Author Topic: SDA Sabbath School Lesson 9--2nd Quarter 2018--End-Time Deceptions  (Read 2847 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Wally

  • Moderator
  • Posts: 5666
  • Romans 8:35, 38, 39
Lesson 9 May 26-June 1





End-Time Deceptions






Commentary in Navy                  Inspiration in Maroon











So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants:  we have done that which was our duty to do.  Luke 17:10

Richard Myers

  • Servant
  • Posts: 44592
  • Grace, more than a word, it is transforming power
    • The Remnant Online
Re: SDA Sabbath School Lesson 9--2nd Quarter 2018--End-Time Deceptions
« Reply #1 on: May 26, 2018, 12:16:07 PM »
Sabbath Afternoon

Read for This Week’s Study: Rev. 2:13, 24; 2 Cor. 11:13-15; Ps. 146:4; Gen. 1-2:3; Rev. 13:1-17.

Memory Verse: “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Revelation 12:9

Even in heaven, before his expulsion, Satan worked to deceive the angels. “Leaving his place in the immediate presence of God, Lucifer went forth to diffuse the spirit of discontent among the angels. Working with mysterious secrecy, and for a time concealing his real purpose under an appearance of reverence for God, he endeavored to excite dissatisfaction concerning the laws that governed heavenly beings, intimating that they imposed an unnecessary restraint”. — Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy , p. 495.

In Eden, he disguised himself as a serpent and used trickery against Eve. All through history, up through today, and even after the millennium, he will use deception (Rev. 20:8 ) in an attempt to gain his ends.

Amen! Today, as with Israel, he has perverted the truth so that many do not understand the foundation of our faith. To be Laodicean is to be lost, but many do not understand.


Unfortunately, he’s much smarter, more powerful, and craftier than any of us, which is why we need to cling to Jesus and to His Word in order to protect ourselves from his wiles. “Ye that did cleave unto the LORD your God are alive every one of you this day.” Deut. 4:4. The principle espoused here, indeed, still holds true today, as well.

Amen!  We must cling to Jesus. When Peter took his eyes off of Christ, he fell into the water. So will we. We must have Jesus continually in order to not sin and retain eternal life.


This week, we will look at some of the devil’s most effective deceptions and how we can be protected from them.

Will we be told that the gospel has been perverted, that there are multiple gospels being printed on our pressed and preached from our pulpits? If not, then the deception runs much greater than we are being told.


Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, June 2.

Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

Richard Myers

  • Servant
  • Posts: 44592
  • Grace, more than a word, it is transforming power
    • The Remnant Online
Re: SDA Sabbath School Lesson 9--2nd Quarter 2018--End-Time Deceptions
« Reply #2 on: May 26, 2018, 12:17:53 PM »
Sunday •  May 27

The Grandest Deception


The first lesson of this quarter talked about the “cosmic controversy”, which, unfortunately, has reached beyond the cosmos to our earth itself.

The problem, though, is that many people, Christians included, don’t believe in this great controversy because they don’t believe in Satan. For them, Bible texts talking about Satan or the devil are merely the expressions of a prescientific culture trying to explain evil and suffering in the world. For way too many people the idea of a literal, supernatural entity who has malevolent designs on humanity is the stuff of science fiction, akin to Darth Vader of “Star Wars” fame or the like.

Read the following texts, all from Revelation. What do they teach us about the reality of Satan and particularly about his role in last-day events?

Rev. 2:13, 24; 12:3, 7-9, 12, 17; 13:2; 20:2, 7, 10.

 2:13   I know thy works and where thou dwellest, [even] where Satan's seat [is]: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas [was] my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. 
 2:24   But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden. 

 12:3   And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. 
 12:7   And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 
 12:8   And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. 
 12:9   And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 
 12:12   Therefore rejoice, [ye] heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. 
 12:17   And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. 

 13:2   And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as [the feet] of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. 

 20:2   And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 
 20:7   And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 
 20:10   And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet [are], and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. 


