SECOND QUARTER 2025
SABBATH SCHOOL INSIGHT #2
APRIL 12, 2025

 

Sabbath                                                                                                                                                                                   

Our Sabbath School lesson author begins by emphasizing the need for context in studying the Bible. The study of the prophecies of the book of Revelation assumes the reader has knowledge of the Old Testament.  This reminded me of Jesus' statement, "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life" (John 5:39).  How could a Pharisee memorize the first five books of the Old Testament and still not recognize Jesus as Messiah?  Isaiah 28:10 reminds us of the principle of "precept upon precept line upon line,” but some passages more directly explain and address what we find in Revelation than others.  Herein is underscored the need for the guidance of the Holy Spirit in all of our searching of the scriptures. Our lesson tells us "Nearly every key concept mentioned in Revelation appears—in some form—in the opening chapters of the Bible.”

 

Sunday                                                                                                                                        Our lesson author suggests that Genesis is "Bible 101” in that it provides basic principles and a foundation upon which to build our understanding of the rest of the book. E. J. Waggoner wrote this in the introduction to The Everlasting Covenant: “The Bible was written for no other purpose than to show the way of life... Not one line is written except to reveal Christ; whoever reads it for any other purpose than to find in it the way of salvation from sin, reads it in vain.” The book of Genesis identifies God and His purpose in creation, the nature and record of the fall, and an outline of the plan of redemption in the form of a prophecy (see Genesis 3:15).

We are told a pattern that emerges as we study the Bible is that God slowly feeds His children information over time, beginning with a basic concept and then enlarging on it many times over years. This reminds me of Jesus speaking to His disciples, saying “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now" (John 16:12).

In order to understand Bible prophecy, we would do well to begin with understanding the book of Genesis. Here we find that the basis of the Great Controversy is rooted in a dispute over the nature and character of God. The conflict was, is, and always will be truth in opposition to lies, motives of self-sacrifice versus self-exaltation, and methods of deception versus transparency and self-revelation. The very idea of absolute truth is under attack, and the ultimate purpose is to undermine faith in the Word of God which reveals the nature, purpose and character of God. A friend of mine commented recently that he has come to believe that the effect of a multiplicity of lies in the political realm is not necessarily that we believe the lies but that they cause us not to believe anything. Atheism is a faith—it is a religion inasmuch as it also consists of a set of beliefs.

 

Monday

The outline for Monday reminds us that selfishness and sin has distorted our perception of reality. This is especially true in our understanding of love, which leads to a misunderstanding of the love of God, which is other-centered in contrast to human love which is self-centered and focuses on self-fulfillment. Fortunately the Bible writers used a different word to distinguish Divine love (agape) from human love (eros). Many would be surprised the lesson author's statement, "Understanding the nature of love is an important key to understanding Bible prophecy." But the reason why this is true is because the character of God is at the center of the Great Controversy, and the Bible says "God is love.” If we misunderstand love then we misunderstand the character of God; if we misunderstand the character of God we misunderstand the plan of salvation; if we misunderstand the plan of salvation, we misunderstand the entire message of the Bible. The purpose of prophecy is to increase our faith in God that we may appropriate the gift of salvation. Jesus said to His disciples, "And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe" (John 14:29, KJV). In other words, have faith. Our lesson points out that the last 3 words of the Conflict of the Ages series are "God is love.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy p. 678. Ironically, the first 3 words of the Conflict of the Ages series are also "God is love”—Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 33.  Everything between this repeated statement is an elaboration, exposition and illustration of these 3 words.

We are directed to Genesis 22:2 as the first mention of love in the Bible as it references Abraham and Isaac in the context of providing a foreshadowing of what God would do in giving His only Son as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. This defines the nature of Divine love as the foundation for the plan of salvation (John 3:16). The lesson then asks the question, “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?” The answer is we cannot manifest this kind of love because we are sinners by nature and by performance and apart from the regenerating grace of God, our best deeds are polluted with selfishness and sin. The good news is there is one who has already manifested the self-sacrificing love of God which we should have (Jesus Christ) and by focusing on and putting our faith in Him, we can begin to reflect the same Divine love.

 

Tuesday

Our lesson reminds us that the central figure in the books of Revelation is the Lamb of God, representing Christ, and not the mark of the beast. Our focus is to be on the solution and not on the problem, the Savior and not the results of sin.  The book of Genesis, from the lips of Isaac raises the question "Where is the lamb?" and ironically John seems to directly answer, "Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world."  Simply put, the problem of sin has its solution in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

 

Wednesday

On Wednesday we are reminded that a central feature of life in a fallen world is the reality of death. It is important, however, to remember that the Bible speaks of two types of death—the first is referred to as a sleep. This is not the "wages of sin" spoken of in Romans 6:23. The "wages of sin" is the "second death" spoken of in Revelation 20, verse 6. This is what Jesus experienced on the cross to satisfy the full debt created by our sin. When we misunderstand the wages of sin and the nature of death, we misunderstand the love of God and the plan of salvation. 

The lesson author speaks of how death "lurks around every corner.”  These words struck me forcibly, having attended several funerals last year and participated in a few at my church. Some were for long time church members in their 90s, but one was for a young man who had suffered a stroke at the age of 43. In either case, there is pain and loss. We were born to live. Only Jesus was born to die. Revelation 21:4 provides the promise "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."

 

Thursday

In our outline for Thursday we are reminded that worship is a key subject in Revelation (see Revelation 13:5; Revelation 14:9). In the final analysis we all must choose who or what we will worship; this choice will have a profound impact on our lives and the formation of our characters. Psalms 115:8 speaks of idols when it says, "Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them."  One of the reasons God warned the children of Israel not to worship idols is that they did not realize that in doing so they were actually paying homage to demons (see Deuteronomy 32:16; Psalms 106:37; 1 Corinthians 10:20). It is the enemy's plan to so deceive the whole world that while thinking they are worshipping God, serving God and being led by God, they are in fact doing the exact opposite. Jesus warned His disciples in John chapter 16, "They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service” (vs 2). The persecution of the righteous by the wicked has precedent in the book of Genesis with the tragedy of Cain and Abel and finds a parallel in the book of Revelation in the last conflict.  Also, just as we find a woman and a serpent in Genesis we find a woman (the church) and a serpent (the devil) again represented in Revelation.

 

Friday

The scripture is ever unfolding as it reveals the mind of an Infinite God. ^"But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day” (Proverbs 4:18).  Just as the methods of the enemy (seduction, deception and persecution) do not change, the character and principles and truth of the word of God also does not change. For this we can be grateful. In an ever changing world with so many fickle fads, fashions and ever changing trends, we can trust in a God who does not change. His mercy and grace and the principles upon which He initiates and maintains, guides and sustains us always remain the same.

 

~ Michael  Duncan