OBJ. 4. The Shut Door. We now come to the teachings of the visions themselves. And it is proper here to remark that very much is afoot purporting to be the testimony of the visions, for which they are not at all responsible. As a story in circulation never loses anything in its passage from one to another, but frequently comes out a very different thing from what it was when it started; so sentences spoken in vision, passing from one to another without being committed to writing, have not always been accurately reproduced by memories to which they have been entrusted, and so have come to assume a very different complexion, from that which they at first wore. Our only proper course, therefore, is to confine ourselves to what has been published under Sr. White's own supervision and by her authority, and what appears in manuscript over her own signature in her own handwriting.
With these remarks we come to the question of the shut door, over which there has perhaps been a greater ado, than over any other doctrine which the visions are supposed to teach. What then is meant by the shut door? Opponents of the visions say that it means the close of probation, and the end of salvation for sinners. Their objection then runs thus: "There have been genuine conversions since 1844; but the visions teach that the door of mercy was then closed, that there was no more salvation for sinners; and hence that there could be no more true conversions: the visions are therefore false." All right, with only one exception which proves it all wrong; the visions say nothing about any door of mercy; and they teach that a door was opened as well as one shut, in 1844, as we shall see when we come to look at their testimony. Those who endeavor to show that the visions teach as above, bring in first the testimony of men, some of whom may perhaps have entertained the strong view, above presented. To this we have only to say that such testimony has nothing to do with the case in hand. Our inquiry is, not what men have believed, however strongly they may have believed the visions, but what the visions themselves have taught. And if it could be shown that men have believed and taught the shut door in its extremest sense, so much the better for the visions, if it should finally appear that they have not so taught. It would thus be very evident that their testimony is not in the least influenced by the views of their friends.
But before we come to their teaching, let us look for a moment at a few Bible facts on this subject. The expression, "shut door" is derived from the parable of Matt. xxv, 1–13, in which Advent experience is illustrated by the incidents of an eastern marriage. There is the going forth of the virgins to meet the bridegroom, the tarrying, the slumbering and sleeping, the cry at midnight, the rising of the virgins, the entering in to the marriage of those that are ready, the shutting of the door, and the subsequent return of the foolish virgins, applying for admittance. Not to enter at all into an explanation of this parable, it must be evident to all, that, as applied to the history of the church under the proclamation of the advent, that point of time, and that event, corresponding to the shutting of18the door in the parable, must be reached before the Saviour appears in the clouds of heaven to take his people to the marriage supper of the Lamb. For after the Lord has come, and taken his people to himself and destroyed the wicked, no such thing can for a moment be supposed as the foolish virgins coming and seeking admittance. We must then have a shut door somewhere this side the advent, and we now inquire, what can be signified by it? Our position, for which reasons can be given in full whenever occasion may require, is briefly this: Our Lord performs his ministry as priest for the human race, in the sanctuary in Heaven. That ministry consists of two divisions; first, a general work during the greater part of this dispensation in the first apartment of the sanctuary or holy place, and second, a special work for a very short period in the second apartment or most holy place. During all his priestly work he is associated with his Father on the throne of universal dominion. Zech. vi, 12, 13; Eph. i, 20–22; Rev. iii, 21. At the close of his priestly work he delivers up this kingdom to God, and takes his own throne, "the throne of his father David," and reigns over the kingdom of his saints, being himself only subordinate to God, the Father. 1 Cor. xv, 24–28. This reception of his own throne by the Saviour, is the marriage of the Lamb, it being received with the metropolis of his kingdom, the New Jerusalem, which is called "the mother of us all," and "the bride the Lamb's wife." Gal. iv, 26; Rev. xxi, 9, 10. This event which constitutes the marriage, takes place at the close of his priestly work in the most holy place; Dan. vii, 13, 14; hence when he went in there, it could be said of him that he had gone in to the marriage. When he goes in to the marriage, his saints are not personally with him; for they are not taken to Heaven till the time comes to participate in the marriage supper of the Lamb, which is, of course, subsequent to the marriage. Luke xii, 35–37; Rev. xix, 9. In the parable, it was when the bridegroom went in to the marriage that the door was shut. Christ changed his ministry from the holy to the most holy place, which was his going in to the marriage, at the close of the 2300 days, in the autumn of 1844. In what respect did this answer to the shutting of the door in the parable? In the typical sanctuary work of the former dispensation, when the high priest went into the most holy place on the day of atonement, the door of the holy place or first apartment was closed; and the door into the most holy of course opened. So in the sanctuary above. When the special work in the most holy commenced, in 1844, the general work in the outer apartment forever ceased. A change took place in the relation between God and the world. Before, the work of ministering for the world was general. It then became special. Before, a general idea of Christ's priesthood in Heaven, the knowledge that he was our great High Priest, though his work was not definitely understood, was sufficient to gain access to God through him. But now a knowledge of his work as brought