The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.
The harvest past and the summer ended mean the season given for repentance, conviction and conversion has closed, leaving the soul unconverted, unprepared and unforgiven. We are not saved is the bitter wail of horror and regret forced from those who realize too late that they missed salvation. That cry is uttered at the final judgment when the last call has been made, probation has closed, and destiny is fixed with no second trial. Many are lost because they disobeyed God's law and honored a false sabbath, lived for the world and pleasure with character untransformed, rested in mere outward religion without abiding in Christ, and resisted His pleadings until mercy ended. Therefore the time is very short and all must now awaken, turn to God, confess sins, set the heart in order, and work urgently to lead sinners to true repentance before it is forever too late.
Harvest and Summer Imagery
The passing of harvest and the ending of summer portray a limited season of mercy for deliverance that can run out and close. That season is the time given to turn toward God, to heed conviction, to truly repent and to be converted, and once it is past no further opportunity to be saved remains. Mercy is offered during that time, but those who reject it, delay responding to it, neglect the soul, resist calls to repentance and refuse to humble themselves will at last see their sin and the impossibility of reform when reform is no longer possible. The warning presses with special force as fulfilling signs show the end is near, lest any discover too late that the time for salvation has gone while they remain unsaved.
To be unsaved in that hour means to be left unconverted, unprepared and lost after the time to set the heart in order is gone. Sins remain unconfessed and unforgiven because the soul did not seek its salvation while it could, and instead of expected peace there comes trouble. Many in the churches will face this outcome because they know little of present truth and disregard the plain signs that the end is at hand. Escape now requires daily evidence of repentance and conversion, correcting the ways in the fear of God, taking up neglected duties, and cherishing a meek and lowly spirit.
The words become a bitter, agonized wail forced from those who discover with horror that salvation is missed and forever too late. It is a cry of anguish and fearful regret over neglected salvation, over indifference to the soul, and over absorption in money, worldly concerns and light views of eternal things while decisive moments slipped away. It will be uttered on the very borders of the eternal world, amid marked depravity, when predicted signs plainly declare the end of all things is at hand. For that reason the warning calls to awaken from spiritual indifference, to arouse the sleepy, and to proclaim near and far that the end is at hand so none remain unsaved.
Judgment and Final Realization
The cry belongs to the day of judgment, when the harvest and summer of opportunity have ended, the last call has been made, and precious hours of probation have passed by unimproved and closed. Then the destiny of all is proclaimed fixed, the filthy remaining filthy and the holy remaining holy, with many found wanting and no second trial to recover what was lost. At that time the lost come to a full realization of what they forfeited by refusing to be loyal to God. They think of the high, pure fellowship and association with God it was their privilege to gain, and of the sacrifice made on Calvary, where probation was granted to human beings at immense cost by God giving His only Son.
It is uttered in the great day of the Lord, when Christ is seen coming with clouds and every unsaved eye beholds Him in trembling agony, while the earth reels and the heavens shake. Those who would not let Jesus take away their sins rush from place to place seeking a hiding place that does not exist, calling in vain on mountains and rocks and dumb nature to cover them from the face of God and the wrath of the Lamb. Their probation is past because they refused warning, counsel and reformation, justified their own course, and rejected the Rock of shelter and Cleft of the Rock and the Lamb as grace and righteousness, so His unrequited love is now turned to wrath and His arm strong to save is strong to execute judgment.
It is spoken on the very borders of the eternal world, when the fulfilling of predicted signs plainly shows the end of all things is at hand amid marked depravity. Many, many in the churches will soon make this bitter lamentation, because they know little of the real meaning of present truth and disregard those fulfilling signs. They are those who let the time for salvation pass without turning to God, seeking and caring for their souls while they could, and who chose indifference and neglect until they are left unsaved.
Reasons People Are Lost
Some will make this lament because they rejected God's word and disobeyed His law, especially by honoring a false sabbath in place of God's Sabbath, and none who dishonor the sacred law will be saved when harvest is past and summer is ended. Their trouble comes instead of the peace they expected, for the time for deliverance has passed and they remain unsaved. When destiny is fixed, with the filthy remaining filthy and the holy remaining holy, even the most careless come to their senses and discern too late that the truly wise were those who loved God and kept His commandments. That late recognition is the grief of letting probation pass without preparing for eternal life and for the heavenly home.
Others utter it because they stayed united to the bitter end to theories of satanic origin, confusion of faith, falsehood and scientific sophistry, resisting truth though it was pressed upon them. Like the Sadducees and Pharisees who were filled with gall and bitterness and unchanged by all Christ's miracles, many minds are held in error, and it is useless to press truth upon those who trample it. Such belief can never save the soul from death, purify and ennoble character, prepare anyone for heaven, for only a good tree bears good fruit.
