Lesson 13: IMAGES OF THE END

13.7 Questions

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Introduction

When we think about the great images of the end times, it’s not just symbols, timelines, or prophetic events that challenge us—it’s the questions Jesus asks. Questions that pierce the heart. He spoke of Nineveh, of Belshazzar, of the drying up of the Euphrates—not as distant stories, but as mirrors for His church today.

This lesson invites us into deep reflection: What does it mean to live in truth? How do we deal with spiritual heritage? And what truly keeps people—even in the church—from fully surrendering to Jesus?

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Answers to the Questions

Question 1: Consider Jesus’ statement that it will be more tolerable for Nineveh in the judgment than for God’s people who have turned away from the truth (see Matthew 12:39–42). What can God’s church learn from this warning?

“The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, a greater than Jonah is here!” – Matthew 12:41

Jesus’ words are striking. He compares repentant, pagan Nineveh to His own people—the religiously privileged. God’s people had more light, more revelation, more closeness to heaven. Yet they rejected it.

What can God’s church today learn from this?

The greatest danger for the church is not a lack of truth—but taking it for granted. When grace becomes routine, we lose our reverence. History teaches us: It’s not the amount of knowledge that saves us in judgment—but how we respond to it.

God’s warning to His church is: “Never lose your awe of grace. For to whom much is given, much will be required.”

Question 2: Note Ellen White’s statement that with each successive kingdom “history repeated itself” (PK, p. 548). What similarities do you see among the kingdoms mentioned in prophecy? In what way did they follow the same prophetic pattern? And how does our modern world follow that same path?

“With every succeeding kingdom, history repeated itself.” – Ellen White, Prophets and Kings, p. 548

What connects the prophetic kingdoms?

Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome—they all followed a pattern:

• Pride over humility

• Human power over divine authority

• Fleeting splendor over eternal values

They often began with sincerity, even divine calling (e.g., Cyrus), but with success came self-glorification. And eventually: the fall.

What about today’s world?

We see the same dynamics:

• Economy over truth

• Control over character

• Systems over meaning

The global order strives for unity—but without God. It’s a modern Tower of Babel—digitally connected, spiritually empty. Just like the kingdoms before, our world is heading toward a point where God will intervene.

Question 3: Consider the idea that it is often not the mind or intellect that keeps people from faith—but the heart. How might this insight shape the way you witness to others?

This is a deeply spiritual truth: Many do not reject faith because of lack of knowledge—but because of inner resistance. The intellect is often willing, but the heart remains closed. Pride, fear, hurt, control—all block faith.

How does this change our witness?

• Fewer arguments, more compassion

• Fewer debates, more prayer

• Not just “What do you know?”—but “How is your heart?”

To witness is not just to teach—it is to love.

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Spiritual Principles

• Knowledge brings responsibility. The more truth we have, the deeper our accountability.

• History is a mirror: Those who don’t learn from it will repeat it.

• Evangelism begins not in the mind, but in the heart.

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Application for Daily Life

• Self-reflection: Do I still respond to God’s Word—or have I become spiritually numb?

• Understanding the times: What parallels do I see between today’s systems and the kingdoms in prophecy?

• Heart-based witness: Meet people not just with Bible verses, but with compassionate presence.

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Conclusion

This lesson calls us to more than knowledge—it calls us to repentance. Like Nineveh. It calls us to humility—as Jonah eventually learned. It warns against pride—as Belshazzar ignored. And it shows hope—through Cyrus and through Jesus.

For the goal is not judgment—but salvation.

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Thought of the Day

Some nations barely know the truth—and repent.
But God’s people know the truth well—and hesitate.
True faith is not about how much you know.
But how deeply you allow yourself to be transformed.

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Illustration – The City of Mirrors

Chapter 1 – The Call in the City’s Heat

It was a hot late summer evening in Frankfurt. The city glowed—not just from the asphalt, but from the pace of life. Between investment banking, artificial intelligence, and political stability, everything seemed focused on progress.

Elisa Wolf, 33, was part of this system. A top-ranking lawyer, internationally active, eloquent, brilliant. Her specialty: constitutional law and religious freedom. Only one thing she had long left behind: the faith of her childhood.

One evening, after a live interview at the ARD studio on “The Future of Values in a Secular Society,” a quiet, older man approached her—white shirt, calm eyes.

“You speak well,” he said. “But do you believe what you say?”

“I speak about facts, not faith,” Elisa replied.

“Then you speak about shells,” he said, handing her a card. Only one word was written on it: Nineveh.

