How Christ Could Have Come in 1844
and/or 1888! How Christ can Come Soon!
2Pe 3:12 Looking for
and hasting unto the coming of the day of
God, wherein the heavens being on fire
shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
Rev 19:6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great
multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty
thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God
omnipotent reigneth.
Rev 19:7 Let us be glad and
rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of
the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made
herself ready.
Rev 19:8 And to her was
granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is
the righteousness of saints.
Rev 19:9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are
they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto
me, These are the true sayings of God.
The Spirit of God is being withdrawn from the earth.
Daily, horrendous acts against humanity are proliferating. Are you getting sick
of it all? Are you abhorred by what you hear and see? You may feel helpless by
the weight of it all, but I want to tell you friend that there is something YOU
AND I can do about it. You and I can prepare ourselves as the bride of Christ,
so that He can come and put a stop to Satan’s cauldron of evils. You, yes YOU
AND I, by the grace power (Rom. 1:5) of Christ, can stop sinning against God,
thus making the bride ready for Christ, so He can come.
I’m going to tell you the gospel truth friend,
that Christ has shown me: Every time any Christian around the world dies
the death of a faithful martyr, that death could have been prevented by the
bride of Christ having made herself ready by developing a character that would
rather die than sin. So every time we sin, not only do we crucify Christ
afresh, but we are crucifying our fellow brethren by our continued sinning and
failure to be amongst the faithful bride of Jesus Christ.
If the Reformation under Martin
Luther, had kept progressing to become the church of Philadelphia, there would
have been no need of another coming out! Had the SDA church of Philadelphia in
1844, keep progressing to the point of enlisting 144,000 faithful, guileless,
without fault persons, there would have been no need of another coming out from
the Adventist church, and Christ could have come in 1844.
God’s Word says that we may hasten Christ’s coming. Ellen
White says that we may hasten Christ’s coming. Revelation 19:7 speaks of the
bride making herself ready. That implies that she does
something with the aid of the Holy Spirit. She stops sinning. She becomes
without fault. She arrives at the point where she would rather die than sin.
“What say the testimonies concerning these things? Even one wrong trait of character, one sinful desire cherished, will eventually neutralize all the power of the gospel. The prevalence of a sinful desire shows the delusion of the soul. Every indulgence of that desire strengthens the soul’s aversion to God. The pains of duty and the pleasures of sin are the cords with which Satan binds men in his snares. Those who would rather die than perform a wrong act are the only ones who will be found faithful.” {5T 53.2}
Rev 14:1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount
Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name
written in their foreheads.
Rev 14:2 And I heard
a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great
thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:
Rev 14:3 And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and
before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but
the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the
earth.
Rev 14:4 These are they which were not defiled with women; for they
are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These
were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the
Lamb.
Rev 14:5 And in their mouth was found no
guile: for they are without fault before
the throne of God. Isaiah 62:1-5, speaks
of the righteousness of Zion, the bride that is married (verse 5):
Isa 62:1 For
Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest,
until the righteousness thereof go forth as
brightness, and the salvation thereof as a
lamp that burneth.
Isa 62:2 And the Gentiles
shall see thy righteousness, and all kings
thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new
name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name.
Isa 62:3 Thou
shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand
of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.
Isa 62:4 Thou
shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and
thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.
Isa 62:5 For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons
marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth
over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.
Isa 62:6 I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O
Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make
mention of the LORD, keep not silence,
Isa 62:7 And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make
Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
God says in the above verses that His bride will be righteous,
guileless, and without fault. That is God’s assessment, and that is Ellen White’s
teaching as well.
It is articles by church leaders, like the one (further
down) by Ralph Neall, that have kept the bride of
Christ from purifying herself. You won’t find anything on the bride purifying
herself or hasting the coming of the day of God in the article below.
2Pe 3:12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming
of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire
shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
Rather, you will find an attitude God speaks of in Isaiah 56:10-12: Eat,
drink and be merry, and tomorrow will be better than today!
Isa 56:10 His watchmen are
blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark;
sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
Isa 56:11 Yea,
they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that
cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from
his quarter.
Isa 56:12 Come ye, say they, I
will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to morrow shall be as this day, and much more
abundant.
Had the church of Philadelphia in 1844, and 1888, increased her ranks by
faithful work for souls, inspiring them to stop sinning, the bride would have
made herself ready ere this, and Christ could have come. If Philadelphia, the
bride, in 2015, will increase her ranks by faithful work for souls, inspiring
them to stop sinning, the bride will make herself
ready and thus hasten the coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and end
this horror world of evil that is getting worse day by day.
I will tell you a little known secret to overcoming that has helped me
immensely since I first employed it in 1986. Give God full permission to do
whatever it takes in your case for you to overcome. Sincerely pray that and
mean it! God forces nothing, so you must give Him this permission. Then be
ready for whatever occurs in your life, and you might not like some of what it
will take to move you! Be ready to say as Job said, though you slay me Lord, yet
will I trust you. This works! Try it and see for yourself! I also ask the Lord
to help me to have a willing spirit in doing my part so that His measures won’t
have to be too severe!
Now, here is the article by an SDA leader that appeared in Ministry
Magazine in 1988. This will give you some insight in why Laodiceans
have remained lukewarm, and why the bride is still making herself ready.
February,
1988
More than 14 decades have passed since William Miller
predicted that Jesus would come in 1844, and many Adventists are wondering why
He still has not come. On one hand, sobering signs point to the end. There is
the nuclear threat, the AIDS epidemic that is decimating Africa and threatening
the West, drugs, demonism, and the decay destroying our political institutions.
