Participants: Jason Sliger
Series Code: 16GYC
Program Code: 16GYC000005A
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00:34 It's my privilege tonight to introduce to you
00:37 and to pray for the speaker tonight. 00:40 I was also asked to share a few words about him. 00:45 I could tell you that he was born in Ohio, 00:47 that he moved to England at the age of thirteen, 00:51 but that's not the most interesting thing. 00:54 I could tell you that he went to Washington Hills Academy, 00:59 that he went to Amazing Facts Center of Evangelism, 01:03 but that's not the most important thing. 01:05 I could tell you that he worked as a Bible worker 01:07 for four years, 01:09 Amazing Facts evangelist for eight years, 01:12 is currently employed as a pastor in Michigan, 01:15 but that's not the most important thing. 01:17 I could tell you he's married and has three children. 01:22 That's not the most important thing. 01:23 I could tell you that his wife and my wife are sisters, 01:25 so we're kind of family, 01:29 that I was his best man and he was my best man, 01:32 but that's not really that interesting 01:34 or important. 01:37 The most important thing I could tell you 01:39 is that after knowing him for 25 years, 01:44 traveling together, working together, 01:48 staying in the same house together, 01:50 having fun together, 01:54 that I've seen him go from being a rebellious teenager, 01:57 like I was, to a genuine, Christian, godly man. 02:05 That he has taken this appointment tonight seriously, 02:09 that he has spent much time in prayer, 02:11 much time in study, and that I know God 02:14 will use him tonight. 02:17 So I'd like to invite you to bow your heads 02:20 as we pray for the preacher tonight. 02:24 Father in heaven, we thank You that tonight we have the 02:28 privilege to hear Your Word. 02:30 Tonight, Lord, I pray for the preacher, that You be 02:34 with Pastor Jason Sliger. 02:37 I pray, Lord, that You may use him as You have 02:41 done in the past. 02:43 But Lord, we ask and pray that You would use him 02:46 more mightily than You have ever used him before. 02:50 I pray, Lord, that tonight we would know that we have 02:54 spent time with You. 02:56 Use Your manservant tonight. 02:58 Fill him, Lord, we pray with Your Holy Spirit. 03:02 That he will speak with boldness, with power, 03:06 with humility, and the love of Christ. 03:09 We pray in Jesus' name, amen. 03:38 O Lord, You are my God and my King, 03:44 and I will always bless Your holy name. 03:51 Singing alleluia. Alleluia. 03:58 Alleluia. Alleluia. 04:09 Upon Your wonders, Lord, my mind shall dwell, 04:16 and of Your greatness I will surely tell. 04:23 Singing alleluia. Alleluia. 04:30 Alleluia. Alleluia. 04:38 Lord I will exalt Your name each and every day. 04:45 You fill my heart with joy more than I can say. 04:52 Alleluia, alleluia. Alleluia, alleluia. 05:03 O Lord, You are my God and my King, 05:11 and I will always bless Your holy name. 05:17 Singing alleluia. Alleluia. 05:23 Alleluia, alleluia. Alleluia, alleluia. 05:32 Alleluia. Alleluia. 05:41 Alleluia. 06:01 Good evening, everyone. 06:04 I trust that the Lord blessed you today, amen? 06:07 What a blessing it is to be at GYC. 06:10 I know that the Lord has a blessing in store 06:12 for each one of us, and I'm glad that I can be part 06:16 of that blessing with you this evening. 06:19 We are here to study the Word of God. 06:21 And so I'm going to invite you to bow your heads with me 06:24 as we start with a brief word of prayer. 06:34 Loving Father in heaven, we Thank You, Lord, 06:39 that we can come into Your presence tonight 06:44 with our Bibles in our hands, knowing that we serve a 06:49 God who wants to speak to us. 06:53 And Lord, that's all we ask for tonight. 06:57 Send Your Holy Spirit. 07:00 Thank You, Lord. 07:02 For we ask it in Jesus' name, amen. 07:11 I want you to imagine with me tonight 07:14 that everybody here in this room represents 07:20 the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 07:23 So all of us here this evening represent 07:28 the over 19 million members of our church. 07:35 Now what I want you to do is quickly look to the person 07:40 on your left-hand side. 07:42 Okay, good. 07:44 Now look to the person on your right-hand side. 07:47 Okay, great. 07:48 Now look to the person next to the person on your left. 07:53 Got that? 07:56 Okay. 07:59 According to a study that was done of over 18,000 08:04 Seventh-day Adventist young people, 08:10 only one in the four of you in your group; 08:14 yourself and the three other people that you just looked at, 08:18 believe in a distinctive doctrine of the 08:21 Seventh-day Adventist Church. 08:23 Only one in four of you 08:26 would believe in that distinctive doctrine. 08:30 According to this study, one in four Seventh-day Adventist 08:35 young people believe in the doctrine 08:41 of the investigative judgment. 08:46 One in four Seventh-day Adventist young people, 08:50 according to this study, believe in the distinctive 08:53 doctrine of the investigative judgment. 08:59 Now that's particularly alarming in light of some 09:02 advice and counsel that we have from the pen of inspiration 09:07 in the book, Great Controversy, page 488, 09:11 where the servant of the Lord says, 09:13 "The subject of the Sanctuary and the investigative judgment 09:20 should be clearly understood by the people of God." 09:25 What should be clearly understood? 09:27 The understanding of the Sanctuary 09:29 and the investigative judgment. 09:31 She goes on and she says this, "All need a knowledge..." 09:35 How many need a knowledge? 09:37 "All need a knowledge for themselves of the position 09:42 and work of their great High Priest." 09:46 Yet studies reveal only one in four Seventh-day Adventist 09:51 young people believe in the doctrine 09:53 of the investigative judgment. 