This study of the purification of God’s church involves the
Sunday Law, because the Sunday Law is the means God has chosen to purify the
church. The purification of the church is also directly related to the close of
probation for the church and as we go through this study we will find that this
theme is found throughout the Bible and throughout the Spirit of Prophecy. Some
of these passages are truths that we are familiar with but haven’t necessarily
brought them together in the context of the close of probation and the
purification of God’s church. But they’re there and they’re fairly easy to see.
The purification of God’s church is the story of the
separation of the Wheat and Tares; Gold and Dross; Laodecians and
Philadelphians; Sheep and Goats; Wise and Foolish Virgins; the Sealed and the
Marked; and the wedding clothing. This story is also illustrated in Ezekiel
8-12; Daniel 3; Isaiah 10-12; Zephaniah 2; and is one of the main themes in
prophecy.
Review and Herald, Apri14, 1893: "The events of the future
will be discerned by prophecy, and will be understood." We’re going to
consider the events of the future and line them up to see what kind of impact
they have for us.
The ‘close of probation’ is a truth of God’s word that needs
to be understood. It’s a truth that has designed into it an effect that will
bring revival and reformation. We’re going to look at one of the stories in
scripture that talk about the purification of God’s church; the story of the
‘wise and foolish virgins’. I want to read a passage to let you see what I mean
about ‘forgotten truths’ and then show that these truths have been forgotten—but
they need to be understood.
"The events connected with the close of probation and the
work of preparation for the time of trouble, are clearly presented. But
multitudes have no more understanding of these important truths than if they had
never been revealed. Satan watches to catch away every impression that would
make them wise unto salvation, and the time of trouble will find them unready."
The Great Controversy, 594.
Our first quote says the events of the future will be
discerned and understood, and this one focuses on the events connected with the
close of probation. If you’re a student of prophecy and begin to study the
events connected with the close of probation, you’ll find that virtually
everything that’s important to Adventists is connected with the close of
probation. The fact that we are in a Laodecian condition as we approach
this event, or that there is a Financial disaster that comes before this
event; that there’s a false revival that comes before this event; the
facts of the Day of Atonement. This close of probation comes at the
Sunday law; this close of probation is the time period of the sealing of
God’s people; the purification of God’s church; the Latter Rain is poured
out; God’s people begin to give the Loud Cry; all of these little phrases
are events that we have studied in Adventism for many years and they are
directly connected with the close of probation. At the Sunday Law we know that
national apostasy is followed by national ruin; which we understand as
the little time of trouble. It’s also the time when Satan’s delusions
begin in earnest, even though he is already doing them before the Sunday
Law. The time of the Sunday Law is when Satan begins his marvelous work in the
more distinct way, as described in Revelation 13. It’s also the time when
persecution from outside of the church will begin, although we are going through
persecution before that. These are the events connected with the
close of human probation; 7 last plagues; great time of trouble; time of Jacob’s
trouble; return of Christ.
Adventists are familiar with most of these events but she
says multitudes have no more understanding of these important truths than if
they had never been revealed. These are the forgotten truths and
we’re going to look at these in this context today because they are the truths
that are designed to bring revival to God’s people; that are designed to arouse
us. As we read some of the passages in the Spirit of Prophecy, listen very
closely for the word arouse. We once had a pastor that before the beginning of
the sermon would have two or three key words and tell the children to listen for
these as he went through his presentation. Listen for the word ‘arouse’ as we
consider these passages, because that is what we need in Adventism today, to be
awakened, aroused to the approaching Sunday Law and everything that is connected
with it.
Testimonies 8, pg. 249: "The heavenly Teacher inquired: ‘What
stronger delusion can beguile the mind than the pretense that you are building
on the right foundation and that God accepts your works, when in reality you are
working out many things according to worldly policy and are sinning against
Jehovah? Oh, it is a great deception, a fascinating delusion, that takes
possession of minds when men who have once known the truth, mistake the form of
godliness for the spirit and power thereof; when they suppose that they are rich
and increased with goods and in need of nothing, while in reality they are in
need of everything.
"God has not changed toward His faithful servants who are
keeping their garments spotless. But many are crying, ‘Peace and safety,’ while
sudden destruction is coming upon them. Unless there is thorough
repentance, unless men humble their hearts by confession and receive the truth
as it is in Jesus, they will never enter heaven. When purification shall take
place in our ranks, we shall no longer rest at ease, boasting of being rich and
increased with goods, in need of nothing.
