- Investigative Judgment - SEQUEIRA

The sanctuary year ends with the Day of Atonement.  The Day of Atonement was a day of judgment and the judgment has many aspects or phases. 

I have discovered that this doctrine has produced more fear in our people than any other doctrine. 

To me, the investigative judgment is part of the good news of salvation.

In order to appreciate it, we must begin Romans 5:18:

Just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people.

We discovered in that passage two important facts:

In Adam, all mankind stand legally condemned to eternal damnation.

In Christ and His Holy history, all humanity was redeemed and, therefore, stands legally justified.

Therefore, our ultimate destiny in the human race will depend on which humanity we have chosen to belong to — the humanity that was ruined by Adam or the humanity that was redeemed by Christ. 

Our works will simply be the evidence to which humanity we belong. 

If you choose Adam, then you have chosen sin, because Adam is the author of sin in the human race.  If you choose Christ, you have chosen righteousness and holy living because Christ is the author of that. 

Almost every book in the Bible — Old and New Testament, either directly or indirectly — mentions the judgment of God.  Therefore, in view of this, we can conclude that the Bible takes the judgment very seriously.  So should we, because it is the culmination of the plan of redemption.  It brings to an end the final phases of the redemptive activity that God began in Christ and He will end it up in the judgment.  Of course, when that is over, He will usher in two things — everlasting righteousness and He will terminate forever sin.  It will no longer exist.

Therefore, the judgment is a very important truth of scripture.  As you read the passages about the judgment, you will discover that the judgment involves three steps:

Step number one is the trial or the actual act of judging.  Some scholars refer to it as the scrutinizing of the lives of the human race.  We call it the investigative judgment.  They are different words but they have the same concept.

Step number two is the verdict.  After the trial comes the verdict or the sentence.  The Bible presents the sentence only in two terms:  either you stand condemned or you stand justified.  Condemned to eternal death or justified to eternal life.

Step number three is the execution of the verdict.  Since there are only two verdicts, there are only two things that will take place as a result.  One is for those who are justified, who receive their reward.  Those who are condemned will receive their punishment.

There are some texts for each of these points.  We have looked at Romans 14:10:

You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister?  Or why do you treat them with contempt?  For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.

I would like to give you one more text that has to do with the trial.  That is 2 Corinthians 5:10:

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

This is the trial.  Everyone — without exception — must appear before the judgment seat of Christ.  Because believers have accepted Christ, they will appear before the judgment seat in the person of Jesus Christ.  He appears as our advocate, our representative.  Everyone must appear that all may receive the sentence for that which he has done in his body.  According to that which he has done, whether it be good or bad.  Then, remember that there is an appearance.  Every one must be tried.

Romans 14:12 says:

So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.

Let us look at step number two — the sentence, or verdict.  I mentioned that there are only two.  Deuteronomy 25:1 is not dealing with God’s judgment.  It is dealing with the civil code but, basically, it is showing exactly what will take place in God’s judgment, too:

When people have a dispute, they are to take it to court [that is, they come under trial] and the judges will decide the case, acquitting the innocent and condemning the guilty.

There are only two verdicts that will come out of the judgment — justification (acquittal) or condemnation.

With this in mind, let’s see what the New Testament has to say.  For example, John 5 is dealing with the verdict of those who have accepted Christ.  I hope you will realize this is good news. 

John 5:24 (Jesus talking):

Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.

He does not say he will not come into judgment but that he will not come into condemnation.  In other words, the verdict for the believer will never be condemnation and that’s good news for the believer.  There is no condemnation for such a person because, in Christ, he has passed from death to life.  In other words, he has passed from condemnation to justification.  That’s why Paul says in Romans 8:1:

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,....

Keep this in mind, because many Adventists are scared of the investigative judgment because they think they will be condemned. 

Now go to 1 Corinthians 4:5 — this has to do with verdict:

Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes.  He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart.  At that time each will receive their praise from God.

When God judges, He doesn’t simply judge by your outward acts.  He judges by your motive.  He judges by the direction your heart has gone and is going.  His verdict will be honest and correct.  Everyone will admit it.  They will praise God and will say, “God you are right.  What you have decided is true, there is no favoritism and there is no injustice in your action.”

Now to the execution. 

2 Thessalonians 1:7–8

“taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel.”

Man is lost because he has purposely, deliberately, persistently rejected the gift of God. 

Verse nine tells us that they will be punished with everlasting destruction, “good-bye forever” because they have rejected the gift of God, which is eternal life in Christ. 

2 Thessalonians 1:9–10

“These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed.”

So we have seen three steps in the judgment.

Now I would like to give you a third fact about the judgment which the Bible speaks of.  This is important.  The Bible divides the process of judging into two phases. 

