Welcome to 2020.

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 quarters Sabbath School study time.

With Jesus Christ as the centre of Daniel, there are many hymns about our Lord from which to choose. The topics of Jesus spoken of in Sunday’s study shows this. Chapter 1 is Christ being confronted by the powers of darkness for us, and His wisdom – 
Hymn 274 “O Word of God Incarnate”, “O Wisdom from on high”. “Chapter 3 reveals Christ walking with His faithful servants” as in 
Hymn 315 “O for a Closer Walk!”, 
Hymn 574 “O Master, Let Me Walk With Thee” and 
Hymn 624 “I Want Jesus to Walk With Me”.

Chapter 5 shows
“Jesus Is Coming Again” Hymn 213,
Hymn 201 “Christ Is Coming”, and 
“Face to Face” Hymn 206, to name three of the many Second Advent hymns. In Daniel Chapter 8 we see Jesus as our Priest: 
Hymn 249 “Praise Him! Praise Him!”  Chapter 9 is about the Supreme Sacrifice: 
Hymn 157 “Go to Dark Gethsemane”, 
Hymn 159 “The Old Rugged Cross”, 
Hymn 163 “At the Cross” and 
Hymn 328 “Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone”.

Chapter 10 -12 is the victory of Jesus: 
Hymn 38 “Arise, My Soul, Arise!”, 
Hymn 176 “Hail the Day That Sees Him Rise” and 
Hymn 17 “Good Christian Friends, Rejoice!” and that Jesus rescues the fallen human race: 
Hymn 335 “What a Wonderful Saviour”.

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.”

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1. Born in the prophecy of Daniel. We learned the story as children, no doubt, and we still marvel at Daniel’s rescue from the den of hungry lions. Do you agree with the lesson author that the Seventh-day Adventist church was born in the pages of the book of Daniel? How would you explain that to someone who doesn’t belong to the Adventist church? Or would you even attempt to make that plain?
2. Christ the center of Daniel. How can we see Jesus in the first verses of chapter 1 of Daniel? For example, does Daniel’s captivity in Babylon remind us of Jesus’ life on earth? Can you trace the message of the book of Daniel to see the life of Jesus on earth? Does the fact that most of the revelations of Jesus in Daniel are in the form of vivid comparisons, make it easier or harder to see Jesus in this prophetic book? Imagine what it must have been like for friends and followers of Daniel as an evangelist to absorb the depth of his messages as revealed in prophecy.
3. The structure of Daniel. Pretend that I am about twelve years old, and you are trying to explain to me the structure of the book of Daniel. What would you tell me is important about understanding the five kingdoms involved in this book? Would you try to explain to me that while we’re dealing with five separate kingdoms, they all merge in our study? Or do they? Why do you think God is going to such lengths to explain to Daniel, and through Daniel to us, the march of history to the time when “Michael stands up”? Why are the prophecies of Daniel called “apocalyptic”?
4. More vocabulary words. Parse (take apart and reassemble) each of the following words your lesson teacher wants you to know for a more complete understanding of the book of Daniel:

1. 1. Preterism
   2. Futurism
   3. Idealism
   4. Historicism

Which of these applies most completely to the book of Daniel? Do you believe that in Bible prophecy, a day equals a year? How does this belief aid you in understanding prophetic visions such as Daniel’s? Should a Bible-believing Christian apply the prophecies of 2,300 years and 490 years as given in Daniel’s messages to actual historical events hundreds of years into the future after Daniel was no longer a working prophet? What can help us keep Daniel’s prophecies alive for us today?

5.  Contemporary relevance of Daniel. Explain how each of the following relates to the message of Daniel as we can understand it today:

• • The sovereign rulership of God.
  • God in charge of history.
  • God as a role model for us

Does the majestic and all-powerful reign of God over history ever puzzle you? Do you ever wonder how God is working today in the history of the country where you live to bring events to a conclusion? What spiritual blessing do you most value that began for you with the study of the almighty God in the history of mankind? How do you express your gratitude to God for being so involved in your life that He longs for you to understand what is happening in this world as it reveals God’s plan for us?

