Nahum 2:3, commentary and pictures

The time of getting ready foretold is the present time, now at hand very near the close of this earth's history, which is the great day of God and is shown by great waymarks of the times.
The shaking chariots point to modern means of rapid travel, which God brought about for the great day of His getting ready to serve His purposes.
It is a call to readiness that requires preparing a people to stand in God's day, a last great work for eternity of learning and teaching others and forming character for immortal life with not a moment to lose.
For standing in that day God gives precious new and increased light in the first, second, and third angels' messages, with the third shedding light on the two earlier messages proclaimed again in the final warning, and He advances His cause through publishing houses and presses carrying truth to every nation and through earnest heart-led missionary work.
The mighty men are God's workers raised up with a solemn message to wake up and do mighty strokes for God in holding up His law before the world in the present crisis over conscience and the Sabbath, by united intense labor, by arousing and teaching and helping others to work and carry the last message of mercy, by most earnest prayer and keeping God first, and by refusing unbelief, gossip, envy, jealousy, and disunion.

The Time Foretold

The day of His preparation is the present time, now at hand in this solemn hour of earth's history. It is very near the close of this earth's history, the great day of God for which a people must be made ready to stand. Great waymarks point it out and show the times in which we are living. There is not a moment to lose, for character must now be formed for the future immortal life.

The call to prepare a people to stand in that day makes it a call to readiness for God's day, with the last great work for eternity now being done in learning and teaching. It is the day of the Lord's preparation, in which there is now no time to talk unbelief or to gossip and no time to do the devil's work. Every word is heard by God, who judges not by assertions which are yea and nay but by the fruit of one's course of action, so all must beware of unsettling the faith of others by sowing envy, jealousy, and disunion, since the seed sown determines the character of the harvest.

The shaking chariots seen in the day of preparation point to modern means of rapid travel. Those means were brought about by God for the great day of His preparation to serve His purposes.

The Work of Preparation

The day of His preparation is now, the present time, and the verse is a call to readiness to prepare a people to stand in God's day. That last great work for eternity is learning ourselves and teaching others, forming character for the future immortal life, with not a moment to lose in this solemn time near the end. For standing in that day God gives His people precious new and increased light, precious truth to be unfolded. The first, second, and third angels' messages prepare them to stand in the great day of God, with the third message including and shedding light on the two earlier messages, which are proclaimed again as part of the final warning to the world.

The day of preparation is a time when plans are made and carried out for advancing God's cause and preparing a people for Christ's coming through a special, glorious work. That work includes spreading the gospel through publishing houses and presses, which carry the light of truth to every nation and weaken Satan's hold over people. Preparation in this application calls for earnest, heart-led missionary work rather than elaborate mechanical systems that consume time and means while neglecting piety and the work for souls. God's people must cooperate with God to prepare others to stand by arousing brethren and sisters to action, teaching church members how to work, and giving them help and encouragement to labor. This cooperation means bringing others to a knowledge of the truth and carrying the last message of mercy to the world from a knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ whom He sent, with a burden to teach others how to work in various ways to arrest attention and lead people to consider what is truth.

The mighty men are God's workers, whom the Lord has raised up men with a solemn message to wake up to prepare for battle for the day of God's preparation. They should at this very time be heart and soul at work doing mighty strokes for God, every man doing his duty to the utmost of his ability to hold up and vindicate the law of God before His people and the world. The day of preparation is the present crisis over conscience and the Bible Sabbath, with power from beneath moving to change the Constitution and laws of the nation to bind the consciences of Sabbathkeepers. Satan holds a council to keep pen and voice silent, diverting strength to weaken and divide by variance of feeling, jealousy, evil surmising, and absorption in minor ideas and theories, so that the great question of religious liberty is neglected. God's call is for united, intense work of every voice and pen to stay Satan's workings and powers.

The day of preparation is the great day of God's preparation now at hand very near the close of this earth's history, pointed out by great waymarks showing the times, and it means a time of struggles. That time calls for most earnest prayer to be prepared, for keeping the service of God above houses and lands and business transactions and worldly enterprises. It calls for keeping before the mind the rich promises and the mansions Jesus has gone to prepare, rejoicing in the prospect of soon being with Him and trusting Him to supply every need. There is now no time to talk unbelief or to gossip and no time to do the devil's work. Everyone must beware of unsettling the faith of others by sowing seeds of envy, jealousy, and disunion, because God hears the words and judges not by assertions which are yea and nay but by the fruit of one's course of action, and the seed sown will determine the character of the harvest.