From the Stormy Sea to the Clouds of Heaven

Sabbath School Today
With the 1888 Message Dynamic

Daniel
Lesson 8: From the Stormy Sea to the Clouds of Heaven

 

In Daniel 7:9-10 we read:"I beheld till the thrones were cast down and the Ancient of days did sit, ... the judgment was set, and the books were opened."

In Revelation 14:6, 7, we read an announcement to the world that the time of the judgment here described has alreadycome--"the hour of His judgment is come." It was future in Daniel's day; it is present truth in ours.

What thinking man can fail to tremble before an infinite personal Judge? It is a fearful time, when the angels assemble before Him and the books which record every secret of our lives are opened for divine inspection. It is of this judgment time, when our names will be called for judgment, that Jesus warns us: "Take heed to yourselves, lest ... that day come upon you unawares. ... Pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy ... to stand before the Son of Man" (Luke 21:34-36). But there are two kinds of judgment: one is condemnation; the other is vindication. What God's people face in the judgment is vindication, because Christ has accepted in Himself their condemnation and has died for them their second death.

The "books" are the records kept of all that has been right or wrong on earth. They contain our "tears" of agony and sorrow and repentance (Psalm 56:8), the names of those who respond to God's love (Psalm 69:28; Exodus 32:32, 33), and the record of our lives (Psalm 139:16; Malachi 3:16). Those who devote their lives to God's service have their names enrolled in the book of life (Phil. 4:3).

So do not be afraid of this judgment! Your Savior died to redeem you. He is not trying to keep you out of His kingdom, but He is seeking to prepare you to enter in triumphant so you'll be happy there. He will honor and vindicate in this judgment those who respond to His Holy Spirit. Trust your case to Him (1 John 2:1, 2). "Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out," says Jesus (John 6:37). Cling to that promise as for dear life!

Again, in Daniel 7:11-14 we read:"I saw ... one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed."

The "One like the Son of man" can be no other than Jesus, the Son of God, who loved to call Himself "the Son of man." He became one with us as our Elder Brother. The footsteps of Jesus can be traced all through the Old Testament because He is the One "whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting" (Micah 5:2). His footsteps lead today into that place in the sanctuary of heaven which is called "the most holy apartment." There He is working for us as our great High Priest in the "presence of God for us," to finish His work of redemption. When this judgment described in verses 9 and 10 is finished, Christ will win an everlasting kingdom of righteousness.

The nations and languages who serve Christ in His coming kingdom are not worldly kingdoms, but the host of redeemed in the "new earth" from every language and people (see Rev. 21:24).

Ellen White was overjoyed when she heard the message of justification by faith from the lips of A. T. Jones and E. J. Waggoner. To her this clear teaching was consonant with the message of the three angels: "The hour of His judgment is come" and our Priest is cleansing the heavenly sanctuary. What connection was there between justification by faith and the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary by Jesus our High Priest?

The answer is that since 1844 Jesus has been performing the Day of Atonement ministry--the final blotting out of sins. But before the sanctuary could be cleansed in heaven, the temple of His people on earth must be cleansed. The source of sin pollution must be ended in His people. The honor of God and the integrity of His covenant were at stake. God has the solution to the problem of sin. The gospel of Jesus Christ can forgive sins, and His righteousness has the power by virtue of the Holy Spirit to cleanse the soul temple. This God has promised in His everlasting covenant (see Jer. 31:33).

So when she heard this message she recognized in it the power and force of the gospel which would prepare God's people to stand with a pure character in the day of Christ's second coming. They would be a living testimony for God through the crisis hour. They would be part of the 144,000 who would be translated without seeing death at His return. They would be a living testament to the power of God unto salvation from sin. Living in sinful flesh, tempted, tried and afflicted, the mystery of godliness would be revealed in them--"Christ in you the hope of glory."

God's people have been given a unique understanding of justification by faith in connection with the cleansing of the sanctuary that is to prepare a people for the coming of the Lord.

Justification by faith in connection with the sanctuary cleansing is the third angel's message in verity. It is the judgment hour message, which prepares the way for the great and dreadful day of the Lord. It prepares a people to stand in the hour of crisis and to be translated without seeing death at the second coming of Jesus. It was and still is the shaking message to the Laodicean church. It bears with it all the prospect of the loud cry and latter rain of the Holy Spirit.

