Luke 13:25, commentary and pictures

The master of the house rises up and shuts the door, and those who were not ready cannot enter the feast because their opportunity for admission has ended. Though they begin to stand outside and knock and plead for entry, their knocking does not change the decision, for they are answered that he does not know them and are told to depart. This will happen in the great day of God to many who appeal as Lord, Lord, and hear that they are unknown and must depart.

The warning was spoken to the teachers in Israel, the scribes and Pharisees, after gradual spiritual blindness and persistent refusal of evidence and of the Holy Spirit, foretelling that the Master would shut the door and leave them outside knocking to no avail. Though God gave those teachers great light and they were regarded as the first and only pious people, they made the commandments of none effect. They failed to comprehend the true import of the Sabbath as a memorial of creation and rest and turned it into vigorous bondage, erected false standards of duty, and let the outward and ceremonial eclipse the spiritual requirements of God.

When shut out they will plead familiarity from having eaten and drunk in his presence and having been taught in their streets, but will be answered that he does not know where they are from and dismissed as workers of iniquity. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when they see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom and themselves thrust out, while others come from the east and west and north and south to sit down in the kingdom, so the last shall be first and the first last. The warning amazed those teachers and they answered by seeking to intimidate him away, closing their eyes and ears and loading upon themselves the cloud of vengeance that burst in the destruction of Jerusalem when their house was left desolate.

The shut door after the bridegroom comes and those ready go in with him to the marriage portrays the foolish virgins, professing Christians who are just like the wise in theory and appearance. They have lamps of profession but no oil because they did not obtain the grace of Christ and did not know genuine conversion. Though they plead familiarity from eating and drinking in his presence and hearing his teaching in their streets, the Master answers that he does not know where they are from and commands them to depart as workers of iniquity.

The rising and shutting of the door took place in the seventh month of 1844, followed by coming to the Ancient of Days to receive a kingdom and power to reign. That event is distinct from the later standing up of Michael to exercise that kingly power in the destruction of the wicked and the deliverance of his people. In 1844 it was understood from this verse and its context that a time would come shortly before the return of Christ when human probation had ended, when people would seek and knock and cry at the door of mercy but it would remain shut. This led to the thought that the expected date might mark the beginning of that time and to the conclusion that the door of mercy had shut.

The closing of the door represents probation ending, when every case is eternally decided and the opportunity to be saved and to enter the kingdom ends and those left outside will not be admitted. This crisis comes while people continue their ordinary pursuits, unaware that the time for choosing is nearly over. Profession of love for Jesus and religious claims and association do not secure acceptance when a life rejects the truth and disobeys the commandments of God. Those who offer lip service while leading others away from obedience are deceived and will be shut out, disowned as workers of iniquity whose lawlessness is the work of his adversary.

The warning applies to people who profess the truth yet persist in dishonest practices and are not purified from wrongdoing despite opportunities and help. Their conduct shows they have chosen the way leading to destruction and do not value the mercy of God. Those who give God only half-hearted service and conform their lives to worldly ways will find the door shut and hear that the Lord does not know them, with their fate decided and themselves excluded from the everlasting kingdom. At the last judgment the door of the kingdom will be shut and some who call for admission will be turned away. People who have had great light and opportunities but have lived without overcoming appetite and passion may be among them, while people once regarded as outcasts may accept the gospel and enter the kingdom before them.