By John Thiel, mp3

Jesus spoke and said:

Luke 21:36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

We have been made aware in the study of prophecy that the children of the veterans of World War Two, that generation, will experience the return of Jesus. It will happen within the life span of that generation. It shall not pass, said Jesus.

Luke 21:32 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.

Which generation? The study of the fig tree, the Hebrew nation coming back to a position of nationhood shooting, is a powerful direction in prophecy that identifies that generation since 1948. But there is something more here. We notice in the words of Luke 21:25-28 that it points to the Second World War and after.

Luke 21:25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; 26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. 27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. … 32 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.

What generation? In the time when men’s hearts are failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth. When did men’s hearts begin to fail them for fear because of the things that are coming to pass on the earth? The Testimony of Jesus describes the two world wars:

I was shown the inhabitants of the earth in the utmost confusion. War, bloodshed, privation, want, famine, and pestilence were abroad in the land. As these things surrounded God’s people, they began to press together, and to cast aside their little difficulties. Self-dignity no longer controlled them; deep humility took its place. Suffering, perplexity, and privation caused reason to resume its throne, and the passionate and unreasonable man became sane, and acted with discretion and wisdom. {1T 268.1}

My attention was then called from the scene. There seemed to be a little time of peace. Once more the inhabitants of the earth were presented before me; and again everything was in the utmost confusion. Strife, war, and bloodshed, with famine and pestilence, raged everywhere. Other nations were engaged in this war and confusion. War caused famine. Want and bloodshed caused pestilence. And then men’s hearts failed them for fear, “and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth.” {1T 268.2}

The First World War, a little time of peace, and then the Second World War. The description that is given here: Want, famine, the Great Depression between the two world wars, and then, after the Second World War, the fear that was uppermost in the minds of the leaders of this planet – The Cold War, the fear – and the terrible scenes of nature unfolding ever since the Second World War. It is to this generation that Jesus says, It shall not pass until all these things be fulfilled. Why was it that men’s hearts were failing them for fear? We have an indication already.

Armageddon

John . . . was a witness of the terrible scenes that will take place as signs of Christ’s coming. He saw armies mustering for battle, and men’s hearts failing them for fear. He saw the earth moved out of its place, the mountains carried into the midst of the sea, the waves thereof roaring and troubled, and the mountains shaking with the swelling thereof. He saw the vials of God’s wrath opened, and pestilence, famine, and death come upon the inhabitants of the earth. {7BC 982.3}

Men’s hearts were failing them for fear because of the warfare that was mustering, the scenes of nature. These are all frightening circumstances which Jesus is referring to, and He says in reference to all this, Watch therefore.

Luke 21:36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass,

That is why men’s hearts were failing them for fear – because of the things He just described. And He said we are to watch and pray always that we may escape all those things. Besides the terrible events of nature and warfare, there are also the social, economic and religious atrocities that are described in Jesus’ words for the last days. In reference to all these things, Jesus says, You need to escape, you need to avoid this. When it comes to the war of Armageddon, there is another reference of this nature where we are told to be careful that we don’t find ourselves in an embarrassing situation. In the context of these brooding wars Jesus tells us:

Revelation 16:15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed [is] he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.

Jesus is warning and saying, Watch carefully, pray always that you can be worthy of escaping. To those at this time heeding this voice and revelation of Jesus, as we see these things begin to come to pass, what should we be doing? We should lift up our heads and rejoice for our redemption draweth nigh. To the true believers in these last days, with all these things that we need to escape from, and men’s hearts failing them for fear, we should be rejoicing.

We should be filled with joy at the thought of Christ’s soon appearing. To those that love His appearing He will come without sin unto salvation. {HP 355.3}

We should be rejoicing because of that: our beloved Saviour is about to come. So while men’s hearts are failing around us there should be rejoicing.

