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Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Oct 24, 1871

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 38, No. 19.

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Waiting.

The position of suspense is not the most happy one. Those who wait for the return of the Lord in uncertainty as to the definite period of his second advent, are in danger of becoming restless. Hence the application of certain texts to this time, and to the people who are waiting for their Lord. “Ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise, For yet a little while, and He that shall come, will come, and will not tarry.” Heb. 10: 36, 37. “Be ye also patient, stablish your hearts; for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.” James 5: 8. “Here is the patience of the saints, here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Rev. 14: 12.
In such a position, how natural the often-repeated inquiry, “How long before the Lord will come?” But no definite answer can be given to this inquiry. And it is best that this question cannot be definitely answered. Definite time has answered the purpose of God. It brought the Advent people to the waiting time, requiring great patience. Throughout this entire period of the patience of the saints, the only safe position is to keep the coming of Christ ever before us, and to regulate all our acts in full view of the terrible realities of the Judgment. To put off the coming of the Lord, and view that event in the distance, and enter into the spirit of the world, would be dangerous in the extreme. It is true that there are prophecies to be fulfilled, just prior to the coming of the Lord; but their fulfillment is of such a nature that it can be realized in a short time. Unbelief may suggest that as the time has continued longer than the waiting ones expected, it may still continue many years. But saving faith takes the safe position, and views the event at the door. This fact should ever be borne in mind, that while we have no means of showing that the Lord will come at an immediate definite point, no one can prove that he may not very soon come. And while it cannot be proved that the Lord will not very soon come, fulfilled and fulfilling prophecy show that the second advent cannot be a distant event.