--Paul E. Penno

Notes:
Pastor Paul Penno's video of this lesson is on the Internet at: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvwvBJSbB0w

"Sabbath School Today" is on the Internet at: http://1888message.org/sst.htm

 

--

RR

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

Lesson 6: From Arrogance to Destruction

Lesson 6: From Arrogance to Destruction

 

"Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall" (1 Cor. 10:11, 12). "Ensample" is an old English word translated from the Greek word typikos, which means a pattern of warning; ruinous events which serve as admonitions or warnings to others. The message in Daniel chapter 5 is a warning to the world, to "believers" as well as non-believers. Arrogance or pride will bring the destruction of the individual as well as a nation. "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall" (Prov. 16:18).

The opening line of the lesson used the word "hubris" which means exaggerated pride and self-confidence. Hubris can be used when speaking of both people and nations. An example is found in Pharaoh's declaration: "Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice?" (Ex. 5:2). The same arrogant defiance of the God of heaven was recorded for us concerning Nimrod. In Genesis 10:8, 9 we read that he was "a mighty one in the earth; he was a mighty hunter before the LORD." The Hebrew word for "might one" means "to raise oneself up in arrogance and stand in God's face."

The next verse tells us "the beginning of his kingdom was Babel" (Gen. 10:10). From its founding, Babylon was "against" everything that was godly. For nearly 1700 years, ancient Babylon had existed as a magnificent city on the Plain of Shinar, an example of what the mind and hands of man can accomplish when in rebellion against God. The kingdom established by Nimrod represented the complete development of Satan's plans to overthrow the King of the universe and take His throne (see Isa. 14:13, 14).

At the time of our lesson study (538 B.C.), Babylon had received the witness of God's love and mercy for 69 years through Daniel and his three companions, who had ministered to the king of Babylon in high government capacities. These faithful men instructed all who would listen of the coming Messiah who would deliver them from sin. Day by day through their righteous living, they taught faith in the living God of heaven. As God's blessed servants, they revealed the "spirit of prophecy" through their God-given wisdom and abilities to interpret the "mysteries" God showed to the king. But they also preached the coming judgment and hour of God's destruction upon the wicked nation. Babylon had no excuse to continue in rebellion against the God of heaven.

Twenty-five years before the events that took place the fateful night of Belshazzar's bacchanalian feast, Nebuchadnezzar surrendered fully to God's will for him. However Nebuchadnezzar's grandson never learned his lesson. In fact, Belshazzar was not a particularly religious man. The arrogant and comfortable environment that he had been raised in caused him to discount anything that did not exalt and praise him. He thought of himself as "god on earth" and sought to prove it by using the sacred vessels from God's Temple in his drunken orgy. In doing so, Belshazzar filled his "cup of iniquity" to overflowing, and judgment was swiftly executed. 

For two years prior to that night, there were "signs" of the impending fall of Babylon. In 539 B.C., the Medes and Persians joined forces and started their march toward Babylon, bent on conquest. Cyrus's sacred white horse was drowned while attempting to cross a river and this event stopped his forward march for a period of time. When he arrived at the city, he had his men dig channels to divert the course of the river away from the gates under which the river flowed through the midst of the city. The work took nearly a year to complete. All who heeded the warning message sent by God through Jeremiah, left the city. They "came out of her" and were saved from destruction when Cyrus invaded the city the night God wrote His message upon the wall of the banquet hall.

We have been living in a suspended time frame, as God waits upon His people to flee the fallen theologies of the world. Since the Second Great Awakening, God has been working through His remnant people to bring the good news of salvation through Christ and His righteousness. The good news includes the glorious truth of the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary, that of necessity must be preceded by the cleansing of the hearts of His people. Since 1844 God has been calling people out of spiritual Babylon to join with His remnant church.

But God's remnant has a spiritual problem. Just like ancient Babylon's arrogance and self-sufficient attitude, Laodicea thinks that she is "rich and increased with goods" (Rev. 3:17). This "richness" does not mean material wealth. The Faithful Witness is pointing out our false assumption concerning spiritual blessings. We think we have "need of nothing" pertaining to spiritual things.

Voices from the power centers of the church counsel against the "1888 message" of overcoming sin before the second coming of Jesus, calling it is an impossibility, a theological fiction. These voices excoriate the idea of a "final generation" that will heed the counsel of the True Witness to "overcome even as I overcame" (see Rev. 3:21). Rejecting the "most precious message" that God sent through A. T. Jones and E. J. Waggoner [1], the church has succumbed to an erroneous view on justification and sanctification that will never prepare a people to overcome sin. The "popular" view focuses on human possibilities (or impossibilities) rather than on the power of the Holy Spirit working through a surrendered heart and mind.

