"Concerning the times and seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, 'Peace and safety! then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains on a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren are not in darkness, so that that day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor the darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober." 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6.

Suppose that life on Planet Earth should come to an end with a sudden disaster. Only you are left alive on the whole planet. What an experience that would be! Everywhere are broken homes, lifeless and empty. The cities and the great works of mankind are all broken down and burned. Only the charred remains stand like broken skeletons, and there are no working telephones or electricity. The whole earth is deafeningly silent, with no newspapers, televisions or radios. These are all meaningless toys now. Everything from the stores is scattered over the countryside as if by a giant tornado, and much of the land is burned as after a nuclear attack.

There are no seeds to plant, no jars to can in, even if something could grow. The once mighty nations are no more. You are left alone on a broken planet. Who won the presidential election or the super bowl last year is totally meaningless. The promotion that you might win next year does not even enter your thoughts. The fancy cars and fancy homes that you once had are mere trivia. You could have any home in the world that you want, but of course, they would be broken down and burned. The fancy clothes you once valued so much are now valueless.

The good looks, the muscular physique, which you worked to develop, now seems rather unimportant. There is no one to appreciate it anyway. Suddenly, the friendships you once valued and for which you were willing to sacrifice eternal life are gone. All your friends have been taken to heaven, but you are left behind.

The bodies of people, birds and animals are scattered over the face of the earth, some of them charred, but all are left as they were when they were killed. Mans proud accomplishments are all a thing of the past.

That sounds like something that John was talking about or would have dreamed about, but this is going to take place on Planet Earth. "'A noise will come to the ends of the earth, for the Lord has a controversy with the nations; He will plead His case with all flesh. He will give those who are wicked to the sword, says the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts: 'Behold, disaster shall go forth from nation to nation. And a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the farthest parts of the earth. And at that day the slain of the Lord shall be from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth. They shall not be lamented, nor gathered nor buried; they shall become refuse on the ground." Jeremiah 25:31-33. There is no one left to bury them.

"For behold, the Lord comes out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; the earth will also disclose her blood and will no more cover her slain." Isaiah 26:21.They will be left to perish on top of the ground. Even worse than this, not only will the cities be broken down, human and animal life will cease. All the people killed will lie across the face of the earth, but they will not be left to decompose. They will remain there year after year, preserved as they died.

"I beheld the earth, and indeed it was without form and void; [This is translated in the New Testament as "bottomless pit," and it is the same word used in Genesis 1:2 to describe what the earth was like before creation.] And the heavens, they had no light." Jeremiah 4:23. There was no sun to shine. The sun had been darkened.

If the sun were darkened it would get cold very quickly. There would be no rainfall and no snow to cover up the ruins because there would be no evaporation as the earth continued to cool. The earth would be perfectly preserved in its broken condition as in a deep freeze. "I beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled, and all the hills moved back and forth. I beheld, and indeed there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens had fled. I beheld and indeed the fruitful land was a wilderness, and all its cities were broken down at the presence of the Lord, by His fierce anger." Jeremiah 4:24-26.

"The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like that of many people! A tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together! [See Revelation 16.1 The Lord of Hosts musters the army for baffle. They come from a far country, from the end of heaven--the Lord and His weapons of indignation, to destroy the whole land. Wail, for the day of the Lord is at hand! It will come as destruction from the Almighty. Therefore all hands will be limp; every mans heart will melt, and they will be afraid. Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them; they will be in pain as a woman in childbirth; [See 1 Thessalonians 5.1 They will be amazed at one another; their faces will be like flames. Behold, the day of the Lord comes, cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and He will destroy its sinners from it. For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be darkened in its going forth, and the moon will not cause its light to shine. I will punish the earth for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible." Isaiah 13:4-11.

So the Bible says that once the righteous are taken away, God will blot out the light of the sun for a thousand years and this earth will enter a perpetual preservation in its broken state. And yet, there will be one poor soul who is left behind to live on this planet, to see the destruction and be there during this time.

