John 14:1-3 (Contemporary English Version)

“Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Don't be worried! Have faith in God and have faith in me. 

“’There are many rooms in my Father's house. I wouldn't tell you this, unless it was true. I am going there to prepare a place for each of you. After I have done this, I will come back and take you with me. Then we will be together.’”

Psalm 91 (New King James Version)

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.’ ”

“Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler
And from the perilous pestilence.
He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not come near you.
Only with your eyes shall you look,
And see the reward of the wicked.

Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,

No evil shall befall you,
Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.
In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

“Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him,
And show him My salvation.’ ”

WHERE ARE YOU, LORD?

She felt He would never leave her in her moments of distress. After all, He had proved it throughout her 16 years. Surely, He would not start now in this great disappointment of her life.

Tearfully, she remembered her first tragedy. She was nine and hurrying home from school with her twin sister, Elizabeth, when the fuss started.

“Stop, teacher’s pet!” an older schoolmate commanded angrily. “So you think that you’re better than the rest of us?”

The twins ignored the girl and picked up speed. They could hear their mother saying, “Never fight anyone. If a child threatens you, head quickly for home!”

“Coward!” the other girl taunted, picking up a stone. Ellen Harmon looked to see how close behind the girl was. As she turned, the girl flung the stone with all her might, shattering Ellen’s nose and plummeting her to the ground in a pool of blood.

Finally reaching home after several fainting spells, Ellen lay in a coma for three weeks. When she emerged, she found her world had changed forever. He once pretty face was disfigured beyond even her family’s recognition. Her friends snubbed her, isolation became her constant companion, and shyness and low self-esteem replaced her cheery disposition.

“But God came through,” she told herself. “I sought Him earnestly, and He heard my cry. He showed me that I was of great value and that He loved me.” She rubbed the site of her former injury. “Without the accident, I might never have accepted Jesus.”

But that was then. What about now?

Today was October 23, the day after Jesus was supposed to return to earth and take her home. Along with other Millerites, she had staked everything on His second coming. Their church had disfellowshipped the Harmons for embracing the “fanatical” doctrine of Jesus’ literal advent. They had borne years of taunting for their views, but they figured it would be worth it all. On October 22, Jesus would come and do away with every sin—all pain, disease, division, war, crime, and want!

“Some of us even gave away farms, businesses, and all material possessions,” she remembered of the Millerites, “All because we wouldn’t need them in heaven.”

But Jesus had not come! Had she been deceived? Had God finally left her?

For a long time, she gazed at the eastern sky, as though she could see into heaven itself. Then sighing deeply she declared, “No, God hasn’t left Father Miller and the rest of us! We weren’t deceived. This year of preparation has been the sweetest of our lives! God has been with us mightily, converting the most hardened sinner hearing our appeal to meet Jesus.”

She smiled at the memories. “We’ve done our duty and lived up to God’s Word. He will bring us through this disappointment . . . just as He brought me through my childhood distress!”

She dried her tears and walked purposefully back to the house.

1. How did Ellen White’s earlier life-threatening experience help her deal with the disappointment of realizing it wasn’t time for Jesus to come? Or did it?
2. Was God leading in her life? If so, how can you tell?
3. Had God forsaken Ellen White?

Hebrews 13:5 (King James Version)

 “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

Isaiah 26:3 (King James Version)

“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”

“I am much grieved because you are sick and suffering. But cling to Him whom you have loved and served these many years. He gave His own life for the world, and He loves every one who trusts in Him. He sympathizes with those who suffer under the depression of disease. He feels every pang of anguish that His loved ones feel. Just rest in His arms, and know that He is your Saviour, and your very best Friend, and that He will never leave nor forsake you. He has been your dependence for many years, and your soul may rest in hope.

“You will come forth with other faithful ones who have believed in Him, to praise Him with a voice of triumph. All you are expected to do is to rest in His love. Do not worry. Jesus loves you, and now when you are weak and suffering, He holds you in His arms, just as a loving father holds a little child. Trust in Him in whom you have believed. Has He not loved and cared for you all through your lifetime? Just rest in the precious promises given you {This Day with God, p. 313}

HERE’S WHAT I THINK

Imagine your grandmother is a famous Adventist who has served God from childhood. Through the years, God used her to establish many church schools and to help educate scores of needy students. Now she has Alzheimer’s, and your grandfather is disappointed that God hasn’t healed her. He says that God has deserted them and plans to give up on Him.

What would you tell this man who taught you to love and trust God and His Word? In what ways can God be trusted to bring good out of our bad times? When age does God not require us to cease spreading His love?

