Throughout the ages, philosophers have come up with some very weird answers to the basic questions of life. Yet even with all their theories, they have been unable to explain life's purpose. Fortunately, you and I don't have to be victimized by that lack of knowledge, because we have what the Bible calls, "a sure word of prophecy." Peter said:

"We have also a more sure word of prophecy, unto which ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts," 2 Peter 1:19.

That "sure word of prophecy" reveals many things about life that can only be understood with the help of the Prophetic Word. I've organized them into several vital points, so that we may consider these truths in detail. As we think upon the lessons of Bible Prophecy, we will begin to see clearly what the philosophers are unable to see. . .the purpose of life.

God Presides Above History

There's no doubt about the fact that the world in the midst of which we live has become very unstable. We have earthquakes, fires, floods, and various other kinds of catastrophes breaking out all across our world today. It seems we never can be sure what tomorrow is going to bring.

Besides that, the things that we thought we could count on, such as the price of given stock, or a bond, or a possession of ours, or our financial stability into the days to come, aren't settled any more. The instability of our world has caused people to wonder, "Who's in charge? Is anybody at the throttle of history? Is there a responsible individual looking after it all, or is history just a serendipity, mindless thing that rolls in one direction or another?"

The answer from the Prophetic Word is that God presides above history. In His message to the church at Philadelphia, the Lord said:

". . .These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth," Revelation 3:7.

In other words, He told us very plainly that, "I'm the One who is looking after things." In fact, in one of the first pictures of the Book of the Revelation, John the Revelator was taken up to heaven, where he was stunned by the majesty of Jesus Christ upon His throne. Before He told us anything else in that amazing book, He showed us that God sits upon the throne of the universe' "He will not suffer thy foot to be moved" (Psalm 121:3).

In another place in the Book of the Revelation, we are told that He sits on a throne so magnificent, that from it "the earth and the heaven fled away" (Revelation 20:11). That's the picture of a presiding God! May I suggest that you would find it enriching, perhaps in your personal reading or in your Sunday School class, to go through the Word of God, and find the places that tell us, again and again, that God is in charge. God does not slumber. God does not sleep. He is not inefficient. He is not unloving. He even causes the wrath of men to praise Him, and the remainder of wrath He will contain.

If the Bible teaches anything, one of its great first principles, particularly in the Prophetic Word is, God is in charge! That knowledge sets us apart from the empty guesses of the philosophers. We have someone to whom to pray. We have the final object of our confidence. There is a foundation in the universe, namely, the eternal God, who will not be changed and who cannot be moved.

My heart goes out to people who do not believe in the Lord. They share the weakness of all atheists, in that they have no invisible means of support. How desperately lonely and frightening that must be! You and I as Christians have no such problem. The first Great Lesson of Bible Prophecy is an important one. God presides over history! Once we get that settled, it becomes the foundational principle upon which everything else in life can be built.

Time is Moving to a Great Goal

It occurs to me, that even though we believe in the Lord, and are confident of His presence, many of us get the idea that history is kind of careening along out of control, bouncing against the walls, with no particular place to go. Have you ever wondered if there's any pattern, rhyme, or reason for the things that happen in your life? Do you worry that you are at the mercy of lady luck, and everything that happens is as much of a surprise to God as it is to you?

Not so! History is being acted upon by God. He is following a great plan, and He's moving toward a wonderful goal. What is that goal? I confess to you, it took me a long time to find it out. It is presented to us by the writer of the Book of Hebrews, who tells us how the sacrifice of Jesus was made perfect through His suffering. Then he tells us that there was a reason behind it. It was all part of God's plan for "bringing many souls unto glory" (Hebrews 2:10).

If you are a farmer, and you are raising wheat or cattle, then you plan your actions so as to be successful. That's your goal, and everything is organized toward that end. Well, God is doing much more than that. He is "bringing many sons unto glory" so that ultimately, those sons should share with Him the rulership of the universe.

When we discover this Great Lesson of Bible Prophecy, the entire fiber of our life is changed. We can face the uncertainties of life knowing that there is a plan, which is designed to lead us to our rightful destiny as sons of God.

