Where do our young people stand in today's confused world? What's ahead for them in the next decade? Here's some good news about our youth and an exciting glimpse into the fantastic future just ahead for those young people who qualify.
YOUNG men and women, never before in man's existence has youth faced such terrifying and troublesome times. Your future looks grim indeed. But we have good news for you! If you are a young person today, you have a better chance of achieving your cherished dreams than any other generation before you in the history of mankind! Sound incredible? Or too good to be true? Or naοve? Don't be too sure.
A Wonderful New World Ahead
Believe it or not, there is a whole new world waiting for those who have the wisdom and vision to see it and the courage to take it. It is a world that will fulfill every dream and desire. The dream of being recognized and accepted for your abilities and achievements. The dream of being accomplished in a challenging occupation with unlimited opportunities for advancement and without the fear of "friends" who try to jerk the rug out from under you. Tomorrow's World will fulfill the dream of possessing energy, drive and resourcefulness of enjoying robust, vibrant, radiant health. Of being educated in the liberal arts and the social graces. Of being blessed with the physical riches of life tasty, nutritional food; smart, well-tailored clothing; and a fine home decorated with elegant furniture, rugs and appliances. A home located in beautiful and spacious surroundings with a lush lawn, plenty of shade trees and a few pets for the children. A home where your hopes and dreams are shared through a full and rewarding lifetime in a deliriously happy relationship with a loving mate and with normal, healthy, happy and respectful children. Tomorrow's World your world if you qualify will fulfill the dreams of recreation and travel. That longing desire to see those faraway places will be satisfied with comfortable and leisurely trips. Hunting, fishing, hiking, camping and other recreational activities will be available for all in vast, unspoiled natural parks of breathtaking beauty. Young people, you stand on the threshold of something really big! But will all this come about as the natural end result of our modern social evolution? Are we, all of us youth included on our way to a man-made utopia? Not on your life! Today our world and your future is tottering on the brink of oblivion.
Today's Nightmare
Around the globe, political, military, social and religious differences keep the world in foment. Over forty-five wars have been fought since the close of the "war to end all wars" World War II. Despite the optimism of some world leaders and statesmen, there is no peace. The world continues to arm itself to the point of many times overkill capacity. Exploding populations and dwindling food supplies are spreading a cloak of starvation that the experts predict will kill millions by 1975. Unless you know something world leaders don't, you could go hungry in less than ten short years. Students are rioting in practically every major nation around the globe. Sickness and disease of every description mental as well as physical are increasing everywhere. Crime is growing at unprecedented rates nine times faster than the population in the U.S. Weather is upset. Air, water, land and noise pollution are critical problems in many areas. Our soils are rapidly being depleted and the food we eat often has little nutritional value. Our cities are overcrowded concrete jungles with monstrous transportation, sanitation and pollution problems. Marital unhappiness, infidelity, divorce, homosexuality and venereal disease eat away at the very foundation of our society like a gnawing cancer. The capstone to this dreary mountain of woe is "the bomb." It stands ever ready to ring down the closing curtain on mankind. Yes, left to himself, man would destroy all life on this planet within the next few years. But thankfully, man will not be left to himself. God in heaven will intervene and prevent man from destroying himself. First, however, man must learn some invaluable but painful lessons. Man will have to learn the hard way the way of bitter experience that he is not capable of ruling himself. In the next very few years, climactic, earth-shaking, mind-chilling events are destined to take place which will result in the death of hundreds of millions of human beings. The nations of this world including our English-speaking nations will suffer the horrors of famine, pestilence, war and slavery (request our free booklet The U.S. and British Commonwealth in Prophecy).
Unbelievable Prosperity in Tomorrow's World
A sound and productive agricultural system must be the physical foundation of a truly prosperous society. Tomorrow's World will have such a system. Here is a brief glimpse of what agriculture will be like in this New Age: "Good times will return. There will be heavy crops of fruit to prepare for My people's return [the return of today's English-speaking people from captivity].... See, I God am for you, and I will come and help you as you prepare the ground and sow your crops.... I will abolish crop failures and famine. I will give you huge harvests from your fruit trees and fields." "There will be such abundance of crops, that the harvest time will scarcely end before the farmer starts again to sow another crop" (Ezek. 36:8-9, 29-30; Amos 9:13 all quotes from the major and minor prophets in this article are from the Living Prophecies series). The crops of fruit and grain will be tremendous when those people who live through the coming time of trouble return to their former homeland and resettle it. After years of rest, the land will be fertile and productive. Instead of upset weather and drought, there will be rain in due season and every year's crops will yield profitable returns. Farming operations will be an overwhelming success, because right instruction will be given in all matters of agriculture and farming. Future farmers of America and of other nations, how would you like to be leaders in a farming community like this?