09:55 There is a loss of their identity. 10:00 I'll be quick to say, though, that many of these people 10:03 probably have not cognitively or willing rejected that doctrine, 10:08 but most of them have probably not been educated 10:12 on this wonderful truth. 10:14 Perhaps they didn't learn it when they had their 10:16 baptismal class, or their Sabbath school class, 10:20 or in class in school, or something like that. 10:23 They are not willingly ignorant, I might say. 10:27 Perhaps some of you here this evening know people 10:29 who have left this great denomination 10:32 because of this teaching. 10:34 Maybe you yourself have grappled with its biblical 10:37 significance in your own life. 10:40 And this evening I want to share with you that I believe 10:44 unequivocally that the doctrine of the investigative judgment 10:48 is biblical. 10:55 Where did this doctrine come from? 10:58 Was it something that just was conjured up in the minds of 11:02 early advent believers in an attempt to cover over the 11:07 seeming mistake of the great disappointment 11:11 of October 22, 1844? 11:14 Where did this doctrine of the investigative 11:15 judgment come from? 11:17 Is it something that came from the pen of Ellen White 11:21 and is a doctrine of hers? 11:23 Perhaps the reason why this has been rejected 11:27 is because it is a doctrine of Ellen White and not a 11:31 doctrine of God's Word. 11:33 Again, I submit to you tonight from my personal study... 11:37 And I'm not suggesting that you take my study 11:39 as your study. 11:41 But from my personal study, I believe unequivocally 11:45 that the doctrine of the investigative judgment 11:48 is biblical. 11:49 Amen? 11:50 There's no question about it in my mind. 11:54 Coming in as fundamental belief number 24, 11:56 the doctrine of the investigative judgment 11:58 formed the foundation of our faith since the mid 1800's 12:03 with the genesis of the term, "investigative judgment," 12:07 first being used in 1856 by an Adventist evangelist 12:12 by the name of Elon Everts. 12:14 Shortly after that, about a month later, 12:17 James White adopted the same term. 12:20 And it became a very common theological expression 12:23 that you and I are familiar with today. 12:27 Yet history reveals that the birth of this doctrine 12:31 of the investigative judgment came out of much work. 12:35 It was a long laborious process. 12:38 Over 13 years of study, and Bible study, and prayer, 12:43 that finally led to the conclusion of what you and I 12:47 believe today according to Scripture to be 12:49 the doctrine of the investigative judgment. 12:52 Now in order for this doctrine to exist, 12:56 from a historical standpoint, there were four biblical facts 13:02 that were discovered along the way. 13:05 As the early advent believers studied the Word of God, 13:09 there were four biblical facts that they discovered 13:13 in their journey that ultimately led to the conclusion 13:17 of the investigative judgment. 13:18 You can kind of think of it like a car. 13:22 A car needs to have four wheels in order for it to be able to 13:26 move in an appropriate direction given that it has 13:29 all of the other equipment. 13:31 The doctrine of the investigative judgment 13:33 needed these four biblical facts to move it 13:37 forward, if you will. 13:38 And tonight I want to just quickly go over these 13:42 four biblical facts that have formed the foundation 13:46 of the investigative judgment. 13:50 The first biblical fact, for those of you that are 13:52 taking notes, is the fact of the heavenly Sanctuary 13:57 in heaven. 13:59 The day after the great disappointment of 14:02 October 22, 1844, God began to give the early advent believers 14:09 an understanding of what had just taken place. 14:14 Dear Jesus obviously did not come as they had 14:18 expected Him to on October 22, 1844, 14:22 which ultimately led to this great disappointment. 14:26 Obviously you know one of the reasons that led 14:29 to the disappointment was the commonly held belief 14:32 that the earth was the Sanctuary. 14:35 And that on October 22, 1844 Jesus would come and purify 14:41 the earth by fire at His second appearing. 14:47 However, the very next day after Jesus did not return, 14:52 God came to a man who just the day before 14:56 had wept and wept until the day dawned 15:00 and gave him a word of encouragement that help lead 15:04 the discouraged flock into what it is today. 15:09 You've probably heard of this man. 15:11 His name was Hiram Edson. 15:13 And as Hiram Edson on October 23, 1844, 15:18 the day after, him and a friend of his, Owen Crosier, 15:22 were walking through a corn field on their way 15:26 to go speak some words of encouragement 15:28 to the disappointed flock. 15:32 According to the history, as Edson was going through this 15:35 corn field, he was hit with the realization 15:39 that the Sanctuary and the cleansing of it wasn't the earth 15:43 but it was the Sanctuary in heaven. 15:46 In fact, in Hiram Edson's own words, he says, 15:50 "The Sanctuary I saw is in heaven. 15:53 And Jesus entered yesterday upon the work of cleansing it." 15:58 This was the first theological concept 16:01 that would help form ultimately the doctrine 16:04 of the investigative judgment. 16:07 This doctrine was fundamental, it was ground breaking, 16:11 it was ultimately a paradigm shift for the 16:15 early advent believers. 16:17 For before this, they believed the Sanctuary was the earth. 16:20 The paradigm shift from the earth to the 16:23 Sanctuary in the heavens. 16:25 In a special sense we could actually say that the 16:30 Seventh-day Adventist Church was born in that corn field. 16:36 That's how fundamental this understanding of the 16:39 heavenly Sanctuary was. 16:43 Biblical fact number two was the teaching or the understanding 16:48 of the two compartment ministry of Jesus 16:51 in the heavenly Sanctuary. 