Source: Daniel and the Revelation, 1912

Source: Beautiful Stories from the Old Testament, 1902

Source: Library of Congress

Source: The Jewish Tabernacle, 1874

Source: Stokes Wonder Book, 1918

GOD’S

ETERNAL

PURPOSE

The Gospel of Jesus Christ

in the Light of the Sanctuary Service

Robert Brinsmead

Source:

1959 USA Edition published by

Ministry of Healing Health Centers

Cover:

“Orion in the Infrared”

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

California Institute of Technology

Spitzer Space Telescope

Fonts:

Gabriola

Linux Biolinum

Linux Libertine

October 2020

www.srac.info

www.practicaprophetica.com

Foreword

THIS remarkable book is over 60 years old, and to my knowledge, was never republished. The author, Robert Brinsmead, was an Australian Seventh-day Adventist, who was instrumental in spearheading a revival of the unique Adventist gospel message.

Not that there is any other gospel than the one that the New Testament refers to, but the gospel work takes in more than men have grasped. As prophecy unfolds, the actual work of the gospel is seen to extend beyond personal forgiveness of sins, and includes a much broader solution to the sin problem: the revelation of the character of God in its fullness, as was given by Jesus Christ in His life and death. God’s character is to be justified in His people, before the universe, in the face of Satan’s lies. This, and nothing less, is required as evidence to end the battle with sin.

The Sanctuary truth also pointed to a time when the work of removing sin from men would end, as prefigured by the Day of Atonement celebration in the Old Testament feast days. Adventists saw this event as coinciding with the “hour of His judgment” message (Revelation 14:7), that “everlasting gospel” message in its fullness which was to go to all the world just before Christ’s return, to “prepare the way of the Lord” in the hearts of His people.

This prophecy of Revelation 14, along with Daniel 7, and other scriptures, indicated that the righteous would be judged before Christ returned, and the work of the Sanctuary in heaven, whereby sin is cleansed from believers on earth, would be closed when Christ left His place there, to return to this earth. Hence the need for the characters of those who would live to see Christ come, to be “without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.”

Those truths distinguish the Adventist presentation of the gospel. This gospel message was presented by A. T. Jones and E. J. Waggoner, to the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1888, and for about 20 years after that. Ellen White recognized it as the beginning of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, as prophesied in Revelation 18:1-4. The message faced opposition from many of the ministerial class, and, except for a few who caught the light, was not picked up and promoted by them. Shortly after the death of these two men, their message fell into obscurity.

Their writings, however, were rediscovered in the 1950’s, and created no little excitement, as well as much opposition. At that time, leaders from the Adventist church in America had just held a series of meetings with some prominent Evangelical Protestant leaders, with the intent of being recognized as “brothers in Christ,” by the Evangelicals. In order to bridge the gulf, the Adventists had to modify some of their doctrinal points, and change some of the statements in prominent published books. These changes were also publicly printed and widely distributed across the Adventist field in the book, Questions on Doctrine.

However, some of these doctrinal changes were directly contrary to what Waggoner and Jones had taught. The distinct Adventist gospel, was not in harmony with the modern Evangelical “gospel.” Needless to say, the Adventist leadership were not keen on having the writings of Waggoner and Jones widely published and distributed at that time, as these writings were opposed to the church’s new direction. And so, they made no small effort to shut down discussion of these points. Some of the history of that time is covered in the Autobiography of Robert Brinsmead included in the Appendix.

God’s Eternal Purpose, was written by Robert in 1959. He was intending to finish college, but due to some doctrinal differences with some leading men, he was not permitted to attend. So he spent the year working on this book. It was his second larger work. The first, written in 1957-1958, was a commentary on Daniel, Vision by the Hiddekel, which contained some advanced (and correct) interpretations of the later parts of Daniel 11.

But God’s Eternal Purpose is much broader in scope, and is a wonderful introduction to the 1888 gospel message, bringing in the threads about the Old and New Covenants, the Sanctuary services and their lessons, the nature of Christ and His beautiful character, and some reflections on the unfolding of last day events. Although I did not live through those times (I was born in 1959, when the book was written), I can imagine that this must have been a cornerstone in the Awakening movement; as it were, a Magna Carta of the revival.

And very much of the book remains as living truth, even today. It reveals the foundation of truth that Fred Wright built on (he was a participant in the Awakening message), and shows how glorious that beginning light was.

There are only a few mistakes in Bible understanding in this book, which were later corrected in the messages given to Fred Wright, who continued the good work begun by the Awakening. These mistakes are:

1. The idea that the Judgment and Sealing of the church would take place before the final warning message went to the world. This idea seems to have been adopted by the Brinsmead family much earlier, back in the late 1940’s, according to Robert Brinsmead’s Autobiography (see the Appendix). I won’t give all the reasons why this cannot be, but simply point the reader to Chapter 12 “The Timing of the Judgment of the Living,” in the book, Last Day Events, by F. T. Wright.

2. The idea that the cleansing of the Sanctuary was the cleansing of the “records” of sin. There is more to the cleansing than just records. The actual sin, the forfeited life of the sinner which has been cleansed from him at confession, this is what is cleansed from the Sanctuary. For further information, see the Chapter “In the Light of the Judgment,” in the booklet, Acceptable Confession, by F. T. Wright.

3. The distinction between the carnal spiritual nature and the carnal fleshly nature are not clearly delineated, as they would later be, in the ministry of F. T. Wright (see the books, From Bondage to Freedom, Revival and Reformation, The Living and the Dead, etc.). Nevertheless, God’s Eternal Purpose still contains a strong emphasis on the need for a spiritual death and resurrection, and that remission of sins does not take place without regeneration. As well, the understanding that the Romans 7 man is in the bondage of sin, and not yet born again, is clearly explained.

So, there is still much truth in this book, and because of that, and because it shows the way God has led (and God’s steps are always glorious ones!), I have decided to make it available in a reformatted, modern edition. I have included everything as-is from the original text, including footnotes, but have put a few footnotes marked “Editor’s note” where there was a doctrinal mistake.

Unfortunately, Robert Brinsmead did not continue in the light which he so earnestly carried for a time during the 1950’s and early 1960’s. He eventually discarded the truth carried in this book, first adopting a “legal justification” position based on some writings of the 16th century reformers, then finally discarded all Adventist doctrines, and eventually settling on a kind of humanism up until his death in 2019.

The history of the break between those who followed the Brinsmead “Awakening” movement (and the errors they clung to), and those who followed the ministry of Fred Wright, is covered in the book, A Brief History of the Early Years, by F. T. Wright. This break took place in 1962.

Because of his later apostasies from truth, Brinsmead’s name has gathered some infamy. But we are only interested in the truth, and this book contained the truth for that time.

Frank Zimmerman

September 2020

Preface

IN recent years the author has taken Bible lectures in different parts of Australia dealing with some of the vital aspects of what is known in Adventist circles as the “Third Angel’s Message.” Many have requested these studies in written form, especially the ones on the “Sanctuary” question. The author has endeavored to answer these requests with this production.

The book is divided into three parts:

Part I: discusses the important features of the gospel in the light of Abraham and ancient Israel. It is written in semi-note form to cover a wide range in a short space.

Part II: is an outline of the central principles of the Levitical sanctuary service.

Part III: is intended as the most important section, and is therefore written in a truer literary form. Starting with the incarnation of Christ, it leads up to His closing ministry in the heavenly sanctuary. The greatest emphasis is placed on Christ’s present ministry in “the most holy place.” The writer is prepared to state that no one is prepared to face the “final crisis” without a thorough understanding of this subject.

Altogether, this production has been called God’s Eternal Purpose. The reader is asked to recognize that no attempt has been made to include some aspects embraced in God’s eternal purpose. Commencing with humanity in its present condition, the book deals with God’s eternal purpose in relation to salvation.

The writings of Ellen G. White have been extensively used. To avoid unnecessary repetition, the name of this author has not been used in the quotes bearing the titles of her books and articles.

May these pages help the reader to see more clearly the “unsearchable riches of Christ.” May this presentation of God’s purpose for His church bring great blessings to God’s people and glory to His name.

※※※※

Preface to Second Edition

WHEN it comes to a second edition, the writer finds that his “critic” is his best friend. Accordingly, it seems appropriate to make some observations for the benefit of the reader. There are three points in the book that the writer considers could be expressed more appropriately to avoid needless misunderstanding.

Chapter 1, p. 44: The imaginary conversation of Sarai ironically presents a truth misapplied. Everything Sarai said was true, but it was the construction she put upon true statements that made her mistake a typical one.

Chapter 11, p. 196 and Chapter 19, p. 341: The term “sinless in the flesh” bears no intended relation to “sinlessness of the flesh.” It would have been more explicit to have written “sinless character lived out in the flesh.” That this is the intended use of the term may be clearly seen by the immediate context as well as the over-all teaching of the book (see p. 184-186, 193-194,). Note the terms “moral image completed” (p. 294), “complete His work of moral perfection” (p. 295), “character will be cleansed from every defect and spot” (p. 296). This is in harmony with Testimonies to Ministers, p. 506 by Ellen White. The writer rejects en toto any concept akin to “sinlessness of the flesh” this side of translation or the resurrection.

Chapter 18, p. 334: The phrase “not yet been truly preached” might conceivably lend itself to an unfortu nate connotation. “Fully” should be substituted for “truly” as being more in keeping with the intent of the presentation (see p. 284-290).

Contents

Introduction

Without the Power of God	1

Christ: The Power of God	7

PART I

God’s Eternal Purpose
Unfolded to Abraham and Ancient Israel

1. The Gospel to Abraham	17

Christ the Substance of the Covenant	18

A Covenant of Righteousness by Faith	19

The Promised Inheritance of the Covenant	29

A Covenant of Resurrection unto Eternal Life	33

The Foreshadowing of Calvary	37

The Immutability of the Abrahamic Covenant	40

The Old and New Covenant Experience of Abraham	42

2. Israel’s Deliverance from Egypt	51

Proclaiming the Name and Power of God	55

Moses Accepts the Reproach of Christ	57

The Passover	58

The Red Sea Victory	60

Bread from Heaven	62

Water from the Rock	67

3. Israel at Sinai	73

The Everlasting Covenant Delivered	73

The Old and New Covenant Experience	79

How God Administered the Covenant	81

PART II

God’s Eternal Purpose
Unfolded in the Earthly Sanctuary Service

4. The Erection of the Sanctuary	101

5. The Purpose of the Sanctuary Service	111

The Type of the Heavenly Sanctuary	111

The Reality of God’s Presence	113

The Living Temple of God	115

The Union of Divinity with Humanity	118

The Incarnation of Christ	119

6. The Sanctuary Service: An Overall View	121

7. The Daily Service	125

The Outer Court Ministry	125

The First Apartment Ministry	137

Emphasizing Important Principles of the Sin Offering	139

Summary of the Sin Offering	141

Further Ministry in the First Apartment	142

Following the Daily Service by Faith	145

8. The Yearly Service	147

The Day of Atonement Procedure	148

Focusing the Significance of the Day of Atonement	154

Following the Yearly Service by Faith	156

9. The Earthly Sanctuary Service’s Relation
to the Old Covenant	159

The Shadow of Good Things to Come	160

A Perverted Ceremonialism	165

PART III

God’s Eternal Purpose
Unfolded in the Heavenly Sanctuary Service

Introduction: From Shadow to Substance	170

10. The Incarnation of Christ:
The Word Made Flesh	171

Consider Who He Was	171

Consider What He Became	172

The Two-Fold Purpose of the Incarnation	173

Made in the Likeness of Sinful Flesh	175

11. The Incarnation of Christ Continued:
The Life of Christ	181

God Manifest in the Flesh	181

Christ Condemned Sin in the Flesh	181

The Sinlessness of the Human Nature of Jesus	184

The Character of Christ	187

The Righteousness of the Law Fulfilled in Us	193

12. The Death of Christ	199

What the Cross Meant to the Father	199

What the Cross Meant to Jesus	201

What the Cross Reveals to Us	206

It Reveals the Place of Death	214

13. The Resurrection of Christ	221

Victory Over Sin	230

14. The Inauguration of the
Heavenly Ministry of Christ	233

The Two Apartments of the Heavenly Sanctuary	237

The Two Ministries of the Heavenly Sanctuary	239

15. The Continual Ministry of Christ:
The First Apartment	241

The Continual Burnt Offering and Sin Offering	241

The Altar of Incense	244

The Table of Shewbread	246

The Seven Lamps of Fire	248

Summary	257

Following by Faith	258

A Provisional Ministry	261

16. Christ in the Most Holy:
The Time Revealed	267

17. Christ in the Most Holy:
The Significance Revealed	273

The First Message	273

The Second Message	282

The Third Message	284

Summary of Revelation 14 Message	290

The Cleansing Work for Israel	291

Latter Rain, Refreshing, Loud Cry of the Third Angel	298

Conclusion	305

18. Christ in the Most Holy:
The Delay Revealed	309

Following By Faith	309

Advent Body of 1844: Philadelphian Experience	310

Failure after 1844: Laodicean Experience	313

The 1888 Message	318

The Times of Refreshing	322

Conclusion	326

The 1888 Message’s Reception	329

19. Christ in the Most Holy:
The Awakening Revealed	337

The Tarrying Time	337

The Awakening	339

The Meaning of the Marriage	339

Into the Marriage	342

The Shaking Time	348

Conclusion: A Challenge	350

20. Christ in the Most Holy:
The Glory Revealed	353

A Finished Pattern	353

A Glorified Church	354

The Final Gathering	358

The Mystery Finished	360

21. God’s Eternal Purpose Consummated	361

APPENDIX

Another Look at Acts 3:19	375

The Bible Is Its Own Dictionary	375

Blotting Out of Sins	376

Which Blotting Out?	378

Blotting Out of Sins from the Sanctuary	382

Autobiography: 1933-1963	387

1933-1940: Early Childhood	387

1940-1945: The SDA Reform Movement	388

1945-1947: Return to Adventism–Move to North NSW	389

1947-1948: R. A. Grieve	390

1953: Baptism	397

1954: Conversion and Decision to Go to College	397

Into Darkness and Out	400

1955: First year at Avondale College	403

1956	408

1957: Back to the Farm; Research on Daniel	414

1958: Return to College	415

Forced Termination of College	418

Marriage	419

1959: Writing and Sickness	420

The Benalla Meeting in Victoria	426

1960: New Zealand	433

1961: America	436

Introduction

Without the Power of God

All May Know God

IT IS the privilege of all men to know God. He is manifested not only in revelation, but in creation.

Romans 1

19 That which may be known of God is manifest in them, [men], for God has shown it unto them.

20 For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.

Psalm 14

1 The fool has said in his heart, There is no God.

If a man does not know God, it is because he has deliberately cast him out of his thinking despite the evidence, and closed his heart to the revelation of God.

Romans 1

21 When they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.

There is no true wisdom apart from the Lord: without Him men grope in darkness. To each who will hear, God says,

Proverbs 2 [RSV]

1 My son, if you receive my words–and treasure up my commandments with you,

2 Making your ear attentive to wisdom, and inclining your heart to understanding;

3 Yes, if you cry out for insight and raise your voice for understanding,

4 If you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures;

5 Then, you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.

6 For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth comes knowledge and understanding.

Results of Godless Education

The above passage from Romans shows us that an education which leaves God out of its thinking leads to foolishness. Paul was expressing his remarks in this 1st chapter of Romans concerning men of civilized and learned society—of Rome itself, which possessed all the learning and culture of the Greek world. While men professed themselves wise, all their wisdom and education amounted to foolishness, because God was shut out of their thinking.

Romans 1

28 They did not like to retain God in their knowledge.

Not only is a knowledge of God essential for true wisdom, but it is the only thing that will save a man from destroying himself. Yet like Adam and Eve, men seek to avoid the Presence of God to pursue the course of self-degradation and self-annihilation. Paul graphically depicts the fearful consequence of their foolishness as follows:

Romans 1 [Phillips Translation]

25 These men deliberately forfeited the Truth of God and accepted a lie, paying homage and giving service to the creature instead of to the Creator, who alone is worthy to be worshiped for ever and ever, Amen.

26 God therefore handed them over to disgraceful passions. Their women exchanged the normal practices of sexual intercourse for something which is abnormal and unnatural.

27 Similarly the men, turning from natural intercourse with women, were swept into lustful passions for one another. Men with men performed these shameful horrors, receiving, of course, in their own personalities the consequences of sexual perversity.

28 Moreover, since they considered themselves too high and mighty to acknowledge God, He allowed them to become the slaves of their degenerate minds, and to perform unmentionable deeds.

29 They became filled with wickedness, rottenness, greed and malice: their minds became steeped in envy, murder, quarrelsomeness, deceitfulness and spite.

30 They became whisperers-behind-doors, stabbers-in-the-back, God-haters; they overflowed with insolent pride and boastfulness, and their minds teemed with diabolical invention. They scoffed at duty to parents,

31 They mocked at learning, recognized no obligations of honor, lost all natural affection, and had no use for mercy.

32 More than this—being well aware of God’s pronouncement that all who do these things deserve to die, they not only continued their own practices, but made no bones about giving their thorough approval to others who did the same.

No Grounds for Self-Righteousness

Here is the Holy Spirit’s accurate delineation of a world without God—plunged into the pit of sin and eternal ruin. And just in case there may be some Pharisee who reads this and says in his heart:

Luke 18

11...God, I thank you, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as these sinners.

...we will continue with Paul’s account:

Romans 2 [Phillips Translation]

1 Now if you feel inclined to set yourself up as a judge of those who sin, let me assure you, whoever you are, that you are in no position to do so. For at whatever point you condemn others you automatically condemn same sins.

Here Paul addressed professed believers of God. Well may the self-righteous professor exclaim:

“Do you mean to say that I am on the same level as the worst of sinners? Am I not better than they?”

Hear Paul’s answer:

Romans 3

9 No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin:

10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

11 There is none that understands, there is none that seeks after God.

12 They are, all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that does good, no not one.

19...that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

23 For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

All by Nature Sinful

The whole human race is placed on the one footing, and, to all practical purposes as regards salvation, there is no difference between the vilest sinner and the greatest professor. We are all

Ephesians 2

3...by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

When Jesus said to Nicodemus,

“That which is born of flesh is flesh,”

...He was expressing in another way that truth of His parable that a “corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit” and cannot “bring forth good fruit.” Jeremiah says,

Jeremiah 13

23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Then may you also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.

The lesson that man is so slow to learn and so quick to forget, is that of himself he is incapable of living righteously. And if there is anyone who is furthest from the kingdom of God, it is he who imagines that he is not “as this publican”.

Works of Flesh Condemned

There is no use anybody thinking that his flesh is a religious flesh; that it either inherits righteous qualities or can be cultivated to virtue. The most worthy works that flesh can do are works of the flesh.

Galatians 5

19 Now the works of the flesh are these: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like.

Surely a consideration of these things ought to suffice to crush the self-righteousness of professed Christians who put trust in their works. These things are plainly written that we might “have no confidence in the flesh” (Philippians 3:3). Apart from a vital faith which brings a miraculous transformation, man can produce nothing but works of flesh. He abides dead in sins, in the shadow of condemnation and eternal destruction.

Application to Laodicea

Christ writes a letter to His church at the end of time, in order that we might realize this truth. Here is a people flattering and comforting themselves with their spiritual virtues and religious achievements. But how does such a manifestation of pride stand before Christ, the True Witness?

Revelation 3

17 You say, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and know not that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.

This is Laodicea, boasting with pride of supposed prosperity on all her borders, yet blind to the spiritual tragedy on the doorstep. Is she any better off than those who are far off from the fold of God? Yes, in one way, just as Paul said,

Romans 3

1 What advantage then has the Jew? Or what profit is there of circumcision?

2 Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.

Laodicea may have the oracles of God, but she has not the righteousness of God.

Romans 3

9 What then, are we [Laodiceans] better than they [Gentiles]? No, in no wise; for we have before proved all under sin.

And in a particular sense, Laodicea is in a worse position than the common sinner. Jesus says:

Revelation 3

15 I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot: I would that you were cold or hot.

When Christ says he would be more honored if His lukewarm, works-trusting disciples disowned Him altogether, it is a lamentable state of affairs; yet we must abide by Christ’s judgment.

Matthew 9

12 They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.

If a man is sick and knows it, it is likely he will be grateful to receive a physician’s help. But what of the man who is sick and knows it not: nay, worse than this; he even takes to bragging of his good health. Will such a one accept a physician? This is the Laodicean condition.

Steps to Christ, p. 22:

We may have flattered ourselves, as did Nicodemus, that our life has been upright, that our moral character is correct, and think that we need not humble the heart before God, like the common sinner; but when the light from Christ shines into our souls, we shall see how impure we are; we shall discern the selfishness of motive, the enmity against Cod, that has defiled every act of life. Then we shall know that our own righteousness is indeed as filthy rags, and that the blood of Christ alone can cleanse us from the defilement of sin, and renew our hearts in His own likeness.

One ray of the glory of God, one gleam of the purity of Christ, penetrating the soul, makes every spot of defilement painfully distinct, and lays bare the deformity and defects of the human character. It makes apparent the unhallowed desires, the infidelity of the heart, the impurity of the lips. The sinner’s acts of disloyalty in making void the law of God are exposed in his sight, and his spirit is stricken and afflicted under the searching influence of the Spirit of God. He loathes himself as he views the pure, spotless, character of Christ.

Christ: The Power of God

Man is sinful, destitute of any saving power, and completely dependent upon a power outside of himself to live a life of purity and holiness. In the gift of Christ to the world, our Heavenly Father has provided a Power sufficient to save every man to the uttermost, for Christ is nothing less than…

1 Corinthians 1

24 ...the Power of God.

John 3

16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

1 Corinthians 1 [Phillips Translation]

18 The preaching of the cross is, I know, nonsense to those who are involved in this dying world, but to us who are being saved from that death, it is nothing less than the power of God.

The gift of Christ to the sons of men proceeds from the heart of divine love,—a love that never fails, but goes to the infinite extremity in seeking to win its object. You and I are the objects of that love, and although we may spurn and resist the great Lover, still He will surround us with His love as long as we have life. God says:

Jeremiah 31

3 I have loved you with an everlasting love: therefore with loving kindness have I drawn you.

Our attitude toward Him does not change His love towards us. Nothing is so derogatory of God’s character as the idea that the Lord loves those who serve Him, and is indifferent to these who sin against Him. The heart of our Heavenly Father yearns with the longing of infinite love for every lost child. Not only does the Lord long for the home-coming of His wayward children, but His love led Him to set in action a Power that would draw us to re-union and fellowship with Him. That Power is Jesus. He comes…

Luke 19

10 ...to seek and to save that which is lost.

Nineteen wide centuries have come and gone since the Ambassador from the bosom of the Father appeared in our flesh to tell the world of God’s love. That message has lost none of its force. By the Word and the Holy Spirit, Jesus is still presented to all as…

John 14

6 ...the way, the truth, and the life.

John 1

12 As many as receive Him, to them He gives power to become the Sons of God, even to them who believe on His name.

When we stand in the consciousness of our helplessness and worthlessness, and look to the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us, we perceive that:

1 John 4

16 God is love,

–measureless, unspeakable love; love that…

Ephesians 3

19 ...passes knowledge.

Ephesians 2

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us,

5 Even when we were dead in sins...

...sent forth His Son to save us…

7 That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

Behold the love of God for a world of rebellious subjects!

Romans 5

8 God commended His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

When the world’s Redeemer was born, the angel herald announced to the Shepherds of Bethlehem:

Luke 2

10 Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

This is the gospel (good news) of Christ.

1. Salvation from Sin: The gospel is tidings of great joy because there has been born a Saviour. The angel said to Mary,

Matthew 1

21 You shall call His name JESUS; for He shall save His people from their sins.

Jesus came into the world to save sinners, not in sin, but from sin. In the news of Jesus, there is occasion for great joy, because the wretchedness of the chains of sinful habits and defiling lusts are broken by the Saviour, and there comes into the believing heart joy and peace in the consciousness of sins forgiven, and a life of obedience to Christ.

Christ Saves from Disobedience

Sin is simply disobedience to God’s commandments, as it is written,

1 John 3

4 Sin is the transgression of the law.

Christ came to save men from breaking the commandments of God. He who experiences the salvation of Jesus Christ, finds the joy of obedience to the commandments of God. There is no joy in disobedience.

Christ Saves from Selfishness

There is another way of looking at the joy of salvation from sin. God’s law is a law of love. That is why he who truly loves keeps the commandments of God.

Romans 13

10 Love works no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

The antithesis of love is self-seeking. In the heart of Satan self-seeking and love of self was born, and he succeeded in planting this principle into the heart of the human race. There is no man born who is not naturally selfish. The good news of the angel is that we have a Saviour to save us from self-seeking. By the example of His self-sacrificing and self-renouncing life, and through the power which He imparts to us, we are delivered from self-seeking.

There is no joy in self-seeking: indeed there is misery and death. The world is filled with hatred and violence because this principle operates in the hearts of men. Homes are the victims of bickering and strife where self-seeking is the law of life. Even the church of Christ is torn by dissension and disharmony when some if its members have not been partakers of the self-renouncing love of Christ.

Yet in the presence of Christ, selfishness gives place to love, and sadness vanishes with the “tidings of great joy.”

2. Only One Way of Salvation: There is no other way of salvation other than by Jesus Christ.

Acts 4

12 Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.

It takes nothing short of His Almighty power to transform a life from the selfishness of disobedience to the joy of loving obedience. He saves us, and we are not even good seconds in this work of salvation. The plan of redemption was laid before we came into existence, so God does not seek to enlist our works that we might be saved.

Ephesians 2

8 For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.

In the light of our utter sinfulness and worthlessness, and God’s infinite love for us, what else can we do but graciously accept His gift with hearts responding in gratitude? What higher insult could we offer His love than by blindly imagining that we could win His favor by “deeds of merit”, or could assist His saving grace by adding our works to the perfect and complete workmanship which He promises to work in us!

What a contradiction it would be for God to enlist a man’s works in the work of his salvation when His eternal purpose through Jesus Christ is to save him from all works of the flesh! Shall we not then learn this fundamental lesson?

3. Salvation for All: The angel announced…

Luke 2

10 ...good tidings of great joy to all people.

Romans 2

11 There is no respect of persons with God.

Accordingly, He has offered His salvation…

Romans 3

22 ...upon all them that believe: for there is no difference.

Let no one imagine that God has ever offered salvation through different mediums or under diverse conditions.

Hebrews 13

8 [He is] the same yesterday, today, and forever;

Malachi 3

6 He changes not;

James 1

17 With [Him] there is no variableness or shadow of turning.

The plan of salvation through Jesus Christ was not an afterthought on the part of the Godhead, but it was a plan that existed from times eternal.

Romans 16 [RSV]

25 Now to Him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,

26 But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith.

Neither was it something that became operative when Christ was revealed in the flesh, for the plan and purpose of salvation became effective as soon as sin existed. Christ was...

Revelation 13

8...the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

As soon as...

Romans 5

20...sin abounded, grace did much more abound.

The plan of salvation embraces all sinners of all times, even as Paul writes as follows:

Ephesians 1

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ, who has, blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

4 According as He has chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love:

5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of His Will,

6 To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He has made us accepted in the beloved.

10 That in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him.

Ephesians 3

8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;

9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world has been hid in God…

11 According to THE ETERNAL PURPOSE which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The gospel is the revelation to men of God’s Eternal Purpose to take men from sin and…

Colossians 1

28 ...present every man perfect in Christ.

In the gift of Christ, God has delivered to all men the Everlasting Covenant1 Hebrews 13 20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant. to save all who accept the gift. In the news of salvation God has opened to earth’s remotest bounds the treasures of the Everlasting Gospel.2 Revelation 14 6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people. No one is left out of God’s Eternal Purpose. His love reaches all. The gift of salvation is offered to all.

Revelation 22

17 Whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely.

In the following chapters we will trace the unfolding of God’s Eternal Purpose:

How the eternal purpose was unfolded to Abraham and ancient Israel;

How the eternal purpose was unfolded in the earthly sanctuary service;

How the eternal purpose is unfolded in the light and glory of the heavenly sanctuary service.