Revelation shows us just how much power Satan will have over so many inhabitants of the world in the final days, leading them not only away from salvation but toward persecuting those who stay faithful to Jesus.

Of all  Satan’s “devices” (2 Cor. 2:11) — a translation of the Greek word for “mind” (noemata) — perhaps the greatest deception is to cause people to believe that he does not exist. After all, who’s going to seek shelter from an overpowering enemy who you don’t believe is real? It’s astonishing how many claim to be Christians and yet don’t take the idea of a literal devil seriously. They hold such a position, however, only by ignoring or radically reinterpreting the many texts in the Word of God that reveal his workings and ploys in this world, especially as we near the end of time. That so many people would reject the literal existence of Satan, even in the face of such overwhelming biblical evidence, should be a powerful reminder to us of just how crucial it is that we understand what the Bible really teaches.

No, the great deception is that God does not exist. But, even greater is the deception that he  brings into the church of God that keeps the church from revealing God to the world. It happened with Israel and so it is today. We are still here because we have not taken the gospel to the world. And that which we have taken has often been a perversion of the gospel. In 1888 Jesus would have come if the gospel message had not been rejected by church leadership.

"One thing many did know, and that is that they were guilty of the very things for which they were reproved, but rather than humble their proud hearts and confess their sins, they threw themselves fully on Satan’s ground to work wickedness. They are of that class of whom Christ said, “Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life” ( John 5:40). “Every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved” ( John 3:20).

The Lord was testing and proving His people who had had great light, whether they would walk in it or turn from it under temptation, for but few know what manner of spirit they are of until circumstances shall be of a character to test the spirit which prompts to action. In many the natural heart is a controlling power, and yet they do not suppose that pride and prejudice are entertained as cherished guests, and work in words and actions against light and truth.

Our brethren who have occupied leading positions in the work and the cause of God should have been so closely connected with the Source of all light that they would not call light darkness and darkness light. They had the example of those before them who had claimed to believe the truth but who, when mercifully reproved for sin and errors, gave loose rein to their own natural temperament and opposed the work of the Spirit of the Lord. They had seen these go farther and farther in darkness until they became apostates to the truth. And they do not discern that they are in the greatest peril, if, notwithstanding the course and marked example of others, they blindly stumble into the same path of doubt, unbelief, and rejection of light sent of God, because it does not coincide with their ideas. They do not seem to understand that if the Lord sent them reproof it was because He loved them."  1888 Materials, pg 226.


The gospel message brought before the church 130 years has still not been preached widely by church leadership and is not being taught in our Sabbath School lessons. What was the message? It was the power of grace to transform the character when received into the heart. Have you heard this truth printed in the Sabbath School lessons or printed on our presses or preached from your pulpit? "When we live by faith on the Son of God, the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives; not one will be missing." Desire of Ages pg 676.

Though Revelation talks about the machinations of Satan, particularly in the last days, what great hope can we find from Revelation 12:11? What is our source of power against the devil?

"And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death."
What does this mean? It means that the ones who overcame sin in their lives, living in sinful flesh, would die before they sinned. And, that it is the revelation of the grace of God that transformed their character every day. What is the grace of God? It is the character of God in allowing His innocent Son to come to this dark spot in the universe a helpless babe subject to the weakness of humanity, to fight the battle of life as we must fight it at the risk of losing Him for eternity! He did it not after we were transformed, but while we were yet sinners. Wonder O heavens, and be astonished O Earth! This is the highest form of love, this is God's grace that transforms sinners into saints if they will behold it daily and allow it into the heart.
Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

Richard Myers

  • Servant
  • Posts: 44592
  • Grace, more than a word, it is transforming power
    • The Remnant Online
Re: SDA Sabbath School Lesson 9--2nd Quarter 2018--End-Time Deceptions
« Reply #3 on: May 26, 2018, 12:19:01 PM »
Monday •  May 28

The Two Great Errors


Read the following texts. What do they tell us about Satan’s power to deceive?

2 Cor. 11:13-15

 11:13   For such [are] false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 
 11:14   And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 
 11:15   Therefore [it is] no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. 

