Sabbath afternoon
Prayer Thought
All Must Appear in the Judgment
We are nearing the end of time. Trials will be abundant from without, but let them not come from within the church. Let God's professed people deny themselves for the truth's sake, for Christ's sake. "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ." . . . Everyone who truly loves God will have the spirit of Christ and a fervent love for his brethren. The more a person's heart is in communion with God, and the more his affections are centered in Christ, the less will he be disturbed by the roughness and hardships he meets in this life. Those who are growing up to the full stature of men and women in Christ Jesus will become more and more like Christ in character, rising above the disposition to murmur and be discontented. They will despise being faultfinders. {LHU 338.1-2}
Christ identified himself with the necessities of his people. Their needs and their sufferings were his. He says, “I was a hungered, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me.” [Matthew 25:35, 36.] God's servants should have hearts of tender affection and sincere love for the followers of Christ. They should manifest that deep interest that Christ brings to view in the care of the shepherd for the lost sheep; they should follow the example given by Christ, and exercise the same compassion and gentleness, and the same tender, pitying love that he has exercised toward us. {GW92 91.1}
Memory Text
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that everyone may receive the things [done] in [his] body, according to that he hath done, whether [it be] good or bad. {2 Corinthians 5:10}
This week's SS Lesson will consider the process of weighing every experience of the people whether they live in harmony with the will of God or not. This will also include the SDA understanding of the investigative judgment and its stages and compare it to the magnifying glass of the inspiration - the Spirit of Prophecy.
Outline of the Study
THE FOUNDATION OF THE JUDGMENT
Sunday: The Final Judgment - How will we be judged?
Dan. 7:22; 1 Kings 8:32; Matt. 25:31-46; John 5:21-29; 3:18; 2 Cor. 5:10; Isa. 55:1; Eph. 2:8-10; Gen. 15:6; Rom 5:1; Eccl. 12:14 Rev. 20:11-13; James 2:8-17
THE STAGES OF THE JUDGMENT
Monday: The Pre-Advent Judgment
Dan. 7:9-14, 22; 8:14; Mat. 22:1-14; Rev. 11:1, 18, 19; 14:6, 7, 14-16; 20:4-6; 11-13; John 5:25-29; 2 Cor. 5:10
Tuesday: The Millennial Judgment
1 Thess. 4:16, 17; John 14:1-3; Rev. 20:4-6, 11-13; 21:1-3, 9-11; Jer. 4:2; 1 Cor. 6:2, 3; Dan. 7:9, 10; 1 Cor. 6:3; Jude 6
Wednesday: The Executive /Final Judgment
Rev. 12:7-12; Gen. 3; 6-8; 19; Jude 7; Exo. 11-12; 2 Pet. 2:4-6; 3:10-13
THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE JUDGMENT
Thursday: The Second Death
Rev. 20:5, 11-15; Mal. 4:1; Rev. 20:14, 15; 21:8; Heb. 12:29
Friday: Further Study and Meditation
THE FOUNDATION OF THE JUDGMENT
Sunday: The Final Judgment - How will we be judged?
