Chapter 28 : The Investigative Judgment


“I Beheld,” says the prophet Daniel, “till thrones were placed,
and One that was ancient of days did sit. His raiment was white as
snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery
flames, and the wheels thereof 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,
Revised Version.]
Thus was presented to the prophet’s vision the great and solemn
day when the characters and the lives of men should pass in review
before the Judge of all the earth, and to every man should be rendered
“according to his works.” The Ancient of days is God the Father.
Says the psalmist, “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever
thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting
to everlasting, thou art God.” [Psalm 90:2.] It is he, the source
of all being, and the fountain of all law, that is to preside in the
Judgment. And holy angels, as ministers and witnesses, in number
“ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands,”
attend this great tribunal.
“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 dominion, 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.” [Daniel 7:13, 14.] The coming of Christ here described is not
[480] his second coming to the earth. He comes to the Ancient of days
in Heaven to receive dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, which
will be given him at the close of his work as a mediator. It is this
coming, and not his second advent to the earth, that was foretold in
prophecy to take place at the termination of the 2300 days, in 1844.
Attended by heavenly angels, our great High Priest enters the holy
of holies, and there appears in the presence of God, to engage in the
last acts of his ministration in behalf of man,—to perform the work
of investigative Judgment, and to make an atonement for all who are
shown to be entitled to its benefits.
In the typical service, only those who had come before God
with confession and repentance, and whose sins, through the blood
of the sin-offering, were transferred to the sanctuary, had a part in
the service of the day of atonement. So in the great day of final
atonement and investigative Judgment, the only cases considered are
those of the professed people of God. The judgment of the wicked
is a distinct and separate work, and takes place at a later period.

“Judgment must begin at the house of God; and if it first begin at
us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel?” [1 Peter
4:17.]
The books of record in Heaven, in which the names and the
deeds of men are registered, are to determine the decisions of the
Judgment. Says the prophet Daniel, “The Judgment was set, and
the books were opened.” The Revelator, describing the same scene,
adds, “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.]
The book of life contains the names of all who have ever entered
the service of God. Jesus bade his disciples, “Rejoice, because
your names are written in Heaven.” [Luke 10:20.] Paul speaks of
his faithful fellow-workers, “whose names are in the book of life.”
[Philippians 4:3.] Daniel, looking down to “a time of trouble, such as [481]
never was,” declares that God’s people shall be delivered, “everyone
that shall be found written in the book.” [Daniel 12:1.] And the
Revelator says that those only shall enter the city of God whose
names “are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” [Revelation 21:27.]
“A book of remembrance” is written before God, in which are
recorded the good deeds of “them that feared the Lord, and that
thought upon his name.” [Malachi 3:16.] Their words of faith, their
acts of love, are registered in Heaven. Nehemiah refers to this when
he says, “Remember me, O my God, ... and wipe not out my good
deeds that I have done for the house of my God.” [Nehemiah 13:14.]
In the book of God’s remembrance every deed of righteousness is
immortalized. There every temptation resisted, every evil overcome,
every word of tender pity expressed, is faithfully chronicled. And

every act of sacrifice, every suffering and sorrow endured for Christ’s
sake, is recorded. Says the psalmist. “Thou tellest my wanderings.
Put thou my tears into thy bottle; are they not in thy book?” [Psalm
56:8.]
There is a record also of the sins of men. “For God shall bring
every work into Judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be
good, or whether it be evil.” [Ecclesiastes 12:14.] “Every idle word
that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of
Judgment.” Said the Saviour, “By thy words thou shalt be justified,
and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” [Matthew 13:36, 37.]
The secret purposes and motives appears in the unerring register; for
God “will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make
manifest the counsels of the hearts.” [1 Corinthians 4:5.] “Behold,
it is written before me, ... your iniquities, and the iniquities of your
fathers together, saith the Lord.” [Isaiah 65:6, 7.]
Every man’s work passes in review before God, and is registered
[482] for faithfulness or unfaithfulness. Opposite each name in the books
of Heaven is entered, with terrible exactness, every wrong word,
every selfish act, every unfulfilled duty, and every secret sin, with every
artful dissembling. Heaven-sent warnings or reproofs neglected,
wasted moments, unimproved opportunities, the influence exerted
for good or for evil, with its far-reaching results, all are chronicled
by the recording angel.
The law of God is the standard by which the characters and the
lives of men will be tested in the Judgment. Says the wise man:
“Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of
man. For God shall bring every work into Judgment.” [Ecclesiastes
12:13, 14.] The apostle James admonishes his brethren, “So speak
ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.”
[James 2:12.]
Those who in the Judgment are “accounted worthy,” will have
a part in the resurrection of the just. Jesus said, “They which shall
be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from
the dead, ... are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God,
being the children of the resurrection.” [Luke 20:35, 36.] And again
he declares that “they that have done good” shall come forth “unto
the resurrection of life.” [John 5:29.] The righteous dead will not be
raised until after the Judgment at which they are accounted worthy
of “the resurrection of life.” Hence they will not be present in person
at the tribunal when their records are examined, and their cases
decided.
Jesus will appear as their advocate, to plead in their behalf before
God. “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus
Christ the righteous.” [1 John 2:1.] “For Christ is not entered into
the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true;
but into Heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for
us.” “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that
come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession
for them.” [Hebrews 9:24; 7:25.]
As the books of record are opened in the Judgment, the lives of all [483]
who have believed on Jesus come in review before God. Beginning
with those who first lived upon the earth, our Advocate presents
the cases of each successive generation, and closes with the living.
Every name is mentioned, every case closely investigated. Names
are accepted, names rejected. When any have sins remaining upon
the books of record, unrepented of and unforgiven, their names
will be blotted out of the book of life, and the record of their good
deeds will be erased from the book of God’s remembrance. The
Lord declared to Moses, “Whosoever hath sinned against me, him
will I blot out of my book.” [Exodus 32:33.] And says the prophet
Ezekiel, “When the righteous turneth away from his righteousness,
and committeth iniquity, ... all his righteousness that he hath done
shall not be mentioned.” [Ezekiel 18:24.]

