The Investigative Judgment

“Truly, truly, I say to you, the one who hears My word, and
believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into
judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
There are so many problems with the doctrine of the investigative judgment
that it is difficult to know which to address first.

History of the Investigative Judgment:

Following the Great Disappointment of 1844; wherein William Miller and
the Adventist Millerites presumed to know the time of Christ's return, many
of the followers of Miller, after realizing they had been deceived by his
teachings, broke up into a number of groups. Some of them returned to the
churches that Miller had told them to abandon and labeled as Babylon. Some
became Quakers, some gave up religion altogether, viewing it as a farce and a
charade.

"Nothing happened on October 22nd, 1844! For the faithful, heavy

depression set in. This day was perhaps the greatest disappointment to befall
the church in the history of the New Dispensation. Fifty thousand of Miller’s
followers had found it impossible to stay in fellowship with their former
congregations. They left those churches when their peers failed to accept
William Miller’s delusion. These fifty thousand now had to face the truth.
They hadn’t been taken into glory. The wicked still weren’t destroyed by
fire. One by one they retreated from their housetops and places of worship
and went to bed"

However there were still a group that were so insistent on adhering to Miller's
teachings. They were so fanatical and were suffering for weeks with
depression, disappointment, etc., and they were desperately clinging to the
false hope Miller offered ... Now, Miller himself recanted and forsook his
teachings and date setting, but not before being very dismayed and even
stating that his prophecies did not come true because of an ERROR in the
Bible itself and it's chronology and translation, but the fanatical and unstable
followers of Miller were now carrying the torch that Miller lit with his
ignorance, ego, and foolishness.
Chief among these were Hiram Edson and Ellen White.

Hiram Edson
Hiram Edson was a Millerite, as was Ellen G. White. Edson was walking
from his home on October 23, 1844 after the disappointment. As expected he
was met with snide comments about still being here on the earth and the
obvious fact that Christ had not returned as they had predicted. In order to
avoid more criticism, Edson took a shortcut through a corn field where he
had supposedly become enlightened regarding the failed prophecy of 1844.

"As the hours passed, Edson reflected on the events of the previous year. He
believed he had been given the power to heal the sick, and he had seen
many hundreds of friends turn to Jesus as a result of his preaching. His
confidence soon returned, and he suggested that he and some friends visit
some nearby Adventists (or Millerites) to encourage them. On the morning
of October 23, 1844 they walked through Edson's cornfield to avoid the
mocking jeers of the neighbors who had refused to believe the Advent
message. It was in this cornfield that Edson claimed to have received an
insight from God. Accordingly, Edson came to understand that "the
cleansing of the sanctuary" meant that Jesus was moving from the Holy
Place to the Most Holy Place in the heavenly sanctuary, and not to
the Second Coming of Jesus to earth:"

Hiram Edson: "Heaven seemed opened to my view, and I saw distinctly and
clearly that instead of our High Priest coming out of the Most Holy of the
heavenly sanctuary,... He for the first time entered on that day the second
apartment of that sanctuary; and that He had a work to perform in the
Most Holy Place before coming to the earth."

"Edson shared his new understanding with many of the local Adventists
who were greatly encouraged by his account. As a result, Edson began
studying the Bible with two of the other believers in the area, O. R. L.
Crosier and Franklin B. Hahn, who published their findings in a paper called
the Day-Dawn."

Critical Analysis
 There are several things to consider concerning Edson's 'revelation'.

