“The same spirit of hatred and opposition to the truth has inspired the enemies of God in every age, and the same vigilance and fidelity have been required in His servants. The words of Christ to the first disciples are applicable to His followers to the close of time: ‘What I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.’ Mark 13:37.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 56, 57.In many parts of the world, especially where people have free access to the Bible, Satan has employed other means to weake...
Apr 19, 2024•9 min•Season 6Ep. 2005
Read 2 Corinthians 4:3–6. What does “whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe” (2 Cor. 4:4, NKJV) mean? How are their eyes blinded? How are eyes opened?The Greek word for “mind” in this passage is noema. It literally means our perception or mental faculties. The SDA Bible Commentary makes an enlightening statement about this verse. “The battle between Christ and Satan is a battle for the minds of men. (Rom. 7:23, 25; 12:2; 2 Cor. 3:14, 11:3; Phil. 2:5, 4:7, 8). Satan’s pri...
Apr 18, 2024•12 min•Season 6Ep. 2004
The Holy Spirit works through our minds. He invites us to explore the mysteries of the universe. As someone has aptly stated: “As Christians, we do not check our brains at the door of the church.” Nevertheless, the brilliance of human reasoning alone is incapable of discovering the divine truths of Scripture. Truth is not a matter of human opinion. It is a matter of divine revelation.Read Proverbs 16:25, Judges 21:25, and Isaiah 53:6. What do these texts reveal about Satan’s strategy of deceptio...
Apr 17, 2024•9 min•Season 6Ep. 2003
Compare John 17:15–17 and Acts 20:32. What insights do Jesus and the apostle Paul give us regarding protection from the deceptions of Satan?The Bible is the infallible revelation of God’s will. It presents Heaven’s plan for humanity’s salvation. Since “all Scripture is given by the inspiration of God,” it is “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16, NKJV). That is, “all Scripture” is inspired by God; not some parts or some parts more t...
Apr 16, 2024•13 min•Season 6Ep. 2002
Read Acts 20:27–32. What specific warnings did the apostle Paul give to the church leaders from Ephesus regarding the coming apostasy?The purpose of Paul’s counsel was to prepare the church for what was coming. In these passages, he describes his major concern.His concern is that “savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock” (Acts 20:29, NKJV). In other words, believers would face fierce persecution from within the church.The apostle expressed his concern when he said, “Also of y...
Apr 15, 2024•14 min•Season 6Ep. 2001
Host: Welcome back to the English Sabbath School with Teacher Mo! Today, we have a very special treat for you all. We're sitting down with Mo himself to hear more about his remarkable journey and the inspiration behind his podcast. Mo, thank you so much for joining us today. Mo: It's my pleasure to be here, thank you for having me. Host: Mo, could you tell us a bit about your background and what inspired you to start your podcast? Mo: Well, growing up, I always had a deep love for learning, but ...
Apr 14, 2024•9 min•Season 6Ep. 2000
Compare John 14:6 with John 8:44. What contrast between Jesus’ character and Satan’s is seen in these two passages?What Jesus says is true because He is the author of truth. Truth proceeds from the heart of an all-wise, all-loving, all-knowing God. He is the foundation of reality and of all truth.In contrast, Satan is a liar and the father of lies. He is prepared to use lies, deceit, misinformation, and a distortion of the truth to lead God’s people astray. He deceived Eve in Eden by distorting ...
Apr 14, 2024•18 min•Season 6Ep. 2000
Read for This Week’s StudyJohn 8:44; Prov. 23:23; Acts 20:27–32; 2 Thess. 2:7–12; Ps. 119:105, 116, 130, 133, 160; Prov. 16:25; 2 Cor. 4:3–6.Memory Text:“Then Jesus said to them, ‘A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going’ ” (John 12:35, NKJV).In the Bible’s last book, Revelation, the devil is pictured as a dragon and a serpent (Rev. 12:9). He is a dragon because he desires to d...
Apr 13, 2024•7 min•Season 6Ep. 1999
“The gospel continued to spread and the number of its adherents to increase. It penetrated into regions that were inaccessible even to the eagles of Rome. Said a Christian, expostulating with the heathen rulers who were urging forward the persecution: You may ‘kill us, torture us, condemn us. . . . Your injustice is the proof that we are innocent. . . . Nor does your cruelty . . . avail you.’ It was but a stronger invitation to bring others to their persuasion. ‘The oftener we are mown down by y...
Apr 12, 2024•10 min•Season 6Ep. 1998
Read John 13:35 and 1 John 4:21. What do these passages reveal about Satan’s challenge against the government of God in the great controversy? What do they tell us about the essence of genuine Christianity?Love was the norm of Christian communities in the first few centuries. Tertullian, an early Christian theologian, claimed: “It is mainly the deeds of a love so noble that lead many to put a brand upon us. See, they say, how they love one another.”—“Chapter 39,” in Apology, trans. S. Thelwall, ...
