Cayce, and Tribulation, and 2012 — oh my!

On By Wallace G. SmithIn Bible, Christianity, Culture, Prophecy, Religion, Scripture, Tomorrow's World
Armageddon looming
Image by nimboo via Flickr

I realize that I have not yet blogged on how well the Tomorrow’s World tapings went, so let me make up for it here!

My thanks to all of you who were praying for the success of the telecast tapings, and I do believe that they went very well.  The first I taped, “Terror of the Tribulation,” discussed (guess!) the Tribulation and the times leading up to it.  It is one of those unpleasant topics, yet one where we must “Cry aloud, spare not; lift up your voice like a trumpet; tell My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins” (Isaiah 58:1).  Some say we should focus on the “good news” and ignore all of this “bad news,” yet we see that Christ, Himself, did not avoid such warnings and was very clear and straightforward about the “bad news” when there was “bad news” to give!  (E.g., Matt. 23:29-39.)  Yes, we do bring GOOD NEWS!  But before times get better they are going to get a lot worse, and if we know these things are coming and do not warn about them, God will hold us accountable (Ezek. 3 & 33), just as surely as if we saw a bus about to hit someone and said nothing to individual unwittingly standing in its path.

That telecast will offer our booklet Armageddon and Beyond.

Nostradamus
Image via Wikipedia

The other telecast (which will actually air first, I believe) is “Prophets and Pretenders” which mentions such past “prophetic celebrities” as Nostradamus and Edgar Cayce.  While their “successes” get a lot of attention (especially to anyone watching cable “documentaries” these days, and I use the word “documentaries” lightly), their failures do not get nearly as much.  I discuss some of those, but then focus on what really matters: What God says about seeking out such sources for prophetic understanding.  (Hint: God doesn’t like it. 🙂 )

The Scriptures are clear that we do not seek out occult, pagan, heretical, or demonic sources for understanding of prophecy and what’s to come, and, therefore, we have an obligation to speak against them.  The telecast then points readers to God’s Word as the only worthwhile source of prophetic understanding.

The program also mentions the current prophecy craze: the so-called (but not really) Mayan 2012 “End Date.”  This program does not go into the details — such as the fact that there is no worthwhile evidence whatsoever that the Mayans thought 2012 would be the end of the world — but it does offer our free, one hour DVD on the topic: “2012: Mystery and Truth.”  We have never offered this DVD on television before, so it was exciting to finally do so.  It was a very popular special mailing, but hopefully our television audiences will find it just as worthwhile.  Our much smaller 2012 telecast (“2012, Bible Prophecy and You”) did wonderfully this past weekend, with over 5,000 responses (which is great for a summer rerun of a program that has aired twice before, already), so I know the topic is still on people’s minds.  It is great to have an opportunity to help people get their minds focused on the truth instead of 2012 mumbo jumbo.

The rest of the trip was relatively tame stuff: accounting matters, picking up booklets for congregations, etc.  Though it was exciting to be kindly invited to sit in on Mr. Meredith’s executive luncheons, which I always enjoy.  And even the “tame stuff” is wonderful to me; I love getting to interact with all of our staff there in Charlotte.  God has given us a remarkable group of individuals there, and it is humbling to see everyone working together as part of one big team (really, one big family).  There is a feeling while you’re there that we’re a part of something larger, and it is wonderful to sense.  So even the “tame stuff” is a chance to visit family members and loved ones, and I am thankful for every chance I get to visit.

Breakfast is calling, so I will cut this off here.  Have a wonderful preparation day and a fantastic Sabbath!