 It still depends on the claim that Miller's method of arriving on the date of
Oct. 22, 1844 was correct.
 It was needed to support the claims of absolute truth put forward by the
Millerites
 It was a doctrine that was created with ABSOLUTELY NO BIBLE
STUDY, but instead was a supposed immediate enlightenment received
while walking in a corn field.
 The Bible was studied AFTER the idea was conceived by Edson ["As a
result, Edson began studying the Bible with two of the other
believers in the area, O. R. L. Crosier and Franklin B. Hahn"] and in
typical Adventist fashion, the false dreams, visions and revelations of the
'prophets' are taken to be true and the Bible is studied afterward to try to
support the man made doctrine.
 The historical interpretation of the 2,300 day prophecy regarding Antiochus
Epiphanes and the restoration of the temple were completely ignored by
Adventists.
 The lack of Miller's knowledge, as well as the Adventists knowledge, of the
original Hebrew led them to believe that the 'Cleansing' of the sanctuary
meant a priestly work of cleansing rather than the correct Hebrew definition
which is not 'cleansing' but 'restoration. -
o then the holy place will be properly restored, vindicated, made right.
 The idea that in October of 1844, Christ enters the Most Holy Place in
Heaven for the first time is absolutely contrary to the ENTIRE book of
Hebrews and in particular, the events detailed in Chapter 9.

Observations
The claims of the Advent movement coming from Hiram Edson, Ellen White,
and the remaining adherents to Miller's false teachings were that instead of
the 2,300 day prophecy of Daniel 8:14 referring to the return of Christ to the
Earth to 'cleanse' the 'sanctuary', that NOW it referred to something entirely
different which, conveniently was more difficult to refute. UNLESS you are
armed with scripture; which the Adventists were not. They were armed with
depression, excuses, blame, and numerous visions on top of visions that
contradicted themselves and were accepted at face value ... the Bible was
studied AFTER the fact to try to wrest scripture to fit their visions,
revelations, etc.

It is one thing to see the obvious error that Christ in fact did not return so
rather than apply the prophecy to its original meaning it was re-interpreted to
mean something entirely different; that being, that Christ, instead of returning
to the earth to cleanse it with fire (easily disproven), had now moved from the
Holy Place in the Heavenly Sanctuary to the Most Holy Place to 'cleanse' the
Most Holy Place as our High Priest (more difficult to disprove since we are
not in Heaven to do so). This claim by Adventists, says that in 1844, rather
than Christ returning to earth, He instead entered the Most Holy Place in the
Heavenly Sanctuary to begin 'a work of Investigative Judgment' wherein all
believers were judged by their works ...

Along with this idea, followed the obvious conclusion that salvation itself
could not be claimed by any believer since they were still being judged by
Christ in the Most Holy Place... so to add to their errors, the Adventist
presented false doctrines, the idea that one's salvation could never be settled
as a matter of knowing one was saved since Christ might still be judging you
in the Most Holy Place in Heaven ... and still further, Adventists claimed that
Christ's Atonement on the Cross was in fact INCOMPLETE. That our sins
are NOT forgiven, nor blotted out, but are 'being taken care of', that perfect
obedience to the 10 commandment law by "our own diligent efforts" was
required to be ADDED to Christ's atonement, to be presented to God in the
Investigative Judgment' in order to see if one was "entitled to the benefits" of
Salvation.

There are some many heresies in these ideas, already, that I would need to
write an entire book to address them ... and many have written such books so
I will only address certain points here.

God has given us His word and the book of Hebrews clearly shuts down this
newly presented idea of an Investigative Judgment which supposedly started
in 1844 in the Heavenly Temple.

Hebrews makes it clear

"Now when these things have been so prepared, the priests are continually
entering the outer tabernacle, performing the divine worship, but into
the second, only the high priest enters once a year, not without taking
blood which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in
ignorance."

"But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come, He
went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made by
hands and is not a part of this creation.. He did not enter by the blood of goats
and calves, but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own
blood, thus securing eternal redemption." Other translation say "Holy
Places", a plural, referring to BOTH compartments of the sanctuary. One
must enter the Most Holy Place from the Holy Place, within the
veil separating the two. And THIS, Christ did as we read from Hebrews
"Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and
which entereth into that within the veil;"Whither the forerunner is for us
entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of
Melchisedec. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by
the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for
us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;

The phrase above "Within the veil" is VERY significant because “Within
the veil” always denotes the Most Holy Place, viz, Ex 26:33 (twice); Lev
16:2, 12, 15; Num 18:7 ... Whereas, “Before the veil” always denotes the
Holy Place, viz, Ex 26:35; 27:21; 30:6; 40:22, 26; Lev 4:6, 17; 24:3

We also see that the Bible tells us that Christ entered the Most Holy as the
forerunner, meaning, ahead of us, and then scripture says that with 'boldness'
we may enter into the 'Holiest' (Most Holy Place) by the Blood of Jesus.

