Investigative judgment - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The investigative judgment is a unique Seventh-day Adventist

Seventh-day Adventist Church

The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...

doctrine, which asserts that a divine judgment of professed Christians has been in progress since 1844. It is intimately related to the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church

History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church

The Seventh-day Adventist Church had its roots in the Millerite movement of the 1830s and 1840s, during the period of the Second Great Awakening, and was officially founded in 1863. Prominent figures in the early church included Hiram Edson, James Springer White and his wife Ellen G. White, Joseph...

and was described by the church's prophet and pioneer Ellen G. White

Ellen G. White

Ellen Gould White was a prolific author and an American Christian pioneer. She, along with other Sabbatarian Adventist leaders, such as Joseph Bates and her husband James White, would form what is now known as the Seventh-day Adventist Church.Ellen White reported to her fellow believers her...

as one of the pillars of Adventist belief

The Pillars of Adventism

The Pillars of Adventism are landmark doctrines for Seventh-Day Adventists; Bible doctrines that define who they are as a people of faith; doctrines that are "non-negotiables" in Adventist theology.-The Pillars of Adventism:...

. It is a major component of the broader Adventist understanding of the "heavenly sanctuary

Heavenly sanctuary

In Seventh-day Adventist theology, the heavenly sanctuary teaching asserts that many aspects of the Hebrew tabernacle or sanctuary are representative of heavenly realities. In particular, Jesus is regarded as a High Priest who provides cleansing for human sins by the sacrificial shedding of his...

", and the two are sometimes spoken of interchangeably.

The investigative judgment teaching was the focus of controversy

Glacier View controversy

In the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Sanctuary Review Committee was a group of biblical scholars and administrators which met to decide the church's response to theologian Desmond Ford, who had challenged details of the church's "investigative judgment" teaching...

within the denomination in 1980, when Adventist theologian Desmond Ford

Desmond Ford

Desmond "Des" Ford is an evangelical Christian and an Australian theologian. He is the father of pornography gossip columnist Luke Ford....

was dismissed by the church after openly criticizing the doctrine. While the Adventist mainstream believe in the doctrine and the church has reaffirmed its basic position on the doctrine since 1980, some of those within the church's more liberal progressive wing continue to be critical of the teaching.

According to a 2002 worldwide survey, local church leaders estimated 86% of church members accept the doctrine, although 35% believe there may be more than one interpretation of the sanctuary belief.

History

The belief has evolved over time, but the basis is the same, the time of Christ's entrance into the Most Holy Place

Holy of Holies

The Holy of Holies is a term in the Hebrew Bible which refers to the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle and later the Temple in Jerusalem where the Ark of the Covenant was kept during the First Temple, which could be entered only by the High Priest on Yom Kippur...

of the heavenly sanctuary where the judgement work is done. In particular, today it is more grace-focused than in the early church. Earlier Adventism tended to view the judgment in stern tones, but later it is understood as God on the side of people. "Judgment" is understood as being in favour of the people, or that it is God's character which is being judged, and not people so much.

Smuts van Rooyen describes a "string of changing interpretations we have given this prophecy from Second Coming

Second Coming

In Christian doctrine, the Second Coming of Christ, the Second Advent, or the Parousia, is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven, where he sits at the Right Hand of God, to Earth. This prophecy is found in the canonical gospels and in most Christian and Islamic eschatologies...

, to Shut Door

Shut-door theology

Shut-door theology was a belief held by the Millerite group from 1844 to approximately 1854, some of whom later formed into the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It held that as William Miller had given the final call for salvation, all who did not accept his message were lost. The door of salvation...

, to Investigative Judgment, to cleansing the Living Temple, to Vindication of God’s Character, to simple Pre-advent Judgment

Pre-advent judgment

In Christian theology, the pre-advent judgment is a belief that the final judgment will occur before the Second Coming of Jesus....

..."

Origins

William Miller

William Miller (preacher)

William Miller was an American Baptist preacher who is credited with beginning the mid-nineteenth century North American religious movement now known as Adventism. Among his direct spiritual heirs are several major religious denominations, including Seventh-day Adventists and Advent Christians...

and his followers, the Millerite Adventist

Adventist

Adventism is a Christian movement which began in the 19th century, in the context of the Second Great Awakening revival in the United States. The name refers to belief in the imminent Second Coming of Jesus Christ. It was started by William Miller, whose followers became known as Millerites...

movement consisted of a group of about 50,000 believers expecting Jesus Christ to return to earth on October 22, 1844. They arrived at this date from an interpretation of the Bible

Bible

The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

verse . They understood the 2300 days to represent 2300 years (according to the day-year principle

Day-year principle

The day-year principle, year-day principle or year-for-a-day principle is a method of interpretation of Bible prophecy in which the word day in apocalyptic prophecy is symbolic for a year of actual time. It is used principally by the historicist school of prophetic interpretation...

of prophetic interpretation), a time period stretching from the biblical era to the nineteenth century. However Miller had not been the first to arrive at this interpretation, as he himself emphasized. Others had earlier concluded that a prophetic period of 2300 years was to end "around the year 1843" (Miller's earlier estimate).

When Jesus did not return as expected ( an event Adventists call the "Great Disappointment

Great Disappointment

The Great Disappointment was a major event in the history of the Millerite movement, a 19th-century American Christian sect that formed out of the Second Great Awakening. Based on his interpretations of the prophecies in the book of Daniel The Great Disappointment was a major event in the history...

") several alternative interpretations of the prophecy were put forward. The majority of Millerites abandoned the 1844 date, however about 50 members out of the larger group of 50,000 ( including Hiram Edson

Hiram Edson

Hiram Edson was a pioneer of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, known for introducing the investigative judgment doctrine to the church.-Early life:Edson's first wife died in 1839, leaving him to care for three children...

and O. R. L. Crosier

O. R. L. Crosier

Owen Russell Loomis Crosier was a Millerite preacher and editor from Canandaigua, New York.-Involvement with the Millerites:The Millerite message was based on the preaching of William Miller and predicted that Christ would return about the year 1843, which was later refined to October 22, 1844...

) concluded the event predicted by Daniel 8:14 was not the second coming

Second Coming

, but rather Christ's entrance into the Most Holy Place

Holy of Holies

of the heavenly sanctuary. Edson had claimed to have a vision in a cornfield the day after the Great Disappointment, which resulted in a series of Bible studies with other Millerites to test the validity of his solution.

This became the foundation for the Adventist doctrine of the sanctuary

Heavenly sanctuary

, and the people who held it became the nucleus of what would emerge from other "Adventist" groups as the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The revelation was greatly encouraging for the [Seventh-day] Adventists. As Ellen White

Ellen G. White

wrote later, "The scripture which above all others had been both the foundation and the central pillar of the advent faith, was the declaration, 'Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.'" (quoting Daniel 8:14) She also predicted that criticism of the belief would come.

