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Lesson 19 - When Will the Judgment Begin?Introduction: In Lessons 11 and 12 we learned that Jesus is involved in a work of investigative judgment in the heavenly sanctuary that must precede His second coming. In this lesson we will learn when that judgment began. 1. When Jesus comes, will the results of the judgment, showing who is saved or lost, be already known or will it remain to be decided? Rev. 22:12 [The Further-study verse is Matt. 16:27] (Revelation 22:12 NKJV) "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. 2. Has God foretold a specific day for His second coming? Matt. 24:33, 36 [Matt. 24:42-44] (Matthew 24:33 NKJV) "So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near; at the doors! (Matthew 24:36 NKJV) "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. 3. Has God appointed a specific day for the judgment to begin? Acts 17:31 [Amos 3:7] (Acts 17:31 NKJV) "because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead." 4. Will God's people know and proclaim this set time? Rev. 14:6, 7 [Acts 24:25] (Revelation 14:6-7 NKJV) Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth; to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people; {7} saying with a loud voice, "Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water." 5. In Daniel 7:2-8, God revealed the successive rise and fall of earthly powers from ancient Babylon through the Papal power of the middle ages (the "little horn"), which came to an end in 1798. (See Lessons 7 and 15.) What did Daniel see happening in heaven sometime after this? Dan. 7:9, 10 [Rev. 5:8-11] (Daniel 7:9-10 NKJV) "I watched till thrones were put in place, And the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, And the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, Its wheels a burning fire; {10} A fiery stream issued And came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him; Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated, And the books were opened. 6. As Daniel's prophecies each expand on the one before, the next prophecy gives the exact date for this judgment to begin. We noted in Lesson 12 that God's throne, before which the judgment is held, is in the sanctuary in heaven. Another term for this judgment in the sanctuary is the "cleansing of the sanctuary." This expression is used because the record of sins for those who pass the judgment will be cleansed and blotted out of the books of record (Lev. 16:16, 30, 34; Heb. 9:7-12, 23, 24; 10:16, 17; Isa. 43:25; Acts 3:19 KJV), while the names of those who do not pass the judgment will be blotted out of the book of life (Ex. 32:33; Rev. 3:5; Lev. 23:28-31). When does the Bible say that this "cleansing of the sanctuary" would begin? Dan. 8:14 (Daniel 8:14 NKJV) And he said to me, "For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed." [Ans: After 2300 prophetic days, or literal years. Remember, a day in prophecy equals one year. Eze. 4:6; Num. 14:34; Rev. 11:15-19] 7. The angel Gabriel explained to Daniel the whole vision of Daniel 8, except the last part, the starting date for the 2300 years (possibly because Daniel fainted). Did Gabriel come back to finish the explanation? Dan. 9:21-23 (Daniel 9:21-23 NKJV) yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering. {22} And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, "O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand. {23} "At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved; therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision: 8. In explaining "the vision" of the 2300 years, Gabriel said that 490 years of it (70 weeks) were "determined" for certain purposes. (The word "determined" is from the Hebrew "chathak," which literally means to "cut off.") For whom were these first 490 years cut off? Dan. 9:24 (Daniel 9:24 NKJV) "Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy. [Ans: The Jewish nation. Matt. 21:43; Eph. 2:11-14] 9. In Lesson 9 we learned that this 490 year period lasted from 457 B.C. to 34 A.D. Four hundred and ninety years cut off from 2300 leaves 1810 years from 34 A.D. until the cleansing of the sanctuary, or the beginning of the judgment. What year would that be? [Ans: 34 A.D. plus 1810 years comes out to 1844 A.D. - see graphic below (link this)] 10. As the Passover in the spring (Jewish first month) symbolically pointed forward to Jesus' crucifixion, what ceremony in the autumn (Jewish seventh month) symbolically pointed forward to the cleansing of the sanctuary? Lev. 16:29-34 (Leviticus 16:29-34 NKJV) "This shall be a statute forever for you: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger who dwells among you. {30} "For on that day the priest shall make atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the LORD. {31} "It is a sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever. {32} "And the priest, who is anointed and consecrated to minister as priest in his father's place, shall make atonement, and put on the linen clothes, the holy garments; {33} "then he shall make atonement for the Holy Sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tabernacle of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. {34} "This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the children of Israel, for all their sins, once a year." And he did as the LORD commanded Moses. [Note: As Jesus died on the very day of the Passover in 31 A.D., so the judgment must have begun on the Day of Atonement in 1844, which was on October 22. Lev. 23:26-32] 11. In light of the fact that the judgment has already begun, how should we live? Eccl. 12:13, 14 [1 John 2:3-6; 3:1-8] (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 NKJV) Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man's all. {14} For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil. 12. Who has promised to be our advocate in this judgment? 1 John 2:1, 2 [Micah 7:9; Heb. 4:14-16; 7:25] (1 John 2:1-2 NKJV) My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. {2} And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. 13. If we have accepted Jesus as our Savior by allowing Him to forgive our past sins and to write His law in our hearts, what attitude can we have toward the judgment? 1 John 2:28 (1 John 2:28 NKJV) And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. [Ans: One of confidence. Heb. 10:19-23] 14. After the judgment is finished, what decree will God issue? Rev. 22:11, 12 [Note: As the door of the ark was closed seven days before the flood began, so probation will close shortly before Jesus comes. [Matt. 24:37-41] (Revelation 22:11-12 NKJV) "He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still." {12} "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. Commitment: God could have finished this judgment, which He began on October 22, 1844, long ere this, but He delays, for He is "longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish" (2 Peter 3:9). Yet He will not wait forever. God has already given us longer to repent than He gave the people of Noah's day. Will you choose today, while probation lingers, to let Jesus be your advocate in the judgment by making Him the Lord of your life?