Dan. 7:22; 1 Kings 8:32; Matt. 25:31-46; John 5:21-29; 3:18; 2 Cor. 5:10; Isa. 55:1; Eph. 2:8-10; Gen. 15:6; Rom 5:1; Eccl. 12:14 Rev. 20:11-13; James 2:8-17
The Law of God is the Standard in the Judgment
The law of God is the standard by which the characters and the lives of men will be tested in the Judgment. Says the wise man: “Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into Judgment.” [Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14.] The apostle James admonishes his brethren, “So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.” [James 2:12.] {GC88 482.1}
The Dead will be investigated whether they are Worthy of Life in Resurrection or Not
Those who in the Judgment are “accounted worthy,” will have a part in the resurrection of the just. Jesus said, “They which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, . . . are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.” [Luke 20:35, 36.] And again he declares that “they that have done good” shall come forth “unto the resurrection of life.” [John 5:29.] The righteous dead will not be raised until after the Judgment at which they are accounted worthy of “the resurrection of life.” Hence they will not be present in person at the tribunal when their records are examined, and their cases decided. {GC88 482.2}
Our Advocate in the Judgment - Interceding on our Behalf
Jesus will appear in the judgment as the advocate of his people, to plead in their behalf before God. "If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." 1 John 2:1. "For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us." "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." Hebrews 9:24; 7:25. {SW, October 10, 1905 par. 7}
The Unchangeable Law of God, Reveals His Will and His Character
The first angel of Revelation 14 calls upon men to "fear God, and give glory to him," and to worship Him as the Creator of the heavens and the earth. In order to do this, they must obey His law.... Without obedience to His commandments, no worship can be pleasing to God; for "this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments" (1 John 5:3). {RC 62.2}
Many religious teachers say that Christ, by His death, freed us from the law; but not all take this view.... The law of God, from its very nature, is unchangeable. It is a revelation of the will and character of its Author. God is love, and His law is love. Its two great principles are love to God and man. "Love is the fulfilling of the law." The character of God is righteousness and truth, and such is the nature of His law. The psalmist says, "Thy law is the truth"; "all thy commandments are righteousness." And the apostle Paul declares, "The law is holy, and the commandments holy, and just, and good." Such a law, an expression of the mind and will of God, must be as enduring as its Author.
Consider the Following
The Ten Commandments are the foundation of the judgment (James 2:12). They determine who has sinned (1 John 3:4), and every sinner will be condemned.
However, there’s good news. Sinners have an attorney available (1 John 2:1). Everyone can hire Him, and it’s free! (Romans 3:24). Our absolution is guaranteed by the intercession of Jesus.
We’ll be judged according to our works (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14), but the life of Christ will replace ours if we accept His sacrifice. And we will overcome the judgment! (Psalm 76:9)
According to His Unerring Word, Everyone will be Judged and Rewarded
But, according to the unerring word of God, every man will be judged and rewarded according as his works have been, and we are admonished to so speak and to so do as "they that shall be judged by the law of liberty." When sin has been repented of, confessed, and forsaken, then pardon is written against the sinner's name; but his sins are not blotted out until after the investigative judgment. No finite being can tell how his case stands in the sight of Him whose eyes are like a flame of fire, who says: "I know thy works. . . . I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten; be zealous therefore, and repent." {ST, May 16, 1895 par. 3}
THE STAGES OF THE JUDGMENT
Monday: The Pre-Advent Judgment
Dan. 7:9-14, 22; 8:14; Mat. 22:1-14; Rev. 11:1, 18, 19; 14:6, 7, 14-16; 20:4-6; 11-13; John 5:25-29; 2 Cor. 5:10
“[…] Your wrath has come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that You should reward Your servants […] And should destroy those who destroy the earth.” (Revelation 11:18)
The Sanctuary was Set for the Investigative Judgment
Now we read of another throne: "And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and the Lamb." (Rev. 22:1.) Again, note that from one of the thrones proceeds the "river of life," but from the other, the "sea of glass." Therefore, there are two thrones. Christ sat at the right hand of God on the throne from which proceeds the "river of life," for this is the one called, "the throne of God and the lamb." This is God's eternal place of abode; but the one in the sanctuary was set for the time being, (See Dan. 7:9, 10), during Christ's ministration in the holiest of all, which is a throne of judgment -- of blotting out sins and granting of rewards. The one from which proceeds the river of life is a throne of life and of eternity. {SR2: 189.1}
The Books were Opened for Investigation
For in the investigative judgment the books are opened and the deeds done in the flesh are brought to light for a final reckoning before the Ancient of days. All who have stood fast to the end will then forever have their sins blotted from the books and their names retained therein; while all who are not overcomers will then forever have their sins retained in the books and their names blotted therefrom. {TN3: 8.4}
Unquestionably, therefore, the books contain both the names and the records of all who are to be judged. And naturally these names and record were entered while each person was living "Thine eyes," says the Psalmist, "did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in Thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them." Ps. 139:16. "The Lord shall count, when He writeth up the people, that this man was born there." Ps. 87:6. {TN3: 6.3}
In this scripture are set forth four pertinent facts:
(1) the thrones were not present prior to the opening of the scene envisioned;
(2) the Ancient of days came and did sit when the thrones were set up;
(3) then the books were opened;
(4) all of which (thrones, Ancient of days, and books) reveal a judgment scene.
