Introduction

The belief in the imminent second coming of Jesus is at the core of Seventh-day Adventism’s self-identity and an integral part of their message and mission. As descendants of the Millerite movement, they long for the materialization of that joyous event. While the Millerites proclaimed that the end of the twenty-three hundred evening-mornings of Daniel 8:14 marked the time of Christ’s second coming on October 22, 1844, early Sabbatarian Adventists redefined that date as the beginning of His Day-of-Atonement ministry in the heavenly sanctuary. As they continued to look for the imminent second coming, preceded by particular prophetic last-day events, they continually opposed the setting of days for that glorious event. As years gave way to decades and decades gave way to more than one and a half centuries, many Adventists have become weary of talking about the imminence of Christ’s return. Some Adventist writers and speakers have employed statements from Ellen White to stress that Christ’s second coming has been delayed due to the church’s spiritual condition and that His coming was effectively dependent on the demonstration of the believers’ perfection of character.¹ Other Adventist writers have emphasized the sovereignty of God and the church’s inability to control the timing of Jesus’ return.² The different perspectives seem to pose the question whether God is waiting for us or we are waiting for Him. This paper analyzes Ellen White’s statements on the flexibility and fixedness of the second coming of Christ.

The Flexibility of the Second Coming

In her writings, Ellen White frequently stressed the nearness of Jesus’ coming and that the church could and should engage as much as possible in proclaiming the gospel to the whole world to hasten His coming, and that a number of factors may hinder His people from accomplishing that task. Her remarks suggest a competing between the spreading of iniquity in the world and the efforts to spread the gospel message to save as many people as possible. The different factors involved in and the reasons for the hastening and/or delay of the second coming need further exploration.

An Active Expectancy Speeds Up the Gospel Proclamation

Commenting on the time left before Christ will return, Ellen White said that “time” had always been presented to her “as very short.”³ Quoting from 1 Peter 4:7, she frequently emphasized that “the end of all things is at hand.”⁴ Similarly, alluding to Matthew 24:33, she stressed that the second coming of Christ is at the door.⁵ She further remarked that “He is nearer now than when we first believed.”⁶ In fact, she perceived in the experience of the apostles the same sense for the shortness of the time (1 Cor 7:29, 30; Rom 13:12; Rev 1:3; 22:6, 7). She noted, however, that “the promises and the threatenings of God are alike conditional.”⁷

Advancing the Coming of God’s Kingdom. Ellen White made clear that Christ had not revealed “the day and the hour of His coming.” There would be no need to “maintain an attitude of constant expectancy” had Christ revealed that time.⁸ Since Christ’s people did not know the time of His second coming, they were to watch and to wait for it in active expectancy (Luke 12:37).⁹ She called to mind that believers throughout ages have prayed, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10). Those words reflected the personal attitude of all who prayed them in sincerity.¹⁰ That attitude was similarly manifested by asking God daily, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?”¹¹ Ellen White drew a parallel between modern-day believers and both John the Baptist and Jesus’ disciples. They proclaimed the message, “The kingdom of God is at hand.”¹² She stated that believers were to show that they were waiting for “a better country, even a heavenly [one],” and “that their home is not in this world.”¹³ She stressed that “we must act like men and women who believe” that “the message for this time is . . . of the deepest importance.”¹⁴ The believers are not merely to wait and look for the second coming of Christ. This active expectancy would be seen in the proclamation of the gospel and the warning message to the whole world. Therefore she wrote that

as we give ourselves to God, and win other souls to Him, we hasten the coming of His kingdom. Only those who devote themselves to His service, saying, “Here am I; send me” (Isa 6:8), to open blind eyes, to turn men “from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified” (Acts 26:18)—they alone pray in sincerity, “Thy kingdom come.¹⁵

“In harmony with the truth which they believe,” those who watch and wait are to proclaim “by word and action . . . to all [that] the end of all things is at hand.”¹⁶ Alluding to 2 Peter 3:12 and Matthew 24:14, she suggested that “by giving the gospel to the world” we could “hasten our Lord’s return.”¹⁷ Focusing on the wording in that biblical passage, she specified that “the kingdom will not come until the good tidings have been carried to all the earth.”¹⁸

The gospel of the kingdom was, in fact, the message proclaimed by the John the Baptist, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).¹⁹ The Book of Revelation “contains the message for the last days,” and it should be explained by the ministers. Thus, they would “bear aloft the lamp of life in the dark places of the earth and hasten the coming of our King.”²⁰ She referred in particular to the truth about the final test that would determine whether people would receive the mark of the beast or the seal of God.²¹