"Who can truthfully say: ‘Our gold is tried in the fire; our
garments are unspotted by the world’? I saw our Instructor pointing to the
garments of so-called righteousness. Stripping them off, He laid bare the
defilement beneath. Then He said to me: ‘Can you not see how they have
pretentiously covered up their defilement and rottenness of character? ‘How is
the faithful city become an harlot!’ My Father’s house is made a house of
merchandise, a place whence the divine presence and glory have departed! For
this cause there is weakness, and strength is lacking.’
"Unless the church, which is now being leavened with her own
backsliding, shall repent and be converted, she will eat of the fruit of her own
doing, until she shall abhor herself. When she resists the evil and chooses the
good, when she seeks God with all humility and reaches her high calling in
Christ, standing on the platform of eternal truth and by faith laying hold upon
the attainments prepared for her, she will be healed. She will appear in her
God-given simplicity and purity, separate from earthly entanglements, showing
that the truth has made her free indeed. Then her members will indeed be the
chosen of God, His representatives.
"The time has come for a thorough reformation to take place.
When this reformation begins, the spirit of prayer will actuate every believer
and will banish from the church the spirit of discord and strife. Those who have
not been living in Christian fellowship will draw close to one another. One
member working in right lines will lead other members to unite with him in
making intercession for the revelation of the Holy Spirit. There will be no
confusion, because all will be in harmony with the mind of the Spirit. The
barriers separating believer from believer will be broken down, and God’s
servants will speak the same things. The Lord will cooperate with His
servants. All will pray understandingly the prayer that Christ taught His
servants: ‘Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.’
Matthew 6:10.
"As I hear of the terrible calamities that from week to week
are taking place, I ask myself: What do these things mean? The most awful
disasters are following one another in quick succession. How frequently we hear
of earthquakes and tornadoes, of destruction by fire and flood, with great loss
of life and property! Apparently these calamities are capricious outbreaks of
seemingly disorganized, unregulated forces, but in them God’s purpose may be
read. They are one of the means by which He seeks to arouse men and
women to a sense of their danger.
"The coming of Christ is nearer than when we first believed.
The great controversy is nearing its end. The judgments of God are in the land.
They speak in solemn warning, saying: ‘Be ye also ready: for in such an hour
as ye think not the Son of man cometh.’ Matthew 24:44.
"But there are many, many in our churches who know little of
the real meaning of the truth for this time. I appeal to them not to
disregard the fulfilling of the signs of the times, which says so plainly that
the end is near. Oh, how many who have not sought their souls’ salvation
will soon make the bitter lamentation: ‘The harvest is past, the summer is
ended, and we are not saved.’
"We are living in the closing scenes of this earth’s history.
Prophecy is fast fulfilling. The hours of probation are fast passing. We
have no time-not a moment-to lose. Let us not be found sleeping on guard. Let no
one say in his heart or by his works: ‘My Lord delayeth His coming.’ Let the
message of Christ’s soon return sound forth in earnest words of warning. Let
us persuade men and women everywhere to repent and flee from the wrath to come.
Let us arouse them to immediate preparation, for we little know
what is before us. Let ministers and lay members go forth into the ripening
fields to tell the unconcerned and indifferent to seek the Lord while He may be
found. The workers will find their harvest wherever they proclaim the
forgotten truths of the Bible. They will find those who will accept the
truth and will devote their lives to winning souls to Christ." Testimonies,
vol. 8, 249-253.
The promise is that we’ll have success in our evangelism when
we begin to proclaim the forgotten truths of the Bible. The forgotten
truths of the Bible are that God’s people are in a Laodecian condition in need
of reformation. This is our need, we need to be aroused, to wake up and God’s
designs that the prophetic truth that the end of the world is here, will arouse
us. Not simply the end of the world, but the prophetic truth that our probation
is about up. We either prepare now, or we’re lost.
She began this passage by speaking of our Laodecian
condition, and the delusion we are in—believing that everything is all right
when everything is all wrong. She says that when purification takes place in our
ranks the characteristics of Laodecia will no longer be seen. When purification
takes place at the Sunday Law, Laodecia is spewed out of the mouth of the Lord,
and that’s why you will no longer see them in our ranks. This is what’s ahead.
In three places, Sister White says that Laodecians are foolish virgins. We’re
going to look very closely at the virgins in this study. The purification that
takes place at the Sunday Law, takes place when we as God’s people are
confronted by the close of our corporate probation as Seventh-day Adventists.
