Bible Study - Sabbath School Podcast

Sabbath Afternoon Read for This Week’s Study: Heb. 1:1-2; 2 Tim. 3:15-17; 2 Pet. 1:18-21; Exod. 17:14; Rev. 1:19; Ezek. 4:1-8 Memory Text: "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things he saw" (Revelation 1:1-2, NKJV). The apostle John had been part of the inner circle of the Twelve Apostles (Luke 8:51; Matt. 17:1; Matt. 26:36-37). After Christ's ascension, he continued his ministry, in Jerusalem. Yet, before the fall of the city (A.D. 70), he moved to Ephesus in order to oversee churches in the Roman province of Asia Minor. During the Christian persecution under the Roman emperor Domitian, the apostle was exiled to Patmos, an island in the Aegean Sea. On Patmos, John received special prophetic messages that were addressed not only to the seven churches of Asia Minor but to Christians throughout the ages (Rev. 1:1-3, 9-11). The prophetic message delivery chain, of which John was a part, looked something like this: God the Father, to Jesus Christ, to the angel, to the apostle John, and to the readers and hearers. This is a classic example of the revelation-inspiration process in which God uses prophets to communicate His messages to humanity. This week's lesson specifically examines the multiform revelation-inspiration process, with special focus on the oral, written, and dramatized ways the divine message has been communicated to human beings. *Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, October 31.

Keeping Jesus and His Word at the Center As we have learned, God called prophets at specific times and gave them important tasks. Their primary function was to bring people to a knowledge of God and a faithful relationship with Him. This was Ellen G. White's guiding orientation. Her ministry had two primary functions: to lead people to Jesus and to point them to His Word—the Bible. Ellen G. White had a lifelong passion for Jesus and a desire to share the love of God with others. Her famous five-book series, The Conflict of the Ages, begins and ends with the words "God is love." In Steps to Christ, perhaps her most popular book, she wrote: "Our growth in grace, our joy, our usefulness—all depend upon our union with Christ. It is by communion with Him, daily, hourly—by abiding in Him—that we are to grow in grace. He is not only the Author, but the Finisher of our faith."—Steps to Christ, p. 69. During the 1890s, when she was working on The Desire of Ages, she wrote in her diary: "In writing upon the life of Christ I am deeply wrought upon. I forget to breathe as I should. I cannot endure the intensity of feeling that comes over me as I think of what Christ has suffered in our world."—Manuscript 70, 1897. Ellen G. White loved to speak about Jesus. The Bible was the second focus of Ellen White's ministry. She saw her writings as a "lesser light" leading people to the "greater light"—the Bible (Selected Messages, book 3, p. 29). She always encouraged people to go to Scripture, where God has revealed His loving character and plan of salvation. As she put it early in her ministry: "I recommend to you, dear reader, the Word of God as the rule of your faith and practice."—Selected Messages, book 3, p. 30. Years later she would write: "The Lord desires you to study your Bibles. He has not given any additional light to take the place of His Word. . . . If eaten and digested, [His Word] is as the life-blood of the soul. Then good works will be seen as light shining in darkness."—Letter 130, 1901. Ellen G. White also believed that all who claim the prophetic mantle of Christ must teach "what Christ had taught. That which He had spoken, not only in person, but through all the prophets and teachers of the Old Testament, is here included. Human teaching is shut out."—The Desire of Ages, p. 826. Ellen G. White kept Jesus and Scripture at the center of her Christian experience. Next Friday, we will explore her views on revelation and inspiration. To discover more, visit https://whiteestate.org/absg/4.

False Prophets in the New Testament Read Matthew 24:23-24. What does Jesus warn us about here? Why should we take this warning so seriously? ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ Jesus Himself couldn't have been clearer: " 'For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect' " (Matt. 24:24, NKJV). The deceptions that He warns about must be quite persuasive, if, indeed, "great signs and wonders" will be part of it. Supernatural events, in and of themselves, are not evidence of God's working, however persuasive they can appear. We have supernatural enemies. As Paul has warned us: "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Eph. 6:12, NKJV). And these powers work through false prophets. In fact, false prophets are nothing new. The New Testament refers to the false prophets in Old Testament times (Luke 6:26). In the New Testament false prophets are likened to " 'ravenous wolves' " who are " 'in sheep's clothing' " (Matt. 7:15, NKJV), and we are told that we will " 'know them by their fruits' " (Matt. 7:16, NKJV). Their main work is deception (Matt. 7:17–20). Jesus Himself declared that " 'many false prophets will rise up and deceive many' " (Matt. 24:11, NKJV), and " 'if possible, even the elect' " (Matt. 24:24, NKJV; see also Mark 13:22, 1 John 4:1). According to Ephesians 6:10-18, how can we shield ourselves from any kind of deception? ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ Living by faith, putting on the "breastplate of righteousness," being girded in the "truth," along with surrendering to the Holy Spirit through prayer, and being grounded in His Word—these are the ways we can be protected from all that would otherwise lead us spiritually and theologically astray. What can you do to arm yourself better against all the deceptions sweeping our world?

