The Seventh Plague We need to study the pouring out of the seventh vial [Revelation 16:17-21]. The powers of evil will not yield up the conflict without a struggle. But Providence has a part to act in the battle of Armageddon. When the earth is lighted with the glory of the angel of Revelation eighteen, the religious elements, good and evil, will awake from slumber, and the armies of the living God will take the field.—The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 7:983 (1899). The battle of Armageddon is soon to be fought. He on whose vesture is written the name, King of kings and Lord of lords, leads forth the armies of heaven on white horses, clothed in fine linen, clean and white [Revelation 19:11-16].—The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 7:982 (1899). The whole earth heaves and swells like the waves of the sea. Its surface is breaking up. Its very foundations seem to be giving way. Mountain chains are sinking. Inhabited islands disappear. The seaports that have become like Sodom for wickedness, are sw...

  Lesson 6 *October 31–November 6 More Lessons From the Master  Teacher Sabbath Afternoon Read for This Week’s Study: Gen. 3:1–11, Rom. 5:11–19, Gen. 28:10–17, John 1:1–14, Matt. 15:21–28, Mark 10:46–52. Memory Text: “Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go your way; your faith has made you well.’ And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road” (Mark 10:52, NKJV). Who among us has never been ashamed of himself or herself? Who among us hasn’t done things that pain us to think about, and that we would recoil in horror at the thought of others knowing? Most likely, we’ve all been there, haven’t we? Imagine, then, what it was like to be Adam and Eve after they ate fruit from the forbidden tree. Or when Jacob tricked his father into favoring him over his elder brother and then had to run away from his brother’s anger. How did he sleep at night? And imagine being the woman caught in adultery, “in the very act” (John 8:4). David had been there, too, and Psalm 32 was his po...

The life of toil and care now given to humanity was appointed in love, as a discipline made needful by sin, to place a check upon the indulgence of appetite and passion, and to develop habits of self-control. It was a part of God’s great plan for the recovery of the human race. The warning given to our first parents—“In the day that you eat of it you shall surely die”—did not mean that they were to die on the very day they ate the forbidden fruit. But on that day the irreversible sentence would be pronounced, and on that very day they would be doomed to death. In order to have endless existence, a person must continue to eat from the tree of life. Deprived of this, the vitality would gradually diminish until life would become extinct. It was Satan’s plan that Adam and Eve would eat of the tree of life and thus prolong an existence of sin and misery. But holy angels were commissioned to guard the tree of life. Around these angels flashed the appearance of a glittering sword. No one from...

 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John. Revelation 1:1. After Christ had ascended, John's testimony concerning Christ disturbed those in authority. With power he bore witness that Christ was a risen Saviour. To please the Jews, the Romans had crucified Christ, and now they sought still further to please them by placing John where his voice would not be heard by Jew or Gentile. He was banished to the Isle of Patmos. Apparently the Lord permitted His enemies to triumph, as far as outward appearance was concerned. But God's hand was moving unseen in the darkness. God permitted His faithful servant to be placed where Christ could give him a more wonderful revelation of Himself to give to the world.... He was hidden as it were on a desert island, and here Christ visited him, giving him a most wonderful view of His glory, and making know...

 If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. —1 John 2:1. Jesus is our Advocate, our High Priest, our Intercessor. Our position is like that of the Israelites on the Day of Atonement. When the high priest entered the most holy place, representing the place where our High Priest is now pleading, and sprinkled the atoning blood upon the mercy seat, no propitiatory sacrifices were offered without. While the priest was interceding with God, every heart was to be bowed in contrition, pleading for the pardon of transgression. Type met antitype in the death of Christ, the Lamb slain for the sins of the world. Our great High Priest has made the only sacrifice that is of any value in our salvation. When He offered Himself on the cross, a perfect atonement was made for the sins of the people. We are now standing in the outer court, waiting and looking for that blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. No sacrifices are to ...

