The Undercover Adventist

  Sabbath School The Gift of Prophecy  The Call of a Prophet  Lesson 2 - Friday Further Thought    God calls prophets at specific times to deliver messages people need. Seventh-day Adventists believe Ellen G. White was called to a similar prophetic ministry in modern times, serving as a noncanonical prophet. Ellen Harmon received her first vision in December 1844, shortly after the Great Disappointment. Many Millerite Adventists had expected Jesus to return on October 22, 1844, based on their understanding of Daniel 8:14 and the biblical Day of Atonement. When Jesus did not return, thousands of believers were deeply disappointed and confused. Many wondered whether they had been completely wrong and whether they had misunderstood God’s leading. It was during this difficult time that God gave 17-year-old Ellen Harmon her first vision. Its message was one of hope and encouragement. The believers were shown as traveling toward the heavenly Jerusalem, with Jesus lead...

  Sabbath School The Gift of Prophecy  The Call of a Prophet  Lesson 2 - Thursday   Preparing the Way and Strengthening Faith John the Baptist had a very specific purpose in God’s plan. Mark 1:2–5 describes him as the messenger who came before Jesus to prepare the way for the Lord. His message was simple but powerful: repent, turn away from sin, and prepare your heart for the coming Messiah. John was not trying to draw attention to himself. His ministry pointed people away from John and toward Jesus. He called people to recognize their need for God and to be ready to receive the One who was about to begin His public ministry. John’s message reminds us that preparing the way for Jesus is not only something that happened in Bible times. We also need hearts that are open to Christ. Repentance is not about trying to earn God’s forgiveness. It is about recognizing our need for Him and turning toward the One who can forgive, restore, and transform us. John understood that ...

Sabbath School The Gift of Prophecy  The Call of a Prophet  Lesson 2 - Wednesday   A Witness in a Pagan World The story of Daniel gives us a powerful picture of what it means to be a faithful witness in a world that does not share our faith. Daniel lived and worked among powerful pagan kings, yet he never allowed his surroundings to determine his loyalty to God. Instead, his life became a living testimony to the God he served. In Daniel 2, after God revealed Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and its meaning through Daniel, the king fell on his face and acknowledged Daniel’s God as “a God of gods, and a Lord of kings” (Daniel 2:47). Daniel did not take the credit for the revelation. He had already made clear that the wisdom came from God. His humility pointed people beyond himself to the One who truly deserved the glory. Years later, Daniel continued to have a reputation for wisdom and understanding. In Daniel 4:18, Nebuchadnezzar again recognized that Daniel possessed a special abil...

  Sabbath School The Gift of Prophecy  The Call of a Prophet  Lesson 2 - Tuesday Isaiah 53: The Cross Revealed Before It Happened Isaiah 53 is one of the clearest pictures of Christ’s suffering and death found anywhere in Scripture. Written more than 500 years before Jesus went to the cross, it describes Him as the suffering Servant who would be rejected, despised, wounded, oppressed, and finally led “as a lamb to the slaughter” (Isaiah 53:3–7). Yet the prophecy goes far beyond simply predicting that the Messiah would suffer. It reveals why He would suffer. Isaiah says, “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:5). His suffering was not because of His own sin. Jesus was innocent. He took upon Himself what belonged to us. Isaiah even says, “The LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (verse 6). At the Cross, we see the fulfillment of this prophecy in a way that reveals the depth of God's love. Christ willingly stood in ou...

  Sabbath School The Gift of Prophecy  The Call of a Prophet  Lesson 2 - Monday Turning Hearts Back to God The story of Elijah on Mount Carmel in 1 Kings 18:19–39 gives us a powerful picture of how the prophetic office can work. Elijah stood before a nation that had wandered away from God and boldly delivered God’s message. He did not simply tell the people what they wanted to hear. He confronted their divided loyalty and called them to make a clear choice. His message was ultimately designed to turn their hearts back to the true God. The dramatic encounter with the prophets of Baal showed that a genuine message from God points people away from false worship and back to God Himself. Elijah did not seek attention for himself. He wanted the people to know that the Lord was God. When fire came down from heaven and consumed the sacrifice, the people fell on their faces and cried, “The LORD, He is God!” (1 Kings 18:39). The prophetic message had accomplished its purpose: it ...

  Sabbath School The Gift of Prophecy  The Call of a Prophet  Lesson 2 - Sunday Faithful Despite His Flaws Abraham is one of the great heroes of faith in Scripture, but the Bible never presents him as a perfect man. He made mistakes, acted out of fear, and sometimes tried to solve problems in his own way. Yet Genesis 15:6 says, “And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.” His qualification for God’s service was not sinless perfection. It was faith—a willingness to trust God and follow Him, even when he did not understand everything God was doing. Hebrews 11:8 says that Abraham “obeyed” when God called him to leave his homeland and go to a place he had never seen. Think about that. Abraham did not receive a detailed map or a complete explanation of what lay ahead. He simply trusted the One who was calling him. His faith produced action. He stepped forward because he believed that God was trustworthy. Galatians 3:6–9 points us back to Abra...

  When You Want to Know What God Is Like Sometimes people struggle with the idea of God because they imagine Him as distant, harsh, or difficult to understand. But Jesus came to change that picture. When we look at Jesus—His love, His compassion, His patience, and especially His willingness to give His life for us—we see the heart of the Father. Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9, NKJV). That is an amazing statement. Jesus was not saying that He and the Father are the same Person, but that His life perfectly revealed the Father’s character. If we want to know what God is like, we can look at Jesus. Think about how Jesus treated people who were hurting. He touched the leper, welcomed children, forgave sinners, healed the sick, and showed compassion to those whom society had rejected. Even while hanging on the cross, He prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34, NKJV). The cross gives us perhaps the clearest pictur...