But on the other hand, some signs are not
being fulfilled. Sunday laws are not an issue. The Religious Right speaks of
them, but has lost credibility because of the PTL debacle. No Sabbath-keeper
now sits in jail because he worked on Sunday. Many denominations have united,
but their influence in the legislatures is small. The great challenge today is
not religious fanaticism, but secularism and worldly unbelief.
The feeling that the church has lost its
sense of the imminency of Christ's return is
widespread, and many are making strenuous efforts to move the church off dead
center. Some are reapplying to the future a number of prophecies fulfilled in
the past, believing that this will awaken God's people and lead to the final
events. In 1980 one such expositor wrote a 1,400-page document predicting great
things would happen in 1982 and 1983. Another is confident that the present
pope will lead the world to enact Sunday laws. Some are sure that the judgment
in heaven reached the cases of the living in 1986. Another predicted that
probation would close for Adventists in July 1987, and
for the rest of the world in August 1987. For some the ancient jubilee cycles lend special
significance to the year 1987.
While no one is mentioning the day and the
hour, many are speaking of the month and the year. These people generally say that
the Lord is waiting for the church to repent of sin and accept the beliefs and
lifestyle they promote. They are sure that the time of Christ's return depends
on the readiness of His people.
Ellen White lived for seven decades after
1844- Her attitude toward the passing years can give us balanced guidance now.
Many Seventh-day Adventists believe that
Jesus has delayed His coming and refer to a statement Ellen White made in 1883. She said that if
all Adventists had held fast their faith after the disappointment in 1844 and
united in proclaiming the third angel's message, the Lord would have
"wrought mightily with their efforts, the work would have been completed,
and Christ would have come ere this to receive His
people to their reward."1
"It was not the will of God that the
coming of Christ should be thus delayed," she continued, comparing the
Advent believers to ancient Israel, who wandered in the wilderness for 40
years. The same sins unbelief, worldliness, lack of consecration, and strife
had delayed the events both groups were anticipating.
In this statement, Ellen White also wrote
that "the promises and threatenings of God are
alike conditional." The conditions she mentioned were that the people of
God must purify their souls through obedience to the truth and proclaim the
three angels' messages.
While this was the first time Ellen White
spoke so fully of the delay, as the years passed she repeated these ideas many
times. She said that just as soon as
the people of God were sealed in their foreheads and thus prepared for the
shaking, Christ would come. 2 At times she compared the believers to
soldiers who had not done their duty, or plants that should have been bearing
fruit. If they had been faithful, they would have quickly sown the world with
the seed of the gospel, but because they had not done their duty the work was
far behind where it should have been. 3
In 1892 Ellen White wrote that the final
events are tied to the revelation of Christ's righteousness that began in 1888:
"The time of test is just upon us, for the loud cry of the third angel has
already begun in the revelation of the righteousness of Christ, the
sin-pardoning Redeemer. This is the beginning of the light of the angel whose
glory shall fill the whole earth." 4
Many have concluded from this latter
statement that the time of Christ's return depends on this one condition the
revelation of the righteousness of Christ. But this statement should be read in
the context of the whole article, and in connection with everything else she
wrote on the loud cry. In 1858, for instance, she wrote of the loud cry going
to the poor slaves.5 In 1888 she connected
the loud cry with the second and third angels' messages, with special emphasis
on the Sabbath. 6 And in 1909 she said that during the loud cry,
love would triumph over race prejudice.7
It is clear, then, that the 1892 statement
is part of a larger picture and should not be taken by itself. We must remember
that Ellen White wrote as if all the final events were either beginning or
immediately impending. None of her statements can be used to set dates. In 1891
she preached a sermon entitled "It
Is Not for You to Know the Times and the Seasons. " In this sermon she said,
"I have no specific time of which to speak when the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit will take place, when the mighty angel will come down from heaven, and
unite with the third angel in closing up the work for this world; my message is
that our only safety is in being ready for the heavenly refreshing, having our
lamps trimmed and burning." 8
In Christ's Object Lessons, we
find the oft-quoted statement "When
the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He
will come to claim them as His own.
"It is the privilege of every Christian
not only to look for but to hasten the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:12, margin). Were all who profess His
name bearing fruit to His glory, how quickly the whole world would be sown with
the seed of the gospel. Quickly the last great harvest would be ripened, and
Christ would come to gather the precious grain." 9
Along similar lines, Ellen White said that if
the young of the church were a well-trained army, the Lord would come soon; and
that when the members do their work at home and abroad, the world will soon be
warned and the Lord will come. 10
So Ellen White was very clear in saying
that Jesus has delayed His coming, and that by holy living and diligent
witnessing we can hasten it.
But as the decades pass, questions come to
our minds. Since God must know when Jesus will come, how can we speak of delay?
How can we harmonize His sovereignty His control of the time of the Advent with
our free will our part in hastening or delaying the Ad vent? How long will He
allow us to hinder the climax of His plans?
If He is waiting for us to attain a level
of holiness never seen before, will we ever meet that prerequisite? And as to
preaching the gospel to all the world, how can we do
it when people keep dying and giving birth? Is only Adventist preaching of the
gospel acceptable?
We hear many answers to these questions.
Some focus on repentance and righteousness by faith, particularly during this
year's centennial anniversary of the 1888 General Conference. Others emphasize
behavior and standards; and yet others point to the task to be done for the
world.
Every reformer says, "I have the
answer! Follow me, and the Lord will come!" While their answers vary, all
seem to agree that translation righteousness is greater than
resurrection-righteousness, and that Adventists must therefore do some thing never done before. Some are in despair because
they do not see Adventists doing it. The Laodicean church is still the
Laodicean church!11
What would Ellen White say about all this ? Did she intend to destroy our hope with her
exhortations? Did she set up standards that God's people cannot meet? Did she
blame faithful believers for others' unfaithfulness? Did she make the return of
Christ contingent on holiness or the witness of His people?
