Lesson 10
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*September 1 - 7 |
The Hour of God's Judgment
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FEW DOCTRINES WE HOLD have been subject to more attack and misunderstanding than the pre-Advent judgment. No wonder-considering how some people have understood it. One young woman explained to a Sabbath School class the torment she had suffered because of how she was taught the judgment.
"From childhood," she said, "I was told that the judgment was going on in heaven right now and that I'd never know when my name would come up. And when it did, if I were not absolutely and utterly perfect, then my name would be blotted out of the book of life, and I would be eternally lost. But because I would never know the outcome, I'd continue struggling to be absolutely perfect, even if it were too late to be saved and my name had already been blotted out."
With such a view of the judgment, it's understandable why people would have trouble with it. This week's lesson is designed to give a more Christ-centered, gospel-centered view of the judgment. It will show, too, that judgment is not only part of the "good news" but is, in many ways, the best part.
THE WEEK AT A GLANCE: What does "atonement" mean? How is it accomplished? What does it mean to live in the antitypical day of atonement? How important is the judgment? What happens when our names come up in judgment? What role does Jesus play in the judgment? Does having a substitute mean that our sin is of no consequence?
MEMORY TEXT: " 'Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come: and worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters' "(Revelation 14:7, NASB).
*(Please study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, September 8).
Since 1844 we have been living in the great Day of Atonement, the time of judgment prefigured in the earthly sanctuary system by the yearly service in which the earthly sanctuary was cleansed (see Lev. 16:19). The word "atonement," though heavy-laden with various connotations, means, basically, the act by which a sinner has been reconciled to God. Thus, however technically understood, "atonement" must be, certainly, good news.
How is atonement achieved? See
Lev.
17:11.
Ever since Cain's fruit offering (Gen. 4:3), people have tried various means to atone for their sins. Mothers have thrown their fresh-born babies into the mouths of alligators or into the hot breath of seething volcanoes—all in order to seek atonement. People have torn the beating hearts out of their sons' chests or have sacrificed their virgin daughters on stone altars or have beat themselves with whips and chains or have slept on beds of nails or crawled on paths of broken glass—again, all in order to have their sins atoned for.
Yet, according to God's Word, there is only one way to receive atonement, and that is through the blood of Jesus Christ (1 Pet. 1:19).
Take a quick read of
Leviticus
16. As you keep in mind that this is the Day of "Atonement," what is
the one crucial element that appears again and again in the chapter?
What Leviticus 16 should teach us is that atonement comes only from the blood. Blood, as opposed to the law, is the key element in the earthly ritual, because it is the Day of Atonement, and only blood—as opposed to the law—can atone for sin (Heb. 9:22). Any day dedicated, therefore, only to atonement—which is solely the work of God for us—has to be good news. Therefore, we should not be living in dread of the judgment. We should, instead, be focusing upon what the blood means for us; that focus will change our lives and through the working of the Holy Spirit bring us into harmony with God's will.
If you know someone who has lived in fear of the judgment, how could the
understanding that the key element in the earthly Day of Atonement ritual
was blood help that person overcome his or her fear and, in fact, give him
or her reasons to rejoice?
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The great controversy revolves around Satan's accusation that God is arbitrary and vindictive (Gen. 3:1-6). The devil also stands as our accuser (Dan. 7:10; Zech. 3:1-5; Rev. 12:10). Thus the great controversy is fought over the validity of not only God's character but of His children's character. The purpose of the judgment, then, is to display God's true character and the character of the saints before the universe.
Read Daniel 7:8-27 to answer the following questions about the great controversy and the investigative judgment.
Who are the main characters?
What role does the little-horn power play?
What role does the Ancient of Days play?
What function is the Son of man given?
What is the outcome of the judgment and the great controversy?
Notice the openness of God in this judgment (vss. 9, 10). The angels are present, and the books are opened. The evidence is available for all to examine. Such directness is necessary so all may realize God's true character and the character of the saints.
| Ellen White wrote that the two gold cherubim standing over the ark of the covenant in the Most Holy Place of the earthly sanctuary (Exod. 25:18-20) represented "the interest with which the heavenly host contemplate the work of redemption. "—The Great Controversy, p. 415. Why would those two golden angels be placed in the room that symbolizes the judgment, as opposed to the altar of burnt offerings, which symbolized the Cross? Does it show that perhaps it is at the judgment, not the Cross, that the universe gets all its questions answered about God? (See The Desire of Ages, p. 761.) |
Read Ephesians 3:10 and think about what it says in the context of today's lesson. What does that verse tell us about our role in the whole great controversy drama? |
Daniel 8 is divided into two parts: the vision (vss. 1-14), then the explanation of the vision (vss. 15-27). Both Daniel 2 and Daniel 7 have the same basic structure: a vision (or dream), then an explanation of the vision (or dream).