And since the books are obviously the focal point in the scene, the question naturally arises, What Is The Reason For Books?
Fundamental to a correct concept of judgment is a correct understanding of the nature of it and of the reason for the books. As to the latter John the Revelator says: "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." Rev 20:12. {TN3: 6.1-2}
For more information and deep study please visit these sites:
1. Meat In Due Season - 18. The Judgment and the Seven Seals (google.com)
2. Meat In Due Season - 8. The Harvest of Matthew 13 (google.com)
Investigative Judgment for the Dead
However, as the Bible plainly teaches that this special work takes place only once during probationary time (Heb. 9:26), it follows that those who have died will be the first to pass in review before God, the great Judge (Dan. 7:9, 10), after which the cases (records) of the living will be examined, and as we are told that there are two classes of people in the church -- "tares" and "wheat" (]vlatt. 13:30) -- it is evident that during the investigative judgment of the dead, the heavenly sanctuary only is affected, because of the fact that "the dead know not anything" (Eccl. 9:5) and are lying unconscious in their graves, having nothing in common with the living church on earth; however, when the judgment of the living shall begin, then, of course, the sanctuary on earth, as well as that in heaven, will be cleansed, as is evidenced by Malachi's prophecy: {2SC11: 8.2.1}
Before the Judgment for the Living, God sends His Messenger "Elijah"
"Behold I will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me: and the Lord, Whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, He shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a refiner's fire, and like fuller's sope: and He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness." Mal. 3 :1-3.
So we see that the more we consider the subject, the more obvious becomes the truth that the Third Angel's Message in its final phase is the Judgment for the Living, the harvest. Plainly, then, the work of Elijah is to give light on the Judgment for the Living. Hence {GCS: 39.2}
"...Those who are to prepare the way for the second coming of Christ, are represented by faithful Elijah, as John came in the spirit of Elijah to prepare the way for Christ's first advent...." -- "Testimonies," Vol. 3, p. 62.
Consider the Following
— The life of every person must be judged before the Kingdom of God is set up on the earth because some will be resurrected for eternal life (Dan. 12:2), the special resurrection and the general resurrection of the righteous - 1 Thess. 4:16, 17, and others will have to wait until the second resurrection for condemnation (Daniel 12:2; Matthew 25:46; Revelation 20:5-6)?
— The angels and the non-fallen worlds are attending this judgment in Heaven. Meanwhile, life on Earth goes on as usual (Daniel 7:9-12).
Note: There will be two phases of the Judgment: First, for the dead - that is the investigative judgment for the dead since 1844, then, Second, for the Living - that is the investigative judgment for the Living which will start in the SDA church - the house of God (1 Pet. 4:17; 3T 266, 267, 5T 211)
For further study please visit these sites:
1. Present Truth Lessons 2020 - Lesson 27a: The Seven Seals (google.com)
2. Present Truth Lessons 2020 - Lesson 27b: The Seven Seals (google.com)
3. Present Truth Lessons 2020 - Lesson 28: The Seven Trumpets (google.com)
Tuesday: The Millennial Judgment
1 Thess. 4:16, 17; John 14:1-3; Rev. 20:4-6, 11-13; 21:1-3, 9-11; Jer. 4:2; 1 Cor. 6:2, 3; Dan. 7:9, 10; 1 Cor. 6:3; Jude 6
“And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.” (Revelation 20:4)
The Closing Hours of the Gospel: All the Righteous Dead Resurrected and the Living Righteous will be Translated
All these final incidents in the closing hours of the gospel, prove over and over that not a one of the wicked is to be living during the thousand years, the years after the earth had fled away and before it is made new, and consequently during all that time there is no one to be saved, and no one to be lost. {TN15: 23.3}
As previously shown, all the wicked die at the commencement of the millennium; first the beast and the false prophet, then the remnant, the rest of the world. (See Revelation 19:20, 21.) The saints, though, those who are living and those who are resurrected at the commencement of the millennium are all to live and reign a thousand years with Christ, not Christ with them. The rest of the dead, the whole world, live not again until the thousand years are finished (Rev. 20:4, 5).