Phase number one is the judgment of the believers.  In other words, the trial, the verdict, and the execution of the verdict for the believers is the first phase.

The trial, the verdict, and the execution of the verdict of the unbelievers is the second phase. 

Even though some texts in the Bible suggest that they are together, if you will read all through your New Testament it becomes very clear that judgment begins with the house of God.

As I read the scripture concerning the judgment of the believers, we see that the trial and the verdict are pre-Advent.  The reward is the Second Coming of Christ. 

The trial, verdict, and execution of the sentence of the unbeliever is at the end of the world, which is the Third Coming of Christ. 

There will be a judgment during the thousand years, but that judgment will be only for the benefit of the believers so that they realize that God has been just in every phase of His judgment.  Every question will be removed during the thousand years.  When God finishes with sin there will be no doubts.

Now we come to the investigative judgment.  There are two points concerning which we as a church have come under fire on the investigative judgment. 

Point number one is not major, but it is an issue.  It is that we are the only denomination — although there are some individual non-Adventist scholars that I know of — that teach that the investigative judgment of the believer is pre-Advent. 

There are many Christians and scholars who believe in the investigative judgment.  For example, the famous Allan Lead believes in an investigative judgment but he doesn’t call it the investigative judgment; he calls it the “scrutinizing of the lives of the believers.”  It is the same thing. 

All denominations that I know of, believe that the investigative judgment, the verdict, and the reward are all done at the Second Coming of Christ.  Nothing in it, according to them, is pre-Advent.

There are two answers for such people in order to defend the Adventist position. 

Number one, we know that the reward of the believers will take place at the Second Coming of Christ. 

The New Testament is absolutely clear on that.  John 14:2-3:

My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

“I go to prepare a place for you; when I come back, you will be where I am.”

If the reward is at the Second Coming of Christ, which is the third phase of the judgment, then the trial and the verdict has to take place before the Second Coming.  Therefore it is pre-Advent.

Here is a second reason.  Nowhere in scripture, Old or New Testament, does it ever teach that when Christ comes for the second time, He will be our advocate. 

He will come as King and Conqueror.  If my trial is after He comes the second time, then I will be without my advocate.  If He is not going to be my advocate, I have a problem.  But I thank God that He is my advocate now, and that He will vindicate my justification.

Then, of course, the priestly ministry of Christ — that is, His advocate ministry — is pre-Advent. 

Nowhere is it ever mentioned that He will be an advocate at the Second Coming of Christ. 

So I ask my fellow Christians, “Who is going to be your advocate when Christ comes?”  I know who my advocate is right now — Christ the Righteous.

The second accusation is that our doctrine on the investigative judgment contradicts the doctrine of justification by faith.

In 1980, the biggest theological seminary in Kenya, Scot Theological Seminary, thirty miles from Nairobi, invited our church to come and defend the denomination against questions that would be asked by the senior students.  In most seminaries, they have a class that all theological students must take.  It is called the “Four Cults,” part of a comparative religion class.  The four cults are:  Mormons, The Witnesses, The Christian Scientists, and Seventh-day Adventists. 

Since we were one of the largest denominations in Kenya; the East African Union in 1980 was the largest union of Seventh-day Adventists in the world field in terms of members per capita.  We are a large denomination out there in Kenya.  The professor felt that, to be fair to the Adventist Church, they should invite us.

Since I was the ministerial secretary of the union, the president said, “This is your problem.”  I was quite happy.  I enjoy university students and bombastic questions, so I went there two hours before the meeting.  I wanted to see what they had in their library.  I was surprised that they had almost all of the writings of Ellen G. White in their library.  They were subscribing to our Ministry Magazine.  They also were subscribing to Verdict, which is a Biblical magazine and, at that time, it was hitting us on the Investigative Judgment.  There was also a paper that was published by a group of young scholars who had given up this denomination and were publishing a paper called Evangelical, and they were also putting us under fire on the investigative judgment.

I said to myself, “I think I know what they are going to bombard me with.”  I was told that the senior class would be attending, but it was the whole school, faculty, friends, and it was packed. 

The first question came from a senior student.  The question was:  “Please defend the Seventh-day Adventist doctrine of the investigative judgment in the light of justification by faith.” 

Behind the question was the accusation that our doctrine of investigative judgment contradicts justification by faith because of the impression that we have given.  They defended their question by reading statements from our books, so I could not deny it.  The impression that we have given from some of our books is that, ultimately, it is our works that decide whether we are qualified for heaven or not.  That, in fact, is a contradiction of justification by faith.

Let me give you the text that they gave me.  They were right, because the Bible does teach that we are justified by faith without works.  I’m not saying it.  The Bible is saying it, so let me give you some texts.  In Romans 3:28, Paul is concluding his definition of the gospel:

For we maintain that a person is justified [declared righteous] by faith apart from the works of the law.

