Doug Batchelor's Poll Answers

As we conclude this lesson quarterly it is interesting to see how some of the Sabbath School Classes available on the internet present their conclusions. In particular today I will deal with Doug Batchelor’s class

First a really bizarre statement is made at Minute 12:30

If the Sabbath truth had been embraced like it should have been there would be no evolutionists today…

This is based upon his idea that the Sabbath is about creation, apparently if atheists saw Christians keeping the Sabbath they would abandon their atheism. Of course Darwin had been a believer in special creation which is what troubled him when he saw recent land masses with different animals then the neighboring areas and that did not fit with what his theology classes had taught about Creation, nothing at all to do with what day one honored as the Sabbath.

On to the Final Lesson

If you recall the survey running on this blog asked a question of what best describes your view of the Investigative Judgment of 1844. The winner was “A Face saving device” which is the only reason not given in Doug Batchelor’s recent Sabbath School class on “The Meaning of the Judgement Today”

The results of the poll are as follows:

A Face saving device after Miller's predicted Second Coming of Christ failed in 1844 (47%)

The removal of the record of sins of Christians preformed by Christ in the Most Holy Place, begun in 1844 (14%)

The evidence is placed before the non-human intelligences of the universe to show them who is safe to save, begun in 1844 (8%)

Soon after 1844 the real Gospel about the Character of God began to be proclaimed which will lead to a generation settled into the truth about God that they can never be moved (14%)

1844 marks the start of the SDA church whose doctrines are summarized in the 3 angels messages of Rev. 14 (16%)

Notice how Batchelor presents very similar reasoning to the last 3 of the poll statements. With the exception of the only demonstrably correct answer (the poll winner and first statement). Batchelor does not in this class mention the removal of the record of sins, he alludes to it as the judgment of the righteous dead and then the living, but he has in previous lessons this quarter.

Minute 30

At 1844 Christ entered his last phase in heaven He began a judgment of all who claimed to capitalize on His sacrifice. Not all who have claimed are sincere, beginning with the dead moving toward the living the names are being examined, not for God’s sake but for unfallen angels and heavenly agencies. God is going to do something that has never been done before everything in heaven is perfect He is going to take creatures that are imperfect and reintroduce them into heaven. And they need assurance that we’ve been transformed. And so this judgment vindicates that we really have been transformed…

Minute 33

Now we have the Word that tells us what’s happening in heaven. Christ is our High Priest, that’s clear right? There’s a heavenly sanctuary, that’s clear. We know when He comes He is distributing rewards right? So some judgment takes place before He comes that’s called the Investigative or preadvent judgment. It’s really simple its not hard to defend don’t ever be apologetic about this teaching as a matter of fact I would feel sorry for those who understand it because their theology does not make sense. But what happened on earth? 2300 days then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. What needed cleansing? The truth was cast to the ground the church was defiled by the abomination of desolation especially during the dark ages that last age from 538-1798. the truth was totally obscured the two witnesses of God the new and the old testament, the law and the prophets were prophesying through sackcloth. That’s like letting your light shine through a potato bag it’s really obscured. So imagine how much truth was getting out? God’s going to cleanse the sanctuary in 1844 He raised up a movement that movement and I am really thankful for this, was a melting pot of people from many different churches. They said look we misunderstood …after 1844 He poured out His Spirit on a group who said alright we misunderstood something … and they said show us the truth …and in the year 1844 before that year was up they learned the truth, that in their midst were those who had the truth about the Sabbath, the truth about baptism by immersion, salvation by grace…the priesthood of all believers, your body being the temple of the Holy Spirit…

Minute 39

The church on earth is going to be cleansed because the devil is pointing at all the failures among God’s people…God is going to have a people He can point to before He comes back and so that’s what happening now there is a cleansing going on now I want to be part of that.

Minute 54.50 Speaking of the 3 angels messages of Rev. 14

Is part of that message a message of judgment? The hour of his judgment is come. Is part of that message a message the Sabbath truth? Worship him that made the heaven and the earth…

So in effect the last 3 possible answers of our poll were accepted as the meaning of the Investigative judgment. This elastic view of the Investigative Judgment would naturally cause suspicion by objective observers. There has been no clear Biblical teaching of any of these possible explanations of the Investigative Judgment and none of them are accepted by other Christians and even more suspicious all the interpretations listed find their authority if not their origin in the writings of Ellen White. On top of that those last three statements are all peculiar to SDA teachings alone. There is a very egocentric perspective in this quarters lesson.