 The Last Great Battle Between Good and Evil Two great opposing powers are revealed in the last great battle. On one side stands the Creator of heaven and earth. All on His side bear His signet. They are obedient to His commands. On the other side stands the prince of darkness, with those who have chosen apostasy and rebellion.—The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 7:982, 983 (1901). A terrible conflict is before us. We are nearing the battle of the great day of God Almighty. That which has been held in control is to be let loose. The angel of mercy is folding her wings, preparing to step down from the throne and leave the world to the control of Satan. The principalities and powers of earth are in bitter revolt against the God of heaven. They are filled with hatred against those who serve Him, and soon, very soon, will be fought the last great battle between good and evil. The earth is to be the battle field—the scene of the final contest and the final victory. Here, where for so long Satan...

 The great Lawgiver was about to make known to Adam and Eve the result of their transgression. In their innocence and holiness they had joyfully welcomed the approach of their Creator; now they fled in terror. But “the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, ‘Where are you?’ So he said, ‘I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.’ And He said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?’” Adam blamed his wife and so blamed God Himself: “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” Because of his love for Eve, he had deliberately chosen to give up the approval of God and an eternal life of joy; now he tried to make his companion, and even the Creator Himself, responsible for the transgression. When the woman was asked, “What is this you have done?” she answered, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” “Why did You create the serpent? Why ...

Friday October 30 Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “The Teacher Sent From  "God,” pp. 73-83, in Education. “In the Teacher sent from God, all true educational work finds its center. Of this work today as verily as of the work He established eighteen hundred years ago, the Saviour speaks in the words— “ ‘I am the First and the Last, and the Living One.’“  ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.’ Revelation 1:17, 18, R.V.; 21:6, R.V.“In the presence of such a Teacher, of such opportunity for divine education, what worse than folly is it to seek an education apart from Him—to seek to be wise apart from Wisdom; to be true while rejecting Truth; to seek illumination apart from the Light, and existence without the Life; to turn from the Fountain of living waters, and hew out broken cisterns, that can hold no water. “Behold, He is still inviting: ‘If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said,’ out of hi...

  Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12. Timothy's principles had been so established by a correct education that he was fitted to be placed as a religious teacher in connection with Paul, the great apostle to the Gentiles. He was a mere youth, yet he bore his great responsibilities with Christian meekness. He was faithful, steadfast, and true; and Paul made him his companion in labor and travel, that he might have the benefit of his experience in preaching the gospel and establishing churches.... Paul loved Timothy because Timothy loved God. His intelligent knowledge of experimental piety and of the truth gave him distinction and influence.... The moral influence of his home was substantial, not fitful, not impulsive, not changeable. The Word of God was the rule that guided Timothy.... There are many who move from first impulse rather than from experience and judgm...

  Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. —Hebrews 2:17. Jesus clothed His divinity with humanity in order that He might reach humanity. The apostle says, “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same. . . . For verily He took not on Him the nature of angels; but He took on Him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succor them that are tempted.” Jesus is the only one that has ever walked in the flesh who is able to judge righteously. Looking at outward acts, people may condemn and root up that which they think to ...

 The Lost Condemn Their False Shepherds Church members who have seen the light and been convicted, but who have trusted the salvation of their souls to the minister, will learn in the day of God that no other soul can pay the ransom for their transgression. A terrible cry will be raised, “I am lost, eternally lost.” Men will feel as though they could rend in pieces the ministers who have preached falsehoods and condemned the truth.—The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 4:1157 (1900). All unite in heaping their bitterest condemnation upon the ministers. Unfaithful pastors have prophesied smooth things; they have led their hearers to make void the law of God and to persecute those who would keep it holy. Now, in their despair, these teachers confess before the world their work of deception. The multitudes are filled with fury. “We are lost!” they cry, “and you are the cause of our ruin”; and they turn upon the false shepherds. The very ones that once admired them most, will pronounce the most ...

