Wallace G. Smith

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

Revealing the White Horse of the Apocalypse

The four horsemen of the apocalypse have inspired wonder, fear, and mystery in the minds of many. Their end-time ride brings terror, catastrophe, and devastation greater than the world has ever known. But their ride begins with the arrival of the first rider on a white horse.

Will you recognize the white horse when it arrives? You can. And after this episode of Tomorrow’s World, you will.

To begin our examination, we need to understand the context of the book of Revelation. That mysterious book represents, as the first verse tells us, “the Revelation of Jesus Christ,” in which the Savior outlines the history of mankind and the Church—from the Apostle John’s day, all the way to ours, describing in detail the end-times and His return from heaven.

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

And as he enters the end-time portion of that vision, Christ shows John four mysterious horses and their riders—the infamous four horsemen of the apocalypse.

Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, “Come and see.” And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer (Revelation 6:1–2).

After this first horsemen, three others follow in sequence, one after the other, each on a different horse: a red one, a black one, and finally a pale and sickly one.

Each represents a wave of calamity that will strike the people of earth—in order, each following the other, in the end-times—calamities that verse 8 tells us will devastate a “fourth of the earth.”

The identity of the second, third, and fourth horses are fairly clear. The red horse represents global warfare, the black horse represents severe famine and want, and the pale horse represents devastating disease and pestilence.

The White Horse Is First of the Four Horsemen

Yet, it is the white horse that comes first. All the others follow that horse, which must come first. So, understanding when these difficulties will begin rests on understanding the nature of that white horse and its rider.

On today’s program, we will focus on explaining to you from the pages of God’s word how to recognize the arrival of this white horse and its horseman. And as we do, it will be clear that the groundwork for the arrival of the white horse is already being laid.

So today we are going to lay out seven keys that will help you identify the white horse, the first of the four horsemen of Revelation.

We will begin by looking to the source of the prophecy for the source of understanding.

End-Time Signs in Matthew 24 Match Revelation 6

We noted earlier that John’s vision is “the Revelation of Jesus Christ,” and it is Jesus Christ Himself who provided the key to understanding the meaning of the first horse—but not in the book of Revelation. For that we need to turn all the way back to the first book of the New Testament, the book of Matthew.

There, in chapter 24 we read of Jesus’ famous Olivet discourse, providing a prophetic description of what would transpire from the Apostles’ day through ours, much like the book of Revelation does.

Let’s read verses 4 through [7]. Here, Jesus’ disciples have just asked him about the destruction of the temple, His coming, and the end of this age.

And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24:4–7).

Now, the afflictions Jesus described have been with mankind for centuries, to be sure. And Christ is warning them not to think just any calamity means the last days are actually here.

Yet think back to the four horsemen and their sequence. We have already seen that horses two, three, and four represent warfare, famine, and disease—in order. And what do we see in Christ’s own words?

• WARFARE
• FAMINE
• PESTILENCE

Notice the exact same order. The four horsemen represent extreme and climactic end-time versions of these calamities that Jesus Christ is describing.

Then let’s follow the sequence back one more step to see the very first thing that Jesus Christ describes.

The First Horseman Is False Christianity

What is the first thing that He warned them about? Look again for yourself in verse 4.

“Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many” (Matthew 24:4).

So, we see that before warfare, famine, and disease, Jesus warns us against religious deception. In fact, not just religious deception in general, but specifically religious deception in His own name—in the name of Christ.

Remember, the punctuation present in most Bibles was not in the original Greek. Jesus is literally telling His disciples that people will come proclaiming that He is the Christ, the Messiah, and will then go on to deceive many.

With this crucial understanding in place, provided by the mouth of the Savior Himself, we have what we need to proceed. And from here, we can begin to identify our seven keys that will help us to recognize the white horse of Revelation.

The fact Jesus revealed is the first key we need to look for.

1. The white horse represents a counterfeit Christianity.

We see this aspect of the white horse in other passages of Scripture, as well.

A False Prophet (Imposter of Christ) Emerges

For instance, look a little later in the book of Revelation in chapter 13. There, after speaking of the political, military, and economic titan that will rise in the coming years—the Beast of Revelation—Jesus Christ reveals to John a second beast representing a second figure—this time, a religious one.

“Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon” (Revelation 13:11).

The biblical symbolism here should be clear. Notice: This False Prophet to come has the appearance of a lamb—that is, he comes across like Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God—but he speaks like a dragon. That is, the things he actually teaches are the subtle twists and lies of the devil, who is called a “dragon” and the “serpent of old” twice in the book of Revelation.

