You teens face the greatest challenge of all time! Only twice in human history has the world been so bad—before the great Flood in Noah’s day and during the time of Sodom and Gomorrah (Luke 17:26-30).
This world is a jungle of swill, pornography, rape, lying, cheating, killing, hating, drug addiction, broken families—and you’re surrounded by it. You are exposed to it 24/7. You’re fed a continuous diet of sexual messages from morning until night. You see it in tv shows, on the news, in commercials and on the Internet. At school, it’s all around you.
It takes a special breed of determined teens to stand up under the pressure of this tantalizing kingdom of Satan that rules this Earth today. You need to have strong character to resist it.
Yet, every teen in the Church has most likely asked himself or herself, at one time or another: Is it worth the effort? Why should I struggle to resist the pulls of the flesh and the society around me? It would be a lot easier to just give in and “go with the flow.” I would fit in and not be so weird.
I hope I can show you teens why it is so worth it to resist the ways of the world that you see around you today.
First, let’s understand that in the beginning, everything God made, including man, was “very good” (Genesis 1:31). He made a stunningly beautiful world with an absolutely perfect environment.
But then, along came Satan. He perverted everything good. He turned everything upside down. He convinced Adam and Eve that God was holding them back—that He wasn’t being totally honest with them. The devil had them so confused that they came to believe that what God had said was good was actually evil and vice versa.
Today, the end result of Satan’s way of thinking surrounds us. All the misery, the pain, the suffering, the unhappiness, the discontent, the pollution—it all stems from the choices that Adam and Eve made under Satan’s influence. The choices we make that lead to our being unhappy, unsatisfied and unfulfilled, God calls sin. That’s why God says sin is bad for us—because it causes pain and misery.
A November 1969 Tomorrow’s World article titled “Is God Fair to Teenagers?” says: “Sin is like the first step down an open elevator shaft. It’s a real thrill on the way down! A short thrill that ends in a heap of rubble.” Please realize this, teens: God wants you to have those thrills—but without the crash that causes the pain and misery! God’s laws are simply His instructions that teach us how to have fun the right way—without the damaging side effects. He wants us to enjoy life and have fun! That’s why He gives us His laws.
Still, it’s not easy doing things God’s way in this world because it is ruled by Satan and his henchmen, the demons. They are constantly doing all they can to prevent you from submitting to God. Why? Because they don’t want you to see for yourself that God’s way really works—that it really does make people happy.
Will Satan get to you? Yes, he will, unless you have the vision of what your future is really going to be like! If you don’t have that vision, you will not be truly convinced that rejecting the ways of Satan’s world and submitting to God is really worth it.
Without that vision, you may feel that God isn’t fair; you may feel robbed or cheated because the worldly teens seem to be having all the fun. If you believe that and feel deprived, then you’re headed for the bottom of that elevator shaft.
You might think: The world’s coming to an end, and I’m going to miss out on everything! I’m never going to have the chance to really have fun!
Please understand this vital point: This world, this planet called Earth, is never going to end. What’s coming to an end is this society that causes the heartache, pain, sadness and misery we see all around us, and it will be replaced by something so much greater—so much more fun! What’s coming to an end is Satan’s rule over this planet because God is going to install His government over the Earth with Jesus Christ as King.
The planet will then be restored to its original beauty and condition—as God created it before Satan, and then man, ruined it. That’s where we come in! We have a vital role in God’s plan for planet Earth and the people who live through the Great Tribulation. And that includes you teens—you have specific roles too!
Read Revelation 1:12-16. These verses describe Jesus Christ—the King of kings and Lord of lords. But who are those other kings and lords (rulers and teachers) under Christ mentioned in Revelation 19:16? That’s talking about your converted parents, first of all. If they endure to the end, they will look like that too!
Your parents will look so impressive that people will almost faint just looking at them! People everywhere will be absolutely enamored with you. They will want to get to know you—to be your friend—because you have a parent, or parents, who are God Beings!
But teens, this passage in Revelation describes how you will look too—if you resist Satan and the ways of this world in this life!
Let me tell you a story: Once there was a man who owned a vineyard. Early one morning, he hired some laborers to work for the day, and to each of them he offered the same fixed wage. As they worked and the day wore on, he went back to the city three different times to find more workers. To each of these men, he promised the same wage, even though they worked lessto earn it. With just one hour left in the day, the man hired one more group of workers and offered them just as much money as he paid the rest. At the end of the day, he paid everyone the same amount.
The men who had worked all day were angry, but the master replied, “I have given you exactly what we agreed to; and so I have with them. It is my right to reward each one as I see fit.”
You can read this parable in Matthew 20:1-16. How does it relate to you? Any of you teens who are baptized and receive God’s Spirit before Christ returns are going to earn the same “wage” as longtime members in the Church who have worked for decades to qualify for that reward!
But what reward are we talking about? The ultimate reward—eternal life as the Bride of Jesus Christ! Think about what that means.
What if you still don’t quite have the maturity when Christ returns to have made the commitment to be baptized? Teens, consider this: If your converted parents become kings, what does that make you?
Psalm 45 talks about your converted parents and Jesus Christ’s return. Verse 10 describes Christ’s Bride (the Church); verse 15 describes the marriage of Christ to His Bride, and then in verse 16, you teens are mentioned: “Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth.”
If you have converted parents today, you are God’s princes and princesses of the World Tomorrow! Understand what that means. Very few humans will have that privilege. Furthermore, you won’t remain princes and princesses. If you submit to God now and resist the world’s ways, you’ll not only be the human leaders in the World Tomorrow, but you can also become God’s kings, just like your parents—after you’re old enough to be baptized!
