Hi Jeff,
Trusting you made it home safely. I enjoyed your fellowship this past weekend. I came across some quotes and I have a question in regards to your presentation of the “Judgment of the Living” beginning on 9-11. In searching the Spirit of Prophecy for light on this subject I found this following quote:
“Solemn are the scenes connected with the closing work of the atonement. Momentous are the interests involved therein. The judgment is now passing in the sanctuary above. For more than sixty years this work has been in progress. Soon -none know how soonit will pass to the cases of the living. In the awful presence of God our lives are to come up in review. At this time above all others it behooves every soul to heed the Saviour’s admonition, ‘Watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.’ ‘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.’ The Gospel Herald, August 1, 1910.
It also appears that if any date would be the one for the Judgment of the Living it would be the National Sunday Law. Here is the quote that seems to prove this prior statement:
“The Lord has shown me clearly that the image of the beast will be formed before probation closes; for it is to be the great test for the people of God, by which their eternal destiny will be decided… (Rev. 13:11-17 quoted.) This is the test that the people of God must have before they are sealed.” Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 976.
What is your thought on these truths that I have found? JL.
Response
Dear JL,
Your first quote does not say that we will never know that it has started, but that none could predict how soon it would start, or how much time before it began. She has statements where she says, “Who knows if the judgment of the living has not already began?” She does not say we will not know once it begins, but that we could not know in advance.
“What are you doing, brethren, in the great work of preparation? Those who are uniting with the world are receiving the worldly mold and preparing for the mark of the beast. Those who are distrustful of self, who are humbling themselves before God and purifying their souls by obeying the truth these are receiving the heavenly mold and preparing for the seal of God in their foreheads. When the decree goes forth and the stamp is impressed, their character will remain pure and spotless for eternity.
“Now is the time to prepare. The seal of God will never be placed upon the forehead of an impure man or woman. It will never be placed upon the forehead of the ambitious, world-loving man or woman. It will never be placed upon the forehead of men or women of false tongues or deceitful hearts. All who receive the seal must be without spot before God–candidates for heaven. Go forward, my brethren and sisters. I can only write briefly upon these points at this time, merely calling your attention to the necessity of preparation. Search the Scriptures for yourselves, that you may understand the fearful solemnity of the present hour. “Testimonies, vol. 5, 216.
Concerning your second quote; God’s people are sealed at the Sunday law, not before. The very quote you are citing states this very fact: “the image of the beast will be formed before probation closes.”
The image of the beast test is the second of three tests. The third test is where we are sealed, and that is the Sunday law test. It is at this third test that probation closes and the image of the beast is a test that precedes the Sunday law test. How many tests did the Millerites have? Three. How many tests did Christ have? Three. How many tests did ancient Israel have in the time of Christ? Three. See Early Writings,
259. We also have three tests. The second is the image of the beast and this is the test we must pass before probation closes at the Sunday law, and this is the test by which our eternal destiny is decided, for if we fail this test we are unprepared for the Sunday test. Jeff.
Published by