A PRELIMINARY WORK OF JUDGMENT.
By Uriah Smith
WHAT we mean by this expression is that when the great work of the final judgment of this world is accomplished, it will be found to be composed of several distinct divisions, each specific in its nature, and assigned to a particular time and place. That there is such a work of judgment determined, which shall decide all characters to be either good or bad, and affix appropriate penalties to every evil course of conduct, and assign suitable rewards to everyone whose course of conduct has been righteous, and carry out all such decisions to be fixed for eternity, is one of the plainest propositions set forth in the sure and unchangeable word of God; and it is one of the most momentous subjects that can engage the attention of the human mind. Paul sobered the frivolous minds of the Athenians, by laying upon their hearts this tremendous truth: “Because he [God] hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.” Acts 17:31. The first thought suggested by the word “day” is a period of twenty-four hours; but a moment’s consideration will convince anyone that no such limited time would suffice for such a work as this. See also 2 Peter 2:9; 3:7–12; Jude 6; Matt. 25:31–34; etc. These texts show that a comparison of the Scriptures is necessary, in order so to adjust their testimony that they shall present a consistency and harmony as to time and place in the work called the judgment. There are subjects which throw light on all these points, which thereby become subjects of paramount interest and importance. Some of these are connected with the great subject of the sanctuary, with which the readers of this paper are supposed to be familiar. An examination of that work known as the cleansing of the sanctuary, leads into a series of subjects of the most timely and important character,—subjects which explain some statements of Scripture that are otherwise obscure; which harmonize lines of prophecy that otherwise seem disconnected, and hard to understand; and which answer some vital questions concerning events connected with the crowning of all events, the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, which otherwise seem unanswerable. Take, for instance, this one point: When Christ comes, it is with the suddenness of a snare to the inhabitants of the earth. “For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Matt. 24:27. This is a crucial period with all the people. There will be just two classes then,—those who rejoice to see him, and those who wail because of him. The people of God are then singled out for a great and instantaneous change to be wrought upon them, while all others remain as they were. Then, also, those who are asleep in Christ, in their graves, are raised in glory and power from their tombs, while all those who are not the dead in Christ sleep on in their graves for a thousand years. 1 Thess. 4:16; Rev. 20:5. And as for the living, the same distinction and separation are instantly made. The righteous living are changed from mortality to immortality in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye (1 Cor. 15:51, 52), while all the others are given over to perish under the judgments of the Almighty. 2 Thess. 1:7–9. This change is wrought at the last trump,—that trump which is heard when the Lord himself descends from heaven with a shout, and with the voice of the archangel. 1 Thess. 4:16. And this separation between the righteous and the wicked is accomplished, and the righteous are made immortal, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. Thus the people of God are delivered; but who are the people of God? This question opens to us the fact that some decision must have been reached respecting them previously to this time; but all decision of character for the purpose of determining rewards or punishments is a work of judgment, and is a part of what constitutes the judgment of the great day, the solemn theme of the Bible. The goats are to be placed on the left hand, and the sheep on the10right, when the nations are summoned before the King in his glory. Matt. 25:34, 41. The wicked shall be severed from among the just. Matt. 13:49. The righteous are to be saved, and the wicked destroyed. And the destiny of all is decided from the records that are kept of the deeds of all men; for so God has ordained. This is why we read that when the judgment is set, millions of angels minister before the Lord, and the books are opened. Dan. 7:10; Rev. 20:12. Thus it is evident that there must be some examination of cases, and the assigning of certain ones to their respective classes, before the Lord appears in the clouds of heaven; for it will be noticed that the decisions are then instantly declared, there being no time then to investigate cases. Consequently, this portion of the work of the judgment must be accomplished before the Lord comes. But when, and by what means, can this be brought about? How can Christ come to reward every man as his work shall be (Rev. 22:12), without an antecedent judgment, to pass upon such cases? and if there is such a judgment, where and in what order of events does it come in? This has been a puzzling problem to many students of prophecy. From the standpoint of the common theology, this has presented a real dilemma; and here are some of the hypotheses that have been resorted to, to meet it: It is claimed, by one class, that the dead, both good and bad, are all raised together, at the trump of God; are judged, and then sentenced to their respective rewards or punishments; while the living are disposed of in the same manner; and thus the judgment is gone through. But consider for a moment how long a time would be necessary for this work. Would one minute be too long a time to devote to each case, to examine the records, and fix the sentence according to his works? If not, taking the common estimate that there are fifteen hundred million persons living on the earth at the