A recent article on a liberal Adventist website levels another attack on the investigative judgment doctrine as historically taught by Seventh-day Adventists [1]. As is often the case with these attacks, the article in question sets up a false dilemma—between accepting the teachings of the Bible and accepting those of Ellen White. The author writes at the beginning:

We have a divide in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It is seldom acknowledged or openly discussed, but has been the source of intermittent drama. The divide is between those believe and those who don’t believe in the theory of an investigative judgment.

The divide is perhaps typified by the two following quotes:

“So in the great day of final atonement and investigative judgment, the only cases considered are those of the professed people of God” (Ellen White, The Great Controversy, p. 480, emphasis added).

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (John 5:24, emphasis added) [2].

The article continues:

With a few simple, powerful words in John’s gospel, Jesus puts the Adventist concept of an investigative judgment in serious question.

Jesus says, If you are a believer, you will not be judged. Adventist theology says, if you are a believer, you specifically will be judged. These two ideas are irreconcilable [3].

At the close of the article, the author asks:

Now let me ask you, at the level of the basic Christian ethos and pathos, which of the two thoughts do you like? Do you like Jesus going over the records to judge you according to the law? Or do you like to hear Jesus saying, “If you believe in Me, there is no judgment for you”? [4].

To begin with, what I “like”—or what any other Christian likes—makes no difference. That is not the question any genuine follower of Jesus should ask. Rather, we should ask, What does the Sacred Text reveal regarding the teachings of Jesus, and those of Scripture in general, concerning this or any other subject?

Jesus’ Definition of a Believer

The basic problem with this article’s reasoning is its failure to consider three key points: (1) The immediate context of John 5:24; (2) How did Jesus identify believers in Him? and (3) What is the Biblical definition of judgment?

Two verses prior to John 5:24, Jesus declares, “For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son” (verse 22). This is reaffirmed a few verses later when Jesus states that His Father “hath given Him (the Son) authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of man” (verse 27). Jesus goes on to say, in the following verses:

Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice,

And shall come forth: they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation (verses 28-29).

Thus, even before we consider the meaning of judgment in the teachings of Christ and in Scripture as a whole, we are forced to recognize that according to the above statements from our Lord’s own lips, the eternal destinies of human beings are directly connected to the way they have lived on this earth. This reality is confirmed in other passages we will consider, in both Old and New Testaments.

Repeatedly in the Gospel accounts, Jesus declared obedience to His Father’s commandments to characterize those who believe in Him. At the close of His Sermon on the Mount He declared, “Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father, which is in heaven” (Matt. 7:21). When the rich young ruler asked Jesus about the conditions of salvation, Jesus declared, “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments” (Matt. 19:17). To the lawyer to whom He told the Good Samaritan story, Jesus set down the same conditions (Luke 10:25-28).

Of course, Jesus was clear that only through God’s power can these conditions be met. When the young ruler went away sorrowfully, the disciples asked, “Who then can be saved” (Matt. 19:25). Jesus replied, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (verse 26). Elsewhere Jesus told His disciples: “Without Me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). Thankfully, the reverse of this truth is found in the apostle Paul’s statement: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Phil. 4:13).

Jesus never defined saving belief as a mere intellectual exercise. Like the collective witness of Scripture, the message of Jesus throughout the Gospels is clear that believing in Him and following Him is a matter of divinely-empowered obedience to heaven’s requirements. At least three modern Bible translations explicitly equate belief in Jesus with obedience in the following passage from John 3, which in the King James Version reads:

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).

But three modern translations render this verse as follows:

He who puts his faith in the Son has hold of eternal life, but he who disobeys the Son shall not see that life; God’s wrath rests upon him (New English Bible).

He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him (Revised Standard Version).

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not have life, but will remain under God’s punishment (Today’s English Version).

Thus, when we consider everything Jesus taught about the conditions of salvation, comparing Scripture with Scripture, it becomes clear that to believe in Jesus is to obey God’s commandments through the power heaven provides.

