Shawn Boonstra

Art Direction & Layout by Fred Knopper Cover Design by Palmer Halvorson Text Typeset: 11 pt. ITC New Baskerville Copyright 2010 by It Is Written. All Rights Reserved. Additional copies of this book and a host of other spiritual resources are available from It Is Written. For more information call toll free 1-888-664-5573 or visit

www.itiswritten.com

Unless otherwise noted, all Bible texts are from the New King James Version, copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.

Contents
Introduction: A Tale of Two Chapters. ...............................................5 A Thumbnail Sketch of the Issue: Gods Claim on Our Worship. ...................................11

Introduction

A Tale of Two Chapters

Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He.
(John 13:19)

Sometimes, Christians make a tragic mistake when it comes to Bible prophecy. Instead of keeping ourselves busy with the work Christ assigned to the church, that of sharing the gospel with sinners, we hide ourselves away to work out the intricate details of how last-day events will play out. Armed with detailed charts and careful notes, we command quite a bit of attention in Bible study groups and prayer meetingsbut at the same time, we couldnt tell you the names of our next door neighbors, because we havent been praying for their salvation. Is it important to understand last-day events? Absolutely. A good friend of mine used to say, The future will not be kind to the uninformed, and I believe he was absolutely right. The time really has come for every believer to become reacquainted with the words of Daniel and Revelation, because in the near future, incredible changes are going to sweep our planet. The final movements, said a very wise lady, will be rapid ones. 1
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At the same time, however, the fulfillment of Bible prophecy ought to give us a new sense of urgency: there is work to be done. In Revelation 13, the Bible spells out the devils end-time game plan in great detail, but it is only half of the prophetic picture. The other half is found in Revelation 14, where Gods people are shown carrying His last message to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people. (Revelation 14:6) As we see the events described in Revelation 13 start playing out with greater speed and greater detail, we should recognize it as a call from God to believe. The work God has given His last-day movement will also play out with greater speed and in greater detail. The fulfillment of Gods side of the controversy is just as certain as the devils, and that means we cannot possibly fail in carrying out the commission that Jesus gave His church. According to Christ, Bible prophecy is not so much about predicting the future as it is about recognizing the future when it happens. The fulfillment of prophecy vindicates our faith in Christ and gives us the courage we need to face the future. Im going to tell you these things now, Jesus told His disciples, so that when they happen, you may believe that I am who I say I am. Years ago, I used to live in the frozen north of the Alaska Highway. Sometimes, when the wind picked up in the winter, or the snowfall was unusually heavy at night, the road would almost completely disappear from view. It became impossible to tell where the edge of the highway ended and where the edge of the field began. I knew that if I were to veer off the road, I faced the distinct possibility

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of spending the night in my car, because I would be hopelessly trapped in the deep snow, and it was likely that nobody passing by would be able to see me. So I drove very carefully, my knuckles white from squeezing the steering wheelconstantly vigilant and incessantly praying that Id be able to keep on the road. And then Id see it: a faint glow on the horizon, which told me I was almost home. Thats what Bible prophecy ought to do for us. In an increasingly dark and uncomfortable world, it ought to be the glow of home on the horizon. Far too many Christians live in sheer terror of the events portrayed in the book of Revelation because they only live in one chapter, Revelation 13. As we see the final details of that chapter unfolding, we ought to see them as a clear signal that Gods Word is goodRevelation 14 is also unfolding. We are going to complete Gods work successfully and make it home triumphantly. A little while ago, a coworker put a little out-of-print booklet in my hand called The Final Crisis and Deliverance, which was compiled by Robert Odom and published by Southern Publishing Association many years ago. As I thumbed through it, I discovered something remarkable: much of what Pastor Odom put in that booklet was still future to him. He didnt live to see it happen, and he would have had to imagine how the precise details of the prophecies would play out. Now we live in a time when we can actually see it taking shape. Pastor Odom was a Seventh-day Adventist Christian. I myself did not grow up as a Seventh-day Adventist

