Mark, your work I find is truly focused upon the Investigative Judgment and should be taken as such. Perhaps I was too hasty to cast arrows on issues that did not have much to do with the IJ.

Here is what I have observed in regards to the IJ:

Jesus said (and I do believe he didn't lie) that He was the Passover Lamb. Scripture and data from computer will concur that Jesus' death was on the day of Passover, the 15th day (just before evening) of the 1st month after the spring equinox.

Looking at scripture in the Old Testament one can find that the first Passover lamb(s) were killed so that the blood could be used to place around the door openings--but for one purpose-IF they obeyed the words of God it would SAVE the lives of the first born male of the families. It had nothing to do with the women and those that were not of the first born. The Lamb was not sacrificed for anyone's sin. It was sacrificed to get people to OBEY what God commanded. Therefore, no one's sin was placed upon this lamb.

It truly appears that Paul and other writers mixed this sacrifice up with the Atonement sacrifice. Yes, John the "B" was mixed up too, for he was preaching that Jesus would be their king as in what I call "plan A" which was IF Israel had actually done what was prophesied in Daniel 9:24--but they didn't, so "plan B" took over. Evidence for this is found in Matthew 21:43

Yes, Jesus did give Himself in the place of Adam. Adam was to have been killed by God on the same day he disobeyed God. Therefore God killed His only begotten son (as Abraham was going to do) in the place of Adam, so that all of us (Adam's offspring) could have a chance to be saved--as what the Passover portrayed. But this death only makes it possible to be saved IF one OBEYS God's word as found in Revelation 12:17.

As for the Atonement, I will present my take on that later. But as for the Investigative Judgment, please read Revelation 11:1-2 and you will find that there is two judgments. The first is for those who worship in the temple, the second is for a later time. Neither is an 'investigative judgment' as in the sense EGW presents. What this shows, is there are basically two groups that are being judged at a different time.

In Revelation 7 you will find these two groups. The first are the bondservants of God who have been sealed prior to the time of trouble. It is they who testify to the truth during the time of trouble and after that we see another group who are judged and found righteous who come out of the time of trouble because of the ACTIONS OF THE SAINTS.

All of this follows what the Atonement portrayed. First to have their sins forgiven was the High Priest. Jesus (as the High Priest) said that He became sanctified so that we can also become sanctified (John 17).

Next was the Priest tribe. This group represents those found in the first judgment on Revelation 11:1-2--those from the Kingdom of Heaven, being the 144k. Next was the Nation of Israel, which represents the 5 wise virgins.

I hope you get the picture here. No, it is not what is presented in ANY Christian denomination, much less the SDA church, but it comes straight from the bible without anyone's hearsay evidence to taint it. Enjoy!

Levitivus 23:5 'In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight is the LORD'S Passover.

Exodus 12:5 'Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old ; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6 'You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight.

Deuteronomy 16:2 NAS
"You shall sacrifice the Passover to the LORD your God from the flock and the herd, in the place where the LORD chooses to establish His name.

John 18:28 NAS
[Jesus before Pilate] Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was early ; and they themselves did not enter into the Praetorium so that they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover.

John 19:14 NAS
Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover ; it was about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, "Behold, your King !"

The Passover lamb was unique among the sacrificed animals. The Passover lamb was to be eaten by the members of the household. It was never offered as a sin offering. The Passover was the first holy convocation of the year for Israel and signified a new beginning in righteousness for the kingdom. The kingdom of God had been purchased with the blood of the Passover lamb and were expected to remain righteous. The purchase with blood is unique to the Passover lamb, because it's blood was uncontaminated with the sin of the kingdom, thus a new beginning.

Matthew 16:21 NAS
From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day.

The importance of the third day arising, was that was the day of firstfruits during the seven days of the feast of unleavened bread.

The firstfruits were waved before God and belonged to Him. This makes the following statement by Jesus meaningful. Jesus is saying to Mary I must present Myself before My Father.

John 20:17 NAS
Jesus said to her, "Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father ; but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.' "

I've authored a book entitled "Exploring the Heavenly Sanctuary".

It answers questions like, is the heavenly temple real, what its purpose is, what is the sabbatismos, and much more. Its all biblically based with academic references in the end notes.

It can also be read online at Adventist Enterprises

I studied at Newbold College, got a BA/MA in Theology/Religion, worked as a licensed minister for five years, and now am doing literature evangelism.

God Bless

Marc

This is taken from my book:
In the sacrificial rites we have a picture of Jesus, the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world (John 1:29). The paradox[xxii] is that the One who was totally innocent was counted as guilty so that the guilty would be counted as innocent. A strange transfer took place in the sacrificial service, the guilty escaped death by the death of the innocent lamb. Jesus voluntarily offered to take our place and suffer because of His great love for us (Hebrews 10:5-7; John 10:15-17). Nevertheless, His death was a great injustice. On the cross, Jesus endured supernatural sufferings as the wrath of His Father fell on Him. He now stood in the place of condemned sinners and felt the awful desolation of the lost. Jeremiah said, “The harvest is past, the summer is ended and we are not saved” (Jeremiah 8:20). Jesus in His agony exclaimed, “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me” (Matthew 27:46) in fulfilment of Psalm 22:1. Surrounded by a legion of evil angels[xxiii], betrayed, rejected by His own people and cut off from God, Jesus perished because of God’s love for mankind. A mysterious interchange happened at the sacrificial offering, the sinner came away innocent and the innocent one bore the guilt of the sinner.