She gave a description of what this true reformation is going
to be all about; we’re going to come into unity, unity that I don’t know if I’ve
ever seen. I don’t know where you’ve been with your Christian experience in the
recent past but I haven’t seen this type of unity where I’ve been—where we all
speak the same things and that the barriers are broken down. It’s not there.
This tells me that this very Laodecian condition that Sister White is warning
about, is where we are. If we don’t think that this message is for us, then we
are among those who think everything’s alright, when everything’s all wrong.
We have to accept this message for ourselves, not someone
else. Now as she begins to explain how this reformation will be brought about,
she starts talking about the disasters that are coming in the end of the world.
She says these are designed by God to arouse us—to awaken us that the end is
coming. Throughout these passages, you’ll find the warning is ‘be ye also ready
for in such an hour as you think not, the Son of Man cometh,’
One of the warnings in this study of the events connected
with the close of probation, is that it comes suddenly and unexpectedly—it comes
as a thief in the night—particularly if you refuse to listen to this message
that’s designed to arouse us. In the earlier paragraph, she says there are many
in our churches who don’t know what the truth for this time is. I need to say it
plainly, the truth for this time—it’s a horror, it’s an abomination, it’s a
tragedy, the condition of God’s church! I’m not down playing that fact. The
willingness to identify the apostasy in the church, or the problems in the
church, has its purpose—but that is not the warning message designed by God
to awaken His people. The warning message that has been designed to awaken
God’s people at the end of the world, is the message that the Sunday Law is
imminent—our probation is about to close, the time of trouble is about to begin.
That message can be confirmed by looking into the newspaper or turning on your
radio and comparing it with the Prophetic Word. That is the message that will
bring the revival to God’s people that Sister White says that we so desperately
need.
As she closes the last paragraph, she talks about the hours
of probation fast passing—this is an emphasis of the Spirit of Prophecy not
me—as these end time events, calling us to arouse and get ready are because our
probation is about up. Then she gives us a promise that when we will take the
message of evangelism to the world, what will bring fruits to our work is when
we begin to proclaim the forgotten truths of the Bible.
In GC 594, she says the events connected with the close of
probation and the work of preparation for the time of trouble are clearly
presented but multitudes have no more understanding of these important truths
than if they had never been revealed. These are the ‘forgotten truths’.
These are the truths that the pioneer movement believed even though they were
mistaken, in that they thought the Lord was returning in 1844. They took these
truths to the world, that you better get ready because Christ is coming and if
you’re not ready—you’re lost eternally. That’s what brought power to this
movement in the beginning, that’s what awoke people and that’s the same message,
designed to awaken us here at the end. These have been forgotten in Adventism
today. These are the ‘forgotten truths’ that if we’ll proclaim them will bring
fruits to our efforts.
Here is another indication of what this message at the end is
to be if we’re going to be aroused. Read very carefully as Sister White selects
from the various Bible prophets and strings them all together in an end-time
scenerio, ask yourself if you are ready for these things that the prophets are
talking, about because this is what’s ahead.
The Great Controversy, 393: "When the Savior pointed
out to His followers the signs of His return, He foretold the state of
backsliding that would exist just prior to His second advent. There would be, as
in the days of Noah, the activity and stir of worldly business and pleasure
seeking-buying, selling, planting, building, marrying, and giving in
marriage—with forgetfulness of God and the future life. For those living at this
time, Christ’s admonition is: ‘Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your
hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life,
and so that day come upon you unawares.’ ‘Watch ye therefore, and pray always,
that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to
pass, and to stand before the Son of man.’ Luke 21:34, 36."
She emphasizes once again by referring to Christ’s words that
it’s going to come unawares, suddenly, unexpectedly as an overwhelming surprise.
This is one part of this message about the close of probation and the
purification of God’s church. Then, while quoting Luke, she points to those that
will be worthy to escape those things and she’s going to begin to tell us what
those things are. Those things are part of the message that we have a
responsibility to share, and those things are not nice! They’re solemn, serious,
and dreadful!
"The condition of the church at this time is pointed out in
the Saviour’s words in the Revelation: ‘Thou hast a name that thou livest, and
art dead.’ And to those who refuse to arouse from their careless security, the
solemn warning is addressed: ‘If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on
thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.’
Revelation 3:1, 3.