PART I

God’s Eternal Purpose
Unfolded
to
Abraham and Ancient Israel

1. The Gospel to Abraham

THE word of God contains but one gospel—“the everlasting gospel.” Paul writes:

Galatians 1

8 Though we, or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you than which we have preached, let him be accursed.

This gospel, which Paul says is unalterable, did not begin with his age, for he adds:

Galatians 3

8 God...preached before the gospel unto Abraham.

The gospel recorded in Genesis is the same gospel that is recorded in Revelation. Since Paul frequently cites Abraham when he expounds the gospel, it would be well for us to study how the gospel was preached to this patriarch.

Christ and the way of salvation was made known to Abraham. Jesus said to the unbelieving Jews:

John 8

56 Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.

Evidently Abraham received the same tidings of great joy as the shepherds of Bethlehem.

When God called Abraham from the idolatrous environment of Ur of the Chaldees, He made promises to him that were as broad and as full as the salvation of God. It will be taken for granted that the reader knows the story of Abraham: hence we need only examine the features of the everlasting gospel that was preached to him.

God’s purpose in the Genesis record is called the EVERLASTING COVENANT. In this covenant record, some of the first principles of the gospel are unfolded. These are the prominent features of the everlasting covenant.

Christ the Substance of the Covenant

The most prominent feature of the covenant was the promise of a Seed. God made it plain to Abraham that all the blessings of the covenant were IN the Seed.

Genesis 12

2 And I will make of you a great nation.

Genesis 13

15 For all the land which you see, to you will I give it, and to your seed for ever.

Genesis 15

18 Unto your seed have I given this land.

Genesis 22

18 And in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.

In this gift of the Seed, all the attendant blessings were to be realized. This Seed was Christ.

Galatians 3

16 Now to Abraham and His Seed were the promises made. He said not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to your Seed, which is Christ.

Not only did the covenant promise that Abraham would be the progenitor of Christ, but it promised that he himself would enjoy its blessings through Christ:

Galatians 3

14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

The good news of Jesus Christ was proclaimed to Abraham, and he rejoiced to see and experience the blessings of the Saviour. It was just as true with him as it is with us, that he was...

Ephesians 1

3 ...blessed...with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.

A Covenant of Righteousness by Faith

Today there is much talk regarding “righteousness by faith.” Since Paul sets forth the patriarch as the father of this experience, it would be well for us to note a few principles of the righteousness which is by faith.

Abraham called from Babylon

The word of God delivered Abraham from Ur of the Chaldees.

Genesis 12

1 The Lord had said unto Abram, Get out of your country, and from your kindred, and from your father’s house.

Later, God said,

Genesis 15

7 I am the Lord that brought you out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give you this land to inherit it.

This deliverance from sinful Ur was a spiritual deliverance tantamount to Israel’s deliverance from Egypt. Abraham was called to come out of Babylonia, and in principle it was the same message as recorded in Revelation:

Revelation 18

4 Come out of her my people, that you be not partakers of her sins.

Faith in the Word works Righteousness

By a living faith in God’s Word, Abraham came out of Babylonia. His naked faith in the Word that came to him worked righteousness. Righteousness is right-doing. Right-doing is obedience. Then here is a practical example of faith working unto obedience.

Source: Taferelen der Voornaamste, 1728 Hebrews 11

8 By faith Abraham...obeyed.

True faith always brings the fruits of obedience, which alone is genuine righteousness.

Faith Works Reformation

Babylon is representative of sin. Abraham’s faith in the word of God delivered him from sin. His was not a weak, insipid presumption, whereby he “believed” in the Word only, while it made no difference or radical change in his life. Abraham believed unto righteousness. His faith in the word of the Lord was so real that a reformation was wrought in his life. He was a prince of Ur of no mean standing, and to leave his prosperous home to go out…

Hebrews 11

8 ...not knowing where he went,

–was a real sacrifice. Indeed, he sacrificed his old life to lead a new one.

So today, faith in God is not a nod of assent, or a mystic process whereby God is able to justify the sinner’s disposition. God offers the sinner something that if accepted will deliver him from sin; but there are right eyes to pluck out and right arms to cut off, and the selfish pursuits of life to forsake. All these the sinner must be willing to surrender in order that he may enter into covenant relationship with God.

Building on the Word

Later, when the Lord reiterated His promises to Abraham, we find the record that...

Genesis 15

6 ...he believed in the Lord, and He counted it to him for righteousness.

Here is a wonderful example of building on Christ by believing His word. God made a promise to Abraham, which, like all the promises of God, was in Christ. The word above rendered “believed” is from the Hebrew root “Amen”. The basic idea of the word is “firmness”—“to build”, or “to depend”. Abraham built upon the word of God. He depended upon the Word to support him. This is contrary to the popular idea that believing in the Lord is merely a nod of assent. It is far more than this. It is to take that Word as the Word that upholds all things, and to rest the whole life upon it, reckoning that it is a sure foundation.

Abraham’s act of walking out of Ur solely on the word of God was just like Peter’s experience of walking on the water in response to the word of Christ. Christ said,

Matthew 14

29 Come.

When Peter reckoned that Word as something to depend on, he obeyed, and that Word upheld him upon the water.

It should be noted that when Abraham built on the Lord it was counted to him for righteousness. When God reckoned Abraham righteous, it was not a mistaken reckoning. Abraham verily had righteousness because he built on God. He built on the Rock.

Psalm 92

15 He is my Rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

Faith Brings Soul Deliverance

Galatians 3

9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.

This blessing is the blessing of righteousness,3 Galatians 3 13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangs on a tree: 14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. a righteousness involving the forgiveness and soul deliverance from sin.

Zacharias, speaking under inspiration said that:

Luke 1

73 The oath which He swore to our Father Abraham,

77 [Was] to give knowledge of salvation unto His people by the remission [“a sending away,” “a release”] of their sins.

Peter likewise said that the promised blessing of Abraham was realized in the sending of Jesus...

Acts 3

26 ...to bless you: in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.

Thus if one is to exercise the faith of Abraham, it will bring to him an experience not only of forgiveness in the sense of pardon for sin, but of turning away from sin. The gospel of Jesus not only pardons the sinner’s guilt, but it frees him from the bondage of sin.

The proof that the Son of Man has power to forgive sins is that He gives the pardoned one power to rise up and walk in newness of life.

Matthew 9

5 For which is easier, to say, Your sins be forgiven you; or to say, Arise, and walk?

6 But that you may know that the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins, (then said He to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up your bed, and go unto your house.

7 And he arose, and departed to his house.

8 But when the multitudes saw it, they marveled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.

It would be presumption for a man to believe that God had forgiven him while he was still in the bondage of known sins. This is not the faith of Abraham.4 It is interesting to note that the Greek word for “forgive” is aphesis, which literally means “to send away”, “to release”, or “to remit”.

Faith Alone Justifies

It must be noticed that it was not for any righteousness on the part of Abraham that he became the father of the faithful. God simply rescued a sinner. When the Lord made promises to Abraham, (we read no promises that Abraham made to God) we find the simple record of the patriarch’s response:

Genesis 15

6 And he believed in the Lord, and He counted it to him for righteousness.

His faith rested on the sure word of God, and by faith alone, Abraham became a partaker of the righteousness of Christ. He did nothing to earn his justification before God.

Romans 4

1 What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, has found?

2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he has whereof to glory, but not before God.

3 For what says the Scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

4 Now to him that works is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.

5 But to him that works not, but believes on Him that justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

No Place for Human Achievement

Romans 4 [Phillips]

13 The ancient promise made to Abraham and his descendants...was given not because of any achievements made through obedience to the law, but because of the righteousness which had its root in faith.

Then let no one imagine that Abraham received the promises because he obeyed the voice of God. It was just as true for Abraham as it is for us that…

Ephesians 2

8 ...by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.

Nor was Abraham even asked to be a good second in the work of his own salvation.

Romans 9 [Phillips]

16 It is obviously not a question of human will or human effort, but of Divine mercy.

Let this text be duly noted in case someone may be tempted to think human will-power is a factor to win justification. Certainly a man must be willing to accept the gift of God and put his will on the side of right, but no amount of will-power to do righteousness will avail. If a man exercises faith in his own will-power, he will find it a mere straw in the tide of his evil nature.

Abraham became a partaker of the righteousness of God because he exercised faith in God’s will. Read again the record of God’s dealings with Abraham and notice the number of times God says, “I WILL.” Nothing but the will of God can make a man righteous.

The idea obtains among many that faith in God is one half of the covenant, and our works are the other half. But all such notions stand rebuked before the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Romans 1

17 The just shall live by faith.

It does not say “The just shall live by faith and works.”

Proverbs 30

6 Add not unto His words, lest He reprove you, and you be found a liar.

This false conception of the way of righteousness robs Christ of His glory to save to the uttermost,5 Hebrews 7 25 Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever lives to make intercession for them. frustrates the grace of God,6 Galatians 2 21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. and makes of none effect the death of Christ.

Romans 11

6 If by grace, then it is no more of works, otherwise grace is no more grace.

Romans 4 [Phillips]

16 The whole thing, then, is a matter of faith on man’s part and generosity on God’s.

Faith brings Genuine Righteousness

On the other hand we must be equally careful to note that God’s way of righteousness is not a substitute for righteousness. It is…

Romans 3

22 ...even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ.

Righteousness is right-doing. The gospel is not a make-believe. Justification is a genuine deliverance from disobedience to obedience. God cannot justify anybody in knowing disobedience, for He can…

Exodus 34

7 ...by no means clear the guilty.

The Abrahamic Covenant was a covenant of obedience.

Genesis 17

1 The Lord appeared to Abram, and said, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be perfect.

God could say of His servant,

Genesis 26

5 Abraham obeyed my voice.

Since God made all the promises in the covenant, this very obedience which God demanded of Abraham was a part of His promise. By faith in God’s promises, Abraham received power to obey. His obedience was the fruit of faith, and testified that God’s righteousness, which comes by faith alone, is genuine righteousness.

By Faith We Obey

Obedience is the gift of God through faith in Jesus Christ. What God commands, He also promises. All His biddings are enablings. We cannot serve the Lord, for He is a Holy God.7 Joshua 24 19 And Joshua said unto the people, You cannot serve the Lord: for He is a holy God. The only way of obedience is for God to renew our unrighteous hearts, then put His Spirit within us and cause us to walk in His commandments.

Ezekiel 36

25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.

26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.

27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you shall keep my judgments, and do them.

Anything short of this is dead work of human effort. At our best we can merely serve God with works of the flesh. God calls us to rest from our own works and to trust in His perfect workmanship.

Hebrews 4

10 For he that is entered into His rest, he also has ceased from his own works.

Steps to Christ, p. 71:

Jesus says,

John 15

4 Abide in me.

These words convey the idea of rest, stability, confidence. Again He invites,

Matthew 11

28 Come unto me,...and I will give you rest.

The words of the Psalmist express the same thought:

Psalm 37

7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.

And Isaiah gives the assurance,

Isaiah 30

15 In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.

This rest is not found in inactivity; for in the Saviour’s invitation the promise of rest is united with the call to labor:

Matthew 11

29 Take my yoke upon you,...and you shall find rest.

The heart that rests most fully upon Christ will be most earnest and active in labor for Him.

Faith Keeps the Commandments

The Lord has an unerring standard of righteousness and perfection. The Psalmist says:

Psalm 119

172 All your commandments are righteous.

Psalm 19

7 The law of the Lord is perfect.

God gave to Abraham the sign of circumcision, which Paul tells us to be the sign both of righteousness by faith and commandment keeping.8 Romans 4 11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also. /9 Romans 2 25 For circumcision verily profits, if you keep the law: but if you be a breaker of the law, your circumcision is made uncircumcision. 26 Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? 27 And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfill the law, judge you, who by the letter and circumcision do transgress the law? Obviously faith in Jesus Christ and commandment keeping are inseparable. We know this from Genesis because it says that Abraham kept God’s commandments.

Genesis 26

5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

Further, Abraham was called…

James 2

23 ...the Friend of God.

A friend of God certainly keeps His commandments.

1 John 2

3 And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.

4 He that says, I know Him, and keeps not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

The same relationship between faith in Christ and commandment keeping is taught in the last book of the Bible:

Revelation 14

12 Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

True Faith an Experience

The gospel in which Abraham rejoiced was not a freedom from obedience to the law of God. He was not saved in disobedience, but from disobedience. Faith is not a substitute for the law of God.

Romans 3

31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea we establish the law.

The grace of Christ is the enabling power to keep God’s great, unchanging law of love. Genuine faith is not an intellectual assent to a tenet of doctrine. This will not bring justification. Justification by faith is an experience of personal trust in the Saviour—a trust that comes from a heart that has learned to love Him, a trust that lays hold on His grace to regenerate the life. This true faith works by love unto obedience to all the commandments of God.

The Promised Inheritance of the Covenant

Land Promised to Abraham

As well as a Seed and righteousness, Abraham was promised an inheritance.

Genesis 12

1 Get out of your country, and from your kindred and from your father’s house, unto a land that I will show you.

Genesis 13

14 And the Lord said unto Abram, after Lot was separated from him, Lift up your eyes now, and look from the place where you are northward, and southward, and eastward and westward: For all the land which you see, to you will I give it, and to your seed forever.

Genesis 17

8 And I will give unto you, and to your seed after you, the land wherein you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession.

Not Yet Fulfilled

Notice from the above passages that Abraham was always included in the promise of land: “To you will I give it.” Paul said:

Galatians 3

16 To Abraham and to his seed were the promises made.

Yet Abraham never realized that promise. Stephen said:

Acts 7

5 He [Abraham] came out of the land of the Chaldeans...into this land...And He [God] gave him no inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his feet on: Yet He promised that He would give it to him for a possession.

So the patriarch did not set his foot on the promised inheritance. Had God’s promise failed? Certainly not!

Heavenly Land

Many fail to see what was really promised to Abraham. Paul understood that the promise was:

Romans 4

13 ...that he should be heir of the world.

It did not mean...

Galatians 1

4 ...this present evil world.

For that is to be dissolved by fire. But...

2 Peter 3

13 ...the new earth wherein dwells righteousness.

Accordingly, Abraham

Hebrews 11

9 ...sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:

10 For he looked for a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.…

13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.

15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.

16 But now they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly; wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for He has prepared for them a city.

If anyone has thought that the earthly land of Canaan was the promise of the everlasting inheritance to Abraham and his posterity, he is wide of the mark. The present land of Canaan was merely a strange country to Abraham, and he looked in faith for the “heavenly country” as the fulfillment of his hope.

Source: Daniel and the Revelation, 1897 In the time of David, Israel was well settled in Canaan, and at the height of her glory; yet the king did not understand this to be the fulfillment of the ancient promise. He said:

1 Chronicles 29

15 For we are strangers before You and sojourners, as were all our fathers.

Psalm 39

12 ...I am a stranger with You, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.

Earth Made New

The promise, therefore, was the earth made new. Paul so understood it, and declared before Agrippa:

Acts 26

6 And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise of God unto our fathers.

7 Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come.

Again he said:

Acts 28

20 For the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.

Inasmuch as the land was promised to the Seed of Abraham, and inasmuch as this Seed is Christ, the covenant in Genesis was the promise that the kingdoms of this world were to become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ.10 Revelation 11 15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever. The covenant contained the promise that Christ would wrest the earth from Satan’s usurpation and redeem it to its Edenic beauty.

Even now the earth belongs to Christ, for He has re-purchased it with His blood. Abraham then, was given the promise of being a joint-heir with Christ. Christ, Abraham, and all the children of faith will enter the everlasting possession together.

A Covenant of Resurrection unto Eternal Life

One thing should now be very obvious: the covenant to Abraham included the promise of the resurrection. He knew he would obtain the inheritance; yet he knew he was to die beforehand. God said to him:

Genesis 15

15 You shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.

He died in faith and in hope of the resurrection. Hear Paul testify to this:

Acts 26

6 And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers:

7 Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come.

8 For which hope’s sake, King Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews.

9 Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead.

Faith in Resurrection Demonstrated

When a son was born to the patriarch, God tested his faith, saying:

Genesis 22

2 Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and get into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell you of.

This was a tremendous test of faith. Not only was it the offering of a loved son, but since God had said that…

Genesis 21

12 ...in Isaac shall your seed be called,

–the son was the hope of the fulfillment of all the promises of the covenant. It would doubtless appear to Abraham that if Isaac was cut off, then he himself would be cut off from righteousness, eternal life, and the inheritance; for all these things were to come through the Seed.

Genesis 22

3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.

4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.

As he paused at the foot of the mount, where later the Lamb of God was to be offered, his faith laid hold upon the promises of God, and he made his sublime declaration of his assurance of the resurrection of Isaac:

5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide yet here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, AND COME AGAIN.

He understood that he would offer up Isaac; yet he believed that he would return with the lad. Paul says:

Hebrews 11

17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,

18 Of whom it was said, that in Isaac shall your seed be called:

19 Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.

After he had demonstrated his faith in the resurrection, God assured him:

Genesis 22

17 Your seed shall possess the gate of his enemies.

That was to say that Christ (the Seed) would overcome the devil.

1 John 3

8 For this purpose was the Son of God manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.

The works of the devil are sin and death. Christ came to overcome sin and death. Having overcome sin,

Psalm 110

1 The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.

The last enemy to overcome is death. The promise to Abraham was the victory over death.

1 Corinthians 15

52 ...for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall all be changed.

54 ...then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

55 O death where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?

56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

57 But thanks be to God, which gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Experiencing the Resurrection

Abraham’s faith grasped the promise of the resurrection to immortality, because he had experienced in himself the power of the resurrection.

Romans 4

19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about a hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb:

20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God.

We must not leave Sarah out of this same faith.

Hebrews 11

11 Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.

12 Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.

Not only had Abraham experienced the power of the resurrection in the birth of Isaac, (which birth was as great a miracle as the resurrection of the dead,) but he had experienced the resurrection from sin to the righteousness of God, which is by faith in Jesus Christ.

Isaac’s birth is a type of all who are born, not of the flesh, but by the will of God through the Spirit. Those who are born again—raised in newness of life—experience the power of the resurrection. Every baptism should be the outward sign of the inward experience of being raised from the dead by the glory of the Father.11 Romans 6 2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? 3 Know you not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection: 6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. Every soul who exercises the same faith as Abraham becomes a partaker of the...

Ephesians 1

20 ...exceeding greatness of His power, which He [God] wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead.

He who knows Christ and the power of His resurrection12 Philippians 3 10 That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death. is a partaker of the power that will bring forth his body from the grave. He does not consider it a thing incredible that God should raise the dead. Eternal life is merely the sequel of being justified by faith, as it is written,

Titus 3

7 That being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

The Foreshadowing of Calvary

Jesus said to the Jews,

John 8 [RV]

56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he should see my day; and he saw it, and was glad.

The patriarch was instructed of the Saviour, not only by promise, but by type also. When Isaac was grown to young manhood, and was the joy of his old father’s heart, God directed Abraham to offer up his own son as a burnt offering. It was a staggering test of faith. Not only was Isaac his only and dearly loved son, but he was Abraham’s only hope of the realization of the covenant promise.

We have seen how his faith rose to the occasion and demonstrated to the universe that by faith a man can fulfill all of God’s requirements. This was not only a test of faith; it was a foreshadowing of Calvary.

Genesis 22

6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son.

As Abraham laid the wood on his only begotten son, so God was to lay the cross on His only begotten Son. As Isaac carried the wood up to Mount Moriah, so Jesus was to carry the cross up to Calvary. Isaac said to his father,

Genesis 22

8 Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a Lamb for the burnt offering.

Abraham’s own words were expressing the reality of the gospel. The Lamb that God had provided was His own Son who was brought as a…

Isaiah 53

7 ...Lamb to the slaughter.

The patriarch’s hand was stayed from slaying Isaac, but God did not stay His hand in the giving of Christ.

Romans 8

32 He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

Concerning the experience of Abraham and Isaac, it is written,

Genesis 22

8 So they went both of them together.

Isaac too was willing to yield himself as a sacrifice to God. So Jesus was one with the Father in the eternal purpose:

Ephesians 5

25 [He so] loved the Church, [that He] gave himself for it.

Galatians 2

20 [He] loved me, and gave himself for me.

He loved the sheep of His pasture, and laid down His life that they might enter into eternal life.

John 10

15 I lay down my life for the sheep.

No other test could have caused Abraham such torture of soul as the offering of his only begotten son. But from the agony of those dark days of trial, he was able to appreciate what it meant for God to give His only begotten Son to a death of agony and shame. As Abraham and Isaac went together up to Mount Moriah to sacrifice, so the Father went with Jesus to Calvary, and suffered with His Son.

Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 155:

It had been difficult even for the angels to grasp the mystery of redemption—to comprehend that the Commander of heaven, the Son of God, must die for guilty man. When the command was given to Abraham to offer up his son, the interest of all heavenly beings was enlisted. With intense earnestness they watched each step in the fulfillment of this command.

When to Isaac’s question,

Genesis 22

7 Where is the lamb for a burnt offering?

Abraham made answer,

8 God will provide himself a lamb;

–and when the father’s hand was stayed as he was about to slay his son, and the ram which God had provided was offered in the place of Isaac,—then light was shed upon the mystery of redemption, and even the angels understood more clearly the wonderful provision that God had made for man’s salvation.

The Immutability of the Abrahamic Covenant

Nothing necessary for eternal redemption was absent from the Abrahamic Covenant. It was nothing short of God’s eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1. Let it be stressed again that it was founded upon Christ.

Galatians 3

16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made…

17 And this I say that the covenant...was confirmed before of God IN CHRIST.

All of its benefits are hid in Christ, and we must be “found in Him” (Philippians 3:10) to partake of them.

2. God established the covenant by an immutable oath.

Hebrews 6

13 When God made promises to Abraham, because He could swear by no greater, He swore by himself.

17 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of His council, confirmed it by an oath:

18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie…

Deuteronomy 29

12 That you should enter into covenant with the Lord your God, and into His oath, which the Lord your God makes with you this day:

13 That He may establish you today for a people unto himself, and that He may be unto you a God, as He has said unto you, and as He has sworn unto your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

Luke 1

68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for He has visited and redeemed His people,

69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David;

70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, which have been since the world began:

71 That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;

72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant;

73 The oath which He swore to our father Abraham,

74 That He would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve Him without fear,

75 In holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our life.

76 And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Highest: for you shall go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways;

77 To give knowledge of salvation unto His people by the remission of their sins,

78 Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high has visited us.

Mark it well: The Abrahamic covenant was irrevocable. The blood of Christ ratified it;13 Hebrews 13 20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 Make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. nothing could be added or taken away from it;14 Galatians 3 15 Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannuls, or adds thereto. it was even “God’s Everlasting Covenant.”

Then let no one think that the Bible contains any other gospel than the one which Abraham obeyed. In God’s purpose for the human race there is only one gospel, one covenant, and one way of salvation. With Him there is...

James 1

17 ...no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

The Old and New Covenant Experience of Abraham

So far we have dealt with Abraham as the man of faith—the father of all those who know the blessed experience of justification by faith. Yet Abraham’s faith was not such that it was always an example of the right way to inherit the promises of God.

True Righteousness by Faith

We have seen that the Everlasting Covenant was one of promises on God’s part and faith and acceptance on Abraham’s part. His works must be entirely left out, else God’s purpose would be frustrated, and the promise made of none effect.

Salvation was to be entirely by the grace of God. Due solely to God’s goodness and generosity, Abraham could partake of the blessings. His part was to believe the Lord, and stagger not at the promise through unbelief.

The lesson of faith and trust, and abandonment of human effort to earn salvation, is one of the hardest lessons man has to learn. Somehow he always imagines that his help is necessary to complete God’s workmanship. This was the lesson Abraham had to learn, and God taught him in a very real way.

The covenant, being based on the Seed, could only be realized through Abraham having a son. Since Sarai was past age when the promise was first given, it was a test of faith in the power of God right from the outset. God deliberately placed him in a position where he could realize that it was impossible for him to bring forth a son, so that he would appreciate that the son (and with the son all the blessings of the covenant) was entirely a gift of God.

When about ten years had passed since the promise of a son was first given, Abraham and his wife began to reason a new aspect of righteousness by faith. Instead of trusting implicitly that God would perform a miracle birth and provide a seed, Abraham presumed by his own works to provide the seed, and himself work the works of God.

Genesis 16

2 And Sarai said unto Abraham, Behold now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing: I pray you, go in unto my maid: it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abraham hearkened to the voice of Sarai.

4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived…

16 And Abraham was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abraham.

False Righteousness by Faith

If this experience was transposed to our day, it would be simple enough to imagine the following conversation between Abram and Sarai:

Sarai: “You know, Abram, while God makes the promise, we must do our part. When we work, God will work.”

Abram: “Yes Sarai, maybe God has been waiting for us to use our own initiative, and if we play our part and step out in faith (?), God will bless our efforts. If we do our part, God will do His. Faith without works is dead, so God expects us to set to work to demonstrate our faith. It is like rowing a boat—one oar is faith, the other is our works. So let us be up and doing.”

This is how righteousness by faith is still being passed off today by many who are perfectly satisfied that they know what righteousness by faith is. But it is all a counterfeit and a deception. What work does God require of us, but to “cease from our own works”?15 Hebrews 4 10 For he that is entered into His rest, he also has ceased from His own works, as God did from His. When the Jews asked Jesus,

John 6

28 What shall we do that we might work the works of God?

29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that you believe on Him whom He has sent.

All that man can do without Christ is polluted with selfishness and sin. The work of the gospel is to save us from our own works, and lay the glory of the old man in the dust. God has promised to do for us that which we cannot do for ourselves. In the work of righteousness and salvation, there is no room for weaving self into the work.

1 Corinthians 1

29 No flesh should glory in His presence.

31 That, according as it is written, He that glories, let him glory in the Lord.

Returning to the experience of Abraham: What was the result of this presumption on his part? A bond-servant son. This child was not to be the heir, for it was not God’s purpose that a race of slaves should inherit the promises of the covenant.

Abram looks hopefully at Ishmael God could not establish His covenant with Ishmael even though Abraham would have been satisfied. Only the child of faith would be acceptable to God. Only the fruit of faith is acceptable to God. Thus Abraham’s false way to righteousness was utterly rejected. In reality, it was not a way of righteousness, but a way of bondage.

Having rejected Ishmael, the Lord reiterated His former purpose of the Everlasting Covenant. Apparently Abraham’s faith grasped the right relationship in the work of salvation, for God said:

Genesis 17

5 Neither shall your name any more be called Abram,16 Abram – “exalted father” but your name shall be Abraham;17 Abraham – “father of a multitude” for a father of many nations have I made you.

15 As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai,18 Sarai – “my princess” but Sarah19 Sarah – “princess” [i.e. not personal, so: “...of nations and kings”]. Editor’s note: some also suggest that God inserted His name into theirs as “ah” (breath) from His name Y-ah-weh. Thus, His breath, or life, would make them the father and mother of nations. shall be her name.

16 And I will bless her, and give you a son also of her.

Meaning of Circumcision

Then God gave to Abraham the ordinance of circumcision—a sign in his own flesh that was to be a practical reminder of his failure to bring forth a free-born son; as well as a token that his own effort would never bring to him the son of promise. He could produce a son with his own effort, but only a son of the flesh. Nothing but a miracle birth could produce the son of promise.

Since righteousness was an essential part of the covenant, this experience furnished a working example to Abraham that he could do works of the flesh, but never works of righteousness. God was teaching the patriarch not to trust in his own flesh, for in the flesh dwells no good thing.

Romans 7

18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwells no good thing.

Circumcision was the outward sign of putting…

Colossians 3

9 ...off the old man with his deeds;

–and putting...

10 ...on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him.

Let us look at the meaning of circumcision another way. We have seen above that it is a sign of righteousness by faith. It was also a sign of commandment-keeping:

Romans 2

27 And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfill the law, judge you, who by the letter and circumcision do transgress the law?

28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:

29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Therefore, the only way to keep the commandments of God is to be circumcised, in the spiritual sense, as it is written,

Deuteronomy 30

6 The Lord your God will circumcise your heart...to love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, that you may live.

By faith in Christ alone, can we keep His commandments. He renews the heart yielded to Him, writes His own law there, and dwells in the heart by faith, filling the life with the fruits of right-doing. He who does not keep the commandments by the power of God does not keep the commandments at all. Rather, he breaks them all, and brings himself under the curse of sin and condemnation, as it is written,

Galatians 3

10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse.

