Key Thought: Genesis lays out the path that our world descended into sinful chaos. Nearly every concept mentioned in Revelation appears in the book of Genesis.
April 12, 2025

1. Have a volunteer read Isaiah 40:7,8, Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
2. What principle can you find in these texts that would help you in your study of prophecy?
3. Personal Application: If you don’t understand something in the Bible, or an apparent contradiction, how do you try to understand it properly? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states, “There are people that say the Book of Mormon or the Koran are perfect, bu the Bible has errors in it. They accept the Bible in part, but rely on their own writings as more perfect.? How would you respond to your relative?

2. Have a volunteer read Genesis 22:7,8; Exodus 12:3-13; Revelation 15:5-10.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. How does the story of Issacc’s son sacrifice help us understand how lambs are used symbolically? How does Revelation 5 tie into this?
3. Personal Application: Why is knowing that Jesus is our substitute so foundational to our salvation? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your friends states, “I can’t grasp Jesus’ love in dying for my sins, but also for all the sins of all the people who have done terrible things. Why would He sacrifice for the murderers, rapists, thieves, adulterers, and deceivers in the world? I don’t ever think I could have that kind of love.” How would you respond to your friend?

3. Have a volunteer read Genesis 2:15-17; 4:8-15; I Corinthians 15:150-19; Rev. 1:18.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What do these passages tell us about why people die, how God views death, and what His solution is for our problem?
3. Personal Application: If death had no solution, how useless, meaningless, and futile would our lives be? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your neighbors states: “No matter how a person lives, whether they follow Christ or not, whether they were good or evil; everyone speaks well of the dead and assure themselves they are in heaven. Why are people so self-deceived and in need of some positive assurance of an afterlife?” How would you respond to your neighbor?

4. Have a volunteer read Genesis 3:1-5, Revelation 12:1-9.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What are some of the common themes in each passage? How do these texts reveal some of the issues that led to the war in heaven?
3. Personal Application: How are the devil’s lies still being prologated in our culture today? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: Think of one person who needs to hear a message from this week’s lesson. Tell the class what you plan to do this week to share with them.

   (Truth that is not lived, that is not imparted, loses its life-giving power, its healing virtue. Its blessings can be retained only as it is shared. ”Ministry of Healing, p. 148).

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/2-the-genesis-foundation-teaching-plan/

Daily Lesson for Tuesday 8th of April 2025

The Bible’s first mention of a seh (Hebrew: a lamb) occurs in the same story as the first mention of love: Genesis 22:1-24. The lamb, of course, is one of the most persistent symbols found in the book of Revelation, in which Jesus is called “the Lamb” more than 20 times. In one of the most powerful scenes of Revelation—John’s visit to the throne room of God in chapters four and five—the Lamb plays the central role.

Image © Review & Herald Publishing at Goodsalt.com

The first mention of a seh (lamb) in the Bible comes in the form of Isaac’s question: “Where is the lamb?” (Genesis 22:7). Interestingly enough, the rest of the Bible answers that question in great detail. The other 38 books of the Old Testament lead the reader along a path where Isaac’s question is progressively answered with more and more details, from the Passover rituals to David’s early occupation and onward. The entire story is punctuated with countless Messianic prophecies that anticipate the answer to Isaac’s question. Then in the New Testament, the question is answered when Jesus appears in flesh and blood, ministers among His people, and finally sacrifices His life at the cross.

Meanwhile, look at the first mention of a Lamb in John’s Gospel, in John 1:29-34. It would almost seem as if John the Baptist is personally answering Isaac’s question, and the setting couldn’t be more apropos. Sinners are repenting and going under the water in baptism, symbolizing the death of the sinner and the beginning of a new life. In this context, Jesus, the Lamb of God, suddenly appears and, according to Matthew’s account, the heavens open to announce Him: “ ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’ ” (Matthew 3:17, NKJV). Notice how a voice, the Angel of the Lord, also announces from heaven the solution to Abraham and Isaac’s problem (Genesis 22:11-14).

When you weave all the threads together, it is clear that Jesus, the Lamb of God, is our Substitute. That sheds much light on our understanding of the slain Lamb in John’s vision.

<–Monday Wednesday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25b-02-isaacs-question-where-is-the-lamb/

Daily Lesson for Monday 7th of April 2025

Part of inheriting a sinful nature means that our perception of the universe has been tainted by our own propensities toward selfishness and pride. We see the world from our own limited perspective rather than from God’s omniscient one (obviously). Perhaps no concept has been more skewed by the sinful human race than that of “love.” Popular culture tends to promote an understanding of love that centers on self-fulfillment rather than on others. This self-centered approach to the subject makes it hard for us to understand how God views the subject.

