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Lesson 12.Earth’s Closing Events | 12.1 Loyalty to God and His Word
Lesson 12.Earth’s Closing Events
Faithfulness, Outpouring of the Spirit, and the Ultimate Call
In Lesson 12, we will delve into an extremely important topic: the last events of the Earth. The prophecy of the Bible gives us insight into the end-time events that will unfold in the near future. It is crucial that we understand these events as they will have a direct impact on our faith and daily lives. The Revelation of John, especially chapters 13 and 14, provides us with a detailed view of the events that will occur in the last days of humanity. We will closely examine the signs of the times and understand how we can personally prepare for them. The world as we know it is rapidly approaching a pivotal moment, and it is of utmost importance that we, as a believing community, remain vigilant and correctly interpret the signs of the times. Let us, therefore, together delve into the depths of the Holy Scriptures to understand the last events of the Earth and prepare ourselves accordingly.
12.1 Loyalty to God and His Word
The Power of Biblical Truth in the Great Controversy
Read Proverbs 23:2 and John 8:32; 17:17. What do these verses have in common?
The verses Proverbs 23:2 and John 8:32; 17:17 all share a common focus on truth. In Proverbs 23:2, it says: “When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is before you.” This verse warns against being seduced by false promises or deceptions.
John 8:32 says: “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Here, Jesus emphasizes the importance of truth in attaining freedom.
In John 17:17, Jesus says in His prayer: “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” Here, it is made clear that God’s Word is the source of truth, bringing salvation and redemption.
These verses teach us that faithfulness to God and His Word means recognizing and accepting the truth to be liberated from the deceptions of Satan. God’s Word is the source of truth that guards us against deception and guides us in His will.
Read 2 Peter 1:16–21. What assurance does the apostle give us regarding prophecy? What illustration does he use to demonstrate the importance of God’s prophetic word?
The apostle assures us in 2 Peter 1:16–21 that the prophecy in God’s Word is reliable and illuminates the path before us. He emphasizes that they are not “cleverly devised stories” but divine revelation. The illustration he uses to demonstrate the importance of God’s prophetic word is that of light shining in a dark place. Just as a light in darkness shows us the way, God’s prophetic word guides us and helps us distinguish between truth and error. Without the Bible, we would be subject to the whims of human opinions and could easily be deceived. The Holy Scripture is our protection against the influence of false teachings and the deceptive power of the spirits of darkness. Satan will use every means to prevent us from gaining knowledge of the Bible because the clear statements of the Bible expose his deceptions.
The final great deception will soon be revealed. The Antichrist will perform his great deeds before our eyes, and the counterfeit will be so similar to the genuine that only through the Holy Scripture will distinction be possible. In this final great confrontation, only those whose spirits are strengthened by the truths of the Bible will remain steadfast. Each of us must ask ourselves, “Should I obey God rather than men?” The hour of decision is approaching. Are we firmly standing on the rock of God’s unchanging Word? Are we prepared to take a clear stand for God’s commandments and the faith of Jesus?
Reflect on the questions in the above quote. What will enable us to endure in the last crisis? What prevents us from studying the Word of God? Where are we in danger of compromising truth for personal pleasure?
In the last crisis, our steadfastness will enable us to endure, based on the study and acceptance of the Word of God. Only through a deep understanding and a personal relationship with God’s Word will we be able to resist the deceptions and temptations of the last days.
Various factors can prevent us from studying the Word of God. The most common include lack of time, distractions by worldly affairs, lack of prioritization, and even spiritual lethargy. Sometimes, false teachings or misinterpretations of the Word hinder us from truly understanding and appreciating the Bible.
We compromise truth for personal pleasure when we allow ourselves to be tempted to distort or interpret God’s Word to suit our own desires and preferences, rather than submitting to divine truth. When we selectively interpret the Bible to justify our own behavior, we risk deviating from the truth and deceiving ourselves.
The connection between our daily life and our faith is evident in these lessons. Faithfulness to God and His Word, as well as the power of biblical truth in the Great Controversy, have immediate implications for our daily lives:
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Steadfastness in the last crisis: Our steadfastness in the last crisis is enabled by our understanding and acceptance of the Word of God. A solid knowledge of Scripture and a personal relationship with God through His Word will enable us to resist the temptations and deceptions of the last days. This means that our daily life is strongly influenced by our relationship with the Bible and our faith.
