Soon and Very Soon?

After the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, a religious wave washed across the country. Many churches were full of attendees, and talk of “the end” was on everyone’s lips—the same as it is today. I find it alarming that this sort of talk almost always hides a deeper concern.
In the last few months, I have had dozens of conversations that start with the end times and soon become personal. “Pastor,” people ask, “how do I know if I am ready?”

It makes me wonder: How could so many Adventists still be unsure of what salvation and redemption mean?

First, our evangelism should focus more on discipleship for a broader audience. Prophecy is the deep end of the pool in a society that is more and more secular. We must find ways of more effectively portraying Jesus as the answer to the universal search for meaning, peace and happiness within every human.

Second, we must go beyond cranial knowledge to a divine revelation that the real Babylon is inside all of us. It is because of our enduring focus on global powers and external Sabbath-keeping that so many Adventists still don’t comprehend that these are emblems that represent the real cosmic conflict within our hearts. Without this deeper understanding, our people will continue to wonder—crisis after crisis—if they are indeed ready for the end times.

Lance Moncrieffe, volunteer lay pastor coordinator for the Pennsylvania Conference, and volunteer lay pastor of the Chestnut Hill church in Philadelphia

In talking to many people about current events possibly relating to the end times, the one consistent response appears to be, “I’m not ready.”

I view this as a very special time where God has used circumstance to show us that we’re going to have to depend on Him ... but I understand where others come from, where they question what’s happening.

[But] if indeed this is some portion of God speaking to us and waking us up in a time before He is coming, then certainly the actions that are [found] in Revelation 14:6–8 are what we ought to be doing now.