The Great Controversy

The Foundation of God’s Government

Lesson #9 for June 1, 2024

Scriptures:Revelation 14:6-12; Ecclesiastes 12:13-14; Proverbs 28:9; Daniel 7:25.

1. Upon what is God’s government based? What is its “foundation.”

[From the Bible study guide=BSG:] The aim of this lesson is to show the link between [sic] the sanctuary, God’s law, the Sabbath, and the coming crisis over the mark of the beast. We also will explore the relevance of the Sabbath to an end-time generation.―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Sabbath Afternoon, May 25.^†‡

[BSG:] Through intensive Bible study, Adventists came to understand the significance of the law in the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary. Looking into the heart of God’s law, they also discovered the significance of the Sabbath, the fourth commandment. In fact, this commandment more than any other clearly identifies God as our Creator, the foundation of all true worship—a theme that will be especially relevant in the final days of earth’s history (seeRev. 14:6–12).

Satan’s aim from the beginning has been to thwart the worship of God through undermining the law of God. He knows that to offend “in one point” means to be “guilty of all” (James 2:10); so, he encourages people to transgress God’s law. Satan hates the Sabbath because it reminds people of the Creator and how He is to be worshiped. But it also is enshrined in God’s law in the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary. Because the law is what defines sin, as long as people seek to be faithful to God, then His law must continue to be valid, including the Sabbath commandment.―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Sabbath Afternoon, May 25.^†‡§

2. What are Satan’s accusations? See: “Satan Before and Soon After His Fall” on Theox.org.

https://www.theox.org/images/uploads/ss_24/KHart_BTGG_PDF_Gnrl_Satan_Before_and_Soon_After_His_Fall.pdf

[BSG:] The biblical themes of the great controversy and of the heavenly sanctuary are inseparably interwoven with the theme of God’s law and of His Sabbath, which is included in His law. In fact, the great controversy started with Lucifer’s erroneous accusations against God’s character, His law, and the principles of His government. The rebel angel proposed that we are autonomous beings, fully capable of defining the meaning of life on our own terms and shaping our relationships and society in the way we want. Ultimately, this blasphemous proposition constitutes the clear desire to exclude God from our lives, from our relationships, and even from the universe. For this reason, our insistence upon the validity of the law of God is not a matter of legalism or salvation by works but inasmuch as God’s law is the expression of His character, the law stands at the core of the great controversy itself.

Defending God’s law is defending God’s character and His status as Creator and rightful King of the universe, enthroned in His heavenly sanctuary. Upholding God’s law means that we understand that God is the only source of moral standards and of the meaning of life. Abandoning God and His principles of life will lead to chaos and to eternal death. For this reason, Seventh-day Adventists proclaim the following Bible truths:

• the immutability of God’s law,
• the Sabbath as the sign of God’s Creatorship and Kingship,
• the heavenly sanctuary as the seat of God’s government and of salvation in the universe, and
• the Adventist movement as the remnant church, called to proclaim God’s last invitation to humanity to return to His kingdom.

The centerpiece of the mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is the three angels’ messages of Revelation 14. These messages indicate that the great controversy is a choice between two diametrically opposed principles: the devil’s [sic], which leads to perdition; and God’s, which leads to life.―Adult Teachers Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* 119.^†‡

3. Satan has done and will do everything that he can to prevent us from worshiping God in the right way. We need to understand Satan’s aims and his methods.

[From the writings of Ellen G. White=EGW:] … So long as we are ignorant of their [the Devil and his associates] wiles, they have almost inconceivable advantage; many give heed to their suggestions while they suppose themselves to be following the dictates of their own wisdom. This is why, as we approach the close of time, when Satan is to work with greatest power to deceive and destroy, he spreads everywhere the belief that he does not exist. It is his policy to conceal himself and his manner of working.

