Sabbath School Summary

By Elder Dr Masimba Mavaza

Some Principles of Prophecy

Lesson 1

Memory Text:
Jeremiah 9:24
But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,’ says the Lord” (Jeremiah 9:24, NKJV).

Introduction

As with most everything else in Scripture, Christians disagree about prophecy, which often convinces others that Bible prophecy is a waste of time. After all, if Christians fight over every prophetic jot and tittle, how valid could it be? Unfortunately, many believers also begin to think that some books of the Bible, such as Revelation, are simply incomprehensible. Instead of reading them, they avoid them, sometimes with the encouragement of a well-meaning pastor who thinks that studying prophecy causes more problems than it solves.
It was not always so. For the first eighteen centuries of Christian history, most Christians were very comfortable with biblical prophecy, and there was a surprising level of agreement on what the key messages of the prophecies were. This is how God intended for it to be: “Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” (1 Cor. 1:10, NKJV).
This week, we will explore some principles that yield a consistent and reliable understanding of prophecy.

SABBATH:
It requires much courage, a humble spirit, prayer, & eagerness to study Bible prophecy. This is because many Christians today, led by a well-meaning pastor protest against the usefulness of Bible prophecy. They think it’s a waste of time to study it or the study of prophecy instills more fear than comfort. But God did not wish it to be so. The 18th-century Christians were comfortable with Bible prophecy. We’ll look at how to study it (2 Cor. 1:10).

Whoever Reads, Let Him Understand

SUNDAY:
Many Bible bookstores are overrun with diverse views about Bible prophecy. It makes it hard to agree that one can understand prophetic books like Revelation. An example is these 3 views of the Antichrist; 1. It’s nothing but a metaphor, 2. He’s to come in the future, & 3. Someone in Paul’s time. Professors of Bible courses can teach but may not hear God’s voice. We need a humble spirit to study the Bible (Matt. 24:15; 11:29; Rev. 1:3; Jer. 9:23, 24).

God Wants to Be Understood

MONDAY:
Man cannot fully understand God. But He has made every provision necessary for our salvation (Isa. 55:9, Ps. 139:1-6, 147:5, Rom. 11:33, 1 John 3:20; 2 Tim. 3:14, 15). As non-native speakers might struggle for vocab in a pharmacy, we struggle to fully grasp everything about God (e.g., creation). Yet, all Bible prophecies aim to lead us to God. Bible audiences could confirm fulfilled prophecies. God came down to enlighten us (Col. 1:16, John 1:1-3).

Daniel—Shut Up the Words

TUESDAY:
Many have taken the charge to seal the book at the end of Daniel to mean scientific progress, but “to and fro” refers to the searching of Daniel itself (Dan. 12:4, Rev. 22:10). Revelation was meant to be understood first, but parts of Daniel were to understand more clearly later. Years later, this was fulfilled to confirm “knowledge shall increase” (1798; end of the 1,260-year prophecy). From 1843, people like William Miller led the Advent Movement. Yet, many are in the dark still; worship on a false day.

Studying the Word

WEDNESDAY:
William Miller, the leader of the Millerite movement, deserves to be applauded by SDAs. His messages were not always perfect but it gave birth to our last-day remnant movement. A good study of the Bible considers the text, context, & language to get the big picture (Matt. 5:18, 2 Tim. 3:15-17, Luke 24:27). The study of it is not a jigsaw puzzle where a few pieces may reveal a horse. More pieces are needed to see the entire landscape. We must study everything the Bible says about a topic.

Figurative or Literal?

THURSDAY:
Bible students often face the dilemma of whether a text is literal or figurative. To grasp how a figure or symbol is used in prophecy, it is best to see how they are used all through the Bible & not how they’re used today. For example, some view the bear symbol in Daniel 7 as Russia because bear is often used as a symbol in Russia (Dan. 7:7, 8:3, 7:24, Rev. 1:16, Eph. 6:17, Heb. 4:12, Rev. 12:1; 21:2; Eph. 5:31, 32; Jer. 6:2). Allow the Bible to interpret itself (1 Pet. 5:13).

Further Thought

FRIDAY:
Ministers & others have claimed that prophecies in Daniel & Revelation are incomprehensible mysteries. But, Christ urged His disciples to understand these prophecies, to emphasize their relevance now. The title of Revelation itself shows that it’s a revealed mystery meant to be understood, giving crucial insights into the end of the world. John received significant revelations about the church’s experiences, including its trials and ultimate deliverance, ensuring that believers understand future events.

—Ellen G. White, “An American Reformer,” pp. 319–324, 341, 342, in The Great Controversy.

Keywords

Rome as Babylon (Thursday lesson)- Peter figuratively named Rome as Babylon (1 Peter 5:13). God has many reasons for using symbols and figures to communicate gospel truths. In the case of the New Testament church, for example, if the book of Revelation had plainly named Rome as the perpetrator of so much evil, the already bad persecution of the church might have been even worse.

University Bible courses (Sunday)- Many universities today offer courses such as “The Bible as Literature” but one can discover that the professor reads the Bible the same way one might read pagan mythology.

Discussion Questions

📌 How can the study of prophecy greatly increase your faith? What prophecies—some written thousands of years ago about events that would happen hundreds, if not thousands of years later—have helped increase your trust in the Bible and, more important, in the God who inspired it? How, for example, does Daniel 2 give us powerful, and logical, reasons to trust not only that God exists but that He knows the future?

📌 What are the best ways to protect ourselves from the many wild and speculative attempts to interpret prophecies, sometimes even from those within our own church? Why must we be careful to “test all things; hold fast what is good” (1 Thess. 5:21, NKJV)?

For March 29–April 4. Happy Sabbath! Have a good start to the second quarter of 2025.