And once all that is done ... you will have some sincere people who think she is of the Devil and some who think she is an infallible prophet. And there are all thoughts inbetween. What we need is tolerance for all those who see things differently. Issues like this are not salvational. There WILL be some who are saved without EGW. Down through the centuries .... people have been saved without her. I think it will continue. They will just miss out on much. But when they get to heaven they can catch up along with all the thousands of years of other people will do.

Praise God we are saved because he did and died.

Thanks for all the answers. Unfortunately there are no clear-cut answers, but I appreciate your attention. I ve got some more questions on matters I don t quite understand. First I want you to know that it is not my intention to discredit Ellen White, I believe she was Gods messenger, but I just have to ask these questions in order to clear my mind. Correct me if i am wrong but isn t it true that since 1844 there has been going on an investigative judgement going on?And isn t it true that every hidden feeling and all the selfish acts etc etc. will be exposed to the universe? Isn t it true that this investigative judgement is not necessary for God, because he already knows who s lost and who is not, but that it is meant for the universe to show that God judges righteously?

Then i wonder, if every person's life is going to be investigated, and every character will be exposed, taking 1 day for 1 person, which is kind of short, it would take about a couple of million years before the investigative judgement is over? Actually that seems a little bit longer than i expected,

Hopefully somebody can help me out,

thanks in advance!

There is nothing wrong with sincere, honest questions, of course. In fact, if people don't have some questions and if they don't sincerely seek for answers to those questions, it can be harmful in the long run.



You are right that the Investigative Judgment is not for the purpose of informing God of anything. It has a lot to do with Satan's charges against God and with the fact that the whole universe is interested in how God is dealing with sin and rebellion.

A close friend of mine, an SDA pastor, Bradley Williams, wrote a book recently that answers your questions. It's entitled, The Silencing of Satan, The Gospel Of the Investigative Judgment, and can be purchased or ordered at the Adventist Bible Center. See this link: http://investigativejudgmentgospel.org/

Many of the questions you have about the Investigative Judgment are answered at this link: http://investigativejudgmentgospel.org/My_Homepage_Files/Page3.html



Time is not the critical factor. It is not the reason that Christ hasn't yet come. After all, Christ could have come shortly after 1844 if the church had cooperated with Him. It was the same with the children of Israel: God intended that they would enter right into the Promised Land instead of wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. They wandered because of unbelief/disobedience. They refused to believe that God could cause them to be victorious over the giants. They thought the giants were too big to be conquered. Their God was too small.

The reason Christ hasn't come yet is that His church-- made up of those who claim to belong to Him-- isn't ready, and God is waiting for people to make up their minds and become so settled into the truth about who He is and whether they really want to serve Him, that they can't be moved. There are still millions of people sitting on the fence, who are not yet convinced that Satan is wrong. If Christ were to come today, there are many who would be lost, even very many in the church. That's the reason Jesus waits. He's giving people, both inside and outside of the church, an opportunity to hear the true gospel and come to a saving knowledge of God.

Regards,
"John 3: 17"

This is a traditional view of some. And I don't mean to find fault with it ... but I tend to view it differently as follows:

I look at this through the eyes of Ellen White and a great book that I would recommend ... "The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan".

Christ knows our hearts. He knows what our decisions are and would be. This is what He bases it on ... not our works of knowledge or actions.

What I am getting at is Christ has not come yet because He in His wisdom feels that the Universe and us on Earth need to see the results of sin.

The reason for this is that we need to be so aware of Satan's ways that we would Never again decide to rebel against God. And we have that assurance it will not happen ... because of exactly what we are going through here on earth.

WE are now suffering from sin so that ALL will be convinced of the terrible ways of Satan.

That is what I get from the beautiful readings of Ellen White. And I firmly believe it.

John thanks for the link. One clear cut answer from one of your links: "God is, if he chooses to be, above and outside
of our understanding of time. To Him a thousand years may seem as a day and a day may seem as the passing of a
thousand years. If God so desired, I suppose He could carry on our judgment while making time as we know it stand
still. And, therefore, following our understanding of God power to its logical ends, leads us to conclude that Kevin is
partially correct and mostly wrong".

This explanation raises a lot of New questions. 1. God says that one day may SEEM a thousand years for God and vice versa. The bible does not say that one day can BE a thousand years for God. A logical biblical unnderstanding of this verse is maybe that God can decide to delay the return of Jesus a thousands years just as easy as one day. If this understanding is correct than this verse is no proof that God lives beyond our "time"
2. If God decides in heaven to 'delay'time wouldn t that be a torture for the angels in heaven? I understand that some cases are quite interesting. But after person number 200492842 it gets quite boring. Furthermore, how can you show to the universe that each and every judgment is just, when the first persons presented will be viewed totally different after the 3th million person? I mean as angels have seen a million cases they will probably see all the patterns of human behaviour way differently than the first couple of persons.

