The Time Is Now

Focus on the mission.

February 11, 2026 | Silver Spring, Maryland, United States | Erton C. Köhler, president of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists for Adventist Review

The prophet foretold a different kind of crisis. “‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord God, ‘that I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord’ ” (Amos 8:11). This message describes our time. Voices are multiplying, yet the art of listening is fading. Information is increasing, but wisdom remains rare. Humanity has a deep hunger for meaning, peace, and truth.

Reliable statistics reveal this spiritual emptiness. The World Health Organization reports that one in six people worldwide experience loneliness, causing measurable harm to health and well-being. The United Nations notes a historic level of forced displacement, with more than 117 million people displaced by mid-2025.^[1] Yet a remarkable opportunity lies before us. Wycliffe Global Alliance states that as of August 1, 2025, 544 of the world’s 7,396 living languages still await the start of Bible translation.^[2] In recent years both progress and needs have grown rapidly. The world is hungry. The table is being set.

Mission answers this famine. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). Faith grows through hearing the Word (see Rom. 10:17). The everlasting gospel is for “every nation, tribe, tongue, and people” (Rev. 14:6). Where uncertainty arises, identity must remain strong. Where pain spreads, compassion must act. Where confusion rules, Scripture must speak. Therefore, we press on—grounded in the Bible and focused on the mission.

The counsel is clear and urgent. “A revival of true godliness among us is the greatest and most urgent of all our needs. To seek this should be our first work.”^[3] Revival is not a flash of emotion. It has Scripture at its center, Christ exalted in all things, prayer sustained, and witnessing taking place with intentionality. It is households opening the Bible daily, congregations becoming disciple-making communities, and leaders aligning time and resources with the Great Commission.

Never forget that the final message is a revelation of God’s heart. “The last rays of merciful light, the last message of mercy to be given to the world, is a revelation of His character of love.”^[4] A starving world doesn’t need louder noise—it needs the clear, gracious, and transforming truth of Jesus lived and proclaimed. Let us meet this opportunity with open Bibles, kneeling hearts, serving hands, and voices that invite every person to the Bread of Life. “The entrance of Your words gives light” (Ps. 119:130).

Maranatha!

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^[1] https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/insights/explainers/forcibly-displaced-pocs.html, accessed Nov. 12, 2025.

^[2] Wycliffe Global Alliance, “2025 Global Scripture Access,” https://wycliffe.net/global-scripture-access, accessed Nov. 12, 2025.

^[3] Ellen G. White, Selected Messages (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1958, 1980), book 1, p. 121.

^[4] Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1900, 1941), p. 415.