16:54 Sitting around a round table a couple of days after this 16:59 experience in the corn field, Hiram Edson, Owen Crosier, 17:07 and another friend by the name of Dr. F. B. Hahn 17:11 were there with their Bibles open, two copies of the 17:15 Cruden's Concordance, and a mess of Millerite material. 17:21 As they began to pour themselves over the study 17:23 of God's Word to get a better understanding 17:26 of this new found belief or this new found understanding 17:30 of the Sanctuary being the Sanctuary in heaven. 17:33 As they poured themselves over Scripture, 17:35 they came over some fascinating passages 17:37 such as Hebrews chapter 8 and chapter 9. 17:40 And as they began to go through these Bible passages, 17:43 prayerfully studying them, gaining a deeper understanding 17:47 of this Sanctuary in heaven, they began to understand 17:51 that if they wanted to understand what Jesus was 17:53 doing in the heavenly Sanctuary, they needed to go back and 17:56 look at what happened in the earthly Sanctuary. 17:59 For the earthly was a reflection of the heavenly. 18:05 As they began to read the books of Moses, 18:08 it did not take them long, these three lay Bible scholars, 18:13 to come to the understanding that with the earthly Sanctuary 18:19 there was two compartments in the Sanctuary; 18:21 the Holy and the Most Holy. 18:23 Of course, there was the court place too. 18:24 But the Holy and the Most Holy. 18:26 And in the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place, 18:28 there were two services; the daily and the yearly. 18:33 And as they began to delve into the daily and yearly services 18:36 and what the significance of those two services were, 18:40 it began to give them a broader understanding 18:43 of the ministry of Jesus in heaven. 18:46 Because as Seventh-day Adventists, we know 18:50 what Jesus is doing in heaven. 18:51 Would you say amen? 18:54 So as they study their Bibles, they came to the realization 18:57 that from the ascension of Jesus to October 22, 1844 19:02 Jesus was doing His work in the Holy Place 19:05 of the heavenly Sanctuary; doing the work of forgiveness. 19:08 But on October 22, 1844, He shifted His ministry 19:13 from the Holy to the Most Holy, and began this work 19:16 of purification of the heavenly Sanctuary. 19:21 Now this was a significant finding. 19:22 For if you understand that many evangelical churches, 19:26 they mainly focus on, not the ministry that we understand, 19:31 but rather what Jesus has done in the court place. 19:35 Now we believe in the sacrifice of Jesus. 19:38 We understand the significance of the cross 19:40 and what happened there. 19:42 But many evangelicals stop there. 19:44 But Seventh-day Adventists who are biblical follow Jesus 19:49 from the courtyard into the Holy Place. 19:51 And then they follow Jesus from the Holy Place 19:54 into the Most Holy Place. 19:55 Would you say amen? 19:57 So as Seventh-day Adventists, we have a broader understanding 20:00 of the ministry of Jesus, praise the Lord, 20:03 based off of the study of these godly men. 20:07 So the first biblical fact that they learned was 20:10 the understanding of the heavenly Sanctuary. 20:13 The second biblical fact was the understanding of the 20:16 two phased ministry in the Holy and the Most Holy. 20:20 The third biblical fact that they came to, 20:23 or the third biblical fact that they gained an understanding of 20:27 was the understanding of the blotting out of sins. 20:31 The blotting out of sins. 20:33 In February of 1846, Owen Crosier was approached 20:42 by his two friends, F. B. Hahn and Hiram Edson. 20:47 Owen was a gifted writer, and so they asked him, 20:51 "Listen, we've been studying the Bible for quite some time. 20:55 We've gained a deep understanding. 20:57 And now it's time to write this stuff out 20:59 and to get it out there. 21:02 So they asked Owen to begin to write down their findings 21:05 in an article that would be published in a small publication 21:10 called, The Day-Star. 21:12 And Owen Crosier took their advice and he 21:16 wrote this article out. 21:18 Now it's a lengthy article. 21:19 We don't have time to go into all that. 21:21 You can go back and dig it up in your study. 21:23 And it's well worth your read. 21:25 But in that article, he made a fascinating connection 21:30 between the earthly Sanctuary's two phase ministry 21:34 in the Holy and the Most Holy and that connection and 21:37 application to what is happening in the heavenly Sanctuary. 21:41 And this is what Owen Crosier said in his article 21:44 in, The Day-Star. 21:45 He said, "The atonement which the priest made for the people 21:49 in connection with the daily ministration was different 21:53 from that made on the tenth day of the seventh month." 21:56 Or on the Day of Atonement. 21:59 "The first, or the daily service, was made for the 22:03 forgiveness of sins. 22:06 The second, or the latter, for the blotting of them out." 22:13 So Owen came to this connection that the 22:15 first phase ministry of Jesus in the Holy Place 22:19 was the ministry of forgiving people of their sins. 22:22 But when Jesus moved from the Holy into the Most Holy, 22:26 He began the work of blotting sins out, 22:29 of cleansing the Sanctuary of sin. 22:33 That was a pivotal understanding in the development 22:37 of the investigative judgment doctrine. 22:41 Now it so happened that it appears like Ellen White 22:44 was either on their mailing list or somehow she got a copy 22:48 of Crosier's article. 22:50 And when she read it, the historical account is 22:53 that she was thrilled by what she heard Crosier say. 22:57 She was excited as she read the writing of Crosier. 23:01 Her visions that she received confirmed Crosier's findings 23:09 that he wrote about the heavenly Sanctuary. 23:12 Now it's important to note here that Owen Crosier, 23:15 F. B. Hahn, and Hiram Edson did not know about 23:19 Ellen White's visions at this point. 