Wallace G. Smith

[The text below represents an edited transcript of this Tomorrow’s World program.]

Signs of the End-Times: 3 World Superpowers Emerging

History has seen many superpowers rise and fall. Since World War II and the fall of the Soviet Union, the United States of America was left as the last remaining superpower—a nation capable of extending its power and influence to any part of the globe, seemingly at will.

But times are changing. The old international order is crumbling. Alliances are shifting. And new leaders, nations, and organizations are seeking the throne for themselves.

Political scientists pour over reports and analyses, trying to figure out who will come out on top, yet they all ignore the one source that reveals the future configuration of the world in detail: God’s word.

The Almighty Creator of heaven and earth REVEALED the identity of Earth’s final superpowers millennia in advance in the prophetic pages of your Bible.

World War II left civilization with three national powers recognized around the globe as superpowers: the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union. However, that conflict was exhausting for the British, and their power to influence world affairs quickly declined—a decline revealed in the starkest terms in the Suez Crisis of 1956. The Cold War that followed World War II ended with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, leaving the U.S. as the sole remaining superpower—able to project its influence and power to any location on the face of the earth and unquestioned in its military and economic dominance among the nations of the world.

But, my friends, times change. Yesterday’s great empires become today’s backwater nations and, in some cases, tomorrow’s historical footnotes—mere memories of interest only to academics studying the relics of the past.

The Fall of the United States

Today, the United States is riven by ideological differences and seems continually fractured into smaller and smaller angry fragments, each finding it harder and harder to live within the same country with the others.

As the U.S. seeks to get its own house in order, nations such as China see an opportunity to exert influence and project their own dominance in directions that the American government would once have never allowed. European nations, such as Germany, who have long looked to the United States and its backing of NATO for a sense of security against the Soviet Union, and later Russia, no longer have confidence that the U.S. has their backs. And alliances that stood for generations are now disintegrating, even as long-time enemies—such as Israel and many Arab nations—reconsider their options in a world where all the old variables are taking on new values.

And all of this is happening in a world that has grown more dangerous than ever—one in which the massive deployment of drones in the Ukraine-Russia conflict has changed the face of warfare, not to mention the potential impact of advanced biological weapons and the wildcard represented by artificial intelligence.

The structure and shape of the world is changing right before our eyes.

Will the United States remain the superpower for years to come? Will a rival to the U.S. eventually rise to the top? Or even replace it?

Who will be the next superpowers?

Well, the answer to that question doesn’t have to be a mystery, because there is a source of knowledge and understanding that the political prognosticators of our day rarely consider. Yet it is the only one that has been right each time and every time in its predictions. And that is the word of God—the Holy Bible.

The prophecies of the Bible are like history written in advance—and are inspired by the only One who KNOWS that future with certainty. Look with me in Isaiah 46, beginning in verse 9, where the prophet records God’s challenge to mankind.

Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure… (Isaiah 46:9–10).

What He says is going to happen DOES HAPPEN, WITHOUT FAIL, EVERY TIME.

3 World Superpowers Arise in End-Time Bible Prophecy

If we want to be able to identify the superpowers of the future, we need only to look to God, the One who reveals the future, and see what He says in His word.

So, where do we look?

Well, in World War II, the superpowers were easy to find. You only had to look at where the conflict was raging the hottest, and there you saw them engaged in battle.

So to identify the END-TIME superpowers, we need only look where the greatest END-TIME conflict will take place before the return of Christ. And God’s word is utterly clear on that location: the Middle East and the land of Israel.

We see the centrality of Israel and Jerusalem in end-time conflict made plain in Bible prophecy. For instance, look in Zechariah 12:2:

Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for ALL peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though ALL NATIONS OF THE EARTH are gathered against it (Zechariah 12:2–3).

What a testimony to God’s word that Israel was re-established as a nation in 1948. And as prophecy foretold, it remains at the center of world affairs.

God long ago prophesied that the nations of the world would not be able to solve the challenge of Israel and Jerusalem—and no, even current peace treaties, agreements, and alliances will not solve it.

So if Jerusalem, Israel, and the surrounding region represent the stage for the final acts of mankind before Christ’s return, then the three final superpowers are the actors who will occupy that stage in the end-times.

The King of the North, the King of the South, and a 200-Million Man Army

Now, many biblical prophecies combine to give us the details of the end-time scenario. For instance, in Daniel’s book of prophecy, we see that a dominating economic and military power he calls the King of the North will storm through the Middle East. It will be provoked by a rival power he calls the King of the South.

The King of the North will press against the King of the South, entering its territory conquering and pillaging, until it is troubled by NEWS it hears of incredibly MASSIVE ARMIES on the other side of the Euphrates. After much conflict, the river Euphrates is miraculously dried up, allowing these two powers, the King of the North and the massive force from the East to meet on the hill of Megiddo—at what is called in Hebrew Armageddon—and they gather there for what God calls in Revelation 16:14 “the Battle of that Great Day of God Almighty.” The devastation unleashed by these military forces in their conflicts leading up to the final battle is prophesied to kill “a THIRD of mankind” (Revelation 9:18).