But mark: he is not cursed for doing the law, for...

Romans 10

5 ...the man that does those things shall live by them.

He is cursed for not doing the law:

Galatians 3

10 Cursed is every one that continues not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

Two Sons: Two Covenants

We have seen that God gave only one covenant to Abraham: the Everlasting Covenant. Yet two sons, representing two covenants, were born to the patriarch. They represented an Old and New covenant experience to Abraham.

Galatians 4

22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.

23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.

24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants.

Ishmael: the Old Covenant

Ishmael represented the Old Covenant experience of Abraham. It was based on his own efforts to realize the Everlasting Covenant promise. In taking upon himself the responsibility of fulfilling the covenant, he failed utterly, putting himself under a yoke of bondage.

There can be no deliverance from sin by way of the Old Covenant, since it depends upon the works of the flesh, which at best can only be sinful.

Galatians 4

30 Nevertheless what says the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.

Isaac: the New Covenant

After his failure, Abraham was taught to trust completely in the Lord to perform the miracle birth by His Almighty power. Isaac was born by faith in the power of God. He represented Abraham’s New Covenant experience.

Romans 4

20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;

21 And being fully persuaded that what He had promised, He was able also to perform,

22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;

24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;

25 Who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification.

If we are to be children of Abraham, we must be born by faith in the word of God.

1 Peter 1

23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which lives and abides for ever.

John 3 [margin]

7 You must be born from above.

Righteousness is a gift of God bestowed on unworthy sinners who exercise faith in Jesus Christ. To those who, renouncing self (the works of the flesh), come to Jesus in utter helplessness, God says,

Ezekiel 36

25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols will I cleanse you.

26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.

27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you shall keep my judgments, and do them.

Hebrews 8

8 I will make a NEW COVENANT with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah…

10 I will put my laws into their minds, and write them in their hearts.

The two covenants, represented by the two sons, are the two ways of salvation. The Old Covenant is simply righteousness by works, illustrated by Abraham taking Hagar to wife.

Although this was an utterly false method, God did not prevent Abraham from entering the Old Covenant, for by his failure he could then appreciate the benefits of the New Covenant. God is a good teacher.

The New Covenant experience of faith is the only relationship that God has offered to fallen man.

2. Israel’s Deliverance from Egypt

WHEN God brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, it was for the same purpose that He brought Abraham out of Babylon. God desired His people to enter into covenant relationship with Him as their father Abraham had done.

We have seen how that in Abraham’s deliverance from Babylon, God preached the gospel unto him. Similarly, in the deliverance from Egypt, God proclaimed the gospel to ancient Israel. Paul says:

Hebrews 4

2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them [Israel].

The Same Covenant

Firstly, we should observe that the Lord purposed to give Israel the same Everlasting Covenant.

Exodus 2

23 And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage,…

24 ...And God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.

Exodus 6

1 And the Lord said unto Moses...

4 I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers.

5 And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant.

8 And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning which I swore to give it to Abraham.

Psalm 105

42 For He remembered His holy promise, and Abraham His servant.

43 And He brought forth His people with joy, and His chosen with gladness:

44 And He gave them the lands of the heathen: and they inherited the labor of the people.

Spiritual Deliverance

Secondly, we should observe that God was accomplishing a spiritual deliverance. His people were not keeping His commandments under the Egyptian bondage. For this reason God redeemed His people, as it is written,

Psalm 105

43 And He brought forth His people with joy…

45 That they might observe His statutes, and keep His laws.

Since their slavery bound them to break the law of God, they were sold under sin, causing God’s name to be blasphemed among the heathen.20 Romans 2 23 You that make your boast of the law, through breaking the law do you dishonor God?

Isaiah 52

3 For thus says the Lord, You have sold yourselves for nought; and you shall be redeemed without money.

4 For thus says the Lord God, My people went down aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.

5 Now therefore, what have I here, says the Lord, that my people is taken away for nought? they that rule over them make them to howl, says the Lord; and my name continually every day is blasphemed.

Hopelessness of Commandment-Keeping in Egypt

Egypt stands for all that is sin and rebellion against God. No man can keep God’s law in Egypt, for a slave to sin is not allowed to serve God. The work of the gospel is to call men from the bondage of commandment-breaking that they might serve Him. Before God announced His law to Israel He said,

Exodus 20

2 I am the Lord your God, which have brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

Just as deliverance from the power of the oppressor had to precede Israel’s keeping of the commandments, deliverance from the power of sin must precede our keeping of the commandments. As it required the mighty power of God to redeem Israel from Egypt, so it requires the mighty power of God to deliver the soul from the dominion of sin. The same power that delivers the soul from sin, writes the law in the heart and mind, and gives power to obey.

It is a fruitless and a hopeless experience to endeavor to serve God when this freedom has not been won. In the 7th chapter of Romans is outlined the experience of a man endeavoring to serve God and keep His law while still in the bondage of spiritual Egypt. Let us trace the record:

Romans 7

14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal sold under sin.

A man who is sold is a slave; hence we could say that this man is in Egypt.

15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.

19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.

22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:

23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

This man is an Israelite—he recognizes the law of God and wants to keep it; but he is in the bondage of Egypt, groaning under the oppression.

24 O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

He sighs by reason of the Egyptian bondage. God hears the groaning of this child of Israel,

Exodus 6

5 ...whom the Egyptians keep in bondage;

–and remembering His covenant He says,

6 I will bring you out from under the burden of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you.

Thus he is delivered by the mighty power of God.

Romans 7

25 I thank God through Jesus Christ.

He thanks God for the freedom that God has brought to him through Jesus Christ. Being released from Egypt,—the slavery of sin,—he rejoices that he can keep the commandments of God. Being released from the prison house of sin, he gratefully acknowledges the Lord, as did David:

Psalm 116

16 O Lord, truly I am your servant,...You have loosed my bonds.

Psalm 40

8 I delight to do your will, O my God: yea, your law is within my heart.

Obedience to the will of God is a delight, for it is a service of love.

Six experiences before Sinai will now be cited to illustrate how the gospel was proclaimed to the Hebrews and how God attempted to lead Israel into an experience of righteousness by faith.

Proclaiming the Name and Power of God

The gospel, first and foremost, declares the name of the Lord. The name of the Lord is the character of the Lord:

Exodus 34

6 ...merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,

7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty.

The declaration of His name is the declaration of salvation, for:

Romans 10

13 Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

God sent Moses and Aaron to the Hebrews and to the Egyptians to make known the name of the Lord. All who believed on His name, both Hebrews and Egyptians, were taken to be God’s chosen people. It was God’s purpose to so reveal himself by the signs and, wonders in Egypt, that His name would be proclaimed to the ends of the earth. To Pharaoh God said:

Exodus 9

16 And in very deed for this cause have I raised you up, for to show in you my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.

To all nations, God not only wanted to make known His desire to save, but also His power to save. The gospel, being…

Romans 1

16 ...the power of God unto salvation,

–needs always to be preached in demonstration of the power of God. It requires knowledge and faith in His power to bring salvation. Accordingly, God revealed himself in signs and mighty wonders, as it is written:

Psalm 105 [RSV]

26 He sent Moses His servant, and Aaron whom He had chosen.

27 They wrought His signs among them, and miracles in the land of Ham.

28 He sent darkness, and made the land dark; they rebelled against His words.

29 He turned their waters into blood, and caused their fish to die.

Source: J. F. Castro – Wellcome Collection 30 Their land swarmed with frogs, even in the chambers of their kings.

31 He spoke, and there came swarms of flies, and gnats throughout their country.

32 He gave them hail for rain, and lightning that flashed through their land.

33 He smote their vines and fig trees, and shattered the trees of their country.

34 He spoke, and the locusts came, and young locusts without number;

35 Which devoured all the vegetation in their land, and ate up the fruit of their ground.

36 He smote all the firstborn in their land, the first issue of all their strength.

37 Then He led forth Israel with silver and gold, and there was none among his tribe who stumbled.

38 Egypt was glad when they departed, for dread of them had fallen upon it.

Moses Accepts the Reproach of Christ

Hebrews 11

24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of a Pharaoh’s daughter;

25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;

26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of reward.

27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.

Paul thus shows us that Moses understood the gospel of Christ and the spiritual realities of leaving Egypt. We are plainly told that the treasures of Egypt were the pleasures of sin. Moses refused to live in sin, and chose to accept the reproach of Christ. The reproach of Christ is the cross. Moses denied himself, and took up his cross and followed Christ. Partaking of the sufferings of Christ, he was sustained by the consciousness of the Presence of the Invisible One.

The Passover

Exodus 12

3 Speak unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for a house:

5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year…

7 They shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.

12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt,...

Source: Bibel in Bildern, 1860 13 And the blood shall be to you a token upon the houses where you are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.

22 And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the basin; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.

23 For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.

The Passover, on the eve of the deliverance from Egypt, clearly taught the spiritual significance of God’s dealings with His people. It was not a ceremony of works that the Lord imposed upon His people, but an institution calculated to teach them that they could be saved only by the blood of Christ.

1 Corinthians 5

7 Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

Only those who exercised faith in the blood of the Sacrifice were saved from death.

Hebrews 11

28 By faith he [Moses, and Israel too] kept the Passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.

Saved by His Life

The record says that the blood sprinkled on the door post was to be a “token” so that the angel would pass over. Paul says that Christ has been manifest…

Romans 3

25 ...to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission [margin “passing over”] of sins that are past.

In the redemption from Egypt, God was to “pass over” the sins of all who would apply the blood of Christ. That blood was to forgive and cleanse them from all sin. Since…

Leviticus 17

11 The life of the flesh is in the blood,

–the sprinkling of the Passover blood was a token of being…

Romans 5

10 ...saved by His life.

The Law in the Life of Christ

Men are saved only by the application of the life of Christ. The application of the blood represents also the application of the law. God said,

Exodus 13

9 It [the Passover] shall be for a sign unto you upon your hand, and for a memorial between your eyes, that the Lord’s law may be in your mouth.

The blood of Christ which justifies us from sin, makes us conformable to His law. This holds because the righteousness of the law is in Christ;21 Psalm 40 8 I delight to do your will, O my God: yea, your law is within my heart. and he who accepts Christ into his life will have the righteousness of the law in him.

God was teaching Israel that the way to walk in God’s law was by faith in the One who delivered them. If their faith clung to the Passover, then the law of God would be in their lives. The same power that delivers us from sin avails to make us walk in God’s law. Faith is the only way of obedience.

The Red Sea Victory

Hebrews 11

29 By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.

Salvation Entirely of the Lord

Here was a people hopelessly surrounded by the enemy, yet they found salvation through faith in the power of God. The Lord deliberately placed His people in the position where they would realize their utter helplessness, that they might despair of saving themselves. When the people cried for deliverance from their enemies, the Lord did not call upon His people to assist Him in this work of salvation.

Exodus 14

13 And Moses said unto the people, Fear not, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will show to you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you shall see them again no more for ever.

14 The Lord shall fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.

Source: Bibel in Bildern, 1860 At no stage in the redemption from Egypt did the Lord intend Israel to fight the enemy. If God wished to deliver His people by the arm of flesh, Moses could have taken the throne of Egypt and wielded the scepter in favor of his people. But they were not fighting for an earthly inheritance.

We must keep our eyes on the fact that God was freeing the people from spiritual bondage as well as from physical bondage. In this deliverance, man is not called upon to fight, but to rest in faith. How many there are who imagine that they must reign themselves up to wrestle and fight against sin? Is there any wonder that under such circumstances constant defeat and discouragement are inevitable?

Our eyes are not to be upon the enemy but upon Christ. In His presence, Satan is a completely conquered foe. Trust in Him, rest in His might, lean upon His love and rejoice in His victory. Our only fight is the good fight of faith—a faith that claims the victory as won through our Lord Jesus Christ, as it is written,

1 John 5

4 This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.

The Song of Faith

Following the glorious Red Sea deliverance, Israel soared in their spiritual experience. Their wonderful song of victory through faith is recorded in Exodus, chapter 15. If we compare this with Revelation 15, we find that the redeemed at the end of time sing the same hymn of victory.

If Israel had remained steadfast in the faith after this experience, they would have never failed. Every failure on the part of God’s people is due to a lack of faith.

Bread from Heaven

Exodus 16

2 And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness:

3 And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for you have brought us forth into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.

4 Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you: and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.

Source: Foster Bible Pictures, 1873 God the Provider of All

The providence of God led the people directly into the Wilderness of Sin. Now a wilderness is no place to feed a vast concourse of people. From a human standpoint, there was not a thing for the people to eat. Bread is the means of sustaining life. Here were the people placed where it was humanly impossible to get bread. They could clearly see that if they were left to their own resources they would surely die.

Then when the Lord rained bread from heaven, they were able to grasp the lesson that they ate directly from the hand of God, and that it was He alone who sustained their life.

No doubt God could have furnished the desert with rain, causing an abundance of grain to spring up to nourish the people; but they were so blind that they would not have recognized that the bounty came from Jehovah. In the blindness of their hearts they would have attributed the phenomena to “natural causes” as people do today when they eat of the abundance which God has given to them.

Accordingly, God removed all these “natural causes,” making it evident to all that He was directly the great Sustainer of life. Actually, whether God chooses to sustain us by harvests, or by ravens, it still comes directly from Him. Speaking of this experience, Moses said:

Deuteronomy 8

3 And He humbled you, and suffered you to hunger, and fed you with manna, which you knew not, neither did your fathers know; that He might make you know that man does not live by bread only, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord does man live.

This is one of the most sublime texts in the books of Moses. First, God humbled His people: they came face to face with the fact that unless God intervened they must die. They realized that no inherent power in themselves perpetuated life. They were humbled to know that they were directly dependent on God for life.

Man does not live by bread only. He does not live by his own ability to provide for himself, neither does he live by “natural causes.” Man lives “by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.”

Testimonies to Ministers, p. 423:

He is caring for us every moment; He keeps the living machinery in action; if we were left to run it for a moment, we should die. We are absolutely dependent upon God.

Christ the Source of All Life

Notice further, that man lives by the word of God. Christ is the Word of God:

John 1

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

All men live solely because of the gift of Christ to this world.

John 1

4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

Acts 17

25 He gives to all life, and breath, and all things;

28 For in Him we live, and move, and have our being.

Christ taught this personally to the multitude which followed Him in Galilee. We read in John 6 that Jesus took the five loaves and it multiplied in His hand to feed five thousand people. That day five thousand people were nourished directly from Christ.

Christ the Bread of Life

The Jews were slow to understand the reality of the miracle. The next day they said to Jesus:

John 6

31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.

32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.

33 For the bread of God is He which comes down from heaven, and gives life unto the world.

It is literally true that Christ came down from heaven to give life to the world. Jesus taught the multitude that both the Israelites and they themselves received life from Him.

John 6

35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that comes to me shall never hunger; and he that believes on me shall never thirst.

Christ said that he was the Bread of life, the One who came down from heaven to give life to the world. He is the great Sustainer of life, and without His coming into the world, men would have ceased to live; they would have perished under the curse of sin.

From the foundation of the world, Christ took the curse, and by virtue of His sacrifice, continued to give them life, peradventure they might acknowledge Him and come to repentance.

There are many who think that Christ, by the miracle of the loaves and subsequent lesson, was teaching only that He is our spiritual life. They fail to see how it applies to our physical nature also. But only as we learn first that Christ is the Bread of life temporally, can we appreciate the spiritual lesson. Jesus said:

John 3

12 If I have told you earthly things, and you believed not, how shall you believe, if I tell you heavenly things?

Life to All from the Cross

The Desire of Ages, p. 660:

Our Lord has said:

John 6

53 Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, you have no life in you.

55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.

This is true of our physical nature...The bread we eat is the purchase of His broken body...Never one, saint or sinner, eats his daily food, but he is nourished by the body and the blood of Christ. The cross of Calvary is stamped on every loaf.

He who does not acknowledge God day by day in his eating, will certainly not give the Lord due place in his heart and life. Since he fails to eat in faith, not discerning “the Lord’s body,” he will eat to his own damnation.22 1 Corinthians 11 29 For he that eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. Such a one could not appreciate spiritual realities.

Righteousness Only From Christ

God designed to show Israel in the wilderness that their life was sustained by the Word of God. Having fully recognized their utter dependence on the Lord for physical life, they would be in a position to appreciate that they were equally dependent on the Lord for spiritual life.

If men are to be saved, they must be humbled to this truth. The One who is ever present to give us life, is ever present to work His own righteousness in us. The man who fails to realize he is completely dependent on the Lord for life moment by moment, will fail to realize that he is completely dependent on the Lord for righteousness moment by moment.

John 6

63 The words I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are life.

As we eat of our daily bread for life and strength, so we are to “eat” of the Word of God to receive spiritual life. By receiving the Word into our hearts, we receive Christ; and by receiving Him, we receive righteousness.

Water from the Rock

Exodus 17

1 And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the Lord, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink.

Source: Pearls from the East, 1881 2 Wherefore the people did chide Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why do you chide with me? Wherefore do you tempt the Lord?

3 And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that you have brought us up out of Egypt to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?

4 And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me.

5 And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with you of the elders of Israel; and your rod, wherewith you smote the river, take in your hand, and go.

6 Behold, I will stand before you there upon the rock in Horeb; and you shall smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.

7 And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us, or not?

What unbelief is here manifested! God had given abundant evidence of His presence, yet in the infidelity of their hearts, the people said, “Is the Lord among us or not?” They doubted if God was with them.

Before we condemn the blindness of ancient Israel, let us heed the words of Paul:

Romans 2

1 You that judge do the same things.

The Presence of the Lord

Dear reader, have you said in your heart,

“Is the Lord with me or not?”

Perhaps you may have said it while you sat at a meal and ate bread. Do you not know that as you eat you are being nourished by the body of Christ which was broken for you? Stop and confess that you live because He lives; and if He was not with you to sustain you, you would cease to be.

In Him you live, and move, and have your being (Acts 17:28).

He upholds you by the word of His power (Hebrews 1:3).

To the death of Christ you owe your breath.

The nourishment before you is stamped with His cross.

Hear the Lord plead in sorrow for that unbelief:

Isaiah 1

3 The ox knows his owner, and the ass his master’s crib; but Israel does not know, my people do not consider.

Yes, even the dumb beast knows where its food comes from, yet do you fail to fully recognize the hand of your Provider? There is no ground to ask,

“Is the Lord with me, or not?”

Acts 17

27 He is not far from every one of us.

Romans 10

8 The Word is very near unto you.

Psalm 139

7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? or where shall I flee from your presence?

8 If I ascend up into heaven, You are there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.

9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;

10 Even there shall your hand lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.

God persisted in teaching the people the vital lesson of the reality of His presence so that they could endure as…

Hebrews 11

27 ...seeing Him who is invisible.

The people could not live without water; so God took them to a place where there was no water. Thus they could appreciate that the water came from Jehovah, and that they were absolutely dependent on Him for life.

Surely the Lord could have provided an underground spring that could have gushed out its life-giving flow; but Israel would have been so prone to Egyptian philosophy that they may have attributed it to “natural causes.” Thus He led them to the rock at Horeb. None but the blindest could see that there was no water in the flinty old rock. All had the opportunity to see that the stream flowed from the Lord.

Water from the Crucified One

1 Corinthians 10

4 THAT ROCK WAS CHRIST.

The water flowed from Him who was smitten that they might have life. Before their eyes Jesus Christ was set forth, crucified among them.23 Galatians 3 1 O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ has been evidently set forth, crucified among you? In that stream Israel had the privilege of beholding the fountain of everlasting life opened to them. They should have seen that Christ, who was the source of their existence, was the source of their righteousness. They could not live a day without Him, neither could they do righteousness without Him.

Dear reader, again I ask:

Have you ever gazed at a stream of water flowing over a rock, sparkling on its life-giving course?

Have you ever stood there wondering at its ceaseless flow?

Did you realize that it came as a gift from the One whose heart was broken for you?

When you drink of the life-giving water, do you recognize that it is a gift to you from Calvary?

If you have failed to see this, do not wonder at the slowness of Israel’s heart, for “you that judge do the same.”

THE CROSS OF CHRIST “IS REFLECTED IN EVERY WATER SPRING.”24 The Desire of Ages, p. 660, emphasis ours. Every gift of life comes from the same crucified Saviour. All men, saints and sinners, live by virtue of the cross. Oh, why do we not acknowledge Him more, and thank Him for His tender mercies. Christ preaches the gospel to us in our daily eating and drinking.

The Lord is Our Life and Our Righteousness.

3. Israel at Sinai

The Everlasting Covenant Delivered

IN THE last chapter we saw how God beheld the bondage of the children of Israel in Egypt, and remembered the immutable covenant which He swore unto Abraham. God never gave an intimation that He had another covenant in mind for His people at Sinai. Indeed, He repeatedly emphasized that He was extending the same covenant which He gave to Abraham.

Exodus 19

2 For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness—and there Israel camped before the mount.

3 And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob and tell the children of Israel;

4 You have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagle’s wings, and brought you unto myself.

5 Now, therefore, if you will obey my voice indeed, AND KEEP MY COVENANT, then you shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people.

Deuteronomy 7

8 But because the Lord loved you, and because He would keep the oath which He had sworn unto your fathers, has the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

9 Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, which keeps covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations:

12 Wherefore it shall come to pass, if you hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them that the Lord your God shall keep unto you the covenant and the mercy which He swore unto your fathers.

Deuteronomy 8

18 But you shall remember the Lord your God...that He may establish His covenant which He swore unto your fathers, as it is this day.

Therefore God was delivering His same Everlasting Covenant at Sinai. Accordingly, God said:

Exodus 19

5 Now therefore, if you will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant [Abrahamic or Everlasting], then you shall be a peculiar treasure unto me...

God then proceeded to show the great standard of righteousness contained in the Covenant: the Ten Commandments.

Exodus 20

1 And God spoke all these words, saying,

2 I am the Lord your God, which have brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

ONE

3 You shall have no other gods before me.

TWO

4 You shall not make unto yourself any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

5 You shall not bow down yourself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

6 And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

THREE

7 You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that takes His name in vain.

FOUR

8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

9 Six days shall you labor, and do all your work:

10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord your God: in it you shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger that is within your gates:

11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

FIVE

12 Honor your father and your mother: that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God gives you.

SIX

13 You shall not kill.

SEVEN

14 You shall not commit adultery.

EIGHT

15 You shall not steal.

NINE

16 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

TEN

17 You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is your neighbor’s.

The Law a Transcript of God’s Character

God’s Everlasting Covenant is no substitute for righteousness. It reveals the way of perfect obedience and a righteousness which is the very righteousness of God. When God proclaimed His law, He proclaimed His character, for the law of the government of heaven is merely the transcript of Him who sits upon the throne. This law is as binding as the character of God.

If we look at God’s law closely, we find that it contains ten eternal principles:

Loyalty to God,

Worship,

Reverence,

Holiness (or Sanctification),

Respect for authority,

Sacredness of life,

Purity,

Honesty,

Truthfulness,

Contentment.

Sooner could heaven and earth pass away than one of these principles of righteousness cease to be binding upon the human race.

The Everlasting Covenant is a compact of righteousness. Since all of God’s commandments are righteous,25 Psalm 119 172 My tongue shall speak of your word: for all your commandments are righteousness. the ten commandments are the basis of God’s covenant.

10 Commandments Inseparable from Covenant

Deuteronomy 4

12 And the Lord spoke unto you out of the fire: you heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only you heard a voice.

13 And he declared unto you His covenant, which He commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and He wrote them upon two tables of stone.

As surely as nothing can be added to or taken away from the covenant of God, even so surely nothing can be added to or taken from His holy law, the terms of the covenant.

Psalm 111

5 He will ever be mindful of His covenant.

6 He has showed His people the power of His works, that He may give them the heritage of the heathen.

7 The works of His hands are verity and judgment: all His commandments are sure.

8 They stand fast for ever and ever and are done in truth and uprightness.

9 He sent redemption unto His people: He has commanded His covenant forever: holy and reverend is His name.

10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom—a good understanding have all they that do His commandments: His praise endures forever.

Psalm 89

34 My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.

Psalm 119

89 For ever, O Lord, your word is settled in heaven.

Psalm 105

8 He has remembered His covenant for ever, the word which He commanded to a thousand generations.

9 Which covenant He made with Abraham, and His oath unto Isaac;

10 And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an Everlasting Covenant.

Eternal Life for Commandment Keepers

Just as there is no way of salvation other than by the Everlasting Covenant of grace, there is no way of salvation other than by obedience to all the commandments of God. When the rich young ruler asked Jesus,

Matthew 19

16 What shall I do that I may have eternal life?

Jesus answered,

17 If you will enter into life, keep the commandments.

It is true that the law of God presents man with a standard of righteousness to which he cannot attain. Christ made this apparent after the departure of the ruler, when the disciples asked Him who could be saved. He said:

26 With men this is impossible…

It was tantamount of His saying that it was impossible for man to keep the commandments of God. Yet He added,

26 ...but with God all things are possible.

That which God commands, He also promises. All His biddings are enablings.26 Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 333. Through the grace and power of God’s covenant, all may keep the commandments of God. Therefore, a life in conformity to the law of God is the evidence of the power of the true gospel.

The ten commandments are not the way of righteousness: they are the standard of righteousness. Keeping the law is not the means of salvation: it is the condition of salvation.

Sabbath a Sign of the Gospel

The Sabbath commandment, being the sign of the power of our Creator and Law-Giver, reminds us of His creative power to work in us the keeping of His commandments. While we are destitute of the righteousness which the law of God demands, the Sabbath points us to the power of God which will put holiness in our hearts.

Exodus 31

13 Verily my Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between me and you...that you may know that I am the Lord that sanctifies you.

Now note it carefully: the Sabbath is a sign that it is God that makes us holy, and not we ourselves. As we cease our work and come to rest upon the blessed seventh-day rest of God, we learn that we do not become righteous by working for it, but by resting by faith in the sanctifying power of God. The seventh-day Sabbath, therefore, is the sign of the true gospel, the seal of righteousness by faith, and the token of God’s Everlasting Covenant.

What foolishness for men to claim that a Sabbath observer is a Judaizer who practices righteousness by works. Let him read again the seal of God’s covenant which declares that Sabbath keepers are not made righteous by working, but by resting in faith. Hear the testimony of Isaiah, the gospel prophet:

Isaiah 56

2 Blessed is the man that does this, and the son of man that lays hold on it; that keeps the Sabbath from polluting it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.

3 Neither let the son of the stranger, that has joined himself to the Lord speak, saying The Lord has utterly separated me from His people:…

6 The sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants, everyone that keeps the Sabbath from polluting it, and takes hold of my covenant; even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer.

Thus God led His people to Sinai where they beheld in the law the standard of righteousness which was embraced in God’s covenant.

The Old and New Covenant Experience

The great highlight of ancient Israel’s experience was the grand occasion at Mount Sinai when God spoke to them audibly and delivered His covenant. God carefully prepared them for the occasion. In the redemption from Egypt, the Red Sea victory, the Passover, the bread from heaven, and the water from the Rock, our heavenly Father taught His people lessons of complete faith and trust in himself. This should be duly noted, for many are inclined to think that the people came blindly to Sinai, having no opportunity to know that the only way of righteousness was by faith in their Lord.

Hosea 11

1 When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.

3 I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms.

This is the portrayal of their compassionate heavenly Father, gently leading His people, holding their hand to prevent them from stumbling, and teaching them how to walk in the way of God. He was carefully schooling them in the way of righteousness, demonstrating that their relationship with Him was an arrangement of giving and receiving—giving on God’s part, receiving on man’s part. God was to give all: they were to take all.

Old Covenant Experience

Yet Israel failed to learn the lesson of righteousness by faith, even though God took every precaution to prevent them from missing the way. Israel experienced the bondage of the Old Covenant just as their father Abraham did.

Galatians 4

22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.

23 But he who was of the bondmaid was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.

24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the Mount Sinai, which genders to bondage.

God gave Abraham a covenant which was dependent upon his having a son. When he attempted to fulfill the conditions of the covenant by bringing forth a son by his own power, he fell under the bondage of an “Old Covenant” experience.

