Bible Study - Sabbath School Podcast

Read Ellen G. White, “The Power of Satan,” pp. 341–347, in Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1. “Fallen man is Satan’s lawful captive. The mission of Christ was to rescue him from the power of his great adversary. Man is naturally inclined to follow Satan’s suggestions, and he cannot successfully resist so terrible a foe unless Christ, the mighty Conqueror, dwells in him, guiding his desires, and g...

The cosmic conflict is primarily a dispute over God’s character, caused by the devil’s slanderous allegations against God’s goodness, justice, and government. It is a kind of cosmic covenant lawsuit. Such a conflict cannot be settled by sheer power but, instead, requires demonstration. If serious allegations are brought against a person in power, the best (and maybe only) way to defeat the allegat...

We have seen in previous lessons that, within the cosmic conflict, Satan and his cohorts are temporarily granted significant jurisdiction in this world, limited according to some kind of rules of engagement. These rules of engagement limit not only the actions of the enemy—the devil and his cohorts—but they also limit God’s action to eliminate or mitigate the evil that (temporarily) falls within t...

In the book of Job, we are given some fascinating insights into the reality of the great controversy. Read  Job 1:1–12 and Job 2:1–7 . What principles of the great controversy do we see unveiled here? Many significant details can be gleaned from these verses. First, there appears to be some kind of heavenly council scene, not merely a dialogue between God and Satan; other celestial beings are invo...

The overarching perspective of celestial rulers in the cosmic conflict is encapsulated in the book of Revelation, where the devil is depicted as “the great dragon” who opposes God and “deceives the whole world” ( Rev. 12:9, NKJV ). Read  Revelation 13:1–8 . What does this reveal about the extent of the dragon’s jurisdiction? The dragon (Satan) not only wars against God ( Rev. 12:7–9 ) and His serv...

As we have seen, the false “gods” of the nations were demons in disguise. And elsewhere we see evidence that demonic celestial rulers are sometimes behind earthly rulers. Even angelic agents sent by God can be opposed by the forces of the enemy. Read  Daniel 10:1–14 , with special attention to verses 12, 13. What do these verses teach that is relevant to the cosmic conflict? What do you make of th...

Read for This Week’s Study Dan. 10:1–14, Rev. 13:1–8, Job 1:1–12, Job 2:1–7, John 12:31, John 14:30, Mark 6:5, Mark 9:29 . Memory Text: A powerful narrative that reveals the nature of the cosmic conflict can be found in  1 Kings 18:19–40 , Elijah on Mount Carmel, where the Lord exposes the so-called “gods of the nations.” Yet, there is more behind the scenes about these “gods” than that they are m...

Read Ellen G. White, “The Origin of Evil,” pp. 492–504, in The Great Controversy. “Nothing is more plainly taught in Scripture than that God was in no wise responsible for the entrance of sin; that there was no arbitrary withdrawal of divine grace, no deficiency in the divine government, that gave occasion for the uprising of rebellion. Sin is an intruder, for whose presence no reason can be given...

We have seen some passages that teach a cosmic conflict between God and Satan. But how is such a conflict even possible? How could anyone oppose the omnipotent God? If the cosmic conflict were over sheer power, it would have been over before it started. It must be of a different kind. Indeed, Scripture reveals that the conflict is a dispute over God’s character—a conflict over slanderous allegatio...

Satan’s quest to usurp God’s throne is also revealed in the temptation narratives found in  Matthew 4 and Luke 4 . In the striking encounter between Jesus and the tempter, much is revealed about the nature of the conflict. Here we see the reality of the great controversy between Christ and Satan, but played out in stark and graphic terms. Read  Matthew 4:1–11 . How is the reality of the great cont...

Genesis 1–3  alone shows that evil existed before the fall of Adam and Eve. Even if evil was not a concrete reality in Eden, conceptually, “evil” has already appeared, in the name of “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” ( Gen. 2:9, 17 ). Then the serpent accuses God of lying when, in fact, he, the serpent, is the one lying. The existence of the serpent ( Rev. 12:9 ), along with his lying,...

Parallel to the question in the parable—about why there is bad seed in the field if the owner planted only good seed—is another question: if God created the world entirely good, how did evil arise here? Read  Genesis 1:31 . What do God’s words reveal about the state of creation when God finished creating, and why is this answer important? According to  Genesis 1:31 , when God finished creating the...

