Quotations taken from the inspired writings of EGW:
"God had committed to His people a work to be accomplished on earth. The third angel's message was to be given, the minds of believers were to be directed to the heavenly sanctuary, where Christ had entered to make atonement for His people. The Sabbath reform was to be carried forward. The breach in the law of God must be made up. The message must be proclaimed with a loud voice, that all the inhabitants of earth might receive the warning. The people of God must purify their souls through obedience to the truth, and be prepared to stand without fault before Him at His coming.
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. But in the period of doubt and uncertainty that followed the disappointment, many of the advent believers yielded their faith. . . . Thus the work was hindered, and the world was left in darkness. Had the whole Adventist body united upon the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, how widely different would have been our history!
It was not the will of God that the coming of Christ should be thus delayed. God did not design that His people, Israel, should wander forty years in the wilderness. He promised to lead them directly to the land of Canaan, and establish them there a holy, healthy, happy people. But those to whom it was first preached, went not in "because of unbelief." Their hearts were filled with murmuring, rebellion, and hatred, and He could not fulfill His covenant with them.
For forty years did unbelief, murmuring, and rebellion shut out ancient Israel from the land of Canaan. The same sins have delayed the entrance of modern Israel into the heavenly Canaan. In neither case were the promises of God at fault. It is the unbelief, the worldliness, unconsecration, and strife among the Lord's professed people that have kept us in this world of sin and sorrow so many years.--Manuscript 4, 1883" (Evangelism pages 695-696).
"At the commencement of the holy Sabbath, January 5, 1849, we engaged in prayer with Brother Belden's family at Rocky Hill, Connecticut, and the Holy Ghost fell upon us. I was taken off in vision to the most holy place, where I saw Jesus still interceding for Israel. On the bottom of His garment was a bell and a pomegranate. Then I saw that Jesus would not leave the most holy place until every case was decided either for salvation or destruction, and that the wrath of God could not come until Jesus had finished His work in the most holy place, laid off His priestly attire, and clothed Himself with the garments of vengeance. Then Jesus will step out from between the Father and man, and God will keep silence no longer, but pour out His wrath on those who have rejected His truth. I saw that the anger of the nations, the wrath of God, and the time to judge the dead were separate and distinct, one following the other, also that Michael had not stood up, and that the time of trouble, such as never was, had not yet commenced. The nations are now getting angry, but when our High Priest has finished His work in the sanctuary, He will stand up, put on the garments of vengeance, and then the seven last plagues will be poured out.
I saw that the four angels would hold the four winds until Jesus' work was done in the sanctuary, and then will come the seven last plagues. These plagues enraged the wicked against the righteous; they thought that we had brought the judgments of God upon them, and that if they could rid the earth of us, the plagues would then be stayed. A decree went forth to slay the saints, which caused them to cry day and night for deliverance. This was the time of Jacob's trouble. Then all the saints cried out with anguish of spirit, and were delivered by the voice of God. The 144,000 triumphed. Their faces were lighted up with the glory of God. Then I was shown a company who were howling in agony. On their garments was written in large characters, "Thou art weighed in the balance, and found wanting." I asked who this company were. The angel said, "These are they who have once kept the Sabbath and have given it up." I heard them cry with a loud voice, "We have believed in Thy coming, and taught it with energy." And while they were speaking, their eyes would fall upon their garments and see the writing, and then they would wail aloud. I saw that they had drunk of the deep waters, and fouled the residue with their feet--trodden the Sabbath underfoot-- and that was why they were weighed in the balance and found wanting.
Then my attending angel directed me to the city again, where I saw four angels winging their way to the gate of the city. They were just presenting the golden card to the angel at the gate when I saw another angel flying swiftly from the direction of the most excellent glory, and crying with a loud voice to the other angels, and waving something up and down in his hand. I asked my attending angel for an explanation of what I saw. He told me that I could see no more then, but he would shortly show me what those things that I then saw meant.
