THE
CLOSE OF PROBATION
Lesson 21
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Review
A testing time is coming
upon the whole world. Everyone will have
his faith thoroughly tested. Everyone
living on planet Earth will hear that salvation
comes by faith. The test will center on
obedience. Those submitting to the lamb-like
beast will put their faith in him and those
worshiping the Lamb of God will put their faith
in Him. The point is clearly made in
Revelation that all inhabitants of the
earth will worship one of the two lambs.
The promise of salvation
We have studied the Two
Witnesses of Revelation 11. They are
identified as the Bible and the Holy Spirit.
These two powers work together for the salvation
of man. The Bible is the testimony of God.
The Holy Spirit is the power of God. Together,
they testify of salvation and its requirements.
Everyone on earth will hear their message before
the end comes. The clarion message of
salvation will cause a great controversy upon
earth. The preaching of the gospel truth
will cause great anger and resistance from those
who love evil, for those who love evil hate
the light.
Every person on earth
will be reached during the short time-period of
the trumpets. The powerful struggle against
the gospel will only give the gospel greater
attention! Like a great forest fire, the
gospel will first spread through populated cities
and then to distant places of the world. Persecution
will force people to flee for safety and as they
flee, the gospel will be carried with them.
This is how the gospel will go to every nation,
kindred, tongue and people. The 144,000
expose Babylons doctrine as lies and in
return, Babylon seeks to destroy them as their
followers.
There is a historical
parallel to the scenario in the paragraph above.
After Jesus ascended to heaven, the apostles
preached the gospel of Jesus and the promise of
His return with great power and 3,000 were
baptized at Pentecost! The religious
leaders and civil authorities could not tolerate
such interest in the truth. So, the fires
of persecution were kindled and as the saints
scattered to the four corners of the earth, they
carried the gospel with them!
Jesus warned his
disciples, There will be great earthquakes,
famines and pestilences in various places, and
fearful events and great signs from heaven.
But before all this, they will lay hands on you
and persecute you. They will deliver you to
synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought
before kings and governors, and all account of my
name. This will result in your being
witnesses to them. But make up your mind
not to worry beforehand how you will defend
yourselves. For I will give you words and
wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able
to resist or contradict. Parents will
betray you; brothers, relatives and friends, and
they will put some of you to death. All men
will hate you because of me. But not a hair
of your head will perish. By standing firm
you will save yourselves. Luke
21:11-19 Two points should be emphasized from
these verses:
- Jesus
has promised to give his followers the
words to say when challenged for their
faith!
- Even
though the world will hate you, Jesus
says, You will save yourself by
standing firm.
It must be emphasized
that Jesus has promised to be with each one of
his children during this time of trial. He
said, And surely I will be with you
always, to the very end of the age. Matthew
28:20
The Spirit of Prophecy
We have seen earlier that
the remnant is identified as keeping the
commandments of God and holding to the testimony
of Jesus. Revelation 12:17, 14:12 We know
what the commandments are, but what is the
testimony of Jesus?
Toward the end of
Johns vision, he was so grateful to the
attending angel that he bowed at his feet to
worship him. But the angel said, Do
not do it! I am a fellow servant with you
and with your brothers who hold to the testimony
of Jesus. Worship God! For the
testimony of Jesus is the spirit of
prophecy. Revelation 19:10
The angel said the
testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
What does this mean? It means that the
remnant have prophetic understanding through the
ministry of the Holy Spirit. In other
words, they will understand what God is going to
do and why? The remnant will anticipate the
fulfillment of each event and be prepared for it!
Daniel was told, Many (of the remnant) will
be purified, made spotless and refined, but the
wicked will continue to be wicked. None of
the wicked will understand, but those who are
wise will understand. Daniel 12:10
The remnant will not be
caught by surprise. They will be prepared
through careful Bible study and prayer. Perhaps
one of the clearest evidences of this point is
found in Revelation 17:8 Notice, The beast,
which you saw, will come up out of the Abyss and
go to his destruction. The inhabitants of
the earth whose names have not been written in
the book of life from the creation of the world
will be astonished when they see the beast.
