Daily Lesson for Sabbath 22nd of June 2024

Image © Pacific Press

Read for This Week’s Study

Revelation 22:11-12; Jeremiah 30:5-7; Psalms 91:1-11; Jeremiah 25:33; Revelation 21:2; Revelation 20:11-15.

Memory Text:

“And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away’ ” (Revelation 21:3-4, NKJV).

We can face the future with hope. Although challenging times are coming, whatever suffering we must go through, whatever hardships we must endure, whatever sorrows we experience, if we have hope a better day is coming, we can live life today with purpose and joy. Franklin D. Roosevelt was president during 1933–1945, one of the most difficult periods of U.S. history. He was paralyzed by polio and unable to walk unaided. He once wrote, “We have always held to the hope, the belief, the conviction, that there is a better life, a better world, beyond the horizon.” Albert Einstein, one of the world’s most brilliant men, wrote, “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.” Alfred Lord Tennyson, a popular English poet during Queen Victoria’s reign, once wrote, “Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering ‘It will be happier.’ ”

In this quarter’s final lesson, we will see Christ’s steadfast love during the most exciting time in the history of the universe and His complete triumph in the great controversy. The Bible’s last book, Revelation, gives us hope for today, tomorrow, and forever.

*Study this week’s lesson, based on chapters 39–42 of The Great Controversy, to prepare for Sabbath, June 29.

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Inside Story for Friday 21st of June 2024

By Andrew McChesney

Ukrainian national Vadym Krynychnny moved to Portugal to install air conditioners. Two decades later, he was ministering to the needs of Ukrainian refugees as the pastor of a Russian-speaking church in Spain.

What happened?

“We started with just a few members, but our church has become a center of influence for many,” said Vadym, 44. “This is a blessing from God.”

After leaving Ukraine, Vadym and his wife, Alina, established a successful air-conditioning business in Portugal and obtained Portuguese citizenship.

But 12 years into their new life, their path changed abruptly when they were asked to help a newly arrived family who didn’t speak Portuguese. Vadym and Alina invited the Russian-speaking family to attend church with them, and the family also accepted an offer to study the Bible together. Three months later, the family gave their hearts to Jesus in baptism.

Vadym and Alina were delighted, and they sought out more Russian speakers to help. In 18 months, they formed a house church of 20 people. Vadym preached every Sabbath, and Alina oversaw the music. “On Saturday evenings, we were exhausted from the day’s activities,” Vadym said. “But we were filled with an inexpressible satisfaction, joy, and happiness.”

The couple sensed that God was calling them to a new purpose. Their sole desire was to win souls for God’s kingdom. Closing their business, they moved to Sagunto Adventist College in neighboring Spain. Vadym graduated four years later with a master’s degree in theology.

Vadym formed a group of 20 Russian speakers that met every Sabbath afternoon for Bible studies while he worked as an intern pastor in Valencia, a city near the college. Visitors to the group were invited to church. Before long, about 10 visitors were attending church services regularly, and the Sabbath afternoon group kept growing. “We noticed that people had a need to gather with their own language group,” Vadym said.

When the number of Russian-speaking church members reached 26, a Russian-speaking church was born in Valencia with the support of the Adventist Church in Spain and the Inter-European Division, whose territory includes Spain.

“Our idea was to serve all Russian-speaking people, no matter whether or not they are Russian citizens, and to bring them to Jesus,” Vadym said. “God has abundantly blessed us in our mission.”

Your Thirteenth Sabbath Offering next Sabbath will help spread the gospel in the Euro-Asia Division, the home of many Russian speakers. Thank you for planning a generous offering. This mission story will conclude next week.

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Daily Lesson for Friday 21st of June 2024

As early as 1851, Adventist pioneers identified the second beast of Revelation 13:11-17 with the United States of America. But it must have been difficult back then to see how the United States could cause all the world to worship the first beast (Revelation 13:12). Even by the 1880s the entire United States Navy consisted of just forty-eight aging ships.

But since the end of the Cold War, no power matches the United States militarily. And though Americans have enjoyed wonderful freedoms, as times get harder, it’s not difficult to see those freedoms being trampled on—or even completely undermined. Many believe that even now we are seeing this happen.

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

“All who refuse compliance [in observing the false sabbath] will be visited with civil penalties, and it will finally be declared that they are deserving of death. On the other hand, the law of God enjoining the Creator’s rest day demands obedience and threatens wrath against all who transgress its precepts.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 604.

“As the storm approaches, a large class who have professed faith in the third angel’s message, but have not been sanctified through obedience to the truth, abandon their position and join the ranks of the opposition. By uniting with the world and partaking of its spirit, they have come to view matters in nearly the same light; and when the test is brought, they are prepared to choose the easy, popular side. Men of talent and pleasing address, who once rejoiced in the truth, employ their powers to deceive and mislead souls. They become the most bitter enemies of their former brethren. When Sabbathkeepers are brought before the courts to answer for their faith, these apostates are the most efficient agents of Satan to misrepresent and accuse them, and by false reports and insinuations to stir up the rulers against them.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 608.

Discussion Questions

1. Why is an understanding of last-day events so important in the coming crisis? How are the Scriptures a safeguard from deception?
2. Democratic societies worldwide have been bastions of religious freedom for centuries. How might that change rather quickly?
3. Look at Ellen White’s statement above. What choices are you making today that could result in your being with those professed Adventists tomorrow?
4. How does the second angel’s message change under the loud cry, and what personal preparation can we make for receiving the latter rain to finish God’s work on earth?

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Join the Hit the Mark panel as they discuss Lesson 12 – Earth’s Closing Events. It’s the fastest hour of the week!

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Daily Lesson for Thursday 20th of June 2024

The angel announcing the fall of Babylon has “great authority.” Like the angels of Revelation 14:1-20, this angel represents human messengers. This angel reveals the glory of God so fully that it illuminates the entire earth. The Greek word for authority or power in the New Testament is exousia. It often refers to Christ’s triumph over the principalities and powers of hell. Jesus uses this word in the gospel of Matthew in harmony with the sending out of His disciples. In Matthew 10:1, Jesus gives His disciples authority over the principalities and powers of hell.

Image © Review & Herald Publishing at Goodsalt.com

He sends them out with the divine power to be victorious in the battle between good and evil. In Matthew 28:1-20, He once again sends them out with “ ‘all authority . . . in heaven and on earth’ ” to “ ‘go therefore and make disciples of all the nations’ ” (Matthew 28:18-19, NKJV).

Filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, going forth with the authority of the living Christ who in His life and death triumphed over the principalities and powers of hell, the New Testament church lightened the earth with the glory of God. In a few short years, the disciples proclaimed the gospel to the then-known world (Colossians 1:23).

At the end time, the Holy Spirit will be poured out in unprecedented power, and the gospel will be spread rapidly to the ends of the earth. Thousands will be converted in a day, and God’s grace and truth will impact the entire planet. In this way, the world will be warned and the gospel, and the hope it offers, will be spread worldwide.

“The great work of the gospel is not to close with less manifestation of the power of God than marked its opening. The prophecies which were fulfilled in the outpouring of the former rain at the opening of the gospel are again to be fulfilled in the latter rain at its close. . . .

“Servants of God, with their faces lighted up and shining with holy consecration, will hasten from place to place to proclaim the message from heaven. By thousands of voices, all over the earth, the warning will be given. Miracles will be wrought, the sick will be healed, and signs and wonders will follow the believers.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 611, 612.

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