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Sabbath Bible Lessons

THE SANCTUARY IN THE CHRISTIAN DISPENSATION

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Lesson 8 Sabbath, November 19, 2011

The Investigative Judgment

“And the books were opened: . . . and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works” (Revelation 20:12).

“Beginning with those who first lived upon the earth, our Advocate presents the cases of each successive generation and closes with the living.”—The Faith I Live By, p. 212.

Suggested Reading:   The Great Controversy, pp. 479-482

Sunday November 13

1. THE TIME TO JUDGE THE DEAD

a. When is the appointed time for God to judge the saints that are in the tomb? Will they be judged while dead, or will it be after they have been raised to life? Revelation 11:18; 20:12.

b. When will the sleeping saints be “accounted worthy” to attain the resurrection of life? Is there evidence that they will be raised first (at the coming of Christ) and then judged to see if they are qualified for their reward? Acts 3:19, 20; Luke 20:35.

“The work of the investigative judgment and the blotting out of sins is to be accomplished before the second advent of the Lord. Since the dead are to be judged out of the things written in the books, it is impossible that the sins of men should be blotted out until after the judgment at which their cases are to be investigated. But the apostle Peter distinctly states that the sins of believers will be blotted out ‘when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and He shall send Jesus Christ’ (Acts 3:19, 20).”—The Great Controversy, p. 485.

c. At Christ’s return, would the righteous dead be called forth in the resurrection of life if they had not previously been accepted in the judgment? John 5:28, 29; 1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:l4–l6.


Monday November 14

2. THE TIMING OF KEY EVENTS

a. When will the living saints be “accounted worthy to escape” all the end-time snares and calamities—at Christ’s coming or before? Luke 21:36.

“When the work of investigation shall be ended, when the cases of those who in all ages have professed to be followers of Christ have been examined and decided, then, and not till then, probation will close, and the door of mercy will be shut. Thus in the one short sentence, ‘They that were ready went in with Him to the marriage: and the door was shut’ (Matthew 25:10). we are carried down through the Saviour’s final ministration, to the time when the great work for man’s salvation shall be completed.”—The Great Controversy, p. 428.

b. What will Christ bring with Him when He comes? Isaiah 62:11; Revelation 22:12. When will He receive the kingdom—before the judgment or at the end of the judgment, when His work of mediation comes to a close? Daniel 7:9, 10, 13, 14, 18.

“[Those who follow] Christ by faith as He enters in before God to perform the last work of mediation, and at its close to receive His kingdom—all these are represented as going in to the marriage.”—Ibid.

c. After the symbolic “wedding” (Luke 12:36)—after receiving the kingdom (Luke 19:12; Revelation 11:15)—Christ will come. Matthew 25:31, 34. When will the “wedding guests” stand before the Judge to be examined—after or before the symbolic “marriage”? Matthew 22:10–14.

“In the parable of Matthew 22 the same figure of the marriage is introduced, and the investigative judgment is clearly represented as taking place before the marriage. Previous to the wedding the king comes in to see the guests, to see if all are attired in the wedding garment, the spotless robe of character washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb (Matthew 22:11; Revelation 7:14). He who is found wanting is cast out, but all who upon examination are seen to have the wedding garment on are accepted of God and accounted worthy of a share in His kingdom and a seat upon His throne. This work of examination of character, of determining who are prepared for the kingdom of God, is that of the investigative judgment, the closing work in the sanctuary above.”—Ibid.


Tuesday November 15

3. THE RIGHT TIME FOR THE JUDGMENT MESSAGE

a. Since God has appointed a time to “judge the world in righteousness” (Acts 17:31), what message did He promise to send to every nation, and people, and tongue when that time should arrive? Revelation 14:6, 7.

“This message [of the first angel of Revelation 14] is a part of the gospel which could be proclaimed only in the last days, for only then would it be true that the hour of judgment had come.”—The Great Controversy, p. 356. [Author’s italics.]

b. Does this solemn message place the investigative judgment after or before the coming of Christ? Revelation 14:7–14.

“The coming of Christ as our high priest to the most holy place, for the cleansing of the sanctuary, brought to view in Daniel 8:14; the coming of the Son of man to the Ancient of Days, as presented in Daniel 7:13; and the coming of the Lord to His temple, foretold by Malachi, are descriptions of the same event; and this is also represented by the coming of the bridegroom to the marriage, described by Christ in the parable of the ten virgins, of Matthew 25.”—Ibid., p. 426.

c. Whose cause does our Advocate (1 John 2:1, 2) plead, and whose cause does He not plead before the judgment seat of God? Matthew 10:32, 33.