In today’s terms, a third of humanity would be more than TWO BILLION PEOPLE.

The conflicts to come between these superpowers will be horrific—so horrific that Jesus Christ warns all of us in Matthew 24:22 that “no flesh would be saved” alive unless “those days were shortened” by God’s intervention. And we should thank God that He will intervene.

So, who are these superpowers—the King of the North, the King of the South, and the massive armies from the East?

Who Are Kings of the East? 200-Million Man Army Explained

First, we have to recognize that such compass directions in prophecy—north, south, and east—are determined from the perspective of Israel and Jerusalem, the land of the prophets.

With this in mind, the massive forces from the East are perhaps the easiest to find candidates for.

Revelation 16:12 refers to these as “the kings from the east,” implying a multinational coalition of some sort.

Revelation 9:16 describes the armies from that region, on the other side of the Euphrates, as being two-hundred million strong. There are very few nations in the world that could muster such an army in the foreseeable future. Of them, there are two obvious candidates: China and India—both of which lie east of Israel and of the Euphrates River. Combined, these two nations contain more than one-third of the ENTIRE POPULATION OF THE WORLD—one out of every three human beings on earth.

These facts, along with their geographic position, make them strong candidates for being contributors to the collective armies of the East. No doubt, other peoples east of the Euphrates River will contribute, as well—such as Iran (or Persia in Bible prophecy), portions of modern Russia, North and South Korea, and Japan. All are candidates as additional partners in this combined eastern superpower, creating one of the largest military coalitions the world has ever seen.

Who Is the King of the North in Bible Prophecy?

Next, let’s consider the King of the North. This terrifying individual is more commonly known as the Beast of Revelation.

In Daniel 2, we read of a great prophetic image that symbolized four successive world powers, beginning with the Babylon of Daniel’s day. The fourth world empire pictured by the legs of iron in that image is the Roman Empire and its various successive revivals throughout history—such as the reigns of Charlemagne, Napoleon, and Mussolini. The feet of the image made of iron and clay symbolize the final, end-time revival of the Roman Empire that will exist in power at the time of Christ’s return. We read of these feet, beginning in Daniel 2:41:

Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay (Daniel 2:41–43).

This end-time power will be “partly strong and partly fragile” because its component parts do not naturally adhere together, just as iron and clay do not.

As this very ministry has explained for the better part of a century, the current seeds of what will become this Revived Roman Empire can be found in today’s European Union and will be led by a resurgent Germany.

Now, to be frank, we’ve been ridiculed for this stance over the years—after all, since World War II, Europe has relied heavily on the United States for military support and protection, and Germany has been so burdened by its past in World War II that it seemed almost too ashamed to build a massive military presence. But as the Apostle Paul says in the book of Romans: “[L]et God be true but every man a liar” (Romans 3:4). And as usual, current events are catching up to prophecy.

Spurred by conflict between Russia and Ukraine and their concern that the United States is turning its back on them, Europe and Germany have suddenly begun taking dramatic actions to seize their own military destiny.

In 2025, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced:

“We are in an era of rearmament, and Europe is ready to massively boost its defence spending,” and proposed mobilizing up to 800 billion euros—almost one trillion U.S. dollars—in defense spending (“Press statement by President von der Leyen on the defence package,” ec.europa.eu, March 3, 2025).

For Germany’s part, the office of German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced in December 2025:

“We are sending a signal to the (NATO) alliance and our partners: Germany is leading the way. We are fulfilling our obligations to the alliance and accepting our responsibility for security and peace in Europe” (“German lawmakers approve billions in military expenditure,” dw.com, December 17, 2025).

Now this was after the German government had just authorized 50 billion euros to be spent on military upgrades. Earning much of that money will be Germany’s biggest defense contractor, Rhinemetall—the same major manufacturer of arms for Germany during both World War I and World War II, and which is now expanding arms factories across Europe and building new ones.

Once again, the forges of war are igniting across Europe.

But what of the prophecy that the kingdom of the north, the revived Roman Empire, will be a mixture of iron and clay that has difficulty adhering? Truly, unity in the European Union HAS historically been a huge challenge, and it remains so today. What force will be able to bind these nations together to truly empower the King of the North, the coming Beast of Revelation?

That binding power will come from a common religion, and an unholy alliance of church and state.

Who Is the King of the South in Daniel 11?

We’ve identified two of the three end-time superpowers: the collection of a massive military force powered by nations east of the Euphrates, and a revived Holy Roman Empire centered in Europe. But what of Daniel’s prophesied King of the South?

Again, we look to Jerusalem and the Holy Land to understand directional references. The prophesied Kings of the East are just that: nations and peoples that lie east of Jerusalem. Now, if you draw a horizontal line at Jerusalem, you’ll notice that Europe lies above that line—in latitudes north of Jerusalem on the globe.

So what nations do we see south of Jerusalem?

Some have sought to identify the King of the South with Iran, given the frequent trouble that nation has sought to cause for modern Israel. But look at our map. Iran (or Persia as it is called in Scripture) is not south of Israel, but east.

