Bible Study - Sabbath School Podcast

Look at the following chart for the prophecies of the 70 weeks and the 2,300 days. The prophecies start in 457 B.C. and foretell the events surrounding “Messiah the Prince,” upon whom the 70-week prophecy is grounded. With that solid foundation, the 2,300-day prophecy ends in the year 1844.“Like the first disciples, William Miller and his associates did not, themselves, fully comprehend the import...

Read Ezra 7:7–13. When was the decree issued to allow Israel’s captives in Persia to go free to rebuild their temple? The decree was issued by Artaxerxes, king of Persia, in 457 B.C. This decree was the last of three decrees to allow the Jews to return to rebuild Jerusalem and restore temple worship services. This third decree was the most complete and marks the beginning of the 2,300-day prophecy...

William Miller observed that events predicted by the prophets were precisely fulfilled: the 400 years of the sojourn of Abraham’s descendants, Israel’s 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, the 70 years of Israel’s captivity, and Daniel’s 70 weeks allotted to Israel (Gen. 15:13, Num. 14:34, Jer. 25:11, and Dan. 9:24).Read Mark 1:15, Galatians 4:4, and Romans 5:6. What do these verses tell us ab...

Just as God used the Protestant Reformers to rediscover the truth about justification by faith in Christ alone, He used William Miller to rediscover the truth about the manner of Christ’s second coming. As Miller studied Scripture, he discovered a Christ who loved him more than he could possibly imagine. With his Bible, a pen, and a notebook, he began reading starting with Genesis and read no fast...

Although the Protestant Reformers believed in the literal, visible, audible, and glorious return of Christ, gradually the understanding of this biblical truth changed. Popular nineteenth-century preachers taught that Christ would come to establish His kingdom on earth and usher in 1,000 years of peace. This led to spiritual lethargy and an apathetic commitment to spiritual values. Similarly, Chris...

The Protestant Reformers and the pilgrims who left from Holland for the New World longed for the coming of Jesus. For them the second coming of Christ was a joyous event that they eagerly anticipated. John Wycliffe looked forward to the coming of Christ as the hope of the church. Calvin spoke for all the Reformers when he talked of the glorious return of Christ as “of all events most auspicious.”...

Read for This Week’s Study1 Thess. 4:13–18; Matt. 24:27, 30, 31; 2 Pet. 1:19–21; Dan. 8:14; Dan. 9:20–27; Ezra 7:7–13.Memory Text:“And it will be said in that day: ‘Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation’ ” (Isaiah 25:9, NKJV).The second coming of Jesus is one of the central themes...

“When the Bible was proscribed by religious and secular authority; when its testimony was perverted, and every effort made that men and demons could invent to turn the minds of the people from it; when those who dared proclaim its sacred truths were hunted, betrayed, tortured, buried in dungeon cells, martyred for their faith, or compelled to flee to mountain fastnesses, and to dens and caves of t...

Despite the attacks of the enemy, God’s work on earth will come to a glorious climax. The gospel will be preached to “every nation, tribe, tongue, and people” (Rev. 14:6, NKJV). The great controversy between Christ and Satan will end with Christ completely defeating the powers of hell. God’s kingdom will triumph over evil, and sin will be eradicated forever from the universe. Revelation 11 begins...

Read Revelation 11:11. What prediction does this text make about the Word of God? At the end of the French Revolution, God’s Word would, figuratively, come to life again. There would be a mighty revival. Great fear would fall on those who saw God’s Word once more become the living power of God unto salvation. At the end of the eighteenth century, God raised up men and women who were committed to t...

Read Revelation 11:7–9. Remembering that the language is symbolic, what do these verses predict would happen to God’s two witnesses, the Old and New Testaments? By A.D. 538, the pagan Roman Empire had collapsed. Justinian, the Roman emperor, surrendered civil, political, and religious authority to Pope Vigillis. The long period of the medieval church’s domination began. It continued until A.D. 179...

Compare Revelation 11:3 and Revelation 12:5, 6, 14, 15 with Daniel 7:25. What similarities do you see in these prophetic periods? The two witnesses “ ‘will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth’ ” (Rev. 11:3, NKJV). This is the same time period as the 42 months during which the “Gentiles” (those who oppose God’s truth) will tread the Holy City underfoot (Rev. 11:2)...

Read Revelation 11:3–6. List five identifying features of the two witnesses you discover in this passage. In Zechariah 4, the prophet saw two olive trees on either side of a golden lampstand—the same imagery that we find here in Revelation 11. Zechariah is told that this represents “ ‘the two anointed ones, who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth’ ” (Zech. 4:14, NKJV). The olive trees feed oi...