Then if you’re faithful to God and changed into spirit, you’ll be given the same reward as the rest of the firstfruits—being the Bride of Christ forever! Only those human beings who have resisted Satan and the ways of the world in this life will be given that magnificent reward. There is no indication in the Bible that those who are called in the Millennium or later will be married to Christ.
God puts you teens in a special and unique category—first princes/princesses, then kings who are married to Christ for all eternity!
So what will you be doing as princes and princesses—until the time comes that you can become spirit God beings? The Bible shows that your parents—the kings and priests of the World Tomorrow—will be ruling and teaching mankind. They will not be spending much time on any of the physical duties. Their primary role will be to educate mankind. For the most part, you will attend to the physical details.
All the physical blessings that the Bible talks about in the World Tomorrow—abundant prosperity, good health, tame animals—are for you! You will be able to take advantage of those physical blessings. And on the physical level, you will be the leaders in the World Tomorrow.
For practical, everyday examples of how to live, the young people and adults in the World Tomorrow will be watching you! The whole world will have just gone through the worst time of suffering ever. They will have also witnessed the magnificent, trumpet-blast return of Jesus Christ. They will want to live God’s way! But on a practical, day-to-day level, they won’t know how.
Of course, your parents will be teaching them God’s way. But you teens and those younger than you will be the examples that other humans can look to—at school, in sports, at the store, in everything. After all, you will be part of a tiny minority that has a parent who is aGod! This is a tremendous level of responsibility God wants to put on your shoulders. But at the same time, it is an inspiring and unique opportunity that no one else will ever have!
You will be the only beings in the physical realm with any prior knowledge or training in God’s way of life. You will be the only human beings ever to have lived God’s way of life on both sides of the Tribulation. Can you begin to comprehend the positions God is preparing for you?
Zechariah 8:20-21 talk about this future time: “Thus saith the Lord of hosts; it shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities: And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts: I will go also.”
This is the way it will be in the World Tomorrow, when everyone from all nations will seek to worship God. Now notice your role: “Thus saith the Lord of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you” (verse 23).
When you walk down the street, people will point and whisper, “Look! There goes a child of a God!” People will grab on to you, seeking knowledge and understanding about how to live. They will watch you intently to see how you act—and they will follow your example.
Teens: Try to grasp the enormity of the role God has in mind for you! You will be the first generation since Adam and Eve with the opportunity to build a perfect society. If you make the right choices now, you will lead—on the physical level—in constructing and building this fantastic new world!
This new world is real—and it’s just about here! Rebuilding cities and homes will require architects, carpenters, bricklayers, electricians, plumbers and painters. Farmers will grow food; tailors will make clothing. Wives will be blessed and happy to be homemakers. You will have a job that is specifically suited for you.
God will need a strong team of physical leaders He can count on to dig into the multitude of projects around the world. It all starts with resisting the ways of the world and striving to live God’s way now so He can use you to help build the World Tomorrow.
The wealth and prosperity of the World Tomorrow will be abundant. Can you see yourself using that wealth to rebuild people’s homes and their hometowns? Can you imagine forming beautifully landscaped parks and prime-quality office buildings of the standard of Armstrong Auditorium?
Think of what your home might look like, with lots of land for gardens, orchards and animals. As the princes and princesses of the new world, your homes and property would be among the grandest in the world! Today’s mansions will be like barns in comparison. You might even have a huge living room with a natural stream running through it. Maybe you could do some fishing from the couch. Think big!
Not only that, because God’s laws will be enforced, you will have the chance to live with perfect health and enjoy all kinds of stimulating activities as a human being. There may be entirely new sports to enjoy. You will probably marry and have children, and then grandchildren, and then great-grandchildren. Imagine being able to have as perfect a family as possible.
God is fair, teens. If you strive to obey God now—in this life, when it is difficult—God will reward you all the more in the future.
All the physical wealth and happiness of the World Tomorrow is not for the spirit beings. It’s for you. The World Tomorrow is for you! But there is a condition: You must be living God’s way of life today, with maximum effort on your part—and that means resisting the ways of this present evil world now.
But if you make the right choices now, then at the end of your physical life in the World Tomorrow, you will be changed into a spirit being. You too will reap the firstfruits reward—being married to Jesus Christ—if you fight to resist the ways of this present evil world that is governed by Satan. There is no higher reward for any human being than that.
You will then become the only generation in all human history to that point that has lived in three different worlds—the world today, the World Tomorrow, and finally, in the spirit world of God’s Family!
You have a gigantic, glorious future ahead of you—if you so choose. The sad part is that some of your friends who are weak and lack courage and character have already made the wrong choices. Unless they repent, they will die forever, or at best, they will miss out on being a prince or a princess in the World Tomorrow—and miss out on the firstfruits reward.
You, on the other hand, still have the opportunity to be the special leaders in God’s new world in just a few short years—if you are truly applying yourself to live God’s way of life.
So, you can either flunk out at an unbelievably high cost, or you can succeed and inherit your destiny as a prince or princess in the World Tomorrow and be part of the Bride of Christ after that! The question is: Do you have what it takes?
You can have the glitter and glamour of this sick, dying, wretched world for a couple of short years. Or, if you have the guts, stamina, courage and character, you can quite literally have it all—the highest possible positions as humans in the World Tomorrow, and the highest possible reward in the Family of God!
Is it worth it? It’s your choice.