"And 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, KJV.
"God is leading a people out from the world upon the exalted platform of eternal truth, the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. He will discipline and fit up His people. They will not be at variance, one believing one thing, and another having faith and views entirely opposite, each moving independently of the body. Through the diversity of the gifts and governments that He has placed in the church, they will all come to the unity of the faith. " —Testimonies, vol. 3, p. 446.
You can enjoy unity of faith as a Seventh-day Adventist! You have the benefits of the gift of prophecy! You can carry the last special message to the world!
"God has a distinct people, a church on earth, second to none, but superior to all in their facilities to teach the truth, to vindicate the law of God. God has divinely appointed agencies—men whom He is leading . . . who are cooperating with heavenly instrumentalities to advance the kingdom of Christ in our world. Let all unite with these chosen agents, and be found at last among those who have the patience of the saints, and who keep the commandments of God, and have the faith of Jesus."—Testimonies to Ministers, p. 58.
In this lesson you will discover—
THE FOUNDATION OF CHRIST'S FELLOWSHIP
1. What basic truth was given in response to Peter's confession of faith in Christ? Matthew 16:13-18.
Matthew 16:13-18 (NIV) When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" 14) They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15) "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" 16) Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17) Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18) And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
"To those who believe, Christ is a sure foundation. Upon this living stone, Jews and Gentiles alike may build. It is broad enough for all, and strong enough to sustain the weight and burden of the whole world."—The Acts of the Apostles, p. 175.
2. How did Jesus begin to lay the foundation of church fellowship? John 1:35-51
John 1:35-51 (NIV) The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36) When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!" 37) When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38) Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, "What do you want?" They said, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?" 39) "Come," he replied, "and you will see." So they went and saw where he was staying, and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour. 40) Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41) The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, "We have found the Messiah" (that is, the Christ). 42) And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which, when translated, is Peter). 43) The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, "Follow me." 44) Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45) Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote--Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." 46) "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" Nathanael asked. "Come and see," said Philip. 47) When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false." 48) "How do you know me?" Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you." 49) Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel." 50) Jesus said, "You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that." 51) He then added, "I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."
Note: "With the calling of John and Andrew and Simon, of Philip and Nathanael, began the foundation of the Christian church."—The Desire of Ages, p. 141.
3. After Christ's ascension to heaven, who was to be His representative to His followers? John 14:16, 17.
John 14:16-17 (NIV) And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- 17) the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
Note: The Holy Spirit was the highest gift that Christ could give for the comfort and benefit of His people. The Spirit of God, Himself a gift, became a Giver of gifts (1 Corinthians 12:1, 7), including the gift of prophecy. These gifts were set in the church for the purpose of helping the entire membership.
1 Corinthians 12:1 (NIV) Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant.
1 Corinthians 12:7 (NIV) Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
4. What prophetic symbol represents the church in its warfare against evil forces? Revelation 12:1-5.
Revelation 12:1-5 (NIV) A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2) She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. 3) Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. 4) His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. 5) She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne.
The woman clothed with the sun represents the true church (Jeremiah 6:2).
Jeremiah 6:2 (NKJV) I have likened the daughter of Zion To a lovely and delicate woman.
The man-child here represents Christ (Psalm 2:7-9).
Psalms 2:7-9 (NIV) I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, "You are my Son ; today I have become your Father. 8) Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. 9) You will rule them with an iron scepter ; you will dash them to pieces like pottery."
The great red dragon primarily represents Satan and secondarily the rulers of pagan Rome, who attempted to destroy Jesus at His birth. (See Revelation 12:9 and Matthew 2:16-18.)
Revelation 12:9 (NIV) The great dragon was hurled down--that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
Matthew 2:16-18 (NIV) When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17) Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: 18) "A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more."
5. How does the Bible describe the conflict of the church following Christ's ascension? Revelation 12:13, 6, 14-16.
Revelation 12:13 (NIV) When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.
Revelation 12:6 (NIV) The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.
Revelation 12:14-16 (NIV) The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent's reach. 15) Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. 16) But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.
Note: Persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, first from the Jews (Acts 8:1; 9:1, 2), later over much of the Roman Empire by Rome in its pagan form, still later throughout Europe through the Roman papal apostate church. (Revelation 12:6). By the end of the eighteenth century the flood tide of persecution ceased, and the time had come for the fulfillment of prophecies that refer to the last days.
