Thursday, March 24, 2016

Lesson 1 Son of David March 26- April 1 2016

The Book of Matthew

During his birth in Winchester, Massachusetts, Rick Hoyt was strangled by the umbilical cord, leaving him brain damaged and unable to control his limbs. Months later, doctors told the Hoyt family that Rick would live in a vegetative state the rest of his life and should be put in an institution.
“But the Hoyts weren’t buying it,” wrote Rick Reilly in a profile of the Hoyts for Sports Illustrated magazine (June 20, 2005). “They noticed the way Rick’s eyes followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was anything to help the boy communicate.
“‘No way,’ Dick Hoyt says he was told. ‘There’s nothing going on in his brain.’
“‘Tell him a joke,’ Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a lot was going on in his brain.”

Then, hooked to “a computer that allowed him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his head, Rick was finally able to communicate” with others. This technology enabled him to begin a new life. And that new life included, among other things, his father pushing him in a wheelchair in a charity marathon. After the race, Rick typed out, “‘Dad, when we were running, it felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!’”
Dick determined to give Rick that feeling as often as he could. Four years later, they ran the Boston Marathon together. Then someone suggested a triathlon, and since then the two have done hundreds of athletic events, with his father pushing or pulling him along.
“‘No question about it,’” Rick has typed out. “‘My dad is the Father of the Century.’”
We’ve got a lot in common with Rick Hoyt because we have a Father who, even more than Dick Hoyt loves Rick, loves us, cares for us, and was willing to sacrifice His only son for us.
Like Rick, the tragedy and debilitating effects of sin have paralyzed us all. By our own strength, the life we live isn’t anywhere close to the life we were meant to live. As hard as we might try, we will never improve ourselves enough to be saved. “Our condition through sin is unnatural, and the power that restores us must be supernatural, else it has no value.”—Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing, p. 428. We must be saved from outside ourselves because it should be obvious by now that we cannot save ourselves.
It was for this reason that people, at times, have looked up into the night sky for help outside of themselves: a Deliverer. Our spiritual ancestors, the Israelites, had a name for this hoped-for Deliverer: the Son of David, whom we know as Jesus of Nazareth.
And an inspired version of Jesus’ story is given in the Gospel of Matthew, our topic for this quarter. Matthew, a Jewish believer in Jesus, and one of the original disciples of Jesus, recounts the story of Jesus from His own Spirit-inspired perspective. Though in common with Mark, Luke, and John, Matthew’s theme is the incarnation, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, Matthew focuses strongly on the fact that Jesus is the Promised Messiah. He wanted his readers to know that the redemption of Israel was to be found in Jesus, the One of whom the prophets spoke and to whom all the Old Testament types pointed.
Though his audience was primarily Jews, his message of hope and Redemption speaks to us, as well; a people who, like Rick Hoyt, need Someone to do for us what we never can do for ourselves.
And Matthew tells the story of Him, Jesus, doing just that.
Andy Nash, PhD, is a professor and pastor at Southern Adventist University, in Collegedale, Tennessee. He is the author of several books, including The Haystacks Church and The Book of Matthew: “Save Us Now, Son of David.”
Lesson 1* March 26-April 1

Son of David


Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Matthew 1:1-25Mark 12:35-37Isa. 9:67Rom. 5:8John 2:25Jer. 29:13Matt. 2:1-14.
Memory Text: “He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21, NKJV).
Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Matthew began his book with a genealogy; but not with just any genealogy but with that of Jesus Christ. And he began not only with a genealogy but with one revealing some ancestors that most people would not necessarily like to claim as their own.
Perhaps, as himself somewhat of an outcast, Matthew could relate to that ancestry. After all, he was a Jewish tax collector, who had sold out to the enemy and who actually paid Rome for the opportunity to sit there and tax his own Jewish people. Surely, he would not be a man beloved of his nation.
Nevertheless, humans might look on the outward appearance, but God looks upon the heart. And no question, looking at Matthew’s heart, the Lord chose him, a despised tax collector, to be among His disciples. And, when called, Matthew accepted, giving up the life he had before for a new life in Jesus.
Thus, Matthew followed his Lord, kept records, and one day he would give something back to his people, and to the world. It would not be a tax receipt but, instead, a precious account of the life of Jesus.
* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, April 2.
SundayMarch 27