But if our minds are filled with thoughts of earthly things, we cannot look forward with joy to His appearing. {Ibid.}

We can’t look forward with joy if what? If our mind is not occupied with what He was saying – praying always, watching thereunto, so that we might be accounted worthy. If we are not doing that and our mind is occupied with the things of this world, then what is our danger? We will not look forward with rejoicing because something will trouble us. In fact Jesus warns us of what will cause us grief during this time.

Luke 21:34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and [so] that day come upon you unawares.

That day should be a day of rejoicing. As these things begin to come to pass we should be rejoicing and anticipating; but what is the danger that our Lord and Saviour warns us of? He says, Take heed to yourself, lest your heart be overcharged. While others’ hearts are failing them for fear, what could be happening to ours? We may be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness. Is this not the plight of today? We are living in a superfluous lifestyle. We don’t think so, but we are. We think we need this and we need that and we need the other thing, and as a consequence people are working and working to get more and more because they want to keep up with the surfeiting and the vastness of possibilities that lie before them.

The more they earn money the more pleasure and the more surfeiting they can have. But as they do that, it creates cares and perplexities – the cares of this life. Our heart becomes overcharged. Can you identify how the cares of this life do affect your heart? So Jesus is warning: Scale down, don’t permit your thoughts upon earthly things to overcharge your heart. We see the plight of our age; and Jesus speaks to us directly and tells us to take heed to ourselves that we be not overcharged.

Angels were represented to me as looking on with intense interest to mark the appearance of the weary yet faithful watchers, lest they be too sorely tried, and sink under the toil and hardships made doubly severe because their brethren had been diverted from their watch, and become drunk with worldly cares and beguiled by worldly prosperity. {2T 193.1}

Are we associated with brethren and family that are so bent on pursuing the cares of this world, of gaining prosperity, and having to work more than what is normal to keep up with the Joneses (as the term is)? As this happens to God’s people the angels are looking on, and they see those who are faithful watchers sorely tried, in danger of sinking under the toil and hardships made doubly severe because of their brethren who pursuing these things.

These heavenly angels grieved that those who were once watching should, by their indolence and unfaithfulness, increase the trial and burdens of those who were earnestly and perseveringly endeavoring to maintain their waiting, watching position. {Ibid.}

You can see the drama described here. That is our perplexity.

I saw that it was impossible to have the affections and interests engrossed in worldly cares, to be increasing earthly possessions, and yet be in a waiting, watching position, as our Saviour has commanded. {2T 193.2}

It would be impossible to be in a waiting, watching position if we are engrossed and our affections and interests are engrossed in worldly cares, to increase and sustain the increase of our worldly possessions.

The Delusive Snares of Satan

Said the angel: “They can secure but one world. In order to acquire the heavenly treasure, they must sacrifice the earthly. They cannot have both worlds.” I saw how necessary a continuance of faithfulness in watching was in order to escape the delusive snares of Satan. {Ibid.}

Did you notice the word escape? What are we to escape? The delusive snares of Satan. That is what Jesus was talking about that we should be accounted worthy to escape. We see then that Jesus is referring to a multiple danger, whether it be the dangers of world wars, the dangers of pestilence, etc., but also the delusive snares of Satan by which he is working systematically to bind us to the cares of keeping our sumptuous life. When I was in Kenya, there was not such a sumptuous life. I was living in a mud house. It was very primitive, and yet some of modernism had come there. But we live a sumptuous life, and to keep that life sumptuously going on, we keep on thinking we have to overdo it, and our heart is challenged all the time to keep up with these delusions of Satan. We must escape these.

[Satan] leads those who should be waiting and watching, to take an advance step toward the world; they have no intention of going further, they have no intention of going further, but that one step removed them that much further from Jesus, and made it easier to take the next; {Ibid.}

Have you experienced that you were really on fire once, but then you took certain steps and you were removed from the intimacy of Jesus by that step?