Further Study VersesQuestion 1 - Further Study (Matthew 16:27 NKJV) "For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. -->Back to Study Question 2 - Further Study (Matthew 24:42-44 NKJV) "Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. {43} "But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. {44} "Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. -->Back to Study Question 3 - Further Study (Amos 3:7 NKJV) Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. -->Back to Study Question 4 - Further Study (Acts 24:25 NKJV) Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, "Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you." -->Back to Study Question 5 - Further Study (Revelation 5:8-11 NKJV) Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. {9} And they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, {10} And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth." {11} Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, -->Back to Study Question 6 - Further Study (Leviticus 16:16 NKJV) "So he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, for all their sins; and so he shall do for the tabernacle of meeting which remains among them in the midst of their uncleanness. (Leviticus 16:30 NKJV) "For on that day the priest shall make atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the LORD. (Leviticus 16:34 NKJV) "This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the children of Israel, for all their sins, once a year." And he did as the LORD commanded Moses. (Isaiah 43:25 NKJV) "I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins. (Acts 3:19 NKJV) "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, (Hebrews 9:7-12 NKJV) But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people's sins committed in ignorance; {8} the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing. {9} It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience; {10} concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation. {11} But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. {12} Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. (Hebrews 9:23-24 NKJV) Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. {24} For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; (Hebrews 10:16-17 NKJV) "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them," {17} then He adds, "Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more." (Numbers 14:34 NKJV) 'According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely forty years, and you shall know My rejection. (Ezekiel 4:6 NKJV) "And when you have completed them, lie again on your right side; then you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days. I have laid on you a day for each year. (Revelation 11:15-19 NKJV) Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!" {16} And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, {17} saying: "We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, The One who is and who was and who is to come, Because You have taken Your great power and reigned. {18} The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, And the time of the dead, that they should be judged, And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, And those who fear Your name, small and great, And should destroy those who destroy the earth." {19} Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail. -->Back to Study Question 7 - Further Study Question 8 - Further Study (Matthew 21:43 NKJV) "Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. (Ephesians 2:11-14 NKJV) Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh; who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands; {12} that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. {13} But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. {14} For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, -->Back to Study Question 9 - Further Study Question 10 - Further Study (Leviticus 23:26-32 NKJV) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: {27} "Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. {28} "And you shall do no work on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the LORD your God. {29} "For any person who is not afflicted in soul on that same day shall be cut off from his people. {30} "And any person who does any work on that same day, that person I will destroy from among his people. {31} "You shall do no manner of work; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. {32} "It shall be to you a sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict your souls; on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall celebrate your sabbath." -->Back to Study Question 11 - Further Study (1 John 2:3-6 NKJV) Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. {4} He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. {5} But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. {6} He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. (1 John 3:1-8 NKJV) Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. {2} Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. {3} And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. {4} Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. {5} And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. {6} Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. {7} Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. {8} He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. -->Back to Study Question 12 - Further Study (Micah 7:9 NKJV) I will bear the indignation of the LORD, Because I have sinned against Him, Until He pleads my case And executes justice for me. He will bring me forth to the light; I will see His righteousness. (Hebrews 4:14-16 NKJV) Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. {15} For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. {16} Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 7:25 NKJV) Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. -->Back to Study Question 13 - Further Study (Hebrews 10:19-23 NKJV) Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, {20} by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, {21} and having a High Priest over the house of God, {22} let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. {23} Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. -->Back to Study Question 14 - Further Study (Matthew 24:37-41 NKJV) "But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. {38} "For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, {39} "and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. {40} "Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. {41} "Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. -->Back to Study
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