It spread through the members, as James and Ellen White supported the belief from Edson, Crosier, and also Uriah Smith

Uriah Smith

Uriah Smith was a Seventh-day Adventist author and editor who worked for the Review and Herald for 50 years....

. Some critics outside the Adventist church organization accuse Ellen White of borrowing from Smith's work The Sanctuary in her book titled Patriarchs and Prophets. However that claim was historically denied by James White

James Springer White

James Springer White , also known as Elder White was a co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and husband of Ellen G. White...

as late as 1851.

After the passing of the Oct 22 date - the Millerites initially held that although the second coming of Christ had not occurred on Oct 22, the "close of probation" had occurred on that day. They based this belief on their understanding of Matthew 25 (the parable of the 10 virgins) and the shut door in that parable. They believed it was too late to be saved if one had not been through the Millerite experience and they still expected that Jesus would return to Earth very shortly, within their lifetimes. Only after they had arrived at a new insight on the cleansing of the sanctuary could they rid themselves of their faulty concept of the shut door. This "shut-door

Shut-door theology

" belief was linked to the sanctuary doctrine,. The shut-door aspect was abandoned by the early 1850s.

Robert W. Olson

Robert W. Olson

Robert W. Olson was director of the Ellen G. White Estate from 1978 to 1990.- Biography :Olson was the first staff member who was not a direct descendant of Ellen G. White to run her estate and the first staff member to hold a Ph.D. He had a wide variety of pastoral and administrative posts before...

wrote in a formative 1982 document whilst White Estate director:

"While the term 'shut door' at first was used to indicate probation's close in 1844, it soon came to mean the close of Christ's ministry in the first apartment of the heavenly sanctuary. It stood for a change of Christ's ministry in heaven on October 22, 1844."

Over time, Adventists came to believe that the "cleansing" of the heavenly sanctuary involves a work of judgment as depicted in Daniel 7's courtroom scene prior to the second coming of Christ. In the 1850s, J. N. Loughborough and Uriah Smith

Uriah Smith

Uriah Smith was a Seventh-day Adventist author and editor who worked for the Review and Herald for 50 years....

began to teach that a judgment had begun in 1844 when Christ entered the Most Holy Place. Subsequently, in 1857, James White

James Springer White

James Springer White , also known as Elder White was a co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and husband of Ellen G. White...

(husband of Ellen G. White

Ellen G. White

) wrote in the Review and Herald (now the Adventist Review) that an "investigative judgment" was taking place in heaven, in which the lives of professed believers would pass in review before God. This is the first time that the phrase "investigative judgment" was used.

The doctrine of the Investigative Judgment was given its most thorough exposition in chapter 28—Facing Life's Record of The Great Controversy
The Great Controversy (book)
The Great Controversy is a book written by Ellen G. White, one of the founders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and held in esteem as a prophet of God among SDA members. It describes the "Great Controversy theme" between Jesus and Satan, as played out over the millennia from its start in heaven,...

by Ellen G. White.

Perfectionist interpretation

For early Adventists, the Investigative Judgment was closely aligned to their understanding of how one is saved

Soteriology

The branch of Christian theology that deals with salvation and redemption is called Soteriology. It is derived from the Greek sōtērion + English -logy....

with its strong emphasis on free will and character perfection. They believed that the end of the investigative judgment (the “close of probation”) will mark a point in time after which even Christians can no longer find forgiveness for their sins, as Jesus will have ended his mediatorial work and left the heavenly sanctuary. Therefore, Christians still living at this time will have to cease sinning completely in order to remain saved.
Accordingly, the “cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary” during the investigative judgment was thought to involve a parallel “cleansing” of the lives of believers on earth.
This understanding was expounded by M. L. Andreasen

M. L. Andreasen

M.[ilian] L.[auritz] Andreasen , was a Seventh-day Adventist theologian, pastor and author.He was one of the church's most prominent and influential theologians during the 1930s and 1940s. Andreasen promoted the teaching known popularly as Last Generation Theology, controversial for its views on...

, in his theology of “last generation

Last Generation Theology

Last Generation Theology or "final generation" theology is a belief system of overcoming sin held by some conservative members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, which claims that perfection will be achieved by some people in the last generation before the Second Coming of Jesus much like the...

” perfection.

Critics emerge

Raymond Cottrell

Raymond Forrest Cottrell was a respected Adventist theologian, missionary, teacher, writer and editor. He was an associate editor of both the Adventist Review and the Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary...

writes, the investigative judgment has received "more criticism and debate, by both Adventists and non-Adventists, than all other facets of its belief system combined."

In 1887, Dudley M. Canright

D. M. Canright

Dudley Marvin Canright was a pastor in the Seventh-day Adventist Church for 22 years, who later left the church and became one of its severest critics...

questioned the doctrine, internally to church workers. He chose to leave the church, and subsequently became its strongest critic. Since Canright, roughly every 15 or 20 years a prominent church leader has questioned the belief, and ended up out of the church.

Albion F. Ballenger was disfellowshipped around 1905, and later published his views. According to one author, the doctrine was changed as a reaction against Ballenger. After pressure over regarding some parts of the traditional view to be incorrect, William Fletcher resigned in 1930, and also later published his views. Louis R. Conradi had his ministerial credentials removed, and chose to leave the church in 1931.

William W. Prescott believed there were flaws, and shared this privately with a few church leaders, who became critics. He stated, "I have waited all these years for someone to make an adequate answer to Ballenger, Fletcher and others on their positions re. the sanctuary but I have not seen or heard it." He did stay in the church, unlike the others above. Harold E. Snide of what is now Southern Adventist University

Southern Adventist University

Southern Adventist University is a college in Collegedale, Tennessee, owned and operated by the Southern Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. U.S. News & World Report categorizes it as a Southern Regional College, and the magazine has consistently ranked it as one of the top-tier schools in...

withdrew from the church around 1945. Robert A. Greive was an Australian leader

Australian Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Australia is formally organised as the Australian Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists , a subentity of the South Pacific Division of Seventh-day Adventists. As of 31 December 2008, church membership stands at 54,173...

who did not criticise the sanctuary, but instead promoted other beliefs which were hence viewed as incompatible with an investigative judgment. His credentials were removed in 1956, and he left the church.

Some critics such as Canright and Ballenger "embarked on vendettas against the church", whereas others – most notably Ford (see below) – remained supporters of the church.

The church at large affirmed the belief throughout this and its broader history also.

Evangelicals, Adventist Bible Commentary, silence

In the 1950s, evangelical

Evangelicalism

Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...

/fundamentalist

Fundamentalist Christianity

Christian fundamentalism, also known as Fundamentalist Christianity, or Fundamentalism, arose out of British and American Protestantism in the late 19th century and early 20th century among evangelical Christians...