"It was needful that men should be awakened to their danger;
that they should be roused to prepare for the solemn events Connected
with the close of probation. The prophet of God declares: ‘The day of the Lord
is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?’ Who shall stand when He
appeareth who is ‘of purer eyes than to behold evil,’ and cannot ‘look on
iniquity’? Joel 2:11; Habakkuk 1:13. To them that cry, ‘My God, we know Thee,’
yet have transgressed His covenant, and hastened after another god, hiding
iniquity in their hearts, and loving the paths of unrighteousness-to these the
day of the Lord is ‘darkness, and not light, even very dark, and no brightness
in it.’ Hosea 8:2-1; Psalm 16:4; Amos 5:20. ‘It shall come to pass at that
time,’ saith the Lord, ‘that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish
the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The Lord will
not do good, neither will He do evil. ‘ Zephaniah 1: 12. ‘I will punish the
world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the
arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the
terrible. , Isaiah 13:11. ‘Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to
deliver them; ‘their goods shall become a booty , and their houses a
desolation.’ Zephaniah 1:18, 13.
"The prophet Jeremiah, looking forward to this fearful time,
exclaimed: ‘I am pained at my very heart. ...I cannot hold my peace, because
thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.
Destruction Upon destruction is cried.’ Jeremiah 4:19-20. ‘That day is a day of
wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day
of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of the
trumpet and alarm.’ Zephaniah 1:15-16. ‘Behold, the day of the Lord cometh,
...to lay the land desolate: and He shall destroy the sinners thereof out of
it.’ Isaiah 13:9.
"In view of that great day the word of God, in the most
solemn and impressive language, calls upon His people to arouse from their
spiritual lethargy and to seek His face with repentance and humiliation: ‘Blow
ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound au alarm in My holy mountain: let all the
inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh
at hand.’ ‘Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: gather the people, sanctify
the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children: ...let the
bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. Let the
priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar.’ ‘Turn
ye even to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with
mourning: and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn Unto the Lord
your God: for He is gracious and merciful, slow to auger, and of great
kindness.’ Joel 2:1, 15-17, 12-13.
"To prepare a people to stand in the day of God, a great work
of reform was to be accomplished. God saw that many of His professed people were
not building for eternity, and in His mercy He was about to send a message of
warning to arouse them from their stupor and lead them to make ready for the
coming of the Lord." The Great Controversy, 309-311.
This was speaking about the early pioneer movement. They were
in the same condition in their time that we are in our time, except I believe,
we are in a worse state of Laodecia. But in God’s mercy He sent this very
message to them that the day of the Lord is at hand and it’s not a good day!
It’s a horrible day! Now you can ask Seventh-day Adventists about the close of
probation, what a privilege if we’re ready to live with the Lord when we die and
our probation is closed! But are you ready to die today?
I know from prophecy that the majority of Seventh-day
Adventists are not ready to die today and be saved for eternity. They’re going
to be lost. And that’s quite a solemn question; are we really today prepared to
die? But do you want to know a more solemn question than that? Are we ready
today, to close our probation and live until the Lord returns? That’s
even more solemn. Are we prepared to go through this horrible time that
scripture and Spirit of Prophecy has been warning us of? With no mediator? Have
we reached that point, because the call of prophecy today is that that time is
approaching with blinding speed and always in the context that it comes as an
overwhelming surprise. This is the message that is designed to arouse God’s
people from their Laodecian, backslidden condition.
This passage was speaking of the pioneer movement during the
beginning of this work 1843- 1844; the 1st, 2nd, 3rd
angel’s messages began during that time. One of the illustrations of both that
time and our time is the parable of the ten virgins. I want you to consider some
concepts about the parable of the ten virgins in relation to the close of
probation and the message for the hour.
In The Great Controversy, 393, Sister White says this-
"The parable of the ten virgins of Matthew 25 also illustrates the experience of
the Adventist people."
This parable is for us. It was fulfilled in the beginning of
this work and it will be fulfilled again. We need to come to grips with the
information in there. This experience, illustrated by the ten virgins, is what
will give us the outline for pulling these other testimonies in the Bible and
the Spirit of Prophecy about the end times together.
The parable of the ten virgins has primarily one focus, our
experience as a people. When Ezekiel 8-12 goes through the same sequence of
events, it is not so much talking about our experience, it’s telling us clues to
identify the work that Christ is doing above in the Most Holy Place during this
time period.
