LAST GENERATION THEOLOGY:

ANTI-GOSPEL HERESY OR BIBLE TRUTH?

WHEN PROBATION CLOSES

Aside from Jesus’ second coming and the final destruction of the wicked at the end of the
millennium, no event in the history of the great controversy will be as decisive and momentous
as the final close of human probation.

The idea that probation will come to an end for the human family prior to Jesus’ second
coming, is part of the unique contribution of Seventh-day Adventism to Christian theology. I am
not myself aware of any other religious body in the Christian world which holds to such a
concept—unless someone can correct me.

The uniqueness of this idea makes sense in light of the fact that in Seventh-day Adventist
theology, the close of probation is part of the doctrine of the sanctuary and the pre-Advent
investigative judgment, which is for many reasons is unique to the Seventh-day Adventist
doctrinal witness.

The two clearest Biblical references to the close of human probation are found in the
book of Revelation. The first of these is in chapter 8:

Rev. 8:3-5:
“And another angel came, and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was
given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the
golden altar which was before the throne.
“And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up
before God out of the angel’s hand.
“And the angel took the censer, and filled it with the fire of the altar, and cast it into the
earth, and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.”

We see this language elsewhere in Revelation with reference to end-time events: in

It is at this time, when the heavenly censer is thrown down, that our Lord makes the
pronouncement found in another chapter of Revelation:

Rev. 22:11:
“He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still; and
he that is righteous, let him be righteous still, and he that is holy, let him be holy still.”
 Ellen White describes this event very graphically in The Great Controversy:

GC 613-614:
“When the third angel’s message closes, mercy no longer pleads for the guilty inhabitants
of the earth. The people of God have accomplished their work. They have received ‘the latter
rain,’ ‘the refreshing from the presence of the Lord,’ and they are prepared for the trying hour
before them. Angels are hastening to and fro in heaven. 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,’ and all the angelic host lay off their crowns as He makes the solemn
announcement: ‘He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy
still; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still.’
Revelation 22:11. Every case has been decided for life or death. Christ has made the atonement
for His people, and blotted out their sins. The number of His subjects is made up, ‘the kingdom
and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven,’ is about to be given
unto the heirs of salvation, and Jesus is to reign as King of kings and Lord of lords.
“When He leaves the sanctuary, darkness covers the inhabitants of the earth. In that
fearful time the righteous must live in the sight of a holy God without an intercessor. The
restraint which has been upon the wicked is removed, and Satan has entire control of the finally
impenitent.”

Now it helps for us to keep in mind that what God does at the end of time in closing the
probation of humanity, follows a pattern that sacred history has demonstrated throughout the
ages. Ellen White explains this pattern in the following statement:

1SM 63:
“There was a shut door in Noah’s day. There was at that time a withdrawal of the Spirit
of God from the sinful race that perished in the waters of the Flood. . . .
“There was a shut door in the days of Abraham. Mercy ceased to plead with the
inhabitants of Sodom . . .
“There was a shut door in Christ’s day. The Son of God declared to the unbelieving Jews
of that generation, ‘Your house is left unto you desolate’ (Matt. 23:38). . . .
“I was shown in vision, and I still believe, that there was a shut door in 1844. All who
saw the light of the first and second angels’ messages and rejected that light, were left in
darkness. And those who accepted it and received the Holy Spirit which attended the
proclamation of the message from heaven, and who afterward renounced their faith and
pronounced their experience a delusion, thereby rejected the Spirit of God, and it no longer
pleaded with them.”

Now there are those who at times have looked at the final close of probation—and by
implication, other such moments in the Sacred Record, as arbitrary deadlines. One individual,
with whom I had an online discussion recently, spoke of her past experience with Last
Generation Theology, and how she was always afraid that she wouldn’t be ready in time for the
close of probation.
 I tried to explain to her that the very principle of the delayed Advent, which is central to
the spiritual imperative behind Last Generation Theology, runs entirely counter to the notion of
some arbitrary deadline. The reason Jesus’ coming has been delayed is because many have not
heard the proclamation of the three angels’ messages, and thus God holds back the winds of
strife so that His servants can be sealed. The book of Revelation tells us:

Rev. 7:1-3:
“And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth,
holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea,
nor on any tree.
“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.”

