two feet high and painting one coin pink and then mixing them all up. Then give a blindfolded person one chance to pick the pink coin. What are the odds that, with one pick, he or she would get the pink one?
No question—Christ’s birth, life, and death were predicted by the Old Testament, stunning evidence of His identity as the expected Messiah. John points to these Old Testament texts again and again to make that very point about who Jesus was, and also, why we should believe in Him and accept the salvation He offers.
What do each of the following passages from John’s Gospel reveal about Jesus as a fulfillment of Messianic prophecy?
John 12:13, Ps. 118:26
John 12:14, 15; Zech. 9:9
John 13:18, Ps. 41:9
John 19:37, Zech. 12:10, Zech. 13:6
How firmly grounded are you in what you believe? If someone were to challenge you on why you believe in Jesus as the Messiah, what answers could you give? Where would you go, and why, to help defend that faith?
In a discussion with the religious leaders about His identity, Jesus affirmed the authority of Scripture. At first glance, it would seem unnecessary for Him to do that because the religious leaders believed in Scripture. Nevertheless, even with them, Jesus would emphasize the authority of the Scriptures, and He did so in order to show them who He was—no matter how hard their hearts were, and no matter how much they tried to fight conviction.
Meanwhile, John records many direct quotations from and allusions to the Old Testament that point to Jesus as the fulfillment of the Old Testament promise of a Messiah.
How are the following New Testament and Old Testament passages linked? That is, how does the New Testament use these texts to bear witness to Jesus?
John 1:23, Isa. 40:3
John 2:16, 17; Ps. 69:9
John 7:38, Jer. 2:13
John 19:36, Num. 9:12
Not just John, but Peter, Paul, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and all the New Testament writers, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, time and again stress how Jesus of Nazareth’s life, death, resurrection, and ascension to the throne of God are all fulfillments of the Old Testament prophecies.
And although Jesus was continually pointing the disciples to the Scriptures, which foretold His ministry—when did the disciples finally understand that the Scriptures pointed to His death and resurrection? It was only after He died and was resurrected and appeared to them that they, finally, got it. “Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said” (John 2:22, NKJV; see also John 20:9).
In addition to the specific signs and testimonies that John used to point to Jesus as the Messiah, John also appealed to the authority of the Old Testament and to its prophecies, which foretold the work of Christ. The Old Testament is central, not just to John’s Gospel but to all the New Testament. Justification for Jesus, for who He was, where He came from, what He did, and what He will do—is based on Scripture, in this case the Old Testament.
Read the following texts: John 5:39, 40, 46, 47. What do they teach us about Jesus’ attitude toward the authority of Scripture?
All through the Gospels, time and again, Jesus points to the authority of Scripture as a key witness to Him. For instance, Jesus often uses events from the Old Testament to help point to Himself and to what He does. The following is one case, where He takes an event from Numbers 21:5–9. “ ‘As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up’ ” (John 3:14, NKJV). Here, not only does Jesus refer to the story, but by using it to point to Himself, He basically gives us the authoritative interpretation of what the story meant to convey.
And not just Jesus, but others, as well, use the Old Testament to point to Jesus. For example, early on in John, we read the words of Philip: “ ‘We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote’ ” (John 1:45, NKJV).
Read the following texts: John 13:18; John 17:12; and John 19:24, 28, 36. What do they teach about the authority of Scripture as understood by Jesus and John? What should this tell us about the crucial role all Scripture must have for our faith, as well?
What are the forces today that either subtly or openly work to undermine our faith in the authority of the Bible? Bring your answer to class on Sabbath.
Read for This Week’s Study
John 5:17, 20, 36–40, 46, 47; John 13:18; John 17:12; Jer. 2:13; Zech. 9:9; John 8:12–30.
Memory Text:
We can see again and again in the book of John all the things that Jesus said and did which revealed that, yes, the Messiah (hammashiach), the Christ, had come to Israel. And He had come, in fact, as one of them, a Jew born in Bethlehem, just as the Scriptures had predicted.
Yet, as John wrote, “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him” (John 1:10, NKJV).
He was in the world, the world was made through Him, and yet the world did not know Him? That’s an amazing statement. And, as we can see in John and in the other Gospels, many people didn’t know Him even though they should have, especially because of all the things that Jesus did and said. And, even more so, because the Old Testament scriptures pointed to Him.
This week we will look at more ways John revealed Jesus as the Messiah, and also, we will look at why some people still continued to reject Him—despite all the powerful reasons affirming Him as the Christ.
What can we learn from their mistakes?
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, November 23.
“ ‘But I have a greater witness than John’s; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish—the very works that I do—bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me’ ” (John 5:36, NKJV).
Read for This Week’s Study
John 5:17, 20, 36–40, 46, 47; John 13:18; John 17:12; Jer. 2:13; Zech. 9:9; John 8:12–30.
Memory Text:
We can see again and again in the book of John all the things that Jesus said and did which revealed that, yes, the Messiah (hammashiach), the Christ, had come to Israel. And He had come, in fact, as one of them, a Jew born in Bethlehem, just as the Scriptures had predicted.
Yet, as John wrote, “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him” (John 1:10, NKJV).
He was in the world, the world was made through Him, and yet the world did not know Him? That’s an amazing statement. And, as we can see in John and in the other Gospels, many people didn’t know Him even though they should have, especially because of all the things that Jesus did and said. And, even more so, because the Old Testament scriptures pointed to Him.
This week we will look at more ways John revealed Jesus as the Messiah, and also, we will look at why some people still continued to reject Him—despite all the powerful reasons affirming Him as the Christ.
What can we learn from their mistakes?
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, November 23.
“ ‘But I have a greater witness than John’s; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish—the very works that I do—bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me’ ” (John 5:36, NKJV).
Read Ellen G. White, “The Test of Faith,” pp. 145–155, in Patriarchs and Prophets; “In Pilate’s Judgment Hall,” pp. 723–740, in The Desire of Ages.
Thomas “cast himself at the feet of Jesus crying, ‘My Lord and my God.’ ”
“Jesus accepted his acknowledgment, but gently reproved his unbelief: ‘Thomas, because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.’ The faith of Thomas would have been more pleasing to Christ if he had been willing to believe upon the testimony of his brethren. Should the world now follow the example of Thomas, no one would believe unto salvation; for all who receive Christ must do so through the testimony of others.
“Many who are given to doubt excuse themselves by saying that if they had the evidence which Thomas had from his companions, they would believe. They do not realize that they have not only that evidence, but much more. Many who, like Thomas, wait for all cause of doubt to be removed, will never realize their desire. They gradually become confirmed in unbelief. Those who educate themselves to look on the dark side, and murmur and complain, know not what they do. They are sowing the seeds of doubt, and they will have a harvest of doubt to reap. At a time when faith and confidence are most essential, many will thus find themselves powerless to hope and believe.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 807, 808.
Discussion Questions:
What was the essential difference in the expressions of faith by Abraham and by Thomas? What can we learn from their stories?
In class, let those who are willing bear witness to Jesus, as we have seen done in the Gospel of John. Though the accounts differ, what do people say, and how do they all bear witness to the same Lord?
Pilate asked a very philosophical question: “What is truth?” Give your answer to that question in light of all we have studied in John.
Look at the prophecies of Daniel 2 and 7. Though those in the time of Jesus had these two chapters, what great advantage do we have today that they didn’t have back then, in terms of seeing those prophecies fulfilled and thus having even more reasons to believe?
Again and again, as John presents witnesses to Jesus, his point is to bring us to a sweeping conclusion: “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:30, 31, NKJV).
Imagine having been there, in person, in the flesh, and having seen Jesus do many of these miracles. We’d certainly believe, wouldn’t we? We’d like to think so; but, in some ways, we have even more reasons to believe in Jesus than did those who actually saw the miracles.
Why?
What are some of the things that we have today that those living at the time of Jesus didn’t have that should help us believe? (See, for example, Matt. 24:2, Matt. 24:14, Matt. 24:6–8.)
And that’s because we have not only the powerful accounts in John’s Gospel, but also the great advantage of seeing so much of what Jesus and other Bible writers predicted would come true, such as the destruction of the temple (Matt. 24:2), the spread of the gospel around the world (Matt. 24:14), the great falling away (2 Thess. 2:3), and the world continuing to be a fallen and evil place (Matt. 24:6–8). All during the life and ministry of Jesus, His following remained a small and harassed group of men and women who, by all human standards, should have vanished from history a long time ago. How could they have known, as we do, that all these things would come to pass? And they have. In fact, our own faith itself exists as a fulfillment of Jesus’ own prophecy that the gospel would go to all the world.
And, today, about two thousand years later, as followers of Jesus, we also have the privilege of bearing witness to Jesus and to what He has done for us. It is not by the reasoning of Nathanael, Nicodemus, the woman of Samaria, or the teachings of the Pharisees that we can know Jesus as the Messiah for ourselves. It is by the reading of the Scriptures under the convicting power of the Holy Spirit that we accept Jesus as the Savior of the world.
And then, each one of us, in our way, and out of our own relationship with God, can have a story to tell. Our story may not be as dramatic as seeing the dead raised or someone blind from birth healed, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that we know Jesus for ourselves, and in our own way bear witness to Him, as did those in John’s Gospel.
Read John 20:19–31. What can we learn from the story of Thomas about faith and doubt? What major mistake did Thomas make?
Christ appeared to the disciples after His resurrection, when they were shut up together in a room because of fear. Thomas was not with them. Later, he heard the reports of the Resurrection from the other disciples, but he despaired. It did not fit his picture of the kingdom. And, too, he surely must have wondered why Jesus would have revealed Himself to the others when he himself was not there.
Thomas said, “ ‘Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe’ ” (John 20:25, NKJV).
Thomas was dictating the conditions of his faith. This approach to faith in Jesus has appeared again and again in John. Nicodemus answered Jesus with, “ ‘How can a man be born when he is old?’ ” (John 3:4, NKJV). The woman at the well asked, “ ‘Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?’ ” (John 4:11, NRSV). The crowd who had been fed with the loaves and fishes asked, “ ‘What sign are you going to give us?’ ” (John 6:30, NRSV).
It is this “see and then believe” perspective that the Gospel of John counters. When Jesus met Thomas after the Resurrection, He invited him to come, see, and touch His risen body. But then He says, “ ‘Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed’ ” (John 20:29, ESV).
“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.”—Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 105.
Through the Word of God, through the Creation, and through personal experience, we have been given an incredible amount of evidence for our faith in Jesus.
If someone were to ask you Why do you believe in Jesus? what would you say?
Time and again, John records the attempts of the religious leaders to seize Jesus, to bring Him to trial, and to sentence Him to death. A theme in John’s Gospel, stated often by Jesus, is that His time or hour had not yet come, by which He meant the time for His crucifixion (John 2:4; John 7:6, 8, 30; John 12:7, 23, 27; John 13:1; John 17:1).
Now the hour had come. Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, brought before Annas, then Caiaphas the high priest, then twice before Pilate.
John has called upon many witnesses from every walk of life to testify that Jesus was the Christ. Now John calls upon Pilate, the governor who tried Jesus. This was an important testimony because Pilate was a Roman, a governor, and a judge; most of the other witnesses were Jews and commoners.
How is Pilate’s verdict connected to the theme of John’s Gospel? John 18:38, John 19:4–22.
Jesus was brought to Pilate early on Friday morning (John 18:28). His plan was to dispatch the prisoner quickly to His fate. But Jesus’ demeanor drew Pilate’s attention. The governor questioned Jesus closely and heard from His lips, “ ‘For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice’ ” (John 18:37, ESV).
Though the governor ultimately condemned Jesus to death, he nonetheless three times proclaimed Jesus innocent (John 18:38; John 19:4, 6). And over the cross he wrote the words “ ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews’ ” (John 19:19, ESV), completing his witness to who Jesus is. And yet despite his testimony of Christ’s innocence, he nevertheless condemned Jesus to death.
Pilate had the Truth Himself standing before him and yet—allowing the mob to bully him—Pilate sentenced Jesus to death anyway! What a tragic example of not following what your conscience and heart tell you is correct!
What can we learn from Pilate’s example about the dangers of allowing popular sentiment, even pressure, to keep us from doing what we believe is right?
Six days before Passover, Jesus came to visit Mary, Martha, and their brother Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised to life. Simon, who had been healed of leprosy, hosted a feast in appreciation for what Jesus had done for him. Martha was serving, and Lazarus was sitting at the table with the guests (John 12:1–8).
What was the significance of Mary’s actions here? How was this a witness to who Jesus really was? (See John 12:1–3.)
The perfume was very expensive, worth about a year’s wages for the common laborer. Mary probably brought this gift as an expression of gratitude to the Savior for the forgiveness of her sins and for the resurrection of her brother. She intended it to be used someday for the burial of Jesus. But then she heard that He would soon be anointed King. In that case, she would be the first to bring Him honor.
Mary probably did not intend for her gesture to be noticed, but John notes, “The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume” (John 12:3, ESV). Judas responded with a quick rebuke, stating that the perfume should have been sold and the proceeds given to the poor. Jesus immediately put Mary at ease by stating, “ ‘Let her alone; . . . The poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always’ ” (John 12:7, 8, NKJV).
A recurring theme runs through the Gospel. Jesus knows what is in people (John 2:24, 25; John 6:70, 71; John 13:11; John 16:19). In this instance at Simon’s feast, Jesus knows what is in Judas. John is careful to point out who Judas is—a self-serving thief (John 12:6).
“The fragrant gift which Mary had thought to lavish upon the dead body of the Saviour she poured upon His living form. At the burial its sweetness could only have pervaded the tomb; now it gladdened His heart with the assurance of her faith and love. . . . And as He went down into the darkness of His great trial, He carried with Him the memory of that deed, an earnest of the love that would be His from His redeemed ones forever.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 560.
Jesus knew what was in the heart of Mary and the heart of Judas. He knows what’s in your heart, as well. What should this truth tell us about the need of Christ as our righteousness, transforming us and covering us, as well?
Jesus was not shy in declaring who He was, nor in calling on witnesses to testify to who He was, even witnesses who were long gone, including Abraham. “ ‘Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad’ ” (John 8:56, NKJV).
Why was Abraham’s witness so important that it was included in John’s gospel? (Gen. 12:3, Gen. 18:16–18, Gen. 26:4, Matt. 1:1, Acts 3:25.)
“Through type and promise God ‘preached before the gospel unto Abraham.’ Galatians 3:8. And the patriarch’s faith was fixed upon the Redeemer to come. Said Christ to the Jews, ‘Your father Abraham rejoiced that he should see My day; and he saw it, and was glad.’ John 8:56, R.V., margin. The ram offered in place of Isaac represented the Son of God, who was to be sacrificed in our stead. When man was doomed to death by transgression of the law of God, the Father, looking upon His Son, said to the sinner, ‘Live: I have found a ransom.’ ”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 154.
Abraham was the father of the Jewish nation. He received the promise that, through him, all nations would be blessed. This blessing came through the Messiah, born through his lineage.
Abraham was also the father of those who respond to God in faith (Heb. 11:8, 17–19). His willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac (Genesis 22), the son of promise, was not only an evidence of faith but a window into the plan of salvation.
When Jesus said, “ ‘Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day’ ” (John 8:56, NKJV), the leaders responded, “ ‘You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?’ ” (John 8:57, NKJV).
Jesus’ answer was astounding. “ ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM’ ” (John 8:58, NKJV).
Jesus uses language reminiscent of what God said to Moses at the burning bush. This was a claim to be God, the self-existent One. No question, the leaders understood the implication of what He said because they then “took up stones to throw at Him” (John 8:59, NKJV).
Read Romans 4:1–5. How does Paul use this story of Abraham to reveal the great truth of salvation by faith alone, without the deeds of the law? How do these verses help us understand the idea of Abraham as the father of those who live by faith?
Read for This Week’s Study
John 8:54–58, Gen. 12:3, Rom. 4:1–5, John 12:1–8, John 19:4–22, John 20:19–31, Daniel 2, Daniel 7.
Memory Text:
Throughout his Gospel, John has a diversity of people—people with different backgrounds, beliefs, and experiences—all testifying to who Jesus was.
“ ‘Behold the Lamb of God!’ ” (John 1:36, NKJV). “ ‘We have found the Messiah’ ” (John 1:41, NKJV). “ ‘We have found Him of whom Moses . . . wrote’ ” (John 1:45, NKJV). “ ‘Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’ ” (John 1:49, NKJV). “ ‘Could this be the Christ?’ ” (John 4:29, NKJV). “ ‘We ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world’ ” (John 4:42, NKJV). “ ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life’ ” (John 6:68, NKJV). “ ‘I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world’ ” (John 11:27, NKJV). “ ‘Though I was blind, now I see’ ” (John 9:25, NKJV). “ ‘Behold your King!’ ” (John 19:14, NKJV). “ ‘I find no fault in Him’ ” (John 19:6, NKJV). “ ‘My Lord and my God!’ ” (John 20:28, NKJV).
Who were some of these people, and why did they testify as they did to the identity of Jesus?
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, November 16.
“Jesus said to him, ‘Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed’ ” (John 20:29, NKJV).
Read Ellen G. White, “The Crisis in Galilee,” pp. 383–394; “In the Outer Court,” pp. 621–626, in The Desire of Ages.
“ ‘To whom shall we go?’ The teachers of Israel were slaves to formalism. The Pharisees and Sadducees were in constant contention. To leave Jesus was to fall among sticklers for rites and ceremonies, and ambitious men who sought their own glory. The disciples had found more peace and joy since they had accepted Christ than in all their previous lives. How could they go back to those who had scorned and persecuted the Friend of sinners? They had long been looking for the Messiah; now He had come, and they could not turn from His presence to those who were hunting His life, and had persecuted them for becoming His followers.
“ ‘To whom shall we go?’ Not from the teaching of Christ, His lessons of love and mercy, to the darkness of unbelief, the wickedness of the world. While the Saviour was forsaken by many who had witnessed His wonderful works, Peter expressed the faith of the disciples,—‘Thou art that Christ.’ The very thought of losing this anchor of their souls filled them with fear and pain. To be destitute of a Saviour was to be adrift on a dark and stormy sea.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 393.
Discussion Questions:
In class, talk about the difficult question of why some people, when given evidence for Jesus as the Messiah and for the truth of Christianity, gladly accept it, and why others, when given that same evidence, reject it?
What more important truth could there be than that Jesus Christ died for our sins? Yet, how did we ever come to know this crucial truth? By science, natural law, natural theology, logic, and reason? While these things could, in fact, lead us to believe in a Creator God, a First Cause, an Unmoved Mover, or something else, none of these disciplines, either alone or even together, could teach us the most important truth that we need to know: Christ died for our sins. What should this fact—that all these disciplines, even in principle, could not lead us to the one thing that we really need to know—teach us about how crucial it is to make the Bible our final and ultimate authority on matters of faith?
Why is it so important for someone’s own faith to recount the things God has done in his or her life?
“On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’ ” (John 7:37, 38, NKJV).
John recorded, numerous times, Jesus making bold statements about Himself, about who He was and what He came to do.
The lines quoted above from John 7:37, 38 are another example of what Jesus claimed about Himself and about what He would do to all who come to Him. These were astonishing claims, as well.
When Jesus spoke to the Jews attending the Feast of Tabernacles, what was the response of many in the crowd? (See John 7:37–53.)
Some said He was the Prophet like Moses predicted long ago (see Deut. 18:15–19). Others thought Jesus was the Christ. But this brought the argument that the Messiah would not come from Galilee, that He had to be of the Davidic line, and that He had to be born in Bethlehem—all of which were true about Jesus (compare with Matthew 1–2), though many did not seem to know this!
Even the arresting officers were stymied by Him and the eloquence of His words. The Pharisees responded to the officers with another question. “ ‘Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him?’ ” (John 7:48, NKJV). This question from the Pharisees gave John the opportunity again to bring in Nicodemus, who, after having had his meeting with Jesus, was seeking to protect Jesus from their machinations. “ ‘Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?’ ” (John 7:51, NKJV).
Did Nicodemus ever accept Jesus as the Messiah? Though this scene does not prove that he had, between this act and what he did after Jesus died (see John 19:39, 40), the Bible gives us solid evidence that Nicodemus did in fact come to believe in Him.
And so, the answer to their question was, yes, in fact, one of the Pharisees did believe in Him, after all.
Read John 7:49. What were the leaders saying that showed their disdain for the masses who followed after Jesus? What lesson might be here for us?
Read John 1:14, 17; John 8:32; John 14:6; and John 15:26. How does John tie the concept of truth directly to Jesus?
Again and again in John’s Gospel, truth is connected to Jesus, to His Father, and to the Holy Spirit. Truth is connected with Jesus, the Word (logos), and with light—in contrast to darkness (John 1:1–14, John 3:19–21). And, too, falsehood is connected with the devil and sin (John 8:44–46). Consequently, truth in John is not simply a matter of facts and figures. It does involve such things, but more than this, the idea of truth contains a moral aspect of faithfulness to God and to His will.
“There are many who are crying out for the living God, longing for the divine presence. Philosophical theories or literary essays, however brilliant, cannot satisfy the heart. The assertions and inventions of men are of no value. Let the word of God speak to the people. Let those who have heard only traditions and human theories and maxims hear the voice of Him whose word can renew the soul unto everlasting life.”—Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 40.
Think about what it means for Jesus to be the Truth. Jesus is the logos, the Word who was with God from the beginning and who was the Creator of all things created (John 1:1–4). One with the Father from eternity to eternity, Jesus has the characteristics of the Father, and thus is also the “I AM.” His being is not subject to anyone or anything else. Nothing that exists, including knowledge, exists apart from Him. And everything that does exist, that was created, was created only by Jesus and exists only in Him, as well. “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist” (Col. 1:16, 17, NKJV).
Jesus is not simply the embodiment of the truth; He is the Truth. Truth is not a concept or a construct. It is a Person!
The Truth, Jesus Christ, can be likened to the sun that lights up the world (John 8:12). It is parallel to what C. S. Lewis stated about Christianity: “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”—“Is Theology Poetry?” (n. p.: Samizdat University Press, 2014), p. 15, originally presented in 1944.
It is by Jesus, the Truth, that we are able to interpret the world around us rightly.
The Gospel of John begins by talking about the Word (logos) as being with God; that is, being with God the Father (John 1:1). When the Word became flesh, the Spirit testified about Jesus by resting on Him at His baptism (John 1:32–34). But the Father also testifies about Jesus during His earthly ministry.
Read John 5:36–38. What does Jesus say here about the Father?
Jesus links the Father to the works and miracles that He had performed. He is very clear that the Father had sent Him and also had testified about Him.
Read Matthew 3:17, Matthew 17:5, Mark 1:11, and Luke 3:22 (see also 2 Pet. 1:17, 18). What does the Father say about Jesus?
At the baptism of Jesus, the Father and the Spirit joined the Son in marking this important occasion: the commencement of Jesus’ ministry. The Father states that Jesus is His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. But, at a crucial time in Christ’s ministry, the Father speaks yet again, this time as recorded in the Gospel of John.
Things were reaching a climax in the final days of that ministry. The religious leaders, unable to stop Him (see John 12:19), wanted Him dead, now more than ever. The crowds were exuberant over Him, especially as more and more people, hearing the testimony of those who saw Him raise Lazarus from the dead (John 12:17, 18), were starting to follow Jesus. Even Greeks, there for the festival, wanted to see Jesus.
At this point, in response to Jesus’ words in John 12:28, “ ‘Father, glorify Your name’ ” (NKJV), the Father again speaks from heaven, “ ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again’ ” (John 12:28, ESV).
As we have already seen, Jesus’ hour of glory is the cross. Thus, the Father’s testimony about Jesus points to the great sacrifice of the Lamb of God for the sins of the world. It is the culmination of His earthly ministry. His death in our behalf paid the full penalty for all our sins, and in Him, by faith, we never have to face that penalty ourselves.
Lesson 2 described the feeding of the 5,000 in John 6 but did not cover the final section of that story, which is studied here.
Read John 6:51–71. What did Jesus say that people had trouble accepting?
Having just been fed, miraculously, by Jesus, the people were ready to crown Him king (John 6:1–15). But in talking with them later at the Capernaum synagogue, He explains the spiritual meaning of the miracle, saying, “I am the bread of life,” (John 6:35). He expounds in more detail that this bread is His flesh, which He gives for the life of the world (John 6:51).
This saying opened the eyes of the multitude to the fact that Jesus would not be their earthly king. He did not fit the mold produced by earthly thinking. They refused conversion, which would transform the way they thought so that they could recognize and accept Jesus as the Messiah. Many of His disciples left Him at this point (John 6:66).
From a human sense, this must have been hard for Jesus. The approbation of the crowd is pleasing. Who doesn’t want to be liked? But seeing many people draw back and question one’s principles is naturally discouraging, as well. Seeing the multitude depart, Jesus asks his inner circle, the Twelve, if they want to leave, too.
This is when Peter makes his amazing confession, another witness as to both what Jesus has and who He is. “ ‘You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God’ ” (John 6:68, 69, ESV).
The disciples had been with Jesus for a couple of years, traveling with Him, seeing His miracles, hearing His sermons. They knew from experience that there was no one comparable to Him. The conviction settled upon them that, however unusual some situations might be, this man was the Messiah—regardless of how much they still didn't understand about His purpose for coming. Only after His death and resurrection did they start to understand why Jesus came.
What can we learn from this story about the fact that the majority is usually wrong? Why must we remember this, especially with the aspects of our faith that are unpopular with the majority—even the majority of Christians?
Read John 1:32–36. What does John the Baptist say here about Jesus that the people were not expecting about the long-awaited Messiah?
The Jews looked for a Messiah to come who would deliver them from the rule of Rome. Long under oppression, the Jews believed that the Messiah would not only overthrow Rome but would establish them as a great and powerful nation. John’s words, however, calling Jesus “the Lamb of God,” although directly pointing to His atoning sacrifice, were probably misunderstood by the majority of people. They might have not known what he was talking about at all.
Thus, John with his Gospel wanted to change their understanding of the Messiah so that they could recognize in Jesus the fulfillment of the prophecies regarding the coming King and what He would do. He was not coming as a political and military leader but to offer Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. That was His purpose. Only after that, when all is finished, will the final kingdom come (see Dan. 7:18).
“When at the baptism of Jesus, John pointed to Him as the Lamb of God, a new light was shed upon the Messiah’s work. The prophet’s mind was directed to the words of Isaiah, ‘He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter.’ Isa. 53:7.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 136.
In John 1:31, John says “ ‘I did not know Him’ ” (NKJV). So, how then did John come to know Jesus as the Messiah? The answer is that the Lord who sent John had previously said to him, “ ‘ “Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God’ ” (John 1:33, 34, NKJV). In other words, God revealed to John that Jesus was the Messiah.
“Christ [is] the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:24, NKJV). Knowledge that Jesus is the Christ comes from God Himself through the convicting power of His Spirit. This theme appears frequently in John. Salvation does not come from worldly philosophy, science, or higher learning. It comes only from God to a heart surrendered in faith and obedience to Jesus.
How would we know the truth about Jesus as our atoning sacrifice unless it were revealed to us? Why, then, is knowing the Bible and what it teaches about Jesus so crucial?
Lesson 2 described how the witness of John the Baptist brought the first disciples—Andrew and John, Peter, Philip, and Nathanael—to Jesus. One would expect that the Baptist, having given his witness, would move off the scene. But he reappears several times in the Gospel of John.
Read John 3:25–36. How does John the Baptist compare himself to Jesus?
A dispute arose between John the Baptist’s disciples and an unnamed Jew about purification, likely a question over the efficacy of baptism (compare with Mark 1:4, 5). Interestingly, when his disciples come to John, no doubt to resolve the question, they bring up Jesus, saying, “ ‘He is baptizing, and all are going to him’ ” (John 3:26, ESV). It is not hard to read between the lines: they are jealous of Jesus—jealous for their master and jealous for themselves, as well.
It would be all too easy for John to indulge in the jealousy, but he does not because he knows what his mission is. Instead, he reminds his disciples that he never claimed to be the Christ. On the contrary: he came to point toward Him, to prepare the way for Him, to be a witness about Him (John 1:6–8).
Using the illustration of a wedding, he calls himself the friend of the bridegroom, with Jesus as the bridegroom. The bride would be the people of God (compare with Hos. 2:16–23 and Isa. 62:1–5). Then, in words that show John’s true greatness, he says, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).
John 3:31–36 continues the comparison between Jesus and John, showing the superiority of the Messiah over His forerunner. With John’s testimony pointing toward Jesus, the idea of witness is again emphasized. Those who receive that testimony and believe in Jesus have eternal life. Those who do not receive Him remain under the wrath of God. That’s what the text says. God loves the world and sent His Son to redeem the world (John 3:16, 17). But those who refuse the gift offered them will have to pay the penalty for their own sins—eternal death.
How can we learn the lesson of humility before both God and humanity? What can we learn from the example of John here about humility of the soul?
Read for This Week’s Study
John 3:25–36, John 1:32–36, Dan. 7:18, John 6:51–71, John 5:36–38, John 7:37–53.
Memory Text:
Jesus doesn’t merely say astonishing things about Himself or about who He is or about who sent Him or about where He came from. He also showed who He is by the miracles and signs that He performed. As some openly testify of Jesus: “ ‘When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?’ ” (John 7:31, NKJV).
He backed up His words with actions that proved the truth of His words.
But as the drama continues, a division begins among the people. The healing of the man by the pool of Bethesda attracts the ire of some leaders. The discussion in Capernaum following the feeding of the 5,000 results in the rejection of Jesus by the multitudes. The resurrection of Lazarus creates faith in some but triggers in others a hostility that will lead to the trial and execution of Jesus.
This week’s lesson looks at some of those who witnessed and testified about Jesus. In each of these incidents, some aspects of who Jesus really is are revealed, and together they create a deeper vision of Jesus, the Messiah.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, November 9.
“ ‘And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself’ ” (John 12:32, NKJV).
Read Ellen G. White, “At Jacob’s Well,” pp. 183–195, in The Desire of Ages.
“As soon as she had found the Saviour the Samaritan woman brought others to Him. She proved herself a more effective missionary than His own disciples. The disciples saw nothing in Samaria to indicate that it was an encouraging field. Their thoughts were fixed upon a great work to be done in the future. They did not see that right around them was a harvest to be gathered. But through the woman whom they despised, a whole cityful were brought to hear the Saviour. She carried the light at once to her countrymen.
“This woman represents the working of a practical faith in Christ. Every true disciple is born into the kingdom of God as a missionary. He who drinks of the living water becomes a fountain of life. The receiver becomes a giver. The grace of Christ in the soul is like a spring in the desert, welling up to refresh all, and making those who are ready to perish eager to drink of the water of life.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 195.
Discussion Questions:
In class, go over your answers to Sunday’s final question. Be brutally honest about it. What are the taboos and prejudices found in your culture that could indeed hamper your own witness to others?
Why do you think Jesus got such a warm reception among the Samaritans in contrast to the reception among His own people?
Put yourself in the place of that Samaritan woman. A total stranger comes and lets her know that He is aware of her deepest secrets. How could anyone, much less a stranger, have known these things? No wonder she was impressed by Jesus. What should this story tell us about how the Lord knows everything about us, even the deepest, darkest secrets that we would not want anyone to know? And yet, what does the way He treated her say to us about how He wants to deal with us, even when He knows our secrets? What comfort can we draw from this truth?
What themes in the Gospel of John that we have studied thus far are found in Jesus’ ministry to the Samaritan woman at the well?
Read John 4:27–29. What surprising action did the woman take?
Jesus’ discussion with the woman was interrupted by the arrival of the disciples. Though surprised that He was speaking with a woman, they did not question Him. Instead, they urged Him to eat.
The woman, meanwhile, left her water pot and rushed into the city to share with others what she had just experienced with Jesus.
Read John 4:30–42. What happened following this encounter, and what does it teach about how the gospel can be spread?
It seems strange that Jesus’ narrative about a harvest would interrupt the story of the conversion of many in the city. But John wants us to see how Jesus understood what was happening. Sharing the plan of salvation with a Samaritan woman was far more important to Him than eating. To lead souls to salvation was His purpose, and He used this occasion to teach His disciples the urgency of sharing the gospel with all people, even with those not like them.
There are many high points in the Gospel of John. Surely John 4:39–42 is among them. Many of the Samaritans believed because of the woman's testimony: “ ‘He told me all that I ever did’ ” (John 4:39, NKJV).
The Samaritans asked Jesus to stay with them. The result was that many more believed because of the Word of Jesus. “Then they said to the woman, ‘Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world’ ” (John 4:42, NKJV).
What should this story tell us about how powerful the witness of even one person can be? How powerful a witness are you to what Jesus has done in your life?
Read John 4:16–24. What did Jesus do to show this woman that He knew her deepest secrets, and how did she respond?
The light was too blinding to look at directly. While recognizing Jesus as a prophet, the woman practices avoidance again. She asks Jesus a question of religious controversy between Jews and Samaritans—the proper place to worship.
In response, Jesus pointed out that the Samaritans did not know what they worshiped. Their worship was a synthesis of Judaism and paganism. The Jews worshiped the God who reveals Himself—another important admission for a Samaritan.
Worship of the true God is not tied to a place. The discussion, therefore, about a place of worship was irrelevant to the conversation. For God is spirit, and those who worship Him must do so in spirit and in truth. The woman accepted the plain truth conveyed by Jesus and was ready for more.
Read John 4:25, 26. How did Jesus reveal His identity to her?
In all four Gospels, this is the only passage before His trial in which Jesus plainly stated to someone that He was the Messiah. And He did it not to some large crowd or important personage but to an unnamed Samaritan woman, alone, at Jacob’s well. He is interested in any lonely soul who feels separated.
And so to this woman, who not only was from a foreign culture but also was not of the highest moral character, Jesus openly reveals who He is. And, having revealed to her His knowledge of her darkest secrets, He also gave this woman a great reason to believe in Him, as well.
What should this story tell us about why the gospel needs to break down the barriers that we humans create with each other?
“ ‘Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them’ ” (Ezek. 36:25–27, NKJV).
How does Ezekiel 36:25–27 reflect the truths Jesus was seeking to give to Nicodemus and to the woman at the well?
In both cases, Jesus was seeking to reach these people with spiritual truths, even though He used illustrations from the natural world to do so.
At first, neither person understood what Jesus meant. How, asked Nicodemus, can a man be born again? That is, how can he return to his mother’s womb? Nicodemus clearly was functioning at a mundane and earthly level, even though Jesus clearly was pointing him toward spiritual truth. This woman, too, took Jesus’ words about the water in a literal sense when Jesus was clearly talking about something spiritual.
The woman’s response to Jesus’ offer of living water was, “ ‘Give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw’ ” (John 4:15, NKJV). She reasoned that the water Jesus offered would obviate trips to the well, thus reducing the risk of facing others. It is striking that the conversation shifted so quickly from Jesus’ asking for a drink to the woman’s asking Him for a drink.
Read John 4:16. How did Jesus respond to the woman’s request?
Abruptly, Jesus changes the topic of discussion, telling the woman to go call her husband and come back. Why the sudden shift in topic? The woman’s actions bespoke avoidance. Jesus could read her heart. She must face her situation to find healing. “Before this soul could receive the gift He longed to bestow, she must be brought to recognize her sin and her Saviour.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 187.
Read John 4:7–15. How does Jesus use this encounter to start witnessing to this woman?
“The hatred between Jews and Samaritans prevented the woman from offering a kindness to Jesus; but the Saviour was seeking to find the key to this heart, and with the tact born of divine love, He asked, not offered, a favor. The offer of a kindness might have been rejected; but trust awakens trust.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 184.
As was the case in His encounter with Nicodemus, Jesus knows what is in the woman’s heart. In response to her surprise that a Jew would ask such a favor of a Samaritan, Jesus goes directly to the point. “ ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, “Give Me a drink,” you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water’ ” (John 4:10, NKJV).
The woman’s response was like that of Nicodemus, who asked, “ ‘How can these things be?’ ” (John 3:9, NKJV) in the context of a new birth. She asked, “ ‘You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water?’ ” (John 4:11, NKJV). In both cases, Jesus was pointing them (one, a prominent Jewish teacher; the other, a Samaritan woman of dubious character) to the transcendent spiritual truths that each one needed to hear and understand. In each case, Jesus was basically telling them both the same thing: they need a conversion experience.
What is the Old Testament background to Jesus’ statement about living water? (Jer. 2:13, Zech. 14:8).
Water is necessary for life; humans cannot exist without water, and so water can be a powerful and appropriate image of eternal life, as well. Hence, Jesus says, “ ‘Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life’ ” (John 4:14, NKJV).
Read John 7:37, 38. What is Jesus saying to us in these verses, and how do we experience what He is promising here?
Read John 4:1–4. What was the background issue that led Jesus through Samaria?
The Pharisees discovered that the disciples of Jesus were baptizing more people than did those of John the Baptist. This situation could create tensions between John’s followers and Jesus’. The disciples of John, quite naturally, were jealous for their master’s reputation and status (compare with John 3:26–30). John’s impressive reply was that he must decrease, but Jesus must increase (John 3:30). Probably to avoid confrontation, Jesus departed Judea to go to Galilee. Samaria provided the most direct route between those two locations, but it was not the only route possible. Devout Jews would take the long way around, going east through Perea. But Jesus had a mission in Samaria.
Read John 4:5–9. How did Jesus use this opportunity to open a dialogue with the woman at the well?
Jacob’s well was located right next to Shechem, while Sychar, where the woman was from, was about a mile away (1.5 km). Jesus sat by the well while His disciples went into the city to buy food. He had no access to the cooling water of the well. When the woman came to draw water, He asked her for a drink.
In John 3, it was surprising that Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews and a rabbi, would lower himself to come to Jesus. He came by night to avoid discovery. But, in John 4, the woman hides in broad daylight, perhaps avoiding contact with other women who came either at the beginning or end of the day when it was cooler. After all, why did she go such a long way to fetch water, and in the middle of the day when it was hot? Whatever the reason for her being there, meeting Jesus would change her life.
What scene unfolds next? A Jewish teacher is compared to a Samaritan woman of poor reputation. What a contrast! And yet, in this exact context, a remarkable encounter unfolds.
What are some of the taboos in your own culture that could hamper your witness to others? How do we learn to transcend them? Bring your answer to class on Sabbath.
Read for This Week’s Study
John 4:1–42, John 3:26–30, Jer. 2:13, Zech. 14:8, Ezek. 36:25–27.
Memory Text:
Who were the Samaritans? The northern kingdom of Israel had been taken captive by the Assyrians in 722 b.c. To create political stability, the Assyrians dispersed their captives throughout their empire. Likewise, captives from other nations were brought to populate the northern kingdom, and these became the Samaritans, who practiced their own form of Judaism.
Relations, however, were not good between them and the Jews. For instance, the Samaritans worked against the rebuilding of the temple at the return of the Jews from Babylon. The Samaritans, meanwhile, had built their own temple, on Mount Gerizim. But this temple was destroyed by the Jewish ruler John Hyrcanus in 128 b.c.
At the time of Christ, this animosity continued. The Jews avoided Samaria as much as possible. Though commerce may have gone on, other interaction was taboo. The Jews would not borrow from Samaritans or even receive a favor from them. Within this context, John recounts the encounter between Jesus, the woman at the well, and the people of the Samaritan city of Sychar.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, November 2.
“Then they said to the woman, ‘Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world’ ” (John 4:42, NKJV).
Read Ellen G. White, “Nicodemus,” pp. 167–177, in The Desire of Ages.
Nicodemus “searched the Scriptures in a new way, not for the discussion of a theory, but in order to receive life for the soul. He began to see the kingdom of heaven as he submitted himself to the leading of the Holy Spirit. . . .
“Through faith we receive the grace of God; but faith is not our Saviour. It earns nothing. It is the hand by which we lay hold upon Christ, and appropriate His merits, the remedy for sin. . . . Repentance comes from Christ as truly as does pardon.
“How, then, are we to be saved? ‘As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,’ so the Son of man has been lifted up, and everyone who has been deceived and bitten by the serpent may look and live. ‘Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.’ John 1:29. The light shining from the cross reveals the love of God. His love is drawing us to Himself. If we do not resist this drawing, we shall be led to the foot of the cross in repentance for the sins that have crucified the Saviour. Then the Spirit of God through faith produces a new life in the soul. The thoughts and desires are brought into obedience to the will of Christ. The heart, the mind, are created anew in the image of Him who works in us to subdue all things to Himself. Then the law of God is written in the mind and heart, and we can say with Christ, ‘I delight to do Thy will, O my God.’ Ps. 40:8.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 175, 176.
Discussion Questions:
John the Baptist came to prepare the way for Jesus. How successful would you judge his ministry to have been, at least from a human perspective? Also, as you think about your answer, ask this important question: How do you define “success” in spiritual things?
Later on, John the Baptist expressed some sincere doubts (Matt. 11:2, 3; Luke 7:19). What caused his questions, and what can we learn from them about how to be firm in our faith?
In class, discuss the idea of how someone such as Nicodemus, a leader in the true church, someone who surely had a lot of knowledge, could still be so spiritually ignorant of what really matters. What lessons can we take from his situation?
Read John 3:1–21. How does the testimony of Nicodemus support the theme of the Gospel of John?
Nicodemus was a respected teacher in Israel and a wealthy member of the Sanhedrin. His testimony plays an important part in John’s Gospel for several reasons. He referred to Jesus as “Rabbi” and pointed to the signs that Jesus performed as evidence of His divine mission. Hence, even before Nicodemus realized what he was doing, he was giving evidence in support of the Messiahship of Jesus.
Nicodemus viewed the signs themselves as evidence of Jesus’ divine calling but did not see them as pointing to Jesus as the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies regarding the Messiah. So, Nicodemus came with some doubt; he did not yet at this point recognize Jesus as the Christ.
Read John 3:3–21. What did Jesus say to Nicodemus to show that He could see right through him?
Jesus knows the heart of each individual. His response to Nicodemus may seem abrupt, but He goes directly to the issue. Though the Jews believed that Gentiles needed to be converted, many didn’t understand that they, too, the chosen people, needed a conversion experience. No one is born saved, regardless of their nationality or the church that they were raised in.
Without question, the Jews’ wonderful heritage, going back to Abraham, offered them many distinct advantages (see Rom. 3:1, 2). But, in and of itself, that was not enough. Jesus told Nicodemus the unthinkable—that he, a teacher and ruler in Israel, must be born again from above!
Jesus then confronted Nicodemus with his own spiritual ignorance: “ ‘Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?’ ” (John 3:10, NKJV). How could you, an exalted teacher, not know this? The rebuke must have been stunning.
Despite whatever questions he had regarding Jesus then, Nicodemus later took His side with the followers of Jesus (see John 19:39).
What does it mean to be “born again,” and why would Jesus put such emphasis on it?
Read John 1:43–46. What did Philip’s message reveal about his faith in Jesus already?
Philip was from Bethsaida, as were Andrew and Peter. He found his friend, Nathanael, and told him about Jesus. John the Baptist had called Jesus “the Lamb of God.” Andrew had told Peter that he had found “the Messiah.” But Philip calls Jesus the one Moses and the prophets wrote about and adds the name “Jesus of Nazareth.” His reference to Nazareth sets off a sharp reaction from his friend.
Nathanael seems to have been prejudiced against the little town of Nazareth. Surely a king would not come from such a wayside location. Prejudice easily blinds the eyes from seeing people for what they are really worth. Philip seems to have recognized, possibly from previous conversations with Nathanael, that the proper way to deal with prejudice is not some exalted philosophical or theological argumentation but rather to invite the individual to experience the truth personally for themselves. He simply said, “Come and see.” And that is exactly what Nathanael did. He went and saw.
Read John 1:47–51. How did Jesus convince Nathanael of who He was, and what was Nathanael’s response?
Missing between verse 46 and verse 47 is the crucial detail of just how Nathanael responded to Philip’s invitation. He got up and went to see, however. His friendship with Philip was stronger than his prejudice, and his life would be changed from that moment on.
Jesus says nice words about Nathanael, calling him an Israelite in whom there is no deceit (John 1:47), a great contrast from what Nathanael had said about Jesus (John 1:46). Nathanael responds with surprise because he had not met Jesus before.
Then Jesus refers to seeing him under a fig tree, and this small statement convinces Nathanael. Jesus, by divine insight, had seen Nathanael praying, searching for truth under that tree (see Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 140, 141). Nathanael then makes an exalted confession, calling Jesus Rabbi, the Son of God, and the King of Israel. Note how this seemingly small revelation leads to a grand confession of faith.
Two disciples of John the Baptist were standing with him when Jesus walked by. John declared, “ ‘Behold the Lamb of God!’ ” (John 1:36, NKJV). The two disciples had listened to John’s message about the Christ, who would fulfill the Old Testament prophecies about the coming Messiah. The disciples left John to follow Jesus, recognizing that Jesus was greater than John the Baptist and that He was the fulfillment of John’s message.
Read John 1:35–39. What did these two disciples do after hearing John’s witness about Jesus?
Desiring to be with Jesus, the two spent the day with Him. Who knows what amazing things they had learned and experienced then!
They must have been great things because, before long, their desire was to share their experience with others. Andrew, one of the two disciples, immediately found his brother, Simon, and said, “ ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which is translated, the Christ)” (John 1:41, NKJV). When Andrew brought his brother to Jesus, Jesus immediately showed that He knew him, saying, “ ‘You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas’ ” (John 1:42, NKJV). Jesus knew and understood Peter. That Jesus knows a person is a motif of the Gospel of John. (See, for example, John 2:24, 25.)
“If John and Andrew had possessed the unbelieving spirit of the priests and rulers, they would not have been found as learners at the feet of Jesus. They would have come to Him as critics, to judge His words. . . . But not so did these first disciples. They had responded to the Holy Spirit's call in the preaching of John the Baptist. Now they recognized the voice of the heavenly Teacher. . . . A divine illumination was shed upon the teaching of the Old Testament Scriptures. The many-sided themes of truth stood out in new light.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 139.
The entire emphasis of the Gospel of John is to bring to light who Jesus is so that this good news may be shared with the world.
In what ways has Christ, and your faith in Christ, changed your life? What other changes would you still like to see happen?
The Hebrew nation was looking for a Messiah who would deliver them from Rome. The goal of the Gospel of John was to change their understanding of the Messiah so that they could recognize in Jesus the fulfillment of the prophecies regarding the coming King. The Messiah would not be an earthly ruler. He came to fulfill all the Old Testament promises concerning Himself, which include His self-sacrifice in behalf of the world, and to renew the relationship between God and His people.
Read John 1:29–37. What proclamation does John the Baptist make about Jesus? What image does he use to depict Him, and why is it so significant in understanding who Jesus was and what His mission would be?
The statement of the Baptist regarding Jesus as the Lamb of God supports the purpose of John’s Gospel, which is to bring about a renewed understanding of the work and nature of the Messiah. Jesus would, indeed, be the fulfillment of the promise of the sacrificial system, going back to the promise of the Redeemer first given in Genesis 3:15.
“When at the baptism of Jesus, John pointed to Him as the Lamb of God, a new light was shed upon the Messiah’s work. The prophet’s mind was directed to the words of Isaiah, ‘He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter.’ Isa. 53:7.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 136.
Read Mark 10:45, Romans 5:6, and 1 Peter 2:24. How do these verses help us understand the role of Jesus as “the Lamb of God”?
However much more John the Baptist needed to know about the ministry of Jesus, he was certain that Jesus was the promised Messiah, the One who had come in fulfillment of prophecy.
Consider deeply Jesus’ title as “the Lamb of God.” What images does it bring to mind, and how does its linkage to the Old Testament sacrificial system help you appreciate the great price of our salvation?
As last week’s lesson illustrated, the Gospel of John begins with Jesus Christ, the Word, in His eternal existence before Creation. But in that same prologue, John the Baptist appears as a witness to Jesus. Some Jews in Jesus’ time expected two messiahs, one priestly and the other royal. John clearly teaches that John the Baptist did not claim to be one of these messiahs but, rather, was a witness to the one true Messiah.
Read John 1:19–23. How did John the Baptist explain his ministry and mission?
The religious leaders sent priests and Levites to ask John who he was. With Messianic expectations high in Judea, it was important for John the Baptist to clarify his relationship to those expectations. He was not the Light, but he was sent from God to bear witness to the Light and to prepare for the coming of the Messiah (John 1:6–8). That’s why he answered them as plainly as he could, saying: “I am not the Christ” (John 1:20).
Also, John baptized with water, but Christ would baptize with the Spirit (John 1:26, 33). John was not worthy to loosen Jesus’ sandal strap (John 1:27). Christ was preferred before John because He was before John (John 1:30). Jesus was the Son of God, and John merely pointed to Him (John 1:34).
Read Isaiah 40:1–5 and John 1:23. How does John use these verses?
In the days of rutted and rock-filled roads, servants were sometimes sent ahead of the king to level the surfaces of roadways and to take out sharp turns so as to smooth the way of the king. So, in fulfillment of prophecy, John came in order to prepare the hearts of the people for Jesus.
In what way should we, as Seventh-day Adventists, do the same kind of ministry as did John the Baptist? What are the parallels?
John 1:19–23, Isa. 40:1–5, John 1:29–37, Rom. 5:6, John 1:35–39, John 1:43–51, John 3:1–21.
Memory Text:
No question, Jesus provided people with powerful scriptural evidence to back up the claims that He had been making about Himself, including “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life” (John 6:47).
But there’s more: turning water into wine; feeding thousands with a few loaves of bread; healing the nobleman’s son; restoring the man at the pool of Bethesda; giving sight to the one blind from birth; raising Lazarus from the dead. The evangelist calls on a variety of events, and people—Jew, Gentile, rich, poor, male, female, rulers, commoners, educated, and uneducated—to bear witness to who Jesus is.
John points even to the witness of the Father Himself, and to Scripture, all giving evidence of Jesus’ identity.
This week begins with the powerful witness of John the Baptist. Other witnesses come on the stage as well: Andrew and Simon Peter, Philip and Nathanael, and a most unexpected witness, the Pharisee Nicodemus. But another witness stands back in the shadows (that other disciple with Andrew, in John 1:35, 40)—John himself.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, October 26.
“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God’ ” (John 3:3, NKJV).
Read Ellen G. White, “ ‘God With Us,’ ” pp. 19–26, in The Desire of Ages.
“The Lord Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God, existed from eternity, a distinct person, yet one with the Father. He was the surpassing glory of heaven. He was the commander of the heavenly intelligences, and the adoring homage of the angels was received by Him as His right. This was no robbery of God [Prov. 8:22–27 quoted].
“There are light and glory in the truth that Christ was One with the Father before the foundation of the world was laid. This is the light shining in a dark place, making it resplendent with divine, original glory. This truth, infinitely mysterious in itself, explains other mysterious and otherwise unexplainable truths, while it is enshrined in light unapproachable and incomprehensible.”—Ellen G. White Comments, The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 1126.
“Jesus has said, ‘I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me.’ John 12:32. Christ must be revealed to the sinner as the Saviour dying for the sins of the world; and as we behold the Lamb of God upon the cross of Calvary, the mystery of redemption begins to unfold to our minds and the goodness of God leads us to repentance. In dying for sinners, Christ manifested a love that is incomprehensible; and as the sinner beholds this love, it softens the heart, impresses the mind, and inspires contrition in the soul. . . . Whenever they [people] make an effort to reform, from a sincere desire to do right, it is the power of Christ that is drawing them. An influence of which they are unconscious works upon the soul, and the conscience is quickened, and the outward life is amended. And as Christ draws them to look upon His cross, to behold Him whom their sins have pierced, the commandment comes home to the conscience.”—Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, pp. 26, 27.
Discussion Questions:
Why would John start out talking about Jesus in His role as Creator? What does this tell us about the importance of Creation in all theology? Why, then, is it important that we have a correct understanding of Creation, as revealed in Scripture?
Dwell more on the question asked at the end of Sunday’s study. What happens to the cross if, instead of the eternal God dying on it, a created being did? What do we lose if Jesus were anything but the eternal God?
Read John 17:1–5. What did Jesus mean when He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you” (ESV)?
Yesterday’s study looked at the earthly, human storyline of the Gospel of John with its clash and interplay between people, always revolving around who Jesus is and what He is doing. Today’s study focuses on the divine, cosmic storyline, also found in John.
The Prologue begins with that cosmic storyline. Jesus is presented as the divine Son of God, the Creator of the universe. Again, anything that once didn’t exist but came into existence did so only through Jesus. “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:3, NKJV). But it goes on to note the glory of His becoming a human being in the Incarnation (John 1:14). John uses the terms glory (doxsa: brightness, splendor, fame, honor) and glorify (doxsazō: to praise, honor, extol, glorify) to speak both of receiving honor from humans and of receiving honor or glory from God.
In John, the idea of glorifying Jesus is linked to the concept of His hour; that is, the time of His death (compare with John 2:4, John 7:30, John 8:20, John 12:23–27, John 13:1, John 16:32, and John 17:1). The cross is His hour of glory.
This idea is quite paradoxical because crucifixion was the most shameful and humiliating way of execution in the ancient Roman world. This incredible contrast, God on a cross, illustrates the intertwining of the human story plot with the divine.
On the human level, Jesus died in agony, a despised criminal in weakness crying out, “ ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’ ” This human, dark side of the cross is particularly presented in Matthew and Mark (Matt. 27:46, Mark 15:34, NKJV).
But the glorious side of the cross is especially presented in Luke and John (Luke 23:32–47, John 19:25–30). It is a place of salvation, of mercy, and where the Son of God gives Himself to His Father.
How ironic: God’s greatest glory is revealed in His greatest shame—bearing the sins of the world in Himself.
Think about what it means that it took such a drastic thing, God Himself on the cross, to save us from sin. What should this tell us about just how bad sin really is?
Read John 3:16–21, John 9:35–41, and John 12:36–46. How do these texts repeat the theme of belief/unbelief found in the prologue?
In John’s Gospel, humanity seems to be divided into two overarching groups: those who believe in Jesus and accept Him as the Messiah and those who, having the opportunity to believe, choose not to.
Eleven of the disciples are in the first group, as are others such as Nicodemus (who comes to faith slowly), the woman at the well, and the man born blind. In the second group are Pharisees and high priests, people at the miracle of feeding the 5,000, and even one of the disciples, Judas.
It is interesting that the noun pistis (Greek for faith/belief) never appears in the Gospel of John. However, the verb pisteuō (believe) appears 98 times, compared to 241 times total in the entire New Testament! This verb is, indeed, a very big theme in John. This use of the verb instead of the noun may point to a very active sense of becoming a Christian. Being a believer in Jesus is something that we do, and this is expressed in how we live and not just in a set of beliefs. As we know, the devil believes in Jesus, as well (see James 2:19).
In John, the major difference between the two groups is the way that they relate to Jesus. Believers, or those who come to believe, have an openness toward Him, even when He confronts or rebukes them. They come to Jesus and do not run away. He is the Light that shines on them. And by faith, by believing, they become the children of God.
Unbelievers, on the other hand, typically come to Jesus to fight with Him. They are characterized by those who love darkness rather than light. They find His sayings hard to accept or they see Him breaking old traditions and not fulfilling their expectations. They stand in judgment on Him rather than letting His light measure and judge them. This attitude, of course, had been seen again and again in the religious leaders, who ideally, as the spiritual guides of the nation, should have been the first ones to have accepted Jesus.
In what ways do you live out your faith in Jesus, as opposed to merely holding an intellectual assent to Him as the Messiah? Why it is important to know the difference? (See Matt. 7:21–23.)
Read John 1:9–13. What harsh reality is John depicting here about how people respond to Jesus?
The Prologue, John 1:1–18, describes not only who Jesus Christ, the Word (logos), is but also how people in the world related to Him. In John 1:9, He is called the true Light, who enlightens every person coming into the world. That light illumines the world, making it understandable. As C. S. Lewis puts it, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”—“Is Theology Poetry?” (n. p.: Samizdat University Press, 2014), p. 15, originally presented in 1944.
Also, look at the implications of what John 1:9 is saying. Light comes to everyone, but not everyone welcomes the light. As we will see in tomorrow’s study, a major theme in the Gospel of John is how people receive or reject Jesus. That theme begins here. The sad litany is that the Messiah came to His own people, the people of Israel, and many did not receive Him as the Messiah.
In Romans 9–11, Paul deals with the same tragic theme, of many Jews rejecting Jesus. But Paul doesn’t end on a negative note, saying in fact that many Jews, along with Gentiles, will accept Jesus as their Messiah. Indeed, he warns the Gentiles not to boast against the Jews. “For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?” (Rom. 11:24, NKJV).
In a similar vein, John says that all who do receive Jesus as their Savior will become the children of God. This happens by believing on His name. (See John 1:12, 13.)
Here is the connection between the prologue and the conclusion of the Gospel. In John 20:31, the apostle presents why he wrote—that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life by His name. Thus, the introduction and conclusion form a kind of unity. They are related concepts that enclose all that occurs between them. This linkage points to the overarching goal of the Gospel of John—that people will be saved by believing on Jesus Christ as their Savior.
How has your life changed by becoming a son or a daughter of God?
Read John 1:1–3, 14. What are these verses telling us that Jesus, God Himself, did—and why is this truth the most important truth that we could ever know?
John starts his Gospel not with the name “Jesus” or His role as Messiah/Christ but with the term logos. Around the time John wrote, various philosophies used the term logos to refer to the rational structure of the universe, or to refer to the idea of logic and reason themselves.
Also, the teaching of the influential ancient philosopher Plato had divided reality into two realms. One is the heavenly and immutable realm, where absolute perfection exists. The other is the realm here—perishable, changing, a very imperfect representation of the perfect realm above, wherever it supposedly existed. (Plato never answered that question.) Some philosophies identified the logos as some abstract intermediary between the eternal forms and the perishable, earthly forms here.
John uses the term in a completely different manner. He maintains that the truth, the logos, is not some ethereal and abstract concept floating between heaven and earth. The logos is a person: Jesus Christ, who became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14).
For John, the logos is the Word of God. More important, God communicated; that is, He revealed Himself to humanity in the most radical way: God became one of us.
In the Gospel of John, the logos represents the eternal God, who enters time and space, who speaks, acts, and interrelates with humans on a personal level. The eternal God became a human being, one of us.
In John 1:14 the apostle indicates that the logos “became flesh and dwelt among us” (NKJV). The underlying Greek word, translated dwelt, means to pitch a tent. John is alluding to Exodus 25:8, where God told the Israelites to make a sanctuary, a tent structure, so that He could dwell in their midst. In the same way, in the Incarnation, Jesus, the divine Son of God, stepped into human flesh, veiling His glory so that people could come in contact with Him.
Dwell on the implications of what John has written here. God Himself, the Creator, became a human being, one of us, and lived here among us. (We haven’t even gotten to His dying for us yet!) What does this tell us about the reality of God’s love for humanity? Why should we draw so much comfort from this amazing truth?
Read John 1:1–5. What do these words reveal about the Word, Jesus Christ?
The Gospel of John begins with this amazing thought: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). This one beautiful sentence contains a depth of thought that we can barely grasp.
First, the evangelist alludes to the Creation story in Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning.” The Word was already there before the beginning of the universe. Thus, John affirms Jesus’ eternal existence.
Next, “And the Word was with God.” In John 1:18, John indicates that He is “in the bosom of the Father.” No matter how we may try to envision what this exactly means, one thing is sure: Jesus and the Father are intimately close.
And then, he says, “And the Word was God.” But how can the Word be with God and at the same time be God? The answer is found in the Greek. Greek has a definite article, “the,” but no indefinite article, “a/an.” What’s important for us, then, is that the Greek definite article, “the,” points to particularity, some particular object or person.
In the phrase “the Word was with God,” the term “God” has the definite article, thus, pointing to a particular individual, the Father. And the Word was with the Father. In the phrase, “and the Word was God,” the term “God” does not have the article, which, in this setting, points to the characteristics of divinity. Jesus is God—not the Father, but He is still the divine Son of God, the second Person of the Godhead.
The apostle verifies this understanding, for John 1:3, 4 says that Jesus is the Creator of all things created. Anything that once didn’t exist but then came into existence did so only through Jesus, the Creator God.
“From the days of eternity the Lord Jesus Christ was one with the Father; He was ‘the image of God,’ the image of His greatness and majesty, ‘the outshining of His glory.’ ”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 19.
Why is the full deity of Christ such an important part of our theology? What would we lose if Jesus were, in any way, a mere created being? Bring your answer to class on Sabbath, and be prepared to discuss why Christ’s eternal deity is so important to our faith.
Read for This Week’s Study
John 1:1–5, Gen. 1:1, John 1:9–13, John 3:16–21, John 9:35–41, Matt. 7:21–23, John 17:1–5.
Memory Text:
Week one dealt with the end of the book of John, which explained why he wrote his Gospel. This week’s lesson returns to the beginning of the Gospel, where John sets forth the direction that he, inspired by the Holy Spirit, intends to take the reader. In the first words and paragraphs of their writing, New Testament writers often present the themes that they intend to cover. So does John, whose themes are presented as part of a grand cosmic sweep that depicts overriding truths about Jesus Christ—truths that reach back to even before Creation.
This presentation, at the opening of the book, gives readers, who already know that Jesus is the Messiah, an advantage that the characters in the book itself did not have. The reader can clearly see the grand themes that the evangelist returns to as he tells the story of Jesus. These great themes are placed within the historical period of Jesus’ earthly life.
This week’s lesson will begin with the Prologue (John 1:1–18) and summarize its major themes. These themes will then be looked at in other places in John’s Gospel, as well.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, October 19.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).
Read Ellen G. White, “The Crisis in Galilee,” pp. 383–394; “ ‘Lazarus, Come Forth,’ ” pp. 524–536; and “Priestly Plottings,” pp. 537–542, in The Desire of Ages.
“The life of Christ that gives life to the world is in His word. It was by His word that Jesus healed disease and cast out demons; by His word He stilled the sea, and raised the dead; and the people bore witness that His word was with power. He spoke the word of God, as He had spoken through all the prophets and teachers of the Old Testament. The whole Bible is a manifestation of Christ, and the Saviour desired to fix the faith of His followers on the word. When His visible presence should be withdrawn, the word must be their source of power. Like their Master, they were to live ‘by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.’ Matt. 4:4.
“As our physical life is sustained by food, so our spiritual life is sustained by the word of God. And every soul is to receive life from God’s word for himself. As we must eat for ourselves in order to receive nourishment, so we must receive the word for ourselves. We are not to obtain it merely through the medium of another’s mind. We should carefully study the Bible, asking God for the aid of the Holy Spirit, that we may understand His word.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 390.
Discussion Questions:
This week we looked at Jesus feeding the 5,000, healing a man blind from birth, and then raising Lazarus from the dead. In each case, Jesus provided powerful evidence for His divinity. Yet, these miracles, as amazing as they were, created division. Some responded with faith, others with doubt. What does this teach us about how, even in the face of powerful evidence, people can still choose to reject God?
These stories all point toward Christ as the divine Son of God. Why is His divinity so important to faith in Jesus as the Savior?
Look again at 1 Corinthians 1:26–29. In what ways in the twenty-first century do we see this same principle at work? What are some of the “foolish things” that Christians believe, things that the “wise according to the flesh” mock and reject? What do we believe that also “put to shame” the “things that are mighty”?
Read John 9:17–34. What questions did the leaders ask, and how did the blind man respond?
This long section of John 9 is the only portion of John where Jesus is not the main actor on the stage, though He is certainly the subject of discussion. Just as the question of sin started the story (John 9:2), the Pharisees think Jesus is a sinner because He healed on the Sabbath (John 9:16, 24), and they will slander the healed man as “born in utter sin” (John 9:34, ESV).
A curious reversal occurs. The blind man comes to see more and more, not just physically but spiritually, as he is growing in his appreciation for Jesus and believing more strongly in Him. The Pharisees, in contrast, become more and more blind in their understanding, first being divided over Jesus (John 9:16) and then not knowing where He came from (John 9:29).
Meanwhile, his recounting of this miracle gives John the opportunity to tell us who Jesus is. The theme of signs in John 9 intersects with several other themes in the Gospel. John reaffirms that Jesus is the Light of the world (John 9:5; compare with John 8:12). The story also deals with Jesus’ mysterious origin. Who is He, where is He from, what is His mission (John 9:12, 29; compare with John 1:14)? The figure of Moses, who is referenced in previous miracle accounts, also appears in this chapter (John 9:28, 29; compare with John 5:45, 46 and John 6:32). Finally, there is the theme of the response of the crowd. Some love darkness rather than light, while others respond in faith (John 9:16–18, 35–41; compare with John 1:9–16, John 3:16–21, and John 6:60–71).
So scary here is the spiritual blindness of the religious leaders. A once-blind beggar can declare, “ ‘Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing’ ” (John 9:32, 33, NKJV). And yet the religious leaders, the spiritual guides of the nation, the ones who should have been the first to recognize Jesus and accept Him as the Messiah—they, despite all the powerful evidence, cannot see it, or they don’t really want to see it. What a powerful warning about how our hearts can deceive us!
Read 1 Corinthians 1:26–29. How does what Paul writes in these verses fit with John's account above and how does the same principle apply even now?
Read John 9:17–34. What questions did the leaders ask, and how did the blind man respond?
This long section of John 9 is the only portion of John where Jesus is not the main actor on the stage, though He is certainly the subject of discussion. Just as the question of sin started the story (John 9:2), the Pharisees think Jesus is a sinner because He healed on the Sabbath (John 9:16, 24), and they will slander the healed man as “born in utter sin” (John 9:34, ESV).
A curious reversal occurs. The blind man comes to see more and more, not just physically but spiritually, as he is growing in his appreciation for Jesus and believing more strongly in Him. The Pharisees, in contrast, become more and more blind in their understanding, first being divided over Jesus (John 9:16) and then not knowing where He came from (John 9:29).
Meanwhile, his recounting of this miracle gives John the opportunity to tell us who Jesus is. The theme of signs in John 9 intersects with several other themes in the Gospel. John reaffirms that Jesus is the Light of the world (John 9:5; compare with John 8:12). The story also deals with Jesus’ mysterious origin. Who is He, where is He from, what is His mission (John 9:12, 29; compare with John 1:14)? The figure of Moses, who is referenced in previous miracle accounts, also appears in this chapter (John 9:28, 29; compare with John 5:45, 46 and John 6:32). Finally, there is the theme of the response of the crowd. Some love darkness rather than light, while others respond in faith (John 9:16–18, 35–41; compare with John 1:9–16, John 3:16–21, and John 6:60–71).
So scary here is the spiritual blindness of the religious leaders. A once-blind beggar can declare, “ ‘Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing’ ” (John 9:32, 33, NKJV). And yet the religious leaders, the spiritual guides of the nation, the ones who should have been the first to recognize Jesus and accept Him as the Messiah—they, despite all the powerful evidence, cannot see it, or they don’t really want to see it. What a powerful warning about how our hearts can deceive us!
Read 1 Corinthians 1:26–29. How does what Paul writes in these verses fit with John's account above and how does the same principle apply even now?
Read John 9:1–16. What did the disciples think was the cause of this man’s blindness, and how did Jesus correct their false beliefs?
The disciples made a connection between sickness and sin. A number of Old Testament passages point in that direction (compare with Exod. 20:5, 2 Kings 5:15–27, 2 Kings 15:5, and 2 Chron. 26:16–21), but the story of Job should have led to caution about whether such a connection always occurred.
Jesus sets the matter straight, not denying any connection between sin and suffering but, in this case, pointing to a higher purpose: that God would be glorified by the healing. The account contains certain affinities to the Creation story, that of God’s forming the first man from the dust of the ground (Gen. 2:7), just as Jesus makes clay to provide the blind man what was missing from the womb.
In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, miracle stories follow a common pattern: an expression of the problem, the bringing of the individual to Jesus, the cure, and recognition of the cure with praise to God.
In the story in John 9, this sequence is completed in John 9:7. But typical of John, the significance of the miracle becomes the much wider point of discussion, leading to a long interaction between the healed man and the religious leaders. This striking discussion revolves around two intertwined contrasting pairs of concepts—sin/works of God and blindness/sight.
The narrator does not tell the reader until John 9:14 that Jesus did this healing on the Sabbath, which, according to tradition and not Scripture, violated the Sabbath. And thus, He was counted as a Sabbath breaker by the Pharisees. Their conclusion was that He was not from God because they maintained that “He does not keep the Sabbath.” But others found it troubling that a sinner could do such signs (John 9:16).
The discussion is far from over, but already a division appears. The blind man is becoming more and more clear about who Jesus is, but the religious leaders are becoming more and more confused or blind as to His real identity.
What should this story tell us about the dangers of being so blinded by our own beliefs and traditions that we can miss important truths right before our own eyes?
Read John 6:14, 15, 26–36. How did the people respond to His miracle, and how did Jesus use this to try to teach them who He was?
The Judeans were expecting an earthly messiah who would deliver them from the oppression of the Roman Empire. Two of the most difficult things encountered in war are feeding the troops and caring for the wounded and dead. By His miracles, Jesus showed that He could do both.
But that’s not why Jesus had come, and that wasn’t the purpose of His miracle. Instead, the account of the feeding of the 5,000 provided the opportunity to illustrate that Jesus is the Bread of Life, that God Himself came down from heaven. “ ‘I am the bread of life,’ ” He said. “ ‘He who comes to Me shall never hunger’ ” (John 6:35, NKJV).
This is the first of the seven “I am” statements in the Gospel of John, where “I am” is connected with some predicate (“bread of life,” John 6:35; “light of the world,” John 8:12; “door,” John 10:7, 9; “Good Shepherd,” John 10:11, 14; “resurrection and the life,” John 11:25; “the way, the truth, and the life,” John 14:6; “true vine,” John 15:1, 5). Each of these points to an important truth about Jesus. The “I am” statements point back to Exodus 3, where God presents Himself to Moses as the great I AM (compare with John 8:58). Jesus is that great I AM.
But the people missed all this.
“Their dissatisfied hearts queried why, if Jesus could perform so many wondrous works as they had witnessed, could He not give health, strength, and riches to all His people, free them from their oppressors, and exalt them to power and honor? The fact that He claimed to be the Sent of God, and yet refused to be Israel’s king, was a mystery which they could not fathom. His refusal was misinterpreted. Many concluded that He dared not assert His claims because He Himself doubted as to the divine character of His mission. Thus they opened their hearts to unbelief, and the seed which Satan had sown bore fruit of its kind, in misunderstanding and defection.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 385.
They were looking for material benefit instead of truth that endures to eternal life. This is a trap that we all potentially face if we are not careful.
How can we avoid getting caught up in material things at the expense of the spiritual?
n John 6:4, 5, the apostle goes out of his way to state that the timing of the feeding of the 5,000 was near the Passover. The Passover was a commemoration of the deliverance of Israel from Egypt. The Passover lamb took the place of the death of the firstborn. This sacrifice symbolized the death of Jesus in our behalf. On the cross, the punishment that we deserved because of our sins fell on Jesus instead. Christ, our Passover, was indeed slain for us (1 Cor. 5:7).
“He bore the guilt of transgression, and the hiding of His Father’s face, until His heart was broken and His life crushed out. All this sacrifice was made that sinners might be redeemed.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 540.
Read John 6:1–14. What parallels can be found here between Jesus and Moses? That is, what did Jesus do here that should have reminded the people of the deliverance that their ancestors had received through the ministry of Moses?
Numerous details of this story place Jesus in parallel to Moses in the Exodus. The time of the Passover (John 6:4) points to the great deliverance from Egypt. Jesus goes up on a mountain (John 6:3) as Moses went up Sinai. Jesus tests Philip (John 6:5, 6) as the Israelites were tested in the wilderness. The multiplication of the loaves (John 6:11) is reminiscent of the manna. The gathering of the leftover food (John 6:12) harks back to the Israelites’ gathering the manna. Twelve baskets of leftovers are picked up (John 6:13), the same number as the twelve tribes of Israel. And the people comment that Jesus is the prophet coming into the world (John 6:14), parallel to the “prophet like Moses” predicted in Deuteronomy 18:15. All of this points to Jesus as the new Moses—come to deliver His people.
Thus, John is showing Jesus not only doing signs and wonders but doing signs and wonders that, in their context, should have had special meaning for the Jewish people. Jesus was pointing them, in essence, to His own divinity.
Read Isaiah 53:4–6 and 1 Peter 2:24. What great truth do these texts teach about Jesus as the Lamb of God? How does His divinity tie into this truth, and why is this truth the most important truth we can ever know?
Read for This Week’s Study
John 6:1–15, Isa. 53:4–6, 1 Cor. 5:7, John 6:26–36, John 9:1–41, 1 Cor. 1:26–29, John 11.
Memory Text:
The Bible is clear that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son, one with the Father, underived and uncreated. Jesus is the One who created all that was made (John 1:1–3). Thus, Jesus has always existed; there never was a time when He didn’t exist. Though Jesus came to this world and took upon Himself our humanity, He always kept His divinity. And at specific times, Jesus said and did things that revealed this divinity.
This truth was important for John, which is why, when recounting some of Jesus’ miracles, John used them to point to Christ’s divinity. Jesus not only said things that revealed His divinity but backed up His words with works that manifested His divinity.
This week’s lesson looks at three of the greatest signs of Jesus’ divinity. What is striking is that, in every case, some people did not believe the miracle or perceive its significance. For some, it was a time of turning away from Jesus; for others, a time for deepening blindness; and for others, a time to plot Jesus’ death. And for others—a time to believe that Jesus was the Messiah.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, October 12.
“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?’ ” (John 11:25, 26, NKJV).
Further Thought: “Jesus had given him [the disabled man] no assurance of divine help. The man might have stopped to doubt, and lost his onechance of healing. But he believed Christ’s word, and in acting upon it hereceived strength.“Through the same faith we may receive spiritual healing. By sinwe have been severed from the life of God. Our souls are palsied. Ofourselves we are no more capable of living a holy life than was theimpotent man capable of walking. . . . Let these desponding, strugglingones look up. The Saviour is bending over the purchase of His blood,saying with inexpressible tenderness and pity, ‘Wilt thou be madewhole?’ He bids you arise in health and peace. Do not wait to feel thatyou are made whole. Believe His word, and it will be fulfilled. Putyour will on the side of Christ. Will to serve Him, and in acting uponHis word you will receive strength. Whatever may be the evil practice,the master passion which through long indulgence binds both soul andbody, Christ is able and longs to deliver. He will impart life to the soulthat is ‘dead in trespasses.’ Eph. 2:1. He will set free the captive thatis held by weakness and misfortune and the chains of sin.”—Ellen G.White, The Desire of Ages, p. 203.“Jesus repelled the charge of blasphemy. My authority, He said, fordoing the work of which you accuse Me, is that I am the Son of God,one with Him in nature, in will, and in purpose.”—The Desire of Ages,p. 208.Discussion Questions:Ê Reflect upon this week’s lesson. Faith was the key that madethese healings possible. The leaders, in contrast, revealed the dangersof doubt and unbelief. Why must we not confuse having questions(which we all do) with having doubt? Why are they not the samething, and why is it important to know the difference between them?Ë Look at Thursday’s final question. Why, as Seventh-dayAdventists, must we be especially careful about this danger?However important, for instance, knowing and even keeping theright Sabbath day, or knowing about the state of the dead—why dothese truths not save us? What does save us, and how?Ì Look carefully at John 5:47. How are those today who, forinstance, deny the universality of the Flood, or the literal six-dayCreation, doing exactly what Jesus warned against here?
Jesus’ ClaimsThe miracle by the Pool of Bethesda provided an excellent opportunity for John to emphasize who Jesus is. John takes nine verses todescribe the miracle and about 40 verses (see below) to describe theOne who performed the miracle.Read John 5:16–18. Why was Jesus persecuted for His action on theSabbath?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________John 5:18 can be disturbing because it seems to say that Jesus wasbreaking the Sabbath. However, a closer look at John 5:16–18 showsthat Jesus argues that His “work” on the Sabbath is in line with Hisrelationship to His Father. God does not stop sustaining the universeon the Sabbath. Consequently, Jesus’ Sabbath activity was part of Hisclaim to divinity. The religious leaders persecuted Him on the basis ofsupposed Sabbath-breaking and a claim to equality to God.Read John 5:19–47. What was Jesus saying in order to help the leaderssee Him for who He truly is, a claim so powerfully attested by themiracle He had just done?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Jesus defends His actions in three steps. First, He explains His intimate relationship with the Father (John 5:19–30). Jesus indicates thatHe and His Father act in harmony, to the point that Jesus has the powerboth to judge and to raise the dead (John 5:25–30).Second, Jesus calls four “witnesses” in rapid succession to Hisdefense—John the Baptist (John 5:31–35), the miracles Jesus does(John 5:36), the Father (John 5:37, 38), and the Scriptures (John 5:39).Each of these “witnesses” gives testimony in favor of Jesus.Finally, in John 5:40–47, Jesus sets before His accusers theirown condemnation, revealing the contrast between His ministryand their self-seeking. Their condemnation, He says, will comefrom Moses (John 5:45–47), the one in whom they have set theirhopes.How can we be careful not to fall into the trap of believing inGod, even having correct doctrines, but not surrendering fully toChrist? Bring your answer to class on Sabbath.
Signs, wonders, and miracles, in and of themselves, don’t prove that
something is of God. But, on the other hand, when they are of God, it’s
a dangerous thing to reject them.
Read John 5:10–16. What lessons can we take away from the amazing
hardness of the religious leaders’ hearts in regard to Jesus and the
miracle He had just performed?
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When Jesus revealed Himself to the man who had been healed, the
man immediately told the religious leaders that it was Jesus. One would
think this would be a time to praise God, but instead, the leaders “persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things
on the Sabbath” (John 5:16, NKJV).
Healings were allowed on the Sabbath only in an emergency. This
man had been disabled for 38 years; thus, his healing was hardly an
emergency. And then, too, what was the necessity of having him take
up his bed? One would think that someone with the power from God to
perform such a miracle would also know if it was permissible to carry a
mat home on the Sabbath day. Clearly, Jesus was seeking to take them
to deeper biblical truths beyond the man-made rules and regulations that
had, in some cases, stifled true faith.
What do these other accounts teach about how spiritually hard people
can become, regardless of the evidence? (Read John 9:1–16; Mark
3:22, 23; Matt. 12:9–14).
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How could these religious leaders be so blind? The likely answer is
that it was because of their own corrupt hearts, their false belief that the
Messiah would deliver them from Rome now, and their love of power
and lack of surrender to God. All these helped cause them to reject the
truth that stood right before them.
Read John 5:38–42. What was Jesus’ warning? What can we
learn from these words? That is, what could be in us that blinds
us to the truths we need to know and apply to our own lives?
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The next sign John records took place at the Pool of Bethesda (John5:1–9). It was believed that an angel caused movement in the water andthat the first sick person to enter the water would be healed. As a result,the porches of the pool were crowded with those hoping to be cured atthe next occurrence. Jesus went to Jerusalem, and as He passed by thepool, He saw the waiting throng.What a sight it must have been, too! All these people, some surelyquite ill, waiting and waiting by the water for a cure that surely will notcome. What an opportunity for Jesus!Read John 5:1–9. Because anyone by the pool obviously wanted toget well, why did Jesus ask the paralytic if he wanted to be healed(John 5:6)?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________When one has been sick a long time, the sickness becomes thenorm. And strange as it may seem, it can sometimes be a bit disturbing to leave the disability behind. The man implies in his answer thathe wants healing. The problem is that he is looking for it in the wrongplace—while the One who made man’s legs is standing right in frontof him. Little did the man know who was talking to him; although afterthe healing, he might have started to understand that Jesus was, indeed,Someone very special.“Jesus does not ask this sufferer to exercise faith in Him. He simplysays, ‘Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.’ But the man’s faith takes holdupon that word. Every nerve and muscle thrills with new life, andhealthful action comes to his crippled limbs. Without question he setshis will to obey the command of Christ, and all his muscles respondto his will. Springing to his feet, he finds himself an active man. . . .Jesus had given him no assurance of divine help. The man might havestopped to doubt, and lost his one chance of healing. But he believedChrist’s word, and in acting upon it he received strength.”—Ellen G.White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 202, 203.Jesus later encountered the man in the temple and said, “ ‘Youhave been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come uponyou’ ” (John 5:14, NKJV). What is the relationship between sickness and sin? Why must we understand that not all sickness is adirect result of specific sins in our life?_________________________________________
All through His earthly ministry, Jesus performed miracles thathelped people believe in Him. John recorded these miracles so thatothers would believe in Jesus, as well.Read John 4:46–54. Why does the evangelist make a connection backto the miracle at the wedding feast?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________In giving an account of the second sign that Jesus did in Galilee, Johnpoints back to the first sign at the wedding in Cana. John seems to besaying, The signs that Jesus did will help you see who Jesus is. Then,John adds, “This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had comeout of Judea into Galilee” (John 4:54, NKJV).At first, Jesus’ response to the nobleman’s plea may seem harsh. Yet,this official had made the healing of his son the criterion for believingin Jesus. Jesus read his heart and pinpointed the spiritual sickness thatwas more profound than his son’s life-threatening illness. Like a lightning bolt from a blue sky, the man suddenly recognized that his spiritualpoverty could cost the life of his son.It is important to recognize that miracles, in and of themselves, didnot prove that Jesus was the Messiah. Others have performed miracles.Some were true prophets, others false. Miracles reveal only the existence of the supernatural; they don’t, by themselves, mean that Godmust be the One doing them. (Satan can perform “miracles,” if by theword “miracles” we mean supernatural acts.)The nobleman in anguish cast himself on Jesus’ mercy, pleading withHim to heal his son. Jesus’ response was reassuring. He said, “ ‘Go;your son will live’ ” (John 4:50, ESV). The verb “will live” in Greekis actually in the present tense. This usage is called a “futuristic present,” where a future event is spoken of with such certainty as if it werealready happening. The man did not rush home but, believing Jesus,got home the next day—finding that, exactly when Jesus had said thosewords, the fever left his son.What a powerful reason to believe in Jesus!Even if we were to see a miracle, what other criteria must we lookat before automatically assuming it is from God?_______________________________________________
Read John 2:1–11. What sign did Jesus do at Cana, and how did thishelp His disciples in coming to believe in Him?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Seeing Jesus perform the miracle of changing the water into wineprovided evidence in favor of the disciples’ decision to follow Jesus.How could it not have been a powerful sign pointing to Him as beingsomeone from God? (They probably were not yet ready to understandthat He was God.)Moses was the leader of the Israelites, and he brought Israel out ofEgypt by many “signs and wonders” (Deut. 6:22, Deut. 26:8, NKJV).He was the one whom God used to free Israel from the Egyptians. (Hewas, in a sense, their “savior.”)God prophesied through Moses that a prophet would come who waslike Moses. God asked Israel to hear Him (Deut. 18:15, Matt. 17:5,Acts 7:37). That “prophet” was Jesus and, in John 2, Jesus performedHis first sign, which itself pointed back to the deliverance of the children of Israel from Egypt.The river Nile was a key resource and a deity for the Egyptians. Oneof the plagues was directed at the river—the changing of its waters toblood. At Cana, Jesus performed a similar miracle but, instead of turning water into blood, He turned it into wine.The water came from six water pots used for purification purposes inJewish rituals, linking the miracle even more closely to biblical themesof salvation. By recounting the incident of changing the water to wine,and thus referring back to the Exodus, John was pointing to Jesus asour Deliverer.What did the master of the feast think of the unfermented wine thatJesus provided? He was indeed surprised by the quality of the drinkand, not knowing the miracle that Jesus had performed there, thoughtthat they had saved the best for last.The Greek term oinos is used both for fresh and fermented grapejuice (see The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Dictionary, p. 1177). EllenG. White states that the juice produced by the miracle was not alcoholic(see “At the Marriage Feast,” The Desire of Ages, p. 149). No doubt, thosewho knew what happened were astonished at what had taken place.What are your reasons for following Jesus? (We have been givenmany, haven’t we?)
Read for This Week’s Study: John 2:1–11; John 4:46–54;John 5:1–16; Mark 3:22, 23; Matt. 12:9–14; John 5:16–47.
Memory Text: “And truly Jesus did many other signs in thepresence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; butthese are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, theSon of God, and that believing you may have life in His name”(John 20:30, 31, NKJV).
Why did John write his Gospel? Did he wish to emphasizeJesus’ miracles or some specific teachings of Jesus? Whatwas the reason for writing what he did?Under the power and influence of the Holy Spirit, John explains why.He says that though many more things could be written about the lifeof Christ (John 21:25), the stories he included were written in order“that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and thatbelieving you may have life in His name” (John 20:31, NKJV).This week we’re going to look at John's account of some of Jesus’early miracles—from His turning water to wine at a wedding, to restoring to health someone’s very sick son, to the healing of the man at thepool of Bethesda.John calls these miracles “signs.” He does not mean something likea street sign, but rather a miraculous event that points toward a deeperreality: Jesus as the Messiah. In all these accounts, we see examplesof people who responded by faith. And their examples invite us to dothe same.* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, October 5.
Sitting in a shop in Tehran, Iran, the Persian rug depicted an ancient forest. Beautifully done, it re-created a scene in Switzerland: mountains, awaterfall, a turquoise lake, forested hillsides, and an expansive blue skydotted with clouds.Anyone in that shop could have spent their time noting the details: the number of knotsper square inch, the fabric of the carpet, the types of dye used—all the minutiae that resultedin the rug.Or the person could have focused, instead, on the arresting techniques and themes thatgave the carpet its unique beauty: the sky reflected in the lake, the snow that capped themountains, the verdant forest complemented by the deep green moss. The themes of thecarpet combined with one another in a deftly coordinated display of beauty to manifest thesplendor of that serene spot in the Alps.This quarter we will be studying another finely crafted masterpiece. This work is notthe result of a brush on canvas, a precisely framed photograph, or a skillfully woven carpet.Rather, it is the Word of God as artfully expressed in the Gospel of John.Words have meaning within their contexts. For anyone to understand what Scriptureintends to say, it must be studied in context—the immediate sentences, chapters, and sections, and the overall message of the Bible itself. Finally, because the entire Bible is inspiredby the Holy Spirit, each part should be studied in the context of the whole.
The intention this quarter will be to understand the message of John’s Gospel. It isunique among the four Gospels, often focusing attention on personal interviews betweenJesus and just one or two people—such as Nathaniel, Nicodemus, the woman at the well,the paralytic at the pool of Bethesda, the man born blind, Lazarus and his sisters, Pilate,Peter, or Thomas. Many of these stories appear only in John.The Gospel of John is the Word of God conveyedto us through the apostle. As with the entire Bible, theGospel came by the will of God, rather than by thewill of humanity. John was merely the willing instrument that the Holy Spirit used to convey many crucialthemes: the Word (logos), light, bread, water, the HolySpirit, oneness, signs, testimony, and prophecy. Thesethemes mutually enhance and illuminate one anotherthroughout the Gospel.Bible study often concentrates on the meaning of aword or a small passage of Scripture. We check the meaning of the word in a Bibledictionary. We examine the grammar, the immediate context, and the historical context; and—using our analogy of the carpet—we get caught up in the examination ofthe number of knots per square inch, the fabric, the dyes, and the backing. All of thesedetails are important.But let us not miss the big picture while examining the details. Indeed, just as the Persiancarpet could transport someone to that beautiful Alpine scene, so may the Gospel of Johncarry us back to the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, whom to know is life eternal. Thedetails have a role, which is to point us toward the big picture, and in John that big pictureis a divinely inspired revelation of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.E. Edward Zinke, a former associate director for the Biblical Research Institute at theGeneral Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, is involved with many church activities andboards, including serving as vice chair of the Ellen G. White Estate Board and as a senioradviser for Adventist Review Ministries. He holds three honorary doctorate degrees fromSeventh-day Adventist universities. He lives in Maryland.Thomas Shepherd, PhD, DrPH, is senior research professor of New Testament at theAndrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, where he has taught since2008. He and his wife, Sherry Shepherd, MD, have served as missionaries in Malawi,Africa, and Brazil. They have two grown children and six grandchildren.
Read Ellen G. White, “ ‘The Lord Is Risen,’ ” pp. 779–787; “Go Teach All Nations,” pp. 818–828, in The Desire of Ages.
“To the believer, Christ is the resurrection and the life. In our Saviour the life that was lost through sin is restored; for He has life in Himself to quicken whom He will. He is invested with the right to give immortality. The life that He laid down in humanity, He takes up again, and gives to humanity. ‘I am come,’ He said, ‘that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.’ ‘Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.’ ‘Whoso eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.’ John 10:10; 4:14; 6:54.
“To the believer, death is but a small matter. Christ speaks of it as if it were of little moment. ‘If a man keep My saying, he shall never see death,’ ‘he shall never taste of death.’ To the Christian, death is but a sleep, a moment of silence and darkness. The life is hid with Christ in God, and ‘when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.’ John 8:51, 52; Col. 3:4.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 786, 787.
Even atheist historians, those who cannot accept the reality of the Resurrection, admit not only that Jesus had been killed but that after His death many people claimed to have seen the resurrected Christ, and as a result they began the nucleus of what became the Christian church. Some, in an attempt to explain why they claimed this, said that Jesus had a twin brother or that the early disciples hallucinated, thinking that they saw Jesus. Others said that Jesus never really died but only swooned and then, later, revived. Another person claimed that aliens came down and took the body. For a look at all these arguments and how they don’t work, see Clifford Goldstein, Risen: Finding Hope in the Empty Tomb (Nampa, Idaho: Pacific Press, 2021).
Discussion Questions:
Why would the disciples have lied about the resurrection of Jesus? From all that we know, they faced nothing but hatred, alienation, and persecution for their belief. What would they have gained by making this story up?
What evidence of Jesus’ resurrection is most convincing to you? Share your reasons with your class.
Dwell more on the great hope that Jesus’ resurrection offers us. Read 1 Corinthians 15. How much importance does Paul put on the resurrection of Jesus?
Read Mark 16:14–20. What did Jesus say to His disciples when He appeared to them, and what do these words mean to us today?
The first words of Jesus to His disciples are recorded only in indirect discourse in Mark 16:14. He rebukes them for their unbelief and hardheartedness. This question of unbelief is not simply a modern problem. As we already have seen, the original disciples of Jesus struggled with belief (Matt. 28:17, John 20:24–29), and they were with Jesus in the flesh and saw, again and again, the miracles.
But by various proofs, He demonstrated to them the reality of His resurrection. Then their testimony, combined with the evidence summarized in Monday’s study, forms a firm foundation for faith.
Jesus then commissions His disciples to take the gospel to the world. His command is expansive. They are to go to the entire world and proclaim the gospel to all creation. Jesus then explains the outcome of their work for weal and for woe—believers will be saved, unbelievers condemned.
Jesus also describes signs that will accompany the disciples’ work—casting out demons, speaking new languages, protection from harm, and healing the sick. Some people have mistakenly interpreted Mark 16:18 as an affirmation for Christians to show their faith by picking up venomous snakes. No such presumptuous action is authorized here. What Jesus is describing is protection when one is involved in mission, such as Paul’s service for others, as in Acts 28:3–6.
Of course, the Bible does not teach that Christians will always be protected from harm. At times God sees fit to work a miracle to further the gospel cause. But sometimes Christians suffer because of their witness. In that circumstance their patient endurance is another sign to unbelievers of the power of faith.
And then, after doing all He did here, “He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God” (Mark 16:19, NKJV). Jesus ascended to sit at the right hand of God, the place of supreme power, for Jesus had defeated all the forces of evil.
Notice the last verse. Though they went “everywhere,” preaching the gospel, they did not go alone. “The Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen” (Mark 16:20, NKJV). He was with them then and promises to be with us now as we continue the work they started.
“ ‘I am with you always, even to the end of the age’ ” (Matt. 28:20, NKJV). What comfort can, and should, we take from this promise as we, too, seek to proclaim the gospel “everywhere”?
Read Mark 16:9–20. What do these verses add to the Resurrection story?
Almost all of Mark 16:9–20 has parallels to other passages in the New Testament—Mary Magdalene at the tomb seeing Jesus (Matt. 28:1, 9, 10; John 20:11–18; compare with Luke 8:2); two disciples see Him in the countryside (Luke 24:13–35); the 11 disciples are commissioned (Matt. 28:16–20, Luke 24:36–49, John 20:19–23).
The first person to see Jesus alive was Mary Magdalene (John 20:11–18). Other women saw Him, as well (Matt. 28:8–10). It is significant that the first people to see the risen Lord were women. Because women in the ancient world did not have high status as witnesses, if the story were fabricated, it would have been much more likely to name men as the first witnesses. But it is not men, not the 11, but a woman. She goes to tell the good news to the disciples, but, not surprisingly, they do not believe her testimony, most likely because it seemed fantastic and also, unfortunately, because Mary was a woman.
Apologists for the resurrection story of Jesus have used this fact, that of women being the first ones to have seen Jesus, as powerful evidence for the veracity of the story.
What happens in Mark 16:14 that makes no sense if this story were a fabrication?
Of course, if they were making the story up, why would they have made themselves look so bad? Jesus had to rebuke them for their “hardness of heart.” The Gospel accounts, from the time of His arrest to His appearances after the Resurrection, depict the followers of Jesus in a very negative light—fleeing, denying, disbelieving, and so forth. This would make no sense if the story were made up.
In contrast, their later bold and unwavering proclamation of the risen Christ, and the hope it offers everyone, presents powerful evidence for the veracity of their claims.
How can we protect ourselves from falling into the spiritual trap of doubt and unbelief? Why must we daily link ourselves to the risen Christ?
“The women who had stood by the cross of Christ waited and watched for the hours of the Sabbath to pass. On the first day of the week, very early, they made their way to the tomb, taking with them precious spices to anoint the Saviour’s body. They did not think about His rising from the dead. The sun of their hope had set, and night had settled down on their hearts. As they walked, they recounted Christ's works of mercy and His words of comfort. But they remembered not His words, ‘I will see you again.’ John 16:22.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 788.
Read Mark 16:1–8. What happened, and how did the women first respond?
From the beginning of the Gospel, the reader knows that Jesus is the Messiah. But in the text itself, the first non-demon-possessed person who proclaims Him the Messiah is Peter in Mark 8:29. And this profession doesn’t happen until halfway through the book.
All throughout Mark’s Gospel, Jesus tells people to keep quiet about who He is or about a healing that He did for them. In Mark 1:44, He tells a leper to tell no one of his healing. In Mark 5:43, He tells Jairus and his wife to tell no one of the raising of their daughter. In Mark 7:36, He tells a group not to tell people about His healing of a deaf and mute man. And then He commands His disciples not to tell people that He is the Messiah (Mark 8:30; see also Mark 9:9). No doubt the main reason for Jesus’ telling them to be silent was to allow Himself the time to finish His ministry according to the time prophecies of Daniel 9:24–27.
Now, in this scene, even after they had been told that Jesus had been raised, the women, fearful and amazed, fled from the tomb and, at least at first, didn’t talk about what had happened either.
The silence, however, didn’t last long. By the time we reach the end of the book of Mark, we read this: “And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs” (Mark 16:20, ESV).
Thus, the motif of being silent about Jesus and about who He is and what He has done is shattered. The book ends with them preaching “everywhere.”
Why must we not keep silent about Jesus and what He has done? Who can you tell today about Jesus and the plan of salvation?
Read Mark 16:1–8 and 1 Corinthians 15:1–8. What do these passages have in common?
The story of the resurrection appears in each of the Gospels. Each Gospel writer presents the story from a different perspective, but they all contain the core concepts that appear also in 1 Corinthians 15:1–8.
Four ideas appear again and again—died, buried, risen, seen. In Mark, “died” and “buried” are in chapter 15. The “risen” and “seen” appear in chapter 16, but with a twist. Mark 16:7 speaks of a meeting in Galilee, and there you will see Him (see John 21).
Some people find it incredible that Christians believe in a risen Lord. But the evidence for His resurrection is substantial and consistent with reason.
For starters, all one has to do is believe in God as the Creator (see Genesis 1 and 2) and the idea of the resurrection, of a miracle, becomes reasonable. The God who created the universe, and then life on earth, certainly had the power, if He chose, to resurrect Jesus. The existence of God doesn’t make the resurrection of Jesus inevitable, only reasonable.
Next, the tomb was definitely empty. Even atheist historians accept that fact. If it were not, the claim about His resurrection would fail right from the start because the existence of His body there would destroy any claims of His having risen.
Next, the explanation that His disciples stole the body does not work. The disciples surely couldn’t have gotten past the guards. And even if they had done so and got the body, why were the disciples never arrested for stealing it? The answer is that the religious leaders knew that the disciples had not done it.
Also, numerous people testified that they saw the risen Christ. Many, including the disciples, did not at first believe. And one very solid enemy, Paul, not only claims to have seen the risen Lord but that this experience changed the whole trajectory of his life—in very radical ways, too.
Finally (though there are many other reasons), how does one explain the rise of the Christian church, founded by people who claimed to have seen the risen Lord? Why would these people have been willing to die for what they knew was a lie? Their consistent testimony, both right after His death (Acts 3:15) and years later (1 Pet. 1:3), provides powerful evidence for His resurrection.
What would you say if someone were to ask you, What evidence do you have for Christ’s resurrection?
Read Mark 15:42–16:6. What happens here, and why is this story so relevant to the resurrection narrative?
All the Gospel writers agree that Jesus died on the day that they identify as the “preparation” (Matt 27:62; Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54; John 19:14, 31, 42). Most commentators understand this as a reference to sunset Thursday through sunset Friday. Jesus died late on Friday afternoon and was then quickly buried before sunset.
During the Sabbath, the Lord rested in the grave, and all of Jesus’ disciples rested, as well. “And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment” (Luke 23:56, NKJV), a rather strange action if, in fact, Jesus had lessened, at least in their minds, the obligation to keep the fourth commandment.
On Saturday night, the women bought spices, and on Sunday morning, they went to the tomb with the desire to complete the typical burial process. Of course, Jesus was not there!
As early as the second century, Christians saw significance in the fact that Jesus rose on Sunday. This became the basis for Sunday sacredness. But is that what the New Testament teaches?
Read Colossians 2:10–12. What is the New Testament memorial of Jesus’ resurrection?
Not a word in the Bible hints at Sunday sacredness as a memorial of the Resurrection. That memorial is baptism. “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4, NKJV).
Regardless of the false theology regarding Sunday worship, as Adventists we must rejoice in the Sunday morning resurrection of Jesus. Jesus has triumphed over death, and in His resurrection, we have the surety of ours.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Pet. 1:3, NKJV). Look at the certainty Paul had about the resurrection of Jesus. How can we have that certainty, as well?
Read for This Week’s Study
Mark 15:42–47, Mark 16, Col. 2:10–12, 1 Cor. 15:1–8, Dan. 9:24–27, John 20:11–18.
Memory Text:
The crucifixion of Jesus destroyed the hopes and faith of His disciples. It was a dark weekend for them as they not only grappled with their Master’s death but feared for their own lives, as well (John 20:19).
In Mark 16, the final chapter in this Gospel, we will look at what followed His death.
First, we will look at the timing of Jesus’ resurrection and why the women came to the tomb on that Sunday morning. Adventists have sometimes shied away from resurrection morning because of the way it is misused to support Sunday sacredness. We will instead see how we can rejoice in the Sunday resurrection, despite the false theology that has, unfortunately, arisen from it.
Second, the lesson explains the first verses of Mark 16, linking these words to a theme that runs through the entire book. Our studies on Monday and Tuesday will look at these concepts.
Third, Wednesday and Thursday will examine the rest of Mark 16 and consider the mission it sets before us. This study will close with a challenge to the reader of Mark to take the gospel throughout the world.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, September 28.
“But he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him’ ” (Mark 16:6, NKJV).
Read Ellen G. White, “In Pilate’s Judgment Hall,” pp. 723–740; “Calvary,” pp. 741–757; “ ‘It Is Finished,’ ” pp. 758–764, in The Desire of Ages.
“Pilate longed to deliver Jesus. But he saw that he could not do this, and yet retain his own position and honor. Rather than lose his worldly power, he chose to sacrifice an innocent life. How many, to escape loss or suffering, in like manner sacrifice principle. Conscience and duty point one way, and self-interest points another. The current sets strongly in the wrong direction, and he who compromises with evil is swept away into the thick darkness of guilt.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 738.
“Upon Christ as our substitute and surety was laid the iniquity of us all. He was counted a transgressor, that He might redeem us from the condemnation of the law. The guilt of every descendant of Adam was pressing upon His heart. The wrath of God against sin, the terrible manifestation of His displeasure because of iniquity, filled the soul of His Son with consternation. All His life Christ had been publishing to a fallen world the good news of the Father’s mercy and pardoning love. Salvation for the chief of sinners was His theme. But now with the terrible weight of guilt He bears, He cannot see the Father’s reconciling face. The withdrawal of the divine countenance from the Saviour in this hour of supreme anguish pierced His heart with a sorrow that can never be fully understood by man. So great was this agony that His physical pain was hardly felt.”—The Desire of Ages, p. 753.
Discussion Questions:
Look at how central the theology of substitution was to Ellen G. White and also to the Bible (see, for instance, Isaiah 53). Why is any theology that downplays the central role of substitution and Christ’s dying in our stead, paying in Himself the penalty for our sins, a false theology?
Who or what is the “Barabbas” in today’s world that gets asked for instead of Jesus?
What should the story of Joseph of Arimathea tell us about not judging outward appearances?
Review Daniel 9:24–27. Why should you be able to give a Bible study on this section to anyone who asks? Can you?
Read Mark 15:42–47. What is the significance of Joseph of Arimathea’s intervention, especially since all of Jesus’ disciples were nowhere to be seen?
After all that drama, the more “mundane” things happen next. For starters, dead people always have to be buried. But several factors in what follows are quite touching spiritually, and others are extremely important historically.
In this passage, Joseph of Arimathea appears for the first and last time in the Gospel of Mark. He was a respected member of the Sanhedrin and one of the “urban elites.” As a wealthy and respected man, he had standing with the governor, which explains how he could dare approach Pilate and ask for the body of Jesus. It is a touching detail that a member of the council took such interest in Jesus’ burial. Meanwhile, where were Jesus’ trusted disciples in all this?
One historical detail of extreme importance here is the verification of the death of Jesus. Mark 15:43 tells of Joseph’s request for the body of Jesus. But Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus already was dead (Mark 15:44). He, therefore, summoned the centurion in charge of the crucifixion and asked if Jesus was dead already. The centurion confirmed that it was so.
This is important because of the later claim by some that Jesus did not die on the cross but only fainted. The testimony of the centurion to the Roman governor directly counters that assertion. The Romans did, after all, know how to execute criminals.
Joseph brought a linen shroud to wrap Jesus, and he laid His body in a tomb hewn from rock. This tomb was large enough to walk into (Mark 16:5). Along with Joseph, the Gospel writer notes two women who saw the location—Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Joses. These two, along with Salome, watched the Crucifixion from a distance; all three will go to the tomb on Sunday morning with the intention to complete their work of embalming Jesus (Mark 16:1).
Why the reference to these three women? They will be the witnesses to the empty tomb in Mark 16 and thus are important witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus.
How ironic that Jesus’ followers are “missing in action” while a member of the Sanhedrin, the very body that condemned Jesus, becomes the “hero” here. How can we be sure that, in crucial times, we are not missing in action either?
Read Mark 15:33–41. What are Jesus’ only words on the cross in Mark? What does Christ’s death ultimately mean for us all?
The Gospel of Mark presents the cross as a very dark place, both physically and spiritually. A supernatural darkness descended on Calvary from about noon on that Friday until about 3 p.m. “And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour” (Mark 15:33, ESV).
The words of Jesus on the cross are called the “cry of dereliction” as He prays, crying out to God, asking why He has been forsaken. He is quoting from Psalm 22:1. Other references to the same psalm occur in Mark 15:24, 29, indicating that the Scriptures are being fulfilled in the death of Jesus. Even in the evil plotting of men, the will of God is being fulfilled.
Jesus’ words from the cross are reported in Aramaic along with translation. The words “my God, my God” are Eloi, Eloi in the verse (a transliteration of the Aramaic ’elahi). It would be easy to hear Jesus as calling for Elijah (Aramaic ’eliyyah, which means “My God is YHWH”). This is the mistake that some bystanders make.
What becomes striking about this passage is the parallel it has to the baptism of Jesus in Mark 1:9–11.
What these parallels suggest is that as the baptism of Jesus in Mark 1 is the beginning of His ministry, as prophesied in Daniel 9:24–27, what occurs in Mark 15 at the cross is the culmination, or goal, of His ministry, as He dies as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). The death of Jesus on the cross also fulfills part of the prophecy of Daniel 9:24–27. The tearing of the temple veil (Mark 15:38) points to the fulfillment of the sacrificial system, as type meets antitype, and a new phase of salvation history begins.
Even despite the evil plotting of humanity, God’s purposes were fulfilled. Why should this help us learn that, regardless of what happens around us, we can still trust God and know that His goodness will ultimately prevail?
The Baptism: Mark 1:9–11The Cross: Mark 15:34–39John baptizes JesusJesus’ baptism (compare with Mark 10:38)John (Elijah figure; see Mark 9:11–13)Calling ElijahHeavens splitVeil splitSpirit (pneuma)Jesus expires (expneō)God’s voice “Beloved Son”Centurion says “Son of God”
Read Mark 15:21–38. What terrible and painful irony appears in these passages?
At this point in the Passion Narrative, Jesus is a silent victim, controlled by people who are bent on His death. Throughout the Gospel, up to His arrest, He was the master of activities. Now He is acted upon. Though He was a robust itinerant preacher, the beating He had received and the lack of food and sleep wore Him down to where a stranger had to bear His cross.
At the cross His garments were removed and became the property of the soldiers, who cast lots to see whose they would be (compare with Ps. 22:18). Crucifixion was a fairly bloodless method of execution. The nails used to fasten a person to the cross (compare with John 20:24–29) were likely driven through the wrist below the palm where no major blood vessels run. (In both Hebrew and Greek, the word for “hand” can refer to both the hand and the forearm.) The palm of the hand itself does not have the structures necessary to carry the weight of the body in crucifixion. The median nerve runs through the center of the forearm and would be crushed by the nails, causing excruciating pain up the arm. Breathing was difficult. To get a good breath, victims of crucifixion had to push against their nailed feet and flex their arms, again causing agonizing pain. Exhaustion asphyxia was one of the possible causes of death.
Jesus received tremendous mockery and humiliation during His crucifixion. The Gospel of Mark has a revelation/secrecy motif in which Jesus typically calls for silence about who He is. Consequently, such Christological titles as “Lord,” “Son of God,” or “Christ” do not appear often in the narrative.
This element changes at the cross. He cannot be hidden. It is ironic that it is the religious leaders who use these titles in mocking Jesus. How these men are condemning themselves!
One of their mocking statements stands out. In Mark 15:31, they say, “ ‘He saved others; he cannot save himself’ ” (ESV). To make their point about His helplessness on the cross, they indicate that He did help others (the Greek verb can mean “save,” “heal,” or “rescue”). Thus, ironically, they admit He is the Savior. The irony goes further—the reason He could not, or would not, save Himself was because at the cross He was saving others.
Read John 1:1–3, and then think about what this passage tells us about Jesus, the same Jesus who is being crucified here in Mark. How do we wrap our minds around what Christ’s death means for us?
Read Mark 15:15–20. What did the soldiers do to Jesus, and what is its significance?
The Romans utilized a severe form of beating to prepare prisoners for execution. The victim was stripped of his clothes, tied to a pole, and then lashed with leather whips to which pieces of bone, glass, stones, and nails were tied.
After Jesus was whipped, the soldiers tasked with His execution continued His humiliation by clothing Him in a purple robe, placing a crown of thorns on His head, and mocking Him as king of the Jews. The group of soldiers is called a battalion, in this case anywhere from 200 to 600 men.
The irony in the scene is evident to the reader because Jesus really is the King, and the mocking words of the soldiers proclaim this truth. The action of the soldiers was a parody of how soldiers hailed the Roman emperor with the words “Hail, Caesar, Emperor!” Thus, there is an implicit comparison to the emperor.
The actions of the soldiers in mocking Jesus are “striking” His head with a reed, “spitting” on Him, and “kneeling down” in mock homage. All three of these actions are expressed in Greek with the imperfect tense. In this setting, this tense has the idea of repetitive action. Thus, they kept striking Him, kept spitting on Him, and kept kneeling down in mock homage before Him. Jesus takes all of this in silence, not responding at all.
The typical pattern of Roman execution by crucifixion involved having the convicted person carry the cross naked to the place of execution. This pattern, again, was to humiliate and shame the person completely before the community.
But the Jews abhorred public nakedness. Mark 15:20 notes that they removed the purple cloak and put His own clothes back on Him. Thus, this appears to be a concession that the Romans made to the Jews at that time and place.
Think about all the irony here. Their bowing and paying “homage” to Jesus as King was all in mockery even though Jesus really was the King, not just of the Jews but of the Romans, as well.
These men had no idea what they were doing. Why, though, will their ignorance not excuse them on Judgment Day?
Read Mark 15:1–15. What kind of ironic situations occur here?
Pontius Pilate was the governor of Judea from A.D. 26–A.D. 36. He was not a kind leader, and a number of his actions caused consternation among the inhabitants of the land (compare with Luke 13:1). The Jewish trial of Jesus resulted in a death sentence for blasphemy. But under Roman rule, the Jews could not execute people in most cases, and so, they brought Jesus to Pilate for condemnation.
The charge against Jesus before Pilate is not mentioned, but it is possible to ascertain the charge based on the brief question that Pilate asks Jesus: “ ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ ” (Mark 15:2, ESV). In Old Testament times, Israel anointed its kings; so, it is not hard to see how the term Messiah (“Anointed One”) could be twisted into claiming homage as a king in competition with the emperor. Thus, the charge brought before the Sanhedrin was blasphemy while the charge brought before the governor was sedition, which would lead to death.
The irony is that Jesus is both the Messiah and the King of the Jews. His convictions for blasphemy and sedition were mistaken; He should have received homage and worship instead. Yet, Jesus still acts in a kingly manner. His response to Pilate, “ ‘You have said so’ ” (Mark 15:2, ESV), is noncommittal. He does not deny the title or affirm it. This response may suggest that He is a king but of a different sort (compare with John 18:33–38).
Mark 15:6 introduces into the narrative a custom of releasing a prisoner at the time of the Passover. In Mark 15:9, Pilate asks if they want him to release the “ ‘King of the Jews,’ ” and though he might have meant it ironically, the irony is really playing out against him.
Mark 15:9, 10 is a study in perception and imperception. Pilate perceives that the religious leaders turned over Jesus because of envy, but he does not perceive that, by asking the crowd, he is playing into the hands of the religious leaders. They stir up the crowd and call for Jesus’ crucifixion. Pilate recoils. Crucifixion was such a terrible way to die, particularly for one he considered innocent. How painfully ironic that the pagan governor wanted to release the Messiah while the religious leaders wanted Him crucified.
What can keep you from following the crowd when the pressure is great to do so?
Read for This Week’s Study
Mark 15, Luke 13:1, Ps. 22:18, John 20:24–29, John 1:1–3, Dan. 9:24–27.
Memory Text:
Mark 15 is the heart of the Passion Narrative. It presents the trial of Jesus, His condemnation, the mockery by the soldiers, His crucifixion, and then His death and burial. The events in this chapter are presented in stark, crisp detail, likely because the author let the facts speak for themselves.
Throughout this chapter, irony plays an important role. Because of this, it is helpful to have a clear definition of what irony is.
Irony often contains three components: (1) two levels of meaning, (2) the two levels are in conflict or contrast to each other, and (3) someone does not see the irony and does not recognize what is happening and does not know that he or she is the one who will suffer the consequences.
This week, from the question of Pilate, “ ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ ” to the mocking soldiers, the sign above the cross, and the mocking of the religious leaders, “ ‘He saved others; Himself He cannot save,’ ” to the unexpected appearance of Joseph of Arimathea, the chapter is filled with painful ironies that nevertheless reveal powerful truths about the death of Jesus and what it means.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, September 21.
“And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’ which is translated, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’ ” (Mark 15:34, NKJV).
Read Ellen G. White, “Before Annas and the Court of Caiaphas,” pp. 698–715; “Judas,” pp. 716–722, in The Desire of Ages.
“While the degrading oaths were fresh upon Peter’s lips, and the shrill crowing of the cock was still ringing in his ears, the Saviour turned from the frowning judges, and looked full upon His poor disciple. At the same time Peter’s eyes were drawn to his Master. In that gentle countenance he read deep pity and sorrow, but there was no anger there.
“The sight of that pale, suffering face, those quivering lips, that look of compassion and forgiveness, pierced his heart like an arrow. Conscience was aroused. Memory was active. Peter called to mind his promise of a few short hours before that he would go with his Lord to prison and to death. He remembered his grief when the Saviour told him in the upper chamber that he would deny his Lord thrice that same night. Peter had just declared that he knew not Jesus, but he now realized with bitter grief how well his Lord knew him, and how accurately He had read his heart, the falseness of which was unknown even to himself.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 712, 713.
Discussion Questions:
How, by merely reading what Jesus predicted in Mark 14:9, are we seeing another of Jesus’ predictions—a highly unlikely prediction given the circumstances in which it has been uttered—actually being fulfilled?
Compare and contrast Judas and Peter. How were they alike and how different in the way they acted in the Passion Narrative?
Discuss the meaning of the Lord’s Supper. How can we make this more meaningful in our church and involve more members in its celebration?
Discuss the fact that God said no to Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane. What does it mean when God says no to us?
Though Peter greatly failed Jesus with his denials, Jesus did not cast him off. What hope can you take for yourself from this fact?
Read Mark 14:60–72. Compare how Jesus responded to events in contrast to how Peter did. What lessons can we learn from the differences?
Mark 14:53–59 describes Jesus being brought to the Sanhedrin and the first part of the trial. It is an exercise in frustration. Again and again, the leaders try to make their accusation against Jesus stick. The Gospel writer notes how the testimony was false and the witnesses never agreed.
Finally, the high priest arises and addresses Jesus directly. At first Jesus does not respond. But then the high priest places Him under oath before God (see Matt. 26:63) and asks the direct question if He is the Messiah. Jesus frankly and openly admits that He is and then references Daniel 7:13, 14, regarding the Son of man as seated at God’s right hand and coming with the clouds of heaven. This is too much for the high priest, who tears his robes and calls for Jesus’ condemnation, which the council immediately gives. The leaders begin to shame Jesus by spitting on Him, covering His face, beating Him, and calling on Him to prophesy.
While Jesus is inside being tried and giving a faithful testimony, Peter is outside giving a lying report. This is the sixth and final sandwich story in Mark, and here the irony is particularly pointed. Here are two parallel characters, Jesus and Peter, doing opposite actions. Jesus gives a faithful testimony, Peter a false one. Three times Peter is accosted by a servant or bystanders, and each time he denies association with Jesus, even cursing and swearing in the process.
It is at this point that a rooster crows a second time, and Peter suddenly remembers Jesus’ prophecy that he would deny his Lord three times that very night. He breaks down and weeps. Here is the striking irony—at the end of His trial, Jesus is blindfolded and struck and commanded to “prophesy!” The idea was to mock Him since He could not see who struck Him. However, at the very time they do this, Peter is denying Jesus in the courtyard below, fulfilling one of Jesus’ prophecies. Consequently, in denying Jesus, Peter demonstrates that Jesus is the Messiah.
What words of hope would you give to someone who, though wanting to follow Jesus, fails at times to do so? Who of us has not, at times, failed to follow what we know Jesus wants?
Read Mark 14:43–52. What happens here that is so crucial to the plan of salvation?
It is shocking that one of Jesus’ closest associates betrayed Him to His enemies. The Gospels do not go into great detail about Judas’s motivation. But Ellen G. White writes: “Judas had naturally a strong love for money; but he had not always been corrupt enough to do such a deed as this. He had fostered the evil spirit of avarice until it had become the ruling motive of his life. The love of mammon overbalanced his love for Christ. Through becoming the slave of one vice he gave himself to Satan, to be driven to any lengths in sin.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 716.
Betrayal in itself is deplored by all, even by those who make use of betrayers (compare with Matt. 27:3–7). But Judas’s deed is particularly nefarious because he seeks to hide his betrayal under the guise of friendship. He gives the crowd instruction that the man he kisses is the man to arrest. It appears that Judas wanted to hide his perfidy from Jesus and the other disciples.
Chaos breaks out when the crowd arrests Jesus. Someone draws a sword (John 18:10, 11 says it was Peter) and cuts off the ear of the high priest’s servant. Jesus addresses the mob, chastising them for doing in secret what they were afraid to do in the open when He was teaching in the temple. But Jesus ends with a reference to the Scriptures being fulfilled. It is another signal of that dual plot running through the Passion Narrative—that the will of God is coming to fulfillment even as the will of man works to destroy the Messiah.
The disciples all flee, including Peter, who nevertheless will reappear, following Jesus at a distance and ending up getting himself in trouble. But Mark 14:51, 52 tells of a young man following Jesus, an account found here and nowhere else in the canonical Gospels. Some think it was Mark himself, but that is unprovable. What is remarkable is that he runs away naked. The young man, instead of leaving all to follow Jesus, leaves all to flee from Jesus.
Think about the fearful idea that being a slave of only one vice led Judas to do what he did. What should this tell us about hating sin and, by God’s grace, overcoming it?
Read Mark 14:32–42. What did Jesus pray in Gethsemane, and how was the prayer answered?
Leaving the walled city of Jerusalem where they ate the Passover meal, Jesus and His disciples go across the Kidron Valley to a garden on the slopes of the Mount of Olives. The name Gethsemane means oil press, suggesting that there was an olive oil processing press in the vicinity. The exact location is unknown because the Romans cut down all the trees on the Mount of Olives during the siege in A.D. 70.
As Jesus enters the garden, He leaves His disciples there and goes farther with Peter, James, and John. But then He leaves these three, as well, and proceeds farther by Himself. This spatial distancing suggests Jesus is becoming more isolated as He faces His upcoming suffering.
Jesus prays for the cup of suffering to be removed but only if it is God’s will (Mark 14:36). He uses the Aramaic term Abba, which Mark translates as “Father.” The term does not mean “daddy,” as some have suggested. The term used by a child to address his father was abi (see Raymond E. Brown, The Death of the Messiah, Anchor Bible Reference Library [New York: Doubleday, 1994], vol. 1, pp. 172, 173). However, the use of the term Abba, “Father,” does carry the close familial linkage, which should not be diminished.
What Jesus prays for is the removal of the cup of suffering. But He submits Himself to the will of God (compare with the Lord’s Prayer, Matt. 6:10). It becomes obvious throughout the rest of the Passion Narrative that God’s answer to Jesus’ prayer is no. He will not remove the cup of suffering because through that experience salvation is offered to the world.
When you face hardships, it is encouraging to have friends who support you. In Philippians 4:13, Paul talks about doing all things through the One who strengthens him. Many forget Philippians 4:14, where the apostle begins, “Nevertheless.” It reads: “Nevertheless, it was kind of you to share my troubles” (ISV). This is what Jesus desired in Gethsemane. Three times He came seeking comfort from His disciples. Three times they were sleeping. At the end, He arouses them to go forth with Him to face the trial. He is ready; they are not.
Read Mark 14:22–31 and Exodus 24:8. What great significance to the Christian faith is found in this account?
Mark 14:12 notes that this is the first day of unleavened bread, when the Passover lamb was sacrificed. The meal was on Thursday evening.
At the Last Supper, Jesus institutes a new memorial service. It is a transition from the Jewish Passover celebration and is directly linked to Israel’s leaving Egypt and becoming God’s covenant people at Sinai. In the sealing of the covenant, in Exodus 24:8, Moses sprinkles the people with the blood of the sacrifices and says, “ ‘Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words’ ” (ESV).
It is striking that in the Lord’s Supper, which Jesus institutes here, no use is made of the lamb of the Passover meal. That is because Jesus is the Lamb of God (compare with John 1:29). The bread of the Lord’s Supper represents His body. The new covenant (compare with Jer. 31:31–34) is sealed with the blood of Jesus, and the cup represents this. He says, “ ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many’ ” (Mark 14:24, ESV).
Then, amid all this, Jesus predicts that His disciples will all abandon Him. He cites Zechariah 13:7, which speaks of the sword striking the shepherd and the sheep being scattered. Jesus is the shepherd, and His disciples are the sheep. It is a stark and depressing message. But Jesus adds a word of hope, repeating the prediction of His resurrection. But He adds that He will go before the disciples to Galilee. That prediction will be referred to by the young man at Jesus’ tomb, in Mark 16:7, and thus it carries special weight here.
But all this is too hard for the disciples to accept, especially Peter, who argues that everyone else may fall away, but he will not. However, Jesus continues with the solemn language and predicts that Peter will deny Him three times before the rooster crows twice. The prediction will play a crucial role in the scene of Jesus’ trial and Peter’s denial; so, it also plays a crucial role here.
What can you learn from whatever times you promised God that you would or would not do something and ended up doing or not doing it anyway?
Read Mark 14:1–11. What two stories are intertwined here, and how do they play off of one another?
Mark 14:1 indicates that the Passover was two days away. This meeting probably occurred on either Tuesday night or Wednesday of that week. The religious leaders have a plan and timing. They just need a means to accomplish their goal. It will come from a surprising quarter.
This passage is the fifth sandwich story in Mark (see lesson 3). The story of the plot against Jesus is linked with a story of a woman who anoints Jesus’ head with precious perfume. Two parallel characters do opposite actions, displaying an ironic contrast.
Who the woman is here is not revealed by Mark. Her amazing gift to Jesus stands in contrast to Judas’s perfidy in betraying his Lord. She is unnamed; he is named as one of the Twelve. The value of her gift is listed; his price is only a promise of money.
No specific reason is given for why she does this, but the guests at the dinner are appalled by what they consider a grand waste of close to a year’s wages in pouring out the perfume on Jesus. Jesus, however, interposes in her defense and says that what she has done will be included in gospel proclamation throughout the world as a memorial to her. It is unforgettable. Indeed, all four Gospels tell this story in one form or another, probably because of Jesus’ words memorializing her deed.
Judas’s betrayal also is unforgettable. Mark implies that his motive was greed. The Gospel of John makes it explicit (John 12:4–6).
Mark contains a play on the word “good” in order to illustrate that two different motives, or plots, are in play in these stories. Jesus calls the woman’s action “good/beautiful” in Mark 14:6. He says you can always do “good” for the poor (Mark 14:7). In Mark 14:9, He calls her deed part of the “good news/gospel.” In Mark 14:11, Judas looks for a “good opportunity” (ISV) to betray Jesus. What this play on words suggests is that the plot of men to destroy the Messiah will actually become part of the gospel story because it brings to fruition the will of God in giving His Son for the salvation of humanity.
How does Romans 8:28 help explain what will happen here?
Read for This Week’s Study
Mark 12:41–44, Mark 13:1–32, Dan. 9:24–27, Dan. 7:25, 1 Thess. 4:13–18.
Memory Text:
This week’s lesson starts with a very brief story at the end of Mark 12, where Jesus makes a profound statement about a small act by a widow. The main portion of this week’s lesson, however, deals with Mark 13, a striking prophecy about the fate of the Jerusalem temple and more. This chapter, along with its parallels in Matthew 24 and Luke 21, tell about the fall of Jerusalem and beyond, even to the end of the world.
What Mark 13 makes quite clear is that the prophecy goes from the time of the prophet, Jesus, to the time of the end, His second coming. This pattern follows what is known as “the historicist interpretation of end-time prophecy,” as opposed to the attempt to put these prophecies in the past or way off into the future.
Like many teachings of Jesus in Mark, the Lord’s instruction is in response to a question or a misunderstanding by His disciples. These questions or misunderstandings give Jesus the opportunity to teach truths vital to Christian life and experience. Jesus not only predicts the future but also instructs His disciples both then and now in how to prepare for the coming trials.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, September 7.
“ ‘Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then He will send His angels, and gather His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven’ ” (Mark 13:26, 27, NKJV).
Read Ellen G. White, “On the Mount of Olives,” pp. 627–636, in The Desire of Ages.
Many things are happening in the world that are very disturbing. People truly are frightened about what is unfolding. How can we, as Seventh-day Adventists, with a kind of “inside track” on events, use these things to point people to the hope we have in Jesus and the promise of His coming?
“Because we know not the exact time of His coming, we are commanded to watch. ‘Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord when He cometh shall find watching.’ Luke 12:37. Those who watch for the Lord’s coming are not waiting in idle expectancy. The expectation of Christ’s coming is to make men fear the Lord, and fear His judgments upon transgression. It is to awaken them to the great sin of rejecting His offers of mercy. Those who are watching for the Lord are purifying their souls by obedience to the truth. With vigilant watching they combine earnest working. Because they know that the Lord is at the door, their zeal is quickened to co-operate with the divine intelligences in working for the salvation of souls. These are the faithful and wise servants who give to the Lord’s household ‘their portion of meat in due season.’ Luke 12:42. They are declaring the truth that is now specially applicable. As Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Moses each declared the truth for his time, so will Christ’s servants now give the special warning for their generation.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 634.
Discussion Questions:
It’s one thing to give to the Lord’s work. It’s another to give sacrificially. What’s the difference, and why is that difference important?
Why did God not prevent the persecution of His people through the centuries and in today’s world? How does the great controversy motif help us understand, somewhat, why persecution exists?
What signs of Christ’s coming especially stand out to you in the present world?
Think about the state of the dead and the fact that the dead sleep until Christ returns. People close their eyes in death, and what is the very next thing they know? How does this idea help us see how, for each person individually, the second coming of Christ is always very near?
Jesus’ ClaimsThe miracle by the Pool of Bethesda provided an excellent opportunity for John to emphasize who Jesus is. John takes nine verses todescribe the miracle and about 40 verses (see below) to describe theOne who performed the miracle.Read John 5:16–18. Why was Jesus persecuted for His action on theSabbath?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________John 5:18 can be disturbing because it seems to say that Jesus wasbreaking the Sabbath. However, a closer look at John 5:16–18 showsthat Jesus argues that His “work” on the Sabbath is in line with Hisrelationship to His Father. God does not stop sustaining the universeon the Sabbath. Consequently, Jesus’ Sabbath activity was part of Hisclaim to divinity. The religious leaders persecuted Him on the basis ofsupposed Sabbath-breaking and a claim to equality to God.Read John 5:19–47. What was Jesus saying in order to help the leaderssee Him for who He truly is, a claim so powerfully attested by themiracle He had just done?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Jesus defends His actions in three steps. First, He explains His intimate relationship with the Father (John 5:19–30). Jesus indicates thatHe and His Father act in harmony, to the point that Jesus has the powerboth to judge and to raise the dead (John 5:25–30).Second, Jesus calls four “witnesses” in rapid succession to Hisdefense—John the Baptist (John 5:31–35), the miracles Jesus does(John 5:36), the Father (John 5:37, 38), and the Scriptures (John 5:39).Each of these “witnesses” gives testimony in favor of Jesus.Finally, in John 5:40–47, Jesus sets before His accusers theirown condemnation, revealing the contrast between His ministryand their self-seeking. Their condemnation, He says, will comefrom Moses (John 5:45–47), the one in whom they have set theirhopes.How can we be careful not to fall into the trap of believing inGod, even having correct doctrines, but not surren
Read Mark 13:24–32. What great event is described here?
The great event described in Mark 13:24–32 is none other than the return of Jesus Christ in glory, preceded by signs in the sun, moon, and stars. The New Testament is full of prophecies pointing toward this wonderful event. The apostle Paul describes it in detail in 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18, where he speaks of those who have fallen asleep in Christ being raised to life and caught up with the living saints to meet Christ in the air. In 1 Corinthians 15, the apostle speaks in detail about the reality of the resurrection of the dead, which occurs at Christ’s return.
Peter describes that great day as well in 2 Peter 3:3–13, explaining that the Lord is not slow about His promise but wants all people to come to repentance. And Revelation has vivid descriptions of Christ’s return (see Revelation 1:7, Revelation 6:12–17, Revelation 14:14–20, and Revelation 19:11–21). The consistent New Testament teaching is that Christ’s return is personal, literal, visible, and audible. Everyone will see Him when He comes.
What, however, does Jesus mean by “this generation” and “that day” or “that hour”? These words have troubled many people because obviously the generation to whom Jesus spoke is long dead.
A number of solutions to this passage have been suggested. Some argue that the word “generation” can refer to a race of people, in this case the Jews. That is to say that the Jewish race would not perish before Christ returns. Another solution is to speak of the generation of people who see all the signs fulfilled as those that will not pass away before Christ returns.
But a simpler solution is to note that in Mark 13:30, Jesus uses the word “this” as in “this generation,” and in Mark 13:32, He uses the word “that” as in “that day and hour.” In Mark 13, the word “this” (houtos, hautē, touto) appears more often in verses 1–13, leading to the destruction of Jerusalem. The word “that” characterizes the latter part of the chapter.
Thus, “this generation” most likely refers to the first-century generation, which saw the destruction of Jerusalem, as Mark 13:30 describes. However, Mark 13:32 refers to the second coming of Christ, which is still future and was more distant from the first century. Consequently, Mark 13:32 uses the word “that” to speak of events more distant from the first century.
Read Mark 13:19. What does this verse refer to?
Mark 13:14, regarding the abomination of desolation, is the fulcrum around which the chapter pivots (see Tuesday’s study). Mark 13:19 marks a transition point, as well. It refers to a great tribulation that does not have an equal since the creation of the world. This portends a greater or more extensive persecution than had occurred at the fall of Jerusalem. Mark 13:19 also shifts to the future tense, pointing toward events more distant from Jesus’ time.
Just as Mark 13:14 echoes the prophecy of Daniel 9, the great persecution described here in Mark 13:19–23 echoes the prophecies of Daniel 7 and 8, where the little-horn power persecutes the people of God for “a time and times and half a time” (Dan. 7:25, NKJV). This prophetic period of 1,260 days is equal to 1,260 literal years (Num. 14:34, Ezek. 4:6). This time extended from A.D. 538 to A.D. 1798. In A.D. 1798, Napoleon sent his general to take the pope captive. During this time period of 1,260 years, the little-horn power persecuted and killed those who did not agree with its system of church governance.
Read Mark 13:20–23. What hope does God offer His people during the time of persecution, and what warning does He give them as it closes?
Mark 13:20 speaks of persecution being shortened for the sake of God’s people. Historically, the fires of persecution did lessen after the rise of the Protestant Reformation, shortening the time of distress. As the little horn’s power waned, more people joined the reforms. But the little horn would rise in power again, as the prophecy of Revelation 13 indicates.
In Mark 13:21–23, Jesus warns of another threat: that of false prophets and false christs, who will arise before He comes back. Jesus warns His followers to beware of them.
At the time Jesus warned about false christs, His movement had barely even begun, and yet, He was able to make such an amazing prediction, which has come true (even today people claim to be Jesus). How should this prediction increase our trust in the Word of God?
Read Mark 13:14–18. What clue does Jesus give in figuring out what the “abomination of desolation” refers to?
Jesus comes to the central point about the fall of Jerusalem in Mark 13:14. He refers to “_the abomination of desolation._” The Lord says that the reader should understand. With these words, Jesus is pointing the disciples to the book of Daniel. This terminology appears in Daniel 9:27, Daniel 11:31, and Daniel 12:11, with a parallel in Daniel 8:13.
Read Daniel 9:26, 27. Who is the “anointed One,” and who is “the prince who is to come” (ESV)?
The “anointed one” in Daniel 9:26 (ESV) is the Hebrew word māšiaḥ, in English, Messiah. In a careful study of Daniel 9:24–27, it is clear that this anointed one refers to the coming of Jesus Christ.
But who is “the prince who is to come,” who brings the desolation of the city of Jerusalem? The city was destroyed by the Roman general Titus. Thus, it seems logical that he is “the prince who is to come” referred to in Daniel 9:26, 27. The two individuals are linked because the way that the Messiah was treated spelled the doom of the city.
What, though, is this “abomination of desolation” that Jesus, referring to Daniel, talks about? Unfortunately, many scholars believe that this abomination refers to Antiochus Epiphanes’s desecration of the temple in the second century B.C. That doesn’t work though. Jesus describes the “abomination of desolation” as something that occurs after His own time here, so it hardly could refer to something that happened two centuries before Christ’s earthly ministry.
Instead, the abomination likely refers to the planting of the Roman pagan standards in Israel during the siege of Jerusalem in the late A.D. 60s. This was the sign for the Christians to flee, which they did.
Just as Jesus predicted, Jerusalem fell. How can we learn to trust Him and the Bible in all its predictions?
Read Mark 13:1–13. How did the disciples respond to Jesus’ statement about the temple, and what is the significance of Jesus’ answer to them?
As we have noted, the temple complex was a truly amazing structure. Josephus notes that the Royal Portico on the south side of the complex had 162 pillars, each of which three men clasping hands could reach around (Antiquities, 15.11.5 §§413–414). Jesus says that it will all be thrown down. Such a prophecy concerning this amazing structure would sound to the listener like the end of the world.
“As Christ’s attention was attracted to the magnificence of the temple, what must have been the unuttered thoughts of that Rejected One! The view before Him was indeed beautiful, but He said with sadness, I see it all. The buildings are indeed wonderful. You point to these walls as apparently indestructible; but listen to My words: The day will come when ‘there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.’ ”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 627.
The disciples want to know when this prediction that Jesus has made will come to pass. Thus, in Mark 13:4, a small group—Peter, James, John, and Andrew—ask Him for the timing. They want to know when all these things will happen and what will be the sign when they are about to take place.
What is striking in Mark 13:5–13 is that Jesus spends most of His time not in describing the fall of Jerusalem but rather in warning His disciples about what they can expect in their ministry of establishing the early Christian church. It does not sound as though it’s going to be easy either.
In fact, they will be persecuted, put on trial, and some will be killed. But all through this, Jesus indicates that the time is not yet. They are not to be deceived by tumultuous events. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit will give them the words to speak at the right time, even when family and friends desert them.
The takeaway from these introductory words in Jesus’ prophecy is that the people of God are not to fear tumult and trial. They are to be vigilant because God’s Spirit is going to carry them through the trouble.
What has been your own experience with the trials that come from following Jesus? If you haven’t had any, might you need to ask if you are actually following Him?
Read Mark 12:41–44. How much did the widow give, and what did Jesus have to say about that?
The Jerusalem temple was an amazingly beautiful structure. The temple mount dominated the city, and the massive stones involved in its construction are a marvel to this day, some weighing hundreds of tons. The remodeling and expansion of the temple and the temple mount began under Herod the Great around 20 B.C., but the construction and embellishment of the structure continued into the A.D. 60s.
Many people brought large offerings to deposit in 13 chests located in the Court of the Women near the temple. It was here that Jesus was sitting when He saw a widow approach and cast in two lepta. This would be equivalent to one thirty-second of a denarius, the usual wage for a day laborer. Hence, the woman’s offering was quite small.
Jesus, however, was impressed by her offering. Many rich individuals put in large sums, but He did not comment on their gifts as they deposited them. But this widow’s offering called forth His praise. He states that she gave more than everyone else. How is that possible? Jesus notes that they gave out of their abundance but she out of her poverty. They had much left; she gave everything she had to live on. This fact makes her gift extravagant, even though its monetary value was tiny.
This story contains a deep lesson about the management of resources. Giving to God’s cause does not depend on the actions of leaders to have validity. The religious leadership of the temple was corrupt, but Jesus did not thereby affirm withholding offerings. If ever there were corrupt religious leaders (Caiaphas? Annas?), those at this time were among the worst. And Jesus knew it too.
It is true that leaders have a sacred responsibility to use resources in accordance with the will of God, but even if they do not, those who give to the cause of God are still blessed in their giving, as this woman was.
On the other hand, withholding tithes or offerings when leaders do something displeasing means that the giving is tied to their actions instead of being made in thankfulness to God. However tempting it may be to do that, it’s wrong.
What should this story teach us about the importance of being faithful in what we give to the Lord’s work?
Read for This Week’s Study
Mark 12:41–44, Mark 13:1–32, Dan. 9:24–27, Dan. 7:25, 1 Thess. 4:13–18.
Memory Text:
This week’s lesson starts with a very brief story at the end of Mark 12, where Jesus makes a profound statement about a small act by a widow. The main portion of this week’s lesson, however, deals with Mark 13, a striking prophecy about the fate of the Jerusalem temple and more. This chapter, along with its parallels in Matthew 24 and Luke 21, tell about the fall of Jerusalem and beyond, even to the end of the world.
What Mark 13 makes quite clear is that the prophecy goes from the time of the prophet, Jesus, to the time of the end, His second coming. This pattern follows what is known as “the historicist interpretation of end-time prophecy,” as opposed to the attempt to put these prophecies in the past or way off into the future.
Like many teachings of Jesus in Mark, the Lord’s instruction is in response to a question or a misunderstanding by His disciples. These questions or misunderstandings give Jesus the opportunity to teach truths vital to Christian life and experience. Jesus not only predicts the future but also instructs His disciples both then and now in how to prepare for the coming trials.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, September 7.
“ ‘Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then He will send His angels, and gather His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven’ ” (Mark 13:26, 27, NKJV).
Read Ellen G. White, “A Doomed People,” pp. 580–588; “The Temple Cleansed Again,” pp. 589–600; “Controversy,” pp. 601–609, in The Desire of Ages.
“Christ’s act in cursing the tree which His own power had created stands as a warning to all churches and to all Christians. No one can live the law of God without ministering to others. But there are many who do not live out Christ’s merciful, unselfish life. Some who think themselves excellent Christians do not understand what constitutes service for God. They plan and study to please themselves. They act only in reference to self. Time is of value to them only as they can gather for themselves. In all the affairs of life this is their object. Not for others but for themselves do they minister. God created them to live in a world where unselfish service must be performed. He designed them to help their fellow men in every possible way. But self is so large that they cannot see anything else. They are not in touch with humanity. Those who thus live for self are like the fig tree, which made every pretension but was fruitless. They observe the forms of worship, but without repentance or faith. In profession they honor the law of God, but obedience is lacking. They say, but do not. In the sentence pronounced on the fig tree Christ demonstrates how hateful in His eyes is this vain pretense. He declares that the open sinner is less guilty than is he who professes to serve God, but who bears no fruit to His glory.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 584.
Discussion Questions:
Ponder the meaning of Christ’s cleansing the temple. How might that principle apply to our church today? How should such a cleansing take place?
All through the Gospels, again and again, Jesus refers to the Scriptures and how they must be fulfilled. What does this tell us about just how central they are to the life of faith? Why must we fervently reject any attempt to downplay the authority of Scripture, especially the idea that the Scriptures are merely people’s own ideas about God, who God is, and how He operates?
Where is the proper line between church and state? How does Jesus’ teaching in Mark 12:13–17 guide this discussion?
Look up texts that talk about the resurrection. Why is this doctrine so central to our faith, especially considering the state of the dead?
Read Mark 12:28–34. What deep question did the friendly scribe ask, and what double response did Jesus give?
Up to this point in the Gospel of Mark, most of the religious leaders, with few exceptions, are antagonistic to Jesus. This is particularly true in Jerusalem, where Jesus has confronted the leadership over temple worship—that which stands at the heart of Judaism. Thus, for a scribe to listen to the disputes and appreciate Jesus’ responses displays both honesty and courage in face of the prevailing animosity toward Jesus. It would be easier to just stand back and watch, even if one were in sympathy with Jesus. But this man does not do that.
The scribe cuts to the heart of religion with his question as to which commandment is the most important. Jesus responds with simplicity and clarity, quoting the Shema, the confession of faith in Judaism from Deuteronomy 6:4, 5. The greatest commandment, says Jesus, is to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength—that is, with the totality of who you are. Jesus gives the scribe a bonus by listing the second most important commandment, citing the Old Testament again, this time from Leviticus 19:18, to love your neighbor as yourself.
Sometimes people wonder how it is possible to command love. The cultural context of the command in Deuteronomy helps explain. The language comes from ancient treaties between parties, and the term for “love” refers to being faithful to the requirements of the treaty, faithfully fulfilling them. Thus, while it does not rule out the concept of deep affection between parties, it is much more focused on actions that demonstrate such loyalty.
The scribe was honest and saw the clarity and simplicity of Jesus’ response and said so. One can imagine scowls from other religious leaders since the honest scribe has affirmed Jesus’ reply as valid, something no one else was willing to do. Jesus also affirmed the scribe for his honest answer, saying he was not far from the kingdom of God. Not far does not mean inside. What the scribe still needed was to recognize who Jesus was and follow Him, a further step in the journey of faith.
How do we learn to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves? Why is the Cross the key to following these commands?
Read Mark 12:13–27. What is going on here, and what truths does Jesus teach?
The religious leaders were trying to catch Jesus in something they could use to condemn Him, either to the Roman governor or to the people. In this controversy, it was the question of paying taxes. In this time and place, refusing to pay taxes could be taken as rebellion against the Roman government, a serious offense.
Jesus’ reply to give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s kept Him out of a trap and also provided profound instruction on the believer’s responsibility to the government. “He declared that since they were living under the protection of the Roman power, they should render to that power the support it claimed, so long as this did not conflict with a higher duty. But while peaceably subject to the laws of the land, they should at all times give their first allegiance to God.”—Ellen. G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 602.
What follows next is a question about the resurrection of the dead. The Sadducees were a priestly group that accepted only the five books of Moses as Scripture. They did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. The scenario they present to Jesus was probably hypothetical. It involved seven brothers and one woman. According to the law of Moses, when a man who died left no sons, his brother would marry the widow to maintain property in a family line, and any children born to that union would be legally those of the dead man (Deut. 25:5–10).
Seeking to discredit the doctrine of the resurrection, the Sadducees point to a moral dilemma of whose wife the woman would be in the resurrection. Jesus counters their argument in two steps, referring to the Scriptures and to the power of God. First, He describes the power of God in the resurrection and indicates that there will not be marriage in heaven. Then He defends the doctrine of the resurrection by appealing to Exodus 3:1–22, where God indicates that He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jesus implies that this means that they will be raised; they cannot remain dead if God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who are, for now, dead.
If someone were to ask you, “Do you know the power of God?” what would you reply, and why?
Read Mark 11:27–33. What challenge did the religious leaders bring to Jesus, and how did He respond?
The day after Jesus cleanses the temple, the religious leaders confront Him in the temple courts, asking by what authority He acted the day before. They are not seeking truth but seeking to trap Him. If He says that His authority is from God, they will deny that a simple country carpenter could have such authority. If He admits that His authority is human, they will dismiss Him as a fool.
But Jesus sees through their trap and says He will answer their question if they will answer one He asks. What He asks is whether John the Baptist’s baptism was from God or from men. Instantly, the leaders see that they are the ones trapped. If they say from God, Jesus will say, “Why did you not believe him?” If they say from men, they fear the people. So, they lie and say they do not know. This gives Jesus the opportunity to refuse to answer their question.
Read Mark 12:1–12. How did Jesus follow up His refusal to answer, and what effect did it have?
Jesus tells a parable about a vineyard, an owner, and tenants to whom he rents it. The story Jesus tells has great similarities to the parable of the vineyard found in Isaiah 5, where God brings a charge against unfaithful Israel. Everyone would recognize the parallel, especially the religious leaders.
The story unfolds in a most unusual way as the tenants refuse to give any of the fruits of the field to the owner. Instead, they mistreat and kill his servants. Finally, the owner sends his beloved son, whom he expects them to respect. But not so. They strangely reason that if they kill the son, the vineyard will be theirs. Their illogic is striking, and the judgment to be meted out on them is justified.
In this story, Jesus is giving the religious leaders a solemn warning as to where their steps are heading. Seen in this light, His parable is a loving forewarning. It is not too late for them to change and avoid certain judgment. Some will repent, change, and accept Jesus. Others will not.
Read Mark 11:12–26. What is the significance of the events depicted here?
In the morning, coming from Bethany, only about two miles (a little more than three kilometers) from Jerusalem, Jesus was hungry. Seeing a fig tree in leaf, He went to it to find perhaps some early fruit. This action would not be considered stealing since according to Old Testament law, one could eat food from a neighbor’s field or orchard to assuage hunger (Lev. 19:9, Lev. 23:22, Deut. 23:25). But He found no fruit and said to the tree, “ ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again’ ” (Mark 11:14, ESV). It was a very strange and atypical action for Jesus, but what follows right after becomes even more striking.
What happens next likely occurs in the Court of the Gentiles, where selling of sacrifices took place (recently begun by Caiaphas). Jesus clears away the sellers from the courts so that quiet worship may return. His action is a direct affront to those in charge of the temple system.
Jesus links two Old Testament passages as a scathing rebuke of the unholy traffic. He insists the temple is to be a house of prayer for all people (Isa. 56:7), emphatically including the Gentiles. Then He says the leaders have made the temple a den of robbers (Jer. 7:11). Then, at the end of this amazing day, Jesus leaves the city with His disciples (Mark 11:19).
The next morning, going back to the city (see Mark 11:20–26), the disciples are astonished to see the fig tree withered from the roots. Jesus makes a lesson about prayer and forgiveness in His explanation of what has happened. What does all this mean?
These two stories are the fourth sandwich story in Mark (see lesson 3). In such stories, dramatized irony occurs with parallel characters doing opposite actions or opposite characters doing parallel actions. In this story the fig tree and the temple stand in parallel. Jesus curses the tree but cleanses the temple, opposite actions. But the irony is that the religious leaders will now plot to kill Jesus, and that action will spell the end of the significance of the temple services, which were fulfilled in Jesus.
What things in your life do you need Jesus to clean? How does this happen?
Read Mark 11:1–11 and Zechariah 9:9, 10. What’s happening here?
Half of this story involves Jesus sending two disciples to a nearby village to retrieve a donkey for Him to ride on into Jerusalem. Why is so much time spent on this account?
The answer is twofold. First, it demonstrates Jesus’ prophetic powers, enhancing the dignity of His arrival and linking it to the will of God. Second, this aspect of the story links to Zechariah 9:9, 10, which speaks of the king as riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. It is reminiscent of the entry of Solomon into Jerusalem on a donkey (1 Kings 1:32–48), when Adonijah tried to usurp the throne, and David commanded that Solomon be immediately crowned.
“Five hundred years before the birth of Christ, the prophet Zechariah thus foretold the coming of the King to Israel. This prophecy is now to be fulfilled. He who has so long refused royal honors now comes to Jerusalem as the promised heir to David’s throne.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 569.
Jerusalem is located in a hilly region at an elevation of about 2,400 feet (about 740 meters). In Jesus’ day its population was perhaps 40,000–50,000, but this swelled at Passover. The city covered only about 250 acres, but the temple mount covered about 37 of those acres. The beautiful temple complex dominated the city.
Jesus entered from the east, descending the Mount of Olives and likely entering through the Golden Gate onto the Temple Mount (a gate now bricked shut). The entire city was stirred by His entry, everyone recognizing the significance of His symbolic action. The crowd that accompanied Jesus shouted “hosanna,” a term originally meaning “save now” but eventually coming to mean “praise to God.”
The time for secrecy, which Jesus had insisted throughout most of Mark, has passed. Now Jesus openly enters Jerusalem using a well-known royal symbolic action. He enters the temple, but because it is late in the day, He simply looks around and then retires with the twelve disciples to Bethany. What could have turned into a riot or revolt instead ends with Him quietly retiring. But the next day will be different.
The idea of riding on the donkey invokes the idea of humility. Why is that such an important trait, especially for Christians? What have we, in light of the Cross, to be proud about?
Read for This Week’s Study
Mark 11; 1 Kings 1:32–48; Zech. 9:9, 10; Isa. 56:7; Jer. 7:11; Mark 12:1–34.
Memory Text:
A series of five controversies between Jesus and the religious leaders are recorded in Mark 2 and 3 (see lesson 3). In this week’s lesson, when Jesus arrives in Jerusalem, He has a series of six controversies with the religious leaders. The two sets of controversies are like bookends of His earthly ministry. Each set deals with important issues in the Christian life. Jesus’ instructions, even in these polemical situations, help guide believers both in fundamental issues of faith and in practical issues of everyday experience.
The religious leaders come to confront, confound, and defeat Jesus, but they never succeed. Part of this week’s lesson will include analyzing just what it is that brings people into opposition to God and considering what Christians can do to break through prejudice and speak to the hearts of those resisting the Spirit’s call.
In Mark 11, Jesus’ ministry will be in Jerusalem for Passover (March to April). Mark 11–16 covers little more than one week; the narrative time has slowed down markedly. The first 10 chapters cover approximately three and a half years. This slowdown points to the importance of these closing scenes.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 31.
“ ‘And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses’ ” (Mark 11:25, NKJV).
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Blessing the Children,”pp. 511–517; “ ‘One Thing Thou Lackest,’ ” pp. 518–523, in The Desireof Ages.“Jesus was ever a lover of children. He accepted their childishsympathy and their open, unaffected love. The grateful praise fromtheir pure lips was music in His ears, and refreshed His spirit whenoppressed by contact with crafty and hypocritical men. Wherever theSaviour went, the benignity of His countenance, and His gentle, kindlymanner won the love and confidence of children.”—Ellen G. White,The Desire of Ages, p. 511.“To those who, like the young ruler, are in high positions of trustand have great possessions, it may seem too great a sacrifice to giveup all in order to follow Christ. But this is the rule of conduct for allwho would become His disciples. Nothing short of obedience can beaccepted. Self-surrender is the substance of the teachings of Christ.Often it is presented and enjoined in language that seems authoritative,because there is no other way to save man than to cut away those thingswhich, if entertained, will demoralize the whole being.”—The Desireof Ages, p. 523.Discussion Questions:Ê What are ways that you can help children and young peoplestay connected to Christ and the church congregation? Why is itso important that we do this?Ë We sometimes hear people say that they don’t care aboutmoney. That is not true. Everyone cares about money, and thereis nothing wrong with that. What, then, can be the problem withmoney, and why must faithful Christians, either rich or poor, becareful in how they relate to money?Ì If Jesus were to ask you, “What do you want Me to do foryou?” how would you respond?Í Dwell more on Jesus’ words in Mark 10:43–45. What does itmean to live like this? How do we learn to serve as opposed tobeing served? What does this mean in regard to how we live andinteract with others?
Read Mark 10:46–52. How did Bartimaeus react to Jesus’ passing by?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Up to this point in the Gospel of Mark, with few exceptions, Jesushas been telling people to keep quiet about His miracles and about whoHe is. In this account, as He is leaving Jericho, a blind man begging onthe side of the road, upon hearing that it is Jesus of Nazareth, beginsto shout, “ ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ ” (Mark 10:47,NKJV). In keeping with the revelation/secrecy motif of the book, thecrowd takes on the role of those calling for silence as they unsuccessfully try to quiet the noisy beggar.But Bartimaeus is undeterred and shouts even louder, “ ‘Son ofDavid, have mercy on me!’ ” (Mark 10:48, NKJV). His words are botha confession of faith in Jesus as the Messiah and confidence that Hecan heal him. The title “Son of David” in Jesus’ day had two conceptsconnected with it—the restoration of a king to Israel’s throne (comparewith Isaiah 11; Jer. 23:5, 6; Jer. 33:15; Ezek. 34:23, 24; Ezek. 37:24;Mic. 5:2–4; Zech. 3:8; and Zech. 6:12), and that this personage wouldbe a healer and exorcist.Jesus stops and tells them to call the blind man. Significantly, theblind man throws off his cloak as he comes to Jesus. Blind peoplein Jesus’ day were at the bottom of society, along with widows andorphans. These were individuals below subsistence level and in realperil. The cloak would be the man’s security. Leaving it behind meanthe had faith that Jesus would heal him.Jesus does not disappoint. Indeed, whoever comes to Him for help inthe Gospels always receives it. Jesus asks the same question He askedJames and John in Mark 10:36, “ ‘What do you want Me to do foryou?’ ” (Mark 10:51, NKJV). Without hesitation, the blind man asksto receive his sight, which Jesus immediately restores. The blind manfollows Him on the road.This story is the close of the discipleship section in Mark, serving asa bookend with the other story of healing a blind man in Mark 8:22–26.The two stories illustrate how discipleship is about seeing the worldwith new eyes, sometimes not clearly at first but always following Jesusin the way He leads.In what ways have you at times cried out, “Jesus, Son of David,have mercy on me!”? What happened, and what did you learnfrom this experience?
Read Mark 10:32–45. How do these verses reveal the continued ignorance of the disciples regarding not only Jesus’ mission but what itmeans to follow Him?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________As Jesus approaches Jerusalem, He reveals to His disciples what willhappen there. It is not a scenario they believe in or want to hear. Jesus’specificity as to the outline of His death and resurrection is striking.But when it is not what you want to hear, it is all too easy to dismiss.This is apparently what James and John do as they come to Jesuswith a private request. Jesus rightly asks for more specifics, and theyrespond that they want to sit on His right and left in His glory. It is easyto criticize their request as rank egocentrism. But these two men havededicated themselves to Jesus’ ministry, and their desires were probablynot wholly selfish in nature.Jesus seeks to deepen their understanding of just what they are requesting. He asks if they can drink His cup or be baptized with His baptism.His cup will be the cup of suffering in Gethsemane and on the cross(compare with Mark 14:36), and His baptism will be His death and burial(Mark 15:33–47), where events there parallel His baptism recorded inMark 1.But James and John do not see it. They glibly reply that they are able.Jesus then prophesies that indeed they will drink His cup and be baptizedwith His baptism. James was the first of the apostles to die a martyr’s death(Acts 12:2). John was the longest lived of the apostles and was exiled toPatmos (Rev. 1:9). But Jesus indicates that places in glory are set by God.How did the other disciples respond to Jesus’ answer? Not too well.The same Greek word, aganakteō, “to be angry, indignant,” is used inMark 10:41 as in Mark 10:14, regarding Jesus’ anger over keeping thechildren away from Him.Jesus then calls the group together to give one of His most profoundteachings. He indicates that Gentile rulers use power for personaladvantage. But in the kingdom of God, power must always be used touplift and bless others. Jesus leads the way as the King of the kingdomof God. How? By giving His own life as a ransom—not quite what Hisfollowers expected to hear.What does it mean as a Christian to be a “servant” to others?That is, how do you manifest this principle in your daily interaction with people?
Read Mark 10:17–31. What crucial lessons about faith and the cost ofdiscipleship—for anyone, rich or poor—is revealed here?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The man’s approach indicates his sincerity and respect for Jesus. Heruns up, kneels before Him, and asks the question central to the destinyof every soul—What are the requirements in order to inherit eternallife? Jesus responds by referring to the second table of the Decalogue.Again, the man shows his idealism by saying that he has kept all these,even from his youth.Of the four Gospels, Mark alone notes that Jesus loved the man.There is something appealing about the man’s idealism. But Jesustests his sincerity by asking him to sell everything and to followHim. The man leaves crestfallen because he had great possessions.In fact, he was not really keeping the commandments. He broke thefirst one, placing something above God in his life. His riches werehis idol.Jesus then explains how seductive riches are and that it is easier fora big animal like a camel to go through the tiny hole of a needle than itis for a rich man to enter heaven.The disciples are astonished by Jesus’ words and wonder who canbe saved. Jesus delivers the punch line in Mark 10:27. “ ‘With man itis impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God’ ”(ESV).Mark 10:27 seems like a beautiful place to end the story: you cannotmake it to heaven on your own, you need the grace of God in order tobe saved.But then Peter blurts out that he and his friends have left everythingto follow Jesus. Jesus responds that whatever you have left to followHim is nothing in contrast to what you will receive, now and in “theage to come” (ESV).Here is the point: it is the death of Christ that resolves human guilt,and then the grace of Christ and His resurrection are what empowerobedience to His commands.Read Romans 6:1–11. How do these verses reveal the reality ofGod’s grace in our lives, both in justifying us and in making usnew people in Him?_____________________________________________
Read Mark 10:13–16. What did Jesus do for those who brought children to Him?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________While children were greatly desired in the ancient world (particularlyboys in the male-dominant culture), birth and childhood were not easy.Without modern medical care, the risks to mothers in giving birth andto newborns, infants, and children were elevated. Many cultures hadtraditional medicines and amulets used to protect these vulnerableindividuals against malevolent forces.While children were desired, they were of low social status, along thelines of slaves, actually (Gal. 4:1, 2). In the Greco-Roman world, thosewho were deformed or undesirable would be exposed, or even tossedin a river. Boys were valued over girls; sometimes girl babies were leftto die among the elements. At times these abandoned babies were “rescued,” only to be raised and sold as slaves.The disciples appear not to have understood Jesus’ teaching in Mark9 about receiving the kingdom of God like a child (Mark 9:33–37).Now they rebuke those who brought children to Jesus for blessing,perhaps thinking that He would not have time for such a simple task.They were wrong. Jesus is indignant. Throughout Mark, Jesus hassome striking reactions to people, and it is instructive that one of Hisstrong reactions was toward people who were keeping children awayfrom Him.He strongly insists that the disciples must not stand in the way of thechildren. Why? Because the kingdom of God belongs to them, and onemust receive it in the attitude and outlook of a child—probably a reference to simple, implicit trust in God.“Let not your un-Christlike character misrepresent Jesus. Do notkeep the little ones away from Him by your coldness and harshness.Never give them cause to feel that heaven would not be a pleasant placeto them if you were there. Do not speak of religion as something thatchildren cannot understand, or act as if they were not expected to acceptChrist in their childhood. Do not give them the false impression thatthe religion of Christ is a religion of gloom, and that in coming to theSaviour they must give up all that makes life joyful.”—Ellen G. White,The Ministry of Healing, pp. 43, 44.How can you better reveal Jesus to whatever children are aroundyou?
Read Mark 10:1–12, as well as Genesis 1:27 and Genesis 2:24. Whattrap was hiding under the Pharisees’ question about divorce, andwhat lessons did Jesus teach in His response?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________In this passage, the Pharisees ask Jesus if it is lawful for a man todivorce his wife. Among the Pharisees, divorce was considered lawful. The question was on what grounds. The School of Shammai wasarguably more restrictive—only for childlessness, material neglect,emotional neglect, or marital unfaithfulness. The School of Hillel wasmuch more lenient, allowing divorce for almost any reason, thoughtheir process of granting the divorce was more complex, helping toslow things down.So, it may seem a bit odd that they ask Jesus the blanket question ifdivorce is acceptable at all. Hiding under this question was a plot toget Jesus in trouble with Herod Antipas, the ruler of the region to theeast of the Jordan, where Jesus was now. Antipas had divorced his wifeand married Herodias, his brother’s wife. Herod had beheaded Johnthe Baptist because of his rebuke regarding this illicit relationship (seeMatt. 14:1–12).Jesus parries their question with His own, asking the Pharisees whatMoses commanded on the matter. The passage the Pharisees referencein reply is Deuteronomy 24:1–4, which describes a particular case ofremarriage after divorce. The Israelites in Moses’ day were alreadypracticing divorce. The case law described in Deuteronomy 24 wasmeant to provide protections for the woman. But in Jesus’ day, this wastwisted by the School of Hillel to make it easier to get a divorce foralmost any reason. Thus, the law that was meant to protect the womanwas being used to make it easy to thrust her aside.Instead of debating the case law in Deuteronomy 24, Jesus refers backto God’s original ideal for marriage in Genesis 1 and 2. He notes that in thebeginning God made a man and a woman (Gen. 1:27), two individuals. Hethen combines this truth with Genesis 2:24, which says that a man leaveshis parents and is joined to his wife, and the two become one flesh. Thisconcept of unity becomes the basis of Jesus’ affirmation of the marriagebond. What God has joined, people should not separate.What can your congregation do to strengthen the marriagesamong you? How do you help those whose marriages havealready fallen apart?
Read for This Week’s Study: Mark 10; Gen. 1:27; Gen.2:24; Gal. 4:1, 2; Rom. 6:1–11; Isa. 11:1–16.Memory Text: “ ‘For even the Son of Man did not come to be served,but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many’ ” (Mark 10:45,NKJV).This week covers Mark 10, completing the special section inwhich Jesus teaches His disciples in preparation for the Cross.About half of the chapter deals with the disciples themselves,and the rest with issues important to discipleship but told throughthe lens of others who interact with Jesus. Pharisees come and arguewith Him over the subject of divorce. Parents bring their children forJesus to bless. A rich man asks about eternal life, and a blind manasks for sight.This chapter of Mark carries important teachings about what itmeans to follow Jesus, particularly as it relates to living in the hereand now: marriage, children, how to relate to riches, and the rewardand cost of following Him. Topping it off is the healing of a secondblind man (Mark 10:46–52; compare with Mark 8:22–26), whichprovides the closing bookend for the section (Mark 8:22–10:52)and a beautiful illustration of what following Jesus both costs andleads to.Together, these lessons prepare the follower of Jesus—whether thedisciples 2,000 years ago or disciples in the twenty-first century—forthe challenges that come with discipleship.* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 24
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Ministry,” pp. 426–431;“Who Is the Greatest?” pp. 432–442, in The Desire of Ages.“Before honor is humility. To fill a high place before men, Heavenchooses the worker who, like John the Baptist, takes a lowly placebefore God. The most childlike disciple is the most efficient in labor forGod. The heavenly intelligences can co-operate with him who is seeking, not to exalt self, but to save souls.”—Ellen G. White, The Desireof Ages, p. 436.“By all that has given us advantage over another,—be it educationand refinement, nobility of character, Christian training, religiousexperience,—we are in debt to those less favored; and, so far as liesin our power, we are to minister unto them. If we are strong, we are tostay up the hands of the weak. Angels of glory, that do always beholdthe face of the Father in heaven, joy in ministering to His little ones.Trembling souls, who have many objectionable traits of character,are their special charge. Angels are ever present where they are mostneeded, with those who have the hardest battle with self to fight, andwhose surroundings are the most discouraging. And in this ministryChrist’s true followers will co-operate.”—The Desire of Ages, p. 440.Discussion Questions:Ê Read again Mark 8:27–29. How often do you confess to othersyour belief in Jesus as the Christ?Ë What is the right balance between the mountaintop experienceof communion with Christ and the down-on-the-plain experienceof service to others’ needs?Ì In class, discuss the answer to the question about greatnessat the end of Wednesday’s study. What did you determine is thedifference between how the world views greatness and how Goddoes? Who are some of the people the world deems great that perhaps God doesn’t? In contrast, whom might God deem great thatthe world ignores or even disdains? What does this difference tellus about how warped and twisted the world’s ideals really are?Í How can we learn to take sin so seriously that, as Jesus said,you’re better off to be maimed than to sin?
Read Mark 9:42–50. What ties the teachings of Jesus together in thispassage?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________At first, this passage may seem to be a collection of disparate teachingsof Jesus thrown together without any rhyme or reason. However, a closerlook reveals that each successive teaching has a catchword connection tothe previous one. The passage revolves around three main terms that movethe instruction forward step by step—“causes to sin,” “fire,” and “salt.”The first teaching is about “little ones,” referring to new believers.Teachers and leaders are tasked in the kingdom of God with the responsibility to care for these new converts with special care, similar to the OldTestament ethic of caring for those weakest in ancient society—widows,orphans, and foreigners. Jesus speaks in hyperbole that it would be betterto be drowned in the sea than to cause one of these “little ones” to sin.The catchphrase “causes to sin” leads to the longest teaching in thispassage. Two conundrums confront the reader. First, is Jesus reallyteaching people to cut off a hand or foot or pluck out an eye? Second,is He teaching an eternally burning hell? The answer to the firstquestion is no, Jesus is not teaching mutilation—that was rejectedin Judaism (compare with Deut. 14:1; 1 Kings 18:27, 28). The Lordis using hyperbole to make His point. If losing a hand, foot, or eye isterrible, how much more a disaster should it be for the Christian to sin!The second question also receives a negative answer; no, Jesus isnot teaching an eternally burning hell. How do we know? First, thepassage contains a certain comedic aspect. Consider people enteringthe heavenly city with one eye or one foot or one hand. Then considerpeople who are whole going to hell. Should it not be the other wayaround? The healthy man in hell? That is comedy. Such comedy overa serious topic leads one to consider that Jesus is illustrating a pointwith hyperbole. Sin should be taken so seriously that it would be better to lose a hand, foot, or eye than to sin.As to hell being eternal, its consequences are eternal, not the fire ofhell itself. “ ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, thatwhoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life’ ” (John3:16, ESV; emphasis supplied). Those who are lost do not burn forever;instead, they perish forever—a very big difference!
Read Mark 9:30–41. What is different about Jesus’ second prediction of His death and resurrection (compare with Mark 8:31)?Also, what do the disciples argue about, and what instruction doesJesus give?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________In the first prediction, Jesus refers to those who will reject Him andkill Him. In the second prediction, Jesus refers to the fact that He willbe betrayed. The betrayer is not pointed out at this time, but the readeralready knows who it is because of the identification of Judas (seeMark 3:19). Again, the Lord refers to being killed and then rising afterthree days. But the disciples seem even less interested in the detailsof this prediction than in the first. Unwelcome news does not garnerdiscussion.In Mark 8:27, Jesus was north of the Sea of Galilee near CaesareaPhilippi. In Mark 9:30, He is passing through Galilee, and in Mark9:33, He enters Capernaum. Thus, it is not difficult to envisage Hisjourney from north to south. However, He enters Capernaum alone asthe twelve disciples lag behind. In the house, He inquires about theirdiscussion on the way. No one speaks up, a sure sign of their discomfortat the question, almost like children caught doing something they knowis wrong. Their conversation had been about who was the greatest. Aslittle as most people are willing to admit it, this question of who isgreatest is something everyone thinks about. But in the kingdom ofGod, this idea gets turned upside down.Jesus responds to the problem in two steps. First, He utters the clearstatement that to be first (greatest), you have to become a servant. ThenJesus illustrates His meaning by an action. Evidently a child was standing nearby listening. Jesus takes the child and places him in the midstof the group. That would be intimidating for the child. But then Jesustakes the child in His arms, relaxing the scene. He teaches that if youreceive the child, you receive Him. And if you receive Him, you receiveHis Father. Thus, the lowest child is linked to God Himself.John asks a question about outsiders, and Jesus teaches the importantlesson that those not against us are for us. The Lord affirms that helpingthose in Christian service, even in small ways, does not go unnoticedin heaven.What is the biblical idea of greatness in contrast to the world’sidea? Which one are you striving for?
Read Mark 9:1–13. What did Peter, James, and John see one nightwith Jesus?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________In Mark 9:1, Jesus predicts that some standing with Him would nottaste death before seeing the kingdom of God come in power. That prediction is fulfilled within a few days when He takes Peter, James, andJohn up a high mountain alone. There He is transfigured before theminto the glory of the heavenly kingdom.Elijah and Moses appear from the heavenly realm and converse withJesus. Luke notes that they were talking about Jesus’ departure (Greekexodos) that He was about to accomplish in Jerusalem (Luke 9:30, 31).Thus, this scene of glory is tied to Jesus’ coming death on the cross(compare with Mark 9:9). It would give hope when the disciples seeHim crucified.Upon descending the mountain the following morning, the three disciples ask Jesus about Elijah coming first. Likely this idea is tied to theexpectation that Elijah would reappear before the Messiah (comparewith Mal. 4:5, 6). Jesus replies that Elijah has already come, a referenceto John the Baptist. Just as they killed John, so Jesus will die at theirhands, but He will rise after three days.After the night of glory, the scene at the bottom of the mountain wassad chaos (see Mark 9:14–29). The nine disciples had encountered ademon-possessed boy whom they could not heal. When Jesus arrives atthe scene, everyone runs to see Him. The story unfolds of the demon’spower over the child. Jesus seems to take a long time inquiring aboutthe details of the demon possession. It proves too much for the father,who blurts out, “ ‘If You can do anything, have compassion on us andhelp us’ ” (Mark 9:22, NKJV).Jesus immediately picks up on the expression of doubt. The Lord’sresponse can be paraphrased, “What do you mean, ‘If You can’?”(Mark 9:23). Suddenly, like a bolt of lightning from the sky, the fathersees that it is not only his son who has a problem—he has a problemof unbelief. And his unbelief could result in his son not being healed.The desperate father casts himself on Jesus’ mercy with the memorableline, “ ‘I believe; help my unbelief!’ ” (Mark 9:24, NKJV). Jesus healsthe boy.In what situations, if any, have you had to cry out, “ ‘I believe;help my unbelief’ ”? What did you learn from those experiences?
Read Mark 8:31–38. What does Jesus teach here about the cost of following Christ?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The disciples have come to a crucial turning point in their relationship with Jesus. They now know that He is the Messiah. The reader ofMark has known this from the beginning of the book (Mark 1:1) andthus has had an advantage over the sometimes bumbling disciples.When Jesus first called the disciples, He said He would make themfishers of men (Mark 1:17). There was no talk of trouble. But nowthat they really know who He is, He unfolds to them the goal of Hismission—that it is necessary for Him to suffer many things, to berejected and killed, and then to rise again after three days.It is shocking news. Peter, who just confessed that Jesus is theMessiah, takes Him aside and rebukes Him for saying such things. Allof this was told in indirect discourse, but now the Gospel writer reportsthe words of Jesus, words that must have stung as Peter heard them.He calls Peter “Satan” and tells him to get out of His way since suchthoughts are not in accord with the will of God.“Peter’s words were not such as would be a help and solace to Jesusin the great trial before Him. They were not in harmony with God’spurpose of grace toward a lost world, nor with the lesson of selfsacrifice that Jesus had come to teach by His own example.”—Ellen G.White, The Desire of Ages, p. 415.Followers of Jesus are called to have the same goal He has—to takethe cross and to follow Him. Crucifixion was the most cruel, humiliating,and intimidating method of execution that the Romans had. Everyonewanted to avoid the cross. So, why would anyone want to take up thecross as a symbol of their devotion to Jesus?Jesus explains not only the cost of discipleship but also its greatvalue. In the paradox of Christian faith, losing one’s life becomes theway to find it. In contrast, gaining the whole world but forfeiting eternal life is nonsensical. As missionary Jim Elliott put it so eloquentlyin his journal of October 28, 1949: “He is no fool who gives what hecannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”“ ‘He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life inthis world will keep it for eternal life’ ” (John 12:25,
Read Mark 8:22–30. Why did it take Jesus two touches to heal theblind man, and what lessons came out of this account?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The Gospels report a number of blind people healed by Jesus.Besides the passage here in Mark 8, blind Bartimaeus is healed asreported in Mark 10:46–52. Matthew refers to two blind men (Matt.20:29–34), and John 9 tells the story of Jesus’ healing a man born blindwho washes in the Pool of Siloam.But this story in Mark 8 is unique. It appears only in Mark, and itis the only miracle of Jesus that requires two actions to bring perfecthealth. As part of the story, it is a touching detail that Jesus takes theman by the hand and leads him out of the village. One can sense Hissympathy for the man’s disability.But why two touches? As this is the only miracle in which twoactions are involved, it is not likely because of any lack of power onJesus’ part. Instead, it is more likely an acted parable, illustrating howspiritual insight sometimes takes time to unfold. That is what is happening for Jesus’ disciples. The entire section, Mark 8:22-10:52 beginsand ends with the healing of a blind man. In this section of Mark, Jesusis especially teaching his disciples about His coming death. They havetrouble grasping it even though He tells them numerous times. Just likethe blind man, they need “two touches” to see clearly. Restoring of sightbecomes a metaphor for insightful discipleship.Teachers love questions. They are often the key to unlocking a student’s understanding. In this passage in Mark 8, the turning point ofthe book has arrived. Three characteristics confirm this assertion. First,Jesus questions His disciples about His identity, something He has notdone before this point. Second, Peter is the first person not demonpossessed who declares that Jesus is the Messiah. Third, immediatelyfollowing this revelation of who Jesus is, He begins to explain whereHe is going—to the cross.Why does Jesus tell His disciples to tell no one that He is theMessiah? It seems counterintuitive to establishing the kingdom of God.However, in Jesus’ day, “Messiah” had political overtones of overthrowing Roman rule. Jesus did not come to be that kind of messiah; henceHis call for silence on His identity.What does this story teach us about times when it’s importantnot to say some things, however true they might be?
Read for This Week’s Study: Mark 8:22–38; Matt. 20:29–34;John 12:25; Mark 9:1–50; Mal. 4:5, 6; Luke 9:30, 31.Memory Text: “When He had called the people to Himself, withHis disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come afterMe, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me”(Mark 8:34, NKJV).The first half of Mark focuses on who Jesus is. His powerfulteaching and miracles point in the same direction: He is theMessiah. At this crucial turning point in the narrative, Jesus willask the disciples who they believe Him to be.Peter will give a clarion answer to that question, and Jesus willimmediately begin to explain where His steps as Messiah are headed,which we know is the cross.In the last part of Mark 8 through the end of Mark 10, Jesus focuseson teaching His disciples about His journey. In these chapters, He willgive predictions about the Cross. These will be followed by specialinstruction on discipleship. These powerful lessons remain relevanttoday.This section of the second Gospel is marked off by the healing of twodifferent blind men, one at the middle of Mark 8 and the other at theend of Mark 10. These miracle “bookends” illustrate dramatically howdiscipleship includes spiritual insight regarding who Jesus is and whereHe is going. As His teachings challenged the twelve disciples about twothousand years ago, so they continue to confront disciples today withthe deep cost, and benefit, of following Jesus.* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 17.
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Tradition,” pp. 395–398;“Barriers Broken Down,” pp. 399–403; “The True Sign,” pp. 404–409, inThe Desire of Ages.“Among the followers of our Lord today, as of old, how widespreadis this subtle, deceptive sin! How often our service to Christ, our communion with one another, is marred by the secret desire to exalt self!How ready the thought of self-gratulation, and the longing for humanapproval! It is the love of self, the desire for an easier way than Godhas appointed that leads to the substitution of human theories andtraditions for the divine precepts. To His own disciples the warningwords of Christ are spoken, ‘Take heed and beware of the leaven of thePharisees.’“The religion of Christ is sincerity itself. Zeal for God’s glory is themotive implanted by the Holy Spirit; and only the effectual working ofthe Spirit can implant this motive. Only the power of God can banishself-seeking and hypocrisy. This change is the sign of His working.When the faith we accept destroys selfishness and pretense, when itleads us to seek God’s glory and not our own, we may know that itis of the right order. ‘Father, glorify Thy name’ (John 12:28), was thekeynote of Christ’s life, and if we follow Him, this will be the keynoteof our life. He commands us to ‘walk, even as He walked;’ and ‘herebywe do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.’ 1 John2:6, 3.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 409.Discussion Questions:Ê What Christian practices have you found that help to keep theheart clean?Ë Who are the “unclean” people in your community? What canyou do to help draw them to the gospel?Ì Ponder, as a class, what you can do to foster sharing the gospelin simple ways with your neighbors.Í Read Mark 8:1–10, the feeding of the 4,000. What differencedoes it make for the interpretation of this passage that the crowdwas likely Gentile? Why shouldn’t it make any difference?Î How can we diligently protect ourselves from the innate desirewe all have, as fallen beings, to exalt ourselves?
Read Mark 8:11–13. What approach by the Pharisees deeply disappointed Jesus?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Why not demonstrate His divine power and convince these cavilers?The problem goes back to the end of Mark 3, where Jesus speaks of thesin against the Holy Spirit. If one’s ears are shut and eyes are closed,another miracle, even a sign from heaven, will not convince. It wouldjust be dismissed like everything before. Even miracles are not enoughto convince those determined not to believe.Read Mark 8:14–21. What had the disciples forgotten, and what pointdid Jesus make from this?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Jesus takes the opportunity to warn the disciples against the “leaven”of the Pharisees and Herod (Mark 8:15), meaning their teachings (compare with Matt. 16:12).But the disciples misunderstand and think that Jesus is talkingabout avoiding buying literal bread. As is typical when the disciplesmisunderstand, Jesus gives them instruction. The Lord asks a series ofquestions, the first several rhetorical in nature, expressing His disappointment that they have not understood His mission. His words arereminiscent of what He says in Mark 4:10–12 about outsiders who donot understand. His strong words are meant to wake the disciples fromtheir spiritual lethargy.In Mark 8:19, 20, He asks simple factual questions about how manybaskets of fragments they had taken up after He fed the 5,000 (Mark6:30–44) and also the 4,000 (Mark 8:1–10), which are meant to illustrate that they should have understood by now that mere limitation ofresources is no barrier for the Lord’s Messiah. His final question inMark 8:21 is rhetorical once again: “ ‘Do you not yet understand?’ ”(ESV). After all, look at all that they have seen and experienced alreadywith Jesus.How can we learn to keep our hearts and minds open to the reality of God and to His love? Dwell on all the evidence that we havebeen given for God and for His love. At times, though, why doesit seem so easy to doubt?
Read Mark 7:31–37. Who was brought to Jesus, and what did Jesusdo for him?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Jesus did not take the shortest distance to return to Galilee from theregion of Tyre and Sidon. It seems Jesus went north from the area ofTyre, up through the region of Sidon, then inland and down through thearea northeast of the Sea of Galilee, finally arriving near the sea itself.It was a circuitous route, likely with additional time for Him to teachHis disciples.The text does not indicate exactly who brought the man to Jesus, buthis problem was plain enough—he could not hear and had difficultyspeaking. Loss of hearing isolates people from their surroundings, andprofound deafness can make it challenging to learn how to speak. Thisman’s problem may have been longstanding.Jesus understands the man’s predicament and takes him aside privately. The Lord’s manner of healing the man is curious, particularly formodern readers. He puts His fingers in the man’s ears, spits, toucheshis tongue and sighs. Jesus touches the affected parts of the man thatHe will heal, but why the sigh? “He sighed at thought of the ears thatwould not be open to the truth, the tongues that refused to acknowledgethe Redeemer.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 404.Jesus miraculously restored the man’s hearing and enabled him tospeak clearly. His sigh illustrates the limits that God has placed uponHimself in regard to the free choice of humanity. He will not force thewill. All humans are free to choose whom they will have lead theirlife—the Prince of Life or the prince of darkness. Jesus could opendeaf ears but would not force unbelieving hearts to acknowledge Hismessiahship.This brief story also illustrates what God can do for those who willingly turn to Him. Perhaps you have experienced reticence at sharingyour faith, feeling tongue-tied regarding just what to say. This miracleoffers encouragement that the Lord Jesus can open your ears to besensitive to others’ needs and share a ready word to lift them on theirjourney.What do you do with the gifts you have been given regardinghearing and speaking (for they are gifts)? How are you usingthem?
Read Mark 7:24–30. What important lessons are found in this story?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Following on the heels of the challenging passage in yesterday’sstudy, the story in this passage also raises troubling questions. Whydoes Jesus respond so harshly to this woman, in so many words callingher a dog?He does not openly explain, but two characteristics in His responseto her suggest what He is teaching. In Mark 7:27, He says that thechildren should be fed “first.” If there is a “first,” it seems logical thatthere would be a “second.” The other characteristic is that Jesus uses adiminutive form of the word “dog,” not meaning puppies but rather, incontext, dogs allowed inside the house in contrast to street dogs. Thewoman picks up on these two markers in her response to Jesus, whichhelps explain her response.The woman’s response is rather pointed. She replies: “Lord, yet eventhe . . . dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs” (Mark7:28, NKJV).How did this woman come up with this response to Jesus?Certainly the love for her daughter drove her forward. But Jesus alsoencouraged her. He said “first,” implying there could be a “second.”Furthermore, He implied she was a dog under the table. Just as thedog was in the house under the table, so she was at Jesus’ feet pleading for her daughter. So, she claimed a dog’s right to the food that fellon the floor.The woman’s response reveals her faith. Calling the mighty miracleof healing her daughter from a distance a “crumb” indicated both thatJesus’ power was especially great (if such a miracle were a crumb, whatwould a whole loaf be?) and that granting her request was a small matter for Him. Jesus was moved and granted her request.“By His dealings with her, He has shown that she who has beenregarded as an outcast from Israel is no longer an alien, but a child inGod's household. As a child it is her privilege to share in the Father'sgifts.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 401.Why is prejudice against other races and nationalities contraryto the teaching of Jesus? How can we seek to be purged of thisevil?
Read Mark 7:14–19. What did Jesus mean by the riddle in Mark 7:15?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Jesus’ words in this passage have been a conundrum for many asthey ponder their relationship to the teachings of Leviticus 11 regardingclean and unclean foods. Is Jesus doing away with such distinctions?Are Seventh-day Adventists mistaken in teaching that church memberswho eat meat are to eat it only from the clean-animal list?First, it would be odd for Jesus suddenly to dismiss Mosaic instructions in Mark 7:14–19 when He had just defended Moses againsttradition in Mark 7:6–13. Second, the very tradition that the Phariseeswere promoting does not have a basis in Old Testament teaching; thefood laws, in contrast, do. Third, what Mark 7:19 means when it saysthat Jesus cleanses all food is not that the food laws are abolished butinstead that the tradition of touch contamination that the Pharisees hadmade was invalid. This, for example, is that false notion that if youcould be contaminated by coming in contact with Gentiles, then youalso could be contaminated through contact with food that they hadtouched.Read Mark 7:20–23. What did Jesus say causes contamination of aperson?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________In Mark 7:19, Jesus notes that food does not go into the heart butinto the stomach and then passes out through the intestinal tract. But inMark 7:21–23, He notes that evil comes from inside the heart, from thecenter of who a person is. He presents a list of vices that start from evilthoughts but then end in evil actions.When the reference to the fifth commandment in Mark 7:10 isincluded with the vice list, every commandment of the second table ofthe Decalogue is there. Further, Jesus refers to vain worship, in Mark7:7, the breaking of what is at the heart of the first four commands ofthe Decalogue. Thus, Jesus stands as a defender of the Law of Godthroughout this passage.You might have the right theology, but who fully and ultimatelyhas your heart?
Read Mark 7:1–13. What relevant truths are presented here?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________One can imagine children studying this passage in Sabbath Schooland coming home to tell their mothers that they do not have to washtheir hands before eating because Jesus said so. However, this story isnot about hygiene.In Jesus’ day, many people in that land were very concerned withritual purity. During the time between the testaments, the idea of washing hands in order to remain ritually pure was extended to commonpeople, even though these rules originally applied only to the priests inthe Old Testament (Exod. 30:17–21). It is in keeping with this conceptthat the religious leaders complain to Jesus about His disciples.Jesus does not directly answer the question asked of Him. Instead,He defends His disciples in a two-pronged response. First, He quotesIsaiah’s strong words rebuking a nation that honors God in word butwhose heart is far from Him (Isa. 29:13). The quotation from Isaiahcontinues with the condemnation of putting human traditions in theplace of divine commands.The second part of Jesus’ reply plays off the Isaiah quotation. TheLord cites the command of God to honor one’s parents (Exod. 20:12)—that is, to take care of them in their old age—and contrasts this witha religious tradition where one could give something to God (a gift,corban), use it for oneself, but deny its use to elderly parents in need.One can just imagine the encounter: “I am sorry, father. I would love tohelp you, but I gave the money to the temple.”It is this type of hypocrisy that Jesus attacks uncompromisingly. Theyhave placed human tradition above the Word of God and, in so doing,have sinned.So what was the answer to the Pharisees’ question? The response ofJesus implies that He does not find convincing their insistence on handpurification as necessary to be in accordance with the will of God.Instead, His response clearly supports the commandments of the Lawover against human tradition. (See also Mark 1:44; Mark 7:10, 11;Mark 10:3–8; and Mark 12:26, 29–31.)Might we have some “traditions” that perhaps conflict with theprinciples of God’s law? If so, what might they be?
Read for This Week’s Study: Mark 7, Isa. 29:13, Exod. 20:12,Mark 8:11–21.Memory Text: “ ‘There is nothing that enters a man from outsidewhich can can defile him; but the things which come out of him,those are the things that defile a man’ ” (Mark 7:15, NKJV).This week’s study is Mark 7 and the first half of Mark 8. At thebeginning of Mark 7, Jesus stirs up controversy by His rejectionof religious tradition. However, He does it in a way that is strikingly supportive of something deeply relevant to Christian life today.Jesus then presents a riddle that opens the door to a true understanding of what faith is really about.After this He goes to Tyre and Sidon and has an encounter with awoman who was the only person in the Gospels to win an argumentwith Jesus. His encounter with her is unusual, and underneath it thereare a few secret communications the woman picked up on. And becauseof her faith, Jesus granted her request.Mark 7, with another healing, reveals the important truth that, however impressive miracles can be, they alone are often not enough toopen hearts to truth. After all, what good did the miracles do for thereligious leaders who were bent on rejecting Jesus?In Mark 8 the study looks at the significance of bread as a symbol ofteachings and traditions. These stories contain great lessons about themeaning and practice of religious life.* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 10.
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Peace, Be Still,” pp.333–341; “The Touch of Faith,” pp. 342–348, in The Desire of Ages.
“In all who are under the training of God is to be revealed a lifethat is not in harmony with the world, its customs, or its practices; andeveryone needs to have a personal experience in obtaining a knowledge of the will of God. We must individually hear Him speaking tothe heart. When every other voice is hushed, and in quietness we waitbefore Him, the silence of the soul makes more distinct the voice ofGod. He bids us, ‘Be still, and know that I am God.’ Ps. 46:10. Herealone can true rest be found. And this is the effectual preparation forall who labor for God. Amid the hurrying throng, and the strain of life’sintense activities, the soul that is thus refreshed will be surrounded withan atmosphere of light and peace. The life will breathe out fragrance,and will reveal a divine power that will reach men’s hearts.”—Ellen G.White, The Desire of Ages, p. 363.“Their dissatisfied hearts queried why, if Jesus could perform somany wondrous works as they had witnessed, could He not give health,strength, and riches to all His people, free them from their oppressors,and exalt them to power and honor? The fact that He claimed to be theSent of God, and yet refused to be Israel's king, was a mystery whichthey could not fathom. His refusal was misinterpreted. Many concludedthat He dared not assert His claims because He Himself doubted as tothe divine character of His mission. Thus they opened their hearts tounbelief, and the seed which Satan had sown bore fruit of its kind, inmisunderstanding and defection.”—The Desire of Ages, p. 385.Discussion Questions:Ê How would you respond if someone asked you, What has Jesusfreed you from?Ë Discuss why it is that God sometimes allows a good personsuch as John the Baptist to be placed in prison and to be executed.What solace or hope can we find, despite these difficult things?Ì What lessons are there in the feeding of the 5,000 for a churchcongregation with few resources?Í Compare popular views of Jesus today with the picture of Himin Mark 5 and 6. That is, what about those who use Jesus to seekpolitical power and to dominate others?
Read Mark 6:34–52. What was the problem Jesus and His disciplesconfronted, and how was it solved?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________After the disciples return from their mission, they go with Jesus toa remote area on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee to rest. But alarge crowd of 5,000 people arrives at the location before them. Jesussees that they are like sheep without a shepherd. He teaches them theentire day.In the evening the disciples recommend sending the crowd away tofind food, but Jesus tells them to feed the crowd. The ensuing dialogue(Mark 6:35–38) illustrates that the disciples are thinking in humanterms about how to solve the problem. However, Jesus resolves theproblem by miraculously feeding the large crowd with just five loavesand two fish.Characteristics of this story play into the popular concept of Messiahin Jesus’ day. The expectation was that the Messiah would liberateIsrael from her enemies and would bring in righteousness and peace.A large number of men in a desert setting would carry with it militaryovertones of revolt (compare with John 6:14, 15; Acts 21:38).This notion is strengthened by the reference to Jesus’ seeing the peoplelike “sheep without a shepherd,” a partial quotation from Numbers 27:17,where Moses asks God to appoint a leader for Israel after him. Thisphraseology about a shepherd for God’s people appears elsewhere in theOld Testament, typically with reference to Israel’s lack of a leader or king(compare with 1 Kings 22:17; 2 Chron. 18:16; Ezek. 34:5, 6).Yet, Jesus does not meet their false expectations. Instead, He sendsHis disciples away and dismisses the crowd. And, rather than lead arebellion against Rome, what does He do? He retreats to a mountain topray—not what the people were expecting. In place of the popular view of the Messiah as a king who liberatesIsrael, He comes to liberate people from the bondage of sin. His walking on the water displays to the disciples that He is, indeed, the Lord ofnature. But He does not come to rule but to give His life as a ransomfor many (Mark 10:45).What should this story tell us about why a correct understandingof prophecy is important? If a false understanding of Christ’s firstcoming led to disaster for some, how much more so could a falseunderstanding do the same for some in regard to His second?
Read Mark 6:1–6. Why did Jesus’ hometown people reject Him?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Usually when a small-town person becomes popular, people back homebask in the attention. Not Nazareth. They were offended and surprised atJesus’ success as a teacher and healer. His shift from being a builder to ateacher seemed hard for them to accept. There also may have been someanimosity that He did most of His miracles in Capernaum (see Luke 4:23).And He had already had a disagreement with His family (Mark 3:31–35).Read Mark 6:7–30. How does the mission of the Twelve Apostles contrast with the beheading of John the Baptist?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________This is the third sandwich story in Mark (see lesson 3). The mission ofthe Twelve Apostles in taking the message of Jesus everywhere stands insharp contrast with the imprisonment and silencing of the Baptist. Thedisciples are told to travel light and depend on others for support. Thisstrategy actually makes missionaries dependent on the people they serve,which helps bond them to those who need their message.But the Baptist had no such bond with Herod and his family. John’sdeath is told in shocking detail as the plotting Herodias takes advantageof Herod’s ambivalence and lust. Herodias’s daughter seems to add tothe scandalous plan by the grotesque request that the Baptist’s head bedelivered on a platter.The silencing of the clarion voice of the Baptist occurs at the sametime as the Twelve Apostles proclaim repentance, just as the Baptistdid. John’s death foreshadows Jesus’. John is put to death, buried, andreported as risen from the dead (Mark 6:14–16, 29), as Jesus would be(Mark 15 and 16). These parallel stories point toward a coming crisisfor Jesus and His followers.Have you ever been rejected like Jesus was or experienced somehard-to-understand crisis? What did you learn from those experiences that could perhaps help you the next time something likethat happens?
Read Mark 5:21–24. What characteristics particularly stand outabout Jairus?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Religious leaders such as Jairus were not typically friends with Jesus(see Mark 1:22; Mark 3:2, 6; and Luke 13:14). So it is likely that heis desperate. This desperation is exemplified by Jairus’s falling onhis knees before Jesus. His plea is understandable to any parent—hisdaughter is dying. But he has faith that Jesus can help. Without a word,Jesus departs with the father to go to his home.Read Mark 5:25–34. What interrupts the progress toward Jairus’s house?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The story suddenly cuts away to another scene that evokes pity—awoman experiencing 12 terrible years of sickness. This story of Jairusand the woman is the second sandwich story in Mark (see Mark 3:20–35, covered in lesson 3). In this story the contrasting characters, Jairusand the woman, come to Jesus for help.The woman comes up behind Jesus and touches His clothing.Immediately, she is well. But Jesus stops and asks, “Who touched Myclothes?”The woman, who had been so sick, was suddenly well. Yet, she fearedthat Jesus was angry at what had happened. It was a wild ride for heremotions. But Jesus wanted to heal not only her body but also her soul.Then, back to Jairus (see Mark 5:35–43). It was a wild ride of emotions for the synagogue ruler, as well. Jesus allowed no one else to gowith Him and the parents except Peter, James, and John. Jesus states thatthe girl is not dead but asleep. He casts out all the mourners and goesinto the room where the dead girl lay. Taking her hand, He says, “Talithakoum.” Mark translates these words, “Little girl, get up.” Actually, theword Talitha means “lamb” and thus would be a term of endearment fora child in the home. The command to keep things secret is part of therevelation/secrecy motif that runs through Mark and points toward whoJesus is and that, ultimately, He cannot remain hidden.
Read Mark 5:1–20. What can we learn about the great controversyfrom this amazing account and, again, about the power of Jesus?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________If the night before on the lake was unforgettable, the arrival at theGadarenes the next morning was just as impressive. The history of thedemon-possessed man is laid out in heartbreaking detail. Breakingaway from all constraint, he lived in the tombs and cut himself withstones. “No one had the strength to subdue him” (Mark 5:4, ESV)—andthen he met Jesus.The man rushed at Jesus—no word about the disciples (they probably ran off). When the man came near to Jesus, he fell down beforeHim. The words “fell down” translate the Greek verb proskyneō, usually translated “to worship.” It seems the man recognized that Jesuswas Someone who could help him. But when he opened his mouth,the demons inside him shouted at Jesus, who could hear the man’swhispered plea for help above the demons’ shouts. When they askedto be released into a herd of pigs, Jesus permitted them to enter thepigs. The entire herd, about two thousand, rushed down the embankment and drowned in the water. It was a financial disaster for theowners.What’s amazing is that the demons knew exactly who Jesus was,and they also knew their impotence before Him, which was why they“begged Him” twice (Mark 5:10, 12, NKJV) to do what they asked.Obviously, they knew His power over them.This story has two overriding characteristics. First, it is filled with itemsof uncleanness or ceremonial defilement according to Old Testament law.Tombs and the dead were unclean (Num. 19:11, 16). Bleeding made oneunclean (Leviticus 15). Pigs were unclean (Lev. 11:7).But, second, overarching this litany of defilement is the back-andforth battle between good and evil forces. Jesus drives out the demons(two points for Jesus), the demons kill the pigs (two points for Satan).The townspeople ask Jesus to leave (two points for Satan), but Jesussends back the healed man as His witness (three points for Jesus). Insome ways this man was the unlikeliest missionary, but he definitelyhad an amazing story to tell.What hope can you draw from this story about the power of Jesusto help you in whatever you are struggling with?
Read Mark 4:35–41. What happens in this story, and what lessons canwe take from it about who Jesus is?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________At the beginning of Mark 4, Jesus steps into a boat to teach the crowdon the shore. In Mark 4:10–12, it seems He may have gotten out ofthe boat and talked with the disciples privately. Now, after a long dayof teaching, the disciples take Jesus in the boat “as He was,” in otherwords, very tired. He immediately falls asleep on the boat’s cushion,which would be in the stern of the boat. A great storm arises on thelake, and the boat is at risk of sinking when the disciples awake Him.Dramatically, Jesus commands the wind and waves to cease. A greatcalm settles over the lake. Understandably, the disciples are deeplyafraid at the display of divine power.Read Psalm 104:1–9. How does the picture of Yahweh here comparewith Christ calming the storm?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________The story in Mark 4:35–41 fits within a common biblical pattern:that of a “theophany”—the appearance of God or one of His angels.Five characteristics are common to these events: (1) the display ofdivine power, (2) human fear, (3) the command “Do not fear,” (4)the words of revelation for which God or the angel appeared, and (5)human response to the revelation. Four of the five are present in thisstory—the calming of the storm is the display of divine power, the disciples’ fear is the human fear. The question, “Why are you so afraid?”is the “Do not fear.” The disciples’ question, “Who then is this?” isthe human response. What is missing is the words of revelation. Thismissing detail plays into the revelation/secrecy motif that runs throughthe entire book, where the truth about Jesus will come out. Here thedisciples’ question, “Who then is this that the wind and the sea obeyHim?” pushes the reader to fill in the answer of the missing words ofrevelation—He is the Son of God, the Lord Himself.Think about the power of God. How can you learn to lean on thispower and to trust it in all things in your life?
Read for This Week’s Study: Mark 4:35–41, Ps. 104:1–9,Mark 5:1–43, Num. 27:17.Memory Text: “However, Jesus did not permit him, but said tohim, ‘Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things theLord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you’ ”(Mark 5:19, NKJV).Jesus’ ministry was largely focused in Galilee, especially in andaround the Sea of Galilee, a lake approximately 13 miles (21 kilometers) long and 8 miles (13 kilometers) wide. It is the largest bodyof water in the area and was the center of life for people living nearby.Mark 4 ends with Jesus and His disciples traveling across the Seaof Galilee. A storm arises that Jesus calms by speaking to the windand waves. Mark 6 ends with a similar scene, but this time with Jesuswalking on the water toward His disciples in the boat. In between thesescenes on the water are numerous miracles of Jesus that were done onland and His disciples’ first missionary activity. These stories are thesubject of this week’s study.The overarching characteristic of these dramatic stories is to let thereader see who Jesus is. He is the One able to calm a storm, cast outdemons, heal a woman who simply touches His clothes, raise a dead girl,preach in His home town, send out His disciples on a preaching mission,feed with a few loaves and fish, and walk on water—incredible displaysof power that are drawing the disciples closer to an understanding thatHe is the Son of God.* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 3.
