Here is the link to this quarter's lesson study:

http://www.ssnet.org/lessons/22a/

Here also is the link to this week's lesson study:

https://ssnet.org/lessons/22a/less01.html

Sabbath Afternoon

Read for This Week?s Study: Heb. 2:3, 4; 1 Pet. 4:14, 16; Heb. 13:1-9, 13; 1 Kings 19:1-18; Heb. 3:12-14; Numbers 13.

Memory Text: ?For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise? (Hebrews 10:36, NKJV).

Have you ever imagined what it would be like to hear Jesus, or one of the apostles, preach? We possess written excerpts and summaries of some of their sermons, but these provide only a limited idea of what it was like to hear them. God, however, preserved in the Scriptures at least one complete sermon for us: Paul?s letter to the Hebrews.

Paul, the author of Hebrews, referred to his own work as a ?word of exhortation? (Heb. 13:22). This expression was used to identify the sermon, both at the synagogue (Acts 13:15) and at Christian worship (1 Tim. 4:13). Thus, it has been argued that Hebrews is the earliest ?complete Christian sermon? that we have. Hebrews was addressed to believers who accepted Jesus but then experienced difficulties. Some were publicly shamed and persecuted (Heb. 10:32-34). Others faced financial problems (Heb. 13:5, 6). Many were tired and had begun to question their faith (Heb. 3:12, 13). Can any of us today relate?

The apostle in a stirring sermon, however, challenged them (and, by extension, us) to persevere in faith in Jesus and to fix their eyes upon Jesus, now in the heavenly sanctuary.

Sunday: A Glorious Beginning

In order to understand the sermon and apply its message to ourselves, we need to understand the history of the congregation and their situation when they received the letter from the apostle.

Read Hebrews 2:3, 4.

What was the experience of the audience of Hebrews when they were first converted?

These are good questions for us all to think and pray about:

What is the story of your conversion?

In what ways have you been confirmed in your faith and belief in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord?

Why is it good at times to remember how God first worked in your life to bring you to Him?

Monday: The Struggle

When believers confessed their faith in Christ and joined the church, they set a boundary marker that distinguished them from the rest of society. Unfortunately, this became a source for conflict because it implicitly passed a negative judgment on their community and its values.

Read Hebrews 10:32-34 and Hebrews 13:3.

What was the experience of the audience of Hebrews after their conversion?

More good and thoughtful questions:

Everyone, a Christian or not, suffers.

What does it mean, however, to suffer for Christ?s sake?

How much suffering that we face is for Christ?s sake, and how much is brought about by our own choices?

Here is the link to the 2nd week's study:

https://ssnet.org/lessons/22a/less02.html

Memory Text: "This is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens." (Hebrews 8:1, NKJV).

Jewish document written a few decades after Hebrews, around 100 A.D., contains a prayer: "All this I have spoken before you, O Lord, because you have said that it was for us that you created this world. ? And now, O Lord, behold, these nations, which are reputed as nothing, domineer over us and devour us. But we your people, whom you have called your first-born, only begotten, zealous for you, and most dear, have been given into their hands." James H. Charlesworth, ed., The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, vol. 1, [New York: Hendrickson Publishers, 1983], p. 536.

The readers of Hebrews probably felt something similar. If they were God?s children, why were they going through such suffering?

Thus, Paul wrote Hebrews to strengthen the faith of the believers amid their trials. He reminded them (and us) that the promises of God will be fulfilled through Jesus, who is seated at the right hand of the Father, and who will soon take us home. In the meantime, Jesus mediates the Father?s blessings to us. So, we need to hold fast to our faith until the end.

Jesus Is Our King

The main point of Hebrews is that Jesus is the Ruler, who is seated at the right hand of the Father (Heb. 8:1).

As God, Jesus has always been the ruler of the universe. But when Adam and Eve sinned, Satan became the ruler of this world (John 12:31, John 14:30, John 16:11).

Jesus, however, came and defeated Satan at the cross, recovering the right to rule those who accept Him as their Savior (Col. 2:13-15).

