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This interpretation of the investigative judgment raises some important questions. For one thing, it does not explain why this review is conducted immediately before Christ’s return. Seventh- day Adventists believe that probation closes at death; there is no further opportunity to repent. But if a person’s eternal destiny is fixed at death, it is not clear why an endtime review is needed to establish the identity of the redeemed. This is something that could be determined throughout human history as individuals die. In addition, this explanation of the investigative judgment does not indicate just who needs this review. The picture of God having to pore over books of record in order to find out who really belongs to him is unacceptable. It contradicts the attribute of perfect knowledge, the idea that God knows all there is to know immediately and intuitively. God doesn’t need records to find out anything. And perhaps more important, it conflicts with the belief that God enjoys a deep personal relationship with his human children. He knows who belongs to him. So we cannot explain this review as something God needs to discover who his loyal followers are ...

Of course, Rice provides a logical explanation for questions dealing with our pioneers unique interpetation of the prophecy found in Chapter 8 of the book of Daniel. I entered the following comments in response to his comments on the Spectum web site:

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Here are my personal views about Richard Rice article entitled: "The Relevance of the Investigative Judgment": there is no doubt that SDA pioneers were encouraged by their unique interpretation of Daniel 8:14. Does it follow that this prophecy was written exclusively for SDA's? I believe that the original purpose of this prophetic revelation was intended for Daniel's people, and when Antiochus Epiphanes desecrated the Jewish Temple, faithful Jews took courage knowing that God was in control. This prophecy was probably partially fulfilled more than once in the history of God's people, including more recently when Israel defeated their modern enemies in 1967. Notice that in chapter 8 of the book of Daniel the focus is on Alexander the Great. If you perform a mathematical calculation by subtracting 2300 years from 1967 A.D. you get 334 B.C., the year of one of the major battles by Alexander the Great. This fulfillment was predicted three centuries ago by a relative of Isaac Newton.

Read Richard Rice's Article: http://www.spectrummagazine.org/onlinecommunity/sabbathschool/060703rice.html