23:21 At this point, it was a lot of blood, sweat, and tears 23:24 pouring over the Bible, pouring over the Cruden's Concordance, 23:27 and obviously spending a lot of time in prayer. 23:34 Later, after Ellen White read this article by Crosier, 23:38 this is what she said: 23:39 In, Word to the Little Flock, page 12, she said, 23:45 "The Lord showed me in vision...that Brother Crosier 23:49 had the true light..." 23:51 What did he have? 23:53 Does God lead His people in the study of His Word? 23:56 Come on now. 23:58 Does God lead His people in the study of His Word? 24:00 Amen. Amen. 24:03 "The Lord showed me in vision...that Brother Crosier 24:06 had the true light on the cleansing of the Sanctuary, 24:09 and that it was His will," God's will, "that Brother C." 24:15 or Brother Crosier, "should write out the view which 24:19 he gave us in the Day-Star, Extra, February 7, 1846." 24:24 Listen to this: 24:25 Ellen White says, "I feel fully authorized by the Lord 24:30 to recommend that Extra to every saint." 24:37 Full endorsement of what Crosier wrote in that article. 24:42 Now, the doctrine of the blotting out of sins 24:46 in the heavenly Sanctuary was another truth, 24:48 it was one of the four truths, that lead to the ultimate 24:51 conclusion of the investigative judgment. 24:55 But at this point they still did not quite connect 25:00 their findings with the judgment. 25:02 The Lord was still leading them, the Lord was still guiding them 25:05 in their study of the Word of God. 25:08 But they still had not made that connection. 25:10 In fact, it wasn't for another seven years 25:15 until they finally made the definitive connection 25:18 with what they had studied being connected with the judgment. 25:23 In fact, it's interesting, in 1845 history shows that 25:29 William Miller actually made the connection. 25:33 But most of the early advent believers 25:35 missed that connection. 25:38 It wasn't until years later that J. N. Loughborough, 25:42 the great historian, made the connection. 25:44 And this was the connection: 25:46 Two key passages that we understand as 25:48 Seventh-day Adventists. 25:49 In fact, you've got them rooted and grounded 25:51 in your long-term memory. 25:53 You and I, as Adventists today, we take it for granted 25:58 the knowledge that we have in our mind. 26:00 But that knowledge that we have today came out of many 26:05 hours of Bible study and prayer. 26:07 And we should treasure the knowledge that we have. 26:10 That was a weak, "amen." 26:13 Come on now. 26:15 Amen? Amen. 26:18 Two Bible passages. 26:20 This is the two Bible passages. 26:25 Daniel 8:14 26:29 "Unto two thousand and three hundred days, 26:31 then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." 26:33 See, you've got it in there. 26:35 Revelation 14:7, "The hour of His..." 26:42 What? "...is come." 26:45 It took years for the early advent believers 26:49 to make the connection that the cleansing of the Sanctuary 26:52 in Daniel 8:14 and the hour of God's judgment 26:56 in Revelation 14:7 is talking about the same exact event. 27:02 It took years of Bible study. 27:04 The fourth biblical fact was the fact of the judgment. 27:10 And when they finally had all of these pieces 27:13 and these ingredients put together, they were able to 27:16 come to the conclusion that on October 22, 1844 27:21 Jesus entered in to the work of the investigative judgment. 27:27 It was a long process that led to this conclusion. 27:31 This brief analysis of the history of the development 27:36 of this doctrine... 27:39 I don't want you to miss this point. 27:41 ...came out of much Bible study and prayer. 27:44 Where did it come from? 27:46 Much Bible study... 27:48 Years of Bible study and prayer. 27:52 Pouring themselves over Scripture. 27:54 Listen, today we are lazy when it comes 27:58 to studying God's Word. 27:59 These brothers and sisters back in the day, 28:01 they would spend countless hours. 28:04 And they didn't have the fancy equipment that we have today. 28:06 They didn't have the computer. 28:09 They weren't able to do a word search, 28:11 and all that kind of stuff. 28:12 All they had was the Bible, and the Cruden's Concordance, 28:15 and the Holy Spirit. 28:16 And that's all you need to study God's Word. 28:19 Come on now. 28:24 I don't want you to miss this point. 28:27 The doctrine of the investigative judgment 28:29 was birthed out of Bible study. 28:32 The doctrine of the investigative judgment... 28:34 If you forget everything that I've said this evening, 28:37 don't forget this. 28:39 The doctrine of the investigative judgment 28:41 is not a doctrine of Ellen G. White. 28:47 Ellen White teaches it, Ellen White writes about it, 28:50 and Ellen White believed in it. 28:52 But it was not a doctrine of Ellen White. 28:57 The doctrine of the investigative judgment 28:59 is a doctrine of Scripture. 29:04 And tonight I submit to you again that this doctrine is 29:09 one hundred percent biblical. 29:14 And if anybody tells you that it is a doctrine of Ellen White, 29:18 they are misinformed and they are leading 29:21 you in the wrong direction. 29:22 And that is not the spirit that we want to 29:24 follow as God's people. 29:28 Now tonight I want to take just a few moments 29:30 to quickly share with you from Scripture 29:33 how this doctrine is biblical. 29:36 And for that I want you to quickly turn with me 29:37 in your Bibles to the book of Ecclesiastes chapter 12. 29:45 Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 29:49 Again, this is another passage that we have rooted 29:52 in our minds, in our long-term memory. 29:56 The Bible says this, Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, 29:59 "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: 30:04 Fear God, and keep his commandments; 30:08 for this is the whole duty of man." 30:10 You cannot miss the connection with the 30:11 first angel's message there. 