Remember: Don’t try to interpret the Bible based on current events. Eventually, current events always catch up to the Bible, as the late evangelist John Ogwyn writes in Revelation: The Mystery Unveiled!

We have to let the Bible interpret itself, rather than trying to read our own preconceived notions or current world events back into the text. Only in this way can we see Bible prophecies in their proper context.

That is, don’t try to cram the news into the Bible. The Bible interprets itself. And in the case of the nations behind the King of the South, we see details in Daniel’s prophecy if we’ll simply read them. For instance, turn to Daniel 11, and let’s begin reading in verse 40.

At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through. He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon. He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels (Daniel 11:40–43).

Daniel 11 pictures the wrath of the King of the North against the King of the South being directed at nations of northern Africa.

It is worth noting that today’s League of Arab States lies primarily south of Jerusalem, and key nations of these Arab states, such as Egypt, face the wrath of the European King of the North in the years to come.

Now does that mean that the current Arab League is the prophesied King of the South? Of course not. With the topsy-turvy nature of alliances today—not to mention the historic volatility of relations between Arabic nations—much can happen in the years just ahead. But the Islamic nature of the nations south of Jerusalem, plus the historic conflict between so-called Christian Europe and Islamic peoples, as in the Crusades, is a detail worth noting as these end-time conditions come together. And rest assured, there will be a unified power of nations south of Israel that will be powerful enough to provoke the European superpower to great wrath—as these three leviathans of end-time prophecy compete for global dominance.

The Final Superpower at the End of the Age

So in the last days leading up to the return of Christ, we see a counterfeit-Christian, European superpower, a massive military superpower alliance to the east of Israel and the Euphrates, and an Islamic superpower involving nations of North Africa and others.

But note—what’s missing in all of this? Or, perhaps more accurately, WHO is missing in all of this?

After all, can you imagine a major conflict involving superpowers today that does NOT involve in some way the United States? Where is the U.S. in this great, end-time conflict?

In short, the United States, the United Kingdom, and other British-descended nations will find themselves to be superpowers no longer—utterly bereft of power and influence on the world stage and, frankly, subjugated nations, crushed, dissected, and replaced by the very nations we’ve discussed today.

I know that is hard to believe given the dominating prominence of the U.S. today. But let there be no doubt. God’s word is sure. These three powers—the King of the North, the King of the South, and the armies of the East—will rise. And in today’s headlines, we see seeds of their rise to power being planted.

But in reality, there is a FOURTH superpower to consider—one we’ve barely mentioned, but one which is prophesied to crush those that we’ve discussed today.

We read of it in Daniel 2.

We read there earlier of the revived Roman Empire that was symbolized by the feet of a statue, composed of iron and clay. This statue was seen by Nebuchadnezzar in a dream—a dream explained to him by the prophet Daniel.

In this dream, this final, carnal, end-time worldly superpower is destroyed in a spectacular manner.

You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth (Daniel 2:34–35).

Daniel later explains to Nebuchadnezzar that the stone from heaven, cut without hands, that would crush the worldly superpowers of this world is the Kingdom of God that will come with the returning Jesus Christ.

And the reign of Christ will spread to the entire earth. But unlike the superpowers of today, Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, will not seek to enrich Himself or selfishly control the world for His own benefit. Rather, He will bring the peace, joy, and true prosperity that all people and nations have always desired but could never achieve.

In fact, as we close, let’s turn to Isaiah 19:24 and look into a small window at the peace the world will enjoy under that final superpower.

In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing in the midst of the land, whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.”

When you understand that Assyria in prophecy is modern Germany, you see that this is a beautiful picture of nations, once connected with the King of the North and the King of the South, now working alongside the people of Israel, with all three of them claimed as His own by Almighty God and His Son.

What a glorious day of peace Jesus Christ will bring to this world, when all human superpowers—past, present, and future—will be replaced forever by the Kingdom of God for all eternity.

[The text below represents an edited transcript of this Tomorrow’s World program.]

The Fourth Commandment Explained: The Sabbath Day

Longtime viewers—and even most new ones—are aware that we here at Tomorrow’s World are passionate about keeping the Ten Commandments, including the Fourth Commandment about keeping the seventh-day Sabbath.

• Jesus kept the seventh-day Sabbath.
• His first-century followers—both Jew and Gentile—kept it.
• And a continuous line of faithful Christians throughout history have kept it, as well—just as God commands.

But exactly HOW do you keep the seventh-day Sabbath?

Well, today we’re going to give you God’s own answer to that question.

The Sabbath Was Made for Man—Not Just for Jews

But first, I want to highlight two ditches to avoid.

The first is believing we should look to Hebrew or Jewish practices and Judaism to understand how to keep the Sabbath.

This is a mistake for a number of reasons.

First, over the centuries, Judaism added many additional man-made regulations, restrictions, and conditions that God never intended to be part of Sabbath-keeping. In fact, one of the themes of Jesus Christ’s ministry in the first-century was His confrontations with the Jewish leadership about how they’d made God’s Sabbath a burden.

For instance, let’s look at His example and instruction in Mark 2, beginning in verse 23.