2 Thess. 2:9, 10

 2:9   [Even him], whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 
 2:10   And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 

Rev. 12:9

 12:9   And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 

Rev. 20:10

 20:10   And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet [are], and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. 


As we noted in an earlier lesson, Jesus had warned His followers about end-time deceptions. Among those He specifically warned about were the rise of false christs and false prophets who would “deceive many” (Matt. 24:5).

False christs and false prophets, however, are not the only end-time deception we have to be aware of. Our enemy in the great controversy has many ploys designed to deceive all whom he can. As Christians, we need to be aware of those ploys, and we can do that only through knowing the Bible and obeying what it teaches.

Amen! Some detest the fact that we expose those "ploys" which influence many in the church to believe they are "rich and increased with goods, but know not they are miserable and wretched, poor, blind, and naked." The deceptions Satan has brought into God's church are just as deadly as were the deceptions brought into Israel, the ones that led the people entrusted with God's sacred truths to put to death their Messiah, the Son of God. If we would study the Bible for ourselves, seeking to know God, we would not be led astray by false teachers.


Ellen G. White explains what two of those grand deceptions are: “Through the two great errors, the immortality of the soul and Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions. While the former lays the foundation of spiritualism, the latter creates a bond of sympathy with Rome. The Protestants of the United States will be foremost in stretching their hands across the gulf to grasp the hand of spiritualism; they will reach over the abyss to clasp hands with the Roman power; and under the influence of this threefold union, this country will follow in the steps of Rome in trampling on the rights of conscience”. — The Great Controversy , p. 588.

That is very true, for the world. But, the great deception which keeps this truth from going to the world, is that which keeps those entrusted with the truth from knowing the gospel and living it. If we had been a converted people, we would have taken the gospel to the world and Jesus would have come long ago. The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. We have been wandering in the wilderness for over 150 years.
 
It will end very soon. Jesus is even at the doors. Revival and reformation will come to His church.....soon! It is dependent upon understanding what it means to be a converted Christian. We are told that the great question to be answered is "what must I do to be saved."  First we must know we are not in a converted state. Then, we must know what to do in order to be born again of the Spirit.


How incredible for us, even many years after she wrote those words, to see just how prevalent “the two great errors” continue to be in the Christian world.

And, how incredible for us, even after so many years since 1888, just how prevalent the false gospels continue to be in God's church.

I am filled with sadness when I think of our condition as a people. The Lord has not closed heaven to us, but our own course of continual backsliding has separated us from God. Pride, covetousness, and love of the world have lived in the heart without fear of banishment or condemnation. Grievous and presumptuous sins have dwelt among us. And yet the general opinion is that the church is flourishing and that peace and spiritual prosperity are in all her borders.

The church has turned back from following Christ her Leader and is steadily retreating toward Egypt. Yet few are alarmed or astonished at their want of spiritual power. Doubt, and even disbelief of the testimonies of the Spirit of God, is leavening our churches everywhere. Satan would have it thus. Ministers who preach self instead of Christ would have it thus. The testimonies are unread and unappreciated. God has spoken to you. Light has been shining from His word and from the testimonies, and both have been slighted and disregarded. The result is apparent in the lack of purity and devotion and earnest faith among us.  5T pg 217.




Why is knowledge of Bible truths and a willingness to obey those truths the most powerful weapon we have against the deceptions of the devil, especially in the last days?

Spiritual things are spiritually discerned. If we are not studying the Bible, then how will we know the character of our God. It is through a knowledge of God that we are reconciled with Him. If we don't know Him intimately, then how can we trust Him with all we are and all we have? We can't. We have no spiritual discernment without the aid of the Holy Spirit. And, we will not increase in understanding of spiritual things unless we be fully surrendered to Christ. If we are not willing to surrender all to Christ, then we ought to ask the Lord to make us willing to be made willing.

