August 22, 2024 | Silver Spring, Maryland, United States | Ted N.C. Wilson, President, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
Hello, friends. As we look at the world today, it is clear that something has gone terribly wrong. Every time you look at the news, whether on television, the internet, social media, or the newspaper, deeply troubling news is everywhere—crime is rampant, drug use is soaring, families are falling apart, the political world is imploding, and wars continue to rage—leaving misery, heartache, and death in their wake.
People everywhere—of all faiths, or no faith at all, recognize these are unusually troubling times, and are looking for answers. What is the cause of all this turmoil and upheaval? Will things ever get better, or only worsen?
The Bible gives us a clue as to what has led to all of this suffering. In Isaiah 24:4-6 we read: “The earth mourns and fades away, the world languishes and fades away; the haughty people of the earth languish. The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants, because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore the curse has devoured the earth, and those who dwell in it are desolate.”
Notice the key phrase here: “because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.” Whose law? Whose covenant? The answer, of course, is God’s law. After all, He is the one who first said, “Honor your father and mother;” “Don’t murder;” “Don’t commit adultery—be faithful to your spouse;” “Don’t steal;” “Don’t lie” and so on. Not only are these timeless commands part of God’s law, but they have served as the foundational principles for the laws of civilized countries around the world.
But, from the beginning of his rebellion in heaven, “it has been Satan’s purpose to overthrow the law of God.” We read in The Great Controversy, “It was to accomplish this that he entered upon his rebellion against the Creator, and though he was cast out of heaven he has continued the same warfare upon the earth. To deceive men, and thus lead them to transgress God’s law, is the object which he has steadfastly pursued” (The Great Controversy, p. 582).
In various ways, Satan has attempted to cast contempt upon God’s law, and God Himself, insinuating that the Almighty is unreasonable, His commands are a heavy burden, and are impossible to obey. In their place, he brings in his own twisted doctrines, “teaching as doctrines the commandments of men,” as Jesus pointed out in Matthew 15:9.
Sadly, Satan has had a big influence in mispresenting the Bible’s teachings, and now many are following human traditions rather than Scriptural truth.
“The last great conflict between truth and error is but the final struggle of the long-standing controversy concerning the law of God,” writes Ellen White. “Upon this battle we are now entering—a battle between the laws of men and the precepts of Jehovah, between the religion of the Bible and the religion of fable and tradition” (The Great Controversy, p. 582).
She goes on to say, “Many have come to deny doctrines which are the very pillars of the Christian faith. The great facts of creation as presented by inspired writers, the fall of man, the atonement, and the perpetuity of the law of God, are practically rejected, either wholly or in part, by a large share of the professedly Christian world.”
She continues, as if writing today, “Thousands who pride themselves upon their wisdom and independence regard it as an evidence of weakness to place implicit confidence in the Bible; they think it a proof of superior talent and learning to cavil at the Scriptures and to spiritualize and explain away their most important truths” (The Great Controversy, p. 583).
You see friends, when God’s teachings are set aside, including His commandments, society starts to fall apart. “In rejecting the truth, men reject its Author” (The Great Controversy, p. 583).
As we head into the last days of Earth’s history, Jesus warns us about what will happen before His return. “For many will come in My name, saying ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. . . For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows” (Matt. 24:5-8, NKJV).
Jesus then gives a stark warning: “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My Name’s sake” (Matt. 24:9, NKJV).
How can this be? Why would Christ’s followers face persecution and even death before His Second Coming?
Well, we know what happened to the early apostles. After receiving the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, they “turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6) as they were witnesses for Christ throughout the then-known world. In the end, five of the apostles were crucified, including Peter who asked to be crucified upside down. Three were stoned to death, two died by the sword, and one, James, the brother of John, was beheaded. Only John died a natural death, years after being boiled in oil, and later exiled for his faith.
Throughout Christian history, Christ’s faithful followers have faced persecution and even death for his sake. And we are warned in a prophecy specifically focused on the end-times that persecution will again come to the followers of Jesus. We read in Revelation 12:17 that “the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
What does this mean, and how can we be prepared for such a time as this? In our next video we will answer these questions and more. In the meantime, however, let’s remember the many faithful ones who have gone before, and, as we read in Hebrews 12:1,2: “Lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before 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 at the right hand of the throne of God” (NKJV).
I invite you to pray with me just now.
Father in heaven, we know that so many have been persecuted for your sake. We ask that you will strengthen each of us as we face the future and whatever may be ahead. Help us to know that we can lean upon you completely, regardless of the situation, and that you will carry us through all to the glory of your name. And whatever may happen to us, Lord, we know that in the final analysis, you can bring eternal life to everyone who has died in Christ, who has testified and witnessed to the goodness of God’s law and of his character, which is at its foundation. Lord, bless each one of us and strengthen us for the times ahead. In Jesus’ name we ask it. Amen.