Lesson 1 March 31 - April 06

Christ and Satan: Contenders for Control

Memory Text: (John 1:14 RSV) "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father"

Sabbath Afternoon

(Isa 14:12 NRSV) How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!

(Isa 14:13 NRSV) You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit on the mount of assembly on the heights of Zaphon;

(Isa 14:14 NRSV) I will ascend to the tops of the clouds, I will make myself like the Most High."

Sunday

When Perfection Failed

(Ezek 28:12 NKJV) "Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.

(Ezek 28:13 NKJV) You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes Was prepared for you on the day you were created.

(Ezek 28:14 NKJV) "You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.

(Ezek 28:15 NKJV) You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you.

(1 John 4:8 NKJV) He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

(1 John 4:16 NKJV) And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

Monday

Father Of Truth, Father Of Lies

(John 14:6 NKJV) Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

(John 8:44 NRSV) You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

(John 8:44 NKJV) "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

(Gen 3:4 NRSV) But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not die;

(Gen 3:4 NKJV) Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die.

(Gen 2:17 NKJV) "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."

(Jer 23:25 NKJV) "I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in My name, saying, 'I have dreamed, I have dreamed!'

(Exo 20:16 NKJV) "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

(Psa 117:2 NKJV) For His merciful kindness is great toward us, And the truth of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD!

(Psa 119:142 NKJV) Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, And Your law is truth.

(Prov 16:6 NKJV) In mercy and truth Atonement is provided for iniquity; And by the fear of the LORD one departs from evil.

(John 17:19 NKJV) "And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.

(2 Th 2:12 NKJV) that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

(John 8:32 NRSV) and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."

(John 8:32 NKJV) "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

Tuesday

The Savior, The Adversary

(Mat 1:21 NRSV) She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."

(Mat 1:21 NKJV) "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins."

(Rev 12:7 NKJV) And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought,

(Rev 12:8 NKJV) but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer.

(Rev 12:9 NKJV) So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

(Rev 12:10 NKJV) Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.

(Rev 12:11 NKJV) "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

(Rev 12:12 NKJV) "Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time."

(Rev 12:13 NKJV) Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child.

(Zec 3:1 NRSV) Then he showed me the high priest Joshua standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.

(Zec 3:1 NKJV) Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him.

Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, pp. 467 - 476 (Not included with lesson help)

(1 Pet 5:8 NRSV) Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour.

(1 Pet 5:8 NKJV) Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

Wednesday

Descriptive Names

(John 10:11 NKJV) "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.

(John 10:12 NKJV) "But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.

(Luke 7:34 NKJV) "The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'

(Mat 13:39 NKJV) "The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.

(1 Tim 2:5 NKJV) For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,

(1 Pet 1:19 NKJV) but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

(Rev 5:5 NKJV) But one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals."

(Rev 5:6 NKJV) And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

Thursday

The King Of Kings, The False God Of This World

(Mat 4:8 NKJV) Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.

(Mat 4:9 NKJV) And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me."

(Rev 19:16 NRSV) On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, "King of kings and Lord of lords."

(Rev 19:16 NKJV) And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

(Rev 19:7 NKJV) "Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready."

(Rev 20:2 NKJV) He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;

(Rev 20:3 NKJV) and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.

(1 John 5:19 NRSV) We know that we are God's children, and that the whole world lies under the power of the evil one.

(1 John 5:19 NKJV) We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.

(Eph 1:1 NKJV) Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus:

(Eph 1:2 NKJV) Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

(1 Cor 5:5 NKJV) deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

(1 Tim 1:20 NKJV) of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.

