Daily Lesson for Friday 25th of April 2025

Further Thought: Read Isaiah 44:24-28; Isaiah 45:1-13.

“Little by little, at first in stealth and silence, and then more openly as it increased in strength and gained control of the minds of men, ‘the mystery of iniquity’ carried forward its deceptive and blasphemous work.

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

Almost imperceptibly the customs of heathenism found their way into the Christian church. The spirit of compromise and conformity was restrained for a time by the fierce persecutions which the church endured under paganism. But as persecution ceased, and Christianity entered the courts and palaces of kings, she laid aside the humble simplicity of Christ and his apostles for the pomp and pride of pagan priests and rulers; and in place of the requirements of God, she substituted human theories and traditions. The nominal conversion of Constantine, in the early part of the fourth century, caused great rejoicing; and the world, cloaked with a form of righteousness, walked into the church. Now the work of corruption rapidly progressed. Paganism, while appearing to be vanquished, became the conqueror. Her spirit controlled the church. Her doctrines, ceremonies, and superstitions were incorporated into the faith and worship of the professed followers of Christ.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, Pages 49, 50.

In line with the question at the end of Wednesday’s study, are we not all in danger, especially the longer we are here, of setting “aside the humble simplicity of Christ and his apostles” for the pomp, power, accolades, and temptations of the world? If we think we’re not, we are fooling ourselves.

Discussion Questions

<–Thursday

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25b-04-further-thought-the-nations-part-1/

Daily Lesson for Thursday 24th of April 2025

The primary purpose for which God established the nation of Israel was not to condemn the rest of the world but to save it. Certainly, most of us feel condemned when we are confronted by righteous behavior in someone else; so the existence of Israel also served to highlight the sin and selfishness of the nations around it. Believers living in harmony with God highlight His righteous character, which naturally leads to conviction. Ideally, the lives of people who “keep the commandments of God” (Revelation 14:12) should showcase His character.

Image © Pacific Press at Goodsalt.com

However, had the Israelites acted as they should have and done what they had been told to do, the nations would have come to them in peace, seeking to know more about them and their God. Tragically, as the Babylonian captivity showed, these nations came to wage war instead.

The ultimate showcase of God’s character, of course, was Jesus—the only human who has perfectly demonstrated it. But His perfect example, which certainly brought conviction to hearts, was intended as an invitation (see John 3:16-21).

The ultimate purpose for establishing the nation of Israel was the same as God’s purpose in establishing the church: He longs to use His people to draw sinners toward Christ. The call of the three angels’ messages, delivered through His church, goes out, not to a select few but to “every nation, tribe, tongue, and people” (Revelation 14:6, NKJV). Revelation 18:1 predicts that the whole earth will be lighted up with the glory of God prior to Christ’s return.

What do the following passages teach us about God’s intended role for His people in this world? How can we apply these principles to ourselves?

<–Wednesday Friday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25b-04-a-light-to-the-gentiles/

Join the Hit the Mark panel as they discuss Lesson 4 – The Nations: Part 1. It’s the fastest hour of the week!

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/the-nations-part-1-hit-the-mark-sabbath-school/

Daily Lesson for Wednesday 23rd of April 2025

God’s dealings with Israel provide rich insights into His dealings with the New Testament church. In fact, in many ways, the nation of Israel served to foreshadow the errors of the church. Far from being able to claim any kind of superiority to ancient Israel, Christians have been, and still are, very much susceptible to the same temptations.

Image © Pacific Press at Goodsalt.com

Israel asked for a human king, a request that led to the moral downfall of the nation. The kings became progressively more wicked until God allowed the Babylonians to take His people captive as a matter of course correction.

Something similar happened in the history of the Christian church. Even though they were not to structure themselves like a Gentile nation, when Constantine came to power and professed to be a Christian, believers were relieved—persecution was now ended! That in itself was a blessing, but then it occurred to the church that they might be able to leverage the power of the emperor to their own advantage.

Several major disputes broke out among Christians in the fourth century, and when the church found itself incapable of resolving them, it allowed the emperor to intervene. Gradually the bishop of Rome rose in prominence, where he had once been one senior bishop among equals. The church allowed the state to intervene in the religious matters, and once the state had a foot in the door, things went from bad to worse.

Like Israel of old, many of the darkest chapters in Christian history are the direct result of the church compromising with the world. Where Israel turned to idol worship and her kings were corrupted by their appetite for power—to the point of offering children to idols—the church gradually adopted many of the means and methods of a pagan empire to the point that many faithful believers were martyred because they were perceived as threats to the church-state institution.

<–Tuesday Thursday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25b-04-the-rulers-of-the-gentiles/

Several years ago, I read Cowan and Kuenster’s compelling yet depressing book To Sleep With the Angels: The Story of a Fire. It was about a horrific fire where a Catholic school burned, and 92 students and three teachers perished. The book investigated all the things that went wrong that day. For example, the Mother Superior was substituting in the Kindergarten room, unaware that the rest of the school was on fire. The problem was that only Mother Superior could call for an evacuation, so several teachers kept their students in their smoke-filled rooms waiting for Mother Superior’s permission to evacuate. Finally, after it was too late, the teachers decided to go ahead and evacuate even though they did not have her permission. 

Free-to-use photo from Pixaby.com

As I read this book, I could not help but be amazed at a hierarchy system that would not allow the students and teachers to think and act for themselves, causing them to lose their lives! I thought that many in that type of hierarchical system will burn in the lake of fire simply because they trusted in the hierarchy instead of studying the Bible for themselves. 

The doctrine that God has committed to the church the right to control the conscience, and to define and punish heresy, is one of the most deeply rooted of papal errors.-Ellen White, The Great Controversy, Page 293. 

While reading about a Catholic School, I realized many wonderful Catholics are reading their Bibles and finding Bible truth. I recognize also that while spiritual Babylon is a specific system, it is also an attitude. It’s the attitude of those at the tower of Babel and later in Daniel 4. It is the Babylonian king who thought he was saved by his mighty power, when he said, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and the honor of my majesty?” Daniel 4:30 NKJV So I see all down through the ages, Babylon is an attitude, and that attitude can be found anywhere, including our hearts. So the call out of Babylon is more than just a call out of a papal system. It is a call out of a hierarchy-based mindset. That mindset goes back way before the papacy. It was in the church of Christ’s day, and that is why He had to call His disciples out of that mindset when He told them, 

“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.  And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—  just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:25-28 NKJV

This tells me the call out of Babylon in Revelation 18 may involve more than just a few doctrines on the Sabbath and the state of the Dead. I may be called out of a legalistic or authoritarian Babylonian mindset into a whole new way of thinking. 

After these things, I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory. And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird! For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.” Revelation 18:1-4 NKJV

The call out of Babylon is a call out of a false system of worship. This false worship is more than a false day of worship. It also worships a false god called “legalism,” better known as “our works.” It is also a calling out of a false hierarchical system that is based on humans assuming the prerogative of God to compel the conscience of those  “under them” to act and worship a certain way. And it is a calling out of complying with the direction of people in positions of power to do things that are against the principles of the Bible, which asks us to worship God alone, and allow Him to guide our conscience instead of man.

We are not just called out of false churches. No matter what church we attend, we need to come out of a false way of thinking into a new mindset. We are called out of the hierarchical system of not only the papal mindset but also the mindset of the Babylonians and the religious leaders in Christ’s day. We are called out of the mindset of becoming dictators into the mentality of servants serving God and others the way Christ served His Father and others. And we are called out of placing man in the place of God Himself. 

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/called-out-of-a-babyonian-mindset-into-a-christ-centered-mindset/