Daniel 3, telling the same story, is not telling us so much
about what Christ is doing in the Most Holy Place, nor our experience, but it
tells us how the message which we proclaim at this time will be carried to the
world. All these pieces of information in the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy
about this time period, these forgotten truths connected with the events of the
close of probation, all have their own angle. The one that seems most important
at this time to begin with, is the parable of the ten virgins because as God’s
people, this is the parable of our experience.
Review and Herald, August 9, 1890: "When the third
angel’s message is preached as it should be, power attends its proclamation, and
it becomes an abiding influence. It must be attended with divine power, or it
will accomplish nothing. I am often referred to the parable of the ten virgins,
five of whom were wise, and five foolish. This parable has been and will be
fulfilled to the very letter, for it has a special application to this time,
and, like the third angel’s message, has been fulfilled and will continue to be
present truth till the close of time."
What brought the Millerites to the condition of being awake
and proclaiming that warning message in 1843-1844, was the information in the
Bible that says that the time of the end was near, that probation was about to
close, and the door was about to be shut and all the end time catastrophes and
disasters and plagues were imminent. That will be repeated in our day. It will
be repeated in the sense that this message is once again designed to arouse us
from our lethargy. Other things will be repeated as well, but that’s one part of
it that will be repeated.
Early Writings 238, describing the time period of
1843-1844, says this: "This was the midnight cry, which was to give power to the
second angel’s message. Angels were sent from heaven to arouse the discouraged
saints and prepare them for the great work before them. The most talented men
were not the first to receive this message."
Notice: "The most talented men were not the first to receive
this message!"
"Angels were sent to the humble, devoted ones, and
constrained them to raise the cry, ‘Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to
meet Him!’ Those entrusted with the cry made haste, and in the power of the Holy
Spirit sounded the message, and aroused their discouraged brethren. This work
did not stand in the wisdom and learning of men, but in the power of God,
and His saints who heard the cry could not resist it. The most spiritual
received this message first, and those who had formerly led in the work were the
last to receive and help swell the cry, ‘Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye
out to meet Him!"
The cry that they were making, "Behold the Bridegroom
cometh!" was their belief that the return of Christ was imminent and all those
events associated with the end of the world were here.
"In every part of the land, light was given upon the second
angel’s message, and the cry melted the hearts of thousands. It went from city
to city, and from village to village, until the waiting people of God were fully
aroused. In many churches the message was not permitted to be given, and a large
company who had the living testimony left these fallen churches. A mighty work
was accomplished by the midnight cry .The message was heart-searching, leading
the believers to seek a living experience for themselves. They knew that they
could not lean upon one another."
If there’s one truth in the parable of the ten virgins that
comes out over and over, is it’s an individual experience. We cannot lean
on one another for our salvation; we can lean on one another for faithful
support, but not for our individual relationship with Christ.
The Youth’s Instructor, January 16, 1896: "We are now
living in a most perilous time, and not one of us should be tardy in seeking a
preparation for the coming of Christ. Let none follow the example of the foolish
virgins, and think that it will be safe to wait until the crisis comes before
gaining a preparation of character to stand in that time."
Note: the Crisis is the Sunday Law—this is the place the
church is purified, this is where our probation comes to an end and it’s at this
crisis that our character is revealed to the world either for or against God.
This is the crisis that is coming at blinding speed, and what she is saying is
that we have to have our character prepared before this crisis.
"It will be too late to seek for the righteousness of Christ
when the guests are called in and examined. Now is the time to put on the
righteousness of Christ,—the wedding garment that will fit you to enter into the
marriage supper of the Lamb.
"In the parable, the foolish virgins are represented as
begging for oil and failing to receive it at their request. This is symbolic of
those who have not prepared themselves by developing a character to stand in a
time of crisis. It is as if they should go to their neighbors and say, ‘Give me
your character, or I shall be lost.’ Those that were wise could not impart their
oil to the flickering lamps of the foolish virgins. Character is not
transferable. It is not to be bought or sold; it is to be acquired. The Lord has
given to every individual an opportunity to obtain a righteous character through
the hours of probation; but He has not provided a way by which one human agent
may impart to another the character which he has developed by going through hard
experiences, by learning lessons from the great Teacher, so that he can manifest
patience under trial, and exercise faith, so that he can remove mountains of
impossibility. It is impossible to impart the fragrance of love,—to give to
another gentleness, tact, and perseverance. It is impossible for one human heart
to pour into another the love of God and humanity.
