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of holies, and there appears in the presence of God to engage in the
last acts of his ministration in behalf of man,—to perform the work
of investigative Judgment, and to make an atonement for all who are
shown to be entitled to its benefits.
“The dead were judged,” says John, “out of those things which
were written in the books, according to their works.” [Revelation
20:12.] Angels of God have kept a faithful record of the lives of all, and they are to be judged according to their deeds. In view of this
Judgment, Peter exhorted the men of Israel: “Repent ye therefore,
and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times
of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and he
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shall send Jesus,” “whom the heaven must receive until the times of
restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all
his holy prophets since the world began.” [Acts 3:19-21.]
Christ himself declares: “He that overcometh, the same shall
be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of
the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and
before his angels.” [Revelation 3:5.] Again he said to his disciples:
“Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I con-
fess also before my Father which is in Heaven. But whosoever shall
deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which
is in Heaven.” [Matthew 10:32, 33.]
The lives of all who have believed on Jesus pass in solemn review
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before God. Begi
our Advocate examines the cases of each successive generation, and
closes with the living. Every name is mentioned, every case closely
investigated. Names are accepted, names rejected. From age to age,
all who have truly repented of sin, and by faith claimed the blood of
Christ as their atoning sacrifice, have had pardon written against their
names in the books of Heaven, and in the closing work of Judgment
their sins are blotted out, and they themselves are accounted worthy
of eternal life.
The deepest interest manifested among men in the decisions of
earthly tribunals but faintly represents the interest evinced in the
heavenly courts when the names entered in the book of life come up
in review before the Judge of all the earth. The divine Intercessor
presents the plea that all who from among the fallen sons of men have
overcome through faith in his blood, be forgiven their transgressions,
that they be restored to their Eden home, and crowned as joint-heirs
with himself to the “first dominion.” [Micah 4:8.] Satan, in his efforts to deceive and tempt our race, had thought to frustrate the divine
plan in man’s creation; but Christ now asks that this plan be carried
into effect as if man had never fallen. He asks for his people not
only pardon and justification, full and complete, but a share in his
glory and a seat upon his throne.
While Jesus is pleading for the subjects of his grace, Satan
accuses them before God as transgressors. The great deceiver has
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sought to lead them into skepticism, to cause them to lose confidence
in God, to separate from his love, and to break his law. Now he
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points to their defective characters, to their unlikeness to Christ
which has dishonored their Redeemer, to all the sins which he has
tempted them to commit, and because of these he claims them as his
subjects.
Jesus does not excuse their sins, but shows their penitence and
faith, and, claiming for them forgiveness, he lifts his wounded hands
before the Father and the holy angels, saying, “I know them by name.
I have graven them on the palms of my hands. ‘The sacrifices of
God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou
wilt not despise.’” [Psalm 51:17.] And to the accuser of his people he declares, “The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that
hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee. Is not this a brand plucked out
of the fire?” [Zechariah 3:2.] Christ will place his own signet upon his faithful ones, that he may present them to his Father “a glorious
church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.” Their names
stand enrolled in the book of life, and concerning them it is written,
“They shall walk with me in white; for they are worthy.”
Those who are owned and approved of God are not therefore
recognized and honored by the world. The very names that are taken
upon the lips of Jesus as belonging to his own sons and daughters,
joint-heirs with the King of glory, honored among the heavenly
angels, are often those that are spoken with contempt and mockery
by the ungodly. Steadfast souls whom Jesus delights to honor are
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for his sake defamed, imprisoned, mobbed, hunted, and slain. God’s
people must live by faith. They must look over into the great beyond,
and choose divine honors and the recompense of the reward above
every earthly gain or preferment. While probation continues, they
must expect that the world will know them not, “because it knew
Him not.”
Great and small, high and low, rich and poor, are to be judged
“out of those things which were written in the books, according to
their works.” Day after day, passing into eternity, bears its burden of
records for the books of Heaven. Words once spoken, deeds once
done, can never be recalled. Angels of God have registered both the
good and the evil. The mightiest conqueror upon the earth ca
call back the record of even a single day. Our acts, our words, even
our most secret motives, all have their weight in deciding our destiny
for weal or woe. Though they may be forgotten by us, they will
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bear their testimony to justify or condemn. They go before us to the
Judgment.
The use made of every talent will be scrutinized. Have we
improved the capital intrusted us of God? Will the Lord at his
coming receive his own with usury? No value is attached to the mere
profession of faith in Christ; nothing is counted as genuine but that
love which is shown by works.
As the features of the countenance are reproduced with mar-
velous exactness in the camera of the artist, so is the character
faithfully delineated in the books above. If Christians were as so-
licitous to stand faultless in the heavenly records as they are to be
represented without a blemish in the picture, how different would
their life-history appear.
Could the vail which separates the visible from the invisible
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world be swept back, and the children of men behold an angel
recording every word and deed to meet them again in the Judgment,
how many words that are daily uttered would remain unspoken;