The Investigative Judgment (IJ) is unique. No other church (except a few Adventist offshoots) teaches an IJ that began on Oct. 22, 1844, in the second compartment of the heavenly sanctuary. This doctrine teaches that from the time of Jesus’ ascension until 1844, he had been ministering in the first compartment (holy place) of a literal heavenly sanctuary. Then, on Oct. 22, 1844, Jesus moved from the first to the second compartment (most holy place) in the heavenly sanctuary to perform a work of investigative judgment. This investigative judgment is an investigation of the lives of believers, beginning with those from ancient times and moving to those alive today, to determine if they had honored God’s law and lived up to all the light that had been available to them.
The early Advent believers, called Millerites, originally thought Jesus was to return to earth in 1843, but when He failed to appear, they set a new date: October 22, 1844. Following the great disappointment when that date also failed to usher in the second coming, Hiram Edson had a “vision”, and then he and O. R. L. Crosier developed a new explanation for their calculated date: rather than returning, Jesus had begun the investigative judgment which would conclude with a “cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary” (ostensibly based on Daniel 8:14) from the sins of believers. This teaching has yielded two fundamental beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist Church that are central to its identity: they are the “remnant church” entrusted with the unique revelation of “Christ’s ministry in the heavenly sanctuary”. These beliefs are articulated as numbers 13 and 24 in the list of Adventism’s 28 Fundamental Beliefs.
Fundamental belief number 13 is as follows:
The universal church is composed of all who truly believe in Christ, but in the last days, a time of widespread apostasy, a remnant has been called out to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. This remnant announces the arrival of the judgment hour, proclaims salvation through Christ, and heralds the approach of His second advent. This proclamation is symbolized by the three angels of Revelation 14; it coincides with the work of judgment in heaven and results in a work of repentance and reform on earth. Every believer is called to have a personal part in this worldwide witness. (Rev. 12:17; 14:6-12; 18:1-4; 2 Cor. 5:10; Jude 3, 14; 1 Peter 1:16-19; 2 Peter 3:10-14; Rev. 21:1-14.)1
This statement reveals Adventism’s self-identity as God’s remnant people living in “a time of widespread apostasy” with a mission to proclaim the messages of “the three angels of Revelation 14”. Moreover, this proclamation “coincides with the work of judgment in heaven” and “announce[s] the arrival of the judgment hour.” This “judgment hour” refers to the investigative judgment that ostensibly began in 1844 when Jesus supposedly moved into the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary. In order to understand the significance of this judgment, we next look at fundamental belief #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.)2
The most important point here is that Christ supposedly “entered the second and last phase of His atoning ministry.” In other words, Adventism teaches that the atonement was only begun on the cross but not finished there. The cross was simply the sacrifice, the first phase of the atonement, while in the second phase, the atonement is applied to the account of the believer, if he has remained loyal to God by keeping his commandments and having faith in Jesus. The insecurity of the professed believer is further emphasized in this belief statement by the last sentence which admits that all humans—including believers—are “on probation” until the end of this investigative judgment.
Adventism teaches that the atonement was only begun on the cross but not finished there.
Early Adventist theologian Uriah Smith explained these doctrines in a book entitled The Sanctuary and Its Cleansing published in 1877. Smith was important to the shaping of early Adventism—but who was he?
In 1863, when the General Conference was organized, Uriah Smith was elected its first secretary. This was a position that he subsequently held five different times. He was ordained to the Adventist ministry in 1874. With the founding of Battle Creek College in 1874, Elder Smith became the Bible teacher, a position he held for the next eight years, the last two of which he was also chairman of the board. Smith also served as General Conference treasurer from 1876-1877.3
Uriah Smith clearly states the Adventist belief that Jesus did not complete the atonement on the cross. In The Sanctuary and Its Cleansing, he wrote the following:
The death of Christ and the atonement are not the same thing. And this relieves the matter of all difficulty. Christ did not make the atonement when he shed his blood upon the cross. Let this fact be fixed forever in the mind.4
Ellen White also adds her voice to the varied comments about the atonement and the blood of Christ:
As in the typical service there was a work of atonement at the close of the year, so before Christ’s work for the redemption of men is completed, there is a work of atonement for the removal of sin from the sanctuary. This is the service which began when the 2300 days ended [1844]. At that time, as foretold by Daniel the prophet, our High Priest entered the most holy, to perform the last division of His solemn work—to cleanse the sanctuary.5
The Clear Word supports IJ
The “unofficial” Adventist Bible paraphrase, The Clear Word, has altered the words of Scripture to support this unbiblical doctrine. Let’s look at Daniel 8:14, the text Adventists use to argue for the 2300-day prophecy and the investigative judgment, to see how Adventists have written this spurious doctrine into their paraphrase of Scripture. We’ll compare The Easy English Clear Word and The Clear Word with the English Standard Version.
