n 1951, during the Christmas holiday season, I visited my grandparents’ home in Hutchinson, Kansas. I happened to be up in the attic of the old house, and I discovered some large books covered with dust.

As I dusted off the volumes I discovered the books were entitled The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan, The Desire of Ages, The Sanctified Life, and Patriarchs and Prophets—all written by Ellen G. White. These were old books, large and heavy. When I took them downstairs and placed them on the dining room table, my maternal grandmother told me the story about them.

She said a man named Bradford sold books from saddlebags on his horse. He had sold a set of books to my grandfather’s mother. She read and studied the books while living in Norborne, Missouri, and became a Seventh-day Adventist. She and her husband had six children, five girls and one boy. All five girls became Seventh-day Adventists, but the one son did not join the church.

That son, my grandfather, continued to be exposed to the seed of truth. Five years after he died my mother and grandmother made their decisions to join the Adventist Church after completing a Voice of Prophecy Bible study course. By that time I too had been exposed to the gospel through the influence of my extended family, who were Seventh-day Adventists. That gospel seed has sprouted into my own call to pastoral ministry and later to the ministry of the printed page.

My great-grandmother was initially attracted to this church by the clear and systematic way that Seventh-day Adventists understand the Bible—especially the Bible prophecies about last-day events. The man who sold her those books was an ancestor of Charles Bradford, retired president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America.

Our church has its roots in Bible prophecy, and I am convinced that God is still leading a people out of this dark world into the marvelous light of His truth.

God has blessed this world by moving upon selected people to learn the truth of His Word and then share it with others. Our heavenly Father has given this church a clear understanding and knowledge of last-day events. When the gospel has encircled the earth and all the prophetic events have taken place, Jesus will come again.

Signs of the End
Can there be any doubt that we are living in the last days? Fear is rapidly replacing faith in the experience of many. Human life is cheap and sacrificed daily. There is an epidemic of immorality in the world; impurity and permissiveness seem normal and attractive. But the wages of sin is still death (Rom. 6:23).

In listing societal conditions in the last days, the apostle Paul mentioned that people would be “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God” (2 Tim. 3:4). Some of the largest buildings in many countries are sports complexes. Sports have become the altar where many people spend more time in excitement and mental involvement than they do in Bible study.

The Phillips translation of 2 Timothy 3:1-4 perfectly describes our world in this new century: “But you must realize that in the last days the times will be full of danger. Men will become utterly self-centered, greedy for money, full of big words. They will be proud and abusive, without any regard for what their parents taught them. They will be utterly lacking in gratitude, reverence, and normal human affections. They will be remorseless, scandal-mongers, uncontrolled and violent and haters of all that is good. They will be treacherous, reckless and arrogant, loving what gives them pleasure instead of loving God.”

If we were to highlight two words from this passage to cause alarm in reference to our social world, we could focus on the words “uncontrolled” and “violent.” Genocide happens in several parts of our world: Rwanda, Pakistan, Indonesia, Sudan, Yugoslavia, and others. Here in the United States where I live, senseless killings occur in places as innocent as office buildings and public schools; often the assassins are teenagers.

A study of last-day signs reminds us that spiritualism will come out of the closet and put on garments of sophistication and respectability. Celebrities on television encourage viewers to make contact with a “personal psychic.” Churches of Satan exist in some cities, and their memberships are increasing. Curious young people play around with Ouija boards, and evil angels lead them into dangerous darkness.

Time to Get Serious
Seventh-day Adventists know what the Bible teaches. And we are blessed to have the inspired writings of Ellen G. White. But are we serious about the work of preparation for the coming of Jesus Christ?

“Throughout our churches there is to be a reconversion and reconsecration to service,” wrote Mrs. White. “Shall we not, in our work for the future, and in the gatherings that we hold, be of one accord? Shall we not wrestle with God in prayer, asking for the Holy Spirit to come into every heart? . . . We are to put away our sins, by confession and repentance humbling our proud hearts before God. Floods of spiritual power are to be poured forth upon those prepared to receive it” (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 8, p. 46).

When I visited Cuba recently I saw church members who were serious about their commitment to Jesus Christ and His church. Sabbath school classes were full of people who had studied the Word and were participating in discussions. There were faces full of radiance and hope. Congregations sang hymns with power and harmony. Young people on Friday nights stood to recite memory verses. Hard times seemed to have produced earnest, dedicated Christians. Leaders and members were praying for an outpouring of the Spirit of God so that they could share the gospel more effectively.

The church of today needs Holy Ghost power. We need prayer power. We need purity of thought and action. We need genuine love. We need honesty. We need joy, real joy, wonderful joy. We need Jesus in our hearts and lives.

In 1984 I conducted a series of reaping meetings in Jakarta, Indonesia. During the latter part of the series the union mission president took me to visit patients in local hospitals. We entered the ward for female patients and went to the bedside of a young woman who was languishing in a state of deep depression. She felt she had come to the point where life was hopeless. Her young child had died, and her cup of grief had overflowed.

The mission president told me this woman had one of the best singing voices in all of Indonesia until tragedy struck. Now she had simply given up and was just existing. We talked with her for about 20 minutes and read the Word of God to her. Then we prayed for her.

Something Happened
As we turned to leave, this young Adventist said, “Wait! I feel better now. I want to sing a song for you.” She picked up a small guitar that stood next to her nightstand and began to sing a song that now has become one of my favorites: “‘A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord, He taketh my burden away, He holdeth me up, and I shall not be moved, He giveth me strength as my day.’”

Suddenly curtains around other beds were drawn back, and this dear woman continued to sing songs of faith and hope. Heaven seemed to come down to earth.

The next Saturday night she was there at our meetings, her face radiant with joy. She sang that same hymn again—“A Wonderful Savior Is Jesus My Lord.” The meeting was greatly enriched by her song, and she received a new lease on life and a renewed relationship with Jesus.

We too must believe the words of Jesus. His promises are real. Notice the words of Jesus’ most familiar promises, John 14:1-3, quoted from one of my favorite translations:

“Set your troubled hearts at rest. Trust in God always; trust also in me. There are many dwelling-places in my Father’s house; . . . I am going there on purpose to prepare a place for you. . . . I shall come again” (NEB).

Last-day events are happening now. Signs of the times are being fulfilled. We must be ready to meet Jesus in peace, covered with the garment of His righteousness.

Soon and Very Soon
On July 20, 1969, two American astronauts, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, stepped out of their lunar module, walked on the surface of the moon, and planted the American flag on its rocky, dusty surface. After they had gathered some lunar rocks for scientific study, they reentered the spaceship and connected with the power unit for their long trip back to Planet Earth.

Reporters in Houston, Texas, interviewed the families of the two astronauts. “Are you anxious for your husbands to get back to earth again?”

The response of those two excited women was beautiful: “We can’t wait!” they said.

We who know the Bible and love the truth as it is in Jesus, we who believe the promises of our Lord and Saviour, we who are anxious to see Him who lived, died, arose from the grave to become our high priest, and is anxious to return from heaven to earth to receive His earthly children—we can say today as did the wives of those two astronauts: “We can’t wait!”

Questions for Sharing:
1. What signs of the Lord’s coming give you the most concern? Which give you the most encouragement?

2. Ellen White mentions the need for reconversion and reconsecration. What steps can you take to make that happen in your congregation? in your own life?

3. What Bible promises are most helpful in keeping you focused on Jesus’ soon coming?

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Theodore T. Jones is an associate secretary of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists in Silver Spring, Maryland.