In other words, John says the world will be
astonished when Satan appears, while studying the
prophecies will be prepared!
Three groups of remnant
people
The apostles were a
select group of men. They were given a
special opportunity to learn about Jesus and the
kingdom of heaven that others did not have.
For three a half years they walked with Jesus and
learned from Him. He was preparing them for
the great work they must do after He returned to
the Father.
After the ascension of
Jesus, the apostles received the power of the
Holy Spirit. It was quite an experience.
It happened at the Feast of Pentecost, which is
50 days after the Passover. Attendance at
the feast was required according to ceremonial
law, so Jews from all over Asia were in Jerusalem
at the time. To expedite the gospel, the
Holy Spirit created a great noise a sound
like a violent wind came from heaven and what
appeared to be tongues of flames of fire appeared
on the heads of the apostles.
This interruption of the
Pentecost service gained immediate attention, for
those with flames of fire upon them began to
speak in the native languages of the Jews
present. The author of Acts says, Now
there were staying in Jerusalem God fearing Jews
from every nation under heaven. When they
heard the sound, a crowd came together in
bewilderment, because each heard them speaking in
his own language. Utterly amazed, they
asked; Are not all these men who are
speaking Galileans? Then how is it that
each of us hears them in his own native language?
Parathions, Medes and Elamites; residents of
Mesopotamia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and
Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near
Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and
converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs we
hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own
tongue! Acts 2:5-11 This
demonstration by the Holy Spirit caused three
things to happen:
- The
gospel immediately transcended the
language barrier, for everyone heard the
gospel in his own tongue.
- The
number of Jews receiving Jesus Christ and
His gospel increased thirty-fold that
day.
- Those
accepting the gospel carried their
newfound faith to distant lands where the
apostles would never be able to go.
Notice the process:
Jesus started His ministry with only 12
disciples. When the Holy Spirit was given
to them at the Pentecost ceremony, Jesus reached
3,000 more Jewish people! These new
converts went home and told even more Jewish
people about Jesus. About three and half
years later, Jesus sent the disciples to the
Gentiles to gather an even larger harvest of
believers! (Remember 34 A.D. the
commission of Peter and the conversion of Saul?)
This is how the gospel went throughout the world
in ancient times and this is a sample of how the
gospel will go throughout the world in our day.
In Revelation, we have a
process almost identical to Pentecost. First,
Jesus selects and seals 144,000 people as
spark plugs. These people know
the testimony of the Bible. They have
studied themselves full, thought themselves
straight and prayed for power to give the
message. Jesus then grants the request of
these people for power by giving them the power
of the Holy Spirits latter
rain.
Note: The term
latter rain refers to the second or large rain
that fell in Palestine in the autumn of each year
just before harvest time. The first (a
small or early rain) usually occurred in the
spring of the year and winter crops were
harvested and presented before the Lord at the
Feast of Pentecost. The analogy is that
both rains brought the crops to maturity. The
larger and most bountiful harvest occurred at the
Feast of Tabernacles in the autumn because the
latter rain brought the summer crops
to maturity. See Deuteronomy 11:14,
Jeremiah 3:3, Joel 2:23 and Hosea 6:3
God is now unfolding
Revelations mysterious story because the
time of fulfillment has come. Jesus is now
selecting and preparing those who will constitute
the 144,000 from among those who understand
Revelations story. These in turn,
will explain to the world the actions of Jesus
when he opens the fourth seal.
As people hear the gospel
message, many will see its harmony and through
faith, accept its truthfulness. Some will
join the Revelation movement and become part of
the first remnant. In effect, the first
remnant is a support group for the 144,000.
