This is a tool for you to use if you lead a Sabbath School (SS) class or small group. It is keyed to the Bible texts used in the current week’s Adult SS Lesson and includes a brief story from current news you can use to introduce the discussion and then a series of discussion […] Source: https://atoday.org/sharing-scripture-for-february-2-8/
The Danger of Living Under Eschatological Pressure
by Arthur Sibanda | 4 February 2020 | I wrote letters with great urgency. I had to do my best to save everyone. It was July of 1998, and Pope John Paul II had just written an apostolic epistle called Dies Domini, that sought to encourage Catholics to rediscover the importance of the “Lord’s Day”—Sunday. […] Source: https://atoday.org/the-danger-of-living-under-eschatological-pressure/
Wednesday: Weighed and Found Wanting
Read Daniel 5:13-28. What is the reason Daniel gives for the soon-to-come demise of this king?
Forced by the circumstances, the king resorts to consulting Daniel, but he seems to do so with reluctance. This may tell more about the attitude of the king toward the God of Daniel than toward Daniel himself.
Image © Review and Herald Publishing collection at GoodSalt.com
In turn, Daniel’s response to the king’s offer of reward says a lot about Daniel’s priorities and character. It is also likely that Daniel, knowing the meaning of the mysterious words, realizes just how worthless the reward really is.
Daniel then indicts the king on three counts.
First, Belshazzar totally has ignored the experience of Nebuchadnezzar. Otherwise he would have repented and humiliated himself like his predecessor.
Second, Belshazzar has used the temple vessels in order to drink wine and to praise his idols. Here Daniel mentions the six kinds of materials used to make idols in the same order noted previously.
Third, the king has neglected to glorify God, the One “who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways” (Dan. 5:23, NKJV).
Having addressed the failures of the king, Daniel proceeds to the interpretation. Now we learn that the divine graffiti consists of three Aramaic verbs (with the first repeated). Their basic meaning should have been known to the king and his sages: MENE: “counted”; TEKEL: “weighed”, and PERES: “divided”.
With the Medo-Persian army at the gates of Babylon, the king and the sages must have suspected some ominous meaning in that writing, but the sages do not dare to say something unpleasant to the king. Only Daniel proves capable of decoding the actual message into a meaningful statement in order to convey its full meaning to Belshazzar: “MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it; TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting; PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians” (Dan. 5:26-28, NKJV).
Not exactly words of comfort and cheer.
| Judgment comes swiftly upon the king. How can we learn to trust God in cases in which, for the present, justice and judgment have not yet come? (See Eccles. 3:17, Eccles. 8:11, Matt. 12:36, Rom. 14:12). |
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(0)Adventists in Ontario, Canada, open their first “center of influence” relating to a secular society
From news release, 4 February 2020 | Adventists in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, recently opened their first “center of influence” in the province. The Really Living Centre was launched in the fall of 2019 at an opening ceremony with hundreds of church members and guests in attendance from across North America. A “center of influence” is […] Source: https://atoday.org/adventists-in-ontario-canada-open-their-first-center-of-influence-relating-to-a-secular-society/
HopeSS: From Arrogance to Destruction (February 8, 2020)
You can view an in-depth discussion of “From Arrogance to Destruction” in the Hope Sabbath School class led by Pastor Derek Morris. Click on the image to view:
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You may download an MP4 video file, and audio file or a PDF lesson outline from the HopeSS site.
With thanks to Hope Channel – Television that will change your life.
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