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HopeLives365

Mark Finley

Sabbath School 2nd Quarter 2025: Allusions, Images, Symbols: How to Study Bible Prophecy?

Is Ellen White a Prophet or Plagiarist?

01 Some Principles of Prophecy

02 The Genesis Foundation

03 Images from Marriage

04 The Nations Part 1


Welcome back to our second lesson in this series, Illusions, Images, Symbols, How to Study Bible Prophecy. Have you ever linked the book of Genesis to the book of Revelation? In the book of Genesis, God gives us foundational core principles that will help us understand Revelation. Did you know that there are over 400 texts alluded to from the Old Testament in the book of Revelation. 1 of the reasons many people don't understand Revelation is because they don't understand the basic principles that are the undergirding structure of the book of Revelation.

So we're gonna look at some of those in this week's lesson. Every key concept mentioned in Revelation, I should say nearly every key concept, appears in some form in the opening chapters of the Bible. These are huge concepts that will be developed in the light of the great controversy between good and evil. When we look at Sunday's lesson, it talks about a principle called the law of first mention. Now, this law of first mention says that something that is mentioned first in the Bible in an embryonic stage or a smaller stage is developed throughout the Bible.

For example, where do you have your first mention of marriage in the Bible? It's in the book of Genesis and then it is developed throughout the Bible. Where do you have your first mention of Sabbath? It's in Genesis, It's developed throughout the Bible. Where do you have your first mention of love between Adam and Eve?

Although the word love is not used in Genesis chapters 1, 2, and 3, you see that relationship of man will leave his father and mother and cleave unto his wife, there'll be 1 flesh. You see that love concept. But that idea of love we'll see is developed throughout the Bible. The idea of living and dying, death, and this idea of a controversy with Satan coming to the garden is introduced. The great controversy theme is introduced right there in Genesis.

So that is the law of first mention. We might say though, it's not an ironclad law because other things are introduced that may not be introduced right there. I think I'd rather call it a pattern as our author does in the lesson study. It's really a pattern that we see when things are mentioned first, often that pattern develops throughout scripture. It's important to understand these basic principles and here's why.

If you have your Bible and you're following along, turn to Isaiah chapter 40, verse 7 and 8. The grass withers, the flower fades, because the breath of the Lord blows upon it. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever." Here you have eternal permanence. The principles that God gives in Scripture and throughout Scripture are eternally permanent.

So here in the Bible, we read about this God in Malachi 3.6, where he says, I am the Lord, I do what? You know it, don't you? I'm the Lord that I do what? I change not. Hebrews 13.8, Jesus Christ is the same 1 yesterday, today, and forever.

I love the note on Sunday's lesson that says, much of the modern world speaks about truthfulness instead of truth, because it is assumed that truth is a malleable thing, that means a changeable thing that can change over time. In some instances, some cases, the very concept of truth itself is deemed suspect. But when God establishes truth however, he does not change his mind. So when we look at Genesis, and we see the principles established there, these are gonna be solid bedrock core principles that take us through the entire Bible and come to their climax and focus in the book of Revelation. Now if I asked you what is the central word to describe the great controversy?

What would you say that central word is? That 1 word that describes God in the great controversy, it's love, right? And what's the 1 word that describes Satan in the Great Controversy? It's selfishness. So in the Great Controversy, we see God's love revealed.

How do we see in the book of Genesis a core principle of the Great Controversy being played out? We see it in the story of Abraham. You see, in that story, we see this marvelous principle of God's love. So let's go to Genesis, and we're going to Genesis 22, and we're gonna learn something about the great controversy that plays out throughout the Bible and comes to its climax in the book of Revelation. Genesis chapter 22.

And So Abraham goes to sleep 1 night and God calls Abraham and Abraham says to God, here I am. And God says to Abraham, verse 2 of Genesis 22, he says, take down your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, first time love is mentioned in the Bible right there. You love your son, take him, go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on 1 of the mountains, which I tell you. So Abraham takes his son, they climb that Mount Moriah, and Isaac says, where's the lamb? And Abraham says, God himself will supply the lamb.

They get to the top of the mountain in obedience to God's cause. It must have been Horrifically difficult, challenging for Abraham to do this. He builds an altar, puts the wood on the altar, takes Isaac, puts him on the altar, binds him to the altar. Now Isaac was a young man, probably much stronger than his father and could have overwhelmed Abraham, but he didn't do that. He was obedient.

He lies there. Abraham takes up the knife. His hand begins to tremble. The angel holds his hand. He drops the knife, looks and sees a ram in the thicket and goes, gets that ram and sacrifices it.

What a symbol. The father giving his son. God giving Jesus. What a symbol. God providing the lamb.

God on the Mount Calvary, on Golgotha's mountain, providing that lamb. We see in the symbol of the Lamb of God, Christ dying. We see revealed on the cross of Calvary, the unselfish, sacrificial love of Jesus. We see there on Calvary, with nails through Christ's hands, and a crown of thorns upon his head, blood running down his cheeks and spurting from his hands. We see on the cross of Calvary, Jesus crying out his last words, Father it is finished.