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “ ‘The Sower Went Forthto Sow,’ ” pp. 33–61, in Christ’s Object Lessons.“True holiness is wholeness in the service of God. This is the condition of true Christian living. Christ asks for an unreserved consecration,for undivided service. He demands the heart, the mind, the soul, thestrength. Self is not to be cherished. He who lives to himself is not aChristian.“Love must be the principle of action. Love is the underlying principle of God’s government in heaven and earth, and it must be the foundation of the Christian’s character. This alone can make and keep himsteadfast. This alone can enable him to withstand trial and temptation.“And love will be revealed in sacrifice. The plan of redemption waslaid in sacrifice—a sacrifice so broad and deep and high that it isimmeasurable. Christ gave all for us, and those who receive Christ willbe ready to sacrifice all for the sake of their Redeemer. The thought ofHis honor and glory will come before anything else.”—Ellen G. White,Christ’s Object Lessons, pp. 48, 49.Discussion Questions:Ê “Love must be the principle of action. Love is the underlyingprinciple of God’s government in heaven and earth.” How does theCross reveal this amazing truth to us? In our lives, how can wereflect this kind of love? Why must we?Ë How would you respond to someone who insisted that Jesustold parables to keep outsiders in the dark? Why would Jesus, whodied for every human being (see 1 John 2:2), deliberately keep inthe dark people whom He had died on the cross to save?Ì A lamp is supposed to be on a lampstand, not under a basket(Mark 4:21). Apply this principle to your church’s engagement withyour local community. How can you lift the light up higher?Í Consider the parable of the growing seed (Mark 4:26–29).What part do humans play in helping the gospel seed to grow, andwhat part does God play? Though we obviously play a role, howcan we still make sure we are totally dependent upon God? Couldthis attitude of total dependence perhaps be part of what we needto do in order to grow?
Read Mark 4:26–29. What is the primary focus of this parable?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Most of the Gospel of Mark has parallels in either Matthew or Lukeor both. But that is not the case with this parable. It is unique to Mark.The focus of this brief parable is the growing process. Jesus indicatesthat this is how the kingdom of God works. Humans have a part to play,but the real growth is the work of God. It is not an endless process. Thestory comes to an abrupt end with the maturation of the grain. Just so,the return of Christ a second time will suddenly bring an end to ourworld’s history.Read Mark 4:30–32. What is the important stress of the parable of themustard seed?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________This parable stresses how something very tiny grows into somethingremarkably large. Mustard seeds measure typically one to two millimetersin diameter (.039 to .079 inches). The plant described here is probablythe black mustard (Brassica nigra), which has tiny seeds (more than700 seeds in one gram). While not the smallest seeds in the world, theyare quite small, especially in comparison to the plant they produce,which can grow as large as three meters (ten feet) tall. Jesus notes thatbirds even nest in the branches of the mustard plant. This last referenceis an allusion to Psalm 104:12, with an allusion to Daniel 4:10–12,as well. Psalm 104 speaks of God’s power in creating the world, andDaniel 4 represents Nebuchadnezzar as a great tree under which all theworld finds shade and food.The point Jesus makes is that the kingdom of God, which began verysmall, will become large and impressive. People in Jesus’ day may havelooked down on the dusty itinerant preacher from Galilee with His bandof disciples, but time has shown that His kingdom of grace continues toexpand throughout the world.“ ‘And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the worldas a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come’ ” (Matt.24:14, NKJV). Consider what the “church” was like when Jesusmade that prediction. Why is this such a remarkable and faith affirming prediction?
Lamp and Measuring BasketRead Mark 4:21–23. What is Jesus’ special emphasis in the parableof the lamp?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Houses in that part of the world in Jesus’ day varied in size andconstruction, all depending on location and wealth. The houses cameto follow a Greek pattern of being built around a courtyard but withvarying levels of sophistication. Or Jesus may be talking about smallerhouses of peasants. Big house or small house, the issue is this principle:one day the truth about Jesus will be revealed.Jesus asks two questions in Mark 4:21. The first one expects a negativeanswer—“The lamp is not brought to be placed under the basket or underthe bed, is it?” The second question expects a positive answer—“It isbrought to be placed on the lampstand, isn’t it?” Jesus presents an absurd,almost humorous scenario to make His point. Lamps are for giving light,or they lose their purpose. Mark 4:22 explains the parable by referencingthe idea of secrets being made public. Anyone whose email or computerhas been hacked understands the possibility of secrets being made public! But what Jesus is talking about is the gospel.Read Mark 4:24, 25. What lesson is Jesus conveying with the parableof the measuring basket?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________In many locations in the world, fresh produce is sold in open markets.Sellers typically have a device for measuring the product they are selling.It is a common practice of such sellers to add just a bit more to a saleto help the buyer feel he or she is being treated fairly. Jesus picks up onhow good sellers treat buyers to make a point about openness to the truth.If one is open and follows the light, he or she will get even more. But ifhe or she rejects the light, even what they had before will be taken away.How can we better understand the principle that with what measure you use, it will be measured to you? Think about it in allyour dealings with others.
Read Mark 4:10–12. Why did Jesus teach in parables?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________A surface reading of these verses gives the impression thatJesus taught in parables to keep outsiders in the dark. But such aperspective does not fit with Jesus’ actions elsewhere in Mark. InMark 3:5, 6, Jesus is grieved by the hard hearts of the religiousleaders. In Mark 3:22–30, Jesus takes the arguments of the scribesseriously and explains in detail why they are mistaken. In Mark12:1–12, the religious leaders understand that Jesus’ parable ofthe tenants is about them. It is actually a warning of where theirplot against Him is heading and the terrible consequences to follow. If He had no concern for them, He would not warn them.Consequently, Jesus’ words here in Mark 4 need a closer look inorder to recognize what His point is. Jesus is paraphrasing Isaiah6:9, 10.Read Isaiah 6:1–13. What happens to Isaiah here, and what is the message he is given to take to Israel?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Isaiah sees a vision of God in the temple and is overwhelmed byGod’s glory and his own uncleanness. God cleanses him and commissions him with a shocking message. Just like Mark, it sounds outof step with the rest of Isaiah where there is much comfort for God’speople.In Isaiah 6 the message is meant to shock the people awake so theywill turn from their evil ways. In Mark the key for understandingJesus’ words is found in Mark 3:35. To understand Jesus’ words andteachings, one must do the will of God (Mark 3:35). This brings thatperson into the family of Jesus. Those who have already decided thatJesus is possessed by the devil will not listen.The point of Jesus’ quotation from Isaiah 6 is not that God is keepingpeople out but that their own preconceived ideas and hardness of heartprevent them from accepting the saving truth.This truth is the overarching concept of the parable of the sower.Each one chooses what type of soil to be. All decide for themselveswhether or not they will surrender to Jesus. In the end, we eachchoose.
Jesus was done with the parable and gave no immediate explanation.According to the text (Mark 4:1), Jesus spoke it before “a great multitude.” Only later, with a smaller group (Mark 4:10), did He explainwhat the parable meant.Read Mark 4:13–20. How did Jesus interpret the parable of the sower?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Jesus interprets the parable by identifying the items external to thestory that a number of the details in the story stand for. The interpretation indicates that the story is a loose allegory with references to thereal world, not necessarily a reference for every single detail.Jesus identifies the seed as “the word.” This would refer to the Wordof God, particularly as preached by Jesus. James 1:21 states, “Thereforeput away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” (ESV).The different soils are different types of listeners. In Jesus’ interpretation, everyone hears the Word; that is, all the types of soil haveseed sown on them. But the reception is different. Path soil is hard, andthe birds snatch away the seed. Jesus links this to Satan’s taking awaythe truth. Rocky soil has little depth. Jesus links this to people withshallow commitments; they have not counted the cost of discipleship.Weedy soil chokes the seed sown on it. Jesus explains that this standsfor the cares of life and riches that choke out the Word. But the goodsoil stands for those who hear the Word and receive it so that it growsand produces an abundant crop.The longest explanations are for the rocky ground and the weedyground. In describing the rocky-ground hearers, Jesus points to contrasting elements—they receive the Word with joy but are temporarydisciples. When persecution comes, they fall away. The weedy-groundhearers are a contrast. They do not fall away because of hard times butbecause of good times—their focus is on the things of the world insteadof the kingdom of God. Their cares and concerns revolve around whatthe world has to offer.Consider your own life. Are any characteristics of the path, therocky ground, or weedy ground creeping into your experience?This could happen more subtly than you realize. What choice canyou make to change, if need be?
The Parable of the SowerRead Mark 4:1–9. What are the different soils like, and what happensto the seed that falls on them?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________When reading the parables of Jesus in the Gospels, people often wantto jump quickly to the interpretation. After all, is that not the point ofthese stories—to teach some spiritual truth for Christian life? Yes, butsometimes, other than in brief comments such as “The kingdom ofGod is like,” or “He who has ears to hear, let him hear,” Jesus does notexplain the parable.Consequently, it is good to slow down and simply analyze the storyitself in order to catch the direction its various narrative characteristicspoint toward. Doing this with the parable of the sower yields a varietyof ideas. The seed is the same in each case but falls on four differenttypes of soil. The type of soil greatly influences the outcome for theseed. Instead of one continuous story, the parable is actually four individual stories told to completion in each setting. The length of time forcompleting the story lengthens with each successive story.The seed that falls on the road is eaten immediately by the birds. “ ‘Andit happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birdsof the air came and devoured it’ ” (Mark 4:4, NKJV).The seed that falls on the rocky ground takes a few days or weeksto reach its failed outcome, which included being scorched by the sun.The seed that falls on the weedy soil takes longer still to reach itsunproductive end, choked as it was by thorns.The seed that falls on the good soil takes the longest of all, presumably an entire growing season, as is the normal pattern for a crop.Three of the stories are about failure; only the last is about success,a good abundant crop. The length of the stories, the longer and longerperiod of time for each successive story, and the fact that only onestory is about success, all point to the risk of failure but the abundantoutcome of success.The parable seems to point to the cost of discipleship and the risksinvolved, but it also highlights the abundant reward of following Jesus.What are some other spiritual lessons that we can learn from nature?
Read for This Week’s Study: Mark 4:1–34, James 1:21, Isa.6:1–13, Ps. 104:12, Dan. 4:10–12.Memory Text: “Then He said to them, ‘Take heed what you hear.With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and toyou who hear, more will be given. For whoever has, to him more willbe given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be takenaway from him’ ” (Mark 4:24, 25, NKJV).This week's study is on the parables in Mark 4. The Gospel ofMark has the fewest parables of any of the Synoptic Gospels(Matthew, Mark, and Luke).For many years scholars have argued over the meaning and interpretation of Jesus’ parables: How to interpret what they mean, why Jesus usedthem, what kind of lessons they were intended to reveal, and how literallythey were to be taken, or whether they were purely allegory, and so forth.Obviously we are not going to solve all these issues in this week’slesson. Instead, we are going to look at them and, by God’s grace, comeaway with an understanding of the points Jesus made through theseparables.Mark 4 has just five parables—the sower, the lamp, the measure,the growing seed, and the mustard seed. The majority of the chapterrevolves around the parable of the sower. This parable is told first, followed by the reason for parables, and then the interpretation of the parable. This three-step pattern will be the focus of the studies for Sunday,Monday, and Tuesday. Then the other parables will be the subject ofstudy on Wednesday and Thursday.* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, July 27
Read Ellen G. White, “Levi-Matthew,” pp. 272–280; “The Sabbath,” pp. 281–289, in The Desire of Ages.“When questioned, ‘Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath days?’ Jesus answered, ‘What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days.’ Matt. 12:10–12.“The spies dared not answer Christ in the presence of the multitude, for fear of involving themselves in difficulty. They knew that He had spoken the truth. Rather than violate their traditions, they would leave a man to suffer, while they would relieve a brute because of the loss to the owner if it were neglected. Thus greater care was shown for a dumb animal than for man, who is made in the image of God. This illustrates the working of all false religions. They originate in man’s desire to exalt himself above God, but they result in degrading man below the brute. Every religion that wars against the sovereignty of God defrauds man of the glory which was his at the creation, and which is to be restored to him in Christ. Every false religion teaches its adherents to be careless of human needs, sufferings, and rights. The gospel places a high value upon humanity as the purchase of the blood of Christ, and it teaches a tender regard for the wants and woes of man. The Lord says, ‘I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.’ Isa. 13:12.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 286, 287.Discussion Questions:What strategies or practices help you and your local church stay sensitive to silently suffering people like the paralytic in Mark 2?Think about how blinded by hatred, tradition, dogma, and religion in general the religious leaders who rejected Jesus had become so that even His miracles didn’t open their minds to Him. How can we as a people be careful that something similar doesn’t happen to us?How can your local church become “family” for those whose immediate genetic family may have rejected them over their faith?Dwell more on the question of the “unpardonable sin.” In class, discuss what it means and how we can be sure not to commit it.
Read Mark 3:20, 21. What experience led Jesus’ family to consider Him out of His mind?A charge of mental instability is quite serious. Typically this arises from experiences where a person is a threat to his or her own safety. Jesus’ family felt this way about Him because He was so busy that He did not take time to stop to eat. They set out to take charge of Him, and that is where the outer story of the sandwich breaks off, interrupted by the inner story about the scribes charging Jesus with collusion with the devil.A strange parallel exists between the outer and inner stories of this sandwich story. Jesus’ own family seems to have a view of Him parallel to that of the scribes. The family says He is crazy. The scribes say He is in league with the devil.Read Mark 3:31–35. What does Jesus’ family want, and how does He respond?This scene may seem strange. If your mother or other family members come to see you, should you not meet with them? The problem was that Jesus’ family at the time was not in tune with the will of God. Jesus recognized that truth, and in this passage He redefines family. Those who do the will of God are His brother, sister, and mother. He is the Son of God, and those who align themselves with the will of God become His family.The two stories of this Markan sandwich story together contain a deep irony. In the inner story, Jesus says that a house divided against itself cannot stand. At first glance, it seems that in the outer story, Jesus’ own house—His family—is divided against itself! But Jesus resolves this conundrum by His redefinition of family. His real family are those who do the will of God along with Him (see Luke 12:53, Luke 14:26).Many times throughout history, Christians have found themselves alienated from their own relatives. It is a difficult experience. This passage in Mark reveals that Jesus went through the same trouble. He understands what it is like and can comfort those who feel this often painful isolation.
Read Mark 3:20–35. What connection do you see between the two stories intertwined in this passage?This passage is the first “sandwich story” in Mark, where one story is begun and then is interrupted by another story, with the first story completed only afterward.The outer story is about Jesus’ relatives setting out to take charge of Him because they think He is out of His mind (Mark 3:21). The inner story is about the scribes from Jerusalem charging Jesus with being in collusion with the devil. (Today’s study focuses on the inner story found in Mark 3:22–30.)In Mark 3:22, the scribes bring the charge that Jesus’ healing power comes from the devil. Jesus responds first with an overarching question: “How can Satan cast out Satan?” It does not make sense that Satan would work against himself. Jesus proceeds to speak about division within a kingdom, a house, and Satan himself, showing how absurd such division would be for their success. But then the Lord turns the tables and talks about binding a strong man in order to plunder his house. In this last example, Jesus is the thief entering Satan’s house, binding the prince of darkness to set his captives free.Read Mark 3:28–30. What is the unpardonable sin, and what does that mean?The unpardonable sin is the sin against the Holy Spirit, calling the work of the Spirit the work of the devil. Notice that in Mark 3:30 the reason Jesus makes His statement in Mark 3:28, 29 is because the scribes are saying that He has an unclean spirit when in reality He has the Holy Spirit. If you call the work of the Holy Spirit the work of the devil, then you will not listen to the Holy Spirit because no one in his or her right mind wants to follow the devil’s guidance.Why does the fear that you might have committed the “unpardonable sin” reveal that you have not committed it? Why is the fear itself evidence that you haven’t?
Read for This Week’s StudyMark 2:1–3:6, Micah 6:6–8, 1 Sam. 21:1–6, Mark 3:20–35, Luke 12:53, Luke 14:26.Memory Text:“And He said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath’ ” (Mark 2:27, 28, NKJV).Mark 2:1–3:6 contains five stories that illustrate Jesus’ teaching in contrast to the teaching of the religious leaders. The stories are in a specific pattern in which each successive story links to the one before via a topical parallel. The final story circles around and reconnects with the first one.Each one of these stories illustrates aspects of who Jesus is, as exemplified by the statements in Mark 2:10, 17, 20, 28. Our studies on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday will delve deeper into the meaning of these accounts and Christ’s statements in them.Mark 3:20–35 is the subject for study on Wednesday and Thursday.What we will see, too, is an example of a technique the Gospel writer uses that is called “sandwich stories.” This narrative pattern appears at least six times in Mark. In each case some important aspect of the nature of Jesus and His role as Messiah, or the nature of discipleship, is the focus.This week, we will read some accounts about Jesus and see what we can learn from them.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, July 20.
Read Ellen G. White, “At Capernaum,” pp. 252–261; “Thou Canst Make Me Clean,” pp. 262–266, in The Desire of Ages.What picture of Jesus does Mark 1 present? Jesus has authority to call disciples, and they respond. He is holy in contrast to unclean spirits under Satan. A great battle is going on between good and evil, and Jesus has more power than the demons. Jesus has compassion for sick people and helps them, touching them when perhaps no one else would.“Jesus in the synagogue spoke of the kingdom He had come to establish, and of His mission to set free the captives of Satan. He was interrupted by a shriek of terror. A madman rushed forward from among the people, crying out, ‘Let us alone; what have we to do with Thee, Thou Jesus of Nazareth? art Thou come to destroy us? I know Thee who Thou art; the Holy One of God.’“All was now confusion and alarm. The attention of the people was diverted from Christ, and His words were unheeded. This was Satan's purpose in leading his victim to the synagogue. But Jesus rebuked the demon, saying, ‘Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not.’ . . . He who had conquered Satan in the wilderness of temptation was again brought face to face with His enemy. The demon exerted all his power to retain control of his victim. To lose ground here would be to give Jesus a victory. . . . But the Saviour spoke with authority, and set the captive free.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 255, 256.Meanwhile, our Lord carried on a busy ministry, moving from place to place, almost constantly in touch with many people. How did He maintain a calm and steady approach to ministry and people? It was doubtless through His daily experience of prayer.Think about what might be a workable schedule for you in regard to time for prayer and study of the Scriptures. Find what works for you, and take that time to develop a peaceful spirit, guided by the Spirit and the Word of God.Discussion Questions:Talk in class about the question of prayer and why it is so important in the Christian life. What are some of the questions people have about the purpose and efficacy of prayer?In class, talk about cases in which it might be best, at certain times, not to say too much about our faith. When might that be the prudent thing to do, and yet, how can we do that without compromising our witness?Who are the “lepers” in your culture today? How could your church reach out and “touch” these individuals to bring the gospel to them?
Read Mark 1:40–45. What does this teach us about Jesus and how He related to the marginalized in society?Leprosy as described in this passage, and throughout the Old Testament as well, did not refer only to what is known today as Hansen’s disease (bona fide leprosy). The biblical terminology would be better translated as a “dreaded skin disease” and could include other epidermic ailments, as well. Hansen’s disease may have come to the ancient Near East about the third century B.C. (see David P. Wright and Richard N. Jones, “Leprosy,” The Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol. 4 [New York: Doubleday, 1992], pp. 277–282). Hence, the leper referred to in this passage could well have had Hansen’s disease, though we don’t know for sure exactly what the man suffered from, only that it was bad.The leper places faith in Jesus that He can cleanse him. According to Leviticus 13, a leper was ritually unclean and had to avoid contact with others (see Lev. 13:45, 46).Jesus, however, is moved with compassion toward the man and touches him. “Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, ‘I am willing; be cleansed’ ” (Mark 1:41, NKJV). This action should have defiled Jesus until the evening, when He would be required to bathe to become ritually pure again (compare with Leviticus 13–15). But Mark is clear that Jesus’ action of touching the sick man cleanses him of his leprosy. Thus, Jesus was not defiled by touching the man.Jesus sends the man to a priest with the instruction to offer the sacrifice Moses commanded for such cases in Leviticus 14. Throughout the Gospel of Mark, Jesus stands as a defender and supporter of what Moses taught (see Mark 7:10; Mark 10:3, 4; Mark 12:26, 29–31). This view stands in sharp contrast to the religious leaders, who in the passages in Mark 7, 10, and 12 are subverting the original intent of the teachings given through Moses. These details explain Jesus’ command in Mark 1:44 to silence the man. If he were to tell of his cure by Jesus, it might prejudice the decision of the priest in bias against Jesus.But the cleansed leper does not seem to understand this, and in disobedience to Jesus’ command, he spreads the news far and wide, making it impossible for Jesus to enter towns openly for His ministry.How can we be careful not to do things that could hamper the spread of the gospel, no matter how good our intentions?
The "best" Bible translation can be subjective and depends on what you are looking for in a translation. Here are a few popular ones, each with its own strengths:1. New International Version (NIV): Known for its balance between readability and accuracy. It's widely used in many churches and for personal study.2. English Standard Version (ESV): Highly regarded for its accuracy and literary quality. It's a popular choice for in-depth study.3. New Living Translation (NLT): Focuses on readability and is written in contemporary language, making it accessible to a wide audience.4. King James Version (KJV): Known for its majestic language and historical significance. It's a favorite for those who appreciate its literary style.5. New Revised Standard Version (NRSV): Valued for its accuracy and inclusivity. It's widely used in academic settings.6. Christian Standard Bible (CSB): Offers a balance of readability and fidelity to the original texts, aiming for both accuracy and readability.Ultimately, the best translation is one that aligns with your needs, whether for study, devotion, or literary appreciation.
Read Mark 1:35–39. What important lessons can be taken from what Jesus did here?Jesus arose before sunrise and went out to a quiet, deserted location to pray. Mark 1:35 emphasizes prayer as the focus of Jesus’ action. All the other verbal forms in the sentence are in summary form—He got up, went out, and departed (all in the aorist tense in Greek, signifying completeness). But the verb “to pray” is in the imperfect tense, a form used to express, particularly here, an ongoing process. He was praying, He kept on praying. The text also emphasizes how early it was when Jesus went out, implying that His time of prayer alone was extensive.Throughout the Gospels, we meet Jesus as a man of prayer (see Matt. 14:23, Mark 6:46, John 17). This appears to be one of the key secrets in the power of Jesus’ ministry.Read Luke 6:12. What does this teach about Jesus’ prayer life?Many Christians have set times for prayer. This practice is good and right, but it also can become a routine, almost something done by rote. One way to break out of a set mold is to change the time of prayer occasionally or to pray longer than usual at times. The point is not to lock yourself into some kind of formula that can never change.Peter and his companions did not accompany Jesus to the place of prayer. Perhaps they knew of the location because they did find Him. Their note that everyone was looking for Jesus suggested that He follow up the exciting experience of the previous day with more healing and teaching. Surprisingly, Jesus demurs and points to a wider field of service to other locations. “But He said to them, ‘Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth’ ” (Mark 1:38, NKJV).If Jesus Himself needed to spend so much time in prayer, what about ourselves, and how much time should we spend in prayer? What does Jesus’ example say to us?
Read Mark 1:29–34. How did Jesus help Peter’s family, and what spiritual lessons can we draw from this account?After the amazing synagogue service, Jesus retires with His small band of disciples (Peter, Andrew, James, and John) to Peter’s home, evidently to spend the rest of the Sabbath day in a friendly meal and fellowship.But a note of concern overshadows the scene: Peter’s mother-in-law is ill with a fever, which back then meant you either got better or died. They tell Jesus of the sickness, and He takes Peter’s mother-in-law by the hand and raises her up. She immediately begins to provide for their needs. What a powerful example of the principle that those who have been saved, healed, by Jesus will minister to others as a result!Throughout Mark it is often the case that Jesus heals by touching the affected person (see Mark 1:41; Mark 5:41), though other times no touch is mentioned (see Mark 2:1–12, Mark 3:1–6, Mark 5:7–13).Jesus was not done with ministry that day. After sunset many came to Peter’s house for healing, no doubt from seeing what happened at the synagogue that day or from hearing about it. The fact that the Gospel writer does not tell his readers that people delayed because of the hours of the Sabbath indicates that he expected his readers to know about the Sabbath. This feature of Mark is consistent with his readers being Sabbath keepers.Mark says that the entire city was gathered at the door that evening (Mark 1:33). It would have taken some time for Jesus to help all those people.“Hour after hour they came and went; for none could know whether tomorrow would find the Healer still among them. Never before had Capernaum witnessed a day like this. The air was filled with the voice of triumph and shouts of deliverance. The Saviour was joyful in the joy He had awakened. As He witnessed the sufferings of those who had come to Him, His heart was stirred with sympathy, and He rejoiced in His power to restore them to health and happiness.“Not until the last sufferer had been relieved did Jesus cease His work. It was far into the night when the multitude departed, and silence settled down upon the home of Simon. The long, exciting day was past, and Jesus sought rest. But while the city was still wrapped in slumber, the Saviour, ‘rising up a great while before day, . . . went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.’ ”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 259.
Read Mark 1:21–28. What unforgettable experience happened in the Capernaum synagogue, and what spiritual truths can we take from this account?Most Christians have some unforgettable moments in their Christian walk—the decision to follow Jesus; the day of their baptism; a powerful sermon during which they deeply felt the presence of God. Some of these moments might not only be unforgettable but be life-changing, as well.So it might have been for some people in Capernaum on the Sabbath described in Mark 1. “And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes” (Mark 1:22, NKJV). As Jesus was teaching, a demon-possessed man, no doubt impacted by the power of Jesus’ teaching, shouted, “ ‘What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God’ ” (Mark 1:24, ESV), and Jesus cast out the demon.Think of the implications of these words from the demon.First, the demon recognizes Jesus as “ ‘the Holy One of God.’ ” He acknowledges that Jesus is the holy emissary of God, in contrast to the unclean, unholy hosts of Satan. In a worship setting, one expects holy things and individuals, not unholy and unclean things. Thus, in this story there is a sharp contrast between the forces of good and the forces of evil. We can see here the reality of the great controversy. People might not yet know who Jesus is, but the demon certainly does and publicly acknowledges it, as well.Next, the command to come out of the man is understandable, but why the command, “ ‘Be quiet’ ” (NKJV)? Beginning here in Mark, a remarkable motif appears: Jesus’ call for silence regarding who He is. Scholars call this the “Messianic Secret.”Jesus’ call for silence makes good sense because of the political overtones of Messianic expectations in His time. It was risky to be a messiah. Yet, mixed with the calls for silence are the unmistakable revelations of who Jesus is. What will become clear over time is that Jesus’ identity cannot be hidden, and the truth of who He is becomes the center of the gospel message. People need not only to know who Jesus is but also to make a decision about how they will respond to His coming and what it means for them.In seeking to witness to others, when might it be prudent not to present all that we believe regarding “present truth”?
Read Mark 1:16–20. Who were the men Jesus called as disciples, and what was their response?Mark 1 does not have many of Jesus’ words recorded. However, Mark 1:17 does have His words to two fishermen, Simon, who will later be called “Peter,” and his brother, Andrew. The two men are standing on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, casting a net.There is no mention of a boat or other fishing paraphernalia, which may suggest that the two men are not well off financially. In Mark 1:19, 20, James and John are in a boat with their father and servants, which suggests that they were better off financially than Peter and Andrew. Luke indicates that Peter does have a boat and that, in fact, James and John were partners of Peter and Andrew (see Luke 5:1–11). But the Gospel of Mark may be presenting a contrast between the two sets of brothers, and in order to illustrate that difference, Jesus calls to discipleship both those who have less resources and those with more.Jesus’ call to these men is simple, direct, and prophetic. He calls them to follow Him—that is, to become His disciples. He indicates that if they will respond to His call, He will take on the task of making them fishers of men.Ponder why these men would immediately (Mark 1:16–20) leave everything and follow Jesus.The Gospel of John fills in the picture more fully (see John 1:29–42). It seems that the brothers were followers of John the Baptist and heard his proclamation that Jesus was “ ‘the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world’ ” (John 1:29, ESV). They met Jesus and spent time with Him near the Jordan River. Consequently, their acceptance of Jesus’ call to ministry was not some lark or escapade. They had thought this through.But why does Mark not fill in more details? Likely, it is to emphasize the power of Jesus. He calls, and willing fishermen answer, and their lives, and the world itself, are never the same.What have you been called to give up in order to follow Jesus? (Think about the implications of your answer, especially if you can’t think of anything.)
Read for This Week’s StudyMark 1:16–45, John 1:29–45, Mark 5:41, Luke 6:12, Leviticus 13.Memory Text:“Then Jesus said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men’ ” (Mark 1:17, NKJV).Each Gospel introduces the beginning of Jesus’ ministry in a particular way.Matthew presents Jesus as calling disciples and then preaching the Sermon on the Mount.Luke tells the story of Jesus’ inaugural sermon on a Sabbath in the synagogue in Nazareth.John recounts the calling of some of the early disciples and the wedding at Cana, where Jesus performs His first sign.The Gospel of Mark recounts the calling of four disciples and describes a Sabbath in Capernaum and what followed.This “Sabbath with Jesus” at the beginning of Mark gives the reader a sense of who Jesus is. In the entire section for this week’s lesson, there are very few of His words recorded: a brief call to discipleship, a command to a demon, a plan to visit other locations, and the healing of a leper with instructions to show himself before a priest to be clean. The emphasis is on action, particularly healing people. The Gospel writer likes to use the word immediately to illustrate the fast-action movement of Jesus’ ministry.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, July 13.
Read Ellen G. White, “The Voice in the Wilderness,” pp. 97–108, in The Desire of Ages; and “Heralds of the Gospel,” pp. 166–176, in The Acts of the Apostles.How fascinating that Revelation 14:6, 7, the first angel’s message, parallels the gospel message of Jesus in Mark 1:15.The first angel brings the everlasting gospel to the world in the last days in preparation for the Second Coming. Just like the message of Jesus, the angel’s end-time gospel has the same three elements as illustrated in the table below:Mark 1CategoryRevelation 14Time Fulfilled (Daniel 9)Time ProphecyJudgment Hour (Daniel 7, 8)Kingdom NearCovenant PromiseEverlasting GospelRepent, BelieveCall to DiscipleshipFear, Glorify, Worship GodThe first angel’s message announces the beginning of the pre-Advent judgment, which began in 1844 and was predicted in the 2,300-day prophecy of Daniel 8:14. The judgment brings the kingdom of God to His persecuted people (Dan. 7:22). The first angel’s call to fear, glorify, and worship God is the call to discipleship, issued to the world in the last days as the beast powers of Revelation 13 present a false god to fear, glorify, and worship.Just as Jesus’ message in Mark 1 is intimately tied to the prophecies of Daniel at the beginning of the gospel proclamation, so the first angel’s message is as well tied to Daniel at the close of earth’s history.Discussion Questions:Compare and contrast John the Baptist and Jesus in Mark 1:1–13. What special lessons do you learn from the way they are presented?Consider the meaning of baptism. Read Romans 6:1–4 and John 3:1–8, and compare them with the baptism of Jesus in Mark 1:9–13. What parallels and contrasts do you see? How does this help you understand more clearly the meaning of baptism?Compare and contrast the gospel according to Jesus in Mark 1:14, 15 and the first angel’s message in Revelation 14:6, 7. How does understanding these messages help you see better your mission for today?
Read Mark 1:9–13. Who is present at the baptism of Jesus, and what happens?John baptizes Jesus in the Jordan River. As Jesus comes up out of the water, He sees the heavens being torn open and the Holy Spirit descending on Him like a dove. He hears the voice of God from heaven, “ ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased’ ” (Mark 1:11, ESV).These events point to the importance of Jesus’ baptism. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are present, together affirming the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. The importance of this event will find its echo at the scene of the cross in Mark 15. Many of the same elements of the story will recur in that scene.The Spirit drove Jesus out into the wilderness. The word “drove” is from the Greek word ekballō, the common word used in the Gospel of Mark for driving out demons. The Spirit’s presence here illustrates the power of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ life. The Lord is already starting the journey of His ministry, and He immediately confronts Satan. The sense of the struggle in the scene is displayed by the reference to 40 days of temptation, the presence of wild animals, and the angels ministering to Jesus.An unusual characteristic of the opening scene of the Gospel of Mark is that Jesus is presented as a character with both divinity and humanity. On the side of divinity: He is the Christ, the Messiah (Mark 1:1), the Lord announced by a messenger (Mark 1:2, 3), mightier than John (Mark 1:7), the beloved Son on whom the Spirit descends (Mark 1:10, 11). But on the side of humanity, we see the following: He is baptized by John (not the other way around, Mark 1:9), He is driven by the Spirit (Mark 1:12), tempted by Satan (Mark 1:13), with wild animals (Mark 1:13), and ministered to by angels (Mark 1:13).Why these contrasts? This points to the amazing reality of Christ, our Lord and Savior, our God, and yet also a human being, our brother and our example. How do we fully wrap our minds around this idea? We can’t. But we accept it on faith and marvel at what this truth reveals to us about God’s love for humanity.What does it tell us about the amazing love of God that, though Jesus was God, He would take upon Himself our humanity in order to save us?
Read Mark 1:9–13. Who is present at the baptism of Jesus, and what happens?John baptizes Jesus in the Jordan River. As Jesus comes up out of the water, He sees the heavens being torn open and the Holy Spirit descending on Him like a dove. He hears the voice of God from heaven, “ ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased’ ” (Mark 1:11, ESV).These events point to the importance of Jesus’ baptism. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are present, together affirming the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. The importance of this event will find its echo at the scene of the cross in Mark 15. Many of the same elements of the story will recur in that scene.The Spirit drove Jesus out into the wilderness. The word “drove” is from the Greek word ekballō, the common word used in the Gospel of Mark for driving out demons. The Spirit’s presence here illustrates the power of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ life. The Lord is already starting the journey of His ministry, and He immediately confronts Satan. The sense of the struggle in the scene is displayed by the reference to 40 days of temptation, the presence of wild animals, and the angels ministering to Jesus.An unusual characteristic of the opening scene of the Gospel of Mark is that Jesus is presented as a character with both divinity and humanity. On the side of divinity: He is the Christ, the Messiah (Mark 1:1), the Lord announced by a messenger (Mark 1:2, 3), mightier than John (Mark 1:7), the beloved Son on whom the Spirit descends (Mark 1:10, 11). But on the side of humanity, we see the following: He is baptized by John (not the other way around, Mark 1:9), He is driven by the Spirit (Mark 1:12), tempted by Satan (Mark 1:13), with wild animals (Mark 1:13), and ministered to by angels (Mark 1:13).Why these contrasts? This points to the amazing reality of Christ, our Lord and Savior, our God, and yet also a human being, our brother and our example. How do we fully wrap our minds around this idea? We can’t. But we accept it on faith and marvel at what this truth reveals to us about God’s love for humanity.What does it tell us about the amazing love of God that, though Jesus was God, He would take upon Himself our humanity in order to save us?
Read Mark 1:1–8. Who are the characters in these verses, and what do they say and do?These verses have three main characters: Jesus Christ, referred to in Mark 1:1; God the Father, implied in the words of Mark 1:2; and John the Baptist, the messenger and preacher who is the main subject of the last section of this passage.Mark 1:2, 3 contains a quotation from the Old Testament that Mark presents to describe what will happen in the story. What Mark quotes is a blending of phrases from three passages: Exodus 23:20, Isaiah 40:3, and Malachi 3:1.Read Exodus 23:20, Isaiah 40:3, and Malachi 3:1. What do these three passages have in common?Exodus 23:20 refers to an angel that God will send before Israel to bring them to Canaan. Isaiah 40:3 speaks of God appearing in the wilderness with a highway prepared before Him. Malachi 3:1 speaks of a messenger going before the Lord to prepare His way. All three of these passages speak of a journey.The text in Isaiah has many ties with the ministry of John the Baptist and also focuses on the Way of the Lord. In the Gospel of Mark, the Lord Jesus is on a journey. The fast-moving narrative enhances the sense of this journey, a journey that will lead to the cross and to His sacrificial death for us.But much must happen before He reaches the cross. The journey is just beginning, and Mark will tell us all about it.In keeping with the quotation from the Old Testament in Mark 1:2, 3, John the Baptist calls for repentance, a turning away from sin, and a turning back to God (Mark 1:4). Clothed like the ancient prophet Elijah (compare with 2 Kings 1:8), he speaks in Mark 1:7, 8 about the One coming after him who is mightier than he. His statement that he is not worthy to loosen a strap of the Coming One’s sandals shows the exalted view he has of Jesus.
Read Acts 15:36–39. Why did Paul reject John Mark, and why did Barnabas give him a second chance?The reason for Paul’s rejection of the young man is given in Acts 15:38. Mark had withdrawn from them and had not continued in the work of ministry. Paul’s attitude is understandable, if blunt. Missionary life, particularly in the ancient world, was rough and demanding (compare with 2 Cor. 11:23–28). Paul depended on his fellow missionaries to help carry the burden of such challenging work and conditions. In his perspective, one who deserted so quickly did not deserve a place in a missionary team fighting hand to hand against evil forces.Barnabas disagreed. He saw potential in Mark and did not want to leave the young man behind. Such a deep dispute arose between Paul and Barnabas over John Mark that they parted ways. Paul chose Silas to go with him, and Barnabas took Mark.Acts does not explain why Barnabas chose to take Mark with him. In fact, this passage is the last place that the two men appear in Acts. But interestingly, it is not the last place Mark is mentioned in the New Testament.Read Colossians 4:10, 2 Timothy 4:11, Philemon 24, and 1 Peter 5:13. What details about Mark’s recovery do these verses suggest?An amazing transformation seems to have occurred in Mark. In these passages, Paul indicates the value of Mark to him and to ministry. Paul counts him as one of his fellow workers and wants Timothy to bring Mark with him. The book of 1 Peter indicates that Peter as well had a close relationship with Mark. These books by Paul and Peter were written likely in the early A.D. 60s, some 15–20 years after the experience in Acts 15. Mark clearly recovered from his failure, almost certainly through the trust that his cousin, Barnabas, placed in him.Consider a time when you or a friend failed and were given a second chance. How did that experience change you and those who helped you? How did it modify your ministry to others?
Read Acts 12:12. How is Mark introduced in the book of Acts?It seems probable that John Mark, the most likely author of the Gospel of Mark, was a young man when the events in Acts 12 occurred, probably in the A.D. mid-40s. He is introduced in verse 12 as the son of a woman named Mary. She was evidently a wealthy supporter of the church and held the prayer meeting at her home, made famous in Acts 12. The story of Peter’s escape from prison and the subsequent actions and then the death of Herod are replete with striking, even humorous, contrasts between Peter and the king. John Mark does not really play any role in the story, but the introduction of him at this point prepares for his later connection with Barnabas and Saul.Read Acts 13:1–5, 13. How did John Mark get attached to Saul and Barnabas, and what was the outcome?Acts 13 describes the first missionary journey of Saul and Barnabas, starting about A.D. 46. John Mark is not mentioned until verse 5, and his role is simply as a helper or servant. No other reference is made to the young man until verse 13, where the brief account notes that he returned to Jerusalem.No reason is given for this departure, and the absence of any description of his feelings or emotions leaves to the imagination what motivated his withdrawal from the missionary effort, which no doubt was filled with peril and challenges. Ellen G. White indicates that “Mark, overwhelmed with fear and discouragement, wavered for a time in his purpose to give himself wholeheartedly to the Lord’s work. Unused to hardships, he was disheartened by the perils and privations of the way.”—The Acts of the Apostles, p. 169. In short, things simply got too hard for him, and so he wanted out.Recall a time when you backed off from something—or even flat out failed at it—in your Christian walk. What did you learn from the experience?
Read for This Week’s StudyActs 13:1–5, 13; Acts 15:36–39; Mark 1:1–15; Isa. 40:3; Dan. 9:24–27.Memory Text:“Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel’ ” (Mark 1:14, 15, NKJV).Who wrote the Gospel of Mark, and why was it written? No Gospel lists the name of the author. The one that comes the closest is John, with reference to the beloved disciple (see John 21:20, 24).However, from early times, each of the canonical Gospels has been associated with either an apostle (Matthew, John) or with a companion of an apostle. For example, the Gospel of Luke is linked with Paul (see Col. 4:14, 2 Tim. 4:11, Philem. 1:24). The Gospel of Mark is linked with Peter (see 1 Pet. 5:13).Though the author of Mark never gives his name in the text, early church tradition indicates that the author of the Gospel of Mark was John Mark, a sometime traveling companion of Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:2, 5) and later an associate of Peter (1 Pet. 5:13).The first step this week will be to learn about Mark as reported in Scripture, to see his early failure and eventual recovery. Then the study will turn to the opening section of Mark with a look forward to where the story is headed and a look backward at why a failed and then restored missionary would write such a text.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, July 6.
Check out the intro to the new lessons☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻: We're about to start the new quarter - The book of Mark - here in this link you can access the lessons in standard, Teacher's and easy English 😁📖🎶https://www.adultbiblestudyguide.org/archives#lessons
“There the wide-spreading plains swell into hills of beauty, and the mountains of God rear their lofty summits. On those peaceful plains, beside those living streams, God’s people, so long pilgrims and wanderers, shall find a home. . . .“There, immortal minds will contemplate with never-failing delight the wonders of creative power, the mysteries of redeeming love. There will be no cruel, deceiving foe to tempt to forgetfulness of God. Every faculty will be developed, every capacity increased. The acquirement of knowledge will not weary the mind or exhaust the energies. There the grandest enterprises may be carried forward, the loftiest aspirations reached, the highest ambitions realized; and still there will arise new heights to surmount, new wonders to admire, new truths to comprehend, fresh objects to call forth the powers of mind and soul and body.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 675, 677.“With unutterable delight the children of earth enter into the joy and the wisdom of unfallen beings. They share the treasures of knowledge and understanding gained through ages upon ages in contemplation of God’s handiwork. With undimmed vision they gaze upon the glory of creation—suns and stars and systems, all in their appointed order circling the throne of Deity. Upon all things, from the least to the greatest, the Creator’s name is written, and in all are the riches of His power displayed.”—The Great Controversy, pp. 677, 678.“The great controversy is ended. Sin and sinners are no more. The entire universe is clean. One pulse of harmony and gladness beats through the vast creation. From Him who created all, flow life and light and gladness, throughout the realms of illimitable space. From the minutest atom to the greatest world, all things, animate and inanimate, in their unshadowed beauty and perfect joy, declare that God is love.”—The Great Controversy, p. 678.Discussion Questions:Why do you think God has allowed sin to go on for so long? At the same time, no human being suffers in this world longer than their own existence here. That is, no one suffers more than his or her own lifetime. How short is a human lifetime compared to the thousands of years of sin? How might this perspective help us deal with the difficult question of evil?How does the thousand-year period known as the millennium fit into the plan of salvation? Think about what it says about the character of God that—not until all of the redeemed will have had a chance to see the justice and fairness and love of God—will final judgment be brought upon the lost.
Read 2 Corinthians 5:10; Romans 14:10, 11; and Revelation 20:11–15. What do they say about why the wicked are raised to life again?To resolve the sin problem so evil never arises again, everyone must be convinced that God has been fair and just in all His ways. Ultimately, every knee shall bow and acknowledge God’s justice in the great controversy, even Satan and his evil angels, and that there was never any justification for rebellion against God. Notice this insight from Ellen G. White: “As soon as the books of record are opened, and the eye of Jesus looks upon the wicked, they are conscious of every sin which they have ever committed. They see just where their feet diverged from the path of purity and holiness, just how far pride and rebellion have carried them in the violation of the law of God. The seductive temptations which they encouraged by indulgence in sin, the blessings perverted, the messengers of God despised, the warnings rejected, the waves of mercy beaten back by the stubborn, unrepentant heart—all appear as if written in letters of fire. . . .“The whole wicked world stand arraigned at the bar of God on the charge of high treason against the government of heaven. They have none to plead their cause; they are without excuse; and the sentence of eternal death is pronounced against them.”—The Great Controversy, pp. 666, 668.Read Revelation 20:9; Psalm 37:20; and Malachi 4:1, 2. What insights do these passages give us about the ultimate destruction of sin and sinners and the reward of the righteous?The good news is that Satan and his evil angels will be destroyed in the lake of fire. Sin and sinners will be consumed. According to Revelation 20:9, they will be devoured, destroyed, and not eternally tormented. The next verse uses the expression “forever and ever.” Depending on the context, the word “forever” does not always mean “endless” but, until something is completely accomplished. (See Exod. 21:6; 1 Sam. 1:22, 28; Jude 7; and 2 Pet. 2:4–6.) For the lost, the destruction itself, not the act of destroying, is eternal. God is not the eternal torturer.In the end, one of two eternities await us all. The lost, unfortunately, receive the “wages” they have earned—eternal death. Why, then, is our only hope of not getting what we deserve, which is death, found in trusting in Jesus’ righteousness?
Read Revelation 20:4–6. What are the righteous doing during the 1,000 years, and why is it important?During the millennium, the righteous will have an opportunity to observe firsthand God’s justice and love in how He has dealt with the sin problem. Who doesn’t have questions they would like to ask God about a lot of things? Now, during the millennium in heaven, the redeemed get to ask those questions. If a loved one or close friend is absent from heaven, the saved have the opportunity to understand God’s decisions more fully. In a new way, more forcefully than ever before, the redeemed will grasp God’s powerful attempts to save every person who has ever lived. They will realize anew that everyone who is lost has missed out on heaven because of their own personal rejection of Christ. Only then does God bring final judgment—the second death, which is eternal destruction—on the lost.Read Revelation 20:7–9. How do the 1,000 years conclude? What is the fate of Satan and his followers?For 1,000 years, Satan has had no one to tempt or deceive. He and his angels have been alone to reflect on the deadly consequences of sin. At the end of the millennium, the wicked dead are resurrected to face the judgment and receive their final reward (Rev. 20:5).Now Satan has a vast army of followers. Although Satan has suffered defeat after defeat in the great controversy, he is encouraged as he sees the huge throng of the lost. Not yet ready to end his rebellion, he goes out to deceive these “nations.” Satan inspires them to make one last great effort to overthrow God and set up their own kingdom. The term “Gog and Magog” is used to symbolize Satan and the unsaved of all ages. Satan and his followers surround “the camp of the saints and the beloved city” (Rev. 20:9, NKJV).At the close of the millennium, not only are all the wicked raised to life, but the Holy City, New Jerusalem, descends to earth from heaven (Rev. 21:2)! The saints have been living and reigning with Christ in the New Jerusalem for the millennium. Now, at the end of the 1,000 years, the city descends to earth along with God, Jesus, the angels, and all the redeemed. Everyone is present for the final battle of the great controversy. Sin is about to be eradicated once and for all!What does the timing of the final judgment say about God’s character?
Revelation 19 ends with a dramatic portrayal of the return of Jesus and the destruction of the wicked. But the story is not over. Revelation 20 introduces us to a period lasting 1,000 years, known as the “millennium.”Read Revelation 20:1–3. What is Satan’s fate when Jesus returns?The imagery in Revelation 20:1–3 is symbolic. Satan is not literally bound with a chain and locked in a pit. For 1,000 years, he is confined to this desolate, depopulated earth, bound by the circumstances he himself has created. In 2 Peter 2:4, we read that Satan and his angels were reserved for punishment by “chains of darkness.” Satan will be confined to the earth by a chain of circumstances, with no one to tempt. For 1,000 years, he will see the devastation, destruction, and disaster that his rebellion has created.The Greek word translated “bottomless pit” is the same word from which we get our English word “abyss.” It also is the same word used in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, to describe the earth at Creation. “The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep” (Gen. 1:2, NKJV). In the Septuagint, the word “deep” here is the Greek word abyssos, “abyss.” It describes a desolate earth. The “bottomless pit” is not some subterranean cavern or some yawning chasm somewhere out there in the universe. Satan’s work of sin and destruction, along with the tremendous chaos preceding the Second Coming, has brought the earth back to a dark, disorganized mass like its condition at the beginning of Creation.Read Jeremiah 4:23–26 and Jeremiah 25:33. How does the biblical prophet describe this scene?The prophet here emphasizes the catastrophic destruction at the second coming of Christ and that no person is left alive on earth during this thousand-year period. Satan and his evil angels are left to contemplate the havoc caused by his rebellion. The entire universe recognizes anew that the wages of sin is death. God deals with the sin problem so that it will never rise again (Nah. 1:9). There are three prime ways God does this. First, He reveals His limitless love, passionate desire, and relentless efforts to save all humanity. Second, He reveals His justice, fairness, and righteousness. Third, He allows the universe to see the ultimate results of sin and rebellion.
Read John 14:1–3 and Titus 2:11–14. In the light of the challenges of the future and the coming time of trouble, why are these verses so encouraging?Jesus’ words, “ ‘Let not your heart be troubled,’ ” are His reassurance that He will never leave us and is coming again to take us home. This world is not our home. A better day is coming. Once in every 25 verses, the New Testament speaks of the return of our Lord. When the days are dark and the oppressive enactments of a church-state power threaten our lives, the promise of Christ’s coming fills our hearts with hope. This is the “blessed hope” that has inspired the faithful people of God in every generation.Read Revelation 6:15–17 and Isaiah 25:8, 9. Contrast the attitudes of the saved and the lost revealed in these verses. What explains the difference between these two mindsets?The wicked realize the horrible consequences of sin while the righteous have accepted the marvelous provisions of grace. Rebellion against God leads to fear, guilt, condemnation, and eventually eternal loss. Our response to His saving grace leads to forgiveness, peace, and joy eternally at His glorious return.Read Revelation 15:3, 4 and Revelation 19:7. How will the redeemed respond to the glorious salvation provided so freely through Christ?“The cross of Christ will be the science and the song of the redeemed through all eternity. In Christ glorified they will behold Christ crucified. . . . That the Maker of all worlds, the Arbiter of all destinies, should lay aside His glory and humiliate Himself from love to man will ever excite the wonder and adoration of the universe.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 651.Read Revelation 12:17; Revelation 17:13, 14; and Revelation 19:11–16. Carefully notice the progression of these verses. What does the progression in these verses say about earth’s last war and Christ’s ultimate victory?
Read Revelation 22:11, 12; Daniel 12:1, 2; and Jeremiah 30:5–7. What events occur just before the Second Advent?The close of human probation is followed by a time of trouble “ ‘such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time.’ ” Revelation 16 describes seven last plagues that will be poured out on the wicked world. But, as with the plagues that fell on Egypt, God’s people will be shielded from them. Note the promise in Daniel: “ ‘And at that time your people shall be delivered, every one who is found written in the book’ ” (Dan. 12:1, NKJV). This must be referring to the “book of life” (see Phil. 4:3; Rev. 13:8; Rev. 20:12, 15; Rev. 22:19). If we have stayed faithful to Jesus, our names will not be blotted out of the book of life (Rev. 3:5).Read 1 John 3:1–3, John 8:29, and John 14:30. What is the only sufficient preparation for the coming time of trouble?In the time of trouble, God’s people have a personal relationship with Jesus so deep that nothing can change it. Their consummate desire is to please Him in all things so that, through the work of the Holy Spirit, they will be as pure as He is pure. There was nothing in Christ’s heart that responded to Satan’s deceptions. We can reflect this aspect of His character, as well.Read Psalm 27:5, Psalm 91:1–11, and Revelation 3:10–12. What reassuring promises does God give us for the time of trouble?There are some who have misunderstood the concept of living through the time of trouble without a mediator. Jesus ceases His mediation in heaven’s sanctuary when everyone has made their final decision for or against Him. But this does not mean we are alone during this time, trusting our own strength. Jesus has assured us He will be with us always (Matt. 28:20). Faith trusts when it cannot see and believes even when the world around us is falling apart. During the time of trouble, our faith strengthens and our longing for eternity increases so that our one desire is to live forever with Jesus.
Read for This Week’s StudyRev. 22:11, 12; Jer. 30:5–7; Ps. 91:1–11; Jer. 25:33; Rev. 21:2; Rev. 20:11–15.Memory Text:“And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away’ ” (Revelation 21:3, 4, NKJV).We can face the future with hope. Although challenging times are coming, whatever suffering we must go through, whatever hardships we must endure, whatever sorrows we experience, if we have hope a better day is coming, we can live life today with purpose and joy. Franklin D. Roosevelt was president during 1933–1945, one of the most difficult periods of U.S. history. He was paralyzed by polio and unable to walk unaided. He once wrote, “We have always held to the hope, the belief, the conviction, that there is a better life, a better world, beyond the horizon.” Albert Einstein, one of the world’s most brilliant men, wrote, “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.” Alfred Lord Tennyson, a popular English poet during Queen Victoria’s reign, once wrote, “Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering ‘It will be happier.’ ”In this quarter’s final lesson, we will see Christ’s steadfast love during the most exciting time in the history of the universe and His complete triumph in the great controversy. The Bible’s last book, Revelation, gives us hope for today, tomorrow, and forever.*Study this week’s lesson, based on chapters 39–42 of The Great Controversy, to prepare for Sabbath, June 29.
As early as 1851, Adventist pioneers identified the second beast of Revelation 13:11–17 with the United States of America. But it must have been difficult back then to see how the United States could cause all the world to worship the first beast (Rev. 13:12). Even by the 1880s the entire United States Navy consisted of just forty-eight aging ships.But since the end of the Cold War, no power matches the United States militarily. And though Americans have enjoyed wonderful freedoms, as times get harder, it’s not difficult to see those freedoms being trampled on—or even completely undermined. Many believe that even now we are seeing this happen.“All who refuse compliance [in observing the false sabbath] will be visited with civil penalties, and it will finally be declared that they are deserving of death. On the other hand, the law of God enjoining the Creator’s rest day demands obedience and threatens wrath against all who transgress its precepts.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 604.“As the storm approaches, a large class who have professed faith in the third angel’s message, but have not been sanctified through obedience to the truth, abandon their position and join the ranks of the opposition. By uniting with the world and partaking of its spirit, they have come to view matters in nearly the same light; and when the test is brought, they are prepared to choose the easy, popular side. Men of talent and pleasing address, who once rejoiced in the truth, employ their powers to deceive and mislead souls. They become the most bitter enemies of their former brethren. When Sabbathkeepers are brought before the courts to answer for their faith, these apostates are the most efficient agents of Satan to misrepresent and accuse them, and by false reports and insinuations to stir up the rulers against them.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 608.Discussion Questions:Why is an understanding of last-day events so important in the coming crisis? How are the Scriptures a safeguard from deception?Democratic societies worldwide have been bastions of religious freedom for centuries. How might that change rather quickly?Look at Ellen White’s statement above. What choices are you making today that could result in your being with those professed Adventists tomorrow?How does the second angel’s message change under the loud cry, and what personal preparation can we make for receiving the latter rain to finish God’s work on earth?
Read Revelation 18:1–4, Habakkuk 2:14, and Matthew 24:14. How do these verses say God’s work on earth will be finished?The angel announcing the fall of Babylon has “great authority.” Like the angels of Revelation 14, this angel represents human messengers. This angel reveals the glory of God so fully that it illuminates the entire earth. The Greek word for authority or power in the New Testament is exousia. It often refers to Christ’s triumph over the principalities and powers of hell. Jesus uses this word in the gospel of Matthew in harmony with the sending out of His disciples. In Matthew 10:1, Jesus gives His disciples authority over the principalities and powers of hell. He sends them out with the divine power to be victorious in the battle between good and evil. In Matthew 28, He once again sends them out with “ ‘all authority . . . in heaven and on earth’ ” to “ ‘go therefore and make disciples of all the nations’ ” (Matt. 28:18, 19, NKJV).Filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, going forth with the authority of the living Christ who in His life and death triumphed over the principalities and powers of hell, the New Testament church lightened the earth with the glory of God. In a few short years, the disciples proclaimed the gospel to the then-known world (Col. 1:23).At the end time, the Holy Spirit will be poured out in unprecedented power, and the gospel will be spread rapidly to the ends of the earth. Thousands will be converted in a day, and God’s grace and truth will impact the entire planet. In this way, the world will be warned and the gospel, and the hope it offers, will be spread worldwide.“The great work of the gospel is not to close with less manifestation of the power of God than marked its opening. The prophecies which were fulfilled in the outpouring of the former rain at the opening of the gospel are again to be fulfilled in the latter rain at its close. . . .“Servants of God, with their faces lighted up and shining with holy consecration, will hasten from place to place to proclaim the message from heaven. By thousands of voices, all over the earth, the warning will be given. Miracles will be wrought, the sick will be healed, and signs and wonders will follow the believers.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 611, 612.What is holding back the mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the latter rain, and the loud cry? However small our role as individuals might be, what role can we fill in being open and receptive to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit?
Read Joel 2:21–24 and Acts 2:1–4, 41–47. What prediction was fulfilled in the first century? What impact did it have?The outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost powerfully launched the Christian church. Three thousand were converted in a day. Acts records miracle after miracle of God’s transforming grace: “Many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand” (Acts 4:4, NKJV). Only 120 believers gathered to pray, but prayer made a dramatic difference. Rapidly the church added thousands of believers. Even “a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7, NKJV). Yes, even many priests became followers of Jesus.When the disciples were fiercely persecuted in Jerusalem, they “went everywhere preaching the word” (Acts 8:4, NKJV). Churches were planted throughout all Judea, Samaria, and Galilee (see Acts 9:31). After his conversion, the apostle Paul proclaimed Christ throughout the Mediterranean world. In Thessalonica, some Jews opposed to the gospel made this astonishing statement: “ ‘These who have turned the world upside down have come here too’ ” (Acts 17:6, NKJV). What a powerful testimony to what the early church was able to accomplish. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the disciples reached the then-known world in a relatively short time. Joel’s prediction of the early rain was fulfilled at Pentecost, but the latter rain will fall with greater power to ready earth’s final harvest.Read Zechariah 4:6; Zechariah 10:1; Hosea 6:3; and James 5:7, 8. According to these verses, how will the work of God on earth be finished?The terms “early” and “latter” rain are taken from Israel’s harvest cycle. The early rain fell in the fall of the year to germinate the seed. The latter rain fell in the spring to ripen the harvest. This describes the work of the Holy Spirit for the proclamation of the gospel. “As the ‘former rain’ was given, in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the opening of the gospel, to cause the upspringing of the precious seed, so the ‘latter rain’ will be given at its close for the ripening of the harvest. ”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 611, 612.
In the last days, the great controversy will be played out, in a dramatic way, over worship. Do we worship the Creator, or do we worship the beast and its image? There is no middle ground. The first angel of Revelation 14 urges men and women to “ ‘worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water’ ” (Rev. 14:7, NKJV). In further support of heaven’s appeal, the third angel reveals the dire consequences of worshiping the beast: “The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation” (Rev. 14:10). By contrast, those who worship the Creator are described as keeping “the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus” (Rev. 14:12, NKJV).Creation is the basis of true worship (Rev. 4:11). Since God “created all things through Jesus Christ” (Eph. 3:9, NKJV), Satan hates the Creator and has attempted, through earthly powers, to change the Sabbath, the memorial of Creation (Dan. 7:25). The coming conflict over the law of God focuses on authority. If Satan can eradicate Sabbath worship, he will declare that his authority is greater than God’s authority. To accomplish this, Satan will attempt to convince or coerce the entire world to accept a counterfeit Sabbath.However hard it may be now to see this happening, as we have noted before, the world is changing dramatically. The COVID-19 crisis showed us that, overnight, our world can become a different place. Though we don’t know the details that lead to the mark of the beast, it’s not terribly hard to imagine. The world is very unstable, and with the amazing technology out there now, what the Bible warns about can, indeed, come to pass more quickly than we might now imagine.Read Revelation 13:13–17. What specific penalties are inflicted upon those who do not receive the mark of the beast?Those who are faithful to Christ, as opposed to following the beast and its image, will face economic penalties as well as the threat of death. Humanity remains what it has always been: corrupt, power-hungry, and violent. However much we don’t yet know about exactly how the final events will unfold, it should not be too hard to envision end-time persecution. Though written in another context completely, these words in John say it all. Talking about Jesus, John wrote that He “had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man” (John 2:25, NKJV).Think about the corruption of humanity and the evil that humans are capable of doing. Why does this show how easily final events could come about? Also, even more important, what should this sad truth teach us about guarding our own hearts?
In the coming crisis over worship, God’s faithful people will not yield to worldly pressures (Rev. 14:12). They will be sealed by the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30) and cannot be moved. In ancient times, seals attested to the authenticity of official documents. They were a distinctive, individualized mark. Since the final conflict centers on worship and God’s authority as revealed in His law, we would expect God’s seal to be embedded in His law (compare Isa. 8:16).Read Exodus 20:8–11. What elements of a seal are contained in the Sabbath commandment?Here we have three elements of an authentic seal: (1) the name to whom the seal belongs, “the Lord thy God;” (2) His title, the One who “made”—the Creator; (3) and His territory, “heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is.” A seal is sometimes called a sign in the Bible (Rom. 4:11). The two words are interchangeable. As God’s sign or seal in the heart of God’s law, the Sabbath is at the center of the final conflict over worship (Ezek. 20:12, 20; Rev. 12:17).Compare Revelation 7:1, 2 and Revelation 14:1 with Revelation 13:16, 17. Where are the seal of God and the mark of the beast received? Why do you think there is a difference?The seal of God is placed on the forehead. The forehead is a symbol of the mind and represents a conscious decision.The mark of the beast is received either in the forehead or in the hand indicating that people are convinced intellectually and by their own choice accept Satan’s lies or, alternatively, they conform to false worship to avoid being killed.The devil hates those who are obedient to God. The great controversy comes to a climax when the dragon (Satan) wages war on the believing remnant, who “keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus” (Rev. 14:12, NKJV). They are settled in their loyalty to Christ.Why is day-by-day faithfulness to the Lord the key to being prepared when the final crisis arrives?
Read Proverbs 23:23, John 8:32, and John 17:17. What common thread runs through these verses?Throughout the ages, the great controversy has been a battle between truth and error. Satan is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44). Jesus is the author of all truth. He declared, “ ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life’ ” (John 14:6). The truth that sets us free from Satan’s deceptions is found in God’s Word. The Bible unmasks Satan’s strategy and reveals God’s plans. Scripture is a lamp to our feet (Ps. 119:105). The psalmist declares, “The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple” (Ps. 119:130, NKJV). He then adds, “The entirety of Your word is truth” (Ps. 119:160, NKJV).Read 2 Peter 1:16–21. What assurance does the apostle give us regarding prophecy? What illustration does he use to show the importance of God’s prophetic Word?We have not followed “cunningly devised fables.” The prophecies of God’s Word light up the road ahead. They help us distinguish truth from error. Without the Bible, we would be left to the whims of human opinion and easily be deceived. “The people of God are directed to the Scriptures as their safeguard against the influence of false teachers and the delusive power of spirits of darkness. Satan employs every possible device to prevent men from obtaining a knowledge of the Bible; for its plain utterances reveal his deceptions. . . . The last great delusion is soon to open before us. Antichrist is to perform his marvelous works in our sight. So closely will the counterfeit resemble the true that it will be impossible to distinguish between them except by the Holy Scriptures. . . . None but those who have fortified the mind with the truths of the Bible will stand through the last great conflict. To every soul will come the searching test: Shall I obey God rather than men? The decisive hour is even now at hand. Are our feet planted on the rock of God’s immutable word? Are we prepared to stand firm in defense of the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus?”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 593, 594.Consider the questions in the quote above. What will enable us to stand in the final crisis? What distracts us from studying God’s Word? How might we be compromising truth for personal pleasure?
Read for This Week’s StudyJohn 8:32; Ezek. 20:12, 20; Rev. 7:1, 2; Rev. 14:1; Joel 2:21–24; Hos. 6:3; James 5:7, 8; Rev. 18:1–4.Memory Text:“Buy the truth, and do not sell it, also wisdom and instruction and understanding” (Proverbs 23:23, NKJV).Suppose you had a daughter driving home from college for summer vacation. As you wait for her to arrive, you anxiously monitor the weather reports. You become worried as the weather rapidly deteriorates. Storm clouds loom on the horizon. Winds blow fiercely. The heavens open and rain pours down. Trees are blown over. Soon the main road home is impassable. Then you hear from one of your neighbors that it is possible to get through on a secondary road. Cars can navigate around some downed tree limbs. Although communication is difficult, you are able to get a text message to your daughter, carefully detailing how she can get home safely.More than anything else, Jesus wants to take us through the storms of life and get us home. Ellen G. White writes, “A storm is coming, relentless in its fury. Are we prepared to meet it?”— Testimonies for the Church, vol, 8, p. 315. The purpose of Christ’s life, death, resurrection, and ministry in heaven’s sanctuary is to ensure that we get home. The prophetic messages of Daniel and Revelation are divine instructions, especially for an end-time people, to help us through life’s storms so that one day we can feel the warm embrace of a loving Savior.The aim of this week’s lesson is to reveal what the prophetic Word says about the closing events and discover anew Christ’s strength to take us through earth’s final conflict and get us home.*Study this week’s lesson, based on chapters 37 and 38 of The Great Controversy, to prepare for Sabbath, June 22.
Worshiping the beast and its image alludes to Daniel 3, in which Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were commanded by the king of Babylon to bow down to a golden image or be thrown into a fiery furnace. Ancient Babylon, modern Babylon—the issue is worship. True worship springs from a mind taught by God’s Word, a soul transformed by His love, and a heart filled with His Spirit. Then we will not be “conformed to this world” but live according to God’s will, which is found in His Word. That is our only safety!“God never forces the will or the conscience; but Satan’s constant resort—to gain control of those whom he cannot otherwise seduce—is compulsion by cruelty. Through fear or force he endeavors to rule the conscience and to secure homage to himself. To accomplish this, he works through both religious and secular authorities, moving them to the enforcement of human laws in defiance of the law of God.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 591.“In order to endure the trial before them, they must understand the will of God as revealed in His word; they can honor Him only as they have a right conception of His character, government, and purposes, and act in accordance with them. None but those who have fortified the mind with the truths of the Bible will stand through the last great conflict.”—The Great Controversy, p. 593.“But God will have a people upon the earth to maintain the Bible, and the Bible only, as the standard of all doctrines and the basis of all reforms. The opinions of learned men, the deductions of science, the creeds or decisions of ecclesiastical councils, as numerous and discordant as are the churches which they represent, the voice of the majority—not one nor all of these should be regarded as evidence for or against any point of religious faith. Before accepting any doctrine or precept, we should demand a plain ‘Thus saith the Lord’ in its support.”—The Great Controversy, p. 595.Discussion Questions:How can we live in the expectation of the coming of Christ and share that hope without becoming alarmists?Dwell more on the question of worship. What does our daily life, our daily routine, tell us about who or what we worship?How can we help ourselves and others face the future with confidence and not with fear?What practical difference does understanding last-day events make in our lives today?
Read Revelation 13:11–18. How does this second beast differ from the first beast of Revelation 13?The first beast rose out of the sea; the second beast comes “up out of the earth” (Rev. 13:11, NKJV). The sea represents “peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues” (Rev. 17:15, NKJV). The earth, then, represents a sparsely populated area of the world. This second beast arises near the close of the prophetic period during which the first beast exercises authority (Rev. 13:5). That is, it rises to prominence around A.D. 1798.The United States precisely fits this description. It declared its independence in A.D. 1776, adopted its constitution in A.D. 1789, and was recognized as a world power by the late nineteenth century.John continues, “He had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon” (Rev. 13:11, NKJV). Horns in Bible prophecy symbolize power. Unlike the first beast, this beast has no crowns on its horns, suggesting it is not a monarchy. The two horns represent the two primary governing principles that are the source of the United States’ power and success—political and religious liberty.Read Revelation 13:11, 12. What change do you see in this beast, and how does it speak?This gentle, lamblike nation ultimately speaks like a dragon. It exercises “all the authority of the first beast” (Rev. 13:12, NKJV) and abandons its principles of religious liberty, causing “the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast” (Rev. 13:12, NKJV). The United States will lead out in requiring everyone on earth to worship the first beast by recognizing the Papacy’s spiritual and secular authority. According to this prophecy, the United States forms an image to the beast—a union of church and state—and it will require everyone to worship this image.What’s fascinating is that at the time when first identified as this beast power, the United States was nowhere near the military and economic behemoth it was to become and remains now.Think about the political instability in America today. How might that one day lead to the fulfillment of this prophecy?
Rather than worshiping the beast, God’s people find their greatest joy and highest delight in worshiping Him. Their obedience springs from their heart of love. They are committed to Him because they know how committed He is to them.Read Revelation 13:5. Write this identifying characteristic in the space below.Recall from lesson 4 that God gives us a key for understanding prophetic time—one prophetic day equals one literal year (Num. 14:34, Ezek. 4:6). Calculating the time period of 42 months mentioned in Revelation 13:5 using the 30-day Hebrew month equals 1,260 prophetic days or literal years.The Papacy exercised great influence from A.D. 538 to A.D. 1798. But when Berthier, Napoleon’s general, took the pope captive in A.D. 1798, the prophetic period of papal supremacy ended, and Revelation’s prophecy was fulfilled: “He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity” (Rev. 13:10, NKJV). The blow to the Papacy was extremely serious but not fatal. According to Revelation 13:12, the deadly wound would be healed. The Papacy’s influence once again would be felt worldwide.Today, world leaders welcome the pontiff as an ambassador of the church of Rome and visit him regularly at the Vatican. In a world of unprecedented instability, the scene is being set for the Roman pontiff to become the acclaimed moral leader of the world who can bring people together. During his speech on June 6, 2012, to more than 15,000 people gathered in Saint Peter’s Square in Rome, Pope Benedict XVI declared, “Sunday is the day of the Lord and of men and women, a day in which everyone must be able to be free, free for the family and free for God. In defending Sunday we defend human freedom.”—https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/audiences/2012/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20120606.html (accessed October 10, 2022). The Great Controversy clearly reveals where this movement will one day ultimately lead: “Those who honor the Bible Sabbath will be denounced as enemies of law and order, as breaking down the moral restraints of society, causing anarchy and corruption, and calling down the judgments of God upon the earth. . . . They will be accused of disaffection toward the government. Ministers who deny the obligation of the divine law will present from the pulpit the duty of yielding obedience to the civil authorities as ordained of God. In legislative halls and courts of justice, commandment keepers will be misrepresented and condemned.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 592.However hard it is now to see something like this happening, look at how quickly our world can change. What should these changes tell us about how quickly end-time events can come upon us?
Read Revelation 13:1, 2. Where does this beast rise from, and who gives it authority?The book of Revelation identifies the dragon primarily as Satan. Revelation 12:3–5 says the dragon attempted to destroy, “as soon as it was born,” the “male Child,” who was later “caught up to God and His throne” (NKJV). It was the devil, working through pagan Rome, who tried to destroy Christ (see Matt. 2:16–18). The archenemy of God and humanity works through political and religious institutions to accomplish his purposes.About this beast power we’re told, “The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority” (Rev. 13:2, NKJV). This prophecy was precisely fulfilled hundreds of years later when the Roman emperor Constantine moved his capital from Rome to what came to be called Constantinople, in modern-day Turkey. This left a power vacuum at the former throne or seat of the caesars, the imperial city of Rome. Thus, pagan Rome gave the beast its seat, or capital city.Isaac Backus stated, “By removing the seat of the empire to Constantinople, . . . Constantine made way for the bishop of Rome to exalt himself above all men upon earth, and above the God of Heaven.”—The Infinite Importance of the Obedience of Faith, and of Separation from the World, p. 16, quoted in Le Roy Edwin Froom, The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, vol. 3, p. 213. According to Thomas Hobbes, “the Papacy is no other than the ghost of the deceased Roman empire, sitting crowned upon the grave thereof.”—Leviathan (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996), p. 386. A careful analysis reveals that the sea beast of Revelation 13 is an apostate religious power that rises out of Rome and becomes a worldwide system of worship (Rev. 13:3, 4). This beast is not a person; it is a religious organization that has substituted the truth of God’s Word for human decrees.Read Revelation 13:1, 6. What key word is used to identify the beast power?The Bible defines blasphemy in John 10:33 and Luke 5:21 with two examples: (1) a man pretending to be or claiming to be God, and (2) a man claiming the power to forgive sins. These accusations against Jesus were unjust because He is truly God and, therefore, has the right to forgive sins. The Roman Papacy has two distinctive doctrines that the Bible calls blasphemy: its claims that its priests have the power to forgive sins and that the pope has the prerogatives of God on earth.
The mark of the beast prophecy in Revelation 13 tells us about the fiercest and very worst stage of Satan’s war against God. Ever since Jesus died on the cross, the enemy has known he was defeated, but he is determined to take as many as possible down with him. His first strategy in this campaign is deception. When deception does not work, he resorts to force. He is ultimately behind the decree that anyone who refuses to worship the beast or receive his mark will be put to death.Religious persecution, of course, is not new. It has been around ever since Cain killed Abel for obeying God’s command. Jesus said it would happen even among believers.Read John 16:2, Matthew 10:22, 2 Timothy 3:12, and 1 Peter 4:12. What did the New Testament church experience, and how does that apply to Christ’s end-time church?Throughout Christian history, persecution was common. It happened in pagan Rome but was especially evident in the vicious persecution of Bible-believing Christians by the medieval church. The mark of the beast is the final link in this hellish chain. Like past persecutions, it is designed to force everyone to conform to a certain set of beliefs and an approved system of worship.The prophecy indicates that persecution will start with economic sanctions: no one can buy or sell unless they have the mark. Anyone who refuses to receive the mark will eventually be placed under a death decree (Rev. 13:15, 17).The devil already is preparing professed Christians to receive the mark of the beast when the final test comes by encouraging them to make compromises in their lives. When it appears that the whole world is following the beast in wondering admiration (Rev. 13:3), suddenly the scene changes, and the prophetic camera focuses on God’s people. Revelation 14:12 gives us this picture. “Here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus” (NKJV). God’s people live lives of godly obedience. By His grace, they stand firm when everything is shaking all around them. While the world is following the beast, they “follow the Lamb wherever He goes” (Rev. 14:4, NKJV). By the power of Christ, they triumph over the powers of hell arrayed against them.As we saw in lesson 9, the central conflict between good and evil is over worship. The beast uses deception and, when that fails, force and coercion.How quickly now do you allow, if at all, economic considerations to compromise your Sabbath keeping?
The message of Revelation is much more than cryptic symbols, strange beasts, and odd images. It speaks of eternal truths given by a loving God to an end-time generation. The conflict between Christ and Satan began in heaven over worship. It will come to its final climax over worship.Compare Revelation 14:7, 9 with Revelation 4:11. What is the overarching theme of Revelation in this conflict between good and evil?Throughout Revelation, worship and creation are indissolubly linked. Revelation 14:7 calls us to worship the Lord of all creation. Against the backdrop of evolution, which has taken the world by storm during the past two centuries, the Sabbath is an eternal reminder of our identity. It constantly reinforces that we are created beings and our Creator is worthy of our allegiance and worship. This is one reason the devil hates the Sabbath so much.Read Revelation 12:17 and Revelation 14:12. How does worshiping the Creator find its final expression?Worshiping the Creator through keeping the commandments of God stands in direct opposition to worshiping the beast. God will have an end-time people who are loyal to Him despite the greatest opposition and fiercest persecution in history.“While the observance of the false sabbath in compliance with the law of the state, contrary to the fourth commandment, will be an avowal of allegiance to a power that is in opposition to God, the keeping of the true Sabbath, in obedience to God’s law, is an evidence of loyalty to the Creator.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 605.Revelation 14:12 states that these committed followers of the Savior will have “the faith of Jesus.” The faith of Jesus is a faith so deep that it trusts when it cannot see. It perseveres when it cannot understand. It is a gift from Jesus that we receive by faith and will carry us through the impending conflict.The seventh-day Sabbath is so foundational a symbol of God as Creator that it goes back to Eden itself. Thus, to seek to usurp it, as Rome did (see Dan. 7:25), is to seek to usurp the authority of God at the most foundational level possible, God as Creator. How does this truth help us see why it will be such a controverted point in the last days?
Read for This Week’s StudyRev. 14:7, 9, 12; Rev. 4:11; Rev. 13:1, 2; Rev. 12:3–5, 17; Rev. 13:11–18.Memory Text:“ ‘Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth’ ” (John 17:17, NKJV).There is a relatively new medical device called a biochip or VeriChip, about the size of a grain of rice, that can be implanted in a patient. The biochip contains information about the patient’s medical history, which can then be obtained by passing an external scanner across the area where the biochip or VeriChip has been inserted. Some Christians see this as part of a conspiracy to enforce the mark of the beast. For others, the mark of the beast has to do with the bar codes on cans of food, or it is a mysterious number on dollar bills that supposedly adds up to 666. For some it has to do with the Masonic order, the Illuminati, black U.N. helicopters, or the United Nations.The aim of this week’s lesson is to reveal the coming conflict over worship. Satan will challenge God’s authority by attempting to undermine God’s law. Specifically, the Sabbath will become the center of a global conflict over worship. Satan hates the Sabbath because he hates the Creator. He will use coercion, pressure, and force to break our commitment to Christ. There will be a collision of beliefs over the true and false day of worship. God’s final appeal is an appeal to faithfulness to Christ despite persecution, an economic boycott, imprisonment, and a death decree. This week’s study emphasizes Jesus’ strength to take us through earth’s final conflict.*Study this week’s lesson, based on chapters 35 and 36 of The Great Controversy, to prepare for Sabbath, June 15.
A recent book by Lee Strobel, The Case for Heaven, is premised on the idea that, at death, the dead remain alive in some kind of conscious existence, with “near death experiences” (NDEs) being used as part of the “proof.” One example: “Another girl, who had an NDE during heart surgery, said she met her brother in the afterlife—which surprised her because she didn’t have a brother. When she later recovered and told her father, he revealed to her for the first time that she did, indeed, have a brother, but he had died before she was born.”—Lee Strobel, The Case for Heaven (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Books, 2021), p. 69. Strobel struggles, however, to harmonize the idea of an immediate afterlife with the clear biblical teaching that only when Christ returns do Christians receive their final reward.We have been warned: “Many will be confronted by the spirits of devils personating beloved relatives or friends and declaring the most dangerous heresies. These visitants will appeal to our tenderest sympathies and will work miracles to sustain their pretensions. We must be prepared to withstand them with the Bible truth that the dead know not anything and that they who thus appear are the spirits of devils.“Just before us is ‘the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.’ Revelation 3:10. All whose faith is not firmly established upon the word of God will be deceived and overcome. Satan ‘works with all deceivableness of unrighteousness’ to gain control of the children of men, and his deceptions will continually increase. But he can gain his object only as men voluntarily yield to his temptations. Those who are earnestly seeking a knowledge of the truth and are striving to purify their souls through obedience, thus doing what they can to prepare for the conflict, will find, in the God of truth, a sure defense. ‘Because thou hast kept the word of My patience, I also will keep thee’ (verse 10), is the Saviour’s promise. He would sooner send every angel out of heaven to protect His people than leave one soul that trusts in Him to be overcome by Satan.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 560.Discussion Questions:What subtle spiritualistic influences might Satan be using to influence the mind? What role does mass media play?How would you share your faith with a friend who just lost a loved one and believed that this person was in heaven? What is appropriate to say, and what is not appropriate?
Our hope of salvation is rooted in Christ. His bloodstained hands beckon us to accept the sacrifice so freely provided at infinite cost. Soon Christ will return to claim His own. Titus 2:13 calls the second coming of Christ “the blessed hope.”Satan’s goal is to destroy this hope. He will perform miracles, signs, and wonders, anything and everything that could lead people away from Bible truth and salvation in Christ.“Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus” (Rev. 14:12, NKJV). In the final struggle, Satan is going to do all that he can to prevent people from either keeping the “commandments of God” or having “the faith of Jesus,” or both. Hence, the need to be careful of any teaching that, even if accompanied by signs, wonders, and miracles, would turn us away from either of these two characteristics of the remnant.Read Matthew 24:23–27; 2 Corinthians 11:13, 14; and 2 Thessalonians 2:9–12. What do these passages tell us about Satan’s deceptive power and manner of working?In the last moments of time, Satan will enact his final deception: “Fearful sights of a supernatural character will soon be revealed in the heavens, in token of the power of miracle-working demons. The spirits of devils will go forth to the kings of the earth and to the whole world, to fasten them in deception, and urge them on to unite with Satan in his last struggle against the government of heaven. By these agencies, rulers and subjects will be alike deceived. Persons will arise pretending to be Christ Himself, and claiming the title and worship which belong to the world’s Redeemer. They will perform wonderful miracles of healing and will profess to have revelations from heaven contradicting the testimony of the Scriptures.“As the crowning act in the great drama of deception, Satan himself will personate Christ. The church has long professed to look to the Saviour’s advent as the consummation of her hopes. Now the great deceiver will make it appear that Christ has come. In different parts of the earth, Satan will manifest himself among men as a majestic being of dazzling brightness, resembling the description of the Son of God given by John in the Revelation. Revelation 1:13–15.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 624 (emphasis supplied).Why is understanding the truth about how Christ returns, as well as the state of the dead, so important in order not to be deceived?
Read Matthew 24:5, 11, 24; 2 Thessalonians 2:7–9; Revelation 13:13, 14; and Revelation 16:13, 14. What kind of deceptions will people face in the last days?The devil will use “signs and wonders” and spectacular miracles to deceive multitudes just before the coming of Jesus. Commenting on the deceptive power of demonic spirits, Ángel Rodríguez makes this telling statement: “Their power of persuasion is to be found not in the content of their message but in the power of supernatural manifestations called ‘signs’ or ‘miracles.’ They perform/do (poieō) signs, thus appealing to the affective side of human beings rather than to their discretionary and rational abilities. The fact that these signs are performed by demons shows that the unifying force of the message of the three demons [dragon, beast, and false prophet] is spiritualistic in nature—God is not their source or origin. As the cosmic conflict approaches its closure, demonic power will enter the arena of human history in an unprecedented way. Spiritualism, whose very foundation is the non-biblical teaching of the immortality of the soul, will nearly take the world captive.”—“The Closing of the Cosmic Conflict: Role of the Three Angels’ Messages,” unpublished manuscript, p. 6.Why is it dangerous to trust our emotions? What roles do they play, good and bad, in our faith experience? How might Satan bypass our thinking processes and appeal to our feelings?“Satan has long been preparing for his final effort to deceive the world. . . . Little by little he has prepared the way for his masterpiece of deception in the development of spiritualism. He has not yet reached the full accomplishment of his designs; but it will be reached in the last remnant of time. . . . Except those who are kept by the power of God, through faith in His word, the whole world will be swept into the ranks of this delusion. The people are fast being lulled to a fatal security, to be awakened only by the outpouring of the wrath of God.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 561, 562.Our sole security is in Jesus and His Word. It’s not hard to see how millions, even billions, who do not understand the state of the dead could be swept away by delusions involving the idea that the dead live on after death.Even now, what are some common deceptions that those who understand that the dead sleep are protected from?
Read John 11:11–14, 21–25; 2 Timothy 1:10; 1 Corinthians 15:51–54; and 1 Thessalonians 4:15–17. How do the New Testament writers’ descriptions of death compare with those in the Old Testament?Both the Old and New Testaments use the symbolism of death as a sleep. At least 53 times in the Bible, the word “sleep” is equated with death. The Bible writers concur that there is no conscious existence in an immortal soul that leaves the body immediately after death.The New Testament adds another dimension, one already hinted at in the Old: the glorious resurrection at Christ’s return.The Gospels emphasize that eternal life is in Christ alone. All the demons in hell cannot rob believers of their assurance of eternal life. Christ conquered death on the cross. The grave can no longer hold its victims. Christ’s resurrection is the guarantee that all believers will one day be resurrected from the grave at His return.Look at these words of Paul: “For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished” (1 Cor. 15:16–18, NKJV). How does one make any sense of these verses if the dead, at death, already are in the bliss of heaven? What does Paul mean that they “have perished” if, in fact, they already are in heaven?Instead, Paul’s whole point is that Christ’s resurrection is the foundation of our resurrection and that without the Resurrection, “your faith is futile; you are still in your sins,” and the dead remain in the ground, perished.These verses fit in perfectly with other Bible texts about the hope we have in the resurrection at Jesus’ return when we will receive the “inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you” (1 Pet. 1:4, NKJV). If, however, the dead already are in heaven, why does Peter speak of an inheritance “reserved in heaven” for us? Clearly, New Testament believers eagerly looked forward to the coming of Christ and the resurrection of the dead, and this hope inspired them to faithfulness in the trials of life.Why is the resurrection such a powerful hope for the Christian faith? What if we had the cross but no resurrection? What hope would we have? Why, then, is the resurrection such an important part of our faith?
Read Psalm 6:5, Psalm 115:17, 1 Kings 2:10, 1 Kings 11:43, and 1 Kings 14:20. What do these verses teach about the state of the dead?The Old Testament does not teach the immortality of the soul. Nor does it teach that after death the faithful soar off to the bliss of heaven for eternity and the unfaithful descend to hell, where they burn for eternity. It teaches that death is a sleep. The book of Kings uses the expression “they rested [slept] with their fathers” to describe the death of the patriarchs. The Psalms call it the “sleep of death” (Ps. 13:3; compare Ps. 90:5). Referring to death, Job speaks of not awaking from sleep (Job 14:12). The psalmist adds, “As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness” (Ps. 17:15, NKJV).When the Assyrian army was defeated and destroyed, the death of the soldiers is called their “final sleep” (Ps. 76:6, CJB). The idea of the dead as disembodied spirits hovering around to communicate with the living is not a biblical concept at all but pure paganism.A failure to understand the truth about death leaves us open to the deceptions of Satan. “Many will be confronted by the spirits of devils personating beloved relatives or friends and declaring the most dangerous heresies. These visitants will appeal to our tenderest sympathies and will work miracles to sustain their pretensions. We must be prepared to withstand them with the Bible truth that the dead know not anything and that they who thus appear are the spirits of devils.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 560.Read Daniel 12:2 and Job 19:25, 26. What elements about the state of the dead are added by these verses?Death is a rest in sleep until the resurrection. There are no disembodied spirits hovering around to communicate with the living. Although the pagans believed in a spirit world, the Israelites understood death as a sleep until resurrection morning.Though we mourn for the dead, think this way about those who die in Christ: they close their eyes in death, and then, regardless of how long it takes until Jesus returns, the next thing they know is the Second Coming. The first thought they might have at the resurrection is Wow! Jesus really did come back soon after all!
The fable that death is really just entrance to a new stage of life is based on the concept of the soul’s natural immortality. This pagan idea infiltrated the church early on as it moved away from its biblical foundations in an attempt to make its faith understandable to the wider Roman world. “The theory of the immortality of the soul was one of those false doctrines that Rome, borrowing from paganism, incorporated into the religion of Christendom.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 549.“ ‘And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell’ ” (Matt. 10:28, NKJV).What should this verse alone tell us about the supposed immortality of the soul?The Lord forbade His people from involvement in occultism of any kind. They were not to tolerate among them “a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead” (Deut. 18:11, NKJV). Such people were to be stoned to death (Lev. 20:27). The punishment seems incredibly harsh, but it was designed to protect Israel from worshiping false gods.Witchcraft is demonic. It seduces people into false worship and counterfeits a genuine relationship with God, but it can never satisfy the deepest needs of the heart. Spiritualism is at the heart of Satan’s plan to take the world captive. But Jesus, by His grace and power, sets captives free from the chains of evil that bind them.Read Ecclesiastes 9:5; Job 7:7–9; and Isaiah 8:19, 20. What do these Bible passages teach us about death and communication with the dead?Though unbliblical, the belief that the dead go right to heaven at death has been around for so long and is so firmly entrenched that it’s very difficult for people to let go of it. People use a few texts that are taken out of context to try to justify the belief. But this false teaching leaves them with no protection against the deceptions Satan can foist on them, especially in the final crisis.What has been your experience with trying to explain the state of the dead to other Christians? What, if anything, have you found effective?
Read for This Week’s StudyMatt. 10:28; Eccles. 9:5; Isa. 8:19, 20; John 11:11–14, 21–25; 1 Thess. 4:16, 17; Rev. 16:13, 14; Matt. 24:23–27; 2 Thess. 2:9–12.Memory Text:“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17, NKJV).Decades ago, stories surfaced about near death experiences (NDEs), in which people who died and were then revived gave incredible accounts of what they had seen and heard while “dead.” Millions now believe that these accounts are evidence that the dead are not really dead. This foundational belief of spiritualism is one of Satan’s most widespread and effective deceptions.In fact, spiritualism began back in Eden with the serpent’s lie to Eve, “You will not surely die” (Gen. 3:4, NKJV). This idea also lay at the root of one of the greatest spurious religious movements of the nineteenth century with the Fox sisters’ claim, later admitted to be fraudulent, that they could receive answers to their questions from spirits of the dead.The aim of this lesson is to show that our only safeguard against Satan’s last-day delusions is a personal relationship with Christ and a solid grounding in the teachings of the Bible. This includes its teaching about death, regardless of what our eyes and ears and hearts might try to tell us.*Study this week’s lesson, based on chapters 31–34 of The Great Controversy, to prepare for Sabbath, June 8.
“In the absence of Bible testimony in their favor, many with unwearying persistence urged—forgetting how the same reasoning had been employed against Christ and His apostles: ‘Why do not our great men understand this Sabbath question? But few believe as you do. It cannot be that you are right and that all the men of learning in the world are wrong.’“To refute such arguments it was needful only to cite the teachings of the Scriptures and the history of the Lord’s dealings with His people in all ages.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 455“Christians of past generations observed the Sunday, supposing that in so doing they were keeping the Bible Sabbath; and there are now true Christians in every church, not excepting the Roman Catholic communion, who honestly believe that Sunday is the Sabbath of divine appointment. God accepts their sincerity of purpose and their integrity before Him. But when Sunday observance shall be enforced by law, and the world shall be enlightened concerning the obligation of the true Sabbath, then whoever shall transgress the command of God, to obey a precept which has no higher authority than that of Rome, will thereby honor popery above God. He is paying homage to Rome and to the power which enforces the institution ordained by Rome. He is worshiping the beast and his image. As men then reject the institution which God has declared to be the sign of His authority, and honor in its stead that which Rome has chosen as the token of her supremacy, they will thereby accept the sign of allegiance to Rome—‘the mark of the beast.’ And it is not until the issue is thus plainly set before the people, and they are brought to choose between the commandments of God and the commandments of men, that those who continue in transgression will receive ‘the mark of the beast.’ ”—The Great Controversy, p. 449.Discussion Questions:The world is changing so quickly, so dramatically. Why must we always be vigilant so that last-day events don’t catch us unprepared?How does an understanding of the judgment and the law of God harmonize with the fact that we are saved by grace alone?What are ways you can witness to those who don’t grasp the significance of the true Sabbath and sincerely keep Sunday, the first day of the week?What dangers lie in the union of church and state powers? How as Christians are we to relate to the government?
Bonus Song - Worship Him 🎤 Singer - Charles Haugabrooks 🎚Scripture - Revelation 14:6, 7 📖 Project - LOVE ME. Ready Scripture SongsAnd I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them who dwell on the earth—to every nation, and kindred, tongue, and people— saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment is come; and worship Him who made the heavens and the earth, and the sea and the fountains of water.” Worship Him.
In Revelation 14:7, the first angel cries with a loud voice, “ ‘Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water’ ” (NKJV). Heaven’s appeal is for us to give our supreme allegiance and heartfelt worship to the Creator in light of impending judgment.The second angel declares, “ ‘Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication’ ” (Rev. 14:8, NKJV). Babylon represents a fallen apostate religious system that has rejected the message of the first angel in favor of a false system of worship. That’s why Revelation 14:9–11 warns against worshiping “the beast and his image.” Two opposing choices are presented here—worship of the Creator or worship of the beast. Every person on planet Earth will make their final, irrevocable decision over who has their total allegiance—Jesus or Satan.Read Revelation 14:12. What are the two identifying characteristics of those who refuse to worship the beast? Why are both vitally important?God will have an end-time people who are loyal to Him in the face of the greatest opposition and fiercest persecution in the history of the world. Through the gift of Christ’s righteousness, they will live grace-filled, obedient lives. Worshiping the Creator stands in direct opposition to worshiping the beast and is expressed in keeping the commandments of God. This final conflict over allegiance to Christ or allegiance to the beast power centers in worship, and at the heart of this great controversy between good and evil is the Sabbath.These committed followers of the Savior will not only have faith “in” Jesus but will also have the faith “of” Jesus. The faith of Jesus is a faith so deep, so trusting, so committed, that all the demons in hell and all the trials on earth cannot shake it. It is a faith that trusts when it cannot see, believes when it cannot reason why, and hopes when it cannot understand. This “faith of Jesus” is itself a gift we receive by faith. It will carry us through the crisis ahead. When the final crisis breaks and we face an economic boycott, persecution, imprisonment, and death itself, the faith of Jesus will carry us through earth’s final hours until Jesus returns.How is God preparing your faith today for what is coming in the future?
Read Revelation 12:12, 17 and Revelation 13:7. How do these texts reveal Satan’s wrath? Why is the devil so angry with God’s end-time people?Revelation 12 outlines the cosmic conflict between Christ and Satan down through the ages. It climaxes with Satan’s final attack on the people of God. Revelation 13 introduces the dragon’s two allies, the beast from the sea and the beast from the land. These two powers join him in making war on God’s people.Read Revelation 13:4, 8, 12, 15 and Revelation 14:7, 9–11. (See also Rev. 15:4, Rev. 16:2, Rev. 19:20, Rev. 20:4, Rev. 22:9.) What one key theme appears in all of these verses?Note the contrast. Either people worship the Creator or they worship something else. The Creator is worthy of worship (Rev. 5:9). The controversy between Christ and Satan began in heaven over worship: “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High” (Isa. 14:14, NKJV). Satan wanted the worship belonging only to the Creator. According to Revelation 13, he succeeds through the activity of the land beast (Rev. 13:4).A comparison with Daniel 7 shows that this land beast is the same as the little horn that “seeks to change times and laws” and exercises authority for 1,260 prophetic “days,” that is, for 1,260 years (Dan. 7:25; compare Rev. 13:5; see lesson 6). The only part of God’s law, the Ten Commandments, dealing with time is the fourth commandment. This church has attempted to change the day of worship from Saturday, the seventh day, to Sunday, the first day of the week.For an earthly power to seek to change the day of worship, the seventh-day Sabbath, which God Himself gave as a sign of His authority (Exod. 31:13; Ezek. 20:12, 20), is an attempt to usurp divine authority at the most basic level possible. On this point, then, is the focus of the final conflict over true and false worship.For this reason, Revelation identifies the people who are faithful to God as those “who keep the commandments of God” (Rev. 12:17, Rev. 14:12). This includes the seventh-day Sabbath, not Sunday. Those who refuse the final call of the three angels to worship God on His holy day (Isa. 58:13) and who worship the beast on his counterfeit sabbath, Sunday, will receive the mark of the beast (see lesson 11).
Read Revelation 14:6, 7; Revelation 4:11; Genesis 2:1–3; and Exodus 20:8–11. What is the relationship between Creation, the Sabbath, and the law of God?Creation speaks of our value in God’s sight. We are not alone in the universe—some speck of cosmic dust—nor are we a genetic accident. In other words, the common scientific scenario of life’s origins, which has been picked up by the news media and popular culture, presents a view of our origins that is in every way incompatible with the biblical account.We are here because Jesus created us. And He is worthy of our worship not only because He created us but also because He redeemed us. Creation and Redemption are at the heart of all true worship. Therefore, the Sabbath is vital to understanding the plan of salvation. The Sabbath speaks of a Creator’s care and a Redeemer’s love.At the conclusion of Creation week, God rested in the beauty and majesty of the world He had made. He also rested as an example to us. The Sabbath is a weekly pause to praise the One who made us. As we worship on the Sabbath, we open our hearts to receive the special blessing He placed in that day only, and in no other day.The Sabbath points us to a Creator who loved us too much to abandon us when we drifted from His purpose for us. The Sabbath is an eternal symbol of our rest in Him. It is a special sign of loyalty to the Creator (Ezek. 20:12, 20). It is a symbol of rest, not of works; of grace, not of legalism; of assurance, not of condemnation; of depending upon God for salvation, not on ourselves. True Sabbath rest is the rest of grace in the loving arms of the One who created us, the One who redeemed us, and the One who is coming again for us.The message of Revelation 14, God’s end-time message for the world, calls people to rest in His love and care each Sabbath. It calls us to remember the One who created us and give Him glory. Keeping the Sabbath also is a connecting link between the perfection of Eden and the glory of the new heavens and the new earth to come. It reminds us that one day the splendors of Eden will be restored.Most Seventh-day Adventists have faced the charge of being legalistic, and that charge is usually connected with our keeping the Sabbath. Discuss the Sabbath as a symbol of Redemption and righteousness by faith. Why would obeying God’s command to rest lead people to think we are trying to work our way to heaven?
Read Matthew 5:17, 18; Psalm 111:7, 8; Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14; 1 John 5:3; and Proverbs 28:9. What do these Bible passages teach regarding the Christian’s relationship to the law?Seventh-day Adventists follow in the footsteps of the Protestant Reformers who upheld the sanctity of God’s law. Note this powerful affirmation of John Wesley: “The ritual or ceremonial law delivered by Moses to the children of Israel, containing all the injunctions and ordinances which related to the old sacrifices and service of the temple, our Lord indeed did come to destroy, to dissolve and utterly abolish. . . . But the moral law, contained in the Ten Commandments, and enforced by the prophets, he did not take away. It was not the design of his coming to revoke any part of this. This is a law which never can be broken, which ‘stands fast as the faithful witness in heaven.’ . . . Every part of this law must remain in force, upon all mankind, and in all ages; as not depending either on time or place, or any other circumstances liable to change, but on the nature of God and the nature of man, and their unchangeable relation to each other.”—“Upon Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount,” Discourse V, John Wesley’s Sermons: An Anthology (Nashville, TN: Abington Press, 1991), pp. 208, 209.Compare Exodus 34:5–7 with Romans 7:11, 12; Psalm 19:7–11; Psalm 89:14; and Psalm 119:142, 172. What do these verses tell us about the relationship between God’s law and God’s character?Since the law of God is a transcript of His character, the foundation of His throne, and the moral basis for humanity, Satan hates it. “None could fail to see that if the earthly sanctuary was a figure or pattern of the heavenly, the law deposited in the ark on earth was an exact transcript of the law in the ark in heaven; and that an acceptance of the truth concerning the heavenly sanctuary involved an acknowledgment of the claims of God’s law and the obligation of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. Here was the secret of the bitter and determined opposition to the harmonious exposition of the Scriptures that revealed the ministration of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 435.What are the reasons people often give to argue that we no longer are obligated to keep the Ten Commandments? What do you think is really behind it?
Read Revelation 11:19, Exodus 25:16, Exodus 31:18, and Revelation 12:17. What do these verses indicate was in the ark of the covenant in the Most Holy Place of the sanctuary?The Day of Atonement was a day of judgment. All of Israel was commanded to take part in this event by repentance, soul searching, and refraining from all work (see Lev. 23:29–31). On this day alone the high priest would enter the Most Holy Place to make atonement for sin. There, in the innermost apartment of the sanctuary, was the ark of the covenant. Within the ark was God’s Ten Commandment law, written on tables of stone. The golden cover of the ark was called the mercy seat, where blood was sprinkled to cleanse the sanctuary from sin. God’s presence was manifest in Shekinah glory above the mercy seat. Every sacrifice offered revealed God’s mercy toward sinful human beings, but the Day of Atonement shows that sin is remembered until the day of judgment (Heb. 10:3) and that it could really be removed only through faith in the blood of Christ to cleanse from sin (1 Pet. 1:18, 19). There, in the presence of God, mercy and justice beautifully combine.Looking into the heavenly sanctuary, the apostle John saw “the temple of God . . . opened” and the “ark of His covenant” revealed (Rev. 11:19, NKJV). The Great Controversy adds this comment: “Within the holy of holies, in the sanctuary in heaven, the divine law is sacredly enshrined—the law that was spoken by God Himself amid the thunders of Sinai and written with His own finger on the tables of stone. The law of God in the sanctuary in heaven is the great original, of which the precepts inscribed upon the tables of stone and recorded by Moses in the Pentateuch were an unerring transcript. Those who arrived at an understanding of this important point were thus led to see the sacred, unchanging character of the divine law.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 434.As the early Adventist believers studied the Bible’s teaching on the sanctuary, they realized the significance of the law of God and the Sabbath in the heart of God’s law. They reasoned that if the law of God was pictured in the ark of the covenant in the heavenly sanctuary, it certainly could not have been done away with at the cross.Think about the Sabbath, which, at 1,000 miles an hour, comes to us every week without exception. What should that tell us about the importance of the doctrine of Creation? What other doctrine has such a powerful, and reoccurring, reminder?
Read for This Week’s StudyRev. 14:6–12; Eccles. 12:13, 14; Prov. 28:9; Dan. 7:25.Memory Text:“And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 12:17, NKJV).Through intensive Bible study, Adventists came to understand the significance of the law in the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary. Looking into the heart of God’s law, they also discovered the significance of the Sabbath, the fourth commandment. In fact, this commandment more than any other clearly identifies God as our Creator, the foundation of all true worship—a theme that will be especially relevant in the final days of earth’s history (see Rev. 14:6–12).Satan’s aim from the beginning has been to thwart the worship of God through undermining the law of God. He knows that to offend “in one point” means to be “guilty of all” (James 2:10); so, he encourages people to transgress God’s law. Satan hates the Sabbath because it reminds people of the Creator and how He is to be worshiped. But it also is enshrined in God’s law in the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary. Because the law is what defines sin, as long as people seek to be faithful to God, then His law must continue to be valid, including the Sabbath commandment.The aim of this lesson is to show the link between the sanctuary, God’s law, the Sabbath, and the coming crisis over the mark of the beast. We also will explore the relevance of the Sabbath to an end-time generation.*Study this week’s lesson, based on chapters 25–27 of The Great Controversy, to prepare for Sabbath, June 1.
Notice how Jesus’ work for us in the judgment and our role are described: “Jesus does not excuse their sins, but shows their penitence and faith, and, claiming for them forgiveness, He lifts His wounded hands before the Father and the holy angels, saying: I know them by name. I have graven them on the palms of My hands. ‘The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.’ Psalm 51:17. And to the accuser of His people He declares: ‘The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee.’ ”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 484.“The fact that the acknowledged people of God are represented as standing before the Lord in filthy garments should lead to humility and deep searching of heart on the part of all who profess His name. Those who are indeed purifying their souls by obeying the truth will have a most humble opinion of themselves. The more closely they view the spotless character of Christ, the stronger will be their desire to be conformed to His image, and the less will they see of purity or holiness in themselves. But while we should realize our sinful condition, we are to rely upon Christ as our righteousness, our sanctification, and our redemption. We cannot answer the charges of Satan against us. Christ alone can make an effectual plea in our behalf. He is able to silence the accuser with arguments founded not upon our merits, but on His own.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, pp. 471, 472.“We are now living in the great day of atonement. In the typical service, while the high priest was making the atonement for Israel, all were required to afflict their souls by repentance of sin and humiliation before the Lord, lest they be cut off from among the people. In like manner, all who would have their names retained in the book of life should now, in the few remaining days of their probation, afflict their souls before God by sorrow for sin and true repentance.”—The Great Controversy, pp. 489, 490.Discussion Questions:What emotions are stirred at the thought that Jesus is lifting His wounded hands for us before the Father? Why is this our only hope in the judgment?We are living in the Day of Atonement. Atonement is the work of God in saving lost sinners. Why, then, should any day dedicated to the work of God in saving sinners be good news?Notice what Ellen G. White wrote: “Christ alone can make an effectual plea in our behalf. He is able to silence the accuser with arguments founded not upon our merits, but on His own.”—Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, January 2, 1908. How can you make this hope your own?
Read Hebrews 10:9–14. What difference does this passage reveal between the priest’s ministry in the earthly sanctuary and Jesus’ ministry in the heavenly sanctuary?Once and for all, Christ died upon the cross as a perfect sacrifice for sin. His priestly ministry in the heavenly sanctuary sanctifies us. Now, having entered the Most Holy Place, He stands as our Advocate in the judgment (see 1 John 2:1). “Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him” (Heb. 9:28, NLT). Through His sacrifice and mediation, sin has been dealt with. Now He comes again for those who “love his appearing” (2 Tim. 4:8).Read Hebrews 6:19, 20. Why does He invite us to follow Him, and what do we discover as we follow?“The intercession of Christ in man’s behalf in the sanctuary above is as essential to the plan of salvation as was His death upon the cross. By His death He began that work which after His resurrection He ascended to complete in heaven. We must by faith enter within the veil, ‘whither the forerunner is for us entered.’ Hebrews 6:20. There the light from the cross of Calvary is reflected. There we may gain a clearer insight into the mysteries of redemption. The salvation of man is accomplished at an infinite expense to heaven; the sacrifice made is equal to the broadest demands of the broken law of God. Jesus has opened the way to the Father’s throne, and through His mediation the sincere desire of all who come to Him in faith may be presented before God.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 489.The plan of salvation is a complete plan to resolve the great controversy and rescue this planet from Satan’s grip. Jesus’ life revealed God’s love to a needy world and a watching universe. His death revealed the hideousness of sin and provided salvation for all humanity. His intercession in the heavenly sanctuary provides the benefits of the atonement to each one who reaches out in faith to receive them.How does Christ’s death on the cross relate to His intercession in the heavenly sanctuary, and why is the judgment so necessary to the plan of salvation?
Read Hebrews 4:14–16 and Hebrews 10:19–22. What assurance and divine invitation do these verses give to each one of us?Paul’s point here in Hebrews is “hold fast,” “come boldly,” “never give up,” focus your faith on Jesus, our great High Priest. In Jesus, we have all we need. By faith we may enter the heavenly sanctuary through the “new and living way” that Jesus has opened for us.Looking into the court, we see blood on the horns of the brazen altar. In the Holy Place, we see blood on the golden horns of the altar of incense. We behold the sprinkled blood on the curtain before the mercy seat.Jesus’ blood prepares the way at every step. This gives us hope since we can have reunion with God only if Jesus pardons us and blots out our sins. The mercy of God is infinite, but so is His justice. And justice cannot accept Christ’s sacrifice as atonement for our transgressions unless Jesus guarantees first to forgive our sins and second to blot them out.Read Revelation 11:19. In the context of the great controversy, why is this vision significant? How does it show the inseparable link between the law and the gospel?Here in the dazzling brightness and blazing glory of the presence of God, in the throne room of the universe, at the very base of God’s throne, we discover the law of God in the ark of the covenant. Here in the Most Holy Place, God’s justice and mercy are revealed. No earthly power can change God’s law because, among other reasons, it is enshrined in the ark of the covenant in heaven. Hebrews 8:10 says: “ ‘For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people’ ” (NKJV). Entering by faith into heaven’s sanctuary, we find pardon for our past sins and power to live an obedient life through Christ, who died for us and writes the law in our hearts. Jesus saves us to the “uttermost” (Heb. 7:25). Jesus saves us totally and completely—from the penalty of sin and from its power.Why is Jesus’ intercession such incredibly good news? As we stand before the law as the standard of righteousness, what hope would we have without the gospel?
Compare Daniel 7:9, 10 with Revelation 14:6, 7. What is the similarity between these two passages?The judgment is a prominent theme throughout the Bible. “For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Eccles. 12:14, NKJV). Jesus pointed His hearers to a future time of judgment, when “ ‘every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment’ ” (Matt. 12:36, NKJV). The apostle Paul adds, God will “bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts” (1 Cor. 4:5). The angelic messenger said to John, “The hour of His [God’s] judgment has come” (Rev. 14:7, NKJV).Read Revelation 22:10–12. When Jesus returns, what is the fate of all humanity? What clear declaration is made to John?Since Christ comes to give out His final rewards, there must be a judgment before that, to show who will receive what reward when He comes. When Christ returns, there is no second chance. Every human being has had sufficient information to make their final, irrevocable decision for or against Christ.Read Matthew 25:1–13. Why does Jesus relate so differently to these two different groups of believers?“When the work of investigation shall be ended, when the cases of those who in all ages have professed to be followers of Christ have been examined and decided, then, and not till then, probation will close, and the door of mercy will be shut. Thus in the one short sentence, ‘They that were ready went in with Him to the marriage: and the door was shut,’ we are carried down through the Saviour’s final ministration, to the time when the great work for man’s salvation shall be completed.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 428.We need not fear the judgment. Through Christ, forgiveness is ours, freedom from guilt is ours, power to live godly lives is ours, and final victory is ours.
Read Leviticus 16:21, 29–34; Leviticus 23:26–32; and Hebrews 9:23–28. Why was the Day of Atonement so important in ancient Israel?The priests ministered every day of the year, but on the Day of Atonement, called Yom Kippur in Hebrew, the eyes of all Israel turned toward the sanctuary. Leviticus 16 and 23 give explicit instructions for the Day of Atonement. All regular activity ceased. Everyone fasted. While the high priest entered the presence of God for them in the Most Holy Place, the people examined their hearts. They sought God in humility and heartfelt confession.Anyone who was not “afflicted” on the Day of Atonement would be “cut off,” no longer part of the chosen people (Lev. 23:27, 29). On the Day of Atonement, the high priest took the blood of the Lord’s goat into the sanctuary and, after sprinkling it on the mercy seat, applied the blood to the horns of the golden altar and of the brazen altar, completely cleansing the entire sanctuary. When he had made “an end of reconciling,” the high priest placed his hands on the live goat and confessed Israel’s sins. Then it was led into the wilderness to be separated from the camp forever (Lev. 16:20–22).The blood was transferred into the sanctuary during the daily services, showing the recording of sin (Jer. 17:1) and God’s taking responsibility for its ultimate disposition. Now, on the Day of Atonement, it was transferred out of the sanctuary and placed on the head of the scapegoat Azazel, representing Satan and revealing his ultimate responsibility for the sin problem.This goat was led far into the wilderness so that, at the close of the Day of Atonement, God had a clean sanctuary and a clean people. In the heavenly sanctuary, Christ ministers for us first in the Holy Place, and now, in the Most Holy Place since 1844, at the end of the 2,300 days.We will get through this great judgment because of Jesus, our Substitute. As Ellen G. White said, we are “justified by His righteousness, in which we had no share.”—The Desire of Ages, p. 25. As a result of this righteousness—credited (imputed) to us—we afflict our souls, which is a turning away from sin. That means we have not come to a comfortable acceptance of evil nor are we excusing or clinging to cherished sins. Instead we are growing in grace and living a life of holiness.What is the significance of the Day of Atonement in our lives today? Why should it make a difference in how we live?
Read Exodus 25:8, 9, 40 and Hebrews 8:1–6. What two sanctuaries are outlined in these verses?As the early Adventist believers pored over the Scriptures in the months following 1844, they understood that there are two sanctuaries mentioned in the Bible—the one Moses built and the great original in heaven. The term “sanctuary,” as used in the Bible, refers, first, to the tabernacle built by Moses, as a pattern or “type” of heavenly things; and, second, to the “true tabernacle” in heaven, to which the earthly sanctuary pointed. At the death of Christ, the typical service lost its importance. The “true tabernacle” in heaven is the sanctuary of the new covenant. And as the prophecy of Daniel 8:14 is fulfilled in this era, the sanctuary to which it refers must be the sanctuary of the new covenant.“At the termination of the 2300 days, in 1844, there had been no sanctuary on earth for many centuries. Thus the prophecy, ‘Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed,’ unquestionably points to the sanctuary in heaven.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 417.The sanctuary in the wilderness was a scale model or pattern of the heavenly sanctuary. The services in the earthly sanctuary foreshadowed God’s divine plan of salvation. Every sacrifice offered represented Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross of Calvary (see John 1:29). Through the sacrifice of Christ, we are free from the condemnation of sin. Forgiveness is ours. Our guilt is gone as we accept Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf and confess our sins (1 John 1:9). Jesus is not only the Lamb who died for us but also the Priest who lives for us.Hebrews 7:25 explains: “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” (NKJV). He removes the guilt of sin and saves us from the power of sin (Rom. 8:1–4, 2 Cor. 5:21). Jesus’ ministry in heaven’s sanctuary is for us. As a result of His intercession, the grip of sin on our lives is broken. We are no longer under bondage or enslaved to our sinful natures. In Christ we are free—free from sin’s condemnation and free from sin’s control. As we hold on to Christ by faith, we have the assurance of salvation.What does it mean for you to know that Jesus is in heaven ministering in your behalf, meaning that He is there mediating for you? Why do you need a Mediator in your behalf? Why is this truth good news?
Read for This Week’s StudyExod. 25:8, 9, 40; Heb. 8:1–6; Lev. 16:21, 29–34; Lev. 23:26–32; Heb. 9:23–28; Dan. 7:9, 10.Memory Text:“We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man” (Hebrews 8:1, 2, NKJV).Shortly after the disappointment of October 22, 1844, some of the Millerites came to understand that the 2,300-day prophecy didn’t deal with the second coming of Jesus but with Christ’s work in the heavenly sanctuary.The cleansing of the sanctuary in heaven was the fulfillment of the earthly cleansing of the earthly sanctuary. To understand this important truth better, look at the parallel between Daniel 7 and Daniel 8. These parallels show the nature of the cleansing of the sanctuary, the pre-Advent judgment. This week we explore Christ’s ministry in heaven.*Study this week’s lesson, based on chapters 22–24 and 28 of The Great Controversy, to prepare for Sabbath, May 25.
Look at the following chart for the prophecies of the 70 weeks and the 2,300 days. The prophecies start in 457 B.C. and foretell the events surrounding “Messiah the Prince,” upon whom the 70-week prophecy is grounded. With that solid foundation, the 2,300-day prophecy ends in the year 1844.“Like the first disciples, William Miller and his associates did not, themselves, fully comprehend the import of the message which they bore. Errors that had been long established in the church prevented them from arriving at a correct interpretation of an important point in the prophecy. Therefore, though they proclaimed the message which God had committed to them to be given to the world, yet through a misapprehension of its meaning they suffered disappointment.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 351, 352.“Yet God accomplished His own beneficent purpose in permitting the warning of the judgment to be given just as it was. The great day was at hand, and in His providence the people were brought to the test of a definite time, in order to reveal to them what was in their hearts. The message was designed for the testing and purification of the church. They were to be led to see whether their affections were set upon this world or upon Christ and heaven. They professed to love the Saviour; now they were to prove their love. Were they ready to renounce their worldly hopes and ambitions, and welcome with joy the advent of their Lord? The message was designed to enable them to discern their true spiritual state; it was sent in mercy to arouse them to seek the Lord with repentance and humiliation.”—The Great Controversy, p. 353.Discussion Questions:What lessons can we learn from William Miller’s experience? Does God at times overrule our mistaken understanding?Why is an understanding of Daniel 9:24–27 so significant in establishing the integrity of the Bible and the divinity of Christ?What role does understanding prophecy play in the plan of salvation? Why is prophecy so significant in the plan of God?
Read Ezra 7:7–13. When was the decree issued to allow Israel’s captives in Persia to go free to rebuild their temple?The decree was issued by Artaxerxes, king of Persia, in 457 B.C. This decree was the last of three decrees to allow the Jews to return to rebuild Jerusalem and restore temple worship services. This third decree was the most complete and marks the beginning of the 2,300-day prophecy.Read Daniel 9:25, 26. When would this entire prophetic period begin? What major events do these verses predict?In this remarkable prophecy, Daniel predicted that from the “going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem” to the Messiah would be 69 prophetic weeks, or 483 prophetic days, or literal years. Since the decree went forth in the fall of 457 B.C., 483 years extend to the fall of A.D. 27. The word “Messiah” signifies “the Anointed One.” In the autumn of A.D. 27, Christ was baptized and received the anointing of the Spirit (Acts 10:38). After His baptism, Jesus went into Galilee, “preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled’ ” (Mark 1:14, 15, NKJV).In the spring of A.D. 31, in the middle of this last prophetic week, three and a half years after His baptism, Jesus was crucified. The system of offerings that pointed forward to the Lamb of God ended with Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary. Type had met antitype, and eventually all the sacrifices and offerings of the ceremonial system ceased.Read Daniel 9:27. How would the 70-week prophecy end?The 70 weeks, or 490 years, especially allotted to the Jews, ended in A.D. 34 with the rejection by the Sanhedrin of the gospel message (Acts 6:8–7:60).Subtracting 490 years from the 2,300-year prophecy leaves 1,810 years for the completion of the prophecy. This leads us to A.D. 1844. William Miller and the early Adventists believed that the sanctuary in Daniel 8:14 was the earth, and they assumed that Christ would come to purify the earth by fire in 1844. (See the chart on Friday.)
William Miller observed that events predicted by the prophets were precisely fulfilled: the 400 years of the sojourn of Abraham’s descendants, Israel’s 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, the 70 years of Israel’s captivity, and Daniel’s 70 weeks allotted to Israel (Gen. 15:13, Num. 14:34, Jer. 25:11, and Dan. 9:24).Read Mark 1:15, Galatians 4:4, and Romans 5:6. What do these verses tell us about God’s timetable for the First Advent?As Miller studied the prophecies, comparing scripture with scripture, he concluded that if God had a divine timetable throughout the Bible, God must have a divine timetable when it comes to our Lord’s second coming.Read Daniel 8:14. What event was to occur at the end of the 2,300 days?William Miller accepted the popular view that the “cleansing of the sanctuary” was the purification of the earth by fire. He diligently studied the Scriptures to understand an event of such stupendous importance. He discovered the linkage between Daniel 8 and Daniel 9. In Daniel 8, the angel was instructed to “make this man understand the vision” (Dan. 8:16). By the end of the chapter, the only portion of the entire vision of Daniel 8 left unexplained (see Dan. 8:27) was the part about the 2,300 days. Later the angel returned to Daniel and declared, “ ‘I have now come forth to give you skill to understand’ ” (Dan. 9:22, NKJV; see also Dan. 9:23, 25–27). This was to help him understand about the 2,300 days.We know this because, after bidding Daniel to “ ‘consider the matter, and understand the vision’ ” (Dan. 9:23, NKJV), the first words of the angel were: “ ‘Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city’ ” (Dan. 9:24, NKJV). The word translated “determined” literally means “cut off.” Seventy weeks, 490 years, are to be cut off. But from what? The vision of the 2,300 days, obviously—the only part of Daniel 8 that Daniel did not understand, and that the angel now came to explain.And since the starting point of the 70 weeks was “ ‘from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem’ ” (Dan. 9:25, NKJV), Miller knew that if he had that date, he could know the beginning of the 70 weeks and the 2,300-day prophecy.
Just as God used the Protestant Reformers to rediscover the truth about justification by faith in Christ alone, He used William Miller to rediscover the truth about the manner of Christ’s second coming. As Miller studied Scripture, he discovered a Christ who loved him more than he could possibly imagine. With his Bible, a pen, and a notebook, he began reading starting with Genesis and read no faster than he could understand the passage at hand. By comparing scripture with scripture, he allowed the Bible to explain itself.Read Isaiah 28:9, 10; Proverbs 8:8, 9; John 16:13; and 2 Peter 1:19–21. What principles of Bible interpretation do you discover in these passages?As William Miller compared scripture with scripture, the mysteries of the Bible were opened to him. He searched as one searching for a hidden treasure and was richly rewarded. The Holy Spirit opened the Word of God to his understanding. He approached prophecy with the same diligence in Bible study as the other biblical passages he was studying.Read Daniel 1:17; Daniel 2:45; 1 Peter 1:10, 11; and Revelation 1:1–3. What do these passages teach us about understanding the prophecies of the Bible?The symbols in the prophetic books are not locked in mystery. A loving God has given us His prophetic Word to prepare us for the climactic events soon to unfold in this world. William Miller clearly understood that prophecy was its own best interpreter. The symbols of prophecy are made clear by the Bible itself. Beasts represent kings or kingdoms (Dan. 7:17, 23). Wind represents destruction (Jer. 49:36). Water represents peoples or nations (Rev. 17:15). A woman represents the church (Jer. 6:2, Eph. 5:22–32). The time prophecies of Daniel and Revelation also are given in symbolic language, with one prophetic day representing one literal year (Num. 14:34, Ezek. 4:6). As William Miller applied these principles of biblical interpretation, he was startled at what he discovered regarding what he believed to be the timing of Christ’s return.Why is a correct understanding of prophetic symbolism so important for our faith?
Although the Protestant Reformers believed in the literal, visible, audible, and glorious return of Christ, gradually the understanding of this biblical truth changed. Popular nineteenth-century preachers taught that Christ would come to establish His kingdom on earth and usher in 1,000 years of peace. This led to spiritual lethargy and an apathetic commitment to spiritual values.Similarly, Christ’s disciples misunderstood the nature of the Messiah’s coming. They thought that He would come as a conquering general who would break the yoke of Roman bondage, not One who would deliver them from the condemnation and shackles of sin. Thus, they failed to understand the manner of His coming.Read Acts 1:9–11; Revelation 1:7; and Matthew 24:27, 30, 31. What do these verses teach us about the manner of our Lord’s return?When Christ came the first time as a babe in Bethlehem’s manger, very few people discerned His coming. But when He comes the second time, “every eye” will see Him come. Every ear will hear the trumpet blast of His return. Every human being on earth will behold His glory. We need not be deceived. The Scriptures have made the events surrounding His return abundantly clear.“One of the most solemn and yet most glorious truths revealed in the Bible is that of Christ’s second coming to complete the great work of redemption. To God’s pilgrim people, so long left to sojourn in ‘the region and shadow of death,’ a precious, joy-inspiring hope is given in the promise of His appearing, who is ‘the resurrection and the life,’ to ‘bring home again His banished.’ The doctrine of the second advent is the very keynote of the Sacred Scriptures. From the day when the first pair turned their sorrowing steps from Eden, the children of faith have waited the coming of the Promised One to break the destroyer’s power and bring them again to the lost Paradise.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 299.An early Adventist leader, Luther Warren, used to tell young people, “The only way to be ready for the coming of Christ is to get ready and stay ready.” The message of Christ’s soon return is an urgent appeal to each one of us to examine our hearts and evaluate our spiritual lives. It is a call to godly living. There can be no neutrality in the blazing light of the glory of Christ’s return.Read 1 Thessalonians 5:2–5 and Hebrews 9:28. What encouragement do these verses give us regarding the manner of Christ’s coming?
The Protestant Reformers and the pilgrims who left from Holland for the New World longed for the coming of Jesus. For them the second coming of Christ was a joyous event that they eagerly anticipated. John Wycliffe looked forward to the coming of Christ as the hope of the church. Calvin spoke for all the Reformers when he talked of the glorious return of Christ as “of all events most auspicious.” For faithful men and women of God, the second coming of Christ was something to be embraced, not something to be feared.Read John 14:1–3, 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18, and Titus 2:11–14. Why did these Bible passages give such hope to Christians through the centuries?It is easy to understand why a belief in the second coming of Christ has brought such hope and joy to Bible-believing Christians. It points forward to the end of sickness, suffering, and death. It ushers in the end of poverty, injustice, and oppression. It anticipates the end of strife, conflict, and war. It forecasts a future world of peace, happiness, and enduring fellowship with Christ and the redeemed of all ages forever.“The coming of the Lord has been in all ages the hope of His true followers. The Saviour’s parting promise upon Olivet, that He would come again, lighted up the future for His disciples, filling their hearts with joy and hope that sorrow could not quench nor trials dim. Amid suffering and persecution, the ‘appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ’ was the ‘blessed hope.’ When the Thessalonian Christians were filled with grief as they buried their loved ones, who had hoped to live to witness the coming of the Lord, Paul, their teacher, pointed them to the resurrection, to take place at the Saviour’s advent. Then the dead in Christ should rise, and together with the living be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. ‘And so,’ he said, ‘shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.’ 1 Thessalonians 4:16–18.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 302.Why is the Second Coming so important to our faith? Especially because we know that the dead sleep (see lesson 10), why does this teaching take on such importance? Without it, why would we be, as Paul said, in an utterly hopeless situation (see 1 Cor. 15:15–18)?
Read for This Week’s Study1 Thess. 4:13–18; Matt. 24:27, 30, 31; 2 Pet. 1:19–21; Dan. 8:14; Dan. 9:20–27; Ezra 7:7–13.Memory Text:“And it will be said in that day: ‘Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation’ ” (Isaiah 25:9, NKJV).The second coming of Jesus is one of the central themes of Scripture. It is a golden thread that runs through the Bible’s sacred pages. One scholar has estimated that there are 1,845 references to Christ’s second coming in the Old Testament. In the 260 chapters of the New Testament, there are more than 300 references to the return of Christ. One in every 25 verses mentions it. Twenty-three of the 27 New Testament books refer to this great event.After the Reformation in Europe foundered and was hampered by divisions and strife, Protestantism took root in the New World, including the United States, where many sought to pick up the mantle of truth, including the truth about the Second Coming.Among them was a Baptist farmer named William Miller. From his study of the Bible, he believed that Jesus was coming soon, even in his lifetime, and then began preaching that message. Miller started a movement that, though facing a great disappointment, opened up to many people Bible truths that remain relevant to this day.In this week’s lesson, we will examine why the second coming of Christ has filled the hearts of believers with joy through the centuries and how we can be ready for that great event.*Study this week’s lesson, based on chapters 18–21 of The Great Controversy, to prepare for Sabbath, May 18.
“When the Bible was proscribed by religious and secular authority; when its testimony was perverted, and every effort made that men and demons could invent to turn the minds of the people from it; when those who dared proclaim its sacred truths were hunted, betrayed, tortured, buried in dungeon cells, martyred for their faith, or compelled to flee to mountain fastnesses, and to dens and caves of the earth—then the faithful witnesses prophesied in sackcloth. Yet they continued their testimony throughout the entire period of 1260 years. In the darkest times there were faithful men who loved God’s word and were jealous for His honor. To these loyal servants were given wisdom, power, and authority to declare His truth during the whole of this time.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 267, 268.“When France publicly rejected God and set aside the Bible, wicked men and spirits of darkness exulted in their attainment of the object so long desired—a kingdom free from the restraints of the law of God. . . . The restraining Spirit of God, which imposes a check upon the cruel power of Satan, was in a great measure removed, and he whose only delight is the wretchedness of men was permitted to work his will. Those who had chosen the service of rebellion were left to reap its fruits until the land was filled with crimes too horrible for pen to trace. From devastated provinces and ruined cities a terrible cry was heard—a cry of bitterest anguish. France was shaken as if by an earthquake. Religion, law, social order, the family, the state, and the church—all were smitten down by the impious hand that had been lifted against the law of God.”—The Great Controversy, p. 286.“Unless the church will follow on in His [God’s] opening providence, accepting every ray of light, performing every duty which may be revealed, religion will inevitably degenerate into the observance of forms, and the spirit of vital godliness will disappear.”—The Great Controversy, p. 316.Discussion Questions:How are the principles of the great controversy revealed in the French Revolution?When arguing that there is no God, one person wrote that “we are free to establish our own goals and to venture across any intellectual boundaries without looking for no-trespassing signs.” Why is that phrase “without looking for no-trespassing signs” so instructive to the motives many have for rejecting God? How might such ideas help explain some of what happened in the French Revolution?What is the significance of John’s vision of the sanctuary as it relates to final events?
Despite the attacks of the enemy, God’s work on earth will come to a glorious climax. The gospel will be preached to “every nation, tribe, tongue, and people” (Rev. 14:6, NKJV). The great controversy between Christ and Satan will end with Christ completely defeating the powers of hell. God’s kingdom will triumph over evil, and sin will be eradicated forever from the universe. Revelation 11 begins with Satan’s attempt through the French Revolution to destroy the Christian faith and eradicate belief in God, but the chapter ends with the triumph of God’s kingdom over the principalities and powers of evil. It provides encouragement to all who go through fiery trials for the cause of Christ and His truth.Read Revelation 11:15–18. According to these verses, what events take place at the close of time when the seventh trumpet sounds?The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord. Christ is victorious. Evil is defeated. Jesus wins and Satan loses. Righteousness triumphs. Truth reigns. We would do well to heed the following instruction: “Whatever is built upon the authority of man will be overthrown; but that which is founded upon the rock of God’s immutable word shall stand forever.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 288.Read Revelation 11:19. What did John see opened in heaven? And what did he see as he looked up into heaven?The temple of God in heaven was opened to John’s view. As he gazed into the Most Holy Place, he saw the ark of the covenant. In the Old Testament sanctuary, which was a type patterned after the great original in heaven, the glorious presence of God was revealed between the two angelic figures fashioned on the cover of the ark of the covenant. Within the ark was the law of God. Although we are saved by grace alone through faith, obedience to God’s law reveals whether our faith is genuine. The law of God is the basis or the standard of judgment (James 2:12). This fact becomes especially important and relevant at the end of time (see Rev. 12:17, Rev. 14:12).How does the striking contrast between the godlessness of the French Revolution and the glorious climax pictured in Revelation 11 speak to us today?
Read Revelation 11:11. What prediction does this text make about the Word of God?At the end of the French Revolution, God’s Word would, figuratively, come to life again. There would be a mighty revival. Great fear would fall on those who saw God’s Word once more become the living power of God unto salvation. At the end of the eighteenth century, God raised up men and women who were committed to taking the gospel to the ends of the earth. People spread the message of the Bible rapidly. One such person was William Carey, who traveled to India and translated the Bible into dozens of local dialects. Propelled by the power of the Bible, missionaries were sent around the world.It is not by accident that these worldwide mission endeavors arose after the French Revolution. God’s Word is a living Word, and although to many it seemed “dead,” it was still living in the hearts of believers and would rise again to full life, as Revelation’s prophecies predicted. “The infidel Voltaire once boastingly said: ‘I am weary of hearing people repeat that twelve men established the Christian religion. I will prove that one man may suffice to overthrow it.’ Generations have passed since his death. Millions have joined in the war upon the Bible. But it is so far from being destroyed, that where there were a hundred in Voltaire’s time, there are now ten thousand, yes, a hundred thousand copies of the book of God. In the words of an early Reformer concerning the Christian church, ‘The Bible is an anvil that has worn out many hammers.’ ”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 288.Read Psalm 119:89 and Psalm 111:7, 8. What do these passages tell us about the Bible, and why we can trust it?God’s Word may be attacked, or suppressed, but it will never be eradicated. Even many professed Christians undermine its authority in various ways, questioning parts of the Bible or so emphasizing the human elements that it all but loses its divine stamp, and God’s truth is undermined.We must never, in any way, allow ourselves to be seduced by these attacks on the Word of God. It is still alive today, speaking to human hearts, breathing new life into those who are willing to listen to the Word and follow its teachings.What prophecies in particular speak to you, personally, and why?
Bonus song: If You But Trust in God · Fountainview Academy Orchestra & Singers If you but trust in God to guide youAnd place your confidence in Him,You’ll find Him always there beside you,To give you hope and strength within.For those who trust God’s changeless loveBuild on the rock that will not move.2What gain is there in futile weeping,In helpless anger and distress?If you are in His care and keeping,In sorrow will He love you less?For He who took for you a crossWill bring you safe through every loss.3In patient trust await His leisureIn cheerful hope, with heart contentTo take whate’er your Father’s pleasureAnd all discerning love have sent;Doubt not your inmost wants are knownTo Him who chose you for His own.4Sing, pray, and keep His ways unswerving,Offer your service faithfully,And trust His word; though undeserving,You’ll find His promise true to be.God never will forsake in needThe soul that trusts in Him indeed.Composer: Georg Neumark, 1657from the album: The Great Controversy ℗ Fountainview of Music(c) 2019
Read Revelation 11:7–9. Remembering that the language is symbolic, what do these verses predict would happen to God’s two witnesses, the Old and New Testaments?By A.D. 538, the pagan Roman Empire had collapsed. Justinian, the Roman emperor, surrendered civil, political, and religious authority to Pope Vigillis. The long period of the medieval church’s domination began. It continued until A.D. 1798. The French general Berthier, on orders from Napoleon, marched unopposed into Rome on February 10, 1798. Pope Pius VI was taken captive and brought back to France, where he died. This date marks the prophetically predicted end of the Roman Church’s secular authority, the 1,260 days or years as depicted in Daniel and Revelation (see yesterday’s study).What a powerful manifestation of the truth of biblical prophecy! Daniel, writing more than 500 years before Christ, so accurately predicted events more than 2,300 years later. We can, indeed, trust the prophecies given in the Bible.Meanwhile, during all this, the truth of the gospel was kept alive by the witness of the Word. But even greater challenges threatened biblical truth. The beast that ascended from the bottomless pit (Satan) made war against the Scriptures. He initiated new assaults on the Bible’s authority through the French Revolution that began in 1789.In the French Revolution, the government officially established the Cult of Reason as a state-sponsored atheistic religion, intended to replace Christianity. A Festival of Reason was held nationwide on November 10, 1793. Churches across France were turned into Temples of Reason, and a living woman was enthroned as the Goddess of Reason. Bibles were burned in the streets. God was declared nonexistent, and death was pronounced to be an endless sleep. Satan worked through godless men to kill God’s two witnesses. Their dead bodies would “lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified” (Rev. 11:8, NKJV).Egypt was a culture of many gods that denied the true God (see Exod. 5:2). Sodom represents gross immorality. In the French Revolution, God’s two witnesses—the Old and New Testaments—lay dead as a result of the atheism and immorality that ran rampant as normal restraints were loosed in revolution and bloodshed.Revelation 11:9 says that the bodies of God’s two witnesses would lie unburied for “three-and-a-half days” (NKJV), i.e., prophetic “days” representing three and a half literal years. Atheism was at its height in the French Revolution, at least for about three and a half years. This period extended from November 26, 1793, when a decree issued in Paris abolished religion, to June 17, 1797, when the French government removed its restrictive religious laws.
Compare Revelation 11:3 and Revelation 12:5, 6, 14, 15 with Daniel 7:25. What similarities do you see in these prophetic periods?The two witnesses “ ‘will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth’ ” (Rev. 11:3, NKJV). This is the same time period as the 42 months during which the “Gentiles” (those who oppose God’s truth) will tread the Holy City underfoot (Rev. 11:2). The enemies of God tread underfoot God’s truth for 1,260 days (42 x 30 = 1,260, each day symbolizing a year in apocalyptic prophecy), and God’s two witnesses, the Old and New Testaments, prophesy against them during this same time.As we already have seen (see lesson 4), Daniel 7:25 says the little-horn power that would arise out of the breakup of the Roman Empire would persecute God’s people “ ‘for a time and times [literally, “two times”] and half a time’ ” (NKJV). A “time” is one year (360 days). So, three and a half times equals 1,260 days.Revelation 12:6, 13 talks about 1,260 days of persecution for the people of God. Revelation 12:14 talks of a time, times, and half a time. Revelation 13:5 talks about 42 months. We find both 42 months and 1,260 days mentioned in Revelation 11:2, 3. All these prophecies describe different aspects of the same historical time period.When the authority of Scripture is neglected, other (human) authorities arise instead. This often leads to persecution of those who uphold the Word of God, which happened during the time of papal domination from A.D. 538 to A.D. 1798, when the medieval church descended into deep spiritual darkness. The decrees of men substituted for the commandments of God. Human traditions overshadowed the simplicity of the gospel. The Roman Church united with the secular power to extend its authority over all of Europe.During these 1,260 years, the Word of God—His two witnesses—were clothed in sackcloth. Their truths were hidden under a vast pile of tradition and ritual. These two witnesses still prophesied; the Bible still spoke. Even amid this spiritual darkness, God’s Word was preserved. There were those who cherished it and lived by its precepts. But in comparison to the masses in Europe, they were few. The Waldenses, John Huss, Jerome, Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin, John and Charles Wesley, and a host of other Reformers were faithful to God’s Word as they understood it.What are some of the teachings today, held by many Christians, that are based on tradition and not on the Word of God?
Read Revelation 11:3–6. List five identifying features of the two witnesses you discover in this passage.In Zechariah 4, the prophet saw two olive trees on either side of a golden lampstand—the same imagery that we find here in Revelation 11. Zechariah is told that this represents “ ‘the two anointed ones, who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth’ ” (Zech. 4:14, NKJV). The olive trees feed oil into the lampstand so that it continues to give light. We are reminded of what the psalmist wrote: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps. 119:105, NKJV). Oil represents the Holy Spirit (Zech. 4:2, 6). John’s vision in Revelation 11 is describing God’s Word being proclaimed in the power of the Holy Spirit to lighten the world.These two witnesses can prophesy and keep rain from falling for as long as they predict. They can turn water to blood and smite the earth with plagues. By the word of God, Elijah said no rain would fall on Israel, and in answer to his prayer, there was no rain for three and a half years (see James 5:17). Then he prayed to God, and rain returned after the false prophets of Baal failed to end the drought (1 Kings 17, 18). Moses, through the Word of God, brought plagues of all kinds on the Egyptians, including turning water to blood, because Pharaoh refused to let God’s people go free (Exodus 7).Those who seek to harm the Scriptures will be consumed by the fire that comes from their mouth. God says, “ ‘Because you speak this word, behold, I will make My words in your mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them’ ” (Jer. 5:14, NKJV). God’s Word pronounces judgment upon all those who reject it. His word is like fire in the mouth.In John 5:39, Jesus declares that the Old Testament scriptures testify (bear witness) of Him. He also says that the gospel will be proclaimed “as a witness” to the whole world (Matt. 24:14, NKJV), and the New Testament, together with the Old Testament, is the basis of that witness. A word from the same root (martys) as the words for witness used in these two verses appears in Revelation 11:3.Who are these two witnesses? In view of these biblical points and the characteristics given in Revelation 11, we can conclude (not dogmatically, however) that the two witnesses are the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, communicating God’s light and truth to the world.Many Christians today tend to downplay the Old Testament, to label it irrelevant and not needed, because we have the New Testament. What is so terribly wrong with that attitude?
Read for This Week’s StudyRev. 11:3–6; Zech. 4:14; Rev. 12:5, 6, 14, 15; Dan. 7:25; Isa. 54:17; Ps. 119:89; Rev. 11:15–18.Memory Text:“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8, NKJV).Through the centuries, God’s Word has been dissected, doubted, and discarded. It has been chained in monasteries, burned in public squares, and torn to shreds. Its believers have been ridiculed, mocked, imprisoned, and even martyred. Through it all, God’s Word has prevailed.The medieval church persecuted faithful, Bible-believing Christians. Yet, God’s Word illuminated the darkness. Oppression and persecution did not stop the proclamation of the Word of God. As English Bible translator William Tyndale was tried for his faith, he was asked who aided him most in spreading God’s Word. He pondered the question and then answered, “the Bishop of Durham.” The magistrates were shocked.Tyndale explained that on one occasion, the bishop purchased a supply of his English Bible translation and publicly burned them. What the bishop did not know at the time was that he was greatly aiding the cause of truth. He had purchased the Bibles at a much higher price than usual. With such a large purchase, Tyndale was able to print many more Bibles than were burned. Truth crushed in the dust has risen again and again to shine in all its brilliance.This week, we explore one Of the most vicious attacks on the Scriptures and the Christian faith. During the French Revolution, blood flowed in the streets of France. The guillotine was set up in Paris’s public square, and thousands were slaughtered. Atheism became the state religion. Nevertheless, the witness of God’s Word could not be silenced.*Study this week’s lesson, based on chapters 12–17 of The Great Controversy, to prepare for Sabbath, May 11.
“God’s faithful servants were not toiling alone. While principalities and powers and wicked spirits in high places were leagued against them, the Lord did not forsake His people. Could their eyes have been opened, they would have seen as marked evidence of divine presence and aid as was granted to a prophet of old. When Elisha’s servant pointed his master to the hostile army surrounding them and cutting off all opportunity for escape, the prophet prayed: ‘Lord, I pray Thee, open his eyes, that he may see.’ 2 Kings 6:17. And, lo, the mountain was filled with chariots and horses of fire, the army of heaven stationed to protect the man of God. Thus did angels guard the workers in the cause of the Reformation.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 208.“When powerful foes were uniting to overthrow the reformed faith, and thousands of swords seemed about to be unsheathed against it, Luther wrote: ‘Satan is putting forth his fury; ungodly pontiffs are conspiring; and we are threatened with war. Exhort the people to contend valiantly before the throne of the Lord, by faith and prayer, so that our enemies, vanquished by the Spirit of God, may be constrained to peace. Our chief want, our chief labor, is prayer; let the people know that they are now exposed to the edge of the sword and to the rage of Satan, and let them pray.’ ”—D’Aubigné, book 10, chapter 14, quoted in Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 209.Justification by faith, the great truth that Luther discovered anew, is the foundation of the gospel, the truth upon which our hope of salvation rests. His hymn “A Mighty Fortress” powerfully articulates the gospel: “Did we in our own strength confide, Our striving would be losing, Were not the right man on our side, The man of God’s own choosing. Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He, Lord Sabaoth His name, From age to age the same, And He must win the battle.”—The Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald, 1985), no. 506.Discussion Questions:How can we explain the balance between grace and law, between faith and good works?Why do you think it is so easy to let our minds slip into legalism? How would you define legalism? Why is it so detrimental to our Christian faith?Are there dangers if the concept of “salvation by grace” is not rightly understood? Where might that misunderstanding lead?What do some people mean when they use the term “cheap grace”? Is grace ever cheap?
Read Romans 3:27–31; Romans 6:15–18; and Romans 8:1, 2. What do these verses teach us about salvation through Christ’s righteousness alone?A new wind was blowing through the Christian church in the days of Luther. Tens of thousands of people were taught to look away from their sinful selves and look to Jesus instead. No doubt these people, looking at themselves and what they were like, saw only things to discourage them. What believer today doesn’t have the same experience? That’s why we need to look, instead, to Jesus.God’s grace changes us. One day, John Wesley attended a Moravian meeting in London. Wesley sat amazed as he heard Luther’s introduction to Romans read. For the first time in his life, he began to understand the gospel. Something stirred within, and he felt strangely drawn to this Christ who had given His life for him. He exclaimed, “I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation: and an assurance was given me, that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.”—John Whitehead, The Life of the Rev. John Wesley, M.A. (London: Stephen Couchman, 1793), p. 331.Read 1 Peter 2:2, 2 Peter 3:18, Colossians 1:10, and Ephesians 4:18–24. What vital truths do these passages reveal about the Christian life?The Reformers systematically studied the Word to discover more truth. Not content with the status quo, nor a rigid religious experience with little or no growth, they were constantly yearning to know Christ better. Many Bible-believing Christians in the Middle Ages paid an extremely high price for their commitment. They were tortured, imprisoned, exiled, and executed. Their properties were confiscated, their homes burned, their lands ravished, and their families persecuted. When they were driven from their homes, they looked for a city “whose builder and maker is God” (Heb. 11:10). When they were tortured, they blessed their tormentors, and when they languished in dark, damp dungeons, they claimed God’s promises of a brighter tomorrow. Although their bodies were imprisoned, they were free—free in Christ, free in the truths of His Word, free in the hope of His soon return.When you look to yourself, what hope of salvation do you have?
Read Ephesians 2:8, 9; Romans 3:23, 24; Romans 6:23; and Romans 5:8–10. What do these verses teach about the plan of salvation?God has provided salvation as a gift. His Holy Spirit leads us to accept by faith what Christ has so freely provided through His death on Calvary’s cross. Jesus, the divine Son of God, offered His perfect life to atone for our sins.Divine justice demands perfect obedience. Christ’s perfect life stands in place of our imperfect lives. The divine law we have broken condemns us to eternal death. The Bible is clear. Through our sinful choices, we have “fallen short” of God’s ideal for our lives. We have sinned. Left to ourselves, we cannot meet the just, righteous demands of a holy God. As a result, we deserve eternal death. But there is good news. The apostle Paul assures us, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23, NKJV). It is a gift, undeserved; if it were by works, we would earn it, and if there is any one truth that shines out of the gospel, it is that we cannot earn salvation.Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformers discovered Christ and Christ alone as their source of salvation. It was then that Luther began to preach the message of Christ’s saving grace. Crowds flocked to hear his heartfelt, life-changing messages. His words were like a drink of cold water in the barren desert of their lives. The people were shackled by the traditions of the medieval church and kept in bondage with centuries-old rituals that provided no spiritual life. Luther’s biblical messages touched hearts, and lives were changed.As Luther read the New Testament, he was overwhelmed with the goodness of God. He was amazed at God’s desire to save all humanity. The popular view taught by church leaders at the time was salvation as partly a human work and partly God’s work. Luther discovered that Christ’s death on the cross was all-sufficient for all humanity.“Christ was treated as we deserve, that we might be treated as He deserves. He was condemned for our sins, in which He had no share, that we might be justified by His righteousness, in which we had no share. He suffered the death which was ours, that we might receive the life which was His.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 25.What a powerful and wonderfully written summary of the gospel, that we could be justified by a righteousness “in which we had no share.” What a promise!If salvation is the work of God in Christ, what role do our good works play in the Christian life? How can we affirm the importance of good works in our experience without making them the foundation of our hope?
One day while studying in the university library, Martin Luther came to a turning point in his own life. He discovered a Latin copy of the Bible. He never knew before that a book like this even existed. With sheer delight, he read chapter after chapter, verse after verse. He was amazed at the clarity and power of God’s Word. As he pored over its pages, the Holy Spirit illuminated His mind. He sensed the guidance of the Holy Spirit as truths obscured by tradition seemed to leap off the pages of Holy Writ. Describing his first experience with the Bible, he wrote, “O that God would give me such a book for myself!”What principles can we take from the following texts regarding how we should interpret the Bible?John 14:25, 26John 16:13–152 Peter 1:20, 21What’s so powerful in these verses is the assurance that the same Holy Spirit that inspired Bible writers guides us as we read Scripture. He is the divine interpreter of divine truth. Unfortunately, many professed Christians today downplay the supernatural element in the Bible and exaggerate the human element. Since Satan can no longer keep the Bible from us, he does the next best thing: strip it of its supernatural character, make it merely good literature or, even worse, an oppressive tool of religion to control the masses.The Reformers saw clearly that the Holy Spirit—not the priests, prelates, and popes—was the infallible interpreter of Scripture. There is an interesting exchange recorded between John Knox, the Scottish Reformer, and Mary, Queen of Scots.“Said Mary: ‘Ye interpret the Scriptures in one manner, and they [the Roman Catholic teachers] interpret in another; whom shall I believe, and who shall be judge?’“ ‘Ye shall believe God, that plainly speaketh in His word,’ answered the Reformer; ‘and farther than the word teaches you, ye neither shall believe the one nor the other. The word of God is plain in itself; and if there appear any obscurity in one place, the Holy Ghost, which is never contrary to Himself, explains the same more clearly in other places, so that there can remain no doubt but unto such as obstinately remain ignorant.’ ”—David Laing, The Collected Works of John Knox, vol. 2, pp. 281, 284, quoted in Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 251.
Read 2 Corinthians 4:1–6 and 2 Corinthians 2:14. What do these passages tell us about the confidence Paul had, despite the challenges he faced in proclaiming the truth of God’s Word?The apostle Paul faced overwhelming odds in his work of spreading the gospel; yet, he had the confidence that God’s Word would eventually triumph, “for,” as he said, “we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth” (2 Cor. 13:8).The Reformers faced similar trials; yet, by faith they remained faithful to God’s Word. An example of courage in the face of seemingly overwhelming odds is William Tyndale. Tyndale’s greatest desire was to give England an accurate, readable translation of the Bible. He determined to translate the Bible from the original languages and correct some of the errors in Wycliffe’s translation about 140 years before. Eventually Tyndale, too, was arrested and tried. Many of his Bible translations, which were printed in Worms, Germany, were seized and publicly burned. His trial took place in Belgium in A.D. 1536. He was condemned on the charge of heresy and sentenced to be burned. His executioners strangled him while they tied him to the stake and then burned his body. His dying words were spoken with zeal in a loud voice and were reported as, “Lord, open the king of England’s eyes.” God miraculously answered Tyndale’s prayer.Within four years of his death, four English translations of the Bible were published. In 1611 the King James Version of the Bible was printed, and it was largely based on Tyndale’s work. The 54 scholars who produced the work drew heavily from Tyndale’s earlier English translation. One estimate suggests that the Old Testament of the 1611 King James Bible is 76 percent Tyndale’s translation, and the New Testament is 83 percent. In 2011 the King James Version of the Bible celebrated its 400th anniversary by passing the milestone of one billion Bibles in print. The King James Version has impacted tens of millions of people around the world. Tyndale’s sacrifice was well worth it.No matter how difficult it seemed or how challenging the circumstances were, Tyndale and his Bible-believing colleagues trusted that God was working out everything according to His will. Tyndale’s life made a difference for eternity.Read Daniel 12:3 and Revelation 14:13. How do these texts apply to Tyndale’s life in a powerful way? Now think about your own life and your impact on others. What encouragement do these texts give regarding the opportunity you have to influence others for eternity?
Read Psalm 119:103, 104; Psalm 119:147; and Psalm 119:162. What was David’s attitude toward God’s Word? How did this impact the Reformers, and how does it influence our lives today?The Bible was the foundation of the Reformers’ faith and the essence of their teaching. They understood that they were handling the inspired “word of God which lives and abides forever” (1 Pet. 1:23, NKJV). They treasured every word. As they read its pages and believed its promises, their faith was strengthened and their courage renewed. “So with all the promises of God’s word. In them He is speaking to us individually, speaking as directly as if we could listen to His voice. It is in these promises that Christ communicates to us His grace and power. They are leaves from that tree which is ‘for the healing of the nations.’ Revelation 22:2. Received, assimilated, they are to be the strength of the character, the inspiration and sustenance of the life. Nothing else can have such healing power. Nothing besides can impart the courage and faith which give vital energy to the whole being.”—Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing, p. 122.The Scriptures shine joy upon our sorrow, hope upon our discouragement, light upon our darkness. They give direction for our confusion, certainty in our perplexity, strength in our weakness, and wisdom in our ignorance. When we meditate upon the Word of God and by faith trust its promises, God’s life-giving power energizes our entire being physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.The Reformers saturated their minds with Scripture. They lived by the Word, and many of them died because of the Word. They were not casual, complacent, careless Christians with a superficial devotional life. They knew that without the power of God’s Word, they would not withstand the forces of evil arrayed against them.John Wycliffe’s passion was to translate the Bible into the English language so that the average person could read and understand it. Because that was illegal, he was tried for his faith, condemned as a heretic, and sentenced to death. At his trial, Wycliffe made an earnest appeal. “With whom, think you, are ye contending? With an old man on the brink of the grave? No! With Truth—Truth which is stronger than you, and will overcome you.”—Wylie, book 2, chapter 13, quoted in Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 90. Wycliffe’s dying words were fulfilled as the light of God’s truth dispelled the darkness of the Middle Ages.In what ways have the Scriptures comforted you in times of trial?
Read for This Week’s StudyPs. 119:162; John 16:13–15; 2 Pet. 1:20, 21; Eph. 2:8, 9; Rom. 3:23, 24; Rom. 6:15–18.Memory Text:“Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (Psalm 119:11, NKJV).The Protestant Reformers had something twenty-first century people desperately need—a purpose for their lives. In his book, The Empty Self, renowned American psychologist Philip Cushman discusses people who live purposeless lives. Their beliefs are shallow. Little of real significance matters to them, and they have nothing worth dying for, so they have little worth living for.But the men, women, and children of the Protestant Reformation were dramatically different. They had an abiding purpose worth living for. What they believed mattered, and they were not willing to compromise their integrity. Their core beliefs were an inseparable part of them. To deny these beliefs was to deny their very identity. In the face of death itself, they had an inner peace.In this week’s study, with examples from the Reformation, we will explore how the life-changing teachings of Scripture provide the basis for genuine purpose and true meaning in life. Understanding these eternal truths will prepare us for the final crisis in the great controversy between good and evil. The battle the Reformers fought is not yet over, and we have been called to pick up where they left off. We, too, can discover a God big enough for every challenge we face, a God who gives our lives meaning and purpose as nothing worldly ever could.*Study this week’s lesson, based on chapters 7–11 of The Great Controversy, to prepare for Sabbath, May 4.
“God permitted great light to shine upon the minds of these chosen men, revealing to them many of the errors of Rome; but they did not receive all the light that was to be given to the world. Through these, His servants, God was leading the people out of the darkness of Romanism; but there were many and great obstacles for them to meet, and He led them on, step by step, as they could bear it. They were not prepared to receive all the light at once. Like the full glory of the noontide sun to those who have long dwelt in darkness, it would, if presented, have caused them to turn away. Therefore, He revealed it to the leaders little by little, as it could be received by the people. From century to century, other faithful workers were to follow, to lead the people on still further in the path of reform.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 103.“In another letter, to a priest who had become a disciple of the gospel, Huss spoke with deep humility of his own errors, accusing himself ‘of having felt pleasure in wearing rich apparel and of having wasted hours in frivolous occupations.’ He then added these touching admonitions: ‘May the glory of God and the salvation of souls occupy thy mind, and not the possession of benefices and estates. Beware of adorning thy house more than thy soul; and, above all, give thy care to the spiritual edifice. Be pious and humble with the poor, and consume not thy substance in feasting. Shouldst thou not amend thy life and refrain from superfluities, I fear that thou wilt be severely chastened, as I am myself.’ ”—The Great Controversy, pp. 105, 106.Discussion Questions:What is “progressive light”? Why does God reveal truth gradually? How do these principles apply to God’s church today?How do new discoveries of truth relate to previous truths that God’s people have understood? Why must new light never contradict old light?No matter where you live, your culture is going to promote values, ideas, and moral codes that in some way conflict with what the Bible teaches. After identifying these areas of conflict, how do you see yourself and us, as a church, dealing with these challenges? How do we remain good citizens while at the same time not succumbing to whatever warped values our culture proclaims?How does John Huss’s letter impact your thinking today? What impresses you about this letter?
Read Hebrews 2:14, 15. How did believers in the Middle Ages experience the reality of the great controversy?What was it that cheered the faithful Waldenses during the horrible persecutions they faced? What gave Huss and Jerome, Tyndale, Latimer, and the martyrs of the Middle Ages courage to face the flames and the sword? Faith in the promises of God. They believed Christ’s promise: “Because I live, you will live also” (John 14:19). They found His strength sufficient for life’s greatest trials. They even found joy through fellowship with Christ in His sufferings. And their faithfulness was a powerful witness to the world.They looked beyond what was to what will be. They knew that, through the resurrection of Christ, death was a defeated foe. For these courageous men and women, the stranglehold of death was broken. They clung to the promises of God’s Word and came away victorious.Read John 5:24, John 11:25, 26, and 1 John 5:11–13. What assurances do these promises give you personally? How do they help us in the trials of life?John Huss would not falter in the face of imprisonment, injustice, and death itself. He languished in prison for months. The cold, damp conditions brought on a fever that nearly ended his life. Nevertheless, “the grace of God sustained him. During the weeks of suffering that passed before his final sentence, heaven’s peace filled his soul. ‘I write this letter,’ he said to a friend, ‘in my prison, and with my fettered hand, expecting my sentence of death tomorrow. . . . When, with the assistance of Jesus Christ, we shall again meet in the delicious peace of the future life, you will learn how merciful God has shown Himself toward me, how effectually He has supported me in the midst of my temptations and trials.’—Bonnechose, vol. 2, p. 67. In the gloom of his dungeon he foresaw the triumph of the true faith.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 107, 108.The apostle Paul’s admonition speaks to us with increasing relevance today. “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Heb. 10:23, NKJV). As the promises of God sustained His people in ages past, so they sustain us today.What might it mean to lose everything for Christ? What, in the end, do you really lose? (See Mark 8:36.) What lessons can we learn from the Waldenses and the Reformers that can sustain us in earth’s final conflict?
Read Psalm 19:7–11, Psalm 119:140, Psalm 119:162, and Jeremiah 15:16. What similar attitudes did David and Jeremiah have toward the Word of God that were, really, the cornerstone of the Reformation?Each of the Reformers “rejoiced” in God’s Word. They “delighted” in doing God’s will. They “loved” His law. One of the most significant foundational truths of the Reformation was the joy that studying the Scriptures brought. Bible study was not a laborious task. It was not a legalistic exercise. It was not a rigid requirement but a delight. As they studied the Scriptures, they were transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit.“The character of Wycliffe is a testimony to the educating, transforming power of the Holy Scriptures. It was the Bible that made him what he was. The effort to grasp the great truths of revelation imparts freshness and vigor to all the faculties. It expands the mind, sharpens the perceptions, and ripens the judgment. The study of the Bible will ennoble every thought, feeling, and aspiration as no other study can. It gives stability of purpose, patience, courage, and fortitude; it refines the character and sanctifies the soul. An earnest, reverent study of the Scriptures, bringing the mind of the student in direct contact with the infinite mind, would give to the world men of stronger and more active intellect, as well as of nobler principle, than has ever resulted from the ablest training that human philosophy affords.”—The Great Controversy, p. 94.Read 2 Timothy 2:1–3. What counsel did the apostle Paul give to Timothy regarding sharing the Word of God?The truth of God’s Word and the joy of salvation in Christ so filled the hearts of the Reformers that they had to share it. John Wycliffe spent his life translating the Word of God into English for two reasons alone: the living Christ changed Him through the Word, and the love of Christ motivated him to share what he had learned with others.Before Wycliffe, very little of the Bible existed in English. Though he died before Rome got to him, the papacy, undeterred, dug up his remains, burned them, and threw his ashes into a river. But just as those ashes were dispersed by the water, so God’s Word, the water of life, spread far and wide as a result of His work. Thus God used Wycliffe, the “Morning Star of the Reformation.”
Compare Acts 5:28–32, Ephesians 6:10–12, and Revelation 3:11. What basic principle is found in these texts?One of the distinguishing characteristics of the Waldenses, and each one of the Reformers, was their absolute allegiance to God, their obedience to the authority of Scripture, and their commitment to the supremacy of Christ, not the papacy. Their minds were saturated with New Testament stories of faith and courage.With Peter and the apostles they could say, “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29, NKJV). They grasped Paul’s admonition, “Be strong in the Lord and the power of His might” (Eph. 6:10, NKJV). They took seriously Jesus’ counsel, “Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown” (Rev. 3:11, NKJV). Rather than submit to the traditions of the Roman church, these stalwart men and women of faith had the courage to stand for the truths of God’s Word.The Waldenses were one of the first groups to obtain the Bible in their own language. A moving account of their hand copying of the Bible written by Jean Leger, a Waldensian Bible copyist, contains firsthand information of their work including drawings. The Waldenses secretly copied the Scriptures in their mountain communities of northern Italy and southern France. Youth at an early age were instructed by their parents to memorize large portions of Scripture. Teams of Bible copyists worked together to laboriously copy the Bible. Many of these Waldense young adults traveled throughout Europe as merchants quietly sharing the truths of Scripture. Some enrolled in universities and, as the opportunity arose, shared portions of the Scriptures with their fellow students. Guided by the Holy Spirit, at the right moment when they sensed a receptivity on the part of some honest seeker, select portions of their precious Scripture passages were given away. Many paid for their fidelity and devotion with their lives. Although the Waldenses did not understand every Bible teaching clearly, they preserved the truth of God’s Word for centuries by sharing it with others.“But the path of the just is like the shining sun, / That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day” (Prov. 4:18, NKJV). Solomon compares the path by which God leads His children to a sun that rises higher and higher. If God simply threw a cosmic switch and the sun shone instantly in all its brightness, it would blind us. After darkness engulfed the world for centuries, God raised up men and women, committed to His Word, who continued to search for more.How can we, reflecting the light of Christ, shine in our own community? Do we?
Read Jude 3, 4. What’s the warning here and how did it apply to the later Christian church?The book of Jude was written sometime before A.D. 65 to faithful Christians who were “sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:1, NKJV). These faithful believers were urged to “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain men have crept in unnoticed, . . . who turn the grace of our God into lewdness” (Jude 1:3, 4, NKJV). This admonition meant even more to believers in the Middle Ages after pagan practices had flooded into the church and human traditions compromised the Word of God. For many centuries, people, such as the Waldenses, stood as champions for the truths of Scripture. They believed that Christ was their only mediator and the Bible their sole source of authority. “In every age there were witnesses for God—men who cherished faith in Christ as the only mediator between God and man, who held the Bible as the only rule of life, and hallowed the true Sabbath.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 61.Read Revelation 2:10. What promise does God give those who are faithful to Him in the face of death itself?These words were written to the church at Smyrna. One of the city’s patron gods was Dionysius, the god of festivity and fertility. When the priests of Dionysius died, a crown was placed on their heads in their funeral procession. John contrasts this earthly crown placed on the head at death with the crown of life placed on the heads of those who are victorious over the forces of evil. The crown of life is presented to those who endured trials, difficulties, suffering, and death itself for Christ’s sake.The crown of life inspires these faithful believers to endure death itself for Christ’s sake. The crown of life always motivates believers in challenging circumstances. It inspired the Waldenses through pain and persecution. They knew they would see Jesus one day and live with Him forever. The crown of life also speaks to us: we may go through trials now, but a crown of life awaits us as we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.What encourages you in challenging times? What frightens you? What promises can you claim for those times?
Read Daniel 7:23–25 and Revelation 12:6, 14. What prophetic time periods are referred to in these passages?Whenever God’s people remain faithful to Him, Satan is enraged. Persecution often follows. The prophet Daniel described a time, still future to him, when the medieval church would “make war against” and “persecute” God’s people (Dan. 7:21, 25, NKJV). The prophet John described this same period as a time when God’s church would be forced to flee into the wilderness, where she would be “nourished for a time and times and half a time” (Rev. 12:14, NKJV). Revelation 12:6 adds, “The woman [the church] fled into the wilderness where she has a place prepared by God” (NKJV). God’s people were nourished in the wilderness. His Word strengthened and sustained them as the great controversy raged on during this long and dark period of papal domination.God’s people found a “place prepared” for them by God. In life’s greatest challenges, God always prepares a place for His faithful followers. During the times of their greatest trial, His people have found refuge in His love and care. (See Psalm 46.)The 1,260 days and the time, times, and half a time in Revelation 12:6, 14 are both referring to the same period (3½ times or years x 360 days per year = 1,260 days). Biblical prophecy is often written in symbols. In the prophetic portions of Daniel and Revelation, one prophetic day equals one literal year. We find this day-year principle in Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4:6.The day-year principle rests not on these two texts only, but on a broad scriptural foundation. William Shea, chronologist and Old Testament scholar, gives twenty-three lines of biblical evidence throughout the Old Testament for this principle. Bible interpreters have used it throughout the centuries.The Visigoths, Vandals, and Ostrogoths were tribes that believed doctrines differently than Rome’s official teaching. The 1,260 days began when the last of these barbarian tribes, the Ostrogoths, were driven out of Rome in A.D. 538. This period of spiritual darkness continued until A.D. 1798, when the Napolean’s general Berthier removed the pope from Rome. Countless Christians were martyred during this long period because they obeyed the Word of God. Even in death, they triumphed. In Christ they were free from the guilt and the dominion of sin, overcoming “through the blood of the Lamb.” Christ’s victory over Satan on the cross was their victory. Though they died, their death is only a rest until the return of Christ.How has fulfilled Bible prophecy strengthened your faith?
Read for This Week’s StudyDan. 7:23–25; Rev. 12:6, 14; Jude 3, 4; Rev. 2:10; Acts 5:28–32; Ps. 19:7–11; 1 John 5:11–13.Memory Text:“ ‘And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life’ ” (John 3:14, 15, NKJV).The modern Turkish seacoast city of Izmir was once the biblical city of Smyrna, mentioned in the book of Revelation. This ancient city of approximately 100,000 inhabitants flourished in the late first and second centuries. It was a prosperous city, and it was fiercely loyal to Rome.Once a year, all the citizens of Smyrna were commanded to burn incense to the Roman gods. Evidently, in the second century, Smyrna had a thriving Christian community, as well, and many were not going to comply. Polycarp, an early church leader, was martyred in Smyrna’s public square, burned at the stake for refusing to betray his Lord by burning incense to the Roman gods. When asked one last time to disavow Christ, the old man replied, “Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He has done me no wrong. How can I speak evil of my King who saved me?”Throughout the centuries, men and women have been willing to experience martyrdom rather than give up their faith in Christ. Their sacrifice rekindles our courage. The story of their commitment to Christ renews our own commitment. This week we will look at some biblical principles that motivated the Waldenses and later Reformers, such as Huss and Jerome, to stay faithful to the Lord no matter what—even at the threat of death from the same power that killed Polycarp: Rome, but now in the papal phase.*Study this week’s lesson, based on The Great Controversy, chapters 4–6, to prepare for Sabbath, April 27.
“The same spirit of hatred and opposition to the truth has inspired the enemies of God in every age, and the same vigilance and fidelity have been required in His servants. The words of Christ to the first disciples are applicable to His followers to the close of time: ‘What I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.’ Mark 13:37.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 56, 57.In many parts of the world, especially where people have free access to the Bible, Satan has employed other means to weaken its influence. One very effective way has been through various scientific endeavors or even biblical scholarship, which sometimes takes positions that, if accepted, would undermine trust in the Word of God. For example, though the book of Daniel dates itself to more than 500 years before Christ, many Bible scholars date it, instead, to the middle of the second century B.C. They argue that it had to be written at this time; otherwise the prophet would have been accurately telling the future, and that can’t happen. Therefore, they argue, Daniel was not written when it says it was but, rather, hundreds of years later. Unfortunately, this lie about the Bible is one of many that modern scholarship seeks to foist upon us. And more unfortunately, many people accept this error because, after all, Bible scholars are teaching it. No wonder Paul warns us, “Test all things; hold fast what is good” (1 Thess. 5:21, NKJV).Discussion Questions:Refer to the quote in Tuesday’s study and then consider the following: How is Satan using similar methods today to subtly undermine the authority of the Scriptures?What are our greatest safeguards against misinterpreting God’s Word?Satan’s major attempt in the great controversy between good and evil is to malign God’s character and present Him as an authoritarian, unloving tyrant. How does the evil one attempt to do this, and what is God’s response to his lies?The apostle Peter affirms that “no prophecy is of private interpretation” (2 Pet. 1:20). How can we be sure we do not distort the meaning of Scripture to achieve our own ends? Why might this be easier to do than we realize? How can we safeguard ourselves against it?
Read 2 Corinthians 4:3–6. What does “whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe” (2 Cor. 4:4, NKJV) mean? How are their eyes blinded? How are eyes opened?The Greek word for “mind” in this passage is noema. It literally means our perception or mental faculties. The SDA Bible Commentary makes an enlightening statement about this verse. “The battle between Christ and Satan is a battle for the minds of men. (Rom. 7:23, 25; 12:2; 2 Cor. 3:14, 11:3; Phil. 2:5, 4:7, 8). Satan’s principal work is to blind or darken men’s minds. He does this by keeping them from the study of God’s Word, by deranging the powers of the mind through the excesses of body and soul, by wholly occupying the mind through the things of this life, and by appealing to pride and self-exaltation.”—Volume 6, p. 854.The lack of knowledge on the part of the lost is not because they could not know. It is because they would not know. Many have had every opportunity to know truth but chose not to believe, and Satan blinded their eyes. Satan’s kingdom is a kingdom of darkness. As The SDA Bible Commentary adds, “The gospel is the only means by which Satan’s diabolical schemes and deceptions can be exposed, and by which men can see the way from darkness to light.”—Volume 6, p. 854. The essence of the New Testament message is the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Jesus is at the heart of the gospel and is the center of Scripture. All Scripture testifies of Him (John 5:39).Read John 1:4, 5, 9 and 14. How do these verses describe Jesus? Note particularly John 1:14.During the early centuries of the Christian church, the New Testament believers were totally committed to Christ as the One who was the light in their darkness. They were redeemed by His grace, transformed by His power, and motivated by His love. Even death could not break their bond of loyalty to Christ. They recognized the devil’s deceptions in the glorious light of the gospel. Christ has always had men and women who, by His grace, have stood courageously for His truth. In these early centuries, the light of Christ’s love, grace, and truth shone through the darkness.
The Holy Spirit works through our minds. He invites us to explore the mysteries of the universe. As someone has aptly stated: “As Christians, we do not check our brains at the door of the church.” Nevertheless, the brilliance of human reasoning alone is incapable of discovering the divine truths of Scripture. Truth is not a matter of human opinion. It is a matter of divine revelation.Read Proverbs 16:25, Judges 21:25, and Isaiah 53:6. What do these texts reveal about Satan’s strategy of deception?One of the devil’s most effective deceptions is to lead us to believe that human reasoning, unaided by the Holy Spirit and uninformed by the Word of God, is sufficient to understand God’s will. There may be a way that seems right to us, or even to entire cultures, but it may be totally wrong in the eyes of God.A few years ago, my wife and I decided to do some hiking in the forest near the hotel we were staying at for the night. Typically, I am fairly good at directions, and after hiking for about an hour or so taking various trails, I was quite confident that I could find our way back with little difficulty. But soon we found ourselves hopelessly lost in the forest. The sun was going down, and I feared the worst. Thankfully, we met some other hikers who knew the way. We had been at least five miles off course but near a main road. Since their car was parked nearby, they offered us a ride back to our hotel. Discovering someone who knew the way and someone who had the ability to get us back to our destination made all the difference for us.God has not left us alone on our journey from earth to heaven. The Holy Spirit points us to the sacred Scriptures that lead us homeward. Truth and error, right and wrong, good and evil—these can be correctly understood only in light of God’s Word. That which contradicts God and His Word is error, and error is always dangerous; that which is in harmony with God is truth and goodness. How important that we make God’s Word our final arbiter of truth and morality.Why is the human mind without the aid of the Holy Spirit incapable of discovering divine truth? Discuss the relationship between human reason and divine revelation. How does reason actually help us understand divine revelation? For example, look at Daniel 2, a prophecy that covers world history from the time of Babylon to the Second Coming. How does a prophecy like this powerfully appeal to human reason?
Compare John 17:15–17 and Acts 20:32. What insights do Jesus and the apostle Paul give us regarding protection from the deceptions of Satan?The Bible is the infallible revelation of God’s will. It presents Heaven’s plan for humanity’s salvation. Since “all Scripture is given by the inspiration of God,” it is “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16, NKJV). That is, “all Scripture” is inspired by God; not some parts or some parts more than others. The whole Bible must be accepted as the Word of God. Otherwise, the door is wide open for deception.The Bible clearly reveals God’s infinite love in the light of the great controversy. It also exposes satanic delusions and reveals the devil’s deceptions. Satan hates the Word of God and has done everything possible throughout the centuries to destroy its influence.After all, what would we know about the plan of salvation without the Bible? How much, if anything, would we understand about the birth, life, teachings, and ministry of Jesus? Without the Scriptures, would we even begin to comprehend the depth of Christ’s sacrifice, the glory of His resurrection, the power of His intercession, and the majesty of His return?All these crucial truths are revealed, taught, and emphasized in the Word of God. It, and it alone, must be the final and ultimate standard for understanding all sacred truth.Hence, we must fight against any and all attempts to undermine its authority or inspiration, even from those who, while professing great love of the Bible, bring doubts about it, even subtly. Tragically, especially through the inroads of modern thinking, many theologians and Christians focus so much on the human side of Scripture that the Bible becomes the word of man instead the Word of God. The Bible, they argue, is the writings of kings, shepherds, a fisherman, priests, poets, and others who shared their understandings and conceptions of God, of nature, and of reality the best that they, in their time and place, understood them.Really, now? If this were true, why should we, living today in the twenty-first century, really care about what these people thought, much less make what they thought the foundation for our hope of eternity?We shouldn’t.Read Psalm 119:105, 116, 130, 133, and 160. What insights does the psalmist give us regarding the significance of God’s Word in the plan of salvation?
Read Acts 20:27–32. What specific warnings did the apostle Paul give to the church leaders from Ephesus regarding the coming apostasy?The purpose of Paul’s counsel was to prepare the church for what was coming. In these passages, he describes his major concern.His concern is that “savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock” (Acts 20:29, NKJV). In other words, believers would face fierce persecution from within the church.The apostle expressed his concern when he said, “Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them” (Acts 20:30). Heresies would enter the church. False doctrines would be substituted for divine truths. Pagan practices would prevail. In the fourth and fifth centuries, compromise subtly crept into the Christian church, with mission advance being the probable justification. But the terrible result was a departure from the truths of God’s Word.Read 2 Thessalonians 2:7–12. How does the apostle Paul describe the coming apostasy? What characteristics should believers look for?Paul’s comment, “the mystery of lawlessness does already work,” is significant. Even in Paul’s day, there was a gradual departure from the truth of God’s Word regarding obedience to God’s law. This departure would flourish in the later centuries.Contrary to the second commandment, idols were introduced into Christian worship. For millennia, idols were in the forefront of all pagan religions. To make Christianity more acceptable to heathens coming into the Christian church, pagan deities were renamed as so-called saints. Sunday, the day of worship for the sun god, was gradually adopted as the day of Christian worship in honor of the Resurrection. This false day, not sanctioned in Scripture, prevails even now.What kind of compromises do we see entering the church today? More important, what compromises might you be making? Is it sometimes by blending truth and error?
Host: Welcome back to the English Sabbath School with Teacher Mo! Today, we have a very special treat for you all. We're sitting down with Mo himself to hear more about his remarkable journey and the inspiration behind his podcast. Mo, thank you so much for joining us today.Mo: It's my pleasure to be here, thank you for having me.Host: Mo, could you tell us a bit about your background and what inspired you to start your podcast?Mo: Well, growing up, I always had a deep love for learning, but I didn't have access to many resources. So, I made the most of what I had. I studied English using my brother's old textbooks, and I listened to the BBC World Service on my shortwave radio every night. Those experiences sparked something inside me – a desire to share knowledge and inspiration with others. And that's what led me to start my podcast.Host: That's incredible, Mo. It's amazing how you turned your passion for learning into something that inspires others. Can you walk us through what a typical day looks like for you as you create your podcast episodes?Mo: Sure! Well, I start my day by reflecting on a topic or a story that resonates with me. It could be something from my own life or something I've read or heard about. Then, I spend time researching and preparing my thoughts. I want to make sure that each episode is meaningful and uplifting for my listeners. After that, it's time to hit record! I pour my heart into each episode, hoping that it will touch someone's life in a positive way.Host: It's evident that you put a lot of thought and care into each episode, Mo. Can you share a memorable moment or experience from your journey as a podcaster?Mo: One moment that stands out to me is when I received a message from a listener who told me that my podcast helped them through a difficult time in their life. Knowing that I made a positive impact on someone's life – even if it's just one person – means the world to me. It's moments like these that remind me why I started this podcast in the first place.Host: That's truly touching, Mo. It's incredible to see how your words and your stories have the power to uplift and inspire others. Before we wrap up, is there anything else you'd like to share with our listeners?Mo: I just want to encourage everyone listening to never underestimate the power of their own voice. Whether it's through a podcast, a blog, or even a simple conversation with a friend – we all have the ability to make a difference in someone's life. So, don't be afraid to share your stories, your experiences, and your wisdom with the world. You never know whose life you might touch along the way.Host: Wise words, Mo. Thank you so much for sharing your story and your insights with us today. It's been an absolute pleasure having you on the show.Mo: Thank you for having me, it's been a joy to be here.[Closing Music]Host: And that wraps up today's episode of the English Sabbath School Podcast. Thank you for tuning in, and be sure to join us again tomorrow for more inspiring stories with Teacher Mo. Until then, stay curious, stay inspired, and keep spreading love and positivity wherever you go.
Compare John 14:6 with John 8:44. What contrast between Jesus’ character and Satan’s is seen in these two passages?What Jesus says is true because He is the author of truth. Truth proceeds from the heart of an all-wise, all-loving, all-knowing God. He is the foundation of reality and of all truth.In contrast, Satan is a liar and the father of lies. He is prepared to use lies, deceit, misinformation, and a distortion of the truth to lead God’s people astray. He deceived Eve in Eden by distorting truth, creating doubt, and blatantly denying what God said. Satan’s statement, “You shall not surely die,” in the context of eating the fruit, was a clear contradiction of what God had said. Throughout the centuries, Satan has used the same strategy. He undermines confidence in God’s Word, contradicts God’s revealed will, distorts Scripture, and at times misquotes the Bible to his advantage.Read Proverbs 23:23, John 17:17, and John 8:32. What similarity do you see in these Bible passages regarding the truth of God’s Word? What is their central message?“Satan well knew that the Holy Scriptures would enable men to discern his deceptions and withstand his power. It was by the word that even the Saviour of the world had resisted his attacks. At every assault, Christ presented the shield of eternal truth, saying, ‘It is written.’ To every suggestion of the adversary, He opposed the wisdom and power of the word. In order for Satan to maintain his sway over men, and establish the authority of the papal usurper, he must keep them in ignorance of the Scriptures. The Bible would exalt God and place finite men in their true position; therefore its sacred truths must be concealed and suppressed. This logic was adopted by the Roman Church. For hundreds of years the circulation of the Bible was prohibited. The people were forbidden to read it or to have it in their houses, and unprincipled priests and prelates interpreted its teachings to sustain their pretensions. Thus the pope came to be almost universally acknowledged as the vicegerent of God on earth, endowed with authority over church and state.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 51.Discuss ways that Satan attempts to distort or misinterpret God’s Word today.
Read for This Week’s StudyJohn 8:44; Prov. 23:23; Acts 20:27–32; 2 Thess. 2:7–12; Ps. 119:105, 116, 130, 133, 160; Prov. 16:25; 2 Cor. 4:3–6.Memory Text:“Then Jesus said to them, ‘A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going’ ” (John 12:35, NKJV).In the Bible’s last book, Revelation, the devil is pictured as a dragon and a serpent (Rev. 12:9). He is a dragon because he desires to destroy God’s people, and he is a serpent because he uses all his cunning lies to deceive them. In the years after Christ’s death, thousands were tortured, thrown to lions, and burned at the stake by imperial Rome for refusing to worship its deities. Yet, in the face of this cruel punishment, many stayed faithful, the gospel continued to spread, and the church grew.As a result, Satan changed his strategy. Scores of pagans were baptized but without thorough instruction in Bible truth. Error flooded into the church as leaders merged the truths of Scripture with popular customs. The fourth and fifth centuries were eras of compromise when church prelates blended pagan practices with Christian teachings.Yet, even in life’s most difficult times, God was continually with His people. They found Jesus, “the way, the truth and the life,” and through the power of the Holy Spirit, they stood firm, even in the face of overwhelming pressure to yield their conscientious convictions. They stayed loyal to God’s revealed will in Scripture and unflinchingly stood for the truth of His Word, regardless of the pressure placed on them, either overtly or subtly.*Study this week’s lesson, based on The Great Controversy, chapter 3, to prepare for Sabbath, April 20.
“The gospel continued to spread and the number of its adherents to increase. It penetrated into regions that were inaccessible even to the eagles of Rome. Said a Christian, expostulating with the heathen rulers who were urging forward the persecution: You may ‘kill us, torture us, condemn us. . . . Your injustice is the proof that we are innocent. . . . Nor does your cruelty . . . avail you.’ It was but a stronger invitation to bring others to their persuasion. ‘The oftener we are mown down by you, the more in number we grow; the blood of Christians is seed.’—Tertullian, Apology, paragraph 50.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 41, 42.“The mysterious providence which permits the righteous to suffer persecution at the hand of the wicked has been a cause of great perplexity to many who are weak in faith. Some are even ready to cast away their confidence in God because He suffers the basest of men to prosper, while the best and purest are afflicted and tormented by their cruel power. How, it is asked, can One who is just and merciful, and who is also infinite in power, tolerate such injustice and oppression? This is a question with which we have nothing to do. God has given us sufficient evidence of His love, and we are not to doubt His goodness because we cannot understand the workings of His providence.”—The Great Controversy, p. 47.Discussion Questions:What value does persecution serve? Why do you think God allows His people to suffer at times? And though in some cases, such as in the early church, good was able to come of it, what about times when it appears that nothing good has come from it? Why in situations like this is the personal experience of God’s love so important in order to maintain faith?How would you respond if a friend asked you these questions: “Where is God in my suffering? If He loves me, why am I going through such a difficult time?”How can your local church become a caring community to impact the world? Discuss practical ways to apply this week’s study.
Read John 13:35 and 1 John 4:21. What do these passages reveal about Satan’s challenge against the government of God in the great controversy? What do they tell us about the essence of genuine Christianity?Love was the norm of Christian communities in the first few centuries. Tertullian, an early Christian theologian, claimed: “It is mainly the deeds of a love so noble that lead many to put a brand upon us. See, they say, how they love one another.”—“Chapter 39,” in Apology, trans. S. Thelwall, https://www.logoslibrary.org/tertullian/apology/39.html (accessed October 10, 2022).One of the greatest revelations of God’s love was demonstrated when two devastating pandemics plagued the early centuries around A.D. 160 and A.D. 260. Christians stepped forward and ministered to the sick and dying. These plagues killed tens of thousands and left entire villages and towns with scarcely an inhabitant. The unselfish, sacrificial, caring, loving ministry of Christians made a huge impact on the population. Over time, thousands, and eventually hundreds of thousands, and then millions in the Roman Empire became believers in Jesus during these two epidemics. Love, outgoing concern, and organized, selfless care of the sick and dying created an admiration for these believers and the Christ they represented.Rodney Stark’s The Rise of Christianity is a modern historical narrative portraying these historic events in a new and improved light. In it he describes how during the second epidemic the whole Christian community, which was still heavily Judeo-Christian, became a virtual army of nurses, providing the basic needs for the suffering community to survive.“At the height of the second great epidemic, around A.D. 260, . . . Dionysius wrote a lengthy tribute to the heroic nursing efforts of local Christians, many of whom lost their lives while caring for others.“Most of our brother Christians showed unbounded love and loyalty, never sparing themselves and thinking only of one another. Heedless of danger, they took charge of the sick, attending to their every need and ministering to them in Christ, and with them departed this life serenely happy; for they were infected by others with the disease, drawing on themselves the sickness of their neighbors and cheerfully accepting their pains.”—The Rise of Christianity (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1996), p. 82.What is the obvious message for us here? How do we learn to die to self so that we, too, can manifest this same selfless spirit? It’s not easy, is it?
The early Christian church grew not only because its members preached the gospel but also because they lived the gospel. Believers modeled the ministry of Christ who “went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people” (Matt. 4:23, NKJV). Jesus deeply cared for people, and so did the New Testament church. It was this unselfish love and commitment to meeting human needs combined with sharing the good news of the gospel in the Holy Spirit’s power that made such an impact on the world in the early centuries of the Christian church.Read Acts 2:44–47, Acts 3:6–9, and Acts 6:1–7. Although circumstances vary, what principles can we learn from these passages about authentic Christianity?These New Testament believers followed the model of Christ, who as Peter expressed was “ ‘anointed . . . with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him’ ” (Acts 10:38, NKJV). Christ’s church was His body on earth, and it, too, in these early centuries, expressed Christ’s sacrificial love and concern for hurting, broken humanity. These believers were living examples of Christ’s compassion.In the great controversy raging in the universe, the devil wants to deface the image of God in humanity. The purpose of the gospel is to restore the image of God in humanity. This restoration includes physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual healing.In John 10:10, Jesus reveals His plan for each one of us.“ ‘The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly’ ” (NKJV). He longs for us to be physically healthy, mentally alert, emotionally stable, and spiritually whole.This is especially true in the light of His promised return. This world is facing an enormous crisis. Jesus’ own predictions in Matthew 24 and Luke 21 foretell catastrophic conditions on the earth before His return. When Christ touches us with His healing grace, we long to touch others with the touch of Christ so that they can be made whole. Jesus sends us out into a broken world as ambassadors for Christ to touch others with His love. New Testament Christianity was characterized by the Christians’ love for one another and their communities.Discuss: What role does the church have in cooperating with Christ in proving Satan’s charges wrong?
Throughout the early centuries of Christianity, the Christian church grew rapidly, despite imprisonment, torture, and persecution. Faithful believers, totally committed to Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit, proclaimed His Word with power; lives were changed, and tens of thousands were converted.Read Acts 2:41; Acts 4:4, 31; Acts 5:42; and Acts 8:1–8. What do these verses teach us about the challenges the New Testament church faced and also why it grew so rapidly?The disciples faced threats (Acts 4:17), imprisonment (Acts 5:17, 18), persecution (Acts 8:1), and death itself (Acts 7:59, Acts 12:2), yet, in the power of the Holy Spirit, courageously proclaimed the resurrected Christ, and churches multiplied throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria (Acts 9:31).The bastions of hell were shaken. The shackles of Satan were broken. Pagan superstition crumbled before the power of the resurrected Christ. The gospel triumphed in the face of overwhelming odds. The disciples no longer cowered in the upper room. Fear danced away like a fading shadow.Instead, faith filled the disciples’ hearts. One glimpse of their resurrected Lord changed their lives. Jesus gave them a new reason for living. Our Lord had not only given them the Great Commission (Mark 16:15) but the great promise, “ ‘But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth’ ” (Acts 1:8, NKJV).The gospel penetrated the remotest corners of the earth (Col. 1:23). Although the last of the disciples, John, died at the end of the first century, others picked up the torch of truth and proclaimed the living Christ. Pliny the Younger, governor of the Roman province of Bithynia on the north coast of modern Turkey, wrote to Emperor Trajan around A.D. 110. Pliny’s statement is significant because it was nearly eighty years after the Crucifixion. Pliny described the official trials he was conducting to find and execute Christians. He stated, “For many persons of all ages, and classes and of both sexes are being put in peril by accusation, and this will go on. The contagion of this superstition [Christianity] has spread not only in the cities, but in the villages and rural districts as well.”—Henry Bettenson, Documents of the Christian Church (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011), p. 4.Despite the devil’s most vicious attacks, the Christian church grew rapidly.What can we learn from the early church that could help us, the end-time church?
God’s mercy, grace, providence, and foreknowledge are clearly revealed in the events leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem. Cestius Gallus and the Roman armies surrounded the city. In an unexpected move, when their attack seemed imminent, they withdrew. The Jewish armies pursued them and won a great victory.With the Romans fleeing and the Jews pursuing, the Christians in Jerusalem fled to Pella in Perea, beyond the Jordan River. “The promised sign had been given to the waiting Christians, and now an opportunity was offered for all who would, to obey the Saviour’s warning. Events were so overruled that neither Jews nor Romans should hinder the flight of the Christians.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 30.Read Psalm 46:1 and Isaiah 41:10. What do these passages tell us about God’s providential care?God is sovereign and overrules events on earth for the ultimate accomplishment of His divine purposes. Although at times God alters His original plans based on our human choices, His ultimate plan for this planet will be fulfilled. There will be times when the people of God experience hardship, persecution, imprisonment, and death itself for the cause of Christ. But even in the most challenging of times with Satan’s most vicious attacks, God sustains and preserves His church.Read Hebrews 11:35–38 and Revelation 2:10. What reality do these texts reveal about our battle with the forces of evil? How do these passages harmonize with the idea of God’s protection in the previous question? Is there a contradiction in the idea of God’s protection and God allowing some to face painful suffering and even a martyr’s death for the cause of Christ?“In vain were Satan’s efforts to destroy the church of Christ by violence. The great controversy in which the disciples of Jesus yielded up their lives did not cease when these faithful standard-bearers fell at their post. By defeat they conquered. God’s workmen were slain, but His work went steadily forward.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 41.What should it mean to us that the Bible writers, who certainly knew pain and suffering, could nevertheless, again and again, write about the reality of God’s love? How can we experience that same love for ourselves?
As Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives overlooking the city of Jerusalem, His heart was broken. John’s Gospel says, “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him” (John 1:11, NKJV). Jesus did everything He could to save His people from the coming destruction of their beloved city.Jesus’ love for His people flowed from a heart of infinite love. He repeatedly appealed to them in love to repent and accept His gracious invitation of mercy.Read Luke 19:41–44; Matthew 23:37, 38; and John 5:40. What do these verses tell you about Jesus’ attitude toward His people and their response to His loving invitation of grace and mercy? What revelation of God’s character do you see?It is difficult to understand such an event as the destruction of Jerusalem in the light of God’s loving character. History reveals that tens of thousands died as the Roman general Titus led his armies against the city. Jerusalem was devastated. Men, women, and children were slaughtered. Where was God when His people suffered so greatly? The answer is clear but not easy to grasp fully. God’s heart was broken. His eyes were filled with tears. For centuries He reached out to His people. By their rebellion against His loving-kindness, they forfeited His divine protection. God does not always intervene to limit the results of His people’s choices. He allows the natural consequences of rebellion to develop. God did not cause the slaughter of innocent children in the destruction of Jerusalem; the tragic death of the innocents was Satan’s act, not God’s.Satan delights in war because it stirs the worst passions of the human heart. Down through the centuries, it has been his purpose to deceive and destroy and then blame his evil actions on God.Read Matthew 24:15–20. What instruction did Jesus give to His people to save them from the coming destruction of Jerusalem?It is well to remember that the vast majority of Christians living in Jerusalem in A.D. 70 came from a Jewish background. A loving God desired to preserve as many of His people as possible. That is why He gave the instruction that when the Roman armies approached, they were to flee the city.Reflect on the following statement: we do not judge God’s character by events we see around us; rather, we filter all the events we see through the prism of His loving character as revealed in the Bible. Why is this such good counsel?
Read for This Week’s StudyLuke 19:41–44; Matt. 23:37, 38; Heb. 11:35–38; Rev. 2:10; Acts 2:44–47; John 13:35.Memory Text:“ ‘ “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” ’ ” (Isaiah 41:10, NKJV).Suppose you are a herdsman tending your goats on the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem. You hear voices. Immediately you recognize the voice of Jesus. As the setting sun gleams off the temple and reflects in snowy whiteness off its magnificent marble walls, Jesus emphatically states, “ ‘Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down’ ” (Matt. 24:2, NKJV).The disciples are confused, and so are you. What could Jesus possibly mean by these words? How do they relate to the end of the world that Jesus’ disciples asked about? You listen in rapt attention as Jesus masterfully blends events that would lead up to the destruction of Jerusalem with those that would take place just before His return.In the destruction of Jerusalem, we discover a foreshadowing of Satan’s strategy both to deceive and destroy God’s people at the end time. Jesus’ instruction in Matthew 24 clearly outlines last-day events in the context of Jerusalem’s fall.We will study Satan’s twofold strategy both to deceive and destroy God’s people. What the evil one fails to accomplish through persecution, he hopes to achieve through compromise. God is never caught by surprise, and even in the most challenging times He preserves His people.*Study this week’s lesson, based on The Great Controversy, chapters 1–2, to prepare for Sabbath, April 13.
“In the banishment of Satan from heaven, God declared His justice and maintained the honor of His throne. But when man had sinned through yielding to the deceptions of this apostate spirit, God gave an evidence of His love by yielding up His only-begotten Son to die for the fallen race. In the atonement the character of God is revealed. The mighty argument of the cross demonstrates to the whole universe that the course of sin which Lucifer had chosen was in no wise chargeable upon the government of God.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 500, 501.“The cross of Calvary, while it declares the law immutable, proclaims to the universe that the wages of sin is death. In the Saviour’s expiring cry, ‘It is finished,’ the death knell of Satan was rung. The great controversy which had been so long in progress was then decided, and the final eradication of evil was made certain. The Son of God passed through the portals of the tomb, that ‘through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.’ Hebrews 2:14.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 503.Discussion Questions:If God knew that Lucifer was going to rebel, why did He give him the power of choice in the first place? Or when Lucifer rebelled, why didn’t God just annihilate him immediately? What kind of reaction might the unfallen universe have had if God had immediately wiped Lucifer out? Why is the concept of the universe’s interest in the plan of salvation (1 Pet. 1:12, Rev. 5:13, Rev. 16:7) so important to understanding the great controversy?What reason or reasons can you think of for Christ’s death on the cross? Was it only to reveal the character of God? Was it to pay the ransom price for sin? If so, to whom was the ransom paid? Share your thoughts and give biblical reasons for them.When we use the term “the great controversy,” what do we mean? Discuss the various aspects of the great controversy and how this week’s lesson applies to your own life.What Bible texts talk about the reality of the great controversy? (See, for instance, Job 1, 2; Eph. 6:12.)How is the Seventh-day Adventist understanding unique among other Christian denominations? What is it in this great controversy theme that sets Adventists apart?
What Jesus did for us on the cross enables Him also to intercede for us in heaven. Our resurrected Lord is our great High Priest, providing everything we need to be saved and to live in God’s kingdom forever.Read Hebrews 4:15, 16 and Hebrews 7:25. How do these verses give us assurance in a world of temptation, suffering, disease, and death?The text says that He “was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15, NKJV). And it adds, “Let us therefore come boldly”—that means confidently—“to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16, NKJV).To state it very simply, Jesus presents us before the universe as clothed in His righteousness, saved by His death, and redeemed through His blood. Everything we should have been, He was. In Christ there is no condemnation for the sins of our past. In Christ our guilt is gone, and through His mighty intercession, the grip of sin on our lives is broken. The chains that bind us are loosed, and we are free.Read John 17:24–26. What is Christ’s longing desire in the great controversy between good and evil?“When the great sacrifice had been consummated, Christ ascended on high, refusing the adoration of angels until He had presented the request: ‘I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am.’ John 17:24. Then with inexpressible love and power came forth the answer from the Father’s throne: ‘Let all the angels of God worship Him.’ Hebrews 1:6. Not a stain rested upon Jesus. His humiliation ended, His sacrifice completed, there was given unto Him a name that is above every name.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 501, 502. Jesus wants more than anything else for us to be with Him in heaven. The desire of His heart, the reason for His death and intercession, is to save us. Do you have a special need in your life? Tell it to Jesus. Where there is sorrow, He brings comfort. Where there is fear, He brings peace. Where there is guilt, He brings forgiveness. Where there is weakness, He brings strength.Why do you think Christ sacrificed Himself for us? What makes us so valuable to Him?
Adam and Eve have sinned, and God has told them that they must leave their garden home. From now on, toil and suffering will be their lot. Will they have to suffer and finally die with no hope? Is death the end of everything?It was at this point that God gave them the promise recorded in Genesis 3:15. Looking directly at Satan, the serpent, He said: “ ‘I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed. He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel’ ” (NKJV). They may not have fully understood at that moment exactly what this meant, but they knew they could hope again. In some way, through the “Seed of the woman,” their redemption would come.The “Seed of the woman,” of course, is Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:16). At the cross, Satan bruised His heel. But Jesus’ victory is our guarantee that one day the serpent’s head will be crushed. The door of suffering and death that Adam and Eve opened will one day be closed.Read Hebrews 2:9, Galatians 3:13, and 2 Corinthians 5:21. What do these verses tell us about the immensity of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross?Do you ever wonder if God really loves you? Look at the Cross—look at the crown of thorns, look at the nails in His hands and feet. With every drop of blood that Jesus shed on Calvary, God is saying, “I love you. I do not want to be in heaven without you. Yes, you’ve sinned; you sold yourself into the hand of the enemy; yes, in and of yourself you are unworthy of eternal life. But I’ve paid the ransom to get you back.” When you look at the Cross, you never have to wonder again if you’re loved.The Bible speaks of a Jesus who came to this world and experienced heartache, disappointment, and pain in common with all humanity. It reveals a Christ who faced the same temptations we face—a Christ who triumphed over the principalities and powers of hell both in His life and through His death on the cross—all for each one of us, personally.Think about it: Jesus, the One who created the cosmos (see John 1:3), stepped down from heaven and not only came into this fallen world but suffered in it in ways none of us ever will (see Isa. 53:1–5). And He did it because He loved us—each of us. What a powerful reason to hope!How did Christ answer Satan’s charges on the cross? In the light of the great controversy between good and evil, what did His death accomplish?
When God created the earth, He created it perfect. The Bible says that He “saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good” (Gen. 1:31, NKJV). There was no stain of sin or evil anywhere. But He gave Adam and Eve the same freedom of choice He had given to Lucifer. He didn’t want robots on earth any more than He wanted robots in heaven.In fact, He went out of His way to make this freedom clear. He planted a tree in the Garden and called it the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He made a point of telling Adam and Eve about it because He wanted to make sure they knew they had a choice.Satan came to the tree, and as Eve lingered there, he told her: “ ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil’ ” (Gen. 3:4, 5, NKJV). In other words, if you eat of this tree, you will enter a new sphere of existence. You will have excitement. You will have a thrill that you’ve never known before. Eve, God is keeping something from you. Here, take the forbidden fruit and eat it.When Eve and later Adam made that choice, they opened a door that God wanted to keep forever closed. It was the doorway to sin—the doorway to suffering, heartache, sickness, and death.Read Genesis 3:1–3 with Romans 3:23 and Romans 5:12. What do these texts have in common? Describe the ultimate results of sin that plague the entire human race.At its very core, sin is rebellion against God. Sin separates us from God. Since God is the Source of life, separation from God leads to death. It also leads to worry, anxiety, sickness, and disease. The suffering in our world is ultimately the result of living on a sin-ravaged planet. This certainly does not mean that every time we suffer, we have sinned. It does mean that every one of us is affected by living on this planet.Read Genesis 3:15; Leviticus 5:5, 6; and John 1:29. What promise did God give Adam and Eve in the Garden after they sinned that would give them hope in their despair? What service did God initiate in Eden that would point them forward through the centuries to the solution to the sin problem?
