Investigative Judgment

The investigative judgment is a unique Seventh-day Adventist doctrine, which asserts that a divine judgment of professed Christians has been in progress since 1844. It is intimately related to the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and was described by the church's prophet and pioneer Ellen G. White as one of the pillars of Adventist belief. It is a major component of the broader Adventist understanding of the "heavenly sanctuary", and the two are sometimes spoken of interchangeably.

The investigative judgment teaching was the focus of controversy within the denomination in 1980, when Adventist theologian Desmond Ford was dismissed by the church after openly criticizing the doctrine. While the Adventist mainstream believe in the doctrine and the church has reaffirmed its basic position on the doctrine since 1980, some of those within the church's more liberal progressive wing continue to be critical of the teaching.

According to a 2002 worldwide survey, local church leaders estimated 86% of church members accept the doctrine, although 35% believe there may be more than one interpretation of the sanctuary belief.