For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. Colossians 1:19-20 NLT

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Why did God need to make peace with heaven? This verse right here may help us understand just how real the war in heaven was. Even after Lucifer was cast out, those who remained may have still had their doubts. Did God really love them, or did Lucifer have some good points about God just being a tyrant?

On earth Eve was convinced God did not care for her and she needed to eat the fruit and disobey, if she really wanted to be happy.

While all this was going on, is it possible some of the remaining angels in heaven still had some questions? Have you ever been loyal to a boss not because you thought he was fair, but because you did not see any way out? So out of fear you remained loyal to him, still wishing you weren’t in that situation? If so, what did it take for you to reconcile the situation so you could have peace at work and not just conformity?

When the Son of God died on the cross He was not just atoning for Eve taking a piece of fruit she was told not to. Eve’s disobedience was a symptom of her doubts. The Cross of Christ did not just take care of the symptoms of sin. The Cross took care of sin itself! The Cross removed all doubt about God’s love. All questions in heaven and earth are answered at the cross! There can be conformity while rebellion is still in the heart. The cross goes way beyond bringing us into conformity and outward obedience. The cross replaces our thoughts of rebellion with peaceful thoughts towards God.

That which alone can effectually restrain from sin in this world of darkness, will prevent sin in heaven. The significance of the death of Christ will be seen by saints and angels. Fallen men could not have a home in the paradise of God without the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Shall we not then exalt the cross of Christ? The angels ascribe honor and glory to Christ, for even they are not secure except by looking to the sufferings of the Son of God. It is through the efficacy of the cross that the angels of heaven are guarded from apostasy. Without the cross they would be no more secure against evil than were the angels before the fall of Satan. Angelic perfection failed in heaven. Human perfection failed in Eden, the paradise of bliss. All who wish for security in earth or heaven must look to the Lamb of God.-Ellen White, Signs of the Times, December 30, 1889

Some have the idea that once we get to heaven, God will flip a little switch in the back of our heads that makes us stop sinning. After all, we will be in heaven and so we automatically won’t sin, right?

Wait. Where did sin begin? Heaven!

The reason why humans and angels will not sin, is the same reason why God reconciled both heaven and earth to Himself. The cross of Jesus. The cross cures the root cause of sin which is doubting God’s love. The reason there will be no sin in heaven is not due to a mechanical correction that the flip of a switch will fix. The reason there will be no sin in heaven will be because the cross will cure humans and angels alike from ever doubting God’s love, and thinking we need anything God has not given us. There will be no reason to rebel.

Rules without relationship causes rebellion. The love of Christ on the cross removes our fear of God, so we are not afraid to have an intimate relationship with Him. With our relationship cured, we will have no reason to rebel. We won’t be conformists. We will be free-thinking moral agents who are at peace with God because God is love.

Amen!(1)

The post Why Did Heaven Need to be Reconciled? first appeared on Sabbath School Net.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/why-did-heaven-need-to-be-reconciled/

Key Thought: Regardless of its intensity or time span, the most important aspect of the struggle was that Satan and his angels were defeated. They continued the warfare here on the earth.
October 1, 2022

1. Have a volunteer read I John 4:11-16.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
2. What does this passage tell us about free will as a condition to cultivating love?
3. Personal Application: What does the idea of God is love tell us about the nature of His creative activities?. Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states, “When I look at parts of nature, I can see the manifest love ofr God, but other parts of nature don’t seem to show love, but death and destruction. How can I trust in the consistency of God’s love?” How would you respond to your relative?

2. Have a volunteer read Ezekiel 28:12-19.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What can we learn about the mysterious origin of sin?
3. Personal Application: How can focusing on giving thanks in everything help to overcome feelings of self-pity and depression? Share your thoughts
4. Case Study: One of your friends states, “God has given us free will, but with free will comes devastating consequences. If one person’s free will infringes on the rights, safety, and security of someone else, how can we accept that as love when others can get hurt?” How would you respond to your friend?

3. Have a volunteer read Isaiah 14:12-15.

1. Ask class members to share a short
2. What far-reaching consequences did Lucifer’s pride while in heaven bring to the world and the universe
3. Personal Application: Why is it so easy to be proud or boastful of our achievements or positions? How does keeping the cross before us keep us humble? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your neighbors states: “Why didn’t God stop Lucifer’s rebellion in heaven when it started to prevent all the future death, destruction, and misery in the world for over 2,000 years?” How would you respond to your relative?

4. Have a volunteer read Revelation 12:3,4.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What does it mean the dragon’s tail drew a third part of the stars in heaven and cast them to the earth?
   (Note: Read Isaiah 9: 14,15.)
3. Personal Application: What are some ways you see this battle playing out on the earth? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: Think of one person who needs to hear a message from this week’s lesson. Tell the class what you plan to do this week to share with them.

(Truth that is not lived, that is not imparted, loses its life-giving power, its healing virtue. Its blessings can be retained only as it is shared.”Ministry of Healing, p. 148).

Amen!(0)

The post 1: Rebellion in a Perfect Universe – Teaching Plan first appeared on Sabbath School Net.

The post 1: Rebellion in a Perfect Universe – Teaching Plan appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/1-rebellion-in-a-perfect-universe-teaching-plan/

Read Revelation 12:1-20. What does this chapter teach about the spread of the rebellion in heaven to the earth?

The fall of Lucifer was not a simple clash of conflicting ideas. Revelation 12:1-20 tells us that a major war broke out in heaven between Lucifer and his angels on one side and Christ and His angels on the other. In this passage, Lucifer is called “the great dragon,” the “serpent of old,” “the Devil and Satan,” and “the accuser of our brethren” (Revelation 12:9-10, , NKJV). Christ is referred to as “Michael” (Revelation 12:7), which means “who is like God.”

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Based on the allusion to “Michael the archangel” (Jude 9), some interpreters believe that He is only an angelic being. But in the book of Daniel, each major vision culminates with Christ and His everlasting kingdom — as the stone cut out without hands (Daniel 2:34, Daniel 2:45), as the Son of man (Daniel 7:13), as the Prince of the host and the Prince of princes (Daniel 8:11, Daniel 8:25), and as Michael the great prince (Daniel 12:1). So, as the Angel of the Lord is the Lord Himself (Exodus 3:1-6, Acts 7:30-33, etc.), Michael must be the same Divine Person, i.e., Christ Himself.

Revelation 12:1-20 provided a general overview of this ongoing controversy, which 1. began in heaven with the rebellion of Lucifer and one-third of the heavenly angels, 2. culminated with Christ’s decisive victory at the cross, and 3. still continues against God’s end-time remnant people.

Reflecting on the beginning of this controversy, Ellen G. White explains that “God in His great mercy bore long with Lucifer. He was not immediately degraded from his exalted station when he first indulged the spirit of discontent, nor even when he began to present his false claims before the loyal angels. Long was he retained in heaven. Again and again he was offered pardon on condition of repentance and submission.” — Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, Pages 495, 496.

We do not know how long that war lasted in the heavenly realms. Regardless of its intensity and time span, the most important aspect of the whole struggle was that Satan and his angels “were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven” (Revelation 12:8, NRSV; see also Luke 10:18). The problem, of course, was that they came here, to the earth.

<–Wednesday Friday–>

Amen!(1)

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/thursday-spread-of-unbelief/