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Christian. In my early twenties, I studied my way into this special movement of Christians with an open Bible. I found them to be a people who were deeply committed to Christ, had a remarkably vivid understanding of the Gospel, and who adhered to a level of Biblical fidelity I had never encountered before. While much of the world has had to continually rework their understanding of Bible prophecy, reinterpreting key symbols every time the world political situation shifts, Seventh-day Adventists have been amazingly consistent in their interpretation. Thats because their broad-based, whole-Bible approach has made them somewhat impervious to the winds of change. With very few exceptions, they simply havent had to change their minds on the details. Additionally, they have also had access to a special collection of writings penned more than 100 years ago by a woman who had a remarkable gift and a deep connection with Christ. The Bible clearly predicts that in the last days, we should expect to find the Holy Spirit poured out on key individuals who will lead us into a deeper relationship with God.2 Ellen White appears to have been blessed with that gift, and as a result, Seventh-day Adventists have come to treasure her writings. In recent years, her work has been maligned by those who havent actually read what she wrote. I have spent many hours reading her words, and have discovered that she exhibits an unusually high degree of Biblical understanding. Her love for Jesus and His Word is unmistakable. While certainly not a substitute for the Bible, which stands alone as the supreme arbiter of the Christian faith, the words

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penned by Mrs. White so many decades ago ring truer now than they did when she first wrote them. In fact, the degree of accuracy she exhibits is breathtaking. We are living in very unusual timesthe very times, it seems, described in the Bible and Robert Odoms compilation of quotations published so many years ago. It is our prayer that the material which follows and which have been published in the book, The Final Moments, will serve as a catalyst to refuel your own passion for Christ and the work of His last-day movement of believers. Shawn Boonstra Speaker/Director, It Is Written Simi Valley, California January 2010

______________________________ 1 Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 9, p. 11 2 See, for example, Joel 2:28

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EDITORS NOTE: The quotations dealing with final events that were originally compiled by Robert Odom and published in his now out-of-print booklet The Final Crisis and Deliverance, many years ago, are included in Pastor Boonstras new book, The Final Moments. This special collection of excerpts from the writings of Ellen G. White describe, in vivid detail, some of the events the Bible predicts will take place on our planet before Christ returns. The book assumes that the reader is well-acquainted with the Biblical book of Revelation and has studied it at some length. To obtain a copy of The Final Moments for yourself or multiple copies to share with fellow church members, please call 1-888-664-5573 or visit: thefinalmoments.com. Quantity discounts are available or orders of 10 or more.

A Thumbnail Sketch of the Issues

Gods Claim on Our Worship

A careful reading of the book of Revelation reveals that the real issue in the last days has little to do with tanks and planes or political and economic disputes. The real issue is a matter of worship: And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him? (Revelation 13:3,4) All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Revelation 13:8) Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. (Revelation 13:11,12) He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. (Revelation 13:15)
______________________________ A far more detailed biblical analysis of the key issues in Revelation 13 and 14 is available in The Sign. See https://store.itiswritten.com/the-sign.html to obtain a copy.

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Before Christ returns, there will be a decisive call to the world for people to worship somethingor somebody other than God. And in response, Gods last-day people respond with a worldwide call to worship the Creator alone: Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earthto every nation, tribe, tongue, and peoplesaying with a loud voice, Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water. (Revelation 14:6,7) In the final crisis, the real issues will revolve around worship and loyalty to the Creator. One side demands worshipforces itunder penalty of death, the other side pleads with the human race to return to Christ before it is too late. Lucifer, once a covering cherub (an exalted position next to the throne of God; see Ezekiel 28:14), fell to his own pride and became dissatisfied with Gods government. The Bible reveals that he began to covet the very throne of God and the worship that God receives from His creatures: How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High. (Isaiah 14:12-14) Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and

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their glory. And he said to Him, All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me. (Matthew 8:8,9) Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. (2 Thessalonians 2:3,4) And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him? (Revelation 13:3,4) So why, exactly, is Lucifer unworthy of worship? Other than his obvious defects in character, there is one underlying reason: he is not the Creator. All through Scripture, we find that Gods claim to our worship is squarely based on His status as the One who made everything: You alone are the Lord; you have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and everything on it, the seas and all that is in them, and You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You. (Nehemiah 9:6) Thus you shall say to them: The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under these heavens. He has made the earth by His power, He has established the world by His wisdom,and has stretched out the heavens at His discretion. (Jeremiah 10:11,12) God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with

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hands. Nor is He worshiped with mens hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. (Acts 17:24,25) You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created. (Revelation 4:11) Worship is clearly an important last-day issue. Another important thread that runs through Bible prophecy deals with lawlessness. Take a close look at some of Pauls predictions in other prophetic portions of the Bible: Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness! (Matthew 7:21-23) But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! (2 Timothy 3:1-5) And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders... (2 Thessalonians 2:8,9)

