Sabbath School lessons are part of a global study initiative undertaken by members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. As we enter the second quarter of 2025, we will explore the theme “Allusions, Images, Symbols: How to Study Bible Prophecy.” This week’s lesson, titled “Understanding Sacrifice” covers the period from May 3 - May 9. Join Pastor Mark Finley for a brief preview of what to expect in this week’s study.

<p>Sabbath School lessons are part of a global study initiative undertaken by members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. As we enter the second quarter of 2025, we will explore the theme “Allusions, Images, Symbols: How to Study Bible Prophecy.” This week’s lesson, titled “Understanding Sacrifice” covers the period from May 3 - May 9. Join Pastor Mark Finley for a brief preview of what to expect in this week’s study.</p>

<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

HopeLives365

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

Mark Finley

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

05 The Nations: Part 2

06 Understanding Sacrifice


Welcome back. Thank you for joining us again for another Sabbath School discussion. Here in Lesson 6, we're talking about understanding sacrifice. There are 2 things I want you to get from this lesson. First, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, our guilt is gone.

We are free in Jesus. There is no condemnation. And through his blood, by his sacrifice, we can have victory over the besetting sins that tend to at times afflict us. That the blood of Christ, the sacrifice of Christ, is what gives us victory over the temptations of Satan. Jesus applies that blood.

He applies the benefits of that sacrifice to us as our high priest. So it takes 2 things, the dying Christ and the living Christ to deliver us. If he had not died for us, he could not live for us. And if he only died for us and isn't living for us, he would be an example, but we couldn't have the victory. So the dying Christ and the living Christ, the blood of Christ, shed on Calvary's cross, delivers us from the guilt of sin.

The blood of Christ applied on our behalf in heaven's sanctuary delivers us from the guilt of sin and the grip of sin. So we want to look at that in our lesson today, but there is a second lesson and that is this, that formal Christian worship, just acknowledging the death of Christ, just acknowledging his sacrifice on the cross without a heartfelt commitment. If we do it in a formal, legalistic, casual way, it is not going to benefit us at all. So we're looking at 2 things. The beauty of that sacrifice for us and the need for a personal encounter with Christ.

Let's pray. Father in heaven, how we thank you with all of our hearts that we can study your word. As we study this Sabbath school lesson, may the truth of the word jump out at us. We pray in Christ's name. Amen.

Now you may ask, what does this lesson have to do with prophecy? Because the title of our Sabbath school quarterly is Illusions, Images, Symbols, and How to Study Bible prophecy. When you look at the concept of sacrifice, starting with Genesis and going through the entire Old Testament, it runs like a golden thread or a crimson thread through the Old Testament. When you come to the New Testament, the whole essence of the Gospels is pointing you forward to the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. The epistles of Paul exalt that sacrifice and make it practical in our lives.

When you look at the book of Revelation, Jesus is mentioned in Revelation as the Lamb of God at least 27, 28 times. Some people say even 30 times. So understanding the concept of the Lamb of God does give us a foundation to more clearly understand the book of Revelation. In the Old Testament, there were some sacrifices that were quite futile, sacrifices that God did not accept. So let's first contrast in our lesson what those sacrifices were and see what we can learn from them.

We're on Sunday's lesson, Futile Sacrifices. We're looking there at Isaiah chapter 1. I'm gonna jump right into verse 11, Isaiah 1 verse 11. To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to me, says the Lord? I've had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle.

I do not delight in the blood of bulls or of lambs or goats. When you come to appear before me, who has required this from your hand to trample my courts? Bring no more futile sacrifices. Incense is an abomination to me." Wow, their sacrifices were an abomination to God? God wouldn't accept their sacrifices, why not?

Verse 16 and 17, 18 tell us, Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean, put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do good. Seek justice, reprove the oppressor, defend the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow." In Isaiah's day, these Israelites came before God with corrupt hearts, with selfish motives, with lustful eyes.

