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"Look at them. Ever see such beau–
tiful kids? One in three of them
will be dead from drugs before they
are 30. 1 have buried 169 of them
myself." Mr. Noffs fights tirelessly
against d rug usage among Austra–
lian youths.
There seems to be no major area
of the world untouched by drugs,
scandal , violence and crime. Not
even this beauti fu l land down
under.
Destiny and the Future
Many do not realize the hand of
God also is in the modero world.
Prophecies from thousands of years
ago foretold today's major events–
some directly affecting Australia–
destined to take place in the com–
ing years.
When the apos tle Paul spoke to
the high court of Athens, he said
that God " ... made every nation of
men, that they should inhabit the
whole earth; and he determined the
times set for them and the exact
places where they should live"
(Acts 17:26, New International
Version throughout).
lt
was no accident of history that
Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch or
French explorers passed Austral ia
by. The eterna! God planned it for
a particular people.
That promise of specific inheri–
tance was made more than 1,600
years before the birth of Jesus,
when the agi ng patriarch Jacob
called his two grandsons in to bless
them. J acob's son, J oseph, had two
sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. To
Manasseh , J acob said, "He too wi ll
become a people, and he too will
become great" (Gen. 48:1 9). And
to Ephraim, "Nevert heless, his
younger brother will be greater
than he, and his descendants will
become a group of nations."
Have you read our book
The
United States a nd Britain in
Prophecy?
In it you will read the
fascinating story of the orig ins of
the United States of America and
the Briti s h Commonwealth of
nations, including Austral ia. Write
to our nearest office for a free copy
if you haven't al ready read it.
But understanding the historical
roots of Australia is not e nough.
We also need to know what lies
ahead. What does the Bible say
about our times and the nations
38
that descended from the patriarchs
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?
Has the Bible igno r ed the
peoples of Europe, North America
and Australia, yet given detailed
prophecies about Egypt , Syria,
Lebanon and the J ewish s tate of
Israel?
By no means.
Understandi ng t he present
whereabouts of all the tribes of
Israel in modero times is essential
to understanding Bible prophecy.
And with an understanding of
Bible prophecy comes a responsi–
bili ty. God sent his prophets l saiah,
Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Joel , Micah and
many others to the ancient people
of Israel. Most of the people didn' t
believe them when they foretold a
coming captivity. Neither did they
change their evil ways.
But the prophets thundered their
message. And just as they prophe–
sied, the captivity carne. First, the
northern tribes of Israel were taken
by the Assyrians. Then tbe Jews
were conquered by the Babylonians.
God preserved the writ ing of
those prophets- not just for history,
but for our time today!
O f the time yet ahead of us, Jere–
miah said, " How awful that day wi ll
be! None wi ll be like it. lt wi ll be a
time of trouble for Jacob, but he will
be saved out of it" (Jer. 30:7).
Un less t here is a complete
c hange of life-style and hea rt
among the peoples of North Amer–
ica, Britain and Australia there will
come devastation.
The good news is God will inter–
vene to save us from our folly- but
not until the survivors are willing to
turn from their folly. That appar –
ently is not going to take place until
the dreaded nuclear hol ocaus t
threatens human extinction.
God has given the descendants of
the ancient biblical patriarchs sorne
of the most beautiful and produc–
tive land on ear th. Australia is
among the most blessed. lt 's well
wortb a special visit to experience
the rugged coastlines, beautiful
beaches, friendly people and its
energetic ci ties.
The view from down under is
magnificent. Its short history is
inspiring. Its place in the world
important. But its future must be
evaluated in light of the serious
t imes that lie ahead. o
MIRACLES
(Continued from page 8)
Why sbouldn 't the God who
begat and worked through Jesus
have the power to transcend natural
laws? He created them.
Why Jesus Performed Miracles
Jesus was no stunt man. He never
performed miracles as a circus act.
He never did a miracle just for the
miracle's sake. H e knew the mind
of many a "miracle watcher" (read
John 2:23-25).
There was a good purpos e
behind every single recorded mir–
acle. Matthew, Mark and J ohn
reveal t he staggering scope of
Christ 's miracles. Matthew sums
up J esus' Galilean ministry thus:
"Now J esus went about all Gali–
lee, teaching in their synagogues,
preaching the gospel of the king–
dom, and healing al! kinds of sick–
ness a nd a ll kinds of diseas e
among the people. T hen His fame
went throughout al! Syria; a nd
they brought to Him all s ick
people who were afflicted with
various diseases ... and H e healed
them" (Matt. 4:23-24).
Writing of a more specific
occasion, Mark reports: "Now at
evening ... they brought to Him
a ll who were sick.... And the
whole city was gathered t{)geth.er
at the door. Then He healed many
who were sick with various dis–
eases ..." (Mark 1:32-34, ex–
cerpts).
Matthew mentions still other
specific incidents. " ... And great
multitudes followed Him, and He
healed them al!" (Matt. 12: 15);
"And when Jesus went out He saw
a great multitude; and H e wás
moved with compassion for them,
a nd healed their sick" (Matt.
14:14).
Decades later, John takes final
cognizance of the scope and pur–
pose of Jesus' miraculous works.
"And t ruly Jesus did many other
signs in the presence of His disci–
ples, wbich are not written in this
book; but these are written that you
may believe that J esus is the
Christ, the Son of God, and that
believing you may have life in His
name" (J ohn 20:30-3 1).
Why not take the apostle John at
his word? o
The
PLAIN TRUTH