Participants: L. Richard Walton
Series Code: FC
Program Code: FC000019
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00:29 Hi, my name is Richard Wallton.
00:31 I'm originally from California. 00:33 And I'm currently a second year Law student 00:35 at Georgetown University 00:37 of Law Center in Washington D.C. 00:40 Let's open the word today to Isaiah 58 verse12. 00:45 Before we begin let's pause for a quick word of prayer. 00:50 Dear Lord, thank you so much for the blessings 00:54 You so bountifully bestow on us. 00:56 Thank you for Your word 00:58 and for the opportunity to study it together. 01:01 Now open our hearts and our minds, 01:04 we pray in Jesus name, amen. 01:08 Isaiah 58 verse 12 01:13 "And they that shall be of thee shall build 01:16 the old waste places, thou shalt raise up 01:19 the foundations of many generations; 01:22 and thou shalt be called, the repairer of the breach, 01:27 the restorer of paths to dwell in." 01:32 The restorer of paths to dwell in. 01:38 Three thousand years ago, Isaiah looked forward 01:41 in time and foresaw a people who would rediscover 01:45 old truths and rebuild a long forgotten dream. 01:52 They would be pathfinders for the world. 01:59 But what may I ask was the dream 02:03 they would rediscover. 02:06 Today let me post to you a question 02:08 once asked of John the Baptist. 02:11 If you would like to follow along, 02:13 you can turn to John, 02:14 the gospel of John Chapter 1 02:18 verses 19 and 22. 02:23 "Now the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests 02:26 sent Levites to ask John the Baptist who he was? 02:30 Finally they said who are you? 02:33 What do you say about yourself? 02:39 Two millennia ago, a great man of God 02:42 was at the place called "Bethabara" 02:45 that's a wide spot 02:46 on the east bank of the Jordan River. 02:49 John the Baptist was in fact the first voice of revolution 02:53 that would turn the world 02:54 upside down with an empty tomb. 02:58 He was a herald of the morning. 03:04 And at Bethabara just north of the Dead Sea, 03:06 he waited for time and history 03:09 to converge in for the Lord of creation 03:12 to make the 60 mile walk south from Galilee. 03:17 In another words, John the Baptist, was an Adventist. 03:24 But he was also an active Adventist 03:26 and he spent his time in waiting 03:28 proclaiming Messiah's soon arrival. 03:31 An example of one of his sermons was recorded 03:34 by Matthew in his gospel 03:36 which you can find at Chapter 3 and verse 2. 03:41 John the Baptist preached 03:42 "Repent ye for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." 03:48 His message naturally attracted attention 03:50 for Israel was at the time and occupied province 03:53 of the gigantic Roman Empire. 03:56 A tiny piece of Pax Romana enforced by the male 04:01 and armed might of the legions of Rome. 04:05 God's people were in captivity 04:09 and it was time for Messiah. 04:15 Soon word spread westward across the mountains 04:18 to Jerusalem about this wild hills man 04:20 proclaiming the arrival of the kingdom of heaven. 04:25 And as John's audiences grew, so did their questions. 04:29 Many thought he was the Messiah. 04:32 And so finally a group of government 04:34 and religious officials found John there 04:37 at Bethabara and they asked him two big questions. 04:43 Who are you really? 04:46 And what is it you have to say to us? 04:51 All of which bring me to you. 04:54 Two thousand years later another group of Adventists 04:57 in the wilderness waiting for time 05:00 and history to once more converge into something 05:03 called the second coming of Jesus. 05:06 We aren't here by accident. 05:10 We're not just another denomination focused 05:12 2,000 years in the past. 05:16 We're in time people within in time message. 05:21 We are heralds of the morning. 05:28 But what is the message you've to proclaim to the world. 05:39 What makes us unique as a people? 05:45 We rightly preach the Sabbath, 05:49 but we got that from Seventh-day Baptist. 05:53 We preach health reform, 05:55 but we share health reform with Mormons. 06:01 As to the Advent many denominations today 06:04 look for the soon return of Jesus Christ. 06:07 So what make us different? 06:11 In other words who are you? 06:14 And what is it you have to say to the world? 06:18 Well, let's open the word. 06:20 Please turn with me 06:21 if you will to the Book of Revelation. 06:24 Revelation Chapter 14 verses 6 and 7, 06:30 "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, 06:34 having the everlasting gospel to preach 06:36 unto them that dwell on the earth, 06:39 and to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, 06:43 saying with a loud voice, 06:46 fear God and give glory to him, 06:51 for the hour of his judgment is come". 