judgment

Editorial – When God is Displeased With the Church Part II

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Wherever the will of God is violated by nations or by individuals a day of retribution comes. Many set aside the wisdom of God and prefer the wisdom of man and adopt some human invention or device. . . . Turning from inspired men and those who spread the Word before them praying God to shed light upon it, many make lies their refuge.

“We have more than a royal path to heaven—we have a divine road. We are to stand before the great white throne, and hear the decisions of the infallible Judge of the quick and of the dead. Some act as if they were at liberty to cancel the decisions of the Judge, to review them, and take the warnings given of God, cut them up, choose one part and reject another, endorse or reverse at pleasure. In this way the messages of God are made void and made to bend to men’s likings, ideas, and judgments.

“Those who have the oil of grace in their vessels with their lamps will not be found on the side with those who pronounce judgment upon the works of God and His messages of reproof and warning. We must bring our religion to the Bible standard. We must not place ourselves where we claim wisdom to welcome or reject God’s words at pleasure. Never let the world think that the Christian and the world are the same in mind and judgment. There is a line drawn between the eternal God and the church on one side and the world on the other. There is no unity between the two. One chooses the way of the Lord, the other the ways of Satan.

“There will always be found a necessity to contend for the faith once delivered to the saints. With the spirit of Christ, the model character, before us, we must ever strive for perfection. Every soul has a character to form for everlasting life. The Christian’s life is a constant warfare against the slavery of passion.

“Men of the world hate the Bible, because it will not let them sin just as they please and carry along with them their hereditary and cultivated traits of character. They want their own ideas to be cherished as the mind of God. . . .

“In the same way will those who claim to believe the truth war against the testimonies in collision with their ways, their opinions, and when reproved, they will hate them with an intense hatred, will, like Canright, laugh at them and misconstrue them and pour all the contempt upon them that is possible. We must, if we are true and genuine Christians, be diligent soldiers for Christ and listen attentively to all the warnings given us. The works of sin and all uncleanness must be forever removed, and we must put on the armor of Christ’s righteousness, which is proof against all temptations. . . .

“I now beg of you for Christ’s sake to make a decided change. Be true to your faith, true to your God.—Letter 16, 1888.” [Excerpts from the last part of a letter written to an administrator who had committed adultery and had refused to confess his sin and make things right.] Manuscript Releases, vol. 21, 169, 170.

Are We Properly Clothed?

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Revelation 3:17, 18 says, “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and [that] the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.”

These startling words of Christ are spoken in love to those dwelling in Laodicea who profess to be among God’s remnant. Could it be possible that some of us could be deceived as to our spiritual condition? Such an alarming description given by our Saviour, who discerns the secrets of the heart, calls for some serious thinking.

“What is it that constitutes the wretchedness, the nakedness of those who feel rich and increased with goods?—It is the want of the righteousness of Christ. In their own righteousness they are represented as clothed with filthy rags, and yet in this condition they flatter themselves that they are clothed upon with Christ’s righteousness. Could deception be greater?” This Day With God, 228.

A Question

What is it going to take to awaken our sleepy heads from our deception that we may comprehend how God sees most of us? Ellen White wrote: “The knowledge of our state as God views it, seems to be hidden from us. We see, but perceive not; we hear, but do not understand; and we rest as unconcerned as if the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night, rested upon our sanctuary. We profess to know God, and to believe the truth, but in works deny Him. Our deeds are directly adverse to the principles of truth and righteousness, by which we profess to be governed.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 84.

Sadly, rather than accepting Christ’s righteousness, many within the church today have done exactly as did Adam and Eve in their disobedience. “They have sewed together fig leaves to cover the nakedness caused by transgression. They have worn the garments of their own devising, by works of their own they have tried to cover their sins, and make themselves acceptable with God.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 311.

Praise God! He is ready, if we are ready, to awaken all lukewarm believers and help them to see the necessity of changes that must be made in their lives if they will be properly clothed. This is no small matter. In fact, it is a life and death issue. “He [God] is waiting to strip them [believing souls] of their garments stained and polluted with sin, and to put upon them the white robes of righteousness; He bids them live and not die.” The Faith I Live By, 134.

Now, since God is just waiting to put upon us the white robes of Christ’s righteousness, why are we so reluctant to accept His precious gift? The Bible has the answer: Because we are “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” Revelation 3:17.

Wretchedness

Have you ever really seen such a person? I have. On one of my visits to Africa, I was scheduled to spend 30 days in the Cameroons, visiting every outpost. As we started out by Volkswagen, we had eight flat tires in just a few miles. Our tires were absolutely useless. I suggested we return to the capital city and try to find some other used tires, since new tires were unavailable. We searched for several hours through a huge pile of old, used tires until we finally found four that we hoped would do the job.

As these tires were being put on the car, I decided to see the little town. Believe me, it was only a few blocks in size. As I was walking slowly, looking in the shops, the smell was anything but pleasant, for beside the narrow sidewalk ran an open sewer ditch. Suddenly I smelled a stench I could hardly stand. But from where was it coming?

As I turned a corner, I almost bumped into him. I hesitate to describe what I saw. There he stood, about 6 feet 4 inches tall, dirty, and covered with mud and filth. I could hardly stand the odor, yet there he was stark naked, with not even a loincloth. On his stomach and sides were large ulcers, some as large as six inches across, with puss oozing from them. Some of his toes were missing, for he was filled with leprosy. I also noticed that half of his fingers had been eaten away. But when I looked at his face I was really shocked, for the leprosy had eaten away both eyeballs—only the sockets remained—and part of his nose was missing. What a shocking experience! I shall never forget this man who was in such a hopeless condition.

There is Hope

The Scriptures describe what God sees in many of us as believers today. Isaiah 1:5, 6 says, “Why should ye be stricken any more? Ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head [there is] no soundness in it; [but] wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.”

Yet there is hope. While we have failed to grasp God’s grace and strength provided through Christ, none are so sinful that they cannot find strength, purity, and righteousness in Jesus who died for us. The True Witness not only points out our Laodicean spiritual disease, but He offers the remedy. We are invited to come to Him and buy the white raiment of His righteousness, that we might be clothed with the robes of His righteousness so that the shame of our nakedness will not appear.

How do we buy Christ’s white raiment? “When the work of repentance is earnest and deep, the individual members of the church will buy the rich goods of heaven. [Revelation 3:18.] Oh, how many behold things in a perverted light, in the light in which Satan would have them see.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 961.

Imputed and Imparted

If only we could see ourselves as God sees us, not as Satan wishes us to see ourselves, then through earnest repentance we could buy the remedy for the Laodicean condition. The True Witness exhorts us to “be zealous therefore, and repent.” Revelation 3:19. The white raiment of Christ’s righteousness is often referred to in inspired writings as a robe or as robes in the plural. In truth, Christ has only one righteousness, but His righteousness is applied to man in two different ways—imputed and imparted. These are given to man for two different purposes.

“The righteousness by which we are justified is imputed; the righteousness by which we are sanctified is imparted. The first is our title to heaven; the second is our fitness for heaven.” Messages to Young People, 35. Thus, the robes of righteousness that Christ provides for repentant man consist of:

  1. justifying righteousness, and
  2. sanctifying righteousness.

Robes of Righteousness

Inspiration often uses the plural noun when speaking of Christ’s robes of righteousness. A few of those references are given here: “Christ could stoop to raise unnumbered multitudes from the abyss of ruin and clothe them with the spotless garments of His own righteousness.” The Great Controversy, 415.

Revelation 16:15 says, “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed [is] he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.”

“Only those who are clothed in the garments of His righteousness will be able to endure the glory of His presence when He shall appear with ‘power and great glory.’ [Luke 21:27.]” Sons and Daughters of God, 368.

We notice from these quotations that ‘garments’ is in the plural. We might think of the imputed robe of Christ’s righteousness as being the foundation garment, for we must receive it first. This robe signifies that the believer has confessed, repented of, and forsaken his sins; that he has been forgiven or justified.

Immediately after we are clothed with this robe, Christ places upon man His imparted robe of righteousness. Christ enters his heart to dwell there by faith. Christ’s imparted righteousness signifies that the believer is being sanctified; that his character is being fitted for heaven. Christ, with man’s cooperation, is living out His life within. This outer garment of sanctifying righteousness is often referred to in inspired writings as “the wedding garment.” [Matthew 22:11, 12.] All who attain to these two robes of divine righteousness are properly clothed and ready for the coming of the bridegroom to the wedding. Without these two divine garments, no man can see God and live.

Man’s Part

The next Bible verse introduces to us a different part of God’s truth. It declares that man has a part to act in wearing the robes of Christ’s righteousness. In Revelation 7:14, we are told, “These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

Now the questions arise, What robes does man wash? And how does he wash them? We need not wash the imputed robe of Christ’s righteousness, for it is spotless. “It is the righteousness of Christ that makes the penitent sinner acceptable to God and works his justification. However sinful has been his life, if he believes in Jesus as his personal Saviour, he stands before God in the spotless robes of Christ’s imputed righteousness.” The Signs of the Times, July 4, 1892.

Neither does man wash Christ’s robe of imparted righteousness, for it too is spotless. When it comes to sanctification, we find that during sanctification the imparted righteousness of Christ is to become part of man’s very own character, for it is the character of man that must be fitted for heaven. This is not done instantaneously. Verily, it is the work of a lifetime, be it long or short.

At the new birth, Christ imputes and imparts His righteousness to the believer. Both are spotless robes. The repentant one is now ready for Christ to come just as was the thief on the cross. But then, during sanctification, man’s character is to be developed to recognize and resist sin and temptation in its many forms, and to become more and more Christlike every day. This requires cooperation between Christ and man, for Christ does not furnish man with a ready-made, spotless character. God furnishes the talents and His imparted righteous building blocks. But we build the character. For further study, I suggest you read Christ’s Object Lessons, 331.

Cooperation Needed

Please allow me to illustrate. For some years now I have been wearing one suit for preaching engagements. The other day, my wife told me it was time to get a new suit, so we went shopping for one. Fortunately, we found a department store that had a sale on men’s clothing. Surprisingly, the first suit that the salesman showed me was exactly what I wanted.

As I put the suit on, I felt there was a problem, probably necessitating the need for an alteration, for the suit felt slightly snug. But the tailor, after careful examination, said, “No, it does not need to be altered. The suit is a perfect fit exactly as it is, but you must lose about ten pounds.” I agreed and purchased the suit, and I am cooperating by reducing my weight; then the suit will fit properly.

This is a striking illustration of how we are to cooperate with God. He does not alter His character requirements; we must develop characters that fit His divine pattern. In our human, defective, stained, and polluted robes of character, we are to wash in the blood of the Lamb every day. As we continue to wash, God accounts our character as perfect in Christ. So, washing our garments is a very important work.

“The provision has been made for us to wash. The fountain has been prepared at infinite expense, and the burden of washing rests upon us, who are imperfect before God. The Lord does not propose to remove these spots of defilement without our doing anything on our part. We must wash our robes in the blood of the Lamb. We may lay hold of the merits of the blood of Christ by faith, and through His grace and power we may have strength to overcome our errors, our sins, our imperfections of character, and come off victorious, having washed our robes in the blood of the Lamb.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 183.

Work of Leaders

In this process, there is a work for God’s ministers and leaders to do. “We should teach those who are filthy how to cast away their old, sin-stained garments of character, and how to put on Christ’s righteousness.” The Southern Work, 27. We should also teach men that if they cooperate with the divine, the divine will cooperate with them, and they will come off victoriously.

“The whole purpose in giving His Son for the sins of the world is that man may be saved, not in transgression and unrighteousness but in forsaking sin, washing his robes of character, and making them white in the blood of the Lamb. He proposes to remove from man the offensive thing that He hates, but man must cooperate with him in the work. Sin must be given up, hated, and the righteousness of Christ must be accepted by faith. Thus will the divine cooperate with the human.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 632.

Repentant sinners also need to be informed that God has given detailed instructions for them as to how to wash their robes. In The Signs of the Times, August 1, 1878, Ellen White declares, “Here is a work for man to do. He must face the mirror of God’s law, discern the defects in his moral character and put away his sins, washing his robes of character in the blood of the Lamb. Envy, pride, malice, deceit, strife, crime will be cleansed from the heart that is recipient of the love of Christ, and cherishes the hope of being made like him when we shall see him as he is.”

In The Review and Herald, August 5, 1887, she wrote, “The Lord would have us wash our robes of character now, remove every stain in the blood of the Lamb. …

“We need to have higher and more distinct views of the character of Christ, to lead us to copy his example. We need to better understand what constitutes a pure religious life. We must learn to be Christlike in disposition and character.”

In these quotations, we are told how to wash our robes, for God would have us:

  1. face the mirror of God’s Law,
  2. identify our sins,
  3. put our sins away, and
  4. learn to be Christlike in character. When must this be done? Now! Day by day!

“A probation is granted us in which to wash our robes of character and make them white in the blood of the Lamb. Who is doing this work? Who is separating himself from sin and selfishness?” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 960.

Again we read, “Now we have the precious opportunity of washing our robes of character in the blood of the Lamb till they are spotless in his purity.” The Signs of the Times, December 22, 1887.

Wedding Garment

We will quickly note that the wedding garment and our robes of character are one and the same thing. “The wedding garment in the parable is represented as a pure, spotless character which Christ’s true followers will possess.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 310. The wedding garment represents the character which all must possess who shall be accounted fit guests for the wedding. “The parable of the wedding garment opens before us a lesson of the highest consequence.” Ibid., 307.

What happens to the man who comes to the wedding feast without a wedding garment? These are “they who would not put off the garment of earth in order to be clothed with the robe of heaven.” Ibid., 318. In Matthew 22:13, we read of the king who declares of these, “Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast [him] into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

How different the experience will be for those who have put on the wedding garment. Revelation 19:7, 8 says, “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.” “Clothed in the glorious apparel of Christ’s righteousness, they have a place at the King’s feast. They have a right to join the blood-washed throng.” Ibid., 315. Why? Because they have washed their robes of character, they are a blood-washed throng.

So we see that this parable of the wedding garment, as told by Jesus, contains a lesson of the highest consequence. “The wedding garment represents the character which all must possess who shall be accounted fit guests for the wedding.” Ibid., 307. After the marriage, these fit guests will have a home with their King forever and ever.

“If we now wash our robes of character at this fountain, God will give us a place in the mansions that are being prepared for those who love Him.” The Signs of the Times, November 22, 1905.

Inspiration asks some very serious questions which each of us must, sooner or later, be prepared to answer. Are you keeping your garments unspotted from the world as you read in James 1:27? “Have you been washing your robes of character and making them white in the blood of the Lamb; or are you defiling your robes of character with moral pollution?” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 442.