"Our misunderstanding of the 1888 message has blinded us to the deficient and faulty theology of the Evangelical churches. Because of 'preconceived opinions' and 'opposition manifested at Minneapolis against the Lord's message,' a vacuum was created which we tried to fill with our methods and borrowed plans from popular churches. The result is, 'Satan has succeeded in shutting away from our people in a great measure the special power of the Holy Spirit that God longed to impart.' The enemy has prevented us from 'obtaining that efficiency which might have been [ours] in carrying the truth [of overcoming sin] to the world' [Selected Messages, book 1, pp. 234, 235]. Intensive professional research, Madison Avenue techniques [in advertising], church growth seminars, or any other man-made programs cannot replace the 'power' and 'efficiency' the Holy Spirit would bring God's people." [2]

"Our spiritual impotence can be traced to our history. The truths inherent in the 1888 message of Christ's righteousness are not comprehended by us or by any segment of Christians who do not understand the two-apartment ministry of the heavenly High Priest. The 'gospel' proclaimed by the 'little horn' power virtually justifies sin and therefore logically upholds Satan's rebellion. This is the secret of the lawlessness that pervades the modern world on all levels. ... As long as pride and self-seeking masquerade as devotion to Christ, there we have Baal-worship. It has penetrated all levels of the church body." [3]

"The hope of redemption rests upon the shoulders of that final generation and that responsibility can only be met when that generation comes to sense the travail and distress it has caused but which in its immaturity has mercifully been hidden from it. We are that generation! We have not fathomed the pain which the Lamb has borne since the inception of sin." [4]

For more than a century we have been earnestly praying for the latter rain, while we remain "dry as the hills of Gilboa." God cannot send us the latter rain until we overcome our spiritual arrogance, and understand our responsibility in resisting the message and power God has already given to us.

--Ann Walper

Endnotes:
[1] See Ellen G. White,Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, pp. 91, 92.
[2] D. K. Short, "Baal Worship and the Long Delay," pp. 11, 12.
[3] Ibid, pp. 13, 14.
[4] D. K. Short,Then Shall the Sanctuary Be Cleansed, p. 98, CFI ed., 2018.

Notes:
Pastor Paul Penno's video of this lesson is on the Internet at: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HidQryp4zmc

"Sabbath School Today" is on the Internet at: http://1888message.org/sst.htm

RR

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

Lesson 5: From Pride to Humility

Sabbath School Today
With the 1888 Message Dynamic

Daniel
Lesson 5: From Pride to Humility

 

What does it mean to "come out of Babylon"? Unfortunately, Nebuchadnezzar learned the hard way. He had been (in today's vernacular) full of himself, taking credit for everything good he had ever done, giving no acknowledgement to Jehovah or even Babylonian gods. Thus, God showed him what it means to "come out of Babylon." It means that all human glory is put in the dust. If Nebuchadnezzar knew the 1888 message, he would have known what God does with human pride. The message of righteousness by faith allows no room for pride in anything we have done.

In His great mercy, God patiently worked with Nebuchadnezzar to bring him back to an understanding of truth. He even warned him in a dream what would happen if Nebuchadnezzar ignored the warning. The use of a tree to symbolize a powerful nation must have meant something to the proud king. The story of the Tree of Life had been handed down by legend in old Babylon, as had the story of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Ezekiel had foretold the great fall of the king of Egypt, and now Nebuchadnezzar would be the instrument used by the Lord for cutting him down, "to the end that none of all the trees by the waters [including the kings of Egypt and Babylon] exalt themselves for their height" (Ezek. 31:14). Nebuchadnezzar should have learned a lesson from this humbling experience of another tree that had been cut down in the past. But so much like you and me, the king has been slow to learn his kindergarten lessons in the school of faith. But you've never had a teacher in school more patient than the Lord is in His "school."

We should remember that God had tried to get Nebuchadnezzar to realize that his kingdom, Babylon, would not last forever. We know this didn't appeal to the king back in Daniel chapter 2. In spite of the Daniel 2 image being five distinctly separate kingdoms, Nebuchadnezzar revised God's image to represent only the kingdom of Babylon. He should have remembered this image when he received the powerful dream of warning.