 Satan told the holy pair that they would gain by breaking the law of God. Today many talk of the narrowness of those who obey God’s commandments and claim that they themselves enjoy greater liberty. What is this but an echo of the voice from Eden? “In the day you eat of it”—transgress the divine requirement—“you will be like God.” Satan did not let it appear that he had become an outcast from heaven. He concealed his own misery in order to draw others into the same position. So now the transgressors disguise their true character. But they are on the side of Satan, trampling upon the law of God and leading others to eternal ruin. Eve disbelieved the words of God, and this was what led to her fall. In the judgment, people will not be condemned because they conscientiously believed a lie but because they did not believe the truth. We must set our hearts to know what is truth. Whatever contradicts God’s Word comes from Satan. The serpent plucked the fruit of the forbidden tree and pla...

Thursday October 29 The Master Teacher's First Pupils  One moment, they are a band of ordinary shepherds caring for an average flock of sheep outside a small town. In the next moment, they are the recipients of an amazing appearance of angels who bear startling, wondrous, world-shattering news. Motivated by that appearance, they seek out the child whom the angels announced. Imagine standing with the shepherds and gazing into the manger. What would you see? Luke 2:8-20. We must admire the first pupils of the Master Teacher—Joseph and Mary and the shepherds. The humble conditions of Jesus’ birth give no indication of the wonder of the Incarnation—that, in the Person of this Infant, God has become One with humankind. However, with the aid of visions, dreams, and angels, those first students of His are able to look beyond the outward appearance of Jesus’ birth. The shepherds share with others the identity of this infant, that He is “ ‘a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord’ ” (Luke 2:1...

 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. Acts 9:4, 5. Saul had been educated by the most learned teachers of the age. He had been taught by Gamaliel. Saul was a rabbi and a statesman. He was a member of the Sanhedrin and was very zealous for the suppression of Christianity. He acted a part in the stoning of Stephen, and we read further of him, “As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.” But he was stopped in his career of persecution. As he was on his way to Damascus to arrest any Christians he could find, “suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: and he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” ... Saul converted was called Paul. He united with the disciples and was among the chief of the apostl...

  Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus. —Hebrews 3:1. Our crucified Lord is pleading for us in the presence of the Father at the throne of grace. His atoning sacrifice we may plead for our pardon, our justification, and our sanctification. The Lamb slain is our only hope. Our faith looks up to Him, grasps Him as the One who can save to the uttermost, and the fragrance of the all-sufficient offering is accepted of the Father. Unto Christ is committed all power in heaven and in earth, and all things are possible to him that believeth. Christ’s glory is concerned in our success. He has a common interest in all humanity. He is our sympathizing Saviour. . . . Let us remember that our great High Priest is pleading before the mercy seat in behalf of His ransomed people. He ever liveth to make intercession for us. “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” Th...

 The Fifth Plague With shouts of triumph, jeering, and imprecation, throngs of evil men are about to rush upon their prey, when, lo, a dense blackness, deeper than the darkness of the night, falls upon the earth. Then a rainbow, shining with the glory from the throne of God, spans the heavens, and seems to encircle each praying company. The angry multitudes are suddenly arrested. Their mocking cries die away. The objects of their murderous rage are forgotten. With fearful forebodings they gaze upon the symbol of God's covenant, and long to be shielded from its overpowering brightness.... It is at midnight that God manifests His power for the deliverance of His people. The sun appears, shining in its strength. Signs and wonders follow in quick succession. The wicked look with terror and amazement on the scene, while the righteous behold with solemn joy the tokens of their deliverance.—The Great Controversy, 635, 636 (1911). God's Law Appears in the Sky There appears against the ...

 This chapter is based on Genesis 3. No longer free to stir up rebellion in heaven, Satan found a new field in plotting the ruin of the human race. Moved by envy, he determined to bring upon them the guilt and penalty of sin. He would change their love to distrust and their songs of praise to criticism of their Maker. Thus he would not only plunge these innocent beings into misery but cast dishonor upon God, and cause grief in heaven. Heavenly messengers opened to our first parents the history of Satan’s fall and his plots for their destruction, unfolding the nature of the divine government that the prince of evil was trying to overthrow. The law of God is a revelation of His will, a transcript of His character, the expression of divine love and wisdom. The harmony of creation depends upon perfect conformity to the law of the Creator. Everything is under fixed laws that cannot be disregarded. But human beings alone, of all that inhabits the earth, are responsible to moral law. To t...

