One of the most tragic predicaments that can be experienced in the human condition is aimlessness. In today’s generation, suicide is becoming increasingly frequent among young people all around the world. Why? It is often because a person even in the bloom and freshness of youth may see no real meaning in life; there is no sense of hope, no anchor, no feeling of security.

Yet we need not wander aimlessly! Surely we can be thankful for that which our gracious, loving Creator has written for us. He tells us plainly where we can ultimately go through His power. He tells us plainly what to do and what not to do.

“In the clear light of the Word of God, we may read plainly the meaning of sin. John declares that sin is ‘the transgression of the law’ (1 John 3:4). . . .

“Cannot men see that to belittle the law of God is to reproach Christ?”1

Notice that the above statement is not only for those who reject God’s law. Even those who may profess to keep it could actually be minimizing its importance. The Lord wants us to love His law, as the psalmist declared: “O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day. Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation” (Psalm 119:97-99, emphasis supplied).

God wants us to view this world in its proper perspective. Our vision is too dim and shortsighted - we need eyesalve from heaven (Revelation 3:18).

“We are thankful that we have a sure word of prophecy, so that none of us need be deceived. We know that there are heresies and fables in our world at the present time, and we want to know what is truth. . . . Many may come to you and tell you that they have the truth, but it is your privilege to search the Scriptures for yourself.”2

The descriptions of Christ’s coming are historical - they are simply history written beforehand. And with Him from whom this revelation comes, there is no difference whatsoever between the past and the future. What has been and what shall be are matters of equal certainty.

How much concern do people have about the future? It is so important that successful people actually mold their life around it. We check tomorrow’s weather report to know what plans to make. Often when a new baby arrives, the parents begin a long-term goal of saving money for the child’s future educational expenses. On a larger scale, national governments and international commissions anxiously look to the future to foresee challenges facing the entire planet through the depletion of natural resources, the quest for renewable energy, and the environmental implications of global warming.

Yet what about the future in terms of the spiritual realm? Truly successful, victorious people will not fail to place eternal realities as their first priority in planning for the future. And again, the key to unveiling a future clouded in mystery has been put in writing. The answers are found in the Word of God and the Testimonies of His Spirit of Prophecy.

In considering this future, certain basic facts should remain foremost in mind:

1. Jesus is coming again to redeem those who love Him. “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen” (Revelation 1:7). See also John 14:1-6; Colossians 3:4; 2 Timothy 4:8.)

2. Signs foretell that this event is very soon. (Study these chapters: Matthew 24; Mark 13; Luke 21; Revelation 13.)

3. Our cases are pending in the investigative judgment to be concluded before the Lord returns. “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear” (1 Peter 4:17, 18)? Jesus says, “Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be” (Revelation 22:12). The apostle exhorts, “Little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him” (1 John 2:28, 29). (See also Malachi 3:1-3; Luke 17:33-36).

4. Just before Christ returns, agencies of Satan will be intensely active in full operation to deceive unconsecrated multitudes to prevent them from choosing to prepare for the day of God. “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).

Prophecy has told us already that in the last days, sights of a supernatural character will be deceiving the world. In essence, you will not be able to trust your own eyes. How crucial it is, therefore, to stick to the law and to the testimony to know what is real and true - and what is not.

5. Despite tremendous obstacles and difficulties, we ALL can have the privilege of sharing with others about the issues at stake ahead of time. Everyone is to have the chance to make an intelligent decision for or against Christ, but how can they unless someone explains these things to them? “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come” (Matthew 24:14).

By practicing lies for thousands of years, Satan has become a master counterfeiter. He will appear to be a great benefactor of the human race, willing to bring healing to the sick and suffering: “God’s Word declares that Satan will work miracles. He will make people sick, and then will suddenly remove from them his satanic power. They will then be regarded as healed. These works of apparent healing will bring Seventh-day Adventists to the test. Many who have had great light will fail to walk in the light, because they have not become one with Christ.”3

In our days there are many who claim to possess divine power to heal the sick. Some call this type of healing faith healing. We strongly suspect that most of those healings come from the source that is not holy. The great majority of so-called “faith healers” do not teach or practice obedience to all God’s commandments, and further, they do not follow Christ’s pattern in the ministry of healing.

“The apostles of nearly all forms of spiritism claim to have the power to cure the diseased. They attribute their power to electricity, magnetism, the so-called ‘sympathetic remedies,’ or to latent forces within the mind of man.”4

There is, however a genuine form of healing: “The way in which Christ worked was to preach the Word, and to relieve suffering by miraculous works of healing. But I am instructed that we cannot now work in this way, for Satan will exercise his power by working miracles. God’s servants today could not work by means of miracles, because spurious works of healing, claiming to be divine, will be wrought.