Fullers’ Soap

We will now turn back to the topic of our preparation for the glorious coming of our King to the wedding. The prophet Malachi brings to light a time of special preparation for God’s people who are to face the exceedingly turbulent times of the end. God will give them special help for this special time. As they are washing their garments of character in the blood of the Lamb, God will come to their aid even as a refiner’s fire and as fullers’ soap. This glorious promise is recorded in Malachi 3:1–3: “Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he [is] like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: And he shall sit [as] a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.”

Most of us seem to understand what is meant by the refiner’s fire—the process whereby gold and silver are refined and purified. But just what is the significance of the fuller’s soap? In Bible times, a fuller was a person who laundered, or whitened, cloth or clothing. Webster’s Dictionary states that fuller’s soap is extracted from a certain type of clay. “Fuller’s earth is a highly absorbent substance composed of clay and silica material, either natural or artificial, used for taking grease out of cloth. Fuller’s herb,” says Webster’s, “is a plant formerly used for taking stains out of cloth.”

In several places in the Scriptures, a fuller’s field is said to be located “at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller’s field.” Isaiah 7:3. The field was located in a place where the fuller could get not only the necessary detergent, clay substance, and needed bleach and herbs, but also an abundance of pure water. It was thus that he was able to achieve fantastically white, bright, spotless cloth and clothing.

We can readily appreciate what a great help fullers’ soap, God’s special cleansing grace, would be in the washing of our garments and character. Mark vividly describes, in Mark 9:3, the garment of Jesus on the Mount when He was transfigured before some of His disciples. “And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.”

We can scarcely imagine the whiteness of Christ’s garment! However, Jesus has opened an abundant fountain of His blood for us in which to wash our garments of character. He promises to supply fullers’ soap in abundance. Praise His name! His provisions are complete. We need only to cooperate.

Time of Judgment

We are now in the time of the judgment. In The Review and Herald, May 9, 1893, after penning the three verses in Malachi, previously quoted, Ellen White explains: “The coming of Christ which is here referred to is not his second advent to this earth, but his coming to the investigative judgment in the most holy place of the sanctuary in heaven. Thus the message is especially to us, who are living in the time of the judgment.”

For emphasis, permit me to repeat that last phrase, “The message of Malachi is especially to us who are living in the time of the judgment.” That time is now! The time of the judgment spoken here, that began in 1844, had a two-fold purpose:

  1. to accomplish the investigative judgment, and
  2. through a special work of putting away sin, to prepare a people to be able to stand when Christ appears.

To the members of God’s church, I will say that we are the modern sons of Levi, brought to life in Malachi. If we are to abide the day of His coming, our garments of character must be refined, purified, and purged. Why? So that we may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.

Read from The Great Controversy, 425. In the first paragraph, Ellen White quotes Malachi 3:1–3; then she follows with this vivid description: “Those who are living upon the earth when the intercession of Christ shall cease in the sanctuary above are to stand in the sight of a holy God without a mediator. Their robes must be spotless, their characters must be purified from sin by the blood of sprinkling. Through the grace of God, and their own diligent effort, they must be conquerors in the battle with evil. While the investigative judgment is going forward in heaven, while the sins of penitent believers are being removed from the sanctuary, there is to be a special work of purification, of putting away of sin, among God’s people upon earth. This work is more clearly presented in the messages of Revelation 14.

“When this work shall have been accomplished, the followers of Christ will be ready for His appearing. ‘Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years.’ Malachi 3:4. Then the church which our Lord at His coming is to receive unto Himself will be a ‘glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.’ Ephesians 5:27. ‘Then, she will look forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners.’ Song of Solomon 6:10.”

What a solemn time in which to live! A time when a whole group from among God’s professed people, through the grace of God and their own diligent efforts, must be conquerors in the battle with evil. For it will be necessary for them to stand before God during the time of final trouble without a mediator in the heavenly sanctuary. This means that if they were to sin, there would be no forgiveness available. No other people will have lived under such a condition as this, but we need not be discouraged, for God is our Helper. What a Saviour is our Lord!

Get Ready

What a glorious future we have to look forward to! Preceding each of the following passages, Ellen White first quotes Malachi 3:1–3:

“Soon every man will be judged according to his deeds. Wake up, my brethren, before Christ comes to your name in the record books of heaven, and passes judgment upon every unchristlike word and deed.” The Kress Collection, 95.

In The Review and Herald, December 1, 1896, in connection with these verses, Ellen White declares, “A message which is as a two-edged sword must be given to the people, to clear away the evils that are seen among them. A living testimony that will awaken the paralyzed conscience is to be borne.”

But alas, at such a time when Jesus wants to come to take unto Himself a glorious church not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, as we read in Ephesians 5:27, what is the condition of this people? He finds them in a condition of self-deception, thinking that they are properly clothed when they are actually wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. Rather than being among those who are deceived and spiritually paralyzed, let us determine to be one of God’s messengers to bear His special awakening message, though it may be as unflattering as the Laodicean message and as piercing as a two-edged sword.

With Ellen White, let us sound the alarm, “Wake up, my brethren, get ready! get ready! get ready!”

“In a view given June 27, 1850, my accompanying angel said, ‘Time is almost finished. Do you reflect the lovely image of Jesus as you should?’ Then I was pointed to the earth and saw that there would have to be a getting ready among those who have of late embraced the third angel’s message. Said the angel, ‘Get ready, get ready, get ready. Ye will have to die a greater death to the world than ye have ever died.’ I saw that there was a great work to do for them and but a little time in which to do it.” Early Writings, 64.

Properly Clothed

Permit me to give one more important point. All need to understand the answer to the question, What does it actually mean to be clothed in the garments of Christ’s righteousness; to be clothed in the white raiment that is offered in Revelation 3? I will let Inspiration answer: “When we submit ourselves to Christ the heart is united with His heart, the will is merged to His will, the mind becomes one with His mind, the thoughts are brought into captivity to Him; we live His life. This is what it means to be clothed with the garments of His righteousness. Then as the Lord looks upon us He sees, not the fig-leaf garment, nor the nakedness and the deformity of sin, but His own robe of righteousness, which is perfect obedience to the law of Jehovah.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 312.

When the Lord dwells in our hearts, we think the thoughts of God and do the works of God. After reading these inspired messages, let us ask ourselves, Am I properly clothed? If we are not, we need to heed the words of the angel, “Get ready, get ready, get ready.”

For over 60 years Pastor Lawrence Nelson served as an evangelist and minister for the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Of that time, he served 13 years as the director of evangelism for youth at the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Upon retirement from the General Conference, he continued to pastor, but when, as a result of his stand for truth, he was denied the opportunity to continue his pastorate, he started Keep the Faith Audio Tape Ministry, recording his sermons and making them available to individuals. Before his retirement from this ministry in 2004, over 18,000 audio tapes were being sent around the world each month.

Bible Study Guides – The Judgment Hour Revealed Again

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November 21, 2009 – November 27, 2009

Key Text

“And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” Daniel 8:14.

Study Help: Selected Messages, Book 1, 164–168; The Great Controversy, 409–432.

Introduction

“The correct understanding of the ministration in the heavenly sanctuary is the foundation of our faith.” Evangelism, 221.

1 In the third year of Belshazzar’s reign, what restless activity was Daniel shown in vision? Daniel 8:1–8. Identify the nations represented in this vision. Daniel 8:20–22.

Note: “In the vision of the prophet He [God] is seen casting down one mighty ruler, and setting up another. He is revealed as the monarch of the universe, about to set up His everlasting kingdom—the Ancient of days, the living God, the Source of all wisdom, the Ruler of the present, the Revealer of the future.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 4, 1166.

“From the rise and fall of nations as made plain in the books of Daniel and the Revelation, we need to learn how worthless is mere outward and worldly glory. Babylon, with all its power and magnificence, the like of which our world has never since beheld—power and magnificence which to the people of that day seemed so stable and enduring—how completely has it passed away! As ‘the flower of the grass,’ it has perished. James 1:10. So perished the Medo-Persian kingdom, and the kingdoms of Grecia and Rome. And so perishes all that has not God for its foundation. Only that which is bound up with His purpose, and expresses His character, can endure. His principles are the only steadfast things our world knows.” Prophets and Kings, 548.

2 What principle should we bear in mind when we study the history of these nations? Isaiah 40:7, 8, 21–23.

Note: “ ‘He that is slow to anger,’ says the wise man, ‘is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city’ [Proverbs 16:32]. The man or woman who preserves the balance of the mind when tempted to indulge passion stands higher in the sight of God and heavenly angels than the most renowned general that ever led an army to battle and to victory. Said a celebrated emperor when on his dying bed, ‘Among all my conquests there is but one which affords me any consolation now, and that is the conquest I have gained over my own turbulent temper.’ Alexander and Caesar found it easier to subdue a world than to subdue themselves. After conquering nation after nation, they fell—one of them ‘the victim of intemperance, the other of mad ambition.’ ” Child Guidance, 95, 96.

3 Through what action would the power represented by the “little horn” exalt itself, as considered before? Daniel 8:9–11.

Note: “Says Daniel, of the little horn, the papacy: ‘He shall think to change times and the law.’ Daniel 7:25, R.V. And Paul styled the same power the ‘man of sin,’ who was to exalt himself above God. One prophecy is a complement of the other. Only by changing God’s law could the papacy exalt itself above God; whoever should understandingly keep the law as thus changed would be giving supreme honor to that power by which the change was made. Such an act of obedience to papal laws would be a mark of allegiance to the pope in the place of God.” The Great Controversy, 446.

4 How did Daniel foresee the papal opposition to the truth? Daniel 8:12. How was this prophecy fulfilled?

Note: “Among the leading causes that had led to the separation of the true church from Rome was the hatred of the latter toward the Bible Sabbath. As foretold by prophecy, the papal power cast down the truth to the ground. The law of God was trampled in the dust, while the traditions and customs of men were exalted. The churches that were under the rule of the papacy were early compelled to honor the Sunday as a holy day. Amid the prevailing error and superstition, many, even of the true people of God, became so bewildered that while they observed the Sabbath, they refrained from labor also on the Sunday. But this did not satisfy the papal leaders. They demanded not only that Sunday be hallowed, but that the Sabbath be profaned; and they denounced in the strongest language those who dared to show it honor. It was only by fleeing from the power of Rome that any could obey God’s law in peace.” The Great Controversy, 65.

5 What was revealed to Daniel with reference to the cleansing of the sanctuary? Daniel 8:13, 14. How are we to understand this “cleansing”? Hebrews 9:22, 23.

Note: “The coming of Christ as our high priest to the most holy place, for the cleansing of the sanctuary, brought to view in Daniel 8:14; the coming of the Son of man to the Ancient of Days, as presented in Daniel 7:13; and the coming of the Lord to His temple, foretold by Malachi, are descriptions of the same event; and this is also represented by the coming of the bridegroom to the marriage, described by Christ in the parable of the ten virgins, of Matthew 25.” The Great Controversy, 426.

“What is the cleansing of the sanctuary? That there was such a service in connection with the earthly sanctuary is stated in the Old Testament Scriptures. But can there be anything in heaven to be cleansed? In Hebrews 9 the cleansing of both the earthly and the heavenly sanctuary is plainly taught. …

“The cleansing, both in the typical and in the real service, must be accomplished with blood: in the former, with the blood of animals; in the latter, with the blood of Christ. Paul states, as the reason why this cleansing must be performed with blood, that without shedding of blood is no remission. Remission, or putting away of sin, is the work to be accomplished.” Ibid., 417, 418. [Emphasis in original.]

“As the priest entered the most holy once a year to cleanse the earthly sanctuary, so Jesus entered the most holy of the heavenly, at the end of the 2300 days of Daniel 8, in 1844, to make a final atonement for all who could be benefited by His mediation, and thus to cleanse the sanctuary.” Early Writings, 253.

6 In what other ways is the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary described? Acts 3:19; Revelation 14:6, 7; Hebrews 9:11–14. Name some important points we should consider on this subject.

Note: “At the time appointed for the judgment—the close of the 2300 days, in 1844—began the work of investigation and blotting out of sins.” The Great Controversy, 486.

“Christ is cleansing the heavenly sanctuary from the sins of the people, and it is the work of all who are laborers together with God to be cleansing the sanctuary of the soul from everything that is offensive to Him. Everything like evil surmising, envy, jealousy, enmity, and hatred, will be put away, for such things grieve the Holy Spirit of God and put Christ to an open shame. Love of self will not exist, nor will any engaged in this work be puffed up.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 11, 55.

7 Who was sent to help Daniel to understand the visions given to him? Daniel 8:15, 16.

Note: “Wonderful thought—that the angel who stands next in honor to the Son of God is the one chosen to open the purposes of God to sinful men.” The Desire of Ages, 99.

“The angel had been sent to Daniel for the express purpose of explaining to him the point which he had failed to understand in the vision of the eighth chapter, the statement relative to time—‘unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed’ [Daniel 8:14].” The Great Controversy, 326.

8 Why are the messages given to Daniel so important for us today? Daniel 8:17–19.

Note: “Such subjects as the sanctuary, in connection with the 2300 days, the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, are perfectly calculated to explain the past Advent movement and show what our present position is, establish the faith of the doubting, and give certainty to the glorious future. These, I have frequently seen, were the principal subjects on which the messengers should dwell.” Early Writings, 63.

“We are living in the time of the end, when the judgments of God are in the land. Signs on every hand show that the agencies of evil are strengthening. Lucifer and his servants are working with unceasing activity. In this time of peril the people who keep the Sabbath of the fourth commandment are to be awake to the situation, prepared to resist the attacks of the enemy.” Australasian Union Conference Record, April 15, 1912.

9 How is Rome again represented in prophecy, including its latter time? Daniel 8:23–25; II Thessalonians 2:7, 8. How was Daniel affected by the vision? Daniel 8:26, 27.

Note: “The angel Gabriel, though commanded to make Daniel understand the vision, gave him only a partial explanation. As the terrible persecution to befall the church was unfolded to the prophet’s vision, physical strength gave way. He could endure no more, and the angel left him for a time. Daniel ‘fainted, and was sick certain days.’ ‘And I was astonished at the vision,’ he says, ‘but none understood it.’ [Daniel 8:27.]” The Great Controversy, 325.

Additional Reading

“Jesus stands in the holy of holies, now to appear in the presence of God for us. There He ceases not to present His people moment by moment, complete in Himself. But because we are thus represented before the Father, we are not to imagine that we are to presume upon His mercy, and become careless, indifferent, and self-indulgent. Christ is not the minister of sin. We are complete in Him, accepted in the Beloved, only as we abide in Him by faith.” The Signs of the Times, July 4, 1892.

“As the ministration of Jesus closed in the holy place, and He passed into the holiest, and stood before the ark containing the law of God, He sent another mighty angel with a third message to the world. A parchment was placed in the angel’s hand, and as he descended to the earth in power and majesty, he proclaimed a fearful warning, with the most terrible threatening ever borne to man. This message was designed to put the children of God upon their guard, by showing them the hour of temptation and anguish that was before them. Said the angel, ‘They will be brought into close combat with the beast and his image. Their only hope of eternal life is to remain steadfast. Although their lives are at stake, they must hold fast the truth.’ The third angel closes his message thus: ‘Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus’ [Revelation 14:12]. As he repeated these words, he pointed to the heavenly sanctuary. 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.

