Sabbath: Some Principles of Prophecy
Daily Lesson for Sabbath 29th of March 2025
Image © Pacific Press
Read for This Week’s Study: Jeremiah 29:23-24; Psalms 139:1-6; Daniel 12:4; Revelation 22:10; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Hebrews 4:12.
Memory Text:
“ ‘But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,’ says the Lord” (Jeremiah 9:24, NKJV).
As with most everything else in Scripture, Christians disagree about prophecy, which often convinces others that Bible prophecy is a waste of time. After all, if Christians fight over every prophetic jot and tittle, how valid could it be? Unfortunately, many believers also begin to think that some books of the Bible, such as Revelation, are simply incomprehensible. Instead of reading them, they avoid them, sometimes with the encouragement of a well-meaning pastor who thinks that studying prophecy causes more problems than it solves.
It was not always so. For the first eighteen centuries of Christian history, most Christians were very comfortable with biblical prophecy, and there was a surprising level of agreement on what the key messages of the prophecies were. This is how God intended for it to be: “Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” (1 Corinthians 1:10, NKJV).
This week, we will explore some principles that yield a consistent and reliable understanding of prophecy.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, April 5.
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When I first heard about algebra I was both curious and a little fearful. Arithmetic with letters and symbols did not make sense to me. Why would anyone want to multiply x by y? But I learned, slowly at first until the whole new world of algebraic representation and symbols became a powerful new tool for understanding relationships and showing trends. The symbols made sense but not only that they provided insights far beyond what I had even imagined with numbers.
The Bible uses symbols in much the same way as mathematicians. They provide understanding and show relationships that are useful in our understanding of salvation. There are caveats of course. Some become so fixed on the symbolism, they forget their purpose. That was never their intention. If we allow symbols to obscure the love of Jesus they have become idols.
And that is the last you will hear from me for quite a while. Carmel and I are taking a trip to New Zealand and visiting some of the wild places on the South Island with my sister and her husband who live there. Enjoy your study and discussion while I am away.
Enjoy your trip and stay safe!
We will miss your wisdom while you're gone and look forward to your return to SS net.org
Safe travels and we look forward to seeing the pictures of the birds you capture on your journey.
Enjoy, We will miss your insights and memorable responses. I look forward to the beautiful nature pictures you will take. Safe travel
Safe travels. We enjoy and are enriched by your commentaries and practical applications and enjoy sharing them especially with new believers. God speed..
I’m going to miss you my brother. You’re writing inspire me. Have a great trip and enjoy.
Please pray for me.
You are covered with the blood of Jesus. Enjoy and remain in His words and be blessed. We will miss you with your contribution.
We will miss your insightful comments. Enjoy the trip
In the Bible there are many prophecies, both small and great, short and lengthy. When one has carefully studied all these, there in one key message with one ultimate purpose, the grand plan of God to redeem mankind through Jesus Christ. All prophecies in one way or another profoundly reveal God as sovereign, a God of love who so loved the world that He sent His begotten Son Jesus Christ to redeem mankind. The very grand and sweetest message in the biblical prophecies is to prepare hearts for eternity. No matter how one views these prophecies, these are messages of hope and victory over sin and evil.
“Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Blessed are those who wash their robes. They will be permitted to enter through the gates of the city and eat the fruit from the tree of life” – Revelation 22:12-14
On point....eternity is the bigger picture
I love this memory text, Jer. 9:24 … All prophecy - and excitement over understanding- must be about a closer walk with Jesus and understanding Him and His role in the plan of salvation. All divinely inspired “revelation” is a revelation of Jesus Christ (Rev. 1:1). 1 Corinthians 1:22-23 echoes the same message ….all signs and true wisdom from God point to Christ crucified. If sussing out details of prophecy (or anything) moves our eyes off Jesus, we’re in a danger ⚠️ zone.
The lesson author notes that " For the first eighteen centuries of Christian history, most Christians were very comfortable with biblical prophecy, and there was a surprising level of agreement on what the key messages of the prophecies were."
Why do you suppose that was so?
Could it be that people were more biblically literate - that they had a better grasp of the grand plan of salvation? Could it be that to many Christians, including Adventists no longer have a good understanding of the Bible as a whole?
If my guesses are nearly right, what do you see as the remedy?
I think people were more Biblically literate in the past and I agree that many people today are not. I am quite concerned about how little a lot of members know about the Bible. Knowledge isn't everything, but it sure can protect us from some bad paths.