Friday

Early Writings, p. 185

As the news spread from city to city and from town to town, the Jews in their turn feared for their lives and concealed the hatred which they cherished toward the disciples. Their only hope was to spread their lying report. And those who wished this lie to be true accepted it. Pilate trembled as he heard that Christ had risen. He could not doubt the testimony given, and from that hour peace left him forever. For the sake of worldly honor, for fear of losing his authority and his life, he had delivered Jesus to die. He was now fully convinced that it was not merely an innocent man of whose blood he was guilty, but the Son of God. Miserable to its close was the life of Pilate. Despair and anguish crushed every hopeful, joyful feeling. He refused to be comforted and died a most miserable death. {EW 185.1}

Herod's [IT WAS HEROD ANTIPAS WHO TOOK PART IN THE TRIAL OF CHRIST, AND HEROD AGRIPPA I WHO PUT JAMES TO DEATH. AGRIPPA WAS NEPHEW AND BROTHER-IN-LAW OF ANTIPAS. THROUGH INTRIGUE HE SECURED THE THRONE OF ANTIPAS FOR HIMSELF, AND ON COMING TO POWER PURSUED THE SAME COURSE TOWARD THE CHRISTIANS THAT ANTIPAS HAD FOLLOWED. IN THE HERODIAN DYNASTY THERE WERE SIX PERSONS WHO BORE THE NAME OF HEROD. IT THUS SERVED IN A MEASURE AS A GENERAL TITLE, THE INDIVIDUALS BEING DESIGNATED BY OTHER NAMES, AS ANTIPAS, PHILIP, AGRIPPA, ETC. SO WE MIGHT SAY CZAR NICHOLAS, CZAR ALEXANDER, ETC. IN THE PRESENT INSTANCE THIS USE OF THE TERM BECOMES MORE NATURAL AND APPROPRIATE INASMUCH AS AGRIPPA, WHEN HE PUT JAMES TO DEATH, OCCUPIED THE THRONE OF ANTIPAS, WHO A LITTLE BEFORE HAD BEEN CONCERNED IN THE TRIAL OF CHRIST; AND HE MANIFESTED THE SAME CHARACTER. IT WAS THE SAME HERODIAN SPIRIT, ONLY IN ANOTHER PERSONALITY, AS "THE DRAGON" OF REVELATION 12:17 IS THE SAME AS THE DRAGON OF VERSE 3, THE REAL INSPIRING POWER IN

Early Writings, p. 185 (Continued)

EACH BEING THE DRAGON OF VERSE 9. IN THE ONE CASE HE WORKS THROUGH PAGAN ROME; IN THE OTHER THROUGH OUR OWN GOVERNMENT.] heart had grown still harder; and when he heard that Christ had risen, he was not much (p.186) troubled. He took the life of James, and when he saw that this pleased the Jews, he took Peter also, intending to put him to death. But God had a work for Peter to do, and sent his angel to deliver him. Herod was visited with the judgments of God. While exalting himself in the presence of a great multitude, he was smitten by the angel of the Lord, and died a most horrible death. {EW 185.2}

Early Writings, p. 40 (could not find page, see next quotation)

Christian Experience and Teachings of Ellen G. White, p. 98

Then I saw two trees. One looked much like the tree of life in the city. The fruit of both looked beautiful, but of one they could not eat. They had power to eat of both, but were forbidden to eat of one. Then my attending angel said to me, "None in this place have tasted of the forbidden tree; but if they should eat, they would fall." {CET 98.1}

Then I was taken to a world which had seven moons. There I saw good old Enoch, who had been translated.

(P. 99) On his right arm he bore a glorious palm, and on each leaf was written "Victory." Around his head was a dazzling white wreath, and leaves on the wreath, and in the middle of each leaf was written "Purity," and around the wreath were stones of various colors, that shone brighter than the stars, and cast a reflection upon the letters and magnified them. On the back part of his head was a bow that confined the wreath, and upon the bow was written "Holiness." Above the wreath was a lovely crown that shone brighter than the sun. I asked him if this was the place he was taken to from the earth. He said, "It is not; the city is my home, and I have come to visit this place." He moved about the place as if perfectly at home. I begged of my attending angel to let me remain in that place. I could not bear the thought of coming back to this dark world again. Then the angel said, "You must go back, and if you are faithful, you, with the 144,000, shall have the privilege of visiting all the worlds and viewing the handiwork of God." {CET 98.2}