A Book of Genesis

“This is the genealogy of Jesus Christ … the son of David” (Matt. 1:1, NIV).
Right from the start, Matthew calls his work a “book” (from the Greek word, biblos, which can mean a “sacred writing”), a “book of the genealogy,” of the ancestry of Jesus. In fact, the Greek word translated “genealogy” or “generation” is from a word that can be translated “genesis.” Hence, it could be said that Matthew started his Gospel with “a book of genesis.”
Just as the Old Testament itself began with a book about the creation of the world, Matthew (hence the New Testament itself) starts with a book about the Creator Himself and about the work of Redemption that only the Creator could accomplish.
What do these texts tell us about Jesus? John 1:1-3Heb. 1:1-3Micah 5:2Mark 12:35-37.

“From the days of eternity the Lord Jesus Christ was one with the Father; He was ‘the image of God,’ the image of His greatness and majesty, ‘the outshining of His glory,’ …
“By coming to dwell with us, Jesus was to reveal God both to men and to angels. He was the Word of God,—God’s thought made audible.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 19.
The divinity of Christ, however, was not first and foremost in Matthew’s mind, as in contrast to John (see John 1:1-4), who immediately writes about the deity of Christ before going into the human side of Jesus (see John 1:14). Instead, Matthew focuses very much on Christ’s humanity, Christ as “the son of David, the son of Abraham.” He then traces, from Abraham, the lineage of Jesus’ human ancestors up to the birth of Jesus, all in a desire to show his readers that, indeed, Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah predicted in the prophecies of the Old Testament.
Of course, family and ancestry are important. At the same time, as far as the gospel is concerned, our parents or grandparents or any of our ancestry is irrelevant. What, instead, is important, and why? See Gal. 3:29.

MondayMarch 28

A Royal Line

Whatever the various views of the Jews regarding the coming of the Messiah, one thing was for certain: the Messiah would be from the house of David. (Even many religious Jews today who await the Messiah believe that He must come from the house of David.) That’s why Matthew began his gospel as he did; he wanted to establish the identity of Jesus as the Messiah. Because the Messiah was to be the seed of Abraham (Gen. 22:18Gal. 3:16), the father of the Jewish nation, and from the lineage of David, Matthew right away seeks to show Jesus’ lineage and how He was directly tied, not just to Abraham (to whom most Israelites were tied) but to King David. Many commentators believe that Matthew had a Jewish audience primarily in mind; thus, his strong emphasis establishing the Messianic credentials of Jesus of Nazareth.
Read the following texts. How do they help us to understand the point that Matthew was seeking to make?




All this helps us to understand why the Gospel of Matthew begins the way it does: “This is the genealogy of Jesus Christ … the son of David” (Matt. 1:1, NIV). First and foremost, Jesus Christ is described as the “Son of David.” And just as the New Testament begins with this depiction of Jesus, toward the end of the New Testament, He says these words as well: “I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star” (Rev. 22:16). All else that Jesus is, He remains the “root and offspring of David.”
What a powerful testimony to the human nature of Jesus and to His essential humanity; our Creator has linked Himself to us in ways that we can barely imagine.
TuesdayMarch 29

Jesus’ Early Family Tree

Beyond David, who else do we find in Jesus’ family tree? Matt. 1:23.

