Join the Hit the Mark panel as they discuss Sabbath School Lesson 13 – Images of the End. It’s the fastest hour of the week!

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/images-of-the-end-hit-the-mark-sabbath-school/
Closer To Heaven
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Join the Hit the Mark panel as they discuss Sabbath School Lesson 13 – Images of the End. It’s the fastest hour of the week!
Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/images-of-the-end-hit-the-mark-sabbath-school/
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Daily Lesson for Thursday 26th of June 2025
When Cyrus sacked the city of Babylon, the years of captivity for God’s people were over, and the Persians permitted the Jews to return to the Promised Land and rebuild the temple. Under Cyrus, the Persian Empire became the largest in history, with what historian Tom Holland calls “the largest agglomeration of territories that the world had ever seen.”—Dominion (New York: Basic Books, 2019), p. 25.
As was the custom among the Persians, Cyrus was even called “the Great King” or “King of kings.”
Cyrus foreshadows what will happen when Christ returns for His church: He is the King who comes from the east (compare with Matthew 24:27), waging war against Babylon, and liberating His people finally to escape from Babylon and return to the Land of Promise. (See Revelation 19:11-16.) This is why God refers to Cyrus as “His anointed” (Isaiah 45:1, NKJV); not only did this famous Persian liberate God’s people, but his campaign against Babylon is also a type of Christ’s second coming.
The original order of Old Testament books has been changed in our day to end with Malachi, but originally, this is where the Old Testament ended—with this declaration from Cyrus. The next episode in the canon of Scripture would be Matthew, which begins with the birth of Christ, the antitypical Cyrus. Cyrus would orchestrate the rebuilding of the earthly temple; Jesus would inaugurate His ministry in the heavenly sanctuary, leading up to His return and our liberation.
Cyrus, of course, was not a perfect representation of Christ; no type lines up perfectly with antitype, and we must be careful not to read too much into every tiny detail. Nevertheless, he broadly functions as a type of “Savior.”
How fascinating that God would use a pagan king in such a marked manner to do His will. Despite how things appear to us on the outside, how can we learn the truth that, long term, the Lord is going to bring about end-time events as prophesied? |
Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25b-13-cyrus-the-anointed/
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Daily Lesson for Wednesday 25th of June 2025
One of Babylon’s strengths was the way that the Euphrates River flowed underneath its walls, providing the city with an unlimited supply of water. It also proved to be its weakness. Nitocris, an ancient Babylonian queen, had created earthen works along the river to develop it as a route to the city. In the process, she had diverted the river into a swamp to allow crews to work comfortably. Cyrus realized that he could do the same thing: dry up the Euphrates enough that he could comfortably march his troops under the wall. Once inside the city walls, he found the defensive walls that followed the river through the city unguarded, and the city fell in a single night. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus tells us that “those who lived in the centre of Babylon had no idea that the suburbs had fallen, for it was a time of festival, and all were dancing, and indulging themselves in pleasures.”—Herodotus, The Histories, trans. Tom Holland (New York: Penguin, 2015), p. 94. Can there be any doubt that this is the same feast as portrayed in Daniel 5:1-31?
In explaining how to discern the signs of the times, Jesus warned His disciples, “ ‘Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into’ ” (Matthew 24:42-43, NKJV). Just as in the fall of Babylon, the sudden appearance of Christ will catch modern Babylon by surprise. It does not need to be this way, however; we have been given ample evidence of the soon coming of Jesus in a multitude of detailed prophecies.
The world will not be caught by surprise merely because it is ignorant of what God has predicted; it will be surprised because it has chosen not to believe what God has said would happen.
Read Revelation 16:15. Even amid these end-time warnings, what gospel message is found there? What does it mean to not “walk naked”? |
Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25b-13-the-drying-of-the-euphrates/
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Join It Is Written Sabbath School host Eric Flickinger and this quarter’s author, Shawn Boonstra, as they provide additional insights into this week’s Sabbath School lesson.”
Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/13-images-of-the-end-it-is-written-discussions-with-the-author/
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View an in-depth discussion of Images of the End in the Hope Sabbath School class led by Pastor Derek Morris.
Click on the image below to view the video:
With thanks to Hope Channel – Television that will change your life.
Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/13-images-of-the-end-hope-sabbath-school-video-discussion/