Trembling fingers punch the numbers 911. The response comes immediately: “911. What is your emergency?”
September 11 of this year (9/11/19) represents an emergency situation. This emergency relates directly to an event that happened a mere 18 years ago but was predicted more than 100 years ago in a writing entitled, “The Final Crisis.” We read:
“We are living in the time of the end. The fast-fulfilling signs of the times declare that the coming of Christ is near at hand. The days in which we live are solemn and important. The Spirit of God is gradually but surely being withdrawn from the earth. Plagues and judgments are already falling upon the despisers of the grace of God. The calamities by land and sea, the unsettled state of society, the alarms of war, are portentous. They forecast approaching events of the greatest magnitude . . .
“On one occasion, when in New York City, I was in the night season called upon to behold buildings rising story after story toward heaven. These buildings were warranted to be fireproof, and they were erected to glorify their owners and builders. Higher and still higher these buildings rose, and in them the most costly material was used. . . .
“The scene that next passed before me was an alarm of fire. Men looked at the lofty and supposedly fire-proof buildings and said: “They are perfectly safe.” But these buildings were consumed as if made of pitch. The fire engines could do nothing to stay the destruction. . . .” 1
The college freshmen of 2019 are the first class born after September 11, 2001. For many of them, the horrific opening scene of “The Final Crisis” is ancient history. This is an emergency.
This is also the first class of college students to enter school having lived their entire lives with social media. The youth of our church have an incredible opportunity to awaken to the times in which we live, yet so few are responding to the call to go and share the everlasting gospel with the unreached. This is an emergency.
We truly are living in the time of the end, and these days are so very important. We need men and women who will have their faith tested and proven through the crucible of discipling others into loving relationships with the Savior. God is calling for young people to go and grow, to give and live, to heal and be healed.
This is an emergency. Answer the call.