Read for This Week’s StudyRev. 11:3–6; Zech. 4:14; Rev. 12:5, 6, 14, 15; Dan. 7:25; Isa. 54:17; Ps. 119:89; Rev. 11:15–18.Memory Text:“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8, NKJV).Through the centuries, God’s Word has been dissected, doubted, and discarded. It has been chained in monasteries, burned in public squares, and torn to shreds. Its beli...

“God’s faithful servants were not toiling alone. While principalities and powers and wicked spirits in high places were leagued against them, the Lord did not forsake His people. Could their eyes have been opened, they would have seen as marked evidence of divine presence and aid as was granted to a prophet of old. When Elisha’s servant pointed his master to the hostile army surrounding them and c...

Read Romans 3:27–31; Romans 6:15–18; and Romans 8:1, 2. What do these verses teach us about salvation through Christ’s righteousness alone? A new wind was blowing through the Christian church in the days of Luther. Tens of thousands of people were taught to look away from their sinful selves and look to Jesus instead. No doubt these people, looking at themselves and what they were like, saw only t...

Read Ephesians 2:8, 9; Romans 3:23, 24; Romans 6:23; and Romans 5:8–10. What do these verses teach about the plan of salvation? God has provided salvation as a gift. His Holy Spirit leads us to accept by faith what Christ has so freely provided through His death on Calvary’s cross. Jesus, the divine Son of God, offered His perfect life to atone for our sins. Divine justice demands perfect obedienc...

One day while studying in the university library, Martin Luther came to a turning point in his own life. He discovered a Latin copy of the Bible. He never knew before that a book like this even existed. With sheer delight, he read chapter after chapter, verse after verse. He was amazed at the clarity and power of God’s Word. As he pored over its pages, the Holy Spirit illuminated His mind. He sens...

Read 2 Corinthians 4:1–6 and 2 Corinthians 2:14. What do these passages tell us about the confidence Paul had, despite the challenges he faced in proclaiming the truth of God’s Word? The apostle Paul faced overwhelming odds in his work of spreading the gospel; yet, he had the confidence that God’s Word would eventually triumph, “for,” as he said, “we can do nothing against the truth, but for the t...

Read Psalm 119:103, 104; Psalm 119:147; and Psalm 119:162. What was David’s attitude toward God’s Word? How did this impact the Reformers, and how does it influence our lives today? The Bible was the foundation of the Reformers’ faith and the essence of their teaching. They understood that they were handling the inspired “word of God which lives and abides forever” (1 Pet. 1:23, NKJV). They treasu...

Read for This Week’s StudyPs. 119:162; John 16:13–15; 2 Pet. 1:20, 21; Eph. 2:8, 9; Rom. 3:23, 24; Rom. 6:15–18.Memory Text:“Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (Psalm 119:11, NKJV).The Protestant Reformers had something twenty-first century people desperately need—a purpose for their lives. In his book, The Empty Self, renowned American psychologist Philip Cushm...

“God permitted great light to shine upon the minds of these chosen men, revealing to them many of the errors of Rome; but they did not receive all the light that was to be given to the world. Through these, His servants, God was leading the people out of the darkness of Romanism; but there were many and great obstacles for them to meet, and He led them on, step by step, as they could bear it. They...

Read Hebrews 2:14, 15. How did believers in the Middle Ages experience the reality of the great controversy? What was it that cheered the faithful Waldenses during the horrible persecutions they faced? What gave Huss and Jerome, Tyndale, Latimer, and the martyrs of the Middle Ages courage to face the flames and the sword? Faith in the promises of God. They believed Christ’s promise: “Because I liv...

Read Psalm 19:7–11, Psalm 119:140, Psalm 119:162, and Jeremiah 15:16. What similar attitudes did David and Jeremiah have toward the Word of God that were, really, the cornerstone of the Reformation? Each of the Reformers “rejoiced” in God’s Word. They “delighted” in doing God’s will. They “loved” His law. One of the most significant foundational truths of the Reformation was the joy that studying...

Compare Acts 5:28–32, Ephesians 6:10–12, and Revelation 3:11. What basic principle is found in these texts? One of the distinguishing characteristics of the Waldenses, and each one of the Reformers, was their absolute allegiance to God, their obedience to the authority of Scripture, and their commitment to the supremacy of Christ, not the papacy. Their minds were saturated with New Testament stori...