"But the day is coming, and it is close upon us, when every
phase of character will be revealed by special temptation. Those who remain true
to principle, who exercise faith to the end, will be those who have proved true
under test and trial during the previous hours of their probation, and
have formed characters after the likeness of Christ. It will be those who have
cultivated close acquaintance with Christ, who, through His wisdom and grace,
are partakers of the divine nature. But no human being can give to another,
heart-devotion and noble qualities of mind, and supply his deficiencies with
moral power. We can each do much for each other by giving to men a Christ like
example, thus influencing them to go to Christ for the righteousness without
which they cannot stand in the judgment. Men should prayerfully consider the
important matter of character-building, and frame their characters after the
divine model." The Youth’s Instructor, January 16, 1896.
This message is for each one of us today. Based on the
prophetic word and what’s going on in the world, we have to develop that
character now. We have to have it now, because there’s a crisis coming that is
always identified in the Spirit of Prophecy in the context of coming as an
overwhelming surprise. It’s coming! On the horizon! If we don’t have our
character developed before that time, that crisis will illustrate it to the
entire world and we will be lost.
Review and Herald, October 17,1895: "Character is
revealed by a crisis. When the earnest voice proclaimed at midnight, ‘Behold,
the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him,’ the sleeping virgins roused from
their slumbers, and it was seen who had made preparation for the event. Both
parties were taken unawares, but one was prepared for the emergency, and the
other was found without preparation. Character is revealed by circumstances.
Emergencies bring out the true metal of character. Some sudden and unlooked-for
calamity, bereavement, or crisis, some unexpected sickness or anguish, something
that brings the soul face to face with death, will bring out the true inwardness
of the character. It will be made manifest whether or not there is any real
faith in the promises of the word of God. It will be made manifest whether or
not the soul is sustained by grace, whether there is oil in the vessel with the
lamp.
"Testing times come to all. How do we conduct ourselves under
the test and proving of God? Do our lamps go out? or do we still keep them
burning? Are we prepared for every emergency by our connection with Him who is
full of grace and truth? The five wise virgins could not impart their character
to the five foolish virgins. Character must be formed by us as individuals."
Review and Herald, October 17, 1895.
The second quote that we started with today said that the
events connected with the close of probation have been clearly revealed. We’re
going to demonstrate conclusively that probation closes for the house of God at
the Sunday test. I’m not saying that it happens on one specific day, but under
that test, our probation closes. That test has been designed by God to purify
the church, separate the wise and foolish virgins. That test is the crisis that
has been ordained by God to reveal our character and it’s always in this
contest, some sudden and unlooked for calamity. Do you think the Sunday Law is
maybe two or three years off? Three or four years off? It comes as an
overwhelming surprise. It’s not wise to be putting it off with that kind of
faulty reasoning, there is evidence from every angle that the Sunday law could
be here in a very short period of time.
This crisis that demonstrates our character, is something
that brings the soul face to face with death. If we’re confronted with the
Sunday law as Seventh-day Adventists and our character hasn’t been developed to
stand on the Sabbath truth, and we give in and accept the Sunday, do we not know
as Seventh-day Adventists, that that is death, eternal death? That test, we
understand is a life or death test for us. If we choose wrong, we’re lost
eternally. This Sunday Law test is the test that’s designed to purify the
church, demonstrate our character and it takes place when our probation closes.
Here’s an interesting one from Review and Herald,
March 27, 1894. We sometimes think all the virgins slept and yet the wise
virgins did some kind of preparation that allowed them, when the cry at midnight
came, to be saved. We must remember that even though Sister White has counseled
us in several places to study every aspect of the parable of the ten virgins,
parables are not flawless. In the development of a parallel there is some great
and important truth to be conveyed but you’re not doing justice to the import of
a parable if you try to hold absolutely, everything it said as perfect. I would
suggest to you that in one sense, yes, all the virgins sleep, but in another
sense, the wise virgins have been doing something. They have been awake, at
least, to their need of developing character, even though in a secondary sense
they’ve been asleep.
"The coming of Christ will be as it were at midnight, when
all are sleeping. It will be well for every one to have his accounts all
straightened up before sunset."
What’s that say to you? We better have our character
developed and intact with Christ before sunset, now how long after sunset does
midnight come? A little while, you can go to bed and then you are awakened.
Before midnight comes our character has to be developed. It has to be developed
before sunset.
