What is God doing? Is there a way to know? Does He have a plan? If so, what is it?

Good questions. Do you know the answers?

That's one of the purposes of The Good News—to help you discover the answers to the really big questions of life and our existence.

Where is the world headed? That's a big question—and the subject of this issue. Many people are convinced the world will end next year. Sound far-fetched? Just a few months ago thousands of people were convinced the world would end on May 21, but the day came and went like any other.

There is a key to understanding some of these big questions. It's the key to understanding God's plan. It's the key to understanding what God is doing on earth, and the time frame for His acting—or not acting, as the case may be—in human affairs.

That key is a series of festival days found in the Bible. Few people know about them, and far fewer understand them. Most who do know about them assume that they're for the Jewish people, but God plainly says of them, "These are My feasts" and calls them "the feasts of the Lord" (Leviticus 23:2, 4, emphasis added throughout).

So how come we never hear about the Holy Days that are in the Bible, but we do hear a lot about holidays like Easter and Christmas that aren't in the Bible? That's another story, and I digress.

The fact is, the biblical festival days are very much Christian commemorations. The first of these is Passover, which reminds us that Jesus Christ is the sinless "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29). The apostle Paul wrote that "Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us" (1 Corinthians 5:7).

Immediately following Passover is the Feast of Unleavened Bread, to which Paul referred when he wrote in the next verse, "Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."

The next of God's holy festivals is one many Christians likely have heard of—Pentecost. It was on this feast, of course, that God founded the Church as recorded in Acts 2.

What about the remaining festivals of the Bible? There are four more, beginning with the Feast of Trumpets. Jesus Christ, the apostle Paul and the apostle John all tell us that great trumpet blasts will accompany Jesus Christ's return to earth (Matthew 24:31; 1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Revelation 11:15).

Might there be a connection between this feast notable for its trumpet blasts and the sounding of trumpet blasts at Jesus Christ's return? If so, what does this tell us?

There are others, too, but I'll let you read about them yourself in the pages of this issue. God does have a plan, and when we understand the significance of His little-known festivals, we can begin to understand that plan. We can begin to understand His timetable. We can begin to understand what He is doing, and why.

What does the future hold for our planet and the human race? These Holy Days help reveal the answers. They show us a future of turmoil and danger, yes, but also a future of incredible hope and promise almost beyond human imagination.

Join us in this issue as we explore these big questions about our future!