All who have truly repented of sin, and by faith claimed the blood
of Christ as their atoning sacrifice, have had pardon entered against
their names in the books of Heaven; as they have become partakers
of the righteousness of Christ, and their characters are found to be
in harmony with the law of God, their sins will be blotted out, and
they themselves will be accounted worthy of eternal life. The Lord
declares, by the prophet Isaiah, “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy
transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.”
[Isaiah 43:25.] Said Jesus, “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.” “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before
men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in Heaven.
410 The Great Controversy 1888
But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before
my Father which is in Heaven.” [Revelation 3:5; Matthew 10:32,
33.]
[484] The deepest interest manifested among men in the decisions of
earthly tribunals but faintly represents the interest evinced in the
heavenly courts when the names entered in the book of life come up
in review before the Judge of all the earth. The divine Intercessor
presents the plea that all who have overcome through faith in his
blood be forgiven their transgressions, that they be restored to their
Eden home, and crowned as joint-heirs with himself to the “first
dominion.” [Micah 4:8.] Satan, in his efforts to deceive and tempt
our race, had thought to frustrate the divine plan in man’s creation;

but Christ now asks that this plan be carried into effect, as if man had
never fallen. He asks for his people not only pardon and justification,
full and complete, but a share in his glory and a seat upon his throne.
While Jesus is pleading for the subjects of his grace, Satan
accuses them before God as transgressors. The great deceiver has
sought to lead them into skepticism, to cause them to lose confidence
in God, to separate themselves from his love, and to break his law.
Now he points to the record of their lives, to the defects of character,
the unlikeness to Christ, which has dishonored their Redeemer, to all
the sins that he has tempted them to commit, and because of these
he claims them as his subjects.
Jesus does not excuse their sins, but shows their penitence and
faith, and, claiming for them forgiveness, he lifts his wounded hands
before the Father and the holy angels, saying, “I know them by name.
I have graven them on the palms of my hands. ‘The sacrifices of
God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou
wilt not despise.” [Psalm 51:17.] And to the accuser of his people he
declares, “The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath
chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee. Is not this a brand plucked out of
the fire?’ [Zechariah 3:2.] Christ will clothe his faithful ones with
his own righteousness, that he may present them to his Father “a
glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.”
[485] [Ephesians 5:27.] Their names stand enrolled in the book of life, and
concerning them it is written, “They shall walk with me in white;
for they are worthy.” [Revelation 3:4.]

