Sabbath Afternoon

Read for This Week’s Study: Daniel 5:1-31, Rev. 17:4-6, Ps. 96:5, Col. 1:15-17, Rom. 1:16-32, Eccles. 8:11, Rev. 14:8.

Memory Text: “And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding” (Daniel 2:21, NKJV).

In Daniel chapter 5, the Word of God gives us a powerful example of human hubris that ends in a stunning and dramatic way. Though one could say that it takes Nebuchadnezzar a long time to learn his lesson, at least he learned it. His grandson, Belshazzar, does not. In using the temple vessels in a palace orgy, Belshazzar desecrates them. Such an act of desecration is tantamount not only to a challenge of God but an attack on God Himself. Thus, Belshazzar fills up the cup of his iniquities, acting in ways similar to the little horn (see Daniel chapter 8), which attacked the foundations of God’s sanctuary. By removing dominion from Belshazzar, God prefigures what He will accomplish against the enemies of His people in the very last days. The events narrated in Daniel chapter 5 took place in 539 B.C., on the night Babylon fell before the Medo-Persian army. Here occurs the transition from gold to silver, predicted in Daniel chapter 2. Once more it becomes evident that God rules in the affairs of the world.

Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, February 8.

Sunday–>

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Finding Christ in the Caucasus

By Andrew McChesney, Adventist Mission

Seventeen-year-old Stepan Avakov volunteered to help interpret when a group of Americans organized a Quiet Hour health expo in the southern Russian city of Volgodonsk.

Image © Pacific Press

When the expo ended, organizer Vincent Page invited Stepan to follow the expo to the North Caucasus region. It was summer, and Stepan was free. He asked his mother for advice.

“Why don’t you go?” she said. “You can practice your English”.

Local pastor Veniamin Tarasyuk also gave his blessing but added, “Remember, if you want to be baptized, come back and I will baptize you.”

Stepan was stunned. Are you crazy? he thought. I’m not going to be baptized.

But for the next two months, he lived a Seventh-day Adventist life as he visited various towns. The Adventist organizers woke up early, read their Bibles, prayed, and then had morning devotions together. To Stepan, it was a new world.

One day, Vincent invited Stepan to go to Lithuania next. Stepan, however, had left his passport at home. Vincent gave him a $100 bill.

“Go home, get your passport, and come back here in one day,” he said.

The next morning, the teen jumped out of the hotel bed promptly at 5 a.m., earlier than ever before. He didn’t know how to find a way out of town. As he left the hotel, he prayed, “God, if You exist, lead me to the bus station.”

Stepan began walking and, to his surprise, found the bus station. A bus was waiting with open doors. Inside, passengers were complaining, “Driver, why are we waiting? Let’s go!” As Stepan sat down, the doors closed, and the bus left.

Similar miracles occurred throughout the day. When Stepan returned to the hotel with his passport that night, he knelt beside his bed. “God, now I know that You exist”, he said. “You have shown that You love me and are drawing me to You. From this moment, You are my Lord, and I want You to live in me.”

In the morning, Stepan showed his passport to Vincent. “Here is my passport,” he said. “But something more important happened. Last night, I became a Christian.” Vincent and the other workers spontaneously clapped with joy.

Stepan was baptized by Pastor Veniamin three weeks later, on Sept. 10, 1993.

Six years later, Pastor Veniamin became Stepan’s father-in-law.

Stepan, now 42, works as a professional interpreter for the United Nations and other agencies. He also is the founder and director of an organization that helps Russian orphans.

His conversion story, he said, can be found in Romans 5:1, which reads, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (NKJV).

“This verse interprets my conversion story,” said Stepan, pictured.

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

All Rights Reserved. No part of the Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide may be edited, altered, modified, adapted, translated, reproduced, or published by any person or entity without prior written authorization from the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

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Further Thought: From Pride to Humility

“The once proud monarch had become a humble child of God; the tyrannical, overbearing ruler, a wise and compassionate king. He who had defied and blasphemed the God of heaven, now acknowledged the power of the Most High and earnestly sought to promote the fear of Jehovah and the happiness of his subjects. Under the rebuke of Him who is King of kings and Lord of lords,

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

Nebuchadnezzar had learned at last the lesson which all rulers need to learn — that true greatness consists in true goodness. He acknowledged Jehovah as the living God, saying, ‘I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and His ways judgment: and those that walk in pride He is able to abase’.

