February 13, 2025 | Silver Spring, Maryland, United States | Ted N.C. Wilson, President, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
Hello, friends. Recently, we have been talking about events that will take place just before Jesus comes. This time of trouble will be very difficult, but we have the assurance that God will never leave us nor forsake us. It is when the situation seems the very darkest that God will intervene to rescue His people.
Nancy Wilson (NW): We read in The Great Controversy that “when the protection of human laws shall be withdrawn from those who honor the law of God, there will be, in different lands, a simultaneous movement for their destruction…The people of God—some in prison cells, some hidden…in the forests and the mountains…plead for divine protection, while… companies of armed men, urged on by hosts of evil angels, are preparing for the work of death. It is now, in the hour of utmost extremity, that the God of Israel will interpose for the deliverance of His chosen” (The Great Controversy, p. 635).
TW: Continuing on we read, “With shouts of triumph, jeering, and imprecation, throngs of evil men are about to rush upon their prey, when, lo, a dense blackness, deeper than the darkness of the night, falls upon the earth. Then a rainbow, shining with the glory from the throne of God, spans the heavens and seems to encircle each praying company. The angry multitudes are suddenly arrested. Their mocking cries die away…With fearful forebodings they gaze upon the symbol of God’s covenant and long to be shielded from its overpowering brightness” (The Great Controversy, pp. 635, 636).
NW: But God’s people are not afraid. As they look up, they see the rainbow of promise, and then they see Jesus Himself and shout for joy! We read, “It is at midnight that God manifests His power for the deliverance of His people. The sun appears, shining in its strength. Signs and wonders follow in quick succession. The wicked look with terror and amazement upon the scene, while the righteous behold with solemn joy the tokens of their deliverance” (The Great Controversy, p. 636).
TW: Everything seems to be falling apart as a mighty earthquake shakes the entire earth. The wind roars into a tempest and the seas are lashed into fury. Huge hailstones fall from the sky. The pen of inspiration further describes the amazing scene: “The proudest cities of the earth are laid low. The lordly palaces, upon which the world’s great men have lavished their wealth in order to glorify themselves, are crumbling to ruin before their eyes. Prison walls are rent asunder, and God’s people, who have been held in bondage for their faith, are set free” (The Great Controversy, p. 637).
NW: It is an amazing scene! Graves are opened. We are told that “all who have died in the faith of the third angel’s message come forth from the tomb glorified, to hear God’s covenant of peace with those who have kept His law” (The Great Controversy, p. 637).
TW: But these are not the only ones who will be resurrected to see Christ coming in the clouds of glory. Revelation 1:7 tells us, “Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him” (NKJV). This group includes Herod and Pilate, and all those who mocked Jesus in his dying agonies, as well as those who, down through the ages, were the most violent opposers of God’s truth and His people.
NW: No longer are these proud ones boasting and ridiculing God’s followers. They are filled with terror as they realize they have been fighting God— the Creator of the universe—and now they are lost forever.
TW: Friends, the topic of Christ’s Second Coming is enormous, and we will continue to study it in our next video. But we cannot end this message today without realizing that Jesus is coming soon—we are truly on the very edge of eternity. If you do not yet have the assurance that Christ is your Savior, I invite you to surrender your heart to Him just now as we pray together.
Father in Heaven, thank you for the promise of Jesus soon return. Thank you for the promise that you will protect and care for your people in the darkest, most difficult situations. We rely completely upon you for in and of ourselves we can do nothing. But as we lean upon Christ, we can have the assurance and the faith and the hope that will carry us through even the most difficult periods of time. Now, Lord, if there is someone who needs to accept Jesus at this very moment, move upon his or her heart to completely turn to you. And Lord, help each one of us to renew our commitment to you as we come to the very end of time. We realize we are on the edge of eternity. Thank you for the promise of Jesus soon return. In Christ’s name, we ask it. Amen.