God Has a Chosen People

A third and very important lesson found in the Prophetic Word, is that God has a Chosen People. When God created the world, He made Adam and Eve, and commissioned them to be His representatives. They were to pass the knowledge of Him to their offspring, raising all of the nations to walk in His light.

But as we all know, they sinned against God. Mankind lost its birthright, and in a very real sense, committed that birthright to the Devil. So God chose a very special entity to carry His light to the nations. That entity was the nation of Israel.

Since its birth in the Old Testament, and continuing all the way through the final events of Bible Prophecy, Israel has been called God's Chosen People. Their destiny was to bring the knowledge of God to the nations, so that the nations would believe in Him. They were to be an example of the blessing that would come to all who would follow God's will. As a result, the world would be brought to the Lord, and Israel would become the leading nation of the Earth.

The story of Israel was to be the story of many good starts and many heartbreaking interruptions. The Old Testament prophesied that along the way, Israel would defect from God's purpose. They would be scattered amongst the nations. And they have been. But then the Old Testament, particularly the Prophet Ezekiel, promised that Israel would one day return from the nations of the world into which they were scattered, back into their own land. Their temple will be established in that land forever, and Israel will be the ultimate ruler of the world. The capital city of all the Earth will one day be the city of Jerusalem.

God's program with Israel was interrupted when Israel rejected Jesus Christ. Daniel predicted this by telling us that "Messiah, the Prince" would be "cut off" (Daniel 9:25-26). Finally the Divine intention became beautifully apparent, when Christ came into the world. It was a grand revelation!

He came into the world as the King of Israel. "Where is he that is born King of the Jews?" the wise men asked (Matthew 2:2). As King of the Jews, Christ offered His Kingdom to the nation of Israel, even though they were living in a state of rebellion against God. For 400 silent years, there had been no word from God. Then, suddenly, Christ came and said, "The kingdon of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 4:17).

Christ ministered to the Jews, telling them about the Kingdom of Heaven, for three amazing years. He healed the sick. He raised the dead. He worked numerous miracles, astounding all who looked on. Yet even in the light of His Divine presence, Israel as a whole did not accept Jesus as its Messiah. They said, "We won't have Him." "We will not have this man to reign over us" (Luke 19:14). With a sorrowful heart, Jesus said to the nation of Israel:

"Behold, your house is left unto you desolate," Matthew 23:38.

The desolation of Israel has now lasted for almost 2,000 years. In this intervening period of time, God turned to the Gentiles, and commissioned them to spread His light. He has offered to the Gentiles the gift of salvation by grace. By faith in Jesus Christ, any person, even though he has no religious background at all (and nothing like the awareness of the Law and of good religion that the people of Israel had) can be saved by accepting God's absolutely free offer of grace.

Because of His wonderful working in the Gentile world, God is often asked the question, "Have You cast away the nation of Israel? Have You cast away the Jews?" The Apostle Paul answers that question by saying "No. God has not cast away His people" (Romans 11:1-2).

In fact, our very generation has been privileged to witness the fulfillment of the prophecy that Israel would be regathered. Over fifty generations have waited to see the return of the Chosen People to the Holy Land, and we have seen it come to pass! They are being regathered there by Divine Providence, in preparation for the Rapture of the Church.

After the church is taken out of the world, God's program with His Chosen People will be set into motion. They will rebuild the temple in the city of Jerusalem, and will finally believe in Christ as their Messiah. They will carry their message, the Gospel of the Kingdom, to the ends of the world! One of the Great Lessons of Bible Prophecy is that God has a plan for His Chosen People, which, when it is accomplished, will lead all the world back to Him.

Evil Must Finally Fail

We can also find assurance, and strength to face the exigencies of life, when we learn from the Prophetic Word that evil must finally fail. That which is sinful, that which is an exception to the will of God, that which is in violation of His law, can never achieve lasting success. Even though at a given moment it may seem pragmatic or attractive, it will ultimately fail. This is a fundamental lesson that our generation has forgotten, and desperately needs to learn!

