Luke 21:8

Christian, Be Not Deceived!

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11. THE SEAL OF THE LIVING GOD

The teaching that the seal of the living God is given before the Loud Cry throws into confusion the Bible teaching on the close of probation. If it were true, as is claimed, that the judgment of the Living must precede the giving of the seal, that as each case is judged he is given the seal, and that this work precedes the Loud Cry, that would mean that probation will close for those sealed before the Loud Cry, and also for all others whose cases would have been judged and found unrighteous. If it were true that the judgment of the Living considers one case at a time, giving or refusing to give the seal, and thus closing the probation of each case thus dealt with, then the conclusion of Christ’s work in the sanctuary would be confined to the very last case to he considered. This is stated thus by our friends: “When at length the last candidate for heaven has been examined, Jesus ceases His ministry in the most holy and makes the solemn announcement, ‘He that is unjust, let him be unjust still, and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still (Revelation 22:11). The decision is final and irrevocable.”

This conception of the close of probation is foreign to the Scriptures and to the Spirit of Prophecy - read Great Controversy, Page 613; Early Writings, page 279.

Let us commence our consideration of this aspect of the sealing work by quoting a statement from the Lord’s servant: “Probation closes; Christ’s intercessions cease in Heaven. This time finally comes suddenly upon all, and those [members of the church] who have neglected to purify their souls by obeying the truth are found sleeping”, (2 Testimonies, page 191). The close of probation “comes suddenly upon all” when Christ ceases His ministry in the sanctuary. This inspired statement is contradicted by the teaching that the judgment of the Living considers each case and closes probation for individuals (giving or not giving the seal) until the, last case ends Christ’s ministry.

The Lord’s servant wrote concerning the close of probation to which Jesus often directed the attention of the remnant people of God: “Jesus has left us word, ‘Watch you therefore. For you know not when the master of the house comes, at even, or at midnight, or at cock-crowing, or in the morning; lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you, I say unto all, Watch’. We are waiting and watching for the return of the Master, who is to bring the morning, lest coming suddenly He finds us sleeping. What time is here referred to? Not to the revelation of Christ in the clouds of heaven to find a people asleep. No; but to His return from His ministration in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary, when He lays off His priestly attire, and clothes Himself with garments of vengeance, and when the mandate goes forth, ‘He that is unjust, let him be unjust still, and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still. And he that is holy, let him be holy still’. When Jesus ceases to plead for man the cases of all are

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forever decided. This is the time of reckoning with His servants. This time finally comes suddenly upon all (pp. 190, 191).

The theory that the judgment of the Living closes the probation of those in the church, giving the seal or not giving it, before the Loud Cry, is a contradiction of the plainest of inspired words in the Scripture and in the Spirit of Prophecy -it brings in confusion where otherwise all is clear and plain. Jesus warned His Advent people concerning the close of probation: “Watch therefore, for you know not what hour your Lord does come. Therefore be you also ready: for in such an hour as you think not the Son of man comes. The Lord of that [evil] servant shall come in a day when he looks not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of. Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, they that were ready went in with Him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Watch therefore for you know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man comes” (Matthew 24:42-50; 25:1-13).

How clear the Lord’s words, how simple this parable is in teaching that the close of probation - comes suddenly upon all”, at the same time. The wise virgins represent those sealed, the foolish virgins the unsealed, and the decisive time, the close of probation for them all, is when Christ ceases “His ministration in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary, and when the mandate goes forth, ‘He that is unjust, let him be unjust still and he that is holy, let him be holy still’. When Jesus ceases to plead for man, the cases of all are forever decided. This is the reckoning time with His servants. This time comes suddenly upon all”.

These words are rendered meaningless when it is taught that the decisions determined by the judgment of the Living before the Loud Cry then gives the seal - or refuses it to others – thus closing probation for the church. If before the Loud Cry the judgment gives the seal upon those found holy they are then pronounced “holy” and the seal would enable them to be “holy still”, for when “the stamp [of the seal] is impressed, their character will remain pure and spotless for eternity” (5 Testimonies, page 216), “The indelible mark of God is upon them” (Testimonies to Ministers, page 446). They would thus be pronounced “holy still” before the Loud Cry; whereas the Lord’s servant assures us that that “mandate goes forth when Jesus ceases to plead for man. This is the time of reckoning with His servants ... This time finally comes suddenly upon all”.

“The door was shut upon the wise and the unwise virgins at the same time - at the completion of Christ’s mediating ministry in the heavenly sanctuary, not the close of probation for each separately over a period of time down to the last case to he considered.

As stated by the Lord’s servant: “Thus in one short sentence, ‘They that were ready went in with Him to the marriage, and the door was shut’, we are carried down through the Savior’s final ministration to the time when the great work for man’s salvation shall be completed” (Great Controversy, Page 428).

“When the sleeping virgins were roused from their slumbers 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. The great final test comes at the close of human probation, when it will be too late for the soul’s need to be supplied” (Christ Object Lessons, page 412). These words plainly point to one close of probation for both the wise and the unwise virgins - “at the close of human probation”. The reader is requested to observe the following statement in which reference is made to the individual examination, the judgment of the living, and the close of probation - though individual cases are considered in the judgment of the living, yet their probation ends collectively. Though all nations are to pass in judgment before God, yet He will examine the case of each individual with as close and searching scrutiny as if there were not another being upon the earth. Soon, none know how soon, it [the judgment] will pass to the cases of the living. At this time it behooves every soul to heed the Savior’s admonition: ‘Watch and pray: for you know not when the time is.’ When the work of the investigative judgment closes, the destiny of all will have been decided for life or death. Probation is ended a short time before the appearing of the Lord in the clouds of heaven. Christ in the Revelation, looking forward to that time, declares: ‘He that is unjust Silently, unnoticed as the midnight thief, will come the decisive hour which marks the fixing of every man’s destiny, the final withdrawal of mercy’s offer to guilty men. ‘Watch you therefore, lest coming suddenly He find you sleeping- (Great Controversy, Page 490, 491).

