“Why does God need an investigative judgment? Doesn’t He already know everything?”
These questions have long been voiced by critics of the doctrine Ellen White describes as “both the foundation and the central pillar of the advent faith” [1]. But those who raise such objections fail to consider the nature of God’s judicial process as portrayed in key segments of the Bible story.
Back to the Beginning
We know the sad story well. When Adam and Eve sinned and lost the garment of light, the presence of God walking in the Garden instilled fear in their hearts, and they fled for cover (Gen. 3:8). Moments later God calls to Adam, “Where art thou?” (verse 9).
Adam then responds, and tries to excuse his angst by claiming, “I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself” (verse 10). The exchange between God and the first couple proceeds from this point:
And [God] said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
And the man said, The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
And the Lord said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat (verses 11-13).
In the following chapter we encounter the tragic story of the world’s first murder—the death of Abel at the hands of his brother Cain. The latter’s rage, and the murder thus resulting, was of course due to Cain’s resentment of God’s acceptance of Abel’s offering and rejection of his own. The Bible says:
And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering;
But unto Cain and his offering, He had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? (Gen. 4:4-6).
Following Abel’s murder, God speaks to Cain again, asking, “Where is Abel thy brother?” (verse 9). For some reason thinking he could lie to God, Cain retorts, “I know not. Am I my brother’s keeper?” (verse 9). Again God asks Cain a question:
What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto Me from the ground (verse 10).
The Tower of Babel
Moving a few chapters later, we come to the story of Babel, the building of the tower, and the confusion of tongues that followed. The following verses depict the divine response to this act of defiance:
And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech (Gen. 11:5-7).
The God Who Investigates
In each of the above stories, we find God asking human beings where they are and what they’ve done, which He doesn’t need to do. The God of Scripture is depicted as all-knowing, in such verses as the following:
Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from Thy presence?
If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there.
If I take the wings of the morning, and dwelt in the uttermost parts of the sea;
Even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me.
If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.
Yea, the darkness hideth not from Thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to Thee (Psalm 139:7-12).
I am the Lord: this is My name: and My glory will I not give to another, neither My praise to graven images.
Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them (Isa. 42:8-9).
King Solomon declared of God, in his dedication prayer for the great temple in Jerusalem: “Thou, even Thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men” (I Kings 8:39).
Why, then, did God need to ask Adam where he and Eve were hiding (Gen. 3:9)? He knew full well where they were. Why did He ask if they had eaten of the forbidden tree (verse 11), when obviously He knew that they had done so? Why did He ask Cain where his dead brother was, and what in fact Cain had done (Gen. 4:9-10)? And why did He need to “come down” and see what was going on at Babel (Gen. 11:5,7)?
This is because the universe, which consists of intelligent creatures possessing free will, are all watching these proceedings. This is why the book of Daniel finds these beings all assembled for the end-time investigative judgment (Dan. 7:9-10; see also Rev. 3:5). The books of record must be opened for their perusal, because as we have seen, only God knows the hearts of His creatures (I Kings 8:39). All God’s universe must understand the absolute justice of their Creator, which is why God opens the records of His dealings with men and women for the investigation that ensues, and the vindication of God’s people—and of God Himself (Eze. 36:22-27; Rom. 3:4)—that follows (Dan. 12:1; Rev. 3:5).
The Investigative Judgment in Ezekiel
As in Daniel 7:9-10, Ezekiel chapter 1 portrays God riding in His heavenly chariot to a judgment scene. The following chapters in Ezekiel give a detailed indictment of God’s people for their apostasy and sins. Chapter 8 is the culmination of this indictment, in which we find idolatry practiced by Israel’s leading men (verses 5-12), women weeping for Tammuz (verse 14), and men with their backs to the temple, worshiping the sun toward the east (verse 16).
In chapter 9 the investigation concludes, with the righteous and wicked separated from each other (verses 4-5), and the wicked slain with slaughter weapons (verses 5-7).
Here, as in the earlier examples from Genesis, the unrighteous are confronted by God with their misdeeds, with the latter spelled out so that all can be certain that the sentence to follow is fully and indisputably just.
Joshua and the Angel
The investigation of God’s people at the end of time is depicted more graphically in the narrative of Joshua and the Angel, found in the third chapter of Zechariah. Here we see the high priest Joshua, representing God’s people, clothed in filthy garments (Zech. 3:3). Ellen White recounts this narrative in a number of statements, and only when we put them all together does an in-depth portrayal of the investigative judgment emerge.
Here we see Satan accusing Joshua, and by implication, the people of God as a whole (verse 1). The Lord rebukes Satan (verse 2) for his allegations because Joshua—representing God’s people—has forsaken the sins formerly committed. Thus God commands those who stand by:
Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him (Joshua) he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment (verse 4).