We will dive into some details concerning those lies and deceptions in a moment. But first, it is vital to understand what this white horse represents—that it’s not just any run-of-the-mill false religion. It will specifically be a false, counterfeit Christianity, bearing the name of Jesus Christ and claiming to represent Him and His teachings in the world.

This False Christianity Has Ancient Origins

Next, we must realize that:

2. This counterfeit Christianity is of very ancient origin, going back all the way to the very beginning of real Christianity.

We see in the pages of the Bible that Paul and the Apostles were wrestling against it even in their own day, in the first generation after Jesus Christ began His Church.

Look for instance, in 2 Corinthians chapter 11, where Paul is warning Christians in Corinth against the influence of this counterfeit. Read it there in verses 3 and 4.

“But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it!” (2 Corinthians 11:3–4).

Notice that! He says that some were preaching about Jesus and preaching a gospel, but it was a different Jesus and a different gospel.

Satan Disguises Himself as an Angel of Light

He warns them later that by teaching these lies disguised as true Christianity, Satan “transforms himself into an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14).

This corrupting influence of this counterfeit Christianity was so pervasive that Jesus’ brother Jude had to warn the Church in his own letter.

Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ (Jude 3–4).

And for all the talk of an antichrist to come, notice what the Apostle John wrote near the end of the first century, almost 2,000 years ago.

Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour (1 John 2:18).

Yes, the false Christianity represented by the white horse will not be a “new” religion. It will have an ancient pedigree, going back 2,000 years to the very origins of Christianity.

First Horseman Champions Lawlessness

Again, it looks like Christianity but speaks the words of the dragon. It is the teachings of this false church that give us our next key for identifying the white horse:

3. This religious system and its leader will be lawless and compromising.

What Is Lawlessness in the Bible?

The Apostle Paul called the system of the antichrist the “mystery of lawlessness,” saying that it was “already at work” (2 Thessalonians 2:7) in His day—and that the coming “lawless one” (2 Thessalonians 2:8–9) will be consumed and destroyed at the return of Christ.

Now, we have to be careful here. “Lawless” does not mean completely without laws or order. Quite the contrary, in fact.

Lawless Actions Described in Daniel 7:25

An important detail about this lawless religious leader to come is revealed in the Old Testament book of Daniel. There, in chapter 7 and verse 25, we read the following description:

He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law (Daniel 7:25).

Notice that. It will change times and laws! This lawless system will have many canons, creeds, judgments, and ecclesiastical determinations. Its “church law” may be robust and detailed, but the law God cares about is His own law. And this false church will cast that law aside.

And it may have a rich and full worship calendar, but that calendar will be a change from the worship times commanded by God in His word. That’s because this system will be one of compromise—combining truths of God with corrupting influences of worldly philosophies and paganism.

Same Lawlessness in Harlot of Revelation 17

We see this in Revelation 17. There this false, counterfeit Christian system is depicted as a harlot or prostitute.

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication” (Revelation 17:1–2).

We’ll read more details about this prophetic harlot later in our program, but right now it is vital to understand that God uses prostitution, fornication, and adultery to symbolize compromising the true faith and practice by mixing it with false and pagan ideas and practices. Examples of this can be found in Hosea (Hosea 1:2), Isaiah (Isaiah 57:3), and elsewhere in Scripture.

Power of False Church Used for Martyrdom

The fourth is that:

4. The white horse represents a powerful, persecuting church.

Let’s read a little more in Revelation 17 about the Great Harlot representing this false Christian church.

The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication (Revelation 17:4).

The purple and scarlet clothing and the gold, precious stones and pearls, and her drinking out of a golden cup indicate the harlot’s wealth on display for the world to see. This false religious system is one with a vast amount of worldly wealth—and worldly influence. We saw earlier in verses one and two that she sits on “many waters” and mingles with “the kings of the earth.”

John’s angelic guide in the vision explains the meaning of the waters.

The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues (Revelation 17:15).

So, this false church is global in reach, with faithful adherents all over the world.

Drunk with the Blood of the Martyrs (Saints)

And how does this church that pretends to be Christ’s church and carries His name use its wealth and influence? To persecute, murder, and martyr those who seek to follow and obey the true Jesus Christ.

Notice verse 6 says the woman was “drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus” (Revelation 17:6).

This is indicated, as well, in the passage we read earlier in Daniel 7, which said that the saints shall be given into the hand of this false prophet for “a time and times and half a time”—that is, the length of the Great Tribulation.