The answer is that so far we have examined
only one side of what she wrote on this question, and thus have drawn a skewed
picture. Ellen White did say that Christ has delayed His coming, but that is
not all she said. Let us consider the other side of her thought.
While Ellen White wrote often of delay, she
mentioned even more frequently the certainty and nearness of Jesus' coming. In
1888 she indicated that though it seemed that Jesus was tarrying, He really
wasn't. "We are not impatient. If the vision tarry,
wait for it, for it will surely come, it will not tarry. Although disappointed,
our faith has not failed, and we have not drawn back to perdition. The apparent
tarrying is not so in reality, for at the appointed time our Lord will
come."12
God does have a day and hour. Ellen White
heard it in her first vision,13 although the
Lord did not allow her to reveal it. The same letter quoted above explains,
"I have not the slightest knowledge as to the time spoken by the voice of
God. I heard the hour proclaimed, but had no remembrance of that hour after I
came out of vision." 14
In 1888 there was an attempt to get
Congress to pass a national Sunday law. Adventists saw this attempt as
fulfilling what they had been proclaiming for 40 years. The final crisis seemed
to be at hand, but the church was not ready—neither in the members' personal
experience nor in their work for the world. Ellen White urged Adventists to
pray for a respite so they would have time to do their neglected work. She did
not believe it was the right time for their liberties to be restricted. 15
What she wrote in this chapter casts a different light upon the 1883
statements that suggest that the end will not come until the church has
finished its work. In 1889 the final events seemed to have started even though
the church had not done its work.
Another evidence of a fixed time for
Christ's coming is found in Ellen White's view of God's sovereignty. The great
prophecies of the Bible show His control over all things. "Like the stars
in the vast circuit of their appointed path, God's purposes know no haste and
no delay."16 When God's great clock indicated the hour
appointed in Daniel 9:24- 27,
Jesus was born in Bethlehem.
In Ezekiel's vision of God's glory, Mrs.
White saw symbols of God's power over earthly rulers. The hand under the wings
of the cherubim showed that human events are under divine control. God works
out His purposes through the movements of the nations. 17
God is also sovereign in the church. He
guarantees that the church will be successful in its mission to the world:
"The cause of present truth ... is destined to triumph gloriously." 18
In the last generation the parable of the mustard seed will reach "a
signal and triumphant fulfillment," and the warning message will go to all the world to "take out of them a people for his
name (Acts 15:14)." 19
Reformers who are discouraged at the state
of the church can take heart from Ellen White's faith in God's power: "It
is divine power that gives success. Those whom God employs as His messengers
are not to feel that His work is dependent on them. Finite beings are not left
to carry this burden of responsibility. He who slumbers not, who is continually
at work for the accomplishment of His designs, will carry forward His
work." 20
So the sovereignty of God is our assurance.
If necessary, He will finish His work Himself. But if we think only of His
sovereignty, we may sink into sinful apathy. If God has a schedule and we can neither
hasten nor delay it, why should we do anything at all? Thus taking either
stream of Ellen White's thought by itself poses dangers.
How could Ellen White write of delay in
1883 but say it was "not so in reality" in 1888? How can we harmonize
delay and nearness?
Here we have two ways of looking at the
same event. From our viewpoint, there has been a delay because we have not done
the work we should have. But from God's viewpoint, there is no delay. He has
not put His plans entirely in our hands. He is sovereign; He is in control; He
has His "appointed time."
Ellen White certainly taught that Christ
was coming soon. In 1888 she wrote: "The angels of God in their messages
to men represent time as very short. Thus it has always been presented to me.
It is true that time has continued longer than we expected in the early days of
this message. Our Saviour did not appear as soon as we hoped. But has the word
of the Lord failed? Never! It should be remembered that the promises and threatenings of God are alike conditional." 21
Here we see both nearness and delay. But we
see something more. In the following paragraphs Sister White says more about
conditions to be met than about time. She never refers to time as a bare piece
of information. Delay takes second place to exhortations. She speaks of the
third angel's message and Sabbath reform, and then calls God's people to purify
their souls through obedience to the truth. She says it is the unbelief,
worldliness, unconsecration, and strife among the
Lord's professed people that have kept them in the world so many years. 22
The one who believes in the soon coming of
Christ shows it by holy living and diligent witnessing. The one who believes
His coming is delayed shows it by his sins. It is the wicked servant who says
in his heart that the master is delayed.
Ellen White once rebuked a worker's wife:
"I saw that for some time past, Sister J has had a rebellious spirit, has
been self-willed. ... I saw that she did not bring the coming of the Lord as
near as she should, and that her mind, instead of being at Rochester, should be
all swallowed up in the work of God, and she should be seeking opportunities to
help her husband, to hold up his hands, and to labor
wherever there was an opportunity."23
When Ellen White wrote of the true Advent
spirit and of the woman who did not "bring the coming of the Lord as near
as she should," she was speaking more about preparation than about time.
A people will be ready when the Lord comes.
Their spots and stains will be re moved beforehand pride, passion,
slothfulness, envy, evil-surmisings, and evil-speaking.24 These "spots" bring all Ellen
White's exhortations. She insisted that the work of overcoming sin must be done
in this life: not one error of character will be removed when Christ comes.25
When we turn to the "nearness"
stream of Ellen White's writings, we find that here also the question of time
took second place to exhortation. In fact, she complements her statements that unbelief
and sin have delayed Christ's coming with statements that we must overcome
unbelief and sin because He is coming soon. Whether we think of nearness or
delay, our duties are the same: We should "live and act wholly in
reference to the coming of the Son of man." 26 We are to be so
filled with the spirit of Christ's advent that whether we are found working in
the field, building a house, or preaching the Word, we shall be ready for Him. 27
Those who expect Jesus to come soon will
wait, watch, work, and pray. Waiting and watching show that we are strangers
and pilgrims on earth; while others seek earthly treasure and live as though
the time is long, we are seeking the better, heavenly country.28 Working means improving our talents for
Christ and working for souls. By waiting, watching, praying, and working we
cultivate heart-holiness.29
While those Adventists who brood over
last-day events rely heavily on Mrs. White's writings, she herself made no
charts of the future. Such charts are usually based on compilations of
quotations, and always vary with the compiler. They stir up excitement; they
increase prayer meeting attendance but things may not work out as predicted.