Women weren’t even typically listed in genealogies; so, why would a woman named Tamar be listed here? Who was she to begin with?
Tamar was a Canaanite woman who had been married sequentially to two sons of Judah. Both of these sons died in wickedness while Tamar was childless. Her father-in-law, Judah, promised Tamar that he would give her his third son in marriage when the son got old enough. But this never happened.
So, what did Tamar do? She disguised herself as a prostitute and got together with none other than Judah, who had no idea it was Tamar. Months later, when Tamar’s pregnancy became evident, Judah took action to have the immoral Tamar put to death; that is, until Tamar revealed to Judah that he was the father of her baby.
However much this might sound like a tawdry soap opera, it’s still part of the human ancestry of Jesus.
Read Matthew 1:45. Who else is listed that is somewhat surprising?

Rahab, the Canaanite prostitute? Apparently so. After helping to protect the Israelite spies in Canaan, she joined the people of God and, it seems, married into the ancestry of Jesus.
Who else was in the line? Matt. 1:5-6.
Ruth was a virtuous woman but, through no fault of her own, she came from the hated Moabites—the product of an incestuous relationship between a drunken Lot and one of his daughters. Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba, was, of course, the woman that King David selfishly summoned while her husband Uriah was out in battle. David, too, was a sinner needing a Savior. David had many outstanding qualities, but he was no model of a family man, to be sure.
If God receives us despite our faults and shortcomings, how can we learn to do the same with others, despite their faults and shortcomings?
WednesdayMarch 30

While We Were Yet Sinners

What do the following texts say about human nature? What powerful evidence do we have about the truth of these sentiments? Rom. 3:9105:8John 2:25Jer. 17:9.

As has often been stated, but is worth repeating, the Bible does not paint a rosy picture of humanity or human nature. From the Fall in Eden (Genesis 3) to the fall of Babylon in the last days (Revelation 18), the sad state of humanity is readily apparent. And though we tend to idealize, for instance, the early days of the church before the great “falling away” (2 Thess. 2:3), that is a mistake (see 1 Cor. 5:1). We’re all fallen, broken people, and that includes the lineage out of which Jesus Himself arose.
“The genuineness, and unlikeliness, of this genealogy,” writes scholar Michael Wilkins, “must have stunned Matthew’s readers. Jesus’ ancestors were humans with all of the foibles, yet potentials, of everyday people. God worked through them to bring about his salvation. There is no pattern of righteousness in the lineage of Jesus. We find adulterers, harlots, heroes, and Gentiles. Wicked Rehoboam was the father of wicked Abijah, who was the father of good King Asa. Asa was the father of the good King Jehoshaphat … , who was the father of wicked King Jorum. God was working throughout the generations, both good and evil, to bring about his purposes. Matthew shows that God can use anyone—however marginalized or despised—to bring about his purposes. These are the very types of people Jesus came to save.”—Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary: Matthew (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002), p. 9.
That’s the point we need to remember, not just when we look at others but when we look at ourselves, as well. What Christian, at some point in his or her walk, doesn’t get discouraged, doesn’t question his or her faith, doesn’t wonder whether or not he or she is truly converted? So often, too, what brings about this discouragement is, indeed, our fallen nature, our sins, our shortcomings. Thus, amid this despair we can and should draw hope that God knows all these things and that it was for people just like us that Christ came into this world.
What Bible promises can you cling to in moments of discouragement and spiritual despair?
ThursdayMarch 31

The Birth of David’s Divine Son

Somewhere in the night air between Matthew 1 and Matthew 2, Jesus was born. It likely wasn’t on December 25. Based on the timing of the priest Zechariah’s temple service, scholars suggest that Jesus was probably born in the fall, when sheep were still out in the fields, perhaps in late September or October.
It’s a great irony that some of the first people to seek out and worship the Jewish Messiah would be Gentiles. While most of Jesus’ own people (and a paranoid half-Jew, King Herod) thought they knew what kind of Messiah to expect, these travelers from the East had open minds and hearts. The magi (wise men) were respected philosophers from Persia who devoted their lives seeking for truth, wherever it may come from. No wonder, then, that they found themselves worshiping the One who was, indeed, “the Truth” Himself. Though the context is different, we can see here an example of the truth of words spoken centuries earlier, “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jer. 29:13).
Read Matthew 2:1-14. What contrast is seen between the attitude of these wise men in contrast to that of King Herod?