They came before God with conniving spirits. They came before God with their dishonesty, but they came simply with the sacrifices made in a very formal, mechanical way. Where there is no heart service, there is no service. So they did not understand the meaning of the sacrifice. They thought in the sacrifice itself, in the legalistic act of sacrifice, that they would have righteousness, but their hearts weren't in it.

There's a wonderful statement in Patriarchs and Prophets, page 72. It says, Abel grasped the great principles of redemption. It talks about Abel's sacrifice, of course, blood sacrifice in contrast to Cain's sacrifice. But I want you to see is the spirit of Abel. He saw himself a sinner, that's Abel, and he saw sin and its penalty, death, standing between his soul and communion with God.

He brought the slain victim, the sacrificed life, thus acknowledging the claims of the law that had been transgressed. Through the shed blood, he looked to the future sacrifice, Christ dying on the cross of Calvary, trusting in the atonement that was there to be made. He had the witness that he was righteous and his offering was accepted. When you look at the difference between Cain's offering and Abel's offering, Cain came in his righteousness, Cain came in disobedience to God, Abel came offering not simply a sacrifice, but himself. And that was the problem back in Isaiah chapter 1.

They offered a sacrifice, but they never offered themselves. How does that relate to you and me? When we come to the cross, When we read in Scripture about Jesus' death on the cross with nails through his hands and blood running down his wrists and a crown of thorns upon his head, blood running down his face and matting in his beard and the drops falling at the rock at the foot of the cross. When we read about those pierced hands and temples, the wounded side, the spikes through his feet, when we think about he who knew no sin became sin for us, when we think about that guilt and shame, we come. Not simply coming mechanically, legalistically, not coming out of rote or habit, we come opening our hearts.

When we sing those songs, amazing grace how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I'm found, was blind, but now I see. When we sing the old rugged cross and those great hymns of the church, We sing them in church, not with mind wandering, but we come with hearts absorbing every word, receiving into our lives the benefits of what Christ did for us on the cross. We come with hearts filled with gratitude. In Monday's lesson, it's titled, The Blood of Bulls and Goats.

Christ's Death, the note, second sentence, was cruel, harsh, and unfair, the innocent dying for the guilty. And here in Hebrews chapter 10, verses 3 and onward, it shows that the blood of bulls and goats does not forgive sin. It's only the blood of Christ. Hebrews chapter 10 verse 3 and onward in Monday's lesson. Deep insights are found in the 10th chapter of the book of Hebrews.

Understanding the sacrificial system prepares us I think in new fresh ways to understand Jesus as the Lamb of God in the book of Revelation. Hebrews 10, verse 3, but in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. That is to say, that in the sacrifice of bulls and goats, there's a reminder of sin. How does that take place? Well, when a sinner came to offer their sacrifice, they placed their hands over the head of the animal and confessed their sin.

There in the court, sin was transferred from the sinner to the sacrifice. The sinner had to slay the sacrifice, indicating that his sins were responsible for slaying the Son of God. The priest took the blood of the sacrifice, sometimes the priest would eat portions of the sacrifice, and brought it into the holy place of the sanctuary. Sin was transferred from the sinner to the sacrifice into the sanctuary. And as it was transferred in there, the sanctuary accumulated the guilt of that sin symbolically through the year.

At the end of the year, there was something called the Day of Atonement. And on the Day of Atonement, the high priest went into the sanctuary with pure blood, cleansed the sanctuary, symbolically brought the sin out of the sanctuary, laid it on the 1 responsible for sin, namely the scapegoat Satan, and sent him into the wilderness." So what this is talking about in those sacrifices, That is the sacrifice of bulls and goats. There's a reminder of sins every year. Yes, there is in the day of atonement. Why?

Because it's not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins. Therefore, when he came into the world, he said, "'Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, "'but a body you have prepared for me and burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you had no pleasure. Then I said, behold, I come in the volume of the book, it's written of you, of me to do your will, O God." You go down to verse 9, then he said, behold, I have come to do your will. He takes away the first that he may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

So, Christ takes away the first, that is the first tabernacle service. He takes away the sacrifice of lambs. He takes away the ministry of earthly priests. He takes away the literal built sanctuary. He establishes a second sanctuary service.