In other words, the final events are being held up so God’s people can get ready for the
final sealing. No one who is genuinely striving through heaven’s power for victory over sin is
going to have the door of mercy arbitrarily closed against them. The Bible is very clear on this
point, as is Ellen White:

II Peter 3:9:
“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is
longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to
repentance.”

OHC 23:
“The angels never leave the tempted one a prey to the enemy who would destroy the
souls of men if permitted to do so. As long as there is hope, until they resist the Holy Spirit to
their eternal ruin, men are guarded by heavenly intelligences.”

At the bottom line, the concept of a close of probation illustrates God’s reverence for free
will. This is because, beyond a certain point in the controversy with evil, events become so
decisive as to become coercive. Why, for example, did God close the door of the ark seven days
before the Flood began? Why didn’t He leave the door open until just after the rain started?

I think we know what would have happened. Crowds would have stampeded toward the
ark, and more than likely, folks would have been hanging from the rafters! But why? Because
they were sorry for their sins? Or because they just wanted to stay dry?

I’ve always been fascinated by the story of Noah and the Flood. And many times I’ve
wondered just how much pain there must have been among those eight survivors inside that boat.
Think about how many of their family and friends were outside that door, pleading for Noah to
let them in after the Flood started. You wonder how many times Noah had to go to that door and
tell the people pounding and yelling, “Folks, I would love to open this door and let you in. But I
didn’t shut this door, and I can’t open it.”
 Tragically, this is the kind of answer God’s people will be forced to give to many of the
wicked following the close of probation at the end of time. The following Ellen White statement
is truly chilling:

EW 281:
“The plagues were falling upon the inhabitants of the earth. Some were denouncing God
and cursing Him. Others rushed to the people of God and begged to be taught how they might
escape His judgments. But the saints had nothing for them. . . . The plan of salvation had been
accomplished, but few had chosen to accept it. And as mercy’s sweet voice died away, fear and
horror seized the wicked. With terrible distinctness they heard the words, ‘Too late! too late!’”

Now we’re going to look at what it means for God’s last generation of Christians to stand
without a Mediator in the heavenly sanctuary. First of all, Ellen White is very clear that this will
be the experience of the righteous who endure the great time of trouble following probation’s
close.

We saw this statement earlier:

GC 614:
“When He (Christ) leaves the sanctuary, darkness covers the inhabitants of the earth. In
that fearful time the righteous must live in the sight of a holy God without an intercessor.”

And then we have this one, even stronger:

GC 425:
“Those who are living upon the earth when the intercession of Christ shall cease in the
sanctuary above, are to stand in the sight of a holy God without a mediator. Their robes must be
spotless, their characters must be purified from sin by the blood of sprinkling. Through the grace
of God and their own diligent effort they must be conquerors in the battle with evil. While the
investigative judgment is going forward in heaven, while the sins of penitent believers are being
removed from the sanctuary, there is to be a special work of purification, of putting away of sin,
among God’s people upon the earth. . . .
“When this work shall have been accomplished, the followers of Christ will be ready for
His appearing.”

Now it’s clear from these statements that not only the wicked will stand without a
Mediator. The righteous will also. But what does this mean? Some have gotten very confused
as to why a Mediator is needed.

Why is a mediator summoned at times in disputes between business and labor? The
answer is simple: To resolve differences. When Chrysler and the United Auto Workers get
alone fine, no mediator is called for. Between God and humanity, differences are called sins.
No sin, no Mediator, in other words.
 But most assuredly, this doesn’t mean that those standing without a Mediator will stand
on their own power. I really wish I didn’t have to say this, but the misrepresentation of Last
Generation Theology that has lately been promoted, needs to be pointed out.

Listen to this statement, made in one of the books recently published against Last
Generation Theology by a prominent scholar in the church:

Last Generation Theology, in his words, “is a self-centered, human-centered attempt to

Not surprisingly, this author didn’t quote a single spokesperson for Last Generation
Theology, at any time in our history, who teaches any such thing. No one with whom I am
familiar, at any time in the history of our church, has ever taught that the saints following
probation’s close will “do it all themselves.”

It is true that after probation’s close, the Holy Spirit is withdrawn from the wicked. Ellen
White says:

GC 614:
“The wicked have passed the boundary of their probation; the Spirit of God, persistently
resisted, has been at last withdrawn.”