Ways to Advance the Kingdom. The gospel message could be advanced in various ways.²² A couple examples may suffice. Ellen White mentioned the evangelistic work in the great cities in the United States. Laying aside everything that hinders ministers and workers from engaging in that work, they will advance in faith, angels will prepare their way, “the salvation of God will be revealed,” “prosperity will attend their efforts,” “the name of God will be magnified, and the coming of Christ will be hastened.”²³ Church members might visit “from house to house” and explain the Bible to those who fail to understand it.²⁴ Many opportunities present themselves to us and “demand our offerings of time and intellect and money, gifts large and small, as God has prospered us, to make a way for the truth in the dark places of the earth, to set up a standard of righteousness, and to advance the interests of the kingdom of God.”²⁵ Ellen White stated that God had given a surplus of means to His people to advance the work. Each person had been entrusted with financial means that were to be brought to the treasury, which in turn would allow a more rapid advancement of God’s cause to win many souls and thus “the day of Christ’s coming will be hastened.”²⁶ She further pointed out that those who wait in active expectation would be “temperate in eating and dressing.” All their actions would be characterized by “humility and simplicity.”²⁷

The Holy Spirit Accelerates the Success. Ellen White emphasized that some factors could, like nothing else, accelerate the spreading of the gospel to the whole world. Those factors are directly related to the Holy Spirit’s work in the lives of the believers. Knowing that Christ’s coming is near and a great work still needs to be done, they should purify “their souls by obedience to the truth” and cooperate with the Holy Spirit “in working for the salvation of souls” by proclaiming the gospel message and final warning to the whole world.²⁸ The reception of the Holy Spirit will provide them with “wisdom to work with their ability and their means to save souls that are perishing.”²⁹ She stressed that as the believers “receive the Spirit of Christ—the Spirit of unselfish love and labor for others”—“the fruit of the Spirit[, which] is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, [and] temperance” (Gal 5:22, 23), will be grown and brought forth. She equated the fruit of the Spirit with the character of Christ, and defined true perfection as other-focused love manifested in deep, unselfish care for others and in sharing the gospel of salvation with them. The more the fruit of the Spirit is manifested in the lives of the believers, the more the gospel seed will be sown in the world, bringing about a harvest that Christ would come to gather (Mark 4:29).³⁰ Like in the time of the apostles, the preaching of the message of Christ’s second coming should be accompanied by a living power.³¹ Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the preaching of the third angel’s message will swell into a loud cry.³² Similarly, she said that

The Spirit and the power of the coming One will be imparted in large measure to those who are preparing to stand in the day of God, who are hastening the second advent of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To these faithful ones Christ gives special communications. He talks with them as He talked with His disciples before leaving them. The Spirit of truth will guide them into all truth. God has lines of communication with the world today.³³

In the context of “abounding iniquity” and “apostasy,” the truth “will shine brighter and brighter” until Christ comes.³⁴ Encouraging ministers and church workers in Australia to give themselves fully to Jesus, she said in a similar vein,

The Lord invites us to look to Him, to trust in Him, to walk with Him, to talk with Him, to keep step with Him. Then duty will be clear before us. The Lord can use pure, unselfish, holy hearts to His own name’s glory. While your meeting was in session in Melbourne, it was presented before me that there needed to be a cleansing of the soul and spirit before the Holy Spirit could mold and fashion mind and character. There must be more of Christ, all of Christ, and none of self. Then there will be patience, longsuffering, gentleness, and love for one another. This pulling apart will not be. We have need of patience, that after we have done the will of God, we shall receive the promise, looking for and hastening unto the coming of the day of God.³⁵

Factors That Hinder the Gospel Proclamation

Ellen White was nevertheless convinced that the second coming of Christ had, in fact, been retarded and delayed. An example for such remarks is found in Ellen White’s reply to A. C. Long’s criticism in 1883. Long was a minister of the Marion Party, an offshoot from the Seventh-day Adventists in the early 1860s. He had argued that her statements on the near completion of Jesus’ high-priestly ministry more than thirty years earlier were proof that her testimonies were false. Talking about the situation right after the disappointment in the fall of 1844, Ellen White stated that Christ would already have come had the Millerites held on to their faith and received the new insights of the third angel’s message, the seventh-day Sabbath, and the sanctuary message, proclaiming them to the world. Since most Millerites gave up their faith and began to oppose those who proclaimed these new insights (present truth), the work was nevertheless hindered and the world was left in darkness. She concluded, “It was not the will of God that the coming of Christ should be thus delayed,” comparing it to the forty years of Israel’s wilderness wanderings (Heb 3:19).³⁶