There is no logical explanation for why Lucifer, this perfect angel, should have allowed pride and jealousy to take root in his heart and grow into rebellion against his Creator. Satan’s pride ripened into open rebellion. He accused God of being unjust and unfair. He infected the angels with his doubts and accusations.Read Revelation 12:4. What does this passage reveal about Satan’s ability to deceive? How many of the angels fell for his lies about God?When war broke out in heaven, the angels had to decide—would they follow Jesus or Lucifer? What was the nature of this war in heaven? Was it a physical war, or a war of ideas, or both? We don’t know the details, but the conflict was physical enough that Satan and his angels eventually were “cast out,” and a place was not “found for them in heaven any longer” (Rev. 12:8, 9, NKJV). This war obviously includes some kind of physical element.One thing is certain about the war in heaven. Every angel had to decide for or against Christ. Whom would they follow? Whose voice would they listen to? The loyal angels chose to be obedient to Christ’s loving commands, while one-third of the angels listened to the voice of Lucifer, disobeyed God, and lost heaven. We, too, in this critical time of earth’s history, are called to decide for or against Christ. We, too, are to declare whose side we are on—Christ’s or Satan’s.Read Genesis 2:15–17, Exodus 32:26, Joshua 24:15, 1 Kings 18:20, 21, and Revelation 22:17. What fundamental principle in the great controversy do these verses teach us?When God created humanity, He embedded deep within our brains the ability to think, to reason, and to choose. The essence of our humanness is our ability to make moral choices. We are not mere robots. We were created in God’s image, distinct from the animal creation, in our ability to make moral choices and live by eternal spiritual principles. After Lucifer’s rebellion in heaven, and after the Fall, God has called His people to respond to His love and be obedient to His commands by choosing to serve Him.What lessons can we learn from the battle in heaven that relates to our own personal battle with evil? If Satan was able to deceive these righteous, holy heavenly beings, what does this say about his evil attempts to deceive us?
Read Revelation 12:7–9. What does this passage reveal about the freedom existing in heaven and the origin of evil? When Lucifer rebelled, in what ways could God have responded?These verses describe a cosmic conflict between good and evil. Satan and his angels warred against Christ and, eventually, were cast out of heaven. It seems extremely strange that war would break out in such a perfect place as heaven. Why did it happen? Did a loving God create a demonic angel who initiated this war? Was there some fatal flaw in this angel that led him to rebel? The Bible clearly explains the origin of evil. It draws the curtain aside in this conflict between good and evil.Compare Ezekiel 28:12–15 and Isaiah 14:12–14. What went on in the mind of this angelic being called Lucifer that led to his rebellion?God did not create a devil. He created a being of dazzling brightness named Lucifer. This angelic being was created perfect. Included in his perfection was freedom of choice—a fundamental principle of God’s government, which runs by love, not coercion. Sin originated with Lucifer in heaven itself. There is no logical explanation why this perfect angel should have allowed pride and jealousy to take root in his heart and grow into rebellion against his Creator.Lucifer, a created being, desired the worship that belonged only to the Creator. He attempted to usurp God’s throne by questioning God’s authority. His rebellion led to open warfare in heaven.Although God bore long with Lucifer, He could not allow him to spoil heaven with his rebellion. “The heavenly councils pleaded with Lucifer. The Son of God presented before him the greatness, the goodness, and the justice of the Creator, and the sacred, unchanging nature of His law. God Himself had established the order of heaven; and in departing from it, Lucifer would dishonor his Maker, and bring ruin upon himself. But the warning, given in infinite love and mercy, only aroused a spirit of resistance.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 494, 495. What lessons can you draw about God’s character in His dealing with evil?
Read for This Week’s StudyRev. 12:7–9, Ezek. 28:12–15, Isa. 14:12–14, Gen. 3:15, John 17:24–26.Memory Text:“And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer” (Revelation 12:7, 8, NKJV).If God is so good, why is the world so bad? How can a God of love allow so much evil to exist? Why do bad things happen to good people? In this week’s lesson, we will explore the agelong conflict between good and evil. Beginning with Lucifer’s rebellion in heaven, we will examine the origin of evil and God’s long-suffering in dealing with the sin problem.God is a God of incredible love. His very nature is love (1 John 4:7, 8). All of His actions are loving (Jer. 31:3). Love can never be forced, coerced, or legislated. Ellen G. White states it well when she writes, “Only by love is love awakened.”—The Desire of Ages, p. 22. To deny the power of choice is to destroy the ability to love, and to destroy the ability to love is to eradicate the possibility of being truly happy. God wins our allegiance by His love. He is dealing with the great controversy between good and evil in such a way that sin will never arise in the universe again. God’s purpose is to demonstrate before the entire universe that He has always acted in the best interests of His creatures. Looking at the world through the lens of God’s love, in the light of the great controversy between good and evil, reassures each of us that right will triumph over wrong and will do so forever.*Study this week’s lesson, based on The Great Controversy, chapters 29–30, to prepare for Sabbath, April 6.
Read for This Week’s StudyRev. 12:7–9, Ezek. 28:12–15, Isa. 14:12–14, Gen. 3:15, John 17:24–26.Memory Text:“And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer” (Revelation 12:7, 8, NKJV).If God is so good, why is the world so bad? How can a God of love allow so much evil to exist? Why do bad things happen to good people? In this week’s lesson, we will explore the agelong conflict between good and evil. Beginning with Lucifer’s rebellion in heaven, we will examine the origin of evil and God’s long-suffering in dealing with the sin problem.God is a God of incredible love. His very nature is love (1 John 4:7, 8). All of His actions are loving (Jer. 31:3). Love can never be forced, coerced, or legislated. Ellen G. White states it well when she writes, “Only by love is love awakened.”—The Desire of Ages, p. 22. To deny the power of choice is to destroy the ability to love, and to destroy the ability to love is to eradicate the possibility of being truly happy. God wins our allegiance by His love. He is dealing with the great controversy between good and evil in such a way that sin will never arise in the universe again. God’s purpose is to demonstrate before the entire universe that He has always acted in the best interests of His creatures. Looking at the world through the lens of God’s love, in the light of the great controversy between good and evil, reassures each of us that right will triumph over wrong and will do so forever.*Study this week’s lesson, based on The Great Controversy, chapters 29–30, to prepare for Sabbath, April 6.
Read Ellen G. White, “Growing Up Into Christ,” pp. 67-75, in Steps to Christ.The Psalms utter fervent appeals to wait on the Lord. “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him” (Ps. 37:7, NKJV). When waiting strikes us as burdensome, uncertain, and lonely, we should remember the disciples on the day of Jesus’ ascension to heaven (Acts 1:4-11). Jesus was taken up to heaven before their eyes, while they were left behind to wait for Him to come back on some unknown future day. Who has ever experienced a more intense yearning to receive God’s blessing now than the disciples on that day? They surely longed, “Lord, take us with You now.” Yet, they were instructed to wait for the promise of the Father and for Jesus’ return. If we think that the disciples were filled with despair and disappointment, we will be surprised. They returned to Jerusalem and did exactly what Jesus told them—they waited for the gift of the Holy Spirit and then preached the gospel to the world with power (Acts 1:12-14, Acts 2).Our Lord’s commandment to wait on Him is an impossible one unless He has done His work in us through the Holy Spirit. No amount of human enthusiasm will ever stand up to the strain that waiting will impose upon our frail self. Only one thing will bear the strain, and that is abiding in Jesus Christ, namely, a personal relationship with Him. “Then if Christ is dwelling in our hearts, He will work in us ‘both to will and to do of His good pleasure.’ Philippians 2:13. We shall work as He worked; we shall manifest the same spirit. And thus, loving Him and abiding in Him, we shall ‘grow up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.’ Ephesians 4:15.”—Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 75. As we continue to wait on the Lord, we will find peace and contentment in the Psalms. Our prayers and songs are where God’s heart and our hearts meet daily.Discussion Questions:Why is waiting significant in our spiritual life? Discuss the experiences of waiting of some biblical heroes of faith. How did waiting purify and strengthen their faith? (Rom. 4:19-22, Hebrews 11).What is the end of our waiting? (Ps. 37:34-40). That is, what are we promised when all things are, finally, resolved? What hope do we find in these texts, for instance, about the justice that has so long been missing in this life?Why, as far as the dead are concerned, and as far as their own experience goes (Eccles. 9:5), is their waiting for Jesus almost done? What hope can we take from the answer?
Read Psalm 5:3, Psalm 30:5, Psalm 49:14, Psalm 59:16, Psalm 92:2, Psalm 119:147, 2 Peter 1:19, and Revelation 22:16. What time of day is symbolically portrayed as the time of divine redemption and why?In the Psalms, morning is typically the time when God’s redemption is anticipated. Morning reveals God’s favor, which ends the long night of despair and trouble (Ps. 130:5, 6). In Psalm 143, God’s deliverance will reverse the present darkness of death (Ps. 143:3) into the light of a new morning (Ps. 143:8), and from being in the pit (Ps. 143:7) into residing in “the land of uprightness” (Ps. 143:10).Read Mark 16:1-8. What happened in the morning talked about here, and why is that so important to us?The resurrection morning of Jesus Christ opened the way for the eternal morning of God’s salvation for all who believe in His name. Jesus’ disciples experienced the full strength of the promise in Psalm 30:5: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning,” when they met the resurrected Lord. It is only by God’s favor and unconditional love that our weeping is transformed to joy (Ps. 30:5, 7).As the morning star announces the birth of a new day, so faith heralds the new reality of eternal life in God’s children (2 Pet. 1:19). Jesus is called the bright and morning star (Rev. 22:16), whom we eagerly await to establish His kingdom in which there will be no more night, evil, and death (Rev. 21:1-8, 25). In the end, more than anything else, this is what we are waiting for when we talk about waiting on the Lord. And, surely, the wait is worth it.“Over the rent sepulcher of Joseph, Christ had proclaimed in triumph, ‘I am the resurrection, and the life.’ These words could be spoken only by the Deity. All created beings live by the will and power of God. They are dependent recipients of the life of God. From the highest seraph to the humblest animate being, all are replenished from the Source of life. Only He who is one with God could say, I have power to lay down My life, and I have power to take it again. In His divinity, Christ possessed the power to break the bonds of death.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 785.Death, it has been said, has been etched in our cells at birth. Though true, at least for us fallen beings, what has the resurrection of Jesus promised us about the temporality of death? Why must we never forget just how temporal death is for us?
Psalm 92. What two aspects of the Sabbath day are highlighted in this song for the Sabbath day?The praise of God for the great works of His hands (Ps. 92:4, 5) and the Eden-like portrayal of the righteous (Ps. 92:12-14) clearly point to Creation, the first aspect that the Sabbath commemorates. The psalm also magnifies the Lord for His victory over enemies as the God of justice (Ps. 92:7-15) and so reinforces the second Sabbath theme—redemption from evil (Deut. 5:12-15). Thus, Psalm 92 extols God for His past Creation and present sustaining of the world, and it points to the end-time hope in eternal divine peace and order.The people can enjoy Sabbath rest because God is the “Most High” (Ps. 92:1, NKJV); His superior position on the high places gives Him an unparalleled advantage over their enemies.Yet, although He is the Most High, the Lord readily reaches down to rescue those who call on Him. The Lord’s work of creation and especially redemption of that creation should inspire people to worship God and love Him. After all, living in a fallen creation, without the hope of redemption, isn’t anything to be particularly thrilled about. We love, we suffer, we die—and do so without any hope. Hence, we praise the Lord, not only as our Creator but as our Redeemer, as well.“Fresh oil” conveys the psalmist’s renewed devotion to serve God as His reconsecrated servant (Ps. 92:10). The anointing with oil was done for consecration of chosen people such as priests and kings (Exod. 40:15, 1 Sam. 10:1). Yet, the psalmist chose an unusual Hebrew word, balal, to describe his anointing that does not typically depict anointing of God’s servants but denotes “mixing” of oil with other parts of the sacrifice (Exod. 29:2, NKJV; Lev. 2:4, 5). The psalmist’s unique use of balal implies that the psalmist wishes to present himself as a living sacrifice to the Lord and to consecrate his whole self to God (Rom. 12:1).It is not surprising to find thoughts about consecration in a psalm that is dedicated to the Sabbath because the Sabbath is the sign that the Lord sanctifies His people (Exod. 31:13). The images of palm trees and cedars of Lebanon portray God’s people growing in faith and true appreciation of God’s wonderful purposes and love. The Sabbath is the sign of the Lord’s eternal covenant with His people (Ezek. 20:20). Thus, the Sabbath rest is essential to God’s people because it empowers them to trustingly wait upon the Lord to fulfill all His covenantal promises (Heb. 4:1-10).Read through Psalm 92 again. What great hope is offered to us there, and how can we, even right now, take comfort in what it says?
Read Psalm 126. What gives strength and hope to God’s people? What is being said here, in this context, that we can apply to our own lives today?The Lord’s miraculous deliverances in the past are an inexhaustible source of inspiration for God’s people and their source of hope for the future. The past deliverance was so great that it could be described as a dream-come-true experience (Isa. 29:7, 8). Notice that the generation that praises the Lord in Psalm 126 for His past deliverance of His people from captivity (Ps. 126:1) is presently in captivity (Ps. 126:4).Yet, the past joy and relief are relived through songs and appropriated in present experience. The new generations keep biblical history alive by counting themselves as present among those who saw the events firsthand. Thus, a living faith cherishes God’s great deeds for His people in the past as something that the Lord has done for us and not simply things that the Lord did only for them (the past generations of believers).In fact, the memory of the past spurs renewed hope for the present. The image of “the streams in the south” (Ps. 126:4) is a powerful metaphor of God’s acting suddenly and powerfully on behalf of His people. The very south of Judah was an arid desert region. The streams were formed suddenly and filled with rushing waters after heavy rainfalls during the rainy season. The early and late rains played a crucial role in the success of the agricultural year (Deut. 11:14, Deut. 28:12). Similarly, the image of sowing in tears and reaping in joy (Ps. 126:5, 6) is a powerful promise of divine leading from a difficult present to a happy future.The end of the harvest season was the time when the ancient Hebrew pilgrimages brought the fruits of the season to God’s temple in Jerusalem (Exod. 34:22, 26). The harvest motif provided a potent spiritual lesson to the people at that time. Just as the hard labor of sowing and caring for the fields, orchards, and vineyards is rewarded with the joy of a plentiful harvest, so the present trials of God’s people will be crowned with the joy of salvation at the end of time. The image of the great harvest points to God’s restoration of His kingdom on earth at Christ’s second coming (Amos 9:13-15, Matt. 9:37). Here, too, however, the theme of waiting arises. As with the harvest, we must wait to see the fruit and results of our labor.Dwell on some times when you clearly and unmistakably saw the Lord working in your life or in the lives of others. How can you draw hope from those experiences for whatever you might be going through now?
Read Psalm 131. What does this psalm teach us about our relationship with God?God’s people live in a world that afflicts the faithful, a world full of temptations and hardship for almost everyone. A refreshed conviction that he is a child of God and dependent on God for his life consoles the psalmist and brings him to confess that his pride has no value. The deceitfulness of pride is that it causes the proud to become self-centered and unable to look beyond themselves. The proud are thus blinded to the higher reality of God.In contrast, the righteous lift their eyes to God (Ps. 123:1, 2). The acknowledgment of God’s greatness makes them humble and free from self-seeking and vain ambition. The psalmist confesses that he does not seek “great matters” and “things too high” (Ps. 131:1). These expressions describe God’s works in the world that are beyond human comprehension. Modern science has shown us that even the “simplest” things can be incredibly complicated and far beyond our understanding, at least for now. In fact, there’s a great irony: the more we learn about the physical world, the greater the mysteries that appear before us.Meanwhile, the metaphor in Psalm 131:2, “like a weaned child with [its] mother” (NKJV), is a powerful image of one who finds calmness and who is quieted in the embrace of God. It points to the loving relationship a child has with its mother at various stages in that child’s young life.Through weaning us from insubstantial ambitions and pride, God introduces us to the nourishment of solid food, which is to “do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work” (John 4:34, also Heb. 5:12-14). The childlike trust depicted in Psalm 131 is mature faith that has been tried and tested by the hardships of life and has found God to be faithful and true to His Word.The psalmist’s attention at the end rests on the well-being of God’s people. Ultimately, we are called to use our experience with God to strengthen His church. That is, from what we have learned, personally, of God’s faithfulness and goodness, we can share with others who, for whatever reason, still struggle with their faith. Our witness about Christ can even be within the church itself, where many need to know Him for themselves.“ ‘Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven’ ” (Matt. 18:3, NKJV). What is Jesus saying to us here? What does this idea entail?
Read Psalm 27:14; Psalm 37:7, 9, 34; Psalm 39:7; Psalm 40:1; Psalm 69:6; Galatians 5:5; and Romans 8:18-25. What do these texts implore God’s people to do?Perhaps one of the greatest stresses in life is the stress of waiting. No matter who we are, where we live, what our station in life is, we all at times must wait for things. From waiting in line in a store to waiting to hear a medical prognosis, we wait—which we don’t always like doing, do we?What, then, about waiting for God? The notion of waiting on the Lord is found not only in the Psalms but abounds all through the Bible. The operative word in all this is perseverance. Perseverance is our supreme commitment of refusing to succumb to fear of disappointment that somehow God will not come through for us. God’s devoted child waits, knowing with certainty that God is faithful and those who wait on Him can trust that if we leave our situation to Him, we can be sure that He will work it out for our best, even if at the time we don’t necessarily see it that way.Waiting on the Lord is more than just hanging on. It is a deep longing for God that is compared to intense thirst in a dry land (Ps. 63:1). The psalmist waits on many blessings from God, but his yearning to be brought close to his God surpasses any other desire and need in life.As we read in Paul, in this amazing passage in Romans, God and the whole creation are waiting for the renewal of the world and the blessed meeting of God and His people at the end of time. He writes: “For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God” (Rom. 8:19, NKJV).What an incredible promise!Yet, while we are waiting for the ultimate salvation and reunion with God, even as “the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs” (Rom. 8:22, NKJV), the Lord still abides with His people now, through the Holy Spirit.Meanwhile, we are called to bear witness (Acts 1:4-8) to the plan of salvation, which will culminate in a new creation. That new creation is, ultimately, what we are waiting for, the final fulfillment of our hopes as Adventist Christians, whose very name, Adventist, contains the idea of the hope that we await. We wait, but we know that it’s not in vain. Christ’s death and resurrection, at the first coming, is our surety of His second coming.What are some things you are waiting for now from God? How do we learn to wait in faith and in trust, especially when what we are praying for hasn’t yet come?
Read for This Week’s StudyPs. 27:14, Rom. 8:18-25, Psalm 131, Matt. 18:3, Psalm 126, Psalm 92, Mark 16:1-8, 2 Pet. 1:19.Memory Text:“Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!” (Psalm 27:14, NKJV).We have reached the last week in this quarter’s study of the Psalms. The spiritual journey has taken us through the experience of awe before the majestic Creator, King, and Judge; through the joys of divine deliverance, forgiveness, and salvation; through moments of surrender in grief and lament; and through the glorious promises of God’s everlasting presence and the anticipation of the unending universal worship of God. The journey continues, though, as we live in the hope of the Lord’s coming when our longing for God will find its ultimate fulfillment. If there is a final word that we can draw from the Psalms, it should be “wait on the Lord.”Waiting on the Lord is not an idle and desperate biding of one’s time. Instead, waiting on the Lord is an act full of trust and faith, a trust and faith revealed in action. Waiting on the Lord transforms our gloomy evenings with the expectancy of the bright morning (Ps. 30:5, Ps. 143:8). It strengthens our hearts with renewed hope and peace. It motivates us to work harder, bringing in the sheaves of plentiful harvest from the Lord’s mission fields (Ps. 126:6, Matt. 9:36-38). Waiting on the Lord will never put us to shame but will be richly rewarded because the Lord is faithful to all His promises (Ps. 37:7-11, 18, 34; Ps. 71:1; Ps. 119:137, 138).*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, March 30.
Read Ellen G. White, “How to Pray,” pp. 39-42, in A Call to Stand Apart.Central to worship is the need for repentance, true repentance: “Repentance includes sorrow for sin and a turning away from it. We shall not renounce sin unless we see its sinfulness; until we turn away from it in heart, there will be no real change in the life.“There are many who fail to understand the true nature of repentance. Multitudes sorrow that they have sinned and even make an outward reformation because they fear that their wrongdoing will bring suffering upon themselves. But this is not repentance in the Bible sense. They lament the suffering rather than the sin. Such was the grief of Esau when he saw that the birthright was lost to him forever. Balaam, terrified by the angel standing in his pathway with drawn sword, acknowledged his guilt lest he should lose his life; but there was no genuine repentance for sin, no conversion of purpose, no abhorrence of evil. Judas Iscariot, after betraying his Lord, exclaimed, ‘I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood.’ Matthew 27:4.”—Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, pp. 22, 23.“Although God dwells not in temples made with hands, yet He honors with His presence the assemblies of His people. He has promised that when they come together to seek Him, to acknowledge their sins, and to pray for one another, He will meet with them by His Spirit. But those who assemble to worship Him should put away every evil thing. Unless they worship Him in spirit and truth and in the beauty of holiness, their coming together will be of no avail. Of such the Lord declares, ‘This people draweth nigh unto Me with their mouth, and honoreth Me with their lips; but their heart is far from Me.’ Matthew 15:8, 9. Those who worship God must worship Him ‘in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him.’ John 4:23.”—Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, p. 50.Discussion Questions:What is the worshiper’s greatest offering to God (Ps. 40:6-10; Rom. 12:1, 2)?How are individual and communal worship related? Why do we really need both? How does each one enhance the other?Many people understand worship to pertain only to prayer, singing of hymns, and study of the Bible and spiritual literature. While these activities are essential for worship, is worship limited to them? Give some examples of other forms of worship.Ellen G. White wrote: “His service should not be looked upon as a heart-saddening, distressing exercise. It should be a pleasure to worship the Lord and to take part in His work.”—_Steps to Christ_, p. 103. How can worship of the Lord become a pleasure?
Read Psalm 40:6-8, Psalm 50:7-23, and Psalm 51:16-19. What important issue do these texts address? Why does God not delight in the sacrifices that He prescribed in His Word (Exod. 20:24)?Like the prophets, the psalmists decry various misuses of worship. Their main point in these verses is not the Lord’s aversion to Israel’s sacrifices and festivals but the reasons for such repugnance: the fatal distance between worship and spirituality.God is not rebuking His people for their sacrifices and burnt offerings but for their wickedness and acts of injustice that they had done in their personal lives (Ps. 50:8, 17-21). The Psalms are not preaching against sacrifice and worship but against vain sacrifice and empty worship, demonstrated in the unrighteousness of these worshipers.When the unity between the outward expression of worship and the correct inner motivation for worship falls apart, rituals usually become more important in and of themselves than does the actual experience of drawing close to God. That is, the forms of worship become an end in themselves as opposed to the God whom those rituals are supposed to point to and to reveal.Read John 4:23, 24. What point is Jesus making here that fits exactly with what the psalms for today are warning about?Sacrifices alone are not enough. What good were these sacrifices if the hearts of those offering them were not filled with repentance, faith, and a sorrow for sin? Only when accompanied by repentance and sincere thanksgiving could the sacrifices of bulls please God as “sacrifices of righteousness” (Ps. 51:19, see also Ps. 50:14). Jesus, quoting Isaiah, expressed it like this: “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me” (Matt. 15:8, NKJV). The problems the psalmists saw were the same problems that Jesus encountered with some of the people, especially the leaders, during His earthly ministry.How can we make sure that we, as Adventists, with all this light and knowledge, don’t fall into the trap of thinking that merely knowing truth and going through the rituals of the truth is enough?
Read Psalm 96. What manifold aspects of worship are mentioned in this psalm?Worship includes singing to the Lord (Ps. 96:1, 2), praising His name (Ps. 96:2), proclaiming His goodness and greatness (Ps. 96:3, 4), and bringing gifts to His temple (Ps. 96:8). In addition to these familiar traits of worship, Psalm 96 highlights one not so obvious aspect of worship—the evangelical dimension in proclaiming the Lord’s kingdom to other peoples (Ps. 96:2, 3, 10).Yet, singing, praising, bringing gifts, and proclaiming the gospel are not separate actions but are varied expressions of worship. The proclamation of God’s salvation to all nations gives substance to praise and content to worship. Notice how the reasons for worship coincide with the message proclaimed to other peoples: “for the Lord is great” (Ps. 96:4), “for all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens” (Ps. 96:5, NKJV), “ ‘the Lord reigns’ ” (Ps. 96:10, NKJV), and “for He is coming to judge the earth” (Ps. 96:13, NKJV). Thus, the goal of evangelism is to unite other peoples with God’s people, and ultimately the whole creation in the worship of the Lord (Ps. 96:11-13).Worship springs from the inward recognition of who the Lord is, that is, Creator, King, and Judge (Ps. 96:5, 10, 13). Worship thus involves remembering God’s past acts (Creation), celebrating His present wonders (God’s sustaining of the world and His present reign), and anticipating His future deeds (end-time judgment and a new life in a new heavens and earth).Judgment in the Psalms means restoration of the divine order of peace, justice, and well-being in a world presently burdened by injustice and suffering. Hence, the whole earth rejoices in anticipation of God’s judgments (Ps. 96:10-13, Ps. 98:4-9). The fact that the Lord is a righteous Judge should additionally motivate people to worship Him in holiness and “tremble,” and should caution them against taking worship lightly (Ps. 96:9). Worship involves both immense joy and confidence (Ps. 96:1, 2, 11-13) and holy fear and awe (Ps. 96:4, 9).The universal appeal of Psalm 96 to worship the Creator and the Judge is reflected in God’s final gospel proclamation to the world, the three angels’ messages of Revelation 14:6-12. In many ways this psalm seems to incorporate this end-time message: creation, salvation (“everlasting gospel”), worship, and judgment. It’s all there.Compare this psalm with the three angels’ messages (Rev. 14:6-12). In what ways does it teach the same basic truths as does this end-time message that we are to proclaim to the world?
Read Psalm 15. Who are the people worthy of worshiping in God’s presence?The answer given in this psalm is the summary of the requirements already given in God’s law and the prophets: the ones whose actions (“works righteousness”) and character (“in his heart”) (see Deut. 6:5, Mic. 6:6-8) are a reflection of God. The sanctuary was a holy place, and everything in it, including the priests, was consecrated. Thus, holiness is a mandatory requirement for entering the presence of God. Israel’s holiness was to be comprehensive, uniting worship with ethics and exercised in all aspects of life. The law was given to God’s people to enable them to fulfill their greatest potential (i.e., live as a kingdom of priests). The royal priesthood includes a life of holiness in the presence of God and bringing the covenant blessings to other nations.Read Psalm 24:3-6 and Psalm 101:1-3. What does it mean to be holy?“A perfect heart” is the worshiper’s greatest quality before God. The Hebrew tamim, “perfect,” conveys the notion of “completeness” and “wholeness.” A “perfect” vine is whole, undamaged, and healthy (Ezek. 15:5). Animals offered as sacrifices had to be tamim, or without blemish (Lev. 22:21-24). “Perfect” speech is entirely truthful (Job 36:4). A “perfect heart” thus is a “pure heart” (Ps. 24:4) or a heart of integrity (Ps. 15:2). It seeks God (Ps. 24:6) and is restored by God’s forgiveness (Ps. 51:2-10). A blameless life springs from the acknowledgment of God’s grace and His righteousness. Divine grace inspires and enables God’s servants to live in the fear of the Lord, which means to live in unhindered fellowship with God and in submission to His Word. A testimony of a devoted and pious life brings praise to God and not to one’s own self. Notice that most requirements in Psalm 15 are given in negative terms (Ps. 15:3-5). This is not about earning God’s favor but about avoiding the things that would separate us from God.How can we make conscious choices to avoid the things that push us away from God? What are some of those things, and how can we avoid doing them?
Read Psalm 33:3, Psalm 40:3, Psalm 96:1, Psalm 98:1, Psalm 144:9, and Psalm 149:1. What is the common motif in these texts?These psalms summon people to sing a “new song.” What is a “new song” here? The reason for the “new song” is the fresh recognition of the Lord’s majesty and sovereignty over the world and gratitude for His care and salvation as the Creator and Judge of the earth. Deliverance from enemies and from death, and God’s special favor toward Israel, are some of the more personal motives to sing “a new song.” While other songs also praise the Lord for His loving-kindness and wonders, the “new song” is a special song, expressing rekindled joy and promising renewed devotion to God. The new experience of divine deliverance inspires the people to acknowledge the Lord as their Creator and King. The common themes in the psalms that tell of “a new song” are trust in God, praise of His wonderful works, and deliverance from affliction, among other things.Read Isaiah 42:10-12, Revelation 5:9, and Revelation 14:3. What can we infer about the “new song” from these biblical texts?God’s people Israel is depicted in affectionate terms as “a people near to Him [God]” (Ps. 148:14, NKJV), implying that of all the creation, Israel has the most special status, and thus is most obliged and privileged to praise God. The Bible thus encourages believers of all generations to sing the new song in praise of their Redeemer, which carries their unique testimony about salvation in the blood of the Lamb. A “new song” can depict a fresh song that no one has ever heard before, a song that commemorates a vivid experience of God’s grace in one’s life. The “new song” can also express hope, in which case the newness of the song is demonstrated in the anticipation of the unique, unprecedented experience of God’s majesty in the future. True worship goes beyond sacrifices and offerings and reflects a living relationship with God that is always fresh and dynamic. In a sense, one could simply say that the “new song” is a new expression, even each day, of our love and appreciation for what God has done for us.Dwell on God’s blessings in your life. If you were to sing a new song, what would it be?
Read Psalm 134. Where is the worship offered here? What is the outcome of the worship of the Lord?Psalm 134 recalls the Aaronic priestly blessing in Numbers 6:24-26 (also Ps. 67:1) and highlights blessing as the underlying principle and outcome of the relationship between God and Israel. The people bless God in the sanctuary, and God blesses His people from Zion. The blessings extend to all of life because the Lord is the Creator of heaven and earth. The mention of Zion as the place of divine special blessings underlines the Lord’s covenantal bond with His people. It is thus within the covenant of grace that Israel exercises the privilege to bless the Lord and is blessed by Him.Read Psalm 18:1; Psalm 36:1; Psalm 113:1; Psalm 134:1, 2; and Psalm 135:1, 2. How are the worshipers depicted here?The Psalms often depict the worshipers as the servants of the Lord. “Who by night stand in the house of the Lord” (Ps. 134:1, NKJV) likely refers to the night guard of the Levites (1 Chron. 9:23-27) or to the praise that was offered to God by the Levites both day and night (1 Chron. 9:33).Because the Israelites worshiped the invisible God, who could not be represented in the form of any image, the sanctuary served to reflect the glory of the Lord and provide a secure environment for sinful people to approach their holy King. This encounter is initiated by the Lord Himself and is regulated by His statutes and decrees.“Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 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” (1 Pet. 2:4, 5, NKJV). What we see here, in the words of Peter, is a New Testament expression of the same ideas presented in these psalms, that of God’s people, now a holy priesthood, offering praise and thanksgiving to their Lord Jesus Christ, their Creator and Redeemer, for all the good things that He had done for them.As New Testament believers, we, also, have a priestly role in that we are called to mediate the good news of the gospel to the world. What are the most effective ways we can do this?
Read for This Week’s StudyPsalm 134; Isa. 42:10-12; Rev. 14:3; Psalm 15; Ps. 101:1-3; Psalm 96; Rev. 14:6-12; John 4:23, 24.Memory Text:“I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being” (Psalm 104:33, NKJV).As our experience of God’s grace and power increases, we are prompted to ask with the psalmist: “What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me?” (Ps. 116:12, NKJV). The inevitable reply is to devote one’s life to being faithful to God.In the Psalms, Israel is not simply a nation but “the great assembly” (Ps. 22:22, 25, NKJV; Ps. 35:18). This reveals Israel’s primary calling to praise God and to bear witness about Him to other nations because the Lord wants all the world to join His people in worship. The Lord’s people are identified with the righteous, who worship the Lord and whose hope is in Him and in His love.Praising the Lord in the congregation is perceived as ideal worship. This does not mean that the prayer and praise of the individual in Israel assume a secondary meaning. By contrast, the individual’s worship of God feeds the communal worship with renewed praise (Ps. 22:22, 25) while in turn individual worship develops its fullest potential in close relationship with the community. The worshiping community also is called the “assembly of the upright” (Ps. 111:1). The upright know God (Ps. 36:10) and are known by God (Ps. 37:18), and this experience permeates every aspect of their existence.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, March 23.
Contemplate the message of Isaiah 40 and Isaiah 51:1-16.The songs of Zion make an absolute commitment to staying mindful of Zion and the living hope in God’s sovereign reign that it represents. While many blessings of God’s sanctuary are experienced in this life, the hope in the fullness of life and joy in Zion is still in the future. Many of God’s children long for the heavenly Zion with tears (Ps. 137:1). To remember Zion implies not merely an occasional thought but also a deliberate mindfulness and decision to live in accordance with that living memory (Exod. 13:3, Exod. 20:8).Therefore, singing the songs of Zion carries a passionate resolve to keep alive the hope in the restoration of God’s kingdom on the new earth (Rev. 21:1-5). “There, immortal minds will contemplate with never-failing delight the wonders of creative power, the mysteries of redeeming love. There is no cruel, deceiving foe to tempt to forgetfulness of God. Every faculty will be developed, every capacity increased. The acquirement of knowledge will not weary the mind or exhaust the energies. There the grandest enterprises may be carried forward, the loftiest aspirations reached, the highest ambitions realized; and still there will arise new heights to surmount, new wonders to admire, new truths to comprehend, fresh objects to call forth the powers of mind and soul and body.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 677.A commitment not to forget Zion is an implicit pledge of the Lord’s pilgrims that they will never accept this world as their homeland but await the new heavens and the new earth.Thus, the psalms of Zion can be sung by believers of all generations who long to live in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 3:12). The songs of Zion encourage us to anticipate the future world with hope, but they also oblige us to be agents of God’s grace in this present world.Discussion Questions:How do we take the spiritual and theological principles that centered on God’s people in Zion, a literal place in Jerusalem, and apply them to the church and its mission to the world?How can believers abide in God’s sanctuary today? (John 1:14-18, Heb. 12:22-24).How will Zion become the city of all nations as envisioned in Psalm 87? (Rom. 5:10, Eph. 2:11-16, Col. 1:19-23).How do you answer the person who points to the reality of the wicked prospering in this world while many “good” people suffer? What do you say? Why is it important to acknowledge that we don’t have full answers for everything here now?
Read Psalm 125:1, 2. How are those who trust God portrayed here?Those who trust in the Lord are compared to Mount Zion, the symbol of steadfastness and strength. The magnificent view of the mountains surrounding the city of Jerusalem inspired the psalmist to acknowledge the certainty of divine protection (Ps. 5:12, Ps. 32:7, 10). Unlike the mountains ruled by the wicked, which are being tossed into the seas (Ps. 46:2), the impressive durability of the mountain upon which Jerusalem was built inspires profound trust. The confidence in God’s protection becomes even bolder in the face of the painful reality in which evil seems to prevail so often. Yet, even amid that evil, God’s people can have hope.Read Psalm 125:3-5. How are the righteous tempted? What is the lesson for us?God’s children can be discouraged by the success of the wicked and, perhaps, tempted to follow their ways (Ps. 73:2-13, Ps. 94:3). The utmost stability of Mount Zion cannot secure those who depart from the Lord. The people are still given freedom to “put forth their hands unto iniquity” (Ps. 125:3) and “turn aside unto their crooked ways” (Ps. 125:5). The Lord is just and will judge the individuals who remain in rebellion along with other unrepentant sinners.Here is the call for God’s people to remain immovable in faith and trust in the Lord, just as Mount Zion is their immovable refuge. That is, even when we don’t understand things, we can still trust in the goodness of God.“The entrance of sin into the world, the incarnation of Christ, regeneration, the resurrection, and many other subjects presented in the Bible, are mysteries too deep for the human mind to explain, or even fully to comprehend. But we have no reason to doubt God’s word because we cannot understand the mysteries of His providence. . . . Everywhere are wonders beyond our ken. Should we then be surprised to find that in the spiritual world also there are mysteries that we cannot fathom? The difficulty lies solely in the weakness and narrowness of the human mind. God has given us in the Scriptures sufficient evidence of their divine character, and we are not to doubt His word because we cannot understand all the mysteries of His providence.”—Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, pp. 106, 107.
Read Psalm 46:1-7. How is the world poetically depicted here?This psalm gives a vivid description of the world in turmoil, and it is portrayed with the images of natural disasters of unprecedented intensity (Ps. 46:2, 3). The image of disturbed waters often depicts the rebellious nations and various problems that the wicked cause in the world (Ps. 93:3, 4; Ps. 124:2-5). Likewise, in Psalm 46 the images of natural calamities depict the world controlled by nations waging wars (Ps. 46:6).It is clearly a world without the knowledge of God because God is in the midst of His people, and where God dwells, peace abounds (Ps. 46:4, 5). Yet, although the world rejects Him, God does not abandon the world. God is present in the world by being among His people. In other words, no matter how bad things appear, God’s presence is here, in the world, and we can draw personal hope and encouragement from knowing this foundational truth.The Lord, who is the perfect refuge, is the Source of Zion’s lasting peace and security. The word that highlights the security of Zion is “though” in Psalm 46:3. Though the world is in turmoil, the people of God are safe. This shows that peace is not the result of total absence of trials but God’s gift to His trusting children. Unreserved trust in God can render God’s child peaceful and secure in the middle of the storm (Matt. 8:23-27). The question that poses itself is: Will God leave the world to its destructive choices and actions forever?Read Psalm 46:6-11. What is God’s response to violence and destruction in the world?
Read Psalm 87:1, 2. What makes Zion such an esteemed place?Psalm 87 is a hymn celebrating Zion as God’s specially chosen and beloved city. The foundation of God’s temple is on Mount Zion (Ps. 2:6, Ps. 15:1). At the end of time, Zion will rise above all mountains, signifying the Lord’s sovereign supremacy over the whole world (Ps. 99:2, Isa. 2:2, Mic. 4:1). Psalm 87 refers to Zion as “mountains” to highlight its majesty (Ps. 133:3). God loves the gates of Zion “more than all the dwellings of Jacob” (Ps. 87:2, NKJV), expressing the superiority of Zion over all other places in Israel that were special gathering places of God’s people in the past, such as Shiloh and Bethel. Thus, the psalm affirms that true worship of God is in His chosen place and in His prescribed way.Read Psalm 87:3-7. What are the glorious things that are spoken of Zion?The glory of Zion draws all the nations to God, and so, the borders of God’s kingdom are extended to include the whole world. Notice that God does not treat the other nations as second-level citizens, even if Zion is portrayed as the spiritual birthplace of all peoples who accept the Lord as their Savior.The registering of individuals was done according to their birthplace (Neh. 7:5, Luke 2:1-3). Three times the psalm states that the nations are born in Zion, meaning that the Lord provides them with a new identity and grants them all the privileges of lawfully born children of Zion (Ps. 87:4-6).Psalm 87 points to salvation of both the Jews and the Gentiles and their being united in one church through Christ’s redeeming ministry (Rom. 3:22; Rom. 10:12; Gal. 3:28, 29; Col. 3:11). The psalm’s portrayal of the prosperity of Zion is reminiscent of Daniel’s vision of God’s kingdom becoming an enormous mountain that fills the whole earth (Dan. 2:34, 35, 44, 45) and of Jesus’ parable about God’s kingdom growing into a huge tree that hosts the birds of the air (Matt. 13:32).How does Zion’s readiness to adopt all people find its fulfillment in the church’s Great Commission to preach the gospel to every nation (Matt. 28:18-20)? How does this idea fit in with our call to preach the three angels’ messages?
Read Psalm 122:1-5. What are the sentiments of the worshipers upon their arrival to Jerusalem? What do they hope to find in Jerusalem?Psalm 122 expresses the pilgrims’ excitement upon their arrival at Jerusalem. The pilgrimages to Jerusalem were joyful occasions when God’s people joined together three times during the year to commemorate God’s goodness toward them in the past and present (Deut. 16:16). Jerusalem was the center of the nation’s life because it contained “the Testimony of Israel” (Ps. 122:4, NKJV) and the thrones for judgment (Ps. 122:5). “The Testimony of Israel” refers to the sanctuary that was at times called “the tabernacle of the Testimony” (Num. 1:50, NKJV) and contained the “ark of the Testimony” (Exod. 25:22, NKJV). The thrones set for judgment depict the judicial system in Jerusalem (2 Sam. 8:15). Pilgrimage was thus the time when one could seek and obtain justice. Faithfulness to God and administering justice to people were never to be separated.Read Psalm 122:6-9. What is the main prayer of God’s people?Praying for the peace of Jerusalem invokes God’s blessings upon the city and its inhabitants, and it unites the worshipers, causing peace to spread among them (Ps. 122:8). Jerusalem could be the city of peace only if peace existed between God and His people, and among God’s children themselves. Thus, prayer for the peace of Jerusalem conveys an appeal to God’s people to live in peace with God and one another. In Jerusalem’s peace, the people will prosper (Ps. 147:12-14).The psalm teaches us that the prayer for the well-being of the community of faith should be the main subject of the prayers of God’s children because only the strong and united people of God can proclaim the good tidings of God’s peace and salvation to the world (John 13:34, 35).Praying for the peace of Jerusalem is still a privilege and responsibility of the believers because it keeps alive the hope in the end-time coming of God’s kingdom of peace, which will embrace not only the city of Jerusalem but the whole world (Isa. 52:7; Isa. 66:12, 13; Revelation 21, 22).What are practical ways that we can strive for harmony among us as a people now?
Read Psalm 84:1-4. Why does the psalmist long to dwell in the sanctuary?The psalmist “longs” and “faints” to make the sanctuary his permanent abode so that he can be near God forever (Ps. 84:1, 2). God’s living presence (Ps. 84:2) makes the sanctuary a unique place. In the sanctuary, worshipers can “behold the beauty of the Lord” (Ps. 27:4, NKJV; also, see Ps. 63:2) and be “satisfied with the goodness of [His] house” (Ps. 65:4, NKJV). In Psalm 84, unparalleled happiness is achieved in relationship with God, which consists of praising Him (Ps. 84:4), finding strength in Him (Ps. 84:5), and trusting Him (Ps. 84:12). The sanctuary is the place where such a relationship is nourished through worship and fellowship with fellow believers. The living presence of God in the sanctuary gives the worshipers a glimpse of God’s glorious kingdom and a taste of eternal life.Read Psalm 84:5-12. Who else can be blessed by the sanctuary?God’s blessings are described as radiating from the sanctuary, bestowed first on those who serve in the sanctuary (Ps. 84:4), then on the pilgrims on their way to the sanctuary (Ps. 84:5-10), and finally reaching as far as the ends of the earth. The expectation of meeting God in the sanctuary strengthens the faith of the pilgrims (Ps. 84:7). Whereas the strength of the ordinary traveler weakens under the burden of the tiresome journey, with the pilgrims to the sanctuary, their strength increases the nearer they come to the sanctuary.Even when physically removed from the sanctuary, God’s children continue to bear a stamp of God’s sanctuary by living a worthy life (Ps. 84:11), which characterizes the righteous who enter the Lord’s sanctuary (Ps. 15:1, 2). The Lord is called “a sun,” showing that the blessings from the sanctuary, like the sunrays, extend to the ends of the earth (Ps. 84:11). Thus, those who abide with God through faith receive His grace, regardless of the place where they are.Read Revelation 21:3. What hope reflected in the earthly sanctuary is revealed here to us? How do we now even begin to imagine what this experience will be like?
Read for This Week’s StudyPsalm 84; Rev. 21:3; Psalm 122; Psalm 87; Gal. 3:28, 29; Matt. 28:18-20; Psalm 46; Psalm 125.Memory Text:“My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God” (Psalm 84:2, NKJV).The songs of Zion are joyous hymns that magnify the beauty of Zion and the sovereignty of the Lord, who reigns from His holy mountain. These psalms often praise the merits of the Lord’s house and express a love for the sanctuary that can be found in other psalms, as well. Many of these psalms were composed by the sons of Korah, who had firsthand experience of the blessedness of the Lord’s house as the temple musicians (1 Chron. 6:31-38) and keepers of the temple gates (1 Chron. 9:19).What makes Zion the source of hope and joy? Zion represented God’s living presence among His people. As the people of Israel are God’s chosen people (Deut. 7:6), so Zion is God’s chosen mountain (Ps. 78:68, Ps. 87:2). God reigns from Zion (Ps. 99:1, 2) and founded His temple on Zion, as well (Ps. 87:1). Thus, Zion is a place of divine blessings and refuge. Zion is often referred to in parallel, or even interchangeably with, Jerusalem and the sanctuary, the center of God’s work of salvation for the ancient world.The blessings of Zion overflow to the ends of the earth because the Lord’s person and grace exceed the boundaries of any holy place. Zion is the joy of all the earth (Ps. 48:2), affirming that the whole earth belongs to God.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, March 16.
Read Acts 7 and Hebrews 11. What does the New Testament say is the ultimate goal of God’s sovereign leading of His people in history?The historical psalms are a powerful witness to God’s fidelity to His people. Each event in the history of God’s people was a providential step leading toward the final fulfillment of the divine promise of the world’s Savior in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Even the trials, which often perplexed God’s people and made them think that God had abandoned them, were under God’s sovereign control and part of His providence because God is the supreme Lord of history. The psalmist skillfully presents the truth that even the people’s disloyalty cannot prevent God from keeping faith to His people and fulfilling His promises. However, the unrepentant individuals and groups were excluded from the covenantal blessings, and their infamous end serves as a lasting warning of how life without or opposed to God destroys people.The Psalms encourage God’s children in all times to hope in the Lord and remain faithful to Him. “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 G. White, Life Sketches of Ellen G. White, p. 196.For God’s people to go forward fearlessly, they need to know the facts of their history. Ellen G. White advises believers to read Psalms 105 and 106 “at least once every week.”—Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, p. 98.The history of God’s people demonstrates that no promise that God has made in His Word will be left unfulfilled. This includes both divine promises of present individual care and future promises of Christ’s second coming, which will establish God’s kingdom of justice and peace on the new earth.Discussion Questions:What are the blessings of remembering God’s faithful leading of His people in history? What are the consequences of forgetting or ignoring the lessons of the past? How can we apply that same principle to us, as a church called to do the same thing that ancient Israel had been called to do?How do the Psalms encourage us to recognize God’s providential care in our life and to exercise patience and trust in God’s sovereign ways, even when it’s not easy to understand why things are happening as they are?How can we make the study of the history of God’s people more prominent in our personal and communal worship services? How can we be more intentional in telling our children about the more recent history of God’s people?
Read Psalm 135. What historical events are highlighted in the psalm? What lessons does the psalmist draw from them?Psalm 135 summons God’s people to praise the Lord for His goodness and faithfulness demonstrated in Creation (Ps. 135:6, 7) and in Israel’s salvation history in the time of the Exodus (Ps. 135:8, 9) and in the conquering of the Promised Land (Ps. 135:10-12).The Lord demonstrated His grace by choosing the people of Israel as His special treasure (Ps. 135:4). “Special treasure” conveys the distinctive covenantal relationship between the Lord and His people (Deut. 7:6-11; 1 Pet. 2:9, 10). The choosing of Israel was based on the Lord’s sovereign will, and thus, Israel has no ground to feel superior over the other peoples. Psalm 135:6, 7 demonstrates that the Lord’s sovereign purposes for the world did not begin with Israel but with the Creation. Therefore, Israel should humbly fulfill its assigned role in God’s salvific purposes for the entire world.The recounting of God’s great deeds on behalf of His people (Ps. 135:8-13) culminates in the promise that God will “judge” His people and have compassion on them (Ps. 135:14). The judgment here is God’s vindication of the oppressed and the destitute (Ps. 9:4, Ps. 7:8, Ps. 54:1, Dan. 7:22). The promise is that the Lord will uphold His people’s cause and defend them (Deut. 32:36). Thus, Psalm 135 aims to inspire God’s people to trust in the Lord and to remain faithful to their covenant with Him.The Lord’s faithfulness to His people leads the psalmist to affirm the nothingness of idols and to the unique supremacy of the Lord in the world (Ps. 135:15-18). Reliance on idols renders their worshipers as hopeless and powerless as their idols are (Ps. 135:18). The psalm demonstrates that God is to be praised as both Creator and Savior of His people. This is wonderfully conveyed in the two complementary versions of the fourth commandment of the Decalogue (Exod. 20:8-11, Deut. 5:12-15). Because God’s power in creation and history is unparalleled in the world, God’s people should always rely on Him and worship Him alone. As our Creator and our Redeemer, He alone should be worshiped, and worship of anything else, or anyone else, is idolatry.How can we make sure that we don’t have idols in our own lives? Why might idolatry be easier to do than we realize?
Read Psalm 80. How are God’s people portrayed in this psalm, and what great hope do they plead for?Israel is portrayed as a vineyard that God uprooted from Egypt, the land of oppression, and transported to the Promised Land of abundance. The image of a vineyard conveys God’s election of Israel and His providential care (read also Gen. 49:11, 12, 22; and Deut. 7:7-11).However, in Psalm 80, God’s vineyard is under His wrath (Ps. 80:12). The prophets announce the vineyard’s destruction as the sign of God’s judgment because the vine has turned bad (Isa. 5:1-7, Jer. 2:21).However, Psalm 80 does not ponder over the reasons for divine judgment. Given the depths of God’s grace, the psalmist is perplexed that God can withhold His presence from His people for such an extended time. The tension between God’s wrath and judgment, on the one hand, and God’s grace and forgiveness, on the other, causes the psalmist to fear that divine wrath may prevail and consume the people completely (Ps. 80:16).Read Numbers 6:22-27. How is this blessing used by Psalm 80?The psalm’s refrain evokes Aaron’s promise of God’s perpetual blessing of His people (Num. 6:22-27) and highlights the hope that God’s grace will triumph over the causes of the people’s misery: “Restore us, O God; cause Your face to shine, and we shall be saved!” (Ps. 80:3, NKJV; see also Ps. 80:7, 19, NKJV).The Hebrew word for “restore” here comes from a common word that means to “return,” and it is used again and again in the Bible with God calling His people, who have wandered away, to return to Him. It is closely linked to the idea of repentance, of turning away from sin and back to God. “ ‘ “Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart” ’ ” (Jer. 24:7, NKJV).How have you experienced for yourself repentance as a return to God?
Read Psalm 106. What historical events and their lessons are highlighted in this psalm?Psalm 106 also evokes the major events in Israel’s history, including the Exodus, sojourn in the wilderness, and life in Canaan. It stresses the heinous sins of the fathers that culminated in the generation that was carried into exile. Thus, the psalm almost certainly was written when the nation was in Babylon, or after they had returned home, and the psalmist, inspired by the Holy Spirit, recounted for God’s people these historical incidents and the lessons that the people should have learned from them.This psalm, too, as the others, points to God’s faithfulness to His covenant of grace, by which He saved His people in the past (Ps. 106:45). It expresses hope that God will again show favor to His repentant people and gather them from among the nations (Ps. 106:47). The plea for present deliverance is not some wishful thinking but a prayer of faith based on the assurance of God’s past deliverances (Ps. 106:1-3) and the unfailing character of God’s faithfulness to His covenant with His people.The recollection of Israel’s historical failures in Psalm 106 is an integral part of the people’s confession of their sins and acknowledgment that they are not better than their forefathers. The present generation admits that it is even worse than its ancestors because it knew the consequences of the past generations’ iniquities and how God exercised His great patience and grace in saving them, even though they had deliberately walked in wicked ways in the past. If this were true for them, think about how much more so for us, today, who have the revelation of God’s character and saving grace as revealed in Jesus and the Cross.The good news of Psalm 106 is that God’s steadfast love always prevails over the people’s sins (Ps. 106:8-10, 30, 43-46). The key role of Moses and Phinehas in turning away God’s wrath points to the significance of Christ’s intercession on behalf of believers. Only personal experience of God’s grace can transform a past story into our story.Psalm 106:13 reads: “They soon forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel” (NKJV). Why is that so easy for us to do in our own lives, as well?
Read Psalm 105. What historical events and their lessons are highlighted in this psalm?Psalm 105 recalls key events that shaped the covenantal relationship between the Lord and His people Israel. It focuses on God’s covenant with Abraham to give the Promised Land to him and his descendants, and how this promise, confirmed to Isaac and Jacob, was providentially fulfilled through Joseph, Moses, and Aaron, and in the time of the conquest of Canaan. The psalm gives hope to God’s people in all generations because God’s marvelous works in the past guarantee God’s unchanging love to His people in all times (Ps. 105:1-5, 7, 8).Psalm 105 resembles Psalm 78 (see yesterday’s study) in highlighting God’s faithfulness to His people in history, and it does so in order to glorify God and to inspire faithfulness. However, unlike Psalm 78, Psalm 105 does not mention the people’s past mistakes. This psalm has a different purpose.Instead, history is retold in Psalm 105 through the lives of Israel’s greatest patriarchs, showing God’s providential leading and the patriarchs’ patient endurance of hardships. The patriarchs’ perseverance and loyalty to God were richly rewarded. Thus, Psalm 105 invites people to emulate the patriarchs’ faith and trustingly wait on God’s deliverance in their time.Psalm 105 possesses a hymnal note (Ps. 105:1-7), showing that in order to truly praise God, God’s people need to know the facts of their history. History provides both validation for our faith and countless reasons for praising God.The worshipers are addressed as the seed of Abraham and children of Jacob (Ps. 105:6), thereby deeming them to be the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham to make of him a great nation (Gen. 15:3-6). The psalmist underscores the continuity between the patriarchs and the subsequent generations of God’s people. The psalmist stresses that “His judgments are in _all the earth_” (Ps. 105:7, NKJV; emphasis supplied), thereby admonishing the worshipers not to forget that “our God” is also the sovereign Lord of the whole world and that His loving-kindness extends to all peoples (Ps. 96:1, Ps. 97:1). It is, clearly, a call to faithfulness to every generation of believers.How should we, as Seventh-day Adventists, see ourselves in this line of people, from Abraham on? (See Galatians 3:29.) What lessons should we learn from this history?
Read Psalm 78. What three key historical epochs are highlighted in this psalm? What recurring lessons does Asaph draw from each period?The reviews of Israel’s past highlight God’s faithfulness and Israel’s unfaithfulness. They also should teach coming generations not to repeat their ancestors’ mistakes but to trust God and to remain faithful to His covenant. The psalmist uses history as a parable (Ps. 78:2), which means that the people should deeply ponder the psalm’s message and search for the meaning for themselves. Psalm 78:2 is a prophetic description of Jesus’ method of teaching in parables (Matt. 13:34, 35).The psalm also reflects on the time of the Exodus (Ps. 78:9-54), the settlement in Canaan (Ps. 78:55-64), and the time of David (Ps. 78:65-72). It demonstrates the Lord’s glorious deeds and the consequences of the people’s breaking of their covenant with God. Israel’s history recounts many forms of the people’s disloyalty to God, especially their idolatry (Ps. 78:58).The psalmist, however, stresses the root of the Israelites’ unfaithfulness: they forgot what God had done for them, did not trust God, put God to the test (Ps. 78:18, 41, 56), rebelled against Him, and failed to keep His law, His covenant, and His testimonies (Ps. 78:10, 37, 56). By stressing these specific forms of disloyalty, the psalmist implies that the rejection of Israel in history has resulted from one core sin, namely, the people’s failure to trust the Lord (Ps. 78:7, 8).When reading the psalm, one is overwhelmed with the people’s constant stubbornness and spiritual blindness in contrast to the Lord’s boundless patience and grace. How was each new generation so slow to learn?Before we get overly judgmental of past generations, we should consider ourselves. Aren’t we, also, forgetful of God’s past wonders and neglectful of His covenantal requirements? The psalm does not encourage people to rely on their own deeds. Instead, Psalm 78 shows the futility of human will unless it is grounded in constant awareness of God’s faithfulness and an acceptance of His grace. The unsuccessful battles of God’s people (Ps. 78:9, 62-64) elucidate the psalm’s lesson that human efforts apart from faithfulness to God are doomed to end in failure.What lessons have you learned, or should have learned, from your past mistakes?
Read for This Week’s StudyPsalm 78, Psalm 105, Gal. 3:29, Psalm 106, Psalm 80, Num. 6:22-27, Psalm 135.Memory Text:“Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength and His wonderful works that He has done” (Psalm 78:3, 4, NKJV).In numerous psalms, praise takes the form of narrating the Lord’s mighty acts of salvation. These psalms are often called “salvation history psalms” or “historical psalms.” Some appeal to God’s people, telling them to learn from their history, particularly from their mistakes and the mistakes of their ancestors. Certain historical psalms contain a predominant hymnal note that highlights God’s past wonderful deeds on behalf of God’s people and that strengthen their trust in the Lord, who is able and faithful to deliver them from their present hardships.The special appeal of the historical psalms is that they help us to see our lives as part of the history of God’s people and to claim that past as our own. As we have been adopted into the family of the historic people of God through Christ (Rom. 8:15; Rom. 9:24-26; Gal. 4:6, 7), the historical heritage of the ancient people of Israel is indeed the account of our spiritual ancestry. Therefore, we can and should learn from their past, which is ours, as well.The final goal is to realize that each generation of God’s people plays a small but significant part in the grand historical unfolding of God’s sovereign purposes in the great controversy.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, March 9.
Read Ellen G. White, “God With Us,” pp. 19-26, in The Desire of Ages.Being both Christ’s prayers and prayers about Christ, the Psalms provide a unique revelation of Christ’s person and redeeming ministry as the One who is “God with us” (Matt. 1:23). Jesus is “God with us” in the battling prayers of forsakenness and suffering. He is “God with us” in the cries for justice and deliverance. Jesus is “God with us” by not abandoning us to our lostness and despair but showing us the way of faith victorious. He became for us the eternal Priest and King to save us from the everlasting doom of sin. In Christ, the perfect Davidic King, all God’s solemn promises of salvation find their fulfillment (2 Cor. 1:20).Ellen G. White insightfully describes Christ’s unity with humanity: “By His humanity, Christ touched humanity; by His divinity, He lays hold upon the throne of God. As the Son of man, He gave us an example of obedience; as the Son of God, He gives us power to obey. It was Christ who from the bush on Mount Horeb spoke to Moses saying, ‘I AM THAT I AM. . . . Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.’ Ex. 3:14. This was the pledge of Israel’s deliverance. So when He came ‘in the likeness of men,’ He declared Himself the I AM. The Child of Bethlehem, the meek and lowly Saviour, is God ‘manifest in the flesh.’ 1 Tim. 3:16. And to us He says: ‘I AM the Good Shepherd.’ ‘I AM the living Bread.’ ‘I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life.’ ‘All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.’ John 10:11; 6:51; 14:6; Matt. 28:18. I AM the assurance of every promise. I AM; be not afraid.”—The Desire of Ages, pp. 24, 25.Discussion Questions:How has God demonstrated His unwavering faithfulness to His covenant despite the people’s unfaithfulness? What reassurance does that bring to God’s struggling children today?How does Christ’s unique and superior priesthood according to the order of Melchizedek strengthen the certainty of salvation for God’s people?The Gospels show that many Messianic promises in the Psalms were fulfilled in Jesus Christ. How does this demonstrate the veracity of God’s Word? Why must we resist any and every sentiment that tends to weaken our trust in God’s Word?What great consolation can we get from Christ’s words, “ ‘All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth’ ” (Matt. 28:18)? How do we apply this promise to our own experience?
Read Psalm 110:4-7. How is Christ’s priesthood unique, and what great hope can we find in Christ’s heavenly priesthood?God endows the Messiah with an everlasting kingship (Ps. 110:1-3) and a priesthood of a superior rank, the order of Melchizedek (Ps. 110:4-7). The Lord seals His word with a solemn promise (Heb. 6:18). God’s oath not to relent from giving us a perfect Priest is a sign of His grace. People’s sins and open rebellions constantly provoke God to abandon His people, but God’s oath is unchangeable and guarantees God’s grace in revoking His judgment over the repentant people (Exod. 32:14, Ps. 106:45).The divine oath introduces a novel element to the Davidic covenant by declaring that the Messiah King is also a Priest (Ps. 110:4). Israel’s kings could never function as Levitical priests (Num. 8:19, 2 Chron. 26:16-21). When Scripture mentions kings or people offering sacrifices, it implies their bringing sacrifices to the priests, who actually offered them. Psalm 110 sets the Messiah King apart from Israel’s other kings and priests. Christ’s eternal priesthood derives from Melchizedek, who was both the king of Salem (Jerusalem) and the priest of “the most high God” (Gen. 14:18-20). The Old Testament never speaks of King David or any other Israelite king as possessing the priesthood in the order of Melchizedek, except for Psalm 110. Clearly, the psalm speaks about a distinctive king-priest in Israel’s history.Read Hebrews 7:20-28. What are some of the implications of Christ’s superior priesthood?Being both Divine King and everlasting Priest, Christ has unprecedented superiority over human priests and kings; so, we may take hope. Christ upholds a superior covenant that is based on God’s oath, not human promises. He serves in the heavenly sanctuary. His priesthood is not affected by sin or death, like that of human priests, and thus, He can intercede for and save His people forever. The reconciling work of Christ as the perfect and compassionate Priest gives His people a lasting assurance of abiding in God’s very presence (Heb. 6:19, 20). Christ’s royal priesthood will abolish the rule of evil, not only in people’s hearts but also in the world. He will keep the promise of Psalm 2 that every nation and ruler will be subject to the royal judgment of Christ Jesus (Ps. 2:6-9; Ps. 110:1, 2, 5, 6). Jesus’ wonderful royal priesthood makes an absolute claim on our obedience and trust.
Read Psalm 2; Psalm 110:1-3; Psalm 89:4, 13-17; and Psalm 110:5, 6. What do these texts teach us about Christ as King?The portrayal of God as the Messiah’s Father points to the coronation of the king when the king was adopted into God’s covenant (Ps. 2:7, Ps. 89:26-28). Psalm 2:7 foresees Christ’s resurrection and exaltation as the dawn of the new everlasting covenant and Christ’s royal priesthood (Acts 13:33-39, Heb. 1:5, Heb. 5:5). The Messiah sits at God’s right hand as Someone who has unprecedented honor and authority (Ps. 110:1; Acts 7:55, 56). “Moreover, the interplay between the Lord and the ‘anointed’ (Messiah) even suggests an intention to identify this Davidic Messiah with the Lord Himself. . . . If the one who sits at the right is the Lord, then, the Lord is the Messiah, since the latter is also seen at the right [see Ps. 110:1, 5]._”—Jacques Doukhan, _On the Way to Emmaus (Clarksville, MD: Lederer Books, 2012), pp. 26, 27.In the end, Christ will have absolute victory over His enemies. To make the enemies a “footstool” is an image that reflects the custom of the ancient Near Eastern kings to place their feet on the necks of their defeated enemies to demonstrate total dominance over them. Yet, Christ’s rod here is not a tool of terror (Ps. 2:9, Ps. 110:2).The rod (“staff”) was originally held by tribal leaders as the symbol of the tribe (Num. 17:2-10). Christ’s rod comes from Zion because He represents the people of Zion. His rod is a symbol of divine judgment, which ends the rule of evil and depicts Christ’s unrivaled reign (Rev. 2:27, Rev. 12:5). Even the wicked kings are given a chance to repent and submit to the Messiah (Ps. 2:10-12).One graphic depiction of Christ’s ultimate victory is found in the pre-Advent scene in Daniel 7, which shows that, after judgment is given “ ‘in favor of the saints of the Most High’ ” (Dan. 7:22, NKJV), His kingdom is established, and “ ‘His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom’ ” (Dan. 7:27, NKJV). Because of the Cross, the promise of the kingdom is assured.A blessing is promised to all who trust in the King, and the people rejoice in the Messiah’s sovereign and righteous reign (Ps. 2:12, Ps. 89:15-17).How nice it is to know that, yes, in the end, good will triumph over evil, justice will be done, and pain and suffering will forever be vanquished. How should this truth give us comfort now when, from a human perspective, evil seems to prosper?
Read Psalm 89:27-32, 38-46 and Psalm 132:10-12. What is the Davidic covenant about? What seems to have endangered it?The Davidic covenant contains God’s promise of everlasting support of David’s line and prosperity of God’s people (1 Sam. 7:5-16; Ps. 89:1-4, 19-37; Ps. 132:12-18). The permanence of the covenant was established on God’s solemn oath and the king’s faithfulness to God. However, even the devoted kings, such as King David, were not always faithful to the Lord. Psalm 89 laments over the harsh reality that seems to indicate that the glorious promises of the Davidic covenant have been lost. Is Israel hopelessly deserted by God? The answer, of course, is—no!God’s wrath is, yes, an expression of divine judgment (Ps. 38:1, Ps. 74:1). Yet, it does not last forever because God’s everlasting love forgives people’s sins when people repent. However, while it lasts, God’s discontent with His erring people is serious. The people feel the bitter consequences of their disobedience and realize the gravity of their sins (Ps. 89:38-46). Yet, they ask, “How long?” appealing to the passing character of God’s wrath (Ps. 89:46). Renewed hope springs from new assurance in God’s faithfulness to “remember” His grace (Ps. 89:47, 50).In short, although the human component of the covenant failed, the people could rest in the promise of God’s unchanging purposes through the Messiah, who embodies all righteousness and salvation of Israel and of the whole world. That is, in the end, God will prevail, and His eternal kingdom will be established forever—but only because of Jesus and not because of God’s people.Jesus Christ is the Son of David and the Messiah (Matt. 1:1, Heb. 1:8). He is called “the firstborn over all creation” (Col. 1:15, NKJV), alluding to Psalm 89:27, which calls David, who was a type of Christ, God’s firstborn. “Also I will make him My firstborn, / The highest of the kings of the earth” (NKJV).Clearly the title “firstborn” does not express David’s biological status, because David was the eighth child of his parents (1 Sam. 16:10, 11). It’s the same with Jesus. This title signifies His special honor and authority (Col. 1:16, 20-22). God made Jesus the supreme King over the whole world when He raised Jesus from the dead (Acts 2:30, 31).Read Colossians 1:16, 20-22. What do these verses teach us about who Jesus was and what He has done for us? What promise can you take away from this for yourself?
Read Psalm 22 and Psalm 118:22. How was the Messiah treated by those He had come to save?Many psalms express the agonizing feelings of utmost forsakenness of the suffering Messiah (e.g. Psalm 42, Psalm 88, and Psalm 102). Psalm 22 is a direct Messianic prophecy because many details in this psalm cannot be historically connected to King David but perfectly fit the circumstances of Christ’s death. Jesus prayed with the words of Psalm 22:1 on the cross (Matt. 27:46).The torment of Christ’s separation from His Father, caused by Christ carrying the entire world’s sins, can be measured only by the extent of their closeness, namely, their unparalleled oneness (John 1:1, 2; John 10:30). Yet, even the depths of inexplicable suffering could not break the unity between the Father and the Son. In His utter forsakenness, Christ unconditionally entrusts Himself to the Father, despite the utter depths of despair He faced.“Upon Christ as our substitute and surety was laid the iniquity of us all. He was counted a transgressor, that He might redeem us from the condemnation of the law. The guilt of every descendant of Adam was pressing upon His heart. The wrath of God against sin, the terrible manifestation of His displeasure because of iniquity, filled the soul of His Son with consternation.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 753.The threatening animal imagery of strong bulls, roaring lions, and dogs highlights the people’s cruelty and animosity that Christ, who is compared to a harmless and helpless worm, met in His final hours. With amazing accuracy, Psalm 22 conveys the venomous remarks of the crowd that mocked Jesus with His own words to the Father (Ps. 22:1, 8; Matt. 27:43) and the soldiers dividing Jesus’ garments (Ps. 22:18, Matt. 27:35). Little did the people understand then that the “worm” they sought to crush would become the chief “cornerstone” of the Temple and secure its foundation (Ps. 118:22).However, the rejected Messiah became the Source of salvation for God’s people after His resurrection from the dead (Matt. 21:42, Acts 4:10-12). Christ suffered the rejection of humanity, but God glorified His Son by making Him the living “chief cornerstone” of God’s spiritual Temple (Eph. 2:20-22, 1 Pet. 2:4-8). For those who reject this Stone, namely, God’s means of salvation, it will become the agent of judgment (Isa. 8:14, Matt. 21:44).Jesus on the cross paid in Himself the penalty for every sin you have ever committed. How should the fact that He suffered on your behalf impact how you live now, that is, why you should find sin so abhorrent?
Read Psalm 23; Psalm 28:9; Psalm 80:1; Psalm 78:52, 53; Psalm 79:13; and Psalm 100:3. How is the relationship between the Lord and His people portrayed in these texts?The image of the Lord as Shepherd and God’s people as the sheep of His pasture highlights God’s guidance and sustaining care of His people and the people’s dependence on God to meet all their needs. The image conveys the notion of closeness between God and His people because shepherds lived with their flocks and cared for each sheep individually. The pastoral imagery also underlines God’s ownership of His flock, guaranteed by two strong bonds: creation (Ps. 95:6, 7; Ps. 100:3) and covenant (Ps. 28:9, Heb. 13:20).The image of the divine Shepherd who leads Joseph like a flock (Ps. 80:1) perhaps alludes to Jacob’s benediction of Joseph, which pictures God as the Shepherd of Israel, and so, appeals to this great promise and blessing (Gen. 49:24).Kings were considered shepherds of their people (2 Sam. 5:2). Yet, only God truly deserves this title because most human kings did not live up to such a calling. Only Jesus did, which is why He is called the Good Shepherd.Read John 10:11-15. What does Jesus say about Himself as the Good Shepherd?The intimate bond between the divine Shepherd and His flock is seen in the flock’s unmistakably knowing the Shepherd’s voice (John 10:4, 27). To the current day, Middle Eastern shepherds can divide their flocks that have mingled simply by calling their sheep, who recognize and follow their shepherd’s voice.At times, God’s flock suffers various afflictions that the people understand as the sign of God’s discontent and abandonment. Yet, the Good Shepherd never forsakes His strayed sheep but searches to save them. This is a powerful image of God’s relationship with His people. He is willing to die for His sheep (John 10:11, 15) and paradoxically become a sacrificial lamb on their behalf (John 1:29). Also, Jesus confirmed that He would call His sheep in other folds and unite them into one flock (John 10:16).What are ways that you can on a daily and practical level take advantage of what is promised to us in having Jesus as our Good Shepherd?
Read for This Week’s StudyPsalm 23, John 10:11-15, Psalm 22, Ps. 89:27-32, Col. 1:16, Psalm 2, Heb. 7:20-28.Memory Text:“The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes” (Psalm 118:22, 23, NKJV).The Psalms testify about Christ’s person and ministry. Almost all aspects of His work in the plan of salvation are seen in the Psalms. In various ways, Christ’s life and work are prefigured and predicted in them, often with remarkable accuracy.The topics revealed in the Psalms include Christ’s deity, His Sonship, His obedience, His zeal for God’s temple, His identity as the Good Shepherd, His betrayal, His suffering, His bones not being broken, His death, resurrection, ascension, priesthood, and kingship. It’s all there, as predicted many centuries before Jesus came in the flesh.No wonder, for example, when talking about His ministry, Jesus pointed back to the Psalms when speaking to the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:44). He wanted them to find in the Psalms evidence for who He was.Some of the psalms that have a typological fulfillment in Christ include Psalms 24, 45, 72, and 101 (the ideal King and Judge), as well as Psalms 88 and 102 (prayers of the suffering servant of God).In all the Psalms, through the psalmists’ laments, thanksgivings, praises, and cries for justice and deliverance, we can hear the echoes of Christ’s prayer for the salvation of the world.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, March 2.
In these modern times, obtaining wisdom seems not to be so desirable as achieving happiness. People would rather be happy than wise. However, can we truly be happy and live a fulfilled life without godly wisdom? The Psalms clearly say that we cannot. The good news is that we are not asked to choose between wisdom and happiness. Godly wisdom brings genuine happiness.A simple example from the Hebrew language can illustrate this point. In Hebrew, the word “step” in plural (’ashurey) sounds very much like the word “happiness” (’ashrey). Although we miss this association in English translations, it conveys a powerful message: “steps” holding to God’s path lead to a “happy” life (Ps. 1:1, Ps. 17:5, Ps. 37:31, Ps. 44:18, Ps. 89:15, Ps. 119:1). In the Bible, neither wisdom nor happiness are an abstract concept, but a real experience.They are found in relationship with God, which consists of revering, praising, finding strength in, and trusting God. Psalm 25:14 says that “the secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant” (NKJV).“Thank God for the bright pictures which He has presented to us. Let us group together the blessed assurances of His love, that we may look upon them continually: The Son of God leaving His Father’s throne, clothing His divinity with humanity, that He might rescue man from the power of Satan; His triumph in our behalf, opening heaven to men, revealing to human vision the presence chamber where the Deity unveils His glory; the fallen race uplifted from the pit of ruin into which sin had plunged it, and brought again into connection with the infinite God, and having endured the divine test through faith in our Redeemer, clothed in the righteousness of Christ, and exalted to His throne—these are the pictures which God would have us contemplate.”—Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 118.Discussion Questions:How can God’s Word become the source of one’s delight and not merely instruction? How is feeding on God’s Word related to abiding in Jesus Christ, the Word (John 1:1; John 15:5, 7)?What happens when people consciously and constantly reject God’s teaching (Psalm 81, Psalm 95)? Why do you think that happens?Why can the way of the wicked sometimes appear more desirable than the counsel of the righteous (Psalm 141)? That is, how do we deal with the apparent fact that oftentimes the wicked seem to be doing very well?
Read Psalm 1:1-3, Psalm 112:1-9, and Psalm 128. What blessings are promised for those who revere the Lord?Of the many blessings promised to those who revere the Lord, peace is perhaps one of the greatest. Psalm 1 depicts the righteous by a simile of a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruits in season and whose leaf does not wither (Ps. 1:3; Jer. 17:7, 8; Ezek. 47:12). This simile identifies the source of all blessings, namely, abiding in God’s presence in His sanctuary and enjoying uninterrupted and loving relationship with God. Unlike the wicked, who are portrayed as chaff, with no stability, place, and future, the righteous are like a fruitful tree with roots, a place near God and eternal life.Psalm 128:2, 3 evokes the blessings of the Messianic kingdom, where sitting under one’s own vine and fig tree is a symbol of peace and prosperity (Mic. 4:4). The blessing of peace upon Jerusalem (Ps. 122:6-8; Ps. 128:5, 6) conveys hope in the Messiah, who will end evil and restore peace in the world.“In the Bible the inheritance of the saved is called ‘a country.’ Hebrews 11:14-16. There the heavenly Shepherd leads His flock to fountains of living waters. The tree of life yields its fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree are for the service of the nations. There are ever-flowing streams, clear as crystal, and beside them waving trees cast their shadows upon the paths prepared for the ransomed of the Lord. There the wide-spreading plains swell into hills of beauty, and the mountains of God rear their lofty summits. On those peaceful plains, beside those living streams, God’s people, so long pilgrims and wanderers, shall find a home.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 675.The New Testament describes the fulfillment of that hope in Christ’s second advent and the creation of the new world (Matt. 26:29, Revelation 21). Therefore, while the righteous receive many blessings in this life, the fullness of God’s favor awaits them when God’s kingdom is fully restored at the end of time.Why is the Cross, and what happened there, the guarantee of the promises found in the New Testament of what God has in store for us? How can we get comfort from those promises even now?
Read Psalm 141. What does the psalmist pray for?Psalm 141 is a prayer for protection from temptations from within and from without. The psalmist is not only endangered by the schemes of the wicked (Ps. 141:9, 10) but also is tempted to act like the wicked. The first weak point is self-control in speech, and the psalmist prays that the Lord will keep watch over the door of his lips (Ps. 141:3). This image alludes to the guarding of city gates that, in biblical times, protected the city.The temptation is also whether God’s child will yield to the counsel of the righteous or be lured by the delicacies of the wicked (Ps. 141:4, 5). The psalmist depicts his heart as a primary threat because there the real battle happens. Only unceasing prayer of complete trust and devotion to God can save God’s child from temptation (Ps. 141:1, 2).Read Psalm 1:1 and Psalm 141:4. How is the progressive and cunning character of temptation depicted here?Psalm 141:4 depicts the progressive nature of temptation. First, the heart is inclined toward evil. Second, it practices evil deeds (the meaning in Hebrew underlines the repetitive character of the action). Third, the heart eats of the delicacies of the wicked, namely, accepts their evil practices as something desirable.Likewise, in Psalm 1:1 the temptation comes to prevent God’s child from walking in the Lord’s way by causing him to walk with the wicked, stand in the path of sinners, and, finally, sit with the scornful. Sinners, wicked, and scornful: we are not to be like them or let them lead us away from the Lord.These psalms describe the progressive, alluring, and cunning character of temptation, which underscores the fact that only total dependency on the Lord can secure one’s victory. They stress the importance of the words that one speaks, and listens to, amid temptation. The end of both the wicked and the righteous should teach the people to seek wisdom from God (Ps. 1:4-6, Ps. 141:8-10). Yet, in both psalms, the final vindication of God’s children remains in the future. This means that the believers are called to patiently trust God and to wait upon Him.
Read Psalm 81:7, 8; Psalm 95:7-11; and Psalm 105:17-22. What does divine testing involve in these texts?Meribah is the place where Israel tested God by challenging His faithfulness and power to provide for their needs (Exod. 17:1-7; Ps. 95:8, 9). Psalm 81 makes an intriguing reversal and interprets the same event as the time when God tested Israel (Ps. 81:7). And, by their disobedience and lack of trust (Ps. 81:11), the people failed God’s test.The reference to Meribah conveys a twofold message. First, God’s people must not repeat the mistakes of past generations. Instead, they are to trust God and to walk in His way (Ps. 81:13). Second, although the people failed the test, God came to their rescue when they were in trouble (Ps. 81:7). God’s saving grace in the past gives an assurance of God’s grace to new generations.Psalm 105 shows that the trials were God’s means of testing Joseph’s trust in God’s foretelling of his future (Gen. 37:5-10, Ps. 105:19). The Hebrew tsarap, “tested,” in verse 19 conveys a sense of “purging,” “refining,” or “purifying.” Thus, the goal of God’s testing of Joseph’s faith was to remove any doubt in God’s promise and to strengthen Joseph’s trust in God’s guidance.The goal of divine discipline is to strengthen God’s children and to prepare them for the fulfillment of the promise, as shown in Joseph’s example (Ps. 105:20-22).However, rejection of God’s instruction results in growing stubbornness and hardening of an obstinate person’s heart.“God requires prompt and unquestioning obedience of His law; but men are asleep or paralyzed by the deceptions of Satan, who suggests excuses and subterfuges, and conquers their scruples, saying as he said to Eve in the garden: ‘Ye shall not surely die.’ Disobedience not only hardens the heart and conscience of the guilty one, but it tends to corrupt the faith of others. That which looked very wrong to them at first, gradually loses this appearance by being constantly before them, till finally they question whether it is really sin and unconsciously fall into the same error.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, p. 146.What has been your own experience with how sin hardens the heart? Why should that thought drive us to the Cross, where we can find the power to obey?
Read Psalm 90, Psalm 102:11, and Psalm 103:14-16. What is the human predicament?Fallen human existence is but a vapor in the light of eternity. A thousand years in God’s sight is “like a watch in the night,” which lasted three or four hours (Ps. 90:4, NKJV). Compared to divine time, a human lifetime flies away (Ps. 90:10). The strongest among humans are analogous to the weakest among plants (Ps. 90:5, 6; Ps. 103:15, 16). Yet, even that short life is filled with labor and sorrow (Ps. 90:10). Even secular people, who have no belief in God, mourn and lament the shortness of life, especially in contrast to the eternity that’s out there and that, they know, threatens to go on without them.Psalm 90 places the human predicament in the context of God’s care for people as their Creator. The Lord has been the dwelling place of His people in all generations (Ps. 90:1, 2). The Hebrew word ma‘on, “dwelling place,” portrays the Lord as the shelter or refuge of His people (Ps. 91:9).God restrains His righteous wrath and extends His grace anew. The psalmist exclaims, “Who knows the power of Your anger?” (Ps. 90:11, NKJV), implying that no one has ever experienced the full effect of God’s anger against sin, and so, there is hope for people to repent and gain wisdom for righteous living.Wisdom in the Bible depicts not merely intelligence but reverence for God. The wisdom that we need is knowing how “to number our days” (Ps. 90:12). If we can number our days, it means that our days are limited and that we know that they are limited. Wise living means living with an awareness of life’s transience that leads to faith and obedience. This wisdom is gained only through repentance (Ps. 90:8, 12) and God’s gifts of forgiveness, compassion, and mercy (Ps. 90:13, 14).Our fundamental problem stems not from the fact that we are created as human beings but from sin and from what sin has wrought in our world. Its devastating effects are seen everywhere and in every person.Thanks to Jesus, however, a way has been made for us out of our human predicament (John 1:29, John 3:14-21). Otherwise, we would have no hope at all.No matter how quickly our life passes, what promise do we have in Jesus? (See John 3:16.) What hope would we have without Him?
Read Psalm 119:1-16, 161-168. How should we keep God’s commandments, and what are the blessings that come from doing that?The Bible depicts a daily life of faith as a pilgrimage (“walk”) with God in His path of righteousness. The life of faith is maintained by walking “in the law of the Lord” (Ps. 119:1, NKJV) and by walking “in the light of Your countenance” (Ps. 89:15, NKJV). These are by no means two different walks. Walking in the light of God’s countenance implies upholding God’s law. Equally, walking “in the law of the Lord” involves seeking God with the whole heart (Ps. 119:1, 2, 10).Being “undefiled in the way” is another way the Psalms describe the righteous life (Ps. 119:1). “Undefiled” describes a sacrifice “without blemish” that is acceptable to God (Exod. 12:5). Likewise, the life of the righteous individual is a living sacrifice (Rom. 12:1). Thus, a love for sin must not defile it. A life devoted to God is also a “perfect way,” meaning that the person assumes a right direction in life that is pleasing to God (Ps. 101:2, 6; see also Ps. 18:32).Keeping God’s commandments has nothing to do with a legalistic observance of divine rules. On the contrary, it consists of “a good understanding” of the difference between right and wrong and good and evil (Ps. 111:10; see also 1 Chron. 22:12), and involves the whole person, not merely outward actions. Being “undefiled,” keeping God’s commandments and seeking God with the whole heart, are inseparable attitudes in life (Ps. 119:1, 2).God’s commandments are a revelation of God’s will for the world. They instruct people on how to become wise and to live in freedom and peace (Ps. 119:7-11, 133). The psalmist delights in the law because the law assures him of God’s faithfulness (Ps. 119:77, 174).“Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble” (Ps. 119:165, NKJV). The image of stumbling depicts moral failure. As the lamp to the psalmist’s feet (Ps. 119:105), God’s Word protects us from temptations (Ps. 119:110).How did Christ demonstrate the power of God’s Word in His life (Matt. 4:1-11)? What should this tell us about the power that comes from a heart set on obeying God’s law?
Read for This Week’s StudyPs. 119:1-16, Psalm 90, John 3:16, Ps. 95:7-11, Psalm 141, Psalm 128.Memory Text:“So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12, NKJV).As we have seen, God’s grace provides for the forgiveness of sin, and it creates a new heart in the repentant sinner, who now lives by faith.God’s Word also provides instructions for righteous living (Ps. 119:9-16). Keeping God’s law is by no means a legalistic observance of rules but life in an intimate relationship with God, a life full of blessings (Ps. 119:1, 2; Psalm 128).However, the life of the righteous person is not without temptations. Sometimes the righteous can be tempted by the cunning nature of sin (Ps. 141:2-4) and even fall to that temptation. God allows times of testing to let His children’s faithfulness (or unfaithfulness) be clearly revealed. If God’s children heed God’s instruction and admonishment, their faith will be purified and their trust in the Lord strengthened. Wisdom for righteous living is gained through the dynamics of life with God amid temptations and challenges. Thus, the prayer that God would teach us to number our days so that we may gain a heart of wisdom (Ps. 90:12) reflects an ongoing commitment to walk in faithfulness to the Lord.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, February 24.
Read Ellen G. White, “The Sinner’s Need of Christ,” pp. 17-22, in Steps to Christ.In the Psalms, the voices of God’s people join as one in repeating the chorus “His mercy endures forever” in celebration of God’s eternal love (Ps. 106:1, NKJV; Ps. 107:1, NKJV; Ps. 118:1-4, 29, NKJV; Psalm 136, NKJV). “Not to praise God would mean to forget all His benefits, not to appreciate God’s gifts. Only those who praise do not forget. Thinking and speaking about God is not yet praising Him. Praise begins when one acknowledges God’s majesty and works and responds with adoration of His goodness, mercy, and wisdom.”—Hans LaRondelle, Deliverance in the Psalms, p. 178.The significance of the solemn confession of God’s enduring mercy gains even deeper significance when we remember that God’s khesed—namely His covenantal loving-kindness and faithfulness—stands firm and unchanging amid human sin and rebellion against God.“We have sinned against Him, and are undeserving of His favor; yet He Himself has put into our lips that most wonderful of pleas, ‘Do not abhor us, for Thy name’s sake; do not disgrace the throne of Thy glory; remember, break not Thy covenant with us.’ Jer. 14:21. When we come to Him confessing our unworthiness and sin, He has pledged Himself to give heed to our cry. The honor of His throne is staked for the fulfillment of His word unto us.”—Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 148.Experiencing God’s graciousness to him (Ps. 103:2) encourages the psalmist to say that “the Lord executes righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed” (Ps. 103:6, NKJV; emphasis supplied). Thus, the final aim of the psalmist’s personal testimony, and praise of God’s mercy in his life, is to reassure others of God’s loving-kindness so that they, too, can open their hearts to God and receive His saving grace and praise God (Ps. 9:11, 12; Ps. 22:22-27; Ps. 66:16).Discussion Questions:What are the practical implications of the fact that God’s mercy is everlasting for the people’s salvation? Why does this not mean that one can continue sinning because God’s mercy is forever?How do we reconcile God’s forgiveness of our sins with the idea of God’s judgment on sin?How do the expressions of God’s mercy in the New Testament fit with those in the Psalms (Eph. 2:4, 5; 1 Tim. 1:16; Titus 3:5; Heb. 4:16)?
Read Psalms 103. How is God’s mercy portrayed here?Psalm 103 enumerates the Lord’s manifold blessings. The blessings include “all his benefits” (Ps. 103:2) for a flourishing life (Ps. 103:3-6). These blessings are grounded in God’s gracious character and in His faithfulness to His covenant with Israel (Ps. 103:7-18). The Lord “remembers” human frailty and transience and has compassion on His people (see Ps. 103:13-17).Remembering is more than mere cognitive activity. It involves a commitment that is expressed in action: God delivers and sustains His people (Ps. 103:3-13). The powerful images in Psalm 103:11-16 illustrate the immeasurable greatness of God’s grace, which can be compared only to the infinite vastness of the heavens (Isa. 55:9).How, then, should people respond to God’s loving-kindness?First, by blessing the Lord (Ps. 103:1, 2).Blessing is generally understood as an act of bestowing material and spiritual benefits upon someone (Gen. 49:25, Ps. 5:12). Because God is the Source of all blessings, how can human beings bless God? An inferior can bless a superior as a means of thanking or praising him (1 Kings 8:66, Job 29:13). God blesses people by conferring good on them, and people bless God by praising the good in Him; that is, by revering Him for His gracious character.Second, by remembering all His benefits and His covenant (Ps. 103:2, 18-22), just as the Lord remembers the feeble human condition and His covenant with His people (Ps. 103:3-13). Remembering is a crucial aspect of the relationship between God and His people. Just as God remembers His promises to the people, so the people are indebted to remember God’s faithfulness and respond to God with love and obedience.With this idea in mind, these famous words of Ellen G. White are so appropriate: “It would be well for us to spend a thoughtful hour each day in contemplation of the life of Christ. We should take it point by point, and let the imagination grasp each scene, especially the closing ones. As we thus dwell upon His great sacrifice for us, our confidence in Him will be more constant, our love will be quickened, and we shall be more deeply imbued with His spirit. If we would be saved at last, we must learn the lesson of penitence and humiliation at the foot of the cross.”—The Desire of Ages, p. 83.
Read Psalms 113 and 123. What two different aspects of God’s character are depicted in these psalms?Psalms 113 and 123 praise both the majesty and mercy of the Lord. The Lord’s majesty is revealed in the greatness of His name and in the exalted place of His throne, which is above all nations and above the heavens (Ps. 113:4, 5; Ps. 123:1). “Who is like the Lord our God” (Ps. 113:5, NKJV) is a statement of faith that no power within or outside of the world can challenge the God of Israel.The unapproachable heights where the Lord dwells are illustrated through the fact that the Lord is willing to “humble Himself” or “stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth” (see Ps. 113:6, NIV; emphasis supplied). God’s abiding on high does not prevent Him from seeing what is occurring here below. The Lord’s mercy is manifested in His gracious readiness to be involved with the world and to save the needy and poor from their troubles. His generous hand is obviously not hidden from His servants though His dwelling place is in the distant heavens.God’s greatness and care, which cannot be fully discerned in God’s amazing transcendence, becomes explicit in God’s deeds of mercy and compassion. The needy, the poor, and the oppressed might experience firsthand God’s sovereign power in the remarkable reversals that He can perform in their favor. The exalted God manifests His greatness by using His power to exalt the downcast. The people are free to approach the Lord because His sovereign majesty and supremacy do not change the fact that He is their gracious Creator and Sustainer and that the people are His servants, His beloved children.Worship is, thus, motivated, not only by God’s magnificence but also by His goodness. Praise is not limited by time and space (Ps. 113:2, 3). God’s greatness and mercy are best manifested in Jesus Christ, who was willing to stoop down from heaven and be brought as low as death on the cross in order to lift up fallen humanity (Phil. 2:6-8). Here, in the Cross, we have the greatest reasons possible to worship and praise God for what He had done for us.Dwell on the Cross and what happened there for you personally. What has Jesus saved you from? Why is it so important to keep the Cross foremost in your mind?
Read Psalm 130. How are the gravity of sin and hope for sinners portrayed?The psalmist’s great affliction is related to his own and his people’s sins (Ps. 130:3, 8). The people’s sins are so grave that they threaten to separate the people from God forever (Ps. 130:3). Scripture speaks of the records of sins that are being kept for the Judgment Day (Dan. 7:10, Rev. 20:12) and of sinners’ names being removed from the book of life (Exod. 32:32, Ps. 69:28, Rev. 13:8).The psalmist thus appeals to God’s forgiveness, which will eradicate the record of sins (Ps. 51:1, 9; Jer. 31:34; Mic. 7:19). He knows that “God is not angry by nature. His love is everlasting. His ‘anger’ is aroused only by man’s failure to appreciate His love. . . . The purpose of His anger is not to wound, but rather to heal man; not to destroy but to save His covenant people (see Hos. 6:1, 2).”—Hans K. LaRondelle, Deliverance in the Psalms (Berrien Springs, MI: First Impressions, 1983), pp. 180, 181. Remarkably, it is God’s readiness to forgive sins, and not to punish them, that inspires reverence of God (Ps. 130:4, Rom. 2:4). Genuine worship is built on admiration of God’s character of love, not on fear of punishment.God’s children are called to wait on the Lord (Ps. 27:14, Ps. 37:34). The Hebrew qawah, “wait,” literally means “to stretch,” and is the root of the Hebrew word for “hope.” Thus, waiting for the Lord is not a passive surrender to miserable circumstances but rather a hopeful “stretching” or eager anticipation of the Lord’s intervention. The psalmist’s hope is grounded not in his personal optimism but in God’s Word (Ps. 130:5). Faithful waiting on the Lord is not in vain because after the dark night, the morning of divine deliverance comes.See how the psalmist’s personal plea becomes that of the entire community (Ps. 130:7, 8). The individual’s well-being is inseparable from that of the whole people. Thus, one prays not only for himself but for the community. As believers, we are part of a community, and what impacts one part of the community impacts everyone.Think about the question, “If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?” (Ps. 130:3, NKJV). What does that mean to you personally? Where would you be if the Lord marked your iniquities?
Read Psalm 51:1-5. Why does the psalmist appeal to God’s mercy?King David pours out his heart before the Lord, asking for the forgiveness of sin during the spiritually darkest moments in his life (2 Samuel 12). Forgiveness is God’s extraordinary gift of grace, the result of the “multitude of Your tender mercies” (Ps. 51:1, NKJV). King David appeals to God to deal with him not in accordance with what his sin deserves (Ps. 103:10) but in accordance with His divine character, namely His mercy, faithfulness, and compassion (Ps. 51:1; Exod. 34:6, 7).Read Psalm 51:6-19. How is forgiveness of sin portrayed here? What is the goal of divine forgiveness?Divine forgiveness involves more than a legal proclamation of innocence. It produces a profound change that reaches the most inner parts of human self (Ps. 51:6, Heb. 4:12). It brings about a new creation (Ps. 51:10, John 3:3-8). The Hebrew verb bara’, translated “create,” depicts divine creative power (Gen. 1:1). Only God can bara’; only God can produce a radical and lasting change in the repentant person’s heart (2 Cor. 4:6).David asks for cleansing with hyssop (Lev. 14:2-8, Ps. 51:7). He feels that his guilt keeps him banned from the Lord’s presence in the same way as the leper is banned from the community while the state of uncleanness lasts (Ps. 51:11). He fears that sacrifices cannot restore him fully because there was no sacrifice that could atone for his premeditated sins of adultery and murder (Exod. 21:14, Lev. 20:10).Only unconditional divine grace could accept David’s “broken and contrite heart” as a sacrifice and restore David back into harmony with God (Ps. 51:16, 17). By asking for cleansing with hyssop, he wants to return to God’s presence.If God can forgive David for adultery, deception, and murder, what hope exists for you?
Read Psalm 136. What thought predominates in this psalm? Where does the psalmist find evidence for his prevalent claim?Psalm 136 summons God’s people to praise the Lord for His mercy as revealed in creation (Ps. 136:4-9) and in Israel’s history (Ps. 136:10-22). “Mercy” (Hebrew khesed, “steadfast love”) conveys God’s goodness and loyalty to His creation and to His covenant with Israel. The psalm shows that God’s immense power and magnificence are grounded in His steadfast love.The Lord is “the God of gods” and “the Lord of lords,” which is a Hebrew idiom that means “the greatest God” (Ps. 136:1-3), not that there are other gods but that He is the only God.The Lord’s great wonders, which cannot be replicated by anyone else, are the undeniable demonstration of His dominion (Ps. 136:4). God created the heavens, the earth, and the heavenly bodies, which are worshiped by the pagans (Deut. 4:19). The Psalms, however, strip the pagan gods, and by extent every human-based source of confidence, of their authority. They are mere products of the creation. They are merely created things—not the Creator, a crucial distinction.The image of the Lord’s strong hand and outstretched arm (Ps. 136:12) stresses the efficacy of God’s power and the far-reaching domain of His mercy.God’s mercy in creation and history should inspire His people to trust in Him and to remain faithful to His covenant. The refrain “For His mercy endures forever” is repeated 26 times in Psalm 136, thus reassuring the worshipers that the Lord does not change and will repeat His past favors to each new generation. God remembers His people (Ps. 136:23) and is faithful to His covenant of grace. The belief in the Lord’s enduring mercy is at the core of biblical faith, which includes joyous worship and confidence, as well as reticence and repentance.Psalm 136 closes with God’s universal care of the world (Ps. 136:23-25). God’s mercy is extended not only to Israel but to all creation. The psalm thus speaks of the universality of God’s saving grace and exhorts the whole world to join Israel’s praise of the Lord (see also Luke 2:10, John 3:16, and Acts 15:17).How does the image of Jesus on the cross, dying as a Substitute for our sins, most powerfully reveal the great truth about God, that “His love endures forever”?
Read for This Week’s StudyPsalm 136, Psalm 51, Psalm 130, Psalm 113, Psalm 123.Memory Text:“I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing to You among the nations. For Your mercy reaches unto the heavens, and Your truth unto the clouds” (Psalm 57:9, 10, NKJV).The psalmists realize that they are spiritually poor and have nothing good to offer to God; that is, they have nothing in and of themselves that would recommend them before God’s holy throne (Ps. 40:17). They understand that they, as do all of us, need grace, God’s grace.In short, they need the gospel.The Psalms stress the fact that people are fully dependent on God’s mercy. Fortunately, God’s mercy is everlasting, as evidenced in both God’s creation and the history of God’s people (Psalm 136). Before the everlasting God, human life is as transient as grass, but God pities humans and renews their strength (Ps. 103:3, 5, 15), and in Him they have the promise of eternity.God’s people take comfort in the fact that the Lord is faithful to His covenant. The people’s appeals, no matter how pressing at times, are often filled with hope because they are directed to their compassionate heavenly Father (Ps. 103:13, Ps. 68:5, Ps. 89:26). Fresh experiences of God’s grace and love strengthen their resolve to worship and serve God and no one or nothing else.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, February 17.
Read Ellen G. White, “The Beatitudes,” pp. 6-13, 29-35, in Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing.The Psalms are protests against human indifference to injustice; they are a refusal to accept evil. They are motivated not by a desire for revenge but by a zeal to glorify God’s name. Hence, it is fitting for the righteous to rejoice when they shall see God’s vengeance on evil because in this way God’s name and His justice are restored in the world (Ps. 58:10, 11). The Psalms oblige people to raise their voices against evil and to seek the coming of God’s kingdom in its fullness. In the Psalms, we are given assurance of divine comfort and deliverance. The Lord will arise!“ ‘When men shall revile you, and persecute you,’ said Jesus, ‘rejoice, and be exceeding glad.’ And He pointed His hearers to the prophets who had spoken in the name of the Lord, as ‘an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.’ James 5:10. Abel, the very first Christian of Adam’s children, died a martyr. Enoch walked with God, and the world knew him not. Noah was mocked as a fanatic and an alarmist. ‘Others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment.’ ‘Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection.’ Hebrews 11:36, 35.”—Ellen G. White, Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, p. 33.Discussion Questions:Because the painful realization of the evil in the world can cause one to wonder whether the Lord actually reigns, how can we grow an unshakable faith that will stand strong even under temptation? That is, what must we focus on in order to maintain our faith in God’s love and goodness and power? What should the Cross say to us about God and His character?Why is it important not to rely on human means (leaders, institutions, and social movements) as the ultimate wisdom and solution for justice in the world but rely solely on God’s Word and judgment?What are the practical implications of the truth that the sanctuary is the place of divine judgment?How can we understand the harsh language of some psalms? How does that language help us relate to the humanity of those who wrote them?
Read Psalm 96:6-10; Psalm 99:1-4; and Psalm 132:7-9, 13-18. Where does God’s judgment take place, and what are the implications of the answer for us? How does the sanctuary help us understand how God will deal with evil?The Lord’s judgment is closely related to the sanctuary. The sanctuary was the environment where the psalmist’s understanding of the problem of evil was transformed (Ps. 73:17-20). The sanctuary was designated as the place of divine judgment as indicated by the judgment of Urim (Num. 27:21) and by the breastplate of judgment of the high priest (Exod. 28:15, 28-30). Accordingly, many psalms depict God on His throne in the sanctuary ready to judge the world for its sin and evil.At the sanctuary, the plan of salvation was revealed. In paganism, sin was understood primarily as a physical stain to be eliminated by magic rites. In contrast, the Bible presents sin as a violation of God’s moral law. God’s holiness means that He loves justice and righteousness. Likewise, God’s people should pursue justice and righteousness and should worship God in His holiness. To do that, they must keep God’s law, which is an expression of His holiness.Thus, the sanctuary is the place of forgiveness of sin and restoration of righteousness as indicated by the mercy seat of God’s throne and the “sacrifices of righteousness” (Deut. 33:19, Ps. 4:5).Yet, the “God-Who-Forgives” takes vengeance upon the wicked deeds of unrepentant people (Ps. 99:8, NKJV). The practical implications of the sanctuary being the place of divine judgment are seen in the constant awareness of God’s holiness and demands for righteous living according to God’s covenantal requirements.The Lord’s judgment from Zion results in the well-being of the righteous and the defeat of the wicked (Ps. 132:13-18). The sanctuary fostered the jubilant expectations of the Lord’s coming as the Judge, especially during the Day of Atonement. Likewise, the Psalms strengthen the certainty of the impending arrival of the divine Judge (Ps. 96:13, Ps. 98:9), namely, Jesus Christ in the heavenly sanctuary (Rev. 11:15-19).Read Romans 8:34. How does this verse show us that what Christ is doing in the heavenly sanctuary is good news for His people?
Read Psalm 58:6-8; Psalm 69:22-28; Psalm 83:9-17; Psalm 94:1, 2; and Psalm 137:7-9. What sentiments do these psalms convey? Who is the agent of judgment in these psalms?Some psalms beseech God to take vengeance on individuals and nations who intend to harm, or who have already harmed, the psalmists or their people. These psalms can sound perplexing because of their harsh language and apparent discord with the biblical principle of love for enemies (Matt. 5:44).Yet, the psalmist’s indignation in the face of oppression is a good one. It means that the psalmists took right and wrong more seriously than did many people. He cares, even greatly, about the evil that is done in the world, not just to himself but to others, as well.However, nowhere does the psalmist suggest himself to be the agent of vengeance. Instead, he leaves retribution solely in God’s hands. The Psalms evoke the divine covenant curses (Deut. 27:9-16) and implore God to act as He has promised.The Psalms are prophetic proclamations about God’s impending judgment; they are not solely the psalmist’s prayers. Psalm 137 reflects the announcements of divine judgment on Babylon, as seen in the prophets. The devastation that the Babylonians brought to other nations would turn back on them. The Psalms convey divine warnings that evil will not go unpunished forever.God’s retribution is measured with justice and grace. God’s children are called to pray for those who mistreat them and even to hope for their conversion (Ps. 83:18, Jer. 29:7).However, while seeking to fit these psalms with the biblical norms of love for enemies, we must be careful not to minimize the agonizing experience expressed in them. God acknowledges the suffering of His children and reassures them that “precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints” (Ps. 116:15, NKJV). Divine judgment obliges God’s people to raise their voices against all evil and seek the coming of God’s kingdom in its fullness. The Psalms also give voice to those who suffer, letting them know that God is aware of their suffering and that one day justice will come.Who doesn’t, at times, have thoughts or fantasies about vengeance on those who have done them or their loved ones terrible wrong? How might these psalms help you put such feelings in proper perspective?
The Lord has endowed Israel’s leaders with authority to maintain justice in Israel (Ps. 72:1-7, 12-14). Israel’s kings were to exercise their authority in accordance with God’s will. The leaders’ central concern should be ensuring peace and justice in the land and caring for the socially disadvantaged. Only then shall the land and the entire people prosper. The king’s throne is strengthened by faithfulness to God, not by human power.Read Psalm 82. What happens when the leaders pervert justice and oppress the people they are tasked to protect?In Psalm 82, God declares His judgments upon Israel’s corrupt judges. The “gods” (Ps. 82:1, 6) are clearly neither pagan gods nor angels because they were never tasked with delivering justice to God’s people and so could not be judged for not fulfilling it. The charges listed in Psalm 82:2-4 echo the laws of the Torah, identifying the “gods” as Israel’s leaders (Deut. 1:16-18, Deut. 16:18-20, John 10:33-35). God questions the “sons of men” whether they judge justly, and their punishment is announced because they have been found unrighteous. The leaders totter in darkness without knowledge (Ps. 82:5) because they have abandoned God’s law, the light (Ps. 119:105).The Scripture unswervingly upholds the view that the Lord is the only God. God shares His governance of the world with appointed human leaders as His representatives (Rom. 13:1). How often, however, have these human representatives, both in history and even now, perverted the responsibility that they have been given?Psalm 82 mockingly exposes the apostasy of some leaders who believed themselves to be “gods” above other people. Although God gave the authority and the privilege to the Israelite leaders to be called the “children of the Most High” and to represent Him, God renounces the wicked leaders. God reminds them that they are mortal and subject to the same moral laws as all people. No one is above God’s law (Ps. 82:6-8).God will judge the entire world; God’s people, too, shall give an account to God. Both the leaders and the people should emulate the example of the divine Judge and place their ultimate hope in Him.What kind of authority do you hold over others? How justly and fairly are you exercising that authority? Take heed.
Read Psalm 9:18, Psalm 12:5, Psalm 40:17, Psalm 113:7, Psalm 146:6-10, and Psalm 41:1-3. What is the message here to us, even today?God exhibits special care and concern for justice regarding the various vulnerable groups of people, including the poor, needy, oppressed, fatherless, widows, widowers, and strangers. The Psalms, like the Law and the prophets, are clear on that point (Exod. 22:21-27, Isa. 3:13-15).Many psalms use the expression “poor and needy” and avoid representing the oppressed in exclusively national and religious terms. This is done in order to highlight God’s universal care for all humanity.The expression “poor and needy” is not limited to material poverty but also signifies vulnerability and helplessness. The expression appeals to God’s compassion, and it conveys the idea that the sufferer is alone and has no other help but God. The depiction “poor and needy” also pertains to one’s sincerity, truthfulness, and love for God in confessing one’s total dependence on God and renouncing any trace of self-reliance and self-assertion.Meanwhile, caring for the deprived (Ps. 41:1-3) demonstrates the people’s faithfulness to God. Evil done against the vulnerable were particularly heinous sins in biblical culture (Deut. 15:7-11). The Psalms inspire faithful people to raise their voices against every oppression.The Psalms also underline the futility of grounding one’s confidence on perishable human means as the ultimate source of wisdom and security. God’s people must resist the temptation to put ultimate faith for salvation in human leaders and institutions, especially when they differ from God’s ways.In His grace, our Lord identified Himself with the poor by becoming poor Himself that through His poverty many might become rich (2 Cor. 8:9). Christ’s riches include deliverance from every oppression brought by sin, and He promises us eternal life in God’s kingdom (Rev. 21:4). Jesus Christ fulfills the Psalms’ promises as the divine Judge, who will judge every mistreatment of the deprived, as well as neglect of duty toward them (Matt. 25:31-46).How much do we think of the “poor and needy” among us, and how much do we do for them?
Read Psalm 18:3-18; Psalm 76:3-9, 12; and Psalm 144:5-7. How is the Lord portrayed in these texts? What do these images convey about God’s readiness to deliver His people?These hymns praise the Lord for His awesome power over the evil forces that threaten His people. They portray God in His majesty as Warrior and Judge. The image of God as Warrior is frequent in the Psalms and highlights the severity and urgency of God’s response to His people’s cries and suffering.“The Lord thundered from heaven, / And the Most High uttered His voice, / Hailstones and coals of fire. / He sent out His arrows and scattered the foe, / Lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them. / Then the channels of the sea were seen, / The foundations of the world were uncovered /At Your rebuke, O Lord, / At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils” (Ps. 18:13-15, NKJV).The sheer determination and magnitude of God’s action should disperse any doubt about God’s great care and compassion for the sufferers or about His ability to defeat evil. We just need to wait for Him to do it.In the end, even when God’s people, such as David, were involved in war, deliverance did not come from human means. In his many battles against the enemies of God’s people, King David praised God as the only One who achieved all the victories. It would have been easy for David to take credit for what happened, for his many successes and triumphs, but that was not his frame of mind. He knew where the Source of his power came from.Although David states that the Lord trains his hands for war (Ps. 18:34), nowhere in the Psalms does he rely on his battle skills. Instead, the Lord fights for David and delivers him (Ps. 18:47, 48).In the Psalms, King David, who was known as a successful warrior, assumes his role as a skilled musician and praises the Lord as the only Deliverer and Sustainer of His people (Ps. 144:10-15). Praise and prayer to the Lord are David’s sources of strength, which are more powerful than any weapon of war. God alone is to be trusted and worshiped.Whatever gifts and skills and success you have had in life, why must you always remember the Source of them all? What danger do you face if you forget that Source?
Read for This Week’s StudyPs. 18:3-18, Ps. 41:1-3, Deut. 15:7-11, Psalm 82, Ps. 96:6-10, Ps. 99:1-4, Rom. 8:34.Memory Text:“ ‘For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now I will arise,’ says the Lord; ‘I will set him in the safety for which he yearns’ ” (Psalm 12:5, NKJV).Our age is not the only age in which evil, injustice, and oppression rage. The psalmists lived in such a time, as well. And so, whatever else they are, the Psalms are also God’s protests against the violence and oppression in the world, in our world, and that of the psalmists, as well.Yes, the Lord is long-suffering and holds His wrath in His great forbearance, not wanting anyone to perish but to repent and change their ways (2 Pet. 3:9-15). And though God’s proper time for His intervention does not always coincide with human expectations, the day of God’s judgment is coming (Ps. 96:13, Ps. 98:9). We just need to trust in Him, and in His promises, until that day comes.Only the Creator, whose throne is founded on righteousness and justice (Ps. 89:14, Ps. 97:2), can provide, with His sovereign judgment, stability and prosperity to the world. The twofold aspect of divine judgment includes deliverance of the oppressed and destruction of the wicked (Ps. 7:6-17).This is what we have been promised, and this is what will, indeed, one day come—but in God’s time, not ours, a point that the psalmist emphasizes.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, February 10.
Read Psalm 56; Ellen G. White, “Rejoicing in the Lord,” pp. 115-126, in Steps to Christ.Like the psalmists, God’s people of all times wonder every so often how to sing the Lord’s songs in “a strange land.” Our faith in the sovereign rule of the Lord is challenged, at times severely, and we may ponder whether God is in control or truly as powerful and good as the Scriptures say.Biblical faith often implies uncertainty and suspense as much as confidence and assertion. Sometimes uncertainty and suspense, especially in the face of evil and God’s seeming absence, can be almost unbearable. Yet, uncertainty must never be about God or His loving and righteous character and trustworthiness. The psalmists may be uncertain about the future, but they often appeal to God’s unfailing love and faithfulness (Ps. 36:5-10; Ps. 89:2, 8).Likewise, we are to follow the same example. “Summon all your powers to look up, not down at your difficulties; then you will never faint by the way. You will soon see Jesus behind the cloud, reaching out His hand to help you; and all you have to do is to give Him your hand in simple faith and let Him lead you. As you become trustful you will, through faith in Jesus, become hopeful.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, pp. 578, 579.The times when God “hides His face” do not undermine the efficacy of prayer. On the contrary, these occasions cause the psalmists to examine themselves, recall God’s past saving acts, and seek God with confession and humble petitions (Ps. 77:10-12, Ps. 89:46-52). “Faith grows strong by coming in conflict with doubts and opposing influences. The experience gained in these trials is of more value than the most costly jewels.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 555.Discussion Questions:What tensions did the psalmists experience in the face of evil? What similar tensions have you faced, and how have you dealt with them? How do you maintain your faith during these times?Where should we look for answers when our faith in God is tested by trials or by people whose own sufferings cause them to question the goodness and power of God?How do you answer the common question about evil in a world created and sustained by an all-powerful God of love? How does the great controversy motif help answer, at least somewhat, this challenge?
Read Psalm 37:1, 8; Psalm 49:5-7; Psalm 94:3-7; and Psalm 125:3. What struggle does the psalmist face?These psalms lament the current prosperity of the wicked and the challenge that this fact poses to the righteous. The wicked not only prosper but at times also openly despise God and oppress others. The perplexing issue is that while “the scepter of wickedness” (Ps. 125:3, NKJV) dominates the world, the “scepter of righteousness” (Ps. 45:6, NKJV) seems to be failing. Why not, then, give up and embrace evil as others do?Read Psalm 73:1-20, 27. What brings the psalmist through the crisis? What is the end of those who trust in futile things? See also 1 Pet. 1:17.While the psalmist in Psalm 73 remained focused on the current iniquity in the world, he was unable to see the big picture from God’s point of view. The problem that the prosperity of evil posed to his faith was overwhelming; he believed, also, that his argument about the uselessness of faith was based on reality.However, Psalm 73 shows that “these things mock those who ignore the first verse of this psalm, which is the summary of the whole psalm: ‘How good the God of Israel is to those who are upright in heart!’ ”—Johannes Bugenhagen, Reformation Commentary on Scripture (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2018), p. 11.The psalmist is led to the sanctuary, the place of God’s sovereign rule, and was reminded there that “today” is only one piece of the mosaic, and he should consider the “end,” when the wicked will face God’s judgment. The fact that the psalmist understood this truth in the sanctuary and confessed his previous folly shows that reality can be grasped only by spiritual insight and not by human logic.How does the promise of God’s judgment upon the world, and upon all its evil, give you comfort when so much evil now goes unpunished?
Read Psalm 77. What experience is the author going through?Psalm 77 begins with a plea to God for help that is filled with lament and painful remembering of the past (Ps. 77:1-6). The psalmist’s whole being is mournfully turned to God. He refuses to be comforted by any relief except the one coming from God.However, remembering God appears to intensify his anguish. “When I remember God, I moan” (Ps. 77:3, ESV). Hebrew hamah, “moan,” often depicts the roar of raging waters (Ps. 46:3). Similarly, the psalmist’s whole being is in a state of intense unrest.How can remembering God produce such strong feelings of distress? A series of troubling questions betray the cause of his anguish (Ps. 77:7-9): Has God changed? Can God possibly betray His covenant?The stark contrast between God’s saving acts in the past and God’s apparent absence in the present causes the psalmist to feel abandoned by God. If God has changed, then the psalmist has no hope, a conclusion that he struggles to reject.Meanwhile, the psalmist cannot sleep because the Lord keeps him awake (Ps. 77:4). This recalls other biblical characters whose insomnia was providentially used by God to advance His purposes (Gen. 41:1-8, Esther 6:1, Dan. 2:1-3). The long sleepless night causes the psalmist to consider the Lord’s past acts of deliverance but with new resolve (Ps. 77:5, 10).The assurance that the psalmist receives from God does not consist of explanations about his personal situation but rather a confirmation of God’s faithfulness and trustworthiness (like Job). The psalmist is encouraged to wait on the Lord in faith, knowing that He is the same God who performed miracles in Israel’s past (Ps. 77:11-18). The psalmist also realizes that “Your footsteps were not known” (Ps. 77:19, NKJV), recognizing God’s guidance, even in situations in which His presence is not obvious to human eyes. The psalmist acknowledges that God is simultaneously revealed and hidden, and so, he offers praise to the Lord’s mysterious and sovereign ways.Think about past times when the Lord worked in your life. How can that truth help you deal with whatever you are facing now?
Read Psalm 42:1-3, Psalm 63:1, Psalm 69:1-3, and Psalm 102:1-7. What causes great pain to the psalmist?Not only does personal and communal sufferings trouble the psalmist but also, if not more, God’s seeming lack of attention to His servants’ hardships. God’s absence is felt like intense thirst in a dry land (Ps. 42:1-3, Ps. 63:1) and mortal anguish (Ps. 102:2-4). The psalmist feels removed from God and compares himself to lonely birds. “I am like a pelican of the wilderness; I am like an owl of the desert. I lie awake, and am like a sparrow alone on the housetop” (Ps. 102:6, 7, NKJV).The mention of wilderness highlights the sense of isolation from God. A bird “alone on a housetop” is outside of its nest, its resting place. The psalmist cries to God “out of the depths,” as if being engulfed by mighty waters and sinking into a “deep mire” (Ps. 69:1-3, Ps. 130:1). These images depict an oppressive situation from which there is no escape, except by divine intervention.Read Psalm 10:12, Psalm 22:1, Psalm 27:9, and Psalm 39:12. How does the psalmist respond to God’s apparent absence?It is remarkable that the psalmists resolve not to keep silent in the face of God’s silence. The psalmists unswervingly believe in prayer because prayer is directed to the living and gracious God. God is still there, even when He is apparently absent. He is still the same God who heard them in the past, and so, they are confident that He hears them now.The occasions of God’s silence cause the psalmists to examine themselves and to seek God, but with confession and humble petitions. They know that God will not remain silent forever. The Psalms demonstrate that communication with God must go on, regardless of life’s circumstances.What can we learn from the psalmists’ responses to God’s apparent absence? How do you respond to times when God does seem silent? What sustains your faith?
Read Psalm 41:1-4; Psalm 88:3-12; and Psalm 102:3-5, 11, 23, 24. What experiences do these texts describe? In what can you relate to what is said here?These prayers for salvation from illness and death demonstrate that God’s children are not exempt from the sufferings of this world. The Psalms reveal the psalmist’s terrible afflictions. He is without strength, withering like grass, unable to eat, set apart with the dead, lying like the slain in the grave, repulsive to his friends, suffering and in despair. His bones cling to his skin.Many psalms assume the Lord has permitted the trouble because of Israel’s disobedience. The psalmist recognizes that sin can bring sickness; therefore, he refers to the forgiveness that comes before healing (Ps. 41:3, 4). However, some psalms, such as Psalm 88 and Psalm 102, acknowledge that the innocent suffering of God’s people is a fact of life, no matter how hard to understand.In Psalm 88, God is charged with bringing the psalmist to the verge of death (Ps. 88:6-8). Notice, however, that even when the most daring complaints are uttered, the lament is clearly an act of faith, for if the Lord in His sovereignty allowed trouble, He could restore the well-being of His child.At the grave’s threshold, the psalmist remembers God’s wonders, loving-kindness, faithfulness, and righteousness (Ps. 88:10-12). Despite his sense of being stricken by God, the psalmist clings to God. Although he suffers, he does not deny God’s love and knows that God is his only salvation. These appeals show that the psalmist knows not only suffering but also has an intimate knowledge of God’s grace and that the two do not necessarily exclude each other.In short, both God’s permitting of suffering and His deliverance are demonstrations of His ultimate sovereignty. Knowing that God is in control inspires hope. When we read Psalm 88 in the light of Christ’s suffering, we are awed by the depths of His love, in which He was willing to pass through death’s door for the sake of humanity.Think about Jesus on the cross and what He suffered because of sin. How should that reality, that God in Christ suffered even worse than any of us, help us keep faith even amid times of suffering and trial?
Read Psalm 74:18-22 and Psalm 79:5-13. What is at stake here?The psalmist seeks to grasp the great controversy between God and the powers of evil, and he points to God’s unfathomable forbearance, as well as to His infinite wisdom and power.The problem of evil in the Psalms is primarily theological; it inevitably concerns questions about God. Thus, the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple is seen principally as a divine scandal because it provided an opportunity for the heathen to blaspheme God. God’s inheritance (the people of Israel) is the sign of His divine election and covenant (Deut. 4:32-38; Deut. 32:8, 9) that will never fail. The concept of God’s inheritance also contains an end-time dimension, as one day all nations will become God’s inheritance and will serve Him. The notion that the nations invaded God’s inheritance threatens these divine promises.No question, the psalmist acknowledges that the sins of the people corrupted the people’s covenantal relationship with God and brought upon the people all the consequences (Ps. 79:8, 9). The people’s survival depends solely upon God’s gracious intervention and the restoration of the covenantal bond through the atonement of sin. The Lord is “God of our salvation,” which conveys God’s faithfulness to His covenantal promises (Ps. 79:9).However, more important than the restoration of Israel’s fortunes is the defense of God’s character in the world (Ps. 79:9). If the evil actions of the nations go unpunished, it will appear that God has lost His power (Ps. 74:18-23, Ps. 83:16-18, Ps. 106:47). Only when God saves His people will His name be justified and uplifted.As today, the same principle existed back then. Our sins, our backsliding, our evils, can bring disrepute not only on ourselves but, worse, on the God whose name we profess. Our wrong actions can have detrimental spiritual effects on our witness and mission, as well. How many people have been turned off to our faith by the actions of those professing the name of Christ?“The honor of God, the honor of Christ, is involved in the perfection of the character of His people.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 671. How do you understand this important truth and what it should mean in your own Christian life?
Read for This Week’s StudyPs. 79:5-13, Ps. 88:3-12, Ps. 69:1-3, Ps. 22:1, Psalm 77, Ps. 73:1-20, 1 Pet. 1:17.Memory Text:“How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” (Psalm 137:4).We do not need to get deep into the book of Psalms in order to discover that the Psalms are uttered in an imperfect world, one of sin, evil, suffering, and death. The stable creation run by the Sovereign Lord and His righteous laws is constantly threatened by evil. As sin corrupts the world more and more, the earth has increasingly become “a strange land” to God’s people. This reality creates a problem for the psalmist: How does one live a life of faith in a strange land?As we already have seen, the psalmists acknowledge God’s sovereign rule and power, as well as His righteous judgments. They know that God is the everlasting and never-failing refuge and help in times of trouble. For this reason, the psalmists are at times perplexed (who isn’t?) by the apparent absence of God and the flourishing of evil in the face of the good and Sovereign Lord. The paradoxical nature of the Psalms as prayers is demonstrated in the psalmists’ responses to God’s seeming silence. In other words, the psalmists respond to God’s perceived absence, as well as to God’s presence.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, February 3.
Read Ellen G. White, “The Night of Wrestling,” pp. 195-203, in Patriarchs and Prophets. What can we learn from Jacob’s experience about the power of importunate prayer and unreserved trust in God?The Psalms strengthen our faith in God, who is the never-failing Refuge for those who entrust their lives into His mighty hands. “God will do great things for those who trust in Him. The reason why His professed people have no greater strength is that they trust so much to their own wisdom, and do not give the Lord an opportunity to reveal His power in their behalf. He will help His believing children in every emergency if they will place their entire confidence in Him and faithfully obey Him.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 493.Yet, some psalms can pose a serious challenge when what they promise, and our current situation, do not match. At times such as this, we just have to learn to trust in the goodness of God, most powerfully revealed at the Cross.Also, at times some psalms can be used to foster false hopes. Jesus’ response to Satan’s corrupted use of Psalm 91:11, 12 shows that trusting God must not be confused with tempting God (Matt. 4:5-7) or presumptuously asking God to do something that is contrary to His will.“The greatest victories to the church of Christ or to the individual Christian are not those that are gained by talent or education, by wealth or the favor of men. They are those victories that are gained in the audience chamber with God, when earnest, agonizing faith lays hold upon the mighty arm of power.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 203.Discussion Questions:In class, discuss the answer to the last question in Tuesday’s study about trusting in God amid adversity and when things go terribly wrong. How does one understand these things and how they could happen to people, even with all the wonderful promises in the Psalms about God’s protection? Think about this too: Did not the psalmist, who wrote about those wonderful promises, suffer adversity or know of faithful people who did, as well?How can we develop unreserved trust in God in all circumstances (e.g. Ps. 91:14; Ps. 143:8, 10; and Ps. 145:18-20)? What can cause us to lose this confidence? Why is trust in God in good times crucial for learning to trust Him in bad times, as well?
Read Psalm 3:4; Psalm 14:7; Psalm 20:1-3; Psalm 27:5; Psalm 36:8; Psalm 61:4; and Psalm 68:5, 35. Where does help come from in these texts?The motif of spiritual and physical refuge and help notably appears in the context of the sanctuary. The sanctuary is a place of help, of safety, and of salvation. The sanctuary provides a shelter to the troubled. God defends the orphans and widows and gives strength to His people from His sanctuary. When “out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God will shine forth” (Ps. 50:2, NKJV), God’s righteous judgments are proclaimed, and the Lord’s blessing goes forth (Ps. 84:4, Ps. 128:5, Ps. 134:3).The refuge in the sanctuary surpasses the security provided by any other place in the world because God personally dwells in the sanctuary. The presence of God, not merely the temple as a firm building, provides safety. Likewise, being the mountain where the Lord dwells, Mount Zion surpasses other mountains though in itself it is a modest hill (Ps. 68:15, 16; Isa. 2:2).“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:15, 16, NKJV).In what ways do these verses parallel what the psalmist says about the sanctuary?
Read 1 Corinthians 10:1-4. How does Paul describe the Exodus story? What spiritual lesson does he seek to teach with it?Read Psalm 114. How is the divine deliverance of the people of Israel from Egypt poetically described here?What a poetic depiction of God’s marvelous deliverance of His children from the bondage of Egypt is given in Psalm 114. All through the Old Testament, and even in the New, the deliverance from Egypt was seen as a symbol of God’s power to save His people. Paul in these verses in 1 Corinthians does just that, seeing the whole true story as a metaphor, a symbol of salvation in Jesus Christ.Psalm 114 also depicts divine deliverance through God’s sovereignty as the Creator over the powers of nature, which was how He saved His people in the Exodus. The sea, the river Jordan, and the mountains and hills poetically represent the natural and human powers opposing the Israelites on their way to the Promised Land (Deut. 1:44, Josh. 3:14-17). God, though, is sovereign over all of them.In fact, for many of God’s children in all times and in all places, the way to the heavenly Jerusalem is fraught with danger. The Psalms encourage them to look beyond the hills and toward the Creator of heaven and earth (Ps. 121:1).The spirit of Psalm 114 is captured by Jesus’ calming of the sea storm and His proclamation that the church has nothing to fear because He has overcome the world (Matt. 8:23-27, John 16:33).The Lord’s great deeds on behalf of His people should inspire the whole earth to tremble at His presence (Ps. 114:7). The trembling should be understood as acknowledging and worshiping rather than as being terrified (Ps. 96:9, Ps. 99:1). With God on their side, believers have nothing to fear.What are some of the spiritual dangers we face as believers, and how can we learn to lean on the Lord’s power to protect us from succumbing to these dangers that are as real for us now as they were for the psalmist?
Read Psalm 17:7-9, Psalm 31:1-3, and Psalm 91:2-7. What does the psalmist do in times of trouble?The psalmist encounters various sorts of troubles and, in them, turns to the Lord, who is a refuge in every adversity. Trust is a deliberate choice to acknowledge God’s lordship over one’s life in all circumstances. If trust does not work in adversity, then it will not work anywhere.The psalmist’s testimony, “I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust’ ” (Ps. 91:2, NKJV), springs from his past experience with God and now serves to strengthen his faith for the future. The psalmist calls God the Most High and the Almighty (Ps. 91:1, 2), remembering the surpassing greatness of his God.The psalmist also tells of the security that one can find in God: the “secret place” (“shelter” or “hiding place”), “shadow” (Ps. 91:1), “refuge,” “fortress” (Ps. 91:2), “wings,” “shield,” “buckler” (Ps. 91:4), and “dwelling place” (Ps. 91:9, NKJV). These images represent safe havens in the psalmist’s culture. One needs only to think of the unbearable heat of the sun in that part of the world in order to appreciate the shadow (or shade) or to recall the times of wars in Israel’s history in order to value the security provided by the shield or the fortress.Read Psalm 17:8 and Matthew 23:37. What image is used here, and what does it reveal?One of the most intimate metaphors is the one that refers to being “under the shadow of Your wings” (Ps. 17:8, Ps. 57:1, Ps. 63:7, NKJV). This metaphor elicits comfort and assurance by implying the protection of a mother bird. The Lord is compared to an eagle who guards its young with its wings (Exod. 19:4, Deut. 32:11) and to a hen who gathers her chicks under her wings (Matt. 23:37).How, though, do we deal with the times when calamity strikes, and we can’t seem to see the Lord’s protection? Why do these traumas not mean that the Lord is not there with us?
Read Psalm 40:1-3, Psalm 50:15, Psalm 55:22, and Psalm 121. How is God involved in our daily affairs?The Lord reveals Himself in Scripture as the living God who acts on behalf of those who call upon Him.For the psalmist, “the Lord [is] always before me” (Ps. 16:8). Therefore, he trusts God and calls upon Him (Ps. 7:1, Ps. 9:10). The Lord will hear him even when he cries out of the “depths” (Ps. 130:1, 2), conveying that no life circumstance escapes God’s sovereign dominion. Thus, the psalmist’s cry, no matter how urgent, is never devoid of hope.Psalm 121, meanwhile, celebrates the power of the Creator in the faithful individual’s life. This power includes:1. “He will not allow your foot to be moved” (Ps. 121:3, NKJV). The image of “foot” is often descriptive of one’s life journey (Ps. 66:9, Ps. 119:105, Prov. 3:23). The Hebrew word for “move” describes the security that God gives to the world (Ps. 93:1) and to Zion (Ps. 125:1).2. The image of the Lord as Israel’s Keeper who does not slumber nor sleep highlights the Lord’s constant alertness and readiness to act on behalf of His children (Ps. 121:3, 4).3. The Lord is “your shade” (Ps. 121:5, 6, NKJV) calls to mind the pillar of cloud in the time of the Exodus (Exod. 13:21, 22). Similarly, the Lord provides physical and spiritual shelter to His people.4. God is at their right hand (Ps. 121:5). The right hand typically designates a person’s stronger hand, the hand of action (Ps. 74:11, Ps. 89:13). Here it conveys God’s nearness and favor (Ps. 16:8, Ps. 109:31, Ps. 110:5).5. God’s protection of His people is clearly confirmed in Psalm 121:6-8. God shall preserve His children from all evil. Neither “the sun” nor “the moon” shall strike them. God shall preserve their “going out” and “coming in.” These poetic figures underscore God’s comprehensive, unceasing care.The bottom line? The psalmist trusted in God’s loving care. We, of course, should do the same.What are some practical ways that you can better experience the reality of God’s care? How can you better cooperate with God in order to enable Him to work within you and for you?
Read Psalm 139:1-18. How does this text poetically depict God’s power (Ps. 139:1-6), presence (Ps. 139:7-12), and goodness (Ps. 139:13-18)? What does God’s greatness say about God’s promises?Did you ever want to help someone but had no means? Likewise, some people tried to help you but did not understand your needs. Unlike even the most loving and best-intentioned people, God has both the perfect knowledge of us and of our circumstances, and also the means to help us. Therefore, His promises of help and deliverance are not shallow platitudes but firm assurances.God’s knowledge of the psalmist is so great and unique that even his mother’s womb could not hide him from God (Ps. 139:13, 15). Divine knowledge pertains to time (Ps. 139:2), inner being (Ps. 139:2, 4), and space (Ps. 139:3)—the psalmist’s entire existence. God’s wonderful knowledge is the result of His creatorship and close acquaintance with people and is manifest in His care for them.This wonderful truth about God knowing us intimately should not scare us but instead drive us into the arms of Jesus and what He has accomplished for us at the Cross. For by faith in Jesus, we have been given His righteousness, “the righteousness of God” Himself (Rom. 3:5, 21).God’s presence is highlighted by depicting God as reaching as far as “hell” (sheol, “grave”) and “darkness” (Ps. 139:8, 11, 12), places not typically depicted as where God dwells (Ps. 56:13). His presence also is depicted as taking “the wings of the morning” (east) to reach “the uttermost parts of the sea” (west) (Ps. 139:9). What these images convey is the truth that there is no place in the universe where we can be out of God’s reach. Though God is not part of the universe, as some believe, He is close to it all, having not only created it but sustaining it, as well (see Heb. 1:3).As the One who knows all about us, God can help and restore us. The fresh realization of His greatness prompts an outburst of praise and renewed trust in the psalmist. He welcomes divine scrutiny as the means that can remove from his life anything that troubles his relationship with God.Some might find the fact that God knows so much about them, even their darkest secrets, a rather frightening thought. Why is the gospel, then, our only hope?
Read for This Week’s StudyPs. 139:1-18; Psalm 121; Ps. 17:8; Matt. 23:37; 1 Cor. 10:1-4; Heb. 4:15, 16.Memory Text:“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles” (Psalm 34:17, NKJV).Again and again, the Psalms highlight the truth that the Sovereign Lord, who created and sustains the universe, also reveals Himself as a personal God who initiates and sustains a relationship with His people.God is close to His people and to His creation, both in heaven and on earth (Ps. 73:23, 25). Though He “has established His throne in heaven” (Ps. 103:19, NKJV) and “rides on the clouds” (Ps. 68:4, NKJV), He also is “near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth” (Ps. 145:18, NKJV). The Psalms unswervingly uphold the truth that the Lord is the living God, who acts on behalf of those who call upon Him (Ps. 55:16-22). The Psalms are meaningful precisely because they are prompted by, and are addressed to, the living God, who hears and answers prayers.We should remember that the proper response to the Lord’s nearness consists in a life of faith in Him and of obedience to His commandments. Nothing short of this faith and obedience will be acceptable to Him, as the history of Israel often revealed.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, January 27.
Read Psalm 86:5, 15; Ellen G. White, “God’s Love for Man,” pp. 9–15, in Steps to Christ. How does the truth that God is love help us better understand the various descriptions of God and His deeds in the Psalms?This week’s study focuses on some key descriptions of God and His activities, which establish the world and render it firm and secure. The psalmists appeal to God, who is the Creator, King, Judge, covenantal Savior, and Lawgiver. The roles in the world that God occupies are further reflected in God’s various other names and titles, including Shepherd (Ps. 23:1, Ps. 80:1), Rock of Salvation (Ps. 95:1), and Father (Ps. 68:5, Ps. 89:26). In the world we can be secure and safe, even amid the turmoil of the great controversy, because God is sovereign and faithful in all He does and says. Although these theological themes are by no means exhaustive, they are suggestive of the various ways in which God reveals Himself in the Psalms.As we continue to study the Psalms, it is important to remember to read the Psalms in the light of God’s character of love and grace and His plan to save and restore the world. “The more we study the divine character in the light of the cross, the more we see mercy, tenderness, and forgiveness blended with equity and justice, and the more clearly we discern innumerable evidences of a love that is infinite and a tender pity surpassing a mother’s yearning sympathy for her wayward child.”—Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 15. In the Psalms, even when the people face God’s judgment for their rebellion, they continue to call upon God because they know that God’s anger is only for a time, but His mercy is everlasting (Ps. 103:8).Discussion Questions:Why is understanding the reality and prevalence of the great controversy crucial in helping us understand that despite God’s ultimate rulership and sovereignty, there is still much turmoil and suffering in our world? Why is the great controversy motif so helpful to us?How should the belief in God as Creator shape our understanding of ourselves and our relationship with the rest of creation? What happens when the people stray from that truth (Ps. 106:35−42)?What was wrong with the idols of the nations in biblical times (Ps. 115:4−8)? What about modern idols? Why are they just as dangerous to our walk with the Lord?How should God’s people live knowing that God’s judgment begins with His people? How does God judge His people and to what end?
Read Psalm 19:7; Psalm 93:5; Psalm 119:165; Psalm 1:2, 6; Psalm 18:30; and Psalm 25:10. What common thread runs through them all?The Lord’s supremacy in the world as the Sovereign Creator, King, and Judge has theological implications for the reliability of His testimonies. The testimonies (Hebrew ‘edut, “decree,” “law”) refer to the body of laws and ordinances with which the Lord governs the religious and social life of His people (Exod. 32:15). They are “very sure” (Ps. 93:5), reflecting the stability and permanence of God’s throne and the world that God created and sustains (Ps. 93:1, 2). The Hebrew word translated as “sure” (the English word amen derives from this word) conveys the notion of reliability, faithfulness, and firmness (2 Sam. 7:16, 1 Chron. 17:23). God’s laws are unchangeable and indestructible.God vouches for the integrity of His promises and commands. God’s faithfulness is both wholly reassuring in guaranteeing the unchangeable character of His rule and wholly demanding in asking the people’s responses of trust and obedience to God.At the same time, the lack of justice in the world is poetically described as a shaking of earth’s foundation (Ps. 18:7, Isa. 24:18–21). God’s law instructs the people in the way of righteous life that can withstand God’s judgment. The righteous, thus, shall not be shaken because they are firmly rooted in God’s law, which provides stability and security, and their hearts are steadfast (Hebrew kun, also, means “be firm,” “be secure”) in the Lord (Ps. 112:1, 6, 7). Nothing causes those who keep God’s law to stumble (Ps. 119:165), which signifies God’s protection and guidance in life (Ps. 1:2, 3, 6).God’s Word is depicted as the lamp to the psalmist’s feet, and so, it protects him from the enemies’ hidden snares (Ps. 119:105, 110). Great peace, which is enjoyed by those who love God’s law (Ps. 119:165), obviously does not result from a total absence of trials (Ps. 119:161). It rather derives from abiding in God’s presence and having a wholesome relationship with Him.What are practical ways that keeping God’s laws and rules and testimonies have helped you in your life? On the other hand, what have you suffered from violating them?
The theme of God’s judgment prompts a significant question: How can God’s people have peace with God and assurance of salvation at the time of judgment? Read Ps. 94:14, Ps. 105:7−10, Dan. 7:22.God’s people are secure because the Lord placed His dwelling place in Zion (Ps. 76:1, 2) and established His everlasting covenant with them as His treasured possession (Ps. 94:14, Ps. 105:8–10). God does not simply promise not to reject His covenantal people—He actively works to keep them secure in Him. He forgives their sins (Ps. 103:3); He instructs, blesses, and strengthens His people (Ps. 25:8−11, Ps. 29:11, Ps. 105:24). God’s judgments are given to turn the people to righteousness and to demonstrate that God cares for them (Ps. 94:8–15).Psalm 105 as a whole shows the Lord’s faithfulness to His covenant in Israel’s history. In everything that happened, the good and the bad, God was there. He providentially led Joseph to Egypt and through him saved His people and the nations in that area during the severe famine (Ps. 105:16−24). The Lord raised Moses to lead His people out of Egyptian slavery, which he did with signs and wonders on their behalf (Ps. 105:25−38).The Lord granted His people the Promised Land (Ps. 105:11, 44) and His continual protection (Ps. 105:12−15). He multiplied them (Ps. 105:24), freed them from their overlords (Ps. 105:37, 38), and provided for their daily needs (Ps. 105:39−41). The Lord is undoubtedly in sovereign control of all that involves His people—a truth that the psalmists wanted His people never to forget.When God remembers His covenant, it involves more than cognizance or memory because it always leads to action (Gen. 8:1, 1 Sam. 1:19, Ps. 98:3, Ps. 105:42–44). Likewise, when the people are called to remember God’s wonders and judgments, it means that the people should live in ways that honor God.In this covenant, Israel’s primary calling is to remain faithful to the covenant by observing God’s laws (Ps. 78:5−7, Ps. 105:45). God’s people also are called to bear witness about God to other nations because the Lord wishes all nations to join His people Israel (Ps. 105:1, 2). The world is thus secure in the protective covenant of the almighty and merciful God (Ps. 89:28−34).What do we have in Jesus, which shows why these promises made to ancient Israel can now apply to us? (See Gal. 3:26–29.)
Read Psalm 75. Why is the boasting of the wicked in vain?As the Sovereign King, the Lord is also a Lawgiver (Ps. 99:7) and a Judge (Ps. 98:9, Ps. 97:2). The wicked constantly threaten the just order that God established in the world, but the Lord will judge the world and bring the rule of evil to its end (Ps. 75:8−10, Ps. 96:13).In Psalm 75, several images depict the irrevocable destruction of the wicked. The image of a cup with red wine (Ps. 75:8) conveys the intensity of God’s fury (Jer. 25:15, Rev. 14:10). Cutting off the horns of the wicked depicts the end of their power and dominion, while the horns of the righteous shall be exalted (Ps. 75:10). God chooses a “proper time” (Ps. 75:2, NKJV) or “appointed time” (NIV) for His judgment. This executive judgment clearly will take place at the end of time (Ps. 96:13, 1 Cor. 15:23−26).The Lord probes people’s hearts as part of His judgment. Read Psalm 14:2. It is reminiscent of Genesis 6:5, 8. Both texts show that the execution of God’s judgment of the world is preceded by God’s examination of the people’s lives and seeking whomever He can save. This judgment is sometimes called “the investigative judgment,” when God defends the righteous and decides the fate of the wicked.How does it work?First, God delivers His people from the wicked (Ps. 97:10, Ps. 146:9) and crowns the humble with salvation (Ps. 149:4). Second, the unrepentant wicked are destroyed forever (Ps. 97:3). Some psalms poetically describe the uselessness of human weapons against the Divine Judge (Ps. 76:3–6). The Lord is also a forgiving God, although He punishes people’s misdeeds (Ps. 99:8). God’s people, not only the wicked, shall give an account to God (Ps. 50:4, Ps. 135:14).The Psalms convey the same notion that is expressed in other biblical texts, that God’s judgment begins with God’s people and is extended to the whole earth (Deut. 32:36, 1 Pet. 4:17). The psalmist cries to God to judge him but relies on God’s righteousness to defend him (Ps.7:8−11; Ps. 139:23, 24).The Psalms call us to rejoice in anticipation of God’s judgments (Ps. 67:4, Ps. 96:10−13, Ps. 98:4−9). How is God’s judgment good news for those covered by the blood of Christ?
Closely tied—in fact inseparably tied—to the Lord as Creator is the Lord as Sovereign, as Ruler. The declaration “The Lord reigneth” is solemnly proclaimed in Psalm 93:1, Psalm 96:10, Psalm 97:1, and Psalm 99:1, but its echoes are heard throughout the book of Psalms.The Lord is clothed with honor, majesty, and strength (Ps. 93:1, Ps. 104:1). He is surrounded with clouds and darkness (Ps. 97:2) but also covers Himself “with light as with a garment” (Ps. 104:2). These metaphors exalt the King’s power and splendor and are carefully chosen to express God’s unique greatness, which is beyond human comprehension.Read Psalm 97. What characterizes the Lord’s reign? (Ps. 97:2, 10). What is the domain of His reign? (Ps. 97:1, 5, 9).The Lord’s rule is demonstrated in His works of creation (Ps. 96:5), salvation (Ps. 98:2), and judgment (Ps. 96:10). The Lord establishes His kingship over the whole world (Ps. 47:6−9). God’s kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, unparalleled in power and majesty (Ps. 45:6; Ps. 93:1, 2; Ps. 103:19). The Lord’s reign is established on mercy, justice, and righteousness, and it brings order and stability to the created world (Ps. 98:3, Ps. 99:4). God’s reign unites both heavenly and earthly worshipers in the praise of God (Ps. 103:20−22, Psalm 148). Many psalms envision all humanity acknowledging God’s sovereign rule (Ps. 96:10, Ps. 97:1, Ps. 99:1, Ps. 145:11–13).But not all people, or even earthly rulers, do, at least for now. The Lord’s reign is constantly defied by the wicked, who deny and mock the Lord and oppress His people (Ps. 14:1, Ps. 74:3−22). Though challenged by the prosperity of some wicked people and troubled by God’s forbearance, the psalmist trusts in God’s sovereign rule and continues to flourish in the assurance of God’s righteous judgments (Ps. 68:21, Ps. 73:17−20). By faith God’s people rejoice in the inauguration of God’s kingdom through Christ’s redeeming ministry and wait for the consummation of the kingdom at Christ’s second coming (Matt. 12:26−28, 1 Cor. 15:20–28).“You who love the Lord, hate evil!” (Ps. 97:10, NKJV). Why should our love for God cause us to hate evil? How are these two concepts related?
Read Psalm 8 and Psalm 100. How are God and people portrayed in these psalms? What do these psalms reveal about God’s character?Creation plays a crucial role in the Psalms, in upholding God’s sovereignty. The heavens, which are “His handiwork,” proclaim His glory and power (Ps. 19:1−4, Ps. 97:6). God’s name is majestic in all the earth (Ps. 8:1, 9). The Lord has created everything; He has no beginning (Ps. 93:2) and no end (Ps. 102:25−27). He is everlasting and superior over the gods of the nations, which are only “the work of men’s hands” (Ps. 115:4), nothing more. The idols “have hands, but they handle not” (Ps. 115:7); as for the Lord, “in his hand are the deep places of the earth . . . and his hands formed the dry land” (Ps. 95:4, 5).Several psalms portray God’s power over the forces in nature that other nations believed to be divine (e.g. Psalm 29, Psalm 93, and Psalm 104). These psalms reassert the claim that the Lord reigns over all creation and is supreme in power and dignity. Psalm 100:3 strikes one subtle form of idolatry—self-reliance, stressing that God made us, “and not we ourselves.”Creation also testifies to God’s love. Everything that exists owes its existence to God, who also sustains life (Ps. 95:7, Ps. 147:4−9). Notice that God not only granted people existence but He also made ancient Israel “His people and the sheep of His pasture” (Ps. 100:3, NKJV). The notion of “His people” and “His sheep” reveals God’s desire for a close relationship with His people.Only the Creator has the power to bless and cause His people to increase, and thus, He is the only One worthy of their worship and trust. Numerous psalms call everything that has breath, all the earth, the sea, and everything in it to shout for joy before the Lord.The glory of God is seen in the creation, even in the fallen earthly creation, and the Psalms point us to God alone as worthy of worship.“What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?” (Ps. 8:4, NKJV). What is your response to God as your Creator? When God calls the stars by their names (Ps. 147:4), how much more do you think God cares for you?
Read for This Week’s StudyPsalm 8, Psalm 100, Psalm 97, Psalm 75, Ps. 105:7-10, Gal. 3:26–29, Ps. 25:10.Memory Text:“The Lord reigns, he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength; indeed, the world is established, firm and secure” (Psalm 93:1, NIV).The Psalms unswervingly uphold the foundational belief in God’s sovereign reign. The Lord created and sustains everything that He had created. He is the Sovereign King over the whole world, and He rules the world with justice and righteousness. His laws and statutes are good and bring life to those who keep them. The Lord is a just Judge who ensures that the world remains well ordered, and He does so by rewarding the righteous and punishing the wicked, but in His time, not ours.God’s covenant with Israel plays a special role in securing the world because it heralds the Lord’s salvation. The Lord adopted Israel as His prized possession, making Israel, of all the nations, His people. The Lord is faithful to His covenant and continues to care for His flock despite their unfaithfulness and, at times, open rebellion.The Lord’s sovereign rule thus renders the world firmly established and secure. The psalmists want the reader to understand this foundational truth. With this worldview as their lighthouse, the psalmists seek to thrive and to serve God with undivided devotion.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, January 20.
Read Psalm 42:8 and Ellen G. White, “Poetry and Song,” pp. 159–168, in Education. How are prayer and song related according to these inspired texts?Ellen G. White describes David’s penitent psalms (e.g. Psalm 51) as the language of his soul and prayers that illustrate the nature of true sorrow for sin (see Steps to Christ, pp. 24, 25). She encourages believers to memorize texts from the Psalms as the means of fostering the sense of God’s presence in their lives and highlights Jesus’ practice of lifting His voice with psalms when met with temptation and oppressive fear. She also remarks: “How often by words of holy song are unsealed in the soul the springs of penitence and faith, of hope and love and joy! . . . Indeed, many a song is prayer.”—Education, pp. 162–168.When we pray and sing the Psalms, we assume the persistence, boldness, courage, and hope of the psalmists. They encourage us to continue our spiritual journey and comfort us that we are not alone. Other people, like us, have gone through dark times and yet were triumphant by the grace of God. At the same time, the Psalms reveal to us the glimpses of Christ’s fervent intercession on our behalf, as He always lives to pray for us (Heb. 7:25).Engaging psalms in prayer and worship makes the believing community aware of the full range of human experience and teaches the worshipers to engage in the various facets of that experience in worship. The Psalms are divine-human prayers and songs. For that reason, including psalms consistently in worship brings the believing community to the center of God’s will and powerful healing grace.Discussion Questions:Why is spontaneous, unguided prayer not the only way to pray? How can our prayer life benefit from the Psalms, the biblical prayers?How can the Psalms enrich our communal prayer experience? Discuss some practical ways your local church can foster the use of the Psalms in its worship services.What do the Psalms reveal about the complexity of the human pilgrimage of faith and the power of God’s healing grace?
Read Psalm 60:1–5. For what occasions do you think this psalm would be a suitable prayer? How can we benefit from the psalms of lament even in joyous seasons of life?Psalms of lament are generally understood as prayers of people living through trying times, whether physical, psychological, or spiritual. Or all three.However, this does not mean that we should avoid these psalms, even in good times. Sometimes there may be a total disjunction between the words of the psalm and the worshiper’s present experience. That is, psalms of lament can be beneficial to worshipers who are not in distress.First, they can make us more aware that suffering is part of the general human experience and that it happens to both the righteous and the wicked. The Psalms assure us that God is in control and provides strength and solutions in times of trouble. Even in this psalm, even amid the trouble (“You have made the earth tremble,” Ps. 60:2, NKJV), the psalmist displays his ultimate hope in God’s deliverance.Second, the lament psalms teach us compassion toward the sufferers. When expressing our happiness and gratitude to God, especially in public, we must be mindful of the less fortunate. Sure, we might have things good right now, but who doesn’t know of people, all around us, who are suffering terribly? Praying such psalms can help us not forget those who are going through tough times. The Psalms should evoke in us compassion and a desire to minister to the suffering as Jesus did.“This world is a vast lazar house, but Christ came to heal the sick, to proclaim deliverance to the captives of Satan. He was in Himself health and strength. He imparted His life to the sick, the afflicted, those possessed of demons. He turned away none who came to receive His healing power. He knew that those who petitioned Him for help had brought disease upon themselves; yet, He did not refuse to heal them. And when virtue from Christ entered into these poor souls, they were convicted of sin, and many were healed of their spiritual disease, as well as of their physical maladies. The gospel still possesses the same power, and why should we not today witness the same results?”—Ellen G. White, Welfare Ministry, pp. 24, 25.Whom do you know, right now, who needs not only your prayers but your ministering touch, as well?
We all have probably faced times when the presence of God seemed very far from us. Who, at times, has not thought: How could this have happened?The psalmists, humans like the rest of us, surely faced similar things. Though, yes, at times our sins bring trials upon us, at other times they seem to be so unfair, and we feel as if we did not deserve what we are now faced with. Again, who has not been there?Read Psalm 13. What two main moods can you distinguish in this psalm? What decision do you think brought the radical change in the psalmist’s general outlook?“How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?” (Ps. 13:1, NKJV). Again, who cannot relate to these sentiments, as wrong as they might be? (Does God ever forget any of us?)Psalm 13, then, points to the way to avoid another common mistake—focusing on ourselves and our problems when praying. This psalm can transform our prayer by leading us to reaffirm the faithful and unchanging nature of God’s dealings with His people.Sure, though the psalm does begin with laments and complaints, it does not end there. And that’s the crucial point.The psalm leads us to deliberately choose to trust God’s redemptive power (Ps. 13:5), so that our fear and anxiety (Ps. 13:1–4) can gradually give way to God’s salvation, and we begin experiencing change from lament to praise, from despair to hope (Ps. 13:5, 6).However, a mere repetition of the words of the Psalms with only a slight comprehension of their meaning will not produce the authentic transformation intended by their use. When praying the Psalms, we should seek the Holy Spirit to enable us to act in the way demanded by the psalm. The Psalms are the Word of God by which believers’ characters and actions are transformed, not simply informed. By God’s grace, the promises of the Psalms are made manifest in the lives of believers. This means that we allow God’s Word to shape us according to God’s will and to unite us with Christ, who demonstrated God’s will perfectly and, as the incarnate Son of God, prayed the Psalms, as well.How can your trials draw you closer to God? Why, if you’re not careful, can they push you away from Him?
Praying the Psalms does more than enable worshipers to articulate their prayers freely. The Psalms supervise their experience according to God’s standards and make it bearable by introducing hope and reassurance of God’s presence.Read Psalm 22. What can we learn from this psalm about trust in God amid great suffering?The lamenting words of Psalm 22:1 may help suffering people express their grief and sense of loneliness: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from helping Me, and from the words of My groaning?” (NKJV).These words, of course, have become famous among Christians because they were the same words that Jesus Himself, while on the cross, uttered, showing us how central to Christ’s experience the Psalms were (see Matt. 27:46).However, even amid the suffering and trials, these words also are expressed: “I will declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will praise You” (Ps. 22:22, NKJV).In other words, though these exact feelings may not coincide with the author’s present dilemma, the psalmist was still expressing his faith in God and declaring that, no matter what, he would still praise God.The point is, by giving us words to pray, the Psalms teach us to look beyond our current situation and, by faith, to see the time when our life will be restored by God’s grace.Praying the Psalms thus takes worshipers to new spiritual horizons. The Psalms let worshipers express their feelings and understandings, but they are not left where they presently are. The worshipers are led to abandon their burdens of pain, disappointment, anger, and despair before God and to trust in Him, whatever their circumstances.The movement from lament to praise observed in many psalms is suggestive of the spiritual transformation that the believers experience when they receive divine grace and comfort in prayer.How can we learn to see beyond our immediate trials and, thus, trust in God’s goodness, whatever we face now?
All Christians know, and have experienced, times of despair and suffering, times when they have wondered what the Lord is doing, or why the Lord is allowing these things to happen to them. The psalmists themselves went through similar things. And, through divine inspiration, they recorded what they had experienced.Read Psalm 44. What is it saying to us, and why is this relevant to believers in all ages?The selectiveness of Psalms in church worship services often reflects the exclusiveness of moods and words that we express in our communal prayers. Such restrictiveness may be a sign of our inability or uneasiness to engage the dark realities of life. Though we may sometimes feel that God treats us unfairly when suffering hits us, we do not find it appropriate to express our thoughts in public worship or even in private prayer.This reluctance could cause us to miss the point of worship. The failure to express honestly and openly our feelings and views before God in prayer often leaves us in bondage to our own emotions. This also denies us confidence and trust in approaching God. Praying the Psalms gives an assurance that, when we pray and worship, we are not expected to censure or deny our experience.Psalm 44, for example, can help worshipers articulate their experience of innocent suffering freely and adequately. Praying the Psalms helps people experience freedom of speech in prayer. The Psalms give us words that we can neither find nor dare to speak. “Our heart has not turned back, nor have our steps departed from Your way; but You have severely broken us in the place of jackals, and covered us with the shadow of death” (Ps. 44:18, 19, NKJV).Notice, however, how Psalm 44 begins. The writer is talking about how, in the past, God had done great things for His people. Hence, the author expresses his trust in God and not “in my bow” (Ps. 44:6).Despite this, trouble has still come to God’s people. The list of woe and lament is long and painful. However, even amid all this, the psalmist cries out for God to deliver, to “redeem us for Your mercies’ sake” (Ps. 44:26, NKJV). That is, even amid the trouble, he knows the reality of God and His love.How can drawing on past times, when God’s presence felt very real, help you deal with the times in which troubles make you think that God is far away?
Read Psalm 105:5, Colossians 3:16, and James 5:13. What is the place of the Psalms in the believer’s worship experience?A simple way of introducing the Psalms into daily life is to devote time each day to the reading of a psalm, beginning with Psalm 1, and following the order given in the psalter. Another way is to read the psalms that correspond to your present situation, whatever it happens to be: there are psalms of lament, the psalms of communal lament, the thanksgiving psalms, hymns, penitential psalms, the wisdom psalms (seeking God’s wisdom and guidance), historical psalms, psalms containing anger and rage, and pilgrimage psalms. Over the course of this quarter, we will be looking at many of them and studying these psalms in the context in which they appear.How, then, are we to read the Psalms?First read the psalm, engaging in simple reflection, and then pray. Ruminating over the psalm involves reflection on the various aspects of the psalm: the way the psalmist addresses God and the reasons for the prayer. Consider how your situation corresponds to the psalmist’s experience and how the psalm might be able to help you articulate your experience. You will be amazed at how often you will find yourself being able to resonate and relate to what you read there.If something in the psalm challenges you, ponder, for example, whether the psalm corrects your present false hopes about something you are facing. Contemplate the psalm’s message in the light of Christ’s person and salvific work and the long-term hope Christ’s work offers us. As we know, or should know, it always helps to look at everything in the Bible in light of Christ and the Cross.Also, look for new motives for prayer that the psalm supplies, and think about their importance for you, your church, and the world. Ask God to put His Word on your heart and mind. If the psalm corresponds to the situation of someone you know, intercede in prayer for that person. The point is, the Psalms cover so many aspects of life, and we can be enriched by reading and absorbing into our hearts what they are saying to us.What does it mean to “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Col. 3:16)? Why is reading the Bible the first and most crucial step for that experience?
Memory Text:“Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples’ ” (Luke 11:1, NKJV).A belief that only spontaneous, unlearned prayer is real prayer appears to be prevalent among some Christians. However, Jesus’ disciples were immensely rewarded when they asked Jesus to teach them to pray. God placed a prayer book, the Psalms, at the heart of the Bible, not simply to show us how God’s people of ancient times prayed but also to teach us how we can pray today.From the earliest ages, the Psalms have shaped the prayers of God’s people, including Jesus’ prayers (1 Chron. 16:7, 9; Neh. 12:8; Matt. 27:46; Eph. 5:19). This week we will look at the role the Psalms played in helping God’s people traverse their life journey and grow in their relationship with God. We should remember that the Psalms are prayers and, as such, are invaluable, not only for their theological insight but also for the ways they can enrich and transform our individual and communal prayers.Praying the Psalms has helped many believers establish and maintain regular and fulfilling prayer lives.This week we will continue to look at the Psalms, especially in the context of times when things are not going great for us.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, January 13.
Read Ellen G. White, “The Temple and Its Dedication,” pp. 35–50, in Prophets and Kings; “The Benefits of Music,” pp. 291, 292, in Messages to Young People.The book of Psalms consists of 150 psalms, which are grouped into five books: Book I (Psalms 1−41), Book II (Psalms 42−72), Book III (Psalms 73−89), Book IV (Psalms 90−106), and Book V (Psalms 107−150). The five-book division of the Psalter is an early Jewish tradition that parallels the five-book division of the Pentateuch.The book of Psalms provides evidence of some already-existing collections of psalms: the Korahite collections (Psalms 42−49, 84, 85, 87, 88), the Asaphite collection (Psalms 73−83), the Songs of the Ascents (Psalms 120−134), and the Hallelujah Psalms (Psalms 111−118, 146−150). Psalm 72:20 bears witness to a smaller collection of David’s psalms.While most psalms are associated with the time of King David and early monarchy (tenth century B.C.), the collection of psalms continued to grow through the following centuries: the divided monarchy, the exile, and the postexilic period. It is conceivable that the Hebrew scribes under the leadership of Ezra combined the existing smaller collections of psalms into one book when they worked on establishing the services of the new temple.The fact that scribes consolidated the book of Psalms does not take away from their divine inspiration. The scribes, like the psalmists, were devoted servants of God, and their work was directed by God (Ezra 7:6, 10). The divine-human nature of the Psalms is comparable to the union of the divine and the human in the incarnated Lord Jesus. “But the Bible, with its God-given truths expressed in the language of men, presents a union of the divine and the human. Such a union existed in the nature of Christ, who was the Son of God and the Son of man. Thus it is true of the Bible, as it was of Christ, that ‘the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.’ ”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 8.Discussion Questions:What does it mean that the Psalms are divine-human prayers and hymns? How does this idea, however difficult to fully grasp, help us see the closeness that God wants with His people? How does it reveal, in its own way, how close to humanity, and to each of us, God is?In class, talk about a time in which you found something in the Psalms speaking directly to your own situation. What comfort and hope did you find there?
Read Psalm 16:8; Psalm 44:8; Psalm 46:1; Psalm 47:1, 7; Psalm 57:2; Psalm 62:8; Psalm 82:8; and Psalm 121:7. What place does God occupy in the psalmist’s life?The world of the Psalms is wholly God-centered; it seeks to submit, in prayer and praise, all life experiences to God. God is the Sovereign Creator, the King and Judge of all the earth. He provides all things for His children. Therefore, He is to be trusted at all times. Even the enemies of God’s people ask, “ ‘Where is your God?’ ” when God’s people seem to be failing (Ps. 42:10, NKJV). Just as the Lord is the ever-present and never-failing God of His people, so God’s people have God always before them. Ultimately, the Psalms envision the time when all peoples and the entire creation will worship God (Ps. 47:1, Ps. 64:9).The centrality of God in life produces the centrality of worship. The worship in which the Psalms lived was fundamentally different from worship as understood by many people today, because worship in the biblical culture was the natural and undisputed center of the entire community’s life. Therefore, everything that happened, both the good and the bad, in the life of God’s people inevitably was expressed in worship. God hears the psalmist, wherever he may be, and responds to him in His perfect time (Ps. 3:4, Ps. 18:6, Ps. 20:6).The psalmist is aware that God’s dwelling place is in heaven, but at the same time, God dwells in Zion, in the sanctuary among His people. God is at the same time far and near, everywhere, and in His temple (Ps. 11:4), hidden (Ps. 10:1) and disclosed (Ps. 41:12). In the Psalms these apparently mutually exclusive characteristics of God are brought together. The psalmists understood that proximity and remoteness were inseparable within the true being of God (Ps. 24:7–10). The psalmists understood the dynamics of this spiritual tension. Their awareness of God’s goodness and presence, amid whatever they were experiencing, is what strengthens their hope while they wait for God to intervene, however and whenever He chooses to do so.How can the Psalms help us understand that we cannot limit God to certain aspects of our existence only? What might be parts of your life in which you are seeking to keep the Lord at a distance?
Read 2 Samuel 23:1, 2 and Romans 8:26, 27. What do these texts teach us about prayer?The Psalms are inspired prayers and praises of Israel, and so, in the Psalms the voice is that of God intermingled with that of His people. The Psalms assume the dynamics of vivid interactions with God.The psalmists address God personally as “my God,” “O Lord,” and “my King” (Ps. 5:2, Ps. 84:3). The psalmists often implore God to “give ear” (Ps. 5:1), “hear my prayer” (Ps. 39:12), “look” (Ps. 25:18), “answer me” (Ps. 102:2), and “deliver me” (Ps. 6:4, NKJV). These are clearly the expressions of someone praying to God.The remarkable beauty and appeal of the Psalms as prayers and praises lie in the fact that the Psalms are the Word of God in the form of the pious prayers and praises of believers. The Psalms, thus, provide God’s children with moments of intimacy, such as described in Romans 8:26, 27: “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (NKJV).Jesus, too, quoted from the Psalms, such as in Luke 20:42, 43, when He quoted directly from Psalm 110:1—“ ‘Now David himself said in the Book of Psalms: “The Lord said to my Lord, / ‘Sit at My right hand, / Till I make Your enemies Your footstool’ ” ’ ” (NKJV).Although some psalms have sprung from, or refer to, specific historical events and the experiences of the psalmists themselves, as well as the experiences of Israel as a nation, the Psalms’ spiritual depth speaks to a variety of life situations and crosses all cultural, religious, ethnic, and gender boundaries. In other words, as you read the Psalms, you will find them expressing hope, praise, fear, anger, sadness, and sorrow—things that people everywhere, in every age, no matter their circumstances, face. They speak to us all, in the language of our own experiences.What should Jesus’ use of the Psalms tell us about the importance that they could play in our own faith experience?
Read Psalm 3, Psalm 33:1–3, and Psalm 109:6–15. What different facets of human experience do these psalms convey?The Psalms make the believing community aware of the full range of human experience, and they demonstrate that believers can worship God in every season in life. In them we see the following:(1) Hymns that magnify God for His majesty and power in creation, His kingly rule, judgment, and faithfulness. (2) Thanksgiving psalms that express profound gratitude for God’s abundant blessings. (3) Laments that are heartfelt cries to God for deliverance from trouble. (4) Wisdom psalms that provide practical guidelines for righteous living. (5) Royal psalms that point to Christ, who is the sovereign King and Deliverer of God’s people. (6) Historical psalms that recall Israel’s past and highlight God’s faithfulness and Israel’s unfaithfulness to teach the coming generations not to repeat the mistakes of their ancestors but to trust God and remain faithful to His covenant.The poetry of the Psalms demonstrates distinctive power to capture the attention of readers. Though some of these poetic devices are lost in translation, we can still, in our native language, appreciate many of them.1. Parallelism involves the combining of symmetrically constructed words, phrases, or thoughts. Parallelism helps in understanding the meaning of corresponding parts. For instance: “Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name!” (Ps. 103:1, NKJV). In this parallelism, “my soul” is “all that is within me,” namely one’s whole being.2. Imagery uses figurative language to strongly appeal to readers’ physical senses. For example, God’s refuge is depicted as “the shadow of [His] wings” (Ps. 17:8, NKJV).3. Merism expresses totality by a pair of contrasting parts. “I have cried day and night before thee” denotes crying without ceasing (Ps. 88:1, emphasis supplied).4. Wordplays employ the sound of words to make a pun and highlight a spiritual message. In Psalm 96:4, 5 the Hebrew words ’elohim, “gods,” and ’elilim, “idols,” create a wordplay to convey the message that the gods of the nations only appear to be ’elohim, “gods,” but are merely ’elilim, “idols.”Finally, the word “selah” denotes a brief interlude, either for a call to pause and reflect on the message of a particular section of the psalm or a change of musical accompaniment (Ps. 61:4).
King David, whose name appears in the titles of most psalms, was active in organizing the liturgy of Israel’s worship. He is called “the sweet psalmist of Israel” (2 Sam. 23:1). The New Testament attests to Davidic authorship of various psalms (Matt. 22:43–45; Acts 2:25–29, 34, 35; Acts 4:25; Rom. 4:6–8). Numerous psalms were composed by the temple musicians who were also Levites: for example, Psalm 50 and Psalms 73−83 by Asaph; Psalm 42, Psalms 44−47, Psalm 49, Psalm 84, Psalm 85, Psalms 87−88 by the sons of Korah; Psalm 88 also by Heman the Ezrahite; and Psalm 89 by Ethan the Ezrahite. Beyond them, Solomon (Psalm 72, Psalm 127) and Moses (Psalm 90) authored some psalms.Read Psalm 25:1–5; Psalm 42:1; Psalm 75:1; Psalm 77:1; Psalm 84:1, 2; Psalm 88:1–3; and Psalm 89:1. What do these psalms reveal about the experiences their authors were going through?The Holy Spirit inspired the psalmists and used their talents in service to God and to their community of faith. The psalmists were people of genuine devotion and profound faith and yet prone to discouragements and temptations, as are the rest of us. Though written a long time ago, the Psalms surely reflect some of what we experience today.“Let my prayer come before You; incline Your ear to my cry. For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to the grave” (Ps. 88:2, 3, NKJV). This is a cry of the twenty-first-century soul as much as it was of someone 3,000 years ago.Some psalms mention hardships; some focus on joys. The psalmists cried out to God to save them and experienced His undeserved favor. They glorified God for His faithfulness and love, and they pledged their untiring devotion to Him. The Psalms are, thus, testimonies of divine Redemption and signs of God’s grace and hope. The Psalms convey a divine promise to all who embrace, by faith, God’s gifts of forgiveness and of a new life. Yet, at the same time, they do not try to cover up, hide, or downplay the hardships and suffering prevalent in a fallen world.How can we draw hope and comfort knowing that even faithful people, such as the psalmists, struggled with some of the same things that we do?
Read 1 Chronicles 16:7, Nehemiah 12:8, Psalm 18:1, Psalm 30:1, Psalm 92:1, Psalm 95:2, Psalm 105:2, Colossians 3:16, and James 5:13. What were the occasions that prompted the writing of some psalms? When did God’s people use the Psalms?The Psalms were composed for use in private and in communal worship. They were sung as hymns in temple worship, as suggested by the musical annotations that mention instruments (Ps. 61:1), tunes (Ps. 9:1), and music leaders (Ps. 8:1).In the Hebrew Bible, the title of the book of Psalms, tehilim, “praises,” reflects its main purpose—that is, the praise of God. The English title Book of Psalms is derived from the Greek psalmoi, found in the Septuagint, an early (second and third century B.C.) Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible.The Psalms were an indispensable part of Israel’s worship. For example, they were used in temple dedications, religious feasts, and processions, as well as during the setting down of the ark of the covenant in Jerusalem.“The Songs of Ascents” (Psalms 120−134), also known as the pilgrimage songs, were traditionally sung during the pilgrimage to Jerusalem at the three major annual festivals (Exod. 23:14–17). The “Egyptian Hallel” (Psalms 113−118) and the “Great Hallel” (Psalm 136) were sung at the three major annual festivals, including the festivals of the New Moon and the dedication of the temple. The Egyptian Hallel received a significant place in the Passover ceremony. Psalms 113 and 114 were sung at the beginning of the Passover meal and Psalms 115−118 at the end (Matt. 26:30). The “Daily Hallel” (Psalms 145−150) was incorporated into the daily prayers in the synagogue morning services.The Psalms did not only accompany the people’s worship, but they also instructed them on how they should worship God in the sanctuary. Jesus prayed with the words of Psalm 22 (Matt. 27:46). The Psalms found a significant place in the life of the early church, as well (Col. 3:16, Eph. 5:19).Though we, of course, do not worship God in an earthly sanctuary like the temple, how can we use the Psalms in our own worship, whether in a private or in a corporate setting?
Read for This Week’s Study1 Chron. 16:7; Neh. 12:8; Ps. 25:1–5; Ps. 33:1–3; Rom. 8:26, 27; Ps. 82:8; Ps. 121:7.Memory Text:“Then He said to them, ‘These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.’ And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures” (Luke 24:44, 45, NKJV).The Psalms have been a prayer book and hymnbook for both Jews and Christians through the ages. And though the Psalms are predominantly the psalmists’ own words addressed to God, the Psalms did not originate with mortals but with God, who inspired their thoughts.Indeed, the Lord inspired them to write what they did, which is why, as in all of Scripture (2 Pet. 1:21), God in the Psalms speaks to us through His servants and by His Spirit. Jesus, the apostles, and the writers of the New Testament cited the Psalms and referred to them as Scripture (Mark 12:10; John 10:34, 35; John 13:18). They are as surely the Word of God as are the books of Genesis and Romans.The Psalms have been written in Hebrew poetry by different authors from ancient Israel, and so, the Psalms reflect their particular world, however universal their messages. Accepting the Psalms as God’s Word and paying close attention to the Psalms’ poetic features, as well as their historical, theological, and liturgical contexts, is fundamental for understanding their messages, which reach across thousands of years to our time today.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, January 6.
The Psalms are prayers and hymns of the Bible par excellence. Utteredin praise, joy, sorrow, and despair; spoken or sung in private and in thepublic by laypeople, kings, poets, and priests; coming from both therighteous and repentant sinners, the Psalms have served as the prayer book and thehymnbook to generations of believers.The book of Psalms owes its distinct role to the fact that while most of the Biblespeaks to us, the Psalms speak for us and with us. The Psalms are a source of blessing,hope, and revival, a guide for both self-reflection and reflection on God’s greatness,liberating when one cries out of the depths, and captivating for a renewed surrender toGod. It is thus not surprising that many people find the Psalms resonating with theiremotions and experiences and adopt them as their own prayers. Luther poignantlyspeaks of the Psalms: “Where can one find nobler words to express joy than in thePsalms of praise or gratitude? In them you can see into the hearts of all the saints asif you were looking at a lovely pleasure-garden, or were gazing into heaven. . . . Orwhere can one find more profound, more penitent, more sorrowful words in whichto express grief than in the Psalms of lamentation? In these, you see into the hearts ofall the saints as if you were looking at death or gazing into hell, so dark and obscure isthe scene rendered by the changing shadows of the wrath of God. . . . It is thereforeeasy to understand why the Book of Psalms is the favourite book of all the saints. Forevery man on every occasion can find in it Psalms which fit his needs, which he feelsThePsalms:WhereGod andPeopleMeet Heartto Heart3to be as appropriate as if they had been set there just for his sake. In no other bookcan he find words to equal them, nor better words.”— Martin Luther, Martin Luther:Selections From His Writings, ed. John Dillenberger (New York: Anchor Books, 1962),pp. 39, 40.To experience the life-transforming power of the Psalms, we are called to sing andpray them as did the generations of believers who haveused the Psalms to pour out their praises, petitions,confessions, laments, and thanksgiving to the sovereignGod of grace and justice.Do we need to study the Psalms, then? Like the rest ofthe Scriptures, the Psalms were written in their distinc-tive historical, theological, and literary contexts. Thetask of the study of the Psalms is to bring the particularworld of the Psalms closer to the modern audience.We must note that while the Psalms are prayers ofGod’s people and even prayers that Jesus prayed as theincarnated Lord, the Psalms are also prayers about Jesus.They are God’s revelation to humanity. Another task ofthe study of the Psalms is, thus, to learn from the Psalms about all that God did, does,and will do for the world in and through Jesus Christ.Although the Psalms are a collection of 150 poems, the collection may not be asrandom as it appears. The Psalms bear witness to a spiritual journey that is common tomany of God’s children. The journey begins with a faith that is firmly established andsecured by God’s sovereign rule and where good gets rewarded and evil punished. Aswe progress through our study, we will see what happens when the well-ordered worldof faith is challenged and threatened by evil. Does God still reign? How can believerssing the Lord’s song in a strange land?Our desire and prayer are that the Psalms strengthen us on our life journey, andthrough them we get to meet God daily, heart to heart, until the day when we seeJesus Christ face to face.Dragoslava Santrac, PhD in Old Testament, is managing editor of the Encyclopediaof Seventh-day Adventists at the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists worldheadquarters. She has authored the volume on Psalms 76–150 for the Seventh-day Ad-ventist International Bible Commentary.
“The great plan of redemption results in fully bringing back the world into God’s favor. All that was lost by sin is restored. Not only man but the earth is redeemed, to be the eternal abode of the obedient. For six thousand years Satan has struggled to maintain possession of the earth. Now God’s original purpose in its creation is accomplished. ‘The saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.’ ”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 342.But before that can become a reality, it is our duty to partner with God in His mission to reach the world with the message of warning so that people can accept and be a part of God’s promise of re-creation.“I long to see very many laborers at work for those who know not the evidences of our faith. Many have received great light through hearing the three angels’ messages, and now they should proclaim these messages in all parts of the world. I desire to do my part and to open the way for others to carry the light of truth. May the Lord help us to put the armor on. The believers are to unite in the solemn work of giving the last note of warning to the world.”—Ellen G. White, Letter 390, 1907 (unpublished).Throughout this quarter we have studied various aspects and issues related to God’s mission. This week we concluded our study by exploring Revelation’s keys to understanding what a restored relationship with God looks like, and it climaxed with a vision of the mission fulfilled—the re-creation and restoration of the earth. While it is true that the destruction of sin and suffering will be the most terrifying days of earth’s history, God casts our vision to a time beyond this destruction and provides comfort and encouragement in the promise of the earth restored.Discussion Question:What is the “everlasting gospel”? Why is it “everlasting”? And why must what it teaches be foundational to our mission?Why do we have such an emphasis on the three angels’ messages? How do you respond to the argument that we need to focus on Jesus and not on something as supposedly “negative” as these messages, which include very strong warnings?How has this quarter helped you better understand not only the importance of mission but how you and your church could better participate in it, which is what we have been called to do?
Read Revelation 21:1–4 and Revelation 21:22–22:5. What is the scene described here?What a paradise the new earth will be! Death and sin will be gone, Satan and wickedness destroyed. We will meet our loving Savior and reunite with loved ones. And the new earth will be populated with representatives from every ethnicity and language.The General Conference Mission Board has approved Global Mission metrics that can be used to determine whether a people group is reached or unreached. A “reached people group” is one that has adequate numbers and resources to witness effectively to the rest of the group without requiring outside assistance; it has worship services, Bibles, and other literature in their first language; and there are indigenous church leaders who can witness to the rest of the people group without working through a translator.An “unreached people group” is one that has no indigenous community of believing Adventists with adequate numbers and resources to witness effectively to their own group without assistance from outside their culture.Each local church and conference must determine the people groups in their community who need to be reached. Now is the time to invest in God’s mission of making disciples in all people groups, hastening our Savior’s return and, in the end, living with them in the new heaven and new earth that is promised to us here.Challenge: How are you hastening Christ’s return? Are you planting seeds of hope in the hearts of those who need to hear good news? Are you “watering” new believers by helping them learn what it means to live a life of loyal obedience to Christ? Pray for opportunities to communicate the promise of the earth made new with the people on your daily prayer list.Challenge Up: Some of your “disciples” may be ready to accept Christ. This includes joining a church or group of believers. Put yourself in his or her place and imagine attending your church for the first time. What kind of experience would he or she have? How prepared is your church to welcome and disciple new people? Are you open to starting new groups of believers, not just building up your own existing church? Create a strategy to address weak areas. Share your thoughts with your church leaders, and work with them to implement a plan to become a more intentional disciple-making church.
What is success in mission? We might be tempted to think that it is many baptisms, big churches, and rapid growth rates. We might feel that success consists of entering every tribe and people group on earth with the truth and that we can speed it up by using radio, the internet, and TV. While all of this can be good, we must remember what Paul wrote to the community of faith in Corinth: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase” (1 Cor. 3:6, NKJV). In other words, our focus is to be on the process; God’s focus will be on the growth.We have already seen that the object of God’s mission is saving the lost in every people group on earth by making them loyal disciples of Jesus who are involved in His mission.Read the following texts. What do they tell us about the character of those who become followers of Jesus?2 Cor. 11:2Isa. 30:21; John 10:27; John 16:12, 132 Thess. 2:9–11; Heb. 3:12, 13; 1 John 1:81 John 1:9, Rev. 7:14, Rev. 19:8Disciples of Jesus are pure, remaining loyal to Him as a pure bride would to her betrothed. They follow Jesus as He leads them by the still small voice of the Holy Spirit. This includes leading us into missionary work for others. There is no deception in these disciples. They are not led astray by debilitating doubt, false teachings, or immorality. And they do not feel morally superior to others. They recognize that they are imperfect, requiring God’s cleansing grace and mercy. Understanding this, they also are open to receiving correction and instruction from other believers. Success in mission results in making this type of disciple.What does it mean to be a “chaste virgin to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:2)? How can we, as sinners, be this before God and point others to becoming chaste virgins to Christ, as well?
Jesus said to His disciples and to us: “ ‘Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Amen” (Matt. 28:19, 20, NKJV). This is the Great Commission, and in many ways the three angels’ messages, with a call to “every nation, tribe, tongue, and people” (Rev. 14:6, NKJV), is simply the “present truth” (2 Pet. 1:12) expression of the Great Commission.Read 1 John 4:8, 2 Peter 3:9, 1 Timothy 2:4, and Genesis 12:3. Why does every group of people matter to God?Christ’s love is for all humanity, with no people group excluded. Contrary to the theology that teaches that Christ died only for a predestined elite, the Bible is clear that Christ’s death was for all people, regardless of race, ethnicity, or any other factor. If you are a human being, Christ died for you. Period. The only question remaining for anyone is, How do you respond to His death?When Jesus returns, there will be only two overt camps: those who have submitted to the authority of Satan through religious and political institutions as shown in Revelation 13 and 17, and those who have fully submitted to Jesus Christ, whose faith is made manifest by their keeping “the commandments of God” (Rev. 14:12).Since the beginning, human beings have had evidence of who God is and of His way of righteousness and love (Rom. 1:18–21). Therefore, all human beings from ages past will be judged based on how they cooperated with God and how they lived—regardless of how much they did or didn’t understand (Rom. 2:11–16).But in this time of the end, there is a growing polarization, and no longer will freedom of conscience be respected. People will be pressed to align themselves with Satan’s party. It is urgent that the gospel be proclaimed and the serious news about Satan’s strategies be exposed. And that is exactly what the three angels’ messages, and our mission, are all about.Dwell on the fact that Christ has died for you personally. What could possibly make you think that anything you have done, no matter how bad, could not have been sufficiently paid for by the death of Christ on the cross?
The book of Revelation gives us a powerful and graphic representation of the great controversy theme, perhaps most dramatically depicted in Revelation 12:12: “ ‘Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time’ ” (NKJV). It’s hard to imagine how anyone can understand anything in Scripture apart from the great controversy motif, which will climax in the last days.Read Revelation 14:6–12. What is depicted here, and what have these verses to do with our mission and message?Central to mission, God’s mission, is the message, God’s message: the gospel. The message, in a real sense, is the mission. The world needs to be warned about what is coming upon it, and every person will be forced to make a choice, a choice either for life or for death.“ ‘He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters’ ” (Luke 11:23, NKJV).What is Jesus saying here that deals so directly with our mission?The three angels’ messages of Revelation 14 form the core, the heart, of what we as Seventh-day Adventists have been called to proclaim to the world. Central to it, foundational to it, are two themes: “the everlasting gospel” (Rev. 14:6, NKJV) and the worship of the Creator. These two themes appear in this depiction of the saints: “Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus” (Rev. 14:12, NKJV). No matter what else we do—all the good that we do in helping people—we must never lose sight of our special calling and mission, which is to proclaim to a lost world the hope found in the “everlasting gospel,” as well as to warn the world of what will one day come upon it.“ ‘He who is not with Me is against Me’ ” (Luke 11:23, NKJV). How do you understand what Jesus is saying to us here? Why should these words cause us to examine where our hearts really are?
The opening lines of Revelation indicate to the reader that this book is focused on God’s mission.Read Revelation 1:1–7. In what ways do you see evidence that Revelation is focused on God’s mission in the last days?After revealing in the first verses that Jesus is the source and focus of Revelation, Revelation 1:4, 5 alludes to all Three Members of the Godhead, who are working unitedly to save human beings. The Father is the eternal one who was and is and is to come. The Holy Spirit, who is working powerfully among the first-century churches, is named. Then John recalls the status of Jesus Christ—the “faithful witness,” “the firstborn of the dead” (Rev. 1:5, NRSV), who possesses legal ownership of this planet. Satan’s attempt to use this earth to establish his kingdom is ruined. In addition to God’s victory over Satan, our Creator’s shed blood washes away our guilt and shame.Read Revelation 1:6 and 1 Peter 2:9. What do the titles for the redeemed in these verses signify?The focus of God’s mission is not simply to drag perishing people to safety. God’s salvation offers a new and honorable status, because God’s image is restored in us. The redeemed become royalty (kings) because we are blood-related to the King of the universe through Jesus’ shed blood. Now, as royal family members, we join the mission of the royal family in the salvation of other human beings. This makes us priests! Christ had constituted His church a “kingdom” and its individual members “priests.” To be a member of the kingdom is to be a priest.In Revelation 1:7, we find the urgency of mission: Jesus is coming, and the nations will mourn because they are lost. God longs after those who are estranged from Him.The book of Revelation opens, then, with God’s mission for human beings.Not only have we been created by God, but we have been redeemed by Him, and at such an amazing cost, too. Why should this truth give us so much hope, no matter our present situation?
Read for This Week’s StudyRev. 1:1–7, 1 Pet. 2:9, Rev. 14:6–12, Luke 11:23, 1 Tim. 2:4, Rev. 21:1–4.Memory Text:“Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God . . . ?” (2 Peter 3:11, 12, NKJV).The book of Revelation fills the mind with scenes of the end. The epicenter of the book deals with the cosmic conflict between Christ and Satan. Satan has lost his legal hold over the earth, and now he pursues those who remain loyal to God. The book climaxes with Jesus’ return to deliver His children, both the living righteous and those faithful ones who have died since the fall of Adam and Eve. The book shows us, too, the destruction of Satan and the wicked by fire, and Jesus’ establishment of His eternal kingdom on the earth made new.Students of Revelation enthusiastically explore and seek to identify the predicted signs and events that mark church history from the first century ad to our day in the end of time. They are right to do so, too.However, in this quarter’s final lesson, we will see that Revelation is a missionary book focused on a missionary God who is calling us to be a missionary church. Our calling to proclaim “present truth” to the world will exist right up until everyone has made the choice for or against God.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, December 30.
“To every household and every school, to every parent, teacher, and child upon whom has shone the light of the gospel, comes at this crisis the question put to Esther the queen at that momentous crisis in Israel’s history, ‘Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?’ Esther 4:14.”—Ellen G. White, Education, p. 263.“Esther was a beautiful Jewish girl, cousin of Mordecai, who took her into his home after her parents died, and loved her as his own daughter. God used her to save the Jewish people in the land of Persia.” (Note: This second paragraph above is introductory material included about Esther in Daughters of God on page 45 and was not written by Ellen White. However, the two subsequent quotations below were written by her.)“In ancient times the Lord worked in a wonderful way through consecrated women who united in His work with men whom He had chosen to stand as His representatives. He used women to gain great and decisive victories. More than once, in times of emergency, He brought them to the front and worked through them for the salvation of many lives. Through Esther the queen, the Lord accomplished a mighty deliverance for His people. At a time when it seemed that no power could save them, Esther and the women associated with her, by fasting and prayer and prompt action, met the issue, and brought salvation to their people. . . .“A study of women’s work in connection with the cause of God in the Old Testament times will teach us lessons that will enable us to meet emergencies in the work today. We may not be brought into such a critical and prominent place as were the people of God in the time of Esther; but often converted women can act an important part in more humble positions. This many have been doing and are still ready to do.”—Ellen G. White, Daughters of God, pp. 45, 46.Discussion Questions:The book of Esther does leave us with some unanswered questions, particularly concerning Esther’s role in the court of the king, even though she was elevated to the role of queen. How do we reconcile these things with her faith, or can we?The famous words of Esther, “ ‘and if I perish, I perish!’ ” (Esther 4:16, NKJV), have echoed down through the millennia as an example of faithfulness even in the face of death. How do her words reflect what God’s people will face in the last days, when the issues in Revelation 13 become a reality?In class, go over the question, at the end of Monday’s study, about not revealing your faith at times. Should that ever be the case for us?
Commentators for millennia have noticed that God’s name does not appear in the book of Esther. This is the only biblical book where such a phenomenon occurs. However, the Jews were able to recognize God’s actions in the great deliverance made for them, and this book was selected by God’s people to be included in the canon of the Bible.Are we able to discover the presence of God beneath the surface of our daily life? God’s actions can take the appearance of normal, natural events, and if we don’t pay careful attention to them, we will not notice God’s presence.Read Esther 9:1–12. What was the result of Esther’s effort?The miracle of Purim takes a very unusual form. The miracle is hidden, disguised in apparently natural events. The law to destroy the Jews was not reversed, but a new law was written, allowing the Jews to defend themselves.Also, notice what else had happened, and how God was able to work through these events. The Persians noticed God’s actions on behalf of the Jews.And the result?“Many people of other nationalities became Jews” (Esther 8:17, NIV). This is a great example of how the Lord was able to work to bring lost souls to a knowledge of Him.The leaders of the Jewish people recognized the working of God. When the Jews were victorious in defending themselves, they declared a yearly time (called Purim) in remembrance and celebration of their victory. These days are still traditionally spent in thanksgiving to God in remembrance of His deliverance.Challenge: Pray that God will give you the courage to share something He has done for you with one of the people on your prayer list this week.Challenge Up: Begin a diary or journal of special little things (or big things) that God does for you. Review it and pray that God will bring these things to your mind at just the right time so you can share them with someone.
Read Esther 4:1–14. Why was it considered at this moment appropriate for Esther to identify herself as a Jew?When Mordecai contacted Esther for her help, she had been married to Ahasuerus for several years, but there was a law in Persia that no one could come to the king’s throne without an express invitation from the king. Anyone who didn’t respect this rule risked death. Esther, knowing the risk, went to the throne room anyway, uninvited.Mordecai’s faith sought to awaken Esther’s faith. The heart of the book of Esther is found in Mordecai’s words to Esther: “And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: ‘Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?’ ” (Esther 4:13, 14, NKJV).Esther’s faith was put to the test as Mordecai appealed to her love for her people. No one knew she was Jewish except Mordecai, and once she made the decision to become involved, she did not hesitate to put her life on the line.Her faith in God was strong, and she knew that without God’s help she could not succeed. Her answer to Mordecai revealed her faith: “ ‘Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish’ ” (Esther 4:16, NIV). Mordecai sent this information to the entire Jewish community in Shushan (Susa), and while they fasted and prayed, Esther prepared herself for the dangerous moment. “On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the palace, in front of the king’s hall. The king was sitting on his royal throne in the hall, facing the entrance. When he saw Queen Esther standing in the court, he was pleased with her and held out to her the gold scepter that was in his hand. So Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter” (Esther 5:1, 2, NIV).For the Jews in such a situation as described above, prayer would certainly accompany fasting. That is, though they acted in their own behalf, prayer was central to their response. What obvious lesson can we take from this?
Living as they were in a foreign land, sooner or later Mordecai and Esther, if they were to remain faithful to God, might have run into trouble. This, certainly, became the case for Mordecai.Read Esther 3:1–15. What happened here, and why?In Esther 3, we learn that King Xerxes (Ahasuerus) honored Haman and gave him a high position full of power. Everyone was told they must bow down before Haman. But we read: “Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor” (Esther 3:2, NIV). The Bible does not give the reason that Mordecai did not kneel before this man. But we know why. He is a faithful Jew. Mordecai is not willing to pay homage to a descendant of Agag, an Amalekite, enemies of his people since the Exodus (Deut. 25:19). How could a faithful Jew kneel down before an Amalekite? Or, for that matter, worship anyone but the Lord?“Then the king’s servants who were within the king’s gate said to Mordecai, ‘Why do you transgress the king’s command?’ ” (Esther 3:3, NKJV). Though we don’t know in detail how he responded, the next verse says that “Mordecai had told them that he was a Jew” (Esther 3:4, NKJV). Surely in that response, Mordecai had an opportunity to explain that as a worshiper of the God who created the heavens and the earth, he could not worship any sinful human being. No doubt Mordecai was to some degree able to witness about his faith, a faith that he adhered to so strongly that it endangered himself and, unfortunately, others.“From Daniel and his companions and Mordecai, a bright light shone amid the moral darkness of the kingly courts of Babylon.”—Ellen G. White, Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, May 13, 1884.When Haman wanted to destroy the Jewish people, describing them as “ ‘a certain people dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom who keep themselves separate. Their customs are different from those of all other people, and they do not obey the king’s laws’ ” (Esther 3:8, NIV). A people whose customs are different and who do not obey the king’s laws? A perfect recipe for persecution.What are ways, even now, that we might be tested as was Mordecai? How should we respond?
Eventually, after the fall of Babylon and the rise of Medo-Persia, many of the Jews returned to their ancestral lands. But not all returned. Some remained where they had been living for a generation or more.With this background in mind, we have a bit of the context for the story of Esther. “In those days when King Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan the citadel” (Esther 1:2, NKJV). Here is where the biblical narrative unfolds, the Persian Empire under this king.In chapter 1, queen Vashti falls out of favor with the king, which leads him to look for another queen, one to replace the now-disfavored Vashti. It’s in this context that Esther and her cousin, Mordecai, first appear.Read Esther 2:1–9. What do these verses teach us about the situation of Mordecai and Esther?It seems that Mordecai, as a royal officer, was sitting at the gate of the palace and was residing in the city of Shushan with his adopted daughter, or cousin, Esther. Because of their position and living where they did, they were immersed in the Persian culture. This must be at least part of the reason Esther was chosen to be presented to the king: “Esther also was taken to the king’s palace and entrusted to Hegai, who had charge of the harem” (Esther 2:8, NIV).Read Esther 2:10, 20. What was going on here, and why would Mordecai give her such a command?Though the text does not say precisely why, it’s not hard to guess. As aliens in a foreign culture and religion that, we will see, could be hostile, they were wise in keeping silent about their family and people.What circumstances might you think of where it could be prudent not to be overt about our faith? Or should we never do that? And if not, why not?
It is never easy to be expatriated to a foreign culture. It may be difficult for us today to comprehend what the Jews faced, first under the Babylonians and then the Persians.None of us, for instance, lives in an Adventist country where the principles of our faith are, to some degree, the law of the land. But before being deported, the Jewish people had been living in their own country, where the principles of their faith were also enshrined in the law of the land.On one level, think how easy that should have made it to be faithful to God. After all, how much easier would it be to keep the seventh-day Sabbath if, in fact, keeping the seventh-day Sabbath were enshrined in the legal codes of the nation?On the other hand, sacred history has shown us that whatever the decrees of the land happen to be, even if favorable to faith, faithfulness must stem from the heart, from within, or else sin, apostasy, and ruin will surely follow.“ ‘Therefore the Lord said: ‘Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men’ ” (Isa. 29:13, NKJV).In contrast, for those who are determined to be faithful, even the most unfavorable environment cannot keep them from obedience.Read Daniel 1:1–12, Daniel 3:1–12, and Daniel 6:1–9. However unique each situation, what do these accounts reveal about the challenges God’s people can face living in a foreign culture?No matter who we are, or where we live, we are immersed in an environment that to some degree, either by laws themselves or by the culture, or both, can be greatly challenging to our faith and our witness. These accounts in Daniel, though always ending “happily,” reveal that even under trying circumstances people can stay faithful to God. Even if none of these accounts had turned out well, there’s no doubt these men still did the right thing.What are some of the challenges to your faith that you face in your own culture? How do you respond to them?
Read for This Week’s StudyDan. 1:1–12; Dan. 6:1–9; Esther 2:1–10, 20; Esther 3:1–15; Esther 4:1–14; Esther 9:1–12.Memory Text:“ ‘I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth’ ” (Isa. 49:6, NRSV).One of the most inspiring accounts of “cross-cultural ministry” in the Bible can be found in the book of Esther. A great deal has been written over the millennia about this book, and to this day many Jews celebrate the feast of Purim, based on Esther 9:26–31.Esther and Mordecai, her cousin, were Jews living in the capital of the Persian Empire, Susa. For whatever reason, unlike other Jews who had returned to Judah, they, along with others, remained in the land of their captivity.Then, through a series of providences, Esther becomes queen. “The king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins; so he set the royal crown upon her head and made her queen instead of Vashti” (Esther 2:17, NKJV).It was in this role that Esther, even if somewhat reluctantly, was able to play a major part in biblical history. In its own unique way, this story shows how God’s people, even in foreign environments, can witness for truth.Whatever your time allows, read (or skim through) the book of Esther for this week’s study.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, December 23.
Among those whom the Jews styled heathen were men who had a better understanding of the Scripture prophecies concerning the Messiah than had the teachers in Israel. There were some who hoped for His coming as a deliverer from sin. Philosophers endeavored to study into the mystery of the Hebrew economy. But the bigotry of the Jews hindered the spread of the light.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 33.“The Lord Jesus, the mighty Saviour, has died for these souls. He can arouse them from their indifference, he can awaken their sympathies, he can soften their hearts, he can reveal to their souls the beauty and power of the truth. The Master-worker is God, and not finite man; and yet he calls upon men to be the agents through whom he can impart light to those in darkness. God has jewels in all the churches, and it is not for us to make sweeping denunciation of the professed religious world, but in humility and love, present to all the truth as it is in Jesus. Let men see piety and devotion, let them behold Christlikeness of character, and they will be drawn to the truth. . . . They are to lift up Jesus, the world’s Redeemer; they are to hold forth the word of life.”—Ellen G. White, Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, January 17, 1893.Discussion Questions:What are some of the immediate needs in the areas where you live that could give you and your church the opportunity to reach out to souls who don’t know the truths that we do?Look at Ellen G. White’s words above regarding those of other faiths: “God has jewels in all the churches, and it is not for us to make sweeping denunciation of the professed religious world.” In other words, how can we show people the error of their ways while at the same time not denigrating the people personally?“ ‘When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?’ ” (Luke 18:8, NKJV). What does Jesus mean by this rhetorical question? What is the difference between faith and belief? Why might people who have the correct belief be found void of faith when Christ returns?
In Luke 18:8, Jesus asks this question at the end of one of His parables: “ ‘When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?’ ” (NKJV). As Christ’s disciples today, we need to see what Jesus is looking for. In this story, we can see that Jesus is looking for faith that shines even amid darkness.Read Matthew 8:10, 13; Matthew 9:2; Matthew 20:29–34; Mark 2:5; Mark 10:46–52; and Luke 18:35–43. In these passages, whom does Jesus describe as having faith?This list includes people with faith that shone even in dark cities. In Capernaum, Jesus highlights several people with faith. In Matthew 8:10, 13, we see a converted pagan centurion with great faith. We meet four faith-filled friends who ripped up the roof to bring their paralyzed friend to Jesus (Matt. 9:2, Mark 2:5). In Mark 10, we meet the former blind man, Bartimaeus, whose faith shines bright in Jericho.At the same time, we would expect that among God’s people there would be great faith. Yet, even in Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth, little faith—or even outright unbelief—was the limiting factor to Christ’s ministry. Among His disciples, several times Jesus says of Israel, “O ye [thou] of little faith!” (Matt. 6:30, Matt. 8:26, Matt. 14:31, Matt. 16:8). And in Matthew 17:17, Jesus exclaims, “O faithless and perverse generation”!One lesson that we can apply to today is that faith is found in unexpected places: in the cities among foreigners, pagans, and people with different religions. In humility, we must go into the cities as Jesus did, seeking out those who, when presented with truth, will respond with a saving faith in Jesus. And they are indeed out there.Challenge: Open your heart in prayer for a greater portion of faith with which to share your love for those near and far.Challenge Up: How did you come to know Jesus and the precious three angels’ messages? List three spiritual blessings that you have experienced from Jesus in your personal life. Prepare to share these concepts with your Sabbath School class.
In the unreached neighborhood of the cities, there are many who long for hope. During Christ’s time, what prevented God’s people from bringing hope of the Messiah to such foreign cities as Tyre and Sidon? Nationalism, pride, and prejudice blinded God’s people to the opportunities to see those nearest to them who longed for the hope foretold by the prophecies of the First Advent. Today in the cities, there are many population groups with whom Jesus Christ wants His people to share the “blessed hope” of the Second Advent (Titus 2:13). And just as Jesus didn’t care what their nationality or race was, neither should we.Read Acts 10:9–16, 28, 34, 35. How would you summarize the lesson taught here by the Holy Spirit?While waiting for lunch, Peter was given a vision of a rooftop buffet complete with a tablecloth filled with unclean animals and birds. Three times he was told in this vision to get up and eat. God used these visions to confront Peter’s religious pride and bigotry against the Gentiles. Peter eventually understood this truth: “Then Peter opened his mouth and said: ‘In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him’ ” (Acts 10:34, 35, NKJV).With this background, let’s reflect on our story for lessons from Tyre and Sidon. Look again at Jesus and His interaction with the mother. What lessons did the disciples learn from this field trip that related also to Peter’s vision? How can we apply these to our lives today and to Christ’s last-day call to His mission to the cities? What biases prevent us from seeing the needs of urbanites? What opportunities has God provided to us in the cities—to expand our mission understanding, and caringly to confront our bigotry, nationalism, and spiritual pride?Jesus patiently taught His disciples, who did not yet fully understand that God’s great plan of salvation was for the entire human family, not just one nation or rural ethnic group. The Holy Spirit can help us to overcome our prejudice and bias in order to complete our mission to the cities.Read Galatians 2:11–13. What should this teach us about how hard it can be to be purged of the prejudices we have been taught since childhood?