Paul is saying this.  Look at Romans 4:5:

However, to the one who does not work [notice the negative — to him who has produced no works] but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.

Here are some more that our evangelical friends like to use and we will have to face in witnessing the gospel to them. 

Ephesians 2:8-9:

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it [the word “it” refers to grace or salvation, not to faith] is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast.

It is entirely a gift from beginning to end.

Another text is Titus 3:  beginning with verse three Paul tells us that we were sometimes before conversion foolish, disobedient, deceived, and serving diverse lusts, etc.:

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures.  We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.

Verses four and five continues:

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.  He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit....

This is justification by faith.  If I am saved by faith in Jesus Christ apart from works, then why should my ultimate decision be on works?

Well, the same Bible we have just read also teaches that we will be judged and we will be rewarded according to works.  I am giving you several texts from four different individuals:

From Christ Himself;

From Paul, the champion of justification by faith;

From Peter, in case you are defending the gospel before Catholics who look at Peter as the first pope; and

From John, the beloved disciple.

Let’s start with Jesus Christ.  John 5:28-29:

Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice [every human being will hear his voice] and come out — those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.

(There will be two resurrections.)

That sounds like salvation by works.  Remember that Matthew 25:31-46 brings this out:

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.  All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

So I said to the young man, “Wasn’t Jesus Himself contradicting justification by faith?” 

And he said, “It seems so.” 

“Yes, I know it seems so,” I replied.

Notice what Paul says in the last part of the verse in 2 Corinthians 5:10:

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

Here Paul seems to be contradicting justification by faith.  Now let’s look at 1 Peter 1:15-16:

But just as he who called you is holy [speaking to believers], so be holy in all you do; for it is written:  “Be holy, because I am holy.”

So:  “Be holy in your lifestyle.  Be holy, because I am holy.”  Peter is telling us that holiness is our goal as Christians.  Verse 17:

Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.

We will be judged according to “each person’s work.”  It sounds like:  “Be careful, you’d better be good.  Otherwise you won’t make it.”

Now the last one is from John, the great apostle, who wrote the book of Revelation.  In Revelation 22:12, John is simply quoting his Lord:

Look, I am coming soon!  My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done.

Here we have one group of texts that says that we are justified by faith without works.  We have another group of texts that says we will be judged and rewarded according to works. 

Most Christians ignore one at the expense of the other, accepting one and rejecting the other, maybe consciously, but mostly subconsciously.

Many of the evangelicals use the texts that we have read in the first part.  In fact, when I gave one young man these texts he said, “You know, I have never read this before.”  I said, “Obviously.  Evangelicals love to use the texts on justification without works.  They ignore the texts that say that we will be judged and rewarded by our works.  But too many times Adventists use the other group of texts and ignore the first.  So we are sometimes guilty of using those texts on works without teaching justification by faith. 

The truth is that we have to accept both in order to be honest.  Both are inspired by God.  All scripture is inspired.”

How then do we reconcile one group of texts that say we are justified by faith apart from works and the other group of texts that say we are rewarded, we are judged, we receive resurrection unto life because of our good works or we are lost because of our bad works? 

Well, there is a third group of texts that deal with that and we will start with Jesus Christ. 

The Bible teaches that genuine justification by faith always produces works.  You cannot have justification by faith without works; it is impossible.  That’s why James says (James 2:17):

In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

(See James 2:26.)  James is not against justification by faith.  James is in harmony with Paul.  James is condemning those who think that they can be saved and live as they like.

The context of John 14 is that Philip comes to Jesus.  In John 14:8, Philip says:

Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

And Jesus says (John 14:9):

Jesus answered:  “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time?  Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.  How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”

We see what Jesus meant by that in verse ten (John 14:10-11):

“Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?  The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority.  Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.  Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.”

Jesus saying here, “Philip, the greatest evidence that I can give you that the Father dwells in me and reveals Himself through me is my works. 

Now, having made those statements, look at verse 12:

“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing...”

“Just as God lives out through Me, it is God’s desire that I live out My life in you through the Holy Spirit.” 

Jesus said, “If I do the works, you will do the same works, that is, those who believe in Me.” 

So justification by faith produces works.  Then He adds (finishing verse 12):

“...and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”

John 16:7 tells us that, when He goes to the Father, He will send us the Holy Spirit:

“But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away.  Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.”

That is Jesus Christ’s teaching.

Let us read two texts to see what Paul says.  These two texts show the balance of Paul’s writing.  Ephesians 2:8-9 clearly tells us that we are justified by faith as a free gift apart from works:

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast.

Verse 10:

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Colossians 2:6:

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him....

Colossians 2:10a says:

...And in Christ you have been brought to fullness.

“You are complete in Him.” 

So we were created in Christ Jesus not only to be justified and to go to heaven but also to produce good works. 