“After Jesus opened the door of the most holy, the light of the Sabbath was seen, and the people of God were tested, as the children of Israel were tested anciently, to see if they would keep God’s law. I saw the third angel pointing upward, showing the disappointed ones the way to the holiest of the heavenly sanctuary. As they by faith enter the most holy, they find Jesus, and hope and joy spring up anew. I saw them looking back, reviewing the past, from the proclamation of the second advent of Jesus, down through their experience to the passing of the time in 1844. They see their disappointment explained, and joy and certainty again animate them. The third angel has lighted up the past, the present, and the future, and they know that God has indeed led them by His mysterious providence.” Early Writings, 254, 255.

©2005 Reformation Herald Publishing Association, Roanoke, Virginia. Reprinted with permission.

The Coronation of Christ

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We have established the fact by many indubitable proofs that the investigation and decision of the cases of the righteous precede their resurrection in the likeness of Christ. In establishing the fact that the cases of the righteous are thus decided before the sounding of the trumpet of God, we do really establish the fact that the cases of the wicked are also virtually decided at the same time. For when we have shown that all who are to have immortality are accounted worthy of it before their resurrection, it necessarily follows that though the actions of the wicked are not examined in detail until the saints sit with Christ in the judgment during the one thousand years, yet the wicked are, by the decision in the case of the righteous, left, as worthless and noxious, to the resurrection of the unjust and to the devouring fire.

The next event in the great day of God is the destruction of the living wicked by the seven last plagues. As these do not come until the wicked are accounted unworthy of the kingdom of God, their destruction comes as a part of the judgment work, and after the virtual decision of their cases. The fact is many times revealed in the Bible that before the final deliverance of the saints there comes a time of trouble such as never was. This is plainly marked as lying between the decision in the case of the righteous at the close of their probation, and the event of their deliverance.

Thus, according to Daniel, the deliverance of the saints does not take place until the existence of a time of trouble such as never was. And this time of trouble comes in consequence of the close of our Lord’s intercession and the assumption of His kingly office. (Daniel 12:1.) The wrath of God against sin is neither stayed nor mitigated after the Son of God ceases to plead for sinful man.

The closing work of Christ’s priesthood is in the second apartment of the heavenly sanctuary. This is opened under the sounding of the seventh trumpet. (Revelation 11:19.) It is after the temple is thus opened in heaven that the seven angels pour out the seven last plagues. (Revelation 15:5–8.) But these plagues fill up the wrath of God, which is threatened by the third angel. (Revelation 15:1 compared with 14:10.) And the third angel gives the final message of mercy and warning to mankind before the Son of man sits upon the white cloud. (Revelation 14:6–14.) So it is apparent that while Christ is finishing His work in the sanctuary, and while the third angel is giving the last message of mercy to man, the seven last plagues are withheld, though pending ready to be poured out. But when the work of probation is closed, and the intercession of Christ in heaven, and the voice of warning upon earth, are ended, then men drink from the cup of His indignation the wine of God’s wrath without any mixture.

That which constitutes this wrath is the seven last plagues. They are by this term distinguished from those plagues inflicted under the six trumpets. (Revelation 9:20, 21.) They are represented as the wrath of God without mixture, i.e., they have no element of mercy mingled with them. They are poured out into the cup of God’s indignation. This is an awful expression to indicate that men at that time fall into the hands of the living God. This fearful execution of God’s judgment is witnessed before the deliverance of the saints; for not less than six of the plagues are poured out prior to the advent of Christ. (Revelation 16:12–15.)

This same period of trouble is brought to view in Revelation 7, and located between the opening of the sixth and seventh seals. Before the four winds are loosed, the servants of God are sealed. The seal is placed upon them, that the destroying angel may not cut them down. (Compare Ezekiel 9 with Revelation 7.) This is a plain proof that the saints must continue upon the earth for a certain space after the time of trouble commences. The fact that all who are sealed at the commencement of this time of trouble are afterward seen standing upon Mount Zion with the Lamb, is proof that their probation closes with the commencement of this scene of trouble. Compare Revelation 7:4; 14:1.) In other words, they are then accounted worthy to escape the things that are to come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. (Luke 21:36.) The very time when they are thus accounted worthy to stand before the Saviour, is at the close of our Lord’s priesthood; and the time of trouble itself comes when that priesthood is exchanged for His kingly office.

Probation does therefore close before the entrance of the people of God upon this great time of trouble. One of those events immediately following the close of probation, and therefore constituting a feature of the time of trouble, is what the Bible calls “the hour of temptation.” Thus we read: “Because thou has kept the word of My patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly; hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.” Revelation 3:10, 11.

The keeping of the word of Christ’s patience especially pertained to the period of the third angel. (Revelation 14:12.) Those who keep this word are to be kept from the hour of temptation, while all others are to be taken captive by it. This shows that the saints are upon the earth during this period; and that when it commences, those who are unprepared are hopelessly lost.

But this season of unrestrained temptation is also brought to view by Paul, when describing the state of things existing just before our Lord’s return. Thus he says: “Whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie; that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” 2 Thessalonians 2:9–12.

When God sends men strong delusion to believe a lie that they all might be damned, it must be after the righteous have accomplished their work of overcoming, and after the Saviour has ceased to plead. The only way that God sends this strong delusion is by withdrawing His Spirit when men have sinned away the day of grace, thus leaving them a prey to the unrestrained power of the devil.

Now it is remarkable that the third angel brings to view this same period of Satan’s mighty working. It is the work of the third angel to give warning of the things that are to come to pass upon the earth at the close of human probation.

When he warns us against the worship of the image, and the reception of his mark, it is in direct reference to the fact that the two-horned beast is to make such an image and to require men to worship it on pain of death. (Revelation 14:9–12; 13:11–16.) And we do learn that this image is made in consequence of the miracles that are to be wrought. (Compare Revelation 13:13, 14; 16:13.) One of these miracles will be the bringing down of fire from heaven. This lies before us in the time of trouble. It is no wonder that those who are not kept by the power of God should be deceived by this fearful delusion.

It is at the close of the work of intercession that the Lord is represented as putting on the garments of vengeance for the destruction of His enemies. (Isaiah 59:16–18.) “And when the enemy [Satan] shall come in like a flood, in the strong delusion, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.” Verse 19. “It is also at the close of our Lord’s priestly work that the prophecy of Amos meets its fulfillment:

Behold the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine in bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord; and they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it.” Amos 8:11, 12.

The third woe comes by reason of the voice of the seventh angel. (Revelation 8:13.) The seven last plagues come under the seventh trumpet. (Revelation 11:15–19; 15:5–8.) The seven plagues, which fill up the wrath of God, do therefore constitute the third woe. The people of God will not be removed from the earth till after six of the plagues have been poured out. They must witness the fearful scenes of the time of trouble. But the seal of the living God will be their protection, so that though a thousand fall at their side and ten thousand at their right hand, it will not come nigh them. (Psalm 91:1–10.) The situation of the saints during the outpouring of the plagues will be like that of Israel during the plagues upon Egypt.

These dreadful calamities which will come upon our earth before the people of God are taken from it may be mentioned as the loosing of the four winds, the pouring out of the vials of God’s wrath in pestilence, famine, and earthquake, and in the battle of the great day of God Almighty. It will be the hour of temptation for all the wicked world, when Satan shall exert his utmost power. To the wicked it will be the time of trouble such as never was; to the righteous it will be the time of Jacob’s trouble, at which, in answer to their cry day and night, like the importunate widow, they will be delivered. (Jeremiah 30:5–7; Genesis 32; Luke 18:7, 8.)

In view of this awful scene which must be witnessed by the people of God, Zephaniah calls upon all the meek of the earth to seek righteousness and meekness. And he adds, “It may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger.” Zephaniah 2:1–3. If they do their best in seeking God, it is but barely possible that they will escape. And our Lord beseeches His people to watch and pray always, that they may be accounted worthy to escape the things coming on the earth, and to stand before the Son of man. (Luke 21:36.) If, therefore, this great time of trouble is to come upon our world after the close of Christ’s intercession and before the deliverance of the saints, of what vast consequence is that final message of warning which reveals these great facts?

The fact that the resurrection of the righteous is declarative of their acceptance in the sight of God, and, therefore, proof that the investigation and decision of their cases precede that event, has been very distinctly stated by some of the clearest minds in the Advent ranks. The late Sylvester Bliss, for many years editor of the Advent Herald, thus states the case: “We are inclined to the opinion that the judgment is after death and before the resurrection; and that before that event the acts of all men will be adjudicated; so that the resurrection of the righteous is their full acquittal and redemption—their sins being blotted out when the times of refreshing shall have come (Acts 3:19); while the fact that the wicked are not raised [for one thousand years], proves that they were previously condemned.” Advent Shield, 4, 366 (published in 1845.)

He saw the fact perfectly distinct that there can be no trial of the righteous after they have been made immortal. But it is very evident that he did not well understand when and how the examination of their cases should take place. Elder Josiah Litch, one of the ablest writers in the early history of the Advent movement, states this subject even more distinctly than Mr. Bliss. In his Prophetic Expositions, written in 1842, on pages 49–54 he uses the following language:

 

The Meaning of the Term “Judge”

“1. It is used in the Bible in the sense of a trial according to law and evidence, the idea being drawn from a civil or criminal court . . .

“2. It signifies a penal judgment; or the execution of judgment.

“The terms are both used in reference to the judgment of the human race. All men will be brought to trial, or into judgment, and all their deeds and their moral characters will be examined, and their everlasting states will be determined by the evidence produced from God’s books, including the book of life, which will decide the moral character and everlasting destiny of each individual of Adam’s race. If their names are found in ‘the book of life,’ they will be saved; and if not found there, they will be cast into the lake of fire, the second death. But the degree of reward or punishment will be graduated by what each one has done . . .

 

The Trial Must Precede the Execution

 

“This is so clear a proposition that it is sufficient to state it. No human tribunal would think of executing judgment on a prisoner until after his trial; much less will God. He will bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing whether it be good or evil.

“But the resurrection is the retribution or execution of judgment; for they that have done good shall come forth to the resurrection of life. ‘We look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ; who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body.’ ‘In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.’ Here is clearly a retribution in the resurrection. It will be administered when the saints are raised. But no more certainly than they that have done evil will come forth damned, or ‘to the resurrection of damnation.’ They will come forth to shame and everlasting contempt. The saints will be raised and be caught up at once to meet the Lord in the air, to be forever with the Lord. There can be no general judgment or trial after the resurrection. The resurrection is the separating process, and they will never be commingled again, after the saints are raised, no matter how long or short the period to elapse between the two resurrections; it is all the same so far as the separation which the resurrection produces is concerned. If there is no more than a second which elapses between the two resurrections, the separation it makes is final.

 

God, the Ancient of Days Will Preside In the Trial

 

“1. Daniel 7:9, 10, presents the Ancient of Days coming on His throne of fiery flame; the judgment is set and the books opened. He is distinct from the Son of man, spoken of in verse 13, when He comes to the Ancient of Days. “2. Revelation 20:12 tells us it is God, before whom the dead stand and are judged.

 

The Son of Man Will Execute the Judgment

 

Thus the Saviour declares (John 5:27): ‘And hath given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of man.’ Also 2 Corinthians 5:10: ‘For we shall all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.’

“Also Paul’s testimony in the Acts of the Apostles: God ‘hath appointed a day in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom He hath ordained, whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead.’ What we are assured of by the resurrection of Christ, is the execution, in the resurrection, of a righteous judgment on all men.

 

The Time of the Trial of the Dead

 

“It is under the opening of the sixth seal of Revelation 6, where the servants of God are sealed. . . And under the seventh seal (chapter 8:1) when there is silence in heaven about the space of half an hour; when the great Mediator ceases to plead for sinners, the day of grace ends; then the judgment or trial will proceed on the living inhabitants of the earth. That done, Christ will appear in the clouds of heaven, and come to the Ancient of Days and the scene of trial, and, with a shout, to announce the verdict and deliver all His saints as soon as they are declared innocent, or justified, and raise them to eternal life in the twinkling of an eye. We are now justified by faith; we must, however, be declared justified at the day of judgment, before the effects of the fall will be taken away, and the saints be restored to God’s perfect image and glory.

 

The Twenty-Fifth Chapter of Matthew

 

“This chapter does not, as has been supposed, describe the great trial, but the separation between the righteous and wicked, which will be accomplished by the resurrection of the just. And when the separation is accomplished; Christ will address each party, and show why He has made this separation. But through the whole scene, He acts the part of the executor of judgment.” Query: Did the judgment, or trial of the dead, begin to sit when they took away the papal dominion in 1798? (See Daniel 7:26, compared with Daniel 7:9, 10.)

The reader cannot fail to be deeply interested in these extracts from Bliss and Litch. We do not indorse every idea. Indeed, there is a degree of confusion in the language, which shows that the subject was not wholly clear. Thus, while Elder Litch teaches that the session of the judgment must be before Christ comes, and even though it might have commenced at the end of the twelve hundred sixty days, he seems also to teach that Christ comes to this tribunal when He descends to earth. This cannot be, as has been fully shown in a former article.

But this reasoning of Elder Litch relative to the investigation and decision of the cases of the righteous before the resurrection, is weighty and conclusive. It is worthy of notice that he places this judgment of the righteous at the tribunal of the Father, as presented in Daniel 7. He believed that this part of the judgment work was to be fulfilled while the living were yet in probation; for he suggested that it commenced in 1798, with the ending of the twelve hundred sixty years. These able writers saw the fact that this work must take place before the resurrection of the just, but they did not see the time and place for the work. They did not see the heavenly sanctuary, and therefore had no clear ideal of the concluding work of human probation, as presented to us in the Saviour’s ministration before the ark of God’s testament. The temple of God in heaven reveals the very nature of this work, and the prophetic periods mark its time. The proclamation of the angel that the hour of His judgment is come, and His solemn oath to the time, gives to mankind the knowledge of this great work, and the certainty that the present is the time of the dead that they should be judged. This doctrine is of the highest practical importance. It shows that we are now in the antitype of the great Day of Atonement. Our business should be the affliction of our souls and the confession of our sins.

At the ascension of our Lord, He entered the heavenly temple and sat down upon His Father’s throne, a great High Priest after the order of Melchizedek. (Psalm 110:1, 4; Hebrews 8:1, 2.) But when He returns in His infinite majesty as King of kings, He sits upon His own throne, and not upon that of His Father. He speaks thus of His descent from heaven: “When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory.” Matthew 25:31.

