How do we respond to the following statement by Seventh-day Adventist co-founder Ellen Gould White?

“By bringing the gospel to the world, we can hasten the coming of God's day. If the church of Jesus had fulfilled its mission as the Lord commanded, the whole world would have been warned by now, and the Lord Jesus could have come back to earth in power and great glory.« (Review and Herald, 13.11.1913)

This statement worries some people to this day. The question arises, "Is God really waiting for us to help complete His work? He doesn't depend on us, does he?

The answer is close. It's in the Old Testament. It is the story of the Israelites and their wanderings in the desert. If we let our gaze wander over the history of Israel, we understand our present and future. The Apostle Paul put it succinctly: "But all these things that happened to them are types, and they were written as a warning for us on whom the end of the ages has come." (1 Corinthians 10,11:XNUMX)

The walk from Egypt to the Promised Land would have taken only 11 days. But the Israelites had sand between their teeth and died in the desert for 40 years because they constantly rebelled against God's infallible will.

Thus, after receiving a vision in 1903, Ellen White lamented: "Had there been signs that they had accepted the counsel and warnings which the Lord had given them to correct their mistakes, one of the greatest revivals would have taken place, that has ever existed since Pentecost.«

Who is she talking about here? By the delegates to the 1901 General Conference at Battle Creek.

Ellen White continued, “The leading brethren closed and bolted the door to the Holy Ghost. They did not surrender themselves completely to God."

Does this remind us of similar acts of the children of Israel?

Some might wonder who exactly the vision of 1903 referred to. But the real thing can get lost in the discussion about it: God longs for a community of people who devote themselves completely to him and who want nothing more than to be completely absorbed in friendship with the one about whom everything is "lovely" and "follow the Lamb wherever he goes" (Song of Songs 5,16:14,4; Revelation XNUMX:XNUMX). God still longs for such a people.

The film, which readers are about to see, captures the amazing moments of the 1901 general conference and "What Could Have Been Then." It was filmed by the General Conference Ministry Department and released March 25, as the worldwide Adventist Church's 100-Day Prayer Initiative began.

Adventists around the world are invited to pray daily for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the upcoming July general conference in San Antonio, Texas.

The final scenes of the film are not finished because you and I will play a role in them, including in the upcoming general conference.

God wants to take us to the promised land on our knees. How will it turn out? Just like with Israel, God leaves the decision up to you and me. Because what could have been, can be.

With kind permission of the author from: Adventist Review, 22. March 2015.
www.adventistreview.org/church-news/story2446-what-might-have-been---can-be

And here the film with German subtitles (video editing of the German version: Visionary Vanguard, https://vimeo.com/127240033):

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^{Picture: An actress portrayed the co-founder of Seventh-day Adventists Ellen G.White in the new movie "INas could have been." Source: Adventist Review}