The Investigative Judgment or Pre-Advent Judgement.

[Asia Joe]

Yes I believe they are literal. 

Then the angel ^[d]took the ^[e]censer and filled it with the fire of the altar, and hurled it to the earth; and there were peals of thunder and sounds, and flashes of lightning and an earthquake. Nasb

Quote

Does what you sense they are, agree with what we as Adventist think they are? 

I don't know. I have never heard a clear simple explanation to this. 

9 hours ago, Challenger said:

Too, do you understand why the service at the altar of incense will end before the trumpets begin?

I have always believed that this signals the close of probation. 

[Challenger]

On 4/25/2026 at 6:06 AM, Joe Knapp said:

don't know. I have never heard a clear simple explanation to this. 

On 4/24/2026 at 9:05 PM, Challenger said:

Joe, I'm thinking you are an Adventist, and if so I always refer to our SDA Bible Commentaries on any text to understand what our corporate interpretation is. However, I don't agree with everything stated in them. But nonetheless one will know what we as a church teach. I would suggest that you to find out what we as a Church teach on the trumpets

 

On 4/25/2026 at 6:06 AM, Joe Knapp said:

I have always believed that this signals the close of probation. 

Well you are right in a sense. To better understand the heavenly event of Rev. 8: 2-5, one must understand what the earthly sanctuary services at the Altar of Incense (AOI) was foreshadowing. One should note that this altar was within the sanctuary itself in the Holy place, and it was overladen with gold, whereas the altar of burnt offerings was in the courtyard and it was overladen with bronze. Too, only the priest offered up offerings of year old lambs morning and evenings. This was called the Continual or the Daily. At the brazen altar in the courtyard individuals offered up the individual offerings that could be a lamb, doves, or grain. 

Why two altars? Because Christ atones for mankind on two levels. The first and most import is His atonement for mankind corporately. Which is why the (AOI) is within the Holy Place, and is overladen with gold, being more precious than bronze. The Continual, or Daily, aloud the nation of Israel to live in the presence of a Holy God, and not be consumed because of their sinful nature. This period of grace allowed individuals time for the Holy Spirit to convict them of their personal sins and offer up their proper offering at the brazen altar in the courtyard. 

Christ has been interceding for mankind since the fall of Adam. Gen 2:17, informs us that Adam and Eve should have died the very day they sinned.  They didn't because Jesus stepped in and agreed to to be the Fathers sacrificial lamb, and the plan of salvation was set in motion that very day. While Christ is intercedes the Fathers wrath is stayed from destroy this sinful world, giving individuals time to come to Christ and excepting His salvation. 

However, the Father has predetermined a point in time when probation must end, and His eternal Kingdom set up. When we reach that point in time then the service at the golden altar of incense in Rev. 8: 2-5 will take place in heaven, ending corporate probation, and God's wrath will begin by means of the trumpet judgments. However, probation remains open during the seven trumpet judgments for individuals, as the three angles messages are heard around the world. 

Pray this will begin to make sense.

 

 

[hobie]

On 3/27/2026 at 5:46 AM, Joe Knapp said:

Okay, this is all what the church has been teaching for over a hundred years. 

But the point I bring up, is that we are at the end of the investigative judgment, where the living are now being judged. 

I would have to lean towards that, and going about and am telling everyone we are near...

[hobie]

On 4/15/2026 at 3:16 PM, Challenger said:

Hanseng. Just finished reading your above post. Empressive. Have read many other post of yours on different threads. You obviously know much about tPhe origin of our teachings. I would like to know how it is you have come into such knowledge?  Are you a church historian?

Funny you should say that, my background is history but I went into technology and thus, here I am.

[hobie]

More on the Investigative Judgment. We have seen the saints will be judged first, before the Second Coming as 1 Peter 4:17 tells us, and then after the wicked. Here is SOP on this which is clear, “So in the great day of final atonement and investigative judgment the only cases considered are those of the professed people of God. The judgment of the wicked is a distinct and separate work, and takes place at a later period.” (The Great Controversy, 480) 

If you look, you will find when the wicked come before Christ, its at the Great white throne Judgement and guess who will come in as the jury? 
Revelation 20:4
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

We are the jury, so we do judge guilty or innocent so to speak. 
1 Corinthians 6:2-3
2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?