No bad intentions, just wondering, i have always wondered, and without lies each of us could be a wonder

In my personal view ... there is a very simple answer to this.

We are not judged by OUR works. We are judged by the fact that we accept that Jesus did and died. If we accept Him ... then HIS robe or righteousness cover what we did. There is no need to look at our sins for they are covered by the Righteous one.

The judgment is a quick and easy process. Either you accept Jesus as your Saviour / Redeemer and you are then saved. OR you don't. You then have to rely on your own works. They will have to be measured against the Curse of the Law. And you will then fail and be lost. The law require absolute perfection. No one can claim that except Christ and His life on this earth.

Can you see how the judgment is such an easy process. But again ... we need to look and judge how sinful mankind has been so that we will never again desire to rebel against God. This is the purpose of the investigative judgment.

It is not really so much to judge if you are saved or lost ... that is readily apparent. But it is to judge ...

SIN and Satan vs God

A contrast view of this would be from Robert H. Pierson ... He made this statement :



This kind of statement would imply that all of us in this world so far are not "trusted" to be in heaven because we have not gained victory over sin.

This would seem to state that "gaining victory over sin" is the qualification for salvation. And we all know the qualification for salvation is Jesus and that He did and died. We are saved because His Robe covers us ... not because we gain victory over sin.

Hey Redwood thanks for your statement. I think this statement is very important:

"This kind of statement would imply that all of us in this world so far are not "trusted" to be in heaven because we have not gained victory over sin.

This would seem to state that "gaining victory over sin" is the qualification for salvation. And we all know the qualification for salvation is Jesus and that He did and died. We are saved because His Robe covers us ... not because we gain victory over sin."

Actually i kind of have the impression that Seventh day adventists should obey the law perfectly and do works in order to be saved. I am kind of struggling with this issue because i am not able to do the works right now and there are also some little sins i have to overcome. This makes me feel lost and actually creates a kind of anger. For example, when i succeed in keeping all the laws perfectly and i do good works, then it creates a feeling that i have earned my salvation. In contrast, when Jesus gives us grace, even while we are yet sinners, then the grace is the basis to grow and do Gods will. I actually think it is a bitter thought to know that as long as you are not perfect you are lost. I am not saying that the law is abandoned, but when we truly believe in Jesus and realise the price he has paid for us and the holy spirit convicts of sin, I don t think that anyone would kill, steal, worship on sunday etc. etc. I believe that it is wrong to live legalistically because it will increase sinning instead of decrease sinning.

It's not a matter of obeying in order to gain God's favor. The Israelites didn't have to obey God in order for Him to free them from Egyptian slavery. But they didn't get into the Promised Land, either. Why not? Because they refused to obey Him. They rebelled. They didn't believe that God had the power to help them overcome and defeat the giants in the land. So they perished in the desert.

We don't obey God in order to earn salvation. We obey Him because it's the right thing to do and because we love Him. Obedience to God simply demonstrates our love. As He said, "If you love me, keep my commandments." It's only by the power of the Holy Spirit that anyone can obey God's commandments.

Regards,
"John 3: 17"

Yet there are lots of verses in the Bible that show that we are judged and rewarded according to our works. There is a difference between works of faith and works of the law, for one thing. Jesus performed works of faith and so do those who are truly following Him. Anyone can claim to be a follower of Christ. But does their life show it? That's what the Investigative Judgment is all about: do people's lives agree with their profession? Or does our life contradict the words of our mouth?

Does Christ's robe of righteousness cover deliberate sins that are not confessed and forsaken? Is His robe of righteousness given in order to help us continue in sin?

Regards,
"John 3: 17"

No need to point out extremes in this case. Those who are sincere in wanting His Robe will receive it. Those who are sincere WILL also sin but they will desire not to. His Robe WILL cover any and all deliberate sins that we bring to Him. He will in no wise cast us out. Most sins ARE deliberate. That is why we call it SIN. Will we forsake our sins? NO.

Webster has this to say about "forsake":

1.) "to QUIT or leave entirely"
2.) "to give up"

So ... the question is ... Have you now Quit entirely all sin?
Have you given up all sin?

The answer is NO.

We will continue to sin ... ask repentance ... and receive the Robe ... no matter how sincere and how hard we try ... we WILL continue to sin. So we have not forsaken it. But instead we continue to confess.

When I mentioned going to extremes ... this statement below beats all ....



Who really would believe that. Why would God want us to sin? His Robe "covers" our sins. What that does is it gives us greater motivation to go out in love and serve Him out of Thanksgiving. Good works are the means of serving and glorifying Him. We will sin in some areas and not sin in others.

If you will notice though ... fruits of the Spirit are different with everyone. They are unique. So, our good works that glorify God are unique to each of us. They all glorify God in a different way unique to us. None of us come to a place where we can measure up to the Law. WE all remain self centered. We sin in more ways than we can imagine. So ... we do continue to sin even with the Robe covering our sins.