Daily Lesson for Monday 16th of June 2025

However much fealty Nebuchadnezzar, impressed by what Daniel had done, at first paid to Daniel and to his God (see Daniel 2:1-49, especially vv. 46–48), it didn’t last.

Image © Review & Herald Publishing at Goodsalt.com

The king underscored his defiance of God’s message by constructing a statue made entirely of gold. The message? Babylon will never fall, and Nebuchadnezzar will always be king. And anybody who dared to challenge that idea would be put to death. It serves as a powerful reminder that our human desire for self-determination can quickly blind us to the truth about how the great controversy will most certainly play out.

In some ways, Nebuchadnezzar displays characteristics of Lucifer: he was ambitious, self-important, and prideful enough to rebel openly against God’s authority. In other ways, of course, there are marked differences: Nebuchadnezzar eventually came to faith in the true God, and it is likely that we will meet him in the kingdom he originally fought so hard to defy.

Think how easily these three men could have rationalized their way out of this dangerous situation. After all, were they not being fanatics, willing to be burned alive over merely bowing down? Couldn’t they have just faked it, bowing to tie their shoelaces while praying to their own God? Was it really worth what they were facing? Obviously, they thought so, even though their words showed that they knew that they might not escape with their lives.

<–Sunday Tuesday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25b-12-worshiping-the-image/

Daily Lesson for Sunday 15th of June 2025

One of the most powerful prophecies in all Scripture is Daniel 2:1-49. Writing more than five hundred years before Christ, the prophet set out world history, starting from his time in Babylon and then through Media-Persia, Greece, Rome, and the breakup of Rome into the nations of modern Europe as they exist today.

In fact, talking about these European nations, one text says that “ ‘they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay’ ” (Daniel 2:43, NKJV). This prophecy has been amazingly fulfilled. That is, despite all sorts of intermarriage between the people (from princes to plebes) of these nations, they remain divided.

Image © Steve Creitz at Goodsalt.com
Manhattan

For example, the British monarchy is called the House of Windsor, a nice English name. However, that name is a relatively recent ­development—1917, actually. Before then, the family was called Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, a distinctly German name, because many of the British royalty—through mingling “with the seed of men”—were blood relatives with the Germans. However, those blood ties were not enough to keep them from war, and so, during World War I, wanting to dissociate themselves from their hated enemies, they changed the name to the House of Windsor.

The apocalyptic prophecies in Daniel all follow the foundation set in Daniel 2:1-49. That is, the rest of these prophecies, like Daniel 2:1-49, follow the sequence of one world empire after another until God establishes His eternal kingdom (see Daniel 2:44; Daniel 7:13-14). In other words, the prophecies go through history in an unbroken sequence of empires, starting in antiquity and ending in the future, even to our time. This is the historicist approach to interpreting prophecy and is what the texts demand. This use of the historicist approach is crucial for understanding last-day events, particularly as they are depicted in the book of Revelation.

<–Sabbath Monday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25b-12-daniel-2-and-the-historicist-approach-to-prophecy/

Daily Lesson for Sabbath 14th of June 2025

Image © Pacific Press

Read for This Week’s Study: Daniel 2:31-45; Daniel 3:1-12,17-18; Revelation 13:11-17; Romans 1:18-25; Acts 12:1-17; Matthew 12:9-14.

Memory Text:

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7, NKJV).

This week, we will look at two more Bible stories that foreshadow last-day events in remarkable detail.

First, we will examine the account of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, which has obvious allusions to the issues portrayed in Revelation 13:1-18. Then we will turn to the New Testament, where we find that the experience of the early Christians also can help us understand what to expect between now and the return of Christ.

Both examples highlight remarkable courage and provide keys to finding peace of mind under the most trying of circumstances.

Again and again, Jesus said such things as “Do not fear,” and “Why do your thoughts trouble you?” It is important to remember that the focus of prophecy is Christ, and, as such, we must be able to find the same counsel throughout the scenes portrayed in earth’s closing moments. “ ‘Let not your heart be troubled,’ ” He taught His disciples, “ ‘you believe in God, believe also in Me’ ” (John 14:1, NKJV).

In other words, yes, last-day events will be difficult and trying for those who seek to stay faithful to God. But ultimately, we should view these events with hope, not fear.

*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, June 21.

Sunday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25b-12-precursors/

Our Sabbath School program has always been linked to the support of the Seventh-day Adventist Mission program. This video provides a little insight into this important work.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/mission-spotlight-for-june-14/

Inside Story for Friday 13th of June 2025

By Diana Fish

Diana and Loren Fish had their dream jobs. She was working in development at the Seventh-day Adventist hospital in Orlando, Florida, and he had a successful counseling practice. But something was missing. They prayed.

On a whim, Diana attended a North American Division Women’s Ministries conference. In the exhibition hall, she stopped at the Holbrook Seventh-day Adventist Indian School booth to admire student-made pottery. When a woman at the booth learned that Diana worked in development, she excitedly said that the school was looking for a development director. Diana dismissed the idea that God might be calling her to work at the school in Arizona.

Six months later, Loren decided at the last minute to attend the 2015 General Conference Session in San Antonio, Texas. In the exhibition hall, he found himself at the Holbrook booth. When a woman at the booth learned he was a licensed clinical social worker, she excitedly said, “We need one of those!” She asked about his wife’s job, and he responded that she worked in development. “We need one of those, too!” the woman said, waving at her husband, who happened to be Holbrook’s principal.

Weeks later, the couple visited Holbrook after a vacation to see family in Colorado. They spent nine hours talking with staff about the school’s mission to provide a safe place for American Indian children to learn and grow. They learned that the staff dreamed of having Christian counseling available around the clock for students dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues. Diana tossed and turned that night in the school guestroom. In the morning, she noticed two identical books on a bookshelf. They looked familiar. Reaching into her backpack, she pulled out the same book, which Loren had gotten at the General Conference Session. It was titled, Follow: Anytime, Anywhere, at Any Cost, by Don MacLafferty. Immediately, Diana knew God was calling them to Holbrook. She prayed, “You’ll have to put the same impression on Loren’s heart.”

Several days later, back in Florida, Loren told Diana that he had been praying and sensed God calling them to Holbrook. That evening, they submitted their résumés and began packing. Two weeks later, they were offered the positions. They have worked at the school for the past 10 years. “God is so amazing,” Diana said. “He has shown me every step of the way that He is working in my life. Before I knew Him, He knew me and had a plan.”

This mission story shows how God miraculously worked in the life of Diana Fish, development director of the US-based Holbrook Seventh-day Adventist Indian School, which received the Thirteenth Sabbath Offering in 2021. Thank you for supporting the spread of the gospel with this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering on June 28. Read more about the school next week.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25b-11-inside-story-part-7-we-need-one-of-those/