Christians Donald Barnhouse

Donald Barnhouse

Donald Grey Barnhouse Th.D , was an American Christian preacher, pastor, theologian, radio pioneer, and writer.-Career:...

and especially Walter Martin dialogued with Adventist leaders. (Key Adventist representatives produced the book Questions on Doctrine
Questions on Doctrine
Seventh-day Adventists Answer Questions on Doctrine is a book published by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1957 to help explain Adventism to conservative Protestants and Evangelicals...

which gave answers to their questions about the church. Based on this theology, Martin and Barnhouse asserted that Adventists were indeed legitimate Christians. The book was not accepted by all Adventists themselves, and Martin and Barnhouse's conclusion was also controversial within their community; however the dialogues gradually led to Adventists being seen as much more mainstream or evangelical.) They believed Adventists were largely in harmony with the gospel, except for the sanctuary and Ellen White's authority. Barnhouse criticized,

"The [sanctuary] doctrine is, to me, the most colossal, psychological, face-saving phenomenon in religious history. [...] We personally do not believe that there is even a suspicion of a verse in Scripture to sustain such a peculiar position, and we further believe that any effort to establish it is stale, flat, and unprofitable. [...] [It is] unimportant and almost naïve."

In 1955, according to Raymond Cottrell

Raymond Cottrell

, the editors of the Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary found it "hopelessly impossible" to combine both solid Bible scholarship with what Adventists believed and taught about and . In 1958 when revising Bible Readings for republication, he sought the opinion of 27 North American Adventist theologians who knew Hebrew, and also heads of religion departments, concerning the interpretation of Daniel 8:14. Without exception, the scholars responded by acknowledging "that there is no valid linguistic or contextual basis for the traditional interpretation of Daniel 8:14." After being notified, the General Conference appointed a secret "Committee on Problems in the Book of Daniel", which met from 1961 to 1966 but was unable to reach a consensus. (In 2001 Cottrell would publicly criticized the doctrine, yet remained an Adventist. He also wrote papers and a lengthy book on the subject – Eschatology of Daniel. It remained unpublished, and Cottrell stated, "the manuscript awaits a climate of openness and objectivity in the church, which is essential to a fair examination of the facts.")

According to Ford, the belief had not been taught for several decades at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary

Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary

The Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary is the seminary located at Andrews University in Michigan, the Seventh-day Adventist Church's flagship university...

at Andrews University

Andrews University

Andrews University is a Seventh-day Adventist university in Berrien Springs, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1874 as Battle Creek College in Battle Creek, Michigan, it was the first higher education facility started by Seventh-day Adventists, and is the flagship university of the Seventh-day...

, but was revived in the 1960s by Robert Brinsmead

Robert Brinsmead

Robert Daniel "Bob" Brinsmead is a formerly controversial figure within the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the 1960s and 1970s, known for his diverse theological journey....

, who linked it with perfectionism. Yet Brinsmead came to reject it, and in the 1970s attempted to convince leading Adventist theologians Desmond Ford

Desmond Ford

Desmond "Des" Ford is an evangelical Christian and an Australian theologian. He is the father of pornography gossip columnist Luke Ford....

and Edward Heppenstall

Edward Heppenstall

Edward E. Heppenstall was a leading Bible scholar and theologian of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. A 1985 questionnaire of North American Adventist lecturers revealed Heppenstall was the Adventist writer who had most influenced them.- Biography :Heppenstall was born in 1901 at Rotherham,...

to write a refutation of it. Brinsmead said he hesitated "blasting this theology because I thought someone from within Adventism should do it." After Ford and Heppenstall declined, Brinsmead authored the critical work 1844 Re-Examined. He later "swung from one extreme to the other and had moved over to Ford's position on righteousness by faith."

Shift to grace-Centered

Some feel that Edward Heppenstall

Edward Heppenstall

, a leading theologian of the church, and others shifted the emphasis of the Investigative judgment doctrine to be more grace-centered.

Desmond Ford

Australian Desmond Ford

Desmond Ford

Desmond "Des" Ford is an evangelical Christian and an Australian theologian. He is the father of pornography gossip columnist Luke Ford....

was a theologian in the church. In 1979 he addressed an Adventist Forums

Adventist Forums

Adventist Forums is an international non-profit organization of Seventh-day Adventists. It publishes Spectrum magazine. Its stated aim is to create community through open conversation. Local groups of the association are known as local forum chapters...

meeting at Pacific Union College

Pacific Union College

Pacific Union College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Angwin, California, United States. It is the only four-year college in Napa County, California....

critiquing the doctrine. This was viewed with concern and he was given 6 months of leave to write up his views. In August 1980 the "Sanctuary Review Committee" met at Glacier View Ranch

Glacier View Ranch

Glacier View Ranch is an alpine Christian retreat and conference centre located near Boulder, Colorado in the United States. During the summer holidays, it runs summer camps for children and teenagers in the Rocky Mountain Conference of Seventh-day Adventists...

in Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

to discuss Ford's beliefs and future. His document (later published) is nearly 1000-pages long and titled, Daniel 8:14, the Day of Atonement and the Investigative Judgement.

Although the Glacier View meeting produced two consensus statements that were favorable to Ford's position, it also formulated a ten-point summary that highlighted major points of difference between Ford’s positions and traditional Adventist teaching. Ultimately, the church's administration chose to take action against Ford, revoking his ministerial credentials one month after Glacier View. Special issues of Ministry
Ministry (magazine)
Ministry: International Journal for Pastors is an international monthly magazine for Christian ministers, with a circulation of approximately 100,000. It is published by the Ministerial Association , an official body of the worldwide Adventist church. It is aimed at pastors and ministers of the...

, Spectrum
Spectrum (magazine)
Spectrum is the official publication of Adventist Forums, published four times a year. It was established "to encourage Seventh-day Adventist participation in the discussion of contemporary issues from a Christian viewpoint, to look without prejudice at all sides of a subject, to evaluate the...

and other magazines were dedicated to covering the event. Ford formed the non-denominational ministry Good News Unlimited.

This became controversial and some ministers resigned in the wake of Glacier View because of their support for Ford's theology. By one count, 182 pastors in Australia and New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

left between 1980 and 1988, equivalent to "an astonishing 40 percent of the total ministerial workforce" in those countries. This amounts to "the most rapid and massive exit of Adventist pastors in the movement’s 150-year history" (although he cautions that the fallout may have involved more than one factor). Cottrell believes Ford has given more scholarly study to the belief and written more on it than any other person in history.

Subsequent history

Following Glacier View, the church formed an 18-member committee called the "Daniel and Revelation Study Committee" under the Biblical Research Institute

Biblical Research Institute

The Biblical Research Institute is a service department of the Seventh-day Adventist Church with the three stated functions of research, apologetics , and service to the church. It serves as a theological consultant to the General Conference...