Female Prophets and Young Pastoral Associates Read Luke 2:36-38 and Acts 21:9. What do these passages tell us about female prophets? ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ In Old Testament times, God called both men and women to be His messengers. In New Testament times, there is clear evidence of female prophets. Anna was the first one called a "prophetess" in the New Testament. She is someone who, in her full-time ministry, "served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And . . . she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him" (Luke 2:37-38, NKJV). Acts 21:9 says that Philip had "four virgin daughters who prophesied" (NKJV). New Testament historians, such as Eusebius, have found later texts that mention where they possibly lived, and then were buried. Either way, what we do see are women, most likely young women, who have the prophetic gift. We don't know exactly what they prophesied or the extent of their ministry. One thing, however, that we do know about these young women with the prophetic gift: none of their prophetic words made it into the canon, the Bible. That is, like many others, they were noncanonical prophets, true prophets whose words, writings, whatever, were not made into biblical books. In addition to women prophets, young pastors worked in close association with apostles. Apostles mentored young leaders for ministry. Paul, for instance, addressed Timothy as "a true son in the faith" (1 Tim. 1:2, NKJV; see also 1 Tim. 4:12). Paul taught Timothy the basics of pastoral ministry. He states concerning his calling: "This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare" (1 Tim. 1:18, NKJV). In Titus 1:4, Paul introduced Titus as "a true son in our common faith" (NKJV). Paul gave Titus the task of appointing leaders for the believers in Crete, a challenging congregation. He offered young Titus spiritual counsel on how to approach this important responsibility, then concluded: "Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you" (Titus 2:15, NKJV). Young, old, male, female—we all can have a role to play in God's work. What is your role, and how can you do even more?

Functions of New Testament Prophets What do 1 Corinthians 14:3, Ephesians 4:11-13, and Revelation 22:6 tell us about the role of New Testament prophets? ___________________________________________________________ These verses above, however helpful, do not present a comprehensive view of all that New Testament prophets did. Nevertheless, much of what they did reflects what prophets in the Old Testament also had done, thus providing continuity with the prophetic gift. In 1 Corinthians 12:10, prophecy is mentioned among other spiritual gifts. In the body of Christ metaphor (1 Cor. 12:27-28), prophets are mentioned after apostles, who also received revelations from God. According to 1 Corinthians 14:3: "He who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men" (NKJV). Ephesians 4:11-13 lists a similar cluster of spiritual gifts, as does 1 Corinthians 12. Prophets are mentioned among apostles, evangelists, pastors, and teachers (Eph. 4:11). These persons exist for "the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Eph. 4:12-13, NKJV). As seen here and elsewhere, Jesus is the central focus of their message. The book of Acts talked about two prophets, Judas and Silas (neither one having written a book in the Bible), who "exhorted and strengthened the brethren with many words" (Acts 15:32, NKJV). Though, yes, at times prophets do have to utter warnings, even stern warnings at times, they also—depending upon the circumstance—do offer words of encouragement, especially in trying times, words that were no doubt greatly appreciated by those who needed to hear them and the hope and promise that they contained. The work of encouragement also is mentioned in the context of prophesying (1 Cor. 14:31, NKJV). In times of tribulation and persecution, the gift of prophecy has been a source of encouragement and hope. In Revelation 22:6, Jesus is presented as "Lord God of the holy prophets" and whose " 'words are faithful and true' " (NKJV). Of course, anything that comes from God's servants, when they are speaking for God, is going to be "faithful and true," too. In a world in which we can trust so little, we can indeed trust what the prophets of the Lord say, especially in His Word, our final and ultimate authority.