“The intercession of Christ in man’s behalf in the sanctuary above is as essential to the plan of salvation as was His death upon the cross. By His death He began that work which after His resurrection He ascended to complete in heaven. We must by faith enter within the veil, ‘whither the forerunner is for us entered’ (Hebrews 6:20). There the light from the cross of Calvary is reflected. There we may gain a clearer insight into the mysteries of redemption.”—Ibid., p. 489.

d. What will happen after the symbolic “wedding”? Luke 12:36, 37, 40.


Wednesday November 16

4. OUR MOST URGENT NEED

a. What is our most urgent need while the investigative judgment is going on? Isaiah 55:6, 7; 1 John 1:9.

“If those who hide and excuse their faults could see how Satan exults over them, how he taunts Christ and holy angels with their course, they would make haste to confess their sins and to put them away.”—The Great Controversy, p. 489.

b. While Christ is pleading for us before the judgment seat, what does He expect from us? Mark 13:35–37; Hebrews 3:13, 14.

“We are now living in the great day of atonement. In the typical service, while the high priest was making the atonement for Israel, all were required to afflict their souls by repentance of sin and humiliation before the Lord, lest they be cut off from among the people. In like manner, all who would have their names retained in the book of life should now, in the few remaining days of their probation, afflict their souls before God by sorrow for sin and true repentance.”—Ibid., pp. 489, 490.

“Christ came that He might open to the comprehension of men and women the principles that underlie the great plan of redemption, that they might be led to cooperate with Him in His work of sacrifice for the salvation of mankind. But the want of fervor, the lack of self-denial, on the part of many who bear Christ’s name, hinder the doing of the very work for which His church on earth was organized. The selfishness and indifference manifested by professing Christians soothes the consciences of many who would be aroused from their unbelief, had they before them in the lives of professing Christians, a living witness to the power of the gospel to transform the character.”—The Review and Herald, September 28, 1911.

“Because we know not the exact time of His coming, we are commanded to watch. ‘Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord when He cometh shall find watching’ (Luke 12:37). Those who watch for the Lord’s coming are not waiting in idle expectancy. The expectation of Christ’s coming is to make men fear the Lord, and fear His judgments upon transgression. It is to awaken them to the great sin of rejecting His offers of mercy. Those who are watching for the Lord are purifying their souls by obedience to the truth.”—The Desire of Ages, p. 634.


Thursday November 17

5. THOUGHTS FOR US TO PONDER

a. What illustrates the way some will pass the test of the investigative judgment and others will not? Luke 17:34–36.

“The righteous and the wicked will still be living upon the earth in their mortal state—men will be planting and building, eating and drinking, all unconscious that the final, irrevocable decision has been pronounced in the sanctuary above.”—The Great Controversy, p. 491.

b. How can we have hope in the day of judgment? Psalm 130:3–8.

“He who is to be our judge knows our works. He understands every temptation and trial, and I am glad of it. He knows the circumstances that surround every soul. He knows our weaknesses and is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. ‘If any man sin,’ says John, ‘we have an advocate with the Father! Jesus Christ the righteous’ (1 John 2:1). Oh, how precious is the name of Jesus, and how precious every name that He confesses before the Father! When our gracious Redeemer says of the poor penitent, ‘He is mine; I have graven his name on the palms of My hands,’ the answer comes, ‘I will not blot his name from the book of life, but his sins shall be remembered against him no more.’ ”—The Signs of the Times, August 6, 1885.


Friday November 18

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1. Explain why Acts 3:19, 20 proves that the investigative judgment must be accomplished before the second coming of Christ.

2. If the living righteous are “accounted worthy to escape” the end-time “snares” to come upon the world, when must they be judged to be “accounted worthy” (Luke 21:36)—at Christ’s return or before it?

3. Why is it evident, also from Matthew 22:10–14, that the investigative judgment must take place before the return of Jesus in glory?

4. When does the first angel of Revelation 14 announce “the hour of His judgment is come”—at Christ’s coming or before it? Read Revelation l4:6, 7, 15, 16.

5. What is our most urgent need in preparing to face the investigative judgment?

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