On Calvary's cross love was revealed and Satan's doom was certain. A rebel angel rebelled against God in heaven. 1 third of the angels listened to that lie and down through time on earth the controversy has been being played out between God's love, selfishness, between the sacrifice of Christ and the pride of the evil 1. We find this theme played out also in the book of Revelation. Do you know that more than 20 times in the book of Revelation, Jesus is called the Lamb of God?

Do you remember Isaac's question so artfully described in scripture, Tuesday's lesson, Isaac's question, where is the lamb? The Bible's first book, first mention of a lamb occurs in the same story as the first mention of love. Genesis 22. The lamb, of course, is 1 of the most consistent symbols found in the book of Revelation, in which Jesus is called the lamb more than 20 times. 1 of the most powerful scenes in Revelation, John's visit to the throne room of God in chapters 4 and 5, the Lamb plays a central role.

You remember in Revelation 5, in Revelation 4, in Revelation 4, you have that great scene, worthy, worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive glory and honor and power. In Revelation chapter 5, John looks up into heaven and he sees a scroll that's open and nobody is worthy to open the scroll. If nobody can open that scroll in Revelation 5, all humanity is lost. What is it? It's the scroll of judgment, the scroll that records the lives of every human being, and it is the scroll that will condemn or the scroll that will exonerate, and who can open the scroll, who can provide forgiveness and grace?

And John says in Revelation 5, no man could open the scroll, but then he says, I saw, I saw a bloody lamb up there in heaven. I saw the lamb, wounded, bruised, broken, bloody, and He was worthy to open the scroll. What is this picture? It is the picture in Revelation of the living Christ, the Christ that delivers us from the condemnation of sin, the Christ that delivers us from the guilt of sin, the shame of sin. It is the Christ who reaches out to us.

That's Revelation's Christ. He is the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world. The note under Tuesday's lesson says, the first mention of the lamb in the Bible comes in the form of Isaac's question, where's the lamb? Interestingly enough, the rest of the Bible answers that question in great detail. The other 38 books of the Old Testament lead the reader along a path where Isaac's question is progressively answered with more and more details, from the Passover rituals to David's early occupation onward.

The entire story is punctuated with countless messianic prophecies that anticipate the answer to Isaac's question than in the New Testament. The question is answered when Jesus appears in flesh and blood, ministers to his people, and finally sacrifices his life on the cross. Remember what John the Baptist said in John 129, behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. If Jesus takes away the sin of the world, who has it? He has it.

Who doesn't have it? We don't have it. We need not walk through life with head condemned. We need not walk through life with that great burden of guilt upon our shoulders. You remember that amazing allegory called Pilgrim's Progress written by John Bunyan, where Pilgrim comes with this great burden on his back that's crushing out his life, and he looks up at the cross.

And there, the burden rolls off his shoulder and rolls away. I don't know, maybe he had some burden. But the Christ of the book of Revelation, the slain lamb, takes the scroll, writes pardon after your name, writes forgiveness after your name, writes mercy after your name. He answers Isaac's question, where is the lamb? Jesus Christ is that lamb.

Without the lamb of God, there is no life. If Jesus' death does not atone for our death, the Bible says the wages of sin is death, Romans 6, verse 23. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. We find in Christ the gift of life. Now there is the trauma of death.

All of us at 1 time or the other, if Jesus doesn't come face death. And death is answered. Death is introduced in the book of Genesis. It's introduced a couple of places. Here in Genesis chapter 3, for example, death is introduced.

When you look at Genesis 3, you find Satan comes in the garden to tempt Adam and Eve. He comes to the tree and he says, Genesis 3.1, now the serpent was more cunning than any beast in the field which the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, has God indeed said you shall not eat of every tree of the garden? The woman said to the serpent, we may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, you shall not eat of it nor touch it lest you die. And the serpent said to the woman, you shall not surely die." Here you have death introduced.

Some translations say, in the day you eat of it you shall surely die. And some people have asked me, well Pastor Mark, they didn't die that day. Adam and Eve took of the fruit and Adam lived to be 950 years, he didn't die that day. You know what the Hebrew says? The Hebrew of that text says, in the day you eat of it, dying you will die.

In other words, in the day you eat of it, separated from God, separated from the source of life, you will begin to die. The seeds of death will come into your body." That happened. The seeds of death entered into Adam's body. Sickness, suffering, disease came into Adam and Eve, and the whole planet began to die. We're told that Adam cried more over a dying leaf when he recognized what his sin had done than parents do over their children today.

Why? Not to compare a leaf to a child at all, but Adam knew that death was plunged into the human race. And then you go further. It's interesting too, the first death in the book of Genesis is not Adam and Eve, the ones who sinned, it's their son. Cain furiously kills Abel in Genesis chapter 4 verse 8 to 15.

We read about the story of Cain killing Abel. And just think of how Adam and Eve must have wept. Sin brings death. And the theme of death in the light of the great controversies introduced. God's love is the answer to the condemnation of sin and God's love is the answer to death.