, in order to defend the traditional Adventist understanding of the investigative judgment. This committee has produced the seven-volume Daniel and Revelation Committee Series, with main contributing authors William H. Shea and Frank B. Holbrook. Five cover the biblical Book of Daniel

Book of Daniel

The Book of Daniel is a book in the Hebrew Bible. The book tells of how Daniel, and his Judean companions, were inducted into Babylon during Jewish exile, and how their positions elevated in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. The court tales span events that occur during the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar,...

, and two the Book of Revelation

Book of Revelation

The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...

.

The committee claims that the objections to the belief from critics have been answered. Cottrell, like Prescott in an earlier time, asserted his opinion they had not, and that the series is "disorganized". He also claimed the selection of members was biased, they were relatively unknown as scholars, and the committee's "conclusions" were already predetermined.

It is further speculated that a significant number of current ministers privately agree with Ford but refrain from speaking publicly on the issue for fear of losing their employment. Some in the Adventist church feel that the events of 1980 represent a major milestone in the theological development of the church, and that the effects of this controversy continue to be felt today.

Morris Venden

Morris Venden

Morris L. Venden is a well known Seventh-day Adventist preacher, teacher, and author, who also is know as a member of the Voice of Prophecy team as an associate speaker.- Biography :Venden was born to Melvin Venden and Ivy Ruth Venden....

's portrayal of the investigative judgment emphasizes the fairness of God as a judge, He emphasized the grace of God.

Recent critics include Dale Ratzlaff, who left the church following the Ford crisis, and former lecturer Jerry Gladson.

Recently, some Adventist scholars have described it simply as a "pre-advent judgment

Pre-advent judgment

In Christian theology, the pre-advent judgment is a belief that the final judgment will occur before the Second Coming of Jesus....

" – that is, the Last Judgment

Last Judgment

The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, or The Day of the Lord in Christian theology, is the final and eternal judgment by God of every nation. The concept is found in all the Canonical gospels, particularly the Gospel of Matthew. It will purportedly take place after the...

will occur prior to the Second Coming

Second Coming

(or "Advent") of Jesus. This much is also affirmed by a minority of non-Adventist scholars.

Official belief statements

The doctrine of the Investigative Judgment is outlined in item 24, Christ's Ministry in the Heavenly Sanctuary, of the Seventh-day Adventist fundamental beliefs

28 Fundamentals

The 28 Fundamentals are a core set of theological beliefs held by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Traditionally, Adventists have been opposed to the formulation of creeds. It is claimed that the 28 Fundamentals are descriptors not prescriptors; that is, that they describe the official position of...

. (Note: in the original Fundamental Beliefs of 1980 it was item 23, but when item 11 was added by the General Conference in 2005 it was changed to item 24.)

There is a sanctuary in heaven, the true tabernacle which the Lord set up and not man. In it Christ ministers on our behalf, making available to believers the benefits of His atoning sacrifice offered once for all on the cross. He was inaugurated as our great High Priest and began His intercessory ministry at the time of His ascension. In 1844, at the end of the prophetic period of 2300 days, He entered the second and last phase of His atoning ministry. It is a work of investigative judgment which is part of the ultimate disposition of all sin, typified by the cleansing of the ancient Hebrew sanctuary on the Day of Atonement. In that typical service the sanctuary was cleansed with the blood of animal sacrifices, but the heavenly things are purified with the perfect sacrifice of the blood of Jesus. The investigative judgment reveals to heavenly intelligences who among the dead are asleep in Christ and therefore, in Him, are deemed worthy to have part in the first resurrection. It also makes manifest who among the living are abiding in Christ, keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, and in Him, therefore, are ready for translation into His everlasting kingdom. This judgment vindicates the justice of God in saving those who believe in Jesus. It declares that those who have remained loyal to God shall receive the kingdom. The completion of this ministry of Christ will mark the close of human probation before the Second Advent. (Heb. 8:1-5; 4:14-16; 9:11-28; 10:19-22; 1:3; 2:16, 17; Dan. 7:9-27; 8:13, 14; 9:24-27; Num. 14:34; Eze. 4:6; Lev. 16; Rev. 14:6, 7; 20:12; 14:12; 22:12.)

Previous statements

The doctrine as featured in the earlier published beliefs was often spread out across multiple statements. For example, in the beliefs published in 1872 the wording now found in belief 24 titled "Christ's Ministry in the Heavenly Sanctuary", was spread out over belief statements 2, 9, 10 and 18 (as designated at that time by Roman numerals).

Fundamental Principles taught and practiced by Seventh-day Adventists, 1872.

- II -

That there is one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Eternal Father, the one by whom God created all things, and by whom they do consist; that he took on him the nature of the seed of Abraham for the redemption of our fallen race; that he dwelt among men full of grace and truth, lived our example, died our sacrifice, was raised for our justification, ascended on high to be our only mediator in the sanctuary in Heaven, where, with his own blood, he makes atonement for our sins; which atonement, so far from being made on the cross, which was but the offering of the sacrifice, is the very last portion of his work as priest, according to the example of the Levitical priesthood, which foreshadowed and prefigured the ministry of our Lord in Heaven. See Leviticus ch. 16, Hebrews 8:4, 5; 9:6, 7; &c.

- IX -

That the mistake of Adventists in 1844 pertained to the nature of the event then to transpire, not to the time; that no prophetic period is given to reach to the second advent, but that the longest one, the two thousand and three hundred days of Daniel 8:14, terminated in that year, and brought us to an event called the cleansing of the sanctuary.

- X -

That the sanctuary of the new covenant is the tabernacle of God in Heaven, of which Paul speaks in Hebrews 8, and onward, of which our Lord, as great High Priest, is minister; that this sanctuary is the antitype of the Mosiac tabernacle, and that the priestly work of our Lord, connected therewith, is the antitype of the work of the Jewish priests of the former dispensation, Hebrews 8:1-5, &c.; that this is the sanctuary to be cleansed at the end of the 2300 days, what is termed its cleansing being in this case, as in the type, simply the entrance of the high priest into the most holy place, to finish the round of service connected therewith, by blotting out and removing from the sanctuary the sins which had been transferred to it by means of the ministration in the first apartment, Hebrews 9:22, 23; and that this work, in the antitype, commencing in 1844, occupies a brief but indefinite space, at the conclusion of which the work of mercy for the world is finished.

- XVIII -

That the time for the cleansing of the sanctuary, synchronizing with the time of the proclamation of the third message, is a time of investigative judgment, first with reference to the dead, and at the close of probation with reference to the living, to determine who of the myriads now sleeping in the dust of the earth are worthy of a part in the first resurrection, and who of its living multitudes are worthy of translation—points which must be determined before the Lord appears.

In the 1931 statement of beliefs, the beliefs comprising the Investigative Judgment doctrine were placed in sequence as statements 13, 14, 15 and 16.

Item 13, Fundamental Beliefs of Seventh-day Adventists, 1931.