The original Greek word for the Holy Place entered by Christ is' hagios',
meaning Holiest, The Most Holy, Holy of Holies, Holiest of All, it is also
used as a plural to refer to both compartments of the sanctuary. This is the
same definition used earlier in the chapter when referring to the place that the
High Priest enters only once per year. This is very significant because
Adventists will teach that in order for their 1844 date setting to be correct,
they will accept Hiram Edson's revelation in a corn field that Christ did not
enter the Holy of Holies at His ascension but rather that He entered there in
1844. But the book of Hebrews tells us Christ entered the Most Holy at His
ascension and made an offering with His own Blood ONCE FOR ALL, and
then sat at the right hand of His Father til his enemies become His footstool.

"Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same
sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one
sacrifice for sins FOR ALL TIME, sat down at the right hand of God,
waiting from that time onward until His enemies are made a footstool for
His feet. For by ONE OFFERING He has perfected for all time those who
are sanctified."

Yet, Ellen White, Hiram Edson, and the entire Adventist church will
deny this teaching of Hebrews, in order to protect 'the pillars of their
faith' and continue to adhere to Miller's false understanding of Daniel
8:14 and the erroneous date of Oct 22, 1844.

The book of Hebrews teaches us that when Christ ascended to His Father, he
entered into the Holy of Holies with His own blood and put away sin. The
Bible teaches us that He did this 'once and for all' and sat down at the right
hand of His Father.

Now Ellen White, Hiram Edson and the entire Adventist movement will deny
this plain teaching and have the audacity to REMOVE Christ from the right
hand of His Father, and place Him BACK into the Most Holy to perform a
work of 'Investigative Judgment' of all believers ... By what authority do
these fanatics presume to decide where THEY want Christ to be?

This was all done in order for Adventists to avoid admitting error in their date
setting and prophecies; even to the point of absolutely denying the completed
atoning sacrifice of Jesus and His place at His Father's side.

Since the prophecies which had already failed had cast a bad light on Ellen
White and the authority granted her by the Adventist followers, they merely
needed re-interpretation to fit neatly into their preconceived ideas.

For Adventists, there was NO TURNING BACK. They had to make this
work at all costs. When Hiram Edson had his supposed enlightenment in a
 corn field concerning and Investigative Judgment, the entire advent
movement clung to that interpretation as the one thing that could help them
save face. And in doing this, to protect their false teachings, false visions,
false prophetic authority, they were willing to pervert and destroy the gospel
of Salvation by Grace through Faith, and Christ's completed atoning work on
the cross.

Never has a lie been defended in such a horrible way as to dismantle the
entire gospel to protect it. This is the behaviour of a cult and its main
figurehead, Ellen G. White.

Synopsis of Errors
Breakdown of the events that lead to the erroneous teachings of Adventism:

