"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, R.V. {GC 479.1}
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. {GC 479.2}
"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 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.
{GC 479.3}
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. {GC
480.1}
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. {GC 480.2}
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 never was," declares that God's people shall be
delivered, "everyone that shall be found written in the book." And the revelator
says that those only shall enter the city of God whose names "are written in the
Lamb's book of life." Daniel 12:1; Revelation 21:27. {GC 480.3}
"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. {GC 481.1}
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." Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give
account thereof in the day of judgment." Says the Saviour: "By thy words thou
shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." Ecclesiastes
12:14; Matthew 12:36, 37. The secret purposes and motives appear in the unerring
register; for God "will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will
make manifest the counsels of the hearts." I 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 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. {GC 482.1}
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 {GC 482.2}
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. {GC 482.3}
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." I 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. {GC 482.4}
As the books of record are opened in the judgment, the lives of all
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. {GC 483.1}
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. 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. {GC 483.2}
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. {GC 483.3}
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. {GC 484.1}
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." 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. {GC
484.2}
Thus will be realized the complete fulfillment of the
new-covenant 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 everyone that is written among the living in Jerusalem."
Isaiah 4:2, 3. {GC 485.1}
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
will be with Him to give to every man as his work shall be. {GC 485.2}
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 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 scapegoat, 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 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. {GC 485.3}
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." {GC 486.1}
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. {GC 486.2}
How solemn is the thought! Day after day, passing into
eternity, bears its burden of records for the books of heaven. Words once
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 condemn. {GC
486.3}
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. {GC 487.1}
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 entrusted
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 depositaries 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.
{GC 487.2}
The hidden selfishness of men stands revealed in the
books of heaven. There is the record of unfulfilled duties to their fellow men,
of forgetfulness of the Saviour's claims. There they will see how often were
given to Satan the time, thought, and strength that 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. {GC
487.3}
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 archdeceiver 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. {GC 488.1}
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. {GC 488.2}
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 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 everyone that asketh them a reason of the hope that is
in them. {GC 488.3}
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.
{GC 489.1}
"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 is light." Matthew 11:29, 30. Let none, then, regard their defects as
incurable. God will give faith and grace to overcome them. {GC 489.2}
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 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. Everyone must be
tested and found without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. {GC 489.3}
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 many 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. {GC 490.1}
When the work of the investigative judgment closes, the
destiny 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. {GC 490.2}
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. {GC 491.1}
"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. {GC 491.2}
E.G. WHITE. THE YEAR, 1911.
Contact Information
Telephone
242-322-6273 or 242-361-6750
Postal address
P.O.BOX N8993
NASSAU, BAHAMAS
Electronic mail
Ministries E-MAIL: tpministries@hotmail.com
Webmaster: paulmiller@batelnet.bs