Christ is the Lamb that dies. Christ is the High Priest that lives. The sanctuary now is not on earth, but it is a heavenly sanctuary. So our faith is in Jesus who died for us. Our faith is in Jesus who lives for us.

Our attention is not on a literal rebuilt tabernacle someplace in Israel, but our attention is on Jesus Christ, the divine everlasting Son of God. When Israel was delivered, they were delivered out of Egyptian bondage based on the shed blood of Christ and the Passover. So the Passover lamb, all this lamb symbol represents to us the forgiveness of Christ, the deliverance from guilt, and it also represents the deliverance from the bondage of sin. And so you go to Tuesday's lesson and you remember in Exodus chapter 12. Exodus chapter 12 and you go to Tuesday's lesson.

Exodus 12 is the story of the Passover and here in the 12th chapter you have the Passover that is illustrated and God tells Israel slay a lamb without spot and blemish, put it on your doorpost, the angel of death will pass over, And you get ready because you're going to be delivered. Look at Exodus 12 verse 11, Thus you shall eat it with a belt on your waist, sandals on your feet, eat the Passover lamb, put the blood on the doorpost, your staff in your hand, so shall you eat it in haste, It's the Lord's Passover. In other words, God would come, the firstborn of Israel would be slain, Passover blood on the doorpost would be a symbol of deliverance, and God would deliver Israel from Egyptian bondage. The blood of Christ, the slain Lamb, what's the message of that blood? How does the blood of Christ and the slain Lamb all through the Old Testament and this Passover Lamb speak to you where you are today.

The first thing it says is that whatever you've done in the past, the blood of Christ can forgive you. The blood of Christ can cleanse you from sin. It says that your guilt can be gone, but there's something else unique about this. Through the blood of Christ, you can be delivered from the sins that chain you, the sins that bind you, the sins that imprison you, just as the Passover lamb indicated the deliverance of Israel. So through Jesus Christ, you too can be delivered.

Christ came to the temple in Jerusalem. After the portable sanctuary was no more and Israel settled in the promised land, they built a temple. First, David was going to build the temple, but God told David that because of his sin, he could not build the temple, so his son Solomon built it. The temple, of course, was destroyed and then rebuilt. But the temple was 1 of the 7 wonders of the world, or 1 of the wonders of the world.

I don't know how many there were back then, but 1 of the wonders of the world. It was absolutely magnificent, phenomenally built and constructed, lavish. Nothing was spared for the wealth of that temple. It was a wonder of the world. The temple eventually was destroyed in 70 AD as Titus came down and destroyed it.

But Jesus comes into that temple and he makes quite an amazing prediction that would fulfill the old temple. Jesus said, 1 greater than the temple is here among you. But there was some Old Testament prophecies that were quite remarkable that Jesus was referring to. We go to the book of Haggai chapter 2, Haggai chapter 2, and you wonder, I can just imagine the disciples wondering, how could this prophecy ever come true? You're looking there at the book of Haggai chapter 2, And we're going to look at verses 7 through 9.

Haggai chapter 2, 1 of the minor prophets, minor not because his message is minor, but because of the fact that he has a much smaller book than some of the larger books of the Old Testament. So we look there at the book of Haggai chapter 2, and we're gonna look at verses 7 through 9. And I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the desire of all nations. Who's the desire of all nations? It's Jesus, right?

And I will fill the temple with his glory. So The temple of the Old Testament would be filled with the glory of God, says the Lord. The silver is mine and the gold is mine, says the Lord. The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And in this place I will give peace.

What would the glory of that latter temple would be? Jesus Christ would come and he would enter the temple and he would be its glory, not the building, he would be its glory. And then Christ would die. He would ascend up to the heavenly sanctuary. And there the glory, the beauty of the heavenly sanctuary would be the marvel of the universe.