Before Christ’s second coming, God examines the lives of those who lay claim to be His people, “the house of God” or saints to determine who will be resurrected at the Second Coming and who will not, and thus the sheep are seperated from the goats. Satan is the accuser, but Jesus is the advocate and judge for the saints. But now comes the wicked’s tutn to face Christ before the judgement seat, and we find it in Revelation 20:11-15. 

Revelation 20:11-15
11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
 

[Hanseng]

As I understand it, the transfer of sin from the sinner to the sanctuary is what necessitates the cleansing of the sanctuary. Some might say it is the transfer of guilt that defiles the sanctuary.  Whether it is guilt or sin or both, the only time  the transfer of sin is clearly dscribed is on the Day of Atonement, described in Leviticus 16.

21  “Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send [it] away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man.
22  “The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.

There are other times when the priests lay their hands upon the sacrifice. None of them mention the transfer of sin. As far as I know, Leviticus 16:21,22  the only passage that explicitly refers to the transfer of sin from one to another. It takes place through confession, not the shedding of blood.

Numerous times the priests put their hands upon a sacrifice before killing it. Should we understand that  sin is being transferred to the sacrifice in every instance?

Ex 29:10  “You shall also have the bull brought before the tabernacle of meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the bull.
Ex 29:15  “You shall also take one ram, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the ram;
Ex 29:19  “You shall also take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the ram.
Le 4:15  ‘And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands on the head of the bull before the LORD. Then the bull shall be killed before the LORD.
Le 8:14 ¶  And he brought the bull for the sin offering. Then Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull for the sin offering,
Le 8:18  Then he brought the ram as the burnt offering. And Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram,
Le 8:22  And he brought the second ram, the ram of consecration. Then Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram,

[hobie]

On 6/12/2026 at 8:45 AM, Hanseng said:

As I understand it, the transfer of sin from the sinner to the sanctuary is what necessitates the cleansing of the sanctuary. Some might say it is the transfer of guilt that defiles the sanctuary.  Whether it is guilt or sin or both, the only time  the transfer of sin is clearly dscribed is on the Day of Atonement, described in Leviticus 16.

21  “Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send [it] away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man.
22  “The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.

There are other times when the priests lay their hands upon the sacrifice. None of them mention the transfer of sin. As far as I know, Leviticus 16:21,22  the only passage that explicitly refers to the transfer of sin from one to another. It takes place through confession, not the shedding of blood.

Numerous times the priests put their hands upon a sacrifice before killing it. Should we understand that  sin is being transferred to the sacrifice in every instance?

Ex 29:10  “You shall also have the bull brought before the tabernacle of meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the bull.
Ex 29:15  “You shall also take one ram, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the ram;
Ex 29:19  “You shall also take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the ram.
Le 4:15  ‘And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands on the head of the bull before the LORD. Then the bull shall be killed before the LORD.
Le 8:14 ¶  And he brought the bull for the sin offering. Then Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull for the sin offering,
Le 8:18  Then he brought the ram as the burnt offering. And Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram,
Le 8:22  And he brought the second ram, the ram of consecration. Then Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram,

If the sin was not transferred from the sinner, he would remain with it and have to pay the wages for it.

[Hanseng]

Roy Gane published an article in the JATS on OT ordination practices. The article discusses the placing of hand  upon sacrificial animals and individuals.

Prior to the death of Moses,  God had charged Moses with placing some of his honor upon Joshua. He did so by placing his hands upon him.

18  And the LORD said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom [is] the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him;
19  And set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation; and give him a charge in their sight.
20  And thou shalt put [some] of thine honour upon him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient.
21  And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask [counsel] for him after the judgment of Urim before the LORD: at his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in, [both] he, and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation.
22  And Moses did as the LORD commanded him: and he took Joshua, and set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation:18  And the LORD said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom [is] the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him;
https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/jats/vol33/iss1/10

[Hanseng]

6 minutes ago, hobie said:

If the sin was not transferred from the sinner, he would remain with it and have to pay the wages for it.

So you agree that sin was transferred by confession and the laying of hands upon the sacrifice?

[hobie]

On 3/27/2026 at 5:46 AM, Asia Joe said:

Okay, this is all what the church has been teaching for over a hundred years. 

But the point I bring up, is that we are at the end of the investigative judgment, where the living are now being judged. 

The Bible tells us...

2 Corinthians 1:21-22

21 Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; 22 Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

Once you are sealed, the adversary cannot temp or lead you into sin. see what it says in Revelation 7.

3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.

4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.