Recall the original description of the white horse. Revelation 6:2 said that the rider “had a bow” and “he went out conquering and to conquer.” This is not a church willing to convert others through simply preaching and example. And the coming persecution will make the inquisitions of past centuries look like child’s play.

Political Alliance with the Beast of Revelation

An additional, major tool wielded by this false Christianity in its persecution of true Christians makes up our next key for identifying the white horse:

5. This false church will be in an unholy religious-political alliance.

Notice that the Great Harlot of Revelation 17 is not alone. Read John’s description in verse 3.

And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns (Revelation 17:3).

The heads of this beast represent the successive revivals of the Roman Empire in history, culminating in the final, powerful, end-time political entity that will shake the world. And notice this woman sits astride this beast, riding it and influencing its movements.

Interestingly, the woman is said in verse 9 to sit on seven mountains—and Rome is famously known as the City of Seven Hills, after the seven hills on which the city is founded.

This vast, globe-spanning false church is intimately associated with Rome and will participate in an unholy alliance with the final revival of the Roman Empire as Jesus Christ’s return draws near.

Revelation 13 paints a picture of this alliance, in which each party selfishly benefits from the power and influence of the other.

Deceptive Supernatural Signs and Wonders

Among the benefits of this alliance for the Beast will be the next key in our list.

6. This false church will manifest powerful signs and wonders as the end of the age draws near.

The Apostle Paul describes these supernatural signs in the passage we read earlier in 2 Thessalonians 2, where he writes:

The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders (2 Thessalonians 2:9).

Revelation 13 describes them as well in verse 13.

He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men (Revelation 13:13).

The antichrist or coming false prophet will use these signs and wonders to unify the people and point them to the great Beast, enhancing its authority and worldwide influence and power.

Mother of Harlots Explained (Revelation 17)

Finally, we come to the seventh key.

7. This false church is a mother of other compromising churches.

This is an easy point to miss, but it’s right there in plain sight in God’s word. Look at it with me in Revelation 17. There, when we carefully read John’s description of the Great Harlot that represents this false Christianity, we see an important detail in verse 5.

And on her forehead a name was written: Mystery, Babylon the Great, the MOTHER OF HARLOTS and of the Abominations of the Earth (Revelation 17:5).

The Great Harlot is not alone, but is a mother to many other compromising harlots—many other false Christianities and denominations which, like their mother, combine elements of God’s biblical truths with human philosophies and pagan practices! All of them claiming to speak in Christ’s name—yet all of them connected to the same, false system.

These seven characteristics, these seven keys, will equip you to recognize the white horse and its rider when they burst upon the scene! And, for those with eyes to see, they can reveal how the system they represent has been working in the world for the last almost two thousand years—falsely claiming the name of Christ and now being prepared for the fateful future God’s word has long prophesied.

Jesus Christ Returns on a Different White Horse

Yet the story does not end with the white horse. After all, it is only the first of the four horsemen. In fact, a great aid in recognizing the first horseman is to recognize that there are not really four horsemen in the book of Revelation—there are five! And the identity of the fifth horseman is, in many ways, the most important of all!

Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse… (Revelation 19:11).

Notice how this passage begins with the same words! “Behold, a white horse!” Yet, as we will see, this is a different horse, and definitely a different rider! Let’s continue.

… And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God (Revelation 19:11–13).

Yes, this is no pretender to the throne or false Messiah. This is the real deal—Jesus Christ, The Word of God.

The Real Jesus Wields the Sword of the Spirit

Like the first horsemen, He, too, is armed, as we see in verse 15.

Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations (Revelation 17:15).

And, of course, Ephesians 6 tells us that:

“The sword of the Spirit … is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17).

Notice how this account is perfectly in line with our very first point about the first horseman and his white horse being an imposter.

While both ride a white horse, the first horseman of the four wore a single “crown,” but Jesus Christ appears with “many crowns” upon His head. The first horseman of the four “had a bow,” but the Savior charges forward with the “sharp sword” of His mouth. Again—the false Church looks like real Christianity, but with God’s help you can spot the differences!

But the most important fact is stated in verse 16 of Revelation 19: The rider of THIS horse charging from heaven is “King of Kings and Lord of Lords”! And He will be bringing with Him a new world—tomorrow’s world.

We here at Tomorrow’s World hope you are looking forward to the ride of that fifth horseman as much as we are.

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. See you next time!

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

What Is a Family?

Modern man seems determined to reshape, revise, and redefine the family as God made it until it is unrecognizable.

Philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels declared the family as God designed it to be a tool of oppression, suggesting that the march toward communism would erase the roles God designed and make the rearing of children a function of the communal state.