There is nothing that the great deceiver fears so much as that we shall become acquainted with his devices.—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy* 516.2-3.^†‡ [Why do so few people know about the controversy?]^‡

[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p132.2337&index=0]^‡

[EGW:] … Had the Sabbath been universally kept, man’s thoughts and affections would have been led to the Creator as the object of reverence and worship, and there would never have been an idolater, an atheist, or an infidel. The keeping of the Sabbath is a sign of loyalty to the true God, “Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” It follows that the message which commands men to worship God and keep His commandments will especially call upon them to keep the fourth commandment.—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy* 437.2.^†‡

[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p132.1979&index=0]^‡

[EGW:] The position that it is of no consequence what men believe is one of Satan’s most successful deceptions. He knows that the truth, received in the love of it, sanctifies the soul of the receiver; therefore [sic] he is constantly seeking to substitute false theories, fables, another gospel.—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy* 520.2.^‡

[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p132.2355&index=0]^‡

4. Do Seventh-day Adventists today faithfully and universally keep the Sabbath?
5. Once adventists got the idea fromRevelation 11:19 that the ark of the covenant (or covenant box) was located in heaven and that the law inside that ark was still there, written on tables of stone, they began to see the importance of other passages such as the following:

Revelation 11:19: God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the Covenant Box was seen there. Then there were flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.—American Bible Society. (1992). The Holy Bible: The Good News Translation* (2nd ed.,Revelation 11:19). New York: American Bible Society [abbreviated as Good News Bible].^†‡ [Exodus 25:16 andExodus 31:18]

Revelation 12:17: The dragon was furious with the woman and went off to fight against the rest of her descendants, all those who obey God’s commandments and are faithful to the truth revealed by Jesus.—Good News Bible.*

6. When the early adventists began to recognize the importance of the law, they went back to study details about such things as the Day of Atonement.

[BSG:] The Day of Atonement was a day of judgment. All of Israel was commanded to take part in this event by repentance, soul searching, and refraining from all work (seeLev. 23:29–31). On this day alone the high priest would enter the Most Holy Place to make atonement for sin. There, in the innermost apartment of the sanctuary, was the ark of the covenant. Within the ark was God’s Ten Commandment law, written on tables of stone. The golden cover of the ark was called the mercy seat, where blood was sprinkled to cleanse the sanctuary from sin. God’s presence was manifest in Shekinah glory above the mercy seat.―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Sunday, May 26.^†‡§ [How many Israelites understood those things?]^‡

Leviticus 23:29-31: ²⁹Anyone who eats anything on that day will no longer be considered one of God’s people. ³⁰And if anyone does any work on that day, the LORD himself will put him to death. ³¹This regulation applies to all your descendants, no matter where they live.—Good News Bible.*^†

7. Ellen White, in her book The Great Controversy, added this comment:

[EGW:] … Within the holy of holies, in the sanctuary in heaven, the divine law is sacredly enshrined—the law that was spoken by God Himself amid the thunders of Sinai and written with His own finger on the tables of stone.

The law of God in the sanctuary in heaven is the great original, of which the precepts inscribed upon the tables of stone and recorded by Moses in the Pentateuch were an unerring transcript. Those who arrived at an understanding of this important point were thus led to see the sacred, unchanging character of the divine law.—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy* 433.2-434.1.^†‡

[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p132.1962&index=0]^‡

[EGW:] And this is the object which Satan seeks to accomplish. There is nothing that he desires more than to destroy confidence in God and in His word. Satan stands at the head of the great army of doubters, and he works to the utmost of his power to beguile souls into his ranks. It is becoming fashionable to doubt. There is a large class by whom the word of God is looked upon with distrust for the same reason as was its Author—because it reproves and condemns sin.—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy* 526.1.^†‡

[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p132.2382&index=0]^‡

[BSG:] As the early Adventist [sic] believers studied the Bible’s teaching on the sanctuary, they realized the significance of the law of God and the Sabbath in the heart of God’s law. They reasoned that if the law of God was pictured in the ark of the covenant in the heavenly sanctuary, it certainly could not have been done away with at the cross.

Think about the Sabbath, which, at 1,000 miles an hour, comes to us every week without exception. What should that tell us about the importance of the doctrine of Creation? What other doctrine has such a powerful, and reoccurring, reminder?―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Sunday, May 26.^‡

8. Matthew 5:17-18 reminds us that even Jesus told us about the perpetuity of God’s law.

Matthew 5:17-18: ¹⁷ “Do not think that I have come to do away with the Law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets. I have not come to do away with them, but to make their teachings come true. ¹⁸Remember that as long as heaven and earth last, not the least point nor the smallest detail of the Law will be done away with—not until the end of all things.”—Good News Bible.*^†

Proverbs 28:9: If you do not obey the law, God will find your prayers too hateful to hear.—Good News Bible.* [Does that agree with other Bible verses?]^‡