"I go" said Jesus, "to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." John 14:2, 3. Plainly, they that live during the millennium, live with Christ in the mansions above. Then, after the thousand years, reveals John, "the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were [had been] judged every man according to their works." {TN15: 24.1-2}
The Judgment During a Thousand Years
During the thousand years between the first and the second resurrection the judgment of the wicked takes place. The apostle Paul points to this judgment as an event that follows the second advent. "Judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts." 1 Corinthians 4:5. Daniel declares that when the Ancient of Days came, "judgment was given to the saints of the most High." Daniel 7:22. At this time the righteous reign as kings and priests unto God. John in the Revelation says: "I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them." "They shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." Revelation 20:4, 6. It is at this time that, as foretold by Paul, "the saints shall judge the world." 1 Corinthians 6:2. In union with Christ they judge the wicked, comparing their acts with the statute book, the Bible, and deciding every case according to the deeds done in the body. Then the portion which the wicked must suffer is meted out, according to their works; and it is recorded against their names in the book of death. {Mar 335.2}
Satan also and evil angels are judged by Christ and His people. Says Paul: "Know ye not that we shall judge angels?" Verse 3. And Jude declares that "the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day." Jude 6. {Mar 335.3}
At the close of the thousand years the second resurrection will take place. Then the wicked will be raised from the dead and appear before God for the execution of "the judgment written." Thus the revelator, after describing the resurrection of the righteous, says: "The rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished." Revelation 20:5. And Isaiah declares, concerning the wicked: "They shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited." Isaiah 24:22.
Both the Living and the Resurrected Saints will Live, Judge, and Reign with Christ
Still further, as both the living and the resurrected saints are taken to "live and reign with Christ," and as all those who are judged at the Great White Throne, are judged while dead, the truth stands out more and more clearly that there are no wicked living during the thousand years. Indeed not, for the earth and heaven have by then fled away, moved out of their original sphere, become empty of life and void (Isa. 24:1-6; Jer. 4:23-26), a "bottomless pit" (Rev. 20:1) on which no one can stand. Necessarily, the saints, those who are left, live and reign a thousand years with Christ in the Heaven of heavens, where the "many mansions" are. At the termination of the thousand years, descends the Holy City, the mansions, the New Jerusalem, and the saints with it (Rev. 21:2). From then on the saints do not live with Christ but He lives with them (Rev. 21 :3). {TN15: 25.2}
Consider the Following
During the thousand years between the first and the second resurrection, the judgment of the wicked takes place. Daniel declares that when the Ancient of days came, “judgment was given to the saints of the Most High.” At this time the righteous reign as kings and priests unto God. John in the Revelation says, “I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them.” “They shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.” It is at this time that, as foretold by Paul, “the saints shall judge the world.” In union with Christ they judge the wicked, comparing their acts with the statute book, the Bible, and deciding every case according to the deeds done in the body. Satan also and evil angels are judged by Christ and His people.—SW, March 14, 1905. {TA 287.4}
(1) We will confirm that Satan’s accusations against God are false
(2) We will confirm that God has justly saved the righteous
(3) We will confirm that the sentence against the wicked will be fair
(4) Every question will be answered so that evil no longer appears
Wednesday: The Executive /Final Judgment
Rev. 12:7-12; Gen. 3; 6-8; 19; Jude 7; Exo. 11-12; 2 Pet. 2:4-6; 3:10-13
“The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.” (Revelation 20:13)
"Is the second coming of Christ the executive judgment?"
ANSWER:
The coming of Christ is not the executive judgment, for the wicked are to be judged after His second coming. Hence, the executive judgment of the wicked must be accomplished during the millennium, when the saints sit in judgment. (Daniel 7:22.) {4SC4-9: 11.1.2-3}
The Scriptures make clear that while in the sanctuary, Christ receives the Kingdom after "the thrones [are] cast down," and after the investigative judgment is completed -- before His second coming. That this is so, is further evidenced by the parable of Luke 19:15, which states that Christ receives the kingdom and that afterward, He comes to slay His enemies.