Read Matthew 13:24–27. How does the parable help us understand evil in our world? Jesus tells the story of a landowner who sows only good seeds in his field. However, tares spring up among the wheat. Upon seeing this, the servants of the owner ask him, “ ‘ “Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?” ’ ” (Matt. 13:27, NKJV). This is similar to the question often ask...

Read for This Week’s Study Matt. 13:24–27; Gen. 1:31; Ezek. 28:12–19; Isa. 14:12–15; Matt. 4:1–11; John 8:44, 45 . Memory Text: Central to biblical theology is the great controversy between Christ and Satan. Although the idea of a cosmic conflict between God and celestial creatures who have fallen and rebelled against God is a prominent motif of Scripture ( Matt. 13:24–30, 37–39; Rev. 12:7–10 ) an...

Read Ellen G. White, “ ‘God With Us,’ ” pp. 19–26, in The Desire of Ages. “The plan for our redemption was not an afterthought, a plan formulated after the fall of Adam. It was a revelation of ‘the mystery which hath been kept in silence through times eternal.’  Rom. 16:25 , R. V. It was an unfolding of the principles that from eternal ages have been the foundation of God’s throne. From the beginn...

If everything occurred according to God’s ideal will, there would never have been evil but only the perfect bliss of love and harmony. Eventually, the universe will be restored to this perfect, ideal will of God. In the meantime, God is working out His will in a way that takes into account the free decisions of His creatures. Imagine a baking competition in which all participants are required to u...

Read  Ephesians 1:9–11 . What is this text saying about predestination? Are some people predestined to be saved and others to be lost? The Greek term translated “predestination” here and elsewhere in Scripture (prohorizo) does not itself teach that God causally determines history. Rather, the Greek term simply means “to decide beforehand.” Of course, one can decide something beforehand unilaterall...

That God is all-powerful does not mean that He can do the logically impossible. Accordingly, God cannot causally determine that someone freely love Him. If freely doing something means to do something without being determined to do it, then by definition it is impossible to make someone freely do something. In short, as we have seen, and must re-emphasize—God cannot force anyone to love Him, for t...

Throughout Scripture, God’s amazing power is made manifest. The Bible includes countless narratives of His exercising His power and working miracles. And yet, despite this, many things happen that God does not want to happen. Read  Revelation 11:17, Jeremiah 32:17–20, Luke 1:37, and Matthew 19:26 . Consider also  Hebrews 1:3 . What do these passages teach about God’s power? These texts and others...

“God is sovereign,” the youth pastor taught his middle school group. “That means He controls everything that happens.” One puzzled middle schooler replied, “So God was in control when my dog died? Why would God kill my dog?” Trying to answer this question, the youth pastor replied: “That’s a tough one. But sometimes God lets us go through hard times so that we’re prepared for even more difficult t...

Read for This Week’s Study Luke 13:34; Jer. 32:17–20; Heb. 1:3; Deut. 6:4, 5; Eph. 1:9–11; John 16:33 . Memory Text: Providence  is the term used to describe God’s action in the world. How we think about God’s providence makes a huge difference in how we relate to God, how we relate to others, and how we think about the problem of evil. Christians hold various understandings of divine providence....

Read Ellen G. White, “Why Was Sin Permitted?” pp. 33–43, in Patriarchs and Prophets. “Even when he was cast out of heaven, Infinite Wisdom did not destroy Satan. Since only the service of love can be acceptable to God, the allegiance of His creatures must rest upon a conviction of His justice and benevolence. The inhabitants of heaven and of the worlds, being unprepared to comprehend the nature or...

God has granted creatures free will because it is necessary for love; misuse of this free will is the cause of evil. Again, many questions remain. God allows evil (for a time), while passionately despising it, because to exclude its possibility would exclude love, and to destroy it prematurely would damage the trust necessary for love. “The earth was dark through misapprehension of God. That the g...

However much we don’t understand of God’s ways and thoughts, Scripture does reveal some things that help to address the problem of evil. One avenue for addressing the logical problem of evil is known as the freewill defense. The freewill defense is the view that evil is the result of the misuse of creaturely free will. God, then, is not to blame for evil, because evil is the result of creatures mi...

God proclaims in  Isaiah 55:8, 9 , “ ‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts’ ” (NKJV). God’s thoughts are far higher than ours. We cannot even imagine the complexities of God’s plan for history. Given this, why should we expect to be in...