Within Scripture, one can see two major predominant themes or motifs that are competing with each other. One is the theme of Salem, Mount Zion, Jerusalem, and the New Jerusalem, which represents God’s kingdom. The other is the theme of Babel and Babylon, which stands for Satan’s counterfeit domain. Several times God called His people out of pagan Babylon to serve Him in the Promised Land.

For example, Abram (later Abraham) was asked to move from Ur of the Chaldees to the land of Canaan (Genesis 11:31-12:9).

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At the end of their long exile, the Jews left Babylon and returned to Jerusalem (Ezra 2:1-70). And in the book of Revelation, God’s people are called out of end-time Babylon (Revelation 18:4) to abide with Him eventually on Mount Zion and the New Jerusalem (Revelation 14:1; Revelation 21:1-3, Revelation 21:10).

Read Isaiah 14:12-15. What far-reaching consequences did Lucifer’s pride while in heaven bring to the universe and to this world?

In the Bible, the city of Babylon stands for a power in direct opposition to God and His kingdom; and the king of Babylon (with special allusion to Nebuchadnezzar) becomes a symbol of pride and arrogance. God had revealed to King Nebuchadnezzar that Babylon was only the gold head of the great image of successive empires (Daniel 2:37-38). Challenging God’s revelation, the king made an image entirely of gold — a symbol that his kingdom would last forever — and even required everyone to worship it (Daniel 3:1-30). As in the case of the king of Tyre (Ezekiel 28:12-19), the king of Babylon also became a symbol of Lucifer.

Isaiah 14:3-11 describes the fall of the haughty and oppressive king of Babylon. Then, Isaiah 14:12-15 moves from the historical realm to the heavenly courts and highlights that a similar proud and arrogant spirit generated the original fall of Lucifer. The text explains that Lucifer planned to exalt his throne above all heavenly hosts and make himself “like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:14). This was the beginning of a new and hostile situation in which God’s altruistic love and cooperation would be challenged by Lucifer’s selfishness and competition. The enemy was not afraid of accusing God of what he himself was and of spreading his lies to other angels. Here are the mysterious origins of evil in the universe.

<–Tuesday Thursday–>

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The post Wednesday: The Price of Pride first appeared on Sabbath School Net.

The post Wednesday: The Price of Pride appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/wednesday-price-of-pride/

Read Ezekiel 28:12-19. What can we learn from this passage about the mysterious origin of sin?

Much of the book of Ezekiel was written in end-time symbolic language. In many instances, specific entities (like persons, animals, and objects) and local events are used to represent and describe broader cosmic and/or historical realities. In Ezekiel 28:1-10, the Lord spoke of the king of Tyre (Tyre itself was a prosperous ancient Phoenician port city) as a rich and proud ruler who was only a “man” but who claimed to be a god and who even sat (he claimed) in the throne of the gods.

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Then, in Ezekiel 28:12-19, this historical reality becomes an analogy to describe the original fall of Lucifer in the heavenly courts. So, the king of Tyre, who was a human being living “in the midst of the seas” (Ezekiel 28:2, Ezekiel 28:8, NKJV), now represents “the anointed cherub who covers,” (Ezekiel 28:14, NKJV) living “in Eden, the garden of God,” (Ezekiel 28:13, NKJV) and “on the holy mountain of God” (Ezekiel 28:14, NKJV).

A crucial statement in the whole account is found in Ezekiel 28:15, which says, “You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you” (NKJV). Hence, and importantly, Lucifer’s perfection included the potential for evil, the potential to do wrong, and that was because, as a moral being, Lucifer possessed free will, part of what it means to be a perfect being.

In reality, Lucifer was created perfect — which included his ability to choose freely. However, abusing that perfection by the misuse of his free will, he became corrupted by considering himself more important than he actually was.

No longer satisfied with how God had created and honored him, Lucifer lost his thankfulness to God and wished to receive more recognition than he actually deserved. How this could happen with a perfect angelic being living in a perfect universe is, as already mentioned, a mystery.

“Sin is a mysterious, unexplainable thing. There was no reason for its existence; to seek to explain it is to seek to give a reason for it, and that would be to justify it. Sin appeared in a perfect universe, a thing that was shown to be inexcusable.” — Ellen G. White, The Truth About Angels, p. 30.

<–Monday Wednesday–>

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The post Tuesday: Mysterious Ingratitude first appeared on Sabbath School Net.

The post Tuesday: Mysterious Ingratitude appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/tuesday-mysterious-ingratitude/