Chapter 15

David Lin

THE distinguishing feature of the Bible is that on every page God comes through. The hand of God in human affairs stands out and reminds us of His words: "My counsel shall stand and I will do all My pleasure." From beginning to end, we see that the truths of the kingdom are not the products of human wisdom, but of divine revelation. Paul was an outstanding New Testament writer, but like other Bible writers, the message he bore was received from God. "If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward," writes he, "how that by revelation He made known unto me the mystery . . . which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men." Ephesians 3:2-5. It is this divine origin of Bible truth which accounts for the power which attends its propagation.

We Seventh-day Adventists believe in the third angel's message because we know it comes directly from the throne of God. We believe that His hand has been leading a people from all walks of life to unite on a common platform of Heaven-sent truth. If we did not believe this, we would not have joined this organization in the first place. We believe in the writings of the Spirit of Prophecy also because we know they are not the product of human wisdom, but of divine revelation. Again, the one distinctive trait of these writings is that God comes through. We are particularly interested in what is said of the beginnings of our movement. Regarding the first angel's message we read: Those who proclaimed this warning gave the right message at the right time.

But as the early disciples declared, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand," based on the prophecy of Daniel 9, while they failed to perceive that the death of the Messiah was foretold in the same scripture; so Miller and his associates preached the message based on Daniel 8:14 and Revelation 14:7, and failed to see that there were still other messages brought to view in Revelation 14, which were also to be given before the advent of the Lord. As the disciples were mistaken in regard to the kingdom to be set up at the end of the seventy weeks, so Adventists were mistaken in regard to the event to take place at the expiration of the 2300 days. In both cases there was an acceptance of, or rather an adherence to, popular errors that blinded the mind to the truth. Both classes fulfilled the will of God in delivering the message which He desired to be given, and both, through their own misapprehension of their message, suffered disappointment.

Yet God accomplished His own beneficent purpose in permitting the warning of the judgment to be given just as it was. The great day was at hand, and in His providence the people were brought to the test of a definite time, in order to reveal to them what was in their hearts. . . .

With these believers, as with the first disciples, that which in the hour of trial seemed dark to their understanding would afterwards be made plain. When they should see the "end of the Lord" they would know that, notwithstanding the trial resulting from their errors, His purposes of love toward them had been steadily fulfilling. The Great Controversy, 352-354

Note how throughout this development the hand of God is seen in accomplishing His will. Mark the words, "the right message at the right time," "both classes fulfilled the will of God," "God accomplished His own beneficent purpose," "in His providence the people were brought to the test," "the disappointment . . . was to be overruled for good," "the end of the Lord," "His purposes of love." Thus The Great Controversy presents a picture of perplexity and disappointment on earth, but of wisdom and certainty in heaven. Through the play and counterplay of human instrumentalities God consistently comes through as the great Arbiter of destiny.

We must never lose sight of this basic philosophy of history. To overlook the leading hand of God in our movement means to lose our bearings and eventually to fall "off the path down into the dark and wicked world below." This is the way God presents the situation. The first vision He gave the Advent people depicts a class of people who "denied the light behind them and said that it was not God that had led them out so far." This class "fell off the path." And it is even now taking place. Some among us doubt the validity of the Midnight Cry and do not believe God is leading us. They attribute our past wholly to human factors. This change in perspective will have serious consequences.

The article "The Pre-Advent Judgment" by Edward Heppenstall, published in the December 1981 issue of the MINISTRY says: The morning after the Great Disappointment, Hiram Edson claimed to have received new insight and correction regarding the cleansing of the sanctuary. His message? The sanctuary referred to in Daniel 8:14 is in heaven. Its "cleansing" involved what has come to be known as the "investigative judgment" of the

saints, beginning October 22, 1844, and terminating at the close of probation. This appeal by the early pioneers to the heavenly sanctuary was to determine the entire doctrine of the antitypical day of atonement and the pre-Advent judgment.

This article written by a professor of theology of the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary and addressed to Adventist ministers adopts the strictly objective approach. It tells us that Hiram Edson "claimed to have received new insight," but does not say whether his insight was correct or not. Now one man's insight is not as good as another's, and a modern scholar's insight is generally recognized to be more dependable than that of a nineteenth century layman. The impression we gain from this statement is that the writer does not attach much weight to Edson's claim, much less believe that he received a divine revelation. The position of the Adventist pioneers is said to be the result of their "appeal" to the heavenly sanctuary, and the doctrine of the investigative judgment is declared to be a "limited" view in contrast to what the writer proposes as a "wider scope" of the pre-Advent judgment.