The vision of Daniel 8:1-14 centers on four specific elements that make up the essence of the vision. What are they?
1. ____________________________________ 2. ____________________________________
3. ____________________________________ 4.
__________________________________
The four crucial factors of Daniel 8 are the ram (vss. 3, 4), the goat (vss. 5-9), the little horn (vss. 9-12), and the cleansing of the sanctuary (vs. 14). Most of these elements are explained in the last half of the chapter. The ram is _______________ (vs. 20); the he-goat is _____________ (vs. 21); the little horn is ________________ (vss. 23-25); and then the chapter ends with a reference to the 2,300 days in verse 14.
The ram is identified by name (Media-Persia); the he-goat, too (Greece). Who is the third power? It is one who comes up after Greece and is a persecuting power, who stands up against the "Prince of princes," and who will eventually be destroyed at the end of time "without hand"—a phrase that means by supernatural action (vs. 25). Only one power possibly fits, and that is Rome, both pagan and papal (in the prophecies of Daniel, pagan and papal Rome are often viewed as one power), especially because that power comes up after Greece and extends to the end of time.
Historically, Media-Persia played a major role in the history of the world and of God's people. Greece played a major and important role in the history of the world and of God's people. And, finally, Rome's crucial and important role, in both its pagan and papal phases—a role both in the past and in the future—cannot even begin to be exaggerated.
| Only four elements in the chapter: Media-Persia, Greece, Rome, sanctuary
cleansed. The first three are of major importance and significance
in the world's history. The vision then ends, even climaxes, with the
fourth element, that of the cleansing of the sanctuary in
Daniel
8:14. Now, if there are only four elements in the vision and the
first three are of major importance, what does that tell us about the final
and climactic element, the cleansing of the sanctuary? Of course, it
must be of major importance, as well! Dwell on this point until you
can see just how important an event this cleansing of the sanctuary really
is.
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Though people tend to argue of the time, place, and details, one thing most Bible-believing Christians agree upon is: the Word does teach that everyone will face judgment.
"For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil" (Eccles. 12:14).
And in the end there will be only two classes of people in judgment: those who stand before God with every past act laid out accusingly before them and those who have Jesus, with His perfect righteousness, standing in their stead.
How do these verses help us understand where our only hope in judgment
lies?
Rom.
8:1;
Gal.
2:16;
1
John 2:1.
| Read Ellen White's depiction of what happens to God's faithful
and penitent followers in the judgment: "While Jesus is pleading for the
subjects of His grace, Satan accuses them before God as transgressors. The
great deceiver has sought to lead them into skepticism, to cause them to
lose confidence in God, to separate themselves from His love, and to break
His law. Now he points to the record of their lives, to the defects of character,
the unlikeness to Christ, which has dishonored their Redeemer, to all the
sins that he has tempted them to commit, and because of these he claims them
as his subjects.
"Jesus does not excuse their sins, but shows their penitence and faith, and, claiming for them forgiveness, He lifts His wounded hands before the Father and the holy angels, saying: I know them by name. I have graven them on the palms of My hands. "—The Great Controversy, p. 484. |
| Harry has lived his whole life believing that he would never make
it in the judgment because he just isn't good enough. How could you
show Harry that it is precisely because he isn't good enough that he needs
a Substitute in the judgment? Why must our hope in the judgment not
rest upon ourselves but only upon
Jesus? |
"For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse
you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the Lord"
(Lev.
16:30).
The earthly Day of Atonement, the model for the heavenly, was a time of great sacredness and solemnness for Israel. In the Jewish religion today it is known as the great day of judgment. Some of the prayers the Jews prayed on this holy day include these phrases: "Justify us in the judgment"; "O silence the accuser, and suffer the advocate to take his place"; "and in consequence of his pleading, declare, I have pardoned"; "O blot out the transgressions of thy people who have been saved."
Look at those phrases in that prayer and see in what ways they parallel
our understanding of what happens in the judgment.
In the typical service of the Day of Atonement, the people were to search their hearts, while the high priest ministered on their behalf. The fact that their sins were atoned for by the blood didn't mitigate against the command that they "afflict" their souls and put away all sin. On the contrary, they were to be "clean" from all their sins before the Lord.
Jesus died as our Substitute. Our salvation is found only in His righteousness
for us
(Rom.
