The Great Separation
A very serious subject. When Jesus stood before the Sanhedrin, the high priest asked Him, “…Tell us whether Thou be the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus answered, “Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.” Matthew 26:64. We are now living immediately before Jesus’ coming.
Every individual will appear before the judgment bar, God’s throne, to give an account of what he has done with the gospel of Christ. Jesus is sitting on the throne of glory; His eyes are as flames of fire, according to the Holy Scriptures. The prophet Habakkuk wrote: “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity:…” Habakkuk 1:13.
Jesus will separate the believers, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and will put the sheep on His right side and the goats on His left. It is a separation that cuts through all classes of humanity. God’s church will experience this separation. Furthermore, the two women grinding at the mill will not be overlooked; and God goes even further, for we read in Luke 17:34: “…There shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.” That is how exactly the Lord will perform the separation–even through families.
Jesus spoke of five wise and five foolish virgins, a well-known parable. In what state are our lamps? Have they been cleaned? Are we adding enough oil? When Jesus comes, will He find us as people who have His Spirit–sanctified people, who are waiting for their Lord? In the parable, even though the wise virgins became tired and fell asleep, they had led a genuine spiritual life. There is a wonderful sentence in Song of Solomon 5:2, that says: “I sleep, but my heart waketh:…” That means to wake up. And that’s how it was with the wise virgins. And what about the foolish? They also had oil, but not enough. That is, their spiritual life had ceased, for they neglected the most important thing–sanctification, without which no one will see the Lord. The foolish virgins only wanted to participate in the wedding for enjoyment. But that led to perdition. They were interested in eating, drinking, and socializing, but not in the bridegroom himself.
However, Jesus said: “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” John 3:36. The central point is Jesus. He also said in John 1:12: “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” The first step in becoming a child of God is to accept Jesus in our heart. It always concerns the person of Jesus, the Bridegroom; and therefore, the question is: Do we belong to the Bridegroom? Are we really His bride? Is He betrothed to us for eternity, as He wants to be? Are we part of Him? We can’t lead our lives here without Christ and expect to be prepared to have fellowship with Him in heaven.
Let the great question be for us: On what side will we be standing when the great separation comes? This is the decision for all eternity. What will really be decisive in this judgment? What will count is what we have done, not just what we have said. Books will be opened in which our actions are recorded. The Lord does not judge according to words but according to actions, because one’s actions express a person’s inner being–how he really loves God and his fellowmen.
Where will you be when Jesus comes? Are you numbered with those whom He can place on His right side? Those are the chosen ones; and in Matthew 24:31, we read that Jesus “shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather His elect from the four winds,…” The Lord can accept us as His own only if we have also chosen Him and entered into a covenant with Him. Have we really been freed of everything that is sin in God’s eyes? Let us not forget what He said in Matthew 22:14: “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Everything in our life depends on our own choice, no matter whether it is our occupation, our spouse, or a friendship. But of supreme importance is our choice concerning God and eternal life. If we have chosen Him and eternal life, we will no longer flirt with the world. We must decide for ourselves what or whom we choose, but we cannot avoid making a choice. We are actually forced to make a decision; that is, we have to choose between two powers, between two lords, Christ and Satan–between two ways, the narrow way and the broad road. This choice is so important that one may not put it off. Joshua did not tell the people that they should take time to think, rather he stressed: “…Choose you this day whom ye will serve;…” Joshua 24:15. Tomorrow may be too late. The Lord says, “To day if ye will hear His voice, Harden not your hearts,…” Hebrews 3:7, 8. Today is the day to decide. God asks us and invites us to decide for Him today. Don’t put off the decision for even one day.
On October 8, 1871, the great preacher Dwight Moody addressed a congregation in Chicago. “Jesus’ Life” was his topic. He planned to present his last message the following week. Suddenly the bell on the courthouse began ringing, sounding a fire alarm. But no one paid any attention to it; the people were used to hearing it, so it didn’t bother them when it rang. Moody ended his sermon with the question: What will you do with Jesus? In his appeal, he said to the large crowd that he would given them one week to decide what they wanted to do with Jesus. But that very night a major part of Chicago was destroyed by fire, and thousands of people lost their lives.