Many feminists adopted a similar point of view, casting the biblical family structure as a means of suppressing women and robbing them of their rights.

All of these philosophies and their advocates pretend that the family is simply a social construction that can be taken apart and reassembled however we might see fit.

But this is a lie.

God Designed Family Structure

God created the family. It belongs to Him, and He has designed it to serve His own divine purposes. We suffer when we ignore those purposes, and we are blessed as we embrace them.

Now let’s dive into some of God’s divine purposes for the family. First:

1. The family supports the fulfillment of human design.

It Is Not Good for Man to Be Alone (Genesis 2:18)

Western Civilization can focus so much on the individual that we can fail to recognize mankind was never designed to live in isolation—focused on our own individual needs, determining our own individual paths, concerned about our own individual rights. Our natural, carnal inclination is to think this way, to focus on ourselves, but this is not the way toward healthy fulfillment.

It is one thing when we desire a family and simply aren’t yet ready for one or are in circumstances that make having a family difficult. None of us are fully in control of our lives in this life—and faith in God is built on turning that level of control over to Him where it belongs.

Overcome Selfishness by Serving Others

Yet, sadly, there are many who could build a family who are increasingly putting off marriage for years, even decades—and putting off children until much later in life, if not indefinitely—out of a desire to pursue their individual careers or dreams of personal accomplishment.

Ironically, such individuals are putting off one of the greatest and most fulfilling adventures they could ever know: building a God-honoring marriage and family and learning to put the needs of their own spouse and children ahead of their own.

And when it comes to children, there is no greater environment for their development and nurturing than a loving family, with their own father and mother. Nothing else even comes close.

Parents Teach and Uphold Family Values

Look at God’s instruction to the parents in ancient Israel, recorded in Deuteronomy 6:7—instruction that all parents would do well to heed today. Speaking of His laws, commandments, and way of life, God tells them:

You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up (Deuteronomy 6:7).

More so than in a school room or daycare, it is in the day-to-day, common interactions of life that God’s commands and the teachings of Jesus Christ are made to come to life for our children. It’s commonly said that “values are caught, more than they are taught,” and there is some truth to that.

And it is the environment of family—having meals together, doing chores together, relaxing, laughing, struggling, and working together—it is that environment where children develop in the most important of ways. And, frankly, so do their parents.

Family Guides Interpersonal Relationships

One key way in which we develop is our next divine purpose of family:

2. The family teaches us how to interact with the rest of society.

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but if you look around, it is beginning to look like society is forgetting how to be a society. Civilization is forgetting how to be civilized. And such times were not only prophesied to come but, frankly, to get worse.

We see this in many places in Scripture, but for now let’s just look in 2 Timothy 3, starting in verse 1.

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away (2 Timothy 3:1–5)!

Pretty bleak! But there is a direct connection with this divine purpose of the family. Did you notice what it mentioned in verse 2? “Disobedient to parents.”

Relationship Skills Start in the Family

Keep that in mind as we turn to Paul’s earlier letter to Timothy and read about the connection between family and the broader culture. In 1 Timothy 5, Paul is instructing the young evangelist about how he should conduct himself as the leader of his congregation.

Do not rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger [women] as sisters, with all purity.

It’s very easy to read that too quickly and miss the lesson. Timothy had many different types of people to deal with, and Paul told him to learn from his interactions in the family to know how to handle himself.

Treat older men as fathers, older women as mothers, and peers as siblings.

Broken Families Destabilize Society

The family is where we all learn to treat everyone else in society with the level of respect, honor, and compassion that is due to them. It’s where we learn how to respectfully interact with those in authority, even when we disagree with them, and serve those weaker than we are.

My friends, it is not a coincidence that we see civilization unraveling around us after decades of media programming in which disrespectful children and dysfunctional families are held up as sources of entertainment and the God-ordained structure of the family has been under sustained attack.

When you dismantle the family—the very schoolroom God Himself designed for each society how to function—then you should expect an increasingly dysfunctional society.

Family Is the Foundation of Civilization

3. The family is the building block of civilization.

Not only does God use families to teach us how to live with others in society, families—themselves—are the foundational building blocks of society. Like God builds matter out of atoms, He builds civilization out of families.

In Genesis 10, for example, we see what is often called the “Table of Nations”—a detailed listing of how the different nations and civilizations of men have descended from ancient families of the past, many often taking their name from an ancient patriarch or forebearer.

