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Sabbath Bible Lessons

Light for Today From the Sanctuary Service

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Lesson 11 Sabbath, June 11, 2011

The Vision of the Prophet Daniel

“O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased” (Daniel 12:4).

“The light that Daniel received from God was given especially for these last days. The visions he saw . . . are now in process of fulfillment, and all the events foretold will soon come to pass.”—Testimonies to Ministers, pp. 112, 113.

Suggested Reading:   Prophets and Kings, pp. 551-555

Sunday June 5

1. ANCIENT EMPIRES IN PROPHECY

a. Describe the principle upon which the Sovereign of the universe is operating in the history of the nations. Ezekiel 21:27, 28; Daniel 2:21; 4:35.

“Every nation that has come upon the stage of action has been permitted to occupy its place on the earth, that the fact might be determined whether it would fulfill the purposes of the Watcher and the Holy One.”—Prophets and Kings, p. 535.

b. What are we to learn from the accuracy with which the prophecies of nations have been fulfilled? Isaiah 46:9, 10.

“The history of nations speaks to us today. To every nation and to every individual God has assigned a place in His great plan. Today men and nations are being tested by the plummet in the hand of Him who makes no mistake. All are by their own choice deciding their destiny, and God is overruling all for the accomplishment of His purposes. . . .

“All that prophecy has foretold as coming to pass, until the present time, has been traced on the pages of history, and we may be assured that all which is yet to come will be fulfilled in its order.”—Ibid., p. 536.


Monday June 6

2. FOUR KINGDOMS IN SEQUENCE

a. What did Daniel behold in prophetic vision in the third year of King Belshazzar’s reign? Daniel 8:3, 4. How did the angel Gabriel explain the meaning of the ram with two horns? Daniel 8:20.

b. What explanation did the angel give about the rough goat that overpowered the ram? Daniel 8:5–7, 21, 22.

c. After the four generals of Alexander the Great divided the Grecian Empire he had established, how was the next world power depicted? Daniel 8:8; 7:7.

d. Of what heinous crime was this cruel empire guilty? Acts 4:26, 27.

“The chief agent of Satan in making war upon Christ and His people during the first centuries of the Christian Era was the Roman Empire, in which paganism was the prevailing religion. Thus while the dragon, primarily, represents Satan, it is, in a secondary sense, a symbol of pagan Rome.”—The Great Controversy, p. 438.

e. What realization can bring us comfort even amidst the wickedness prevailing in this dark world? Daniel 2:20–22; Acts 15:18.

“Prophecy has traced the rise and progress of the world’s great empires—Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. With each of these, as with the nations of less power, history has repeated itself. Each has had its period of test; each has failed, its glory faded, its power departed.

“While nations have rejected God’s principles, and in this rejection have wrought their own ruin, yet a divine, overruling purpose has manifestly been at work throughout the ages.”—Prophets and Kings, p. 535.


Tuesday June 7

3. THE RISE OF THE LITTLE HORN

a. What was noticeable about one of the ten horns in Daniel’s vision, and what does this signify? Daniel 8:9–11, 24, 25; 7:8.

“Says Daniel, of the little horn, the papacy: ‘He shall think to change times and the law’ (Daniel 7:25, RV). And Paul styled the same power the ‘man of sin,’ who was to exalt himself above God.”—The Great Controversy, p. 446.

b. What does the word of prophecy say, in the New Testament, about the little horn when it is already developed into a religious/political power? 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4; Revelation 13:2–8.

c. By what other names is this power mentioned in the New Testament? When and how will this power eventually come to an end? Daniel 7:11, 26; Revelation 17:5, 16; 18:7, 16, 18, 20.

d. As the prophet was listening to the conversation between the two angels, what question impressed his mind—and what answer did he hear? Daniel 8:12–14.

e. In Daniel 8, the truth, the sanctuary, and the host of the Prince would be trodden under foot by the little horn until the end of the 2300 prophetic days (or 2300 literal years). In Daniel 7, the same religious/political power would prevail until the judgment. Daniel 7:19–22. Therefore, with what great event in the plan of God must coincide the end of the 2300 hundred years?

