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2025 Spirit of Prophecy Day Sermon
“Not Yet” and “Now”: Ellen White and the Reality of God’s Kingdom
Ted Levterov, Ph.D.
Associate Director, Ellen G. White Estate
Adventism was born out of a deep longing, a passionate expectation for the
Second Coming of Jesus. Early Adventists yearned to live forever with
Christ in the home He has prepared for them. After all, Jesus promised:
“Let not your heart be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in Me. In My
Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you
that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for
you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, that where I am, you
may be also” (John 14:1–3).
The story begins with a farmer named William Miller. After facing death on
the battlefield during the War of 1812, Miller began to wrestle with
life’s deepest questions. His search for meaning led him back to the Bible.
Immersing himself in Scripture, his faith in God was rekindled. The Word of
God has transforming power! It awakens and restores the human heart. Miller
experienced just such a spiritual renewal. “In Jesus,” he wrote, “I found a
Friend, and the Bible became my delight.”
Being a man of logic and reason, Miller embarked on a careful, systematic
study of the Bible that spanned fifteen years, from 1816 to 1831. His goal
was clear: To show that Scripture was both rational and divinely inspired.
When he came to Daniel 8:14—“Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then
shall the sanctuary be cleansed”—Miller believed he had made a fascinating
discovery. He concluded that this prophecy foretold the imminent return of
Christ to purify the earth and establish His kingdom.
Though Miller never set a specific date, his followers urged him to narrow
the timeframe, which led to the belief that Christ would return sometime
between 1843 and 1844. Then, at a camp meeting in Exeter, New Hampshire, in
August 1844, the Millerite preacher Samuel S. Snow proposed a specific
date—October 22, 1844—based on the typology of the Day of Atonement.
Excitement spread quickly. Jesus was coming in just a few months!
One article from The Midnight Cry captured the electrifying
sense of urgency:
“I take up my pen with feelings such as I never before experienced. Beyond
a doubt, in my mind, the tenth day of the seventh month will witness the
revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ in the clouds of heaven. We are then
within a few days of that event. Awful moment to those who are
unprepared—but glorious to those who are ready. I feel that I am making the
last appeal that I shall ever make through the press” (George Storrs,
The Midnight Cry
, October 3, 1844).
Sometimes I wonder, have we lost that kind of passionate anticipation for
the Second Coming? When we’re excited about something—a sport, a book, a
hobby—it spills out effortlessly. It was the same with early Advent
believers. Even the cautious William Miller wrote, just two weeks before
October 22:
“Dear Bro. Himes: I see a glory in the seventh month which I never saw
before. . . . I am almost home. Glory! Glory! Glory!!! . . . My soul is so
full I cannot write. . . . My doubts, and fears, and darkness are all gone.
. . . I will shout when the ‘King of kings comes’”
(William Miller, Midnight Cry, October 12, 1844).
And then October 22, 1844 came. With hearts full of hope they waited, and
waited, but there was no sign of Jesus. Noon passed then sunset. Midnight
came, but Jesus did not appear. What followed was what historians now call
The Great Disappointment. It was a devastating experience that
affected people’s lives and spiritual destiny.
Hiram Edson later described the heartbreak:
“Our expectations were raised high. . . . The day had then passed, and our
disappointment became a certainty. Our fondest hopes and expectations were
blasted, and such a spirit of weeping came over us as I never experienced
before. It seemed that the loss of all earthly friends could have been no
comparison. We wept and wept till the day dawned” (Hiram Edson, Unpublished
MS, 1844).
Have you ever felt that kind of disappointment with God? I remember being
expelled from school in the ninth grade, while living under a communist
regime during the 1980s, for refusing to attend classes on the Sabbath. I
prayed for a miracle and expected God to intervene. But He did not. I was
heartbroken and angry with God.