You will find this pictured in Revelation 20:1--3: "Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit [That bottomless pit is this earth. In Greek, the word used is abusos, meaning without form and void.] and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while."

We know from Revelation 20 that there will be a second resurrection. When the Lord comes down, He is will bring life back to this planet and all the wicked that have not had part in the first resurrection will be raised to receive their judgments.

"And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and the judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the Word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or in their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years." Revelation 20:4-6.

Jesus said, "In My Fathers house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you . . . that where I am there you may be also." John 14:2, 3.

The Bible pictures how we are going to be taken to heaven. Jesus will come down with the sound of a trumpet and all the dead in Christ will rise. Then those who are righteous and still living, and those who were righteous when they died, will be taken to heaven together there to live and reign with Christ for one thousand years. (See 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17.)

Before this unbelievable catastrophe takes place on this planet, the Lord is going to wake up all those who would be saved. The Father is not willing that any should perish. He would love to save every soul who has ever been born. In the days of Noah, only eight out of all the inhabitants of the world were saved. We are told that in the last days, only a few will be saved, too. But God will put forth every effort that He can to save every soul. He is going to use a variety of means in order to wake up the inhabitants of the earth, if, by any means, He can cause someone to be saved.

One thing the Lord has done is give us prophecy so that we can recognize the signs of the end. We might realize when the end is coming and pay attention and prepare our lives. In Luke 21, Jesus was talking about the last days. The disciples asked Him when the last days would be and what would be the sign of His coming. He said, "When you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately." Luke 21:9. There must first come a series of wars on the earth. World War I came. At that time, there were many people who thought it might be Armageddon and the end of the world. If they had read the Bible, they could have read that the wars must come first.

When World War II came, there were those who thought, "This must be the end now because the Bible has given wars as a sign of the end," but Jesus said, "This is the first of the signs, but the end is not yet." It was interesting when the war in Iraq was taking place. People woke up, and yet the Bible says, "These are signs of the end, but they are the first signs of the end." Actually, it is when people are saying "Peace and safety," that sudden destruction comes upon them. For the first time since World War II we are seeing what people consider to be the end of the cold war and the end of rumors of wars. We are saying, Peace to Eastern Europe, and even Russia, who we are looking at as a friend now. We are hopeful that the world might be brought into a one-world order of peace so we do not have to worry about nuclear armaments. We are seeing a time when there is hope of peace and safety such as we have never seen before.

The Bible said this is a sign of the end. After the wars comes peace and safety. And we are seeing it all fulfilled. What is going to happen next? "And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven." Luke 21:11.

As God withdraws His mercy and protection from a sin-filled world, that is sinking lower and lower in the moral scale day by day, He will withdraw His protecting Spirit and the blessings that He has shielded the world with. As He does so, this world will begin to experience calamity after calamity.

There have always been disasters in the world. But in ages past, disasters made the history books. A great earthquake would be remembered for many decades. Then after many years there would be another disaster over in some other part of the world. That would be the great news for some time to come. The difference in the last days is not that there would be disasters but the rapidity with which the disasters would come, and the worldwide prevalence of disasters. It has come to the place where if you go for three to four weeks and nothing has happened, you begin to say, "What is going to happen now? Something is going to happen here pretty soon somewhere.

Life does not go on very long anymore without some disaster somewhere in the world. Within the space of one week there was an earthquake in Costa Rica that was far worse then the one in San Francisco. Then within two days, there was one in Russia. Right between those two, we had a tornado here, and in Bangladesh there was a cyclone. These things can all be expected. But the Bible says they will come, one after another with rapidity.

The first part of Revelation 18 tells us about Babylon and how it is fallen because it has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. It tells about how the kings of the earth have united with this false religion, trying to prevent the disasters.

There has been a union of Church and State, which Revelation 17 says is harlotry. God never intended the Church to be united with the State, or the State with the Church. And somehow it was having a worldwide influence and causing all nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.

"I heard another voice from heaven saying, 'Come out of her, My people, lest you share in her sins and receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Render to her just as she has rendered to you; repay her double according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her. In the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow. Revelation 18:4- 7.