Daniel 8:13-14
The Easy English Clear Word and The Clear Word for Kids
Next I saw Gabriel and the Son of God talking together. Gabriel asked Him, “How long will all this last and the little horn be allowed to attack the truth about the heavenly sanctuary?” He answered, “God is very patient. He will wait for many days, but near the end the truth about the heavenly sanctuary will be restored.”
The Clear Word
The Holy One said something to my angel who asked Him, “How long will the little horn be allowed to transgress so rebelliously and pervert the truth about God and the heavenly Sanctuary? How long will all these things go on and the little horn’s power last?” He answered, “After two thousand, three hundred prophetic days (which represent actual years), God will restore the truth about the heavenly Sanctuary to its rightful place. Then the process of judgment will begin of which the yearly cleansing of the earthly Sanctuary was a type, and God will vindicate His people.”
English Standard Version
Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the one who spoke, “For how long is the vision concerning the regular burnt offering, the transgression that makes desolate, and the giving over of the sanctuary and host to be trampled underfoot?” And he said to me, “For 2,300 evenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary shall be restored to its rightful state.”
Notice that both TCW versions identify Gabriel speaking with the “Son of God” while the ESV only specifies two “holy one[s]” speaking with one another. Moreover, TCW capitalizes “Him” to refer to one of the “holy ones”, thus identifying him as deity—a designation missing from the biblical text. Finally, TCW greatly expands verse 14 to suggest scriptural support for its only unique doctrine—the one doctrine without which Adventists have admitted the Seventh-day Adventist Church would have no reason to exist.6 TCW is clearly an Adventist version of the Scriptures.
The sanctuary and judgment
The book of Hebrews tells us that Moses was shown a pattern to copy when he made the sanctuary and its furnishings. Adventists, however, use this passage of Hebrews to support their “heavenly IJ”. Look at the following comparison:
Hebrews 8:5
The Easy English Clear Word and The Clear Word for Kids
But what they do only points to what is taking place in heaven. This is what God had in mind when He said to Moses, “Build a sanctuary exactly like the plan you saw on the mountain.”
The Clear Word
But the work they do here is only an imperfect copy and shadow of what is being done for us in heaven. This is what God had in mind for the services of the earthly Sanctuary when he said to Moses, “Build according to the plan which I showed you on the Mountain.”
English Standard Version
They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.”
The Clear Word versions focus on “what is being done in heaven”, implying that Jesus is rendering a Levitical-type of service, atoning for our sin as our High Priest. Yet Jesus is not a Levitical priest but a priest according to “the order of Melchizedek” (Heb. 7:11). Hebrews describes Jesus in heaven not judging people’s salvation or atoning for sin but interceding always for “those who draw near to God” (Heb. 7:25). To be sure, in the gospels Jesus does talk about judgment, and He clarifies what happens to the unbelieving who do not take God’s righteous requirements seriously. Significantly, though, the Bible’s statements about judgment are very different from Adventism’s statements.
The Clear Word versions focus on “what is being done in heaven”, implying that Jesus is rendering a Levitical-type of service, atoning for our sin as our High Priest. Yet Jesus is not a Levitical priest but a priest according to “the order of Melchizedek”.
In Matthew 5, for example, Jesus says the unrighteous will be liable to the fire of hell. The Clear Word, however, changes the words to make the passage more compatible with Adventism’s disbelief in eternal hell. Moreover, notice how TCW for Kids incorrectly teaches them that looking down on others and name-calling calls their salvation into question:
Matthew 5:21-22
The Easy English Clear Word and The Clear Word for Kids
“Everyone knows that if you kill someone, you’re breaking the law and will be taken before a judge. Don’t be angry and hate people. Don’t even look down on others and call them names. If you do, how can God give you eternal life?”