Some chose the world and lived for their own pleasure instead of making every sacrifice for truth, for Christ, and for heaven. They became absorbed in money and worldly concerns while eternal things rested lightly, with cheap frivolous things and hours spent in pleasure occupying the mind, misspending privileges and neglecting opportunities. The door of the heart stayed shut to the heavenly Guest, character was not transformed, love for truth was not cherished until it became a dead letter, and testimonies had no influence. They failed to prove true and faithful with the Lord's goods entrusted to test right use, and those who choose the world will perish with the world with no second trial, losing an eternity of bliss and everlasting riches while a cloud of heavenly witnesses watches the conflict. At that time all earthly honor is perishable and all earthly treasure valueless in passing from this life, and nothing endures but heavenly treasure, with God's favor more valuable than choice gold.
Mere church membership or an outwardly Christian life cannot save, nor will self-reliance and religious works qualify anyone for heaven at the final judgment. To escape this end a person must build character day by day according to Christ's directions, abide in Him in constant faith, exercise faith in Him, and grow to full stature as wholesome, cheerful, grateful Christians led into clearer light. Those without this inward experience will mourn that they trifled with salvation, did not flee to Christ and to the Stronghold for refuge, and insulted the Spirit of grace, while Christ as defender belongs only to those who made Him refuge.
It is the cry from unfeigned lips of those not true and faithful in God's work, who cannot discern its sacredness, whose will is not on God's side, who do not love truth and are not sanctified by it. It belongs to the sensual, the proud, the careless in heart and those opposed to truth after separation, when darkness closes about them and they lament that opportunity is past and the soul unsaved. By this they prove they gather themselves in bundles with the tares to be consumed by last-day fires.
It describes those who repeatedly rejected Christ's pleadings, trifled with salvation, resisted the Spirit of grace, ignored prayers, warnings, counsel and reproofs, refused to humble themselves, justified their own course and rejected the Rock of shelter and the Lamb as grace and righteousness. Unless such a one repents and forsakes wrong ways while opportunity remains, he will reach its end unsaved. After resisting calls to repentance they at last see their sin and the impossibility of reform when mercy has ended and the time for peace is gone.
The finished harvest and summer also mark Satan's purpose to keep controversy going in his own way and plan until the season closes and leaders who served him are lost together with those they deceived. God's people are called to take heed and come out of that deceptive controversy, for Satan is watchful to bind men and women to his plans and fasten bondage on them unawares.
Some are lost by waiting too long to begin overcoming, postponing obedience and work with Christ until too late. Others wait for a time with no temptations before they obey, which is to wait too long and be left lost. Provision is made to endure now, for Satan meets every worker with his army while Christ the Captain of salvation arms His people with sufficiency, power and grace to walk through fiery trials prepared for every soul.
Urgent Call to Respond
The harvest past and summer ended warn that the season of mercy and opportunity for salvation can close, leaving the soul unsaved, and that time is very short so the day of salvation will not remain open forever. The warning is to awaken from spiritual indifference and sleep, to turn to God and turn back from the wrong course, to respond to Christ and to mercy while it is still offered, and to prepare for His soon return before probation closes and it is forever too late. Complaints, faultfinding, and cherished sin hinder that work of salvation, so the present time of preparation must not be spent unconverted until decisive moments are gone and bitter regret remains.
To escape that end the heart must now be set in order, with sins confessed and unforgiven sins put away, ways corrected in the fear of God, neglected duties taken up, and daily evidence given of repentance and conversion. A meek and lowly spirit and a love for truth must be cherished while God is longsuffering and plenteous in mercy, because destiny for weal or for woe is being decided day by day and hour by hour and the case will soon be decided forever. Light that awakens the conscience must not be trifled with by refusing to arise and co-operate as a witness, by letting cheap and frivolous things and hours spent in pleasure occupy the mind, by keeping the door of the heart shut to the heavenly Guest, by leaving character untransformed, by forgetting the claims of truth until it becomes a dead letter, and by allowing testimonies from the Spirit of God to have no influence.
The same warning presses urgent work to reach sinners now, so that the season for conviction and true repentance does not end with them still lost. Sleepy ones must be aroused and those nigh and afar off must be told that the end of all things is at hand, lest carelessness and indifference about the salvation of the soul end in fearful lamentation on the very borders of the eternal world.
Teachers and pupils especially must awake now and improve gifts and talents for the good of pupils rather than misapplying powers of mind and soul and losing opportunities in mere form and routine day after day with nothing gained. They must watch for favorable moments to speak kindness and love, tell of Christ who gave His life to redeem lost and perishing sinners, train youth and mould character for immortal life, pray and plead with God, and lead scholars to faith in Jesus and love for Him, so that lost opportunity does not end in anguish and the terrible wail of being unsaved when it is too late.