“Be Fruitful and Multiply” (Genesis 1:28)

In the beginning, God told Adam and Eve to “Be fruitful and multiply; [and] fill the earth….” This was God’s intention for families from the beginning—such that when families of mankind refused to spread out at the Tower of Babel, He confused their languages and forced them to do so.

Of course, as always, mankind has his own ideas. And we tend to define nations and states on purely political grounds and boundaries, with no thought to family or heritage. And, of course, that is going as well as ignoring God’s desires, designs, and plans has ever gone!

Large Families Became Nations

God’s own plan for the world sees nations as families grown large. Even in the Millennium, when God speaks of Egypt’s possible refusal to come to Jerusalem and keep the Feast of Tabernacles, He calls them “the family of Egypt” and refers to the nations of the world as “the families of the earth” (Zechariah 14:17–18).

In fact, let’s look in Genesis 18:19, where God explains part of why He called the famous patriarch Abraham.

For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.

This is how God thinks. God’s calling of Abraham was never just about Abraham. It was about the family—and, eventually, civilization—He would found through Abraham.

That is how God builds nations—as families grown large—and it is how He continues to see humanity. In fact, one of the keys to understanding prophecy is to be able to recognize the modern peoples of the world in the families that are mentioned in prophecy.

Yet, the divine purposes of family are not limited to the physical world around us.

Family Structure Helps Us Understand God

4. Let’s next examine how the family teaches us about our relationship with God.

Some wonder when we use words or phrases like “Father,” “Family of God,” or “children of God” if we are forcing human terms onto God where they don’t belong—as if we are trying to force God to fit human social structures.

In fact, the opposite is true.

God Created Family Roles in His Image

God explains in Scripture that He has created the world to reflect Him, not the other way around. Paul writes of this principle in Romans 1:20.

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.

God intends that we learn about Him through the things He has made—and about Jesus Christ, through whom He made them. And the family is a vital part of that Creation that teaches us about God.

For instance, in marriage and in the God-ordained roles in marriage, we learn profoundly about our relationship to Jesus Christ. Read that in Ephesians 5.

Marriage Shows How to Love Like Jesus Loves Us

After explaining there that a husband is to love His wife selflessly, as Jesus Christ loves His Church, and how a wife is to submit to her husband in the same way that the Church submits to the authority of Christ, he summarizes all of this in verses 31 and 32. Quoting what Genesis says about husband and wife, he writes:

“For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church (Ephesians 5:31–32).

The husband-wife relationship is literally designed by God to teach us about this profound divine relationship between Jesus Christ and the people called together to form His Church.

Becoming Parents Shows How God Cares for Us

And turn to Matthew 7 where we see Christ’s instruction about how to understand God’s willingness to give to us and care for us. After telling us to ask, seek, and knock, He explains:

For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him (Matthew 7:8–11)!

Jesus isn’t “forcing” on God the attributes of fatherhood. Rather, God is the ultimate Father, and human fatherhood is designed as a reflection of His eternal qualities—the love, care, and compassion He has for His own children.

Yes, if we will pursue building families as God designed them, and learn to see them that way, then lessons about God and Jesus Christ Themselves and Their relationship with us begun to unfold before our eyes.

God’s Plan Is the Ultimate Family Plan

This last purpose of the family concerns, perhaps, the greatest truth mankind can come to comprehend.

5. The family points us to our eternal purpose and destiny.

This beautiful, divine purpose of the family becomes obvious when you learn just what the purpose of your life really is. And that purpose is to become a part of the Family of God, itself, for all eternity—knowing life as God and Jesus Christ now know it and experiencing reality and existence as They now do.

The Family of God is not a metaphor, though many have a hard time realizing this, and many who do refuse to accept it. Again, we aren’t imposing our own ideas on God, but recognizing that He created the universe to reveal truths about Him, and the family itself is another example of this very thing.

Paul alludes to the Family of God that the Father and Christ are building in Ephesians 3:14–15.

For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.

There is a reason that the Bible calls converted Christians “sons and daughters.” It is not merely a metaphor.

Read for yourself the emphasis the Apostle John places on this fact, and how He describes our eventual birth at Jesus Christ’s return. His description is in 1 John chapter 3.

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is (1 John 3:1–2).

We Are Made in the Image of God (Genesis 1:27)

Just as a child grows and develops in the womb until he is born, fully formed and in the presence of his father and mother, so, too, do true Christians develop in the body of Christ, the Church, until that day when they, too, will fully develop and see the face of their Creator. At that time, they will reflect His glory with their own, as fully formed children of God.

It is an astonishing truth of Scripture that is hinted at from the very beginning in Genesis, where we read that, while all the animals were made after their own kind, man is made after the God kind.

