Armchair Theologian

This is the Sixth post in a series on the Investigative Judgment, each of these builds consecutively on the prior so if you have not already read my most recent post please click HERE.

Below is a summary of the 23 Biblical assumptions required to believe in the Investigative Judgment.  I did not compile this list myself, it was arranged by another former Adventist I know by the name of Geoff Bull, and the original work was of course done by Desmond Ford.  If you are SDA or used to be then you have heard that name before.  He was the Adventist theologian that sunk the Investigative Judgment with his extensive exegesis in the original languages.  Furthermore, he identified 23 assumptions one must swallow to even consider the Investigative Judgment.  None of these assumptions have any strong textual support and if a single one is false the whole doctrine fails.

Assumption 1
That the KJV translation of Daniel 8:14 as 2300 days is correct.
Twenty-five times Daniel uses the Hebrew word ‘yowm’ for days…
…however, Daniel does not use ‘yowm’ in 8:14…
…instead the ambiguous “evening-morning” (‘ereb boqer’) is used…
…which most exegetes apply to the evening and morning burnt offerings…
…if the exegetes are correct, it means only 1150 days are in view.

Assumption 2
That these 2300 “days” equal 2300 years…
…even though it is impossible to prove that the year-day principle is a biblical datum…
…and even if we could, ‘days’ are not mentioned in either 8:14 or 9:24…
…so there is no basis to apply the principle in these instances.

Assumption 3
That these 2300 years begin centuries before the “little horn” began his attack on the sanctuary.
In the context, the 2300 days has been understood by almost all commentators as applying to ‘the length of time’ the little horn is trampling the sanctuary underfoot and suspending its daily offerings.

Assumption 4
That the 2300 years begin at the same time as the seventy weeks.
The Hebrew ‘chathak’ can mean either “cut” or “decree,”…
…but there is no way of proving that the 490 is ‘cut off’ from the 2300.

Assumption 5
That it is possible to be certain of the exact year that the seventy weeks begin…
…and is the decree to begin when God declares it or when an earthly king proclaims it?

Assumption 6
That the decree of Artaxerxes recorded in Ezra 7 has to do with the restoring and building of Jerusalem.
There is nothing in Ezra 7 that says this.
The context says that this decree, like those of Cyrus and Darius, had to do with the temple.
The magistrates were to enforce the temple laws.
Ezra 6:14 places this decree among the temple decrees.

Isaiah 45:1-2.13 “Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus…I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the LORD of hosts.”

If Cyrus is the king who the Lord appointed to rebuild Jerusalem.
It was about 538 BC when he decreed the captive Hebrews could return under Zerubbabel’s leadership.

Assumption 7
That the decree of Ezra 7 “went forth” in (or by) 457 BC when Ezra had arrived in Jerusalem and set to work.
Ezra says the decree had been announced at least six months earlier.
There is nothing in Daniel to say that this decree should be dated from the time of its implementation rather than its enunciation.

Assumption 8
That 408 BC was the time when the restoration of the city was completed…
…even Adventist scholars admit this is impossible to prove.

Assumption 9
That AD 27 was the date of Christ’s baptism…
…also impossible to establish an exact date.

Assumption 10
That AD 31 was the date of the crucifixion…
…almost all scholars hold to other years, not this one…
…evidence from Grace Amadon’s research, often used by SDAs, is based on doubtful assumptions that is even admitted by the SDA Bible Commentary.

Assumption 11
That AD 34 was the date of the gospel going to the gentiles…
…though there is no way of proving that AD 34 was the time of the stoning of Stephen…
…Acts 13:46 suggests the turning to the gentiles at a later date.

Assumption 12
That the 2300 days end with the beginning of the anti-typical Day of Atonement…
…even though the Day of Atonement revolved around the sacrifice for sin, an event which took place about eighteen centuries earlier.
The book of Hebrews clearly applies the Day of Atonement in antitype to Christ’s priestly offering of Himself on Calvary.

Assumption 13
That until this date was reached, Christ was doing work prefigured by the first apartment outside the veil…
…even though Hebrews tells us that the work of that apartment symbolized the ineffectual offerings of the Levitical era when men had restricted access to God, and experienced outward ceremonial cleansing rather than perfection of the conscience.