Judgment According to Jesus

We will address in a moment the false claim by the article in question that the investigative judgment doctrine “rests upon one single verse—Daniel 8:14” [5]. Quite ironically in view of this claim, the article itself focuses almost exclusively on John 5:24 and its statement that believers in Jesus “shall not come into judgment” (NKJV). Early in the article the author asks:

Have you ever heard a sermon on John 5:24 in your Adventist Church or an evangelistic meeting? I would suspect not [6].

A sermon on John 5:24 would be wonderful, but one verse does not a doctrine make. One cannot rightly base any doctrine or moral imperative on a single inspired statement, whether from the Bible or Ellen White. In order to rightly understand the doctrine of judgment as taught by Jesus, we need to look at everything He taught on this subject, as well as what we find on this subject throughout the Bible. The author of the article in question makes the following comment in the discussion following his article:

Jesus Himself said that if I believe I will not come into judgment. And if you prefer to read that as “will not be condemned,” is that a difference without a distinction? I assume that my faith in Jesus renders me immune from judgment. After all, I’m saved by Him, not by my record [7].

But how can the above author make such a claim in light of Jesus’ statement, immediately after the verse he keeps quoting, that one’s resurrection with the righteous or the wicked is determined by one’s good or evil deeds (John 5:28-29)? For anyone to say, as does the author of this article, that “I’m saved by Him (Jesus), not by my record” [8], runs quite counter to the following statement by Jesus Himself:

But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned (Matt. 12:36-37).

And who can forget the Lord’s parable of the sheep and the goats (Matt. 25:31-46), which explicitly identifies practical service to others as the basis whereby men and women pass the test of God’s final judgment?

The author of the article in question, in a comment made following his article, tries to blur the line between judgment and condemnation relative to John 5:24 by quoting Romans 8:1, which says that “there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” [9]. But both in the immediate context of this verse and elsewhere, the apostle Paul is clear what it means to be “in Christ Jesus.” In another passage he writes:

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (II Cor. 5:17).

The apostle John is even clearer as to what being “in Christ” means:

And he that keepeth His commandments dwelleth in Him, and He in him (I John 3:24).

So if being “in Christ” preserves us from condemnation, it is clear from both the teachings of Christ and those of the apostles that to be “in Christ” is to experience a transformed life and to be obedient to God’s commandments. But as we will see, while this status exempts the Christian from condemnation, it does not exempt him from examination before the heavenly tribunal.

The Collective Testimony of Scripture

Jesus, of course, borrowed His judgment theology from Solomon, who declared in the last verses of his memoir of failure and restoration:

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.

For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil (Eccl. 12:13-14).

The apostle Paul agrees, borrowing almost exactly the language of Ecclesiastes:

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad (II Cor. 5:10).

In the book of Revelation it is likewise clear that the righteous are judged at the end of time:

And the nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that Thou shouldest give reward unto Thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear Thy name, small and great, and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth (Rev. 11:18).

In light of these verses, for anyone to say—as does the author of the article in question—that “my faith in Jesus renders me immune from judgment” [10], that “if you are a believer, you will not be judged” [11], is to contradict the plain statements of Scripture, not just Ellen White. The Bible is clear that everyone, both righteous and wicked, is to appear before the judgment seat of Christ and be judged on account of their life’s record (II Cor. 5:10; Rev. 20:11-13). Whether or not you “like Jesus going over the records to judge you according to the law” [12], whatever one’s sense of the dreaded fear of “blowing it all with one sinful slip” [13], it is the plain teaching of Scripture on which this doctrine is based. In the words of the apostle James:

For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

For He that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.

So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty (James 2:10-12).

The idea of books in heaven is first found in Moses’ dialogue with God following Israel’s golden calf apostasy, in which Moses pleads with God—if the latter deemed Israel’s condition hopeless—to “blot me, I pray Thee, out of Thy book which Thou hast written” (Ex. 32:32). God then stated to Moses, “Whosoever hath sinned against Me, him will I blot out of My book” (verse 33).