Despite challenges, external and internal, Jesus graciously extends the call to us for His mission to the cities.Read Matthew 9:35–38. What does this teach us about mission to the multitudes, wherever we find them?Jesus was moved with compassion for the multitudes, such as are found in cities. Luke 19:41 describes how Jesus wept over Jerusalem. We may not understand the depths of Jesus’ love for His children, even for the “faceless masses” living in cities. This is why in Matthew 9:38 Jesus tells us to pray, so that our motives and hearts can be like His.Read Matthew 4:23–25. As Jesus began His ministry, from what geographic locations did the people come?In Matthew 4:25, the multitudes following Jesus came from Galilee, from the ten city-states of the Decapolis to the east, from Jerusalem, and from Judea to the south. Besides Samaria, what region was missing? The coastal region of Tyre and Sidon, part of Phoenicia, along the Mediterranean Sea and northwest of Galilee. We now see why Jesus went to this area! This trip to the region of Tyre and Sidon was one of Jesus’ cross-cultural mission trips.“After the encounter with the Pharisees, Jesus withdrew from Capernaum, and crossing Galilee, repaired to the hill country on the borders of Phoenicia. Looking westward, He could see, spread out upon the plain below, the ancient cities of Tyre and Sidon, with their heathen temples, their magnificent palaces and marts of trade, and the harbors filled with shipping.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 399.How can we help people see just how futile, in and of themselves, “their magnificent palaces and marts of trade” are, and why they need Jesus?
Despite challenges, external and internal, Jesus graciously extends the call to us for His mission to the cities.Read Matthew 9:35–38. What does this teach us about mission to the multitudes, wherever we find them?Jesus was moved with compassion for the multitudes, such as are found in cities. Luke 19:41 describes how Jesus wept over Jerusalem. We may not understand the depths of Jesus’ love for His children, even for the “faceless masses” living in cities. This is why in Matthew 9:38 Jesus tells us to pray, so that our motives and hearts can be like His.Read Matthew 4:23–25. As Jesus began His ministry, from what geographic locations did the people come?In Matthew 4:25, the multitudes following Jesus came from Galilee, from the ten city-states of the Decapolis to the east, from Jerusalem, and from Judea to the south. Besides Samaria, what region was missing? The coastal region of Tyre and Sidon, part of Phoenicia, along the Mediterranean Sea and northwest of Galilee. We now see why Jesus went to this area! This trip to the region of Tyre and Sidon was one of Jesus’ cross-cultural mission trips.“After the encounter with the Pharisees, Jesus withdrew from Capernaum, and crossing Galilee, repaired to the hill country on the borders of Phoenicia. Looking westward, He could see, spread out upon the plain below, the ancient cities of Tyre and Sidon, with their heathen temples, their magnificent palaces and marts of trade, and the harbors filled with shipping.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 399.How can we help people see just how futile, in and of themselves, “their magnificent palaces and marts of trade” are, and why they need Jesus?
We read that Jesus took His disciples from Gennesaret (Matt. 14:34) “and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon” (Matt. 15:21, NKJV). Why did He take them from Galilee to these pagan places? He leads His disciples on this field trip into the borders of these foreign regions so that they can learn, on location, what they could not learn so easily in Galilee. He wanted to teach His disciples lessons that would help prepare them for their calling to reach all people groups, including urbanites.Read Judges 3:1–6, 1 Kings 5:1–12, and 1 Kings 11:1–6. How do these texts help us understand a bit of the background of these cities?From Judges 3:1–6, we see that these ancient peoples were used by God to test the Israelites’ faith. Unfortunately, God’s people failed that test, too, at least in this instance: “And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons; and they served their gods” (Judg. 3:6, NKJV). Thus, right from the start, these people were a stumbling block to Israel.In 1 Kings 5:1–11, we can see the close relationship between the Sidonians and the Hebrews. Though on one level, the economic ties were mutually beneficial, no doubt the Hebrews were still negatively influenced by the paganism and idolatry of their trading partners.First Kings 11:1–6 reveals just how negative that influence eventually became: King Solomon married Sidonian princesses, who led him astray. “For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians” (1 Kings 11:5, NKJV).Yet, despite the history of paganism and idolatry, and their negative influence on the chosen nation, Jesus still brought His disciples to these places. In this way He initiated them in cross-cultural urban mission, confronting their bias and bigotry, and modeled for His followers wholistic urban mission to all cultures and nationalities.Many challenges face the Adventist urban missionary, among them include health and environmental concerns. Others would include the high cost of living, racism, bigotry, nationalism, and constraints on religious freedom and expression. Nevertheless, despite these obstacles, we must work for the cities.What can you do to help those involved in urban ministry?
Read for This Week’s Study1 Kings 11:1–6; Matt. 4:23–25; Matt. 15:22–28; Mark 7:24–30; Acts 10:34, 35; Matt. 8:10, 13.Memory Text:“Then Jesus answered and said to her, ‘O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.’ And her daughter was healed from that very hour” (Matthew 15:28, NKJV).From the beginning, a loving God sought His lost children (Gen. 3:9); and, to our day, this same loving God is still seeking to reach the lost (see Rev. 14:6–12), including the lost in the cities. In 2018, the United Nations published its latest findings, which say that 55 percent of the planet’s population lives in urban areas, and this will grow (if time should last) to 68 percent by 2050. We have no choice: we must witness to those in the cities.Yet, many of God’s people act as Jonah did when called to witness to a city: for whatever reason, they flee from the task. “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Rom. 15:4, NKJV). That includes what was written about Jonah.When here, Jesus ministered not only to those in the cities of Israel but to those in foreign regions, as well; that is, to those outside of the Jewish nation and the chosen people.This week we will study the Bible story of Christ’s mission to Tyre and Sidon and draw lessons to apply to our lives today.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, December 16.
One of the primary takeaways from the story of Paul’s experience at the Areopagus is its on-the-ground study of how to approach an unreached group of unbelievers, which resulted in a small group of believers starting in Athens.“The words of the apostle, and the description of his attitude and surroundings, as traced by the pen of inspiration, were to be handed down to all coming generations, bearing witness of his unshaken confidence, his courage in loneliness and adversity, and the victory he gained for Christianity in the very heart of paganism.“Paul’s words contain a treasure of knowledge for the church. He was in a position where he might easily have said that which would have irritated his proud listeners and brought himself into difficulty. Had his oration been a direct attack upon their gods and the great men of the city, he would have been in danger of meeting the fate of Socrates. But with a tact born of divine love, he carefully drew their minds away from heathen deities, by revealing to them the true God, who was to them unknown.”—Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, pp. 240, 241.By his direct contact with the people, a study of their culture and religion, and his respect for their devotion to spiritual things, Paul managed something notable in Athens—something that is a treasure of knowledge for the church. He avoided irritating his listeners. This was in and of itself a major, God-inspired accomplishment. This, according to Ellen G. White, is the treasure of knowledge that we as a church need to pay attention to in this story.Discussion Questions:With the story of Paul in Athens as a model, what is the first step for anyone beginning new evangelistic work in a city?What sort of behavior is required of a Christian to build bridges with people in the city (and frankly, anywhere else) who do not know God?When we are provoked by the modern types of idols, what should we avoid doing, especially right at first, in starting new work among the people who worship those idols?Paul could have stopped with just introducing the people to this God who loved them, and they would have been quite pleased. But then he crossed a line that made people think he was deluded when he brought in the Resurrection. Should he have done that? Why, or why not?
Read Acts 17:24–34. How does Paul continue his witness?It’s also interesting to note that Paul actually quoted some of their own writers, who, having written something fairly close to biblical truth, gave Paul an opening to take his hearers further along. That is, he used his familiarity with their beliefs to seek common ground with them, only to then take it further. No question: in seeking to reach others, having a familiarity with what they believe and seeking points of common ground can be a powerful method of reaching people.Notice, too, that Paul uses this common ground with them to go then to where he wanted to go: the resurrection of Jesus and the hope it offered them all. Luke described the reactions to Paul’s closing words about the Resurrection. Some sneered at the idea; others said they wanted to hear Paul again on the matter; and some believed. What is key in this story for our purposes is that all of them had actually listened. And that was Paul’s hope from the beginning.We know that some people will reject the gospel, but we must do everything possible to ensure that before they reject it, they understand what they are rejecting. Paul, by his method of working among the Athenians and his strategic use of what he had studied and learned of them, ensured that they heard with open minds that a God existed whom they did not know but who had created them. This God loved them and wanted to be known by them. He had been merciful to them in spite of their ignorance. But Judgment Day was coming. And if all of this sounded too unbelievable, there was verifiable evidence for it in the resurrection of Christ.Now that the people had actually heard and comprehended the message, they had to choose for themselves whether to reject it outright or investigate further. And some did investigate further and became followers of Jesus (Acts 17:34).Challenge: In prayer, ask for God’s specific guidance in knowing how best to witness to someone you know.Challenge Up: Explore social media as a possible “Areopagus” for you to represent the gospel—with Paul’s clarity and discretion—to unbelievers
Now that Paul had the attention of the thinkers in Athens, he turned his audience to the God of heaven.Read Acts 17:24–27. What approach was Paul taking here in an attempt to reach these people?For a people who cared enough about spiritual things to build an altar to an unknown god, Paul’s words were intriguing: a Creator God who does not live in a temple needs nothing from humans, but instead supplies human needs. For a culture steeped in Greek mythology—in which the gods were unpredictable, self-centered, and cruel—the idea of a God like the one Paul described was a wonderfully intriguing thought. And the men of the Areopagus took their first baby steps toward a God of love.The fact is that this God, whom they did not know, could be known! Indeed, He wants to be known, as well.Paul probably spoke longer at the Areopagus than just the few words Luke shared in this story. It seems reasonable for the sake of space that Luke just summarized Paul’s speech. If that is true, then each of the concepts we have read so far Paul probably fleshed out in more detail. Then we break down Paul’s speech into concepts:Paul first complimented their current spiritual awareness and sincerity.Next he showed that he had studied their belief and that he found some things that he respected from what he had learned.He then told them about one particular thing that he had discovered in his study of their religion that they admitted they did not understand.After that, he shared the aspect of God that he knew they desperately needed, which is the fact that God exists and that He loves them and is not far away.Finally, at the end of his speech, Paul moved to warning them of what it means to reject the knowledge of this God they did not yet know.Paul took them as far as he could, based on what he knew about what they believed. If he could get them that far, he was making good progress.Notice Paul’s appeal to the created world and to God as the Creator (see also Rom. 1:18–25). Why is this such a good approach to take, at least as a start, with most people? What is it about the created world that points so powerfully to God?
Notice that Paul did not disparage the false religion or false gods of the Athenians. He gathered whatever points of good he could find, few as they were, and capitalized on them.Read Acts 17:22, 23. What was Paul doing here in his attempt to reach these people with the gospel?“ ‘People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious’ ” (Acts 17:22, NIV). Paul was complimenting pagans! Their religion was misguided in every way, and yet, Paul complimented their devotion.Paul continued, “ ‘As I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship . . .’ ” (Acts 17:23, NIV). By describing his own study of the Athenian religion, Paul communicated a respectful attitude toward the people. He was not rushing in as a self-proclaimed expert with all the answers for how the people needed to change. In reality, he was, in fact, an expert and did, in fact, have the answers that these people needed! But he did not present himself that way, or else he would have been rejected outright. Instead, he was seen as someone who cared for the people and desired their good.Commenting on the inscription, “TO THE UNKNOWN GOD” (Acts 17:23, NKJV), Paul took advantage of what could be seen as common ground. They believed in god (many, actually), which was a great start (some people back then didn’t believe) and could open the way to deeper conversation. He did not scoff at the negative idea of an altar to an unknown god. Instead, he appreciated and admired a people who cared enough about spiritual things to go to the effort and expense of worshiping something they didn’t even know, just in case they were missing something.Were they misguided? Of course, but that could be addressed. What was important in the beginning was that they were devout in what they did understand. That, Paul recognized, was material the Holy Spirit could work with.Paul had found a talking point that would pique their interest.What bridges and points of contact can you think of that would open opportunities for deeper conversation with others with whom you come in contact?
No matter where he was, Paul, given his commission from God, was going to preach the gospel. So, that’s exactly what he sought to do in Athens.Read Acts 17:18–21. What were some of the different ways that the pagans in the marketplace reacted to Paul’s speaking and questioning?Clearly, with his “foreign gods,” Paul made an impression on these people in the marketplace (Acts 17:18), and so they took him to the Areopagus, a part of the city where legal and religious matters were adjudicated, though it does not seem as if Paul was facing any kind of legal trial. It was just, it seemed, to give him and his “new doctrine” (Acts 17:19) a hearing. It would be hard to ignore someone of Paul’s eloquence, passion, and intelligence, even if he were promoting ideas that seemed very strange to these people.Acts 17:21 says the Athenians did nothing but talk about and listen to the latest ideas. Was Luke accusing them of laziness? Probably not. More likely he was pointing out that they were experienced thinkers and debaters. After all, the Greeks produced such men as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, philosophers whose influence has reached down to our day, as well. Athens for centuries had been seen as the center of intellectual and philosophical thought. Though some of these thinkers were not atheists, certainly not in the sense that we think of atheism today, many of their philosophical ideas were radically different from the teachings of Christianity. It’s hard, for example, to find a place in the philosophy of the Epicureans and Stoics for something like a resurrected Messiah.In Athens, Paul had expected that the Holy Spirit could use his knowledge and oratorical skills, which he had gained in his education under Gamaliel. But in reality it was Paul’s education on the streets of Athens that the Holy Spirit was able to use even more. “The wisest of his hearers were astonished as they listened to his reasoning. He showed himself familiar with their works of art, their literature, and their religion.”—Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 237.After Paul’s experience in Athens with these pagans and philosophers, he wrote to the Corinthians that “I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2, NKJV). What lesson is there for us about how central Christ must be to our message regardless of whom we are preaching to?
Read Acts 17:1–16. How did Paul wind up in Athens, and how did he respond to what he found there?The city of Athens was “given over to idols” (Acts 17:16, NKJV). Knowing the history of his own people and their proclivity (despite the endless warnings) to idolatry, Paul was upset at all the idols he found in Athens, as well. No question, Paul was motivated by compassion for the Athenians, who would die in their sins if they did not learn of the true God.Today, our cities are still full of idols, even though they are less obvious than what Paul saw. And unfortunately, many believers are fully capable of walking through a city without reacting in the least to its idols. Paul, though, was tuned in to the Holy Spirit enough to respond. Out of step with some other believers, who still didn’t grasp that the gospel was for all the world, Paul knew that God wanted the Athenians to be saved along with everyone else. He understood that the global mission concept was to take the gospel to those who were entirely unreached, including idol-worshiping pagans, as well as the philosophers who filled the streets of Athens.Paul, therefore, frequented the marketplace where these people were to be found. We might say that he formed the first Global Mission Study Center, where he used the marketplace to study and test methods of reaching the hearts and minds of these pagans.Paul knew that he could not approach the Athenians in the same way that he approached Jews or even God-fearing Gentiles. These were people whose starting point was not the God of Israel or His works among the nation of Israel. No matter how central these concepts and beliefs were to the Jews and even to the God-fearing Gentiles, they meant nothing to the people Paul encountered in the Athenian marketplace. Hence, an entirely new approach would be needed.Today, we often seek to reach people whose background has nothing in common with what has been called “the Judeo-Christian” heritage. Hence, like Paul, we need to adapt. An approach that might work fine, for example, in Buenos Aires could be useless in Bangkok.What kind of idols are people worshiping in your society, and how can you open their eyes to how worthless it all is?
Read for This Week’s StudyActs 17, 1 Cor. 2:2, Rom. 1:18–25.Memory Text:“ ‘The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands’ ” (Acts 17:24, NIV).Depicting what Paul did in Athens, Luke wrote: “Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there” (Acts 17:17, NKJV).Naturally, Paul would have been most comfortable working among the Jews, his own flesh and blood. But Paul refused to be satisfied with working among only his own people. He had been called to reach others, as well.Or Paul could have worked just with the “God-fearing” Gentiles, whose worldview already had undergone substantial change. They had a biblical foundation that Paul could build upon, even if they still needed to know the God whom they “feared”—Jesus the Messiah.But, no. While in Athens, a city famous for its philosophy, Paul sought to reach the people there, as well. Many of these had a radically different background and worldview from that of the Hebrews and their sacred history, which formed the foundation of the faith that Paul wanted to teach the Athenians.How did Paul go about seeking to reach these people, and what can we learn from his attempts?*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, December 9.
Read Ellen G. White, “Ministry to the Rich,” The Ministry of Healing, pp. 209–216; “Captive Maid Shows Concern for Naaman,” Reflecting Christ, p. 337.Jesus’ love is the same for the poor as it is for the rich and powerful people in the world. He died for princes as well as for paupers. Jesus knew the most effective way of reaching their hearts. He warned us that “ ‘it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God’ ” (Mark 10:25, NIV). We are challenged this week to reach powerful and wealthy individuals with the gospel of Jesus Christ. They are as much in need of salvation as is anyone else, even if, unfortunately, they might not realize it because of the “security” that they believe their wealth offers.“Much is said concerning our duty to the neglected poor; should not some attention be given to the neglected rich? Many look upon this class as hopeless. . . . Thousands of wealthy men have gone to their graves unwarned. But indifferent as they may appear, many among the rich are soul-burdened.”—Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing, p. 210.Discussion Questions:Jesus broke down caste and class barriers when ministering to the rich and the poor during His earthly ministry. How do we as Adventists address this issue, that of the gap between the rich and the poor, that is so ingrained in all our societies?Jesus said the following: “ ‘Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful’ ” (Matt. 13:22, NKJV). What do you think Jesus meant by “the deceitfulness of riches”? Why do we not necessarily have to be rich to be deceived by riches?In class, go over the question asked at the end of Tuesday’s study about the fact that knowing the truth is not the same thing as being saved by it. Why is this such a crucial distinction for us to make? If knowing the truth alone is not what saves us, what does save us?What other reasons can you think of for why the rich young ruler rejected Jesus while Zacchaeus accepted Him?
Jesus knew how to make friends with the powerful. He was admired and respected by many of these people and, at the same time, was also despised by many. The powerful people in the Bible who came to Jesus for help surely sensed that He cared for them. Also, many of the rich and powerful did not openly come to Jesus right away; they waited until they were certain that Jesus was truly the Son of God. Such was the case both with Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea.Read Matthew 27:57–60 (see also Mark 15:43–47, Luke 23:50–53, and John 19:38–42). What does this account tell us about how the Lord used a rich man who clearly had been impacted by Jesus?Until this time we have heard nothing of Joseph of Arimathea. Suddenly this rich man appears, almost out of nowhere, and is used to help fulfill prophecy. God has used and will continue to use the rich for His purposes. Hence, we must have a mission to them, as well.Where to begin can be one of the most difficult phases in making friends with powerful people. In general, it is better not to pursue them; let them come to you. Jesus did this; they became a witness to His message, healing, and power from God. They were convinced behind the scenes that He is truly the Son of God.Powerful people will seek to partner with genuine ministry for a number of reasons. They want to be part of something good that is changing the lives of people. This is one way they know that it can also change their lives. It provides a subtle way for the rich and powerful to get the help they need without publicly disclosing their needs.The second phase is to begin a genuine ministry as an avenue for the rich and powerful to be part of God’s ministry. Take some time to invest in the lives of the rich and powerful in your society.Challenge: Add someone to your daily prayer list who is in a position of power, is not a believer, and is someone you could come in contact with from time to time.Challenge Up: Address a letter or email to someone in a position of power—even if it is someone you may never have met—and tell that person that you are praying for him or her.
Read Matthew 19:16–22. What lessons can we learn from this story, in which, in contrast to Nicodemus, a person did not accept Jesus?Jesus’ interaction with the rich young ruler shows just how dangerous a trap wealth can be. Look at these words: “And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Matt. 19:24, NKJV). This, of course, does not mean the rich cannot be saved, but only that, if these people are not careful, their riches can truly be an impediment to salvation.In the end, the rich and the poor face the same fate: the grave. This means that the rich are in as desperate need of salvation as is anyone else. Whatever else money can buy, it cannot buy an exemption from death. That exemption comes only as a gift, offered freely by Jesus to whoever will claim it by faith. “ ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live’ ” (John 11:25, NKJV).Read Luke 19:1–10. What made the difference in this story, in contrast to the one about the rich young ruler?Zacchaeus responded to Jesus in a way that, unfortunately, the rich young ruler didn’t. Notice, Jesus didn’t tell Zacchaeus to sell what he had and give to the poor, as He did to the rich young ruler. Jesus must have known just how tied to his money the rich ruler was, which was why Jesus said what He did to him. In contrast, though we don’t know all that was spoken when Jesus was in his house, Zacchaeus obviously was convicted by Jesus and knew that he had to make some changes in his life, especially as it related to his wealth.“ ‘For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?’ ” (Matt. 16:26, NKJV). What should these words say to us all?
Bonus song: people need the Lord (Steve Green) Everyday they pass me byI can see it in their eyesEmpty people filled with careHeaded who knows whereOn they go through private painLiving fear to fearLaughter hides their silent criesOnly Jesus hearsPeople need the Lord, people need the LordAt the end of broken dreams, He's the open doorPeople need the Lord, people need the LordWhen will we realize people need the Lord?We are called to take His lightTo a world where wrong seems rightWhat could be too great a costFor sharing life with one who's lost?Through His love our hearts can feelAll the grief they bearThey must hear the words of lifeOnly we can sharePeople need the Lord, people need the LordAt the end of broken dreams, He's the open doorPeople need the Lord, people need the LordWhen will we realize that we must give our lives?For people need the Lord, people need the LordSource: LyricFindSongwriters: Greg Nelson / Phill MchughPeople Need the Lord lyrics © Capitol Christian Music Group, Capitol CMG PublishingArtist: Steve GreenReleased: 1984Album: Steve Green
Nicodemus was a learned man. The Bible describes him as a ruler of the Jews (John 3:1). Jesus referred to him as a teacher of Israel (John 3:10, NKJV). He had a good understanding of the Bible and had a spiritual hunger for the Lord. From a human perspective, he may have looked as though he were a follower of God. He kept all the commandments, and he was a respected leader among the Jews. He was powerful and wealthy. Many looked at these as signs that God had blessed him. Nevertheless, it turns out that the surface appearances were only that—surface appearances.Read John 3:1–12. What does this story reveal about Nicodemus’s spiritual needs and how Jesus addressed them right away?When Nicodemus came to Jesus, he tried to maintain the façade, the status quo. But God knew his heart. Similarly, God knows the hearts and needs of all the rich and powerful, whatever their background. Nicodemus came to Jesus because Jesus’ teachings had convicted him. His pride kept him from openly confessing Jesus Christ as Lord, but that night changed him forever. Even after his conviction that Jesus was sent of God, he still did not openly acknowledge that he was a follower of Jesus Christ.Read John 7:43–52 and John 19:39. What do these texts tell us about Nicodemus and Jesus?We can see here in these verses that Nicodemus had, obviously, been greatly impacted by Jesus. He sought to protect Him when Jesus was alive and then to honor Jesus after Jesus was dead. No question, Jesus had reached Nicodemus, who, even in his vaunted knowledge and wisdom, had a great need of the Savior, as we all do.Why must we be careful of the trap of thinking that because “we have the truth” (which we do), then the knowledge of this truth alone is enough to save us? How many souls will be lost who had more than enough knowledge, even of the three angels’ messages, to be saved?
Christ died for all, regardless of their background, wealth, ethnicity, or status. God ceaselessly draws all humanity to Himself, incuding those individuals classed among the powerful non-Christians of the world (see Ellen G. White, The Acts of Apostles, p. 416).Read 2 Kings 5:1–19. What can we take from this story about reaching people for the Lord?In 2 Kings 5:17–19, Naaman made two unusual requests after God healed him of leprosy. First, he asked to take two mule-loads of earth from Israel back to Syria for the purpose of worshiping the living God. He states, “For your servant will no longer offer either burnt offering or sacrifice to the other gods, but to the Lord” (2 Kings 5:17, NKJV). Though Naaman is clearly now a believer in the only true God, his first request shows that pagan influences still held sway over his thinking to a degree. The Syrian commander regarded the God of Israel as a divinity who must be venerated on soil native to that land. Although Naaman acknowledged the reality that there was no God aside from the Lord of Israel, he had not whollly dispossessed himself of the notion that God was, by some particular means, connected to the land of Israel. Thus, in his own country he desired to worship God on Israelite soil.Naaman’s second petition shows the sincerity of his faith. While he resolved to serve only the God of heaven, he realized carrying out such a reso-lution in his own idolatrous country wouldn’t be easy. Moverover, the king of Syria still worshiped the god Rimmon, and in this occupation Naaman would serve as the king’s escort. While Naaman had no intention of forsaking his duties to his earthly king, he did not wish to be deemed as bowing in worship to Rimmon. Having surrendered his heart to Jehovah, Naaman desired not to make any concessions to idolatry by worshiping the heathen god. Nor did he want word to get back to Elisha that he was doing so.Elisha responded to Naaman’s entreaty by saying “Go in peace” (2 Kings 5:19, NKJV). “These words must not be thought of as either expressing approval or disapproval of Naaman’s parting request. He was to depart in peace, not in doubt or restless uncertainty. God had been kind to him, and he was to find happiness and peace in his knowledge and worship of God. Naaman was a new convert, a man with conscientious scruples, who would grow in strength and wisdom if he clung to his new-found faith. God leads new converts on step by step, and knows the appropriate moment in which to call for a reform in a certain matter. This principle ought always to be borne in mind by those who labor for the salvation of souls.”—The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 2, p. 878.What lessons should we learn from this story about not pushing people too quickly, especially those who come from a non-Christian background?
As Seventh-day Adventists, we believe in what is known as “unlimited atonement.” This means that, in contrast to some Christians, we believe that Christ’s death was for all humanity, not just a special group of those predestined by God for salvation. Because God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4, NKJV), Jesus offered Himself as a sacrifice “for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world” (1 John 2:2, NKJV). That’s why everyone was chosen “in Him before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4, NKJV), even if not everyone chooses Him in return. That’s why, too, we find accounts in the Bible of all sorts of people being reached for God.Read Daniel 4. What happened to the king here, and what does this tell us about salvation coming to one of the world’s most powerful men?A striking example in the Bible of how God reaches powerful unbelievers is the story of King Nebuchadnezzar. God’s judgment was executed on him in a way similar to some Israelite kings (see, for example, 2 Chron. 32:25, 26; 1 Kings 14:21–31; 1 Samuel 28). The biblical account of Nebuchadnezzar, who came to his senses and acknowledged the Creator God, shows that God cares about the wealthy and powerful, as well as the weak and needy. In verse 37, the most powerful man on the earth declared, “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down” (Dan. 4:37, NKJV). If only all the rich and powerful and haughty among us mortal beings understood this truth!What can we learn from this story? First, God uses committed believers, such as Daniel, as a bridge to reach powerful unbelievers. Second, God can directly intervene in the witnessing process in order to reach powerful unbelievers. Nebuchadnezzar was humbled by God for his pride and arrogance. And though this was a very dramatic story, there are many other ways in which the rich and powerful and haughty can be brought low.Even if we are not rich and powerful by the world’s standards, why must we be careful to avoid the kind of arrogance that this king had manifested? Why might that attitude be easier to have than we might think?
Read for This Week’s StudyDaniel 4, 2 Kings 5:1–19, John 3:1–12, John 7:43–52, Matt. 19:16–22, John 19:38–42.Memory Text:“For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26, NKJV).Though written many years ago, the Bible, the Word of God, is the revelation of God’s truth for our world. And among the many truths it reveals is that of human nature, and that—whether in seventh-century Judea or twenty-first-century Brazil—people are basically the same: sinners in need of divine grace.This includes the rich and powerful. The rich and powerful of Bible times were no different from the rich and powerful in modern times, especially in their pursuit of wealth and fame and power, often (but not always) at the expense of the vulnerable. Yet, God is as concerned about the salvation of the rich and the powerful as He is for that of the weak and the needy. Scripture provides some gripping examples of Bible characters who were powerful, or rich, or both, and how God used them to be a blessing to the nations: Abraham, Isaac, Job, Solomon, and Joseph, to name a few examples.This week we will explore God’s mission to the rich and powerful. Journey with us as we see how God reached some of these people and how He is calling and preparing Seventh-day Adventists to be a witness to them today, as well.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, December 2.
Read Arthur White, “A Few Days at Long Point,” Ellen G. White: The Australian Years: 1891–1900, vol. 4, pp. 100–104.The Gospel writers recorded examples of Jesus’ practice of building bridges with people from other cultures in order to save them (Matt. 8:28–34, Mark 5:1–20). Likewise, we also are called to make friends and minister to people from other cultures, as well. Christ’s death was for everyone, regardless of race, nationality, wealth, or background. This is a point we must never forget. “And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world” (1 John 2:2, NKJV).“Men and women are not fulfilling the design of God, when they simply express affection for their own family circle, . . . while they exclude those from their love whom they could comfort and bless by relieving their necessities. . . .“When the Lord bids us do good for others outside our home, He does not mean that our affection for home shall become diminished, and that we shall love our kindred or our country less because He desires us to extend our sympathies. But we are not to confine our affection and sympathy within four walls, and enclose the blessing that God has given us so that others will not be benefited with us in its enjoyment.”—Ellen G. White, Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, October 15, 1895.The responsibility given to us to be a blessing to those outside our comfort zone, whether they are from another culture or just a helpless person, is a nonnegotiable mandate from Jesus Christ Himself (Acts 1:8, Mark 11:17).Discussion Questions:What is your own comfort zone, and why must you be willing to step outside of it when necessary?What are the implications of the incident when Jesus was called “ ‘a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners’ ” (Matt. 11:19, NIV)? What was Jesus doing that would have brought that accusation, and what does it teach us about mission?To what extent should a Christian engage in the celebrations of nonbelievers? How might Christians do that without compromising biblical principles?
As we all know, and know too well, the needs never end. If you are willing to help others, you will have plenty of opportunities. Whether close friends or refugees far away, people are in need, and we should do what we can, when we can, to help. All through His earthly ministry, Jesus helped those who could not help themselves. In some cases, He took the initiative and went to those in need; in other cases, as with the men who lowered the paralytic from the roof in order to bring him to Jesus, friends took the initiative.“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13, NKJV).How do we apply this principle in our ministry to others?One missionary family served six years in Trinidad and Tobago. The first three years they lived in a predominantly Hindu and Muslim community. Many Hindus complained that Christians refused their invitation to the annual Thanksgiving service. One day these Christians attended a Thanksgiving service of a new Hindu friend. They did this following Jesus’ example: He visited His friends when they invited Him to their special celebrations. In fact, Hinduism teaches that visitors or friends bring blessings to the home of the host.Let’s make an attempt to begin making a friend this week by being a blessing to someone. First, survey your context, community, village, or city. Do you know of any refugee or immigrant living there? How about the people that live on your street? Do you know them all? Regardless of your situation, making friends with a stranger is not an easy task. Let’s pray and ask God for help. He knows everyone and knows the stranger that you can become friends with. Remember, the goal is to be their friend so that you can help by leading them to God for help.Challenge: Learn about foreigners or non-Christians who live in your country. Joshuaprojects.net is a good place to survey unreached people groups in your culture.Challenge Up: Identify someone within your sphere of influence. Begin regularly praying for the person after answering the following questions: Is this person my friend—according to Jesus’ model of friendship? Do I know the needs of his or her life? How can I lead him or her to Jesus for healing?
Who among us hasn’t experienced just how hurting our world really is? Whether living in an environment of wealth and materialism, or living in an environment of poverty and material needs—it doesn’t matter. People are hurting, suffering, struggling. All one has to do, for instance, is read about the staggering amount of money spent on antidepressants in the Western world each year to understand that material wealth alone does not even come close to guaranteeing happiness or peace.“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed” (Luke 4:18, NKJV).What does this teach us about what Jesus did and what we, too, in our own sphere, should be doing for those in need around us?God is calling us to meet the needs of all people, even though we don’t know when or if they will ever accept Jesus. Though reaching them for Jesus is the foundation of our mission, we need to help those in need purely because they need help. We help them because we have accepted Jesus as our Lord, and that is what He calls us to do.Jesus’ example of trying to meet the needs of all people is a biblical principle to follow. We don’t know if everyone whom He helped accepted Him or not.To truly help others, we need to become aware of their needs. Every culture has its own way of showing how to treat a friend. In India, it is customary to serve food or a drink when entertaining visitors. It is easier to give a stranger token money than to comfort a friend who just lost a loved one. What your friend may need may be more than money or physical things. Often your sympathetic support during the time of a major loss could be much more helpful.The important principle of being Jesus’ helper to our friends begins first with the goal of showing selfless love toward them, understanding their needs first before trying to offer help. Provide the help they need, even though you may not know if they are ready to follow Jesus.Read Matthew 25:34–40. What’s the message for us here?
Interview: host - Mo Sena / Interviewee: Dilma Paim - presenting a life-changing project for Afghan refugees in Brazil
The topic of immigrants and refugees has become a hotly debated subject, especially because there are so many of them today. Whether displaced by war, natural disasters, or for the hope of a better economic future, millions around the world have been uprooted from their homes and are in desperate need of help.In Matthew 2:13, 14, Jesus was a refugee. His earthly parents, Joseph and Mary, were forced to flee Bethlehem by night and seek refuge in Egypt to escape the murderous hand of Herod. The Bible says nothing about their experience in Egypt, but it’s not hard to imagine that it had its challenges, perhaps some of the same challenges that refugees face today, as well. In fact, somewhat parallel to how Jesus’ family sought asylum in a foreign land, many Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Christians, and nonreligious persons are seeking asylum in new lands today, as well.Generally speaking, it is easier to make friends with individuals from our own culture and language group because we share many things in common. It is more challenging, however, to find common ground with immigrants and refugees who look different from us, who do not speak our language, who do not share the same religious values, and do not eat similar food. The gospel calls us to get out of our ethnic, national, and cultural comfort zones and to reach out to those in need, regardless of how different from us they might be.Read Deuteronomy 10:19, Psalm 146:9, Romans 12:13, and Leviticus 23:22. What’s the important theme here for us to remember?How can we minister to immigrants and refugees? It is difficult because, in some countries, it may not be politically correct to mingle with or help these people. Yet, we must do what we can, when we can, to minister to these people, who surely have been through some very difficult times and are in need of our help. So, to whatever degree we can, we must help.Begin with prayer, then seek information on immigrants and refugees. Many places have organizations that care for them. You can begin working with one of these organizations, or maybe your local church Sabbath School could start a ministry for immigrants or refugees.Even if it’s only a small amount, what can you do to help any immigrants or refugees you know about?
What do the following stories teach us about ministry to the needy?John 5:1–9Mark 1:23–28Ellen G. White provides a five-step process of Jesus’ method in how to minister, especially to those in need: “Christ’s method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The Saviour mingled with men as one who desired their good. He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Then He bade them, ‘Follow Me.’ ”—The Ministry of Healing, p. 143.First, we must mingle with the helpless, spend time getting to know them, and understand their needs with the intention of doing good for them. Look at what Jesus did with the paralytic at the pool. Jesus was right there, amid the “great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed” (John 5:3, NKJV).Second, we need to show sympathy. This can be challenging in some cases because of distrust, and because sometimes people use kindness as a means of winning the confidence of someone whom they later abuse. Nevertheless, God is calling us to show sympathy without expecting anything in return.The third step is to minister to their needs. This involves more than just words. It takes action to minister to the needs of a friend or a stranger. Jesus spoke with the paralytic, asked what he wanted, and then worked a miracle in his behalf. In the story of the man possessed by an “unclean spirit,” Jesus took complete control of the situation, doing for the helpless man what he could not do for himself.The fourth step is winning their confidence. When we minister to people, when we help them, they will learn to trust us and what we say to them. So, when we talk to them about Jesus, they would be more open to listen. Jesus didn’t want just to heal them physically; He wanted them to have eternal life in Him (see John 10:10).The last step is to help lead them to Jesus, an act that requires faith from both you and the one whom you help.We generally can’t do the kind of miracles that Jesus did. But what are ways that we can still minister to those who need help?
A powerful story in the Gospels reveals what some men went through in order to bring a needy person, probably a friend, to Jesus. We can learn from what happened here about the hard work it might sometimes take to minister to those in need.Read Luke 5:17–26 (see also Matt. 9:1–8, Mark 2:3–12). What are some of the lessons we can take from this story about mission and ministry?By bringing their friend to Jesus, these men took on the responsibility to care for him. God is calling us to be like this man’s friends—to lead the needy to Jesus Christ. This work requires faith, action, patience, and a willingness, if need be, to be unconventional. The men came to Jesus but encountered barriers. They could not bring their helpless friend to Jesus through traditional means. They did not give up; instead they found an innovative way of getting the man to Jesus Christ. Dropping their friend down from the roof! Yet, according to Luke, Jesus approved of what they did (see Luke 5:20).Jesus’ desire is for us to bring our helpless friends to Him. The Bible refers to Jesus as the Great Physician who longs to forgive and heal those who are suffering, whoever they are.Ellen G. White challenges us to help the helpless: “Do not wait to be told your duty. Open your eyes and see who are around you; make yourselves acquainted with the helpless, afflicted, and needy. Hide not yourselves from them, and seek not to shut out their needs. Who gives the proofs mentioned in James, of possessing pure religion, untainted with selfishness or corruption? Who are anxious to do all in their power to aid in the great plan of salvation?”—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 2, p. 29.Jesus Himself demonstrates how to help the helpless and is calling us to do the same. First, we become their friends; then we learn about their needs; and finally, we lead them to Jesus, who is the only One who can help them. This is what the men in this story did; we need to do likewise in whatever situation we find ourselves. Help lead people to the only One who can save them: Jesus.Who around you, right now, needs some help? What are you going to do for them?
Read for This Week’s StudyLuke 5:17–26, John 5:1–9, Deut. 10:19, Lev. 23:22, Matt. 25:34–40, John 15:13.Memory Text:“And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me’ ” (Matthew 25:40, NKJV).Luke 5:17–26 provides many illustrations of how God is helping those in need. Sometimes God uses others to help us, or He uses us to help others. This work can be challenging, but it brings great rewards. By helping those in need, we are modeling the ministry of Jesus Christ. Sometimes it is easy to tell who is in need of help; at other times it is difficult to know. Whatever the situation, we are called to be God’s helpers for all people in need, regardless of their background.The Bible encourages us to draw close to strangers, and by winning their confidence we can learn better ways of helping them find Jesus.In this week’s lesson, our topic, “Mission to the Needy,” shows that God has a plan to reach those who might be needy in any number of ways. Their needs might be physical, emotional, financial, or even social: that is, some might be deemed as outcasts from their community or family. Whatever the needs are, we must be ready to do what we can to help. This is a central part of what it means to be a Christian and what mission must include.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, November 25.
Read Ellen G. White, “The Good Samaritan,” pp. 497–505, in The Desire of Ages.There are many hungry, needy, and mistreated people in our world today. You can do your part, however “small” it might seem to be. We are not going to solve all the world’s problems before Jesus returns. We haven’t been called to do that. But until then, our work can be as basic as helping someone you know who does not have enough food; or it can be helping a member in the church who is facing injustice, even bigotry, which remains a real problem in our world, even today.“Pure religion and undefiled before the Father is this: ‘To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.’ Good deeds are the fruit that Christ requires us to bear: kind words, deeds of benevolence, of tender regard for the poor, the needy, the afflicted. When hearts sympathize with hearts burdened with discouragement and grief, when the hand dispenses to the needy, when the naked are clothed, the stranger made welcome to a seat in your parlor and a place in your heart, angels are coming very near, and an answering strain is responded to in heaven. Every act of justice, mercy, and benevolence makes melody in heaven. The Father from His throne beholds those who do these acts of mercy, and numbers them with His most precious treasures. ‘And they shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up My jewels.’ Every merciful act to the needy, the suffering, is regarded as though done to Jesus. When you succor the poor, sympathize with the afflicted and oppressed, and befriend the orphan, you bring yourselves into a closer relationship to Jesus.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 2, p. 25.Discussion Questions:How can we make sure we understand that the command to love God and others is not salvation by works? When we consider who Jesus is, and what He did for us on the cross (see Phil. 2:5–8), why is the idea that anything we can do to earn or merit salvation so great an error? How can we learn to distinguish between working for salvation, which is a fatal mistake, and revealing in our lives the salvation that we already have in Jesus?How can we learn to recognize some of the inherent prejudices we might have toward those who are different from us?Other than those passages studied in this week’s lesson, what other scriptural support do you find for the need to show kindness to others, no matter who they are?
When commending the lawyer for giving the right answer, Jesus said, “Do this and you will live” (Luke 10:28, NKJV), and thus, He touched the very core in the man’s heart. Giving all the right answers was easy for the lawyer, but doing those things was an issue 2,000 years ago—and it is still an issue for many of us today. The lawyer wanted to trap Jesus and show off his knowledge. He asked a follow-up question; “Who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29, NKJV).Read Luke 10:30–37. How would you summarize Jesus’ meaning in the story here?Are there people around us who have been unjustly treated by others? Have we done whatever we can to help them?It is true that sometimes pastors, elders, and members do not help those who need help. Sometimes people of another faith may be kinder toward people in the community than we are. We may talk about being kind; yet, others may meet the needs of people that we don’t address. If our faith means anything, we must reach out and help those in need.Jesus concluded the story of the good Samaritan by asking who among the three was truly a neighbor to the person who needed help.“Thus the question, ‘Who is my neighbor?’ is forever answered. Christ has shown that our neighbor does not mean merely one of the church or faith to which we belong. It has no reference to race, color, or class distinction. Our neighbor is every person who needs our help. Our neighbor is every soul who is wounded and bruised by the adversary. Our neighbor is everyone who is the property of God.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 503.Challenge: Begin praying daily for someone who is different from you, or even for someone you may not personally like.Challenge Up: List at least three names of your acquaintances (non-Adventists); identify their needs (emotional, physical, social), and consider how you can minister personally to those needs. What can you do practically for them in the coming week?
Read Matthew 22:37–40. How does what Jesus Himself said here compare to His answer to the lawyer, in Luke 10:27, 28?According to Matthew 22:37–40, Jesus made it clear that the everyday expression of true belief hangs upon these two commandments. And Luke 10:27, 28 makes it clear that if a person does these two things, then he or she will have eternal life.“Love is the underlying principle of God’s government in heaven and earth, and it must be the foundation of the Christian’s character. This alone can make and keep him steadfast. This alone can enable him to withstand trial and temptation.”—Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 49.Read Galatians 5:14; Micah 6:6–8; and 1 John 4:20, 21. How do these verses reinforce what Jesus had told us?According to Paul, “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’ ” (Gal. 5:14, NKJV). For Paul, loving God can be practically seen only when that love is exemplified in how we treat others. Even though he stated that “ ‘the righteous shall live by faith’ ” (Rom. 1:17, ESV), yet living by faith is not something that is hidden, unknown or unseen by others. Paul, Micah, and John make it clear that practical works demonstrate the reality of the faith that we claim.In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul stated very forcefully that if one claims to have great knowledge or to do great deeds or to have the great faith or even to give up one’s life but does not have love, then that person has become like “sounding brass or a clanging cymbal” (1 Cor. 13:1, NKJV).Look at the Ellen G. White quote above. Notice what she says about how only in love can people remain steadfast and endure temptation. How does this idea show that the command to love is not salvation by works, but instead, an expression of the faith that we have in Jesus?
Read Luke 10:27, 28. What was the lawyer’s answer to his own question?The lawyer had asked the question, and he himself gave the answer: “ ‘ “Love the Lord your God with all your heart . . .” and “Love your neighbor as yourself” ’ ”(Luke 10:27, NIV).What was the response of Jesus? He said, “ ‘You have answered rightly’ ” (Luke 10:28, NKJV). Jesus went on to challenge him to do something about it, by saying, “ ‘Do this and you will live’ ” (Luke 10:28, NKJV).For most believers, giving the right answers about doctrine and faith is not that difficult. The challenge, instead, comes in doing what they know is right and following what they believe. A lot of people who, though knowing enough to be saved, will be lost because they didn’t obey what they knew. That’s how serious this issue is. Just knowing about loving God and your neighbor isn’t enough. You have to do it!Read James 2:17–22. How do these verses parallel what Jesus said to the lawyer?If we love God, we will read His Word, we will pray, we will keep His commandments, and we will be obedient to His voice “with all our heart.” If I say I love others, but I don’t care about others in church, or if I ignore the needs of others when I can help, what good is my faith? Christianity is not just a set of distinct beliefs; it is a way of life.“If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?” (James 2:15, 16, NKJV).How much do you care about the welfare of others? How much do you follow the words of Paul: “Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others” (Phil. 2:4, NKJV)? By God’s grace, how can you learn to care more for others?
1845 Lesson 7 Monday Nov 13: Jesus’ method and response - The Bible tells us that the lawyer came to test Jesus, but Jesus knew what his intentions were. Indeed, God knows the longings and desires of our hearts more than we ourselves do. And we certainly do not know the heart or the motives of those who question us, do we?Sometimes people from other religions question us about our faith. For instance, our Muslim friends ask us questions related to Jesus’ divinity, such as, “Where in the Bible did Jesus say that He is God?” or “Why do you say there is one God when you have three persons in the Trinity?” Though these seem to be provocative questions, yet the heartfelt need for Jesus can be genuine and can represent a deep longing or emptiness of those asking the questions. We don’t know their hearts; we don’t need to. We simply need to minister to others the best we can, regardless of their deepest motives.Read Matthew 26:56, Acts 17:11, 1 Corinthians 15:3, and 2 Timothy 3:16. How do these verses help us understand Jesus’ response to the lawyer in Luke 10:26?Sometimes we want answers but do not put in the work ourselves to find them. Jesus said: “ ‘What is written in the Law? How do you read it?’ ” (Luke 10:26, ESV). Jesus pointed to a very important aspect of learning. Instead of only listening to what others have to tell us, we need to read the Scriptures (the Word of God) for ourselves. The answers already are there, and the Holy Spirit works on our hearts to impress upon us what we need to do.God has given us His Word. In it, we can find all the truth that we need to know about how we are supposed to live, about how we are supposed to treat others, and about how we can “inherit eternal life.” Sure, there is a role for teachers and ministers, but in the end, we must go to the Bible for the truths that matter. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps. 119:105, NKJV). This verse is not just poetry; it’s sacred truth, pointing us to the Word of God and its importance to the believer.Jesus, the Word of God made flesh, always pointed people back to the Written Word. What should this tell us about the importance of the Bible and why we must reject any philosophical or theological reasoning that lessens our trust in the Bible?
Who are we? Why are we here? What happens when we die? What isour ultimate fate? These are, in many ways, the most important ques-tions mortal beings, beings who know that they are mortal (oysters andchickens are, too, but don’t know it), can ask. And in the Gospel ofLuke, someone comes to Jesus with what is, in fact, the most crucialquestion of all.Read Luke 10:25. What did this lawyer ask, and why did he ask it?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________However serious the question itself, the Bible clearly states that hecame to test Jesus. We know that sometimes some people may comewith skepticism, even unbelief, and may not even be serious in theirquestioning, but they could still be reached. This is precisely how Jesusdealt with the lawyer, even though He knew that the man’s initial inten-tions were not genuine. Yet, for the lawyer and the audience, this ques-tion was an opening that Jesus could use to prompt them to search theirown hearts. Even knowing the lawyer’s motives, Jesus was not going toignore him or be disrespectful to him.In the end, what question could be more important than this one? “Whatshall I do to inherit eternal life?” No matter what our religious rituals orpractices, behind them all is this crucial question. In contrast to this one,what else really matters for beings whose lives are depicted as “a vapor thatappears for a little time and then vanishes away” (James 4:14, NKJV)? Forwhat is the only other option to eternal life than eternal death?Read 1 Corinthians 15:30–32. What point is Paul making here thatunderscores the importance of eternal life?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________However dubious his motives, the lawyer asked a crucial question,and Jesus, ever watchful to use any and every opportunity for mission,took advantage of it to reach souls.How can we also be mindful to take advantage of whateveropportunities come our way to witness, even if the circumstancesare not ideal?_________________________________
Read for This Week’s Study: Luke 10:25–37, 2 Tim. 3:16,James 2:17–22, Matt. 22:37–40, Gal. 5:14, Micah 6:6–8.Memory Text: “He answered, ‘ “Love the Lord your God with allyour heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and withall your mind”; and, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ’ ” (Luke 10:27,NIV).We all know the text: “ ‘ “Love the Lord your God with all yourheart and with all your soul and with all your strength andwith all your mind” ’ ” (Luke 10:27, NIV). Yet, our love forGod can become superficial if we say that we love God but do not obeyHim. We think that we love God, but how is this love demonstrated in ourday-to-day life? Loving God requires full commitment of our heart, soul,body, and mind—daily. Anyone can say that he or she loves God; doingit, however, requires conscious effort.However, even though loving God is good and important, God alsowants us to love others, because our love for others reflects our lovefor God, and it does so in a powerful and very real way. First John 4:20states, “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar;for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can helove God whom he has not seen?” (NKJV). Paul also says in Galatians5:14 that “all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: ‘You shalllove your neighbor as yourself’ ” (NKJV).This week we will be learning how this lesson can be applied in ourlives.* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, November 18.
Our mission work must come from deep love and thankfulness for what Jesus has done and is doing in our lives. Any other motivation is misguided. Keeping immersed in the Word and in tune with the Word is the key to successful outreach and evangelism.“Our life is to be bound up with the life of Christ; we are to draw constantly from Him, partaking of Him, the living Bread that came down from heaven, drawing from a fountain ever fresh, ever giving forth its abundant treasures. If we keep the Lord ever before us, allowing our hearts to go out in thanksgiving and praise to Him, we shall have a continual freshness in our religious life. Our prayers will take the form of a conversation with God as we would talk with a friend. He will speak His mysteries to us personally. Often there will come to us a sweet joyful sense of the presence of Jesus. Often our hearts will burn within us as He draws nigh to commune with us as He did with Enoch. When this is in truth the experience of the Christian, there is seen in his life a simplicity, a humility, meekness, and lowliness of heart, that show to all with whom he associates that he has been with Jesus and learned of Him.”—Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, pp. 129, 130.“There can be no growth or fruitfulness in the life that is centered in self. If you have accepted Christ as a personal Savior, you are to forget yourself, and try to help others. Talk of the love of Christ, tell [others of His self-sacrificing death in their behalf]. . . . As you receive the Spirit of Christ—the Spirit of unselfish love and labor for others—you will grow and bring forth fruit. . . . Your faith will increase, your convictions deepen, your love be made perfect.”—Christ’s Object Lessons, pp. 67, 68.Discussion Questions:How do you understand Paul’s words in Philippians about Christ’s being preached out of envy, strife, or selfish ambition? How can we make sure that we ourselves are not guilty of doing just that?What has been your own personal experience with the reality of God and God’s love? That is, based on your own experiences, could you preach to others with sincerity and honesty about the goodness and love of God? What would your testimony be?What has been your experience in waiting upon the Lord, and what has it taught you about trusting in Him and about faith in general?
Read Acts 2:41–47. What kind of picture of the early church is present here?Acts 2 ends with a beautiful picture of what the early church was like. Acts 2:41 says that those who were baptized were “added to them” (NKJV). We could read this to say that someone did the math and added the number of new believers to the number of existing believers and established a new total membership for the group. But that is a shallow understanding. Hidden in the wording is the idea that these newly baptized believers became part of the group as equals.Meanwhile, a core function of the early Christian church was discipleship. As new members were added, they were discipled in three ways. First, they continued to be taught by the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship. The words “doctrine” and “fellowship” in this text literally mean “instruction” and “partnership.” The apostles’ preaching confronted incorrect beliefs and offered new explanations for what people were seeing and experiencing. But it didn’t teach them how to live out that new truth in their lives. Rather, the application of truth to one’s life happened in relationship as part of the group. New believers were carefully and intentionally discipled through direct teaching, as well as through participation in the daily lives of the other believers, all under the supervision and leadership of the spiritually mature and grounded apostles.It is poor preaching that tells people what to do but not how to do it. However, even if one reads how-to books or listens to sermons that explain how to do things, there is no substitute for seeing people doing it and then imitating them. Paul knew this and instructed his followers to imitate him as he had imitated Jesus (1 Cor. 11:1). When others can see you and the reality of your experience with Christ, it will impact them, as well.Challenge: Think of someone in your life who you wish was a believer. Pray every day for him or her to have a personal experience with Jesus.Challenge Up: Whom are you discipling and leading into a relationship with Jesus? Look for ways to bring him or her into fellowship with other believers
Acts 2 records the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. As the followers of Jesus were praying, tongues of fire rested upon their heads. They recognized that the promised power of the Holy Spirit had been given.Read Acts 2:1–41. What happened to the disciples as a result of receiving the Holy Spirit at Pentecost?The disciples began to speak in other languages “as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4). What’s crucial here is that God empowered each person for the benefit of unbelievers. The blessing wasn’t meant merely for their own good. It wasn’t a blessing to make them fit for heaven or a blessing to make it easier to do business in a foreign language. The blessing was given for fulfilling God’s mission to the lost. Today God calls on each of His followers to use their personal gifts for the good of His mission to unbelievers. We have been given gifts: What greater call to mission than to use what we have been given to reach others?The outpouring of the Holy Spirit resulted in many of the people repenting of their rejection of the Messiah, for surely some of them were in Jerusalem when He died. Think of the power here: Peter accused some of them of having crucified the Christ. Obviously, they realized what they had done and, being convicted, cried out: “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37).And yet, even they could receive forgiveness. Said Peter to them: “ ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’ ” (Acts 2:38, NKJV).Working together, in harmony with the Holy Spirit and each other, these followers of Jesus preached repentance and the forgiveness of sins—even for those who could have been directly involved in crucifying Jesus! That’s the power of the gospel. If that message doesn’t motivate us to mission, what will? We are called to spread the gospel to the world, a sinful, fallen, corrupt world with sinful, fallen, and corrupt people. Our job is not to judge; our job is to witness to the saving power of Jesus.Why should the idea that even some of those who were complicit in Christ’s death were offered salvation (1) encourage us for our own souls and (2) encourage us to witness to others, no matter how bad they may seem to be?
Luke 24 ends with Jesus’ ascension into heaven (Luke 24:50–53). But that is not the end of the story. The author, Luke, continues, writing the book of Acts. Just before Jesus ascended to heaven, He gave the disciples a mission, a promise, and immediate instructions to wait in Jerusalem for “power from on high” (Luke 24:49; see also Acts 1:4–8).Jesus instructed the disciples to wait in Jerusalem until He fulfilled His promise to send the Promise of the Father (the Holy Spirit), who would empower them to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and beyond.Read Acts 1:12–26. What were the disciples, now numbering around 120 men and women, doing while they were waiting?Jesus had given the disciples a clear mission: they were to be witnesses for Him to the world. So, while they waited, they prepared for their mission in two ways. First, Luke says they continued in united prayer and supplication. There was no question in any of their minds about what the mission was that Jesus had given them, and they had each accepted that mission. This inspired them to unite in prayer. Luke does not share what they were praying about, but it is most certain they were praying for wisdom, strength, and courage to fulfill the mission together. What an example for us.The second thing they did while they waited was to prepare logistically for their mission. Judas had handed Jesus over for execution and then taken his own life. This had left a vacancy among the twelve. So, as they waited, the disciples sought God’s guidance and selected a replacement. In effect, the disciples were organizing themselves and planning the start of their mission. In the making of these decisions, Peter played a leadership role. No one challenged his move; they all saw God’s wisdom in it. There was an understanding and a trust that God was acting and working and moving in their midst. Their time of waiting was not idle but was filled with purpose and mission-driven action.While we wait for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to help us complete the great mission of God, we must unite to encourage each other (Heb. 10:24, 25), praying for God’s Holy Spirit. Also, we should be aligning ourselves and our church with God’s priority—the saving of the lost.How can you learn to wait upon the Lord and not lose faith in the meantime? Meanwhile, while waiting, how can you best use your time, as the disciples did here?
Read Luke 24:36–49. What happened here, and why was this such a pivotal experience for the apostles?It is interesting that at first the disciples did not believe out of fear. Then, after seeing Jesus and being assured that He was indeed alive, they did not believe for joy (Luke 24:41). Have you ever felt that something was too good to be true? This was the experience of the disciples and the others in the upper room.If Jesus had left them only with this experience, however, then when He departed, their faith might not have lasted. Over time the power of the experience could have faded; they would forget, or start, perhaps, even to question it. So, Jesus didn’t stop with showing them His scars and eating fish in front of them. Instead, He then took them into the Word and showed them the prophetic foundation for His work and ministry. That is, no matter how great the experience that they had with Him, Jesus still wanted their faith grounded in the Word of God.“ ‘These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me’ ” (Luke 24:44, NKJV).Here, too, we find a powerful motivation for witness, for mission: the Word of God. Jesus knew that to solidify the disciples’ experience, they needed to understand why He had to die and what His resurrection signified. They needed their worldview to be shifted from a political and earthly kingdom to the great solution to sin and the victory of Christ over death. The gospel was so much more than achieving political sovereignty for Israel. It revealed Christ’s victory over Satan and guaranteed that one day all wickedness in the world would be destroyed, that the earth would be created anew, and that God would be among His people. He “opened their understanding” (Luke 24:45, NKJV) so they could comprehend these truths, which they were to share with the world.Our experiences with Jesus cannot be sustained without the foundation of His Word, including the prophecies that point to the history and events leading up to, and including, the first and second advents of Christ. With these truths firmly understood, we can be ready and motivated for mission.How well grounded are you in the prophecies that point to Christ, both His first and second comings? Especially in the last days, why must we be grounded in the Word of God, including the prophecies, and why is understanding them so crucial, especially for mission?
Read Luke 24:1–12. What was the response of those who heard about the risen Christ?Early Sunday morning, after Jesus’ death, Luke says that a number of women went to the tomb. They had spices with them; so, it is likely they were going to tend to Jesus’ body now that the Sabbath was over. Expecting to find a still-sealed tomb, they were shocked to find the tomb empty. Unsure what to do, they were afraid when two men in shining clothing appeared. However, the men had a message for them. Reminding them of Jesus’ words, they told the women that Jesus had indeed risen, as He had said He would. Overjoyed with the news, they quickly returned to where the disciples and many of Jesus’ other followers were staying and told what they had seen and heard, because their excitement could not be contained. That is, they were sharing with others what they had learned of Christ.Can you imagine how the women must have felt? They had just had an amazing experience, one that certainly filled them with awe, but the disciples called their experience “idle tales” and would not believe them. Thus, not sure whether to believe the women or not, Peter ran to the tomb to see for himself.For Peter—and for many of us—there is a hesitancy to accept something simply because someone else said it. Though Peter listened to the women, he could not share in their experience until later. At first, all he experienced was an empty tomb, and that, Luke says, simply left him “marveling to himself” (Luke 24:12, NKJV). His experience at the tomb was not the same as that of the women.Regardless of Peter’s response, as soon as these women heard the news about Jesus, they wanted to share it with others. What greater motivation for mission could there be than to let others know about what Jesus has done for them? What greater motive than to spread the good news of salvation in Jesus, the only hope any of us have?Of course, we need a personal experience with God ourselves before we can share it with others. Our desire to share with others what we love so much must be a crucial part of our motivation for mission. In the end, we can’t share what we ourselves don’t have, can we?What are some of the experiences you have had with the reality of God and His love? Why are these times so precious to you, and how do they motivate you to reach out to others with the good news?
Read for This Week’s StudyLuke 24:1–12; Luke 24:36–49; Acts 1:12–26; Heb. 10:24, 25; Acts 2:1–41; 1 Cor. 11:1.Memory Text:“ ‘These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me’ ” (Luke 24:44, NKJV).Wrote Paul to the Philippians: “Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice” (Phil. 1:15–18, NKJV).Powerful words! Whether in “pretense or in truth,” Christ is preached—and that is what mattered to Paul. Ideally, though, our motives for preaching Christ, for mission, for reaching others with the good news, should be out of love, and out of truth—and not from selfish ambition, envy, or strife.What, then, are some of the motivations for preaching Christ, and what are some of the ways that we can prepare for doing this?This week we will look at some events in the early church that can give us guidance on these crucial parts of mission.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, November 11.
Ellen G. White has a strong warning for those who are struggling to follow the call of Jesus to witness to those around them.“The excuses of those who fail to do this work do not relieve them of the responsibility, and if they choose not to do this work, they neglect the souls for whom Christ died, neglect their God-given responsibility, and are registered in the books of heaven as unfaithful servants. Does the minister work as did the Master, to be a strength and a blessing to others, when he shuts himself away from those who need his help? Those who neglect personal intercourse with the people, become self-centered, and need this very experience of placing themselves in communication with their brethren, that they may understand their spiritual condition, and know how to feed the flock of God, giving to each his portion of meat in due season. Those who neglect this work make it manifest that they need moral renovation, and then they will see they have not carried the burden of the work.”—Ellen G. White, Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, August 30, 1892.While these are very strong words highlighting the importance God places on mission, we are not left without hope. “In the charge given him, Jonah had been entrusted with a heavy responsibility; yet He who had bidden him go was able to sustain His servant and grant him success. Had the prophet obeyed unquestioningly, he would have been spared many bitter experiences, and would have been blessed abundantly. Yet in the hour of Jonah’s despair the Lord did not desert him. Through a series of trials and strange providences, the prophet’s confidence in God and in His infinite power to save was to be revived.”—Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, p. 266.Just like Jonah, we may find it easier to make excuses for not participating in mission. Our motivation for these excuses could be one of many. However, our call to mission is no less specific than was Jonah’s call. The question is, How will you choose to answer?Discussion Questions:What excuses have you been tempted to use for not being involved in mission? What is your Nineveh?Think about how precious the truth is that we as Seventh-day Adventists have. Think about how blessed you are to have these truths. What is holding you back from sharing with others what we love so much?How can you learn by God’s grace to overcome any fears you might have about witnessing and mission?
Jonah’s story is more than amazing. The fact that God could save the Ninevites in spite of the poor witness of Jonah is a stark reminder that our role is merely to be a conduit for God, who alone can convict and convert hearts. It is a reminder that God seeks only willing and humble messengers who will follow His direction.Read Isaiah 6:1–8. What is the central idea expressed in this passage?The call is there. God is looking for willing volunteers. We are to answer that call by submitting to His leadership, listening to hear His voice, and then choosing to obey whatever He tells us.The story of Jonah also reveals God’s love for people who live where His love is not felt and His voice not heard. Just as God had pity on Nineveh, He has pity on the millions populating the cities today, where buildings replace trees and flowers, and constant noise makes it difficult to be still and listen. Of Nineveh God said, they “do not know their right hand from their left” (see Jon. 4:11, ESV). God needs messengers who are willing to take His message of hope to those overwhelmed with the busyness and ugliness of life.Isaiah heard a voice saying, “Who will go?” What will your response be?Challenge: On a blank sheet of paper or in your prayer journal, make a list of ten people you know are not believers. We will call them your “disciples.” List them by name if possible. Keep this list close by, and for the rest of the quarter, pray daily for each of your ten disciples. Pray that God will help you become casual friends with those who are acquaintances. Pray that you can develop deeper, closer, trusting friendships with your casual friends. As you deepen your relationships, carefully watch and listen so you can identify their specific needs, hurts, and pain. Then pray that God will meet them in that area of need.
Jonah’s experience in the belly of the fish (see Jonah 2) was a dramatic show of God’s love and mercy, and Jonah’s prayer reveals that he didn’t miss God’s message of love. But just because he had had an incredible encounter with God didn’t mean that his old thought habits or attitudes would easily change, even though he went to Nineveh anyway.Read Jonah 3. How did the people respond to what Jonah had preached? What lessons are here for us about witnessing?Whatever Jonah’s personal feelings about the Ninevites, he preached what God told him to, and the results were astonishing. The Ninevites were moved to repentance! Yes, Jonah had to go through a lot, to do what he didn’t want to do, but when he did it, God was glorified.Thus, God’s mission is carried forward on the shoulders of those who are willing to sacrifice, even if reluctantly. Our values must give way to God’s priority for the lost. Like Jonah, we sometimes harbor prejudices that keep us from reaching out to a person or group.Having to face our prejudices requires humility. Mission also requires time and emotional energy. Investing in others’ lives and truly caring for them can be taxing. In an age when we are stressed keeping up with our own lives and problems, providing emotional support can seem just too exhausting.And finally, being involved in mission often requires that we change how we feel about and use our money. Whether related to providing care for people, purchasing literature and outreach materials, or paying for services or conveniences to free up time for mission work, there are expenses related to mission. Whatever form it may take, mission work requires sacrifice.The good news is that in spite of Jonah’s inadequacies, God worked powerfully in bringing the Ninevites to repentance. Sadly, Jonah did not share in the blessing of heaven’s joy.What sacrifice is God asking you to make—or be ready to make—for the sake of sharing His love with someone else? How completely do you trust that He will fulfill His promise to enrich your life through sacrifice?
Our Excuses: Uncomfortable Confrontations“Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm” (Jonah 4:2Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)). What a beautiful prayer on the part of Jonah. Or was it?Read Jonah 4:1-11Open in Logos Bible Software (if available). What was wrong with this man?Jonah had such a deep hatred for the people God sent him to that he felt it was better that he die than to lose face when the failure of his doomsday preaching against Nineveh was revealed. Jonah wanted Nineveh to be the next Sodom and Gomorrah. He was hoping for God’s judgment on these hated people. When it didn’t happen, his worldview was being shaken to the core, and Jonah would rather die than allow his world to be turned upside down.For the second time in the story of Jonah, God confronts him, not with a sermon or a saying but with an experience. Worldviews are not formed on demand. Nor do they change because we hear something new or different. Worldviews are often formed and changed based on life experiences and how they are interpreted or explained.The new experience God gave was to help Jonah recognize his own distorted worldview. God made a plant miraculously grow large enough in one day to offer sufficient shade to protect Jonah from the blazing sun. Jonah was grateful, not for God, who performed the miracle, but for the plant. Rather than seeing this as an unmerited miracle, he saw it as an appropriate and well-deserved blessing that followed his good works. When the plant died, it was a misfortune that caused Jonah to grow angry and insecure in his self-worth, and his thoughts grew suicidal.The experience is followed by God’s voice of gentle correction, helping Jonah see how foolish it was for him to value a plant more than the many thousands of men, women, and children in Nineveh, as well as their animals.The story doesn’t resolve with an ending of Jonah’s repentance. Rather, the unfinished story pivots to us. What will we do about God’s concern for the wicked, for the bullies, for the unreached across the globe?
Our Excuses: InconvenienceJonah’s experience in the belly of the fish (see Jonah 2:1-10Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)) was a dramatic show of God’s love and mercy, and Jonah’s prayer reveals that he didn’t miss God’s message of love. But just because he had had an incredible encounter with God didn’t mean that his old thought habits or attitudes would easily change, even though he went to Nineveh anyway.Read Jonah 3:1-10Open in Logos Bible Software (if available). How did the people respond to what Jonah had preached? What lessons are here for us about witnessing?Whatever Jonah’s personal feelings about the Ninevites, he preached what God told him to, and the results were astonishing. The Ninevites were moved to repentance! Yes, Jonah had to go through a lot, to do what he didn’t want to do, but when he did it, God was glorified.Thus, God’s mission is carried forward on the shoulders of those who are willing to sacrifice, even if reluctantly. Our values must give way to God’s priority for the lost. Like Jonah, we sometimes harbor prejudices that keep us from reaching out to a person or group.Having to face our prejudices requires humility. Mission also requires time and emotional energy. Investing in others’ lives and truly caring for them can be taxing. In an age when we are stressed keeping up with our own lives and problems, providing emotional support can seem just too exhausting.And finally, being involved in mission often requires that we change how we feel about and use our money. Whether related to providing care for people, purchasing literature and outreach materials, or paying for services or conveniences to free up time for mission work, there are expenses related to mission. Whatever form it may take, mission work requires sacrifice.The good news is that in spite of Jonah’s inadequacies, God worked powerfully in bringing the Ninevites to repentance. Sadly, Jonah did not share in the blessing of heaven’s joy.What sacrifice is God asking you to make—or be ready to make—for the sake of sharing His love with someone else? How completely do you trust that He will fulfill His promise to enrich your life through sacrifice?
Our Excuses: False ViewsWhen the storm came, Jonah blamed himself (Jonah 1:1-12Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)). His attitude does reveal something about the kind of worldview and understanding of God or “gods” that many had back then. While various gods, they believed, ruled in their various lands, the sea was deemed the chaotic realm of demons. In the worldview of the mariners, sacrifice was needed to appease their wrath. Although Jonah was a Hebrew, he quite possibly had a worldview that was influenced by the traditional beliefs of his times.Read Jonah 2:1-3Open in Logos Bible Software (if available),7-10Open in Logos Bible Software (if available). What do these verses reveal about how Jonah started to understand God’s providence?Although Jonah was running from the territory where the people claimed Jehovah as their God, he learned (the hard way) that even when he was traveling into foreign cultures, Jehovah was still sovereign. The wind and waves belonged to God. The fish, too. “The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness” (Psalms 24:1Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)). Jonah’s heart was turned to the Sovereign of earth and sea, and so he confessed and was saved.We, too, can have misunderstandings about God and what He expects of us. One common misunderstanding is that God’s desire for us is to focus on our own salvation and to remove ourselves from the wickedness of the world around us. Though we are instructed to keep ourselves “unspotted from the world” (James 1:27Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)), our focus should be on how we can bring God’s blessings and hope to those in need.Another misunderstanding that stops us from accepting God’s call into mission is believing that success depends on ourselves. We can no more save a soul than Jonah could save Nineveh. We can have a “savior” mentality about mission. Our call is not to do the saving but to cooperate with God in His saving work. We give testimony praising God for specific ways He is changing us, but only God can draw people to Himself. We can plant seeds of truth, but only God can convert the heart. We often confuse our role with God’s, which is enough to make anyone find an excuse not to witness. Yes, God used Jonah, but only God, not Jonah, turned Nineveh around.Winning souls is hard, too hard for humans to do on their own. How can we learn, instead, to let God win souls, but through us and our life and witness?
Read Nahum 1:1; Nahum 3:1–4; and 2 Kings 17:5, 6; 2 Kings 19:32–37. What do these verses reveal about Nineveh and the relationshipbetween Assyria and Israel? How might this relationship haveimpacted Jonah’s decision to go to Tarshish instead?___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________One of the reasons Jonah may have been unwilling to go to Ninevehwas fear. The Assyrians were a formidable foe, and Nineveh served asthe capital of the kingdom.“Among the cities of the ancient world in the days of divided Israel oneof the greatest was Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian realm. . . . In thetime of its temporal prosperity Nineveh was a center of crime and wicked-ness. Inspiration has characterized it as ‘the bloody city, . . . full of liesand robbery.’ In figurative language the prophet Nahum compared theNinevites to a cruel, ravenous lion. ‘Upon whom,’ he inquired, ‘hath notthy wickedness passed continually?’ Nahum 3:1, 19.”—Ellen G. White,Prophets and Kings, p. 265.Nineveh was a magnificent city. Historians tell us that Sennacheribgreatly expanded the city, including building the huge southwesternpalace that alone measured 1,650 feet by 794 feet. (503 by 242 meters)and contained at least 80 rooms. He also built 18 canals to bring waterto the city from as far away as 40 miles (65 kilometers). Its size alonewould have been intimidating.But the Assyrians were also ruthless. In his account of the conquest ofBabylon, Sennacherib boasted that he filled the streets with the corpsesof its inhabitants, young and old, and relief carvings found during excava-tions depict scenes of soldiers impaling victims. These were not people youwanted to cross; they were not averse to using violence, and gratuitouslycruelly, too, against those they didn’t like. Indeed, at the thought of walkingamong the masses of people in Nineveh, Jonah must have quaked with fear.In spite of all of this, we often read Jonah’s story with disapproval forletting fear get in the way of carrying out God’s instructions. What wefail to realize is that we can do the same thing (i.e., allow ourselves tobe controlled by our fears rather than by God).Think back to a time when you felt strongly that God was direct-ing you to do something that you, out of fear, really didn’t want todo. What lessons have you learned from that experience?_________________________________________________
Read for This Week’s Study: Jonah 1–4; Nahum 1:1; 2 Kings17:5, 6; Ps. 24:1; James 1:27; Isa. 6:1–8.Memory Text: “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: ‘Whomshall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Sendme’ ” (Isaiah 6:8, NKJV).Not everyone called to mission was as compliant as Abraham.Jonah is an example (read Jonah 1–4). God called Jonah tocry out against Nineveh, capital of Assyria. This city, locatedin modern-day Iraq, was 560 miles from Jerusalem, a good month’sjourney. Jonah not only refused to go—he ran in the opposite direction.Arriving at Joppa, he purchased passage to Tarshish, now southernSpain. Sailing the 2,000-mile trip would have taken at least a month,depending on the weather. Not wanting to confront the king of Assyria,Jonah uses the month it would have taken him to get to Nineveh to getaway from it. Why would he, a man of God, have done that?The Ninevites were notoriously wicked, a people known for their eviland cruelty and who had attacked Israel and Judah. Nevertheless, Godcalled Jonah to go to Nineveh and to cry out against its great wicked-ness (Jon. 1:2). The wording here is very similar to the wording Godused with Abraham regarding Sodom and Gomorrah, in Genesis 18:20,21. As we will see, however, Jonah was no Abraham.What can we learn from Jonah’s attitude about the excuses that wecan make in order not to do mission?* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, November 4.
“Love for perishing souls inspired Abraham’s prayer. While he loathed the sins of that corrupt city, he desired that the sinners might be saved. His deep interest for Sodom shows the anxiety that we should feel for the impenitent. We should cherish hatred of sin, but pity and love for the sinner. All around us are souls going down to ruin as hopeless, as terrible, as that which befell Sodom. Every day the probation of some is closing. Every hour some are passing beyond the reach of mercy. And where are the voices of warning and entreaty to bid the sinner flee from this fearful doom? Where are the hands stretched out to draw him back from death? Where are those who with humility and persevering faith are pleading with God for him?“The spirit of Abraham was the spirit of Christ. The Son of God is Himself the great Intercessor in the sinner’s behalf. He who has paid the price for its redemption knows the worth of the human soul. With an antagonism to evil such as can exist only in a nature spotlessly pure, Christ manifested toward the sinner a love which infinite goodness alone could conceive. In the agonies of the crucifixion, Himself burdened with the awful weight of the sins of the whole world, He prayed for His revilers and murderers, ‘Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.’ Luke 23:34.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 140.“Abraham was honored by the surrounding nations as a mighty prince and a wise and able chief. He did not shut away his influence from his neighbors. His life and character, in their marked contrast with those of the worshipers of idols, exerted a telling influence in favor of the true faith. His allegiance to God was unswerving, while his affability and benevolence inspired confidence and friendship and his unaffected greatness commanded respect and honor.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 133, 134.Discussion Questions:What other examples from Scripture show us an individual who fulfilled his call to mission? What about John the Baptist? Would you call him successful?Read Genesis 19:30–36. What does this tell us about the character of some of those saved from Sodom?What other lessons can we learn from the example of Abraham regarding mission and how it is done?Think about this: Would you deem Abraham’s intercession for Sodom and Gomorrah successful or a failure?
Read Genesis 12:1–9. What do these verses teach about submitting to God’s will, even when the path ahead does not seem clear?One of the main qualities of Abraham was his submission to God’s will. All the experiences of Abraham with God were characterized by this submission.His calling: Abraham received a challenging call from heaven: “The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you’ ” (Gen. 12:1, NIV). When he heard a voice from heaven, his first reaction could have been to disregard this voice, thinking he was having a hallucination. Or he could have challenged the message, saying something such as, I don’t want to go; I like it here. “ ‘The land I will show you’ ” may have seemed a strange description of a destination! But he accepted the call. He submitted his will to the will of God and left his father’s household and his country: “So Abram went, as the Lord had told him” (Gen. 12:4, NIV).Choice of the land: A quarrel erupted between the servants of Lot and those of Abraham, but Abraham was not a man to fight with his own flesh and blood. He submitted to God’s will, who again blessed him: “The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, ‘Now raise your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land which you see I will give to you and to your descendants forever” (Gen. 13:14, 15, NASB).Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah: When God revealed to Abraham the destiny of these two cities, Abraham, full of love, tried to save the cities. Because there were not even ten righteous persons in the cities, the cities were destroyed. Abraham submitted to the will of God and accepted God’s judgment of these cities.The Lord was able to use Abraham because of his submission to God in all circumstances. It must be the same with us today.Challenge: In our cities, we face obstacles in preaching the gospel appropriately and effectively. We need to plead with God to intervene.Challenge Up: Find a way to contact someone who is being directly affected by a difficult situation similar to your own. Tell that person you are praying for him or her, and ask God to show you what you can do to help.
Read Genesis 19:1–29. What was the result of Abraham’s spirit of hospitality, love, and prayer?The text gives an interesting indication about the position of Lot in the city of Sodom: “Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom” (Gen. 19:1, NKJV). This means he was an important character in the city, certainly a public officer, because sitting in the gate is a privilege of officers, judges, and kings (2 Sam. 19:8, Jer. 38:7, Ruth 4:1).Genesis 19 almost parallels chapter 18 and the story of the angels with Abraham. Abraham and Lot were each sitting at an entrance or gate (Gen. 18:1, Gen. 19:1); Abraham and Lot each invited strangers to rest in their abode (Gen. 18:3, 4; Gen. 19:2); Abraham and Lot each prepared food for their visitors (Gen. 18:4–8, Gen. 19:3). Whatever else his faults, Lot had some good characteristics, it seems.“Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens. So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground” (Gen. 19:24, 25, NKJV).We don’t know how many people were living in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah at the time of this account, but among these thousands of people only four left the city, and only three were saved. The same with the Genesis flood. We don’t know how many were alive then, but we know that most were not saved.The small number of residents of Sodom who were saved has implications for our own mission: not everyone will be saved. We would like everyone to accept Jesus and His plan of salvation, but each person has free will. Our task is to invite as many people as possible to make the choice for Jesus. While we are carrying out our mission, God assists us through the Holy Spirit, but He will never go against the will of anyone. Free will means that, in the end, no matter what we do, no matter how much we pray, salvation comes down to each individual’s choice.How can we learn not to be discouraged if we are not seeing the kind of results that we want when we do mission?
Read Genesis 18:23–32 and James 5:16. What should this teach us about the power of intercessory prayer?The dialogue between Abraham and God is a type, a representation, of intercessory prayer. Abraham is presented in this chapter as an intercessor before God for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. He was pleading for them, in behalf of them; that is, he was in a way acting as a type, a symbol, of Jesus as our Intercessor before the Father. Our mission today will be successful only if we proceed with these kinds of prayer.Abraham had learned to love the inhabitants of Sodom, Gomorrah, and the other cities close by. This is why his prayer was honest and sincere. He already had fought against some kings who had defeated the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah. After Abraham’s victory, Bera, the king of Sodom, came to meet Abraham with Melchizedek. Bera asked to have his people returned to their homes: “ ‘Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself’ ” (Gen. 14:21, ESV). This is an indication of the love of this king for his people. Since one of the great characteristics of Abraham was love, he loved the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, and he prayed for them and their people. “Love for perishing souls inspired Abraham’s prayer.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 140.Abraham exercised humility and perseverance in his prayers. As soon as God accepted the first request, to save the city as long as 50 righteous people were living there, he continued his intercession.Our mission cannot be successful without prayer, intercessory prayer. After meeting someone, after giving a sermon or a Bible study, we must pray for the people we have been in contact with. God is heedful of these prayers in touching the hearts of the people we have contacted. It is not our words or eloquence that will convert our friends or acquaintances—it is the Holy Spirit. This is why in any mission in which we are engaged, we must pray for each person individually.Read Romans 8:34 and Hebrews 7:25. What do they tell us about what Jesus does for us, and how might this truth help us understand better our own role as intercessors for others?
Read Genesis 18:16–33. How did Abraham exercise his great quality of love for all people without distinguishing tribe, race, or people?The second quality of Abraham drawn from Genesis 18 was his love for people, even for those he did not personally know. This is a great lesson for each of us. The people of Sodom and Gomorrah were sinners, far removed from his values, but his heart was full of love for everyone without any distinction of race, gender, language, or religion.God, then, reveals to Abraham His decision to annihilate the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. “Then the Lord said, ‘Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know’ ” (Gen. 18:20, 21, ESV).With great humility and reverence, Abraham addressed his request to God: “ ‘Far be it from You to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?’ ” (Gen. 18:25, ESV).Through his love, Abraham hoped to save all the people in these cities, not only the righteous. Certainly, Abraham knew just how evil and wicked the people were who lived there. Who knows what stories he had heard regarding those people and their practices? And from what we know about them, as revealed in the next chapter, with the sordid story of Lot and the mob outside his house (see Gen. 19:1–11), these were very evil people.Yet Abraham, knowing for himself the love of God, appealed to Him in their behalf. Abraham knew that human beings always can return to God in repentance. To Abraham, saving the inhabitants of these cities would give them a chance to repent.In the end, Abraham based his request on what he personally knew about God’s love for human beings. He himself had a great love for sinners, and he knew that as long as there is life, there is hope for salvation.Why is intercessory prayer so important in our own prayer life? How can praying for others in need help us grow spiritually and experience more the reality of God’s love for sinners?
Read Genesis 18:1–15. What elements of hospitality are demonstrated in Abraham’s response to his guests?Abraham was sitting at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. This behavior was unusual. At that time of the day in summer, when the sun is at its zenith, everyone is looking for shade and for a fresh breeze. But, perhaps, Abraham was enduring the heat in order to help anyone who might be passing by.While there, he saw three travelers. His practice, most likely, was to offer hospitality to strangers. This is why the initiative of the encounter was from Abraham: in the text he ran toward them from the entrance of his tent. That is, and this point is important: Abraham took the initiative to meet them even before they came to him.“ ‘Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant’ ” (Gen. 18:4, 5, NKJV).Abraham was aware of his mission, which was to share with everyone the knowledge of the Lord in a world engulfed in paganism, idolatry, and polytheism. As we can see in this incident, his most immediate way to fulfill his mission was through hospitality toward these strangers, who seemed to have just appeared on the horizon.Meanwhile, Abraham’s “great household consisted of more than a thousand souls, many of them heads of families, and not a few but newly converted from heathenism. Such a household required a firm hand at the helm. No weak, vacillating methods would suffice. . . . Abraham’s influence extended beyond his own household. Wherever he pitched his tent, he set up beside it the altar for sacrifice and worship. When the tent was removed, the altar remained; and many a roving Canaanite, whose knowledge of God had been gained from the life of Abraham His servant, tarried at that altar to offer sacrifice to Jehovah.”—Ellen. G. White, Education, p. 187.From the start, this man understood that God had called him to mission, and that his going to the Promised Land was not for a vacation but to be a blessing to those around him and, through his seed, to the world.What principles of Abraham’s example of hospitality can you emulate in your own life?
Read for This Week’s Study Genesis 18, James 5:16, Rom. 8:34, Heb. 7:25, Gen. 19:1–29, Gen. 12:1–9. Memory Text: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34, 35, NKJV).From the start, Abraham wanted to be used by God for mission. This truth can been seen, for example, in Genesis 18, when God warned him about what was going to happen to Sodom and Gomorrah. “Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7, NKJV). And in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, “His servant the prophet” was Abraham.Abraham was resting during the heat of the day when he saw three travelers. “Abraham had seen in his guests only three tired wayfarers, little thinking that among them was One whom he might worship without sin.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 138, 139.Abraham, however, soon became personally involved in God’s mission. His involvement, as revealed in this chapter, was to pray for and intercede for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. That is, he wanted to see if, somehow, these people, despite themselves, could be saved. In a sense, if that is not what mission is about—what is?Throughout this chapter, three great spiritual qualities of Abraham are revealed: hospitality, love, and prayer—qualities that can greatly aid in mission, as well.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, October 28.
Read Ellen G. White, “The Great Commission,” pp. 25–34, and “A Seeker for Truth,” pp. 131–142, in The Acts of the Apostles.“Before ascending to heaven, Christ gave His disciples their commission. He told them that they were to be the executors of the will in which He bequeathed to the world the treasures of eternal life. You have been witnesses of My life of sacrifice in behalf of the world, He said to them. You have seen My labors for Israel. And although My people would not come to Me that they might have life, although priests and rulers have done unto Me as they listed, although they have rejected Me, they shall have still another opportunity of accepting the Son of God. You have seen that all who come to Me confessing their sins, I freely receive. Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out. To you, My disciples, I commit this message of mercy. It is to be given to both Jews and Gentiles—to Israel, first, and then to all nations, tongues, and peoples. All who believe are to be gathered into one church.”—Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, pp. 27, 28.The Great Commission is clear: “ ‘Go therefore and make disciples of all nations’ ” (Matt. 28:19, NKJV). Therefore, it is definitely about going to others, especially other nations.“The gospel commission is the great missionary charter of Christ’s kingdom. The disciples were to work earnestly for souls, giving to all the invitation of mercy. They were not to wait for the people to come to them; they were to go to the people with their message.”—Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 28.“There are in our world many who are nearer the kingdom of God than we suppose. In this dark world of sin the Lord has many precious jewels, to whom He will guide His messengers. Everywhere there are those who will take their stand for Christ. Many will prize the wisdom of God above any earthly advantage, and will become faithful light bearers. . . . Convinced that Peter’s course was in direct fulfillment of the plan of God, and that their prejudices and exclusiveness were utterly contrary to the spirit of the gospel, they glorified God, saying, ‘Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.’ Thus, without controversy, prejudice was broken down, the exclusiveness established by the custom of ages was abandoned, and the way was opened for the gospel to be proclaimed to the Gentiles.”—Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, pp. 140–142.Discussion Questions:How would you define the word mission as you apply it to your own life?In what ways could you, daily, express mission in your attitude and behavior? How can you be more mission minded in your daily tasks?How important is it that we examine our hearts and seek power from above to be purged from prejudice against those unlike us?
Read Acts 1:8. What principle did Jesus present when doing the work of sharing or being His witnesses to the world?This is the principle set out by Jesus that shows us how we need to act as His disciples, who have the good news to share with others. Sharing the truth is not about convincing others how wrong they are, but about sharing Jesus as portrayed in the three angels’ messages of Revelation 14:6–12.There are, however, some principles in the words of Jesus in Acts 1:8.First, “ ‘you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem’ ” (NIV). As we have seen (but it is worth repeating), we are to be His witnesses in the place where we physically reside. This may include our own home, our church, our neighborhood, and our community. We need to be His witnesses first where we are, in the area He has initially placed us—home or work—and to be His witnesses to the people closest to us. It can be close family or extended family, church people, work colleagues, neighbors, and the community.Sometimes people are interested only in going off to a far country and alien culture to be God’s witnesses. But they do not witness to people around them now. We should begin where we are and move from there as the Lord leads us.Next, “ ‘in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth’ ” (Acts 1:8, NIV). Again, Jesus affirms the reality that witnessing involves crossing cultural boundaries. Beginning from where we are, we may be called to move to other areas to reach out to different social, ethnic, and religious groups. If I belong to a certain ethnic or language people group, it may be much easier for me to witness to them because of minimal cultural barriers to cross. In some areas of the world, only one clan or tribe is represented in the makeup of the church. However, Jesus’ great commission tells us that as His witnesses, moving out of our comfort zone and investing our resources for such people groups is crucial. They also need the message of Jesus.Challenge: Identify and make a list of people groups with special needs in your community, whom the church has not made efforts to reach.Challenge Up: Begin praying for an opportunity in the near future to become engaged in mission to people with special needs.
Read Acts 8:1–4. In the early church, what brought about the scattering of believers beyond their comfort zone?Until this time, the early church was mainly in Jerusalem (or within the Jewish territory and among the Jewish people). When persecution began—in which Saul, a devout Jew and a Pharisee, was actively involved—the church in Jerusalem was then dispersed all over Judea and Samaria. Jesus had predicted in Acts 1:8 that “ ‘you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria’ ” (NIV). This statement was fulfilled, as noted in Acts 8:4, that “those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went” (NIV).Even after the church began to move out beyond Jerusalem, the believers were still preaching in the regions of the Jews or in the neighborhoods of the Jewish people in other cities. Acts 11:19 indicates that the believers were dispersed all the way to Phoenicia (Lebanon) and Cyprus, but they did not at this stage preach the message to anyone other than the Jews alone. The disciples of Jesus and the early church did not intend to see the Gentiles, but only Jews, come to the Lord. They still had very narrow views on what the mission of the church was to be.Peter, a disciple of Jesus and one of the leading figures of the early church, was averse to taking the gospel message to the Gentiles, even after Paul had begun to do so. Peter was known as an apostle to the circumcised (meaning the Jews), and Paul an apostle to the Gentiles (Gal. 2:8). Early on, Peter did not even want to be seen with the Gentiles (Gal. 2:11, 12). However, God moved Peter out of his comfort zone and changed his heart. He was starting to learn about what the gospel commission really entailed and what Jesus’ death was meant to accomplish for the whole world.Read Acts 10:9–15, 28, 29. What was the message that the Lord was giving to Peter, and how must we, in our day and age, apply this principle to the work of mission?
Following the call of God, Abraham entered the land as God had commanded him. However, right from the start, things didn’t seem to go too well for him. He arrived where God told him to go, but according to the Bible, “the Canaanites were then in the land” (Gen. 12:6, NKJV)—pagans known for their cruelty and violence. No wonder that right after Abraham got there, the Lord appeared to him and said, “ ‘To your descendants I will give this land’ ” (Gen. 12:7, NKJV). No doubt Abraham needed the encouragement.However, things still didn’t go particularly well for him, at least at first.Read Genesis 12:10–13:1. What things happened to him next, and what mistakes did this man of God make?How discouraging it must have been for him: leaving a comfortable and most likely prosperous existence in the homeland, only to go, “not knowing where he was going” (Heb. 11:8, NKJV). And one of the first things he faced was a famine! This famine was so bad that he had to leave the place he had been told by God to settle in and go somewhere else. And then things got even worse after that.“During his stay in Egypt, Abraham gave evidence that he was not free from human weakness and imperfection. In concealing the fact that Sarah was his wife, he betrayed a distrust of the divine care, a lack of that lofty faith and courage so often and nobly exemplified in his life. . . . Through Abraham’s lack of faith, Sarah was placed in great peril. The king of Egypt, being informed of her beauty, caused her to be taken to his palace, intending to make her his wife. But the Lord, in His great mercy, protected Sarah by sending judgments upon the royal household.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 130.No one has ever said mission work was easy, and by lying, by being deceitful, Abraham only made matters worse. Fortunately, God is a God of patience, and He didn’t cast off His servant for his mistake, which, unfortunately, would not be the only one Abraham would make. How comforting to know that even despite our errors, if we cling to the Lord in faith and submission, as did Abraham, not only can our errors, sins, and faults be forgiven, but the Lord can still use us for mission.What lessons can we take from the story about Abram in Egypt?
Read Genesis 12:1–3. In what way was God’s instruction to Abram a call to mission?God asked Abram (whose name He later changed to Abraham) to leave his country and his people and go to another land. It was all part of God’s plan to use Abraham as a vehicle to fulfill His divine purposes in the earth. And Abraham went, according to the Word of the Lord. If God has a plan for you, it may be a call for you to leave your extended family and your people and go to a place that He is opening up for you to serve Him, in order that you can be a blessing to others.Read the following texts. What does each text tell of God’s covenant, His promise to us?Gen. 3:15Gen. 17:19Num. 24:17Isa. 9:6Dan. 9:24–27Matt. 1:21From the above texts, it is clear that God was going to accomplish the promise, made in the Garden of Eden, that Someone will come as a solution to the sin problem. This solution, Jesus Christ the Messiah, was to arise from the line of Abraham and Isaac (through Sarah). Hebrews 11:9 states that Isaac and Jacob were heirs to the promise of blessing that God made to Abraham.We don’t know exactly how much Abraham himself knew or understood of just how the promised Seed would arise through him, but he moved out in faith anyway. “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going” (Heb. 11:8, NKJV).What an example to us!Suppose you are called by God to go, “not knowing” where you are going. How do you respond, and why?
In order to reach others, God intends for us to move beyond our comfort zone. The desire to remain only with our own ilk and ethnic or social kind can lead to selfishness, even evil. This danger is one of the lessons derived from the story of Babel.Read Genesis 11:1–9. What were the intentions of the people? What were they wanting to do, and why would God thwart it?This story of the people at the Tower of Babel reveals their great ambition. They were planning to make a monumental structure—a city and a tower such as existed nowhere else in the world: “a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves” (Gen. 11:4, NIV).How often today do people seek to do the same? Whether through politics, art, business, even religion, it doesn’t matter. There are those who want to make a great name for themselves. In the end, how futile and meaningless their endeavors are. (See Eccles. 2:1–11.)The Bible says in Genesis 11:4 that these people wanted to build the tower so that they would avoid being scattered over the face of the earth. They wanted to stick together for their own selfish reasons. But God had another plan.These people were also united for this work. But “the Lord said, ‘If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them’ ” (Gen. 11:6, NIV). This ambitious plan of the people was, in fact, evil.Though Scripture does not say it explicitly, Ellen White says that they didn’t trust God’s promise that He would never destroy the earth with water again (Gen. 9:14, 15). They intended to build for their own perceived safety rather than to trust God’s Word. Whatever their ultimate motives, God knew that their intentions were not pure but were filled with selfish ambition, and so He prevented them from achieving their stated goals.Are you part of a group or ethnic community that is more comfortable among themselves? In what ways may you possibly engage with others who are not part of your race, ethnicity, or nationality?
Read for This Week’s StudyGen. 11:1–9, Gen. 12:1–3, Dan. 9:24–27, Matt. 1:21, Gen. 12:10–13:1, Acts 8:1–4, Acts 1:8.Memory Text:“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8, NKJV).God can sometimes move us out of our comfort zone and make us His witnesses. Sometimes this change can be used to accomplish His purposes, such as in the example of the dispersing of the people at the Tower of Babel. “This dispersion was the means of peopling the earth, and thus the Lord’s purpose was accomplished through the very means that men had employed to prevent its fulfillment.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 120. Abraham, meanwhile, went from his home country to another (Genesis 12) as a means of witness. The disciples of Jesus went from working among only their own people (Acts 3) to working for others, as well (Acts 8:1–4). In Acts 1:8, Jesus laid down a principle of evangelism: they would start locally, Jerusalem and Judea, then go to Samaria and, ultimately, to the ends of the earth.But even if we do not leave our country, God still wants us to reach out to the people around us. When the church in Jerusalem was becoming complacent, its members were dispersed. Though persecution came and people suffered, these unfortunate events became a means of spreading the good news all over the world.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, October 21.
For a witness unto all nations. “The Saviour’s words, ‘Ye are the light of the world,’ point to the fact that he has committed to his followers a world-wide mission. As the rays of the sun penetrate to the remotest corners of the globe, so God designs that the light of the gospel shall extend to every soul upon the earth. If the church of Christ were fulfilling the purpose of our Lord, light would be shed upon all that sit in darkness and in the region and shadow of death; instead of congregating together and shunning responsibility and cross-bearing, the members of the church would scatter into all lands, letting the light of Christ shine out from them, working as he did for the salvation of souls, and this ‘gospel of the kingdom’ would speedily be carried to all the world.“From all countries the Macedonian call is sounding, ‘Come over and help us.’ God has opened fields before us. Heavenly beings have been cooperating with men. Providence is going before us, and divine power is working with human effort. Blind indeed must be the eyes that do not see the working of the Lord, and deaf the ears that do not hear the call of the true Shepherd to his sheep. Some have heard the call of God, and have responded. Let every sanctified heart now respond, by seeking to proclaim the life-giving message. If men and women in humility and faithfulness will take up their God-given, appointed work, divine power will be revealed in the conversion of many to the truth. Wonderful will be the results of their efforts.”—Ellen G. White, Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, November 14, 1912.Discussion Questions:The credibility of the church’s influence in the community is determined mainly by the extent that we—the body of Christ—exemplify in our own lives God’s love in the fulfillment of His mission. How do you, personally, respond to this challenge?How do you think your church is seen and understood by its non-Adventist neighbors? How do you know? If the perception is positive, what can you do to strengthen it more? If it is negative, what can you do to change it?Why is keeping the “eternal gospel” as the center of our mission to the world so important? What ultimate hope can we present to anyone, anywhere, that is not centered on the great hope we have because of the gospel, the good news of what Jesus has done for us at the cross?
Read Revelation 7:9, 10. What does this text suggest about the far-reaching geographical scope of God’s mission?This week’s lesson has intentionally discussed two crucial mission texts that emphasize the centrality of disciple-making in the Great Commission and the message of the eternal gospel. Interestingly, both texts have at least a common connecting point: the “where” of mission. They read: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations” (Matt. 28:19, NKJV), “those who dwell on the earth—to _every nation, tribe, tongue, and people_” (Rev. 14:6, NKJV; emphasis added).In other words, the gospel of Christ is to reach all classes, all nations, all tongues, and all peoples. The influence of the gospel is to unite the saved in one great brotherhood. We have only one model to imitate, and that is Christ. If we accept the truth as it is in Jesus, national prejudices and jealousies will be broken down, and the spirit of truth will blend our hearts into one.When Jesus said, “ ‘You will be my witnesses’ ” (Acts 1:8, NRSV), He had three different geographical areas in mind:Area 1: “ ‘You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem.’ ” At that time, His disciples were very close to Jerusalem. So, Jesus was basically saying, “Begin to share your experience with God with people who are close to you.” Mission begins at home, with family, with neighbors, with friends. This is the initial place of mission.Area 2: He then continues: “ ‘in all Judea and Samaria.’ ” Our mission also involves those who are in some ways close but at the same time distant from us. In this group are people who may speak the same language that we speak—people who have a similar culture but do not live or share the same reality that we do. This is our further place of mission.Area 3: Beyond this, Christ says: “ ‘and to the end of the earth’ ” (NKJV). God’s mission calls us to reach individuals from all places, nations, people groups, languages, and ethnicities. This is our ultimate place of mission.Challenge: Pray every day this week for the community where you live. God has placed you there for a reason.Challenge Up: Research the demographics of your area (what kind of people live around you)—ethnic and religious background, old, young, poor, wealthy, languages spoken, and so on. Ask God to show you how you may be a channel of His love to them.
Throughout history, God has always had those who faithfully represented His character and, in obedience, followed His purposes. God’s people are those who have been called and who have accepted His invitation to be partakers of His grace. All of them have been—and continue to be—God’s instruments for the fulfillment of His mission.Read Genesis 12:1–3 and Deuteronomy 7:6, 11, 12. What was God’s original purpose for His people in the Old Testament?God’s covenant with Abraham and his descendants had a specific purpose. They were called, created, and commissioned to be agents of God’s mission—channels of blessings to the nations (compare with Deut. 28:10, Isa. 49:6). However, they were chosen within a covenant relationship with God, based on an implied conditionality of faith and obedience (Gen. 22:16–18; Exod. 19:5, 6; Deut. 28:1, 2; 2 Chron. 7:14). This process, that of attracting the surrounding nations to Israel, was God’s “mission strategy” in the Old Testament.In the New Testament, God’s mission continues. The risen Lord and Savior now launches a renewed “mission strategy” (see Matt. 28:18–20, Acts 1:8) in which Christ’s disciples—who comprise the church—go out in mission to the whole world instead of, as with ancient Israel, the world coming to it. Mission did not originate with the church. On the contrary, the church exists because God still has a mission to be fulfilled and is using His church to fulfill it.Yet, a question remains: What is the church’s mission? It is the same as that of the One who called the church into existence: “ ‘For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost’ ” (Luke 19:10, NIV). Though none of us in the church can save anyone, we can and must point others to the only One who can save, Jesus Christ.“The mission of the church of Christ is to save perishing sinners. It is to make known the love of God to men and to win them to Christ by the efficacy of that love.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 381. What a privilege and tremendous responsibility!Mission is to the church what air is to our lives. Without air, we die. Without mission, the church dies. What can you do, personally, to sustain the life of your church?
Read Revelation 14:6, 7. What aspects of God’s mission can you identify in the “eternal gospel” (NRSV) presented by the first angel of the three angels’ messages?This is the only place in Scripture in which the words “eternal” and “gospel” are connected. The gospel is the good news of grace offered to all through Jesus Christ. He came into our world to show us “grace and truth” (John 1:14). He lived a sinless life and died on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice to bear the penalty of our sins (Isa. 53:4, 5; 1 Pet. 3:18). He rose to life, returned to heaven, was exalted by the Father, and today intercedes for us in the heavenly sanctuary (Rev. 1:18, Acts 2:33, Heb. 7:25). He will soon fulfill His greatest promise—to return in majesty and glory and, ultimately, after the millennium to establish God’s kingdom on earth (John 14:1–4, Acts 1:11, Rev. 21:1–4). These are all essential realities of the eternal gospel.Nevertheless, the fact that this message is eternal is remarkable. There is only one gospel that can save us. It will remain the same until the mission of God is fully accomplished. There will never be another gospel. Deceitful teachings and doctrines come and go (Eph. 4:14), but the message of salvation, the eternal gospel, is unchanging, and those who believe and live it in obedience will be rewarded (see Deut. 5:33, Rom. 2:6).The same commission given to the first disciples also is given to us today. We must continue the task of making disciples for Christ everywhere. But what kind of disciples? Good, honest, fully devoted, loving people? These traits are essential, but they are not enough. We must make disciples focused on all biblical elements of discipleship (Luke 9:23; John 13:34, 35; 2 Cor. 5:17) with an ultimate purpose: being prepared and preparing others for the second coming of the Master, Jesus Christ.“The proclamation of the judgment [Rev. 14:6, 7] is an announcement of Christ’s second coming as at hand. And this proclamation is called the everlasting gospel. Thus the preaching of Christ’s second coming, the announcement of its nearness, is shown to be an essential part of the gospel message.”—Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, pp. 227, 228.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?
Read Matthew 28:16–20. What elements of discipleship can you identify in this passage?Matthew 28:16–20 declares the biblical mandate, commonly identified as the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18–20), in which Jesus instructs His followers to move outward and make disciples, teaching them in faith, and initiating them into fellowship (see also Mark 16:15, 16; Luke 24:44–49; John 20:21–23; Acts 1:8).The basic components of Matthew 28:16–20 can be seen in four simple aspects: (1) Jesus commands His disciples to go to Galilee to be with Him (Matt. 28:16, 17); (2) Jesus comes to them, declaring His authority and sovereignty (Matt. 28:18); (3) Jesus then commissions His disciples to a specific task—namely, make disciples—(Matt. 28:19, 20); and finally, (4) Jesus promises to be with His disciples until the end (Matt. 28:20).Disciple-making is the primary focus of the Great Commission, and the main task of mission. Literally, in the original Greek language, the beginning of Matthew 28:19 says, “Having gone, therefore, make disciples [. . .]” The “therefore” gives to the commission its foundation on what has just been presented (Matt. 28:18): Jesus’ power, authority, and sovereignty—all these coming from the victory attained in His resurrection.It is important to highlight that the only action verb with imperative force in the Great Commission is “make disciples.” Teaching everyone, baptizing them, and sharing Jesus’ teachings to the whole world are the characteristics of the discipleship process. Here Jesus is clearly directing His disciples toward one purpose: making disciples. This is indeed one of the greatest mission passages in all of Scripture. It ends with Jesus’ promise of continuous presence with His followers.Obviously, the Great Commission was intended to be for more than just the first disciples gathered in that particular circumstance. They could not go to “all nations” by themselves in order to fulfill the new given mission of making disciples. Therefore, the commission is universal in its scope: every true follower of Jesus Christ should be engaged in disciple-making. Furthermore, the message to be conveyed—the eternal gospel of Jesus Christ—is intended for the whole world, with no geographical, social, or ethnic limitations.The mission is to “make disciples.” How is this mandate of the Master affecting how you live and minister to others? What can you do to be more involved in what you have been called to do?
The mission of God in Scripture has Jesus at the front and center as the only way to salvation. Christ Himself declared: “ ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me’ ” (John 14:6, NKJV). But Jesus also helps us understand the centrality of the triune God to His mission.Everything Christ did was either for or from His heavenly Father (see John 4:34, John 5:30, John 12:45). However, we must always remember that Jesus’ mission did not begin when He came into the world. He had received it from the Father even before the creation of our world (compare with Eph. 1:4, 1 Pet. 1:20).Therefore, God planned His outreach to humanity even before He laid the foundations of our planet, and He intentionally entered into humanity’s history in order to accomplish this purpose.The Son created the world (John 1:3), and at “the fullness of the time” (Gal. 4:4, NKJV), God demonstrated His love by sending the Son here (John 3:16, 17). The Son came, died on the cross, and conquered death. Then, sent from the Father, the Spirit came here (John 14:26, John 16:7), convicts the world (John 16:8–11), and today continues the mission of the Father and the Son by empowering and by sending God’s people out for mission (John 14:26; John 16:13, 14).Read John 20:21, 22. How should the understanding that mission finds its origin in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit shape our mission?Even though the word “trinity” is not found in the Bible, mission-focused evidences involving all Three Persons of the Godhead are numerous. For instance, after His resurrection, Christ appeared to His disciples and promised them: “ ‘I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high’ ” (Luke 24:49, NIV; emphasis added). Here we find the reality of the Godhead’s mission in one sentence: the Father’s promise, the Son’s assurance of the fulfillment of the promise, and the promise itself, the coming of the Holy Spirit (see also Luke 3:16; Acts 1:4, 5, 8).We learn from this that the mission is not ours. It belongs to the triune God. As such, it will not fail.Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all involved in the work of saving souls. Why should you find this thought so comforting?
Read for This Week’s StudyJohn 20:21, 22; Matt. 28:16–20; Rev. 14:6, 7; Deut. 7:6, 11, 12; Rev. 7:9, 10.Memory Text:“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19, NKJV).The theme, that of God as a God of mission, runs throughout Scripture. It is the connecting thread of human history, and it demonstrates God’s purpose for His creation. Furthermore, it consolidates divine revelation with a main focus: the restoration of God’s image in His fallen children (compare with Col. 3:9, 10; 1 John 3:2).The mission of God also functions as the background through which we should see and understand God’s Word to us. When we read the Bible, we can identify a God who is intentionally reaching out to us. In spite of the separation caused by sin (Isa. 59:2), through His mission God continues to restore the broken relationship with humanity until the glorious moment when He will “make all things new” (Rev. 21:5, NKJV).In the meanwhile, God has chosen to manifest Himself to us in such a way that we can understand His nature and purpose, and above all, we can have a real and lasting relationship with Him. In other words, we not only come to know Him but also share, with others, our experience with Him and His saving love.In the Scriptures, then, God gives us the basic elements of what His mission is all about.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, October 14.
The plan for our redemption was not an afterthought, a plan formulated after the fall of Adam. It was a revelation of ‘the mystery which hath been kept in silence through times eternal.’ Romans 16:25, R. V. . . . It was an unfolding of the principles that from eternal ages have been the foundation of God’s throne. From the beginning, God and Christ knew of the apostasy of Satan, and of the fall of man through the deceptive power of the apostate. God did not ordain that sin should exist, but He foresaw its existence, and made provision to meet the terrible emergency. So great was His love for the world, that He covenanted to give His only-begotten Son, ‘that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ John 3:16.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 22.“Christ did not tell His disciples that their work would be easy. . . . But they would not be left to fight alone. He assured them that He would be with them; and that if they would go forth in faith, they should move under the shield of Omnipotence. . . . So long as they obeyed His word, and worked in connection with Him, they could not fail. Go to all nations, He bade them. Go to the farthest part of the habitable globe and be assured that My presence will be with you even there. Labor in faith and confidence; for the time will never come when I will forsake you. I will be with you always, helping you to perform your duty, guiding, comforting, sanctifying, sustaining you, giving you success in speaking words that shall draw the attention of others to heaven.”—Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 29.Discussion Questions:Think about what it means that God’s first words to fallen humanity were not “What have you done?” Or “Why have you disobeyed Me?” Instead the first words were, “Where are you?” What comfort should this truth give us regarding God’s intention for us and our loved ones?Think about what it means that God Himself, in the person of Jesus, came to this world in order to save us. Christ on the cross was the ultimate manifestation of God as a God of mission. What does this tell us about His character?The mission belongs to God. Therefore, He will equip and empower people for the task. In light of this reality, when you look at the challenges of worldwide evangelization, how can you deal with feelings and attitudes of inadequacy or fear?
Read John 14:1–3. In what ways is it connected with the end-time message found in the Scriptures?During His earthly ministry, one of Christ’s most precious promises, the blessed hope, reflects once again the Creator’s desire to be with us for eternity. Jesus affirmed, “ ‘I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am’ ” (John 14:3, NIV; emphasis added).According to the apostle John, the promise will finally become reality. “And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God” (Rev. 21:3, NKJV).“The work of redemption will be complete. In the place where sin abounded, God’s grace much more abounds. The earth itself, the very field that Satan claims as his, is to be not only ransomed but exalted. . . . Here, where the Son of God tabernacled in humanity; where the King of glory lived and suffered and died,—here, when He shall make all things new, the tabernacle of God shall be with men. . . . And through endless ages as the redeemed walk in the light of the Lord, they will praise Him for His unspeakable Gift,—Immanuel, ‘God with us.’ ”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 26.Here we find the most beautiful picture of Redemption. The God of mission will finally fulfill His desire to be with His children eternally. What a tremendous privilege to be part of this reality!Weekly Challenges. Throughout this quarter you will be invited to engage intentionally in God’s mission. This will be an opportunity to see and experience the God of mission at work in your life. Take advantage of this moment for personal reflection and be ready to share what you have learned with your class on a weekly basis. Additionally, the Challenge Up will encourage you to increase your involvement in God’s mission.Challenge: Pray every day of the coming week for God to open your heart to be part of His mission.Challenge Up: Learn the name of someone in your life you don’t already know—a neighbor, coworker, shopkeeper, bus driver, janitor, etc. Begin praying for him or her each day.
Jesus’ life and ministry were God’s ultimate revelation. In about three years God was able to reveal more about who He was and what His mission was all about than in all He had done through any other method in previous generations. Christ was the perfect “image of the invisible God,” the One in whom “all the fullness should dwell, . . . having made peace through the blood of His cross” (Col. 1:15, 19, 20, NKJV). In Christ, the missionary nature of God was completely made known. Jesus Himself revealed His mission, saying, “ ‘the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost’ ” (Luke 19:10, NKJV).Read and carefully reflect on John 3:16. How do you see God’s love and mission interacting here?Later in His ministry, when Jesus approached His last week of life, humanity’s final destiny was at stake. The events that took place during those days connected the expectation from the past with hope for the future. During the Passover celebration—which pointed to freedom from the Egyptian oppression—Jesus Christ, the incarnated God, gave up His life to deliver us from the bondage of sin. The apostle Paul wrote, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21, NIV).Read Matthew 28:18–20. What is the promise we can find in the Great Commission? How does it bring assurance for us as we get involved in God’s mission?Christ’s death was part of the reconciliation process, not the end of it. Through His resurrection, Jesus conquered death and received “ ‘all authority . . . in heaven and on earth’ ” (Matt. 28:18, NKJV). Based on this reality, He then commissioned all of His followers to make disciples around the world, with an awesome promise: “ ‘I am with you always, even to the end of the age’ ” (Matt. 28:20, NKJV; emphasis supplied).In what ways have you seen Jesus’ promise to be “with you always” being fulfilled in your own life as you are engaged in mission?
The Old Testament presents how the Creator began to implement a plan through a people who were supposed to represent His nature and purpose to the world. Everything God did was according to His missionary strategy. Through the prophet Isaiah, God said: “ ‘I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, . . . saying, “My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure” ’ ” (Isa. 46:9, 10, NASB). In the New Testament, however, God’s desire to be with humanity takes a new dimension. Through Christ’s incarnation, what was only a promise in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:15) becomes a reality.Read the narrative of the announcement of Jesus’ birth in Matthew 1:18–23. What essential things does this account tell us about God?“God with us.” Immanuel. God had dwelt among His people within the sanctuary, and now He dwelt with them in the physical person of Jesus of Nazareth. Indeed, with the birth of Jesus, God presented in concrete ways His continuous desire to be with us in nature and mission: the Son of God was fully human and fully divine, and He is the One who affirmed, “ ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me’ ” (John 14:6, NKJV).Read John 1:14–18. What can you learn from Christ’s incarnation about God’s mission to us?God moved forward with His mission and then, through Jesus Christ, was present in the flesh among His children. The “one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14, NIV), fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies and, in accordance with the divine plan, became one with us, God in human flesh. The God of mission was continuing to accomplish His purpose.Think what it means that God’s love for us is so great that He would come to us in our own humanity. How should we respond to this love, especially in terms of mission to others?
Read Genesis 17:7, Genesis 26:3, and Genesis 28:15. What was the main focus of God’s promise to Abraham and his descendants in these verses?In the Old Testament narrative, God continues to act according to His missionary nature in order to fulfill His purposes. For instance, after the Flood the people of Babel decided to gather in one place to build a city and a tower that would reach to the heavens. God intervened, confusing their language with the goal to scatter them around the world (Gen. 11:1–9). He then enlarged His mission, calling Abram (who later became Abraham) to be a channel of His blessings to the whole world (Gen. 12:1–3). God’s promises to Abraham and his descendants were multifold, but one emerges above all. Several times God basically declared to them: “I will be [your] God.” “I will be with you.” “I am with you” (see Gen. 17:7, 8; Gen. 26:3, NKJV; Gen. 28:15, NKJV).As history goes on, Joseph ends up in Egypt, but as an instrument of salvation to God’s people. In every step of Joseph’s experience—even in the most difficult moments of his life—the Bible affirms that “the Lord was with” him (Gen. 39:2, 21, 23). Generations later, in the fulfillment of His mission, God then sent Moses to Pharaoh as the deliverer of His people from Egyptian slavery. During Moses’ “commissioning,” God said to him: “I will certainly be with you” (Exod. 3:12, NKJV). Time after time, Yahweh confirmed His deep desire to be with His people.Read Exodus 29:43, 45. What was one of the main purposes of the Old Testament sanctuary? God decided to be with His children in a different way. He confirmed to Moses His longing to dwell among the children of Israel in the building of the tabernacle and the establishment of a very intentional and purposeful system that would point to the ultimate instrument of His mission: Jesus Christ. “The sacrificial offerings, and the priesthood of the Jewish system, were instituted to represent the death and mediatorial work of Christ. All those ceremonies had no meaning, and no virtue, only as they related to Christ.”—Ellen G. White, Advent Review and Herald of the Sabbath, December 17, 1872.What are ways that you experience God’s presence in your life?
God created us in His image and likeness. He gave us a perfect world, and His purpose was that we would live in perfect connection with Him, a relationship centered in His most precious attribute: love. But for love to be real, God also gave us another precious gift: free will—the freedom to choose which way to follow. Of course, God gave clear instructions to Adam and Eve about the danger and deadly consequences of disobedience (Gen. 2:16, 17). Satan, in turn, deceptively persuaded Eve that she could eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but without any negative results. On the contrary, he claimed that they would “be like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:5, NKJV). Unfortunately, Eve chose to eat and gave the fruit to Adam, who made the same choice. The perfect creation, then, was stained by sin.That moment changed God’s original plan and purpose for the newly created planet Earth. The mission of salvation, which had been designed “before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4), had now to be implemented.Read Genesis 3:9–15. What were God’s first words to Adam after he and Eve fell, and why is that statement so significant theologically even today?Of course, God knew exactly where they were. Dominated by fear, Adam and Eve were the ones who needed to see what was going on. But they also needed to be confronted so they could understand the dreadful consequences of their sin. Satan also needed to be defeated. For that, God then began to present His mission: the plan of redemption (see Gen. 3:14, 15)—the only hope of “reconciling the world to Himself” (2 Cor. 5:19, NKJV).We need to pay close attention, however, to the fact that before the confrontation and the promise of reconciliation, God came looking for fallen humanity. In spite of the seemingly hopeless situation, God essentially addresses two issues in His question to Adam: our fallen state and His missionary nature. We are lost and in desperate need of salvation. He is the One who finds us with the determination to save and to be with us.Throughout history, God continues to ask: “Where are you?” In your personal experience, what does this mean for you, and how have you answered Him?
Read for This Week’s StudyGen. 3:9–15; Gen. 28:15; Exod. 29:43, 45; Matt. 1:18–23; John 1:14–18; John 3:16; John 14:1–3.Memory Text:“Then the Lord God called Adam and said to him, ‘Where are you?’ ” (Genesis 3:9, NKJV).Mission finds its origin and purpose only in God. This mission did not begin with Abram’s call (Gen. 12:1–4) or with the Exodus (Exod. 12:31–42). It did not begin even with Jesus Christ on the earth (Matt. 1:18–25) or with Paul’s missionary journeys (Acts 13:4–14:26). This mission began with God Himself, when He brought the universe into existence and later created humanity (Gen. 1:26, 27).In the Scriptures, we see a God who intentionally reaches out and desires to be with His children. From the beginning, He establishes a relationship with Adam and Eve. Even after sin enters, He continues His mission, but now it is to reestablish His relationship with humanity. In the end, God’s mission will be accomplished (Revelation 21, 22), which is why we should be motivated in the work of proclaiming the eternal gospel to the world (Rev. 14:6, 7).The foundation of any mission endeavor, therefore, must be centered on a relationship with the Creator and with the proper understanding of His missionary nature and character. But before we understand the mission of God, it is essential to better understand the God of mission.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, October 7.
We conclude by reflecting on Ephesians 6, where we discover that we, the church, are the peace-waging army of God.In Ephesians, Paul has portrayed the church as the body of Christ (Eph. 1:22, 23; Eph. 4:11–16), as God’s temple (Eph. 2:19–22), and as the bride/wife of Christ (Eph. 5:21–33). In Ephesians 6:10–20, Paul describes the church as God’s army and offers a vigorous call to arms. It is a passage that offers much benefit and risks misunderstanding.We could misunderstand Paul’s words as a call to take up military weapons or to be combative in our relationships with others. Paul, though, has been emphasizing unity, edifying speech, and tenderheartedness (see especially Eph. 4:25–5:2). He describes God’s good news as “the gospel of peace” (Eph. 6:15). Through this vivid military metaphor, the church is not exhorted to wage war in the traditional sense. Rather, we are to wage peace in the spiritual battle against evil. Paul steps onto the battlefield of the great controversy and calls us to enlist in God’s army.We should do so with a realistic assessment of the enemy in view since it will never do to underestimate the forces arrayed against us. We don’t confront just human enemies but “spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12, NKJV), led by a wily general, the devil (Eph. 6:11). However, we need not be daunted by our enemies. God is present with us in the battle (Eph. 6:10) and has supplied us with the finest of weaponry, His own armor, the “armor of God” (Eph. 6:11; compare Isa. 59:15–17). He has placed at our disposal truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and the Spirit (Eph. 6:13–17). With God going before us and our being equipped from head to toe in the armor He has supplied, we cannot fail. Victory is assured.Discussion Questions:Though we are not saved by our works, what does Paul mean when he writes that we were “created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10, NKJV)? What, then, is the purpose of our good works?Paul writes: “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (Eph. 3:20, NKJV). What power works in us, and how should this power be made manifest in our lives?
As you read Ephesians 5, reflect on how Paul asks us to live out the gospel in our relationships with others. Which of his exhortations is especially meaningful to you?If you start reading Ephesians 5 at its beginning, you may miss the full power of an important theme. So, start instead with Ephesians 4:32, in which Paul tells the Ephesians to “be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (NKJV).As believers, we are called to model our behavior toward others on God’s forgiveness and grace toward us. We are to imitate God! (Compare Matt. 5:43–48.)Paul contrasts this imitating-the-love-of-God lifestyle with the usual, pagan approach. Instead of treasuring others as brothers or sisters in the family of God, humans all too often use others for their own sexual pleasure and then brag about it (Eph. 5:3, 4). He warns that such an approach has no future in the new world God is planning (Eph. 5:5–7).Instead, believers are to turn from the darkness of their past and “walk as children of light” (Eph. 5:8–10), mimicking the Father’s love. Again, Paul warns us away from “works of darkness” done “in secret” (Eph. 5:11, 12). By contrast, we are to live in the light of Christ (Eph. 5:13, 14). Rather than wasting our lives in drunkenness, we will be “redeeming the time” by offering thanks to God for His love (see Eph. 5:15–21).Paul extends his theme of imitating God’s love as he advises Christian husbands and wives. Christ’s self-sacrificing love for the church becomes the model for Christian husbands (Eph. 5:25–33), while the loyalty of the church toward Christ becomes the model for Christian wives (Eph. 5:22–24). Rather than using the gift of human sexuality in a debauched and selfish way, a Christian husband and wife focus on valuing and treasuring each other, becoming “one flesh” (Eph. 5:28–33).“Be imitators of God as dear children” (Eph. 5:1, NKJV). By God’s grace, you are called today to live out that exhortation in your relationships with others.How does Ephesians 5:2, which tells us to “walk in love,” help us understand what Paul means in Ephesians 5:1 about being “imitators of God”?
In Ephesians 4, Paul asks believers to stop doing some things and to be sure to do others. What are those things?Ephesians 4 begins and ends with calls to care for each other as church members (Eph. 4:1–3, 32). Between these invitations, Paul offers strong support for the idea that we should nourish unity in the church. He begins by listing seven “ones”: There is one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord (Jesus Christ), one faith, one baptism, one God and Father (Eph. 4:4–6). We are bound together by these spiritual realities. We are, in fact, united.While unity is a theological certainty, it requires our hard work. So, we should always be “endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit” (Eph. 4:3, NKJV). One way each of us may do so is by being an active “part” of the body of Christ (Eph. 4:7–16). Every member is a gifted part of the body and should contribute to the health of it (Eph. 4:7, 16). And all should benefit by the work of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers (Eph. 4:11, 12). These, like ligaments and tendons, have a unifying function, helping us grow up together into Christ who is the Head of the body (Eph. 4:13, 15).At the time, Paul also told them “that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting” (Eph. 4:14, NKJV), words that clearly suggest that the early church faced some internal struggles from “the trickery of men.”As Paul moves toward his final appeal, to “be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another” (Eph. 4:32, NKJV), he asks believers to avoid their former hard-heartedness (Eph. 4:17–24) and to avoid anger and harsh speech, substituting instead language that builds up and imparts grace (Eph. 4:25–31).This chapter on unity is easy enough to read when things are peaceful. It is more challenging—and important—to read it when we become embroiled in some conflict. Are you remembering today to experience the unity of the body of Christ, the unity for which He died?What are ways that we can contribute to the unity of our church, both at the local and worldwide levels? Why is it important that we do what we can?
Why is it both important and exciting to be part of God’s church? Ephesians 3.We are encouraged when we hear church members say positive things about the church. However, the most enthusiastic among us falls short of Paul’s exuberant testimony in Ephesians 3 about the church. Paul starts a report of his prayers for believers in Ephesus (Eph. 3:1; compare Eph. 1:15–23, NKJV) but breaks off to discuss God’s creation of the church (Eph. 3:2–13), and then completes his prayer report (Eph. 3:14–21). Along the way we come to understand important things about God’s “plan” or “mystery”:In eternity, God conceives of “the mystery” or “the plan” about the church (Eph. 3:3–5, 9, 11).Through the life and death of Jesus, that long-hidden plan is “accomplished” (Eph. 3:11, NKJV; compare Eph. 2:11–22).By revelation, Paul learns “the mystery” of the church and the astonishing fact that Gentiles are to be full partners in it (Eph. 3:3–6).Paul participates in spreading this good news as preacher to the Gentiles of “the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Eph. 3:8, 9).With many won to Christ, the church, composed as it is of both Jews and Gentiles, displays “the manifold wisdom of God” to “the principalities and powers in the heavenly places” (Eph. 3:10, NKJV), announcing their coming doom (compare Eph. 6:10–20). The plan to unite all things in Christ (Eph. 1:10) is underway, and their time is short.This understanding of the church motivates Paul to pray for believers. Why not imagine him praying the heartfelt prayer of Ephesians 3:14–21 about you? Why not imagine him praying that you will be “filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:19) and participate fully in the amazing, unfolding mystery of a unified church?What are the kinds of barriers between believers in our church that, in light of what Paul has written, should not be there? What can you do to help remove them?
As you read Ephesians 2, seek to answer the following question: What has God done for us through His Son Jesus Christ?“But God. . . .” Those two words must be the most hope-filled ones known to humankind. In Ephesians 2:1–10, Paul describes the grim past of his audience. Sharing the plight of all humanity, they were bent toward rebellion against God, their lives dominated by sin and Satan (Eph. 2:1–3). “But God, who is rich in mercy . . . ” And what did God do for them and for us? (1) He made us alive with Christ—Christ’s resurrection is our own. (2) He raised us up with Christ—Christ’s ascension is our own. (3) In heaven, He seated us with Christ—Christ’s coronation is our own (Eph. 2:4–7). We are not just bystanders to the cosmos-shifting events of Christ’s life! God takes these remarkable actions, not because of any merit in us but because of His grace (Eph. 2:8, 9), and He intends believers to live in solidarity with Jesus and practice “good works” (Eph. 2:10).If Ephesians 2:1–10 teaches that we live in solidarity with Jesus, Ephesians 2:11–22 teaches that we live in solidarity with others as part of His church. Jesus’ death has both vertical benefits, establishing the believer’s relationship with God (Eph. 2:1–10), and horizontal ones, cementing our relationships with others (Eph. 2:11–22). Through His cross, Jesus demolishes all that divides Gentile believers from Jewish ones, including the misuse of the Law to widen the gulf (Eph. 2:11–18). Jesus also builds something—an amazing, new temple composed of believers. Gentiles, once excluded from worship in sacred places of the temple, now join Jewish believers in becoming one. We, too, become part of God’s church, a “holy temple in the Lord” (Eph. 2:19–22).Through the grace of God, you have the privilege of living this day in solidarity with Jesus and your fellow believers.Ephesians 2:8–10 has played a role in the conversion of many. Martin Luther found in these verses a grace that won his heart, and he discovered as well some central affirmations of the Reformation: salvation comes by faith alone, through grace alone, by Christ alone, and to the glory of God alone. In 1738, eighteen days after experiencing conversion in London’s Aldersgate Street, John Wesley preached at Oxford University, offering “a cry from the heart” and “the manifesto of a new movement.” His text? Ephesians 2:8. (See A. Skevington Wood, “Strangely Warmed: The Wesleys and the Evangelical Awakening,” Christian History [magazine], vol. 5, no. 1 [1984]).
Someone has described Ephesians as the Alps of the New Testament. Paul, our mountaineering guide, takes us on a rapid ascent in Ephesians 1. We are quickly breathless and amazed at the view from the summit.Reflect on Ephesians 1. What especially inspires you? What peaks do you see?Ephesians 1:3–14 functions like a map at a mountain’s summit that identifies the peaks on the horizon, as Paul orients us to our blessed place in the vast landscape of the plan of salvation. The scenery covers the full span of salvation history, from eternity past, through God’s grace-filled actions in Christ, to eternity future. God’s redemption of believers reflects divine initiatives taken “before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4), which are now being worked out in our lives (see Eph. 1:7, 8, 13, 14). These pre-Creation strategies will be fully accomplished at the end of time (Eph. 1:9, 10). Then, “all things,” both “in heaven” and “on earth” will be gathered together or united in Christ, and God’s plan for “the fullness of time” (ESV) will be fulfilled (Eph. 1:10). Then, we will experience fully God’s mysterious plan (Eph. 1:9). In the present, we may be certain that the Christ-centered salvation in which we stand is an important part of God’s wide-reaching plan for the redemption of “all things.”Being on a mountaintop inspires thanksgiving. In Ephesians 1:15–19, Paul gives thanks to God as he prays that believers may experience the salvation God has planned for them. We find ourselves on another steep climb as he points us upward to the risen, ascended, exalted Christ, who rules over every imaginable power for all time (Eph. 1:20–23).Through the grace of God expressed in Christ Jesus, we may live this day on the mountaintop!Ephesians 1:4 tells us that Christ “chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love” (NKJV). Think about what that means. Chosen in Him before the world existed! What great hope should this offer you in regard to God’s desire for you to be saved?
Read for This Week’s StudyEphesians 1–Ephesians 6.Memory Text:“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8–10, NKJV).Visitors to London climb on board the London Eye, a Ferris-wheel-like attraction. From 450 feet above the River Thames you can see it all: Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, and the many historic palaces and cathedrals. For New Testament scholar Nicholas Thomas “Tom” Wright, “the letter to the Ephesians stands in relation to the rest of Paul’s letters rather like the London Eye. It isn’t the longest or fullest of his writings, but it offers a breathtaking view of the entire landscape. From here, as the wheel turns, you get a bird’s-eye view of one theme after another.”—Paul for Everyone: The Prison Letters (London: S.P.C.K. [Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge Publishing], 2004), p. 3.In Ephesians, Paul is not focused on issues of local concern. The letter reads as though Paul were addressing believers everywhere and Christian churches wherever they exist. The letter’s timeless feel allows the “breathtaking view” Paul offers to invade our own world and thought. As we review each chapter, let’s keep this question in mind: What important truths embedded in Ephesians should continue to shape our lives as believers?*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, September 30.
“An army in battle would become confused and weakened unless all worked in concert. If the soldiers should act out their own impulsive ideas, without reference to each other’s positions and work, they would be a collection of independent atoms; they could not do the work of an organized body. So the soldiers of Christ must act in harmony. They alone must not be cherished. If they do this, the Lord’s people in the place of being in perfect harmony, of one mind, one purpose, and consecrated to one grand object, will find efforts fruitless, their time and capabilities wasted. Union is strength. A few converted souls acting in harmony, acting for one grand purpose, under one head, will achieve victories at every encounter.”—Ellen G. White, Spalding and Magan Collection, p. 121.What is the significance of Paul’s labeling himself “an ambassador in chains” (Eph. 6:20, ESV)? Ambassadors often played challenging roles during wartime; so, Paul’s self-description fits the context of his military metaphor. Ambassadors were to be treated with the respect due the person or country that sent them. So there is stark contrast between Paul’s status as ambassador for the Supreme Ruler of the cosmos and the utter disrespect signaled by his chains (literally, “chain”). However, since ambassadors would wear a “chain of office,” Paul’s mention of a “chain” may be “spiced with irony,” in which he sees his chain as “a decoration to be worn with distinction.”—David J. Williams, Paul’s Metaphors: Their Context and Character (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1999), p. 152.Discussion Questions:In your corner of a world divided and at war, what does it mean for you and your congregation to “wage peace”? How can we be agents of peace in a world so increasingly characterized by aggression and violence?What particular “fiery darts” are being hurled in your direction? How can you ensure that the “shield of faith” is in place to extinguish them?We sometimes speak of “prayer warriors.” How might we conduct “prayer ministry” based on Ephesians 6:18–20?How should we treat those who are wounded on the battlefield of the great controversy? How should we treat the Christian believer who, in the heat of the battle, flees out of fear or openly capitulates to the other side?
In concluding his battle exhortation, Paul urges believers as soldiers to participate in crucial, continuing prayer “for all the saints” (Eph. 6:18, NKJV) and for himself as imprisoned ambassador (Eph. 6:19, 20). This call to prayer can be seen as an extension of the military imagery, since calling out to God (or to the gods) in prayer was a common practice on the ancient battlefield. To cite a biblical example: following the battle exhortation of Jahaziel, Jehoshaphat leads “all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem” in falling down “before the Lord, worshiping the Lord” (2 Chron. 20:18, ESV). While prayer is not a seventh piece of armor, it is an integral part of Paul’s battle exhortation and military metaphor.In the first of two prayer requests, Paul asks the addressees to participate in fervent, urgent, and perseverant prayer “for all the saints” (Eph. 6:18, NKJV). If the church is to be successful in its battle against the powers of evil, it will need to practice dependence on God through Spirit-inspired prayer.Paul’s second prayer request is for himself: “and also for me” (Eph. 6:19, ESV). He asks for prayer that God might grant him the right message (“that words may be given to me”), at the right time (“in opening my mouth”), delivered in the right way (“boldly to proclaim”), and addressing a most important theme, “the mystery of the gospel” (Eph. 6:19, ESV). This last phrase refers to what we might call the “open secret” of God’s intervention in Christ to redeem Gentiles along with Jews (see Eph. 3:1–13), creating “one new humanity” (Eph. 2:15, NIV; see also Eph. 2:11–22) as a signal of the overarching plan “to unite all things” in Christ (Eph. 1:10, ESV).Review the following “calls to prayer” in the New Testament. Which one inspires you most? Why? Luke 18:1–8, Phil. 4:6, Col. 4:2, 1 Thess. 5:16–18.Why are believers so often urged to participate in earnest, persevering prayer? Paul’s military metaphor suggests two answers: (1) the threat of spiritual battle against an array of supernatural enemies is dire and real; and (2) God’s promises of spiritual strength and victory are illustrated through Paul’s military imagery (Eph. 6:10–17). Earnest, persevering prayer provides opportunity for us to listen carefully to these promises, to celebrate them, and to thank God for the resources of His grace.
When and how should believers as combatants in the great controversy use the shield, the helmet, and the sword? Eph. 6:16, 17.Paul’s shield is the large, rectangular shield of a Roman legionnaire. Made with wood and covered with leather, its edges curved inward to guard against attacks from the side. When soaked in water, shields were “able to quench . . . fiery darts” (NKJV), extinguishing arrows dipped in pitch and set on fire. Paul’s description of the “shield of faith” reflects the Old Testament use of the shield as a symbol of God, who protects His people (Gen. 15:1, Ps. 3:3). To take up “the shield of faith” (Eph. 6:16) is to enter the cosmic battle with confidence in God, who fights on behalf of believers (Eph. 6:10), supplies the finest weaponry (Eph. 6:11, 13), and who ensures victory.At the same time, the Roman battle helmet was made of iron or bronze. To the bowl that protected the head were added a plate at the back to guard the neck, ear guards, a brow ridge, and hinged plates to protect the cheeks. Given the essential protection the helmet provided, “the helmet of salvation” (Eph. 6:17) symbolizes the present salvation believers experience in solidarity with the resurrected, ascended, and exalted Christ (Eph. 2:6–10). To put on “the helmet of salvation” means to reject the fear of spiritual powers so common in the time and, instead, to trust in the supreme power of Christ (compare Eph. 1:15–23, Eph. 2:1–10).The final item of armor is “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Eph. 6:17), referring to the Roman legionnaire’s short, two-edged sword. The usual battle tactic was to throw two javelins (not mentioned by Paul) and then draw the sword and charge, employing the short sword in a thrusting motion. The believers’ sword is “the sword of the Spirit” in that it is supplied by the Spirit, a weapon identified as “the word of God.” Paul steps forward as general and issues a call to arms, speaking promises of hope and victory from the divine Commander in Chief. It is these promises, issued in Ephesians 6:10–20, that constitute “the word of God” as the lead weapon in the battle against evil. The “word of God,” then, refers to the broad promises of the gospel that we find in the Bible.Even if we might not like so many military images, what should this imagery teach us about just how literal the great controversy really is and how seriously we should take it?
A Roman soldier, preparing for battle, would tie on a pair of sturdy, military sandals. A multilayered sole featured rugged hobnails, helping the soldier hold his ground and “stand” (Eph. 6:11, 13, 14). Paul explains this military footwear with language from Isaiah 52:7, which celebrates the moment when a messenger brings the news that Yahweh’s battle on behalf of His people is won (Isa. 52:8–10) and peace now reigns: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace” (Isa. 52:7, ESV).Review the eight times Paul highlights peace in Ephesians. Why does he use a detailed military metaphor when he is so interested in peace? Eph. 1:2; Eph. 2:14, 15, 17; Eph. 4:3; Eph. 6:15, 23.Paul celebrates peace as the work of Christ, “our peace,” the One who preaches peace “to you who were far off and peace to those who were near” (Eph. 2:14–17, ESV), drawing Jew and Gentile together into “one new humanity” (Eph. 2:15, NIV). By keeping alive the gospel story of Christ’s rescue and His creative work of peace, by celebrating His victory past and looking toward the victory shout in the future, believers shod their feet and stand ready for battle. Like the messenger in Isaiah 52:7, believers are messengers proclaiming the victory of Christ and His peace.Paul, however, does not wish us to understand his call to arms as a call to take up military weapons against our enemies. That’s why he describes believers as proclaiming “the gospel of peace” (Eph. 6:15). Nor does he wish believers to be combative in their relationships with others, since he has been emphasizing unity, edifying speech, and tenderheartedness (see especially Eph. 4:25–5:2). The church is to “wage peace” by employing the gospel arsenal of Christian virtues (humility, patience, forgiveness, etc.) and practices (prayer, worship). Such acts are strategic, pointing toward God’s grand plan to unify all things in Christ (Eph. 1:9, 10).How does the following quote help us understand what Paul’s military imagery should mean in our lives as believers? “God calls upon us to put on the armour. We do not want Saul’s armour, but the whole armour of God. Then we can go forth to the work with hearts full of Christ-like tenderness, compassion, and love.”—Ellen G. White, [Australasian] Union Conference Record, July 28, 1899.
Bonus song: Hard Fighting Soldier (Alton Howard Singers) ChorusLord, I am a hard fighting soldieron the battlefield. {x3}And keep onbringing souls to Jesus,by the service that I yield.Verse 1I’ve got a helmet on my headand in my hand a sword and shield. {x3}And I keep on bringing souls to Jesus,by the service that I yield.Verse 2You've gotta walk right and talk rightand sing right and pray righton the battlefield. {x3}I keep on bringing souls to Jesus,by the service that I yield.Verse 3And when I die, let me diein the service of my Lord, {x3}I keep on bringing souls to Jesus,by the service that I yield.CCLI Song # 708Created with OpenSong
How does Paul imagine believers beginning their preparation for the battle against evil? Eph. 6:14; see also 1 Pet. 4:1, 1 Pet. 5:8, Rom. 8:37–39.Paul’s warning of an intense battle (Eph. 6:13) prepares readers for his final call to stand (his fourth, compare Eph. 6:11, 13) and is a detailed call to arms (Eph. 6:14–17). Paul describes the action of “girding up one’s waist” (compare Isa. 11:5). Ancient, loose-fitting garments needed to be tied up around the waist before work or battle (compare Luke 12:35, 37; Luke 17:8). Paul imagines the believer suiting up in armor as would a Roman legionnaire, beginning with the leather military belt with its decorative belt plates and buckle. From the belt hung a number of leather straps covered with metal discs, together forming an “apron” worn as a badge of rank for visual effect. It served the essential function of tying up the garments and holding other items in place.Truth is not the believers’ own; it is a gift of God (compare salvation in Eph. 2:8). It is not, though, to remain abstract, a distant asset without any transforming impact on their lives. They are to “put on” God’s truth, to experience and use this divine gift. They do not so much possess God’s truth as God’s truth possesses and protects them.Paul next urges believers to put on “the breastplate of righteousness” (compare 1 Thess. 5:8). Like the belt of truth, it is of divine origin, being part of the armor of Yahweh in His role as the divine warrior (Isa. 59:17). The body armor used by soldiers in Paul’s day was made of mail (small, intertwined iron rings), scale armor (small, overlapping scales of bronze or iron), or bands of overlapping iron fastened together. This body armor or breastplate protected the vital organs from the blows and thrusts of the enemy. In an analogous way, believers are to experience the spiritual protection offered by God’s protective gift of righteousness. In Ephesians, Paul associates righteousness with holiness, goodness, and truth (Eph. 4:24, Eph. 5:9), thinking of it as the quality of treating others justly and well, especially fellow church members.In what ways have you experienced the idea that goodness, holiness, and truth can be a protection?
Read Ephesians 6:10–20. What is Paul saying about the kind of warfare the church is engaged in? Is Paul primarily depicting just an individual believer’s spiritual battle against evil, or the church’s corporate war against evil?Victory in Greek and Roman warfare was dependent on the cooperation of the soldiers in a military unit and especially in their support for each other in the heat of battle. Individualism in battle was regarded as a characteristic of barbarian warriors, dooming them to defeat.There are important reasons to support the idea that Paul, in line with this usual military understanding, is primarily addressing the church’s shared battle against evil in Ephesians 6:10–20: (1) The passage is the climax of a letter that is all about the church. It would be strange for Paul to conclude his letter with a picture of a lone Christian warrior doing battle against the foes of darkness; (2) At the end of the passage, Paul highlights Christian camaraderie in his call to prayer “for all the saints” (Eph. 6:18–20, ESV); (3) Most significant of all, earlier in the letter when Paul discusses the powers of evil, he places them over against the church, not the individual believer: “So that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places” (Eph. 3:10, ESV).Thus, Ephesians 6:10–20 does not portray a solitary, lone warrior confronting evil. Instead, Paul as a general addresses the church as an army. He calls us to take up our full armor and, as a unified army, vigorously and unitedly press the battle. Paul chooses to conclude his thoroughgoing emphasis on the church, which has included sustained descriptions of the church as the body of Christ (Eph. 1:22, 23; Eph. 4:1–16), the building/temple of God (Eph. 2:19–22), and the bride of Christ (Eph. 5:21–33), with a final metaphor, the church as the army of the living God. Since we are approaching “the evil day” (Eph. 6:13), the final stages of the long-running battle against evil, it is no time to be fuzzy about our commitment to God or our loyalty to one another as fellow soldiers of Christ.In what ways can we, as a corporate body, work together in the great controversy, in order to help each other in our struggles against evil, in whatever form it comes?
Read for This Week’s StudyEph. 6:10–20, 1 Pet. 4:1, 1 Pet. 5:8, Isa. 59:17, Isa. 52:8–10, 1 Thess. 5:16–18.Memory Text:“In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:16, 17, ESV).In John Bunyan’s devotional classic, The Pilgrim’s Progress, written while he was in jail, Christian is escorted into a palace armory and shown “all manner of furniture [weaponry], which their Lord had provided for pilgrims, as sword, shield, helmet, breastplate, all-prayer, and shoes that would not wear out. And there was here enough of this to harness [fit] out as many men for the service of the Lord, as there be stars in the heaven for multitude.” Before Christian departs, he is again escorted into the armory where “they harnessed [fitted] him from head to foot with what was of proof [impenetrable], lest, perhaps, he should meet with assaults in the way.”Bunyan’s writing in 1678 recalls a document written some 1,600 years earlier by the apostle Paul, the Epistle to the Ephesians, also composed in prison. In it the great missionary apostle imagines a great army, the church, visiting God’s armory and suiting up in the divine panoplia, the Greek term for full, head-to-toe armor. God’s armory holds enough of the finest weaponry for every soldier in His army to be “clad with northern steel from top to toe,” as they set forth to wage peace in His name.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, September 23.
“Our work is an aggressive one, and as faithful soldiers of Jesus, we must bear the blood-stained banner into the very strongholds of the enemy. ‘We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.’ If we will consent to lay down our arms, to lower the blood-stained banner, to become the captives and servants of Satan, we may be released from the conflict and the suffering. But this peace will be gained only at the loss of Christ and heaven. We cannot accept peace on such conditions. Let it be war, war, to the end of earth’s history, rather than peace through apostasy and sin.”—Ellen G. White, Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, May 8, 1888.How does Ephesians 6:10–20 relate to the book of Revelation? The passage exhibits the same basic view of last-day events, or eschatology, as the battle motif in the book of Revelation (see Revelation 12, Rev. 16:12–16, Rev. 19:17–21, Rev. 20:7–10). In both, the people of God are under attack by the enemy who is “in heavenly places” and “is active and powerful in the present aeon” (or age). In both, the people of God are encouraged by “the picture of the future aeon.” Further, “both scenarios explicitly point to the final battle when the enemy will be conquered completely after which the new aeon will be established forever,” a new age in which “the final glorious state of the people of God” and “the eternal doom of the enemy” will be evident (see Yordan Kalev Zhekov, Eschatology of Ephesians [Osijek, Croatia: Evangelical Theological Seminary, 2005], pp. 217, 233–235).Discussion Questions:When have you most clearly confronted the powers of darkness? What have you found to be the most helpful strategies at those times?Informed by Ephesians 6:10–20, how would you minister to someone who seems especially oppressed by “the spiritual forces of evil” (Eph. 6:12, ESV)?How do we best discern and reject “the schemes of the devil” (Eph. 6:11, ESV)? For example, how often do you feel ready to give up your faith because you feel that you are too sinful, too corrupt, to be saved? Who is putting that thought in your head—Christ or the forces of darkness? Especially at times like that, why must you claim many of the wonderful promises we have been given in Jesus?
What do you judge to be Paul’s purpose in listing a variety of titles for the evil spiritual powers depicted in Ephesians 1:21, Ephesians 3:10, and Ephesians 6:10–20?Paul describes “our struggle” (Eph. 6:12, NRSV), using a Greek word for the competition between wrestlers (palé). Since wrestling was regarded as excellent preparation for battle, this is an appropriate description of the weapon-against-weapon and hand-to-hand combat that takes place when armies clash. Paul is emphasizing the reality of believers’ close struggle against the evil powers.Here are the titles he gives them:Ephesians 1:21Ephesians 3:10Ephesians 6:12every ruler (or every rule)the rulersthe rulers(every) authoritythe authoritiesthe authorities(every) powerthe cosmic powers over this present darkness(every) dominionthe spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly placesevery name namedIn his broad descriptions (“every name named,” Eph. 1:21, LEB; “the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places,” Eph. 6:12, ESV), Paul does affirm that all evil and supernatural powers are subjugated to Christ (Eph. 1:21). However, in any battle, it is never a good strategy to underestimate the forces on the opposing side. Paul warns that we do not just confront human enemies, but “spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12, NKJV), led by a wily general, the devil (Eph. 6:11). However, while we must be on the alert against our powerful foes, we need not be daunted by them. God is present with us in the battle (Eph. 6:10) and has supplied us with the finest of weaponry, His own armor, the “armor of God” (Eph. 6:11; compare Isa. 59:15–17). He has placed at our disposal His truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation, and the Holy Spirit (Eph. 6:13–17). With God going before us and our being equipped from head to toe in the armor He has supplied, we cannot fail (Rom. 16:20; 1 Cor. 15:23, 24; 2 Thess. 2:8).What should the reality of these supernatural evil powers—against whom we, ourselves, are utterly helpless—teach us regarding why we must grasp hold of the Lord Jesus, who is not only greater than these powers but has already defeated them?
Read through Ephesians 6:10–20, noting each time Paul uses some form of the verb stand. Why is this idea so important to him?We must understand Paul’s military metaphor in the context of the ancient battlefield. What did it mean to “stand” (Eph. 6:11, 13, 14)? Does the verb suggest a defensive-only posture? Battle speeches included in the writings of Thucydides, one of the great classical authors of battle literature, highlight three successive actions that must occur if a side is to be victorious: (1) soldiers must “close with the enemy,” which means they must march to meet their foes; then, (2) they must attack and “stand fast,” or “stand our ground,” fighting hand-to-hand with their foes; and finally, (3) they must “beat back the enemy” (see Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War [New York: E. P. Dutton, 1910], 4.10.1–5).The key moment of an ancient battle occurred with the second of these three actions, when the two opposing phalanxes came crashing together in “a terrible cacophony of smashed bronze, wood, and flesh,” which ancient author Xenophon refers to as that “ ‘awful crash.’ ”—Victor Davis Hanson, The Western Way of War (New York: Oxford University Press, 1989), pp. 152, 153. Standing firm, holding one’s ground at this strategic moment, was the great challenge of ancient battle. In the close combat that would ensue, each side would seek momentum for “the push.”Paul’s call to arms reflects combat in which soldiers were “bunched together, giving and receiving hundreds of blows at close range.”—Victor Davis Hanson, The Western Way of War, p. 152. This is confirmed by Paul’s depiction of the church’s battle against its foes as a wrestling match (Eph. 6:12; see Thursday’s study) and in his use of an intensive form of the verb “to stand” in verse 13: “that you may be able to withstand in the evil day” (NKJV, ESV; emphasis added).This is no relaxed stance! To “stand,” then, is to be vigorously engaged in battle, employing every weapon in close-order combat, a point obvious from the military imagery in Paul’s earlier exhortation to be found “standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel” (Phil. 1:27, ESV).Read Hebrews 12:4. How does this verse help encapsulate what it means to stand in the Lord? What is the corporate nature of this standing, as well?
Bonus song: The Great Multitude (The Lesser Light Collective)
Prophet John saw the great multitude no man could count every nation, tribe, people and tongue crying out: Salvation to God on the throne and to the Lamb Blessing and glory and wisdom amen Blessing and glory, amen.
Who are these in white robes and from where have they come? They've come out of the great tribulation and they've washed all their robes made them whiter than snow with the blood of the Lamb they've conquered the foe in the Lamb they have conquered the foe.
Who are these that no man can number? Love has come on a mission to include with his blood to a circle around us that's why the great multitude. (repeat)
And they worship their God, serve him all night and day in His Holy of holies their sins are washed away they won't hunger or thirst they won't suffer heat of sun and the shepherd, the Lamb is in the center of the throne The shepherd, the Lamb on the throne. He will guide them to springs of the water of Life and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
Who are these that no man can number? Love has come on a mission to include with His blood to a circle around us that's why the great multitude. (repeat)
The Great Multitude · The Lesser Light Collective The Lamb Wins ℗ 2013 Jennifer Schwirzer
Read Romans 13:11–14, 1 Thessalonians 5:6–8, and 2 Corinthians 10:3–6. How do these verses compare with Ephesians 6:10–20? Why do you think Paul uses this kind of imagery?In his letters, Paul frequently employs military language and imagery, inviting believers to mimic exemplary, soldierly behavior. While Ephesians 6:10–20 represents his longest and most concentrated use, military language exhibits one of his major ways of understanding the gospel story. Having conquered the “rulers and authorities” at the cross (Col. 2:15, ESV), the exalted Christ now works out the results of that victory from His position as exalted Lord over the powers (Phil. 2:9–11). Recruiting His followers as combatants in the cosmic war, Christ leads the armies of light toward a grand day of victory (1 Cor. 15:54–58, 2 Thess. 2:8, Rom. 16:20). Gathering up Paul’s uses of military symbolism, we see that he understands the conflict between good and evil to be “a long-running cosmic war: battles ebb and flow between two armies which face each other down through the ages until one wins the final confrontation.”—Peter W. Macky, St. Paul’s Cosmic War Myth: A Military Version of the Gospel (New York: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., 1998), p. 1.Paul’s frequent theme of cosmic war is also part of the fabric of Ephesians. In his call to arms (Eph. 6:10–20), Paul draws together elements of the cosmic conflict, that he has already used: God’s empowering of believers with immense “power” (Eph. 1:18–20; Eph. 3:16, 20); Christ’s victory and exaltation over the powers (Eph. 1:20–23); believers as a resurrected army of the once-dead but now empowered by their identity with the exalted Christ and able to fight against their former, dark master (Eph. 2:1–10); the church’s role in revealing to the powers their coming doom (Eph. 3:10); the use of Psalm 68:18 to portray Christ as the conquering, divine Warrior (Eph. 4:7–11); and the call for believers to “put on” gospel clothing (see Eph. 4:20–24). When called to put on God’s “full armor,” we are well prepared to understand the central role of cosmic conflict, but, also, we are to remain firm in the assurance that we have of participating in Christ’s ultimate victory.What are some of the ways that you personally have experienced the reality not only of this cosmic conflict but of the victory we can claim for ourselves in Jesus? Why is understanding His victory for us so foundational to our hope and experience?
Paul ends his letter with a powerful call to battle that draws together themes and ideas important to the letter as a whole. He begins by announcing the overarching theme of the conclusion, offered in the tone of a commander’s battle cry: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might” (Eph. 6:10, ESV). The rest of the passage (Ephesians 6:11–20) illustrates and unpacks this large theme.Read again Ephesians 6:10–20. How do you see the reality of the great controversy, which involves literal supernatural powers, as central to Paul’s point? Why is keeping this crucial truth before us so important in our own daily walk with God?Paul identifies Christ as the Source of believers’ strength with his phrase “in the Lord and in the power of His might” (Eph. 6:10, NKJV) since “Lord” refers to Christ, as is consistently the case in Ephesians (Eph. 2:21; Eph. 4:1, 17; Eph. 5:8; Eph. 6:1, 21). “The Church’s strength lies in the almightiness of her risen Lord, the Captain of her warfare.”—G. G. Findlay, The Epistle to the Ephesians (New York: Ray Long
Study Paul’s ringing conclusion to his letter, Ephesians 6:10–20. What does Paul’s battle cry mean to us today, as combatants in the great controversy?Paul concludes Ephesians with a call to battle, urging believers to take their stand in the church’s war against evil (Eph. 6:10–20). He begins with an overarching exhortation to “be strong in the Lord” (Eph. 6:10), which he repeats as a call to “put on the whole armor of God” (Eph. 6:11). He supports this call by specifying a purpose (to be able to stand against the devil’s schemes, Eph. 6:11), and by offering a rationale: the battle is against powerful, spiritual forces of evil (Eph. 6:12). In a detailed way, Paul then reissues the call to arms. Believers are to “take up the whole armor of God” in order to stand firm in battle (Eph. 6:13, ESV), donning belt, breastplate, shoes, shield, helmet, and sword (Eph. 6:14–17). Paul invites believers, now fully armed and ready to enter the fray, to do what soldiers on the ancient battlefield might do—and that is, pray (Eph. 6:18–20).By echoing battle exhortations or eve-of-battle speeches in the Old Testament, Paul speaks of the church’s mission in terms of military conflict and weapons. Paul signals this in his first, overarching command: “Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” (Eph. 6:10, NKJV).Battle exhortations in the Old Testament (see, for instance, Deut. 20:2–4; Judges 7:15–18; 2 Chron. 20:13–20; 2 Chron. 32:6–8; Neh. 4:14, 19, 20) underline the idea that Israel’s success in battle does not depend on the superiority of its own weapons or an army that outnumbers its foes. Rather, victory results from depending on the presence and power of God. The key to the Israelites’ success was not confidence in themselves but firm trust in God’s power and His provision for their success. Paul makes bold use of these themes to exhort believers to be: (1) active in pursuing the church’s mission; (2) attentive to the unseen dimensions that impact their lives and witness; (3) cognizant of the divine provision for their success; and (4) always alert to the importance of unity and collaboration among believers.What should Paul’s warning that we fight not against flesh and blood but against supernatural enemies teach us about where our only hope of victory is?
Read for This Week’s StudyEph. 6:10–20; Deut. 20:2–4; Rom. 13:11–14; 1 Thess. 5:6–8; 1 Cor. 15:23, 24.Memory Text:“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:10, 11, ESV).Bleary-eyed, the servant stumbles out of his lodgings and sees an alarming sight—a large, well-equipped and hostile army with “troops, horses, and chariots everywhere.” Speaking to the prophet Elisha, he stammers out the news, along with his harried question, “ ‘Oh, sir, what will we do now?’ ”Elisha responds, “ ‘Don’t be afraid! . . . For there are more on our side than on theirs!’ ” a response that fails to register in the face of his servant. Elisha, pulling him close, prays for him: “ ‘O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!’ ” The prophet’s prayer is answered immediately. The servant steps to the ramparts again, but this time the veil between the seen and the unseen lifts. He now sees not one army, but two. “The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire” (2 Kings 6:15–17, NLT).In composing Ephesians 6:10–20, Paul prays for an enhanced vision for believers so that they will be able to see the full reality of the great controversy and to draw hope from what it reveals to them.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, September 16.
Bonus song: O Holy Night by Eddie Espinosa Album: Emmanuel - Vineyard Christmas (A song traditionally connected to Christmas, but as the lesson's author mentioned it in today's lesson, this song had a powerful influence against slavery in the US and still rings true today.)
[Verse 1] O Holy night! The stars are brightly shining It is the night of our dear Savior's birth Long lay the world in sin and error pining 'Til He appears and the soul felt its worth A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn Fall on your knees; O hear the Angel voices! O night divine, O night when Christ was born O night, O Holy night, O night divine!
[Verse 2] Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming Here come the Wise Men from Orient land The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger In all our trials born to be our friend He knows our need, to our weakness is no stranger Behold your King; before Him lowly bend Behold your King; before Him lowly bend
[Verse 3] Truly He taught us to love one another; His law is love and His Gospel is Peace Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother And in His name, all oppression shall cease Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we Let all within us Praise His Holy name Christ is the Lord; O praise His name forever! His power and glory evermore proclaim His power and glory evermore proclaim
The Surprising Story of ‘O Holy Night’ ‘O Holy Night’ had its origins in the mid-1800s in France. But the song stirred a lot of controversy in the church, to the point where it was banned. When asked to pen a poem for his parish’s Mass that Christmas, composer Placide Cappeau thought about the birth of Jesus, as cataloged in the Gospel of Luke, as he wrote the lyrics.
He enlisted the help of his Jewish friend Adolphe Charles Adams to aid in the composition of the music. The song was initially titled, “Cantique de Noel.” Although the church in France initially accepted the carol, Cappeau was later swayed by socialist propaganda and walked away from his faith. The church in France condemned the work due to this.
Nevertheless, the lyrics and music made its ways to America through abolitionist John Sullivan Dwight. He changed some of the lyrics slightly. Dwight particularly identified with the third verse which spoke about breaking the chains of slavery and seeing every man as our brother. Thanks to Dwight and the covert efforts of the lyrics being sung during Christmas in Europe, the song’s notoriety spread worldwide, rumored to have been even sung on Christmas Eve during the Franco-Prussian War.
Paul’s respect for children as fellow believers (Eph. 6:1–3) heightens our concern for the ways in which children are treated in our world today. His word to fathers (Eph. 6:4) invites us to consider parental responsibilities. Applying Paul’s counsel to slaves (Eph. 6:5–8), and, especially, his counsel to slave masters (Eph. 6:9), is more challenging, since the social setting is distant for many of us and because we know that slavery, in any form, is one of the greatest of moral evils. Still, since these words are inspired ones that are part of Scripture, we should ponder how to apply them today. With the believers in Ephesus in the first century, we have the privilege and responsibility of applying the values of the gospel to our relationships. The discussion questions below are designed to foster that important work.Discussion Questions:What does it mean for Adventists that love for children is identified as evidence of “a people prepared for the Lord”? Luke 1:17 (quoting Mal. 4:6).Paul’s obvious respect for children suggests a searching question: What is our responsibility to extend the care of Christ to children who have experienced violence, sexual abuse, and shame in their early lives? In view of research on the profound impact of adverse childhood experiences (or ACEs; see https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/), what is our responsibility toward them?As an extension of Paul’s respect for children and Jesus’ care for them, what responsibilities does the church have to nurture and protect the children in its care? What systems and procedures need to be in place to do so?Paul’s counsel to slaves and slave masters, Ephesians 6:5–9, is often applied to the relationships between employees and employers. In what ways might this be appropriate? What dangers present themselves in doing so?Slavery remains a painful reality in our world, with more than 40 million people enslaved (according to “The Global Slavery Index,” http://www.globalslaveryindex.org/). As free people whose spiritual forebears were firmly committed to the abolition of slavery, what are our responsibilities to these enslaved sons and daughters of God as we sing of Christ, “Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother, and in his name all oppression shall cease” (lyrics to “O Holy Night,” public domain)?
In Paul’s final words to slaves, “whether he is a slave or free” (Eph. 6:8, NKJV), the word “free” refers to slave masters, allowing Paul to transition to his counsel to them while imagining slaves and slave masters standing on an equal footing before Christ in the judgment (compare 2 Cor. 5:10; Col. 3:24, 25).Assuming that you are a Christian slave master who is listening to Ephesians being read out in your house church, how might you react to this counsel, offered in the presence of your slaves? Eph. 6:9.Paul addresses masters, slave masters, in a pointed exhortation, which turns on the sharp contrast between “the lords” (Greek, hoi kurioi, translated as “masters”), who had a habit of “threatening” their slaves, and “the Lord” (ho kurios), Christ, with whom there is “no partiality” (ESV).Paul asks masters to “do the same to them” (ESV), the slaves, which would have been shocking to a first-century slave owner. Masters should respond to their slaves with deeds of goodwill governed by their allegiance to Christ, corresponding to what Paul has just asked of slaves (Eph. 6:5–8). He tells them to stop threatening their slaves, a common practice of a time in which masters administered a wide variety of punishments, including beating (1 Pet. 2:20), sexual abuse, being sold (and parted from loved ones), extreme labor, starvation, shackles, branding, and even death. For this, they will be judged—by God.Paul supports his commands with two motivations that call slave masters to look beyond the social structures of the Greco-Roman world: (1) they and their presumed slaves are co-slaves of a single Master (“knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven,” ESV; compare Col. 4:1); and (2) the heavenly Master judges all without partiality. Since their own Master treats those regarded as slaves on an equal footing with others, so should they (compare Philem. 15, 16).Much of Paul’s language in Ephesians would be especially heartening for Christian slaves: adoption as sons (Eph. 1:5); redemption (Eph. 1:7); inheritance (Eph. 1:11, 14; Eph. 3:6); being enthroned with Jesus (Eph. 2:6); becoming “fellow citizens,” “members of the household of God” (Eph. 2:19, ESV; compare Eph. 3:14, 15), and integral parts of the body of Christ (see Eph. 3:6, Eph. 4:1–16). Ephesians 6:5–9 activates all the teaching in the letter as operative in the relationships between slaves and slave masters, including the counsel about speech (Eph. 4:25–32) and sexual ethics (Eph. 5:1–14).
Bonus song: (Another powerful worship song about God breaking chains and setting us free: Oh, the chains are released, I can sing "I am free" Yet not I but through Christ in me)
Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me Song by Selah
What gift of grace is Jesus my Redeemer There is no more for Heaven now to give He is my joy, my righteousness and freedom My steadfast love, my deep and boundless peace To this I hold, my hope is only Jesus For my life is wholly bound to His Oh, how strange and divine, I can sing, "all is mine" Yet not I but through Christ in me The night is dark but I am not forsaken For by my side the Savior He will stay I labor on in weakness and rejoicing For in my need His power is displayed To this I hold, my Shepherd will defend me Through the deepest valley He will lead Oh, the night has been won and I shall overcome Yet not I but through Christ in me No fate I dread, I know I am forgiven The future sure, the price it has been paid For Jesus bled and suffered for my pardon And He was raised to overthrow the grave To this I hold, my sin has been defeated Jesus now and ever is my plea Oh, the chains are released, I can sing "I am free" Yet not I but through Christ in me With every breath I long to follow Jesus For He has said that He will bring me home And day by day, I know He will renew me Until I stand with joy before the throne To this I hold, my hope is only Jesus All the glory evermore to Him When the race is complete, still my lips shall repeat Yet not I but through Christ in me To this I hold, my hope is only Jesus All the glory evermore to Him When the race is complete, still my lips shall repeat Yet not I but through Christ in me Yet not I but through Christ in me
Songwriters: Michael Farren / Rich Thompson / Jonny Robinson Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me lyrics © Farren Love And War Publishing, Integrity's Alleluia! Music, Cityalight Music Released: 2019 Album: Firm Foundation Artist: Selah
What does Paul require of Christian slaves in his detailed instructions to them? Eph. 6:5–8.Paul asks Christian slaves to obey their masters, offering heartfelt, excellent service. What is notable is his repeated reference to a grand substitution that he asks them to make. They are not to place their slave master in the place of Christ, offering to him the allegiance that belongs only to Christ. Rather, in the commitments and allegiance that motivate their heartfelt, excellent service, they are to substitute Christ, the Lord, for the slave master. In encouraging this essential substitution, Paul is offering a transformed, Christian understanding of the master-slave relationship.Notice the several ways Paul presses this substitution upon them:Their slave masters are diminished by Paul as their “earthly masters,” pointing toward the real and heavenly Master (Eph. 6:5, ESV; emphasis added).They are to serve “with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ” (Eph. 6:5, ESV; emphasis added).Paul notes this substitution most clearly in arguing that Christian slaves are to offer genuine service as slaves, not of their masters, but as “slaves of Christ” (Eph. 6:6, NIV).In performing their service, they are to do “the will of God from the heart,” offering heartfelt service directed to God (Eph. 6:6, NIV).Paul invites positively motivated service, offered “as to the Lord and not to man” (Eph. 6:7, ESV).For their heartfelt service, Christian slaves may expect full reward from Christ when He returns. They have done their work for Him and may expect reward from Him, an especially attractive idea for those trapped in this horrific institution. A slave might feel unappreciated or worse by an earthly master (compare 1 Pet. 2:19, 20). The believing slave, though, has a Master who is attentive, noticing “whatever good thing each one does” (Eph. 6:8, NASB), and offering sure reward.However much we might wish that Scripture had openly condemned this horrible practice, it doesn’t. Nevertheless, what principles can we draw from Paul’s words in this context about how we relate to people we work with in our own context?
Read through the counsel to slaves and slave masters in the following passages: Eph. 6:5–9; Col. 3:22–4:1; 1 Cor. 7:20–24; 1 Tim. 6:1, 2; 1 Pet. 2:18–25. How would you summarize this advice?It is startling to hear Paul address Christian slave masters and to imagine Christian slaves and their Christian slave master seated together in the house churches of Ephesus. Slavery in the Greco-Roman world could differ from the later version in the New World in significant ways. It was not focused on a single ethnic group. Urban, household slaves were sometimes offered opportunities for education and could work as architects, physicians, and philosophers. Freedom sometimes occurred for these household slaves after a limited period of service, though most slaves never gained their freedom. In an attempt to acknowledge such differences, a number of recent Bible versions translate the Greek term doulos (“slave”) in Ephesians 6:5–8 as “bondservant.”Regardless, slavery at any time, in any culture, in any circumstances, is an inexcusable evil, and God will judge, and condemn, slaveholders according to His infinite justice—and for that we can be thankful.The cry of ex-slave Publilius Syrus is haunting: “It is beautiful to die instead of being degraded as a slave.” Given the full range of these realities, the translation of doulos as “slave” is to be preferred (NIV, NRSV), especially since these slaves are living under the threat of their masters (Eph. 6:9).Slavery was an ever-present evil in Paul’s world. He addresses it, not as a social reformer but as a pastor who advises believers how to deal with current realities and to cast a new vision centered on the transformation of the individual believer, which later could have wider implications for society at large: “His vision was not for manumission of slaves in the Roman Empire. Rather his view was about something other than legal manumission, that is, a new creation sibling-based fellowship on the basis of adoption as children of God. . . . For Paul the social revolution was to occur in the church, in the body of Christ, at the local level, and in the Christian house church and household.”—Scot McKnight, The Letter to Philemon (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing, 2017), pp. 10, 11.One of the great stains on Christian history is how some used these biblical passages about slavery to justify this evil. What frightening message should we take away about how carefully we need to handle the Word of God?
Compare Ephesians 6:4 and Colossians 3:21. What motivation does Colossians 3:21 provide for avoiding irritating one’s children?Sirach, a Jewish document available in Paul’s day, advises fathers about the treatment of their sons: “He who loves his son will whip him often. . . . Pamper a child, and he will terrorize you; play with him, and he will grieve you. . . . Discipline your son and make his yoke heavy, so that you may not be offended by his shamelessness” (Sirach 30:1, 9, 13, NRSV).Paul’s counsel bears a very different tone. He first addresses a negative command to fathers: “Do not provoke your children to anger,” followed by a positive one, “Bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4, ESV). In Paul’s day, fathers had complete legal power over their children, who were regarded as his property. Fathers had the right to inflict violent punishment, even death, on their children. Indeed, in some respects a father’s power over his children exceeded a master’s authority over his slaves. Paul is not endorsing such power but is boldly clarifying and reshaping family relationships. In the context of a supreme loyalty to Christ, Paul invites Christian fathers to rethink their use of power since children who are provoked to anger will not be well positioned to accept “the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4, ESV).“Fathers and mothers, in the home you are to represent God’s disposition. You are to require obedience, not with a storm of words, but in a kind, loving manner. . . .“Be pleasant in the home. Restrain every word that would arouse unholy temper. ‘Fathers, provoke not your children to wrath,’ is a divine injunction. . . .“No license is given in God’s Word for parental severity or oppression or for filial disobedience. The law of God, in the home life and in the government of nations, flows from a heart of infinite love.”—Ellen G. White, Child Guidance, p. 259.Though the context of the lesson here deals with parents and children, what principles can be taken from these texts that should impact how we should deal with all other people?
What advice does Paul give to children, and how does he support that counsel from the Old Testament? Eph. 6:1–3. (See also Matt. 18:1–5, 10; Mark 10:13–16.)To appreciate fully Paul’s counsel to children, we must imagine it being read out in the house churches of the thriving metropolis of Ephesus. The word “children” (Greek, ta tekna) could refer to a wide range of ages, since children remained under the father’s authority until the father was 60 (in the Greek tradition) or until his death (in the Roman one). These children, though, are young enough to be under parental training (Eph. 6:4) but old enough themselves to be disciples in their own right.We hear Paul appealing to children, who were worshiping in Christian congregations, to obey and honor their parents “in the Lord,” that is, in Christ (compare Eph. 5:22; Eph. 6:4, 5, 7–9). We are invited here to respect children as themselves being disciples of Christ and to include them as active participants in worship. This makes the passage a foundational one for parenting and for ministry to children.Paul’s command to obey is not absolute. When the commands of parents “contradict the requirements of Christ, then, painful though it may be, they [children] must obey God and trust the consequences with Him.”—Ellen G. White, The Adventist Home, p. 293.Paul completes his exhortation to children by quoting the fifth commandment, bearing witness to the high value he places on the Ten Commandments as a source of guidance for Christian believers (an obvious feature of Eph. 4:1–6:9; especially Eph. 4:25, 28; Eph. 5:3–14). He begins the quotation (“ ‘Honor your father and mother,’ ” Eph. 6:2, NKJV), breaks into it with an editorial comment (“which is the first commandment with promise,” Eph. 6:2, NKJV), and then completes the citation (“ ‘that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth,’ ” Eph. 6:3, NKJV). The fifth commandment bears witness that honoring parents is part of God’s design for human beings to thrive. Respect for parents, imperfect though they may be, will help foster health and well-being.How do these verses reinforce how important family relationships are?
Read for This Week’s StudyEph. 6:1–9; Mark 10:13–16; Col. 3:21; 1 Pet. 2:18–25; 2 Cor. 5:10; Col. 3:24, 25.Memory Text:“And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him” (Ephesians 6:9, NIV).In 2018, an artifact at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC, attracted much attention. It was an abridged Bible designed to teach essentials of faith while deleting any passage inciting rebellion by slaves. Published in 1808, the text does not just remove a passage here or there. Ninety percent of the Old Testament is missing, and 50 percent of the New. Of the 1,189 chapters in the Bible, only 232 remain.Passages seeming to reinforce the evils of slavery, especially in the absence of so much of the Bible’s narrative of “good news,” are left fully intact, including such oft-misused texts as “Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ” (Eph. 6:5).Today, in our time and culture, our important challenge is to read Ephesians 6:1–9 in the context of the full story of salvation, as is revealed in the complete Bible. What can we learn as we watch Paul apply the values of the gospel to the flawed social structures of his day?*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, September 9.
Ellen G. White, “Responsibilities of Married Life,” Testimonies for the Church, vol. 7, pp. 45–50, and “Mutual Obligations,” The Adventist Home, pp. 114–120.Ellen G. White consistently urges marriage partners to turn away from efforts to control the other: “Do not try to compel each other to yield to your wishes. You cannot do this and retain each other’s love. Be kind, patient, and forbearing, considerate, and courteous.”—The Adventist Home, p. 118.She comments directly on the interpretation and application of Colossians 3:18 (and Eph. 5:22–24): “The question is often asked, ‘Shall a wife have no will of her own?’ The Bible plainly states that the husband is the head of the family. ‘Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands.’ If this injunction ended here, we might say that the position of the wife is not an enviable one. . . . Many husbands stop at the words, ‘Wives, submit yourselves,’ but we will read the conclusion of the same injunction, which is, ‘As it is fit in the Lord’ [Col. 3:18]. God requires that the wife shall keep the fear and glory of God ever before her. Entire submission is to be made only to the Lord Jesus Christ, who has purchased her as His own child by the infinite price of His life. . . . There is One who stands higher than the husband to the wife; it is her Redeemer, and her submission to her husband is to be rendered as God has directed—‘as it is fit in the Lord.’ ”—The Adventist Home, pp. 115, 116.Discussion Questions:Imagine someone arguing that Ephesians 5:21–33 is an outmoded passage that no longer addresses Christian relationships since it enforces a model of marriage focused on the authority and domination of the husband. How would you respond? What elements from the passage itself would inform your response?What might Paul’s counsel in Ephesians 5:21–33 have to offer to those who find themselves in challenging and difficult marriage relationships?Some Christians argue that the Creation story in Genesis 1 and 2 is a mere metaphor and that it doesn’t come close to depicting what really happened, which was billions of years of evolution. What does Paul’s use of the story teach us about how literally he took it?Dwell more on the theme of “one flesh.” How does this help us better understand the sanctity of marriage and why married couples must do everything possible to protect that sanctity?
Bonus song: ~ Love of the Lasting Kind ~ (N.A.H.)Here we are, we’ve come so farTo reach this dream we shareLook at you, there you standNothing less than anAnswer to my prayerFor love of a lasting kindThat binds our hearts togetherLove of a lasting kindThat won’t be over ‘til foreverWith our lives in JesusAnd His life in yours and mineWe’ll stay in loveIn love of the lasting kindLook at us, full of hopeIn what we know is realIt’s His love in our livesThat we trust more thanEverything we feelIt's Love of the lasting kindThat binds our hearts togetherLove of the lasting kindThat won’t be over ‘til foreverWith our lives in JesusAnd His life in yours and mineWe’ll stay in loveIn Love of the lasting kindThat binds our hearts togetherLove of the lasting kindThat won’t be over ‘til foreverWith our lives in JesusAnd His life in yours and mineWe’ll stay in love . . .We’ll stay in love . . .In perfect love . . .In love of the lasting kindWords and musicByClaire Cloninger & Don Cason(c) 1988 Word Music ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~"The way to love anything is to realize that it might be lost."~ G. K. Chesterton
Study the Creation narrative of Genesis 2:15–25. What happens in the story before the statement concerning a husband and wife being “one flesh” (Gen. 2:24)?A key to applying Paul’s counsel to wives and husbands is to see his citation of Genesis 2:24 (in Ephesians 5:31) as the culmination of it. As he meditates on the Creation story of Genesis, Paul considers the needs of Christian congregations and the health of family relationships within them. He hears in Genesis 2:24 a message that echoes down through time. By divine design, marriage is intended to be a “one flesh” relationship, with sexual unity mirrored in emotional and spiritual unity, and emotional and spiritual unity bringing meaning to the sexual relationship.Note that in choosing Genesis 2:24, Paul selects a statement about marriage made before the Fall and applies it to the relationships between Christian husbands and wives. In our distinctly post-Fall world, rampant exploitation of the sexual relationship between a man and a woman reveals how deeply entrenched in modern cultures is the idea that the sexual union represents subjugation of the woman. Paul argues that the sexual relationship, as reflected in Genesis, is not one of subjugation but of union. It does not symbolize or actualize the dominance of the male but the union of husband and wife, so much so that they are “one flesh.” We may look to both Ephesians 5:21–33 and Genesis 2:24, then, for an important, countercultural, and corrective theology of marriage and sexuality.In this same context, Paul in the next verse talks about a “profound mystery” (see Eph. 5:32, ESV). This includes both sides of the double metaphor Paul has been discussing: Christian marriage understood in the light of Christ’s relationship with His church (Eph. 5:32) and Christ’s relationship with His church understood in the light of Christian marriage (Eph. 5:32).Christian marriage is elevated by comparing it to the relationship between Christ and the church. In addition, by thinking of the church’s relationship to Christ through the lens of a caring, Christian marriage, believers gain new clarity about their shared relationship to Christ.In what ways does Ephesians 5:33 serve as a concise summary of Paul’s counsel in Ephesians 5:21–32? If married, how can you seek to more fully implement these principles in your marriage?
What new argument does Paul use to encourage husbands to practice tender love toward their wives? Eph. 5:28–30.Paul’s rules for the Christian household (Eph. 5:21–6:9) disclose a challenging social context. In Ephesians 5:28–30, Paul addresses husbands who, following the all-too-frequent pattern of the time, may choose to “hate their own flesh” (see Eph. 5:28, 29), abusing and beating their wives. In the Greco-Roman world of Paul’s day, the legal power of the “father of the family” (Latin, pater familias) was very broad. He could punish harshly or even kill his wife, children, and slaves and be within his legal rights (though exercising such power in extreme ways was increasingly constrained by public opinion).In Ephesians 5:25–27, Paul has detailed the ultimate example of love, Christ’s love for the church, offering a drastically different model for husbands than the usual one. Now, before laying out a new argument, he points again to that great Example, asking Christian husbands to respond “in the same way” (Eph. 5:28, ESV) as Jesus, who “gave himself up” for His bride, the church, and attends to her every need (Eph. 5:25–27, ESV). Paul challenges Christian husbands to turn from the expected practices of their time and seek to match Christ’s tender love.In Ephesians 5:28–30, Paul adds a new rationale to support the love of Christian husbands for their wives: self-love. Paul offers a truism: “No one ever hated his own flesh” (at least no one thinking clearly). Husbands don’t harm themselves or beat up on their own bodies. Instead, they “nourish and cherish” them (Eph. 5:29, NKJV). In a bid to eliminate harshness and violence against Christian wives, Paul invites the Christian husband to identify with his wife. You are so much one with your wife, Paul argues, that to harm her is nothing short of inflicting self-harm, and most people in their right minds don’t do that.Returning to the example of Jesus, Paul argues that Christ is Himself practicing tender self-care in cherishing believers who are “his body” (Eph. 5:29, 30, ESV). Model your behavior toward your wife, says Paul, on the way you treat yourself and, ultimately, on the way Christ treats you.Paul cites the example of Jesus to both wives and husbands. What can you learn from Jesus about loving those in your own family circle?
Bonus song: I.O.U. Me · BeBe & CeCe WinansWhen I saw youI could see that it was me, you came to findBy the smile that was on your faceOh and the pain in my heartMet the love in your eyesAnd it went awayWhen you told me it was trueWhat you went throughI tried to thank youIt was something no words could doI owe loveAll my loveI owe everything to youAll of my life, you've given love to meI owe loveAll my heart belongs to only youThe rest of my lifeI know, I.O.U. meEvery moment'Til the world no longer turns, could I repay you?But I found where to startEveryday, every nightThis is what I write upon my own heartWe both knowI owe loveAll my loveI owe everything to youAll of my life you've given love to meI owe loveAll my heart belongs to only youThe rest of my lifeI know, I.O.U. meI know, I.O.U. meI know, I.O.U. meI know, I.O.U. meI know, I.O.U. meI know, I.O.U. meSince your love has found meNever live without your loveSince your love has found meNever live without your loveSince your love has found meNever live without your loveSince your love has found meNever live without your loveSongwriters: Keith Thomas / Benjamin Winans / Mike Rapp / Billy Sprague / Tom HembyI.O.U. Me lyrics © Universal Music - Brentwood Benson Publ., Sparrow Song, Word Music, LlcBebe & Cece Winans℗ 1987 Sparrow Records
Compare Ephesians 5:25–27, 29 with the foundling story of Ezekiel 16:1–14. What elements of that story does Paul reflect in his own sketch?As Paul, in Ephesians 5:25–27, 29, shapes his wedding-marriage metaphor for the church and its relationship with Christ, he draws creatively on the customs and roles of an ancient wedding. In relationship to the church as bride, Christ is the divine Bridegroom who:(1) Loves the church as bride (Eph. 5:25). We must never forget that this is heart work for Jesus. He loves us!(2) Gives Himself as the bride price. In the context of ancient wedding arrangements, the bridegroom would “purchase” the bride with the “bride price,” which was usually a large sum of money and valuables, so large that ancient village economies depended upon the custom. Christ pays the ultimate price for the church as His bride since He “gave Himself for her” (Eph. 5:25, NKJV). In the incarnation and at the cross, He gives Himself as the bride price.(3) Bathes His bride. The preparation of the bride was an important part of the ancient wedding festivities. As is also true today, it was the bridesmaids and female relatives of the bride who prepared her for the ceremony. Paul, though, imagines the divine Bridegroom preparing His bride for the wedding! It is He who sanctifies and cleanses her “by the washing of water” (Eph. 5:26, ESV), a probable reference to baptism.(4) Speaks the word of promise. This cleansing is performed “with the word” (Eph. 5:26, ESV), pointing to the word of promise that the divine Bridegroom speaks to His bride, perhaps in the context of the betrothal ceremony (compare Eph. 1:3–14, Eph. 2:1–10, noting God’s promises to believers at the time of their conversion). Betrothal was the ancient version of modern engagement, but was a much more serious set of negotiations, which included a written agreement about the bride price (from the husband) and the dowry (assets the bride would bring to the marriage from her family).(5) Prepares and adorns the bride. When the bride is finally presented to her Groom, she is fabulously beautiful, appearing in flawless splendor (Eph. 5:27). Christ not only bathes the bride; He prepares and adorns her, as well.How do these verses help us understand the way Christ feels about us? Why should we find this so comforting?
How does Paul use elements of the ancient wedding in appealing to Christians in Corinth? When does the presentation occur? (2 Cor. 11:1–4).Using one final element of the ancient wedding, in Ephesians 5:25–27 Paul portrays Christ as the One who: (6) presents the bride (to Himself!). In ancient times the bride would be given away by the best man, best men, or her father. Never by her groom! Here, though, Paul imagines Jesus presenting the church as bride to Himself.Paul uses marriage customs and roles to highlight Christ’s relationship to the church in an unfolding, chronological pattern: (1) Betrothal. Christ offered Himself up for the church (as “bride price”) and so became betrothed to her (Eph. 5:25). (2) Preparation for the wedding ceremony. The attentions of the Bridegroom continue in His present efforts to sanctify and cleanse the bride (Eph. 5:26). (3) The wedding ceremony itself. Christ’s present attentions are in view of the “presentation” of the bride at the wedding (Eph. 5:27). This last element looks to the grand wedding celebration at His return, when Christ, the Bridegroom, will come to claim the church as bride and present her to Himself (Eph. 5:27; compare 2 Cor. 11:1, 2; Col. 1:21–23, 28).Ancient weddings often began with a nighttime parade (see Matt. 25:1–13). The groom and his entourage would gather at the groom’s home—the couple’s new home—and with grand ceremony begin a procession. Lit by torches and accompanied by joyful, lilting music and great rejoicing, the crowd jostles toward the home of the father of the bride. Gathering up the bride there or meeting the bride’s own procession on the way, the parade would convey the couple to their new home, where the guests would settle into a weeklong feast, culminating in the wedding ceremony, when the bride would be presented to the groom.When Paul portrays Christ presenting the church to Himself, he alludes to this grand parade and to the moment of presentation. In doing so, he provides a moving portrait of Christ’s return as a future wedding ceremony, when the long betrothal between Christ and His church is complete and the wedding celebrated.What message should we take for ourselves from all this positive, happy, and hopeful imagery?
Paul begins with a hinge passage (Ephesians 5:21) connecting Ephesians 5:1–20 and Ephesians 5:22–33, in which he advocates for church members to submit to each other (compare Mark 10:42–45; Rom. 12:10; Phil. 2:3, 4). Believers are to do so “out of reverence for Christ” (Eph. 5:21, ESV), the first of several times Paul will identify the relationship with Christ as the most important and defining one for believers.What does Paul mean by exhorting church members to submit to each other? How are we to understand this idea? Eph. 5:21.Paul also invites Christian wives to submit to “your own husbands, as to the Lord” (Eph. 5:22, ESV), clarifying that he is discussing the submission of wives to their respective husbands (see also 1 Pet. 3:1, 5). When Paul says wives are to do so “as to the Lord,” does he mean a wife is to submit to her husband as though he were Christ; or, instead, does He mean that Christ is the truest and highest focus of her submission?In view of Ephesians 6:7, where slaves are asked to serve “as to the Lord, and not to men” (NKJV), and Colossians 3:18, where wives are asked to submit to their husbands “as is fitting in the Lord” (NKJV), the latter view is to be preferred. Wives are themselves believers who must ultimately honor Christ over their husbands.In both Colossians and Ephesians, Christ—and only Christ—is identified as the Head of the church, which is His body (Eph. 1:22, Eph. 5:23, Col. 1:18): “Christ is the head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body” (Eph. 5:23, NKJV). By analogy, the husband is “the head of the wife” (Eph. 5:23), with the church’s faithfulness to Christ serving as a model for the wife’s loyalty to her husband. The passage presumes a loving, caring marriage, and not a dysfunctional one. This verse should not be interpreted to allow any form of domestic abuse.In light of what we have just read, why is this following counsel so important to remember? If the husband “is a coarse, rough, boisterous, egotistical, harsh, and overbearing man, let him never utter the word that the husband is the head of the wife, and that she must submit to him in everything; for he is not the Lord, he is not the husband in the true significance of the term.”—Ellen G. White, The Adventist Home, p. 117.
Bonus song: Household of Faithby Steve GreenAlbum: Top 5 HitsHere we are at the start committing to each otherBy His word and from our heartsWe will be a family in a house that will be a homeAnd with faith we'll build it strongCHORUS:We'll build a household of faithThat together we can makeAnd when the strong winds blow it won't fall downAs one in Him we'll grow and the whole world will knowWe are a household of faithNow to be a family we've got to love each otherAt any cost unselfishlyAnd our home must be a place that fully abounds with graceA reflection of His faceArtists: Steve Green, Marijean GreenAlbum: For God and God AloneReleased: 1986Genre: Traditional Gospel
Read for This Week’s StudyEph. 5:21–33; Phil. 2:3, 4; Ezek. 16:1–14; 2 Cor. 11:1–4; Gen. 2:15–25.Memory Text:“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:25–27, NKJV).In Ephesians 5:21–33, Paul builds on the idea of the submission of believers to each other (Eph. 5:21); he then offers counsel to Christian wives (Eph. 5:22–24) and husbands (Eph. 5:25–32); and he concludes with a distillation of the instruction to both (Eph. 5:33).In this counsel, Bible students today may hear the risen Christ addressing our relationships. We are positioned to do so when we understand Ephesians 5:21–6:9 as Paul’s way of actualizing the great theme of the letter, unity, but now for the Christian household. While he offers a strong critique of the flawed social structures of the old humanity (see Eph. 4:22), he also celebrates the creation of a new humanity (see Eph. 2:15) embedded within the wider humanity with its flawed social structures. From within these structures, believers demonstrate that a new power, the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:22; Eph. 3:16; Eph. 5:18–21; Eph. 6:17, 18) and a new ethic patterned on Christ (Eph. 4:13, 15, 20–24, 32; Eph. 5:2, 10, 17, 21–33) have been unleashed, which point toward the ultimate fulfillment of God’s plan for His people and the world.* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, September 2.
Looking back at Ephesians 5:1–20 as a whole, we watch Paul take a strong stance against sin and evil, especially in the form of sexual immorality and crude speech. He is unwilling to accept the presence of corrupt behavior among the people of God. Instead, he calls the believers in Ephesus to a high standard of conduct and to embrace their identity as the “beloved children” of God and as “saints,” or holy ones (Eph. 5:1–10, ESV). He dares to believe that when the Christians in community do so, they shine a light into the darkness, drawing their neighbors away from self-defeating lifestyles and into God’s grace and truth (Eph. 5:11–14).Paul imagines the church, buoyed by a renewed commitment to “walk as children of light” while they await Christ’s return (Eph. 5:8; see also Eph. 5:15, 16) and blessed by the presence of Christ (Eph. 5:14), gathering to worship. As they are motivated by their status “as beloved children” of God and by Christ’s death for them (Eph. 5:1, 2, ESV) and are filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18), their shared worship is characterized by energy and joy as together they sing thanksgiving praise to their Lord, Jesus Christ, and to God the Father. With a firm grip on heavenly realities, they celebrate their hope for the future, rooted in the story of what God has done, is doing, and will accomplish through Jesus Christ their Lord (Eph. 5:18–20).Understood in this way, the passage becomes far more than a set of disconnected commands about Christian living. It becomes a prophetic call concerning Christian identity, commitment, community, and worship in the last days, a pathos-filled invitation to “snap up the bargains” on offer in the days until Christ’s return (Eph. 5:16).Discussion Questions:Confronted today with a viral culture that preaches its values 24/7/365 through a withering array of media, how can believers adopt Paul’s high standards?What strategies might believers today employ to “discern what is pleasing to the Lord” (Eph. 5:10, ESV) and to “understand what the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5:17, ESV)?Someone might argue that Paul’s ban against speaking of sexual immorality among believers (Eph. 5:3, 4) means that we should not deal with issues of sexual misbehavior and abuse. Why is that an inappropriate conclusion?In what ways does our contemporary society reflect similar pagan practices to those that Paul dealt with in his time?
In Ephesians 5:18–20, Paul imagines Christians gathered to worship. What does he depict them as doing in that worship?In his final argument in Ephesians 5:1–20, Paul urges believers to turn away from the mind-numbing use of wine and instead experience together the presence and power of the Spirit. Paul bans drunkenness (probably with a quotation from Proverbs 23:31 in the Greek version of the Old Testament), suggesting he has in mind the injunctions against the use of alcohol as seen in the wisdom literature (Prov. 20:1, Prov. 23:29–35). The evil things that come in the wake of drunkenness include crude, sexually explicit speech, mindlessness, immorality, and idolatry (Eph. 5:3–14). These are to be exchanged for thoughtful, Spirit-inspired worship of God. Paul’s exhortation to be filled with the Spirit is a key one that is modified by a series of verbs in Ephesians 5:19–21 (“speaking”; “singing and making melody”; “giving thanks”; “submitting yourselves”).Paul here applies the exhortation to “be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18) corporately, imagining believers gathering in Spirit-inspired worship of God that nourishes unity (Ephesians 4) and that stands in contrast with egocentric, pagan behavior and worship (Eph. 5:1–18). In this sketch of early Christian worship, musical praise dominates. It has been argued that the church was born in song; and this passage, together with Colossians 3:16, provides the best evidence for the claim (compare Acts 16:25, James 5:13).There is a “horizontal” element to worship since, in singing, church members are in a sense “speaking to one another” (Eph. 5:19, NKJV). However, the specific object of the musical praise is the Lord, which, as indicated in Ephesians 5:20, identifies “the Lord Jesus Christ” (compare Col. 3:16). The thanksgiving of Ephesians 5:20, described in parallel to the musical praise of Ephesians 5:19, is to be offered “unto God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” In the phrase “spiritual songs,” the adjective “spiritual” (Greek, pneumatikos) highlights the role of the Holy Spirit in worship since the term describes songs that are inspired by or filled with the Holy Spirit. Paul’s sketch of early Christian worship, then, portrays all three members of the Godhead as active participants.How can you use music to enhance your own worship experience?
Paul concludes Ephesians 5:1–20 with two clusters of exhortations, Ephesians 5:15–17 and Ephesians 5:18–20, completing a section with sustained interest in sexual purity. The first cluster begins with the exhortation, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise” (Eph. 5:15, ESV), restated as “do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5:17, ESV). In between is a call to make “the best use of the time” (Eph. 5:16, ESV).Consider Paul’s exhortations to live in a way that reflects prayerful, discerning wisdom (Eph. 5:15–17). What is the difference between walking not as fools but “wise”? Also, what does “redeeming the time” mean?In Ephesians, Paul has repeatedly used the common Old Testament metaphor of “walking” for how one lives (Eph. 2:2, 10; Eph. 4:1, 17; Eph. 5:2, 8). Here he uses the metaphor to encourage intentional discipleship. Just as you should “watch your step” when walking on a rough or darkened path, believers should “look carefully then how you walk” (Eph. 5:15, ESV). Because Ephesians 5:15 finds a parallel in Ephesians 5:17, we may look there for a definition of what it means to live as wise people. We do not look within for wisdom. To be wise is to reach beyond ourselves, to “understand what the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5:17, ESV).Paul also encourages intentional discipleship with a vivid image. In the phrase “making the best use of the time” (Eph. 5:16, ESV; compare “redeeming the time,” NKJV), Paul uses the verb exagorazō (compare Col. 4:5). Drawn from the marketplace, it is an intensive form of the verb “to buy” and means “to snap up the bargains” on offer as we await Christ’s return. “Time” here is the Greek word kairos, which describes a moment of opportunity. The “time” until the end is a promising period to be used to the full. It is also a challenging time because “the days are evil” (Eph. 5:16, ESV; compare Eph. 6:13, Gal. 1:4) and because “the course of this world” is dominated by “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2, ESV).As believers look toward the return of Christ, they live in a difficult time, one that Paul portrays as a hazardous but rewarding marketplace. They are to be as attentive in their use of the time that remains as are bargain hunters during a brief sale that offers steep discounts. Though we can’t buy salvation, the imagery is still apt: take promptly what is offered us in Christ.
Read Ephesians 5:11–14. What powerful warning is Paul giving here, and how does this apply to our present situation?To understand Ephesians 5:11–14, it is helpful to observe that Paul repeatedly offers two exhortations, alternating between them: (1) live a God-honoring lifestyle as “children of light” (Eph. 5:8; see also Eph. 5:1, 2, 4, 9–10, 11, 13, 14); and (2) don’t live a sexually immoral, God-opposing lifestyle, exhibiting the “unfruitful works of darkness” (Eph. 5:11; see also Eph. 5:3–8, 12).We may mine the parallel exhortations in Ephesians 5:8–10 in order to understand Ephesians 5:11. Believers are to live before unbelievers as “light in the Lord” and “children of light” (Eph. 5:8). The whole point of doing so is to be seen, to make clear that “the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true” (Eph. 5:9, ESV). Paul, then, is advocating a strategy of showing forth God’s goodness. Believers are to expose the unfruitful works of darkness by exhibiting the righteous alternative for all to see.Meanwhile, we may take the challenging, poetic language of verses 13 and 14 as Paul’s daring assertion that believers, by exhibiting “the fruit of the Spirit” (Eph. 5:9), may win worldlings to faith in Christ. The Spirit is like light and reveals hidden things: “But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light” (Eph. 5:13, 14, ESV). When decadent living is exposed by the light, worldlings may see their behavior for what it is (“it becomes visible”), futureless and wrath-bound (Eph. 5:5, 6), and experience a darkness-to-light transformation (“for anything that becomes visible is light,” ESV), the very change that Paul’s Ephesian readers have experienced as believers themselves (Eph. 5:8).What are we to make of the poem or hymn in Ephesians 5:14, which uses language associated with the resurrection of the dead at the end of time (compare Eph. 2:1, 5) to issue a clarion call to awaken from spiritual slumber and experience the transforming presence of Christ? Since Isaiah 60:1–3, which Paul seems to reflect, is directed to God’s people Israel, we may view the hymn/poem of Ephesians 5:14 as a powerful appeal to Christian believers to awaken to their role as missionaries, refractors of the light of Christ in a darkened world (compare Phil. 2:14–16, Matt. 5:16).How do you live the kind of lifestyle that can expose works of darkness for what they are?
Paul writes, “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience” (Eph. 5:6, NKJV).Paul has identified those who practice various sins without shame or repentance, the “sexually immoral, or impure, or who is covetous” (Eph. 5:5, ESV). He has offered a blunt assessment: Those who are in Christ and destined to be participants in His future kingdom should not act like those who are not (Eph. 5:5). He now worries over the effect of “empty words”; that is, believers might be deceived by explicit language into thinking that sexual sin is not taboo, or might even be drawn into such sins themselves (Eph. 5:6). To be so deceived, warns Paul, risks God’s end-time judgment, “the wrath of God” that “comes upon the sons of disobedience” (Eph. 5:6, ESV).The phrase “the wrath of God” is a challenging one. That it is the wrath or anger of God suggests a contrast to the usual, moody human variety (compare Eph. 4:31). It is the just response of a long-suffering and righteous God against stubborn commitment to evil, not a crazed, volcanic reaction to some minor infraction. Moreover, mentions of divine wrath most often occur in the context of inspired, biblical warnings about the coming judgments of God (e.g., Rev. 6:12–17, Rev. 16:1–16, Rev. 19:11–16). God warns of His own coming judgments—an act of grace, since human beings are “by nature children of wrath” (Eph. 2:3, ESV), subject to those judgments.Why does Paul exhort believers not to become “partners” or “partakers” with sinners? (Eph. 5:7–10).Paul exhorts, “Walk as children of light” (Eph. 5:8) and continues with a further command: “and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord” (Eph. 5:10, ESV). The pagan seeks pleasure through “sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness” (Eph. 5:3, ESV). The believer’s goal is dramatically different, not to please oneself but to please God (compare Rom. 12:1, 2 Cor. 5:9, Heb. 13:21, which use the same Greek word, euarestos, “pleasing” or “acceptable”). The believer seeks to reflect the self-sacrifice of Christ (“walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us,” Eph. 5:2, ESV).What are some of the “empty words” that in our day and age we need to be wary of?