Apr 11, 2024•9 min•Season 6Ep. 1997
The early Christian church grew not only because its members preached the gospel but also because they lived the gospel. Believers modeled the ministry of Christ who “went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people” (Matt. 4:23, NKJV). Jesus deeply cared for people, and so did the New Testament church. It was this unselfish love and commitment to meeting human needs combined wit...
Apr 10, 2024•11 min•Season 6Ep. 1996
Throughout the early centuries of Christianity, the Christian church grew rapidly, despite imprisonment, torture, and persecution. Faithful believers, totally committed to Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit, proclaimed His Word with power; lives were changed, and tens of thousands were converted.Read Acts 2:41; Acts 4:4, 31; Acts 5:42; and Acts 8:1–8. What do these verses teach us about the challenges the New Testament church faced and also why it grew so rapidly?The disciples faced threats (Ac...
Apr 09, 2024•8 min•Season 6Ep. 1995
God’s mercy, grace, providence, and foreknowledge are clearly revealed in the events leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem. Cestius Gallus and the Roman armies surrounded the city. In an unexpected move, when their attack seemed imminent, they withdrew. The Jewish armies pursued them and won a great victory.With the Romans fleeing and the Jews pursuing, the Christians in Jerusalem fled to Pella in Perea, beyond the Jordan River. “The promised sign had been given to the waiting Christians, a...
Apr 08, 2024•8 min•Season 6Ep. 1994
As Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives overlooking the city of Jerusalem, His heart was broken. John’s Gospel says, “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him” (John 1:11, NKJV). Jesus did everything He could to save His people from the coming destruction of their beloved city.Jesus’ love for His people flowed from a heart of infinite love. He repeatedly appealed to them in love to repent and accept His gracious invitation of mercy.Read Luke 19:41–44; Matthew 23:37, 38; and John 5:40. Wha...
Apr 07, 2024•9 min•Season 6Ep. 1993
Read for This Week’s StudyLuke 19:41–44; Matt. 23:37, 38; Heb. 11:35–38; Rev. 2:10; Acts 2:44–47; John 13:35.Memory Text:“ ‘ “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” ’ ” (Isaiah 41:10, NKJV).Suppose you are a herdsman tending your goats on the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem. You hear voices. Immediately you recognize the voice of Jesus. As the setting sun gleams off the te...
Apr 06, 2024•7 min•Season 6Ep. 1992
“In the banishment of Satan from heaven, God declared His justice and maintained the honor of His throne. But when man had sinned through yielding to the deceptions of this apostate spirit, God gave an evidence of His love by yielding up His only-begotten Son to die for the fallen race. In the atonement the character of God is revealed. The mighty argument of the cross demonstrates to the whole universe that the course of sin which Lucifer had chosen was in no wise chargeable upon the government...
Apr 05, 2024•13 min•Season 6Ep. 1991
What Jesus did for us on the cross enables Him also to intercede for us in heaven. Our resurrected Lord is our great High Priest, providing everything we need to be saved and to live in God’s kingdom forever.Read Hebrews 4:15, 16 and Hebrews 7:25. How do these verses give us assurance in a world of temptation, suffering, disease, and death?The text says that He “was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15, NKJV). And it adds, “Let us therefore come boldly”—that means confide...
Apr 04, 2024•8 min•Season 6Ep. 1990
Adam and Eve have sinned, and God has told them that they must leave their garden home. From now on, toil and suffering will be their lot. Will they have to suffer and finally die with no hope? Is death the end of everything?It was at this point that God gave them the promise recorded in Genesis 3:15. Looking directly at Satan, the serpent, He said: “ ‘I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed. He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel’ ” (NKJ...
Apr 03, 2024•10 min•Season 6Ep. 1989
When God created the earth, He created it perfect. The Bible says that He “saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good” (Gen. 1:31, NKJV). There was no stain of sin or evil anywhere. But He gave Adam and Eve the same freedom of choice He had given to Lucifer. He didn’t want robots on earth any more than He wanted robots in heaven.In fact, He went out of His way to make this freedom clear. He planted a tree in the Garden and called it the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He ma...
Apr 02, 2024•10 min•Season 6Ep. 1988
There is no logical explanation for why Lucifer, this perfect angel, should have allowed pride and jealousy to take root in his heart and grow into rebellion against his Creator. Satan’s pride ripened into open rebellion. He accused God of being unjust and unfair. He infected the angels with his doubts and accusations.Read Revelation 12:4. What does this passage reveal about Satan’s ability to deceive? How many of the angels fell for his lies about God?When war broke out in heaven, the angels ha...
Apr 01, 2024•11 min•Season 6Ep. 1987
Read Revelation 12:7–9. What does this passage reveal about the freedom existing in heaven and the origin of evil? When Lucifer rebelled, in what ways could God have responded?These verses describe a cosmic conflict between good and evil. Satan and his angels warred against Christ and, eventually, were cast out of heaven. It seems extremely strange that war would break out in such a perfect place as heaven. Why did it happen? Did a loving God create a demonic angel who initiated this war? Was th...