5:8, 9). Why does that not mean, therefore, that our sin is of no more
consequence? (see
Rom.
6:15-18).
Today, while Christ ministers in the heavenly sanctuary, we on earth are to follow Him by faith into the Most Holy Place, as the Israelites followed the high priest into the Most Holy Place by faith on the typical Day of Atonement. We are to search our hearts and earnestly confess our sins, thus cooperating with heavenly agencies in the process of being transformed into His image. Yet no matter how far along in the sanctification process we are, in the end our hope—our only hope—in the judgment is not our good deeds but in Jesus standing in our stead.
| Though it was the Day of Atonement and though atonement came only
by blood, symbolic of Christ's life and death and perfect righteousness,
the children of Israel were to be cleansed from "all" their sin. What does
that earthly model tell us about how we should deal with "all" sin in our
own lives?
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FURTHER STUDY: What is the standard of the judgment? James 2:8-12; Eccles. 12:13, 14. In practical life, how do we exhibit obedience to God's law? Micah 6:8; Matt. 7:12; 25:32-46.
Each of the following provides an in-depth study of the investigative judgment:
The Great Controversy, chapters 18-24,
28(18,
19,
20,
21,
22,
23,
24,
28); Seventh-day
Adventists Believe, chapters 12, 23. If you wish to study more about
the connections between
Leviticus
16 and
Daniel
8, see Symposium on Daniel, Daniel & Revelation Committee Series
(Silver Spring, Md.: Biblical Research Institute, General Conference
of Seventh-day Adventists, 1986), vol. 2, pp. 426-461; 527-549.
In the judgment no claims of man to righteousness by works can possibly stand. For here is revealed the radical evil of the human heart. 'As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one' (Rom. 3:10). Before God there is no way that man can compensate for his sins or his sinfulness. .
"What Christ promises here is not freedom from judgment but freedom from condemnation. How then shall sinful man be vindicated before God?.
"Christ promised the believer freedom from condemnation because the record will reveal him in a saving relationship to Jesus Christ. The certainty of a verdict in the believer's favor arises from the fact that Jesus Christ comes to the Father on the repentant sinner's behalf. He alone mediates to us our ultimate vindication. Only as the Christian's life is hid with Christ in God is he able to stand."—Heppenstall, Our High Priest, pp. 119, 120.
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SUMMARY: Though the pre-Advent
judgment is a solemn, sacred process, those who follow Christ in penitence
and faith, resting and trusting in Him, have nothing to fear. Jesus stands
as their Substitute; His righteousness alone assures them of salvation, now
and in
judgment.
J. H. Zachary
Bob Roberts, mission pilot for the East Indonesian Union Mission, guided the little Cessna along the northern coast of Irian Jaya. We touched down on an airfield and were greeted by the local pastor. We unloaded food and supplies and were off again for another village.
Bob told me the village we would reach in 15 minutes by plane would take the pastor a week hiking through the jungle.
The Cessna flew low over the tiny jungle airstrip so Bob could inspect it before landing. Then he circled over the village to signal the villagers that we had arrived. The metal roof of the new jungle chapel glistened in the sunlight.
We were barely on the ground before scores of natives gathered around the mission plane. Bob unloaded the cargo of mission supplies for the local pastor and salt for the villagers-their pay for keeping the airstrip "mowed," a job that required hundreds of hours of backbreaking work.
The villagers have no access to a store; they live off whatever they can find in the jungle. Bob Roberts is urging them to plant gardens on the land along the airstrip.
Bob and I hiked down a muddy path and across two fallen-log bridges to visit the village's newly constructed chapel. After a brief visit, we hurried toward the airstrip. There were other stops to be made yet before dark.
Along the trail we met a group of men. One man carried another man on his back. "He was attacked by a wild pig," the men explained. "Can you take him to the clinic in Sarmi?" The men had raced against time to get to the airstrip when they heard the plane land. Bob examined the man's festered wounds and motioned toward the plane.
Bob placed the man in the back seat. The man's wife climbed into the front seat, a tiny baby on her back. She would need to feed and care for him while at the clinic. The couple's two small children were buckled into seats beside their father. There was no room for another passenger, so I found shelter under a shade tree to await Bob's return.
Soon the sound of the plane's engine announced Bob's return to pick me up. As we took off over the thick jungle trees, I thanked God for mission planes and their pilots who bring hope to otherwise inaccessible people, and sometimes bring rescue as well. The plane and its pilot are truly angels of mercy.
J. H. Zachary is coordinator of international evangelism for The Quiet Hour and a special consultant for the General Conference Ministerial Association.
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