To fully appreciate why this is true, we must remember that we are in a great battle between good and evil. Everything which is in obedience with His will, is good. Evil, on the other hand, is all manner of rebellion against God. The world is generally in a state of rebellion against God, and has become the principle battlefield upon which the great cosmic battle is fought.

Often, we pause to look at the conflict that fills the world in the midst of which we live, and it seems a terribly dark and hopeless place. We might even go so far as to wonder, "Who will win?" In fact, there are a lot of people who have come to believe that evil has already triumphed! They suggest, "Our major cities are shot. People are killed by the thousands in this nation, and by the millions across the world. Things sre coming apart, and there is nothing we can do about it. In the end, all that will be left will be evil."

Well, if we put too much trust in experience, we might even be tempted to agree. But experience is a very poor teacher. You cannot draw comclusions about the future simply from experience, because the future contains too many variables. While experience may present a fractured picture of the past, only Bible Prophecy gives us a clear and certain description of the future.

And so, we cannot get a definite answer about the future, unless we ask, "What does the Scripture say?" The Prophetic Word tells us that evil must finally fail. The Bible teaches that there are recording angels who keep a detailed account of every act, and every thought, of every man! The day will ultimately come when evil will be judged for the terrible thing it is.

"Why not now?" some people ask. Well, do you remember that one day Jesus told us the story of the wheat and the tares? Somebody sowed tares in the field of wheat. The people in charge of the farm said to the landowner, "Look at how terrible this is." The owner said "An enemy hath done this"Matthew 13:28. The servants said, "Should we go tear them all out?" The owner said, "No. Let them grow until maturity before we take them apart, because if we take them apart now, too much good wheat will be destroyed while we are chasing down the tares? (Matthew 13:28-30). So, that's what they did. In the end, the tares were pulled up, thrown away, and burned. The good wheat, of course, was brought into the granary, and used to feed the multitude.

Christ told us that's how it works in our present world. Good and evil are allowed to grow up together, but don't ever be fooled into believing that evil can ultimately triumph! We have the word of Christ that evil will finally fail. In many cases, it will collapse of its own weight along the way.

So, don't lose confidence! At any given moment, when we are disaapointed in someone, or in the edge of despair because something doesn't work out, we may be tempted to throw our hands up and say, "It's terrible. There's no hope. It looks like evil is winning." Wrong! You can count on the fact that evil will finally fail, because it's another of the Great Lessons of Bible Prophecy.

Christ Is the Ultimate Victor

Along with the certain defeat of evil will come the glorious triumph of good. Christ will be the ultimate victor! Jesus Christ will reign over this entire world, and establish His Kingdom. He will rule over the universe forever and forever. "He shall reign forever and ever," the Bible says (Revelation 11:15). So, if at any time you become concerned because it looks like Jesus Christ is not the most important Person around, and His cause is being pressed to the very exasperating point, remember the next Great Lesson of Bible Prophecy. Jesus Christ will triumph in history.

In fact, He defeats the forces of evil every day in one fashion or another. But there is coming a day - the day of His greatest triumph - when Christ will come "with ten thousands of his saints" (Jude 14). He will come to seize control of a devastated world where the Antichrist has ruled, and where the False Prophet has organized a Satanic world religion. The Bible says that upon His return, Christ will destroy them with the breath of His mouth and cast them away with the brightness of His coming. The Antichrist, that great enemy of the Lord and personification of evil, will be hurled into the furnace that burns with fire and brimstone forever and ever (Revelation 19:20). That will be the triumph that deposes the influence of the Devil in the world, and it will be brought to pass by our victorious Lord Jesus Christ.

I hope that you will beieve that! If you are a Christian, and you know God's Son as your personal Savior, even though your faith may be tried by a moment of temporary inconvenience, you have a promise from the Word of God that you can cling to. Christ will triumph in history, and be the ultimate victor in the universe which He has created.

Eternity Resolves Everything

Even though we can be certain about the future, there are questions that trouble us. You may have asked your favorite preacher, or theologian, or maybe you've written to various people saying, "Tell me about this. Tell me about that. If God is so strong, why does He allow this? If God is love, why is there so much evil and pain in the world?