In what sense does Paul intend believers to be “imitators of God”? See Ephesians 5:1, 2, NKJV.Paul urges the believers in Ephesus to walk in love, a call important to this section (see Eph. 5:8, 15). This “walking in love” (see Eph. 5:2) is to be modeled after Christ’s own love for us (compare Eph. 4:32), expressed in His atoning sacrifice. Paul affirms four things about that sacrifice: (1) It is motivated by both the love of God the Father (Eph. 5:1) and of Christ Himself (Eph. 5:2); (2) it is substitutionary, with Christ dying in our place. Christ is no passive victim but gave Himself up for us; (3) under the imagery of the Old Testament sanctuary service, Christ’s death is also a sacrifice, which is made to God; and (4) the sacrifice is accepted by God since it is “a fragrant offering” (Eph. 5:2, ESV; compare Exod. 29:18, Lev. 2:9, Phil. 4:18).Ephesians 5:3–5 then introduces a section expressing concern for sexual ethics. The young converts in Ephesus are in danger of reversing their Christian calling and being drawn back into sexual behavior that would negate their Christian witness (compare 1 Cor. 5:1–11, 1 Cor. 6:12–20, 2 Cor. 12:21).On the one hand, the Greco-Roman world of the first century exhibited the moral corruption and debauchery described elsewhere in the New Testament (see 1 Cor. 6:9, Gal. 5:19, Eph. 4:17–19, Col. 3:5). For example, banquets of the wealthy regularly featured the behaviors Paul decries in Ephesians 5:3–14: drunkenness, ribald speech, risqué entertainment, and immoral acts. In addition, urban centers provided anonymity and permissiveness that fostered immoral sexual practices. On the other hand, many in that society lived virtuous lives and served as advocates for strict morality. When the New Testament provides vice-or-virtue lists and household codes (e.g., Eph. 5:21–6:9, Col. 3:18–4:1), its authors mirror themes in the wider Greco-Roman world. This world, at once debauched and virtuous, helps explain Paul’s exhortations to avoid the immoral behavior practiced by the Gentiles while wishing for believers to be circumspect in their behavior and so to earn good standing among outsiders.In what ways are Paul’s words about sexual behavior applicable to your culture, wherever you live?
Read for This Week’s StudyEph. 5:1–20, 1 Cor. 5:1–11, Rev. 16:1–16, Col. 4:5, Prov. 20:1, Prov. 23:29–35, Acts 16:25.Memory Text:“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:15–17, ESV).Not long ago a crystal jug was placed on auction in the United Kingdom. The auctioneers described it as a “nineteenth-century French, claret jug,” estimating its worth at US$200. Two perceptive bidders recognized the jug as an extremely rare, Islamic ewer. Its true, appraised worth? £5 million (about US$6.5 million). What allowed that bidder to walk away with such a bargain? The bidder knew something that the auctioneer did not: the true value of the jug.In Ephesians 5:1–20, Paul contrasts what pagans and believers valued. Pagans valued a racy story (Eph. 5:4), a drunken party (Eph. 5:18), and debauched sex (Eph. 5:3, 5) as the great treasures of life. Believers, though, know an ultimate day of appraisal is coming, when the true value of all things will become apparent (Eph. 5:5, 6). Instead of placing their bid on partying and drunkenness, they treasure, among other things, “all that is good and right and true” (Eph. 5:9, ESV) in Christ. Paul, thus, urges them to snap up the bargains found in Christ as they live (as we all do) on the threshold of eternity (Eph. 5:15–17).*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 26.
“Let your conversation be of such a nature that you will have no need of repentance. ‘Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.’ . . . If you have love in your heart, you will seek to establish and build up your brother in the most holy faith. If a word is dropped that is detrimental to the character of your friend or brother, do not encourage this evil-speaking. It is the work of the enemy. Kindly remind the speaker that the word of God forbids that kind of conversation.”—Ellen G. White, Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, June 5, 1888.How would your congregation change if you and each member were to take and live a pledge consisting of such statements as the following?I wish for my influence within the Seventh-day Adventist Church family and beyond to be positive, uplifting, faith-building, and morale-boosting (Eph. 4:29).Recalling Christ’s calls for unity and love, I will expend more energy affirming those doing and saying things I believe to be good than in pointing out the failings of those I believe to be wrong (John 13:34, 35; John 17:20–23; Eph. 4:1–6; 1 Thess. 5:9–11).When I do disagree with someone, I will make my respect for my fellow believer clear. I will assume his or her integrity and commitment to Christ. I will offer my differing opinion gently, not stridently (Eph. 4:31, 32).I will live joyfully, looking for every opportunity to build up and affirm my fellow church members, as I await the return of Christ (Eph. 4:29, 30; Gal. 6:2; Heb. 10:24, 25).Discussion Questions:Review the 11 times in Ephesians that Paul describes the three members of the Godhead as working closely together for the salvation of humankind. How does this repeated emphasis inform our understanding of the Godhead? Eph. 1:3–14, Eph. 1:15–23, Eph. 2:11–18, Eph. 2:19–22, Eph. 3:1–13, Eph. 3:14–19, Eph. 4:4–6, Eph. 4:17–24, Eph. 4:25–32, Eph. 5:15–20, Eph. 6:10–20 (where “the Lord,” Eph. 6:10, refers to Christ).How does Paul’s counsel about Christian speech (Eph. 4:25–32) apply in the age of “computer-mediated communication,” which is too often used for cyberbullying and anonymous, online character assassination?
By referring to “the day of redemption” (Eph. 4:30), Paul has just invited his readers to consider their uses of speech in the context of Christ’s second coming. Ephesians 4:31, 32, then, may be understood as addressing the use of speech as we approach that grand event.In the light of Christ’s return, what attitudes and behaviors, related to speech, should be discarded? What attitudes and behaviors should be embraced? Eph. 4:31, 32.In the final exhortation of Ephesians 4:17–32, Paul again provides a negative command, this one identifying six vices that are to “be put away from you” (Eph. 4:31); a positive command to be kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving (Eph. 4:32), and a rationale. Believers are to forgive one another “even as God in Christ forgave you” (Eph. 4:32, NKJV). The list of six vices begins and ends with general, all-encompassing terms, “all bitterness” and “all malice.” In between come four additional terms: “wrath,” “anger,” “clamor,” and “slander” (Eph. 4:31, ESV).The last of these translates the Greek word blasphemia, which English has borrowed as a technical term for demeaning speech against God. However, the Greek term identifies speech that defames either God or other humans as “slander” or “evil speaking.” In the list, attitudes (bitterness, wrath, anger) seem to boil over into angry speech (clamor, slander). In essence, Paul demilitarizes Christian speech. The attitudes that drive angry speech and the rhetorical strategies that employ it are to be removed from the Christian’s arsenal. Christian community will flourish and unity of the church be fostered (compare Eph. 4:1–16) only where these things are laid aside.Evil speech, though, is not so much to be suppressed as replaced. Our conversations and actions among the family of Christ—and beyond it, as well—are not to grow out of anger but are to be motivated by kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness based on the highest standard of all, the forgiveness that God has extended to us in Christ (Eph. 4:32). Paul presents “vertical forgiveness” (offered by God to us) as the model for “horizontal forgiveness” (that which we offer to each other; compare Col. 3:13; Matt. 6:12, 14, 15).Think about the power of your words. How can you use them to be uplifting, encouraging, and faith-building?
Bonus song: Holy Spirit, Dwell In Me
(Keith Lancaster and the Acappella Company)
Holy Spirit dwell in me Touch my eyes that I might see All your goodness, grace, and pow'r Stay beside me ev'ry hour Be my drink, be my living bread Keep me sheltered, keep me fed Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit dwell in me
Holy Spirit comfort me Let my heart be one with Thee When I'm worried soothe my mind Let me sweet contentment find May I run this wicked race Filled by your amazing grace Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit comfort me
Holy Spirit rescue me Set my soul completely free Beside Jordan make my bed In God's bosom lay my head Let me live in a brand new place See my blessed Savior's face Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit rescue me
Repeat Verse 1
Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit dwell in me
Scriptural Reference:
"And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit." Ephesians 2:22
In discussing sins of speech within the Christian community, what exhortation does Paul share about the presence of the Holy Spirit with believers? Eph. 4:30.Paul simultaneously offers a daunting warning and a heartwarming promise. Our sins against one another in the church are not minor misdeeds with little consequence: what grieves the Holy Spirit is our misuse of God’s gift of speech to tear down others (Eph. 4:25–27, 29, 31, 32). That Paul echoes Isaiah 63:10 underlines the serious warning: “But they [Israel] rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit; therefore he turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them” (ESV).In a reassuring promise, Paul affirms that the Holy Spirit seals believers from the day they accepted Christ (Eph. 1:13, 14) until “the day of redemption” (Eph. 4:30). The Spirit’s relationship with the believer is not fragile but durable. When believers disregard the indwelling presence of the Spirit by weaponizing God’s gift of speech, the Spirit is not said to leave but to grieve. The Spirit intends to remain present with believers, marking them as owned and protected by God, until Christ’s return.Paul underlines the full divinity of the Spirit as “the Holy Spirit of God” and highlights the personhood of the Spirit by portraying the Holy Spirit as grieving. (See also Rom. 8:16, 26, 27; 1 Cor. 2:10, 13; 1 Cor. 12:11; Gal. 5:17, 18.)We must tread with care in discussing the mystery of the Godhead. The Spirit is both One with and distinct from the Father and the Son. “The Spirit has His own will and chooses accordingly. He can be grieved and blasphemed against. Such expressions are not fit for a mere power or influence but are characteristics of a person. Is the Spirit then a person just like you and me? No, we use limited human terminology to describe the divine, and the Spirit is what human beings can never be.”—Paul Petersen, God in 3 Persons—In the New Testament (Silver Spring, MD: Biblical Research Institute, 2015), p. 20.It is “the Holy Spirit of God” who lives in such intimate contact with us that our actions are said to affect Him. We share life with a member of the Godhead committed to us in a durable relationship that seals us until the end of time. What should be our faith response to this amazing truth?
Let the Words of My Mouth (Fernando Ortega) /from PSALM 19:14, PHILLIPIANS 4:8 Lyrics
Let the words of my mouth Be pleasing to You, pleasing to You The meditation of my heart Be pleasing to you, pleasing to You
Oh Lord, my strength And my Redeemer
Whatever is true Whatever is pure Whatever is lovely Whatever is worthy Think on these things Think on these things
Let the words of my mouth Be pleasing to You Pleasing to You
Songwriters: John Andrew Schreiner / Juan Fernando Orgega Let the Words of My Mouth lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc
Which of Paul’s words of counsel with regard to the use of speech among believers is the most important to you just now? Why? Eph. 4:25–29.Paul repeatedly uses an interesting structure in Ephesians 4:25–32, which is illustrated by Ephesians 4:25 (NKJV): a negative command (“putting away lying”); a positive command next (“ ‘let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor’ ”); and then a rationale (“for we are members of one another,” which seems to mean “because we are members of one body and so related to one another as parts of that one body”). Paul’s exhortation to “speak truth” is not an invitation to confront other church members with a tactless recitation of facts. Paul alludes to Zechariah 8:16, which exhorts speaking the truth as a way of fostering peace.Since in Ephesians 4:31 Paul banishes anger and angry speech, his words in Ephesians 4:26 provide no permission to exercise anger within the congregation. Rather, Paul concedes the possibility of anger, while limiting its expression with the sense, “Should you become angry, do not allow it to bear fruit in full blown sin.”Paul appears to interrupt his theme of speech with a negative command about thieves: “Let the thief no longer steal” (Eph. 4:28, ESV). Positively, the thief is to “labor, doing honest work with his own hands” (Eph. 4:28, ESV; see also 1 Cor. 4:12, 1 Thess. 4:11) based on the rationale, “so that he may have something to share with anyone in need” (Eph. 4:28, ESV). Perhaps Paul includes this word about thieves here because of the connection between theft and deceptive speech as illustrated by the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1–11. Paul’s faith in Christ’s transforming power is so strong that he envisions thieves becoming benefactors!Paul then commands, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth” (Eph. 4:29, NKJV), which describes a destructive word making its seemingly unstoppable way toward the lips to do its damaging work. Positively, Paul imagines any negative expression not being just stopped, but replaced by a statement that exhibits three criteria: It (1) “is good for building up,” (2) “fits the occasion,” and (3) gives “grace to those who hear” (Eph. 4:29, ESV). If only all our words could be like that!
In retelling the story of the conversion of his audience, what essential main point is Paul getting across to them? Eph. 4:20–24.Having described their former, Gentile existence (Eph. 4:17–19), Paul does not say, “That is not the way you learned about Christ.” Instead, he exclaims, “That is not the way you learned Christ!” (Eph. 4:20, ESV). Noting that the addressees “heard Him” [Christ] (NKJV), and were taught “in him” (Eph. 4:21, ESV) or “by Him” (NKJV), Paul further advocates the adoption of a Christ-shaped life with the phrase “as the truth is in Jesus” (Eph. 4:21). For Paul, coming to faith centers on a personal connection with Christ, one so vivid and real that it may be described as “learning Christ.” We acknowledge that the risen and exalted Jesus is alive and present with us. We are shaped by His teachings and example and exercise loyalty to Him as our living Lord. We open our lives to His active guidance and direction through Spirit and Word.Paul tells us that the adoption of a Christ-shaped life requires three processes, which he expresses through clothing imagery: (1) to “put off” or turn away from the old way of life (Eph. 4:22); (2) to experience inner renewal (Eph. 4:23); and (3) to “put on” the new, Godlike pattern of life (Eph. 4:24). Paul’s metaphor reflects the use of clothing in the Old Testament as a symbol for both sinfulness (e.g., Ps. 73:6; Zech. 3:3, 4; Mal. 2:16) and salvation (e.g., Isa. 61:10; Ezek. 16:8; Zech. 3:4, 5).In ancient times, men wore a knee-length tunic as an undergarment and a cloak or mantle to offer protection from the sun. Similarly, women wore a tunic and a robe. The cultures reflected in the Bible were subsistence ones. Garments were precious and expensive and were kept for a long time. It would have been unusual to own more than one set of clothing. The quality and style of those garments signaled identity and status markers about the wearer. To change one’s clothes, exchanging one set of clothes for another, was an unusual and important event (rather than the trifling occurrence it is in many cultures today). Paul imagines the change in life to be as noticeable as exchanging one set of clothing for another would have been in this first-century context.What is the difference, the crucial difference, between learning about Christ and learning to know Christ?
EXTRA BONUS SONG: The Father’s House (Cory Asbury) / Lyrics
(Today is Fathers’ Day in Brazil - wishing you dads everywhere a great day and our thank you for trying to emulate your Heavenly Father🤗👔❤️🛐📖👨🏼💼
Sometimes on this journey, I get lost in my mistakes What looks to me like weakness is a canvas for Your strength And my story isn't over, my story's just begun And failure won't define me 'cause that's what my Father does Yeah, failure won't define me 'cause that's what my Father does
Ooh, lay your burdens down Ooh, here in the Father's house Check your shame at the door (ooh) 'Cause it ain't welcome anymore (ooh) Ooh, you're in the Father's house
Arrival's not the end game, the journey's where You are You never wanted perfect, You just wanted my heart And the story isn't over, if the story isn't good A failure's never final when the Father is in the room And failure's never final when the Father is in the room
Ooh, lay your burdens down Ooh, here in the Father's house Check your shame at the door (ooh) 'Cause it ain't welcome anymore (ooh) Ooh, you're in the Father's house, yeah
Prodigals come home The helpless find hope Love is on the move When the Father's in the room Prison doors fling wide The dead come to life Love is on the move When the Father's in the room Miracles take place The cynical find faith And love is breaking through When the Father's in the room The Jericho walls are quakin' Strongholds now are shakin' Love is breaking through When the Father's in the room I said love is breaking through When the Father's in the room Ooh, lay your burdens down Ooh, here in the Father's house Check your shame at the door 'Cause it ain't welcome anymore Ooh, you're in the Father's house Yeah, lay your burdens down Ooh, here in the Father's house Ooh, you're in the Father's house
Songwriters: Cory Asbury / Ethan Hulse / Benjamin Hastings The Father’s House lyrics © Be Essential Songs, Bethel Music Publishing, Shout Mp Brio, Cory Asbury Publishing
Compare Ephesians 4:17–32 with Colossians 3:1–17. How does Paul advocate for believers to live in a way that encourages the unity of the church?In the prior section, Ephesians 4:1–16, Paul’s theme was the unity of the church. When we compare Ephesians 4:1 and Ephesians 4:17, we note how similar these two exhortations are about how to walk or to live. This resemblance suggests that Paul addresses the same theme—unity and the lifestyle that supports it—but from a new and initially more negative vantage point.In Ephesians 4:17–24, Paul contrasts Gentile lifestyle, which he regards as undermining unity (Eph. 4:17–19), with truly Christian patterns of life that nourish it (Eph. 4:20–24). As we read Paul’s sharp critique of the depraved, Gentile lifestyle, we should recall his conviction that Gentiles are redeemed by God through Christ and offered full partnership in the people of God (Eph. 2:11–22, Eph. 3:1–13). In Ephesians 4:17–19, then, he is offering a limited and negative description of “Gentiles in the flesh” (Eph. 2:11).Paul is not just concerned about specific sins or behaviors exhibited by Gentiles. He is concerned about a pattern of behavior that they exhibit, a downward trajectory of living in the grip of sin. At the heart of Ephesians 4:17–19 is a portrait of a calloused spirituality: “in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God” (Eph. 4:17, 18, NKJV). This calloused spirituality is the source of the darkened understanding highlighted at the beginning of the passage (“because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous,” Eph. 4:18, 19, ESV) and the depraved sexual practice underlined at its end (“and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity,” Eph. 4:19, ESV). Alienated from God, they don’t know how to live, and separated from His saving grace, they continue in a downward spiral of sin and depravity.What has been your own experience with the power of sin to continue to drag a person downward into even more sin?
Read for This Week’s StudyEph. 4:17–32; Col. 3:1–17; Zech. 3:3–5; Zech. 8:16; Isa. 63:10; Rom. 8:16, 26, 27.Memory Text:“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22–24, NIV).Jose Antonio lived on the streets of Palma, Spain, as a homeless man for years. With gray, straggly hair and beard, Jose looked older than his 57 years. One day, Salva Garcia, the owner of a hair salon, approached Jose and proposed a complete makeover.With Jose in the salon chair, a hardworking team cut, dyed, and styled the tangled bundles of hair and beard. Next, Jose then got new stylish clothes. Then came the reveal! As Jose sat in front of a mirror, tears came. “Is this me? I’m so different; no one is going to recognize me!” Later he would add, “It wasn’t just a change of looks. It changed my life.”In Ephesians 4:17–32, Paul argues that believers have experienced a complete transformation. They have taken off their old selves and have embraced their new identity. Somewhat like Jose’s change, though, this is no mere external transformation. It includes being “renewed in the spirit of your minds” (Eph. 4:23, ESV), bringing into the life “true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:24, ESV). This is the ultimate makeover.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 19
Two notes help to expand our study of Ephesians 4:7–10.1. Translating Ephesians 4:9. Some translations indicate that the descent occurs before the ascent (e.g., NKJV, “He also first descended”; KJV, RSV, ESV, NASB). Other translations follow the Greek text more closely, leaving the issue of the timing of the ascent and descent open (e.g., NIV, “What does ‘he ascended’ mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions?” ASV, HCSB, LEB, NLT), which allows for the view, expressed in Tuesday’s study, that the narrative order of Psalm 68:18 should be followed, with Christ’s exaltation to heaven (the “ascent”) occurring first, followed by His “descent” in the Spirit.2. Leading captivity captive. In quoting Psalm 68:18 from the Greek Old Testament, called the Septuagint (an ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament), Paul uses a phrase in Ephesians 4:8 that reads literally, “he took captive captivity” (reflected in some translations, e.g., KJV, NKJV, NRSV), but which is widely affirmed to mean, “he took as prisoners a group of captives” (reflected in the ESV, NASB, NIV, etc.). Seventh-day Adventists have often understood the phrase to refer to Christ’s act of taking back with Him to heaven, at His ascension, those raised in a special resurrection at the time of His own resurrection (Matt. 27:51–53). These constitute a “wave sheaf,” firstfruits of the redeemed, that He presents to the Father on His return to the courts of heaven (see The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 1022; The Desire of Ages, p. 834; compare The Desire of Ages, pp. 785, 786). Alternatively, in line with Colossians 2:15, the passage could be taken as a picture of Christ’s conquest over His foes—Satan and his evil angels—who are portrayed as defeated captives.Discussion Questions:Compare the list of “spiritual gifts” in Ephesians 4:11 with the lists in 1 Corinthians 12:4–11, 27–30; Romans 12:4–8; and 1 Peter 4:10, 11. What differences and similarities do you observe?In class, talk about some of the “winds of doctrine” blowing in the church today. Notice how Paul says that we should not be blown about by these winds. What are specific ways that we can help protect ourselves, and others in the church, from the damage that these winds can inflict upon us?Paul stresses through Ephesians the theme of “unity.” But do we seek unity at all costs? In other words, at what point can the desire for unity become counterproductive? Discuss.
What danger threatens the Christlike maturity of the church? Eph. 4:14.Paul perceives an environment not unlike our own in which various ideas, such as “every wind of doctrine” and “deceitful schemes” (ESV), are thrust upon believers. He uses three sets of images to describe the dangers of wayward theology: (1) the immaturity of childhood, “so that we may no longer be children” (ESV); (2) danger on the high seas, “tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine” (ESV); and (3) being swindled by clever people who, like gamblers, practice sleight of hand. Paul uses figuratively the Greek word kubeia (“dice playing”) to mean “cunning” (ESV) or “trickery” (NKJV).Paul believes divisiveness to be an important mark of error: That which nourishes and grows the body and helps it hold together is good while that which depletes and divides it is evil. By turning from the divisive teaching and to that of tested and trusted teachers (Eph. 4:11), they will advance toward true Christian maturity and play effective roles in the body of Christ (Eph. 4:12, 13; compare Eph. 4:15, 16).In what ways does a healthy church function like a healthy body? Eph. 4:15, 16.In Ephesians 4:1–16, Paul advocates for the unity of the church and recruits the addressees to foster it actively. While unity is a theological certainty (Eph. 4:4–6), it does require our hard work (Eph. 4:3). One way we foster unity is by being active “parts” of the body of Christ (Eph. 4:7–16). Each of us is a part of the body and should contribute to its health and growth (Eph. 4:7, 16). We all should also benefit from the work of apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers (Eph. 4:11). These, like ligaments, tendons, and “every joint” (Eph. 4:16, ESV), have a unifying function, helping us grow up together into Christ, who is the head of the body (Eph. 4:13, 15).What are some of the “winds of doctrine” blowing through our church today, and how can we stand firm against them? Bring your answer to class on Sabbath.
Drawing on Psalm 68:18, Paul has just described the risen, exalted, conquering Jesus as giving gifts to His people from on high. What “gifts” does the exalted Jesus give, and for what purpose? Eph. 4:11–13.Paul identifies four groups of “gifted” people as part of the treasure trove of the exalted Jesus that He gives to His church: (1) apostles; (2) prophets; (3) evangelists; (4) shepherds (ESV) and teachers (the structure of the Greek phrase suggests these are a single group). Christ gives these gifts to accomplish important work: “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:12, ESV) and “until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13, ESV).This last point was of special importance to early Adventists, who were reflecting on the spiritual gifts of Ellen G. White. 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 about the captain of a ship who was bound to follow the instructions provided for a voyage. As the ship neared port, the captain found that the instructions informed him that a pilot would come on board to help guide the vessel. To remain true to the original instructions, he must allow the pilot to board and obey the further guidance offered. “Who now heed that original book of directions? Those who reject the pilot, or those who receive him, as that book instructs them? Judge ye.”—Uriah Smith, “Do We Discard the Bible by Endorsing the Visions?” Review and Herald, January 13, 1863, p. 52.We should be careful when we identify “shepherds” (or “pastors”), “teachers,” and “evangelists,” since we think of these positions within our own context and time. As far as we are able to determine, in Paul’s day these would all have been lay leaders who were serving the house churches of Ephesus (compare 1 Pet. 2:9, Acts 2:46, Acts 12:12).Read Isaiah 5:4: “What more could have been done to My vineyard that I have not done in it?” (NKJV). Think about this verse in the context of what God has given us in the ministry of Ellen G. White. How does it apply?
“However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ. That is why the Scriptures say,‘When he ascended to the heights,he led a crowd of captivesand gave gifts to his people.’“Notice that it says ‘he ascended.’ This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world. And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself” (Eph. 4:7–10, NLT).What is happening here, and what is Paul’s point in these verses?Paul here quoted Psalm 68:18, which reads: “When you ascended to the heights, you led a crowd of captives. You received gifts from the people, even from those who rebelled against you” (NLT). Psalm 68:18 portrays the Lord, Yahweh, as a conquering general who, having conquered His enemies, ascends the hill on which His capital city is built, with the captives of battle in His train (see Ps. 68:1, 2). He then receives tribute (“received gifts”) from His conquered foes (noting that Paul adjusts this imagery to the exalted Christ “giving gifts,” based on the wider context of the psalm; see Ps. 68:35).If we follow the order of Psalm 68:18, the ascent—Christ’s ascension to heaven (Eph. 1:21–23)—occurs first, followed by the descent in which the risen, exalted Jesus gives gifts and fills all things. This is Paul’s way of depicting the Pentecostal outpouring of the Holy Spirit (see Acts 2). This view is confirmed by Ephesians 4:11, 12, which identify the gifts provided by the exalted Jesus as gifts of the Spirit.“Christ ascended on high, leading captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. When, after Christ’s ascension, the Spirit came down as promised, like a rushing, mighty wind, filling the whole place where the disciples were assembled, what was the effect? Thousands were converted in a day.”—Ellen G. White, Ye Shall Receive Power, p. 158.However deep these few verses in Ephesians may be, how can we learn to draw comfort from what they show Christ has done for us and will do, especially when He will fill “all things everywhere with himself” (Eph. 1:23, NLT)?
What seven “ones” does Paul cite in support of his theme of the unity of the church? What point is he seeking to make with this list? Eph. 4:4–6.Paul’s list of seven “ones” has a poetic feel to it and may echo a hymn of affirmation used in Ephesus. The list begins by mentioning two “ones” together: “There is one body” (referring to the church as the body of Christ, Eph. 4:12, 16; Eph. 1:23; Eph. 5:23, 29, 30) and “one Spirit” (Eph. 4:4). The third one is the “one hope of your calling” (Eph. 4:4; compare Eph. 4:1).The list then offers three more elements, “one Lord” (a reference to Christ), “one faith” (meaning the content of what Christians believe, Eph. 4:13; Col. 1:23; Col. 2:7; Gal. 1:23; 1 Tim. 4:1, 6), and “one baptism” (compare Eph. 5:26) before concluding with an extended description of God as “one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all, and in all” (Eph. 4:6, ESV).What is Paul communicating through this poetic description of God the Father? By virtue of His being “Father of all,” God is the Creator. The rest of the sentence describes how, once the world is created, God relates to “all things,” to everything that He made. Paul is not dabbling in the heresies of pantheism (which identifies nature with God), or panentheism (which argues that the world is included in God’s being, though it does not exhaust that being). He is rather proclaiming the transcendence (“who is over all”), active rule (“who is . . . through all”), and immanence (“who is . . . in all”) of God.Note carefully two ideas about the unity of the church (Eph. 4:1–6). First, unity is a spiritual fact, rooted in these seven “ones,” a reality to be celebrated (Eph. 4:4–6). Second, this unity requires our zeal to nurture and grow it (Eph. 4:3). There will often be cause to weep at our failings in actualizing this unity. However, whatever our failings, we should rejoice in the work of God-in-Christ in unifying the church, rejoicing in the theological reality of the “unity of the Spirit” (Eph. 4:3). Doing so will empower us to return to the hard work of advancing this unity but with fresh conviction that in doing so we are accomplishing God’s own work.Read again Ephesians 4:4–6. How does it make you feel? How should it make you feel, knowing what it says about our unity in and with God through Christ?
Read Ephesians 4:1–16. How does Paul encourage believers to nurture the unity of the church?Paul begins the second half of Ephesians (chapters 4–6) with a stirring call to unity, but in two major parts. First, in Ephesians 4:1–6 he asks believers to nurture “the unity of the Spirit” by exhibiting unity-building virtues (Eph. 4:1–3), a call he supports with a poetic list of seven “ones” (Eph. 4:4–6). Second, in Ephesians 4:7–16, Paul identifies the victorious, exalted Jesus as the Source of grace in people who lead in sharing the gospel (Eph. 4:7–10) and describes how they, together with all church members, contribute to the health, growth, and unity of the body of Christ (Eph. 4:11–16).As the chapter begins, Paul invites Christians to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (Eph. 4:1, ESV). He used the verb walk in the figurative sense of to behave, or to live (see Eph. 2:2, 10; Eph. 4:17; Eph. 5:2, 8, 15). When Paul refers to their calling, he refers to the call to Christian faith (Eph. 1:18; Eph. 2:4–6, 13). Paul urges believers to practice a unifying behavior that reflects God’s ultimate plan (Eph. 4:9, 10). He begins that emphasis here with his call to practice virtues that lead to unity (Eph. 4:1–3), such as humility, gentleness, and patience.Let’s look at each term.Paul elsewhere explains the term humility, in Ephesians 4:2 (ESV; “lowliness” in NKJV), by adding the idea to “count others more significant than yourselves” (Phil. 2:3, ESV). Humility, then, may be understood not as a negative virtue of self-deprecation (see Col. 2:18, 23) but as a positive one of appreciating and serving others.Gentleness (Eph. 4:2, ESV, NKJV) may be explained as “the quality of not being overly impressed by a sense of one’s self-importance” and also means “courtesy, considerateness, meekness.”—Frederick Danker, ed., Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), p. 861.Finally, patience (ESV; compare “longsuffering,” NKJV) is being able to bear up under provocation or trials. These qualities, then, all gather around the theme of turning away from self-importance and, instead, focusing on the value of others.Humility, gentleness, patience. Think about how these attributes would help unify us as a people. How do we learn to cultivate these virtues?
Read for This Week’s StudyEph. 4:1–16; Phil. 2:3; Ps. 68:18; Acts 2; 1 Cor. 12:4–11, 27–30; Isa. 5:4.Memory Text:“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11, 12, ESV).One of Aesop’s fables is called “The Belly and the Feet.” It goes like this: “The belly and the feet were arguing about their importance, and when the feet kept saying that they were so much stronger that they even carried the stomach around, the stomach replied, ‘But, my good friends, if I didn’t take in food, you wouldn’t be able to carry anything.’ ”—Lloyd W. Daly, Aesop Without Morals (New York: Thomas Yoseloff, 1961), p. 148.Paul, however, used the human body to make a spiritual point. For Paul, the human body—and the church as the body of Christ—is composed of various parts with differing abilities, all of which must work together for the body to be healthy. In Ephesians 4:1–16, Paul redeploys the body metaphor that he used so effectively earlier (Rom. 12:3–8, 1 Cor. 12:12–31). Christ is now the Head of the body, supplying the body with “gifted” people who help unify the body, with each part—each church member—contributing its abilities to the whole.Paul’s picture of a healthy, unified body helps us understand God’s goal for us: to be parts of a fruitful church united in Christ.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 12.
Drawing on Psalm 68:18, Paul has just described the risen, exalted, conquering Jesus as giving gifts to His people from on high. What “gifts” does the exalted Jesus give, and for what purpose? Eph. 4:11–13.Paul identifies four groups of “gifted” people as part of the treasure trove of the exalted Jesus that He gives to His church: (1) apostles; (2) prophets; (3) evangelists; (4) shepherds (ESV) and teachers (the structure of the Greek phrase suggests these are a single group). Christ gives these gifts to accomplish important work: “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:12, ESV) and “until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13, ESV).This last point was of special importance to early Adventists, who were reflecting on the spiritual gifts of Ellen G. White. 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 about the captain of a ship who was bound to follow the instructions provided for a voyage. As the ship neared port, the captain found that the instructions informed him that a pilot would come on board to help guide the vessel. To remain true to the original instructions, he must allow the pilot to board and obey the further guidance offered. “Who now heed that original book of directions? Those who reject the pilot, or those who receive him, as that book instructs them? Judge ye.”—Uriah Smith, “Do We Discard the Bible by Endorsing the Visions?” Review and Herald, January 13, 1863, p. 52.We should be careful when we identify “shepherds” (or “pastors”), “teachers,” and “evangelists,” since we think of these positions within our own context and time. As far as we are able to determine, in Paul’s day these would all have been lay leaders who were serving the house churches of Ephesus (compare 1 Pet. 2:9, Acts 2:46, Acts 12:12).Read Isaiah 5:4: “What more could have been done to My vineyard that I have not done in it?” (NKJV). Think about this verse in the context of what God has given us in the ministry of Ellen G. White. How does it apply?
However, he has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ. That is why the Scriptures say,‘When he ascended to the heights,he led a crowd of captivesand gave gifts to his people.’“Notice that it says ‘he ascended.’ This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world. And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself” (Eph. 4:7–10, NLT).What is happening here, and what is Paul’s point in these verses?Paul here quoted Psalm 68:18, which reads: “When you ascended to the heights, you led a crowd of captives. You received gifts from the people, even from those who rebelled against you” (NLT). Psalm 68:18 portrays the Lord, Yahweh, as a conquering general who, having conquered His enemies, ascends the hill on which His capital city is built, with the captives of battle in His train (see Ps. 68:1, 2). He then receives tribute (“received gifts”) from His conquered foes (noting that Paul adjusts this imagery to the exalted Christ “giving gifts,” based on the wider context of the psalm; see Ps. 68:35).If we follow the order of Psalm 68:18, the ascent—Christ’s ascension to heaven (Eph. 1:21–23)—occurs first, followed by the descent in which the risen, exalted Jesus gives gifts and fills all things. This is Paul’s way of depicting the Pentecostal outpouring of the Holy Spirit (see Acts 2). This view is confirmed by Ephesians 4:11, 12, which identify the gifts provided by the exalted Jesus as gifts of the Spirit.“Christ ascended on high, leading captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. When, after Christ’s ascension, the Spirit came down as promised, like a rushing, mighty wind, filling the whole place where the disciples were assembled, what was the effect? Thousands were converted in a day.”—Ellen G. White, Ye Shall Receive Power, p. 158.However deep these few verses in Ephesians may be, how can we learn to draw comfort from what they show Christ has done for us and will do, especially when He will fill “all things everywhere with himself” (Eph. 1:23, NLT)?
Ellen G. White, “Modern Revivals,” in The Great Controversy, pp. 461–478.“How can we harmonize our dwarfed spiritual condition with the presentation of our text [Eph. 3:14–19] that describes the fullness of knowledge it is our privilege to possess? How can Heaven look upon us, who have had every spiritual and temporal advantage that we might grow in grace, when we have not improved our opportunities? The apostle did not write these words to tantalize us, to deceive us, or to raise our expectations only to have them disappointed in our experience. He wrote these words to show us what we may and must be, if we would be heirs of the kingdom of God. How can we be laborers together with God, if we have a dwarfed experience? We have a knowledge of the Christian’s privilege, and should seek for that deep, spiritual understanding in the things of God that the Lord has desired us to have.“Do we really believe the Bible? Do we really believe that we may attain to the knowledge of God that is presented before us in this text? Do we believe every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God? Do we believe the words that have been spoken by prophets and apostles, by Jesus Christ, who is the author of all light and blessing, and in whom dwelleth all richness and fullness? Do we really believe in God, and in his Son?”—Ellen G. White, Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, October 1, 1889.Discussion Questions:Compare Paul’s doxology in Ephesians 3:20, 21 to other doxologies in the New Testament—Rom. 11:33–36; Rom. 16:25–27; Phil. 4:20; 2 Pet. 3:18; Jude 24, 25. What themes or ideas move through these passages? How might we adopt the attitude of praise and worship they illustrate?Compare Paul’s four uses of the Greek word plēroma (“fullness”) in Ephesians (Eph. 1:10, 23; Eph. 3:19; Eph. 4:13). Why do you think this idea is important to Paul?Of all the actions of God that Paul praises in Ephesians 3, which is most inspiring to you? Why?Paul concludes the first half of Ephesians just as he began it (Eph. 1:3–21), employing the language of prayer and praise. He exults in God’s power, present in the lives of believers through Christ and the Spirit (Eph. 3:16–21). How can we, as Ellen G. White wrote above, better experience this power in our lives?
Bonus song: Acappella - Now To Him Song suggested by our dear friend, Badu - and it fits perfectly in this week's lesson on Ephesians chapter 3
Chorus: Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more Than all we ask or imagine According to His power that is at work within us
Repeat Chorus
Bridge (several times through in round):
To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus Throughout all generations, Forever and ever! Amen.
Repeat Chorus (x2)
Repeat Bridge
Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more Than all we ask or imagine
From the albums "Growing Up In The Lord" and "Platinum".
Paul concludes his prayer report with a doxology, a brief, poetic statement of praise to God. For what does he praise God? Eph. 3:20, 21.Paul has been recording his prayers for believers (Eph. 3:14–19). Now he prays directly and powerfully. Paul’s doxology raises two questions:Does the passage inappropriately elevate the church, placing it on a par with Christ, in the phrase “to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 3:21, ESV)? While Paul is highly interested in the church in Ephesians, it is clear that Christ is the Savior of the church since it is Christ who dwells in the hearts of believers (Eph. 3:17). In the doxology, Paul praises God for the salvation offered to the church through Christ Jesus.Does the phrase “throughout all generations, forever and ever” (Eph. 3:21, ESV) portray an unending, earthbound future for the church, with the return of Christ put on hold? Ephesians exhibits a robust expectation for the future. For example, Ephesians 4:30 looks toward “the day of redemption” (ESV). Also, believers will experience Christ’s limitless, sovereign power in “the age to come” (Eph. 1:21, NRSV). Paul’s doxology should be read as a celebration of Christ’s unending power exercised on behalf of believers.Looking back over Paul’s second prayer report (Eph. 3:14–21; compare Eph. 1:15–23), we see Paul finding strength in the cosmic scope of the Father’s care (Eph. 3:14, 15), the ready availability of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 3:16), the partnership of Christ Himself (Eph. 3:17), and the immeasurability of the limitless love of Christ (Eph. 3:18, 19). This is so true that he imagines believers being filled “with all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:19, ESV) and celebrates these spiritual realities in praise, again marveling at the abundance of God’s power on offer to the saints (Eph. 3:20, 21).Whenever we feel the press of problems, temptations, or doubts, we may turn to this buoyant account of Paul’s prayers. The imprisoned apostle raises our vision to the grand horizon of God’s purposes and grace, reminding us that, whatever our current circumstances, we are participants in God’s ultimate plan (Eph. 1:9, 10), and His power is at work in us.What blessings from God are especially valuable to you? Practice composing a prayer of praise in order to praise God for them.
Compare Paul’s earlier prayer request, Ephesians 1:16–19, with his plea for believers in Ephesians 3:14–19. In what ways are the two requests similar?Behind the English translations of Ephesians 3:14, 15 is an important play on words. When Paul says that he bows before “the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named” (ESV), he is exploring the phonetic connection between the Greek word for Father, patēr, and the Greek term for family, patria. In Ephesians, Paul celebrates the comprehensive nature of God’s plan of salvation, which involves all things (Eph. 1:9, 10) for all time (Eph. 1:21). And here he lays claim to “every family in heaven and on earth” as belonging to “the Father.” Every family (patria) takes its name from the Father (patēr). This is very good news!Ponder this thought: Your family, despite its imperfections and failings, belongs to God. Your family is not in the cruel grip of fate but in God’s caring hands. God loves imperfect families. They bear the divine name. They carry the mark of His ownership.In Ephesians 3:16–19, Paul asks God to grant believers an abundant spiritual experience marked by inner strength through the Spirit’s presence (Eph. 3:16), intimacy with Christ, who is also portrayed as dwelling within (Eph. 3:17), and a settled, secure spiritual identity (“rooted and grounded in love,” Eph. 3:17, ESV).As Paul seeks to offer praise to God for the expansive reach of blessings offered to believers, he includes not three dimensions but four—“breadth and length and height and depth” (Eph. 3:18, ESV). He does not clearly identify to what these dimensions apply, though they obviously describe the vast size of something important. This leaves an interesting puzzle for Bible students. Do these dimensions describe God’s wisdom (compare Job 11:5–9, which uses four dimensions), God’s power (compare Eph. 3:16, 17), or, perhaps, the spiritual temple of Ephesians 2:19–22 (compare Ezek. 43:13–16, which uses four dimensions; Amos 7:7, 8; Rev. 11:1, 2)? It may be best to see these four dimensions as describing the immensity of “the love of Christ” (Eph. 3:19), viewing the phrase “to comprehend . . . the breadth and length and height and depth” (Eph. 3:18, ESV) as parallel to the next phrase, “to know the love of Christ” (Eph. 3:19, ESV; compare Rom. 8:35–39). However we see his words, they are good news.
What does Paul say about God and the actions of God in Ephesians 3:7–13?Paul again lays claim to being a “minister” through “the gift of God’s grace” (Eph. 3:7, ESV; compare Eph. 3:1, 2). This gift, like the gospel itself, is not granted because of the worth of the recipient, but through God’s grace. Paul underlines this point by describing himself as “the very least of all the saints” (Eph. 3:8, ESV).There is an interesting progression in Paul’s self-understanding that is discernible as we move through Paul’s letters in the order they were written. Early on, he lays claim to his status as a divinely appointed apostle (Gal. 1:1). Later, though, he introduces himself as “the least of the apostles” and “not worthy to be called an apostle” (1 Cor. 15:9, NKJV). Here in Ephesians he sees himself as “the very least of all the saints” (Eph. 3:8, ESV). Finally, he describes himself as the “chief” (NKJV) or “worst” of sinners (1 Tim. 1:15, NIV).Perhaps this line of thinking here by Paul can help explain this famous quote by Ellen G. White: “The closer you come to Jesus, the more faulty you will appear in your own eyes; for your vision will be clearer, and your imperfections will be seen in broad and distinct contrast to His perfect nature.”—Steps to Christ, p. 64.Paul then continues. In Ephesians 3:10, he writes: “to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places” (NKJV). Who are the “rulers and authorities in the heavenly places” (ESV) mentioned here? How does the church announce God’s “manifold” or multifaceted wisdom to them? Though Ephesians 3:10 does not describe the nature of the powers, it seems best to take them as the evil ones described in more detail in Ephesians 6:11, 12. If so, the composition of the church, unifying Jews and Gentiles as once very divided parts of humankind, becomes a ringing announcement to these demonic “rulers and authorities in the heavenly places” of God’s plan for the future, “to unite all things in him [Christ], things in heaven and things on earth” (Eph. 1:10, ESV). They are put on notice that God’s plan is underway and their doom assured. The very nature of a unified church signals their ultimate defeat.If your own congregation took seriously Paul’s “job description” of the church in Ephesians 3:10, how might it change the way you and your fellow church members relate to each other?
Bonus song: Adopted as Sons (Ephesians 1:3-6) (Esther Mui)
Ephesians 1:3-6 New King James Version (NKJV)
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
Music Copyrighted by Esther Mui. Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. Ephesians 1:3-6 New King James Version (NKJV) (c) 2013
What is the mystery that has been entrusted to Paul? Eph. 3:1–6.As you study Ephesians 3:1–6, note the following:First, Paul writes this part of the letter specifically to Gentile believers in the house churches of Ephesus (Eph. 3:1).Second, Paul claims to be the recipient of something he labels “the stewardship of God’s grace,” given to him “for you,” for Gentile believers (Eph. 3:2, ESV). This stewardship, or this ministry of grace, is Paul’s way of describing the commission given to him to preach the gospel (“God’s grace”) to the Gentiles (compare Eph. 3:7, 8, ESV).Third, Paul claims that a mystery has been revealed to him, a topic he has already written about in the letter (see especially Eph. 1:9, 10; Eph. 2:11–22), the “mystery of Christ” (Eph. 3:3, 4). Paul does not wish to be understood as the inventor of the gospel, but he does lay claim to a God-given ministry to proclaim it.Fourth, Paul is not alone in having received advanced revelation about this mystery, as the Spirit has also revealed it to Christ’s “holy apostles and prophets” in a way that surpasses the revelation of God’s plan to earlier generations (Eph. 3:5). The term prophets here probably refers to those possessing and exercising the gift of prophecy among early Christian house churches rather than the prophets of the Old Testament. The mystery, which was once hidden, has now become what we might call an “open secret.”Finally, he declares: “This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (Eph. 3:6, ESV).Paul is passionate about the gospel and especially about the way it is expressed in the church, which is composed of both Jews and Gentiles. These two groups have become the building blocks of God’s new community, His new brand of humanity, the church (see Eph. 2:14–16). We could say they are now transformed from being enemies to being “co-heirs,” “co-bodied” (included in a single body, the body of Christ), and “co-partakers” of the gospel promise (see Eph. 3:6).What, if any, attitudes, maybe even below the surface, might you hold that contradict the inclusiveness taught by the gospel? How do you rid yourself of these?
Bonus song: Come Behold The Wondrous Mystery (Galkin Evangelistic Team) / Lyrics Come behold the wondrous mystery In the dawning of the king He, the theme of Heaven's praises Robed in frail humanity In our longing, in our darkness Now the light of life has come Look to Christ who condescended Took on flesh to ransom us
Come behold the wondrous mystery He, the perfect son of man In his living, in his suffering Never trace nor stain of sin See the true and better Adam Come to save the hell-bound man Christ the great and sure fulfillment Of the law in him, we stand
Come behold the wondrous mystery Christ, the Lord upon the tree In the stead of ruined sinners Hangs the lamb in victory See the price of our redemption See the father's plan unfold Bringing many sons to glory Grace unmeasured, love untold
Come behold the wondrous mystery Slain by death, the God of life But no grave could e'er restrain Him Praise the Lord, He is alive What a foretaste of deliverance How unwavering our hope Christ in power resurrected As we will be when he comes What a foretaste of deliverance How unwavering our hope Christ in power resurrected As we will be when he comes What a foretaste of deliverance How unwavering our hope Christ in power resurrected As we will be when he comes
Songwriters: Matt Boswell / Michael Bleecker / Matt Papa
Read Ephesians 3. As you do so, identify one or two main themes. What major points does Paul make?Ephesians 3 displays an interesting structure. Paul begins the chapter with these words: “For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles” (Eph. 3:1, NKJV). Then, he breaks off for what turns out to be a lengthy digression focused on his work as apostle to the Gentiles (Eph. 3:2–13). After the aside, he signals a return to his original train of thought by repeating the phrase “For this reason” (Eph. 3:14, NKJV), with verses 14–21 providing his interrupted prayer report.In Ephesians 3:1, Paul identifies himself as “the prisoner of Christ Jesus” (NKJV), his way of arguing that though he may reside in Roman captivity and appear to be under the authority of the Roman Empire, there is a deeper, divine purpose being worked out in his life. He is not the prisoner of Rome but “the prisoner of Christ Jesus”! (compare Eph. 4:1).Paul’s mention of his “suffering” (Eph. 3:13, ESV), and his later mention of his chains (Eph. 6:20, ESV), suggest that he is not under relatively comfortable house arrest (compare Acts 28:16) but is in prison. Being in prison in the first century and in a Roman dungeon was especially challenging. The Roman Empire did not run well-organized prisons with sanitary facilities and regular meal service. In fact, the empire had little need for prisons since incarceration was not used as a means of punishment. People were placed in prison only while they awaited trial or execution. Prisoners were expected to provide for themselves and were dependent on relatives and friends to supply food and other needs.Paul’s worries perhaps center on the emotional impact of his imprisonment on believers, since being a prisoner was an extreme social disgrace in the context of an honor-shame culture. He might fear that some will ask, “How can Paul be the apostle and messenger of the exalted Christ and be a despised prisoner?” So, he reframes his imprisonment, helping believers to see it as part of God’s plan. He is suffering for them (“suffering for you,” ESV), and what appears to be a source of shame will in fact turn out to be for their “glory” (Eph. 3:13).How can we learn to trust God and His ways amid what can be very trying circumstances?
Read for This Week’s StudyEphesians 3; Job 11:5–9; Ezek. 43:13–16; Amos 7:7, 8; Rev. 11:1, 2.Memory Text:“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen” (Ephesians 3:20, 21, NIV).In Ephesians 3, Paul opens with a theme that he had already touched on earlier: “that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel” (Eph. 3:6, NKJV). And though that might not be much of a surprise to the church today, composed mostly of Gentiles, it was something that seemed radically new to many of his readers at that time.Paul then continues his inspired words, as the apostle reflects on his passion to preach the gospel of Jesus to the Gentiles.We learn, too, of his current hardships in extending that ministry, hardships that include time in a Roman prison.And we also hear his commitment to the mystery at the heart of the gospel, the mystery that, in the church, Gentiles are on equal footing with their Jewish brothers and sisters. We experience his excitement for the church and its cosmic mission. We listen in as he prays, praising God for expressing His grace through the church.In short, we are inspired to join Paul in his passion for the gospel.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 5.
Study carefully the following preamble to the dis-cussion questions listed below:What is the specific context in which Paul writes Ephesians 2:11–22 as he describes the sweeping effects of the Cross on human relationships? He is addressing the relationships between Jewish and Gentile believers who together are members of the church. He expresses an obvious concern that they understand and live their shared, reconciled status as fellow members of God’s household (Eph. 2:19). However, in the context of the letter as a whole, Paul demonstrates a broad, far-reaching purpose. His theme is God’s grand, ultimate plan to unite all things in Christ (Eph. 1:9, 10), and his scope includes “every family in heaven and on earth” (Eph. 3:15, ESV).More important, the unity of members within the church—the specific topic he addresses in Ephesians 2:11–22—itself has a wider purpose that Paul discloses in Ephesians 3:10: “so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God [in creating the church out of both Jews and Gentiles] might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places” (ESV). Through actualizing the unity Christ won on the cross, believers are to signal that God’s ultimate plan to unite all things in Christ is underway. Their reconciled relationships signal God’s plan for a universe unified in Christ. So, it is appropriate to look to Ephesians 2:11–22, set in the context of Ephesians as a whole, for biblical principles concerning a topic of importance today, relationships among people groups or races.Discussion Questions:What biblical principles concerning ethnic relations are provided in Ephesians 2:11–22? How does the passage offer a distinctive, Christ-centered approach to the theme of how members of one ethnic group should relate to members of another?Given God’s plan for the future of humankind (Eph. 1:9, 10; Eph. 2:11–22), how important is it for the church to deal with its own internal issues and conflicts between races?What simmering issues between ethnic groups, which all too often may be hidden and ignored, exist in your community? How might your church play a positive role in actualizing the unifying work Christ already has accomplished on the cross? How might you participate in that work?
What culminating set of images does Paul use in Ephesians 2:11–22 to signal unity between Jews and Gentiles in the church?Reviewing Ephesians 2, we recall that verses 1–10 teach that we live in solidarity with Jesus, while verses 11–22 teach that we live in solidarity with others as part of His church. Jesus’ death has both vertical benefits in establishing our relationship with God (Eph. 2:1–10) and horizontal ones in cementing our relationships with others (Eph. 2:11–22). Through the Cross, Jesus demolishes all that divides Gentile believers from Jewish ones, including the misuse of the Law in order to widen the gulf (Eph. 2:11–18). Jesus also builds something—an amazing, new temple composed of believers. Gentiles, once excluded from worship in the sacred places of the temple, now join Jewish believers in becoming a new temple. We all become part of God’s church, “a holy temple in the Lord” (Eph. 2:19–22, ESV) and are privileged to live in solidarity with Jesus and our brothers and sisters in Christ.How does Paul’s use of the metaphor of the church as a temple in Ephesians 2:19–22 compare with the uses in the following passages? 1 Cor. 3:9–17, 2 Cor. 6:14–7:1, 1 Pet. 2:4–8.Paul employs the metaphor of the church as temple as a culminating image for the full inclusion of Gentiles in the church. Once banned from worship in the “Court of Israel” in the temple, they now not only gain access (Eph. 2:18) but themselves become building materials for a new temple designed as “a dwelling place of God in the Spirit” (Eph. 2:22, NKJV).New Testament authors employ the temple metaphor to visualize the sanctity of the church, God’s role in founding and growing the church, and the solidarity of believers within the church. The metaphor is used in conjunction with biological language (see Eph. 2:21, where the temple “grows”), and the process of building is often accentuated (see Eph. 2:22, “you also are being built together,” ESV). Rather than a static image, the church is able to acknowledge its identity as “the temple of the living God” (2 Cor. 6:16, NKJV).
How does Paul summarize the ministry of Christ in Ephesians 2:17, 18?The concept of peace is important in Ephesians, with the letter beginning and ending with blessings of peace “from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 1:2, NKJV; compare Eph. 6:23). Earlier in Ephesians 2:11–22, Paul argued that Christ personifies peace, “For He Himself is our peace,” and that His Cross creates it (Eph. 2:14–16, NKJV). Christ not only destroys something—the hostility between Jew and Gentile (Eph. 2:14, 15)—He creates a new humanity, marked by relationships of reconciliation and peace (Eph. 2:15–17). Such peace is not just the absence of conflict but resonates with the Hebrew concept of shalom, the experience of wholeness and well-being, both in our relationship with God (Rom. 5:1) and with others.How does Paul imagine believers participating in sharing Jesus’ message of peace? Eph. 4:3; Eph. 6:14, 15; compare Rom. 10:14, 15 with Eph. 2:17–19, Isa. 52:7, Isa. 57:19.The Gospels contain examples of Jesus as a preacher of peace. In His farewell messages to the disciples, He promises them—and us—“ ‘Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you’ ” (John 14:27, NKJV). And He concludes, “ ‘I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world’ ” (John 16:33, ESV). After His resurrection, when He appears to the disciples, He repeatedly says to them, “ ‘Peace be with you’ ” (John 20:19, 21, 26, ESV).In Ephesians 2:17, 18, Paul is keen to point out that Christ’s preaching of peace extended beyond the time of His earthly ministry. He has “preached peace” in the present to both “far” (Gentile believers before they were converted; ESV) and “near” (Jewish believers, ESV; compare Eph. 2:11–13). Having accepted this proclamation, all believers experience a profound blessing.How can we learn to be preachers of peace as opposed to conduits of conflict? To what situations, right now, can you help bring healing?
What action does Paul say Christ took toward “the law of commandments expressed in ordinances” (ESV)? Why did He take this action? (See Eph. 2:14, 15.)Paul probably alludes here to the balustrade or fence that surrounded the court of Israel in Herod’s Temple, with its death threat. Paul imagines this wall coming down and Gentiles being granted full access to worship God (Eph. 2:18). Any such wall, says Paul, is removed by the Cross. For there we learn that these two peoples, Jews and Gentiles, are really one.Some believe that Ephesians 2:14, 15 teaches that the Ten Commandments, inclusive of the Sabbath commandment, are “abolished” or “set aside” by the Cross. However, in Ephesians, Paul demonstrates profound respect for the Ten Commandments as a resource for shaping Christian discipleship. He quotes the fifth commandment (Eph. 6:2, 3) and alludes to others (e.g., the seventh, Eph. 5:3–14, 21–33; the eighth, Eph. 4:28; the ninth, Eph. 4:25; the tenth, Eph. 5:5). This aligns with Paul’s earlier assertions about the law (Rom. 3:31, Rom. 7:12). He addresses the misuse of the law, but he honors the law itself and assumes its continuity. Hence, to use these verses to abolish the Ten Commandments, especially in light of all the other verses in the Bible about the perpetuity of the law, is clearly a misinterpretation of Paul’s intent here.Instead, any use of the law to drive a wedge between Jews and Gentiles and especially to exclude Gentiles from full partnership among the people of God and access to worship, would be anathema to Paul and a misuse of the divine intention for the law. The “law” in Ephesians 2:14, 15 is either the ceremonial aspects of the law that divided Jew from Gentile, represented in Paul’s complex phrase “the law of commandments expressed in ordinances” (ESV), or it is the whole Old Testament system of law as it had come to be interpreted, augmented, and misused as a wedge to distance Jews from Gentiles.What tensions among Seventh-day Adventists or among members of the wider Christian community need to be confronted and overcome? Why should our common love of Christ be enough to overcome these tensions?
For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility . . . that he might . . . reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross” (Eph. 2:14–16, ESV).How does Paul describe the Cross and the impact of Christ’s work there in each of these passages in Ephesians? How would you summarize what Paul says about the Cross and how it transforms our relationships? (See Eph. 1:7, 8; Eph. 4:32; Eph. 2:13, 14; Eph. 2:16; Eph. 5:2, 25.)In the context of our passage for this week, Ephesians 2:11–22, the Cross yields three great assets for believers: (1) Gentiles, who were “far” from God and His people, are “brought near” (Eph. 2:13, ESV) to both, being now sons and daughters of God and brothers and sisters of Jewish believers (Eph. 2:19); (2) the “hostility” (Greek, echthran, “enmity,” related to echthros, “enemy”) between Jewish and Gentile believers is itself “put to death” (Eph. 2:16, NASB). The cross of Christ removes what seemed to be the permanent state of hostility and war in which Jews and Gentiles were sworn enemies (Eph. 2:17); (3) in the place of hostility comes reconciliation. It was Christ’s purpose to “reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross” (Eph. 2:16, NKJV; compare Col. 1:19–22).What does reconciliation look like? How does it feel to be reconciled? Imagine severe estrangement between a mother and daughter, one that has settled in over a period of years. Imagine this rancor being dissolved in a wave of grace and forgiveness and the ensuing reunion between the two. That is reconciliation. Reconciliation is experienced in the moment when one church member lays aside whatever issue divides from another and acknowledges the other church member as a beloved brother or sister who accepts what has been offered. Reconciliation is not a mechanical or legal term but an interpersonal one that celebrates the mending of broken relationships. Paul dares to imagine Christ’s powerful work on the cross as impacting the relationships, between not just individuals but also people groups. He imagines it invading our lives and destroying our divisions, dissolving our quarrels, and renewing our fellowship with and understanding of each other.In what ways might you need to apply the principles here to be reconciled to someone else? How do you go about doing it?
Compare Ephesians 2:1–3, Paul’s earlier description of the Gentile past of the addressees, with Ephesians 2:11, 12. What does he accent in his fresh description of their past?Gentiles who were now believers in Christ and members of His “body,” the church, were once totally separated from Israel and the salvation God offered. Paul judges it important for them to “remember” (Eph. 2:11) this past. They were then “without Christ,” the Anointed One, the Messiah of Israel. They were “aliens from the commonwealth [the state or people] of Israel.” And they were “strangers from the covenants of promise,” oblivious to the promises of salvation God had offered down through salvation history. The alienation from Israel and the salvation offered through it meant that they once had “no hope” and were “without God in the world” (Eph. 2:12, NKJV).Also, in their past existence, Gentiles were caught up in a grand feud between themselves and the Jews. Paul gives a sense of this entrenched hatred by referring to one symptom of it, name-calling. Jews referred to Gentiles with derision as “the uncircumcision,” and Gentiles referred to Jews with equal disdain as “the circumcision” (Eph. 2:11).Ephesians 2:13, however, points to something radically different now. Paul wrote: “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (NKJV).When Paul describes Gentile believers as once “far off,” he borrows from Isaiah 57:19: “ ‘Peace, peace, to the far and to the near,’ says the Lord, ‘and I will heal him’ ” (ESV; compare Eph. 2:17, 18). In Christ and through His cross, Gentile believers had been brought near to all from which they were separated—God, hope, and their Jewish brothers and sisters. Here is the powerfully good news implied by Paul’s description: that the cross of Christ can heal the wide rift between Jews and Gentiles means that all of our feuds and divisions can be resolved there. This good news invites us to consider the divisions that exist in our own lives and in the church and to ponder the power of the Cross to supersede them.From what condition has Jesus redeemed you? Why might it be important for you to recall, with some regularity, where you were when He found you and where you might now be had He not found you?
Read for This Week’s StudyEph. 2:11–22, Rom. 3:31, Rom. 7:12, Isa. 52:7, Isa. 57:19, John 14:27, 1 Cor. 3:9–17.Memory Text:“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one” (Ephesians 2:13, 14, ESV).You are a Gentile, a Greek, who has learned to treasure the God of the Jews. In fact, you have left your worship of many gods and have embraced the one true God. As you make your way through the beautiful courtyards and fluted columns of the Jerusalem temple, the sounds of worship call forth your praise. Just then, though, you find yourself confronted by a stone barricade four feet high. Engraved every few feet in Latin and Greek is this message: “No foreigner may enter within the barrier and enclosure around the temple. Anyone who is caught doing so will have himself to blame for his ensuing death.” In that moment you feel shut out, alienated, and separated.In Ephesians 2:11–22, Paul sees the cross of Christ as making a dramatic difference, destroying such barriers and walls. Vertically, the Cross dissolves alienation, reconciling humans with God. Horizontally, it reconciles people with each other. The Cross removes enmity and brings peace between Jews and Gentiles, making of them “one new humanity” (Eph. 2:15, NIV). Together they become a new temple, “a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Eph. 2:22, ESV).What does this truth mean for us today?*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, July 29.
Underlying the Epistle to the Ephesians is a story that is often rehearsed in part or alluded to in it. The major events in the narrative are the following:God’s choice of the people “before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4, 5, 11).Their past, lost existence (Eph. 2:1–3, 11, 12; Eph. 4:17–19, 22; Eph. 5:8).The intervention of God in Christ to save them (Eph. 1:7, 8; Eph. 2:4–6, 13–19; Eph. 4:1, 20, 21; Eph. 5:2, 8, 23, 25, 26).Their acceptance of the gospel (Eph. 1:12, 13 and implied elsewhere). Having once “no hope” (Eph. 2:12), they now possess the “one hope” toward which believers move (Eph. 4:4; compare Eph. 1:18).The present lives of the addressees as disciples. Though living at a time fraught with hazards and the opposition of the evil powers, they may draw on the resources offered by their exalted Lord (Eph. 1:15–23, Eph. 2:6, Eph. 3:14–21, Eph. 4:7–16, Eph. 6:10–20).In the future culmination of history, the Spirit’s role as “guarantee” (Eph. 1:13, 14, ESV), or “seal” (Eph. 4:30), reaches fruition. In this crowning moment, the addressees will be rewarded for their faithfulness by taking possession of the “inheritance” already granted to them in Christ (Eph. 2:7; Eph. 6:8, 9); and, through their faith in Christ, they will be granted a place in the Christ-centered age to come (Eph. 1:21; Eph. 2:7, 19–22; Eph. 4:13, 15; Eph. 5:27).Discussion Questions:The underlying story of Ephesians (see above) is not just the story of believers in the first century. It is our own story. Which of the major steps or stages of that story gives you the most hope in this moment?Why do you think it is that Paul so frequently recalls the sinful past of his audience, inviting them to reflect on their pre-conversion lives?Compare Paul’s summary of the gospel in Ephesians 2:8–10 to his earlier summary in Romans 1:16, 17. What similar themes emerge? In what ways are the two different?While the good works of believers play no role in their redemption, in that they can never give people saving merit before God, what important part do they play in God’s plans for believers? Eph. 2:10.
Read back through Ephesians 2:1–10, focusing on Paul’s conclusion in verses 8–10. What points does he highlight as he concludes the passage?In Ephesians 2:1–3, Paul documents that the salvation of the believers in Ephesus does not occur because of their good behavior or winsome qualities. When the story begins, they are spiritually dead. There’s not a spark of life or worth in them (Eph. 2:1). They have been utterly conquered by sin (Eph. 2:1). They exhibit no personal initiative but are led around by Satan himself and by their own base passions and mental delusions (Eph. 2:2, 3).Unknown to them, they are in a far worse position than simply being without spiritual life or virtue. In company with all humankind, they are the enemies of the true God and are moving toward a day of destiny and divine judgment. They are “children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” (Eph. 2:3, ESV).Instead of being rooted in their own qualities, their salvation is rooted in God’s inexplicable love—a love that cannot be explained based on any worth in the object of that love. In mercy and love, God acts on their behalf in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:4), resurrecting them from spiritual death. Because of God’s intervention, they experience an amazing itinerary that follows the trajectory of Jesus Himself. From the extreme depth of utter spiritual death and grinding slavery, they are resurrected and conveyed to the “heavenly places” and seated with Christ on the cosmic throne (Eph. 2:5, 6). This lightning-like, divine intervention, though, is no momentary phenomenon. It has real staying power, eternal durability, because God intends to exhibit His grace toward them in Christ Jesus throughout all eternity (Eph. 2:7).In his conclusion to Ephesians 2:1–10 (Eph. 2:8–10), Paul goes back over this ground, wishing to ensure that his point sticks: the salvation of believers is a divine work, not a human one. It does not originate in us but in God’s gift. No human being can boast of having sparked it (Eph. 2:8, 9). Standing in the grace of God, we believers are exhibits of His grace, and only of His grace. We are His masterpieces, created by God “in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:10).Why is it so important for us to understand that our salvation is from God and is not rooted in our own worth or efforts?
Compare God’s planning for salvation in Ephesians 1:3, 4 with the eternal results of that plan described in Ephesians 2:7. What are essential elements and goals of God’s “plan of salvation”?Graduation ceremonies are wonderful celebrations, whether for kindergarten or a PhD. A graduation marks an important accomplishment, the move to a different stage of life or career. It is important for us as believers to understand a profound truth of the gospel: we never graduate from grace. There is never a celebration that we have attained our PhD in grace or graduated from our need of it.Paul affirms this truth in Ephesians 2:7, accenting it with an expansive chronology. God has acted in the past in Christ to redeem us, so identifying us with His Son, Jesus Christ, that we are in the present coparticipants in His resurrection, ascension, and exaltation (Eph. 2:4–6). God’s plan, though, does not end with a grace-filled past and a mercy-bathed present. God’s plan, rooted in divine councils in time immemorial (Eph. 1:4), stretches forever into the future. It includes all “the coming ages” (Eph. 2:7, ESV). His plan for the eternal future is founded on the same principle as His actions in the past and present—the principle of grace. “In the coming ages,” God looks forward to demonstrating “the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:7, ESV).Paul thinks of God’s grace as a treasure or fortune of unfathomable value (compare Eph. 1:7, Eph. 3:8) from which believers may draw to meet any need. This grand generosity of God toward us becomes an eloquent, ageless, and cosmic exhibit of His grace.“By coming to dwell with us, Jesus was to reveal God both to men and to angels. . . . But not alone for His earthborn children was this revelation given. Our little world is the lesson book of the universe. God’s wonderful purpose of grace, the mystery of redeeming love, is the theme into which ‘angels desire to look,’ and it will be their study throughout endless ages. Both the redeemed and the unfallen beings will find in the cross of Christ their science and their song. It will be seen that the glory shining in the face of Jesus is the glory of self-sacrificing love.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 19, 20.
“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us” (Eph. 2:4, NKJV). Here, with two powerful words, “But God,” Paul pivots from his doleful portrait of the past lives of his audience (Eph. 2:1–3) to the new, hope-filled realities that mark their lives as believers (Eph. 2:4–10).In what sense do believers participate in Christ’s resurrection, ascension, and exaltation? When does this participation occur? Eph. 2:6, 7.We have noted that Ephesians is a Christ-drenched letter highlighting the solidarity of believers with Christ. In Ephesians 2:5 and 6, Paul extends this theme by deploying three compound verbs to unleash the stunning truth that, through God’s initiatives, believers themselves participate in important salvation history events that center on the Messiah, Jesus.Believers are (1) co-resurrected with Christ; (2) co-raised up with Christ (which Paul probably uses to indicate the participation of believers in Christ’s ascension to heaven); and (3) co-seated with Christ “in the heavenly places,” meaning that believers participate in Christ’s “seating” on the throne of the cosmos. They are co-exalted with Jesus.To appreciate the power of Paul’s argument, we must look back to Ephesians 1:19–23 and recall that in His death, resurrection, ascension, and exaltation, Christ gains the victory over all evil and spiritual powers, the very ones who once dominated the lives of believers. In the resurrection, ascension, and exaltation of Jesus, these powers—though still active and threatening to human existence—have been thoroughly superseded. The cosmos has shifted. Reality has changed. Believers are not mere spectators to these events but are personally and intimately involved in them. That we are co-resurrected, co-ascended, and co-exalted with Jesus opens up a whole new array of possibilities for us. We have the right to turn from a demon-dominated existence to a life of spiritual abundance and power in Christ (2 Tim. 1:7).“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Tim. 1:7, NKJV). How do the verses we looked at today help us understand what Paul writes here?
Read Ephesians 2:1–10. What is the main idea that Paul is giving us here about what Jesus has done for us?Paul has already described the salvation given to Christians (Eph. 1:3–14, 15–23) and told, in brief, the story of the believers in Ephesus (Eph. 1:13). In Ephesians 2:1–10, Paul will now tell their conversion story in more detail, with a more personal focus. He contrasts their past, sinful existence (Eph. 2:1–3) with the blessings of God’s salvation, which he portrays as a participation in the resurrection, ascension, and exaltation of Christ (Eph. 2:4–7), and he celebrates the basis of that salvation in the grace and creative work of God (Eph. 2:8–10).These three sections of the passage are summarized neatly in the phrases of Ephesians 2:5: (1) “we were dead in our trespasses”; (2) God “made us alive together with Christ”; (3) “by grace you have been saved” (ESV).In Ephesians 2:1, 2, Paul underlines the sad reality of the pre-conversion existence of his audience by noting that they were spiritually dead, practicing trespasses and sins as their regular pattern of life (Eph. 2:1), and were dominated by Satan (Eph. 2:2). Since Paul writes to living people, he refers to them as once “dead” in a metaphorical sense (compare Eph. 5:14). However, their plight was very real and dire since they were once separated from God, the Source of life (compare Col. 2:13, Rom. 5:17, Rom. 6:23).Reflecting on the past lives of his hearers, Paul identifies two external forces that dominated them. The first of these is “the course of this world” (Eph. 2:2, NKJV)—the customs and behavior in the wider society of Ephesus that misshaped human life into rebellion against God.Satan is described in two ways as the second external force that dominated their prior existence. He is “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2, NKJV) since “the air” (or “the heavenly places”) is identified as the location of supernatural powers, including evil ones (compare Eph. 1:3, Eph. 3:10, Eph. 6:12). Also, he is active on earth since he is “the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience” (Eph. 2:2, NKJV).What do these verses teach about the reality of the great controversy? At the same time, how can we draw comfort and hope in the knowledge that Jesus has been victorious and that we can share in His victory now?
Read Ephesians 2:1–10. What is the main idea that Paul is giving us here about what Jesus has done for us?Paul has already described the salvation given to Christians (Eph. 1:3–14, 15–23) and told, in brief, the story of the believers in Ephesus (Eph. 1:13). In Ephesians 2:1–10, Paul will now tell their conversion story in more detail, with a more personal focus. He contrasts their past, sinful existence (Eph. 2:1–3) with the blessings of God’s salvation, which he portrays as a participation in the resurrection, ascension, and exaltation of Christ (Eph. 2:4–7), and he celebrates the basis of that salvation in the grace and creative work of God (Eph. 2:8–10).These three sections of the passage are summarized neatly in the phrases of Ephesians 2:5: (1) “we were dead in our trespasses”; (2) God “made us alive together with Christ”; (3) “by grace you have been saved” (ESV).In Ephesians 2:1, 2, Paul underlines the sad reality of the pre-conversion existence of his audience by noting that they were spiritually dead, practicing trespasses and sins as their regular pattern of life (Eph. 2:1), and were dominated by Satan (Eph. 2:2). Since Paul writes to living people, he refers to them as once “dead” in a metaphorical sense (compare Eph. 5:14). However, their plight was very real and dire since they were once separated from God, the Source of life (compare Col. 2:13, Rom. 5:17, Rom. 6:23).Reflecting on the past lives of his hearers, Paul identifies two external forces that dominated them. The first of these is “the course of this world” (Eph. 2:2, NKJV)—the customs and behavior in the wider society of Ephesus that misshaped human life into rebellion against God.Satan is described in two ways as the second external force that dominated their prior existence. He is “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2, NKJV) since “the air” (or “the heavenly places”) is identified as the location of supernatural powers, including evil ones (compare Eph. 1:3, Eph. 3:10, Eph. 6:12). Also, he is active on earth since he is “the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience” (Eph. 2:2, NKJV).What do these verses teach about the reality of the great controversy? At the same time, how can we draw comfort and hope in the knowledge that Jesus has been victorious and that we can share in His victory now?
Bonus song: You Saved Me (Heritage Singers ) / Lyrics Lost in a world of confusion Walking through life all alone Holding the hand of illusion, I was a diamond covered in stone Days spent looking, longing for that one thing That could make me whole When Lord I heard Your voice
You rescued me from the depths of my loneliness And You gave me strength, gave me hope, to find my destiny With Your power and Your tender love You saved me You saved me
Watching sand fall through an hourglass Waiting for the pain to let go I live each day frozen by my past like a flower covered in snow Then You heard my cry and my eyes were open wide To the truth of Your love And Lord I heard Your voice
You rescued me from the depths of my loneliness And You gave me strength, gave me hope, to find my destiny With Your power and Your tender love You saved me You saved me
Jehovah, Shamah, El Shaddai Yeshua, Messiah, My Savior Jesus Christ
You rescued me from the depths of my loneliness And You gave me strength, gave me hope, to find my destiny Oh You rescued me from the depths of my loneliness And You gave me strength My savior Jesus Christ You rescued me from the depths of my loneliness And You gave me strength, gave me hope, to find my destiny Oh You rescued me from the depths of my loneliness And You gave me strength, gave me hope, to find my destiny With Your power and Your tender love You saved me You saved me You saved me
Songwriters: Michael Puryear / Jeffrey Silvey You Saved Me
Read for This Week’s StudyEph. 2:1–10, Eph. 5:14, Rom. 5:17, Eph. 5:6, 2 Tim. 1:7.Memory Text:“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:4, 5, ESV).On October 14, 1987, eighteen-month-old Jessica McClure was playing in her aunt’s backyard when she fell twenty-two feet into an abandoned well. Her plight attracted media from around the world to Midland, Texas. A global audience watched “Baby Jessica” sleeping, crying, singing, and calling out for her mother. They watched as emergency workers piped fresh air down the well.Finally, fifty-eight hours after Jessica’s fall, the worldwide audience watched as Jessica was released from the eight-inch well casing that had trapped her for more than two days. Photographer Scott Shaw’s Pulitzer Prize–winning photograph captured the moment: a rescue cable bisects the worried faces of Jessica’s rescuers looking down at the bandaged bundle at the heart of the drama, Baby Jessica.There’s nothing quite as gripping as a good rescue story, and Paul, in Ephesians 2:1–10, gives us an up-close-and-personal view of the grandest, most sweeping rescue mission of all time—God’s efforts to redeem humanity. The drama of the story is heightened by knowing that we are not mere spectators of someone else’s rescue but witnesses of our own.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, July 22.
Study these two descriptions of Christ’s exaltation from the writings of Ellen G. White:“When Christ passed within the heavenly gates, He was enthroned amidst the adoration of the angels. As soon as this ceremony was completed, the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples in rich currents, and Christ was indeed glorified, even with the glory which He had with the Father from all eternity. The Pentecostal outpouring was Heaven’s communication that the Redeemer’s inauguration was accomplished. According to His promise He had sent the Holy Spirit from heaven to His followers as a token that He had, as priest and king, received all authority in heaven and on earth, and was the Anointed One over His people.”—The Acts of the Apostles, pp. 38, 39.“The Father’s arms encircle His Son, and the word is given, ‘Let all the angels of God worship Him.’ Hebrews 1:6.“With joy unutterable, rulers and principalities and powers acknowledge the supremacy of the Prince of life. The angel host prostrate themselves before Him, while the glad shout fills all the courts of heaven, ‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.’ Revelation 5:12.“Songs of triumph mingle with the music from angel harps, till heaven seems to overflow with joy and praise. Love has conquered. The lost is found. Heaven rings with voices in lofty strains proclaiming, ‘Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever.’ Rev. 5:13.”—The Desire of Ages, pp. 834, 835.Discussion Questions: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 Cor. 15:24–28.)To what extent are you living in the light of Christ’s rule over all things? Or to what extent are you living under the authority of these other powers, the fallen powers, whose authority is ebbing away anyway? How do you know which is which, and how can you get away from the forces of evil that, though certainly defeated, are still prevalent in our world?
Early Christians saw in Psalm 110:1 a prophecy of the exaltation of Jesus: “The Lord says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool’ ” (ESV). They read Psalm 8 in the same way, with its affirmation that God has “put all things under his feet,” (Ps. 8:6, ESV), the feet of “the son of man” (Ps. 8:4, ESV). While they believed that the powers of darkness in the heavenly places were over their heads and threatened to subjugate them, they laid hold of the truth that those powers were under Christ’s feet.Note carefully that having “put all things under his [Jesus’] feet,” the Father “gave him as head over all things to the church” (Eph. 1:22, ESV; compare “gave Him to be head over all things to the church,” NKJV). While “all things” is a universal, inclusive term, Paul still has in mind “the powers” mentioned in Ephesians 1:21. All things—the cosmic, supernatural, spiritual powers included—are under the feet of Christ, subservient to Him.What benefits does the exaltation of Christ to the throne of the cosmos, and His rule over all things in heaven and on earth, provide for His church? Eph. 1:22, 23.God has made Christ victorious over all evil powers. The church, closely identified with Christ and supplied by Him with all it needs, is itself guaranteed victory over those foes. The power of God, on display in the resurrection and His exaltation over every cosmic power, has been activated for the church. God has given the victorious Christ to the church, which is so united with Him as to be called His body.How can we believers know the exalted Christ and experience God’s power in our lives? Paul does not directly address any mechanisms or strategies by which this occurs. However, the fact that the passage is part of a “prayer report” is suggestive. Paul believes that God will answer his prayer. He affirms the efficacy of celebrating God’s power, revealed in Christ, in God’s own presence and asking for it to be active in the lives of believers.What has been your own experience with the power of prayer? That is, not just answered prayers but prayer in general, and how does prayer draw us closer to God and the power offered us in Jesus?
Paul has celebrated the exaltation of Jesus, who now sits with the Father on the throne of the cosmos. Having defined the position of Christ in relationship to the Father (“seated . . . at his right hand in the heavenly places” [Eph. 1:20, ESV]), Paul turns to the relationship of Jesus to “the powers.” As coregent with the Father, Jesus is “far above” them all (Eph. 1:21).Compare Paul’s mentioning of evil, spiritual powers in Ephesians 1:21, Ephesians 2:2, and Ephesians 6:12. Why do you think Paul is so interested in these powers?Acts 19:11–20, with its story of the seven sons of Sceva, illustrates that Ephesus at the time of Paul was a center for the magic arts. “The overriding characteristic of the practice of magic throughout the Hellenistic world was the cognizance of a spirit world exercising influence over virtually every aspect of life. The goal of the magician was to discern the helpful spirits from the harmful ones and learn the distinct operations and the relative strengths and authority of the spirits. Through this knowledge, means could be constructed (with spoken or written formulas, amulets, etc.) for the manipulation of the spirits in the interest of the individual person. With the proper formula, a spirit-induced sickness could be cured, [or] a chariot race could be won.”—Clinton E. Arnold, Power and Magic: The Concept of Power in Ephesians, p. 18.The interest in naming deities and powers in spells was a feature of religious life in Ephesus (see Acts 19:13), and among some even today. Paul wishes to make clear the relationship between Christ and “the powers”: The exalted Jesus is “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion” (Eph. 1:21, ESV).Just to be sure that his audience understands that there is no power outside of the sovereignty of Jesus, he adds an allusion to the practice of gathering up the names of deities in spells: “and above every name that is named” (Eph. 1:21, ESV). Turning from the dimension of space to that of time, Paul stresses the unlimited chronology of Jesus’ exalted rule. His rule over all powers applies “not only in this age but also in the one to come” (Eph. 1:21, ESV).What are some present-day manifestations of these same evil forces, and how can we make sure that we don’t get caught up in any of them?
In the remaining verses of Paul’s prayer report, Ephesians 1:20–23, Paul expands on the third topic of insight he hopes that the Holy Spirit will bring to believers: the enormity of God’s power, which He exercises on their behalf. Paul begins by pointing to two salvation-history events as the premiere illustrations of God’s power: (1) the resurrection of Jesus from the dead and (2) the exaltation of Jesus to the throne of the cosmos (Eph. 1:20).How is God’s power expressed through the resurrection of Jesus? Eph. 1:20; 1 Cor. 15:20–22; Phil. 3:8–11; Heb. 13:20, 21; 1 Pet. 1:3.The resurrection of Jesus is a nonnegotiable belief of the Christian faith (1 Cor. 15:14, 17). It is because Christ is risen that faithful believers await the grand, future resurrection to eternal life at the time of Christ’s return (1 Cor. 15:20–23). It is because Christ is risen that we can look to Him today for all the blessings of the gospel, including the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.The imagery, that God “seated Him [Christ] at His right hand” (Eph. 1:20, NKJV), is drawn from Psalm 110:1, the most frequently cited passage in the New Testament (all of the passages just cited seem to draw on it). The exaltation of Christ has a high profile in Ephesians. Believers are “seated with . . . him [Christ Jesus] in the heavenly places” (Eph. 2:6, ESV). In addition, Paul refers to the ascent of Christ as a prelude to Christ’s filling all things and giving gifts to His church (see Eph. 4:8–11).In Ephesians 4:8–11, Paul warns us away from adopting a merely static image of Christ on the Father’s throne, presenting rather “the dynamic NT picture of the exalted Christ going forth by His Spirit in all the world, conquering and to conquer.”—F. F. Bruce, The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1984), p. 133. So, Paul portrays the exaltation/coronation of Christ, not simply as an illustration of the divine power offered to believers but as the source of that power.What are the ways that you need Christ’s power in your life, and how can we better avail ourselves of that power? What practices might hinder our access to His power?
“I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him” (Eph. 1:16, 17, ESV).In reporting his prayers, Paul records one central request that he places before the throne of God. He has already noted that the Holy Spirit has come into believers’ lives at the time of their conversion (Eph. 1:13, 14). Now Paul prays for a fresh blessing of the Spirit to give needed spiritual insight focused on a deepened understanding of Jesus (“in the knowledge of him,” Eph. 1:17).Paul prays that the Holy Spirit will bring special insight to believers on what three topics? See Eph. 1:17–19.When Paul prays for insight for them about “the hope to which he has called you” (Eph. 1:18, ESV), he prays that they will be alert to the past actions God has already taken for their salvation (Eph. 1:3–9, 11–13) and to the glorious future He has planned for them (Eph. 1:10, 14).When he prays for insight into “the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints” (Eph. 1:18, NKJV), he is recalling the Old Testament idea of believers as God’s inheritance (Deut. 9:29, Deut. 32:9, Zech. 2:12; compare Eph. 1:11). He wishes them to know that they not only possess an inheritance from God, but that they are God’s inheritance, and Paul wants them to understand their value to God.When Paul prays for spiritual insight about “the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe” (Eph. 1:19, NKJV), he imagines the Holy Spirit bringing fresh understanding of the immensity of God’s power and actualizing it in their experience.In all these prayers, Paul wants these people to experience for themselves what they have been given in Jesus.How can you better experience “the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe”? What does this mean in daily life?
Motivated by news that believers in Ephesus are thriving in faith toward Jesus and in love toward each other (perhaps news shared by Tychicus, Eph. 6:21, 22), Paul reports to them how he prays for them.Compare Paul’s two prayer reports in Ephesians—Ephesians 1:15–23 and Ephesians 3:14–21. What themes do the two reports share?Sometimes our default tone in prayer can be doleful, mourning over this challenge or that problem. Paul’s prayer reports in Ephesians suggest that thanksgiving is the native language of prayer. We gather up the blessings of God and thank Him for them. We seek to perceive God at work in difficult circumstances and praise Him for His transforming presence in our lives. Celebrating the grace and power of the exalted Jesus (Eph. 1:20–23), we thank Him for blessing those in our circle of influence. Here is Paul’s transforming secret for prayer: prayer is the key of praise and thanksgiving.Paul also said that he does “not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers” (Eph. 1:16, NKJV; see also Phil. 1:3, 4; 1 Thess. 1:2; and 1 Thess. 5:16–18).What does it really mean to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17)? It cannot mean that we are always kneeling before God in prayer. It does mean that, blessed by God’s Spirit, we move through life with hearts open to the presence and power of God, seeking cues for thanksgiving to Him. It means a readiness to process the issues of life in the presence of God, to seek divine counsel as we experience the twists and turns that life brings. It means living not in estrangement from God but in engagement with Him, ever open to divine leading.We too often view prayer as a nicety, an add-on to discipleship that is to be exercised when convenient. Paul illustrates a different view. Paul takes seriously the task of praying for the believers in Ephesus, doing so both by giving thanks for them (Eph. 1:16; compare Eph. 1:3–14) and by interceding for them (Eph. 1:17–23; compare Eph. 3:14–21). For him, prayer is a central, or even the central, task of Christian faith. These verses provide a moving call to prayer, an invitation for each of us to consider our own “prayer ministry” in the light of Paul’s dedication to it.Why is it important always to thank God in prayer for what you have to be thankful for?
Read for This Week’s StudyEph. 1:15–23, Eph. 3:14–21, 1 Thess. 5:16–18, Deut. 9:29, 1 Cor. 15:20–22, Ps. 110:1.Memory Text:Through the Holy Spirit, believers may know “what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 1:19, 20, NKJV).Human beings, it seems, are always reaching for more power. Auto manufacturer Devel Motors, for example, showed off the prototype of its Devel Sixteen, a vehicle with a 16-cylinder, 12.3-liter engine producing more than 5,000 horsepower. Or, if that is not enough, consider the Peterbilt semitruck that sports three Pratt
In Ephesians 1:13, 14, Paul tells in brief the conversion story of his readers. What are the steps in that story?In exploring the importance of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers, Paul uses two images, or metaphors, for the Spirit. He first pictures the Holy Spirit as a “seal,” identifying a sealing presence of the Spirit that occurs from the time of conversion. In ancient times, seals were used for a wide variety of functions: to authenticate copies of laws and agreements, to validate the excellence or quantity of a container’s contents (e.g., Ezek. 28:12), or to witness transactions (e.g., Jer. 32:10–14, 44), contracts, letters (e.g., 1 Kings 21:8), wills, and adoptions. Imprinted on an object, a seal announced both ownership and protection. The presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives marks believers as belonging to God and conveys God’s promise to protect them (compare Eph. 4:30). They have been “sealed with the promised Holy Spirit” (Eph. 1:13, ESV).“Paul plainly states that at the moment one gives his/her life to Jesus and believes in Him the Holy Spirit seals (Greek verb: sphragizō) that believer in Christ for the day of redemption. Wonderful liberating and reassuring truth! The Spirit of God marks Christ’s followers with the seal of salvation right when they first believe.”—Jiří Moskala, “Misinterpreted End-Time Issues: Five Myths in Adventism,” Journal of the Adventist Theological Society, vol. 28, no. 1 (2017), p. 95.The second image Paul uses for the Holy Spirit is that of “guarantee.” The Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our inheritance, which looks toward the moment when the inheritance is to be given in full (compare 2 Cor. 1:22, 2 Cor. 5:5).The word translated “guarantee” (arrabōn) was a Hebrew loan word that was used widely in the common or Koine Greek of New Testament times to indicate a “first installment,” “deposit,” or “down payment” that requires the payer to make additional payments.Note that believers do not pay this down payment but receive it from God. The treasured presence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers, says Paul, is a first installment of the full inheritance of salvation and redemption that will come with the return of Christ. Our job is to receive with a grateful and submissive heart what we have been offered in Jesus.
In Ephesians 1:13, 14, Paul tells in brief the conversion story of his readers. What are the steps in that story?In exploring the importance of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers, Paul uses two images, or metaphors, for the Spirit. He first pictures the Holy Spirit as a “seal,” identifying a sealing presence of the Spirit that occurs from the time of conversion. In ancient times, seals were used for a wide variety of functions: to authenticate copies of laws and agreements, to validate the excellence or quantity of a container’s contents (e.g., Ezek. 28:12), or to witness transactions (e.g., Jer. 32:10–14, 44), contracts, letters (e.g., 1 Kings 21:8), wills, and adoptions. Imprinted on an object, a seal announced both ownership and protection. The presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives marks believers as belonging to God and conveys God’s promise to protect them (compare Eph. 4:30). They have been “sealed with the promised Holy Spirit” (Eph. 1:13, ESV).“Paul plainly states that at the moment one gives his/her life to Jesus and believes in Him the Holy Spirit seals (Greek verb: sphragizō) that believer in Christ for the day of redemption. Wonderful liberating and reassuring truth! The Spirit of God marks Christ’s followers with the seal of salvation right when they first believe.”—Jiří Moskala, “Misinterpreted End-Time Issues: Five Myths in Adventism,” Journal of the Adventist Theological Society, vol. 28, no. 1 (2017), p. 95.The second image Paul uses for the Holy Spirit is that of “guarantee.” The Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our inheritance, which looks toward the moment when the inheritance is to be given in full (compare 2 Cor. 1:22, 2 Cor. 5:5).The word translated “guarantee” (arrabōn) was a Hebrew loan word that was used widely in the common or Koine Greek of New Testament times to indicate a “first installment,” “deposit,” or “down payment” that requires the payer to make additional payments.Note that believers do not pay this down payment but receive it from God. The treasured presence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers, says Paul, is a first installment of the full inheritance of salvation and redemption that will come with the return of Christ. Our job is to receive with a grateful and submissive heart what we have been offered in Jesus.
“In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory” (Eph. 1:11, 12, NKJV).The believers in Ephesus seem to have lost a clear sense of who they are as Christians, to have “lost heart” (see Eph. 3:13). In line with what he has affirmed earlier (Eph. 1:3–5), Paul wishes again to shore up their identity as Christians. Believers are not victims of haphazard, arbitrary decisions by various deities or astral powers. They are the children of God (Eph. 1:5) and have access to many blessings through Christ based on the deep counsels and eternal decisions of God. It is God’s purpose, counsel, and will (Eph. 1:11) that is being worked out in their lives in line with the still wider plan of God to unite all things in Christ (Eph. 1:10). They may have unshakable confidence in their standing before God and in the effectiveness of the blessings He provides. Their lives should shout the message of Ephesians 1:3–14: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!Compare the uses of the idea of “inheritance” in Ephesians 1:11, 14, 18. Why do you think this idea is important to Paul?Have you ever received an inheritance as the result of someone’s death? Perhaps a relative left you a valuable treasure or a considerable sum of money. In Paul’s view by virtue of the death of Jesus, Christians have received an inheritance from God (Eph. 1:14) and become an “inheritance” to God (Eph. 1:18).In the Old Testament, God’s people are sometimes thought of as being His “heritage,” or inheritance (Deut. 9:29, Deut. 32:9, Zech. 2:12). This sense of being or becoming God’s inheritance is clear in Ephesians 1:18 and is the likely meaning of the term in Ephesians 1:11, as well (which would then be translated, “In him we have become an inheritance”). As a central element in their Christian identity, Paul wishes believers to know their value to God. They not only possess an inheritance from God (Eph. 1:14, Eph. 3:6; compare Eph. 5:5), but they are God’s inheritance.What is the difference between working to get something and inheriting it instead? How does this idea help us understand what we have been given in Jesus?
What is God’s “plan for the fullness of time,” and how extensive is its reach? Eph. 1:9, 10.Paul uses three labels for God’s plan. It is (1) “the mystery of his will,” (2) “his purpose,” and (3) “a plan for the fullness of time” (ESV). What is God’s ultimate, final plan? To unite everything, everywhere, in Jesus.The term that Paul uses to describe the plan is a picturesque one (Greek, anakephalaiōsasthai), to “head up” or to “sum up” all things in Christ. In ancient accounting practice, you would “add up” a column of figures and place the total at the top. Jesus heads God’s final, eschatological plan. This Christ-centered plan was crafted “before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4) and is so broad that it encompasses all time (“the fullness of the times,” NKJV) and space (“all things . . . things in heaven and things on earth,” ESV). Paul announces unity in Christ as the grand, divine goal for the universe.In discussing God’s “plan for the fullness of time” (Eph. 1:10, ESV), Paul shares the theme that he will weave through the letter. God begins His plan to unify all things, rooted in the death, resurrection, ascension, and exaltation of Jesus (Eph. 1:15–2:10), by founding the church and unifying disparate elements of humankind, Jews and Gentiles, in it (Eph. 2:11–3:13).In this way, the church signals to the evil powers that God’s plan is underway and their divisive rule will end (Eph. 3:10). As the Bible says elsewhere: “For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time” (Rev. 12:12, NKJV).The last half of Paul’s letter opens with a passionate call to unity (Eph. 4:1–16) and continues with a lengthy exhortation to avoid behavior that damages unity and, instead, to build solidarity with fellow believers (Eph. 4:17–6:9). Paul concludes with the rousing image of the church as a unified army, participating with vigor in waging peace in Christ’s name (Eph. 6:10–20).How can you acknowledge and celebrate that the redemption you have experienced in Christ Jesus is part of something sweeping and grand, an integral part of God’s studied and ultimate plan to unite all things in Christ?
Sin had been a dark, dominating force in the lives of the members of Paul’s audience. Paul can describe them in their prior existence as the walking dead—“dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1, NKJV) yet “walking” or living as Satan commanded them (Eph. 2:1–3). Enslaved to sin and Satan, they had no ability to free themselves. They needed rescue. God has done so through His gracious actions in Christ, and Paul celebrates two new blessings of God’s grace in the lives of believers: redemption and forgiveness.Read Ephesians 1:7, 8. “Redemption” is an idea that is used frequently in the New Testament. Compare the uses of the idea in Colossians 1:13, 14; Titus 2:13, 14; and Hebrews 9:15. What themes do these passages share in common with Ephesians 1:7, 8?The Greek word translated “redemption” in Ephesians 1:7 is apolutrōsis, originally used for buying a slave’s freedom or paying to free a captive. One can hear echoed the voice of the slave trader auctioning his merchandise and the cold grinding of a slave’s manacles. When the New Testament discusses redemption, it highlights the costliness of setting the slaves free.Our freedom comes at an extreme cost: “In him [Jesus] we have redemption through his blood” (Eph. 1:7, ESV). The idea of redemption also celebrates God’s gracious generosity in paying the high price of our liberty. God gives us our freedom and dignity. We are no longer enslaved!“To be redeemed is to be treated as a person, not an object. It is to become a citizen of heaven, rather than a slave of the earth.”—Alister E. McGrath, What Was God Doing on the Cross? (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1992), p. 78.Note carefully that the idea that God pays the price of redemption to Satan is a medieval, not a biblical, one. God neither owes nor pays Satan anything.The benefits of Calvary also include “the forgiveness of our trespasses” (Eph. 1:7, ESV). On the cross, Christ takes upon Himself the price of our sin, both past and future, “canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands” (Col. 2:14, ESV). In doing this work of redemption and forgiveness through Christ, God is acting as our generous Father, with the “riches of his grace” being “lavished upon us” (Eph. 1:7, 8, ESV).What does it mean to you that through Christ’s atoning sacrifice you are forgiven and redeemed? What if you feel that you are unworthy of it? (Hint: you are unworthy; that’s the whole point of the Cross.)
A thank-you note usually includes a description of the gift or gifts received. Paul includes a long gift list in Ephesians 1:3–14 as he thanks God for the blessings of the gospel.Paul praises God for the fact that He has “blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing” (Eph. 1:3, ESV). That the blessings are spiritual (Greek, pneumatikos) suggests that they come through the Spirit (pneuma), pointing to the closing of Paul’s blessing, which celebrates the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers (Eph. 1:13, 14).Ephesians 1:3–6 contains inspiring language about how God views us in Christ. Before the creation of the world, God chose us in Christ and determined that we should stand “holy and blameless” in His presence (Eph. 1:4, ESV; compare Eph. 5:27) as treasured sons and daughters by virtue of both Creation and Redemption in Christ (Eph. 1:5). Since before the sun began to shine, it has been His strategy that we would be “accepted in the Beloved” (Eph. 1:6, NKJV). In short, it’s God’s intention for us to be saved. We lose salvation only by our own sinful choices.What does the phrase “in the heavenly places” mean in Ephesians (the only place it is used in the New Testament)? Study the uses of the phrase. (See Eph. 1:3, 20; Eph. 2:6; Eph. 3:10; Eph. 6:12; compare the use of “in the heavens,” Eph. 3:15, Eph. 4:10, Eph. 6:9.)In Ephesians the phrases “in the heavenly places” and “in the heavens” or “in heaven” point to heaven as the dwelling place of God (Eph. 1:3, Eph. 6:9), to the location of spiritual powers (Eph. 1:10, 20, 21; Eph. 3:10, 15; Eph. 6:12), and to the location of Christ’s exaltation at the right hand of the Father (Eph. 1:20). Believers have access to these “heavenly places” in the present as the sphere where spiritual blessings are offered through Christ (Eph. 1:3, Eph. 2:6). Though “the heavenly places” have become a place of blessing for believers, they are still the location of conflict from evil powers that contest the lordship of Christ (Eph. 3:10, Eph. 6:12).Dwell on Ephesians 1:4, which says that we have been chosen in Him, Christ, “before the foundation of the world.” What does that mean? How does it reveal to us God’s love for us and His desire for us to be saved?
Read for This Week’s StudyEph. 1:3–14; Eph. 2:6; Eph. 3:10; Col. 1:13, 14; Deut. 9:29.Memory Text:“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 1:3, ESV).Twenty-five years after becoming the first person to walk on the moon, Neil Armstrong wrote a thank-you note to the creative team who designed the spacesuit, the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU), in which he took those historic steps. Calling it “the most photographed spacecraft in history” and teasing that it was successful at hiding “its ugly occupant” from view, Armstrong thanked “the EMU Gang” at the Johnson Space Center for the “tough, reliable, and almost cuddly” suit that preserved his life, sending them “a quarter century’s worth of thanks and congratulations.”Paul begins his letter to the Ephesians with a majestic thank-you note, praising God for the blessings He has poured out, blessings as essential to the lives of believers as a spacesuit is for someone who walks on the moon. Paul argues that God has been at work on these essential blessings since “before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4) and praises God for working through the ages on behalf of believers.Paul’s opening here makes Ephesians especially valuable in modeling how to worship God and to praise God for the many blessings He has provided.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, July 8
The story of the exorcists misusing the names of Jesus and Paul (Acts 19:13–20; see Sunday’s study) helps explain why Paul uses so much language about power in Ephesians. Some new believers, under fresh conviction of the sovereignty of Jesus, throw their expensive magic manuals into the flames. Thanks to the discovery of some two hundred fifty papyri dealing with magic, as well as other finds, we have ample illustrations of rituals, spells, formulas, curses, et cetera, similar to those likely featured in these manuals of magic. The volumes had advised believers how to conduct such rituals to persuade gods, goddesses, and spirit powers to do whatever they would ask.Luke tells us that these volumes were worth 50,000 silver coins, or 50,000 days of wages. (In today’s setting, if you allow for $80/day of wages for a skilled laborer, this amounts to $4 million!) This detail demonstrates the importance and centrality of these volumes to their everyday lives. “It took the sovereign intervention of God for them to be sufficiently convicted that they should completely repent of their ongoing utilization of amulets, charms, invocations, and traditional means of gaining spiritual power.”—Clinton E. Arnold, Ephesians (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2010), p. 34.We come to understand that Ephesians was written to believers who needed instruction about “how to cope with the continuing influence and attacks of the sinister cosmic ‘powers.’ ”—Clinton E. Arnold, Power and Magic: The Concept of Power in Ephesians (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1992), p. 165. Paul’s response is the Epistle to the Ephesians, in which he points to Christ as the One who has been exalted above every power (Eph. 1:20–23) and emphasizes the superiority of the strength that God provides to believers (Eph. 2:15–19, Eph. 3:14–21, Eph. 6:10–20).Discussion Questions:What powers or authorities are active in our world and your life today? How do these powers manifest themselves, tempting believers to honor and respect them rather than to give undiluted loyalty to the exalted Christ?In the context of God’s “fullness of time” plan to unite all things in Christ, Paul expresses hope for the future. Review his uses of the word “hope” in Ephesians 1:18, Ephesians 2:12, and Ephesians 4:4. Why does he believe there is hope for the future?In the following passages in Ephesians, how does Paul point to the great, future hope of Christ’s return? Eph. 1:13, 14; Eph. 1:21; Eph. 2:7; Eph. 4:30; Eph. 5:5. What does this hope mean for us right now?
How does Paul announce the theme of his letter? Eph. 1:9, 10.How can the message of Ephesians be summarized? From prison, Paul sets forth a vision of God’s Christ-centered plan for the fullness of time and the church’s role in it. God has acted in Christ to initiate His plan “to unite all things in him [Christ], things in heaven and things on earth” (Eph. 1:10, ESV), and He did so by creating the church as an entity composed of one new humanity of both Jews and Gentiles (Eph. 2:14). Believers are called to act in concert with this divine plan, signaling to the evil powers that God’s ultimate purpose is underway (Eph. 3:10).As Ephesians 1:9, 10 proclaims, the unity God has in mind is centered in Christ. So, it is no surprise to discover that Ephesians is a Christ-drenched letter that everywhere praises the actions of God in Christ and celebrates the access of believers to the spiritual resources offered them in Christ. Paul employs the phrase “in Christ” and similar phrases more than thirty times, and everywhere lifts up Jesus. As you read the letter, watch for these phrases and stay alert to the many ways Paul focuses on Jesus.Paul seeks to reignite the spiritual commitment of believers in Ephesus by reminding them that they are part of the church, which is at the heart of God’s plan to unify all things in Christ. When he uses the word “church” (Greek, ekklēsia) in the letter, he means the “universal” church or the church at large (rather than a local congregation).A principal strategy he uses is to talk about the church, and he does so using vivid metaphors, four of which he develops in some detail:The church as a body (Eph. 1:22, 23; Eph. 2:16; Eph. 3:6; Eph. 4:1–16, 25; Eph. 5:23, 29, 30).The church as a building/temple (Eph. 2:19–22).The church as a bride (Eph. 5:22–27).The church as an army (Eph. 6:10–20).Each one of these images, in its own way, reveals what God’s purpose and intention for His church is.In the church of which you are a part, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, God is drawing together a transnational, multilingual, multiracial, cross-cultural community (Rev. 14:6, 7) that points the way to the fulfillment of His plan to unite all things in Jesus (Eph. 1:9, 10). How can we work in concert with God’s grand plan?
How does Paul begin and end his letter to the believers in Ephesus? What do we learn about his deepest desires for them? See Eph. 1:1, 2; Eph. 6:21–24.At the outset of the letter, Paul identifies himself as the author (Eph. 1:1). Near the middle of the letter, Paul again identifies himself by name, labeling himself “the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles” (Eph. 3:1, NKJV), which introduces a personal reflection on his work as an apostle (Eph. 3:1–13). Near the end of the letter, he again refers to his imprisonment (Eph. 6:20) and concludes with personal words (Eph. 6:21, 22). While some scholars deny that the letter was written by Paul, it is important to note that the epistle clearly lays claim to Paul as its author. Most Christians accept, and rightly so, Paul as the author.How does Paul worry about the effect his imprisonment will have on believers in Ephesus? See Eph. 3:13.Ephesians seems to share the same general timing and circumstances with other letters Paul writes from prison, Colossians (see esp. Col. 4:7, 8) and Philemon. Also considerable time seems to have passed since Paul’s ministry in Ephesus (Eph. 1:15; Eph. 3:1, 2). Paul probably composed Ephesians in a prison in Rome about AD 62.In Ephesians, Paul offers few specifics about the situation of his audience in Ephesus. The scope of his attention is wide. He deals with a grand span of time, beginning with God’s decisions made “before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4), and reflects broadly on grand themes of God’s salvation offered in Christ. In doing so, the letter exhibits an exalted, literary style, with long sentences, repetitive expressions, and developed metaphors. Paul can use such a style elsewhere (e.g., Rom. 8:31–39), but it is concentrated in Ephesians, which features a great deal of praise, prayer, and worship language (Eph. 1:3–14, Eph. 1:15–23, Eph. 3:14–21) and offers carefully crafted, highly rhetorical passages (e.g., Eph. 4:1–16, Eph. 5:21–33, Eph. 6:10–20).
Paul wrote Ephesians to be read aloud in the house churches of believers in greater Ephesus. In the intervening years since Paul’s departure, the Christian movement in Ephesus had grown, and the number of house churches had multiplied. For those early believers, it would have been an important event to have Tychicus, the personal representative of the founding apostle Paul, stand among them and share a letter from him. As suggested by the epistle itself, the assembled group likely included members of the host household—father, mother, children, and slaves (Eph. 5:21–6:9). At the time, a household included others, as well—clients (free persons who depended on the householder for support) and even customers. So, these may be present too, as well as members of other households.In conjunction with the outline of the letter below, read through the entire epistle, preferably out loud (it will take about fifteen minutes to do so). What themes echo through the letter as a whole?I. Opening Greeting (Eph. 1:1, 2)II. Introductory Blessing (Eph. 1:3–14)III. Praying for Believers to Receive Christ-Focused Wisdom (Eph. 1:15–23)IV. Once Spiritually Dead; Now Exalted With Christ (Eph. 2:1–10)V. Christ’s Creation of the Church Out of Jews and Gentiles (Eph. 2:11–22)VI. Paul as Preacher of Christ to the Gentiles (Eph. 3:1–13)VII. Praying for Believers to Experience the Love of Christ (Eph. 3:14–21)VIII. Hold On to the Spirit-Inspired Unity of the Church(Eph.4:1–16)IX. Live the New, Unity-Nurturing Life (Eph. 4:17–32)X. Walk in Love, Light, and Wisdom (Eph. 5:1–20)XI. Practice Christ-Shaped Life in the Christian Household (Eph. 5:21–6:9)XII. Stand Together: The Church as the Army of God (Eph. 6:10–20)XIII. Closing Greeting (Eph. 6:21–24)What key theme seems to come through in this letter? What does it say to you? What specific point or points touch home?
Monday ↥ June 26
A Riot in the Amphitheater Read Acts 19:21-20:1. What lessons can we draw from this story? Paul’s witness in the large, sophisticated city of Ephesus was so effective that it impacted an important economic engine for the city, tourism focused on the Temple of Artemis. And what a temple it was! This magnificent structure was composed partly of 127 pillars, each 60 feet high, of Parian marble, a pure-white, flawless marble highly prized for sculptures. Thirty-six of these pillars were sculpted and overlaid with gold, earning the temple its reputation as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Concerned that Paul’s anti-idolatry rhetoric was draining financial support from the temple (Acts 19:27), Demetrius the silversmith whipped his fellow craftsmen into a frenzy. A rapidly expanding and highly energized crowd swept from the marketplace into the large amphitheater, which seated some 25,000 people. There the commotion continued, featuring two continuous hours of shouting “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” (Acts 19:34, ESV). After the crowd is dispersed by the town clerk, Paul meets with the believers and leaves the city. At the end of his third missionary journey, Paul meets with elders of the Ephesian church. How would you summarize Paul’s concerns? (See Acts 20:17-38.) A tentative chronology of Paul’s relationship to Ephesus: A.D. 52: Paul’s initial, brief visit to Ephesus (Acts 18:18-21). A.D. 53-56: Paul’s three-year ministry in Ephesus (Acts 19:1-20:1). He composes 1 Corinthians near the end of his stay there (1 Cor. 16:5-9). A.D. 57: While at Miletus, Paul meets with the elders from Ephesus (Acts 20:17-38). A.D. 62: Paul composes his letter to the Ephesians, probably from confinement in Rome. “Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears,” said Paul (Acts 20:31, NKJV). What do you think Paul would warn our church about today, and why?
Paul, Evangelist to Ephesus What does Paul do on his first visit to Ephesus, at the end of his second missionary journey? (Acts 18:18-21). Ephesus was one of the largest cities of the Roman Empire, with a population of about 250,000. It was the capital of one of the Empire’s richest provinces, the province of Asia, which covered much of what we know today as Asia Minor. In Paul’s day, the province was enjoying a time of growth and prosperity. A port city, Ephesus was also at the crossroads of important land routes. While the people worshiped many deities in the city, Artemis, regarded as the protector goddess of the city, was supreme. Her worship was the focus of civic ceremonies, athletic games, and annual celebrations. (Artemis was called Diana by the Romans; see Acts 19:24, 35, KJV; NKJV.) Paul later returns to Ephesus on his third missionary journey (Acts 19:1-12), and remains there “for three years” (Acts 20:31). The apostle makes a significant time commitment to Ephesus, with the intention of firmly founding Christianity there. What strange event leads to widespread reverence for “the Lord Jesus” in Ephesus? (Acts 19:13-20). Luke shares the strange story of seven itinerant, Jewish exorcists in the city. Mingling the names of both Jesus and Paul in their incantations proves to be a misguided venture for these exorcists. When the news flashes through the streets of the city, “everyone was awestruck; and the name of the Lord Jesus was praised” (Acts 19:17, NRSV). The event also had a profound impact on some of those who had already become believers, who publicly burned their expensive handbooks of magic arts, worth “fifty thousand silver coins” (Acts 19:19, NRSV). With the wider residents of the city, believers learn that the worship of Jesus must not be diluted with the worship of anything or anyone else. What did the burning of their own books signify, even at such an expense to themselves? What does that say about a total commitment to the Lord?
bout the Ephesians themselves. Years after the exciting events of the early days of Christian mission in Ephesus, the Ephesians struggled with the significance of their Christian faith.
Paul, once the troubler of the economy of this fourth-largest city in the Roman Empire, is now sidelined and imprisoned. Writing from prison, he worries that the believers in Ephesus may “lose heart,” forgetting any active sense of what it means to be disciples of Jesus in the sophisticated, urban, and thoroughly pagan culture of Ephesus. Though his hearers are already Christians, Paul’s tone is one of recruitment. He seeks to reenlist them in Christian faith, to reignite the fire of their devotion to Christ, and to resurrect the excitement of being part of God’s great enterprise in the world, the church.
Because the Christian faith is all about Christ, Paul radiates admiration and worship of Him. If wobbly Christian disciples are to regain their footing, it will be because they recapture their first love for Jesus and establish fresh trust in His grace and power. So Paul highlights Christ’s exaltation in heaven, above all the powers and deities that seek to attract the devotion of believers in Ephesus. Jesus is the goal of the divine plan for the ages, a plan in which believers, as the church, play an important role in God’s plans to unify all things in Christ.
As Paul seeks to draw believers in Ephesus into fresh devotion to their Lord, he does not dumb down the demands of Christian discipleship. He spells out in some detail what Christian behavior and community look like. Christians are called to Spirit-inspired, Christ-honoring, God-directed worship, which Paul illustrates again and again. A devotion to Christ impacts how one acts and speaks. To love Christ means to respect and value fellow believers. It means resisting the patterns of mean-spirited and sexually decadent behavior so rampant in their culture. It means, in our relationships within church and household, borrowing from the example of self-sacrifice offered by Christ. It means offering fellow citizens of Ephesus clear examples of a new pattern of human existence.
Paul spends a good deal of his letter expressing his excitement for this new pattern of what it means to be human through membership in God’s church. He is especially invigorated by the thought that God has joined estranged segments of humanity — Jews and Gentiles — as one in the church. In living out unity where hostility would be expected, they have an opportunity to exhibit the characteristics of God’s new society and the coming kingdom.
In pursuing the importance of being part of God’s church, Paul develops four metaphors for the church. Believers make up the body of Christ, demonstrating their devotion to Christ and their unity with each other. They are a living temple, built through the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary, in which God is worshiped. They are the bride of Christ, who look toward a grand marriage ceremony when the Bridegroom comes to claim them as His own. In a final metaphor that expresses Paul's efforts to reenlist them in Christian faith, they are the army of Christ, which wages peace in His name, combating the forces of darkness in God’s strength as they look toward Christ’s return.
Ephesians, then, speaks especially to times like our own in which the allure of the world and the passing of time threaten to dull Christian discipleship. It lifts up Christ and accents the significance of following Him as engaged, active members of His church as we live out the hope of His return. This quarter we have the privilege of listening prayerfully to Ephesians and experiencing anew the excitement of following Jesus in challenging times.
John K. McVay, Ph.D., is president and professor of religion at Walla Walla University in College Place, Washington, USA, where he has served since 2006.
Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Acts 18:18-21; Acts 19:13-20:1; Acts 20:17-38; Eph. 1:1, 2; Eph. 6:21-24; Eph. 3:13; Eph. 1:9, 10.
Memory Text: “Making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth” (Ephesians 1:9, 10, ESV). When we write something, we have a purpose for doing so, sometimes a weighty one. Abraham Lincoln, for instance, wrote his famous Gettysburg address in 1863, after the terrible devastation in the American Civil War battle there, which left about 7,000 soldiers dead. In that address, invoking the founding fathers, Lincoln expressed his belief that the Civil War was the ultimate test as to whether the nation created in 1776 would endure or would “perish from the earth.” Paul has a profound purpose that motivates his letter. Partly because of his imprisonment (Eph. 3:13, Eph. 6:20), and partly because of ongoing persecution and temptations, the Ephesians are tempted to lose heart. Paul reminds them of what happened when they were converted, accepting Christ as their Savior and becoming part of the church. They have become Christ’s body (Eph. 1:19-23, Eph. 4:1-16), the building materials in a temple (Eph. 2:19-22), the bride of Christ (Eph. 5:21-33), and a well-equipped army (Eph. 6:10-20). They play a strategic role in fulfilling God’s grand plan, to unite everything in Christ (Eph. 1:9, 10). Paul writes to awaken the believers in Ephesus to their full identity and privileges as followers of Christ.
“Servants of God, with their faces lighted up and shining with holy consecration, will hasten from place to place to proclaim the message from heaven. By thousands of voices, all over the earth, the warning will be given. Miracles will be wrought, the sick will be healed, and signs and wonders will follow the believers. Satan also works, with lying wonders, even bringing down fire from heaven in the sight of men. Revelation 13:13. Thus the inhabitants of the earth will be brought to take their stand.“The message will be carried not so much by argument as by the deep conviction of the Spirit of God. The arguments have been presented. The seed has been sown, and now it will spring up and bear fruit. The publications distributed by missionary workers have exerted their influence, yet many whose minds were impressed have been prevented from fully comprehending the truth or from yielding obedience. Now the rays of light penetrate everywhere, the truth is seen in its clearness, and the honest children of God sever the bands which have held them. Family connections, church relations, are powerless to stay them now. Truth is more precious than all besides. Notwithstanding the agencies combined against the truth, a large number take their stand upon the Lord’s side.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 612.Discussion Questions:Ellen G. White states that “the message of justification by faith is the third angel’s message . . . in verity.”—Evangelism, p. 190. What does that mean? What relationship does justification by faith have to the three angels’ messages?Read Revelation 14:12 again. What is the difference between keeping the commandments of God and legalism? When does obedience become legalism? In what ways can someone who doesn’t keep the commandments of God still be a legalist?What answer can you give to those who criticize us when we talk about the ferocious beasts and fearsome warning found in the book of Revelation? Besides the obvious answer, which is that we talk about them because, well, they are there, written in the book, what other answers can you give?Discuss in class current world events. What things have you seen happen that could help lead to final events? How do we strike a balance between being aware of the times we are living in and not getting caught up in fruitless speculation about what hasn’t been revealed to us yet?
Bonus song: Behold the Lamb (Dottie Rambo)
Writer: Dottie Rambo
Chorus
BEHOLD THE LAMB
BEHOLD THE LAMB
SLAIN FROM THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD
FOR SINNERS CRUCIFIED
OH HOLY SACRIFICE
BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD
BEHOLD THE LAMB
Bridge
CROWN HIM
CROWN HIM
WORTHY IS THE LAMB
PRAISE HIM
PRAISE HIM
HEAV’N AND EARTH RESOUND
Chorus
BEHOLD THE LAMB
BEHOLD THE LAMB
SLAIN FROM THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD
FOR SINNERS CRUCIFIED
OH HOLY SACRIFICE
BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD
BEHOLD THE LAMB
© 1979 Designer Music/SESAC, Songs Of Rambo McGuire/SESAC
(Adm. By CapitolCMGPublishing.com)
"Behold the Lamb" from the collection, "Ready To Sing: The Songs of Dottie Rambo" arranged by Russell Mauldin
There are many symbols in Revelation, biblical symbols of importance; that is, a dragon in heaven (Rev. 12:3, 4, 7), angels flying in the midst of heaven (Rev. 14:6), a woman riding a scarlet beast (Rev. 17:3), and so forth. They are in the Word of God; the Holy Spirit inspired John to put them there, and they have important roles in revealing truth to those who read the words of this book and do them, for, as it says, “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near” (Rev. 1:3, NKJV).There is, however, another image that appears, again and again, all through the book of Revelation. What is the image, and what does it represent?Read Revelation 5:6, 8, 12; Revelation 7:17; Revelation 14:1; Revelation 15:3; Revelation 19:7; Revelation 21:22, 23; and Revelation 22:1, 3. What is the meaning of the symbolism of the Lamb, and why would it appear so many times in the book of Revelation?Of course, as the opening words of the book say, this is a revelation “of Jesus Christ.” And not only is He a Lamb but also a Lamb “slain” (Rev. 5:6, 12; Rev. 13:8). That is, Jesus Christ crucified. Here is the heart and soul, not only of all the Bible but also of the book of Revelation and of the three angels’ messages. We cannot be faithful to our calling, we cannot do the work that God has raised up this church to do, unless we have the Lamb, the slain Lamb, Jesus crucified, a sacrifice for our sins, as the focal point of our message.“We must intentionally place the Lamb that was slain at the very center of our doctrines and mission and at the heart of every sermon we preach, every article we write, every prayer we make, every song we sing, every Bible study we give, and in everything we do. Let the love revealed by the Lamb on the cross transform the way we treat each other and move us to also care for the world.”—Ángel Manuel Rodríguez, “The Closing of the Cosmic Conflict: Role of the Three Angels’ Messages,” unpublished manuscript, p. 70.That is, amid the imagery of dangerous beasts, of a dragon making war, of plagues, of persecution, and of the mark of the beast, there remains front and center the Lamb, the Lamb slain. And He alone, and what He has done for us, is doing now, and will do before it’s all over—He is, ultimately, what the three angels’ messages are about.Why is keeping the slain Lamb at the center of our message crucial not only for leading others to Him but also for your own spiritual life?
Read Revelation 4:11, Revelation 5:12, Revelation 19:1, and Revelation 21:26. What words are associated with the glory of God that fills the earth as described in Revelation 18:1?The great controversy between good and evil in the universe also is about God’s honor or reputation. Satan, a rebel angel, has declared that God is unjust, that He demands worship but gives little in return. The evil one declares that God’s law restricts our freedom and limits our joy.Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection exploded that myth. The One who created us plunged into the snake pit of this world to redeem us. On the cross, He answered Satan’s charges and demonstrated that God is both loving and just.Charmed by His love, concerned about His honor, His end-time people reveal His glory—His loving, self-sacrificing character to a self-centered, godless world, and the earth is illuminated by the character of God.Read Exodus 33:18, 19. How does God reveal His glory to Moses? What is God’s glory?God’s glory is His character. The earth will be filled with the glory of God when we are filled with the love of God and our characters are changed by redeeming love.Revealing His love in our personal lives reveals His glory, His character, to the world. The last message to be proclaimed to a world engulfed in spiritual darkness carried by three angels in the midst of heaven is “ ‘Fear God and give glory to Him’ ” (Rev. 14:7, NKJV).There is no glory for us in our good works, or our righteousness, or our goodness. “The message of Christ’s righteousness is to sound from one end of the earth to the other. . . . This is the glory of God which closes the work of the third angel.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, p. 19. Ellen G. White also writes: “What is justification by faith? It is the work of God in laying the glory of man in the dust, and doing for man that which it is not in his power to do for himself.”—Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, p. 456.No glory for ourselves but, yes, glory to God instead.
God has raised up a last-day people to stand on the shoulders of the great Reformers of the past with the Bible as their only creed, Christ alone as their only Source of salvation, the Holy Spirit as their only Source of strength, and the return of our Lord as the consummation of all their hopes. Truths long obscured by the darkness of error and tradition, including the true Bible Sabbath, will be proclaimed to the world just before the return of our Lord.The three angels’ messages gave birth to this last-day movement to complete the Reformation and to participate with Christ in finishing His work on earth. The great prophecies of the Bible’s last book reveal a divine movement of destiny arising out of disappointment to proclaim God’s final message to the world. Revelation 14 describes a worldwide church spanning the globe with the good news of the eternal gospel.The three angels of Revelation 14 are joined by a fourth angel in Revelation 18. This angel gives power to the proclamation of the three angels so that the “earth [is] lightened with [God’s] glory” (Rev. 18:1). Chapter 18 focuses on the major events leading up to the climax of human history and the final, ultimate triumph of the gospel.Read Revelation 18:1. What three things does John tell us about this angel? (See also Hab. 2:14.)The angel who comes down from the glorious presence of God in the throne room of the sanctuary is commissioned to proclaim God’s last message of mercy and to warn the inhabitants of the earth of what is coming upon planet Earth.The text says that the angel comes with “great authority.” The New Testament Greek word for “authority” is exousia. Jesus uses this word in the Gospel of Matthew in harmony with the sending out of His disciples. In Matthew 10:1, Jesus gives His disciples “authority” (NIV) over the principalities and powers of evil. He sends them out with the divine power to be victorious in the battle between good and evil. In Matthew 28:18, 19, He once again sends them out, but this time with “ ‘all authority’ ” in heaven and on earth to go and “ ‘make disciples of all the nations’ ” (NKJV).Ultimately, how do the issues in the last days (as they really do every day) come down to authority? Whose authority do we follow: God’s, our own, the beast power’s, or someone else’s? Whose authority are you following now?
Read John 7:17, John 8:32, and John 17:17. What promises does Jesus give regarding knowing truth and where is it found?God’s final appeal to His people is to flee the errors of Babylon and walk in the light of eternal truth found in His Word. The key to everything is the Bible. As long as people stick to the Bible and follow what it teaches, they will not be deceived in the final crisis, particularly regarding the Sabbath.The message of the second angel appeals to us to accept truth rather than error, Scripture rather than tradition, and the teachings of God’s Word rather than the errors of false doctrine.The third angel’s message, which follows the first two angels’, presents a warning against the mark of the beast. Throughout the prophecies of the Bible, a beast represents a political or religious power. The sea beast of Revelation 13 and 14 arises out of Rome as a worldwide system of worship. Eventually this Roman power extends its influence over the whole world and will lead out in a movement to unite church and state. The goal will be to achieve world unity at a time of economic upheaval, natural catastrophes, social turmoil, international political crisis, and global conflict.And the United States will eventually take the lead in this global confederation. “Through the two great errors, the immortality of the soul and Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions. While the former lays the foundation of spiritualism, the latter creates a bond of sympathy with Rome. The Protestants of the United States will be foremost in stretching their hands across the gulf to grasp the hand of spiritualism; they will reach over the abyss to clasp hands with the Roman power; and under the influence of this threefold union, this country will follow in the steps of Rome in trampling on the rights of conscience.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 588.These messages conclude with an urgent appeal for Christ’s faithful followers to keep the commandments of God through the living faith of Jesus dwelling in their hearts (Rev. 14:12).How do you understand Jesus’ words: “ ‘the truth shall make you free’ ” (John 8:32, NKJV)? What does that mean? How has the truth set you free? What does it mean to be “free” in this context?
Read 1 Thessalonians 5:1–6. What admonition does the apostle Paul give us regarding the last days of human history?The apostle Paul urged the believers at Thessaloniki to “watch” and “be sober” in the context of the second coming of Christ. And if Paul would say that to believers then, what would he say to us today?He also declared that they were “children of light” (1 Thess. 5:5, NIV) and that they were not in “darkness, so that this day [the return of Christ]” (1 Thess. 5:4, NIV) should overtake them “as a thief” (1 Thess. 5:4, NKJV). Jesus used the expression to “watch” in connection with earnest, heartfelt prayer (Matt. 24:42, Matt. 26:40, 41). To watch is to be spiritually alert. To be sober minded is to be serious about the times that we are living in and focused on the things that really matter.Ellen G. White adds: “We who know the truth should be preparing for what is soon to break upon the world as an overwhelming surprise.”—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 8, p. 28.And while it might be a surprise to the world, it should not be a surprise to us. Though we don’t know when it will happen, we can see enough to know that it is coming, and that now, today, is the day to be ready.Review Daniel 2, and note the sequence of kingdoms that came and went, exactly as predicted. What should this teach us about how we can trust that what God says will happen, will indeed happen?Christ has given us these last-day messages so that, knowing what is coming, we can prepare for it. The prophecies of Daniel and Revelation, combined with the modern gift of prophecy, give us divine insight into what is coming upon this world. The prophetic Word of God outlines salvation history in advance, and Daniel 2 provides powerful, rational evidence that we can trust God.Paul says not “to sleep” as others do. What does that mean, and how can we know if we are, indeed, sleeping and, if we are, what will it take to wake us?
Scripture Song: Revelation 18:1-4 KJV (Endless Praise 4 Jesus) (I loved to come across this group of singing sisters using music to proclaim Scripture)
And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, "Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies." And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, "Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues."
Scripture Song: Revelation 18:1-4 KJV (Endless Praise 4 Jesus) (c) 2017
Read for This Week’s Study1 Thess. 5:1–6; John 8:32; Rev. 18:1; Rev. 4:11; Exod. 33:18, 19; Rev. 5:6, 12; Rev. 13:8.Memory Text:“After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory” (Revelation 18:1, NKJV).Sooner or later, final events will unfold. Exactly when, exactly how—we have not been told. But we have been told enough. Some kind of legislation enforcing Sunday keeping, in contrast to Sabbath keeping, will occur. Revelation has revealed to us the crucial issues at stake, the crucial players involved, and in broad sweeps, it has told us what will happen when, in contrast to the worship of the One “ ‘who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water’ ” (Rev. 14:7, NKJV), people—all “whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev. 13:8, NKJV)—will worship the beast and his image. In other words, all those who have chosen to follow the Lord Jesus Christ and obey His commandments—their names remain in the book of life. How much better to be in the register of God than in the records of man.God has raised up the Seventh-day Adventist Church to preach this message to the world. Thus, we need, ourselves, to be converted to the truth as it is in Jesus, and to have been transformed and made new by the “everlasting gospel” of Revelation 14:6, which is centered on Christ’s death for us, the assurance of our salvation in Him.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, June 24.
“When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country [the United States] shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 451.“We have tended to overlook the fact that Sunday is the day of worship of the opposing forces . . . in the story line of the Book of Revelation. Sunday is an extremely important symbol, revealing the unbelievable craftiness and sophistry of the dragon. . . . This . . . change of God’s law expresses in one simple action the very essence of the hatred of the dragon against God in the cosmic conflict. Its simplicity is highly deceptive. The dragon has sought to usurp God’s place in the cosmos by depicting himself as the true object of worship and arguing that God’s law is unjust—that it should be changed. The dragon changed the law at the juncture within the Decalogue where God is identified as Creator and Redeemer, the only one worthy of worship (Exod 20:8–11; Deut 5; cf. Rev 4:11; 5:9, 13, 14). The change of the law manifests not only the dragon’s hatred for the will of the Lord (the law), but it is also his attempt to usurp God’s place by becoming the object of worship. . . . The universalization of this change in the law would assure him victory.”—Ángel Manuel Rodríguez, “The Closing of the Cosmic Conflict: Role of the Three Angels’ Messages,” unpublished manuscript, pp. 53, 54.Discussion Questions:Though living in anticipation, even expectation, of final events, why must we be careful about not getting into fanaticism, date setting, or speculating beyond what has been revealed to us through inspiration? What are the dangers of doing this, and what have been the results when the expected events have not unfolded when and how people have said they would happen?While we must avoid the dangers depicted in the previous discussion question, how do we respond to those who say that our scenario about the mark of the beast and persecution cannot happen because it just doesn’t seem possible, given the current state of the world? Why is this line of reasoning, though on the surface seemingly sensible, really not sensible at all? (After all, look at how quickly great changes can come to the world.)
Even now, perhaps, the stage is being set for this impending persecution. On June 6, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI made an urgent appeal to more than 15,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square in Rome that Sunday must be a day of rest for everyone, so people can be free to be with their families and with God. “By defending Sunday, one defends human freedom.” This isn’t, of course, the same thing as demanding that others keep this day, as opposed to the biblical Sabbath, but it does show that the idea of Sunday as the “day of rest” is, definitely, a real issue. Sooner or later, laws will be passed, and those who conscientiously follow the Word of God and keep the true Sabbath will be labeled as opposing society’s best interests.In this time of crisis, God’s faithful people will, by His grace and through His power, stand firm in their convictions to follow Him. They will not yield to the pressure.In contrast to the mark of the beast, they will receive the seal of God. Seals were used in ancient times to attest to the authenticity of official documents. We would then expect to find God’s seal embedded in His law. Ancient seals were a distinctive, individualized mark. Isaiah the prophet says, “Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples” (Isa. 8:16, NKJV).Read Exodus 20:8–11. What elements of a biblical seal do you find in the Sabbath commandment? How is the Sabbath command different from all the other commandments?The fourth commandment contains three elements of an authentic seal. First, there is the name of the sealer: “ ‘The Lord your God’ ” (Exod. 20:10, NKJV). Second, there is the title of the sealer: the Lord who “made” (Exod. 20:11), or the Creator. And third, there is the territory of the sealer: “ ‘the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them’ ” (Exod. 20:11, NKJV). According to Revelation 7:1, 2, the seal of God is placed only on our foreheads, a symbol of our minds. Jesus respects our freedom of choice. He invites us to let Him shape our minds by His Holy Spirit so that we cannot be moved from the anchor of our faith in the Word of God (Eph. 4:30). Thus, we understand that the faithful are those who “keep the commandments of God, and [have] the faith of Jesus” (Rev. 14:12), and included in those commandments is the fourth, the one commandment the beast power thought to change (Dan. 7:25).What conditions can you see currently developing that could potentially lead to the restriction of our religious liberty? What obstacles remain, as well?
Read Revelation 14:9 and compare it to Revelation 14:12. Where is the mark of the beast placed? (See Deut. 6:8, Deut. 11:18.) What two characteristics distinguish God’s people from those who receive the mark of the beast?One group worships the beast, and one keeps the commandments of God (which includes the fourth, the one commandment the beast power thought to change) and has the faith of Jesus. That’s the contrast. Working through the sea and land beasts, the devil attempts to undermine God’s authority by attacking the heart of worship; namely, the Sabbath. The mark of the beast is placed either in the forehead or the hand. The forehead is a symbol of the mind, where conscience, reason, and judgment are located; the hand, in contrast, is a symbol of actions and deeds.The day is coming, and possibly sooner than we think, that laws will be passed restricting our religious liberty. Those who conscientiously follow the Word of God and keep the true Sabbath of the Lord will be labeled as opposing unity and the good of society.“Those who honor the Bible Sabbath will be denounced as enemies of law and order, as breaking down the moral restraints of society, causing anarchy and corruption, and calling down the judgments of God upon the earth. Their conscientious scruples will be pronounced obstinacy, stubbornness, and contempt of authority. They will be accused of disaffection toward the government.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 592.The church of Rome claims that Sunday is the “mark” of its ecclesiastical authority. “Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change was her act. . . . And the act is a mark of her ecclesiastical power and authority in religious matters.”—The American Catholic Quarterly Review, January 1883.Revelation predicts that in the future, at a time of international crisis, our world will face some kind of radical political, social, religious, and moral transformation, in which Sunday keeping will be enforced and then will become “the mark of the beast.” Again, how all this unfolds we have not been told. Scripture gives us only broad outlines—but enough to show us that the great controversy is going to climax around the issue of worshiping either the beast or the Creator and that the seventh-day Sabbath will play a central role.In what ways has humanity always been divided along the lines of being on either God’s side or on Satan’s? Why can there be no middle ground? How can we know, for sure, just whose side we really are on?
Surveys reveal a deep lack of trust in institutions and governments. Millions wonder, “Where is there someone who is morally fit to lead the world?” Revelation’s prophecies identify the beast power as the one who, under the auspices of a religious/political union, will be the power believed fit to fill this role.Read Revelation 17:12–14. How does John describe these final scenes of earth’s history? What powerful contrast is seen here?There are three significant points John makes in this passage. First, the political powers have “one mind” and “give their power and authority” to the beast. Second, this conglomerate of error makes war against Jesus the Lamb. Third, in earth’s last war, Christ and His followers are triumphant. The beast does not win; Jesus does.Have you ever wondered what strategy the devil might use to unite the nations? History often repeats itself. We discover valuable lessons from the collapse of the Roman Empire. When the Germanic invasions from the north ravaged Western Europe, the Roman Emperor Constantine turned to religion. The authority of the church, combined with the power of the state, became the very instrument Constantine needed. The continual strengthening of the sanctity of Sunday in the fourth century was a calculated political and religious move to unite the empire at a time of crisis. Constantine wanted his empire united, and the Roman Church wanted it “converted.” The renowned historian Arthur Weigall states it clearly: “The church made a sacred day of Sunday . . . largely because it was the weekly festival of the sun; for it was a definite Christian policy to take over the pagan festivals endeared to the people by tradition and give them Christian significance.”—The Paganism in Our Christianity (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1928), p. 145.At a time of great crisis, when all the world is scared, hurting, and fearful, people will be desperate for someone to bring some stability and protection. This is how tyranny has arisen in the past, and there’s no reason to think that it could not happen again. According to prophecy, something will bring about these final events.Though it’s hard to know how all this could unfold, the world has already seen how great changes can come, and very quickly too. Though we don’t know details about what is coming, we need to be ready for whatever does come.
Bonus song: Hold On
Words and Music: Michael McLean
The message of this moment is so clear; And as certain as the rising of the sun. If your world is filled with darkness doubt and fear, Just hold on, Hold on; the light will come.
Ev'ryone who's ever tried and failed Stands much taller when the victory's won. And those who've been in darkness for a while Kneel much longer when the light has come.
It's a message ev'ry one of us must learn; That the answers never come without a fight. And when it seems you've struggled far too long, Just hold on, hold on; there will be light.
Hold on. Hold on. The light will come.
If you feel trapped inside a never-ending night. If you've forgotten how it feels to feel the light, If you're half crazy thinking you're the only one Who's afraid the light will never really come
Just hold on. Hold on! The light will come.
The message of this moment is so clear; And as certain as the rising of the sun. If your world is filled with darkness doubt and fear. Just hold on, hold on, the light will come
Read 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4, 9–12. What does Paul predict about the last days? What identifying marks does he give for the beast, the antichrist power?The apostle Paul warns the Christian community of a “falling away” from the truth of God’s Word. He is concerned about the seeds of apostasy already present in the New Testament church, which would flourish in the coming centuries before the second coming of Christ. A counterfeit gospel would come into the church, distorting the Word of God.Satan is the one who is behind this apostasy. He is the true “man of sin” who desires to exalt “himself above all that is called God” and sits in the “temple of God” (2 Thess. 2:4). But the “great deceiver” works through human agencies to accomplish his purposes. The identifying characteristics in Daniel and Revelation reveal that the little horn of Daniel 7, the beast of Revelation 13 and 14, and the “lawless one” of 2 Thessalonians 2 represent the same entity.The SDA Bible Commentary states it this way: “A comparison with Daniel’s prophecy of the blasphemous power that succeeds that of pagan Rome . . . , and with John’s word picture of the leopardlike beast. . . . reveals many similarities between the three descriptions [of the little horn, the beast power, and the lawless one]. This leads us to the conclusion that Daniel, Paul, and John are speaking of the same power, . . . the papacy.”—Volume 7, p. 271.It is extremely important to remember that Bible prophecy is describing a system of religion that has compromised God’s Word, substituted human traditions for the gospel, and drifted away from biblical truth. These prophecies are given by a God of incredible love to prepare a people for the coming of Jesus. They are a rebuke to apostate religious organizations that have departed from God’s Word, and not necessarily the people in them (see Rev. 18:4). Our message is about a system that has deceived millions. Though deceived, these people are much loved by Christ. Hence, we must treat them accordingly.“ ‘Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets’ ” (Matt. 7:12, NKJV). How must we apply this principle in dealing with the theme of the beast powers in Revelation 13 and 14?
As we have already studied, the beast powers of Revelation 13 and 14 represent a worldwide system of false worship. But there’s more.Read Revelation 13:5; Revelation 12:6, 14; and Daniel 7:25. How long would this power dominate the religious landscape in the previous centuries?The beast would continue for a specific duration of time in history. In symbolic time prophecies, a prophetic day equals a literal year. In Numbers 14:34, we read: “for every day a year”—applying the Bible principle of counting a day for a year. Again, God says, “I have appointed thee each day for a year” (Ezek. 4:6). This principle has repeatedly proven itself accurate in interpreting biblical time prophecies, such as the 70 weeks of Daniel 9:24–27. Calculating the time period mentioned in Revelation 13:5 of 42 months, with 30 days in a month, we come up with 1,260 prophetic days or literal years. The ancient calendars regularly had 360 days per year.In the fourth century, the Roman emperor Constantine legalized Christianity throughout the empire. When he moved his capital in a.d. 330 to Byzantium to unite the eastern and western parts of his empire, it left a leadership vacuum in Rome. The pope, then, filled this void. He became not only a powerful religious leader but also a political force to be reckoned with in Europe. In a.d. 538, Justinian, the pagan Roman emperor, officially granted the Roman bishop the role of the defender of the faith. The medieval church exercised great influence from a.d. 538 to a.d. 1798, including in the terrible persecution mentioned in the introduction to this week’s study. Napoleon’s General Berthier took the pope captive in a.d. 1798, in exact fulfillment of the prophecy.Berthier and his army captured Pope Pius VI and unceremoniously removed him from the papal throne. The blow to the papacy was serious, but, according to Revelation 13:12, the deadly wound would be healed, and the world would hear more from this power—a lot more.Think about how amazing biblical prophecy is and how it reveals to us God’s knowledge of future events. What should this fact teach us about why we can trust the Lord’s promises, even the ones we don’t yet see fulfilled?
Bonus song: Break Every Chain (Meredith Jones)
There is power in the name Jesus There is power in the name Jesus There is power in the name Jesus Break every chain Break every chain To break every chain
All sufficient sacrifice So freely given Such a price bought Our redemption Heaven's gates swing wide
There is power in the name of Jesus There is power in the name of Jesus There is power in the name of Jesus Break every chain Break every chain To break every chain
There's an army rising up There's an army rising up There's an army rising up There's an army rising up To break every chain To break every chain
Songwriters: Will Reagan Break Every Chain lyrics © Capitol Christian Music Group, Capitol CMG Publishing, TuneCore Inc
Memory Text:“He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints” (Revelation 13:10, NKJV).In the fifteenth century, the Piedmont valleys, high in the Alps of northern Italy, were home to the Waldenses, a people determined to stay faithful to their understanding of the Bible. As a result of their steadfast loyalty to Christ, they were fiercely persecuted. In a.d. 1488, the Waldenses in the Valley of Loyse were brutally murdered by the Roman Church for their faith.Another wave of persecution came in the seventeenth century, when the duke of Savoy sent an army of 8,000 into their territory and demanded that the local populace quarter his troops in their homes. They did as he requested, but this was a strategy to give the soldiers easy access to their victims. On April 24, 1655, at 4:00 a.m., a signal was given for the massacre to begin. This time the death toll was more than 4,000.History, unfortunately, is often repeated. The “mark of the beast” prophecy is about the final link in an ungodly chain of religious persecution that goes back through the ages. Like the persecutions of the past, it is designed to force everyone to conform to a certain set of beliefs and an approved system of worship. As always, though, God will have a people who will not capitulate.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, June 17.
“From the very beginning of the great controversy in heaven it has been Satan’s purpose to overthrow the law of God. It was to accomplish this that he entered upon his rebellion against the Creator, and though he was cast out of heaven he has continued the same warfare upon the earth. To deceive men, and thus lead them to transgress God’s law, is the object which he has steadfastly pursued. Whether this be accomplished by casting aside the law altogether, or by rejecting one of its precepts, the result will be ultimately the same. . . . In seeking to cast contempt upon the divine statutes, Satan has perverted the doctrines of the Bible, and errors have thus become incorporated into the faith of thousands who profess to believe the Scriptures. The last great conflict between truth and error is but the final struggle of the long-standing controversy concerning the law of God. Upon this battle we are now entering—a battle between the laws of men and the precepts of Jehovah, between the religion of the Bible and the religion of fable and tradition.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 582.Throughout Revelation, worship and Creation are indissolubly linked. The essence of the controversy between good and evil and the issues surrounding the mark of the beast revolve around whether God is worthy to be worshiped.As we have seen, the concept of Christ as Creator is at the very heart of Sabbath worship. Jesus consistently underlines the significance of the day of which He calls Himself the “Lord” (Matt. 12:8, Mark 2:28, Luke 6:5). The Sabbath is an eternal reminder of our identity. It reminds us of who we are as human beings. It places worth on every human being. It constantly reinforces the idea that we are created beings and that our Creator is worthy of our allegiance and worship. This is the reason why the devil hates the Sabbath so much. It is the golden link that unites us with our Creator, and this is why it will play such a crucial role in the final crisis at the end.Discussion Questions:What are the basic principles behind the sea beast’s claim to authority? In what ways can those same attitudes be lodged in our hearts without our knowledge?How do you respond to those who argue that the idea of a literal Satan is a primitive superstition that educated, or at least intelligent, people can’t take seriously? What arguments could you use in response?
Read Revelation 13:4, 5. What identifying marks of the beast power do we discover in these verses?The beast of Revelation is an apostate religious power that rises out of pagan Rome and grows to become a worldwide system of worship. According to Revelation 13:5, it is a blasphemous power. In the New Testament, blasphemy is equated with assuming the privileges and prerogatives of God as an equal.Read Luke 5:18–26 and John 10:33. What two aspects of blasphemy do these verses identify?Jesus was accused of blasphemy by the leaders. In Jesus’ case, the accusations were unjust because He has all the powers and prerogatives of God—including the right to forgive our sins. And that is because Jesus is God. Or as He so powerfully expressed it: “ ‘Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, “Show us the Father”?’ ” (John 14:9).Meanwhile, 1 Timothy 2:5 teaches that there is one Mediator between God and man, the man Jesus Christ. In contrast, the Roman Church teaches that the priest is the mediator between God and sinful humanity. But because the priest himself is a sinful human being, he cannot be our mediator because he also needs a mediator. Blasphemy also is defined as the claim of any human to be God or to stand in the place of God. Here are just two statements from the Roman Church’s authoritative sources:“The pope is of so great dignity and so exalted that he is not a mere man. . . . He is as it were God on earth.”—Lucius Ferraris, “Papa,” article 2 in his Prompta Bibliotheca (1763), vol. 6, pp. 25–29.Pope Leo XIII boasted: “We [the popes] hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty.”—The Great Encyclical Letters of Pope Leo XIII (New York: Benziger, 1903), p. 193.These claims become even more relevant when we understand that the prefix anti-, as in antichrist, doesn’t always mean “against” but also can mean “in the place of.” Hence antichrist also means “in place of Christ.” Talk about blasphemy!
Read Revelation 13:1, 2. Where does the beast come from, and who gives the beast his authority?The first beast power of Revelation 13 receives his power, seat, and great authority from the dragon. Revelation 12:9 and Revelation 20:2 identify the dragon as Satan. Satan is a cunning foe and works through earthly powers. Revelation 12:3–5 says this “dragon”—the devil—attempted to destroy the “male Child” as soon as He was born. This “male Child” was later “caught up to God and His throne” (NKJV). This, of course, refers to Christ. Desiring to destroy the Christ child, Satan worked through Herod and imperial Rome. At the end of Jesus’ life, a Roman governor, Pilate, condemned Christ to die, a Roman executioner nailed Him to the cruel cross, a Roman soldier pierced Him with a spear, and Roman soldiers guarded His tomb. According to Revelation 13:2, the dragon, Satan, working through pagan Rome, would give the seat of its government to this emerging beast power.“Though primarily representing Satan, the dragon, in a secondary sense, represents the Roman Empire. . . . The power succeeding the Roman Empire, which received from the dragon ‘his power, and his seat, and great authority,’ is clearly papal Rome.”—The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 817. Historian A. C. Flick explains that “out of the ruins of political Rome, arose the great moral Empire in the ‘giant form’ of the Roman Church.”—The Rise of the Medieval Church (1900), p. 150, as quoted in The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 817.Read Revelation 13:3 and Revelation 14:4. What contrast do you see in these verses?
Bonus song: Break Every Chain
(Meredith James)
There is power in the name Jesus There is power in the name Jesus There is power in the name Jesus Break every chain Break every chain To break every chain
All sufficient sacrifice So freely given Such a price bought Our redemption Heaven's gates swing wide
There is power in the name of Jesus There is power in the name of Jesus There is power in the name of Jesus Break every chain Break every chain To break every chain
There's an army rising up There's an army rising up There's an army rising up There's an army rising up To break every chain To break every chain
Album:Beloved Genre:Gospel Year of Release:: 2015
The prophecy regarding the mark of the beast is about religious intolerance, an economic boycott, persecution, and eventually a death decree. Surprisingly, it also is a message of encouragement. Even in the worst of times, God will sustain His people who “keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus” (Rev. 14:12, NKJV). And, among those commandments, of course, is the fourth—the seventh day Sabbath.The mark-of-the-beast prophecy in Revelation 13 tells us about the worst, the absolute fever pitch, of Satan’s war against God. His first strategy in this campaign is deception. Revelation 13 tells us about a time in the future when the devil will work through an earthly religiopolitical power called the beast and resort to force.Religious persecution, of course, is not new. It has been around ever since Cain killed Abel for worshiping the way God instructed them to worship (see Gen. 4:1–8). Jesus said persecution would happen even to believers in the first century and down through the ages: “ ‘The time is coming,’ ” He warned, “ ‘that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service’ ” (John 16:2, NKJV; see also Matt. 10:22, 1 Pet. 4:12).The mark-of-the-beast prophecy is about the final link in this ungodly chain. Like the persecutions in the past, it is designed to force everyone to conform to a certain set of beliefs and an approved system of worship.Read Revelation 13:15–17. What will God’s end-time people face in the final crisis?The prophecy says the persecution will start with economic sanctions: “No one can buy or sell” unless they have “the mark.” When this happens, the immense majority will capitulate. Anyone who refuses will eventually be placed under a death decree.The devil is preparing professed Christians by compromises in their lives to receive the mark of the beast when the final test comes upon us in the future. God’s love for each one of us will strengthen us and preserve us during the troublous times ahead.Read Galatians 6:7–9. Though this is not written in the context of last-day events, why is the principle here so relevant to issues over the mark of the beast and how we can stand faithful?
Read Matthew 27:45–50. What does this teach us about what Christ experienced on the cross? What did Jesus mean by asking God why He had forsaken Him, and how does this scene help us understand what it means to have “the faith of Jesus”?Hanging on the cross, enshrouded in darkness, bearing the guilt, shame, and condemnation of the sins of the world, and shut off from the sense of His Father’s love, Jesus depended on the relationship that He had with the Father throughout His life. That is, through a life of complete dependence upon the Father, even in good times, Jesus had been prepared for the worst times—even the cross. The Savior trusted, even when all around Him the circumstances cried out for Him to doubt. Even when it seemed that God had forsaken Him, Jesus didn’t give up.“Amid the awful darkness, apparently forsaken of God, Christ had drained the last dregs in the cup of human woe. In those dreadful hours He had relied upon the evidence of His Father’s acceptance heretofore given Him. . . . By faith, Christ was victor.”—Ellen G. White, Christ Triumphant, p. 277.The faith of Jesus is a faith so deep, so trusting, so committed, that all the demons in the cosmos and all the trials on earth cannot shake it. It is a faith that trusts when it cannot see, believes when it cannot understand, hangs on when there is little to hang on to. This “faith of Jesus” is itself a gift we receive by faith and it will carry us through the crisis ahead. It is “the faith of Jesus” dwelling in our hearts that enables us to worship Christ as supreme and steadfastly endure when Revelation’s mark of the beast is enforced.And yet, it is not something that out of nowhere suddenly appears. God’s people have been learning to live by faith, day by day, now. In good times, in bad times, when God feels close, when God seems far away—it doesn’t matter. “The just shall live by faith” (Gal. 3:11; see also Hab. 2:4). The time for preparation is now. Every trial now, if endured in faith, can bear precious fruit in our lives.Think about a time when life seemed to crumble around you and all that you had was your faith. How did you get by? What lessons did you learn? What did you experience that could help others who might be going through something similar?
As we have seen in Revelation 14:7, God calls all people to worship the Creator. This is the first angel’s message. In Revelation 14:8, God warns people about “Babylon,” a false religious system with roots back in ancient Babylon. This is the second angel’s message.In Revelation 14:9, 10, the third angel warns against worshiping the beast. The angel declares in a loud voice, “ ‘If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God’ ” (NKJV).Read Revelation 14:12. What two characteristics do we discover in this passage about God’s last-day people? Why are both important?The Greek word for “patience” is hupomone, which is better translated “steadfast endurance.” God will have an end-time people who are loyal to Him in the face of opposition and fierce persecution. Through His grace, they stand with steadfast endurance, living God-centered, grace-filled, obedient lives.Worshiping the Creator (Rev. 14:7) stands in direct opposition to worshiping the beast (Rev. 14:9) and finds its expression in a people who keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus (Rev. 14:12). This final conflict over allegiance to Christ or allegiance to the beast power revolves around worship, and at the heart of this great controversy between good and evil is going to be the Sabbath.Read Romans 8:1–4, Ephesians 2:8–10, and Colossians 1:29. What do these passages teach us about the result of living by faith?Living by faith, we receive His grace, and our lives are changed. The committed followers of the Savior not only will have faith “in” Jesus but also will have the faith “of” Jesus. Jesus’ quality of end-time faith will be theirs, and they will remain faithful, even unto death, as Jesus did.How faithful are you in the little things? What might that tell you about how you will be when the real trial comes? (See Luke 16:10.)
Memory Text:“Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, ‘Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads’ ” (Revelation 7:2, 3, NKJV).As we study end-time events in regard to the mark of the beast, one crucial point that comes through is the difference between how God operates and how the enemy of souls does.As we have been studying, the central issues in the great controversy between Christ and Satan are loyalty, authority, and worship. The prophecies describing the beast power in Revelation 13, the little horn in Daniel 7, and the “son of perdition” in 2 Thessalonians 2 all speak of a power that usurps God’s authority, commands loyalty, and introduces a counterfeit system of worship. And it does so through the use of force, coercion, and at times bribes and rewards—all in order to compel worship.In contrast, love is the great motivating force of the kingdom of God. Rather than worshiping the beast, God’s people find their greatest joy and highest delight in worshiping Him. They are committed to Him because they know how committed He is to them. There is only one thing that will keep any of us from receiving the mark of the beast in the end time—a love for Jesus so deep that nothing can break our hold upon Him.In this lesson, we will explore these themes further.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, June 10.
Memory Text:“Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, ‘Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads’ ” (Revelation 7:2, 3, NKJV).As we study end-time events in regard to the mark of the beast, one crucial point that comes through is the difference between how God operates and how the enemy of souls does.As we have been studying, the central issues in the great controversy between Christ and Satan are loyalty, authority, and worship. The prophecies describing the beast power in Revelation 13, the little horn in Daniel 7, and the “son of perdition” in 2 Thessalonians 2 all speak of a power that usurps God’s authority, commands loyalty, and introduces a counterfeit system of worship. And it does so through the use of force, coercion, and at times bribes and rewards—all in order to compel worship.In contrast, love is the great motivating force of the kingdom of God. Rather than worshiping the beast, God’s people find their greatest joy and highest delight in worshiping Him. They are committed to Him because they know how committed He is to them. There is only one thing that will keep any of us from receiving the mark of the beast in the end time—a love for Jesus so deep that nothing can break our hold upon Him.In this lesson, we will explore these themes further.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, June 10.
“ ‘Babylon the great’ in the book of Revelation designates in a special sense, the united apostate religions at the close of time. . . . ‘Babylon the great’ is the name by which Inspiration refers to the great threefold religious union of the papacy, apostate Protestantism, and spiritism. . . . The term ‘Babylon’ refers to the organizations themselves and to their leaders, not so much to the members as such. The latter are referred to as ‘many waters.’ (Rev. 17:1, 15).”—The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, pp. 851, 852.“Through the two great errors, the immortality of the soul and Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions. While the former lays the foundation of spiritualism, the latter creates a bond of sympathy with Rome.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 588.In the Old Testament, the spirits of the dead played a major part in Babylonian religion. The Babylonians had a strong belief in the doctrine of the immortality of the soul. They believed at death, the soul entered the spirit world. The concept of the immortal soul is foreign to the teachings of Scripture. The Jewish Encyclopedia clearly identifies the origin of the false idea of the immortality of the soul. “The belief that the soul continues its existence after the dissolution of the body is . . . nowhere expressly taught in Holy Scripture. . . . The belief in the immortality of the soul came to the Jews from contact with Greek thought and chiefly through the philosophy of Plato, its principal exponent, who was led to it through Orphic and Eleusinian mysteries in which Babylonian and Egyptian views were strangely blended.”—Kaufmann Kohler, “Immortality of the Soul,” (1906).Discussion Questions:Why is an understanding of the truth about death so critically important? What does it protect us from? Why is it so comforting too?Some of the devil’s deceptions are obvious, others more subtle. How can we avoid being deceived by either?In class, talk about the question, touched on in Sunday’s study, about those who do evil believing that they are following the will of God, as revealed in the Bible. How do we explain this? What role should the law of God play in the explanation?
The woman in scarlet and purple, riding on the scarlet-colored beast, has passed around her wine cup, and the world is drunk with Babylon’s false doctrines. Speaking of the “wine of Babylon,” Ellen G. White makes this clear comment: “What is that wine? Her false doctrines. She has given to the world a false Sabbath instead of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, and has repeated the falsehood that Satan first told to Eve in Eden,—the natural immortality of the soul.”—“Let the Trumpet Give a Certain Sound,” Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, December 6, 1892. These erroneous teachings have deceived millions. As a result, God is giving His people, still entrenched in error, a final last-day appeal.Read Revelation 18:4, 5. What is God’s appeal to multitudes still in fallen religious organizations?As we already have seen (but worth repeating), many of God’s people are in religious organizations that have compromised biblical teachings. They do not understand the truths of Scripture. God’s loving appeal is straightforward: “ ‘Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues’ ” (Rev. 18:4, NKJV).Read 1 John 3:4 and compare it to Romans 14:23. How does the Bible define sin? How do these Bible passages harmonize?Sin is the transgression or the breaking of God’s law. The only way anybody can obey the law is through faith in the power of the living Christ. We are weak, frail, faltering, sinful human beings. By faith when we accept Christ, His grace atones for our past and empowers our present. He gives us “grace and apostleship for obedience” (Rom. 1:5, NKJV). Heaven’s appeal to His people in churches that do not respect and obey the law of God is to step out by faith. His appeal to Adventists in Sabbath-keeping congregations is to forsake all self-centered, human attempts at obedience and live godly lives by faith in the grace of Christ, which delivers us from sin’s condemnation and its domination. And just as Israel’s faithfulness to the law (Deut. 4:6) would have been a powerful witness to the world, our faithfulness, too, can be a powerful witness and help guide people out of Babylon.
The message of the second angel in Revelation 14 is “ ‘Babylon is fallen, is fallen.’ ” In Revelation 17, the woman identified as spiritual Babylon, dressed in purple and scarlet, rides upon a scarlet-colored beast, passes around her wine cup, and gets the world drunk with error. Church and state unite. Falsehood prevails. Demons work their miracles to deceive. The world catapults into its final conflict.At the same time, the people of God are maligned, ridiculed, oppressed, and persecuted, but in Christ and through the power of His Holy Spirit, they are steadfast in their commitment. All the powers of hell and the forces of evil cannot break their loyalty to Christ. They are secure in Him. He is their “refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Ps. 46:1).God is calling an end-time people back to faithfulness to His Word. Jesus prayed, “ ‘Sanctify them by Your truth. Your Word is truth’ ” (John 17:17, NKJV). The truth of God’s Word, not human opinion or tradition, is the North Star to guide us in this critical hour of earth’s history.Here is a remarkable statement by Dr. Edward T. Hiscox, the author of the Standard Manual for Baptist Churches. In 1893, he addressed a group of hundreds of Baptist ministers and shocked them as he explained how Sunday came into the Christian church.“What a pity that it [Sunday] comes branded with the mark of paganism, and christened with the name of the sun god, then adopted and sanctioned by the papal apostasy, and bequeathed as a sacred legacy to Protestantism!”—Before a New York ministers’ conference, November 13, 1893.Read Ezekiel 20:1–20. What is the gist of Ezekiel’s message here, and how does the Sabbath fit in with this call to faithfulness?Ezekiel 20 is an earnest appeal for Israel to forsake pagan practices and to worship the Creator instead of false gods, in this case the “idols of Egypt.” In the message of the three angels, God is making a similar appeal for us to “worship the Creator,” for “Babylon is fallen.” And, too, as we know, the Sabbath, and faithfulness to it, will play a big role in final events.What lessons can we take away for ourselves from what has been written in Ezekiel 20:1–20? (See also 1 Cor. 10:11.)
Read Revelation 16:13, 14 and Revelation 18:2, 23. What allusions to spiritualism do you find in these verses?Such expressions as the “dwelling place of demons” or the “spirits of demons” and “sorcery” all indicate demonic activity. No wonder we have been warned that of the two great deceptions in the last days, one will be “the immortality of the soul” (Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 588).Of course, that’s so easy to see today. Even in the Christian world, the idea of the soul being immortal is all but staple Christian doctrine. Many Christians believe that, at death, the saved go soaring off to heaven, and the lost descend into hell. How often, for instance, after the great evangelist Billy Graham died, did we hear that “Billy Graham is safe now in heaven, in the loving arms of Jesus,” or the like? This kind of thing is taught all the time from pulpits; in classrooms; and, especially, at funerals.Read Ecclesiastes 9:5; Job 19:25–27; 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17; and Revelation 14:13. What clear instruction did God give His people about life after death, and where do we find our hope?One of the pillars of Babylonian deception is a false understanding of death, which, centered in the idea of the immortality of the soul, prepares the way for the deceptive influence of spiritualism. If you believe that the dead, in some form, live on and might even be able to communicate with us, then what protection do you have from any of the myriad deceptions that Satan has? If someone who you thought was your dead mother or child, or someone else beloved, was suddenly to appear and talk to you, how easy would it be to be fooled by your senses? This has happened in the past; happens now; and, certainly, as we near the very final days, will happen again. Our only protection is to stand firmly rooted in what the Bible teaches and to cling to the biblical teaching about death as a sleep until the second coming of Jesus.What examples of modern spiritualism exist in your culture today? Why is firm adherence to the Word of God our only protection?
Read Revelation 16:13, 14 and Revelation 18:2, 23. What allusions to spiritualism do you find in these verses?Such expressions as the “dwelling place of demons” or the “spirits of demons” and “sorcery” all indicate demonic activity. No wonder we have been warned that of the two great deceptions in the last days, one will be “the immortality of the soul” (Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 588).Of course, that’s so easy to see today. Even in the Christian world, the idea of the soul being immortal is all but staple Christian doctrine. Many Christians believe that, at death, the saved go soaring off to heaven, and the lost descend into hell. How often, for instance, after the great evangelist Billy Graham died, did we hear that “Billy Graham is safe now in heaven, in the loving arms of Jesus,” or the like? This kind of thing is taught all the time from pulpits; in classrooms; and, especially, at funerals.Read Ecclesiastes 9:5; Job 19:25–27; 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17; and Revelation 14:13. What clear instruction did God give His people about life after death, and where do we find our hope?One of the pillars of Babylonian deception is a false understanding of death, which, centered in the idea of the immortality of the soul, prepares the way for the deceptive influence of spiritualism. If you believe that the dead, in some form, live on and might even be able to communicate with us, then what protection do you have from any of the myriad deceptions that Satan has? If someone who you thought was your dead mother or child, or someone else beloved, was suddenly to appear and talk to you, how easy would it be to be fooled by your senses? This has happened in the past; happens now; and, certainly, as we near the very final days, will happen again. Our only protection is to stand firmly rooted in what the Bible teaches and to cling to the biblical teaching about death as a sleep until the second coming of Jesus.What examples of modern spiritualism exist in your culture today? Why is firm adherence to the Word of God our only protection?
In the context of the last days, Jesus uttered a powerful warning, “ ‘For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect’ ” (Mark 13:22, NKJV). Who are “the elect”? He later says, “ ‘And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other’ ” (Matt. 24:31, NKJV). A little scary, isn’t it, when the deception in the last days will be so great that even the faithful ones will be in danger of being deceived?Read Revelation 12:9. Who is deceived by Satan? How do we understand these words?Obviously, God is going to have some faithful people in the last days, as He has had all through the ages. However, the wording here shows just how widespread Satan’s deception really is.Read Proverbs 14:12. What powerful warning is presented here?People are often told to follow their own conscience in order to determine for themselves what is right or wrong, good or evil, and then live accordingly. But the Scripture says that we are all sinners, all corrupted (Jer. 17:9, Rom. 3:9–18), and so to trust our own sentiments is almost a guaranteed way to, sooner or later, get it wrong and even to do wrong. A lot of evil has been perpetrated through the ages by people utterly convinced of the rightness of their cause. That is, they followed the “way that seems right” to them.Instead, we must immerse ourselves in the Word of God, and from His Word, as we surrender to the Holy Spirit, learn truth from error, right from wrong, good from evil. Left to our own devices, or even to our own senses, we can become easy prey to Satan’s deceptions.Think through examples of people who have acted based on what they themselves believed was right, or even what they believed was God’s will but have done evil things. What can we learn from these tragic events?
Bonus song: Jesus saves (Travis Cottrell) (The enemy May try to deceive us with many lies - but the truth is: Jesus saves) LyricsHear the heart of heaven beating,Jesus SavesJesus savesAnd the hush of mercy breathing,Jesus SavesJesus savesHear the host of angels sing,Glory to the Newborn KingAnd the sounding joy repeating,Jesus savesSee the humblest hearts adore Him.Jesus savesJesus savesAnd the wisest bow before HimJesus savesJesus savesSee the sky alive with praise,Melting darkness in its placeThere is life forevermore,Jesus savesJesus savesHe will live our sorrow sharing,Jesus savesJesus savesHe will die our burden bearingJesus savesJesus saves"It is done!" will shout the cross,Christ has paid redemption's cost!While the empty tomb's declaringJesus savesFreedom's calling, chains are falling,Hope is dawning bright and trueDay is breaking, night is quaking,God is making all things new.Jesus savesOh to grace, how great a debtor!Jesus savesJesus savesAll the saints who shout together."I know that Jesus saves."Rising us so vast and strong lifting up salvation's song,The redeemed will sing forever, the redeemed will sing forever, the redeemed will sing forever,Jesus savesJesus savesSongwriters: David E. Moffitt / Travis CottrellJesus Saves lyrics © New Spring Publishing, Inc
Read for This Week’s StudyRev. 12:9; Rev. 16:13, 14; 1 Thess. 4:16, 17; Ezek. 8:16; Ezek. 20:1–20; Rev. 18:4, 5.Memory Text:“ ‘Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth’ ” (John 17:17, NKJV).It was one of those gorgeous September mornings in Chicago. As the sun rose over Lake Michigan and commuters battled traffic jams on the Kennedy and Eisenhower expressways, and children made their way to school, a chilling story began to emerge that struck fear into the hearts of Chicagoans. People were becoming tragically sick, and some were dying just a few hours after taking Tylenol capsules. On testing, each of the capsules proved to be laced with potassium cyanide, a deadly poison. A deranged individual had tampered with the medication. To this day, we don’t know who did this.As we have seen, Revelation warns us that the “inhabitants of the earth” will drink a deadly potion called the “wine of Babylon.” There are false doctrines and teachings that, in the end, will lead only to death. However, the world is not left without the antidote, the protection, against this spiritual poison: the three angels’ messages.In this week’s lesson, we will continue looking, not only at Babylon’s deceptions but also at Jesus’ plan to save us from them and the death that they would otherwise bring.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, June 3.
The message of Revelation 14, announcing the fall of Babylon must apply to religious bodies that were once pure and have become corrupt. Since this message follows the warning of the judgment, it must be given in the last days; therefore it cannot refer to the Roman Church alone, for that church has been in a fallen condition for many centuries.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 383.Daniel 3—the story of the three Hebrews who had been ordered to “ ‘worship the gold image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up’ ” (Dan. 3:5, NKJV) in ancient Babylon—stands as a symbol, a model, of what will happen when spiritual Babylon, in the last days, will enforce worship of a false “image,” as well (see Rev. 13:15; Rev. 14:9, 11; Rev. 16:2; Rev. 19:20; Rev. 20:4). How interesting that the commandment that the three Hebrews would have violated, had they obeyed the king, the second commandment (Exod. 20:4, 5), was one of the two commandments that this power, depicted in another place as seeking “ ‘ “to change times and laws” ’ ” (Dan. 7:25), had tampered with.What was the other commandment it tampered with? Of course, the fourth commandment, which, as we have seen and will see again, sits at the heart of the whole question of worship and will be central in the final crisis when we face the question of whether we will worship the One who “ ‘made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day’ ” (Exod. 20:11, NKJV; see also Rev. 14:7) or the beast and his image.Discussion Questions:What relationship does the Tower of Babel have to modern spiritual Babylon? What are the similarities between the two?How do you harmonize two contrasting ideas? Jesus has given authority to His church, but it is dangerous to place our religious experience in the hands of any spiritual leader. What are the limits of church authority?How can we learn that idolatry, one of the sins of Babylon, isn’t just bowing down to statues? In what ways can even Protestants fall into idolatry?What are some other parallels you can find between Daniel 3 and the forced worship there, and what we have been warned about in the last days?
Here is another clue in clearly identifying the “mystery of Babylon the great.” Idolatry was at the heart of Babylonian worship.Read Jeremiah 50:33–38 and Jeremiah 51:17, 47. What do you discover in these verses about ancient Babylon’s worship of images and God’s response to it?Jeremiah 50 and 51 predict Babylon’s destruction by the Medes and Persians. One of the reasons for Babylon’s demise was its idolatry. The Babylonians believed that these images were representations of their deities. In Babylonian religion, the ritual care and worship of the statues of deities was considered sacred; the gods lived simultaneously in their statues in temples and in the natural forces they embodied. The pillaging or destruction of idols was considered to be loss for the people of divine patronage. For example, the Chaldean prince Marduk-apla-iddina II fled into the southern marshes of Mesopotamia with the statues of Babylon’s gods to save them from the armies of Sennacherib of Assyria (Jane R. McIntosh, Ancient Mesopotamia: New Perspectives [Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, Inc., 2005] p. 203).The Bible prophets contrasted the worship of these lifeless images with the Creator God, who is both alive and life-giving (Jer. 51:15, 16, 19).Read Exodus 20:4–6 and Psalm 115:4–8. What do they teach about idolatry?Though the issues of the idolatry of spiritual Babylon go deeper than just bowing before images of wood and stone, spiritual Babylon does parallel ancient Babylon with the images introduced into its worship service. The use of images as objects of worship, or so-called “veneration,” is a violation of the second commandment because it limits the ability of the Holy Spirit to impress upon our minds the things of eternity and reduces the majesty of God to a lifeless statue. These images were introduced into Christianity in the fourth century to make Christianity more acceptable to the pagan populace. Unfortunately, these images are often given the sacredness and homage that belongs to God alone, which makes the whole thing spiritually degrading.
Revelation’s appeal is an urgent call to commitment, summarized in the symbolism of the two women in Revelation. Although at times it will appear that God’s people will be defeated in this cosmic controversy between truth and error, God promises that His church will triumph in the end.Compare Matthew 16:18 and Revelation 17:14. What promise did Jesus give His disciples regarding His church?Christ is the solid foundation His church is built upon. His church is based on the teachings of His Word and guided by His Spirit. On the contrary, Babylon, as we have seen, is rooted in human-made teachings and traditions. Any religious leader who substitutes human opinions or traditions in the place of, or above, the revealed will of God in the Scriptures is simply fostering Babylonian confusion.In the days of ancient Babylon, church and state were one and the same thing. When King Nebuchadnezzar sat in his temple on his royal throne, he supposedly spoke for the gods. On one occasion, as an act of defiance toward the true God, the Babylonian king passed a universal decree enforcing worship and commanded all his subjects to bow to his decree, a powerful symbol of what God’s faithful people, who refuse to worship the false image, will face in the last days. (See Daniel 3.)In the last days of earth’s history, a church-state system will arise, spiritual Babylon, with a spiritual leader claiming to speak as God. His word will be declared to be the very word of God and his commands the commands of God. Throughout the centuries, the Roman pontiffs have declared that they stand in the place of God on earth. In his encyclical letter of June 20, 1894, Pope Leo XIII stated, “We hold upon this earth the place of Almighty God.” The Ferraris Ecclesiastical Dictionary adds, “The Pope is of so great dignity and so exalted that he is not a mere man, but as it were God and the vicar of God.” The apostle Paul adds these words exposing this power “who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (2 Thess. 2:4, NKJV).Because we have already seen that God has faithful people in “Babylon,” why must we be careful in how we talk about it, and why must we be careful not to judge people as individuals, as opposed to the system itself?
Read Revelation 17:4–6. What do these verses teach us about the nature of this evil system?As we have seen, Revelation 17 describes an apostate religious system that introduces into Christianity many of the teachings of Old Testament Babylon.“In order to search for an understanding of the nature of Babylon, we need to go back to its first reference in the biblical record, in Genesis. It all began on the plain of the land of Shinar, a region in the southern part of Mesopotamia, today south Iraq, called Babylonia. It is there that the Tower of Babel was built, a symbol of human self-sufficiency, self-preservation, and independence from God ([Gen.] 11:1–4).”—Ángel Manuel Rodríguez, “The Closing of the Cosmic Conflict: Role of the Three Angels’ Messages,” unpublished manuscript, p. 43.The Tower of Babel, the site of ancient Babylon, was built in direct defiance to the word of God. The Babel builders built this monument for their own glory, and God confused their languages. The Genesis account puts it this way, “Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth” (Gen. 11:9, NKJV).So evil is this system that it is depicted as having been “drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus” (Rev. 17:6, NKJV)—horrific images of just how corrupt Babylon is (see also Isa. 49:26).In essence, spiritual Babylon represents a religion based on human teachings, established on human ideas, and supported by human traditions. It is a form of human-made religion built by, perhaps, brilliant human religious leaders, but it stands in opposition to the power of the gospel and the church that Jesus built, a church built on love, not violence.The book of Revelation describes these two systems of religion. The first reveals total trust in Jesus and dependence on His Word. The second reveals trust in human authority and dependence on human religious teachers. One is a Christ-centered faith with total dependence on Christ’s grace, sacrifice, and atonement for salvation. The other is a humanistic approach to faith that replaces the total dependence on Christ for salvation with a dependence on the traditions of the church.How can we protect ourselves from the subtle influences of Babylon, such as the tendency, easy as it is, to depend upon ourselves and not wholly upon God?
Read Revelation 17:1, 2, 15 and Revelation 18:1–4. How extensive is Babylon’s influence?The fallen church system has an international reach, influencing people around the world with her deceptions. Satan is enraged that the gospel will be proclaimed to every “nation, tribe, tongue, and people” and that this “ ‘gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world,’ ” so he employs every possible deception to captivate the minds of the “ ‘inhabitants of the earth’ ” (Rev. 14:6, Matt. 24:14, Rev. 17:2, NKJV).Revelation 17:2 continues its explanation of the mystery of Babylon the great by declaring that she has “committed fornication” with the kings of the earth. What is fornication? It’s an illicit union. It is the fallen church system uniting with the state. In the true church system, the church is united with Jesus Christ. The fallen church looks to the political leaders of the earth for power and authority. It seeks the state to enforce its decrees. Rather than drawing her strength from Jesus as her true Head, she looks to the state for support.Revelation 17:2 continues its dramatic portrayal: “ ‘And the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication’ ” (NKJV). The symbolism of the pure juice of the grape is used throughout the New Testament to represent the untainted, pure blood of Christ poured out for our salvation on the cross (Matt. 26:27–29). In Luke 22:20, Jesus says, “ ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood’ ” (NKJV). When the pure, new wine of the gospel is distorted, and the teachings of the Word of God are replaced with the teachings of human religious leaders, it becomes the “wine of Babylon.” (See Matt. 15:9.)Notice, too, that God calls His people out of Babylon. In other words, no matter how corrupt and evil the system is, its reach is so wide that it encompasses, at least for a certain time, His faithful ones, or “my people” (Rev. 18:4), as He calls them. Yet, the time is coming when God will call them out of that corrupt and evil system, which is about to fall because of its corrupt and evil nature, this “ ‘dwelling place of demons’ ” and “ ‘cage for every unclean and hated bird’ ” (Rev. 18:2, NKJV).What role do those who proclaim the three angels’ messages have in being used by God to call “My people,” His people, out of Babylon?
Read Revelation 12:17 and Revelation 17:14. How is God’s church described, and what is Satan’s reaction to it?Down through the centuries, God has always had a people who have been faithful to Him. Revelation 12:17 describes the faithful as those who “keep the commandments of God,” and those who are elsewhere depicted as “ ‘called, chosen, and faithful’ ” (Rev. 17:14, NKJV).Read Revelation 14:8 and Revelation 17:1, 2. What solemn announcement does the angel make? And what did Babylon do to warrant such an announcement?John wrote the book of Revelation at the end of the first century. By this time, the ancient city of Babylon was a dust heap. When John wrote down the messages in the book of Revelation, the literal city of Babylon had been destroyed for more than several centuries.In Revelation, the ancient city of Babylon is taken to be a type, or symbol, of the end-time Babylon. In the prophecies of Revelation, Babylon represents a false religious system that will have similar characteristics to Old Testament Babylon. The principles that guided ancient Babylon will be the undergirding structure of modern, spiritual Babylon.In Revelation 17:1–6, a woman dressed in purple and scarlet strides across the landscape of time. This woman rides upon a scarlet-colored beast. The Bible calls her a harlot. She has left her true Lover, Jesus Christ. Here the apostle John gives us a graphic portrayal of an apostate system of religion that has powerful influence in the world. Look at the wording: this power was one with “ ‘whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication’ ” (Rev. 17:2, NKJV). Drunk? Always a negative in the Bible. And fornication? Symbolic of the false teachings, false doctrine, and practice.Both leaders and the common people alike have been negatively influenced by this power. What’s our only protection? (Read Eph. 6:10–18.)
Bonus song: Remember the Sabbath (Pillars of Faith) Remember the Sabbath to keep it Holy,honour the dayThat our Lord commandsus to cease our toiling,and we obey, (unison)That we may know Him, (parts)and learn His patient ways.Keeping the Sabbath holy,in all our days.So enter His templewith high thanksgiving,worship the Lord,and fill up this house,with your voices ringing,let them be heard,for we adore Him,and lift our hearts in praisekeeping the Sabbath holy,in all our days.Remember the Sabbath to keep it Holy,honour the dayThat our Lord commandsus to cease our toiling,and we obey,That we may know Him,and learn His patient ways.Keeping the Sabbath holy,in all our days.
Memory Text:“ ‘These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful’ ” (Revelation 17:14, NKJV).The great controversy theme is summarized in Revelation with the symbolism of two women: one clothed with the sun, in Revelation 12, and one dressed in scarlet, in Revelation 17.The striking symbol of the woman clothed with the sun, in the dazzling glory of Christ, is found in Revelation 12. She is faithful to her true Lover, Jesus. She is not defiled with the corruption of false doctrines. Throughout the Bible, a pure woman symbolizes the bride of Jesus, or the true church. In Jeremiah 6:2, the prophet says, “ ‘I have likened the daughter of Zion to a lovely and delicate woman’ ” (NKJV). The prophet uses the expression “daughter of Zion” or a faithful woman to describe God’s people. (See also Eph. 5:25–32 and Hos. 2:20.)In contrast, the Bible likens apostasy to harlotry or adultery (James 4:4). Speaking of Israel’s rebellion and unfaithfulness, Ezekiel laments, “ ‘You are an adulterous wife, who takes strangers instead of her husband’ ” (Ezek. 16:32, NKJV).In this week’s lesson, we will study these two women of Revelation and probe, more deeply, the conflict between truth and error.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, May 27.
“The reason provided . . . to worship God is that He is the Creator. In the heavenly liturgy, celestial beings expressed the idea in a very succinct way: ‘For You created all things’ ([Rev.] 4:11, [NKJV]). On earth, God’s creatorship needs to be emphasized as much as possible, so the angel says, ‘Worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters’ ([Rev.] 14:7, [NKJV]). It has been correctly indicated that the angel is using the language of the fourth commandment to justify the call to worship God (Exod. 20:11). . . .“Within the Decalogue the Sabbath commandment stands as its seal in that it identifies who God is—the Creator; confirms the territory over which He rules—everything He created; and reveals His right to rule—for He created everything. In order for the dragon to succeed, he had somehow to set aside this memorial.”—Ángel Manuel Rodríguez, “The Closing of the Cosmic Conflict: Role of the Three Angels’ Messages,” unpublished manuscript, pp. 40, 41.Discussion Questions:How does the message of the Sabbath answer the great questions of life, such as where did I come from, why am I here, and what is my eternal destiny?Dwell on the marvel of Creation. Dwell on the miracle of our own existence in this vast universe. What should the fact that the prime memorial of this Creation, the Sabbath, comes to us (as opposed to us going to it), every week without exception, teach us about how important the doctrine of Creation is?In Daniel 3 and Daniel 6, how do you see the issue of worship being played out in these inspired accounts? What is found in these accounts that can help us prepare and anticipate the challenge God’s faithful people will face during the crisis around “the mark of the beast”?How do we show someone who believes in the millions, even billions, of years of evolution as the means of creation the irrationality of keeping the seventh-day Sabbath as a memorial to that creation?
The Sabbath is a place of refuge in a weary world. Each week we leave the cares of this world and enter God’s retreat center—the Sabbath. The famed Jewish author Abraham Heschel calls the Sabbath “a palace in time.”—The Sabbath: Its Meaning for Modern Man (New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2005), p. 12. Each seventh day, God’s heavenly palace descends from heaven to earth, and the Lord invites us into the glory of His presence for this 24-hour period to spend a time of intimate fellowship with Him.In the introduction to Heschel’s book on the beauty and solemnity of the Sabbath, Susannah Heschel, his daughter, writes of the significance of the Sabbath in these words: “The Sabbath is a metaphor for paradise and a testimony to God’s presence; in our prayers, we anticipate a messianic era that will be a Sabbath, and each Shabbat prepares us for that experience: Unless one learns how to relish the taste of Sabbath . . . one will be unable to enjoy the taste of eternity in the world to come.”—Page XV.At Creation, Jesus built a special dwelling for us. We can find refuge there. We can be safe there. His work is complete. It is finished. When we rest on the Sabbath, we are resting in His loving care. We are resting in anticipation of our eternal rest in the new heavens and the new earth that are soon to come.Read Isaiah 65:17, Isaiah 66:22, 2 Peter 3:13, and Revelation 21:1. How does keeping the Sabbath point us forward to eternity?The same God who created the earth the first time will create it again, and the Sabbath remains an eternal symbol of Him as the Creator (see Isa. 66:23). In fact, the Jews had seen the Sabbath as a symbol, a foretaste of what was called in Hebrew the olam haba, the world to come.The message of three angels flying through the heavens appealing for us to worship the Creator is heaven’s answer to the hopeless despair of many in the twenty-first century. It points us to our Creator, the One who first made all things, and to our Redeemer, the One who will, after the judgment, after sin is eradicated, make all things new. “Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ And He said to me, ‘Write, for these words are true and faithful’ ” (Rev. 21:5, NKJV).How can you personally make the Sabbath a foretaste of heaven in your own life and your family?
The great controversy, which began in heaven millennia ago, was over the question of God’s authority. The challenge remains the same today, as well.Read Revelation 14:7, 9, and 12. Summarize these verses by completing the sentences on the lines below.Revelation 14:7 is a call to ...Revelation 14:9 is a solemn appeal not to ...Revelation 14:12 describes a people who ...These passages make it clear that the central issue in the conflict in the last days between good and evil, Christ and Satan, is worship. Do we worship the Creator or the beast? And because Creation forms the ground for all our beliefs (after all, what do we believe that makes any sense apart from God as our Creator?), the seventh-day Sabbath—embedded in the Genesis Creation account itself (Gen. 2:1–3)—stands as the eternal and immutable sign of that Creation. It’s the most basic symbol of the most basic teaching. The only thing more fundamental to it is God Himself.Hence, to usurp the seventh-day Sabbath is to usurp the Lord’s authority at the most prime level possible, that of His identity as Creator. It’s to get behind everything and uproot it at the core. It is, indeed, to seek to take the place of God Himself (2 Thess. 2:4).Of course, the real issue in the last days is our love and loyalty to Jesus. But according to the Bible, this love is expressed in obedience to the commandments (1 John 5:3, Rev. 14:12)—and the Sabbath alone among the commandments is behind everything because it alone points to God as Creator (Exod. 20:8–11). No wonder it will be the outward symbol of the final divide between those who worship the Lord and those who worship the beast (Rev. 14:11, 12). Considering how basic and fundamental the Sabbath is to everything else, it’s hard to see how the final issue of worshiping the Creator could be about anything else.Many people argue that it makes no difference what day one keeps as the Sabbath, as long as we keep one. How do we answer that argument with the Bible?
In an attempt to destroy the uniqueness of our creation, the devil has introduced a not-so-subtle counterfeit. The counterfeit, accepted by even some among us, goes like this. God is the prime cause of creation, but He took long ages to bring life into existence. Evolution was the process He used. This approach attempts to harmonize “scientific data” with the Genesis account. It asserts that the days of creation are long, indefinite periods of time and that life on earth is billions of years old.Read Psalm 33:6, 9 and Hebrews 11:3. What do these clear Bible passages tell us about how God created the world?The biblical account is clear. God “spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast” (Ps. 33:9, NKJV). “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God” (Heb. 11:3, NKJV). The first chapter of Genesis affirms that God created the world in six literal days of 24 hours and rested on the seventh. The linguistic structure of Genesis 1 and 2 does not permit anything else. Even scholars who don’t believe in the literal six-day Creation acknowledge that the author’s intent was to teach the six-day Creation.The Hebrew word for “day” in Genesis 1 is yom. Throughout the Bible, every time a number modifies the word yom as an adjective (third day, first day, and so on), it limits the time period to 24 hours. Without exception, it is always a 24-hour period.Also, and to the immediate point, if God did not create the world in six literal days, what significance does the seventh-day Sabbath have? Why would God command it? It would make absolutely no sense at all to leave the Sabbath as an eternal legacy of a six-day Creation week if a six-day Creation week never existed to begin with. To accept long ages of creation is to challenge the very need for the seventh-day Sabbath. It also raises serious questions regarding the integrity of Scripture.By attacking the Sabbath, Satan is challenging the very heart of God’s authority, and what could be more effective in destroying the memorial of the six-day Creation than denying the reality of the six-day Creation? No wonder so many people, including Christians, ignore the seventh-day Sabbath. What a setup for the final deception.
It is because our world so desperately needs the reassuring message of Creation that God gave us the Sabbath. In the mid-1800s when the evolutionary hypothesis was taking the intellectual world by storm, God sent a message of incredible hope. We have been studying this message, found in Revelation 14:6, 7.Satan has made every attempt to distort the idea of Creation because he hates Jesus and does not want Him to receive the worship due Him as our Creator and Redeemer. The Sabbath is at the center of the great controversy over Christ’s worthiness to receive worship as our Creator. God’s last-day message is one that calls all humanity back to worshiping Christ as the Creator of heaven and earth. The basis of all worship is the fact that He created us.Read Genesis 2:1–3, Exodus 20:8–11, and Deuteronomy 5:12–15 in the context of Revelation 14:6, 7. How do we see in the Sabbath commandment the link between Creation and Redemption, as well?Sabbath is an eternal symbol of our rest in Jesus. It is a special sign of loyalty to the Creator (Ezek. 20:12, 20). Rather than being an arbitrary legalistic requirement, it reveals that true rest from righteousness by works is found in Him. The Sabbath speaks of a God who has achieved for us what we could never do for ourselves.Scripture calls us to rest in His love and care each Sabbath. Sabbath is a symbol of rest, not works; of grace, not legalism; of assurance, not condemnation; of depending upon Him, not upon ourselves. Each Sabbath, we rejoice in His goodness, and praise Him for the salvation that can be found only in Christ.The Sabbath also is the eternal link between the perfection of Eden in the past and the glory of the new heavens and the new earth in the future (Isa. 65:17, Rev. 21:1).The Sabbath calls us back to our roots. It’s a link to our family of origin. The Sabbath has been observed continuously since time began. It is an unbroken connection back through time to our creation. It keeps us focused on the glorious truth that we are children of God. It calls us to an intimate, close relationship with Him.How is the Sabbath commandment hinted at in Revelation 14:6, 7, and why is it important to our end-time message? (See Exod. 20:8–11.)
If we are merely a collection of randomly formed cells, simply the product of chance and an advanced African ape, nothing more, then life has little meaning. If we are merely one of the estimated eight billion people clawing at one another for living space on a planet called earth, life loses its purpose, other than mere survival. In contrast, the biblical Creation provides a reason to live and a moral imperative for living. We have been created by God and are accountable to Him for our actions. The One who made us holds us responsible. He has established absolutes, even in a world of “moral relativism.”Read Revelation 14:7, Romans 14:10, and James 2:8–13. What does judgment imply about such issues as accountability and responsibility? How are the judgment, the commandments of God, and worship linked?The message of the three angels flying in midair in Revelation 14 announces that “ ‘the hour of His judgment has come’ ” (Rev. 14:7, NKJV). Since we were created by God with the capacity to make moral choices, we are responsible for the decisions we make. If we were merely a random collection of cells, products of our heredity and environment only, our actions would largely be determined by forces over which we had no control.But judgment implies moral responsibility. In this crisis hour of earth’s history, the judgment hour, God calls us to make decisions in the light of eternity. The first angel’s earnest appeal to “ ‘worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of waters’ ” (Rev. 14:7, NKJV) acknowledges that the basis of all worship is the fact that we were created by God.Meanwhile, our adherence to the seventh-day Sabbath demonstrates our belief that Jesus is worthy to be worshiped as our Creator. It reveals our acceptance of His Ten Commandment law as divinely inspired principles for living life to the fullest. Because the law is the foundation of God’s government and a revelation of His character, it becomes the standard of judgment. Our faithfulness to the Sabbath commandment is acknowledgment of our commitment to live obedient lives.How does our understanding of Creation influence our behavior? What relationship do heredity and environment have to the choices we make daily? How can we, by God’s grace, overcome character defects that we didn’t choose to have in the first place?
James 2:8–13; Deut. 5:12–15; Ps. 33:6, 9; Revelation 14; 2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:1.Memory Text:“And to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 3:9, NKJV).The essence of humanity’s dignity is a common Creation. The fact that we are uniquely created by God places value on every human being. The unborn in the mother’s womb, the quadriplegic teenager, the young adult with Down syndrome, and the Alzheimer-afflicted grandmother all have immense value to God. God is their Father. They are His sons and daughters. “ ‘God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. . . . And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth’ ” (Acts 17:24–26, NKJV).Ours is a shared heritage. We belong to the same family. We are brothers and sisters fashioned, shaped, and molded by the same God. Creation provides a true sense of self-worth. When the genes and chromosomes came together to form the unique biological structure of your personality, God threw away the pattern. There is no one else like you in all the universe. You are unique, a one-of-a-kind creation, a being of such immense value that the God who created the cosmos took upon Himself our fleshly bodies and offered Himself as a sacrifice for you and your sins!*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, May 20.
Bonus song: Is He Worthy (Sounds like Reign)Do you feel the world is broken? (We do)Do you feel the shadows deepen? (We do)But do you know that all the dark won't stopThe light from getting through? (We do)Do you wish that you could see it, all made new? (We do)Is all creation groaning? (It is)Is a new creation coming? (It is)Is the glory of the Lord to beThe light within our midst? (It is)Is it good that we remind ourselves of this? (It is)Is anyone worthy? Is anyone whole?Is anyone able to break the seal and open the scroll?The Lion of Judah, who conquered the graveHe is David's root and the LambWho died to ransom the slaveIs He worthy? Is He worthy?Of all blessing and honor and glory?Is He worthy of this? (He is)Does the Father truly love us? (He does)Does the Spirit move among us? (He does)And does Jesus our MessiahHold forever those He loves? (He does)Does our God intend to dwell again with us? (He does)Is anyone worthy? Is anyone whole?Is anyone able to break the seal and open the scroll?The Lion of Judah, who conquered the graveHe is David's root and the LambWho died to ransom the slaveFrom ev'ry people and tribe, ev'ry nation and tongueHe has made us a kingdom and priests to GodTo reign with the SonIs He worthy? Is He worthy?Of all blessing and honor and glory?Is He worthy? Is He worthy?Is He worthy of this?He is, He isIs He worthy, is He worthy?He is, He isHe is worthy, He is worthy, He isSongwriters: Andrew Peterson / Ben ShiveIs He Worthy? lyrics © Junkbox Music, Capitol Cmg Genesis, Vamos Publishing
The worship of God is central in the Scriptures and has always been a bone of contention for humans and for God’s people. Throughout the Old Testament the prophets reprimanded the people of God for worshiping other gods or for worshiping the Lord using the worship practices of the pagan world. The conflict between worshiping God and worshiping other gods belongs at the very center of the cosmic conflict and comes accompanied by conflict over disregard for the law of God.“Worship addresses the most fundamental aspect of human existence in that it has to do with what humans as living creatures should do when confronted by the presence of the Creator. . . . Only those who are alive can worship the Lord; the dead cannot praise and worship Him. . . . The One who created us invites us to surrender our lives in the act of worship in order to receive them back from Him enriched, to be used for the benefit of others. Worship has to do with the very nature and purpose of our existence and with the need for having a center outside of ourselves that frees us from selfishness. Not to worship God is to lose our reason for existence; it is to exist in a state of disorientation and therefore to be dying, heading to total extinction because we are disconnected from the very source of life.”—Ángel Manuel Rodríguez,“The Closing of the Cosmic Conflict: Role of the Three Angels’ Messages,” unpublished manuscript, p. 42.Discussion Questions:Dwell more on this idea of why, in a fallen world, being created by God is not enough. Why do we need the promise of redemption, as well?Think about some experience in which you unmistakably saw the power of God work in your life; that is, in a way that showed you God’s love for you personally. And then dwell on the fact that this is God who created the entire cosmos! And this God loves you enough to care about your life. Why should this reality not only be comforting but also humbling?If evolution were true, think about how we would be called to worship a creator who used billions of years of death, violence, destruction, suffering, and mass extinction in order to create us, while at the same time giving us a completely different story in Genesis about how we were created. And yet, we are supposed to be worshiping him? Worship him for what? For lying to us for thousands of years about how we got here to begin with?
Bonus song: I will glory on the cross (Heritage Singers) I Will Glory In The CrossI boast not of works nor tell of good deedsFor not have I done to merit His graceAll glory and praise shall rest upon HimSo willing to die in my placeSo I will glory in the cross, in the crossLest His suffering all be in vainAnd I will weep no more for the cross that He boreI will glory in the crossMy trophies and crowns, my robe stained with sinWas all that I had to lay at His feetUnworthy to eat at the table of life'Til love made provision for meI will glory in the cross, in the crossLest His suffering all be in vainAnd I will weep no more for the cross that He boreI will glory in the crossIn the cross, in the crossBe my glory everI will weep no more for the cross that He boreI will glory, I will gloryI will glory in the crossSongwriters: Dottie RamboI Will Glory In The Cross lyrics © New Spring Publishing, Inc.
However much we can and do marvel and worship the Lord as our Creator, there’s more to it. As we have already seen but worth looking at again is the idea that our Creator also is our Redeemer. The God who created us is the same God who redeemed us. The God who said, “ ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness’ ” (Gen. 1:26, NKJV), is the same One who, on the cross, cried out, “ ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’ ” that is, “ ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’ ” (Matt. 27:46, NKJV). Talk about the reason to fear God or, even more so, to give glory to Him and to worship Him, as well!How can we, as fallen human beings, adequately respond to such an amazing truth as this? What could we possibly do in response? We are told, in the first angel’s message, what to do: “ ‘Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water’ ” (Rev. 14:7, NKJV).Read John 19:16–30, John’s account of Jesus on the cross. As you read it, think of the Bible texts that we have looked at about Jesus as Creator, as the One by whom “all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him” (Col. 1:16, NKJV). How are we to respond to this amazing expression of God’s love?The first angel’s message to worship the Creator came after the Cross, after it had become known to the onlooking universe and to Christ’s followers that the One who “made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water” is the same One who, though being God, took “the form of a bondservant, and [came] in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:7, 8, NKJV).What an amazing spectacle that must have been to those who knew Jesus before He came to earth as a human being. No wonder heavenly beings worship Him, as well. As for us, redeemed by His blood, what else could we do but worship our Creator and our Redeemer?Why is the idea, in light of the Cross, of fallen human beings being able to add anything to what Christ did on the cross such a heretical idea? Which of our works could add to what the Creator already has done for us?
Look at the first angel’s message. Everlasting gospel. Hour of judgment. Worship the Creator. Look at how closely related these ideas are. When we stand before our Creator in judgment, it’s only the gospel that gives us any hope at all. “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit” (Rom. 8:1, NKJV). No condemnation now—and certainly not in the judgment.The message of God as Creator is so central to present truth, especially when evolution, even when dressed up in “Christian” garb, threatens to destroy the entire foundation of the Christian faith.Yet, amid the onslaught of evolutionary thought, God has raised up a church, a people whose very name itself is a witness against the idea of evolution—a people who are to proclaim the foundational truth of God as our Creator and Redeemer.Read Ephesians 3:9, Colossians 1:13–17, Revelation 4:11, and Romans 5:17–19. What do these texts teach about Jesus as Creator and Redeemer?Look at how closely tied Jesus as Creator is to Jesus as Redeemer. The moment that His role as Creator is diminished, as the theory of evolution inevitably does, His role as our Redeemer comes into question, as well. Jesus comes to redeem us from sin, from death, from suffering, and from violence—when sin, death, suffering, and violence are, as evolution teaches, the very means of creation itself? God redeems us from the very process He used to create us to begin with? It’s a dangerous lie.And what makes it even worse is that evolution mocks the very idea of Jesus’ death on the cross. Why? Paul (see Rom. 5:17–19) inseparably links the introduction of sin, by Adam, to the death of Jesus. There’s a direct link, then, between Adam and Jesus. In any evolutionary model, however, no sinless Adam could have introduced death, because death—millions of years of death—was, supposedly, the force and power that was needed to create Adam to begin with.Hence, right from the start, evolution destroys the biblical foundation of the Cross. In contrast, Seventh-day Adventists, by calling the world to worship the Creator, stand as a living witness against this error.