9. Protestant reformers almost universally recognized the importance of God’s law. But, somehow, most of them did not see the necessity of going all the way to observing the seventh-day Sabbath. However, notice these words from one of the important reformers, the founder of the Methodist Church, John Wesley:

[BSG:] John Wesley: “The ritual or ceremonial law delivered by Moses to the children of Israel, containing all the injunctions and ordinances which related to the old sacrifices and service of the temple, our Lord indeed did come to destroy, to dissolve and utterly abolish. . . . But the moral law, contained in the Ten Commandments, and enforced by the prophets, he did not take away. It was not the design of his coming to revoke any part of this. This is a law which never can be broken, which ‘stands fast as the faithful witness in heaven.’ . . . Every part of this law must remain in force, upon all mankind, and in all ages; as not depending either on time or place, or any other circumstances liable to change, but on the nature of God and the nature of man, and their unchangeable relation to each other.”—“Upon Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount,” Discourse V, John Wesley’s Sermons: An Anthology (Nashville, TN: Abington Press, 1991), pp. 208, 209.―[as quoted in Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Monday, May 27].^‡§

10. Many more Bible verses seem to support this general principle. SeeExodus 34:5-7. CompareRomans 7:11-12; Psalm 19:7-11; Psalm 89:14; Psalm 119:142,172.

[BSG:] Since the law of God is a transcript of His character, the foundation of His throne, and the moral basis for humanity, Satan hates it.―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Monday, May 27.^‡

[EGW:] … None could fail to see that if the earthly sanctuary was a figure or pattern of the heavenly, the law deposited in the ark on earth was an exact transcript of the law in the ark in heaven; and that an acceptance of the truth concerning the heavenly sanctuary involved an acknowledgment of the claims of God’s law and the obligation of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. Here was the secret of the bitter and determined opposition to the harmonious exposition of the Scriptures that revealed the ministration of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary.—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy* 435.1.^‡

[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p132.1970&index=0]^‡

11. Why does it seem so hard for people to accept the Ten Commandments as the basis of God’s government and to carefully observe the Sabbath? People claim that the Old Testament is no longer applicable to us, and that the seventh-day Sabbath was an ancient Jewish requirement which does not apply to Christians. They do not want to keep the Sabbath, or to acknowledge that, one day, God’s law will be His basis for judgment of the entire world.

[EGW:] While God has given ample evidence for faith, He will never remove all excuse for unbelief. All who look for hooks to hang their doubts upon will find them. And those who refuse to accept and obey God’s word until every objection has been removed, and there is no longer an opportunity for doubt, will never come to the light.—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy* 527.2.^‡

[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p132.2387&index=0]^‡

12. Genesis 2:1-3 andExodus 20:8-11 make it very clear that the basic reason for keeping the Sabbath is because it is a celebration of God’s creative activity in the beginning. God created us, and without Him we would not exist. Passages likeEzekiel 20:12,20 make it clear that the Sabbath was intended for all time to be a memorial for us to recognize our relationship with the Creator. Do we recognize that our very lives depend on God’s power?
13. Having recognized these points, we must turn now to consider Satan’s response.

Revelation 12:12,17: ¹² “And so be glad, you heavens, and all you that live there! But how terrible for the earth and the sea! For the Devil has come down to you, and he is filled with rage, because he knows that he has only a little time left.”…

¹⁷The dragon was furious with the woman and went off to fight against the rest of her descendants, all those who obey God’s commandments and are faithful to the truth revealed by Jesus.—Good News Bible.*

Revelation 13:7: It [the leopard-like beast] was allowed to fight against God’s people and to defeat them, and it was given authority over every tribe, nation, language, and race.—Good News Bible.*^‡

Revelation 13:4: Everyone worshipped the dragon [the Devil] because he had given his authority to the beast. They worshipped the beast also, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who can fight against it?”—Good News Bible.*^‡

14. What could cause “everyone” to worship the Devil? Since the Devil’s main motivation is selfishness while God’s very character is love, which of these two motivations seems to be dominant in the Western world today? Is this true also in the communist world and the Muslim world?

[EGW:] But what is the “image to the beast”? and how is it to be formed? The image is made by the two-horned beast, and is an image to the beast. It is also called an image of the beast. Then to learn what the image is like and how it is to be formed we must study the characteristics of the beast itself—the papacy.