A thousand questions come out of examining the Bible. The Gospel is simple, but the Bible is not! Anything as profound as the mind of an eternal and unlimited God, will inevitably press questions upon beings such as us. After all, we live in a temporal world and are limited in what we can understand. I don't think that there's any person who could honestly say, "I know the answer to everything." Believe me, there are those who study very assidously to learn as much as possible about the Word of God. But there are always more questions. A very exciting lesson we discover in the Prophetic Word takes the form of a promise: every question will be resolved in eternity! The Bible says:

". . .now I know in part, but then shall I know even as I am known," 1 Corinthians 13:12.

That is a great promise. There will literally come a time when you and I have perfect knowledge; when you and I will be able to answer instantly any question that there is. C. S. Lewis said, "Most of the relevant questions of life can be almost defeated, and almost triumphant in human discussion. "It's the 'almost' part that creates the discussion. But, it will be shown in eternity that one is entirely true, and the other is entirely false."

Eternity, Heaven, being in the presence of Christ, will answer every question. What a marvelous future is ours!

By now, we should begin to understand what the philosophers have never been able to see. . .the purpose of life. The discoveries we have made thus far, and the Great Lessons we have yet to discuss, will cause our journey through this life to be filled not only with assurance, but with bright anticipation!

There are additional truths to be found in the Prophetic Word, that particularly involve human usefulness. I would like to emphasize those, as we continue to think about how God works, and will work in the days to come.

These lessons are vitally important if we are to fully understand our purpose, and the role we play in the universe. There is potential in your life, and in mine, that borders on the fantastic! We get a small hint of that when the Bible tells us that Jesus Christ "is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask and think, according to the power that worketh in us" (Ephesians 3:20).

That means more, really, than meets the eye. Human instrumentality is one of the great principles taught in the Word of God. You want the world to be changed? Are you waiting for someone to do it for you? Perhaps God intended for you to be one of His instruments of change, in a world like this!

God Intervenes in the World

The lesson that God intervenes in the world is a marvelous one. In theological circles, there exists a crippling system of thought known as "Deism." A "Deist" is one who believes that while a God does exist somewhere, He in no way touches humanity. He does no miracles; He becomes no Savior; He has made the world and wound it up like a clock. The world will continue to run down, with no possibility of any further involvement from God. When time runs out, that's it! To them, there is no further meaning to life. But the Deists are wrong! God does not intervene in history? Yes, He does!

God made the world. He made Adam and Eve in His image, and mankind was sent underway. But His involvement didn't end there! As we read through the pages of the Old Testament, we see that in times of particular need or distress, God intervened. Sometimes He came as the Angel of the Lord. On other occasions, it was in the form of a theophany, a preincarnate appearance of Jesus Christ. Throughout history, the Bible shows time and again that God was present, doing things, touching the lives of people. So God does intervene in the world.

That having been said, let's think further of what we might call The Great Intervention. The world, after the days of the Old Testament, had sunk deeper and deeper and deeper into sin! What the world needed was not simply a political leader. What the world needed was Divine intervention. That intervention came when Jesus Christ was born.

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord," Luke 2:11

If Christ had not come, the whole world would be lost. If Christ had not come, nothing would survive. If Christ had not come, this whole experiment called the human race would have come down in tatters and been a terrible failure.

Thank God, Christ did come. He did intervene on behalf of the will and design of God. He stands as the ultimate proof from the Prophetic Word that God intervenes in history.

God used a lovely young lady by the name of the Virgin Mary, and Christ's physical body was formed in Mary's womb. He was born that day in Bethlehem, and when He was born a human being, He became a man forever. The evidence that God loves us, and intervenes on our behalf, has been shown for all eternity in the living reality of Jesus Christ. God used human instrumentality, in part: conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, in order to bring to the world a Savior.

By the way, He still wants to bring the message of that Savior to the world, by using other forms of human instrumentality. That's where you and I fit in. What can I do for God? Christ said, "ye shall be witnesses" (Acts 1:8). Please remember that, and never forget it.