Mar 31, 2024•15 min•Season 6Ep. 1986
Read for This Week’s StudyRev. 12:7–9, Ezek. 28:12–15, Isa. 14:12–14, Gen. 3:15, John 17:24–26.Memory Text:“And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer” (Revelation 12:7, 8, NKJV).If God is so good, why is the world so bad? How can a God of love allow so much evil to exist? Why do bad things happen to good people? In this week’s lesson, we will explo...
Mar 30, 2024•9 min•Season 6Ep. 1985
Read for This Week’s StudyRev. 12:7–9, Ezek. 28:12–15, Isa. 14:12–14, Gen. 3:15, John 17:24–26.Memory Text:“And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer” (Revelation 12:7, 8, NKJV).If God is so good, why is the world so bad? How can a God of love allow so much evil to exist? Why do bad things happen to good people? In this week’s lesson, we will explo...
Mar 29, 2024•10 min
Read Ellen G. White, “Growing Up Into Christ,” pp. 67-75, in Steps to Christ.The Psalms utter fervent appeals to wait on the Lord. “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him” (Ps. 37:7, NKJV). When waiting strikes us as burdensome, uncertain, and lonely, we should remember the disciples on the day of Jesus’ ascension to heaven (Acts 1:4-11). Jesus was taken up to heaven before their eyes, while they were left behind to wait for Him to come back on some unknown future day. Who has ever experie...
Mar 29, 2024•8 min•Season 6Ep. 1984
Read Psalm 5:3, Psalm 30:5, Psalm 49:14, Psalm 59:16, Psalm 92:2, Psalm 119:147, 2 Peter 1:19, and Revelation 22:16. What time of day is symbolically portrayed as the time of divine redemption and why?In the Psalms, morning is typically the time when God’s redemption is anticipated. Morning reveals God’s favor, which ends the long night of despair and trouble (Ps. 130:5, 6). In Psalm 143, God’s deliverance will reverse the present darkness of death (Ps. 143:3) into the light of a new morning (Ps...
Mar 28, 2024•12 min•Season 6Ep. 1983
Psalm 92. What two aspects of the Sabbath day are highlighted in this song for the Sabbath day?The praise of God for the great works of His hands (Ps. 92:4, 5) and the Eden-like portrayal of the righteous (Ps. 92:12-14) clearly point to Creation, the first aspect that the Sabbath commemorates. The psalm also magnifies the Lord for His victory over enemies as the God of justice (Ps. 92:7-15) and so reinforces the second Sabbath theme—redemption from evil (Deut. 5:12-15). Thus, Psalm 92 extols Go...
Mar 27, 2024•12 min•Season 6Ep. 1982
Read Psalm 126. What gives strength and hope to God’s people? What is being said here, in this context, that we can apply to our own lives today?The Lord’s miraculous deliverances in the past are an inexhaustible source of inspiration for God’s people and their source of hope for the future. The past deliverance was so great that it could be described as a dream-come-true experience (Isa. 29:7, 8). Notice that the generation that praises the Lord in Psalm 126 for His past deliverance of His peop...
Mar 26, 2024•12 min•Season 6Ep. 1981
Read Psalm 131. What does this psalm teach us about our relationship with God?God’s people live in a world that afflicts the faithful, a world full of temptations and hardship for almost everyone. A refreshed conviction that he is a child of God and dependent on God for his life consoles the psalmist and brings him to confess that his pride has no value. The deceitfulness of pride is that it causes the proud to become self-centered and unable to look beyond themselves. The proud are thus blinded...
Mar 25, 2024•10 min•Season 6Ep. 1980
Read Psalm 27:14; Psalm 37:7, 9, 34; Psalm 39:7; Psalm 40:1; Psalm 69:6; Galatians 5:5; and Romans 8:18-25. What do these texts implore God’s people to do?Perhaps one of the greatest stresses in life is the stress of waiting. No matter who we are, where we live, what our station in life is, we all at times must wait for things. From waiting in line in a store to waiting to hear a medical prognosis, we wait—which we don’t always like doing, do we?What, then, about waiting for God? The notion of w...
Mar 24, 2024•10 min•Season 6Ep. 1979
Read for This Week’s StudyPs. 27:14, Rom. 8:18-25, Psalm 131, Matt. 18:3, Psalm 126, Psalm 92, Mark 16:1-8, 2 Pet. 1:19.Memory Text:“Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!” (Psalm 27:14, NKJV).We have reached the last week in this quarter’s study of the Psalms. The spiritual journey has taken us through the experience of awe before the majestic Creator, King, and Judge; through the joys of divine deliverance, forgiveness, and salvation...
Mar 23, 2024•9 min•Season 6Ep. 1978