We don't have to be the ruler of a great nation to receive warnings from God that we need to humble ourselves. It is important to remember that humility is not the same as humiliation. The latter is what happened to Jesus at his trial and crucifixion at the hands of wicked people. Jesus didn't deserve to be humiliated, but when He prayed in Gethsemane He humbled Himself. He told His Father that if possible, to take "the cup" away, but if that was not possible, He would submit to the will of the Father. That is probably the world's best example of dignified and voluntary humility.

It is noteworthy that Daniel 4:17 tells us that Nebuchadnezzar's sentence was issued and pronounced by a "watcher, a holy one" who had descended from heaven to give the king his warning. It is comforting to know that angelic beings are watching what happens on this earth. Presumably, these angels had lived through Lucifer's crisis of pride in heaven, and the angels knew that nothing good could come of the course Nebuchadnezzar was pursuing. Their concern prompted the warning. Even though warnings and correction might be unpleasant at the time, we can choose to be grateful for heaven's interest in us.

The use of a tree is an interesting choice of imagery. God used two trees in the Garden of Eden to symbolize His government. The tree of life was the only tree He wanted Adam and Eve to experience. But divine love required that they be allowed a choice. Thus, He placed the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the garden. Sin entered the world by means of a tree, and God put His Son, the second Adam, on a tree, in the form of a cross, to redeem mankind from the curse of sin. When Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden tree, they brought the curse of sin into the world. The sign of the curse of creation was that the ground would produce "thorns and thistles" (Gen. 3:18). By wearing a crown of thorns at His crucifixion, Jesus, the second Adam, took upon Himself the curse of creation, to undo it for the purpose of restoring the blessing.

Heaven's use of the image of a tree shows us that God withholds nothing good from us. It was unnecessary for us to experience evil to understand it isn't good, but Satan perverted God's loving kindness so Eve thought she was missing out. It was on this point that she failed to believe God and His system of government.

The important lesson to learn from Nebuchadnezzar's experience is that no matter how confident we are in ourselves, when things get rough, the only thing that will sustain us is Christ through His Holy Spirit living in us. Our own efforts will always fail.

"If you would stand through the time of trouble, you must know Christ, and appropriate the gift of his righteousness which he imputes to the repentant sinner. Human wisdom will not avail to devise a plan of salvation. Human philosophy is vain, the fruits of the loftiest powers of man are worthless, aside from the great plan of the divine Teacher. No glory is to redound to man; all human help and glory lies in the dust; for the truth as it is in Jesus is the only available agent by which man may be saved. Man is privileged to connect with Christ, and then the divine and the human combine; and in this union the hope of man must rest alone; for it is as the Spirit of God touches the soul that the powers of the soul are quickened, and man becomes a new creature in Christ Jesus. He was manifested to bring life and immortality to light. ...

"Read the book of Daniel. Call up, point by point, the history of the kingdoms there represented. Behold statesmen, councils, powerful armies, and see how God wrought to abase the pride of men, and lay human glory in the dust. The light that Daniel received directly from God was given especially for these last days. The visions he saw by the banks of the Ulai and the Hiddekel, the great rivers of Shinar, are now in process of fulfillment, and all the events foretold will soon come to pass. [1]

"What is justification by faith? It is the work of God in laying the glory of man in the dust, and doing for man that which it is not in his power to do for himself. When men see their own nothingness, they are prepared to be clothed with the righteousness of Christ." [2]

"Those whom heaven recognizes as holy ones are the last to parade their own goodness. The apostle Peter became a faithful minister of Christ, and he was greatly honored with divine light and power; he had an active part in the upbuilding of Christ's church; but Peter never forgot the fearful experience of his humiliation; his sin was forgiven; yet well he knew that for the weakness of character which had caused his fall only the grace of Christ could avail. He found in himself nothing in which to glory." [3]

--Arlene Hill

Endnotes:
[1] Ellen G. White, Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, pp. 112, 113.
[2] Ellen G. White, ibid., p. 456.
[3] Ellen G. White, The Faith I Live By,p. 111.

Notes:
Pastor Paul Penno's video of this lesson is on the Internet at: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jewX-6w38E

"Sabbath School Today" is on the Internet at: http://1888message.org/sst.htm

--

RR

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

Lesson 4: From Furnace to Palace

Lesson 4: From Furnace to Palace

 

Is the story of the "burning fiery furnace" in Daniel 3 pious fiction? Or authentic history?