The Bible says that the first shall be last and the last first. Those who have been the richest will become the poorest. And those who have been the most glorified will become the most dejected. And so it says, Pay her back with the measure that she has glorified herself, and give her torment and sorrow. "For she says in her heart, I sit a queen and am no widow and will not see sorrow." Revelation 18:7.

The places of the earth that have never been touched will be touched eventually. Those that have been the most blasphemous will be the most ravished. "Therefore, her plagues will come in one day--death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord who judges her." Revelation 18:8.

The Bible says it will come quickly, suddenly. She will be sitting as a beautiful queen and suddenly there will come disaster upon disaster. "The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, 'Alas, alas, for that great city Babylon that mighty city! For in one hour her judgments have come. " Revelation 18:9,10.

Today it is an undeniable fact that disasters are suddenly beginning to multiply and increase, as we have never seen before. People do not know what to expect next or where to expect it. God is trying to wake people up. He does not bring the disasters, but His mercies are being withdrawn and disasters are following in their wake.

Will people be awakened by the signs of the times? Or will they continue to be mesmerized by their favorite television programs, their favorite activities and their parties? Sad to say, most people in spite of all that God does, will never awaken out of sleep.

There is a second thing that the Lord does to wake up the earth. "Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth--to every nation, tribe, tongue and people--saying with a loud voice, 'Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water. "Revelation 14:6, 7.

Jesus predicted the disasters that are going to come on the earth. After talking about famine, pestilence and earthquakes in various places, it says, "These are the beginnings of sorrows. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, [It is when the disasters go forth that Gods message will be given to the world and instead of receiving the message, many will become angry and they will turn against the messengers.] and you will be hated by all nations for My names sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another." Matthew 24:8-10.

Oh, how the devil seeks to confuse the issues and divert peoples minds. At the same time that God is trying to wake people up, Satan is trying to put people to sleep. And he is having more success on this earth than God is because most of the inhabitants of this earth are his children. Only a few have become the children of God.

The Lord has two methods that He is using to wake the people up. One is to allow judgments to fall and the other is to give the message with the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. The devil has a number of ways of keeping people asleep. In Luke 21, Jesus, after telling about the signs in the earth and the hatred that is going to exist when Gods final warning message goes out to the world, he begins to tell how Satan will try to keep people occupied so they are too busy to accept the truth.

When the message comes, they are too busy trying to make a living and survive. Amid all of the depression, all of the unemployment, all of the disasters, and the uncertainty of the economic world, people are just trying to survive. They do not have time to prepare for what God is trying to wake them up for.

So Jesus says, "Take heed to yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the cares of this life and that day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you maybe accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man." Luke 21:34-36.

The following statement has always meant much to me. Here Ellen White talks about this need for watchfulness, prayer and Bible study. "Only those who have been diligent students of the Scriptures and who have received the love of the truth will be shielded from the powerful delusion that takes the world captive. By the Bible testimony these will detect the deceiver in his disguise. To all the testing time will come. By the sifting of temptation, the genuine Christian will be revealed. Are the people of God so firmly established upon His Word that they would not yield to the evidence of their senses? Would they, in such a crisis, cling to the Bible and the Bible only? Satan will, if possible, prevent them from obtaining a preparation to stand in that day. He will so arrange affairs as to hedge up their way,.. entangle them with earthly treasures, cause them to carry a heavy wearisome burden, that their hearts may be overcharged with the cares of this life and the day of trial may come upon them as a thief." The Great Controversy, 625, 626.

The devil is seeking to keep people busy with the cares of this life. He is seeking to get us involved even in things that in and of themselves are not bad, just as he did in Noahs day. "But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking." Matthew 24:37, 38. There is nothing wrong with that if it is right food and the right drink. But that is what they were consumed with. Preparing food, fixing clothes, recreation, marrying and giving in marriage: all of these are good wholesome things in and of themselves--if it is not carried to excess. But these things occupied their mind and their attention until the day that Noah entered the ark. They were so busy that they did not pay any attention Noah had been preaching. The animals had come in, God had given signs; they could have all known, but they were too busy with the things of this life. They did not know until the flood came and took them all away. "So also will the coming of the Son of Man be." The devil succeeded once and he is going to try it again.