The Fabulous Cities of Tomorrow
"I will greatly increase your population throughout all Israel [remember this is speaking of the lands occupied by the English-speaking people of today], and the ruined cities will be rebuilt and filled with people. Not only the people, but your flocks and herds will also greatly multiply. O mountains of Israel, again you will be filled with homes. I will do even more for you than I did before" (Ezek. 36:10, 11). If cities are going to be rebuilt and the land is going to be filled with homes, then someone is going to have to build them. The entire gamut of skills will be needed carpenters, bricklayers, painters, architects, designers, plumbers, engineers and builders. Talk about a fantastic opportunity! Huge areas of destroyed cities and communities from this present age will be waiting to be cleared of debris and beautified. Whole new cities and communities will need to be developed from drawing board to completed project. The new office and business buildings in these cities and towns will be beautiful and efficient. Slipshod and slovenly workmanship will not be tolerated. And the homes will be modern, spacious dwellings that will capture the imagination of happy young couples. Even the city homes will have spacious yards with room for gardens, small orchards and animals! Young women, how would you like to be a homemaker, wife and mother in an environment like this? Young men, how would you like to be a father, husband, provider and leader in this kind of world? Sound too good to be true? We're here to tell you that this is exactly what will happen. Is it worth your time to check it out? Why pass up such a fantastic chance just because it doesn't sound like the same old pessimistic song you've heard all of your life?
Opportunities Unlimited
Today millions of square miles of this earth are desert. But here is what is in store for the Mojave, the Kalahari, the Nubian, the Sahara and other deserts: "Even the wilderness and desert will rejoice in those days, the desert will blossom with flowers. Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers and singing and joy! The deserts will become as green as the Lebanon mountains, as lovely as Mount Carmel's pastures and Sharon's meadows; for the Eternal will display his glory there, the excellency of our God... Springs will burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the deserts" (Isaiah 35:1, 2, 6). Have you ever wondered what the United States looked like during the days of Lewis and Clark, Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone when this land was virgin wilderness when prairie grass reached up to a horse's bridle and game was abundant and the rivers were flowing with pristine water and the air was pure and fresh, laden with the sweet fragrance of blossoming trees and flowers? Well, that is what today's deserts will be like in the World Tomorrow. They will become beautiful, rich and productive land waiting to be pioneered, settled, and developed. Talk about thrills, opportunities and excitement! Now there is something worth working for something far more valuable than anything the hippies, yippies or any other dissenting group of young people ever hope to achieve or even dare to dream about.
YOUR Opportunity?
Now WHO do you think will have these fantastic opportunities? Who do you think will be building and living in these fabulous new homes? Who do you think will be constructing and inhabiting these new cities of the future? Who do you think will be the pioneers in developing the vast areas of the earth which are just wastelands today? Who do you think will be the physical leaders in this bright New World? The uneducated pygmies from the rain forests of Africa? The aborigines of Australia? Obviously not! Over a period of years, as they become rightly educated, these people will share in the blessings and prosperity of the New World. But at the beginning, the leaders will have to be those who already have a certain degree of education, knowledge and understanding. Because of the privileged part of the world you live in today, YOU could be used as such a leader if you are willing to qualify. But how? What can you do to make sure that you personally have a part in Tomorrow's World? And what about the troublesome days just ahead before this happy New World begins? Is there anything you can do to receive protection? And if so, what? These are serious questions, young men and women, and you need to understand. God Interested in Young People God is interested in strong, active, alert, intelligent, dynamic, normal people! And He is very much interested in young people. Consider. As a human being, Jesus Christ never reached middle age. The prophet Jeremiah was a young man when God called him about 17 years old. That's right, just a teenager. Listen to what Jeremiah said when God gave him a job to do: " 'O Lord God,' I said, 'I can't do that! I'm far too young! I'm only a youth' (Jer. 1:6, Living Prophecies series). The evangelist Timothy was also probably in his teens when God started to work with him. Samuel began to do small tasks and chores around the temple while he was a child, probably only seven or eight years old. The disciples were robust, strong, hard-muscled young men among them sailors and fishermen, who can be a pretty salty lot. Yet they were willing to recognize Christ as their leader, their superior. Christ must have been an awful lot of man! God wants young people to enjoy life and to live it to the full. This is why He inspired Solomon to set down certain principles to help young people avoid some of the heartbreaking, unhappy, life-wrecking mistakes that are so easy to make. Again and again throughout the Proverbs He says, "Listen, my son, to instruction and wisdom..." God doesn't want you to make mistakes which will foul up your life. He wants you to know how to avoid all the big pitfalls.