Similarly, God gave to Israel the same Everlasting Covenant. But the test in this case was obedience to the commandments. When Israel assumed the responsibility of fulfilling the conditions of the covenant by keeping the commandments in their own strength, they placed themselves under the bondage of the “Old Covenant” experience. Israel failed just where Abraham failed, and just where human nature is prone to fail. Man has to learn that he cannot do the works of God.

That Israel experienced the Old Covenant can be no doubt; but God was in no way responsible for it. To say that God intended to place a yoke of bondage upon His dear children is a libel against the love, wisdom, and justice of our heavenly Father who changes not. Everything points to the fact that before Sinai God was endeavoring to teach His people righteousness by faith. When they assumed to keep the law without relying on the power of God, they were merely making the same mistake as Abraham made when he took Hagar to wife. God never prevented Abraham or Israel from going their own way. God is a good teacher.

How God Administered the Covenant

Let us examine the steps whereby God entered into covenant with His people at Sinai.

1. Covenant relationship offered and accepted: Firstly God asked the people to enter into covenant relationship with Him.

Exodus 19

5 Now, therefore, if you will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine.

The people immediately responded that they would keep God’s covenant.

8 And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord has spoken we will do.

2. God proved the people: The Lord did not wish the people to enter into His covenant lightly, not realizing its lofty standard of righteousness or the exceeding breadth of its demands upon them. In the grandest ceremony and the most awful demonstration of the power and glory of God, the Lord proclaimed in His own voice His ten righteous precepts—the standard of conduct for His covenant people.

Exodus 19

18 And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.

Exodus 20

18 And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.

19 And they said unto Moses, Speak with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.

Source: Historiae Celebriores, 1708 20 And Moses said unto the people, Fear not. For God is come to prove you, and that His fear may be before your faces, that you sin not.

The purpose of this awful proclamation was to prove the people. It was His purpose to convince the people of sin, in order that they would utterly despair of being able to keep His holy law.

Romans 5

20 Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound.

God spoke amid thunder and fire…

Romans 7

13 ...that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.

The people’s response, both before and after the spoken commandments, to keep the law of God, was right in itself: but it was a totally impotent promise because their hearts were strangers to the exceeding holy principles of God’s law. The Lord said:

Deuteronomy 5

28 I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto you [Moses]…

God was referring to the time when the people said, “All that the Lord has said we will do.”

28 ...they have well said all that they have spoken.

29 O that there were such a heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always.

The people’s hearts were not in harmony with their words. God spoke the law in all its terrible majesty to convict the people of sin. God understood the inadequacy of the congregation’s response. He knew that the people’s hearts were not in harmony with the law of God. The natural heart does not love to do God’s will:

Romans 8

6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

If the heart is not renewed by the grace of God, then any promise to serve God is impotent—it is an Old Covenant yoke of bondage. The Lord does not want men to wear His law on their backs instead of in their hearts.

The ceremony at Sinai was designed, not only to convict the people of sin, but to demonstrate that because of its just and holy nature, they were condemned by it.

Romans 4

15 The law works wrath.

They could extract nothing from the law but wrath and condemnation. The fear of their own hearts testified to this. Further, the mountain was fenced, and “if so much as a beast” touched the mountain it was stoned,

Hebrews 12

20 ...or thrust through with a dart.

All this clearly showed that they could not touch God’s law without receiving its death penalty. Since the wages of sin is death, the only thing that any man can extract from the law is wrath, condemnation and death. For this reason Paul states that:

Galatians 3

10 As many as are of the works of the law are under a curse.

The Sinai experience should have so convicted Israel of sin and condemnation, that they would have seen that there was nothing else to do save cast themselves on the mercy of God as they did aforetime.

Israel was not offered a way of righteousness through the law. The covenant of grace was sworn by the oath of God four hundred and thirty years before, and it contained the complete provision for salvation.

Galatians 3

17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.

19 Wherefore then serves the law? It was added because of transgressions…

That is,

Romans 5

20 ...that the offense might abound;

Romans 7

13 ...that sin by the commandment would become exceeding sinful.

Galatians 3

22 But the scripture has concluded [“shut up”] all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.

24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

Therefore the law was proclaimed at Sinai to prove the people, to convince them of their need, and to lead them to Jesus Christ to be justified by the faith of their father Abraham.

Even so, when we preach the law, it must be for the sole purpose of leading men to Jesus Christ, the One who alone can save from its terrible penalty, and who can so abide in the heart of men that the very righteousness which the law demands from them is in them because Christ is in them.

Calvary was revealed at Sinai. When God spoke the law the water from the smitten Rock was still flowing from this same mount. That Rock was Christ, the source of life and righteousness. In Christ is life, and in his heart is the law.

Psalm 40

8 I delight to do your will, O my God: yea, your law is within my heart.

And,

Proverbs 4

23 Out of the heart flow the issues of life.

Christ was smitten for our iniquities, and His heart was broken for us. From this fountain, we drink in the righteousness of the law by faith. All this was at Sinai. The cross with its life-giving flow was at Sinai. And the awfulness of Sinai was at Calvary. Calvary, no less than Sinai, reveals the terrible and unchanging holiness of the law of God. But at the back of all the terror and the grandeur stands the oath of promise:

Romans 5

20 Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.

The law was never intended to be a source of righteousness,

Galatians 2

21 For if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

Jesus is the only source of man’s righteousness, the only physician for sin-sick souls. Yet men must know that they are sick before they will accept healing. If Israel had learned the lesson God had for them at Sinai, they would have drunk of the Spiritual Rock by faith, and received the righteousness of the law by receiving Him. Then it would have been understood that…

John 15

20 His commandment is life everlasting.

3. God required a heart experience: The Lord clearly indicated that He wanted an obedience which sprang from love. The doctrine that…

Romans 13

10 Love is the fulfilling of the law,

–did not originate with The Teacher and His apostles. They brought this truth out of the books of Moses and set it in its right perspective. Love to God and man was constantly stressed in the Law as the very spirit of commandment keeping.

Deuteronomy 6

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:

5 And you shall love Source: Children’s Bible Cards, 1896-1913 the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and will all your might.

6 And these words, which I command you this day shall be in your heart:

7 And you shall teach them diligently unto your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lay down, and when you rise up.

8 And you shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.

Deuteronomy 7

8 But because the Lord loved you, and because He would keep the oath which He had sworn unto your fathers, has the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

9 Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, which keeps covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations:

Deuteronomy 9

4 Speak not in your heart, after that the Lord your God has cast them out from before you, saying, For my righteousness the Lord has brought me in to possess this land: but for the wickedness of these nations the Lord drives them out from before you.

5 Not for your righteousness, or for the uprightness of your heart, do you go to possess their land;…

6 Understand therefore, that the Lord your God gives you not this good land to possess it for your righteousness; for you are a stiffnecked people.

4. Israel undertook to keep the commandments: The Lord made it clear that He desired the people to enter an experience of…

Galatians 5

6 ...faith that works by love,

–but Israel undertook to keep the commandments themselves. God took every precaution to prevent them from failing just where every human heart is so prone to fail. They did not learn from Abraham’s experience, nor from their own, that righteousness is received…

Romans 3

28 ...by faith [alone] without the deeds of the law.

However, since God grants to all men freedom of will, He was obliged to consent to Israel’s Old Covenant relationship. Paul says,

Galatians 3

18 If the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise.

When men persist in performing the work of God the promise is nullified; Paul adds:

Galatians 2

21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness came by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

There is no compromise between God’s promise of the covenant of grace and man’s covenant of works.

Romans 11

6 And if by grace, then it is no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.

Accordingly, the people’s promise to keep the law and fulfill the conditions of the covenant completely nullified the provisions of God’s grace. Thus the old covenant was sealed without any provision for sin.

Exodus 24

8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has made with you concerning all these words.

Exodus 23

20 Behold, I send an Angel before you, to keep you in the way, and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.

21 Beware of Him, and obey His voice, provoke Him not; for He will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in Him.

5. The People broke the Covenant: Since the best flesh can accomplish is only works of the flesh, it is not surprising that within a few days of the grand ceremony at Sinai, the people failed, and turned aside from obedience to God.

Exodus 24

12 And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give you tables of stone and a law, and commandments which I have written; that you may teach them.

18 And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and got him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.

Exodus 32

1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him.

2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.

3 And all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.

4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf; and they said, These be your gods, O Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.

5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord.

6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.

7 And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get down; for your people which you brought out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves:

8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I have commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshiped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be your gods, O Israel, which have brought you up out of the land of Egypt.

19 And it came to pass, as soon as he came near unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses’ anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and broke them beneath the mount.

6. The people realized they were under condemnation: The breaking of the tables of the covenant was a symbol of the broken covenant. Now the people saw that they were in a grave predicament. They reflected upon the terror of God’s law, and feared before its terrible penalty. In taking upon themselves a covenant of works, they had cut themselves off from grace. There was no provision made for sin.

Behold the people with a ministration of death, condemned and without any hope of pardon. See them stand before a holy God, dumb with fear, and awaiting the just retribution of their evil deeds.

7. Moses pleaded for God to renew the covenant of grace: Moses, standing as the people’s mediator, (as a symbol of Christ,) did not excuse Israel, but pleaded with God to renew His covenant—His glorious Everlasting Covenant of grace:

Exodus 32

13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom You swore by your own self, and said unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.

Deuteronomy 9

26 I [Moses] prayed therefore unto the Lord, and said, O Lord God, destroy not your people and your inheritance, which You have redeemed through your greatness, which You have brought forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand.

27 Remember your servants, Abraham, and Jacob: look not unto the stubbornness of this people, nor to their wickedness, nor to their sin.

Making no mention of the people’s promise, Moses pleaded for divine grace.

Exodus 33

13 Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found grace in your sight, show me now your way, that I may know You, that I may find grace in your sight: and consider that this nation is your people.

Knowing that he had found grace with God, Moses pressed his petition further:

18 I beseech You, show me your glory.

Moses was certainly a good mediator, for he understood the character of God. Pressing God to reveal His glory, Moses knew that the Lord would reveal himself as the great God of the Everlasting Covenant. The Lord will reveal His glory to all who come to Him with the faith of Moses, for He cannot deny himself.

Exodus 33

19 And He said, I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you: and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.

Exodus 34

5 And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord.

6 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,

7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty.

Source: Holbein, Bible Cuts, 1526 Here was Moses’ chance to press the battle to the gates. God affirmed that He was a Father of abundant mercy and forgiveness. Mercy is unmerited favor: it is to treat men better than they deserve.

Psalm 103

11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him.

The measure with which God treats men better than they deserve, is as high as the heaven is above the earth. While His justice cannot excuse the guilt, His grace makes provision for its removal from the guilty. Having seen the glory of God, Moses made the irresistible plea:

Exodus 34

9 O Lord, let my Lord, I pray You go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.

8. God renews HIS Covenant: Hear God’s reply: it is one of the most thrilling in all Scripture. Let every soul rise up in thankfulness to God for His glorious response:

Exodus 34

10 Behold, I make a covenant: before all your people I WILL DO MARVELS…

The Everlasting Covenant was renewed. Mark it well: we read of no promise of the people saying, “We will...” They were not called upon to promise anything. God simply said, “I WILL.”

9. Moses received the ten commandments again: Moses was commanded to go up to the mount again to receive the ten commandments, always the foundation of God’s covenant. His law is the foundation of His throne and the transcript of His character. Unchanging as the great “I AM” is God’s law of love.

Exodus 34

27 And the Lord said unto Moses, Write these words; for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.

28 And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And He wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

Deuteronomy 10

1 At that time the Lord said unto me, Hew two tables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto me into the mount, and make an ark of wood.

2 And I will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which you broke, and you shall put them in the ark.

3 And I made an ark of shittim wood, and hewed two tables of stone like unto the first, and went up into the mount, having the two tables in my hand.

4 And He wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the Lord spoke unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly: and the Lord gave them unto me.

5 And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made: and there they be, as the Lord commanded me.

10. The Lord indicated a “New” Covenant experience: This time the people did not commit themselves to fulfill the terms of the covenant. Man is not asked to provide anything in God’s covenant. God says to him,

“I WILL DO MARVELS.”

God provides all; man is to take all. The way of righteousness is dependence upon the “I WILLS” of God.

Ezekiel 36

24 For I will take you from among the heathen...and will bring you into your own land.

25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols will I cleanse you.

26 And a new heart also will I give you, and new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.

27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you shall keep my judgments, and do them.

Philippians 2

13 For it is God which works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.

Every command of God is a promise. “You shall not” simply becomes the promise that “You will not.” It is amazing how many people can read the “You shall not’s” as commands only, and fail to see in them promises that they “will not.”

After their great failure, Israel was prepared to appreciate the benefits of the Abrahamic covenant of grace. In the books of Moses, God instructed the people to enter a heart experience equivalent to that which Jeremiah and the Hebrews call a “New Covenant.”

Deuteronomy 10

12 And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,

13 To keep the commandments of the Lord, and His statutes, which I command you this day for your good?

16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.

Deuteronomy 11

18 Therefore shall you lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.

Deuteronomy 30

6 And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart, and the heart of your seed, to love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, that you may live.

11 For this commandment which I command you this day, it is not hidden from you, neither is it far off.

12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it and do it?

13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it and do it?

14 But the word is very near unto you, in your mouth, and in your heart, that you may do it.

In Romans 10, Paul borrows directly from this passage to prove his great doctrine of righteousness by faith. Moses preached precisely the same gospel as the apostle Paul.

Yet throughout its history, Israel as a nation lost sight of the gospel of the Everlasting Covenant. Only a remnant entered the experience of righteousness by faith, and became heirs of God’s Eternal Purpose. In the Law, the Psalms, and the Prophets, God’s righteousness and the saving grace of God’s covenant was clearly presented; yet:

Hebrews 3

19 [Israel] could not enter in because of unbelief.

Being…

Deuteronomy 32

20 ...children in whom [was] no faith,

–they followed after the law of righteousness. Being ignorant of God’s righteousness, they went about to establish their own righteousness, and did not submit themselves unto the righteousness of God.

Romans 9

31 But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness.

32 Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;

33 As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offense: and whosoever believes on Him shall not be ashamed.

Romans 10

1 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.

2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.

3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believes.

PART II

God’s Eternal Purpose
Unfolded in the
Earthly Sanctuary Service

4. The Erection of the Sanctuary

THE proclamation of the law at Sinai was a lesson to Israel of its helplessness. A few days later, God gave to Moses plans for a sanctuary whereby the people could be instructed concerning pardon for sin, and power for obedience unto life.

At Sinai Israel had entered the Old Covenant relationship with God; but the Lord, knowing its utter worthlessness, committed to Moses plans for a sanctuary. While Moses was in the mount receiving the tables of the covenant the first time, God gave him specific instructions for its erection.

Command to Erect THE Sanctuary

Exodus 25

1 And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,

2 Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that gives it willingly with his heart you shall take my offering.

3 And this is the offering which you shall take of them; gold, silver, and brass.

4 And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair.

5 And rains’ skins dyed red, and badgers’ skins, and shittim wood.

6 Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense.

7 Onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breastplate.

8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.

9 According to all that I show you, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall you make it.

In the building of the sanctuary, a large amount of precious and costly material was required. When God renewed His covenant after the apostasy, the erection of the tabernacle began.

Exodus 35

21 And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the Lord’s offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments.

22 And they came, both men and women as many as were willing hearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered, offered an offering of gold unto the Lord.

23 And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, and red skins of rams, and badgers’ skins, brought them.

24 Every one that did offer an offering of silver and brass brought the Lord’s offering; and every man with whom was found shittim wood for any work of the service, brought it.

25 And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen.

26 And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats’ hair.

27 And the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate;

28 And spice, and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense.

Overall View of the Sanctuary

The entire structure was erected so that it could be dismantled and accommodated to the journeyings throughout the wilderness. Thus, in all the travels of the children of Israel, the tabernacle was always with them. Such an arrangement necessitated a small building—about 54 feet by 18 feet. Yet it was a magnificent structure.

The wood used for the building and furniture was acacia. The boards used for the walls were not nailed together, but were set in sockets and held together by bars connected to supporting pillars. Each board was overlaid with gold.

The roof consisted of four layers arranged for maximum protection. The inner roof was of...

Exodus 26

1 ...fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, with cherubim and cunning work.

Above this layer were three other layers—goats hair, red dyed rams skins, and badger (seal) skins.

Source: Beautiful Pearls, 1897 Two Apartments; Two Vails

The building was divided into two apartments by a vail, or curtain, supported by four pillars of acacia wood. The two apartments of the sanctuary were called the holy and the most holy places, or sometimes the tabernacle of the congregation and the holy place:

Exodus 26

33 And you shall hang up the vail under the taches, that you may bring in there within the vail the ark of the testimony: and the vail shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy.

Leviticus 16

2 And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron your brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.

20 And when he has made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat.

The first apartment (holy place or tabernacle of the congregation) was approximately twice as large as the second apartment (the most holy place).

Source: Holy Bible, 1881 The only entrance to the building was through a vail at the approaching end of the first apartment. This vail was supported by five pillars of acacia wood. So then, just as there were first and second apartments, there were first and second vails, sometimes called doors:

Exodus 36

37 And he made a hanging for the tabernacle door of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, of needlework.

Exodus 40

5 And you shall set the altar of gold for the incense before the ark of the testimony, and put the hanging of the door to the tabernacle.

The vails, being of the same material as the inner roof, were inwrought with figures, representing the angelic hosts.

Outer Court

The whole tabernacle was enclosed by an outer court called the court of the tabernacle of the congregation. Being about 150 feet by 70 feet, and consisting of screens of fine linen suspended from pillars of brass about seven and a half feet high, it allowed the people without to see the sanctuary.

At the eastern end of the enclosure was a gate about thirty feet wide, made of curtains of costly materials, though inferior to those of the sanctuary.

Source: Holy Bible, 1817 The Altar of Burnt Offering

Just inside the entrance of the outer court, stood the brazen altar of burnt offering. It was about 7½ feet square, and 4½ feet high.

Exodus 27

1 And you shall make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three cubits.

2 And you shall make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof: his horns shall be of the same: and you shall overlay it with brass.

Source: Biblische Figuren, 1560 Between the altar and the door of the first apartment was the laver for the priests to wash their feet before entering the sanctuary.

The Laver

Exodus 30

18 You shall also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal; and you shall put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and you shall put water therein.

19 For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat.

20 When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation they shall wash with water, that they die not: or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the Lord:

21 So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not.

There were three articles of furniture in the first apartment of the sanctuary—the candlestick, the table of shew-bread, and the golden altar of incense.

The Candlestick

On the south side of the first apartment stood the seven-branched candlestick with its seven lamps. This was made of one solid piece of gold, beaten into shape by a workman’s hammer, and cleverly worked with flowers. As there were no windows in the sanctuary, the lamps were kept alight continually.

Source: Biblische Figuren, 1560 The Table of Shewbread

On the north side of the holy place was a table of shew-bread, whereupon were placed twelve loaves of unleavened bread Sabbath by Sabbath. The table was about 3 feet long, and 2¼ feet in width and height. It was overlaid with gold, and ornamented around the top with a crown of gold.

The Golden Altar of Incense

Immediately before the second vail which separated the holy place from the most holy, was the golden altar of incense, about one and a half feet square and three feet high, and having a horn upon each corner. It was made of acacia wood overlaid with gold and ornamented with a beautiful crown of gold.

Source: Histoire du Vieux et du Nouveau Testament, 1700 The Ark of the Testimony

In the most holy place was the central object of the sanctuary service—the ten commandments. A sacred chest was made to contain the law of God.

Exodus 25

10 And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits27 A cubit is about eighteen inches. and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.

This chest was overlaid with gold within and without, and had a crown of gold-around the top. The covering of the ark was called the mercy seat. On either end of the mercy seat were cherubim made of pure gold beaten into shape. These were shaped with stretched wings covering the ark, and with faces turned reverently toward the law of God contained within. Above the mercy seat, God manifested His presence to Israel in the Shekinah, a cloud of glory. The Lord said,

Exodus 25

22 I will meet with you...from above the mercy seat...

Source: Holy Bible, 1881 The Priesthood

For the service of the sanctuary, the whole tribe of Levi was set apart by God. The family of Aaron was ordained as priests to offer the sacrifices.

Exodus 28

1 And take unto you Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons.

2 And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother for glory and for beauty.

Aaron was to be High Priest, and his sons ordinary priests. Special dress was appointed for them. The main garb of the High Priest was for “glory and for beauty,” while the dress of the priests was of plainer material.

Source: Tabernacle, Priesthood and Offerings, 1875

5. The Purpose of the
Sanctuary Service

GOD had a very real purpose both in the institution of the sanctuary service for ancient Israel, and in the recording of this service for modern Israel. The sanctuary service is one of the grand themes of scripture, for it embraces the entire gospel. A consideration of the purpose of the sanctuary will help in focusing its salient lessons.

The Type of the Heavenly Sanctuary

God directed Moses to construct the tabernacle according to the pattern shown him:

Exodus 25

40 And look that you make them after their pattern, which was shown you in the mount.

The question arises: A pattern of what? We are not left to speculate, for Paul says:

Hebrews 9

21 Moreover he [Moses] sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry.

23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these.

It is clear then, that the earthly sanctuary was a pattern of heavenly things. Paul says that Christ is…

Hebrews 8

2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man,

–while the Levitical priests served merely…

5 ...unto the example and shadow of heavenly things.

Paul contrasts the sanctuary on earth with the sanctuary in heaven, and states that the earthly was…

Hebrews 9

9 ...a figure for the time then present.

Its services were:

23 ...patterns of things in the heavens,

24 ...figures of the true,

Hebrews 10

1 ...having a shadow of good things to come.

The earthly sanctuary was a pattern, a little earthly model, of the…

Hebrews 9

11 ...greater and more perfect tabernacle,

–where Christ is now ministering as our High Priest. On four occasions28 Revelation 4:4-5; 8:3-5; 11:19; 15:8. the apostle John states that he saw this true sanctuary in heaven, and mentions some of the things which he saw there.

Let no one imagine that Moses made anything else but a pattern of the heavenly sanctuary. When he went into the mount, God presented to his view the great original sanctuary in heaven, and commanded him to make the model to serve as an “example and shadow” of it.

Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 343:

God presented before Moses in the mount a view of the heavenly sanctuary, and commanded him to make all things according to the pattern shown him.

The Great Controversy, p. 414:

The sanctuary in heaven, in which Jesus ministers in our behalf, is the great original, of which the sanctuary built by Moses was a copy.

The Great Controversy, p. 415:

Paul teaches that the pattern was the true sanctuary which is in heaven.

Source: Groeningen, 1574 (Rijksstudio) The entire tabernacle was an object lesson of heavenly realities. To us it is rich in spiritual truth, demonstrating more clearly the work of Jesus in His heavenly ministry.

The Reality of God’s Presence

In Chapter 2 we traced how God taught His people that He was always with them:

to deliver them from their oppressors,

to fight their battles,

to feed them in the wilderness, and

to be an ever present help in trouble.

God was constantly teaching His people the reality of His abiding Presence, for they had long been in the land of pagan Egypt where faith in the “Unseen” was not a quality of worship. In the erection of the sanctuary, God gave to Israel the crowning evidence of His continuing presence. Accordingly He said:

Exodus 25

8 Let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.

Exodus 40

34 A cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

36 And when the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys:

37 But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not until the day it was taken up.

38 For the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.

Source: J. J. Derghi, 1866 (Wellcome Collection) As long as the sanctuary was with them, even the blindest in Israel could understand that God was dwelling among His people. Each had the privilege of learning to trust in the Lord who was always with him.

When man loses the sense of the presence of the Invisible God, he inevitably falls into sin, as Israel did at Sinai. Man will abide in the way of God only as he endures…

Hebrews 11

27 ...as seeing Him who is invisible.

The Living Temple of God

Exodus 25

8 Let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.

The key to a great truth lies in the meaning of those three words: “dwell among them.”

Exodus 29

44 And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation…

45 And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.

46 And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them.

Leviticus 26

11 And I will set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you.

12 And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be my people.

Paul’s inspired comment upon the above text from Leviticus is most enlightening. He says:

2 Corinthians 6

16 You are the temple of the living God, as God has said, I will dwell in them and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

If we think that God’s ultimate purpose in that sanctuary of old was merely to dwell in that tent erected by human hands we are wide of the mark. Stephen rebuked the blind Jews who could not read the purpose of the sanctuary; namely, that they were to be the temples of God, yielded for His indwelling presence. Stephen said:

Acts 7

48 The Most High dwells not in temples made with hands; as says the prophet,

49 Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will you build me? says the Lord: or what is the place of my rest?

50 Have not my hands made all these things?

God designed that the sanctuary and its service would teach every Israelite how He would dwell in his heart and life as surely as He dwelt in the sacred tent.

The Lord is a living God: He desires living temples to dwell in.

God is Spirit: He desires His people be His spiritual house.

God is a person: He purposes to dwell in our soul temples.

Men were created to be living temples of the living God, yet every man has gone his own way, setting up idols in his temple and separating himself from God.

But the Lord, being rich in mercy, and for the great love wherewith He loved His people, gave them a sanctuary to show them the way of cleansing their hearts from idols in order that His Spirit could regain possession of His rightful soul-temple.

Isaiah 57

15 For thus says the High and lofty One that inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

Education, p. 36:

Through Christ was to be fulfilled the purpose of which the tabernacle was a symbol—that glorious building, its walls of glistening gold reflecting in rainbow hues the curtains inwrought with cherubim, the fragrance of ever-burning incense pervading all, the priest robed in spotless white, and in the deep mystery of the inner place,...worshiping angels, the glory of the Holiest. In all, God desired His people to read His purpose for the human soul. It was the same purpose long afterward set forth by the apostle Paul, speaking by the Holy Spirit:

1 Corinthians 3

16 Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

The Desire of Ages, p. 161:

God designed that the temple at Jerusalem should be a continual witness to the high destiny open to every soul.

Yet as a nation, Israel failed to read in the sanctuary the high destiny of every soul. Let us not judge them for their blindness. Do we read in the sanctuary service the high destiny open to our souls?

The great majority of Jews only perceived a work carried forward in the tent and enclosure. They did not see the great truth that it was merely an object lesson of the gracious work of God in their living temples. And in our study of the heavenly sanctuary, if we see a work that is going forward in heaven only, we are no better than the Jews. Let us be mindful of this when we study the work of Christ in heaven.

The Word abiding in the heart sanctifies. The heart of each believer becomes the sanctuary of the living God. This fact is so clear that no more words are needed to make it appear, and we have therefore only to consider its wonderful force, and its practical application to us.

Romans 8

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

That is, those who yield themselves to God to be His spiritual house are filled with the Spirit, and are guided by the Spirit wherever the Spirit wills to go. The mind of the Spirit is their mind. When men submit to be temples of God, then is God’s…

Matthew 6

10 ...will done on earth even as it is in heaven.

The Union of Divinity with Humanity

The sanctuary service was designed to teach Israel of the union of divinity with humanity. Originally God and man were perfectly united in the bond of a perfect harmony. Adam’s nature was in harmony with his Creator, and he did the will of God naturally. The entrance of sin destroyed this union, as Isaiah wrote:

Isaiah 59

2 Your iniquities have separated between you and your God.

Removal of sin, the real wall of partition, was the very real lesson of the tabernacle ritual. The entire service dealt with the problem of sin and its removal from the people so that God could dwell in the midst of them. The plan of salvation from sin was worked out before the faces of the children of Israel.

On the one hand the sanctuary was connected with sin and the sinner; on the other hand it was connected with God and His law. The law of God pointed out sin and demanded the life of every transgressor. Every sinner stood under the condemnation of the law, which virtually said,

Romans 6

23 The wages of sin is death.

The sinner needed a covering from its wrath, a shelter from its death penalty. The sanctuary service provided this “covering” or “shelter” (this is the Hebrew meaning of the word atonement); it met the justice of the law, and brought the sinner into harmony with the divine precepts. The sanctuary was a typical mediator between the law and the people. Through its service, God taught how the penalty of the law could be met, yet at the same time allowing the sinner to go free—not only of the law’s wrath, but free from the sin that the law condemned.