There is another way that Satan has of keeping us from being prepared. "And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold." Matthew 24:12. Not only does the devil try to keep us occupied, but also as we see the sights and sounds of evil around us continually, our hearts begin to grow hardened. We begin to become like the society around us.

Then the devil has another very important and successful method of keeping people from being ready. "You will be betrayed even by parents and by brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death and you will be hated by all for My names sake." Luke 21:16, 17.

Matthew 10 talks about wives and husbands, children, parents, brothers and sisters, who will keep many from being saved. That is always one of the most effective ways that Satan has to keep us from being prepared. Then on top of all this, Satan has something that finishes the deception. While he keeps us busy and occupied so we do not have time to prepare our lives, and while there is evil all around to cause our hearts to grow hardened and careless, and while we receive opposition from family members, along comes a great revival that wins everyone--even our family members. Then our hearts are touched, too. We accept the Lord, but it is all a grand deception. "For false Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, the very elect." Matthew 24:24. Look who these signs and wonders are going to come through. "Such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light." 2 Corinthians 11:13, 14.

There is no resistance to this revival as there has been to the previous revivals that the Lord sent. This one is accepted by all. Of course, there is a little difference between Satans revivals and Gods revivals. Gods revivals lead to the crucifying of self, to the keeping of Gods law and to a change of life and character. Satans revivals are based upon emotions, excitement and the sensual. Oh, there is power involved. There is music involved. You will feel like praising the Lord. Miracles will even take place.

"Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness." verse 15. What are some of the things that these so called ministers of righteousness and ministers of Christ are going to do? "The coming of the lawless one [that is the one who does not keep the law, but he has a lot of religion] is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders." 2 Thessalonians 2:9. There is going to be plenty of power. There are going to be a lot of signs. And they are even going to use the very disasters that are coming upon the earth to help bring a revival.

It is interesting how the Bible predicts that disaster is coming upon the earth and what the outcome and response to it will be. Various false religions distort Gods truth. Any religion that is not based upon the Bible is a false religion. There may be many sincere people, but the religion is false. There are some wonderful Mormons that I hope will be in heaven, but right now, they are deceived. Their leader, Joseph Smith, said, "I cannot understand the Bible. So, Lord teach me Yourself, because I cannot understand the Bible." And so he saw what he thought was the Father Himself--which Jesus said no one has ever seen. (See John 1:18.) But he claimed that the Father Himself came down and taught him truth independent of the Bible. So he wrote his own bible. Wherever that bible disagrees with Gods it is wrong. It is interesting the deceptions that are involved.

Joseph Smith claimed that "the father," who certainly was not the Father, told him that he had changed the Sabbath. That was a sure sign that he was dealing with the power of the devil or one of his agents. He told him that they could many more than one wife and other things that were contrary to Gods law.

But nevertheless, the Mormons are teaching that there is going to come a great disaster on the earth in the last days. But how do you prepare? By purifying your life and perfecting it? No, by storing up food and collecting guns and ammunition to protect it when other people try to steal it from you. That is the wrong preparation.

And yet, when all these things take place, they are going to say, "Hey, it is happening as our prophet has said, or as our bible says. We can see it." And their faith will be confirmed in the falsehood. The devil is not ignorant. He knows the prophecies of the Bible, too. They say, "Well, we are going to come out victorious because we have food, we will survive, most of the rest of the world will die, and when it is done, we will be the leaders of the world." And they will start the millennium with the Mormon Church at the head of the world.

They are not the only ones who teach this kind of thing. Jehovahs Witnesses teach something quite similar. The Catholic Church thinks they are going to control the world during the millennium. It is time to come to the altar and accept the Lord and be saved and accept His miracle-working power and receive the Holy Spirit. That is what is going to be preached. People are going to come forward and they are going to receive the "Holy Spirit"--or the devils spirit, which they are calling the Holy Spirit.