Before proceeding to consider this "wider" view, we pause to evaluate the writer's basic attitude toward this critical period of our history. In all fairness to him, it should be recognized that he makes many references to God's activities. He says:

Here God actively pursues the right in passionate concern for His people. . . . God gives Himself time to work out and complete His purposes in both redemption and judgment. . . . God is now doing this incredible thing for His people the world over and in every church. . . . God must direct us from His sanctuary if final victory is to be achieved.

And so on. But all such statements are general truths having no direct bearing on the vital question we must solve today--"Is our sanctuary doctrine (like the baptism of John) from heaven, or of men?" No matter how many complimentary things we say about God's hand in human affairs, if we waver on this point, our whole theological system will eventually collapse.

We pin down this question: Was Hiram Edson's view of Christ entering the Holy of Holies merely a product of human insight, or was it a revelation from God? Is the teaching of the investigative judgment simply the result of an "appeal" by the early pioneers to the heavenly sanctuary, or is it something that is now actually taking place in heaven? There must be no equivocation here. Let every man seek a clear-cut answer, for it has to do with our eternal destinies. If we have been fooled all these years, the sooner we find out the better. But if we have the truth, what is the evidence?

The evidence is in the Bible. God put it there to confirm our faith, for He foresaw that our message would be challenged. God always provides sufficient scriptural evidence on which His people can build their faith, even as Christ confirmed the faith of His disciples with Bible proof after His resurrection. We have three lines of evidence:

1. The direct fulfillment of Revelation 10

2. The parallel between the crucifixion and Advent disappointments

3. The harmony of numerous texts related to the investigative judgment

(1) The fact that on the morning following the Millerite disappointment Hiram Edson perceived that Revelation 10 had been fulfilled in their experience, proves the divine origin of the movement as well as of the prophecy. No other event in history will fit into all the specifications of this vision. Its precise fulfillment in every detail convinces us that the Midnight Cry was indeed foreseen and ordained by God. The realization that we are the successors of that movement places on us the responsibility to carry on the work begun by the pioneers under God's leading, and we may be sure that what God has begun He will finish, in spite of all opposition.

In our study of this basic Adventist tenet as first understood by Edson, Crosier, et al., we should view the sanctuary service in the light of Revelation 10, wherein the seven thunders, sealed at the command of the angel, indicate that Miller's failure fully to understand Daniel 8:14 was in the providence of God, even as the disappointment of the early disciples resulted from their failure to understand Christ's words, "The Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men." "They understood not this saying, and it was hid from them, that they perceived it not." Luke 9:45

(2) We come to the next point--the close parallel between the experience of the Millerites with that of the early disciples. Ellen White observes, "The important movements of the present have their parallel in those of the past." The Great Controversy, 343. She writes:Thus the death of Christ--the very event which the disciples had looked upon as the final destruction of their hope--was that which made it forever sure. While it had brought them a cruel disappointment, it was the climax of proof that their belief had been correct. The event that had filled them with mourning and despair was that which opened the door of hope to every child of Adam, and in which centered the future life and eternal happiness of all God's faithful ones in all ages. The Great Controversy, 348

Ellen White ably demonstrates how in every significant aspect the experience of the disciples was repeated in the disappointment of the Millerites. We note the way God works for the blessing of His people. We are convinced that the Millerite movement was as much ordained of God as was the crucifixion event.

(3) The third assurance we have of the guiding hand of God in our message and movement is found in the wonderful harmony of all relevant texts on the judgment. The teachings of many Protestant as well as Catholic scholars on the judgment does not go beyond a general idea of, "after death, the judgment." Many of them even fail to present a systematic account of events connected with the millennium. On the other hand, the Adventist doctrine of the investigative judgment embraces a host of texts which fit into a harmonious sequence. One is thrilled with the interlocking of these texts to form what may be described as an orderly display of jewels in a golden casket. Many texts which in themselves bear no indication of their place in the order of eschatological events, find their respective places in this scheme. For instance, the parable of the king who first forgave his servant his great debt, but, after the servant failed to show mercy to a fellow servant, rescinded his pardon and required the servant to repay the debt that had once been forgiven, finds its antitypical counterpart in Christ's service in the sanctuary. Regarding His service in the first apartment we read:

A substitute was accepted in the sinner's stead, but the sin was not canceled by the blood of the victim. A means was thus provided by which it was transferred to the sanctuary. By the offering of blood the sinner acknowledged the authority of the law, confessed his guilt in transgression, and expressed his desire for pardon through faith in a Redeemer to come but he was not yet entirely released from the condemnation of the law. The Great Controversy 420, italics supplied

In other words, the sinner is forgiven on probation. He is given a chance to demonstrate that God's goodness has changed his heart. Then the life of the forgiven "debtor" is investigated after his death (in most cases). If the record shows that he has truly repented of his sins and forgiven his fellows just as God has forgiven him, his debt is finally blotted out. Some who deny the investigative judgment by quoting the text, "Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea," (Micah 7:19), do not know that this text has an appointed time for fulfillment--after God has blotted out our sins, not before. For Christ has said, "If ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." Matthew 6:15

People ask; "Why two apartments in the sanctuary?" Or simpler still, "Why a sanctuary at all? Why not just have Christ die on the cross and finish the whole business of forgiving sinners without all that ritual?" Well, the two apartments were given to teach us that we are forgiven on condition that we also forgive. If we fail to respond to God's grace and do not reveal the same love toward our fellows, our sins resting in the sanctuary will not be blotted out. Many who say "Lord, Lord" will be cut off in the end.

That applies to all who die before the Second Advent. But for the last generation of living saints, their cases must be reviewed while they are still living. And after that blotting out, they must not commit another sin. That is what is meant by our having to stand before God without a mediator. See Malachi 3:2-4; Ephesians 5:27; Song of Solomon 6:10. When we work the scheme out systematically, all these conclusions appear reasonable and inescapable. The remnant church has come into possession of these truths because she enjoys the advantage of the light of the Midnight Cry. It contributes toward a harmonious interlocking of many texts which in themselves appear to be unrelated to the investigative judgment. Ordinarily we do not think of Matthew 6:15 as having a place in the judgment scheme. In fact all texts having to do with God's complete forgiveness, such as Micah 7:19, Isaiah 43:25, Jeremiah 31:34, belong after the final blotting out of sins, not before. Ezekiel 33:13 is an example of forgiven sins recalled at last and not blotted out. These texts find their theoretical basis in the services of the sanctuary, and are brought out clearly only when studied in the light of the two apartments.

In a previous article we demonstrated how the correct rendering of Hebrews 9:2-10 can be comprehended only in the light of Christ's ministry in the two apartments of the sanctuary. Hebrews 9:8-9 is an important corroboration of Daniel 8:14, and its true meaning is "The Holy Spirit is declaring this: that the way into the holiest of all is not yet disclosed while the first apartment is still valid, which is a figure for the present time." The harmonious interlocking of these two texts provides a firm basis for our doctrine of the investigative judgment. That is why Satan tries so hard to destroy the sanctuary truths. Without them, the plan of redemption becomes hazy and nebulous. As we now have it, the investigative judgment is like a letter rack in the post office sorting room, where every relevant text finds a pigeonhole.

Concerning our traditional teaching on the sanctuary Heppenstall writes: This interpretation has been challenged recently. Briefly stated, it is now pointed out that:

1. The words translated "cleansed" in both Leviticus 16 and Daniel 8 are not the same Hebrew word. In Leviticus 16 the Hebrew word taher, the common word for cleansing. In Daniel 8:14 the word used is tsadaq meaning to justify or restore. . . . Therefore it is argued that the two words do not mean the same thing, and in any case, it is undesirable to build an interpretation or doctrine on a single word.

2. The contexts in both chapters deal with two completely different situations. In Leviticus 16 the sanctuary issue is between God and His people Israel; in Daniel 8 the issue is between God and the apostate horn, the antichrist." MINISTRY, December 1981

The first point raised above does not constitute a real challenge. Several forceful explanations have been published to show that taher and tsadaq, as well as sakah, are synonymous and often used interchangeably in the Old Testament. Examples of the couplet form of Jewish poetry in Job and the Psalms are given to prove this point. The rendering of the LXX, using katharizo for tsadaq in Daniel 8:14, is also strong justification for the KJV choice of "cleanse." We may dismiss this challenge as invalid.

The contention that the contexts of Leviticus 16 and Daniel 8 deal with two different situations is not supported by facts upon close analysis. We take Leviticus 16 to be a figurative representation of the true day of atonement in heaven. We agree that "the issue is between God and His people Israel." But mark that it was ancient Israel, not the triumphant Israel of Revelation 7. Ancient Israel embraced more than "the saints." To be exact, she included hypocrites, apostates, and strangers--the "mixed multitude."

