Central Theme: While we are on the border of the Promised Land, our faithfulness is tested, and we can be victorious only through surrender to Jesus Christ.
Read in Class:Joshua 7. Ask the class to summarize this chapter.
Study: What were the two major causes of Israel’s defeat by the inhabitants of Ai?
Apply: What are ways whole communities can suffer, and have suffered, from the bad acts of individuals within the community? What examples can you think of, and how was the community impacted?
Share: Your friend says that she has heard that there is no such thing as “private sin.” Your friend asks you if you agree with that statement. What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class:Joshua 7:16-21. Ask the class to share a thought on this passage.
Study: What does the entire procedure tell us about both God and Achan? What is Joshua asking Achan to do? What is the significance of such a request? How do we understand his confession?
Apply: How does the realization that God knows all that you do, even your hidden things, impact how you live? How should it affect how you live?
Share: Your friend asks how we can overcome covetousness in such a materialistic society? What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class:Joshua 8:1-8. Ask the class to share the main idea of this passage.
Study: What does this story tell us about how God can change our worst failures into opportunities?
Apply: How important is it that our church members obey all the statutes and judgments in our lives in witness to those outside the church?
Share: Your friend asks, when Jesus was baptized, was He just giving us a good example, or was He also repenting on behalf of the human race He was now representing, even though He had never sinned? In other words, was He giving us an example of corporate repentance? What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class: Daniel 2:24. Ask the class to share the main idea of this passage.
Study: While Achan’s sin brought disaster upon the whole nation, what effect did Daniel’s prayer and faithfulness have on his contemporaries, even the evil ones?
Apply: Read Matthew 5:13-16. As Christians, how should our lives, even our private lives, be influencing the world around us?
Share: Your friend asks what the saying means, “We are our own worst enemy.” In light of this week’s lesson, what do you tell your friend?
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
The difference between knowing and doing is vital. Remember, in the story in Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus did not invite people into His kingdom based on what they knew, but instead on what they did. In Mark 12, a scribe makes a profound comment that drew commendation from Jesus.
So the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” Matthew 12:32-34 NKJV
While Jesus told the scribe he was not far from the kingdom of God He did not tell him he was already in the kingdom of God. Have you ever noticed or thought about that before? Why did his answer place the scribe near, but not in the kingdom of God? I think I found a clue in Jesus’ conversation with the lawyer in Luke 10.
And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?” So he answered and said, “ ‘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.’ ” And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.” Luke 10:25-28 NKJV
The clue I found is, Jesus said do this and you live. Jesus did not tell the lawyer, say this and you will live, or know this and you will live, but do this and you will live. I realize I am not telling you anything new as far as the fact that we all know we have to walk the walk and not just talk the talk. However, the reality of what we already know should really sober us up, when we realize that even after giving a profound answer, the scribe in Mark 12 was near but not yet quite in the kingdowm of God. The answer to the lawyer in Luke 10 was. ” do this and you will live.” The difference between knowing and doing is just as big as the difference between being near God’s kingdom and being in God’s kingdom.
And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith. Galatians 6:9-10
You may study this week’s Sabbath School Lesson here.
Main Theme: God had to send some strong persuasions for Pharaoh to let God’s people go.
Read in Class:Exodus 7:8-15, 22. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.
Study: What lessons are here in this first confrontation between the God of the Hebrews and the gods of Egypt?
Apply: How can we allow the Lord to have sovereignty over any of the “gods” seeking supremacy in our lives?
Share: Your friend asks you how to make sure we do not harden our own hearts against doing God’s will and prepare yourself to make right choices. What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class: Exodus 7:14-8:19. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.
Study: What happened in these plagues?
Apply: 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?
Share: Your friend asks you why God kept hardening Pharaoh’s heart. What do you tell your friend? For a hint see Redemption in Romans.
Read in Class: Exodus 8:20-9:12. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.
Study: 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?
Apply: 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?