These pagans fall down and worship Jesus, in contrast to the king of the nation, who sought to kill Jesus instead!
This story should serve as a powerful reminder that church affiliation is no guarantee of being in the right relationship with God. It should also be a reminder, too, that a correct understanding of truth is very important. Had Herod and the priests a better understanding of the prophecies concerning the Messiah, Herod would have known that Jesus would not have been the kind of threat that he feared. He would have understood that this “King of the Jews” was not anyone to worry about, at least in terms of Herod guarding his own immediate political power.
How can we protect ourselves as Seventh-day Adventists, a people blessed with much light, from the deception that this light automatically means that we are in a right relationship with God? At the same time, how can the light help us to have a deeper walk with God because of an appreciation of His character that truth does give us?
FridayApril 1
Further Thought: Look at this quote from Ellen G. White: “It is thus that every sinner may come to Christ. ‘Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us.’ Titus 3:5. When Satan tells you that you are a sinner, and cannot hope to receive blessing from God, tell him that Christ came into the world to save sinners. We have nothing to recommend us to God; but the plea that we may urge now and ever is our utterly helpless condition that makes His redeeming power a necessity.”—The Desire of Ages, p. 317. What a powerful idea: it’s our “utterly helpless condition” that makes Christ as our Redeemer a necessity. This truth is no different when we first come to Jesus or if we have been walking with Him all our lives. Like those in the genealogy of Jesus’ human side, we are sinners in need of grace. Our obedience to the law, our overcoming sin and temptation, and our growth in Christ, however much these are parts of the Christian life, are the results of salvation and never the cause. Whether the thief on the cross or a saint translated at the second coming of Jesus, we are all in an “utterly helpless condition that makes His redeeming power a necessity.” How crucial that we never forget this foundational truth.

Discussion Questions:

  1. As we saw this week, Herod had grand misconceptions about prophecy that caused him to do some terrible things. Think about some of the false understandings of prophecy today. For instance, many believe that faithful Christians will be secretly and quietly taken up to heaven while family and friends are “left behind” to wonder why these people suddenly vanished into thin air. What are some of the potential dangers of holding such a false understanding of prophecy? Or, what about the idea that the temple in Jerusalem must be rebuilt and animal sacrifices reinstated as one of the final events in earth’s history? What other misconceptions about prophecy should help impress us with just how important a correct understanding of prophecy really is?
  2. So often, in many cultures and societies, who your parents are and what class you were born into are deemed very important. This is a tradition that seems to be found all through history and is deeply ingrained in many places, even today. Why is this worldly idea so contrary to everything the gospel stands for? Also, how should the idea of being “born again” impact the way we look at the whole question of what class or social structure that we or others were born into?
Inside Story~ 

The Tooth-Part 1

The newly-married Colin and Melva Winch took up their first mission assignment in the Solomon Islands as nurses in 1956. While on furlough in Australia in 1962, Colin obtained his commercial pilot's license and, working with fellow pioneer pilot Len Barnard, flew the first Seventh-day Adventist mission planes, reaching the remote areas of Papua New Guinea and the islands of the South Pacific. The following account is one of Colin's first challenges at an outpatient clinic.
It was an early morning session at the outpatient clinic at Amyes Memorial Hospital. Colin and Melva had recently arrived in Kukudu and this was one of Colin's first clinic sessions.
The first 10 patients had only minor maladies but this changed when Jacob-a large, well-built Solomon Islander with a mop of curly hair-came, holding his jaw. Assuming he had a tooth problem, Colin seated the patient on the folding dental chair that had been donated by the United States army.
Inspection revealed an excellent mouthful of shiny white teeth but the crown of a huge molar had broken off, creating the discomfort. Colin discovered Jacob had already sought dental treatment from another "doctor" who had failed in his attempt to remove the offending molar and snapped off the crown in the process.
This was to be Colin's first real extraction, the only previous one being at the dental hospital in Sydney and that tooth had almost fallen out of its own volition. He knew this extraction would be a real challenge, even more so since some of the village people would be watching the skill of the new "dentist."
Having prepared a mandibular block, Colin approached Jacob with the gleaming needle at the ready. Jacob knew all about that needle and withdrew his head as Colin endeavored to inject the anesthetic.
Lukana-the clinic assistant-sensed the problem and positioned himself behind the patient. Grabbing Jacob's hair with powerful hands, he said, "Shoot him, Doctor! Give the injection! He won't move now!"
To make sure of deadening the area, Colin injected the anesthetic into the gum beside the tooth as well. While waiting for the anesthetic to take effect, Colin noticed the audience below the clinic windows, listening to the commentary provided by the observers at the door. The outpatients were curious to know whether the new "Doctor" could be trusted as a dentist.
To be continued in next week's Inside Story.

Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission.  email: info@adventistmission.org  website: www.adventistmission.org

Friday, March 18, 2016

Lesson 13 Redemption March 19-25 2016

Lesson 13March 19-25

Redemption


Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week's Study: Rev. 20:1-3Jer. 4:23-261 Cor. 4:5Rev. 20:7-15Phil. 2:9-112 Pet. 3:10.
Memory Text: "'And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away'"(Revelation 21:4, NKJV).
People often ask why did evil arise in the first place? Central to the answer is freedom. True freedom, true moral freedom, involves risk, because if persons (or beings) are truly free, then they must have the option to do wrong.
Fair enough, but the next question arises: Why then didn't God just blot them out when they did wrong and spare the rest of us the horrible results of rebellion?
The answer gets to the heart of the great controversy. As we will see this week, the Lord runs a kind of "open" government, and though much about Him and His ways are mysterious, He will resolve the great controversy in a way that will forever end all questions about His self-denial, goodness, justice, love, and law.
Indeed, we will be given a thousand years to get answers, at least answers regarding the fate of the lost (we'll have an eternity for the rest). After the Second Coming, the redeemed will live and reign with Christ for a thousand years. And, even more incredible, they will have an active role in judgment. Let's look at the final steps in the long-playing drama of the great controversy.
Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, March 26.
SundayMarch 20

Binding Satan

Read Revelation 20:1-3. What is being described here, and what hope does it offer us?

Binding or being bound is used in a number of ways in the Bible. On the simplest level it applies to a prisoner. Jesus loosed many who had been bound by Satan. Furthermore, the act of binding is used to describe the power that God gives the church over evil, making it a symbol of judgment.
When a dangerous criminal is captured, it is necessary to bind him. However, many times in the Bible when people are bound, they are hardly criminals. John the Baptist was put in chains because he denounced the moral evils of the king (Matt. 14:3-4). Jesus was bound in the Garden (John 18:12), at His trial (John 18:24), and in death (John 19:40). Paul (Acts 21:33) and Peter (Acts 12:6) were both bound.
Jesus also spent a lot of face-to-face time with people whom Satan had bound. There was a demoniac bound with broken chains on his wrists and ankles (Mark 5:3-4). Before Jesus released him from demons, nobody could restrain the evil. He met a woman whose back had been bent over, and He released her (Luke 13:11-1216). He also released Lazarus from the tomb and from his grave clothes(John 11:43-44). Then there was Barabbas, who, although chained, was released so that Jesus, not him, would be crucified (Mark 15:7-15). In all of these instances, we see Satan either trying to keep people imprisoned with affliction or binding the innocent in order to allow evil to flourish. But we also see Jesus breaking the bonds of death in order to bring release and freedom to a world hopelessly imprisoned by Satan. In the end, Satan is bound and cast into outer darkness (Rev. 20:1-3).
Also, part of Jesus' mission to free those whom Satan bound was to empower His followers. He assured them that Satan ("the strong man") could be bound and his house plundered (Matt. 12:26-29, NKJV). In other words, Satan has no power against Christ and Christ's followers because Christ has released His people from the bonds of Satan.
As Paul observed, "the word of God is not chained" (2 Tim. 2:9, NKJV). It is the means whereby Jesus silenced Satan (Matt. 4:47,10), and we can use the same power to resist him, as well.
What promises can you claim that will free you from whatever chains the evil one seeks to bind you with?