[hobie]

On 6/13/2026 at 9:12 AM, Hanseng said:

So you agree that sin was transferred by confession and the laying of hands upon the sacrifice?

But then the lamb had to be sacrificed, the shedding of blood to pay for wages the sin.

 

Matthew 26:28

For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

[Hanseng]

12 minutes ago, hobie said:

But then the lamb had to be sacrificed, the shedding of blood to pay for wages the sin.

 

Yes. The sin was transferred through the laying on of hands and confession, not by the blood. The blood cleansed/ atoned for sin. It did not transfer it. Almost all things are cleansed by blood.

That's one way of looking at it.

[Hanseng]

"The ministration of the earthly sanctuary consisted of two divisions;
the priests ministered daily in the holy place, while once a
year the high priest performed a special work of atonement in the
most holy, for the cleansing of the sanctuary. Day by day the repentant
sinner brought his offering to the door of the tabernacle and,
placing his hand upon the victim’s head, confessed his sins, thus
in figure transferring them from himself to the innocent sacrifice.
The animal was then slain. “Without shedding of blood,” says the
apostle, there is no remission of sin. “The life of the flesh is in
the blood.” Leviticus 17:11. The broken law of God demanded the
life of the transgressor. The blood, representing the forfeited life
of the sinner, whose guilt the victim bore, was carried by the priest
into the holy place and sprinkled before the veil, behind which was
the ark containing the law that the sinner had transgressed. By this
ceremony the sin was, through the blood, transferred in figure to the
sanctuary. In some cases the blood was not taken into the holy place;
but the flesh was then to be eaten by the priest, as Moses directed
the sons of Aaron, saying: “God hath given it you to bear the iniquity
of the congregation.” Leviticus 10:17. Both ceremonies alike
symbolized the transfer of the sin from the penitent to the sanctuary" (GC 356, 357).

The following sentence is the one which some  people question or outright disagree:  "By this
ceremony the sin was, through the blood, transferred in figure to the sanctuary."

 

 

 

 

 

[Asia Joe]

On 7/20/2026 at 7:14 PM, hobie said:

The Bible tells us...

2 Corinthians 1:21-22

21 Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; 22 Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

Once you are sealed, the adversary cannot temp or lead you into sin. see what it says in Revelation 7.

Well, I must not be sealed then.  Because I am still temped. And I still sin. 

[Hanseng]

On 7/21/2026 at 6:04 PM, Hanseng said:

God hath given it you to bear the iniquity
of the congregation.” Leviticus

The high priest bore sin or carried it away:  "And it shall be upon Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD." KJV, Lev. 28:38

"It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall take on himself any guilt incurred in the holy offering that the Israelites consecrate as their sacred donations; it shall always be on his forehead, in order that they may find favor before the LORD." NRSV, Lev 28:38

This is apparently a reference to the DoA service.  The context refers to the  "holy place," not the "holy of holies." Sometimes, the "holy place" refers to what we usually call the "most holy place."  In this passage, the expression, "tabernacle of the congregation" refers to the first apartment. So instead of the "holy" and "most holy place," we have the "holy place" and the "tabernacle of the congregation." Same is said in Leviticus 16:16, 17, 20, 23. The "holy place" and the "tabernacle of the congregation" are mentioned. 

Leviticus 16:2 describes the "most holy place" as "the holy place within the veil before the mercy seat." Verse 3 says simply "the holy place."

[Hanseng]

On 7/22/2026 at 2:09 AM, Asia Joe said:

Once you are sealed, the adversary cannot temp or lead you into sin. see what it says in Revelation 7.

Totally erroneous statement.

[Hanseng]

The expression "within the veil" is used in the following OT passages:

Ex 26:33  And thou shalt put the veil on the posts, and thou shalt carry in thither *within the veil* the ark of the testimony; and the veil shall make a separation for you between the holy and the holy of holies.
Le 16:2  And the Lord said to Moses, Speak to Aaron thy brother, and let him not come in at all times into the holy place *within the veil* before the propitiatory, which is upon the ark of the testimony, and he shall not die; for I will appear in a cloud on the propitiatory.
Le 16:12  And he shall take his censer full of coals of fire off the altar, which is before the Lord; and he shall fill his hands with fine compound incense, and shall bring it *within the veil.*
Le 16:15 ¶  and he shall kill the goat for the sin-offering that is for the people, before the Lord; and he shall bring in of its blood *within the veil,* and shall do with its blood as he did with the blood of the calf, and shall sprinkle its blood on the mercy-seat, in front of the mercy-seat.

