Pre-Advent Judgment

Introduction

In seeking to understand the meaning of judgment, let's not impose our Western understanding of judgment upon the biblical text. In Hebrew, the primary meaning of the word "judgment" is not scrutiny but "vindication" or "deliverance." You can see this in the OT book of Judges, where God raised up judges to deliver his people and save them from their enemies. In the Hebrew legal system, judges were the friends of the accused. In fact, there were no defense attorneys in normal situations. The judges were required by law to take the side of the accused and actually be predisposed toward vindication. You can see this in texts such as Psalm 35:24.

Of course, judges had to be fair, and if the accuser presented evidence that could not be dismissed, the judge had to abandon his defense of the accused and pronounce condemnation. But his predisposition was vindication--and so is God's as our judge. It is "His good pleasure to give us the kingdom" (Luke 12:32). He is on our side in the judgment, and Jesus is assisting Him as our intercessor (Romans 8:33-34).

Who then is accusing us? Satan, whose name means "adversary" or "accuser." He is accusing us before God as unworthy. And the truth is, we are unworthy and imperfect. But God finds in the cross of the Lord Jesus all the evidence He needs to vindicate us in heaven's judgment. Read it in Rev. 12:9-11. The judgment is not about us specifically as whether we are worthy--but whether we truly believe in Jesus. Everyone who is a sincere believer in Jesus shall not come into judgment, but is passed from death into life (John 5:24).

When Jesus comes again He will separate the sheep (His true believers) from the goats (unbelievers and pseudo-disciples). See Matt. 25:31-46. Obviously He will have already decided by that time who are the sheep and who are the goats, so there has to be a pre-Advent judgment. Based on the prophecy of Daniel 8/9, Adventists believe this judgment began in the year 1844. To read more about this pre-Advent investigative judgment, along with four points of proof that it began in the year 1844, please read the chapters and editorial we have uploaded, including "Jesus, Yes!—Judgment, No?" and "Four Proofs of the 1844 Judgment."