Assumption 14
That the work symbolized by the second apartment of the sanctuary was not to begin till over 1800 years after the cross…
…even though Hebrews 9:8, 12, 24, 25; 10:19, 20; 6:19, 20 says that Christ entered “within the veil” at His ascension…
…the sprinkling of the blood on the mercy seat took place immediately after the shedding.

Assumption 15
That the sanctuary of Daniel 8:14 means the sanctuary in heaven…
…even though the context is about the sanctuary on earth.

Assumption 16
That “cleansed” is an accurate translation in Daniel 8:14…
…’tsadaq’ is usually translated “to be just, to be righteous, to be put or made right”.

Assumption 17
That the sanctuary on the Day of Atonement was cleansed from defilement occasioned by the confession of sin and ministration of blood…
…even though Numbers 19:13 indicates that the sanctuary was defiled when a person sinned, regardless of whether confession was made…
…and that in most cases, blood never went into the sanctuary.

Assumption 18
That the cleansing of the sanctuary in 8:14 has to do with the sins of the professed believers in Christ…
…even though the context has to do with a defilement accomplished by Antichrist…
…not the host of God’s people.

Assumption 19
That this ‘cleansing’ of 8:14 is also found in Daniel 7 in its judgment scene and that the latter also has to do with the investigation of the sins of the saints…
…even though in Daniel 7 and 8 it is a wicked power that is the focus of the judgment.

Assumption 20
That Revelation 14:7 has to do with the same Investigative Judgment of the sins of the saints…
…even though John never uses the word ‘krisis’ other than in a negative sense for unbelievers…
…and although the very next verse tells us that it is Babylon that is the focus of the judgment.

Assumption 21
That verses like Acts 3:19 point to the Investigative Judgment…
…even though no such verse studied in context yield this conclusion.

Assumption 22
That the period terminates in October 22, 1844, as the beginning of the anti-typical Day of Atonement…
…even though October 22, 1844 was not the day observed by contemporary Jews…
…or even by the majority of Karaites…
…neither is there evidence that the baptism of Christ, or the stoning of Stephen took place on the Day of Atonement, which would have been necessary if the 49 years, the 434, 490, and 2300 years are each precise in terminus.

Assumption 23
That Ellen G. White was correct when she wrote: “I saw that God was in the proclamation of the time in 1843. …Ministers were convinced of the correctness of the positions taken on the prophetic periods” (SG, p. 232).
Ellen was writing here about the 1843 terminus, not October 22, 1844.
Ellen also used the plural ‘periods’ ending then, not just one period…
…William Miller had over a dozen, including the 6000 years, the seven times, the 1335 days, etc…
…and they were all wrong!

I understand that a healthy degree of speculation is in order when one studies eschatology.  But 23 assumptions with no clear textual support is more than I am willing to swallow.  But that is not my biggest problem, consider that when one does swallow those assumptions they lead to a false gospel that contradicts clear scripture.  Why would I be willing to do that?

The pioneers of SDA were willing to do such things because they were ashamed of setting dates for the second coming.  Instead of repenting they claimed spiritual fulfillment and hid behind more false doctrine.  Because of this sin countless have suffered in false teachings since.

This is the fourth post in a series on the Investigative Judgment, for the previous entry please click HERE.  This post does not cover the 70 Weeks Prophecy in Daniel 9 but rather the linking of the two chapters that is asserted by SDA as part of the Investigative Judgment motif.

Based on my conclusions from the previous post on Daniel 8:14 we are working with 1150 literal 24 hour days but we don’t have a starting point on a calendar by which to see when they began and when they ended.

This is the same problem for SDA who are trying to figure out when the 2300 years is supposed to start.  In order to solve that problem they asserted that the visions in Ch 8 and Ch 9 are connected.  The reason that they want to do this is because in Daniel 9:25 we see the following:

“Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one,….” Daniel 9:25 ESV

It is asserted that the “going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem”  transpired in 457 B.C. when Nehemiah was commanded to rebuild the wall by King Artaxerxes (Neh 2:1). As an aside, scholars don’t actually know for sure if Dan 9:25 is a prophecy concerning Nehemiah or King Cyrus (Isa 44:28).  Either is just as possible as the other as Daniel 9:25 is not clear enough to decisively pick one over the other.  Scholars generally pick the one that works best for their brand of eschatology.

