Chapter 6—Judgment Begins at the House of God

Drawing her cue from the sanctuary in the wilderness, Ellen White taught that the investigative judgment deals only with the names of those who, at sometime in their lives, have confessed their sins to God. She stated:IJWEGW 8.2

“In the typical service only those who had come before God with confession and repentance, and whose sins, through the blood of the sin offering, were transferred to the sanctuary, had a part in the service of the Day of Atonement. So in the great day of final atonement and investigative judgment the only cases considered are those of the professed people of God. The judgment of the wicked is a distinct and separate work, and takes place at a later period.”—The Great Controversy, 480.

Elsewhere she referred to “the professed people of God” as “all who have ever entered the service of God” (The Great Controversy, 480) “children of God” (The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 7:987), “all who have believed on Jesus” (The Great Controversy, 483), and “those who in all ages have professed to be followers of Christ” (The Great Controversy, 428).IJWEGW 8.3

The judgment of the dead began in 1844 and “when that work shall be completed, judgment is to be pronounced upon the living” (Selected Messages 1:125). How soon will the judgment of the living begin? Ellen White answers, “Soon—none know how soon—it will pass to the cases of the living” (The Great Controversy, 490). Though we don’t know how soon, we do know that “the great work of judging the living is about to begin” (Testimonies for the Church 6:130). That statement was written in the year 1900.IJWEGW 8.4

When the Lord takes up the names of the living, will He (or does He) decide their destiny one at a time, so that the judgment is completed on some of the living while not yet begun on others? There are those who think so, for Ellen White said, “We know not how soon our names may be taken onto the lips of Christ, and our cases be finally decided” (Selected Messages 1:125).IJWEGW 8.5

On the other hand, there are those who believe that time is not a factor with God, that He may even now have completed His judgment of the living, and that the records of the living are summed up anew, day by day, and even hour by hour, for Ellen White has also said, “God judges every man according to his work. Not only does He judge, but He sums up, day by day and hour by hour, our progress in well doing” (The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 7:987).IJWEGW 9.1