It is evident, therefore, that there is a space of time at the conclusion of our Lord’s work in the temple in heaven, in which His priestly office is exchanged for His kingly dignity; and this transition is marked by His relinquishing His place upon the throne of His Father, and assuming His own throne. The judgment session of Daniel 7:9–14 is the time and place of this transition. Our Lord plainly distinguishes these two thrones: “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in MY throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne.” Revelation 3:21.

The Saviour’s reception of His own throne preparatory to His Second Advent is described in Psalm 45. As Psalm 110 makes prominent His priestly office upon His Father’s throne, so Psalm 45 describes His kingly office and work upon His own throne: My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the King; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. Thou art fairer than the children of men; grace is poured into Thy lips; therefore God hath blessed Thee forever. Gird Thy sword upon Thy thigh, O most mighty, with Thy glory and Thy majesty. And in Thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and Thy right hand shall teach Thee terrible things. Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies; whereby the people fall under Thee. Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever; the scepter of Thy kingdom is a right scepter. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness; therefore God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows.” Psalm 45:1–7.

This personage who is fairer than the sons of men, can be no other than the King in His beauty (Isaiah 33:17), who is to be admired in the day of His advent by all them that believe. (2 Thessalonians 1:10.) The time when He rides forth for the destruction of His enemies is presented in Revelation 19:11–21.

The words of Paul establish the fact that this psalm relates to Christ, some of its words being addressed to Him by His Father when He invests Him with His kingly office and throne. Thus Paul quotes and comments: “But unto the Son He saith, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows.” Hebrews 1:8, 9.

The relation of these two thrones to the work of our Lord is very important to be understood. As a priest after the order of Melchizedek, who was both priest and king (Genesis 14:18–20; Psalm 110:1, 4; Hebrews 7:1–3), the Saviour has had a joint rule with His Father upon the throne of the universe. (Zechariah 6:12, 13.) His office of Priest-King continues till His Father makes His enemies His footstool. Then He delivers up the kingdom, which He has shared with His Father to Him alone, that God may be all in all. (1 Corinthians 15:24–28.) His reign upon the throne of His Father ends with all His enemies being given to Him for destruction.

The throne given Him when His priesthood ends is that which He inherits as David’s heir. On that throne, He shall reign over the immortal saints for endless ages. (Luke 1:32, 33; Isaiah 9: 6, 7 Upon the throne of the Father, He had a joint rule as Priest-King; upon His own throne His people have a joint rule with Him. The first ends, that God may be all in all; the second is a reign that shall continue forever.

 

No Time to Celebrate, part 2

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In this article, we will review the first five points concerning central features of the Three Angels’ Messages that we looked at last month, and further develop number six:

  1. The Three Angels’ Messages are special messages to the last generation. When Jesus comes, the people who are lost are the ones who rejected the Third Angel’s Message, received the mark of the beast and worshipped his image.
  2. The Three Angels’ Messages lead men to keep God’s law. “Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” Revelation 14:12. Those are the distinguishing marks of God’s people in the last days. To help you understand who and what Babylon is, God gives twenty-five identifying marks so you will not miss it. But with God’s people it is straightforward: they keep the commandments and have the faith of Jesus.
  3. The whole world, in the last days, will reject the Three Angels’ Messages. That is clear in Revelation 13:14–16; 16:12–14; 18:23, 24; 19:18, 21. Since the Third Angel’s Message is the most awful threatening and warning in the Bible, the question is why would the whole world reject a threatening and warning so plain, clear and strong?
  4. They will reject this strong, plain warning because of the great deceptions that the unclean spirits will bring upon the world. “I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them together to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” Revelation 16:13, 14. The reason the world rejects the message is because they are deceived. As we said in part one, if your faith is based on miracles, the chances are one hundred percent that you will be deceived.
  5. The result of rejecting the Three Angels’ Messages is that you will receive this mark, and drink of the wine of the wrath of God. What has the wrath of God seen in it? The seven last plagues, according to Revelation 15. If you reject the Three Angels’ Messages, you will receive the plagues. That is Revelation 15 and 16. Revelation 17 is about the great worldwide confederation that will oppose God. Revelation 18 is about the destruction of the people that oppose the Three Angels’ Messages. And Revelation 19 is about their final destruction when Jesus comes before the millenium.
  6. The devil will work miracles, specializing in a certain kind of miracle. This miracle is the impersonation of our dead loved ones, famous people of the past, the Virgin Mary or the apostles. Before it is over according to Great Controversy, 624, the devil is even going to personate Jesus Christ.

Ellen White says that some of the same gracious words that Jesus spoke, the devil will speak. He will appear more glorious than anyone mortal eyes have ever beheld. The people of this world will fall down and worship him as Christ. He is the great antichrist.

Ellen White says that the devil can impersonate your dead loved ones perfectly. The form, the shape, the voice, the accent, information that no one but you and that person knew, he can duplicate perfectly. The devil will deceive people through ministers, even through Seventh-day Adventist ministers. Selected Messages, vol. 2, 380 says, “Many of the ministers are half paralyzed by their own defects of character. They need the converting power of God.” If a minister is half paralyzed by his defects of character, can he preach to you about overcoming your defects of character, gaining perfection and overcoming sin? Not unless he wants to be a hypocrite; and if he does, he will shake in his boots the whole time. How can you talk to someone else about something that you yourself are not experiencing? You cannot preach about overcoming smoking if you are smoking.

I used to wonder why no one was preaching about perfection of character, sanctification, overcoming and forsaking sin? I read about these topics all the time in Ellen White’s writings, but rarely heard them preached from the pulpit. Now I understand why so few ministers preach it. It is because they themselves have never experienced these things. You cannot preach about overcoming sin if you are not in your own closet going through an experience with the Lord and overcoming. That is one of the ways the devil deceives people. They never hear about the necessity of forsaking and overcoming sin. The preachers do not preach about it because they cannot.

We talk about how the devil uses religion to deceive people. Ellen White says that he will come to the last generation in the “livery [that is the cloak] of heaven.” (See Testimonies, vol. 3, 456.)What is that talking about? He will come in a religious guise, seeking to gain control of the world.The devil will come to Adventists in church.

The devil will cause heresy to be preached. “Every conceivable message is coming to counterfeit the work of God, and always bearing the inscription of truth upon its banner. And those who are prepared for anything new and sensational, will handle these things in such a manner that our enemies will charge all that is inconsistent and overdone upon Mrs. E. G. White, the prophetess . ..There will be counterfeit messages coming from persons in all directions. One after another will rise up, appearing to be inspired, when they have not the inspiration of heaven, but are under the deception of the enemy. All who receive their messages will be led astray.” Selected Messages, vol. 3, 404.

“Delusions and deceptions will come in among us and will multiply as we near the end.” 1888 Materials, 1243. We are living in the time when these delusions and deceptions are multiplying.

Here is another way the devil deceives people. “Those who feel at liberty to question the Word of God, to doubt everything where there is any chance to be unbelieving, will find that it will require a tremendous struggle to have faith when trouble comes. It will be almost impossible to overcome the influence that binds the mind which has been educated in the line of unbelief, for by this course the soul is bound in Satan’s snare and becomes powerless to break the dreadful net that has been woven closer and closer about the soul.” Last Day Events, 68, 69.

If you sow unbelief, questioning and doubting, that is what you will reap. The time will come when you will be so steeped in unbelief that there will be no way to reach you. There are a lot of people in that condition all around us today, even in the church. There is one more deception we have not looked at: “The warfare against God’s law commenced in heaven. Satan was determined to bring God to his ideas, his way, to force Him to change the law of His government. This was the cause of the war in heaven. Satan worked upon the sympathies of the angelic host by his deceptive attitude.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 12, 37.

Can you have sympathy without any feeling? Sympathy has to do with the way you feel toward another person. The devil was successful in getting a third of the angels on his side by working on their sympathy. He still knows how to do that. The devil uses this technique to get control, not only of individuals or families, but of whole churches and conferences in the Adventist Church.

 

The Way of the Transgressor is Hard

 

God created human beings to be happy. But He says there are certain conditions under which you cannot have happiness. The Bible says that “in Your [God’s] presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forever more.” Psalm 16:11. “Good understanding gains favor, but the way of the unfaithful is hard.” Proverbs 13:15. For those who follow the Lord there is peace and joy, but not for the wicked. ” ‘There is no peace,’ says the Lord, ‘for the wicked.’ ” Isaiah 48:22. Paul clearly describes what it is like for the wicked:

“As it is written, there is none righteous, no not one; There is none who understands. There is none that seeks after God. They have all turned aside. They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one. Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit; The poison of asps is under their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; Destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes. Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” Romans 3:10–19.

Paul says for sinful men, “Destruction and misery are in their ways, the way of peace they have not known.” There is no chance for them to have joy and happiness. They will experience destruction and misery. That is what the Bible teaches from the beginning to the end.

The Bible says that if you sin and try to cover it up, you will not prosper. “He who covers his sin will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.” Proverbs 28:13. But for six thousand years the devil has been trying to convince people that you can sin and still have joy and happiness. The Bible says, “No, you cannot!”

During the time of the children of Israel, the Lord gave them a special service once a year called The Day of Atonement. On this Day they were to afflict their souls. “For any person who is not afflicted in soul on that same day he shall be cut off from his people. And any person who does any work on that same day, that person I will destroy from among his people.” Leviticus 23:29, 30.

“This shall be a statute for ever for you; in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger who dwells among you. For on that day the priest shall make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins.” Leviticus 16:29–31. God’s plan is to get rid of your sins. If your sins are forgiven and forsaken, then you will be happy. That is one of the central points of the whole ceremonial service.

“It is a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever.” Verse 31. The old covenant Day of Atonement came once a year. The new covenant Day of Atonement began in 1844. We are living in the anti-typical Day of Atonement. Right now, the Lord is reviewing the records of every individual.

 

Search for Hidden Sins

 

“In this great day of atonement our work is that of heart-searching, of self-abasement, and confession of sin, each humbling his own soul before God, and seeking pardon for himself individually . . . If each will search and see what sins are lurking in his own heart to shut out Jesus, he will find such a work to do that he will be ready to esteem others better than himself.” Historical Sketches, 213.

We have to go to the Lord and say, “Lord, is there anything in my life that is wrong and needs to come out.” If you ask the Lord that question, you will be surprised how fast He might answer your prayer! The Holy Spirit will put His finger right on something and say, “How about this?”

“Every man is required to afflict his soul before God. Every heart is required to be in harmony with the divine will.” Review and Herald, August 12, 1884. “Investigate the motives of every action and know that the eye of God reads all, searches out every hidden thing.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 124. I am to ask myself, “What are my motives?” That is afflicting my soul.

“An effort was made to arouse them by presenting our true position in the anti-typical day of atonement, when every man should afflict his soul before God, when sins should be confessed and go beforehand to judgment that when the times of refreshing shall come, they may be blotted out.” Review and Herald, October 21, 1884. “Some men’s sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment . . . and they that are otherwise cannot be hid.” 1Timothy 5:24, 25.

There was another special occasion on the Jewish calendar, which was very different from the Day of Atonement. “The Feast of Tabernacles was the great holiday of the nation.” Review and Herald, July 7, 1896. The Feast of Tabernacles represented the great celebration that the saints will enjoy when the Lord takes them to heaven. We believe in celebrating! We are getting ready for the biggest celebration of all time, but it will take place in heaven after the Day of Atonement that we are still in now.

The Day of Atonement prepares you for the great celebration. The devil’s trick is to get people celebrating when they are not ready to go to heaven. They are not ready to have their sins blotted out. He knows that they are headed straight for hellfire if they do not get sin out of their lives.

Do you want to celebrate a few years down here and then go to hellfire? Or do you want to celebrate up there forever. “The Feast of Tabernacles was the great holiday of the nation. This feast was preceded by a Day of Atonement, which occurred on the tenth day of the seventh month, when everyone was to afflict his soul by confessing his sins, both to the Lord and to his brethren. This humiliation was to prepare the way for the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles.” Ibid.

The Lord says, “If you desire to have joy, peace and happiness, sin has to come out of your life.” And the devil says, “No, it does not. You can have a celebration right now!” That is deceptive. But the Christian world is falling for it. A large part of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is falling for it. The Adventist Review took a random survey of 1738 Adventists (printed in the October 30, 1997 edition); twenty-nine percent of those polled said they attend celebration churches right now.

I want to show you from the Bible how serious this is. It is impossible for me to state it too strongly. If you are going to a celebration church, you had better repent and get out of there or you will commit the unpardonable sin and go straight to hellfire. I will read it to you right now in the Bible. “You are full of noise, a tumultuous city, a joyous city. Your slain men are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle . . .Therefore I said, ‘Look away from me, I will weep bitterly; Do not labor to comfort me because of the plundering of the daughter of my people. For it is a day of trouble and treading down and perplexity by the Lord God of Hosts in the valley of vision—breaking down the walls and of crying to the mountain . . .He removed the protection of Judah. You looked in that day to the armor of the house of the forest . . .You also saw the damage to the city of David that it was great. You numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses you broke down to fortify the wall . . .And in that day the Lord God of Hosts called for weeping and for mourning, for baldness and for girding with sackcloth.” Isaiah 22:2, 4, 5, 8–10, 12.

There is a time when it is not appropriate to sing, dance, wave our hands and have a good time. Do you laugh at a funeral? A funeral, the Bible says, is for mourning. The Lord tells us in verse twelve that it is time to weep and mourn. Why? Because a large percentage of Seventh-day Adventists today are going straight to destruction.

A man came along in the seventies by the name of Desmond Ford, saying you cannot find the investigative judgment in the Bible. That is not true. But people did not and still do not want to hear about the judgment. They want to feel good and to say, “Our sins are forgiven and it is all right.” The Lord says the opposite: “Search your heart, examine your life, look at your motives and ask Me to help you get sin out.”

It is time to pray, to weep between the porch and the altar and plead for God’s people. It is not time to cover up sin and to have a good time. That kind of a good time will not last. When God called for weeping and mourning, the people did not do it. “But instead, joy and gladness, slain oxen and killing sheep, and eating meat and drinking wine: Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” Verse 13.

They said, “we will not weep and mourn. We will celebrate and have a good time. We will tell the people, Be joyful and happy!” If you are joyful and happy when you are living in sin, you insult the deity and God will respond to that insult.

The Lord said, “It is time to afflict your soul. It is time to search your heart.” They said, “Oh, no, we will have a good time.” The God of heaven is a loving God. He loves us all very much, but He is not to be trifled with. Soon it will be impossible to save the rebellious. Jesus is coming in the clouds of heaven. He will tell us that there is no more sacrifice for sin. If there is sin on your record at that time, you will be lost forever. There will be plenty of gnashing of teeth when the Lord comes. Jesus said that when He comes there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, no celebrating then, because the people have not overcome their sins.