MondayMarch 21

The "Why" Questions

The opening verses of Genesis describe the earth as being "without form, and void" (Gen. 1:2). This same phrase is repeated by Jeremiah to describe the earth after its destruction by the seven last plagues and the Second Coming, with every city on earth "broken down at the presence of the LORD"(Jer. 4:26, NKJV). In Jeremiah's description, there is no man (Jer. 4:25); in John's account, Satan is unable to deceive anyone (Rev. 20:3).
The dramatic and universal effects of the Second Coming can explain what is happening here in Revelation. First, Jesus promises to take His followers to a place He left earth to prepare (John 14:1-3). Paul adds the detail that those followers include the living, and those who have been resurrected from their graves (1 Thess. 4:16-17). John adds another detail: after the first resurrection at the Second Coming, the remainder of the dead will stay dead until the thousand years end (Rev. 20:5).
Read Revelation 20:4. What is being described in this text?

"Judgment was committed to them" (NKJV). How could they judge without getting more information than they have now? Before the final destruction of the wicked, the saved are given the opportunity to get many of their "why" questions answered. Even more amazingly, the redeemed even play a role in judging the lost. "In union with Christ they judge the wicked, comparing their acts with the statute book, the Bible, and deciding every case according to the deeds done in the body. Then the portion which the wicked must suffer is meted out, according to their works; and it is recorded against their names in the book of death."-Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 661.
During this time of opening the records, we will see the countless times that God's still small voice beckoned the lost with words of kindness and love. How patiently He persisted, only to be repeatedly drowned out by the clatter of the things that this world flaunts as desirable. Silently He waited, longing for an opportunity to be recognized as the One who paid an infinite price so they could have life, but instead they chose death. Is there anything in your life that is keeping you from hearing His voice? He is still patiently waiting for you. Choose life.
Read 1 Corinthians 4:5. What is promised to us here in regard to the Second Coming? How can you lean on this promise now, when, no doubt, you have a lot of unanswered questions?
TuesdayMarch 22

Final Judgment

In Bible times, there were two places for judgment: the city gate and before the king's throne. The elders at the gate decided all the small cases, but the king decided all the large issues. His was the final word in ensuring justice. Similarly, the Bible pictures God enthroned as King of the universe, guaranteeing that justice is finally done (Rev. 20:11-15).
Read Revelation 20:7-15. How do we understand these momentous events?

Revelation 20:1-15 is all about the thousand years; so, this particular judgment occurs in that time frame. It is not the same scene that is described in Revelation 20:4, where there are many thrones, because in Revelation 20:11 there is only one. Rather than being at the beginning of the thousand years, it is at the end, after the second resurrection (Rev. 20:5), and after Satan convinces the hosts of the unsaved to surround the Holy City (Rev. 20:7-9). God's great white throne is seen above the city at that point. Present is every person ever born; some inside the city, some outside. This is the time that Jesus spoke about when He said that there would be some people who ask God why they did not make it into God's kingdom (Matt. 7:22-23). It is also the time that Paul spoke of when he said that one day every knee shall bow down before Jesus, "of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and . . . every tongue [will] confess that Jesus Christ is Lord" (Phil. 2:9-11, NKJV).
The purpose of judgment is not to teach God anything that He doesn't already know, for He already knows everything. The purpose is to ensure that everybody knows exactly why God has judged the way that He has. Every person, every angel, will be able to say, "'You are just in these judgments, O Holy One, you who are and who were'" (Rev. 16:5, NIV). The saved and lost, both among humans and angels, will see the justice and righteousness of God.
The final act in this drama is the destruction of "Death and Hades," plus those not "written in the Book of Life" (Rev. 20:14-15, NKJV). Jesus holds the keys to Death and Hades (Rev. 1:18). Neither of these has any reason to exist any longer. Rather than facing eternal torment, as is so commonly taught, the lost are destroyed. They cease to exist forever, the opposite of eternal life.
WednesdayMarch 23