It is also used here: Heb 6:19  Which [hope] we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that *within the veil;*

The following verse says:  

20  Whither the forerunner is for us entered, [even] Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

Hebrews 6:19,20 plainly state that Jesus entered into the Most Holy Place when he ascended. That is where *within the veil* is located.

       

[Hanseng]

Further testimony that Jesus went into the MHP at his ascension is found in Hebrews 9. Chapter 9 refers to the "tabernacle": 2  For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein [was] the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary.

The first tabernacle was called the sanctuary. That's the HP

"3  And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all; "

Chapter 9 describes the first tabernacle as the sanctuary. After the second veil, there was the holiest of all [MHP] There is no HP and MHP here. There is the first tabernacle, also known as the sanctuary and the holiest of all.

Verses 6 and 7 say that the priests went into the first tabernacle [HP]to accomplish the service of God. Into the "second" [MHP] went the high priest once a year.

Verse 7 says the high priest entered the "second"[MHP] once every year. Verse 12 says Jesus entered once. Not once very year. Just once. Verses 25, 26 reiterate this point:

25  Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;
26  For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

       

[Hanseng]

Suppose Jesus went directly into the MHP upon his ascension. That is what Hebrews chapters 6 and 9 say. It doesn't mean that 1844 was a hoax, a delusion, a falsehood. It doesn't mean nothing happened in 1844. What it does mean is that Jesus wasn't in the first apartment until 1844. It does not invalidate the 2300 day prophecy. It does not mean Ellen White was not the Lord's messenger. It does mean what she said, "I am not a prophet. She could have been wrong. The IJ doctrine wasn't original with her. The IJ doctrine had been circulating in the denomination for decades before she wrote about it in the Great Controversy book. Suppose that the cleansing of the sanctuary in Daniel 8:14 is talking about a last day church preaching the final message to the people of the earth.  The word, there translated as "cleansed," really means "justified." It is used in Daniel 12:3. Young's Literal Translation says  "Those justifying the multitude...." The word normally  refers to the justification of people.  The temple was cleansed multiple times in the OT. Never was the word translated in Daniel 8:14 as "cleansed" used. 

[Hanseng]

1. Hebrews chapter 10 continues the narrative of chapter 9. It begins by referring to sacrifices made "year by year," an obvious reference to the Day of Atonement service. Chapter 9:25 also refers to the "year by year" service. The Day of Atonement was an annual event. It happened year by year. Chapter 10:3 again refers to sacrifices made "year by year." The problem with the OT service was that the worshippers could not have their conscience permanently cleansed. They were reminded of their sin every year on the Day of Atonement.  Verses 11-14 contrast the daily service of the OT with the sacrifice of Christ. The sacrifice of Christ took away sins forever.  Verse 14 says the sacrifice of Christ perfected us forever. To be perfected forever is to have our sins taken away. We are not going to ever again face our sin. The Jews were reminded of their sin every year on the day of Atonement. Not so with us. Our sin has been removed forever.

[hobie]

On 3/27/2026 at 9:40 PM, Hanseng said:

by Glenn Hansen  |  1 September 2022  |

When most Seventh-day Adventists think of the investigative judgment, they think of Hiram Edson’s iconic insight in a cornfield after the night of the Great Disappointment. But Edson’s vision of Christ entering the inner sanctuary of the heavenly tabernacle didn’t mention the investigative judgment. Edson, along with O.R.L. Crosier and Dr. Franklin B. Hahn, developed the teaching that Jesus had entered the Most Holy Place, which was then published in an article by Crosier in a Millerite publication called The Day Star.1 There is no mention of the investigative judgment in that article or in Edson’s account of the cornfield experience. Edson saw that Jesus had “a work to perform in the Most Holy Place,” but he wasn’t sure what it was.2

As early as 1841, Josiah Litch had advanced the notion that judgment could happen before Christ’s second advent. Citing Hebrews 9:27, Acts 10:42, and 2 Timothy 4:1, Litch wrote: “Nor is there a text which presents the judicial scene of judgment after the resurrection. On the contrary, the Scriptures can be harmonized on no other principle than that every man’s doom is fixed before his resurrection.”3

Elon Everts

The development of these ideas into what came to be called the investigative judgment begins with Elon Everts. Ordained to the gospel ministry during the fall of 1853 in New Haven, Vermont, his name was a familiar one in the Review, with several letters describing his evangelistic labors in Vermont. Everts eventually migrated to Round Grove, Illinois, where he continued his evangelistic work, including time with J.N. Loughborough, and died in February of 1858 at age 51.4

James and Ellen White first discussed Christ’s Most Holy Place ministry with Everts during a wagon ride in Illinois in 1856.5 Everts was quite certain Jesus was in the heavenly sanctuary, but he was unsure about what he had been doing there for more than a decade.