Chapter 2 – The Shadow of Nineveh

She couldn’t shake the card. That night, she dreamed: A golden city—bright, powerful—collapsed. Its towers made of data and law shattered. From the ruins rose one word: Mene, Mene, Tekel…

She found it again in the Bible—Daniel 5. King Belshazzar. The one who drank from holy vessels. The one who knew—but did not obey. Elisa was shaken: He was weighed and found wanting—because he had despised what was sacred.

She kept reading—and came across Matthew 12: “Nineveh will rise against this generation.”
She understood: Nineveh had less knowledge—but more humility. Israel had more light—but remained proud.

Suddenly, she felt exposed.
Was she like Belshazzar?
Had she known truth—and ignored it?
Was she like modern Israel—educated, religiously informed, but spiritually empty?

Chapter 3 – The City of Babel

At a conference center in Brussels, a panel of top lawyers, tech strategists, and ethicists met—theme: “Global Order in the 21st Century.”

Elisa was to speak on religious freedom—in a time when faith was increasingly viewed as a “disturbance.”

But as she read her speech, something in her shifted. Instead of her prepared words, she spoke spontaneously:

“The greatest danger to our freedom is not religion—but our arrogance in believing we can order what only God can sustain.”

A murmur went through the room. Then: silence. And then applause.
But Elisa knew: The applause was empty. Many heard—but none understood.

That night, she saw the city again. But this time, words burned across the sky:

“With every kingdom, history repeats itself.”

Chapter 4 – The Heart of the Matter

Back in Frankfurt, she spoke with her mother—a simple woman, still faithful, quiet, unnoticed.

“You have all the knowledge in the world,” her mother said. “But do you have peace?”

Elisa was silent.

“Faith doesn’t begin in the head. It begins where you finally become honest—before God. And before yourself.”

That night she went alone to a small Seventh-day Adventist church on the edge of the city. No big cross. No show. Just people, Bibles, silence. The sermon text: Isaiah 58.

“If you honor the Sabbath… you will find your joy in the Lord.”

She wept.
For the first time not from pain—
But from clarity.

Chapter 5 – The Answer

She began to keep the Sabbath—on the seventh day, as written. She canceled her Saturday contracts. Her firm didn’t understand. Her network turned away. But she found peace. New. Real.

She studied the prophecies of Daniel, Revelation 14. She realized: We’re not just living in a digital age—but in a time when Babylon is rising again.

• Systems are being built—without God.

• Kingdoms erected—against His Word.

• Truth replaced—by “tolerance.”
  But God will not remain silent forever.

And in the midst of it all, He calls:

“Come out of her, My people.” – Revelation 18:4

Source: https://fulfilleddesire.net/lesson-13-images-of-the-end-13-7-questions-allusions-images-symbols-living-faith/

June 28, 2025

DAILY BIBLE READING

Exodus 23 – Justice, Mercy, and God’s Guidance

Divine Order for Personal, Social, and Spiritual Life

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Bible Text – Exodus 23 (KJV)

1 Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.

2 Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment:

3 Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause.

4 If thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.

5 If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him.

6 Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause.

7 Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.

8 And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.

9 Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.

10 And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof:

11 But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard.

12 Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.

13 And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.

14 Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.

15 Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)

16 And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.

17 Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord God.

18 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning.

19 The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.

20 Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.

21 Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.

22 But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.

23 For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off.

24 Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images.

25 And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.

26 There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil.

27 I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee.

28 And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.

29 I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee.

30 By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.

31 And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee.

32 Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.

33 They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.

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Introduction

In Exodus 23, God speaks to Israel through Moses – setting a standard that goes far beyond external legislation. It’s not just about the “what” but the “how” of living a life of faith. The God of Israel demands a life marked by truth, mercy, justice – and a clear separation from idolatry. This chapter builds a bridge between human action and divine promise, between social justice and spiritual obedience.

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Commentary

1. Justice and Impartiality in Daily Life (verses 1–9)

• Do not support lies

• Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong

• Do not take sides out of pity or hatred

• Show justice toward the poor and the foreigner

Core message: True justice is not based on emotions, sympathies, or societal pressure. Mercy is required even toward enemies.

2. Sanctification through Sabbath and the Sabbatical Year (verses 10–13)

• Six years of work, one year of rest for the land

• Six days of work, the seventh is a Sabbath

• The names of other gods must not be mentioned

Core message: Sabbath and sabbatical years are signs of trust in God’s provision – they bless people, animals, and nature alike.

3. Feasts of the Lord – Remembrance and Gratitude (verses 14–19)

• Three main feasts: Passover, Feast of Weeks, Feast of Tabernacles

• No mixing of the sacred with the common

• The firstfruits belong to God

Core message: The feasts are God’s way of spiritually realigning His people, reminding them of deliverance and provision – and cultivating gratitude.