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them (Genesis 1:26–27).

God Is Creating a Family Through Us

Yes, one of the greatest truths the human mind can possibly grasp is that God the Father and Jesus Christ are expanding Their own family to include more members, nurturing thousands of others in this life who will one day step into eternity to join Them—forever. And the God-ordained design of the family points us to this beautiful and life-changing truth.

My friends, if we will reject the ill-conceived and vainglorious attempts to take what God has created—the family—and reshape it based on humanly devised, devil-inspired philosophies and ideologies and simply embrace God’s own design for it and His divine purposes for it, then the family becomes a source of wonder, instruction, humility, and blessings.

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

Which Version of Christianity Is Right?

As our world spirals into chaos, many are beginning to seek the stability, reassurance, and peace of mind they rightly believe the word of God and Christianity can bring.

But it doesn’t take much searching to realize that Christianity itself is a confusing and chaotic mess of competing beliefs, practices, and organizations.

Yet Jesus Christ never meant it to be so. And the true faith established by the Son of God 2,000 years ago is worth finding amidst the cacophony of counterfeits claiming today to be the real thing.

Join us right now on Tomorrow’s World as we show you how to find true Christianity.

Greetings, and welcome to Tomorrow’s World, where we help you make sense of your world through the pages of the Bible. And the world today is hard to make sense of!

Look for the Real Jesus and True Faith

In fact, the social, political, and moral confusion in today’s world is prompting many to look for answers in the Bible and Christianity. But as we’ll see, “Christianity” means different things to different people. The world is filled with counterfeit Christianities, but what the world needs is true Christianity—the faith established by Jesus Christ Himself 2,000 years ago.

Yet needing it and finding it are two different things.

And many are looking these days for the stability and hope that only the real Jesus Christ can offer.

In December of 2024, the Wall Street Journal reported, “Sales of Bibles Are Booming, Fueled by First-Time Buyers and New Versions.” In the article, columnist Jeffrey Trachtenburg quotes the president of a publishing association as observing this:

People are experiencing anxiety themselves, or they’re worried for their children and grandchildren… It’s related to artificial intelligence, election cycles… and all of that feeds a desire for assurance that we’re going to be OK.

Start With the Bible, Our Anchor of Hope

Tractenburg reports the comments of a 38-year-old mother of two that will likely resonate with many of you.

She started to read the Bible this year after feeling unfulfilled by years of advice on self-care, staying healthy and pursuing a career. She said she also sought stability as “things just went off the rails a little too quickly” throughout society. “We’re kind of holding on to the edge of the ship, like, we’re not sure what’s happening here.”

Credit to all who are seeking the stability they need in the word of God and the teachings of Christ! That truly is the only place to find lasting peace, truth, and understanding in a world of sin, sorrow, and confusion.

But what about the confusion in Christianity itself?

Where Is One Body, One Hope, One Spirit (Ephesians 4)?

Let’s be honest with ourselves—if you told someone that the world needs Christianity, they might rightly ask you, “Which Christianity are you talking about?”

The faith that goes by the name “Christianity” is a writhing mass of confusing beliefs, practices, and traditions. Wars have been fought in which both sides claimed Christ as their Savior—so-called Christian killing so-called Christian, even killing each other about differences in their beliefs.

And the collection of so-called “Christian” beliefs differs wildly from sect to sect.

For instance:

• What happens to believers when they die? What about non-believers?
• How should a person be baptized and when? Or does he or she even need to be baptized at all?
• Should we obey the Ten Commandments? Or were they “done away at the cross”?
• Should we worship on Sunday, or Saturday, or does it make no difference at all?
• Does going to church even matter?
• How do you build a successful family, and what’s the best way to raise your children?
• Should Christians be separate from the world—not voting or participating in politics—or should they be all the more engaged, fighting for social causes and legislation they desire?
• Why did God create man in the first place?
• What is the purpose of the Church?
• What is the purpose of human life itself?

Grab five “Christians” off the street, and you can get five different answers to each of these questions.

Now compare this to the Apostle Paul’s admonition to the first-century Church in 1 Corinthians 1.

Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment (1 Corinthians 1:10).

God Is Not the Author of Confusion

Later in that same letter, Paul writes something very important that sheds light on the confusion we see in the Christianity of this world.

For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints (1 Corinthians 14:33).

No, the confusion we see in the religion called “Christianity” in this world is not of God, but is of the devil, who has confused and twisted the teachings of Christ and the apostles for 2,000 years—presenting, as Paul says in his second letter to the Corinthians, “another Jesus,” a “different spirit,” and a “different gospel” (2 Corinthians 11:4).