God wants to do a great work even in today's world. The Prophetic Word suggets that possibility, speaking of a latter rain, a great revival. But He will only do it when you and I agree to be His conduits, instruments of His working in a world like this.

God still intervenes in the world, and one day He'll do it in a most spectacular way. He's going to take the Church out of the world, home to be with Him in Heaven.

"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord," 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.

That's intervention, my friend! Sometimes, perhaps in the not too distant future, He will bring it all to a climax when He intervenes through the conquest of the world. A thousand years later, in an ultimate and final intervention, He will produce a new Heaven and a new Earth. An imminent God - that's who we believe in, and the one of whom the Prophetic Word speaks. We cannot conprehend the meaning of life and our place in the universe, unless we first understand the Great Lesson that God does intervene, and will continue to intervene in history.

He Is Doing a Great Work Today

Right now, as we live in the world of our time, what is God doing? Is there some marvelous daily, hourly working that He is bringing to pass? Yes, there is. And you might be surprised to be reminded of what it is.

I'm quite aware that God does many specific things, such as supplying your need and mine. Truly, we feel His touch in a thousand details. But what is the big thing? What is the overarching activity that God is doing on earth today?

The Bible tells us that He is taking out of this world "a people for his name" (Acts 15:14). God is causing an organism called the Church to exist and grow - the Church:

"Which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all," Ephesians 1:23.

When I believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I instantly become a member of a Church. I'm not referring to that big white building down on the corner. I'm talking about the only true Church, the Church which is His Body. The Body of Christ - that's what God is forming in our present time.

Much could be said about the fact that we have churches and religious organizations and whatnot. And many of them truly aspire to represent the truth of the Gospel, and do to the greatest of their ability. But let no one walk around and say, "We are the true church, and our leader is the true representative of Jesus Christ, and everyone else is sadly mistaken." There is no such church. There is no such institution.

There is, however, a spiritual organism that God is producing in the world. The Bible calls it "the Church, which is His Body." "Soul by soul, and silently, its shining bonds increase; its ways are ways of pleasantness, and all its paths are peace," said the poet. "Soul by soul" - I love that. With every tick and every tock of eternity's clock, God is touching another heart, another life, and calling out of this world a people for His Name. The Church, which is the Body of Christ, is what God is building today.

There is a marvelous way in which you and I are involved in that building. You have friends, and I have friends, who are not Christians. They need to know Christ as personal Savior.

How has God ordained that the Church be expanded in the world today? Does He use angels to bring it to pass? Not normally. I seriously doubt that you have ever seen an angel walking down the streets of your city, carrying a sign saying "Repent."

Does He use particular phenomena, like fire from Heaven or big words written in the sky? Once again, that answer is no. These wouldn't be believable. If I were a sinner, and I saw big words written in the sky about how I should be saved, I would be impressed, but I would have no way to personally identify with that thing.

God has a better way, one that can reach to the heart of the lost. He takes your lovely personality, and your communication skills, and He uses you as a little conduit. You are supposed to touch somebody else's life. Don't ever think that God is asking you to do something unusual, something that is too difficult for you. If you will commit yourself to that program, you'll get help from Heaven. That's the way God planned it. He set up the system. God will help you to communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ in such a way, so that someone else will come to know Him.

Don't be discouraged about that, and especially, don't be afraid. I can guarantee you, on the promie of the Word of God, that your testimony for Christ will be used to help bring to pass a prophetic fulfillment. You will assist in the completion of the Church which is His Body. At some moment in the future, the last person to be saved in the Age of Grace will become a Christian, and the Body of Christ will be complete. Then will come the Rapture of the Church.

So, the Prophetic Word teaches us that God is doing a great work today, forming the Church which is the Body of Christ. It is a truth that should set our hearts on fire, as we find fulfillment and purpose for our life.

Humans Make a Difference

Not least among the lessons we learn from the Prophetic Word is that humans make a vital difference in what God is doing. One way to make a difference, with which we ahould all be familiar, is through prayer. When we pray, our words move the very hand of God! Jesus taught:

". . .men ought always to pray, and not to faint," Luke 18:1.