But in the same chapter in The Great Controversy, we have this promise concerning the
righteous who are standing without a Mediator:

GC 619:
“Though God’s people will be surrounded by enemies who are bent upon their
destruction, yet the anguish which they suffer is not a dread of persecution for the truth’s sake;
they fear that every sin has not been repented of, and that through some fault in themselves they
will fail to realize the fulfillment of the Saviour’s promise: I ‘will keep thee from the hour of
temptation, which shall come upon all the world.’ Revelation 3:10.”

So the power of the Lord is still available to keep His people from the hour of temptation.
Praise God for that! The only thing the saints who stand without a Mediator will stand without,
is the continuous availability of forgiveness. Remember what we said earlier:

Mediators resolve differences.

But this doesn’t mean God’s power isn’t still needed to keep the saints from falling!
Remember another Ellen White statement we quoted in another message in this series:

CT 20:
 “Appetite and passion must be brought under the control of the Holy Spirit. There is no
end to the warfare this side of eternity.”

So as long as we have our fallen natures, we’re going to need God’s power to keep from
falling.

Now some folks think that if Jesus is no longer mediating, and you’re relying on the Holy
Spirit for power, that you’re no longer relying on Jesus. That’s absurd, folks. Ellen White is
clear that the entire Godhead is involved with our sanctification:

7BC 908:
“Our sanctification is the work of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”

But when Christ’s mediation ceases, there is no more forgiveness available for additional
sin on the part of God’s people. Their past sins are forgiven and covered. But no additional
covering is available. Our Lord’s sanctifying righteousness has made the saints totally free from
sin. The Bible is very clear on this point. Listen to the apostles Paul, Peter, and John:

I Tim. 6:13-14:
“I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ
Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession:
“That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of
our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Notice that we have to be without spot until His appearing. We don’t get that way when
He comes.

II Peter 3:11-12,14:
“Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to
be in all holy conversation and godliness,
“Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being
on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? . . .
“Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be
found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless.”

I John 3:2-3:
“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but
we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
“And every man that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure.”

Notice how this purifying is done while we still have the hope of His coming. It doesn’t
happen when we see Him in the clouds! Those who wait to be purified of their sins when Jesus
comes will be like those who waited to get on board Noah’s ark till after the rain started!

Ellen White echoes the clarity of Scripture regarding the purity of character required
before probation ceases:
 EW 71:
“I also saw that many do not realize what they must be in order to live in the sight of the
Lord without a high priest in the sanctuary through the time of trouble. Those who receive the
seal of the living God and are protected in the time of trouble must reflect the image of Jesus
fully. . . . I saw that none could share the ‘refreshing’ (latter rain) unless they obtain the victory
over every besetment, over pride, selfishness, love of the world, and over every wrong word and
action.”

1T 187:
“Those who come up to every point and stand every test, and overcome, be the price what
it may, have heeded the counsel of the True Witness, and they will receive the latter rain, and
thus be fitted for translation.”

5T 214:
“Not one of us will ever receive the seal of God while our characters have one spot or
stain upon them. It is left with us to remedy the defects in our characters, to cleanse the soul
temple of every defilement. Then the latter rain will fall upon us, as the early rain fell upon the
disciples upon the day of Pentecost.”

5T 216:
“What are you doing, brethren, in the great work of preparation? Those who are uniting
with the world, are receiving the worldly mold, and preparing for the mark of the beast. Those
who are distrustful of self, who are humbling themselves before God and purifying their souls by
obeying the truth—these are receiving the heavenly mold, and preparing for the seal of God in
their foreheads. When the decree goes forth, and the stamp is impressed, their characters will
remain pure and spotless for eternity.
“Now is the time to prepare. The seal of God will never be placed upon the forehead of
an impure man or woman. It will never be placed upon the forehead of the ambitious, world-
loving man or woman. It will never be placed upon the forehead of men or women of false
tongues or deceitful hearts. All who receive the seal must be without spot before God—
candidates for heaven.”

3T 472:
“’As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.’ God
will have a people zealous of good works, standing firm amid the pollutions of this degenerate
age. There will be a people who will hold so fast to the divine strength that they will be proof
against every temptation.”

3SM 427:
“When our earthly labors are ended, and Christ shall come for His faithful children, we
shall then shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of our Father. But before that time shall come,
everything that is imperfect in us will have been seen and put away. All envy and jealousy and
evil surmising and every selfish plan will have been banished from the life.”

6BC 1055:
 “May the Lord help His people to cleanse the soul temple from every defilement, and to
maintain such a close connection with Him that they may be partakers of the latter rain when it
shall be poured out.”