4. Promise of Divine Guidance and Driving Out Enemies (verses 20–33)

• An angel will go ahead of the people

• Warning against serving foreign gods

• Promises of health, fertility, long life

• Enemies will be driven out gradually

• No covenants with foreign nations or their gods

Core message: Obedience to God brings protection, provision, and victory – but only with complete separation from idolatry.

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Summary

Exodus 23 shows that God’s law encompasses far more than religious rituals – it governs social life, protects the vulnerable, upholds justice, and guards the heart against compromise with the world. God is a holy Lord, but also a caring Provider. He calls for faithfulness – and promises guidance and victory.

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Message for Us Today

• Justice begins in everyday life: In our words, decisions, willingness to help – especially toward the weak and even enemies.

• Rest is a command of faith: The Sabbath reminds us weekly of God’s creation, redemption, and provision – it’s more relevant today than ever.

• Spiritual compromise leads to confusion: When God’s people mix with worldly standards, true worship is weakened.

• God leads in stages: His deliverance is sometimes gradual – so that we grow spiritually and are ready to inherit the promise.

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Thought Impulse

Am I still willing to help my enemy, as God commands – or am I shaped by the spirit of the age?
How do I keep the Sabbath? Is it a burden, a routine – or a joy, as Isaiah 58 says?
Which “gods” – modern dependencies or ideologies – have quietly slipped into my heart?

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June 22 – 28, 2025

WEEKLY SPIRIT OF PROPHECY READING

Ellen G. White │ Patriarchs and Prophets – Chapter 13

The Test of Faith

Read online here

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Introduction

Abraham – the father of faith. And yet, his faith wasn’t a static possession, but a journey shaped by challenges, doubts, and divine tests. In Chapter 13 of Patriarchs and Prophets, it becomes clear: true faith proves itself not in the easy times, but in the difficult ones.

God tested Abraham with a command that is almost impossible to comprehend: “Sacrifice your son, your only son, whom you love.” This story is not just an ancient tale about a man long ago – it is a mirror reflecting our own journey of faith.

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Commentary

1. The Beginning of Doubt (Hagar and Ishmael)

• Abraham accepts God’s promise – but does not wait patiently.
• Sarah’s suggestion to take Hagar as a wife is a human solution to a divine promise.
• Consequences: unrest, jealousy, brokenness in the family, mockery, and rejection.

Lesson: When we replace God’s timing with our own methods, we create conflict, not solutions.

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2. God’s Promise Stands (Isaac is born)

• Despite human mistakes, God renews His promise.
• Isaac – the child of the miracle – becomes the center of the covenant.
• Ishmael and Hagar are sent away – with divine comfort, but not without pain.

Lesson: God’s plans prevail, even when we take detours. His faithfulness remains constant.

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3. The Great Test – The Sacrifice of Isaac

• Abraham receives the hardest command: Sacrifice your son.
• Inner struggle, silence, prayer – no excuses, only obedience.
• Isaac shows willing obedience – he is not forced, but trusts.
• At the last moment, God intervenes: a ram is sacrificed in Isaac’s place.

Lesson:

• Faith without works is dead (James 2:17).
• God tests to strengthen – not to destroy.
• Obedience is rewarded – even when we don’t understand everything.

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4. God’s Covenant and Prophetic Meaning

• God confirms His covenant with Abraham through an oath.
• The ram as a substitute offering prophetically points to Christ.
• Even angels gain deeper understanding of the plan of redemption through this scene (see 1 Peter 1:10–12).

Lesson: This story is a prophetic shadow of Golgotha.

God gave what Abraham did not have to give – His only Son.

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Summary

Chapter 13 shows: Faith doesn’t mean never doubting – it means trusting despite the doubts.
Abraham’s life is a journey from impatience to surrender, from human solutions to divine obedience.

The greatest evidence of his faith was not words, but action. And in that obedience, God’s grace is revealed: He saves – through a sacrifice He Himself provides.

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Message for Us Today

God doesn’t test to destroy, but to strengthen.

True faith is shown in action, not in talk.

Obedience to God may cost sacrifice – but it is never in vain.

God’s timing is better than our own impatience.

Our trust in God often becomes most visible when we understand the least.

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Reflection Question

What would you do if God asked something “incomprehensible” of you?

Are there “Ishmaels” in your life – human solutions trying to replace God’s promises?

How is your obedience shown today – even when no one sees it?

Do you know the God who provides “a ram” for you – the solution, when you are ready to trust?

Source: https://fulfilleddesire.net/28-06-2025-exodus-chapter-23-believe-his-prophets/