…and thus step after step is taken toward the world, until all the difference between them and the world is a profession, a name only. They have lost their peculiar, holy character, and there is nothing except their profession to distinguish them from the lovers of the world around them. {Ibid.}

These are the things that Jesus is talking about when He says that we must be worthy to escape. To escape all these things requires something. What does it require? It requires a full attention on Jesus Christ.

Accounted Worthy to Escape

Christ bids us watch, that we may be accounted worthy to escape the things that are coming on the earth. It is of the greatest importance that we heed this warning. The enemy of all righteousness is on our track, seeking to lead us to forget God. {HP 355.2}

What is it that makes us worthy to escape all these things? What is the worthiness? Jesus gave us the example:

The Saviour’s life on earth, though lived in the midst of conflict, was a life of peace. While angry enemies were constantly pursuing Him, He said, “He that sent Me is with Me: the Father hath not left Me alone; for I do always those things that please Him.” John 8:29. No storm of human or satanic wrath could disturb the calm of that perfect communion with God. {MB 15.2}

What is it? Perfect communion with God. Jesus said that we are to pray always. What does praying always mean? Perfect communion with God; and Satan is at work to break into that perfect communion with God, because it is that perfect communion with God that makes us worthy to escape all these things. We often think, Well, I’m not worthy, I’m not worthy of anything. Yes, that is correct, we are not worthy of anything. But to be worthy, in this respect, is not an item of goodness in myself, it is my conscious need to rely on the Lord. That is “accounted worthy.”

I am absolutely bereft without focusing entirely upon my communion with, and my direction from, the Lord, praying constantly. Let us explore this “being worthy” in reference to this activity of constantly paying attention to our Lord, and not permitting Satan to separate us from close communion with God. Enoch is given as an example for us today who should be translated.

Enoch walked with God. He was of one mind with God. The prophet asks, “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” If we are of one mind with God, our will will be swallowed up in God’s will and we shall follow wherever God leads the way. {TMK 250.2}

Enoch walked with God, so must we if we would escape. What will we do? We will follow wherever God leads the way. Is this not the simple answer? If I want to be able to escape from all these things that Jesus delineated, then I will make God’s will my own and I will commune with Him by just humbly doing precisely what He says in leading me along the way that He says. Just see yourself holding hands with your heavenly Father.

As a loving child places his hand in that of his father, and walks with him in perfect trust whether it is dark or bright, so the sons and daughters of God are to walk with Jesus through joy or sorrow. {Ibid.}

A lovely thought, isn’t it? But put it into practise. When we are surrounded by this and that perplexity because Satan has put upon us circumstances that we have submitted to by his sophistry, we find ourselves bound. For instance, if you are bound with a debt, what do you have to do? You keep on working hard to get rid of the debt, because Satan comes along and says, But you need this and you need that; and so you go into more debt. And then he says, Now you need this and you need that; and you go into some more debt. This is one of the problems in the last days – the cares of this world take you over. So it is that we are not listening because our heart is overcharged. We haven’t been listening, so the Lord is trying to point out to us that we are to listen to His way carefully in these last days, like a child ready to obey the father. What does this require? What is the blessing that Jesus pronounced on the mount? Blessed are the who? The meek! What is a meek person? He has no drive of his own, he is just meekly following instruction. That is the “accounted worthy to escape.”

Satan presses his temptation upon them and urges them to follow the inclinations of the natural heart. But those who desire to be true to Christ will listen to the voice that says, “This is the way, walk ye in it” (Isaiah 30:21). They will decide to take the course of the righteous, although it is more difficult to pursue, more painful to follow, than the way of their own heart. {TMK 251.2}

We read these words so glibly, but this is precisely what I have found modern Christianity is doing. People say, “I love the Lord. Oh it’s so nice to walk with Him, look at how He is blessing us with all these goods, all these riches.” But what is Laodicea’s problem? “You don’t know you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked.”

