When considering the unprecedented growth of Christianity in the first three centuries, historian Rodney Stark concludes: “The power of Christianity lay not in its promise of otherworldly compensations for suffering in this life, as has so often been proposed. No, the crucial change that took place in the third century was the rapidly spreading awareness of a faith that delivered potent antidotes to life’s miseries here and now! The truly revolutionary aspect of Christianity lay in moral imperatives such as ‘Love one’s neighbor as oneself,’ ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,’ ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive,’ and ‘When you did it to the least of my brethren, you did it unto me.’ ”1
As we study this week’s lesson, “Living the Advent Hope,” we are challenged to live each day with a burning hope for God’s coming kingdom, while bringing those kingdom values to bear in our lives and the lives of those whom we serve. We empathize with the prophetic cry for a hastened return of Christ in His kingdom. While we wait for the kingdom of glory, we are reminded of the opportunities for ministry right now, as we let Christ live out His life within us.
Teacher’s Aims:
Ask your students to consider and discuss the following questions: What motivates you and your church in this unjust world while you wait for the Second Coming?
How are you using the time you have as Christ’s coming grows closer with every passing day?
Part II: Commentary
Scripture: Read together in class Titus 2:11–14. This passage outlines two kingdoms: the kingdom of grace, and the kingdom of glory. Ask the class the following:
Explain what we mean by “kingdom.” Answer: A government or territory that has a king as its head; it contains a throne, citizens, laws, etc.
What is the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven? Answer: It is the domain over which the sovereignty of God or Christ extends, whether in heaven or on earth, as demonstrated by the words, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10). It also is the gracious rule of Christ the King in your heart or life.
What is the kingdom of grace? Answer: The kingdom of grace is a phase of God’s rule in which His extended favor toward us (His grace) enables us to become His children and citizens of the kingdom. Our access to this kingdom is through faith in Jesus as Savior, Lord, and King. The kingdom of grace existed before “the foundation of the world” (1 Pet. 1:20). This kingdom is now, and leads to the kingdom of glory.
What is the kingdom of glory? Answer: “When the Son of man shall come in his glory . . . then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory” (Matt. 25:31, emphasis supplied). The kingdom of glory begins at the second coming of Jesus and the final judgment—the not yet.
Read Matthew 3:1–12 and Matthew 11:2–6. What was John the Baptist expecting during the first coming of Jesus? Why was he confused with Jesus’ approach and mission? Answer: “Like the Saviour’s disciples, John the Baptist did not understand the nature of Christ’s kingdom. He expected Jesus to take the throne of David; and as time passed, and the Saviour made no claim to kingly authority, John become perplexed and troubled Like the prophet Elijah, in whose spirit and power he had come to Israel, he looked for the Lord to reveal Himself as a God that answereth by fire And now from his dungeon he [John] watched for the Lion of the tribe of Judah to cast down the pride of the oppressor, and to deliver the poor and him that cried. But Jesus seemed to content Himself with gathering disciples about Him, and healing and teaching the people. He was eating at the tables of the publicans, while every day the Roman yoke rested more heavily upon Israel, while King Herod and his vile paramour worked their will, and the cries of the poor and suffering went up to heaven.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, page 215. Therefore, John was confused.
What kingdom did Jesus come to live out during His first coming? Answer: The kingdom of grace, with its wholistic restoration of humanity. The judgment was for His second coming—the ushering in of His kingdom of glory. Read and discuss some sample kingdom-of-grace passages in Mark 5:21–42 and Luke 19:1–10, et cetera. Also, see Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pages 346–348, for background information.
Christ’s church must position itself to foster heaven on earth. Why must the church do that now, while we wait for His coming? Answer: In His prayer, Jesus said, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10). Again, read Matthew 25:31–46.
8. How is social action “a living witness to our soon-returning Lord”? Answer: “When we take a stand for justice, compassion, and healing, we demonstrate the values of God’s coming Kingdom.”2
Illustration: Two “Kingdom” Illustrations:
Patricia in South Africa demonstrates coming kingdom-ofglory values, and the kingdom of grace now, as she lovingly cares for nearly 20 children who have contracted AIDS or have lost their parents to AIDS. She does this in her home. When asked why she does it, she replied, “I want them to have a little bit of the Second Coming now.” (How does this example of the kingdom of grace beautifully demonstrate the way the kingdom of glory will be?)
The following claim was advertised on the sides of a plumbing van in South Africa: “There is no place too deep, too dark, or too dirty for us to handle.”3 (How does this slogan aptly express the setting and the work of the kingdom of grace?)