The God of Creation, who brought the sun, moon, and stars into existence, whose awesome power created this planet and filled it with living things, also is a God who is interested in each one of us. He is the God who delivered His people from Egyptian bondage, who guided them in their wilderness wanderings, who rained manna out of heaven, who caused the walls of Jericho to collapse, and who defeated Israel’s enemies. The same God who unleashed His infinite power to create the universe unleashes that infinite power to defeat the forces of evil that wage the battles for our souls.Read 2 Corinthians 5:17, Psalm 139:15–18, Acts 17:27, and Colossians 1:17. What do these verses teach us about the closeness of God?Theologians talk about the transcendence of God. This is the idea that God exists above and over all of the creation. But they also talk about the immanence of God. This is the idea that God also, somehow, exists within our world and, as biblical history shows, is intricately and intimately involved in it. Though the Lord dwells in a “ ‘high and holy place,’ ” He also is “ ‘with him who has a contrite and humble spirit’ ” (Isa. 57:15, NKJV). As Jesus Himself said, talking about His faithful followers: “ ‘I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me’ ” (John 17:23, NKJV). It doesn’t get closer or more intimate than that.The great news about our God is that His greatness and power are so vast that it reaches across the cosmos and into each of our lives. He promises to remake us, mold us, and transform us into the likeness of His image. Think about what that means. The God who created and who sustains billions of galaxies is the same God not only in whom “ ‘we live, and move, and have our being’ ” (Acts 17:28) but also who works in us, to give us new hearts, to purge us of sin, and make us into new creatures in Christ. What a powerfully comforting thought to realize our God, a God of such power, loves and cares for us.How can we learn to draw hope and comfort from understanding the immanence of God? Or does it scare you because God knows your darkest secrets? How should the gospel give you peace in that context?
The God of Creation, who brought the sun, moon, and stars into existence, whose awesome power created this planet and filled it with living things, also is a God who is interested in each one of us. He is the God who delivered His people from Egyptian bondage, who guided them in their wilderness wanderings, who rained manna out of heaven, who caused the walls of Jericho to collapse, and who defeated Israel’s enemies. The same God who unleashed His infinite power to create the universe unleashes that infinite power to defeat the forces of evil that wage the battles for our souls.Read 2 Corinthians 5:17, Psalm 139:15–18, Acts 17:27, and Colossians 1:17. What do these verses teach us about the closeness of God?Theologians talk about the transcendence of God. This is the idea that God exists above and over all of the creation. But they also talk about the immanence of God. This is the idea that God also, somehow, exists within our world and, as biblical history shows, is intricately and intimately involved in it. Though the Lord dwells in a “ ‘high and holy place,’ ” He also is “ ‘with him who has a contrite and humble spirit’ ” (Isa. 57:15, NKJV). As Jesus Himself said, talking about His faithful followers: “ ‘I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me’ ” (John 17:23, NKJV). It doesn’t get closer or more intimate than that.The great news about our God is that His greatness and power are so vast that it reaches across the cosmos and into each of our lives. He promises to remake us, mold us, and transform us into the likeness of His image. Think about what that means. The God who created and who sustains billions of galaxies is the same God not only in whom “ ‘we live, and move, and have our being’ ” (Acts 17:28) but also who works in us, to give us new hearts, to purge us of sin, and make us into new creatures in Christ. What a powerfully comforting thought to realize our God, a God of such power, loves and cares for us.How can we learn to draw hope and comfort from understanding the immanence of God? Or does it scare you because God knows your darkest secrets? How should the gospel give you peace in that context?
Read Revelation 14:7. How does the message of the first angel conclude? What final appeal does this judgment-hour message make? (See also Isa. 40:26, John 1:1–3, and Rom. 1:20.)Revelation 14:7 ends with a clarion call to worship the Creator; this call is especially important now, when most of the scientific and even the Christian world have accepted evolution, a teaching that strikes at the very heart of all things biblical and Christian. If evolution were true, our faith would, of necessity, be a lie. That’s how stark the issues are.Revelation’s final appeal, then, is rooted in the Bible’s first book, Genesis. We will never fully understand the issues in this cosmic battle over worship unless we understand the significance of Creation. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1, NKJV). This verse is the foundation for all of Scripture. “In the beginning God created.” The Hebrew word for “create” in this passage is bara, a verb that is used only and exclusively with God Himself as the subject.To get just a small idea of how unlimited God’s power is, let’s consider just one object of His creation—the sun. The sun produces more energy in one second than humanity has produced by oil, gas, coal, or fire since the beginning of time.The sun has a diameter of approximately 865,000 miles and could hold one million planets the size of earth. But the sun is just one of at least 100 billion stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way. One star called the Pistol Star gives off as much as ten million times the power generated by our sun. One million stars the size of our sun can easily fit within the sphere of the Pistol Star. How do we even begin to wrap our minds around the creation?Creation reveals a God of awesome might and unlimited power. His creative power not only brought the heavens and earth into existence but also has worked in behalf of His people through the centuries. He is the God who began this world, who is ever present in this world, and who will never forsake His people in this world.Despite how small we are in contrast to the creation, Christ died for us. How does the overwhelming size of the creation only amplify the reality of God’s love?
After His ascension to heaven (Acts 1:9), Jesus visited the last of the living apostles, John, on the island of Patmos, where John had been exiled by the ruthless Roman emperor Domitian.Read Revelation 1:9. See also Matthew 13:21, Acts 14:22, and John 16:33. What’s the message here for all who seek to follow Jesus in this world?Separated from the support of his family, friends, and the Christian community, John was not left alone in the tribulations and trouble that he faced as a follower of Jesus. His ministry was not over. His witness was not complete. An angelic visitor of dazzling brightness visited John on that lonely isle and brought him a message directly from the throne of God. This message from Jesus was to echo down the corridors of time through the centuries. It was a message of hope for every generation, but especially a message to prepare God’s last-day people for the coming of Jesus. It is a serious message of warning as well as an end-time message of encouragement as we get ready to face the trials of the final days (or any trials that you might be facing now).If you were to enter the cave where it is purported that John was visited by the heavenly angel with Revelation’s prophetic vision, you would immediately notice these words placed on a plaque at its entrance summarizing the entire book of Revelation: “ ‘Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water’ ” (Rev. 14:7, NKJV).The central issue in the book of Revelation is worship. We were created as worshiping beings. Every one of us worships something or someone. True worship, the worship of the Creator, enables us to discover life’s true purpose. It gives us a reason for living. It gives us not only something to die for but also, even more significantly, something to live for and, if need be, to endure tribulations for. And indeed, as the final crises arise, we will better understand that “ ‘we must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God’ ” (Acts 14:22, NKJV).If faithful servants of God, like John, face suffering and tribulation, what makes us think we, ourselves, won’t face trouble either? (See 1 Pet. 4:12–15.)
Memory Text:“ ‘You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created’ ” (Revelation 4:11, NKJV).It’s easy to take things for granted, particularly things that we have always known or experienced. How easy is it, for instance, for young children to take their parents for granted, whom they have known all their short lives. How easy for us, too, to take for granted the sun, the sky, the air, or the ground beneath our feet.However, have you ever stopped to think about how much we take existence itself for granted? That is, how often do we stop and ask the famous philosophical question, Why is there something instead of nothing?Why does our universe itself, and all the majesty and grandeur and astonishing things in it, exist to begin with? What great logical contradiction would occur were our universe, and we who are in it, not here? According to the latest scientific theory (they tend to change), our universe once did not exist. In other words, ours is a contingent existence, and it’s a miracle that we are here at all. And despite all sorts of myths about the universe arising from absolutely nothing, or from some kind of mathematical equation, our universe exists because God, the Creator, has made it and everything in it.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, May 13
Here’s a quick and easy way to look at the 70-week prophecy of Daniel 9:24–27.First, there are the 70 weeks (Dan. 9:24),Next, there are the seven weeks and 62 weeks, or 69 weeks (Dan. 9:25) of the 70 weeks.There’s the last week, the seventieth (Dan. 9:27).And, finally, that last week is divided—“in the middle of the week” (Dan. 9:27)—into two three-and-a-half-year sections.That’s it. Seventy weeks, which are composed of sixty-nine weeks and one week. And that one week is divided in half. Just plug in the date, 457 b.c., at the beginning, and with simple math—yes, we come to 1844 on the time line.Also, in describing the 2,300 days, Daniel 8 never said when the 2,300 days began. “Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed” (Dan. 8:14). “Unto two thousand and three hundred days”—from what time? Why not from the time when Daniel had the vision itself, the “third year of the reign of King Belshazzar” (Dan. 8:1)?That doesn’t work. The vision in Daniel 8 didn’t include Babylon. It started with kingdoms after it (i.e., Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome, up to “the end”). Why date an event, the cleansing of the sanctuary, which is in the vision, from an event, the reign of the kingdom of Babylon, which is not? The starting date for the climax of the vision should come from within the vision itself, which started with Media-Persia and extends to “the end.” That’s a lot of years.Which one began it? We are not told in Daniel 8. We are told in Daniel 9.Discussion Questions:In class, discuss the close relationship between the gospel and judgment as seen in these two parts of what is, really, one prophecy. Why is the link between the two such good news for us? How should this link help alleviate the fear that many have had regarding the idea of judgment?Dwell more on the truth, revealed in Daniel 9:26, that the Messiah was cut off, but “ ‘not for Himself’ ” (NKJV). What is this about? For whom was He cut off, and why?Read again Leviticus 16:16 and Leviticus 23:26–29. Talk about the reason for the cleansing of the sanctuary (Lev. 16:16) and how the people were supposed to act when it happened (Lev. 23:26–29). What is the relationship between what happened then and what it should mean for us today?
The first 490 years of the 2,300-year prophecy were designated especially for the Jewish nation of antiquity and the coming of the Messiah. The last part of the 2,300 years has to do with God’s people, both Jew and Gentile, along with the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary, and, ultimately, the second coming of Christ.The first 490 years applied to the first advent of the Messiah and ended in a.d. 34. Subtracting 490 years from 2,300 years leaves us with 1,810 years. These second 1,810 years apply to God’s people. If we begin at a.d. 34 and we add 1,810 years, we come to a.d. 1844.In the light of the cleansing or restoration of the truth about the sanctuary and heaven’s end-time judgment, God makes His final appeal to all humanity in Revelation 14:6, 7 to respond to His love; accept His grace; and live godly, obedient lives.Read Leviticus 16:16. What was the reason for the cleansing of the sanctuary, and what does this teach us about the gospel?Because of the people’s sins, the people’s iniquities, the sanctuary had to be cleansed, which happened only with the blood of animals. It’s the same with us. We need a Savior, whose life is symbolized by the animals slain on the Day of Atonement, as the only way to make it through the judgment.Read Leviticus 23:26–29. What did God command His people to do on that day of judgment, and what should that mean for us today?The Israelites were to “afflict their souls.” This expression indicates that they were to humble themselves and examine their hearts, confess their sins, repent, and ask God to cleanse them as the high priest was cleansing the earthly sanctuary.The prophetic chapters of Daniel 7–9 and Revelation 14 focus especially on the judgment-hour urgent appeals to prepare. Since 1844, we have been living in the judgment hour, and Revelation’s message of the first angel proclaims, “ ‘The hour of His judgment has come’ ” (Rev. 14:7, NKJV). How, then, do we today “afflict our souls”?
Gabriel began this 490-year prophecy with an event that was extremely important to Daniel and to the Jews—the command to restore and build Jerusalem. Though various decrees had been passed regarding Jerusalem, in Ezra 7, we discover that the decree passed in 457 B.C. allowed the Jews not only to return to their homeland but also to establish themselves as a religious community (see Ezra 7:13, 27).It is significant to note that Artaxerxes’s decree was issued in the autumn of 457 B.C. From this decree, in 457 B.C., to the Messiah, according to Daniel, would be 69 weeks, or 483 years. If we begin at 457 B.C. and move forward on history’s time line, we arrive at A.D. 27.The word Messiah means “the anointed one.” In A.D. 27, Jesus Christ, the Messiah, was baptized. (See Matt. 3:13–17.) Daniel predicted hundreds of years in advance the exact year for the baptism of Christ, the time at which Jesus would begin His three and a half years of ministry.Read Romans 5:6–9 along with Daniel 9:26. What great truths are revealed here?“ ‘And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself’ ” (Dan. 9:26, NKJV). The Messiah would be “cut off,” or crucified. The verse adds “ ‘but not for Himself.’ ” In other words, the death of Christ on Calvary’s cross was for us, not for Himself, which is why Paul could write: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8, NKJV).In Daniel 9:27, we read that in the middle of the week, the last seven years, Christ would “ ‘bring an end to sacrifice and offering’ ” (NKJV). In the middle of this seventieth week, in A.D. 31, Christ confirmed the everlasting covenant with His blood by dying on the cross, and the sacrificial system lost any and all prophetic significance.These prophecies reveal that Christ, the Messiah, would be crucified and cause the sacrificial system to cease its prophetic importance in the spring of A.D. 31. These predictions were fulfilled in every detail. Exactly at Passover, when the high priest was offering the Passover lamb, Christ was sacrificed for us.With what has been written above in mind, read Mark 15:38 and Matthew 3:15, 16. How do these verses help us understand the prophecy of Daniel 9:24–27?
Read Daniel 9:23. What specific instruction does the angel give to Daniel? Why is this significant in understanding the meaning of the cleansing of the sanctuary in Daniel 8:14?The angel plainly instructed Daniel to “ ‘consider the matter, and understand the vision’ ” (Dan. 9:23, NKJV). What matter, and what vision? Because there is no vision recorded in Daniel 9, the angel Gabriel must be speaking of the portion of the vision in Daniel 8 that the prophet did not understand—the vision of the 2,300 days (Daniel 8:27).Gabriel continues in Daniel 9:24–27. What events in the life and ministry of Jesus is this about?The first portion of this prophecy relates to God’s people, the Jews. “ ‘Seventy weeks are determined for your people’ ”—the Jewish nation (Dan. 9:24, NKJV). In Bible prophecy, one prophetic day equals one literal prophetic year (Ezek. 4:6, Num. 14:34). In Daniel and Revelation, when you have symbolic imagery, you usually have a symbolic time prophecy, as well. One of the ways we can be certain that the day-year principle of prophecy applies here is that when we use it in Daniel’s prophecy, each event on the time line comes out perfectly (see tomorrow’s lesson). If we apply this principle, 70 weeks are composed of 490 days. Since one prophetic day equals one literal year, 490 days are 490 literal years.Gabriel tells Daniel that 490 years are “cut off” (the literal meaning of the Hebrew word chathak, sometimes translated “determined”). Cut off from what? It only could be the other time prophecy alluded to here: the 2,300 days of Daniel 8:14. These 490 years, which are a time prophecy, are directly linked back to the time prophecy of Daniel 8:14, the only part of the vision left unexplained in Daniel 8 and the only time prophecy in Daniel 8, as well. Thus, we can see that Gabriel with this prophecy is coming to help Daniel understand what he didn’t understand in the previous chapter: the 2,300 days.
Read Daniel 8:17, 19, 26. What time period does the angel declare that the vision of Daniel 8 and the 2,300 days apply to, and why is that important to understand?Some argue that the 2,300 days are literal days. They also believe that this little horn of Daniel 8 applies to the Seleucid military leader Antiochus Epiphanes (216 b.c.–164 b.c.), who attacked Jerusalem and defiled the Jewish temple, even though 2,300 days does not fit even his time frame. This interpretation, however, is contrary to the angel’s clear instruction that the vision applies to the “time of the end.” Antiochus Epiphanes certainly did not live at the time of the end.In Daniel 8, Gabriel begins his explanation of the 2,300-day prophecy. He names the ram as representing Media-Persia and the male goat as representing Greece (Dan. 8:20, 21). Though not named, as are the two powers before it, the next entity, the little horn, is obviously Rome (Dan. 8:9, 23, 24). He then depicts a kind of religiopolitical phase of Rome, which would “cast down the truth to the ground” (Dan. 8:10–12, 25) and interfere with Christ’s heavenly ministry (Dan. 8:10–12). The cleansing of the sanctuary in Daniel 8:14, the climax of the chapter, is God’s answer to the challenge of earthly and religious powers that have attempted to usurp the authority of God. It is part of God’s divine solution to the sin problem.Gabriel is ready to explain the details in God’s prophetic timetable. At the end of Daniel 8, we can clearly see that Daniel did not understand the part of the vision about the 2,300 days (Dan. 8:27). The earlier part about the ram, the goat, and the little horn had all been explained, even with the first two powers outright identified by name (Dan. 8:20, 21). The cleansing of the sanctuary was, however, not explained.The angel Gabriel, who appeared in Daniel 8, appears now in Daniel 9 and says to him: “ ‘At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved; therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision’ ” (Dan. 9:23, NKJV). What vision? As we will see tomorrow, it is the vision of the 2,300 days, the only part of the previous vision, in Daniel 8, that he hadn’t explained yet to Daniel.Gabriel called Daniel “greatly beloved.” What does this tell us about the intimate link between heaven and earth?
As we have already seen, there must be a judgment before Christ comes. The angel announces in a loud voice that “ ‘the hour of His judgment has come’ ” (Rev. 14:7, NKJV). The book of Daniel gives us the time when this judgment begins.Read Daniel 8:14. What specific timetable does Daniel give us regarding the cleansing of the sanctuary?Each Jew clearly understood the meaning of the cleansing of the earthly sanctuary. It occurred on the Day of Atonement, which was the day of judgment. Although Daniel understood the concept of the cleansing of the sanctuary and the judgment, he was confused about the 2,300 days.Read Daniel 8:27 and Daniel 9:21, 22. What was Daniel’s response to the vision of the 2,300 days, and what was God’s response to him?At the end of Daniel 8, Daniel fainted and later exclaimed, “I was astonished by the vision, but no one understood it” (Dan. 8:27, NKJV). That is, the vision of the 2,300 days (the rest of the vision already had been explained [see Daniel 8:19–22]). The next chapter, Daniel 9, records the angel Gabriel coming to explain to Daniel the 2,300-day prophecy. “ ‘O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand’ ” (Dan. 9:22, NKJV).Gabriel amazes Daniel as he reveals an answer to his prayer much broader than he ever imagined. The angel Gabriel took Daniel down the stream of time and revealed the truth about the coming Messiah, giving the exact dates of the beginning of His ministry and His cruel death, events that tied directly to the cleansing of the sanctuary, in Daniel 8. In other words, Christ’s death and the judgment are inseparably linked.Why is it significant that the death of Jesus, as revealed in Daniel 9:24–27, is directly linked to the judgment, in Daniel 8:14? What great truth is taught here by this link?
Memory Text:“And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand” (Romans 13:11, 12, NKJV).Several years ago, National Geographic magazine described a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park in the United States. After it ended, forest rangers trekked up a mountain to assess the damage. One ranger found a bird literally burned to ashes at the base of a tree. Somewhat sickened by the eerie sight, he knocked over the bird with a stick.When he struck it, three tiny baby birds scurried from under their dead mother’s wings. The loving mother, keenly aware of impending disaster, had carried her offspring to the base of the tree and had gathered them under her wings. She could have flown to safety but had refused to abandon her babies. What a picture of the believer who is safe in Christ!The fires of God’s judgment burned themselves out on Him, at Calvary, and all who are in Christ are safe forever beneath His wings. At the cross, Christ was judged as a condemned sinner so that we could be judged as righteous citizens of the heavenly kingdom. He was judged as a criminal so that we could be set free from the destructive fires of eternal loss, both figuratively and, yes, literally, as well.
Look at the powerful insights the Spirit of Prophecy gives us in regard to the state of God’s people in the last days, in the time of judgment and the end of the world.“Their only hope is in the mercy of God; their only defense will be prayer. As Joshua was pleading before the Angel, so the remnant church, with brokenness of heart and earnest faith, will plead for pardon and deliverance through Jesus their Advocate. They are fully conscious of the sinfulness of their lives, they see their weakness and unworthiness, and as they look upon themselves they are ready to despair. The tempter stands by to accuse them, as he stood by to resist Joshua. He points to their filthy garments, their defective characters. He presents their weakness and folly, their sins of ingratitude, their unlikeness to Christ, which has dishonored their Redeemer. . . . The people of God have been in many respects very faulty. Satan has an accurate knowledge of the sins which he has tempted them to commit, and he presents these in the most exaggerated light, declaring: ‘Will God banish me and my angels from His presence, and yet reward those who have been guilty of the same sins? Thou canst not do this, O Lord, in justice. Thy throne will not stand in righteousness and judgment. Justice demands that sentence be pronounced against them.’ But while the followers of Christ have sinned, they have not given themselves to the control of evil. They have put away their sins, and have sought the Lord in humility and contrition, and the divine Advocate pleads in their behalf. He who has been most abused by their ingratitude, who knows their sin, and also their repentance, declares: ‘ “The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan.” I gave My life for these souls. They are graven upon the palms of My hands.’ ”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, pp. 473, 474.Discussion Questions:How does the knowledge that “ ‘the hour of His judgment has come’ ” (Rev. 14:7, NKJV) impact our daily lives? If most of us are honest, we’d probably say that it doesn’t, right? How can we change?Why is the judgment good news and not bad news? In class, talk about the role Jesus takes for us in the judgment. How can this motivate us to be faithful to Him, knowing that only because of what He has done for us can we have the hope of salvation?Dwell more on the idea of the judgment revealing to the universe the character of God. How does this idea fit in very well with the whole great controversy scenario?
In Revelation 5:1–3, once again we see a throne. A scroll is introduced with writing on both sides. It is sealed with the divine seal, and no one in heaven or on earth can open the scroll. Heavenly beings tremble. The issue is serious. No angelic being can represent humanity in earth’s final judgment. John weeps because no one can open the scroll. Then one of the elders, one of those redeemed from the earth, speaks words of encouragement to John’s heart. Jesus, the Lamb of God, is worthy to open the scroll.John beholds the ultimate answer to the sin problem in Revelation 5:5. Here the aged prophet beholds the only way anyone can pass the final judgment at the throne of God.“But one of the elders said to me, ‘Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll.’ . . . And I looked, and behold, . . . a Lamb as though it had been slain” (Rev. 5:5, 6, NKJV).Read Revelation 5:8–12. How does all of heaven respond to the announcement that Jesus is worthy to open the scroll of judgment and redeem us?Jesus, the Lamb of God who has sacrificed His life for the salvation of all humanity, takes the scroll of judgment and opens it. All of heaven bursts forth in rapturous praise. His victory over Satan’s temptations, His death on Calvary’s cross, His resurrection, His high priestly ministry, provides salvation for all who choose by faith to respond to His grace. The judgment is incredibly good news for the people of God. It speaks of the end of the reign of sin and the deliverance of God’s people.Can anything be more encouraging? Jesus stands for us in the judgment. His perfect, righteous life covers us. His righteousness works within us to make us new. His grace pardons us, transforms us, and empowers us to live godly lives.We need not fear. Jesus stands for us in the judgment, and the powers of evil are defeated. Judgment is passed in “favor” of the people of God (Dan. 7:22). The purpose of the judgment is not to find out how bad we are but to reveal how good God is.Again, dwell on the great hope that we have in the judgment: Jesus as our Substitute. Why is that our only hope?
In Revelation 4, John beholds an open door in heaven and receives the invitation to “ ‘come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this’ ” (Rev. 4:1, NKJV). Jesus invited the apostle to look through the open door in heaven’s sanctuary to view eternal scenes in the great controversy between good and evil. We, too, can look through that open door with John and receive a glimpse of the eternal plan of salvation. We are witnesses of issues that are being decided in heaven’s celestial court. Fundamental issues in the great controversy between good and evil develop before our eyes.Read Revelation 4:2–4. What similarities can you see here with the judgment scene in Daniel 7?This is obviously a throne-room scene. God the Father sits upon the throne surrounded by heavenly beings. There is thunder and lightning symbolizing God’s judgments. We also notice in Revelation 4:4 that 24 elders are present around God’s throne.Who are these 24 elders? In ancient Israel there were 24 divisions in the Levitical priesthood. These priests represented the people before God. In 1 Peter 2:9, the apostle declares that New Testament believers are a “chosen generation, a royal priesthood.” These 24 elders could, perhaps, represent all the redeemed that one day will rejoice around the throne of God; or, perhaps, they represent the people resurrected at Christ’s resurrection, who ascended to heaven with Him (Matt. 27:52; Eph. 4:7, 8).Either way, this is good news. There are some of the redeemed from the earth around the throne of God. They faced temptations just as we face them. Through the grace of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, they overcame. They are clothed in “white robes” signifying the righteousness of Christ that covers and cleanses their sins. They have a golden crown upon their heads signifying that they are victorious in the battle with evil and are part of heaven’s royal line of faith-filled believers.We see a throne set in heaven with God sitting upon it. There are heavenly beings around the throne, and soon all of heaven begins to sing, and the crescendo of praise builds higher and still higher: “ ‘You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created’ ” (Rev. 4:11, NKJV).
The prophetic books of Daniel and Revelation are companion volumes pointing us to the unfolding events in the last days of earth’s history. The book of Revelation announces that the hour of God’s judgment has come. The book of Daniel reveals when the judgment began.In Daniel 7, God revealed the history of the world to the prophet. Nations rise and fall. Persecuting powers oppress the people of God. After describing Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece, Rome, the breakup of the Roman Empire, and the persecution of the church for the 1,260 years depicted in the text (Dan. 7:25; see also Rev. 12:14), God focuses Daniel’s mind on a glorious celestial event that will set all things right. The prophet’s attention is directed from the rise and fall of nations and the oppressive powers of earth to the throne room of the universe and God’s final judgment, when He will right every wrong and establish His everlasting kingdom of righteousness.God took Daniel in prophetic vision from the chaos and conflict of the earth to the glories of heaven’s sanctuary and the sitting of the supreme court of the universe, where Christ, the Rightful Ruler of this world, will receive from His Father the kingdom that is rightfully His.Read Daniel 7:9, 10, 13 and describe what Daniel saw in these verses. What, too, is the final result of this judgment? See Daniel 7:14, 26, 27.The destiny of all humanity is decided in heaven’s courtroom. Right prevails. Truth triumphs. Justice reigns. This is one of the most amazing, most marvelous, most spectacular scenes in all of Scripture. And the good news is that it ends very well for God’s faithful people, those clothed in the righteousness of Christ.Jesus approaches His heavenly Father in the presence of the entire universe. Heavenly beings crowd in around the throne of God. The entire universe of unfallen beings stands in awe of this judgment scene. The long conflict that has been waged for millennia is soon to be over. The battle for the throne of the universe is fully, completely decided.Daniel was right about the empires that came and went, just as predicted. Why, then, does it make so much sense to trust the Word of God about what it says regarding the final one, “an everlasting kingdom” that shall never “pass away”?
The cross and judgment both reveal that God is just and merciful. The broken law demands the death of the sinner. Justice declares, “The wages of sin is death.” Mercy responds, “The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23, NKJV). If God’s law could be changed or abolished, it would be totally unnecessary for Jesus to die. Christ’s death establishes the eternal nature of the law, and the law is the basis of judgment.Read Revelation 20:12. How are we judged? What relationship do our good works have to our salvation?Our works reveal our choices and our loyalty to God. According to Ephesians 2:8, 9, “by grace you have been saved through faith . . . not . . . works, lest anyone should boast” (NKJV). But when Christ saves us, He changes us. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works” (Eph. 2:10, NKJV).Our good works, empowered by the Holy Spirit, do not save us, but they do testify that our faith is genuine. God’s final judgment strips away all pretense, all hypocrisy, all falsehood, and pierces into the very depth of our being. In depicting our position before God in the judgment, Ellen G. White provides this powerful insight into how the gospel and judgment go hand in hand.“The fact that the acknowledged people of God are represented as standing before the Lord in filthy garments should lead to humility and deep searching of heart on the part of all who profess His name. Those who are indeed purifying their souls by obeying the truth will have a most humble opinion of themselves. The more closely they view the spotless character of Christ, the stronger will be their desire to be conformed to His image, and the less will they see of purity or holiness in themselves. But while we should realize our sinful condition, we are to rely upon Christ as our righteousness, our sanctification, and our redemption. We cannot answer the charges of Satan against us. Christ alone can make an effectual plea in our behalf. He is able to silence the accuser with arguments founded not upon our merits, but on His own.”—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, pp. 471, 472.How do you see, in her words, the inseparability of the gospel from the judgment? What hope can you take away from this link between the gospel and judgment for yourself?
The Bible’s last book, Revelation, focuses on the culmination of the agelong controversy between good and evil. Lucifer, a rebel angel, challenged the justice, fairness, and wisdom of God. He claimed that God was unfair and unjust in the way that He administered the universe. Revelation’s final judgment is at the very center of this conflict over the character of God.Revelation 14:7 reads: “ ‘Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water’ ” (NKJV).Why is it significant that right after we are told about the “everlasting gospel,” the first angel’s message mentions God’s judgment? What does the “everlasting gospel” have to do with God’s judgment? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________The gospel and the judgment, both parts of the first angel’s message, are inseparably intertwined. Were it not for the “everlasting gospel,” we would have no hope in the judgment. In fact, as we will see, the “everlasting gospel” is, indeed, our only hope in the judgment. There is no question that part of the content of the gospel is the announcement of judgment.During this judgment, the unfallen worlds will see that God has done everything He can to save every human being. This judgment reveals God’s justice and mercy. It says something about His love and law. It speaks of His grace to save and His power to deliver.The judgment is part of God’s ultimate solution to the sin problem. In the great controversy between good and evil in the universe, God answered Satan’s charges on the cross, but in the judgment, He reveals that He has done everything possible to save us and to lead us to the cross.Heaven’s infinite, minute, exact, detailed records will be opened (see Dan. 7:10). We are so precious to God that the entire universe pauses to consider the choices we have made in light of the wooing of the Holy Spirit and the redemption so freely provided by Christ on Calvary’s cross. Read Psalm 51:1–4 carefully, especially verse 4. How do these verses help shed light on the meaning and purpose of the judg- ment?39
Memory Text: “Saying with a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water’ ” (Revelation 14:7, NKJV).If the Bible was ever clear about anything, it’s clear that God is a God of judgment, and that sooner or later, in one way or another, judgment—the judgment so lacking here and now—is going to come and be administered by God Himself, “the Judge of all the earth” (Gen. 18:25; see also Ps. 58:11, Ps. 94:2, Ps. 98:9). Or, as Paul himself had written: “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Rom. 14:12).Scary thought, isn’t it? Having to give an account of ourselves before God, the God who knows the deepest things, the God who will “bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Eccles. 12:14, NKJV)?Yet, ultimately the judgment reveals the goodness and the grace of God and that He is both just and merciful in how He deals with the saved, and even with the lost.This week we will explore the deeper themes of the judgment in rela- tion to the great controversy raging in the universe, and we will look especially at what happens when God’s faithful people themselves face the inevitable “judgment to come” (Acts 24:25).* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, April 29.
Think about the amazing words of Paul in Hebrews 7:25, which, describing Jesus as our High Priest, says that “He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him” (NKJV). “Save to the uttermost . . .” The Greek word for “uttermost” means “full, complete, total.” It is Jesus who saves us; our job is to surrender to Him, claiming His victory for us. Our trust must be in Him, not in ourselves.“We can summarize the force of the expression ‘fear God’ in Revelation as God’s final call to humanity to choose Him as their glorious and majestic God, . . . who will be victorious over the forces of evil that oppose Him and His plan for the human race (cf. [Rev.] 14:9–11). This fear does not manifest itself, at least not for now (cf., [Rev.] 6:14–17), in terror and trembling, but in joyous and loving submission to God’s law and to His exclusive worship. No other power should be acknowledged as worthy of such devotion and loyalty. In fact, there are no other options, because what shows itself on the horizon of the cosmic conflict as possibilities are actions of demonic powers destined to extinction (Revelation 16:13, 14; 17:14; 20:11–15). The fear of the Lord is therefore a positive divine invitation . . . to take God’s side in the cosmic conflict in order to stand before His most glorious presence, filled with joy in eternal fellowship with Him ([Rev.] 21:3–4; [Rev.] 22:3–5).”—Ángel Manuel Rodríguez, “The Closing of the Cosmic Conflict: Role of the Three Angels’ Messages,” unpublished manuscript, p. 27.Discussion Questions:Think about the incredible power of God, the One who created and sustains the entire cosmos. We can barely grasp the idea of the cosmos. How then could we even begin to grasp the Creator of it? Think about how much greater and vaster and more powerful He is than we are. And this God will one day judge us? How do these facts help us understand the idea of the “fear of God” and what it means?How can we avoid legalism when we discuss the biblical concepts of holiness, overcoming, and victory? Why must we always understand that it was Christ’s victory for us, at the cross, that alone remains the foundation of our hope of salvation, regardless of our victories (or even failures) here now?Why, even with all the promises of victory over sin, do we often find ourselves failing and not living up to the standard of righteousness that Jesus Himself modeled for us and promises us could be ours, as well? What mistakes are we making in not allowing God to do the work in us that He has promised?
“Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus” (Rev. 14:12). This is the depiction of God’s faithful people in the last days. Yet, the only way anyone can keep the commandments of God, then or now, is through the faith of Jesus. Notice our text does not say, “faith in Jesus,” although that is extremely important, but this expression, “the faith of Jesus,” is something more. It is the quality of faith that enabled Christ to be victorious over Satan’s fiercest temptations. Faith is a gift given to each believer. When we exercise the faith that the Holy Spirit puts in our hearts, that faith grows. We overcome, not by our willpower, but by the power of the living Christ working through us. We overcome not because of who we are but because of who He is.We can overcome because He overcame. We can be victorious because He was victorious. We can triumph over temptation because He triumphed over temptation.Read Hebrews 4:14–16 and Hebrews 7:25. What is the means of overcoming and living lives that “fear God” and “give Him glory”?Jesus, the divine Son of God, has overcome the wiles of the devil. He faced temptations trusting in the promises of God, surrendering His will to the Father’s will, and depending on the Father’s power. Trusting Him, looking to Him, believing in Him, we, too, can be victorious. Jesus is our all in all, and the three angels’ messages are all about Him. Revelation’s message is one of victory, not defeat. It speaks of a people who through His grace and by His power overcome.The word “overcome” in one form or another is used 11 times in the book of Revelation. In the vision of the seven churches representing the Christian church from the first century to our time, there are believers in every generation who, John says, “overcame.” At the end time, those that “overcome” inherit all things (Rev. 21:7). This is not legalism. It is victory through Jesus Christ, whose perfect life of perfect righteousness, and that alone, is what gives them the promise of eternal life. It is faith in action. It is transforming, life-changing, miraculous grace in the life of the believer.Are there things in your life you desire to overcome? How can we translate our desires into action? What practical steps can we take to become Revelation’s “overcomers”?
A study of the use of the phrase in the Old Testament to “give glory to” God (Rev. 14:7) shows that it, interestingly enough, often (but not only) appears in the context of divine judgment (Josh. 7:19; 1 Sam. 6:5; Jer. 13:15, 16; Mal. 2:2), just as it does in the first angel’s message, as well (Rev. 14:7). This idea is seen, too, in Revelation 19:1, 2—“ ‘Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God! For true and righteous are His judgments’ ” (NKJV).Read 1 Corinthians 3:16, 17; 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20; and 1 Corinthians 10:31. How do these passages help us understand one way that we can glorify God?According to the apostle Paul, our bodies are a sanctuary, the dwelling place of the Spirit of God, a temple made holy by the presence of God. The Scriptures give us a clarion call to glorify God in every aspect of our lives. When God is the center of our lives, our one desire is to give glory to Him, whether through our diet, our dress, our entertainment, or our interaction with others. We give glory to God as we reveal His character of love to the world through our commitment to doing His will. This is even more important in the light of earth’s end-time judgment.Read Romans 12:1, 2. What appeal does the apostle Paul make regarding the totality of our life choices?The New Testament Greek word for bodies in this passage is somata, which is better translated the collective sum of who you are—body, mind, and emotions. The Phillips translation of the Bible translates the expression “reasonable service” as an “act of intelligent worship.” In other words, when you make a total commitment to “fear God” and “glorify Him” in all you do, giving your mind, body, and emotions to Him, this is an act of intelligent worship. And, too, in light of God’s judgment, taking heed to obey is, indeed, a good idea.Think about what you do with your body. What can you do to make sure that you are, indeed, glorifying God with it?
In an age of consumerism, when secular values have made self the center, heaven’s appeal is to turn from the tyranny of self-centeredness and the bondage of self-inflated importance to place God at the center of our lives. For some, money is the center of their lives. For others, it is pleasure or power. For some, it may be sports, music, or entertainment. Revelation’s message is a clarion call to fear, respect, and honor God as life’s true Center.Read Matthew 6:33; Colossians 3:1, 2; and Hebrews 12:1, 2. What do these passages tell us about making God the true center of our lives?The central issue in earth’s final conflict is a battle for the mind. It really is one of allegiance, authority, and commitment to God’s will.The final battle in the great controversy is between good and evil for control of our thoughts. The apostle Paul gives us this admonition: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:5, NKJV). The mind is the citadel of our being. It is the wellspring of our actions. The word “let” means to allow or to choose. It speaks of a volitional act of the will. The choice to have the mind of Christ is the choice to allow Jesus to shape our thinking by filling our minds with the things of eternity. Our actions reveal where our thinking process is. To fear God is to make Him first in our lives.Think about how easy, in one sense, it is to control your thoughts, at least when you are conscious that you need to control them. Often, the problem is that unless we make a conscious effort to dwell on the right things, the “things above, not . . . things on the earth” (Col. 3:2, NKJV), our minds, fallen and sinful as they are, will naturally tend toward the base things, the things of the world. Hence, we need to, as Paul said, purposely and deliberately choose, using the sacred gift of free will, to dwell on the heavenly things.“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things” (Phil. 4:8, NKJV). How do we learn to do what Paul tells us here?
What else does the Bible teach us about what it means to fear God?Read Deuteronomy 6:2; Psalm 119:73, 74; and Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14. What do these texts reveal is the result of “fearing God”?These passages reveal a linkage between fearing God and keeping His commandments. Fearing God is an attitude of reverential respect that leads us to obedience. Heaven’s urgent appeal is for those saved by grace to be obedient to God’s commands (Eph. 2:8–10). Grace does not free us from obeying the commands of God. The gospel sets us free from the law’s condemnation, not from our responsibility to obey it.Grace not only delivers us from the guilt of our past, but it also empowers us to live godly, obedient lives in the present. The apostle Paul declares that “we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations” (Rom. 1:5, NKJV).There are some people who have the strange idea that salvation by grace somehow negates the law of God or minimizes the necessity for obedience. They believe that any talk about obedience is legalism. They have declared, “All I want is Jesus.” The question is, which Jesus? A Jesus of our own making, or the Jesus of Scripture? The Christ of Scripture never leads us to downplay His law, which is the transcript of His character. The Christ of Scripture never leads us to minimize the doctrines of the Bible, which reveal more clearly who He is and His plan for this world. The Christ of Scripture never leads us to reduce His teaching to pious platitudes that are nonessential. Christ is the embodiment of all doctrinal truth. Jesus is truth incarnated. He is doctrine lived out.Revelation’s final appeal calls us through faith in Jesus to accept the fullness of everything He offers. It calls us to “fear God,” which is expressed by faith in His redeeming power to empower us to live godly, obedient lives.How do Jesus’ words here—“ ‘And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell’ ” (Matt. 10:28, NKJV)—help us understand what it means to fear God?
Fear GodThe purpose of the book of Revelation for our generation is to pre- pare a people to be ready for Jesus’ soon return and to unite with Him in giving His last-day message to the world. Revelation reveals the plans of God and unmasks the plans of Satan. It presents God’s final appeal, His urgent, eternal, universal message for all humanity.Read the apostle John’s urgent end-time appeal in Revelation 14:7. (See also Gen. 22:12; Ps. 89:7; Prov. 2:5; Eccles. 12:13, 14; Eph. 5:21.) What specific instruction does he give us? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________The Greek New Testament word for “fear” in Revelation 14:7 is phobeo. It is used here not in the sense of being afraid of God but in the sense of reverence, awe, and respect. It conveys the thought of absolute loyalty to God and full surrender to His will. It is an attitude of mind that is God-centered rather than self-centered. It is the opposite of Lucifer’s attitude in Isaiah 14:13, 14, when he says in his heart, “ ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High’ ” (NKJV).Instead, it is the attitude of Christ, who, though “being in the form of God . . . humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:6, 8, NKJV).The essence of the great controversy revolves around submission to God. Lucifer was self-centered. He refused to submit to any authority except his own. Rather than submit to the One upon the throne, Lucifer desired to rule from the throne. Put simply, to fear God is to place Him first in our thinking. It is to renounce our self-centeredness and pride and to live a life wholly for Him.And it obviously must be important because it’s the first of the words out of the mouth of the first angel of the three.Hence, we must take heed. What has been your own experience of fearing God? How would you explain to someone, in a positive way, why “the fear of God” is something good? ______________________________________________________ __________________________________________
Memory Text: “Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus” (Revelation 14:12, NKJV).Danish author Søren Kierkegaard told a parable about the end time. It went something like this:A fire broke out backstage in a big theater. A clown, who had been part of the performance, came out to warn the audience: “Get out; the place is on fire!” The audience thought it was just a big joke, part of the show, that’s all, and just applauded. He repeated the warning: “Get out! Get out!” But the more emphatically he warned them, the greater the applause. For Kierkegaard, that is how the world is going to end; that is, to the general applause of wits who believe it’s a joke.The end of the world, and events leading up to it, are, as we know, no joke. The world faces the most serious crisis since the Flood. In fact, Peter himself uses the story of the Flood as a symbol of the end, warn- ing that just as the world of old perished by water, in the end times, “the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up” (2 Pet. 3:10, NKJV). Having been warned about what is coming, we now need to be prepared for it, as well.* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, April 22.
Bonus song: Missionaries need missionaries too (Scott Bennett)(Scott Bennett’s tribute to missionary John Lello and other missionaries who have given their lives in service to share the Gospel.)Lord prepare me to be a missionarypure and holy, Tried and truewith thanksgivingI’ll be a living missionary, Lord, for you. Somewhere on this earth in the heart of a foreign landA family with a passion is living their mission plan,bringing God's truth to a hungry, thirsty tribe.Knowing well their lives are always on the lineMissionaries need missionaries too.They need the prayers of loved ones and they need love from me and youwhen they just like Christ make the ultimate sacrificeSomeday in heaven they'll thank you ‘cause you're aMissionary too Somewhere in jungle skies There is plane that’s saving lives,bringing cures to ease the pain,bringing sight to darkened eyescarrying on their work through the storms and through the nightnever ending labors to bring souls the lightMissionaries need missionaries too.They need the prayers of loved ones and they need love from me and youwhen they just like Christ make the ultimate sacrificeSomeday in heaven they'll thank you for you're a missionary tooIn the streets or a villageTheir work may go unseenFor the sake of Christ they’ve sacrificed their own needsRemind them that you love them give them what you can‘cause your mission field is very real helping them carry God’s planMissionaries need missionaries too.They need the prayers of loved ones and they need love from me and youwhen they just like Christ make the ultimate sacrificeSomeday In heaven they’ll thank you for the things your prayers have brought them throughOur Mission is accomplished, oh thank you. You’re a missionary too. This song is copyrighted, so please honor Scott’s willingness to share this song with Adventist Frontier Missions.From the album: iTestify – Scott Michael Bennett – © 2013
Dwell more on the idea of Wednesday’s study about our need to be part of something bigger than ourselves and our meager, short-lived, often corrupt, damaged, and disappointing lives (who doesn’t have some of those things in their existence?). This desire makes so much sense, too. Physically, what are we but small packets of flesh carrying around our own brains—a couple of pounds of carbon-based organic material closer in composition to a bucket of fried chicken than to a hard drive.What can these small, self-contained packets of meat mean in contrast to the infinity that surrounds them? To live only for yourself, to live for something no bigger than yourself, when there’s so much all around us and beyond us, is like being locked for life in solitary confinement amid a large city that you can feel vibrating through the walls. And what larger, grander, and more glorious and consequential thing could we live for than proclaiming the promise of eternal life that we have been given in Jesus?“Servants of God, with their faces lighted up and shining with holy consecration, will hasten from place to place to proclaim the message from heaven. By thousands of voices, all over the earth, the warning will be given. Miracles will be wrought, the sick will be healed, and signs and wonders will follow the believers. Satan also works, with lying wonders, even bringing down fire from heaven in the sight of men. Revelation 13:13. Thus the inhabitants of the earth will be brought to take their stand.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 612.Discussion Questions:“Several have written to me, inquiring if the message of justification by faith is the third angel’s message, and I have answered, ‘It is the third angel’s message in verity.’ ”—Ellen G. White, Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, April 1, 1890. What relationship does justification by faith have to the three angels’ messages?Dwell more on the phrase “everlasting gospel.” What is everlasting about the gospel?What does it mean that Seventh-day Adventists are in so many countries of the world? What does it say about how God, so far, has blessed our efforts? At the same time, how can your local church, even your local Sabbath School, play a larger role in “finishing the work”?
Through a perceptive, deep study of the Bible, the early Adventists had a growing understanding of the significance of these messages. They sensed that God had a message tailor-made for this generation—an urgent, end-time message that must be proclaimed to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people, in order to prepare the world for Christ’s return. The messages of the three angels have been the motivation for Adventist missions since its beginnings.In 1874, the General Conference sent out our first missionary to Europe. Ellen G. White called John Andrews “the ablest man in our ranks.” Andrews spoke at least seven languages, could repeat the New Testament from memory, and knew most of the Old Testament. He was a brilliant scholar, a prolific writer, a powerful preacher, and a competent theologian.Why send a man like that to a place where there were very few believers? Why send “the ablest man” you had to an unknown mission field? And why was he willing to go? His wife had died a few years earlier. Why would he be willing to leave family and friends behind in America and sail with his two children to an unknown land, risking all for the cause of Christ?There is only one reason. He believed that Jesus was coming soon, that the message of end-time truth must go to the entire world.Throughout our history, our brightest and our best have traveled to the ends of the earth to proclaim God’s last-day message. They were teachers, medical personnel, pastors, farmers, mechanics, carpenters, and tradesmen of all types. Some were denominational employees, but many were not. They were laypeople who believed Jesus was coming soon.Read Revelation 14:6, Acts 1:8, and Matthew 24:14. What similarity do you see in these verses?The preaching of the everlasting gospel leaps across geographical boundaries. It penetrates earth’s remotest areas. It reaches people of every language and culture. Eventually, it will impact the entire world. How fascinating to know that our message has, so far, reached more than 210 of the world’s 235 countries recognized by the United Nations.What role could you play, and how could you better play it, in helping spread the three angels’ messages to every “nation, kindred, tongue, and people”?
Read Revelation 14:6 again. What is the extent of the proclamation of the everlasting gospel, and why is the answer important to us and our mission and calling as a church?According to the urgent, end-time message of the first of these three angels, the “everlasting gospel” is to be proclaimed to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people. Here is a mission so grand, so large, so great, and so comprehensive that it is all-consuming. It demands our best efforts and requires our total commitment. It leads us from a preoccupation with our own self-interest to a passion for Christ’s service. It inspires us with something larger than ourselves and leads us out of the narrow confines of our own minds to a grander vision.Read Matthew 28:19, 20. How do these verses dovetail with the first angel’s message?In his book A Quest for More: Living for Something Bigger Than You, Paul David Tripp discusses the psychological need of every human being to be part of something larger than themselves: “Human beings were created to be part of something bigger than their own lives. Sin causes us to shrink our lives down to the size of our lives. The grace of Christ is given to rescue us from the claustrophobic confines of our own little self-focused kingdom and frees us to live for the eternal purposes and satisfying delights of the kingdom of God.”
The three angels’ messages are a story of grace. They are the story of a Savior’s love beyond measure—a story of Jesus who loves us so much that He would rather experience hell itself than have one of us lost. They are the story of a boundless, unfathomable, incomprehensible, undying, unending, infinite love.God is never caught by surprise. He is not subject to the changing winds of humanity’s choices. As we have already seen, His plan to deliver us from the domain of sin was not some afterthought when sin reared its ugly head. God was not caught off guard by the awful drama of sin.Read Revelation 13:8 and 1 Peter 1:18–20. What do these verses teach us about the plan of salvation?The phrase “everlasting gospel” in Revelation 14:6 speaks of the past, the present, and the future. When God created humans with the capacity to make moral choices, He anticipated that they would make errant choices. Once His creatures had the capacity to choose, they had the capacity to rebel against His loving nature. The only way to avoid this reality would be to create robot beings controlled and manipulated by some divine cosmic plan. Forced allegiance is contrary to God’s very nature. Love requires choice, and once beings are given the power of choice, the possibility of making the wrong choices exists. Therefore, the plan of salvation was conceived in the mind of God before our first parents’ rebellion in Eden.“The plan for our redemption was not an afterthought, a plan formulated after the fall of Adam. It was a revelation of ‘the mystery which hath been kept in silence through times eternal.’ Romans 16:25, R.V. It was an unfolding of the principles that from eternal ages have been the foundation of God’s throne.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 22.The “eternal gospel” speaks not only of the past and present—but it also is the basis of a future with hope. It speaks of living eternally with the One whose heart is aching to be with us forever.Read Ephesians 1:4. Think about what it means that, even before the “foundation of the world,” you had been “chosen” in Christ to have salvation in Him. Why should you find this truth so encouraging?
The “Everlasting” Gospel(page 24 of Standard Edition)Notice what Revelation 14:6, the beginning of the three angels’ messages, starts with: the “eternal” or “everlasting” gospel. If we fail to understand the depth of the gospel, we will miss the entire point of the three angels’ messages. We can never fully understand the issues in God’s judgment-hour message or the fall of Babylon or the mark of the beast if we fail to understand the gospel.Read 1 Corinthians 15:1–4, Romans 3:24–26, and Romans 5:6–8. How is the “everlasting gospel” presented in these texts? What great hope is presented here for us?____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________The gospel is the incredibly good news of Christ’s death for our sins, His glorious resurrection, and His ever-present love and concern for us. By faith in His shed blood and His resurrection power, we are delivered from both sin’s penalty and power. Christ absorbed the apostle Paul’s thoughts and was at the center of his teaching and preaching. The cruci- fied Christ redeemed him from the condemnation and guilt of his past. The resurrected Christ gave him power for the present, and the return- ing Christ gave him hope for the future.Notice four points in these passages in Romans:1. We are justified freely by grace.2. Grace is a declaration of God’s righteousness.3. Grace justifies those who by faith accept Jesus.4. God’s love was demonstrated for us while we were yet sinners.Christ’s grace is unmerited, undeserved, and unearned. Jesus died the agonizing, painful death that lost sinners will die. He experienced the fullness of the Father’s wrath, or judgment, against sin. He was rejected so that we could be accepted. He died the death that was ours, so we could live the life that was His.Any wonder, then, that salvation must be by faith and without the deeds of the law? What could we possibly add? What could our works, even the best-intentioned, Holy Spirit–filled works, add to what Christ had done for us at the cross?And this plan, the plan of salvation, had been put in place even before the beginning of time (2 Tim. 1:9, Titus 1:2, Eph. 1:4), which helps explain why it is called “the everlasting” gospel. Before the world was created, God knew what would happen, and so He instituted the plan of salvation to meet the crisis when it, eventually, would come.
A Grace-Filled Book of HopeWhen most people think about the Bible’s last book, Revelation, they do not think about God’s grace. When they consider God’s last-day message, their thoughts often turn immediately to frightening beasts, mystic symbols, and strange images. The book of Revelation scares as many people as it reassures, which is unfortunate because it is, indeed, saturated with grace and filled with hope. That is, even amid the scary beasts and warnings of persecution and the hard times ahead, God still gives us reasons to rejoice in His salvation.Read Revelation 1:1–3 and Revelation 14:6. How do these verses together tell us about not just the book of Revelation but about the “everlasting gospel,” as well? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________Revelation is all about Jesus. It is His message to His people and is especially applicable to His church in the last days. It is the grace- filled message of our end-time hope. Throughout the book, Christ is described as the slain Lamb, and a blessing is promised to those who read, understand, and act on the truths revealed.According to Revelation 1:5, 6, Jesus is the One who “loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father” (NKJV). In Christ we are forgiven. Grace pardons our past, empowers our present, and provides hope for our future. That is, in Christ we are delivered from sin’s penalty and power, and one day soon we will be delivered from sin’s presence. This is the message of the Bible’s last book, Revelation.And it also is an urgent message, first pictured as an angel flying swiftly in midheaven having the “everlasting gospel.”The gospel? Salvation by faith in Christ? Christ’s atoning death for us? The promise of eternal life, not because of what we can do but because of what Christ has done for us? All this is at the beginning of the three angels’ messages? Exactly!No wonder, then, that they are grace-filled messages full of hope and promise for us as broken and suffering beings. Though it’s easy to focus on the beasts and warnings of the last days, as depicted in Revelation, how can we learn to bal- ance all these out with what is, undeniably, the most important message of Revelation: Christ’s self-sacrificing death in our behalf? _____________________________________________
Memory Text:“Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people” (Revelation 14:6, NKJV).In ancient Israel, when the heathen around them were polytheists, worshiping multiple “gods” of wood and stone, Israel’s clear, identifiable, powerful statement of faith was found in Deuteronomy 6:4: “ ‘Hear O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one’ ” (NKJV).Throughout the centuries, the chanting of the Shema (the name of the prayer, based on the Hebrew word for “hear”) reminded the Jews of the spiritual vision that united them as a people and that strengthened their resolve to maintain their unique identity as worshipers of the one true God.For Seventh-day Adventists, the three angels’ messages in Revelation 14 are our Shema. They are our identifying statement of faith. They define who we are as a people and describe our mission to the world. In short, our unique prophetic identity is outlined in Revelation 14:6–12, and it is here that we find our passion to proclaim the gospel to the world.In this week’s lesson, we will begin a detailed study of Revelation 14:6–12, but we will do so through the eyes of grace as we listen to God speaking to our hearts.*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, April 15.
The three angels’ messages are a story of grace. They are the story of a Savior’s love beyond measure—a story of Jesus who loves us so much that He would rather experience hell itself than have one of us lost. They are the story of a boundless, unfathomable, incomprehensible, undying, unending, infinite love.God is never caught by surprise. He is not subject to the changing winds of humanity’s choices. As we have already seen, His plan to deliver us from the domain of sin was not some afterthought when sin reared its ugly head. God was not caught off guard by the awful drama of sin.Read Revelation 13:8 and 1 Peter 1:18–20. What do these verses teach us about the plan of salvation?The phrase “everlasting gospel” in Revelation 14:6 speaks of the past, the present, and the future. When God created humans with the capacity to make moral choices, He anticipated that they would make errant choices. Once His creatures had the capacity to choose, they had the capacity to rebel against His loving nature. The only way to avoid this reality would be to create robot beings controlled and manipulated by some divine cosmic plan. Forced allegiance is contrary to God’s very nature. Love requires choice, and once beings are given the power of choice, the possibility of making the wrong choices exists. Therefore, the plan of salvation was conceived in the mind of God before our first parents’ rebellion in Eden.“The plan for our redemption was not an afterthought, a plan formulated after the fall of Adam. It was a revelation of ‘the mystery which hath been kept in silence through times eternal.’ Romans 16:25, R.V. It was an unfolding of the principles that from eternal ages have been the foundation of God’s throne.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 22.The “eternal gospel” speaks not only of the past and present—but it also is the basis of a future with hope. It speaks of living eternally with the One whose heart is aching to be with us forever.Read Ephesians 1:4. Think about what it means that, even before the “foundation of the world,” you had been “chosen” in Christ to have salvation in Him. Why should you find this truth so encouraging?
“It is a law both of the intellectual and the spiritual nature that by beholding we become changed. The mind gradually adapts itself to the subjects upon which it is allowed to dwell. It becomes assimilated to that which it is accustomed to love and reverence. Man will never rise higher than his standard of purity or goodness or truth. If self is his loftiest ideal, he will never attain to anything more exalted. Rather, he will constantly sink lower and lower. The grace of God alone has power to exalt man. Left to himself, his course must inevitably be downward.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 555.Subtly, imperceptibly, almost unnoticed at first, our characters and our personalities change based on the seeds that we are sowing in our minds. Sow good seeds, and you will produce good fruit. Sow the evil seeds of this world, and you will produce the fruit of this world in your character. If we sow indifference to God and spiritual values and priorities, we reap the fruit of indifference—apathy, spiritual complacency, and frustration in our spiritual lives. This is why those who think, Well, I know that one day final persecution will come, the “mark of the beast” and so forth, but when it does, then I will get it together, are choosing a very dangerous path. God calls us now, at this moment, to surrender our lives to Him. The longer one delays responding to the Holy Spirit, the harder and harder one’s soul becomes to the promptings of God and more susceptible to fall for, and believe in, the lies of the evil one.Discussion Questions:What is the relationship between being saved by grace and growing in grace, in the context of Revelation 14:14–20 and the harvest principle?Discuss the elements necessary for the growth of plants and compare them to those necessary for our spiritual growth. What are the similarities? That is, what can we learn from how plants grow that we can apply to our own lives?Is there a difference between our God-given ability to choose and willpower? Why is understanding this difference important for the growing Christian?Why is the title “Son of Man” an encouragement in the judgment hour as we anticipate the second coming of Christ? Why is it comforting to realize that a man, a human being, is up there representing us in the judgment?
In Revelation 14 there are two harvests. The harvest of golden grain represents the righteous, and the harvest of gory grapes represents the unrighteous or the lost. Both harvests are fully ripe. Every seed sown is fully mature.Read Revelation 14:17–20. What does the expression “the great winepress of the wrath of God” mean? See also Revelation 14:10, Revelation 15:1, and Revelation 16:1.“Another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire” (Rev. 14:18, NKJV). Here is the angel who commands the fires of God’s final judgment. The harvest is ripe. Sin has reached its limits. Rebellion has crossed the line of God’s mercy. As evil and bad as things have been, it’s going to get even worse before it’s all over. A loving God has done everything He can do for us, which included offering Himself on the cross as a sacrifice for our sin. “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21, NKJV; see also Gal. 3:13).What more could God have done beyond that cross? There is nothing more grace can do to redeem those who have repeatedly rejected the Holy Spirit.Here is the urgent prophetic message of Revelation 14. Every seed has gone to harvest. The grain is fully ripe, and the grapes are fully ripe. The people of God reveal His image of grace, compassion, mercy, and love before the universe. The children of the evil one reveal greed, lust, jealousy, and hate. The character of Jesus is revealed in one group and the character of Satan in the other.The universe will see in the people of God a revelation of righteousness that, perhaps, no generation before it has ever witnessed. In contrast to the righteousness of Christ revealed in His people, the universe will see the full results of rebellion against God. Wickedness, evil, sin, and lawlessness will be on full display before men and angels. The contrast between good and evil, right and wrong, obedience and disobedience, will be apparent to all the universe, to both humans and angels.How well can you discern the contrast between good and evil? Why is it important that we do? (See Heb. 5:14.)
John describes Jesus as the “Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle” (Rev. 14:14, NKJV). The word for “crown” is stephanos. It is a victor’s crown. When an athlete won an important contest, he was given a stephanos, a crown of honor, of glory, of victory.Jesus once wore a crown of thorns, symbolizing shame and mockery. He once was despised and rejected of men. He was reviled, ridiculed, spat upon, beaten, and whipped. But now He wears a crown of glory and comes again but now as King of kings and Lord of lords.Read Revelation 14:15 and Mark 4:26–29. What similarities do you see between the texts? What are they both talking about?The angel comes from the presence of God in the glory of the temple and says, “It’s time. The harvest is fully ripe.” Go and get Your children and bring them home.Jesus uses illustrations from agriculture repeatedly in the New Testament. On more than one occasion, He uses the symbolism of a ripening harvest to illustrate the growth of the seed of the gospel in the lives of His people.“The germination of the seed represents the beginning of spiritual life, and the development of the plant is a beautiful figure of Christian growth. As in nature, so in grace; there can be no life without growth. The plant must either grow or die. As its growth is silent and imperceptible, but continuous, so is the development of the Christian life. At every stage of development, our life may be perfect; yet if God’s purpose for us is fulfilled, there will be continual advancement. Sanctification is the work of a lifetime. As our opportunities multiply, our experience will enlarge, and our knowledge increase.”—Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, pp. 65, 66.The ripening of the golden grain represents all those transformed by grace, motivated by love, and living obedient lives to the glory of Christ’s name. Their hearts are one with Jesus’ heart, and all they want is what He wants.How do you understand Ellen G. White’s statement that “at every stage of development, our life may be perfect”? What does that mean, especially when we can see our faults and defective characters now?
Read Revelation 14:14 and Acts 1:9–11. What similarities do you discover?John states that “I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man” (Rev. 14:14, NKJV). When Jesus ascended to heaven, Luke records in Acts 1:9 that as the disciples stood gazing up into heaven, “while they watched, He [Jesus] was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight” (NKJV). Jesus ascended in a cloud of angels and will return with a cloud of angels. The angels then declared to the amazed disciples in Acts 1:11, “ ‘This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven’ ” (NKJV). There is a divine truth embedded in this passage that may not be apparent. This “same Jesus,” the “Son of Man”—the One who walked the dusty streets of Nazareth, ministered in the crowded streets of Jerusalem, healed the sick in the villages of Israel, and preached on the grassy hillsides of Galilee—is coming again.The Son of Man also is mentioned in the light of the judgment in Daniel 7.Read Daniel 7:9, 10, 13, 14. Why did Daniel call Jesus the “Son of Man” in something as serious as the judgment? What, given what we have already looked at, should be comforting in knowing that the “Son of Man” is so central to judgment?In Daniel 7:9, 10, Daniel views the seating of the heavenly court with ten thousand times ten thousand angelic, heavenly beings gathered around the throne. The judgment is set, and the books—the celestial records of our lives—are opened before the universe. In Daniel 7:13, 14, the Son of Man approaches the Ancient of Days, the Father, and receives His eternal kingdom. The judgment reveals before the entire universe that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have done everything possible to save all humanity. This judgment vindicates not only the saints but also God’s own character against the false charges of Satan (see Job 1, Job 2, Ps. 51:1–4).Think about the fact that your whole life will come under scrutiny before God. What, then, is your only hope when this happens? (See Rom. 8:1.)
Revelation 14 contains the key texts in regard to the Lord’s last-day message to His people and to the world. Central to it all is the return of Jesus, the fulfillment of His promise that “ ‘you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven’ ” (Mark 14:62, NKJV).Read Revelation 14:14. What title is used to describe Jesus as He returns to earth? Why do you think John uses this title for Jesus?Jesus used the term “Son of Man” to refer to Himself 82 times in the Gospels. It was one of His favorite titles. He used it as an expression of endearment to identify with us. He is a Savior who understands us, has experienced our temptations, and has passed through our trials. He is the “Son of Man” who is returning to take us home. The Jesus who comes for us is the same Jesus who lived among us. He is qualified to redeem us because He became One of us, and yet, as one of us, He met the full fury of Satan’s temptations and, yes, was victorious.What do we learn from the following Bible verses in Matthew about Jesus, the Son of Man?Matt. 16:27Matt. 24:27, 30Matt. 25:31, 32Notice some elements in these passages: (1) Jesus, the Son of Man, is coming in glory with His angels. (2) He will divide the sheep from the goats (basically a judgment). (3) The destiny of the nations and all humanity will be decided for eternity.Think about the term “Son of Man” and what it says of Christ’s humanity. Though God, He became one of us, just like us, but unlike us, He never sinned. What amazing hope does this offer to you in terms of (1) knowing God’s love for us and (2) knowing that He can relate to your struggles and give you victory over them?
Eternal ChoicesRevelation 14 is Jesus’ final message of mercy to a fallen and rebel- lious world, one that has, for about six thousand years, been steeped in sin and evil. There will come a day when every human being on planet Earth will make a final, irrevocable decision, either for or against Jesus. Revelation’s message of Christ’s righteousness delivering us from the condemnation of sin, as well as the grip of sin in our lives, will echo and reecho throughout the earth.Read Matthew 24:14 and compare it with Revelation 14:6. What promise did Jesus give to His disciples regarding the worldwide spread of the gospel just before His return? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________Jesus’ promise that “ ‘this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world’ ” (NKJV), given in Matthew 24:14, finds its final fulfill- ment in Christ’s last-day message, in Revelation 14:6, which says that the gospel is proclaimed to “every nation, tribe, tongue, and people” (NKJV).Three times in Revelation 22 Jesus says that He is coming quickly (Rev. 22:7, 12, 20). In the context of His soon return, our Lord adds, “ ‘He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still’ ” (Rev. 22:11, NKJV). Revelation moves to one glorious climax in which every person is led to decide for or against Christ.Of course, every day, by our choices even in the “little things,” we are choosing either for or against Jesus. It’s not likely that someone constantly making the wrong choices in their life now will suddenly, in the final crisis, come forward on the side of Jesus, especially when the force of the whole evil world is against them. Now, today, and every day we must choose to be faithful to Christ and to His com- mandments. “For this is the love of God, that we keep His command- ments” (1 John 5:3). As Ellen G. White has said: “Jesus does not change the character at His coming. The work of transformation must be done now. Our daily lives are determining our destiny.”—Last Day Events, p. 295. How does God shape our characters? What means does He use for us to grow in grace? What can we do to more fully allow the Holy Spirit to transform us to be more like Jesus? _______________________________________________
Memory Text: Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, ‘Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe’ ” (Revelation 14:14, 15, NKJV).God has always spoken to His people, giving them whatever relevant truths they needed to hear at the time. From the warn- ing about the Flood (Gen. 6:7) to the first coming of Jesus (Dan. 9:24–27) to the pre-Advent judgment (Dan. 7:9, 10; Dan. 8:14) to final events before Christ’s return (Revelation 12–14), God has spoken to us. In these last days of human history, He has sent a special message to the world and to His people, designed to meet the need of the hour. He pictures this message as being carried by three angels fly- ing in midheaven with their urgent, end-time message to all the world.The three angels’ messages are Jesus’ final message of mercy, a call that leads us from trusting in our own righteousness to trusting the righteousness of Jesus to justify us; to sanctify us; and, at the end of time, to glorify us.As always, though, we must choose Christ, to surrender to Him and to obey Him, and the choices we make now will, indeed, impact the choices we make in the final crisis ahead of us.Thus, now is the time to prepare.* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, April 8.
Further Thought: In a sense, we could argue that God had no choice: if He wanted beings who could love Him and love others, He had to create them free. If they were not free, they could not love, and what would our universe be without love? It would be what some people have claimed: nothing but a mindless machine that works according to strict laws of cause and effect and in which we have no free will, no free choice, and are noth- ing but flesh-and-blood packets of subatomic particles that follow only the laws of physics. Not exactly a pretty picture, nor does it represent what we know, in and of ourselves, to be true. Who among us thinks, for instance, that our love for our parents, our children, our spouses is nothing but an arrangement of atoms?“The law of love being the foundation of the government of God, the happiness of all intelligent beings depends upon their perfect accord with its great principles of righteousness. God desires from all His creatures the service of love—service that springs from an appreciation of His character. He takes no pleasure in a forced obedience; and to all He grants freedom of will, that they may render Him voluntary service.“So long as all created beings acknowledged the allegiance of love, there was perfect harmony throughout the universe of God. It was the joy of the heavenly host to fulfill the purpose of their Creator. They delighted in reflecting His glory and showing forth His praise. And while love to God was supreme, love for one another was confid- ing and unselfish. There was no note of discord to mar the celestial harmonies.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 34, 35.Discussion Questions: Ê Why is Revelation 12 a fitting introduction to the three angels’ messages, especially in view of the coming conflict at the time of the end?Ë How is Revelation 12 reassuring to you personally in the tempta- tions and trials you face daily?Ì There are some who believe that our actions are largely determined by our heredity and environment. Do you agree or disagree? What role does our choice have in determining our behavior? Discuss the relationship between our choice and God’s power operating in our lives.
God’s End-time RemnantThe devil has been at war with Christ since his rebellion in heaven (Rev. 12:7). Satan’s purpose then and his purpose now is to seize control of the universe (see Isa. 14:12–14). The focus of his attention in the last days of earth’s history is upon God’s people. Revelation 12:17 emphatically declares that the dragon (Satan) was wroth (angry) with the woman (the church) and went to make war with the rest of her offspring. This expression, the rest of her offspring, also is translated “the remnant” in the King James Version. God’s remnant remains loyal to Christ, obedient to His truth, and faithful to His mission.Read Revelation 12:17. What characteristics of God’s remnant, His last-day church, are found in this verse?In Revelation 12:17, Satan (the dragon) is angry with the woman, God’s church. The devil is furious with a people who keep the commandments of God, and he will do everything he can to destroy them.Eventually, he instigates a decree so that they cannot buy or sell and will be imprisoned and face death (see Rev. 13:14–17). If Satan cannot destroy Christ, he will attempt to destroy the object of Christ’s deepest affection—Christ’s church. Earth’s last war is not centered in the Middle East and the various conflicts there; it is centered in the minds of God’s people scattered all over the world. It is a battle between two opposing forces, Christ and Satan. Again, no one is neutral.The central question in this final war is, “Who has our loyalty? Where is our allegiance?” Heaven calls for believers who are so charmed by Christ’s love, redeemed by His grace, committed to His purposes, empowered by His Spirit, and so obedient to His commands that they are willing to face death itself for His cause.Our world is headed for a major crisis. But in Jesus, by Jesus, through Jesus, and because of Jesus, our victory is assured—just as long as we stay connected to Him, which we do by faith, a faith that leads to obedience. It all comes down to our own choice.How do you see the reality of Revelation 12:17 played out in your own life, in your own Christian experience? That is, in what ways do you find the great controversy being played out in your own life?
The Woman in the WildernessRead Revelation 12:6 and compare it to Revelation 12:14–16. Notice carefully the time period, Satan’s attack on the “woman” (God’s church), and God’s provision for His people. What are these verses talking about? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________The 1,260 days in Revelation 12:6 are parallel to the time, times, and half a time in Revelation 12:14. This same time prophecy describing the same time period is found in Daniel 7:25; Revelation 11:2, 3; and Revelation 13:5. Because these are prophetic symbols (a literal woman with wings did not go into the wilderness), we apply prophetic time, the day-year principle (see, for instance, Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4:4–6), to these prophecies. This means, simply, that one prophetic day equals one year. Commenting on this same prophetic period of time in Revelation 11:2, the Andrews Study Bible states, “Historicist interpreters, therefore, have generally understood the period of 1,260 prophetic days to mean 1,260 literal years running from a.d. 538 to 1798” (p. 1,673 com- ments on Revelation 11:2). A corrupt church—together with a cor- rupt state—oppressed, persecuted, and at times slaughtered God’s faithful people.This fierce, satanic persecution of Bible-believing Christians was an extension of the great controversy between good and evil. Coming out of the darkness of the Middle Ages, at the time of the Reformation, men and women were faced with a choice. Would they be faithful to the Word of God, or would they accept the teachings of priests and prelates? Once again truth triumphed, and God had a people who were faithful to Him in the face of mighty opposition.There are some fascinating and extremely encouraging expressions of God’s care in these verses. Revelation 12:6 uses the expression, “a place prepared by God” (NKJV). Revelation 12:14 declares that the woman was “nourished” in the wilderness, and Revelation 12:16 declares, “The earth helped the woman.”At times of severe persecution, God provided for His church. As He did then, He will do the same for His end-time remnant. Describe a time of trial or difficulty in your own life when you could easily have become discouraged, but God provided a place of refuge for you and nourished you in your challenges. How did God provide support when you needed it most?
Accepting Jesus’ VictoryAs depicted in the Bible, Jesus has never lost a battle with Satan. He is the mighty Conqueror. He is the Victor over the powers of evil. It is one thing to believe that Jesus was victorious over the temptations of Satan; it is quite another thing to believe that Christ’s victory is our victory, as well.Read Revelation 12:10. What encouragement should you get from the fact that your accuser “ ‘has been cast down’ ” (NKJV)? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________Although the battle still rages on earth, Satan has lost. Period. This is true not only of Christ’s ultimate victory at the climax of human history, but it also is true in our battle over the principalities and powers of evil in our personal lives. Some Christians live in frustrated defeat. They are hoping for victory over some attitude or habit but never grasp the reality of Christ’s victory for them in their personal lives.Read Revelation 12:11. What assurance of victory does Christ give us in this passage? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________Seven times in Revelation’s messages to the seven churches we find the expression, “he who overcomes.” Here in Revelation 12:11, we find this concept of overcoming again. The word “overcome” in the original language of the text is nikao. It can be literally translated “to conquer, to prevail, to triumph, or to come through victoriously.” Notice how it is possible for us to be overcomers. Revelation 12:11 affirms that it is “by the blood of the Lamb.”In Revelation 5:6, in prophetic vision, John gazes into heaven and sees “a Lamb as though it had been slain” (NKJV). The sacrifice of Christ is the focus of the attention of all of heaven. There is nothing more sublime to demonstrate the infinite, unfathomable love of God than the Cross.When we accept by faith what Christ has done for us, our debt is canceled, and we stand perfect in the sight of God. Our sins are forgiven (Eph. 1:7, Col. 1:14, Col. 2:14), and the “accuser of our brethren . . . has been cast down” (Rev. 12:10, NKJV). We are redeemed, victorious, and saved, not because of our own merits but because of Christ’s victories in our behalf.
Satan’s AttackFrom the start, Satan sought to destroy Christ (see Rev. 12:4, 5). Yet, in every attempt, Satan failed. At Christ’s birth, for instance, an angel warned Joseph and Mary about Herod’s vicious plans, and they fled into Egypt. Jesus faced Satan’s most enticing temptations in the wil- derness with an “It is written,” and thus found protection in the Word of God. In His death on the cross, He revealed the magnitude of His love and delivered us from the penalty of sin’s condemnation. In His resurrection, as our living High Priest, He delivers us from the power of sin in our lives.Read Revelation 12:4–6, 9; Ephesians 5:25–27, 32; and Psalm 2:7–9 and define the following symbols:DragonWomanMale ChildRod of IronIn the Bible, a rod is a symbol of dominion or rulership. A rod of iron is a symbol of an unbreakable, all-powerful, invincible rulership. Jesus faced every single temptation that we experience, but He came off a conqueror. The devil is a defeated foe. Christ has triumphed over him in His life, death, and resurrection. Because Jesus has already defeated the devil on Calvary’s cross, we can be victorious, too. Christ’s victory over Satan was complete, but the great controversy between Christ and Satan is not over yet.Nevertheless, when we accept by faith what Christ has done for us, our sin debt is canceled and our sins are forgiven. We stand perfect before God, covered in Christ’s righteousness. As Paul writes about being “found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith” (Phil. 3:9, NKJV). If we are forgiven, there is nothing that we can be accused of. Jesus conquered and overcame forever the worst that sin and evil could do to Him. He made the full assault on evil and overcame it. When we accept Jesus by faith, His victory is ours. Why is the assurance of salvation, because of Christ’s vic- tory over Satan, so crucial to us? How can what Paul wrote in Philippians 3:9 be our own experience? ____________________________________________
The Battle in HeavenRevelation 12 presents a stream of dramatic episodes, snapshots of the agelong conflict between good and evil that began in heaven but will end here on earth. These episodes take us down the stream of time, from the opening scene of Satan’s rebellion in heaven to his vicious attacks on God’s people in the last days.Read Revelation 12:7–9, which describes this cosmic conflict between good and evil. How, possibly, could something like this happen in heaven? What do these verses imply about the reality of free will, free choice? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________The freedom to choose is a fundamental principle of God’s govern- ment, both in heaven and on earth. God neither created robots in heaven nor on earth. Created in the image of God, we as humans can make moral choices.The power of choice is closely aligned with the ability to love. If you take away the power of choice, you destroy the ability to love, for love can never be forced or coerced. Love is an expression of free will. Every angel in heaven was faced with the choice either to respond to God’s love or to turn away in selfishness, arrogance, and pride. Just as the heavenly angels were confronted by love with an eternal choice, Revelation presents each one of us with eternal choices in earth’s final conflict.There has never been neutrality in the great controversy (see Luke 11:23), and there will be none in earth’s final war. Just as every angel chose Jesus’ side or Lucifer’s side, all humanity will be led to a final, irrevocable choice at the end of time. Who will have our allegiance, our worship, our obedience? This has always been the issue with humanity, and it will be so, however more dramatically, in the final crisis of earth’s history.But here is the incredibly good news: Revelation 12 describes Christ’s triumph in the conflict, and all we have to do, using our free will, is choose to be on His side, the winning side. How great to be able to choose a side in a battle that you know, beforehand, it will win. Think about how sacred free will and free choice must be to Jesus, who, though knowing that it would lead Him to the cross (see 2 Tim. 1:9), gave us free will anyway. What should this tell us about how carefully we should use this sacred, but costly, gift? ______________________________________________________
Memory Text: “Andthedragonwasenragedwiththewoman,and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 12:17, NKJV).In Outnumbered: Incredible Stories of History’s Most Surprising Battlefield Upsets, Cormac O’Brien recounts the stories of armies that, though seriously outnumbered, still won. It tells of Hannibal’s army of 55,000 soldiers, from Carthage, defeating the “invincible” Roman army of 80,000 strong. It tells the amazing story of Alexander the Great’s Greek army defeating the empire of Persia.We, too, are in a life-and-death battle with a wily foe. We are out- numbered, fighting against incredible odds. The forces of evil appear invincible. We seem to be facing certain loss. Defeat seems inevitable. Victory appears out of sight. From a merely human perspective, it seems that Satan’s forces will overwhelm us.But, thank God, though we are outnumbered, though the odds are (humanly speaking) stacked against us, though Satan’s attacks are vicious, through Jesus we will win at last. The theme of the Bible’s last book, Revelation, is this: Jesus Wins, Satan Loses. The heart of this battle is outlined in Revelation 12, the focus of our study this week. This study will give a good preparation for understanding Revelation 14 and the three angels’ messages.* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, April 1.
Further Thought: Here is a word picture of a church family whoare financially faithful managers of God’s business on earth.The Stewardship Vision for Seventh-day Adventist Churches Around the WorldIt’s sometime in the future; and pastors and local church leaders have been successful at creating a stewardship environment in the church. They have taught, trained, supported, and encouraged the church family in biblical financial management.People are implementing biblical principles in their lives. They are growing in generosity, saving on a regular basis for the unexpected, and moving out from under the bondage of consumer debt.Their lifestyles are marked by moderation, discipline, and content- ment. Money has been eliminated as the rival god, and they are growing in their relationship with the Creator God.It’s Sabbath morning, and people are arriving for services. In their demeanor is a sense of peace—a lack of anxiety over financial matters, a pervading sense of contentment and gratefulness.Marital conflict over money has been largely eliminated. They enter worship with a sense of anticipation and expectation of God’s presence and work among them.The church’s ministries are fully funded, and it has a strong outreach. It extends the love of Christ in very tangible ways to those in need.Funds have been made available to provide church facilities that wonderfully support ministry and that are maintained with excellence. The question before us all is, “What is God calling us to do withwhatever resources He has entrusted to us?”Discussion Questions: Ê In class, talk about the question of how we are to understand two very clear biblical teachings: salvation by faith and a reward according to works. How do we harmonize these two concepts?Ë Why does learning to be content with what we have now not mean that we can’t seek to better our financial position? That is, why are these ideas not necessarily in conflict?Ì There is no question that eternity awaits us. What choices do we make now, even “little” ones, that will help determine where we will spend that eternity?
Eyes on the PrizeAfter Paul’s conversion, he dove fully into the cause of Christ. Because of his education and sharp mind, he could have been very successful from a worldly perspective. Like Moses, Paul chose to suffer with God’s faithful children and for the sake of Christ. He suf- fered beatings, stoning, prison, shipwreck, hunger, cold, and more as recorded in 2 Corinthians 11:24–33. How was he able to endure all of this?Read Romans 8:16–18. How was the knowledge that he was a child of God a factor in his faithfulness? ________________________________________________________The value Paul placed on the reward of the faithful is what kept him excited about suffering for Christ. He wrote from prison: “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13, 14, NKJV).Read 1 Timothy 6:6–12, which we have looked at already but is worth coming back to. What is the crucial message in these verses, espe- cially for us as Christians? ________________________________________________________From the biblical perspective, prosperity is having what you need when you need it. It is not the accumulation of possessions. Prosperity also is claiming the promise of God in Philippians 4:19: “My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Finally, prosperity is to be thankful for what you have in the Lord and trust in Him in all things.God does not promise His children that they will all be rich in this world’s goods. In fact, He says that all who live godly lives shall suf- fer persecution. What He does offer is better than any worldly wealth. He says, “I will supply your needs, and wherever you go I will be with you.” Then in the end, He will give His faithful ones true wealth and responsibility and eternal life. What an awesome reward!Near the end of his life, Paul was able to say, “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing” (2 Tim. 4:6–8). May we all, through God’s grace, be able to say the same thing, and with the same assurance, as well.
The Settling of AccountsNear the close of Jesus’ ministry, His disciples came to Him privately and asked, “Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” (Matt. 24:3). Jesus then takes two chapters to answer their questions. Matthew 24 tells of signs in the world around us, such as wars, disasters, and so on. Then Matthew 25 talks about conditions in the church just before Jesus comes again. These conditions are illustrated by three stories, one of which is the parable of the talents, which talks about how God’s people have used the gifts that He has given to them.Read Matthew 25:14–19. Who is the one traveling into a far country? To whom does He entrust His goods? What does it mean to “settle accounts” (see Matt. 25:19, NKJV)? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________We sometimes think of talents as natural gifts, such as singing, speak- ing, and so on, but in the similar story of the minas in Luke 19:12–24, money and its management are specifically mentioned. Ellen G. White also stated, “I was shown that the parable of the talents has not been fully understood. This important lesson was given to the disciples for the benefit of Christians living in the last days. And these talents do not represent merely the ability to preach and instruct from the word of God. The parable applies to the temporal means which God has entrusted to His people.”—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 197.Read Matthew 25:20–23. What does God say to those who were faith- ful money managers in supporting His cause? What does it mean to “ ‘ “enter into the joy of your lord” ’ ” (Matt. 25:23, NKJV)? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________It is quite natural for us to think that another person has more talents than we have and is therefore more responsible to God. In this story, however, it is the person with only one talent—the least money—who proved unfaithful and lost the kingdom. Rather than to think of the responsibilities of others, let us focus on what God has entrusted to us and how we can use it to His glory. 100How are you going to fare when God comes to “settle accounts” with you?
The New JerusalemThe biblical description of the New Jerusalem is what Abraham saw by faith. “For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Heb. 11:10). The New Jerusalem is God’s master- piece, built for those who love Him and keep His commandments. The New Jerusalem will be the home of God’s faithful children in heaven during the millennium and, afterward, on the new earth for eternity. There is good news for those of us who don’t like packing or moving. God takes care of everything. John says he saw the city. “Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Rev. 21:2, NKJV).Read Revelation 21. What are some of the things that we are promised? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________There’s so much here that our minds can barely comprehend, dam- aged as they are by sin, and knowing only a fallen sin-racked world. But what we can understand is so full of hope.First, just as Jesus dwelt with us in this fallen world when He came in the flesh, He will dwell with us in the new one. What a privilege it must have been for those who saw Jesus up close and personal! We will have that opportunity, only now without the veil of sin distorting what we see.Then, too, how do we who know only tears and sorrow and crying and pain understand one of the greatest promises in all the Bible: “ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away’ ” (Rev. 21:4, NKJV)? All those “former things” will have passed away, things that never should have been here to begin with.Also, flowing from the throne of God is the pure river of life, and on either side of the river is the tree of life. God’s throne will be there, and “they shall see His face” (Rev. 22:4, NKJV). Again, the redeemed will live with a closeness to God that, for the most part, we don’t have now.
Reward for FaithfulnessRead Hebrews 11:6. What should this verse mean to us? How should we respond to what it says? Also read Revelation 22:12, Isaiah 40:10, and Isaiah 62:11. What do all these texts teach us? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________The reward from God to His faithful children is unique and, like many spiritual things, may be beyond our finite understanding. “Human language is inadequate to describe the reward of the righteous. It will be known only to those who behold it. No finite mind can com- prehend the glory of the Paradise of God.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 674.Jesus concluded the Beatitudes, which open the Sermon on the Mount, with these words: “ ‘Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you’ ” (Matt. 5:11, 12, NKJV). After listing the people of faith in Hebrews 11, Paul begins the next chapter explaining why Jesus was willing to die on the cross.“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of wit- nesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares 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” (Heb. 12:1, 2, NKJV).Being rewarded for faithfulness, however, is not the same as salva- tion by works. Who among us, or among any of the characters in the Bible, had works good enough to give them any merit before God? None, of course. That’s the whole point of the cross. If we could have saved ourselves by works, Jesus never would have gone to the cross. Instead, it must be by grace. “And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work” (Rom. 11:6, NKJV). Rewards, instead, are the mere outworking of what God has done for us and in us. How do we understand the difference between salvation by grace and a reward according to works? Bring your answer to class on Sabbath. _____________________________
Read for This Week’s Study: Heb. 11:6, Isa. 62:11, Rom. 6:23, John 14:1–3, Revelation 21, Matt. 25:20–23, Rom. 8:16–18.Memory Text: “ ‘His lord said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord” ’ ” (Matthew 25:21, NKJV).Though we can never earn salvation, the Bible uses the hope of reward as a motivation for faithful living as undeserving recipi- ents of God’s grace, for in the end whatever we receive is, always and only, from God’s grace.As David wrote: “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward” (Ps. 19:7–11, NKJV).In various places, the Bible talks about our rewards, what we are promised through Christ after the Second Coming and this terrible detour with sin is once and for all over and done.What are we promised, and what assurance do we have of getting what we have been promised?
Everlasting LifeAs human beings (and whether we like it or not), an eternity awaits us. And according to the Bible, this eternity will come in one of two manifestations, at least for each of us individually: either eternal life or eternal death. That’s it. No middle ground. No straddling, a bit of one side or another. Instead, it is one (life) or the other (death). This truly is a case of all or nothing.Read Romans 6:23 and John 3:16. What options are presented to us? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________It is hard to imagine two starker or more distinct choices, isn’t it?Chances are that if you are reading this, you have chosen eternal life, or certainly are thinking about it. God has the unique ability to do whatever He says He can do—to fulfill all His promises. Our part is simply to believe Him, rest upon the merits of Jesus, and by faith obey His Word.Read John 14:1–3. What is the Lord’s counsel to us in verse 1, and what does He promise to us in verses 2 and 3? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________In the final days of His earthly ministry, Jesus spoke these amazing words of hope and courage to His disciples. These words would lift their spirits in times of discouragement and trial. They should do the same for us. Jesus came from heaven, went back to heaven, and has promised us, “I will come again and I will receive you unto Myself so you can be with Me there” (see John 14:3).And, perhaps more than anything else, Christ’s death on the cross at His first coming is our greatest assurance of His second coming, for without the Second Coming, what good was His first one? As sure as we are that Jesus died for us on the cross is as sure as we can be that, yes, as He promised: “ ‘I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also’ ” (John 14:3, NKJV). Dwell more on the idea that Christ’s first coming is the guarantee of His second. What happened at His first coming that makes His second a promise that we can trust? ___________________________
Further Thought: Though nothing in the Bible warns against wealth, nothing in the Bible talks about wealth as increasing one’s spiritual com- mitment either. In fact, the opposite danger is true. “The love of money, the desire for wealth, is the golden chain that binds them [people] to Satan.” —Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 44.In fact, since the founding of Christianity, no church has ever partaken of such wealth and creature comforts as the church in many countries of the world enjoys today. The question is: At what cost? Such affluence surely influences our spirituality—and not for the good either. How could it? Since when have wealth and material abundance fostered the Christian virtues of self-denial and self-sacrifice? Can coming home to refrigerators stuffed with more food than we can eat, and owning one or two cars, and taking yearly vacations, and shopping online, and having the latest in home computers and smartphones make it easier to love not the world nor the things in the world? Though many members of our church don’t have these luxuries, many do—and they do so at the peril of their own souls. We are not talking about the “rich” now, as in millionaires and beyond. They at least know that they’re rich, and they can heed (if they choose) the biblical cautions given them. We’re talk- ing, instead, about many even of the middle-class people, who—amid smartphones, iMacs, air-conditioning, and SUVs—are fooled enough to think that because they are just “middle class,” they are not in danger of being spiritually pickled by their own prosperity. That’s why tithing can be, if nothing else, a powerful spiritual antidote to the dangers of wealth, even for those who are not particularly “wealthy.”Discussion Questions: Ê Even if we are not rich by the world’s standards, why must we all be careful about our attitude toward money and wealth?Ë What are some practical things we can do, besides tithing, that can help us make sure we are not getting too caught up in the things of this world?Ì What would happen to you tomorrow if, suddenly, you could not buy or sell because you are numbered among those “who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus” (Rev. 14:12, NKJV)? How well would your faith fare?
When No One Can Buy or SellThe Bible paints a painful picture of the world before the second coming of Jesus. Daniel writes about “ ‘a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time’ ” (Dan. 12:1, NKJV). Considering some of the troublous times in the past, what he is referring to here must be pretty bad.The book of Revelation also points to troubling times before the return of Christ.Read Revelation 13:11–17. How do financial matters fit in with the end-time persecution? ________________________________________________________You can’t buy or sell? How much of our lives today revolves around buying and selling? Our work is, in a sense, our selling of our time and skills and goods to those who want to buy them. Not being able to buy or sell all but means not being able to function in society. The pressure on those who remain faithful will then be enormous. Plus, the more money that you have, the more stake you will have in this world, at least in terms of material possessions, and so, surely, the pressure to conform will be even stronger.How then do we prepare? We prepare now, by making sure through God’s grace that we are not slaves to our money, to the things of the world. If we are not bound to them now, we won’t be when we will, in order to be faithful, have to give them up.Read Deuteronomy 14:22 and the last part of verse 23. What were God’s people to do with their increase or production each year? Why did God ask them to do this? ________________________________________________________God explained through Moses that one of the reasons He established the tithing system was “ ‘that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always’ ” (Deut. 14:23, NKJV). In the poetic parallelism of Psalm 31:19, we see that fear is synonymous with trust. “Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust in You” (NKJV).These parallel lines show us that to fear the Lord is to trust Him. Therefore, we understand that God established the tithing system to protect us from selfishness and to encourage us to trust Him to provide for us. While being faithful in tithe is certainly not a guarantee that people will stay faithful in the end, those who are not faithful in tithe are surely setting themselves up for trouble.
The parables and teachings of Jesus, the stories of Bible characters, and the counsel of Ellen G. White all indicate clearly that there is no halfway commitment to Christ. Either we are or we are not on the Lord’s side.When asked by a scribe which commandment was the greatest, Jesus answered, “ ‘ “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength” ’ ” (Mark 12:30, NKJV). When we give all to Christ, there is nothing left for another master. That is the way it is. That is the way it must be.Read Matthew 6:24. What has been your own experience with the truth of these words? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________Notice, Jesus didn’t say that it was hard to serve God and money, or that you needed to be careful in how you served both. He said, instead, that it couldn’t be done. Period. This thought should put a bit of fear and trembling in our souls (Phil. 2:12).Read 1 John 2:15–17. How are these three things manifested in our world, and why is the danger they present sometimes more subtle than we realize? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________No wonder Paul wrote, “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (Col. 3:2). Of course, that’s easier said than done, because the things of the world are right here before us every day. The lure of “all that is in the world” is strong; the pull for immediate grati- fication is always there, whispering in our ears or pulling on our shirt sleeves—or both. Hasn’t even the most faithful Christian felt some love for “the things of the world”? Even with our knowledge that one day it will all end, we still feel the pull, don’t we? The good news, however, is that we don’t need to let it pull us away from the Lord. Read 2 Peter 3:10–14. How should what Peter says here impact how we live, including what we do with our resources? _________________________________________________
Further Thought: Ellen G. White wrote two chapters on this important
topic of distribution of our assets. See “To (Aged and) Wealthy Parents,” in
Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, pp. 116–130, and “Wills and Legacies,”
in Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, pp. 476–485.
There also is a section that discusses estate planning in Counsels on
Stewardship, pp. 323–335. Ellen G. White also wrote: “That which many
propose to defer until they are about to die, if they were Christians indeed
they would do while they have a strong hold on life. They would devote
themselves and their property to God, and, while acting as His stewards,
they would have the satisfaction of doing their duty. By becoming their
own executors, they could meet the claims of God themselves, instead
of shifting the responsibility upon others.”—Testimonies for the Church,
vol. 4, p. 480.
What does she mean by “becoming their own executors”? In a typi-
cal will, the one making the will appoints an executor to distribute the
assets following his death in harmony with his wishes as expressed in
the will. By becoming your own executor, you simply distribute your
assets yourself while you are living. By doing so, you will have the
satisfaction of seeing the results and of knowing that you are handling
God’s entrusted talents properly.
For the Christian, the second coming of Christ is the “Blessed Hope.” We
all have imagined how awesome it will be to see Jesus coming in the clouds
of heaven. We are eager to hear the words, “Well done” (Matt. 25:21). But
what if we should be laid to our rest before Jesus returns? If we have
followed His revealed will, we can have the satisfaction now of seeing
the work go forward because of our efforts, knowing that because of
our estate plan, the work will continue after we are gone.
Discussion Questions:
Ê Though we can lay up treasure in heaven now, why is that not
the same thing as trying to earn, or even “buy,” your way to salva-
tion?
Ë While we should be generous in giving with what we have now,
we also should be wise. How often have we heard people, par-
ticularly date-setters, make appeals for money because such and
such an event is going to happen at such and such a date, and so
because our money will be useless then, we’d better send it into his
or her ministry now? How can we learn to discern between this
trickery and legitimate ways that we can use our money even now
for the cause of God?
Spiritual Legacy
Though it’s hard to know what life would have been like on earth had
humans not sinned, one thing we can know for sure: there would have
been no hoarding, no greed, no poverty—things that have plagued our
world since recorded history. Our sense of ownership, of what we have
worked for and, if we did it honestly, is rightfully ours, is nevertheless
a manifestation of life in a fallen world. In the end, however, regardless
of how much we do or do not own, there’s one important point that we
should always remember.
Read the following texts. What is the central point in them all, and
how should that point impact what we do with whatever material
means God has blessed us with? (Ps. 24:1, Heb. 3:4, Ps. 50:10, Gen.
14:19, Col. 1:15–17).
We are stewards and managers of what God has entrusted to us; that
is, He ultimately owns it all, and He is the one who gives us life, exis-
tence, and the strength to have anything at all. It is only logical, then,
that when we are finished with what God has given us, and have taken
care of our family, we should return the rest to Him.
“In giving to the work of God, you are laying up for yourselves
treasures in heaven. All that you lay up above is secure from disaster
and loss, and is increasing to an eternal, an enduring substance” “[and]
will be registered to your account in the kingdom of heaven.”—Ellen
G. White, Counsels on Stewardship, p. 342.
There are many advantages to giving now, while we live. Here are
a few:
- The donor actually can see the results of the gift—a new church
building, a young person in college, an evangelistic campaign
funded, and so on.
-
The ministry or person can benefit now when the need is greatest.
-
There is no fighting among family or friends after your death.
-
It sets a good example of family values of generosity and love for
others.
-
It minimizes estate tax consequence.
-
It guarantees that the gift will be made to your desired entity (no
interference from courts or disgruntled relatives).
- It demonstrates that the heart of the donor has been changed from
selfish to unselfish.
- It stores up treasures in heaven.
What principles can we take from the following texts regarding how we
should deal with money?
1 Tim. 6:17
2 Cor. 4:18
Prov. 30:8
Eccles. 5:10
Money can have a powerful hold on human beings, a hold that has
led to the ruin of many. Who has not heard of people who have done
terrible things because of money—even when they already had a lot of
it to begin with?
It doesn’t have to be that way, though. By God’s power, we can
overcome the enemy’s attempt to take what was meant to be a blessing
(material possessions) and turn them into a curse.
In the context of being a good steward in planning for death, one
danger that people face is the temptation to hoard assets now, justify-
ing that hoarding with the idea that, well, “When I die, I can give it all
away.” Though better than just spending it all now (one billionaire had
said that he knew that he would be living right only if the check for his
funeral bounced), we can and should do better than that.
“I saw that many withhold from the cause while they live, quieting
their consciences that they will be charitable at death; they hardly dare
exercise faith and trust in God to give anything while living. But this
deathbed charity is not what Christ requires of His followers; it cannot
excuse the selfishness of the living. Those who hold fast their property
till the last moment surrender it to death rather than to the cause. Losses
are occurring continually. Banks fail, and property is consumed in very
many ways. Many purpose to do something, but they delay the matter,
and Satan works to prevent the means from coming into the treasury
at all. It is lost before it is returned to God, and Satan exults that it is
so.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 154.
Why must we be very careful in how we justify our use of what-
ever material blessings we have?
Begin With Personal Needs
In Old Testament times, many of the children of Israel were farmers
and shepherds. Thus, some of God’s promised blessings were couched
in farm language. For example, in Proverbs 3:9, 10, God says that if we
are financially faithful to Him, our “barns will be filled with plenty”
(NKJV). It is likely that many Christians don’t have a barn today. So, we
understand that God will bless our work or business if we are willing
to follow and obey Him.
Read Proverbs 27:23–27. How would you interpret “Be diligent to
know the state of your flocks” (NKJV) for Christians living today?
However much the Bible warns against the rich trampling on the
poor, or being greedy with their wealth, Scripture never condemns
wealth or people’s efforts to acquire wealth, provided of course they
don’t do it dishonestly or through oppressing others. In fact, the texts
for today, in Proverbs, indicate that we should be diligent in our finan-
cial affairs in order that we may have enough for ourselves and our
family. “You shall have enough goats’ milk for your food, for the food
of your household, and the nourishment of your maidservants” (Prov.
27:27, NKJV).
How would we rephrase Proverbs 27:27 for today? Maybe we would
suggest, “Review your financial records and determine the state of your
affairs.” Or “Do a balance sheet and understand your debt-to-equity
ratio.” From time to time during your earning years, it would be appro-
priate to review your will or other documents and your present assets
and update them as necessary. Such documents as wills and trusts are
put in place early in the estate-planning process in order to be a pro-
tection against untimely death, or not being able for health reasons to
decide about where your assets should go. The idea is to plan ahead for
what will happen to your possessions once they are no longer yours.
In short, good stewardship of what God has blessed us with doesn’t
deal only with what we have while alive but also with what happens
after we are gone—because, unless the Lord returns in our lifetime, we
will one day be gone while our material possessions, whether a little or
a lot, will remain behind. Hence, it is up to us now to make provisions
so that what we have been blessed with can be a blessing to others and
the furtherance of God’s work.
“For riches are not forever” (Prov. 27:24, NKJV). Why is it impor-
tant to keep this thought before us?
Someone once asked famous evangelist Billy Graham what surprised
him most about life, now that he was old (Graham was in his 60s at the
time). Graham’s answer? “The brevity of it.”
No question, life goes by quickly.
What do the following texts teach about human life here? Ps. 49:17; 1 Tim.
6:6, 7; Ps. 39:11; James 4:14; Eccles. 2:18–22.
Not only does life go by quickly, but also when you die, you take
nothing with you, at least of the material goods that you have accu-
mulated. (Character? That’s another story.) “For when he dies he shall
carry nothing away” (Ps. 49:17, NKJV), which means that he or she
leaves it behind for someone else to get. Who will get it, of course,
depends upon what plans are made beforehand.
Though, of course, not everyone has an estate per se. Some people,
particularly as they have worked through the years, have accumulated
some wealth. In the end, what will happen to that wealth after you pass
on is really an important question that people should consider.
For those who have possessions at the end of life, no matter how
great or small they might be, estate planning can be our final act of
stewardship, of carefully managing what God has blessed us with.
If you don’t have an estate plan that you have created with a will
or trust, the state’s or civil government’s laws can come into play
(all this depends, of course, on where you live). If you die without
a will, most civil jurisdictions simply pass your assets on to your
relatives, whether they need them or not, whether or not they would
make good use of the money, and whether or not you would have
chosen to give a portion to that person. The church will get noth-
ing. If that’s what you want, fine; if not, you need to work out plans
beforehand.
In the simplest terms, we can say that because God is the Owner of
everything (see Ps. 24:1), it would be logical to conclude from a bibli-
cal perspective that when we are finished with what God has entrusted
to us, we should return to Him, the rightful Owner, what is left, once
the needs of loved ones are met.
Death, as we know, can come at any time, and unexpectedly, too,
even today. What would happen to your loved ones were you to
die today? What, too, would happen to your property? Would it
be distributed as you would like?
Read Luke 12:16–21. What’s the relevant message to us here? What
strong rebuke did the Lord give to the foolish man, and what
should that say to us regarding our attitude toward what we own?
Though the message is broader than this, one could argue that this
was a story Jesus told about what not to do in retirement. Accordingly,
if a person is quitting work to spend his accumulated assets on himself,
he should beware and take this story to heart. The problem is not work-
ing hard or getting wealth, particularly as one gets older and, perhaps,
even richer. The problem is the attitude toward it. Jesus’ words—“ ‘take
your ease; eat, drink, and be merry’ ” (Luke 12:19, NKJV)—express the
real issue here.
“This man’s aims were no higher than those of the beasts that per-
ish. He lived as if there were no God, no heaven, no future life; as if
everything he possessed were his own, and he owed nothing to God or
man.”—Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, pp. 257, 258.
If we think only of ourselves and ignore the needs of others and the
cause of God during this stage of life, we are following the example
of the rich fool. There was no indication in Jesus’ parable that the rich
man was lazy or dishonest. The problem was in how he spent what God
had entrusted to him. Because we don’t know the day of our death, we
should always be ready for it by living to carry out God’s will instead
of pursuing a life of selfishness.
The general picture given in the Bible is that a person works and
remains productive as long as he or she is able. In fact, it is interesting
to note that the authors of the great prophetic books of Daniel and the
Revelation were, many believe, both in their 80s when they completed
their work. This was at a time when the average age at death was about
50 years. Ellen G. White published some of her best-known and best-
loved books, such as The Desire of Ages, after about age 70. Age, then,
as long as we are healthy, should not mean that we stop being produc-
tive and, to whatever extent possible, doing some good.
Jesus counseled those waiting for His second coming not just to
watch but to continue working, as well (Matt. 24:44–46).
At any age and with any amount of money, how can we avoid
falling into the trap that the man did here? Ask yourself, What
am I living for?
Read for This Week’s Study: Luke 12:16–21, Eccles. 2:18–
22, Prov. 27:23–27, 2 Cor. 4:18, Eccles. 5:10, Col. 1:15–17.
Memory Text: “And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me,
Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth:
Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their
works do follow them” (Revelation 14:13).
As we near the end of our earning years, our financial focus
turns toward preserving our assets in anticipation of the end of
life. The transition from working to retirement can be a very
traumatic experience. In terms of our finances, what is the best way to
proceed?
As people get older, they almost naturally begin to worry about the
future. The most common fears are: dying too soon (before the family
is taken care of); living too long (outliving one’s assets or savings);
catastrophic illness (all one’s resources could go at one time); or mental
and/or physical disability (who will take care of me?).
When commenting on these fears, Ellen G. White wrote: “All
these fears originate with Satan. . . . If they would take the position
which God would have them, their last days might be their best and
happiest. . . . They should lay aside anxiety and burdens, and occupy
their time as happily as they can, and be ripening up for heaven.”
—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 424.
This week we will review God’s counsel regarding our last years.
What are things that we should do, what should we avoid doing, and
what principles should we follow?
Further Thought: In the conquest of Jericho, Achan was not the only
man carrying silver and gold back to the camp of Israel. Joshua had told
the men to bring back the silver and gold and vessels of brass and iron to
the treasury of the house of God (Josh. 6:19, 24). Everything else was to be
burned. Achan, however, was the only man to keep something for himself.
“Of the millions of Israel there was but one man who, in that solemn hour
of triumph and of judgment, had dared to transgress the command of God.
Achan’s covetousness was excited by the sight of that costly robe of Shinar;
even when it had brought him face to face with death he called it ‘a goodly
Babylonish garment.’ One sin had led to another, and he appropriated the
gold and silver devoted to the treasury of the Lord—he robbed God of
the first fruits of the land of Canaan.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and
Prophets, p. 496.
In Paul’s list of signs of the last days, the first two items involve our
attitude toward money and possessions. “But know this, that in the last
days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves,
lovers of money [covetous]” (2 Tim. 3:1, 2, NKJV). Selfishness and love
of money are significant descriptions of humanity in the last days—our
day.
Discussion Questions:
Ê Read 1 Timothy 6:6–10: “Now godliness with contentment
is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is
certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing,
with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall
into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful
lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love
of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed
from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through
with many sorrows” (NKJV). In class, talk about examples of those
who, because of the love of money, have “pierced themselves [and
others] through with many sorrows.” There are lots of examples,
aren’t there? How can we find the right balance, knowing that
we need money to get by but not falling into the trap Paul warns
about here?
Ë What are other things, besides money, that we can covet?
Ì What is the difference between a legitimate desire for some-
thing and covetousness? When might a legitimate desire for some-
thing turn into covetousness?
Overcoming Covetousness
Covetousness is a matter of the heart and, like pride and selfishness,
often goes unnoticed, which is why it can be so deadly and deceiving.
It’s hard enough overcoming sins that are obvious: lying, adultery,
stealing, idolatry, Sabbath breaking. But these are outward acts, things
that we have to think about before we do them. But to overcome wrong
thoughts themselves? That gets tough.
Read 1 Corinthians 10:13. What promise is given here, and why is this
so important to understand in the context of covetousness?
How then, in God’s power, can we be protected against this danger-
ously deceptive sin?
- Make a decision to serve and depend on God and to be a part of
His family. “Choose you this day whom ye will serve; . . . but as for me
and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Josh. 24:15).
- Be daily in prayer and include Matthew 6:13, “Lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the
power, and the glory, for ever.” When feeling covetous of something
that you know you should not have, pray over it, claiming promises in
the Bible for victory, such as 1 Corinthians 10:13.
- Be regular in Bible study. “Your word I have hidden in my heart,
that I might not sin against You” (Ps. 119:11, NKJV).
Jesus tackled the human/sin problem. He was tempted on every point
that we are tempted on. And for power to resist, He spent whole nights
in prayerful communion with His Father. And Jesus didn’t leave this
earth until He had both forged the way by example and then promised
power to make it possible for every person to live a life of faith and
obedience—to develop a Christlike character.
“Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He
is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his
thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him;
and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon” (Isa. 55:6, 7, NKJV).
What, if any, have been the consequences in your own life from
covetousness? What lessons have you learned? What might you
still need to learn from them?
Ananias and Sapphira
It was an exciting time to be a member of the church. Following
the great outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, the
apostles were preaching the gospel with power, and thousands were
joining the church.
“And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were
assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and
they spake the word of God with boldness. And the multitude of them
that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them
that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had
all things common” (Acts 4:31, 32).
What a privilege Ananias and Sapphira had, being part of the early
church, seeing it grow, and seeing the manifestation of the Holy Spirit
in such a marked manner. “Nor was there anyone among them who
lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and
brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid them at the
apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need” (Acts
4:34, 35, NKJV).
It was in this setting that Ananias and Sapphira, obviously impressed
by what was happening and wanting to be part of it, decided to sell some
property and contribute the proceeds to the church. So far, so good.
Read Acts 5:1–11. What do you think was worse, holding back part of
the money or lying about it? Why such a harsh punishment?
At first, it seemed as if they were sincere in their desire to give
toward the work. However, “afterward, Ananias and Sapphira grieved
the Holy Spirit by yielding to feelings of covetousness. They began to
regret their promise and soon lost the sweet influence of the blessing
that had warmed their hearts with a desire to do large things in behalf
of the cause of Christ.”—Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles,
p. 72. In other words, though they had started out with the best of
motives, their covetousness caused them to put on a front and pretend
to be what they really weren’t.
“So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard
these things” (Acts 5:11, NKJV). After this incident, people surely
must have been more careful in returning their tithe. But this
sad account was not included in the Bible as a warning about
faithfulness in tithing. Instead, what does it teach us about where
covetousness can lead?
The Heart of Judas
One of the most tragic stories in the Bible is that of Judas Iscariot.
This man had a privilege that only 11 other people in all the history of
the world have had: to have been with Jesus all that time and to have
learned eternal truths directly from the Master Himself. How sad that
many people who never had anything remotely like the opportunities
that Judas had will be saved, while Judas, we know, is now destined for
eternal destruction.
What happened? The answer can be found in one word: covetous-
ness, the desires of his heart.
Read John 12:1–8. What did Mary do that attracted so much atten-
tion during the feast? How did Judas react? Why? What was Jesus’
response?
The Savior’s gentle rebuke to Judas’s covetous remark led him to
leave the feast and go directly to the palace of the high priest, where
Jesus’ enemies were gathered. He offered to betray Jesus into their
hands for a sum much smaller than Mary’s gift. (See Matt. 26:14–16.)
What happened to Judas? Having had so many wonderful opportu-
nities, so many rare privileges, why would he do something so evil?
According to Ellen G. White, Judas “loved the Great Teacher, and
desired to be with Him. He felt a desire to be changed in character and
life, and he hoped to experience this through connecting himself with
Jesus. The Saviour did not repulse Judas. He gave him a place among
the twelve. He trusted him to do the work of an evangelist. He endowed
him with power to heal the sick and to cast out devils. But Judas did not
come to the point of surrendering himself fully to Christ.”—The Desire
of Ages, p. 716.
In the end, we all have character defects that, if surrendered, can be
overcome through the power of God working in us. But Judas did not
fully surrender to Christ, and the sin of covetousness, which he could
have overcome in the power of Christ, overcame him instead, with
tragic results.
Who among us doesn’t struggle with covetousness over one thing or
another? In this case, what he coveted was money, and that covetous-
ness, a problem of the heart, led him to stealing (John 12:6), which
ultimately led him to betray Jesus.
What a frightful lesson for all of us about the danger that covetous-
ness can bring. What seems like a small thing, a simple desire of the
heart, can lead to calamity and to eternal loss.
An Accursed Thing in the Camp
It was arguably one of the grandest times in the history of Israel.
After 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, they were finally enter-
ing the Promised Land. Through a dramatic miracle, the children of
Israel crossed the Jordan River at its flood stage—on dry land. This
dry-land crossing was so impressive that the hearts of the heathen kings
in Canaan melted, and they had no spirit to fight (Josh. 5:1).
The first real challenge in the conquest of Canaan was the walled and
fortified city of Jericho. No one knew what to do to defeat the inhabi
tants of Jericho—not even Joshua. In answer to Joshua’s prayer, God
revealed the plan for the destruction of the city, which they followed.
But then things took a decidedly bad turn.
Read Joshua 7. What happened after the powerful victory at Jericho,
and what message should we take from this story for ourselve
Once confronted, Achan admitted what he did, saying that he had
“coveted” those goods. The Hebrew word here translated “coveted,”
chmd, has been used in some places in the Bible in a very positive
sense. The same root appears in Daniel 9:23, for instance, when Gabriel
told Daniel that he was a man “greatly beloved.”
In this case, however, this chmd was bad news. Despite the clear
command not to pillage from the captured cities (Josh. 6:18, 19),
Achan did just that, bringing disrepute upon the whole nation. In fact,
after the defeat at Ai, Joshua feared that “ ‘the Canaanites and all the
inhabitants of the land will hear it, and surround us, and cut off our
name from the earth. Then what will You do for Your great name?’ ”
(Josh. 7:9, NKJV). In other words, the Lord wanted to use these great
victories as part of letting the surrounding nations know of His power
and His work among His own people. Their conquests were to be (in
a different sort of way) a witness to the nations of Yahweh’s power. Of
course, after the fiasco at Ai, besides the loss of human life, that wit-
ness had been compromised.
Think about how easily Achan could have justified his actions:
Well, it’s such a small amount compared to all the rest of the booty.
No one will know, and what can it hurt? Besides, my family needs
the money. How can we protect ourselves from this kind of dan-
gerous rationalization?
The Ultimate Original Sin?
The question often arises, and understandably so, about how sin
arose in God’s universe. We understand how, at least somewhat. And at
its heart, it was because of covetousness. Perhaps covetousness, then,
is the ultimate original sin.
Read Isaiah 14:12–14. What hints are given there about the fall of
Lucifer? How did covetousness play a crucial role in that fall?
“Not content with his position, though honored above the heavenly
host, he ventured to covet homage due alone to the Creator. Instead
of seeking to make God supreme in the affections and allegiance of
all created beings, it was his endeavor to secure their service and loy-
alty to himself. And coveting the glory with which the infinite Father
had invested His Son, this prince of angels aspired to power that was
the prerogative of Christ alone.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and
Prophets, p. 35.
Read Ephesians 5:5 and Colossians 3:5. With what does Paul equate
covetousness, and why?
How fascinating that twice Paul would equate covetousness with
idolatry. People practice idolatry when they worship—that is, dedicate
their lives to—something other than God, something created rather than
the Creator (Rom. 1:25). Could covetousness be, then, wanting some-
thing that we shouldn’t have, and wanting it so badly that our desire for
it, rather than the Lord, becomes the focus of our heart?
No doubt, Lucifer at first didn’t know where his wrong desires were
to lead him. It can be the same with us. The commandment against
covetousness, the one commandment that deals only with thoughts,
can stop us from acts that will lead to the violation of other command-
ments, as well. (See, for instance, 2 Samuel 11.)
Read 1 Timothy 6:6, 7. How can focusing on what Paul writes
here help protect us from covetousness?
Read for This Week’s Study: Isa. 14:12–14, Eph. 5:5, Joshua
7, John 12:1–8, Acts 5:1–11, 1 Cor. 10:13.
Memory Text: “ ‘Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s
life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses’ ”
(Luke 12:15, NKJV).
Covetousness has been defined as an inordinate desire for wealth
or possessions that really don’t belong to you. Covetousness
is a big deal, big enough, in fact, to be right up there with not
lying, stealing, or murder. It’s so damaging that God chose to warn
against it in His great moral law. “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s
house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant,
nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy
neighbour’s” (Exod. 20:17).
Covetousness is frequently listed with heinous sins that will keep one
out of the kingdom of God. “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall
not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators,
nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves
with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers,
nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:9, 10).
Covetousness, right up there with extortion, idolatry, fornication,
and adultery? That’s what the texts say, and this week we will look at
examples of just how bad it is and what we can do to overcome it.
Further Thought: “No scheme of business or plan of life can be sound
or complete that embraces only the brief years of this present life and makes
no provision for the unending future. . . . No man can lay up treasure in
heaven without finding his life on earth thereby enriched and ennobled.”
—Ellen G. White, Education, p. 145.
“That which lies at the foundation of business integrity and of true
success is the recognition of God’s ownership. The Creator of all things,
He is the original proprietor. We are His stewards. All that we have is
a trust from Him, to be used according to His direction.”—Education,
137.
Because of the pressure to provide for our families, many times we
think that our work is simply to provide an income. But as Christians,
we also face doing our part in the Great Commission that Jesus gave
to all His followers. After quoting this commission as found in Mark
16:15, Ellen G. White wrote, “Not . . . all are called to be ministers or
missionaries in the ordinary sense of the term; but all may be workers
with Him in giving the ‘glad tidings’ to their fellow men. To all, great
or small, learned or ignorant, old or young, the command is given.”
—Education, p. 264.
“We need to follow more closely God’s plan of life. To do our best
in the work that lies nearest, to commit our ways to God, and to watch
for the indications of His providence—these are rules that ensure safe
guidance in the choice of an occupation.”—Education, p. 267.
Discussion Questions:
Ê How do we as Christians define what a “successful” life is?
What might the difference be between what the world defines as
success and what we (ideally) should? Take, for instance, John the
Baptist. How would you define his life, which ended ignobly in a
prison, all based on the whim of an evil woman? Would you call it
successful? What reasons can you give for your answer?
Ë How do we explain the fact that there are many very “success-
ful” people who follow none of the biblical principles about wealth
management or life in general? Or what about those who try to
follow them and, nevertheless, don’t succeed? Perhaps they get
sick or calamity strikes. How are we to understand these situa
tions?
Seeking Godly Counsel
There are scores of secular money-management gurus out there, but
God warned us against consulting them for the management of the
assets He has entrusted to us. “Blessed is the man who walks not in the
counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the
seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in
His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by
the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf
also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper” (Ps. 1:1–3,
NKJV).
So, the man who delights in the law of the Lord (the law here could
be understood more broadly as the Word of God) shall be blessed. How
simple is that? And he will prosper—be successful.
Read Proverbs 3:5–8. How do we apply this principle in our basic
financial matters?
An overview of the biblical counsel on financial management gives
us very valuable points to follow. Let’s look at seven of them.
- Get organized. Develop a spending plan (Prov. 27:23, 24). Many
families just exist from paycheck to paycheck. Without a simple plan
for earning, spending, and saving, life is much more stressful.
- Spend less than you earn. Determine to live within your means
(Prov. 15:16). Many families in Western countries actually spend more
than they earn. This is made possible only because of the availability of
credit and debt. Many problems plague those who are in debt.
- Save a portion from every pay period (Prov. 6:6–8). We save to make
larger purchases in the future and to take care of unplanned expenses, such
as accidents or illness. Some savings can be used to plan for the time when
because of advancing age, we are no longer able to be employed.
- Avoid debt like COVID-19 (Prov. 22:7). Interest is one expense
you can live without. A person or a family living with debt—that is, on
borrowed money—is really living today on money they expect to earn
in the future. If any life changes occur, then serious financial embar-
rassment can result.
- Be a diligent worker. “The soul of a lazy man desires and has noth-
ing; but the soul of the diligent shall be made rich” (Prov. 13:4, NKJV).
- Be financially faithful with God (Deut. 28:1–14). No family can
afford to live without God’s blessing.
- Remember that this earth is not our real home. Our management
says a lot about where our ultimate priorities are (see Matt. 25:14–21).
Working With Integrity
Another phase of a “successful” life, the last phase, has the potential to
be the most enjoyable—if the decisions of the earlier years have been wise
and not ruined by unexpected events. In an ideal situation the parents have
raised their children to become independent adults, the home is paid for,
the transportation needs are met, there are no lingering debts, and there is
a sufficient income stream to provide for the senior family’s needs.
God calls His children to a higher standard in work and life. That
standard is God’s law written in our hearts (see Jer. 31:33) and reflected
in our characters. As society erodes and Christian teaching is diluted
and minimized, it will become even more important for the individual
Christian to live and work on a level that is above reproach. The Bible
says, “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, loving
favor rather than silver and gold” (Prov. 22:1, NKJV).
The Bible records instances of employers who recognized that they
were blessed because of having a godly employee. When Jacob desired
to leave his father-in-law, Laban, and return with his family to his
homeland, Laban entreated him not to leave, saying, “ ‘Please stay, if I
have found favor in your eyes, for I have learned by experience that the
Lord has blessed me for your sake’ ” (Gen. 30:27, NKJV). And when
Joseph was sold into slavery in Egypt, his master, Potiphar, made a
similar observation about Joseph’s work and rewarded him accordingly.
Read Genesis 39:2–5. Although the texts do not specifically tell us,
what do you imagine Joseph had been doing that caused his master
to look so favorably upon him?
“Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to
the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31, NKJV). So, in our work and financial
management and whatever we do, we should do it all to the glory of
God. He is the One who gives us the knowledge and strength to suc-
ceed in life.
“ ‘Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the vic-
tory and the majesty; for all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours;
Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as head over all.
Both riches and honor come from You, and You reign over all. In Your
hand is power and might; in Your hand it is to make great and to give
strength to all’ ” (1 Chron. 29:11, 12, NKJV).
What are the principles that you are following, not just in work
but in life in general? What changes might you need to make?
The Earning Years
As we have seen, God intended for humans to work in one capacity or
another. This part of our life (the working years) is usually about 40 years
long. For many people this is the time when children are being brought up
and educated and when the home and other major purchases are acquired.
This can be a very intense time financially. It is a very sensitive time
because the family is learning to work together, and its members are creat-
ing lifelong bonds. Financial stress can wreck the marriage at this point, and
frequently does. Families in which both parties have a Christian commit
ment and are willing to follow biblical principles are much more stable.
Read 1 Timothy 5:8; Proverbs 14:23; and Colossians 3:23, 24. What
important points can we take away from these texts about finances
in the home?
In many cases, the husband is the main breadwinner, though often
both spouses work. Of course, unexpected circumstances can arise—
sickness, economic downturns, whatever—that make this ideal diffi-
cult. People need, then, to adjust accordingly.
The children who are brought into the world during this segment of
life are called “a heritage from the Lord” (Ps. 127:3, NKJV). We must
remember that children bring with them an awesome responsibility.
The goal of Christian parents is to train their children to become inde-
pendent adults in this life and to fit them for the life to come. Here are
three points to help parents:
- Provide a Christian home environment. This would include regu-
lar and interesting family worship, regular Sabbath School and church
attendance, and faithfulness in tithes and offerings. These are great
habits to form in early life.
- Teach children a willingness to work and an appreciation for it.
Children will discover that diligence and integrity at work are always
noticed, appreciated, and rewarded. They will learn that money comes to
us as a result of our giving time to others by performing tasks that are
valuable to them.
- Help with a good education. Education is expensive today—
particularly Christian private-school education. But to parents with
plans for their children not only for this life but also for that which is
to come, it is well worth the cost.
Of course, no matter what they do, no one has any guarantee
about the direction their children will go. Why is it important for
parents not to blame themselves for the wrong choices their older
children might make?
The Blessing of Work (Ideally)
Unless you are independently wealthy, or the beneficiary of a trust
fund that Mommy and/or Daddy set up for you so that you would never
have to work a day in your life (if you read many stories about these
kids, the money, meant to be a blessing, often leads to tragedy for them
as adults), you will sooner or later need to work for a living. The ideal,
of course, is to find something that you are passionate about that can
provide you with a good income, get trained in it, find a job doing it,
and work at it for your working years. That’s the ideal; of course, it
doesn’t always turn out that way.
Read Genesis 2:15 (see also Eccles. 9:10 and 2 Thess. 3:8–10). What
is the significance of the fact that, even before the entrance of sin,
Adam (and certainly Eve, too) was given work? How might this
explain why, as stated above, those who never had to work found
their situation to be a curse?
This work was not a punishment, obviously. It was designed for their
good. That is, even in Paradise, even in a world in which no sin, no death,
and no suffering existed, God knew that human beings needed to work.
“And to Adam was given the work of caring for the Garden. The
Creator knew that Adam could not be happy without employment.
The beauty of the Garden delighted him, but this was not enough. He
must have labor to call into exercise the wonderful organs of the body.
Had happiness consisted in doing nothing, man, in his state of holy
innocence, would have been left unemployed. But He who created man
knew what would be for his happiness; and no sooner had He created
him, than He gave him his appointed work. The promise of future glory,
and the decree that man must toil for his daily bread, came from the
same throne.”—Ellen G. White, Our High Calling, p. 223.
However, even after the Fall, when (as with everything else) work had
been tainted by sin, God said to Adam: “ ‘Cursed is the ground for your
sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life’ ” (Gen. 3:17,
NKJV). Notice, God cursed the ground for “your sake,” for the sake of
Adam, with the idea that work would be something that he would need,
especially as a fallen being.
What is it about work that, ideally, should make it something that
can be a blessing to us?
First Things First
Read Ecclesiastes 12:1. What’s the message there for us?
As youths mature into adulthood, thoughts will arise about having to
provide for basic needs—food, clothing, and shelter. Jesus Himself has
told us how to prioritize our needs when He said, “But seek ye first the
kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be
added unto you” (Matt. 6:33). Of course, for those who are older and
who didn’t make a choice for Jesus when they were young, there is still
time to make the right decisions regarding stewardship.
As we saw in Genesis 28:20–22, Jacob had made some important life
choices, both spiritual and financial. In the vision, the Lord introduced
Himself to Jacob as “ ‘the Lord God of Abraham your father and the
God of Isaac’ ” (Gen. 28:13, NKJV). Then as part of his vow to God,
Jacob said, “ ‘The Lord shall be my God’ ” (Gen. 28:21, NKJV).
Read Genesis 29:9–20. What is important about the timing of this
event in the life of Jacob?
After Jacob made his spiritual and financial commitments to God,
the Lord directed him to Rachel at the well (see Gen. 29:9–20). It
is fitting to make your spiritual decision and your lifework decision
before committing to marriage. Your future spouse should know “what
they are getting into.” Is this person a committed Christian? What type
of work will he or she be involved in? Will this person be a teacher, a
nurse, a lawyer, a laborer, whatever? What kind of life will I be com-
mitting to? Other questions that need answers before the marriage
commitment are: What level of education has been completed? What
amount of debt will come into the marriage? Am I willing to accept this
situation as part of my responsibility?
Read 2 Corinthians 6:14, 15. Why is this principle so important
to consider when looking for a life partner? Though it doesn’t
guarantee a good marriage, why would it help make the chances
of a good marriage greater?
Read for This Week’s Study: Eccles. 12:1; Gen. 2:15; 1 Tim.
5:8; Col. 3:23, 24; Gen. 39:2–5; Prov. 3:5–8.
Memory Text: “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord
and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the
reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ” (Colossians
3:23, 24, NKJV).
Most people want to live a “successful” and happy life. Of
course, in a fallen world, where tragedy and calamity can
strike at a moment’s notice, this goal might not always be
easy to attain.
Then, too, there is the question of how we define “success.” There
is the case of Joseph in Egypt; if there ever were a successful life, that
certainly would be one, would it not? From prison to palace, that kind
of thing. On the other hand, what about John the Baptist? He went from
prison to the tomb. How successful was his life? Again, it all depends
upon how you define “successful.”
This week we are going to look at the idea of “success” in the context
of basic stewardship and financial principles. No matter who we are or
where we live, money and finances are going to be a part of our life,
whether we like it or not. What, then, are some steps, practical steps,
that we can take along the way that, though not guaranteeing “success,”
can nevertheless help us avoid common pitfalls and mistakes that can
make financial success a bit more difficult?
Further Thought: “ ‘When the Son of man shall come in His glory,
and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His
glory: and before Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall separate
them one from another.’ Thus Christ on the Mount of Olives pictured to
His disciples the scene of the great judgment day. And He represented
its decision as turning upon one point. When the nations are gathered
before Him, there will be but two classes, and their eternal destiny will
be determined by what they have done or have neglected to do for Him
in the person of the poor and the suffering.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire
of Ages, p. 637.
“As you open your door to Christ’s needy and suffering ones, you are
welcoming unseen angels. You invite the companionship of heavenly
beings. They bring a sacred atmosphere of joy and peace. They come with
praises upon their lips, and an answering strain is heard in heaven. Every
deed of mercy makes music there. The Father from His throne numbers
the unselfish workers among His most precious treasures.”— The Desire
of Ages, p. 639.
Discussion Questions:
Ê “ ‘For the poor will never cease from the land’ ” (Deut. 15:11,
NKJV). Besides the fact that this prediction, though thousands of
years old, unfortunately has been fulfilled, how are we to under-
stand it today? Some have used these words to all but justify not
helping the poor, reasoning this way, “Well, God said the poor
would always be among us; so, that’s just the way it is.” What’s the
fallacy of that thinking?
Ë Read 1 Timothy 6:17–19: “Command those who are rich in
this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches
but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let
them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give,
willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for
the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life” (NKJV).
Notice what the danger is: to trust in one’s riches as opposed to the
living God. Why is that so easy for those who have money to do,
even though they know that in the end even all their money won’t
keep them alive? Why must we all be careful about not trusting in
anything other than the living God?
Consider the Man Job
Read Job 1:8. How was Job described by God Himself?
That’s pretty good, having even God call Job “perfect” and “upright”
(Job 1:8), so perfect and upright that no one else on the earth at that
time could equal him. Again, these are God’s own words, verbatim,
about Job.
Even after Job faced one catastrophe after another, God repeated
what He had first said about Job, that there was no one else on earth
like him, perfect and upright and so forth, except that then a new ele-
ment was added. Job was still all these things, “ ‘although you incited
Me against him, to destroy him without cause’ ” (Job 2:3, NKJV).
And though we get a powerful glimpse of Job’s perfection and
uprightness in how he refused to let go of God despite all that hap-
pened and despite his unfortunate’s wife’s taunt, “ ‘Do you still hold
fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!’ ” (Job 2:9, NKJV), the book
reveals another aspect of Job’s life before the drama here unfolded.
Read Job 29:12–16. What is depicted here that gives us even more
insight into the secret of Job’s character?
Perhaps what’s most insightful here are Job’s words, “ ‘And I
searched out the case that I did not know’ ” (Job 29:16, NKJV). In other
words, Job didn’t simply wait, for instance, for some beggar in rags to
approach him for a handout. Instead, Job was proactive in seeking out
needs and then acting on them.
Ellen G. White suggested, “Do not wait for them [the poor] to call
your attention to their needs. Act as did Job. The thing that he knew
not he searched out. Go on an inspecting tour and learn what is needed
and how it can be best supplied.”—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5,
p. 151. This is a level of money management and stewardship of God’s
resources that is beyond the practice of many of God’s children today.
Read Isaiah 58:6–8. How can we take these ancient words and
apply them to ourselves today?
Zacchaeus was a wealthy Jew who had made his money by working
as a tax collector for the hated Romans. For that, and because he and
other tax collectors exacted more tax than was really due, Zacchaeus
was hated and called a “sinner.”
Zacchaeus lived in Jericho, which sat on a trade route with much
business commerce. The meeting of Zacchaeus and Jesus was not a
coincidence. Zacchaeus had apparently come under spiritual conviction
and wanted to make some changes in his life. He had heard about Jesus
and wanted to see Him. Word must have gotten out that the group Jesus
was traveling with would arrive in Jericho that day. Jesus needed to pass
through Jericho from Galilee, on His final trip to Jerusalem. Christ’s
first words to Zacchaeus revealed that, even before entering the town,
Jesus knew all about him.
Read Luke 19:1–10. What were the differences between this rich
man’s experience with Jesus and that of the rich young ruler?
Zacchaeus and the rich young ruler had some things in common.
Both were rich, both wanted to see Jesus, and both wanted eternal life.
But here the similarities stop.
Notice that when Zacchaeus said that he would give “half of my
goods” (Luke 19:8) to the poor, Jesus accepted this gesture as an expres-
sion of a true conversion experience. He didn’t say to him, Sorry, Zac, but
as with the rich young ruler, it’s all or nothing. Half is not going to cut it.
Why? Most likely because, though Zacchaeus surely liked his wealth, it
wasn’t the god to him that it was to the rich young ruler. In fact, though
we don’t know what Jesus said to him, Zacchaeus is the one who first
speaks about giving money to the poor. In contrast, Jesus had to tell the
rich young ruler specifically to give it all up; otherwise it would destroy
him. Though Zacchaeus, as any wealthy person, needed to be careful
about the dangers of wealth, he seemed to have had his relationship to it
under better control than did the rich young ruler.
“When the rich young ruler had turned away from Jesus, the disciples
had marveled at their Master’s saying, ‘How hard is it for them that
trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!’ They had exclaimed
one to another, ‘Who then can be saved?’ Now they had a demonstra-
tion of the truth of Christ’s words, ‘The things which are impossible
with men are possible with God.’ Mark 10:24, 26; Luke 18:27. They
saw how, through the grace of God, a rich man could enter into the
kingdom.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 555.
The Rich Young Ruler
We don’t know much about the rich young ruler other than that he
was young, a ruler, and rich. And he had an interest in spiritual things.
He was so energetic that he came running to Jesus (Mark 10:17). He
was excited to learn about eternal life. This story is so important that
it is recorded in all three synoptic Gospels: Matthew 19:16–22, Mark
10:17–22, and Luke 18:18–23.
Read Matthew 19:16–22. What did Jesus mean when He said to him,
“If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the
poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow
me” (Matt. 19:21)?
Jesus doesn’t ask most of us to sell all we have and give the money to
the poor. But money must have been this young man’s god, and though
Jesus’ answer may seem quite severe, He knew that doing this was this
man’s only hope of salvation.
The Bible says that he went away very sorrowful because he was very
rich, which proves just how much he worshiped his money. He was
offered eternal life and a place in Jesus’ inner circle (“Come, follow
Me” [Matthew 19:21, NKJV]—the same words Jesus used in calling
the 12 disciples). Yet, we never hear from this young man again. He
traded eternity for his earthly possessions.
What a terrible trade-off, was it not? What a sad example of not fol-
lowing “delayed gratification” (see last week). Choosing as this man did
is such a deception because, no matter what material wealth can give
us now, sooner or later we all die and face the prospect of eternity. And
meanwhile, so many of the wealthy have discovered that their wealth
didn’t give them the peace and happiness that they had hoped for; indeed,
in many cases, the opposite seems to have happened. So many biogra-
phies have been written about just how miserable many rich people have
been. In fact, in all recorded history, one of the best depictions ever of
how unsatisfying wealth can be, in and of itself, is found in the book
of Ecclesiastes. Whatever other lessons one can take from it, one point
comes through clearly: money cannot buy peace and happiness.
“For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose
his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. For what
shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own
soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:35–
37). What does it mean to lose your life for the sake of the gospel?
God’s Provision for the Poor
In their writings, the Bible’s authors included many of God’s provi-
sions for the poor, the strangers, the widows, and the fatherless. We
have records of this that go all the way back to Mount Sinai. “ ‘Six years
you shall sow your land and gather in its produce, but the seventh year you
shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and
what they leave, the beasts of the field may eat. In like manner you shall
do with your vineyard and your olive grove’ ” (Exod. 23:10, 11, NKJV).
Read Leviticus 23:22 and Deuteronomy 15:11. However different the
context may be from that of our lives today, what principles should
we take away from these verses?
It generally is understood that “brother” here refers to fellow
Israelites or fellow believers. We also think of them as the worthy
poor or “the least of these My brethren.” The psalms give direction on
how we should treat those in need. “Defend the poor and fatherless;
do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy; free
them from the hand of the wicked” (Ps. 82:3, 4, NKJV). This passage
indicates our involvement in ways beyond just providing food.
Then there are promises to those who help the needy. “He who gives
to the poor will not lack” (Prov. 28:27, NKJV). “The king who judges
the poor with truth, his throne will be established forever” (Prov. 29:14,
NKJV). And King David noted, “Blessed is he who considers the poor;
the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble” (Ps. 41:1, NKJV). This,
then, always had been a priority in ancient Israel even if, at times, the
people lost sight of it.
In contrast, even in more modern times, particularly in England, under
the impact of what has been known as “Social Darwinism,” many thought
that not only was there no moral imperative to help the poor but also that
it was, in fact, wrong to do so. Instead, following the forces of nature, in
which the strong survive at the expense of the weak, “Social Darwinists”
believed that it would be detrimental to society to help the poor, the sickly,
and the indigent because, if they multiplied, they would only weaken the
social fabric of the nation as a whole. However cruel, this thinking was the
logical outgrowth of belief in evolution and the false narrative it proclaims.
How should the gospel, the idea that Christ died for everyone,
impact how we treat everyone, regardless of who they are?
The Life and Ministry of Jesus
Early in His public ministry, Jesus traveled to Nazareth, in the region
of Galilee. This was His hometown, and the local people already had
heard of His work and miracles. As His custom was, Jesus attended
Sabbath services in the synagogue. Though Jesus was not the officiat-
ing rabbi, the attendant handed Him the Isaiah scroll and asked Him to
give the Scripture reading. Jesus read Isaiah 61:1, 2.
Read Luke 4:16–19 and compare it with Isaiah 61:1, 2. (See also Luke
7:19–23.) Why do you think Jesus chose this specific Scripture?
Why would these verses in Isaiah be deemed as Messianic? What
did they reveal about the work of the Messiah?
Because the religious leaders apparently had overlooked the prophe-
cies that spoke of a suffering Messiah and had misapplied those that
pointed to the glory of His second coming (which should serve as a
reminder to us of how important understanding prophecy really is),
most of the people believed the false idea that the Messiah’s mission
was to free Israel from its conquerors and oppressors, the Romans. To
think that the Messiah’s mission statement came from Isaiah 61:1, 2
must have been a real shock.
The poor usually were looked down upon by unscrupulous officials
such as tax collectors, those in business, and even their own neighbors.
It commonly was thought that poverty was the curse of God and that
their unfortunate condition must have been their own fault. With this
mindset, few people had any concern for the poor and their unhappy
plight.
Yet, Jesus’ love for the poor was one of the greatest evidences of His
Messiahship, as seen in how Jesus answered John the Baptist’s ques-
tion about Him as the Messiah (see Matt. 11:1–6). “Like the Saviour’s
disciples, John the Baptist did not understand the nature of Christ’s
kingdom. He expected Jesus to take the throne of David; and as time
passed, and the Saviour made no claim to kingly authority, John became
perplexed and troubled.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 215.
“Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this:
to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself
unspotted from the world” (James 1:27, NKJV). How should this
verse help us set our religious priorities?
Read for This Week’s Study: Luke 4:16–19; Isa. 62:1, 2;
Deut. 15:11; Matt. 19:16–22; Luke 19:1–10; Job 29:12–16.
Memory Text: “ ‘Then the King will say to those on His right hand,
“Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for
you from the foundation of the world” ’ ” (Matthew 25:34, NKJV).
The Bible speaks often of the strangers (sometimes called aliens),
the fatherless, and the widows. They may be the ones whom Jesus
referred to as “ ‘ “the least of these My brethren” ’ ” (Matt. 25:40,
NKJV).
How can we identify these people today? The strangers of Bible
times were individuals who had to leave their homeland, perhaps
because of war or famine. The equivalent in our day could be the mil-
lions of refugees who have become destitute because of circumstances
that they did not choose.
The fatherless are children who have lost fathers through war, acci-
dent, or sickness. This group also could include those whose fathers
are in prison or are otherwise absent. What a broad field of service is
exposed here.
The widows are those, who for the same reasons as the fatherless,
have lost their spouses. Many are the head of a single-parent family and
could use the help that the church can provide.
As we will see this week, because we are managers of God’s busi-
ness, helping the poor is not just an option. It is following the example
of Jesus and obeying His commands.
Further Thought: God honored His part of the covenant by bless-
ing Abraham. And Abraham honored God by not storing up treasures
on this earth. “The heritage that God has promised to His people is not
in this world. Abraham had no possession in the earth, ‘no, not so much
as to set his foot on.’ Acts 7:5. He possessed great substance, and he
used it to the glory of God and the good of his fellow men; but he did
not look upon this world as his home. The Lord had called him to leave
his idolatrous countrymen, with the promise of the land of Canaan as
an everlasting possession; yet neither he nor his son nor his son’s son
received it. When Abraham desired a burial place for his dead, he had
to buy it of the Canaanites. His sole possession in the Land of Promise
was that rock-hewn tomb in the cave of Machpelah.”—Ellen G. White,
Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 169.
As we live, we are sometimes tempted to go toward wealth and lei-
sure. It takes strong faith to practice delayed gratification. “The mag-
nificent palace of Pharaoh and the monarch’s throne were held out as an
inducement to Moses; but he knew that the sinful pleasures that make
men forget God were in its lordly courts. He looked beyond the gor-
geous palace, beyond a monarch’s crown, to the high honors that will be
bestowed on the saints of the Most High in a kingdom untainted by sin.
He saw by faith an imperishable crown that the King of heaven would
place on the brow of the overcomer. This faith led him to turn away
from the lordly ones of earth and join the humble, poor, despised nation
that had chosen to obey God rather than to serve sin.”—Patriarchs and
Prophets, p. 246.
Discussion Questions:
Ê What will happen to our possessions when Jesus comes? (See
2 Pet. 3:10.) In fact, what can happen to them even before Jesus
comes? (See Matt. 6:20.) Why, then, is it always important to keep
things in the proper perspective?
Ë Jesus warned about “the deceitfulness of riches” (Mark 4:19).
What is He talking about? How can riches deceive us?
Ì In class, talk about the ways Moses might have justified staying
in Egypt instead of leaving everything behind in order to flee with
a bunch of slaves to a barren desert? What ultimately must have
caused him to decide as he did?
Moses in Egypt
The character of Moses dominated the early years of sacred history.
He was kept alive in the providence of God, who worked through an
enterprising mother and a caring sister. When Pharaoh’s daughter found
baby Moses in the ark of bulrushes, she asked his Hebrew mother to
care for him and paid her to do so. What a blessed challenge for a
young mother who was an exile and slave! Jochebed had only 12 years
to teach her child to pray, to trust and honor God, and shape his charac-
ter for a life of service. For years, Moses was trained in the royal courts
of Egypt. “ ‘And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians,
and was mighty in words and deeds’ ” (Acts 7:22, NKJV). As Moses
matured as a man, he made a conscious decision that changed his life
and the course of history.
Read Hebrews 11:24–29. Think about what Moses left behind and
what he had to face instead. Try to look at it from his position,
before he made the choice. What was he leaving, and what was he
choosing to accept by leaving?
Egypt was one of the greatest powers in the ancient world at the
time, if not the greatest. The Nile River created such fertile land that
Egypt, flush with crops, was a wealthy and powerful nation, and Moses
himself would have been at the top of this kingdom. It’s hard to imag-
ine how tempting the lure of the world, the world of Egypt and all its
treasures, must have been to him in his early years. Surely, he must have
found the adoration, the pleasures, and the riches tempting. No doubt
he probably very easily could have justified staying rather than throw-
ing in his lot with a bunch of despised slaves.
And yet, what? As Scripture says, he chose “rather to suffer affliction
with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin” (Heb.
11:25, NKJV). And talk about afflictions: a major part of the book of
Exodus deals with the struggles and trials of Moses, who, even after all
he went through, was still not able to cross over to the Promised Land
(see Num. 20:12). Yet, in the end, we all know that Moses made the right
choice, even if at times he must have wondered himself if he really had.
From a worldly perspective, Moses should have stayed in Egypt.
However, as Christians, we have been given a view of reality that
takes us way beyond this world. When we are tempted by the
world, how can we keep the big picture always before us? Why is
it so important that we do so?
From Deceiver to Prince
As a young man who loved and feared God, Jacob nevertheless stooped
to conspire with his mother, Rebekah, to deceive his father and gain his
blessing. As a consequence, he started his adult life on the wrong path,
having to flee or, perhaps, face an early death. Rebekah told Jacob to “flee
thou to Laban . . . ; and tarry with him a few days, until thy brother’s fury
turn away; . . . then I will send, and fetch thee” (Gen. 27:43–45). Jacob
was actually gone for 20 years, and he never saw his mother’s face again.
Read Genesis 32:22–31. What happened here to Jacob, and what spiri-
tual lessons can we take from this story about God’s grace, even
when we make wrong decisions?
“Through humiliation, repentance, and self-surrender, this sinful,
erring mortal prevailed with the Majesty of heaven. He had fastened
his trembling grasp upon the promises of God, and the heart of Infinite
Love could not turn away the sinner’s plea. The error that had led to
Jacob’s sin in obtaining the birthright by fraud was now clearly set
before him. He had not trusted God’s promises, but had sought by his
own efforts to bring about that which God would have accomplished in
His own time and way. . . . Jacob had received the blessing for which
his soul had longed. His sin as a supplanter and deceiver had been
pardoned.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 197, 198.
Read Genesis 49:29–33. Though Jacob no longer had any holdings
in Canaan, what instructions did he give his sons regarding his
burial? Who else is buried in that cave? Why do you think Jacob
made this request?
The Bible informs us that all three of the patriarchs and their wives are
buried in the same cave. Jacob’s trust in God was strong, and he considered
himself a stranger and pilgrim on the earth (see Heb. 11:13). Despite mis-
takes, he left home with nothing but came back to Canaan a wealthy man.
Despite our mistakes, God can still bless us. How much better,
however, to avoid the mistakes to begin with! What choices are
you now facing, and how can you avoid making the wrong ones?
Lot’s Bad Decisions
When Abram left his homeland in response to God’s call, his nephew
Lot chose to go with him on his pilgrimage. Genesis 13 records that God
blessed Abram to the point that he “was very rich in cattle [the primary
measure of wealth in that culture], in silver, and in gold” (Gen. 13:2). Lot
also “had flocks, and herds, and tents” (Gen. 13:5). They both became so
wealthy with their extensive livestock herds that they could not dwell close
together. In order to avoid strife between their herdsmen, Abram offered
Lot the choice of where he would like to live. Of course, Lot should have
deferred to Abram, his senior, and because he owed his own prosperity to
his connection to him. However, he showed no gratitude to his benefactor
and selfishly wanted what he considered the best land available.
Read Genesis 13:10–12. What rational factors could have led Lot to
make the decision that he did?
However easily Lot could have justified his decision to move to the
city, things didn’t turn out so great for him there, and when Abram heard
about what happened to him, he didn’t say, “Well, too bad, Lot. You reap
what you sow.” Instead, he came to his rescue (see Genesis 14).
Sometimes in our quest for more stuff, we don’t learn our lessons
well. Lot moved right back into Sodom! But in His great mercy, God
sent messengers of warning to Lot and his family, letting them know of
the pending destruction of these cities.
Read Genesis 18:20–33. What did God tell Abraham was the reason
for His visit to earth? What was Abraham’s response to the news
that God was planning to destroy these wicked cities?
Because of Abraham’s concern for Lot and his family, he bargained
with God to spare the cities if righteous people could be found in them.
He started with 50 and went down to 10. In harmony with His character
of love, God never stopped granting mercy until Abraham stopped asking!
God and the two angels personally delivered Lot, his wife, and their two
daughters. But his wife looked back and became a pillar of salt. Lot entered
Sodom a wealthy man and came out with almost nothing. How careful we
need to be about the kind of decisions that we make, especially thinking
only of short-term gains in contrast to the big picture (see Mark 8:36, 37).
Abram, the Father of the Faithful
God called Abram to leave his homeland and his kinfolk and go to a
land that He would show him. Thus began the bloodline of the Messiah.
Though details aren’t given, Abram had to leave the land of his birth
and early years. Surely, it wasn’t an easy decision, and no doubt he gave
up some earthly pleasure and conveniences to do it.
Read Genesis 12:1–3. How were “all the families of the earth . . .
blessed” as a result of this promise and its acceptance?
This was a major life-changing event for Abram and his family. “By
faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which
he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing
where he was going” (Heb. 11:8, NKJV). “Abraham’s unquestioning
obedience is one of the most striking evidences of faith to be found in
all the Bible.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 126.
Most of us would not be eager to leave our homeland and our friends
and family members. But Abram did so. Abram was satisfied to be
where God wanted him to be. As strange as this may seem, Abram,
Isaac, and Jacob never received that land in their lifetimes. Yet, they
remained faithful to God anyway.
Read Hebrews 11:8–13. What is the relevant message to us here?
Abram was known as a prince by those living around him. He was known
to be generous, brave, hospitable, and a servant of the Most High God. His
witness for God was exemplary. By the grace of God, we are heirs with
Abraham. “Just as Abraham ‘believed God, and it was accounted to him
for righteousness.’ Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons
of Abraham” (Gal. 3:6, 7, NKJV). “And if you are Christ’s, then you are
Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Gal. 3:29, NKJV).
With Abraham, as with Noah, we see someone making a major life-
changing decision as a result of obeying God.
Read 2 Corinthians 4:18. How should the message of this verse
impact the kind of spiritual decisions that we make? How did
both Moses and Abraham follow that same principle?
Noah Found Grace
It is noteworthy to consider that those who are seeking heavenly trea-
sure are frequently called by God to make major life alterations here on
earth. Be prepared to face the same thing, if need be.
Read Genesis 6:5–14. What radical changes came into Noah’s life as a
result of obeying God? What principles can we find here for our-
selves in a world that needs to be warned about impending doom?
Noah could have spent his time and resources building a home for
himself, but he chose to make a drastic change in his life and to spend
120 years of that life in following the call of God to build the ark.
Many skeptics today dismiss the story of the Flood as a myth,
often based on scientific speculations about the known laws of
nature. This is nothing new. “The world before the Flood reasoned
that for centuries the laws of nature had been fixed. The recurring
seasons had come in their order. Heretofore rain had never fallen;
the earth had been watered by a mist or dew. The rivers had never
yet passed their boundaries, but had borne their waters safely to
the sea. Fixed decrees had kept the waters from overflowing their
banks.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 96. Before
the Flood, people argued that a flood could never come based on
a faulty understanding of reality; after the Flood, based on a faulty
understanding of reality, they argue that it never came to begin with.
As the Bible says: “There is nothing new under the sun” (Eccles.
1:9, NKJV).
Meanwhile, the Bible also says that people will be skeptical of end-
time events, as they were of the Flood (see 2 Pet. 3:3–7). How can we,
then, prepare for the coming destruction? There is a conscious decision
called “delayed gratification.” This basically means that we should
patiently do the work God has called us to do in the hope of a more
glorious future reward. We don’t know when Christ will return. In one
sense, it doesn’t matter. What matters instead is that, like Noah, we do
what God asks of us in the meantime, even if, as with Noah, it means
some radical life changes.
How ready would you be to make a major change in your life
for God if, like Noah, you were called to do just that? (Hint: See
Luke 16:10.)
Read for This Week’s Study: Gen. 6:5–14, Heb. 11:8–13,
2 Cor. 4:18, Gen. 13:10–12, Gen. 32:22–31, Heb. 11:24–29.
Memory Text: “ ‘For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole
world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange
for his soul?’ ” (Mark 8:36, 37, NKJV).
Jesus gave us the world’s best investment strategy when He said:
“ ‘Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth
and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay
up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust
destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal’ ” (Matt. 6:19,
20, NKJV). Jesus concludes His investment strategy by saying,
“ ‘For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also’ ” (Matt.
6:21, NKJV). In other words: show Me what you spend your money on,
and I will show you where your heart is, because wherever you put your
money, your heart is sure to follow, if it’s not there already.
Do you want a heart for the kingdom of God? If so, then put your
money where it will reap eternal rewards. Put your time and your
money and prayer into God’s work. If you do, you will soon become
even more interested in that work, and your heart will follow, as well.
This week we will review texts and illustrations that show us how to
store up treasures in heaven and, ultimately, reap an eternal reward
Further Thought: The three-step process of debt elimination is actu-
ally found on one page of Ellen G. White’s writings. Emphasis has been
added to highlight the points.
“Be determined never to incur another debt. Deny yourself a thousand
things rather than run in debt. This has been the curse of your life, getting
into debt. Avoid it as you would the smallpox.
“Make a solemn covenant with God that by His blessing you will pay
your debts and then owe no man anything if you live on porridge and
bread. . . . Do not falter, be discouraged, or turn back. Deny your taste,
deny the indulgence of appetite, save your pence and pay your debts.
“Work them off as fast as possible. When you can stand forth a free
man again, owing no man anything, you will have achieved a great
victory.”— Counsels on Stewardship, p. 257.
If you need additional help to become debt-free, try these points:
Establish a budget. Make a simple budget by keeping a record of all
your income and expenses/purchases over a period of three months.
Many are surprised to learn how much money they spend on unneces-
sary items.
Destroy credit cards. Credit cards are one of the major causes of family
indebtedness. They are so easy to use and so hard to pay off. If you find
that you aren’t paying off the cards in total each month, or that you are
using them to purchase items that you would not otherwise have bought,
you should destroy your credit cards before they destroy you or your
marriage or both.
Begin economic measures. Sometimes we aren’t aware of how much
we could save on our monthly expenses just by being careful about some
of the small things that we purchase. They quickly add up.
Discussion Questions:
Ê The amount of debt that many nations, as well as individuals,
have taken upon themselves is staggering. What has been your
own experience with debt and the problems that debt has created
for you or others?
Ë What could your local church do to help members learn to
manage debt or financial issues in general?
Ì What are some Bible promises that you can claim to help pro-
tect yourself from the lure of the world and the financial dangers
greediness can pose to us?
Term Limits and Borrowing Points
Read Deuteronomy 15:1–5. What did the Lord require of His people
as revealed in these verses?
In harmony with other seven-year statutes (Exod. 21:2; Lev. 25:3,
4), not only were the slaves or servants and the land regulated but also
the lenders. Because the lenders did not want to forgive any debts, the
longest anyone could be in debt was seven years. Whatever else we can
take from these verses, they do show that the Lord cares about these
kinds of financial issues, especially when, at that time, they concerned
fellow Israelites. These verses also show that the Lord acknowledged
the reality of debt, no matter how bad it generally was. He also empha-
sized that it was to be avoided as much as possible.
Today, by contrast, people in many parts of the world have loans for
30 and 40 years for home purchases. It seems that one reason houses
cost so much is that credit is available to provide loans to purchase them.
Meanwhile, many people—parents and students—wonder about bor-
rowing money for an education. As a rule, getting a college degree will
enhance a person’s income capability for the rest of his or her life. Some
people might have to borrow some money to pay for their education,
but keep in mind these factors. You have to pay it back with interest. Try
to get all of the grants and scholarships that you can qualify for. Work
and save all you can for school. Take only courses that will lead to a job.
Have parents help. In Bible times, parents gave their children farmland
so that they could make a living. Today that “inheritance” should likely
be an education so that they can become independent adults.
In an ideal world, there would be no borrowing and no debt. But
because we don’t live in an ideal world, there might be times when it is
necessary to borrow. Just make sure that you have the best deal possible
and the best interest rate available. Then borrow the very minimum that
you need and pay it off as quickly as possible to save on interest costs.
In principle, however, to whatever degree humanly possible, we should
seek to avoid debt, and by following biblical financial principles in our
everyday lives, we can go a long way toward avoiding unnecessary debt
and the terrible strain it can put on us and our families.
If you have lent people money, how honest and fair and kind are
you in your dealings with them? How would you fare before God
when you have to answer for those dealings? (See Eccles. 12:14.)
Surety and Get-Rich-Quick Schemes
The Bible is very clear that God does not want His children to become
responsible for the debt obligations of others. In the book of Proverbs, the
Lord has warned us against surety—that is, cosigning or being guarantor
for another person.
Read Proverbs 6:1–5, Proverbs 17:18, and Proverbs 22:26. What is the
message here?
Surety usually occurs when a person with poor credit seeks a loan
from a lending institution and does not qualify for the loan. The loan
officer will tell the unqualified person that if he or she will get a friend
with good credit to cosign with him or her, then the bank will grant the
loan and hold the cosigner responsible in the event of a default.
Sometimes a fellow church member will come to you and ask you
to cosign. Your response should be: “The Bible says I should never do
that.” Please understand that the Bible encourages us to be helpful to
those in need, but we should not become responsible for their debts.
Parents are sometimes asked by teenagers to cosign for the purchase
of their first car. Or older adult children will ask parents to cosign for a
business loan. The same answer applies. It is appropriate to help others
if there is a real need, but do not become surety for the debts of others.
Studies show that 75 percent of those who cosigned end up making the
payments!
Read Proverbs 28:20 and 1 Timothy 6:9, 10. What’s the warning here?
Get-rich-quick schemes are another financial trap; they are almost
guaranteed to lead to financial ruin for those who get caught up in
them. When it sounds too good to be true, it surely is. Many people are
hurt emotionally and financially. An additional tragedy with these devi-
ous plans is that, in many cases, individuals have had to borrow money
to become involved in them in the first place. Many lives and families
have been ruined by get-rich-quick schemes that end up enriching only
the con artists who devise them at the expense of those who fall into
their trap. When a friend, or even a loved one, tries to pull you into one
of these schemes, run. Don’t walk. Run—as fast as you can.
How to Get Out of Debt
Read Proverbs 22:7. In what sense are we under bondage to the
lender?
What can be done to escape from this unfortunate phenomenon?
If you are in debt, the following outline will help you begin a debt-
elimination process. The plan is simple. It has a premise and three steps.
The premise is a commitment to God to be faithful in returning His
holy tithe to access His wisdom and blessing. He is eager to bless those
who obey Him.
Step 1 is to declare a moratorium on additional debt: no more credit
spending. If you don’t borrow money, you can’t get into debt. If you
don’t borrow any more money, you can’t get further into debt.
Step 2 is to make a covenant with God that from this point on, as He
blesses, you will pay off your debts as quickly as possible. When God
blesses you financially, use the money to reduce debt—not to purchase
more things. This step is probably the most crucial. When most folks
receive unexpected money, they simply spend it. Don’t; instead apply it
to your debt-reduction plan.
Step 3 is the hands-on practical part. Make a list of all your debts, from
the largest to the smallest, in descending order. For most families, the
home mortgage is at the top of the list, and a credit card or personal debt
is at the bottom. Begin by making at least the minimum payment due on
each of your debts on a monthly basis. Next, double up or increase your
payments in any way you can on the debt at the bottom of the list. You’ll
be happily surprised how quickly you can eliminate that smallest debt.
Then use the money that you were paying on the bottom debt to add to
the basic payment on the next debt as you work your way up the list. As
you eliminate your smaller high-interest debts, you’ll free up a surprising
amount of money to place on the next-higher debts.
God clearly doesn’t want us in debt. Once the covenant is made,
many families find that God blesses them in unexpected ways, and the
debt is reduced faster than they had anticipated. By following these
three simple steps, many families have become debt-free. You can
too! By putting God first, you’ll receive His wisdom and blessing for
managing what He has entrusted to you.
“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such
things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave
you nor forsake you’ ” (Heb. 13:5, NKJV). How could applying
these words greatly help people avoid getting into debt?
Following Godly Counsel
We are material beings, and we live in a material world, a world that,
at times, can be very alluring. You’d have to be made out of steel and
synthetic oil, not flesh and blood, not to feel, at times, the lure of mate-
rial possessions and the desire for wealth. At one time or another, who
hasn’t fantasized about being rich or winning the lottery?
Though we all face it, and there is nothing wrong in and of itself in
working hard to earn a good living or even being wealthy, none of us
has to succumb to the trap of making idols out of money, wealth, and
material possessions. We are promised divine power to stay faithful to
what we know is right. This is important, because the temptation of
wealth and material possessions has led to the ruin of many souls.
Read Matthew 6:24 and 1 John 2:15. Though expressed differently,
what’s the common theme found in both of these scriptures?
Unfortunately, the love of the world can be so strong that people will
get into debt in order—as they hope—to satisfy that love. (It never
works; see Eccles. 4:8.)
And because debt is one of Satan’s nets that he sets for souls, it just
makes sense that God would like to see His children debt-free. He has
given us counsel through the Bible and the prophetic gift that will lead
us to financial freedom.
Read Psalm 50:14, 15. What attitude should God’s people live with?
What does it mean to “pay your vows” (NKJV)?
We enter into our church membership with praise and thanksgiving
to our God, who has created and redeemed us. In point 9 (of 13) in our
baptismal vows, we were asked, “Do you believe in church organization?
Is it your purpose to worship God and to support the church through
your tithes and offerings and by your personal effort and influence?” As
Seventh-day Adventists, we all said yes. So, this text (Ps. 50:14, 15) is a
promise to those who offer thanksgiving to God and are faithfully paying
their vows.
What do your choices tell you about how well you deal with the
lure of the world? Why is working hard to earn a good living not
necessarily the same thing as making an idol of wealth or money?
How can we learn the difference?
The Debt Problems
Read Deuteronomy 28:1, 2, 12. What is God’s ideal for His children
regarding debt? How can they attain this ideal? And though this
context is very different from ours, what principles can we take
away from it to apply to ourselves now?
Studies show that there are three primary reasons that people get
into financial difficulty. They are listed here in the order of greatest
frequency.
The first is ignorance. Many people, even the educated, are finan-
cially illiterate. They were simply never exposed to the biblical or even
secular principles of money management. There is hope, however!
This lesson will provide a simple outline of these principles and how
to apply them.
The second reason for financial difficulties is greed, or selfish-
ness. In response to advertising and personal desire, people simply
live beyond their means. They aren’t willing to live in, drive, or wear
what they can really afford. Many of these same people also feel that
they are just too poor to tithe. As a consequence, they live their lives
without God’s promised wisdom and blessing (see Mal. 3:10, 11; Matt.
6:33). There’s hope for these people, as well, but it requires a change of
heart—and a spirit of contentment.
The third reason people find themselves in financial difficulty is
personal misfortune. They may have experienced a serious illness
without adequate health insurance. They may have been abandoned
by a spendthrift marriage partner. A natural disaster may have wiped
out their possessions. Or they may have been born and raised in abject
poverty. There is hope for these people too. Though their path is more
difficult, their troubles can be overcome. Change may come with 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.
Whatever the reason, even if it’s a person’s own fault, debt can be
alleviated. However, those in debt will need to make some changes in
their lives, their spending, and their financial priorities.
Read 1 Timothy 6:6–9. What is Paul saying here that all of us
need to heed? What do these words mean to you, and in what
ways can you better follow what the Word is teaching us here?
Read for This Week’s Study: Deut. 28:1, 2, 12; Matt. 6:24;
1 John 2:15; Prov. 22:7; Prov. 6:1–5; Deut. 15:1–5.
Memory Text: “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is
servant to the lender” (Proverbs 22:7, NKJV).
One definition of debt is “living today on what you expect to
earn in the future.” Today debt seems to be a way of life, but it
should not be the norm for Christians. The Bible discourages
debt. In the Scriptures there are at least 26 references to debt, and all
are negative. The Bible does not say that it is a sin to borrow money,
but it does talk about the often-bad consequences of doing so. When
considering financial obligations, Paul counseled: “Render therefore to
all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs,
fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. Owe no one anything except
to love one another” (Rom. 13:7, 8, NKJV).
Why is debt an almost international scourge at every level—
personal, corporate, and government? Every society has always had
at least a small percentage who were in debt. But today a much larger
portion of the people are in debt, and it’s almost never to their benefit.
This week we will consider the reasons for debt and how to deal with
it. You may be debt-free, but you can share this valuable information
with family and friends who could benefit from it.
Further Thought: The heavenly record book of remembrance also
notes the financial faithfulness of God’s family members. “The record-
ing angel makes a faithful record of every offering dedicated to God
and put into the treasury, and also of the final result of the means thus
bestowed. The eye of God takes cognizance of every farthing devoted to
His cause, and of the willingness or reluctance of the giver. The motive
in giving is also chronicled. Those self-sacrificing, consecrated ones
who render back to God the things that are His, as He requires of them,
will be rewarded according to their works. Even though the means thus
consecrated be misapplied, so that it does not accomplish the object
which the donor had in view—the glory of God and the salvation of
souls—those who made the sacrifice in sincerity of soul, with an eye
single to the glory of God, will not lose their reward.”—Ellen G. White,
Testimonies for the Church, vol. 2, p. 518.
“God desires people to pray and to plan for the advancement of his
work. But, like Cornelius, we are to unite praying with giving. Our
prayers and our alms are to come up before God as a memorial. Faith
without works is dead; and without a living faith it is impossible to
please God. While we pray, we are to give all we possibly can, both of
our labor and our means, for the fulfillment of our prayers. If we act
out our faith, we shall not be forgotten by God. He marks every deed
of love and self-denial. He will open ways whereby we may show our
faith by our works.”—Ellen G. White, Atlantic Union Gleaner, June
17, 1903.
Discussion Questions:
Ê How do praying and giving go together? That is, how might
praying help you know what to give as well as where, when, and
how much to give?
Ë A well-known magazine in the United States told about young
professionals on Wall Street who were making so much money and
yet were so miserable, so empty, so full of angst and worry. One of
them, a portfolio manager, said: “What does it matter after I die if
I had made an extra one percent gain in my portfolio?” What les-
sons can we take from this story about how giving, even sacrificial
giving, can be so spiritually beneficial to the giver in that it helps
free us from the “deceitfulness of riches” (Matt. 13:22)?
Ì In the first Ellen G. White quote above, notice the part about
funds being “misapplied.” Why is it important for those of us who
give to keep her point in mind?
Special Projects: “Big Jar” Giving
Research has shown that only about 9 percent of people’s assets are
liquid and could be contributed as an offering on a moment’s notice.
Cash, checking, savings, money market funds, and so on are generally
considered liquid assets, at least for those possessing things like this.
Most of our assets, about 91 percent, are “invested” in real estate, such
as our homes, our livestock (if we are rural), or other nonliquid items.
The differences in the percentages of liquid and nonliquid assets can
be illustrated by putting 1,000 pennies in two different glass jars, with 10
pennies representing each percentage point. So, you would have 90 pennies
in a small jar representing the 9 percent liquid assets and 910 pennies in a
large quart-size jar representing the 91 percent of nonliquid assets.
Most people give their offerings or contributions from the small
jar—from their liquid assets. This is what they have in their checking
account or pocketbook. But when someone really gets excited about
something, they give from the big jar. The Bible tells many such stories.
Read Mark 14:3–9 and John 12:2–8. Who were the main characters
at Simon’s feast? What was the value of Mary’s gift? Why did she
anoint Jesus at this time?
Mary’s gift was worth 300 denarii—a full year’s wages. It was, most
likely, a “big jar” gift. Following this incident, Judas betrayed Jesus for
a little more than one third of that amount—a “little jar” gift, 30 pieces
of silver (Matt. 26:15). It takes real love and commitment to make big
jar gifts—from our investments. But when we get greedy, like Judas,
we can sell our souls for next to nothing.
The work and activities of Barnabas are mentioned 28 times in the
New Testament. We know him primarily as a companion to the apostle
Paul and as a great missionary. But the foundation for all of this is estab-
lished in the first passage, where he is mentioned. In Acts 4:36, 37, we
read of his giving, truly, a “big jar” offering. What a powerful example
of Christ’s words: “ ‘For where your treasure is, there your heart will be
also’ ” (Matt. 6:21, NKJV).
Why is sacrificial giving as important for the givers as for the
recipients?
God Takes Note of Our Offerings
Read Mark 12:41–44. Whether we are rich or not rich, what message
can we take from this story? What’s the principle that this teaches
us, and how can we apply it to our own worship experience?
Jesus and His disciples were in the temple courtyard where the
treasury chests were located, and He watched those who were bring-
ing their gifts. He was close enough to see that a widow had given two
copper coins. She had put in all that she had. “But Jesus understood her
motive. She believed the service of the temple to be of God’s appoint-
ment, and she was anxious to do her utmost to sustain it. She did what
she could, and her act was to be a monument to her memory through
all time, and her joy in eternity. Her heart went with her gift; its value
was estimated, not by the worth of the coin, but by the love to God and
the interest in His work that had prompted the deed.”—Ellen G. White,
Counsels on Stewardship, p. 175.
Another very significant point is that this is the only gift Jesus ever
commended—a gift to a church that was just about to reject Him, a
church that greatly deviated from its calling and mission.
Read Acts 10:1–4. Why did a Roman centurion receive a visit from
a heavenly angel? Which of his two actions were noted in heaven?
Apparently, not only are our prayers heard in heaven, but the motive
of our gifts also is noted. The passage notes that Cornelius was a gener-
ous giver. “ ‘For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also’ ”
(Matt. 6:21, NKJV). The heart of Cornelius followed his gifts. He was
ready to learn more about Jesus. Prayer and almsgiving are closely linked
and demonstrate our love to God and our fellow men—the two great
principles of God’s law: “ ‘ “You shall love the Lord your God with all
your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your
mind,” and “your neighbor as yourself ” ’ ” (Luke 10:27, NKJV). The first
is revealed in prayer, the second in almsgiving.
Offerings and Worship
The Bible does not give us an order of service for worship. But it
appears that at least four things are present in worship services. In the
New Testament this list includes study/preaching, prayer, music, and
tithes and offerings.
Three times each year, the men (and families) of Israel were all to
appear before the Lord in Jerusalem. And “ ‘they shall not appear
before the Lord empty-handed’ ” (Deut. 16:16, NKJV). In other words,
part of the worship experience was the returning of tithe and giving
offerings. It was at Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles
that God’s children brought their tithes and offerings. It’s hard to imag-
ine someone coming to those feasts empty-handed.
In other words, for ancient Israel the giving of their tithes and
offerings was a central part of their worship experience. Worship,
true worship, isn’t just expressing in words and songs and prayer our
thankfulness and gratitude to God, but also expressing that thankful-
ness and gratitude to God by the bringing of our offerings to the house
of the Lord. They brought it to the temple; we bring it to the church on
Sabbath (at least as one way to return our tithe and offerings), an act
of worship.
Read 1 Chronicles 16:29; Psalm 96:8, 9; and Psalm 116:16–18. How do
we apply the principles expressed here to our own worship experi-
ence?
As God’s children, who are tasked with the responsibility of manag-
ing His business on the earth, it is a privilege, an opportunity, and a
responsibility to bring our offerings. If the Lord has given us children
to raise for Him, we should share with them the joy of bringing tithes
and offerings to Sabbath School and church services. In some places,
people return their tithe online or by other means. However we do it,
the returning of tithes and offerings is a part of our worship experience
with God.
What has been your own experience with the role of returning
tithe and offerings as part of worship? How does the practice
impact your relationship with God?
What Portion for Offerings?
Read Deuteronomy 16:17. Rather than a percentage, what criterion
does God give as the basis for the amount of our offerings?
Our offerings are an acknowledgment and expression of our gratitude
to God for His abundant gifts of life, redemption, sustenance, and con-
stant blessings of many kinds. So, as we noted in the passage above, the
amount of our offerings is based on what we have been blessed with.
“ ‘For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be
required’ ” (Luke 12:48, NKJV).
Read Psalm 116:12–14. How are we supposed to answer the question
posed in verse 12? How does money fit in with the answer?
How could we ever repay God for all His blessings to us? The simple
answer is that we never could. It seems that the best we can do is be
generous with the cause of God and in helping our fellow human
beings. When Jesus sent out His disciples on a missionary trip, He told
them, “ ‘Freely you have received, freely give’ ” (Matt. 10:8, NKJV).
Our offerings contribute to the development of a Christlike character.
We are thereby changed from selfishness to love; we are to be con-
cerned for others and the cause of God as Christ was.
Let us always remember that “ ‘God so loved . . . , that He gave’ ”
(John 3:16, NKJV). In contrast—as sure as day follows night—the
more we hoard for ourselves, the more selfish in our own hearts we will
become, and the more miserable we will feel, as well.
It is up to us to determine what amount we give and what entity
receives our gifts. But bringing an offering to the Lord is a Christian
duty with spiritual and moral implications. To neglect this is to do spiri
tual damage to ourselves, perhaps more than we realize too.
What do your offerings, and your attitude about giving them, say
about your relationship with God?
Motivation for Giving
We love God because He first loved us. Our giving is in response to
His amazing gift of Jesus to us. In fact, we are told, “The Lord does
not need our offerings. We cannot enrich Him by our gifts. Says the
psalmist: ‘All things come of Thee, and of Thine own have we given
Thee.’ Yet God permits us to show our appreciation of His mercies by
self-sacrificing efforts to extend the same to others. This is the only
way in which it is possible for us to manifest our gratitude and love
to God. He has provided no other.”—Ellen G. White, Counsels on
Stewardship, p. 18.
When we surrender “our” money to Jesus, it actually strengthens our
love for Him and for others. Therefore, money can be a real power for
good. Jesus spent more time talking about money and wealth than just
about any other subject. One verse in every six in Matthew, Mark, and
Luke is about money. The gospel’s good news is that God can deliver
us from the misuse and love of money.
Read Matthew 6:31–34 and Deuteronomy 28:1–14. What does God
promise to do for us if we obey Him? Is it selfishness on our part to
claim the promises of God?
Our offerings are an evidence of our willingness to sacrifice self
for God. Making an offering can be a deeply spiritual experience, an
expression of the fact that our lives are wholly surrendered to God as
our Lord. To us, as an English idiom says, it is “putting our money
where our mouth is.” You can say you love God, but generous offerings
help reveal (and even strengthen) that love.
An offering comes from a heart that trusts in a personal God who
constantly provides for our needs as He sees best. Our offerings rest
on the conviction that we have found assurance of salvation in Christ.
They are not an appeasement or a search for God’s acceptance. Rather,
our offerings flow from a heart that has accepted Christ by faith as the
only and sufficient means of grace and redemption.
Read 2 Corinthians 9:6, 7. What is the Lord saying to us here? What
does it mean to give as one “purposes in his heart” (NKJV)? How
do we learn to give cheerfully?
Read for This Week’s Study: 2 Cor. 9:6, 7; Deut. 16:17;
1 Chron. 16:29; Ps. 116:12–18; Mark 12:41–44; Mark 14:3–9.
Memory Text: “What shall I render to the L ord for all His benefits
toward me? I will take up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name
of the L ord . I will pay my vows to the L ord now in the presence of all
His people” (Psalm 116:12–14, NKJV).
Besides tithing, there are offerings that come from the 90 percent
that remains in our possession after our tithe is returned to God.
This is where generosity begins. Different types of offerings
were given by God’s people, such as sin offerings, given in response to
God’s grace, or thank offerings, given to recognize God’s protection,
and blessings of health, prosperity, and sustaining power. There also
were offerings for the poor and offerings to build and maintain the
house of worship.
When we consider the magnitude of God’s gifts to us, we then begin
to see our giving as more than just paving the parking lot or buying
choir robes. We bring our gifts in response to what God has done for
us, especially in the sacrifice of Jesus. “We love Him because He first
loved us” (1 John 4:19, NKJV). The church, then, whether it be local,
conference, or worldwide, uses our gifts to advance the cause of God.
This week we will review what the Bible has to say about offerings as
part of our management of God’s business on the earth.
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White’s most comprehensive tithe
document in volume 9 of Testimonies for the Church, pp. 245–252. Study
Section III of Counsels on Stewardship, pp. 65–107.
“If all the tithes of our people flowed into the treasury of the Lord
as they should, such blessings would be received that gifts and offer-
ings for sacred purposes would be multiplied tenfold, and thus the
channel between God and man would be kept open.”—Ellen G. White,
Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, p. 474. This is an amazing state-
ment. If we were all faithful tithers, God would bless us with funds to
increase our offerings 1,000 percent.
“In the third chapter of Malachi is found the contract God has made
with man. Here the Lord specifies the part He will act in bestowing
His great gifts on those who will make a faithful return to Him in tithes
and offerings.”—Ellen G. White, Advent Review and Sabbath Herald,
December 17, 1901.
“All should remember that God’s claims upon us underlie every other
claim. He gives to us bountifully, and the contract which He has made
with man is that a tenth of his possessions shall be returned to God. The
Lord graciously entrusts to His stewards His treasures, but of the tenth
He says: This is Mine. Just in proportion as God has given His property
to man, so man is to return to God a faithful tithe of all his substance.
This distinct arrangement was made by Jesus Christ Himself.”—Ellen
G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, p. 384.
Discussion Questions:
Ê Dwell more on this idea that the practice of tithing did not
originate in ancient Israel. How does this fact help us understand
the perpetuity of this obligation on our part before God?
Ë In class, discuss the question posed at the end of Monday’s
study. Think of what would happen if people decided to send their
tithe somewhere else. What would happen to our church? Would
we even have a church? What’s wrong with the attitude that says,
Well, my tithe is so small in contrast to everything else, it doesn’t
matter. What if everyone thought like that?
Ì Share with others what you have learned and experienced from
giving tithe. What can you teach others about the practice?
An Honest or Faithful Tithe
Read 1 Corinthians 4:1, 2. As children of God and stewards of His
blessings, what kind of people are we asked to be?
So, what does it mean to be faithful with our tithe? This week we
have reviewed several of the constituent elements of the tithe:
- The amount—which is a tenth, or 10 percent, of our income or
increase.
- Taken to the storehouse—the place from which the gospel minis-
ters are paid.
-
Honoring God with the first part of our income.
-
Used for the right purpose—the support of the ministry.
It is our responsibility as church members to uphold the first three
items; it is the responsibility of the storehouse managers to make sure
that the tithe funds are used properly.
And, unlike our offerings, the tithe is not discretionary on our part.
The tenth and the storehouse are both part of our responsibility. We
don’t set the parameters; God does. If I don’t return a full 10 percent of
my “increase,” I’m not really tithing; and if I don’t bring that 10 percent
to the “storehouse,” I’m not really tithing either.
Read Matthew 25:19–21. When are we called upon to give an account
of our management of God’s funds? What is said to those who have
been financially faithful?
“ ‘Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse’ (Malachi 3:10), is God’s
command. No appeal is made to gratitude or to generosity. This is a matter
of simple honesty. The tithe is the Lord’s; and He bids us return to Him that
which is His own.”—Ellen G. White, Education, p. 138. Managing for God
is a unique privilege—and a responsibility, as well. He blesses and sustains
us and asks for only a tenth, and then He uses His tithe to provide for those in
the ministry, as He did for the tribe of Levi during the time of ancient Israel.
Some argue that they don’t like how their tithe money is used
and, hence, either don’t tithe or send their money somewhere
else. Yet, where did God say, “Bring the tithe to the storehouse,
but only if you are sure that the storehouse is using it right”?
Tithing on the Gross or the Net Income?
We calculate our tithe on our “income” if we are paid by the hour or by
a salary, and we pay on our “increase” or profit if we are self-employed
and have our own business. In many countries, the government takes
out taxes from the worker’s pay to cover the cost of services done for the
people, such as security, roads and bridges, unemployment benefits, and
so on. The question of gross or net primarily involves whether we return
tithe on our income before or after such taxes are taken out. Those who are
self-employed can legitimately deduct the cost of doing business in order
to determine their actual profit before their personal taxes are deducted.
Studies of membership’s giving habits reveal that the majority of
Seventh-day Adventists tithe on the gross income; that is, before taxes
are taken out. In fact, according to the Tithing Principles and Guidelines,
published by the General Conference in 1990, “Tithe should be computed
on the gross amount of a wage or salary earner's income before legally
required or other employee authorized deductions. This includes federal
and state income taxes which provide for services and other benefits of
responsible citizenship. Contributions to Social Security may be sub-
tracted-See Guideline 111-F.”—Page 22.
Read 1 Kings 17:9–16. What was the widow’s situation before Elijah
came to her? What did the prophet ask her to do first before taking
care of herself and her son? What can we learn from this account
about the question at hand?
The widow of Zarephath was told by God that a man of God was
coming to see her (1 Kings 17:9). When Elijah arrived, she explained
her dire circumstances. Elijah first asked for a drink of water and then
added, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small
cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for
yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘The bin
of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the
day the Lord sends rain on the earth’ ” (1 Kings 17:13, 14, NKJV).
Was this selfishness on his part, or was he simply testing her faith—in
fact, allowing her to exercise her faith? The answer should be obvious.
As we have been told, “Everyone is to be his own assessor and is left
to give as he purposes in his heart.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the
Church, vol. 4, p. 469.
How do you explain to someone who has never given tithe the
blessings that come from giving it? What are those blessings, and
how does returning tithe strengthen your faith?
The Purpose of Tithing
Read Leviticus 27:30 and Numbers 18:21, 24. What does God propose
to do with the tithe?
Because God is the owner of everything (Ps. 24:1), He obviously
doesn’t need the money. But because the tithe is His, He tells us what
to do with it, and that is to use His tithe for the support of the gospel
ministry. And, therefore, the needs of the ministers are taken care of
with God’s tithe.
The tribe of Levi—the ministerial force in the Old Testament—was
not given large properties, as were the rest of the tribes. Levi was given
certain cities, including the cities of refuge, with enough land around
them for personal gardens. They were supported by the tithes of the
others, and they themselves also tithed their income.
Read Acts 20:35. What’s the message here, and how does this relate to
the question of tithe?
Tithing is important because it helps us establish a relationship of
trust with God. To take one-tenth of your income and “give it away”
(though, technically, it belongs to God anyway) truly is an act of faith,
and only by exercising it will your faith grow.
Think, for instance, about the end times, too, when those who are
faithful cannot buy or sell, as depicted in Revelation 13, 14 (see lesson
11). To have developed a trust in God and in His providences and power
and love will be of paramount importance when it seems as if all the
world is against us. Faithful tithing can surely help develop that trust.
Even before then, how crucial for all of us to have learned to trust God,
regardless of our situation.
A second big reason for financial faithfulness is to access the prom-
ised tangible blessings of God. As part of the tithing contract, God has
promised blessings that are so large that we won’t have room enough to
receive them. With our surplus, we can help others and help to support
the work of God with our offerings.
In what ways have you experienced the great truth that it is,
indeed, “more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35)?
Where Is the Storehouse?
Read Malachi 3:10. What can we learn from this verse about where
our tithe should go?
Though specific directions are not given in the text, it is nevertheless
evident that God’s people knew what He meant by the word “storehouse.”
God does include in His directions, “ ‘that there may be food in My
house’ ” (NKJV). His people understood that God’s house initially was the
sanctuary—the elaborate tent that was built by specific direction given to
Moses at Mount Sinai. Later when Israel lived in the Promised Land, the
central location was first in Shiloh and then more permanently at the temple
in Jerusalem.
Read Deuteronomy 12:5–14. These verses do not indicate that God’s chil-
dren could use their own discretion as to where their tithe was deposited.
What principles can we take from these verses for ourselves today?
As members of God’s family, we want to understand and practice His
will regarding what to do with our tithe. In the biblical narrative, we learn
that three times each year—Passover, Pentecost, and Feast of Tabernacles
(Exod. 23:14–17)—God’s people were to travel to Jerusalem to bring their
tithes and offerings personally and to praise and to worship God. Then the
Levites distributed the tithe to their brethren all over the land of Israel (see
2 Chron. 31:11–21, Neh. 12:44–47, Neh. 13:8–14). In harmony with this
biblical central storehouse principle, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has
designated the local conferences, missions, and unions of churches as store-
houses on behalf of the world church and from which the ministry is paid.
For the convenience of church members, tithes and offerings are brought
to the local church as part of the worship experience, though some use
online giving. The local treasurers then forward the tithe to the conference
storehouse. This system of tithe management, outlined and ordained by
God, has enabled the Seventh-day Adventist Church to have a worldwide
and growing impact in the world.
Imagine if everyone decided to give their tithe to whomever they
wanted to, at the expense of the Adventist Church itself. What
would happen to our church? Why is that practice, then, such a
bad idea and contrary to Scripture?
Tithe Equals a Tenth
Dictionaries define tithe as “a tenth part of something” or “10 percent.”
This definition is likely taken from the Bible narrative. Tithe is simply
returning 10 percent of our income, or increase, to God. We understand
that all we have belongs to Him in the first place. The tithing legislation
given to Israel at Mount Sinai points out that the tithe is holy and belongs
to God (see Lev. 27:30, 32). God asks only for His 10 percent. Our offer-
ings of gratitude are separate from and in addition to the tithe. The tithe
is the minimum testimony of our Christian commitment. Nowhere in the
Bible do we find any indication that God’s portion is less than a tenth.
Read Genesis 14:18–20 and Hebrews 7:1–9. What was Abram’s
response to meeting Melchizedek? What does this teach us about
how far back in history the practice goes?
The first mention of tithe in the Bible is in Genesis 14, which tells the
story of Melchizedek’s meeting with Abram. The last mention of tithe in
the Bible recalls the same encounter, but the words “tenth” and “tithe” are
used interchangeably (see Heb. 7:1–9). Note in the Hebrews story that
neither Melchizedek nor Christ were of the tribe of Levi, so tithing pre-
cedes and follows the selection of the Levites. Tithing is not exclusively
a Jewish custom and did not originate with the Hebrews at Sinai.
Read Genesis 28:13, 14, 20–22. What did God promise to do for Jacob,
and what was Jacob’s response to God?
When Jacob left home, running from his angry brother, Esau, one
night he had a dream of a staircase that ascended from earth to heaven.
Angels were going up and down on it. And God stood at the top and
promised to be with Jacob and someday bring him back home. This
single young man had a real conversion experience and said, “ ‘The
Lord shall be my God. . . . And of all that You give me I will surely
give a tenth to You’ ” (Gen. 28:21, 22, NKJV).
Why is it important to understand that tithing, like the Sabbath,
was not something that originated in the ancient Israelite legal
or even religious system? What message should we, who live after
the Cross, take from this truth?
Read for This Week’s Study: Gen. 14:18–20; Mal. 3:10;
Deut. 12:5–14; Lev. 27:30; 1 Kings 17:9–16; 1 Cor. 4:1, 2.
Memory Text: “ ‘Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there
may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,’ says the L ord of
hosts, ‘if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out
for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it’ ”
(Malachi 3:10, NKJV).
In Genesis 14, Abram had returned from a successful hostage rescue
mission in which he had saved his nephew Lot, Lot’s family, and the
other people taken from Sodom. The king of Sodom was so grateful
for the rescue that he offered Abram all the spoils of the battle. Abram
not only refused the offer but also gave a tithe of all that he possessed
to Melchizedek.
Immediately after Abram’s tithing experience, the Lord said, “ ‘Do
not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward’ ”
(Gen. 15:1, NKJV). In effect, the Lord was telling Abram, “Don’t worry.
I will be your protector and provider.” Then, much later, Moses told Israel
as they were about to enter Canaan, “ ‘You shall truly tithe all the increase
of your grain that the field produces year by year . . . that you may learn
to fear the Lord your God always’ ” (Deut. 14:22, 23, NKJV).
Ellen G. White wrote: “Men were required to offer to God gifts for
religious purposes before the definite system was given to Moses, even
as far back as the days of Adam.”—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3,
p. 393.
What does all this mean for us today?
Further Thought: “Whenever God’s people, in any period of the
world, have cheerfully and willingly carried out His plan in systematic
benevolence [tithing] and in gifts and offerings, they have realized the
standing promise that prosperity should attend all their labors just in
proportion as they obeyed His requirements. When they acknowledged
the claims of God and complied with His requirements, honoring Him
with their substance, their barns were filled with plenty. But when
they robbed God in tithes and in offerings they were made to realize
that they were not only robbing Him but themselves, for He limited
His blessings to them just in proportion as they limited their offerings
to Him."—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 395.
The Bible is very clear that we are saved through faith alone, a gift of
God’s grace. Our obedience to God’s commands is a response to God’s
grace; it doesn’t earn it (after all, if it were earned, it wouldn’t be grace:
see Romans 4:1–4).
Indeed, when we look at God’s bilateral covenant with us, we can
see both our blessings and our responsibilities. By our responses to
what God offers to us, we establish our relationship with Him and, to a
great degree, determine our own destiny. Obedience—the service and
allegiance of love—is the true sign of discipleship. Instead of releasing
us from obedience, it is faith, and faith only, that makes us partakers of
the grace of Christ, which enables us to render the obedience that God
asks from us.
Discussion Questions:
Ê It has been said that if every Adventist were faithful in return-
ing tithe, our church would have more than enough money to do
all that it needs to do for spreading the message. What are you
doing, in terms of tithes and offerings, to help the church do what
it has been called to do?
Ë Dwell more on the idea of how important our choices and our
works are in our relationship with God. How do we keep the ques-
tions of works and obedience, including tithe paying and good
stewardship, before us but without falling into the trap of legalism?
Ì In class, talk about the question at the end of Tuesday’s study
regarding when hard times come even when we have been faith-
ful. How do we understand this if it happens, and how do we keep
from being discouraged when it does?
Seek Ye First
It was said of Jesus that “the common people heard him gladly”
(Mark 12:37). Most of the people in the large crowds who followed
and listened to Jesus were members of this class, the common
people. They were the ones who were fed on the mountainside and
who heard the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus said to them, basically,
I know you are concerned about providing for your families. You
worry about the food and drink that you will need daily and the
clothing that you need for warmth and protection. But here is what
I propose . . .
Read Matthew 6:25–33. What was promised here, and what were the
people to do in order to receive those promises?
Many of the promises of God have elements of a bilateral cove
nant. That is, in order to receive the blessing, we need to do our
part, as well.
Read Isaiah 26:3. What are we asked to do in order to have the peace
of God?
Read 1 John 1:9. What will Jesus do if we confess our sins?
Read 2 Chronicles 7:14. What are the “ifs” and “thens” of God’s pro-
posal here?
All these verses and many others deal with the important fact
that although God is sovereign, although God is our Creator and
Sustainer, and although salvation is a gift of grace and unmerited
on our part, we still have a part to play in the great controversy
drama here on earth. Using the sacred gift of free will, free choice,
we must choose to follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit and obey
what God calls us to do. Though God offers us blessings and life,
we can choose cursing and death instead. No wonder God says,
“ ‘Therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may
live’ ” (Deut. 30:19, NKJV).
The Tithe Contract
There is a close spiritual connection between the practice of tithing
and our relationship to God. The Israelites prospered when they obeyed
God and were faithful in tithing. In contrast, they fell on hard times
when they didn’t. They seemed to follow a cycle of obedience and
prosperity, and then disobedience and problems. It was during one of
these periods of unfaithfulness that God, through the prophet Malachi,
proposed a bilateral contract with His people.
Read Malachi 3:7–11. What are the promises and the obligations
found in these verses?
God promised the people that if they would return to Him, He would
return to them. When they asked what He meant by returning to Him,
He explicitly said, “Stop robbing Me of tithe and offerings.” Their rob-
bery was the reason they were being cursed. Here is God’s solution to
the problem of the curse: “ ‘Bring all the tithes [the whole tithe] into the
storehouse’ ” (Mal. 3:10, NKJV). And if you do this, then “ ‘I will . . .
open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing
that there will not be room enough to receive it’ ” (NKJV). If we don’t
have room enough to receive it, we have a surplus with which we can
help others and help to advance the cause of God.
“He who gave His only-begotten Son to die for you, has made a cove
nant with you. He gives you His blessings, and in return He requires
you to bring Him your tithes and offerings. No one will ever dare to
say that there was no way in which he could understand in regard to
this matter. God’s plan regarding tithes and offerings is definitely stated
in the third chapter of Malachi. God calls upon His human agents to
be true to the contract He has made with them.”—Ellen G. White,
Counsels on Stewardship, p. 75.
One of the positive cycles of obedience is recorded during the reign
of good King Hezekiah of Judah. There was a genuine revival in Judah,
and the people started faithfully returning their tithes and offerings to
the temple storehouse. So much came in that it was piled in heaps at the
temple. Second Chronicles 31:5 tells what happened when the people
“brought in abundance the firstfruits of grain and wine, oil and honey,
and of all the produce of the field; and they brought in abundantly the
tithe of everything” (NKJV).
What does your tithing (or lack thereof) say about your own
spirituality and relationship to God?
Honor the Lord
The book of Proverbs is not so much about right and wrong as it is
about wisdom and foolishness. As one reads through the book, one will
see the benefits of wisdom and the pitfalls of foolishness.
Read Proverbs 3:1–10. What wonderful promises are given here? Also,
what does “firstfruits of all your increase” mean?
God asks us to put Him first in the management of our possessions as
an acknowledgment of His ownership of all things and as a demonstra-
tion of our faith in Him to provide for us. But even more than this, He
says that if we will put Him first, then He will bless what’s left. For us
to do this—that is, to put Him first—is an act of faith, an act of trust,
a manifestation of trusting in the Lord with all your heart and, indeed,
not leaning on your own understanding (which is especially important,
because so often things happen that we cannot understand and cannot
make sense of).
Nothing, though, should spur us on more in trusting God and His
love than does the Cross. When you realize what each one of us has
been given in Jesus, not just as our Creator (John 1:1–4) and our
Sustainer (Heb. 1:3), but also as our Redeemer (Rev. 5:9), returning to
God the firstfruits of whatever we have is, indeed, the least we could do.
“Not only does the Lord claim the tithe as His own, but He tells us how it
should be reserved for Him. He says, ‘Honor the Lord with thy substance,
and with the first fruits of all thine increase.’ This does not teach that we are
to spend our means on ourselves, and bring to the Lord the remnant, even
though it should be otherwise an honest tithe. Let God’s portion be first set
apart.”—Ellen G. White, Counsels on Stewardship, p. 81.
God says that if we put Him first, our “barns will be filled with
plenty” (Prov. 3:10, NKJV). Yet, this is not going to happen by miracle;
that is, you are not going to wake up one day and find your barns and
vats suddenly full.
Instead, the Bible is filled with principles about good stewardship,
careful planning, and financial responsibility, of which faithfulness to
what God calls us to do is our first and foremost responsibility.
How, though, do we learn to trust God and in His promises dur-
ing hard financial times when, even while we are seeking to be
faithful, the barns and vats are not full?
To Hearken Diligently
The book of Deuteronomy is the printed version of Moses’ farewell
messages to the second generation of Israelites following the 40 years
of wandering in the wilderness. These messages were given on the
plains of Moab just east of Jericho. Deuteronomy has been appropri-
ately called “The Book of Remembrance.”
In this book, Moses reviews God’s faithful dealings with Israel. He
recounts the travels from Mount Sinai to Kadesh Barnea on the edge of
the Promised Land, as well as the rebellion and the 40 years of wilderness
wandering. He restated the Ten Commandments, the requirements of the
tithe and the central storehouse. But the primary focus of Deuteronomy is
the counsel to obey God and receive His blessings. Moses portrays God
as One who has the ability, and the desire, to care for His people.
Read Deuteronomy 28:1–14. What great blessings are promised the
people? But what must they do to receive them?
Moses was very eager for the people to understand that God had
wonderful, even miraculous, blessings in mind for them. His words, “If
thou shalt hearken diligently,” let them know that their eternal destiny
was at stake here. What a powerful manifestation of the reality of free
choice. They were God’s chosen nation, recipients of great blessings
and great promises, but those blessings and promises were not uncon-
ditional. They needed to be accepted, received, and acted upon.
And nothing God had asked of them was too hard for them to do
either. “ ‘For this commandment which I command you today is not too
mysterious for you, nor is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should
say, “Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may
hear it and do it?” Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, “Who
will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and
do it?” But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart,
that you may do it’ ” (Deut. 30:11–14, NKJV).
Of course, besides the blessings, there were the warnings of the
curses, what would come upon them if they were to disobey (Deut.
28:15–68); that is, what consequences their sin and rebellion would
bring.
What does it mean for us, today, to “hearken diligently” to what
God tells us to do?
The Salvation Covenant
The death of Christ on Calvary made salvation possible for every person
who has ever lived or who will ever live. Unlike the promise of the seasons,
salvation is not unilateral—it is not given to everyone, regardless of what
they do. The belief that everyone will be saved is called “universalism.”
Instead, Jesus clearly taught that, though He died for all humanity, many
people travel the broad way to destruction and eternal death (Matt. 7:13, 14).
What do the following texts have to say about how people receive the
gift of salvation in Jesus?
1 John 5:13
Matt. 10:22
John 6:29
2 Pet. 1:10, 11
Paul understood the bilateral nature of the salvation covenant. Knowing
that he was soon to be executed, and in spite of the fact that many of his
companions had forsaken him, Paul confidently told his dear friend
Timothy that he had upheld his end of the bargain. “For I am now ready
to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a
good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth
there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the
righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto
all them also that love his appearing” (2 Tim. 4:6–8).
Paul says, “I am ready [because] I have fought a good fight, I have
finished my course, I have kept the faith.” Paul, though, was always
very clear that salvation is by faith alone, not by the deeds of the law,
and so here he is not somehow looking at his works or achievements
as earning him merit with God. The “crown of righteousness” awaiting
him is the righteousness of Jesus, which Paul, by faith, has claimed for
himself and has held on to until the end of his life.
Though salvation is an unmerited gift, what’s the difference
between those who accept the gift and those who don’t? What
does accepting this gift require that we do?
Read for This Week’s Study: Matt. 10:22, John 6:29, Deut.
28:1–14, Prov. 3:1–10, Mal. 3:7–11, Matt. 6:25–33.
Memory Text: “ ‘Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the
voice of the L ord your God, to observe carefully all His command-
ments which I command you today, that the L ord your God will set
you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall
come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the
L ord your God’ ” (Deuteronomy 28:1, 2, NKJV).
Amazingly enough, God has made contracts (or covenants) with us.
Most are bilateral, meaning that both parties (God and humans)
have a part to perform. An example of a bilateral covenant is “If
you will do this, then I will do that.” Or “I will do this if you will do that.”
A rarer type of covenant is unilateral. “I will do this whether you do
anything or not.” A few of God’s covenants with humanity are unilateral.
For example, “ ‘He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and
sends rain on the just and on the unjust’ ” (Matt. 5:45, NKJV). Following
the Flood, God promised humanity and “every beast of the earth” that
there would never be another flood to cover all the earth (see Gen.
9:9–16), regardless of our actions. He also promised: “ ‘While the earth
remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and
day and night shall not cease’ ” (Gen. 8:22, NKJV). The seasons will
come and go, regardless of what we do.
This week we will study some significant bilateral covenants between
God and His children. Let’s pray that, by God’s grace, we will “uphold
our end of the bargain.”
Further Thought: “The heart of God yearns over His earthly chil-
dren with a love stronger than death. In giving up His Son, He has poured
out to us all heaven in one gift. The Saviour’s life and death and interces-
sion, the ministry of angels, the pleading of the Spirit, the Father working
above and through all, the unceasing interest of heavenly beings,—all
are enlisted in behalf of man’s redemption.”—Ellen G. White, Steps to
Christ, p. 21.
“If you have renounced self and given yourself to Christ you are a
member of the family of God, and everything in the Father’s house is
for you. All the treasures of God are opened to you, both the world that
now is and that which is to come. The ministry of angels, the gift of
His Spirit, the labors of His servants—all are for you. The world, with
everything in it, is yours so far as it can do you good.”—Ellen G. White,
Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, p. 110.
Discussion Questions:
Ê With all of these awesome gifts that God gives His children, we
are compelled to ask, as did the psalmist, “What shall I render to the
L ord for all His benefits toward me?” (Ps. 116:12, NKJV). Make a list
of the blessings and gifts of God to you in your spiritual and temporal
life, and be ready to share it with your class. What does this teach you
about how thankful to God you really should be?
Ë Though we think about God, and rightly so, as our Creator,
Scripture again and again teaches that He is our Sustainer, as well.
(See Heb. 1:3; Job 38:33–37; Ps. 135:6, 7; Col. 1:17; Acts 17:28; 2 Pet.