There is danger in crying "Wolf! Wolf!" too often.
Ellen White did not say we should watch the signs of the times. Rather, she
counseled us to watch for the least unholy promptings of our natures.30
We are to watch and pray as though each day were our
last; we are to be sober, but "not to cherish sadness and gloom."31
As to our duty to witness, we find Ellen
White exhorting us to speak to everyone we meet because our time for work will
soon be past; we have only a little while to urge the warfare. 32 In
1904 she wrote that because the Lord will very soon arise to shake the earth,
there is not time for trivial things.33
Repeatedly she said that the end is near,
but there is a great work to be done: how diligently we must do it! Vigilance
and fidelity have always been required, but because the end is near, Ellen
White urges us to double diligence. The message must be given: "We have
warnings now which we may give, a work now which we may do; but soon it will be
more difficult than we can imagine." 34 (How truly this 1900
prediction has been fulfilled in this century!)
The nearness of Christ's coming is also the
motivation underlying our publishing houses, sanitariums, schools, food
factories, and restaurants. Institutions are long-range projects, but they give
standing to the work and help proclaim the three angels' messages. We must work
until the Lord bids us "make no further effort to build meeting-houses and
establish schools, sanitariums, and publishing institutions. . . .
"[We must] increase the facilities, that a great work may be done in a short
time." 35
We must be constantly at our task until the
Lord says it is done. We will not be ready for His coming if we are not. Ellen
White emphasized doing the work and living the life rather than calculating the
time. Only God knows when the end will be, but we must always work and live in
the belief that it is near. To ask "When?" is to ask the wrong
question; rather, we ought to ask how to be ready whenever it will be.
Will the church ever reach the point where
it will be without "spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing," ready
"to stand in the sight of a holy God without a mediator"? 36 This
seems to imply sinless perfection. How is it to be done?
Ellen White never claimed to be perfect
herself. Shortly before she died she said, "I do not say that I am
perfect, but I am trying to be perfect. I do not expect others to be perfect;
and if I could not associate with my brothers and sisters who are not perfect,
I do not know what I should do.
"I try to treat the matter the best
that I can, and am thankful that I have a spirit of uplifting and not a spirit
of crushing down. . . . No one is perfect. If one were perfect, he would be
prepared for heaven. As long as we are not perfect, we have a work to do to get
ready to be perfect. We have a mighty Saviour. . . .
"I rejoice that I have that faith that
takes hold of the promises of God, that works by love
and sanctifies the soul." 37
"We have a mighty Saviour." That
is the secret of being ready for His coming. He is our righteousness, just as
He was the righteousness of all our fathers who died in faith.
God's part in preparing me for translation
is to forgive my sins and impute Christ's righteousness to me, and then to
cause me to grow from grace to grace, from strength to strength, from character
to character. 38 My part is to believe His promises, confess my
sins, give myself to Him, and will to serve Him. As I believe that I am
cleansed, God supplies the fact Christ binds up my wounds and cleanses me from
all impurity.
These blessings that give us our title and
fitness for heaven are beautifully described in Steps to Christ, pages
50 and 51. There Ellen White says that we must will to serve Christ and believe
His promise of forgiveness and cleansing "It is so if you believe
it." It is His will to cleanse us from sin, to make us His children and
enable us to live a holy life. "So we may ask for these blessings, and
believe that we receive them, and thank God that we have received them."
We can summarize Ellen White's exhortations
by likening her to someone running a race. In the Millerite
movement of 1842-1844 she was a sprinter in a hundred-yard dash. She put
everything she had into the revival—her money, her efforts, her
prayers—everything.
After the Disappointment she found herself
running a marathon rather than a sprint. Nevertheless, she always maintained
the zeal, force, and dedication of the dash. She urged us to give
sacrificially, to dedicate ourselves to the Lord as though each day were our
last, to love Christ rather than the world, to make sure our sins are confessed
before we go to bed every night, and, as the Advent believers did in 1844, to
live in peace and harmony. In every way she urged us to continue the drive of
the dash throughout the marathon. Christ's soon coming always urges us to
holiness and witness.
In this way we live in preparation for the
coming of Christ. This is how the apostles and, for that matter, how the
Christians of all ages have lived. While the soon coming of Christ lends new
urgency to Christian duties, the way of salvation is not different in these
last days. Thank God, many have reached the standard in Christ and many are
reaching it today. May we be among them!
1. Manuscript 4, 1883 (see
Selected Messages, book 1, pp. 59-73, especially pp. 66-69). All footnotes
in this article refer to the writings of Ellen G. White.
2. The SDA Bible Commentary, Ellen
G. White Comments, vol. 4, p. 1161.
3. General Conference Bulletin,
1893, p. 419; Christ's Object Lessons, p. 69.
4. Review and Herald, Nov. 22,
1892; Selected Messages, book 1, p. 363.
5. Early Writings, p. 278.
6. The Great Controversy, pp.
603-612.
7. Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 209.
8. Review and Herald, Mar. 29,
1892, p. 193; The SDA Bible Commentary,
Ellen G. White comments, vol. 7, p. 984.