Share: Your friend asks how do we know when something bad is happening because it is a judgment from God or if it is just a part of life? What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class: Exodus 9:13-10:29. Ask the class to summarize this passage.
Study: How successful are these plagues in getting Pharaoh to change his mind?
Apply: How can we guard against the pride Pharaoh exhibited? What portions of Scripture encourage us to be humble and teachable?
Share: Your friend says that if God just performed more modern-day miracles everyone would believe. How do we know that is not so? What do you tell your friend?
I have presented these challenges before, encouraging everyone to read through the entire book we are studying in the Sabbath School quarterly. With this quarter’s lesson on Exodus, I encourage everyone to read the whole book of Exodus. Many of us have read it before, but there are different ways to approach it that may help you gain fresh insights and new perspectives. For example, you may want to read a different translation than the one you are accustomed to using. After all, every translation has its strengths and weaknesses, including the KJV.
Another idea is to look for different themes in Exodus. For example, the most obvious is the Gospel and plan of salvation that we find throughout the book of Exodus. In Exodus 12, we see the shadow of the cross. Now, I am not going to tell you where else we find the Gospel in the book of Exodus; I am going to let you read it for yourself. Okay, I will give you one more example. In Exodus 15 the children of Israel find an oasis of water, but it tastes bitter. Moses is instructed to place a tree in the water, and suddenly it becomes sweet. Could the tree possibly represent the cross that takes the bitterness out of our lives, and makes our lives sweet?
Another theme I would like to suggest watching for as you study Exodus is the theme of discipleship. Moses was a disciple of the Lord. In Exodus 18, Moses learns from his father-in-law about how to make more disciples instead of trying to do everything himself. In Matthew 28 Jesus taught His disciples to make more disciples. In Exodus 32 Aaron gives us a good example of how not to disciple. Aaron and the golden calf give us an example of how the most popular leader is not necessarily the best leader. Oh! Speaking of Exodus 32 I just thought of another glimpse of the Gospel that Moses gives us in Exodus chapter 32. But I have given away too much already. I will let you discover that one for yourself.
Enjoy reading and studying, my friends! Be sure and share what you discover.
While some folks say, things aren’t what they used to be, I say, yes, but they never were what they are now.
I am a historian by nature. When I visited the Litchfield Congregational church, pictured below, built in Connecticut in 1721, I tried to imagine all the sin-weary souls who had come to hear the Gospel preached for over three centuries inside those consecrated walls.
Photo by William Earnhardt
Later, when I went to see the Rays and Red Sox play at old Fenway Park, it was not enough to watch the game. I had to picture what it must have been like for a father taking his son out of school to attend a game back in 1912. Millions of people with memories of that old ball park, and my mind wanted to capture them all. I walk by an old high school building built in 1927 in Tampa, and I have to stop and try to imagine all the scenes that may have taken place. All the loves and relationships that began on that campus. I stand on the sidewalk, looking at an old glass window. I ask myself, on the last day of school in 1942 did a young man stand where I stand now, and glance for the last time at a young girl he had a crush on standing in the window, before leaving to join the war, never to return?
In 1991 I drove to a remote little town in extreme western Oklahoma, to preach. When I arrived at the church, I went downstairs to get water. While downstairs I saw several Sabbath School classrooms, all totally vacant and abandoned. The elderly couple who invited me home for lunch explained that all those rooms were packed with children back in the day. But they all grew up and moved away to find jobs. The husband was the school master back in the day, but had since retired for decades, and, with no children around any more, the only traces of the school were distant memories. I remember a feeling of sadness coming over me as I thought of the hollow classrooms once full of life. I can’t say if it was the evangelist or the historian in me that made me wish there was a way to fill those classrooms with lively children again.