So will it be in the true day of atonement. Speaking of the investigative judgment, Ellen White states that "All who have ever taken upon themselves the name of Christ must pass its searching scrutiny." "Names are accepted, names rejected." The Great Controversy, 486, 483

If we take the teachings in The Great Controversy as a correct presentation of the view of the early pioneers, then it is clear that they did not understand the investigative judgment to be limited to the saints. In the Bible "the saints" consistently refers to God's elect, as it is written, "Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice." Psalm 50:5. They stand apart from the hypocrites and apostates, who like Korah, Dathan, and Abiram formed a part of Israel, but were eventually rejected. Then too, there will be a class of people who have never heard the name of Christ--the pious heathen.

Among the heathen are those who worship God ignorantly, those to whom the light is never brought by human instrumentality. Yet they will not perish. . . . Their works are evidence that the Holy Spirit has touched their hearts, and they are recognized as the children of God. The Desire of Ages, 638

When the work of the investigative judgment closes, the destiny of all will have been decided for life or death. The Great Controversy, 491

Hence all these worthy heathen will no doubt also come up for examination and be listed among the saved of earth. Thus we see that the names coming up for scrutiny during the investigative judgment will cover a wide range--from apostates and hypocrites on the one hand to doers of good in heathen lands on the other. What about antichrist? That apostate power certainly comes under the definition of "all who have ever taken upon themselves the name of Christ," so it must be included, if not as an institution, surely as people making up the body. To be accurate, we should say that the investigative judgment embraces saints and pseudo-saints all together.

Coming back to the second "challenge" in Heppenstall's article, we can now see that Leviticus 16 and Daniel 8:14 deal essentially with the same issue--the investigative judgment--wherein the sins of the saints are blotted out and the sins of apostates are retained. What appears to be two opposing positions is in fact an imaginary contradiction. Like the first challenge of taher vs. tsadaq, this second challenge is likewise proved to be invalid. The writer's attempt to meet it by playing up the pre-Advent judgment as pronounced "in favor of the saints" against the antichrist tends only to detract from the force and urgency of the warning message we are to bear--"The hour of His judgment is come."

A Shift of Emphasis To regard the doctrine of the investigative judgment as the result of an "appeal" by the Advent pioneers to the heavenly sanctuary is a tacit way of denying its divine origin. The theme of a pre-Advent judgment "in favor of" the saints against the antichrist represents a shift of emphasis. A startling alarm gives way to a comforting assurance: No judgment from His sanctuary can put the saints in jeopardy. . . . Thus the pre-Advent judgment reveals to God's people the coming of better days, based on their vindication before the angelic host and all of God's creatures around the universe. . . . So remarkable and trustworthy are the contents of the heavenly records, which speak of divine judgment in their favor and against their enemies, that the final triumph of the saints and their reception of the kingdom when Christ comes is already guaranteed. MINISTRY, December 1981

This note of complete optimism is premised on the word "saints" (holy ones) and divine judgment in their favor. Every statement is very true, provided we make the proper application. Now in this article "the saints" are equated with "God's people Israel." But, as we have just noted, the Bible has two referents for "Israel." "Not all descendants of Israel are truly Israel." Romans 9:6, NEB. The typical Old Testament Day of Atonement concerned ancient Israel--Jacob's natural descendants. But spiritual Israel, "children of the promise," are "the called, and chosen, and faithful"--the "holy ones" of God. Revelation 17:14. "Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved." Romans 9:27. In short, "the saints" of Scripture consistently refers to spiritual Israel, not to Jacob's natural descendants.

If we fail to make this distinction, then in taking the next step of applying Daniel 7:22, God's judgment will be understood to be pronounced in favor of all the natural descendants of Israel, making no difference between the "wheat" and the "tares." If you try to explain that the antichrist is the "tares," then those who are in between--all who say Lord, Lord, but do not His will--are still left mingled with the "wheat."