Now it happened that He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain. And the Pharisees said to Him, “Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” (Mark 2:23-24).

Now, you can search the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation and see no passage at all in which God says you can’t feed yourself by plucking a few heads of grain on the Sabbath day. Now you’ll find instructions not to use busy times of the year, such as plowing and harvesting times, as an excuse not to keep the Sabbath—that’s in Exodus 34:21. But no one would rightly call what Jesus and His Apostles were doing “harvesting.”

God Created the Sabbath as a Blessing—Not a Burden

They were violating the overly strict, unbiblical regulations of Judaism, but they were not guilty of breaking the Fourth Commandment. If they were, then Jesus was too—yet we know that He never broke even one of God’s commands.

So after highlighting how the high priest in King David’s day had done a better job of administering God’s law according to its intent, Jesus concludes in verses 27 and 28:

“The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27-28).

There are multiple insights to be gained here, and we’ll touch on some later. For now, note that Jesus pointed out that the Sabbath was created by God to benefit man, not the other way around. And the unbiblical requirements that the Jewish authorities had added to the Sabbath command were turning it into a burden God never intended it to be.

Such examples of Jesus’ instruction to the supposed experts concerning proper Sabbath keeping abound in the gospels. The scribes, Pharisees, and priests may have been experts in Judaism, but that doesn’t equate with being experts in how to keep God’s laws as He intended. And that is still true today.

Paul spoke of his fellow Jewish citizens as “hav[ing] a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge” (Romans 10:2). It is God’s Spirit working through the ministry of His Church, the Body of Christ, that brings truth and understanding of the Scriptures—not an obsession with any one historical language, culture, or people.

Keeping the Sabbath doesn’t mean adopting practices rooted in Judaism or the teachings of various so-called “Hebrew roots” movements. God’s commands are often far simpler than people give them credit for. To keep the Sabbath, no one needs to adopt Judaism or any of the many movements that seek credibility by imitating it.

Saturday Is the Sabbath Day—Set It Apart

The other ditch we need to identify at the beginning is the mistake of treating the Sabbath as if it were a generic principle of “one day in seven,” and not the specifically designated seventh day of the week—the only day of the week God set aside as the Sabbath.

We saw earlier in the book of Mark how Jesus said “the Sabbath was made [or created] for man” (Mark 2:27) This points to a profound truth about the Sabbath: That it was directly created by God. Let’s read about that creation in Genesis 2. When we do, we’ll see that the Sabbath was very unique—something God made by NOT working.

Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. 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 2:1-3).

Here we see that God did not set apart just any day of the week, but the seventh day specifically.

Remember the Sabbath and Keep it Holy

We see this reflected in the Fourth Commandment itself in Exodus 20, beginning in verse 8.

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 (Exodus 20:8-10).

We’ll read the rest of the commandment later, but notice how plain it is that God, who alone has the authority to designate holy time, set apart the seventh day of the week specifically as the Sabbath. To observe any other day of the week is simply not Sabbath-keeping. Resting? Sure. Taking some “me time”? Perhaps. But not keeping the Sabbath.

The Fourth Commandment | Exodus 20:8–11

Let’s begin our look at three keys to keeping God’s Sabbath by starting with the Sabbath command, itself. This time, though, let’s read it in full.

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 Sabbath Rest Means Stop Work

There are several things worth noting in that commandment, but for now, let’s focus on the fact that:

1. We should cease from our work on the Sabbath.

We saw earlier that God did this Himself at creation.

On the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work (Genesis 2:2).

So, too, He commands us to cease from our own work on the seventh day.

In today’s busy world, it’s easy to find ourselves working 24/7. But God commands us to pause and cease from our labors when the seventh day begins.

When Does the Sabbath Begin? At Sunset Friday

By the way, when does that day begin? As Genesis 1 and other passages of the Bible reveal, God counts days from sunset to sunset. So, the seventh-day Sabbath begins from sundown on Friday and continues to sundown on Saturday.

And when sundown arrives on Friday, God commands that we set aside our labor, cease from our regular pursuits, and take a rest—just as He did 6,000 years ago.

God doesn’t get tired. He didn’t need to rest on the seventh day He didn’t think, “Wow, those six days of creating were really hard. I need a break!”

He did that as an example for us to follow.

And “work” doesn’t just mean “employment.” How many people spend their Saturdays mowing the lawn, maintaining their home, or doing other laborious chores? The commandment is plain: “On the seventh day… you shall do no work”—neither you, nor those over whom you have authority.

Now, some of you might say, “My job has times that are just too busy to take a break.”

If you think this applies to you, I hear you. I used to be an actuarial mathematician for a large insurance company, and our department had its own seasons in the year when work was especially crazy, often involving important legal reporting.

But are we to abandon the Sabbath rest during those busy seasons? What does God say?

God’s Work Week: Six Days You Shall Labor

Consider Exodus 34:21, which we mentioned earlier. And as we read it, remember that ancient Israel was an agricultural society.

Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; in plowing time and in harvest you shall rest.