So we praise God and we think that in following Him we are entering into an easier path. But then comes the path that He is really calling us to and we say, No, that’s too hard, that’s too uncomfortable. But those who want to be true to Jesus “will decide to take the course of the righteous, although it is more difficult to pursue, more painful to follow, than the way of their own heart.” We will listen to the voice that says, Here, this way; the voice of Jesus.

We need to receive divine wisdom in the daily concerns of life in order that we may display sound judgment and choose the safe path because it is the right one. {TMK 251.3}

We need to have divine wisdom, a divine instruction that we must follow in the daily concerns of life.

He who acts upon his own judgment will follow the inclination of the natural heart, but he whose mind is opened to the Word of God will prayerfully consider every way of his feet, so that he may honor God and keep the way of the Lord. He will remember that “even Christ pleased not himself,” {Ibid.}

This wonderful Saviour followed a path that was not pleasing to Himself. He is praying for us. We are to escape these things. He is saying, “Here is the safe path; for you to escape follow My instructions. Hear My voice.” So we are to remember that “even Christ pleased not Himself,”

He will remember that “even Christ pleased not himself,” and he will consider it a great privilege to follow in His steps. He will take his perplexities to God in prayer and ask the guidance of Him whose property he is. {Ibid.}

Do you like the idea that you are not your own? We are God’s property. Isn’t that a humbling mentality? I can’t do as I please, I will do as God pleases, so I will come with my perplexities to God.

He will realize that he belongs to God–soul, body, mind, and strength. {Ibid.}

We are not our own, we belong to God. We will realise this and we will do as we are told. Do we? This is the challenge. We must be worthy to escape all these things. What were the key thoughts? Follow wherever God leads the way. Listen to the voice that says, This is the way, walk ye in it. Let us go into some depth of applying that principle of meekly following the instruction, doing as I’m told and not doing as I want to respond to my circumstances; because Satan is creating them. Let’s apply it to escaping all these things. What are we to escape?

Social Decadence

One of the things that we need to escape is the social decadence of these last days. What are the social horrifying circumstances that surround us? These are the things we need to escape, the perils of the last days:

2 Timothy 3:1This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof:

If you are surrounded with all that, let your imagination under inspiration help you understand what kind of things you need to escape here. Are you a parent? Are you a child? What is the description of the last days? Disobedience to parents. How strong is that today? Do the young people obey their parents? No, sir. And how does the parent manage that? They’re pulling their hair out. They are trying all sorts of ways and means, but while they are trying to do all this, they are not going to God and saying, How do I handle this, Lord? In every given situation, whether it be disobedience to parents, unthankfulness, unholiness, you are surrounded with these things. But to be meek what must you be prepared to do? What does it mean to be meek? It means to be patient and gentle under wrong.

You are surrounded by people who will do you wrong, and you need to escape that. How can you do it? Be meek. You can be meek by obeying God’s instructions. When men are going to be “accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,” as you are under that experience, how are you going to escape to survive? These details that are written in 2 Timothy 3 will affect people in the negative, and this is precisely what we see. We need to escape from all these terrible influences.

Matthew 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound [in all those details of 2 Timothy 3], the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

The same is escaping. We must be accounted worthy to escape. What must I do? I must listen to the instructions of my Lord and Saviour implicitly, no ifs and buts! none whatsoever. But we keep on saying, But, but, but, this person is such a lovely person, I have to win them to the Lord; therefore I will go their way. Nonsense! If you say ifs and buts and don’t follow the exact instruction of the Lord, you and I will get unstuck. In 2 Corinthians 6 is the exact instruction, and this is what I must listen to and act upon. I cannot bind with people who will not follow Jesus exactly.

2 Corinthians 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers:

Yoked means you work together. You just can’t. If you want to do what Jesus tells you to do, the one who is an unbeliever in Jesus will not do it the way you want and you have to give in to him.

