An Amazing Fact: The Broad Corporation in China recently completed an 180,000 square foot, 30-story hotel, called “The Ark,” in just 15 days. Construction workers assembled the new hotel, located in Dongting Lake in Hunan province, from prefabricated modules built at a factory. They drove them to the construction site and bolted them together like giant Lego blocks in only 360 hours. Now the same company has broken ground to build a 2,185-foot tall skyscraper, the world’s tallest, with 202 floors in just 90 days!
“Unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened” (Matthew 24:22).
Have you ever felt as if time was moving faster? Well, in a way, it is! Jesus said that just before His return, there would be, among other things, a frenzy of building: “As it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; … Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed” (Luke 17:28, 30).
It also reminds me of Romans 13:11, 12, “Knowing the time, … now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.”
Did you know that following Japan’s intense 2011, 8.9-magnitude earthquake, geophysicists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California determined the seismic explosion accelerated Earth’s spin, shortening the length of our day by 1.8 microseconds?
Now, I’m not suggesting that the clocks are actually ticking faster, but it sometimes seems that with people running to and fro and knowledge increasing (Daniel 12:4), the final events are coming at a more rapid succession.
One of my favorite authors, E.G. White, wrote in her book Last Day Events, “Great changes are soon to take place in our world, and the final movements will be rapid ones” (pg. 11, my emphasis).
Of course, the great news, friends, is that I believe we are seeing the Holy Spirit move more quickly too! Let me explain …
7,000 Miles!
Not long ago, Karen called me from a wedding she was attending at the church and said, “There is a man here who just flew in from China to meet you, and he wants to be baptized!”
His name is Mr. Wu, a humble but enthusiastic soul who became impressed by the teachings of Christ just two years ago. After the former Buddhist began reading the Bible and accepted Jesus, he studied the prophecies and realized Jesus was coming very soon, but he also saw that the many denominations didn’t agree on key teachings, and he became frustrated in his search for truth.
Sensing the nearness of Jesus’ return, Mr. Wu sold his construction business, hired a driver, and traveled all over China to study with various Christian churches, praying God would show him the Bible truth. And God answered this faithful man’s prayer! When I was preaching in China last year, one of our Bible workers gave Mr. Wu an Amazing Facts DVD translated into Mandarin-Chinese. At first, he struggled with the new truths learned, but as he persisted watching, he recognized they were rooted in Scripture. He next obtained our Chinese-language Bible Study Guides and studied them day and night!
The Holy Spirit moved powerfully on his heart, and he became convinced, convicted, and excited about these precious new truths. Mr. Wu felt it was urgent he share them with everyone. But he knew he still needed to be baptized.
That’s when he bought a plane ticket from Shanghai to San Francisco. When we met, he gave me a bear hug and said he was not leaving till I baptized him. Over the next few days, we arranged for some Chinese-speaking believers to study carefully with him. I am thrilled to report I had the privilege of personally baptizing Mr. Wu on a beautiful Sabbath day a few weeks ago.
You are a vital part of the evangelism cycle that made reaching Mr. Wu possible. The Holy Spirit used your loving, compassionate support to bring the truth within Mr. Wu’s reach and give him a sense of urgency. Now he even wants to work fulltime to reach his own people for Jesus—it is so refreshing to see his raw enthusiasm for his faith! Believing the days are very short, he forsook everything to follow Jesus. Thank you for doing your part in Mr. Wu’s new life!
That’s a beautiful story of salvation, isn’t it? Well, the good news is that this very same impact is being felt in many other locations around the world.
Philippines: Prophecy Countdown
The Lord also blessed your loving support far beyond our expectations during our recent outreach trip to the Philippines. I have to say, it’s a thrill to share the good news with more than 10,000 people at once and witness 596 souls take their stand through baptism! The Cuneta Astrodome in Manila was filled to capacity with people hungry for spiritual truth. Many came because they saw our broadcasts in their area for many years. You helped get the Word to them at exactly the right time and in the right place.
Just a few weeks before our arrival, the pope visited Manila where he spoke to large crowds. There is a big battle over the destiny of these wonderful people, and you helped deal a monumental counterstrike to the false teachings gripping this nation.
Prophecy Countdown was an epoch event, and Hope Channel China filmed each meeting and continues rebroadcasting them to viewers throughout the nation. Also, because of your partnership, we’ll continue to broadcast the three angels’ messages for another year. God’s Word brought liberty to thousands, and His people were revived. We saw even more blessings that I just don’t have the room to share!
Eternally Liberated
But there is one more story I just have to tell you.
While in Manila, we were invited to speak at a women’s prison and, I must admit, one special encounter brought me to tears and drove home the incredible impact you’re having around the world through your partnership with Amazing Facts.
After I preached to a crowd of 800 inmates, one sophisticated-looking woman stood up and said she’d been in prison for nearly 20 years. When first imprisoned, she was deeply depressed. But now she is happy because, 18 years earlier, she came to the Lord after watching our New Revelation DVDs while in prison. With tears she said she never dreamed I would come to her prison and see her face to face. I gave her a big hug, and I hope she felt your warm, caring heart that made reaching her possible in the first place.
All this is just a small sample, truly. We receive encouraging letters sharing stories like these all the time. “Sara,” from the volatile Middle East, wrote saying, “Dear Pastor Doug, I’m watching your amazing programs here in Iran. God blessed me with a wonderful, amazing, and joyful experience. I met a friend, and we found you among thousands of channels that we get through special dishes, both just by ‘accident’!” To God be all the glory!
Time Is Speeding Up
Together, you and I have been empowered and equipped by the Holy Spirit to share the Bible truth about Jesus at a speed the apostles could have never dreamed.
Through radio and TV broadcasts, DVDs, websites, Bible studies, live training and other ministry materials, people’s lives are being changed—transformed from hopeless, lost sinners to cleansed, redeemed children of God. That’s our mission, and I thank you for grasping the vision and joining me in this work.
Still, there are so many more people who don’t know Christ like you and I do, so we must translate these messages in the world’s major languages. Your investment today in the printing and distribution of these resources will make a huge difference in reaching people of every tongue, tribe, people, and nation with our distinct message for this time. What a great opportunity to invest for Christ’s kingdom!
Perhaps you aren’t able to go overseas as a missionary personally, but you still desire to have a profound impact around the world. You can make a difference by working with Amazing Facts! So will you please prayerfully ask God how much He wants you to accomplish this month with a sacrificial gift to continue reaching the vast global mission field?
The Bible says: “The devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time”(Revelation 12:12). Friend, if the devil is working harder because he knows time is short, we also must be stirred by the shortness of time so that many more people can discover the true Jesus and His last-day message.
Thank you in advance for sending your gift today! Let's set hearts on fire for Jesus.
Pastor Doug Batchelor