30:14 Verse 14, "For God shall bring every work into judgment, 30:20 with every secret thing, whether it be good 30:24 or whether it be evil." 30:25 Will there come a time that God will judge? 30:28 Yes or no? 30:30 You can't deny it. 30:31 Scripture says that God is going to judge our works, 30:35 whether they're good or whether they're evil. 30:37 They will be brought into this time of judgment. 30:40 There is no question about it that the Bible teaches 30:43 a judgment that is to come. 30:45 And by virtue of a judgment, 30:48 there must exist an investigation. 30:52 Have you ever heard of a court case that had no investigation? 30:57 By its very existence the concept of a judgment, 31:01 by its very existence there is an investigation 31:04 into the evidence so that a decision can be made. 31:07 So when the Bible introduces this idea of a judgment, 31:10 it's already assumed that there's going to be 31:13 an investigation into the evidence. 31:15 And Solomon tells us what the evidence is. 31:18 The good and the bad works. 31:23 I want to pose to you two questions tonight. 31:26 I'm going to do my best to answer them 31:27 in the time that I have. 31:30 Two questions. 31:32 When does the investigative judgment take place? 31:38 And who is the investigative judgment for? 31:41 For the first one, I invite you to turn with me in your Bibles 31:43 to the book of Daniel. 31:47 Daniel the 7th chapter. 31:48 The case for a pre-advent investigative judgment 31:51 is anchored in our chronological understanding 31:53 of the book of Daniel. 31:55 You can't get around it. 31:57 You have to have the book of Daniel. 31:58 The book of Daniel just reveals to us 32:01 when it happens and how it happens. 32:06 Now as you're turning there, you know that Daniel chapter 7, 32:09 the first part of it we're very familiar with. 32:11 You've heard it in evangelistic series multiple times. 32:14 You have this succession of earthly kingdoms. 32:17 Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, division of Europe, 32:21 and then the Papacy. 32:23 But it's what happens after that which often times 32:26 is not really elaborated on. 32:28 And that's where we want to take a look at in our study tonight. 32:31 Daniel chapter 7 beginning in verse 9, 32:35 this is the part that's of interest to us tonight. 32:39 Daniel says this... 32:44 "I beheld till the thrones were cast down..." 32:47 Some translations say, "put in place." 32:50 "...and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was 32:54 white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool. 32:59 His throne was like a fiery flame, and his wheels 33:03 as burning fire. 33:04 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him. 33:09 Thousand thousands ministered unto him, 33:12 and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. 33:15 The judgment was set, and the books were opened." 33:21 Now notice what it says in verse 13. 33:22 "And I saw in the night visions, and behold, 33:25 one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, 33:29 and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought 33:33 him near before him." 33:39 In Daniel chapter 7, there is a sequence 33:43 that is repeated three times. 33:46 And if you're not familiar with the terminology 33:48 and what's going on there, you might miss that sequence. 33:52 And that sequence is critical to understand 33:55 to the understanding of the investigative judgment. 33:58 The sequence that is repeated three times 34:01 is this: fourth beast, ten horns, little horn, judgment. 34:10 Fourth beast, ten horns, little horn, judgment. 34:16 Fourth beast, ten horns, little horn, judgment. 34:21 Did you catch it? Yes or no? 34:23 That sequence is repeated three times in Daniel chapter 7. 34:28 Don't take my word for it. 34:30 Go back and check it out for yourself. 34:32 It is there. 34:33 Three times Daniel goes through that. 34:35 And he does it for a reason. 34:36 Because he's trying to help us see in point of time 34:40 when the investigative judgment or when this judgment 34:43 that he talks about would take place. 34:45 And according to Daniel's sequence, the judgment 34:48 in heaven would take place after what? 34:55 After the little horn. 34:59 Did you catch the sequence? 35:02 Fourth beast, ten horns, little horn, judgment. 35:08 So the judgment, according to Daniel, 35:09 according to the sequence, would happen sometime after 35:14 the arise of the little horn. 35:16 But the great thing is, Daniel doesn't just leave us 35:18 hanging there. 35:20 He gives us more information. 35:21 He hedges it in a little bit more for us so that we can 35:25 better identify when this thing would happen. 35:28 And that happens in the third sequence 35:31 in Daniel 7:26. 35:34 This is what Daniel says. 35:35 He says, "But the judgment shall sit..." 35:38 The judgment what? 35:40 Will sit. 35:42 "...and they shall take away his," or the little horn, 35:47 the antichrist, "dominion, to consume 35:51 and to destroy it unto the end." 35:53 So now what Daniel does is he says, "Listen, not only 35:56 is the judgment happening after the arise of the little horn," 36:00 but now he tells us that it's going to happen 36:03 before its demise. 36:06 So he says the judgment happens after the arise 36:09 of the little horn but before its demise. 36:13 Did you catch that? 36:14 It happens before the arise of the little horn... 36:18 Or after the arise of the little horn, but before its demise. 36:22 Now according to Paul's writings in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, 36:27 Paul tells us when it is that the little horn 36:30 will be destroyed. 