When the early church became corrupted by departing from the simplicity of the gospel and accepting heathen rites and customs, she lost the Spirit and power of God; and in order to control the consciences of the people, she sought the support of the secular power. The result was the papacy, a church that controlled the power of the state and employed it to further her own ends, especially for the punishment of “heresy.” In order for the United States to form an image of the beast, the religious power must so control the civil government that the authority of the state will also be employed by the church to accomplish her own ends.—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy* 443.1-2.^†‡§ [What motivates us every day? Self? Or, love?]^‡

[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p132.2003&index=0]^‡

15. We know that chapters 12-14 are the central core of the book of Revelation. Revelation 12 outlines the great controversy from beginning to end. Revelation 13 tells us what the Devil is going to do. Revelation 14 tells us God’s response. It still seems unbelievable that the whole world could wander after the beast and worship the Devil!

[EGW:] When the leading churches of the United States, uniting upon such points of doctrine as are held by them in common, shall influence the state to enforce their decrees and to sustain their institutions, then Protestant America will have formed an image of the Roman hierarchy, and the infliction of civil penalties upon dissenters will inevitably result….

The “image to the beast” represents that form of apostate Protestantism which will be developed when the Protestant churches shall seek the aid of the civil power for the enforcement of their dogmas.—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy* 445.1-2.^‡ [Could that happen in our day?]^‡

[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p132.2014&index=0]^‡

16. And what is God’s summary response?

Revelation 14:6-12: ⁶ Then I saw another angel flying high in the air, with an eternal message of Good News to announce to the peoples of the earth, to every race, tribe, language, and nation. ⁷He said in a loud voice, “Honour [sic-Br] God and praise his greatness! For the time has come for him to judge. Worship him who made heaven, earth, sea, and the springs of water!”

⁸ A second angel followed the first one, saying, “She has fallen! Great Babylon has fallen! She made all peoples drink her wine — the strong wine of her immoral lust!”

⁹ A third angel followed the first two, saying in a loud voice, “Whoever worships the beast and its image and receives the mark on their forehead or on their hand ¹⁰will themselves drink God’s wine, the wine of his fury, which he has poured at full strength into the cup of his anger! All who do this will be tormented in fire and sulphur [sic-Br] before the holy angels and the Lamb. ¹¹The smoke of the fire that torments them goes up for ever [sic-Br] and ever. [Of what does smoke consist? Is it alive?] There is no relief day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, for anyone who has the mark of its name.”

¹² This calls for endurance on the part of God’s people, those who obey God’s commandments and are faithful to Jesus.—Good News Bible.*^‡

17. Remember that the terms God’s “fury,” “wrath,” or “anger” are simply His turning away in loving disappointment from those who persistently and consistently indicate that they do not want Him anyway, thus leaving them to the inevitable and awful consequences of their own rebellious choices. See also Item #24 and #25 below.
18. Many people think that it is unlike God, whose character is love, to treat the wicked as is suggested by the third angel’s message. But, if God were to take the wicked to heaven, they would be expected to act always in love, which is God’s universal principle. For them, heaven would be torture!

[EGW:] … A life of rebellion against God has unfitted them for heaven. Its purity, holiness, and peace would be torture to them; the glory of God would be a consuming fire. They would long to flee from that holy place. They would welcome destruction, that they might be hidden from the face of Him who died to redeem them. The destiny of the wicked is fixed by their own choice. Their exclusion from heaven is voluntary with themselves, and just and merciful on the part of God.—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy* 542.2-543.0.^†‡

[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p132.2459&index=0]^‡

19. The same is true for the Devil, even more so, since he can remember what it was like in heaven when he was Lucifer! (See The Great Controversy 670.1-2.)
20. And what will be the final conclusion of all that? It will be the seven last plagues, as spelled out in Revelation 15-16. ReadRevelation 15:4 andRevelation 16:2.