The first two chapters of Hebrews focus especially on the inauguration of Jesus as King.

How can we draw comfort, especially amid trials, from knowing that Jesus is the ruler of the universe?

Jesus Is Our Mediator

God sent His Son to be born as the Son of David, and He has been perfectly faithful. Therefore, God is able to fulfill in Him all the promises He made to His people.

When God blesses the king, all his people share in the benefits.

This is why Jesus is the Mediator of God?s blessing to us.

He is the Mediator in that He is the channel through whom God?s blessing flows.

Our ultimate hope of salvation is found only in Jesus and what He has done for us.

This week's study is http://www.ssnet.org/lessons/22a/less05.html

What is this week's study all about?

Here is a little information concerning F?lix H. Cortez, the author of this quarter?s Sabbath school lesson, ?In These Last Days: The Message of Hebrews?. Associate Professor of New Testament Literature at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan, Dr. Cortez was ordained as a minister in 1996 at Montemorelos, Nuevo Le?n, Mexico. In 2001, 5 years after his ordination as a Seventh Day Adventist Pastor, Dr. Cortez completed a masters in Modern Literature (focusing in Literary Theory and Hermeneutics) at Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico: founded in 1943 by the Jesuit Order to advance ?Ignatian spirituality? and ?Ignatian discernment.?

?According to Andrews University, not only did Felix Cortez graduate from a Jesuit university, he was also president of the Adventist Theological Society from 2014-2016 while at the same time serving as the ?chair? for the ?Catholic and Pastoral Epistles Section of the International Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature from 2010?2016.? https://adventistangelswatchmanradi...eing-prepared-by-jesuit-trained-leaders/

Enjoy your Sabbath school study of Hebrews.

Interesting background.

Does that make you concerned over his material for this quarter's study on Hebrews?

The author of this quarter?s study obtained his degree studying Literary Theory and Hermeneutics at a Jesuit University.
The man guiding the SDA through Hebrews this quarter learned hermeneutics (biblical interpretation) from a Jesuit source.
Does this not concern you? Would you drink a glass of milk containing a single drop of poison? Keep in mind, being diluted,
the poison may be difficult to detect?

Interesting.

Can you quote anything of concern from the Lesson Quarterly to back up those concerns?

While there may or may not be some truth to Jesuits tie their shoes just like everyone else (maybe?), and they could give a video on how to do it and all would (maybe?) be fine, but when it comes to relating to religion, would you trust any Jesuit about anything. Don't underestimate them. Consider this pandemic. Years in the making with many subtle things preparing and conditioning the people. And the majority fell for it without being aware. So could not Jesuits use the same techniques? (Or was that redundant?)

There is no need to pour over the lessons in search of a single deadly drop of poison. Consider the source. Do you believe it is wise for the worldwide church to be studying a quarterly lesson written by a Jesuit trained ?pastor?? I do not. And, I have no intention of sipping from the golden cup of Roman doctrine, no matter how appealing and wholesome it may appear. The friendship between the SDA leadership, schools, medical system, etc., is growing swiftly. It is time to speak the straight truth: to draw closer to Rome is to draw back from God!


?And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.? Revelation 14:8

??and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.? Revelation 17:2

Seeing that the Lesson Quarterly has been approved by the SDA Church, if you see anything in the approved Lesson Quarterly, IMO, if you are doing the proper work of being a Watchman, then you need to document your accusation with at least one concrete fact. Simply saying that somebody is a Jesuit isn't good enough for me.

Daryl, I have a huge amount of respect for you and the wonderful work you have done creating this excellent site. Your faithfulness to the SDA Church is also admirable. Unfortunately, SDA leadership has been changing. A once godly and devout General Conference has become infested with ecumenical supporters, anxiously stretching out their hands to Rome, On the local level, I have personally witnessed a thriving SOP and Bible preaching church over the course of 15 years be hijacked by preachers who boast of Sabbath breaking and are eagerly preparing for the swift approach of the mark of the beast.