Sabbath afternoon one of our number was sick, and requested prayers that he might be healed. We all united in applying to the Physician who never lost a case, and while healing power came down, and the sick was healed, the Spirit fell upon me, and I was taken off in vision.
I saw four angels who had a work to do on the earth, and were on their way to accomplish it. Jesus was clothed with priestly garments. He gazed in pity on the remnant, then raised His hands, and with a voice of deep pity cried, "My blood, Father, My blood, My blood, My blood!" Then I saw an exceeding bright light come from God, who sat upon the great white throne, and was shed all about Jesus. Then I saw an angel with a commission from Jesus, swiftly flying to the four angels who had a work to do on the earth, and waving something up and down in his hand, and crying with a loud voice, "Hold! Hold! Hold! Hold! until the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads."
I asked my accompanying angel the meaning of what I heard, and what the four angels were about to do. He said to me that it was God that restrained the powers, and that He gave His angels charge over things on the earth; that the four angels had power from God to hold the four winds, and that they were about to let them go; but while their hands were loosening, and the four winds were about to blow, the merciful eye of Jesus gazed on the remnant that were not sealed, and He raised His hands to the Father and pleaded with Him that He had spilled His blood for them. Then another angel was commissioned to fly swiftly to the four angels and bid them hold, until the servants of God were sealed with the seal of the living God in their foreheads" (Early Writings pages 36-38).
Read about God's Final Warning
As Christ could have returned in 1890, the time of Harvest, the end of time, is now, and Christ's return is Conditional (Matthew 13:39). Please read Early Writings pages 36-38, where Christ reveals a vision involving His ongoing PLEA for our SEALING, that will usher in His speedy return (2Peter 3:12-15). Also, regarding the 1888 onset of Latter Rain read, the Review and Herald Sept 3rd 1889. And finally read Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers pages 91 -92 regarding the endorsement of Mrs. White relating to Elder Jones and Waggoner's message of Justification by faith. God desires to move forward unto the Sealing of His people, who manifest Character Ripeness/Perfection (Ephesians 4:30, Revelation 7:1-3, Christ Object Lessons 330, SDA Bible Commentary volume 6 page 1096, Testimonies for the Church Volume 3 page 43).
Elijah epitomized perfection of character, as he modeled victory over sin through the acceptance of Christ's gift of imputed righteousness, later being translated from planet earth (2Kings 2:11). There can be no life without advancement in Sanctification, ongoing Christian growth (Romans 8:29-30). Our knowledge must increase daily, as the parable of the "good ground hearers" indicates, applicable until the end of time (Matthew 13:1-23,Mark 4:26-29). As long as we are on the earth, God's light will be streaming from the work of God, completing His work of vindication, through His body of Christ (Proverbs 4:18, Revelation 14:1-5, Steps to Christ page 77-80). Even when we get to Heaven, our learning and sanctification will continue (2Peter 3:18) .
The message of Early and Latter Rain is phenomenal (Joel 2:23, Hosea 6:3, Zechariah 10:1, James 5:7). Let's embrace the latter rain, a manifestation of the sowing and reaping parable (Galatians 6:7-8). All glory be to God, as when Christ casts the seed into the good ground, it is our willingness, receiving the full righteous gospel power that allows the seed to germinate for the time of Harvest (Matthew 13:30, Romans 1:20).
The people of God do the work of sowing by faith through the Righteousness of Christ. "Man has his part to act in promoting the growth of the grain" (Christ Object Lessons page 63). Thus, we must apply ourselves, diligently by way of sowing, as the more we study under God's time-limited kingdom of Grace, the more we will advance in sanctification (Hebrew 4:16, 2Timothy 2:15). The latter rain studies examine the maturity of God's Sanctified people, fueled by the Holy Spirit through righteous teachings (Zechariah 10:1). We must thus accept and receive Christ's righteousness, reaching “the stage of the ear” of Corn, reproducing Christ's Character, immutably fixing the Fruits of the Spirit in our Characters, causing us to be character ripe and sealed, for the final reaping (Mark 4:28, Galatians 5:22-23, Revelation 14:14-16).