That leaves us with a problem, of course, because the Bible states elsewhere that “all have sinned” (Rom. 3:23; 5:12). So how do any of us escape being blotted out of God’s book? Forgiveness for sins confessed and forsaken is one such escape (II Chron. 7:14; Prov. 28:13; Isa. 55:7; I John 1:9). The other is described in the book of Revelation, in which Jesus recounts the judgment scene portrayed in Daniel 7:9-14:

He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels (Rev. 3:5).

It is to this vindication of God’s saints in the final judgment that the angel Gabriel refers when he declares to Daniel in the final chapter of Daniel’s prophecy, speaking of the ultimate time of trouble: “At that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book” (Dan. 12:1).

Condemnation or Examination?

Biblical words, like words elsewhere, can have varying meanings. Sometimes the word judgment in Scripture refers to condemnation, as in John 5:24. At other times (Eccl. 12:14; Matt. 12:36-37; 25:31-46; II Cor. 5:10; Rev. 11:18) it refers to examination. Here we see a pointed example of the principle Ellen White describes when she says of inspired language: “Different meanings are expressed by the same word; there is not one word for each distinct idea” [##14|Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, vol. 1, p. 20.##].

We thus can see how the King James Version, as well as the New International Version, are correct in rendering the word judgment in John 5:24 as condemnation. In light of what we have found elsewhere in both the teachings of Jesus and the remainder of Scripture regarding the examination of every life in God’s last judgment so far as fitness for salvation is concerned, the word condemnation is clearly a more accurate depiction of what Jesus is talking about.

In short, those who face God’s judgment with their sins pardoned and overcome through the grace and power He provides, will not come into condemnation. But all men and women will face the examination of their motives, words, and deeds before the divine tribunal (Eccl. 12:13-14; Matt. 12:36-37; 25:31-46; II Cor. 5:10; Rev. 20:11-13). Anyone nurturing the notion that simply believing in Jesus will give them a pass in God’s judgment, despite the presence of unconquered sin in the life, holds to a theology at odds with the collective voice of Scripture.

“One Single Verse”

The article in question states as follows regarding the classic Adventist doctrine of the investigative judgment:

This doctrine rests upon one single verse—Daniel 8:14. The reality is that you have to create content for Daniel 8:14 that is not actually present in the text. I would challenge anybody to read Daniel 8:14 and assess how much information that constitutes the investigative judgment actually exists in the text. It is all externally supplied by way of theory. It is a construction project that contradicts the words of Jesus in John 5:24. In my opinion, one would have to torture both verses to arrive at the investigative judgment theory.

It seems to me that Adventist theologians tie themselves in knots to explain, support, and promote this theory. You know the drill. They pontificate on evenings and mornings, 2,300 versus 1,150 days. What is the “daily”? What is the sanctuary [as] referenced by the Jewish writer and where is it located? Is there an antitypical day of atonement? Is there actually a day-year principle? Or is that a weak idea? What is the meaning of scapegoat? Who is the scapegoat—Jesus or Satan? Who does the little horn represent? They opine on whether this was an event in Jewish antiquity or is it for the end times. Is it an earthly event or a heavenly event? None of these considerations are implied by Daniel 8:14!

In reality, the raw material for creating the Adventist interpretation of Daniel 8:14 is all outside the text. It is a collection of interpretations, interpolations and extrapolations. It is a series of leaps, all designed to give credence to a thought that occurred to a distraught man in a cornfield [15].

Unfortunately for his argument, the author of this piece does the same thing with Daniel 8:14 as we have seen him do with John 5:24—isolate the passage from both its immediate context and the overall message of the Bible so far as the final judgment is concerned. We won’t take the time in the present article to examine in depth each of the points made in the above quotation, though several of these are addressed by the present writer in a recent article on this website [16].

But the fact is that no critic of the classic Adventist sanctuary doctrine, whether inside or outside of Adventism, has to my knowledge suggested a more persuasive explanation than the classic Adventist one of the rise and fall of the great powers depicted in Daniel 7 and 8, the culmination of this prophetic panorama in the judgment scene and sanctuary cleansing found in these respective chapters, together with the establishment of the time frame for these developments found in Daniel 7-9. Far from being “a series of leaps, all designed to give credence to a thought that occurred to a distraught man in a cornfield” [17], the doctrine of the investigative judgment is a tapestry of theological and prophetic themes interwoven throughout both Testaments of Scripture. Daniel 8:14 is but one skein in this tapestry, intimately interconnected with the overall Biblical message. Like every other doctrine held by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, it represents the voice of the Biblical consensus.