 William Miller, being ignorant of Greek and Hebrew, studies the Bible and
draws erroneous conclusions of Christ's Return (no man knows the day or
hour). Miller claims his timelines and teachings are as true as the Bible
itself
 Ellen White's family were followers of Miller
 Ellen White has vision that those who do not believe Miller's teachings
could not be saved and that the door to salvation was now closed to
everyone who did not accept Miller's teachings and date setting of October
1844
 Miller's prophecy failed in 1844 and he repented of his teachings to some
degree
 Hiram Edson, Ellen White and others insisted on clinging to false hopes and
many in the advent movement started to conveniently have visions about
Miller's prophecies - chiefly Ellen White
 Hiram Edson has a revelation that the date in 1844 was correct and they just
need to reinterpret the prophecies and visions regarding the 'cleansing of the
sanctuary' - Ellen White also conveniently has a vision to reinforce Hiram
Edson's revelation, a vision which contradicts her earlier vision that Miller
was actually right and the opportunity for salvation was past.
 Hiram Edson concludes that in 1844 Christ moved to the Most Holy Place in
Heaven to perform a work of Investigative Judgment. Through Ellen
 White's 'visions' these ideas are accepted by the Adventists as the official
explanation of William Miller's failed prophecy.
 The Investigative Judgment is then supposed to be the judgement of
believers - again contrary to scripture (there is now therefore no
condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus) and scripture tells us -
“Truly, truly, I say to you, the one who hears My word, and believes Him
who sent Me, HAS ETERNAL LIFE, AND DOES NOT COME INTO
JUDGMENT, but has passed out of death into life."
 If there is an Investigative Judgment, then it would not be possible for a
believer to say 'I am saved' since they do not know if their name has come
up yet in this judgment - and so Adventists, and in particular Ellen White,
teach that a person cannot have confidence in their salvation.
 This leads to more error in that Adventists teach that now Christ's
Atonement ALSO cannot be complete since if it were, there would be no
room for an Investigative Judgment. Rather, Adventists teach that the
atonement is still ongoing, that Christ is still working in the Most Holy as
our High Priest - contrary to Hebrews 9 which states He entered there at His
ascension, and made atonement, putting away sins once for all with His own
blood. After doing so, He sat down at the right hand of His Father. There
is no chair for sitting down in the Holy Place when a High Priest is
ministering.

In order for there to be an Investigative Judgment to explain the errors of

Miller and White in 1844, Adventists are forced to ignore the completed
atoning work of Christ as clearly laid out in Hebrews chapter 9. They are
forced to ignore that Christ entered the Holy of Holies with His own blood.
They are forced to ignore that Christ did this once for all. They are forced to
deny the removal of sins by Christ's atoning work and the sprinkling of His
own blood.

Adventists deny all of the teachings in Hebrews 9 by asserting that a person

is not forgiven, that their sins still stand on record in the Books in Heaven,
that Christ is currently Judging the righteous to see if their diligent efforts to
obey the 10 commandment law can be combined with Christ's sacrifice, to be
presented to God as a combination of Christ's work and our works, to
determine if we are 'entitled' the the benefits of Salvation.
And to add to this heresy, they believe the teaching that was put forth by
Ellen White; that after we have perfected our own character, we will face
God in our own righteousness without a mediator; without Christ.

Ellen White: “Those who are living upon the earth, when the intercession of
Christ shall cease in the sanctuary above, are to stand in the sight of a holy
God without a Mediator” (Great Controversy, p. 425)

Again the Bible defeats these satanic teachings with the truth of God's Word;
in Hebrews chapter 7: "Wherefore he is able also to save them to the
uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make
intercession for them." At NO time will Christ ever cease being our
mediator. We cannot stand before the Father in our own righteousness, it is
ALL Christ and His righteousness that God sees, we have nothing to offer
Him.

If we believe the Bible, we see that Christ entered the Holy of Holies with
His own blood, that he did this ONCE for ALL and that He did this to put
away sins.

"but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been revealed to put
away sin by the sacrifice of Himself."
"so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will
appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who
eagerly await Him."

The Investigative Judgment completely falls apart when one reads the Book
of Hebrews and particularly Chapter 9.
The Investigative Judgment requires that Christ did NOT complete His
atoning work once for all, it requires that Christ did not enter the Holy of
Holies with His own blood, it requires that Christ did NOT put away sins, it
requires that Christ NOT be seated at the right hand of His Father.

If any of Hebrews 9 is to be believed, the Investigative Judgment should

return to the pit of hell from where it was conceived. If any of the
Investigative Judgment is to be believed, one would have to remove the 9th
Chapter of Hebrews from their Bible.

Which would you choose?

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