The law of God was not set aside. It was always ready to condemn the free man to death again if he fell back into sin. If sin brought him under the law’s condemnation again, the sanctuary service was there to meet the penalty of the law, and remove the sin from his life.

The yearly completion of the sanctuary service gave the people a preview of the final disposition of sin and their complete re-union with their Maker.

The Incarnation of Christ

The sanctuary service, being the typical mediator and the symbol of the union of divinity with humanity, was a type of the incarnation of Christ. John alluded to this when he said,

John 1 [RV]

14 The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us.

The Desire of Ages, p. 23:

God commanded Moses for Israel, “Let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them,” and He abode in the sanctuary, in the midst of His people. Through all their weary wandering in the desert, the symbol of His presence was with them.

So Christ set up His tabernacle in the midst of our human encampment. He pitched His tent by the side of the tents of men, that He might dwell among us, and make us familiar with His divine character and life.

John 1 [RV]

14 The Word became flesh, and tabernacled among us (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father) full of grace and truth.

When ancient Israel saw the presence of God in the tabernacle, they were to realize that just as surely as God dwelt there, He could dwell in them.

In the same way, when we behold the incarnation of the Son of God in our flesh, we are to realize that just as surely as God dwelt in the man Christ Jesus, He can dwell in us day by day.

6. The Sanctuary Service:
An Overall View

THE typical sanctuary service was the gospel in type. Standing between the law of God and the sinner, it pointed out the only way back to God. When man fell into sin, he turned his back on the law of God, and became a stranger to its righteous precepts. The ritual illustrated how man and the law could finally meet in the most holy place.

Record of Sin Required

The law of God, situated in the most holy place, demanded justice for its broken precepts. Since the very nature of the law was justice, it did not condemn sinners without accuracy. In order to condemn and punish justly and impartially it would require a record of sin. There were no record books in the earthly sanctuary29 Editor’s note: Actually, the five books of Moses, referred to as the “book of the law” was put “in the side of the ark of the covenant,...that it may be there for a witness against you.” Deuteronomy 31:26. This record contained the account of many of the sins and rebellions of the children of Israel, and so, is a type of the more extensive records in heaven. as there are in the heavenly sanctuary:

Daniel 7

10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him: thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.

The earthly, being only a shadow of the heavenly, could not portray all the details. Nevertheless, the type did infer the recording of sin.30 The reader must bear in mind that the service was a typical ritual—it only pointed to the way sin is dealt with in reality. It was not the reality.

Who recorded the sin? When was it recorded? These are vital and fundamental questions. Sometimes it is advisable to reason from the antitype back to the type. We will do this here.

Angels Record Sin

In reality, we know that God makes, a record of sin immediately it is committed, as Ellen G. White says:

The Great Controversy, p. 486:

Angels of God witnessed each sin, and registered it in the unerring records...God has an exact record of every unjust account and every unfair dealing...How solemn the thought! Day after day, passing into eternity, bears its burden of records for the books of heaven. Words are spoken, deeds once done, can never be recalled. Angels have registered both the good and the evil.

Now if the record of sin is made in the heavenly sanctuary as the sin is committed, it must logically be assumed that there was a record made in the earthly sanctuary as the sin was committed. The figures of angels woven on the vails and inner covering of the sanctuary represented the witnessing angelic host. The two following passages of Scripture indicate that the record of sin was made in the earthly sanctuary when the sin was committed:

Leviticus 20

2 Whoever he be of the children of Israel...that gives any of his seed unto Molech…

3 I will cut him off from among his people because he has given of his seed unto Molech to defile my sanctuary.

Numbers 19

13 Whoever touches the dead body of any man that is dead and purifies not himself, defiles the tabernacle of the Lord.

From the above texts, it must be noted that sin on the part of the people defiled the tabernacle of the Lord. The tabernacle was not defiled with the guilt of sin in these instances, for the sinner bore the guilt until confession was made.

We cannot reason away the true significance of these passages by assuming that the sanctuary was defiled when the sinner came within its outer court, for such is not stated. The passages give us to understand that when he sinned—and in all probability he may have been far off from the sanctuary, only visiting it occasionally—he defiled the tabernacle.

Only one conclusion is possible, and it is the right conclusion: the tabernacle was defiled with the record of his sin.

Record in Most Holy

Through the ministration of angels, the law in the most holy place witnessed against every sin committed. As in the heavenly, so in the earthly service: as soon as a man sinned he defiled the sanctuary with his record. The second apartment was not defiled with the sinner’s guilt; it was defiled with his record.

Because of this record, he was condemned to die.

Ezekiel 18

4 The soul that sins, it shall die.

1 Corinthians 15

56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

The sinner therefore needed an atonement—a “covering” or “shelter” from the law’s penalty.

The ritual consisted of two great divisions: the daily and yearly ministrations. It required the full ministry (daily and yearly service) to effect the full atonement.

Source: Historische Bilder Bibel, 1705

7. The Daily Service

AS STATED in Hebrews, the work of the priesthood was to daily offer up sacrifice31 Hebrews 7 27 Who needs not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this He did once, when He offered up himself. and to go…

Hebrews 9

6 ...always into the first tabernacle accomplishing the service of God.

This daily ministry consisted of the service in the outer court and in the first apartment of the sanctuary.

The Outer Court Ministry

The altar of burnt offering, being the place of sacrifice and the central object of the outer court, represented Calvary. The multitude of lambs and other sacrifices that were slain here down through those Jewish centuries all pointed to Jesus, the Lamb of God, slain to redeem us by His blood. Every drop of blood beside and upon that altar pointed to the…

1 Peter 1

19 ...precious blood of Christ, as a lamb without blemish and without spot.

The Burnt Offering: Since all had sinned and come short of the glory of God, the entire congregation was under the penalty of the law, and needed an atonement for sin. In order to make this atonement, God provided a burnt offering for the whole congregation.

Atonement Provided

Exodus 29

38 Now this is that which you shall offer upon the altar: two lambs of the first year day by day continually.

39 The one lamb you shall offer in the morning; and the other you ¦shall offer at even:

42 This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord; where I will meet you, to speak there unto you.

Leviticus 6

9 Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering; it is the burnt offering, because of the burning upon the altar all night unto the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be burning in it.

Source: Pictorial Sunday Book, 1854 The burnt offering was the most important offering, embracing the characteristics of all offerings. It was the foundation of the whole sacrificial system, and the core of public worship of the Jewish economy. Atonement was provided in the burnt offering.

Leviticus 1

4 And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.

Job 1

5 And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.

It was not the people’s offering: it was God’s offering. In providing the burnt offering for the whole congregation, God was showing Israel that He was making provision for every soul to receive atonement for his sins. The burnt sacrifice was entirely consumed on the altar. This demonstrated that God held nothing back from each sinner, but made a full and complete atonement.

Atonement not Appropriated

Yet we must not conclude that God’s sacrifice effected the atonement of sinners. It provided the atonement for sinners. God made the atonement at the altar, but in order to make its benefits operative in their lives, sinners had to appropriate God’s atonement. There was no universal salvation, but there was universal provision.

Atonement Cleanses

That the atonement was not effected is more clearly perceived upon examination of the Scriptural use of the word “atonement.” Although the root meaning of the word means “to shelter” or “to cover,” the simple reading of the word of God conveys the sense that it is used synonymously with “forgive” and “cleanse.”

Leviticus 4

20 The priest shall make an atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them.

Leviticus 12

8 The priest shall make an atonement for her, and she shall be clean.

Leviticus 14

20 And the priest shall make an atonement for him, and he shall be clean.

Leviticus 16

30 The priest shall make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the Lord.

Leviticus 14

29 And the rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put upon the head of him that is to be cleansed, to make an atonement for him before the Lord.

30 And he shall offer the one of the turtledoves, or of the young pigeons, such as he can get;

31 Even such as he is able to get, the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, with the meat offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed before the Lord.

53 But he shall let go the living bird out of the city into the open fields, and make an atonement for the house: and it shall be clean.

Leviticus 15

30 And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for her before the Lord for the issue of her uncleanness.

Leviticus 16

16 And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remains among them in the midst of their uncleanness.

17 And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goes in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel.

18 And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the Lord, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about.

19 And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.

Since “atone,” “cleanse,” “forgive,” are used synonymously, it may be clearly seen that God did not effect an atonement by the burnt offering any more than he thereby effected the people’s cleansing and forgiveness.

Leviticus 17

11 It is the blood that makes the atonement for the soul.

This held because the shed blood was evidence that the life was taken for the sin. To the law which demanded the forfeited life, the blood indicated that there was death to satisfy its claims. Blood was provided in God’s continual offering to atone for—or to cleanse,—the sins of the congregation. It cannot be emphasized too strongly that the blood cleansed from sin.

Never let us lose sight of this fundamental truth as we see those blood drops throughout the sanctuary service, for every blood drop pointed to the…

1 John 1

7 ...blood of Jesus Christ...which cleanses us from all sin.

The cleansing stream I see, I see,

I plunge, and O, it cleanses me,

O praise the Lord! it cleanses me,

It cleanses me, yes cleanses me.32 Phoebe Palmer, Hymn: The Cleansing Wave.

Source: Histoire du Vieux et du Nouveau Testament, 1700 The morning and evening burnt offering was God’s continual provision for the people’s cleansing. It was efficacious for only those who availed themselves of this atoning sacrifice. When anyone sinned, he could realize that there was a lamb on the altar to atone for his sin upon acceptance and repentance. Each Israelite had the privilege of knowing that wherever he was he could turn his face toward the scene of the morning and evening sacrifice and obtain pardon for his sins.

1 Kings 8

29 That your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which You have said, My name shall be there: that You may hearken unto the prayer which your servant shall make toward this place.

30 And hearken to the supplication of your servant, and of your people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear in heaven your dwelling place: and when You hear, forgive.

46 If they sin against You, (for there is no man that sins not,) and You be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near;

47 Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land where they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto You in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness;

48 And so return unto You with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray unto You toward their land, which You gave unto their fathers, the city which You have chosen, and the house which I have built for your name:

49 Then hear their prayer and their supplication in heaven your dwelling place, and maintain their cause,

50 And forgive your people that have sinned against You, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against You, and give them compassion before them who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them.

The times of the morning and evening service became the Jewish hours of prayer.

Calvary Prefigured

It is evident that God’s continual offering represented the sacrifice of His Son Jesus for the sins of the whole world.

1 John 2

2 And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

There was only one Calvary; yet this one glorious sacrifice provided an offering so full and complete that all sin could be atoned for and all men cleansed by His blood. All men were not atoned for or cleansed at Calvary, but the great fountain was opened for sin and uncleanness. The atoning blood must be appropriated and the blood applied to benefit the sinner.

Continual Offering of Christ

While the continual morning and evening offerings pointed to Christ’s one offering, the continual nature of their ministry pointed to the continual efficacy of the slain Lamb of God. John the Revelator beheld in the midst of the throne of God…

Revelation 5

6 ...a Lamb as it had been slain.

The construction of the Greek implies a Lamb having just been slain. The messenger of the Remnant Church beheld in the temple of God a…

Early Writings, p. 79:

...Lamb all mangled and bleeding...torn and bruised on our account.

Source: The Coming King, 1911 The blood of Jesus does not wax old. Calvary is so much a present reality that we may behold the Lamb of God as if He has been freshly slain for our sins. In this confidence we can come before God pleading forgiveness through the merits of His blood. We may look up and see the Lamb bruised and broken for us. He is always there in the midst of the throne as our continual burnt offering.

Five bleeding wounds, He bears,

Received on Calvary;

They pour effectual prayers;

They strongly plead for me:

“Forgive him, O forgive,” they cry,

“Nor let that ransomed sinner die!”33 Charles Wesley, Hymn: Arise, My Soul, Arise, 1742.

Atonement Acceptance

The Sin Offering: While the burnt offering was God’s provision for the people’s atonement, the sin offering was the people’s acceptance of God’s atonement. Whereas the burnt offering was made collectively, the sin offering was usually made individually.

Acceptance of God’s gift was a personal matter. As far as the individual was concerned, it brought him into contact with the mystery of salvation more closely than any other service. To him it was the most important part of the daily ministration.

Leviticus 4 to 6 gives the record of two types of sin offering:

for sins committed ignorantly,

for sins committed knowingly.

One law existed for both offerings. The main difference was that for sins of ignorance the offender did not bear his guilt until he was aware of his offense; whereas for sins committed knowingly, the offender bore his guilt immediately. Evidently, in the former instance, the burnt offering covered the sin until the sinner was aware of it.

God may wink at the times of men’s ignorance,34 Acts 17 30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commands all men everywhere to repent. but he who sins knowingly is defiled with guilt. This is merely a natural law of the conscience.

Leviticus 4 presents the nature of the sin offering necessary for the priest, the congregation, the ruler, and the common person. In requiring a more “expensive” offering from a priest than from a ruler or common person, the Levitical law signified that it was a much more serious thing for a priest to sin than for an ordinary person to commit the same sin. So today, a minister’s sin is much more heinous in the sight of God than a layman’s sin of the same nature.

Apart from the different animals required, the general procedure was as follows:

Leviticus 4

28 He shall bring his offering...without blemish [a bullock, goat, or a lamb, depending upon who the sinner was].

Source: The Coming King, 1911 29 And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering, and slay the sin offering in the place of the burnt offering.

Sin Transferred

The guilty one stood under the penalty of the law for his sin; yet the sanctuary service allowed that he bring an innocent substitute. The substitute had to be perfect and without blemish, a fitting representation of the perfect offering of Jesus.

Beside the altar of burnt offering, the guilty one laid his hands upon the head of the guiltless victim and confessed over it his specific sin. This act of placing the hands upon the head of the victim signified the transference of sin35 Leviticus 16 21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness. —the sinner transferred his sin to the substitute and became free from guilt.

As the substitute now carried the sin, it came under the death penalty of the law. Accordingly, the one who had just transferred his sin slew the substitute beside the altar. The terrible character of sin was brought home to the heart and conscience of the sinner. Not only was he taught that every sin brought an irrevocable death penalty, but an innocent substitute had to die on his account if he was to be saved. Thus he was granted a preview of the awful penalty of sin and cost of salvation.

Sins Transferred to Christ

As with the burnt offering, every sin offering typified the one great sacrifice of Jesus. However, it taught another aspect of His sacrifice. While the burnt offering pointed to the death of Christ for all, the sin offering demonstrated that Christ died for the solitary sinner.

As the sinner personally accepted his Substitute, it was brought home to his heart and conscience that he was personally responsible for slaying the Lamb of God. Christ died because He stood in the sinner’s place, taking upon himself his guilt. This principle of the transfer of sin is a gospel fundamental.

Isaiah 53

6 The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

1 Peter 2

24 His own self bore our sins in His own body on the tree.

It is not without meaning that we sing,

I lay my sins on Jesus.36 Horatius Bonar, Hymn: I Lay My Sins on Jesus, 1843.

O that you and I, dear reader, might know, experientially, that Christ died for our sins. For we must take the place of the sinner in that daily service, and become conscious of only Christ and us. We are guilty of sin, and deserving of death, yet there is our willing Substitute—the Lamb of God. We cast our sins upon Him, and before our eyes Jesus Christ is set forth crucified for us.37 Galatians 3 1 O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ has been evidently set forth, crucified among you?

Upon the death of the substitute, the priest acted as the sinner’s representative. A variation for the service existed here, so the two general procedures will be quoted side by side.

Priest or Congregation	Ruler or Common Person
Leviticus 4 5 And the priest that is anointed shall take of the bullock’s blood, and bring it to the tabernacle of the congregation: 6 And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the Lord, before the vail of the sanctuary. 7 And the priest shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense, before the Lord, which is in the tabernacle of the congregation; and shall pour all the blood of the bullock at the bottom of the altar of burnt offering.	Leviticus 4 34 And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar. Leviticus 6 26 The priest that offers it for sin shall eat it: in the holy place shall it be eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation.

The First Apartment Ministry

Sin Transferred to Sanctuary by the Blood

For the priest or congregation, some of the blood was taken and sprinkled in the first apartment of the sanctuary. Since the slain victim carried the sin, and since its life was in the blood,38 Leviticus 17 11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that makes an atonement for the soul. the sin was by this ceremony transferred from the sinner to the sanctuary by virtue of the blood of the sin offering. The priest sprinkled the blood in the tabernacle of the congregation, thus making the atonement for the sinner. The sinner was now cleansed and freed from his guilt; but the sanctuary was defiled and bore his guilt.

In the ceremony for the ruler and common person, the blood was not carried directly into the holy place, but the ministering priest ate some of the flesh beside the altar of burnt offering.39 In Leviticus 6:26 quoted above it must be noted that the outer court is called the holy place too. See also Numbers 28:7.

Significance of Eating Flesh of Sin Offering

When the priest ate the flesh of the sin offering he bore the sin, as the following remark of Moses bears out:

Leviticus 10

17 Wherefore have you not eaten the sin offering in the holy place, seeing it is most holy, and God has given it you to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord?

The eating of the flesh illustrated a fundamental truth not taught in the instance where the blood was conveyed directly into the sanctuary: the sinner transferred his sin to the priest. The priesthood, as well as the sacrifice, was the people’s sin-bearer. This is the clear teaching of the Levitical services.40 See Numbers 18:1; Exodus 28:38; Leviticus 6:26; 10:17; 16:21-22. Thus the priest was a fitting representation of Christ who bears our sins when we come to Him in penitence and faith.

The Great Controversy, p. 421:

...in the new covenant the sins of the repentant are by faith placed upon Christ.

The priest, having taken the guilt of the sinner, was a type of Jesus who…

1 Peter 2

24 ...bore our sins in His own body on the tree.

Naturally enough, when the priest ceremonially took the sin, the law demanded that he die. Here the earthly priest could not fully represent Christ who was himself the priest and victim. The Levitical law allowed the priest to transfer the sin to a sin offering, and in the prescribed manner sprinkle the blood in the tabernacle of the congregation.

The Signs of the Times, March 14, 1878:

The sins of the people were transferred in figure to the officiating priest, who was a mediator for the people. The priest could not himself become an offering for sin, and make an atonement with his life, for he was also a sinner. Therefore, instead of suffering death himself, he killed a lamb without blemish; the penalty of sin was transferred to the innocent beast, which thus became his immediate substitute, and typified the perfect offering of Jesus Christ. Through the blood of this victim, man looked forward by faith to the blood of Christ which would atone for the sins of the world.

All Repented Sin Transferred to Sanctuary

Thus, whether the blood was conveyed immediately into the holy place, or whether the flesh was eaten first by the priest, eventually the blood of the sin offering transferred the confessed sin to the first apartment of the sanctuary.

Blood Recorded Pardon and Justification

When the blood of the sin offering was sprinkled in the holy place before the vail, behind which was the law of God, justice was satisfied, and the sprinkled blood atoned for the sin. As far as the law was concerned, the blood drops testified that the sinner had died for his sin, and he was free from his guilt. The sprinkled blood recorded the sinner’s pardon and justification and he was free from guilt.

Emphasizing Important Principles of the Sin Offering

1. Sin Offering does not Record Sin

It is sometimes stated that the record of a man’s sins was made when the sin was transferred to the sanctuary by the blood of the sin offering. This is perilously wrong, especially when we apply the principle to the heavenly sanctuary.

In the first place it is erroneous because God records a man’s sins as they are committed, not when he confesses them.

In the second place, if the blood of the sin offering recorded the sin, then the man who made no confession would have no record. Indeed, every man has a record of sin, but only the man who confesses his sin has the blood to record (not the sin, but) his pardon and justification.

2. Blood does not Defile

It is sometimes stated that the blood of the sin offering defiled. While it is true that the sin was transferred to the sanctuary by virtue of the blood, we should not say that the blood defiled. On the contrary, it should be emphasized that the blood cleansed from sin.

Was not the sinner cleansed by the blood of the sin offering? Indeed! Then by virtue of the blood of the substitute, his sin was conveyed to the sanctuary. It was then the sinner’s sin which defiled the sanctuary.

Finally, upon the great Day of Atonement, the blood of the special sin offering cleansed the sanctuary.41 See Leviticus 16. The whole sanctuary service illustrated the gospel reality:

1 John 1

7 The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

3. Sin not Canceled

The sin was not canceled by the sin offering:

The Great Controversy, p. 420:

A substitute was accepted in the sinner’s stead; but the sin was not canceled by the blood of the victim. A means was thus provided by which it was transferred to the sanctuary.

Nor did the blood cleanse, or blot out the record of sin in the most holy place. Both the record of sin and the actual defilement of sin remained in the most holy and holy respectively until the day of final atonement.

4. Atonement Made in Sanctuary

We have seen that full provision for atonement was made by the burnt offering. It was the atoning sacrifice full and complete. But it was the priest who effected the atonement for the individual when he ministered the blood in the first apartment of the sanctuary.

Leviticus 6

30 ...the blood is brought into the tabernacle of the congregation to reconcile [Hebrew: atone] withal in the holy place.

5. Provisional Atonement

Since the individual’s record of sin still remained in the sanctuary, it is evident that full atonement for his sin had not yet been made. In this daily service, atonement was made for the forgiveness of sin, but not for the blotting out of its record. The sin was atoned for provisionally and the pardoned sinner was on probation. Continuing faith and repentance from all revealed sin would ensure final atonement upon the great Day of Atonement.

Only this final day of reckoning could entirely release the sinner from the claims of the law, and completely free him from the sins that were sent beforehand to judgment. There was no such thing as a “once saved, always saved” ministry in the daily service. Only those who followed the service to its climax were saved.

Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 355-356:

In the sin-offerings presented during the year, a substitute had been accepted in the sinner’s stead; but the blood of the victim had not made full atonement for the sin. It had only provided a means by which the sin was transferred to the sanctuary. By the offering of blood, the sinner acknowledged the authority of the law, confessed the guilt of his transgression, and expressed his faith in Him who was to take away the sin of the world; but he was not entirely released from the condemnation of the law.

Summary of the Sin Offering

TYPE	ANTITYPE
1. The sin was recorded in the most holy place upon committal.	Sin is recorded in the most holy place upon committal.
2. The law demanded the death of the sinner.	The law demands the death of the sinner.
3. The sinner transferred his sin to a substitute.	The sinner claims Jesus as his Substitute, and transfers his sins to Him.
4. The substitute died as the bearer of the sin.	Christ stands in his place; Christ’s death pays the price for his sin.
5. Through the blood the sin was transferred to the holy place.	Through His blood the sin is transferred to the holy place of the heavenly sanctuary.
6. The sprinkled blood satisfied the law; showed that the sinner had “died” and recorded his justification.	The sprinkled blood shows the law that the sinner has “died” and records his pardon and justification.
7. The actual guilt in the holy place showed the law that the penitent was now separated from guilt.	The guilt which is now in the holy place shows the law that the penitent is separated and free from his guilt.
8. The record of sin in the most holy place still existed.	The record of sin still exists in the most holy place.
9. Final atonement for the sin had not been effected by this service.	Final atonement for the sin has not been effected thus far in the service.

Further Ministry in the First Apartment

Hebrews 9

6 The priests went always into the first tabernacle accomplishing the service of God.

Besides the sprinkling of the blood of the sin offering in this, apartment, the priests ministered daily before the altar of incense, the table of shewbread, and the seven lamps of the candlestick.

The Golden Altar

Upon the golden altar of incense the fire that was kindled by God himself was sacredly cherished. Morning and evening, at the time of the daily sacrifice, the priests entered the holy place and stood before the altar to offer incense. Continually the fragrance of the incense was diffused throughout the sanctuary and about its precincts.

Source: Bible Readings written in Simple Language, 1897 As it was offered at the time of the morning and evening hour of prayer, each Jew had the assurance that his prayers ascended to God with the offering of sweet incense. Thus the Jews were instructed that their prayers were acceptable to God only as they were offered upon the altar with the merits of the atoning sacrifice.

The Table of Shewbread

Bread, sprinkled with frankincense, was kept continually on the table of shewbread by the priest. It taught the people the same lesson as the manna in the wilderness—that they could live only by every word that proceeded out of the mouth of God.

Israel was to understand that both temporal and spiritual prosperity came to them from God through the ministration of the priesthood. How little do people realize today that even their temporal needs are supplied by the ministry of Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary. He is the Bread of Life to all the world.

Source: Biblische Figuren, 1560 The Golden Candlestick

The seven lamps of the golden candlestick were kept alight continually by the priests. John the Revelator saw the counterpart of the seven lamps of fire in the heavenly sanctuary, and called them the seven Spirits of God. This represented the perfection of the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Zechariah also saw a vision of the candlestick and beheld it receiving oil for its light from two olive trees, which Revelation 11 indicates to be the Old and New Testaments. Light comes from the word of God, as David said,

Psalm 119

105 Your word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

But that light comes through the candlestick which represents the work of the Holy Spirit. Thus is taught the unity between the work of the Holy Spirit and the Scriptures. We cannot receive light from the word of God without the Spirit of God. And the light which the Spirit brings to us is from the Word of God. Christ is the Word of God. The Holy Spirit brings to the soul the presence of Jesus, the true light of life. All this comes to the believer through the ministry of the sanctuary.

In every phase of the sanctuary service, the worshiper was instructed concerning his own sinfulness and inability to meet the claims of the holy law of God. He was to understand that apart from the ministry of the sanctuary, he would be entirely cut off from God. By blood, incense, and the ministration of the priest, God could be approached, and he could be reconciled to His Maker.

Following the Daily Service by Faith

Hebrews 11

6 Without faith it is impossible to please God.

This was certainly true in the daily ministry. Unless the worshiper participated by faith, he gained no spiritual benefit.

Faith required an intelligent understanding. Therefore, before anything else, the worshiper had to understand what the daily service could accomplish for him. Having an intelligent understanding, and an appreciation of the wonderful ministry on his behalf, he was to participate in the entire daily service. This participation needed to be a work of faith—a faith that worked in harmony with the priest and entered into every phase of the service.

Day by day his faith was to grasp the blessing of the burnt offering. If, by reason of remoteness, he could not come to the sanctuary to confess his sins, he could realize that by faith in the burnt offering he could receive atonement for his sins.

If he was able, he would signify his acceptance of the offering by bringing his own sin offering. Here the worshiper took a vital part in the service. When he took the life of his substitute, he was to realize that he too was to yield up his life and die in his substitute. By faith, he was to die to sin beside the altar of burnt offering. Just as the blood of the offering was poured out at the base of the brazen altar, so his life was to be poured out in service to God.

Nor was his part in the service finished here. It was true that the priest was now the active performer of the service; but he was the sinner’s representative before God. This was particularly true in the case of the high priest who bore the names of the twelve tribes of Israel on the gold-embroidered shoulder pieces of the ephod, and upon the breastplate of judgment.

Exodus 28

29 Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goes in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the Lord continually.

The worshiper was to enter into the holy place through the ministration of the priest. If he failed to follow the work of the priest by faith, and by faith lay hold of the benefits of his mediation, the service had no more meaning to him than if it never existed. This fact cannot be too strongly emphasized. Each Israelite, having an intelligent understanding, was to enter into each part of the daily service by faith.

8. The Yearly Service

Leviticus 23

27 On the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement.

Leviticus 16

34 And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year.

Leviticus 16

2 And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron your brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place42 In the 16th chapter of Leviticus, the second apartment is called the holy place, while the first apartment is called the tabernacle of the congregation. within the veil before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.

ON THE final day of the Jewish ecclesiastical year, there was a yearly service to complete the yearly round of the sanctuary ministration. This service was called:

Leviticus 25

9 ...the Day of Atonement.

On this day, full and final atonement was made for every penitent, and every repentant sinner was fully released from the condemnation of the law.

Day by day throughout the year, the records of sin had been accumulating in the most holy place, and the guilt of confessed sins had been accumulating in the holy place. The purpose of the Day of Atonement was to cleanse (blot out) the records of the most holy and remove the defilement of transferred sins from the holy.

The Day of Atonement Procedure

1. All Assemble at Sanctuary

All Israel were required to assemble at the sanctuary, and in the most solemn manner afflict their souls, so that they could receive the finished atonement for all their sins, and not be cut off from God’s people. None were to engage in secular work on this day, but were to spend the day in prayer, fasting, and deep searching of heart.