Disappointments with God hurt. And for the Millerites, the pain wasn’t just
about a mistaken date—it was about shattered trust. They were deeply
wounded, and many lost not only their hope but also their faith in God. But
God had not abandoned them. He never does.
Just two months later, in December 1844, God gave a vision to a young woman
named Ellen Harmon—later known as Ellen G. White. This vision encouraged
the disheartened believers and rekindled their hope in Christ’s return. But
it also revealed something deeper: the Kingdom of God was not only a future
event—it was a present experience. It was both the “Not Yet” and the “Now.”
Let us reflect on these two dimensions of God’s Kingdom and their
significance for our spiritual journey of faith.
1. The “Not Yet” Kingdom
In that first vision, Ellen White saw God’s people walking along a narrow
path toward the heavenly city. A bright light shone behind them, which an
angel identified as the “midnight cry.” This light illuminated the way so
they would not stumble.
“They had a bright light set up behind them at the beginning of the path,
which an angel told me was the ‘midnight cry.’ This light shone all along
the path and gave light for their feet, so that they might not stumble”
(Early Writings, p. 14).
What is the “midnight cry,” and why is it compared to a “light”?
Do you remember the story in Matthew 25, the parable of the ten virgins?
The bridegroom was delayed, and all the virgins fell asleep. But at
midnight came the shout: “Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet
him” (Matthew 25:6). This cry, God revealed in the vision, was still a
valid prophetic reality, affirming the Biblical doctrine of the soon return
of Christ. It was to be a light for the journey ahead.
Why a light? Because it is the greatest news ever told. It marks the end of
sin and sorrow and the beginning of God’s eternal kingdom. Christ’s second
coming will be the culmination of the human story. As John wrote in
Revelation 21:4-5: “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be
no more death or mourning or crying or pain. . . . Behold, I make all
things new.”
Or as Paul described: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has
conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians
2:9). Ellen White repeatedly affirmed this blessed hope—the amazing
future reality of God’s Second Coming. Listen to the
following quotes from Ellen White:
One of the most solemn and yet most glorious truths revealed in the Bible
is that of Christ’s Second Coming to complete the great work of
redemption. To God’s pilgrim people, so long left to sojourn in “the region
and shadow of death,” a precious, joy-inspiring hope is
given in the promise of His appearing, who is “the resurrection and the
life,” to “bring home again His banished.”
The doctrine of the Second Advent is the very keynote of the Sacred
Scriptures
. From the day when the first pair turned their sorrowing steps from Eden,
the children of faith have waited the coming of the Promised One to break
the destroyer’s power and bring them again to the lost Paradise (The
Great Controversy,p. 299).
We have been looking with joyful expectationfor the
soon-coming of our Lord in the clouds of heaven. . . . Shall any one become
weary now? . . .Give up our faith? Lose our confidence? Become
impatient?—No; no. We will not think of such a thing. . . .
Well, may the children of God be filled with hope and courage
[emphasis supplied], with joy and rapture, as they contemplate the things
which God has prepared for them that love him (“Cast Not Away
Your Confidence,” Review and Herald,July 31, 1888).
The Lord is coming. Lift up your heads and
rejoice[emphasis supplied]. Oh, we would think that those who hear
the joyful news, who claim to love Jesus, would be filled
with joy unutterable and full of glory. This is
the good, the joyful news which should electrify every soul
, which should be repeated in our homes, and told to those whom we meet on
the street. What more joyful news can be communicated!
(Selected Messages,
Vol. 2, 381).
The blessed hope still shines brightly. Though delayed, the coming of
Christ is certain. The vision confirmed that Adventists were on the right
path, guided by the light of prophecy, sustained by the promise of Christ’s
soon return.
2. The “Now” Kingdom
Ellen White’s vision also emphasized a present reality: God’s kingdom can
be experienced here and now. She saw that the travelers remained safe “If
they kept their eyes fixed on Jesus, who was just before them, leading them
to the city,” (Early Writings, pp. 14–15). This is powerful! When
we live in relationship with Jesus, we begin to experience His kingdom in
the present. The Second Coming is a glorious hope—but heaven can begin now.
