Friday, January 4
Read Ellen G. White, “The Study of the Books of Daniel and the Revelation”, pp. 112-119, in Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers.
“This revelation was given for the guidance and comfort of the church throughout the Christian dispensation. … A revelation is something revealed. The Lord Himself revealed to His servant the mysteries contained in this book, and He designs that they shall be open to the study of all. Its truths are addressed to those living in the last days of this earth’s history, as well as to those living in the days of John. Some of the scenes depicted in this prophecy are in the past, some are now taking place; some bring to view the close of the great conflict between the powers of darkness and the Prince of heaven, and some reveal the triumphs and joys of the redeemed in the earth made new.
Let none think, because they cannot explain the meaning of every symbol in the Revelation, that it is useless for them to search this book in an effort to know the meaning of the truth it contains. The One who revealed these mysteries to John will give to the diligent searcher for truth a foretaste of heavenly things. Those whose hearts are open to the reception of truth will be enabled to understand its teachings, and will be granted the blessing promised to those who ‘hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein’”. - Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, pp. 583-585.
Discussion Questions:
If Revelation is the unveiling of Jesus Christ, why does the word apocalypse have a negative meaning today? What does this negativity tell us about the popular perception of Revelation among Christians? Why is the word fear often associated with Revelation’s prophecies?
Think about some of the failed predictions that some people have made just in the past 20 years regarding end-time events and the second coming of Jesus. Regardless of the hearts or motives (which we can’t know anyway) of those individuals who make them, what are the negative results of these failed predictions? How do they make the ones who believed in those predictions feel? How do these failed predictions make Christians in general appear to those on the outside who see these failed predictions? As a people who believe in prophecy and who look for end-time events as waymarks, how do we strike the right balance in how we understand prophecy and how we teach it to others?