The secret being kept from those seeking to do right, is found in 2 Cor. 3:18. Therefore, it would be well with us if we would spend a thoughtful hour a day contemplating the life of Christ, especially the closing scenes in His life. For Jesus is the Manna which came down from heaven that we might be born again.

Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

Richard Myers

  • Servant
  • Posts: 44592
  • Grace, more than a word, it is transforming power
    • The Remnant Online
Re: SDA Sabbath School Lesson 9--2nd Quarter 2018--End-Time Deceptions
« Reply #4 on: June 01, 2018, 08:10:26 AM »
Tuesday •  May 29

The Immortality of the Soul

What do the following texts teach us about the “state of the dead”? What great protection can these texts give us against one of “the two great errors”? Eccles. 9:5, 6, 10; Ps. 115:17; Ps. 146:4; 1 Cor. 15:16-18; Dan. 12:2.

In recent decades much attention has been given to stories about people who have “died” — in that their hearts have stopped beating and they have stopped breathing — only to be revived and brought back to consciousness. In numerous cases, many of these people have told of incredible experiences of a conscious existence after they had supposedly “died”. Some talked about how they floated in the air and saw, from above, their own bodies below. Others reported floating out of their bodies and meeting a wonderful being filled with light and warmth and who espoused truths about kindness and love. Others recounted meeting and talking to dead relatives.

This phenomenon has become so common that it even has a scientific name, Near Death Experiences (NDEs). Though NDEs remain controversial, many Christians have used them as evidence for the immortality of the soul and the idea that, at death, the soul goes off to another realm of conscious existence.

But NDEs are, of course, another manifestation of one of “the two great errors”. As long as anyone believes that at death the soul goes on living in one form or another, that person is wide open to most occult or spiritualistic deceptions, deceptions that can easily promote the idea, either openly or by implication, that you don’t need Jesus. In fact, most of the people who had NDEs have said that the spiritual beings whom they met, or even their dead relatives, gave them comforting words about love, peace, and goodness but nothing about salvation in Christ, nothing about sin, and nothing about judgment to come — the most basic biblical views. One would think that, while supposedly getting a taste of the Christian afterlife, they should have gotten a taste of the most basic Christian teachings, as well. Yet, often what they’re told sounds much like New Age dogma, which could explain why many of these people come away less inclined toward Christianity than they were before having “died”.

As Christians, why must we stick to the Word of God, even when our senses tell us something different?

Our senses have to do with our flesh and a carnal mind and carnal heart if not converted. A Laodicean is not in a converted state, but thinks he is. The carnal mind has the ability to reason, has intellect, and a conscience. But, it has no power to do what is right for the right reason. Human reasoning without the aid of the Holy Spirit is foolishness. "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned." 1 Cor. 2:14.

We need to get our wisdom from God and His Word. "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof [are] the ways of death." Proverbs 14:12. But, many in the church, and even in the Sabbath School lesson, like to quote man rather than God. How many books are being printed on our presses? What is the church reading, inspired counsel or the faulty wisdom of man?  God has teachers, and they may write books, but the true teachers in those books, point all to Christ and His Word.


Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

Richard Myers

  • Servant
  • Posts: 44592
  • Grace, more than a word, it is transforming power
    • The Remnant Online
Re: SDA Sabbath School Lesson 9--2nd Quarter 2018--End-Time Deceptions
« Reply #5 on: June 01, 2018, 08:11:38 AM »
Wednesday •  May 30

Sabbath and the Theory of Evolution

As much success as Satan has had deceiving the world in regard to the immortality of the soul, he’s been just as successful, if not more so, in usurping the biblical Sabbath for Sunday (see weeks 6 and 8 ) and has done so for most of Christian history.

In recent years, the devil has come up with another deception that lessens the hold of the seventh-day Sabbath in the minds of people: the theory of evolution.

Read Genesis 1-2:3.