Thus will be realized the complete fulfillment of the newcovenant
promise, “I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember
their sin no more.” “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.” [Jeremiah 31:34;
50:20.] “In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and
glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for
them that are escaped of Israel. And it shall come to pass, that he that
is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called
holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem.”
[Isaiah 4:2, 3.]
The work of the investigative Judgment and the blotting out of
sins is to be accomplished before the second advent of the Lord.
Since the dead are to be judged out of the things written in the books,
it is impossible that the sins of men should be blotted out until after
the Judgment at which their cases are to be investigated. But 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 is
with him to give to every man as his work shall be.
In the typical service the high priest, having made the atonement
for Israel, came forth and blessed the congregation. So Christ, at
the close of his work as a mediator, will appear, “without sin unto
salvation,” [Hebrews 9:28.] to bless his waiting people with eternal
life. As the priest, in removing the sins from the sanctuary, confessed
them upon the head of the scapegoat, so Christ will place all these
sins upon Satan, the originator and instigator of sin. The scape-goat,
bearing the sins of Israel, was sent away “unto a land not inhabited;”
[Leviticus 16:22.] so Satan, bearing the guilt of all the sins which
he has caused God’s people to commit, will be for a thousand years [486]
confined to the earth, which will then be desolate, without inhabitant,
and he will at last suffer the full penalty of sin, in the fires that shall
destroy all the wicked. Thus the great plan of redemption will reach
its accomplishment in the final eradication of sin, and the deliverance
of all who have been willing to renounce evil.
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. All who have ever taken upon themselves the name of Christ
must pass its searching scrutiny. Both the living and the dead are
to be judged “out of those things which were written in the books,
according to their works.”
Sins that have not been repented of and forsaken will not be
pardoned, and blotted out of the books of record, but will stand to
witness against the sinner in the day of God. He may have committed
his evil deeds in the light of day or in the darkness of night; but they
were open and manifest before Him with whom we have to do.
Angels of God witnessed each sin, and registered it in the unerring
records. Sin may be concealed, denied, covered up from father,
mother, wife, children, and associates. No one but the guilty actors
may cherish the least suspicion of the wrong; but it is laid bare
before the intelligences of Heaven. The darkness of the darkest
night, the secrecy of all deceptive arts, is not sufficient to veil one
thought from the knowledge of the Eternal. God has an exact record
of every unjust account and every unfair dealing. He is not deceived
by appearances of piety. He makes no mistakes in his estimation of
character. Men may be deceived by those who are corrupt in heart,
but God pierces all disguises, and reads the inner life.
How solemn is the thought! Day after day, passing into eternity,
bears its burden of records for the books of Heaven. Words once
[487] spoken, deeds once done, can never be recalled. Angels have registered
both the good and the evil. The mightiest conqueror upon
the earth cannot call back the record of even a single day. Our acts,
our words, even our most secret motives, all have their weight in
deciding our destiny for weal or woe. Though they may be forgotten
by us, they will bear their testimony to justify or to condemn.
As the features of the countenance are reproduced with unerring
accuracy on the polished plate of the artist, so the character is faithfully
delineated in the books above. Yet how little solicitude is felt
concerning that record which is to meet the gaze of heavenly beings.
Could the veil which separates the visible from the invisible world
be swept back, and the children of men behold an angel recording
every word and deed, which they must meet again in the Judgment,
how many words that are daily uttered would remain unspoken; how
many deeds would remain undone.

In the Judgment, the use made of every talent will be scrutinized.
How have we employed the capital lent us of Heaven? Will the Lord
at his coming receive his own with usury? Have we improved the
powers intrusted us, in hand and heart and brain, to the glory of God
and the blessing of the world? How have we used our time, our
pen, our voice, our money, our influence? What have we done for
Christ, in the person of the poor, the afflicted, the orphan, or the
widow? God has made us the depositary of his holy Word; what
have we done with the light and truth given us to make men wise
unto salvation? No value is attached to a mere profession of faith in
Christ; only the love which is shown by works is counted genuine.
Yet it is love alone which in the sight of Heaven makes any act of
value. Whatever is done from love, however small it may appear in
the estimation of men, is accepted and rewarded of God.
The hidden selfishness of men stands revealed in the books of
Heaven. There is the record of unfulfilled duties to their fellowmen,
of forgetfulness of the Saviour’s claims. There they will see
how often were given to Satan the time, thought, and strength that [488]
belonged to Christ. Sad is the record which angels bear to Heaven.
Intelligent beings, professed followers of Christ, are absorbed in
the acquirement of worldly possessions, or the enjoyment of earthly
pleasures. Money, time, and strength are sacrificed for display and
self-indulgence; but few are the moments devoted to prayer, to the
searching of the Scriptures, to humiliation of soul and confession of
sin.
Satan invents unnumbered schemes to occupy our minds that
they may not dwell upon the very work with which we ought to be
best acquainted. The arch-deceiver hates the great truths that bring
to view an atoning sacrifice and an all-powerful Mediator. He knows
that with him everything depends on his diverting minds from Jesus
and his truth.
Those who would share the benefits of the Saviour’s mediation
should permit nothing to interfere with their duty to perfect holiness
in the fear of God. The precious hours, instead of being given to
pleasure, to display, or to gain-seeking, should be devoted to an
earnest, prayerful study of the Word of truth. The subject of the
sanctuary and the investigative Judgment should be clearly understood
by the people of God. All need a knowledge for themselves

of the position and work of their great High Priest. Otherwise, it
will be impossible for them to exercise the faith which is essential
at this time, or to occupy the position which God designs them to
fill. Every individual has a soul to save or to lose. Each has a case
pending at the bar of God. Each must meet the great Judge face to
face. How important, then, that every mind contemplate often the
solemn scene when the Judgment shall sit and the books shall be
opened, when, with Daniel, every individual must stand in his lot, at
the end of the days.
All who have received the light upon these subjects are to bear
testimony of the great truths which God has committed to them. The
sanctuary in Heaven is the very center of Christ’s work in behalf
[489] of men. It concerns every soul living upon the earth. It opens to
view the plan of redemption, bringing us down to the very close
of time, and revealing the triumphant issue of the contest between
righteousness and sin. It is of the utmost importance that all should
thoroughly investigate these subjects, and be able to give an answer
to every one that asketh them a reason of the hope that is in them.