That said, SDA go with Neh 2:1 which can be dated to 457 B.C.  If you add 2300 modern calendar years to 457 B.C. you arrive at 1844.  If you add 2300 Jewish calendar years to 457 B.C. you arrive at 1812.  If you account for leap year you end up somewhere in 1811.  My point in mentioning this is that there exists a lot of flexibility in date setting.  Because of this I would recommend viewing Biblical time prophecies as pointing to a period of time rather than a specific year or day. SDA don’t take this into account though as they have to stay with the ending date that William Miller and Ellen White selected.

Getting to the point, the biggest problem for SDA here is that in order to have the start date of 457 B.C. for the 2300 years they need the vision in Daniel 8 to be connected to the vision in Daniel 9.  Below is a diagram illustrating my point.  Notice that the orange 2300 year prophecy must start at the same time as the blue 490 year prophecy in their motif, otherwise you don’t have 1844.

In order to effect this interpretation SDA focus in on a few Hebrew words in Daniel 9.  Lets take a close and see what they mean.  I am not a Hebrew scholar nor do I claim to be, my sources in this are biblehub.com, a good website that allows you to look at every verse in its original language breakdown, and Investigating the Investigative Judgment by Larry Pahl.  For those of you unfamiliar with his work, he is an SDA theologian at Andrews University.

The first verse we will look at is where Gabriel is identified and a prior vision is referenced.

“while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice.” Daniel 9:21 ESV

The word in question here is transliterated “techillah” and can be translated as “at the first” or “at the beginning” depending on what version you are using.

In order to connect the visions of chapters 8 and 9 SDA will argue that the referent to “at the first” is the prior vision Daniel had received 14 years earlier in Ch 8.  The problem with this is rather than saying “the prior” vision he is saying the “first”.  So logically it would be a referent to the first vision received in this set of three (3).

Since the vision in Ch 7 is received prior to Ch 8 in a set of three (3) concluding with the one in Ch 9 it therefore follows that the “vision at the first” is the one in Ch 7.  While it is true that all three visions are received chronologically, that in no way requires that they all be addressing the same topic or have the same start and or end dates.

That isn’t even touching the biggest problem with asserting the vision in Ch 8 is linked to Ch 9.  See below that Gabriel specifically states that the vision he gave in Ch 8 is to be sealed.

“The vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been told is true, but seal up the vision, for it refers to many days from now.” Daniel 8:26 ESV

I would argue that contextually the “many days from now” is a referrent to verse 17 concerning the same vision:

“…Understand, O son of man, that the vision is for the time of the end.” Daniel 8:17 ESV

So the command is given to Daniel to seal up the vision for many days, which I would argue is the same as “the time of the end”.  Whether you interpret that as the first advent of Christ or the second, you cannot understand Ch 9 as a clarification of Ch 8.  This is because it was commanded for Ch 8 to be sealed for many days.

The vision in Ch 9 was given to Daniel only 14 years later and long before any of the events of either visions were fulfilled.  Furthermore, if SDA were to argue that the “many days” is only 14 years that would undermine their argument that the seal of this Ch 8 vision was opened during and after the Millerite movement.  You can’t have it both ways.

To summarize, if the SDA were correct that Ch 9 is providing the start date of the vision in Ch 8 then they are saying that a seal placed by the Kingdom of Heaven on a vision was unsealed long before the Messenger of Heaven said it would be.  In essence, they present a self defeating Biblical argument that creates unnecessary contradictions and falls apart when examined with any scrutiny.  The simple truth is that we can’t Biblically assert a start date for the time prophecy in Daniel 8:14.

This is not that big of a deal, there are many time based prophecies in the Bible in which no start or end date is given in the text.  Instead in Ch 8 we are given a prophecy of an event that will last a certain length of time, most likely 1150 days.

If I were to search through history looking for fulfillment I would seek out an event where the Temple was destroyed or desecrated in some fashion or another by a powerful individual who is subordinate to a greater power (hence the little horn), and then see if the destruction remained for about 1150 days.  This is not a study I have performed yet but I am providing a link below to the work of a Biblical scholar who has for those interested in further reading.

