Read Daniel 8:14. What happens here?

After the devastating attack of the horn, the announcement is made that the sanctuary will be cleansed. In order to understand this message, we must bear in mind that the cleansing of the sanctuary mentioned in Daniel 8:14 corresponds to the judgment scene depicted in Daniel 7:9-14.

Image © Lars Justinen from GoodSalt.com

And since that judgment takes place in heaven, the sanctuary must be located in heaven, too. Thus, while Daniel 7 portrays God’s intervention in and relationship with human affairs from a judicial perspective, Daniel 8 describes the same event from a sanctuary perspective.

The earthly sanctuary was modeled after its heavenly counterpart and served to illustrate the broad contours of the plan of salvation. Every day, sinners brought their sacrifices to the sanctuary, where the people were forgiven their confessed sins as the sins were, in a sense, transferred to the sanctuary. As a result, the sanctuary became contaminated. Therefore, a periodic process of purification was needed in order to cleanse the sanctuary from the sins recorded therein. It was called the Day of Atonement and took place once a year (see Leviticus chapter 16).

Why should the heavenly sanctuary need cleansing? By analogy, we can say that the confessed sins of those who have accepted Jesus have been “transferred” to the heavenly sanctuary, just as the sins of the repentant Israelites were transferred to the earthly sanctuary. On the earthly Day of Atonement, numerous animals were slain, symbolizing the future death of Jesus, which is how sinners were able to stand in the Day of Atonement.

And just as that happened in the earthly Day of Atonement when the sanctuary was cleansed, how much more so in the heavenly, when Christ’s blood alone gets us through the judgment? The cleansing of the sanctuary, depicted in Daniel 8:14, is the heavenly counterpart of the earthly service, whose basic message is: as sinners, we need the blood of the Messiah to forgive us our sins and enable us to stand in judgment.

<–Tuesday Thursday–>

Amen!(0)

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SabbathSchoolNet/~3/FrhuK0avZ0g/

The hymn that will be used as the theme for this quarter is from “The Church Hymnal, Official Hymnal of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church” which was surpassed by the “Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal” in 1985.In the ‘old’ hymnal, 
Number 497 – Standing by a Purpose True, that is, ”Dare to be a Daniel” will be the favourite. I do hope you are able to source this hymn and use it frequently during this quarter’s Sabbath School study time.

The Sabbath afternoon introduction shows we find our atonement is made by Christ in
Hymn 335, What a Wonderful Savior and Hymn 341, To God Be the Glory.

We find on Sunday that God had spoken through his prophet Daniel the unfolding of history to come, as in  
Hymn 413, God Has Spoken by His Prophets.

The papacy tries to take the place of Christ as our High Priest in heaven (Tuesday). We find our High Priest in 
Hymn 179, The Wonders of Redeeming Love, 
Hymn 238, How Sweet the Name!, 
Hymn 249, Praise Him! Praise Him!, and 
Hymn 145, Songs of Thankfulness and Praise.

Further, on Tuesday, Jesus is the Truth, as is the Word of God – 
Hymn 203, This Is the Threefold Truth, 
Hymn 221, Rejoice, the Lord Is King, 
Hymn 274, O Word of God Incarnate and 
Hymn 279, Only Trust Him.

Sinners bring their offerings to the sanctuary for cleansing (Wednesday) – 
Hymn 318, Whiter Than Snow, 
Hymn 282, I Hear Thy Welcome Voice, 
Hymn 294, Power in the Blood and 
Hymn 355, What a Wonderful Savior.

The question I ask myself is in 
Hymn 416, The Judgment Has Set.

God’s blessings as you enjoy your “Singing with Inspiration” this quarter.

2 Timothy 2:15 KJV – “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Amen!(0)

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SabbathSchoolNet/~3/7EJFmg_LLUI/

1. How alike? How different? Before we take up the study of Daniel 8, let’s look at Daniel 7 and focus on how the two chapters are different from each other even though both deal with similar content. But first, what is missing in Daniel 8 that was emphasized in Daniel 7? Second, what is the basic content of chapter 8 compared to the central content of Chapter 7? Now we’ll consider the details.
2. The ram and the goat. First a ram, and then a goat takes center stage in this drama. The ram has two horns but is running in three directions: west, north, and south. What do the two horns represent? What is the importance of three directions the ram is taking at the same time? How strong do you think the Medo-Persian government was? Then the goat comes, running so fast its feet don’t touch the ground. Who is the famous monarch represented by the goat? As strong as the goat may be, what happens to its biggest horn? How was that prophecy fulfilled?
3. The rise of the little horn. From one of the goat’s four horns, a little horn shows up. In what direction does the little horn go? What power does the little horn, represent?  What seems to be its goal? After it accomplishes wars against Jewish people and even early Christians, does Rome (the goat) disappear? The little horn rapidly becomes the chief player in this drama. What are the two characteristics of the little horn (Rome) at this time? Does the little horn exist in any way today? Explain.
4. The attack on the sanctuary.  What is the difference between the murder of thousands of Christians by pagan leaders and attacks by the little horn on God’s people through the ages? Or is there a difference? How does the papal power establish itself to eliminate the intercessory ministry in the heavenly sanctuary? Explain how acts of the papacy have served to abolish the Word of God from full devotion and place papal tradition above the Bible. How does the Seventh-day Adventist church regard these actions and what if anything can we or should we do about them?
5. The cleansing of the sanctuary.Cheerful words, these. Right? Once in a while we hear a devout church member state that all of the details of the sanctuary on earth will be present in the final sanctuary service in heaven, and of course that’s right, except—Do you think we’ll offer sacrifices of live animals in the heavenly sanctuary? What is contained in the heavenly sanctuary that makes it in need of a thorough cleansing? How is the blood of Jesus given at Calvary represented in the heavenly sanctuary?