9. Page 69.
10. Education, p. 271; The Acts of the Apostles, p. 111.
11. The conviction that the last-day saints
must reach a higher level of righteousness than their fathers does not agree
with the doctrine of righteousness by faith. While we must indeed keep the
commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, we cannot speak of levels of
righteousness before God. Only one righteousness can
gain us entrance into heaven the righteousness of Christ. However righteous we
may claim to be, we are still only unprofitable servants. "Nothing in my
hand I bring; simply to Thy cross I cling" must be our song forever.
12. Letter 38, 1888.
13. Early Writings, p. 15.
14. Selected Messages, book 1, p.
76; see also Early Writings, pp. 34, 285.
15. Testimonies, vol. 5, pp.
714-718.
16. The Desire of Ages, p. 32.
17. See Prophets and Kings, pp.
535-537.
18. Review and Herald, May 29,
1913, p. 515.
19. Christ's Object Lessons, p.
79.
20. Prophets and Kings, p. 176;
see also The Desire of Ages, p. 822.
21. Selected Messages, book 1, p.
67.
22. Ibid., pp. 68, 69.
23. Manuscript 3, 1867. (Italics supplied.)
24. Testimonies, vol. 5, pp.
214-216; Review and Herald, Oct. 6, 1896, p. 629.
25. Manuscript5, 1874.
26. Early Writings, p. 58.
27. Letter 25, 1902.
28. Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 194.
29. Review and Herald, Oct. 2, 1900,
p. 625.
30. Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 532.
31. "That I May Know Him,"
p. 141.
32. Review and Herald, Oct. 25,
1881, p. 257.
33. Testimonies, vol. 8, pp. 36,
37, 252.
34. Ibid., vol. 6, p. 22.
35. Ibid.,p. 441.
36. The Great Controversy, p. 425.
37. Review and Herald, July 23,
1970, p. 3.
38. See Selected Messages, book 1,
pp. 350-400.
End of Article by Ralph Neall
How
Christ Could Have Come in 1844 and/or 1888
Reasons for delay of Christ’s coming:
"For forty years did unbelief, murmuring, and
rebellion shut out ancient Israel from the land of Canaan. The same sins have
delayed the entrance of modern Israel into the heavenly Canaan. In neither case
were the promises of God at fault. It is the unbelief, the worldliness, unconsecration, and strife among the Lord's professed
people that have kept us in this world of sin and sorrow so many years."
{1SM 69.1}
Deferred in Mercy.--“The long night of
gloom is trying, but the morning is deferred in mercy, because if the Master
should come, so many would be found unready. God's unwillingness to have His
people perish, has been the reason of so long delay.” -- Testimonies,
vol. 2, p. 194. (1868) {Ev 694.2}
The Work Might Have Been Done.--“Had the
purpose of God been carried out by His people in giving to the world the
message of mercy, Christ would, ere this, have come to the earth, and the
saints would have received their welcome into the city of God.” -- Testimonies,
vol. 6, p. 450. (1900) {Ev 694.3}
“I know that if the people of God had
preserved a living connection with Him, if they had obeyed His Word, they would
today be in the heavenly Canaan.” -- General Conference Bulletin, March
30, 1903. {Ev 694.4}
Satan Has Stolen a March on Us.-- “If every watchman on the walls of Zion had given the
trumpet a certain sound, the world might ere this have heard the message of
warning. But the work is years behind. While men have slept, Satan has stolen a
march upon us.” -- Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 29. (1909) {Ev 694.5}
No Failure of God's Promises.--“The angels
of God in their messages to men represent time as very short. Thus it has
always been presented to me. It is true that time has continued longer than we
expected in the early days of this message. Our Saviour did not appear as soon
as we hoped. But has the Word of the Lord failed? Never! It should be
remembered that the promises and the threatenings of
God are alike conditional.” {Ev 695.1}
“God had committed to His people a work to
be accomplished on earth. The third angel's message was to be given, the minds of believers were to be directed to the
heavenly sanctuary, where Christ had entered to make atonement for His people.
The Sabbath reform was to be carried forward. The breach in the law of God must
be made up. The message must be proclaimed with a loud voice, that all the
inhabitants of earth might receive the warning. The people of God must purify
their souls through obedience to the truth, and be prepared to stand without
fault before Him at His coming.” {Ev 695.2}
“Had Adventists, after the great
disappointment in 1844, held fast their faith and followed on unitedly in the
opening providence of God, receiving the message of the third angel and in the
power of the Holy Spirit proclaiming it to the world, they would have seen the
salvation of God, the Lord would have wrought mightily with their efforts, the
work would have been completed, and Christ would have come ere this to
receive His people to their reward. But in the period of doubt and uncertainty that
followed the disappointment, many of the advent believers yielded their faith.
. . . Thus the work was hindered, and the world was left in darkness. Had the
whole Adventist body united upon the commandments of God and the faith of
Jesus, how widely different would have been our history!” {Ev
695.3}
“It was not the will of God that the
coming of Christ should be thus delayed. God did not design that His people,
Israel, should wander forty years in the wilderness. He promised to lead them directly
to the land of Canaan, and establish them there a holy, healthy, happy people.