Proclamation Magazine: Spring 2014, Antiochus Epiphanies is He the Little Horn, by Dale Ratzlaff

This is the third post in a series on the Investigative Judgment, for the previous entry please click HERE.

The interpretation that the SDA Church uses with regards to Daniel 8:14 is another key component of the Investigative Judgment and will likely take several posts to cover properly.  If this verse could possibly be read in a way that doesn’t work for SDA theology that means that 1844 was just another year on the calendar and that nothing of any eschatological significance took place.

Before getting started lets take a close look at the verse in question:

“And he said to me, “For 2,300 evenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary shall be restored to its rightful state.” Daniel 8:14 ESV

There are numerous assumptions that come into play in the SDA interpretation of this verse but what I am going to focus on here is the concept of 2300 years. It is my assessment that this interpretation is predicated upon the following:

1. That 2300 evenings and mornings means 2300 24 hour days
2. That 2300 24 hour days really mean 2300 years

I do not think that the most logical interpretation of Daniel 8:14 is 2300 days, but rather 2300 evenings and mornings.  In the King James, which was used by early Adventists it does say days.  But according to all of the commentary I have read on this verse the Hebrew says ‘evenings and mornings’.

Source: Biblehub.com

In most places in scripture when a day is referenced the transliterated Hebrew word “yom” is used:

Source: Biblehub.com

Working with the term evenings and mornings that would then mean 1150 24 hour days not 2300 as every day has one (1) evening and one (1) morning contained within it.

To be sure let us take a closer look at the preceding context of Daniel 8:14

“It became great, even as great as the Prince of the host. And the regular burnt offering was taken away from him, and the place of his sanctuary was overthrown. And a host will be given over to it together with the regular burnt offering because of transgression, and it will throw truth to the ground, and it will act and prosper. Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the one who spoke, “For how long is the vision concerning the regular burnt offering, the transgression that makes desolate, and the giving over of the sanctuary and host to be trampled underfoot?” Daniel 8:11-13 ESV

The most logical understanding of the evenings and mornings in Daniel 8:14 would then be the evening and morning sacrifices in which the “regular burnt offering” was given in the Old Covenant Temple.  It would therefore follow that 1150 24 hour days is a more accurate period of time than 2300 as we are talking about a numerical amount of evenings and mornings rather than straight days.  This is rather damaging to SDA doctrine because without the 2300 literal days they have no point with which to build their next premise.

As I have just shown above we don’t even have 2300 days anymore we have 1150.  But could Daniel 8:14 possibly mean 1150 years?  If that were the case then it would have ended a long time before 1844.  Even still, this is a critical thesis for SDA who claim that the ‘day to year principle’ is a key tool for unlocking prophecy.

I would argue that ‘day to year principle‘ isn’t even a thing.  This was an interpretive technique invented by scholars who favored a brand of eschatology called Historicism.  There is only one verse in the Bible that outright uses days to typify years and it is not even in an eschatological genre.

“According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.” Num 14:34 ESV

However we also see a day representing a thousand years:

“But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” 2 Ptr 3:8 ESV

And a Basket:

“And Joseph answered and said, “This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days.” Gen 40:18 ESV

And a 12 hour period of time:

“Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.” John 11:9 ESV

And a branch:

“Then Joseph said to him, “This is its interpretation: the three branches are three days.” Gen 40:12 ESV

And a 24 hour period of time:

“And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.” Gen 1:8 ESV

It seems clear to me that the hermenuetic for day to year principle is violating the logical fallacy of begging the question as it has already assumed 1844 and must use whichever verse in the bible it can to justify its existence.  Problem is by the same logic incorporated for day to year principle I could simply assert that a day is a thousand years (2 Ptr 3:8) so in 1,150,000 years from its start date we can expect fulfillment.  As far as I am concerned Daniel 8:14 is speaking of 1150 literal 24 hour days that would contain two (2) temple sacrifices at each end.  I see no Biblical reason to assume that any lens be placed on top of them.

