By Ryan Fillmore
A Commentary on the Sabbath School Lesson for September 2–29, 2006, "The Meaning of the Judgment Today"
A few weeks ago, I was visiting with a colleague in a secular setting and found out we had attended the same Adventist college, albeit a few years apart. Since I had no idea about this individual’s background, we spent several minutes appreciating the serendipity of this impromptu reunion. After talking about various aspects of college life, they asked me "Are they still teaching the investigative judgment?"
A bit startled, I responded that although it may not be the exact interpretation they had learned, yes, I believed it was still being taught (especially in our Sabbath School classes!). A third member of our group was trying to follow our conversation, apparently without much success, so my colleague turned and attempted to describe, in a nutshell, the investigative judgment:
In the early 1800s a group of Christians became convinced that they could predict Christ’s return based on prophecies found in Scripture. They were so sure that they even narrowed it down to a specific date, October 22, 1844. When Christ didn’t come back on that date, they were very disappointed. They were so stuck on the date, however, that they had to come up with another concept to explain it. So they came up with this idea that only a fraction of a fraction of all Christians believe. They believe that in 1844, God started judging everyone who has ever lived, and when he is done, he will come again.
To this colleague’s credit, they did make a strong effort for a neutral presentation. However, if the judgment is merely a countdown to the second coming, it would seem this discussion is fairly pointless. I mean, how could we possibly figure out how many lives God has to judge and how long it takes for each one to arrive at an end date?
So what does the judgment mean today? The Bible Study Guide discusses a number of meanings for the judgment. I find that each of these meanings add something, but also raise new questions in my mind.
1. Justice
Hmmm. What is just about someone completely innocent dying so someone else doesn’t have to? It seems that if we are looking at the justly earned results of each individual’s actions, we aren’ getting what we deserve. Maybe the justice in the judgment refers to God doing the just thing based on each individual’s choice of who to align with. Could it also possibly refer to the process itself, a fair review of the evidence without exclusions of hidden documents, confidential files, and redacted details? If justice means that God will do what is right, I can go along with that.
2. Vindication of God
Talking about the justice of the process leads one to reflect upon the one setting up the process in the first place. What does the existence of a review process say about God? Does he really need this long to figure out whether or not someone is worthy to be in heaven? It didn’t take so long to decide for Enoch, Elijah, Moses, or especially the thief on the cross, did it? If God is as smart and powerful as we believe he is, there must be some other reason it is taking this long. As was ably discussed in "The Relevance of the Investigative Judgment" by Richard Rice, there are far more elements to it than just a review of whether or not an individual should be "saved." What is the general consensus about the benefits of transparency in government? Is it good to be able to review a company’s books to check their accounting? Isn’t God offering us the ultimate review of his government? Without presupposing the answer, what more clear evidence could we ask for?
3. A sign of Christ’s second coming
We believe prophecy points toward Christ’s second coming at the close of the investigative judgment. Should I be living in constant trepidation, as I did for a period as a child that today might be the day my name gets called out in the courts of heaven? Should we be emphasizing the urgency to others to facilitate their conversion before time runs out? Do we really want people jumping into the Church, just as some people may have tried to jump into the ark once the rains started? Perhaps we should place less focus on the immediacy of Christ’s second coming (it has been over 150 years, after all) and redirect our energies to making sure each day that we live we grow closer to the one we admire and love. Potentially, each day could be our last, but do we really want to focus on panic Christianity? How long did that approach work for the Children of Israel at Mount Sinai?
4. Assurance of salvation
Another acquaintance asked me what I say (in thirty seconds) when people ask me how they can know if they are saved. I responded by saying something along the lines, "If someone sees the love of God expressed throughout history, but especially through Christ’s life and death, and is so attracted by it that their lives start becoming transformed in a positive way by that love, I believe that individual will be saved." She responded by quoting Romans: "If you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised him from death, you will be saved" (Rom. 10:9 TEV). How about instead of saying that we will be vindicated because Jesus "stands in our place" we say this: "We can be assured of salvation because God’s investigation and his efforts to ’at one’—or reunite—us with him through Jesus are so thorough that there is no chance anyone who trusts him and wants to become more like him will be left out"?
5. Recognition of works
Sputter sputter sputter. Isn’t the biggest problem we have on earth judging each other with figuring out what the intent was? Wouldn’t it be great if we had a way to look not only at actions, but also context and motivation? Isn’t this required to come to an accurate conclusion? The whole distinction between faith and works could be seen as an artificial one, caused by our limited human ability to see beyond the outward appearance and into the heart. If God makes it possible for the evaluation to be done on the totality of the circumstances, it must include everything. Is recognition of works required? Can you get the context without it?
Ultimately, why do I care about the judgment today? Is it because I am terrified of the consequences? Am I waiting in glee to see others get what they deserve, or do I view it with trepidation because I am terrified of the judge? Is it hanging over my head like a suspended sentence, waiting to catch me when I slip? Or does it mean that God operates his universe in an open manner, subject to review by anyone interested, to demonstrate his wisdom and incredible love in granting us the freedom to choose for ourselves whether we want to be aligned with him or against him? Do we have such a positive view of the judge based on how he has dealt with events in the past that we know he will do the right thing? How else could he possibly put to rest for eternity any doubts as to whether he was the most just, kind, loving, and forgiving being possible?
After all this, I believe we cannot positively say we know what the judgment is. Through Scripture and divine inspiration, we see glimpses. From those, we can draw analogies to familiar things. But ultimately, like the six blind men found out with the elephant, the reality is far more complex and wonderful than we can possibly imagine since it is an expression of the character of God and the way he runs his government.
If we change our perspective and approach the judgment to focus on God’s goodness and his interest in finding the best possible result based on our choice to be connected to him or not, we no longer have to worry about the judgment’s impending doom. Rather, we can joyfully share our belief that God does care about our freedom and trust enough that he is willing to show anyone all the details they need to be fully convinced—by all of history if necessary—that he is someone they want to be more like. As the thief on the cross realized in Luke 23:39–42, this God is someone we want to spend the rest of eternity with. What a decision!
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