Illustration: Some feel that any concern for ecology and caring for social needs is a waste of time because this world will be destroyed at the end of time anyway.
Some Christians today see this world as a sinking ship. Not only do they see no use in charting a course on such a dire vessel, they see no sense in bailing out the water and plugging up the leaks in order to make the ship seaworthy again. Instead, they spend their time on life rafts, at a safe distance, warning the ship’s passengers that the vessel will soon sink. These doomsayers view any attempt to repair the ship (i.e., improve social conditions in the world) as pointless because Christ will destroy the present world order at His Coming.
Comment on the “sanctified escapism” illustrated above. Is such a philosophical outlook biblically defensible? Why, or why not?
Scripture: Miah Arnold wrote an article in The Michigan Quarterly Review (vol. 50, no. 1 [Winter 2011]) entitled “You Owe Me.” It describes the total nonsensical injustice of the suffering of innocent, dying children in the Anderson Cancer Center in Texas. Arnold writes, “I was, like everybody else, trying to make sense of what is nonsensical.”4
Discuss the meaning of this statement by Clifford Goldstein, concern ing the tragedies in the world—the nonsense of evil: “However bad these tragedies, it would be worse if there were sense to them.”5 Ask the class: Why is that so?
Read this statement from The Great Controversy to your class and discuss: “It is impossible to explain the origin of sin so as to give a reason for its existence Sin is an intruder, for whose presence no reason can be given. It is mysterious, unaccountable; to excuse it is to defend it. Could excuse for it be found, or cause be shown for its existence, it would cease to be sin.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 492, 493.
Read and discuss 1 Corinthians 4:5, 2 Thessalonians 1:5–10, Revelation 21:4, and other passages the class can think of that indicate that, in His designated time, God will surely bring justice and do away with sin.
Currently this sinful world is full of oppression, suffering, and sadness. While we wait for the designated time of Jesus’ second coming, let us continue the process of undoing the devil’s work as did Jesus (1 John 3:8). His body, the church, has been sent into the world to “preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound . . . and they shall repair the waste cities But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord: men shall call you the Ministers of our God” (Isa. 61:1–4, 6).
Part III: Life Application
To be an Adventist Christian who daily lives in the light of the Advent Hope means to avoid two extremes: (1) overexcitement about our expectancy of Christ’s second coming that writes off the present world as doomed, and therefore militates against our putting forth any effort into working for the good of the society in which we live; and (2) indifference to Christ’s advent that makes the present world the main focus for which to live and work. For these indifferent ones, the present world is not a waiting room to the coming world, but a living room to occupy comfortably in a relaxed manner.
Invite the class members to discuss the following: In which “room” do you find yourselves? As you actively wait for the “kingdom of glory,” how is your church progressing in creating a “kingdom of grace” in the “waiting room” (inside and outside of your church) that points to the “kingdom of glory”?
In the “kingdom of glory,” there will be a “tree of life” with leaves that are for “the healing of the nations” (Rev. 22:2; also Ezek. 47:12). Why would nations need to be healed if evil has been wiped out of existence? As does the healing river of Ezekiel 47:9, the water of life produces healing wherever it goes—even in heaven! Invite class members to share stories of how your church or other churches are a “health place” inside and outside.
Notes
``
1 Rodney Stark, Cities of God: The Real Story of How Christianity Became an Urban Movement and Conquered Rome (New York: HarperCollins, 2006), p. 30.
When considering the unprecedented growth of Christianity in the first three centuries, historian Rodney Stark concludes: “The power of Christianity lay not in its promise of otherworldly compensations for suffering in this life, as has so often been proposed. No, the crucial change that took place in the third century was the rapidly spreading awareness of a faith that delivered potent antidotes to life’s miseries here and now! The truly revolutionary aspect of Christianity lay in moral imperatives such as ‘Love one’s neighbor as oneself,’ ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,’ ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive,’ and ‘When you did it to the least of my brethren, you did it unto me.’ ”1
As we study this week’s lesson, “Living the Advent Hope,” we are challenged to live each day with a burning hope for God’s coming kingdom, while bringing those kingdom values to bear in our lives and the lives of those whom we serve. We empathize with the prophetic cry for a hastened return of Christ in His kingdom. While we wait for the kingdom of glory, we are reminded of the opportunities for ministry right now, as we let Christ live out His life within us.
Teacher’s Aims:
Ask your students to consider and discuss the following questions: What motivates you and your church in this unjust world while you wait for the Second Coming?
How are you using the time you have as Christ’s coming grows closer with every passing day?