The most common objection I will see to this argument I have just presented is that Daniel 8:17, within the context of the preceding verses is clear that the “vision is for the time of the end”.  The problem is that this passage does not define “time of the end”.  Does it mean time of the end of the age preceding the Advent of Christ?  Does it mean end of the world?  We can’t say for sure based only on verse 17.

Though I actually believe the end he is speaking of here is referring to Christ that is not my main point, and would go beyond the scope of this post.  My main point is that even if the referent of “the end” in verse 17 is eschatological that doesn’t transform verse 14 into years.  That would simply mean that we are still waiting on a little horn to trample the temple for 1150 days at some point in the future.  By no means can you pull 2300 years out of Daniel 8:14 unless you already have your mind made up ahead of time.

This is the second post in a series on the Investigative Judgment, for the previous entry please click HERE.

A key piece of the puzzle on the Investigative Judgment is that Ellen White teaches it is the Judgment for believers only.

“…So in the great day of final atonement and investigative judgment, the only cases considered are those of the professed people of God. The judgment of the wicked is a distinct and separate work, at a later period” The Great Controversy, 1950 edition, page 480

In order to back this up I have seen many SDA online will assemble unclear verses speaking about Judgment day and attempt to argue how it fits into their motif.  The problem with this is that there are many clear verses in scripture which teach that believers do not enter into Judgment at all.  The Bible teaches that we pass from death to life in this present age.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” John 5:24 ESV

Source: Biblehub.com

The SDA that I present this verse to will generally tell me that I am reading it in the wrong version.  They argue that the King James uses the word “condemnation” instead of “Judgment”.  The problem with their argument is that at the time the King James was translated “condemnation” meant the same thing as “Judgment”.  If you want to double check my claim feel free to look up the word in a KJV Dictionary, or simply click HERE.

More relevant to this issue is that when Jesus speaks of the Judgment he uses the same Greek word “krisin”.  See below:

Source: Google Translate

“The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.” Luke 11:32 ESV

Source: Biblehub.com

“Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.” Matt 10:15 ESV

Source: Biblehub.com

“But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you.” Matt 11:22 ESV

Source: Biblehub.com

The Bible doesn’t teach that believers undergo the judgment at all, this fact alone refutes the entire premise of the Investigative Judgment.

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Rom 8:1 ESV

In this next verse look closely at the tense of the verb

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” Rom 5:1-2 ESV

This is not something we have to wait for or a test we have to pass in the future, we have currently in this present age put on Christ Jesus and stand blameless before God.

“For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” Gal 3:27 ESV

Both of these verses above speak of something that has already been done.  This is the anti-type fulfillment of what Ezekiel prophecied in chapter 37.

“Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.” Eze 37:4-6 ESV

This is what happens to us today when we hear the word of God preached.  Our Lord and Savior has promised to create faith within us.  Just as Ezekiel prophecied of speaking the word of God to dry bones to bring them to life, today when the pastor preaches the Word of God Faith is created in the heart of the spiritually dead.

“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” Rom 10:14-17 ESV

This faith is created in us as a gift as Paul teaches in Ephesians.  

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” Eph 2:8 ESV

So to believe in the Investigative Judgment you would have to overturn all the clear soteriological texts of scripture.  You would have to believe that you are not justified until the conclusion of the Investigative Judgment process.  The Bible teaches that our salvation is now:

“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.” 1 John 5:13 ESV

The gospel has never been a future date of forgiveness.  We are currently forgiven of our sins right now. Notice John even uses the present tense in the first century for his flock.  Just as they could know they were saved then, we can know we are saved now.  Conversely, according to the Investigative Judgment sins of all believers are blotted out after every name of every believer has been reviewed, which would be in a future date after 1844.

“The work of the investigative judgment and the blotting out of sins is to be accomplished before the second advent of the Lord. Since the dead are to be judged out of the things written in the books, it is impossible that the sins of men should be blotted out until after the judgment at which their cases are to be investigated.” Great Controversy 1888 Page 485, Ellen White

In contradiction to Ellen White, the scripture I posted above teaches that we are saved here and now in this very present time in the preaching of the word by the death burial and resurrection of Christ.  You cannot have it both ways.

“And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38 ESV

Repent and be baptized now, the promise is for now not for a future date.  God bless, please feel free to drop any comments down below.