This distinction is what we mean by a shift of emphasis. The "jeopardy" involved in the investigative judgment is shifted from Israel to the antichrist. Thus one virtually emasculates the judgment hour message, changing it from an urgent warning to a soothing lullaby. Since Adventists have always understood ancient Israel to be a figure of God's people today, then to call them saints and assure them that God will pronounce judgment in their favor, will certainly put them all to sleep. Some will quote Revelation 14:12 to prove that the Bible calls Seventh-day Adventists "saints." But no. They who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus are finally confirmed as saints only after they "die in the Lord" or endure the final test of the mark of the beast. See context. Profession alone does not identify a true saint. Inspiration foretells that many of our people will fail to weather the storm and will fall off the narrow path. If Daniel 7:22 indeed says that "judgment was pronounced in favor of the saints of the most High," then we maintain that this verse can apply only to the martyrs slain by the "horn" that made war with them, not to us who live in the time of the investigative judgment, when "names are accepted, names rejected." The Great Controversy, 483

For this reason, all those flattering assurances of salvation guaranteed cannot be conscientiously appropriated by us. We who are to be weighed in the balance need to be alerted by these words: 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. . . . 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. . . . 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. The Great Controversy, 486-488

The importance of the sanctuary service lies in the central issue of God's holy Sabbath. Ever since creation God has declared the seventh day as holy, and that declaration was written on stone and deposited in the most sacred part of the sanctuary. As far as sacred objects are concerned, no other article on earth can compare with the tables of stone on which God has engraven the words which distinguish His law from all man-made laws: "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God."

The ark in the tabernacle on earth contained the two tables of stone, upon which were inscribed the precepts of the law of God. The ark was merely a receptacle for the tables of the law, and the presence of these divine precepts gave to it its value and sacredness. When the temple of God was opened in heaven, the ark of His testament was seen. Within the holy of holies, in the sanctuary in heaven, the divine law is sacredly enshrined--the law that was spoken by God Himself amid the thunders of Sinai and written with His own finger on the tables of stone. . . .In the very bosom of the Decalogue is the fourth commandment, as it was first proclaimed: "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. . . .

The Spirit of God impressed the hearts of those students of His word. The conviction was urged upon them that they had ignorantly transgressed this precept by disregarding the Creator's rest-day. They began to examine the reasons for observing the first day of the week instead of the day which God had sanctified. They could find no evidence in the Scriptures that the fourth commandment had been abolished or that the Sabbath had been changed; the blessing which first hallowed the seventh day had never been removed. They had been honestly seeking to know and to do God's will; now, as they saw themselves transgressors of His law, sorrow filled their hearts, and they manifested their loyalty to God by keeping His Sabbath holy. Ibid., 433-435

This development was recorded by a participant in that Bible study which gave birth to Sabbatarian Adventists. We note that the pioneers at this time had overcome the "trauma of their disappointment," and were coming upon a new discovery--yea, a new revelation. Mark that the deciding factor here was their recognition of God's authority and their determination to do God's will. This mark has always been distinctive of God's own people, and continues to identify them today. In the end it is only those who seek to know and to do God's will who will continue to keep His Sabbath and to preach the third angel's message. Thus we see how intimately interrelated is the sanctuary truth with the true Sabbath. They stand and fall together.

None could fail to see that if the earthly sanctuary was a figure or pattern of the heavenly, the law deposited in the ark on earth was an exact transcript of the law in the ark in heaven; and that an acceptance of the truth concerning the heavenly sanctuary involved an acknowledgement of the claims of God's law, and the obligation of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. Here was the secret of the bitter and determined opposition to the harmonious exposition of the Scriptures that revealed the ministration of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary. Men sought to close the door which God had opened, and to open the door which He had closed. . . . Christ had opened the door, or ministration, of the most holy place; light was shining from that open door of the sanctuary in heaven, and the fourth commandment was shown to be included in the law which is there enshrined; what God had established, no man could overthrow. Ibid., 435

This view is the truly wider scope of the pre-Advent judgment, and it was through their understanding of this connection that they saw their duty to proclaim the three messages of Revelation 14. We read on: Those who had accepted the light concerning the mediation of Christ and the perpetuity of the law of God, found that these were the truths presented in Revelation 14. The messages of this chapter constitute a threefold warning which is to prepare the inhabitants of the earth for the Lord's second coming. . . . The result of an acceptance of these messages is given in the words: "Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." In order to be prepared for the judgment, it is necessary that men should keep the law of God. That law will be the standard of character in the judgment. Ibid., 435-436

By this passage we perceive that when the Advent pioneers laid the foundations of our faith, they were motivated by a power from above--guided by the hand of God. We cannot account for it by attributing it merely to a group of men attempting to relieve themselves of the trauma of their disappointment. The uncanny harmony of the Daniel 8:14 message with the vision of Revelation 10 and the Sabbath reform message of Revelation 14, is convincing evidence that the Midnight Cry and subsequent developments were all the outworking of God's will as defined in prophecy. Like the baptism of John, it is not of men, but from heaven.

David Lin

June 13, 1982

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