Jesus revealed this same truth in a conversation with the Pharisees. When
they asked Him when His kingdom would come, He responded by telling them
that it was already present. Before speaking about the signs of His second
coming, Jesus declared, “The kingdom of God is in your midst” (Luke 17:21).
And Hebrews 11 describes the faithful as having seen the promises “from a
distance.” They were already living as citizens of heaven.
Ellen White affirmed this truth repeatedly:
“Heaven is to begin in this earth. . . .
He who receives Christ by living faith has a living connection with God. .
. . He carries with him the atmosphere of heaven, which is the grace of
God, a treasure that the world cannot buy.
If you would be a saint in heaven, you must first be a saint on earth
” (Letter 18b, 1891).
“[Our Savior] wants us to trust in Him, believing His words so fully that
we shall bring heaven into our lives here below. We can
make heaven in heart and home as we pass along if our lives are hid with
Christ in God” (Manuscript 28, 1901).
“To His faithful followers, Christ has been a daily companion and familiar
Friend. They have lived
in close contact, in constant communion with God
. Upon them the glory of the Lord has risen. In them the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ has been
reflected. . . . They are prepared for the communion of heaven; for
they have heaven in their hearts” (Christ’s Object Lessons,p.
421).
“If we would see heaven, we must have heaven below. We
must have a heaven to go to heaven in. We must have
heaven in our families, through Christ continually
approaching unto God. Christ is the great center of attraction, and the
child of God hid in Christ, meets with God and is lost in the divine being”
(Ellen G. White, “Our Eternal Destiny Decided by Our Course Here,”
Signs of the Times
, July 31, 1893 ).
Heaven can begin here on earth when we invite Christ into our lives. As we
grow in our relationship with Him, our lives are transformed and renewed,
and we begin to experience the joy of salvation now. Even in times of
disappointment and pain, we can feel His presence and peace, sense His
forgiveness and mercy, and live with the hope of His soon return.
Conclusion
Let me close with a story. A young man I know grew up in the church but had
never cultivated a deep relationship with God. That changed about two years
ago when he experienced a true conversion, after a terrifying encounter
with the Devil. He is one of the very few people I know who have literally
wrestled with an evil spirit.
In the past we used to talk about fast cars and high-paying jobs. He
dreamed of freedom and comfort, but everything changed after that spiritual
battle.
Just before Christmas, we spoke on the phone for nearly two hours. At one
point, he laughed and said, “Pastor, can you believe it? We’ve been
talking for two hours about God and Ellen White!” (He had been reading
The Desire of Ages and was deeply moved by what she had written).
Then he added, “I don’t care what I have now. I have money. I have a
comfortable home. But those things don’t matter to me anymore. God is my
life.” As I listened to him, I realized that he was already living a taste
of heaven—right here, right now—while waiting for Jesus to come.
Dear friend, what’s holding you back from experiencing God’s kingdom
today?
While we wait for the “Not Yet,” may we fully live in the reality of the
“Now.” Let us walk with Jesus each day, keeping our eyes fixed on Him. For
when we do, heaven begins here and now while we look forward to His return
to take us home. As Ellen White so beautifully put it:
“Our growth in grace, our joy, our usefulness, all depend upon our union
with Christ. It is by communion with Him, daily, hourly, by abiding in Him,
that we are to grow in grace. He is not only the Author, but the Finisher
of our faith. It is Christ first and last and always. He is to be with us,
not only at the beginning and the end of our course, but at every step of
the way” (Steps to Christ,p. 69).
May this be our experience. AMEN!
________________________
Theodore N. Levterov, PhD,
is the former director of the Ellen G. White Branch Office at Loma
Linda University. He currently serves as an Associate Director of the
Ellen G. White Estate.
Emphasis supplied to bolded items by the writer.