Procrastination in Proclaiming the Gospel. She applied that reproof not only to the post-disappointment Millerites but also to Christians in general and to Seventh-day Adventists in particular.³⁷ In a possible allusion to the holding of the winds in Revelation 7, Ellen White suggested that “judgment and wrath were to be repressed only for a little space until a certain work was done.”³⁸ She further stated that “the whole world would before this have been warned and the Lord Jesus would have come to our earth in power and great glory,” “had the church of Christ done her appointed work” in sharing the gospel.³⁹ Had the church proclaimed the gospel, the message of mercy, to the whole world, Christ would have come back to the earth and the saints would have been received into the heavenly Jerusalem.⁴⁰ At this time in our world’s history, “as the day of the Lord is right at hand,” it was “not safe for us to delay His coming.”⁴¹ Talking about the heavy opposition to the message of E. J. Waggoner and A. T. Jones at the Minneapolis General Conference session in 1888, she noted that “by exciting that opposition, Satan succeeded in shutting away from our people, in a great measure, the special power of the Holy Spirit that God longed to impart to them. The enemy prevented them from obtaining that efficiency which might have been theirs in carrying the truth to the world, as the apostles proclaimed it after the day of Pentecost.”⁴² Ellen White also remarked that the work given to Adventists was “years behind” because it had been retarded “through dilatory action.” Since only few voices accepted God’s call, “Whom shall I send?,” she concluded that, as a result of that “neglect, many souls will lose the opportunity the Lord desired to give them.”⁴³ Describing the situation in 1903, she wrote

I know that if the people of God had preserved a living connection with Him, if they had obeyed His Word, they would today be in the heavenly Canaan. Oh, how sad it makes me to see the way hedging up before us, and to know that it is becoming more and more difficult to carry the message to the people! We have not done a hundredth part of the evangelical work that God desires us to do among our neighbors and friends.⁴⁴

Five years later, after commending the recent progress in the mission field, Ellen White noted that there was still much left to be done because

we have not been as diligent as we ought to have been in seeking to save the lost. Precious opportunities have been allowed to pass by unimproved. This has delayed the coming of our King. Had the people of God constantly preserved a living connection with Him from the beginning of the great advent movement, had they obeyed His word and advanced in all His opening providences, they would today be in the heavenly Canaan. We have done only a small part of the evangelical work that God desires us to do among our neighbors and friends.⁴⁵

Competition with the Proliferation of Iniquity. The idea of the delay of Jesus’ coming demands an explanation. In the Desire of Ages, Ellen White reflected on the condition of the world at the time of Noah (Gen 6:5; Matt 24:37-39) and before the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. She explained that iniquity and wickedness abounded in those times, calling for judgment and destruction. As iniquity abounded, the gospel was nevertheless preached to “every creature which is under heaven” (Col 1:23). In her view, Jesus’ “prophecy [in Matthew 24:12-14] will again be fulfilled.” Revelation 14:6, 14 notes accordingly that the “everlasting gospel is to be preached ‘to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.’”⁴⁶ Failure to advance the preaching of the gospel would therefore hinder the achievement of that goal and allow iniquity to abound even more. Thus, the second coming would be deferred. Ellen White described a group of believers in the second coming whose hearts, words, and actions exhibit the attitude of the person who says, My lord delayeth his coming (Matt 24:48; Luke 12:45).⁴⁷ Those people relish a false safety, look for the “earthly prosperity and glory” of the church, unite “with the world in pleasure seeking,” and “banish from the minds of others the conviction that the Lord is coming quickly.”⁴⁸ Further, she said that “the last message of warning and mercy has been retarded in doing its work by the selfish love of money, the selfish love of ease, and the unfitness of man to do a work that needs to be done.”⁴⁹ She saw the primary cause for the delay not in God’s unalterable timing but rather in the “insubordination” of His people. They had “great light,” yet they “did not have corresponding piety, sanctification, and zeal in working out God’s specified plans.” Spiritual deficiencies (ref. Micah 6:8) led to a gap in the advancement of the proclamation of the truth.⁵⁰ Citing Hebrews 3:19, she stressed that like ancient Israel, modern Israel did not yet enter the heavenly Canaan due to the prevailing unbelief, murmuring, rebellion, hatred, worldliness, unconsecration, and strife among them.⁵¹ If the natural heart were to bring “its own tainted, corrupting principles into the work of God,” and “the power of Satan” were to “come into the very temple of God and manipulate things as he pleases,” the principles of the faith would be concealed and the time of preparation would be prolonged.⁵²

