Lesson 11 - Still in His Hands
After Alexander’s death, his four generals divided the empire. Cassander, Lysimachus, Seleucus, and Ptolemy ruled in his place. The King of the South—Ptolemy—ruled over the land of Egypt. The Egyptians became extremely powerful. They continually battled with the King of the North—the Roman power.
Augustus Caesar was known as the great raiser of taxes in ancient Rome. It was during the days of Augustus that the decree was passed that all the world should be taxed. Everyone was commanded to return to his own city to be included in the census for tax purposes. Mary and Joseph made the arduous journey of just under one hundred miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem, where the Christ-child was born.
Tiberius Caesar followed Augustus Caesar on the throne. He was one of the vilest rulers ever to ascend the Roman throne. Corruption, bribery, extortion and murder were all part of his political strategy.
The Coming of the Messiah: Questions 7-8
Jesus Christ laid down His life to ratify the everlasting covenant with His own shed blood. His blood speaks in eloquent terms that our sins can be forgiven. Through the blood of Christ, we pass from death to life. He died the death that was ours so we could live the life that was His. As an innocent Man, He suffered for us who were guilty. He was righteous; we are unrighteous. He was holy; we are sinful. By faith, we receive His cleansing. Through Him, we become sons and daughters of God. All that He suffered, we should have suffered. Through the blood of the everlasting covenant, we are redeemed from the curse of death (see Hebrews 13:20; Ephesians 2:8; Romans 3:23; 6:23).
The prophecies of Daniel graphically describe the rise and fall of empires. Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome rose one after the other. After the demise of the pagan Roman Empire, a church-state union grew out of Rome. During the Middle Ages from 588 to 1798 A.D., the medieval church persecuted those who did not accept its teachings.
The Christ of the Sanctuary: Question 9
The sanctuary on earth, which Moses built, was a scale model of the great original sanctuary in heaven. The sacrifices of animals pointed forward to the blood-stained sacrifice of Christ. The ministry of the priests represented Jesus, our Representative, our Mediator, in heaven above. The sanctuary in heaven should be the center of our attention. There Jesus, our High Priest, personally applies the benefits of the cross to our case.
“Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are figures of the true but into heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God for us” (Hebrews 9:24).
In the days of the medieval church, large, pompous, ornate, splendid church buildings with earthly priests and earthly emblems, became substitutes for the true sacrifice of Christ on the cross and His true priesthood in heaven. The sanctuary in heaven is polluted when attention is diverted from it to an earthly imitation.
God’s People Persecuted: Questions 10-11
Committed Christians: Questions 12-13
The authentic Christian daily surrenders his will to the will of God. Jesus reigns supreme on the throne of the heart. The heart longing of every real Christian is to discover God’s will and to do it.