 1:1   In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 
 1:2   And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness [was] upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 
 1:3   And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 
 1:4   And God saw the light, that [it was] good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 
 1:5   And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. 
 1:6   And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 
 1:7   And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which [were] under the firmament from the waters which [were] above the firmament: and it was so. 
 1:8   And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. 
 1:9   And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry [land] appear: and it was so. 
 1:10   And God called the dry [land] Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that [it was] good. 
 1:11   And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, [and] the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed [is] in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. 
 1:12   And the earth brought forth grass, [and] herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed [was] in itself, after his kind: and God saw that [it was] good. 
 1:13   And the evening and the morning were the third day. 
 1:14   And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 
 1:15   And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. 
 1:16   And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: [he made] the stars also. 
 1:17   And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 
 1:18   And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that [it was] good. 
 1:19   And the evening and the morning were the fourth day. 
 1:20   And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl [that] may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. 
 1:21   And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that [it was] good. 
 1:22   And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. 
 1:23   And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. 
 1:24   And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. 
 1:25   And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that [it was] good. 
 1:26   And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 
 1:27   So God created man in his [own] image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 
 1:28   And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 
 1:29   And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which [is] upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which [is] the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 
 1:30   And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein [there is] life, [I have given] every green herb for meat: and it was so. 
 1:31   And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, [it was] very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. 
 
Chapter 2

 2:1   Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 
 2:2   And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 
 2:3   And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. 


What does this passage teach us about how the Lord created our world and how long it took to do so?

Even the broadest reading of these verses reveals two points about the biblical account of Creation. First, everything was planned and calculated; nothing was random, arbitrary, or by chance. Scripture leaves no room whatsoever for chance in the process of Creation.

Second, the texts reveal unambiguously that each creature was made after its own kind; that is, each one was made separately and distinctly from the others. The Bible teaches nothing about a common natural ancestry (such as from a primeval simple cell) for all life on earth.

Even from a nonliteralist interpretation of Genesis, these two points are obvious: nothing was random in the act of Creation, and there was no common natural ancestry for all species.

Now along comes Darwinian evolution, which in its various forms teaches two things: randomness and a common natural ancestry for all species.

Why then do so many people interpret Genesis through the lens of a theory that, at its most basic level, contradicts Genesis at its most basic level? Indeed, not only has the error of evolution swept millions of secular people, but many professed Christians believe that they can harmonize it with their Christian faith, despite the blatant contradictions just mentioned.

However, the implications of evolution in the context of final events make the danger of the deception even more apparent. Why take seriously a day, the seventh-day Sabbath, as a memorial — not for a six-day creation, but for a creation that took about 3 billion years (the latest date that life supposedly first started on earth)? Evolution denudes the seventh day of any real importance because it turns the six days of Creation into nothing but a myth similar to the one that says Romulus and Remus were nursed by wolves. Also, who, believing that creation required billions of years instead of six days, would actually risk persecution, or death, by standing for the Sabbath as opposed to Sunday?

Amen! How then could any Christian church have a university that teaches evolution?

Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

Richard Myers

  • Servant
  • Posts: 44592
  • Grace, more than a word, it is transforming power
    • The Remnant Online
Re: SDA Sabbath School Lesson 9--2nd Quarter 2018--End-Time Deceptions
« Reply #6 on: June 01, 2018, 08:16:13 AM »
Thursday •  May 31

The Counterfeit Trinity


The concept of the triune nature of God is found all through the Bible. However, in the context of end-time deceptions and persecution, the book of Revelation reveals a “counterfeit trinity” composed of the dragon, the sea beast, and the land beast of Revelation 13.

Read Revelation 12:17; 13:1, 2. What is described here?

The dragon here has been seen as the counterfeit of the Father, in that he is the one clearly in control. He also gives power and authority and a throne to the sea-beast, the one counterfeiting Christ. Why is this second power seen as a counterfeit Christ?

Read Revelation 13:2-5. What are the characteristics of this sea beast?

Besides receiving its authority from the dragon, reminiscent of what Jesus said about receiving His authority from the Father (see Matt. 28:18), this sea beast also faced, like Jesus, a death and then a resurrection (see Rev. 13:3). Also, this beast is described as exerting his authority for “forty-two months”, or three-and-a-half years, a prophetic counterfeit of Christ’s literal three-and-a-half-year ministry, based on the day-for-year principle.

