Read Exodus 25:8, 9, 40 and Hebrews 8:1–6. What two sanctuaries are outlined in these verses?As the early Adventist believers pored over the Scriptures in the months following 1844, they understood that there are two sanctuaries mentioned in the Bible—the one Moses built and the great original in heaven. The term “sanctuary,” as used in the Bible, refers, first, to the tabernacle built by Moses, as a pattern or “type” of heavenly things; and, second, to the “true tabernacle” in heaven, to which ...
May 19, 2024•13 min•Season 6Ep. 2034
Read for This Week’s StudyExod. 25:8, 9, 40; Heb. 8:1–6; Lev. 16:21, 29–34; Lev. 23:26–32; Heb. 9:23–28; Dan. 7:9, 10.Memory Text:“We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man” (Hebrews 8:1, 2, NKJV).Shortly after the disappointment of October 22, 1844, some of the Millerites came to understand that the 2,300-day prophecy didn’t deal with the seco...
May 18, 2024•4 min•Season 6Ep. 2033
Look at the following chart for the prophecies of the 70 weeks and the 2,300 days. The prophecies start in 457 B.C. and foretell the events surrounding “Messiah the Prince,” upon whom the 70-week prophecy is grounded. With that solid foundation, the 2,300-day prophecy ends in the year 1844.“Like the first disciples, William Miller and his associates did not, themselves, fully comprehend the import of the message which they bore. Errors that had been long established in the church prevented them ...
May 17, 2024•9 min•Season 6Ep. 2032
Read Ezra 7:7–13. When was the decree issued to allow Israel’s captives in Persia to go free to rebuild their temple?The decree was issued by Artaxerxes, king of Persia, in 457 B.C. This decree was the last of three decrees to allow the Jews to return to rebuild Jerusalem and restore temple worship services. This third decree was the most complete and marks the beginning of the 2,300-day prophecy.Read Daniel 9:25, 26. When would this entire prophetic period begin? What major events do these vers...
May 16, 2024•12 min•Season 6Ep. 2031
William Miller observed that events predicted by the prophets were precisely fulfilled: the 400 years of the sojourn of Abraham’s descendants, Israel’s 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, the 70 years of Israel’s captivity, and Daniel’s 70 weeks allotted to Israel (Gen. 15:13, Num. 14:34, Jer. 25:11, and Dan. 9:24).Read Mark 1:15, Galatians 4:4, and Romans 5:6. What do these verses tell us about God’s timetable for the First Advent?As Miller studied the prophecies, comparing scripture with ...
May 15, 2024•13 min•Season 6Ep. 2031
Just as God used the Protestant Reformers to rediscover the truth about justification by faith in Christ alone, He used William Miller to rediscover the truth about the manner of Christ’s second coming. As Miller studied Scripture, he discovered a Christ who loved him more than he could possibly imagine. With his Bible, a pen, and a notebook, he began reading starting with Genesis and read no faster than he could understand the passage at hand. By comparing scripture with scripture, he allowed t...
May 14, 2024•11 min•Season 6Ep. 2030
Although the Protestant Reformers believed in the literal, visible, audible, and glorious return of Christ, gradually the understanding of this biblical truth changed. Popular nineteenth-century preachers taught that Christ would come to establish His kingdom on earth and usher in 1,000 years of peace. This led to spiritual lethargy and an apathetic commitment to spiritual values.Similarly, Christ’s disciples misunderstood the nature of the Messiah’s coming. They thought that He would come as a ...
May 13, 2024•10 min•Season 6Ep. 2029
The Protestant Reformers and the pilgrims who left from Holland for the New World longed for the coming of Jesus. For them the second coming of Christ was a joyous event that they eagerly anticipated. John Wycliffe looked forward to the coming of Christ as the hope of the church. Calvin spoke for all the Reformers when he talked of the glorious return of Christ as “of all events most auspicious.” For faithful men and women of God, the second coming of Christ was something to be embraced, not som...
May 12, 2024•13 min•Season 6Ep. 2028
Read for This Week’s Study1 Thess. 4:13–18; Matt. 24:27, 30, 31; 2 Pet. 1:19–21; Dan. 8:14; Dan. 9:20–27; Ezra 7:7–13.Memory Text:“And it will be said in that day: ‘Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation’ ” (Isaiah 25:9, NKJV).The second coming of Jesus is one of the central themes of Scripture. It is a golden thread that runs through the Bible’s sacred pages. One scholar has est...
May 11, 2024•6 min•Season 6Ep. 2027
“When the Bible was proscribed by religious and secular authority; when its testimony was perverted, and every effort made that men and demons could invent to turn the minds of the people from it; when those who dared proclaim its sacred truths were hunted, betrayed, tortured, buried in dungeon cells, martyred for their faith, or compelled to flee to mountain fastnesses, and to dens and caves of the earth—then the faithful witnesses prophesied in sackcloth. Yet they continued their testimony thr...