The harvest past and the summer ended mean the season given for repentance, conviction and conversion has closed, leaving the soul unconverted, unprepared and unforgiven. We are not saved is the bitter wail of horror and regret forced from those who realize too late that they missed salvation. That cry is uttered at the final judgment when the last call has been made, probation has closed, and destiny is fixed with no second trial. Many are lost because they disobeyed God's law and honored a false sabbath, lived for the world and pleasure with character untransformed, rested in mere outward religion without abiding in Christ, and resisted His pleadings until mercy ended. Therefore the time is very short and all must now awaken, turn to God, confess sins, set the heart in order, and work urgently to lead sinners to true repentance before it is forever too late.
Harvest and Summer Imagery
The passing of harvest and the ending of summer portray a limited season of mercy for deliverance that can run out and close. That season is the time given to turn toward God, to heed conviction, to truly repent and to be converted, and once it is past no further opportunity to be saved remains. Mercy is offered during that time, but those who reject it, delay responding to it, neglect the soul, resist calls to repentance and refuse to humble themselves will at last see their sin and the impossibility of reform when reform is no longer possible. The warning presses with special force as fulfilling signs show the end is near, lest any discover too late that the time for salvation has gone while they remain unsaved.
To be unsaved in that hour means to be left unconverted, unprepared and lost after the time to set the heart in order is gone. Sins remain unconfessed and unforgiven because the soul did not seek its salvation while it could, and instead of expected peace there comes trouble. Many in the churches will face this outcome because they know little of present truth and disregard the plain signs that the end is at hand. Escape now requires daily evidence of repentance and conversion, correcting the ways in the fear of God, taking up neglected duties, and cherishing a meek and lowly spirit.
The words become a bitter, agonized wail forced from those who discover with horror that salvation is missed and forever too late. It is a cry of anguish and fearful regret over neglected salvation, over indifference to the soul, and over absorption in money, worldly concerns and light views of eternal things while decisive moments slipped away. It will be uttered on the very borders of the eternal world, amid marked depravity, when predicted signs plainly declare the end of all things is at hand. For that reason the warning calls to awaken from spiritual indifference, to arouse the sleepy, and to proclaim near and far that the end is at hand so none remain unsaved.
Judgment and Final Realization
The cry belongs to the day of judgment, when the harvest and summer of opportunity have ended, the last call has been made, and precious hours of probation have passed by unimproved and closed. Then the destiny of all is proclaimed fixed, the filthy remaining filthy and the holy remaining holy, with many found wanting and no second trial to recover what was lost. At that time the lost come to a full realization of what they forfeited by refusing to be loyal to God. They think of the high, pure fellowship and association with God it was their privilege to gain, and of the sacrifice made on Calvary, where probation was granted to human beings at immense cost by God giving His only Son.
It is uttered in the great day of the Lord, when Christ is seen coming with clouds and every unsaved eye beholds Him in trembling agony, while the earth reels and the heavens shake. Those who would not let Jesus take away their sins rush from place to place seeking a hiding place that does not exist, calling in vain on mountains and rocks and dumb nature to cover them from the face of God and the wrath of the Lamb. Their probation is past because they refused warning, counsel and reformation, justified their own course, and rejected the Rock of shelter and Cleft of the Rock and the Lamb as grace and righteousness, so His unrequited love is now turned to wrath and His arm strong to save is strong to execute judgment.
It is spoken on the very borders of the eternal world, when the fulfilling of predicted signs plainly shows the end of all things is at hand amid marked depravity. Many, many in the churches will soon make this bitter lamentation, because they know little of the real meaning of present truth and disregard those fulfilling signs. They are those who let the time for salvation pass without turning to God, seeking and caring for their souls while they could, and who chose indifference and neglect until they are left unsaved.
Reasons People Are Lost
Some will make this lament because they rejected God's word and disobeyed His law, especially by honoring a false sabbath in place of God's Sabbath, and none who dishonor the sacred law will be saved when harvest is past and summer is ended. Their trouble comes instead of the peace they expected, for the time for deliverance has passed and they remain unsaved. When destiny is fixed, with the filthy remaining filthy and the holy remaining holy, even the most careless come to their senses and discern too late that the truly wise were those who loved God and kept His commandments. That late recognition is the grief of letting probation pass without preparing for eternal life and for the heavenly home.
Others utter it because they stayed united to the bitter end to theories of satanic origin, confusion of faith, falsehood and scientific sophistry, resisting truth though it was pressed upon them. Like the Sadducees and Pharisees who were filled with gall and bitterness and unchanged by all Christ's miracles, many minds are held in error, and it is useless to press truth upon those who trample it. Such belief can never save the soul from death, purify and ennoble character, prepare anyone for heaven, for only a good tree bears good fruit.
