When God created our world, He did so with intricate care and precision. At the end of each day He looked at His work and pronounced it to be good. Day by day He built upon His labors of the previous day, and was pleased with what He had done. Finally, when He had finished His work of creating and embellishing the world as a beautiful home for mankind, He created Adam and Eve and placed them in the garden which He had prepared for them.

When Adam and Eve were created by the hand of God and placed in the Garden of Eden, they were given explicit instruction concerning their freedom to eat of any tree in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This instruction was given to prevent them from coming under the influence of Satan.

The subject of the Holy Spirit is one that calls for carefulness and delicacy in handling, but it also yields precious and wonderful benefits, for the function and work of the Holy Spirit is an essential part of creation and redemption, and of the whole plan of salvation.

When Adam and Eve were created, they were placed in a beautiful garden home called Eden, which was fashioned after the garden in heaven which is the dwelling place of God. In Ezekiel 28:12, 13, God speaks of this heavenly garden in describing Lucifer's position in heaven before he sinned.

Throughout the Bible there is one main theme of truth which binds the Scriptures together from Genesis to Revelation. This truth is the restoration of mankind from the fall of our first parents in the Garden of Eden until the finished product described in Revelation 14:1-5 as the 144,000 who are redeemed alive from the earth at Jesus coming.

Today I want to talk about the most profound, yet mysterious subject in the universe--the subject of love. On one hand, love is inexplainable in the same way that God is inexplainable; but on the other hand it is something we need every moment of our lives. Blessed is the child who was raised in an atmosphere of love between the parents and the children. Growing up without love is much like growing up without essential amounts of food, water, and air.

I'm sure that everyone who is listening to me today will agree that we are living in momentous times. Unparalleled events are happening around the world. Every day it seems that some new challenge or catastrophe happens before we can adjust to the last one. Brothers and sisters, what is going on? Could these be signs that we are coming rapidly to the end of the age and that Jesus' coming is actually near at hand? In answer to this question I want to go back 177 years to the summer of 1844. Our pioneers were preaching to the world that Jesus would come on October 22 of that year.

One of the most important topics in the Scriptures and in the writings of Ellen White is the importance of every follower of God possessing the ability to hear the voice of God speaking individually to the heart. In order to properly introduce this subject, I will go back to where everything began, and trace God's relationship with mankind from creation to redemption.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." John 3:16, 17. KJV.

Through the ages that have passed since the creation of the world and the fall of Adam and Eve, there has been a steady tread of divine interventions by God designed to lead us back to the culmination of the sin problem and the reuniting of a cleansed remnant with our Creator. The Bible contains the story of these efforts by God to establish a chosen race of people who know Him and worship Him and have His law written upon their minds and hearts. Because of his devotion and love for God, Abraham was chosen to be the head of this chosen race, and he was told by God that his descendants would be as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore.

The most majestic subject in the universe is the subject of Jesus and how He overcame the sinful nature for us. He came here as a man and elevated the human race by His perfection of character to the position in heaven that Satan and the fallen angels once occupied. Even in heaven we will never be able to thank Jesus enough for making this sacrifice for us. But in order to avail ourselves of the privilege of being sons and daughters of God throughout eternity, we must understand the mystery of overcoming as He overcame.

The subject of righteousness is the central theme of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Yet many Christians find it to be a difficult concept to fully understand or explain. Beliefs run the gamut from a religion of righteousness by works and behavior in order to please God and merit salvation, to the opposite extreme of believing that the righteousness of Christ covers our unrighteousness, and that we will sin until Jesus comes and changes our nature. But what we believe about this subject is a life-and-death matter, for when Jesus closes His work in the second apartment of the heavenly sanctuary, every person will have become a finished product of what they have believed, and there will be no more chance to receive pardon and cleansing from sin.

Recently I have been confronted with the writings of some who believe that the God of the Old Testament is portrayed as a short-tempered wrathful being, in contrast with Jesus, the gentle, patient, loving Savior of the New Testament. One article which was written by a theology teacher at one of our schools suggested that this apparent discrepancy could be caused by the Israelites' assimilation of the attitudes of their heathen neighbors toward their gods.

The great cosmic war that has been raging for unknown eons of time, is about to come to its close. This war began in Heaven itself in the very presence of the King of the Universe and His Son. Lucifer, the highest angel in Heaven, and the leading covering cherub, was given the sacred responsibility of guarding the reputation of the three members of the Godhead and making their loving character and the benevolent principles of their government known throughout the Universe.

A number of people have recently asked me, "Is the investigative judgment experiential? If so, can you prove this from the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy? Is it possible to know when your name comes up in the judgment of the living?" These are very important questions, and deserve sensible answers which are supported by inspiration.

When Adam and Eve were created, they were in complete harmony with God in every aspect. Their minds were formed as a temple for the Holy Spirit to dwell in, and they could commune with Jesus face to face as friend with friend. Angels visited them regularly to teach and instruct them in the ways of health, happiness and holiness. They were told of the defection of Lucifer and a third of the angels, and were warned against going near the tree of knowledge of good and evil where Satan was allowed to have access to them should they venture to disobey God's command. With all these advantages, Adam and Eve felt completely confident that they would never fall to the tempter's wiles.

From the time Adam and Eve sinned and had to leave their beautiful garden home, man has been estranged from God's original purpose of open communion with Him. As soon as man sinned, God immediately provided a way to maintain communication between Himself and every person who would avail themselves of the rudimentary sacrificial system that was set up at the gate of the Garden of Eden. God created mankind in His image, and His desire is to be in constant communication with us. Likewise, He has placed within us a deep need to maintain loving relationships Him and with each other as we receive and respond to God's love for us and then share it with everyone around us in a never-ending flow.

Throughout the Bible, trumpets were used to announce something of great importance. Sometimes the sound of the trumpet was used to call the people together to hear directions from God, or to come before the Lord for a holy convocation. At other times it was to warn the people of danger and prepare them for battle against the approach of an enemy. In every case when the trumpets were used, it was of utmost importance that the people hear and understand the trumpets, and obey.