Jesus, as the Lamb of God, atones for our sin. And in Revelation 1, verse 18, we discover that Christ has the keys of death and the grave. And Jesus went into the grave and came out. So the grave is not a dark hole in the ground. Death is not a long night without a morning.

Not at all. We find in the book of Revelation chapter 1 verse 18 Jesus says I am he who lives and was dead and behold I'm alive forevermore and I have the keys of Hades that's hell and death Jesus the living Christ dies the death you should have died. He goes into the grave, rests in the tomb, but on Sunday morning, he hears the angel say, Son, thy father calleth thee. And the stone is rolled away, and Christ comes out alive. And because he was resurrected from the dead, we need not fear death.

This is what the Bible tells us. 1 day Jesus is going to come, 1 Corinthians, the 15th chapter. And notice what scripture says, 1 Corinthians 15, starting with verse 51, behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, the trumpet shall sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed.

For this corruptible must put on incorruption, this mortal must put on immortality. When this corruptible has put on incorruption, this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. The serpent will be destroyed. The dragon, see The Bible calls the devil the serpent because he's a deceiver and the dragon because he's a destroyer. The object of Satan is to lead men and women to worship him rather than the Creator.

Now there are 3 things we've learned so far in our lesson. We're coming to the climax of the lesson. First thing we've learned is that there are core principles throughout scripture that are basic, they're fundamental to understand. The concept of love, the concept of the great controversy, the concept of life through Christ, the concept of death. So those core principles.

The second thing that we've learned is this, that Genesis introduces us to Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God and his love in the story of Isaac, the story of Abraham offering his Son. And we've learned as well that in the book of Revelation, Jesus is that mighty lamb. He is the 1 symbolized by the lamb and the thicket. And we've learned thirdly, that in the great controversy, disobedience to God, rebelling against God's commandments leads to death. And we've learned that there is an answer to death and that's Jesus Christ, the 1 resurrected from the dead.

Now in this Thursday's lesson, we learn a little bit about the serpent who wants to deceive. The opening paragraph of the lesson says the issue of worship is a key subject in the book of Revelation. The perpetrator and enabler of false systems of worship is identified as the dragon. The serpentine description of this fallen cherub is no accident. It clearly points us back to the Garden of Eden, where the serpent entered paradise and persuaded Adam and Eve to follow him in rebellion against the Creator.

And you remember this same symbolism is used in Revelation chapter 12. Because If you look over here in the 12th chapter of the book of Revelation, you find that very same symbolism. Revelation chapter 12, and we find it there in, we're going to look at verses 7 to 9. War broke out in heaven. Where did war break out?

In heaven. Strange place for war. Why? Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought, and they did not prevail.

There was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out. That serpent of old called the devil and Satan who deceives the whole world. He was cast into the earth and his angels were cast out with him." So here, the serpent that deceived Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, Where did that serpent come from? He came from heaven.

That's a strange place for a dragon and a serpent, isn't it? Dragon because he destroys, serpent because he deceives. God did not create Lucifer as a demonic being. He created Lucifer as a beautiful angel with dazzling brightness, but he gave him the power of choice. He gave him the ability to make choices Because if you take away the power of choice, you take away the opportunity to love.

And if you cannot love, you cannot be fully happy. So choice, without choice there is no love, because love can never be forced, Love can never be coerced. So God created angelic beings with the power of choice. And Lucifer chose, and it's a mystery of how this ever could come into his heart in a perfect environment. It's called the mystery of iniquity, the mystery of sin.

Lucifer chose to rebel against God. In that rebellion, he deceived the serpent. The serpent's symbolism deceived a third of the angels, and they would be destroyed eventually by the dragon. But Jesus says to you and me, evil is going to be destroyed, sin is going to be destroyed, wickedness is going to come to an end, righteousness is going to prevail. Christ, the divine Son of God, will triumph in the end in the great controversy between good and evil.

That's the great theme of the Bible. God's love will triumph. God's gracious mercy will triumph. God's goodness will triumph. Let God's love fill your heart.

Let His mercy change your life. Let His grace cover your sins. Let his power transform you as we pray. Father in heaven, we thank you that we can see in the book of Genesis these great themes of the Bible, the theme of love, the theme of life and death, the theme of the great controversy. As we look throughout the Bible, we see Satan, the serpent trying to deceive, Satan, the dragon who wants to destroy and crush out all goodness.

But we know that Christ is going to win at last, that he will be victorious over the powers of hell at last. And Lord, we open our hearts so that we can triumph with you. In Jesus' name, Amen. This media was brought to you by AudioVerse, a website dedicated to spreading God's Word through free sermon audio and much more. If you would like to know more about AudioVerse or if you would like to listen to more sermons, please visit www.audioverse.org.

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Series

Sabbath School 2nd Quarter 2025: Allusions, Images, Symbols: How to Study Bible Prophecy?

02 The Genesis Foundation

Parent Series

Sponsor

Recorded

Other Teachings in Series

Is Ellen White a Prophet or Plagiarist?

01 Some Principles of Prophecy

02 The Genesis Foundation

03 Images from Marriage

04 The Nations Part 1

Sound Doctrine