James Said:

". . .The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much," James 5:16.

When we pray, we lift a mighty voice that has the power to move things, even in heaven. Consider, for just a moment, the difference that can be made by prayer. You'll recall that God sent Jonah to Ninevah. Jonah got there by a circuitous route, byt the way, covering much of the distance without buying a ticket. And though he ended up traveling via "The Great Fish Cruise Line" before the trip was over, he nevertheless arrived safely at Ninevah in spite of himself.

God said, "That city is going to be distroyed in 40 days. Jonah, you'd better hurry and tell them so." So Jonah reluctantly started out to deliver God's message. Day after day, he warned that Ninevah would soon be destroyed, and called for the people to repent.

What happened? When he got down to the last day, he heaved a sigh of relief, stepped outside the city, and waited for the fire to fall from Heaven. That's what was supposed to happen, but to his utter embarrassment, it didn't! In frustration, Jonah cried out to God, "You've let me down. How come? You forced me to come here and make this announcement, and then it didn't happen!"

God said to Jonah, "Jonah, what you've forgotten is that the first will of God is not judgment. The first will of God is repentance. What I really want is to see people come to faith, electing to follow the Lord. That's what has happened right here in Ninevah." With that, Jonah apologized for his bad attitude. As a result of the people's repentance, God forestalled His judgment of Ninevah until a later date. God granted Ninevah another 75 or 80 years, an entire life span, to carry on their work for Him. If our generation truly understood that humans do make a difference, and they could do it through the power of prayer, then perhaps our entire world might yet be spared for a few more years. It is a very important lesson.

He Reveals His Plans to His Own

For me, one of the warmest truths to be found in the Prophetic Word, is that God is intimate with His children. He cares about us so much, that He reveals His plans to His own. God does not present Himself as simply being in Heaven, arbitrarily doing whatever He decides to do, with little concern as to what the results may be for us. Instead, God builds us into His program, and He reveals to us what He is going to do. There are dozens, perhaps hundreds of things that God tells us about what He's going to do in the world. He reveals His plans, and states them very specifically, so that His own can understand.

Now here we discover another marvelous truth! God communicates Himself, and the things He wants Christians to know, in a very unique way. He does it so carefully, and so precisely, that what He wants us to know will be obvious to all who believe in Him, know Him, and trust Him. On the other hand, His plans will be utterly confusing to those who don't know Him in truth. There's no way they could ever understand. Remember how Christ spoke in parables so often during His earthly ministry? Someone asked Him, "Why do you speak in parables so much of the time?" He said:

". . .Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. . . ,Therefore speak I to them in parables, because they seeing, see not; and hearing, they hear not. neither do they understand," Matthew 13:11, 13.

In other words, those who deserve to know, will know. Those who do not deserve to know, will be left in the dark.

People have said, "Jesus was a very simple Teacher, fully able to be understood." I have not found that the case. Many times He was very cryptic, and it has drawn me to burrow deeper into the Bible, so that I may find the fullness of what He means.

Parables will tend to do this. God somehow gives His people - those who are His own - a very special capacity to understand, so that He may reveal His plans to them. The Apostle Paul calls it "the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him" (Ephesians 1:17). In fact, he also said to the Corinthians:

"But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned," 1 Corinthians 2:14

So it is that when reading the Word of God, the very same words can be understood profoundly by a person with spiritual discernment, and not understood at all by a person who does not know the Lord. This truth particularly touches me, for it represents a very special gift from God.

I suppose you can remember how before you were saved, you could go to Sunday School, or hear somebody preach, and it didn't make a lick of sense. But after you came to Christ, you became astonished at the depth of meaning that could be found in those very same words. That joy of discovery and revelation knowledge should stay with you for the rest of your life. You'll never get to the place where you are beyond learning from the Bible. You'll read the same verses that you read only a short time ago, but they will be filled with a new meaning. It's a beautiful thing, and another of the Great Lessons of Bible Prophecy. God reveals His plans to His own!