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Obstacles to studying the Word of God: Our daily life may prevent us from studying the Word of God. Lack of time, distractions by worldly affairs, lack of prioritization, and spiritual lethargy are common obstacles. Also, false teachings or misinterpretations of the Word can prevent us from truly understanding and appreciating the Bible. This underscores the importance of setting our daily priorities accordingly to make time for studying the Bible.
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Danger of compromising truth for personal pleasure: There is a danger of compromising truth for personal pleasure when we are tempted to distort or interpret God’s Word to suit our own desires and preferences, instead of submitting to divine truth. When we selectively interpret the Bible to justify our own behavior, we risk deviating from the truth and deceiving ourselves. This highlights the importance of being vigilant in our daily lives and being aware of how we understand and apply God’s Word.
Faithfulness to God’s Word is the rock on which our steadfastness rests in the storms of life.
Source: https://fulfilleddesire.net/lesson-12-earths-closing-events-12-1-loyalty-to-god-and-his-word/
That’s Not Samuel
For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Ecclesiastes 9:5.
When Saul inquired for Samuel, the Lord did not cause Samuel to appear to Saul. He saw nothing. Satan was not allowed to disturb the rest of Samuel in the grave, and bring him up in reality to the witch of Endor. God does not give Satan power to resurrect the dead. But Satan’s angels assume the form of dead friends, and speak and act like them, that through professed dead friends he can the better carry on his work of deception. Satan knew Samuel well, and he knew how to represent him before the witch of Endor, and to utter correctly the fate of Saul and his sons.
Satan will come in a very plausible manner to such as he can deceive, and will insinuate himself into their favor, and lead them almost imperceptibly from God. He wins them under his control, cautiously at first, until their perceptibilities become blunted. Then he will make bolder suggestions, until he can lead them to commit almost any degree of crime. When he has led them fully into his snare, he is then willing that they should see where they are, and he exults in their confusion, as in the case of Saul. He had suffered Satan to lead him a willing captive, and now Satan spreads before Saul a correct description of his fate. By giving Saul a correct statement of his end, through the woman of Endor, Satan opens a way for Israel to be instructed by his satanic cunning, that they may, in their rebellion against God, learn of him, and by thus doing, sever the last link which would hold them to God.
Saul knew that in this last act, of consulting the witch of Endor, he cut the last shred which held him to God. He knew that if he had not before wilfully separated himself from God, this act sealed that separation, and made it final. He had made an agreement with death, and a covenant with hell. The cup of his iniquity was full.26The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 2:1022, 1023.
Conflict and Courage p. 172
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Prayer Requests
—-Urgent prayer request for a very dear friend of mine. she hurt her back badly cant sit stand or walk. M
—-My niece Lindsey had biopsies three days ago for possible uterine cancer and is recovering at home. It went well, but she is in a lot of pain. They made 4 incisions and biopsied 3 places. She has a post op in 2 weeks and at that time we should know if anything else is going on. They said she is the youngest patient they have had in there. She’s only in her late 20s and just had a baby 8 or 9 months ago. Please pray for no cancer! Mary
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Dear Friends,
A few years ago, I was listening to someone was describe his experience of wading in the water of the Gulf of Mexico. It was the first time he had ever been to a body of water large enough to have waves. He said that he didn’t like the way the waves churned up sand from the bottom because it made the water so dirty. As he waded along the shoreline, his legs got covered with a layer of sand. He didn’t like that feeling, so he went out a little farther to wash it off, but the more he tried to rinse the sand off, the more he was covered. It was only after he got completely out of the water and walked over to a fresh water supply that he was able to get that sand off from his legs.
How true that is in our spiritual lives. As we partake of what this world has to offer, we become covered with sin. “We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” Isa 64:6 We don’t like our condition and long to be cleansed, but we cannot cleanse ourselves. We may attempt to wash away our iniquities and guilt, but if we don’t let go of our worldly thoughts and habits, we will become more and more covered with the dirt of this world. We can try to clean up the outside, but the inside is still the same.
How much we need the Water of Life Who can make us clean and pure inside and out. He pleads, “Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Isa 1:16-18
The disciple John assures us, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 Think of it! There is a way of escape from the sin-grains that cling to us! Our Dear Saviour is “the way, the truth, and the life.” John 14:6 On the way to Gethsemane He prayed, “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth….Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word.” John 17:15-20
May we come to our Loving Saviour for the cleansing that He so freely offers and allow Him to keep us “unspotted from the world” is my prayer. James 1:27
Rose
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The Great Controversy – Lesson 12.Earth’s Closing Events | Sabbath School with Pastor Mark Finley
