Sabbath: The Genesis Foundation
Daily Lesson for Sabbath 5th of April 2025
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Read for This Week’s Study: Isaiah 40:7-8; Genesis 22:1-13; John 3:16; Revelation 5:5-10; 1 Corinthians 15:15-19; Revelation 12:1-9.
Memory Text:
“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’ ” (John 1:29, NKJV).
One of the key problems with modern interpretations of Bible prophecy, such as in Revelation, is that they fail to recognize the ancient roots of Revelation. The author assumes a knowledge of the Old Testament and uses concepts that would have been well-known to his audience. While searching the entire Bible for passages that resemble the text you are studying in Revelation is useful, there are also core texts that set the stage for understanding the book better than other texts do. This is particularly true of Genesis, which lays out the path by which our world descended into sinful chaos. Nearly every key concept mentioned in Revelation appears—in some form—in the opening chapters of the Bible.
This week, we are going to study a handful of big concepts at the core of Revelation. There are many, and so we will choose a few to illustrate the all-important point that understanding the ancient foundations behind Revelation enables the student to see countless nuances in the text, each of which can yield important lessons about the nature of humanity, of God, and of the conflict being waged in our universe and, thus, in our lives, as well.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, April 12.
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When it comes to studying the Bible one must first set aside their preconceived ideas. The Bible is the authority, not we ourselves. We must pray that the Holy Spirit would be our teacher to help us properly understand what we read. We must rightly divide the word of God. We want to exegete the texts, discover what the texts actually say, as opposed to isogete, putting our spin, or interpretation on the texts. Let the Word of God speak for itself. Don’t try to speak for it. If we will follow these simple, basic guidelines we will be more blessed, and less stressed as we discover the messages of God’s Word to us. Remember that while Revelation does mention beasts, horns, marks, and seals, it is first and foremost the "Revelation of Jesus Christ." It's his last love letter to his people living in these last days. Let's come to the table and "dig in."
Hi Tim, I agree with you 100%. However, some people in other Christian churches accuse us of doing the same thing, that is, putting our own spin on bible prophecy.
The bible says that God has his people in other places ( my paraphrase). I believe that the key point is that we should be honest with what we believe. The job of the Holy Spirit is to guide us into all truth. Our part in this is to pray for Godly wisdom and humility to be lead by the Spirit as He chooses.
Prophecy has no foundational meaning until one knows and understands that “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). This God who created all things has the power to see the future and has the authority to control the affairs of His creation. Prophecy is not simply predicting the future but a revelation of God’s perfect will. In no way can the prophetic messages resonate in the ears of the readers until they pay homage to the One who spoke the universe into existence.
The Book of Genesis contains the first prophetic message of the Redeemer who was to come and crush the serpent’s head and rescue humanity from sin (Genesis 3:15). This promise was fulfilled in the man Christ Jesus many years later. Therefore, as we examine prophetic messages a little deeper, we start to understand and appreciate the messages in the Book of Genesis with a sense of gratitude to God, who was prepared from the very beginning to sacrifice His Son for sinners like us. This foundational connection between the Book of Genesis and biblical prophecy confirms the fact that prophecy did not originate in man but in God.
"Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."- 2 Peter 1:20-21 (NIV):
Sabbath day remember keeping holy day with you and your family's and Friends and tell them what great thing the Lord has done for you and how He had called the people to Himself and he was included in John and he rested on the seventh day from all his made And on the seventh day 😀 praise God everyday life 🌎 AMEN Amen 🙏 😊
Good teaching.I can now understand the origin of prophecy in Genesis and how Jesus fulfills it in the New Testament.
God wants everyone to know the secrets of an abundant life. He wants you and me to be happy because we were created to be a symbol of perfection and joy and the jewel of His creativity. We exist to worship and to render glory to Him, Who is eternal. Unfortunately, evil distorted these concepts and made people believe in lies. God reveals Himself to the avid researcher.
Could you explain how this fits into the Genesis foundation for prophecy?
John emphasizes the beginning of all things in John 1:1, stating, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." This reveals the eternal nature of God and the central role of His Word. It also shows that God intends for His people to know Him through His Word. Being a relational God, He does not want us to remain ignorant of His character and nature. Throughout history, God has spoken through prophets and continues to speak through the Bible today.
God’s desire is that we study His Word—not only to know Him better, but also to live by it. As Joshua 1:8 instructs, "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth; you shall meditate on it day and night…", emphasizing the importance of consistently engaging with Scripture.
Furthermore, 2 Timothy 3:16–17 confirms that all Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness. This demonstrates God's intention for us to live lives guided by His Word, relying on it for both spiritual growth and salvation.
Psalm 119:105 also describes the Word as “a lamp to our feet and a light to our path,” signifying that while sin brings darkness, God’s Word provides the guidance we need to navigate life.
Ultimately, God calls us to live by His Word because it corrects us, leads us, helps us resist temptation, and gives us direction in a confused and broken world.