Memory Text: “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’ ” (Revelation 14:7, NKJV).
The hour of God’s judgment is come, says the first angel. But when and where is that judgment to take place?
Daniel answers both questions.
First there are four kingdoms: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. Then Rome falls and gives way to ten kingdoms, the ten “barbarian” tribes that took over the Western Roman Empire. But then a different kind of king arises, speaking blasphemies and seeking to change times and laws. This is the transition from pagan Rome to papal Rome, the Roman Catholic Church of the middle ages. The papacy uproots or displaces three of the kings which took over from pagan Rome.
Suddenly, Daniel sees something completely different:
“As I loooked, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat.
His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool.
His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened. Dan. 7:9-10
Daniel’s attention is taken away from the march of earthly kingdoms across the pages of history, and he is shown a scene that is very clearly set in heaven.
Based upon the fact that “books were opened” and “thrones were set in place,” we know that this is a time and a place of judgment, because we are judged by what is written in the books.
“And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.” Rev. 20:12
Daniel and John are both showing us the same thing: a scene of judgment in heaven. So the “where” is simple: the judgement takes place in heaven.
And when is this judgment in heaven to take place?
The judgment scene in heaven is in Daniel 7:9-10, after the little horn has established itself by uprooting three of the ten barbarian tribes that invaded Rome, which happens in Daniel 7:8.
The sequence is that (1) the little horn establishes itself, (2) the judgment opens in heaven, (3) Daniel’s attention is returned to earth, where he “continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking.”
So John sees the establishment of the little horn, then the judgment opens in heaven, then John sees that the little horn is still speaking blasphemy. Then “I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire.” Dan. 7:11.
So this judgment in heaven opens after the little horn is established but before this king is ultimately destroyed in the execution of the judgment, shortly after the visible second coming of Christ.
We must underscore this point: The judgment in heaven begins before the Second Coming. It takes place before the Second Adventist of Christ, which is why we call it a “pre-Advent judgment.”
This is logically inescapable: The judgment in heaven must take place before the Second Advent, i.e., it must be a pre-Advent judgment, because when Jesus returns to earth he “has his reward with him.” Rev. 22:12
“Behold, I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me, to give to each one according to what he has done.”
So since Christ is to give each according to what he has done, the examination of the books of heaven to see what each of us has done, has to have taken place before Christ returns.
By the way, the same principle is set out in the Old Testament; indeed, Revelation 22:12 is a quotation of Isaiah:
“Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and His arm establishes His rule. His reward is with Him, and His recompense accompanies Him. Isa. 40:10
“Behold, the LORD has proclaimed to the ends of the earth, ‘Say to Daughter Zion: See, your Savior comes! Look, His reward is with Him, and His recompense goes before Him.’” Isa. 62:11
And Jesus himself clearly stated the same thing: “For the son of man will come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will repay each one according to what he has done.” Mat. 16:27.
But the time window in which the heavenly judgment can take place is still very large, because we believe that the little horn, the papacy, had consolidated its power by 538 AD, but the Second Coming final execution of judgment is still in the future, lo these 1,485 years later.
But when the when the angel interprets the dream for Daniel, he tremendously narrows the window for the heavenly judgment.
“He gave me this explanation: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set times and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time. But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. Dan. 7:23-27.
Here, we are told that the the little horn, the diverse or different king, persecutes the saints for a times and half a time. This is three and one-half prophetic years, which is 1,260 prophetic days/literal years. It is only after this 1,260 year period that the “court will sit,” meaning that the judgment in heaven will convene.
If we start the 1,260 years in 538 AD, this prophetic period ends in 1798, the year the pope is taken prisoner by forces from revolutionary France, giving the papacy its “deadly wound.” Only after this prophetic period expires will the “books be opened and the thrones set in place.” So now we should be looking for this judgment in heaven to begin after 1798. Again, that narrows the window a great deal, from 1,485 years to just the period after 1798, or the past 225 years.
Can we narrow it further?
The vision in Daniel 8 begins with the Ram with two horns (Medo-Persia) and ends with the little horn. “How long shall be the vision?” And he said to me, “Unto 2,300 days, and then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.”
Given that the 2,300 prophetic days/literal years includes the entire length of the vision in Daniel 8, we should expect it to begin during the time of the Medes and the Persians, and end during the time of the little horn, which is the span of the vision in Daniel 8.
Beginning the prophetic period in 457 BC, during the time of Medo-Persia, brings the 2,300 year period to a close in 1844, during the time of the little horn power. This period also ends after 1798, which is within the window predicted by Daniel 7:23-27. Everything fits together very exactly.
The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels. Rev. 3:5