A Grace-Filled Book of Hope When 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...
Apr 09, 2023•8 min•Season 5Ep. 1713
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...
Apr 08, 2023•6 min•Season 5Ep. 1712
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 afterthoug...
Apr 07, 2023•10 min•Season 5Ep. 1714
“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...
Apr 07, 2023•8 min•Season 5Ep. 1711
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 co...
Apr 06, 2023•9 min•Season 5Ep. 1710
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 c...
Apr 05, 2023•8 min•Season 5Ep. 1708
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...
Apr 04, 2023•11 min•Season 5Ep. 1707
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 Himse...
Apr 03, 2023•10 min•Season 5Ep. 1706
Eternal Choices Revelation 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 an...
Apr 02, 2023•8 min•Season 5Ep. 1705
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 ...
Apr 01, 2023•5 min•Season 5Ep. 1704
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 foll...
Mar 31, 2023•7 min•Season 5Ep. 1703
God’s End-time Remnant The 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...
Mar 30, 2023•8 min•Season 5Ep. 1702
The Woman in the Wilderness Read 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 Re...
Mar 29, 2023•10 min•Season 5Ep. 1701
Accepting Jesus’ Victory As 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)? _______________________________________________...
Mar 28, 2023•9 min•Season 5Ep. 1700
The Battle in Heaven Revelation 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 vers...
Mar 26, 2023•10 min•Season 5Ep. 1698
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. ...
Mar 25, 2023•6 min•Season 5Ep. 1697
Further Thought: Here is a word picture of a church family who are financially faithful managers of God’s business on earth. The Stewardship Vision for Seventh-day Adventist Churches Around the World It’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 li...
Mar 24, 2023•9 min•Season 5Ep. 1696
Eyes on the Prize After 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 ...
Mar 23, 2023•9 min•Season 5Ep. 1695
The Settling of Accounts Near 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 ...
Mar 22, 2023•9 min•Season 5Ep. 1694
The New Jerusalem The 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. Go...
Mar 21, 2023•13 min•Season 5Ep. 1693
Reward for Faithfulness Read 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 r...
Mar 19, 2023•8 min•Season 5Ep. 1691
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 w...
Mar 18, 2023•6 min•Season 5Ep. 1690
Everlasting Life As 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? _________________________...
Mar 17, 2023•8 min•Season 5Ep. 1692
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 to...
Mar 17, 2023•6 min•Season 5Ep. 1689
When No One Can Buy or Sell The 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 pe...
Mar 16, 2023•10 min•Season 5Ep. 1688
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 ...
Mar 15, 2023•8 min•Season 5Ep. 1687
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...
Mar 10, 2023•7 min•Ep. 1686
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 poi...
Mar 09, 2023•8 min•Ep. 1685
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 (materia...
Mar 08, 2023•7 min•Ep. 1684
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...
Mar 07, 2023•8 min•Ep. 1683