Historical and archaeological research confirms supportive details: such as brick kilns that were common. Jeremiah 29:22 tells the history of how King Nebuchadnezzar "roasted in the fire" two seditious Jews; another Babylonian king boasted of burning some political enemies--evidence that this method of execution was actually practiced; Herodotus and Pliny tell of ancient kings who built huge statues covered with gold leaf. The deliverance from death by fire had been promised: "When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you." Doubtless the three Hebrew youth thrown in the fire had cherished this assurance. The promise "I will be with you" was literally fulfilled (Isa. 43:2). "The Son of God" shared the "furnace" with them, as even the pagan king confessed (Dan. 3:25).

How did that heathen king know what the Son of God looked like? God's people in Old Testament times looked forward to the coming of Christ, while we look back to His first coming. Alike, we all see Him by faith. No one has ever been saved except by the power of Christ. The Hebrews had preached in Babylon of Christ, the Redeemer to come. The king remembered their teaching, and from their message recognized the Son of God when he saw Him.

Incidentally, they seem in no hurry to come out of the fire. God provides air-conditioning where and when it is needed. They will be happy to stay there, if only they can walk and talk with Christ. To be with Him is sufficient reward for all the trials of earth! When we suffer for Him today, we too may enjoy His presence with us in the same way (see John 15:18; Isa. 63:9; James 1:2). You may think this is hard to believe. But you'll know it next time you are thrown into your "fiery furnace" for your faith in Christ; He'll make Himself preciously near to you as ordinarily you never know Him in times of peace.

This is the point of Daniel 3: will we believe that the Son of God shares our sufferings for His sake? Will He give divine courage to "stand up" when everybody else bows down? The apostle Peter collapsed when the test came to him (Matt. 26:69-75); in fact, all the eleven disciples ran away.

Many Israelites had been exiled to Babylon when Daniel and his three companions went, but none of them had the courage to obey God's Ten Commandments except these four! Granted, the three who faced the fiery furnace were terrified at the prospect of death by fire; but they sensed that they were called to honor the truth of God before the assembled leaders of an empire. He gave them courage, even if God should choose not to deliver them from death (Dan. 3:16-18; this was a selfless motivation inspired by agape). A similar final test will come to us all in the "mark of the beast" crisis (Rev. 13:11-17).

And so there is a beautiful illustrationof genuine faith in the story of the three Hebrews of Daniel 3 who were thrown into the fiery furnace. They told the insanely angry king that: the living God whom they served was "able" to deliver them from his power, but; it might possibly be that He would be unwilling to do so--they didn't know for sure--but if He were unwilling to deliver them they would serve Him nonetheless, and they would not cast contempt on His holy law by bowing down to his golden image.

In this way these three men demonstrated that their faith in God was the New Covenant kind, not the Old Covenant kind. (They probably had been studying the writings of Jeremiah!)

So here we find the two kinds of covenant-faith expressed in the 1888 message. The Old Covenant kind of "faith" is a counterfeit of the genuine: it's making a "bargain" with God. Old Covenant faith says," Lord, if You will deliver us, then we'll keep Your commandments." Sometimes preachers lead their people into Old Covenant faith when they tell them that if they take the initiative to "pay tithe," then God will bless them financially. New Covenant faith is a choice to pay tithe whether or not the Lord rewards us.

The New Covenant is God's out-and-out promises to His people, and their heart response is to believe and appreciate what He promises. His love, not fear, "constrains" them to loyalty and service (2 Cor. 5:14, 15). The Old Covenant is "bargaining" with God. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego rebuke us for that. Jeremiah promises (31:31-34) that the time will come when God's people graduate completely out of the Old into the living faith that is in the New. As God's people face the trials of the last days, their faith will mature into that of "the Lamb's wife"--a church that has grown up into that "measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Eph. 4:13). It's time for the New Covenant, now.

The good news is that right now worldwide the Holy Spirit is preparing, nerving, strengthening, and training willing people to endure the test. Fellowship with Christ in "fire" is precious, even today as we honor Him in school, in our community, at work, and at home.

