- ✪ Operation HASTEN
- -5 Heeding the Times
- -4 Awakening a Sense of Urgency
- -3 Shouldering Responsibility
- -2 Overcoming Obstacles
- -1 Encouraging Burden Bearers
- 0 Nurturing the Faith of Jesus
- H Highlighting Present Truth
- A Activate the Youth
- S Separate from Babylon
- T Train in True Education
- E Evangelize the Cities
- N Nurture Christ-Like Characters
As we count down the mental preparation needed for Operation HASTEN, the first step is to heed the times we are living in. The question is often asked: Is it even possible to know the times we’re living in?
“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night...”
2 Peter 3:10
Some might point to this verse and conclude that we will be caught off guard. But if we read further, we find that the Bible expands on itself.
“Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard and hold fast and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.”
Revelation 3:3
Revelation 3:3 clarifies that if we watch, the day won’t catch us by surprise. We, as children of light, are not in darkness that the day should overtake us as a thief.
“For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night... But ye brethren are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief.”
1 Thessalonians 5:2-4
God desires for us to know and discern the times, offering signs to build our faith in His soon return. Jesus has given us clues to understand what generation we’re living in.
“Many shall be purified and made white and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.”
Daniel 12:10
However, some may cite Matthew 24:36 where it says:
“But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.”
Matthew 24:36
This often causes cognitive dissonance as many conclude that we can’t know the timeframes at all. But this is a misunderstanding. James White, the husband of Ellen White, expanded on this, explaining that while the exact time of Christ’s second advent is hidden, it does not mean we cannot know the relative nearness of the event.
“The simple fact that the Lord mentions signs of His second advent is the best proof possible that His people were not to remain ignorant of the relative nearness of the event.”
James White, The Second Advent
He continues by saying that both the angels in heaven and the watching people of God will know when the time is near.
“Christ will know of the period of his second advent to this world. The holy angels who wait around the throne of Heaven to receive messages relative to the part they act in the salvation of men will know of the time of this closing event of salvation. And so will the waiting watching people of God understand.”
James White, The Second Advent
Ellen White echoes this in The Great Controversy:
“Though no man knoweth the day nor the hour of His coming, we are instructed and required to know when it is near. We are further taught that to disregard this warning and refuse or to neglect to know when His advent is near will be as fatal for us as it was for those who lived in the days of Noah not to know when the flood was coming.”
Great Controversy (GC 370.2)
We are not waiting for another prophetic date when Jesus will come. Time has not been a test since 1844, and it never will be again.
“When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own.”
Christ’s Object Lessons (COL 69.1)
So, what does this mean for us? When our characters mature, immediately Christ will return as Mark 4:29 tells us. It’s up to us to be ready.
“But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle because the harvest is come.”
Mark 4:29
Ellen White reflects on the past and says that had Adventists after the great disappointment held fast their faith and unitedly proclaimed the message, Christ would have already returned. But, there is still hope. We have been given another chance to proclaim the message and prepare the way for His return.
“Had Adventists after the great disappointment in 1844 held fast their faith and followed on unitedly in the opening providence of God receiving the message of the third angel and in the power of the Holy Spirit proclaiming it to the world they would have seen the salvation of God. The Lord would have wrought mightily with their efforts, the work would have been completed, and Christ would have come ere this to receive His people to their reward.”
Ellen White, Manuscript 4, 1883
As we look back, we must also look forward. We are now in the fifth generation, the renewal generation. We must be the voice of our generation, giving the message of re-examining 1888, re-investigating righteousness by faith, and preparing to stand in these last days.
“So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”
Psalm 90:12
This is our last chance to vindicate the Father. We must give that message of re-examining 1888, re-investigating righteousness by faith, and living the gospel in such a way that the character of Christ is perfectly reproduced in us. We must be the voice of our generation.
“The Lord has a time appointed when He will bind off the work,.”
Manuscript Releases vol. 9 (9MR 212.1)
There is an appointed time when He will bind off the work and He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom He hath ordained. This is a call for us to be ready, to be prepared, and to hasten the Lord's return by living the gospel message in its fullness.
“Because He hath appointed a day in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men in that He hath raised him from the dead.”
Acts 17:31
Let us not be ignorant of the times. God has made everything beautiful in His time, and He has set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end (Ecclesiastes 3:11). He has declared the end from the beginning and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, "My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure" (Isaiah 46:10).
“Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.”
Isaiah 46:9-10
As we close this message, let us remember that we are living in a special time in Earth's history. We have been called to be the final generation, to vindicate the Father, and to prepare for the soon return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. May we be faithful in our calling and hasten His coming.