Friends,
I wanted to give you a short description of what I have been learning as to the events soon to come on the earth. Some of you may know that I joined the Seventh-day Adventist church in 2005. This is a summary of what I have learned that may be pertinent to you all. Feel free to disagree and write me to express your view... I merely want to be helpful to those who may need it.
According to my study of the Bible and the books by one whom I believe to be an inspired writer, Ellen G. White, this is an approximate order of events:
1. Spiritual Revival. There will soon be a spiritual revival taking place all around the world. It may be that soon there will not be such thing as an Athiest. This will be accompanied by miracles, and eventually the appearance of the "spirits of the dead", who will claim to be departed loved ones, the 12 disciples, and spiritual leaders from the past, even heathen ones. They will all claim to have been in heaven, and bear a similar message.
2. Financial Crisis/Moral Decay. Although things may look better for a while financially, there will be a worldwide financial crisis and more moral decay. The ultimate end of these two burdens on society will be the pressuring of political leaders to enact laws contrary to the United States Constitution: Laws of a religious nature.
3. Sunday Sacredness/Revealing of the 7th day Sabbath to the world. It will be suggested worldwide that the moral decay and financial crisis are the result of "God's displeasure at the lack of Sunday sacredness". Political leaders in the United States will eventually succumb to pressure by the people to enact laws protecting Sunday worship, and forbidding work on the same day. There will be a relatively small group of people who will claim that God's holy day was never changed, and continues to be the Sabbath of the 7th day of the week: Saturday. Eventually this group of people will be ordered to work on Saturday and rest and worship God on Sunday.
4. Calamity. As a result of the United States enacting such "Sunday laws", natural disasters and other calamities will begin to fall on the large cities in the United States (perhaps worldwide, I do not claim to know). It will be urged that these are a result of this small group of people who keep the 7th day rest day, and "do not honor Sunday". They will be taken to court, fined, not be able to buy or sell, jailed and eventually a decree will go out that they should be killed in one day.
The time we are in right now is called the "sealing time". Those who are following God honestly are being drawn closer to Him and becoming more like Him in character. Those who are not serious are drifting further away spiritually and becoming more interested in the pleasures of this present world. A test is coming. (Right now I recommend that we get to know God as best we can in daily prayer and Bible study.) When the laws enforcing Sunday worship are enacted and the question is raised, "Which day is the Lord's Day?", those who know God's voice will join Him by keeping the 7th day Sabbath, though they be in the minority. Those who are willing to succumb to peer pressure and threats of poverty, ignominity and death will keep Sunday at that time, though they know in their hearts that it is wrong. The plagues mentioned in Revelation will fall on those willingly disloyal to God and Jesus will be seen coming from the sky "in the clouds of heaven" to take the loyal ones home.
I hope this is insightful to you, and feel free to reply with your thoughts and differing opinions. May we all be found ready and faithful to the end.
God Bless,
Scott Sterling