“God’s purpose that the greatest kingdom in the world should show forth His praise was now fulfilled. This public proclamation, in which Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged the mercy and goodness and authority of God, was the last act of his life recorded in sacred history”. — Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, p. 521.

Discussion Questions:

<–Thursday

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Read Daniel 2:34-35, Daniel 2:44-45. What do these verses teach us about the ultimate fate of our world?

The focus of the dream is on what will happen in the “latter days” (Dan. 2:28). As powerful and rich as they may have been, the metal (and clay) kingdoms are nothing but a prelude to the establishment of the stone kingdom. Whereas to some extent metals and clay can be products of human manufacture, the stone in the dream comes untouched by human hands. In other words, although each of the previous kingdoms eventually comes to an end, the kingdom represented by the stone will last forever.

Image © Steve Creitz at Goodsalt.com

The metaphor of the rock, then, often symbolizes God (for example, Deut. 32:4, 1 Sam. 2:2, Ps. 18:31), and the stone likewise may be a representation of the Messiah (Ps. 118:22; 1 Pet. 2:4, 1 Pet. 2:7). Thus, nothing is more appropriate than the figure of a stone to symbolize the establishment of God’s eternal kingdom.

Some argue that the stone kingdom was established during Jesus’ earthly ministry, and that the propagation of the gospel stands as an indication that the kingdom of God has taken over the entire world. Yet the stone kingdom comes into existence only after the four main kingdoms have fallen and human history has reached the time of the divided kingdoms, represented by the feet and toes of the image. This fact rules out the fulfillment during the first century, because Jesus’ earthly ministry took place during the dominion of Rome, the fourth kingdom.

But the stone gives way to a mountain. That is, “the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth” (Dan. 2:35, NKJV). A mountain such as this evokes Mount Zion, the place where the temple stood, the concrete representation of God’s earthly kingdom in the Old Testament times. Interestingly, the stone cut from the mountain becomes a mountain itself. This mountain, which according to the text is already in existence, most likely points to the heavenly Zion, the heavenly sanctuary, whence Christ will come to establish His eternal kingdom. And in the Jerusalem that will come down from heaven (Rev. 21:1-22:5), this kingdom will find its ultimate fulfillment.

<–Wednesday Friday–>

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Read again the dream and its interpretation (Dan. 2:31-49). What does this teach us about God’s foreknowledge of world history?

The prophecy conveyed by Nebuchadnezzar’s dream provides a general prophetic outline and functions as the yardstick with which to approach the more-detailed prophecies of Daniel chapters 7, 8, and 11. Also, Daniel chapter 2 is not a conditional prophecy.

Image © Lars Justinen at Goodsalt.com

It is an apocalyptic prophecy: a definitive prediction of what God foresaw and would actually bring to pass in the future.

1. The head of gold represents Babylon (626-539 B.C.). Indeed, no other metal could better represent the power and wealth of the Babylonian empire than gold. The Bible calls it “the golden city” (Isa. 14:4) and “a golden cup in the LORD’s hand” (Jer. 51:7; compare with Rev. 18:16). The ancient historian Herodotus reports that an abundance of gold embellished the city.
2. The chest and arms of silver stand for Media-Persia (539-331 B.C.). As silver is valued less than gold, the Medo-Persian empire never attained the splendor of the Babylonian. In addition, silver was also a fitting symbol for the Persians because they used silver in their taxation system.
3. The belly and thighs of bronze symbolize Greece (331-168 B.C.). Ezekiel 27:13 portrays the Greeks as bartering bronze vessels. Greek soldiers were noted for their bronze armor. Their helmets, shields, and battle-axes consisted of brass. Herodotus tells us that Psammetichus I of Egypt saw in invading Greek pirates the fulfillment of an oracle that foretold “men of bronze coming from the sea”.
4. The legs of iron aptly represent Rome (168 B.C.-A.D. 476). As Daniel explained, the iron represented the crushing power of the Roman Empire, which lasted longer than any of the previous kingdoms. Iron was a perfect metal to represent the empire.
5. The feet partly of iron and partly of clay represent a divided Europe (A.D. 476-Second Coming of Christ). The mixture of iron with clay provides a fitting picture of what happened after the disintegration of the Roman Empire. Although many attempts have been made to unify Europe, ranging from marriage alliances between royal houses to the present European Union, division and disunity have prevailed and, according to this prophecy, will remain so until God establishes the eternal kingdom.

<–Tuesday Thursday–>

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