Wednesday October 28 The Master Teacher and Reconciliation  Human relationships all too often break down. We become estranged from one another. The person who was once our close friend becomes, over time, someone we distrust. However, such a broken relationship can be mended. When that happens, we experience the wonder of reconciliation. Few human experiences are as sweet as this. How does reconciliation lie at the heart of Christ’s incarnation and His role as Master Teacher? 2 Cor. 5:16-21. If we feel blessed when a relationship with another human being is restored, how grand should we feel when we are reconciled to God? In 2 Corinthians 5:16-21, Paul is clear about who is doing the reconciling— God the Father has taken the lead in mending our broken relationship with Him. And He has done this reconciling work “through Christ” (2 Cor. 5:18, NRSV). “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself ” (2 Cor. 5:19, NKJV). Again, though, we are not simply to be consumers of the joys...

 A man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority, ... was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. Acts 8:27-29. A heavenly messenger was sent to Philip [one of the chosen deacons] to show him his work for the Ethiopian. The evangelist was directed: “Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.” ... Today, just as much as then, the angels are leading and guiding those who will be guided and led. This angel could have done the work himself, but this is not God's way of working. Believers must connect with other believers, and as God's instrumentalities work in behalf of the lost. Philip understood his work. This man of high authority was being drawn to the Saviour, and he did not resist the drawing. He did not make his high position an excuse why he could not accept the crucified One. The evangelist asked him, “Understandes...

 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. —Hebrews 4:14. We are to fit ourselves with the self-same spirit that was in Christ Jesus. Christ is working for us; will we work for Christ in His lines? Children, cultivate patience and faith and hope. May the Lord increase our joy of faith in this ever-living Intercessor. Try to let no day pass in which you fail to realize your accountability to God through the sacrifice of His only begotten Son. Jesus does not receive glory from anyone who is an accuser of the brethren. Let not a day pass that we are not healing and restoring old wounds. Cultivate love, and let no words of evil surmising escape our lips. Close this door quickly, and keep it closed; open the door where Christ presides, and keep it open, because we know the value of Christ’s sacrifice and His unchangeable love. Drink in the ever-refreshing waters of life from the wells of Lebano...

 The Third Plague I saw that the four angels would hold the four winds until Jesus’ work was done in the sanctuary, and then will come the seven last plagues. These plagues enraged the wicked against the righteous; they thought that we had brought the judgments of God upon them and that if they could rid the earth of us the plagues would then be stayed. A decree went forth to slay the saints, which caused them to cry day and night for deliverance.—Early Writings, 36, 37 (1851). And “the rivers and fountains of waters ... became blood.” Terrible as these inflictions are, God's justice stands fully vindicated. The angel of God declares: “Thou art righteous, O Lord, ... because Thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and Thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy” (Revelation 16:2-6). By condemning the people of God to death, they have as truly incurred the guilt of their blood as if it had been shed by their hands.—The Great Controver...

 God placed human beings under law, subjects of the divine government. God could have created them without the power to sin. He could have prevented them from touching the forbidden fruit, but then Adam and Eve would have been mere robots. Without freedom of choice, their obedience would have been forced. Such a course would have been contrary to God’s plan, unworthy of the intelligent beings He created, and would have sustained Satan’s charge of God’s arbitrary rule. God made our first parents honorable, with no bias toward evil. He presented before them the strongest possible motivations to be true. Obedience was the condition of eternal happiness and access to the tree of life. The home of our first parents was to be a pattern for other homes as their children should go and occupy the earth. People today take pride and delight in magnificent and costly homes and glory in the works of their own hands, but God placed Adam in a garden. This was a lesson for all time—true happiness ...