Now plowing time and harvest time were just about the busiest times of year in their society. Yet God told them not to make an exception in those days. They were to honor His command and to rest from labor on the seventh-day Sabbath.

Come sundown Friday evening, God commands us to focus on different things, as we’ll discuss further later in the program.

Use the Preparation Day to Protect the Sabbath

Part of making this work is properly preparing for the Sabbath. God taught ancient Israel this principle after freeing them from Egypt. Many people have heard of the miraculous “manna from heaven,” but few realize that a major purpose of the miracle was to test God’s people to see if they would take the Sabbath command seriously.

I recommend you read the entire account in Exodus 16. For now, let me summarize it by saying that, for the first five days of the week, God rained down enough manna for one day, every day. But on the sixth day, what we’d call Friday, He rained down two days’ worth, so that they could prepare enough for that day and for the Sabbath day that followed. And on the Sabbath, they were not to go out looking for more—since God had given them enough for two days the day before.

Then Moses said, “Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field. Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, there will be none.” Now it happened that some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found none. And the LORD said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws?” (Exodus 16:25–28).

God had warned them to prepare properly for the seventh day during the time leading up to it. And that’s what we should do, as well.

God wants us to protect the blessing His Sabbath represents by planning for it—taking care of household chores and other mundane work on the other six days of the week, and preserving the seventh day for the divine rest God intended.

Yet the Sabbath is about far more than mere relaxation. As helpful as physical rest is, the real power and blessing of the Sabbath begins to be unlocked as we engage with the two keys that remain.

Keep the Sabbath Holy | Exodus 20:8 Explained

A second vital key is that:

2. We should keep the Sabbath holy.

Far more than a mere day of rest, the Sabbath is a day that is holy and set apart by God. In fact, we see this mentioned in the Fourth Commandment even before we’re told to rest. Look with me again at the commandment listed in Exodus 20.

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy (Exodus 20:8).

There it is, right at the beginning.

We saw this in Genesis 2, as well. Let’s read that again and note what God does.

Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. 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 2:1-3).

Now notice, God didn’t just rest on the seventh day. He blessed it and sanctified it—made it holy. Those who want to say that the sacredness of the Sabbath began at Mount Sinai or that it is only for Jewish people have no leg to stand on. The Sabbath was made holy from creation.

As a day sanctified and set apart from the other days as holy time, the seventh-day Sabbath is not a day we spend like we spend other days. After all, you might rest or recharge on a Sunday, Tuesday, or Thursday all sorts of ways—go to the movies, watch some sports, play a little golf, go to a concert, or read a few chapters in your favorite book.

It’s One of God’s Holy Days in the Bible

But the Sabbath isn’t just a day off or some restful vacation time. It is holy, sacred time, set apart by God for special purposes.

God highlights this in the book of Isaiah. In Isaiah 56 God makes plain that He is speaking to people of any origin or nationality, not just Jewish people, and He says in verse 2:

Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who lays hold on it; who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, and keeps his hand from doing any evil (Isaiah 56:2).

Now note, that is a blessing for not defiling something God has declared holy—His Sabbath. God elaborates two chapters later, in Isaiah 58, beginning in verse 13.

If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the LORD; and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth… (Isaiah 58:13-14).

So what do these words really mean? Certainly, the Sabbath is a day we should seek to spend more time than we normally do in prayer and in reading and studying from God’s word. But it really is more than that.

Roderick Meredith—an evangelist of Jesus Christ for more than 60 years and one who LIVED God’s way of life for even longer—explains what God means by these passages in Isaiah:

So we are not to be doing our own pleasure on God’s Holy Day. That means we are not to be pursuing our hobbies or leisure activities. That does not preclude doing any enjoyable things on the Sabbath whatsoever, for we are to find delight in it. The point is that whatever we do, God must be an intrinsic part of it. A family walk through a natural setting, for example, is a wonderful way to get in touch with the great God who made the beautiful creation we see.

When the seventh day arrives, we must stop pursuing our “own ways” (the things we normally do), seeking our “own pleasure” (just trying to have fun), and speaking our “own words” (the everyday things we talk about that do not involve God). This last one is often very hard to follow because “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34). To truly keep the Sabbath in spirit, we must focus our minds on God and those things He wants us to be concerned with during His holy time. Then, as God promises, we will be truly blessed (Which Day Is the Christian Sabbath?, Roderick C. Meredith, p. 38).

Learning to honor God’s command by resting from our usual, day-to-day lives—and treating the seventh-day Sabbath as the holy time it is—truly is life-changing.

The Sabbath Day Is a Holy Convocation

Yet there is a vital third key to keeping that Sabbath.

• We should cease from our work on the Sabbath.
• We should keep the Sabbath holy.

Many sincere people stop there, but doing so prevents you from experiencing the full blessings of the seventh-day Sabbath as God designed it. For that, we need the third vital key, as well.

3. We should meet in holy convocation on the Sabbath.

We see this explained in Leviticus 23, beginning in verses 1 and 2.

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts’” (Leviticus 23:1-2).

Notice here that He doesn’t call these days “the Feast of the Jews” or even the “Feasts of Israel.” God says that these are HIS Feasts, “the Feasts of the LORD”! And He says further that they are “holy convocations.” Let’s continue.

Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings (Leviticus 23:3).

Holy Convocation Meaning

Now as we’ve seen, God speaks to the holiness of the Sabbath and the need to treat it as a sacred rest. But again He highlights that it is a “holy convocation.”

What does this mean?

Well, we’ve already covered what it means to be “holy”—something set apart by God for His own use. And a “convocation” is a calling together of people out of the world to a meeting. In this case, a HOLY meeting of HOLY people, commanded by their HOLY God!

God’s People Gather Together on the Sabbath to Worship

The seventh-day Sabbath is THE day of the week God Himself set aside for His worshippers to gather together—to praise Him together, worship Him together, and learn together from His ordained teachers out of His inspired word. And when we meet and fellowship with each other—not on a day set aside by human tradition or doctrines, but on the day the Lord Himself set apart as holy, we do more than fellowship with each other—we fellowship with God the Father and Jesus Christ, as well.

It’s no wonder that the Apostle Paul wrote what he did in Hebrews 10:24-25.

And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

Today’s free offer explains how the seventh-day Sabbath pictures the beautiful rest Christ is bringing to the whole world. And as we see that approaching, we should long ALL THE MORE to meet in holy convocation on the day picturing that time of peace and wonder.

For anyone seeking to truly observe the biblical Sabbath, just as Jesus Christ and His faithful followers have done for almost two millennia, these three keys are the essential ingredients:

• Cease from your own work.
• Keep the day holy.
• And gather together in holy convocation with the people of God.

Thanks for watching. If you found this video helpful, check out more of our content, or hit subscribe to stay up to date on what we publish. And if you want the free study guide related to this topic, just click the link. We’ll see you next time.

[The text below represents an edited transcript of this Tomorrow’s World program.]

How to Pray to God

Many people believe prayer is important—and they’re right. But for someone new to prayer, it can be hard to know how to start or what to say. And if we’re honest, even those of us who are more experienced can sometimes struggle.

But there is good news. Because the One Person throughout human history who’s had the closest and most intimate relationship with God offers to teach us how to pray. And if we’ll listen to Him, the door to a deeper and more personal relationship with God through prayer opens wide.

There are few things more important than regular communication with your Father in heaven. Yet prayer doesn’t exactly come naturally.

After all, we can’t see God. When we talk with Him, He generally doesn’t talk back. There might be times when we feel as though God is virtually in the room with us, but then other times when it feels as if no one is listening.

It doesn’t help that the cacophony of “Christianities” out there teach so many different things about prayer. Some recommend uttering memorized prayers. Some recommend praying to intermediaries, such as angels or supposed “saints.” Others suggest that the most powerful prayers are uttered in nonsensical “tongues” that no one understands.

Some of us have basic questions about prayer, but we’re too embarrassed to ask—even though we shouldn’t be. How do you start a prayer? What do you say? What should you ask about?

All of those are good questions. And if you’re beginning to ask those questions, God is delighted that you want to know.

“Lord, Teach Us to Pray”

In fact, Jesus’ own disciples also asked to know. Let’s read about it in Luke 11:1.

Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”

So He taught them and, because His answer to their question was recorded for us, that means Jesus’ instruction to them can become His instruction to us, as well. And there’s no greater teacher of prayer than Jesus Christ Himself.

We read more details about what He taught in Matthew’s account of the same teaching. We see it there in chapter 6, beginning in verse 5. There He says:

“When you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward” (Matthew 6:5).

He’s not saying that public prayer under some circumstances is bad. The Bible has multiple examples of public prayers, including some from Jesus Himself. He is saying here, though, that we must guard against seeing our prayers as a means of impressing others. Instead, our regular, daily prayers are meant to be private, between ourselves and God.

He explains this in more detail, beginning in verse 6; “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly” (Matthew 6:6).

Note, Jesus suggests finding a private place for your routine and regular prayer. That way, your prayer is a matter between you and God, alone. This doesn’t mean that prayer with a spouse or children is inappropriate. Not at all. In fact, praying with children is a wonderful way for them to learn how to do it themselves.

But again, prayer is not for show. It’s about intimate communication with your Creator. He adds another important element to this in the next verse.

“And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words” (Matthew 6:7).

We don’t build an intimate relationship with anyone by repeating lines like a character in a play. Prayer is real communication with God, not some sort of routine “spell” we cast with the same words time after time.

This is a little ironic, because the passage that follows is often called “The Lord’s Prayer,” and is repeated by many as if that repetition of the exact words, like a script, is equivalent to prayer like Jesus taught. But such an approach violates the very instruction of the passage, not to mention the collected body of examples in Scripture.

Rather, what Jesus did for them in the verses that follow—and what He does for us—represents a model prayer—a prayer that we can learn from so we can know how to pray ourselves.

7 Things Jesus Taught Us to Pray

And in Jesus’ model prayer that He used to teach His disciples, we find seven helpful elements that we should employ in our own prayers, as well.

Jesus has already taught us about the best environment for prayer, as well as what not to do. Now let’s dive right into His model prayer to learn what we should do.