But those to whom it was first preached, went not in
"because of unbelief." Their hearts were filled with murmuring,
rebellion, and hatred, and He could not fulfill His
covenant with them.”{Ev 696.1}
“For forty years did unbelief, murmuring,
and rebellion shut out ancient Israel from the land of Canaan. The same sins
have delayed the entrance of modern Israel into the heavenly Canaan. In neither
case were the promises of God at fault. It is the unbelief, the worldliness, unconsecration, and strife among the Lord's professed
people that have kept us in this world of sin and sorrow so many years.”--Manuscript
4, 1883. {Ev 696.2}
Charge It Not to
God.--“We may have to remain here in this world because of insubordination many
more years, as did the children of Israel; but for Christ's sake, His people
should not add sin to sin by charging God with the consequence of their own
wrong course of action.”--Letter 184, 1901. {Ev
696.3}
We May Hasten the
Day.--“By giving the gospel to the world it is in our power to hasten our
Lord's return.”--The Desire of Ages, p. 633. (1898) {Ev 696.4}
“It is the privilege of every Christian,
not only to look for, but to hasten the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Were
all who profess His name bearing fruit to His glory, how quickly the whole
world would be sown with the seed of the gospel. Quickly the last harvest would
be ripened, and Christ would come to gather the precious grain.”--Testimonies, vol. 8, pp. 22, 23. (1904) {Ev 696.5}
When the Message Is Finished.--It [the
coming of the Lord] will not tarry past the time that the message is borne to
all nations, tongues, and peoples. Shall we who claim to be students of
prophecy forget that God's forbearance to the wicked is a part of the vast and
merciful plan by which He is seeking to compass the salvation of souls?--Review
and Herald, June 18, 1901. {Ev 697.1}
Power for Finishing the Work
Why Many Have Failed in Soul
Winning.--“Many present the doctrines and theories of our faith; but their
presentation is as salt without savor; for the Holy Spirit is not working
through their faithless ministry. They have not opened the heart to receive the
grace of Christ; they know not the operation of the Spirit; they are as meal
without leaven; for there is no working principle in all their labor, and they fail to win souls to Christ. They do not
appropriate the righteousness of Christ; it is a robe unworn by them, a fullness unknown, a fountain untouched.”--Review and
Herald, Nov. 29, 1892. {Ev 697.2}
Need of Intensity to Impress
Unbelievers.--“We need greater earnestness in the cause of Christ. The solemn
message of truth should be given with an intensity that would impress
unbelievers that God is working with our efforts, that the Most High is our
living source of strength.”--Signs of the Times, Dec. 9, 1886. {Ev 697.3}
“When we bring our hearts into unity with
Christ, and our lives into harmony with His work, the Spirit that fell on the
disciples on the day of Pentecost will fall on us.”--Review and Herald,
June 30, 1903. {Ev 697.4}
With the Zeal of the Apostles.--“Zeal for
the glory of God moved the disciples to bear witness to the truth with mighty
power. Should not this zeal fire our hearts with a longing to tell the story of
redeeming love, of Christ and Him crucified? Should not the power of God be even more mightily revealed today then in the time of the apostles?”--Signs of the
Times, Feb. 17, 1914. {Ev 698.1}
The Source of Their Power.--“After
Christ's ascension, the disciples were gathered together in one place to make
humble supplication to God. And after ten days of heart searching and
self-examination, the way was prepared for the Holy Spirit to enter the
cleansed, consecrated soul temples. Every heart was filled with the Spirit, as
though God desired to show His people that it was His prerogative to bless them
with the choicest of heaven's blessings. . . . The sword of the Spirit flashed
right and left. Newly edged with power, it pierced even to the dividing asunder
of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow. The idolatry that had been
mingled with the worship of the people was overthrown. New territory was added
to the kingdom of God. Places that had been barren and desolate sounded forth
His praises.”--Review and Herald, June 10, 1902. {Ev
698.2}
They Felt the Burden of Souls.--“Notice
that it was after the disciples had come into perfect unity, when they were no
longer striving for the highest place, that the Spirit
was poured out. They were of one accord. All differences had been put away. And
the testimony borne of them after the Spirit had been given is the same. Mark
the word: ‘The multitude of them that believed were of
one heart and of one soul.’ The Spirit of Him who died that sinners might live,
animated the entire congregation of believers.” {Ev
698.3}
“The disciples did not ask for a blessing
for themselves. They were weighted with the burden of souls. The gospel was to
be carried to the ends of the earth, and they claimed the endowment of power
that Christ had promised. Then it was that the Holy Spirit was poured out, and
thousands were converted in a day.” --Signs of the Times, Feb. 17, 1914.
{Ev 699.1}
An Awakened Church.--“When we have entire,
wholehearted consecration to the service of Christ, God will recognize the fact
by an outpouring of His Spirit without measure; but this will not be while the largest portion of the
church are not laborers together with God.”--Review and Herald, July 21, 1896. {Ev 699.2}
Earth Enlightened.--“I saw jets of light
shining from cities and villages, and from the high places and the low places
of the earth. God's Word was obeyed, and as a result there were memorials for
Him in every city and village. His truth was proclaimed throughout the
world.”--Testimonies, vol. 9, pp. 28, 29. (1909) {Ev
699.3}
“Hundreds and thousands were seen visiting
families, and opening before them the Word of God. Hearts were convicted by the
power of the Holy Spirit, and a spirit of genuine conversion was manifest. On
every side doors were thrown open to the proclamation of the truth. The world
seemed to be lightened with the heavenly influence.”--Testimonies, vol.