That no prophetic period is given in the Bible to reach to the Second Advent, but that the longest one, the 2300 days of Daniel 8:14, terminating in 1844, reaches to an event called the cleansing of the sanctuary (Daniel 8:14; 9:24, 25; Numbers 14:34; Ezekiel 4:6).

Item 14, Fundamental Beliefs of Seventh-day Adventists, 1931.

That the true sanctuary, of which the tabernacle on earth was a type, is the temple of God in heaven, of which Paul speaks in Hebrews 8 and onward, and of which the Lord Jesus, as our great high priest, is minister. The priestly work of our Lord is the antitype of the work of the Jewish priests of the former dispensation. That this heavenly sanctuary is the one to be cleansed at the end of the 2300 days of Daniel 8:14, its cleansing being, as in the type, a work of judgment, beginning with the entrance of Christ as the high priest upon the judgment phase of His ministry in the heavenly sanctuary, foreshadowed in the earthly service of cleansing the sanctuary on the Day of Atonement. This work of judgment in the heavenly sanctuary began in 1844. Its completion will close human probation (Daniel 7:9, 10; 8:14; Hebrews 8:1, 2, 5; Revelation 20:12; Numbers 14:34; Ezekiel 4:6).

Item 15, Fundamental Beliefs of Seventh-day Adventists, 1931.

That God, in the time of the judgment and in accordance with His uniform dealing with the human family in warning them of coming events vitally affecting their destiny (Amos 3:6, 7), sends forth a proclamation of the approach of the Second Advent of Christ; that this work is symbolized by the three angels of Revelation 14, and that their threefold message brings to view a work of reform to prepare a people to meet Him at His coming (Amos 3:6, 7; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Revelation 14:6-12).

Item 16, Fundamental Beliefs of Seventh-day Adventists, 1931.

That the time of the cleansing of the sanctuary, synchronizing with the period of the proclamation of the message of Revelation 14, is a time of investigative judgment, first, with reference to the dead, and second, with reference to the living. This investigative judgment determines who of the myriads sleeping in the dust of the earth are worthy of a part in the first resurrection, and who of its living multitudes are worthy of translation (1 Peter 4:17, 18; Daniel 7:9, 10; Revelation 14:6, 7; Luke 20:35).

Every five years the Adventist World Church meets in session to review current issues, add doctrinal statements and clarify church positions. Although a significant restatement of the published beliefs took place in 1980 General Conference session, the church has chosen to leave the doctrinal statement on the Investigative judgment virtually unchanged from its formulation in the 1870s.

Other statements and significant publications

The constitution of the Adventist Theological Society

Adventist Theological Society

The Adventist Theological Society is an international nonprofit organization of Seventh-day Adventist scholars and lay-people. The society holds its annual meeting in connection with the Evangelical Theological Society. It describes its theology as "balanced and conservative Adventist theology"...

affirms the doctrine of the Investigative Judgment.

"e. The Society affirms a real sanctuary in heaven and the pre-advent judgment of believers beginning in 1844, based upon the historicist view of prophecy

Historicism (Christian eschatology)

Historicism is a method of interpretation, in Christian eschatology, by associating biblical prophecies with actual historical events as well as identifying symbolic beings with historical persons or societies. In prophetic theology, the main texts of interest are apocalyptic literature such as the...

and the year-day principle as taught in Scripture."

Official Adventist publications such as Seventh-day Adventists Answer Questions on Doctrinehttp://www.sdanet.org/atissue/books/qod/index.htm (1957) and Seventh-day Adventists believe (1988) defend the church's traditional teaching.

Documents publicly available on the Biblical Research Institute

Biblical Research Institute

's website http://www.adventistbiblicalresearch.org/documents.htm support and defend the traditional doctrine with reference to Scripture.

The 2006 third quarter Adult Bible Study Guide produced by the Seventh-day Adventist General Conference

General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

The General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists is the governing organization of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It is located in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States, where it moved in 1989...

, was entitled The Gospel, 1844, and Judgment, and strongly upholds and defends the church's traditional 1844 doctrine. The preface to the study guide states that "From this doctrine, perhaps more than any other, our distinct identity as Seventh-day Adventists arises."http://absg.adventist.org/2006/3Q/SE/EAQ306_00.pdf

Biblical basis

Seventh-day Adventists believe that texts such as Hebrews 8:1-2 teach that the two-compartment design of the earthly sanctuary built by Moses, was in fact a model patterned after the Heavenly Sanctuary "which the Lord pitched not man" Hebrews 8:2 (NASB). They believe that statements in Hebrews 7:17-28 as well as statements found in Hebrews chapters 8 and 9, reveal that Christ entered the first phase of His Heavenly ministry (in the Holy Place of the Heavenly Sanctuary) as our High Priest after His bodily resurrection and ascension into heaven. According to this view the 2300 days (years) found in Daniel 8:13-14 point to the date when Christ's Most Holy Place ministry in Heaven would start. This is the event typified by the Day of Atonement described in Leviticus 16 and in Levitcus 23:26-32. The Investigative Judgment doctrine states that in 1844 Christ moved from the Holy Place to the Most Holy Place in heaven as described in Daniel 7:13-14, and that this began the judgment described in Daniel 7:9-10. .

The main Biblical texts quoted by Seventh-day Adventists in support of the doctrine of the Investigative Judgement being applicable to the professed people of God in all ages, are Daniel 7:9-10; 1 Peter 4:17; and Revelation 14:6, 7; 20:12.

As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened. Daniel 7:9, 10 (NIV)

For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 1 Peter 4:17 (NIV)

Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. He said in a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come." Revelation 14:6-7 (NIV)

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. Revelation 20:12 (NIV)

Adventists also believe that the Investigative Judgment is depicted in the parable of the wedding banquet, in . Professing Christians are represented by the wedding guests, and the judgment is represented by the King's inspection of the guests (verses 10, 11). In order to pass the judgment, believers must be wearing the robe of Christ's righteousness, represented by the wedding garments (verses 11, 12).

Derivation of 1844 date

The derivation of the 1844 date for the commencement of the investigative judgment is explained in detail in Adventist publications such as Seventh-day Adventists Believe.

Seventy "week"
Prophecy of Seventy Weeks
The Prophecy of Seventy Septets appears in the angel Gabriel's reply to Daniel, beginning with verse 22 and ending with verse 27 in the ninth chapter of the Book of Daniel, a work included in both the Jewish Tanakh and the Christian Bible; as well as the Septuagint...

period (ff.) is held to begin in 457 B.C., the seventh year of Artaxerxes I.
"2300 evenings and mornings" period is held to commence in the same year.
2300 days are held to correspond to 2300 years (see Day-year principle
Day-year principle
The day-year principle, year-day principle or year-for-a-day principle is a method of interpretation of Bible prophecy in which the word day in apocalyptic prophecy is symbolic for a year of actual time. It is used principally by the historicist school of prophetic interpretation...