"All his works should be right, all his dealings just,
between himself and his fellow-men. All dishonesty, all sinful practices should
be put far away. The oil of grace should be in our vessels with our lamps. There
will be some at that late day who will have the appearance of being Christians,
but their identity with Christ is only a deception. Sad indeed will be the
condition of the soul who has had a form of godliness but has denied the power
thereof; who has called Christ, Lord, Lord, and yet who has not his image and
superscription. The foolish virgins flattered themselves that they would have
mercy, that they would obtain an entrance into the marriage feast; but the
Master answered their plea for admission with a stern refusal, saying, ‘I know
you not.’ And the door was shut."
Part of the story of the parable of the ten virgins is the
closed door; the close of probation.
"The question is asked, ‘How shall we escape, if we neglect
so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was
confirmed unto us by them that heard him?’ And if the righteous scarcely be
saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?’
"God graciously grants a day of probation, a time of test and
trial. He gives the invitation: ‘Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye
upon him while he is near: let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous
man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon
him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your
thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are
higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts
than your thoughts.’ If this invitation is disregarded, if the solemn scenes of
the judgment make no impression upon the obdurate heart, if there is no
repentance and confession and reformation, then the consequence will surely
follow that fearfulness shall surprise the hypocrite." Review and Herald,
March 27, 1894.
If we won’t come to the Lord. Brothers and sisters, I would
suggest to you that God has given us our day of probation, right now! And if
we’re going to put off that day ‘til tomorrow we are building for ourselves the
character of a foolish virgin.
"The coming of Christ will be as it were at midnight, when
all are sleeping. It will be well for every one to have his accounts all
straightened up before sunset."
"The parable of the ten virgins was given by Christ Himself,
and every specification should be carefully studied. A time will come when the
door will be shut. We are represented either by the wise or the foolish virgins.
We cannot now distinguish, nor have we authority to say, who are wise and who
foolish. There are those who hold the truth in unrighteousness, and these appear
outwardly like the wise." Manuscript Releases, vol. 16,270.
This Day with God, 163. This passage is talking about the
door being closed and there’s three group of people here represented, the wise
and the foolish and the foolish virgins get the door closed upon them. Then
there are also those that have not known the truth and after probation closes on
the foolish virgins, there is still a time of mercy for those.
"Many who have known the truth have corrupted their way
before God and have departed from the faith. (It doesn’t say these foolish
virgins have left the church books.) The broken ranks will be filled up by those
represented by Christ as coming in at the eleventh hour. There are many with
whom the Spirit of God is striving. The time of God’s destructive judgments is
the time of mercy for those who have no opportunity to learn what is truth.
Tenderly will the Lord look upon them. His heart of mercy is touched; His hand
is still stretched out to save, while the door is closed to those who would not
enter. Large numbers will be admitted who in these last days hear the truth for
the first time."
When I was putting this material together, I came across
other quotes that are very similar to this but as far as identifying the close
of probation, they were even more pointed. Notice the context that she puts it
in:
"The signs in the sun, moon, and stars have been fulfilled.
Since that time earthquakes, tempests, tidal waves, pestilence, and famine have
multiplied. The most awful destructions, by fire and flood, are following one
another in quick succession. The terrible disasters that are taking place from
week to week speak to us in earnest tones of warning, declaring that the end is
near, that something great and decisive will soon of necessity take place.
"Probationary time will not continue much longer. Now God is
withdrawing his restraining hand from the earth. Long has he been speaking to
men and women through the agency of his Holy Spirit; but they have not heeded
the call. Now he is speaking to his people, and to the world, by his judgments.
The time of these judgments is a time of mercy for those who have not yet had
opportunity to learn what is truth. Tenderly will the Lord look upon them. His
heart of mercy is touched; his hand is still stretched out to save. Large
numbers will be admitted to the fold of safety who in these last days will hear
the truth for the first time.
"The Lord calls upon those who believe in him to be workers
together with him. While life shall last, they are not to feel that their work
is done. Shall we allow the signs of the end to be fulfilled without telling
people of what is coming upon the earth? Shall we allow them to go down in
darkness without having urged upon them the need of a preparation to meet their
Lord? Unless we ourselves do our duty to those around us, the day of God will
come upon us as a thief. Confusion fills the world, and a great terror is soon
to come upon human beings. The end is very near. We who know the truth should be
preparing for what is soon to break upon the world as an overwhelming surprise."
