Salvation’s time line as viewed through the
Parable of the Householder
January 2006
For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. Matthew 20:1-7.
On every side Christians are being bombarded with misinformation from their religious leaders concerning the Second Coming of Jesus. This misinformation ranges all the way from, Jesus could return tomorrow, when they know that all the prophecies have not been fulfilled, to when the trumpet sounds we will be out of here, when they know the Bible says every eye will see Him. So why is Christendom awash with these spurious teachings? The answer to this question is found in Great Controversy page. 315. Like the tidings of the Saviour’s birth, the message of the second advent was not committed to the religious leaders of the people. They had failed to preserve their connection with God, and had refused light from heaven; therefore they were not of the number described by the apostle Paul: “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.” 1 Thessalonians 5:4-5. The leadership in our day look back at their counterparts in Jesus’ day and say, thank God we are not like them, for they combined the prophecies of the first and second advents together and were not found ready to work when the call was made because they were too busy listening for a different call. In actuality the leadership in our day has combined together the prophecies of the Second Advent and the return of Jesus and just like their predecessors, will not be found ready to work because they are listening for a different call.
In order to build a time line we must know when in earth’s history the different calls according to the parable were / are made.
The first call for laborers in the Lord’s vineyard went out early in the morning. We know that work cannot be done in the night (John 9:4) and the “Word” is the light of the World. (Ps 119:105, John 8:12) The written word began with Moses, so as Moses wrote the Word, the day began. The householder went out early in the morning and finding Israel ready to work, He bargained with them (all that the Lord has spoken we will do), and assigned them their work in His vineyard.
The second call for laborers was made at the third hour. The ones that were ready to work at the third hour were the one hundred and twenty. They had witnessed the death and resurrection of Jesus and also the resurrection of the first fruits of the dead that rose with Him. God poured out His Spirit upon them and sent them into the vineyard to work.
The sixth and the ninth hour calls are placed together in this parable because they have something in common. The sixth hour call was the understanding of the prophetic prophecy of the 2300 days. It was Miller and his associates that the Lord found ready to work and so this message was proclaimed to the world. The ninth hour is the message of the cleansing of the sanctuary or The Hour of His Judgment is Come. It should be noted that each call so far has been three hours apart. The ninth hour message is an exception to this rule for we find that the final call is made within the space of the ninth hour call’s three hour time frame. The Hour of His Judgment is Come, is divided into two parts, the judgment of the dead and the judgment of the living. Ellen White says that a message will join the third angel’s message; she also says soon none know how soon the judgment will pass to the living. When this angel joins, a call is made, the final call, and this happens within the message of the cleansing of the sanctuary. Those that will be called at this eleventh hour will be the 144,000; they will receive and preach to the world the message of the judgment of the living.
At each call God has a new message and more requirements for His people. At each call the leaders are left behind, not because God wishes it so, but because they are so obsessed with their position they have not made themselves available to answer the call, and afterwards are unwilling to come humbly before those God has chosen to place in authority and learn the additional requirements God has for the new message. Under the message of the judgment of the dead those that keep the Seventh day Sabbath receive the seal of God. Under the message of the judgment of the living those keeping the Holy Convocations of Leviticus 23 receive the seal of God. ...And at the commencement of the time of trouble, we were filled with the Holy Ghost as we went forth and proclaimed the Sabbath more fully... C.E.T. pg.93 (Note: Read RH, May 6, 1875 The Law of God)
Just as it took the resurrection in Jesus’ day to prepare the one hundred and twenty for the outpouring of the Spirit so it will take the resurrection of Daniel 12 (those who died in faith during the third angels message keeping Sabbath will be raised to hear God renew His covenant with His people) to prepare the 144,000 for the outpouring of the Spirit, making them the leaders during the judgment of the living, or the eleventh hour call. Saul/Paul was one leader that went from one call to the next, showing that it is possible for some of our leaders in the “Third Angel's Message”, to be Leaders in the Judgment of the Living.
In Revelation it says, I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. After the disappointment the Angel said ...Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings. Revelation 10:10-11. After the disappointment of 1844, the ninth hour call message was to operate under this directive, but the church leaders were not happy with the limitation of “many peoples” and wanted to add And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. Revelation 18:1. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. Matthew 24:14, to show that they are the last to preach the Gospel to the World, not realizing that not only do they not have the message of the Good News of the Kingdom, but that they have rejected every message God has sent to prepare them to live and teach under the laws and requirements of the Kingdom of Glory, the fifth and final call. In their deceived state they are so busy carrying a message meant for many people to the whole world that they are unaware that this call is right upon them and they are unprepared.