I do find it fascinating that the article in question mentions the identity of the scapegoat as one of those issues over which Adventist theologians supposedly “tie themselves in knots to explain” [18]. Unless I’ve missed something, I wasn’t aware of any significant debate—or difficulty—among Adventist scholars in identifying the scapegoat of the ancient sanctuary service. (One notes with interest that none other than Walter Martin was constrained to acknowledge, in the final edition of his book The Kingdom of the Cults, that “not a few” Bible scholars (obviously outside of Adventism) were reaching the same conclusion as Adventists that Azazel (the scapegoat) is in fact a symbol of Satan [##19|Walter Martin, The Kingdom of the Cults (Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 1985), p. 480.##]).

The Experience Trap

As with so many who find fault with the investigative judgment doctrine, personal experience appears to play a much bigger role than in-depth Bible study in the theological conclusions of the author whose article we are reviewing. In the author’s words:

Here is a scene familiar to the Adventist imagination: Jesus is turning through the pages of a giant book in a special space in heaven, a space He walked into from some other space. . . . The pages are sequential by date and have recorded on them the life stories of professed believers. Jesus began with the ancients and pretty soon He will get to the pages of living people. Then He will get to . . . my page. And He is going to judge me. Will I be saved or lost?

This is the stuff of childhood nightmares. The uncertainty. The terror at the possibility of eternal loss and burning hellfire. The fear of blowing it all with one sinful slip. The inescapable-but-unknown moment of determination. And it’s all out there somewhere—invisible, shrouded in mystery and suspense. Individuals won’t know the outcome until later. In the meantime, they walk around wondering and fearing and not knowing. Uncertainty! . . .

And the fateful determination was really up to you. Had you made your robe clean? Had you sinned since you last asked for forgiveness? Had you forgotten that one sin and not consciously confessed it? What if you died in an auto accident with an unconfessed sin? Had you reached the moral/behavioral point where you could stand on your own without Jesus? Were you safe to save? [20].

The above cocktail of truth, misperception, and unrevealed motive evokes a cluster of reactions from careful students of classic Adventist teachings, not to mention students of human nature. It’s difficult to quarrel with the testimonies of others, to be sure, since God alone knows the heart (I Kings 8:39), and walking in the shoes of another is next to impossible. But the fact remains that Scripture and the Spirit of Prophecy writings still offer an objective standard by which to measure theology and spirituality, and not every incarnation of Adventist belief and practice from any era constitutes an authentic representation of that standard.

What is especially sad is that so many throughout our history who have professed to revere the inspired writings have failed to represent them accurately. The idea, for example, that the investigative judgment in heaven might pass at any time from the dead to the living, and that the name of any living believer might thus be adjudicated at any moment, is contrary to the teachings of Ellen White relative to last-day events. In the following statement she is clear that the final seal of God cannot be placed on anyone till the Sabbath/Sunday test is brought before the world:

The Lord has shown me clearly that the image of the beast will be formed before probation closes, for it is to be the great test for the people of God, by which their eternal destiny will be decided. . . .

This is the test that the people of God must have before they are sealed [##21|White, SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 976.##].

It hardly makes sense for the names of the living saints to come up in the investigative judgment until they have endured this final test. And despite what certain ones have taught at different times, in no statement does Ellen White teach that the judgment of the living could begin at any moment. It is possible, of course, to die at any moment, thus closing one’s earthly probation. But the idea conveyed by the article in question—that one’s standing in the investigative judgment is some “inescapable-but-unknown moment of determination,” that “individuals won’t know the outcome till later,” thus constraining them to “walk around wondering and fearing and not knowing” [22], is not based on the teachings of the inspired writings so far as the divine judgment of professed Christians now living is concerned.

