Prepared by William Earnhardt for Sabbath School Class, April 12, 2025.

Main Theme: 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.

Read in Class: Genesis 22:1-13. Ask the class to summarize this passage in their own words.

Study: 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?

Apply: Read John 3:16. What parallels apply between the story of Abraham in Genesis 22 and the love of God in John 3:16 and the cross? What are the similarities, and what are the differences?

Share: Your friend says she has heard that God tested Abraham so he could prove his obedience. Others say the story of Abraham and Isaac was only an illustration of God’s self-sacrificing love for us. She asks what you think. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Genesis 22:7-8, Exodus 12:3-13 and Revelation 5:5-10. Ask the class to identify the common thread in these passages.

Study: 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?

Apply: 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?

Share: Your friend asks why God wanted the people to have the lamb in their home four days before sacrificing it? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Genesis 2:15-17, Genesis 4:8-15, 1 Corinthians 15:15-19, and Revelation 1:18. Ask the class to identify the common thread in these passages.

Study: 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?

Apply: 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?

Share: Romans 6:23 tells us the wages of sin is death. Wages are something we have earned. However the gift of God is eternal life. A gift is something we have not earned. Your friend asks how do we get the gift of eternal life? What do you tell your friend? Hint: See Salvation in Light of the Cross.

Read in Class: Genesis 3:1-5 and Revelation 12:1-9. Ask the class to identify the common thread in these passages.

Study: 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?

Apply: Read in Numbers 21:4-9 and John 3:13-17. How did Jesus apply the story of the brass serpent, as the solution for when we are bitten by the serpent and deceived into sin?

Share: Can you think of someone you can share the plan of salvation with this week?