Image © Kevin Carden at Goodsalt.com

Understanding the nature of love is an important key to understanding Bible prophecy. One of the key themes in the great controversy is the existence of a substantial misunderstanding about God’s character. Ellen G. White, after all, ends her summary of The Great Controversy by writing: “The entire universe is clean. One pulse of harmony and gladness beats through the vast creation. From Him who created all, flow life and light and gladness, throughout the realms of illimitable space. From the minutest atom to the greatest world, all things, animate and inanimate, in their unshadowed beauty and perfect joy, declare that God is love.”—The Great Controversy, page 678.

Occasionally, in addition to finding the first occurrence of a concept in the Bible, it can be useful to find the first mention of that same concept in individual books of the Bible—especially in the Gospels. In Matthew 3:17, Mark 1:11, Luke 3:22, and John 3:16, we find the first mention of “love” in each of the Gospels.

For example, the first mention of “love” in John (John 3:16) is particularly enlightening: it appears to allude to the story of Isaac on the altar. Abraham’s faith in God was such that he trusted Him, choosing to believe that God could raise his son if he went through with the sacrifice (Hebrews 11:19). It foreshadowed God’s love for the human race. He loved us to the point where He “gave His only begotten Son” (see Genesis 22:2,12,16)—and, then, raised Him from the dead. Thus, we are given a revelation of the kind of love, the self-sacrificing love, that God has for us.

<–Sunday Tuesday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25b-02-understanding-gods-love/

Daily Lesson for Sunday 6th of April 2025

Most academic programs begin with a general survey course (often given the number “101”), a course that covers broad and basic principles that will form the basis for further study as you dig deeper into the subject. Likewise, when you read through the entire Bible, you quickly discover that God also has a general survey course in the book of Genesis, where He introduces ideas that will be examined in more detail throughout the rest of the Bible.

Image © Kevin Carden at Goodsalt.com

Generally speaking, the first time a concept or symbol is mentioned in the Bible—particularly in the opening chapters of Genesis—you will discover that it establishes a general understanding of that concept, which will help you understand how it’s being used later on.

Some Bible students refer to this as the “law of first mention,” although it would more properly be labeled a principle (or a pattern) rather than a law, because it is certainly not ironclad, and there are many exceptions to the rule. The pattern that seems to emerge, both in general Bible study and in Bible prophecy, is that God slowly feeds His children information over time, beginning with a basic concept and then enlarging on it many times over the years, or even the centuries.

Much of the modern world speaks about “truthiness” instead of “truth,” because it is assumed that “truth” is a malleable thing that can change over time. Or, in some cases, the very concept of “truth” itself is deemed suspect.

When God establishes truth, however, He does not change His mind. Once He begins teaching His people truth, we can count on the fact that repetitions of the same biblical principle or theme do not change its meaning but, in contrast, shed further light on that meaning. It makes great sense in studying prophecy, therefore, to develop a good understanding of the book of Genesis, where you find many key concepts explained for the first time, and then take that foundational understanding with you as you explore the rest of the Bible.

<–Sabbath Monday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25b-02-the-principle-of-first-mention/

Daily Lesson for Sabbath 5th of April 2025

Image © Pacific Press

Read for This Week’s Study: Isaiah 40:7-8; Genesis 22:1-13; John 3:16; Revelation 5:5-10; 1 Corinthians 15:15-19; Revelation 12:1-9.

Memory Text:

“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’ ” (John 1:29, NKJV).

One of the key problems with modern interpretations of Bible prophecy, such as in Revelation, is that they fail to recognize the ancient roots of Revelation. The author assumes a knowledge of the Old Testament and uses concepts that would have been well-known to his audience. While searching the entire Bible for passages that resemble the text you are studying in Revelation is useful, there are also core texts that set the stage for understanding the book better than other texts do. This is particularly true of Genesis, which lays out the path by which our world descended into sinful chaos. Nearly every key concept mentioned in Revelation appears—in some form—in the opening chapters of the Bible.

This week, we are going to study a handful of big concepts at the core of Revelation. There are many, and so we will choose a few to illustrate the all-important point that understanding the ancient foundations behind Revelation enables the student to see countless nuances in the text, each of which can yield important lessons about the nature of humanity, of God, and of the conflict being waged in our universe and, thus, in our lives, as well.

*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, April 12.

Sunday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25b-02-the-genesis-foundation/