This last phrase, "repentance shall be hid •from mine
eyes," has great significance. It refers to that far distant
time when the redemption and resurrection will have been•
completed and the probationary estate of man will be finished.
Then mankind will once more be subject to the immediate
consequences of their acts just as they were before they
came here. The principle of "repentance" only operates in
a cosmic environment where judgment is temporarily sus.-
pended and men are allowed a certain period of time to
turn back." In fact, this is what repentance means. Such
a time of tolerance for sin and evil is not possible in the
presence of God for there He "cannot look upon sin with
the least degree of allowance. "26 This may be the very reason
why the Lord had to remove us from His presence in order
to give us a chance to learn from personal experience why
sin and disobedience destroy happiness and how they cut
us off from the blessings of Heaven. If in this life we were
struck down for even the slightest deviation from righteous-
ness we would probably learn little but tread timidly down
the pathway of life in a state of terror, continually fearing
lest we accidentally slipped and brought down the wrath
of punitive judgment upon us.
The Lord therefore set up a cosmic laboratory for the
Second Estate in which men could actually exist in a state
of suspended judgment, a place they could look evil full in the
face, even taste of it if they wished, and then have time to turn
away from it and escape the penalty through the efficacy of the
Atonement. This is what the prophet was talking about when
he said "... there was a space granted unto man in which he
might repent; therefore this life became a probationary state;
a time to prepare to meet God; a time to prepare for that
endless state which . . . is after the resurrection of the
dead. "27
And that "endless state" after the resurrection is when
the Lord says "repentance shall be hid from mine eyes." No
longer will men enjoy the luxury of tasting sin (being dis-
obedient) and still have time to turn back without suffering
any penalty. They will be able to turn back, of course, but
the penalty will be decisive and immediate. Perhaps at that
time mankind will appreciate far more than they do now
the genius of the plan which provided a space of time in
the Second Estate for repentance. It has allowed us time
to recognize our errors, repent, reform, bring our sins under
the Atonement and HAVE THEM BLOTTED OUT
Hosea wanted us to realize that this is only a temporary
luxury. The Lord has warned that there will sometime come
a day when "repentance shall be hid from mine eyes!
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