)
457 B.C. add 2300 years gives 1844 AD.

While no specific date is given in official belief statements, many Adventists hold October 22, 1844 as the starting date for the investigative judgment. Originally Miller set the end of the 2300 days between March 21, 1843 and March 21, 1844. In mid-1844, Miller stated "I confess my error, and acknowledge my disappointment: Yet I still believe that the day of the Lord is near." In February, 1844, Samuel S. Snow began preaching the end of the 2300 days to be in the Fall of 1844. He soon settled on October 22. In an August camp meeting, October 22 took hold of the Adventists in New England. Miller was one of the last to accept the date. W. W. Prescott

W. W. Prescott

William Warren Prescott was an influential administrator, educator, and scholar in the early Seventh-day Adventist Church.- Biography :Prescott's parents were part of the Millerite movement.W. W...

suggested that the investigative judgment occurred in the spring, and not autumn, but his view was rejected.

The judgment process

According to Adventist teaching, the works of all men and women are written down in "books of record", kept in heaven. During the investigative judgment, these books will be opened (as described in Daniel 7:10 and Revelation 20:12), and the lives of all professed believers, living and dead, will be examined to determine who is truly worthy of salvation. "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." "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."

The judgment will show those who are authentic believers in God from those who are not. "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." On the other hand, "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." "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."

During the judgment, Satan will bring accusations of transgression and unbelief against believers, while Jesus acts as defense. "Jesus will appear as their advocate, to plead in their behalf before God." "While Jesus is pleading for the subjects of His grace, Satan accuses them before God as transgressors." The good news of the judgment is that Jesus is not only the Attorney, but He is also the Judge.(John 5:22) With Jesus as Attorney and Judge there is nothing to fear.

For a long time people have had held the primitive concept that the pre-advent judgment is primarily concerned with God judging mankind and deciding their eternal destiny. He is perceived as rushing through the books since 1844, trying to get through all the names before the end of the world. But, God already “knows who are his,” and certainly does not need years and years to pore over the books.

But, beginning in the 1950s and on through the 1970s, Heppenstahl began teaching that there were bigger issues involved in the pre-advent judgment than just humans. Heppenstahl’s protégés, Hans LaRondelle, Raoul Dederen and Morris Venden, through the 70s and 80s, taught an understanding of the purpose of the pre-advent judgment that includes humans, the entire universe, and even God Himself.

For the human race

They taught that the pre-advent judgment was conducted so the saved could find answers to any questions that may arise concerning the salvation acquaintances, or the lack thereof. Mankind can only look at the outward appearance, not being able to perceive true motives. The records of the investigative judgment will be open for all to examine. All will be able to then see, as God can, the true motives of men. In this way they will be present at the pre-advent judgment.

These teachers and preachers taught that God treats the human race as intelligent beings—that He does not ask for blind trust or blind obedience. He can be trusted now and forever because that trust is based on complete understanding. God made this provision so that people may thoughtfully, honestly say, "Great and marvelous are thy works, ...just and true are your ways." God is interested not only in justifying sinners, but also in being just at the same time. The cross and the complete atonement justify God in His actions.

The Accuser

Besides being for the human race, that pre-advent judgment is demanded by the prosecutor of man—the accuser of God's people (Revelation 12)—the enemy, the dragon, the serpent called the Devil and Satan. He must get his opportunity to prove to all that he is right and God is wrong. Yet there will come a time when even the devil will bow and acknowledge the justice and fairness of God. “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow...; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Emphasis added) Philippians 2:10, 11

Those watching the controversy

The pre-advent judgment reveals to the universe those who have accepted and continue to accept God’s justifying grace. All who watch need the assurance that justice is being dealt. The pre-advent judgment justifies God, in front of all, in forgiving the ones who get forgiven. And not forgiving those who do not get forgiven. God does not force His forgiveness on anybody. It must be freely and continually accepted.

God Himself

The final One who needs the judgment is God Himself. The judgment is "his judgment"—God's judgment. God has been accused before the universe, by the "accuser of the brethren" who has been hurling his accusations at God as unfair, unjust, and unreasonable. In order for God to be vindicated, in order for the entire universe, including the human race, to see that God is indeed a God of love and justice, in order to make the universe forever safe from sin and its results, the investigative judgment must take place.

Relationship to the Great Controversy

The doctrine of the Investigative Judgment is closely linked to the Great Controversy theme

Great Controversy theme

In Seventh-day Adventist theology the Great Controversy theme refers to the cosmic battle between Jesus Christ and Satan, and also played out on earth. The concept is derived from many visions the author claimed to have received, scriptural references, and is delineated in the book The Great...

, another unique Adventist teaching. As the judgment proceeds, angels and "heavenly intelligences" will watch closely. "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 result of the judgment, in separating out true from false believers, "vindicates the justice of God in saving those who believe in Jesus" (quoted from 28 fundamental beliefs

28 Fundamentals

). "All [will] come to understand and agree that God is right; that He has no responsibility for the sin problem. His character will emerge unassailable, and His government of love will be reaffirmed."

Relationship to the sanctuary doctrine

As has been mentioned, the doctrine of the Investigative Judgment is an integral part of the Seventh-day Adventist doctrine of the sanctuary. As true believers are found righteous in the judgment, their sins are removed or "blotted" from record by the atoning blood of Jesus Christ. This is believed to have been foreshadowed by the work of the High Priest in the Most Holy Place on the Day of Atonement

Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur , also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest and most solemn day of the year for the Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue...

(Leviticus 16). The investigative judgment is the final phase of Christ's atoning work, which began on the cross and continued after his ascension in the Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary.

Relationship to eschatology

Although the time of the commencement of the Investigative Judgment is clear (1844), no one can know when it will end. "The work of the investigative judgment and the blotting out of sins is to be accomplished before the second advent of the Lord." However, "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."

The end of the Investigative Judgment is termed "the close of probation" by Seventh-day Adventists. At this point in time, "the destiny of all will have been decided for life or death". There will be no further opportunity for unbelievers to repent and be saved. Revelation 22:11 is considered to describe the close of probation: "Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile; let him who does right continue to do right; and let him who is holy continue to be holy."

Following the close of probation will be a "time of trouble", which will be a period of intense conflict and persecution for God's people. Shortly afterward, Christ will return in glory and raise the righteous dead (the "first resurrection"), whom he will take to heaven together with the righteous living to share his millennial

Millennialism

Millennialism , or chiliasm in Greek, is a belief held by some Christian denominations that there will be a Golden Age or Paradise on Earth in which "Christ will reign" for 1000 years prior to the final judgment and future eternal state...

reign. (Just who these "righteous" are will, of course, have been revealed during the course of the investigative judgment.) At the end of the millennium, Christ will again return to earth to raise the wicked (the "second resurrection"). At this time the books will be open for all (sinner and repentant alike) to see and judge. Once all have acknowledged the justice and love of God, the execution of the judgment proceeds—those who accepted forgiveness to eternal life—those who rejected forgiveness to eternal nothingness.

