“I beheld,” says the prophet Daniel, “till thrones were placed, and one that was ancient of days did sit.... Thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.” Daniel 7:9, 10, R.V.
Thus was presented to the prophet's vision the great and solemn day when the characters and the lives of men should pass in review before the Judge of all the earth, and to every man should be rendered “according to his works.” The Ancient of days is God the Father.... It is He, the source of all being, and the fountain of all law, that is to preside in the judgment. And holy angels, as ministers and witnesses, in number “ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands” (Revelation 5:11), attend this great tribunal.
“And, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.” Daniel 7:13.... The coming of Christ here described is not His second coming to the earth. He comes to the Ancient of days in heaven to receive dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, which will be given Him at the close of His work as a mediator. It is this coming, and not His second advent to the earth, that was foretold in prophecy to take place at the termination of the 2300 days in 1844. Attended by heavenly angels, our great High Priest enters the holy of holies, and there appears in the presence of God ... to perform the work of investigative judgment, and to make an atonement for all who are shown to be entitled to its benefits. The Great Controversy, 479, 480.
God's people are now to have their eyes fixed on the heavenly sanctuary, where the final ministration of our great High Priest in the work of the judgment is going forward,— is interceding for His people. Evangelism, 223.
Soon we shall be weighed in the balances of the sanctuary, and over against our names will be recorded the judgment rendered. The Signs of the Times, September 21, 1891 (The Signs of the Times, January 7, 1886).
Note: In some areas phrases have been omitted by the compilers for whatever reason. I have restored them as underlined text, that the full intent of the author may be given.