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You can view an in-depth discussion of “From Reading to Understanding” in the Hope Sabbath School class led by Pastor Derek Morris. Click on the image to view:

You may download an MP4 video file, and audio file or a PDF lesson outline from the HopeSS site.

With thanks to Hope Channel – Television that will change your life.

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Another important concept that we need to keep in mind as we study the book of Daniel is the historicist approach to apocalyptic prophecies. This approach, also known as historicism, can be better understood if compared with the opposing views of preterism, futurism, and idealism.

• Preterism tends to view the prophetic events announced in Daniel as having occurred in the past.
• Futurism contends that the same prophecies still await a future fulfillment.
• Idealism, in turn, holds that apocalyptic prophecies are symbols of general spiritual realities without any specific historical referents.
• Historicism, in contrast, holds that in apocalyptic prophecy God reveals an unb
  

  Image © Lars Justinen at Goodsalt.com

  roken sequence of history from the time of the prophet to the end of time. As we study the book of Daniel, we will see that each major vision in the book (Daniel chapters 2, 7, 8, 11) repeats this historical outline from different perspectives and with new details. The Adventist pioneers, including Ellen G. White, understood the biblical prophecies of Daniel and Revelation from a historicist perspective.

Read Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4:5-6. In prophetic language what does a “day” usually represent?

As we study the book of Daniel, we should also keep in mind that prophetic time is measured according to the year-day principle. That is, a day in prophecy usually equals one year in actual historical time. Thus, for example, the prophecy of the 2,300 evenings and mornings should be understood as referring to 2,300 years (Dan. 8:14). Likewise, the prophecy of the 70 weeks should be understood to be 490 years (Dan. 9:24-27).

This time scale seems to be correct for some obvious reasons: (1) Since the visions are symbolic, the times indicated must also be symbolic. (2) As the events depicted in the visions unfold over long periods of time, even to the “time of the end” in some cases, the time spans related to these prophecies should be interpreted accordingly. (3) The year-day principle is confirmed by the book of Daniel. A clear example comes from the 70-week prophecy, which extended from the days of King Artaxerxes to the coming of Jesus as the Messiah. So the most obvious and correct way to make sense of the prophetic time periods given in the book of Daniel is to interpret them according to the year-day principle.

<–Tuesday Thursday–>

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Key Thought: God gave to man the sure word of prophecy. These important matters were not left in mystery. “Write the vision and make it plain…that he may run that reads it.”
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January 4, 2020

1. Have a volunteer read Luke 24:25-27.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. In what ways is Christ the center of all the Scriptures?
3. Personal Application: In the middle of trials and struggles and even prosperity and happiness, how can we learn to keep Christ at the center of our lives? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states: “Why couldn’t the apostles and people during Christ’s time see the application of the prophecies to His coming, life, and ministry? If I were living then, it would’ve been easy for me to see and understand.” How would you respond to your relative?

2. Have a volunteer read Ezekiel 4:5,6; Numbers 14:34.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
2. What does this tell us about what a day represents in prophetic time in the Bible?
   How do we know when to use a day for a year and when a day just means a day?
3. Personal Application: Since some of these prophecies cover hundreds, even thousands of years, how can we learn to be patient in waiting for fulfillment and completion of God’s work in the world and in our lives? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your friends states, “Doesn’t the Bible say somewhere that a day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as a day? Does this mean a day represents a thousand years? Like in Creation when God created in six days. Couldn’t that have been six thousand years?” How would you respond to your friend?

3. Have a volunteer read Daniel 7:1-6.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
2. Is this vision speaking of contemporary events in Daniel’s day, or of apocalyptic prophecies of future events?
3. Personal Application: How does it make you feel to know God is so close that He knows your every thoughts and can plant dreams in our minds while we sleep to encourage, comfort, and guide us? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your neighbors states, “How do we knoe Daniel is speaking of future events to come? How can we see any consistency in Daniel’s prophecies found in Daniel2,7,8,9,10, and 11?” How would you respond to your neighbor?

4. Have a volunteer read Daniel 2:44.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
2. How does knowing what God has said about the end times and the rise and fall of nations influence your response to the political events between nations in our day?
3. Personal Application: How much should we be involved inn the politics and workings of government in our day as we wait for the return of Jesus to destroy all those nations and set up His own? 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).

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