These good works are not produced in order to save us.  The greatest evidence that the Father was dwelling in Christ was His works and the greatest evidence that we can give that we are justified by faith is that Christ lives and works through us.

Titus 2:14 is talking about Christ:

...Who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness [the Hebrew word means selfishness] and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

Christ came here not to take us to heaven only but to redeem us from all selfishness.  He wants to make us his own, doing “good,” living unselfishly.  Some translations call us “peculiar”; anyone who lives unselfishly is peculiar.

Titus 3:5:

...He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.  He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit....

Now look at Titus 3:8:

This is a trustworthy saying.  And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good.  These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.

With this in mind, let us go to the investigative judgment.  The question is often raised, “Why do we need an investigative judgment for the believers, because the Bible teaches that God already knows who are saved and who are not saved?” 

That is true.  2 Timothy 2:19 says that God knows them that are His:

Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription:  “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.”

God knew that you would accept Christ before you were born.  It is foreknowledge.  He knows who will accept and who will not accept, so God doesn’t need the judgment for Himself. 

We need an investigative judgment because there is an accuser.  In Revelation 12:10, that accuser is called “the accuser of the brothers and sisters”:

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:  “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah.  For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.”

The brothers and sisters here are the believers.  We are Christ’s brothers and sisters; Hebrews 2:11 says so:

Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family.  So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.

So it is Christ who calls us brothers and sisters.  But there is a distinction.  Christ is the Elder brother.  We are the younger siblings.  When, as elder brothers or sisters, we see a younger brother being bullied, we do not just sit and watch the younger brother being given a hard time. 

And when the devil accuses Jesus’ younger brothers and sisters, He will not allow them to be accused.  The devil accuses us day and night, but God is going to vindicate us; the purpose of the investigative judgment is to vindicate the saints.  He will bring our works into judgment not to prove our righteousness but it is to prove that our faith is genuine.

In James chapter 2, we read about Abraham and find that the work of Abraham did not prove that he was righteous.  In James 2:20-21, we see what Abraham’s work proved:

You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?  Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?

In Genesis 15:6, we learn that Abraham was justified by faith long before he offered up Isaac:

Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

In James 2:22, we see what the offering up of Isaac proved:

You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.

Our works prove not that our righteousness is genuine, but that our faith is genuine. 

So, in the judgment, Christ will bring our works as evidence that we are justified by faith and when He does that, it will give Jesus the legal right to represent us.  He will say to God, “My righteousness is theirs because they have genuine faith,” and He will justify us.  This is the purpose of the investigative judgment.

Daniel 7 is the chapter that deals with the investigative judgment of the believers.  Let us review the three steps.

Step number one is the trial found in Daniel 7:9-10.  Daniel 7:9 is the introduction; Daniel 7:10 is the fact:

As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat.  His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool.  His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze.  A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him.  Thousands upon thousands attended him [Those are the angels.]; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.  [Those are the believers who stand before God in the person of Jesus Christ, who is their Advocate.].  The court was seated, and the books were opened.

When you read those words do your knees knock?  Well, that’s the investigation.

Now comes the verdict, in Daniel 7:22:

...Until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the holy people of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.

In other words, judgment was given in favor of the saints.  Here is Satan accusing you (a good passage is Zechariah 3:1-3), and here is Christ defending you, and Jesus wins the case on our behalf.  The verdict is given, and the verdict is in favor of the saints.

We are tired of the accusations of Satan and look forward to the investigative judgment because we are certain what the verdict is going to be.  It will be in favor of the saints.  Daniel 7:18:

But the holy people of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever — yes, for ever and ever.

The third step is in verse 26 (of Daniel 7), which is the execution:

But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever.

The “his” in context is the Little Horn who is the person who has been given power by the dragon.  He is the agent of Satan who has persecuted the Church.

That is the execution of those who have turned their backs on Jesus Christ.

Daniel 7:27:

Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High.  His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.

That’s the good news of the gospel!  So the investigative judgment is necessary because God has to vindicate the saints before He comes to take them to heaven. 

I know in whom I believe and that He is able to do it.  My faith is in Jesus Christ, not in myself nor in my denomination. 

What is your faith resting in?  If your faith is in Christ, you have said “good-bye” to Adam in your heart.  And if you have said “good-bye” to Adam in your heart, you have said “good-bye” to sin. 

And so justification by faith is simply this:  “I am crucified with Christ, but I’m still living.  It is no longer I, but it is Christ who lives in me and the life I now live, as a justified Christian, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

May God bless us that we may stand in the investigative judgment.  It brings no more fear but we rejoice that we have such a Saviour as Jesus Christ.

24 – Yom Kippur

Leviticus 16:7-10:

Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting.  He is to cast lots for the two goats — one lot for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat.  Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the Lord and sacrifice it for a sin offering.  But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to be used for making atonement by sending it into the wilderness as a scapegoat.