36:32 Notice this, just jot it down in your notes real quickly here, 36:35 2 Thessalonians 2:8 36:36 This Bible says this, "And then shall that Wicked," 36:40 or the man of sin, the antichrist, "be revealed, 36:43 whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, 36:47 and shall destroy..." 36:49 Finish it for me. 36:51 "...with the brightness of his coming." 36:54 What do we call His coming? 36:56 The second coming. 36:57 So Paul really narrows it down for us. 37:00 And as we compare these two passages of Daniel 7 and 37:03 Paul's writings in 2 Thessalonians, 37:05 we conclude that the judgment in Daniel 7 37:08 would happen after the arise of the antichrist 37:11 but before the second coming of Jesus. 37:14 Therefore, the judgment in Daniel 7 37:17 is a pre-advent judgment. 37:21 Come on, somebody say amen. 37:23 Listen, we don't follow cunningly devised fables. 37:26 We don't listen to the teachings of men. 37:28 If you don't understand this, Ellen White tells us 37:32 everybody should have a clear understanding 37:34 of the investigative judgment. 37:37 And if you don't have a good understanding of it, 37:39 I appeal to you tonight, when you get home 37:42 make it your study. 37:45 Because this is what's going on in heaven right now. 37:55 I don't want you to miss something here in Daniel 7. 37:56 It's easy to go over it. 38:00 But the other thing that Daniel mentions here 38:04 is that there will be books that will be opened. 38:08 Everything that anybody has ever said or done 38:11 will be reviewed in this time of great judgment. 38:16 And that should give you some pause to think about 38:18 as you are reflecting upon the study here this evening. 38:23 Now as I've mentioned tonight, we've seen in Daniel 7 that the 38:27 judgment happens after the rise of the antichrist 38:29 but before the second coming. 38:31 But it's in Daniel chapter 8 that we're really able to 38:33 pinpoint when this thing happens. 38:35 And I've got a chart, they're going to flash it 38:36 up on the screen here for you tonight. 38:38 You can take a picture of it with your smartphone 38:39 and go back and study it. 38:41 Listen, we need to be Bereans here and go back 38:43 and study this stuff for ourself. 38:44 Not just because some presenter at GYC has said these things. 38:48 We need to have this in our own minds and understand it. 38:51 But as you compare Daniel 7 with Daniel 8, 38:55 you will find that again Daniel is following 38:58 the same sequence of events that he already 39:01 talked about in Daniel chapter 7. 39:02 He's repeating it again in Daniel chapter 8. 39:05 He's doing this method of what we call, repeat and enlarge. 39:08 He repeats what he said and then he enlarges upon it 39:11 in Daniel chapter 8. 39:13 So what we find is that in Daniel 7 there's the 39:17 lion, the bear, the leopard, the dragon, the ten horns, 39:19 the little horn, and then the judgment. 39:21 In Daniel 8 you have the ram, the goat, the little horn, 39:24 or Rome, and then the little horn again, which is the Papacy, 39:27 and then the cleansing of the Sanctuary. 39:28 As you compare these two chapters, you've got to 39:31 go at this yourself and hammer it out 39:33 so that it's clear in your mind. 39:34 But as you compare these two chapters, what you find 39:37 is that the judgment in Daniel chapter 7 in heaven 39:40 is the same as the cleansing of the Sanctuary in Daniel 8. 39:45 It's the same thing. 39:47 And from that we can pinpoint when that judgment 39:50 would take place. 39:52 And we don't have time to go into that tonight, 39:53 but there are lots of great Bible studies 39:55 that you can take or that you can look at 39:57 that go through the 2300 days. 40:00 I must hasten on. 40:02 The second question I want to pose to you tonight is this: 40:05 Who is the pre-advent judgment for? 40:10 Who is the pre-advent investigative judgment for? 40:15 Critics of the investigative judgment will say this: 40:17 "There's no need for the investigative judgment 40:20 because God knows everything." 40:24 God is omniscient. 40:26 He knows all things. 40:27 He knows the end from the beginning. 40:29 He knows all the decisions that people are going to make; 40:32 who's going to be saved and who's going to be lost. 40:34 If God is omniscient, why is there a need 40:39 for an investigative judgment. 40:40 What's the point in it anyways? 40:43 Now I don't think any Bible believing Seventh-day Adventist 40:46 would argue with the fact that God is omniscient. 40:48 God does know everything. 40:49 So what is it for? 40:51 What's the purpose of the investigative judgment? 40:53 Now there is a number of text we could go to, 40:56 but we're already in Daniel 7. 40:58 And I just want to use what we've already looked at 40:59 to answer this question. 41:01 As we look at the judgment in Daniel 7, 41:04 we find that the Bible describes who is there. 41:07 We have the Ancient of Days, God the Father Himself, 41:10 we have the Son of Man, Jesus Christ, who is there, 41:13 and then we have this great throng of heavenly beings. 41:18 Ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands. 41:21 Now we already know God is omniscient. 41:23 We already know that Jesus is omniscient. 41:25 But I'm here to tell you this evening that the angels are not. 41:31 The angels are not omniscient. 41:33 And during the investigative judgment 41:35 God is revealing to them why He made the decisions that He made. 41:41 He's showing them the records of why He has chosen 41:47 certain individuals to be saved based on the evidence, 41:50 not arbitrarily, but based on their evidence, 41:53 and why others have been lost. 41:58 And this is why we have statements like this 42:00 in Revelation 3:5 where the Bible says, 42:02 "And he that overcometh, the same shall be 42:06 clothed in white raiment; 42:07 and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life..." 42:10 Listen to this, "...but I will confess his name before 42:13 my Father, and before the angels." 