Over the years those hollow classrooms occasionally haunt my mind. Of course in my lifetime, I have seen changes in my own childhood church. It still has a thriving church school and Sabbath School department, but when my friends and I go home to visit, we remember days gone by when the church was much fuller. But I have to keep in mind that when we were kids our church was The Adventist Church in the area. Today there are several Adventist churches in the area, and there really is no “The” Church now. This is where the evangelist in me wars with the historian in me. The historian in me wants to re-create the church I grew up in. I want to go home again. The evangelist in me rejoices that there are new churches, and the gospel is being preached all over the area now, instead of in just one place. I understand my childhood church is slightly smaller now because people are spreading out to other churches to share the gospel beyond my little neighborhood.
Now my mind looks back to those empty Sabbath School classrooms in the middle of nowhere in Western Oklahoma. Is it really sad that the kids grew up and moved on to bigger places where they could find jobs? Not if moving gave them more opportunities to share Jesus with those in need! Now I look back at those empty classrooms in a different way. Maybe the primary Sabbath School teacher did not realize it at the time, but she was doing a lot more than teaching the children in her small town about Jesus. She was training them to be missionaries and take the Gospel from those little rooms and spread it all over the world! The historian in me looks into those vacant rooms and sees a church that died. The evangelist in me looks into those hollow rooms and sees scores of children leaving those sacred halls to share the Gospel in new places, meeting people around the world who need Jesus.
The church is a movement, not a history museum. The church is a people and not an old building standing out in a field where there used to be a town. While reality tells me that many of the kids probably left the church, I am sure many stayed in the church as well.. Many of the children who filled those old Sabbath School classrooms in western Oklahoma took the church with them when they moved away. The Sabbath School class did not die in those classrooms in western Oklahoma; the class just outgrew its walls! They grew all over the world. I look back now and realize children with whom I sat in Primary Sabbath School class in my home church are now scattered from the South Pacific Islands to New England and beyond. And you know what’s cool? We left four walls we used to meet in, but we never left the church. We took it with us. Just as importantly, we never left each other. We are in touch on Facebook and Sabbath School Net, where we still share ideas from theology to evangelism strategies. And of course we still get together personally when we can. A couple years ago, a former classmate, now a teacher, helped me put my Bible curriculum together while living 1200 miles away. You see, our little Sabbath School classroom did not die. Just the opposite. We grew so big we exceeded the boundaries of our four little walls.
I believe it to be the same with the little classrooms in a small town in Western Oklahoma. If I ever get a chance to return, and I hope I do, I will go downstairs and look into those empty classrooms again. This time instead of trying to imagine a class that once was, I will see a class that still is and even more. I will see a classroom that has grown into something much bigger and greater than it ever was. I won’t see a class that died in a little room. I will see a class that grew all over the world to help people all over the world who need Jesus.
When I think of my experience in the church, I realize in one sense, I can never go home again. The building I worshiped in as a child will never be what it was. That’s just fine. It was never meant to stay what it was. It was meant to grow. It was meant to grow beyond those walls into the rest of the world where people need Jesus. My church is now all over the word. So in one sense, I can never go back to my home church again. In an even more real sense, my home church is all over the world now and is everywhere I go. And the even greater reality is, that I’ve never been home and never will be until Jesus comes. While the historian in me wants to reminisce about the way the church used to be, the evangelist in me says to keep growing the church. It’s not finished yet!
Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School class, December 7, 2024.
Main Theme: 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”).
Read in Class: John 13:1-20. Ask the class to define the main idea of this passage.
Study: What happened here, and why is this story so important? What lessons did Jesus seek to teach?
Apply: What does the Ordinance of Humility teach you about following in the footsteps of Jesus and how to humbly serve others?
Share: Your friend says the ordinance of humility, which we do every quarter is an illustration of how we are to serve each other, but what are some literal ways you have seen church members serving each other besides the ordinance of humility? What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class:John 14:1-3. Ask the class to define the main idea of this passage.
Study: In what context did Jesus say these words?
Apply: 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?
Share: Your friend says he is not sure he will make it to heaven. What do you tell your friend, and how might you use John 14:1-3 in the process?
Main Theme: Jesus not only predicts the future but also instructs His disciples both then and now in how to prepare for the coming trials.
Read in Class:Mark 12:41-13:13. Have the class summarize these passages.