Read Revelation 13:11-17. How is the land beast described here?

This land beast promotes the interests of the sea beast, just as the Holy Spirit glorified not Himself but Jesus (John 16:13, 14). Also, just as the Holy Spirit performed a powerful act in bringing down “fire” from heaven (Acts 2:3), the land beast performs something similar (see Rev. 13:13).

“At the end, the land beast performs a counterfeit of Pentecost! For what purpose? To prove to the world that the counterfeit trinity is the true God”. — Jon Paulien, What the Bible Says About the End-Time (Hagerstown, Md.: Review and Herald® Publishing Association, 1998), p. 111.

Interesting teaching. Of one wants to help others see a deception regarding the "trinity" which is a Roman term, let them reveal what the Romans Church teaches on the trinity. We, when referring to Jesus, our heavenly father, and the Holy Spirit, ought to use another term rather than the Catholic term. The godhead is a better name for our God.


What are other end-time deceptions that we need to be aware of, and how can we help others recognize them as deceptions, as well?

How can we help others in the church recognize Satan's deceptions? We unmask them. We reveal Scripture and we show how the lies are not following Scripture. We have many in the church who do not acknowledge their need of the Holy Spirit to reveal truth, or that when the heart is fully given to Christ, His Representative, the Holy Spirit, takes possession of the heart. Then every one of the fruits of the Spirit are seen in the life, not one is missing. Before we attempt to correct other churches, and the world, we need to make sure we are not deceived. What are some of the deceptions you have discovered in the church?

Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

Richard Myers

  • Servant
  • Posts: 44592
  • Grace, more than a word, it is transforming power
    • The Remnant Online
Re: SDA Sabbath School Lesson 9--2nd Quarter 2018--End-Time Deceptions
« Reply #7 on: June 01, 2018, 08:18:30 AM »

Friday •  June 1


Further Thought: Let’s dwell more on the implications of the theory of evolution in the context of last-day events, especially in regard to the role of the Sabbath. One reason that Charles Darwin, the originator of the theory, promoted evolution was that — not understanding the great controversy-he had a difficult time reconciling evil and suffering with the idea of a benevolent and loving Creator. Because of this error, he looked in another direction for answers. It wasn’t a coincidence, either, that during the mid-to-late 1800s, as Darwin was revising and reworking his theory of evolution, God raised up a movement, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, which countered everything for which Darwin’s theory stood. How interesting that the Seventh-day Adventist Church, whose creationist underpinnings are revealed in its very name, started growing and expanding at about the same time that Darwin’s theory did, as well.

Who knows, but had Darwin read and believed these few short lines from Ellen G. White, the world might have been spared one of the grandest blunders of human thought since geocentricism and spontaneous generation: “Although the earth was blighted with the curse, nature was still to be man’s lesson book. It could not now represent goodness only; for evil was everywhere present, marring earth and sea and air with its defiling touch. Where once was written only the character of God, the knowledge of good, was now written also the character of Satan, the knowledge of evil. From nature, which now revealed the knowledge of good and evil, man was continually to receive warning as to the results of sin”. — Education, p. 26.

As it was, Darwin devised his evolutionary speculations, all based on a false understanding of the nature and character of God and the fallen world in which we live. Unfortunately, the implications of his theory will make people prey to Satan’s deceptions, especially in the final crisis.

Why would a union president allow it to be taught in a university in his union when he chairs the board of that school? Talk about deceptions!


Discussion Questions:


    Why do so many Christians reject the idea of a literal Satan? What does this view teach us about how dangerous it is to reject the clear teaching of the Bible?

    What can you say to a person who, having had a near death experience, claims that this experience shows him or her that, indeed, we go on living after death?

    What other reason can you think of regarding why those who believe in evolution would be so much more susceptible to deceptions in the last days?

This week we are studying "End Time Deceptions".   It is good to have an understanding of how to deal with the world in regards to these false theories being presented. But, what are they compared to the great deceptions that have come into God's church? Why not help the church to see the ploys of Satan that have taken the church in his snares?

