That day is coming, dear one… The day
we shall see Christ as He is. At that final
moment of earthís history for us, will He find us
blazing bright with His message of love and
hope?

I think of the maple trees across the street
from our house. One autumn season, what a
glorious display of red, yellow, brown and
purple we were treated to when those leaves
began to turn! When the evening sun came
shining through the leaf-covered boughs, each
tree seemed to be on fire.

When I was home, I enjoyed looking over
at those glorious maples. I was a little sad
when the last leaves fell and only skeleton-like
arms were left silhouetted against the winter
sky.

I waited for spring and new leaves on those
trees, but the new buds never sprouted. I was
shocked to see my neighbor cutting down the
lifeless limbs and dead trunks.

How could trees that had been so beautiful
just last fall be dead in spring? Someone
explained to me what had happened: the trees
sense when they are in their last season, and
they pour all their remaining strength into one
last spectacular display —

They go out in a blaze of glory!

Like nature, the Bible is full of examples of
this final “blaze of glory.” Think of Samson,
whose entire existence was reduced to turning
a grind stone for the Philistines, in his
eternally dark, blind state.

Yet when he was brought into the Philistine
coliseum to entertain them, the Bible says:

“And Samson took hold of the two middle
pillars upon which the house stood, and on which
it was borne up, of the one with his right hand,
and of the other with his left. And Samson said,
ëLet me die with the Philistines.í And he bowed
himself with all his might; and the house fell
upon the lords, and upon all the people that were
therein. So the dead which he slew at his death
were more than they which he slew in his life”
(Judges 16:29-30).

At the wedding in Cana of Galilee, Jesus
turned water into wine when the bridegroom
ran out of wine. And his guests declared: “Every
man at the beginning doth set forth good wine;
and when men have well drunk, then that which
is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until
now” (John 2:10).

Job had a full, rich life until tragedy struck
him. Then he went through some of the most
trying times ever endured by a human being,
but he stayed true to God, and it was said of
him, “So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job
more than his beginning” (Job 42:12).

There is a tremendous lesson for all of us in
this. Without a doubt, we are living in the last
season of this old world. All the prophetic
signs tell us time will soon wind down. In the
short time left to us, we as Christians should
be like the maple tree and prepare to end this
final season in a blaze of glory!

Think of it! We’re in the last harvest of souls
this world will ever see before Jesus comes. Say
not ye, There are yet four months, and then
cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up
your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are
white already to harvest (John 4:35).

Knowing the season, we must expend every
resource and every bit of strength at our
disposal to light up the world with the
reflected glory of our Savior. Let us shine our
brightest today… Show our truest colors
now. There will not be another season.

Wife and mother, this may be the last
month or week… or day you will spend with
your family. Pour out your love on your
husband and children. Husband and father,
this may be your last opportunity to make
your home a glorious place to live, full of joy
and love and excitement. Do it now!

Dear friend, how can you go out with a
blaze of glory? There are simple acts of
kindness you can do: a heart-felt compliment,
a word of encouragement, a friendly phone
call to a lonely acquaintance. They may be
little things, but like each individual maple
leaf, they can fill your life-tree full!

Dr. Van Impe and I need your continued
prayer support as we try to make this season of
our ministry the most glorious of all and
proclaim to the world: Jesus is coming soon —
perhaps today! The Scripture says…

For the Lord himself shall descend from
heaven with a shout, with the voice of the
archangel, and with the trump of God: and the
dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are
alive and remain shall be caught up together
with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the
air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord … For
yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord
so cometh as a thief in the night (1 Thessalonians. 4:16-5:2).

Remember to pray for us, even as we pray
for you. Ask God to give us so much strength,
energy, vision and anointing that, like Job, the
end of our lives will be greater than the
beginning. As the Scriptures tell and as the
signs of the times clearly show, the coming of
our Lord is at hand. Let’s rise to meet Him in
joy and triumph, going up in a blaze of glory!