present time, it would take one billion five hundred million minutes simply to decide the cases of those now living. But if we should go back, and take in only one other generation, equally numerous, which would certainly be conservative enough, we should have three thousand million human beings to be judged; and giving one minute to each, it would require three thousand million minutes, fifty million hours, over two million days, or over fifty-seven hundred years, to accomplish the work, to say nothing of the unnumbered generations of the past. But more than this: such a supposition runs point-blank against the testimony of the Bible itself; for the Bible plainly declares that after the righteous are raised, a thousand years pass away before the wicked are called from their graves: “But the rest of the dead lived not again till the thousand years were finished.” Rev. 20:5. So this scheme will not work at all. Then another attempt is made to adjust the matter, which is this: that when the righteous dead are raised, they are raised without any change, mortal, as they went down, to be changed afterward. Then they are judged, and made immortal—all this to avoid any judgment before Christ comes. But this scheme, besides being cut off by the time limit stated above, is also directly contradictory to the Bible, which plainly declares that the righteous dead are raised in power and glory, incorruptible, with a spiritual body, and to die no more; while the righteous living are changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, to the same holy state. There is no time allowed here for the examination of the books and the investigation of character. Hence this hypothesis also absolutely fails, as it makes no provision for that previous investigation of character which must take place before Christ appears. We know of no system of belief that has in its provisions any consistent time and place for such a necessary work, except that held and advocated by Seventh-day Adventists. This is an important consideration, and should commend the position of this people to the favorable consideration of everyone who is seeking for a consistent and harmonious understanding of the Scriptures. Mark well the situation: There must be a period of judgment, and the decision of the great question of probation before the Lord returns to this earth. But this work of rejecting or accepting people for his kingdom, belongs to the priestly work of Christ. But where does it come in? Christ’s last work as priest before he takes his throne as king, is to cleanse the sanctuary. That being ended, his work as priest is forever done. The very time for this work to begin is pointed out. At the end of “two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” Dan. 8:14. It has been found that those days ended in 1844. Then our High Priest entered the most holy place of the heavenly temple, and the final work of atonement for the world began. The subject of the sanctuary, rightly understood, solves all the perplexities herein alluded to. The cleansing of the sanctuary is a work of judgment. It provides the very place for the preliminary work that is necessary to be done before the Lord comes, and its cleansing is a work of exactly the right nature. Christ’s work as priest being designed to gather out from the human family a people for his name and kingdom (Acts 15:14), it must continue till that result is reached. Then it will have been decided how many have accepted of Christ’s offers of life and salvation, and become his people. It is the putting away of sin that determines this point; and this is the very work Christ performs in the most holy place of the sanctuary above, at the conclusion of his ministry; and this is the cleansing of the sanctuary. This involves an examination of the books; for the plan is that all judgment shall be rendered to each individual, according to his works as they have been recorded in the books. Rev. 20:12. Only one conclusion can be drawn from such testimony, and that is that a faithful record is kept of the course of every person, for which he must answer at the bar of God. If one repents and maintains a Christian life, his sins are at last all blotted out. So Peter exhorts: “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.” Acts 3:19. Of the same class Christ speaks, in Rev. 3:5: “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.” Again he says, “Whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.” Matt. 10:33; Luke 12:8, 9. And this is when Christ is about to come as a thief upon all them who do not watch for his return. Rev. 3:5. The subject of the sanctuary places all these points in a clear and vivid light, and thus clothes itself with glory. Thus before Christ appears, the saints are all prepared for their reward. And when Christ has taken them up to his Father’s house (John 14:2, 3), they reign with Christ, examining and passing sentence upon the incorruptible dead, preparatory to the execution of the judgment in their cases, at the end of the thousand years. In this work they occupy a thousand years. Rev. 20:4. Here is the “time of the dead that they should be judged” (Rev. 11:18); for then “judgment is given to the saints of the Most High.” Dan. 7:22. Bearing in mind the fact that there are more than two hundred million assistants in this work (Dan. 7:10; Rev. 5:11), a thousand years gives ample time to examine and adjudge all cases. There is no embarrassment for time, no haste, and no confusion. As the cases of all the saints had been examined, and they were ready for immortality at the second coming of Christ, so at the end of the thousand years the cases of the wicked have all been examined, and they are then ready for destruction. The thousand years end; and the final lake of fire, which is the second death, ends the scene of all evil and of all the wicked. Rev. 20:7–15. Then the righteous go forth upon the earth made new for an eternity of joy.