The most important feast in the Jewish calendar was Yom Kippur, what we call “The Day of Atonement.”  It was important to the Jews for two reasons:

They looked on the Day of Atonement as the solemn day of judgment.

It was the culmination of the ritual services of the sanctuary.

It was a day that pointed forward in reality to the culmination of the plan of redemption that God had purposed in Jesus Christ.  The Day of Atonement involves four things:

It is the time when God will vindicate the saints.  Through the investigative judgment, Jesus Christ is going to vindicate the believers.

It is a time when God will cleanse the heavenly sanctuary.

It is a time when God will bring sin and the problems that go with sin to an end.  He will eradicate sin from this universe.

He will usher in everlasting righteousness.

Numbers three and four will take place at the third coming of Christ.  We dealt with number one — the investigative judgment, when the saints will be vindicated.  In this study, we will deal with the cleansing of the sanctuary.

The cleansing of the sanctuary is one aspect of the Day of Atonement that has come under fire.  There are two issues involved in our presentation:

Does the heavenly sanctuary really need cleaning?

Is the sanctuary in heaven defiled that it needs cleaning?  Many are questioning this, even in our own midst.

Was not the Day of Atonement fulfilled on the cross?

This is one of the big questions that is in the minds of many.

We will look at each of these because they are important.

Number one:  Does the heavenly sanctuary really need cleaning?  Now, what you and what I think is not worth “two pence,” a good English phrase meaning it is not worth anything.  What the Bible teaches is the measuring stick of truth.  The Bible shows that both the type and the reality teach a cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary.  In Leviticus, we see what it says about the type and what actually happened on the Day of Atonement.  Leviticus 16:33:

...And [the High Priest is to] make atonement for the Most Holy Place [Please notice the holy sanctuary where God dwelt was to be made holy or to be cleansed.], for the tent of meeting [not just the sanctuary complete but also the building of the congregation] and the altar, and for the priests and all the members of the community.

The Day of Atonement includes everything, not only the saints but God’s sanctuary and His name.  That is the type.  In Hebrews, we see the reality.  In this chapter, the writer of Hebrews is trying to contrast the sacrificial system of the sanctuary service with the blood of Jesus Christ.  One was a type, only a shadow; it had no salvic power, the other was the reality which is what counts.  Hebrews 9:22-23.  First, verse 22:

In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

It is saying here is that, according to the law, there is no cleansing from sin without shedding of blood.  Blood simply means life laid down in death.  Without death, there can be no cleansing of sin.  Verse 23:

It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things [which is the earthly sanctuary] to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves [which is the reality] with better sacrifices than these.

What this text is saying is simply that as the earthly, which was the pattern or copy, had to be cleansed by the blood of bulls and goats, the heavenly sanctuary also needs to be cleansed, but it cannot be cleansed with the blood of bulls and goats.  It had to have something better which, of course, is the blood of Jesus Christ.  Here in the New Testament we are told that the heavenly sanctuary has to be cleansed.  So the Bible does teach that the heavenly sanctuary needs cleansing.  The question you may raise is, “Of what does it need cleansing?”  We will come to that shortly.

We will deal with number two:  “Was the Day of Atonement fulfilled at the cross?”  This was something that was brought up openly in October, 1980, at Pacific Union College by Desmond Ford.  Since then the question has been questioned by many minds.  There are many Seventh-day Adventists, especially ministers, who think that the Day of Atonement was fulfilled on the cross.

It is true that the cross of Christ does play a very important part in the Day of Atonement.  We must never ignore that because it is a fact.  But not all the rituals that were practised on the Day of Atonement in the earthly sanctuary were fulfilled at the cross.  That is why, in Leviticus sixteen, you will notice that the central service around the Day of Atonement was the ceremony that centered around the two goats.  These two goats were spotless and, when it was inaugurated, Aaron, the high priest cast lots:  one for the Lord and one for Azazel.  Now what happened to the Lord’s goat?  We are told that it was sacrificed and the blood of that goat was taken into the Most Holy Place and sprinkled on the mercy seat.  That was pointing to Jesus Christ’s blood so the cross of Christ does play a vital part on the Day of Atonement.

But, after the high priest had done that, and he had reconciled the sanctuary in terms of the blood of Christ, he came out and laid his hands on the live goat.  Leviticus 16:7-10 is only the introduction:

Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting.  He is to cast lots for the two goats — one lot for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat.  Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the Lord and sacrifice it for a sin offering.  But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to be used for making atonement by sending it into the wilderness as a scapegoat.