42:18 Luke 12:8, Jesus says this: 42:21 "Also I say unto you, whosoever shall confess 42:24 me before men, him shall the Son of man also 42:27 confess before the angels of God." 42:33 The investigative judgment does not decide who will be 42:36 saved or who will be lost. 42:38 The investigative judgment reveals why God made 42:41 the decisions that He made. 42:44 Listen to me carefully. 42:48 God has to show these heavenly beings 42:53 that there is a group of people in Houston, Texas 42:59 who have been so thoroughly transformed into His image 43:04 that although they at one point were infected with sin 43:09 they have so much the atmosphere of heaven in them 43:14 that they are safe to bring into the kingdom of heaven. 43:20 God has to show... 43:21 Listen, the angels are not interested in seeing 43:24 Lucifer's story repeated again. 43:28 And they want to see us saved just as much as 43:30 God wants to see us saved. 43:32 But God wants them to be convinced that yes there are 43:37 young people in Houston, Texas who are so serious and dedicated 43:42 to God that they are like Enoch. 43:44 They walk with God day after day. 43:47 They live in the presence of God. 43:49 They live for Him, they breathe for Him, 43:53 they work for Him. 43:55 Everything in their life is revolving around God 43:58 and His soon coming. 44:00 And God wants to show the angels that these people 44:03 are safe to take into heaven without tarnishing 44:07 the atmosphere of heaven. 44:10 The question is, will I be one of them? 44:22 The decision on behalf of the dead has already taken place. 44:30 When man dies, his destiny is already decided. 44:35 But for those of us that are still alive, 44:39 that destiny is yet to be made. 44:44 It's unequivocal. 44:47 The Bible tells us in Acts 17:31 that God has appointed a day 44:55 in which He will judge the world. 45:02 And that includes you. 45:04 And that includes me. 45:07 God has appointed a time in which He will 45:11 judge the world. 45:14 And Peter brings it home even more. 45:17 In 1 Peter 4:17 he says, "For the time is come 45:22 that judgment must begin at the house of God." 45:28 Every man, every woman, every boy, every girl, 45:31 rich, poor, free, bond, everybody who's ever existed 45:36 in this world who has professed the name of Jesus 45:40 is the house of God. 45:43 And the Bible tells us that judgment will start with them. 45:46 God reached back into the recesses of history 45:50 and started with the very first man at the beginning of 45:54 the investigative judgment in October 22, 1844. 45:57 And since then, it has progressed through time. 46:01 And we know not when it will switch from the judgment 46:04 of the dead to the judgment of the living. 46:07 And that, my young friends, should give you 46:10 pause in your life. 46:19 It was 1821, there was a young man by the name of Charles 46:26 who landed a job in a law office. 46:30 He wanted to be a lawyer. 46:32 He was getting training how to do that. 46:35 And one morning Charles was in this law office 46:39 before anybody arrived for work that day. 46:41 He was there alone sorting out his papers. 46:48 And as he was sitting there in the quietness 46:50 of his office, the Lord started speaking to him 46:55 and asking him some questions. 46:58 "Charles, what are you going to do after your training? 47:02 What are you going to do after your schooling?" 47:06 He said, "Well, I suppose I'll start my own law office 47:09 and start practicing law." 47:12 "And then what?" 47:14 "Well I suppose I'll make a lot of money and get rich." 47:19 "And then what?" 47:21 "Well I guess I'll retire and enjoy my wealth." 47:24 Sounds like today's society, doesn't it? 47:28 "And then what?" 47:31 "I suppose I'll die." 47:36 "And then what?" 47:38 And it hit him like a lightning bolt. 47:41 And then the judgment. 47:46 Instantly, texts flashed through his mind from his childhood 47:51 that "it is appointed unto man once to die, 47:55 and afterwards the judgment." 48:00 Instantly, Charles leapt out of his chair. 48:03 He ran out of the front door of his law office, 48:05 and he ran down the road for half a mile 48:08 until he found a grove of trees. 48:10 And there he went into that grove of trees 48:13 and he had it out with God. 48:15 He knelt down on his knees and he was determined 48:18 that he would not leave until he had peace with his Creator. 48:24 After the long struggle, that evening Charles 48:29 found that peace. 48:31 He surrendered his will to God. 48:35 He came out of that grove of trees a different man. 48:40 Not ambitious after worldly fame and wealth and prosperity, 48:46 but ambitious to be a servant of God. 48:54 Charles went into that grove a lawyer. 49:01 After a day of prayer and wrestling with God, 49:06 he came out of that grove the mighty evangelist and revivalist 49:12 who served the Lord for 50 years; Charles Finney. 49:19 Leading untold multitudes of people to the Lord 49:24 and to Jesus to give their hearts to Him. 49:29 He went into that grove a lawyer. 49:31 He came out of that grove a worker for God. 49:34 And brothers and sisters, I want to tell you tonight, 49:36 you might do well to go into a grove of woods 49:39 and have it out with the Lord for a day in prayer. 49:42 God might change the entire trajectory of your life. 49:46 You might think you're going in this direction, 49:49 and God says, "No, I don't want you to go that direction. 49:52 This is the way I want you to go. 49:53 Yeah, you want to get wealthy, you want your education, 49:57 you want all the fame, all the popularity, 49:59 all that kind of stuff. 50:00 Yes you want that, but I have something better for you. 50:04 Yes you want wealth here on this earth, 50:06 but I want you to lay up treasures in heaven. 50:08 where moth does not corrupt and where thieves do not 50:11 break through and steal." 