In 1888 Ellen White wrote, “The subject of the sanctuary and the investigative judgment should be clearly understood by the people of God” (GC 488). Yet, many Seventh-day Adventists today have only a limited or distorted understanding of this important doctrine. In addition, critics claim that the investigative judgment is not a biblical teaching and that those who believe in it cannot have any assurance of salvation.

In this volume Marvin Moore, long-time editor of Signs of the Times magazine, responds to the criticisms that have been leveled against this doctrine and shows that the investigative or pre-advent judgment is in fact a biblical teaching which shows that God is fair and that he is on our side in this judgment. Apart from the introductory chapter, thirty-five short chapters are divided into eight sections dealing with such topics as righteousness by faith and the investigative judgment, issues concerning this doctrine in the books of Daniel and Hebrews, the history of the doctrine, and the investigative judgment and the sanctuary.

Moore pulls together the most recent research of Adventist scholars on the topic. In regard to issues in Leviticus he relies largely on Roy Gane who wrote his dissertation and several books on the Levitical ritual. Concerning the judgment in Daniel he draws heavily on the dissertation by Martin Pröbstle which dealt with Daniel 8:9-14; on the chronology of Daniel 9:24-27 he draws attention to the dissertation of Brempong Owusu-Antwi; and when dealing with issues in Hebrews he relies on a dissertation on Hebrews by Felix Cortez. Moore is able to distill the technical language of these dissertations into a readable form for the average layperson while keeping the attention of scholars.

The book’s basic premise is that, “the investigative judgment has to be understood in the context of the great controversy, for only in that context does it make sense” (p. 37). The investigative judgment is part of “God’s plan to resolve the sin problem” (p. 42). Satan accuses the saints before God, pointing to their sins and claiming them as his subjects. In response God opens the books, so to speak, and lets angels and the unfallen beings of the universe review “the life of every single human that He has decided to bring into His kingdom” (p. 43). Thus the investigative judgment is not for God to decide who is worthy; He knows that before the books are opened. The “purpose of this judgment is to let the angels see the grounds for God’s decisions regarding each of His people” (p. 44). Thus this judgment vindicates the saints and God Himself before the universe.

Every objection to the investigative judgment teaching is heard, evaluated, and refuted. Moore sometimes goes beyond traditional Adventist explanations. Concerning the heavenly sanctuary, for example, he says “the throne room Jesus entered at His ascension includes both the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place” without a veil between them (p. 277). The purpose of the veil in the earthly sanctuary was to shield the priest from God’s presence, but there is no need for Jesus to be shielded from the Father’s presence in heaven. In this way Moore deflects the criticism that Jesus entered the presence of God in a.d. 31 as the New Testament indicates, and not in 1844. At the same time, he affirms that Jesus began what was in the earthly sanctuary the first-apartment ministry and in 1844 added the second-apartment ministry, i.e., the investigative judgment. Moore does an admirable job of showing that this is the teaching of Scripture. Ellen White’s description of a two-apartment heavenly sanctuary in Early Writings (p. 32) is understandable, he says, because she described what she saw in vision and God showed her an earthly sanctuary that she could recognize. Whether or not readers find this persuasive, Moore faces controversial issues such as these head-on.

While The Case for the Investigative Judgment is a long-needed response to the attacks by critics and a corrective to some of the misconceptions of many church members, there are some things in this book that puzzled this reviewer. He argues, for example:

1. The investigative judgment “progresses in stages, with breaks between sessions that may last several years” (p. 98). This is sheer speculation. The fact that the judgment has now lasted more than 160 years should not disturb us. Every day thousands die whose names appear in the books of heaven and so decisions concerning their status need to be made every day.

2. “Since there is no year 0 between 1 B.c. and 1 a.d., we need to add a year to our calculation” (p. 233). This is a chronological fallacy. Of course, there is no year 0. Why should there be? The “missing year” is found at the beginning and ending of a certain time period. For example, the 483 years between the command to restore Jerusalem in 457 B.c. and the baptism of Jesus in a.d. 27 consist of the following: 3 months of the year 457 (the command was given in the autumn)
   456 full years
   26 full years
   9 months of the year 27 (Jesus was baptized in the autumn of 27, 3½ years before he died in the spring of a.d. 31).
   Thus 456 years + 26 years + 3 months + 9 months is 483 full years.

3. After explaining that the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place are really just a single room in the heavenly sanctuary Moore says, “At the same time, we can consider Daniel 7 to describe a second location in the heavenly sanctuary where heaven’s Day of Atonement and the investigative judgment takes place” (p. 282). But if it is a one-room heavenly sanctuary, what is this other location, what is located there, and what is it for? The High Priest went into the Most Holy Place only on the Day of Atonement. But if the sanctuary in heaven is one large room why should Jesus go somewhere else? This is left unexplained and constitutes a contradiction in the book.

In spite of these flaws, the book will be helpful for every minister and church member to understand the importance of the investigative judgment.