The blood of Christ, we are told in verse Leviticus 16:16, makes an atonement for all the uncleanness of the children of Israel:

In this way he will make atonement for the Most Holy Place because of the uncleanness and rebellion of the Israelites, whatever their sins have been.  He is to do the same for the tent of meeting, which is among them in the midst of their uncleanness.

Look at Leviticus 16:20:

When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy Place, the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat.  He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites — all their sins — and put them on the goat’s head.  He shall send the goat away into the wilderness in the care of someone appointed for the task.  The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a remote place; and the man shall release it in the wilderness.

Notice the three words relating to sin.  In the Hebrew Bible there are twelve words for sin and we can squeeze them into three categories:

“Iniquity” has to do with what we are by nature (the Hebrew word simply means “bent” and has to do with our innate sinfulness);

“Sin” is “missing the mark,” that is, missing the mark innocently; and

“Transgression” is our willful disobedience.

Everything is cleansed.  The sins, the iniquities, and the transgressions are placed upon the live goat in the Day of Atonement.  Continuing in Leviticus 16:21:

He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites — all their sins — and put them on the goat’s head.  He shall send the goat away into the wilderness in the care of someone appointed for the task.

The someone here “appointed for the task” represents Jesus Christ.  He will send this live goat into the wilderness.  Leviticus 16:22:

The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a remote place; and the man shall release it in the wilderness.

The priest comes out of the tent and he places his hands on the live goat, confesses the sins of Israel (the believers), and the live goat is sent into the wilderness.  Now here is where the problem lies.  We, as a church — I am not talking about individual scholars, but as a church denomination — we are about the only denomination that teaches that Azazel represents Satan.  Most Christian denominations take the position that Azazel represents Christ.  That is, both the goats, they say, represent Christ.  They say that they represent two phases of Christ’s atoning work.

We do not agree.  The Lord’s goat represents Christ and the Azazel represents Satan.  It began with a Danish scholar who first accused us and since then many others have.  If Azazel bears the sins of Israel, if he bears, ultimately, the sins of the believers, then aren’t we making Satan our sin bearer and, therefore, our Saviour?  That’s the accusation and we have to defend ourselves.  Look at the word “Azazel.”  Hebrew scholars are not exactly sure what the word means.  The Hebrew language died and was resurrected in the nineteenth century.  According to the Hebrew scholars (that is, non-Christian Jewish scholars, Hebrew language scholars), Azazel is the name of the devil.  So we have at least the Hebrew scholars on our side.

You know that we don’t have the original manuscripts of the Bible.  One of the oldest that exist are Syriac manuscripts.  These manuscripts interpret “Azazel” as “the angel who revolted.”  Most Christians identify Azazel with “scapegoat,” which simply means the one who takes the blame.  In fact, the NIV Bible translates “Azazel” as the “goat of removal.”

One of the biggest problems that God faces before He can eradicate sin is the issue of responsibility.  Legally, when you deal with sin, it is “the transgression of the law.”  When you deal with sin in a legal sense, there are three things:

Guilt.

Punishment.

Responsibility.

The question is, “Who is responsible for sin?”  This is one of the issues that was not dealt with on the cross, that is to be dealt with on the Day of Atonement.  Let me put it this way, which may solve the problem that is in the minds of many Christians.  God is sovereign.  That’s the clear teaching of the Bible in the Old and New Testament.  That means that nothing happens in this world or in the universe without His permission or His consent.  He is the Lord!  He is the one that created all things.  Nothing happens without Him.  That’s what it means to be sovereign.  Because God is sovereign, He must assume the blame for what happens in His kingdom.

The Bible teaches that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart.  Exodus 10:20:

But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go.

[You can also view Exodus 4:21, 7:3, 9:12, 10:27, 11:10, 14:4, 14:8, or 14:17.]

You will find another statement which says, “Pharaoh hardened his own heart.”  Exodus 8:15 [also see Exodus 8:32 and 9:34]:

But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said.

Which text is correct?  Both are from the Bible.  Well, both are correct.  It is actually Pharaoh who hardened his own heart but, because God is sovereign, He assumes the blame until the Day of Atonement.  In other words, God could have stopped Pharaoh from hardening his heart.  He is sovereign.  He could have done it, but He did not.  Therefore, He assumes the blame.  God says in the Old Testament, “I have created evil.”  Did He actually create evil?  No.  All these texts that give you problems in this regard are simply saying, “Because I’m sovereign, I’m assuming the blame.”

If I see a toddler, two years old, walking toward a cliff and I do nothing about it, I know that he is going to die.  I could have stopped that baby but I did not, so I have to take some of the blame.  And this is what God is saying, “I will assume the blame.”

When Adam sinned God came up to Adam and said, “Why did you eat of the forbidden fruit?”  Adam did not deny the sin, he admitted it, but he never took the blame.  He passed the blame onto Eve and, ultimately, to God.  “This woman that you gave me....”  Genesis 3:12:

The man said, “The woman you put here with me — she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

“Don’t blame me!  Why did you give me this woman?”

