Image © Pacific Press

Sabbath Afternoon

Read for This Week’s Study: Revelation 12:1-17; Ephesians 5:25-27, Ephesians 5:32; Philippians 3:9; Daniel 7:25; Isaiah 14:12-14; Revelation 13:14-17.

Memory Text: “And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 12:17, NKJV).

In Outnumbered: Incredible Stories of History’s Most Surprising Battlefield Upsets, Cormac O’Brien recounts the stories of armies that, though seriously outnumbered, still won. It tells of Hannibal’s army of 55,000 soldiers, from Carthage, defeating the “invincible” Roman army of 80,000 strong. It tells the amazing story of Alexander the Great’s Greek army defeating the empire of Persia.

We, too, are in a life-and-death battle with a wily foe. We are outnumbered, fighting against incredible odds. The forces of evil appear invincible. We seem to be facing certain loss. Defeat seems inevitable. Victory appears out of sight. From a merely human perspective, it seems that Satan’s forces will overwhelm us.

But, thank God, though we are outnumbered, though the odds are (humanly speaking) stacked against us, though Satan’s attacks are vicious, through Jesus we will win at last. The theme of the Bible’s last book, Revelation, is this: Jesus Wins, Satan Loses. The heart of this battle is outlined in Revelation 12:1-17, the focus of our study this week. This study will give a good preparation for understanding Revelation 14:1-20 and the three angels’ messages.

Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, April 1.

Sunday–>

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The Three Angels’ Messages

On October 15, 1844, one week before the Great Disappointment, a boy had been born into a pious Lutheran family in Germany. His name was Friedrich Nietzsche, who would become one of modernity’s most influential atheists. Believing that the Christian God was dying in the West, Nietzsche railed against the Christian religion’s continued moral influence, deriding it as a “slave morality,” the morality of the weak who, in an attempt to protect themselves from the stronger, concocted such silly notions as “Love your enemies.” For Nietzsche, modernity needed to get beyond antiquated notions of “good and evil”; a character in one of his books (Thus Spake Zarathustra) declared, “Smash the old law tablets!” (meaning, of course, the Ten Commandments).

Image © Pacific Press

The year 1844 was also important for Karl Marx, the founder of communism. Called the “Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844,” this work had been written by Marx that year, even if not published until 1932 by the Soviet Union. The manuscripts show the early development of Marx’s ideology in which he argued for a totally materialist reality that moved through various economic stages until the workers of the world would unite, overthrow their capitalist oppressors, and create a utopia on earth.

The year 1844 had been an important one for Charles Darwin, too. In what has become known as the “Essay of 1844,” Darwin produced one of the earliest expressions of his evolutionary theory, even if it was not then made public. Only in 1859, with the publication of On the Origin of Species, did Darwin publicly promulgate his view that all life on earth originated from a common ancestor by natural and chance processes alone.

The year 1844 was, however, the fulfillment of the 2300-day prophecy of Daniel 8:14, and the same year that, out of the leftovers of the Great Disappointment, seeds were planted that would burgeon in a worldwide movement whose core message repudiated the guts of Marxist, Nietzschean, and Darwinian ideology.

Contra Marx, the Seventh-day Adventist movement proclaimed that the great controversy between Christ and Satan, not a materialist flow of history, explained world history that would end, not in a man-made communist utopia but in the supernatural establishment of God’s eternal kingdom.

Contra Darwin, the Seventh-day Adventist movement taught that life originated, not in the natural and chance process of random mutation and natural selection, but by the power of the Creator God, who in six days created life on earth and rested on the seventh.

And contra Nietzsche, the Seventh-day Adventist movement proclaimed, not only that God exists but that His universal code of morality (the “Old Law tablets”), the Ten Commandments, remains God’s ultimate standard of judgment and binding on all humanity.

A coincidence that all these events happened in 1844? One should not think so.

Marx, Nietzsche, Darwin — three influential figures whose work has caused humanity irreparable harm. But amid all these errors, God did not leave the world without a witness to His truth, which is why, amid these destructive ideologies, He raised up a movement that would, over time, morph into the Seventh-day Adventist Church and that would proclaim His last-day truth to the world — the three angels’ messages. These are messages that, at their core, refute the errors and misconceptions promoted by those three terribly deceived men.