While there is still time, the Lord says, “You need to afflict your soul. You need to search your heart.” Neither the preacher, the elder nor the Sabbathschool teacher can do it for you. You have to do it for yourself. You have to go to your closet and pray saying, “Lord, is there anything in me that needs to come out so I can be ready to meet Jesus in peace?”

The people said, “We will have a good time.” The Lord said, “Yes, you will have a good time, but look what will happen to you.” “Then it was revealed in my hearing by the Lord of Hosts, ‘surely for this iniquity there will be no atonement for you, even to your death,’ says the Lord of hosts,” Verse 14. This means you have committed the unpardonable sin. People say, “Oh, it does not matter. You can worship any way you choose!” But according to Isaiah 22, when God says, “It is time to weep and mourn,” the decision you make to obey or disobey, has eternal consequences.

I am to go to my closet and say, “Lord, are my motives right? I may be doing good things, but are my motives right? Is there secret sin in my life, Lord? If so, I want it to come out now while there is time and not after probation when it is too late.” If I do that now, the time is coming when I will go to a great celebration! It is likened to the marriage supper of the Lamb. It will be the happiest time in my life and it will never end.

Ellen White said, “The command is ‘Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that [celebrate?] sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.’ [Ezekiel 9:4.] These sighing, crying ones have been holding forth the works of life; they had reproved, counseled, and entreated. Some who had been dishonoring God repented and humbled their hearts before Him. But the glory of the Lord had departed from Israel; although many still continued the forms of religion, His power and presence were lacking. In the time when His wrath shall go forth in judgments, these humble, devoted followers of Christ will be distinguished from the rest of the world by their soul anguish, which is expressed in lamentation and weeping, reproofs and warnings. While others try to throw a cloak over the existing evil, and excuse the great wickedness everywhere prevalent, those who have a zeal for God’s honor and a love for souls will not hold their peace to obtain favor of any.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 210.

The sin that is all around is going to send these people to destruction. The day of salvation is almost over. She talks about two classes: The people who are not grieved over their sins and the people who are sighing, crying, mourning, weeping, lamenting, reproving and counseling others to get sin out of their lives.

The people who receive the seal of God are those who look at their lives and ask, “Lord, is there anything in me that needs to be changed so that I will be ready for heaven?” If all Adventism decides to stomp their feet and clap their hands, wave, have drums and music, sing, dance, play and be joyful, I will not do it!

We are now in the preparation time. The only people who attend God’s great celebration are the ones whose robes of character have been washed in the blood of the Lamb. All the wrinkles are removed, and they are ready. When Jesus comes in the clouds of heaven, the saints will ask only one question, “Is my garment spotless? Are all the wrinkles out?”

I have visualized in my mind over and over again what it will be like to see the cloud coming and know that I am either saved or lost. There will be no changing then. The time to make your calling and election sure is now.

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout . . . and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17. What a celebration!

 

God The Father, The Judge

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God the Father is in His own right the supreme Judge of man and of angels. He proposes to bring all mankind into judgment. Yet this work is only done in part by Himself in person. It is by Jesus Christ that God is to perform the larger part of His immense work. The following proposition is worthy of serious consideration.

  1. God the Father opens the judgment in person, then crowns His Son king, and commits the judgment to Him.

“I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of Days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool; his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him, thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him, the judgment was set, and the books were opened. I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake; I beheld even till the beast was slain and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away; yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominions, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” Daniel 7:9–14.

The Ancient of Days represents God the Father. That one like the Son of man, who comes to the Ancient of Days, is none other than our Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew 26:64; Mark 14:61, 62. It is, therefore, not the Son, but the Father who sits in judgment as described in this vision. Those who stand in his presence either to minister, or to wait, are not men, but angels. This is a very important fact. Every student of the Bible is aware that the book of Revelation is a wonderful counterpart to the book of Daniel.

This very phraseology respecting those in the presence of the Ancient of Days, is made use of in the Revelation, and with the evident design of showing who are the persons intended by Daniel. Thus John says: “And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands.” Revelation 5:11.

Daniel describes the opening scene of the final judgment. The Father presides as judge. The angels of God are present as ministers and witnesses. At this tribunal the Son of man presents Himself to receive the dominion of the world. Here He is crowned King of kings and Lord of lords. But men are not present to witness this part of the judgment, or to behold the coronation of Christ. It is the Father and the Son and the holy angels who compose this grand assembly. Our Lord cannot act as judge so long as He ministers as high priest to make intercession for them that come to God through Him. Hebrews 7:24, 25. Nor can He act as judge until He is clothed with kingly power, for it is by virtue of His authority as king that He pronounces the decision of the judgment. Matthew 25:34, 40. The coronation of our Lord at the judgment-seat of His Father marks the termination of His priesthood, and invests Him with the sovereign authority by which He shall judge the world.

  1. It is not upon the earth that the Ancient of Days holds the session of the judgment described in Daniel 7.

Those who think this session of judgment by the Father is to be held upon our earth, understand that the “ten thousand times ten thousand” who stand before Him are the vast multitude of the human family, standing at His bar for judgment. But as this vision represents the Son as coming to the Father when He is thus seated in judgment, it follows that if the Father is already upon this earth judging its inhabitants when the Son of God comes the second time, then the Father does not send his Son to the earth, but he comes first, and then the Son comes and joins him. Yet Peter said of the Father concerning Christ’s Second Advent, “He shall send Jesus Christ.” Acts 3:20.

 

Great Sound of a Trumpet

 

It would also follow that instead of the Son of man coming to gather His saints from the four quarters of the earth, He comes to find all mankind gathered at His Father’s bar. But we do know that when the Saviour comes He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and shall gather His elect from the four winds, even from the uttermost parts of the earth. Matthew 24:31; Mark 13:27; 2 Thessalonians 2:1.

But should this difficulty be avoided by adopting the truth that those who stand before the Ancient of Days are angels, as those certainly must be who minister unto Him? It follows that our Lord is coming back to our earth thus preceded by His Father and the holy angels, comes unattended and alone. But this cannot be true, for when Jesus comes again it will be with all the holy angels. Matthew 25:31; 17:27; 2 Thessalonians 1:7, 8.

Again the Saviour is crowned king at the judgment-seat of the Father. But that judgment-seat cannot be upon our earth, else the Saviour would have to return to this earth to be crowned; whereas He receives His kingdom while absent, and returns as king of kings, sitting upon the throne of His glory. Luke 19:11, 12, 15; Matthew 25:31; 2 Timothy 4:1; Revelation 19:11–16.

It is certain; therefore, that the judgment scene described in Daniel 7 does not take place upon our earth. Indeed, were it true that immediately preceding the descent of the Saviour to our earth, God the Father should Himself descend in His own infinite majesty, and summon mankind to His bar, and enter into judgment with them, the subsequent advent of Jesus would hardly be taken notice of at all by men. But such is not the truth in this case. Matthew 24:29–31; 25:31, 32; Mark 13:26, 27; Luke 21:25–27, 36; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; 2 Thessalonians 1:7–10.

  1. This session of the judgment by the Ancient of Days precedes the advent of Christ to our earth.

When the Lord comes again He is a king seated upon His own throne. Matthew 24:31; Luke 19:11, 12, 15; Revelation 19:11–16. But the tribunal of the Father is the very time and place where His coronation occurs. Daniel 7:7–14. It must then precede His advent.

When he comes the second time it is “in the glory of his Father.” Matthew 16:27; Mark 8:38; Luke 9:26; 2 Thessalonians1:7, 8. But it is when the Father sits in judgment that He gives this glory to His Son. Daniel 7:14. Indeed, the very majesty of the Father as displayed at this tribunal, will attend the Son when He is revealed in flaming fire to take vengeance on His enemies. 2 Thessalonians 1:7–10; Matthew 24:30, 31; 25:31. We are certain; therefore, that the revelation of Christ in His infinite glory is subsequent to that tribunal at which that glory is given to Him.

On this occasion, the Father is judge in person, and the Son presents Himself to receive the kingdom. But when the Son of man comes to our earth, having received the kingdom, He acts as judge Himself. 2 Timothy 4:1. But it is evident that our Lord’s work as judge is at a later point of time than that judgment scene at which the Father presides. We are certain, therefore, that the tribunal of Daniel 7:9–14 precedes the descent of our Lord from heaven. 1 Thessalonians 4:14–18.

  1. The coming of the Son of man to the Ancient of Days is not the same event as His Second Advent to our world.

This has been proved already in the examination of other points. Thus it has been shown from the coronation of Christ that the second advent must be at a later time than the Saviour’s act of coming to His Father in Daniel 7:13, 14, to receive the kingdom. Again, to make this the Second Advent we must have God the Father and the host of His angels here upon our earth when the Saviour comes again. But this, as has been shown, involves the contradiction of the plainest facts. We cannot, therefore, doubt that the coming of Jesus to the Ancient of Days as He sits in judgment, is an event preceding His Second Advent to our earth.

  1. The coming of the Ancient of Days, in this vision of Daniel’s, is not to this world, but to the place of His judgment scene. With regard to the place of His tribunal we will speak hereafter. We have already proved that this session of the judgment precedes the Second Advent, and that it is not held upon our earth. This fact establishes the truthfulness of this proposition.

 

Destruction of the Little Horn

 

  1. The destruction of the power represented by the little horn does not take place at the time when the Ancient of Days sits in judgment, but at a point still later, when the Son of man descends in flaming fire.

We have proved that when our Lord comes to this earth the second time, He comes as king, and must therefore come from the tribunal of His Father, for at that tribunal the kingdom is given to Him. But the man of sin, or the little horn, is destroyed by the brightness of Christ’s coming. 2 Thessalonians 2:8; 1:7–10. Whence it follows that the destruction of the Papacy is not at the Father’s judgment seat, but at the advent of his Son, at a still later point of time. But were it true that the judgment scene of Daniel 7 is opened by the personal revelation of God the Father to the inhabitants of our earth, we may be sure that there would be no man of sin left to be destroyed afterward by the brightness of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We have already proved that the destruction of the wicked power is when Christ comes to our earth, and that he does not thus come till he has first attended in person this tribunal of his Father. And to this statement agree the words of verse 11: “I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.” It appears that even while this grand tribunal was in session, the attention of the prophet was called by the Spirit of God, to the great words, which the horn was speaking. “I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake.” But Daniel does not represent his destruction as coming at once even then. He said, “I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.” The period of time covered by this “till” is thus filled up. The Son of God comes to his Father’s judgment-seat and receives the dominion, and the glory, and the kingdom, then descends to our earth in flaming fire, like that which comes forth from before his Father, and by the brightness of his advent destroys the little horn. 2 Thessalonians 1, 2. It is when our Lord thus comes that this wicked power is given to the burning flame.

And this is really the very point marked in verses 21 and 22 for the termination of the war against the saints. “I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; Until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.” But even while the Most High sits in judgment to determine the cases of his saints, the little horn is, according to verse 11, uttering great words against God. When, however, the saints have passed the test of this examination, and are counted worthy of the kingdom of God, their Lord, being crowned king, returns to gather them to himself. It is at this very point of time, the advent of the Lord Jesus, that judgment is given to the saints of the Most High, as proved by comparing 1 Corinthians 6:2, 3 with 1 Corinthians 4:5. And thus we have marked again the advent of Christ as a point of time for the destruction of this wicked power.

  1. The destruction of the Papacy is not the same event as the taking away of his dominion. Compare Daniel 7:11 and 26. The one follows after the sitting of the Ancient of Days in judgment; but the other precedes it by a certain space of time. Yet, if we read the chapter without strict attention, we would be very likely to conclude that not the little horn alone, but each of the first three beasts, had their dominion taken away at the judgment. See verses 11, 12, and 26. This, however, cannot be. For the dominion of the first beast was taken away by the second, though his life was spared; and so of each one to the last. But the little horn has a special dominion over the saints for “a time and times and the dividing of time,” or 1,260 prophetic days (see verse 25; Revelation 12:6, 14), which is taken away at the end of that period. There remains even then a space of time to “the end,” during which his dominion is consumed and destroyed. He wars against the saints, however, and prevails until the judgment is given to the saints at the advent of Christ (1 Corinthians 4:5, 6:2, 3; Revelation 20:4), when he is given to the burning flames. Daniel 7:11; 2 Thessalonians 2:8.
  2. The coronation of Christ at the judgment-seat of the Father is the same event as the standing up of Michael (compare Daniel 7:13, 14; 12:1); for Michael is Christ, and His standing up is His beginning to reign. Michael is the name borne by our Lord as the ruler of the angelic host. It signifies, “He who is like God.” This must be our Lord. See Hebrews 1:3. He is called the archangel. Jude 9. This term signifies prince of angels, or chief of the angelic host. But this is the very office of our divine Lord. Hebrews 1. Michael is the great prince that standeth for the children of God. Also He is called our prince. See Daniel 10:21; 12:1. But this can be no other than Christ. Acts 5:31.

The standing up of Michael is his assumption of kingly power. So the use of this term in Daniel 11:2, 3, 4, 7, 20, 21. But it is Jesus, and not an angel, who takes the throne of the kingdom. Daniel 7:13, 14; Psalm 2:6–12. Our Lord receives His dominion at His Father’s judgment-seat. Daniel 7. A great time of trouble follows, at which Christ delivers everyone found written in the book. This is a plain reference to the examination of the books shown in the previous vision. Compare Daniel 12:1; 7:9, 10. This shows that the judgment scene of Daniel 7 relates to the righteous, and that it precedes their final deliverance at the advent of Christ. The thrones of Daniel 7:9 will be noticed hereafter.

 

Examination of the Books

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The existence of records, or books, in heaven, and their use in the judgment, is plainly revealed. Thus Daniel says, “The judgment was set, and the books were opened.” Daniel 7:10. And John says: “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.” Revelation 20:12.

It is evident that the utmost importance is attached to the blotting out of the sins of the righteous from these books. When they are blotted out they can never rise up in the judgment against those who committed them; for men give account to God only for those things contained in the books. It is therefore certain that no individual can have his sins blotted out until the close of his probation. But when this work is wrought there must be an examination of the books for this very purpose.

The book of life is to be examined before the resurrection of the just. The words of Daniel render this point perfectly clear: “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time; and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” Daniel 12:1.

We have seen from other texts that the investigation and decision of the judgment, in the cases of the righteous, precedes the advent of the Saviour. We have also seen that there is a time before the coming of Jesus when the sins of the righteous are blotted out from the books of God’s remembrance. This is decisive proof that these books are subjected to examination before the Saviour comes again. But we have now another important fact. The book of life is examined before the deliverance of the saints. Daniel says, “At that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” Daniel 12:1. The book must, therefore, be examined before the resurrection of the righteous to immortal life. This is another convincing proof that the investigation of the cases of the righteous precedes the first resurrection. This book is referred to in the following passages: Exodus 32:32, 33; Psalm 69:28; 87:6; Isaiah 4:3; Ezekiel 13:9; Daniel 12:1; Luke 10:20; Philippians 4:3; Hebrews 12:23; Revelation 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12, 15; 21:27; 22:19.

