34. The Purpose of the Judgment
What is the purpose of the judgment? According to Ford, “God does not need books and 140 years to settle the destiny of men. Neither do the angels or the unfallen worlds, or inhabitants of this earth stand to profit by an investigative judgment as we have described”. (Ford, Page 651).QSEW 25.3
An investigative judgment would indeed be without point if the Bible taught John Calvin’s concept of the perseverance of the saints. But this doctrine, commonly called, “once saved, always saved,” is not in harmony with the following texts: 1 Samuel 10:6, 9; 28:6, 15; Ezekiel 18:24; 28:14, 15; Matthew 24:13; 1 Corinthians 9:27; Galatians 5:4; Hebrews 3:12-14; 6:4-6; 2 Peter 2:4, 20, 21. (The “once saved, always saved” doctrine is not held by Ford nor by Adventists generally.)QSEW 25.4
True, God does not need books or 140 years to settle the destiny of men and women. The Bible does not say that God needs books, but it does say that books were opened. Before we were born God knew who would be saved and who would be lost. 1 Peter 1:2. But His created intelligences do not know the end from the beginning. The inhabitants of other worlds are watching events on earth with keenest interest. Paul says, “We are ... a spectacle to the whole universe-angels as well as men” (1 Corinthians 4:9, New English Bible).QSEW 26.1
The Lord knew how wicked Sodom and Gomorrah were, but still He took time to investigate-an investigative judgment, if you please. This was God’s method of convincing Abraham that He was being fair in His dealings with the cities of the plain. (See Genesis 18:23-33.) In the end God wants a secure universe and He takes whatever measures are necessary so that His children will always trust Him implicitly. He even allows His creatures, in a sense, to judge or evaluate His actions. Romans 3:4. Ellen White states, “God carries with Him the sympathy and approval of the whole universe as step by step His great plan advances to its complete fulfillment” (Patriarchs and Prophets, 78, 79; see also The Desire of Ages, 58, and the beautiful chapter, “Joshua and the Angel,” in Prophets and Kings, 582-592).QSEW 26.2