Well, when God first gave Eve to Adam, do you know what he said?  Genesis 2:23:

The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.”

He was excited when he got Eve, but, after he sinned, he forgot the excitement.  He said, “This woman that you gave me.”  He was putting the blame on God and God never argued with Adam.  He assumed it.

He went to Eve and said, “What about you?  Who do you blame?”  Well, she blamed the serpent by implying, “The serpent that you created.”  Genesis 3:13:

Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

God did create the serpent — not as it was then, but as a beautiful being.  He did not go to the serpent and say, “Who do you blame?”  because God knew Satan blamed God, too.  God had assumed the blame all along.

If God doesn’t clear His name on this issue, then sin can never come to an end.  He can never eradicate sin.  There will always be questions in the minds of the universe.  That is why, in the judgment, God will not only vindicate the saints, but He will clear His name.  He will cleanse the sanctuary of the blame.  So, on the Day of Atonement, the Lord’s goat takes our punishment and guilt but not the responsibility.  Responsibility for sin must ultimately go to Satan.

Now let’s go to the issue.  There are two goats.  Both of them are spotless.  Is Satan spotless?  No.  Azazel doesn’t represent Satan to start with.  He represents Lucifer.  Look at Ezekiel 28:15:

You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness [bent towards self] was found in you....

Who invented sin?  Who is responsible for sin entering the universe?  In the Bible, goats always represent sin.  In Leviticus 4:22-31, goats represent sin:

When a leader sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the commands of the Lord his God, when he realizes his guilt and the sin he has committed becomes known, he must bring as his offering a male goat without defect.  He is to lay his hand on the goat’s head and slaughter it at the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered before the Lord.  It is a sin offering.  Then the priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.  He shall burn all the fat on the altar as he burned the fat of the fellowship offering.  In this way the priest will make atonement for the leader’s sin, and he will be forgiven.

If any member of the community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord’s commands, when they realize their guilt and the sin they have committed becomes known, they must bring as their offering for the sin they committed a female goat without defect.  They are to lay their hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it at the place of the burnt offering.  Then the priest is to take some of the blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.  They shall remove all the fat, just as the fat is removed from the fellowship offering, and the priest shall burn it on the altar as an aroma pleasing to the Lord.  In this way the priest will make atonement for them, and they will be forgiven.

In Matthew 25 where Jesus separates the sheep and the goats, the goats represent the sinners.  Matthew 25:31-34, 41, 46:

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.  All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.’

“...Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’

“...Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Why are those sinners lost?  Does God say, “You are cursed,” because they are bad?  No, God is not blaming them for being sinners.  God is blaming them for rejecting His gift, Jesus Christ.  He tells them that they are to be burned in the fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels:  “Not for you.  I prepared for you salvation but you refused, so you must take the ultimate blame.”  Paul says in Romans 10 that Israel must take the blame for their condition because they have deliberately, persistently, willfully rejected the Messiah.  Romans 10:1-4, 16-21:

Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved.  For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge.  Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.  Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.

But not all the Israelites accepted the good news.  For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.  But I ask:  Did they not hear?  Of course they did:  “Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.” Again I ask:  Did Israel not understand?  First, Moses says, “I will make you envious by those who are not a nation; I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding.” And Isaiah boldly says, “I was found by those who did not seek me; I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me.” But concerning Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.”

We see then, that goats represent the issue of who is to be responsible for sin.  Goats are always a symbol of sin.  Christ He bears our punishment.  He becomes one with us.  He’s our sin bearer in the sense of punishment and that’s why the blood was shed for our sins.  But He assumed responsibility until the Day of Atonement.

On the Day of Atonement, He is going to cleanse the sanctuary, not only in the eyes of the angels and the universe but in the eyes of the saints during the thousand years.  The saints are to judge for a thousand years because nothing is to be left undone.  Every knee will confess, “God you are right.  Now we see no longer through a dark glass, we see clearly that your ways are best.”  Psalms 119 shows that even Christians sometimes ask God, “Why did you allow this?”  Those who heard Joy Swift’s story can see why any of us can ask, “Why did you allow this?”  She has been a tremendous witness all over this country.  See Psalms 119:7:

I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws.

Here David is praising God.

In Romans 14:10-12, Paul says:

You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister?  Or why do you treat them with contempt?  For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.  It is written:  “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’” So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.

“Please don’t judge each other now.  Wait till the judgment.  (Then he quotes from Isaiah 45:11.)  Every knee will bow and confess, ‘God you are right.’”  Because Satan will be so clearly exposed, even though he doesn’t want to admit it, he will have to say, “God, you are right.”  He will do it reluctantly, but he has to admit it.  Every knee will confess that God is right.