May 10, 2024•8 min•Season 6Ep. 2026
Despite the attacks of the enemy, God’s work on earth will come to a glorious climax. The gospel will be preached to “every nation, tribe, tongue, and people” (Rev. 14:6, NKJV). The great controversy between Christ and Satan will end with Christ completely defeating the powers of hell. God’s kingdom will triumph over evil, and sin will be eradicated forever from the universe. Revelation 11 begins with Satan’s attempt through the French Revolution to destroy the Christian faith and eradicate beli...
May 09, 2024•9 min•Season 6Ep. 2025
Read Revelation 11:11. What prediction does this text make about the Word of God?At the end of the French Revolution, God’s Word would, figuratively, come to life again. There would be a mighty revival. Great fear would fall on those who saw God’s Word once more become the living power of God unto salvation. At the end of the eighteenth century, God raised up men and women who were committed to taking the gospel to the ends of the earth. People spread the message of the Bible rapidly. One such p...
May 08, 2024•10 min•Season 6Ep. 2024
Read Revelation 11:7–9. Remembering that the language is symbolic, what do these verses predict would happen to God’s two witnesses, the Old and New Testaments?By A.D. 538, the pagan Roman Empire had collapsed. Justinian, the Roman emperor, surrendered civil, political, and religious authority to Pope Vigillis. The long period of the medieval church’s domination began. It continued until A.D. 1798. The French general Berthier, on orders from Napoleon, marched unopposed into Rome on February 10, ...
May 07, 2024•10 min•Season 6Ep. 2023
Compare Revelation 11:3 and Revelation 12:5, 6, 14, 15 with Daniel 7:25. What similarities do you see in these prophetic periods?The two witnesses “ ‘will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth’ ” (Rev. 11:3, NKJV). This is the same time period as the 42 months during which the “Gentiles” (those who oppose God’s truth) will tread the Holy City underfoot (Rev. 11:2). The enemies of God tread underfoot God’s truth for 1,260 days (42 x 30 = 1,260, each day symbolizin...
May 06, 2024•11 min•Season 6Ep. 2022
Read Revelation 11:3–6. List five identifying features of the two witnesses you discover in this passage.In Zechariah 4, the prophet saw two olive trees on either side of a golden lampstand—the same imagery that we find here in Revelation 11. Zechariah is told that this represents “ ‘the two anointed ones, who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth’ ” (Zech. 4:14, NKJV). The olive trees feed oil into the lampstand so that it continues to give light. We are reminded of what the psalmist wrote: ...
May 05, 2024•12 min•Season 6Ep. 2021
Read for This Week’s StudyRev. 11:3–6; Zech. 4:14; Rev. 12:5, 6, 14, 15; Dan. 7:25; Isa. 54:17; Ps. 119:89; Rev. 11:15–18.Memory Text:“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8, NKJV).Through the centuries, God’s Word has been dissected, doubted, and discarded. It has been chained in monasteries, burned in public squares, and torn to shreds. Its believers have been ridiculed, mocked, imprisoned, and even martyred. Through it all, God’s Word has pre...
May 04, 2024•6 min•Season 6Ep. 2020
“God’s faithful servants were not toiling alone. While principalities and powers and wicked spirits in high places were leagued against them, the Lord did not forsake His people. Could their eyes have been opened, they would have seen as marked evidence of divine presence and aid as was granted to a prophet of old. When Elisha’s servant pointed his master to the hostile army surrounding them and cutting off all opportunity for escape, the prophet prayed: ‘Lord, I pray Thee, open his eyes, that h...
May 03, 2024•6 min•Season 6Ep. 2019
Read Romans 3:27–31; Romans 6:15–18; and Romans 8:1, 2. What do these verses teach us about salvation through Christ’s righteousness alone?A new wind was blowing through the Christian church in the days of Luther. Tens of thousands of people were taught to look away from their sinful selves and look to Jesus instead. No doubt these people, looking at themselves and what they were like, saw only things to discourage them. What believer today doesn’t have the same experience? That’s why we need to...
May 02, 2024•11 min•Season 6Ep. 2018
Read Ephesians 2:8, 9; Romans 3:23, 24; Romans 6:23; and Romans 5:8–10. What do these verses teach about the plan of salvation?God has provided salvation as a gift. His Holy Spirit leads us to accept by faith what Christ has so freely provided through His death on Calvary’s cross. Jesus, the divine Son of God, offered His perfect life to atone for our sins.Divine justice demands perfect obedience. Christ’s perfect life stands in place of our imperfect lives. The divine law we have broken condemn...
May 01, 2024•10 min•Season 6Ep. 2017
One day while studying in the university library, Martin Luther came to a turning point in his own life. He discovered a Latin copy of the Bible. He never knew before that a book like this even existed. With sheer delight, he read chapter after chapter, verse after verse. He was amazed at the clarity and power of God’s Word. As he pored over its pages, the Holy Spirit illuminated His mind. He sensed the guidance of the Holy Spirit as truths obscured by tradition seemed to leap off the pages of H...