Leviticus 23

26 And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,

27 Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be a holy convocation unto you; and you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord.

28 And you shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Lord your God.

29 For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people.

31 You shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

2. High Priest’s Sin Offering

Besides the usual daily offerings that were continued upon this day, the High Priest offered a special sin offering for himself and his household.

Leviticus 16

3 Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: [most holy] with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.

6 And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house.

11 And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself:

12 And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the Lord, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail:

13 And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not:

14 And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.

In order to be a type of our perfect High Priest, the typical High Priest needed first to enter the inner apartment and make full and final atonement for all his sins before the law.

Source: Star of Bethlehem, 1890 3. People’s Sin Offering

Leviticus 16

5 And he [Aaron] shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering.

7 And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat [margin: “Azazel”].

9 And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the Lord’s lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering.

15 Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people.

No Transfer of Sin to Sanctuary

This sin offering differed from the daily sin offering in one outstanding characteristic: there was no confession of sin (and hence no transfer) made upon the head of this goat. All known sins were to be sent beforehand to the sanctuary. The time had come for the accumulation of sins in the tabernacle to cease.

Through the benefits of this great Day of Atonement, God made an end of sins in the lives of His people, and an end of sins (record and guilt) in the sanctuary itself. The blood of this sin offering did not cleanse the people of unconfessed sin, but it cleansed them completely and forever of all sins that had been previously confessed.43 In type only.

4. High Priest Enters Sanctuary

The whole nation, having had their sins previously forgiven by the provisional atonement in the first apartment, gathered about the sanctuary, while the high priest, attired in his high priestly vestments (Exodus 28), having on the bell and pomegranate on the hem of his robe,44 Exodus 28 33 And beneath upon the hem of it you shall make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof; and bells of gold between them round about: 35 And it shall be upon Aaron to minister: and his sound shall be heard when he goes in unto the holy place before the Lord, and when he comes out, that he die not. and wearing the breastplate of judgment on his heart,45 Exodus 28 29 And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goes in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the Lord continually. 30 And you shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goes in before the Lord: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the Lord continually. and the holy crown that he might bear the iniquity of the holy things,46 Exodus 28 38 And it shall be upon Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord. entered the sanctuary to cleanse it from the sin of Israel.

Leviticus 16

15 Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat.

16 And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remains among them in the midst of their uncleanness.

Source: Bible Readings, 1888 Cleansing of the Sanctuary

17 And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goes in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel.

18 And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the Lord, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about.

19 And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.

Sins Blotted Out in Most Holy

The high priest cleansed the most holy place first. When he sprinkled the blood upon the mercy seat seven times, the blood reached the law of God for the first time, and full atonement was made for the people’s sin. The blood covered the mercy seat, and Israel was entirely released from the condemnation of the law.

In the person of the high priest, Israel reached the law of God and was brought into complete harmony with its principles. In becoming one with the law, Israel was completely united to Jehovah. The record of sin was blotted out forever.

5. Sins Removed from Holy

Then the high priest went out into the holy place, and by virtue of the blood removed the sins that had been transferred there throughout the year. In his character of a mediator, he took the sins upon himself and removed them from the sanctuary.

Leviticus 16

20 And when he has made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat:

21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:

22 And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.

This goat was for Azazel, rightly understood by the Jews as representing a wicked spirit. The goat represented Satan, the originator of all sin.

Source: Pictorial Description of the Tabernacle, 1878 The high priest carried the iniquity of cleansed Israel from the sanctuary to the outer court, and placed it upon the goat. As the goat bore the sins away into the wilderness, the people had the tangible evidence of the final removal of all their sins. God was thus giving Israel a preview of the final disposition of sin from the universe.

6. The High Priest’s Blessing

The solemn Day of Atonement ended in a glad day of rejoicing for penitent Israel. The high priest blessed the waiting congregation:

Numbers 6

24 The Lord bless you, and keep you:

25 The Lord make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you:

26 The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.

27 And they shall put my name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.

Focusing the Significance of the Day of Atonement

1. Judgment Day: It is evident from the books of Daniel and Revelation that the great judgment day for God’s people convenes in the heavenly sanctuary.47 See Daniel 7:9-14; Revelation 4:5; 8:3-4 and 11:19; 15:5.

Since the earthly sanctuary served as an example and shadow of the heavenly,48 Hebrews 8 5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, said He, that you make all things according to the pattern shown to you in the mount. we can know that just as surely as there is a judgment in the heavenly sanctuary, there was a judgment prefigured in the earthly sanctuary service.

Now the service consisted of two divisions: the daily and the yearly. This yearly service performed in the most holy place prefigured the judgment day. The solemn service on the Day of Atonement contained the elements of a judgment day:

All Israel were required to afflict their souls on this solemn day.

It was a great day of reviewing the year’s activities.

The records of sin were finally dealt with.

The people stood before the throne of God in the most holy place in the person of the high priest. (This apartment had the features of the throne room of God.)

On this day decisions were made who would live and who would die.

Leviticus 23

26 And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,

27 Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be a holy convocation unto you; and you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord.

28 And you shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Lord your God.

29 For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people.

30 And whatsoever soul it be that does any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people.

31 You shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

Jewish Conception of Atonement Day

The Jews rightly understood the Day of Atonement to be representative of the great judgment day.49 It should be duly noted, that not all the features that occurred during the Day of Atonement prefigured the judgment day. For instance, the offering of the goat for a sin offering prefigured Calvary, while the placing of sins upon the Scapegoat prefigured the time when sins will be placed upon Satan after the judgment of God’s people. A Jewish conception of what took place on the Day of Atonement is given as follows:

Jewish Encyclopedia, vol. 2, p. 286:

God, seated on His throne to judge the world, at the same time Judge, Pleader/Expert, and Witness, opens the Books of Record; it is read, every man’s signature being found therein. The great trumpet is sounded; a still, small voice is heard; the angels shudder, saying, This is the day of judgment, for His very ministers are not pure before God.

As a shepherd musters His flock, causing them to pass under His rod, so does God cause every living soul to pass before Him, to fix the limit of every creature’s life and to foreordain its destiny. On New Year’s day the decree is written; on the Day of Atonement it is sealed who shall live and who are to die, etc. But penitence, prayer, and charity may avert the evil decree.

2. Sealing day: The Jews regarded this day as a day of sealing. Even in modern times, during the later hours of the Day of Atonement, he prays:

Jewish Encyclopedia, vol. 2, p. 281:

Our Father, our King, seal our name in the book of life; our Father, our King, seal our name in the book of success and prosperity.

On the tenth day of Tishre (Day of Atonement) the decree of heaven was sealed.

At the close of the services of this day, the Jew would clasp the hand of a friend and neighbor saying,

“Hope you have received a good seal.”

Following the Yearly Service by Faith

The Jew was required to participate in the service of the sanctuary from beginning to end. Special participation was demanded on the Day of Atonement.

Enduring to the End

First, it may be asked,

“Since repentance was manifested, and forgiveness for sin was secured throughout the year, why was there need of further repentance?”

The Day of Atonement decided whether the repentance was sincere and steadfast. The fate of the sinner was decided in the yearly ministry. The final decision regarding sin was not made until this judgment day.

The forgiveness of sin secured in the daily service was provisional and probationary. The blood satisfied the law provisionally in the daily service, but atonement was not fully accomplished.

When the Day of Atonement arrived, the time came for the atonement to be finalized. The penitent’s sin was blotted out, and he was sealed.

Cleansing the Living Temple

The work of cleansing the sanctuary was not merely a work that transpired in the sacred tent. It transpired in the soul temple of every individual. He cooperated, participated, and followed the high priest by faith.

While the high priest was in the sanctuary, he performed his part by afflicting his soul, searching his heart, and making sure that his every sin was in that sanctuary, so that the record could be blotted out. He realized that he went into the judgment room in the person of the high priest. No wonder that this was a day of earnest prayer and deep searching of heart.

So then, the Day of Atonement cleansed the soul temple of each worshiper who participated in the service from beginning to end. The Day of Atonement marked the completion of the cleansing work in the soul. Therefore it was written:

Leviticus 16

30 On that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, TO CLEANSE YOU, that you may be clean from all your sins before the Lord.

Whosoever was not cleansed equally with the tabernacle, was forever cut off from the house of the Lord.

These are some of the basic principles to be borne in mind as we leave the typical service. Israel of old merely acted out what we must do in reality as we understand the work of Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary, as we follow His blessed ministry by faith, and as we appropriate its benefits to our hearts and lives.

Sending the Scapegoat into the Wilderness (Source: Charming Bible Stories, 1894)

9. The Earthly Sanctuary Service’s Relation to the Old Covenant

WE HAVE seen that God has one irrevocable covenant—the Everlasting Covenant. He gave this covenant to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, and to Israel.

Psalm 105

5 Remember His marvelous works that He has done; His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth;

6 O you seed of Abraham His servant, you children of Jacob His chosen.

7 He is the Lord our God: His judgments are in all the earth.

8 He has remembered His covenant for ever, the word which He commanded to a thousand generations.

9 Which covenant He made with Abraham, and His oath unto Isaac;

10 And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant:

11 Saying, Unto you will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance.

He gives this same covenant to His people today:

Hebrews 13

20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,

21 Make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

We also found from the experience of Abraham and Isaac, that in anticipating God’s covenant of grace, man has entered into an “old” and “new” covenant relationship with God.

Old Covenant	New Covenant
Righteousness by Works (A Yoke of Bondage)	Righteousness by Faith (Liberty in the Grace of God)
Based upon man’s attempts and promises to fulfill the conditions of God’s covenant.	Based upon God’s promises to fulfill the conditions of His covenant in the lives of men.

Hence the New Covenant experience is…

Hebrews 8

6 ...established upon better promises.

God instituted the typical sanctuary service to teach His people concerning His plan for their lives. It demonstrated God’s way of salvation—not by the works of the law, but by the provisions of His grace. David said:

Psalm 77

13 Your way, O God, is in the Sanctuary.

No one can truly study the typical service without appreciating its deep spiritual truths. It was saturated in blood and incense, representing the life and righteousness of Christ which alone can save the sinner from the penalty of the law, and restore him again to harmony with its precepts.

The Bible clearly outlines two sanctuary services: an earthly and a heavenly. Paul associates the earthly sanctuary with the Old Covenant, and the heavenly sanctuary with the New Covenant.50 See Hebrews 8 and 9.

But it will be seen at once that God never instituted a service of righteousness by works. Did not the tabernacle ritual teach the way of faith and grace? Indeed! It was the gospel in a parable. Why then is this service associated with the Old Covenant? This is a question that needs to be answered. Two reasons will be advanced.

The Shadow of Good Things to Come

When Moses came down from Sinai with the tables of the covenant, the skin of his face shone with the glory of God. The children of Israel could not look upon him, and requested that he put a vail over his face.

Source: Historiae Sacrae tam Veteris, 1700 Paul indicates the significance of this vail:

A Vail of Unbelief

2 Corinthians 3

13 And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:

14 But their minds were blinded: for until this day remains the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.

15 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.

16 Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.

The people had a vail of unbelief over their hearts, Unbelief is the very root of the Old Covenant. It led Abraham away from putting trust in God’s promises, and caused him to assume the work of righteousness himself.

Then, as Paul indicates, the vail of unbelief prevented Israel from seeing Christ in their experiences. The vail caused a shadow. Through unbelief, Israel never received the…

2 Corinthians 4

4 ...light of the glorious gospel of Christ:

–they had only the shadow of it. They had only the shadow of good things promised them and not the very image of those things.

Hebrews 10

1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.

In Chapter 1 we saw that Abraham was promised the heavenly land of Canaan. He never had in mind an earthly land as the inheritance for his children, but the earth freed from the curse of sin. Neither did Abraham have in mind the earthly Jerusalem, but the heavenly city which comes down from God out of heaven.

Hebrews 11

10 For he looked for a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Revelation 21

2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.

Stephen plainly stated that God gave Abraham no inheritance in the present land of Canaan,

Acts 7

5 ...yet He promised that He would give it to him for a possession.

This was the promise of the earth made new. Now notice what Stephen says, commenting on the time of the deliverance from Egypt:

17 When the time of the promise drew near which God had sworn to Abraham,...

There should be no question which promise is here referred to. The time had drawn near when God was willing to fulfill the promise of the everlasting possession. The time of the restoration of all things was near. The Bible says so, and we have no option but to believe it.

It is useless for us to conjecture just how it would have been fulfilled, or how soon it would have been fulfilled. It is certain that Israel’s unbelief frustrated the speedy fulfillment of God’s covenant. David said in his day that it was…

Hebrews 4

7 ...after so long a time.

Shadows Instead of Realities

We know that Israel did not receive the Canaan of the Everlasting (New) Covenant. Due to the vail of unbelief, which caused a partial blindness to the reality of God’s promise, they received only the shadow of good things to come—the earthly land of Canaan.

Similarly, they had only the earthly Jerusalem instead of the glorious New Jerusalem. Paul says that these two Jerusalems represent the Old and New Covenants. The earthly Jerusalem was a shadow, or a type, of the New Jerusalem.

God promised to make of Israel a nation of priests:

Exodus 19

6 And you shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak unto the children of Israel.

This was virtually a New Covenant promise.

1 Peter 2

5 You also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

All who are of faith are priests to offer up spiritual sacrifices; but in the case of the Jews, it meant death for any, save Aaron’s family, to offer sacrifices.

As well as desiring to lead them into the everlasting possession, God designed to lead them into the heavenly sanctuary, which His hands had established, to make them priests and kings unto God. At the Red Sea deliverance, the people sang under inspiration:

Exodus 15

17 You shall bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of your inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which You have made for yourself to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established.51 Compare Hebrews 8:2.

Yet Israel received only the shadow of the heavenly sanctuary.

Instead of being led to the throne of God, they had but the worldly type of it in the most holy place.

Instead of having the law written on the tables of the heart, they had it written on tables of stone.

Yet God, in His wisdom, gave Israel the shadow of good things to come that He might teach them of the realities. Even the blindest should have seen that the sanctuary of the Old Covenant, and the ordinances of the divine service connected with it, were not the realities which God had sworn to Abraham and his Seed.

Whenever they turned to the Lord, the vail was removed, and they looked past the shadow and entered into the New Covenant experience of faith. It is not only for us to have unvailed hearts and faces,52 2 Corinthians 3 18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. for Moses had an unvailed face and saw the glory of the Lord. While the heart was vailed in unbelief, Israel could not see to the…

2 Corinthians 3

13 ...end of that which is abolished.

They failed to see past the carnal ordinances53 Hebrews 9 10 Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation. to realize their spiritual truth. Only those who turned to the Lord in true faith had the vail taken away.

A Perverted Ceremonialism

Although the sanctuary service revealed the way of salvation through faith, Israel as a nation failed to understand its great lesson. All its ordinances became perverted into ceremonies to achieve righteousness. Since the worshipers failed to appreciate the way of salvation through faith in the Substitute, the performance of the ordinances of religion was merely an Old Covenant experience.

Despite the plain teachings of the prophets against the futility of formalism, the Jewish nation turned the sanctuary into an institution of righteousness by works. It became a huge system of hypocritical formalism. They placed implicit trust in their temple,54 Jeremiah 7 4 Trust not in lying words, saying, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these. yet denied the spirit of true worship which the temple should have taught them, and despised the warnings of the prophets.

The time came when God caused it all to be swept away by the Babylonians, that the people might learn to worship Him in spirit and in truth.

Source: Historiae Celebriores, 1708 In the return from captivity the temple was rebuilt, but the Jews finally returned to a worse state of formalism than ever before. By the time of Christ, the whole system of worship was steeped in the traditions of human self-righteousness. The spirit of worship associated with the sanctuary service was the Old Covenant in verity.

A parallel case is found in circumcision. Paul says that circumcision was given as a sign of righteousness by faith:

Romans 4

11 And he [Abraham] received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised.

Yet the Jews so far lost sight of the spiritual meaning of circumcision, that it became a sign of righteousness by works. In the book of Galatians, Paul associates circumcision with the Old Covenant.

Galatians 5

1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if you be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.

3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.

Galatians 6

12 As many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised...

13 For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh.

Once instituted by God as an instructor of righteousness by faith, it became perverted into an institution of righteousness by works.

PART III

God’s Eternal Purpose
Unfolded in the
Heavenly Sanctuary Service

Introduction:
From Shadow to Substance

THE earthly tabernacle, being only a “shadow of good things to come,” possessed no intrinsic value in its ritual. It could not make the comers thereunto perfect:

Hebrews 10

1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.

Yet in every part, the service was a symbol of Christ and His sanctuary which can make the comers thereunto perfect.

With the lessons of the Hebrew ritual in mind, let us proceed to study the…

Ephesians 3

8 ...unsearchable riches of Christ,

–which are revealed in the real sanctuary service. May it help us to understand more clearly God’s glorious purpose for His people.

10. The Incarnation of Christ:
The Word Made Flesh

IN THE Jewish service the hope of sinners was portrayed as being in the priest and the sacrifice. The priest offered the atoning sacrifice, the victim made the atoning sacrifice, and the priest ministered the atonement. In the real sanctuary service, Jesus is both Priest and Victim. By reason of who He was, and what He became, He is our perfect High Priest and perfect Sacrifice.

Consider Who He Was

Hebrews 1 [RSV]

1 In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets;

2 But in these last days He has spoken to us by a Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world.

3 He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of His nature, upholding the universe by His word of power…

8 But of the Son He says,

“Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever,

the righteous scepter is the scepter of your kingdom.

9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;

therefore God, your God, has anointed You

with the oil of gladness beyond your comrades.”

10 And,

“You, Lord, founded the earth in the beginning,

and the heavens are the work of your hands;

11 They will perish, but You remain;

they will all grow old like a garment,

like a mantle You will roll them up,

and they will be changed.

12 But You are the same,

and your years will never end.”

Colossians 1

15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:

16 For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him:

17 And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.

Philippians 2

6 Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God.

John 1

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The above texts need no comment to strengthen the claims of Christ’s Deity. Let us therefore acknowledge Jesus as One with the Eternal Father, our Creator and very God.

Consider What He Became

Hebrews 2 [RSV]

5 For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking.

6 It has been testified somewhere, What is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man, that You care for him?

7 You made him for a little while lower than the angels, You have crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet.

8 Now in putting everything in subjection to man, He left nothing outside his control. As it is, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him.

9 But we see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for every one.

10 For it was fitting that He, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through suffering.

11 For He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified have all one origin. That is why He is not ashamed to call them brethren.

14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, He himself likewise partook of the same nature, that through death He might destroy him who has the power of death, that is, the devil,

15 And deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage.

16 For surely it is not with angels that He is concerned but with the descendants of Abraham.

17 Therefore He had to be made like His brethren in every respect, so that He might become a merciful and faithful High Priest in the service of God, to make expiation for the sins of the people.

18 For because He himself has suffered and been tempted, He is able to help those who are tempted.

Nor do we need to add to the above texts to strengthen the claim that He who was very God, became very man.

The Two-Fold Purpose of the Incarnation

We speak broadly when we say that the Son of God became the Son of man to save us from our sins. Salvation from sin implies:

Salvation from the sins that have been committed—the sins of the past;

Salvation from the liability of our nature to commit further sins.

Sins of the Past

Christ is our perfect Sacrifice for our committed sins because He is on the one hand God the Lawgiver, and on the other hand man the Substitute. Christ became a man to die in our stead in order that God could be just in passing over the sins of our past.

Romans 3 [margin]

25 Whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the passing over of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.

Early Writings, p. 150:

Jesus told them [the angels] that He would stand between the wrath of His Father and guilty man, that He would bear iniquity and scorn, and but few would receive Him as the Son of God...that He would die the cruelest of deaths, hung up between the heavens and the earth as a guilty sinner; that He would suffer dreadful hours of agony, which even angels could not look upon, but would veil their faces from the sight.

Not merely agony of body would He suffer, but mental agony, that with which bodily suffering could in no wise be compared. The weight of the sins of the whole world would be upon Him. He told them He would die and rise again the third day, and would ascend to His Father to intercede for wayward, guilty man.

The angels prostrated themselves before Him. They offered their lives. Jesus said to them that He would by His death save many, that the life of an angel could not pay the debt. His life alone could be accepted of His Father as a ransom for man.

The Liability to Sin

While we must not detract from the efficacy of the shed blood of our Lord, we must recognize that the shedding of His blood alone could not save man. When we look deeper into the plan of salvation, it is apparent that man must not only be saved from the guilt of committed sins, but he must be delivered from the tendency to commit more sins. To wipe out the past is one thing; to cease from repeating the past is another.

Since the fall of Adam, it has been impossible for fallen man to keep the law of God in his own strength.

Romans 8

3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.

Here is stated the second purpose of the incarnation:

3 ...what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh.

The law of God was not weak; but the flesh of man was weak. To impute culpability to the law of God is to discredit God and join sides with the great rebel leader.

Let us consider the situation from God’s point of view. He could not change His law to accommodate the weakness of human nature; yet in His great love He wanted to save man. We can at once perceive that in order to do this, He must save man from his utter inability to live in harmony with the Divine Will. Unless God could do this, sin could never be arrested as long as man continued to live.

After the fall, there was no power in human flesh to keep the law. A new power was needed in this same flesh to enable it to keep the law. Since the law is a divine standard, only divine power could bring salvation to our weak, fallen flesh.

Further, it is written,

Romans 13

1 There is no power but of God.

Since Christ is…

1 Corinthians 1

24 ...the power of God,

–God sent forth His Son to dwell in man’s fallen flesh, so that man could receive the divine power and strength to be lifted out of his fallen condition.

Made in the Likeness of Sinful Flesh

Romans 8

3 God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh...

Romans 8 [Phillips]

3 The law never succeeded in producing righteousness—the failure was always the weakness of human nature. But God has met this by sending His own Son Jesus Christ to live in that human nature which causes the trouble.

The thought follows on from the last section. Man could not keep the law (cease sinning) because of his fallen nature. God answered the need by sending His own Son to live in the same nature as fallen humanity. For this reason Christ partook of human nature as it was since sin entered. Three further points will elucidate this:

1. Same Nature

The Scripture not only says:

John 1

14 [Christ] was made flesh,

–but that:

Romans 1

2 [He was] made of the seed of David according to the flesh.

He was not only born of the line of David, but born of the flesh of the line of David. Further, He partook of flesh the same way as all mankind partakes of it.

Galatians 4

4 God sent forth His Son made of a woman.

Christ did in reality partake of the nature of Mary. Since Mary possessed the flesh that is akin to us all, and since Jesus was made flesh of such a woman, He was made to possess a flesh that was akin to the flesh of us all.

2. Subject to Suffering and Death

Hebrews 2 [RSV]

14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, He himself likewise partook of the same nature.

Hebrews 2

9 We see Jesus...made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death…

10 For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

In contrast to Adam at Creation, Christ was made subject to suffering and death. Adam, as he stood in Eden, was in no way subject to suffering and death. Since Christ was made…

17 ...in all things...like unto His brethren,

–who are subject to suffering and death, it behoved Christ to be one with us in suffering and death.

3. Suffered Being Tempted

Further,

Hebrews 2

18 He [Christ] himself has suffered being tempted.

In no sense did the unfallen Adam suffer from temptation. His temptation involved no suffering. Yet Christ was made so much like us, that He experienced all our sufferings in temptation.

Hebrews 4

15 For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities: but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

Hebrews 2 [AV]

17 Wherefore in all things it behoved Him to be made like unto His brethren.

Hebrews 2 [RSV]

17 Therefore He had to be made like His brethren in every respect.

Conclusion

Made in all points like unto us, and having the infirmities and weaknesses of our flesh, Christ said of himself,

John 5

30 I can of my own self do nothing.

This demonstrates that as pertaining to the flesh He was on an equal footing with us, of whom Christ said,

John 15

5 Without me you can do nothing.

Ellen G. White elucidates this position:

Took Fallen Nature

Early Writings, p. 150:

The angels prostrated themselves before Him...Jesus also told them...that He would take man’s fallen nature.

Selected Messages, vol. 3, p. 134:

He condescended to connect our fallen human nature with His divinity...Having taken our fallen nature, He showed what it might become by accepting the ample provision He has made for it, and by becoming partaker of the divine nature.

Selected Messages, vol. 1, p. 247:

Christ did not make believe take human nature; He did verily take it. He did in reality possess human nature. “As the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also himself likewise took part of the same.” (Hebrews 2:14). He was the Son of Mary; He was the seed of David according to human descent.

Took Our Heredity

The Desire of Ages, p. 49:

It would have been an almost infinite humiliation for the Son of God to take man’s nature, even when Adam stood in his innocence in Eden. But Jesus accepted humanity when the race had been weakened by four thousand years of sin. Like every child of Adam He accepted the results of the working of the great law of heredity. What these results were is shown in the history of His earthly ancestors.

He came with such a heredity to share our sorrows and temptations, and to give us the example of a sinless life....God permitted His Son to come, a helpless Babe, subject to the weakness of humanity. He permitted Him to meet life’s peril in common with every human soul, to fight the battle as every child of humanity must fight it, at the risk of failure and eternal loss.

The Desire of Ages, p. 117:

In our humanity, Christ was to redeem Adam’s failure. But when Adam was assailed by the tempter, none of the effects of sin were upon him. He stood in the strength of perfect manhood, possessing the full vigor of mind and body. He was surrounded with the glories of Eden and was in daily communion with heavenly beings.

It was not thus with Jesus when He entered the wilderness to cope with Satan. For four thousand years the race had been decreasing in physical strength, in mental power, and in moral worth; and Christ took upon Him the infirmities of degenerate humanity. Only thus could He rescue man from the lowest depths of his degradation.

Many claim that it was impossible for Christ to be overcome by temptation. Then He could not have been placed in Adam’s position; He could not have gained the victory that Adam failed to gain. If we have in any sense a more trying conflict than had Christ, then He would not be able to succor us. But our Saviour took humanity, with all its liabilities. He took the nature of man, with the possibility of yielding to temptation. We have nothing to bear which He has not endured.

Took Degenerate Nature

Review & Herald, July 28,1874:

The Son of God humbled himself and took man’s nature after the race had wandered four thousand years from Eden, and from their original state of purity and uprightness. Sin had been making its terrible marks upon the race for ages; and physical, mental, and moral degeneracy prevailed throughout the human family.

When Adam was assailed by the tempter in Eden He was without the taint of sin...All the organs and faculties of His being were equally developed, and harmoniously balanced. Christ, in the wilderness of temptation, stood in Adam’s place to bear the test he failed to endure. Here Christ overcame in the sinner’s behalf, four thousand years after Adam turned his back upon the light of his home.

Separated from the presence of God, the human family had been departing, every successive generation, farther from the original purity, wisdom, and knowledge which Adam possessed in Eden. Christ bore the sins and infirmities of the race as they existed when He came to the earth to help man. In behalf of the race, with the weaknesses of fallen man upon Him, He was to stand the temptations of Satan upon all points wherewith man would be assailed…

Since the Fall the race had been decreasing in size and physical strength, and sinking lower in the scale of moral worth, up to the period of Christ’s advent to the earth. And in order to elevate fallen man, Christ must reach him where he was. He took human nature, and bore the infirmities and degeneracy of the race. He, who knew no sin, became sin for us. He humiliated himself to the lowest depths of human woe, that He might be qualified to reach man, and bring him up from the degradation in which sin had plunged him.

Took Sinful Nature

Review & Herald, December 15, 1896:

Clad in the vestments of humanity, the Son of God came down to the level of those He wished to save. In Him was no guile or sinfulness; He was ever pure Took Sinful Nature and undefiled; yet He took upon Him our sinful nature. Clothing His divinity with humanity, that He might associate with fallen humanity, He sought to regain for man that which, by disobedience, Adam had lost for himself and for the world.

Signs of the Times, June 9, 1898:

Christ, who knew not the least taint of sin or defilement, took our nature in its deteriorated condition. This was humiliation greater than finite man can comprehend. God was manifest in the flesh. He humbled himself. What a subject for thought, for deep, earnest contemplation! So infinitely great that He was the Majesty of heaven, and yet He stooped so low, without losing one atom of His dignity and glory! He stooped to poverty and to the deepest abasement among men.

11. The Incarnation of Christ Continued: The Life of Christ

God Manifest in the Flesh

CHRIST stooped to become a man; yet He still retained His divinity.