Study: How much did the widow give, and what did Jesus have to say about that? How did the disciples respond to Jesus’ statement about the temple, and what is the significance of Jesus’ answer to them?
Apply: What do these passages teach us about being faithful in giving our offerings as well as our entire selves for the Lord’s work?
Share: Your friend tells you she gets scared just thinking about the time or trouble in the last days. What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class: Mark 13:14-18. Ask class to define the main idea of this passage.
Study: What clue does Jesus give in figuring out what the “abomination of desolation” refers to?
Apply: Read Daniel 11:31 and Daniel 12:11. What event are these passages applied to? What was the abomination of desolation during the days of the Roman empire? What event in the last days could be the abomination of desolation? Hint from Tuesday’s lesson: 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.
Share: Your friend asks you why you trust the Bible? What predictions of Jesus have already been fulfilled? What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class: Mark 13:19-23. Define the main idea of this passage.
Study: What does verse 19 refer to?
Apply: What hope do you find in Mark 13:20-23 for God’s people during the time of persecution, and what warning does He give them as it closes?
Share: Your friend asks, who are the false Christ’s Jesus warned us about? Can a false Christ also be a false idea or misconception about Christ? What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class:Mark 13:24-32. Define the main idea of this passage.
Study: What great event is described here?
Apply: Is it possible for us to believe Jesus is coming soon but still plan like He is not coming in our lifetime? Why or why not is this a good idea?
Share: Can you think of some friends who would be encouraged to be reminded Jesus is coming again? How can you share this hope with them this week?
Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor. 1 Peter 5:2-4 NLT
A Google search will confirm for you that in the United States respect for pastors is at an all time low. Part of this is because respect for the Bible itself is at an all time low. However, we have all at one time or another had a pastor who abused his position and influence and abused the flock he was entrusted to care for. This is very unfortunate for the entire Christian community. Speaking as someone who has spent plenty of time in the church as a lay member, and plenty of time as a full time Bible worker and now pastor, I have seen the damage this does to both sides. Lay members have been betrayed at the hands of their “protector.” That is damaging enough, but the damage continues when a young new pastor comes in and is disrespected with abusive behavior by those who were abused by a previous pastor now taking it out on the new pastor, who only came to love and to serve.
Again, having spent plenty of time on both sides, I know lay members who have been mistreated and outright abused by a pastor. This breaks my heart as a sacred trust has been betrayed. I also meet with and pray with younger pastors who are coming into the ranks and are being treated disrespectfully and yes, even abused by their lay members, because of what a pastor in their recent or distant past did to them. This breaks my heart also, as new pastors are being shunned and disrespected while only wanting to love and serve their church family. And something very Biblical and important for us to remember is, just as an abusive father does not diminish the respect that belongs to a loving father, just as an abusive teacher does not diminish the respect that belongs to a loving teacher, so an abusive pastor does not diminish the respect that is due to a loving pastor. Don’t throw away the eleven disciples just because there was a Judas.
Moses was the meekest of men, but He still was called by God to lead. And God dealt with those who disrespected His servant/leader. I rub shoulders with many new young pastors who want to serve God and lead their flock humbly as Moses did, but before they can even begin an older lay member, who had a bitter experience with another pastor in the distant past never gives the new pastor a chance. The lay member tells the new pastor “This is my turf.” Now the lay member who was mistreated by a previous pastor’s abuse is now carrying the same abuse and mistreatment on to the new pastor. Now the abused lay member is now abusing the new pastor. Fact is that the church is God’s turf. And God has led both the lay member and pastor to serve together on God’s turf.