When the trumpets begin to sound, the combined
army of the 144,000 and the first remnant are
prepared for their work. They fearlessly
march into Babylon to gather the rest of
Gods people who havent heard the
everlasting gospel! Jesus calls to those in
Babylon, Come out of her, (Babylon) my
people, so that you will not share in her sins,
so that you will not receive any of her plagues;
for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has
remembered her crimes. Revelation
18:4,5 the gathering of the final harvest
consists of three steps:
- The
selection and sealing of the 144,000
- The
gathering of an early remnant to support
the 144,000
- The
gathering of the latter remnant out of
Babylon
The close of mercy
Jesus does not sneak upon people and close the
door of mercy without warning. On the other
hand, the devil delights to snuff out life and
thus abruptly end their opportunity to receive
salvation. The apostle Paul understood this
quite clearly. He said, Today, if you
hear his voice, do not harden your hearts!
Hebrews 4:7 Jesus is tenderly calling. He
is about to conclude His work in the heavenly
sanctuary. Are you ready to live by faith? Are
you obedient to His call? If you are, you
can be one of the early remnants. This
opportunity comes as a result of receiving the
gospel!
The closing of mercy
during the time period of the trumpets consists
of four steps. They are:
1.
Each person on earth must hear the everlasting
gospel
2.
Each person will be required to make a decision
about the gospel
3.
Each person is tested on the decision
4.
Each person is sealed in his or her decision
Mercy closes for an
individual as the four steps occur. Since
people in different lands hear the warning
message of Revelation at different times during
the trumpets, the sealing of some occurs before
others during the judgment of the living. When
all have heard the final invitation, made in
their decision and are sealed in their decision,
probation is ended. The Ancient of Days
then dismisses the court.
The proclamation
From our study on the
trumpets, we learned that corporate probation
ends with the throwing down of the censer. The
sins of the earth have reached a point of no
return. The judgment review of the books of
heaven is completed at this time and the judgment
of the living is necessary. This means that
each person will now be judged. In other
words, the trumpet time period is the hour
of Gods judgment. It is a time
of judgment for the living and the 7th
trumpet marks the end of the judgment process.
Notice how John describes the close of mercy in
Revelation 14:14-20: I looked, and
theyre before
Me was a white cloud, and
seated on the cloud was one like a son of a
man with a crown of gold on his head and a
sharp sickle in his hand. Then another angel came
out of the temple and called in a loud voice to
him who was sitting on the cloud, Take your
sickle and reap, because the time to reap has
come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
So he that was seated on the cloud swung his
sickle over the earth, and the earth was
harvested.
Another angel came out of
the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp
sickle. Still another angel, who had charge
of the fire, came from the alter and called in a
loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle,
Take your sharp sickle and gather the
clusters of grapes from the earths vine,
because its grapes are ripe. The angel
swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its
grapes and threw them into the great winepress of
Gods wrath. They were trampled in the
winepress outside the city, and blood flowed as
the horses bridles for a distance of 1,600
stadia (180 miles). Several points
need to be made from these verses.
- There
are two gatherings
Jesus, the Son of Man, is
seated on the white cloud and is told by the
angel coming from the temple that the time for
harvest has come. The action of swinging
the sickle over the earth symbolizes the
gathering of Gods children into safety.
Everyone has made his or her decision, so the
harvest is ripe, and mercy is ended.
Later, another angel
comes from the temple with a sharp sickle and is
told to gather the wicked and put them into the
winepress of Gods wrath. This action
symbolizes the gathering or bundling of the
wicked to receive the wrath of God the
seven last plagues
(Note: John
comments that the amount of wicked people
(grapes) thrown into the winepress of Gods
wrath is incredible! Remember the third
angels message mentions the winepress.)
Compare these Revelation
14:14-20 with Matthew 13:24-43. In Matthew
13, Jesus told a parable of a man who sowed good
seed in his field, but the mans enemy sowed
weeds to ruin his crop. The mans
servants asked if they should pull up the weeds,
but the owner said, No. Because while
you are pulling up the weeds, you may root up the
wheat with them. Let them grow together
until the harvest. At that time I will tell
the harvesters: First collect the weeds and
tie them in bundles to be burned, then gather the
wheat and bring it into my barn. Matthew
13:29,30
At first, the parable in
Matthew may appear just the opposite of
Johns account from Revelation because the
wicked are first bundled together and the wheat
is gathered in the barn. The problem,
though, is quite simple. The good and the
bad grow together until the time of the
harvest. The wicked will be gathered
together or bundled first. The
confederation of Babylon happens first!