Amen!(1)

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SabbathSchoolNet/~3/SRA94KworYY/

Read Daniel 8:10-12. What kind of activity is the little horn depicted as doing here?

In Daniel 8:10, the little horn attempts to replicate, at the spiritual level, the efforts of the builders of Babel (Gen. 11:4). The terms “host” and “stars” can designate God’s people in the Old Testament. Israel is designated the host/armies of the Lord (Exod. 12:41).

Image © Lars Justinen at Goodsalt.com

Daniel also depicts God’s faithful people as shining like the stars (Dan. 12:3). This is obviously not a literal attack on the heavenly bodies, however, but a persecution of God’s people, whose “citizenship is in heaven” (Phil. 3:20, NKJV). Although thousands of Christians were murdered by pagan emperors, the focus now is on the vertical activities of the little horn. Thus the ultimate fulfillment of this prophecy must be linked with papal Rome and its persecution through the ages.

Also, Daniel 8:11 talks about a “Prince”, who is elsewhere mentioned in Daniel as “Messiah the Prince” (Dan. 9:25), “Michael your prince” (Dan. 10:21), and “Michael” the “great prince” (Dan. 12:1). No one but Jesus Christ could be the referent of this expression. Jesus Christ is the Prince of the aforementioned “host” and our High Priest in heaven. Therefore, the papacy and the religious system it represents obfuscates and attempts to supersede the priestly role of Jesus.

In Daniel 8:11, the “daily sacrifice” is a reminder of what happened in the earthly sanctuary to designate the various and continual aspects of the ritual services — including sacrifices and intercession. It is through these services that sinners are forgiven and sins are dealt with in the tabernacle. This earthly system represents Christ’s intercessory ministry in the heavenly sanctuary. So as the prophecy predicts, the papacy exchanges the intercession of Christ for the intercession of priests. By means of such counterfeit worship, the little horn takes away Christ’s intercessory ministry and symbolically casts down the place of Christ’s sanctuary.

“And he cast truth down to the ground. He did all this and prospered” (Dan. 8:12, NKJV). Jesus declares Himself to be the truth (John 14:6) and also points to the Word of God as truth (John 17:17). In contrast, the papacy prohibited the translation of the Bible into the language of the people, put the interpretation of the Bible under the authority of the church, and placed tradition alongside the Bible, in theory, but, in practice, tradition is placed above the Bible as the supreme rule of faith.

<–Monday Wednesday–>

Amen!(0)

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SabbathSchoolNet/~3/2LvV6DxA3qE/

Key Thought: The vision of Daniel 8 parallels Daniel 7, but leaves Babylon out of it. Daniel 8 also shows the time and beginning of the Day of Atonement or Day of Judgment.
February 29, 2020

1. Have a volunteer read Daniel 8:6-12.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What gives us a clue as to the identity of the he-goat and thus the little horn power?
   (Note: See Daniel 8:21-26. This little horn pushes in three directions showing it is pagan Rome to start with, even standing against Jesus, but it also refers later to papal Rome.)
3. Personal Application: Why does God use repeat and enlarge prophecies to focus in on last day events chapter by chapter? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states: “How did the little horn, or Rome, take away the “daily” and cast the truth down to the ground?” How would you respond to your relative?

2. Have a volunteer read Daniel 8:10-12.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
2. What kind of activity is the little horn depicted as doing here?
3. Personal Application: What should this tell us about how important the knowledge of Biblical truth really is in contrast with human traditions and false religious teachings? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your friends states, “In what ways do you Adventists think the Roman church has established a distorted worship system? What’s wrong with their teachings and worship?” How would you respond to your friend?

3. Have a volunteer read Daniel 8:14

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
2. What does it mean that the sanctuary shall be cleansed?
3. Personal Application: How important is it for us to be cleansed from our sins during the time of the heavenly sanctuary being cleansed? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your neighbors states, “How do you guys get the year 1844 out of the 2300 days of Daniel 8:14? Where’s the starting point? How do you get 2300 years instead of days? I really don’t understand this prophecy. Did you people believe Jesus was coming to the earth in 1844?” How would you respond to your neighbor?

4. Have a volunteer read Daniel 8:13.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
2. What significance does this verse have in revealing two saints speaking to each other concerning the time of the events mentioned?
3. Personal Application: What’s the difference between Christ’s ministry on the cross and His ministry in the heavenly sanctuary? 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).

Amen!(0)

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SabbathSchoolNet/~3/wVcISmsEApM/