So how do we bring this cycle of mistreatment and disrespect to an end? How do we restore the respect that is due to both the pastor and the lay member? First, I believe we all need to,
Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Colossians 3:13 NLT
Even when being mistreated we sometimes need to relax. Sometimes we accuse a pastor or even lay member of abusing their position or stepping outside their bounds when in reality they were only trying to go the extra mile to help. Keep in mind also we have not all had the best role models when it comes to those in “authority.” A while back, I was sharing with a couple of teachers something one of my teachers did in a classroom way back in the day, that would be considered outright abuse today, but back in my school days it was never even questioned. While leaders should be able to follow the example of their leaders, the fact is it may not always be best. Sometimes we follow the example of others, thinking it’s best when it is not. The fact that we have not always been given the best examples, and the fact that we all make well meaning mistakes should encourage us all to follow the counsel in Colossians 3:13.
Another way to make sure we all serve and lead well together is to have open and frank conversations. I have discovered it is very important to have expectation meetings and follow up on those meetings to see if expectations are being met. A new pastor needs to sit down with the board members and department leaders and discuss openly and candidly what each one expects from the other. Also discuss how each one sees his or her own role. In some churches the pastor picks the hymns, in other churches the organist does. The pastor and organist need to sit down and discuss who picks the hymns in this church. And if the organist picks the hymns she should not get bent out of shape if the pastor decides to change the hymn at the last second, though it would be wise for him to know first if she even knows how to play it. And if the pastor chooses the hymns, he should not get all bent out of shape if the organist says she had to change it because she can’t play it or maybe she already knows the congregation can’t sing it.
That’s just one example but you get the picture. We need to have open and frank conversations about our roles and expectations. At the same time, we must be flexible and forgiving. But being flexible and forgiving does not mean avoiding conversations that need to take place. The pastor and congregation can have great respect for one another when Phillipians 2:3 is carried out by all involved.
Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Phillipians 2:3 NLT
In a perfect church the pastor respects the congregation, and the congregation respects the pastor. If either one stops respecting the other the church will become very unbalanced and unhealthy. By being humble and forgiving, by having candid and open conversations about expectations, and not avoiding conversations that need to take place, we can restore the respect and cooperation that is needed between pastors and their flock.
You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.
Main Theme: In the cleansing of the sanctuary, the sanctuary of the mind is cleansed from Satan’s lies about God’s character, so in the great controversy between God and Satan, people can see the true character of God, and the true nature of sin.
Study: What two sanctuaries are outlined in these verses?
Apply: 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?
Share: Your friend says he was raised in a home where he saw God as a God who was waiting to strike you down every time you made a mistake. How can you use Christ’s intercession in the sanctuary to demonstrate the true character and love of God? See Was The Atonement to Appease an Angry God or an Angry Race?
Study: Why was the Day of Atonement so important in ancient Israel?
Apply: What is the significance of the Day of Atonement in our lives today? Why should it make a difference in how we live?
Share: Your friend asks you if the thought of living during the judgment and day of atonement is scary to you? What do you tell your friend? See 1 John 4:17-19.
Study: After the judgment, when Jesus returns, what is the fate of all humanity? What clear declaration is made?
Apply: In the judgment do you see God trying to condemn you or vindicate you?
Share: Your friend says, that we are called to be God’s witnesses. Does God need witnesses because He is on trial? While God is judging the world is the world judging God? In what ways might we as God’s wintess help vindicate His character, causing people to accept Him instead of rejecting Him? What do you tell your friend?
Read in Class: Hebrews 10:9-14. Define the main idea of this passage.
Study: What difference does this passage reveal between the priest’s ministry in the earthly sanctuary and Jesus’ ministry in the heavenly sanctuary?
Apply: 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?
Share: Can you think of someone who sees God as a vindictive God wanting to destroy him or her? What illustrations can you share from your study on the sanctuary and the cross to help them to see the love and goodness of God? Can you share with them this coming week?
And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people” Revelation 14:6.
Who is this first angel and who are the three angels?
Revelation 1:20 says that the seven stars are the seven angels of the seven churches. So an angel would be like a leader or messenger to a church. Jesus begins His message to each church with, “Write unto the angel of the church of…” so He must be referring to an angel as being a terrestrial leader. When John saw the seven stars in Jesus’ hand, those stars were the angels, or ministers and leaders of the church.
