The Silent Close of Jesus' Work in Heaven
Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy. Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense, to repay every one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Rev. 22:11-13, RSV.
Contrary to popular opinion, time will not go on and on indefinitely into the future. There will come a point when God decides finally to put a stop to the misery, death, and disease that we call earthly history. That ending, the Bible describes as a public event. But preceding the Second Advent there will be an invisible one that takes place when the heavenly pre-Advent judgment has been completed and every person has made a decision either for or against Jesus.
Jesus Himself describes that sequence in Revelation 22:11, 12. Earthly probation will close, eternally sealing the fate of all. Then He returns to reward each person according to their life's decisions.
The Great Controversy describes the close of probation in the following way: "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, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly' " (pp. 490-491).
The interesting thing about the conclusion of human probation is that it has no visible sign that it has occurred. The Second Advent and the rapture of the saints, as we will soon see, are visible. But the close of probation takes place as men and women go about their daily business. "Men will be planting and building, eating and drinking, all unconscious that the final, irrevocable decision as been pronounced in the sanctuary above. Before the flood, after Noah entered the ark, God shut him in and shut the ungodly out; but for seven days the people, knowing not that their doom was fixed, continued their careless, pleasure-loving life and mocked the warnings of impending judgment. 'So,' says the Savior, 'shall the coming of the Son of man be.' Matthew 24:39. Silently, unnoticed as the midnight thief, will come the decisive hour which marks the fixing of every man's destiny" (ibid., p. 491).
According to Jesus, now is the time to get right with God. Today we must let His grace fill our hearts and change our lives.
Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy. Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense, to repay every one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Rev. 22:11-13, RSV.
Contrary to popular opinion, time will not go on and on indefinitely into the future. There will come a point when God decides finally to put a stop to the misery, death, and disease that we call earthly history. That ending, the Bible describes as a public event. But preceding the Second Advent there will be an invisible one that takes place when the heavenly pre-Advent judgment has been completed and every person has made a decision either for or against Jesus.
Jesus Himself describes that sequence in Revelation 22:11, 12. Earthly probation will close, eternally sealing the fate of all. Then He returns to reward each person according to their life's decisions.
The Great Controversy describes the close of probation in the following way: "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, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly' " (pp. 490-491).
The interesting thing about the conclusion of human probation is that it has no visible sign that it has occurred. The Second Advent and the rapture of the saints, as we will soon see, are visible. But the close of probation takes place as men and women go about their daily business. "Men will be planting and building, eating and drinking, all unconscious that the final, irrevocable decision as been pronounced in the sanctuary above. Before the flood, after Noah entered the ark, God shut him in and shut the ungodly out; but for seven days the people, knowing not that their doom was fixed, continued their careless, pleasure-loving life and mocked the warnings of impending judgment. 'So,' says the Savior, 'shall the coming of the Son of man be.' Matthew 24:39. Silently, unnoticed as the midnight thief, will come the decisive hour which marks the fixing of every man's destiny" (ibid., p. 491).
According to Jesus, now is the time to get right with God. Today we must let His grace fill our hearts and change our lives.
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