New Heavens and a New Earth

Sin and rebellion have been unwelcome intruders. They were never meant to be here. They inflicted incredible damage, but now that the cause of that damage no longer exists, it is time to restore everything to perfection. Not until that happens will the great controversy be completed.
Read Revelation 21:1-29-1022:1-3. What are the main features of John's description? What do they mean?

When John describes new heavens as well as a new earth, he is repeating what Peter said: "the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat" (2 Pet. 3:10, NKJV). As we know so well, the earth is in desperate need of more than just a makeover. Everything here is going to be completely destroyed in order to make way for a whole new existence.
John also talks about no more sea (Rev. 21:1). He wrote this from a prison island (Patmos) where the sea prevented his escape. Even in a modern boat, it takes hours to reach the island where John wrote these words. In the earth made new there will no longer be any form of barrier that prevents the redeemed from moving freely or seeing their loved ones.
The New Jerusalem sounds incredibly spectacular. It is described in terms of a city from Bible times because that is all John knew about. However, artists' impressions that depict it with first-century Roman architecture do it a major disservice because this is a city "whose builder and maker is God" (Heb. 11:10).
Our minds can barely grasp these descriptions. How fun it is to let our imagination dwell on what's in store for us though. We can barely begin to imagine it. Also, the huge dimensions of the city inform us that there is no shortage of space. There is room for everyone.
Look around at the beauty of the natural world and what it tells us about the character of God, even despite the ravages of sin. How can what we see here now help inspire us to trust in the hope of what we don't yet see?

ThursdayMarch 24

No More Tears

Read Revelation 21:3-5. What do the tears there mean?

We are all experienced with what it means to cry. We are also familiar with the action of wiping tears from another's eyes: a mother tenderly comforting her child; a close friend comforting a companion; or one parent comforting the other in the midst of heartache or tragedy. We also know that we do not allow many people to touch our face. So, what does it mean that God touches our face other than that we will have an intimate tie with our Maker?
It is hard to imagine a world without death, sorrow, or crying. Pain, sweat, tears, and death have been the norm for humankind ever since the Fall (Gen. 3:16-19). Yet, from that time on God has assured the human race that failure and loss are not all there is to look forward to. God has given little indicators along the way that He will one day redeem us and bless us with His presence.
God does so first with the promise of a Redeemer (Gen. 3:15); then with the assurance of His presence in a tabernacle (Exod. 25:8); then with the reality of the Word becoming flesh and tabernacling among us (John 1:14); and finally, by placing the throne of the universe in our midst (Rev. 21:3).
Many Bible verses give a summary of this covenant assurance, using such words as, "I will be their God," "you shall be my people," and "I will dwell among you." One example is: "'I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people'" (2 Cor. 6:16, NIV).
Jesus came the first time to neutralize the effects of the broken covenant. Jeremiah described the consequences of the broken covenant this way: "'Why do you cry about your affliction? Your sorrow is incurable. Because of the multitude of your iniquities, because your sins have increased, I have done these things to you'" (Jer. 30:15, NKJV). Thanks to Jesus, that is now history. Revelation 21:3essentially gives us the climax of the Bible. Perhaps the tears are what we shed over the final annihilation of the lost, but God Himself wipes them away, and sorrow and suffering are forever "passed away."
These texts imply an intimacy with God once we are in heaven. We, though, don't have to wait until then to have that kind of relationship with Him. How can you walk, even now, closely with the Lord?

