May 2025

Read Psalm 5. In this work, David draws sharp contrasts between those who are lost and those who have been redeemed. Compare this psalm with the language of Revelation 14:1–12. What similarities do you find, and how does this inform your understanding of what it means to be a part of God’s last-day remnant movement?

The remnant gathered on Zion have a name engraved on their foreheads: the name of the Father and the Lamb. (Whether this is two different names is doubtful; Jesus is the very image of the Father!) A “name” in the Scriptures signifies more than a label by which people address each other; it stands for character. To this day, many cultures still say that someone has a “good name” when people think highly of their character.

In Revelation 14, we find God’s people standing on Mount Zion. The original Mount Zion was located just west of the old city of Jerusalem today and was thought of as the seat of God’s throne, or presence, among His people. In time, the temple mount, located on Mount Moriah, came to be identified with Mount Zion, as well.

In other words, this important depiction of God’s last-day remnant is presented in sanctuary language, as with most of the key scenes in the book of Revelation. Thanks to the Lamb, God’s people are on His holy hill!

When Moses oversaw the construction of the tabernacle, he was not permitted to use just any design he wished. God gave him a blueprint to follow. “ ‘See to it that you make them according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain’ ” (Exod. 25:40, NKJV). We discover in the book of Hebrews that the pattern used was that of a higher reality, the heavenly sanctuary.

Read Hebrews 9:11–15, about Christ as our High Priest in heaven’s sanctuary. What does this teach about what He is doing for us?

Read for This Week’s Study

Heb. 9:11–15, Psalm 122, Psalm 15, Psalm 24, Exod. 33:18–23, Psalm 5, Ps. 51:7–15.

Memory Text:

Read Ellen G. White, “The Controversy Ended,” pp. 669–671, 676–678, in The Great Controversy.

It seems incomprehensible that Lucifer once held the position of covering cherub, occupying an exalted position next to the throne of God. Surely his existence would have helped reveal the glory of God to the universe. Instead, he began to consider his own glory, not the glory of his Creator; or, to be more precise, he started to imagine that he was not being given the deference due to him.

Following the leading of God’s presence in the cloud, the Israelites would stop in their journey to the Promised Land, set up the tabernacle, and then the tribes would pitch their camps around it—three tribes on each side. The Presence of God would descend into the Most Holy Place and take up residence in the midst of His people.

There was one dominant tribe on each of the four sides of the tabernacle. According to Numbers 2, who were these four dominant tribes?

Num. 2:3 (East):

Num. 2:10 (South):

Cherubim, either as living beings (Ezek. 10:8) or the gold symbols of them (Exod. 25:18), appear all through the Old Testament. They are often depicted as standing immediately next to God’s throne, radiating His glory to the universe. Cherubim also are embroidered into the curtain before the Holy of Holies (Exod. 26:1). In the book of Psalms, God’s supreme power over creation is poetically pictured as God being borne through the air by cherubim (Ps. 18:10).

As soon as our first parents were expelled from the Garden, God offered the hope of Messiah (Gen. 3:15). Then He established a powerful symbol at the gates of Eden: two cherubim with a brilliant flashing light between them. It should not be lost on us that this scene so closely resembles the ark of the covenant, a symbol of God’s throne (Exod. 25:18).

Read Genesis 3:21–24. What job were the cherubim tasked with—and why?