It was at midnight that God chose to deliver His people. As the wicked were mocking around them, suddenly the sun appeared, shining in his strength, and the moon stood still. The wicked looked upon the scene with amazement, while the saints beheld with solemn joy the tokens of their deliverance. Signs and wonders followed in quick succession. Everything seemed turned out of its natural course. The streams ceased to flow. Dark, heavy clouds came up and clashed against each other. But there was one clear place of settled glory, whence came the voice of God like many waters, shaking the heavens and the earth. There was a mighty earthquake. The graves were opened, and those who had died in faith under the third angel’s message, keeping the Sabbath, came forth from their dusty beds, glorified, to hear the covenant of peace that God was to make with those who had kept His law. E.W. pg. 285
What could possibly prepare one for this mighty earthquake and resurrection? More precisely, what rejected message to which, if they had listened could have prepared them for this tremendous event? The answer is The Kingdom of God is at Hand, and that it will operate under the rules and laws given at Mt. Sinai. This mighty earthquake and resurrection occurs, just like in the type, during the Passover week. This particular Passover week is the half hour of silence that is “heard” in Heaven when the judgment scene moves to earth in preparation for the commencement of the Judgment of the Living. ...And at the commencement of the time of trouble, we were filled with the Holy Ghost as we went forth and proclaimed the Sabbath more fully.... C.E.T. pg. 93. (Note: This “we” shows that Ellen White is there with the resurrected group when the Spirit is poured out.)
And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. 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 fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake. Revelation 8:1, 3-5.
What made the interruption and brought about the change? Let us first determine the length of the prophetic half hour’s time. A day in prophetic time stands for a year. (Ezek. 4:6.) One hour is a twenty-fourth part of a prophetic year, and figuring thirty days to a month, it would be about two weeks. Half an hour would be half of two weeks; therefore, seven literal days. Seven days were used for purification. (See Ex. 29:35, 37; Lev. 12:2; 13:4, 5; 1, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15, 21, etc.) From these references we conclude that the “half an hour” or seven days stand for the purification of the church, pointing forward to the fulfillment of Malachi 3:1-6. 2 SR 215 (Note: The purification of the church nucleus in Jesus’ day occurred at Passover when Judas’ own actions separated him from the other disciples.)
As we have seen, the silence divides the two pre-millennial Judicial sessions, the one for the dead and the other for the living, and the fire from the heavenly altar, the voices, lightnings, and thunderings, descend to earth. These facts, along with a number of scriptures on the subject, besides the remainder of The Revelation, the chapters after the breaking of the seventh seal, prove that the Judgment of the living, the cleansing of the earthly temple, is something which takes place on earth, not in heaven only!
“Behold,” declares the Lord, “I will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me: and the Lord, Whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, ...But who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap.” Mal. 3:, Yes, the work of the second Judicial session includes the earthly sanctuary, the church (His temple). At that time the Lord’s “fire” is “in Zion, and His furnace in Jerusalem.” Isa. 31:9. Tract 15 pg. 65
The silence or recess that divides the judgment scenes into two parts is more complex than we have understood in the past. It also divides the era of the symbolic or prophetic from the literal. The dead are judged under the laws that govern the symbolic kingdom, the time when the bondwoman and her son are in authority. As the judgment moves to the living, the bondwoman and her son are cast out in favor of the freewoman and her son. It is at this time that the mysteries of God begin to be understood and taught. This message like all messages before it causes a separation, but unlike those previous, this is no longer symbolic. The teaching of this message is what causes the shaking in the church, (Jacob’s time of trouble) the literal separation of the wheat and tares in the church.
And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets. Revelation 10:6-7
This time, which the angel declares with a solemn oath, is not the end of this world’s history, neither of probationary time, but of prophetic time, which should precede the advent of our Lord. That is, the people will not have another message upon definite time. After this period of time, reaching from 1842 to 1844, there can be no definite tracing of the prophetic time. The longest reckoning reaches to the autumn of 1844. 7BC pg. 971
This dividing line also shows that some things come to an end, and other things go on. According to this “time” is one thing that stops yet it is “time” that goes on. Ellen White tells us prophetic time is what stops, but world’s history or literal time, and probationary time goes on. Another thing that goes on is the New Covenant for John says, “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ”. For this is the (new) covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: Hebrews 8:10.