Sabbath Afternoon

This week, we will look at some of the devil’s most effective deceptions and how we can be protected from them.

Here we see the author of our lessons understands the need to protect "us" from deception, yet he never gets to the serious deceptions running rampant in the church that have ensnared so very many. We will continue to do what he has said is important, to reveal Satan's snares that have come into God's church.

The "Great Controversy" battle between Christ and Satan and good and evil has a foundation upon which Satan has built his lies. It is his effort to bring reproach upon God. He says that God is unfair in the way he deals with humanity. He put forward to issues. That God is unfair in asking man to keep his commandments. That is impossible for fallen man to keep the law of God. And, it man does not keep His law, they will be put to death in a most horrible manner, by fire.

Satan then turns around and says that if God forgives man of his sin, this is unfair. It is not justice to let the guilty go free. Such a terrible unjust God! Well, what do we say about this attack on God? Is His requirements unfair? Is it impossible for man to keep God's law? Many side with Satan on this. Not only in the world, but in professing Christian Churches. How about in God's last day church? Yes, even in His church are those teachers who do not believe man can keep the law of God. They teach that because man is fallen by nature, he cannot keep God's law. Therefore, we see a great deception having been foisted upon the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

How about the second foundational deception which Satan has attacked God with? That guilty man ought not be forgiven? That justice demands the death of all who sin. Has this come into our church? Are there Pharisees in our church? Do they teach that one will die if they sin? Yes, they do. But, that in and of itself is not Phariseeism. It is when they teach that one is saved because they obey God's law, this is where the deception is. In 1888 the church had preached the law, the law, the law until she was a dry as the hills of Gilboa. The law without grace is Phariseeism. And, it is alive and well so many years after 1888. There are those who believe a man can keep the law of God in and of himself. And, they practice this. Just look at those who beat others over the head with the law, yet never talk about the loveliness of Jesus.

Yes, Satan has done wonderfully clever things in God's church. If possible he would deceive the very elect, but he cannot, for they are looking unto Jesus for their wisdom and their strength. He is our only protection against such clever deceptions!!
Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

colporteur

  • Full Member
  • Posts: 6537
Re: SDA Sabbath School Lesson 9--2nd Quarter 2018--End-Time Deceptions
« Reply #8 on: June 01, 2018, 02:19:11 PM »
While the things mentioned in the lesson are all end time deceptions I do not believe that, for instance, that Satan does not exist is even close to being the greatest deception. Hundreds of millions of people believe that sin exists and Satan exists. Yet the majority of these people do not believe that sin in the life can be truly and completely overcome. People may believe in sin, in the devil, in the cross, and in the Bible and still not believe that they can or most overcome sin. When that is the case, all of the other deceptions are pretty much just the devil's gravy. All the rest trail in the dust.
It's easier to slow a fast horse down than to get a dead one going.

Richard Myers

  • Servant
  • Posts: 44592
  • Grace, more than a word, it is transforming power
    • The Remnant Online
Re: SDA Sabbath School Lesson 9--2nd Quarter 2018--End-Time Deceptions
« Reply #9 on: June 02, 2018, 08:30:28 AM »
Amen cp.   Satan is working in the church just as he worked in Israel to deceive those who have been entrusted with the truth. The great deception takes place in the church today just as it did in heaven when Satan deceived the angels, in the Garden of Eden when he deceived Eve, in Israel when Christ came, in the Roman Church, in the Protestant Church, and now he has been working to deceive God's end time church. Yet, the lesson is silent about the deceptions successfully brought into God's church today. It is so very sad to see the success of Satan and the silence in the tool God has given to educate His church.

Today, in our reading Desire of Ages, we read It Is Finished. There is presented the "great controversy" between Christ and Satan. How can the church not understand what Satan has done? It is so very clearly presented in this chapter. It would be good to spend some time reading this chapter that the scales may fall from the eyes. Here the great deception is revealed.