Everts began to flesh out his ideas in a “communication” published in the Jan. 1, 1857, issue of the Advent Review and Sabbath Herald. He worked from 1 Peter 4:5-6: “Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead. For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.”

Since the Scripture speaks of a judgment of both the living and the dead, Everts reasoned that Jesus had been judging the dead of the ages since 1844, offering this text as evidence that judgment must take place before Christ’s return during the final generation of life on Earth. Here Everts first floated the phrase “investigative judgment” to attempt to explain what Jesus was doing—the first time it appeared in an Adventist publication.6 He followed this with another article on the investigative judgment, dated June 4, 1854, but not printed in the Review until June 11, 1857.

Leaders Weigh In

The first full article addressing the investigative judgment came from James White, who picked up the themes of Everts’ “communication” just a month later, in the January 29, 1857, Review, with an article titled “The Judgment.”

James White’s argument was based on his understanding of the blotting out of sin, the record of sin in heaven, and the “lot” of Daniel 12:13: “For thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.” He listed more than 70 Old Testament passages from The Englishman’s Hebrew Concordance, some of which indicated that “lot” referred to the position of the judged. Daniel in his lot was a reference to his already having been judged. James White followed Everts in the idea that Scripture taught that there would be a judgment of both the living and the dead, based on 1 Peter 4:5-6, and that this judgment had started with the righteous dead in 1844.7

A pamphlet printed in Battle Creek in 1872 refers to the investigative judgment as Principle XVIII:

That the time of the cleansing of the sanctuary (see proposition X), synchronizing with the time of the proclamation of the third message, is a time of investigative judgment, first with reference to the dead, and at the close of probation with reference to the living, to determine who of the myriads now sleeping in the dust of the earth are worthy of a part in the first resurrection, and who of its living multitudes are worthy of translation—points which must be determined before the Lord appears.8

Uriah Smith wrote at length about the investigative judgment in his 1877 work The Sanctuary and the 2300 Days, which saw in Daniel 7:9-10 the basis for the investigative judgment: “Thus the cleansing of the sanctuary involves the examination of the records of all the deeds of our lives. It is an investigative Judgment. Every individual of every generation from the beginning of the world thus passes in review before the great tribunal above. So Daniel, describing the opening of this scene, calls it a work of judgment, and expressly notices the fact that the books were opened.”9

In a sweeping statement, Smith joined several biblical motifs: “We have already seen that the cleansing of the sanctuary, the investigative Judgment of the saints, the blotting out, or remission, of sin, and the finishing of the mystery of God, are all one and the same thing. We now make the additional statement that this is also the atonement.”10

The Biblical Institute, an 1878 synopsis of Adventist doctrines by Uriah Smith and James White, also linked the cleansing of the sanctuary with the investigative judgment and the finishing of the mystery of God.11 On page 84 of the same work, they stated that the investigative judgment takes place as the sanctuary is cleansed.12

Prior to his death in 1883, J.N. Andrews wrote The Sanctuary of the Bible. He mentions the investigative judgment twice, saying it is identical with the cleansing of the sanctuary: “The nature of that work we will now briefly indicate. The work of the Judgment is divided into two parts. The first part is the investigative judgment, which takes place in the heavenly sanctuary, God the Father sitting in judgment. The second part is the execution of the judgment, and is committed wholly to Christ, who comes to our earth to accomplish this work. John 5:22-27; Jude 14, 15. It is while the investigative judgment is in session that the cleansing of the sanctuary takes place. Or, to speak more accurately, the cleansing of the sanctuary is identical with the work of the investigative judgment.”13

His posthumously published The Judgment: Its Events and Their Order includes an entire chapter on the investigative judgment.14

Ellen White Speaks Up

Because Ellen White’s The Great Controversy is the most widely read source of religious history among Adventists, it may be easy for us to assume that the investigative judgment teaching started with her. Yet we’ve shown that several Adventist scholars had already written upon the topic for 30 years before she took it up. Her first address of the investigative judgment isn’t until 1884, in chapter 23 of The Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. 4. While her husband had found evidence for an investigative judgment in Daniel 12:13 and the judgment of the living and the dead referred to in 1 Peter 4:5-6, Ellen White mentions neither, relying instead (as did Uriah Smith) on Daniel 7 (which James hadn’t mentioned) and arguing that verses 9 through 10 and 13 through 14 portray the opening of the investigative judgment in heaven.