Twenty-two years later, on the anniversary of the great fire, Moody had the opportunity to speak in Chicago again. As he faced the congregation, he said: “Twenty-two years ago, I made the greatest mistake of my life. I gave the audience one week to decide what they wanted to do with Jesus. Looking at this congregation tonight, I see not one single soul to whom I preached that night. I will never see those people again until they meet me on the resurrection day.” Then he said, “I would rather cut off my right hand than ever again give my listeners one week to decide what they want to do with Jesus.”
What a serious question! Have we already made the choice? Do we love the Lord with all our heart, soul, and mind? Are we really willing to give ourselves completely to Him? Only then are we, as the Bible says, the elect or the called, the chosen ones, whom the apostle Peter admonished, saying that we should be diligent in making our election sure. God requires unconditional surrender of our heart–yes, of the whole person. “He that loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.” Matthew 10:37.
When the Russian Christian Nikolai Korep was arrested by the police, before leaving his house he knelt down with his family and prayed: “Lord, I love my children and my wife very much, but more than everything in this world I love You. Therefore, I have chosen the narrow, thorny path. I commend to you my family with all their needs, and I count on Your promise that I will see my whole family again at Your throne. I praise You for this hope, and may Your holy Name be blessed.” Korep died in faith in the prison, remaining faithful to his Lord unto death. And his son? When his son Michael Korep was ordained as a minister, he was asked, “Do you promise that God will have first place in your life; the church, second; and your family, third?” He answered, “Yes.” And his wife, who was also present, was in agreement with his promise. Yes, on this earth there are still faithful people who really give Jesus the first place.
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How wonderful fellowship with Jesus is; what miracles happen when the heart is fully committed! Let us ask ourselves now: Is Jesus also first, last, and best for us? How can we prove this? Only with words? That is too little. Or through our walk? Are we really walking a heavenly walk? Are we, as the Bible says, sanctified in our entire walk? Those are all Biblical questions which need to be answered, for Paul wrote to the Philippians: “That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God,…” by faith. Philippians 2:15. All of this belongs to our decision for eternal life. Everything else, even the smallest deviation, every flirtation with the world, constitutes unfaithfulness. The Lord calls it fornication and adultery and warns everyone against such unfaithfulness. He said in Hosea 13:9: “O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself” if you continue as you have, “but in Me is thine help.” “Our time is precious. We have but few, very few days of probation in which to make ready for the future, immortal life. We have no time to spend in haphazard movements. We should fear to skim the surface of the word of God.” –Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, p. 407.
“Be ye always ready, in the evening, in the morning, and at noon, that when the cry is heard, ‘Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him,’ you may, even though awakened out of sleep, go forth to meet Him with your lamps trimmed and burning.” –Testimonies for the Church, vol. 9, p. 48.
The book of Revelation speaks of a heavenly city. Already here we must be citizens of that city. But only Jesus can grant this citizenship, and He will test every candidate very exactly. He should find no spot or wrinkle in him. And the question is again: Where will we be when Jesus comes? Will we belong to the blessed of the Lord, or will He have to say: “Depart from ye; I know you not; I don’t know who you are”?
In view of the shortness of time, as a people we should watch and pray, in no way departing from our earnest responsibility but preparing for the event that is just ahead of us. Every moment is of the highest value. “Oh, how glorious it will be to see Him and be welcomed as His redeemed ones!… If we can but see the King in His beauty we shall be forever blessed.… ‘Homeward bound!’ We are nearing the time when Christ will come in power and great glory to take His ransomed ones to their eternal home.” –Testimonies for the Church, vol. 8, p. 253.
All heaven is participating in our redemption. In The Desire of Ages, p. 632, it says: “Christ is coming with clouds and with great glory.… He will come to honor those who have loved Him, and kept His commandments, and to take them to Himself. He has not forgotten them nor His promise.”
Jesus is coming soon. Are you ready? Have you made a choice for eternity? Where will you be when Jesus comes? May the Lord give us grace that He can acknowledge us as fruit from Calvary and that we can praise and thank Him throughout all eternity.
–Friedrich Mielke, Austria
