Sunday: Revelation’s Final Conflict
Daily Lesson for Sunday 9th of June 2024
The message of Revelation is much more than cryptic symbols, strange beasts, and odd images. It speaks of eternal truths given by a loving God to an end-time generation. The conflict between Christ and Satan began in heaven over worship. It will come to its final climax over worship.
Compare Revelation 14:7,9 with Revelation 4:11. What is the overarching theme of Revelation in this conflict between good and evil?
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Throughout Revelation, worship and creation are indissolubly linked. Revelation 14:7 calls us to worship the Lord of all creation. Against the backdrop of evolution, which has taken the world by storm during the past two centuries, the Sabbath is an eternal reminder of our identity. It constantly reinforces that we are created beings and our Creator is worthy of our allegiance and worship. This is one reason the devil hates the Sabbath so much.
Read Revelation 12:17 and Revelation 14:12. How does worshiping the Creator find its final expression?
Worshiping the Creator through keeping the commandments of God stands in direct opposition to worshiping the beast. God will have an end-time people who are loyal to Him despite the greatest opposition and fiercest persecution in history.
“While the observance of the false sabbath in compliance with the law of the state, contrary to the fourth commandment, will be an avowal of allegiance to a power that is in opposition to God, the keeping of the true Sabbath, in obedience to God’s law, is an evidence of loyalty to the Creator.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 605.
Revelation 14:12 states that these committed followers of the Savior will have “the faith of Jesus.” The faith of Jesus is a faith so deep that it trusts when it cannot see. It perseveres when it cannot understand. It is a gift from Jesus that we receive by faith and will carry us through the impending conflict.
The seventh-day Sabbath is so foundational a symbol of God as Creator that it goes back to Eden itself. Thus, to seek to usurp it, as Rome did (see Daniel 7:25), is to seek to usurp the authority of God at the most foundational level possible, God as Creator. How does this truth help us see why it will be such a controverted point in the last days?
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Recently I wanted to buy a USB-C to USB-C cable to connect a solid state drive (SSD) to my computer. My reason for buying it was that I wanted to take advantage of the data transfer speed of my SSD. Digital photos take a lot of memory; the faster you can move them around, the better. When I went shopping I discovered that the labels do not always tell the truth. There are a lot of USB-C cables that carry data at speeds of up to 0.48Gb/s and very few work at 10Gb/s (ie they are 20x slower) Both kinds of cable will fit the sockets in the SSD and the computer but only one will do the task. You had to look into the heart of the cable to see what it really does.
I think that illustrates an important point that the Bible makes over and over again. Externals are not important if you have not got the heart of the matter right.
Last week I quoted Isaiah who said some pretty hard things about Sabbath-keeping.
We need to think very seriously about what the Sabbath really means before we claim it as a special sign of true worship. And, if we think that just transferring the liturgy from Sunday to Saturday is all that is involved, we have got it seriously wrong.
I claim no special knowledge about the final conflict, but wearing the badge because we think that saves us is not a good theological argument. There are a lot of USB-C cables in the marketplace that I will not buy.
Maurice, as you have mentioned on several occasions as far as I remember, it‘s all about what type of relationship is maintained between me and my creator.
To me I call it „The Love Story“ to be lived as well, which involves commitment and you may call it „ Faith of Jesus Badge“ that drives me to honor God on Sabbath.
Even Paul mentioned in 1 Cor 13:13 NIV
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
The answer to the Highlighted question is somehow lengthy but, please indulge me for once will you?
The seventh-day Sabbath is a profound symbol of God as the Creator. It’s a day set apart for rest and worship, tracing back to the creation week (Genesis 2:2-3). This day is a constant reminder of God’s creative power and His sovereignty over the universe?.
Daniel 7:25 prophesies about a power that would "speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law"2. Historically, some interpreted this as a reference to Rome’s influence in changing the day of worship from the seventh-day Sabbath to Sunday.
This usurpation is significant because it represents an attempt to alter something God Himself established, thus challenging God’s authority at its most foundational level. The Sabbath, as a symbol of God’s creative work, is intrinsically tied to His identity as the Creator. Any attempt to change it is, in essence, an attempt to undermine God’s authority and His relationship with His creation.
In the context of the last days, this truth becomes even more critical. The Sabbath will be a point of contention because it’s not just about a day of the week; it’s about allegiance to God5. It’s a question of whether one chooses to acknowledge and worship God as the Creator by observing the Sabbath, or to align with the powers that seek to change God’s law.
The Sabbath serves as a sign of loyalty to God, a mark of the believer’s trust in God’s word, and a testament to their faith in Jesus Christ1. In the end, when the forces of good and evil are in stark contrast, the observance of the Sabbath will be a visible sign of who one chooses to serve. Therefore, understanding the significance of the Sabbath and its link to God as the Creator is crucial in comprehending why it will be a central issue in the last days.
Ronald, thank you for this powerful clarification on the importance of accepting God’s opinion on Sabbath observance, especially in the closing years/days of this earths history. Of course we are not saved by keeping the day God sanctified as a memorial of His six days of creation, we are merely honoring Him as our Creator God. This is where the relationship with God realty begins to have power in our lives, because He honors this decision to acknowledge Him as the only true God and Creator of heaven and earth.
In understanding the final conflict, we need only to look at what happened in the past history of papal supremacy before the United States with a constitution came along.
Sunday worship was coerced.
There is hope though, through Christ who gives us the will to do His will and His pleasure through love for Him, we turn to genuine worship, with repentence. Worship is not just meetings. It is a heart to heart relationship with our Lord. And sharing our heart experience with those we come in contact with.
Can one ‘worship’ without knowing the God one worships? I ask this question because so many Christians do not seem to ‘know’ - have a personal relationship -, with the God they attempt to worship. Is it not imperative that we first establish a personal relationship with the God we consider to worship? If one does not have this, he is still an empty vessel needing to be filled by the Holy Spirit - 1 Cor.13:1-10.
‘Vocabulary.com’ explains that: “To worship is to show a lot of love and adoration for something. Religious believers worship gods, and people can worship other people and things too.” Some may show their devotion by participating in certain rites or rituals; they may “love unquestionable and uncritically or to excess; venerate as an idol.”
Rev.14:7 admonishes us to – “Fear God and give glory to Him! How can we do that if we do not know who our God is? How can we truly worship our God if we do not wholeheartedly believe ‘that He is worthy to receive glory and honor and power'? Do we believe in a small god, or do we really believe that He created all things, and by His will they exist and were created’? – Rev.4:11
I consider Sabbath to not only a ‘reminder of our identity’, it is first and foremost a reminder of the 'God who created all things'; only He is worthy of all honor and praise! As Christians, we made a conscious choice to worship Him as our Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer God; we have no other gods besides Him.
If we can honestly, beyond a shadow of a doubt say that we made the right choice, our faith will be rewarded with peace in heart and mind in the last days.
A lot of food for thought Bridgette.
I pray that the Holy Spirit will guide and enlighten us, as we seek to honor God in all aspects of our lives, in these serious times.
Hi ssnet Friends,
I like how Mr. Finley says,
"The faith of Jesus is a faith so deep that it trusts when it cannot see. It perseveres when it cannot understand. It is a gift from Jesus that we receive by faith and will carry us through the impending conflict."
This is a faith that is built upon being in a Love Relationship with Jesus, where we learn to trust and depend on Him. If we do this, then we will have No Worries about the impending conflict, because we will believe with our whole heart that Jesus will carry us through.
So, let's make a decision to continue to study God's word and learn (through our Christian experiences) to trust and depend on Jesus.
Happy Summer to All!