2 Corinthians 6:14 …for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? 15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? 16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God;

It is a wonderful communion – God inside of me,

2 Corinthians 6:16 …as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in [them]; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean [thing]; and I will receive you,

What a beautiful relationship concept. Jesus did it, He stuck with it.

2 Corinthians 6:18 And [I] will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

Study this in your interaction with people and we will follow what Jesus says. We will hear God’s word and we will do it. This is how we will be accounted worthy to escape the social decadence around us.

Religious Decadence

Remember the words of Jesus, There shall arise false Christs, and false prophets (Matt. 24:11, 24). What will they do? They will say, We are the ones, come. And we feel guilty if we don’t unite with those who have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof. What is the call when the world around us is religiously demanding what they think is right and Jesus says something different? In Revelation 18 is the call that Jesus promotes through the angel.

The description is plain; we know exactly that what is described here is what we are living under. Babylon is described in the previous chapter, the multitude of churches:

Revelation 17:5 And upon her forehead [was] a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

We are surrounded by the harlots, the daughters of Babylon, all the different churches uniting with the world in some way or another, having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof. So as they all fall flat on their face under the pressure of Satan’s sophistry, here is the message:

Revelation 18:1 And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. 2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice,

Isn’t it wonderful how the Lord gives us guidance in these last days, not just in a small muffled voice, but with a loud voice, powerfully, Come here,

Revelation 18:2 …Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen,

If you study this carefully, this deals with Adventism as well, another daughter of the mother.

Revelation 18:2 …Babylon the great is fallen, … and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. 3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

If you study that in detail you discover the situation we are in with the churches. What is the call?

Revelation 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. 5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.

This is the voice of Jesus, the voice of God that is saying, This is the way, walk ye in it. Do it! This is how I will escape all these things.

Political Warfare

You read of the political warfare in Jeremiah 25:31-38

Jeremiah 25:31 A noise shall come [even] to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them [that are] wicked to the sword, saith the LORD. 32 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. 33 And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from [one] end of the earth even unto the [other] end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground. 34 Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves [in the ashes], ye principal of the flock: for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel. 35 And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape.

This is a very detailed account of the political warfare in these times where God is orchestrating the world events to create war among the nations. But as the whole world is plunging into war, what is the call of Jesus? What did He say to Pilate in the judgment hall?

John 18:36 …My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.

This is the word of Jesus to God’s people today that they may escape the destruction of the political warfare in these last days. But poor Christians believe they can safely go to war as they did in the First and the Second World War. They think it’s safe to do so; they are not listening to Jesus. And as a consequence they won’t escape, that they might not receive of her plagues, and not be partakers of her sins.

Economic Peril

What did Jesus say was our danger?

Luke 21:34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and [so] that day come upon you unawares.

To be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and the cares of this life. That creates economic upheaval that I want to escape from. There is the counsel from Jesus.

Pestilence

Have you heard of SARS? Have you heard of bird flu? Have you heard of swine flu? I am so sad that a soul with whom I studied has died of swine flu. He was a wonderful soul. It was a joy to share God’s word with him, and he died of swine flu. Why? Because he was not heeding the voice of Jesus through all the morass of the confusion that exists in the churches, and he followed a different voice than what saved him from his terrible plight of pestilence and disease that he himself had and was saved from. My mind is overwhelmed if I think about it. But here is the word of Jesus in the Old Testament, the call to save us from pestilence. There are many other scriptures I could use, but this one summarises them beautifully.

Exodus 15:26 And [he] said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I [am] the LORD that healeth thee.

We must be meek and ready to follow His instruction. When pestilence is around, this needs to be followed. I must follow the directions of my Lord, no matter how I feel, no matter what confuses me. I must do what He says, and no ifs and buts. Oh but I’m so weak; no buts. I’m so frail; no buts. There is a plain direction and when God says, Go this way, I must go that way and I will escape. Remember what Lot did? He said, I don’t want to go up into the mountains; I want to live a bit of a comfortable life, send me to another city. So God sent him to Zoar; but then he had to go eventually anyway.

