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. 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. 2 At times she compared the believers to soldiers who had not done their duty, or plants that should have been bearing fruit. 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. While this was the first time Ellen White spoke so fully of the delay, as the years passed she repeated these ideas many times.
#Hasten the day i still believe pro#
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 pro claim the three angels' messages. The same sins unbelief, worldliness, lack of consecration, and strife had delayed the events both groups were anticipating. "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. 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 Many Seventh-day Adventists believe that Jesus has delayed His coming and refer to a statement Ellen White made in 1883.
They are sure that the time of Christ's return depends on the readiness of His people.Įllen White lived for seven decades after 1844- Her attitude toward the passing years can give us balanced guidance now. These people generally say that the Lord is waiting for the church to repent of sin and accept the beliefs and lifestyle they promote. While no one is mentioning the day and the hour, many are speaking of the month and the year. For some the ancient jubilee cycles lend special significance to the year 1987. Another predicted that probation would close for Adventists in July 1987, and for the rest of the world in August 1987. Some are sure that the judgment in heaven reached the cases of the living in 1986. Another is confident that the present pope will lead the world to enact Sunday laws. In 1980 one such expositor wrote a 1,400-page document predicting great things would happen in 19. 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.
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.
The great challenge today is not religious fanaticism, but secularism and worldly unbelief. Many denominations have united, but their influence in the legislatures is small. No Sabbath-keeper now sits in jail because he worked on Sunday. The Religious Right speaks of them, but has lost credibility because of the PTL debacle. 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.īut on the other hand, some signs are not being fulfilled. On one hand, sobering signs point to the end. 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.
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