FridayMarch 25
Further Thought: Think about the millennium, and about our understanding of it. Though we are not told a lot, we are told enough to know a few things. First, the millennium occurs before the final destruction of the lost. Second, before that final destruction, the saved spend this time getting a lot of questions answered. So much so that they themselves get to help partake of that judgment. That is, they themselves are judging. "Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?" (1 Cor. 6:2, NKJV). And: "Do you not know that we shall judge angels?" (1 Cor. 6:3, NKJV). Also, as we read this week, during this thousand years "judgment was committed to them" (Rev. 20:4, NKJV); that is, the saints. Thus, these two points together reveal an important truth: none of the lost will face final judgment until after the millennium, until the saved not only understand why the wicked are lost but also play a role in passing judgment upon them. Think about what this tells us about the character of God and the openness of His government: before a single person faces the ultimate fate of the lost, God's people will get to see very clearly the justice and fairness of God's final judgment upon them. It's going to be painful, for sure; but when it's finished, as we have already seen, we will shout: "'You are just in these judgments, O Holy One, you who are and who were'" (Rev. 16:5, NIV).

Discussion Questions:

  1. How does the reality of the great controversy help us better understand why suffering and death exist now, even though many difficult questions remain unanswered?
  2. If someone were to ask you: "How can I have a closer and more intimate walk with the Lord?" what would you say?
  3. Dwell more on the idea of being prepared now for heaven. What does that mean? How do we understand this idea in light of the gospel?
  4. What are some of the questions that you would like answered? Until they are answered, how do you learn to trust in the goodness and righteousness of God amid so much tragedy?
Inside Story~ 

"Are You An Angel?"

Days were lonely for Florie in her new home, so she decided to visit her new neighbors and invite them to study the Bible. Four people agreed to come to her home to study.
One person was a man named Nildo. When he didn't come to the Bible study, Florie went to visit him. She knocked on the door, but no answer. When she went to the back door, she thought she heard someone moaning. She found the door unlocked, so opened it.
She found an old man lying on a bed in a back room, moaning. Florie, a nurse's aide, could see that the man's bed was soiled and his clothes were wet. He was hungry and thirsty.
Florie bathed and dressed him in fresh clothes. She changed the bed linens and fixed him some porridge. As she cared for him, the man asked, "Are you an angel?"
"No," she answered. "I'm Florie, and I'm from the Adventist church. I came looking for Nildo. He asked for Bible studies, but didn't come today."
"I want Bible studies too," the old man said eagerly.
Florie looked at the man and said gently, "I came to bring a message to you." Then she sang a song for him.
When she finished singing, he exclaimed, "I know that God sent you here." Then he added, "Nobody likes me. But today I've learned that God cares for me. I've done some terrible things. I thought that God couldn't forgive me, but now I have hope."
Florie spent the rest of the afternoon chatting with the old man, whose name was Benedicto. He told her that he had been paid to murder people who were political enemies of the person he worked for.
Florie stayed for several hours, but as she was getting ready to leave, Benedicto's daughter walked in. She was surprised to find Florie there, and asked what she was doing.
"I'm Nildo's Bible teacher," Florie answered. "When he didn't come to the study, I came looking for him, but found your father. I saw that he needed help, so I helped him."
But the man's daughter wasn't pleased. "If you knew what kind of man he is, you wouldn't have helped him!" she said. "He isn't worth it! He shot my mother, and now she can't use her arm! Why didn't you just leave him alone to die?"
Florie answered quietly, "If you'll permit, I'm willing to come every day and care for your father!"
"You'll do it alone," the woman said. Then she continued to paint a black picture of the old man as Benedicto sat on his bed listening. His head was bowed, but she could see tears on his cheeks.
Florie came every afternoon to care for Benedicto. She began giving him Bible studies. She invited Nildo, his sister, and other family members to join them. When the study was finished, she cared for Benedicto's needs.
During the next few months Nildo learned to forgive his father, and he found grace and forgiveness in Christ. Benedicto, Nildo, and one of his sisters were baptized. Six months later, while Florie was caring for him, Benedicto died peacefully.
By Florieunice Oliveira dos Santos, who continues her ministry in Salvador, Brazil.

Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission.  email: info@adventistmission.org  website: www.adventistmission.org