Even the quarterly Sabbath school lessons are not exempt from the hand of Rome. Ask yourself, why would ?Pastor?, Dr. Cortez, five years after his ordination, feel it necessary to make a pilgrimage to a Catholic University in order to study Literary Theory and Hermeneutics at the hands of the Jesuit order? What sort of wisdom does the Roman See dispense in its teachings on the topic of Biblical interpretation? Daryl, the denomination you love has been subverted by agents of Popery. I am not saying that we should abandon the SDA Church. We should fight for her by standing against the darkness seeking her destruction. We must refuse to be guided by those who study at the feet of Jesuits and who recite Catholic prayers in ecumenical meetings, no matter how soothing and upright their words may seem, there will always be an subtle dark spirit lurking within.

See how far our denomination has strayed! Take a look at what Ministry Magazine, an official church journal, said about this theological conflict of interest in 1944:

?How dare a man contemplate, or have the temerity to present, the degree of doctor of divinity, gained in the universities of Babylon, as a credential for teaching or preaching this threefold message, the second stipulation of which is, "Babylon is fallen, is fallen.... Come out of her, My people." How dare we accept such a Babylonian credential in lieu of mastery of the truth? Shall a man go into Babylon to gain strength and wisdom to call men out of Babylon? To ask the question is but to disclose how far some have compromised with Babylon, as they have gone back to Babylon to drink from her wells of wisdom. Oh, for the living waters of truth fresh from the Word!?


https://www.ministrymagazine.org/archive/1944/04/the-subtle-inroad-of-scholasticism

Walter Veith has addressed this very topic in his latest lecture. I urge you to watch it for a more exact analysis of the 1st Quarter lesson. If you are pressed for time, the lesson is discussed at about the 39 minute mark.
https://youtu.be/N3niKvyP_6E

Yes, this thread is to discuss the subjects presented in the lessons.
The study of Hebrews has been a tremendous blessing.
There have been many good points --
Now what should take place is as one studies the lesson read the Biblical passages over and over. Read the context around those Biblical passages. The comments in the quarterly are commentary that stimulate thinking and promote deeper study, they are not the Bible. Some comments we find very helpful, some we say --maybe there is more to think about here-- the writer is not the final word.

So yes, -- if we want to talk about the lesson let's talk about the passages in the lesson.


I listened to some of the discussion on the video. Veith objected to the idea that the Hebrew priests were a "mediator". Yes, the Catholics have taken that concept to serious lengths. Yes, the Hebrew priests were "types" -- but still they were a TYPE of Christ's mediatorial ministry in which they demonstrated mediatorial work. The lesson makes it quite plain that the whole Hebrew system was a TYPE that pointed forward to the true. It makes it quite plain the types could not do the actual work, they were all promises of the coming reality of Christ.

Veith suggests the "vital doctrines of Adventism are left out" -- were they? The lesson on Hebrews 3-4 was pretty strong on the Sabbath! The second coming was not left out.
There were times I thought the presentation of the investigative judgment however was WEAK. It wasn't left out, but it was rather weak. I was happy to see the teacher's comments for this week's lesson were pretty good in outlining the Biblical bases for the doctrine of the preAdvent judgment. So it was NOT left out. If teacher's read the teacher's quarterly this week, they will have been exposed to the Biblical bases for the preAdvent judgment.

I'm not sure vilifying the whole quarterly is a wise thing.
We should be using the time to seriously study the things in Hebrews, not just for specific doctrine, but for the whole message in this Biblical Book.

SHAKING AND THE UNSHAKABLE KINGDOM

1st shaking referred to --
Mt Sinai where our Awesome God Himself spoke His law amid thunder and tempestuous conditions. And there will be a future shaking when God Himself holds the ten commandments amid the natural upheavals of nature and steps in to deliver His people. (See Great Controversy 637)

But there is another shaking that we need to be even more aware of --
A spiritual shaking that we are warned against.
When the spiritual tempest rages will we be among those who "cannot be moved".
Will our "anchor hold in the time of storm, fastened to the rock that cannot move, anchored firm and deep in the Savior's love".