--Paul E. Penno

Notes:
Pastor Paul Penno's video of this lesson is on the Internet at: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5vHqRQWHq0&list=PLsjY9Yfwx9Nx1uiXLl_c49fae41rrkgPO

"Sabbath School Today" is on the Internet at: http://1888message.org/sst.htm

RR

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

Lesson 2: From Jerusalem to Babylon

Sabbath School Today
With the 1888 Message Dynamic

Daniel
Lesson 2: From Jerusalem to Babylon

 

"In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim" sets the date for the beginning of the Book of Daniel. Jehoiakim's reign lasted seven years and in every respect was a disaster for himself and the people of Judah, and was the beginning of the end for the nation. The reformatory work done by Josiah was soon overthrown and the people returned to their pagan idolatry. The voices of the prophets Jeremiah and Habakkuk rose louder in response to the declining spirituality of the people, but their warnings went unheeded and were scorned. Rejecting the word of God and the work of the Holy Spirit through His prophets precipitated the crisis. The fast that Jehoiakim proclaimed in 607 B.C., perhaps superstitiously, did not effect any significant change in the people's hearts and minds.

When Nebuchadnezzar first marched against Jerusalem he ended up taking captives as well as certain sacred vessels from the Temple. King Jehoiakim had been bound in fetters with the intention of his removal from Judah to Babylon, but this was not done. Nebuchadnezzar decided to leave him in Jerusalem as a vassal to Babylon. However, all persons who were physically strong enough or in a political position in which they could foment an uprising, were carted off to Babylonian garrisons. Over three different deportations there were a total of 4600 of the highest ranking, best educated, and strongest people carried away by Nebuchadnezzar's army (Jer. 52:28-30).

We do not know how many of these people were considered "princes" of Judah who were placed in Nebuchadnezzar's special holding area in his palace, but we are told that they were "without blemish, well favored, and skillful in wisdom, knowledge and science." While living in Judah, even under the terrible conditions of war, some of these young men sought to be well prepared intellectually and spiritually for whatever was coming upon them.

When they were taken captive, all the young men were living in a completely immoral society where great confusion about who God is was rampant. But the four men that are brought into focus in the narrative--Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah--had especially dedicated their lives to the one true God of heaven and earth. Even though sin abounded in their country, God did not leave in the dark those who sought to know the truth. God is never without a witness and His word is never so abused or obscured that truth cannot be found and diligently studied.

How had their culture become so corrupt? They like us, live in a sinful world, and because our basic human nature "is enmity against God" (Rom. 8:7), we accept various sins as normal for the society in which we live. Hazy, indistinct ideas about what constitutes sin produces only a hazy, indistinct response to it when we're confronted by it. This is a major reason why there is so much apostasy and backsliding in the church, then and now.

Another example is Lot's children, raised in a completely immoral society they succumbed to sin's seduction and could not discern the danger when their father warned them to flee in the night to avoid destruction. They had been so influenced by the society in which they lived, through mind working upon mind during their daily associations, that the "natural" enmity they had for God was stimulated into action. We may shake our heads in disbelief over their wrong decision, but we are of the same mind. We await only convenient circumstances to demonstrate our willingness to also commit the same sin that we frown on in others.

Through our neglect to call sin by its right name, we are constantly compromising our moral convictions, convincing ourselves little by little that "sin must not be so bad" since the whole of our society is committing it without apparent condemnation. By our silence and lack of moral outrage when confronted by evil, we are in essence condoning those sins committed by our society.

When Daniel and his companions were confronted with the king's command to "eat from his table" food and drink that were not wholesome and included the flesh of animals sacrificed to pagan idols, an opportunity for a major compromise was presented to them. Those young men who had not shunned compromise while living in Judah were not likely to stand firm to principle in Babylon. However, Daniel's group, when they came face to face with this difficult problem, knew they could rely on God's teaching and His protection.

The lesson from Daniel chapter 1 is especially for us, showing us how we should be living. Daniel learned the message of righteousness while living among corruption and sin in Judah. That message was the only thing that could prepare him for the trials he faced. Just so, the message of Christ and His righteousness brought to us in 1888, and largely neglected ever since, is the only message that will prepare us to stand in the time of trouble.

In the near future when we are called upon to pass through challenging experiences, we will not be able to endure if we have not prepared ourselves before that time. We must have already obtained that spiritual "eyesalve" that Jesus wants us to receive from Him (Rev. 3:18). We must have already given up everything that impedes the power of the Holy Spirit to work upon our minds in guiding us during that "time of trouble such as never was" on the earth (Dan. 12:1). Voluntary self-control ("temperance in all things") must be the standard of our life. Control of appetite is the foundation of all self-control.

We are on the borders of the heavenly Canaan, and living in the antitypical fulfillment of the challenge that the children of Israel faced at Baal-Peor (Num. 25:1-3). If we open our eyes we will recognize the parallels between that day and ours.

