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Commentary on "Worship in the Book of Revelation"
Days 1–7: Sabbath Afternoon–Friday, September 17–23, 2011
This week we are only publishing an opening essay with a reading assignment for the week.
Overview
“As Seventh-day Adventists, we understand how central to this whole issue the seventh-day Sabbath is, which is so tied in with Creation and with worship. We worship the Lord because He is the Creator, and the Sabbath has been, and still remains, the foundational mark, or sign, of His role as Creator.
Though we still do not know when, and how, these issues will be brought to the forefront, we can be sure that they will. How crucial it is, then, that we be ready, not only to stand firm for the truth but also to be able ‘to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear’ (1 Pet. 3:15).” [Teacher’s Quarterly, Page 156]
“Again, think about Creation, think about the God who created the creation. Then think about the Cross, about the Creator dying for the sins of those whom He had created, bearing in Himself the punishment that they deserved in order that these undeserving beings could have the chance of being re-created in a new heaven and a new earth.” [Teacher’s Quarterly, Page 158]
Problems
Normally, I quote from “The Lesson in Brief” section of the Teachers Quarterly in order to set the stage for my comments. Usually, the Know, Feel and Do sections very succinctly lay out the author’s position on the week’s topic. That is not the case this week. “The Lesson in Brief” is a rather innocuous, though typically Adventist, description of the lesson’s objectives.
Instead, the lesson’s true intent is spelled out in the paragraphs quoted above from Wednesday’s and Thursday’s sections. As an Adventist you are expected and required to keep the Sabbath in order to be saved. Period. You can get away with almost anything, except breaking the Sabbath. You are expected to give up your job for the Sabbath. You are expected to die for the Sabbath. (A simple question: What if instead of a universal “Sunday Law” the Antichrist sets up a universal “Seventh-day Sabbath Law”? You say, “Oh, that could never happen.” Why? Because Ellen G. White says so? The Bible doesn’t say so!)
I do not worship the Lord because He is the Creator. I worship God because He is God. Creating is one of His major activities, but I do not worship His activities, or power, or majesty. He simply IS, and I worship the I AM because there is none else.
The Sabbath truly was the sign of God’s sovereignty over Israel. However, because we are no longer under Law we are marked by a different sign – the indwelling Holy Spirit (see Ephesians 1:13-14).
Therefore, I do not worship the Sabbath. Adventism worships the Sabbath so much that they have made an idol of it, and therefore have negated their own attempts to keep the Law.
Because Adventists believe only that “undeserving beings could have the chance of being re-created in a new heaven and a new earth,” they focus only on the cross. They miss entirely the reality of Jesus’ resurrection and the eternal life that belongs to everyone who believes in Him. In short, they teach only a half-gospel, which is no gospel at all.
As those of us who write these comments have attempted to explain in every lesson, the Adventist focus on behavior and law-keeping as the means of proving one’s right to salvation is a completely bankrupt approach to God. It calls Him a liar in regards to sin and salvation, death and life, Satan and Jesus, and every other major Biblical theme.
Certainly, this behavioral approach runs roughshod over Revelation’s message, completely missing the point. Revelation is about Jesus. It actually is the revelation of Jesus—the already ultimately victorious King.
Revelation is not about the Great Controversy. There is no controversy, great or otherwise! Jesus is God; always has been and always will be. Satan, a created being, is a liar, coward and murderer; always has been and always will be until he is thrown into the lake of fire. Notice that Jesus doesn’t even bother with Satan. This is done, in my reading of Revelation 20, by the same angel who binds Satan for the thousand years. Satan is not worth one second of Jesus’ time. Satan is less than an afterthought in the context of Jesus’ inherent majesty and power.
If you want to understand worship as it is demonstrated in Revelation then you must see the entire book in the context of Jesus. It is not churches, but Jesus. It is not persecution, but Jesus. It is not law-keeping, but Jesus. It is not seals, trumpets and bowls, but Jesus. It is not time periods, but Jesus. It is Jesus, always and only Jesus!
This realization will drive to your knees, and then onto your face, in awed, joyful, humble adoration and praise. If the Twenty-four Elders spend most of the time on their faces in Revelation, who are we to arrogantly point to our law-keeping as some kind of badge of honor!
It is way past time we got over ourselves. Stop giving Satan so much credit. Stop giving Jesus so little credit.
Here’s what I suggest for you this week
Lay aside your Adventist quarterly. Put down your copy of The Great Controversy. Stop reading these comments (I’ve made it easy for you, because there are no more comments after this opening essay).
Instead, ask the Spirit to reveal the true meaning of the words given to John, pick up your Bible and read through Revelation at least twice this week. Spend no time at all trying to figure out the meaning of the various symbols, no time stealing yourself for the coming persecution. Focus entirely on Jesus—how He is revealed in the book, what He does throughout the book and how the various groups respond to Him.
You will be amazed, and you just might meet the real Jesus for the first time in your life! If so, don’t feel guilty about missing Him in the past. Today is the day of salvation; not yesterday, not tomorrow. Jesus is sufficient. Jesus is victorious. Jesus is everything. Let Him hold you in His hands, because, once He does, no one and nothing will be able to snatch you away from Him (see John 10:27-30).
There is no better place to discover the real meaning of worship than in Revelation. Let His words change your life. I guarantee you’ll never be the same.
Summary
- Allow the Holy Spirit to reveal the real meaning of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
Copyright 2011 BibleStudiesForAdventists.com. All rights reserved. Revised September 11, 2011. This website is published by Life Assurance Ministries, Glendale, Arizona, USA, the publisher of Proclamation! Magazine. Contact email: BibleStudiesForAdventists@gmail.com.
The Sabbath School Bible Study Guide and the corresponding E.G. White Notes are published by Pacific Press Publishing Association, which is owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist church. The current quarter's editions are pictured above.
Official Adventist Resources
Standard Edition Study Guide Week 13
Teacher's Edition Study Guide Week 13
Easy Reading Edition Study Guide Wk 13
Search the Complete Published Ellen G. White Writings
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