9, p. 126. (1909) {Ev 699.4}
Through Humble Instruments.--“As the time
comes for it [the message of the third angel] to be given with greatest power,
the Lord will work through humble instruments, leading the minds of those who
consecrate themselves to His service. The laborers will be qualified rather by
the unction of His Spirit than by the training of literary institutions. Men of
faith and prayer will be constrained to go forth with holy zeal, declaring the
words which God gives them. The sins of Babylon will be laid open. The fearful
results of enforcing the observances of the church by civil authority, the
inroads of Spiritualism, the stealthy but rapid progress of the papal
power,--all will be unmasked. By these solemn warnings the people will be
stirred. Thousands upon thousands will listen who have never heard words like
these.”--The Great Controversy, p. 606. (1888) {Ev
699.5}
Multitudes Will Join the Armies of the
Lord.-- “Many . . . will be seen hurrying hither and
thither, constrained by the Spirit of God to bring the light to others. The
truth, the Word of God, is as a fire in their bones, filling them with a
burning desire to enlighten those who sit in darkness. Many, even among the
uneducated, now proclaim the words of the Lord. Children are impelled by the
Spirit to go forth and declare the message from heaven. The Spirit is poured
out upon all who will yield to its promptings, and, casting off all man's
machinery, his binding rules and cautious methods, they will declare the truth
with the might of the Spirit's power. Multitudes will receive the faith and
join the armies of the Lord.”--Review and Herald, July 23, 1895. {Ev 700.1}
Thousands of Voices Sound Warning.--“Servants
of God, with their faces lighted up and shining with holy consecration, will
hasten from place to place to proclaim the message from heaven. By thousands of
voices, all over the earth, the warning will be given. Miracles will be wrought,
the sick will be healed, and signs and wonders will follow the believers. Satan
also works with lying wonders, even bringing down
fire
from heaven in the sight of men. Thus the inhabitants of the earth will be
brought to take their stand.” {Ev 700.2}
“The
message will be carried not so much by argument as by the deep conviction of
the Spirit of God. The arguments have been presented. The seed has been sown,
and now it will spring up and bear fruit. The publications distributed by
missionary workers have exerted their influence, yet many whose minds were
impressed have been prevented from fully comprehending the truth or from
yielding obedience. Now the rays of light penetrate everywhere, the truth is
seen in its clearness, and the honest children of God sever the bands which
have held them. Family connections, church relations, are powerless to stay
them now. Truth is more precious than all besides. Notwithstanding the agencies
combined against the truth, a large number take their stand upon the Lord's
side.” --The Great Controversy, p. 612. (1888) {Ev
701.1}
“The descent of the Holy Spirit upon the
church is looked forward to as in the future; but it is the privilege of the
church to have it now. Seek for it, pray for it, believe
for it. We must have it, and Heaven is waiting to bestow it.”--Review and
Herald, March 19, 1895. {Ev 701.2}
The Latter Rain.--“Let Christians . . .
ask in faith for the promised blessing, and it will come. The outpouring of the
Spirit in the days of the apostles was the former rain, and glorious was the
result. But the latter rain will be more abundant.”--Signs of the Times,
Feb. 17, 1914. {Ev 701.3}
“I saw that God had children who
do not see and keep the Sabbath. They have not rejected the light upon it. And at
the commencement of the time of trouble, we were filled with the Holy Ghost
as we went forth and proclaimed the Sabbath more fully. This enraged the
churches and nominal Adventists, as they could not refute the Sabbath
truth. And at this time God's chosen all saw clearly that we had the truth, and
they came out and endured the persecution.” {CET 93.2}
Present Hour of Opportunity
“The Work for Today.--The third angel's
message is swelling into a loud cry, and you must not feel at liberty to
neglect the present duty, and still entertain the idea that at some future time
you will be the recipients of great blessing, when without any effort on your
part a wonderful revival will take place. . . . Today you are to have your
vessel purified, that it may be ready for the heavenly dew, ready for the
showers of the latter rain; for the latter rain will come, and the blessing of
God will fill every soul that is purified from every
defilement. It is our work today to yield our souls to Christ, that we
may be fitted for the time of refreshing from the presence of the Lord--fitted
for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. . . .” {Ev 701.4}
“Instead of living in expectation of some
special season of excitement, we are wisely to improve present opportunities,
doing that which must be done in order that souls may be saved. Instead of
exhausting the powers of our mind in speculations in regard to the times and
seasons which the Lord has placed in His own power, and withheld from men, we
are to yield ourselves to the control of the Holy Spirit, to do present duties,
to give the bread of life, unadulterated with human opinions, to souls who are
perishing for the truth.”--Review and Herald, March 22, 1892. {Ev 702.1}
Unprecedented Opportunities.--“In these
days of travel, the opportunities for coming in contact with men and women of
all classes and of many nationalities, are much greater than in the days of
Israel. The thoroughfares of travel have multiplied a thousandfold.
God has wonderfully prepared the way. The agency of the printing press, with
its manifold facilities, is at our command. Bibles and publications in many
languages, setting forth the truth for this time, are at our hand, and can be
swiftly carried to every part of the world.” {Ev
702.2}
“We are to give the last warning of God to
men, and what should be our earnestness in studying the Bible, and our zeal in
spreading the light!”--Review and Herald, Jan. 25, 1906. {Ev 702.3}
God Provides These Opportunities.--“A
crisis is right upon us. We must now by the Holy Spirit's power proclaim the
great truths for these last days. It will not be long before everyone will have
heard the warning and made his decision. Then shall the end come. . . . God is
the great Master Worker, and by His providence He prepares the way for His work
to be accomplished. He provides opportunities, opens up lines of influence, and
channels of working. If His people are watching the indications of His
providence, and stand ready to co-operate with Him, they will see a great work
accomplished.”--Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 24. (1900) {Ev
703.1}
National Crisis Brings Religious
Awakening.--“Today men and nations are being tested by the plummet in the hand
of Him who makes no mistake. . . .” {Ev 703.2}
“Today the signs of the times declare that
we are standing on the threshold of great and solemn events. Everything in our
world is in agitation. Before our eyes is fulfilling the Saviour's prophecy of
the events to precede His coming: "Ye shall hear of wars and rumors of
wars. . . . Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and
there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers
places.” {Ev 703.3}
“The present is a time of overwhelming
interest to all living. Rulers and statesmen, men who occupy positions of trust
and authority, thinking men and women of all classes, have their attention
fixed upon the events taking place about us. They are watching the relations
that exist among the nations. They observe the intensity that is taking
possession of every earthly element, and they recognize that something great
and decisive is about to take place,--that the world is on the verge of a
stupendous crisis.”-- Prophets and Kings, pp. 536, 537. (1916) {Ev 703.4}
“Our Duty in the Moment of
Respite.--Angels are now restraining the winds of
strife, until the world shall be warned of its coming doom; but a storm is
gathering, ready to burst upon the earth, and when God shall bid His angels
loose the winds, there will be such a scene of strife as no pen can picture. .
