1. powerpoint presentation designed by claro ruiz vicente http://clarovicente.weebly.com Adult Bible Study Guide Jan Feb Mar 2012 Adult Bible Study Guide Jan Feb Mar 2012

2. Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide An Appeal Dear User…. This PowerPoint Show is freely shared to all who may find it beneficial. While intended primarily for personal use, some find it useful for teaching the lesson in church. There are those, however, who add illustrations, change background, adjust font size, etc. While their intention may be good, this is not right. Slide #1 says “designed by claro ruiz vicente.” For honest Christians, it is not necessary for another’s creation to be copyrighted in order to be respected. P LEASE U SE A S I S.

3. Contributor Jo Ann Davidson Principal Contributor

4. Glimpses of Our God Contents 1 The Triune God 2 In the Beginning 3 God as Redeemer 4 The God of Grace and Judgment 5 The Holiness of God 6 God the Lawgiver 7 Lord of the Sabbath 8 Creation Care 9 The Bible and History 10 The Promise of Prayer 11 God as Artist 12 Love Stories 13 The Promise of His Return

5. Glimpses of Our God Our Goal {5} How grateful we should be for every bit of light He casts our way. We’ll look at some of that light. How faithfully we walk in it, is up to each of us individually.

6. Glimpses of Our God Lesson 13, March 31 Glimpses of Our God Lesson 13, March 31 The Promise of His Return

7. Key Text Revelation 22:12 NKJV “ ‘And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.’ ”

8. The Promise of His Return Initial Words {151} Seventh-day Adventists believe that the second coming of Christ draws nearer. Even secular reporters sometimes reflect on how the world seems edging closer to some great crisis. One doesn’t need to be a biblical apocalyptist in order to see a world that seems to teeter on the brink of catastrophe.

9. The Promise of His Return Quick Look 1. “I Will Come Again.” (John 14:2, 3) 2. “Where is the Promise of His Coming?” (2 Peter 3:3, 4) 3. “Behold I Come Quickly.” (Revelation 22:20)

10. The Promise of His Return 1. “I Will Come Again.” John 14:2, 3 NKJV “ ‘In My Father’s house are many mansion; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.’ ”

11. 1. “I Will Come Again” The Beginning and the End {152} Alpha and Omega Jesus clearly links the beginning and the end of things with Himself. Jesus refers to Himself as the Alpha and the Omega. It tells us that Jesus was there at the beginning of all things, and He will be there at the end. We can trust in Him no matter where we are in between. He is always there for us.

12. 1. “I Will Come Again” Promise and Expectation {153} Seventh-day Adventist. Because “last things” center around the establishment of God’s kingdom, attention to “last things” has always been an Adventist concern. So much so that we have drawn attention to the end times in our name: Seventh-day Adventist. The name itself points to our belief in the second advent of Jesus.

13. 1. “I Will Come Again” Promise and Expectation {153} The unfolding of history is subject to too many varied factors to allow us confidence in it. And this uncertainty causes us anxiety. But the biblical writers assure us that we need not despair; the Lord is in control, and we have the promise of His return and the promise of what He’ll do at that return.

14. 1. “I Will Come Again” Promise and Expectation {153} A radically different new world and existence await us. We are so used to sin, sickness, death, fear, violence, hatred, poverty, crime, war, and suffering that we can’t easily imagine a world without them. And yet, that’s exactly the world we’re hoping for, the world we have been promised.

15. 1. “I Will Come Again” Our Great Assurance {154} The great hope of the Second Coming rests upon what Christ accomplished for us at the First Coming. At the cross, Jesus, by His death, paid the ransom for our souls. Jesus will come back to get what He paid for. Hence, Christ’s first coming gives us the greatest assurance possible for the second.

16. The Promise of His Return 2. “Where Is the Promise of His Coming?” 2 Peter 3:3, 4 NKJV “Knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His Coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation’.”

17. 2. “Where Is the Promise of His Coming?” “Delay” {155} From the earliest, Adventists believed that Christ’s coming was soon, “nearer than we first believed.” As it stands, we’re still here, much longer than many among us anticipated. How are we to understand this “delay”?

18. 2. “Where Is the Promise of His Coming?” “Delay” {155} First of all, we’re not the only ones whose expectations about when the Lord would act have not been fulfilled as people have thought. Eve, for instance, thought God’s promises for a Deliverer (Genesis 3:15) would be fulfilled in her first- born son (Genesis 4:1).

19. 2. “Where Is the Promise of His Coming?” “Delay” {155} Have you thought the Lord would have been back by now? Do you sometimes find yourself discouraged by the “delay,” or doubting the Second Advent because we’re still here? Think about evidence for belief in Christ’s return, realizing that your understanding of time is radically different from that of God.

20. Revelation 22:20 NKJV “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming quickly!’ Amen. Even so come, Lord Jesus.” The Promise of His Return 3. “Behold, I Come Quickly”

21. Final Promise {156} As far as our own personal experience is concerned, the Second Coming is as “soon” as our death. We die, and regardless of how long after we are in the grave—two years, two hundred, two thousand—we sleep, and the next thing we know, in an instant, in a twinkling of an eye, Jesus has returned.

22. 3. “Behold, I Come Quickly” Final Promise {156} From what we personally experience ourselves, the Second Coming takes no longer than the span of an individual human life. Although the Second Coming itself is a literal universal event that impacts the whole earth, we experience it only as individuals.

23. The Promise of His Return Final Words {158} From the Fall onward, earth’s inhabitants have been pointed forward to the time when God would come to deal out justice, cleansing, and a final solution to sin. Even though it seems that He is delayed, we need to stay alert and ready in preparation for the day and hour of His return.