There is going to be a total deception among those who perish, "because they did not receive the love of the truth." Oh, they had a love of religion. They had a love of preaching. They had a love of the miracles. They had love of the Holy Spirit. But they did not have a love of the truth, so that they might be saved.

"And for this reason, God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness." 2 Thessalonians 2:12. That is going to lead to a belief--and this is the devils final deception-- that they are "saved." They have a false confidence in their experience.

When the Master shuts the door whoever is in, is in; whoever is out, is out. That is what happened once before when the Lord shut the door of the ark. How many other times is He going to shut the door?

Revelation 22:11 says, "He who is just will remain just forever. He who is unjust let him remain unjust forever." The door is closed. "When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door saying, 'Lord, Lord, open for us, and He will answer and say to you, 'I do not know you, where you are from, then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in your presence, and You taught in our streets. But He will say, 'I tell you, I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity. " Luke 13:25-27.

Or as it says in Matthew 7:23, "All you who practice lawlessness." At that time there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Can you imagine, thinking you are saved and knowing the end is here because you have seen the signs. You have heard it preached. You have given your heart to the Lord. You received the Holy Spirit and now you are waiting for the Lord to come, but when He comes He says to you, "I do not know who you are. I never knew you. Depart from Me."

"And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last." Luke 13:30. Those who thought they were saved and secure will find that they are not saved at all. That is why Paul asks us a very important question. "Therefore, let him who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall." 1 Corinthians 10:12.

There is one more method that Satan has to keep us lost and deceived. Paul counsels us, "Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down on the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls." Hebrews 12:2,3.

If nothing else works, there is one final thing that Satan uses to cause us to be lost, that is discouragement. Have you ever gotten discouraged? The Bible says that when it happens, look to Jesus and you will find courage. Today I believe that we are seeing the signs of the times and that it is time as never before to prepare our hearts for the final events to take place in the world.

I was talking to a very dear friend of mine one time, a person who to all appearances did not have long to live. He had a cancer that was considered terminal. They had developed some kind of method that could supposedly cure a few, but eighteen people have gone through the cure. Nine of them died while they were getting cured, the other half are still trying to see what might happen. So I prayed with him and talked with him. As I shared with him, I said, "Now suppose in one months time, when this takes place, that you pass away like half of them have. The next thing you know, will be one of two things: Either you will be resurrected at Jesus Second Coming or you will be resurrected at the end of the millennium when all the wicked will be raised.

"If I were facing possibly my last month of life, I would be very serious during that months time. I would want my life and heart pure and cleansed. I would want to spend time with my Bible and on my knees asking the Lord to give me a heart like His. Of course, most people do not know when they might have a month left.

I said, "Suppose the Lord heals you. Then what do you have to look forward to? There is only one or two possibilities or maybe one of three. You have the possibility of still dying sometime shortly for whatever reason and then you still have to face eternal realities. Or, if you live, then you have one of two possibilities: one is that you must be among the one hundred forty-four thousand or you must be lost, because no one else is going to be saved during the last times."

Have you ever considered what it might be like to live on the earth during the time when God says that every case is forever decided and there is no Mediator in the heavenly sanctuary to forgive sins? Consider the people described in Revelation 14. If we are going to be alive on the earth when Jesus comes, this is the character that we must have. "Then I looked, and behold, a lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Fathers name written on their foreheads." Revelation 14:1. This is a group of people who reflect Gods character perfectly. And notice what it says in verse 4: "These are the ones who were not defiled with women [which is false religion in Bible prophecy] for they are virgins." Verse 4.

They do not have a mixture of truth and error; they are perfectly pure and holy. "These are the ones that follow the Lamb wherever He goes." The Lamb keeps the Sabbath; they keep the Sabbath. If the Lamb has a heart of love; they have a heart of love. Wherever the Lamb goes that is where they go. "These were redeemed from among men, being first fruits to God and to the Lamb." Verse 4. "And in their mouth was found no guile." Verse 5.