Yet, Jesus promised us 2,000 years ago in Matthew 16:18 that He would build His Church, and the grave would never prevail against it.

So somewhere, here on this earth, we should be able to find true Christianity—a faith that is not part of the confusion that is the modern Christian world, but the true faith, beliefs, and practices of Jesus Christ and the Church He founded two millennia ago. And that is the faith we need.

Is there a way to find true Christianity?

Yes, there is.

Follow Jesus’ Teachings

If we want to find the real Christianity, then we simply need to look to the teachings of the founder of Christianity Himself, Jesus Christ.

Jesus didn’t ascend into heaven and then call it a day. He left Himself a witness to His message and teachings and a record of the practices of His Church written by those He taught face-to-face.

That witness and record is the key. If we want to cut through the confusion and find the true Christianity, we need to let Jesus Christ and His disciples speak for themselves.

Let’s do just that. Let’s dive into the Bible and examine Christ’s own teachings. Let the Founder of Christianity tell us what it truly is, what its doctrines and beliefs are, and what its practices and observances should be.

In fact, a great place to start is what the Bible says about itself.

The Bible Shows How to Be a Christian

For instance, what is the ultimate source of authority in Christianity?

Some say the Bible is that perfect, ultimate authority—the word of God. But among those who consider themselves “Christian,” attitudes and teachings differ. Some believe the Bible is a great book, but just a human book, and that Christians need to ignore parts of the Bible that don’t fit the times—such as teachings on sexual purity before marriage, or the roles of man and woman in marriage.

Others believe that the Bible is incomplete, and they attach the writings or teachings of their own leaders or supposed prophets. Still others believe that Jesus instilled ultimate authority over beliefs and practices in certain men whose decisions are assumed to be perfectly inspired by God—even if their teachings completely contradict what is recorded in the Bible.

Again, confusion. So let’s resolve the confusion and ask ourselves what Jesus Christ Himself taught about the Bible’s authority.

Speaking of God’s written word in John 10:35, Jesus made a plain declaration.

“The Scripture cannot be broken!”

According to Christ, the Scriptures do not contradict themselves. In fact, in John 17:17 while praying aloud to God about His followers, Jesus asks His Father in heaven:

Sanctify them by Your truth. YOUR WORD IS TRUTH.

His first disciples and Apostles were just as clear.

In 2 Timothy 3, we see the Apostle Paul, writing to the young evangelist, speaking of the word of God, commending him and encouraging him to remain true to:

…the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:15).

And how did Jesus regard the idea of men being able to “overrule” the Bible with their own, man-made commandments and traditions?

We see His own answer in Mark 7. There, Jesus is having a discussion with the Pharisees, the religious leaders of the Jews in His day who, in Jesus’ own words, sat in Moses’ seat. His words to them concerning what He thought of those who believe their authority and traditions trump God’s written word is plain.

He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men’” (Mark 7:6).

In verse 9, He continues His condemnation.

He said to them, “All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition” (Mark 7:9)

For those who desire to find true Christianity, the teachings of Jesus Christ make the answer plain.

No, the Bible is not filled with values that become out of date, like milk that has passed its expiration date. Instead, He says that “the Scripture cannot be broken.”

And to those who believe their human authority can override the word of God, He condemns setting aside God’s commandments for the sake of their own traditions and creeds—and condemns those who set them aside.

Again, if we’re looking for true Christianity, then looking to the recorded teachings of Jesus and His disciples reveals how it differs with those that are Christian in name only.

His inspired word is our standard for navigating through the confusion to find true Christianity. Not the traditions or creeds of men, not our own personal ideas and preferences, but His own teachings and inspired instruction.

Keeping the Ten Commandments

Let’s look at an example to illustrate how relying on the standard of God’s word helps us to sort through the confusion and find true Christianity.

For instance, what does true Christianity teach about the Ten Commandments?

Many denominations teach that the Ten Commandments are a matter of “legalism” and “works,” and are no longer required of Christians—they were “done away with” at the cross of Christ. They will rightly say that Christians are under grace, but then claim that being “under grace” means that God’s law and His commandments are no longer required of us by God.

Yet, when pressed, many of them will still agree that Christians are commanded not to murder, or commit adultery, or steal. Some will say you shouldn’t worship idols, while cloaking their idol worship by calling it something else.

In reality, what most mean when they say that the law and the commandments are “done away” is that you don’t have to keep the fourth commandment and observe the seventh-day Sabbath.

