Country Living: A Guide to Leaving the City

Moving from the city to the country is a vital spiritual necessity that requires careful prayer, deliberate planning, and a firm trust in God's leading to ensure the safety and spiritual prosperity of your familyCL 14.5+2.

The Urgency of the Move

• A Call to Spirituality: Leaving the city is not a privation but a pathway to rich blessings, as beholding nature helps change us into the image of our CreatorCL 14.5.

• Rising Wickedness: The moral atmosphere of cities is becoming so polluted with corruption, strikes, and violence that removal will soon become a necessity for all who wish to avoid the sights and sounds of evilCL 28.4+2.

• Protection for Children: Parents must move to save their children from the "street education" and ruinous habits acquired from evil associates in crowded urban centersCL 5.1+2.

• Escaping Crisis: We must make haste to prepare for the coming crisis, as the enforcement of the papal Sabbath will be the final signal to leave large cities preparatory to seeking refuge in secluded mountain placesCL 21.1+1.

Essential Preparation Steps

• Avoid Rash Movements: No move should be made in a rush, excitement, or a rash manner that could lead to future regret or a great sacrifice of propertyCL 25.2+2.

• Seek Divine Counsel: Spread every plan before God with fasting and prayer, asking Him to make His leading clear rather than relying solely on human counselorsCL 27.4+1.

• Evaluate Capabilities: Before moving, individuals must candidly consider if they have the knowledge of practical life and the ability to engage in new business or agricultural pursuitsCL 25.5+1.

• Study the Word: We must study the prophecies to understand the times we are in and ensure our plans align with the Word of the LordCL 12.1+2.

Selecting a Country Home

• Prioritize Land for Cultivation: Secure a modest home with enough land to have a garden and orchards where you can raise your own vegetables and fruit to replace flesh meatCL 24.2+2.

• Simplicity Over Luxury: Focus on a retired situation that provides simple, healthful habits rather than expensive dwellings or elaborate furnishingsCL 21.1+2.

• Independence from Systems: Choose a location where you can be free from the oppressive control of labor unions and the serious difficulties regarding buying and selling that will arise in the futureCL 10.4+1.

• Educational Opportunities: Look for places where children can engage in useful labor in the open air, which develops health of both mind and bodyCL 16.2+1.

Missionary Purpose in the Country

• Scatter as Lights: Do not move merely for worldly advantage or to settle in large colonies; instead, move as missionaries to towns and villages that have not yet heard the truthCL 21.4.

• Establish Industries: Church leadership should help establish industries so that families moving from the city can find employment and modest homesCL 19.4+1.

• Work Cities from Outposts: Institutional work such as publishing, medical ministry, and training should be conducted from outpost centers outside city limits while still laboring for the souls withinCL 30.5.

• Trust in God’s Provision: Although the earth is waxing old, the blessing of God will provide for the faithful worker who intelligently cultivates the soilCL 17.4.

While we seek a peaceful home in the country now, our ultimate focus remains on the home God is preparing for us in the heavenly country Hebrews 11:16CL 3.1.

Families should move as fast as possible long before the enforcement of Sunday laws, as the instruction to leave the cities has been given repeatedly for years to prepare for the coming crisisCL 20.3+1.

The Timing of the Move

• A Call for Haste: We are instructed to get out of the large cities as fast as possible to protect our families from the increasing iniquityCL 12.2.

• Immediate Necessity: The necessity of making haste is clear because we must get all things ready for the crisis that is fast approachingCL 20.3.

• Warnings Already Given: Instruction to leave the cities and move to rural districts has been given over and over again so that we may be free from the interference of enemiesCL 9.5.

• The Final Signal: While the decree enforcing the papal Sabbath is a specific warning to leave the large cities for secluded mountain retreats, the call to settle in the country for the sake of our children’s spirituality is a present dutyCL 32.1+1.

Reasons Not to Wait

• Labor Union Oppression: The controlling power of labor unions is fast becoming very oppressive, making the problem of buying and selling very serious in the futureCL 9.5.

• Moral Contamination: Wickedness and corruption are increasing to such a degree that the very atmosphere of the cities is polluted, necessitating an earlier departure to save children from ruinCL 28.4+1.

• Developing Self-Reliance: Families need time to learn how to cultivate the land and raise their own produce so they can be self-sufficient before the crisis hitsCL 20.3+1.

• Avoiding Lot’s Mistake: We must not have a lingering spirit like Lot, whose delay resulted in the loss of his wife; instead, we must be wide awake to save our families nowCL 6.7.

The Peril of Delay

• Unexpected Calamities: Awful and unexpected destructions are following one after another, showing us what will eventually come upon the whole earthCL 7.5+1.

• Satanic Organization: Satanic agencies are already busily organizing in every city, making it a dangerous time for the people of God to be off their guard or remain as weaklingsCL 9.5.

• Spiritual Decay: Many are dying spiritually by remaining in crowded centers; they need to be transplanted to the country where they can grow strong and vigorousCL 21.4.

Moving with Wisdom

• Divine Guidance: While haste is required, we must not move in a rush or excitement but under the calm, deep thinking that comes from seeking God’s wisdomCL 25.2+1.

• Preparation for Heaven: Our move to the country is part of our preparation for eternal life and our desire for a better, heavenly country Hebrews 11:16CL 17.1.

• The Work of the Gospel: We must be established in our country homes so that we can fulfill the commission to go into all the world and preach the gospel Mark 16:15CL 21.2.