The Clear Word
“You’ve heard the scribes and Pharisees tell you not to kill, and that if you do, you’ll be held responsible by the courts for committing murder. They’re right. But I’m telling you that even if you don’t kill, but you hate someone so much that if you had the opportunity you would kill him, you’ll be held responsible by the heavenly court the same as if you had committed murder. To go a step further, if you treat someone with contempt because you think you’re better than he is, you’re in danger of losing eternal life.”
English Standard Version
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”
Blanco’s versions both distract from the reality of hell, and TCW guilts the reader instead of allowing God’s word to expose the human heart.
In the next comparison, notice that TCW for Kids diminishes the Day of Judgment into a person’s merely having “a hard time explaining [one’s] actions to God”. Additionally, TCW removes the personal judgment of shaking the dust from one’s feet when leaving people who reject the gospel.
Matthew 10:14-15
The Easy English Clear Word and The Clear Word for Kids
That goes for a city or town, too. If they don’t want to listen, just quietly leave. Someday they will have a hard time explaining their actions to God.
The Clear Word
If you come into a town that’s hostile or not interested in what you have to say, go on to the next one. I’m telling you that Sodom and Gomorrah’s corruption will look better on the Day of Judgment than the towns that reject the offer of God’s grace.
English Standard Version
And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
Notice in the next comparison that Blanco diminishes the certainty that those who believe pass at that moment from death to life and do not come into judgment. Because Adventism teaches that all believers must be examined in the investigative judgment, they can’t allow John 5:24 to say what it says. This comparison show’s Blanco’s rendering in his paraphrase of the New Testament as well as in TCW.
John 5:24
The New Testament: A Devotional Paraphrase to Stimulate Faith and Growth
Those who listen to what I’m saying and believe that the Father has sent me will escape everlasting annihilation and, instead, receive eternal life, because the seeds of death have been replaced by the seeds of life.
The Clear Word
Those who listen to what I’m saying and believe that the Father has sent me have eternal life. They will not be judged guilty because the seed of death in them has already been replaced by the seed of life.
English Standard Version
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
Notice in the passage above that Blanco has inserted the words “everlasting annihilation” into the text, since Adventism teaches that unbelievers are not sentenced to eternal hell. Moreover, Blanco retains the Adventist understanding that all professed believers are being judged by changing “does not come into judgment” to “will not be judged guilty”. Finally, Blanco changes the certainty of passing from death to life when one believes into the uncertain hope that the “seed of life” (whatever that is) will germinate into eternal life after the resurrection of the just, and after passing the scrutiny of the investigative judgment.
Blanco changes the certainty of passing from death to life when one believes into the uncertain hope that the “seed of life” (whatever that is) will germinate into eternal life after the resurrection of the just, and after passing the scrutiny of the investigative judgment.
In the next comparison Blanco removes the implications of eternal punishment by substituting the teaching of eternal death for references to the “resurrection of judgment”. Adventism insists on annihilation instead of eternal hell.
John 5:29
The Easy English Clear Word and The Clear Word for Kids
“Those who accept Me and do good will be resurrected and given eternal life. Those who continue to do evil will be judged guilty and will die forever.”
The Clear Word
Those who accept the Son and have done good will be resurrected and will have life forever. Those who reject the Son and have done evil will be found guilty and be condemned to die.
English Standard Version
… those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.
Next we see Jesus explaining that He came into the world for judgment. TCW, on the other hand, removes Jesus’ role in judgment and replaces it with people’s decisions. While there are several Adventist beliefs underlying this alteration, the reason germane to this article is this: TCW cannot have Jesus engaged in judgment during His earthly ministry because the Adventist investigative judgment did not begin until 1844.
John 9:39
The New Testament: A Devotional Paraphrase to Stimulate Faith and Growth
Then Jesus said, “My presence in this world makes people decide either for me or against me. What happens is that those who don’t seem to understand suddenly see and those who say they could understand are blind.”
The Clear Word
Jesus said to those nearby, “My presence in this world makes people decide either for me or against me. Those who are blind see, and those who see become blind.”
English Standard Version
Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.”