He Provides for His Children

A very interesting statement was once made by King David. He'd been around, and he'd seen it all! He knew what was going on in the world. He said:

"I have been young, and now am old; but I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread," Psalm 4:19.

The New Testament says:

"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus," Philippians 4:19.

That's not a promise God makes to the world. It's something special that He promises exclusively to His own. In fact, we have a rather remarkable statement by Jesus Christ, when He said:

". . .I pray not for the world, but for them whom thou hast given me; for they are thine," John 17:9.

In that prayer, Jesus is praying for you, and He's praying for me. It's a promise that should fill us with confidence, and we have the Word of God on it! Unfortunately for the world, they have no reason for such confidence. All that the world gets is fate. We get destiny. Because God has a great plan for each and every one of His children during the prophetic days to come, we are assured that He will provide for His children as well. He'll provide the Rapture for the Church, and deliver us from the dreadful things of the Tribulation. He'll also provide for the nation of Israel, who by the time of the Tribulation will come to believe in and accept Jesus as their Messiah. He will take them to a place of refuge, perhaps the Rose Red City of Petra, so that the dreadful events of the Tribulation can also pass by them. That believing remnant will be spared by the Lord.

Children always get special treatment, do they not? If you're a parent, you know they run to you when they're hurt or hungry, and you're ready to help. because that's your boy, or that's your girl. The neighbor's child runs to his own parent. Children belong with their parents, where they get special treatment. In the same way, the child of God belongs in the center of God's beautiful and providing will. How wonderful, to be assured by the Prophetic Word that God will provide for His children, as we move toward the end of the age.

Tragedy Can Become Triumph

We read of so many vile and terrible things taking place in the world around us today! It seems as though society is simply overrun with senseless violence and tragedy. Even here, we can find a Great Lesson in the pages of Bible Prophecy. With a miraculous spark that only God can ignite, even the greatest tragedy can be transformed into triumph, producing a beautiful and very wonderful result.

I suppose the greatest example of that which is recorded in Scripture, is the death of Christ on Calvary's cross. Humanly speaking, it would have to be considered a terrible murder that was committed by both Jew and Gentile. Were it not for the wonderful power and love of God, it would have been a tragedy of immeasurable proportions!

But in a way that only He can do, God turned that tragedy inside out, and it became the greatest triumph in the history of the world. Out of the bloody death of Jesus Christ on the cross, came salvation for all mankind. Out of that awful experience came the most exquisite gift that man could ever receive - the gift of God, which is eternal life.

As we move into the prophectic days foretold in the Word of God, we will be astonished by the countless ways in which the intervention of God will take human tragedy, and turn it into human triumph. Please remember that in your own life today. If there's anything that the Bible teaches, it's the overall principle that God is love. God cares for you.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life," John 3:16

Having loved His own, He loved them to the end. That's a promise you can bank on, and it's yours if you know Christ today. Take the time to review the Great Lessons of Bible Prophecy which are enumerated on this page. You'll see how they all begin with this one great peomise, and expand out to tell us something the philosophers just don't know. . .the very meaning of life! Let the principles of the Prophetic Word speak to your heart, bringing power, hope, faith, and a sense of your destiny as a child of God, so that you may live victoriously in times like these.

Have You Found the Meaning of Your Life?

I hope by this time, you're saying, "To be a Christian is such a wonderful thing. What must I do to be saved?" The Bible says, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:31). You can believe today, accepting God's Son as your personal Savior, and eternal life will be yours. Wouldn't you like to do this? If you're not sure that you're saved, you cann accept Him right now. To believe means believing that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died for our sins on Calvary's cross, and to trust Him to come and save you. Prehaps you'd like to say this prayer, accepting the Lord Jesus as your very own:

"Heaven;y Father, I thank You because Christ died for my sins on the cross. I know that I am a sinner, and I want to trust Him as my personal Savior. Please bring to my heart the gift of God, which is everlasting life. Let me be a Christian, starting today. I pray in Jesus' Name, Amen."

If you have prayed that prayer meaningfully, the lessons of God's provision for His children are now yours to claim. You can look forward to a bright destiny for tomorrow. You have found the purpose of life!