The book of life is the final means of determining the cases of the righteous in the judgment; for all are delivered who are at the time of deliverance found written in it. But before this book is made the final source of appeal, it is itself to be tested by the books of God’s record. For all the names which are entered in this book of life, of those who fail to overcome, are to be blotted out. Yet it is the record of these persons’ lives that is to cause their names to be stricken from the book of life. (See Exodus 32:32,33; Psalm 69:28; Revelation 3:5.) We must, therefore, conclude that before the final examination of the book of life in the case of the righteous, there is a prior examination of the books of God’s record to determine (1) whose record of repentance and of overcoming is such that their sins shall be blotted out, and (2) to ascertain from this book who have failed in the attempt to overcome, and to strike the names of all such from the book of life. When the books of God’s remembrance are thus examined, and the sins of the overcomers blotted out, and the names of those who have not overcome are removed from the book of life, that book becomes the final test, and an examination of its pages concludes the work of investigation preparatory to the deliverance of the saints.

We have seen that though the book of life is the final book of reference to determine who shall have part in the first resurrection, yet it must itself first be examined by the book of God’s remembrance, for the removal of the name of every person who has not completed the work of overcoming.

1.The book called “the book of remembrance” is written expressly for the righteous, and is the book which shall determine, in their cases, the decision of the judgment. This book is particularly referred to in the following passages: “Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another; and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.” Malachi 3:16–18. “Thou tellest my wanderings; put thou my tears into thy bottle; are they not in thy book?” Psalm 56:8.

“Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and wipe not out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, and for the offices thereof.” Nehemiah 13:14.

The book of God’s remembrance mentioned in these texts pertains only to the righteous; yet it appears to be a different book from the book of life; for though that book belongs alone to the righteous, it seems to be simply the record of their names (See Luke 10:20; Philippians 4:3; Revelation 3:5; 13:8; 17:8.), while the book of remembrance is the record of their good deeds. (See Malachi 3:16–18; Psalm 56:8; Nehemiah 13:14.) But should we conclude that the book of life is identical with the book of God’s remembrance, it will not essentially change this argument, for it would still follow that the record of the good deeds of the righteous, if it shows that they have overcome all their faults, and perfected the graces of the Spirit of God in themselves, is that which determines that their names shall be retained in the book of life, and their sins blotted out of the books which record them. But if the record be not such as God can accept, then their names must be removed from that book (See Exodus 32:32,33; Psalm 56:28; Revelation 3:5.), and the record of their good deeds also be blotted out to be no more remembered. (See Nehemiah 13:14; Ezekiel 3:20.)

The book of God’s remembrance contains the names of all who enter the service of God and of such only. Yet not every one of these follows on to know Him. Many that set out to overcome do not complete the work. That record, however, will show just how far they advanced in overcoming, and how and when they failed. As it contains simply the good deeds of the righteous, it will show their acts of repentance, confession, obedience, and sacrifice recorded therein. When the work is complete, then this record shows them prepared for the examination of the judgment. This, therefore, is the book out of which the cases of the righteous are to be decided, and from whose record they are to be accounted worthy of that world and the resurrection from the dead.

  1. The justification of the righteous in the judgment must precede the resurrection which is called “the resurrection of the just.” By this designation our Lord speaks of the resurrection of the righteous. (See Luke 14:14.) Paul states that this resurrection shall be at the coming of Christ. (See I Corinthians 15:23, 51–54; I Thessalonians 4:16–18.)

“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.” Matthew 12:36, 37.

The justification of the judgment must be when the righteous are accounted worthy of a part in the first resurrection. But before they are thus justified in the judgment they give an account of their words. And this being true, it follows that God preserves a record of the words which we speak; also that our evil words are not blotted out until this account has been rendered. But the acquittal and the blotting out do, of necessity, precede the gift of immortality to the righteous at the advent of our Lord.

  1. The decision of the judgment in the case of the righteous must be when the blotting out of their sins takes place. “For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” Ecclesiastes 12:14.

God brings the conduct of men into the judgment by means of books of record. They are judged “out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.” Revelation 20:12, 13.

But the sins of the righteous are blotted out before the coming of the Lord. (See Acts 3:19, 20.) And it is manifest that their sins cannot be brought into the judgment after they are thus blotted out. But the righteous are to be judged as really as are the wicked. (See Ecclesiastes 3:17.) It follows, therefore, that their judgment must be at the time of the blotting out of their sins; for then there is an end made forever of the record of their transgressions. Now it is manifest that when this final work is wrought, it will pertain only to those who have fully repented of their sins, and have perfectly accomplished the work of overcoming. This work of blotting out sins brings our Lord’s priesthood to an end. He must be priest till then. He is not needed as priest after that. But when our Lord does blot out the sins of His people, He must present their cases individually before His Father, and show from the “book of remembrance” that they have severally repented of their sins, and have completed their work of overcoming. Then the Father accepts the statement thus made, and the evidence thus presented in the case of each one, and bids the Son to blot out the record of that person’s sins. This is manifestly the very time and occasion at which the righteous are accounted worthy of the resurrection to immortality. Their sins are thus brought into the judgment through their High Priest, and through Him the righteous render account of their sins to the Father. This account being accepted, their sins are blotted out, and themselves pronounced just before God. This is the justification of the judgment.

  1. There is a time for blotting out the names of some from the book of life, and of confessing the names of the others before the Father.

“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.” Revelation 3:5.

The time of blotting out names from the book of life precedes the deliverance of the saints. For at the time of that event everyone shall be delivered “that shall be found written in the book.” Daniel 12:1. Thus the fearful threatenings of Exodus 32:32, 33; Psalm 69:28; Revelation 22:19, is executed in the removal of names from this book before the coming of Christ. Those who overcome are the ones who have their sins blotted out. But those who fail to overcome have their names stricken from the book of life. The examination of their record must, therefore, precede both these acts of blotting out, for the express purpose of determining whether they shall have their sins blotted out, or have their names removed from the book of life. We have seen that it is at this very point that the righteous give account of their sins through their High Priest, who, from the book of God’s remembrance, shows that they have repented, confessed, forsaken, and overcome, their sinful course; also that they are thus acquitted and justified in order that they may have a part in the resurrection to immortality. Here is also the very act of the Saviour in confessing the names of His people before His Father and the holy angels, that shall close our Lord’s priesthood and place His people where they shall be forever free from all their sins. For when the book of God’s remembrance is found to prove that the person under examination is an overcomer, it is then the part of the Saviour to confess his name before His Father and the holy angels, and the part of the Father to give judgment that that person’s sins be blotted from the record. Surely it is of some account to us that we have part in the fulfillment of the promise, “I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.” Revelation 3:5. (See Matthew 10:32; Luke 12:8.)

  1. The righteous are not done with their sins till they have rendered account in the judgment. (See Ecclesiastes 3:17; 12:14; Matthew 12:36, 37.) The only account that they can render is to show that they have made perfect work of repentance and of overcoming. This must be done before they are blotted out of the record above. Our Advocate with the Father must hold His office till He has saved His people from their sins. (See 1 John 2:1; Matthew 1:21. He cannot close this work till He has seen them accepted in the judgment. Whence it follows that His office of Advocate will constrain Him to confess their names before the tribunal of His Father, and to show that their sins should be removed from the books.
  2. When our Lord has thus finished His work as priest, His people are prepared to stand in the sight of God without an atoning sacrifice. The following texts make this very clear:

“Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He retaineth not his anger forever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.” Micah 7:18, 19. The Lord, in the promise of the new covenant, says: “I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sins no more.” Jeremiah 31:34. Paul quoting Jeremiah, says: “Their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” Hebrews 8:12. “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.” Isaiah 43:25. “In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found; for I will pardon them whom I reserve.” Jeremiah 50:20.

When these prophetic declarations are accomplished, we shall no longer need an Advocate, Intercessor, Mediator, or High Priest. Our sins will never after that exist even in the record of the court of heaven. Our lost innocence will then have been recovered, and we shall then be like to the angels of God, who walk in their original uprightness.

  1. The accomplishment of this work of blotting out the sins of those who overcome is marked by a declaration of awful solemnity:

“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. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Revelation 22:11, 12.

These words virtually announce the close of our Lord’s work as High Priest. They cannot be uttered till He, as our Advocate, has secured the blotting out of the sins of His people at His Father’s tribunal. Yet we have seen that this work of blotting out is accomplished before He comes the second time without sin unto salvation. (See Hebrews 9:27, 28.) The text under consideration is in exact harmony with these facts. The solemn announcement, “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; . . . and he that is holy, let him be holy still,” is followed by these words: “And behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Revelation 22:11, 12. The final work of our Lord for the removal of His people’s sins does therefore precede His return in the clouds of heaven to reward every man according to his works.

 

The Investigative Judgment

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“I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.” Ecclesiastes 3:17. The judgment of the great day is an event certain to take place. “He hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained.” Acts 17:31. What God hath appointed is sure to come in due time. The resurrection of Christ is an assurance to all men of the final judgment. It is not the fact of the judgment, however, but the order of its work, that at this time engages our attention. The work to be accomplished is of immense magnitude. The judgment relates (1) to all the righteous; (2) to all the wicked; (3) to all the evil angels. The number of cases, therefore, to be acted upon at this grand tribunal exceeds our powers of conception. We must not, however, suppose that there will be any difficulty on the part of the Judge in acting upon every case individually. Far from this, “there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.” The judgment, indeed, pertains to an immense number of beings; yet every one of them shall give account of himself to God. Romans 14:12. It will not relate to so vast a number as to make it otherwise than a strictly personal matter. Nor will there be aught of confusion or disorder in that final reckoning. God has plenty of time for the work, and He has no lack of agents to do His bidding. That He has order in this work, the Scriptures clearly teach.

  1. The righteous are to judge the wicked; yet the righteous are themselves to pass the test of the judgment. Whence it follows that the judgment must pass upon the righteous before they can sit in judgment upon the wicked.

This is a very important proposition. That it is truthful we know from the express testimony of the Scriptures.

“Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?” 1 Corinthians 6:2, 3.

“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them; and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” Revelation 20:4.

“I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.” Daniel 7:21, 22.

Here is the exalted work of the saints in the judgment. They are to take part in the examination of the cases of all wicked men and fallen angels. But this is not to be till they have been changed to immortality, and exalted to thrones of glory. They do not, therefore, have their cases decided at the same time with the wicked. We believe the reader will acknowledge the justice of this reasoning. Let us state another proposition:

  1. The trump of God sounds as the Saviour descends from heaven. When the trump is heard, all the righteous are, in the twinkling of an eye, changed to immortality. There can be no examination after this to determine whether they shall be counted worthy of eternal life, for they will then have already laid hold upon it. From this it follows that the examination and decision of the cases of the righteous takes place before the advent of Christ. The resurrection of the righteous to immortality is decisive proof that they have then already passed the test of the judgment, and have been accepted of the Judge. That they are thus raised to immortality the following texts plainly teach:

“So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: it is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: it is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.” “Behold, I show you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15:42–44, 51, 52.

These passages are certainly convincing. The resurrection of the saints is to immortal life, and they are made immortal in the very act of the resurrection. The decision of their cases is, therefore, passed before their resurrection, for the nature of their resurrection is declarative of eternal salvation. But the fact that the decision of the judgment in the case of the righteous precedes the advent is proved by another proposition, as follows:

  1. The righteous are to be raised before the wicked have their resurrection. This shows that the examination of their cases takes place before they are raised, for the final discrimination is made in the very act of raising the just and leaving the unjust to the resurrection of damnation.

 

Second Death

 

“But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection; on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.” Revelation 20:5, 6.

“But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage; neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.” Luke 20:35, 36.

“If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.” (Literally “the resurrection out from the dead ones.”) Philippians 3:11.

“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming.” 1 Corinthians 15:22, 23.

There is a resurrection which bears the inspired designation of the “first resurrection.” All who have part in this resurrection are pronounced “blessed and holy.” On them: “the second death hath no power.” This resurrection is out from among the dead. Paul earnestly labored to attain unto it. It is to be at the coming of Christ. Only those who are Christ’s shall have part in it. All that have part in it are the children of God because they are the children of the resurrection to life. These facts clearly prove that the examination of the cases of the righteous precedes their resurrection at the advent of Christ, that event being really declarative of their innocence in the sight of God, and of their eternal salvation. Such as are accepted of God are raised; the others sleep till the resurrection to damnation. These facts are decisive proof that the righteous are judged before they are raised.

But we have a still more explicit statement yet to notice. Says our Lord: “But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead,” etc. Then it is certain that the act of accounting worthy to obtain the resurrection from among the dead, and a part in the world to come, does precede the resurrection of the righteous. But this act of accounting men worthy of a part in the kingdom of God is the very act of acquitting them in the judgment. The investigative judgment in the cases of the righteous is, therefore, past before their resurrection. As the resurrection of the just is at the advent of Christ, it follows that they pass their examination, and are counted worthy of a place in the kingdom of God, before the Saviour returns to the earth to gather them to Himself.

It is proved, therefore, that the resurrection of the saints to immortal life is declarative of their final acceptance before God. Whatever investigation is requisite for the final decision of their cases, must take place before the Saviour in mid-heaven utters the word of command to His angels, “Gather My saints together unto Me.” Psalm 50:5; Matthew 24:31. The act of accounting them worthy must precede all this. The saints alone are to be caught up to meet Christ in the air. 1 Thessalonians 4:17. But the decision who these saints are, who shall thus be caught up, rests not with the angels who execute the work, but with the Judge, who gives them their commission. We cannot, therefore, avoid the conclusion that the investigation of the cases of the righteous precedes the coming of the Saviour. Let us now consider an important proposition.

  1. This period of investigative judgment is ushered in by a solemn proclamation to the inhabitants of the earth; and this investigative work embraces the closing years of human probation. This is a very important statement. But it is susceptible of being clearly proved.

“And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come; and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.”

The gospel of Christ is “the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.” Romans 1:16. No other gospel than this can be preached, not even by an angel from heaven. Galatians 1:8. Whence it follows that the angel of Revelation 14:6, 7, preaching the everlasting gospel, represents some part of the great gospel proclamation. It is a part of that preaching which is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth. This fact alone is decisive that this proclamation concerning the hour of God’s judgment must be made while human probation still lasts. Two other solemn announcements follow. And it is evident that the human family is still upon probation, when the third angel declares that “if any man worship the beast . . . the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God . . . Here is the patience of the saints.” This is a consecutive prophecy as several expressions plainly indicate. And it is to be observed that the Son of Man is seen upon the white cloud after all these solemn proclamations have been made.