Apr 30, 2024•12 min•Season 6Ep. 2016
Read 2 Corinthians 4:1–6 and 2 Corinthians 2:14. What do these passages tell us about the confidence Paul had, despite the challenges he faced in proclaiming the truth of God’s Word?The apostle Paul faced overwhelming odds in his work of spreading the gospel; yet, he had the confidence that God’s Word would eventually triumph, “for,” as he said, “we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth” (2 Cor. 13:8).The Reformers faced similar trials; yet, by faith they remained faithful to God’s...
Apr 29, 2024•9 min•Season 6Ep. 2015
Read Psalm 119:103, 104; Psalm 119:147; and Psalm 119:162. What was David’s attitude toward God’s Word? How did this impact the Reformers, and how does it influence our lives today?The Bible was the foundation of the Reformers’ faith and the essence of their teaching. They understood that they were handling the inspired “word of God which lives and abides forever” (1 Pet. 1:23, NKJV). They treasured every word. As they read its pages and believed its promises, their faith was strengthened and th...
Apr 28, 2024•9 min•Season 6Ep. 2014
Read for This Week’s StudyPs. 119:162; John 16:13–15; 2 Pet. 1:20, 21; Eph. 2:8, 9; Rom. 3:23, 24; Rom. 6:15–18.Memory Text:“Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (Psalm 119:11, NKJV).The Protestant Reformers had something twenty-first century people desperately need—a purpose for their lives. In his book, The Empty Self, renowned American psychologist Philip Cushman discusses people who live purposeless lives. Their beliefs are shallow. Little of real significan...
Apr 27, 2024•5 min•Season 6Ep. 2013
“God permitted great light to shine upon the minds of these chosen men, revealing to them many of the errors of Rome; but they did not receive all the light that was to be given to the world. Through these, His servants, God was leading the people out of the darkness of Romanism; but there were many and great obstacles for them to meet, and He led them on, step by step, as they could bear it. They were not prepared to receive all the light at once. Like the full glory of the noontide sun to thos...
Apr 26, 2024•8 min•Season 6Ep. 2012
Read Hebrews 2:14, 15. How did believers in the Middle Ages experience the reality of the great controversy?What was it that cheered the faithful Waldenses during the horrible persecutions they faced? What gave Huss and Jerome, Tyndale, Latimer, and the martyrs of the Middle Ages courage to face the flames and the sword? Faith in the promises of God. They believed Christ’s promise: “Because I live, you will live also” (John 14:19). They found His strength sufficient for life’s greatest trials. T...
Apr 25, 2024•12 min•Season 6Ep. 2011
Read Psalm 19:7–11, Psalm 119:140, Psalm 119:162, and Jeremiah 15:16. What similar attitudes did David and Jeremiah have toward the Word of God that were, really, the cornerstone of the Reformation?Each of the Reformers “rejoiced” in God’s Word. They “delighted” in doing God’s will. They “loved” His law. One of the most significant foundational truths of the Reformation was the joy that studying the Scriptures brought. Bible study was not a laborious task. It was not a legalistic exercise. It wa...
Apr 24, 2024•8 min•Season 6Ep. 2010
Compare Acts 5:28–32, Ephesians 6:10–12, and Revelation 3:11. What basic principle is found in these texts?One of the distinguishing characteristics of the Waldenses, and each one of the Reformers, was their absolute allegiance to God, their obedience to the authority of Scripture, and their commitment to the supremacy of Christ, not the papacy. Their minds were saturated with New Testament stories of faith and courage.With Peter and the apostles they could say, “We ought to obey God rather than...
Apr 23, 2024•9 min•Season 6Ep. 2009
Read Jude 3, 4. What’s the warning here and how did it apply to the later Christian church?The book of Jude was written sometime before A.D. 65 to faithful Christians who were “sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:1, NKJV). These faithful believers were urged to “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain men have crept in unnoticed, . . . who turn the grace of our God into lewdness” (Jude 1:3, 4, NKJV). This admoni...
Apr 22, 2024•13 min•Season 6Ep. 2008
Read Daniel 7:23–25 and Revelation 12:6, 14. What prophetic time periods are referred to in these passages?Whenever God’s people remain faithful to Him, Satan is enraged. Persecution often follows. The prophet Daniel described a time, still future to him, when the medieval church would “make war against” and “persecute” God’s people (Dan. 7:21, 25, NKJV). The prophet John described this same period as a time when God’s church would be forced to flee into the wilderness, where she would be “nouri...
Apr 21, 2024•14 min•Season 6Ep. 2007
Read for This Week’s StudyDan. 7:23–25; Rev. 12:6, 14; Jude 3, 4; Rev. 2:10; Acts 5:28–32; Ps. 19:7–11; 1 John 5:11–13.Memory Text:“ ‘And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life’ ” (John 3:14, 15, NKJV).The modern Turkish seacoast city of Izmir was once the biblical city of Smyrna, mentioned in the book of Revelation. This ancient city of approximately 100,000 inhabitants flou...
Apr 20, 2024•7 min•Season 6Ep. 2006
