Come; for All Things Are Now Ready
By Arthur G. Daniells
This invitation and declaration are found in our Lord's parable of the great supper, recorded in Luke 14:16–24. This parable tells us that Jesus is ready to come; that those to whom he is about to come must proclaim that fact to the world; and that its proclamation means service, labor, toil, on the part of those who make the proclamation. The time of this parable has arrived. All things are now ready. The time has come in the progress of the great controversy between Christ and Satan for Jesus to come and end the controversy, break the reign of sin, and establish God's kingdom in the earth. The time has fully come for the consummation of all that the gospel holds out to man. The message of Christ's coming is a soul-purifying, heart-cleansing message. There is wrapped in it everything that pertains to the preparation of men to7dwell in the presence of God forever. Hence the third angel's message embraces every phase of true reform in the world to-day. The message of Christ's coming must be accompanied with the exhortation, “Prepare to meet thy God.” Salvation from sin is the only true preparation to meet God. The erection of large buildings, the organization and operation of large institutions, great activity and bustle in religious work,—these are not a preparation to meet God. All these may be indispensable in the work of those who are preparing, or who may be prepared, to meet him; but they are not the preparation. Salvation from the power of sin, clean hearts,—that alone is the preparation that will enable us to stand in the presence of him who is “a consuming fire.” Those who are commanded to give the invitation to the supper are to go out quickly. The time is short, the final crisis has come, the message is urgent, and there must be no delay. The messengers must be awake, active, and intense. They must give the message in a manner that will quickly arrest the attention of the whole world. This can be done, for God has ways and means, methods and processes, of working that we little appreciate, by which he can arouse the whole world in a very short time. Is it not evident that many of the inventions of these last days are designed by the Lord to be used in giving this invitation speedily to the world? The railway and steamship lines have not been brought into use simply to enrich stockholders, and transport pleasure seekers. They are to carry God's messengers and printed truth quickly to every part of the world. The printing press has not been perfected merely for financial gain, or for the publication of corrupting literature. This wonderful invention is to be used in every part of the world in sounding the invitation to the supper. The electric telegraph, cable, and telephone lines have not been wrapped around the world simply for the rapid transit of war intelligence or the condition of the stock exchange. All these facilities are to serve a higher purpose than the world recognizes. Every one of them is a factor for God's use. He will yet lay his hand upon all of them, and use them to great advantage and with great power in closing up his work. Nor will it take the Lord long to do this when his people are ready. God can work to-day just as he did with Peter and John at the temple when that poor lame man was given healing power. Let the Lord stretch forth his hand to work through his people with signs and wonders and mighty power, and it will not take long, with the facilities prepared, to arrest the attention of the whole world. The gaze of all nations could soon be fastened upon God's people, and an inquiry could soon be instituted that would enable them to proclaim the message to listening, interested people everywhere. Ah, yes; as soon as God's people are ready, the Lord will make use of all these facilities for extending the last invitation to a perishing world. The latter rain will begin to fall, the loud cry will be heard, and the earth will be lightened with the glory of God. This call presents to us the idea of consecrated service. God has made the preparation; he has sent out the invitation; he has told us where to go; he has given us a message to proclaim; and he has supplied the power. That is his part. But there is something in all this that belongs to man, and that is service, toil, earnest labor. That is our part, and that is the all-important thing for us to consider just now. When the light of this message first began to dawn, the leading thought was truth, Bible doctrine, the faith once delivered to the saints. And so men searched their Bibles, having as their primary object the development of clear lines of truth. They did not go to the writings of men. They got their light directly from the writings of God's own seers. But a few years ago another message was sent to this people with great emphasis, and that was righteousness by faith in Jesus Christ. The message was needed in order that rightness of heart might be blended with rightness of thought, and with these two we have the mightiest combination that the world has ever seen. Then later, the message came, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost.” This message was needed to qualify us for service. With the mind set right, and the heart made clean, man still needs the power of the living God to serve; and so the message came, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost.” The greatest need of this denomination to-day is the power from above which will qualify all the people for faithful service, and enable them to march on, with unbroken tread, to victory. Jesus is coming. Proclaim it to the world. This is the message, and it means earnest service on the part of all the people from this day forth until the work is done. A. G. DANIELLS.