Revelation 19:20: The beast was taken prisoner, together with the false prophet who had performed miracles in his presence. (It was by those miracles that he had deceived those who had the mark of the beast and those who had worshipped the image of the beast.) The beast and the false prophet were both thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur [sic-Br].—Good News Bible.*^†‡ [Satan has the power to perform miracles!]^‡

[EGW:] In mercy to the world, God blotted out its wicked inhabitants in Noah’s time. In mercy He destroyed the corrupt dwellers in Sodom. Through the deceptive power of Satan the workers of iniquity obtain sympathy and admiration, and are thus constantly leading others to rebellion. It was so in Cain’s and in Noah’s day, and in the time of Abraham and Lot; it is so in our time. It is in mercy to the universe that God will finally destroy the rejecters of His grace.—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy* 543.3.^†‡

[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p132.2464&index=0]^‡

21. So, who do we worship? Do we really want to be in an environment ruled by God where everyone is loving and kind and considerate of others? Or, do we want to take the natural human sinful selfish approach and join Satan’s side?

[BSG:] Note the contrast. Either people worship the Creator or they worship something else. The Creator is worthy of worship (Rev. 5:9). The controversy between Christ and Satan began in heaven over worship: “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High” (Isa. 14:14, NKJV). Satan wanted the worship belonging only to the Creator. According to Revelation 13, he succeeds through the activity of the land beast (Rev. 13:4).―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Wednesday, May 29.^‡§

22. So, what happens to people who hold the dragon and the beast in highest regard?

[EGW:] It is a law both of the intellectual and the spiritual nature that by beholding we become changed. The mind gradually adapts itself to the subjects upon which it is allowed to dwell. It becomes assimilated to that which it is accustomed to love and reverence. Man will never rise higher than his standard of purity or goodness or truth. If self is his loftiest ideal, he will never attain to anything more exalted. Rather, he will constantly sink lower and lower. The grace of God alone has power to exalt man. Left to himself, his course must inevitably be downward.—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy* 555.1.^‡

[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p132.2513&index=0]^‡

23. Look at Daniel 7. See if you can see how it compares with what we have read in Revelation 12 and 13. See especiallyDaniel 7:25 andRevelation 13:5. In Daniel 7, we are told that this beast will speak against the supreme God and oppress God’s people and try to change religious laws and festivals.

Daniel 7:25: He will speak against the Supreme God and oppress God’s people. He will try to change their religious laws and festivals, and God’s people will be under his power for 3.5 years.—Good News Bible.*

Revelation 13:5: The beast was allowed to make proud claims which were insulting to God, and it was permitted to have authority for 42 months [3.5 years].—Good News Bible.*^‡

[BSG:] For an earthly power to seek to change the day of worship, the seventh-day Sabbath, which God Himself gave as a sign of His authority (Exod. 31:13; Ezek. 20:12, 20), is an attempt to usurp divine authority at the most basic level possible. On this point, then, is the focus of the final conflict over true and false worship.―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Wednesday, May 29.^‡§

24. Revelation 14:7-12 (as quoted in Item #16 above) is God’s response to the Devil’s threats.

[BSG:] The second angel declares, “ ‘Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication’ ” (Rev. 14:8, NKJV). Babylon represents a fallen apostate religious system that has rejected the message of the first angel in favor of a false system of worship. That’s whyRevelation 14:9–11 warns against worshiping “the beast and his image.” Two opposing choices are presented here—worship of the Creator or worship of the beast. Every person on planet Earth will make their final, irrevocable decision over who has their total allegiance—Jesus or Satan.―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Thursday, May 30.^†‡§

25. But, God will have an end-time people who are loyal to Him. They will face the greatest opposition and the fiercest persecution in the history of the world.

[EGW:] In the absence of Bible testimony in their favor, many with unwearying persistence urged—forgetting how the same reasoning had been employed against Christ and His apostles: “Why do not our great men understand this Sabbath question? But few believe as you do. It cannot be that you are right and that all the men of learning in the world are wrong.”

To refute such arguments it was needful only to cite the teachings of the Scriptures and the history of the Lord’s dealings with His people in all ages.—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy* 455.2-3.^‡

