Judged Already: Rethinking the Investigative Judgment
"Judged Already: Rethinking the Investigative Judgment" Text for Today: “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” —Hebrews 9:27 (NKJV) The Doctrine of the Investigative Judgment Seventh-day Adventists hold a unique doctrine in Christian theology known as the Investigative Judgment . According to traditional Adventist teaching, this judgment began in 1844 based on the prophecy in Daniel 8:14 : "Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." Interpreted through the historicist method and the day-year principle, this was applied to the heavenly sanctuary, and it was taught that Christ moved into the Most Holy Place in heaven to begin a pre-Advent judgment , investigating the lives of professed believers to determine their eternal destiny. This doctrine was developed during the aftermath of the Great Disappointment of 1844 , when early Adventists—expecting Christ to return physically—reinterpreted ...