Can you imagine coming to the place where in your mouth is found no guile? And then it goes on to say, "for they are without fault before the throne of God." Verse 5.

We will not all of a sudden wake up one morning and find that we are pure and perfect. That will not happen. Today we must decide that, by Gods grace, we will be prepared to be among the hundred and forty-four thousand. Those are the only people, among the living, that will be saved when Jesus comes. The living will be in Gods church with Gods name written in their minds and foreheads and there will be no guile in their mouth. They will be absolutely faultless before the throne of God.

Unless we want to go through this experience, there is no reason to want healing. Why would someone want to be healed unless they are ready for this experience? Prepare your heart and say, "Lord help me to be right." Every person can develop this character. There is not a sinner that has fallen so low that God cannot make them over again. He will give them a new life, a new heart, a new character and a new mind. There is not a person that is so weak that God cannot make them so that they never say a wrong word. They may say something that people do not like, but it will not come from a heart of sin and selfishness. There is not a person who cannot stand before the throne of God faultless, pure and holy and filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.

The hundred and forty-four thousand are those who have not looked to any man as an example. Peter is not their example. Peter is such a comfort to people. They say that Peter fell; he was impetuous. He did this and that. So they think they are as good as Peter was. Peter went through some hard experiences. But Peter is not our example.

David fell many times and the Lord said he was a man, "after My own heart." David is not our example either. Noah is not our example; neither is Abraham. We have one example, Jesus Christ. Jesus is our perfect example and it is to Him that we must look. We must have an experience like Enoch, who was a forerunner of those who will be translated when Jesus comes. We must go far beyond the experiences of former generations, and we can.

"Beloved, now we are the children of God [God has already accepted us as His children when we were baptized and when we accepted Him as our Saviour], and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be [because we are still growing], but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." 1 John 3:2.

Those who are alive on the earth when Jesus is revealed are going to be like Him. Those who are allowed to sit on His throne will have had this experience. "To Him who overcomes, I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and am sat down with My Father on His throne." Revelation 3:21. The Lord in mercy gives us signs and wonders in order to help us prepare our hearts for the final event of earths history.

"We are living in the time of the end. The fast fulfilling signs of the times declare that the coming of the Lord is near at hand. The days in which we live are solemn and important, great events are soon to take place in our world and the final movements will be rapid ones." Testimonies, vol. 9, 11. (See 1 Thessalonians 5 and Revelation 18.)

The Lord gives us just enough time to prepare. "Those who place themselves under Gods control to be led and guided by Him will catch the steady tread of events ordained by Him to take place." Testimonies, vol. 7, 14. On every hand and every way we look we see the signs of the times that the coming of Jesus is near.

"Christians should be prepared for what is soon to break upon the world as an overwhelming surprise. And this preparation they should make by diligently studying the word of God and striving to conform their lives to its precepts. The tremendous issues of eternity demand of us something beside an imaginary religion and a religion of words and forms where truth is kept in the outer court." Conflict and Courage, 260.

I want to tell you, we need something more than a religion of words. "The earth is the Lords in all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein. For He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters. Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? [That is what the righteous will do when Jesus comes.] Or who may stand in His holy place? It is he who has clean hands and a pure heart. Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully." Psalm 24:1-4.

Those who have this experience are pictured in Psalm 91. We have no idea of the disasters that will yet take place on this earth; we are but seeing a little foretaste. The earth is the Lords and He will shake it from stem to stern. But those who honor God, He will honor. "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 snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence . . . A thousand may fall at your side, or 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. . . He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him." Psalm 91:1-3, 7-10, 15.

The Lord is giving the last warning message to a perishing world. And every one of us will either be preserved as frozen corpses upon the earth or as holy beings in heaven during the thousand years. As the Lord is giving His last message to a dying world through both preaching and the elements of nature, may we recognize the closeness of His coming. May the Lord prepare our hearts, to be among those who will be preserved in the land of the living.