The point is, the cushy life that we are dependent upon prevents us from doing exactly what God says. In all the concerns of life I should follow the divine direction. So if there is something troubling you, seek divine direction. Do what the Lord says, not what you think, not what I think, not what is my particular individual preconception. I think this and I think that with regards to health, nothing like that. A plain “Thus saith the Lord.” Satan has got it all sewn up with regards to health. He has all sorts of doctrines and teachings out there in regards to our health message to take us further than what God is saying. Don’t go further than what God is saying specifically. He will tell you straight. Don’t go to extremes beyond His direction.

Have we learnt to surrender entirely to the Lord by simply obeying the one who loves me enough to become one with me, so that He can die with me? You know, I’m finding this now the most important message for our time: to enter into an intimate, trusting, absolutely warm relationship with my Lord and Saviour, to have my will bound up with His will, rather than my will being different to His. We need to have an exact communion with God, praying always, as Jesus said. Look at the beautiful picture that is described when we do this. Here is the description of the worthiness we must have so that we may escape. What does it mean to be accounted worthy?

Psalm 91:1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

I must dwell under my God’s direction.

Psalm 91:2 I will say of the LORD, [He is] my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

If you trust in someone, don’t you do what he tells you to do? But how many people do? A plain direction from God is not as comfortable as a little variation like with Lot; and Lot scarcely escaped. In fact he didn’t escape from the corruption, did he? His two daughters… what a story.

Psalm 91:3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, [and] from the noisome pestilence.

You will escape if you trust Him, if you do what He says.

Psalm 91:4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth [shall be thy] shield and buckler.

So whether it be the social, or religious, or political, or economic decadence, or the earthquakes, the pestilences, etc., if any of these things are there, follow the direction. When I was studying with someone through the week, he was talking with me and saying, I’m already doing this and that and the other thing, and still I’ve got problems and there’s still more expected of me. He was in a bit of a state of perplexity, and he was talking to me as we were going on through the subject, and he said, “I was really perplexed and I just said to myself, Well, it should be easy as just obeying!” And light shone into his brain; the Lord smiled upon him and said, That’s the very thing I’m waiting for. As simple as that. It’s not complicated, it’s just to obey. That’s all. “But, but, but…. This doesn’t look right. It doesn’t look right. I’m not being Christian if I separate myself from my relatives in regard to certain things,” like doing what Jesus says when they say do something else. “Oh, just a little bit.” Nothing. Exactly as He speaks, in every respect. He will be thy shield and buckler.

Psalm 91:5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; [nor] for the arrow [that] flieth by day; 6 [Nor] for the pestilence [that] walketh in darkness; [nor] for the destruction [that] wasteth at noonday. 7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; [but] it shall not come nigh thee.

See what Jesus said? Watch and pray always that you may escape all these things. That is what this is talking about.

Psalm 91:8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.

Why?

Psalm 91:9 Because thou hast made the LORD, [which is] my refuge, [even] the most High, thy habitation;

What does that mean? Cohabitating together, communing.

Psalm 91:10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

That is what this is all about to be worthy to escape all these things. God looks upon us as worthy if we trust Him as a child trusts his father and obeys without any internal argument. When Jesus wanted to save Israel, when He came the first time, what was His plaintive cry?

Matthew 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, [thou] that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under [her] wings, and ye would not!

The chickens come running and the hen puts up her wings up and covers her chickens. God says, “I have tried to do it. I have called you like a mother chook. I have called you, and I called you, and I knew that the hawk would come and get you, but you would not listen to me.” The hawk has got the majority of Adventists and believers today. They are caught; and while he might be ravaging the chickens, which you and I are, we can still get an opportunity to flee under His wings. We must do what He says. We must obey Him be the cost what it may. Then we will escape these things.

Amen.