Ellen White expanded her investigative judgment teaching in the 1888 edition of The Great Controversy, introducing a unique array of passages to support and illustrate it: “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.”15 She also appealed to Matthew 22:11 to support her investigative judgment teaching.16

Other early treatments of the investigative judgment include Uriah Smith’s influential Daniel and the Revelation (1897) and S.N. Haskell’s The Story of Daniel the Prophet (1901), The Story of the Seer of Patmos (1905), and The Cross and Its Shadow (1914).

Ellen White’s 1911 edition of The Great Controversy remains the primary source for the investigative judgment teaching, but she was largely silent on the subject of the investigative judgment until 1884, long after it had been studied and written on by Elon Everts, James White, J.N. Andrews, and Uriah Smith, who were the principal proponents of the teaching. While Ellen White later enhanced and gave credibility to the teaching, she did not originate it.

---

1 O.R.L. Crosier, “The Law of Moses,” Day Star Extra, Vol. 9, Feb. 7, 1846, pp. 37-43.
2 Handwritten Hiram Edson Manuscript, Document File 588 (Silver Spring, MD: Ellen G. White Estate, circa 1866-1873).
3 Josiah Litch, “An Address to the Public and Especially the Clergy” (Boston: Joshua V. Himes, 1841), pp. 38-39.
4 James White, “Eastern Tour,” Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Vol. 4, No. 19, Nov. 15, 1853; John Lindsey, “Obituary,” Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Vol. 11. No. 17, Mar. 11, 1858; J.N. Loughborough, Elon Everts, and J. Hart, “Tent Meeting in Green Vale,” Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Vol. 10, No. 13, July 30, 1857.
5 Arthur L. White, Ellen G. White: The Early Years, 1827-1862, Vol. 1 (Takoma Park, MD: Review and Herald, 2002), pp. 353-354.
6 Elon Everts, “Communication From Bro. Everts,” Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Vol. 9, No. 9, Jan. 1, 1857, p. 72.
7 James White, “The Judgment,” Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Vol. 9, No. 13, Jan. 29, 1857, p. 100.
8 “A Declaration of the Fundamental Principles Taught and Practiced by Seventh-day Adventists” (Battle Creek, MI: Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association, 1872).
9 Uriah Smith, The Sanctuary and the Twenty-Three Hundred Days of Daniel 8:14 (Battle Creek, MI: Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association, 1877), p. 276.
10 ibid. p. 275.
11 Uriah Smith and James White, “The Biblical Institute: A Synopsis of Lectures on the Principal Doctrines of Seventh-day Adventists” (Oakland, CA: Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing House, 1878), p. 72.
12 ibid., p. 84.
13 J.N. Andrews, “The Sanctuary of the Bible,” Bible Tracts No. 5 (Battle Creek, MI: Review and Herald, 186-?), p. 14.
14 Andrews, The Judgment: Its Events and Their Order (Oakland, CA: Pacific Press, 1890), Ch. 1.
15 Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press, 1888), p. 426.
16 ibid., p. 427.

 

I came across this article that EGW wrote, and it struck me that this was about the Investigate Judgement, how some would refuse to accept it and get stuck in their rejection and refuse to go forward with the light being shown by Christ....

"...In February, 1845, I had a vision of events commencing with the Midnight Cry. I saw a throne and on it sat the Father and the Son. I gazed on Jesus' countenance and admired his lovely person. The Father's person I could not behold, for a cloud of glorious light covered him. I asked Jesus if his Father had a form like himself. He said he had, but I could not behold it, for said he if you should once behold the glory of his person you would cease to exist. Before the throne I saw the Advent people, the church, and the world. I saw a company, bowed down before the throne, deeply interested, while the most of them stood up disinterested and careless. Those who were bowed before the throne would offer up their prayers and look to Jesus; then he would look to his Father, and appeared to be pleading with Him. A light would come from the Father to the Son, and from the Son to the praying company. Then I saw an exceeding bright light come from the Father to the Son, and from the Son it waved over the people before the throne. But few would receive this great light; many came out from under it and immediately resisted it; others were careless and did not cherish the light, and it moved off from them; some cherished it, and went and bowed down with the little praying company. This company all received the light, and rejoiced in it, as their countenances shone with its glory.