That being said, I'm a little puzzled by the author's comments because if Christians were very comfortable with Biblical prophecy until about 200 years ago, why would someone like William Miller be necessary? Wouldn't everyone already understand everything? Clearly they did not.
There are several aspects to the question of biblical literacy re the prophetic books up to about 200 years ago.
Firstly, we (Seventh-day Adventist) inherited our approach to interpreting Bible prophecy from our Protestant forerunners. We use the same "historicist" approach (fulfilled prophecies of the past provide keys to interpret prophecies of the future) that the Reformers used. Many Bible apps include commentaries by Matthew Henry (1662-1714) and his commentary on prophecy is not far different from ours. (For instance, I consider his commentary on Revelation to be better than some Adventist interpretations I've run across.)
Secondly, Daniel is told that the words of his prophecy would be "sealed" until "the time of the end." (Daniel 12:9) That implies that the Spirit would not provide full understanding of the prophecies until the "time of the end" which we now recognize to have begun in 1844, thanks to William Miller.
William Miller came to his conclusions using the same methods earlier Protestant scholars used. The crucial difference was that it was the time for the book to be "unsealed." In studying, he discovered the "day for a year" principle which is cemented by much more than the two texts we usually use.
As it turns out, Miller did not recognize that the interpretation of "the sanctuary" being cleansed meant that this earth would be destroyed by fire was wrong. I believe that God, in His wisdom, allowed William to continue in that error for precisely the same reason that He allowed the people to believe that Christ was riding the donkey into Jerusalem in order to take over the throne of David - rather than being crucified. The triumphal entry fulfilled prophecy and really was Christ's journey to fulfill the prophecy of the Branch that would grow out of the root of Jesse. (Isaiah 11: 1,10 and Romans 15:12) Only the throne looked very different from what people expected. In the same way, Christ did actually come to the Most Holy Place of the temple of God, except that the temple is not this planet but in heaven.
In contrast to William Miller's time, there is much confusion regarding prophetic interpretation in today's Christian world.
We just started re-reading the chapter on William Miller in The Great Controversy, entitled, "An American Reformer.". I believe it's very helpful to understand how to interpret prophecy correctly, as we are led through William Miller's thought processes. (It's the "Further Study" selection for Friday.)
God is His wisdom chose to speak in symbols rather than in direct statements to communicate and convey deeper spiritual truths that needed deep reflection, faith, and discernment. Symbols are often used to allow messages to sink deeper transcend time and culture, making them relevant across time. They engage the mind and heart, encouraging deeper study and reliance on the Holy Spirit for understanding. Additionally, symbolic language protects the messages from being distorted or misused by those who might reject or manipulate plain truth. Jesus affirmed this approach when He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them” (Matthew 13:11, NIV), indicating that understanding comes to those who earnestly seek it.
Another reason for using symbols is that divine truths are often beyond human comprehension. God’s ways and plans are vast, and symbolic language allows people to grasp complex ideas in ways that their limited human minds can process. As God declared in Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV), “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” By using metaphors and imagery, God makes abstract spiritual concepts more tangible and relatable, helping believers connect deeper with His message.
Ultimately, God speaking in symbols serves both as a test and an invitation. Those who genuinely seek Him will take time to understand His word, while those who are indifferent may overlook its meaning. Proverbs 25:2 (NIV) states, “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.” This ensures that only the faithful and diligent uncover the full depth of His revelations, strengthening their relationship with Him through study, prayer, and reliance on the Holy Spirit (John 16:13).
could it be he wrote in symbols for the same reason Christ spoke in parable?
Isaiah 6:9-10
And He replied: “Go and tell this people, ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ / Make the hearts of this people calloused; deafen their ears and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”
Matthew 13:14-15
In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled: ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. / For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.’
In this era, we are engulfed with individuals and groups of people who boldly explain the symbols of prophesy according to their own understanding and benefits. 1 Peter 1:20, when prophesy is wrongly explained to a person who had no knowledge about it before, the deception digs deeper in their hearts, possibly until the end of their lifetime. As it was named, 'Revelations', it reveals itself to the reader by the help of the Holy Spirit and please don't forgetting the purpose of prophesy. It is not about being a master at explaining the symbols, but getting prepared for the second coming of Jesus Christ.
Thank you.
"...same mind." Regarding opinions about prophecies, we must base them on the Word and other inspired literature confirming the Word. Anything else should be speculation. There is no problem in having opinions about what's unclear yet, but building a whole new system on it is madness.