Tuesday October 27 Reading the Master Teacher's Mind What concern about the Christian community in Philippi is on Paul’s heart as he writes his letter to them? Phil. 2:1–4; Phil. 4:2, 3. Philippians 2:1-11 is one of the most profound passages in all the Bible. It discusses the preexistence of Christ, His divinity, His incarnation, His humanity, His acceptance of death on the cross. It describes the long, difficult, downward road that Jesus took from heaven to Calvary (Phil. 2:5–8). And it describes how the Father exalts Jesus to a position of universal worship (Phil. 2:9–11). A lot of amazing truth is packed into those verses. How does Paul introduce Philippians 2:5–11? Of the events of Jesus’ life that he celebrates, which ones do you think he expects believers to reflect in their own lives? Phil. 2:6–11. Paul hopes that the believers at Philippi, who could be argumentative, will learn from Jesus and His incarnation. If Jesus could adopt human form—“the form of a slave, being born...

 Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, and cast him out of the city, and stoned him. Acts 7:57, 58. Stephen was the first Christian martyr.... The enemies of God and the truth felt stirred with hatred and opposition. Satan impelled them to resist the truth. Stephen had to meet in argument the most artful, deceptive disputants, hoping to confuse and put down his arguments. If Stephen had not searched the Scriptures and himself become fortified with the evidence of God's Word, he could not have borne the test; but he knew the foundation of his faith and was firm, and he was ready to answer his opponents. Stephen came off victorious. He spoke with assurance and wisdom and power that astonished and confounded the enemies of truth. When they found themselves baffled and defeated at every attempt, then they were bent on his destruction. Had these professedly honest and wise men been really seeking for the truth, they would have ...

 The veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. —Matthew 27:51. By virtue of His death and resurrection He [Jesus] became the minister of the “true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.” (Hebrews 8:2.) Human beings reared the Jewish tabernacle; mere mortals builded the Jewish temple; but the sanctuary above, of which the earthly was a type, was built by no human architect. “Behold the Man whose name is The Branch; . . . He shall build the temple of the Lord; and He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon His throne; and He shall be a priest upon His throne.” (Zechariah 6:12, 13.) The sacrificial service that had pointed to Christ passed away; but the eyes of humanity were turned to the true sacrifice for the sins of the world. The earthly priesthood ceased; but we look to Jesus, the minister of the new covenant, and “to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.” “The way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest...

 At Times Holy Angels Exercise Destructive Power [The sinner must himself bear full responsibility for the punishment that is meted out to him. Ellen White states, “God destroys no one. The sinner destroys himself by his own impenitence.” Testimonies for the Church 5:120. See further The Great Controversy, 25-37.] God's judgments were awakened against Jericho. It was a stronghold. But the Captain of the Lord's host Himself came from heaven to lead the armies of heaven in an attack upon the city. Angels of God laid hold of the massive walls and brought them to the ground.—Testimonies for the Church 3:264 (1873). Under God the angels are all-powerful. On one occasion, in obedience to the command of Christ, they slew of the Assyrian army in one night one hundred and eighty-five thousand men.—The Desire of Ages, 700 (1898). The same angel who had come from the royal courts to rescue Peter had been the messenger of wrath and judgment to Herod. The angel smote Peter to arouse him fro...

 In six days the great work of creation had been accomplished. And God “rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.” All was perfect, worthy of its divine Author; and He rested, not as someone who is tired, but as someone who is pleased with the results of His wisdom and goodness. After resting on the seventh day, God set it apart as a day of rest. Following the example of the Creator, His human creatures were to rest upon this sacred day, so they might think about God’s work of creation and their hearts be filled with love and reverence for their Maker. The Sabbath was given to the whole human family. In observing it, they would gratefully show that they recognized God as their creator and rightful ruler. They were the work of His hands, the subjects of His authority. God saw that a Sabbath was essential for human beings, even in Paradise...