24
Last Day Events
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.—
Evangelism,
695, 696
(1883).
Had the church of Christ done her appointed work as the Lord
ordained, the whole world would before this have been warned and the
Lord Jesus would have come to our earth in power and great glory.—
The Desire of Ages, 633, 634
(1898).
God’s Promises Are Conditional
The angels of God in their messages to men represent time as very
short. [See
Romans 13:11, 12
;
1 Corinthians 7:29
;
1 Thessalonians
4:15, 17
;
Hebrews 10:25
;
James 5:8, 9
;
1 Peter 4:7
;
Revelation 22:6,
7
.] 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. [See
Jeremiah 18:7-10
;
Jonah 3:4-10
.]...
[39]
We may have to remain here in this world because of insubordi-
nation 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.—
Evangelism, 695,
696
(1901).
What Christ Is Waiting For
Christ is waiting with longing desire for the manifestation of Him-
self in His church. 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. 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