Brand New

November 6, 2016 Background Scripture: Revelation 21:1 – 8 Lesson Passage: Revelation 21:1 – 8 I love to tell the story of how I learned how to study mathematics effectively. After reading the text carefully to try to understand any new concepts, I would proceed to analyze the example problems given in the chapter. I would practice working the example problems to see if I could determine which steps to take to arrive at the same answer in the book. The real test of whether I understood the new concepts came when I would venture to the end of the chapter and attempt to solve the odd-numbered problems. The odd-numbered problems were the key to mastering new mathematical concepts! What made them key was the fact that the answers to the odd-numbered problems were given in the back of the text book. Now how convenient was that? I could practice the new concepts with full assurance because I could determine if I got it right by referring to the section in the back of the text book to compare my solution to the answer in the book. If I could work all of the odd-numbered problems correctly, then I knew that I understood the concepts in the chapter and was ready to tackle the even-numbered problems which were usually the homework—or quiz. Over the next month, our Sunday School lessons come from the last two chapters of the book of Revelations. Much of what I have learned about mathematics applies to the Bible as well. There are answers in the back of the book! The Bible provides insight into the person of God and the spiritual condition of mankind. This insight lets us know that we have spiritual issues that only God can solve. The more we understand about ourselves and the more we learn about God, the more we see how desperate our situation is. We have problems that have eternal consequences. God offers to help us overcome all of our problems and He extends to us eternal life. It is easy to forget this when we are faced with the constant barrage of trials and tribulations of life. Sometimes we feel a sense of despair and wonder if there really is hope for us. That’s a good time to take a look at what’s in the back of “the book”. In today’s lesson, God is disclosing how He is going to fulfill His promise to destroy this old corrupt world along with sin. Everything that causes trials and tribulations today will be destroyed. God is going to make everything brand new. With this understanding we can face the trials of today because we can be assured that they are all temporary. We are reminded of this assurance by referring to the back of the book. When we look at today’s problems alongside the promises of God, we should be able to come up with the same solutions found in the back of the book. Then we will know that we understand the spiritual concepts that Jesus taught about the kingdom of God. We should also beware to not become too attached to the old things of this world seeing that they are under the condemnation of God. If you doubt that, refer to the back of the book. Robert C. Hudson September 28, 2016