Some chose the world and lived for their own pleasure instead of making every sacrifice for truth, for Christ, and for heaven. They became absorbed in money and worldly concerns while eternal things rested lightly, with cheap frivolous things and hours spent in pleasure occupying the mind, misspending privileges and neglecting opportunities. The door of the heart stayed shut to the heavenly Guest, character was not transformed, love for truth was not cherished until it became a dead letter, and testimonies had no influence. They failed to prove true and faithful with the Lord's goods entrusted to test right use, and those who choose the world will perish with the world with no second trial, losing an eternity of bliss and everlasting riches while a cloud of heavenly witnesses watches the conflict. At that time all earthly honor is perishable and all earthly treasure valueless in passing from this life, and nothing endures but heavenly treasure, with God's favor more valuable than choice gold.
Mere church membership or an outwardly Christian life cannot save, nor will self-reliance and religious works qualify anyone for heaven at the final judgment. To escape this end a person must build character day by day according to Christ's directions, abide in Him in constant faith, exercise faith in Him, and grow to full stature as wholesome, cheerful, grateful Christians led into clearer light. Those without this inward experience will mourn that they trifled with salvation, did not flee to Christ and to the Stronghold for refuge, and insulted the Spirit of grace, while Christ as defender belongs only to those who made Him refuge.
It is the cry from unfeigned lips of those not true and faithful in God's work, who cannot discern its sacredness, whose will is not on God's side, who do not love truth and are not sanctified by it. It belongs to the sensual, the proud, the careless in heart and those opposed to truth after separation, when darkness closes about them and they lament that opportunity is past and the soul unsaved. By this they prove they gather themselves in bundles with the tares to be consumed by last-day fires.
It describes those who repeatedly rejected Christ's pleadings, trifled with salvation, resisted the Spirit of grace, ignored prayers, warnings, counsel and reproofs, refused to humble themselves, justified their own course and rejected the Rock of shelter and the Lamb as grace and righteousness. Unless such a one repents and forsakes wrong ways while opportunity remains, he will reach its end unsaved. After resisting calls to repentance they at last see their sin and the impossibility of reform when mercy has ended and the time for peace is gone.
The finished harvest and summer also mark Satan's purpose to keep controversy going in his own way and plan until the season closes and leaders who served him are lost together with those they deceived. God's people are called to take heed and come out of that deceptive controversy, for Satan is watchful to bind men and women to his plans and fasten bondage on them unawares.
Some are lost by waiting too long to begin overcoming, postponing obedience and work with Christ until too late. Others wait for a time with no temptations before they obey, which is to wait too long and be left lost. Provision is made to endure now, for Satan meets every worker with his army while Christ the Captain of salvation arms His people with sufficiency, power and grace to walk through fiery trials prepared for every soul.
Urgent Call to Respond
The harvest past and summer ended warn that the season of mercy and opportunity for salvation can close, leaving the soul unsaved, and that time is very short so the day of salvation will not remain open forever. The warning is to awaken from spiritual indifference and sleep, to turn to God and turn back from the wrong course, to respond to Christ and to mercy while it is still offered, and to prepare for His soon return before probation closes and it is forever too late. Complaints, faultfinding, and cherished sin hinder that work of salvation, so the present time of preparation must not be spent unconverted until decisive moments are gone and bitter regret remains.
To escape that end the heart must now be set in order, with sins confessed and unforgiven sins put away, ways corrected in the fear of God, neglected duties taken up, and daily evidence given of repentance and conversion. A meek and lowly spirit and a love for truth must be cherished while God is longsuffering and plenteous in mercy, because destiny for weal or for woe is being decided day by day and hour by hour and the case will soon be decided forever. Light that awakens the conscience must not be trifled with by refusing to arise and co-operate as a witness, by letting cheap and frivolous things and hours spent in pleasure occupy the mind, by keeping the door of the heart shut to the heavenly Guest, by leaving character untransformed, by forgetting the claims of truth until it becomes a dead letter, and by allowing testimonies from the Spirit of God to have no influence.
The same warning presses urgent work to reach sinners now, so that the season for conviction and true repentance does not end with them still lost. Sleepy ones must be aroused and those nigh and afar off must be told that the end of all things is at hand, lest carelessness and indifference about the salvation of the soul end in fearful lamentation on the very borders of the eternal world.
Teachers and pupils especially must awake now and improve gifts and talents for the good of pupils rather than misapplying powers of mind and soul and losing opportunities in mere form and routine day after day with nothing gained. They must watch for favorable moments to speak kindness and love, tell of Christ who gave His life to redeem lost and perishing sinners, train youth and mould character for immortal life, pray and plead with God, and lead scholars to faith in Jesus and love for Him, so that lost opportunity does not end in anguish and the terrible wail of being unsaved when it is too late.