Log on to www.guidemagazine.org/rtf to post your responses. Be up-front and honest. Say what you think. The lines below are provided as an alternative to posting. You may also wish to record your thoughts and share them with your class later.

Find the hidden words within the grid of letters.

1. Write two of your favorite bible verses that tell you God cares for you.

Exodus 25:8 (New King James Version)

“And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.”

Hebrews 8:1-6 (New King James Version)

“Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who /br>

“For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this One also have something to offer. For if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law; who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, ‘See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.’ But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.

Daniel 8:14 (Contemporary English Version)

“The other answered, ‘It will be two thousand three hundred evenings and mornings before the temple is dedicated and in use again.’ ”

“In explaining Daniel 8:14, ‘Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed,’ Miller, as has been stated, adopted the generally received view that the earth is the sanctuary, and he believed that the cleansing of the sanctuary represented the purification of the earth by fire at the coming of the Lord. When, therefore, he found that the close of the 2300 days was definitely foretold, he concluded that this revealed the time of the second advent. His error resulted from accepting the popular view as to what constitutes the sanctuary.

“In the typical system, which was a shadow of the sacrifice and priesthood of Christ, the cleansing of the sanctuary was the last service performed by the high priest in the yearly round of ministration. It was the closing work of the atonement -a removal or putting away of sin from Israel. It prefigured the closing work in the ministration of our High Priest in heaven, in the removal or blotting out of the sins of His people, which are registered in the heavenly records. This service involves a work of investigation, a work of judgment; and it immediately precedes the coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory; for when He comes, every case has been decided. Says Jesus: ‘My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be.’

Revelation 22:12. It is this work of judgment, immediately preceding the second advent, that is announced in the first angel's message of Revelation 14:7: ‘Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come.’

“Those who proclaimed this warning gave the right message at the right time. But as the early disciples declared, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand,’ based on the prophecy of Daniel 9, while they failed to perceive that the death of the Messiah was foretold in the same scripture, so Miller and his associates preached the message based on Daniel 8:14 and Revelation 14:7, and failed to see that there were still other messages brought to view in Revelation 14, which were also to be given before the advent of the Lord. As the disciples were mistaken in regard to the kingdom to be set up at the end of the seventy weeks, so Adventists were mistaken in regard to the event to take place at the expiration of the 2300 days. In both cases there was an acceptance of, or rather an adherence to, popular errors that blinded the mind to the truth. Both classes fulfilled the will of God in delivering the message which He desired to be given, and both, through their own misapprehension of their message, suffered disappointment. Yet God accomplished His own beneficent purpose in permitting the warning of the judgment to be given just as it was. The great day was at hand, and in His providence the people were brought to the test of a definite time, in order to reveal to them what was in their hearts. The message was designed for the testing and purification of the church. They were to be led to see whether their affections were set upon this world or upon Christ and heaven. They professed to love the Saviour; now they were to prove their love. Were they ready to renounce their worldly hopes and ambitions, and welcome with joy the advent of their Lord? The message was designed to enable them to discern their true spiritual state; it was sent in mercy to arouse them to seek the Lord with repentance and humiliation. The disappointment also, though the result of their own misapprehension of the message which they gave, was to be overruled for good. It would test the hearts of those who had professed to receive the warning. In the face of their disappointment would they rashly give up their experience and cast away their confidence in God's word? or would they, in prayer and humility, seek to discern where they had failed to comprehend the significance of the prophecy? How many had moved from fear, or from impulse and excitement? How many were halfhearted and unbelieving? Multitudes professed to love the appearing of the Lord. When called to endure the scoffs and reproach of the world, and the test of delay and disappointment, would they renounce the faith? Because they did not immediately understand the dealings of God with them, would they cast aside truths sustained by the clearest testimony of His word?

“This test would reveal the strength of those who with real faith had obeyed what they believed to be the teaching of the word and the Spirit of God. It would teach them, as only such an experience could, the danger of accepting the theories and interpretations of men, instead of making the Bible its own interpreter. To the children of faith the perplexity and sorrow resulting from their error would work the needed correction. They would be led to a closer study of the prophetic word. They would be taught to examine more carefully the foundation of their faith, and to reject everything, however widely accepted by the Christian world, that was not founded upon the Scriptures of truth.

“With these believers, as with the first disciples, that which in the hour of trial seemed dark to their understanding would afterward be made plain. When they should see the ‘end of the Lord’ they would know that, notwithstanding the trial resulting from their errors, His purposes of love toward them had been steadily fulfilling. They would learn by a blessed experience that He is ‘very pitiful, and of tender mercy;’ that all His paths ‘are mercy and truth unto such as keep His covenant and His testimonies. --The Great Controversy, pp. 353, 354)

SO WHAT?