And I saw the Father rise from the throne, and in a flaming Chariot go into the Holy of Holies, within the veil, and did sit. There I saw thrones that I had never seen before. Then Jesus rose up from the throne, and the most of those who were bowed down arose with Him; and I did not see one ray of light pass from Jesus to the careless multitude after he arose, and they were left in perfect darkness. Those who rose up when Jesus did, kept their eyes fixed on Him as He left the throne and led them out a little way. Then He raised His right arm and we heard his lovely voice saying, "Wait here--I am going to my Father to receive the Kingdom; keep your garments spotless, and in a little while I will return from the wedding and receive you to myself."

And I saw a cloudy chariot, with wheels like flaming fire, and Angels were all around it as it came where Jesus was. He stepped into the chariot and was borne to the Holiest where the Father sat.

(Here we most definitely see the Investigative Judgement being described)There I beheld Jesus, as He was standing before the Father, a great High Priest. On the hem of His garment was a bell and pomegranate. Then Jesus shew me the difference between faith and feeling. And I saw those who rose up with Jesus send up their faith to Him in the Holiest, and pray--my Father give us thy Spirit. Then Jesus would breathe upon them the Holy Ghost. In the breath was light, power, and much love, joy and peace.

(Here are those who aren't connect or don't believe in and ultimate reject the Investigative Judgement) Then I turned to look at the company who were still bowed before the throne; they did not know that Jesus had left it.— Satan appeared to be by the throne, trying to carry on the work of God; I saw them look up to the throne and pray, my Father give us thy Spirit; then Satan would breathe upon them an unholy influence; in it there was light and much power, but no sweet love, joy and peace. Satan's object was to keep them deceived, and to draw back and deceive God's children...""Early Writings," pp. 55, 56; ed. 1907

[hobie]

The passage is explained in Early Writings, pp. 242 to 261. Ellen White is talking about those who reject the truth that they are given. They were left in spiritual darkness. I think this points indirectly to the truth of the Investigative Judgement in the passage above as part of truth given to us. This is also in the Great Controversy...

GC 430, 431---

"It is those who by faith follow Jesus in the great work of the atonement who receive the benefits of His mediation in their behalf, while those who reject the light which brings to view this work of ministration are not benefited thereby. The Jews who rejected the light given at Christ's first advent, and refused to believe on Him as the Saviour of the world, could not receive pardon through Him. When Jesus at His ascension entered by His own blood into the heavenly sanctuary to shed upon His disciples the blessings of His mediation, the Jews were left in total darkness to continue their useless sacrifices and offerings. The ministration of types and shadows had ceased. That door by which men had formerly found access to God was no longer open. The Jews had refused to seek Him in the only way whereby He could then be found, through the ministration in the sanctuary in heaven. Therefore they found no communion with God. To them the door was shut. They had no knowledge of Christ as the true sacrifice and the only mediator before God; hence they could not receive the benefits of His mediation.

The condition of the unbelieving Jews illustrates the condition of the careless and unbelieving among professed Christians, who are willingly ignorant of the work of our merciful High Priest. In the typical service, when the high priest entered the most holy place, all Israel were required to gather about the sanctuary and in the most solemn manner humble their souls before God, that they might receive the pardon of their sins and not be cut off from the congregation. How much more essential in this antitypical Day of Atonement that we understand the work of our High Priest and know what duties are required of us.

Men cannot with impunity reject the warning which God in mercy sends them. A message was sent from heaven to the world in Noah's day, and their salvation depended upon the manner in which they treated that message. Because they rejected the warning, the Spirit of God was withdrawn from the sinful race, and they perished in the waters of the Flood. In the time of Abraham, mercy ceased to plead with the guilty inhabitants of Sodom, and all but Lot with his wife and two daughters were consumed by the fire sent down from heaven. So in the days of Christ. The Son of God declared to the unbelieving Jews of that generation: "Your house is left unto you desolate." Matthew 23:38. Looking down to the last days, the same Infinite Power declares, concerning those who "received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved": "For this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12. As they reject the teachings of His word, God withdraws His Spirit and leaves them to the deceptions which they love...."