Studies on Revelation and Inspiration

God Shows and Tells

Introduction
Contents
Principal Contributor
Helps
Discussion Blog

Because it is impossible for us to discover what we need to know about God, He reveals all that He knows we can grasp about His eternal nature and infinite goodness. The fullest revelation of God is found in Jesus Christ, who is the focus of the Scriptures. Indeed, the heart of God's revelation in the Written Word centers in the Living Word.

But Satan does everything he can, especially in these last days, to lead people to doubt, ignore, and reject God's revelations. He uses what some call science to lead people to think that only that which is reasonable to sin-perverted human minds is true. Thus the limited human intelligence becomes the judge of whether the greatly superior revelations of the infinite God are correct. Consequently, many have rejected basically every aspect of God's self-revelation.

This quarter's guide is designed to deepen our appreciation of God's revelation of and about Himself through His inspiration of the Bible writers. Inspiration from God enabled them to grasp and communicate His revealed will in a trustworthy manner. This guide is designed to help us gain a proper perspective on how inspiration has produced and preserved the Scriptures and how God enables us to understand best what He has revealed. A good deal of time and space could be given to dealing with the questions and objections raised by skeptics. Instead, the approach purposely focuses on reviewing the clear and definite information God has given about understanding His revealed will.

"The Holy Scriptures, Old and New Testaments, are the written Word of God, given by divine inspiration through holy men of God who spoke and wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. In this Word, God has committed to man the knowledge necessary for salvation. The Holy Scriptures are the infallible revelation of His will. They are the standard of character, the test of experience, the authoritative revealer of doctrines, and the trustworthy record of God's acts in history.-Fundamental Beliefs, 1."-Quoted in Seventh-day Adventists Believe. . . , ed. The Ministerial Association of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (Hagerstown, Md.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1988), p. 4.

Contents:  (no frames)

Meet the Principal Contributor to This Quarter's Lessons

Leo Van Dolson served on the editorial staff of the adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guides (formerly known as the Adult Sabbath School Lessons). His career has included pastoral work in the U.S. and Japan and teaching at Pacific Union College and the Loma Linda University School of Health. He holds a Ph.D. in educational administration from Claremont College. Dr. Van Dolson has served as an editor on Ministry, Life and Health, and the Adventist Review magazines. He has authored or co-authored 18 books and has written several teachers' aids. He and his wife, Bobbie Jane, have two grown sons.

Editorial Office: 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904.
Principal Contributor: Leo R.Van Dolson.
Editor: Philip G. Samaan.
Associate Editor: Lyndelle Brower Chiomenti.
Editorial Assistant: Soraya Homayouni Parish.
Art and Design: Lars Justinen.
Pacific Press Coordinator: Glen Robinson.

Copyright © 1998 General Conference of Seventh-day Adventist. All Rights Reserved.

Giardina Sabbath School Study Helps

Jerry Giardina of Houston, Texas, prepares a series of helps to accompany the Sabbath School lesson. He includes all related scripture and most EGW quotations. These are provided in three wordprocessing versions Wordperfect; Microsoft Word;  RFT for our MAC friends; and HTML (Web Pages).

Last updated on November 28, 1998