Answers to various questions posed by members, outsiders and critics of the Adventist doctrines.

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Answer to Year-Day Principle

The issue at question for this objection is Daniel 8:14 where a prophecy is told concerning 2300 mornings and evenings. I may have agreed with the author concerning not all prophecies being allegoric, if he had picked a different prophecy to drive his point, but this one is not an example left to confusion. First, let's read some additional comments from the same source to understand the scope.

According to the Jewish calendar (see box on right), the 2300 days works out to be six years, three months, and 18 days. This time period began on the fifteenth day of the month Cisleu, in the year 145 of the Selucidae, in which Antiochus set up the Abomination of Desolation upon the altar of God:

If the Abomination of Desolation was set up at that time, then what was the Savior talking about when He said:

When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) (Mat 24:15 KJV)

Unless we are talking time travel, and we are not, the Savior Himself tells us that the Abomination of Desolation had not come to pass in His days. He is warning the disciples about a future time. Furthermore, God's prophecies which were to be written down by prophets for the generations to come and read, are not given for insignificant figures like Epiphanes, which affect just a small region and a short time period. God is not a wizzard! God deals with global issues of His people. Daniel's prophecies dealt with Empires that would come and go until the end of time. To propose that the entire chapter 8 of Daniel has anything to do with Epiphanes is to invite ridicule. The Abomination of Desolation was a significant event and Daniel spoke of it in several of his prophetic chapters, so we do not have problems understanding what it means.

Secondly, Daniel is clear about how long the Abomination of Desolation is to be in effect.

And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. (Dan 12:11 KJV)

It is not hard to conclude that 1290 days do not equal 1150 days or 2300 days. This passage was not properly understood by the author objecting to the Adventist interpretation of Daniel 8:14. The sum total of the 2300 days was not implied to span the time of the Abomination of Desolation. Furthermore, the allocation of Epiphanes desecrating the temple and its supposed cleansing most certainly are not suggested in Scriptures. That in itself puts a doubt on the interpretation. Myriad of events can be ascribed to supposed prophecies as we have seen done with Astradamus' quatrains. But vain imaginaning and careful study of Scriptures are not the same. The Scriptures give us the proper timing for the 2300 days as discussed in Daniel chapter 9.

For more details on this topic see the article 1844 and the 2300 days.

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Answer to Predestination

Let's read it from the very Bible quotation given on the site which makes this objection.

"I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep…" John 10:14

"The Lord knoweth them that are His" 2 Tim. 2:19

There is no trace of a suggestion that God knows ahead of time who will be saved. If He did, then the same would be true about the wicked and they could be prejudged on the same basis! In fact such a situation would clearly warrant the inquiry why God is dragging things for so long, if He knows what will happen ahead of time! This is a Predestination argument which is a tenacious argument over which most of Christianity is divided. But here, predestination is shrouded as if it were an Adventist alone issue!

Furthermore, The Bible clearly says that ALL people will be judged in the latter days. Let's read about that from the Scriptures.

And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. (Rev 20:12 KJV)

Of course, some folks read this and decide that only the wicked are judged here. But that is not the case. We can discover who the "small and great" are, if we read Revelation 11:18. There we find out about the same era and the cross section of the small and great.

And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. (Rev 11:18 KJV)

So, it turns out that the small and great are among both classes of sinners and the point of this objection is really a non-point. This argument is not an Adventist alone issue. Predestination is debated in many Protestant denominations and there is no hope that it will be done with any time soon. Therefore arguing the Investigative Judgment from this angle is ineffective.

To gain an insight on the issue of predestination and the manifold problems which arise you can read the "Predestined to Play a Role" article.

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Answer to the "Judgment" misapplication

Belief compels an individual to act on that belief. It shows up in the behavior of the individual. But to reduce everything else that the Savior said to "Believe and you are saved", is to be naive. The Savior made many more comments to clarify this issue. Here is one...

For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. (Mat 16:27 KJV)

So, what shall we do now? Shall we take one verse and ignore another? God forbid. The sum of these words must be taken together to imply that works have everything to do with salvation. Faith and belief are at the core of the Christian's actions, but one does not always follow everything he might believe. Too often belief is set aside to do that which is not right. Therefore, intent becomes the sole bearer of responsibility, not faith or belief. And since works are a combination of action and intent, works are the real reflection of the soul's character.

What is even more impressive is that the Savior Himself recognizes this and He repeats it many times throughout the New Testament. The very Judgment hour itself is discussed by the Savior. He puts the sheep and the goats by His side and arbitrates between them. The sheep He rewards BECAUSE of their unselfish deeds, not because they believed only. And the others are judged according to their deeds as well, because they were evil.

Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. (James 2:17 KJV)

Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works. (James 2:18 KJV)

Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. (James 2:19 KJV)

But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? (James 2:20 KJV)

Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? (James 2:21 KJV)

Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? (James 2:22 KJV

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