1. Pray to God Directly

First, notice how Jesus begins the prayer. Let’s continue reading in Matthew 6:9.

“In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven…”

Now let’s stop right there, because He’s already taught us something important.

Notice that Jesus addresses God directly and focuses His prayer on His Father in Heaven. He doesn’t begin with His own needs, wants, or desires. He focuses on God. And He calls Him “Father.” A prayer is an appeal to your Father in heaven, and it is rooted in a relationship with Him.

And notice, too, it is a prayer made directly to God. Those who teach a need to go through some sort of lower beings, praying to angels or imagined saints in heaven, are simply contradicting God’s word and Jesus’ own example and instruction.

In several passages, Jesus speaks of asking the Father directly (John 15:16, John 16:23). Later, the Apostle Paul tells us that we may “come boldly to [God’s] throne of grace” (Hebrews 4:16)—the promise of direct access. Those who teach you to pray to lesser beings than God are deceiving you, however innocently, and they should be completely ignored.

Of course, Jesus is in heaven, and He, too, is God. And we do see the example of the martyr Stephen asking Jesus to receive His spirit right before His death. The Son of God is God, just as the Father is God—together, they are the Family of God.

Yet, there is a reason Stephen’s prayer is rare in Scripture. Our prayers should primarily be directed to God the Father, just as Jesus teaches.

And addressing God directly, our Creator and Life-Giver, at the very start of our prayer, putting our attention on Him, not ourselves, helps to set our mind in the right place in our prayer from the very beginning.

2. Praise God and Treat Him with Reverence

The next element of prayer Jesus teaches us helps to deepen that frame of mind. Let’s continue in Matthew 6:9.

“Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your name.”

Here in the model prayer, Jesus teaches us the next element: Praise and honor God.

To hallow something is to consider it holy and treat it with great reverence. And God’s name represents His character, His goodness, and His majesty.

Jesus addresses His Father in heaven and, again, rather than launching into all He wants or needs, He begins by praising God. In our prayers, we should spend the earliest moments reflecting on just who it is we are addressing: Mentioning and thanking Him for His goodness and His mercy, for His power and glory—addressing Him in a manner that shows our understanding that He is holy, righteous, and perfect, ever-living, ever-loving, ever-wise, and ever-mindful of His creation.

As Isaiah 57 calls Him:

The High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy (Isaiah 57:15).

Beginning our prayer by praising God helps us to see all we are about to say and ask in perspective. It reminds us of just Who is listening to our prayers, so that we stay respectful and humble. It reminds us that He has the power to respond to our prayers—yet also reminds us that He is infinitely wiser than we are, and that we can trust Him with our burdens, knowing that He knows what is right to do with our requests, that He knows when to answer them with a “yes” or even with a “no.”

Beginning with praise, hallowing the name of God, helps to give us the right perspective and puts us in the right mindset for speaking with the Almighty Regent of Heaven and Earth.

3. Seek the Kingdom of God—and God’s Will

What does Jesus teach us next? Let’s continue to listen to Him. The next part of His model prayer continues in Matthew 6:10. After praising God, He says:

“Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

So, He teaches us next to seek God’s Kingdom and will.

In this, Jesus pictures in His model prayer the same admonition He tells all of us later in verse 33 of the same chapter:

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).

And before He has made a single personal request of God, in His model prayer He does just that—expresses His desire for God’s Kingdom.

And truly, with all the tragedy, heartbreak, and turmoil that surrounds us these days, our hearts should be driven to want God’s Kingdom to come as soon as it possibly could.

Yet seeking the Kingdom of God is more than just seeking a paradise on earth. It is desiring God’s will in all things, over and above our own—hence the remainder of this verse.

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Jesus tells us that early in our prayer, we should assure God that we seek His will more than we seek our own. We want His Kingdom to reign, not the world around us—and we want His will to be followed and accomplished in this world, not our own.

This element of prayer can include praying for the preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God in this world, such as praying for this program and its success. And praying for the humility, strength, and courage to accomplish in our own lives what the Kingdom will help the entire world to do—prioritize God’s will, desires, and plans above our own.

Jesus Himself perfectly exemplified this attitude in the Garden of Gethsemane, before His crucifixion, when He said:

“Nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42).

Highlighting to God at the beginning of our prayer that His Kingdom matters more to us than what this world offers and that His will is more important to us than our own will helps our mindset tremendously, allowing us to make our personal requests known to Him in an atmosphere that tells Him we trust Him to make the calls—in our lives, and in the world.

4. “Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread”

Continuing in His model prayer, He says in verse 11:

“Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11).

Here we see Jesus teaching us to depend on God for our daily needs.

Note: Almost half of the model prayer so far has been focused on God—His greatness and goodness, His Kingdom, and the importance of His will in all things, even more than our own. This provides the context for this request, a reflection that we need Him to provide our daily needs.

And of course, it isn’t just about bread. Our needs can vary widely. Our health, our finances, our work and family—we have needs on many levels. And “our” is plural: Our loved ones have needs, as well. Yet as a staple of life, the use of bread in the model prayer helps to symbolize all we physically need.