“Both the prophecy of Daniel 8:14, ‘Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed,’ and the first angel's message, ‘Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come,’ pointed to Christ's ministration in the most holy place, to the investigative judgment.”—Ibid., p. 424.

f. After what events, and after what period of time, does the Bible set the beginning of the investigative judgment? Daniel 7:25, 26; Revelation 11:2, 3, 18, 19.


Wednesday June 8

4. “THE ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION”

a. What warning did Jesus give the early disciples about “the abomination of desolation” spoken of in the vision given to Daniel? Matthew 24:15–20.

“When the idolatrous standards of the Romans should be set up in the holy ground, which extended some furlongs outside the city walls, then the followers of Christ were to find safety in flight. When the warning sign should be seen, those who would escape must make no delay. Throughout the land of Judea, as well as in Jerusalem itself, the signal for flight must be immediately obeyed. He who chanced to be upon the housetop must not go down into his house, even to save his most valued treasures. Those who were working in the fields or vineyards must not take time to return for the outer garment laid aside while they should be toiling in the heat of the day. They must not hesitate a moment, lest they be involved in the general destruction.”—The Great Controversy, p. 26.

b. In what sense does this warning about “the abomination of desolation” have a second application today? Compare Daniel 8:13; 9:26, 27; 11:31; 12:11.

“The time is not far distant, when, like the early disciples, we shall be forced to seek a refuge in desolate and solitary places. As the siege of Jerusalem by the Roman armies was the signal for flight to the Judean Christians, so the assumption of power on the part of our nation [the United States] in the decree enforcing the papal sabbath will be a warning to us. It will then be time to leave the large cities, preparatory to leaving the smaller ones for retired homes in secluded places among the mountains.

“For years I have been given special light that we are not to center our work in the cities. The turmoil and confusion that fill these cities, the conditions brought about by the labor unions and the strikes, would prove a great hindrance to our work. Men are seeking to bring those engaged in the different trades under bondage to certain unions. This is not God’s planning, but the planning of a power that we should in no wise acknowledge. . . .

“Educate our people to get out of the cities into the country, where they can obtain a small piece of land, and make a home for themselves and their children. . . .

“Erelong there will be such strife and confusion in the cities, that those who wish to leave them will not be able.”—Maranatha, p. 180.


Thursday June 9

5. THE URGENCY OF THE HOUR

a. As we see the fulfillment of prophecy unfolding before our very eyes, what words of encouragement should we take to heart? Ecclesiastes 7:8; Jude 1:21.

“The prophecies which the great I AM has given in His word, uniting link after link in the chain of events, from eternity in the past to eternity in the future, tell us where we are today in the procession of the ages and what may be expected in the time to come. . . .

“The present is a time of overwhelming interest to all living. Rulers and statesmen, men who occupy positions of trust and authority, thinking men and women of all classes, have their attention fixed upon the events taking place about us. They are watching the relations that exist among the nations. They observe the intensity that is taking possession of every earthly element, and they recognize that something great and decisive is about to take place—that the world is on the verge of a stupendous crisis.”—Prophets and Kings, pp. 536, 537.


Friday June 10

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

a. In the vision of the prophet Daniel, what kingdom was represented by the ram with two horns?

b. In ancient history, who was the rough he-goat that overpowered the ram? Who were the four horns that came up after the goat’s large horn was broken?

c. Who was symbolized by the “little horn” that took root in the territory of one of the four horns (Macedonia)?

d. What did Jesus prophesy about the twofold prophecy of “the abomination of desolation” spoken of by Daniel?

e. After the religious/political power represented by the little horn loses its supremacy, for what work would the most holy place in the heavenly sanctuary be opened?

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