Part II: Commentary
Scripture: Read together in class Titus 2:11–14. This passage outlines two kingdoms: the kingdom of grace, and the kingdom of glory. Ask the class the following:
Illustration: Two “Kingdom” Illustrations:
Illustration: Some feel that any concern for ecology and caring for social needs is a waste of time because this world will be destroyed at the end of time anyway.
Some Christians today see this world as a sinking ship. Not only do they see no use in charting a course on such a dire vessel, they see no sense in bailing out the water and plugging up the leaks in order to make the ship seaworthy again. Instead, they spend their time on life rafts, at a safe distance, warning the ship’s passengers that the vessel will soon sink. These doomsayers view any attempt to repair the ship (i.e., improve social conditions in the world) as pointless because Christ will destroy the present world order at His Coming.
Comment on the “sanctified escapism” illustrated above. Is such a philosophical outlook biblically defensible? Why, or why not?
Scripture: Miah Arnold wrote an article in The Michigan Quarterly Review (vol. 50, no. 1 [Winter 2011]) entitled “You Owe Me.” It describes the total nonsensical injustice of the suffering of innocent, dying children in the Anderson Cancer Center in Texas. Arnold writes, “I was, like everybody else, trying to make sense of what is nonsensical.”4
Discuss the meaning of this statement by Clifford Goldstein, concern ing the tragedies in the world—the nonsense of evil: “However bad these tragedies, it would be worse if there were sense to them.”5 Ask the class: Why is that so?
Read this statement from The Great Controversy to your class and discuss: “It is impossible to explain the origin of sin so as to give a reason for its existence Sin is an intruder, for whose presence no reason can be given. It is mysterious, unaccountable; to excuse it is to defend it. Could excuse for it be found, or cause be shown for its existence, it would cease to be sin.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 492, 493.
Read and discuss 1 Corinthians 4:5, 2 Thessalonians 1:5–10, Revelation 21:4, and other passages the class can think of that indicate that, in His designated time, God will surely bring justice and do away with sin.
Currently this sinful world is full of oppression, suffering, and sadness. While we wait for the designated time of Jesus’ second coming, let us continue the process of undoing the devil’s work as did Jesus (1 John 3:8). His body, the church, has been sent into the world to “preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound . . . and they shall repair the waste cities But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord: men shall call you the Ministers of our God” (Isa. 61:1–4, 6).
Part III: Life Application
To be an Adventist Christian who daily lives in the light of the Advent Hope means to avoid two extremes: (1) overexcitement about our expectancy of Christ’s second coming that writes off the present world as doomed, and therefore militates against our putting forth any effort into working for the good of the society in which we live; and (2) indifference to Christ’s advent that makes the present world the main focus for which to live and work. For these indifferent ones, the present world is not a waiting room to the coming world, but a living room to occupy comfortably in a relaxed manner.
Invite the class members to discuss the following: In which “room” do you find yourselves? As you actively wait for the “kingdom of glory,” how is your church progressing in creating a “kingdom of grace” in the “waiting room” (inside and outside of your church) that points to the “kingdom of glory”?
In the “kingdom of glory,” there will be a “tree of life” with leaves that are for “the healing of the nations” (Rev. 22:2; also Ezek. 47:12). Why would nations need to be healed if evil has been wiped out of existence? As does the healing river of Ezekiel 47:9, the water of life produces healing wherever it goes—even in heaven! Invite class members to share stories of how your church or other churches are a “health place” inside and outside.
Notes
``
1 Rodney Stark, Cities of God: The Real Story of How Christianity Became an Urban Movement and Conquered Rome (New York: HarperCollins, 2006), p. 30.
2 General Conference Sabbath School and Personal Ministries Department, “Keys to Adventist Community Services,” December 22, 2008, p. 6, https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54c685b3e4b0f8fbaf030c60/t/5694 095d9cadb6333162cda8/1452542301494/ACSI+LEAFLET-HANDBOOK+12-22-08.pdf.
3 Darryl Denney, “No Life Is Too Messy for Jesus to Handle,” Messy Grace, Center Christian Church, September 26, 2017, https://www.centerchristianchurch.org/single-post/2017/09/27/No-Life-is-Too-Messy-for-Jesus-to-Handle.
4 Miah Arnold, “You Owe Me,” Michigan Quarterly Review, Winter 2011, quoted in Clifford Goldstein, “It Makes No Sense,” Adventist Review, April 18, 2013, p. 16.
5 Arnold, “You Owe Me,” Michigan Quarterly Review.