[https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p132.2062&index=0]^‡

[EGW:] … Christians of past generations observed the Sunday, supposing that in so doing they were keeping the Bible Sabbath; and there are now true Christians in every church, not excepting the Roman Catholic communion, who honestly believe that Sunday is the Sabbath of divine appointment. God accepts their sincerity of purpose and their integrity before Him. But when Sunday observance shall be enforced by law, and the world shall be enlightened concerning the obligation of the true Sabbath, then whoever shall transgress the command of God, to obey a precept which has no higher authority than that of Rome, will thereby honor popery above God. He is paying homage to Rome and to the power which enforces the institution ordained by Rome. He is worshiping the beast and his image. As men then reject the institution which God has declared to be the sign of His authority, and honor in its stead that which Rome has chosen as the token of her supremacy, they will thereby accept the sign of allegiance to Rome—“the mark of the beast.” And it is not until the issue is thus plainly set before the people, and they are brought to choose between the commandments of God and the commandments of men, that those who continue in transgression will receive “the mark of the beast.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy* 449.1.^†‡ [https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p132.2035&index=0]^‡

26. Consider and discuss these questions raised in the Bible study guide.
27. [BSG:] The world is changing so quickly, so dramatically. Why must we always be vigilant so that last-day events don’t catch us unprepared?
28. How does an understanding of the judgment and the law of God harmonize with the fact that we are saved by grace alone?
29. What are ways you can witness to those who don’t grasp the significance of the true Sabbath and sincerely keep Sunday, the first day of the week?
30. What dangers lie in the union of church and state powers? How as Christians are we to relate to the government?―Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Friday, May 31.^‡

[BSG:] Throughout history, Christians have found reasons and ways not only to diminish the importance of the law of God but also to change it. During the early and medieval times, theologians found it relatively easy to change the Sabbath. Why? As with the case of the sanctuary, the integration of the dualism and worldview of Greek philosophy made possible the dismissal of the Sabbath. If, according to Greek philosophy, the heavenly sphere is spaceless, the existence of a literal sanctuary that occupied space in heaven was meaningless. Jesus’ ascension into heaven in a literal, space-filling, material human body was also unacceptable to Greek philosophy.―Adult Teachers Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* 120.^‡

27. In light of the influence of these Greek philosophical ideas, many early Christians began to interpret passages in the Bible using the allegorical-interpretative method. This meant that they could take specific items mentioned literally in the Bible and interpret them in allegorical ways, thus really removing their importance. They regarded these as being spiritual interpretations and not literal. However, even Martin Luther in his Large Catechism, repeatedly emphasize the importance of keeping God’s law.
28. We know that ultimately these thoughts and these ways of interpretation will lead to what we call the mark of the beast and the setting up of a false Sabbath on the first day of the week in opposition to the faithful keeping of the seventh-day Sabbath. Seventh-day Adventists have felt that God’s law is so important that it must be one of their fundamental beliefs.

[SDA Fundamental Belief 19:] … The great principles of God’s law are embodied in the Ten Commandments and exemplified in the life of Christ. They express God’s love, will, and purposes concerning human conduct and relationships and are binding upon all people in every age. These precepts are the basis of God’s covenant with His people and the standard in God’s judgment. Through the agency of the Holy Spirit they point out sin and awaken a sense of need for a Saviour. Salvation is all of grace and not of works, and its fruit is obedience to the Commandments. This obedience develops Christian character and results in a sense of well-being. It is evidence of our love for the Lord and our concern for our fellow human beings. The obedience of faith demonstrates the power of Christ to transform lives, and therefore strengthens Christian witness.―Fundamental Belief 19, “The Law of God.”

[https://www.adventist.org/the-law-ofgod/#:~:text=The%20great%20principles,strengthens%20Christian%20witness]^‡

[Retrieved on March 24, 2024 and May 5, 2024].^‡

29. Notice these absolutely essential points:

[BSG:] First, the law of God is a direct reflection of His character and the principles of His kingdom….

Second, the law of God is the reflection of God’s nature of love and righteousness, which are reflected in the principles of His kingdom―Adult Teachers Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* 122.^†‡

30. Seventh-day Adventists have believed and taught that the final crisis will come over the difference between worshiping on Sabbath and the true God versus worshiping on Sunday and the false Messiah/Satan himself. How do you think that will play out in countries dominated by communism? Or, Islam?
31. Are we prepared to stand firmly and be faithful to God’s law? No matter what?

©2024, Kenneth Hart, MD, MA, MPH. Permission is hereby granted for any noncommercial use of these materials. Free distribution of all or of a portion of this material such as to a Bible study class is encouraged. *Electronic version. ^†Bold type is added. ^‡Brackets and content in brackets are added. ^§Italic type is in the source.    

Last Modified: May 12, 2024                                                                                   Email: Info@theox.org