“For this reason the Lord has marked out a way in which His people are to carry forward a work of physical healing, combined with the teaching of the Word. Sanitariums are to be established, and with these institutions are to be connected workers who will carry forward genuine medical missionary work.”5

Satan is capable of falsifying many of the spiritual gifts that God bestowed upon the early Christian church. One of those gifts is the biblical gift of tongues. The text in Acts 2:4 informing us that on the Day of Pentecost when the disciples “were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance,” clearly indicates the use of actual, foreign languages spoken by the Jews living in the Diaspora. The analysis of 1 Corinthians 14, which establishes the rules for the use of spiritual gifts in religious assemblies, primarily for prophesying and speaking in tongues, does not support the proposition that by their nature the tongues in 1 Corinthians 14 are any different than the tongues in Acts 2. Most definitely, the speaking in tongues described in 1 Corinthians 14 was not the gibberish spoken in many Pentecostal and charismatic assemblies of our days. The gift of tongues was not a gift possessed by every member of the apostolic church. Further, it was considered one of the least of the spiritual gifts, and it did not necessarily accompany baptism by the Holy Spirit as claimed by modern proponents of “speaking in tongues.”

Here is the inspired commentary on genuine “speaking in tongues” as described through the gift of prophecy: “The Holy Spirit did for [the apostles] that which they could not have accomplished for themselves in a lifetime. They could now proclaim the truths of the gospel abroad, speaking with accuracy the languages of those for whom they were laboring. This miraculous gift was a strong evidence to the world that their commission bore the signet of Heaven.”6

Another powerful counterfeit miracle is the apparition, a demonic appearance in the form of a human who, in most cases, is dead or presumed dead. “Many will be confronted by the spirits of devils personating beloved relatives or friends and declaring the most dangerous heresies. These visitants will appeal to our tenderest sympathies and will work miracles to sustain their pretensions. We must be prepared to withstand them with the Bible truth that the dead know not anything and that they who thus appear are the spirits of devils.”7

The enemy of souls has prepared in his arsenal tactics so sophisticated that “if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (Matthew 24:24). “The very last deception of Satan will be to make of none effect the testimony of the Spirit of God. ‘Where there is no vision, the people perish’ (Proverbs 29:18). Satan will work ingeniously, in different ways and through different agencies, to unsettle the confidence of God’s remnant people in the true testimony. He will bring in spurious visions to mislead, and will mingle the false with the true, and so disgust people that they will regard everything that bears the name of visions as a species of fanaticism; but honest souls, by contrasting false and true, will be enabled to distinguish between them.

“Likewise, he works through persons who have been reproved for some inconsistency in their religious life, for some course of action which was dangerous to themselves and others. Instead of receiving the testimony as a blessing from God, they refuse the means God uses to set them right. Such apparently may be very zealous for God, but they put their own interpretation upon the Word and make it contradict what the Lord has revealed in the testimonies. They think they are doing God’s service, but such work God has not given them to do.”8

Through various means - including certain high-tech websites, “there will be a hatred kindled against the testimonies which is satanic. The workings of Satan will be to unsettle the faith of the churches in them, for this reason: Satan cannot have so clear a track to bring in his deceptions and bind up souls in his delusions if the warnings and reproofs and counsels of the Spirit of God are heeded.” 9

The crowning act of deception will be Satan’s attempt to imitate the second coming of Christ. “As the second appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ draws near, satanic agencies are moved from beneath. Satan will not only appear as a human being, but he will personate Jesus Christ; and the world who has rejected the truth will receive him as the Lord of lords and King of kings. . . .

“As the crowning act in the great drama of deception, Satan himself will personate Christ. . . . This is the strong, almost overmastering delusion. Like the Samaritans who were deceived by Simon Magus, the multitudes, from the least to the greatest, give heed to these sorceries, saying: This is ‘the great power of God’ (Acts. 8:10).

“But the people of God will not be misled. The teachings of this false christ are not in accordance with the Scriptures.”10

All these counterfeit miracles are possible because “Satan can lead deceived souls to great lengths. He can pervert their judgment, their sight, and their hearing.”11

The “very elect” should not feel overly confident, for demons are on their track: “If our eyes could be opened to discern the fallen angels at work with those who feel at ease and consider themselves safe, we would not feel so secure. Evil angels are upon our track every moment. . . . Are we prepared to resist them by the word of God, the only weapon we can use successfully?”12

“Like the noble Bereans, we should search the Scriptures carefully, prayerfully, to become acquainted with the utterances of God. We should inquire, not what the minister, the church, or some personal friend may say, but what the Lord says. ‘To the law and to the testimony. If they [ministers, churches, or friends] speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them’ (Isaiah 8:20).