"The last great day is right upon us. Let all consider that Satan is now striving for the mastery over souls. He is playing the game of life for your souls. Will there be sins committed by you on the very borders of the heavenly Canaan? ... Men that God has entrusted with noble talents will be, unless closely connected with God, guilty of great weakness, and not having the grace of Christ in the soul will become connected with greater crimes. This is because they do not make the truth of God a part of them. Their discipline has been defective, the soul culture has not been carried forward from one advance to another, inborn tendencies have not been restrained, but have degraded the soul. For all the natural weaknesses Jesus has made ample provision, that they may be overcome through His grace. If not overcome, the weakness will become a tyrant, a conqueror, to overcome them, and the heavenly light will become beclouded and extinguished" (Ellen G. White, Review and Herald, May 24, 1887).

God desires to shape our character through the things He allows to happen to us, whether accidents or disease or loss of wealth or death of loved ones, or as in the case of Daniel and his three companions, unjust captivity. Faith sees through and reaches through all these trials and tragedies, trivial or major. Through all that comes upon us to afflict us and make us miserable, we are to steadfastly look to Jesus and know that nothing in this earth can truly hurt us. "What shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ... No! In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loves us" (Rom. 8:35, 36 ff.).

--Ann Walper

Notes:
Pastor Paul Penno's video of this lesson is on the Internet at: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTkjC-hFkuM&list=PLsjY9Yfwx9Nx1uiXLl_c49fae41rrkgPO

"Sabbath School Today" is on the Internet at: http://1888message.org/sst.htm

RR

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

Sabbath School Today
With the 1888 Message Dynamic

Daniel
Lesson 1: From Reading to Understanding

 

Google has searched out, for all of us, enormous amounts of information; everybody's computer has become a university at your fingertips.

What does Daniel mean: "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased" (Dan. 12:4)?

It's obvious that the "increase of knowledge" comes in "the time of the end" when the book is unsealed; so the question is, is it knowledge of what the book of Daniel means, or is it secular Google-indexed knowledge in general?

"The time of the end" is a time when God's people are blessed with an "increase of knowledge." We have traditionally understood this to be scientific and engineering knowledge, which has indeed "increased" exponentially since the end of the 1260 years of papal oppression. But in its context, verse 4 is concerned with "turning many to righteousness" and becoming "wise" for eternal life. "He that winneth souls is wise" (Prov. 11:30). This "increase" has to do with understanding the gospel!

Fear of "the time of trouble" (admittedly, will be the worst in human history) is dissipated by this "increase of knowledge"--that's more than scientific knowledge. Only "perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18). In other words, the "increase of knowledge" is a clearer grasp of what the Son of God accomplished on His cross for "every man." This will be the truth that the fourth angel brings to lighten the "earth" in Revelation 18:1-4. Not only does it "cast out" fear, it also inscribes for deliverance one's name in the book of life and the book of remembrance that God keeps.

In the context of how Daniel 12 relates to the good news of Revelation 18:1-4 (lighting the earth with glory), one wonders if perhaps there is something good here that invites further study. God's people are not "holy" in and of themselves; it's Christ's righteousness, not theirs. If Daniel 12 relates to the final "loud cry" and if God's people are not "holy" of themselves, perhaps this "dispersal of the power of the holy people" has some good news in it. Ellen White, A. T. Jones, and E. J. Waggoner, all tried to tell us that when "the most precious" message of Christ's righteousness is preached to the whole world, the end will come!

Learn to "understand" the Book of Daniel. "And they that understand among the people shall instruct many" (Dan. 11:33). Here's the good news?

If you "understand" the Book of Daniel, you "will instruct many." The God of heaven who sent Gabriel to instruct Daniel will open doors for you to communicate to others, maybe to children and teenagers, the truths of Daniel. And what happens when you do that? Here's the answer: "they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever" (Dan. 12:3). You "instructing" others, and sharing the joy. The once-sealed Book is wide "open" now!

--Paul E. Penno

Notes:
Pastor Paul Penno's video of this lesson is on the Internet at: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6S_JZVbfhL8

"Sabbath School Today" is on the Internet at: http://1888message.org/sst.htm

RR

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz

Lesson 13: Leaders in Israel

Sabbath School Today
With the 1888 Message Dynamic

Ezra and Nehemiah
Lesson 13: Leaders in Israel

 

The biblical narrative is faithfully realistic and reports successes and failures. It records disappointments and shortcomings, putting leaders on alert and cautioning them against making the same mistakes that God's people made in the past. The successes and defeats of reforms are part of the biblical story. In the end, Ezra and Nehemiah are not heroes and models for long-term successful leadership. Though Ezra and Nehemiah were great leaders, the people were not great followers and hesitated to let God change their hearts and be their strength. Hence the short-lived reforms. Permanent reforms are possible only when humans continue to collaborate with the grace and power of God. This raises the issue of the role leadership played in our 1888 history.