Ellen G. White: the source of Adventism’s judgment
Jack Blanco’s editing of the gospels’ teaching on judgment may be better understood when one grasps Ellen White’s warnings that Adventists must know the IJ’s meaning and timing. For example, she says:
The subject of the sanctuary and the investigative judgment should be clearly understood by the people of God. All need a knowledge for themselves of the position and work of their great High Priest. Otherwise, it will be impossible for them to exercise the faith which is essential at this time, or to occupy the position which God designs them to fill. Every individual has a soul to save or to lose. Each has a case pending at the bar of God. Each must meet the great Judge face to face. How important, then, that every mind contemplate often the solemn scene when the judgment shall sit and the books shall be opened, when, with Daniel, every individual must stand in his lot, at the end of the days.7
She gives those who do not clearly understand the sanctuary and the IJ poor hope for entering into eternal life at the end of days. There is no relief for the Adventist’s burden of the IJ; its scrutiny will be merciless. In fact, believers in the IJ not only carry the burden of coming into judgment at any moment, but they also live with a relentlessly stern warning to put away sin and purify their lives completely:
While the investigative judgment is going forward in heaven, while the sins of penitent believers are being removed from the sanctuary, there is to be a special work of purification, of putting away of sin, among God’s people upon earth.
I saw that many were neglecting the preparation so needful and were looking to the time of “refreshing” and the “latter rain” to fit them to stand in the day of the Lord and to live in His sight. Oh, how many I saw in the time of trouble without a shelter! They had neglected the needful preparation; therefore they could not receive the refreshing that all must have to fit them to live in the sight of a holy God.8
According to EGW and Adventist theology, believers must not only carry the burden of wondering when their names will come up in the unbiblical investigative judgment supposedly begun in 1844, but they must also live with the insecurity of knowing Jesus’ atonement for sin is not completed until He finishes this judgment.
In 1844…[Jesus]…enters the holy of holies, and there appears in the presence of God, to engage in the last acts of his ministration in behalf of man—to perform the work of investigative judgment, and to make an atonement for all who are shown to be entitled to its benefits.9
Adventists, then, must make the IJ harmonize with the great white throne judgment described in Revelation 20:11-12, the judgment of the wicked. Following we will examine four versions of this text. The first three are from Blanco’s early New Testament paraphrase called The New Testament: A Devotional Paraphrase to Stimulate Faith and Growth, his TCW for Kids, the standard TCW, and they are compared with the ESV:
Revelation 20:11-12
The New Testament: A Devotional Paraphrase to Stimulate Faith and Growth
Now, before the wicked were destroyed, I saw a great white throne. The form of the One who sat on it was so radiant that the earth and the sky seemed to flee from His very presence. Then all the wicked who had been great or not, stood together with Satan in front of the One sitting on the throne. The Book of Life was opened for the righteous and the Book of Death for the wicked. Then the wicked saw their lives replayed before them and before the universe, and they understood why they were not allowed to live, for they were judged by what they had done.
The Easy English Clear Word and The Clear Word for Kids
Just before that happened, I saw God sitting on a great white throne. His face was so bright that everything around Him seemed to disappear. All the wicked stood in front of Him, including Satan and his angels. The Book of Life and the Book of Death were opened.
The Clear Word
Before they [all the wicked] were destroyed, I saw a great white throne. The form of the One who sat on it was so radiant that the earth and the sky seemed to disappear from His very presence. Then all the wicked who had been resurrected to be judged whether they had been great or small, stood together with Satan in front of the One sitting on the throne. The Book of Life was opened and the Book of Death. The lives of the wicked were shown to them, and they were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.
English Standard Version
Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.
Two of Blanco’s three paraphrases have Satan standing with the wicked before the great white throne—a claim not made in Scripture. He includes Satan before the throne because the investigative judgment is God’s way of answering his claims. According to Adventist theology, Satan accused God of making a law that was too difficult to keep. (“His [Jesus’] perfect obedience to God’s law, even unto the death of the cross, has given Him all power in heaven and in earth …”)10 Blanco also states that the “Book of Death” was opened—a book not mentioned in Scripture. Where does Blanco get his authority to mention the Book of Death? From Ellen White. In Early Writings she says:
The books are opened—the book of life and the book of death. The book of life contains the good deeds of the saints; and the book of death contains the evil deeds of the wicked. These books are compared with the statute book, the Bible, and according to that men are judged.11
Also note that Blanco states that it “seemed” as though earth and sky fled away, whereas the Bible states specifically that “earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.”
Furthermore, in his New Testament paraphrase, Blanco writes that “the wicked saw their lives replayed before them and before the universe,” reflecting a popular belief among many Adventists that their lives will be replayed as though video-taped before a universal audience. This notion is speculation and is not biblical.
All of EGW’s and Adventism’s concerns about being scrutinized in an investigative judgment, however, are unnecessary.