This is the first post in a series I am blogging on the Investigative Judgment.  To kick this off I am going to cover the teaching of Ellen White that Jesus did not enter the Most Holy in heaven until 1844.  Without this piece of the Investigative Judgment the rest of the doctrine falls with it.  To summarize, Ellen White taught that when Jesus Christ first ascended into heaven he entered only the first apartment of the temple in heaven where he performed an intercessory mission until October 22 1844.

According to the motif, on that date Jesus entered the Most Holy section of the temple in heaven for the first time.  This is very important to SDA because in their early days the advent movement lead by William Miller had predicted that the world would end on that date.  When the second coming didn’t happen it was a huge blow to all of those who held the belief.  Many had sold their farms and possessions expecting to leave the planet.

Shortly after what SDA call the “Great Disappointment” a member of the advent movement claimed to receive a vision.

“Heaven seemed to open to my view, and I saw distinctly and clearly, that instead of our high priest coming out of the most holy of the heavenly sanctuary to come to this earth on the tenth day of the seventh month, at the end of the 2300 days, that he for the first time entered on that day the second apartment of that sanctuary; and that he had a work to perform in the Most Holy before coming to this earth” -Hiram Edson 1844 Cornfield Vision

This vision was given a prophetic blessing by Ellen G White when she affirmed with the following:

“Thus those who followed in the light of the prophetic word that, instead of coming to the earth at the termination of the 2300 days in 1844, Christ then entered the Most Holy place of the heavenly sanctuary to perform the closing work of atonement preparatory to his coming.” The Great Controversy, p. 422

What I am addressing in this post is that a fundamental flaw in this view is that the Bible clearly teaches Jesus went to the Most Holy place directly after his ascension.  There is no teaching in scripture that he waited ~1811 years first.  Please review the verses pasted below:

“So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.” Mark 16:19 ESV 

“that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,”  Eph 1:20 ESV 

“But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”  Acts 7:55-56 ESV 

Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.  Rom 8:34 ESV 

“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.”  Col 3:1 ESV 

“He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,”  Heb 1:3 ESV 

“We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”  Heb 6:19-20 ESV

“Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,”  Heb 8:1 ESV 

“But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,”  Heb 10:12 ESV 

“looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”  Heb 12:2 ESV 

“who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.”  1 Ptr 3:22 ESV 

“The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.” Rev 3:21 ESV 

“‘The Lord said to my Lord,  “Sit at my right hand,  until I put your enemies under your feet”’?  Matt 22:44 ESV 

Please notice the following verbiage that is used in the above passages, particularly that there was no time gap in between the ascension and the arrival of Christ to the right hand of the Father.

“is seated at”

“he sat down”

“who is at”

Clearly these phrases are all in the past or present tense, not in the future.  In response many SDA will assert that Jesus had to pass through the Holy Place before getting to the Most Holy because of the construction and layout of the earthly temple.  The problem with that argument is that by the time the apostles are writing the above verses Jesus was already in the Most Holy place in the universe.  They refer to it as a place that he both already went to and currently resided in the first century.  For SDA theology to be correct Christ would have had to enter into the most holy place on Oct 22, 1844.

Some SDA assert that the throne room must be in the holy place instead of the Most Holy.  This doesn’t even work with their system of teaching.  The reason for that is SDA believe that the ministry of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary is an anti-type fulfillment of the earthly sanctuary.  If this were true  one would have to note that God resided in the Most Holy of the earthly sanctuary, therefore to be in keeping with that motif the same must also be true in the Heavenly Sanctuary.

For the record I don’t believe there is any Biblical reason to assume that the temple on earth was a replica of the one in heaven.  That is an SDA-ism not cleary taught in scripture anywhere.  But even if it were true, the fact is that in the earthly temple God always dwelt in the Most Holy.  In these verses Jesus is sitting right next to God the Father, so even if the temple in heaven is the same then that is where Jesus would have gone immediately to in ~33 A.D. not 1844.

Bear in mind, as the quotes above from SDA teaching clearly state, for the Investigative Judgment to be relevant with regards to the date of Oct 22 1844 then all of the above scripture must be false.  You have to choose between Ellen White and scripture on this, you can’t have both.