Jesus calls us all to have a ministry in the church and a message to share with the world, and it’s comforting to know, that while we are messengers for Jesus, He holds all of us in His hand. Wherever in the world you are reading this – whether in a country with few Christian churches, and even persecution, or whether you are trying to share Jesus with your family members who all seem opposed to your message – rest assured, Jesus has you right in His hand and you are very special to Him! He will take care of you and make your ministry prosperous. You may find your ministry in a difficult place, but it is right in Jesus’ hands.
I believe the three angels in Revelation 14 make up the message that the Seventh-day Adventist church has to give to the world. These angels are sent out after the rise of the United States in Revelation 13, so this would fit the time prophecy. Thus I believe that the members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church are the three angels in Revelation 14, and, even more specifically, the three angels are you and I.
The Seventh-day Adventist church has a very important message to give to the world, so let’s see what it is.
The First Angel’s Message is all about the cross.
Now don’t all churches have the gospel? Yes, many people will be in the Kingdom because a Baptist, Methodist, Catholic or Lutheran etc. missionary shared the love of God with them. However, as the book of Revelation changes scenes from the Dark Ages to the earth being “lightened with His glory” the gospel will be shining brighter than ever before.
The everlasting gospel which the Seventh-day Adventist church shares overcomes the legalism of Babylon. This last message is filled with grace and the glory of God and not the works of man. It shows the love of God more clearly than the gospel presented by most other churches.
Many churches preach that Jesus died for us, and then they turn around and tell us people don’t really die. If that is the case, then Jesus did not really die, and if He did not really die, then He did not die for us.
Many churches preach that sinners will be eternally tormented in hell while John 3:16, which is the crux of the gospel, says that sinners will perish. Romans 6:23 says the wages of sin is death, not eternal torment in hell. It’s impossible to fall in love with a God who has a “love-me-or-I’ll-torment-you-for-eternity-in-hell” mentality. While sin and those who cling to it at any cost must perish, God will not be delighting in their eternal torture. The punishment, which is death, is eternal; the punishing is not.
Many churches focus on the physical torture Jesus endured. The physical torture was terrible, but Jesus suffered way more than a six-hour pain endurance marathon. Hebrews 2:9 tells us Jesus “tasted death” for all men. It obviously was not the death of the righteous that He tasted; we all taste that first death for ourselves. Obadiah 16 tells us the wicked will be as though they never were. Jesus faced more than nail-scarred hands and feet on the cross. He tasted the death of the wicked, which means He experienced total separation from God. This could be why He was crying out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?” instead of singing hymns of praise while He died, like John Huss did. You see, Jesus died a totally different death than John Huss. John Huss died the death of the righteous while he burned at the stake for his faith. Jesus was dying the death of the wicked.
Many teach that Jesus saves us in our sins while Matthew 1:21 tells us clearly that Jesus will save us from our sins. We can’t call Jesus a Savior unless He actually saves us, and according to Ephesians 2:1-10 we are saved by grace. What His grace saves us from is our sinful life.
So we see, Seventh-day Adventists not only teach a different day of worship, we also teach the fullness of the gospel. Our job description, in being messengers for Jesus, is to let the whole world know the love of Jesus.
You don’t have to be a TV evangelist to have a ministry and share this message. This gospel is so amazing that many will not even believe it when they hear or read about it. However, they will believe it when they see these principles of self-sacrificing love manifested in your life.
I remember a story about a man who was married for 50 years. At breakfast he always insisted on having the heel of the bread loaf for toast. He acted as though it was his favorite part of the bread. Fifty years later after his wife died, he stopped eating the heel. His nephew asked him why he didn’t like it any more. The old man explained that he never did like it. He just knew his wife did not like it either, so for fifty years he pretended he loved it so she would not have to eat it. That made a great impact on the nephew, and it helped him understand the gospel better than any evangelist preacher ever could.
The first angel tells us how the cross prepares us for judgment,
Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. Revelation 14:7
This angel is telling us of the judgment which began in 1844. Interestingly the angel says the hour of His judgment has come. What does this mean? It means God is the one being judged!