06:58 Might I respectfully suggest we are a judgment our people 07:05 with a judgment our message. 07:09 The one unique doctrine 07:11 we have is the investigative judgment. 07:14 In fact I would like to propose 07:16 that the investigative judgment 07:17 is not just an interesting idea, 07:20 it's who we are as a people? 07:26 So for just a few minutes today you and me together, 07:29 let's ask two important questions about the judgment. 07:37 Is the pre-advent judgment biblical number one. 07:40 Number two, is it good news or bad. 07:46 Question one, 07:47 is the pre-advent judgment biblical? 07:52 You tell me it is, let's prove it. 07:55 The concept of a final judgment pervades the Bible. 07:59 Abraham was obviously familiar with it, 08:02 because during his intercession for Sodom, 08:04 he challenged God with the ultimate argument. 08:07 If you wanna follow you can turn 08:09 to Genesis Chapter 18 and verse 25. 08:13 Abraham is speaking, 08:14 he is pleading with God for the people of Sodom. 08:17 And he says, "Far be it from thee 08:19 to do such a thing as this, 08:21 to slay the righteous with the wicked, 08:24 shall not the judge of all the earth do right?" 08:30 The writer of Ecclesiastes echoes 08:32 and Ecclesiastes 12:14 for "God shall bring 08:37 every work into judgment with every secret thing, 08:40 whether it be good or whether it be evil." 08:46 Revelation actually describes the judgment scene. 08:49 "And I saw the dead, small and great, 08:51 standing before God, and the books were opened; 08:55 and another book was opened, 08:57 which is the book of life, 09:00 and the dead were judged 09:03 according to their works by the things 09:05 which were written in the books." 09:09 So the judgment is a biblical concept. 09:13 But how can we prove 09:14 that it occurs before the advent. 09:18 Take a look at Jude 1:14. Jude Chapter 1 verse 14 09:25 "And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, 09:27 prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh 09:31 with ten thousands of his saints, 09:34 to execute judgment upon all." 09:40 Execute, I am a second year law student 09:44 at Georgetown University Law Center 09:46 and that word is filled with legal meaning for me. 09:52 You see legal systems have several faces of trial. 09:59 First you have a bad thing, 10:01 somebody does something wrong and another person 10:04 having no sense of humor sues them for it. 10:08 Then the case goes to trial. 10:11 There is opening statements, examination of witnesses, 10:15 cross examination, closing argument, 10:18 that is the process were by the each side 10:21 gets to put on their evidence, 10:23 good and bad, try to destroy 10:25 the evidence of the other side 10:28 that is the first phase of trial, 10:30 it's called the investigative phase. 10:34 There is a second phase of trial 10:35 however that's where the jury files back 10:37 into their deliberation room 10:39 and they begin to go over the various accounts 10:41 of the facts which people have given. 10:45 They then decide exactly what happened? 10:50 They say, this is the set of facts 10:52 we find would have happened? 10:54 Based on our conclusion as the facts 10:56 applying those facts to the rule of law, 10:58 the judge has instructed us on we find for the defendant 11:04 or we find for the plaintiff. 11:06 That is entry of judgment sentences pronounced, 11:12 that's phase two. 11:13 Phase one investigation, phase two judgment, 11:17 but there is a third phase. 11:18 It called execution of judgment, 11:20 execution of sentence. 11:23 And if the person is found to be either guilty 11:25 or liable depending 11:26 on whether it's a o criminal or a civil case, 11:29 the court then carries out the judgment. 11:35 Thus when judgment is executed 11:38 as Jew describes it. 11:40 They're already has to have pinned a trial. 11:46 And the trial is the investigative phase 11:49 of the process just the way 11:51 Adventist pioneer described it. 11:54 And just the way Jude 11:56 described it in his little book. 11:59 So in legal terms execution is something 12:01 that takes place after judgment. 12:04 It happens after trial and entry of the verdict. 12:07 Hence if Christ at His coming is going to execute judgment, 12:11 the trial must all ready have taken place. 12:15 So it has to have happened before the advent. 12:21 So the concept of a pre-advent judgment 12:26 is quite biblical, but we can also see 12:30 God's endorsement of it in our own church history. 12:36 I recently had the privilege of guiding tours 12:40 to historic Adventist sites in Northern New York. 12:45 Among them was the Hiram Edson Farm, 12:47 where our sanctuary doctrine was first discovered. 