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And 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. (Revelation 12:17) Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. (Revelation 14:12) That last verseRevelation 14:12is especially important, because it comes on the heels of a last-day warning to the world against worshiping the beast: Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. (Revelation 14:9,10a) The Bible reveals that the people of God keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. That would mean, of course, that those who worship the beast and receive his mark do not keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus. Piecing together all of the scriptural evidence, the key issues quickly rise to the surface. Weve discovered that worship and lawlessness are primary issues. The devil wants to drive the world away from its Creator through deception and by forcing our worship in his direction. Those who resist the devil are clearly labeled as those who live in harmony with Gods commandments and worship Him who made. (Revelation 14:7) And amazingly, at the heart of Gods moral lawHis commandmentsthere is one requirement that outlines precisely how the Creator would like to be worshiped:

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Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. (Exodus 20:8-11) The language of the fourth commandment is strikingly similar to the final cry that goes to the earth in Revelation 14: Worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water. Furthermore, the Bible teaches that after God gave a copy of His moral law to the children of Israel, He asked them to write it in their hearts and minds: And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. (Deuteronomy 6:6-8) Notice how God asked His people to bind His commandments on their hands and between their eyes and also notice how the mark of the beast, which falls on those who worship wrongly under the devils last-day counterfeit religion, is similarly located on the right hand or the forehead: He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many

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as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads. (Revelation 13:15,16) Also notice that Gods last-day people have the Fathers name written on their foreheads: Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Fathers name written on their foreheads. (Revelation 14:1) Is it a coincidence that God instructed Israel to write His commandments on their foreheadsand that Gods last-day people have His name written in the same place? Absolutely not! To this day, when we still speak of someones good name when we refer to their good character. Jesus said that He had come to show the world Gods name. (John 17:6) The moral laws of God are not arbitrary rules they are a clear revelation of Gods perfect character. They show us His name. When God says thou shalt not steal, it demonstrates His honesty. When God says thou shalt not kill, it demonstrates the value He places on life. Popular interpretations of Bible prophecy would have us believe that the mark of the beast is a computer chip implanted in the hand or forehead, but the issues in Revelation are not that superficial. They have to do with loyalty and love. As events on planet earth reach a climax, God will have a special people who have His nameHis commandmentsHis characterwritten in their minds: This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them. (Hebrews 10:16)

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If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Fathers commandments and abide in His love. (John 15:10) If you love Me, keep My commandments. (John 14:15) Interestingly, in modern Christianity, there is only one of Gods Ten Commandments in disputethe one dealing with the worship of the Creator. It is a sign of our relationship with God and our refusal to accept the devils demands for worship: Moreover I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them. (Ezekiel 20:12) I am the Lord your God: Walk in My statutes, keep My judgments, and do them; hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God. (Ezekiel 20:19,20) When you piece together all of the Biblical evidence, it should come as no surprise to discover that the world has somehow forgotten the one commandment that begins with the word rememberthe one requiring the seventh day of the week as a sign of loyalty to the God who made the heavens and the earth. Instead, most of the world now observes another daythe first day of the weekin spite of the fact that the Bible never gives the Christian church an instruction to change it. It should also come as no surprise when we suddenly discover increasing demands to use the power of the state to enforce the observance of the first day of the week. In the 1880s, such a push started building in the United States. As I write these words, there is a continual push by

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the bishop of Rome for Sunday legislation in the European Union. Whether this is simply one more wave in a longterm strategy to attempt to turn the world back towards Romeor the beginning of the final eventsremains to be seen. Ultimately, the devil will demand that the world cast aside Gods moral law and worship him instead. Which day of the week you observe as the Sabbath may seem like a small issue to some, but it is not. Sunday is not the seventh day of the week. At Creationand before sin (thus negating the argument that the Sabbath was established as part of the ceremonial or sacrificial system) God set apart the seventh day as His own. He blessed it, rested on it, and sanctified it: And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made. (Genesis 2:2,3) Eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil seems like a small issue, toobut the point of abstaining was simply to demonstrate loyalty to God. The Sabbath gives us a unique opportunity, especially in the last days, to stand publicly against the devils deceit and his demands for worship. It gives us an opportunity to publicly side with Him who made.