What phase of God’s work is it that is now being done? Probably the reason  this  question  looms  large  in importance to many brethren is because the harvest work was supposed to end in 1914, or 1918. Logically,  if the harvest work did end in either of those years, the dissemination of the truth now must represent another kind of work.

As far as the definite teachings of the Scriptures are concerned, there are just three main lines of work which are accomplished during the Gospel age through the proclamation of the truth. These are the sowing of seed, the harvest, and a general witness to the world. In the general witness work there is involved the call to repentance. Of this Paul says, “God . . . now commandeth all men every where to repent.” (Acts 17:30) This call has gone out through the church, and continues to do so. In connection with the sowing as well as the reaping there is the building up and nourishing of those who come to the Lord. The entire commission of the church is outlined in Isaiah 61:1-3, where it is shown to include a ministry designed to reach and nourish Christians, as well as to give a message to the mourning ones of the world; and finally to “pro­ claim . . . the day of vengeance of our God.”

Proclaiming the day of vengeance comes under the hand of general witness work, being merely an up-to-date ap- plication of the truth message to present world conditions, an explanation of the meaning of the “time of trouble.”

God’s people are not commissioned to pronounce vengeance upon the world. We are not to smite the people. They are being smitten by the great time of trouble and are mourning because of it. Our privilege is to explain the cause of their mourning and thus to comfort them.