THE INVESTIGATIVE JUDGMENT by Dudley Marvin Canright

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · May 18, 1869

THE INVESTIGATIVE JUDGMENT.

By Dudley Marvin Canright

That the Judgment is past before the Lord comes, that every man's case is decided either for life or death, and that no judgment in the sense of determining character, takes place at the coming of Jesus to the earth, is clearly shown by several facts:

1. The wicked are destroyed by the brightness of Christ's coming. “And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” 2 Thess. ii, 8. The Lord does not come and judge them, and then destroy them, but they are destroyed by the brightness of his coming. So we read again, chap. i, 7, 8: “And to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This leaves no place for a Judgment after his coming. In perfect harmony with this we are told that all the tribes of the earth will mourn when they see the Lord coming in the clouds of heaven, Matt. xxiv, 30; and that the wicked will call for rocks and mountains to cover them. Rev. vi, 16.

2. But the righteous at the same time are caught up to meet the Lord in the air. “For the Lord himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thess. iv, 16, 17. When the trumpet sounds the dead are raised, the living changed in a moment, and all are caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Here again there is no place for a judgment after his coming. The fact that the saints are caught up to meet the Lord at his coming, and that the living wicked are consumed at the same time, shows that it has been previously ascertained and decided who are saints, and who are sinners. But this is the work of the Judgment; therefore the investigative Judgment must precede the coming of the Lord.

3. The righteous are raised with incorruptible and spiritual bodies. Says Paul: “Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” 1 Cor. xv, 51, 52. Again: “So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: it is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: it is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.” Verses 42–44. This is too plain to be misunderstood. The righteous will come out of their graves all glorious and ready for the kingdom. But how will it be with the wicked? They will never have immortal bodies; hence they will come up as they went down, with mortal bodies. Hence, before God raises either of them from the dead, every man's case has been investigated and decided either for immortality, or for death. The fact that God raises one mortal and the other immortal, shows that there has been a judgment on their cases before they were raised. Then why judge them after that? Is there danger that there has been a mistake made, and one raised immortal who ought not to have been?

4. There are a thousand years between the resurrection of the saints and that of the wicked. This is distinctly stated in Rev. xx. Of the righteous it says; “They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection.” Verses 4–6. This, again, shows the same idea, viz., that the Judgment sits before any are raised from the dead, in order that it may be ascertained whom to raise in the first resurrection, and whom to leave for the second.

5. The order of events given in Rev. xiv, shows that the Judgment sits before the coming of Christ. Three messages are there given, verses 6–12, and then the Son of Man comes to reap the harvest of the world, verses 14–16. The first message announces the fact to all nations that the hour of God's Judgment has come, verse 7. He states a fact. He does not lie. It did come when he declared it. But after the angel thus announces the hour of Judgment come, two other angels follow him each with a warning message. These two messages are given after the hour of Judgment has actually come, and hence, of course, while the Judgment is going on. There is no avoiding this conclusion. So we find that when Christ comes, it is not to the Judgment, but to carry out the decisions of a Judgment already past. Hence, he brings his reward with him to give unto every man according to his work. Rev. xxii, 12.

6. The typical service of the priests in the earthly sanctuary shows the same fact. All the service of the priests had to be done in the sanctuary. There the priests ministered during the year, and there the high priest made the atonement on the last day of the year. when he came out of the sanctuary, the work for Israel was done. There was no judgment after that. Lev. xvi.

But this was a type of the work of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary. Heb. viii, 9. Just so then must all the work of Christ's ministry for the people be done in the heavenly sanctuary. It cannot part be done there, and a part be done on earth away from the sanctuary. As the high priest made the atonement, which was a type of the Judgment, in the earthly sanctuary, so Christ must make the great atonement, which is the real Judgment, in the real sanctuary in Heaven.

7. We need an advocate when our cases come into Judgment. If ever a man needs an advocate to plead his case it is when his case comes into court for judgment. Now Christ is our advocate with the Father, 1 John ii, 1, our High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary, Heb. viii, 1, 2. He pleads our cases at the mercy-seat with the Father. But when he leaves the sanctuary he is no longer High Priest, but comes to this earth clothed in garments of vengeance with the title of King of kings, Rev. xix, 11–16. If our cases come into judgment after that, we must stand before our Judge without an advocate. In that case no mortal man could stand. Hence, this also shows that the Judgment takes place before the second coming of Christ.

Against this position, however, it is objected that when Christ comes, all nations will be gathered before him, and he will divide the sheep from the goats, &c. Matt. xxv, 31. But I notice that there is nothing said about a Judgment at that time. He immediately proceeds to separate them, and state the reasons for it. It is simply a separation, not a judgment scene.

These facts incline me to think that the Judgment is in the past at the second coming of Christ, and that we are now living in the judgment hour.

D. M. CANRIGHT.