3:7.) From the galaxies in the cosmos to the beating of our hearts,
to the forces that hold together the atomic structures that make up
all known matter, it is only God’s sustaining power that keeps them
in existence. How should this biblical truth help us understand just
what our obligations are to God, in terms of how we use whatever
He has given us? How does this reality help us keep our life and the
purpose of our life in proper perspective?
Ì The lesson talked about why, of all God has given us, Jesus and
the plan of salvation are the greatest gifts. Why is that true? What
would we have if we didn’t have that and the great hope it offers
us? An atheist writer depicted humans as nothing but “hunks of
spoiling flesh on disintegrating bones.” Why, without the gift of the
gospel, would he have a point?
Treasure in Heaven
“ ‘Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth
and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for
yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys
and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure
is, there your heart will be also’ ” (Matt. 6:19–21, NKJV).
What crucial truths is Jesus speaking here?
Who hasn’t read story after story of those who had amassed great
wealth, only somehow to lose it? Our world is a very unstable place:
wars, crime, violence, natural disasters, anything can come in a
moment and take away all that we have worked for and, perhaps, even
what we have honestly and faithfully earned. Then, too, in a moment,
death comes, and so these things become useless to us anyway.
Of course, Scripture never tells us it’s wrong to be rich or to have
amassed wealth; instead, in these verses Jesus warns us to keep it all
in perspective.
What, though, does it mean to lay up treasure in heaven? It means
making God and His cause first and foremost in your life, instead of
making money first and foremost. Among other things, it means using
what we have for the work of God, for the advancement of His king-
dom, for working in behalf of others, and for being a blessing to others.
For instance, when God called Abram, He planned to use Abram and
his family to bless all the families of the earth. God said to Abram, who
“was called the friend of God” (James 2:23, NKJV), “ ‘I will make you
a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall
be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who
curses you; and in you all the f
Responsibilities of God’s Family Members
We all enjoy the spiritual and temporal blessings and gifts that God
gives us. How comforting to know, too, that we are “part of the family.”
Read Deuteronomy 6:5 and Matthew 22:37. What does this mean, and
how do we do it?
How would you love God with “ ‘ “all your heart, with all your soul,
and with all your mind” ’ ” (Matt. 22:37, NKJV)? Interestingly enough,
the Bible gives us the answer, and it’s not what most people expect.
Read Deuteronomy 10:12, 13 and 1 John 5:3. Biblically speaking, what
is our proper response in our love relationship with our Father in
heaven?
Keeping the law? Obeying the commandments? For many Christians,
unfortunately, the idea of obeying the law (especially the fourth command-
ment) is legalism, and they claim that we are called, simply, to love God
and to love our neighbor as ourselves. However, God is clear: we reveal
our love to God and to our neighbors by, yes, obeying His commandments.
“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments” (1 John
5:3, NKJV). We are used to looking at this verse as, well, we love God
and, therefore, we keep His commandments. That’s fine. But perhaps we
also can read it as “this is the love of God”; that is, we know and experi-
ence the love of God by keeping His commandments.
In Matthew 7:21–27, Jesus said that those who hear and do God’s words
are likened to a wise builder who built his house upon the solid rock. Those
who hear but don’t obey are likened to a foolish builder who built his house
on the sand—with disastrous results. Both heard the word; one obeyed, one
didn’t. The results made the difference between life and death.
Think about the link between loving God and obeying His law.
Why would love for God be expressed that way? What is it about
keeping the commandments that, indeed, does reveal that love?
(Hint: Think about what disobeying His law causes.)
Resources Available for God’s Family
God’s greatest gift to His children is Jesus Christ, who brings us the
peace of forgiveness, grace for daily living and spiritual growth, and
the hope of eternal life.
“ ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting
life’ ” (John 3:16, NKJV). “But as many as received him, to them gave
he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his
name” (John 1:12).
Salvation, then, is the foundational gift because, without this gift,
what else could we get from God that in the long run would really mat-
ter? Whatever we might have here, one day we will be dead and gone
and so will everyone who ever remembered us, and whatever good we
did will be forgotten, as well. First and foremost, then, we must always
keep the gift of the gospel; that is, Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor.
2:2), at the center of all our thoughts.
And yet, along with salvation, God gives us so much more. To those
who were concerned about their food and clothing, Jesus offered com-
fort by saying, “ ‘Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,
and all these things shall be added to you’ ” (Matt. 6:33, NKJV).
Read Psalm 23:1, Psalm 37:25, and Philippians 4:19. What do these
verses say about God’s provision for our daily needs?
Also, when Jesus talked to His disciples about going away, He prom-
ised the gift of the Holy Spirit to comfort them. “If ye love me, keep
my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you
another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit
of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither
knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in
you” (John 14:15–17). “He will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13).
Then the Spirit Himself gives amazing spiritual gifts to God’s chil-
dren. (See 1 Cor. 12:4–11.)
In short, the God in whom “we live, and move, and have our being”
(Acts 17:28), the God who “ ‘gives to all life, breath, and all things’ ”
(Acts 17:25, NKJV), has given us existence, the promise of salvation,
material blessings, and spiritual gifts in order to be a blessing to others.
Again, whatever material possessions that we have, whatever gifts or
talents we have been blessed with, we are indebted in every way to the
Giver in how we use those gifts.
God Is the Owner of Everything
Read Psalm 50:10–12; Psalm 24:1; 1 Chronicles 29:13, 14; and
Haggai 2:8. What’s the message here, and what should this truth
mean to us and how we relate to whatever we possess?
The book of 1 Chronicles, starting with chapter 17, records King
David’s desire to build a house for God. He shared this desire with the
prophet Nathan, who responded, “ ‘Do all that is in your heart, for God
is with you’ ” (1 Chron. 17:2, NKJV). But that night the word of God
came to Nathan and instructed him to tell the king that, because he was
a man of war, he couldn’t build God’s house. His son would do the work
instead. David asked if he could, at least, draw the plans and prepare
the building materials. When David was granted this request, he spent
the rest of his life amassing a tremendous amount of hewn stone, cedar,
iron, gold, silver, and brass “without measure.” When all of the building
materials had been prepared and assembled at the building site, David
called all the leaders of Israel together for a ceremony of praise and
thanksgiving.
In 1 Chronicles 29:13, 14, in King David’s public prayer, who did
he say was the real source of all the building materials that he and the
people had spent time and money preparing? Of course, in essence,
he said, “We really can’t take any credit for all these special materials
because we are just giving You back Your own stuff.”
The point is important for all of us, whether rich or poor (but
especially the rich). Because God made everything in the beginning
(see Gen. 1:1; John 1:3; Ps. 33:6, 9), He is truly the rightful Owner
of all that exists, including whatever we possess—no matter how
hard and diligently and honestly we have worked for it. If not for
God and His grace, we would have nothing, we would be nothing;
in fact, we wouldn’t even exist. Thus, we must always live with the
realization that, ultimately, God owns all that is, and by praising and
thanking Him for His goodness to us, we can keep this important
truth before us.
“But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to
offer so willingly as this?” (1 Chron. 29:14, NKJV). What beautiful
principles are expressed in these words, and how do they reflect
what our attitude toward God should be and our attitude toward
what we possess?
We Are Part of God’s Family
“For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named”
(Eph. 3:14, 15, NKJV). What imagery is evoked in this verse, and
what hope is found there?
Early in Jesus’ ministry, He states, “ ‘In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name’ ” (Matt. 6:9, NKJV).
Later He repeats the same prayer privately with His disciples (Luke
11:2). Jesus told us to call His Father, “Our Father in heaven.” When
Jesus encountered Mary after His resurrection, she wanted to embrace
Him. “Jesus said to her, ‘Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended
to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, “I am ascending
to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God” ’ ” (John
20:17, NKJV).
Because we have the same Father as Jesus, He is our Brother, and
we are all brothers and sisters in the Lord. Jesus became a member of
the earthly family so that we could become members of the heavenly
family. “The family of heaven and the family of earth are one.”—Ellen
G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 832.
Read Exodus 3:10; Exodus 5:1; and Galatians 3:26, 29. What do these
verses say about how God relates to us? Why should this be so
encouraging?
In contrast to a view of creation in which we are deemed the mere
products of cold, uncaring natural laws, Scripture teaches not only that
God exists, but also that He loves us and relates to us in such a loving
manner that the imagery of family is often used in Scripture to depict
that relationship. Whether Jesus calls Israel My people or us sons of
God or refers to God as our Father, the point is still the same: God loves
us the way family members are supposed to love each other. What good
news amid a world that, in and of itself, can be very hostile!
Imagine a world in which we treated everyone as family. How
can we learn to relate better to all human beings as our brothers
and sisters?
Read for This Week’s Study: Gal. 3:26, 29; Ps. 50:10–12;
1 Chron. 29:13, 14; Phil. 4:19; 1 John 5:3; Matt. 6:19–21.
Memory Text: “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed
on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1, NKJV).
As Christians, an amazing feature about our relationship with
God is that He trusts us to manage His affairs on the earth.
At the very outset of human history, God explicitly delegated
to Adam and Eve the personal care of a flawless creation. (See Gen.
2:7–9, 15.) From the naming of the animals to keeping the Garden, and
to filling the earth with children, God let it be known that we are to
work on His behalf here.
He also blesses us with resources, but we are the ones whom He has
entrusted to manage them, such as to collect money, to write the checks,
to do the electronic transfers, to make the budgets, or to bring our tithes
and offerings to the church on Sabbath mornings. God encourages us
to spend the resources that He has given to us for our own needs, for
the needs of others, and for the advancement of His work. Incredible
as it may seem, we are the ones whom God has entrusted with raising
His children, building His buildings, and educating the succeeding
generations.
In this week’s study, we will explore the privileges and responsibili-
ties of being a part of the family of God.
It is difficult for us to fully comprehend the relationship that our God,
the Creator of the universe, wants to have with us as human beings. (The
mere idea of it is astounding!) “Behold what manner of love the Father has
bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1, NKJV).
Or as Ellen G. White wrote: “Can any human dignity equal this? What higher
position can we occupy than to be called the sons of the infinite God? . . . Can
any worldly honor equal this?”—God’s Amazing Grace, p. 341. It’s only the dark-
ness of this sin-laden world that causes us not to appreciate fully the status that
we have been given in Jesus.
Yet, if we are not careful, the lure of the world and the things of the world will
pull us away from Christ. The Word of God informs us of the temptations and
allurements of Satan. “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a
snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction
and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some
have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through
with many sorrows” (1 Tim. 6:9, 10, NKJV).
The Lord, however, gives us guidance on how to earn money and utilize it
wisely and not to let it be something that, as Paul warned, can lead to “destruc-
tion and perdition.” In the more than two thousand verses in the Scriptures
that deal with money and possessions and our attitude toward them, God gives
practical instruction on how to live above the stresses of life and to manage in
financially faithful ways what we have been given.
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “The Controversy Ended,”
pp. 674–678, in The Great Controversy; “The Earth Made New,” pp.
133–145; “Heaven Is a School,” pp. 146–158; “It Will Not Be Long,”
pp. 159–166; “Heaven Can Begin Now,” pp. 167–176; “The Music of
Heaven,” pp. 177–184; “A Call for Us to Be There,” pp. 185–192, in
Heaven.
“The cross of Christ will be the science and the song of the redeemed
through all eternity. In Christ glorified they will behold Christ cruci-
fied. Never will it be forgotten that He whose power created and upheld
the unnumbered worlds through the vast realms of space, the Beloved
of God, the Majesty of heaven, He whom cherub and shining seraph
delighted to adore—humbled Himself to uplift fallen man; that He
bore the guilt and shame of sin, and the hiding of His Father’s face, till
the woes of a lost world broke His heart and crushed out His life on
Calvary’s cross. That the Maker of all worlds, the Arbiter of all desti-
nies, should lay aside His glory and humiliate Himself from love to
man will ever excite the wonder and adoration of the universe.”—Ellen
G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 651.
“The great controversy is ended. Sin and sinners are no more. The
entire universe is clean. One pulse of harmony and gladness beats
through the vast creation. From Him who created all, flow life and
light and gladness, throughout the realms of illimitable space. From
the minutest atom to the greatest world, all things, animate and inani-
mate, in their unshadowed beauty and perfect joy, declare that God is
love.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 678.
Discussion Questions:
Ê Many secularized Christians live their lives as if this world will
last forever (Luke 12:16–21). How can we balance our earthly ide-
als with our heavenly priorities? How can we guard against what
Jesus has warned us about in Luke 12?
Ë If heaven begins here, what should we do to transform our
homes and our personal lives into little expressions of heavenly
principles?
Ì Dwell on the question asked at the end of Sunday’s study. What
is the logic behind the pessimism of those who don’t believe in
eternal life? At the same time, too, some of these people neverthe-
less seem to live fairly “happy” lives, even without expressing any
future hope. How do you think they do that? That is, how might
they rationalize living, even contentedly, without the promise of
something beyond this life?
His Name on Their Foreheads
Read Revelation 22:3–5. How can we be assured that we will be among
those who will have the name of God written on our foreheads? Or
can we be assured?
After the rebellion of Lucifer and the fall of Adam and Eve, God
could have destroyed the two sinners. Yet, as an expression of uncondi-
tional love for His creatures, God established a merciful plan to save all
those who accept what He offers. This is what is known as the “plan of
salvation,” which, though existing even before the Creation of the earth
(Eph. 1:3, 4; 2 Tim. 1:9; Titus 1:2; Rev. 13:8), was first presented to
humanity in Eden, right after the Fall. It was then further revealed in the
types and shadows of the Hebrew sanctuary service (Exodus 25). And
then it was given its fullest expression in the life, death, and resurrec-
tion of Jesus (see Romans 5).
At the center of the plan of salvation is the promise of eternal life,
based on the merits of Jesus, to all who accept, by faith, the great provi-
sion supplied at the cross. Before the cross, after the cross—salvation
has always been by faith and never by works, however much works are
an expression of our salvation.
Paul wrote about Abraham, who existed long before the coming of
Christ, as an example of salvation by faith: “For if Abraham was
justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before
God. For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and
it was accounted to him for righteousness’ ” (Rom. 4:2, 3, NKJV).
How do these verses help us understand what salvation by faith is
all about?
Thus, we can have the assurance of salvation if we have accepted
Jesus, have surrendered to Him, and have claimed His promises,
including those of a new life now in Him, and if we lean totally on His
merits and nothing else. Abraham believed, and it was accounted to him
as righteousness; it works the same with us.
This, then, is what it means to have His name written on our foreheads.
If we have it written there now and don’t turn away from Him, then it will
be written there in the new heavens and the new earth, as well.
No More Death and Tears
The theory of an immortal soul, suffering forever in an ever-burning
hell, contradicts the biblical teaching that in the new heaven and the new
earth there will be “ ‘no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying’ ” (Rev. 21:4,
NKJV). If the theory of an eternal burning hell were true, then the “second
death” would not eradicate sin and sinners from the universe but only con-
fine them in an everlasting hell of sorrow and crying. And further: in this
case the universe would never be fully restored to its original perfection.
But praise the Lord that the Bible paints a completely different picture!
Read Isaiah 25:8, Revelation 7:17, and Revelation 21:4. What comfort
and hope can these passages bring us amid the trials and suffering
of this present world?
Life can be very hard, unfair, cruel. Some people, so dear to us, are
brutally taken away by the cold embrace of death. Or some people
come subtly into our lives, steal our feelings, and then walk away as if
nothing ever happened. How terrible it is to be betrayed by someone
whom we loved and trusted.
There are moments when, with a broken heart, we may even wonder
if life is worth living. Regardless of our sorrows, however, God is always
eager to wipe away from our cheeks as many tears as possible. But some
of our heaviest tears will continue streaming down until that glorious day
when death, sorrow, and crying will cease to exist (Rev. 21:1–5).
We can trust that in the final judgment God will treat every single human
being with fairness and love. All our loved ones who died in Christ will be
raised from the dead to be with us throughout eternity. Those unworthy of
eternal life will finally cease to exist, without having to live in an “unpleas-
ant” heaven or in an ever-burning hell. Our greatest comfort derives from
the fair way God treats everyone. When death definitively ceases to exist,
the redeemed will shout joyfully, “ ‘Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?’ ” (1 Cor. 15:54, 55, NRSV).
The Lord promised that in the new heaven and the new earth He
would create, “ ‘the former things will not be remembered, nor will
they come to mind’ ” (Isa. 65:17, NIV). This does not mean that heaven
will be a place of amnesia, but, rather, that the past will not undermine
the enduring joy of heaven.
Who hasn’t felt the unfair ravages of human existence here?
Especially in those bad times, how can we learn to trust and, to
the degree possible, rejoice in God’s goodness and love?
In the Presence of God
The Bible says that God “dwells in unapproachable light” (1 Tim.
6:16, NRSV), and that “no one has ever seen God” (John 1:18, 1 John
4:12, NRSV). Does it mean that the saints in heaven will never see God
the Father? Not at all. It is quite evident that not seeing God refers to
the human beings after the Fall, because there are several indications in
Scripture that the saints will actually see Him in heaven.
Read Matthew 5:8; 1 John 3:2, 3; and Revelation 22:3, 4. What do
these passages tell us about the supreme privilege of seeing God?
The same apostle John who states that “no one has ever seen God”
(John 1:18, 1 John 4:12, NRSV) also declares that “we shall see Him
as He is” (1 John 3:2, 3, NKJV) and “see His face” (Rev. 22:3, 4,
NKJV). It can be debatable whether these passages refer to God the
Father or to Christ. But all doubts are gone in light of Christ’s own
statement,“ ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God’ ”
(Matt. 5:8, NKJV). What a privilege it will be for the redeemed to wor-
ship God in His temple! But the supreme privilege of all will be to see
His face.
“The people of God are privileged to hold open communion with the
Father and the Son. ‘Now we see through a glass, darkly.’ 1 Corinthians
13:12. We behold the image of God reflected, as in a mirror, in the
works of nature and in His dealings with men; but then we shall see
Him face to face, without a dimming veil between. We shall stand in
His presence and behold the glory of His countenance.”—Ellen G.
White, The Great Controversy, pp. 676, 677.
Notice in some of the verses for today the link between purity and
seeing God. The “ ‘pure in heart’ ” will see God; he who will see God
“purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:3, NKJV). What these
verses reveal is that God must do a work in us now to help prepare us
for heaven.
Though, in the end, our title to heaven has been made certain through
the death of Jesus, we will go through a purifying process here and
now that will help prepare us for our eternal home. And central to the
purification process is obedience to His Word.
Read 1 Peter 1:22. How does this text reveal to us the link
between obedience and purification? What is it about obedience
that purifies us? How, specifically, does Peter say our obedience
will be made manifest?
In the Temple of God
Some people speak of heaven itself as being God’s sanctuary. But the
book of Revelation refers to a specific sanctuary/temple within the New
Jerusalem, where God’s throne and the sea of glass are located (Rev. 4:2–6,
Rev. 7:9–15, Rev. 15:5–8). There the great multitude of saints from all
nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues will worship God forever (Rev. 7:9–17).
Compare Revelation 7:9–15 with Revelation 21:3, 22. How can we
harmonize the description of the great multitude of the redeemed
serving God “ ‘day and night in His temple’ ” (Rev. 7:15, NKJV)
with the statement that John “saw no temple” in the New Jerusalem
(Rev. 21:22, NKJV)?
The heavenly sanctuary/temple has always been the place where the
heavenly hosts worship God. But with the appearance of sin, that sanctuary
also became the place from which salvation is offered to humanity. “When
the sin problem is over, the heavenly sanctuary will once again revert to its
original function. In Revelation 21:22, John the revelator reports that he no
longer saw a temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb
are its temple. But does that mean there is no longer a house of the Lord
where His creatures can come and have special fellowship with Him? By no
means!”—Richard M. Davidson, “The Sanctuary: ‘To Behold the Beauty of
the Lord,’ ” in Artur Stele, ed., The Word: Searching, Living, Teaching, vol. 1
(Silver Spring, MD: Biblical Research Institute, 2015), p. 31.
The book of Revelation gives special attention to the One who is
being worshiped and to those who are worshiping Him. This heavenly
worship is centered on God and the Lamb (Rev. 5:13, Rev. 7:10). As
always, and as it should be, Christ is the focus of the worship.
The worshipers are those “ ‘who have come out of the great tribula-
tion; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood
of the Lamb’ ” (Rev. 7:14, NIV). They are living witnesses of God’s
redeeming and transforming power. They sing praises to God for who
He is and for what He did for them.
Revelation 21:3 reads: “ ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with
men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people.
God Himself will be with them and be their God’ ” (NKJV). This
verse reflects numerous other passages (Jer. 32:38, Ezek. 37:27,
Zech. 8:8, Heb. 8:10). What does it mean for us now, still here on
earth, that God will be our God, and we will be His people? How
do we live out this amazing truth now?
A New Heaven and a New Earth
For some followers of Greek philosophy, the idea that something is
physical means that it is bad. That’s why for them it is unconceivable to
think of a real heaven with real people in the future. In this thinking, for
it to be heaven and to be good, it must be a purely spiritual state, free
from the blemishes found in the physical world here. If something is
material, they assert, it cannot be spiritual; and if something is spiritual,
it cannot be material. By contrast, the Bible speaks of heaven in con-
crete terms but without the limitations imposed by the presence of sin.
Read Isaiah 65:17–25; Isaiah 66:22, 23; 2 Peter 3:13; and Revelation
21:1–5. What is the ultimate message of these passages?
The book of Isaiah provides interesting glimpses of how the earth
would have been if Israel as a nation had remained faithful to their
covenant with God (Isa. 65:17–25; Isa. 66:22, 23; compare with
Deuteronomy 28). The whole environment with its various expressions
of life would have grown more and more toward God’s original plan;
that is, before the entrance of sin.
However, that plan did not materialize as expected. Then a new
plan was established, but now with the church, composed of Jews and
Gentiles from all nations (Matt. 28:18–20, 1 Pet. 2:9). The prophe-
cies of Isaiah, therefore, have to be reread from the perspective of the
church (2 Pet. 3:13, Rev. 21:1–5).
“In the Bible the inheritance of the saved is called ‘a country.’
Hebrews 11:14–16. There the heavenly Shepherd leads His flock to
fountains of living waters. The tree of life yields its fruit every month,
and the leaves of the tree are for the service of the nations. There are
ever-flowing streams, clear as crystal, and beside them waving trees
cast their shadows upon the paths prepared for the ransomed of the
Lord. There the wide-spreading plains swell into hills of beauty, and the
mountains of God rear their lofty summits. On those peaceful plains,
beside those living streams, God’s people, so long pilgrims and wan-
derers, shall find a home.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy,
p. 675.
Many secular writers, without the hope of eternity as presented
in Scripture, have lamented the meaninglessness of human exis-
tence. Though they are wrong about the future, why is it hard to
argue with their point about the meaninglessness of life without
a future hope? Bring your answer to class on Sabbath.
Read for This Week’s Study: 2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:3, 22;
1 John 3:2, 3; 1 Pet. 1:22; Isa. 25:8; Rev. 22:3–5.
Memory Text: “Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I
make all things new.’ And He said to me, ‘Write, for these words
are true and faithful’ ” (Revelation 21:5, NKJV).
Scripture gives us this hope: “But according to His promise we are
looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness
dwells” (2 Pet. 3:13, NASB).
For some, however, the promise of “a new heaven and a new earth”
(Rev. 21:1) seems like a fantasy, stories told by those in power who
used the hope of an afterlife to help keep the masses in line. The idea
being: Though you have it hard at present, one day you will have your
reward in heaven, or the like.
And though some people have used the future hope presented in the
Bible that way, their abuse doesn’t change the truth of the promises that
we have regarding the new heavens and the new earth.
In the last days, scoffers will ridicule our blessed hope (2 Pet. 3:3–7).
But their scoffing, just as predicted, could be seen as more evidence
that what the Bible says is true, for they are scoffing as the Bible pre-
dicted they would.
During this week we will reflect on the glorious promise of a new
heaven and a new earth, including the heavenly temple, the presence
of God, the end of death and tears—and, finally, the ultimate triumph
of God’s love.
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Without a Wedding Gar-
ment,” pp. 307–319, in Christ’s Object Lessons; “Desolation of the
Earth,” pp. 653–661; “The Controversy Ended,” pp. 662–673, in The
Great Controversy.
“In the day of final judgment, every lost soul will understand the
nature of his own rejection of truth. The cross will be presented, and
its real bearing will be seen by every mind that has been blinded by
transgression. Before the vision of Calvary with its mysterious Victim,
sinners will stand condemned. Every lying excuse will be swept away.
Human apostasy will appear in its heinous character. Men will see
what their choice has been. Every question of truth and error in the
long-standing controversy will then have been made plain. In the judg-
ment of the universe, God will stand clear of blame for the existence
or continuance of evil. It will be demonstrated that the divine decrees
are not accessory to sin. There was no defect in God’s government, no
cause for disaffection. When the thoughts of all hearts shall be revealed,
both the loyal and the rebellious will unite in declaring, ‘Just and true
are Thy ways, Thou King of saints. Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord,
and glorify Thy name? . . . for Thy judgments are made manifest.’ Rev.
15:3, 4.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 58.
Discussion Questions:
Ê “If you cling to self, refusing to yield your will to God, you are
choosing death. To sin, wherever found, God is a consuming fire.
If you choose sin, and refuse to separate from it, the presence of
God, which consumes sin, must consume you.”—Ellen G. White,
Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, p. 62. How does this quote
help us understand the nature of the executive judgment?
Ë Dwell on the idea (presented at the end of Tuesday’s study)
that not one of the lost will face final judgment until after the
redeemed have been part of the judging process. Again, what does
this teach us about the openness and transparency of God? For a
universe in which love reigns, why is this transparency so impor-
tant?
Ì How will the participation of the saints in the millennial judg-
ment comfort them in regard to their loved ones who will be lost?
The Second Death
God is leading human history toward its end-time climax. At the
end of the millennium all the wicked dead are raised from their graves
to receive their final punitive sentences (Rev. 20:5, 11–15). Then,
when the whole judging process is completed and nothing else can be
added to it, the wicked will acknowledge God’s justice. “With all the
facts of the great controversy in view, the whole universe, both loyal
and rebellious, with one accord declare: ‘Just and true are Thy ways,
Thou King of saints.’ ” And Satan himself “bows down and confesses
the justice of his sentence.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy,
pp. 670, 671.
Read Malachi 4:1; Revelation 20:14, 15; and Revelation 21:8. How
effective are the “lake of fire” and the “second death”?
The final destruction of Satan and his angels and all the wicked will
cleanse the universe from sin and its consequences. And yet, even the
final destruction of the wicked is an act of God’s love, not only for the
saints but also for the wicked themselves. They would rather die than
live in the presence of God who is a “consuming fire” for sin (Heb.
12:29).
“They [the lost] would long to flee from that holy place. They would
welcome destruction, that they might be hidden from the face of Him
who died to redeem them. The destiny of the wicked is fixed by their
own choice. Their exclusion from heaven is voluntary with themselves,
and just and merciful on the part of God.”—Ellen G. White, The Great
Controversy, p. 543.
Thus, the final annihilation of sin and sinners—in contrast to the
unbiblical theory of their everlasting sufferings in hell—provides a just
and proportional punishment for whatever evil people had committed.
It also confirms that sin had a beginning and will have an end. Then
the whole universe will return to its original perfection, before sin, evil,
and disobedience arose mysteriously and without any justification.
Praise the Lord that He, as our “righteous Judge” (2 Tim. 4:8, NKJV),
will make the fair decision of granting immortality to the righteous and
eternal destruction to the wicked.
What would be wrong with the idea that God saves everyone in
the end? Why is that such a bad idea?
The Executive Judgment
During the Middle Ages there was a strong tendency to portray God
as a severe, punitive Judge. Today the tendency is to describe Him as
a loving, permissive Father who never punishes His children. Yet, love
without justice will turn into chaos and lawlessness, and justice without
love will become oppression and subjugation. God’s judging process
is a perfect blend of justice and mercy, both of which derive from His
unconditional love.
The executive judgment is God’s final and irreversible punitive
intervention in human history. Limited punitive judgments occurred,
for example, in the casting out of Satan and his rebellious angels from
heaven (Rev. 12:7–12), the driving out of Adam and Eve from the
Garden of Eden (Genesis 3), the great Flood (Genesis 6–8), the destruc-
tion of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19, Jude 7), the death of the
firstborn in Egypt (Exodus 11, Exodus 12), and the deaths of Ananias
and Sapphira (Acts 5:1–11). So, it is no surprise that there also will be
an executive judgment of the wicked at the end of human history.
Read 2 Peter 2:4–6 and 2 Peter 3:10–13. How do these texts help us
understand the nature of the final executive judgment? How do
they imply the idea of the completion of judgment as opposed to its
going on forever, which would be a perversion of justice and not an
expression of it?
“God’s goodness and long forbearance, His patience and mercy exer-
cised to His subjects, will not hinder Him from punishing the sinner
who refused to be obedient to His requirements. It is not for a man—a
criminal against God’s holy law, pardoned only through the great sac-
rifice He made in giving His Son to die for the guilty because His law
was changeless—to dictate to God.”—Ellen G. White, Manuscript
Releases, vol. 12, p. 208.
All that God could have done to save humanity from being eternally
lost He did, even at a great cost to Himself. Those who are lost ulti-
mately made choices that led them to this unfortunate end. The idea
that God’s judgment on the lost, even the annihilation of the lost (as
opposed to eternal torment), goes against the character of a loving God
is simply wrong. It’s God’s love, and God’s love alone, that demands
justice, as well.
What does the Cross itself teach us about what God was willing
to do in order to save everyone who would be saved?
The Millennial Judgment
The Bible tells us that at the Second Coming (1) both the living saints
and the resurrected saints will “meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thess. 4:16,
17); (2) all the saints will be taken to heaven to abide in the heavenly
“ ‘dwelling places’ ” that He Himself has prepared for them (John 14:1–3,
NRSV); and (3) only at the end of the millennium will the New Jerusalem
come down to this earth and become the everlasting home of the saints (Rev.
21:1–3, 9–11). So, during the millennium, while this earth remains desolate,
the saints will reign with Christ in heaven (Jer. 4:23, Rev. 20:4).
Read 1 Corinthians 6:2, 3 and Revelation 20:4–6, 11–13. Why should
the saints participate in the millennial judgment?
The whole judgment process is intended (1) to vindicate God’s char-
acter against the accusations of Satan that God is unfair in the way He
treats His creatures; (2) to confirm the impartiality of the rewards of
the righteous; (3) to demonstrate the justice of the punishments of the
wicked; and (4) to dissipate all doubts that could lead toward another
rebellion in the universe. In the pre-Advent investigative judgment of
the righteous, only the heavenly hosts are involved (Dan. 7:9, 10). But
during the millennial judgment of the wicked and the fallen angels, the
saints themselves also will participate (1 Cor. 6:3, Jude 6, Rev. 20:4–6).
The pre-Advent investigative judgment began in 1844 when “ ‘thrones
were put in place. . . . The court was seated, and the books were opened’ ”
(Dan. 7:9, 10, NKJV). The millennial judgment, however, will start after
the saints are taken to heaven and sit on thrones, and the judgment is com-
mitted to them. Then, once more, the heavenly books are opened, and the
dead are “judged according to their works, by the things which were writ-
ten in the books” (Rev. 20:4, 12, NKJV). This process provides an oppor-
tunity for the saints to evaluate the heavenly records and to see God’s fair
treatment in all cases. He not only rewards all human beings according to
what they deserve based on their own decisions but also explains to them
why He does so.
What does it teach us about the character of God that before any
of the sleeping lost are resurrected to face the second death, the
saved will be involved in the judging process, and no one will be
punished until we, too, see the justice and fairness of God? Bring
your answer to class on Sabbath.
The Pre-Advent Judgment
The concept of judgment before the return of Christ, or what we call
a “pre-Advent” judgment, is found in many places in Scripture.
Read Daniel 7:9–14; Matthew 22:1–14; Revelation 11:1, 18, 19; and
Revelation 14:6, 7. How do these passages shed light on the notion
of a pre-Advent investigative judgment in the heavenly courtroom?
What is the significance of such a judgment?
The concept of a pre-Advent investigative judgment of God’s people
is grounded in three basic biblical teachings.
One is the notion that all the dead—righteous or unrighteous—
remain unconscious in their graves until the final resurrections (John
5:25–29).
The second is the existence of a universal judgment of all human
beings (2 Cor. 5:10, Rev. 20:11–13).
The third is the fact that the first resurrection will be the blessed
reward for the righteous, and the second resurrection will be eternal
death for the wicked (John 5:28, 29; Rev. 20:4–6, 12–15).
What this means is that if all human beings will be judged, they
should be judged prior to their respective resurrections, because at
those resurrections they will receive their final rewards.
The book of Daniel helps us to understand both the time and the
nature of that pre-Advent judgment. At the end of the 2,300 symbolic
days—in 1844—the heavenly sanctuary would be cleansed (Dan. 8:14,
compare with Heb. 9:23) and the pre-Advent investigative judgment
would begin (Dan. 7:9–14), two different ways of expressing the same
event. And the judgment is “ ‘in favor of the saints of the Most High’ ”
(Dan. 7:22, NKJV). That is, it’s good news for God’s people.
In Matthew 22:1–14, Jesus spoke of an investigation of the wedding
guests before the wedding feast actually started.
And in the book of Revelation, the pre-Advent investigative judg-
ment is referred to in the task of measuring “ ‘those who worship’ ”
in the temple of God (Rev. 11:1, NKJV) and in the announcement that
“ ‘the hour of His judgment has come’ ” (Rev. 14:6, 7, NKJV; compare
with Rev. 14:14–16).
How should our knowledge of a judgment in heaven impact how
we live here on earth?
The Final Judgment
For many, the idea of judgment means condemnation. And though
that’s part of the process, we mustn’t forget that the idea of judgment
has a positive side, in that judgment also involves the vindication
of the righteous. Actually, the book of Daniel refers to an end-time
judgment “ ‘in favor of the saints of the Most High’ ” (Dan. 7:22,
NKJV). God’s judgment includes both—a principle found in this
Old Testament text: “ ‘Then hear in heaven, and act, and judge Your
servants, condemning the wicked, bringing his way on his head, and
justifying the righteous by giving him according to his righteous-
ness’ ” (1 Kings 8:32, NKJV).
Read Matthew 25:31–46 and John 5:21–29. How did Christ point to the
concepts of both condemnation and vindication in the final judgment?
Some claim that the expressions “ ‘is not judged’ ” (John 3:18, NASB)
and “ ‘will not be judged’ ” (John 5:24, NIV) mean that those who are in
Christ are not judged at all. But these expressions imply that believers are
not condemned in the judgment. Hence the texts should be understood
as saying “ ‘is not condemned’ ” (John 3:18, NIV) and “ ‘shall not come
into condemnation’ ” (John 5:24).
In short, our destiny is determined in our present life. Those in Christ
have their vindication at the judgment already assured, and those who
are not in Christ remain under condemnation. Describing the judgment
(Matt. 25:31–46), Christ mentioned the presence not only of the goats
(wicked) but also of the sheep (righteous). And the apostle Paul stated
explicitly, “For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the
body, whether good or evil” (2 Cor. 5:10, NRSV).
While reflecting on the judgment, we should keep in mind that we
are saved by grace (Isa. 55:1, Eph. 2:8–10), justified by faith (Gen.
15:6, Rom. 5:1), and judged by works (Eccles. 12:14, Matt. 25:31–46,
Rev. 20:11–13). The basis of the judgment process is God’s moral law
as summarized in the Ten Commandments (Eccles. 12:13, 14; James
1:25; James 2:8–17). Our works are the external evidences of the
genuineness of our saving experience and, consequently, the elements
to be appraised during judgment.
Remember: there is no arbitrary decree from God electing some to
be saved and others to be lost. Each one is morally responsible for his
or her own destiny.
In the end, the judgment is not the time when God decides to accept
or reject us, but the time when God finalizes our choice as to whether
or not we have accepted Him—a choice made manifest by our works.
Read for This Week’s Study: Matt. 25:31–46; Dan. 7:9–14;
1 Cor. 6:2, 3; 2 Pet. 2:4–6; Mal. 4:1; Rev. 21:8.
Memory Text: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of
Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done
while in the body, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10, NIV).
If Scripture is clear about one thing, it is the reality of judgment.
God will judge the world. The texts, both in the Old Testament and
the New, are numerous and without ambiguity. The justice so lack-
ing here and now will one day come.
The Bible says that God has “ ‘perfect knowledge’ ” (Job 37:16,
NIV) and “knows everything” (1 John 3:20, NIV), including our most
secret intentions (Eccles. 12:14, Jer. 17:10). We can hide from every-
one and everything else, but nothing is hidden from God.
What this reality implies is that He does not need a judgment for
Himself to know the life of each individual. God’s judgments are,
indeed, a divine accommodation, carried on for the sake of His crea-
tures, both in heaven and on earth. This process is of a cosmic-historical
nature because Lucifer began his rebellion in heaven and then spread it
to this world (Rev. 12:7–9).
During this week we will consider the end-time judgment process
with its three main phases: the pre-Advent judgment, the millennial
judgment, and the executive judgment. The whole process ends with
the vindication of the righteous and the second death of the wicked.
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Mind Cure,” pp. 241–259,
in The Ministry of Healing; “True and False Theories Contrasted,” pp.
7–16, in The Sanctified Life.
“The great controversy is nearing its end. Every report of calamity
by sea or land is a testimony to the fact that the end of all things is at
hand. Wars and rumors of wars declare it. Is there a Christian whose
pulse does not beat with quickened action as he anticipates the great
events opening before us? The Lord is coming. We hear the footsteps of
an approaching God.”—Ellen G. White, Maranatha, p. 220.
“Live the life of faith day by day. Do not become anxious and dis-
tressed about the time of trouble, and thus have a time of trouble before-
hand. Do not keep thinking, ‘I am afraid I shall not stand in the great
testing day.’ You are to live for the present, for this day only. Tomorrow
is not yours. Today you are to maintain the victory over self. Today you
are to live a life of prayer. Today you are to fight the good fight of faith.
Today you are to believe that God blesses you. And as you gain the vic-
tory over darkness and unbelief, you will meet the requirements of the
Master, and will become a blessing to those around you.”—Ellen G.
White, “The Light of the World,” Signs of the Times, October 20, 1887.
“The Lord is soon to come, and we must be prepared to meet Him in
peace. Let us be determined to do all in our power to impart light to those
around us. We are not to be sad, but cheerful, and we are to keep the Lord
Jesus ever before us. . . . We must be ready and waiting for His appearing.
Oh, how glorious it will be to see Him, and be welcomed as His redeemed
ones! Long have we waited, but our faith is not to become weak. If we can
but see the King in His beauty, we shall be forever and forever blessed. I
feel as if I must cry aloud, ‘Homeward bound.’ We are nearing the time
when Christ will come with power and great glory, to take His ransomed
ones to their eternal home.”—Ellen G. White, Heaven, pp. 165, 166.
Discussion Questions:
Ê How can the notion of the person—body, soul, and spirit as an
indivisible whole—help us better understand the all-encompassing
scope of religion and the importance of our personal lifestyle?
Ë All true revivals and reformations are theocentric (centered in
God) and never anthropocentric (centered in human behavior).
How does the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (see
Luke 18:9–14) illustrate this principle?
Ì In class, discuss your answer to Thursday’s final question. How
can you know if you are ready, and can you have assurance with-
out being presumptuous?
Ready for His Appearing
We live in a frenetic world with too many artificial needs and eye-
catching distractions. If we are not careful, these can take all our time
and pervert our priorities. This is not just another by-product of our glo-
balized cyber world; Christians in every age, to one degree or another,
have to be on guard against Satan’s attempts to distract them from what
really matters in this life.
Who, if not careful, is not in danger of looking away from the Lord
and dwelling on worldly, carnal things, things that, in the end, cannot
ultimately satisfy us, and that, in the end, can lead to our spiritual ruin?
Read 2 Peter 3:14 and 1 John 3:1–3. What difference do you see
between preparing ourselves for the Second Coming and being
ready for that glorious event?
Often the notion of an ongoing preparation for the Second Coming
becomes an excuse for procrastination. This notion can easily lead one
to relax under the evil servant’s assumption, “ ‘ “My master is delaying
his coming” ’ ” (Matt. 24:48, NKJV).
Read Psalm 95:7, 8; Hebrews 3:7, 8, 15; and Hebrews 4:7. What are
these verses saying to us about being ready right now?
From the biblical perspective, the time of salvation is always “today”
and never tomorrow (see Ps. 95:7, 8; Heb. 3:7, 8, 15; Heb. 4:7). And
further: unless a major conversion experience takes place, we will
continue to be what we are right now. Time itself does not convert the
unconverted. If anything, unless one is continually growing in grace,
and pressing on ahead in faith, the tendency would be to fall away, to
become hardened, skeptical, cynical, even disbelieving.
From this perspective we can say that every single day of our life is our
life in miniature. So, by God’s grace, we should plan for the future but
should live each day ready for the return of Jesus—especially because,
given the contingencies of this life, today could be our last day.
How can you, today, be ready for the return of Jesus were He to
return today? Discuss your answer in class on Sabbath.
The Guidance of the Spirit
The Holy Spirit is God’s powerful Agent who pours out the love of
God into our hearts (Rom. 5:5), leads us into a true saving experience
(John 16:7–11), guides us into all the truth (John 16:13), and empow-
ers us to fulfill the gospel mission (Acts 1:8). Because it is the Holy
Spirit who counteracts the degenerating work of Satan, it is no surprise
that Satan tries by all means to distort our understanding of the nature
and work of the Holy Spirit. While some deny His personality, others
emphasize the gifts of the Spirit over His transforming power.
Read Acts 8:4–24. Simon the sorcerer of Samaria wanted to receive
the gifts of the Holy Spirit without being regenerated by the Spirit.
How is this very same attitude still being manifested in our day?
The children of God are those who are being guided by the Holy
Spirit (Rom. 8:14) into all the truth of God’s Word (John 16:13,
John 17:17). Jesus warned in clear terms, “ ‘Not everyone who says
to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the
one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say
to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name
and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many
miracles?” Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away
from me, you evildoers!” ’ ” (Matt. 7:21–23, NIV). This means that
the Holy Spirit never guides anyone away from God’s Word—which
He Himself inspired—but rather always leads us into conformity to
that Word.
The same Holy Spirit that guides us into all the truth also empow-
ers us in leading others into that wonderful truth (Matt. 28:18–20,
Acts 1:8). While fulfilling our sacred mission, we have His special
assistance. So, morning by morning, we must kneel before the Lord
and renew our vows of consecration to Him. If we do this, He will
grant us the presence of His Spirit, with His reviving, sanctifying
power.
We must, however, be open to His leading by making conscious
choices, every day, to do what we know is right and avoid what we
know is wrong. That is, only by seeking, in our God-given strength, to
live as we should will we be open to receiving that power of the Holy
Spirit in our lives, which God promises us.
Why is it so important, morning after morning, to pray ourselves
into an openness to the Holy Spirit’s leading in our lives?
The Mind of Christ
Some people believe that by changing the environment the individual
will be transformed. Definitely, we should avoid places and circum-
stances that can make us more vulnerable to temptation (Ps. 1:1, Prov.
5:1–8). But our problem with temptation and sin can be solved only
by the transformation of our own hearts (or minds). Christ touched the
core of the issue when He stated, “ ‘For it is from within, out of a per-
son’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder,
adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and
folly’ ” (Mark 7:21, 22, NIV). This means that our minds need to be
transformed in order for our behavior to be changed.
Read the following texts: 1 Corinthians 2:16; Psalm 24:3, 4; Romans
12:2; Philippians 4:8; and Colossians 3:2. What does it mean to
have the “mind of Christ”?
The Lord had promised that under the “ ‘new covenant’ ” He would
put His law in the minds of His people and write it on their hearts
(Jer. 31:31–33, compare with Heb. 8:8–10, Heb. 10:16). It is no
surprise, then, that in the Sermon on the Mount, Christ broadened
and deepened the meaning of God’s commandments to the level of
thoughts and intentions (see Matt. 5:17–48). So, we can gain victory
over temptation only by God’s transforming grace and, at the level of
thoughts and intentions, we should claim that promise to stop sinful
thoughts.
We will always have sinful natures until Jesus comes. But if we are in
Christ, we are fully covered by His righteousness. Although we are not
yet perfect, we are considered already perfect in Him (Phil. 3:12–15).
“When we are united to Christ, we have the mind of Christ. Purity and
love shine forth in the character, meekness and truth control the life.
The very expression of the countenance is changed. Christ abiding in
the soul exerts a transforming power, and the outward aspect bears wit-
ness to the peace and joy that reign within.”—Ellen G. White, Selected
Messages, book 1, p. 337.
Only by a daily surrender, a daily death to self, a daily determined
effort, by faith, to be obedient to Jesus can we have this kind of trans-
formation in our lives.
Imagine what your life would be like if you could stop even sin-
ful thoughts. How different would your life be? What is the only
potential way to have this become your experience?
The Body as a Temple
The dualistic theory of a mortal body with an immortal soul has gen-
erated various theories about the human body. For example, for ancient
Greek philosophers, the human body was the prison of the soul, which
was liberated by death. In an echo of this pagan concept, many Christians
today believe that the body is the temporal housing of the immortal soul,
which will be reintegrated with the body at the resurrection. By contrast,
pantheists make the human body divine; they believe that God and the
universe are one and the same. For them, all things are God and the
human body is part of the one single, integrated, and universal divine
substance. Surrounded by conflicting theories on the subject, we must
stand firm on what the Bible teaches regarding the nature of humanity.
Read 1 Corinthians 3:16, 17; 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20; and 1 Corinthians
10:31. How can the understanding that our bodies are “the temple
of God” and “the temple of the Holy Spirit” positively influence
our lifestyle?
Both Adam and Eve were created in God’s own image and likeness
(Gen. 1:26, 27), which was reflected not only in their character but also
in their physical aspect. Because that image was marred and even hid-
den by the presence of sin, the work of redemption is to restore human
beings, including their physical health, to their original condition, to the
degree possible for beings unable to partake of the tree of life.
This restoration is a lifetime process that will be completed only at
Christ’s second coming, when the corruptible puts on incorruption and
the mortal becomes immortal (1 Cor. 15:53, 54).
The apostle John wrote to his friend Gaius, “Beloved, I pray that all
may go well with you and that you may be in good health, just as it is
well with your soul” (3 John 1:2, NRSV).
If we recognize that a human being is an indivisible entity, and that
religion embraces all aspects of human life, then we should consider the
protection of our physical health also to be a religious duty. We should be
guided by the inspired principle “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever
you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31, NKJV). But remember
that we still live in a world where good people can do their best and yet
suffer the consequences of a sinful human nature and a sinful environ-
ment. So, we should trust in God and do our best, and we leave the results
with God.
The Model of Jesus
Read Luke 2:52. What four dimensions of Jesus’ growth are men-
tioned in this passage?
Jesus was the perfect Human Being, and His growth comprised all
basic dimensions of human existence. According to Luke 2:52, “Jesus
grew in wisdom [mentally] and stature [physically], and in favor with
God [spiritually] and man [socially]” (NIV). “His mind was active and
penetrating, with a thoughtfulness and wisdom beyond His years. Yet,
His character was beautiful in its symmetry. The powers of mind and
body developed gradually, in keeping with the laws of childhood. As a
child, Jesus manifested a peculiar loveliness of disposition. His willing
hands were ever ready to serve others. He manifested a patience that
nothing could disturb, and a truthfulness that would never sacrifice
integrity. In principle firm as a rock, His life revealed the grace of
unselfish courtesy.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 68, 69.
Read Matthew 4:23. How can the threefold ministry of Jesus—to
teach, to preach, and to heal—be carried on by us effectively today?
If we recognize that a human being is an integrated and indivisible
person, then we cannot restrict our religion to spiritual matters only.
The truth actually embraces our whole being, covers our entire life span,
and comprises all dimensions of our life. Our physical and spiritual ele-
ments are so powerfully integrated that they really cannot be separated.
And though, as fallen beings, we will never be equal to the depiction of
Jesus as presented above, we are by God’s grace to emulate it because
“to restore in man the image of his Maker, to bring him back to the per-
fection in which he was created, to promote the development of body,
mind, and soul” (Ellen G. White, Education, pp. 15, 16) is the work of
redemption. This is what God seeks to do in His people as part of the
process to prepare them for His return.
In contrasting ourselves to Jesus, we could easily be discouraged
by the difference. How, then, does focusing on the Cross and what
it means protect us from being disheartened by what we see in
ourselves as compared to what we see in Jesus?
Read for This Week’s Study: Luke 2:52; Matt. 4:23; 1 Cor.
6:19, 20; Ps. 24:3, 4; Acts 8:4–24; 1 John 3:1–3.
Memory Text: “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you
completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved
blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians
5:23, NKJV).
The book of Revelation speaks of two major “globalizations” prior
to the second coming of Christ. Revelation 13 describes the glo-
balization of error, when “all the world” will marvel and follow
the beast from the sea (Rev. 13:3, 7, 8, 12, 16, NKJV). Revelation 14
highlights the globalization of truth, when the “everlasting gospel” will
be preached “to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people” (Rev. 14:6, 7,
NKJV). During those “distressing times” (2 Tim. 3:1, NRSV), “every
wind of doctrine” will be blowing (Eph. 4:14, NKJV), and people will
“turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths” (2 Tim.
4:4, NRSV). “Through the two great errors, the immortality of the soul
and Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his decep-
tions. While the former lays the foundation of spiritualism, the latter
creates a bond of sympathy with Rome.”—Ellen G. White, The Great
Controversy, p. 588.
Until these final events unfold, we must remain firm in our belief in
all the truth that we have, which includes the nature of humanity and of
death, as we seek to be guided by the Holy Spirit with the purpose of
being ready for Christ’s glorious appearing.
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Dealing With False Science,
Cults, Isms, and Secret Societies,” pp. 602–609, in Evangelism; and
“Spiritism,” pp. 86–93, in Confrontation.
There exists a foundation which claims that it is creating technology
that will allow us to contact the deceased “via texts, phone calls, and
video-conferencing.” Calling the dead PMPs (postmaterial persons), its
website claims that when humans die they simply pass on “into another
phase of forever” but “retain their consciousness, identity, and core
aspects of their previous physical form.” But, most important, the folks
at the foundation claim to be developing, in three phases, technology that
will allow communication between material and postmaterial persons.
The first phase will “allow texting and typing with postmaterial
family, friends, and experts in every field of expertise.” Phase two
is supposed to “enable talking with your dear ones who are living in
another part of forever.” And the third phase, it says, will open the way
to “hearing and seeing those who are experiencing the field of all pos-
sibilities from a different observation point.”
Especially scary is how they test if the communicating dead are
really who they claim to be. “For example,” the site says, “a bereaved
parent might ask the following question of a son or a daughter who has
changed worlds: ‘Did you have a dog named Snoopy when you were a
child? Did we give you a pocketknife for your tenth birthday?’ ” How
interesting in light of this warning: “Spiritual beings sometimes appear
to persons in the form of their deceased friends, and relate incidents
connected with their lives and perform acts which they performed
while living.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 684.
Discussion Questions:
Ê Using the excuse of being culturally acceptable, many
Christians consume whatever the media promotes. Which biblical
principles should guide our relationship with the media, especially
when it openly promotes views that we know are wrong and decep-
tive (see Ps. 101:1–8, Prov. 4:23, Phil. 4:8)?
Ë How can we help others to overcome Satan’s end-time decep-
tions without being exposed to the deceiving influence of those
very same deceptions ourselves?
Ì Many Christians have seen the story of having “Samuel” sum-
moned from the grave as biblical proof that the dead live on. What
does this account teach us about why we cannot rely only on a
single text or story to build a doctrine, but, instead, we must look
at all that the Bible says about a topic?
Personations and Other Appearances
Similar to necromancy are the demonic personations of the dead
and other demonic appearances. The personations can be in the form
of a deceased family member, friend, or anyone. Both the physical
appearance and the voice are very similar to those of the deceased.
All these satanic deceptions will be used to deceive those who are not
firmly grounded in God’s Word. Ellen G. White warns, “The apostles,
as personated by these lying spirits, are made to contradict what they
wrote at the dictation of the Holy Spirit when on earth.”—The Great
Controversy, p. 557. And further, “As the crowning act in the great
drama of deception, Satan himself will personate Christ.”—The Great
Controversy, p. 624.
Read 2 Corinthians 11:14, 15 and Ephesians 6:10–18. What should be
our safeguards against such demonic deceptions?
The apostle Paul warns us that “our struggle is not against enemies
of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against
the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces
of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12, NRSV). We can be protected
against these deceptions only by being clothed with “the whole armor
of God” (Eph. 6:13, NKJV) described in Ephesians 6:13–18.
The satanic personations and appearances can be very frightening and
deceiving, but they cannot mislead those who are sheltered by God and
grounded in God’s Word. From a doctrinal perspective, those who believe
in the biblical doctrine of the conditional immortality of human beings
know that any appearance of or communication with the dead is of a satanic
origin and needs to be rejected by God’s powerful grace. Again, no mat-
ter how powerful, convincing, and seemingly real the manifestation is, we
must always stand firm on the teaching that the dead are asleep in the grave.
Imagine, though, losing a loved one and then believing that this same
loved one appears to you. And expresses love to you. And tells you how
much they miss you. And says things that, yes, only they would know.
And says that they are now in a better place. If a person is not abso-
lutely grounded in what the Bible teaches about the state of the dead,
think of how easily he or she could fall for this deception, especially
because they want to believe it, as well.
What does it mean to put on the “whole armor of God”? In a
day-to-day, practical sense, how do we do this in every area of our
lives, not just in dealing with end-time deceptions?
Necromancy and Ancestor Worship
The word “necromancy” derives from the Greek terms nekros (dead)
and manteia (divination). Practiced since ancient times, necromancy is
a form of summoning the alleged active spirits of the dead in order to
obtain knowledge, often about future events. Ancestor worship, mean-
while, is the custom of venerating deceased ancestors because they are
still considered family, and these spirits can, it is believed, influence
the affairs of the living. These pagan practices can be very attractive to
those who believe in an immortal soul and who also miss their deceased
loved ones.
Read 1 Samuel 28:3–25. What spiritual lessons against any supposed
communication with the dead can be drawn from Saul’s experience
with the woman medium at Endor?
The Bible stated very clearly that all spiritists, mediums, sorcerers,
and necromancers, in the ancient Israelite theocracy, were abomina-
tions to the Lord and should be put to death by stoning (Lev. 19:31;
Lev. 20:6, 27; Deut. 18:9–14). In accordance with this law, Saul had
destroyed all mediums and spiritists from Israel (1 Sam. 28:3, 9).
But, then, after being rejected by the Lord, Saul himself went to the
Canaanite city of Endor to inquire of a woman medium (1 Sam. 28:6,
7, 15; compare with Josh. 17:11, Ps. 83:10). He asked her to bring up
the deceased prophet Samuel, who supposedly came up in a necroman-
cer apparition and spoke with Saul (1 Sam. 28:13–19). The deceiving
spirit, who pretended to be Samuel, told Saul, “ ‘Tomorrow you and
your sons will be with me’ ” (1 Sam. 28:19, NKJV). While predicting
Saul’s death, that deceiving spirit, merely by assuming the form of
Samuel, reaffirmed the unbiblical theory of the natural immortality of
the soul. It was a powerful deception, and Saul should have known bet-
ter than to become involved with what he had previously condemned.
More than two centuries later, the prophet Isaiah wrote, “And when
they say to you, ‘Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whis-
per and mutter,’ should not a people seek their God? Should they seek
the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If
they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light
in them” (Isa. 8:19, 20, NKJV; also Isa. 19:3).
How often, under stress, do we do things that we know are
wrong? Why are faith, prayer, and obedience to the Word of God
our only sure defense against ourselves?
Reincarnation
The pagan notion of an immortal soul provides the foundation for the
unbiblical theory of reincarnation or transmigration of the soul. This
theory has been adopted by some major world religions. While most
Christians believe in the existence of an immortal soul that abides in a
permanent heaven or hell after death, those who believe in reincarna-
tion hold that such an immortal soul goes through many cycles of death
and rebirth here on earth.
For some, reincarnation is thought to be a process of spiritual evo-
lution that allows the spirit to attain ever greater levels of knowledge
and morality in its journey toward perfection. Hindus believe that the
eternal soul goes through a progression of consciousness or “sam-
sara” in six classes of life: aquatics, plants, reptiles and insects, birds,
animals, and human beings, including the residents of heaven.
Read Hebrews 9:25–28 and 1 Peter 3:18. If Jesus died just “once”
(Heb. 9:28, 1 Pet. 3:18, NKJV) and likewise all human beings die
just “once” (Heb. 9:27, NKJV), why do even some alleged Christians
believe in some form of reincarnation?
Many people believe not in what they should believe but in what they
want to believe. If a theory brings them existential peace and comfort,
that is enough to settle the discussion for them. But for those who take
the Bible seriously, there is no way to accept the theory of reincarna-
tion.
First, this theory contradicts the biblical teachings of the mortality of
the “soul” and the resurrection of the body (1 Thess. 4:13–18).
Second, it negates the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith in
the redemptive work of Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:8–10) and replaces it with
human works.
Third, the theory contradicts the biblical teaching that one’s eternal
destiny is decided forever by one’s decisions in this life (Matt. 22:1–14,
Matt. 25:31–46).
Fourth, this theory downplays the meaning and relevance of Christ’s
second coming (John 14:1–3).
And fifth, the theory proposes after-death opportunities for someone
still to overcome his or her own life’s pitfalls, which is unbiblical (Heb.
9:27).
In short, there is no place for the idea of reincarnation in the
Christian faith.
Near-Death Experiences
Some of the most popular modern arguments to “prove” the theory of
the natural immortality of the soul are “near-death experiences.” In his
book Life After Life: The Investigation of a Phenomenon—Survival of
Bodily Death (Atlanta, GA: Mockingbird, 1975), Raymond A. Moody,
Jr., presented the results of his five-year study of more than one hun-
dred people who experienced “clinical death” and were revived. These
individuals claimed to have seen a loving and warm being of light
before coming back to life. This has been regarded as “exciting evi-
dence of the survival of the human spirit beyond death” (back cover).
Over the years, many other similar books have been published, promot-
ing the same idea. (See lesson 2.)
Read the resurrection accounts of 1 Kings 17:22–24, 2 Kings 4:34–37,
Mark 5:41–43, Luke 7:14–17, and John 11:40–44. How many of
them talk about any kind of conscious existence while the resur-
rected ones were dead, and why is that answer important?
All near-death experiences reported in modern literature are of people
considered clinically dead, but not really dead, in contrast to Lazarus, who
was dead for four days and whose corpse was rotting (John 11:39). Neither
Lazarus nor any of those raised from the dead in biblical times ever men-
tioned any afterlife experience, whether in Paradise, in purgatory, or in hell.
This is, indeed, an argument from silence, but it is in full agreement with
the biblical teachings on the unconscious state of the dead!
But what about the near-death experiences so commonly recounted
today? If we accept the biblical teaching of the unconsciousness of the dead
(Job 3:11–13, Ps. 115:17, Ps. 146:4, Eccles. 9:10), then we are left with
two main possibilities: either it is a natural psychochemical hallucination
under extreme conditions, or it can be a supernatural, satanic, deceptive
experience (2 Cor. 11:14). Satanic deception could indeed be the explana-
tion, especially because in some cases, these people claim to have talked to
their dead relatives! But it could be a combination of both factors.
With this deception prevalent, and so convincing to many, it is cru-
cial that we stick firmly to the teaching of the Word of God, despite
whatever experiences we or others might have that go against what the
Bible teaches.
How fascinating that NDEs often now come with the imprimatur
of “science.” What does this teach us about how careful we need
to be even of things that science supposedly “proves”?
Mysticism
Our world has been flooded by the strong waves of mysticism. The
word “mysticism” is a complex term that encapsulates a huge variety
of ideas. From a religious perspective, the word implies the union of
the individual with the Divine or Absolute in some kind of spiritual
experience or trance. This characterizes the worship experience even
of certain churches. The phenomena can vary in form and intensity,
but the tendency always is to replace the authority of the Written
Word of God with one’s own subjective experiences. In any case, the
Bible loses much of its doctrinal function, and the Christian remains
vulnerable to his or her own experiences. This kind of subjective reli-
gion does not provide a safeguard against any deception, especially
end-time ones.
Read Matthew 7:21–27. In light of Jesus’ own words, what does it
mean to build our spiritual house “on the rock” or to build it “on
the sand”?
There is a strong tendency in the postmodern Christian world to
downplay the relevance of biblical doctrines, regarding them as tedious
echoes of an obsolete form of religion. In this process, the teachings
of Christ are artificially replaced by the person of Christ—arguing, for
instance, that some biblical story or another cannot be true because
Jesus, as they perceive Him, would never have allowed that to happen
as it is written. Personal feelings and taste end up being the criteria for
interpreting the Scriptures or even for rejecting outright what the Bible
clearly teaches, often about obedience to God, which as Jesus said is so
essential to building one’s house on the rock.
Those who think that it matters not what they believe in doctrine,
so long as they believe in Jesus Christ, are on dangerous ground.
The Roman inquisitors who condemned to death untold numbers of
Protestants believed in Jesus Christ. Those who had “cast out demons”
in Christ’s name (Matt. 7:22, NKJV) had believed in Him. “The posi-
tion that it is of no consequence what men believe is one of Satan’s
most successful deceptions. He knows that the truth, received in the
love of it, sanctifies the soul of the receiver; therefore he is constantly
seeking to substitute false theories, fables, another gospel.”—Ellen G.
White, The Great Controversy, p. 520.
How can we fight the very human tendency to let our emotions
and desires cause us to do things contrary to the Word of God?
Read for This Week’s Study: Matt. 7:21–27, John 11:40–44,
1 Pet. 3:18, 1 Sam. 28:3–25, Eph. 6:10–18.
Memory Text: “And no wonder! Even Satan disguises himself as
an angel of light. So it is not strange if his ministers also disguise
themselves as ministers of righteousness. Their end will match their
deeds” (2 Corinthians 11:14, 15, NRSV).
Our contemporary world has become a melting pot of the super-
natural and the mystical, helped on by Hollywood, which has no
problem making movies with religious and mystical themes in
a hodgepodge of error and deception. The old lie “ ‘You surely will not
die!’ ” (Gen. 3:4, NASB) also has inspired some of the most-read books
and most-watched movies of the past few decades, and many popular
video games, as well. Undeniably, we are exposed to and tempted by
the enchanted ground of Satan, which can appear in myriad forms and
even, in some cases, can come hidden under the veneer of science.
One of the most deceptive phenomena has been what have been
called “near death” experiences (NDEs), where those who had “died”
have come back to life with stories of an afterlife. Many people have
seen these events as proof of an immortal soul!
During this week, we will consider some end-time deceptions, includ-
ing mysticism, near-death experiences, reincarnation, necromancy and
ancestor worship, and others. These are dangerous subjects that we
should be aware of but without exposing ourselves to their influences.
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “The First Great Deception,”
pp. 531–550; “Can Our Dead Speak to Us?” pp. 551–562, in The Great
Controversy.
“Upon the fundamental error of natural immortality rests the doctrine
of consciousness in death—a doctrine, like eternal torment, opposed to
the teachings of the Scriptures, to the dictates of reason, and to our feel-
ings of humanity. According to the popular belief, the redeemed in heaven
are acquainted with all that takes place on the earth and especially with
the lives of the friends whom they have left behind. But how could it
be a source of happiness to the dead to know the troubles of the living,
to witness the sins committed by their own loved ones, and to see them
enduring all the sorrows, disappointments, and anguish of life? How much
of heaven’s bliss would be enjoyed by those who were hovering over their
friends on earth? And how utterly revolting is the belief that as soon as the
breath leaves the body the soul of the impenitent is consigned to the flames
of hell! To what depths of anguish must those be plunged who see their
friends passing to the grave unprepared, to enter upon an eternity of woe
and sin!”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 545.
Discussion Questions:
Ê Those who have talked to other Christians about the state of the
dead and the nature of hell have, most likely, discovered just how ada-
mant and firm people are in their belief, not only in the idea that the
saved immediately go to heaven but also that the lost are in the eternal
torment of hell. Why do you think that is? It’s one thing, understand-
able somewhat, for them to want to believe that their deceased loved
ones are “with the Lord” (though, as we have seen, there’s still the
question of how upsetting it would be for them to see the mess of things
down here). But why is there such a strong attachment to the horrific
idea that the lost are being eternally tormented in hell? What does this
fact teach us about just how powerful tradition can be? Discuss this in
class.
Ë Most Christian denominations are proclaiming the unbiblical
theory of the natural immortality of the soul with all its correlated
theories. What else should we do as a church (in addition to what
we are already doing) to proclaim to the world the biblical view of
death and the afterlife?
Ì Though Dante’s poem The Divine Comedy was mere fiction, it
became very influential in helping cement in people’s minds false
teachings about what happens to the “soul” after death. What lessons
can we learn from how easily Christian theology can be influenced by
outside teachings? What other non-Christian ideas influence Christian
thought even today, and how can we protect ourselves from them?
The Biblical View
Read 1 John 5:3–12. Why does the apostle John limit “eternal life”
only to those who are in Christ?
The biblical doctrine of conditional immortality of the human
being—in contrast to the nonbiblical theory of the natural immortality
of the soul—is made explicit in 1 John 5:11, 12. To grasp the meaning
of this significant passage, we have to remember that only the Godhead
“has immortality” (1 Tim. 6:15, 16, NKJV) and is the only Source of life
(Ps. 36:9, Col. 1:15–17, Heb. 1:2).
When sin entered the world through the fall of Adam and Eve
(Genesis 3), they and all their descendants (including us) came under
the curse of physical death and lost the gift of eternal life. But our lov-
ing God implemented the plan of salvation for human beings to regain
eternal life, the life that was to have been theirs from the start. As Paul
wrote: “Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love” (Eph.
1:4, NKJV; emphasis supplied).
The apostle Paul explains that “just as through one man [Adam] sin
entered the world, and death through sin,” so through “the one Man, Jesus
Christ,” the gracious gift of eternal life became available to all human
beings (Rom. 5:12–21, NKJV). Paul here is making an unambiguous ref-
erence to a literal Adam who brought sin and death into this world. One
cannot make sense of anything in the Bible without a literal Adam who,
through transgression, brought sin and death into our world.
Thus, the apostle John adds, “God gave us eternal life, and this life
is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the
Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:11, 12, NRSV).
The whole picture becomes clearer in light of Jesus’ statements:
“ ‘Everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have
eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day’ ” (John 6:40,
NIV), and “ ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in
me, even though they die, will live’ ” (John 11:25, NRSV).
This means that eternal life is a gift of God through Christ, which is
secured in the present but fully enjoyed only after the final resurrection
of the righteous. The conclusion is very simple: if everlasting life is
granted only to those who are in Christ, then those who are not in Him
do not have everlasting life (1 John 5:11, 12). By contrast, the theory
of the natural immortality of the soul grants everlasting life—whether
in Paradise or in hell—to all human beings, even to those who are not
in Christ. However popular this teaching, it is not biblical.
A Paradise With Disembodied Souls
Though Protestants don’t accept purgatory, many nevertheless
believe that the souls of the righteous dead are already enjoying
Paradise in the very presence of God. Some argue that those “souls” are
just disembodied spirits; others believe they are disembodied spirits but
covered by a spiritual body of glory.
Whatever the supposed metaphysical state of the living dead, these
theories undermine the biblical doctrine of the final resurrection and
judgment of the dead. Why is there a resurrection and a judgment (Rev.
20:12–14) if the souls of the righteous are already enjoying Paradise?
Read Acts 2:29, 34, 35 and 1 Corinthians 15:16–18. How do these passages
shed light on the state of the dead and those awaiting resurrection?
The Bible teaches that all human beings who are already in heaven
were either translated alive, as in the case of Enoch (Gen. 5:24) and
Elijah (2 Kings 2:9–11), or resurrected from the dead, as Moses (Jude
9) and those raised with Christ (Matt. 27:51–53).
As we have already seen, the allusion to the souls “under the altar”
crying to God for vengeance (Rev. 6:9–11) is just a metaphor for jus-
tice and does not prove the theory of the natural immortality of the
soul. Otherwise, these folks hardly sound as if they’re enjoying their
eternal reward. In reality, the grave is a place of rest for the dead, who
are unconsciously awaiting the final resurrection, when their conscious
existence will be restored. The dead, even the righteous dead, are not
disembodied souls drifting around heaven, waiting patiently to be
reunited with their bodies at the final resurrection.
Also, what could Paul possibly be talking about in 1 Corinthians
15:18 when he says that if there were no resurrection of the dead, then
“those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished” (NKJV)? How
could they have perished if they are already in the bliss of heaven and
have been there for however long since they died? A central and key
doctrine of the New Testament, the resurrection of the dead when Christ
returns, is made null and void by the false teaching that the righteous
dead soar off to their eternal reward right after they die. Nevertheless,
we hear it all the time, especially at funerals.
What are ways in which you could help people understand that
the idea that the dead are asleep in the ground is really “good
news,” in the sense that they truly are at rest and know no pain
and suffering?
The Saints in Purgatory
The Roman Catholic Church holds that the dead who do not deserve
hell but who are not yet ready for Paradise can have their sins purged
in purgatory and then ascend from there to Paradise. Their sufferings
in purgatory can be reduced by the prayers and penances of loved ones.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church is explicit about purgatory: “All
who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are
indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo
purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of
heaven.”—Catechism of the Catholic Church (New York: Doubleday,
1995), p. 291. It states, too, that their suffering can be alleviated by the
prayers of their loved ones, as well as by other acts on behalf of the dead.
“The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of
penance undertaken on behalf of the dead.”—Catechism of the Catholic
Church, p. 291.
Read Ecclesiastes 9:10, Ezekiel 18:20–22, and Hebrews 9:27. How do
these passages refute the theory of purgatory?
The dogma of purgatory combines the pagan notion of a burning hell
with the pagan practice of praying for the dead. This dogma is unaccept-
able for those who believe in the biblical teachings (1) that the dead remain
resting unconsciously in their graves (Eccles. 9:10); (2) that the righteous-
ness of one fallen human being cannot be transferred to another fallen
human being (Ezek. 18:20–22); (3) that our only Mediator is Jesus Christ
(1 Tim. 2:5); and (4) that death is followed by the final judgment, without
any second chance to repent from the pitfalls of this life (Heb. 9:27).
An even more serious implication is how the antibiblical theory of
purgatory distorts God’s own character. Indeed, “Satan’s work since his
fall is to misinterpret our heavenly Father. He suggested the dogma of
the immortality of the soul. . . . The idea of an eternally burning hell
was the production of Satan; purgatory is his invention. These teach-
ings falsify the character of God, that He shall be regarded as severe,
revengeful, arbitrary, and not exercising forgiveness.”—Ellen G. White,
Manuscript 51, 1890. Instead of the dead asleep, awaiting Christ’s
return, this view says they’re in purgatory, suffering there until some-
one manages to get them out.
What do such errors as purgatory or eternal torment teach us
about the importance of doctrine? Why is what we believe of
importance, and not just in whom we believe?
The Fires of Hell
In his booklet for children titled, The Sight of Hell (Dublin: James
Duffy, [1874]), English Roman Catholic priest John Furniss (1809–1865)
illustrates the eternal torment by means of a great solid-iron ball, larger
than the heavens and the earth. “A bird comes once in a hundred mil-
lions [sic] of years and just touches the great iron ball with a feather of its
wing.”—Page 24. Furniss argues that the burning of sinners in hell continues
even after that iron ball is worn away by such occasional feather touches!
The sad thing is, many Protestants even today believe in something
similar for the lost.
Read Malachi 4:1 and Jude 7. How can these passages help us bet-
ter understand the notion of “eternal fire” or the idea, as Jesus
expressed it, that the lost will be in “ ‘everlasting fire’ ” (Matt. 18:8)
or in a “ ‘fire that shall never be quenched’ ”? (Mark 9:43, NKJV).
The word “eternal” (Hebrew ‘olam; Greek aion, aionios) carries differ-
ent meanings, depending on the immediate context. For example, when
associated with God (Deut. 33:27, “everlasting”), the word expresses
His eternity. When related to human beings (Exod. 21:6, “forever”), the
word is limited by their life span. When qualifying fire (Matt. 18:8, Matt.
25:41, “everlasting”), it implies that the fire will not go out until it fully
consumes what is being burned. This means that the “eternal fire” will
be eternal in the sense that it will consume the wicked completely and
irreversibly, leaving them “ ‘neither root nor branch’ ” (Mal. 4:1, NKJV).
The theory of an everlasting punishment of the wicked has serious
implications. If the wicked are punished forever, then evil will never
be eradicated. Also, all human life derives from God (Deut. 32:39, Ps.
36:9), who has “ ‘ “no pleasure in the death of the wicked” ’ ” (Ezek.
33:11, NKJV). Why then would He continue to grant life to the wicked
to suffer in endless torment? Would it not be much more reasonable for
Him just to end their existence? If the wicked will be punished “accord-
ing to their works” (Rev. 20:12, NKJV), why then should a short human
life be punished endlessly?
All Bible references to the “eternal fire” should be seen as allusions
to the postmillennium “lake of fire” of Revelation 20 (see lesson 13).
Thus, it is unbiblical to speak of an already-present, ever-burning hell.
As unfortunate as the fires of hell are, what does the truth about
hell reveal to us about God’s love, especially in contrast to the
idea of eternal torment?
Immortal Worms?
Compare Mark 9:42–48 with Isaiah 66:24. How do you understand
the expression “their worm does not die” (Mark 9:48, NKJV)?
Some interpret the singular noun “worm” (Mark 9:48) as an allusion
to the supposed disembodied soul or spirit of the wicked that, after
death, flies into hell, where it never dies and suffers eternal torment.
But this interpretation does not reflect the biblical notion of uncon-
scious death; it also ignores the Old Testament background of this
passage. Actually, “the singular ‘the worm’ is used generically for ‘the
worms’—it does not mean a single worm. The reference is to worms
which feed upon decaying bodies.”—Robert G. Bratcher and Eugene
A. Nida, A Translator’s Handbook on the Gospel of Mark (London:
United Bible Societies, 1961), p. 304.
In Mark 9:48, Jesus is quoting Isaiah 66:24, which reads, “ ‘And they
will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against
me; the worms that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will
not be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind’ ” (NIV).
This frightening metaphorical scene portrays a battlefield with God’s
enemies dead on the ground and being destroyed. The bodies not con-
sumed by fire are decomposed by worms, or perhaps first by worms
and then by fire. Either way, there is no reference whatsoever to any
alleged soul escaping the destruction of the body and flying into hell.
But what about the “worms” that never die? The metaphoric language
of Isaiah 66:24 (quoted in Mark 9:48) does not imply that those worms
are immortal. (Immortal worms?) The emphasis is on the fact that the
worms do not leave their destructive task incomplete. In other words,
they continue to devour the bodies of the wicked until these bodies are
destroyed. By contrast, God’s faithful children will joyfully abide in
“ ‘the new heavens and the new earth’ ” and worship God in His very
presence (Isa. 66:22, 23, NIV). With such contrasting destinies in mind,
no wonder Jesus stated that it would be far better for someone to enter
the kingdom of God without a crucial part of his or her body—without
a hand, or foot, or even an eye—than to have a perfect body that will
be destroyed by worms and fire (Mark 9:42–48).
In the end, we are either totally saved or totally lost. There is no
middle ground. We can have either eternal life or will face eter-
nal destruction. What choices do you have to make today? How
should this reality—eternal life or eternal destruction—impact
those choices?
Read for This Week’s Study: Mark 9:42–48; Mal. 4:1; Jude
7; 1 Tim. 2:5; Acts 2:29, 34, 35; 1 John 5:3–12.
Memory Text: “Test all things; hold fast what is good” (1 Thessalonians
5:21, NKJV).
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. The basic notion of an immortal soul’s going either to hell,
or to purgatory, or to Paradise is foundational to that church. Many
conservative Protestant denominations also believe in an immortal soul
that after death ascends either to Paradise or descends to hell. Indeed, if
the human soul never dies, then it has to go somewhere after the body
dies. In short, a false understanding of human nature has led to terrible
theological errors.
This week we will deal with some of these unbiblical theories, as well
as with the biblical view of what happens after death.
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “ ‘A Great Gulf Fixed,’ ”
pp. 260–271, in Christ’s Object Lessons; “Calvary,” pp. 749–752, in
The Desire of Ages; and “Teachers as Examples of Christian Integrity,”
p. 504, in Fundamentals of Christian Education.
“In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Christ shows that in
this life men decide their eternal destiny. During probationary time the
grace of God is offered to every soul. But if men waste their oppor-
tunities in self-pleasing, they cut themselves off from everlasting life.
No afterprobation will be granted them. By their own choice they have
fixed an impassable gulf between them and their God.”—Ellen G.
White, Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 260.
“When those early Christians were exiled to mountains and deserts,
when left in dungeons to die with hunger, cold, and torture, when
martyrdom seemed the only way out of their distress, they rejoiced that
they were counted worthy to suffer for Christ, who was crucified for
them. Their worthy example will be a comfort and encouragement to
the people of God who will be brought into the time of trouble such as
never was.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 213.
Discussion Questions:
Ê How can the overall biblical view of human nature help us bet-
ter understand some of the passages we studied during this week?
Ë Reflect on the contrast between the unnegotiable religion of
the Christian martyrs and the flexible religion of our postmodern
generation. In other words, what are things worth dying for?
However, if one has a view that all truths are merely relative, or
cultural, then why die for any of them? At the same time, what
can we learn from those who were willing to die for causes that we
believe are false?
Ì Dwell more on the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. When
Jesus had been raised from the dead, many believed on Him. Yet,
many, having the same evidence, didn’t believe. What does this
teach us about how hardened human hearts can be to truth? What
can we do to protect ourselves from a similar kind of hardness?
Í Jesus talked about the time when the dead will live: “ ‘those
who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who
have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation’ ” (John 5:29,
NKJV). These two events are a thousand years apart, even though
they sound as if they are happening at the same time. How might
this help us understand what Paul is saying in Philippians 1:23?
The Souls Under the Altar
Read Revelation 6:9–11. How can the “souls” of the dead martyrs cry
“under the altar”?
The opening of the fifth Apocalyptic seal reveals an unusual scene.
The souls of the martyrs were seen metaphorically “under the altar”
crying to God for vengeance (Rev. 6:9–11). Some commentators are
inclined to identify this “altar” as the altar of incense mentioned under
the seventh seal (Rev. 8:1–6). But the reference to “blood” (instead of
“incense”) in Revelation 6:9–11 leads us to see here an allusion to the
altar of burnt offering, where the blood of the sacrifices was poured (Lev.
4:18, 30, 34). As the blood of those sacrifices was sprinkled around the
altar, so the blood of the martyrs was symbolically poured at God’s altar
when, by remaining faithful to the Word of God and the testimony of
Jesus (Rev. 6:9; see also Rev. 12:17, Rev. 14:12), they lost their lives.
The “souls” under the altar also are symbolic. By taking them liter-
ally, one would have to conclude that the martyrs are not fully happy in
heaven, for they are still crying out for vengeance. This hardly sounds
as if they are enjoying the reward of salvation. The desire for vengeance
can make your life miserable. But your death, as well?
Also, it’s important to remember that John was not given a view of heaven
as it actually is. “There are no white, red, black, or pale horses there with war-
like riders. Jesus does not appear there in the form of a lamb with a bleeding
knife wound. The four beasts do not represent actual winged creatures of the
animal characteristics noted. . . . Likewise, there are no ‘souls’ lying at the
base of an altar in heaven. The whole scene was a pictorial and symbolic
representation.”—The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 778.
George E. Ladd, a non-Adventist, wrote (again sounding like an
Adventist): “In the present instance [Rev. 6:9–11], the altar is clearly
the altar of sacrifice where sacrificial blood was poured. The fact that
John saw the souls of the martyrs under the altar has nothing to do
with the state of the dead or their situation in the intermediate state; it
is merely a vivid way of picturing the fact that they had been martyred
in the name of their God.”—A Commentary on the Revelation of John
(Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1972), p. 103.
Who (especially of those who have been victims of injustice)
hasn’t cried out for justice, which has not yet come? Why must
we, by faith, trust that ultimately the justice so lacking in this
world will nevertheless come? What comfort can you draw from
this wonderful promise?
Preaching to the Spirits in Prison
Read 1 Peter 3:13–20. How did Christ preach “to the spirits in prison
. . . in the days of Noah”? (See also Gen. 4:10.)
Commentators who believe in the natural immortality of the soul
usually point out that Christ preached “to the spirits in prison” (1 Pet.
3:19, NKJV) while He was still resting in the tomb. For them, His dis-
incarnated spirit went into hell and preached to the disembodied spirits
of the antediluvians.
Yet, this fanciful notion is biblically unacceptable because there is
no second opportunity of salvation for the dead (Heb. 9:27, 28). So,
why would Jesus preach to those who had no more chance of salvation?
Meanwhile, and most important, this theory contradicts the bibli-
cal teaching that the dead remain unconscious in the grave until the
final resurrection (Job 14:10–12; Ps. 146:4; Eccles. 9:5, 10; 1 Cor.
15:16–18; 1 Thess. 4:13–15).
Also, if this verse were really saying that Jesus, while bodily in
the tomb, went down to hell and preached to the wicked antediluvi-
ans, why did only they hear His message? Were no other lost people
burning in hell with them? Why did only the antediluvians hear Him
preach?
It also is senseless to suggest that Christ preached to the fallen angels
who had been disobedient in Noah’s day. While the “spirits in prison”
are described as having been disobedient “formerly” (1 Pet. 3:19, 20,
NKJV), the Bible speaks of the evil angels as still disobedient today
(Eph. 6:12, 1 Pet. 5:8). Furthermore, the fallen angels are “kept in
darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day”
(Jude 6, NIV), without any opportunity of salvation.
We should notice that in 1 Peter 3 the “spirits in prison” of verse
19 are identified in verse 20 as the “disobedient” antediluvians in the
“days of Noah.” The term spirit (Greek pneuma) is used in this text, and
elsewhere in the New Testament (1 Cor. 16:18, Gal. 6:18), in reference
to living people who can hear and accept the invitation of salvation. The
expression “in prison” obviously refers not to a literal prison, but to the
prison of sin in which the unregenerate human nature is found (Rom.
6:1–23, Rom. 7:7–25).
Christ’s preaching to the impenitent antediluvians was accomplished
through Noah, who was divinely instructed by God (Heb. 11:7) and
became a “preacher of righteousness” to his contemporaries (2 Pet.
2:5). Peter’s verses were written in the context of what it means to be
faithful; they are not a commentary on the state of the dead.
“To Depart and Be With Christ”
Read Philippians 1:21–24 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18. When did
Paul expect to be “with Christ” (Phil. 1:23) and “with the Lord”
(1 Thess. 4:17)?
Paul was driven with the passion to live “in Christ” now (2 Cor. 5:17)
and “with Christ” after His second coming (see 1 Thess. 4:17). For the
apostle, not even death could break the assurance of belonging to his
Savior and Lord. As he said in the epistle to the Romans, “neither death
nor life” can “separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus
our Lord” (Rom. 8:38, 39, NKJV). “For if we live, we live to the Lord;
and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we
are the Lord’s” (Rom. 14:8, NKJV).
With this certainty in mind, Paul spoke of the believers who already
had died as “those who sleep in Jesus” (1 Thess. 4:14, NKJV) and who
will be raised at Christ’s second coming to receive eternal life (1 Cor.
15:16–18, 1 Thess. 4:13–18).
When Paul mentioned his “desire to depart and be with Christ”
(Phil. 1:23, NKJV), did he imply that after death his soul would
depart to live consciously with Christ? Not at all. In this text, “Paul
verbalizes his desire to leave this present troubled existence and be
with Christ, without reference to any lapse of time that may occur
between the two events. This verse does not teach that Paul expected
to go to heaven at death. He was very clear that he would not receive
his reward until the Second Coming (2 Tim. 4:8).”—Andrews Study
Bible, p. 1555, note on Philippians 1:23.
In short, Paul “is saying that the next thing he would know after
departing (death) would be Christ coming in the clouds of heaven to
raise the dead, when he would ‘be with the Lord’ (1 Thess. 4:17). It
also should be noted that the Bible writers at times refer to two events
together that may be separated by a long period of time.”—Andrews
Study Bible, p. 1555, note on Philippians 1:23.
But why would Paul prefer to die than to live? Because then he could
finally rest from all his troubles, without needing any longer to suffer
pain in his body (1 Cor. 9:27, NRSV). And he would do so with the
full certainty that he would receive “the crown of righteousness” at the
Second Coming (2 Tim. 4:6–8, NKJV). Though Paul certainly didn’t
want to die, he knew what would follow when he did.
Particularly in hard times, who hasn’t thought about how nice it
would be to close your eyes in death and, the next thing you know,
“be with Christ”? How does this thought help us understand
what Paul was saying in Philippians?
“ ‘Today . . . With Me in Paradise’ ”
One of the Bible passages most widely used to try to prove the immor-
tality of the soul is Luke 23:43—“He replied, ‘Truly I tell you, today you
will be with me in Paradise’ ” (NRSV). Almost all Bible versions (with
few exceptions) translate this text in a similar way, giving the impression
that on the very day Christ died, Christ and the thief would be together
in Paradise. This should not surprise us because those translations were
made by biblical scholars who believe in the dogma of the natural
immortality of the soul. But is this the best translation of the text?
Compare Luke 23:43 with John 20:17 and John 14:1–3. How should
the promise to the repentant thief on the cross be understood in
light of Jesus’ words to Mary Magdalene and His promise to His
disciples?
The assumption that Christ and the thief went on that same day to
Paradise (or heaven) contradicts Jesus’ words to Mary Magdalene after
His resurrection, which affirm that He had not yet gone to the presence
of His Father in heaven (John 20:17). This error, that both Jesus and the
repentant thief went to heaven that day, also contradicts Jesus’ promise
to His disciples that they would be taken to heaven only at His second
coming (John 14:1–3).
The issue in Luke 23:43 is whether the adverb “today” (Greek
sēmeron) should be linked to the verb that follows it (“to be”) or to the
verb that precedes it (“to tell”). Wilson Paroschi recognizes that “from
the grammatical standpoint,” it is virtually impossible to determine the
correct alternative. “Luke, however, has a definite tendency of using this
adverb with the preceding verb. This happens in 14 of the 20 occurrences
of sēmeron in Luke and Acts.”—“The Significance of a Comma: An
Analysis of Luke 23:43,” Ministry, June 2013, p. 7.
So, the most natural reading of Luke 23:43 would be “Truly I tell
you today, you will be with Me in Paradise.” In this case, the idiomatic
expression “I tell you today” emphasizes the relevance and solemnity
of the statement “you will be with Me in Paradise.” In short, Jesus was
promising him, right then and there, that he would be saved.
Read the story of the repentant thief (Luke 23:39–43), who,
despite his sin, despite the fact that he had nothing to offer God,
was promised eternal life by Christ. How does this story power-
fully reveal the great truth of salvation by faith alone? In what
ways are we just like that thief? In what ways do we differ?
The Rich Man and Lazarus
Read Luke 16:19–31. Why is this story not a literal description of the
afterlife?
Some scholars suggest that Luke 16:19–31 should be interpreted
literally, that is, as describing the state of the dead. But this view would
lead to several unbiblical conclusions and would contradict many of the
passages that we have already looked at.
First, we would have to admit that heaven and hell are close enough
to allow a conversation between the dwellers of both places (Luke
16:23–31). We also would have to suppose that in the afterlife, while
the body lies in the grave, there remains a conscious form of the spiri
tual soul with “ ‘eyes,’ ” a “ ‘finger,’ ” a “ ‘tongue,’ ” and which even
feels thirst (Luke 16:23, 24).
If this passage were a description of the human state in death, then
heaven would certainly not be a place of joy and happiness because the
saved could closely follow the endless sufferings of their lost loved ones,
and even dialogue with them (Luke 16:23–31). How could a mother be
happy in heaven while beholding the incessant agonies of her beloved
child in hell? In such a context, it would be virtually impossible for God’s
promise of no more sorrow, crying, and pain to be fulfilled (Rev. 21:4).
Because of such incoherence, many modern biblical scholars regard
the story of the rich man and Lazarus as a parable from which not
every detail can be interpreted literally. George E. Ladd, though a non-
Adventist, certainly sounds like one here when he says that this story was
probably “a parable which made use of current Jewish thinking and is
not intended to teach anything about the state of the dead.”—G. E. Ladd,
“Eschatology,” in The New Bible Dictionary, edited by J. D. Douglas
(Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1962), p. 388.
The parable of the rich man and Lazarus presents a sharp contrast
between a well-dressed “ ‘rich man’ ” and “ ‘a certain beggar named
Lazarus, full of sores’ ” (Luke 16:19, 20, NKJV). The account teaches
that (1) status and social recognition in the present are not the criteria for
the future reward, and (2) the eternal destiny of each person is decided in
this life and cannot be reversed in the afterlife (Luke 16:25, 26).
“ ‘But he said to him, “If they do not hear Moses and the proph-
ets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the
dead” ’ ” (Luke 16:31, NKJV). What message from Jesus’ power-
ful words should we take for ourselves regarding the authority of
the Bible and how we respond to it?
Read for This Week’s Study: Luke 16:19–31, Luke 23:43,
John 20:17, Phil. 1:21–24, 1 Pet. 3:13–20, Rev. 6:9–11.
Memory Text: “ ‘You search the Scriptures for in them you think
you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me’ ” (John
5:39, NKJV).
Peter warns us: “Always be ready to give a defense to everyone
who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Pet. 3:15,
NKJV). Paul adds, “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out
of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teach-
ing. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine”
(2 Tim. 4:2, 3, NKJV). This being the case, we should look not only at
those passages that easily can be explained to fit our beliefs but also
at passages that are commonly used to teach something different from
what we believe.
As we do, we should follow the inspiring example of Jesus. “Christ
Himself did not suppress one word of truth, but He spoke it always in
love. . . . He was never rude, never needlessly spoke a severe word,
never gave needless pain to a sensitive soul. He did not censure human
weakness.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 353.
This week we will study some intriguing passages that people use
to justify the natural immortality of the soul. These reflections should
strengthen our own convictions and help us to answer kindly those who
question this crucial teaching.
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “The Thessalonian Letters,”
pp. 255–268; “Called to Reach a Higher Standard,” pp. 319–321, in The
Acts of the Apostles.
“The Romans,” writes Stephen Cave, “were well aware of the Christians’
belief that they would one day rise bodily from the grave and did every-
thing they could to mock and hinder those hopes. A report of a persecution
in Gaul in 177 ce records that the martyrs were first executed, then their
corpses left to rot unburied for six days before being burned and the ashes
thrown into the river Rhône—‘Now let us see whether they will rise again,’
the Romans are reported to have said.”—Immortality: The Quest to Live
Forever and How It Drives Civilization (New York: Crown Publishers,
2012), pp. 104, 105.
This little object lesson in theological skepticism, however dramatic,
is beside the point; it proved nothing about the biblical promise of the
resurrection. The Power who raised Jesus from the dead can do the
same for us, as well, regardless of the state of our body. After all, if that
same Power created and upholds the entire cosmos, He certainly could
translate the living and resurrect the dead.
“ ‘Even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him’
[1 Thess. 4:14], Paul wrote. Many interpret this passage to mean that the
sleeping ones will be brought with Christ from heaven; but Paul meant
that as Christ was raised from the dead, so God will call the sleeping saints
from their graves and take them with Him to heaven. Precious consolation!
glorious hope! not only to the church of Thessalonica, but to all Christians
wherever they may be.”—Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 259.
Discussion Questions:
Ê Someone said: “Death wipes you out. . . . To be wiped out
completely, traces and all, goes a long way toward destroying the
meaning of one’s life.” What hope, then, do we have against such
meaninglessness in our lives?
Ë How can we harmonize the need to grow toward perfection
(Phil. 3:12–16) with the fact that only at Christ’s second coming
will we receive an incorruptible and sinless nature (1 Cor. 15:50–
55)?
Ì How might we be able to help someone caught up in the idea
of the “secret rapture” to see why this teaching is wrong?
Í Read again 1 Corinthians 15:12–19. What in these verses pre-
sents such powerful evidence for the teaching that the dead are
asleep as opposed to being up in heaven with Jesus? What sense
do these verses make if the righteous dead are, indeed, in heaven
with Jesus now?
The Everlasting Encounter
Read 1 Corinthians 15:51–55. What “mystery” (1 Cor. 15:51) is Paul
explaining?
Some popular preachers suggest that this “mystery” (1 Cor. 15:51) is
the “secret rapture” of the church, which is to occur seven years prior
to Christ’s glorious second coming. In this “secret rapture” faithful
Christians are suddenly, quietly, and secretly whisked off to heaven
while everyone else remains here wondering what happened to them.
People might suddenly find themselves in a driverless car, because the
driver was raptured to heaven, and all that “remains is their clothes.”
The 16-volume best-selling Left Behind series, turned into four movies,
promoted this false teaching, exposing millions to it.
Of course, no biblical passage endorses such an artificial distinc-
tion between the rapture and the Second Coming. The “mystery”
Paul is referring to is simply the transformation of the living
righteous to join the resurrected righteous at Christ’s second com-
ing. This is the “rapture.” There is no “secret rapture” because the
Second Coming will be visible to all living human beings (Rev. 1:7),
and both the resurrection of the dead and the transformation of the
living ones will occur at the sound of the trumpet at Christ’s return
(1 Cor. 15:51, 52).
Christ’s second coming will bring about the most amazing encounter
ever. The living righteous are changed “in a moment, in the twinkling
of an eye” (1 Cor. 15:52). At the voice of God, they are glorified; now
they are made immortal and with the risen saints are caught up to meet
their Lord in the air. Angels “ ‘gather together His elect from the four
winds, from one end of heaven to the other’ ” (Matt. 24:31, NKJV).
“Little children are borne by holy angels to their mothers’ arms.
Friends long separated by death are united, nevermore to part, and
with songs of gladness ascend together to the City of God.”—Ellen G.
White, The Great Controversy, p. 645.
This is such an amazing promise, something so different from
anything that we have experienced that it’s hard to grasp. But
think about the vastness of the cosmos, as well as the incredible
complexity of life here. Creation itself testifies to God’s amazing
power. What does all this teach us about the power of God to
translate the living and raise the dead at Jesus’ second coming?
At the Sound of the Trumpet
The Thessalonians were convinced that eternal life would be granted
exclusively to those who would remain alive until the Second Coming.
“They had carefully guarded the lives of their friends, lest they should die
and lose the blessing which they looked forward to receiving at the com-
ing of their Lord. But one after another their loved ones had been taken
from them, and with anguish the Thessalonians had looked for the last
time upon the faces of their dead, hardly daring to hope to meet them in
a future life.”—Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 258.
Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18. How did Paul correct this misconcep-
tion?
There is a historical tendency to read into the expression “bring with
Him those who sleep in Jesus” (1 Thess. 4:14, NKJV) more than the
text is saying. Many who accept the theory of the natural immortality
of the soul suggest that Christ, at His second coming, will bring with
Him from heaven the souls of the righteous dead who are already in
heaven with God. Those souls thus can be reunited with their respective
resurrected bodies. But such an interpretation is not in harmony with
the overall teachings of Paul on the subject.
Read the words of this non-Adventist theologian on the real meaning
of this verse: “The reason why the Thessalonian Christians can have
hope as they grieve for the dead members of their church is that God
‘will bring’ them, that is, he will resurrect these deceased believers and
cause them to be present at Christ’s return, such that they will be ‘with
him.’ The implication is that these deceased believers will not be at some
kind of disadvantage at the parousia of Christ but will be ‘with him’
in such a way that they share equally with living believers in the glory
associated with his return.”—Jeffrey A. D. Weima, 1–2 Thessalonians,
Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids,
MI: Baker Academic, 2014), p. 319.
If the souls of the righteous dead were already with the Lord in
heaven, Paul would not need to mention the final resurrection as the
Christian hope; he could have just mentioned that the righteous were
already with the Lord. But, instead, he says that “those who sleep in
Jesus” (1 Thess. 4:14, NKJV) would be resurrected from the dead at
the end of time.
The hope in the final resurrection brought comfort to the grieving
Thessalonians. The same hope can help us face with confidence the pain-
ful moments when the cold grip of death takes our loved ones from us.
“ ‘I Will Raise Him Up’ ”
In one of His miracles, Jesus fed 5,000 people with just a small
amount of bread and fish (John 6:1–14). Perceiving that the multitude
then intended to proclaim Him king (John 6:15), Jesus sailed with His
disciples to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. But the next day the
multitude followed Him there, where He delivered His powerful ser-
mon on the Bread of Life, with special emphasis on the gift of everlast-
ing life (John 6:22–59).
Read John 6:26–51. How did Jesus associate the gift of everlasting life
with the final resurrection of the righteous?
In His sermon, Jesus highlighted three basic concepts in regard to
eternal life. First, He identified Himself as “ ‘the bread that comes
down from heaven and gives life to the world’ ” (John 6:33, 58,
NIV). By declaring that “ ‘I am [Greek egō eimi] the bread of life’ ”
(John 6:35, 48), Jesus presented Himself as the Great “I Am” of the
Old Testament (Exod. 3:14). Second, Jesus explained that everlast-
ing life can be secured in Him: “ ‘he who comes to Me’ ” and “ ‘he
who believes in Me’ ” will have this blessing (John 6:35, NKJV). And
finally, Jesus linked the gift of immortality with the final resurrection,
assuring His audience three times, “ ‘and I will raise him up at the last
day’ ” (John 6:40, 44, 54, NKJV).
Jesus also gave this amazing promise: “ ‘Very truly, I tell you,
whoever believes has eternal life’ ” (John 6:47, NRSV). So, the gift of
eternal life is already a present reality. But this does not mean that the
believer will never die, for the very expression “raise him up” (John
6:40, NKJV) presupposes coming back to life after one has died.
The picture is clear. Without Christ, one does not have eternal life.
But, even after accepting Christ and having the assurance of eternal
life, we continue for now being mortal and, therefore, subject to natu
ral death. At the Second Coming, Jesus will resurrect us and, then and
there, He will give us the gift of immortality that was ours already. The
gift is assured, not because of a supposed natural immortality of the
soul but, rather, because of the righteousness of Jesus that comes to us
by faith in Him.
Dwell on the words of Jesus that, if you believe in Him, you have
(as in right now) eternal life! How can this wonderful promise
help you deal with the painful reality of our present, though only
temporary, mortality?
“I Will Come Again”
Read John 14:1–3. It has already been almost 2,000 years since Jesus
promised to come again. How can we help others see that, despite
the great length of time (which really doesn’t matter), this promise
is relevant even to our own generation, so long removed from the
time when Jesus spoke it?
Four times in the book of Revelation Jesus stated, “ ‘I am coming
soon!’ ” (Rev. 3:11; Rev. 22:7, 12, 20, NIV). The expectation of His
soon coming drove the mission of the apostolic church and filled the
lives of uncountable Christians throughout the centuries with hope. But
generation after generation has died, and this promised event has not
yet occurred. And thus, many are enquiring: How much longer will we
have to preach that “Jesus is coming soon”? Have these words gener-
ated an unrealistic expectation? (See 2 Pet. 3:4.)
Many Christians have complained about the long “delay” (compare
with Matt. 25:5). But how do we, in fact, know that it is a long “delay”?
What would have been the “right” time for Christ to have returned?
Would it have been 50 years ago, 150, 500? What really matters is the
biblical promise that “the Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as
some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting
anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9, NIV).
Despite the long centuries since Jesus ascended, the promise of His
coming remains relevant, even today. Why? Because all that we have
is our own short life (Ps. 90:10), followed by an unconscious rest in
the grave (Eccles. 9:5, 10), and then the final resurrection, without any
later opportunity to change our destiny (Heb. 9:27). As far as each one
of the dead is concerned (as stated in lesson 3), because all the dead
are asleep and unconscious, the second coming of Christ is never more
than a moment or two after they die. For you, in your personal experi-
ence (as for all of God’s people of every age), Christ’s return is no more
than a moment after your death. That’s very soon, is it not?
Every passing day brings us one day closer to the glorious appear-
ing of the Lord Jesus Christ in the clouds of heaven. Though we don’t
know when He will come, we can be certain that He will, and that is
what really matters.
A pastor preached a sermon, arguing that he didn’t care when
Christ returned. All he cared about was that Christ does return.
How does that logic work for you, and how might it help if you
are discouraged over Christ’s having not yet returned?
Hope Beyond This Life
The ancient Greek historian Herodotus (fifth century bc) wrote about
a tribe that, at a birth, began a period of mourning because they antici-
pated the suffering that the infant would face if it lived to adulthood.
However alien to us the ritual might seem, there is some logic to it.
Millennia later, an advertisement in America in the early twentieth
century read “Why live, if you can be buried for ten dollars?”
Life can be hard enough, we know, even if we believe in God and in
the hope of eternity. Imagine, though, how hard it is for those who have
no hope of anything beyond the short and often troubled existence here.
More than one secular writer has commented on the meaninglessness
of human existence, since we all not only die, but we all also live with
the realization that we are going to die. And this realization is what
makes the whole project of human life, which is often hard and sor-
rowful in and of itself, seemingly null and void. One thinker referred
to humans as nothing but “hunks of spoiling flesh on disintegrating
bones.” Rather macabre, but, again, it’s hard to argue with the logic.
Of course, in contrast to all this, we have the biblical promise of eternal
life in Jesus. And that is the key: we have this hope in Jesus and what
His death and resurrection offer us. Otherwise, what hope do we have?
Read 1 Corinthians 15:12–19. What is Paul saying here about how
closely related Christ’s resurrection is to the hope of our own res-
urrection?
Paul is explicit: our resurrection is inseparably tied to Christ’s resur-
rection. And if we don’t rise, then it means that Christ has not risen, and
if Christ has not risen, then—what? “Your faith is futile; you are still
in your sins!” (1 Cor. 15:17, NKJV). In other words, when we die we
stay dead, and forever, too, and thus, it all is meaningless. Paul says in
1 Corinthians 15:32, “If the dead do not rise, ‘Let us eat and drink, for
tomorrow we die!’ ” (NKJV).
If our present existence as carbon-based protoplasm is all there is,
and our “threescore and ten years” (if we are fortunate; more if we don’t
smoke or eat too many hamburgers) are all that we get—ever—we’re
in pretty tough shape. No wonder Ellen G. White adds, “Heaven is
worth everything to us, and if we lose heaven we lose all.”—Sons and
Daughters of God, p. 349.
Think about how precious our hope and faith is. Why must we do
all that we can, by God’s grace, to preserve it?
Read for This Week’s Study: 1 Cor. 15:12–19, John 14:1–3,
John 6:26–51, 1 Thess. 4:13–18, 1 Cor. 15:51–55.
Memory Text: “And this is the testimony: that God has given us
eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life;
he who does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:11,
12, NKJV).
Though writing in Greek, all the New Testament writers (except
Luke) were Jews, and they of course approached the nature of
human beings from the wholistic Hebrew perspective, not from
the Greek pagan one.
Thus, for Christ and the apostles, the Christian hope was not a new
hope but, rather, the unfolding of the ancient hope already nurtured
by the patriarchs and prophets. For example, Christ mentioned that
Abraham foresaw and rejoiced to see His day (John 8:56). Jude stated
that Enoch prophesied about the Second Coming (Jude 14, 15). And
the book of Hebrews speaks of the heroes of faith as having expected a
heavenly reward that they would not receive until we receive ours (Heb.
11:39, 40). This statement would be meaningless if their souls were
already with the Lord in heaven.
By stressing that only those who are in Christ have eternal life (1 John
5:11, 12), John disproves the theory of the natural immortality of the
soul. Truly, there is no eternal life apart from a saving relationship with
Christ. The New Testament hope, then, is a Christ-centered hope, and the
only hope that this mortal existence will one day become an immortal
one.
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “In Joseph’s Tomb,” pp.
769–778; “The Lord Is Risen,” pp. 779–787; “Why Weepest Thou?”
pp. 788–794; “The Walk to Emmaus,” pp. 795–801; “Peace Be Unto
You,” pp. 802–808, in The Desire of Ages.
Modern sentiment doesn’t allow for something like the resurrection of
Jesus. However, the historical evidence is so strong that even those who
can’t accept the reality of the Resurrection are forced to admit that many
people believed that they had seen the resurrected Jesus. Thus, much of anti-
resurrection apologetics is the attempt to explain what could have caused all
these different people to believe that they had seen the risen Christ.
Some have argued that all the disciples hallucinated the resurrected
Jesus; others that Jesus hadn’t really died but only had swooned and
then come back to life after He had been brought down from the cross,
and when He had reappeared, His followers thought that He had been
raised from the dead. And (believe it or not) some have argued that
Jesus had a twin brother whom the disciples mistook for the risen
Christ. In other words, the historical evidence is so strong for Christ’s
resurrection that these are the kinds of arguments people concoct in
order to try to dismiss it. With the Resurrection itself so important, we
should not be surprised by all the good reasons we have been given to
believe it.
“The voice that cried from the cross, ‘It is finished,’ was heard among
the dead. It pierced the walls of sepulchers, and summoned the sleepers
to arise. Thus will it be when the voice of Christ shall be heard from
heaven. That voice will penetrate the graves and unbar the tombs, and
the dead in Christ shall arise. At the Saviour’s resurrection a few graves
were opened, but at His second coming all the precious dead shall
hear His voice, and shall come forth to glorious, immortal life. The
same power that raised Christ from the dead will raise His church, and
glorify it with Him, above all principalities, above all powers, above
every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in the world
to come.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 787.
Discussion Questions:
Ê “ ‘It is finished’ ” (John 19:30) and “ ‘He is risen’ ” (Matt. 28:6,
NKJV) are two of the most meaningful statements ever made. How
do they complement each other within salvation history? What
great hope is found in these words for us?
Ë At first the religious leaders wanted guards at the tomb to keep
the disciples from stealing the body of Jesus. Later they paid the
guards to say that the disciples did steal the body. How does this
account help to reveal the reality of Christ’s empty tomb, and why
is that empty tomb so important to us as Christians?
“The First Fruits of Those Who Have Died”
Read 1 Corinthians 15:20, in light of Deuteronomy 26:1–11. In what
sense did Paul refer to the risen Christ as “the first fruits of those
who have died” (NRSV)?
The offering of “the first fruits” was an ancient Israelite agricultural
practice with deep religious significance. It was a sacred recognition of
God as the gracious Provider, who had entrusted His stewards with the
land where the crops grew and were ready to be harvested (see Exod.
23:19, Exod. 34:26, Lev. 2:11–16, Deut. 26:1–11). The first fruits
indicated that the harvest was not only starting but also revealing the
quality of its products.
According to Wayne Grudem, “in calling Christ ‘the first fruits’ (in
Greek aparchē), Paul uses a metaphor from agriculture to indicate that
we will be like Christ. Just as the ‘first fruits’ or the first taste of the
ripening crop show what the rest of the harvest will be like for that
crop, so Christ as the ‘first fruits’ shows what our resurrection bodies
will be like when, in God’s final ‘harvest,’ he raises us from the dead
and brings us into his presence.”—Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids,
MI: Zondervan, 1994), p. 615.
It is worth remembering that Jesus came out of the grave with a glori-
fied human body, but He was still carrying the marks of His crucifixion
(John 20:20, 27). Does this mean that the risen children of God will
likewise bear the physical marks of their own sufferings? In the case of
the apostle Paul, will he still carry in his glorified body the “thorn in
the flesh” (2 Cor. 12:7, NKJV) and “the marks of the Lord Jesus” (Gal.
6:17, NKJV)?
Until his death, Paul “was ever to carry about with him in the body
the marks of Christ’s glory, in his eyes, which had been blinded by
the heavenly light [see Acts 9:1–9].”—Ellen G. White, The Story of
Redemption, p. 275. But this does not mean that he or any other of the
glorified redeemed will be raised with the marks of their own suffer-
ings (compare with 1 Cor. 15:50–54). In the case of Christ, “the marks
of this cruelty He will ever bear. Every print of the nails will tell the
story of man’s wonderful redemption and the dear price by which it was
purchased.”—Ellen G. White, Early Writings, p. 179. His marks are
what guarantee us that all of ours will be forever gone.
Christ will forever bear the scars of His crucifixion. What does
that reveal about God’s love for us and what it cost to save us? How
does it show, too, how much the Godhead has invested in saving us?
Witnesses of the Risen Christ
Read John 20:11–29 and 1 Corinthians 15:5–8. How did the disciples
react when they first met the risen Christ?
The two angels at the empty tomb told Mary Magdalene and some
other women that Jesus had risen (Matt. 28:1, 5–7; Mark 16:1–7; Luke
24:1–11). But soon Jesus Himself appeared to them, and they worshiped
Him (Matt. 28:1, 9, 10; John 20:14–18). He appeared also to Peter (Luke
24:34, 1 Cor. 15:5) and to the two disciples on their way to Emmaus,
whose hearts were burning while He was speaking to them (Mark 16:12,
Luke 24:13–35). When Jesus came into the Upper Room, the disciples
were initially terrified and frightened, but then they were filled with joy
and marveled at what had happened (Luke 24:33–49, John 20:19–23).
A week later, Jesus came again into the same room without opening
the doors, and then even Thomas believed in His resurrection (John
20:24–29).
During the 40 days between His resurrection and His ascension,
Jesus “was seen by over five hundred brethren at once” (1 Cor. 15:6,
NKJV) and by James (1 Cor. 15:7). Jesus joined some disciples at the
shore of the Sea of Galilee and had breakfast with them, followed by
a talk with Peter (John 21:1–23). There might have been other appear-
ances of Jesus (Acts 1:3) before the final one at His ascension (Luke
24:50–53, Acts 1:1–11). Paul also considered himself an eyewitness to
the risen Christ, who appeared to him on the road to Damascus (1 Cor.
15:8; compare with Acts 9:1–9).
When the other disciples first told the absent Thomas they had seen
the risen Lord, he reacted by saying, “ ‘Unless I see in His hands the
print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put
my hand into His side, I will not believe’ ” (John 20:25, NKJV). A week
later, Jesus reappeared to the disciples, now with Thomas present, Jesus
said to him, “ ‘Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach
your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but
believing’ ” (John 20:27, NKJV).
Then Thomas confessed, “ ‘My Lord and my God!’ ”
And Jesus added, “ ‘Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have
believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed’ ”
(John 20:29, NKJV).
“ ‘Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’ ”
Even if you have not seen for yourself the resurrected Christ, what
other reasons do you have for your faith in Jesus?
Many Arose With Him
“Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to
bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves
were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were
raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went
into the holy city and appeared to many” (Matt. 27:51–53, NKJV).
What does this incredible account teach us about the resurrection of
Jesus and what it accomplished?
An earthquake marked the death of Jesus (Matt. 27:50, 51), and
another one marked His resurrection (Matt. 28:2). At the moment
Jesus died, “the earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open.
The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life.
They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the
holy city and appeared to many people” (Matt. 27:51–53, NIV). These
saints were raised glorified as witnesses of Christ’s own resurrection
and as prototypes of those who will be raised at the final resurrection.
Thus, right after the resurrection of Jesus, many of the Jewish people
were given powerful evidence to believe in His resurrection and thus
to accept Him as their Savior, which many did, including many priests
(see Acts 6:7).
“During His ministry, Jesus had raised the dead to life. He had
raised the son of the widow of Nain, and the ruler’s daughter and
Lazarus. But these were not clothed with immortality. After they
were raised, they were still subject to death. But those who came
forth from the grave at Christ’s resurrection were raised to everlasting
life. They ascended with Him as trophies of His victory over death
and the grave. . . . These went into the city, and appeared unto many,
declaring, Christ has risen from the dead, and we be risen with Him.
Thus was immortalized the sacred truth of the resurrection.”—Ellen
G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 786.
Humanly speaking, the chief priests and elders had great advantages.
They held the religious power of the nation and were even able to convince
the Roman authorities and the crowds to help them with their schemes. But
they forgot that “ ‘ “the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and
bestows it on whomever He wishes” ’ ” (Dan. 4:32, NASB). Their lies were
contradicted and invalidated by the existence of those resurrected saints.
No matter how bad things can get now, why can we trust in God’s
ultimate victory for us as we still struggle in this fallen world?
“ ‘He Is Risen!’ ”
The victory of Christ over Satan and his evil powers was secured on
the cross and confirmed by the empty tomb. “When Jesus was laid in the
grave, Satan triumphed. He dared to hope that the Saviour would not take
up His life again. He claimed the Lord’s body, and set his guard about
the tomb, seeking to hold Christ a prisoner. He was bitterly angry when
his angels fled at the approach of the heavenly messenger. When he saw
Christ come forth in triumph, he knew that his kingdom would have an
end, and that he must finally die.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages,
p. 782. And though Christ’s humanity died, His divinity did not die. In
His divinity, Christ possessed the power to break the bonds of death.
Read Matthew 28:1–6; John 10:17, 18; and Romans 8:11. Who was
directly involved in the resurrection of Jesus?
During His ministry in Samaria-Peraea, Jesus stated that He Himself
had power to lay down His life and to take it again (John 10:17, 18). To
Martha He said, “ ‘I am the resurrection, and the life’ ” (John 11:25).
Other passages speak of His resurrection as an act of God (Acts 2:24,
Rom. 8:11, Gal. 1:1, Heb. 13:20). Even a mighty angel of the Lord was
involved in that glorious event (Matt. 28:1, 2).
Meanwhile, Matthew 28:11–15 reveals the futile and foolish efforts
of the leaders to continue fighting against Jesus. The Roman guard told
the leaders “all the things that had happened” (Matt. 28:11, NKJV).
Implicit in this account is the idea that the guards saw the Resurrection.
If not, what would their words mean? An angel came down from
heaven, moved the stone, sat on it, and the guards fainted? The next
thing that they knew the tomb was empty? Maybe, while the Romans
were unconscious, the angel took away the body of Jesus? Maybe the
disciples did? Or someone else stole it? Whatever happened, the body
of Jesus was, obviously, gone.
An angel from heaven coming down, the men fainting from fear,
and the tomb being empty would have been disconcerting enough to
the religious leaders. But that they “gave a large sum of money to the
soldiers” (Matt. 28:12, NKJV) to keep these men quiet implied that
whatever the soldiers told them disturbed them deeply. And what they
told of, of course, was the resurrection of Jesus.
Some scoff at the idea that the first people to see Christ resur-
rected were Romans. Why? In what ways is this truth symbolic
of what was to come: the gospel going to the Gentiles, as well?
A Sealed Tomb
Christ’s mission seemed to have ended (and even failed) with His
death on the cross. Satan succeeded in instigating Judas to betray the
Savior (Luke 22:3, 4; John 13:26, 27) and the chief priests and elders to
demand His death (Matt. 26:59, Matt. 27:20). After Jesus was arrested,
“all the disciples forsook Him and fled” (Matt. 26:56, NKJV), and
Peter denied Him three times (Matt. 26:69–75). Now Jesus was lying
in a tomb hewed out of a rock, closed with a large and sealed stone,
protected by Roman guards (Matt. 27:57–66), and watched by invisible
demonic powers. “If he could, he [Satan] would have held Christ locked
in the tomb.”—Ellen G. White, Manuscript Releases, vol. 12, p. 412.
During His earthly ministry, Christ had foretold not only His death
on the cross but also His resurrection. Using the Eastern inclusive
language—in which a fraction of a day stands for a whole day—Jesus
mentioned that “ ‘as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly
of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights
in the heart of the earth’ ” (Matt. 12:39, 40, NKJV). On other occa-
sions Jesus underscored that He would be killed but on the third day He
would rise again (Matt. 16:21; Matt. 17:22, 23; Matt. 20:17–19). The
chief priests and the Pharisees were aware of those statements and took
measures that they hoped would prevent His resurrection.
Read Matthew 27:62–66. How did these actions only help provide the
world later with more evidence for the resurrection of Jesus?
All security measures taken to keep Jesus locked in the tomb only
made His victory over death and the hosts of evil even more noticeable
because of all the precautions and measures that His enemies took to
try to make sure it would never happen.
Also, these men surely had heard of the miracles of Jesus; they had
seen some of them, too. And yet, they thought that a guard over the
tomb could stop Him, the one who was able to do so many miracles,
from being resurrected?
Also, they put a guard around the tomb in case of—what? That the
disciples might steal the body and then claim that Jesus had been resur-
rected from the dead? When the people would ask, “Where is the risen
Jesus?” They could say: “Just take our word for it.”
If nothing else, their actions revealed just how afraid the chief priests
were of Jesus, even after He died. Perhaps, deep down, they did fear
that He just might be resurrected after all.
Read for This Week’s Study: Matt. 27:62–66; John 10:17,
18; Matt. 27:51–53; John 20:11–29; 1 Cor. 15:5–8.
Memory Text: “When I saw him, I fell down at his feet like a dead
man. He put his right hand on me and said, ‘Do not be afraid. I am
the First and the Last. I am the One who lives; I was dead, but look,
I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys to death and to the
place of the dead’ ” (Rev. 1:17, 18, NCV).
Central to the Christian faith is the resurrection of Jesus. Paul
made this point very powerfully when he wrote: “For if the dead
do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen,
your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have
fallen asleep in Christ have perished” (1 Cor. 15:16–18, NKJV). We
will look at this in more detail next week.
Thus, no matter all the emphasis Paul put on Christ’s death, and how
important it was—“For I determined not to know anything among you
except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2, NKJV)—it really
does us no good apart from His resurrection. That’s how crucial the
resurrection of Jesus is to the entire Christian faith and the plan of
salvation.
However, it’s hard to understand why the resurrection of Christ and
with it our resurrection are so important if, as many believe, the dead
in Christ are already enjoying the bliss of heaven as they have “gone
home to be with the Lord.”
All that aside, this week we will look at Christ’s resurrection and all
the convincing evidence He gave us to believe in it.
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Gethsemane,” pp. 685–
697; “Calvary,” pp. 741–758, in The Desire of Ages; “Repentance,”
p. 27, in Steps to Christ.
“I saw that all heaven is interested in our salvation; and shall we be
indifferent? Shall we be careless, as though it were a small matter whether
we are saved or lost? Shall we slight the sacrifice that has been made for
us? Some have done this. They have trifled with offered mercy, and the
frown of God is upon them. God’s Spirit will not always be grieved. It
will depart if grieved a little longer. After all has been done that God
could do to save men, if they show by their lives that they slight Jesus’
offered mercy, death will be their portion, and it will be dearly purchased.
It will be a dreadful death; for they will have to feel the agony that Christ
felt upon the cross to purchase for them the redemption which they have
refused. And they will then realize what they have lost—eternal life and
the immortal inheritance. The great sacrifice that has been made to save
souls shows us their worth. When the precious soul is once lost, it is lost
forever.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 124.
Discussion Questions:
Ê Hebrews 10:4 says, “It is impossible for the blood of bulls and
goats to take away sins” (NIV). So, how were people saved in Old
Testament times? How can the analogy of a credit card—which
you use to make payments but later on have to pay for the credit
card bill—help us better understand this subject?
Ë Read 2 Corinthians 5:18–21. If Christ died for the sins of the
whole world, why won’t everyone be saved? Why does personal
choice play a crucial role in determining who will be saved by the
Cross and who will be lost despite the great sacrifice made in their
behalf?
Ì What are some things that “worldly wisdom” teaches that are
“foolishness” to God? What about the idea that all the incredi
ble design and beauty of the world is purely a chance creation?
Or that the universe arose from absolutely nothing? What other
examples can you think of?
Í Think about the final question on Tuesday’s study. What about
the Cross, and what happened there, makes the idea of salvation
by works so futile, so erroneous, and so contrary to the plan of
salvation?
The Meaning of the Cross
Read 1 Corinthians 1:18–24. What is Paul saying about the Cross, and
how does he contrast it with the “wisdom of the world”? Why, even
today, when “materialism” (the idea that all reality is only material,
which means there is no God or supernatural realm of existence)
dominates “the wisdom of the world,” is the message of the Cross
so important?
The Cross of Christ is the very center of salvation history. “Eternity
can never fathom the depth of love revealed in the cross of Calvary. It
was there that the infinite love of Christ and the unbounded selfishness
of Satan stood face to face.”—Stephen N. Haskell, The Cross and Its
Shadow (South Lancaster, MA: Bible Training School, 1914), p. v.
While Christ was humbly offering Himself as a ransom for the
human race, Satan was selfishly engulfing Him in suffering and agony.
Christ did not die just the natural death that every human being has to
face. He died the second death, so that all those who accept Him will
never have to experience it for themselves.
In regard to the meaning of the Cross, there are several important aspects
that we should remember. First, the Cross is the supreme revelation of
God’s justice against sin (Rom. 3:21–26). Second, the Cross is the supreme
revelation of God’s love for sinners (Rom. 5:8). Third, the Cross is the
great source of power to break the chains of sin (Rom. 6:22, 23; 1 Cor.
1:17–24). Fourth, the Cross is our only hope of eternal life (Phil. 3:9–11;
John 3:14–16; 1 John 5:11, 12). And fifth, the Cross is the only antidote
against a future rebellion in the universe (Rev. 7:13–17, Rev. 22:3).
None of these crucial truths about the Cross can be discovered by
the “wisdom of the world.” On the contrary, then, as now, the preaching
of the Cross is “foolishness” to worldly wisdom, which often doesn’t
even acknowledge the most obvious truth there could be: that a Creator
exists (see Rom. 1:18–20).
The Greek word for “foolishness” is linked to the English word
“moron”; that is, the preaching of the Cross is “moronic” according
to the “wisdom of the world.” Worldly wisdom cannot know Jesus or
the salvation that He offers us through His substitutionary death on the
cross.
Whatever value some “worldly wisdom” can offer, why must
we never let it interfere with what we believe about Jesus and
the hope we’re offered through “the foolishness of the message
preached” (1 Cor. 1:21, NKJV)?
He Died for Us
Read John 3:14–18 and Romans 6:23. What do these verses teach that
Christ’s death has accomplished for us?
When Jesus arrived at the Jordan River to be baptized, John the
Baptist exclaimed, “ ‘Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the
sin of the world!’ ” (John 1:29, NKJV). This statement acknowledged
Christ as the antitypical Lamb of God to whom all true sacrifices of the
Old Testament pointed.
But animal sacrifices could not take away sins by themselves (Heb.
10:4). They provided only conditional forgiveness dependent on the
effectiveness of Christ’s future sacrifice on the cross. “If we confess
our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9, NKJV).
Read John 3:16, 17. What great hope can we take from these verses,
especially when we rightly sense that we deserve to be condemned
for something that we have done?
Think about what all this means. Jesus, the One who created the cos-
mos (John 1:1–3), offered Himself for each of us, a sacrifice for sins,
all so that we don’t have to be condemned for what we could justly be
condemned for. This is the great promise of the gospel.
Jesus Christ declared that “ ‘God so loved the world that he gave his
only Son’ ” to die for us (John 3:16, NRSV). But we should never forget
that Christ offered Himself voluntarily on our behalf (Heb. 9:14). Martin
Luther referred to the cross as “the altar on which He [Christ], consumed
by the fire of the boundless love which burned in His heart, presented the
living and holy sacrifice of His body and blood to the Father with fervent
intercession, loud cries, and hot, anxious tears (Heb. 5:7).”—Luther’s
Works, vol. 13 (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1956), p. 319.
Christ died once for all (Heb. 10:10) and once forever (Heb. 10:12), for His
sacrifice is all-sufficient and never loses its power.
And there’s more: “If but one soul would have accepted the gospel
of His grace, Christ would, to save that one, have chosen His life of
toil and humiliation and His death of shame.”—Ellen G. White, The
Ministry of Healing, p. 135.
Read again John 3:16, replacing the words “the world” and
“whoever” with your own name. How can you learn, moment by
moment, especially when tempted to sin, to make this wonderful
promise yours?
“ ‘It Is Finished!’ ”
Read John 19:1–30. What is the crucial message to us in Jesus’ state-
ment, “ ‘It is finished’ ”?
Finally, the crucial moments for Christ, for humankind, and for the whole
universe had arrived. With deep agony, He struggled against the powers of
darkness. Slowly He made His way through the Garden of Gethsemane,
through His unfair trials, and up the mountain of Calvary. Evil angels were
trying to overcome Him. While Jesus was hanging on the cross, the chief
priests, the scribes, and the elders mocked Him, saying “ ‘He saved others;
Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come
down from the cross, and we will believe Him’ ” (Matt. 27:42, NKJV).
Could Christ have come down from the cross and saved Himself?
Yes, He was able but not willing to do so. His unconditional love for
all humanity, including those mockers, did not allow Him to give up.
Actually, “the mockers were among those whom He was dying to save;
and He could not come down from the cross and save Himself, because
He was held, not by the nails, but by His will to save them.”—Alfred
Plummer, An Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel According to S.
Matthew (London: Elliot Stock, 1910), p. 397.
Here, in the suffering of Christ, Jesus was defeating the kingdom
of Satan, even though it was Satan who had instigated the events that
led to the cross, including Judas’s betrayal (John 6:70; John 13:2, 27).
“Somehow, in a way the Evangelist does not try to describe, the death
of Jesus is both an act of Satan and an act in which Jesus wins the vic-
tory over Satan.”—George E. Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament,
rev. ed. (Cambridge, UK: Lutterworth Press, 1994), p. 192.
Crying from the cross, “ ‘It is finished’ ” (John 19:30), Christ implied not
only that His agony had come to an end, but also especially that He had won
the great cosmic-historic controversy against Satan and his evil forces. “All
heaven triumphed in the Saviour’s victory. Satan was defeated, and knew
that his kingdom was lost.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 758.
It’s hard to grasp the amazing contrast here: in the utter humiliation
of the Son of God He had won, for us and for the universe, the greatest
and most glorious victory.
Think about how bad sin must be that it took the death of Christ
to atone for it. What should this truth teach us about how useless
our works are for attaining merit before God? After all, what can
we do to add to what Christ has already done for us? Bring your
answer to class on Sabbath.
A Preface to the Cross
What were the reactions of the disciples to Jesus’ predictions
of His own sufferings and death, and what should their reactions
teach us about the dangers of misunderstanding Scripture?
Matt. 16:21–23
Matt. 17:22, 23; Mark 9:30–32; Luke 9:44, 45
Luke 18:31–34
Jesus was born to die, and He lived to die. Every step that He took
brought Him closer to His great atoning sacrifice on the cross of
Calvary. Fully conscious of His mission, He did not allow anyone
or anything to distract Him from it. In reality, “His whole life was a
preface to His death on the cross.”—Ellen G. White, Fundamentals of
Christian Education, p. 382.
In the last year of His earthly ministry, Jesus spoke more and more
explicitly to His disciples about His forthcoming death. But they
seemed unable and unwilling to accept the reality of His statements.
Filled with false notions about the role of the Messiah, the last thing
that they had expected was for Him, Jesus, especially as the Messiah,
to die. In short, their false theology led them into needless pain and
suffering.
Already to Nicodemus, Jesus had declared, “ ‘And as Moses lifted
up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted
up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal
life’ ” (John 3:14, 15, NKJV). While in Caesarea Philippi, Jesus told
His disciples that He had to “ ‘go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things
from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be
raised the third day’ ” (Matt. 16:21, NKJV). Passing privately through
Galilee (Mark 9:30–32) and during His final journey to Jerusalem
(Luke 18:31–34), Jesus spoke again to His disciples about His death
and resurrection. Because it was not what they wanted to hear, they
didn’t listen. How easy it is for us to do the same.
People, especially God’s chosen people, had false concepts regard-
ing the first coming of the Messiah. What are some of the false
concepts out there today regarding the second coming of Jesus?
“From the Foundation of the World”
Read Revelation 13:8; Acts 2:23; and 1 Peter 1:19, 20. How could
Christ be considered “slain from the foundation of the world”
(NKJV)?
“All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not
been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation
of the world” (Rev. 13:8, NKJV). What’s crucial here for us is the idea
of Christ’s being “slain from the foundation of the world.” Obviously, we
must understand this in a symbolic sense (the book of Revelation is full
of symbols), because Christ wasn’t crucified until thousands of years
after the earth’s Creation. What this text is saying is that the plan of salva-
tion had been put in place before the Creation of the world. And central
to that plan would be the death of Jesus, the Lamb of God, on the cross.
Read Titus 1:2. What does this verse teach us about how long ago the plan
of salvation, which centered on Christ’s death, had been in place?
“The plan for our redemption was not an afterthought, a plan
formulated after the fall of Adam. . . . It was an unfolding of the
principles that from eternal ages have been the foundation of God’s
throne.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 22.
That plan was revealed first to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden
(Gen. 3:15, 21), and it was typified by every blood sacrifice throughout
the Old Testament. For instance, while testing Abraham’s faith, God
provided a ram to be sacrificed instead of Isaac (Gen. 22:11–13). This
replacement typified even more clearly the substitutionary nature of
Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross.
Thus, central to the whole plan of salvation is the substitutionary
death of Jesus, symbolized for centuries by animal sacrifices, each
one a symbol of Jesus’ death on the cross as “the Lamb of God, which
taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
Animal sacrifices are gruesome and bloody—that is true. But
why is this gruesomeness and bloodiness precisely the point,
teaching us about Christ’s death in our place and what the ter-
rible cost of sin was?
Read for This Week’s Study: Rev. 13:8; Matt. 17:22, 23;
Mark 9:30–32; John 19:1–30; Rom. 6:23; 1 Cor. 1:18–24.
Memory Text: “ ‘And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him
should not perish but have eternal life’ ” (John 3:14, 15, NKJV).
It has been said that we cannot avoid death and taxes. That’s not
entirely true. People can avoid taxes—but not death. They might
be able to put death off a few years, but sooner or later, death
always comes. And because we know that the dead, both the righ-
teous and the wicked, end up in the same place at first, our hope of
the resurrection means everything to us. As Paul has said, without
this hope, even “those who have fallen asleep in Christ have per-
ished” (1 Cor. 15:18, NKJV), which is a rather strange thing to say
if those who “have fallen asleep in Christ” are buzzing about heaven
in the presence of God.
Thus, Christ’s resurrection is central to our faith, because in His
resurrection we have the surety of our own. But before Christ was res-
urrected from the dead, He, of course, had to die. This is why, amid the
agony of Gethsemane, in anticipation of His death, He prayed: “ ‘Now
My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? “Father, save Me from this
hour”? But for this purpose I came to this hour’ ” (John 12:27, NKJV).
And that purpose was to die.
This week we will focus on Christ’s death and what it means for the
promise of eternal life.
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “The Death of Moses,” pp.
469–480, in Patriarchs and Prophets; “The Voice of Stern Rebuke,” pp.
129–142; “A Prophet of Peace,” pp. 237–243, in Prophets and Kings; “The
Centurion,” pp. 318, 319; “The Touch of Faith,” pp. 342, 343; “ ‘Lazarus,
Come Forth,’ ” pp. 524–536, in The Desire of Ages.
“In Christ is life, original, unborrowed, underived. ‘He that hath
the Son hath life.’ 1 John 5:12. The divinity of Christ is the believer’s
assurance of eternal life. ‘He that believeth in Me,’ said Jesus, ‘though
he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in
Me shall never die. Believest thou this?’ Christ here [in John 11:25, 26]
looks forward to the time of His second coming. Then the righteous
dead shall be raised incorruptible, and the living righteous shall be
translated to heaven without seeing death. The miracle which Christ
was about to perform, in raising Lazarus from the dead, would repre-
sent the resurrection of all the righteous dead. By His word and His
works He declared Himself the Author of the resurrection. He who
Himself was soon to die upon the cross stood with the keys of death, a
conqueror of the grave, and asserted His right and power to give eternal
life.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 530.
Discussion Questions:
Ê Many people died during the prophetic ministries of Elijah
and Elisha, as well as during Christ’s own earthly ministry. Only
a few were resurrected. (See Luke 4:24–27.) Thinking, too, about
the experience of all of the dead, whether resurrected in the past
or at the Second Coming, what difference does it make, at least in
regard to what it was like to be dead?
Ë Many writers over the centuries have written about the
futility of a life that ends always in death. Along with other liv-
ing creatures—chickens, beavers, oysters, et cetera—we all die.
However, for humans, in a sense our predicament is worse than
for the animals, because we know that we are going to die. (See
Eccles. 9:5.) Chickens, beavers, and oysters don’t. Why, then, is the
promise of the resurrection so crucial to us?
Ì If you think that the soul is immortal and that the dead, espe-
cially the righteous dead, live on in heaven after they die, what
need is there for the resurrection at the end of time?
Í If someone called and asked, “Is Sally there?” you might answer,
“Yes, but she’s sleeping.” If, however, someone called and asked, “Is
Sally there?” you are not going to answer, “Yes, but she’s dead.”
Why not? What does this teach us about the nature of death?
Lazarus
Read John 11:1–44. In what sense was Jesus “glorified” by the sick-
ness and death of Lazarus (John 11:4)?
Here, too, Jesus uses the metaphor for sleep in talking about death.
“ ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake
him up’ ” (John 11:11, NIV). When some thought He was talking about
literal sleep (John 11:11–13), Jesus clearly stated what He meant:
“ ‘Lazarus is dead’ ” (John 11:12–14, NIV). Actually, when Jesus
arrived in Bethany, Lazarus had been dead four days; his corpse already
was rotting (John 11:17, 39). By the time a body starts decomposing
badly enough to smell, there’s no question: the person is dead.
In this context, when Jesus told Martha, “ ‘Your brother will rise
from the dead’ ” (John 11:23, NASB), she reaffirmed her belief in the
final resurrection. But Jesus declared, “ ‘I am the resurrection and the
life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and every-
one who lives and believes in me will never die forever. Do you believe
this?’ ” (John 11:23–26, LEB). And Jesus added, “ ‘If you believe, you
will see the glory of God’ ” (John 11:40, NASB). Martha believed, and
she saw the glory of God in the resurrection of her brother.
The Bible says that by God’s word life was created (Gen, 1:20–30,
Ps. 33:6), and by His word life can be re-created, as in the case of
Lazarus. After a short prayer, Jesus ordered, “ ‘Lazarus, come forth!’ ”
(John 11:43, NKJV). Right then and there these people saw the life-giving
power of God, the same power that spoke our world into existence, and
the same power that at the end of the age will call the dead back to life
in the resurrection.
By raising Lazarus, Jesus proved that He had the power to defeat
death, which, for beings like us, who inevitably die—what greater
manifestation of God’s glory could there be?
Read John 11:25, 26. In one line Jesus talks about believers
dying, and in the next He talks about believers never dying.
What is Jesus teaching us here, and why is the understanding
that death is an unconscious sleep so crucial in understanding
Christ’s words? And why do His words offer us, as beings des-
tined to the grave, so much hope?
Jairus’s Daughter
The resurrections prior to Jesus’ own death and resurrection were
not limited to any specific ethnic group or social class. Moses was
perhaps the greatest human leader of God’s people ever (Deut. 34:10–
12). By contrast, the poor Phoenician widow was not even an Israelite
(1 Kings 17:9). The Shunammite woman was prominent in her com-
munity (2 Kings 4:8). The widow of Nain had only one son, upon
whom she was probably dependent (Luke 7:12). In contrast, Jairus
was a ruler of the synagogue, probably in Capernaum (Mark 5:22).
Regardless of their different cultural backgrounds or social status, all
of them were blessed by God’s life-giving power.
Read Mark 5:21–24, 35–43. What can we learn about death from Christ’s
words “ ‘The child is not dead, but sleeping’ ”? (Mark 5:39, NKJV).
Jairus’s 12-year-old daughter was lying deathly sick at home. So, he went
to Jesus and begged Him to come to his home and lay His healing hands on
her. But before they could get there, someone already brought the sad news
“ ‘Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?’ ” (Mark
5:35, NKJV).
Then Jesus said to the grieving father, “ ‘Do not fear, only believe’ ”
(Mark 5:36, NRSV). Indeed, all the father could do was trust totally in
God’s intervention.
Arriving at the house, Jesus said to those who gathered there, “ ‘Why
do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleep-
ing’ ” (Mark 5:39, NRSV). They ridiculed Him because (1) they knew
that she was dead, and (2) they did not grasp the meaning of His words.
“The comforting metaphor by which ‘sleep’ stands for ‘death’ seems to
have been Christ’s favorite way of referring to this experience ([Matt.
9:24; Luke 8:52;] see on John 11:11–15). Death is a sleep, but it is a
deep sleep from which only the great Life-giver can awaken one, for
He alone has the keys to the tomb (see Rev. 1:18; cf. John 3:16; Rom.
6:23).”—The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 609.
After the resurrection of this girl, those who saw it were “overcome with
amazement” (Mark 5:42, NRSV). No wonder. For now, death is final, abso-
lute, and seemingly irreversible. To have seen something like this with their
own eyes surely must have been an amazing, life-changing experience.
Jesus’ words, “ ‘Do not fear, only believe’ ” (Mark 5:36, NRSV), are still
meaningful for us today. How can we learn to do that, even amid fear-
ful situations, which are the most important times to keep believing?
The Son of the Widow of Nain
The Bible says that Jesus “ ‘went about doing good and healing all
who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him’ ” (Acts 10:38,
NASB). Indeed, all the Gospels are full of accounts of Jesus ministering
to many needy and hurting souls, which is why later many Jews came
to believe that Jesus was the promised Messiah.
“There were whole villages where there was not a moan of sickness
in any house, for He had passed through them and healed all their sick.
His work gave evidence of His divine anointing. Love, mercy, and
compassion were revealed in every act of His life; His heart went out
in tender sympathy to the children of men. He took man’s nature, that
He might reach man’s wants. The poorest and humblest were not afraid
to approach Him. Even little children were attracted to Him.”—Ellen
G. White, Steps to Christ, pp. 11, 12.
Read Luke 7:11–17. What important difference is there between what
happened in this resurrection and in the ones we looked at yesterday?
During His ministry in Galilee, Jesus healed the sick and expelled
demons. One time, He and His followers were approaching the gates
of Nain when a funeral procession was going through those gates. In
the open coffin was the only son of a widow, who was weeping incon-
solably. Full of compassion for the grieving mother, Jesus said to her,
“ ‘Do not weep.’ ” Then Jesus turned to the dead son in the coffin and
ordered him, “ ‘Young man, I say to you, arise.’ ” The son came to life,
and Jesus “presented him to his mother” (Luke 7:13–15, NKJV). The
presence of Jesus completely changed the whole scenario, and many
people who had witnessed the miracle knew not only that something
astonishing had happened but also that someone special (they called
Him “a great prophet”) was among them.
Both the Phoenician widow (1 Kings 17:8–24) and the Shunammite
woman (2 Kings 4:18–37) had asked for help—from Elijah and Elisha,
respectively. But the widow of Nain was helped without even asking for
it. This means that God cares for us even when we are unable or feel
unworthy to ask Him for help. Jesus saw the problem and dealt with
it—so typical of Jesus through all His ministry.
True religion involves caring for orphans and widows around us
(James 1:27). Though, obviously, we won’t be able to do the kind
of miracles Jesus did, what can we do to minister to those who
are hurting around us?
Two Old Testament Cases
Read 1 Kings 17:8–24 and 2 Kings 4:18–37. What similarities and dif-
ferences do you see in these two resurrections?
In Hebrews 11, we read that by faith “women received back their
dead by resurrection” (Heb. 11:35, NASB). This was the case in the two
resurrections depicted in the texts for today.
The first one (see 1 Kings 17:8–24) occurred during the great apos-
tasy in Israel, which happened under the influence of King Ahab and
his pagan wife Jezebel. As a severe drought was ravaging the land, God
commanded Elijah to go to Zarephath, a town outside of Israel. There
he met a poor Phoenician widow who was about to cook a paltry last
meal for herself and her son—and then die. But their lives were spared
through the miracle of the flour and the oil, which didn’t run out until
the drought was over. Sometime later her son became sick and died. In
despair, the mother pled with Elijah, who cried out to the Lord. “The
Lord listened to the voice of Elijah, and the life of the boy returned to
him and he revived” (1 Kings 17:22, NASB).
The second resurrection (see 2 Kings 4:18–37) took place in
Shunem, a small village south of Mount Gilboa. Elisha had helped a
poor widow to pay her debts through the miracle of filling many vessels
with oil (2 Kings 4:1–7). Later, in Shunem, he met a prominent married
woman who had no children. The prophet told her that she would have
a son, and it happened as predicted. The child grew and was healthy,
but one day got sick and died. The Shunammite woman went to Mount
Carmel and asked Elisha to come with her to see her son. Elisha prayed
persistently to the Lord, and finally the child was alive again.
These women had different backgrounds but the same saving faith.
The Phoenician widow hosted the prophet Elijah in an extremely
difficult time when there was no safe place for him in Israel. The
Shunammite woman and her husband built a special room where the
prophet Elisha could stay while passing through their region. When the
two children died, their faithful mothers appealed to those prophets of
God and had the joy of seeing their children come to life again.
These are great stories, but for each of these two accounts, how
many untold others didn’t end with something so miraculous?
What should this sad fact teach us about just how central to our
faith is the promised resurrection at the end of time?
The Resurrection of Moses
Read Jude 9 and Luke 9:28–36. What evidences do you find in these
texts for the bodily resurrection of Moses?
Some Greek Church Fathers from Alexandria argued that, when
Moses died, two Moseses were seen: one alive in the spirit, another
dead in the body; one Moses ascending to heaven with angels, the other
buried in the earth. (See Origen, Homilies on Joshua 2.1; Clement of
Alexandria, Stromata 6.15.) This distinction between the assumption
of the soul and the burial of the body might make sense to those who
believe in the Greek concept of the immortal soul, but the idea is not in
the Bible. Jude 9 confirms the biblical teaching of the resurrection of
Moses’ body, because the dispute was “about the body of Moses” and
not about any supposed surviving soul.
Deuteronomy 34:5–7 tells us that Moses died at 120 years of age, and
the Lord buried him in a hidden place in a valley in the land of Moab.
But Moses did not remain for very long in the grave. “Christ Himself,
with the angels who had buried Moses, came down from heaven to call
forth the sleeping saint. . . . For the first time Christ was about to give
life to the dead. As the Prince of life and the shining ones approached
the grave, Satan was alarmed for his supremacy. . . . Christ did not
stoop to enter into controversy with Satan. . . . But Christ referred all
to His Father, saying, ‘The Lord rebuke thee.’ Jude 9. . . . The resur-
rection was forever made certain. Satan was despoiled of his prey; the
righteous dead would live again.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and
Prophets, pp. 478, 479.
A clear evidence of Moses’ resurrection is found at the Transfiguration.
There Moses appeared with the prophet Elijah, who had been translated
without seeing death (2 Kings 2:1–11). Moses and Elijah even dia-
logued with Jesus (see Luke 9:28–36). “And behold, two men talked
with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and
spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem”
(Luke 9:30, 31, NKJV). Moses’ appearance, proof of Christ’s coming
victory over sin and death, is depicted here in unmistakable terms. It
was Moses and Elijah, not their “spirits” (after all, Elijah hadn’t died),
who had appeared to Jesus there.
Moses was not allowed to enter the earthly Canaan (Deut. 34:1–4)
but was taken into the heavenly Canaan. What does this teach about
how God “is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask
or think, according to the power that works in us” (Eph. 3:20, NKJV)?
Read for This Week’s Study: Jude 9, Luke 9:28–36, 1 Kings
17:8–24, Luke 7:11–17, Mark 5:35–43, John 11:1–44.
Memory Text: “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life.
The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who
lives and believes in me will never die forever. Do you believe this?’ ”
(John 11:25, 26, LEB).
The Old Testament references to the resurrection that we have
looked at so far were largely based on personal expectations
(Job 19:25–27, Heb. 11:17–19, Ps. 49:15, Ps. 71:20) and on
future promises (Dan. 12:1, 2, 13). However, we also have the inspired
records of cases in which people actually were raised from the dead.
The first resurrection was of Moses (Jude 9, Luke 9:28–36). During
Israel’s monarchy, the son of the widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17:8–24)
and the Shunammite’s son (2 Kings 4:18–37) also were resurrected.
Christ, when here in the flesh, resurrected the son of the widow of Nain
(Luke 7:11–17), Jairus’s daughter (Luke 8:40–56), and then Lazarus
(John 11). Except for Moses, all these people were raised as mortals
who eventually would die again. These cases also confirm the biblical
teaching of the unconsciousness of the dead (Job 3:11–13; Ps. 115:17;
Ps. 146:4; Eccles. 9:5, 10). In none of these accounts, nor in any other
biblical resurrection narratives, is there any mention of a supposed
afterlife experience.
This week we will reflect more closely on the resurrections that
occurred before Christ’s own death and resurrection.
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Visions of Future Glory,”
pp. 722–733, in Prophets and Kings.
Modern science teaches that all matter is composed of atoms, them-
selves made up of two smaller particles, quarks and leptons, which are
believed to be the building blocks of all physical reality. If, then, at the
core the physical world is quarks and leptons, couldn’t the God who
not only created and sustains that world also just reconfigure the quarks
and leptons when the time comes to resurrect us? Mocking the resur-
rection, atheist Bertrand Russell asked what happens to those whom
cannibals ate, because their bodies are now part of the cannibals’, and
so who gets what in the resurrection? But suppose the Lord simply
grabs quarks and leptons, the ultimate building blocks of existence,
from wherever, and, based on the information that He possesses about
each one of us, reconstructs us from those quarks and leptons on up?
He doesn’t need our original ones; any will do. Or, in fact, He could
just speak new quarks and leptons into existence and go from there.
However He does it, the God who created the universe can re-create us,
which He promises to do at the resurrection of the dead.
“The Life-giver will call up His purchased possession in the first
resurrection, and until that triumphant hour, when the last trump shall
sound and the vast army shall come forth to eternal victory, every
sleeping saint will be kept in safety and will be guarded as a precious
jewel, who is known to God by name. By the power of the Saviour
that dwelt in them while living and because they were partakers of the
divine nature, they are brought forth from the dead.”—Ellen G. White
Comments, The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 4, p. 1143.
Discussion Questions:
Ê There are an estimated two trillion galaxies out there, each
made of billions and billions of stars. And some of these stars have
planets orbiting them, just as the planets in our solar system orbit
the sun. Now, think about the incredible power of God, who not
only created all these stars, but who also sustains them and knows
them by name (Ps. 147:4). Though this amazing reality does not
prove that this same God can or will raise the dead, how does it
reveal to us this same awesome power that He does have and why,
certainly, something like the resurrection would not be beyond His
power?
Ë Hebrews 11 highlights the faithfulness and expectations of many
of the “heroes of faith” of ancient times. How can this chapter
enrich our understanding of the hope that the characters in the Old
Testament had, even before the resurrection of Jesus?
Those Who Sleep in the Dust
As we will see, the New Testament talks a great deal about the resur-
rection of the dead; and, as we have already seen, the idea of the resur-
rection of the dead appears in the Old Testament, as well. These people,
in Old Testament times, had the hope of the final resurrection that we
do. Martha, living at the time of Jesus, already had this hope (John
11:24). No question, even then, the Jews had some knowledge of the
resurrection in the last days, even if not all believed it. (See Acts 23:8.)
Read Daniel 12. What resurrection hope is found here, in the writings
of this great prophet?
Daniel 12:1 refers to Michael, “ ‘the great prince,’ ” whose identi-
fication has been much disputed. Because each of the great visions
in the book of Daniel culminates with the manifestation of Christ and
His kingdom, the same should be the case in regard to this specific
passage. In the book of Daniel we find allusions to the same Divine
Being as “the Prince of the host” (Dan. 8:11, NKJV), “ ‘the Prince of
princes’ ” (Dan. 8:25, NKJV), “ ‘Messiah the Prince’ ” (Dan. 9:25,
NKJV), and finally as “ ‘Michael, the great prince’ ” (Dan. 12:1,
NASB). So, we should identify Michael also as Christ.
The Old Testament passages considered so far (Job 19:25–27, Ps.
49:15, Ps. 71:20, Isa. 26:19) all speak of the resurrection of righteous
people. But Daniel 12 speaks of a resurrection of both the righteous
and unrighteous. When Michael stands up, “ ‘many of those who sleep
in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to
shame and everlasting contempt’ ” (Dan. 12:2, NKJV).
Many view this verse to be talking about a special resurrection of
certain people, both the faithful and the unfaithful, at Christ’s return.
“Graves are opened, and ‘many of them that sleep in the dust of
the earth . . . awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and
everlasting contempt.’ Daniel 12:2. All who have died in the faith of
the third angel’s message come forth from the tomb glorified, to hear
God’s covenant of peace with those who have kept His law. ‘They also
which pierced Him’ (Revelation 1:7), those that mocked and derided
Christ’s dying agonies, and the most violent opposers of His truth and
His people, are raised to behold Him in His glory and to see the honor
placed upon the loyal and obedient.”—Ellen G. White, The Great
Controversy, p. 637.
“Your Dead Shall Live”
Read Isaiah 26:14, 19. What is the contrast between those who will
perish forever (Isa. 26:14; see also Mal. 4:1) and those who will
receive eternal life (Isa. 26:19)?
The book of Isaiah presents a major contrast between the majesty of
God and our human fragility (see Isaiah 40). Though we are like the
grass that withers and the flower that fades, the Word of God remains for-
ever (Isa. 40:6–8). Despite our human sinfulness, however, God’s saving
grace is available to all human beings and becomes effective even to the
Gentiles who embrace His covenant and keep the Sabbath (Isaiah 56).
In the book of Isaiah, the hope of the resurrection is broadened sig-
nificantly. While previous biblical allusions to the resurrection were
expressed more from personal perspectives (Job 19:25–27, Ps. 49:15,
Ps. 71:20), the prophet Isaiah speaks of it as including both himself and
the covenantal community of believers (Isa. 26:19).
Isaiah 26 contrasts the distinct destinies of the wicked and the righ-
teous. On one side, the wicked will remain dead, without ever being
brought to life again, at least after the “second death” (Rev. 21:8). They
will be completely destroyed, and all their memory will perish forever
(Isa. 26:14). This passage underscores the teaching that there are no
surviving souls or spirits that remain alive after death. Speaking about
the final destruction of the wicked, which comes later, the Lord stated
elsewhere that the wicked will be completely burned up, leaving them
“ ‘neither root nor branch’ ” (Mal. 4:1, NKJV).
On the other side, the righteous dead will be raised from death to
receive their blessed reward. Isaiah 25 highlights that the Lord God “will
swallow up death forever” and “will wipe away tears from all faces” (Isa.
25:8, NKJV). In Isaiah 26 we find the following words: “Your dead shall
live; together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you
who dwell in dust; for your dew is like the dew of herbs, and the earth
shall cast out the dead” (Isa. 26:19, NKJV). All the resurrected righteous
will participate in the joyful feast that the Lord will prepare for all people
(Isa. 25:6). The final resurrection will bring together all the righteous
from all ages, including your beloved ones who already died in Christ.
Imagine if we didn’t have any hope, any assurance, any reason to
think that our death was anything but the end of everything for us.
And then, even worse, anyone who ever knew us would be gone, and
soon it would be as if we never existed and our lives never meant any-
thing at all. How does this fate contrast with the hope that we have?
“From the Depths of the Earth”
Read Psalm 71. What did David imply when he asked God to bring
him up “again from the depths of the earth” (Ps. 71:20, NKJV)?
In Psalm 49 we found a touching expression of hope in the resur-
rection, in contrast to the false assurance of the fool who trusted in his
wealth. In Psalm 71, David seeks security and hope from God, while
surrounded by enemies and false accusers who say that God has for-
saken him (Ps. 71:10, 11).
Amid his trials, David finds comfort and assurance in recalling how
God had cared for him in the past. First, he realizes that God had upheld
him from birth and even had taken him out of his mother’s womb (Ps.
71:6). Then, he acknowledges that God had taught him from his youth
(Ps. 71:17).
With the certainty that God was his rock and his fortress, David
pleads with Him, “Be my strong refuge, to which I may resort continu-
ally” (Ps. 71:3, NKJV). “Do not cast me off in the time of old age; do
not forsake me when my strength fails” (Ps. 71:9, NKJV). “O God, do
not be far from me; O my God, make haste to help me!” (Ps. 71:12,
NKJV). And then David adds, “You, who have shown me great and
severe troubles, shall revive me again, and bring me up again from the
depths of the earth” (Ps. 71:20, NKJV).
The expression “from the depths of the earth” could be under-
stood literally as an allusion to the future physical resurrection
of the psalmist. But the context seems to favor a metaphorical
description of David’s condition of deep depression, as if the earth
were swallowing him (compare with Ps. 88:6 and Ps. 130:1). So,
we could say that “it is primarily figurative speech, but also hints
at a physical resurrection .”—Andrews Study Bible, p. 726, note on
Psalm 71:20.
In the end, what’s important to grasp is that, whatever our situation,
God is there, He cares, and ultimately, our hope isn’t found in this life
but in the life to come—the eternal life we have in Jesus after our resur-
rection at His return.
We all have had some terrible moments of discouragement. How,
though, can focusing on the ways that the Lord has been with
you in the past help you press on ahead in faith and trust in the
moments when He seems far away?
From the Power of the Grave
Read Psalm 49. What led the psalmist to be so sure of his final resur-
rection (Ps. 49:15) in contrast to those who perished without that
assurance (Ps. 49:6–14)?
Psalm 49 speaks about the false confidence of the foolish “who trust
in their wealth and boast in the multitude of their riches” (Ps. 49:6,
NKJV), who “call their lands after their own names” (Ps. 49:11, NKJV),
and who live only to bless themselves (Ps. 49:18). They act as if their
houses and their own glory would last forever (Ps. 49:11, 17).
But the foolish forget that their honor vanishes and that they perish
just as the beasts do (Ps. 49:12, NKJV). “Like sheep they are laid in the
grave; death shall feed on them; . . . and their beauty shall be consumed
in the grave, far from their dwelling” (Ps. 49:14, NKJV).
As stated by Job centuries earlier, “ ‘Naked I came from my mother’s
womb, and naked I will depart’ ” (Job 1:21, NIV; 1 Tim. 6:7). The
psalmist points out that both the fool and the wise die, leaving “their
wealth to others” (Ps. 49:10, NKJV).
But there is a radical contrast between them. On one side are the
fools who perish, even though trying to find assurance in their own
transient possessions and accomplishments. In contrast, the wise
behold, beyond the human saga and the prison of the grave, the glorious
reward that God has reserved for them (1 Pet. 1:4). With this percep-
tion in mind, the psalmist could say with confidence, “But God will
redeem my soul from the power of the grave, for He shall receive me”
(Ps. 49:15, NKJV).
Consistent with the Old Testament hope, this statement is not sug-
gesting that at the time of his death, the soul of the psalmist would
fly immediately into heaven. The psalmist is simply saying that he
would not remain forever in the grave. A time would come when
God would redeem him from death and take him to the heavenly
courts.
Once again, the certainty of the future resurrection is depicted, bring-
ing hope, assurance, and meaning to this present existence. So, the wise
will receive a far more glorious and everlasting reward than what the
foolish could gather for themselves during this short life.
What are the ways that you have been able to see the folly of
those who trust in their own wealth and accomplishments? How
can keeping your eyes on the cross protect you from falling into
the same error?
I Shall See God
Read Job 19:25–27 and compare it with John 1:18 and 1 Timothy
6:16. When and under what circumstances was Job expecting to
“see God”?
Life is not fair. We see this especially when we see the “good” suf-
fering and the “unrighteous” prospering (see Ps. 73:12–17 and Mal.
3:14–18). For example, Job was “blameless and upright” and “feared
God and shunned evil” (Job 1:1, NKJV). Even so, God allowed Satan to
afflict him in several disastrous ways. Physically, his body was ravaged
by painful disease (Job 2:1–8). Materially, he lost large portions of his
livestock and properties (Job 1:13–17). Within his household, he lost
his servants and even his own children (Job 1:16, 18). And emotionally,
he was surrounded by friends who accused him of being an impenitent
sinner who deserved what he was facing (Job 4:1–5:27, Job 8:1–22,
Job 11:1–20, etc.). Even his own wife stated, “ ‘Do you still hold fast
to your integrity? Curse God and die!’ ” (Job 2:9, NKJV).
Job did not realize that he had become the epicenter of a deep cos-
mic struggle between God and Satan. Afflicted by those struggles, Job
regretted his own birth and wished that he had never been born (Job
3:1–26). Yet, his unconditional faithfulness to God is well expressed
in the words “ ‘Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him’ ” (Job 13:15,
NKJV). Even imagining that soon his life would end, he kept his assur-
ance that death would not have the final word. With strong conviction
he stated that although he would die, his Redeemer would one day stand
up and he, Job himself, would see God in his own flesh (Job 19:25–27).
“This is an unmistakable glimpse of the resurrection.”—The SDA Bible
Commentary, vol. 3, p. 549.
What a glorious hope in the midst of such a tragedy! Surrounded
by sickness and pain, economic collapse, social reproach, and emo-
tional breakdown, Job could still anticipate the day when he would
rise from the dead and behold his beloved Redeemer. Actually, Job’s
statement about the resurrection was filled with the same assurance
as found centuries later in Martha’s utterance to Jesus: “ ‘I know
that he [Lazarus] will rise again in the resurrection at the last day’ ”
(John 11:24, NKJV). Job, like Martha, had to claim this promise by
faith, even though, unlike Job, Martha would soon be given powerful
empirical evidence for her belief.
How can we learn to trust God even amid the harsh unfairness
of life?
Read for This Week’s Study: Job 19:25–27; 1 Tim. 6:16;
Psalm 49; Psalm 71; Isa. 26:14, 19; Daniel 12.
Memory Text: “By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered
up Isaac. He who had received the promises was ready to offer up
his only son. . . . He considered the fact that God is able even to raise
someone from the dead—and figuratively speaking, he did receive
him back” (Hebrews 11:17, 19, NRSV).
The Old Testament hope is grounded, not on Greek ideas about the
natural immortality of the soul, but on the biblical teaching of
the final resurrection of the dead.
But how could a no-longer-existent human body, cremated into ashes
or destroyed by other means, be brought to life again? How can some-
one who has been deceased, perhaps for centuries or even millennia,
recover again his or her identity?
These questions lead us to reflect on the mystery of life. We are alive
and enjoy the life that God graciously grants us every day. Even without
beginning to understand the supernatural origin of life, we know that
in the beginning God brought life into existence from nonlife through
the power of His word (Genesis 1; Ps. 33:6, 9). So, if God was able to
create life on earth the first time from nothing (Latin ex nihilo), why
should we doubt His capacity to re-create human life and to restore its
original identity?
This week we will reflect on how the notion of the final resurrection
unfolded in Old Testament times, with special focus on the statements
of Job, some psalmists, and the prophets Isaiah and Daniel.
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “The First Great Deception,”
pp. 531–550, in The Great Controversy.
If you have ever been in surgery and were put out with general anesthesia,
you might have a faint idea of what it must be like for the dead.
But even then, when under anesthesia, your brain still functions. Imagine
what it would be like for the dead, when all brain function, everything,
has totally stopped. Their experience in death, then, is to close their eyes
and, as far as each dead person who ever lived is concerned, the next
thing they will know is either the second coming of Jesus or His return
after the millennium (see Rev. 20:7–15). Until then, all the dead, the righteous
and the wicked, rest, for what will seem to them to be an instant.
For those of us who remain alive, death seems as if it lasts for a long time.
For the living it does; but for the dead it seems to last only an instant.
“If it were true that the souls of all men passed directly to heaven at
the hour of dissolution, then we might well covet death rather than life.
Many have been led by this belief to put an end to their existence. When
overwhelmed with trouble, perplexity, and disappointment, it seems an
easy thing to break the brittle thread of life and soar away into the bliss
of the eternal world.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 539.
“Nowhere in the Sacred Scriptures is found the statement that the
righteous go to their reward or the wicked to their punishment at death.
The patriarchs and prophets have left no such assurance. Christ and His
apostles have given no hint of it. The Bible clearly teaches that the dead
do not go immediately to heaven. They are represented as sleeping until
the resurrection.”—The Great Controversy, pp. 549, 550.
Discussion Questions:
Ê How does the biblical notion of the human being as a whole—
who remains conscious only as an undivided person—help us to
understand better the nature of death?
Ë The world has been taken over by the theory of the natural
immortality of the soul, with all its uncountable ramifications.
Why then is our message about the state of the dead so crucial?
Why, also, even among Christians, do we find such strong opposition
to what is really a wonderful teaching?
Ì How should an understanding of the state of the dead protect us
from what might “appear” before our eyes? That is, why can’t we
always trust what we see, especially if what we see, or think we see,
is the spirit of a dead relative, as some have reported seeing?
Resting With the Forefathers
Read Genesis 25:8, 2 Samuel 7:12, 1 Kings 2:10, and 1 Kings 22:40.
What do these texts add to your understanding of death?
The Old Testament expresses in different ways the ideas of death and
burial. One way is the notion of being gathered to one’s own people.
For example, about Abraham, we are told that he “breathed his last and
died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered
to his people” (Gen. 25:8, NKJV). Aaron and Moses also were gathered
to their respective people (Deut. 32:50).
What does the fact that both good and bad kings went to the same
place at death teach us about the nature of death? (2 Kings 24:6,
2 Chron. 32:33).
Another way of describing death is by stating that someone rested
with the forebearers. About King David’s death, the Bible says that he
“rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David” (1 Kings
2:10, NKJV). The same expression also is used in reference to several
other Hebrew kings, both faithful kings and unfaithful kings.
We can identify at least three meaningful aspects of resting with the
forebearers. One is the idea that sooner or later the time will come when we
need to rest from our own tiring labors and sufferings. Another idea is that
we are not the first and only ones to follow that undesirable trail, because
our forebearers already have gone ahead of us. A third idea is that, by being
buried close to them, we are not alone but remain together even during
the unconsciousness of death. This might not make much sense to some
modern individualist cultures, but it was very meaningful in ancient times.
Those who die in Christ can be buried close to their loved ones, but
even so there is no communication between them. They will remain
unconscious until that glorious day when they will be awakened from
their deep sleep to rejoin their loved ones who died in Christ.
Imagine what it would be like if the dead were actually conscious
and could see what life was like down here, especially for their
loved ones, who often suffer terribly after their death. Why, then,
should the truth that the dead sleep be so comforting to the living?
“The Dead Know Nothing”
Read Job 3:11–13; Psalm 115:17; Psalm 146:4; and Ecclesiastes 9:5,
- What can we learn from these passages about the condition of
human beings at death?
Some Bible commentators argue that these passages (Job 3:11–13; Ps.
115:17; Ps. 146:4; Eccles. 9:5, 10), written in poetic language, cannot be
used to define the condition of human beings at death. It is true that sometimes
poetry can be ambiguous and easily misunderstood, but this is not
the case with these verses. Their language is clear, and their concepts are
in full harmony with the overall Old Testament teachings on the subject.
First, in Job 3, the patriarch deplores his own birth because of all the
suffering. (In our more dire moments, who hasn’t wished that he or she
had never been born?) He recognizes that if he had died at his birth, he
would have remained asleep and at rest (Job 3:11, 13).
Psalm 115 defines the location where the dead are kept as a place of
silence, because “the dead do not praise the Lord” (Ps. 115:17, NKJV).
This hardly sounds as if the dead, the faithful (and thankful) dead, are
in heaven worshiping God.
According to Psalm 146, the mental activities of the individual cease
with death: “His spirit departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day
his plans perish” (Ps. 146:4, NASB). This is a perfect biblical depiction
of what happens at death.
Ecclesiastes 9 adds that “the dead know nothing” and in the grave “there is
no work or device or knowledge or wisdom” (Eccles. 9:5, 10, NKJV). These
statements confirm the biblical teaching that the dead are unconscious.
The biblical teaching of unconsciousness in death should not generate
any panic in Christians. First of all, there is no everlasting burning
hell or temporary purgatory waiting for those who die unsaved. Second,
there is an amazing reward waiting for those who die in Christ. No
wonder that “to the believer, death is but a small matter. . . . To the
Christian, death is but a sleep, a moment of silence and darkness. The
life is hid with Christ in God, and ‘when Christ, who is our life, shall
appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.’ John 8:51, 52; Col.
3:4.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 787.
Think about the dead in Christ. They close their eyes in death
and, whether in the grave 1,500 years or five months, it’s all the
same to them. The next thing they know is the return of Christ.
How, then, might one argue that, in one sense, the dead have it
better than we, the living, do?
The Spirit Returns to God
Read Genesis 2:7 and Ecclesiastes 12:1–7. What contrast can you
see between these two biblical passages? How can they help us to
understand better the human condition in death? (See also Genesis
7:22.)
As already seen, the Bible teaches that the human being is a soul
(Gen. 2:7), and the soul ceases to exist when the body dies (Ezek. 18:4,
20).
But what about the “spirit”? Does it not remain conscious even after
the death of the body? Many Christians believe so, and they even try to
justify their view by quoting Ecclesiastes 12:7, which says, “Then the
dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God
who gave it” (NKJV). But this statement does not suggest that the spirit
of the dead remains conscious in God’s presence.
Ecclesiastes 12:1–7 in quite dramatic terms describes the aging process,
culminating with death. Verse 7 refers to death as the reversal of
the creation process mentioned in Genesis 2:7. As already stated, on the
sixth day of the Creation week “the Lord God formed man of the dust
of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man
became a living being” (Gen. 2:7, NKJV). But now, Ecclesiastes 12:7
tells us that “the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit
will return to God who gave it” (NKJV). So, the breath of life that God
breathed into the nostrils of Adam, and that He also has provided to all
other human beings, returns to God, or, in other words, simply stops
flowing into and through them.
We should keep in mind that Ecclesiastes 12:7 describes the dying
process of all human beings and does so without distinguishing
between the righteous and the wicked. If the alleged spirits of all who
die survive as conscious entities in the presence of God, then are the
spirits of the wicked with God? This idea is not in harmony with the
overall teaching of the Scriptures. Because the same dying process
happens both to human beings and to animals (Eccles. 3:19, 20), death
is nothing else than ceasing to exist as living beings. As stated by the
psalmist, “You hide Your face, they are troubled; You take away their
breath, they die and return to their dust” (Ps. 104:29, NKJV).
We often say that death is just part of life. Why is that so wrong?
Death is the opposite of life, the enemy of life. What great hope,
then, is found in this verse: “The last enemy that will be destroyed
is death” (1 Cor. 15:26, NKJV)?
“ ‘The Soul Who Sins Shall Die’ ”
Read Ezekiel 18:4, 20 and Matthew 10:28. How can these verses help
us understand the nature of the human soul?
Human life in this sinful world is fragile and transitory (Isa. 40:1–8).
Nothing infected by sin can be eternal by nature. “Therefore, just as
through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus
death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Rom. 5:12, NKJV). Death
is the natural consequence of sin, which affects all life here.
On this matter, there are two important biblical concepts. One is
that human beings and animals both die. As stated by King Solomon,
“ ‘Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals; the same
fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same
breath; humans have no advantage over animals. . . . All go to the same
place; all come from dust, and to dust all return’ ” (Eccles. 3:19, 20, NIV).
The second concept is that the physical death of a person implies the
cessation of his or her existence as a living soul (Hebrew nephesh). In
Genesis 2:16, 17, God had warned Adam and Eve that if they should
ever sin, by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,
they would die.
Echoing this warning, the Lord reinforced the point in Ezekiel 18:4,
20: “ ‘The soul who sins shall die’ ” (NKJV). This statement has two
main implications. One is that since all human beings are sinners, all of
us are under the unavoidable process of aging and dying (Rom. 3:9–18,
23). Another implication is that this biblical concept makes void the
popular notion of a supposed natural immortality of the soul. If the soul
is immortal and exists alive in another realm after death, then we don’t
really die after all, do we?
In contrast, the biblical solution for the dilemma of death is not a
bodiless soul migrating either into Paradise or into purgatory, or even
into hell. The solution is indeed the final resurrection of those who
died in Christ. As Jesus stated in His sermon on the Bread of Life,
“ ‘Everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting
life; and I will raise him up at the last day’ ” (John 6:40, NKJV).
Why is the surety of the Second Coming, which is made certain
by Christ’s first coming (and after all, what good was Christ’s
first coming without the second?), so crucial to all that we
believe? What hope would we have without the promise of His
return?
“A Living Being”
Read Genesis 1:24–27 and Genesis 2:7, 19. What similarities and differences
can you see between the way God created the animals and
the way He created humanity? What does Genesis 2:7 tell us about
human nature?
The Genesis account declares that on the sixth day of Creation
week the Lord God brought to life land animals and the first human
beings, a couple (Gen. 1:24–27). We are told that He “formed out of
the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky” (Gen.
2:19, NIV). He also “formed a man from the dust of the ground”
(Gen. 2:7, NIV).
Although both animals and man alike were made from “the
ground,” the formation of the man was distinct from that of animals
in two main ways. First, God shaped the man physically, and then
“breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became
a living being” (Gen. 2:7, NIV). He was a physical entity before he
became a living one. Second, God created humanity as both male
and female in the very image and likeness of the Godhead (Gen.
1:26, 27).
Genesis 2:7 explains that the infusion of the “breath of life” into the
physical body of Adam transformed him into “a living being” (Heb.
Nephesh chayyah) or literally “a living soul.” It means that each of us
does not have a soul that can exist apart from the body. Rather, each
one of us is a living being or a living soul. The claim that this “soul”
is a conscious entity that can exist separate from the human body is a
pagan, not a biblical, idea. Understanding the true nature of humanity
prevents us from accepting the popular notion of an immaterial soul
and all the dangerous errors built upon that belief.
There is no conscious existence of any isolated part of the human being
separated from the person as a whole. God created us in a fearful and
wonderful way, and we should not speculate beyond what the Scriptures
actually say about this specific matter. In fact, not only is the very nature of
life a mystery (scientists still can’t agree on exactly what it means for something
to be alive), but even more mysterious is the nature of consciousness.
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? Those who study this idea admit that we really don’t know.
What a miracle life is! Why should we rejoice in the gift of not
just life but of eternal life, as well, an even greater miracle?
Read for This Week’s Study: Gen. 1:24–27; Gen. 2:7, 19;
Matt. 10:28; Eccles. 12:1–7; 1 Kings 2:10; 1 Kings 22:40.
Memory Text: “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the
ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man
became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7).
The tension between God’s word, “ ‘You shall die’ ” (Gen. 2:16,
17, NRSV) and Satan’s counterfeit promise, “ ‘You certainly will
not die!’ ” (Gen. 3:4, NASB) was not restricted to the Garden of
Eden. It has echoed throughout history.
Many people try to harmonize the words of Satan with the words
of God. For them, the warning, “ ‘You shall die,’ ” refers only to the
perishable physical body, while the promise, “ ‘You certainly will not
die!’ ” is an allusion to an immortal soul or spirit.
But this approach doesn’t work. For example, can contradictory
words of God and of Satan be harmonized? Is there an immaterial
soul or spirit that consciously survives physical death? There are
many philosophical
and even scientific attempts to answer these questions.
But, as Bible-based Christians, we must recognize that only the
Almighty God, the One who created us, knows us perfectly (see Psalm
139). Thus, only in His Word to us, the Scriptures, can we find answers
to these crucial questions.
This week we will consider how the Old Testament defines human
nature and the condition of human beings at death.
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “The Temptation and Fall,”
pp. 52–62 and “The Plan of Redemption,” pp. 63–70, in Patriarchs and
Prophets; “The Knowledge of Good and Evil,” pp. 23–27, in Education.
In recent years, studies have been done on what are called near-death
experiences (NDEs). What happens is that people “die,” in that their
hearts stop beating, and they stop breathing. However, they then come
back to life—but with fantastic stories of floating into another realm of
existence and meeting a being of light. Some even talk about meeting
long-dead relatives. Many people, even Christians who don’t understand
the truth about death, believe that these stories are more proof of the
immortality of the soul. However (and this should be the clearest warn-
ing that something is amiss), most who have these experiences claim
that the spiritual beings whom they had met during the NDEs gave them
comforting words, nice statements about love, peace, and goodness.
But they hear nothing about salvation in Christ, nothing about sin, and
nothing about judgment. While getting a taste of the Christian afterlife,
shouldn’t they have gotten at least a smidgen of the most basic Christian
teachings along with it? Yet, what they’re taught sounds mostly like New
Age dogma, which could explain why, in many cases, they come away
less inclined toward Christianity than they were before having “died.”
Also, why did none of the Christians, convinced that their NDEs were a
preview of the Christian heaven, ever get any Christian theology while
there, as opposed to a big dose of New Age sentimentalism? The answer
is that they were being deceived by the same person who deceived Eve
in Eden, and with the same lie too. (See lesson 11.)
Discussion Questions:
Ê How does the experience of Adam and Eve demonstrate that
God’s forgiveness does not necessarily reverse all consequences of
sin? Why is this such an important truth to remember always?
Ë The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was the “enchanted
ground” of the enemy for Adam and Eve. What are some
“enchanted grounds” that we might find ourselves tempted to
enter?
Ì Satan is trying to lead God’s people to believe that “the
requirements of Christ are less strict than they once believed, and
that by conformity to the world they would exert a greater influ-
ence with worldlings.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies to Ministers
and Gospel Workers, p. 474. What should we do in order not to fall
into this subtle trap?
The First Gospel Promise
Read Genesis 3:15, 21. What hope can be found in these verses for all
of humanity?
Genesis 3 describes the dreadful tragedy that took over the world
after the Fall. Everything changed, and Adam and Eve could see the
contrast between what the world used to be and what it had become.
But in the midst of their frustration and despair, God gave them assur-
ance for the present and hope for the future. First, He cursed the serpent
with a word of Messianic hope. He declared, “ ‘And I will put enmity
between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He
shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel’ ” (Gen. 3:15, NKJV).
The word “enmity” (Hebrew ’eybah) implies not only a long-lasting
cosmic controversy between good and evil, but also a personal repulsion
to sin, which has been implanted by God’s grace in the human mind. By
nature, we are completely fallen (Eph. 2:1, 5) and “slaves of sin” (Rom.
6:20, NKJV). However, the grace that Christ implants in every human
life creates in us enmity against Satan. And it is this “enmity,” a divine
gift from Eden, that allows us to accept His saving grace. Without this
converting grace and renewing power, humanity would continue to be
the captive of Satan, a servant ever ready to do his bidding.
The Lord next used an animal sacrifice to illustrate this Messianic
promise (see Gen. 3:21). “When Adam, according to God’s special direc-
tions, made an offering for sin, it was to him a most painful ceremony. His
hand must be raised to take life, which God alone could give, and make an
offering for sin. It was the first time he had witnessed death. As he looked
upon the bleeding victim, writhing in the agonies of death, he was to look
forward by faith to the Son of God, whom the victim prefigured, who was
to die man’s sacrifice.”—Ellen G. White, The Story of Redemption, p. 50.
Read 2 Corinthians 5:21 and Hebrews 9:28. What do these texts teach
about what was first revealed in Eden?
Knowing that they would eventually die (Gen. 3:19, 22–24), Adam and
Eve left the Garden of Eden. But they did not leave naked or with their own
fig-leaf coverings (Gen. 3:7). God Himself “made tunics of skin” for them,
and He even clothed them (Gen. 3:21, NKJV), a symbol of His covering
righteousness (see Zech. 3:1–5, Luke 15:22). Hence, even back then, right
from the start, in Eden, the gospel had been revealed to humanity.
Consequences of Sin
Based on Genesis 3:7–19 and Romans 5:12, what were the main con-
sequences of sin?
Captivated by the persuasive speech of the serpent, Eve did not antici
pate the far-reaching consequences of the road that she was following.
In itself, the act of eating from the forbidden fruit was not as significant
as what it actually represented. By such an act of disobedience, Eve
broke her loyalty to God and assumed a new allegiance to Satan.
Genesis 3 describes the fall of Adam and Eve and some of its most
tragic consequences. From a theological perspective, both were over-
taken by theophobia (being afraid of God) and hid themselves from
Him (Gen. 3:8). From a psychosocial assessment, they were ashamed
of themselves and began to accuse each other (Gen. 3:7, 9–13). From
a physical standpoint, they would sweat, feel pain, and eventually die
(Gen. 3:16–19). And from an ecological perspective, the natural world
had degenerated (Gen. 3:17, 18).
The Garden of Eden was no longer the beautiful and pleasant place
it used to be. “As they witnessed in drooping flower and falling leaf the
first signs of decay, Adam and his companion mourned more deeply
than men now mourn over their dead. The death of the frail, delicate
flowers was indeed a cause of sorrow; but when the goodly trees cast
off their leaves, the scene brought vividly to mind the stern fact that
death is the portion of every living thing.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs
and Prophets, p. 62.
Adam and Eve did not die immediately, in the sense of ceasing to
live, but on that very same day they received their death sentence. The
Lord told Adam, “ ‘In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till
you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are,
and to dust you shall return’ ” (Gen. 3:19, NKJV). The Fall brought
tragic consequences indeed to all humanity. The apostle Paul explains
that “just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came
through sin, . . . so death spread to all because all have sinned” (Rom.
5:12, NRSV).
The sad and painful fact is that just as humanity has experienced
through all ages, we today suffer the consequences of what happened in
Eden. How thankful we can be, though, that because of Jesus and the Cross
we have the hope of eternal life in a world where sin will never rise again.
As we reflect on Eve’s tragic experience, what lessons can we
learn from it about the consequences of our own sinful acts?
You Will Not Die
Read Genesis 3:4. What are the many different ways this lie has been
repeated through the ages?
One powerful manifestation of this lie is seen in the common belief in
the immortality of the soul. This notion was the basis of many ancient reli-
gions and philosophies. In ancient Egypt, it motivated the mummification
practices and the funerary architecture, such as that seen in the pyramids.
This theory also became one of the main pillars of Greek philoso-
phy. For example, in The Republic of Plato, Socrates asks Glaucon:
“Are you not aware that our soul is immortal and never perishes?” In
Plato’s Phaedo, Socrates argued in a similar tone, saying that the “soul
is immortal and imperishable, and our souls really will exist in Hades.”
These philosophical concepts would shape much of the Western culture
and even post-Apostolic Christianity. But they originated much earlier,
in the Garden of Eden, with Satan himself.
At the core of the Edenic temptation, Satan assured Eve, “ ‘You cer-
tainly will not die!’ ” (Gen. 3:4, NASB). With this emphatic assertion,
Satan put his own word above the word of God.
In contrast to immortality of the soul, what do these verses teach, and
how can they be used to counter this lie? (See Ps. 115:17; John 5:28,
29; Ps. 146:4; Matt. 10:28; 1 Cor. 15:51–58.)
The satanic theory of the natural immortality of the soul has per-
sisted, even in our modern world. Books, movies, and TV programs
have all continued to promote the idea that when we die, we simply
pass into another conscious state. How unfortunate it is that this error
is proclaimed in many Christian pulpits, as well. Even science has got-
ten involved. There is a foundation in the United States trying to create
technology that, it claims, will enable us to contact the dead, whom they
believe are still alive but exist as PMPs, “postmaterial persons.” With
this error so prevalent, it’s no surprise that this deception will play a
crucial role in the final events of human history.
In what ways is this lie manifested in your own culture? Why
must we rely on the Word of God over what our senses tell us?
Deceived by the Serpent
Read Genesis 3:1–7. What criteria did Eve use to choose between
God’s word and that of the serpent?
Genesis 3 is one of the clearest examples of the psychology of
temptation. God had warned Adam and Eve that if they ate the for-
bidden fruit, they would certainly die (Gen. 2:16, 17). Assuming the
form of a serpent, Satan used several rhetorical strategies to mislead
Eve into sin.
First, he generalized God’s specific prohibition. He asked her, “ ‘Has
God really said, “You shall not eat from any tree of the garden?” ’ ” (Gen.
3:1, NASB). Eve counterargued that the prohibition was in regard only
to that specific tree, for if they were ever to eat from it or touch it, they
would die.
Then, Satan contradicted God’s statement. He asserted categorically,
“ ‘You certainly will not die!’ ” (Gen. 3:4, NASB).
And finally, Satan accused God of deliberately suppressing essen-
tial knowledge from her and her husband. The deceiver argued, “ ‘For
God knows that on the day you eat from it [the forbidden fruit] your
eyes will be opened, and you will become like God, knowing good
and evil’ ” (Gen. 3:5, NASB).
Eve’s curiosity led her onto the enchanted ground of Satan. There
she was forced to decide either to remain faithful to God’s restraining
command or to embrace Satan’s seductive allurements. Doubting God’s
word, she used her own senses—the empirical method, that of personal
observation—to decide between the two conflicting statements.
First, she saw that from a dietary perspective, “the tree was good
for food.” Second, from an aesthetic viewpoint, she saw that “it was a
delight to the eyes.” Third, from a logical analysis, “the tree was desir-
able to make one wise.” Hence, in her own mind, she certainly had good
reasons to heed the words of the serpent and to eat from the forbidden
tree. Unfortunately, this is what she did.
Some people argue that all forms of knowledge are valid, as long as
we retain “that which is good” (1 Thess. 5:21, NASB). But the tragic
experiences of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden demonstrate that
knowledge, in and of itself, can be very detrimental. There are some
things that, indeed, we are better off not knowing.
What does this account teach us about how easy it is to rational-
ize and justify our sinful choices?
Statements in Tension
The world, as it came from the Lord, was perfect (Gen. 1:31). Death
was an unknown experience for Adam and Eve. In that context, God came
to the Garden of Eden and warned: “ ‘You may freely eat of every tree of
the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not
eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die’ ” (Gen. 2:16, 17, NRSV).
How does Genesis 2:16, 17 show the reality of free will in the perfection
of Eden? That is, why would God have needed to warn Adam and
Eve if they couldn’t freely choose?
Sometime after this warning from God, Satan assumed the form of a ser-
pent and entered Eden. Eve beheld the serpent joyfully eating the forbidden
fruit without dying. “He himself had eaten of the forbidden fruit” (Ellen G.
White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 54), and nothing had happened to him.
Read Genesis 3:1–4. Putting yourself in the position of Eve, why might
those words have sounded convincing?
From the perspective of human logic, the argument of the serpent
sounded much more convincing than did the word of God. First of all,
there was no evidence in the natural world, so far, of the existence of sin
and death. Second, the serpent was actually eating the forbidden fruit and
enjoying it very much. So why should Eve restrain herself from doing the
same? God’s command seemed to be too restrictive and senseless.
Unfortunately, in deciding between the two conflicting statements,
Eve ignored three basic principles: (1) human reason is not always the
safest way to evaluate spiritual matters; (2) the Word of God can appear
to be illogical and senseless to us, but it is always right and trustworthy;
and (3) there are things that are not evil or wrong in themselves, but
God has chosen them as tests of obedience.
We should realize that the experience of Eve in the Garden of Eden
is not a single case in time. Every day and every moment we need to
decide between the Word of God (which for many can be unpopular)
and the seductive appeals of our surrounding culture. Our choice will
have eternal consequences.
What are ways that the clear teaching of the Bible conflicts with
the ways of the world?
Read for This Week’s Study: Gen. 2:16, 17; Gen. 3:1–7;
Ps. 115:17; John 5:28, 29; Rom. 5:12; 2 Cor. 5:21.
Memory Text: “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered
the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all
men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12, NKJV).
Christ was the Divine Agent through whom God brought the uni-
verse and the world into existence (John 1:1–3, 10; Col. 1:16;
Heb. 1:2). But when God the Father conferred special honor
on Christ and announced that They together would create this world,
“Lucifer was envious and jealous of Jesus Christ” (Ellen G. White, The
Story of Redemption, p. 14) and plotted against Him.
Having been cast out of heaven, Satan decided “to destroy the hap-
piness of Adam and Eve” on earth and thereby “cause grief in heaven.”
He imagined that “if he could in any way beguile them [Adam and
Eve] to disobedience, God would make some provision whereby they
might be pardoned, and then himself and all the fallen angels would
be in a fair way to share with them of God’s mercy.”—The Story of
Redemption, p. 27. Fully aware of Satan’s strategy, God warned Adam
and Eve not to expose themselves to temptation (Gen. 2:16, 17). This
means that even when the world was still perfect and blameless, there
were already clear restrictions for human beings to follow.
This week we will reflect on the fall of Adam and Eve, on how sin
and death took over our world, and on how God planted a seed of hope
for humanity even back in Eden.
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Why Was Sin Permitted?”
pp. 33–43, in Patriarchs and Prophets; “The Origin of Evil,” pp. 492–
504, in The Great Controversy.
“There was no possible hope for the redemption of those [Satan and
his angels] who had witnessed and enjoyed the inexpressible glory of
heaven, and had seen the terrible majesty of God, and, in presence of all
this glory, had rebelled against Him. There were no new and wonderful
exhibitions of God’s exalted power that could impress them so deeply
as those they had already experienced. If they could rebel in the very
presence of glory inexpressible, they could not be placed in a more
favorable condition to be proved. There was no reserve force of power,
nor were there any greater heights and depths of infinite glory to over-
power their jealous doubts and rebellious murmuring. Their guilt and
their punishment must be in proportion to their exalted privileges in the
heavenly courts.”—Ellen G. White, Confrontation, p. 21.
“From the beginning, God and Christ knew of the apostasy of Satan,
and of the fall of man through the deceptive power of the apostate. God
did not ordain that sin should exist, but He foresaw its existence, and
made provision to meet the terrible emergency. So great was His love
for the world, that He covenanted to give His only-begotten Son, ‘that
whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting
life.’ John 3:16.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 22.
Discussion Questions:
Ê In class, wrestle with the question of whether God is ultimately
responsible for the origin and existence of evil in our world. How
might we seek to answer that charge?
Ë How does the cross fit in with our understanding of the whole
question of evil? Why must the cross and what happened there be
central to any understanding of the origin of evil?
Ì After so many millennia of sin and suffering in our world, Satan
should now be fully aware of the tragic consequences of his rebel-
lion. Why then does he still carry on his rebellion against God?
Í In Matthew 5:43–48, Christ speaks of God’s unconditional love
for all human beings as the pattern for all our own interactions.
How can you reflect this pattern more closely within your family
and church?
Î The apostle Peter warns us that “the devil walks about like
a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet. 5:8, NKJV).
Read also Ephesians 6:10–20. How can we prevail against the
“wiles of the devil” (Eph. 6:11)?
The Spread of Unbelief
Read Revelation 12. What does this chapter teach about the spread of
the rebellion in heaven to the earth?
The fall of Lucifer was not a simple clash of conflicting ideas.
Revelation 12 tells us that a major war broke out in heaven between
Lucifer and his angels on one side and Christ and His angels on
the other. In this passage, Lucifer is called “the great dragon,” the
“serpent of old,” “the Devil and Satan,” and “the accuser of our
brethren” (Rev. 12:9, 10, NKJV). Christ is referred to as “Michael”
(Rev. 12:7), which means “who is like God.”
Based on the allusion to “Michael the archangel” (Jude 9), some
interpreters believe that He is only an angelic being. But in the book of
Daniel, each major vision culminates with Christ and His everlasting
kingdom—as the stone cut out without hands (Dan. 2:34, 45), as the Son
of man (Dan. 7:13), as the Prince of the host and the Prince of princes
(Dan. 8:11, 25), and as Michael the great prince (Dan. 12:1). So, as the
Angel of the Lord is the Lord Himself (Exod. 3:1–6, Acts 7:30–33, etc.),
Michael must be the same Divine Person (i.e., Christ Himself).
Revelation 12 provided a general overview of this ongoing contro-
versy, which (1) began in heaven with the rebellion of Lucifer and
one-third of the heavenly angels, (2) culminated with Christ’s decisive
victory at the cross, and (3) still continues against God’s end-time
remnant people.
Reflecting on the beginning of this controversy, Ellen G. White
explains that “God in His great mercy bore long with Lucifer. He
was not immediately degraded from his exalted station when he first
indulged the spirit of discontent, nor even when he began to present his
false claims before the loyal angels. Long was he retained in heaven.
Again and again he was offered pardon on condition of repentance and
submission.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 495, 496.
We do not know how long that war lasted in the heavenly realms.
Regardless of its intensity and time span, the most important aspect of
the whole struggle was that Satan and his angels “were defeated, and
there was no longer any place for them in heaven” (Rev. 12:8, NRSV; see
also Luke 10:18). The problem, of course, was that they came here, to
the earth.
What are ways in which we can see the reality of this battle being
played out on the earth? What is our only hope to overcome our
enemy in this battle?
The Price of Pride
Within Scripture, one can see two predominant themes or motifs that
are competing with each other. One is the theme of Salem, Mount Zion,
Jerusalem, and the New Jerusalem, which represents God’s kingdom.
The other is the theme of Babel and Babylon, which stands for Satan’s
counterfeit domain. Several times God called His people out of pagan
Babylon to serve Him in the Promised Land.
For example, Abram (later Abraham) was asked to move from Ur of
the Chaldees to the land of Canaan (Gen. 11:31–12:9). At the end of
their long exile, the Jews left Babylon and returned to Jerusalem (Ezra 2).
And in the book of Revelation, God’s people are called out of end-time
Babylon (Rev. 18:4) to abide with Him eventually on Mount Zion and the
New Jerusalem (Rev. 14:1; Rev. 21:1–3, 10).
Read Isaiah 14:12–15. What far-reaching consequences did Lucifer’s
pride while in heaven bring to the universe and to this world?
In the Bible, the city of Babylon stands for a power in direct opposition
to God and His kingdom; and the king of Babylon (with special allusion
to Nebuchadnezzar) becomes a symbol of pride and arrogance. God had
revealed to King Nebuchadnezzar that Babylon was only the gold head
of the great image of successive empires (Dan. 2:37, 38). Challenging
God’s revelation, the king made an image entirely of gold—a symbol that
his kingdom would last forever—and even required everyone to worship
it (Daniel 3). As in the case of the king of Tyre (Ezek. 28:12–19), the king
of Babylon also became a symbol of Lucifer.
Isaiah 14:3–11 describes the fall of the haughty and oppressive king
of Babylon. Then, Isaiah 14:12–15 moves from the historical realm to
the heavenly courts and highlights that a similar proud and arrogant
spirit generated the original fall of Lucifer. The text explains that
Lucifer planned to exalt his throne above all heavenly hosts and make
himself “ ‘ “like the Most High” ’ ” (Isa. 14:14). This was the begin-
ning of a new and hostile situation in which God’s altruistic love and
cooperation would be challenged by Lucifer’s selfishness and competi-
tion. The enemy was not afraid of accusing God of what he himself
was and of spreading his lies to other angels. Here are the mysterious
origins of evil in the universe.
Why is it so easy to become proud and boastful of either our
positions or achievements, or both? How does keeping the cross
before us prevent us from falling into such a trap?
Mysterious Ingratitude
Read Ezekiel 28:12–19. What can we learn from this passage about the
mysterious origin of sin?
Much of the book of Ezekiel was written in end-time, symbolic lan-
guage. In many instances, specific entities (such as persons, animals,
and objects) and local events are used to represent and describe broader
cosmic and/or historical realities. In Ezekiel 28:1–10, the Lord spoke of
the king of Tyre (Tyre itself was a prosperous ancient Phoenician port
city) as a rich and proud ruler who was only a “man” but who claimed
to be a god and who even sat (he claimed) in the throne of the gods.
Then, in Ezekiel 28:12–19, this historical reality becomes an analogy to
describe the original fall of Lucifer in the heavenly courts. So, the king of
Tyre, who was a human being living “ ‘ “in the midst of the seas” ’ ” (Ezek.
28:2, 8, NKJV), now represents “ ‘ “the anointed cherub who covers,” ’ ”
(Ezek. 28:14, NKJV) living “ ‘ “in Eden, the garden of God,” ’ ” (Ezek.
28:13, NKJV) and “ ‘ “upon the holy mountain of God” ’ ” (Ezek. 28:14).
A crucial statement in the whole account is found in Ezekiel 28:15,
which says, “ ‘ “You were perfect in your ways from the day you were
created, till iniquity was found in you” ’ ” (NKJV). Hence, Lucifer’s
perfection included the potential for evil, the potential to do wrong, and
that was because, as a moral being, Lucifer possessed free will, part of
what it means to be a perfect being.
In reality, Lucifer was created perfect—which included his ability to
choose freely. However, abusing that perfection by the misuse of his
free will, he became corrupted by considering himself more important
than he actually was.
No longer satisfied with how God had created and honored him,
Lucifer lost his thankfulness to God and wished to receive more recog-
nition than he actually deserved. How this could happen with a perfect
angelic being living in a perfect universe is, as already mentioned, a
mystery.
“Sin is a mysterious, unexplainable thing. There was no reason for
its existence; to seek to explain it is to seek to give a reason for it,
and that would be to justify it. Sin appeared in a perfect universe, a
thing that was shown to be inexcusable.”—Ellen G. White, The Truth
About Angels, p. 30.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Paul says that “in everything” (NKJV) we
should give thanks. How can these words help us to overcome any
feelings of ingratitude and self-pity, especially in trying times?
Free Will, the Basis for Love
Read 1 John 4:7–16. What does this passage tell us about free will as
a condition to cultivating love?
Artificial flowers can be gorgeous, but they do not grow and bloom
as do real ones. Robots are preprogrammed to talk and to perform
many tasks, but they have neither life nor emotions. In reality, life and
free will are indispensable conditions for someone to receive, cultivate,
and share love. So, our loving God created angels (including Lucifer)
and human beings with freedom to make their own choices, including
the possibility of following a wrong path. In other words, God created
the whole universe as a perfect and harmonious environment for His
creatures to grow in love and in wisdom.
In 1 John 4:7–16, the apostle John underscores that “God is love,” and
that He manifested His love to us by sending His own Son to die for our
sins. As a result, we should express our gratitude for His infinite love by
loving one another. Such love, divinely originated, would be the most
convincing evidence that God abides in us and that we abide in Him. This
appeal to reflect God’s love to one another makes sense only if addressed to
creatures who can choose to cultivate and express that love or, in contrast,
to live a self-centered life. However, freedom of choice can easily be mis-
used, a sad fact demonstrated in the tragic rebellion of Lucifer in heaven.
Even recognizing the importance of free will, some people still wonder,
If God knew that Lucifer would rebel, why did God create him? Does the
creation of Lucifer not make God ultimately responsible for the origin of sin?
That can be a very difficult question to speculate about, because it
depends upon many factors, including what exactly is meant by the
word “responsible.” The origin and nature of sin are mysteries that no
one can fully explain.
Even so, God did not ordain sin to exist; He only allowed its existence,
and then, at the cross, He took upon Himself the ultimate punishment for
that sin, thus enabling Him, ultimately, to eradicate it. In all our painful
musings about evil, we must never forget that God Himself paid the high-
est price for the existence of sin and of evil (see Matt. 5:43–48 and Rom.
5:6–11), and that He has suffered from them more than any of us ever will.
Free will, a gift from God, is sacred, but comes heavy laden with
powerful consequences, not only for yourself but also for others,
as well. What important decisions are you, using this gift, about
to make, and what will be the consequences of whatever choices
you make?
Creation, an Expression of Love
Nature in its present condition carries an ambiguous message that
mingles both good and evil. Rosebushes can produce lovely and fra-
grant roses but also harmful and painful thorns. A toucan can impress
us with its beauty and then dismay us by assaulting the nests of other
birds and eating their frail chicks. Even human beings, who are capa-
ble of kindness one moment, can be vicious, hateful, and even violent
in the next. No wonder that in the parable of the wheat and the tares,
the servants asked the field owner, “ ‘ “Sir, did you not sow good seed
in your field? How then does it have tares?” ’ ” (Matt. 13:27, NKJV).
And the owner replied, “ ‘ “An enemy has done this” ’ ” (Matt. 13:28,
NKJV). Likewise, God created the universe perfect, but an enemy
defiled it with the mysterious seeds of sin.
Read 1 John 4:8, 16. What can the certainty that “God is love” tell us
about the nature of His creative activities?
The fact that “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16, NKJV) conveys at
least three basic implications. First, love by its very nature cannot
exist closed in itself but must be expressed. (What kind of love is not
expressed?) God’s love is shared internally among the Three Persons of
the Godhead, and externally in His relationship with all His creatures.
Second, all that God does is an expression of His unconditional and
unchangeable love. This includes His creative works, His redemp-
tive actions, and even the manifestations of His punitive judgments.
Actually, “God’s love has been expressed in His justice no less than in
His mercy. Justice is the foundation of His throne, and the fruit of His
love.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 762. And third, since
God is love and all that He does expresses His love, He cannot be the
originator of sin, which is in direct opposition to His own character.
But did God really need to create the universe? From the perspective
of His sovereignty, one could say “No,” because it was a decision of His
free will. But from the perspective of His loving nature, He wanted a
universe as a means of expressing His love. And how amazing that He
created some forms of life, such as humans, not only to be capable of
responding to His love but also of sharing and expressing love, not just
to Him but to others, as well. (See also Mark 12:30, 31.)