    In the opening of the great controversy, Satan had declared that the law of God could not be obeyed, that justice was inconsistent with mercy, and that, should the law be broken, it would be impossible for the sinner to be pardoned. Every sin must meet its punishment, urged Satan; and if God should remit the punishment of sin, He would not be a God of truth and justice. When men broke the law of God, and defied His will, Satan exulted. It was proved, he declared, that the law could not be obeyed; man could not be forgiven. Because he, after his rebellion, had been banished from heaven, Satan claimed that the human race must be forever shut out from God's favor. God could not be just, he urged, and yet show mercy to the sinner.
     But even as a sinner, man was in a different position from that of Satan. Lucifer in heaven had sinned in the light of God's glory. To him as to no other created being was given a revelation of God's love. Understanding the character of God, knowing His goodness, Satan chose to follow his own selfish, independent will. This choice was final. There was no more that God could do to save him. But man was deceived; his mind was darkened by Satan's sophistry. The height and depth of the love of God he did not know. For him there was hope in a knowledge of God's love. By beholding His character he might be drawn back to God.
     Through Jesus, God's mercy was manifested to men; but mercy does not set aside justice. The law reveals the attributes of God's character, and not a jot or tittle of it could be changed to meet man in his fallen condition. God did not change His law, but He sacrificed Himself, in Christ, for man's redemption. "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself." 2 Corinthians 5:19.
     The law requires righteousness,--a righteous life, a perfect character; and this man has not to give. He cannot meet the claims of God's holy law. But Christ, coming to the earth as man, lived a holy life, and developed a perfect character. These He offers as a free gift to all who will receive them. His life stands for the life of men. Thus they have remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God. More than this, Christ imbues men with the attributes of God. He builds up the human character after the similitude of the divine character, a goodly fabric of spiritual strength and beauty. Thus the very righteousness of the law is fulfilled in the believer in Christ. God can "be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." Romans 3:26.
     God's love has been expressed in His justice no less than in His mercy. Justice is the foundation of His throne, and the fruit of His love. It had been Satan's purpose to divorce mercy from truth and justice. He sought to prove that the righteousness of God's law is an enemy to peace. But Christ shows that in God's plan they are indissolubly joined together; the one cannot exist without the other. "Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other." Psalm 85:10.
     By His life and His death, Christ proved that God's justice did not destroy His mercy, but that sin could be forgiven, and that the law is righteous, and can be perfectly obeyed. Satan's charges were refuted. God had given man unmistakable evidence of His love.
     Another deception was now to be brought forward. Satan declared that mercy destroyed justice, that the death of Christ abrogated the Father's law. Had it been possible for the law to be changed or abrogated, then Christ need not have died. But to abrogate the law would be to immortalize transgression, and place the world under Satan's control. It was because the law was changeless, because man could be saved only through obedience to its precepts, that Jesus was lifted up on the cross. Yet the very means by which Christ established the law Satan represented as destroying it. Here will come the last conflict of the great controversy between Christ and Satan. 


Can we not understand what has been written?

    "In the opening of the great controversy, Satan had declared that the law of God could not be obeyed, that justice was inconsistent with mercy, and that, should the law be broken, it would be impossible for the sinner to be pardoned. Every sin must meet its punishment, urged Satan; and if God should remit the punishment of sin, He would not be a God of truth and justice. When men broke the law of God, and defied His will, Satan exulted. It was proved, he declared, that the law could not be obeyed; man could not be forgiven."


This is the great deception that has taken the Protestant Church away from the truth. It is this deception that has come into God's church. Man cannot obey the law in and of himself, but we have a Savior that has promised if we will give the whole heart to Him, He will empower us to keep the law, the whole law continually. Sounds like heresy to most in the church. Until we realize the "grandest" deception is that which ensnares God's church, not the world or Babylon.

 The warfare against God's law, which was begun in heaven, will be continued until the end of time. Every man will be tested. Obedience or disobedience is the question to be decided by the whole world.
From Scripture and Desire of Ages.
Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.