to view in the third angel's message becomes necessary to all those who would receive the benefits of his mediation. For when, in the type, the high priest was in the most holy place, all Israel must know it, and must be gathered around the sanctuary, their minds being fixed upon his work, and they meanwhile afflicting their souls, that they might receive the benefits of the atonement, and not be cut off from the congregation of Israel. How much more necessary, in this great antitypical day of atonement, which is the living substance of which the former was but a shadow, that we understand the position and work of our great High Priest, and know the special duties required at our hand during this time. In the type, who were saved on the day of atonement? Those who in sympathy with their priest in his work of atonement were afflicting their souls. Who can find salvation now? Those who go to the Saviour where he is, and view him by faith in the most holy place, finishing his ministry before the ark of the testament in Heaven. We verily believe that he can now be found nowhere else; and that this is the only way now open for pardon and salvation. People may reject this truth of the Saviour's special work in Heaven as the light and proclamation goes forth upon it, and seek the Saviour as they have before sought him, with the vague and indefinite ideas of his position and ministry which they entertained while he was in the first apartment; but will it avail them? They cannot find him there. That door is shut. The work of the third message like all other truth is progressive. People cannot of course be tested by it, till they become acquainted with it, or have the opportunity to become so. Wherever therefore there are honest persons, who have not, on account of their rejection of truth, been given over to blindness of mind, and hardness of heart, should such die before hearing the truth, living up to the best light they have, we can of course see no barrier in the way of their salvation. But we believe that those who reject the truth place themselves in the position just described.
There must be some place for the application of such scriptures as Hos. v, 6. "They shall go with their flocks and with their herds, to seek the Lord, but they shall not find him; he hath withdrawn himself from them;" and that place is here. There must be some importance attached to the message of the second angel, announcing that Babylon is fallen. That portion of the religious world so designated there met with a moral fall; and what can this mean but that God withdrew himself and his Spirit in a measure from them, because they rejected his truth, and refused to follow in its advancing light. He no longer acknowledges them, as a body, for his people. And on what ground shall we account for the rapid declination of piety and morality which is to take place in the last days, evil men and seducers waxing worse and worse, except it be that the relation between God and the world has changed, and that his Spirit is being withdrawn from the earth?
Now what are the representations of the visions in relation to this time? Do they teach a more exclusive shut door than the Scripture facts and testimonies which we have presented? In their teachings we find such expressions as these: I saw that Jesus finished his mediation in the holy place in 1844.—He has gone into the most holy where the faith of Israel now reaches.—His Spirit and sympathy are now withdrawn from the world, and our sympathy should be with him.—The wicked could not be benefited by our prayers now.—The wicked world whom God had rejected.—It seemed that the whole world was taken in the snare; that there could not be one left [referring to Spiritualism]. The time for their salvation is past.
These few expressions are all, or at least are the very strongest, in relation to what is called the shut door, that are claimed to have been given through any vision, either published or unpublished. Let us now inquire into their import. Let it be remembered that the question is, Do they teach that probation ceased in 1844, and that consequently there could be no true conversions after that time.
1. Christ's mediation in the holy place of the heavenly sanctuary, ceased in 1844, and his mediation in the most holy commenced. This must be so, or our views of the sanctuary subject are all wrong; than which there is not a plainer doctrine in all the Bible. But probation does not cease with the cessation of Christ's work in the holy place; for Christ is an advocate in the most holy, as well as in the holy place; he pleads his blood in the second as well as in the first apartment of the sanctuary. Those who have fallen into the error of supposing there could be no salvation, except in the first apartment of the sanctuary, have kept themselves but poorly posted in regard to the teachings of the Review upon this subject. See Bro. Andrews' conclusive argument on this point in Review, Vol. vii, No. 9, portions of which have been several times republished. The general way of approach to God that existed before the way into the holiest was laid open, has indeed ceased; but pardon of sin may yet be found by those who will seek it upon the special conditions on which it is now based. This statement of the visions does not therefore prove the close of probation.
2. Christ is now in the most holy place, where he makes a special atonement for Israel, and where the faith of Israel now reaches. The objection based upon this statement, we suppose to be something like this: That as Christ in the most holy place only atones for Israel, and the faith of those only who constitute Israel, reaches there, his work can consequently have reference to none but those who were open Christians, at the time when he entered therein. The originators of this objection, to make it good, should show that no person could join himself to Israel, and become a true member of that body while the atonement is being made. This they not only have not done, but cannot do. While on the contrary, it is shown by the general principles laid down above, and especially by the article there referred to, that to assume such a relation is not impossible during that time. This effort to show that the visions teach the absolute close of probation, is thus shown to be futile.
