From the Editor Jan/Feb 2025
Israel My Glory Sneak Peek with Jesse King, our managing editor, is a video series that gives a glimpse into our latest issue.In my mind’s eye, I still see it. A familiar field. I was running through it many years ago, feeling strangely uneasy, sensing danger. Suddenly, the ground beneath my feet opened up, swallowing me whole. Down I plummeted toward the fire that awaited me below—a tormenting flame that would punish my soul for eternity.
When I woke up, I realized I was lying in my bed during the early hours of the morning. Through my nightmare, the Lord impressed on my 6-year-old heart my need to come to saving faith in Jesus. I ran to my parents’ bedside; woke my mother; and told her, “I need to be saved right now!” In the still quiet of that morning, under Mom’s patient, gentle guidance, I committed my life to Jesus Christ.
God sparks our affections for Him through many catalysts. Through the years, of course, I have developed a greater knowledge of and love for the Lord. Yet, I am certain He used the painful prospect of an eternity in agony, separated from Him forever, to convict me of my sin.
A day is coming when such flames will not be products of dreams but a real, imminent, and just punishment for sin, which pervades the heart of every human alive. Much like in Noah’s day, the earth is wicked and needs purification. And as He did then, the Lord again will pour out divine judgment on it.
We see signs of His coming wrath today. Israel is engulfed in a war with powerful, bloodthirsty enemies. Catastrophic natural disasters and diseases leave death and destruction in their wake. Immorality and defiance of biblical values have become increasingly commonplace. With each passing day, mankind drifts farther from his Creator.
God’s Word details a time when He will judge iniquity. This “great and dreadful day of the LORD” (Mal. 4:5) will devastate the earth. He will use this period to establish His earthly rule, demonstrating that He is Lord over all. Graciously, He will spare believers from these trials.
This Day of the Lord is our focus in this issue of Israel My Glory. Studying Scripture’s many passages concerning this period helps us comprehend God’s plans to judge sin and restore His creation to Edenic conditions.
We also want to highlight a momentous leadership transition, which President Jim Showers addresses in his “Inside View” column.
May we live in light of God’s divine plans, remembering, as born-again believers, that Jesus the Messiah purchased our redemption with His blood and “delivers us from the wrath to come” (1 Th. 1:10).
In His service,
Jesse King
Managing Editor