But before this command is given, we see an investigation in progress. As with the tentativeness of God’s statements regarding Adam, Eve, and Cain in Genesis, we see such statements as the following regarding God’s people arraigned before His throne in the person of the high priest Joshua:
Satan endeavors to bring reproach upon those who are trying to serve and honor God. He presents them in a questionable light, as those who are clothed with filthy garments. But God says, “Take away the filthy garments. You have no right to put them upon My people. Take them away. My people may have imperfections of character; they may fail in their endeavors; but if they repent, I will forgive them” [2].
Some have assumed that the above statement is saying God’s people might still have uncorrected imperfections of character, and that they might still fail in their walk with the Lord. But let’s keep reading:
The word of assurance is given to all who have faith in God. Receive this wonderful promise. It is not a human being who is speaking: “Thus saith the Lord of hosts. If thou wilt walk in My ways, and if thou wilt keep My charge, then thou shalt also judge My house, and shall also keep My courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by.”
Among those who stand by—the hosts of the enemy, who are trying to bring God’s people into disrepute, and the hosts of heaven, ten thousand times ten thousand angels, who watch over and guard the tempted people of God, uplifting and strengthening them. These are they who stand by. And God says to His believing ones, You shall walk among them. You shall not be overcome by the powers of darkness. You shall stand before Me in the sight of the holy angels, who are sent forth to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation [3].
In other words, while God is willing to still forgive His people if they fail in their endeavors, He won’t need to, because they won’t fail Him again. Not only is God’s promise declared here to be conditional on obedience—“If thou wilt walk in My ways, and if thou wilt keep My charge” (Zech. 3:7)—God proceeds to assure His people: “You shall not be overcome by the powers of darkness.” Thus we find the following Ellen White statements regarding the condition of God’s people as portrayed in this narrative, once God’s investigation of their lives has finished:
Israel was clothed in “change of raiment,”—the righteousness of Christ imputed to them. The mitre placed upon Joshua's head was such as was worn by the priests, and bore the inscription, “Holiness to the Lord,” signifying that notwithstanding his former transgressions, he was now qualified to minister before God in His sanctuary [4].
Ellen White is thus clear in the above statements that Satan’s accusations, while correct with regard to the past, are correct no longer. She goes on to say, in this same context:
But while the followers of Christ have sinned, they have not given themselves to the control of evil. They have put away their sins, and have sought the Lord in humility and contrition, and the Divine Advocate pleads in their behalf [5].
In another statement she is absolutely clear that the people of God as represented in this story have ceased to sin:
Joshua here represents the people of God; and Satan pointing to their filthy garments claims them as his property over which he has a right to exercise his cruel power. But these very ones have improved the hours of probation to confess their sins with contrition of soul and put them away, and Jesus has written pardon against their names.
Those who have not ceased to sin and who have not repented and sought pardon for their transgressions are not represented in this company [6].
Thus we have the following Ellen White statements, among numerous others, which identify what God’s people will look like once the perfecting of their characters is completed and the divine investigative thereof is over.
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 [7].
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 [8].
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” [9].
Conclusion
President John F. Kennedy, in his speech to the world during the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, declared: “Our goal is not the victory of might, but the vindication of right” [10]. No better defense could be offered of God’s judicial proceedings through the ages. God knows all things, but it is not for His sake that His judgment involves a careful investigation of all the evidence. Rather, it is for the sake of His created beings, the citizens of His universe. They must be persuaded beyond any shadow of doubt of their Creator’s fairness. The end-time investigative judgment is simply the final act of a principle that has worked itself out, and been on display, since the beginning of the sin problem on Planet Earth.
REFERENCES
1. Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 409.
2. ----Signs of the Times, Aug. 28, 1901.
3. Ibid.
4. ----Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 469 (italics supplied).
5. Ibid, p. 474 (italics supplied).
6. ----Manuscript Releases, vol. 4, p. 250 (italics supplied).
7. ----Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 214.
8. Ibid, p. 216.
9. ----SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 1118.
10. President John F. Kennedy, televised address, Oct. 22, 1962, quoted by Larry J. Sabato, The Kennedy Half-Century: The Presidency, Assassination, and Legacy of John F. Kennedy (New York: Bloomsbury, 2013), p. 106.
Pastor Kevin Paulson holds a Bachelor’s degree in theology from Pacific Union College, a Master of Arts in systematic theology from Loma Linda University, and a Master of Divinity from the SDA Theological Seminary at Andrews University. He served the Greater New York Conference of Seventh-day Adventists for ten years as a Bible instructor, evangelist, and local pastor. He writes regularly for Liberty magazine and does script writing for various evangelistic ministries within the denomination. He continues to hold evangelistic and revival meetings throughout the North American Division and beyond, and is a sought-after seminar speaker relative to current issues in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He presently resides in Berrien Springs, Michigan