 

The Judgment Involves All

 

That this announcement of the hour of God’s judgment precedes the advent of Christ, and is addressed to men while yet in probation, the fourteenth chapter of Revelation clearly proves. That this is not some local judgment is proved by the fact that “every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people” are concerned in it. It is evidently that part of the judgment work which precedes the coming of Christ, and, as has been already shown, this is the work of determining who shall be accounted worthy to have part in the resurrection to immortal life, and we may add, who also of the living shall be accounted worthy to escape the troubles that shall come in the conclusion of this state of things, and to stand before the Son of Man. Luke 20:35; 21:36.

  1. When the sins of the righteous are blotted out they can be no more remembered. They are blotted out before Christ comes. There can be, therefore, no act of calling them to account for their sins after the advent of Christ. Thus we read:

“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you.” Acts 3:19, 20.

Mr. Wesley, in his “Notes on the New Testament,” gives a different translation, which may be more accurate:

“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, that the time of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and he may send to you Jesus Christ, who was before appointed.”

Albert Barnes, in his “Notes on the Acts,” speaking of these two translations, says, “The grammatical construction will admit of either.” One of these represents the blotting out to be when the times of refreshing arrive; the other makes it the cause of that refreshing. But neither of them gives the idea that this blotting out takes place when the sinner turns to God. Both of them throw it into the future. Each of them represents it as preceding the Second Coming of the Lord. But this is especially true of the latter translation, which follows the original in using a conditional verb respecting Christ’s advent; not as though that were a doubtful event, but rather as if His coming to the personal salvation of the ones addressed depended upon their having part in the refreshing, and as if that refreshing was to come in consequence of the blotting out of sins.

The sins of the righteous are blotted out before the coming of Christ. They cannot be called to give account of their sins after they have been blotted out; whence it follows that whatever account the righteous render to God for their sins must be before the advent of the Saviour, and not at, or after, that event.

  1. The sins of men are written in the books of God’s remembrance. The blotting out of the sins of the righteous does therefore involve the examination of these books for this very purpose. That the sins of men are thus written is plainly revealed in the Scriptures.

“For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before Me, saith the Lord God.” Jeremiah 2:22. And thus the Lord speaks of the guilt of Israel: “Is not this laid up in store with Me, and sealed up among My treasures?” Deuteronomy 32:34. And Paul speaks in the same manner: “But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; who will render to every man according to his deeds.” Romans 2:5, 6. These statements of wrath being treasured up can have reference only to the fact that God takes notice of men’s sins, and that every sin is marked before Him. To this fact all the texts which speak of the blotting out of sins must have reference. Thus David prays that God would blot out his transgressions. Psalm 51:1, 9. And Nehemiah, and David, and Jeremiah pray respecting certain persons that their sin may not be blotted out. Nehemiah 4:5; Psalm 109:14; Jeremiah 18:23. And Isaiah, in prophetic language, speaks of this blotting out as if it were a past event, just as in the next verse he speaks of the new creation, and the final redemption. Isaiah 44:22, 23. And in the previous chapter he speaks in a similar manner of this blotting out as necessary in order that the sins of the people of God may be no more remembered. Isaiah 43:25. These texts plainly imply that the sins of men are upon record, and that there is a time when these are blotted out of the record of the righteous.

 

The Judgment

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The judgment is one of the central doctrines of our people. If we do not have a clear understanding of the judgment, we should not call ourselves Seventh-day Adventists. To help us clearly comprehend this vital subject, we will look deeply into the judgment, and why it is still in progress today.

Why is there a need for a judgment? Does God need a judgment so that He can make up His mind about who is going to have eternal life and who is not? No! God has not needed one hundred and fifty years to make up His mind.

If God does not need a judgment to help make up His mind, why do we need a judgment? We can find the answer in Daniel 7: “I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of Days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure wool: His throne was like the fiery flame, and His wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him: thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.” Daniel 7:9, 10.

Many are present at this judgement scene. There are thousands and thousands of angels and the inhabitants of the unfallen universe who are keenly interested in what is going on in our world. Are they spectators? Paul said that “we are made a spectacle unto the world and to angels and to men.” 1 Corinthians 4:9.

What are they interested in? To answer that question, we need to go back to a time even before this world was created when questions were raised in heaven by a mighty angel. He questioned God’s law and God’s government. This angel questioned whether it was right that the angels should have to obey God’s law. He claimed that God was a tyrant, and that the only thing God was interested in was exalting Himself. He said that changes were needed to God’s law. He claimed that the fact that God was so longsuffering and patient was a sign of His weakness and that he himself was superior to God. He tried his best with his attacks to destroy God’s character.

Sister White had a tremendous vision at Lovett’s Grove, Ohio, in 1858. She went into vision during a funeral service. While the family left the church and went out to the churchyard to bury their loved one, the rest of the congregation stayed in the church for four hours while Sister White was in vision.

This vision made such a deep impression upon her that the bulk of her writings, for the rest of her life, were given to explaining to God’s people what it was all about. We call that vision, “The Great Controversy Vision.” In it given an understanding of the great controversy going on between Christ and Satan and how we, in this world, are involved in the controversy.

It is not until that controversy is settled once and for all that sin and sinners will be done away with and we can all go to our eternal home. The central issue in the great controversy is whether God is what He says He is or whether He is what Satan says He is. Until that is settled, this whole mess of sin will go on.

God is putting His ways, His plans and everything He has done in the open, so that He can be judged. The whole universe has had ample opportunities to see whether Satan is telling the truth or whether God is telling the truth. Paul said, “God forbid: yea, let God be true, and every man a liar; as it is written, That Thou mightest be justified in Thy sayings, and mightest overcome when Thou art judged.” Romans 3:4. What an amazing thought!

Many of Satan’s accusations were proven to be false when Jesus came to this earth. The inhabitants of earth watched as Jesus walked this earth. They saw how He behaved; they saw what He did. It was hard after that to believe some of the things that Satan was saying. How could they believe that all God wanted was to exalt Himself when they saw Jesus acting the part of a humble servant?

 

Expect a Miracle

 

I love John 13. It talks about Jesus’ knowledge that the Father had given all things into His hands and that He came from God and that He went to God. What did Jesus do with that knowledge? He took on the part of a servant and with a towel and a basin and He washed his disciple’s feet. That was unexpected. You would have expected a miracle or a tremendous sermon at that point. And actually there was both a miracle and a sermon, because what He did by kneeling down and washing their feet was a sermon. It was a sermon about what the character of God is really like. It was a miracle, too, that the Creator of all things was prepared to get down and wash their feet. It was truly astonishing.

It was hard for the inhabitants of the universe to believe Satan when he said that all God wanted to do was to exalt Himself when they saw how humble He was. When they saw the love of Jesus even towards His enemies and they compared this with the hatred that Satan was inspiring, how could they ever believe that Satan was superior to God? Jesus disproved that accusation right then and there. However, Satan did not give up. Instead He created new and more deceptive accusations.

One of his most serious accusations was that although the law of God is as perfect as God claims, no one can keep it. Satan claimed that although Jesus kept it, no one else can! That is the issue in the judgment today. Is Satan right when he says that no one can keep the law of God? Or is Jesus right when He says that it can be kept.

The judgment will not be completed until every created being in this universe is convinced of issues like that. It is not going to end until Satan himself kneels down and says that he is wrong and God is right. Paul reminds us, “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things on earth, and things under the earth; And every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:10–12. The great controversy will not be finished until that has happened.

The judgment of the righteous—those who profess Christ—that has been in progress since 1844 will soon be over. A verdict will be reached and the inhabitants of the universe will have no doubts left. They will say, “Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God. For true and righteous are His judgments.” Revelation 19:1, 2. As far as they are concerned the judgment is finished. But that is not the end of the judgment.

After Jesus comes and God’s people have been taken to heaven they (the redeemed) have a work to do during the millenium. “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them.” Revelation 20:4. Now it is their turn. Those in heaven have bowed their knee and confessed that Jesus Christ is Lord. Now these people have to be satisfied beyond all doubt that Satan is a liar and our Lord is just and true in all His ways. What is their verdict going to be? “And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints.” Revelation 15:2, 3.

They are convinced. They have no doubts about it. They have examined every single dealing of God with His creation, and they will be able to say of God, “Just and true are Thy ways.” If we are faithful we will be able to see that all God’s dealings are just and true. All our questions will be answered. We will know that whatever God did was just and true, and we would not want it any other way.

Many have heartaches, questions and worries about things that have happened. I have all those, too. A year ago there was a young man who came to stay in my home. He was a spiritual young man in his mid-twenties. He helped me with my printing equipment and worked very hard at it. A few weeks later I had a telephone call to say that he had been killed in an automobile accident! I still have a hard time understanding that. But I am going to know one day why that happened. I am going to know that God’s way was best. That is why I shall praise Him and say, “Great and marvelous are Thy works, O, God Almighty.”

But the judgment is not over then. Revelation 20 tells us that there has to be a second resurrection. Those who have gone to their graves without Christ will be raised. They have to go through this same process until they too make the same confession.

The wicked fall prostrate. They worship the Prince of Life. Finally, Satan, too, kneels. “His accusations against the mercy and justice of God are now silenced. The reproach that he has endeavored to cast upon Jehovah rests wholly upon himself and Satan now bows down and confesses the justice of his sentence. ‘Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name for Thou only art holy. For all nations shall come and worship before Thee for Thy judgements are made manifest.’ ” The Great Controversy, 670.

That is what the judgment is all about. “Every question of truth and error in the long- standing controversy has now been made plain. The results of rebellion, the fruits of setting aside the divine statutes, have been laid open to the view of all created intelligences. The working out of Satan’s rule in contrast with the government of God has been presented to the whole universe. Satan’s own works have condemned him. God’s wisdom, His justice, and His goodness stand fully vindicated. It is seen that all His dealings in the great controversy have been conducted with respect to the eternal good of His people and the good of all the worlds which He has created. With all the facts of the great controversy in view, the whole universe, both loyal and rebellious, with one accord declare: ‘Just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints.’ ” The Great Controversy, 670, 671.

It is then that the judgment is finished. Why is that day not closer than it is? Why is it that we are one hundred and fifty years into the judgment and it does not seem to be moving? It is clearly stated in the Spirit of Prophecy that heaven is waiting for something, and that we are part of that waiting. What part do we play in the judgment that is going on at this moment? “Satan had claimed that it was impossible for man to obey God’s commandments.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 314. Satan’s claims are directly opposite the Biblical teaching that it is perfectly possible to obey God’s commandments.

We know that in our own strength it is true that we cannot obey them. But Christ came in the form of humanity, and by His perfect obedience, proved that humanity and divinity combined can obey every one of God’s precepts.

How is that issue going to be settled? By God’s people. What part do you play in this? Which side are you on? Can Jesus point to you and say, “Here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus”? Or does Satan point to you and say,
“There is my evidence. See they cannot do it.”?

Jesus is looking for those who profess to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus to be His witnesses in the judgment. We will either witness for Christ or for Satan. We must do something about that, or the judgment is going to go on.

In the early 1920s, my mother became a Seventh-day Adventist. She was a young girl, but she sacrificed to be a Seventh-day Adventist. She never believed that she would grow old and die. But several years ago she died at age ninety. She never believed that time would go on so long.

God has given to every generation since 1844 the challenge, “Will you be My witnesses? Will you be the ones who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus?” And every single generation from 1844 has said, “No, we do not want that. We would sooner die.” We may not say it with our words, but we say it with our actions.

I want to go home. But none of us are going home until we are willing to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. It is as simple as that. The judgment is going to go on because Christ is waiting for us. “Christ is waiting with longing desire for the manifestation of Himself in His people. When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own. It is the privilege to every Christian not only to look for but to hasten the coming of Christ.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 69.

Are we hastening the coming or are we delaying it? That is the question. Are we doing everything we can, day by day, to hasten the coming? Or are we, by our refusal to let go of sin, delaying the coming of Jesus?

 

Only Two Questions

 

There has been a lot of debate in the Seventh-day Adventist Church on righteousness by faith, and it has been made so complicated and theological. I do not believe it is like that. Our message is simple enough to explain to our children.

The following quotation sums up righteousness by faith in a few words: “Often the follower of Christ is brought where he cannot serve God and carry forward his worldly enterprises. Perhaps it seems that some obedience to the plain requirements of God will cut off his means of support. Satan would make him believe that he must sacrifice his conscientious convictions. But the only thing in our world, upon which we can rely, is the word of God. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. Even in this life it is not for our good to depart from the will of our Father in heaven. When we learn the power of His word, we shall not follow the suggestions of Satan in order to obtain food or to save our lives. Our only questions will be, What is God’s command? and what His promise? Knowing these, we shall obey the one and trust the other.” Desire of Ages, 121.

We should ask two questions. 1. What is God’s command? It is righteousness. (Righteousness is obedience to the commandments of God.) 2.What is His promise? When we trust His promises, what is that? That is faith. There you have righteousness by faith in twenty-four words.

You remember the story of the Children of Israel coming out of Egypt? When the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt He did a very strange thing. There is a direct road from Egypt to the Promised Land. It is called the way of the land of the Philistines. The Lord said, “You are not going that way. You are going by the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea.” That sounded crazy!

They went down that road a ways and the Lord said, “Turn off the road.” And He took them through the mountains and through narrow winding canyons. He brought them right to the border of the Red Sea. That was a tough place. The mountains came right down to the sea on the right hand side. When they looked back over their shoulders they saw an army. Josephus suggests that there were a quarter of a million infantry in that army and fifty thousand cavalry. And all the chariots of Egypt including the six hundred chosen chariots that Pharaoh had.

There was no where to go. Some of them began to lose their faith and they said it would have been far better if we had stayed in Egypt. The Lord gave them the command, “Go forward.” The Lord is saying that to us today. “Go forward.” The promise was, “You will go on dry land through the midst of the sea.” They obeyed the command. They trusted in the promise and they were safe.

It was an amazing scene. The Lord took them right through that sea and brought them safe to the other side. This scene of going through the sea and the water drying up goes right through the Bible, from Exodus to Revelation. It is a symbol of the deliverance of God’s people, and a symbol of the destruction of the enemies of God’s people. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10 that this was a symbol of baptism. Baptism is where you come out of Egypt; you come out of sin. Before you can obtain this new life, you must get into the water. Just like the children of Israel, you do not know what is on the other side of the water.

They had to trust God that He would take them through. Baptism is just the same. The Lord gives us the command that we should be baptized. And He gives us the promise, “Lo, I am with you always even unto the end of the world.” That is all we need. The command and the promise. Our only question should be, “What is God’s command and what His promise? Knowing these we shall obey the one and trust the other.”

“In the last great conflict of the controversy with Satan, those who are loyal to God will see every earthly support cut off.” The Desire of Ages, 121. I have seen a beautiful painting of Ellen White’s first vision. In the vision she saw a path winding up toward heaven. All the way the path gets narrower and narrower. Along the path there are strewn wagons, horses, shoes, socks and baggage—all left behind. Every earthly support had to be left.