All of this double talk about God’s law and picking and choosing among His commandments is a big part of what helped to create the confusion we see in global Christianity in the first place.

Again, if we want to find true Christianity, then we need to look at what Jesus Christ and His disciples say on the matter.

Jesus Did Not Come to Destroy the Law

We’ve already seen how Christ condemned the religious leaders of His day for rejecting God’s commandments to keep their own traditions. And those words clearly apply here.

But let’s look even further at Christ’s teachings on the law of God and the Ten Commandments. Did He plan to do away with them on the cross?

For instance, notice in Matthew 19 what Jesus said to a wealthy young man who asked Him what he should do to have eternal life. Christ’s words were plain, and He told the young man, “if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:17), and followed up with several of the Ten Commandments, lest we imagine He was speaking of anything else.

And look earlier in Matthew 5:17.

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.”

Here Jesus says directly, do not think that my teachings destroy the Law or the Prophets! Do not say that Christianity teaches that God’s law is done away.

True Christianity will agree with Christ. He says that He came to fulfill the law—to fill it to the full.

In the famous Sermon on the Mount, did Jesus say it was OK to commit adultery now?

No, He said rather that you should even obey God’s commandment in your heart by not even lusting after someone (Matthew 5:27-30).

Those who say that Jesus “did away” with the law but that somehow that’s not the same as destroying the law are playing the devil’s word games to confuse the truth.

If He wasn’t clear enough, Jesus Christ makes it remarkably plain in the very next passage.

“For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:18–19).

Friends, I guarantee you that, if you go outside, you will see that heaven and earth are still there. They have not passed away and—according to the Son of God—God’s law is not done away.

In fact, notice the words of His faithful Apostle John, written long after Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection.

Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him (1 John 2:3–4).

Even in the very last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation, notice how the body of believers, the saints are described.

Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus (Revelation 14:12).

You would read the same thing in Revelation 12:17. Even in the end times, the Bible describes true Christians as faithfully keeping the commandments of God—including the Fourth Commandment about the Sabbath!

True Christianity Teaches from the Bible

Nominal Christianity may be confused, but the Bible and true Christianity are not.

In fact, as the prophet Isaiah proclaimed:

To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them (Isaiah 8:20).

Our topic today is finding true Christianity, and God’s word tells us that, in our search, we should turn away from preachers, teachers, and others who do not honor and teach observance to the laws and commandments of God, because “there is no light in them.”

Let God be true but every man a liar (Romans 3:4).

We do need ministers and guides to teach the word of God, but no man on earth has the authority to supersede God’s word and supplant it with his own judgment. And we saw that Jesus Christ condemns those who seek to do so.

And, as an example, we compared the popular teachings of many churches and faiths that claim the name of Christ concerning what they teach about the law of God and His commandments. When we did so, we saw that Jesus’ own teaching and those of His disciples flew in the face of standard, so-called Christian teaching—that Christ taught obedience to the laws and commandments of God, not that they were done away at His crucifixion.

Build True Christian Character

The more you make a practice of making God’s word your guiding light, the more true Christianity begins to reveal itself—in contrast to what is called “Christianity” all over the world.

But that is where we come to a place where more than knowledge is needed.

Finding true Christianity is not just about what you know—it is about what you are willing to do. And we need more than knowledge.

We need courage—because true Christianity makes demands of us.

• When the world says to worship Christ one way, true Christianity tells us to do something else.
• When the world says that Christians no longer need to obey the commandments of God, true Christianity tells us that Christ does want us to keep those commands—even that it plays a role in the very purpose of our lives.
• When the world says that Christians need to focus on fixing this world by participating in the politics of our day and getting the right people elected, true Christianity tells us that Christians’ commitment to the coming Kingdom of God transforms both their relation to the world around them and their role in it.

Frankly, true Christianity involves a commitment of one’s whole life to following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ—and that involves change.

Be Strong and of Good Courage

Many, after working to find true Christianity, discover that they prefer the comforts of false Christianity, prefer the easy promises of the false, counterfeit Jesus they are used to, instead of the commands of the true Jesus who is the Son of God reigning in Heaven, and soon to intervene in the affairs of the world. They discover that they don’t have the courage it takes to let go of the comfortable and embrace the truth.

But for those who do have that courage—and those who may not at first, but are humble enough to let Jesus Christ grow that courage within them—there is no greater reward than finding—and embracing—true Christianity.

Thanks so much for watching. All of us here at Tomorrow’s World work very hard to help you understand your world through the pages of the Bible.

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