Щоденні біблійні уроки

MEMORY VERSE: “And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the com-mandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” (Revelation 12:17).

Suggested Reading: The Great Controversy, pp. 582–592.

“Liberty of conscience, which has cost so great a sacrifice, will no longer be respected. In the soon-coming conflict we shall see exempli-fied the prophet’s words.”—The Great Controversy, p. 592.

1.  THE CHURCH REVEALEDSun, May 24

a.  What is seen at the beginning of John’s fourth vision?

Revelation 12:1: And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.

b.  In Bible symbolism, what is a woman designed to represent?

2 Corinthians 11:2: For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.

Ezekiel 23:2–4: 2 “Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother. 3 They played the whore in Egypt; they played the whore in their youth; there their breasts were pressed and their virgin bosoms handled. 4 Oholah was the name of the elder and Oholibah the name of her sister. They became mine, and they bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.

Revelation 17:3–6: 3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. 5 And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations. ” 6 And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her, I marveled greatly.

“In Revelation 17 Babylon is represented as a woman—a figure which is used in the Bible as the symbol of a church, a virtuous woman rep-resenting a pure church, a vile woman an apostate church.

“In the Bible the sacred and enduring character of the relation that exists between Christ and His church is represented by the union of marriage. The Lord has joined His people to Himself by a solemn covenant, He promising to be their God, and they pledging themselves to be His and His alone. He declares: ‘I will betroth thee unto Me for-ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto Me in righteousness, and in judg-ment, and in loving-kindness, and in mercies.’ Hosea 2:19. And, again: ‘I am married unto you.’ Jeremiah 3:14. And Paul employs the same figure in the New Testament when he says: ‘I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.’ 2 Corinthians 11:2.”—The Great Controversy, p. 381.

2.  THE CHURCH IN CONFLICTMon, May 25

a.  How did the church travail in expectation of the Messiah child?

Revelation 12:2: She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth.

Isaiah 9:6: For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Luke 2:25–32: 25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, 29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; 30 for my eyes have seen your salvation 31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel. ”

“The dying words of Jacob filled [the faithful among the Jews] with hope: ‘The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come.’ Genesis 49:10. The waning power of Israel testified that the Messiah’s coming was at hand. The prophe-cy of Daniel pictured the glory of His reign over an empire which should succeed all earthly kingdoms; and, said the prophet, ‘It shall stand forever.’ Daniel 2:44. While few understood the nature of Christ’s mission, there was a widespread expectation of a mighty prince who should establish his kingdom in Israel, and who should come as a deliverer to the nations.

“The fullness of the time had come. Humanity, becoming more de-graded through ages of transgression, called for the coming of the Redeemer.”—The Desire of Ages, p. 34.

b.  What civil power is depicted by the great red dragon?

Revelation 12:3: And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems.

“Under the symbols of a great red dragon, a leopardlike beast, and a beast with lamblike horns, the earthly governments which would es-pecially engage in trampling upon God’s law and persecuting His peo-ple, were presented to John.”—The SDA Bible Commentary [E. G. White Comments], vol. 7, p. 972.

c.  Because of this dragon-like power, what danger did the church and the Mes-siah face?

Revelation 12:4: His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it.

“Satan had been working to make the gulf deep and impassable be-tween earth and heaven. By his falsehoods he had emboldened men in sin. It was his purpose to wear out the forbearance of God, and to ex-tinguish His love for man, so that He would abandon the world to sa-tanic jurisdiction.”—The Desire of Ages, pp. 34, 35.

“Satan in heaven had hated Christ for His position in the courts of God. He hated Him the more when he himself was dethroned. He hat-ed Him who pledged Himself to redeem a race of sinners. Yet into the world where Satan claimed dominion God permitted His Son to come, a helpless babe, subject to the weakness of humanity. He permitted Him to meet life’s peril in common with every human soul, to fight the battle as every child of humanity must fight it, at the risk of failure and eternal loss.”—Ibid., p. 49.

3.  WAR IN HEAVENTue, May 26

a.  What insight into the past was revealed to John, and what does it mean?

Revelation 12:7–9: 7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world— he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

“Opposition to the law of God had its beginning in the courts of heaven, with Lucifer, the covering cherub. Satan determined to be first in the councils of heaven, and equal with God. He began his work of rebellion with the angels under his command, seeking to diffuse among them the spirit of discontent. And he worked in so deceptive a way that many of the angels were won to his allegiance before his purposes were fully known. Even the loyal angels could not fully dis-cern his character, nor see to what his work was leading. When Satan had succeeded in winning many angels to his side, he took his cause to God, representing that it was the desire of the angels that he occupy the position that Christ held.

