The Keynote by Editor

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jul 7, 1903

The Keynote

By Editor

Editorial

The Keynote

“God has called this people to give to the world the message of Christ’s soon coming.” “The return of Christ to our world will not be long delayed. Let this be the keynote of every message.”—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. VI, pages 412, 406.

The Keynote Means Victory

“As the end draws near, the work of God is to increase in strength and purity and holiness. The workers are to be filled with love for God and for one another. They are to cherish principles of the strictest integrity. When the true keynote is struck, God will reveal himself as a God of mercy and love. Angels of heaven will ascend and descend on the ladder of shining brightness, co-operating with human workers. The members of the church triumphant—the church in heaven—will be permitted to draw near to the members of the church militant, to aid them in their necessity. Let us ever remember that we are laborers together with God. In this heavenly union, we shall carry forward his work with completeness, with singing and rejoicing. In every soul will be kindled the fire of holy zeal. Company after company will leave the dark standard of the foe to come up to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty.”—Mrs. E. G. White, June 9, 1903.

A Definite Work

THE people known as Seventh-day Adventists have been raised up for a distinct purpose. The time had come that the message of the second advent of our Lord and of the necessary preparation for that event should be given to the world. Human instrumentalities were needed through whom the message could reach humanity. The people who remained faithful to their experiences with God and his truth, even after they had been disappointed in the definite time for the return of their Lord, were entrusted with the final message of warning and salvation. And there is one keynote for this whole message. “The return of Christ to our world will not be long delayed. Let this be the keynote of every message.”

The True Message

THE third angel’s message is one grand harmony of truth, the keynote of which is that “there shall be delay no longer,” and that the Lord is coming in this generation. We are in the time of the promise. All definite periods of prophetic time are in the past. It only needs that “this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” The degree of our faithfulness to the work to which God has called us will determine the time of the Master’s coming. We are to look for and hasten his coming.

Some Pointed Questions

Do we sincerely believe that “God has called this people to give to the world the message of Christ’s soon coming”? Have we responded to this call by a complete consecration to this work? Do we believe with an unwavering faith that “the return of Christ to our world will not be long delayed”? Do we testify in the plans which we make for the future that we expect the end of all things to come in our day? Are we sending our sins beforehand to judgment, and depositing our means in the bank of heaven, so that there shall be nothing to bind us to this world when the call is heard, “Come, ye blessed of my Father”? Have we that confidence in this message and this work that we are ready to risk all upon the altar of service? Are our feet firmly planted upon the Rock, so that we shall not be carried away by the strong tide of skepticism concerning this message which is already setting in even among professed believers in it? Are we prepared to meet the Lord? and are we devoting our effort to the one purpose of preparing others for his coming? Let us not pass over these questions lightly.

Striking the Keynote

THERE are some remarkable results which will follow when the true keynote is struck. Heavenly beings, who are waiting to hear the joyful sound, will then unite with human workers. The first love will be renewed in the hearts of the believers, and “in every soul will be kindled the fire of holy zeal.” Most blessed results will then be seen in the proclamation of the message. Not simply one by one will the converts come, but “company after company will leave the dark standard of the foe to come up to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty.” Are not these assurances most encouraging? Surely the one thing to do is to strike the true keynote. Let every preacher strike the true keynote in every discourse. Let every Bible worker, every canvasser, every physician, every nurse, every worker of every kind, make the soon coming of the Lord the inspiration and the basis of all his service in this glorious message, and the message will soon swell to the loud cry. But to strike the true keynote means more than simply to say that the Lord is coming, or to dwell upon certain texts which deal with the prophetic periods, and to show that they are now in the past. All this is good in its place, but the true keynote can not be struck apart from an experience of the life. We must confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, even in our own flesh. We must know the power of his coming as the power of the endless life which delivers from the dominion of sin. We must realize his personal presence in the Holy Spirit ministering to us all the benefits of his mediation for us in the heavenly sanctuary in this hour of judgment. Then we can say with the apostle Peter, whose inspired testimony assures us that “the day of the Lord will come as a thief,” “We have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” When the keynote is thus struck, we shall see of the salvation of God. O that every believer would strike the true keynote! “When God’s servants with consecrated zeal co-operate with divine instrumentalities, the state of things that exists in this world will be changed, and soon the earth with joy will receive her King.” Strike the true keynote.