There are many things to notice in this element of prayer. It shows God that:

• We do not take our daily needs for granted. We look to Him to provide them, knowing that only He has the dependable power to do so.
• Also, there’s a humility in the request. It isn’t for a life of luxury, leisure, and extravagance. Instead, it is a request for the things we truly need to sustain us.
• And it is a daily request, recognizing that tomorrow we will come again before Him to ask for the needs of that day.

It is not that we cannot set before God larger hopes and dreams. God is a father, and any good father loves to hear his child’s wishes and desires. Yet the model prayer teaches us that, at the heart of such things, we should be content with God satisfying our needs, versus being obsessed with our wants. Our earlier focus on God’s graciousness and goodness helps us to trust that in making our requests, He hears them and will take them seriously. And in promises such as we read in Matthew 6:33, we can trust that, if we sincerely put His Kingdom first in our prayer, as Jesus taught us, then we can trust that all things we need shall be added to us.

And our needs are far more than physical, as we’ll see.

5. Ask Forgiveness—and Be Willing to Forgive

Let’s continue in verse 12. After asking for our daily bread, the prayer continues:

“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:12).

Yes, we should not take our standing before God for granted. Jesus teaches us to ask God for forgiveness of our sins. And we need it.

Romans 3:23 tells us that:

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

And 1 John 1:8 says that:

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

Yet, if we’ve been baptized and had hands laid on us by a minister of Jesus Christ, the blood of Christ, the Lamb of God, washes away the sins we’ve committed, as we seek God repentantly with a heart desiring to turn from those sins.

If you’re interested in understanding more about what it means to turn to God in true repentance, one of our representatives can get in touch with you. Just mention you’re interested when you request today’s free material about prayer. Or go to TomorrowsWorld.org to reach out online.

This element of the model prayer reminds us that we do not take God’s forgiveness for granted and requests that God continue to wash us clean through the sacrifice of Christ.

And note, too, that Jesus attaches our own forgiveness to our willingness to forgive others. Many ignore this fact to their spiritual peril. Christ explains it a little later in Matthew 6.

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14–15).

Jesus explains that if we truly want forgiveness for our sins and wrongdoings, we must forgive those who’ve wronged us. And if we find that hard—as it certainly can be—a request to our Father in heaven to help us forgive others is a fitting addition to our prayers. After all, when it comes to forgiveness, He’s the expert.

6. Ask God for Spiritual Protection

Next in the model prayer, Jesus teaches us another area in which we should seek God’s help. Let’s continue the prayer in verse 13 of Matthew 6.

“And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:13).

Now notice, Jesus isn’t just teaching us to ask for God’s protection from the dangerous elements of this world, though such requests are indeed daily physical needs that fit within the earlier area of prayer we discussed concerning “daily bread.” Rather, Jesus teaches us here to ask God for spiritual protection—to go directly to God and to ask Him to help us avoid temptations that may lead us astray into sins, taking us further from Him in our daily walk, instead of drawing us closer.

This does not mean that when trials come God has somehow failed. Many places in Scripture highlight the important role that trials play in our spiritual growth, testing our faith and helping us to grow in patience.

But just as any child would want his father to protect him from pitfalls and traps, we should directly ask God to preserve us spiritually from falling into temptation’s snares. Consider the Apostle Paul’s admonition in his first letter to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 10:12–13).

Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

Paul encouraged the Corinthians not to take their spiritual safety for granted, but to desire God’s help with temptation.

And concerning the evil one, the Apostle Peter told his own readers (in 1 Peter 5:8):

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

These spiritual dangers are more important than even the physical dangers this world throws at us. And Jesus teaches us not to ignore them in our prayers, but to actively ask God for spiritual protection from these dangers.

7. Honor God Again When You End Your Prayer

And now we come to His conclusion to the prayer—and it may seem somewhat familiar. After asking for spiritual protection in the model prayer, we read His final element in Matthew 6:13.

“For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”

Recall how, in the earliest part of the model prayer, Jesus focused us on God, not ourselves, and on God’s Kingdom, not the world around us. And here at the conclusion, He teaches us to end our prayer as it began, magnifying God’s greatness and glory.

Such words provide vital perspective. When we enter prayer, our task is to set our minds on higher things—even in our seemingly mundane, physical requests, we seek to do so with a higher perspective.

And we conclude our prayer with this focus on God, His greatness, and His Kingdom, once again. It helps us to remember that this higher, greater perspective is not just for when we are on our knees before God. It is the perspective we take from His presence to carry throughout our lives—just as our Savior did 2,000 years ago.

And when we hold God in right perspective, in prayer and in life, all other things fall into right perspective as well.

There is nothing more important in this life than building a relationship with God. And Jesus Christ knew that. And He ensured that this model prayer would be recorded forever, not just to teach and guide His followers in the first century, but to teach and guide His followers in the 21st century, as well.

Thanks for watching. If you found this video helpful, check out more of our content or hit subscribe to stay up to date on what we publish. And if you want the free study guide related to this topic, just click the link in the description. We’ll see you next time.