Sabbath School Lesson for June 14-20, 2025
Memory Text: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV
The first few centuries of the early Christian church was a time when persecution heavily threatened God’s people. Paul counseled Timothy to not be fearful about trials that were sure to come, but to remember our heavenly source of power, which gives us the love and peace of mind needed to face our challenges. Remembering his counsel can help us prepare for the intense persecution that is predicted in Daniel and Revelation.
Another precursor, or forerunner that needs our examination, is the death penalty faced by Daniel’s friends: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. The third chapter of Daniel relates the reason for their desperate circumstances. It involved an image built by an arrogant, rebellious king that they refused to bow down to, let alone worship, as the command was given.
The same situation as theirs will happen in the last days, according to Revelation 13. Using prophetic, symbolic language, an image of the sea beast is created by a beast coming out of the earth. Once again, a death penalty involving worship will be issued, and the lives of God’s people will be threatened if they don’t comply with the demands of this combined church-state power structure.
- Sunday: Daniel 2 and the Historicist Approach to Prophecy–We look at history to see how kingdoms have come and gone.
- Monday: Worshiping the Image–Daniel’s friends remained faithful, even in the face of death.
- Tuesday: Worshiping the Image, Again–We will someday be told to worship an image to a beast power.
- Wednesday: Early Church Persecution–Early Christians were persecuted by both the Jews (religious authorities) and the Romans (the civil power structure).
- Thursday: The Mark of the Beast–We will someday be commanded to worship the beast and his image and to receive his mark.
Sunday: Daniel 2 and the Historicist Approach to Prophecy
The fact that the book of Daniel was written five hundred years before Christ, and yet predicted many world kingdoms that had not yet been seen, makes us want to take note of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream that proved to be so accurate.
Taking the historicist approach of Daniel’s interpretation, instead of attributing the dream as still to be fulfilled in the future, bolsters our faith in God’s ability to predict events. Besides that, we know that there is just one more kingdom we should be waiting for. That will be God’s kingdom that shall stand forever and never be destroyed.
Knowing how sin has caused the world to grow steadily weaker with each generation, it makes sense that each of the world kingdoms in the dream were made with increasingly inferior metals. We have seen each world empire in the image come and go, bringing us all the way down to the toes of the image. Soon, God will take the place of those worldly kingdoms, and set up His own kingdom in the dramatic way Daniel described.
Daniel 2:31-45, 7:13-14
- Why do you think Nebuchadnezzar, a pagan king, was given this dream, and what does this tell you about God?
- How has Daniel’s interpretation been accurate in its predictions?
- What is different about the final kingdom of the dream?
Monday: Worshiping the Image
King Nebuchadnezzar had been told by Daniel that his kingdom of Babylon was represented by the head of gold in his dream. Therefore, making a statue totally of gold indicated that Babylon and its king would last forever. If your religious belief differed from the king’s and you didn’t bow down to his golden image, a fiery furnace was burning hot, ready to be your punishment.
Arrogant, ambitious, and full of pride, Nebuchadnezzar reminds us of Lucifer, the rebellious angel who showed the same desire to be worshiped. God was loving and just in his dealings with Babylon’s king though, and eventually he did come to worship the true God in heaven. This informs us that God has done all He could to win the heart of Satan. The choice has always been ultimately his though, just as it is with each of us.
Daniel’s friends, who had always stood together in their determination to follow God’s commands, knew that this was not the time to compromise their religious practice by bowing down to an idol. Their bold stand helps us want to make right decisions, even when we are faced with death.
Verses and questions:
Daniel 3:1-12
- What measures was the king using to ensure compliance with his command to worship his golden statue?
Daniel 3:17-18
- What impresses you most about the answer they had for the king?
- Why is it important to leave the decision of our deliverance up to God?
Tuesday: Worshiping the Image, Again
The story of Nebuchadnezzar’s image on the plain of Dura is but a small foretaste of the scene that will consume the attention of the whole world in the very last days of earth’s history. Another image will be erected with the command to worship it, and this time the image (whatever it turns out to be) will miraculously speak, causing even more chaos and confusion.