There was “so much weakness and so little of the real, genuine working of the Spirit of God in our churches” because God’s people allowed Satan to arouse “dissension and strife.”⁵³ The neglect to proclaim the gospel message to the whole world resulted therefore from spiritual deficiencies, which led God to delay or postpone the second coming. Ellen White suggested that it was “deferred in mercy, because if the Master should come, so many would be found unready. God’s unwillingness to have His people perish has been the reason for so long delay” (cf. 2 Peter 3:9).⁵⁴

Ellen White therefore suggested that God’s people could hasten the second coming by proclaiming the gospel to the whole world and delay Christ’s coming by failing to advance the gospel proclamation. The preaching of the gospel was counteracting the proliferation of iniquity and wickedness in the world, and aiming at saving people from perishing. The discussion of her remarks on the flexible timing of the second coming is nevertheless insufficient if her statements on God’s knowledge of the timing are ignored. The following section will therefore deal with the latter aspect.

The Fixedness of the Second Coming

Her emphasis on the flexibility of Jesus’ second coming is complemented by statements on the fixedness of that glorious event. Thus, Ellen White indicated that God knew the day and the hour of the second coming already in 1844. She further stressed the reality of God’s foreknowledge and His ability to give specific prophecies, in particular those relating to the first and second comings of Christ.

The Time of the Second Advent Revealed But Not Remembered

Ellen Harmon’s first vision, in December 1844, was a full-body experience. She walked with the saints towards the heavenly city as she “heard the voice of God like many waters, which gave us the day and hour of Jesus’ coming.” While the wicked interpreted God’s voice as a “thunder and an earthquake,” the saints, among them Ellen Harmon, “knew and understood the voice.” She further stated that “when God spoke the time,” the saints were especially filled with the Holy Spirit. By that time, they were already sealed and were all “perfectly united.”⁵⁵ In a subsequent vision, she defined the circumstances of that event more precisely. God’s pronouncement of “the day and the hour of Jesus’ coming” was preceded by the attempt of the wicked to kill the saints during the time of trouble and the complete turmoil of the natural powers on earth and in the heavens.⁵⁶ In 1882, those statements were reprinted in the book Early Writings.⁵⁷ In the early 1880s, those statements attracted criticism from members of the Marion party because Jesus himself had pointed out in Matthew 24:36 that no man knows “that day and hour, . . . not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” In reply, Ellen White stated that those statements “contain all that I have ever been shown in regard to the definite time of the Lord’s coming. I have not the slightest knowledge as to the time spoken by the voice of God. I heard the hour proclaimed, but had no remembrance of that hour after I came out of vision.”⁵⁸ Thus, it seems that although God had a fixed time for the second coming of Christ, He was not interested to make that time known to the believers prior to the time of Jacob’s trouble.

Divine Foreknowledge

At different times, Ellen White affirmed her belief in God’s foreknowledge and ability to foresee events.⁵⁹ Accordingly, He “knows the end from the beginning.”⁶⁰ She stressed that “all the events foretold in prophecy have their appointed time for fulfillment.” Certain events occurred “in their heaven-appointed order” because God caused them “by His power” in order “to accomplish certain ends.”⁶¹ Nevertheless, she did not want to say that all events had been directed and orchestrated by God. She pointed out that God’s foreknowledge and prophecies did not collide with human free will. Thus, she explicitly opposed the idea that “a foreknowledge of events would deprive man of free moral agency.”⁶² She explained that “prophecies do not shape the characters of the men who fulfill them. Men act out their own free will, either in accordance with a character placed under the molding of God or a character placed under the harsh rule of Satan.” Christ’s efforts “to soften hard hearts” gave people an opportunity to receive or resist those efforts, resulting either in the change of their hearts or in the hardening of their hearts.⁶³ She stated further that the Holy Spirit “inspired the prophets to foretell” and “trace in prophetic declarations” events and developments that would take place. As a result, no opposing force and influence arose to counteract God’s work that “He ha[d] not foreseen” and “not prepared for.”⁶⁴

Ellen White referred to specific events that met their fulfillment as they had previously been predicted. She stated that “like the stars in the vast circuit of their appointed path, God’s purposes know no haste and no delay.” God had predicted to Abraham that his descendants would sojourn in a foreign land and be there in bondage for four hundred years. After that period, they would “come out with great substance” (Gen 15:14). Despite all of Pharaoh’s efforts to subvert God’s design, “on ‘the self-same day’ appointed in the divine promise, ‘it came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt’ (Exod 12:41).”⁶⁵