6BC 1118:
“Are we seeking for His fullness, ever pressing toward the mark set before us—the
perfection of His character? When the Lord’s people reach this mark, they will be sealed in their
foreheads. Filled with His Spirit, they will be complete in Christ, and the recording angel will
declare, ‘It is finished.’”

Now we’re going to consider the claim of certain ones that if the Last Generation of
Christians is expected to achieve a higher level of attainment than former generations, that God
is inconsistent. But the Bible is very clear that increased light on the pathway of the believer
means greater responsibility.

Let’s look at some texts:

Prov. 4:18:
“But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the
perfect day.”

In the parable of the sower, Jesus described the varying results of the seed that fell on
good ground:

Matt. 13:8:
“But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some
sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.”

Elsewhere Jesus stated:

Luke 12:48:
“For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men
have committed much, of him they will ask for more.”

Now Ellen White is clear that the conditions of eternal life have always been the same.
She writes:

SC 62:
“The condition of eternal life is now just what it always has been—just what it was in
Paradise before the fall of our first parents—perfect obedience to the law of God, perfect
righteousness.”

But, once again, the Bible assures us that God is entirely fair in applying this standard,
based on human awareness of His will:

Acts 17:30:
 “And the times of this ignorance God winked at.”

James 4:17:
“To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”

Listen to what Ellen White says about different levels of accountability based on
knowledge:

2T 692-693:
“We are accountable for the privileges that we enjoy, and for the light that shines upon
our pathway. Those who lived in past generations were accountable for the light which was
permitted to shine upon them. Their minds were exercised in regard to different points of
Scripture which tested them. But they did not understand the truths which we do. They were not
responsible for the light which they did not have. They had the Bible, as we have, but the time
for the unfolding of special truth in relation to the closing scenes of this earth’s history, is during
the last generations that shall live upon the earth.
“Special truths have been adapted to the conditions of the generations as they have
existed. The present truth, which is a test to the people of this generation, was not a test to the
people of generations far back. . . .
“We are accountable only for the light that shines upon us.”

Listen to this comparison between what was required at Pentecost, and what is required
today:

TM 507:
“The work that God has begun in the human heart in giving His light and knowledge
must be continually going forward. Every individual must realize his own necessity. The heart
must be emptied of every defilement and cleansed for the indwelling of the Spirit. It was by the
confession and forsaking of sin, by earnest prayer and consecration of themselves to God, that
the early disciples prepared for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. The
same work, only in greater degree, must be done now.”

So is there a higher standard for God’s people today, than there was at Pentecost?
Absolutely. Folks, Martin Luther was a great man. And God used him mightily. But Martin
Luther would be unwelcome as a speaker at any gathering I know of in the Seventh-day
Adventist Church today.

The fact that he didn’t keep the Sabbath, that he believed in predestination, and that he
drank beer, might not bother some of our more liberal church members. But Martin Luther was
also a virulent anti-Semite, whose hatred of Jews would be celebrated four hundred years later in
Hitler’s Germany. Listen to William L. Shirer, in his book The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich:

“It is difficult to understand the behavior of most German Protestants in the first Nazi
years unless one is aware of two things: their history and the influence of Martin Luther. The
great founder of Protestantism was both a passionate anti-Semite and a ferocious believer in
absolute obedience to political authority. He wanted Germany rid of the Jews and when they
were sent away he advised that they be deprived of ‘all their cash and jewels and silver and gold’
and, furthermore, ‘that their synagogues or schools be set on fire, that their houses be broken up
and destroyed . . . and that they be put under a roof or stable, like the gypsies . . . in misery and
captivity as they incessantly lament and complain to God about us’—advice that was literally
followed four centuries later by Hitler, Goering, and Himmler.”
William L. Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany (New York: Simon &
Schuster, 1960), p. 236.

In other words, I don’t think any of us need convincing that Martin Luther’s
sanctification isn’t good enough for God’s people today. This helps us understand why God gave
the Seventh-day Adventist Church so much additional light on how to live, through the writings
of the Spirit of Prophecy. These counsels with all their detail were intended to prepare God’s
final generation of believers for the ultimate test of character which the close of human history
will bring.

Far from being—as certain ones have alleged—an aberration contrived by fringe
extremists, Last Generation Theology comprises the basic rationale behind the doctrinal
uniqueness and moral purpose of the great Advent movement.