And 1 day, of course, the heavenly sanctuary would descend. And as the heavenly sanctuary descended on earth, the new Jerusalem, this earth would be made over again. So here, in Wednesday's lesson, in the last note, last paragraph, I read, It was in the second temple that Jesus, the incarnation of God, appeared in person. That's how the glory was greater than first. In the flesh and blood, God himself had stepped out from behind the veil to become 1 of us and to join us in this broken world.

Because the Son of God was now the Son of Man, we could see his face, hear his voice, witness. For example, when he touched an unclean leper and made him whole. Instead of bringing us closer in his direction, God brought us closer to him by moving in our direction. Christ came, entered that earthly temple, illuminated it with his glory. But here's what I want you to see.

The glory of the heavenly temple is greater than any glory of any earthly temple. And 1 day the new Jerusalem will descend and sin and sickness and suffering and death will be no more. The Lamb of God gives us the right for that temple. In Revelation chapter 4 verse 7 and onward, Revelation chapter 4 verse 7 and onward, we read about the Lamb of God in the book of Revelation. Understanding our lesson today and everything that we have gone through, everything that we have read so far, we understand so far, in summary, that coming to Christ merely in a ritualistic way, with a formal heart, without a heart commitment, avails us nothing.

We've learned today that in our lesson that Jesus Christ's blood forgives us, delivers us from guilt. We've learned today that through the death of Christ and the high priestly ministry of Christ, as the high priest applies that blood to us, and as the cross becomes meaningful to us, as it changes our life, we're delivered from both the penalty of sin and the power of sin, that there's no temptation, that's so great that it can overwhelm us, that just as the Passover was a series of symbol of deliverance, so Christ delivers. And he delivers us from the bondage, from the chains, from the prison house of sin. And we've seen that all of this climaxes with these more than 20 some odd references, 28 to 30 references of the Lamb of God in the book of Revelation. And here in Revelation chapter 4, we read in Revelation the fourth chapter, we read about this magnificence of the Lamb of God.

In Revelation 4, and let me just look at it in verses 10 and 11, it talks about the 24 elders that fall down, Revelation 4, 10 and 11, before him who sits on the throne and him who lives forever and ever and ever. And it says, you are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things and by your will they exist and were created." Why is it that Jesus is worthy of our worship? Because the Creator became our Redeemer. Revelation 4 deals with Jesus as our creator. Revelation 5 deals with Jesus as our redeemer.

In Revelation 5, John sees up there in heaven, an angel stepped forth, a being stepped forth, a glorious being with a book in his hand. And that's obviously the book of judgment. It's a scroll written on the front and the back. It has the chronicles, the lives of all humanity. And as this angel steps forth, this being of dazzling brightness steps forth, the question is raised, who can open the scroll, who can read the book, and there's no man that can do it.

And then the Lamb of God, slain Lamb, the Bible pictures a bloody Lamb up in heaven. It pictures symbolically Jesus. Because of his sacrifice, because of his death, he can indeed open the book. And because he can open that book, he can write pardon at your name, he can write forgiveness at your name. Because he can open that book, he can give you power over those besetting sins.

All through the book of Revelation, we read about the forgiveness and grace and mercy of God, about the power of God in the symbol of the Lamb. Would you open your heart, not in some mechanical way, not in some ritualistic way, not in some legalistic way, but would you genuinely Open your heart to receive His forgiveness and strength and power today. Father in Heaven, thank you for this lesson. Thank you that Jesus indeed is the Lamb of God. Thank you that we can worship Him and praise Him forever and ever and ever and ever.

We give you our allegiance today in Christ's name. 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

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Series

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

06 Understanding Sacrifice

Description

Parent Series

Sponsor

Recorded

Other Teachings in Series

Is Ellen White a Prophet or Plagiarist?

28m

01 Some Principles of Prophecy

25m

02 The Genesis Foundation

22m

03 Images from Marriage

20m

04 The Nations Part 1

24m

05 The Nations: Part 2

29m

06 Understanding Sacrifice

22m

Sound Doctrine