50:14 You might do well to have it out with the Lord 50:16 in the grove of woods sometime. 50:19 Because He might change the course of your life. 50:22 And your life may never be the same. 50:29 Maybe when you think about the judgment, 50:33 you tremble at the thought 50:38 that, "Everything that I've ever done, 50:40 everything that I've ever said, 50:42 everything that I've ever thought 50:45 is documented in heaven." 50:52 We don't like to feel uncomfortable. 50:55 And so we tend to push these kinds of thoughts 50:57 out of our mind, and we keep ourself busy doing other things. 51:00 Even ministry. 51:03 As long as we can soothe that mind. 51:06 But I want to take you tonight and the next two nights, 51:09 and I want you to look right into the investigative judgment. 51:17 The Bible tells us about a man who, when he heard about 51:21 the judgment, he trembled. 51:23 You've heard about him. 51:24 Paul, in the book of Acts, was standing before this 51:29 mighty man, Felix. 51:32 And the Bible tells us in Acts 24:25 that as Paul 51:36 reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment 51:40 to come, Felix trembled. 51:46 Now here's the amazing thing to me about this Bible passage. 51:50 Felix trembled at the thought of a future judgment. 51:56 Yet you and I today are living in the hour of God's judgment. 52:01 It is not future anymore. 52:03 It is current. 52:04 And we would do well to think about that. 52:09 Trembled, the Bible says. 52:12 And he told Paul, he said, "Go thy way for this time. 52:16 When I have a convenient season, I will call for thee." 52:25 Inspiration tells us in the book, Acts of the Apostles, 52:28 that Felix never was to receive another call from God. 52:38 We're not guaranteed tomorrow, but we do have right now. 52:44 And God is wanting to reach into the depths of your heart 52:50 and get you ready for His soon coming. 52:56 He wants to change your life 52:59 so that it is a reflection of Him. 53:03 Today, right now as we speak, in the kingdom of heaven 53:08 names are being accepted and names are being rejected. 53:12 Is it a reality to you that one day in the heavenly court 53:17 there will be some angelic being who will pick up the 53:21 books of record and they will leaf through the pages 53:25 that are written about you? 53:28 That one day some angelic being, some heavenly messenger 53:33 will form on their lips the name of you. 53:39 That your name will reverberate through the courts of heaven. 53:43 How will it be when your name rings 53:46 through the courts of heaven? 53:48 What will be seen, what will be heard, 53:51 what will be observed about your life 53:56 that you have created? 53:59 This has to become a reality to us. 54:02 This is not a future thing, brothers and sisters. 54:05 This is not something that we've got time to gamble with. 54:08 The time is running short. 54:11 Jesus wants to finish this thing up, and He wants to use you 54:16 to help finish it. 54:19 So I ask you tonight... 54:21 Or maybe, rather, we can say this: 54:25 Maybe as you have listened to the message 54:28 you realize that you are not ready 54:32 for the investigative judgment. 54:35 Have it out with the Lord in prayer. 54:37 "God, what is Your will for my life? 54:39 I want this way, but I want Your way. 54:42 What is Your will for me?" 54:43 Don't follow Felix's example and wait 54:46 for a more convenient season. 54:47 The devil is happy when you put things to the side and say, 54:50 "I'll do it later." 54:52 Because he knows that later never comes. 54:56 The more we put it off, the more we push it away, 54:59 the less that conviction is there. 55:02 Tonight you're saying, "I'm not ready 55:03 for the investigative judgment. 55:05 I know that, in the depth of my heart, 55:07 I know I'm not ready for it." 55:08 Listen, as I prepared these messages, 55:10 I had to get on my knees and weep at the feet of Jesus. 55:14 I would go on long walks in my prayer time 55:17 and say, "Father, I can't do this. 55:20 This is too big. 55:21 The stakes are too high." 55:28 Have it out with God in prayer. 55:32 Tonight you're saying in the depths of your heart, 55:35 "I'm not ready for it. 55:36 But by God's strength, I'm willing to let Him do 55:41 whatever it takes to prepare me for it." 55:44 Is that fair? 55:47 If that's your desire, I'm going to ask you to 55:48 stand tonight with me. 55:50 Just let the Lord know. 55:51 If it's not your desire, don't stand up. 55:53 Don't just do this because everybody else is doing it. 55:57 But you're saying tonight before God, before the 56:01 heavenly intelligences, and before the fellow attendees 56:05 here at GYC, "I want to be ready when the courts of heaven 56:11 ring with my name. 56:14 I want the angels to look at the books of record 56:17 and see that I have the character of God in my life. 56:22 That I've been transformed into His image." 56:26 Let's pray. 56:27 Father in heaven, oh God, my heart is heavy, 56:38 for the work is great. 56:41 Not only is there a work without, 56:45 but there's a great work that needs to be done within. 56:50 And oh Lord, tonight we stand before You on our feet, 56:55 not because we can, but because we recognize 57:01 that in our humanness we're not ready. 57:08 But Lord, deep in our hearts we have a passionate desire 57:15 to be ready. 57:17 And Father, if that means we need to find a quiet place 57:22 and clear our schedule for a day, 57:25 to weep at the feet of Jesus and ask for peace, 57:31 may that be the case. 57:33 And may we be willing to make whatever sacrifice 57:35 that may need to be made to achieve that. 57:40 Oh Lord, help us. 57:44 For we cannot do it on our own. 57:47 Thank You, Jesus. 57:49 Thank You, Jesus. 57:52 Thank You, Jesus, for hearing and answering this prayer. 57:58 For we pray it in the almighty and all powerful name of Jesus. 58:05 Amen. |
Revised 2017-03-27