Daniel 7:22 shows that the "judgment" was given to the saints of the Most High and that after the judgment, they possessed the Kingdom. Whereas the executive judgment of all the wicked -- of those who did not rise in "the first resurrection" (Rev. 20:5, 6) -- takes place afterward, while the wicked are in their graves, for, says John: "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." Rev. 20:12.
Two Judgments, Two Resurrections a Thousand Years Apart
After this judgment, "the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works." Rev. 20:13. And "whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." Rev. 20:15. "...This is the second death." Rev. 20:14. Since there are two judgments, each for a different time and class, and two resurrections a thousand years apart (Rev. 20:5), there are therefore Two Different Thrones--One Administrative and One Judicial. {TN6: 56.1-2}
The administrative throne is at the head of the "river...of Life" (Rev. 22:1, 2), in Paradise; the judicial throne, at the head of the fiery stream (Dan. 7:10), the "sea of glass" (Rev. 4:6) "mingled with fire" (Rev. 15:2), in the sanctuary. The latter's not having been set up until years after Christ's ascension, precludes the possibility of its being the one upon which He sat at the right hand of God. Consequently, after His ascension, Christ must have sat upon the throne that is at the head of the river of life -- a circumstance which invests the throne with the title, "the throne of God and of the Lamb." From this administrative throne the Father arose, and in a flaming chariot (Isa. 6:1) went into the Holy of Holies within the veil where the fiery stream, the sea of glass, is, and there sat down upon the throne (Rev. 4:2). Following this, Christ also rose up from the same throne and, in "a cloudy chariot, with wheels like flaming fire, surrounded by angels," was brought, not to the right hand of God, but "near before Him" (Dan. 7:13) -- to the judicial throne where He was in the sanctuary. Thus was the solemn event signalized in 1844, when the judicial ceremony took place. {TN6: 57.1}
The Execution of Justice Upon the Earth and the Completion after the Millennium
The fire coming down out of heaven upon the beast, denotes the second death of the wicked, one-hundred years after the second resurrection. Then the prophecy of Enoch shall meet its complete fulfillment: "Behold, the Lord cometh,... to execute judgment upon "all," and to convince all that are ungodly... of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." (Jude 14, 15.) While the 14th verse of Jude applies to Christ's coming to the Most Holy apartment in the heavenly sanctuary, and the 15th verse to His second advent, the completeness of the words find their fulfillment after the millennium, for at that time only can He execute the final "judgment upon all the ungodly," from Cain to the end of this present world. {SR2: 162.1}
The Harvest/Judgment of the Earth (Church and World) - for the Dead and the Living
"I then saw the third angel. Said my accompanying angel, 'Fearful is his work. Awful is his mission. He is the angel that is to select the wheat from the tares, and seal, or bind the wheat for the heavenly garner. These things should engross the whole mind, the whole attention." -- "Early Writings," p. 118.
In this quotation we are plainly told that the third angel's message in its final phase is the "harvest" -- the Judgment for the Living. {GCS: 38.3} Again:
"The time of the Judgment is a most solemn period, when the Lord gathers His own from among the tares." -- "Testimonies to Ministers," p. 234.
"The third angel's message" in its former phase, the Judgment for the Dead, was unfolded to the Denomination by one person, the founder of the Denomination, and that one directed other co-laborers. So must it be with respect to the message in its latter phase, the Judgment for the Living. Moreover, since the first part of the third angel's message, the Judgment for the Dead, neither comprises the last message nor ends the Judgment, but instead covers only the first phase of it, then the last part of the third angel's message, the Judgment for the Living, is necessarily the last message and the final phase of the Judgment. In fact, the Three Angels' Messages are applicable to the Judgment for the Dead only indirectly, for the Judgment for the Living is the all-important event; that is, the angel is not sent particularly to explain what the Judgment does to the dead, but what it is to do to the living. {GCS: 38.6}
Consider the Following
— After the millennium, those who weren’t resurrected at the Second Coming are resurrected.
