Ellen G. White and Her Critics

The Central Point in Shut-Door View

At least this much is undebatable, that central to their thinking on this subject was the idea that men, by willfully rejecting light from the Scriptures, had sinned away their day of grace. That their willful and fateful action took place prior to, or not later than, October 22, 1844, when God shut the door, could be considered simply as an evidence of God’s foreknowledge in dealing with men. This is no fine, technical point. It was this primary thought that probation had ended for the rebellious world because of an intelligent action of men’s own free wills, that permitted the Sabbathkeeping group very quickly, as we shall see, to argue consistently that grace was still offered to those who had not made a decision against the truth. EGWC 181.1

The Christian doctrine of probation’s close is set forth in the words of John: “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, 12. EGWC 181.2

Here is the real shutting of the door of mercy, the eternal fixing of all men’s destiny. Beyond the day of this decree wicked men cannot, and righteous men will not, change their status. It is set for eternity. There is no ministering Intercessor for either righteous or wicked. EGWC 181.3

But even the earliest published view of our fathers did not thus fix the destiny of all men as of October 22, 1844. Though they thought the willfully rebellious world had sinned away its day of grace, they did not think that the status of Advent believers was irrevocably fixed, or that they no longer had a great High Priest ministering for them. They made appeals to “lukewarm” Adventists around them to come out of the “Laodicean” state, lest God “spue” them out of His mouth. They themselves were also keenly conscious of the danger of falling away from the pathway of truth along which they were traveling to the New Jerusalem. ^* EGWC 182.1