Even more at odds with the inspired text is the notion alleged by certain ones—entirely undocumented in the writings of the church so far as the present writer is concerned—that God’s end-time people are expected to reach “the moral/behavioral point where [they] could stand on [their] own without Jesus” [23]. Yes, the saints following probation’s close will stand without a heavenly Mediator—because their sins have been fully overcome through divine grace, for which cause they no longer stand in further need of divine forgiveness. The Bible speaks of Christ’s intercession coming to a close in a number of verses in the book of Revelation (Rev. 8:3-5; 15:8; 22:11).

But in no way does this mean the saints at that time, or any time in their earthly pilgrimage, will “stand on [their] own without Jesus” [24]. This is one of the most pernicious urban legends regarding Adventist eschatology in denominational circles. No one to my knowledge has ever produced hard evidence of this theory being taught among Seventh-day Adventists. Moreover, Ellen White is very clear that during the great time of trouble, when the saints are standing without a Mediator and no longer experiencing occasional sin [##25|White, Early Writings, p. 71; Testimonies, vol. 5, pp. 214,216; The Great Controversy, pp. 425,623.##], that Jesus is still helping them resist temptation:

Though God’s people will be surrounded by enemies who are bent upon their destruction, yet the anguish which they suffer is not a dread of persecution for the truth’s sake; they fear that every sin has not been repented of, and that through some fault in themselves they will fail to realize the fulfillment of the Saviour’s promise: I “will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world.” Revelation 3:10 [##26|——The Great Controversy, p. 619.##].

We noted earlier the description by the article in question of alleged judgment anxieties on the part of certain Adventists:

Such questions tend to rise from the mindset of those who perceive God to be a tyrant, like the military drill instructor on a movie some years ago who vowed to “use every means necessary, fair and unfair,” to trip up his cadets. But this is not the God of Scripture, or the God depicted in the writings of Ellen White. The God of the inspired writings is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (II Peter 3:9). Ellen White declares, in one of her most powerful statements on this subject:

The angels never leave the tempted one a prey to the enemy who would destroy the souls of men if permitted to do so. As long as there is hope, until they resist the Holy Spirit to their eternal ruin, men are guarded by heavenly intelligences [##28|White, Our High Calling, p. 23.##].

None need fear, in other words, that they might unexpectedly die without the chance to repent of an unconfessed sin. God isn’t in the business of trying to catch His children in a weak moment, thus forestalling the opportunity on their part to confess and forsake some lingering sin. Too many seem to believe God lacks eternal control over the events in their lives, thus necessitating some celestial “insurance policy” on their part that assures them of salvation despite “accidental” disobedience. But the inspired writings teach no such necessity. Jesus desperately wants us in heaven, and thus will woo and urge and entreat us to forsake everything that stands in the way of our eternal joy in His kingdom.

The “fateful determination” is indeed “up to us” in the sense that the choice is ours to embrace God’s written will and claim His power to overcome. But the power is all His. It is none of our own. And most assuredly it matters if we are “safe to save.” Which of us would want mass shooters, baby-killing terrorists, or shamelessly lying demagogues in the courts of heaven? I fear certain ones among us are so obsessed with their own guilt-ridden past that they neither recognize the polar-opposite problem so prevalent in our time—that of no apparent guilt at all on the part of so many—nor stop and consider the kind of place heaven would be if persons whose full relinquishing of rebellion on earth were less than complete.

It won’t be enough for Jesus to simply rid us of our fallen natures when He comes, as some seem to think is sufficient for making the universe secure against another Luciferian insurrection. After all, sin got started in a place where no one had a fallen nature. The exercise of a consecrated free will, not the obliteration of sinful urges, is the answer to the sin problem, and it is here on earth where our loyalty must be demonstrated through the total subduing of these urges.

“I don’t know the duties required of me.”

The author of the article in question writes elsewhere:

The investigative judgment motif gets worse.