Now we’re going to look at another Ellen White statement, which some believe proves
that the saints after probation closes are not yet sinless. Speaking of the ordeal endured by the
saints during the great time of trouble, Ellen White says:

GC 621:
“It is needful for them to be placed in the furnace of fire; their earthliness must be
consumed, that the image of Christ may be perfectly reflected.”

Now what in fact is this “earthliness” that needs to be consumed during the time of
trouble? Does it include sin? Quite obviously not, as we have already seen such Ellen White
statements as the following:

EW 71:
“Those who receive the seal of the living God and are protected in the time of trouble
must reflect the image of Jesus fully.”

EW 71:
“I saw that none could share the ‘refreshing’ unless they obtain the victory over every
besetment, over pride, selfishness, love of the world, and over every wrong word and action.”

5T 214:
“Not one of us will ever receive the seal of God while our characters have one spot or
stain upon them. It is left with us to remedy the defects in our characters, to cleanse the soul
temple of every defilement. Then the latter rain will fall upon us, as the early rain fell upon the
disciples upon the day of Pentecost.”

5T 216:
 “Those who are distrustful of self, who are humbling themselves before God and
purifying their souls by obeying the truth—these are receiving the heavenly mold, and preparing
for the seal of God in their foreheads. When the decree goes forth, and the stamp is impressed,
their characters will remain pure and spotless for eternity.”

So the earthliness remaining in God’s people during the great time of trouble cannot
possibly include sin. What, then, does it include? Ellen White helps us answer this question
with such statements as the following. Speaking of the final conflict, she writes:

DA 121:
“In the last great conflict of the controversy with Satan those who are loyal to God will
see every earthly support cut off.”

Now, are earthly support systems bad? Are they sinful? Certainly not. Family, friends,
the fellowship of the church—were divinely established, and to repose a certain trust in them is
not sinful. But during this time God must remove from us these anchors for our souls to give
total proof of our utter helplessness apart from Him.

In another statement Ellen White helps us further understand this principle:

Letter 6, 1894:
“We may have special, select friends that, all unperceived and unacknowledged by us, we
place in the heart where God should be, and we can never perfect a round, full Christian
experience until every earthly support is removed, and the soul centers its entire affections about
God.”

Now let us look again at the statement about earthliness needing to be consumed:

GC 621:
“It is needful for them to be placed in the furnace of fire; their earthliness must be
consumed, that the image of Christ may be perfectly reflected.”

Putting these statements together, along with the others we have seen about the total
conquest of sin in believers’ lives before the close of probation, it becomes clear that the
earthliness left in the saints during the great time of trouble is not sin, but rather,
reliance on various earthly support systems which must be taken from the faithful in order to
prove their fidelity to God in the deepest possible way.

Finally, some are saying that the only thing the close of probation forbids is the switching
of sides, not the committing of sin. But some folks don’t seem to realize how many sins it took to
get our first parents to “switch sides.” Just one, as I recall. And the book of James says the same
thing about the final judgment:

James 2:10,12:
“For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. .
..
 “So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.”

Opponents of Last Generation Theology, going back to Desmond Ford, have been fond
of saying that God requires perfect loyalty, not perfect obedience. Well, it seems that the servant
of the Lord was directly replying to this argument when she wrote:

1SM 218:
“The law demands perfect obedience. ‘Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet
offend in one point, he is guilty of all.’ James 2:10. Not one of those ten precepts can be broken
without disloyalty to the God of heaven. The least deviation from its requirements, by neglect or
willful transgression, is sin.”

Recent critics of Last Generation Theology are telling us that the saints after the close of
probation are still going to be experiencing, in the words of one contemporary Adventist scholar:

“defects,” “shortcomings,” “mistakes,” “errors,” “incidental and accidental weaknesses”

Now folks, let’s be candid. You could drive a mac truck through these loopholes!
Most affairs of adultery and fornication could easily fit into one of these categories! God wants
better than this from His Last Generation saints!

And in closing, we have this very solemn and succinct warning as to what is not to be
changed or purified when Jesus returns:

2T 355:
“When He comes, He is not to cleanse us of our sins, to remove from us the defects in
our characters, or to cure us of the infirmities of our tempers and dispositions. If wrought for us
at all, this work will be accomplished before that time. When the Lord comes, those who are
holy will be holy still. . . . The Refiner does not then sit to pursue His refining process and
remove their sins and their corruption. This is all to be done in these hours of probation.”