Who will decide who shall be taken? God will not decide it; Satan cannot do it. We ourselves must decide our destiny, if we will be taken to heaven or be left to perish in the lake of fire. God the Father, and Jesus will accept our decision, and this decision will stand for eternity.
Jesus said, “Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.” Matthew 24:40–41
In the world we have two and a half billion Christians, and they all expect to be taken to heaven; but the Bible says that only a small remnant will be saved. There will be only 144,000 of those who believe in the Three Angel’s messages, who will be alive when Jesus comes that will be taken to heaven. The Great Multitude will be resurrected at Jesus’ coming.
“And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.” Revelation 7:2–4
All professing Christians believe in God, go to church, pray, but only a small number of them will be sealed and taken to heaven because they are misled to believe that they do not need to keep all the commandments, and they believe their religious teachers. In school, students have to pass exams, and if they get one point below the passing mark they fail and do not get the diploma. In the school of Christ, you must learn to keep all the commandments.
Jesus said, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5:48
This is the passing mark that we must reach in order to be taken to heaven, and only a small number of professed Christians reach this passing mark. Only the children of light will reach the passing mark. “Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.” 1 Thessalonians 5:5
There is a great difference between light and darkness. Light is from God and darkness is from Satan. “He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.” 1 John 2:9–11
The difference between saved and unsaved Christians is that one loves everybody, even his enemies, and the other can dislike some people. Even the disciples of Jesus had Satan’s spirit at times. “And they did not receive Him, because His face was as though He would go to Jerusalem. And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt Thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? But He turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.” Luke 9:53–56
Jesus said to the Pharisees who did not believe in Him. “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” John 8:44
Sister White wrote of the Pharisees who were planning to kill Jesus. “The same evil spirit that tempted Christ in the wilderness, and that possessed the maniac of Capernaum, controlled the unbelieving Jews. But with them he assumed an air of piety, seeking to deceive them as to their motives in rejecting the Saviour. Their condition was more hopeless than that of the demoniac, for they felt no need of Christ and were therefore held fast under the power of Satan.” –The Desire of Ages, p. 256
These unbelieving Pharisees were teachers of religion among the Jews, yet they were blinded by Satan. Yet everyone was not blinded by Satan, there were faithful members in the church. “Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch. Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them. And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith. And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.” Acts 6:3–8
The church had both faithful members who will be taken to heaven, and also unfaithful members blinded by Satan, like Ananias and Saphira, to whom Peter said, “Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?” Acts 5:3
When a person sins against the Holy Spirit, Satan’s spirit enters in, and he may not realize it. “It is not God that blinds the eyes of men or hardens their heart. He sends them light to correct their errors, and to lead them in safe paths; it is by the rejection of this light that the eyes are blinded and the heart hardened. Often the process is gradual, and almost imperceptible. Light comes to the soul through God’s word, through His servants, or by the direct agency of His Spirit; but when one ray of light is disregarded, there is a partial benumbing of the spiritual perceptions, and the second revealing of light is less clearly discerned. So the darkness increases, until it is night in the soul. Thus it had been with the Jewish leaders. They were convinced that a divine power attended Christ, but in order to resist the truth, they attributed the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan. In doing this they deliberately chose deception; they yielded themselves to Satan, and henceforth they were controlled by his power.
“Closely connected with Christ’s warning in regard to the sin against the Holy Spirit is a warning against idle and evil words. The words are an indication of that which is in the heart. ‘Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.’ But the words are more than an indication of character; they have power to react on the character. Men are influenced by their own words. Often under a momentary impulse, prompted by Satan, they give utterance to jealousy or evil surmising, expressing that which they do not really believe; but the expression reacts on the thoughts. They are deceived by their words, and come to believe that true which was spoken at Satan’s instigation. Having once expressed an opinion or decision, they are often too proud to retract it, and try to prove themselves in the right, until they come to believe that they are. It is dangerous to utter a word of doubt, dangerous to question and criticize divine light. The habit of careless and irreverent criticism reacts upon the character, in fostering irreverence and unbelief. Many a man indulging this habit has gone on unconscious of danger, until he was ready to criticize and reject the work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, ‘Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgement. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.’” –The Desire of Ages, p. 322–323
Millions of professed Christians live a lifestyle of sin, yet continue going to church, and are even fanatical about their faith. The Seventh-day Adventist church leaders decided allow their members to join the army and fight in the war, knowing very well the words of Jesus are to “love your enemies. . . and do good to them that hate you.” Matthew 5:44
There are two different kinds of Christians, one is being sanctified, he is more holy every day, and every day he has a greater desire to do missionary work; from every
pay cheque he gives a little more to the church, he prays more than before, he is more patient than before, he is going in the right direction, led by the Holy Spirit.
Another Christian is losing ground and he is backsliding. He is not in every meeting anymore, he sees no value in them, he hardly does missionary work any more, his offerings are less than before, and he is easily irritated and offended. He may be weak and need encouragement to return. Some will return, while others remain defiant in their backsliding.
Two Christians may look alike from the outside, but one is spiritually blind, the other has spiritual eyesight. The Jews were blind, they saw nothing good in Jesus, and therefore they crucified Him, and they hated His disciples and persecuted them. Today there are millions of blind Christians. Many have heard the truth about Sabbath, and reject it. They choose to follow manmade teachings in fallen churches instead.
Two Christians seem alike from the outside. Both of them are righteous. One of them has Christ’s righteousness, and the other has self-righteousness. Both of them look humble—one is proud of his humility, the other is humble even in his own heart. Self-righteous Christians look good, and faithful, but in reality they are filled with Satan’s spirit, and are further from heaven than unbelievers, open sinners. Jesus said that “publicans and harlots go the kingdom of God before you” (Matthew 21:31–32).
Two Christians look similar, but are different; one of them has the fruits of the Spirit. He loves even his enemies, he has fulness of joy, nothing can make him unhappy. He has perfect peace—peace that passes understanding, he has long-suffering, goodness, faith, and gentleness.
Peter writes about a true Christian: “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption of the world through lust. And beside this, given all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.” 2 Peter 1:4–9
Two Christians look alike, but one of them continues in a lifestyle of sin, while the other is striving to overcome sin. “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” 1 John 3:8–9
Two men stood side by side, Jesus and Barrabas; both of them claimed to be the Messiah. Barrabas had excited sedition against the Roman government. He was exactly what the Jews wanted, therefore they all cried, “Give us Barrabas, and crucify Christ.”
Today, the same thing is happening among the Christians; they claim that they obey Christ, but in reality they obey Satan. “Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name cast out devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.” Matthew 7:21–23
Two Christians look alike, one is thankful and satisfied, appreciating the blessings that God has given him. The other is complaining and unhappy. We need to be thankful even if we have only little material things. Whatever we have is more than what we deserve.
God is purifying His church by shaking. There will not remain anyone who is almost saved, almost perfect, almost holy; no, every member who remains in the church after the shaking will be taken to heaven. No one will be left in the church that has Satan’s spirit. Then the church will receive the Latter Rain.
There is a true religion, full of power, full of love, joy, and peace. God will give to His church “the unsearchable riches of Christ.” Ephesians 3:8. It is the hidden treasure that God has promised to give us; we will be full of happiness, and clothed with Christ’s righteousness. Let us make sure that we will be taken to heaven and not left to perish in the lake of fire. Amen.
Timo Martin