“It is those who by faith follow Jesus in the great work of the atonement who receive the benefits of His mediation in their behalf, while those who reject the light which brings to view this work of ministration are not benefited thereby. . . . How much more essential in the antitypical Day of Atonement that we understand the work of our High Priest and know what duties are required of us” (The Great Controversy, pp. 430,431, emphasis added).

This quote infers that you will not be saved if you don’t believe in and “follow” the mediation of Jesus. I don’t know how you follow that invisible process. I don’t know the duties required of me, or even what they are. Does this quote imply that since only Adventists hold this doctrinal theory that only Adventists will be saved? And then only if they follow the opaque process? [29].

For starters, no one could possibly accuse Ellen White of teaching that only Seventh-day Adventists will be saved eternally. Like Scripture (Acts 17:30; James 4:17), Ellen White is clear that God only holds men and women accountable for the light and truth revealed to them. In one statement she writes:

We are accountable for the privileges that we enjoy, and for the light that shines upon our pathway. Those who lived in past generations were accountable for the light which was permitted to shine upon them. Their minds were exercised in regard to different points of Scripture which tested them. But they did not understand the truths which we do. They were not responsible for the light which they did not have. They had the Bible, as we have, but the time for the unfolding of special truth in relation to the closing scenes of this earth’s history, is during the last generations that shall live upon the earth.

Special truths have been adapted to the conditions of the generations as they have existed. The present truth, which is a test to the people of this generation, was not a test to the people of generations far back….

We are accountable only for the light that shines upon us [##30|White, Testimonies, vol. 2, pp. 692-693.##].

In another statement she is clear that the mediation of Christ in heaven covers those who sin in ignorance:

The minds of all who embrace this message are directed to the most holy place, where Jesus stands before the ark, making His final intercession for all those for whom mercy still lingers and for those who have ignorantly broken the law of God. This atonement is made for the righteous dead as well as for the righteous living. It includes all who died trusting in Christ, but who, not having received the light upon God’s commandments, had sinned ignorantly in transgressing its precepts [##31|——Early Writings, p. 254.##].

And there is nothing “opaque” about the preparation process. God has given us the Bible, as well as the writings of the Spirit of Prophecy, which outline our duties most plainly in this momentous time. How any Seventh-day Adventist could state, in the context of this doctrinal issue, “I don’t know the duties required of me” [32], is both mystifying and appalling.

Conclusion: Another Failed Attack on the Investigative Judgment

We noted at the beginning how the article in question starts with a false dilemma—giving the reader a fabricated choice between the teachings of the Bible and those of Ellen White so far as the investigative judgment is concerned. What should be clear from the present article is that the judicial process inherent in the investigative judgment doctrine as taught by classic Adventism, traces its roots directly to both Old and New Testaments. Whatever clarification and elaboration Ellen White provides for this pivotal doctrine, it is based firmly and squarely on the Bible.

In a comment made following the article in question, the author states:

In the version of the IJ (investigative judgment) I was taught, we really need to be concerned about it. We need to examine ourselves to make sure we have confessed every individual sin. Also, according to White, we need to monitor the judgment, as if anyone knows how to do that. These kinds of notions introduce fear and worry into the equation. Jesus comes to cast out fear [33].

The author had best take up his argument with the apostle Paul, who admonishes his readers to “examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith” (II Cor. 13:5). As with most of Paul’s teachings, he got this one from the Old Testament. In the original Day of Atonement service the people were admonished to afflict their souls to see if any sin remained in their lives (Lev. 23:27-30). It is on this basis that Ellen White urges God’s people to cooperate with Jesus’ work in cleansing the heavenly sanctuary by claiming God’s power to cleanse the soul temple on earth [##34|White, The Great Controversy, p. 425; Maranatha, p. 249; Last Day Events, p. 72; Manuscript Releases, vol. 11, p. 55; Review and Herald, Jan. 21, 1890.##].