12:52 Let me tell you what happened there. 12:55 And show you how closely God guided the people 12:59 who made the sanctuary discovery. 13:03 On the clear great dawn of October 23, 1844 13:07 most Millerite Adventist walked away 13:10 from a time prophecy that had accurately foretold 13:14 to the very year, the arrival of Christ 13:18 and to the very hour when He would be crucified. 13:24 Their hearts, their wallets, 13:26 and their lives had been broken 13:28 on the dream of seeing Jesus. 13:32 And as most turn their backs 13:36 on the most profound message 13:39 in the Bible, a few hung on. 13:46 They knew the prophecy was correct. 13:51 They knew the date was right. 13:53 And so they clung to nothing 13:55 but their naked faith pleading 13:57 like Job with heaven. 13:59 Why, what did we miss, what went wrong? 14:04 And one of those believers was named Hiram Edson. 14:10 I told, no doubt you've heard of him. 14:12 You might even heard about his cornfield. 14:16 Well, let me tell you what really happened there? 14:20 It's in greeted October 23 like all the other Adventist, 14:24 heart broken. He hadn't seen the Lord. 14:29 But he was one of the few that still believe 14:31 the date was right even if the event wasn't. 14:36 So we went to his granary to pray agonize 14:39 with the Lord in prayer. 14:40 Few friends were with him 14:42 and during prayer he felt strangely encouraged. 14:44 He felt his love, the clouds were beginning to part. 14:47 Now he didn't know why they were wrong yet, 14:51 he still believed that the prophecy was correct 14:55 and the God would reveal the answer to him. 14:57 And so he started out to go encourage 15:00 his neighbors and for some reason 15:02 he crossed his cornfield. 15:03 The most like reason is he wanted 15:05 to avoid ridicule from his neighbors. 15:08 You see a lot people back then who sang 15:11 about Jesus very loudly every Sunday 15:15 got just a little terrified at the thought 15:17 of actually seeing Him come back. 15:22 And so they would get the Millerite Adventist. 15:24 They would talk them, 15:25 in fact another Millerite Adventist, 15:29 James White was walking along a road 15:31 a few days after the disappointment. 15:33 And one of his former friends walked up to him 15:36 and said, oh, Brother White, 15:37 are you still in land of the living. 15:39 Well, James White perhaps being a little 15:41 thicker skin than Hiram Edson 15:42 was very quick with the comeback. 15:44 He said, no brother I'm in the land of the dying. 15:46 But when Jesus comes very soon 15:48 I will be in the land of the living. 15:51 So Hiram Edson wants to avoid this ridicule 15:55 that was so often heaped on Millerite Adventist 15:58 and he crosses his cornfield so as to avoid 16:00 earlier travelers on the road. 16:04 And as he walked through that field, 16:07 a text flashed through his mind. 16:08 It was Daniel 7 and he realized at that moment 16:12 that Jesus did go somewhere on October 22 16:16 but he didn't go to earth. 16:20 And finally at the end of the day 16:21 after visiting with other believers, 16:23 he came home sat down at a humble little table 16:27 that he'd made himself 16:28 on which was sitting a large Bible. 16:30 And while this may not be the preferred 16:33 method of Bible study. 16:34 He thought to himself well, 16:36 let's pray to the Lord 16:39 and let's ask Him to guide us to the text we need. 16:46 So they had earnest prayer 16:47 and they just let the Bible fall open 16:50 and would you like to guess what text it fell open to. 16:54 It fell open to Hebrews 8 and 9 Chapters 16:58 filled with symbolism from the sanctuary service 17:02 and from the judgment it foretold. 17:05 Take a look at Hebrews Chapter 9 verses 23 and 24. 17:12 "It was therefore necessary 17:14 that the patterns of things in the heavens 17:16 should be purified with these; 17:18 but the heavenly things themselves 17:19 with better sacrifices than these 17:22 for Christ is not entered 17:23 into the holy places made with hands, 17:26 which are but figures of the true 17:28 but into heaven itself, 17:30 now to appear in the presence of God for us." 17:36 Think about it. 17:37 What Hiram Edson needed to understand 17:40 was the truth of the heavenly sanctuary 17:43 and the text God guided him to are found in Hebrews 17:46 where the sanctuary is so clearly described. 17:51 Over the next several weeks 17:52 with earnest prayer and study. 17:55 Hiram Edson and a few believers discover 17:57 the mechanism by which God deals with sin. 18:02 And in so doing, he put 18:03 the whole gospel on a firm legal basis. 