3. The wicked world which God had rejected. It will be noticed that these expressions about the wicked are general. It is the wicked, the ungodly, the world, &c. They have reference to them as a whole, not as individuals. And they express simply the change of relation that took place between God and the world when the ministration of the sanctuary was changed from the holy to the most holy place. As already noticed, from being general, the work then became special. From the place where for 1800 years Christ had been found, he had now withdrawn. And when this change took place, was there any probability, that the great mass who had rejected light up to that point, would receive the advance truth, and seek God and the Saviour in this new relation? Not a particle. The light and truth moved on, and they were left behind. And if it is not to such circumstances as this, that 2 Thess. ii, 10–12 has its application, then to what cause does it, or can it ever apply? Yet it would be true of individual cases that they would seek the Lord and be saved. As an exact parallel of this, we have the case of Babylon mentioned in Rev. xiv, and xviii. It is said, especially in Rev. xviii, that Babylon is fallen. This refers to people; for it is a fall into sin and corruption. Whenever this is fulfilled, Babylon as a whole has fallen, has become corrupt, and is guilty of outcrying sins reaching up to Heaven. Yet this is not true of every individual in her connection. For when it is true of Babylon as a whole, that she is fallen, and sunk in sin, God's people are still within her communion; and another voice is heard from Heaven saying, "Come out of her my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." Verse 4.
When Babylon falls, God's Spirit and sympathy are of course withdrawn from them, as a whole; yet it lingers with his people who are in her midst, and they are called out. So when the general ministration for the whole world ceases, God's Spirit and sympathy are withdrawn from them; but yet a final message of mercy, the third angel, is sent forth to give mankind a last warning, and gather out the few who may not be given over to hardness of heart, and may be willing to comply with the terms of the truth.
We have another forcible illustration of this point, in the case of the Jewish people. There came a time, as every S. D. Adventist will admit, when the Jews as a nation were rejected of God. Christ became to them a stone of stumbling. They rejected the truth, and God left them. But was every member of that nation given over of God? No. The way was still open for individuals to come to the Saviour and find mercy. But the second house of Israel, the professed people of God of the present day, have stumbled at the second advent of Christ, as the first house, the Jews, did at the first advent, and have thus brought themselves into similar condemnation. And when the call is made, Come out of her my people, those who reject that message, though not now partakers of her sins, thereby become such, and receive of her plagues. So we look upon the world, the mass of them being hopeless rejecters of the truth, but yet a few honest hearts remaining, for whose benefit the proclamation of the truth goes forth. This is not a subject over which to cavil. It is a thought of the most fearful solemnity that the great decisive day is so near, the way of salvation so straight, and so few now remaining who can be made to see it.
4. The whole world taken in the snare. This is spoken in relation to Spiritualism, as will be seen by the connection in which the expression occurs, on pp. 5–10 of the Supplement to Experience and Views. That any one should bring this forward to show that the visions teach that the destiny of every individual is decided, is simply astonishing. In that view, the whole career of Spiritualism is taken in at a glance. Our minds are carried right forward to the time when Satan will have power to bring up before us the appearance of our dead friends; a period yet future. At what stage in the progress of that delusion the line of demarkation will be so distinctly drawn as is there set forth, the vision does not tell us. Then why does any one apply it to the present time? Because in no other way could it serve his purpose. But there is no call for such a conclusion. It is wholly gratuitous. A paragraph on page 7 shows most conclusively that it applies to the future. Speaking of the saints at the time when it seemed that there were none left who were not taken in the snare of Spiritualism, it says: "This little company looked care worn, as though they had passed through severe trials and conflicts. And it appeared as if the sun had just appeared from behind the cloud and shone upon their countenances, and caused them to look triumphant, as though their victories were nearly won." Nothing but the power of prejudice could lead a person to apply to the present, what so evidently has its application to the future. That Spiritualism is now furnishing the very position here assigned it, and drawing the whole world into its snare, is beginning to be evident; but no one dreamed of its ever assuming even its present proportions when that vision was given.
The progressive work, and the almost universal sway which Spiritualism is finally to bear, is set forth in Rev. xvi, 13, 14, where it is represented as coming forth from the mouths of the dragon, beast and false prophet, and going to the kings of the earth and the whole world. Before it can thus go forth, it must win its way to authority and power, a work which it is now fast accomplishing.