Yes, “Jesus comes to cast our fear” [35]. But the Bible speaks of both godly (Psalm 111:10; Prov. 9:10; II Cor. 7:1; Heb. 12:28; Rev. 14:7) and ungodly fear (I John 4:18; Rev. 21:8). The first leads us to repentance, to tremble at God’s Word (Ezra 10:3; Isa. 66:2), thus fleeing to the Lord for pardon and power. The second is felt by the sinner when God’s offer of forgiveness and restoration is set aside, and will in the end lead the wicked to call for the rocks and mountains to hide them from the face of Jesus (Rev. 6:15-17). When the truly guilty are brought before human tribunals, they have good reason to fear judgment. And the same is true of those facing the ultimate judgment who refuse to submit to the Savior’s pardoning and empowering grace.

The author of the article in question writes, toward the end:

I disagree heartily with those who say that without the investigative judgment, we might as well fold up our Adventist tents and disappear. No way!

We have a package of other beliefs that can be quite beautiful. Why, just the concept of a day of rest alone is beautiful and sufficient to distinguish Seventh-ay Adventists. Sabbath is a restorative day, a healthful day, a day of blessings and benefits. Sabbath keeps us sane. That alone is a valuable contribution to Christianity. Our focus on health is also a desirable distinguishing characteristic [36].

First of all, the keeping of the Bible Sabbath does not by itself “distinguish” Seventh-day Adventists, as over 50 other Sabbath-keeping denominations (and likely many more) can presently be counted [37]. But one is constrained to ask, What difference does Sabbath observance, healthful living, or any other moral practice make if “I’m saved by [Jesus], not by my record” [38]? The investigative judgment exists for the purpose of evaluating the moral faithfulness of professing Christians, thus determining their fitness for the courts of glory. If, in the end, such fitness makes no difference so far as our eternal standing with God is concerned, there isn’t a single moral precept in the universe of Christian belief that can’t be ignored with impunity.

In the article under review we see yet another failed attack on the investigative judgment doctrine. But such attacks will continue so long as personal experience and spiritual comfort-seeking are permitted to marginalize the study of God’s Word. Neither exegetical nor prophetic issues lie at the heart of the repetitive challenges faced by the classic Adventist sanctuary doctrine. Rather, it is what a now-deceased Adventist author wrote nearly two decades ago on this subject. Much as I differ with any number of this author’s conclusions, he was right on this point:

The dialogue concerning the investigative judgment and related topics within our church today seems primarily an attempt to settle on our beliefs concerning sin and righteousness and salvation. The investigative judgment, as a historical and eschatological event, is not really threatening. . . .

It’s not our lack of understanding of how Daniel 8 relates to Leviticus 16 that causes the sleepless nights. It’s our lack of understanding of how the apparent bad news of the judgment relates to the good news of the gospel [##39|Morris L. Venden, Never Without An Intercessor: The Good News About the Judgment (Boise, ID: Pacific Press Publishing Assn, 1996), pp. 7-8.##].

None can deny that some who have preached the investigative judgment doctrine have failed to present winsomely the Biblical hope of perfect victory over sin, and how that victory in the lives of God’s saints will secure His universe against a second rebellion. But the solution to this problem is not to find fault with this doctrine as some persist in doing, faults which invariably lead to conflict with the message of the Bible itself. One need only sample the numerous overtly anti-Biblical, anti-Christian comments following the article in question—many dripping with harsh mockery [40]—to find stunning proof of the accuracy of the following prediction by Ellen White:

It is Satan’s plan to weaken the faith of God’s people in the Testimonies. Satan knows how to make his attacks. He works upon minds to excite jealousy and dissatisfaction toward those at the head of the work. The gifts are next questioned; then, of course, they have but little weight, and instruction given through visions is disregarded. Next follows skepticism in regard to the vital points of our faith, the pillars of our position, then doubt as to the Holy Scriptures, and then the downward march to perdition [##41|White, Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 672.##].

Rather, the solution is to internalize and proclaim the full message of both Scripture and the writings of Ellen White on this subject, a message exuding both pardon and power, thus unleashing the passion of God’s saints in declaring to the world the eternal divine purpose in the lingering controversy between good and evil, and how that controversy can only end when a generation of fully surrendered, fully purified believers show the universe that even in the darkest hour of the ages, replicating the sinless choices of their Lord is possible in every circumstance and in the face of every challenge.