18:08 As most Christians today what happens to sin 18:10 once you've confessed it and given it to the Lord. 18:13 And they'll tell you, well praise the Lord. 18:15 God throws it into the depths of the sea 18:18 which is certainly true, 18:20 but if you stop there 18:21 you're only getting half the story 18:24 and until you go on you cannot understand 18:27 how the plan of salvation works. 18:29 Let me illustrate. 18:31 Suppose you're coming home one day from happy hour, 18:35 you had one to many you're seeing two lanes 18:37 when they should only be one 18:38 and you tip on the young father 18:40 in the intersection on his way home from work. 18:43 He dies, you sober up next morning 18:46 and you are very sorry for what you've done. 18:49 You ask God to forgive you and certainly He can, 18:52 but the effect of that sin doesn't go away. 18:57 You see somewhere 18:58 in the large city that evening, 18:59 there is a young mother going to be explaining 19:01 to her kids why daddy isn't coming home anymore. 19:06 The effect of sin even forgiven sin 19:09 does not just go away. 19:13 Something has to happen to it. 19:15 Our entire world operates on laws, 19:17 the law of gravity. 19:18 If I jump off the Empire State building, 19:20 I know I'm committing suicide, 19:22 because gravity will certainly 19:23 pull me down to the bottom. 19:26 If I commit a sin something just assuredly 19:31 will have to die as a result. 19:35 There are two great mysteries which the Lord says, 19:37 "We will never understand, 19:38 one is godliness, the other is sin." 19:41 And so the Lord does exactly 19:43 what I would do if I were arguing the case 19:45 to you and you are on a jury. 19:47 He goes and he draws you a picture. 19:50 Say its real simple there is a couple of rooms here, 19:52 there is a courtyard, there is some furniture. 19:55 If you follow the pageantry 19:56 of this service you can understand, 19:59 you can at least grasp how ideal was sin. 20:03 You don't have to die 20:04 through the pageantry of the sanctuary service. 20:08 I can transfer your guilt 20:10 to the person responsible for. 20:13 That is the beauty 20:15 of the heavenly sanctuary message. 20:17 That is the best news in the whole gospel. 20:20 And folks, if anybody ever tells you 20:26 that believing in the heavenly sanctuary 20:28 makes Satan your savior. 20:29 My response to that is if you can believe that, 20:33 you can believe it watching my uncle 20:34 drink himself to death makes me a drunk. 20:36 It just doesn't work that way. 20:39 All right, Jesus takes my sin. 20:43 I give my sin to God 20:44 what He does with it, is His business. 20:48 So an answer to our first question 20:50 is the pre-advent judgment biblical, 20:52 the answer is absolutely. 20:55 Something happened on October 22, 1844. 20:58 It obviously was not the second coming, 21:01 because here we still are. 21:03 But as Edson and a few other discovered October 22 21:07 was the beginning of the pre-advent judgment, 21:10 which brings us very briefly to question number two, 21:13 is the judgment good news or bad? 21:17 Let's open the book of Daniel, 21:18 Daniel Chapter 7 verses 9 and 10. 21:22 "I beheld till the thrones were cast down, 21:24 and the Ancient of days did sit, 21:26 whose garment was white as snow, 21:28 and the hair of his head like the pure wool, 21:33 his throne was like the fiery flames, 21:34 and his wheels as burning fire. 21:37 A fiery stream issued and came from before him, 21:40 thousands, thousands ministered unto him, 21:42 and ten thousand times ten thousand 21:44 stood before him the judgment was set, 21:47 and the books were opened." 21:50 Now Daniel is unmistakably describing a courtroom. 21:54 All the necessary actors are present. 21:56 A presiding officer, court attendance, 21:59 even a formal gathering and books which are obviously 22:03 transcripts containing evidence. 22:06 As we saw earlier, it is one of the most 22:08 the Bible's most obvious truths 22:10 that one day there will be investigative judgment 22:13 in which every human life will be reviewed. 22:17 Unfortunately having grasped the concept of judgment, 22:21 most Christians become terrified of it. 22:25 Portrayed as an acting tyrant seeking to fuel hell 22:28 with anybody who deviates from the law in anyway, 22:31 God has been slandered by the very people 22:34 who claim to preach His word. 22:36 And in the process Christians have complicated 22:39 the obvious and trivialize the momentous 22:42 and the real loser is our Lord Himself, 22:44 whose wonderful ministry on our behalf 22:47 is lost in the process. 