The Bible says Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman; Galatians 4:30. The bondwoman and her son are symbolical and as such cannot exist past the half hour of silence. But like time that can exist on both sides in different forms, this Son after dying the death of the testator, rising from the grave cutoff from sin and death, marries the free woman (His Bride) and becomes the Everlasting Father and thus exists on both sides of the dividing line. The bondwoman is in bondage to sin and death and is a symbol of the church; all symbols end so she is cast out; only the literal or purified church goes on. Ellen White says ...So long as they remained united, the church would go forth “fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners.” Song of Solomon 6:10. Nothing could withstand her onward progress. The church would advance from victory to victory, gloriously fulfilling her divine mission of proclaiming the gospel to the world. A.A. pg. 90. The prophetic or symbolic cannot exist after the dividing line, even if these symbols are man made. In Daniel we are told the man of sin would think to change times and laws. These times the man of sin substituted for God’s times were just stand-ins, place holders or symbols. In other words any day or event not according to God’s laws whether celebrated by conviction, ignorance or convenience is still a symbol and will come to an end and only the real or literal will continue. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD. Isaiah 66:23. During the Kingdom of Grace those who through ignorance celebrate one of God’s Sabbaths on the wrong day celebrate a symbol or a stand-in for the true; they receive a credit for effort and are judged according to their knowledge. As the judgment passes to the living the harvest for the Kingdom of Glory begins. The laws governing this kingdom are different, symbols no longer exist. As the judgment progresses from one person to the next, each soul will be given an opportunity and must choose if they wish to live under God’s laws or man’s. This is a sobering time, Ezekiel wrote about it this way. and said to him, “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.” As I listened, he said to the others, “Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion. Slaughter old men, young men and maidens, women and children, but do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were in front of the temple. Ezekiel 9:4-6.
Jesus said, Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. Matthew 13:30.
Ellen White tells us that, The Passover was to be both commemorative and typical... PP pg. 27.
In our day Passover is celebrated in many ways. Some celebrate it by eating the traditional Seder, while others eat the Lord’s Supper Seder on the night the Pascal lamb was to be eaten, and then there are those who celebrate it in “symbols”, on a day or in a way according to their own rules and reckoning. All who celebrate this day, by what ever means, commemorate the time when the householder brought Israel out of Egypt (bondage) so they would be in a position to answer the call that would be made fifty days later. When Israel answered the call, (all the Lord has spoken we will do) God delivered through Moses the rules and laws that would govern during their contracted assignment in the vineyard. As Israel began laboring under these laws on their journey to the Promised Land it became obvious that these laws were the laws of the Judgment of the Living, because those who did not live by them died by them. With this thought in mind and the knowledge that the eleventh hour call is also the Judgment of the Living it becomes clear how Passover is both commemorative and typical. Not only can we look back to freedom from bondage but we can look forward to freedom from bondage.
Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come. Isaiah 41:21-22.
Before the eleventh hour call can be made there are many who like Israel must be liberated from bondage (the grave) or they would not be free to answer yes or no to the call. According to Daniel this is a mixed resurrection ...and those who had died in faith under the third angel’s message, keeping the Sabbath... and as Jesus said There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. Luke 13:28. There is a fifty day period between the resurrection and the call to work in the vineyard. During this time the people God has freed from bondage will bear witness to the living and in so doing help mature the 144,000 (12,000 from each tribe) for the harvest.
The eleventh hour call and message that goes with it is so different than what the current leadership is teaching that they will have a hard time accepting it. This message teaches the laws of the Kingdom, which they have rejected. It teaches the location of the Kingdom which they have rejected, and it reveals the Kings of the Kingdom represented by the two horns on the lamb like beast of whom they are ignorant because of their Laodicean condition. Time is short, please do not wait until the last fifty days (the time between the resurrection at Passover and the outpouring at Pentecost) to choose God’s Laws over man’s laws. The judgment begins at the house of God, neither position or wealth can deter it, when judgment comes to you, whose Laws will you be keeping? There are only two, God’s Laws or man’s laws, if you believe God’s Kingdom Laws were nailed to the cross, you will be found keeping man’s laws.
With love and prayers that we may be sealed with The Seal of God, New Jerusalem, and a Glorious Star containing Jesus’ New Name.
Athen Slawson
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