The three angels’ messages are, in a sense, the marching orders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. And at their core, they are the gospel, pure and simple, but the gospel presented in the context of “present truth” (2 Peter 1:12, NKJV).

And this, the three angel’s messages, is our study for the quarter.

A native of Connecticut, U.S.A., Mark Finley, an internationally known evangelist, was a vice president at the General Conference from 2005-2010. After retiring from full-time employment, he became an assistant to the president of the General Conference. Pastor Finley and his wife, Ernestine, have three children and five grandchildren.

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The Mission program of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is an opportunity for us to understand the needs of others and share in supporting them. Please click on the image below to watch the Mission Spotlight presentation for this week:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6iB-uEah9c&w=560&h=315]

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Treasure in Old Vessels

By John Kaganzi

Thirteen-year-old Precious cried out in frustration as her father led her through the gates of a Seventh-day Adventist boarding school in Uganda. She wanted to study in the stately buildings of the school associated with her family’s denomination, not in the modest buildings of Katerera Primary School. “It’s not the magnificence but the academic excellence that matters, my daughter,” Father whispered into her ear. He said her preferred school had not performed well academically for the past three years.

Image © Pacific Press

Precious bit her tongue, but her face showed her unhappiness as Father enrolled her at the school. When Father waved good-bye at the gate, her tears flowed freely. “Why has my beloved Dad chosen to imprison me in the name of schooling?” she blurted out. “This is ridiculous!”

“Hello, come,” a smiling woman said in a kind voice. “Let’s go to the dormitory, and I’ll show you where to sleep.”

Precious sadly followed as the woman carried her mattress and suitcase to the dormitory. That evening, her heart sank further when she saw students lining up outside an old building. She wondered what was happening until she saw the students carrying plates of food. She realized that it was the cafeteria. That evening, she ate a vegetarian meal for the first time in her life.

Later, Precious heard a bell ringing and saw students running joyfully to the campus chapel for evening worship. She decided to return to the dormitory, but the doors were closed. She returned to the chapel and stood on its porch, unsure about what to do. “Come, let’s enter the house of the Lord,” the same smiling woman said. “It’s prayer time. Don’t be sad.”

Precious felt loved, and she entered the chapel. Immediately, her sadness vanished inside. She had never heard such beautiful singing. She also marveled at the orderly and interesting 30-minute worship service that followed the singing. “At least I will enjoy this part of the school,” she thought.

Father didn’t return until the end of the school term. He had feared that Precious would refuse to stay if he came earlier. He was surprised when she announced that she wanted to return to the school. She said she did not want to miss the kind teachers who began every lesson with prayer and a Bible text and who offered practical advice whenever she faced challenges. The next term, the school held a week of prayer, and Precious gave her heart to Jesus in baptism. “Surely a school is more than its buildings,” she told me, the pastor who led the week of prayer.

This quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering will assist six Adventist schools in the East-Central African Division, including in Precious’ homeland of Uganda. Thank you for your generous offering.

Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission. Find more mission stories at adventistmission[dot]org

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Further Thought:

 Here is a word picture of a church family who are financially faithful managers of God’s business on earth.

The Stewardship Vision for Seventh-day Adventist Churches Around the World

It’s sometime in the future; and pastors and local church leaders have been successful at creating a stewardship environment in the church.

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

They have taught, trained, supported, and encouraged the church family in biblical financial management.

People are implementing biblical principles into their lives. They are growing in generosity, saving on a regular basis for the unexpected, and moving out from under the bondage of consumer debt.

Their lifestyles are marked by moderation, discipline, and contentment. Money has been eliminated as the rival god, and they are growing in their relationship with the Creator God.

It’s Sabbath morning, and people are arriving for services. In their demeanor is a sense of peace — a lack of anxiety over financial matters, a pervading sense of contentment and gratefulness.

Marital conflict over money has been largely eliminated. They enter worship with a sense of anticipation and expectation of God’s presence and work among them.

The church’s ministries are fully funded, and it has a strong outreach. It extends the love of Christ in very tangible ways to those in need.

Funds have been made available to provide church facilities that wonderfully support ministry and that are maintained with excellence.

The question before us all is, “What is God calling us to do with whatever resources He has entrusted to us?”

Discussion Questions:

<–Thursday

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