“While searching for the truth as for hid treasures, light from the written word breaks into the mind. The benumbed and dormant faculties are awakened to new life and energy, the limited capacities are expanded to comprehend the truth, and earnest efforts are put forth to bring others into the light. Then why is it that there is such blindness in regard to the Scriptures? Why are ideas entertained, and sometimes taught to others, that are so vague and inconsistent? It is because the heart is not in harmony with the revealed word; the conscience has been so long depraved by practices condemned by that word, that the mental and moral powers are incapable of discerning spiritual things.”13

“There is no safety for you unless you understand what saith the Scriptures, and carry this out, and weave it into your daily life and experience. Carry it with you wherever you go. Thus you will be fortified against the delusions that are filling the world at the present time and will obtain the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord.”14

We need to allow God to touch us with His word that the moistening showers of the latter rain may refresh the soil of our heart, and new life may sprout and bring forth spiritual fruit.

Now is the time for even the smallest churches and the weakest saints to arouse from slumber. No one is too frail or unimportant to be active. Do not wait for someone to tell you what to do or when and where to begin working - the Master has already told you in His Word! What greater authority can there be? By diligently searching the Scriptures, even minds of limited capacity can become mighty in God. In meekness and reverence, meet the needs of those around you. Remember practical godliness and as the door opens, seize upon every opportunity to share with others the precious truths you know.

“The small churches, although they are but few, may be a power for the truth. Everyone should feel that a solemn responsibility rests upon him to build up his little church in the most holy faith. The very fact that there are only a few should cause every individual member to seek most earnestly for a living connection with God.”15

“Many will hear the message, but will refuse to heed; nevertheless the warning is to be given to all in clear, plain tones. Not only is the truth to be presented in public assemblies; house-to-house work is to be done. Let this work go forward in the name of the Lord. Those who engage in it have the heavenly angels as their companions. . . . .

“Let us study the life and death of Christ. Let us do all in our power to work out the plan of God. What tongue can tell, what pen unfold, the mighty results of looking to Jesus and living His life!”16

“O, search with prayer, most earnest prayer, to know what God has written; and to trace the footprints of Jesus in His life of perfect obedience to His Father’s commandments. Endeavor to catch the inspiration in expounding the word, the sure word of prophecy, that it shall not be as dead letter, but a living, burning, shining light from the throne of God, preparing a people to endure the trials, the sufferings and persecution which Christ endured.”17

“It is a wonderful privilege to be able to understand the will of God as revealed in the sure word of prophecy. This places on us a heavy responsibility. God expects us to impart to others the knowledge that He has given us. . . .

“So far as his opportunities extend, everyone who has received the light of truth is under the same responsibility as was the prophet of Israel to whom came the word: ‘Son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at My mouth, and warn them from Me. [Ezekiel 33:8, 9 quoted].

“Are we to wait until the fulfillment of the prophecies of the end before we say anything concerning them? Of what value will our words be then? Shall we wait until God’s judgments fall upon the transgressor before we tell him how to avoid them? Where is our faith in the word of God? Must we see things foretold come to pass before we will believe what He has said?”18

“In visions of the night, representations passed before me of a great reformatory movement among God’s people. . . . Hundreds and thousands were seen visiting families and opening before them the word of God. Hearts were convicted by the power of the Holy Spirit, and a spirit of genuine conversion was manifest. On every side doors were thrown open to the proclamation of the truth.”19

“All over the world men and women are looking wistfully to heaven. Prayers and tears and inquiries go up from souls longing for light, for grace, for the Holy Spirit. Many are on the verge of the kingdom, waiting only to be gathered in.”20

“Two Bible workers were seated in a family. With the open Bible before them, they presented the Lord Jesus Christ as the sin-pardoning Saviour. Earnest prayer was offered to God, and hearts were softened and subdued by the influence of the Spirit of God. Their prayers were uttered with freshness and power. As the Word of God was explained, I saw that a soft, radiant light illumined the Scriptures, and I said, softly, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that My house may be filled’ (Luke 14:23).”21

Dear brothers and sisters, there is no time to waste, no time to pretend that the final scenes described are afar off. The reality is: They are even at the doors. Let us constantly keep in mind the Lord’s sacrifice and intercession in our behalf. Let us each determine to “quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings” (1 Thessalonians 5:19, 20).