1 Timothy 3

16 God was manifest in the flesh.

Therefore it is written:

Hebrews 1

6 When He [The Father] brings in the first begotten into the world, He says, And let all the angels of God worship Him.

Youth’s Instructor, September 8, 1898:

No one, looking upon the childlike countenance, shining with animation, could say that Christ was just like other children. He was God in human flesh.

Review & Herald, February 18, 1890:

In Christ, divinity and humanity were combined. Divinity was not degraded to humanity, divinity held its place, but humanity by being united to divinity, withstood the fiercest test of temptation in the wilderness.

Christ Condemned Sin in the Flesh

Romans 8

3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.

Satan had charged God with having a law that could not be kept. When he tempted Adam to follow him in transgression, he seemed to triumph in his claim that humanity could not be expected to keep the law.

Adam’s Failure

Adam, as God created him, was in perfect harmony with the holy law of God. There was Adam’s Failure nothing to vindicate his transgression, and no excuse could exist for his failure.

Christ became a man to redeem Adam’s disgraceful failure, and to prove that human nature may keep the law of God.

Signs of the Times, June 9, 1898:

Christ came to the earth, taking humanity and standing as man’s representative, to show in the controversy with Satan that man, as God created him, connected with the Father and the Son, could obey every divine requirements.

Christ the Second Adam

Youth’s Instructor, June 2, 1898:

Christ is called the second Adam. In purity and holiness, connected with God and beloved by Christ Second Adam God, He began where the first Adam began. Willingly He passed over the ground where Adam fell, and redeemed Adam’s failure.

Youth’s Instructor, April 25, 1901:

When Christ bowed His head and died, He bore the pillars of Satan’s kingdom with Him to the earth. He vanquished Satan in the same nature over which in Eden Satan obtained the victory. The enemy was overcome by Christ in His human nature. The power of the Saviour’s Godhead was hidden. He overcame in human nature, relying upon God for power.

The above statements stress one fact: human nature lost the battle in Adam, but won the battle in Christ. Adam’s sin involved the whole human family, but Christ’s perfect obedience brought the possibility of salvation to the whole human family. Adam stood federally for the race; so did Christ. In this sense He was the second Adam: He began where the first Adam began, and passed over the same ground as the first Adam.

Human nature once lost; now human nature wins.

Human nature was once tempted and it sinned; now human nature is tempted, yet lives righteously.

Yet this is not to say that in passing over the same ground as Adam, Christ was placed on the same footing as Adam in every sense.55 In a sense we begin where the first Adam began. “The very test that God brought upon Adam in Eden, will be brought upon every member of the human family. Obedience to God was required of Adam and we stand in the same position as he did to have a second trial, to see whether we will listen to the voice of Satan and disobey God, or to the Word of God and obey.” Review & Herald, July 10, 1890. The last chapter proved the contrary.

Youth’s Instructor, June 2, 1898:

Christ was tempted by Satan in a hundredfold severer manner than was Adam, and under circumstances in every way more trying.

Kept Law in Our Flesh

Notwithstanding the fact that Christ appeared on earth possessing the fallen nature of man, He lived a victorious life, and offered to God on our behalf the sacrifice of the spotless life. Divinity came to dwell in humanity, yet did not in the least particular participate in its sin. This is the mystery of the incarnation.

It was our fallen flesh that was lost through its utter impotency to keep the law of God. It was our fallen flesh that was in need of power to live in harmony with the divine will. But Christ, coming to dwell in our fallen flesh, kept perfectly the law of God. Thus Jesus condemned sin in the flesh—in our flesh.

He did not condemn us (He came to save us); but He condemned sin in us. He accomplished this by the pure and spotless life which He manifested while having the same flesh and blood as those He came to save.

No Advantage Over Us

It must be remembered that in living this perfect life, Christ had no advantage over us. If in any way we have a more trying conflict than Christ had, then in that point Christ could not be our Saviour. But we have nothing to endure which He has not endured. He became our example in all things.

It was not by His own divine power that He kept himself from sin, for He said,

John 5

30 I can of my own self do nothing.

Philippians 2 [RV]

7 He emptied himself,

so that:

The Desire of Ages, p. 389:

...the Father alone appeared in His life.

Accordingly, Jesus said,

John 14

9 He that has seen me has seen the Father…

10 The Father that dwells in me, He does the works.

If Christ kept himself from sin, then He would have left us an example of self-assertion. But He demonstrated that the character of God could be revealed in our flesh only as we surrender to the possession of God as He did.

Philippians 2

7 [Christ] emptied himself.

And to every one who would come after Him, the Word says,

5 Let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus.

The Sinlessness of the Human Nature of Jesus

The life of Jesus of Nazareth was so completely a manifestation of the perfect and divine will that He could say,

John 8

46 Which of you convinces me of sin?

There was nothing in Him which responded to temptation. Jesus said,

John 14

30 The prince of this world comes, and has nothing in me.

Sinless Life in Our Flesh

In Jesus a divine character was revealed in our flesh—a life that did not for a moment cherish sin, that did not for a moment possess a sinful desire, propensity or inclination. Although Jesus partook of our fallen nature He so trod the flesh underfoot that not even in thought did He respond to temptation. His victory over the flesh was complete and absolute. A perfect, sinless life was lived out in our flesh.

When our fallen, human nature was combined with divine nature in the person of Jesus, only a sinless human nature was revealed in the character of Christ. This is the glorious, transcendent fact of the incarnation.

But this blessed truth must not be left there: it must be applied. Christ accomplished this in order that we who are sinful by nature, might be partakers of the divine nature and live the same life that He lived.

When our humanity is as fully united to His divinity in our own life, as His divinity was united to our humanity in His life, then it will be true in our experience that the flesh will be completely subjected and in our transformed, spiritual nature we will have no inclination, propensity, desire, or relish for sin.

But as touching a fuller application of the incarnation to our own lives we will leave for a later section. For the present we will be content to emphasize the perfect sinlessness of the nature of the Man Christ Jesus.

Sinless Human Nature

SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 1131:

In taking upon himself man’s nature in its fallen condition, Christ did not in the least participate in its sin. He was subject to the infirmities and weaknesses by which man is encompassed, “that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bore our sicknesses.” He was touched with the feeling of our infirmities, and was in all points tempted like as we are.

And yet He “knew no sin.” He was the Lamb “without blemish and without spot.” Could Satan in the least particular have tempted Christ to sin, he would have bruised the Saviour’s head. As it was, he could only touch His heel. Had the head of Christ been touched, the hope of the human race would have perished. Divine wrath would have come upon Christ as it came upon Adam...We should have no misgivings in regard to the perfect sinlessness of the human nature of Christ.

SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 5, p. 1128-1129:

Be careful exceedingly careful as to how you dwell upon the human nature of Christ. Do not set Him before the people as a man with the propensities of sin. He is the second Adam The first Adam was created a pure, sinless being, without a taint of sin upon him; he was in the image of God. He could fall, and he did fall through transgressing. Because of sin his posterity was born with inherent propensities of disobedience. But Jesus Christ was the only begotten Son of God He took upon himself human nature, and was tempted in all points as human nature is tempted. He could have sinned-He could have fallen, but not for one moment was there in Him an evil propensity.

Never in any way, leave the slightest impression upon human minds that a taint of, or inclination to, corruption rested upon Christ, or that He in any way yielded to corruption. He was tempted in all points like as man is tempted, yet He is called “that holy thing.” It is a mystery that is left unexplained to mortals that Christ could be tempted in all points like as we are, and yet be without sin.

The Character of Christ

The inspired writers admonish us to behold Jesus, and to look upon Him who is the author and the finisher of our faith. It is by beholding Him that we are to be changed into His likeness. This does not mean that we have to gaze upon attractive portraits of Christ and conjure up in our minds what a lovely person He was. The Jews who looked upon His appearance, saw no beauty in Him, but only…

Isaiah 3

1 ...a root out of the dry ground.

It is not without reason that the word of God gives not the slightest intimation as to the physical appearance of our Lord. Yet the whole Bible shines with the glory of the character of Christ. This we must behold in order to be saved.

The whole life of Jesus was a living manifestation of the character of His Father. It was a living representation of the standard of the law of God. The life of Christ was the law personified. We see mirrored in our Saviour’s life the true meaning of keeping the commandments of God.

We will now consider a transcript of the character of Jesus. This transcript is taken from Ellen White’s The Desire of Ages. The page references will be placed alongside each statement.

Dear reader, as you behold the character of your Lord, will you consider that this is what it means to keep the law of God? Perhaps you will be convicted of sin as you behold the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father. The light of Christ’s life always brings conviction of sin.

Remember Paul: he was the greatest Pharisee until he beheld Jesus; then he recognized himself as the greatest sinner. Nicodemus thought his life upright until he met Jesus. Then in the presence of the Master he felt that his heart was unclean and his life unholy.

We poor Laodiceans must behold Christ. This is our only hope. Then we will understand that we are indeed wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked. But the hand that humbles us in the dust will be outstretched to lift us up in newness of life.

His Love

At all times and in all places He manifested a loving interest in men, and shed about Him the light of a cheerful piety.	86

He worked to relieve every case of suffering that He saw. He spoke a word of sympathy here and a word there, as He saw men weary, yet compelled to bear heavy burdens.	87

His life was marked with respect and love for His mother.	90

The healing power of love went out from Him to the sick and distressed.	92

He manifested an interest in men’s secular affairs.	151

He spoke with solemn dignity, and both look and tone expressed such earnest love, that sinners were not offended as they realized their humiliating position.	173

His tender compassion fell with a touch of healing upon weary and troubled hearts.	254

His character expressed love in look and tone, and a sweet sympathetic spirit.	254

When He saw men refuse the message of peace, His heart was pierced to the very depths.	255

His heart, that loved and pitied, was a heart of unchanging tenderness.	319

His heart overflowed with love for the whole human race, but He never became indulgent about sin.	356

He who taught the people the way to secure peace and happiness was just as thoughtful of their temporal necessities as of their spiritual need.	365

His love was not circumscribed to race or nation.	402

He sought not to condemn, but to save. He spoke words of comfort and hope.	462

He was a lover of children. His gentle and kindly manner won their love and confidence.	511

His tender, pitying heart was ever awakened to sympathy by suffering.	533

His enemies read in His calm, solemn face, love, benevolence and quiet dignity.	581

During every hour of His life upon the earth, the love of God was flowing from Him in irrepressible streams.	678

His every feature expressed gentleness, and resignation and the tenderest pity for His cruel foes.	735

His Unselfishness

In principle firm as a rock, His life revealed the grace of

unselfish courtesy.	69

From His earliest years He was possessed of one purpose; He lived to bless others.	70

He labored earnestly for humanity.	86

He did not contend for His rights.	89

He was always sacrificing himself for the good of others.	90

He was so emptied of self that He made no plans for himself.	208

He was so fully surrendered to the will of God that the Father alone appeared in His life.	389

He did not manifest selfish sorrow.	576

His whole life was a life of unselfish service.	642

He did not think of himself. His care for others was uppermost in His mind.	643

His Tactfulness

Jesus carried into His labor cheerfulness and tact.	73

He reached the hearts of the people by going among them as one who desired their good.	151

His strong personal sympathy helped to win hearts.	151

He did not meet argument with argument.	171

He had tact to meet the prejudiced minds.	254

He made truth beautiful by presenting it in the most direct and simple way.	253

In all His intercourse with rude and violent men He did not use one unkind or discourteous expression.	515

When He reproved, His words were spoken with the utmost gentleness.	535

It was not His purpose to humiliate His opponents.	594

His Humility and Meekness

He shunned display.	74

He did not strive for worldly greatness, and in even the lowest position He was content.	88

He did not contend for His rights.	89

He weeded all vanity from His life.	91

He took no measures to bring himself into notice.	137

His manners were gentle and unassuming.	138

In that life there was no noisy disputation, no ostentatious worship, no act to gain applause.	261

He was never elated by applause, nor dejected by censure or disappointment.	330

He remained true to the humble lot He had accepted	571

His every feature expressed gentleness and resignation and the tenderest pity for his cruel foes.	735

His Patience and Courage

He never manifested an impatient word or look.	88

In His work He was willing and uncomplaining.	89

He did not retaliate when roughly used, but bore insult patiently.	89

He never became discouraged.	89

He was still of good courage when amid the greatest opposition and most cruel treatment.	330

He was not impatient even though interrupted and robbed of rest.	364

He spoke no words of retaliation.	619

His heart was patient and gentle, and would not be provoked.	700

His Purity

Neither gain nor pleasure, applause nor censure, could induce Him to consent to a wrong act.	72

He was wise to discern evil, and strong to resist it.	72

He hated but one thing in the world, and that was sin. He could not witness a wrong act without pain which it was impossible to disguise.	88

His presence brought a purer atmosphere into the home, and His life was as a leaven working amid the elements of society.	90

He was the embodiment of purity.	243

He dwelt among men as an example of spotless integrity.	243

His language was pure, refined, and clear as a running stream.	253

He was surrounded with an atmosphere of peace, even amid the turbulence of angry enemies.	254

In the heart of Christ, where reigned perfect harmony with God, there was perfect peace.	330

His life was a rebuke to men’s sins.	587

His Dignity and Manliness

In principle He was firm as a rock.	69

He possessed a dignity and individuality wholly distinct from earthly pride and assumption.	88

He spoke with solemn dignity.	173

He never purchased peace by compromise.	356

His enemies read in His calm, solemn face, love, benevolence, and dignity.	581

Even under disgraceful treatment, He bore himself with firmness and dignity.	742

His Diligence and Industriousness

In His industrious life there were no idle moments to invite temptation.	72

He was perfect as a workman, as He was in character.	72

He labored earnestly for humanity.	86

A wise purpose underlay every act of Christ’s life on earth.	206

His life was crowded with labor and responsibility.	362

His Ministry

He would not enter into controversy, yet His example was a constant lesson.	89

He passed by no human being as worthless, but sought to apply the saving remedy to every soul.	91

To the discouraged, sick, tempted, and fallen, Jesus would speak words of tenderest pity, words that were needed and could be understood.	91

He would not betray secrets that were poured into His sympathizing ear.	92

He saw in every soul one to whom must be given the call to His kingdom.	151

He did not sermonize as men do today.	152

As people heard His words they were warmed and comforted. He spoke of God not as an avenging judge, but as a tender Father.	205

He had nothing to do with subjects of dissension among the Jews. It was His work to present the truth.	253

He taught the Scriptures as of unquestionable authority.	253

He was earnest rather than vehement.	254

He loved to gather the people about Him under the blue heavens, on some grassy hillside, or on the beach beside the lake.	291

He rested by faith in His Father’s care.	336

His life was crowded with labor and responsibility; yet how often He was found in prayer.	362

He taught men not to place themselves needlessly in antagonism to established order.	434

He was not presumptuous, nor would He rush into danger, or hasten a crisis.	451

It was not His purpose to humiliate His opponents.	594

The Righteousness of the Law Fulfilled in Us

Having seen the perfection of the character of Jesus, we must realize its relation to our own lives. Having taken upon His divine nature our sinful nature, He developed a spotless character which He now longs, with the longing of infinite love, to impart to us. That beautiful character, woven in the humanity of Christ, is for us.

Romans 8

3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh;

4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit.

Through Christ we may now keep the law—the transcript of the character of God. Christ has made it possible for its righteous principles to be revealed in us. In looking unto Jesus, and beholding the sinlessness of His life, we are to realize that we are to be partakers of His sinlessness. He who was Divine partook of our nature and lived sinlessly, that we who are human may partake of His divinity and live sinlessly.

Christ Our Pattern

The Desire of Ages, p. 664:

Jesus revealed no qualities, and exercised no powers, that men may not have through faith in Him. His perfect humanity is that which all His followers may possess, if they will be in subjection to God as He was.

Christ has given His life for us and to us.

John 6

33 For the Bread of God is He which comes down from heaven and gives life unto the world.

35 I am the Bread of life.

The life which He gave us was the beautiful sinless life that we have just considered.

Saved by His Life

Romans 5

10 [We are]...saved by His life.

There is salvation for us only as we partake of that sinless life. This is the Bread of life on which we must feast. Just as we eat our daily bread and it becomes part of our bodies, so we are to feast upon Christ day by day, making His life our life.

There are some who obtain the idea that being saved by His life is merely a reckoning transaction in heaven, whereby Christ’s life is merely put to the sinner’s account. But it means far more than that. Christ has offered His life to us, and we can be saved only as we make His life our own.

The Desire of Ages, p. 82:

As the blood of the slain lamb sheltered the homes of Israel, so the blood of Christ was to save their souls; but they could be saved through Christ only as by faith they should make His life their own.

Oh the glorious thought that Christ gave His matchless life in exchange for our sinful lives! Paul says He gave His life for our sins:

Galatians 1

4 Who gave himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father.

He gives His life to those who have sins to give Him in return. Reader, have you any sins? Were you conscious of sins when you compared your character with His? You can exchange them all for the life of Jesus. He has paid the price for those sins, and His life is yours if you will come to Him. That life will be so precious to you, filling your life with joy and gladness.

Taking His Sinless Life

The life of Jesus is a divine, sinless life. Yes, it is a sin-conquering life; and to the extent that we take His life, to that extent will we have victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil.

When Jesus was upon earth He conquered all sin and defeated the temptations of Satan utterly. When Christ is living in us, Satan is a completely vanquished foe. Christ can defeat sin in our flesh today just as He defeated sin in our flesh two thousand years ago. Then let us take His life and know His victory.

Have you been striving to get yourself sinless before the close of your probation, realizing all the while it has been a losing battle? By believing on the Son of God you must receive life through His name and confess that...

1 John 4

2 Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.

Only the life of Jesus manifested in your mortal flesh will be a sinless life.

2 Corinthians 4

10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

11 For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

It is the only life that can resist sin. It is the only life that can keep the law of God.

2 Corinthians 9

15 Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift.

The Full Image of Jesus

The whole science of salvation centers around the life of Christ. Salvation depends on being saved by His life. Perhaps the reader might say,

“Yes, I can see that I will be saved if I receive the life of Christ, but HOW can I receive it?”

We will study this in the following chapters as we consider how the sanctuary service imparts to us His life. Sufficient is it to say now, that when a believer fully appropriates to himself the benefits of this mediatorial work, he will be as sinless in the flesh as Christ was sinless in the flesh.

This is the hope of the remnant church which expects to reflect the image of Jesus fully and receive the seal of the living God in its forehead.

This is the fruit of Christ’s love for the church:

Ephesians 5

27 That He might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

This is the purpose of the three angels’ messages—to gather out from among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and peoples by the power of the everlasting gospel, a people of whom it may be truly said before all the universe:

Revelation 14

12 Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

Conclusion

No pen can portray, or tongue can tell the wonder of the incarnation. Christ was the Son of God. He became the Son of man, that the sons of men might become the sons of God:

Galatians 4

4 But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

1 John 3

1 Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knows us not, because it knew Him not.

Christ was Spirit.

Luke 1

35 The Holy Ghost shall come upon you [Mary], and the power of the Highest shall overshadow you: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God.

He became flesh in order that man, who is flesh, might become spirit.

John 3

6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Romans 8

8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

Christ, who was altogether of the divine nature, was made partaker of human nature in order that we who are altogether of the human nature might…

2 Peter 1

4 ...be partakers of the divine nature.

Christ, who knew no sin, was made to be sin, in order that we, who knew no righteousness, might be made righteousness, even the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 5

21 For He has made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.

12. The Death of Christ

What the Cross Meant to the Father

NO FINITE language can describe the most infinite thing in the universe. The cross of Christ is the grandest revelation of the character of our heavenly Father.

1 John 4

8 God is love.

He loves all His creatures with all His love. God has made unnumbered worlds, yet He loves each with a personal love that is as strong as if there was only one object for His love. God’s love is eternal and uncircumstantial.

When the human race rebelled against Him, God loved mankind just the same. When the great gulf of sin alienated us from Him, He made the uttermost sacrifice to win us back to fellowship with himself. He came to this world in the person of His Son to rescue us.

John 3

16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

God’s Love for Sinners

The Signs of the Times, May 30, 1893:

The atonement of Christ was not made in order to induce God to love those whom He otherwise hated; and it was not made to produce a love that was not in existence; but it was made as a manifestation of the love that was already in God’s heart, an exponent of the divine favor in the sight of heavenly intelligences, in the sight of the world’s unfallen, and in the sight of a fallen race.…

We are not to entertain the idea that God loves us because Christ has died for us, but that He so loved us that He gave His only-begotten Son to die for us.

Steps to Christ, p. 10:

The Father loves us, not because of the great propitiation, but He provided the propitiation because He loves us. Christ was the medium through which He could pour out His infinite love upon a fallen world.

Let the discouraged sinner behold God’s love for him. It is not a love that seeks its own, but a love that for love’s sake goes out after the most miserable, worthless sinner, and makes the very ultimate in sacrifice to let him know how much God loves him. We do not earn, merit, or deserve His love, but we have all received it, and may rise up and rejoice in it. It is the greatest power in the universe, sufficient to save all.

God’s Justice Toward Sin

God, being infinite in justice, can…

Exodus 34

7 ...by no means clear the guilty.

He cannot forgive sin itself. It must be destroyed with divine justice. Sin is like a plague in God’s universe, a dreadful curse which has brought misery and woe to His creatures.

In order to save us from terrible consequences the Father and the Son took the responsibility of all the loathsome sin of the world. In the person of His Son, the Father took the world’s guilt and bore the consequences of the broken law. The law had demanded punishment for the transgressor. Now the Lawgiver bowed low and took the full measure of divine justice. When Jesus became the suffering Substitute for the race,

2 Corinthians 5

19 God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself.

The Cost of Sin

The cross reveals how sin has wrung the heart of the Father since its inception into the universe. But He need not have suffered. He could have risen in justice and wiped out every sinner. Instead, He stooped down in loving kindness to save the sinner.

We cannot estimate how much that cost the Father. We cannot raise our little minds to fully comprehend what it meant for the Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent One to go to the infinite extremity in a personal sacrifice to save us from ruin. The sacrifice was the gift of His only Son, Jesus, who relinquished forever the form of God to take forever the form of man. The extremity was reached when He delivered Him up to death, not sparing Him from the wrath of the law. At Calvary, God suffered with His Son and bore the penalty of our transgressions.

Now, when we look heavenward to God, it is our privilege to see, by faith, the rainbow of the Everlasting Covenant encircling the throne, and the smile of the Father’s reconciling face. He has paid the price for our sins, provided a complete atonement for our transgressions, and reconciled us to himself. Like the wandering prodigal, we can return to a Father who waits to surround us with the arms of His love.

What the Cross Meant to Jesus

Jesus, the Son of God, was the brightness of His Father’s glory, and the express image of His person.

Colossians 1

16 By Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth.

Although Jesus was “in the form of God,” He thought it not a thing to be desired to share the equality with God in heaven whilst we, His creatures, were without God and without hope in the world. Philippians 2:6.

Hebrews 12

2 Instead of56 The Greek of Hebrews 12:2 renders the word “For,” as “Instead of.” the joy that was set before Him, He endured the cross, despising the shame.

His Condescension

He came down from glory to seek and to save that which was lost. Jesus could not pass us by on the other side, but like the good Samaritan, He stooped to bring us salvation. Our little minds cannot grasp the reality of the awful condescension of the King of Glory, who for our sakes left all, “emptied himself,” and became lower than the angels. And lower yet.

Philippians 2

7 [He] took upon Him the form of a servant.

And lower yet.

8 He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Takes Sinner’s Place

Sin could not be set aside. What was sown by man had to be reaped by man. Jesus chose to become a man, to be made…

Romans 8

3 ...in the likeness of sinful flesh,

–and to be made…

2 Corinthians 5

21 ...sin for us,

–so that He could himself reap the harvest of man’s transgression. He chose to endure the terrible wrath of the law against transgression that we might escape. Only in the light of Gethsemane and Calvary can we perceive how offensive and heinous is sin in God’s sight. When Jesus stood down to take a sinner’s place, divine justice could not spare Him, and He was punished to the uttermost. Inspiration had written:

Isaiah 53

4 Surely He has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.

6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He opens not His mouth.

None of us know what it feels like to stand before God in full guilt. Only when the sinner stands face to face with His Maker at the last judgment day, will he know something of the anguish that wrung the heart of the Son of God as He endured the feeling of eternal separation from God because of sin.

Jesus knew what the cross involved; but knowing it all, He chose it. He chose it because He loved us. His love called Him that way, and He considered not himself.

Choosing the Cup

Picture Him just before Gethsemane—at the Passover supper. Satan tries to discourage Him from drinking the cup of our woe. The tempter urges,

“Look at your unappreciative disciples: they are all squabbling among themselves as to who should be the greatest. Peter will deny you. Judas will betray you. They will all forsake you. The multitude which you have healed of disease will swell the cry, ‘Crucify Him.’ Your sacrifice is unappreciated. The risk is too great.”

But Jesus looks across the Passover table to Peter, that impulsive fisherman. He looks into the face of him who will shortly deny Him with degrading oaths. The heart of Jesus goes out after Peter:

“How can I give you up, Peter? There is no hope for you unless I choose the cross.”

John leans on His breast. Jesus reflects:

“John, unless I choose the cross, you must be forever separated from me, and abandoned without God and without hope.”

Jesus looks around the table, and into the expectant faces of the men He has chosen to be with Him. He has tramped along dusty roads with them. He has slept under the Galilean skies with them. He has spent long nights in prayer for them. He loves them.

Jesus enters the Garden of Gethsemane. The gulf of sin…

The Desire of Ages, p. 686:

...seems so broad, so black, so deep,

–His spirit shudders before it. Behold Him contemplating the awful cost of our redemption while the disciples are senseless and asleep. Satan again tempts the Saviour to let the guilty race perish in their own sins. His nature shrinks back from the sacrifice.

Source: Book of Common Prayer, 1724 Then a vision of a perishing world rises before Him, and He sees you and me, as it were, like the prodigal son—among the animals, bestial, dirty, and haunted with memories; or as the lost sheep, abandoned to hopeless wandering, loneliness, starvation and death. The heart of Jesus goes out after us, and He will save us at any cost to himself.

He Loved to the End

From the undignified arrest on that Friday morning, right through the disgraceful trial, until the Son of God was lifted up between heaven and earth, two things stand out in bold contrast; the selfish ingratitude and shameful cruelty of men’s hearts; and the love of Jesus.

Here was One who had done only deeds of love and mercy, One who had spent His whole life for the good of others; yet men poured vileness, suffering, and agony on Him, and loneliness, as if trying to see how far they could go before His love broke down. But His love was unquenchable.

Song of Solomon 8

7 Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it.

Every insult that was heaped on Him, every thorn that tore His brow, every nail that was driven through those strong and gentle hands, earned Him the right to become His murderer’s Advocate. The Saviour kept on loving men, until, with the burden of their sins upon His own soul, and feeling forsaken of heaven and earth, He uttered that terrible cry:

Mark 15

34 My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?

He Gave Himself

What did the cross mean to Jesus? Certainly He gave up riches, and glory, and honor, and the throne of the Universe. But He gave up infinitely more than things.

He gave up himself.

He emptied himself.

He denied himself.

He considered not himself.

He pleased not himself.

But He loved me, and gave himself for me. This unspeakable, self-sacrificing love, this is the glory of the cross of Christ.

What the Cross Reveals to Us

The Apostle Paul said:

Galatians 6

14 God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Nineteen wide centuries have come and gone, but time has not eclipsed the glory of the cross of Christ. There is not a deed in all history of all nations of all time that has so affected the hearts of men as the cross. Well might we ask again, What does the cross reveal to mankind to call forth his most reverent admiration?

It Reveals Love

The cross is the manifestation of the love of God that never lets go.

Every human tie may perish,

Friend to friend unfaithful prove;

Mothers cease their own to cherish,

Heaven and earth at last remove;

But no changes

Can avert the Father’s love.57 Thomas Kelly, Hymn: Every Human Tie May Perish.

The light of God’s love shining from the cross demonstrates to the sinner that he is loved of the Father and the Son. In the kingdom of heaven there is no force. The only constraining of man is the constraining power of the love revealed in the cross of Calvary.