22:50 But as Hiram Edson and the few believers 22:52 rediscovered Daniel's view of the judgment 22:55 is the most powerful argument 22:57 against such an interpretation, 22:59 because Daniel focuses us on who the judge really is? 23:03 Now in Daniel's heavenly courtroom scene 23:06 all heaven is assembled. 23:08 The ancient of days glittering 23:09 host of angelic officers who await 23:11 his orders even the records. 23:14 But somebody hasn't arrived yet, 23:17 the judge is not there. 23:19 Most people think that God the Father, 23:21 is our judge but it just isn't so. 23:25 You remember John 5:22, Jesus is the judge, 23:29 "The father judgeth no man, 23:31 but hath committed all judgment unto the son." 23:36 And in Daniel 7:9 and 10 Jesus hasn't arrived yet. 23:41 He doesn't arrive until 3 verses 23:43 later in Daniel 7:13. 23:46 We see him arrive in the heavenly courtroom 23:48 accompanied by a cloud of angelic attendance. 23:52 "I saw in the night visions, and behold, 23:54 one like the Son of Man 23:56 came with the clouds of heaven, 24:00 and came to the Ancient of days, 24:02 and they brought him near before him." 24:04 Quite obviously Jesus does go somewhere 24:07 in the vision of Daniel 7 just before judgment begins. 24:12 So something did happened on October 22, 24:15 Jesus went to begin purifying the sanctuary, 24:19 but not the earthly one as William Miller thought. 24:22 He went to begin purifying the sanctuary in heaven. 24:26 So what the investigative judgment says to us 24:28 is that Jesus our divine human brother 24:31 is also our judge. 24:34 Now is that bad news or good. 24:37 Of course it's good news. 24:38 We're being judged by somebody 24:40 willing to die for us. 24:43 You think the news can't get any better than that. 24:46 Well, I got news for you, it does. 24:48 Not only is Jesus our judge, 24:50 He is our defense attorney. 24:52 First John 2:1, "My little children, 24:55 these things I write to you, 24:57 that ye may not sin, but if anyone sins, 25:01 we have an advocate with the Father, 25:04 Jesus Christ the righteous. 25:07 " What's an advocate? 25:08 An advocate a lawyer 25:10 and the Bible does something 25:11 that no legal system on earth has ever done, 25:14 except the Hebrew system itself. 25:17 It combines the offices 25:19 of judge and defense attorney. 25:21 In another words the same individual 25:23 judging us is also arguing our case, 25:27 the judge is committed to obtaining our salvation. 25:33 Now you think about it. 25:35 How can a person have any fuller assurance 25:38 of salvation than that? 25:41 Folks, you can't lose the case 25:42 like that unless you make the ultimate mistake 25:45 and fire your lawyer. 25:48 So on the morning of October 23, 1844, 25:52 Hiram Edson sense the truth that would open up 25:55 the whole concept of the heavenly judgment. 25:58 In Daniel 7:9 to 13, we see 26:01 Jesus commencing a judgment 26:03 that is some of the best news in the Bible. 26:08 He is our great cosmic lawyer 26:09 will defend our cases so completely, 26:12 that even the lowest of sinners 26:15 can have hope, think about it. 26:18 David as wile a sinner has ever lived 26:22 who can take his faithful general's wife 26:25 and then commit a murder to cover his sin, 26:28 could find forgiveness so complete 26:30 that he repeatedly begs God to hasten his judgment. 26:35 You can find it in Psalms 7:8, 26:37 26:1, 35:24 and 54:1. Hiram Edson sense 26:44 just how good the news was and decided 26:46 it was worth everything he had. 26:48 Without going into details I can tell you 26:51 he sold both his farms 26:53 one of them had interest in his father's farms 26:55 for one dollar because Jesus was coming. 26:57 He sold two more farms for $2,200 and $3,500 27:04 to help advance the work. 27:06 That's the level of the commitment 27:07 we find in our pioneers. 27:09 That's our heritage as Adventist 27:12 and that's why a tiny denomination grew 27:14 so rapidly that within a couple of generations, 27:17 we had per capita of the most extensive system 27:20 of mission work in the protestant world. 27:24 "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, 27:26 having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them 27:29 that dwell on the earth, to every nation, 27:31 and kindred, and tongue, 27:32 and people saying with a loud voice, 27:35 fear God, and give glory to him, 27:37 for the hour of his judgment is come." 27:42 And so today in response 27:43 to the Millennia old questions 27:45 asked of John the Baptist, who are you? 27:46 And what you have to say to the world? 27:49 And I respectfully suggest you are heralds 27:51 of the morning with the best news 27:53 in the gospel judgment has already began. 27:56 And you have a friend at the throne. |
Revised 2014-12-17