“The evil continued to work until the spirit of disaffection ripened into active revolt. Then there was war in heaven, and Satan, with all who sympathized with him, was cast out.”—The SDA Bible Commentary [E. G. White Comments], vol. 7, pp. 972, 973.

b.  How does the announcement in Revelation 12:10, 11 indicate the completion of Satan’s being cast out during Jesus’ ministry?

Revelation 12:10, 11: 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.

“With prophetic eye Christ traced the scenes to take place in His last great conflict. He knew that when He should exclaim, ‘It is finished,’ all heaven would triumph. His ear caught the distant music and the shouts of victory in the heavenly courts. He knew that the knell of Sa-tan’s empire would then be sounded, and the name of Christ would be heralded from world to world throughout the universe.”—The Desire of Ages, p. 679.

“The plan of redemption had a yet broader and deeper purpose than the salvation of man. It was not for this alone that Christ came to the earth; it was not merely that the inhabitants of this little world might regard the law of God as it should be regarded; but it was to vindicate the character of God before the universe. . . . The act of Christ in dying for the salvation of man would not only make heaven accessible to men, but before all the universe it would justify God and His Son in their dealing with the rebellion of Satan. It would establish the per-petuity of the law of God and would reveal the nature and the results of sin.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 68, 69.

4.  WAR ON EARTHWed, May 27

a.  What increased danger would now be presented to the church?

Revelation 12:12, 13: 12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short! ” 13 And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.

“Satan, knowing that the empire he had usurped would in the end be wrested from him, determined to spare no pains to destroy as many as possible of the creatures whom God had created in His image. He hated man because Christ had manifested for him such forgiving love and pity, and he now prepared to practice upon him every species of deception by which he might be lost; he pursued his course with more energy because of his own hopeless condition.”—The SDA Bible Com-mentary [E. G. White Comments], vol. 7, pp. 973, 974.

“The great controversy between good and evil will increase in inten-sity to the very close of time. In all ages the wrath of Satan has been manifested against the church of Christ; and God has bestowed His grace and Spirit upon His people to strengthen them to stand against the power of the evil one. When the apostles of Christ were to bear His gospel to the world and to record it for all future ages, they were especially endowed with the enlightenment of the Spirit. But as the church approaches her final deliverance, Satan is to work with greater power. . . . And all the depths of satanic skill and subtlety acquired, all the cruelty developed, during these struggles of the ages, will be brought to bear against God’s people in the final conflict. And in this time of peril the followers of Christ are to bear to the world the warning of the Lord’s second advent; and a people are to be prepared to stand before Him at His coming, ‘without spot, and blameless.’ 2 Peter 3:14. At this time the special endowment of divine grace and power is not less needful to the church than in apostolic days.”—The Great Controversy, pp. ix, x.

b.  Describe the experience of the church during the 1,260 years of oppression and persecution.

Revelation 12:6, 14: 6 and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for ,260 days. 14 But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time.

c.  What help came to deflect the assault of the human agencies that the dragon intended to use against the faithful?

Revelation 12:15, 16: 15 The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. 16 But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth.

“As the tidings spread through the countries of Europe, of a land where every man might enjoy the fruit of his own labor and obey the convictions of his own conscience, thousands flocked to the shores of the New World.”—Ibid., p. 296.

5.  THE REMNANTThu, May 28

a.  As the anger of the dragon reaches its peak, how are the faithful described?

Revelation 12:17: Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.

“The revelator, looking down the ages to the close of time, has de-clared, ‘The dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.’ Revelation 12:17. Some who today are living on the earth will see these words fulfilled. The same spirit that in ages past led men to persecute the true church, will in the future lead to the pursuance of a similar course toward those who maintain their loyalty to God. Even now preparations are being made for this last great conflict.”—Prophets and Kings, p. 605.

b.  How do the characteristics of the remnant describe the church in the last days?

Revelation 14:12: Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.

Revelation 19:10: Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God. ” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

“The remnant church will acknowledge God in His law and will have the prophetic gift. Obedience to the law of God, and the spirit of prophecy has always distinguished the true people of God, and the test is usually given on present manifestations.”—Loma Linda Messag-es, p. 33.

“The remnant church will be brought into great trial and distress. Those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus will feel the ire of the dragon and his hosts. Satan numbers the world as his subjects, he has gained control of the apostate churches; but here is a little company that are resisting his supremacy.”—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 9, p. 231.

“A refusal to obey the commandments of God, and a determination to cherish hatred against those who proclaim these commandments, leads to the most determined war on the part of the dragon, whose whole energies are brought to bear against the command-ment-keeping people of God.”—Ibid., vol. 8, p. 117.

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONSFri, May 29

1.  Why is the church symbolized in the Bible by a woman?

2.  Explain the risk that the Son of God took to come to the earth as a human.

3.  When was the casting out of Satan from heaven fully completed?

4.  Describe the reason for the wrath of the dragon against the church.

5.  What characteristics do we look for when identifying the remnant?