Beginning of the End - Ellen G. White

Achan had seen the armies of Israel return from Ai defeated
and discouraged, yet he did not come forward and confess his sin.
He had seen Joshua and the elders bowed to the earth in grief too
great for words, but he still kept silent. He had listened to the
announcement that a great crime had been committed, and had even
heard its nature stated clearly, but his lips were sealed. His heart
filled with terror as he saw his tribe pointed out, then his family and
his household, but he still did not confess until the finger of God
was placed on him. Then, when he could no longer hide his sin, he
admitted the truth.
There is a huge difference between admitting facts after they
have been proved, and confessing sins known only to ourselves and
to God. Achan's confession only served to show that his punishment
was just. He had no genuine repentance, no sorrow for sin, no
change of purpose, no hatred of evil.
In a similar way, the guilty will make their confessions when
they stand before the judgment seat of God, after every case has
been decided for life or death. An acknowledgment of sin will be
forced from each of the lost by an awful sense of condemnation and
a fearful looking toward judgment. But such confessions cannot
save the sinner.
When the records of heaven are opened, the Judge will not
declare to the sinner his guilt, but will give one penetrating,
convicting glance, and every deed, every interaction of life, will be
vividly impressed on the memory of the wrongdoer, and he will
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