Look around at the created world. In what ways can you see in it
reflections of God’s love, despite the ravages of sin? How can we
learn to draw lessons of hope from the expression of God’s love
revealed in creation?
Read for This Week’s Study: 1 John 4:8, 16; 1 John 4:7–16;
Ezek. 28:12–19; Isa. 14:12–15; Revelation 12.
Memory Text: “ ‘How you have fallen from heaven, you star of the
morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, you
who defeated the nations!’ ” (Isa. 14:12, NASB).
Many thinkers have tried to explain the origin of evil. Some sug-
gest that evil always has existed because, in their view, good
can be appreciated only in contrast to evil. Others believe
that the world was created perfect but, somehow, evil emerged. For
example, in Greek mythology, evil started when the curious Pandora
opened a sealed box out of which flew all the evils of the world (this
myth, however, does not explain the origin of the evils supposedly hid-
den in that box).
By contrast, the Bible teaches that our loving God is all-powerful
(1 Chron. 29:10, 11) and perfect (Matt. 5:48). All that He does must
likewise be perfect (Deut. 32:4), which includes how He created
our world. How, then, could evil and sin appear in a perfect world?
According to Genesis 3, the fall of Adam and Eve brought sin, evil,
and death here.
But that answer raises another issue. Even before the Fall, evil
already had existed, manifested by the “serpent,” who deceived Eve
(Gen. 3:1–5). Hence, we need to go back, even before the Fall, in order
to find the source and origins of the evil that so dominates our present
existence and that at times can make it pretty miserable.
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Gethsemane,” pp. 685–697,
and “Calvary,” pp. 741–757, in The Desire of Ages.
“Three times has He uttered that prayer. Three times has humanity
shrunk from the last, crowning sacrifice. But now the history of the
human race comes up before the world’s Redeemer. He sees that the
transgressors of the law, if left to themselves, must perish. He sees the
helplessness of man. He sees the power of sin. The woes and lamenta-
tions of a doomed world rise before Him. He beholds its impending
fate, and His decision is made. He will save man at any cost to Himself.
He accepts His baptism of blood, that through Him perishing millions
may gain everlasting life. He has left the courts of heaven, where all is
purity, happiness, and glory, to save the one lost sheep, the one world
that has fallen by transgression. And He will not turn from His mission.
He will become the propitiation of a race that has willed to sin. His
prayer now breathes only submission: ‘If this cup may not pass away
from Me, except I drink it, Thy will be done.’ ”—Ellen G. White, The
Desire of Ages, pp. 690, 693.
Discussion Questions:
Ê How does it help us in our own sufferings, this knowledge that
God Himself, in the person of Christ, suffered more than any of
us ever could? What should the sufferings of Christ in our behalf
mean to us? What comfort can we draw from this amazing truth?
As you think about your answer, keep in mind the following state-
ment from Ellen White: “All the suffering which is the result of sin
was poured into the bosom of the sinless Son of God.”—Selected
Messages, book 3, p. 129.
Ë As a class, go over the sufferings of Christ examined in this
week’s lesson. What were the crucibles that Christ faced? In what
ways are they like our own, and in what ways are they different?
What can we learn from how He handled these challenges that can
help us amid our own crucibles?
Ì What are some of your favorite Bible promises, promises that
you can cling to amid sorrow and pain? Write them out, claim
them for yourself, and share them in class.
Í Write out a summary paragraph, highlighting whatever main
points you got from this quarter’s lessons. What questions were
resolved for you? What issues still remain unanswered? How can
we help each other work through those things that still greatly
perplex and trouble us?
The Suffering God
We might as well get used to it: as long as we are here, in this world,
we are going to suffer. As fallen creatures, it is our fate. Nothing in the
Bible promises us anything different. On the contrary:
What do the following texts have to tell us about the topic at hand? Acts
14:22, Phil. 1:29, 2 Tim. 3:12.
Yet, in the midst of our suffering, we should keep two things in mind.
First, Christ, our Lord, has suffered more than any of us ever could.
At the cross, He “has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows” (Isa.
53:4, NKJV); what we know only as individuals, He suffered for us all
corporately. He who was sinless became “sin for us” (2 Cor. 5:21), suf-
fering in a way that we, as sinful creatures, couldn’t begin to imagine.
But second, as we suffer, we should remember the results of Christ’s
suffering; that is, what we have been promised through what Christ has
done for us.
Read John 10:28, Romans 6:23, Titus 1:2, and 1 John 2:25. What are
we promised?
Whatever our sufferings here, thanks to Jesus, thanks to His bearing
in Himself the punishment of our sin, thanks to the great provision
of the gospel—that through faith we can stand perfect in Jesus right
now—we have the promise of eternal life. We have the promise that
because of what Christ has done, because of the fullness and complete-
ness of His perfect life and perfect sacrifice, our existence here, full of
pain, disappointment, and loss, is no more than an instant, a flash, here
and gone, in contrast to the eternity that awaits us, an eternity in a new
heaven and a new earth, one without sin, suffering, and death. And all
this is promised to us and made certain for us only because of Christ
and the crucible He went into so that one day, coming soon, He will see
“the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied” (Isa. 53:11).
The Crucified God
Death by crucifixion was one of the harshest punishments the
Romans meted out to anyone. It was considered the worst way to die.
Thus, how horrific for anyone to be killed that way, in particular the
Son of God! Jesus, we must always remember, came in human flesh
like ours. Between the beatings, the scourgings, the nails hammered
into His hands and feet, and the harrowing weight of His own body
tearing at the wounds, the physical pain must have been unbearable.
This was harsh, even for the worst of criminals; how unfair, then, that
Jesus, innocent of everything, should face such a fate.
Yet, as we know, Christ’s physical sufferings were mild in contrast to
what really was happening. This was more than just the killing of an
innocent man.
What events surrounding the death of Jesus showed that more was
going on than most people there understood at the time? What
significance can we find in each of these events that can help reveal
what happened there?
Matt. 27:45
Matt. 27:51, 52
Mark 15:38
Clearly, something much more was happening here than just the
death, however unfair, of an innocent man. According to Scripture,
God’s wrath against sin, our sin, was poured out upon Jesus. Jesus on
the cross suffered a righteous God’s righteous indignation against sin,
the sins of the whole world. As such, Jesus suffered something deeper,
darker, and more painful than any human being could ever know or
experience.
As you go through whatever struggles you are facing, what hope
and comfort can you draw from the reality of Christ suffering for
you on the cross?
Jesus in Gethsemane
“And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto
death: tarry ye here, and watch” (Mark 14:34).
Whatever Jesus suffered throughout His 33 years here on earth,
nothing compared to what He began to face in the last hours before the
Cross. From the eternal ages (Eph. 1:1–4; 2 Tim. 1:8, 9; Titus 1:1, 2),
the sacrifice of Jesus as the offering for the world’s sin was planned,
and now it was all coming to pass.
What do the following texts tell us about Christ’s suffering in
Gethsemane? Matt. 26:39, Mark 14:33–36, Luke 22:41–44.
“He went a little distance from them—not so far but that they could
both see and hear Him—and fell prostrate upon the ground. He felt that
by sin He was being separated from His Father. The gulf was so broad,
so black, so deep, that His spirit shuddered before it. This agony He
must not exert His divine power to escape. As man He must suffer the
consequences of man’s sin. As man He must endure the wrath of God
against transgression.
“Christ was now standing in a different attitude from that in which
He had ever stood before. His suffering can best be described in the
words of the prophet, ‘Awake, O sword, against My shepherd, and
against the man that is My fellow, saith the Lord of hosts.’ Zech.
13:7. As the substitute and surety for sinful man, Christ was suf-
fering under divine justice. He saw what justice meant. Hitherto
He had been as an intercessor for others; now He longed to have
an intercessor for Himself.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages,
p. 686.
Dwell upon what was happening to Jesus in Gethsemane.
Already, the sins of the world were starting to fall upon Him. Try
to imagine what that must have been like. No human being has
ever been called to go through anything like this before or since.
What does this tell us about God’s love for us? What hope can
you draw from this for yourself?
Despised and Rejected of Men
Read the following texts, all the while keeping in mind the fact that
Jesus was divine, the Creator of heaven and earth, and that He
came to offer Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world
(Matt. 12:22–24; Luke 4:21–30; John 8:58, 59). How do these texts
help us understand the sufferings that Jesus faced here on earth?
Whether by leaders, or even by the common people, Jesus’ life, acts,
and teaching were constantly misunderstood, leading to rejection and
hatred from people He came to save. In a certain sense, it must be like a
parent who sees a wayward child in need of help, and though the parent
is willing to give everything for that child, the child spurns the parent,
heaping scorn and rejection upon, perhaps, the only person who can
spare that child from utter ruin. That’s what Jesus faced while here on
earth. How painful it must have been for Him.
Read Matthew 23:37. What does it tell us about how Christ felt about
the rejection? As you read, ask yourself, too, Was He feeling bad for
Himself (as we often do when facing rejection), or was it for another
reason? If for another reason, what was it?
We’ve all felt the sting of rejection, and maybe our pain was similar
to Christ’s in that it was unselfish: we were pained, not because we were
rejected, but because of what the rejection would mean for the one who
was rejecting us (perhaps someone we care about who refuses to accept
salvation in Christ). Imagine, though, how it must have felt to Jesus, who
was fully aware of what He was to face in order to save them, and at the
same time fully aware of what the consequences of their rejection would
be. “It was because of His innocence that He [Christ] felt so keenly the
assaults of Satan.”—Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, book 3, p. 129.
What can you learn from Christ that can help you better cope
with the pain of rejection? What does His example show you?
How can you apply it to your own life?
The Early Days
Scripture gives us little information about the early years of Jesus. A
few verses, however, tell us something about the conditions He lived
under and the kind of world the Savior entered.
Read Luke 2:7, 22–24 (see also Lev. 12:6–8) and Matthew 2:1–18.
What do we see in these texts that gives us an indication of the kind
of life Jesus faced from the start?
Of course, Jesus was not the first person to live in poverty or to face
those who wanted to kill Him, even from an early age. There is, how-
ever, another element that helps us understand the uniqueness of what
Christ suffered from the earliest times.
Read John 1:46. What element does this add to help us understand
what sufferings the young Jesus had faced?
With the exceptions of Adam and Eve before the Fall, Jesus was the
only sinless Person who ever lived on the earth. In His purity, in His
sinlessness, He was immersed in a world of sin. What torture it must
have been, even as a child, for His pure soul constantly to be in contact
with sin. Even in our hardness because of sin, we ourselves often shrink
away from exposure to sins and evil that we find repulsive. Imagine
what it must have been like for Christ, whose soul was pure, who wasn’t
the least bit tainted by sin. Think of the sharp contrast between Himself
and others around Him in that regard. It must have been exceedingly
painful for Him.
Ask yourself, “How sensitive am I to the sins that exist all around
us? Do they bother me, or am I hardened to them?” If you are
hardened to them, could it be because of the things you read,
watch, or even do? Think about it.
Read for This Week’s Study: Luke 2:7, 22–24; Matt. 2:1–18;
John 8:58, 59; Luke 22:41–44; Matt. 27:51, 52; Rom. 6:23; Titus 1:2.
Memory Text: “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud
voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, My
God, why have You forsaken Me?’ ” (Matthew 27:46, NKJV).
Whenever we look at the issue of suffering, the question comes:
How did sin and suffering first arise? Through divine revela
tion we have good answers: they arose because free beings
abused the freedom God had given them. This leads to another ques-
tion: Did God know beforehand that these beings would fall? Yes, but
obviously He thought it was, as C. S. Lewis wrote, “worth the risk.”
Worth the risk? For whom? For us, while God sits in heaven on His
throne? Not exactly. The freedom of all His intelligent creatures was so
sacred that, rather than deny us freedom, God chose to bear in Himself
the brunt of the suffering caused by our abuse of that freedom. And we
see this suffering in the life and death of Jesus, who, through suffering
in our flesh, has created bonds between heaven and earth that will last
throughout eternity.
The Week at a Glance: What did Christ suffer in our behalf?
What can we learn from His suffering?
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Eli and His Sons,”
pp. 575–580, and “The Presumption of Saul,” pp. 616–626, in
Patriarchs and Prophets.
Submission to God’s will comes as we die to our own desires and
ambitions. This opens the way for true service to others. We cannot live
for God without becoming sacrifices and living in continual openness
to God’s voice. For us truly to submit our wills to our Father’s will, we
must recognize the dangers of relying on ourselves and on substitutes
for God’s Word and power. As submission to God’s will is at the heart
of a Christlike life, God may allow crucibles to teach us dependence
on Him.
“The neglect of Eli is brought plainly before every father and mother
in the land. As the result of his unsanctified affection or his unwilling-
ness to do a disagreeable duty, he reaped a harvest of iniquity in his
perverse sons. Both the parent who permitted the wickedness and the
children who practiced it were guilty before God, and He would accept
no sacrifice or offering for their transgression.”—Ellen G. White, Child
Guidance, p. 276.
Discussion Questions:
Ê As a class, talk about the incredible condescension of the Son
of God in coming to earth as a human being in order to die for
our sins. What does this tell each of us about what self-sacrifice
and self-denial for the good of others means? Though we certainly
can’t do anything like what Jesus did, the principle is there and
should always be before us. In what ways can we, in our own
spheres, emulate the kind of submission and self-sacrifice that
Jesus showed us at the cross?
Ë For many people, submitting to God without knowing what
will happen next can be a terrifying thing. How would you coun-
sel people who are relying on themselves rather than God? What
would you say to help remove their fears of not knowing—or being
able to control—the future?
Ì As a class, spend some time praying for people you know who
have difficulty in submitting to God’s will, that they may see that
trusting God’s will is the only route to a lasting peace. At the same
time, what practical things can you do for these people to help
them see that they can surrender to God and that His way is the
best? In other words, how can God use you to help others know of
His love and willingness to provide?
Substitutes
As we saw yesterday, submission to God’s will can be undermined
as we rely on our own strength. It also is possible to rely on other sub-
stitutes for God. When some people feel depressed, they go shopping
for something to make them happy. When some feel inadequate, they
pursue fame. When others have difficulties with their spouse, they look
for someone else to give them intimacy and excitement.
Many of the things we use can relieve the pressure, but they do not
necessarily solve the problem or teach us how to handle the situation
better the next time. Only supernatural help from God can do that. The
problem is that many times we depend on substitutes for God rather
than on God Himself.
Here are three substitutes that we may use instead of God:
- We use human logic or past experience when we need fresh divine
revelation.
-
We block problems from our minds when we need divine solutions.
-
We escape reality and avoid God when we need communion with
Him for divine power.
Zechariah helps us to focus on what really matters when we are
tempted to use substitutes. After many years away, the exiles had
finally returned from Babylon and immediately began to rebuild the
temple. But there was an incredible amount of opposition to this (some
background can be found in Ezra 4–6). So, Zechariah came with this
message of encouragement to Zerubbabel, who was leading the work.
Read this message in Zechariah 4. What does God mean in Zechariah
4:6? How could the completion of a building project be affected
by the Holy Spirit? What does this teach us about the relationship
between the Holy Spirit and the practical things that we do?
God did not prevent the opposition to the temple or spare Zerubbabel
from the stress of dealing with it. And God will not always protect us
from opposition. But when opposition comes, God may use it as a cru-
cible to teach us to depend on Him.
When stress comes, what’s your first reaction? Food? Television?
Prayer? Submission to God? What does your answer tell you
about yourself and the things you need to learn or to change?
Self-Reliance
When Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, it wasn’t simply because she
doubted God’s word. At the heart of the problem was her belief that she had
enough wisdom to decide for herself what was good and right. She trusted
her own judgment. When we rely on our own judgment as opposed to trust-
ing God’s Word, we open ourselves up to all sorts of problems.
The story of Saul describes his steps to self-reliance and the tragedy
that so quickly follows. Samuel anointed Saul as God’s king (1 Sam.
10:1). Then he gave Saul specific instructions (1 Sam. 10:8), but Saul
disobeyed.
Read the next part of the story in 1 Samuel 13:1–14. What did Saul do
that led to his own downfall?
There are three steps that led Saul down the road to self-reliance so
soon after having been made king. The problem is that none of the steps
were that bad in themselves. Yet, they contained the seeds of tragedy
because they were each taken independently of God. Notice the order
in which Saul’s fall occurred.
- Saul said, “I saw” (NIV)—the scattering of his troops and Samuel’s
absence (1 Sam. 13:11). Saul was under pressure, and he evaluated with
his own eyes what was happening.
- Saul moved from “I saw” to “I said”—that the Philistines would
conquer them (1 Sam. 13:12, NKJV). What he saw with his own eyes
shaped what he said, or surmised, about the situation.
- Saul moved from “I said” to “I felt”—compelled to offer sacrifice
(1 Sam. 13:12, NKJV). What Saul thought now shaped his feelings.
All of us have done this: we rely on our own human eyesight, which
leads us to rely on our own human thinking, which leads us to rely on
our own human feelings. And then we act on these feelings.
Why do you think it was so easy for Saul to follow his own judg-
ment, even though he had God’s clear instructions still ringing in
his ears? If we know that we are so fragile and have such imper-
fect knowledge, why do we still try to rely on ourselves? What
can we do to learn to trust in the Lord’s commands more than
trusting in ourselves?
Willingness to Listen
“The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times,
‘Samuel! Samuel!’ Then Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is
listening’ ” (1 Sam. 3:10, NIV).
Have you ever heard that still, small voice of the Holy Spirit but
ignored it? Consequently, everything went wrong, and you thought to
yourself later, Oh no, why didn’t I listen?
First Samuel describes the story of an old man and his two wicked
sons who didn’t listen to the Lord and a little boy who did. Though
there were strong warnings from God, those who needed to change
their course didn’t.
Read their story in 1 Samuel 2:12–3:18. What contrast is made appar-
ent here between those who listen to God and those who don’t?
Eli’s sons had other things on their minds than the things of God.
And even when Eli, after hearing what God wanted, spoke to his sons,
he didn’t seem to do anything else. And his sons were obviously not
ready to submit the details of their lives to God’s will. What a contrast
to the young Samuel!
Preacher Charles Stanley describes how essential it is to cultivate
openness to God’s voice in what he calls “shifting into neutral.” He
says: “The Holy Spirit . . . does not speak for the sake of passing along
information. He speaks to get a response. And He knows when our
agenda has such a large slice of our attention that it is a waste of time
to suggest anything to the contrary. When that is the case, He is often
silent. He waits for us to become neutral enough to hear and eventu-
ally obey.”—The Wonderful Spirit-Filled Life (Nashville, TN: Thomas
Nelson Publishers, 1992), pp. 179, 180.
What do you think Stanley means by becoming “neutral enough”?
When you think about your openness to God, what things often
prevent you from being “neutral enough to hear and eventually
obey”? What do you need to do in your life to cultivate openness
to God’s voice and a decisiveness to be obedient to His direction?
Dying Comes Before Knowing God’s Will
Many Christians sincerely seek to know God’s will for their lives.
“If only I could know God’s will for my life, I would sacrifice every-
thing for Him.” But even after promising this to God, we still may be
confused about what His will is. The reason for this confusion may be
found in Romans 12:1, 2. Paul is describing how we can know God’s
will, and he makes an important point: if you want to know what God’s
will is, you have to sacrifice first!
Read Romans 12:1, 2. Paul writes that we will be able to “test and approve
what God’s will is” (Rom. 12:2, NIV) when the following things happen:
-
We have a true understanding of “God’s mercy” for us (Rom. 12:1, NIV).
-
We offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God (Rom. 12:1).
-
Our minds are renewed (Rom. 12:2).
It is only the renewed mind that truly can understand God’s will. But
this renewal hinges on our death to self first. It was not enough that
Christ simply suffered for us—He had to die.
Ask the Holy Spirit to show you any areas in which you are not com-
pletely “dead.” What things does the Holy Spirit need you to give up
in order for you to become a “living sacrifice” for God?
When areas of our lives are not completely dead to self, God permits
crucibles to bring them to our attention. However, our suffering not only
helps us confront our sin—but it also gives us an insight into Jesus’
giving Himself up for us. Elisabeth Elliot writes, “The surrender of our
heart’s deepest longing is perhaps as close as we come to an understand-
ing of the cross. . . . Our own experience of crucifixion, though immea-
surably less than our Savior’s, nonetheless furnishes us with a chance
to begin to know Him in the fellowship of His sufferings. In every form
of our own suffering, He calls us to that fellowship.”—Quest for Love
(Grand Rapids, MI: Fleming H. Revell, 1996), p. 182.
Read and pray over Romans 12:1, 2. Think about the things you
need to give up in order to become a sacrifice. How does this
help you to understand the sufferings Jesus faced for you on the
cross? How can this knowledge help you enter into fellowship
with Jesus and His sufferings?
Submission for Service
Read Philippians 2:5–9. What important message is there for us in
these verses?
Contemporary culture urges us all to demand and assert our rights.
And all this is good and often is the way it should be. But as with Jesus,
the will of God may be for us to give up our rights freely in order to
serve the Father in ways that will make an eternal impact for God’s
kingdom. This process of giving them up may be difficult and uncom-
fortable, creating the conditions of a crucible.
Look at how Jesus did this (Phil. 2:5–8). These verses describe three
steps that Jesus took in submitting Himself to the Father’s will. And at
the beginning, Paul alarmingly reminds us: “Have the same mindset as
Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:5, NIV).
In order to be in a position to save us, Jesus gave up His equality with
the Father and moved to earth in the form and limitations of a human
being (Phil. 2:6, 7, NIV).
Jesus did not come as a great and glorious human being, but as a
servant of other human beings (Phil. 2:7, NIV).
As a human servant, Jesus did not live a peaceful and long life but
became “obedient to death.” He did not even die in a noble and glori-
ous manner. No, He was “obedient to death—even death on a cross!”
(Phil. 2:8, NIV).
In what areas of life is this example of Jesus a model for us? If rights
and equality are good and should be protected, how would you
explain the logic of sometimes needing to give them up? Now read
Philippians 2:9. In what way does this verse help us to understand
the logic of submission to the Father’s will?
Pray for wisdom from the Holy Spirit, asking, “What rights am I
holding on to right now that actually might be a barrier to sub-
mitting to Jesus’ will in serving my family, my church, and those
around me? To what extent am I willing to endure discomfort to
serve others more effectively?
Read for This Week’s Study: Phil. 2:5–9; Rom. 12:1, 2;
1 Sam. 2:12–3:18; 1 Sam. 13:1–14; Zech. 4:1–14.
Memory Text: “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat
falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; . . . but if it dies, it
produces much grain” (John 12:24, NKJV).
Jesus’ picture of a kernel of wheat dying is a fascinating analogy of
our submission to God’s will. First, there is the falling. The kernel
that falls from the wheat stalk has no control over where or how
it falls to the ground. It has no control over the ground that surrounds
and then presses over it.
Second, there is the waiting. As the kernel lies in the earth, it does not
know what the future holds. It cannot “imagine” what life will be like
in the future, for it is only a kernel of wheat.
Third, there is the dying. The kernel cannot possibly become a wheat
stalk unless it gives up its safe, comfortable situation as a kernel. It
must “die”; that is, it must give up what it has always been before so it
may be transformed from a seed into a fruit-bearing plant.
The Week at a Glance: If we know that God’s will is best for
us, why do we have such a hard time accepting it? What example
of submission has Christ left for us? How do you see the analogy of
the kernel of wheat as applying to your own life?
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “The Anointing of David,”
pp. 637–642, in Patriarchs and Prophets.
God’s plan for us may require that we do a lot of waiting, and this
really can feel like a crucible. Learning patience during this time can
happen as we focus on the person of God and trust that He is acting for
us. There are many reasons for waiting, but all are concerned with the
fulfillment of God’s plans for us and His kingdom. We can lose much if
we rush ahead of God, but we can gain much by maintaining an attitude
of trust and delight in Him.
The Lord weighs and measures every trial.
“I cannot read the purpose of God in my affliction, but He knows
what is best, and I will commit my soul, body, and spirit to Him as
unto my faithful Creator. ‘For I know whom I have believed, and am
persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him
against that day’ (2 Tim. 1:12). If we educated and trained our souls to
have more faith, more love, greater patience, and a more perfect trust in
our heavenly Father, I know we would have more peace and happiness
day by day as we pass through the conflicts of this life.
“The Lord is not pleased to have us fret and worry ourselves out of
the arms of Jesus. More is needed of the quiet waiting and watching
combined. We think unless we have feeling that we are not in the right
track, and we keep looking within for some sign befitting the occa-
sion; but the reckoning is not of feeling but of faith.”—Ellen G. White,
Selected Messages, book 2, p. 242.
Discussion Questions:
Ê What does it mean that Jesus “weighs and measures” every
trial? How can knowing this help us while we wait?
Ë Ask people in class to give personal testimonies as to what patient
waiting is all about. What were their fears, their joys? How did they
cope? What did they learn? What promises did they cling to?
Ì What can you do as a church or a class to help others who are
in the crucible as they await God’s timing for something?
Í What is the role of prayer in the development of patience?
Are there others you can pray for so that the Spirit will develop
patience in their lives?
Learning to Take Delight in the Lord
“Take delight in the L ord , and he will give you the desires of your
heart” (Ps. 37:4, NRSV).
Psalm 37:4 is a wonderful promise. Imagine getting what you have always
wanted. But getting the desires of our hearts hinges on having hearts that take
delight in the Lord. So, what does it mean to “take delight in the Lord”?
Read Psalm 37:1–11. The context for Psalm 37:4 is, perhaps, a little
surprising. David is writing about being surrounded by people who
are working against God and against him. When people are working
against us, the natural response is often to get angry or to set out to
justify ourselves. But David advises something different.
In the following verses, what is David’s counsel to God’s people in this
situation?
Ps. 37:1
Ps. 37:5
Ps. 37:7
Ps. 37:8
Read Psalm 37:4 again. In the context of the verses you have just made
comments on, what does it mean to “take delight in the Lord ”?
David is repeating again and again, in different ways, “Trust God.”
Trust Him to act. Don’t get upset, because God is your God, and He is
working for you—even right now. You don’t have to charge in and try to
sort things out by yourself. Your Father in heaven is in charge. Trust Him.
Trust Him completely.
It is in this context that David writes about taking delight in the Lord.
To take delight in God means that we live in a state of perfect trust.
Nothing can ruffle our peace, because God is here and at work. We can
praise Him, we can even smile, because no one can outwit our God!
When we can learn to do this, we really will receive what our hearts long
for, because we will receive what our loving Father wants to give us, at
the time that most benefits us and His kingdom.
How can you learn to “take delight in the L ord ”? Spend some
time in prayer, seeking God’s guidance as to how this may
become a reality in your life.
Elijah: The Problem of Rushing
The showdown on top of Mount Carmel had ended (1 Kings 18).
Fire had come out of heaven, all the people had acknowledged the
true God, and the false prophets had been put to death. God had been
vindicated. You would have thought that Elijah had been growing in
spiritual strength as the day went on, but suddenly he heard something
that terrified him so much that he wanted to die. Read the rest of the
story in 1 Kings 19:1–9. The last words in the text are worrisome: “And
the word of the Lord came to him: ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ ”
(1 Kings 19:9, NIV). Evidently, Elijah’s fear caused him to run and find
himself in the wrong place.
After such a powerful intervention by the Lord on Mount Carmel,
Elijah should have been full of faith and trust; instead, he ran in
fear for his life. What lesson can we learn from this bad example?
This story illustrates something important: when we rush, we can
very easily find ourselves in the wrong place. In Elijah’s case, it was
his fear that caused him to be overwhelmed and rush into the desert,
wishing that he had never been born. But there are other things that
cause us to rush outside of God’s plan for us.
Read the following texts. What things caused the characters depicted
here to rush outside of God’s will? Gen. 16:1–3; Num. 20:10–12;
Judg. 14:1–3; Matt. 20:20, 21; Luke 9:52–56; Acts 9:1.
How easy it is to let such things as ambition, anger, passion, lack
of faith, or a supposed “zeal” for the Lord cause us to rush ahead to
where we shouldn’t be. No one is immune to this danger. The key is
to cultivate a trusting faith in the goodness and mercy of God, who we
know loves us and wants what’s best for us. This doesn’t happen auto-
matically. Faith might be a gift, but it’s a gift that needs to be cultivated,
nurtured, and jealously guarded.
David: An Object Lesson in Waiting
In 1 Samuel 16:1–13, we see David anointed by Samuel as king. However,
it was a long journey from the fields of his father, Jesse, to the throne in
Jerusalem. No doubt, at times, he felt he was in the midst of a crucible.
First, the lad is called to play music to soothe Saul’s troubled spirit
(1 Samuel 16). Later, he becomes Israel’s hero as he kills Goliath
(1 Samuel 17). Then there are many years during which David is run-
ning for his life. Both Saul and his son Jonathan know that David is
destined to be the next king (1 Sam. 23:17, 1 Sam. 24:20). But David
does nothing to advance his God-given destiny. In fact, he appears to do
the opposite. Even when Saul tries to kill him and David snips a piece
of cloth off the king’s robe, he wishes he had never done such a thing
(1 Sam. 24:5–7). Again when Saul is trying to kill David, David refuses
to kill Saul when the opportunity arises (1 Sam. 26:7–11).
Read 1 Samuel 26:1–11. Why does David refuse to kill Saul? What
principles does this teach us about the way God brings about His
plans for our lives?
Now read 1 Samuel 26:12–25. How does David’s refusal to kill Saul affect
Saul? What does this teach us about the advantages of waiting for God?
Looking at the whole of David’s road to the throne, we could perhaps
summarize it in a short sentence—don’t grab what God has not yet
given. God’s gifts are always best received from His hand and in His
time. This may require a very long time of waiting. Bean sprouts may
literally grow up within hours, while an oak tree will take many years.
But then when the strong winds come, the tree will not be uprooted.
Think about how easily David could have justified killing Saul.
(After all, David was told he’d have the throne, and Saul was so
evil anyway.) Yet, his actions speak of true faith in God. What
conclusion might you be able to draw from this example for your-
self in light of whatever you might be waiting for?
In God’s Time
Read Romans 5:6 and Galatians 4:4. What do they tell us about God’s
timing?
In these verses, Paul tells us that Jesus came to die for us at exactly
the right time. But Paul does not tell us why it was the right time. It
is very easy to read these verses and wonder, Why did Jesus wait for
thousands of years until He came to the earth to deal with sin—didn’t
the universe understand that sin was a very bad thing long before then?
We may ask why Jesus is waiting to come the second time, as well. We
also may ask, Why is the Lord waiting so long to answer my prayer?
Think about, for instance, the 70-week prophecy of Daniel 9:24–27,
the prophecy that points to Jesus as the Messiah (review it if you
need to). How long was this time period? What does this tell you
about learning to wait for things in God’s time, even if it takes what
seems to us a long time?
There are many important spiritual reasons why we will experi-
ence waiting times. First, waiting can refocus our attention away from
“things” and back to God Himself. Second, waiting allows us to develop
a clearer picture of our own motives and desires. Third, waiting builds
perseverance—
spiritual stamina. Fourth, waiting opens the door to
developing many spiritual strengths, such as faith and trust. Fifth, waiting
allows God to put down other pieces in the puzzle of the bigger picture.
Sixth, we may never know the reason we have to wait; hence, we learn to
live by faith. Can you think of any other reasons for waiting?
What examples can you find in the Bible of God doing things in
His own time that can help you learn to trust that He will do for
you what’s right in His own time, as well? (Think, for instance,
about Abraham and Sarah and the promise of a son.) At the same
time, ask yourself, “What might I be doing that could be delaying
the answer to a prayer that could have been answered long ago?”
The God of Patience
Read Romans 15:4, 5. What is found in these verses for us?
We are normally impatient about things that we really want or have
been promised but don’t have yet. We are often satisfied only when we
get what we are longing for. And because we rarely get what we want
when we want it, it means that we are often doomed to irritation and
impatience. And when we are in this state, it is almost impossible to
maintain peace and trust in God.
Waiting is painful by definition. In Hebrew, one of the words for
“wait patiently” (Ps. 37:7, NKJV) comes from a Hebrew word that
can be translated “to be much pained,” “to shake,” “to tremble,” “to be
wounded,” “to be sorrowful.” Learning patience is not easy; sometimes
it’s the very essence of what it means to be in the crucible.
Read Psalm 27:14, Psalm 37:7, and Romans 5:3–5. What are these
verses saying to us? What does patience lead to?
While we wait, we can concentrate on one of two things. We can focus
on the things that we are waiting for, or we can focus on the One who holds
those things in His hands. What makes such a difference when we wait for
something isn’t so much how long we have to wait but our attitude while we
wait. If we trust the Lord, if we have placed our lives in His hands, if we have
surrendered our wills to Him, then we can trust that He will do what’s best
for us when it’s best for us, no matter how hard it is sometimes to believe it.
What things are you desperately waiting for? How can you learn
to surrender everything to God and to His timing? Pray your
way into an attitude of complete surrender and submission to
the Lord.
Read for This Week’s Study: Rom. 15:4, 5; Rom. 5:3–5;
1 Samuel 26; Ps. 37:1–11.
Memory Text: “But the fruit of the Spirit is . . . longsuffering” (Gala-
tians 5:22, NKJV).
Scientists did an experiment with four-year-old children and
marshmallows. Each child was told by a scientist that they could
have a marshmallow; however, if the child waited until the sci-
entist returned from an errand, they would be given two. Some of the
children stuffed the marshmallow into their mouths the moment the
scientist left; others waited. The differences were noted.
The scientists then kept track of these children into their teenage
years. The ones who had waited turned out to be better adjusted, bet-
ter students, and more confident than those who didn’t. It seemed that
patience was indicative of something greater, something important in
the human character. It is no wonder, then, that the Lord tells us to
cultivate it.
This week, we’ll look at what could be behind some of the most try-
ing of all crucibles: the crucibles of waiting.
The Week at a Glance: Why do we sometimes have to wait
so long for things? What lessons can we learn about patience while
in the crucible?
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “The Importance of Seeking
True Knowledge,” pp. 453, 454, in The Ministry of Healing; “The Sermon
on the Mount,” pp. 298–314, in The Desire of Ages; “The Worker and His
Qualifications,” p. 630, in Evangelism.
“The difficulties we have to encounter may be very much lessened by
that meekness which hides itself in Christ. If we possess the humility
of our Master, we shall rise above the slights, the rebuffs, the annoy-
ances, to which we are daily exposed, and they will cease to cast a
gloom over the spirit. The highest evidence of nobility in a Christian is
self-control. He who under abuse or cruelty fails to maintain a calm and
trustful spirit robs God of His right to reveal in him His own perfection
of character. Lowliness of heart is the strength that gives victory to the
followers of Christ; it is the token of their connection with the courts
above.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 301.
Discussion Questions:
Ê How does humility allow us to “rise above” hurts and annoy-
ances? What do you think is the most important characteristic of
humility that allows us to do this?
Ë In your own particular culture, how are the characteristics of
humility and meekness viewed? Are they respected, despised, or
what? What kind of pressures do you face in your culture that
work against you in cultivating these characteristics?
Ì Are there any great examples of meekness and humility among
people alive today? If so, who are they, how have they expressed
these traits, and what can you learn from them?
Í Why is it that we so often equate meekness and humility with
weakness?
Î We saw how David sought the Lord as a refuge. But how does
that work? How is that refuge always manifested? In other words,
how can we, as a church, be a refuge for those who need a refuge?
What kind of refuge does your own local church provide? What
can you do to help make it a place of refuge for those who need it?
Our Rock and Refuge
So often the most proud people, the most arrogant and pushy, are those
who suffer from low self-esteem. Their arrogance and pride—and total
lack of meekness or humility—exist as a cover, perhaps even uncon-
sciously, for something lacking inside. What they need is something we all
need: a sense of security, of worthiness, of acceptance, especially in times
of distress and suffering. We can find that only through the Lord. In short,
meekness and humility, far from being attributes of weakness, are often
the most powerful manifestation of a soul firmly grounded on the Rock.
Read Psalm 62:1–8. What seems to be the background for this psalm?
What points is David making? What spiritual principles can you
learn from what he is saying? Most important, how can you learn
to apply these principles to your own life?
“Without cause men will become our enemies. The motives of the
people of God will be misinterpreted, not only by the world, but by their
own brethren. The Lord’s servants will be put in hard places. A moun-
tain will be made of a molehill to justify men in pursuing a selfish,
unrighteous course. . . . By misrepresentation these men will be clothed
in the dark vestments of dishonesty because circumstances beyond
their control made their work perplexing. They will be pointed to as
men that cannot be trusted. And this will be done by the members of the
church. God’s servants must arm themselves with the mind of Christ.
They must not expect to escape insult and misjudgment. They will be
called enthusiasts and fanatics. But let them not become discouraged.
God’s hands are on the wheel of His providence, guiding His work to
the glory of His name.”—Ellen G. White, The Upward Look, p. 177.
How immune are you to the reproaches and barbs of others?
Most likely not that immune, right? How can you cleave to the
Lord and anchor your sense of self-worth on the One who loves
you so much that He died for your sins, and thus help protect
yourself against the slights of others?
A Closed Mouth
The most powerful examples of meekness in the crucible come from
Jesus. When He said to come and “learn of me; for I am meek and lowly
in heart” (Matt. 11:29), He meant it in ways we probably can’t imagine.
Read 1 Peter 2:18–25. Peter is offering some surprising advice to
slaves. He describes how Jesus responded to unjust and painful
treatment and suggests to them that He has left them “an example,
that you should follow His steps” (1 Pet. 2:21, NKJV). What prin-
ciples of meekness and humility in the crucible can we learn from
Jesus’ example, as expressed here by Peter?
It is terrible to watch someone else treat another unjustly. And it is
extremely painful when we are on the receiving end of such treatment.
Because we normally have a strong sense of justice, when injustice
occurs, our instincts are to “put things right” while holding on to what
we believe to be a righteous and just anger.
It is not easy to live meekly. It is perhaps impossible unless we
embrace one critical truth—that in all unjust situations, we must
believe that our Father in heaven is in control and that He will act on
our behalf when it is according to His will. This also means that we
must be open to the possibility that like Jesus, we may not always be
saved from injustice. But we must always remember that our Father in
heaven is still with us and in charge.
Peter’s advice, modeled on Jesus’ life, is surprising because it seems
that silence in the face of unjust suffering is a greater witness to the
glory of God than “putting people right.” When questioned by Caiaphas
and Pilate, Jesus could have said a lot of things to correct the situation
and to justify Himself, but He didn’t. His silence was a testimony to
His meekness.
How do you deal with situations in which you have been treated
unfairly? How can you better apply some of the principles looked
at here today to your own life?
Loving Those Who Hurt Us
Someone once said: “Loving our enemies, then, does not mean that
we are supposed to love the dirt in which the pearl is buried; rather
it means that we love the pearl which lies in the dust. . . . God does
not love us because we are by nature lovable. But we become lovable
because He loves us.”
When you look at your “enemies,” what do you normally see—the
pearl or the dirt around it?
Read Matthew 5:43–48. Jesus calls us to love and pray for our ene-
mies. What example from nature does Jesus give us there that helps
us understand why we should love our enemies? What’s the point
He is teaching us?
In Matthew 5:45, Jesus uses the example of His Father in heaven to
illustrate how we should treat those who hurt us, who perhaps put us in
the worst kind of crucibles. Jesus says that His Father sends the blessing
of rain to both the righteous and the unrighteous; if God gives even the
unjust rain, how then should we treat them?
Jesus isn’t trying to say that we should always have warm, fuzzy
feelings toward everyone who causes us trouble, though this also may
be possible. Fundamentally, love for our enemies is not meant to be a
feeling we have for them but specific actions toward them that reveal
care and consideration.
Jesus concludes this passage with a verse that often causes a lot of
debate: “ ‘Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect’ ”
(Matt. 5:48, NIV). But the meaning is very clear in the context: those
people who want to be perfect as God is perfect must show love to their
enemies as God shows love to His. To be perfect in God’s sight is to
love the opposition; and to do this takes a meekness of heart that only
God can give.
Keeping in mind our definition of meekness (“enduring injury
with patience and without resentment”), list the changes you
must make in order to allow the Lord to give you the kind of
meekness of heart that will help you have the right attitude
toward “enemies.”
Interceding for Grace
Read Exodus 32:1–14. What role do we find Moses playing here?
After the people began worshiping the golden calf, God decided
they had gone too far and announced that He would destroy the people
and make Moses a great nation. But rather than taking up God’s offer,
Moses pleaded for God to show grace to His people, and God relented.
Exodus 32:1–14 raises two important issues. First, God’s offer to
destroy the rebellious people and bless Moses was a test for him. God
wanted Moses to demonstrate just how much compassion he felt for
these desperately disobedient people. And Moses passed the test. Like
Jesus, he pleaded for mercy for sinners. This reveals something very
interesting: sometimes God also may allow us to face opposition; He
might allow us to be in a crucible so that He, we, and the watching
universe can see how much compassion we have for those who are
wayward.
What reasons did Moses give for asking the Lord not to destroy Israel?
Second, this passage shows that opposition and disobedience is a
call to reveal grace. Grace is needed when people least deserve it.
But when they least deserve it also is the time that we feel the least
like offering it. But when Moses’ sister Miriam was criticizing him,
he cried out to the Lord to heal her from leprosy (Numbers 12).
When God was angry with Korah and his followers and threatened
to destroy them all, Moses fell on his face to plead for their lives.
The next day, when Israel grumbled against Moses for the death of
the rebels and God threatened to destroy them all again, Moses fell
facedown and urged Aaron quickly to make atonement for them all
(Numbers 16). In his own meekness, in his own selflessness in the
midst of this crucible, Moses sought grace on behalf of those who
certainly didn’t deserve it.
Think about the people around you who you think are the least
deserving of grace. How can you, with meekness and selfless
humility, be a revelation of God’s grace to them?
“Broken Bread and Poured-Out Wine”
Consider: Oswald Chambers has said that we are to become “bro-
ken bread and poured-out wine” for others. What do you think he
means by this?
All through the Bible there are examples of people who were “broken”
to serve others. Moses was called to endure unending waves of gossip
and criticism as he led people to the Promised Land. Joseph was called to
a journey that involved betrayal and imprisonment as he was brought to a
position of service in Egypt. In each case, God permitted the situations in
order that His people’s lives could become theaters of His grace and care,
not only for themselves but also for the good of others, as well. God may
use us in the same way. It is easy to feel angry or hurt in such situations.
But as we noted yesterday, meekness is the God-given ability to endure
such things “with patience and without resentment.”
Read Ezekiel 24:15–27. What’s happening here? Why was Ezekiel put
through this crucible?
In Ezekiel 24:24, God says, “ ‘ “Ezekiel will be a sign to you; you
will do just as he has done. When this happens, you will know that I am
the Sovereign Lord” ’ ” (NIV). Through Ezekiel’s example, the people
of Israel were going to be convicted of the truth about who God was,
the Sovereign Lord—and they would see this truth as they experienced
the fulfillment of the prophecy that Ezekiel’s life symbolized and the
suffering that he had faced. Who knows how many people will see “the
Sovereign Lord” through us in our own broken places, as well?
Sooner or later life itself breaks us all. What has been your
experience with being broken? What lessons have you learned?
How can your own broken soul be used by the Lord to help other
people?
Read for This Week’s Study: Ezek. 24:15–27, Exod. 32:1–
14, Matt. 5:43–48, 1 Pet. 2:18–25, Ps. 62:1–8.
Memory Text: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth”
(Matthew 5:5, NKJV).
We don’t hear the word meek used much, except maybe when
reading about Moses or studying the Beatitudes. It’s not hard
to figure out why, either. Meekness is defined as “enduring
injury with patience and without resentment.” No wonder we don’t
hear much about it; it’s hardly a trait well respected in cultures today.
Sometimes the Bible translates this word as “humble.” Again, humility
isn’t a character trait seen as desirable by most cultures either.
But meekness, enduring injury with patience and without resent-
ment, is one of the most powerful characteristics of Jesus and His
followers. And yet, it’s not an end in itself: meekness of spirit can be
a powerful weapon in the hands of those who are in the midst of pain
and suffering. Indeed, the crucible is a great place to learn meekness
of heart, for through our own meekness and broken places we can be
powerful witnesses for God.
The Week at a Glance: What is the relationship between
suffering and meekness? How can we, in our own meekness and
broken places, be a witness to others? How can meekness really be
a strength, not a weakness, for the Christian?
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Jehoshaphat,” pp. 190–203,
in Prophets and Kings; “The Fall of Jericho,” pp. 487–498, in Patriarchs
and Prophets.
“Then let us educate our hearts and lips to speak the praise of God
for His matchless love. Let us educate our souls to be hopeful and to
abide in the light shining from the cross of Calvary. Never should we
forget that we are children of the heavenly King, sons and daughters
of the Lord of hosts. It is our privilege to maintain a calm repose in
God.”—Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing, p. 253.
“And while I adore and magnify Him, I want you to magnify Him
with me. Praise the Lord even when you fall into darkness. Praise Him
even in temptation. ‘Rejoice in the Lord alway,’ says the apostle; ‘and
again I say, Rejoice.’ Will that bring gloom and darkness into your
families? No, indeed; it will bring a sunbeam. You will thus gather
rays of eternal light from the throne of glory and scatter them around
you. Let me exhort you to engage in this work, scatter this light and
life around you, not only in your own path, but in the paths of those
with whom you associate. Let it be your object to make those around
you better, to elevate them, to point them to heaven and glory, and lead
them to seek, above all earthly things, the eternal substance, the immor-
tal inheritance, the riches which are imperishable.”—Ellen G. White,
Testimonies for the Church, vol. 2, pp. 593, 594.
Discussion Questions:
Ê What role does community praise have in the life of the
Christian? How would you describe the praise in your Sabbath
services? Is it uplifting? Does it encourage members to maintain
faithfulness amid trial and trauma? If not, what can be done?
Ë What does it mean to “praise the Lord even when you fall into
darkness” or to “praise Him even in temptation”? How can praise
help us through these situations?
Ì Let members give testimonies on how praise has affected their
lives. What can you learn from one another’s experiences?
Í As a class, pick a psalm of praise and spend time reading it.
What does it teach you about praise? What impact does praise
have on your faith?
A Weapon That Conquers
Read 2 Chronicles 20:1–30. As Jehoshaphat discovered, praise is
a powerful weapon. After receiving the report that a “vast army” was
coming against him, Jehoshaphat did not immediately jump to military
action, but “resolved to inquire of the Lord” (2 Chron. 20:3, NIV). As
the people of Judah came to Jerusalem for a fast, Jehoshaphat admitted
the reality of the situation, saying that “ ‘we have no power to face this
vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes
are on you’ ” (2 Chron. 20:12, NIV).
When you see a “vast army” approaching, what is your instinctive
reaction? From Jehoshaphat’s response in 2 Chronicles 20:3–12,
what can you learn about dealing with overwhelming opposition?
As the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel, he boldly announced:
“ ‘ “You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions;
stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and
Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face
them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you” ’ ” (2 Chron. 20:17,
NIV). After that, they worshiped God and sang praises to Him “with a
very loud voice” (2 Chron. 20:19, NIV). Even though God was going
to fight for them, they still had to go out to face the enemy.
But this was no ordinary march to war. Jehoshaphat appointed a
choir to sing praises to the Lord as they marched out. “As they began
to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon
and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were
defeated” (2 Chron. 20:22, NIV). According to the author, God inter-
vened at the very moment they exercised their faith in His promise, as they
began to “praise him for the splendor of his holiness” (2 Chron. 20:21,
NIV).
Read through the texts for today again. What spiritual principles
can you find there that can apply to your own walk with God,
especially in times of trial and stress?
A Witness Who Convicts
In the book of Acts, praise had an astonishing effect on those who
heard it. Read Acts 16:16–34. Having been stripped and beaten hard,
Paul and Silas were thrown into prison. No one was there to put oint-
ment on their badly cut and bruised backs. In great physical pain and
with their feet in stocks, they were placed in the darkness of the inner
prison. But as the other prisoners sat listening, Paul and Silas begin to
pray and sing.
After the earthquake, and after he had discovered that neither Paul
nor Silas nor any of the other prisoners had escaped, the jailer “fell
trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked,
‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ ” (Acts 16:29, 30, NIV).
Why did this event cause the jailer to focus on his own need of salva-
tion? What role do you think Paul and Silas’s prayers and songs
played in the prisoners’ not running away, and in the conversion of
this man and his whole family?
It is amazing to think that our praise can transform the eternal desti-
nies of those around us. If Paul and Silas had sat in the dark mumbling
and complaining as prisoners often do, do you think anyone would have
been saved that night?
We don’t know what happened to the jailer and his family later on,
but can you imagine them reading the words that Paul later wrote from
another prison in Rome: “For it has been granted to you on behalf of
Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, since you
are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that
I still have” (Phil. 1:29, 30, NIV). If they did read this and reflect on
how Paul’s suffering had brought them joy, it surely must have brought
a song to their hearts and a fresh challenge to remain faithful, no mat-
ter the cost.
Who do you think could be influenced for God by a song of praise
that could come from your heart? Make a concerted effort to be
more open and effusive in your praise to God around others. You
don’t know the positive effect it could have.
The Life of Praise
Praising the Lord might not be natural to us, even in good circum-
stances. Thus, how much more difficult to do it in bad ones? Yet,
that is what we are called to do. Praise is something that we must
practice until it changes from being an activity done at a particular
time to an atmosphere in which we live. Praise shouldn’t so much
be a specific act but a specific way of life itself.
Read Psalm 145. What are the reasons David gives for praising God?
In what ways should the words of this psalm be your own?
The great British preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon wrote a
book called The Practice of Praise. It is based on verse 7 of today’s
psalm. In this short verse, Spurgeon calls our attention to three
important things that can help in developing praise in our lives.
- Praise is practiced as we look around us. If we do not look around
us to see the greatness of God, we will have no reason to praise Him.
What can you see in the created world that is praiseworthy, such as the
beauty of God’s creation? What can you see in the spiritual world that
is praiseworthy, such as the growing faith in a young Christian?
- Praise is practiced as we remember what we have seen. If we
want to live in an atmosphere of praise, we must be able to recall the
reason for it. In what ways can we remember the great things about
God (such as by developing new rituals or symbols that remind us of
His goodness), so that His goodness and the truth about Him do not
slip from our minds?
- Praise is practiced as we talk about it. Praise is not something
that we do in our heads. It is meant to come out of our mouths, to be
heard by those around us. What reasons can you think of to praise God
verbally? What will the effect of such praise be, and on whom?
Take a pen and some paper and spend some time working
through these three points. What can you do to develop the habit
of praise in your life?
Praying Down Walls
There’s an expression in English: “to be painted into a corner.”
Imagine painting the floor of a room but then realizing that you have
wound up in a corner and cannot get out—except by walking over the
fresh paint. You have to stay there until it dries!
Sometimes our faith seems to paint us into a corner. We arrive at a situa
tion, and, like the wet paint on the floor, our faith “traps” us. We look at the
situation, and either we have to reject God, faith, and everything we have
believed in, or our faith compels us to believe what appears impossible.
God brought the Israelites to a corner. After they had wandered for
40 years in the wilderness, God did not lead His people to empty,
peaceful grasslands. God led them to one of the most strongly forti-
fied cities in the whole area. Then they had to walk around Jericho in
silence for six days. On the seventh day, God told them to shout—and
that shouting, together with the trumpets, would bring victory.
Read Joshua 5:13–6:20. What is God trying to teach the Israelites?
Shouting loudly was not going to cause vibrations to trigger the walls
to collapse. When God called the Israelites to “shout,” it was the same
type of shouting that David writes about in Psalm 66: “Shout for joy to
God, all the earth! Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glori-
ous!” (Ps. 66:1, 2, NIV). This shouting was praise! After six days of
looking at the huge walls, they must have concluded that they hadn’t a
chance of breaking them down themselves.
How does this idea help us understand the meaning of Hebrews 11:30?
When God is on the verge of doing something new in our lives, He
may bring us to a Jericho, for He may need to teach us that the
power to triumph does not come in our own strength and strate-
gies. Everything we need comes from outside of ourselves. So, no
matter what is in front of us, no matter how insurmountable it
may seem, our role is to praise God—the Source of everything we
need. This is faith in action.
Framework for Praise
The great Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky had been sentenced
to death, only to have the sentence commuted at the last moment. He
spent years in prison instead. Talking about his prison experience, he
wrote: “Believe to the end, even if all men go astray and you are left
the only one faithful; bring your offering even then and praise God in
your loneliness.”
In these lessons, we already have seen how Paul endured incredible
opposition and persecution. But now he is sitting in a Roman prison.
And yet he is not depressed; instead, he is eagerly writing to encourage
the believers in Philippi!
Read Philippians 4:4–7. How do you think Paul could have written
such things when he himself was sitting in a prison? In this passage,
what are the keys to gaining the “peace of God”?
It is one thing to rejoice when everything is going well. But Paul
exhorts us to rejoice always. That may sound strange. If we take what
Paul writes literally, there are two critical implications for us.
First, if we are to rejoice always, it must mean that we should be
rejoicing even when circumstances do not appear to give any grounds for
rejoicing. Second, if we are to rejoice always, it also must mean that we
are going to have to learn to rejoice at times when we do not feel like it.
Paul is calling us to praise God even though many times it may seem
quite unnatural to us. It may even seem unreasonable. But as we will
see, it is precisely because there are times when it appears unreasonable
that we are called to rejoice. In other words, praise is an act of faith.
Just as faith is based not on our circumstances but rather on the truth
about God, so praise is something we do not because we feel good but
because of the truth of who God is and what He has promised us. And
amazingly, it is such faith that begins to shape our thoughts, feelings,
and circumstances.
What is the truth about God that Paul identifies in today’s
passage—truth that enables him to rejoice, even in prison? Write
down a short list of what you know to be the truth about God.
Go through the list and praise God for each item. How does this
change the way that you feel about and view your circumstances?
S abbath A fternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Phil. 4:4–7, Josh. 5:13–6:20,
Psalm 145, Acts 16:16–34, 2 Chron. 20:1–30.
Memory Text: “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice!”
(Philippians 4:4, NKJV).
It’s always easy to shout with joy to the Lord when we feel joy. It’s
not so easy, however, when things are bad, when we are in the worst
situations imaginable, when the crucible heats up. Yet, it’s precisely
then that we need—perhaps more than ever—to praise God, for praise
is a means of helping us sustain faith.
Indeed, praise can transform even our darkest circumstances, maybe
not in the sense of changing the facts around us, but in the sense that
it can change us, and those around us, in a way that helps us face chal-
lenges.
Praise is faith in action. It may not always be natural to us, but when
we practice praise so that it becomes a natural part of our lives, it has
the power both to convert and to conquer.
The Week at a Glance: What is praise? How could praise
be such a powerful spiritual weapon in difficult circumstances?
How can praise transform us and the situation around us?
Further Study: Read Ellen G. White, “In the Days of Queen Esther,”
pp. 598–606, in Prophets and Kings.
“Has not God said He would give the Holy Spirit to them that ask
Him? And is not this Spirit a real, true actual guide? Some men seem
afraid to take God at His word, as though it would be presumption in
them. They pray for the Lord to teach us and yet are afraid to credit
the pledged word of God and believe we have been taught of Him. So
long as we come to our heavenly Father humbly and with a spirit to be
taught, willing and anxious to learn, why should we doubt God’s ful-
fillment of His own promise? You must not for a moment doubt Him
and dishonor Him thereby. When you have sought to know His will,
your part in the operation with God is to believe that you will be led
and guided and blessed in the doing of His will. We may mistrust our-
selves lest we misinterpret His teachings, but make even this a subject
of prayer, and trust Him, still trust Him to the uttermost, that His Holy
Spirit will lead you to interpret aright His plans and the working of His
providence.”—Ellen G. White, Manuscript Releases, vol. 6, p. 225.
“Faith grows strong by coming in conflict with doubts and opposing
influences. The experience gained in these trials is of more value than
the most costly jewels.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church,
vol. 3, p. 555.
Discussion Questions:
Ê 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”?
Ë Discuss the final question found at the end of Wednesday’s
study. How often do we find ourselves in that situation? What can
we do that will better enable us to trust that the Lord’s way is the
best, even if it’s not what we want?
Ì If “faith grows strong by coming in conflict with doubts and
opposing influences” and this leads to something extremely valu-
able, “of more value than the most costly jewels,” how should this
shape the way we look at such conflicts?
Í Most of us have seen people, even fellow Christians, in situa-
tions in which, at least from our perspective, the outcome was hor-
rible. The worst thing we imagined happened, despite the prayers
and best efforts. How do we understand this in light of what we
have been studying?
Still Faithful When God Cannot Be Seen
To think that no one cares about what is happening to us is very
unpleasant. But to think that God does not know or care about us can
be most distressing.
To the Judaeans exiled in Babylon, God did not seem to care much
about their situation. They were still exiled, still feeling abandoned by
God because of their sin. But Isaiah speaks words of comfort to them.
Isaiah 40 is a beautiful passage in which Isaiah speaks so tenderly to the
people about their God: “He tends his flock like a shepherd: he gath-
ers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently
leads those that have young” (Isa. 40:11, NIV). But after so long, the
exiles were thinking, Where are You, O Lord? We can’t see any evidence
that You are still there—or care!
Read Isaiah 40:27–31. In what ways does Isaiah describe God? How is
this description of God meant to answer their belief that “ ‘my way
is hidden from the L ord ; my cause is disregarded by my God’ ” (Isa.
40:27, NIV)?
Another group of people who might have considered that their way
was hidden from God is found in the book of Esther. In this book, God
is not mentioned even once. However, the whole story is an unfolding
drama of God’s intervention to save His people from an irrevocable law
to have them destroyed. Not only does this story describe events of the
past, but it also symbolizes a time in the future when God’s people will
again be persecuted and a law again will be introduced for their destruc-
tion (Rev. 13:15). Can you imagine how easy it would be to conclude
that if such terrible circumstances existed, God must surely have deserted
His people? But we are not to fear. The same God who saved His chosen
ones in the story of Esther will save them again in the final crisis.
We have read how Isaiah described God to the exiles. How would
you describe God to people who felt that God had disappeared
and had abandoned them? How would you teach them to see
through the eyes of faith and not be dependent on what they see
around them with their human eyes?
To Carry All Our Worry
There is a plaque that some people have in their homes that reads
“Why pray when you can worry?” It makes us laugh because we know
how often we worry rather than come to God and give Him our con-
cerns.
Someone once said that when our life becomes all tied up, we should
give it to God and let Him untie the knots. How God must long to do
this for us. Yet, amazingly, we manage to hang on to our problems until
we are about to snap. Why do we wait until we are desperate before we
go to the Lord?
Read 1 Peter 5:7. Peter is quoting from Psalm 55:22. What’s the basic
message here for us? (See also Matt. 6:25–33.)
It is a very simple text. There is no secret hidden in it, and it means
exactly what it says. To cast means to do just that, to throw, to give
away, so that what is causing the aching and the concern no longer has
any connection to you. But, of course, our burdens are not thrown just
anywhere. Our worry does not disappear into a void. It is given to our
Father in heaven, who promises to sort it out. That’s what Jesus is tell-
ing us in the verses in Matthew. The problem in doing this is not that it’s
hard; rather, it’s that it just seems too easy, too good to be true.
Anxiety is caused by all sorts of things. It could be due to pres-
sure from work, unexpected criticism, feeling that we are unwanted
or unloved, health or financial worries, feeling that we are not good
enough for God, or believing that we are not forgiven.
Whatever the reasons are, one reason we hang on to our problems
is that we think we can sort them out better than anyone else can. But
Peter urges us to reconsider any such idea. The reason we don’t have
to worry is that God cares. But does God still care enough to intervene
when a divorce is looming or we feel totally useless? The Bible says
that He cares enough to transform any situation.
What are things that cause you worry now? However legitimate
they are, however troublesome they are, is there anything too hard
for the Lord? Maybe our biggest problem is that even though we
believe that God knows about it and can fix it, we don’t believe
that He will resolve it the way we would like it resolved. Dwell on
that last point and ask yourself how true it is in your own life.
The Power of the Resurrection
The Resurrection addresses the problem of human powerlessness.
When we think about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, we often
think about how the death of Jesus was the event that made us legally
right with God. And that, of course, is true.
However, the Resurrection adds a specific dimension to salvation.
The resurrection of Jesus is meaningful not just because it shows us
that one day we will be resurrected, as well. The Resurrection placed
Jesus at the right hand of the Father in a position of power and authority.
This Resurrection power is the same power that God makes available
for us today!
In Ephesians 1:18–23, Paul talks about the power of God. What does this
text teach us about the power of the Resurrection? What hope and
promises for yourself can you find in these verses?
Paul is praying that the Ephesians understand a few things that
can be understood properly only with divine help: (1) that there is
the hope of transformation and an eternal future to which Jesus has
called us and (2) that we understand the power that was manifested
in our behalf.
Paul then tries to describe how astonishing this power is. The power
that is available to us today is the same power that resurrected Jesus not
just out of the ground and back to life, but to the place of power at the
Father’s right hand.
But Paul doesn’t stop there. The Resurrection didn’t simply give
Jesus just any sort of power. It gave Him the power to rule and provide
every possible thing His people could ever need—for all eternity!
Make a list of the areas in your life where you need the power
of the resurrected Jesus. When you have finished, pray that this
power will be applied to all these areas of need. At the same time,
what can you do better? What choices can you make that can
allow this power to work more freely in your life?
In the Name of Jesus
“ ‘If you ask anything in My name, I will do it’ ” (John 14:14, NKJV).
Jesus was not going to be with the disciples much longer. The One
who had been their support and encouragement was going to heaven,
and the disciples were beginning to feel confused and powerless. But
though the disciples would not be able to see Him physically any lon-
ger, Jesus gave them a remarkable promise.
Read John 14:1–14. According to verses 13 and 14, Jesus promises
to do for us “anything” that we ask in His name. Because of this, we
almost always add on to the end of our prayers, “In Jesus’ name, amen.”
When we say this, what do we normally think it means? What does
Jesus mean when He encourages us to pray like this? What clues
are there in these verses that help us to understand the point He’s
making?
When our request is “in the name of Jesus,” we can be certain that the
whole machinery of heaven is at work on our behalf. We may not see
the angels working all around us. But they are—sent from the throne of
heaven in the name of Jesus, to fulfill our requests.
Sometimes when we pray in the name of Jesus, we open our eyes and
expect everything to be different around us—but it all looks the same.
However, while the power of God may come with dramatic effect, as
when Jesus calmed the storm, it also may come in quietness, unnoticed,
as when the power of God sustained Jesus in Gethsemane. Something
dramatic may not suddenly happen, but that doesn’t mean that God is
not at work for us.
Read John 14:1–14 again. As you read, imagine that Jesus is
talking directly to you, face-to-face. What hope and encourage-
ment can you draw from these promises? At the same time, ask
yourself, “What things in my life could be standing in the way
of having these promises fulfilled for me? What changes must I
purpose in my heart to make?”
Our Father’s Extravagance
“If God really loved me, He would certainly do _________________
for me!” I wonder how many times that thought has flickered through
our minds. We look at our circumstances and then begin to wonder
whether God really loves us, because if He really did, things would be
different.
There are two rationales that often lead us to doubt God’s goodness.
First, when we have a burning desire in our hearts and minds for some-
thing that we believe is good, the idea that God might want something
different for us may seem ridiculous. Second, we may doubt God’s
goodness because our experience clashes with what we believe. If
something looks good or feels good or sounds good or tastes good, then
it must be good. And so we get angry with God when we can’t have it.
This is where faith comes into play. Faith comes into action precisely
at those times we are tempted to doubt God and His goodness.
Romans 8:28–39 is a powerful passage that describes the goodness
of God toward us. What reasons can you find in the text that can
guard our minds against doubting God’s goodness?
In Romans 8:32, there is an important piece of logic that is extremely
helpful in guarding us from becoming overwhelmed by our circum-
stances. “If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us,
embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending
his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for
us?” (The Message). How could we possibly think that God would send
Jesus to die for us and then turn mean and stingy?
This means that the truth of God’s generosity to us, seen in the death
of Christ, must have a stronger impact in our thinking than all of the
doubts that the crucible may generate inside us.
How is it possible for a truth (God’s goodness) to have a more
powerful effect on you than your doubts? Spend some time
meditating on the truth that God has given Jesus to die in your
place, and that this incredible generosity continues in a thousand
different ways for you today. What does this do for your faith?
Read for This Week’s Study: Rom. 8:28–39, John 14:1–14,
Eph. 1:18–23, Isa. 40:27–31.
Memory Text: “By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath
of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible” (Hebrews
11:27, NKJV).
The definition of faith in the book of Hebrews is always challeng-
ing. “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance
about what we do not see” (Heb. 11:1, NIV). How can we be sure
about what we do not see? Yet, this is exactly what Moses illustrates in
our memory verse: “He persevered because he saw him who is invisi
ble” (Heb. 11:27, NIV).
It is even more challenging to realize that we are called to see “him
who is invisible” not simply when times are good but especially when
everything is going wrong. For this we need faith, a Christlike faith that
must be shaped by the truth about God and God’s kingdom. The truth
about our Father’s goodness, the power in the name of Jesus, the power
of the Resurrection, and the compassion of God are essential truths that
will enable us to stand strong when we are in the crucible and may be
tempted to doubt everything.
The Week at a Glance: What truths about God can help sus-
tain us through even the worst situations?
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “The School of the Hereafter,”
pp. 301–309, in Education; “Help in Daily Living,” pp. 470, 471, in The
Ministry of Healing.
“Into the experience of all there come times of keen disappointment
and utter discouragement—days when sorrow is the portion, and it is
hard to believe that God is still the kind benefactor of His earthborn
children; days when troubles harass the soul, till death seems prefer-
able to life. It is then that many lose their hold on God and are brought
into the slavery of doubt, the bondage of unbelief. Could we at such
times discern with spiritual insight the meaning of God’s providences
we should see angels seeking to save us from ourselves, striving to
plant our feet upon a foundation more firm than the everlasting hills,
and new faith, new life, would spring into being.”—Ellen G. White,
Prophets and Kings, p. 162.
Discussion Questions:
Ê Ellen G. White says that “all” of us experience times of “keen
disappointment and utter discouragement.” How well do we notice
each other as we go through such times? How can we better learn
to be agents of hope for each other when we experience such bitter
disappointments?
Ë As a class, go over your answers to Tuesday’s final question.
What difference did it make in your life as you kept the reality of
God’s nearness ever before you?
Ì In class, read aloud sections in Job 38–41. What kind of picture
of God does it present? What do you learn that gives you hope and
encouragement? How does the Sabbath fit into this picture? How
does it help keep before us the nature and character of God?
Í Hope that transforms comes from heaven. This means that we
can pray for hope to be brought into each other’s lives. Spend some
time praying for those whose hope has been faltering recently, that
their hope may be renewed. More than that, what can you do for
others who are in a losing struggle to find hope?
Î If someone is willing, ask that person to recount a time that
despair and trials caused him or her to lose hope and faith. What
turned that person around? What can we share with one another
that can help when we are in times of doubt and despair?
Our Father’s Discipline
Read Hebrews 12:5–13. What’s the message to us here, and how does
it fit in with what we have been studying this quarter?
In Hebrews 12:5–13, Paul describes trials in the context of discipline.
In the New International Version Bible translation of this passage, vari-
ous forms of the word “discipline” appear ten times. In the Greek world,
this word was the most basic word for “education.” So, to understand
“discipline” is to understand how God educates us in the school of faith
that Paul has been describing before in Hebrews 11.
Throughout Hebrews 11, Paul has been painting pictures of men
and women of faith. Their faith was what kept them going when they
were faced with all sorts of trying situations. As we enter chapter
12, Paul turns to us, the readers, and says that since so many people
before us have persevered against incredible odds, we also can run
and finish the life of faith. The key is to fix our eyes upon Jesus
(Heb. 12:2), that He may be an Example when times are difficult
(Heb. 12:3). Reading chapter 12 is like being given a set of reading
glasses. Without these glasses our vision or understanding of hardship
will always be fuzzy. But looking through these glasses will correct
the blurred explanation of suffering that our culture presses upon us.
Then we will be able to understand clearly and be able to respond to
trials intelligently.
Read through the “glasses” of Hebrews 12:1–13. Now concentrate on
verses 5–13 and answer these questions:
What is the source of discipline?
What is our response to discipline?
What is the goal of discipline?
Read through Hebrews 12:1–13 again. Make a list of all the rea-
sons you can identify with as grounds for hope. How have you
experienced this hope in your own times of spiritual “education”?
Our Father’s Plans for Us
Everyone is looking for hope. But where is it found? For some
people, hope is found in the smile of a friend. For others, hope
grows out of financial security or a stable marriage. Where do you
normally look for hope and courage?
In the book of Jeremiah, the prophet is writing to people who had lost
hope in their exile. “By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we
remembered Zion” (Ps. 137:1, NIV). But even though they are heart-
broken, Jeremiah lays out reasons they should not give up hope.
What reasons for hope are given in Jeremiah 29:1–10?
In this passage, there are three important sources of hope worth
highlighting.
First, God tells His people that they should not give up hope, because
their situation is not the result of chance or unpredictable evil. For God
Himself says, “I carried [Judah] into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon”
(Jer. 29:4, NIV). Though evil seems to surround them, Judah has never
left the center of God’s hands.
Second, God tells His people that they should not give up hope,
because He can work even within their present difficulties. “ ‘Also,
seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you
into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will
prosper’ ” (Jer. 29:7, NIV).
Third, God tells His people that they should not give up hope,
because He is going to bring an end to their exile at a specific time:
“This is what the Lord says: ‘When seventy years are completed for
Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you
back to this place’ ” (Jer. 29:10, NIV).
After God explains how He was in charge of their past, is in charge of
their present, and will be in charge of their future, He then beautifully
conveys His tender care for His people (see Jer. 29:11–14).
Read Jeremiah 29:11–14, saying your name after the word you,
as if God is making these promises to you personally. Apply these
promises for yourself in whatever your present struggles might be.
Our Father’s Presence
“ ‘For I am the L ord your God who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you’ ” (Isa. 41:13, NIV).
Someone once said, “When God seems far away, who is the one who
has moved?” When problems strike, we presume that God has deserted
us. The truth is that He hasn’t gone anywhere.
God’s presence seemed very far away to the Jews in exile. Yet,
through Isaiah, God assures them of future deliverance. However, while
the actual return to Jerusalem was still many years in the future, God
wanted His people to know that He had not moved away from them and
that there was every reason for hope.
Read Isaiah 41:8–14. What reasons for hope can you identify for peo-
ple waiting eagerly for future deliverance? How does this promise
help us as we wait for our exile on earth to end?
One of the most powerful images in these verses is found in verse
- The sovereign God of the universe says that His people do not need
to fear, because He is the one who takes “ ‘hold of your right hand’ ”
(NIV). It is one thing to imagine God guiding events on earth from a
big throne light-years away from our earth. But it is an altogether dif-
ferent picture to realize that He is close enough to hold the hands of
His dearly beloved people.
When we are busy, it can be hard to remember that God is so close
to us. But when we do remember that He is Immanuel, “God with us,”
it makes such a difference. When God’s presence is with us, so are His
purposes, His promises, and His transforming power.
Over the next few days, try an experiment. At every moment
possible, try to remind yourself that the God of the universe
is close enough to you to hold your hand and is personally
promising you help. Keep a record of how this changes the
way you live. Be prepared to discuss your experience in class
on Sabbath.
Who Our Father Is
Oswald Chambers writes, “Have you been asking God what He is
going to do? He will never tell you. God does not tell you what He is
going to do; He reveals to you Who He is.”—My Utmost for His Highest
(Uhrichsville, OH: Barbour & Company, Inc., 1963), January 2.
What do you think Chambers means by this idea?
As we know, the book of Job begins with great personal tragedy for
Job. He loses everything, except his life and his wife, and she suggests
that he “ ‘curse God and die!’ ” (Job 2:9, NIV). What follows is a dis-
cussion in which his friends try to work out why it has all happened.
Throughout all of these discussions, God remains silent.
Then suddenly in Job 38, God appears and speaks: “ ‘Who is this that
obscures my plans with words without knowledge?’ ” (Job 38:2, NIV).
Without pausing, God asks Job some 60 jaw-dropping questions. Open
your Bible and scan through these in Job 38 and 39.
After the last question, Job replies, “ ‘I am unworthy—how can I reply to
you? I put my hand over my mouth. I spoke once, but I have no answer—
twice, but I will say no more’ ” (Job 40:4, 5, NIV). But God is not finished.
He then begins again and asks another set of “big” questions in succession.
Read Job’s final response in Job 42:1–6. What was God trying to tell
Job, and what was the effect on him?
God never answers any of the “why” questions of Job’s friends. But
God does paint a picture of His unparalleled greatness as revealed
through the astonishing works of Creation. After this, Job certainly
does not need any answers. The need for explanations has been eclipsed
by an overwhelming picture of the magnificence of God.
This story reveals a fascinating paradox. Hope and encouragement
can spring from the realization that we know so little. Instinctively, we
try to find comfort by knowing everything, and so we become discour-
aged when we cannot know. But sometimes God highlights our igno-
rance so that we may realize that human hope can find security only in
a Being much greater than ourselves.
Are things that you just can’t understand happening now? If so,
focus on the character of God. How can doing that give you the
hope that you need to persevere through what’s, for now, incom-
prehensible?
The Big Picture
When we are hurting, it is very easy to presume that what hap-
pens to us is the only thing that matters. But there is a slightly
larger picture than just “me” (see Rev. 12:7, Rom. 8:22).
Read Habakkuk 1:1–4. What did Habakkuk face?
You might expect that God would say something like, “That’s really
terrible, Habakkuk; let Me come and help you immediately.” But God’s
answer is the opposite. He tells Habakkuk that it is going to get worse.
Read this in Habakkuk 1:5–11.
Israel had been taken into captivity by the Assyrians, but God prom-
ises that worse is coming: The Babylonians will now carry away the
people of Judah. Habakkuk cries out again in verses 12–17 and then
waits to see what God is going to say.
How does God’s introduction to the promised destruction of Babylon
in Habakkuk 2:2, 3 bring hope?
Habakkuk 2 is God’s promise of the destruction of the Babylonians.
Hebrews 10:37 quotes Habakkuk 2:3, hinting of a Messianic applica-
tion to this promise in the future. With the same certainty that the
destruction of Babylon was promised, so we also have the certainty of
the destruction of “ ‘Babylon the Great’ ” (Rev. 18:2, NIV).
Habakkuk was trapped between the great evil surrounding him and
God’s promise of worse to come. Yet, this is precisely where we find
ourselves in salvation history. Great evil is around us, but the Bible
predicts that much worse is to come. The key to Habakkuk’s survival is
that he is brought to see the whole picture. Therefore, in chapter 3 he
is able to pray an incredible prayer of praise because of what God will
do in the future.
Read Habakkuk 3:16–19. What does Habakkuk identify as his
reasons for hope? What is the hope of God’s people as we wait
for the last prophetic scenes to unfold? How can you make this
hope your own?
Read for This Week’s Study: Hab. 1:1–4, Job 38–41, Isa.
41:8–14, Jer. 29:1–10, Heb. 12:1–13.
Memory Text: “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of
God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was
given to us” (Romans 5:5, NKJV).
When in church surrounded by smiling people, how easy it
is to talk and sing about hope. But when we find ourselves
within the crucible, hope does not always seem so easy. As
circumstances press in around us, we begin to question everything,
particularly the wisdom of God.
In one of his books, C. S. Lewis writes about a make-believe lion.
Wanting to meet this lion, someone asks if the lion is safe. The person
is told that he’s not safe, “but he’s good.”
Even though we don’t always understand God and He seems to do
unpredictable things, that doesn’t mean that God is against us. It sim-
ply means that we don’t have the full picture yet. But we struggle with
the idea that for us to have peace, confidence, and hope, God must be
understandable and predictable. He needs to be, in our thinking, “safe.”
As such, we set ourselves up for disappointment.
The Week at a Glance: How does our understanding of the
character of God help us maintain hope in the crucible?
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “The Night of Wrestling,”
pp. 195–203, in Patriarchs and Prophets; “Consecration,” pp. 43–48, in
Steps to Christ.
“This will, that forms so important a factor in the character of man,
was at the Fall given into the control of Satan; and he has ever since
been working in man to will and to do of his own pleasure, but to the
utter ruin and misery of man.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the
Church, vol. 5, p. 515.
“In order to receive God’s help, man must realize his weakness and
deficiency; he must apply his own mind to the great change to be
wrought in himself; he must be aroused to earnest and persevering
prayer and effort. Wrong habits and customs must be shaken off; and it
is only by determined endeavor to correct these errors and to conform
to right principles that the victory can be gained. Many never attain to
the position that they might occupy, because they wait for God to do
for them that which He has given them power to do for themselves. All
who are fitted for usefulness must be trained by the severest mental
and moral discipline, and God will assist them by uniting divine power
with human effort.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 248.
Discussion Questions:
Ê To what extent do you think that we actually recognize that our
wills were “at the Fall given into the control of Satan”? How, by
focusing on the character of Jesus, can we better understand just
how fallen we are and how great God’s grace is toward us?
Ë Read the story of Jesus in Gethsemane (Matt. 26:36–42). What
were Jesus’ own feelings and desires, as opposed to God’s will?
What can we learn from this example?
Ì As a class, talk about the distinct things in your own culture
that can work to break down our defenses and leave us more vul-
nerable to Satan’s attacks. What can we do to help other church
members be aware of these dangers, as well as help those who feel
the need for help?
Í Do you know someone in your church who hasn’t been there
for quite a long time, who might be getting ready to give up or
already has given up? What can you do as a group to encourage
this person, to help him or her not turn away from Jesus? What
practical things can you do to help?
The Need to Persevere
Read the story of Jacob wrestling with God (Genesis 32). What does
this story say to us about perseverance, even amid great discourage-
ment? (Keep the whole context of Jacob’s situation in mind before
you answer.)
We can know what is right and exercise our wills to do the right
thing; but when we are under pressure, it can be very difficult to keep
holding on to God and His promises. That’s because we are weak and
fearful. Therefore, one of the important strengths of the Christian is
perseverance, the ability to keep going despite wanting to give up.
One of the greatest examples of perseverance in the Bible is Jacob.
Many years before, Jacob had tricked his brother, Esau, and his father
into giving him the birthright (Genesis 27), and ever since, he had been
running in fear of Esau’s desire to kill him. Even though he had been
given wonderful promises of God’s guidance and blessing in his dream
of a ladder reaching to heaven (Genesis 28), he was still scared. Jacob
was desperate for God’s assurance that he was accepted and that the
promises made to him many years before were still true. As he fought
someone who was actually Jesus, Jacob had his hip dislocated. From
that point on, it could not have been possible to fight, as the pain would
have been too excruciating. There must have been a subtle shift from
fighting to hanging on. Jacob is hanging on to Jesus through unbearable
pain until he receives an assurance of His blessing. So, Jesus says to
him, “ ‘Let me go, for it is daybreak’ ” (Gen. 32:26, NIV).
Jacob’s blessing came because he held on through the pain. So it
is with us. God also may dislocate our “hip” and then call us to hang
on to Him through our pain. Indeed, God allowed the painful scars to
continue—Jacob was still limping when he met his brother. To outside
appearances it was a weakness, but for Jacob it was an indication of
his strength.
What are some practical choices you can make (associations,
lifestyle, reading material, health habits, spiritual life) that will
help you better persevere with the Lord amid discouragement
and temptation?
Radical Commitment
“If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it
away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your
whole body to be thrown into hell” (Matt. 5:29, NIV).
Dwell on the words of Jesus in the above text. Would you call them
radical? If so, why?
Radical action is necessary not because God has made the Christian
life difficult, but because we and our culture have drifted so far away
from God’s plans for us. People often wake up and wonder to them-
selves, How could I have gone so far away from God? The answer is
always the same: just one step at a time.
Read Matthew 5:29, 30. Jesus is speaking in the context of sexual
sin. However, the underlying principles apply to dealing with other
sin, as well. Indeed, the principles can apply to our growth in Christ
in general.
What crucial point is Jesus making with those words? Are we really
called literally to maim ourselves?
Jesus isn’t calling us to harm our bodies physically—not at all!
Rather, He is calling us to control our minds and therefore our bodies,
no matter the cost. Notice that the text does not say that we should
pray and that God will instantly remove the sinful tendencies from our
lives. Sometimes God may graciously do this for us, but often He calls
us to make a radical commitment to give up something, or start doing
something, that we may not feel like doing at all. What a crucible that
can be! The more often we make the right choices, the stronger we will
become, and the weaker the power of temptation in our lives.
God sometimes uses crucibles to catch our attention when there are
so many noisy distractions around us. It is in the crucible that we real-
ize how far we have drifted from God. The crucible may be God’s call
for us to make a radical decision to return to our Father’s plan for us.
The Disciplined Will
One of the greatest enemies of our wills is our own feelings. We are
increasingly living in a culture bombarded with pictures and music that
can appeal directly to our senses, triggering our emotions—anger, fear,
or lust—without our realizing it. How often do we think such things as
What do I feel like eating for supper? What do I feel like doing today?
Do I feel good about buying this? Feelings have thus become intimately
involved in our decision-making. Feelings are not necessarily bad, but
how I feel about something may have little to do with what is right or
best. Indeed, our feelings can lie to us (“The heart is deceitful above all
things” [Jer. 17:9]) and can create a false picture of reality, causing us
to make bad choices, setting us up for a crucible of our own making.
What examples can you find from the Bible where people made choices
based on feelings rather than on God’s Word? What were the conse-
quences? (See, for example, Gen. 3:6; 2 Sam. 11:2–4; and Gal. 2:11, 12.)
Read 1 Peter 1:13. What is Peter concerned about, and what does he
want his readers actually to do?
Peter understood that the mind is the rudder for the body that we
control. Take away the control of the mind, and we will be controlled
by whatever feelings blow our way.
Imagine walking along a narrow path to the Shepherd’s home. Along
the way there are many paths leading in different directions. Some of
these paths go to places that we would not want to visit. Others look
tempting; they appeal to our feelings, our emotions, our desires. If,
though, we take any one of them, we get off the right path and go in a
way that might be exceedingly difficult to get off.
What important decisions are you facing? Ask yourself honestly,
How can I know if I am basing my choices on feeling, emotion, or
desire, as opposed to the Word of God?
The Divine-Human Combination
What is your greatest accomplishment ever? Chances are, whatever
you achieved did not happen simply by rolling out of bed in the morn-
ing. If we want to achieve something worthwhile in this life, it takes
time and effort. Our discipleship to Christ is no different.
Read Colossians 1:28, 29. Though Paul talks about God working in
him, in what ways does he show the human effort also involved?
(See also Deut. 4:4, Luke 13:24, 1 Cor. 9:25, and Heb. 12:4.)
In Colossians 1:29, there is a very interesting insight into the way
Paul sees his relationship with God in this work. He says that he is
struggling—but with the power of God.
The Greek word translated “labor” means to “grow weary,” to “work
to the point of exhaustion.” This word was used particularly of athletes
as they trained. The word for “struggle,” which comes next, can mean
in some languages “to agonize.” So, we have the word picture of an
athlete straining with everything to win. But then Paul adds a twist to
the idea, because Paul is straining, not with everything he has, but with
everything that God gives him. So, we are left with a simple conclusion
about Paul’s ministry—it was a ministry done with great personal effort
and discipline but done with God’s power. This relationship works in
exactly the same way as we pursue the development of Christ’s char-
acter in us.
This is important to remember, because we live in a world in which
we want more and more with less and less effort. That idea has crept
into Christianity, too. Some Christian evangelists promise that if you
just believe, the Holy Spirit will fall upon you with amazing super-
natural power and perform great miracles. But this can be a dangerous
half-truth, because it can lead people to the conclusion that we just
need to wait for God’s power to come while sitting comfortably in
our seats!
What is your own experience with the kind of striving Paul talked
about? What things has God laid upon your heart that you are
struggling with? How can you learn to surrender to God’s will?
The Spirit of Truth
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 trans-
forming power to work within us, but our lives seem to remain the
same? We know that God has unlimited supernatural resources that He
so eagerly and freely offers us. We really want to take advantage of it
all, and yet, our lives don’t seem to change in a way that matches what
God is offering.
Why? One reason is disturbingly simple: while the Spirit has unlim-
ited power to transform us, it is possible by our own choices to restrict
what God can do.
Read John 16:5–15. In this passage, Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the
“Spirit of truth” (John 16:13, NIV). What does this imply that the
Holy Spirit does for us?
While the Holy Spirit can bring us the truth about our sinfulness,
He cannot make us repent. He also can show us the greatest truth
about God, but He cannot force us to believe or obey it. If God did
compel us in even the slightest way, we would lose our free will, and
Satan would accuse God of manipulating our minds and hearts and
would thus be able to accuse God of cheating in the great controversy.
When the great controversy broke out in heaven, our Father did not
compel Satan or any of the angels to believe that He was good and
just or compel them to repent. And in the Garden of Eden, when so
much was at stake again, God made the truth about the tree in the
middle of the garden very clear but did not prevent Eve and Adam
from exercising their free will to disobey. God will not act any dif-
ferently with us today. So, the Spirit presents the truth about God and
sin and then says, “In view of what I have shown you, what will you
do now?”
It is the same when we are in the crucible. Sometimes the crucible is
there precisely because we have not obeyed or repented of our sins. For
our Father to work in such cases, we must consciously choose to open
the doors of repentance and obedience in order for God’s power to enter
in and transform us.
What convictions has the “Spirit of truth” brought to you
recently? How well are you listening to His voice? And, most
important, what choices are you making with your free will?
Read for This Week’s Study: John 16:5–15; Col. 1:28,
29; 1 Pet. 1:13; Matt. 5:29; Genesis 32.
Memory Text: “To this end I strenuously contend, struggling with
all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me” (Colossians 1:29, NIV).
A man and woman sat together on a talk show. Both had expe-
rienced the murder of a child. The woman’s son had been
murdered 20 years before, and her anger and bitterness were
as great as ever. The man was totally different. His daughter had been
murdered by terrorists a few years earlier. He spoke about forgive-
ness toward the killers and about how God had transformed his hurt.
However terrible the pain, this man had become an illustration of how
God can bring healing to the darkest moments of our lives.
How can two people respond so differently? How does spiritual
change occur in the life of a Christian, enabling that individual to
mature through life’s crucibles rather than being completely over-
whelmed by them?
The Week at a Glance: What is the role of our wills, and
willpower, in the battle with self and sin? How can we avoid the
mistake of letting our feelings rule the decisions we make? Why
must we persevere and not give up when in the crucible?
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “The Test of Faith,”
pp. 145–155, in Patriarchs and Prophets; “Praise Ye the Lord,” pp.
315–319, in Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5.
“God has always tried His people in the furnace of affliction. It is in
the heat of the furnace that the dross is separated from the true gold of
the Christian character. Jesus watches the test; He knows what is needed
to purify the precious metal, that it may reflect the radiance of His love.
It is by close, testing trials that God disciplines His servants. He sees
that some have powers which may be used in the advancement of His
work, and He puts these persons upon trial; in His providence He brings
them into positions that test their character. . . . He shows them their own
weakness, and teaches them to lean upon Him. . . . Thus His object is
attained. They are educated, trained, and disciplined, prepared to fulfill
the grand purpose for which their powers were given them.”—Ellen
G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 129, 130.
“If in the providence of God we are called upon to endure trials, let
us accept the cross and drink the bitter cup, remembering that it is a
Father’s hand that holds it to our lips. Let us trust Him in the darkness
as well as in the day. Can we not believe that He will give us every-
thing that is for our good? . . . Even in the night of affliction how can
we refuse to lift heart and voice in grateful praise, when we remember
the love to us expressed by the cross of Calvary?”—Ellen G. White,
Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 316.
Discussion Questions:
Ê In class, have someone recount his or her own test of faith that,
if not quite as intense as Abraham’s, was still hard enough. What
can you learn from that person’s experience, from his or her suc-
cesses or failures?
Ë Review the last 24 hours of Christ’s life before His crucifixion.
What extremes did He face? How did He endure? What principles
can we take from His example and apply for ourselves when we
are in the midst of our own crucibles?
Ì Discuss the idea, touched on this week, about how through our
own suffering we can minister to others who are suffering. No
matter how true it might be, what are some of the problems we
might encounter with this idea?
Í Ellen G. White wrote above: “Let us trust Him in the darkness
as well as in the day.” That’s easier said than done. How can we
help each other develop the kind of faith that will enable us to do
just that? Why is it important to trust God in the bad times?
Extreme Heat
So far this quarter, we have considered many examples of the cru-
cibles that God uses to bring purity and Christlikeness to our lives.
However, some people may view these examples and conclude that
God is a severe and demanding taskmaster. Sure, some may say, “We
know that God wants something good for us, but these examples don’t
reveal much care and love. Instead, God looks more like a bully. He sets
out with a purpose that causes us considerable hard times, and there’s
nothing we can do about it.”
It’s true that while living on this sin-filled earth, we will understand
only a little of why things happen. In heaven we’ll understand so much
more (1 Cor. 4:5, 1 Cor. 13:12), but for now, we will have to live with
the tension of believing that God is present and cares for us, even
though things don’t always feel too good. Isaiah describes this tension
very well.
Read Isaiah 43:1–7. In verse 2, God says that His people will pass
through waters and through fire. These are figurative of extreme
dangers, but perhaps they hint at the crossing of the Red Sea and the
Jordan, both fearful times—but times that paved the way to a new life.
You may expect that God might say that He would protect His people
from these dangers, that He would guide them along an easier route.
But like the Shepherd in Psalm 23, He says, rather, that when the dif-
ficult times come, God’s people need not be overwhelmed, for He is
with them.
Look back at Isaiah 43:1–7. Write down the different ways in which
God assures His people of comfort during the times of water and
fire. What picture of God does this paint in your mind? Which
promises can you claim for yourself?
We can summarize what we have learned about God’s crucibles in
three ways. First, God’s extreme heat is to destroy not us but our sin.
Second, God’s extreme heat is not to make us miserable but to make
us pure, as we were created to be. Third, God’s care for us through all
things is constant and tender—He will never leave us alone, no matter
what happens to us.
What do these texts teach you about the actions and character of
God? Ps. 103:13, 14; Matt. 28:20; 1 Cor. 10:13; and 1 Pet. 1:7. How
have you experienced the reality of these verses in your own life?
Surviving Through Hope
“We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure,
so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received
the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely
on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead” (2 Cor. 1:8, 9, NIV).
As God’s chosen apostle, Paul endured more than most people. Yet,
Paul was not crushed. Rather, he grew in his praise for God. Read his
list of hardships in 2 Corinthians 11:23–29. Now read 2 Corinthians 1:3–11.
In 2 Corinthians 1:4, Paul states that the reason for receiving God’s com-
passion and comfort is “so that we can comfort those in any trouble
with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (NIV). To what
extent might suffering be a call to ministry? How could we become
more alert to this possibility?
God wants to minister through us to hurting people. This means that
He may first allow us to experience the same sort of hurts. Then we’ll
offer encouragement, not from theory but from our own experience of
the compassion and comfort of God. This is a principle from Jesus’ life (see Heb. 4:15).
Paul’s vivid descriptions of his hardships are not to make us feel
sorry for him. They are for us to know that even when we’re in the
depths, the Father still can intervene to bring His compassion and com-
fort. We may despair even of our own lives, and even be killed, but fear
not, God is teaching us to rely on Him. We can trust Him, for our God
“raises the dead” (2 Cor. 1:9, NIV).
As Paul continues to set his eyes on proclaiming the gospel, he
knows that God will rescue him in the future, as well. Paul’s ability to
remain firm is supported by three things he mentions in 2 Corinthians
1:10, 11. First, God’s proven track record: “He has delivered us from
such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us” (2 Cor. 1:10, NIV). Second,
Paul’s determination to fix his concentration on God Himself: “On him
we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us” (2 Cor. 1:10,
NIV). Third, the saints’ continual intercession: “as you help us by your
prayers” (2 Cor. 1:11, NIV).
What can you learn from Paul that can help you keep from fall-
ing into self-pity amid your own struggles?
Surviving Through Worship
Read Job 1:6–2:10. What caused Job’s suffering?
There is something astonishing here. The angels come to see God,
and Satan comes with them. God asks Satan where he has been, and
Satan replies that he has been “ ‘roaming throughout the earth, going
back and forth on it’ ” (Job 1:7, NIV). Then God poses this question:
“ ‘Have you considered my servant Job?’ ” (Job 1:8, NIV). The question
itself is not remarkable; what is remarkable is the One who asks it. It
isn’t Satan who points out Job as a subject for examination—it’s God.
Knowing exactly what is going to follow, God calls Job to Satan’s atten-
tion. Down on the earth, Job has absolutely no idea how hot his crucible
is about to become. And though it’s very clear that it is Satan, not God,
who causes Job’s suffering, it also is clear that it is God who gives His
explicit permission for Satan to destroy Job’s possessions, children,
and his own physical health. If God is giving permission for Job to suf-
fer, what difference does it make whether God or Satan is personally
inflicting the suffering? How can God be righteous and holy when He
actively allows Satan to cause Job such pain? Is this situation a special
case, or is it characteristic of the way God still deals with us today?
In Job 1:20, 21, how does Job respond to the trials?
It is possible to respond to such suffering in two ways. We can
become bitter and angry, turning our backs on a God we believe to be
cruel or nonexistent, or we can hang on to God more tightly. Job deals
with his catastrophe by staying in God’s presence and worshiping Him.
In Job 1:20, 21, we see three aspects of worship that may help when
in anguish. First, Job accepts his helplessness and recognizes that he has
no claim to anything: “ ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and
naked I will depart’ ” (Job 1:21, NIV). Second, Job acknowledges that
God is still in total control: “ ‘The Lord gave and the Lord has taken
away’ ” (Job 1:21, NIV). Third, Job concludes by reasserting his belief
in the righteousness of God. “ ‘May the name of the Lord be praised’ ”
(Job 1:21, NIV).
Going through a trial? Follow the steps that Job used. How might
they help you, as well?
Wayward Israel
The story of Hosea has some powerful lessons to teach us. Hosea’s
situation is remarkable. His wife, Gomer, runs away and has children
with other men. Though she is sexually unfaithful, God calls Hosea to
take his wife back and fully show his love to her again. This story is
meant as a parable about God and Israel. The Israelites had left God
and were prostituting themselves spiritually to other gods, but God
still loved them and wanted to show His love to them. But just look at
God’s methods!
Read Hosea 2:1–12. What methods does God say He will use to pull
Israel back to Himself? What would these experiences have felt
like?
Hosea 2:2, 3
Hosea 2:5–7
Hosea 2:8, 9
Hosea 2:10
This story raises two important issues about the way we experience
God when He is bringing us to repentance.
First, we risk not recognizing that God is at work. When Israel went
through such hard and painful experiences, it might have been hard for
them to recognize that their God was working for their salvation. When
our path is blocked by sharp thorns or we are walled in so that we don’t
know where we are going (Hos. 2:6)—is this God? When our basic
necessities disappear or we are embarrassed (Hos. 2:9, 10)—could our
Father be in the middle of it all? The truth is that whatever we feel,
God is always working to bring us to repentance, because He loves us
so very much.
Second, we risk misunderstanding God when He is at work. We may
recognize that God is at work, but we don’t like what He’s doing. While
we are feeling hurt and embarrassed, it is easy to blame God for being
cruel, for not intervening, or for not caring. But God is always working
to renew us through His covenant of love.
Read Hosea 2:14–23. What does this passage reveal about God?
Ask the Holy Spirit to show you if you have been running from
God in any area of your life. If you are convicted that you have
been, why wait to go through the crucible? What’s stopping you
from surrendering all to the Lord now?
Abraham in the Crucible
Read Genesis 22. Out of nowhere and without explanation, God sud-
denly calls Abraham to offer his own child as a burnt offering. Can you
imagine how Abraham must have felt? It was a totally revolting idea
that a holy God should request that he sacrifice his own son. Even if
Abraham thought that this was acceptable, what about God’s promises
of an inheritance? Without his son, the promise would be gone.
Why did God ask Abraham to offer this sacrifice? If God knows every-
thing, what was the point?
God’s request and its timing were not random. Indeed, it was calcu-
lated to exact the deepest possible anguish, for “God had reserved His
last, most trying test for Abraham until the burden of years was heavy
upon him, and he longed for rest.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and
Prophets, p. 147. Was this the test of a mad God? Not at all, for “the
agony which he endured during the dark days of that fearful trial was
permitted that he might understand from his own experience something
of the greatness of the sacrifice made by the infinite God for man’s
redemption.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 154.
This was just a test—God never intended for Abraham to kill his son.
This highlights something very important about the way God some-
times works. God may ask us to do something that He never intends
for us to complete. He may ask us to go somewhere He never intends
for us to arrive at. What is important to God is not necessarily the end,
but what we learn as we are reshaped by the process.
Jesus may have been thinking about Abraham’s experience when
He said to the Jews, “ ‘Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of
seeing my day; he saw it and was glad’ ” (John 8:56, NIV). Abraham
could have missed out on this insight, dismissing the instructions as
from Satan. The key to Abraham’s surviving and learning through the
whole process was knowing God’s voice.
How do you know the voice of God? How do you know when God
is talking to you? What are the ways He communicates His will
to you?
Read for This Week’s Study: Genesis 22, Hos. 2:1–12, Job
1:6–2:10, 2 Cor. 11:23–29, Isa. 43:1–7.
Memory Text: “Yet it pleased the L ord to bruise Him; He has put
Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall
see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the L ord
shall prosper in His hand” (Isaiah 53:10, NKJV).
As the wife of the famous Christian writer C. S. Lewis was dying,
Lewis wrote, “Not that I am (I think) in much danger of ceasing
to believe in God. The real danger is of coming to believe such
dreadful things about Him. The conclusion I dread is not ‘So there’s
no God after all,’ but ‘So this is what God’s really like.’ ”—A Grief
Observed (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 1961), pp. 6, 7.
When things become really painful, some of us reject God com-
pletely. For others, like Lewis, there is the temptation to change our
view of God and imagine all sorts of bad things about Him. The ques-
tion is, Just how hot can it get? How much heat is God willing to risk
putting His people through in order to bring about His ultimate purpose
of shaping us into the “image of his Son” (Rom. 8:29, NIV)?
The Week at a Glance: Why do you think God is willing to
risk being misunderstood by those He wants to know Him and love
Him? How much do you think God is willing to be misunderstood
in order to mold you into the “image of his Son”?
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “God Promises Us a New
Heart of Flesh,” p. 100, in Sons and Daughters of God; “ ‘To Meet the
Bridegroom,’ ” pp. 405–421, in Christ’s Object Lessons; “The Time of
Trouble,” pp. 613–634, in The Great Controversy.
“Character building is the most important work ever entrusted to
human beings; and never before was its diligent study so important as
now. Never was any previous generation called to meet issues so momen-
tous; never before were young men and young women confronted by per-
ils so great as confront them today.”—Ellen G. White, Education, p. 225.
“In the parable, the foolish virgins are represented as begging for oil,
and failing to receive it at their request. This is symbolic of those who have
not prepared themselves by developing a character to stand in a time of
crisis. It is as if they should go to their neighbors and say, Give me your
character, or I shall be lost. Those that were wise could not impart their oil
to the flickering lamps of the foolish virgins. Character is not transferable.
It is not to be bought or sold; it is to be acquired. The Lord has given to
every individual an opportunity to obtain a righteous character through the
hours of probation; but he has not provided a way by which one human
agent may impart to another the character which he has developed by going
through hard experiences, by learning lessons from the great Teacher, so
that he can manifest patience under trial, and exercise faith so that he
can remove mountains of impossibility.”—Ellen G. White, The Youth’s
Instructor, January 16, 1896.
Discussion Questions:
Ê What does “character building” mean? How can you do this?
How much of a visible priority is character building within your
own life and your church community?
Ë Thursday’s study talked about the important role of community
in the life of a Christian. How well does your local church function
as the body of Christ? How well do you represent the Lord as a
community? As a class, talk about what you can do to improve.
Ì As a class, talk about the question of why character building is
important, even though we are saved by faith alone in Jesus. Since
His righteousness and His perfect character are what save us, then
why do we need to develop character?
Í Helen Keller, who was deaf and blind from an early age, wrote,
“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through
experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision
cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved.”—Leadership, vol.
17, no. 4. Do you agree? Discuss the relationships between charac-
ter, suffering, and the great controversy.
Character and Community
A song goes like this: “I am a rock, I am an island.” Have you ever felt like
that—wanting to stand alone? You may even have heard people say, “Well,
my walk with God is a private affair. It’s not something I want to talk about.”
Read Ephesians 4:11–16. What’s the point Paul is making here? What
role does he give here for community?
When Paul writes to the Ephesians, he describes the church as a
body. Jesus is the Head, and His people make up the rest. If you look at
Ephesians 4:13, you will notice the ultimate purpose of living in such a
community—it is to experience “the whole measure of the fullness of
Christ” (NIV). And for that we need each other!
It certainly is possible to be a Christian all alone. Indeed, as for many
people throughout the centuries who have been ridiculed or persecuted,
standing alone is often unavoidable. It is a powerful witness to the power
of God that men and women do not buckle under the pressures that sur-
round them. However, while this is true, Paul emphasizes a critical truth:
ultimately, we experience and reveal the fullness of Christ when we are
working together in fellowship with each other.
In today’s text, what does Paul say must happen before the fullness of
Christ may be revealed in our Christian community?
In what way is the witness of a community that is revealing the fullness
of Christ different from the witness of an individual that is reveal-
ing the fullness of Christ? What are the implications for this in the
context of the great controversy? (See Eph. 3:10.)
It’s easy to be nice when you are by yourself or with strangers,
but it is much harder to be nice to people you either know really
well or don’t like. This means that when we still show these
people grace and kindness, we provide an irresistible witness to
the truth about God.
“The Wise”
Yesterday we looked at the importance of character for those waiting
for the Second Coming. Today we will look more specifically at the
importance of character for those who are alive at the second coming
of Jesus.
Read Daniel 12:1–10. What is the context? What time in earth’s his-
tory is being referred to? Most important, what can we tell from
these verses about the character of God’s people during these
times? What characteristics are given them, in contrast to the
wicked? (See also Rev. 22:11.)
Daniel is told that just before Jesus comes, there will be a time of
distress unequaled at any other time of history. In Daniel 12:3, 10, we’re
given a depiction of the righteous and the wicked during this time. Notice
how the wicked “ ‘shall do wickedly’ ” (Dan. 12:10, NKJV) in contrast
to the righteous, who in verse 3 shine brightly, perhaps because they have
been “ ‘purified, made spotless and refined’ ” (Dan. 12:10, NIV) during
this “ ‘time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even
to that time’ ” (Dan. 12:1, NKJV). In contrast, too, the wicked do not
understand, but the righteous are “wise” and do understand.
Understand what? Math, science, higher criticism? Proverbs says
that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Prov. 1:7,
NKJV). Perhaps, in this context, the “wise” are wise because they have
an understanding of these final events, the time of trouble as it unfolds.
They are not taken by surprise; from their study of the Word, they know
it’s coming. And most important, they know enough to allow this time
of trouble to purify and refine them; the wicked, on the other hand, are
just made more obstinate in their rebellion and thus continue in their
wickedness.
The crucial point is that here we are given a depiction of a people
who have been through a refining and purifying process.
Though we’ve looked at these texts in the context of the very last
days, what principles do we see here that can help us to under-
stand better what the purifying and refining process is all about,
even today?
Jesus’ Last Words
Jesus was in Jerusalem, about to die. According to Matthew’s Gospel,
Jesus’ last teaching hour before Passover is spent telling His disciples
parables, including the ones about the ten virgins and the sheep and the
goats. These stories are related to the way we should live as we wait for
Jesus to come. Thus, their relevancy to today—with the signs of Jesus’
soon return all around us—has never been more significant.
In the parable of the ten virgins (Matt. 25:1–12), many commenta-
tors point out that the oil is a symbol for the Holy Spirit. Ellen White
agrees, but also says that this oil is a symbol for character and that it is
something no one can acquire for us.
Read the parable. In what ways does the meaning of the story change,
depending on whether you see oil as a symbol of the Holy Spirit or
of the possession of character? What are the implications of this
story for you if the oil represents the Holy Spirit, or a Christlike
character?
Holy Spirit:
Character:
Read the parable of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25:31–46.
What criteria are used in separating the sheep and the goats?
Notice that the king separates the sheep and the goats based on their
works, their character. Though Jesus is not teaching salvation by works
here, we can see how important character development is in the plan of
salvation and how those who are truly saved by Christ will reflect that
salvation through their lives and characters.
It has been said that “character is what a person is in the dark.”
What sort of person are you when no one is looking? What does
the answer tell you about changes that you need to make?
Faith Amid the Refining Fire
It’s one thing to be in a battle; it’s another not even to see the forces
arrayed in that battle. In a sense, this is what we as Christians deal with.
We know that the forces are out there, we can feel them in our lives,
and yet, we have to press ahead in faith, trusting Him “who is invisible”
(Heb. 11:27, NKJV).
Read Job 23:1–10. What is the essence of Job’s struggle? What does
he not see? At the same time, what does he take on faith, despite
all his trials?
Even amid his terrible trials, Job trusted in the Lord. Despite every-
thing, Job was determined to endure. And one of the things that kept
him persevering was gold—not a gold medal; rather, he was looking
into the future and realized that if he held on to God, he would come
out the better for it—he would come out like gold. How much Job knew
of what was happening behind the scenes, we aren’t told. Regardless of
how much was hidden from him, he endured the refining fire anyway.
Do you fear the fire? Do you worry about the heat that circumstances
generate? Perhaps, as with Job, the heat of God seems unexplainable. It
may be the difficulty of adjusting to a new job or a new home. It could
be having to survive ill treatment at work, or even within your own
family. It could be illness or financial loss. Hard as it is to understand,
God can use these trials to refine you and purify you and bring out His
image in your character.
Being proven to be gold seems to be an incentive for Job here, some-
thing to fix his eyes upon, and that helps pull him through his troubles.
It’s a powerful testimony to his character already that, amid all the pain
and suffering, he was able to sense the reality of the purifying process.
Also, however much he didn’t understand, he knew that these trials
would refine him.
In your own experience, how do trials refine and purify? What
other ways could you be refined, other than through suffering?
Wayward Israel
The story of Hosea has some powerful lessons to teach us. Hosea’s
situation is remarkable. His wife, Gomer, runs away and has children
with other men. Though she is sexually unfaithful, God calls Hosea to
take his wife back and fully show his love to her again. This story is
meant as a parable about God and Israel. The Israelites had left God
and were prostituting themselves spiritually to other gods, but God
still loved them and wanted to show His love to them. But just look at
God’s methods!
Read Hosea 2:1–12. What methods does God say He will use to pull
Israel back to Himself? What would these experiences have felt like?
Hosea 2:2, 3
Hosea 2:5–7
Hosea 2:8, 9
Hosea 2:10
This story raises two important issues about the way we experience
God when He is bringing us to repentance.
First, we risk not recognizing that God is at work. When Israel went
through such hard and painful experiences, it might have been hard for
them to recognize that their God was working for their salvation. When
our path is blocked by sharp thorns or we are walled in so that we don’t
know where we are going (Hos. 2:6)—is this God? When our basic
necessities disappear or we are embarrassed (Hos. 2:9, 10)—could our
Father be in the middle of it all? The truth is that whatever we feel,
God is always working to bring us to repentance, because He loves us
so very much.
Second, we risk misunderstanding God when He is at work. We may
recognize that God is at work, but we don’t like what He’s doing. While
we are feeling hurt and embarrassed, it is easy to blame God for being
cruel, for not intervening, or for not caring. But God is always working
to renew us through His covenant of love.
Read Hosea 2:14–23. What does this passage reveal about God?
Ask the Holy Spirit to show you if you have been running from
God in any area of your life. If you are convicted that you have
been, why wait to go through the crucible? What’s stopping you
from surrendering all to the Lord now?
“In His Image”
“For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to
the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many
brethren” (Rom. 8:29, NKJV).
In the beginning, God made us in His image (Gen. 1:27), but that
image has been corrupted by sin.
In what ways do we see this defacing of God’s image in humanity?
It’s obvious: we all have been corrupted by sin (Rom. 3:10–19). Yet,
God’s desire is to restore us to what we should have been originally.
This is where our verse today fits in. It reveals God’s plan that those
who submit their lives to the Holy Spirit may be “conformed to the
image of his Son” (Rom. 8:29, NIV).
But there’s another dimension. “The very image of God is to be
reproduced in humanity. The honor of God, the honor of Christ, is
involved in the perfection of the character of His people.”—Ellen
G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 671.
How do you understand what Ellen White says to us in the quote cited
above? (See also Job 1, Matt. 5:16, 1 Cor. 4:9, and Eph. 3:10.)
As Christians, we must never forget that we are in the midst of a
cosmic drama. The great controversy between Christ and Satan is
unfolding all around us. The battle takes many shapes and is manifested
in many ways. And though much is hidden, we can understand that, as
followers of Christ, we have a part to play in this drama and can bring
honor to Christ through our lives.
Imagine being on the field of a huge stadium. Sitting on the
bleachers on one side are heavenly beings loyal to the Lord; on
the other side are beings who have fallen with Lucifer. If your life
for the past 24 hours were played out on that field, which side
would have more to cheer about? What does your answer tell you
about yourself?
Read for This Week’s Study: Matt. 5:16, 1 Cor. 4:9, Eph.
3:10, Job 23:1–10, Matt. 25:1–12, Dan. 12:1–10, Eph. 4:11–16.
Memory Text: “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mir-
ror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image
from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians
3:18, NKJV).
Amy Carmichael took a group of children to a traditional gold-
smith in India. In the middle of a charcoal fire was a curved
roof tile. On the tile was a mixture of salt, tamarind fruit, and
brick dust. Embedded in this mixture was gold. As the fire devoured the
mixture, the gold became purer. The goldsmith took the gold out with
tongs and, if it was not pure enough, he replaced it in the fire with a new
mixture. But each time the gold was replaced, the heat was increased.
The group asked, “How do you know when the gold is purified?” He
replied, “When I can see my face in it.”—Amy Carmichael, Learning of
God (Fort Washington, PA: Christian Literature Crusade, 1989), p. 50.
God is seeking to purify us, to refine us like gold, to transform us
into His image. That’s an astonishing goal, and it seems even more
astonishing that a Christlike character is developed in us only as we
pass through life’s crucibles.
The Week at a Glance: What role does suffering have in
the purifying process? How do we understand all this in the context
of the great controversy?
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “The Exodus,” pp. 281–290;
“From the Red Sea to Sinai,” pp. 291–302, in Patriarchs and Prophets;
“The Temptation,” pp. 114–123, in The Desire of Ages.
“But of old the Lord led his people to Rephidim, and he may choose
to lead us there also, to test our loyalty. He does not always bring us to
pleasant places. If he did, in our self-sufficiency we should forget that
he is our helper. He longs to manifest himself to us, and to reveal the
abundant supplies at our disposal, and he permits trial and disappoint-
ment to come to us that we may realize our helplessness, and learn to
call upon him for aid. He can cause cooling streams to flow from the
flinty rock. We shall never know, until we are face to face with God,
when we shall see as we are seen, and know as we are known, how
many burdens he has borne for us, and how many burdens he would
have been glad to bear, if, with childlike faith, we had brought them
to him.”—Ellen G. White, “Rephidim,” Advent Review and Sabbath
Herald, April 7, 1903.
Discussion Questions:
Ê We often talk of temptation as an individual thing, which, of
course, it is. At the same time, are there any corporate tempta-
tions, things that we as a church or a local church family might
have to guard against as a group? If so, what?
Ë Ask those who are willing to talk about any of the “unpleasant
places” that they have been brought to. Why were these unpleas-
ant? If they had to revisit those experiences today, would they view
them any differently?
Ì We all understand the principle behind God allowing us to be
purified and refined by trials. How, though, do we understand the
situation in which trials appear to have no value—for instance,
someone is killed instantly in a car wreck? As a class, seek to work
through possible answers.
Í As a class, take time together to pray for each other, that each
might be strengthened to endure trials and stay faithful.
Î Does your class know of anyone who, having faced trials, lost
the way? If so, as a class what could you do in a very tangible way
to help lead that person back?
Trial by Fire
There was a young man whom we’ll call Alex. He had come out of a
very troubled youth: drugs, violence, even some time in jail. But then,
through the kindness of a local church member (whom Alex had stolen
from), Alex learned about God and gave his heart to Jesus. Though he
still had his problems and struggles, and though elements of his past
still lingered, Alex was a new person in Jesus. He loved God and sought
to express that love by obeying His commandments (1 John 5:1, 2). At
one point, Alex felt impressed that he should be a minister. Everything
pointed to it. He was answering God’s call, no doubt about it.
At college things went well at first. Then one thing after another
went awry, and his life began coming apart. His source of money
started to dry up; a close friend turned against him, making accu-
sations about him that were false but that damaged his reputation.
Next, he kept on getting sick; no one knew what it was, but it
impacted his studies to the point where he was afraid that he was
going to have to drop out of school completely. On top of it all,
he was fighting fierce temptations with drugs, which were readily
available in the local community. At one point he even fell in that
area. Alex couldn’t understand why all this was happening, espe-
cially because he was sure that the Lord had led him to this school to
begin with. Was Alex wrong about that? If so, was his whole experi-
ence with God a huge mistake? Even the most basic elements of his
faith were coming under doubt.
Imagine that, amid this crisis, Alex comes to you and asks for advice.
What would you say? What experiences of your own have you had
that could help someone like him? What Bible texts would you
use? How helpful might the following texts be in such a situation?
Proverbs 3, Jer. 29:13, Rom. 8:28, 2 Cor. 12:9, Heb. 13:5.
Almost all who follow the Lord have had crises during which
they’ve been tempted to doubt the Lord’s leading. The important
thing in such situations is to cling to the promises, recount God’s
leading in the past, and pray for faith and endurance. The Lord
will never give up on us. The question for us is: How do we not
succumb to the temptation to give up on Him?
An Enduring Legacy
Read 1 Peter 1:6, 7. What is Peter saying?
Peter was writing to people who were battling through difficulties
and often felt very alone. He was writing “to God’s elect, exiles scat-
tered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia
and Bithynia” (1 Pet. 1:1, NIV). This is the area we know today as
western Turkey. A few verses later, Peter says that he knows that they
are experiencing “grief in all kinds of trials” (1 Pet. 1:6, NIV).
What does Peter mean by saying that they are “exiles” and “scat-
tered”? How might that add to their trials?
Being a Christian during those times was a new thing; believers
were small in number and in various places where they were a decided
minority who were often misunderstood at best, persecuted at worst.
Peter assures them, however, that these trials are not random or chaotic
(1 Pet. 1:6, 7). Genuine faith is the goal of those who persevere through
“all kinds of trials.”
Read 1 Peter 1:6–9. What ultimate assurance does Peter seek to give
these people amid their trials? What does this hope mean for us,
too?
Whatever their trials, whatever they suffer, how can it be com-
pared to the eternity that awaits them when Christ returns? Peter’s
words to them are God’s words to us, regardless of whatever we are
facing. However difficult or painful our trials, we must never lose
sight of the ultimate end, eternal life in a new heaven and new earth,
without pain, suffering, or death. With such a promise before us, a
promise guaranteed us through the death of Jesus, how important
that we not lose faith, but instead, amid our trials, ask the Lord to
purge us of everything and anything that stands in the way of our
faith.
The Great Controversy in the Desert
“Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the
Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted
for forty days by the devil” (Luke 4:1, 2, NKJV).
Read Luke 4:1–13. What lessons can you learn from this account
about how to overcome temptation and not give in to sin?
Temptations can be so difficult because they appeal to things we
really desire, and they always seem to come at our weakest moments.
Luke 4 is the beginning of the story of Jesus’ temptation by Satan,
and it brings some difficult issues to our attention. At first glance, it
appears that the Holy Spirit is leading Jesus into temptation. However,
God never tempts us (James 1:13). Rather, as we have been seeing, God
does lead us to crucibles of testing. What is striking in Luke 4 is that the
Holy Spirit can lead us to times of testing that involve being exposed to
Satan’s fierce temptations. At such times, when we feel these tempta-
tions so strongly, we may misunderstand and think we have not been
following God correctly. But this is not necessarily true. “Often when
placed in a trying situation we doubt that the Spirit of God has been
leading us. But it was the Spirit’s leading that brought Jesus into the
wilderness to be tempted by Satan. When God brings us into trial, He
has a purpose to accomplish for our good. Jesus did not presume on
God’s promises by going unbidden into temptation, neither did He
give up to despondency when temptation came upon Him. Nor should
we.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 126, 129.
Sometimes, when in the crucible, we get burned rather than purified.
It is therefore very comforting to know that when we crumple under
temptation, we can hope again because Jesus stood firm. The good
news is that because Jesus is our Sin Bearer, because He paid the pen-
alty for our failure to endure that temptation (whatever it was), because
He went through a crucible worse than any of us will ever face, we are
not cast off or forsaken by God. There is hope, even for the “chief ” of
sinners (1 Tim. 1:15).
What temptations are you facing now? Spend some time in
prayer, asking the Lord to teach you how to apply the lessons
from Jesus’ example to your own life. Remember, you don’t have
to succumb to temptation, ever! Remember, too, that if you do
succumb, you have a Savior.
Bitter Waters
“The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of
Sin, traveling from place to place as the L ord commanded. They
camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to
drink” (Exod. 17:1, NIV).
Perhaps we might not get from God everything we want, but couldn’t
we expect to get all that we need? Not what we think we need but what
we truly need?
There was one thing the Israelites certainly needed, and that was
water. Just after God in the cloud led the Israelites through the Red
Sea, they followed Him through the hot, waterless desert for three
days. Particularly in the desert, where finding water is so critical, their
desperation is understandable. When would they get the water they
needed?
So, where does God lead them? The pillar goes to Marah, where, at
last, there is water. They must have been excited. But when they tasted
the water, they immediately spat it out because it was bitter. “So the
people grumbled against Moses, saying, ‘What are we to drink?’ ”
(Exod. 15:24, NIV).
Then, a few days later, God does it again. This time, however, the
pillar actually stops where there is no water at all (Exod. 17:1).
Read Exodus 15:22–27 and Exodus 17:1–7. What did God reveal to
Israel about Himself at Marah and at Rephidim? What lessons
should they have learned?
In Rephidim, what question did the children of Israel ask? Exod.
17:7. Have you ever asked the same question? If so, why? How
did you feel, and what lessons did you learn after you had it
answered? How many times do we need to get it answered before
we stop asking it altogether?
To the Promised Land via a Dead End
“And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their
eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were
very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the L ord ” (Exod.
14:10, NKJV).
Have you ever been set up, led into a trap or to a dead end? Sometimes
it can be nice, like walking unexpectedly into a room of waiting friends
who all shout “Surprise! Happy birthday!” At other times it can be quite
a shock, even a very unpleasant one. It may have been bullies when you
were at school or a work colleague who unexpectedly tried to make you
look bad.
From the day the Israelites left Egypt to the day they reached the
Promised Land, “the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to
guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light,
so that they could travel by day or night” (Exod. 13:21, NIV). Every part
of their journey was led by God Himself. But look at where He led them
first: to a place where the sea was before them, mountains were on either
side, and Pharaoh’s army was within eyesight right behind!
Read Exodus 14. Why did God bring the Israelites to a place where He
knew they would be terrified?
Following “the pillar” doesn’t assure us of constant happiness. It also
can be a hard experience, because training in righteousness takes us to
places that test our hearts, which are so naturally deceitful (Jer. 17:9).
During these difficulties, the key to knowing when we are truly follow-
ing God is not necessarily the absence of trials or pain but, rather, an
openness to God’s instruction and a continual submission of our minds
and hearts to His leading.
What lesson did the Israelites learn from this experience? Exod. 14:31.
Why is trusting God sometimes so hard, even though we may
know many of the wonderful promises He has for us? Recount
a difficult situation you believe the Lord led you into in order to
teach you to “believe” in and to “fear” Him.
Read for This Week’s Study: Exodus 14, Exod. 15:22–27,
Exod. 17:1–7, Luke 4:1–13, 1 Pet. 1:6–9, Proverbs 3.
Memory Text: “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little
while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials” (1 Peter
1:6, NKJV).
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 that the one who carries the bird into the darkness is the
master himself.
It is easy to understand that Satan causes pain, but would God
Himself actively take a part in guiding us into crucibles where we
experience confusion or hurt?
The Week at a Glance: What examples can you think of in
the Bible in which God Himself leads people into experiences that
He knows will include suffering? What do you think were the new
songs He wanted them to sing?
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Effectual Prayer,” in Signs
of the Times, November 18, 1903; Ellen G. White Comments, p. 1182, in The
SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 4; “God Permits Trial and Affliction to Purify
Me,” p. 92, in My Life Today.
“He who reads the hearts of men knows their characters better than
they themselves know them. He sees that some have powers and sus-
ceptibilities which, rightly directed, might be used in the advancement
of His work. In His providence He brings these persons into different
positions and varied circumstances that they may discover in their
character the defects which have been concealed from their own knowl-
edge. He gives them opportunity to correct these defects, and to fit
themselves for His service. Often He permits the fires of affliction to
assail them that they may be purified.”—Ellen G. White, The Ministry
of Healing, p. 471.
Discussion Questions:
Ê It really can be hard while we are reaping the consequences of
our sin. “Will I ever be able to be made right with God again?”
we ask. What promises does God make that can encourage us to
persevere through such times and not give up? (See what Paul
writes later in Romans 5:1–11.) What can you say to someone who
is asking this very question?
Ë What does Ellen G. White mean by “His providence”? How
does this work? How do you know when something happens by
God’s providence? What acts of God’s “providence” have led to
trials in your own life? As a class, discuss what you’ve learned
at this time. How might you help someone else who is wondering
whether some event is indeed “His providence”?
Ì If you know someone who is going through a crucible experi-
ence right now, does it matter, or should it matter, what brought
it on? That is, how should you react to this person and his or her
suffering, regardless of what caused it?
Í A Christian young man living in South America went through
a bitter trial. After it was over, he moved to Europe and later com-
mented to someone, “I left my corpse in South America.” What
does that mean? Why must we all, in a sense, leave our corpse
somewhere? What role do trials have in that process?
Î As a class, plan an outing to a hospital or somewhere where
you could be of help, comfort, and cheer to those who, for what-
ever reason, are in a crucible.
Crucibles of Maturity
“And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the
revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan
to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure” (2 Cor. 12:7, NKJV).
There is a big difference between cutting down and pruning. We
cut down plants that we don’t want anymore; we prune plants that we
want to develop into greater fruitfulness. Both processes, however,
do involve a sharp knife. Indeed, pruning requires cutting parts off
the plant that might seem to a novice gardener like destroying it. In a
spiritual context, Bruce Wilkinson writes, “Are you praying for God’s
superabundant blessings and pleading that He will make you more like
His Son?
“If your answer is yes, then you are asking for the shears.”—Secrets
of the Vine (Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, Inc., 2001), p. 60.
People have wondered what Paul actually meant by a “thorn in my
flesh” (2 Cor. 12:7, NIV). Ideas range from Paul being under constant
attacks from enemies to having a speech difficulty. It seems that
this was actually a problem with his eyesight (see Ellen G. White
Comments, The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 1107). Amazingly,
Paul believed that his “thorn” was “given me.”
What do you think Paul meant by “given me”? Who gave it to him?
How was God able to use it for Paul’s benefit?
Notice that Paul’s “thorn” had a definite purpose: “to keep me from
becoming conceited” (2 Cor. 12:7, NIV). It was not because of any
specific sin he had committed but to prevent him from sinning in the
future. Paul recognized that by nature he had a weakness to sin and that
this “thorn” could guard against it.
Read 2 Corinthians 12:7–10. How does Paul deal with his “thorn”?
Do you think that Paul’s weakness had any other spiritual benefits
for him? How can the way that Paul responds help you to deal with
“thorns” that you may have to carry?
In what ways might God’s ideas for your spiritual development
be very different from your own? Think about areas in your
life in which you need to become more fruitful in righteousness.
What spiritual qualities would you like to ask God to develop in
you through His “pruning”?
Crucibles of Purification
“Therefore thus says the L ord of hosts: ‘Behold, I will refine
them and try them; for how shall I deal with the daughter of My
people?’ ” (Jer. 9:7, NKJV).
“If the Spirit of God brings to your mind a word of the Lord that hurts
you, you can be sure that there is something in you that He wants to
hurt to the point of its death.”—Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His
Highest (Uhrichsville, OH: Barbour & Company, Inc., 1963), p. 271.
How do you understand the quote and text above? What has been your
own experience with the pains involved in the purification process?
Read Jeremiah 9:7–16. God says that He will “refine and test” (NRSV),
or “melt” (KJV), Judah and Jerusalem (Jer. 9:7, NIV). What two
reasons does God give for this? (Jer. 9:13, 14). How will the refining
happen? (Jer. 9:15, 16).
God’s refining and testing involved drastic action. There are perhaps three
reasons why refining and testing may feel like a crucible. First, we experi-
ence pain as God allows circumstances to bring our sin to our attention. A
little earlier, Jeremiah unhappily writes, “ ‘The bellows blow fiercely to burn
away the lead with fire, but the refining goes on in vain; the wicked are not
purged out’ ” (Jer. 6:29, NIV). Thus, sometimes drastic action is needed in
order to get our attention. Second, we experience anguish as we feel sorrow
for the sin we now see clearly. Third, we experience frustration as we try to
live differently. It can be quite uncomfortable and difficult to keep choosing
to give up the things that have been so much a part of us.
Think about the sins that you struggle with. If God were going to
refine and test you today, how might He do it? What action could
you take now to deal with this before God would need to take
drastic steps with you, as He did with Israel?
Crucibles of Sin
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungod-
liness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in
unrighteousness” (Rom. 1:18, NKJV).
Everything we do has a consequence. If you stand in the hot sun with
ice cream, it will certainly melt. Cause and effect always go together.
And no matter how desperately we may want things to be different, it is
the same with sin. It always reaps consequences. It is not that God sits
in heaven wondering what terrible things He can do to people who sin;
no, sin itself comes with its own built-in consequences.
The problem is that many times we think that we can somehow
outwit God and sin without experiencing the consequences. It never
happens. Paul makes it very clear that sinning has consequences, not
only for eternity but also painful and distressing consequences today.
In Romans 1:21–32, Paul describes the process when people fall into sin
and the consequences of those sins. Read these verses prayerfully
and carefully, and summarize the essence of what Paul is saying,
focusing specifically on the stages of sin and its consequences.
A couple of verses earlier Paul describes these consequences as the
“wrath of God” (Rom. 1:18). God’s wrath in this passage is simply God
calling human beings to reap what they sow. Even for Christians, God
does not always intervene immediately to remove the pain that results
from our own actions. Many times He allows us to experience the
consequences of our actions in order for us to understand how deeply
damaging and offensive our sin is.
We have been considering the consequences of breaking God’s moral
laws. But what about breaking God’s health laws? Our bodies are God’s
home. If we abuse our bodies by failing to eat healthfully or to exercise,
or if we regularly overwork, this also is sin against God. And this has
consequences that can create the conditions of a crucible.
In your own life, how have you reaped the immediate conse-
quences of your own sins? What lessons have you learned? What
changes must you make in order not to go through something
similar again?
Crucibles of Satan
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about
like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet. 5:8, NKJV).
Read the above text. What’s the message there for us? Ask yourself,
“How seriously do I take these words?” What things do you do in
your life that show whether you take them seriously?
Have you ever watched a hungry lion? It’s awesome because you
know it can catch and eat just about anything it wants. Peter says that
Satan is prowling around in the same way. When we look around, we
can see the consequences of his desire to kill. Death, suffering, and the
twisting and perverting of morals and values are everywhere. We can-
not escape seeing the work of Satan.
Read 1 Peter 5:8–11. How should Christians react to Satan’s prowling?
What does God promise to do for those who are suffering? 1 Pet. 5:10.
Peter writes these words in the context of responding to Satan’s
attacks on Christian faith. But as we have mentioned, Satan is at work
in many different ways. And although we must be aware of the reality
and the power of our enemy, we must never be discouraged, for we must
always remember that Jesus has beaten Satan; that Satan is a defeated
foe; and that as long as we stay connected with Jesus, as long as we
cling to Him in faith, we can never be defeated either. Because of the
cross, Christ’s victory is our victory.
Think about the other ways that Satan causes pain. How could
reading 1 Peter 5:8–11 help us to deal with the anguish that we
experience because of our fate in living in a sinful world in which
Satan wreaks havoc?
Surprises
“Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which
is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you” (1 Pet.
4:12, NKJV).
Surprises, painful surprises, can come in many ways. A car veering
across the road into your path. A sudden notification that you’re losing
your job. A medical test that gives you unexpected bad news. Betrayal
by someone you loved and who you thought loved you. As bad as the
pain can be, it’s always made worse by the element of surprise.
This week we will look at a few specific types of painful situations
or crucibles that should not take us by surprise.
To begin, let’s go back to the text for today in Peter. The Greek word
for “surprised” in 1 Peter 4:12 means to be “alien” or “foreign.” Peter is
urging his readers not to fall into the trap of believing that fiery ordeals
and trials are alien to Christian experience. Rather, they are to be con-
sidered normal—they can and should be expected.
The word used for “fiery ordeal” (NIV, NRSV) or “fiery trial” (NKJV)
comes from another Greek word, and it means “a burning.” In other
places it is translated “furnace.” This experience of suffering for our
faith could therefore be considered a “smelting process,” the process
of the crucible.
Read 1 Peter 4:12–19. What is Peter’s message?
Many of us are surprised about suffering because we often have
an oversimplified view of the Christian life. We know there are two
sides—God, who is good; and Satan, who is bad. But often, we then
automatically put everything that feels good in the box with God
and everything that feels bad in the box with Satan. But life is not
so simple. We cannot use our feelings to decide what is in God’s box
or Satan’s box. Sometimes walking with God can be challenging and
hard. And following Satan can appear to bring great rewards. Job, who
is righteous yet suffering, illustrates this when he asked God, “ ‘Why
do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power?’ ” (Job
21:7, NIV).
Peter was referring to trials that are the consequence of standing up
for Christ. But there also are other reasons that trials come. How
could 1 Peter 4:12–19 help you to explain tactfully to a friend why he
or she should not be surprised at the painful trials they might face?
Read for This Week’s Study: 1 Pet. 4:12–19, 1 Pet. 5:8–11,
Rom. 1:21–32, Jer. 9:7–16, 2 Cor. 12:7–10.
Memory Text: “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery
trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to
you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings,
that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding
joy” (1 Peter 4:12, 13, NKJV).
In chemistry labs one often places various materials into a small
container and heats them to extreme temperatures. As the container
becomes hotter, the materials either melt, fizzle, spit, or burn brightly,
depending upon what they are made of. The container is called a crucible.
A crucible is defined in the dictionary as (1) a vessel used for melting
a substance that requires a high degree of heat, (2) a severe test, or (3)
a place or situation in which concentrated forces interact to cause or
influence change or development.
These definitions also give us a helpful insight into what happens
in our spiritual lives. This week we’ll highlight some reasons we may
suddenly find ourselves under pressure and experiencing tests in places
in which circumstances cause us to change, develop, and grow in char-
acter. This will help to give us an awareness of what God is doing in
our lives so that when we enter a crucible, we will have an idea of how
to respond.
The Week at a Glance: What are the causes of the difficult
times that we experience through our lives?
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Missionaries in the Home,”
p. 143, in Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4; “The Divine Shepherd,”
pp. 476–484, in The Desire of Ages.
“Those who are finally victorious will have seasons of terrible
perplexity and trial in their religious life; but they must not cast away
their confidence, for this is a part of their discipline in the school of
Christ, and it is essential in order that all dross may be purged away.
The servant of God must endure with fortitude the attacks of the enemy,
his grievous taunts, and must overcome the obstacles which Satan will
place in his way. . . .
“But if you keep looking up, not down at your difficulties, you will
not faint in the way, you will soon see Jesus reaching His hand to help
you, and you will only have to give Him your hand in simple confi-
dence, and let Him lead you. As you become trustful, you will become
hopeful. . . .
“You will find help in Christ to form a strong, symmetrical, beautiful
character. Satan cannot make of none effect the light shining forth from
such a character. . . . God has given us His best gift, even His only-
begotten Son, to uplift, ennoble, and fit us, by putting on us His own
perfection of character, for a home in His kingdom.”—Ellen G. White,
Messages to Young People, pp. 63, 64.
Discussion Questions:
Ê To what extent have you been aware that the “terrible perplexity
and trial” that comes into your life may actually be part of your “dis-
cipline in the school of Christ”?
Ë How might our help, comfort, and encouragement to those in
the valley be part of the Shepherd’s way of getting people through
their crises? What things can you as a church do to be better used
by the Lord to help those in need?
Ì In class, go around and have each person talk about how good-
ness and mercy “pursued” them. What can you learn from one
another’s experiences?
Í Think about the last hours of Christ’s life, as He entered into
the crucible. From what you can tell, either from the Bible or Ellen
G. White (The Desire of Ages is a great source), how was Jesus,
in His humanity, able to endure? What can we take from His
example for ourselves in whatever crucibles we face, as well?
A Certain Promise for the Journey
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life;
and I will dwell in the house of the L ord forever” (Ps. 23:6, NKJV).
When we are in the valley or surrounded by enemies, it is sometimes
tempting to believe that we have been left alone. It does not always feel
as though God has been doing much; we reason that if He had been
helping, we wouldn’t be in this situation to begin with. But David obvi-
ously does not see it like this.
In spite of his trials, what two things does David say in Psalm 23:6 that
he is certain of? (See also Eph. 1:4, 2 Pet. 1:10, and Heb. 11:13–15.)
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Some translations say that goodness and unfailing love (God’s cove
nantal commitment) will “follow” me all the days of my life. However,
the original verb is much stronger, and the text should read that good-
ness and unfailing love will “pursue” me all the days of my life. (In fact,
it’s the same Hebrew verb used in such verses as Genesis 14:14, Joshua
10:19, and 1 Samuel 25:29, where the idea of “pursuit” is very clear.)
What picture do you get in your mind when you imagine goodness and
unfailing love “pursuing” you? What do you think David meant to
tell us about God by describing His care for us this way?
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No matter how deep the valley or how persistent the enemies, the cer-
tainty of God’s goodness and unfailing love and the certainty of His guid-
ance to the very end of our journey is unquestionable. If these thoughts
could sustain Jesus through Calvary, we should take heart, as well.
There are times, however, when those we care for are full of ques-
tions. Like David, the best way to address these concerns is often not
with a theological description of what God can do. Rather, as David
shows us in Psalm 23:6, it is through an affirmation, the sharing of a
personal conviction, of the truth about our God.
What evidence is there from your own knowledge of God that can
illustrate the certainty that His goodness and unfailing love pursue
us? What evidence could you add from the Bible? How could you
share this with those who may be questioning the certainty of God’s
care? How is the Cross the greatest example of this “pursuit”?
Unexpected Detour 2: The Surrounded
Table
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over” (Ps. 23:5, NKJV).
Throughout our lives, we will inevitably bump into some enemies.
How do you deal with them? Have you ever lain awake at night, tossing
and turning, dreaming up ways to take revenge on those who are trying
to hurt you or destroy your work? It can be hard for Christians to know
how to handle enemies.
What types of enemies have you had in your life? How have you
responded to those who have tried to hurt you or those you care
for? How well did you follow Christ’s words to us in Matthew 5:44,
or Paul’s in Romans 12:18–21?
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In Psalm 23:5, David shows us an interesting way of dealing with
enemies. He obscures their presence by looking instead at what God
is doing in his behalf. And God is there preparing a banquet for him.
In David’s culture, when an honored guest came for a feast, the
host would anoint his head with oil as the guest was about to enter
the banqueting hall. The oil was a mixture of olive oil and perfume.
Then the guest would be seated in front of far more food than one
could ever eat.
How could the three items (table, oil, cup) in Psalm 23:5 help to remind
us about how God provides, even when we are in the valley?
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As Paul reminds us, “our struggle is not against enemies of blood and
flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic
powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in
the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12, NRSV). Our enemies include those we
see and those we don’t. Whether we like it or not, we are surrounded.
Yet, when we are with the Shepherd, not one enemy, visible or invisible,
can steal what He has provided for us.
Reflect on how the Shepherd has treated you when you have been
surrounded by enemies. What can you see in these times that can
enable you to give thanks even during such difficulties?
Unexpected Detour 1: The Valley
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I
will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they
comfort me” (Ps. 23:4, NKJV).
It would be nice if the paths of righteousness wound their way only
along the grass-covered banks of cool streams. But that is not the way
David paints it. Also, along these paths is the valley of the shadow of
death—not a place that we are eager to visit! At certain times of the
year, the wadis and ravines found in Israel are prone to flash floods that
can come unexpectedly and prove overwhelming. These places also
are characteristically narrow, with steep sides that block out the light.
Hence, “the shadow of death” is an image for “very deep shadow,” or
“deep darkness.”
Think about the times you have been in your own “valley of the
shadow of death.” What has it been like? Did you have fear, even
though you knew that the Shepherd was there? Which Bible texts
were most precious to you at that time, and why?
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How do you think the sheep ended up in the valley? Do you think the
sheep went there on their own, or did the Shepherd lead the sheep
that way Himself? Justify your answer.
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Elisabeth Elliot writes, “A lamb who found himself in the valley of
the shadow of death might conclude that he had been falsely led. It was
needful for him to traverse that darkness in order to learn not to fear.
The shepherd is still with him.”—Quest for Love (Grand Rapids, MI:
Revell Books, 1996), p. 218.
Have you ever felt that you have been “falsely led” into the valley?
How did you respond to God during this time? Why do you think
the Shepherd might be willing to risk being misunderstood by
permitting us to enter a dark valley?
Locations on the Journey
“He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake” (Ps. 23:3, NRSV).
Imagine the “paths of righteousness” (Ps. 23:3) stretching out before
you, way out into the distance. You cannot see the end, but you know
that at the end of the journey is home, God’s house. As you focus a little
closer to you, do you see where the path leads? You can see some places
clearly, but other parts are totally obstructed by large or dangerous
obstacles. Sometimes the path disappears over a ridge. Some parts of
the path are easy to walk along; others are difficult. It was just like this
as Israel traveled from Egypt to the Promised Land, and it is described
the same way in this psalm.
Identify from Psalm 23 the locations that David sees the sheep pass-
ing through when following the paths of righteousness as they make
their way to the house of the Lord.
But why are these paths called “paths of righteousness” or “right
paths” (NIV, NRSV)? Here are four important reasons. First, they
are the right paths because they lead to the right destination—the
Shepherd’s home. Second, they are the right paths because they keep
us in harmony with the right Person—the Shepherd Himself. Third,
they are the right paths because they train us to be the right people—
like the Shepherd. Fourth, they are the right paths because they give
us the right witness—as we become the right people, we give glory
to the Lord. They are “right” or “righteous” paths, whether the going
is easy or hard.
It is important to realize that when God leads us, it is not simply a
question of His delivering a parcel to the destination. It is much more
than guidance and protection. Like the many examples all through
the Bible in which God is leading His people (whether it is leading
Abraham by His promises or leading Israel by the pillar of fire and
cloud), when God is guiding, it is always about His training His people
in righteousness.
How conscious are you that righteousness is the Shepherd’s pri-
ority for your life? How can trials change your life so that you
better reflect the character of Christ?
A Guide for the Journey: The Shepherd
“The L ord is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Ps. 23:1, NKJV).
Some children were asked to draw a picture of God. Without excep-
tion, each one drew a picture with a heart somewhere in it. When asked
why, they declared unanimously that God is love. It was as simple as that.
It is easy to have a good opinion of God and His purposes when
everything is going well. But as we grow older and life becomes harder
and more complicated, our view of God often changes. God doesn’t
change, of course (Heb. 13:8, James 1:17), but we do.
Because of the pastoral lifestyle of the people in Old Testament
times, Psalm 23 uses the image of a shepherd to describe the way God
cares for us. The symbol of a shepherd is used for God—in both the Old
Testament and the New Testament. It’s a wonderful picture and one that
is changeless, too. Before we look at Psalm 23, let’s survey how dif-
ferent Bible writers understand the work and character of the Shepherd
throughout the Bible.
What do you learn about the Shepherd from each text?
Isa. 40:11
Jer. 23:3, 4
Ezek. 34:12
John 10:14–16
1 Pet. 2:25
Now turn to Psalm 23. What does the Shepherd do to care for His sheep?
Ps. 23:2
Ps. 23:3
Ps. 23:4
Ps. 23:5
Ps. 23:6
What does it mean to you to know that there is Someone like
this caring for you? How could you use this picture to encourage
someone whose picture of God has been obscured because of his
or her own struggles, whatever they are?
Read for This Week’s Study: Psalm 23, Rom. 12:18–21.
Memory Text: “He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of
righteousness for His name’s sake” (Psalm 23:3, NKJV).
Sophie leaned back against her bedroom door and slid to the
floor. Tears were welling up fast, and it was only a moment
before she was sobbing. “How could he? How could he!”
Sophie had just received news that was breaking her heart. Someone
she thought was a friend, someone she respected and trusted, was
spreading awful gossip about her in order to ruin her reputation and
the work she had been doing. Grabbing her Bible off the bed, she
suddenly found herself staring at some very familiar words: “He
restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His
name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow
of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your
staff, they comfort me” (Ps. 23:3, 4, NKJV).
“Surely this can’t be!” she blurted out to herself. But the logic
seemed inescapable. The Shepherd in the psalm was guiding His
sheep in paths of righteousness, but these very paths also seemed to
wind their way into the valley of the shadow of death. Could it be
possible that even this painful betrayal by a friend, this dark valley,
could be used by God to train her in righteousness?
The Week at a Glance: At what times have you grown more
spiritually—through the easy times or the harder ones?
“All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that
was made” (John 1:3).
All things” were made by Him, Jesus, and yet—according to Scripture—
“Jesus wept” (John 11:35). The Creator wept? Even more so, Jesus was
“despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with
grief ” (Isa. 53:3). The Creator, a man of sorrows, despised and rejected? And He once
cried out, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46).
How could these things be? It’s because Jesus, our Creator, also was our Redeemer,
and as such, He was the Crucified God—the Creator who took on humanity and
in that humanity suffered through a life of privation and toil that ended with Him
hung on a Roman cross.
Thus, our Creator, the One in whom “we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts
17:28), suffered in humanity in ways that none of us ever could. We can experience
only our own griefs, our own sorrows; at the cross He bore “our griefs, and carried
our sorrows” (Isa. 53:4)—all of them. It’s the most amazing act in all cosmic history.
With that background (that of the crucified God lifted up before us), we will for
the next few months seek to better comprehend the incomprehensible—our own
suffering, the sufferings of Christians, of those who have committed their lives to
Christ. We make no claims to have all the answers or even many; we’re claiming
only that “God is love” (1 John 4:8) and that although these things happen, we can
trust God despite them and, indeed, grow in grace through them, no matter how
painful the process.
This quarter we will study the Word of God and see how other flesh and blood,
though radiated in faith, nevertheless faced despair, betrayal, disappointment, loss,
injustice, and abuse (sound like anything you can
relate to?). How did they cope? What did they learn?
What can their examples teach us?
As we look at these people, their experiences,
their struggles, and their trials of faith (which might be much like our own), we must always see them
contrasted against the background of the Cross. We must always remember that no matter what anyone
faces, Jesus Christ, our Creator and Redeemer, went
Further Thought: Ellen G. White, “Joseph and His Brothers,” pp.
233–240, in Patriarchs and Prophets.
“The life of Joseph illustrates the life of Christ. It was envy that
moved the brothers of Joseph to sell him as a slave; they hoped to
prevent him from becoming greater than themselves. And when he was
carried to Egypt, they flattered themselves that they were to be no more
troubled with his dreams, that they had removed all possibility of their
fulfillment. But their own course was overruled by God to bring about
the very event that they designed to hinder. So the Jewish priests and
elders were jealous of Christ, fearing that He would attract the attention
of the people from them. They put Him to death, to prevent Him from
becoming king, but they were thus bringing about this very result.
“Joseph, through his bondage in Egypt, became a savior to his
father’s family; yet this fact did not lessen the guilt of his brothers. So
the crucifixion of Christ by His enemies made Him the Redeemer of
mankind, the Savior of the fallen race, and Ruler over the whole world;
but the crime of His murderers was just as heinous as though God’s
providential hand had not controlled events for His own glory and the
good of man.
“As Joseph was sold to the heathen by his own brothers, so Christ
was sold to His bitterest enemies by one of His disciples. Joseph was
falsely accused and thrust into prison because of his virtue; so Christ
was despised and rejected because His righteous, self-denying life was
a rebuke to sin; and though guilty of no wrong, He was condemned
upon the testimony of false witnesses. And Joseph’s patience and
meekness under injustice and oppression, his ready forgiveness and
noble benevolence toward his unnatural brothers, represent the Savior’s
uncomplaining endurance of the malice and abuse of wicked men, and
His forgiveness, not only of His murderers, but of all who have come
to Him confessing their sins and seeking pardon.”—Ellen G. White,
Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 239, 240.
Discussion Questions:
Once Jacob died, Joseph’s brothers feared that now Joseph
would get revenge. What does this teach about the guilt that they
still harbored? What does Joseph’s reaction teach us about for-
giveness for the guilty?
What other parallels can you find between the lives of Joseph
and Jesus?
Dwell on the fact that although God intimately knows the
future, we are still free in the choices we make. How do we recon-
cile these two ideas?
The Hope of the Promised Land
Read Genesis 49:29–50:21. What great themes of hope are found in
the conclusion of the book of Genesis?
The conclusion of Genesis is made up of three events that are filled
with hope.
First, there is the hope that Israel will return to the Promised Land.
Moses, the author of Genesis, describes Jacob’s and Joseph’s deaths and
burials as events pointing to the Promised Land. Immediately after his
blessing and prophecy on the “twelve tribes of Israel” (Gen. 49:28),
Jacob thinks of his death and charges his sons to bury him in Canaan, at
the cave of Machpelah, where Sarah was buried (Gen. 49:29–31). The
narrative describing the funeral procession toward Canaan becomes a
precursor to the exodus from Egypt several centuries later.
Second, there is the hope that God will turn evil into good. After
Jacob’s death and burial, Joseph’s brothers are worried about their
future. They are afraid that Joseph will now take his revenge. They
come to Joseph and prostrate themselves before him, ready to become
his servants (Gen. 50:18), a scenario that is reminiscent of Joseph’s
prophetic dreams. Joseph reassures them and tells them to “ ‘not be
afraid’ ” (Gen. 50:19, NKJV), a phrase that refers to the future (Gen.
15:1); because what was “ ‘meant evil’ ” against him, “God meant . . .
for good” (Gen. 50:20, NKJV), and turned the course of events toward
salvation (Gen. 50:19–21; compare with Gen. 45:5, 7–9). That is, even
despite so many human failures, God’s providence will overrule.
Third, there is the hope that God will save fallen humankind. The
story of Joseph’s death in this last verse of Genesis is broader than
just about his death. Strangely, Joseph does not command to have his
bones buried. Instead he points to the time when “ ‘God will surely
visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here’ ” (Gen. 50:25,
NKJV), which they did, many years later, in direct obedience to those
words (see Exod. 13:19). Ultimately, the hope of the Promised Land,
Canaan, is a symbol, a precursor, to the ultimate hope of salvation, of
restoration, of a New Jerusalem in a new heaven and a new earth—the
ultimate hope for all of us, a hope made certain by the death of Shiloh.
Read Revelation 21:1–4. How do these verses represent the
grandest hope that we have? Without this promise, what hope do
we have other than death alone as the end of all our problems?
Jacob Blesses His Sons
Read Genesis 49:1–28. What is the spiritual significance of Jacob’s
blessing on his sons?
Beyond the prophecies concerning the immediate history of the
tribes of Israel, Jacob sees the Messiah and the ultimate hope of salva-
tion. This hope already is indicated in Jacob’s opening words that use
the expression “in the last days” (Gen. 49:1), a technical expression
that refers to the coming of the Messianic King (Isa. 2:2, Dan. 10:14).
The text then goes through the future line of each of these men.
These are not predestinated fates, as if God willed that each of these
would face what they faced; rather, they are expressions of what their
characters and the characters of their children would bring about. God’s
knowing, for instance, that someone will kill an innocent man is a radi-
cally different thing from God’s having willed that the killer do it.
Read Genesis 49:8–12. What prophecy is given here, and why is it
important?
Over and above human free will, God does know the future, and He
had arranged that it would be through Judah that the Messiah would
come. Judah (Gen. 49:8–12), who is represented by a lion (Gen. 49:9),
refers to royalty and praise. Judah will not only produce King David,
but also the Shiloh; that is, the One who will bring shalom, “peace”
(Isa. 9:6, 7), to Him “shall be the obedience of the people” (Gen. 49:10,
NKJV).
The Jews have long seen this as a Messianic prophecy pointing to the
coming Messiah, and Christians, too, have seen this text as pointing to
Jesus. “Unto him shall the gathering of the people be” (Gen. 49:10),
which is, perhaps, a precursor to the New Testament promise “that at
the name of Jesus every knee should bow” (Phil. 2:10).
As Ellen G. White wrote: “The lion, king of the forest, is a fitting sym-
bol of this tribe, from which came David, and the Son of David, Shiloh,
the true ‘Lion of the tribe of Judah,’ to whom all powers shall finally bow
and all nations render homage.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 236.
Why should we be rendering homage to Jesus now, even before
all nations will do it?
Jacob Blesses Joseph’s Sons
As Jacob approaches death, he remembers his earlier return to Bethel
(Gen. 35:1–15), when he received from God the renewed promise of
the “everlasting possession” (Gen. 48:4) that was given to Abraham
(Gen. 17:8). The hope of the Promised Land is, therefore, a comforting
thought that nurtures his hope as he feels death coming. Jacob turns,
then, to Joseph’s two sons, who were born in Egypt, and blesses them,
but does so in the context of the future promise regarding his own seed.
Read Genesis 48. Why did Jacob bless Joseph’s two sons here, and not
his other grandsons?
Joseph’s two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, are the only grandsons
that Jacob blessed. They are thus elevated from the status of grandsons
to the status of sons (Gen. 48:5). Although Jacob’s blessing implies a
preeminence of the second (Ephraim) over the first (Manasseh), Jacob’s
blessing essentially concerns Joseph (Gen. 48:15).
What we see here is a personal testimony about God’s faithfulness to
them in the past and His promise for them in the future. Jacob refers to
the God of Abraham and Isaac (Gen. 48:15), who had provided food
and protection for them. He is the same God who “has redeemed me
from all evil” (Gen. 48:16, NKJV). Jacob also has in mind “the God of
Bethel” (Gen. 31:13), with whom he wrestled (Gen. 32:29) and who
changed his name from Jacob to “Israel” (Gen. 32:26–29).
By referring to all these experiences where God turns the evil into
good, Jacob expresses his hope that not only will God take care of the
present lives of his grandsons, just as He cared for his own life and
Joseph’s, but Jacob also thinks of the future, when his descendants will
return to Canaan. This hope is clear from his reference to Shechem
(Gen. 48:22), which not only is a piece of land that he had acquired
(Gen. 33:19) but also is a place where Joseph’s bones will be buried
(Josh. 24:32) and where the land will be distributed to the tribes of
Israel (Josh. 24:1). Even amid all that has happened, Jacob keeps in
mind the promises of God, who said that through this family “ ‘all the
families of the earth shall be blessed’ ” (Gen 12:3, NKJV).
Read Acts 3:25, 26. According to Peter, how was this promise of
Genesis 12:3 being fulfilled? How have we, ourselves, received
this blessing?
Jacob Settles in Egypt
It’s very interesting how, despite all that Jacob had been told about
Joseph’s being alive in Egypt, the Lord still gave him “visions of the night”
(Gen. 46:2) and in them commanded him to leave. Jacob leaves the Land
of Promise for, of all places, Egypt—which later becomes associated with
the one place that God’s people do not want to go (Deut. 17:16).
Read Genesis 47. What spiritual truths and principles can we find in
this account?
“Joseph took five of his brothers to present to Pharaoh and receive from
him the grant of land for their future home. Gratitude to his prime minister
would have led the monarch to honor them with appointments to offices
of state; but Joseph, true to the worship of Jehovah, sought to save his
brothers from the temptations to which they would be exposed at a hea-
then court; therefore he counseled them, when questioned by the king, to
tell him frankly their occupation. The sons of Jacob followed this counsel,
being careful also to state that they had come to sojourn in the land, not to
become permanent dwellers there, thus reserving the right to depart if they
chose. The king assigned them a home, as offered, in ‘the best of the land,’
the country of Goshen.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 233.
Wisely, too, Pharaoh does not encourage these sojourners to become
beggars, living off the largess of their host. He enquires about their
“occupation” (Gen. 47:3, NKJV) in order that they may adjust better in
their new environment. He also is eager to use their expertise, and even
suggests that they serve him as “chief herdsmen over [his] livestock”
(Gen. 47:6, NKJV).
Then, although Jacob, the foreigner, is the inferior, the stranger, he
stands before the leader of the land, and, as the text says, “Jacob blessed
Pharaoh” (Gen. 47:7). He, the lowly stranger, is the one who blesses
Pharaoh, the ruler of mighty Egypt? Why should that be?
The verb ‘amad lifney, “set . . . before” (Gen. 47:7), is normally used
in priestly contexts (Lev. 14:11). Considering that in ancient Egypt the
pharaoh had the status of the highest priest, this means that, in a spiri
tual sense, Jacob stands higher than the highest priest of Egypt, higher
even than Pharaoh himself.
Whatever our station in life, what should it mean to us, in how
we treat others, that we are “a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
His own special people” (1 Pet. 2:9)? What obligations does our
faith put on us?
Jacob Goes to Joseph
Read Genesis 46. What is the significance of Jacob’s departure from
Canaan?
When Jacob leaves his place in Canaan, he is full of hope. The assur-
ance that he will no longer be hungry and the good news that Joseph is
alive must have given him the momentum that he needed to leave the
Promised Land.
Jacob’s departure echoes the experience of Abraham, though in
Abraham’s case he was heading to the Promised Land. Jacob hears the
same promise Abraham heard from God, namely that He will make him
“a great nation” (Gen. 46:3; compare with Gen. 12:2). God’s call here
also is reminiscent of God’s covenant with Abraham; in both occasions
God uses the same reassuring words “ ‘do not fear’ ” (Gen. 46:3, NKJV;
compare with Gen. 15:1), which carry the promise of a glorious future.
The comprehensive listing of the names of the children of Israel
who went to Egypt, including his daughters (Gen. 46:7), recalls God’s
promise of fruitfulness to Abraham even when he was still childless.
The number “seventy” (including Jacob, Joseph, and his two sons)
expresses the idea of totality. It is “all Israel” that goes to Egypt. It also
is significant that the number 70 corresponds to the number of nations
(Genesis 10), suggesting that the destiny of all the nations also is at
stake in Jacob’s journey.
This truth will become more evident only many years later, after
the Cross and the fuller revelation of the plan of salvation, which, of
course, was for all humanity, everywhere, and not just for the children
of Abraham.
In other words, however interesting the stories are regarding this
family, the seed of Abraham, and whatever spiritual lessons we can take
from them—these accounts are in the Word of God because they are
part of salvation history; they are part of God’s plan to bring redemp-
tion to as many as possible on this fallen planet.
“For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same
Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For ‘whoever calls
on the name of the L ord shall be saved’ ” (Rom. 10:12, 13, NKJV).
What does Paul say here that shows the universality of the gos-
pel? More important, what do these words say to us regarding
what we as a church should be doing to help spread the gospel?
Read for This Week’s Study: Genesis 46; Rom. 10:12, 13;
Genesis 47; Genesis 48; Acts 3:25, 26; Genesis 49; Phil. 2:10; Gen.
49:29–50:21.
Memory Text: “So Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of
Goshen; and they had possessions there and grew and multiplied
exceedingly” (Genesis 47:27, NKJV).
Genesis covers the last years of Jacob and Joseph together. We
see Jacob (Israel) leave Canaan (Genesis 46) in order to settle in
Egypt (Genesis 47), and there he will die (Gen. 49:29–50:21).
And yet, even in this Egyptian setting, the prospect of the Promised
Land still looms large in the background (Gen. 50:22–26).
As soon as Jacob arrives in Egypt, Jacob blesses Pharaoh (Gen.
47:7–10), thus fulfilling (partially, of course) the Abrahamic promise
to be a blessing to the nations (Gen. 12:3). Later, about to die, Jacob
blesses Joseph’s sons (Genesis 48). Jacob also blesses his own sons
(Gen. 49:1–28) and makes impressive predictions concerning each of
them in the context of the future 12 tribes of Israel (Gen. 49:1–27).
The fact, however, that Israel “dwells” in exile, in Egypt as strangers,
is in tension with the hope of the Promised Land. And though the book
of Genesis itself ends with the children of Israel in Egypt, some of the
last words of Joseph point to another place: “ ‘I am dying; but God will
surely visit you, and bring you out of this land to the land of which He
swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob’ ” (Gen. 50:24, NKJV).
Further Thought: Ellen G. White, “Joseph in Egypt,” pp. 213–223;
“Joseph and His Brothers,” pp. 224–232, in Patriarchs and Prophets.
“The three days of confinement were days of bitter sorrow with
Jacob’s sons. They reflected upon their past wrong course, especially
their cruelty to Joseph. They knew if they were convicted of being
spies, and they could not bring evidence to clear themselves, they
would all have to die, or become slaves. They doubted whether any
effort any one of them might make would cause their father to consent
to have Benjamin go from him, after the cruel death, as he thought,
Joseph had suffered. They sold Joseph as a slave, and they were fearful
that God designed to punish them by suffering them to become slaves.
Joseph considers that his father and the families of his brethren, may be
suffering for food, and he is convinced that his brethren have repented
of their cruel treatment of him, and that they would in no case treat
Benjamin as they had treated him.”—Ellen G. White, Spiritual Gifts,
book 3, pp. 155, 156.
“Joseph was satisfied. He had proved his brethren, and had seen in
them the fruits of true repentance for their sins.”—Ellen G. White,
Spiritual Gifts, book 3, p. 165.
Discussion Questions:
In class, dwell on the question at the end of Thursday’s study.
Do you think that Joseph would have been so gracious to his
brothers had things not turned out so well for him? Of course, we
can’t know for sure, but what indications, if any, in the entire story
of Joseph reveal to us the kind of character that Joseph had, which
could help explain his graciousness?
In what ways can we see in Joseph a kind of precursor to
Christ and what Christ went through?
Joseph had tested his brothers. In what similar ways does God
test us?
Even after all those years, the brothers realized their guilt in
what they had done to Joseph. What does this teach us about how
powerful guilt can be? And though we can be forgiven and accept
God’s forgiveness, how do we learn to forgive ourselves, no matter
how unworthy we are of that forgiveness?
“ ‘I Am Joseph Your Brother’ ”
Read Genesis 45. What lessons of love, faith, and hope can be found
in this story?
It was at that very moment, when Judah talked about the “ ‘evil’ ” that
would fall upon ’avi, “ ‘my father’ ” (Gen. 44:34), that Joseph “cried out”
(Gen. 45:1, NKJV) and then “made himself known” to his brothers. This
expression, often used to refer to God’s self-revelation (Exod. 6:3, Ezek.
20:9), suggests that it is God who had revealed Himself here, as well. That is,
the Lord had shown that His providence reigns, even despite human foibles.
Joseph’s brothers cannot believe what they are hearing and seeing. Thus,
Joseph is obliged to repeat, “ ‘I am Joseph your brother’ ” (Gen. 45:4,
NKJV), and it is only the second time, when they hear the precise words
“ ‘whom you sold into Egypt’ ” (Gen. 45:4, NKJV), that they believe.
Joseph then declares: “ ‘God sent me’ ” (Gen. 45:5, NKJV). This
reference to God has a double purpose. It serves not only to reassure
his brothers that Joseph does not have hard feelings toward them; but
it also is a profound confession of faith, and an expression of hope,
because what they did was necessary for the “ ‘great deliverance’ ” and
the survival of a “ ‘posterity’ ” (Gen. 45:7, NKJV).
Joseph then urges his brothers to go to his father in order to prepare him
to come to Egypt. He accompanies his call with specific words concern-
ing the place where they will “ ‘dwell,’ ” that is, Goshen, famous for its
rich pasture, “ ‘the best of the land’ ” (Gen. 45:10, 18, NKJV). He also
takes care of the transportation: carts are provided, which will ultimately
convince Jacob that his sons were not lying to him about what they had
just experienced (Gen. 45:27). Jacob takes this visible demonstration as
evidence that Joseph is alive, and this is enough for him to come alive again
(compare with Gen. 37:35, Gen. 44:29).
Things are now good. Jacob’s 12 sons are alive. Jacob is now called
“Israel” (Gen. 45:28), and the providence of God has been made mani
fest in a powerful way.
Yes, Joseph was gracious to his brothers. He could afford to
be. How, though, do we learn to be gracious to those whose evil
toward us doesn’t turn out as well for us as what Joseph experi-
enced?
The Divination Cup
Read Genesis 44. Why did Joseph put the divination cup in Benjamin’s
sack and not in another brother’s sack?
This story parallels the preceding one. As before, Joseph gives spe-
cific instructions; and, once again, he fills the men’s sacks with food.
This time, however, Joseph adds the strange command to put his pre-
cious cup in Benjamin’s sack.
The events take, therefore, a different course. While in the preceding
trip, the brothers returned to Canaan to take Benjamin with them, now
they have to return to Egypt to face Joseph. Whereas in the preced-
ing situation all the brothers found the same thing in their sacks, now
Benjamin is singled out as the one who has Joseph’s cup. Unexpectedly,
Benjamin, who as the guest of honor had access to Joseph’s cup, is now
suspect and charged with having stolen that precious article. He will
go to prison.
That Joseph was using a divination cup did not mean that he believed
in its power. Joseph “had never claimed the power of divination, but
was willing to have them believe that he could read the secrets of their
lives.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 229.
The magic cup was for Joseph a pretext to evoke the supernatural
domain, and thus awaken in his brothers’ hearts their sense of guilt
toward God. This is how Judah interprets Joseph’s implied message,
because he refers to the iniquity that God has found in them (Gen.
44:16). Also, the stealing of that precious cup would justify a severe
punishment and thus test the other brothers’ thinking.
The intensity of the brothers’ emotion and their reaction is sig-
nificant. They all are united in the same pain, fearing for Benjamin,
who will be lost as was Joseph, and like him become a slave in Egypt
although he was, like him, innocent. This is why Judah proposes that he
be taken as a slave “instead” of Benjamin (Gen. 44:33), just as the ram
had been sacrificed “instead” of the innocent Isaac (compare with Gen.
22:13). Judah presents himself as a sacrifice, a substitution, whose
purpose is precisely to cope with that “evil” that would devastate his
father (Gen. 44:34).
What principle of love, as exemplified in Judah’s response, is
implied in the process of substitution? How does this kind of love
explain the biblical theology of salvation? (See Rom. 5:8.)
Joseph and Benjamin
Jacob could not easily allow the departure of Benjamin, his only son
with Rachel who remained with him. He was afraid that he would lose
him, as he already had lost Joseph (Gen. 43:6–8). It was only when
there was no more food (Gen. 43:2) and when Judah pledged to guar-
antee the return of Benjamin (Gen. 43:9) that Jacob finally consented
to a second visit to Egypt and allowed Benjamin to go with his brothers.
Read Genesis 43. What effect did Benjamin’s presence have on the
course of events?
Benjamin’s presence dominated the events. When all the brothers
stand before Joseph, Benjamin is the only person whom Joseph sees
(Gen. 43:16). Benjamin is the only one who is called “brother” (Gen.
43:29, NKJV). While Benjamin is called by name, all the other brothers
are not identified; they are simply referred to as “men” (Gen. 43:16).
Joseph calls Benjamin “ ‘my son,’ ” as a reassuring expression of spe-
cial affection (Gen. 43:29; compare with Gen. 22:8). Joseph’s blessing
refers to “grace” (Gen. 43:29), reminiscent of his begging for grace,
which was not forthcoming (Gen. 42:21). Joseph returns to Benjamin
the grace that he did not receive from his other brothers.
While Joseph’s brothers fear that they will be cast in prison because
of the money that was returned, Joseph prepares a banquet for them
because of Benjamin’s presence. It is as if Benjamin has a redeeming
effect on the whole situation. When all the brothers are seated accord-
ing to their ages and respecting the rules of honor, it is Benjamin, the
youngest, who is served five times more than all the other brothers
(Gen. 43:33, 34). And yet, this favoritism does not bother them unlike
when Joseph was his father’s favorite many years ago, which led to
their terrible actions toward both their half brother and their own father
(Gen. 37:3, 4).
“By this token of favor to Benjamin he hoped to ascertain if the
youngest brother was regarded with the envy and hatred that had been
manifested toward himself. Still supposing that Joseph did not under-
stand their language, the brothers freely conversed with one another;
thus he had a good opportunity to learn their real feelings. Still he
desired to test them further, and before their departure he ordered that
his own drinking cup of silver should be concealed in the sack of the
youngest.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 228, 229.
Joseph Confronts His Brothers
Read Genesis 42. What happened here, and how does it reveal the
providence of God, despite human evil and malfeasance?
The famine obliges Jacob to send his sons to Egypt to buy grain.
Ironically, it is Jacob who initiates the project (Gen 42:1). The unfor-
tunate old man, a victim of circumstances beyond his control, unknow-
ingly sets in motion an amazing chain of events that will lead to being
reunited with the son for whom he had mourned so long.
The providential nature of this meeting is highlighted through two
fundamental characters. First, it is seen as a fulfillment of Joseph’s
dreams. The event—predicted in Joseph’s prophetic dreams: “ ‘your
sheaves . . . bowed down to my sheaf’ ” (Gen. 37:7, NKJV)—is now
taking place. Joseph is identified as the “governor over the land” (Gen.
42:6) and “the lord of the land” (Gen. 42:30, 33). Joseph’s powerful
position contrasts with that of his needy brothers, who “bowed down
before him with their faces to the earth” (Gen. 42:6, NKJV)—the same
ten brothers who mocked Joseph about his dream and doubted its ful-
fillment (Gen. 37:8).
Second, this providential meeting is described as a response. The lin-
guistic and thematic echoes between the two events underline the char-
acter of just retribution. The phrase “they said to one another” (Gen.
42:21, NKJV) also was used when they began to plot against Joseph
(Gen. 37:19). The brothers’ sojourn in prison (Gen. 42:17) echoes
Joseph’s sojourn in prison (Gen. 40:3, 4). In fact, Joseph’s brothers
relate what is currently happening to them to what they did to their
brother perhaps 20 years ago. “Then they said to one another, ‘We are
truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul
when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; therefore this distress
has come upon us’ ” (Gen. 42:21, NKJV).
Reuben’s words, “ ‘his blood is now required of us’ ” (Gen. 42:22,
NKJV), which echo his past warning to “ ‘shed no blood’ ” (Gen. 37:22,
NKJV), reinforce the link between what they are now facing and what
they had done.
Most of us, surely, have done things for which we are sorry.
How can we, to whatever degree possible, make up for what we
have done? Also, why is accepting God’s promises of forgiveness
through Jesus so crucial for us (see Rom. 5:7–11)?
Joseph’s Rise to Power
For Joseph, Pharaoh’s dreams revealed what God was “about to do”
(Gen. 41:28, NKJV) in the land. Joseph, however, does not call on
Pharaoh to believe in his God. Instead, Joseph’s immediate response is
action. Joseph proposes an economic program. Interestingly, only the
economic part of Joseph’s discourse is retained by Pharaoh, who seems
more interested in the economic lesson than in the spiritual meaning of
the dream and God’s role in producing it.
Read Genesis 41:37–57. What is God’s place in the success of Joseph?
Pharaoh selects Joseph to take charge not so much because he has
interpreted his dreams correctly and revealed the forthcoming problem
of the land, but because he has a solution to that problem, because his
“advice was good” (Gen. 41:37, NKJV), an opinion also shared by
Pharaoh’s servants. Pharaoh’s choice seems to have been more prag-
matic than religious. And yet, Pharaoh recognizes that the presence of
“the Spirit of God” (Gen. 41:38) is in Joseph, who is qualified as “dis-
cerning and wise” (Gen. 41:39), an expression that characterizes the
wisdom that God gives (see Gen. 41:33; compare with 1 Kings 3:12).
All the details reported in the biblical text fit the historical situation
of Egypt at that time. Politically, the fact that Pharaoh appoints Joseph
as vizier is not unusual in ancient Egypt, where cases of foreign viziers
have been attested.
The next seven years are years of abundance in such a marked way that
the grain production becomes “immeasurable” (Gen. 41:49, NKJV), a sign
of supernatural providence. The comparison “as the sand of the sea” (Gen.
41:49) reveals that this is God’s blessing (Gen. 22:17). Joseph personally
reflects that blessing in his own fruitfulness, a coincidence that evidences
the presence of the same God behind the two phenomena. Joseph has two
sons whose names show Joseph’s experience of God’s providence, which
has transformed the memory of pain into joy (Manasseh) and the former
affliction into fruitfulness (Ephraim). What a powerful example of how
God turned something bad into something very good!
What are ways that others should be able to see, from the kind of
lives that we live, the reality of our God?
Read for This Week’s Study: Gen. 41:37–46, 1 Kings 3:12,
Genesis 42, Rom. 5:7–11, Genesis 43, Genesis 44, Genesis 45.
Memory Text: “And Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘See, I have set you over
all the land of Egypt’ ” (Genesis 41:41, NKJV).
Joseph is now leader of Egypt, and his own brothers will bow before
him without knowing who he is (Genesis 42). Joseph’s brothers
will humble themselves when Joseph forces them to return with
Benjamin (Genesis 43), and—when Benjamin’s safety is, they fear,
threatened (Genesis 44)—they will plead for grace before this powerful
man, whom they see as “like Pharaoh.” In the end, when Joseph reveals
his identity, they will understand that, despite what they have done, God
has brought good out of it all.
Interestingly, this whole next sequence of events, which were sup-
posed to be about Joseph’s success, are more about his brothers’ repen-
tance. Their back-and-forth journeys from Joseph to their father, and
the obstacles they encounter, make them remember their wicked acts
toward Joseph and their father, and they realize their iniquity toward
God. Joseph’s brothers live that whole experience as a divine judgment.
And yet, the moving emotional conclusion, which brings everyone to
tears and joy, also contains a message of forgiveness for them, despite
their unjustifiable acts of evil.
Further Thought: Ellen G. White, “Joseph in Egypt,” pp. 213–223,
in Patriarchs and Prophets.
“In early life, just as they were passing from youth to manhood,
Joseph and Daniel were separated from their homes and carried as cap-
tives to heathen lands. Especially was Joseph subject to the temptations
that attend great changes of fortune. In his father’s home a tenderly
cherished child; in the house of Potiphar a slave, then a confidant and
companion; a man of affairs, educated by study, observation, con-
tact with men; in Pharaoh’s dungeon a prisoner of state, condemned
unjustly, without hope of vindication or prospect of release; called at a
great crisis to the leadership of the nation—what enabled him to pre-
serve his integrity? . . .
“In his childhood, Joseph had been taught the love and fear of God.
Often in his father’s tent, under the Syrian stars, he had been told the
story of the night vision at Bethel, of the ladder from heaven to earth,
and the descending and ascending angels, and of Him who from the
throne above revealed Himself to Jacob. He had been told the story of
the conflict beside the Jabbok, when, renouncing cherished sins, Jacob
stood conqueror, and received the title of a prince with God.
“A shepherd boy, tending his father’s flocks, Joseph’s pure and simple
life had favored the development of both physical and mental power.
By communion with God through nature and the study of the great
truths handed down as a sacred trust from father to son, he had gained
strength of mind and firmness of principle.
“In the crisis of his life, when making that terrible journey from his
childhood home in Canaan to the bondage which awaited him in Egypt,
looking for the last time on the hills that hid the tents of his kindred,
Joseph remembered his father’s God. He remembered the lessons of
his childhood, and his soul thrilled with the resolve to prove himself
true—ever to act as became a subject of the King of heaven.”—Ellen
G. White, Education, pp. 51, 52.
Discussion Questions:
Compare Joseph with Daniel and Jesus. What are their com-
mon points? How do Joseph and Daniel, in their own ways, reveal
aspects of what Jesus would be like?
In class, talk about the question at the end of Thursday’s study.
How do we learn to trust God when things don’t turn out as well
for us as they did, eventually, for Joseph?
The Dreams of Pharaoh
Read Genesis 40:1–41:36. How are the dreams of Pharaoh related to
the dreams of the officers? What is the significance of this parallel?
The providential character of the events continues. Over time, Joseph
is put in charge of the prisoners, two of whom happen to be former
officers of Pharaoh, a butler and a baker (Gen. 41:9–11). They are
both troubled by dreams that they cannot understand, because “there
is no interpreter” (Gen. 40:8). Joseph, then, interprets their respective
dreams.
In a parallel to the two officers’ dreams, Pharaoh also has two
dreams, which no one can interpret (Gen. 41:1–8). At that moment
the butler providentially remembers Joseph and recommends him to
Pharaoh (Gen. 41:9–13).
In a parallel to the other dreams, Pharaoh, like the officers, is trou-
bled, and, like them, reveals his dreams (Gen. 41:14–24), and Joseph
interprets them. Like the officers’ dreams, Pharaoh’s dreams display
parallels of symbols: the two series of seven cows (fat and gaunt) just
as the two series of heads of grain (plump and thin) represent two series
of years, one good and one bad. The seven cows parallel the seven
heads of grain, repeating the same message, an evidence of their divine
origin, just like Joseph’s dreams (Gen. 41:32; compare with Gen. 37:9).
Though Joseph is the one who interpreted the dream for Pharaoh,
Joseph makes certain that Pharaoh knows that it was God, Elohim,
who showed the king the things that He, God, was going to do (Gen.
41:25, 28). It seems, too, that Pharaoh got the message because, when
he decided to appoint someone to be over the land, his argument was
as follows:
“ ‘Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as dis-
cerning and wise as you. You shall be over my house, and all my people
shall be ruled according to your word’ ” (Gen. 41:39, 40, NKJV).
How fascinating: thanks to God, Joseph goes from ruler over
Potiphar’s house to ruler over the prison to ruler over all of Egypt. What
a powerful story about how, even amid what look like terrible circum-
stances, God’s providences are revealed.
How can we learn to trust God and cling to His promises when
events don’t appear providential at all, and indeed, God seems
silent?
Joseph, a Slave in Egypt
We now pick up the flow of Joseph’s stories, which have been “inter-
rupted” by the Tamar incident. Joseph is now working as a slave for the
“captain of the guard,” who is in charge of the prison for royal officials
(Gen. 40:3, 4; Gen. 41:10–12).
Read Genesis 39. In light of the example of Joseph’s working as a man-
ager under Potiphar, what are the factors that led to such success?
Almost immediately, Joseph was characterized as a man of success
(Gen. 39:2, 3). He was so good, and his master so trusted him that “all
that he had he put into his hand,” and Potiphar even made him “overseer
over his house” (Gen 39:4).
Joseph’s success, however, does not corrupt him. When Potiphar’s
wife notices him and wants to sleep with him, Joseph unambiguously
refuses and prefers to lose his job and his security rather than “ ‘do
this great wickedness, and sin against God’ ” (Gen. 39:9). The woman,
humiliated by Joseph’s refusal, reports falsely to her servants and to
her husband that Joseph wanted to rape her. As a result, Joseph is cast
into prison.
Joseph experiences here what we all have experienced: the sense of
abandonment by God, though, even in this difficult time, “the Lord
was with Joseph” (Gen. 39:21).
Eventually, the Lord acts, and it has an impact on Joseph’s relation-
ship with the officer of the prison. Here, too, as in his master’s house,
the Lord blesses Joseph. He obviously is a gifted man, and despite even
worse circumstances now (after all, before, he was still a slave!), he
seeks to make the best of it. Whatever his gifts, however, the text makes
it clear that, in the end, it was only God who brought him success. “The
keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s
authority, because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the
Lord made it prosper” (Gen. 39:23, NKJV). How important that all
who are gifted, all who are “successful,” remember where it all comes
from!
Read Genesis 39:7–12. How did Joseph resist the advances of
Potiphar’s wife? Why did Joseph specifically say that to do what
she asked would be a sin against God? What understanding does
he show of the nature of sin and what it is?
Judah and Tamar
The story of Tamar is not out of place here. This incident follows chrono-
logically the sale of Joseph in Egypt (Gen. 38:1), and it is consistent with the
fact that Judah has just left his brothers, which points to his disagreement
with them. In addition, the text shares a number of common words and
motifs with the preceding chapter, and it carries the same theological lesson:
an evil act will be turned into a positive event linked to salvation.
Read Genesis 38. Compare Judah’s behavior with that of the
Canaanite Tamar. Who of the two is more righteous, and why?
Judah finds a Canaanite wife (Gen. 38:2) with whom he has three
sons: Er, Onan, and Shelah. Judah gives the Canaanite Tamar as wife
to Er, his firstborn, in order to ensure proper genealogy. When Er and
Onan are killed by God because of their wickedness, Judah promises
his last son, Shelah, to Tamar.
When, after some time, Judah seems to have forgotten his promise, as
he goes to comfort himself after the death of his wife, Tamar decides to
play the prostitute in order to force him to fulfill his promise. Because
Judah has no cash to pay the prostitute, whom he does not recognize,
he promises to send her, later, a goat from his flock.
Tamar requires that, in the meantime, he give her his signet and cord
and his staff as an immediate guarantee of payment. Tamar will get
pregnant from this unique encounter. When, later, accused of playing
the harlot, she will show to the accuser, Judah, his signet and cord and
his staff. Judah understands and apologizes.
The conclusion of this sordid story is the birth of Perez, meaning
“breaking through,” who, like Jacob, is born second, and becomes
first, and is named in salvation history as the ancestor of David (Ruth
4:18–22), and ultimately of Jesus Christ (Matt. 1:3). As for Tamar, she
is the first of the four women—followed by Rahab (Matt. 1:5), Ruth
(Matt. 1:5, 6), and the wife of Uriah (Matt. 1:6)—who genealogically
preceded Mary, the mother of Jesus (Matt. 1:16).
One lesson we can take from this story: just as God saved Tamar
through His grace, transforming evil into good, so will He save His
people through the cross of Jesus. And in the case of Joseph, He will
turn his troubles into the salvation of Jacob and his sons.
The Attack on Joseph
However horrible the events that were to follow, they’re not hard to
comprehend. To be in that close proximity to, and even to be related to,
someone whom you hated would inevitably lead, sooner or later, only to
trouble.
And it did.
Read Genesis 37:12–36. What does this teach us about how dangerous
and evil unregenerate hearts can be and what they can lead any
one of us to do?
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The brothers hate Joseph because they are jealous of God’s favor (Acts
7:9), a favor that will be confirmed at each step in the next course of
events. When Joseph has lost his way, a man finds him and guides him
(Gen. 37:15). When Joseph’s brothers plot to kill him, Reuben intervenes
and suggests that he be thrown into a pit instead (Gen. 37:20–22).
It’s hard to imagine the kind of hatred expressed here, especially for
someone of their own household. How could these young men have
done something so cruel? Did they not think, even for a few moments,
about how this would impact their own father? Whatever resentment
they might have had toward their father because he favored Joseph, to
do this to one of his children was, truly, despicable. What a powerful
manifestation of just how evil human beings can be.
“But some of them [the brothers] were ill at ease; they did not feel the
satisfaction they had anticipated from their revenge. Soon a company
of travelers was seen approaching. It was a caravan of Ishmaelites from
beyond Jordan, on their way to Egypt with spices and other merchan-
dise. Judah now proposed to sell their brother to these heathen traders
instead of leaving him to die. While he would be effectually put out
of their way, they would remain clear of his blood.”—Ellen G. White,
Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 211.
After they cast him into the pit, planning to kill him later, a caravan
passes, and Judah proposes to his brothers to sell Joseph to them (Gen.
37:26, 27). After Joseph is sold to the Midianites (Gen. 37:28), the
Midianites sell him to someone in Egypt (Gen. 37:36), thus anticipat-
ing his future glory.
Why is it so important to seek God’s power in order to change
bad traits of character before they can manifest themselves in
acts that, at one point in your life, you would never have imagined
yourself doing?
Family Troubles
Jacob has, at last, settled in the land. While Isaac was only “a
stranger,” the text also says that Jacob “dwelt in the land” (Gen. 37:1).
Yet, it was then, as he was settling into the land, that the troubles began,
this time from inside the family. The controversy does not concern the
possession of the land or the use of a well; it is, mainly, spiritual.
Read Genesis 37:1–11. What family dynamic predisposed Joseph’s
brothers to hate him so much?
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From the very beginning, we understand that Joseph, the son of
Jacob’s old age (Gen. 37:3), enjoyed a special relationship with his
father, who “loved him more than all his brothers” (Gen. 37:4, NKJV).
Jacob even went so far as to make Joseph “a tunic of many colors”
(Gen. 37:3, NKJV), a prince’s garment (2 Sam. 13:18), an indication
of Jacob’s secret intention to elevate Joseph, Rachel’s first son, to the
status of firstborn.
The future will, indeed, confirm Jacob’s wishes because Joseph
eventually will receive the rights of the firstborn (1 Chron. 5:2). No
wonder, then, that Joseph’s brothers hated him so much and could not
even engage in peaceful conversations with him (Gen. 37:4).
Furthermore, Joseph would bring bad reports to his father about any
reprehensible behavior from his brothers (Gen. 37:2). No one likes a
snitch.
So, when Joseph shared his dreams, suggesting that God would put
him in a higher position and that they, his brothers, would bow before
him, they hated him even more. The genuine prophetic character of the
dreams was even ratified by the fact that they are repeated (see Gen.
41:32). Although Jacob openly rebuked his son (Gen. 37:10), he kept
this incident in his mind, meditating on its meaning and waiting for its
fulfillment (Gen. 37:11). The implication is that, perhaps, deep down
he thought there might be something to these dreams after all. He was
right, however much he couldn’t know it at the time.
Read Matthew 20:26, 27. What crucial principle is revealed
here, and how can we learn to manifest in our own lives what it
teaches?
Read for This Week’s Study: Genesis 37; Matt. 20:26, 27;
Acts 7:9; Genesis 38; Genesis 39; Gen. 40:1–41:36.
Memory Text: “Then they said to one another, ‘Look, this dreamer
is coming!’ ” (Genesis 37:19, NKJV).
The story of Joseph (Genesis 37–50) covers the last section of the
book of Genesis, from his first dreams in Canaan (Gen. 37:1–11)
to his death in Egypt (Gen. 50:26). In fact, Joseph occupies more
space in the book of Genesis than does any other patriarch. Although
Joseph is just one of Jacob’s sons, he is presented in Genesis as a great
patriarch, like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
As we will see, too, the life of Joseph highlights two important theo-
logical truths: first, God fulfills His promises; second, God can turn
evil into good.
In this week’s study, we will focus on the early life of Joseph. He is
Jacob’s favorite son, who is ironically nicknamed ba‘al hakhalomot,
the “dreamer” (Gen. 37:19), which means literally “master of dreams,”
implying that he is an expert of dreams. This title fits him very well,
because he not only receives, understands, and interprets prophetic
dreams, but he also fulfills them in his life, as well.
In these chapters, we will see, again, that God’s providence is
affirmed, despite the evil and wickedness of the human heart.
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “The Night of Wrestling,”
pp. 195–203, in Patriarchs and Prophets.
“Jacob’s experience during that night of wrestling and anguish rep-
resents the trial through which the people of God must pass just before
Christ’s second coming. . . . Such will be the experience of God’s people
in their final struggle with the powers of evil. God will test their faith,
their perseverance, their confidence in His power to deliver them. Satan
will endeavor to terrify them with the thought that their cases are hope-
less; that their sins have been too great to receive pardon. They will have
a deep sense of their shortcomings, and as they review their lives their
hopes will sink. But remembering the greatness of God’s mercy, and
their own sincere repentance, they will plead His promises made through
Christ to helpless, repenting sinners. Their faith will not fail because their
prayers are not immediately answered. They will lay hold of the strength
of God, as Jacob laid hold of the Angel, and the language of their souls
will be, ‘I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me.’ . . .
“Yet Jacob’s history is an assurance that God will not cast off those
who have been betrayed into sin, but who have returned unto Him with
true repentance. It was by self-surrender and confiding faith that Jacob
gained what he had failed to gain by conflict in his own strength. God
thus taught His servant that divine power and grace alone could give him
the blessing he craved. Thus it will be with those who live in the last
days. As dangers surround them, and despair seizes upon the soul, they
must depend solely upon the merits of the atonement. We can do nothing
of ourselves.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 201–203.
Discussion Questions:
Why is Jacob’s weakness the occasion for God’s grace? How
does Jacob’s experience relate to Paul’s statement, “When I am
weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:10, NKJV)?
Why do you think the Bible reveals so many sordid details
about the lives of many of its characters? What point could be
made from doing this? What message can we take from it?
Dwell more on the question of idolatry. What are the idols of
our culture, our civilization? How can we make sure we aren’t
worshiping anyone or anything other than the Lord?
The Death of Rachel
Read Genesis 35:15–29. What other woes did Jacob face within his
dysfunctional family?
As soon as Jacob leaves Bethel, three interrelated incidents mark the
last step of his journey toward the Promised Land: Jacob’s last son is
born; Rachel dies; and Reuben, Jacob’s first son by Leah, sleeps with
Jacob’s concubine. Though the text doesn’t say why the young man
would do something so evil, it could have been that he wanted to some-
how defile the birth of Jacob’s last son and to humiliate the memory of
Rachel. We just don’t know.
The birth of Jacob’s last son is linked to Bethlehem (Gen. 35:19),
which is within the confines of the Promised Land. This birth is, then, the
first fulfillment of God’s promise for the future of Israel. The midwife,
prophetically, addresses Rachel with the very words God used to reassure
Abraham: “ ‘Do not fear’ ” (Gen. 35:17, NKJV, compare with Gen. 15:1).
Significantly, Jacob changes the name that the dying Rachel had
given to her son, Ben-Oni, meaning “son of my sorrow” to signify her
pain, into Benjamin, meaning “son of the right hand,” perhaps implying
the direction of the south in order to express his hope in the Promised
Land and all that God said He would do for His people after they had
settled there.
Yet, during this time Reuben has sexual relations with Bilhah, his
father’s concubine and Rachel’s maidservant (Gen. 35:25, Gen. 30:3).
We just don’t know why he performed this scandalous act, other than
as another example of human depravity.
Amazingly, Jacob does not respond to this horrible violation, even
though he is told about it (Gen. 35:22). Perhaps at this point in his life,
Jacob trusts that God will fulfill His word despite the sin and evil, at
times, that goes on around him.
It is this precise lesson of faith that is implied in the list of Jacob’s
12 sons, who will be the ancestors of Israel (Gen. 35:22–26)—not the
most savory and kindest of people, as we will see. Yet, despite all the
problems, all the dysfunction, even outright evil, such as Reuben’s sin
with Bilhah, God’s will was going to be fulfilled through this family,
no matter how messed up this family really was.
Despite human error, God’s ultimate purposes will be fulfilled.
Imagine what would happen if people cooperated, if they obeyed
Him. How much more easily—that is, with less human suffering
and stress and delay—could God’s will then be accomplished?
Prevailing Idolatry
Read Genesis 34:30–35:15. What lessons can we take about true wor-
ship from what happened here?
Immediately after Jacob’s complaint that his peace with the
Canaanites had been compromised (Gen. 34:30), and after his two
sons were rebuked (Gen. 34:30), God urges Jacob to leave Shechem
and return to Bethel in order to renew his covenant. Indeed, the Lord
tells him that, once he gets there, he needs to build an altar.
Meanwhile, the first thing recorded after God’s command is Jacob’s
telling his people to put away the Canaanite idols, which had been taken
in the plunder of the city of Shechem, and the household gods that had
been stolen by Rachel (Gen. 31:19, 32). All this, too, is crucial to the
idea of the covenant with God.
These idols had been kept and, probably, worshiped in spite of Jacob’s
commitment to God. It was not enough for Jacob to leave Shechem in
order to escape Canaanite influence. Jacob had to get rid of the idols
within the camp and in the hearts of his people.
The process of repentance consists in more than a physical move from one
place to another, or a move from one church to another. Most important, it is
that we seek by God’s grace to purge the idolatry in our hearts, regardless of
where we live, because we can make idols out of just about anything.
When Jacob obeys God and proceeds according to God’s com-
mandment, God finally intervenes and “the terror of God” (Gen. 35:5,
NKJV) affects all the people around them, and they do not dare attack
Jacob. Jacob is, then, ready to worship with “all the people who were
with him” (Gen. 35:6, NKJV), suggesting that the family unity has
been restored. Jacob gives this place the name El Bethel, a reminder of
his dream of the ladder, a sign that the connection between heaven and
earth, which had been broken for some time, has now been restored.
The emphasis is, this time, on the God of Bethel rather than on the
place itself. This personal note resonates again when God reminds
Jacob of his name “Israel” (Gen. 35:10), with the double promise that
this blessing implies. Jacob’s blessing, first, means fruitfulness, the
transmission of the Messianic seed and the generation of many nations
(Gen. 35:11); and second, it points to the Promised Land (Gen. 35:12).
What are subtle ways that idolatry can find its way into our
hearts, and what can we do about it?
The Violation of Dinah
Now that Jacob has reconciled with his brother, he wants to settle in
the land of Canaan in peace. The word shalem, “safely” (Gen. 33:18,
NKJV), from the word shalom, “peace,” for the first time characterizes
his journey.
After having purchased a piece of land from the inhabitants (Gen.
33:19), he erects an altar there, showing his faith and his realization of
how dependent upon the Lord he really is. For every one of the sacri-
fices offered, there was an act of worship.
Yet, for the first time in his life, Jacob-Israel is exposed to the trou-
bles of settling in the land. Like Isaac at Gerar with Abimelech (Gen.
26:1–33), Jacob tries to find accommodation with the Canaanites.
Read Genesis 34. What happened to upset his plans for a peaceful
existence?
The story of this sordid incident highlights the ambiguity of the
characters and of their actions. The sensual Shechem, who violates
Dinah, also is characterized as sincere and loving Dinah, and he wants
to try to make amends. He is even willing to undergo the covenant rite
of circumcision.
Meanwhile, Simeon and Levi, who present themselves as the defend-
ers of God and His commandments, and who resist intermarriage with
the Canaanites (Lev. 19:29), resort to lies and deception (Gen. 34:13)
and are ready to kill and plunder (Gen. 34:25–27). Their actions were
not only reprehensible (why not punish the one man who had done it?)
but also had the potential to cause many more problems.
As for Jacob, he only is concerned with peace. When the rape of
his daughter is reported to him, he does not say anything (Gen. 34:5).
However, after he hears about what his sons have done, he openly
chides them because of what could follow: “ ‘You have troubled me by
making me obnoxious among the inhabitants of the land, among the
Canaanites and the Perizzites; and since I am few in number, they will
gather themselves together against me and kill me. I shall be destroyed,
my household and I’ ” (Gen. 34:30, NKJV).
Again and again we see deceit and deception, as well as acts of
kindness and grace, in these accounts. What does this tell us
about human nature?
The Brothers Meet
From Peniel, “the face of God” (see Gen. 32:30), the place where
he had this experience with God, Jacob moves now to meet with his
brother. After 20 years of separation, Jacob sees him coming with 400
men (Gen. 33:1). Jacob is worried and, therefore, prepares himself and
his family for whatever might happen.
Read Genesis 33. What connection is there between Jacob’s experience
of seeing the face of God at Peniel and Jacob’s experience of seeing
the face of his brother? What is the implication of this connection
in regard to our relationship with God and our relationship with
our “brothers,” whoever they may be?
Jacob bows himself seven times before his brother (Gen. 33:3),
whom he calls several times “ ‘my lord’ ” (Gen. 33:8, 13, 15, NKJV)
and with whom he identifies himself as his “ ‘servant’ ” (Gen. 33:5;
compare with Gen. 32:4, 18, 20, NKJV). Significantly, Jacob’s seven
bows echo his father’s seven blessings (Gen. 27:27–29); furthermore,
when he bows, he specifically reverses his father’s blessing, about
“ ‘nations [bowing] down to you’ ” (Gen. 27:29, NKJV).
It is as if Jacob’s intention was to pay his debt to his brother and return
the blessing that he had stolen from him (see Gen. 33:11). When Esau
saw his brother, against all expectations, he ran to Jacob and, instead of
killing him, he “kissed him, and they wept” (Gen. 33:4, NKJV).
Later, Jacob commented to Esau: “ ‘I have seen your face as though I
had seen the face of God’ ” (Gen. 33:10, NKJV). The reason for Jacob’s
extraordinary statement was his understanding that Esau had forgiven
him. The Hebrew verb ratsah, “pleased” (Gen. 33:10, NKJV), is a theo-
logical term referring to any sacrifice that is “pleasing,” “accepted” by
God, which then implies divine forgiveness (Lev. 22:27, Amos 5:22).
Jacob’s experience of God’s forgiveness at Peniel, where he saw the
face of God, is now repeated in his experience of his brother’s forgive-
ness, which he identifies as if he saw the face of God. Jacob lives a
second Peniel, the first one preparing for the second one. Jacob has
been forgiven by God and by his own brother. Truly, he now must have
understood, even more than before, the meaning of grace.
What have you learned about grace from how others (besides the
Lord) have forgiven you?
Wrestling With God
Gone from Laban, Jacob soon has another experience with God.
Knowing that his brother, Esau, is coming with “ ‘four hundred men’ ”
(Gen. 32:6), Jacob prays fervently to the Lord, even though he acknowl-
edges that “ ‘I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all
the truth which You have shown Your servant’ ” (Gen. 32:10, NKJV).
Jacob, truly, has a better understanding of what grace was about.
And how does the Lord respond?
Read Genesis 32:22–31 and Hosea 12:3, 4. What is the spiritual signifi-
cance of this amazing story?
Jacob is distressed, understandably so, by what is happening, and after
doing what he can to protect his family, he camps for the night. He is
then suddenly attacked by “a Man” (Gen. 32:24, NKJV). This is a term
that can have special connotations, evoking the divine presence (see
Isa. 53:3). Daniel used it to refer to the heavenly priest Michael (Dan.
10:5); it also was the word used by Joshua to depict the “Commander of
the Lord’s army,” who was the Lord YHWH Himself (Josh. 5:13–15,
NKJV).
Indeed, amid the fighting, it must have become obvious to Jacob that
he was struggling with God Himself, as his words, “ ‘I will not let You
go unless You bless me!’ ” (Gen. 32:26, NKJV), revealed. Yet, his fer-
vent clinging to God, his refusal to let go, also revealed his passionate
desire for forgiveness and to be right with his Lord.
“The error that had led to Jacob’s sin in obtaining the birthright by
fraud was now clearly set before him. He had not trusted God’s prom-
ises, but had sought by his own efforts to bring about that which God
would have accomplished in His own time and way.”—Ellen G. White,
Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 197, 198.
And the evidence that he had been forgiven was the change of his
name from the reminder of his sin to one that commemorated his vic-
tory. “ ‘Your name,’ ” said the Angel, “ ‘shall no longer be called Jacob
[the supplanter], but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with
men, and have prevailed’ ” (Gen. 32:28, NKJV).
What has been your own experience as far as wrestling with God
goes? What does it mean to do that, and why is it at times impor-
tant that we have this kind of experience?
Read for This Week’s Study: Gen. 32:22–31; Hos. 12:3, 4;
Jer. 30:5–7; Genesis 33; Gen. 34:30–35:29.
Memory Text: “And He said, ‘Your name shall no longer be called
Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men,
and have prevailed’ ” (Genesis 32:28, NKJV).
The family saga of Jacob continues, both the good and the bad.
Yet, through it all, the hand of God and His faithfulness to the
covenant promises are revealed.
This week follows more of Jacob, now that he had left Laban and,
returning home, had to face Esau, the victim of Jacob’s treachery. What
would his brother, so grievously wronged, now do to him?
Fortunately for Jacob, amid the fear of what was coming, the Lord
God of his fathers appeared again to him in an incident that was a
precursor to what would later become known as the “time of Jacob’s
trouble” (see Jer. 30:5–7). And that night Jacob, the supplanter, became
“Israel,” a new name for a new beginning, a beginning that would ulti-
mately lead to the creation of a nation itself named after him.
In other words, despite all that happens, the story of the patriarchs
and their family is told in Scripture in order to show us that God is
faithful to fulfill what He has promised and that He will do so despite
what, at times, seems to be nothing but His people doing all that they
can to stop that fulfillment.