Criticism of the doctrine

The Investigative Judgment teaching of the Seventh-day Adventist church has been extensively criticized. Aside from criticism by non-Adventist theologians, some progressive Adventists disagree with the doctrine of the investigative judgment as it is traditionally taught by the church. The progressive periodicals Spectrum
Spectrum (magazine)
Spectrum is the official publication of Adventist Forums, published four times a year. It was established "to encourage Seventh-day Adventist participation in the discussion of contemporary issues from a Christian viewpoint, to look without prejudice at all sides of a subject, to evaluate the...

and Adventist Today
Adventist Today
Adventist Today is a bimonthly Christian magazine representing a progressive Seventh-day Adventist perspective. First published in 1993, it is currently edited by J. David Newman, the former editor of Ministry...

have on various occasions published alternative views or criticisms of the doctrine.

Criticism has been levelled at the doctrine at the following points:

Lack of biblical basis—Some have argued that the doctrine is based almost exclusively on the writings of Ellen G. White

Ellen G. White

, who in turn drew heavily from Uriah Smith

Uriah Smith

Uriah Smith was a Seventh-day Adventist author and editor who worked for the Review and Herald for 50 years....

, and that there is very little (if any) scriptural support for it. It was originally based on the King James Version of the Bible, which is not considered the best translation today. Miller used an English Bible concordance

Concordance (publishing)

A concordance is an alphabetical list of the principal words used in a book or body of work, with their immediate contexts. Because of the time and difficulty and expense involved in creating a concordance in the pre-computer era, only works of special importance, such as the Vedas, Bible, Qur'an...

, and found word parallels in English when sometimes the original language was different. It has been criticized for relying on the "prooftext

Prooftext

Prooftexting is the practice of using isolated quotations from a document to establish a proposition. Using discrete quotations is generally seen as decontextualised...

" method, in which disparate Bible verses are linked but sometimes out of context.

Questionable origins—Critics have drawn attention to the fact that the sanctuary doctrine did not initially arise from biblical exegesis, but as a response to William Miller

William Miller (preacher)

’s 1844 mistake. Donald Barnhouse

Donald Barnhouse

Donald Grey Barnhouse Th.D , was an American Christian preacher, pastor, theologian, radio pioneer, and writer.-Career:...

denounced the doctrine as "the most colossal, psychological, face-saving phenomenon in religious history". Likewise, religion scholar Anthony Hoekema stated that the doctrine was "simply a way out of an embarrassing predicament" and therefore "a doctrine built on a mistake". It has been pointed out that the doctrine was rejected by Miller himself.

Unusual interpretation of prophecy — The 1844 date is based on an interpretation of a biblical verse (Daniel 8:14) that is exclusive to the Millerite/Adventist movement. According to modern Preterist

Preterism

Preterism is a Christian eschatological view that interprets prophecies of the Bible, especially Daniel and Revelation, as events which have already happened in the first century A.D. Preterism holds that Ancient Israel finds its continuation or fulfillment in the Christian church at the...

commentators, Daniel 8:14 refers to 2300 evening and morning sacrifices, and therefore covers a period of 1,150 days (or 3.5 years); it refers to the desecration of the temple by Antiochus Epiphanes which began in 167 B.C. and ended 3.5 years later when the Maccabees

Maccabees

The Maccabees were a Jewish rebel army who took control of Judea, which had been a client state of the Seleucid Empire. They founded the Hasmonean dynasty, which ruled from 164 BCE to 63 BCE, reasserting the Jewish religion, expanding the boundaries of the Land of Israel and reducing the influence...

regained control of the temple and reinstituted their services.

Different view of the Atonement—Protestant Christianity has traditionally taught that Jesus Christ performed his work of atonement on the Cross

Christian cross

The Christian cross, seen as a representation of the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, is the best-known religious symbol of Christianity...

, and that his sacrificial death brought to fulfillment the entire Old Testament

Old Testament

The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...

sacrificial system, including the Day of Atonement. The idea that the Day of Atonement does not meet its antitype until 18 centuries after Jesus' crucifixion is a deviation from historic Christian theology.

Lack of support from Christian tradition—No church besides the Seventh-day Adventist denomination teaches this doctrine. It is difficult to see how such a significant doctrine could be so widely overlooked.

Faith vs. works—the doctrine of the Investigative Judgment seems to give works an undue place in salvation. On a strict reading of Ellen G. White

Ellen G. White

, a Christian might be disqualified from salvation by failing to repent of every single sin. This seems to contradict the Reformation

Protestant Reformation

The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...

understanding of "salvation by grace through faith alone".

Passage of time – Although the original exponents of the doctrine expected the investigative judgment to be a very brief period, more than 150 years have now passed since the year 1844. The ever increasing span of time between 1844 and the second coming

Second Coming

casts significant doubt on the validity of the belief.

Lack of confidence within Adventism – Raymond F. Cottrell, have alleged that the investigative judgment doctrine has very weak support within Adventist academia. Among other things, they point to the “Committee on Problems in the book of Daniel”, convened in the 1960s, which failed to produce any conclusions despite 5 years of labour. However, see the 7 volumes produced by the Biblical Research Institute on Daniel & Revelation.

According to Cottrell,

"In the years immediately following October 22, 1844 the traditional sanctuary doctrine was an important asset for stabilizing the faith of disappointed Adventists. Today it is an equally significant liability and deterrent to the faith, confidence, and salvation of biblically literate Adventists and non-Adventists alike. It was present truth

Present Truth

"Present Truth" may refer to any of the following:In the Seventh-day Adventist Church:* Seventh-day Adventist theology#Present truth, a belief in truth as appropriate to any given time...

following the great disappointment

Great Disappointment

on October 22, 1844. It is not present truth in the year of our Lord 2002. Quod erat demonstrandum!"

Cottrell also claimed that disciplining of ordained ministers due to theology was inconsistent – that one may believe Christ was a created being, legalism or works-oriented salvation, or the non-literalness of the Genesis creation account without losing their credentials; yet lists many who have lost their jobs regarding the investigative judgment.

Lack of pastoral relevance—Individuals such as Desmond Ford

Desmond Ford

Desmond "Des" Ford is an evangelical Christian and an Australian theologian. He is the father of pornography gossip columnist Luke Ford....

and John McLarty have said that in practice, the investigative judgment is not preached in churches. Larty claims that the doctrine "is not helpful in providing spiritual care for real people in the real world".

Response from other Christian churches

Non-Adventist Christian churches and theologians have found that the investigative judgment is a doctrine with which they cannot agree. In a discussion between Adventist leaders and representatives from the World Evangelical Alliance

World Evangelical Alliance

- Introduction :' is a global ministry working with local churches around the world to join in common concern to live and proclaim the "Good News of Jesus" in their communities...

in August 2007, the investigative judgment was noted as one of three points of doctrinal disagreement (the other two being the Sabbath and the authoritative role of Ellen G. White

Ellen G. White

Adventist Response to Critics

Lack of biblical basis—According to apologists this criticism is no longer valid because Adventist scholars have produced an extensive treatment of the doctrine purely on the basis of Scripture alone.

