The Second Coming of Jesus is at the heart of Adventist hope. But how does this hope affect education, family, or church projects? This article seeks a biblically balanced perspective on planning. By Kai Mester

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We Adventists are waiting for Jesus’ second coming. This is already embedded in the definition of the word “Adventist.” After all, “Advent” means “arrival”. We have been waiting for this second coming for nearly two hundred years now, ever since William Miller’s first sermon on the Second Coming in August 1831.

Thus, in our church, we find people who no longer believe that Jesus will come at all, but who nevertheless call themselves Adventists—culturally speaking, so to speak—because they grew up that way and feel a sense of belonging; others, based on current events or certain biblical interpretations, expect that it can hardly be more than three years from now; still others believe that Jesus could come either at any moment or not for another hundred years.

An Adventist without an imminent expectation—one whom Luke 21:28 leaves cold because he does not long for the marriage supper with the Lamb—has in fact lost his inner identity and has inevitably turned his gaze away from the Lamb, unless he is still in the process of coming to that realization.

Based on prophetic statements and their fulfillments, I find myself time and again perceiving the nearness of the Second Coming not in decades but in years—for example, through the terrorist attack in New York, which Ellen White visionarily foresaw nearly a hundred years earlier. Or through the international significance of the United States in light of Revelation 13.

However, the end-time scenario described in the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy seems to me to take more than just a few months to unfold. There is now a danger, however, that we might expect Jesus too soon and therefore make the wrong decisions regarding important matters—such as our children’s education or the establishment of a health center or children’s village, etc. On the other hand, the nearness of the Second Coming can inspire us to prepare in a special way, enabling us to better recognize our specific role in God’s work.

That is why a statement by Ellen White has been very helpful to me in my search for a sound, generally applicable timeframe for planning: “No one will be able to predict when the time has come, for ‘no one knows about that day or hour’ (Matthew 24:36). We cannot say that He will come in one, two, or five years. Nor, however, should we postpone His coming and claim that He might not come even within the next ten or twenty years.” (Review and Herald, March 22, 1892; cf. Maranatha, 136)

First, we could die as early as tomorrow, in which case our time of grace would end much sooner. We should therefore be ready every day. As for our time frame, five years is too short and ten years is too long.

Seven or eight years therefore seem to be a healthy middle ground. If we are closer to Jesus’ return, we will be surprised that everything has unfolded more quickly. But if we are always ready, it will be a joyful surprise for us.

Thus, the Adventist expectation of His imminent return is a combination of constant readiness, a reasonable Advent-oriented timeframe that allows time to save many more people, and a longing for His arrival that is strengthened by prophecy and world events.

First published in *Our Solid Foundation*, August 2004