All of EGW’s and Adventism’s concerns about being scrutinized in an investigative judgment, however, are unnecessary. According to Elihu, the one friend of Job whose teaching is not condemned with that of Bildad, Eliphaz and Zophar, God does not need to perform an investigation when judging the wicked.
Let’s see what TCW does with two verses from Job 34 that deal with a judgment and investigation:
Job 34:23-24
The Easy English Clear Word and The Clear Word for Kids
He doesn’t have to investigate or ask questions before taking action. He can overthrow kings and rulers. He does it openly so that people can see what happens to the wicked, to those who don’t respect His ways.
The Clear Word
God doesn’t need to examine them more closely. There is no need for Him to judge them more carefully. Without asking questions, God removes leaders and replaces them with others.
English Standard Version
For God has no need to consider a man further, that he should go before God in judgment. He shatters the mighty without investigation and sets others in their place.
These two verses state that God does not need an investigative judgment to judge the wicked. To state that God began the investigative judgment of believers on October 22, 1844, ignores the fact that God already knows who is righteous and who is wicked. Revelation 20:12 mentions books and the book of life being opened and used to judge the dead, but these books do not inform God about who is or is not going to enter eternal life. God does not need to investigate the books to know who are and who aren’t His.
In spite of Blanco’s efforts to write the IJ [Investigative Judgment] into Scripture, he has still managed to contradict this most central doctrine of his religion.
Even though The Clear Word alters the wording and waters down the forceful statement that God “has no need to consider a man further,” that “He shatters the mighty without investigation,” still even TCW admits that God knows people’s characters without asking questions. In spite of Blanco’s efforts to write the IJ into Scripture, he has still managed to contradict this most central doctrine of his religion.
There is still an EGW teaching we have to address related to the “sanctuary truth” of Adventism. According to The Clear Word, the heavenly sanctuary, which John saw, will be found just outside the city walls of the New Jerusalem to be used as a memorial. This claim, however, is not found in Scripture.
Revelation 21:22
The Easy English Clear Word and The Clear Word for Kids
I didn’t see the temple in the city. It really didn’t need one, because God and Jesus were there. The Temple was located outside the city as a reminder of what God had done for His people.
The Clear Word
I didn’t see the temple in the New Jerusalem. Actually, there was no need of one, since God and the Lamb were there. The Temple I had seen was now outside the city as a memorial of what God had done for His people.
English Standard Version
And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.
The Clear Word versions say a physical temple exists in the new earth, but it is outside of the New Jerusalem. There is no such claim in Scripture; instead, the Bible states that there is no temple any longer, for the “Lord God Almighty and the Lamb” are the temple. To say a physical memorial temple exists is to go beyond the words of Scripture.
Conclusion
The Investigative Judgment and the “heavenly sanctuary service” are not truths of Scripture. Instead, they are the theological devisings of a group of people who refused to accept that William Miller’s prophecies of Christ’s return were wrong. Rather than admit the error of William Miller’s prophecies, they tried to save face by developing a complex system involving a heavenly sanctuary, an investigative judgment beginning in 1844, and an incomplete atonement requiring the completion of this invented investigation.
In order to enhance Adventists’ belief in this confusing doctrine, The Clear Word and its permutations have distorted Scripture in order to make it appear that these teachings are biblical. Although the Adventist organization officially denies TCW as an “Adventist Bible”, it still produces, advertises, and sells it as a Bible.
What Adventism does with The Clear Word, not what it says about it, reveals its true importance to the organization. †
Endnotes
- Seventh-day Adventists Believe, second ed., Pacific Press, p. 181.
- Ibid., p. 347.
- From the website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uriah_Smith, online as of 11/8/13.
- Smith, Uriah, The Sanctuary and Its Cleansing, 1877, p. 276.
- White, Ellen, The Great Controversy, 1911, p. 421.
- Rodriguez, Angel, quoted in pastor’s conference “Answers to Ratzlaff’s Challenges to Adventism”, April 16, 1998, 2:00 PM, Double Tree Inn, South Center, Seattle, WA.
- White, Ellen, Evangelism, 1948, pp. 221-222.
- White, Ellen, The Faith I Live By, 1958, p. 337.
- White, Ellen, The Great Controversy, 1888, p. 480.
- White, Ellen G., Counsels for the Church, 1991, p. 351.
- White, Ellen G., Early Writings, 1882, p. 52.
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