The judgment is not to see if God will accept us, Ephesians 1:6 tells us we are already accepted in the Beloved. The judgment is to see if we will accept God and let Him write His law on our hearts. Seventh-day Adventists preach a time of probation, but many do not realize that it is actually God who is on probation. God is being judged by the universe: Is God the mean control freak and tyrant that Satan makes Him out to be, or is He a God of love? Is God a good God or some psychopath saying, “Love me or I’ll kill you?”
Satan first attacked the character of God in heaven. Revelation 12 says there was war in heaven, but not with machine guns and tanks; it was a battle of the minds. Satan wanted God’s power but not his character.
I can see Satan playing mind games with the angels. I can see him going up to one of the other angels and saying, “You did a great job on that project God gave you. Did God give you any special recognition for it? He didn’t? Why that’s too bad. You know if I was God I would have thrown a banquet in your honor.”
And so Satan started these mind games trying to make the angels believe that he should be God and that God was not a God of love who was interested in their welfare.
Satan got a third of the angels to buy his lie. There may have been some angels who stayed in heaven but were not convinced who was right or wrong, until the cross. Then the whole universe saw the true character of Satan, who was willing to kill anyone who got in his way of being number one, contrasted with the true character of God who was willing to die on a cross and say goodbye to life forever to save others.
This is why Satan does not want us to understand the everlasting gospel. The everlasting gospel tells the truth about the character of God and the character of Satan. In the hour of His judgment those who clearly understand the everlasting gospel, free of legalism, will demonstrate that God is indeed a God of love. When we accept God we accept more than eternal life, we accept God Himself, along with all of His righteousness and goodness and power to live a victorious life.
The second half of this verse – “and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters” – reminds us of the language used in the fourth commandment about the Sabbath. Many times we quote the fourth commandment from Exodus 20: 8-11 but let’s take a look at it in Deuteronomy 5:12-15.
“Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee. Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day [is] the sabbath of the LORD thy God: [in it] thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that [is] within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and [that] the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.”
In Egypt the king made all the Hebrew slaves work so he could rest. God delivered the Hebrews from their works and gave them the Sabbath, explaining that it was God who created and made everything and did all the work so they could rest. God is reminding Israel that He saved them from the slavery of the Egyptians, and that it was not their works that saved them. Likewise God Himself will save us from the slavery of sin, by His grace and not by our works. The Sabbath is clearly a sign that it is God who sanctifies us and not our own works. We see this also in Exodus 31:13. We rest from our works on the Sabbath, remembering that our salvation comes from resting our faith in His amazing grace and not in trusting our works to save us.
The Sabbath also reminds us of our Creator whom Satan wants us to forget. If the Sabbath had never been forgotten, atheism would never exist. For example we use the sun to mark a year, the moon marks a month and the earth’s rotation marks a day, but what do we have to mark a week? The only thing we have to mark a week is the creation week which ends with the seventh-day Sabbath. So how do atheists explain the seven-day week?
During the reign of terror the French tried to do away with the seven-day week and replace it with a ten-day week. This did not work.
The Sabbath reminds us that we have a Creator who did all the work in creating us. It reminds us that we did not make ourselves by our own works. Even more, the Sabbath reminds us that we were redeemed by the works and sacrifice of our Creator and not by our own works. By resting on the Sabbath we show that the gospel is practical and not just a theory. He literally rested, and we literally rest our faith in Jesus, believing that He literally saves us.
And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. Revelation 14:8
The second angel warns us against trusting man made laws and traditions instead of trusting Jesus to save us by grace.