The intercession of Christ in man’s behalf in the sanctuary above
is as essential to the plan of salvation as was his death upon the
cross. By his death he began that work which after his resurrection
he ascended to complete in Heaven. We must by faith enter within
the veil, “whither the forerunner is for us entered.” [Hebrews 6:20.]
There the light from the cross of Calvary is reflected. There we
may gain a clearer insight into the mysteries of redemption. The
salvation of man is accomplished at an infinite expense to Heaven;
the sacrifice made is equal to the broadest demands of the broken
law of God. Jesus has opened the way to the Father’s throne, and
through his mediation the sincere desire of all who come to him in
faith may be presented before God.
“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper; but whoso confesseth
and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” [Proverbs 28:13.] If those who
hide and excuse their faults could see how Satan exults over them,
how he taunts Christ and holy angels with their course, they would
make haste to confess their sins and to put them away. Through
defects in the character, Satan works to gain control of the whole
mind, and he knows that if these defects are cherished, he will
succeed. Therefore he is constantly seeking to deceive the followers

of Christ with his fatal sophistry that it is impossible for them to
overcome. But Jesus pleads in their behalf his wounded hands, his
bruised body; and he declares to all who would follow him, “My
grace is sufficient for thee.” [2 Corinthians 12:9.] “Take my yoke
upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye
shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden [490]
is light.” [Matthew 11:29, 30.] Let none, then, regard their defects
as incurable. God will give faith and grace to overcome them.
We are now living in the great day of atonement. In the typical
service, while the high priest was making the atonement for
Israel, all were required to afflict their souls by repentance of sin
and humiliation before the Lord, lest they be cut off from among
the people. In like manner, all who would have their names retained
in the book of life, should now, in the few remaining days of their
probation, afflict their souls before God by sorrow for sin, and true
repentance. There must be deep, faithful searching of heart. The
light, frivolous spirit indulged by so many of professed Christians
must be put away. There is earnest warfare before all who would
subdue the evil tendencies that strive for the mastery. The work of
preparation is an individual work. We are not saved in groups. The
purity and devotion of one will not offset the want of these qualities
in another. Though all nations are to pass in judgment before God,
yet he will examine the case of each individual with as close and
searching scrutiny as if there were not another being upon the earth.
Every one must be tested, and found without spot or wrinkle or any
such thing.
Solemn are the scenes connected with the closing work of the
atonement. Momentous are the interests involved therein. The
Judgment is now passing in the sanctuary above. For more than
forty years this work has been in progress. Soon—none know how
soon—it will pass to the cases of the living. In the awful presence of
God our lives are to come up in review. At this time above all others
it behooves every soul to heed the Saviour’s admonition, “Watch and
pray; for ye know not when the time is.” [Mark 13:33.] “If therefore
thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt
not know what hour I will come upon thee.” [Revelation 3:3.]
When the work of the investigative Judgment closes, the destiny [491]
of all will have been decided for life or death. Probation is ended a

short time before the appearing of the Lord in the clouds of heaven.
Christ in the Revelation, looking forward to that time, declares: “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.]
The righteous and the wicked will still be living upon the earth
in their mortal state—men will be planting and building, eating and
drinking, all unconscious that the final, irrevocable decision has
been pronounced in the sanctuary above. Before the flood, after
Noah entered the ark, God shut him in, and shut the ungodly out;
but for seven days the people, knowing not that their doom was
fixed, continued their careless, pleasure-loving life, and mocked the
warnings of impending judgment. “So,” says the Saviour, “shall
also the coming of the Son of man be.” [Matthew 24:39.] Silently,
unnoticed as the midnight thief, will come the decisive hour which
marks the fixing of every man’s destiny, the final withdrawal of
mercy’s offer to guilty men.
“Watch ye therefore; ... lest coming suddenly He find you sleeping.”
[Mark 13:35, 36.] Perilous is the condition of those who, growing
weary of their watch, turn to the attractions of the world. While
the man of business is absorbed in the pursuit of gain, while the
pleasure-lover is seeking indulgence, while the daughter of fashion
is arranging her adornments,—it may be in that hour the Judge of
all the earth will pronounce the sentence, “Thou art weighed in the
balances, and art found wanting.” [Daniel 5:27.]
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