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 ...
May 09, 2023•9 min•Season 5Ep. 1743
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...
May 08, 2023•9 min•Season 5Ep. 1742
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 Jes...
May 07, 2023•8 min•Season 5Ep. 1741
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 ...
May 06, 2023•5 min•Season 5Ep. 1740
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 pl...
May 05, 2023•8 min•Season 5Ep. 1739
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 ap...
May 04, 2023•10 min•Season 5Ep. 1738
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 de...
May 03, 2023•11 min•Season 5Ep. 1737
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 2,3...
May 02, 2023•8 min•Season 5Ep. 1736
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...
May 01, 2023•8 min•Season 5Ep. 1735
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 Dan...
Apr 30, 2023•11 min•Season 5Ep. 1734
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. Somewha...
Apr 29, 2023•6 min•Season 5Ep. 1733
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 weakne...
Apr 28, 2023•8 min•Season 5Ep. 1732
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 ope...
Apr 27, 2023•10 min•Season 5Ep. 1731
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 ...
Apr 26, 2023•10 min•Season 5Ep. 1730
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 per...
Apr 25, 2023•13 min•Season 5Ep. 1729
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 relations...
Apr 24, 2023•8 min•Season 5Ep. 1728
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 ...
Apr 23, 2023•12 min•Season 5Ep. 1727
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....
Apr 22, 2023•6 min•Season 5Ep. 1726
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 fina...
Apr 21, 2023•8 min•Season 5Ep. 1725
“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 temptation...
Apr 20, 2023•7 min•Season 5Ep. 1724
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 Corinth...
Apr 19, 2023•9 min•Season 5Ep. 1723
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 Hebrew...
Apr 18, 2023•10 min•Season 5Ep. 1722
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 ...
Apr 17, 2023•11 min•Season 5Ep. 1721
Fear God The 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 spec...
Apr 16, 2023•9 min•Season 5Ep. 1720
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 re...
Apr 15, 2023•6 min•Season 5Ep. 1719
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 thes...
Apr 14, 2023•7 min•Season 5Ep. 1718
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 fir...
Apr 13, 2023•6 min•Season 5Ep. 1717
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 ...
Apr 12, 2023•9 min•Season 5Ep. 1715
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 11, 2023•7 min•Season 5Ep. 1714
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 Roma...
Apr 10, 2023•10 min•Season 5Ep. 1714
