No One Knows When Probation Will Close
God has not revealed to us the time when this message will close or when probation will have an end. Those things that are revealed we shall accept for ourselves and for our children, but let us not seek to know that which has been kept secret in the councils of the Almighty.... {LDE 227.1}
Letters have come to me asking me if I have any special light as to the time when probation will close, and I answer that I have only this message to bear, that it is now time to work while the day lasts, for the night cometh in which no man can work.—Selected Messages 1:191 (1894). {LDE 227.2}
Sunday-Law Enforcement Precedes the Close of Probation
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 [See the previous chapter, where the great test for the people of God is shown to be Sunday-law enforcement.] for the people of God, by which their eternal destiny will be decided.—Selected Messages 2:81 (1890). {LDE 227.3}
What is the “image to the beast”? and how is it to be formed? The image is made by the two-horned beast, and is an image to the beast. It is also called an image of the beast. [The two-horned beast of Revelation 13:11-17 makes an image to the beast portrayed in Revelation 13:1-10.] Then to learn what the image is like and how it is to be formed, we must study the characteristics of the beast itself—the papacy. {LDE 228.1}
When the early church became corrupted by departing from the simplicity of the gospel and accepting heathen rites and customs, she lost the Spirit and power of God; and in order to control the consciences of the people, she sought the support of the secular power. The result was the papacy, a church that controlled the power of the state, and employed it to further her own ends, especially for the punishment of “heresy.” In order for the United States to form an image of the beast, the religious power must so control the civil government that the authority of the state will also be employed by the church to accomplish her own ends.... {LDE 228.2}
The “image to the beast” represents that form of apostate Protestantism which will be developed when the Protestant churches shall seek the aid of the civil power for the enforcement of their dogmas.—The Great Controversy, 443, 445 (1911). {LDE 228.3}
Probation Closes When the Sealing Is Finished
Just before we entered it [the time of trouble], we all received the seal of the living God. Then I saw the four angels cease to hold the four winds. And I saw famine, pestilence and sword, nation rose against nation, and the whole world was in confusion.—The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 7:968 (1846). {LDE 228.4}
I saw angels hurrying to and fro in heaven. An angel with a writer’s inkhorn by his side returned from the earth and reported to Jesus that his work was done, and the saints were numbered and sealed. Then I saw Jesus, who had been ministering before the ark containing the ten commandments, throw down the censer. He raised His hands, and with a loud voice said, “It is done.“—Early Writings, 279 (1858). {LDE 229.1}
Only a moment of time, as it were, yet remains. But while already nation is rising against nation and kingdom against kingdom, there is not now a general engagement. As yet the four winds are held until the servants of God shall be sealed in their foreheads. Then the powers of earth will marshal their forces for the last great battle.—Testimonies for the Church 6:14 (1900). {LDE 229.2}
An angel returning from the earth announces that his work is done; the final test has been brought upon the world, and all who have proved themselves loyal to the divine precepts have received “the seal of the living God.” Then Jesus ceases His intercession in the sanctuary above. He lifts His hands, and with a loud voice says, “It is done.”—The Great Controversy, 613 (1911). {LDE 229.3}
Probation Will End Suddenly, Unexpectedly
When Jesus ceases to plead for man, the cases of all are forever decided.... Probation closes; Christ’s intercessions cease in heaven. This time finally comes suddenly upon all, and those who have neglected to purify their souls by obeying the truth are found sleeping.—Testimonies for the Church 2:191 (1868). {LDE 229.4}
When probation ends, it will come suddenly, unexpectedly—at a time when we are least expecting it. But we can have a clean record in heaven today, and know that God accepts us.—The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 7:989 (1906). {LDE 230.1}
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.... {LDE 230.2}
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 Saviour, “shall also 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, the final withdrawal of mercy’s offer to guilty men.... {LDE 230.3}
While the man of business is absorbed in the pursuit of gain, while the pleasure lover is seeking indulgence, while the daughter of fashion is arranging her adornments—it may be in that hour the Judge of all the earth will pronounce the sentence: “Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting” (Daniel 5:27).—The Great Controversy, 490, 491 (1911). {LDE 230.4}
Arthur | (Paulo Rocha) Saúde
Cláudio | (Ruth) Saúde
Levi | Saúde
Luiz e Alejandro | Saúde
Marcos | Saúde
Pedro | (pastor) Saúde
Miguel | (Alex) Saúde
Pr. Ottoni | (pai da Marjorie) Saúde
Thalles | (Juan e Thais) Saúde
Mateus | Saúde
Sandra | (Joezel) Saúde
Isadora | Saúde
Inês | Saúde
Laurete | Saúde
Enock e Túlio | (Silas) Saúde
Nair | (Oliveira) Saúde
Tia Bia | Saúde
Lúcia | (vó Keyse) Saúde
Saul | (família Cruz) Saúde
Elisa | (família Aguiar) Saúde
Jorge | (Ever) Saúde
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