Daily Lesson for Monday 26th of May 2025

Much of the language in the book of Psalms is symbolic, but when it comes to the language that points forward to the ultimate resetting of our planet, we have little reason to believe that it is merely symbolic. Psalms 46:1-11 reminds us that the physical earth will be deeply affected by Christ’s return. But it is not merely the rocks and ocean that will be affected; the grand climax of earth’s history will mean the breakdown of worldly kingdoms—the miserable systems of human government that have caused so much suffering over the millennia.

In the end, all these powers, and all the evil and suffering that they have brought upon humanity, will come to a complete end.

Image © Review & Herald Publishing at Goodsalt.com

Bible prophecy shows us what will happen to this world. The vision of Daniel 7:1-28, for instance, shows us a stormy sea from which the nations of the world arise. The winds of strife and warfare blow across the Gentile sea (the earth), producing one worldly kingdom after another, and not one of them can solve the very real problems that beset the human race. The worldly leaders we dare to trust almost always prove to be as sinful and selfish as the rest of us.

None of the kingdoms shown to Daniel proved to be a secure home for God’s people (though some were better than others). But we know that we have citizenship in the kingdom of God (Philippians 3:20), and, high above the chaos of this planet, there is a throne that cannot be moved (see Ezekiel 1:26). Jesus taught that the world will move into deeper disorder as we approach the moment of Christ’s return (Matthew 24:1-51), but we can hold out in faith, regardless of the condition of our planet, because we know that God has not lost control, and that He will fulfill His promises: “The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved; He uttered His voice, the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge” (Psalms 46:6-7, NKJV). Short term, things are not going greatly nor will they. Long term? That—thanks to Jesus—is a whole other matter.

<–Sunday Tuesday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25b-09-hope-amid-turmoil/

Daily Lesson for Sunday 25th of May 2025

Psalms 46:1-11 appears to touch on a theme that we find in the book of Hebrews: that of something better. Jesus is better than the earthly high priest, His sacrifice is better than all the animal sacrifices, and the heavenly sanctuary is better than the types that existed on earth.

Image © Lars Justinen at Goodsalt.com

This psalm takes a different approach, however. The author is not taking good things and contrasting them with better things; he is contrasting a world in rebellion—and the terrible consequences it has brought—with promise of the better things that God is planning for us.

Indeed, this psalm is filled with hope and promise that, even amid the desolation and trial and suffering and wars that we face, ultimately we are to “be still, and know that I am God” (Psalms 46:10) and to rest in the assurance that one day all of this is going to end and that God “will be exalted in the earth” (Psalms 46:10).

Notice, too, what is written here. “Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea” (Psalms 46:2, NKJV).

One cannot help but be reminded of the scenes that will take place at the Second Coming: “Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place” (Revelation 6:14, NKJV). And this: “Looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat” (2 Peter 3:12, NKJV). Our present world, with all its attendant evils, isn’t going to last forever, and what comes afterward promises us something that our minds now can barely fathom. For now, though, we just need to hold on, persevering in faith and clinging to the revelation of God that we have, especially in Jesus on the cross.

<–Sabbath Monday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25b-09-a-very-present-help-in-the-time-of-trouble/