Many say that Babylon means confusion. Well it may, but it is not so much confusion about certain doctrines as much as it is about the gospel itself. When legalism mixes our works with God’s grace, it gets confusing. In Galatians 2:20 Paul gives us the pure gospel when he says, “Not I but Christ.” So many of us want to make it a combination of me plus Christ. Problem is, any time I make “me” a part of the gospel I have a corrupt gospel because “me” is corrupt. Does this mean doing away with good works? Not at all! It just means realizing that it is God who is working in us and not us. Philippians 2:13
Seventh-day Adventists teach that Babylon is a religious system which it is, but it is more than that. It is an attitude – an attitude that can be found in any system. Babylon is the attitude that I can save myself by my own works. It began with the tower of Babel.
Babel meaning “gate” and El meaning “God.” At the tower of Babel man decided they could work and build their own way to heaven. They did not think they could trust God to save them from another flood so they decided to build a tower and by their works save themselves. Thus Babylon symbolizes salvation by our own works, or legalism. Cain had the attitude of Babylon when he brought the works of his field and offered his own system of worship. But God could only accept Abel’s sacrifice – a lamb which pointed to the Lamb of God who could only save. Since then man has been presenting his own system of worship and even day of worship thinking he can save himself by inventing his own religion instead of accepting the gospel.
Years later Daniel 1 tells us that God gave Jerusalem into Nebuchadnezzar’s hands, but in Daniel 4 Nebuchadnezzar says “is this not Babylon which I have made?” And God says, “No! I made it and gave it to you.” But here is the attitude of Babylon again – that it is my works that save me.
During the Dark Ages people were taught that their works would save them. They could buy and work their way to heaven. They were also given a work day to worship instead of the Sabbath day of rest. So they were like Cain, worshiping their works instead of our Creator and Redeemer. When the everlasting gospel is proclaimed in all its glory, Babylon will fall! Man will see that we are not saved by our own religious works and inventions but rather are saved by the grace of God alone!
The third angel’s message encourages us to trust Jesus to save us instead of man. The third angel’s message encourages us to trust God’s grace instead of our won works.
Ellen White comments:
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.”– The Review and Herald, April 1, 1890. {1SM 372.2}
If you are like me, your first glance at the third angel’s message does not make you think of justification by faith. As a matter of fact many people get wrapped up in works over this passage. Let’s take another look and see why it’s not about works but rather justification by faith.
Revelation 14:9-12 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive [his] mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here [are] they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
The third angel’s message is justification by faith in verity because those who refuse the mark of the beast will not be allowed to buy or sell or do any business to provide for themselves or their families. They will be resting on the Sabbath and not working. Therefore they trust God to provide for them, and not their own works. This is justification by faith. Those who accept the mark so that they can buy and sell are not resting in Jesus or trusting Him to provide for them. Rather they are saying, “I do not trust Jesus to provide for me, so I am accepting the mark so that I can work and provide for myself.” This is salvation by works.
It is very important to notice that the ones who accept the mark and are trying to be saved by their works are rejecting the cross of Christ. The “cup of His indignation” is the cup that Jesus asked to be passed from Him, in Gethsemane. However, He drank that cup for us, at Calvary. Those who reject the seal of God, and the Sabbath are really rejecting the cross. They say, “I will accept the mark of the beast and provide my own salvation.” When they do this they reject the Salvation provided at Calvary, and instead of letting Jesus drink that cup for them, they must drink it themselves!
After all, if you do not trust Jesus enough to provide your daily bread, but rather accept the mark so that you can do business and put bread on the table yourself, how can you trust Him to provide for your eternal salvation? On the other hand, by rejecting the mark (works) and keeping the Sabbath and seal of God we are accepting the cross and justification by faith. Jesus drinks the cup mentioned in the third angel’s message so we don’t have to! We can all exclaim with Abraham at Moriah, “Jehovahjireh” My Lord Will provide!”
The third angel’s message is the climax of the battle between faith and works. For centuries man has been taught by tradition to save himself by worshiping a man made religion and even a man made Sabbath which is Sunday. Those who put their faith in Jesus triumph over the legalism of man made religions as they rest their faith in the One who gave all to save them. They cherish His Sabbath which is a sign that we are not saved by works but rather by His amazing grace!
You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.
In Light of The Cross 