A surgical cutting and fastening instrument comprising: a handle assembly; an end effector comprising: an elongate channel; a clamping member movably connected to the channel for selective movement between open and closed positions; and a knife movably supported within the elongate channel for selective travel therethrough; a closure system for selectively applying closing and opening motions to said clamping member; a drive system for selectively applying a drive motion to said movable knife to cause said knife to move from a proximal position to a distal position within said elongate channel; and a timing indicator on at least one of said end effector and said handle assembly to provide an indication of an amount of time that has elapsed after said clamping member has been moved to said closed position, while maintaining an ability of said drive system to selectively apply said drive motion to said movable knife, wherein said timing indicator, comprises: a timing device; and a series of at least two indicator lights (612, 614) electrically coupled to said timing device wherein one said indicator light is activated when said clamping member has been moved to said closed position and wherein another one of said indicator lights is activated after a first predetermined amount of time has lapsed after said clamping member has been moved to said closed position; the surgical cutting and fastening instrument further comprising: an encoder that interfaces with a control circuit to calculate the stage of deployment of the knife in the end effector, the control circuit configured to send signals to the lights to provide an indication of the location of the knife in the end effector. a handle assembly; an end effector comprising: an elongate channel; a clamping member movably connected to the channel for selective movement between open and closed positions; and a knife movably supported within the elongate channel for selective travel therethrough; an elongate channel; a clamping member movably connected to the channel for selective movement between open and closed positions; and a knife movably supported within the elongate channel for selective travel therethrough; a closure system for selectively applying closing and opening motions to said clamping member; a drive system for selectively applying a drive motion to said movable knife to cause said knife to move from a proximal position to a distal position within said elongate channel; and a timing indicator on at least one of said end effector and said handle assembly to provide an indication of an amount of time that has elapsed after said clamping member has been moved to said closed position, while maintaining an ability of said drive system to selectively apply said drive motion to said movable knife, wherein said timing indicator, comprises: a timing device; and a series of at least two indicator lights (612, 614) electrically coupled to said timing device wherein one said indicator light is activated when said clamping member has been moved to said closed position and wherein another one of said indicator lights is activated after a first predetermined amount of time has lapsed after said clamping member has been moved to said closed position; the surgical cutting and fastening instrument further comprising: an encoder that interfaces with a control circuit to calculate the stage of deployment of the knife in the end effector, the control circuit configured to send signals to the lights to provide an indication of the location of the knife in the end effector. a timing device; and a series of at least two indicator lights (612, 614) electrically coupled to said timing device wherein one said indicator light is activated when said clamping member has been moved to said closed position and wherein another one of said indicator lights is activated after a first predetermined amount of time has lapsed after said clamping member has been moved to said closed position; the surgical cutting and fastening instrument further comprising: an encoder that interfaces with a control circuit to calculate the stage of deployment of the knife in the end effector, the control circuit configured to send signals to the lights to provide an indication of the location of the knife in the end effector. an encoder that interfaces with a control circuit to calculate the stage of deployment of the knife in the end effector, the control circuit configured to send signals to the lights to provide an indication of the location of the knife in the end effector.