Those people discovered that whenever they came to a hard place, there were ropes hanging down. Those ropes are the promises of God. We lay hold on those promises of God by faith. The travelers came to the point where there was no path anymore. Where they were going was on the other side of a huge gulf. The only way to get over there was by hanging onto the ropes.

Some people asked, “Who is holding the rope up?” The answer came, “God is holding the rope.” He has not let us down so far and He is not going to let us down now. We have nothing to fear for the future except we forget the way the Lord has led us in the past. We must have faith.

Faith in the promises of God will take us through. Over the past six years my wife and I have been trying to put that into practice in our home and ministry. The Lord has been so patient and good to us and He has answered so many prayers and worked so many miracles. Many times we have knelt down in our morning devotions, together, and we have prayed that the Lord would provide the money so we could send out the mail that day, because we did not have the money. Then when we came back from work in the evening, there would be an envelope in the mailbox with the exact amount needed. Think about it. That envelope was mailed the day before we prayed. Before they call, I will answer—the Bible promised and I believe it.

When an envelope is in the mail, we are only part of the prayer. The person who put that envelope in the mail is the other part. I told this experience to a congregation and a lady came up to me afterwards and she was in tears. She said, “I had the strongest impulse that I should have sent you some money that day, but I was busy. I never got around to do it. I could have been the answer to your prayer.”

If the Holy Spirit is asking you to do something, do it now, do not put it off. There is nothing else more important. Jesus said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” If we put our priorities right, we are going to be the type of people God can take home to His kingdom. The type of people of whom God can say, “These are My witnesses. These are the ones that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.”

 

Two Kingdoms

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From eternity all the intelligent inhabitants of the universe enjoyed perfect peace and happiness in the kingdom of glory. The psalmist declared, “Your throne was established long ago; you are from all eternity.” Psalm 93:2.

The foundation principle in this wonderful kingdom of glory was love. “ ‘God is love.’ I John 4:16. His nature, His law, is love. It ever has been; it ever will be. ‘The high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity,’ whose ‘ways are everlasting,’ changeth not. With Him ‘is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.’ Isaiah 57:15; Habakkuk 3:6; James 1:17.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 33.

“The Sovereign of the universe was not alone in His work of beneficence. He had an associate—a co-worker who could appreciate His purposes, and could share His joy in giving happiness to created beings. ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.’ John 1:1, 2. Christ, the Word, the only begotten of God, was one with the eternal Father—one in nature, in character, in purpose—the only being that could enter into all the counsels and purposes of God. ‘His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.’ Isaiah 9:6. His ‘goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.’ Micah 5:2. And the Son of God declares concerning Himself: ‘The Lord possessed Me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was set up from everlasting. … When He appointed the foundations of the earth: then I was by Him, as one brought up with Him: and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him.’ Proverbs 8:22–30.” Ibid., 34.

“Angels are God’s ministers, radiant with the light ever flowing from His presence and speeding on rapid wing to execute His will. But the Son, the anointed of God, the ‘express image of His person,’ ‘the brightness of His glory,’ ‘upholding all things by the word of His power,’ holds supremacy over them all. Hebrews 1:3. ‘A glorious high throne from the beginning,’ was the place of His sanctuary (Jeremiah 17:12); ‘a scepter of righteousness,’ the scepter of His kingdom. Hebrews 1:8. ‘Honor and majesty are before Him: strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.’ Psalm 96:6. Mercy and truth go before His face. Psalm 89:14.” Ibid.

Such are the descriptions of the kingdom of glory before the rebellion of Lucifer in heaven and the fall of Adam and Eve on this earth. But immediately upon the fall of Adam and Eve everything changed. Another kingdom was established in the place of the kingdom of glory. In this new kingdom, the kingdom of grace, everything focused on two objectives: (1) the redemption of the fallen race and (2) the restoration of the kingdom of glory. In this article we will focus on the objective of the restoration of the kingdom of glory.

“At his creation Adam was placed in dominion over the earth. … When man became Satan’s captive, the dominion which he held, passed to his conqueror. Thus Satan became ‘the god of this world.’ II Corinthians 4:4. He had usurped that dominion over the earth which had been originally given to Adam. But Christ, by His sacrifice paying the penalty of sin, would not only redeem man, but recover the dominion which he had forfeited. All that was lost by the first Adam will be restored by the second. Says the prophet, ‘O tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion.’ Micah 4:8. And the apostle Paul points forward to the ‘redemption of the purchased possession.’ Ephesians 1:14. God created the earth to be the abode of holy, happy beings. The Lord ‘formed the earth and made it; He hath established it, He created it not in vain, He formed it to be inhabited.’ Isaiah 45:18. That purpose will be fulfilled, when, renewed by the power of God, and freed from sin and sorrow, it shall become the eternal abode of the redeemed. ‘The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever.’ ‘And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him.’ Psalm 37:29; Revelation 22:3.” Ibid., 67. [Emphasis supplied.]

At the establishment of the kingdom of grace “Christ assured the angels that by His death He would ransom many, and would destroy him who had the power of death. He would recover the kingdom (of glory) which man had lost by transgression, and the redeemed were to inherit it with Him, and dwell therein forever.” Ibid., 65. [Emphasis supplied.]

“The plan by which alone man’s salvation could be secured, involved all heaven in its infinite sacrifice.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 64. “Christ would take upon Himself the guilt and shame of sin—sin so offensive to a holy God that it must separate the Father and His Son. Christ would reach to the depths of misery to rescue the ruined race.

“Before the Father He pleaded in the sinner’s behalf, while the host of heaven awaited the result with an intensity of interest that words cannot express. Long continued was that mysterious communing—‘the counsel of peace’ (Zechariah 6:13) for the fallen sons of men. … it was a struggle, even with the King of the universe, to yield up His Son to die for the guilty race.” Ibid., 63.

The kingdom of grace is a kingdom of bloodshed and war. It required the separation of the Father and the Son. Jesus must lay aside his crown, step down from His throne and become a sacrifice—the Lamb of God, a High Priest and Mediator for the fallen race. For millennia this battle would continue. Martyrs for the truth’s sake would number in the millions.

So it was that immediately upon the fall of Adam and Eve the kingdom of glory was replaced by the kingdom of grace. It was ratified when Jesus yielded up His life on the cross. “When the Saviour yielded up his life, and with his expiring breath cried out, ‘It is finished’ [John 19:30], then the fulfillment of the plan of redemption was assured. The promise of salvation made to the sinful pair in Eden was ratified. The kingdom of grace, which had before existed by the promise of God, was then established.” The Great Controversy, 348.

The Savior had now provided His blood with which to remove the confessed sins of His people so they could be redeemed. Forty days following His death and resurrection He ascended to heaven to be inaugurated as our High Priest and Mediator in the sanctuary in heaven. A record of this grand celebration is recorded in Revelation, chapters 4, 5; 1:12–16, and The Desire of Ages, 830–835.

Because no sin can exist in the kingdom of glory the atonement ministry of Christ’s blood must be completed in the heavenly sanctuary before this kingdom of glory can be restored. “The work of the investigative judgment and the blotting out of sins is to be accomplished before the second advent of the Lord. … The apostle Peter distinctly states that the sins of believers will be blotted out ‘when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and He shall send Jesus Christ.’ Acts 3:19, 20. When the investigative judgment closes, Christ will come, and His reward will be with Him to give to every man as his work shall be.” The Great Controversy, 485.

Here we are clearly informed that the restoration of the kingdom of glory cannot be completed until the investigative judgment is completed. The 7th trumpet, in Revelation 11:15–19 is an explanation of the investigative judgment. The Spirit of Prophecy informs us that the 7th trumpet began to sound on October 22, 1844. “The temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament. Revelation 11:19. … The announcement that the temple of God was opened in heaven and the ark of His testament was seen points to the opening of the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary in 1844 as Christ entered there to perform the closing work of the atonement.” Ibid., 433.

The 7th trumpet also says that Christ, in addition to His work as a High Priest to complete the closing work of atonement, begins to reign. “The seventh angel sounded his trumpet; and there were loud voices in heaven, which said, The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he will reign for ever and ever.” … “You have taken your great power, and have begun to reign.” Revelation 11:15, 17.

There are three reasons that we can know that the role of the High Priest and that of the king are two different functions.

The role of a king is to reign, while the work of a High Priest is to mediate.

The work of the High Priest ends when the atonement is completed; the Most Holy Place is closed and probation ends.

Revelation 11:15 says that the king “will reign for ever and ever.”

Let us look further into the role of the king that is brought to light in the 7th trumpet. In the parable of the 10 virgins, the Bridegroom also represents the role of a king who in this parable is preparing for a wedding. The coming of the Bridegroom in this parable occurs at the same time that the 7th trumpet began to sound. “In the summer and autumn of 1844 the proclamation, ‘Behold, the Bridegroom cometh,’ was given. … In the parable, when the bridegroom came, ‘they that were ready went in with him to the marriage.’ Matthew 25:6, 10. The coming of the bridegroom, here brought to view, takes place before the marriage. The marriage represents the reception by Christ of His kingdom.” Ibid., 426.

These statements connect the coming of the Bridegroom with the same event described in Daniel 7:9, 10 and 13 where Jesus is seen coming before the Ancient of Days to begin the investigative judgment. “The proclamation, ‘Behold, the Bridegroom cometh,’ in the summer of 1844, led thousands to expect the immediate advent of the Lord. At the appointed time the Bridegroom came, not to the earth, as the people expected, but to the Ancient of Days in heaven, to the marriage, the reception of His kingdom.” Ibid., 427.

There is another representation of these events given in Matthew. “In the parable of Matthew 22 the same figure of the marriage is introduced, and the investigative judgment is clearly represented as taking place before the marriage. Previous to the wedding the king comes in to see the guests, to see if all are attired in the wedding garment, the spotless robe of character washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb. Matthew 22:11; Revelation 7:14. … This work of examination of character, of determining who are prepared for the kingdom of God, is that of the investigative judgment, the closing of work in the sanctuary above.” Ibid., 428.

In this parable of the king selecting guests for the wedding banquet we see the relationship of the work of the High Priest and that of the king. The repentant sinner first goes before the High Priest and confesses all of his sins. The High Priest then atones for those confessed sins with His blood and washes them away. The High Priest then clothes him with the precious wedding garment and the saint then goes in before the king in the banquet hall. The King then selects those wearing the wedding garment to “ ‘sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob,’ at His table in His kingdom (Matthew 8:11; Luke 22:30), to partake of the marriage supper of the Lamb.” Ibid., 427.

The marriage of the Lamb cannot take place until His work as Mediator is finished, the sanctuary closed and the kingdom of grace has come to an end. “He shall sit and rule upon His throne; and He shall be a priest upon His throne.’ Not now upon the throne of His glory;’ the kingdom of glory has not yet been ushered in. Not until His work as a mediator shall be ended will God give unto Him the throne of His father David,’ a kingdom of which there shall be no end.’ Luke 1:32, 33.” Ibid., 416.

Right after the close of probation, the close of the sanctuary in heaven, the wedding of the Lamb takes place in heaven. “The marriage represents the reception by Christ of His kingdom [of glory]. The Holy City, the New Jerusalem, which is the capital and representative of the kingdom, is called ‘the bride, the Lamb’s wife.’ … Christ, as stated by the prophet Daniel, will receive from the Ancient of Days in heaven, ‘dominion, and glory, and a kingdom;’ He will receive the New Jerusalem, the capital of His kingdom, ‘prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.’ Daniel 7:14; Revelation 21:2. Having received the kingdom, He will come in His glory, as King of kings and Lord of lords, for the redemption of His people, who are to ‘sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob,’ at His table in His kingdom (Matthew 8:11; Luke 22:30), to partake of the marriage supper of the Lamb.” Ibid., 426, 427.

Thus far we have studied following events in the restoration of the kingdom of glory.

Christ comes before the Ancient of Days to begin the investigative judgment.

Christ as High Priest purifies His people.

The king selects the guests who attend the wedding banquet.

Probation closes; the kingdom of grace ends.

The wedding of the Lamb takes place in heaven.

The king comes to take the saints to the wedding banquet.

There are two more events that must take place before the kingdom of glory can be fully restored to its original condition before the rebellion of Lucifer. The next event is the executive phase of the judgment. This phase is clearly defined in The Great Controversy.

“During the thousand years between the first and the second resurrection the judgment of the wicked takes place. The apostle Paul points to this judgment as an event that follows the second advent. ‘Judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts.’ I Corinthians 4:5. Daniel declares that when the Ancient of Days came, ‘judgment was given to the saints of the Most High.’ Daniel 7:22. At this time the righteous reign as kings and priests unto God. John in the Revelation says: ‘I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them.’ ‘They shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.’ Revelation 20:4, 6. It is at this time that, as foretold by Paul, ‘the saints shall judge the world.’ I Corinthians 6:2. In union with Christ they judge the wicked, comparing their acts with the statute book, the Bible, and deciding every case according to the deeds done in the body. Then the portion which the wicked must suffer is meted out, according to their works; and it is recorded against their names in the book of death.” The Great Controversy, 660, 661.

The last event before the full restoration of the kingdom of glory is the execution phase of the judgment which follows the millennium and the second resurrection. John gives the following description of this judgment:

“They [Satan, the fallen angels, and all of the wicked] marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves.” Revelation 20:9, first part.

“Then I saw a great white throne, and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence; and there was no place for them.

“And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne; and books were opened: another book was opened, which is the book of life: the dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.

“The sea gave up the dead that were in it; and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them: and each person was judged according to what he had done.” Revelation 20:11–13.

“But fire came down from heaven, and devoured them.” Revelation 20:9, last part.

“And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” Revelation 20:10.

“If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

“Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.” Revelation 20:15, 14.

When the execution of the judgment is completed the kingdom of glory is fully restored. “God’s original purpose in the creation of the earth is fulfilled as it is made the eternal abode of the redeemed. ‘The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever.’ Psalm 37:29.” The Great Controversy, 674.

“The great controversy is ended. Sin and sinners are no more. The entire universe is clean. One pulse of harmony and gladness beats through the vast creation. From Him who created all, flow life and light and gladness, throughout the realms of illimitable space. From the minutest atom to the greatest world, all things, animate and inanimate, in their unshadowed beauty and perfect joy, declare that God is love.” The Great Controversy, 678.

In summary, the kingdom of grace is a temporary kingdom that is established for two purposes: (1) to provide a way for the fallen race to be restored to the kingdom of glory, and (2) to dispose of sin in the universe so the kingdom of glory can be restored to its original state.

Maurice Hoppe is retired and volunteers at Steps to Life. His primary responsibility is working with the Training Program for Ministers and Church Leaders and the Training Program for Lay Workers. He also conducts a Bible Correspondence School from his home with emphasis on Bible prophecy. He can be contacted at: mauricehoppe@stepstolife.org.