Official correspondence in the Battle Creek archival files corroborates Ellen White's and A. T. Jones' testimony regarding the negative attitude of the most responsible leaders in Battle Creek toward the 1888 message. A. T. Jones said that "there was a secret antagonism always carried on." [1]

The letters of the General Conference Secretary, Dan T. Jones, illustrate how this attitude functioned. Although he was deeply prejudiced against the 1888 message and the messengers, a few weeks after Minneapolis the Holy Spirit impressed him with clear evidence that A. T. Jones was a true messenger of God.

It is phenomenal how good leaders could harden their hearts against what they clearly saw to be "credentials" of the Holy Spirit. We need to understand how this happened, for we today are in grave danger of repeating their history.

Dan Jones let his heart become hardened against the 1888 messengers, while during this same period Ellen White's attitude toward them became increasingly supportive. Here we see a mysterious ferment of the human spirit. As a responsible administrative officer, Dan Jones wrote to the leadership of the Missouri Conference, his home area. He communicated his mistaken judgment. There was an under-the-table kind of influence operating, the "secret antagonism" A. T. Jones spoke of:

"I think an Institute in Missouri would be a splendid thing; but I believe an institute on a quiet plan will be just as valuable to you as to make a great parade of it and get in ... Elder A. T. Jones and E. J. Waggoner. To tell you the truth, I do not have very much confidence in some of their ways of presenting things." [2]

The 1888 messengers probably never knew why their ministry was not welcome in Missouri.

Dan Jones' informative letters to G. I. Butler regarding developments at Battle Creek revealed the "antagonism" operating. He encouraged Butler in his opposition to the message:

"I have often thought of what you said to me last winter that the California fellows [Jones and Waggoner] would be on the editorial staff of the Review in less than two years. I should not be at all surprised if an attempt in that direction was made inside of that many months. But I feel sure that it would meet with very strong opposition." [3]

The "strong opposition" he anticipated erupted like a volcano within his own soul during the following winter of 1890. Waggoner one day announced in his Bible class that on the next Monday morning he would discuss the two covenants. He had been officially invited, even urged, to leave his work in California and teach in Battle Creek.

But when Dan Jones heard the news about the two covenants, he could not contain himself. He immediately took steps to stop Waggoner, appealing to Uriah Smith and even to Ellen White for support.

Jones and Waggoner were not welcomeat the Battle Creek headquarters. The tension was so sharp that it is easy to understand how Waggoner found himself sent to Britain in early 1892.

Uriah Smith's opposition to the 1888 message was logical, scholarly, and apparently reasonable. He wrote Ellen White on February 17, 1890 explaining why he could not receive it.

"As it looks to me, next to the death of Brother White, the greatest calamity that ever befell our cause was when Dr. Waggoner put his articles on the book of Galatians through the Signs. ..." [4]

Could it be that there are many "Uriah Smiths" in the church today, just as sincere and reasonable in their heart opposition to the light that in God's providence must yet lighten the earth with glory?

A deep heart enmity against the humbling message of Christ's righteousness made it possible for good brethren long ago to credit ill-founded rumors and distorted reports. Ellen White often compared the situation with the Jews opposing Christ.

It's too late now for our brethren of a century ago to dig deep enough into their souls to repent of rejecting the most significant outpouring of the Holy Spirit since Pentecost.

Thank God, it's not yet too late for us to do so, for we can easily see ourselves in them. With that we say goodbye to Ezra and Nehemiah for this quarter and welcome in the New Year with a study of the Book of Daniel.

--Paul E. Penno

Endnotes:
[1] Letter to C. E. Holmes, May 12, 1921.
[2] Letter to N. W. Alee, January 23, 1890.
[3] Letter, August 28, 1889.
[4] Letter of Uriah Smith, February 17, 1890.

Notes:
Pastor Paul Penno's video of this lesson is on the Internet at: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR-bU-meHxo

"Sabbath School Today" is on the Internet at: http://1888message.org/sst.htm

RR

Raul Diaz

https://about.me/raul.diaz