Please join us for an inspiring worship service with the Pathfinder teams participating in the 2025 PBE finals. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGYdTEf-a7w
Allusions, Images, Symbols – Lesson 5.The Nations: Part 2 | Sabbath School with Pastor Mark Finley
Series: ALLUSIONS, IMAGES, SYMBOLS
With Pastor Mark Finley
Lesson 5: 
The Nations, Part 2
God’s Sovereignty over the Kingdoms of the Earth
Introduction
The history of the world is not a chaotic game of powers – it is the stage on which God’s eternal plan unfolds. In this lesson, we see how human kingdoms fade away, while God’s kingdom stands on an everlasting foundation. From the fall of Babylon to the emergence of God’s final people, prophecy shows us that God’s will prevails despite turmoil and upheavals. Trusting in His Word, we discover hope beyond all uncertainties.
Memory Text:
“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
— Psalm 46:10
Content:
5.1 The Very First Commandment
Humanity’s First Test of Obedience
In the Garden of Eden, God not only granted freedom but also set a clear boundary – out of love. The command not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge was meant to protect, not restrict. Even today, we face decisions about whom we listen to in the “garden” of our lives.
5.2 Daniel 2
From Gold to Ashes—God’s Kingdom Endures
The statue made of gold, silver, bronze, and iron reveals the decline of human kingdoms. Despite all human achievements, the world remains filled with conflict. Yet at the end stands the “stone cut without hands” — a symbol of God’s eternal kingdom — replacing all earthly powers.
5.3 Daniel 7
Tumultuous Seas and the Unshakable Kingdom of God
Monstrous beasts rise from stormy waters — a vivid image of human violence and chaos. In the midst of it all, God calls us to hope in His eternal, just kingdom rather than earthly rulers.
5.4 Between Land and Sea
Land of Hope, Sea of Turmoil
Land symbolizes divine stability, while the sea represents human unrest. In Revelation 12–13, we see God’s people finding refuge — yet prophecy warns: even apparent havens can change. Only those who trust in God remain truly secure.
5.5 Prophesy Again
The Final Message to a Dying World
The remnant church receives the call to “prophesy again,” warning the world and preparing it for Christ’s soon-coming kingdom. Both land and sea will bear witness that God’s light pierces the darkness.
5.6 Summary
God’s Plan Amid the Kingdoms of This World
From Eden to the end times, prophecy shows us: human kingdoms falter, but God’s plan stands firm. Rather than relying on earthly securities, God calls us to be bold, faithful witnesses of His coming kingdom — full of courage and hope.
Sunday: The Very First Commandment
Daily Lesson for Sunday 27th of April 2025
The Garden of Eden was a classroom for God’s first people, a place where their interaction with the creation would endlessly teach them and their offspring more about the Creator. “The holy pair were not only children under the fatherly care of God,” Ellen G. White pointed out, “but students receiving instruction from the all-wise Creator. . . . The mysteries of the visible universe—‘the wondrous works of Him which is perfect in knowledge’ (Job 37:16)—afforded them an exhaustless source of instruction and delight.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, Pages 50, 51.
Read Genesis 2:9-17. What was the first command, a prohibition, that God gave to humanity, and why was it so important?
Image © Review & Herald Publishing at Goodsalt.com
The first use of the root verb tswh, “to command,” that God gave to humans was in Genesis 2:16-17, the command not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. How can some knowledge be forbidden? Isn’t it always useful to experience and to know more?
Not according to Scripture: God was intent on educating His people thoroughly while sparing them from the long-term suffering that some knowledge would cause, such as what would later happen when people chose to rule themselves rather than to be ruled by the Lord Himself.
Millennia later, when Israel asked for a king, the Lord laid out the consequences (as we discovered last week), and He informed His people that the decision to step away from His direct rule would last until the end of time.
As the kings of Israel became progressively more wicked, God’s covenant people became so worldly and so removed from their purpose that He gave them even more of what they wanted: human government.
Approaching the book of Daniel with this background in mind can be enlightening. Not only is the march of empires depicted in the book’s visions an indictment of “the nations”—the Gentiles—it is also an indictment of Israel’s failures, their refusal to follow His _mitswot _(commandments). Centuries of subjection, instead of the freedom first given in Eden, would become a new classroom in which willing hearts could witness the striking contrast between the kingdoms of this world and God’s kingdom.
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Think about the kinds of knowledge, even now, that many of us would be better off not knowing. How does this help us understand what was forbidden in Eden? |
(1)Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25b-05-the-very-first-commandment/
God First: Your Daily Prayer Meeting #985
"If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer" (Matthew 21:22, NIV).
Tag someone in need of prayer, and kindly share your prayer requests here:
https://wkf.ms/3DBuapQ 🎙️ New to streaming or looking to level up? Check out StreamYard and get $10 discount! 😍 https://streamyard.com/pal/d/4769477732859904 Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9lhRiUZdGU
Y con Francisco, muere otra vez la Ley Dominical
Se fue el papa jesuita, de los grandes titulares como “el papa del fin del mundo”, de los muchos planes de reforma para su iglesia; quien llegó al poder en medio de los escándalos de abuso sexual de sacerdotes católicos, que hicieron renunciar a Benedicto XVI. Y que, sin lugar a dudas, el pontificado del […] Source: https://atoday.org/y-con-francisco-muere-otra-vez-la-ley-dominical/
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