The close of probation is one subject that God has made to stand out clearly; it is mentioned so frequently. Our space will not permit going exhaustively into this vital theme. But as our consideration of the theory that the seal of God is given before the Loud Cry brings in the question of the close of probation, we will draw the reader’s attention to the fact that the burden of the Savior’s Armageddon message is His warning to His church concerning the close of probation. The theory that God gives the seal to His people

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before the Loud Cry is a blow against the truth concerning the Lord’s warning in His Armageddon message regarding the close of probation. The Lord’s warning to His people to watch for the close of probation, to which we have referred earlier (Matthew 24:42-50; 25:1-13; Mark 13:33-37; Testimonies, vol. 2, page 190-192) is again repeated in the Armageddon message, as may be readily seen by reading Revelation 16:15 (which is the heart of the Armageddon message). As we have explained in other publications, the reason why this call to His church to prepare for the close of probation is given in connection with the description of the gathering to the Armageddon slaughter is to remind His people that they will need to be ready for the close of probation when the seal of God is imparted or be cut down in the general slaughter. We must refer our reader to “Power Unlimited” for a fuller consideration of this theme. However, observe the two following extracts which quote Revelation 16:15 in connection with the close of probation, thus showing that the heart of the Armageddon message is the Lord’s warning to His Advent people concerning the coming of the close of probation especially when the nations are uniting on the matter of-enforcing the mark of the beast (this is Heaven’s sign that probation is about to close, see 5 Testimonies, page 451).

The Lord’s servant says: “The days of our probation are fast closing Beware lest it [that day] find you unready. Take heed lest you be found at the King’s feast without a wedding garment. ‘In such an hour as you think not the Son of man comes’. ‘Blessed is he that watches, and keeps His garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame’ (Revelation 16:15)” (Christ Object Lessons, page 319).

Again we read: “Upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth, upon all who make this world their home, the day of God will come as a snare. It comes to them as a prowling thief. Christ says, ‘Behold, I come as a thief’ (Revelation 16:15). Probation’s hour is fast closing, and every case is about to be eternally decided. Satan sees that his time is short. He has set all his agencies at work that men may be deceived, deluded, occupied and entranced, until the day of probation shall be ended and the door of mercy be forever shut” (Desire of Ages, page 635, 636).

Thus the Lord’s servant quotes Revelation 16:15 - the heart of the Lord’s Armageddon message in which He uses the personal pronoun “I”, which He always employs when giving authoritative or special messages - and applies that verse as a warning concerning the close of probation for all when Christ comes out of the sanctuary and ceases His mediation ministry. Obviously the enemy of truth and righteousness seeks to bring in confusion concerning the Lord’s special Armageddon warning to His church, a warning to His people to prepare for the close of probation, and Satan does this by the deception that the judgment of the living closes the probation of many, that the sealing precedes the giving of the Loud Cry.

To justify the teaching which we are at present examining, recourse is made to such extracts as are found in 9 Testimonies, page 97, Testimonies to Ministers, page 449, which we now present:

“The time of God’s destructive judgments is the time of mercy for those who have had 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.”

This merely states a principle that has operated down through the ages. Men who reject the overtures of the Holy Spirit and continue thus for some time, eventually lose their powers to accept the proffered mercy, to them the door is shut. In this extract the Lord does not point forward to a time called the judgment of the living when the door will be closed to those who have been judged. The Lord’s servant wrote concerning things then occurring and occurring since. On the same page we read: “More and more, as the days go by, it is becoming apparent that God’s judgments are in the world. The time of God’s destructive judgment is the time of mercy for those who have had no opportunity to learn what is truth, while the door is closed to those who would not enter.” This is not a prophecy of what Will be limited to occur in some future judgment period, but is a statement of something occurring at that time and at any time when God’s judgments are in the world.

What of the other statement which is used in some vague way about the future judgment of the living? “The time has come when Jerusalem is being searched as with lighted candles. God is at work investigating character, weighing moral worth, and pronouncing decisions on individual cases” (Testimonies to Ministers 448).

This statement can give no support to the claim that in the future the judgment of the living will then decide the probation of members of the church, some receiving the seal and others not before the Loud Cry. The Lord’s servant wrote of what was then occurring. In principle, God has in the past ages “weighed moral worth” as He did in Babylon of old, “Weighed in the balances, and found wanting”. In each step along the centuries the moral Governor of the universe has done this. And when the Lord’s messenger wrote, the time had come when some in the church who had been living in sin for some time were so

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sinning against the Holy Spirit that the Lord was saying of them: “Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone” (Hosea 4:17).

Though the Lord’s servant had written (Testimonies to Ministers, page 444-446) concerning the character of those to receive the seal of God, and shown that the seal is given for the protection of those who live through the coming cataclysm, she does not on page 448 (Testimonies to Ministers) say that some were then receiving or losing the seal of God, yet surely while she was writing on the subject of those to be sealed, that would have been an opportunity to have said something regarding not receiving the seal since God Was then “weighing moral worth, and pronouncing decisions on individual cases”. Obviously, then, the statement on page 448 cannot be employed with reference to the sealing in some future judgment of the living before the Loud Cry.

There is nothing in the Bible or the Spirit of Prophecy that gives credence to the belief that the seal of God is given before the Loud Cry.

4 Testimonies, page 384-387 does not refer to the investigative judgment, but, as The Lord’s servant clearly states, to “The execution of God’s judgment “ at the conclusion of the Investigative judgment. ​