which their cases are to be investigated . But the apostle Peter distinctly states that the sins of believers will be blotted out " when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord ; and He shall send Jesus Christ ." Acts 3:19 , 20 . When the investigative judgment closes , Christ will come , and His reward will be with Him to give to every man as his work shall be .
In the typical service the high priest , having made the atonement for Israel , came forth and blessed the congregation . So Christ , at the close of His work as mediator , will appear , " without sin unto salvation " ( Hebrews 9:28 ), to bless His waiting people with eternal life . As the priest , in removing the sins from the sanctuary , confessed them upon the head of the scapegoat , so Christ will place all these sins upon Satan , the originator and instigator of sin . The scapegoat , bearing the sins of Israel , was sent away " unto a land not inhabited " ( Leviticus 16:22 ); so Satan , bearing the guilt of all the sins which he has caused God ' s people to commit , will be for a thousand years confined to the earth , which will then be desolate , without inhabitant , and he will at last suffer the full penalty of sin in the fires that shall destroy all the wicked . Thus the great plan of redemption will reach its accomplishment in the final eradication of sin and the deliverance of all who have been willing to renounce evil .
At the time appointed for the judgment--the close of the 2300 days , in 1844--began the work of investigation and blotting out of sins . All who have ever taken upon themselves the name of Christ must pass its searching scrutiny . Both the living and the dead are to be judged " out of those things which were written in the books , according to their works ." Sins that have not been repented of and forsaken will not be pardoned and blotted out of the books of record , but will stand to witness against the sinner in the day of God . He may have committed his evil deeds in the light of day or in the darkness of night ; but they were open and manifest before Him with whom we have to do . Angels of God witnessed each sin and registered it in the unerring records . Sin may be concealed , denied , covered up from father , mother , wife , children , and associates ; no one but the guilty actors may cherish the least suspicion of the wrong ; but it is laid bare before the intelligences of heaven . The darkness of the darkest night , the secrecy of all deceptive arts , is not sufficient to veil one thought from the knowledge of the Eternal . God has an exact record of every unjust account and every unfair dealing . He is not deceived by appearances of piety . He makes no mistakes in His estimation of character . Men may be deceived by those who are corrupt in heart , but God pierces all disguises and reads the inner life .
How solemn is the thought ! 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 have registered both the good and the evil . The mightiest conqueror upon the earth cannot 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 bear their testimony to justify or condemn .
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