“He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.” Revelation 13:15
Romans 1:18-25 is a powerful passage that speaks of the principles involved in these issues. The wrath of God will be kindled by the rebellious actions of the unrighteous, who worship “the creature rather than the Creator”.
Like the three worthies, God will stand with us in the fiery furnace of our persecution. No wonder the praise and thanksgiving will be so great when we get to heaven.
Verses and questions:
Revelation 13:11-17, 14:-9-12, and Revelation 19:20
- How important are the commandments of God in how we worship Him?
- What commandment in particular points to God as the Creator, and why might it be so crucial in the end?
Matthew 12:30
- What does it mean to scatter, as opposed to gathering? How would sheep help us understand Jesus’ words here?
- Why is it important to stand with Jesus? Who are we standing with if we don’t?
Wednesday: Early Church Persecution
Another time in the Bible where there was persecution that reminds us of the final time of trouble was during the rise of the early Christian church. Following the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, those who were professing and preaching Christ suffered severely for their faith.
Arrests and even martyrdom were experienced by the followers of Jesus for many decades. Their persecution came from both religious authorities (the Jews in Jerusalem) and civil authorities, (the rulers of the Roman Empire).
In Acts 12 we find that Peter was arrested and put in prison, with four squads of soldiers to keep guard over him till he could be brought before the people after Passover. Even though his brothers and sisters had been praying for him constantly since his arrest, they were amazed to find out about his miraculous escape from prison that night.
Our prayers will also be heard during the final tribulation the world goes through. Although some prayers, like those for Peter, will result in a miraculous outcome, there will be others, like many early Christians, who will suffer hardship and even death. In either case, God is listening, and God is answering in a way that brings Him the most glory and honor, when we have asked for His will to be done in our lives.
Verses and questions:
Acts 12:1-17
- What parts of this story reflect how it will be in the last days?
- Why were some people freed from jail like Peter, but others like James lost their lives?
Thursday: The Mark of the Beast
We might think of the beasts in Daniel and Revelation as creatures, making us further believe that the main issue is and always has been whether we will worship of the Creator or the creature–will we receive the seal of God or the mark of the beast. In the first angel’s message (Revelation 14:6-7), it is announced that God is our Creator and Judge. These are the roles that make Him worthy of our worship. Satan has repeatedly tried to divert our attention so we won’t think of God’s power to create or the judgment to come.
When Christ lived among us, He was accused by the religious authorities for not keeping the Sabbath and for blasphemy, or claiming that He was equal with God. This is why many believe that the Catholic church in the Middle Ages represented the beast which came out of the sea (Revelation 13:1-10).
The papacy, blaspheming God by claiming to be Christ’s representative on earth, changed the Sabbath to another day. It literally tried to “change times and law” (Daniel 7:25). We also mustn’t forget the terrible persecution God’s people endured under the medieval church. This persecution also foretold a terrible time of trouble in the very last days (Matthew 24:21-22).
Verses and questions:
Genesis 2:1-3 and Revelation 14:6-7
- When was the Sabbath given and why will it still be important in the last days?
Matthew 12:9-14, John 5:16, and Mark 2:27-28
- Why was Sabbath so important to those who wanted to kill Jesus?
- Why will the Sabbath also be a reason for persecution in the last days?
Friday: Final Thoughts
The Bible is not just a collection of entertaining stories that teach us values and important lessons in life. When it is seriously and deeply studied, it brings us messages of hope that sustain us during our worst hours on this sin-troubled planet.
What happened to Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego was one such story. Their dramatic experience of escaping the flames of a hot furnace gives us hope that God is with us, no matter what we are going through.
The early church was attacked vehemently as well. And it was amazing that God’s people came out of a 1,260-year-long persecution still praising and worshiping their Lord.
Yes, God is good, Satan is not, and we are still able to choose which side we are on. The apocalyptic books of Daniel and Revelation confirm that the power of God will have the final victory over the powers of evil. Praise be to God, in heaven and on earth.
Next Week: Images of the End
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