So the purpose of the Day of Atonement is that God’s name may be vindicated.  God cannot wipe out sin and usher in everlasting righteousness until He has exposed not only the character of sin but the originator of sin.  That’s what Azazel represents.  He is to take the blame.  He is the scapegoat in the sense that he is responsible for sin.

When I was baptized many years ago in Nairobi, Kenya, I was young and I was green.  I have learned better since then, but I promised God never to sin again.  Have you ever done that?  I promised God, “From now on, I will not sin.”  Three days after my baptism, I entered into a cinema, not because I wanted to, but I discovered something that I did not know.  I was not taught in my baptism class that we have a nature that is sold as a slave to sin.  It took me five years to learn that all our promises are like ropes of sand.

I spent four years at Newbold College.  Every year we had three weeks of prayer.  We had some excellent speakers, like Minchin from Australia.  He could stir up the young people and pour tears out of even the strongest man.  I would promise, “Never again, God.  I goofed up in the past but never again.”  It lasted three days, four days, sometimes two weeks, depending on how strong my will power was.

After I graduated and came to Andrews University, I thought maybe another degree would help me.  I don’t care how many Ph.D.s you have, you cannot conquer sin.  Paul says to the Romans, “You have conquered the world, you are boasting of military power, of architectural power, but I tell you one thing — you can’t conquer sin.  I am writing this book to you Romans:  I’m not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, it is the power of God unto salvation.”  Romans 1:16:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes:  first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.

In Romans 7:15 he says:

I do not understand what I do.  For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.

If you have a problem, listen to Romans 7:17:

As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.

Paul is saying, “I am not to blame for this, it is sin that put it there.”  Who put it there, God or man or Satan?  It can’t be man, because David says [Psalm 51:5]:

Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

Did you become a sinner when you committed the first sinful act or were you born one?

When does an apple tree become an apple tree, when it produces apples?  They tell me it takes three years for it to produce apples.  An apple tree is an apple tree right from the beginning.  The apples simply prove what it already is.  And our sin simply proves what we already are by nature.  Who made me that way?  I read in Romans 7:22-23:

For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.

Who is responsible for that?  Romans 7:20 tells you:

Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

I thank God Romans 8:1-2 says that God condemned the sin in the flesh and set me free:

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.

Then who is to blame for sin?  God may assume it for a while but if He takes the blame for sin, then sin can never be eradicated.  So I thank God that in the Day of Atonement — which is going on now — and before He comes the third time and eradicates sin, every knee, including Satan will confess to God, “You are right.”

“You are right, I am responsible for sin,” is what Satan will have to say.  So one of the things God will do with Satan is give him a thousand years in the wilderness of this desolate earth to have an opportunity to investigate his own case, while we do it in heaven.  Satan will sweat.  I can imagine that during those one thousand years his angels will come to him and say, “Satan, you are the rascal who deceived us.  You have brought us into this mess.”  But Satan will never fully and truly repent.  When the unbelievers are resurrected he will say, “Let’s try it again!”  That is also the war of Armageddon.

The war of Armageddon has nothing to do with the Middle East.  It has nothing to do with the Arabs and the Jews.  It has to do with God’s people against Satan’s people.  It is the final war, which is a part of the Day of Atonement issue.  Jesus Christ will ultimately win.  He is the conqueror and He is going to finally point His finger to Satan and say, “I rebuke you, Satan.  You are to blame.”

And Satan will have no choice because, in the Day of Atonement, God is going to bring to the open every hidden thing and all the world will know that he is a murderer from the beginning.  That is why the Day of Atonement wasn’t settled on the cross.  Yes, Jesus died on the cross.  The Lord’s goat was sacrificed on the cross for our sins, but the Azazel issue was left until the final Day of Atonement.  And when Satan is cast into the wilderness and we are taken to heaven, and God’s name is cleansed and vindicated, then God will usher in everlasting righteousness because every knee will confess, “God, you are right.”

You have a choice in this Day of Atonement.  To which camp will you belong?  If you choose Satan, the father of lies and a murderer from the beginning, then you will have to join him who will be exterminated.  If you join Jesus Christ, He will vindicate you in the judgment.  He will vindicate His kingdom.  The truth will triumph and His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom.

It is my prayer that every one reading this will accept Jesus Christ, Who will triumph in the end and who will cast off Satan into the pit for a thousand years and then will exterminate him.  Nothing can be left undone.  Before God can bring sin to an end, every stone has to be overturned, every issue has to be dealt with.  While God has for the last six thousand years assumed the blame of sin and suffering and death, while He assumes the blame for forty percent of the world today starving, while He assumes the blame for all the tragedies that we see, ultimately it is Satan who is responsible.  He must take the blame and nobody else.  And may God bless us that we will be in the right camp.