The Appointed Time of Christ’s First Advent

Similarly, she suggested that “in heaven’s council the hour for the [first] coming of Christ had been determined.” He was sent “when the fullness of time was come” (Gal 4:4). The “movements of nations and the tide of human impulse and influence” had been directed by divine providence in certain ways “until the world was ripe for the coming of the Deliverer.” The circumstances in the Roman Empire allowed for and facilitated a wide dissemination of ideas. Greek was the lingua franca. Jews living in the diaspora travelled to Jerusalem to attend the annual festivals. As they returned, they could take with them and share with others the message of the Messiah’s coming. Ellen White added that many Gentiles were longing for “a knowledge of the living God,” “for some assurance of a life beyond the grave,” and “for a religion that could satisfy the heart.” Therefore God had perfectly orchestrated the circumstances and had chosen well the timing of Christ’s first coming.⁶⁶

The Appointed Time of Christ’s Second Advent

Finally, Ellen White stated that God knew the time of Christ’s second coming. In her view, that time was linked to the culmination of two specific developments: when the gospel message has been proclaimed to the whole world and the wickedness of humanity has reached a breaking point. In harmony with Matthew 24:14 and Revelation 14:6, 14, Ellen White emphasized that the second coming of Christ would be ushered in by the proclamation of the gospel to all nations, tongues, and people.⁶⁷ She stressed, “The Lord has a time appointed when He will bind off the work; but when is that time? When the truth to be proclaimed for these last days shall go forth as a witness to all nations, then shall the end come.”⁶⁸ Referring to Acts 17:31, she stressed that God had appointed the time of His judgment.⁶⁹ The proclamation of the everlasting gospel was nevertheless competing with the proliferation of iniquity and wickedness in the world. All sins and disobedience against God’s commandments were recorded in the books of heaven. Ellen White noted,

The figures of guilt rapidly accumulate, yet the judgments of God are tempered with mercy, until the figures have reached their appointed limit. God bears long with the transgression of human beings and continues through His appointed agencies to present the gospel message until the set time has come. God bears with divine patience with the perversity of the wicked; but He declares that He will visit their transgressions with a rob. He will at last permit the destructive agencies of Satan to bear sway to destroy.⁷⁰

Those who in their pride and insolence continued to disregard God’s law, who felt safe and trusted that divine forbearance has no limits, will finally realize that He who “has been strong to save will be strong to destroy.” Ellen White highlighted that “when God’s appointed time comes to send retribution” nothing can save and preserve them from destruction.⁷¹

An Attempt to Resolve the Tension

Ellen White’s statements concerning the hastening of Christ’s second coming, the delay of His coming, and God’s foreknowledge and fixing of its time present a tension. Her remarks on the first two aspects suggest that the time of the Second Advent can be both sped up and impeded by human efforts. Ellen White herself made a number of statements that might help in resolving that tension.

An Apparent Delay

Most of her statements about the delay or hastening of the second coming are linked with reproof and prompting to invest all energies, finances, and time in the proclamation of the gospel message. In 1888, Ellen White alluded to Habakkuk 2:3 when she explained that “the apparent tarrying is not so in reality, for at the appointed time our Lord will come.”⁷² She expounded on this aspect more nine years later when she made the following surprisingly positive remarks about the delay.

We have been perfectly reconciled to the apparent delay of the Lord’s coming, for we see the goodness and the mercy of our Lord in His word, “though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry” Habakkuk 2:3. But first the warning must come to all places of the world. The people perishing in their sins must hear the message of the truth from the Word. We are to reach the people in every part of our world where there are settlements. We sorrowed much in being disappointed in our expectations of the Lord’s coming at the time expected, but we see now the great goodness of God. We may now use our every capability to present the Word of God to all parts of the world. Our missionaries are occupying new territory, for we are not to confine the truths to a narrow compass. All the features of our faith are to be given in foreign fields.⁷³

Here, she indicated that the delay was, in fact, an “apparent delay.” Although Adventists had expected Jesus’ coming at an earlier time, it was actually wonderful to share the gospel with more people, an opportunity that should be utilized by all means. She stressed that at the end, we will “bitterly . . . regret the waste of the time that we could have given to the saving of souls ready to perish.”⁷⁴ In fact, Ellen White urged believers “to cry to God for the angels to hold the four winds [Rev. 7:1, 3] until missionaries shall be sent to all parts of the world, and shall have proclaimed the warning against disobeying the law of Jehovah.”⁷⁵ Adventists should pray fervently and take decided efforts to preserve liberty of conscience so that God can hold the winds, pour out His Spirit, and permit their light to shine.⁷⁶