The coalition or global union of the world
literally happens before the wheat is gathered
into the barn: at the close of probation.
The Father holds the door
of mercy open as long as there is one person who
has not heard the invitation. Remember,
Jesus came to save to the utmost. This is
the mystery of God. No one will perish
without first having an opportunity to be saved.
The gospel offers salvation full and free to
those willing to live by faith! It is
because everyone has made his or her decision
that Jesus is told to swing his sickle over the
earth. The harvest is ripe and ready for
the picking. The wheat has been gathered in
and the door of mercy is closed.
Then an angel gathers the
wicked that have been bundled together by
receiving the mark of the beast. These have
refused the gospel invitation. Even worse,
these have allied themselves with Satan to
destroy Gods people and this makes God
angry. Therefore, He visits them in wrath
without mercy to avenge the cruel suffering
inflicted upon His innocent children.
- Jesus
doesnt know when probation is to
close
Jesus is told when to
close probation by the angel coming from the
heavenly temple. The decision to close
probation is not made by Jesus. The Father
decides when enough is enough! Notice what
Jesus said about this: No one knows
about that day or hour, not even the angels in
heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As
it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the
coming of the Son of Man. For in the days
before the flood, people were eating and
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to
the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew
nothing about what would happen until the flood
came and took them all away. That is how it
will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two
men will be in the field; one will be taken and
the other left. Two women will be grinding
with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other
left. Matthew 24:36-41 These verses
bring out two points we must understand:
- Only the Father
knows when mercy ends. Some
believe this applies to the
second coming, but a close
investigation shows this is not
possible. The key to
understanding these verses is
found in a comparison with
Noahs experience. Jesus
said that in the days before the
flood, people were eating and
drinking and marrying. Nothing
is inherently wrong with any of
these things if we put God first
in our lives. Noah preached
of the coming flood for 120 years
and the people were well aware of
Noah and his message. They
also saw the giant boat. What
they didnt know about was
the close of mercy! The day
Noah entered the ark the door was
closed. The closing of the
arks door sealed 8 people
inside and the world outside. The
closing of the door of mercy in
heaven is the issue this
is the moment in time that
matters most.
- Matthew clearly
points out that men and women can
work side by side, yet when the
door of mercy closes in heaven,
one will be found safe inside and
the other locked outside forever.
The most serious moment in all of
Revelation is found in Revelation
14: 14-16. This, as far as
salvation is concerned, is the
end. When Jesus comes in
the clouds of glory, he brings
His reward with him for the
eternal reward of each person has
already been decided! See
Revelation 22:12.
The seventh trumpet
reviewed
It might be helpful to
refresh our minds with the contents of the 7th
trumpet to make sure all the elements of the
close of probation come into focus. At this
point in time, Satan is at maximum power. He
appeared on earth during the 5th
trumpet and deceived many, and during the 6th
trumpet, he takes control of the world through
force. The effectiveness of the Bible and the
Holy Spirit is either destroyed by the dazzling
miracles of Satan or the threat of death and
everyone upon earth has made their decision.
John writes, The seventh angel sounded his
trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven,
which said:
The kingdom of the
world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of
his Christ, and he will reign for ever and
ever
And the twenty-four
elders, who were seated on their thrones before
God, fell on their faces and worshipped God:
saying, We give thanks to you, Lord God
Almighty, who is and who was, because you have
taken your great power and have begun to reign.
The nations were angry; and your wrath has come.
The time has come for judging the dead, and for
rewarding your servants the prophets and your
saints and those who reverence your name, both
small and great and for destroying those
who destroy the earth.
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