Some Sound Advice
Solomon wrote: "Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity. Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not..." (Eccl. 11:9-12:1). God says youth is a time to be happy, a time to have fun. It's a time to enjoy healthful sports and to hunt, fish and camp out under the stars. It's a time to dance, sing and kick up your heels. But remember, "For all these things God will bring you into judgment" and you will have to give an account. It's good to enjoy clean fun in right balance the kind of fun you would gladly give an account for. But it is wrong to indulge in the wrong kind of fun the kind that brings kickbacks, sorrow and heartache. And it is also wrong to be so engrossed in having fun that no thought is given to God, to fulfilling the purpose of life and to preparing for Tomorrow's World. Young people, God is observing your life right now to see what you are doing with it. Are you wasting it in frivolity and the "vanity of youth" without concern for the important things in life without preparing for usefulness in the World Tomorrow? Or are you heeding God's admonition to "remember your Creator in the days of your youth" before the time of trouble just ahead?
It's Your Choice
God is about to reach down and shake this earth to its knees and He is no respecter of age. But before He intervenes, He is sending out a warning. If you believe His warning and begin to look to Him and to obey Him, He offers you protection in the days ahead regardless of your age. One of the most basic lessons man can learn is this: obey God and be protected and blessed, or disobey God and suffer the penalty. Now as never before you need to understand this principle. David said: "Wherewithal shall a young man [or woman] cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word" (Psalm 119:9). As a young person, you need to look into God's Word, the Bible, to see how you ought to live. The Bible is literally chock-full of instruction telling you how to live a joyous, full life. For example, it gives the Ten Commandments. If you are old enough to read and understand these Commandments, you can begin to obey them and receive God's blessings. Our free booklet on the Ten Commandments and all of our free literature will make the teachings of the Bible plain and tell you what God expects of you if you want to learn and obey. But that, of course, is up to you. No one can force you to obey God against your will. But you ought to know what the consequences of the wrong choice will be.
The Horrors of the Wrong Choice
What will happen to you as a young person if you decide not to obey God but to go the way of this world? It isn't a very pretty picture. First of all, the Bible shows that the chances are better than two out of three that you will not survive. And if you do, what an ordeal it will be! You will have seen two out of three of your friends and loved ones die by famine, disease and war. And you yourself if you survive all this will be taken as a captive slave into a foreign land. There you will suffer further in cruel slave labor camps for a number of months. If you are able to survive this nightmare, you will still be alive when Christ returns to save man from himself. Then if you have finally learned your lesson you will be privileged to return to your homeland. There, under Christ's direction, you will begin to have a part in building the World Tomorrow. At long last you will be living in the glorious New World described in this article. But what a painful way to learn to obey God! Now contrast this with what you have to look forward to if you obey God now.
The Fantastic Benefits of Obedience NOW
First of all, you will have God's protection in the terrifying days ahead. The nature of this protection is explained in our free article "There Is a Way of Escape." Further, when Christ returns, you will have a much bigger and more important part in the World Tomorrow than those who just barely managed to survive. What will this part be? That depends on your age and maturity. If you are now in your mid-teens or younger, you could well live into the fantastic World Tomorrow as a physical being. And more than that, depending on how you apply yourself and use your time now, you could be among the very top physical leaders in this New World. If you obey God and learn His principles now, you will have a head start. Greater opportunities will come your way. In due time you will be given the opportunity to become a spirit being and to live forever. And if you are in your late teens or older today? If you can imagine it, you will have an even greater opportunity! You may well have become an adult capable of a mature understanding of God's ways before the World Tomorrow begins. In that case, you may qualify to be changed into an ever-living spirit being upon Christ's return. If you do, you will have power, strength, and the ability to enjoy pleasures far, far above that of physical beings. And you will have the fantastic opportunity to lead and guide the physical inhabitants of Tomorrow's World into full, abundant, happy lives. Now what about it? Would you like to live in the most exciting and perfect age in the history of mankind? You CAN if you qualify! And remember, the sooner you begin to qualify, the greater will be the opportunities which come your way. This article has only given the briefest sketch of what the World Tomorrow will be like. It has said nothing about how crime will be controlled, how people will be educated, how the economic system will work, what cultural life will be like and many other important facets of life. For this important information you should write to us at once for your free copy of our colorful booklet The Wonderful World Tomorrow - What It Will Be Like. Young people, no generation has stood on the threshold of a future such as yours! No opportunities have been more challenging, more worthwhile, more rewarding or more sure. Decide you're going to take these opportunities NOW!
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