REFERENCES

1. Edward Reifsnyder, “Wait! Let’s Look at That Again: Investigative Judgment,” Spectrum, Jan. 27, 2024 https://spectrummagazine.org/views/wait-lets-look-at-that-again-investigative-judgment/

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

4. Ibid.

5. Ibid.

6. Ibid.

7. Ibid.

8. Ibid.

9. Ibid.

10. Ibid.

11. Ibid.

12. Ibid.

13. Ibid.

14. Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, vol. 1, p. 20.

15. Reifsnyder, “Wait! Let’s Look at That Again: Investigative Judgment,” Spectrum, Jan. 27, 2024 https://spectrummagazine.org/views/wait-lets-look-at-that-again-investigative-judgment/

16. Kevin D. Paulson, “Other Challenges to the Sanctuary Doctrine,” ADvindicate, April 7, 2023 https://advindicate.com/articles/2021/9/2/justification-and-perfection-aembc-l9bng-h3pls-8wb32-te4k3-6epdj-ms96e-kzs7l-w2tdn-tz53d-yklz7

17. Reifsnyder, “Wait! Let’s Look at That Again: Investigative Judgment,” Spectrum, Jan. 27, 2024 https://spectrummagazine.org/views/wait-lets-look-at-that-again-investigative-judgment/

18. Ibid.

19. Walter Martin, The Kingdom of the Cults (Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 1985), p. 480.

20. Reifsnyder, “Wait! Let’s Look at That Again: Investigative Judgment,” Spectrum, Jan. 27, 2024 https://spectrummagazine.org/views/wait-lets-look-at-that-again-investigative-judgment/

21. White, SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 976.

22. Reifsnyder, “Wait! Let’s Look at That Again: Investigative Judgment,” Spectrum, Jan. 27, 2024 https://spectrummagazine.org/views/wait-lets-look-at-that-again-investigative-judgment/

23. Ibid.

24. Ibid.

25. White, Early Writings, p. 71; Testimonies, vol. 5, pp. 214, 216; The Great Controversy, pp. 425,623.

26. ----The Great Controversy, p. 619.

27. Reifsnyder, “Wait! Let’s Look at That Again: Investigative Judgment,” Spectrum, Jan. 27, 2024 https://spectrummagazine.org/views/wait-lets-look-at-that-again-investigative-judgment/

28. White, Our High Calling, p. 23.

29. Reifsnyder, “Wait! Let’s Look at That Again: Investigative Judgment,” Spectrum, Jan. 27, 2024 https://spectrummagazine.org/views/wait-lets-look-at-that-again-investigative-judgment/

30. White, Testimonies, vol. 2, pp. 692-693.

31. ----Early Writings, p. 254.

32. Reifsnyder, “Wait! Let’s Look at That Again: Investigative Judgment,” Spectrum, Jan. 27, 2024 https://spectrummagazine.org/views/wait-lets-look-at-that-again-investigative-judgment/

33. Ibid.

34. White, The Great Controversy, p. 425; Maranatha, p. 249; Last Day Events, p. 72; Manuscript Releases, vol. 11, p. 55; Review and Herald, Jan. 21, 1890.

35. Reifsnyder, “Wait! Let’s Look at That Again: Investigative Judgment,” Spectrum, Jan. 27, 2024 https://spectrummagazine.org/views/wait-lets-look-at-that-again-investigative-judgment/

36. Ibid.

37. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sabbath-keeping_churches

38. Reifsnyder, “Wait! Let’s Look at That Again: Investigative Judgment,” Spectrum, Jan. 27, 2024 https://spectrummagazine.org/views/wait-lets-look-at-that-again-investigative-judgment/

39. Morris L. Venden, Never Without An Intercessor: The Good News About the Judgment (Boise, ID: Pacific Press Publishing Assn, 1996), pp. 7-8.

40. Reifsnyder, “Wait! Let’s Look at That Again: Investigative Judgment,” Spectrum, Jan. 27, 2024 https://spectrummagazine.org/views/wait-lets-look-at-that-again-investigative-judgment/

41. White, Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 672.

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