5. The time for their salvation is past. This expression occurs in the following paragraph, found on page 27 of Experience and Views: "I saw that the mysterious signs and wonders and false reformations would increase and spread. The reformations that were shown me, were not reformations from error to truth. My accompanying angel bade me look for the travail of soul for sinners as used to be. I looked, but could not see it; for the time for their salvation is past." Whose salvation? Mark well, the scene of the vision is one of the false revivals of these last days. There are two classes of persons involved therein; namely sinners, or non-professors, and the revivalists. Now which of these classes constitutes the leading subject of the view? If we can ascertain this, we can tell which class is referred to in the declaration, "The time for their salvation is past." The only reasonable construction that can be put upon the language, as well as the preceding testimony of the vision itself, shows as plainly as need be shown, that the false revivalists are the ones referred to, not sinners. See first paragraph of page 26: "I saw that Satan was working through agents in a number of ways. He was at work through ministers who have rejected the truth and are given over to strong delusions to believe a lie that they might be damned." These ministers are the ones referred to who are carrying on the false revivals brought to view. She was bade to look to see if there was on their part, the travail for souls as used to be. She could not see it. Why? Because they, the ministers, had rejected the19truth, and had been given over to believe a lie; the time for their salvation was past; and they could not feel that deep and genuine concern for souls that would be felt by those who stood in the counsel of God, and through whom he was working to bring sinners to himself. This plainly shows that the false revivalists and not sinners in general, are the subject of that declaration.
Again, it makes the language inconsistent to apply it to sinners. For if it means that there is no travail of soul for sinners in these revivals, because there was no salvation for sinners, it follows inevitably that if there had been salvation for sinners, there would have been travail of soul for them, on the part of those who were carrying on these false revivals. But these persons were ministers who were given over to strong delusions for rejecting the truth; and there would be no reason at all in supposing that such ones would have real travail of soul for sinners, however much hope of salvation those sinners might have. It cannot therefore refer to sinners in general, but only to a particular class of rejected professors. Thus a little honest inquiry frees the subject from all difficulty. This is further especially explained in the Supplement to Experience and Views, p. 4, where it is stated that the expression, "The time for their salvation is past," has reference to those who were carrying on the false revivals, who were given over to strong delusion, and who consequently did not have travail of soul for sinners as formerly. And besides all this, this whole subject was explained in Review, Vol. xix, No. 8.
Of all these things, those who have risen up in fierce array against the visions, were not, and are not, ignorant. Yet with a blindness that is unaccountable, or a degree of dishonesty that is unparishable, they make the unqualified assertion that the visions here teach that since 1844, there has been no salvation for sinners! They here teach no such thing, and those who assert it will be subjects of the pity or the censure of the unprejudiced reader, accordingly as their course is to be attributed to a lack of mental ability to understand the language, or a detestable disposition which would willfully pervert it.
That what this vision represents is true of a class of individuals, we have no doubt. We believe there are thousands upon thousands throughout the land, whose day of grace is closed, and for whom there remains only a fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation. Unless some such change as this did take place in 1844, our application of the second message of Rev. xiv, is entirely wrong. And that there was some sudden decline in the moral condition of the masses, would seem to be equally proved by the fact that in less than a score of years from that time, Spiritualism had made its millions of converts to a system composed of the silliest trash, and reeking with the most disgusting licentiousness that has ever disgraced our fallen humanity,—a system that openly and defiantly scouts the Bible and blasphemes God.
We have seen that what is said in the visions of the apostate and rejected state of the world, is expressed in general terms, referring to it as a whole, and not to individual cases. But during the same time that these expressions apply to the world, the visions do speak of individual cases; and in these instances they show conclusively that probation has not absolutely ceased. See, for instance, Experience and Views, p. 19: "Then I saw that Jesus would not leave the most holy place until every case was decided for salvation or destruction." Apply this to whatever class we will, it shows that the time during which Christ is in the most holy place, is a time of decision of character; and that consequently all characters were not decided when he entered therein. And should any one say that that referred only to those who were Christians at the time when he entered in to that apartment, then it would at once appear that the cases of such were not finally decided, or, in other words, that there was danger of their falling away. But so long as saints can fall away, sinners can be converted; for when probation ceases, and the cases of all are decided, and there can be no more conversions among sinners, then there can be no more apostates among saints. When it is said, Let him that is filthy, be filthy still, it is also said, Let him that is holy, be holy still. So far therefore, as individual cases are concerned, the visions do positively teach that there are some, how many we of course know not, whose probation has not yet ceased, but who are yet to be converted to God, or sealed to destruction. It is for us, therefore, to herald abroad to the fullest extent we are able, the final note of mercy and warning, praying God in his providence to guide the good seed of truth to the few honest hearts that remain, wherever they are, that the remnant may be brought out who will be prepared to meet the King of kings at his appearing and kingdom. But for the world, the wicked in general, we cannot pray. Our prayers could neither reach nor benefit them. Their hearts are hopelessly closed against the reception of the truth, by which alone people can be sanctified and saved. And though we should pray for them till the Saviour appeared, their adamantine casing of prejudice would not be broken, nor their ears open to the slightest word of truth, nor their hearts weaned from the gross idols of pleasure and sin upon which they are set.
Enough has been said upon the point before us—enough to show what the teachings of the visions really are—enough to vindicate them from the charges of their opponents.