The twin subjects of the Great Disappointment and the Heavenly Sanctuary are important because they really address the age-old questions of whether God can be trusted, whether He cares for us, and whether He has a solution for the problem of sin.

Millerites staked everything on Jesus’ promise that He would return to earth, bring sin and suffering to and end, and take His followers home to heaven. They mistakenly concluded that the earth was the sanctuary to be cleansed by the fires of His second coming on October 22,1844, the end of the 2300-day prophecy. Jesus patiently showed them that the heavenly sanctuary was cleansed of sin instead and that His coming was indeed near. He gave them the comfort and light they needed for their disappointment and their critics.

Early Adventists took courage from the details of the sanctuary service. In it, they saw Jesus as the great High Priest who was touched by their deficiencies and lived to make intercession for them. His primary focus was to forgive their sins and develop His characteristics in them. Moreover, He assured them that sin would not exist forever, using the symbols of the Old Testament sanctuary service to illustrate this fact.

Some Millerites took heart from this new revelation unlocking the Great Disappointment and pressed on to become Seventh-day Adventists. The good news of the sanctuary became their unique contribution to Christianity.

1. What sanctuary service is being discussed? (Where is it?)   
2.    Who were the Millerites?
3. What do the Millerites and the sanctuary service have to do with the Seventh-Day Adventist Church?
4. How did Ellen White become part of the Millerite movement and what did she have to do with the beginning of the Seventh-day Adventist church.
5. Did God keep his promise or were the Millerites correct and God changed his mind?
6. What important truth did the Millerites learn from the “Great Disappointment?

Match the text with the verse.

1. Revelation 21:3,4 (NIV)
2. John 14:3 (NIV)
3. Matthew 10:30 (NIV)
4. Psalm 77:13 (KJV)
5. 2 Peter 3:9 (NIV)
6. Habakkuk 2:3 (NIV)
7. Hebrews 10:35 (NIV)
8. Titus 1:2 (NIV)

A. “ ‘I will come back and take you . . . . ’ ”
B. “ ‘For the revelation awaits an appointed time . . . . ’ ”
C. “ ‘So do not throw away your confidence . . . . ’ ”
D. “ ‘. . . .a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life. . . ’ ”.
E. “ ‘the Lord is not slow in keeping his promise . . . . ’ ”
F. “ ‘And even the very hairs of your head. . . . ’ ”
G. “Thy way, O God. . .”
H. “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. . . .’ ”

Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, p. 95

1. Highlight the paragraph that begins, “He who has given you life knows your need of food. . . .”

WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH ME?

Although you’re an early teen, you’ve probably been affected by one of the following situations: Divorces or firings. Deaths or defeats. Oppression or injustice. Diseases or accidents. And the list of human calamites could go on and on.  Perhaps you’ve asked, “Where’s God in all of this?” Maybe you sometimes wonder whether He cares about you and whether the long night of sin will ever end.

The good news of the sanctuary is that God does care about you and the havoc sin has made of His planet. He sent His Son not just to sound the death knell of Satan, the source of sin, but also to personally take our sin upon Him so that you won’t suffer the second death. Furthermore, He freely offers you His perfect life—to be claimed anytime by faith. He mercifully delays His second coming for everyone to accept this unbelievable bargain.

Accepting it blots out the past and ensures the future, but it also enriches our present, for Jesus is concerned about our entire lives. He doesn’t destroy all forms of sin now, but He gives us the power to cope with them. In fact, He makes them agents of good instead of evil.

Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, pp. 96, 97

1. Highlight the sentence that begins, “All that was needed for existence would have been yours. . . .”
2. Underline the sentence that begins, “He has filled earth and air and sky with glimpses. . .”
3. Highlight the sentence that begins, “ If He has lavished such infinite skill upon the things of nature for your happiness. . . .”

1Peter 5:6-7 (King James Version)

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

Psalm 84:11 (King James Version)

“For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.”

Matthew 10:29-31 (King James Version)

“Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.”

HOW DOES IT WORK?

God wants us to know that He’s caring and trustworthy. He encourages our curiosity and welcomes our efforts to test Him. “‘Come now, let us reason together,’ ” He invites us in Isaiah 1:18 (NIV). With this in mind, use the following chart to determine His compassion, trustworthiness, and effectiveness.

In the first column, list three or four problems from the What Does This Have to Do with Me? section. Next, find three or four members of your local church who’ve experienced them and wouldn’t mind talking generally about them. Then ask, “Did God care about ou in this experience? How do you know if He cared or not? How has the experience affected your relationship with Him?” Record the responses you get from the interviews anonymously in the second column. In the last column, record your won conclusions about God based on what you’ve observed in the interviews.