. .” {Ev 704.1}
“A moment of respite has been graciously
given us of God. Every power lent us of heaven is to be used in doing the work
assigned us by the Lord for those who are perishing in ignorance. . . .”{Ev 704.2}
“God's people should make mighty
intercession to Him for help now. And they must put their whole energies into
the effort to proclaim the truth during the respite that has been granted. . .
.” {Ev 704.3}
“Every day we have been associating with
men and women who are judgment bound. Each day may have been the dividing line
for some soul. Each day someone may have made the decision which will determine
his future destiny.” -- Review and Herald, Nov. 23, 1905. {Ev 704.4}
Significance of the Conflict.--“We do not
understand as we should the great conflict going on between invisible agencies,
the controversy between loyal and disloyal angels. Over every man, good and
evil angels strive. This is no make-believe conflict. It is no mimic battle in
which we are engaged. We have to meet most powerful adversaries, and it rests
with us to determine which shall win. We are to find our strength where the
early disciples found theirs.” -- Signs of the Times, Feb. 17, 1914. {Ev 704.5}
Heathenism Revived; Man of Sin
Exposed.--“As we near the close of time, there will be greater and still
greater external parade of heathen power; heathen deities will manifest their
signal power, and will exhibit themselves before the cities of the world; and
this delineation has already begun to be fulfilled. By a variety of images the
Lord Jesus represented to John the wicked character and seductive influence of
those who have been distinguished for their persecution of God's people. All
need wisdom carefully to search out the mystery of iniquity that figures so
largely in the winding up of this earth's history. . . .” {Ev
705.1}
“In the very time in which we live, the
Lord has called His people and has given them a message to bear. He has called
them to expose the wickedness of the man of sin who has made the Sunday law a
distinctive power, who has thought to change times and laws, and to oppress the
people of God who stand firmly to honor Him by keeping the only true Sabbath,
the Sabbath creation, as holy unto the Lord.” --Testimonies to Ministers,
pp. 117, 118. {Ev 705.2}
God's Fearless Messengers.--“At the
present time, when the end of all things earthly is rapidly approaching, Satan
is putting forth desperate efforts to ensnare the world. He is devising many
plans to occupy minds, and to divert attention from
the truths essential to salvation. . . .” {Ev 705.3}
Wickedness is reaching a height never
before attained, and yet many ministers of the gospel are crying, "Peace
and safety." But God's faithful messengers are to go steadily forward with
their work. Clothed with the panoply of heaven, they are to advance fearlessly
and victoriously, never ceasing their warfare until every soul within their
reach shall have received the message of truth for this time.”-- Acts of the
Apostles, pp. 219, 220. (1911) {Ev 705.4}
Speedy Triumphant Climax
The Gospel Once Shook the World.--“By the
co-operation of the divine Spirit, the apostles did a work that shook the world.
To every nation was the gospel carried in a single generation.”{Ev 706.1}
“Glorious were the results that attended
the ministry of the chosen apostles of Christ. . . .” {Ev
706.2}
“Not in their own power did the apostles
accomplish their mission, but in the power of the living God. Their work was
not easy. The opening labors of the Christian church were attended by hardship
and bitter grief. In their work the disciples constantly encountered privation,
calumny, and persecution; but they counted not their lives dear to unto
themselves and rejoiced that they were called to suffer for Christ.
Irresolution, indecision, weakness of purpose, found no place in their efforts.
They were willing to spend and be spent. The consciousness of the responsibility
resting on them purified and enriched their experience; and the grace of heaven
was revealed in the conquests they achieved for Christ. With the might of
omnipotence God worked through them to make the gospel triumphant.” -- Acts
of the Apostles, pp. 593-595. (1911) {Ev 706.3}
A Firmament of Chosen Ones.--“Among
earth's inhabitants, scattered in every land, there are those who have not
bowed the knee to Baal. Like the stars of heaven, which appear only at night,
these faithful ones will shine forth when darkness covers the earth and gross
darkness the people. In heathen Africa, in the Catholic lands of Europe and of
South America, in China, in India, in the islands of the sea, and in all the
dark corners of the earth, God has in reserve a firmament of chosen ones that
will yet shine forth amidst the darkness, revealing clearly to an apostate
world the transforming power of obedience to His law. Even now they are
appearing in every nation, among every tongue and people; and in the hour of
deepest apostasy, when Satan's supreme effort is made to cause "all, both
small and great, rich and poor, free and bond," to receive, under penalty
of death, the sign of allegiance to a false rest day, these faithful ones,
‘blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke,’ will "shine as
lights in the world." The darker the night, the more brilliantly will they
shine.” -- Prophets and Kings, pp. 188, 189. (1916) {Ev
706.4}
The Church Triumphant.--“The work is soon
to close. The members of the church militant who have proved faithful will
become the church triumphant.”-- Letter 32, 1892. {Ev
707.1}
“And still our General, who never makes a
mistake, says to us, ‘Advance; enter new territory; lift the standard in every
land. Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.’” {Ev 707.2}
“The time has come when through God's
messengers the scroll is being unrolled to the world. The truth contained in
the first, second, and third angels' messages must go to every nation, kindred,
tongue, and people; it must lighten the darkness of every continent, and extend
to the islands of the sea. There must be no delay in this work.” {Ev 707.3}
“Our watchword is to be, Onward, ever
onward! Angels of heaven will go before us to prepare the way. Our burden for
the regions beyond can never be laid down till the whole earth is lightened
with the glory of the Lord.” -- Gospel Workers, p. 470. (1915) {Ev 707.4}
~rwb