Jewish persecution of Christians:
Acts 8:1 (NIV) And Saul was there, giving approval to his death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
Acts 9:1-2 (NIV) Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest 2) and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
Pagan Roman persecutions (64 A.D. - 313 A.D.)
When Nero Burned Rome in 64 A.D. he blamed the Christians who were then persecuted by the Romans.
Papal Roman persecutions (538 A.D. - sometime prior to 1798)
Revelation 12:13 (NKJV) Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child.
Revelation 12:6 (NIV) The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.
6. How does the Bible describe the persecuting work of Satan against the survivors of his onslaughts? Revelation 12:17,
Revelation 12:17 (NIV) Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring--those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.
Note: The "rest of her offspring," according to the original Greek, means "the remaining ones," which refers to a few scattered true believers. In some versions of the Bible, the word remnant is used to refer to these last true believers holding to Bible truth.
7. What did the angel declare that John the revelator and his brother prophets possessed? Revelation 19:10.
Revelation 19:10 (NIV) At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, "Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
8. What will the last, or remnant, church also possess? Revelation 12:17; 19:10, last part. (Use King James Version.)
Revelation 12:17 (KJV) And 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 (NIV) Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring--those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.
Revelation 19:10 (KJV) And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
Revelation 19:10 (NIV) At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, "Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
Note: The spirit of prophecy is a gift which operates through prophets chosen by God. It would be impossible to have the testimony of Jesus or the gift of prophecy in the last, or remnant, church without a prophetic messenger of the Lord.
9. What further marks of identity does the remnant church have? Revelation 14:12. 13,
Revelation 14:12-13 (NIV) This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God's commandments and remain faithful to Jesus. 13) Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them."
10. In what Christian movement of our time has the gift of prophecy and all the other marks of' the last, or remnant, church been manifested?
Answer: As students of Bible prophecy and church history, Seventh-day Adventists see in the fellowship to which they belong a fulfillment of these specifications of Bible prophecy. While other sincere Christians are children of God, the Seventh-day Adventist movement uniquely represents the characteristics of the remnant of Revelation 12:17.
Revelation 12:17 (NIV) Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring--those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.
11. What prophetic messages found in Revelation 14:6-12 have been entrusted to the last, or remnant, church to be delivered to the world?
Revelation 14:6-12 (NIV) Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth--to every nation, tribe, language and people. 7) He said in a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water." 8) A second angel followed and said, "Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great, which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries." 9) A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, 10) he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11) And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name." 12) This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God's commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.
12. What attitude toward the gift of prophecy does the Bible recommend? 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22.
1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 (NIV) Do not put out the Spirit's fire; 20) do not treat prophecies with contempt. 21) Test everything. Hold on to the good. 22) Avoid every kind of evil.
HERITAGE TIE
Ellen G. White, the Messenger
During the seventy years of her ministry (1845-1915), Ellen G. White was used as God's instrument to bring prophetic guidance to His people. Seventh-day Adventists believe that through her He sent inspired messages to His church. They feel they have sound reasons for this conviction. Some of the reasons are as follows:
1. As required by the Bible (Isaiah 8:20) Mrs. White's writings and teachings are in harmony with the Holy Scriptures.
Isaiah 8:20 (NKJV) To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
2. God promised through His Word to place the gift of the spirit of prophecy in His commandment-keeping remnant church. Revelation 12:17; 19:10.
Revelation 12:17 (NKJV) And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Revelation 19:10 (NKJV) And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, "See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
3. Through her were revealed secrets that only God could bring to light.
4. Predictions made by her regarding future events came to pass as foretold.
5. Though she had little scholastic training, she wrote volumes in specialized fields, some in the area of scientific thought, for which she was not prepared by technical study. Authorities in these fields acclaim these writings as far in advance of her time. Many of the views set forth in her published writings were unknown to the learned people of her day, but are now accepted as scientific facts.
6. Her life bore the fruit of a prophet (Matthew 7:15- 20). She labored constantly to relieve suffering, to inspire courage, and to save the lost. Her whole life was devoted to the service of her Master.
Matthew 7:15-20 (NIV) "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16) By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17) Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18) A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19) Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20) Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.—Statement by D. A. Delafield of the Ellen G. White Estate
Unless otherwise designated, scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION�. Copyright � 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.