Review and Herald, November 22, 1906.
Here’s another one that emphasizes the overwhelming surprise:
"The agencies of evil are combining their forces and
consolidating. They are strengthening for the last great crisis. Great changes
are soon to take place in our world, and the final movements will be rapid
ones." Testimonies, vol. 9, 11.
"When all is apparently secure, and men retire to contented
rest, then the prowling, stealthy, midnight thief steals upon his prey. When it
is too late to prevent the evil, it is discovered that some door or window was
not secured. ‘Be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of
man cometh.’ People are now settling to rest, imagining themselves secure under
the popular churches; but let all beware, lest there is a place left open for
the enemy to gain an entrance. Great pains should be taken to keep this subject
before the people. The solemn fact is to be kept not only before the people of
the world, but before our own churches also, that the day of the Lord will come
suddenly, unexpectedly. The fearful warning of the prophecy is addressed to
every soul. Let no one feel that he is secure from the danger of being
surprised. Let no one’s interpretation of prophecy rob you of the conviction of
the knowledge of events which show that this great event is near at hand."
Fundamentals of Christian Education, 335-336.
Don’t let anyone rob you from the knowledge of these events.
The events connected with the close of probation have been clearly revealed, but
she says that multitudes have no more understanding of them than if they had
never been spoken. These are the forgotten truths that are designed to arouse
God’s people and arouse the world that Christ is about to return, that our
probation is about to close. We must develop a Godly character now; for it comes
suddenly and unexpectedly.
"The nature of man unrenewed by grace is not changed in our
day from what it was in Noah’s time. Christ has said a similar state of things
would be prior to his second coming as existed before the flood. In the days of
Noah men followed the imagination of their own hearts, and the result was
W1festrained crime and wickedness. The same state of things will exist in this
age of the world. But will not some of the learned, the honored of the world,
accept the message of warning in these last days? Will the world as a majority
perish in the general impending ruin? How was it in Noah’s day? As it was then
Christ has said it should be. Of that vast population there was only eight
persons who believed the message of Noah and obeyed God’s word. In the world
today the majority choose the broad road to death because the way of life is too
narrow for them to walk in with their dishonesty, avarice, pride and iniquity.
Now, as in the days of Noah, the overwhelming majority are opposed to the saving
truth and are fascinated with lying fables.
"As the time of Christ’s second appearing draws near, the
Lord sends his servants with a warning message to the world to prepare for that
great event. As the world have been living in transgression of the law of God,
in mercy he sends a message of warning to arouse their attention and hold before
them the law of God as a mirror into which they can look and discover the
defects in their moral character. If they will at once make earnest efforts to
remedy these defects, by repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus
Christ, they will be pardoned through the merits of his blood, for this is the
only hope of the transgressor of the law of God. But as in the days of Noah,
there is with the majority a total disbelief of the testimony God has in mercy
sent to warn the world other coming destruction." Signs of the Times,
January 3, 1878.
"We have no time for dwelling on matters that are of no
importance. Our time should be given to proclaiming the last message of mercy to
a guilty world. Men are needed who move under the inspiration of the Spirit of
God. The sermons preached by some of our ministers will have to be much more
powerful than they are now, or many backsliders will carry a tame, pointless
message, which lulls people to sleep. Every discourse should be given under a
sense of the awful judgments soon to fall on the world. The message of truth is
to be proclaimed by lips touched with a live coal from the divine altar.
"My heart is filled with anguish when I think of the tame
messages borne by some of our ministers, when they have a message of life and
death to bear. The ministers are asleep; the lay members are asleep; and a
world is perishing in sin. May God help His people to arouse and walk and work
as men and women on the borders of the eternal world. Soon an awful surprise is
coming upon the inhabitants of the world. Suddenly, with power and great glory,
Christ will come. Then there will be no time to prepare to meet Him. Now is the
time for us to give the warning message." Testimonies, vol. 8, 36.
The events connected with the close of probation, is the
warning message that we as God’s people need to be taking to the world now. We
take that message not to frighten people to serve the Lord, but to confront them
with the reality that now is the day of our salvation. Now we must prepare, and
every day we come closer to that event, is more reason not to tame down our
message. Our pointed message is not so much identifying the sinners as it is
identifying the sin that prevents you from having a relationship that allows you
to stand to the end. It comes from identifying that this time period of the
close of probation, which is directly connected with the Sunday law, is
approaching with blinding speed.