Active Efforts vs. Feverish Activism

She further stated although the proclamation of the gospel work had been slowed down and the second coming therefore been delayed, one should not start taking on “many lines of work and carry them until [one] become[s] so wearisome that it breaks [one’s] strength.” It was certainly necessary for the churches to act “in their strength, with capabilities, talents, and means, carrying the work, reaching higher and broader in capacity to stand before the world in the power of invincible truth,” the few who were acting at this point to close the gap “must make haste slowly.” Otherwise no one could fill their place when they burn out.⁷⁷ Evil powers were counteracting the work of the gospel proclamation and believers should do “all they can to advance His [Jesus’] cause and hasten His coming.” The more we approach the coming of Christ, the more firmly and earnestly we should work. Yet, we need faith and courage “born of genuine faith,” and not “feverish excitement.” We should cling to “the arm of infinite Power,” encourage one another, and refrain from voicing discouragement because God is our helper.⁷⁸

Divine Control and Power

Ellen White pointed to Ezekiel’s vision of the divine wheel (Ezek 1) as she remarked on the discouraging situation that many church members witness as they look at the events in the world and the condition in the church. She stressed God’s sovereignty when she added the following encouraging words,

This is to teach God’s servants that it is divine power that gives success. Those whom God employs as His messengers are not to feel that His work is dependent on them. Finite beings are not left to carry this burden of responsibility. He who slumbers not, who is continually at work for the accomplishment of His designs, will carry forward His work. He will thwart the purposes of wicked men and will bring to confusion the counsels of those who plot mischief against His people. He who is the King, the Lord of hosts, sitteth between the cherubim, and amidst the strife and tumult of nations He guards His children still. When the strongholds of kings shall be overthrown, when the arrows of wrath shall strike through the hearts of His enemies, His people will be safe in His hands.⁷⁹

Summary and Conclusion

The above discussion of the flexibility and the fixedness of the second coming of Jesus shows that an emphasis on its flexibility increases human responsibility, whereas an emphasis on the fixedness of his coming highlights the responsibility of God. It cannot be stressed enough that our assurance of salvation is found in God’s sovereignty and what He has done. Yet Ralph Neall correctly notes that “taking either stream of Ellen White’s thought by itself poses dangers.”⁸⁰ To ignore one part over the other has detrimental results. Focusing solely on the human efforts could give the impression that God would be surprised by human actions and would therefore not be all-knowing. Putting the stress entirely on God’s foreknowledge and sovereignty, however, could give the impression that Christians have no responsibility in sharing the gospel to the whole world. Ellen White’s statements on God’s foreknowledge exclude the possibility for him to be surprised by human actions. Although divine foreknowledge does not prevent human free will, changes in or lack of human efforts in proclaiming the gospel will certainly have been foreseen by Him. His foreknowledge of the time would not be affected by anything humans do or fail to do.

Ellen White described the dilemma of the swift proliferation of iniquity and wickedness in the world, leaving people to perish for want of a knowledge of the message of salvation. In her view, it was the responsibility of the church to spread the gospel message in the whole world, and Christ would come once that task has been accomplished (Matt 24:14).⁸¹ She stressed that this task could not really be accomplished, however, without the Holy Spirit’s help. In fact, it was through the reception of the Holy Spirit that the fruit of the Spirit would be manifested in the lives and characters of God’s people, a circumstance that will accelerate the spreading of the gospel message in the world. Interestingly, while Ellen White saw a correlation between the manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit in the lives of the believers and the time of Jesus’ second coming, she did not seem to perceive that manifestation of Christian perfection⁸² as the effectual cause of the second coming as is at times suggested by some Adventist writers.

Every day iniquity proliferates in the world and people perish for want of a knowledge of the gospel. Our gratefulness for the gift of salvation should translate into a desire to share and to advance the knowledge of the gospel at home and abroad. The diverse planning and activities of the church should have the primary goal of spreading the gospel message in the whole world. It is impossible to accomplish that task merely with human strength, skills, and resources, which highlights our individual need of receiving the Holy Spirit in our lives. As we actively spread the gospel and manifest the fruit of the Spirit in our interactions with others, we trust in God’s providence and knowledge of the proper time.