Aberrant interpretation of prophecy—Before 1844 many Protestant and Catholic theologians supported the day-year principle and, like Miller, advocated that (Daniel 8:14) indeed ends in 1844.

Atonement not complete at the cross—According to apologists this criticism is not entirely valid. The Adventist publication "The 27 Fundamental Beliefs" (pages 110-111) affirms that Christ's atoning sacrifice was completed at the cross and so also does the book Questions on Doctrine (page 375) affirm the Adventist belief that the death of Christ as our Atoning Sacrifice was completed once for all. However Adventists embrace the broad view of the Leviticus 16 "Day of Atonement" model where the scope for the term "Atonement" involves not only the sacrifice of the sin offering (Christ's completed atoning sacrifice) - but also the work of the High Priest in the Sanctuary. Many Protestant and Catholic scholars, including some early church fathers, have noted the high priestly ministry of Christ in heaven on the basis of the book of Hebrews. The Adventist link with atonement derives from their Wesleyan-Arminian roots by extending the Wesleyan-Lutheran understanding of the atonement to include the high priestly ministry. Thus, Adventist use the term "atonement" more broadly than the traditional theology. W. G. C. Murdock, former dean of the SDA theological seminary, stated, "Seventh-day Adventists have always believed in a complete atonement that is not completed." The sacrifice of Jesus was indeed complete at the cross. But His sacrifice has not yet completed repairing broken relationships cause by sin, which will only occur after the end of the sinful world.
Salvation by works—Seventh-day Adventists do not believe in salvation by works. Adventist doctrine states that salvation is by faith alone, but they note that faith without works is dead as we find in James 2. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus said "If you love me keep my commandments." Only those who have been born-again and walk in the Spirit (Romans 8:4) could ever love Jesus. Adventists point out that under the New Covenant (as listed in Hebrews chapter 8) the saints receive the Law of God written on the heart and mind, so for the saints keeping His commands is "not burdensome" (1John 5:3). Adventists insist that Christ's command to "keep My Commandments" was not given as a means of salvation, rather, keeping his commands is the fruit of a changed life. As Christ states in John 15 obedience is the result of love. In the Adventist view of sanctification, works of obedience come about as a result of love that is born of faith in the Savior.

Passage of time since 1844—Adventists counter this criticism by noting that Christ's Holy Place ministry in heaven lasted for 1800 years and that during His Most Holy Place ministry in heaven the door of salvation remains open to all who seek Him. The close of probation for mankind does not come before the fulfillment of certain eschatological prophecies predicted in the Book of Revelation and still future to human history. Judgment continues in heaven as long as there are individuals that accept salvation until the close of probation.

Adventists reject Calvinistic predestination. Such a decision makes judgment a necessary part of the divine plan of salvation (Wesleyan-Arminian concept). Adventists use the term "atonement" in harmony with the "Day of Atonement" service found in Leviticus 16. That service includes both the death of the sin offering, and the ministry of the high priest in the sanctuary before the full scope of atonement is completed. Many Christians today limit their concept of atonement to the point where the sin offering has been made and is completed. This difference in the way the term is defined by the various groups within Christendom has been a source of some undue criticism.

External links

General:

"The Essence of Adventism: Part E — The Essence of the Sanctuary Teaching" by Norman H. Young. SDANet AtIssue
"The Investigative Judgment, 1844–2008: A Short, Documented History of an Adventist Teaching" by Arthur Patrick. SDANet AtIssue
1844 Lesson Commentaries collection from the Adventist Today
Adventist Today
Adventist Today is a bimonthly Christian magazine representing a progressive Seventh-day Adventist perspective. First published in 1993, it is currently edited by J. David Newman, the former editor of Ministry...

website
Arthur Ferch, "The Pre-Advent Judgment". Adventist Review (October 13, 1980), p4. Popular version of his PhD thesis, "The Apocalyptic 'Son of Man' in Daniel 7". Andrews University, 1979
Bibliography by Gary Shearer
Investigative judgment articles as catalogued by the Seventh-day Adventist Periodical Index (SDAPI)

Supportive:

"Christ's Ministry in the Heavenly Sanctuary", chapter 23 in Seventh-day Adventists Believe... A Biblical Exposition of 27 Fundamental Doctrines (1988 edition), by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
The General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists is the governing organization of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It is located in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States, where it moved in 1989...

Ministerial Association
"Sanctuary" documents from the Biblical Research Institute
Light in the Shadows- An Overview of the Doctrine of the Sanctuary, by Frank B. Holbrook, 1983.
Chapter 23: What is the Sanctuary? in The Great Controversy
The Great Controversy (book)
The Great Controversy is a book written by Ellen G. White, one of the founders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and held in esteem as a prophet of God among SDA members. It describes the "Great Controversy theme" between Jesus and Satan, as played out over the millennia from its start in heaven,...

by Ellen White
Sanctuary articles from the Biblical Research Institute
The ABCs of Dr. Desmond Ford's Theology from the Biblical Research Institute
Biblical Research Institute
The Biblical Research Institute is a service department of the Seventh-day Adventist Church with the three stated functions of research, apologetics , and service to the church. It serves as a theological consultant to the General Conference...
The sanctuary pivotal teaching of Adventism by Le Roy Edwin Froom
Le Roy Edwin Froom
Le Roy Edwin Froom was a Seventh-day Adventist minister and historian.-Life:Froom was the first associate secretary of the General Conference Ministerial Association from 1926 to 1950. He was also the founding editor of Ministry Magazine...

. Ministry 1982, v55, Aug 1, p18-20
"The Pre-Advent Judgment: Should we be scared? Or filled with hope?" and "After the Cross: Ministering from the nerve center of the universe", both by Roy Adams in Adventist World

Critical:

Daniel 8:14, The Day of Atonement and the Investigative Judgement by Desmond Ford
1844 Lesson Commentaries on the Sabbath School Lessons; Adventist Today website
Investigating the Investigative Judgment, Masters thesis by Larry Pahl

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

History

Origins

Perfectionist interpretation

Critics emerge

Evangelicals, Adventist Bible Commentary, silence

Shift to grace-Centered

Desmond Ford

Subsequent history

Official belief statements

Previous statements

Other statements and significant publications

Biblical basis

Derivation of 1844 date

The judgment process

For the human race

The Accuser

Those watching the controversy

God Himself

Relationship to the Great Controversy

Relationship to the sanctuary doctrine

Relationship to eschatology

Criticism of the doctrine

Response from other Christian churches

Adventist Response to Critics

See also

External links