— They will be judged in that moment for everything they did, and they’ll be condemned to the second death in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:11-15).
— Justice demands the wicked to pay for their sins, and love prevents sinners from suffering forever. Death puts an end to the suffering of the sinners, like in other punishments from God (Genesis 7:21-23; Genesis 19:24-28; Exodus 12:29-30; 2 Samuel 6:6-7; 2 Kings 19:35; Acts 5:1-10).
THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE JUDGMENT
Thursday: The Second Death
Rev. 20:5, 11-15; Mal. 4:1; Rev. 20:14, 15; 21:8; Heb. 12:29
“But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8)
Warnings of Destruction were given, Probation for which has Time to Repent
The following scriptures bear further evidence. Said the heavenly host: "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb." Continued the Angel, "Come hither, I will shew thee the Bride, the Lamb's wife... and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God." (Rev. 19:7-9; 21:9, 10.) Therefore, the Lamb's wife is the Holy City and not the church, and those called to the marriage supper (the saints) are the guests. (See "The Great Controversy," page 427.) They who were before the throne, said of the New Jerusalem: "His wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted [to the city] that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white... for the fine linen is the rigteousness of saints." (Rev. 19:7, 8.) Therefore, the Lamb's wife will be ready at the close of probation when the saints are numbered, for they are her "linen." As at the time the woman (Babylon) was burned, the saints (linen) were ready. Her destruction shall be a signal that probation has closed. Then some shall be conscious of their doom and shall say, "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." (Jer. 8:20.) Others shall "wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the words of the Lord, and shall not find it." (Amos 8:12.) When God's people shall have ceased from their God given work, their answer will be: "We have nothing for you, the harvest is past, salvation has ceased, you are too late." {SR2: 156.3}
Consider the Following
— The judgment has ended. God’s justice and mercy have been clearly shown (Psalm 89:14). They acknowledge their condemnation is fair and bow down before God (Philippians 2:10).
— Will our loving God destroy the creatures He created? Yes. He will have done everything possible to save them, but He respects their free will. They will die forever because they didn’t want to accept the salvation God offered them (2 Thessalonians 1:9).
— Sin will have an end, and it will never be back (Nahum 1:9). The whole universe will be restored to its original perfection. Do you want to be there?
Friday: Further Study and Meditation
Isa. 2:6 -- "Therefore thou hast forsaken Thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers."
His people as an organization are forsaken of Him, but as individuals who come to walk in His light to follow Him in Truth and righteousness are re-accepted. When the present controversy over the message of the hour is ended, then those who survive the purifying process, the Judgment for the Living in the house of God (1 Pet. 4:17), the cleansing of the sanctuary (Dan. 8:14), will be the inhabitants of Zion and of Jerusalem, the members of the church, the body of Christ. {1TG29: 10.2}
Questions to Ponder
How will God vindicate His character in these last days?
How will God judge the church and the world, are they at the same time, or is it separated?
What would be God's basis for the investigation? And when it will be? Does it start already?
What's the difference between pre-advent judgment and investigative judgment? Are they the same event?
What does the judgment message teach us in these last days? And how is it related to our preparation for the setting of God's kingdom?
What's the difference between investigative judgment and executive judgment? Do they occur at the same time?
Based on the above statement, {1TG29: 10.2}, does our affiliation to a corporate association or a church binding as the basis of our individual salvation or/and condemnation? Please explain!
From the Pen of Inspiration
“The abundant evidence given by God that He desires the salvation of all, will be the condemnation of those who refuse the gift of heaven. At the last great day, when all will be rewarded or punished according to their obedience or disobedience, the cross of Calvary will appear plainly before those standing before the Judge of all the earth to receive sentence for eternity. They are made capable of comprehending something of the love that God has expressed for fallen human beings. They see how greatly He has been dishonored by those who have continued in transgression, choosing sides with Satan and showing contempt for the law of Jehovah.” E. G. W. (In Heavenly Places, December 20)
https://online.fliphtml5.com/nhmzi/ivaz/
SSL-Q4-L13-The-Judging-Process-Dec.-17-23-2022.pdf