Source: Illustrated History of the Bible, 1871 It Reveals Sin

Standing out in bold contrast to God’s love to men, is man’s natural hatred of God. At the cross the two great opposing principles of the universe are unveiled: the love of God toward sinners, and the hatred of sinners toward God.

As the sinner stands before the cross he begins to ask:

“What is sin that it should require such a sacrifice for the redemption of its victim? Was all this love, all this suffering, all this humiliation demanded that I might not perish but have everlasting life?”

The cross reveals the loving King dying for the rebellious subject. The sinner sees the true nature of his transgression of God’s holy law—that it is a deep-seated, natural enmity against God.

Romans 8

5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

Calvary demonstrates to him that his sinful heart hates God. In the angry faces about the suffering Saviour, he sees portrayed his own hatred to His loving Creator. He sees himself a murderer of the Son of God.

In the punishment meted out to God’s innocent Son, he realizes too, how heinous sin is to bring such suffering. The bewitching power of sin falls from his eyes like scales, and he understands that it is what God’s Word portrays it to be—leprosy, repugnant sores, a miry pit, a loathsome disease, and a prison house of corruption. He loathes himself as he views the pure, spotless Lamb of God.

It Reveals the Way of Repentance

The unveiling of God’s love to us, and our hatred to God, works upon our sinful, rebellious hearts. Our hearts are softened, our minds are impressed, and our souls are made contrite. The Bible says that:

Romans 2

4 The goodness of God leads...to repentance.

As we are drawn to the cross by the uplifted Saviour, the power of love and the revelation of our sins leads us to heart repentance.

Steps to Christ, p. 21:

The sinner may resist this love, may refuse to be drawn to Christ; but if he does not resist, he will be drawn to Jesus; a knowledge of the plan of salvation will lead him to the foot of the cross in repentance for his sins, which have caused the suffering of God’s dear Son.

Before we can be saved our hearts must be broken, and in the heart we must turn away from sin. Salvation is a heart experience, and without a heart experience there is no salvation, but a cold, formal substitute. We need to come to the cross to know the warmth of the Saviour’s love, and to hear His prayer for our cold resistance and rebellion against Him:

Luke 23

34 Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.

We must wait in quietness at the foot of His cross till we know that we are all the world’s sin, and that Christ died for us.

Upon that cross of Jesus
Mine eye at last can see
The very dying form of One
Who suffered there for me;

And from my smitten heart with tears
Two wonders I confess:
The wonder of redeeming love,
And my unworthiness.58 Elizabeth Cecilia Clephane, Hymn: Beneath the Cross of Jesus, 1868.

Source: Wonderful Story of Jesus, 1890 This heart experience at the foot of the cross is the only doorway that will lead to the saving acceptance of Jesus Christ.

The Desire of Ages, p. 83:

If we would be saved at last, we must learn the lesson of penitence and humiliation at the foot of the cross.

It Reveals Forgiveness and Acceptance

Does the reader say:

“How may I know that I have received Jesus Christ; how may I know that He has taken away my sin, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death?”

There are many professed Christians who do not have personal assurance of acceptance with Christ, yet salvation depends upon this point.

Some time ago a missionary was showing a lantern slide of the crucifixion to some raw heathens in India. Suddenly, a heathen, who had never heard of the story of Jesus before, cried out across the audience,

“Come down from the cross, you Son of God. That is my place.”

Yes, that heathen in his blindness knew somehow that Jesus was there in his place—that it was for him that the Son of God hung on the cross. Do you? You are not asked,

“Do you know that Jesus was crucified about two thousand years ago?”

That is history. But,

“Do you realize that He was there on the cross in your place?”

A Personal Gift

Galatians 2

20 [He] loved me, and gave himself for me.

It was a personal gift of himself to me. He is my very own Saviour. The fact that there are millions of other people on this planet makes no difference to the amount of light I receive from the sun; even so, the access between Christ and me is as full as if I was the only being in the universe.

He Bought Us

Maybe the devil comes along to you and says:

“You are a very great sinner.”

You can reply:

“That is true enough; but Jesus loved me, and gave himself for me. He gave himself for my sins that He might deliver me from them. He has redeemed me, not with corruptible things, but with His precious blood. Now Christ is stretching out His hands to me saying:

“Sinner, see how I love you. Return unto me, for I have redeemed you. You are mine for I have chosen you. Return with all your sins, for they are mine too. I bought every last one of them. You are bought with a price, and. those sins do not belong to you. I paid a terrible price for them, and I want them delivered to me.”

What an argument is this! Can there be any question that Christ will receive the one who belongs to Him?

Some time ago a certain Earl purchased an old castle, and one of his friends remarked to him:

“I hear you want that old castle. Do you know that it is full of rats and vermin, that it has obscene paintings on the wall, and that it has a very bad reputation?”

The Earl responded:

“I will clean the vermin out. I will pull down the obscene paintings, and place my own beautiful pictures on those walls. As for its reputation, that is no problem to me. I will make it my own dwelling place.”

Even so, dear reader, the Lord Jesus Christ has re-purchased you at the cross. It is true, whether you realize it or not; and you rightfully belong to Him. Have you delivered your sins to Him? If you have you may be assured that He has taken them. If you are not His it is solely because you have refused to deliver to Him that which He has bought. You are defrauding Him.

Assurance of Our Acceptance

Let the sinner turn in faith to the Christ of Calvary. Let him see Jesus lifted up from the earth, drawing all men unto Him. Let him hear the Saviour say to the tempted soul,

Micah 2

10 Arise... this is not your rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction.

To those who plead,

Hosea 14

2 Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously,

–the Lord will answer,

4 I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for my anger is turned away from him.

Isaiah 55

7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.

Micah 7

18 Who is a God like unto you, that pardons iniquity, and passes by the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He retains not His anger for ever, because He delights in mercy.

19 He will turn again, He will have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities; and you will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

Isaiah 1

18 Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Five bleeding wounds, He bears,

Received on Calvary;

They pour effectual prayers;

They strongly plead for me:

“Forgive him, O forgive,” they cry,

“Nor let that ransomed sinner die!”59 Charles Wesley, Hymn: Arise, My Soul, Arise, 1742.

It is our blood-bought privilege to take the position of the repentant sinner in the daily service. As he brought his substitute to the altar of burnt offering, confessed his sins upon it, and took its life, so we may come to Jesus our Substitute, kneel at the foot of His cross, confess our sins to Him, and recognize that it was our sins that slew God’s dear Son.

Christ’s Invitation

Steps to Christ, p, 40:

Jesus loves to have us come to Him just as we are, sinful, helpless, dependent. We may come with all our weakness, our folly, our sinfulness, and fall at His feet in penitence. It is His glory to encircle us in, and to bind up our wounds, to cleanse the arms of His love from all impurity.

It Reveals the Place of Death

Must Jesus bear the cross alone

And all the world go free?

No, there’s a cross for every one,

And there’s a cross for me.60 Thomas Shepherd, Hymn: Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone, 1693.

No Forgiveness Without Deliverance

While the cross is a place of love, mercy and forgiveness, it is not a place to get indulgences for sin. To make the cross a place of forgiveness without deliverance is to make the cross of Christ the minister of sin.

The words translated “forgive,” and “remit” signify “a release,” “an emancipation,” “a letting go,” “a deliverance” and “a sending away.” They are an allusion to the sanctuary service, where the penitent confessed his sin, transferred his guilt and became separated from his transgression. Forgiveness of sin, therefore, is a soul deliverance from sin.

Deliverance Through Death

The Bible is emphatic that this deliverance from guilt can only be wrought by death. The cross reveals that the sinner must yield up his life. If a man had £1,000 and owed £1,000, how much would he have left after paying the debt? Nothing. Even so, the sinner’s life is forfeited to the law of Death, and he must die. To preach forgiveness for the sinner, without the “death” of the sinner, is to preach an entirely false, crossless gospel. Yet it is often preached.

We must die sometime. Will it be now, with love and gratitude, through yielding up our lives in surrender to Christ, or later with bitterness and anguish at the last judgment day? Oh, let us be...

Galatians 2

20 ...crucified with Christ...

–now, rather than before the grim avenger of blood brings anguish and eternal loss. But die we must.

Dying with Christ

There are some who make this death merely a reckoned death, i.e., that Christ’s death is merely reckoned to the sinner’s account, and he is only reckoned as dead while he does not actually participate in the death. This reduces the gospel to a mere make-believe.

But the blessings of forgiveness and soul deliverance from sin are only available to those who are willing to be

Philippians 3

10 ...made conformable to His death,

...and to be…

Galatians 2

20 ...crucified with Christ.

Our carnal natures are enmity against God, and in this condition we are not able to keep the law of God:

Romans 8

5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

The 7th chapter of Romans represents us as “married” to this lower nature, enslaved to do the will of the flesh. The only way of release from this condemnation is through “death.” While it is a spiritual death, it is none the less a real experience of giving up the life, surrendering to Christ, and laying our old selves in the dust. Without this death to sin and self, there can be no hope for our perishing souls. Baptism symbolizes this death with Christ.

Romans 6

3 Know you not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Therefore we are buried by baptism into death….

6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.

The daily sin offering of the earthly ritual represented the sinner’s death to sin. By placing his hands on the victim, he identified himself with it. Then by taking its life he demonstrated his willingness to die in his substitute. As the blood was poured out at the base of the altar, so he poured out his life in surrender to God, recognizing that he had no life of his own.

This was the sinner’s first step in participating in the earthly ritual. Even so, the sinner’s first step in following Christ is to follow Him in death.

Taking the Cross

The apostle Paul says:

Galatians 6

17 I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.

Those marks are the marks of the cross, the marks of death to self. Have you, reader, given up your life for the cross? Are you… Source: Book of Common Prayer, 1724

2 Corinthians 4

11 ...delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in [your] mortal flesh?

Remember, you could go to far-flung Island fields and work with the unfailing zeal of Saul of Tarsus, but without the cross it would profit you nothing. A Christian without a cross will be a sinner without a Saviour. He may say,

“Lord, in your name have I toiled and worked, and in your name have I done missionary work and many wonderful works.”

But when the last seal is broken he will look in vain to see his name written in the Book of Life. And the terrible part about it is that this seems to be the condition of many Laodiceans. In 1893, Mrs. E. G. White wrote these following words from Melbourne:

Christian Service, p. 41:

It is a solemn statement that I make to the church, that not one in twenty whose names are registered upon the church books are prepared to close their earthly history, and would be as verily without God and without hope in the world as the common sinner.

Why is this? Because the way of salvation is too hard to find? Not at all! The Scriptures tell us it is so plain that the wayfaring man, even though he be a fool, need not err therein.61 Isaiah 35 8 And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. The condition cited above prevails because self is not surrendered to die, the life is not yielded up to the Lord Jesus.

Forsaking All

It is possible to be in the “service of Christ,” yet full of our own plans, ambitions, pride, and self-seeking. The greatest self-seeking often exists under the cloak of Christian service. Jesus said:

Luke 14

33 Unless a man forsake all that he has, he cannot be my disciple.

To forsake all means to forsake ourselves, not merely to relinquish worldly amusements, some unhealthy habits, working on the Sabbath, or even secular employment. Judas gave up all these, yet was the betrayer of Christ. To forsake all means to give up our own way, our own wills, our own pleasing, our own seeking. We have a heaven to win and a hell to shun, and the greatest battle to be fought is right in our own hearts. Luther said,

“I am more afraid of my own poor heart than the Pope and all his cardinals. Pope Self—Ah, he is the chief Pope.”

Reader, have you stood in the light of the cross where Pope Self and the self-sacrificing love of Christ stand face to face? Have you seen Jesus denying himself, emptying himself, giving up himself for you, and then considered that He gave that matchless life for that sinful life?

Like the disciples, we must allow Jesus to take us to Calvary. We must behold the Calvary scene, and contemplate it until self is subdued in the glory of Christ’s love. Only the heart-broken repentance of the cross will gain us the victory over self.

Jesus gave up himself—not just things—and…

1 Peter 2

21 ...left us an example that we should follow His steps.

In the light of Calvary, in the knowledge of the wonderful love of Christ, could we give anything less than all that we might win Christ.

Philippians 3

7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.

8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.

When the heart is first touched by a ray of light from the cross, it says:

“Some of Christ, and some of self.”

As His beauty is more clearly seen that heart may say:

“More of Christ and less of self.”

But when the heart is subdued with the revelation of the love of Jesus which shines out from the cross, it says:

“All of Christ, and none of self.”

Steps to Christ, p. 36:

But what do we give up when we give all?—A sin-polluted heart, for Jesus to purify, to cleanse by His own blood, and to save by His matchless love. And yet men think it hard to give up all! I am ashamed to hear it spoken of, ashamed to write it.

Heaven will be cheap enough for all who become partakers of the death of Christ. For when the shadows of this life are scattered by that bright, eternal morning, the redeemed shall see the things that God has prepared for them that love Him.

When the redeemed look upon Jesus bearing the marks of His humiliation; when they stand upon the threshold of their blood-bought, eternal home, there will burst upon their enraptured senses the meaning of His cross. And the everlasting song of each shall be:

Galatians 6

14 God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Would you be among them? Then take up your cross, and follow Him.

13. The Resurrection of Christ

Acts 2

22 You men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by Him in the midst of you, as you yourselves also know:

23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:

24 Whom God has raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that He should be held of it.

Christ Breaks the Power of Death

CHRIST, the sinless One, had vanquished Satan in life. Then He entered the domain of death and utterly spoiled the stronghold of the prince of darkness.

Hebrews 2

14 Through death He...destroyed him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.

Thus it is that the believer in Jesus is not only a conqueror in life, but a conqueror in death.

The Desire of Ages, p. 785:

Over the rent sepulcher of Joseph, Christ had proclaimed in triumph, “I am the resurrection, and the life.” These words could be spoken only by the Deity.

All created beings live by the will and power of God. They are dependent recipients of the life of God. From the highest seraph to the humblest animate being, all are replenished from the Source of life.

Only He who is one with God could say,

John 10

18 I have power to lay down my life, and I have power to take it again.

In His divinity, Christ possessed the power to break the bonds of death.

Pledge of Immortality

Death holds no fears for the child of God; it is but a place for a moment of rest. His life is hid in Him who is the resurrection and the life, and he lies down for a moment of silence and darkness, confident that:

Colossians 3

4 When Christ, who is our life shall appear, then shall we also appear with Him in glory.

Yet the resurrection of Christ means more to the believer in Jesus than the resurrection from the grave to immortality: it means to him the resurrection from his death (spiritual) with Christ to new life with Christ. Having known the power of His resurrection in this life, he, like Abraham, firmly believes in the resurrection to immortality, because he has experienced that quickening power in his own life.

Death Reconciles

The death of Christ reconciles us to God.

Romans 5

10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

Colossians 1

20 And, having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things to himself...

21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in you mind by wicked works, yet now has He reconciled

22 In the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight.

When the sinner is drawn to the uplifted cross to find repentance, he prostrates himself before it and dies with Christ. He lays down his weapons of rebellion, the enmity is destroyed, and he finds reconciliation with God. With Christ, he places himself on the altar of sacrifice, and declares with Paul,

Galatians 2

20 I am crucified with Christ.

Romans 6

6 Our old man is crucified with Him that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

The repentant sinner condemns himself with Christ that he might be justified in Christ. He dishonors himself in true humility that Christ might honor him with His own honor. He dies with Christ in order that he might live with Christ.

Life of Christ Justifies

While the death with Christ reconciles us, the life with Christ justifies us.

Romans 4

25 [He] was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification.

Romans 5

10 We shall be saved by [Greek: “in”] His life.

To be justified we must lay hold of the life of Christ, we must be united to Him, hid in Him and “married” to Him. But the 7th chapter of Romans plainly tells us that we must be delivered from the “first husband” (the lower nature, or the old man), before we can be…

Romans 7

4 ...married to another, even to Him who is raised from the dead.

Union with this “first husband” means condemnation and destruction. We cannot be justified in such a union. Paul explains that it is through death that we are delivered from the flesh that we might be united with the life of Christ.

Death Before Life

The sinner can appropriate the life of Christ for his justification at only one point. At only one point can he receive…

John 3 [margin]

3 ...life from above.

It is where every sinner receives it—at the point of death! This is the only way for him to be joined to Christ. All who endeavor to be justified by the life of Christ without being first reconciled in death with Christ are thieves and robbers who endeavor to enter the sheep-fold by climbing up some way other than entering…

John 10

1 ...in by the door.

In Romans 7:14-24 we have the picture of a man vainly endeavoring to be justified, freed of condemnation, while still united and bound to the tyranny of the carnal nature. Only when he despairs of himself utterly, and cries out for deliverance from his old nature, is he freed and justified in Christ.

Old Man Must Die

There are many today who are trying to find a doctrine of justification by faith which can accommodate the old man of the flesh. Somehow the carnal mind, which can do nothing but pervert the Scriptures, thinks it convenient to take the “old man” along in the Christian experience, rather than put him to death. Then they declare that the Christian life is a struggle.

But the struggle in this case is the struggle of the old man trying to keep alive, when the law and the Spirit of God testify that he should be surrendered to death. Further, they line up the struggle in their own experience with that struggle depicted in Romans 7:14-24, and declare that this is the experience of a truly converted man.

Alas, Paul is describing the struggles of a slave to sin, a slave who being enlightened by the law and the Spirit of God, longs to be free from the bondage of the flesh. Yet God waits until he so hates his sinful life that he will gladly deliver it to death in Jesus Christ.

To preach conversion or justification without this death and deliverance from the tyranny of the flesh is to preach a crossless and resurrection-less gospel—one…

2 Timothy 3

5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.

One may appropriately conclude that this deceived state is akin to the Laodicean condition, where the professed Christian boasts that he knows all about justification by faith, yet in reality he is destitute of the life of Christ in the soul.

Let us turn aside from a gospel without power, and a justification without a living experience, to find in the word of God the true meaning of conversion.

New Life Follows Death

Having died with Christ, the believer rises with Christ in newness of life. When he reaches the lowest point possible (death), he steps into the life of Christ. He is justified.

Romans 6

4 Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection;

6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him.

Galatians 2

20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Colossians 2

12 Buried with Him in baptism, wherein also you are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who has raised Him from the dead.

13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, has he quickened together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses.

This is no make-believe gospel. It brings to view the mighty resurrection power of Christ working to deliver the penitent from death to make him a new creation in Christ Jesus. Justification is a mighty miracle of creation, a manifestation of the power which brought the worlds into existence. This is why Paul says:

Romans 1

16 I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation.

In Ephesians, Paul sets forth the resurrection of Christ as the mightiest demonstration of the power of God. He then proceeds to show that this same power quickens the believer from deadness in sins to newness of life with Christ. The believer is raised with Christ by the power of His resurrection.

The man who does not believe in this power to lift him from his old life of sin is just as much an infidel as the man who thinks this, world evolved through timeless ages.

Power of the Resurrection

Let the prayer and the counsel of the following passage bring us saving faith in the purpose and power of the resurrection:

Ephesians 1

16 [I] cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;

17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him:

18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

19 And what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power,

20 Which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places,

21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named,…

Ephesians 2

1 And you has He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

2 Wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience:

3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us,

5 Even when we were dead in sins, has quickened us together with Christ, (by grace you are saved);

6 And has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

Justification a New Creation

Some people object to this standard of justification by faith, declaring that the righteousness by which we are justified is only imputed. It is true that we are justified by the imputed righteousness of Christ. His sinless life is imputed (placed to the account of) our sinful lives, and we are accepted in God’s sight as if we had not sinned.

But Christ does more than impute His life to our past life when we accept Him as our Saviour. He changes the heart. He takes away the stony heart, and gives in its place a heart of flesh, with His own law written there.

Ezekiel 36

25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.

26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.

27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you shall keep my judgments, and do them.

He not only forgives, but cleanses from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1

9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

To prove that He has power to forgive sins, He says to us, “Rise and walk.”

Mark 2

10 But that you may know that the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins, (He said to the sick of the palsy,)

11 I say unto you, Arise, and take up your bed, and go your way into your house.

We become new creatures in Christ Jesus.

The Desire of Ages, p. 176:

The light shining from the cross reveals the love of God. His love is drawing us to himself. If we do not resist this drawing, we shall be led to the foot of the cross in repentance for the sins that have crucified the Saviour. Then the Spirit of God through faith produces a new life in the soul.

The Desire of Ages, p. 172-173:

The Christian’s life is not a modification or improvement of the old, but a transformation of nature. There is a death to self and sin, and a new life altogether.

The blessing comes when by faith the soul surrenders itself to God. Then that power which no human eye can see creates a new being in the image of God.

The Desire of Ages, p. 324:

When the soul surrenders itself to Christ, a new power takes possession of the new heart... It is a supernatural work, bringing a supernatural element into human nature.

The Review and Herald, November 4, 1890:

God requires the entire surrender of the heart, before justification can take place.

Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 112:

...without regeneration through faith in His blood, there is no remission of sins, no treasure for any perishing soul.

Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 163:

As the sinner, drawn by the power of Christ, approaches the uplifted cross, and prostrates himself before it, there is a new creation. A new heart is given him. He becomes a new creature in Christ Jesus. Holiness finds that it has nothing more to require. God himself is “the justifier of him which believes in Jesus.”

No Justification Without Regeneration

The above passages emphasize this vital truth: there is no justification without regeneration. Justification is becoming a new creature in Christ Jesus. Let this truth be crowned by the words of the Holy Spirit through Paul:

Titus 3

5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

7 That being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Thus the reconciled sinner is raised to newness of life through faith in the power of the resurrection. This power unites the penitent to the Living Vine, and places him on vantage ground against Satan.

The Christian’s life has begun. Although only a babe in Christ, he is a son of God. Daily he partakes of the life of Christ for his sanctification. By the power of the resurrection, he maintains his justification.

Victory Over Sin

Taking His Sinless Life

It is unfortunate that so many Christians hesitate to have faith to live above sin. It is true that we cannot live a sinless life, but Christ can. He has lived a sinless life, and He desires to manifest that same life in every believer.

2 Corinthians 4

11 For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

God is waiting and anxious to reveal Christ in every man, patiently waiting that the perfect life of Jesus might be revealed in our mortal flesh. Does the reader say:

“Do you mean to say that I need not sin any more?”

Did not the Master say,

John 8

11 Go, and sin no more.

Know you not the power of the death and resurrection of Christ? Study these words by the apostle Paul:

Romans 6

1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?

2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dies no more; death has no more dominion over Him.

10 For in that He died, He died unto sin once: but in that He lives, He lives unto God.

Now note the parallel following:

11 Likewise reckon you also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

14 For sin shall not have dominion over you.

Dominion Over Sin

Does death have any dominion over Christ? No! He has been raised far above all power, and might and dominion. But is not the Christian raised with Him? Assuredly! Then just as surely as death has no dominion over Christ, sin has no dominion over the Christian. Just as surely as Christ dies no more, the Christian can go in Christ’s strength, to sin no more.

The Desire of Ages, p. 324:

The soul that is yielded to Christ becomes His own fortress, which He holds in a revolted world, and He intends that no authority shall be known in it but His own. A soul thus kept in possession by the heavenly agencies is impregnable to the assaults of Satan.

The Review and Herald, July 12, 1892:

There are many who think that it is impossible to escape form the power of sin, but the promise is that we may be filled with all the fullness of God. We aim too low. The mark is much higher.

A Continual Warfare

“But,” you may say, “is not the Christian’s life a battle and a march?”

Yes, indeed it is, and very much so. Every day he must do battle with evil. Since the old carnal nature is not “once dead, always dead,” he must say with Paul,

1 Corinthians 15

31 I die daily.

Old habits and hereditary tendencies will strive for the mastery, but daily, hourly, he is to crucify the flesh with its lusts. As he maintains his surrender to God, Christ dwells in his heart by faith and keeps him from sin.

A Victorious Fight

An army which experiences constant defeat would become a very discouraged army. If we experience constant defeat we become very discouraged Christians. This need not be.

It is said that the very presence of Alexander on the battle field brought victory to his soldiers. Even so, the presence of Christ in our lives puts to flight the legions of darkness. It is our privilege to fight this good fight of faith, and to see the enemy fall back by the mighty power of the resurrected Christ.

When soldiers on the battle field get a taste of victory, they press into the battle eager for conquest. Even so, when we get a taste of the victory in Christ, it will be our joy to press on to new heights of an overcoming experience. We will gain no holiday from this battle until at last we lay our trophies down at the Saviour’s feet. Then, praise God, heaven will be cheap enough.

Thus in the resurrection of His Son, God has demonstrated in Christ His ETERNAL PURPOSE for the human race: first to resurrect the believer in Christ to newness of life now; and finally to place him immortal with Christ in the life to come.

14. The Inauguration of the
Heavenly Ministry of Christ

Colossians 2

15 Having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them…

Ephesians 4 [margin]

8 When He ascended up on high, He led a multitude of captives.

Hebrews 1

3 When He had by himself purged our sins, [He] sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on High.

Hebrews 9

12 By His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

OUR great High Priest, having completed His ministry in the outer court, ascended into His sanctuary in heaven.

Hebrews 8

1 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such a high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.

Praise God, He returned from earth as a mighty conqueror. His life was completely victorious over all sin. His death was a perfect, final, and once-for-all atoning sacrifice for all transgression.

Hebrews 9

26 For then must He often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world has He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

Hebrews 10

12 But this man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;

13 From henceforth expecting till His enemies be made His footstool.

14 For by one offering He has perfected for ever them that are sanctified.

By His resurrection,

2 Timothy 1

10 [He] abolished death, and...brought life and immortality to light.

Then to demonstrate the finality of the ETERNAL PURPOSE which was purposed in himself, He took back to glory a handful of resurrected trophies from the grave. Having taken His position of authority at the right hand of the throne of God,62 Hebrews 1 3 Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. Hebrews 8 1 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such a high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens. Hebrews 9 24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us. Acts 7 56 And [Stephen] said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. He commenced the ministry of the true tabernacle in heaven, a ministry that was to dispense to men the riches of His grace.

His Perfect Atonement

The Signs of the Times, June 28, 1899:

Type met antitype in the death of Christ, the Lamb slain for the sins of the world. Our great High Priest has made the only sacrifice that is of any value in our salvation. When He offered himself on the cross, a perfect atonement was made for the sins of the people. We are now standing in the outer court, waiting and looking for that blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Source: Young Folks Bible, 1889 The Acts of the Apostles, p. 29-30:

Christ’s sacrifice in behalf of man was full and complete. The condition of the atonement had been fulfilled. The work for which He had come to this world had been accomplished. He had won the kingdom. He had wrested it from Satan and had become heir of all things. He was on His way to the throne of God, to be honored by the heavenly host.

The Signs of the Times, February 14, 1900:

By His spotless life, His obedience, His death on the cross of Calvary, Christ interceded for the lost race. And now, not as a mere petitioner does the Captain of our salvation intercede for us, but as a conqueror claiming His victory. His offering is complete, and as our intercessor He executes His self-appointed work, holding before God the censer containing His own spotless merits and the prayers, confessions, and thanksgiving of His people....To the true believer Christ is indeed the minister of the sanctuary, officiating for him in the sanctuary, and speaking through God’s appointed agencies.

Heavenly Ministry Necessary

The plan of salvation is not complete without the heavenly ministry of Christ. It is true that Christ cried,

John 19

30 It is finished,

–at the cross: that is to say the doom of Satan was sealed and the New Covenant of grace was ratified. But this in no sense means that there was nothing further for Christ to accomplish. The ministry of Christ is absolutely necessary to make effective and operative that which He accomplished by His life, death, and resurrection.

When the Lamb was slain in the earthly service, the priest had to take its blood and minister it in the sanctuary to make atonement for sin. A man who wants to leave the plan of salvation at Calvary is just as blind as the Hebrew who participated in the service of the outer court, but repudiated the ministry of his priest in the tabernacle, thus cutting himself off from salvation. Man would be lost without Christ’s ministry in the heavenly sanctuary. His faith must…

Revelation 14

4 …follow the Lamb wherever He goes.

The Great Controversy, p. 489:

The intercession of Christ in man’s behalf in the sanctuary above is as essential to the plan of salvation as was His death upon the cross. By His death He began that work which after His resurrection He ascended to complete in heaven. We must by faith enter within the veil “where the forerunner is for us entered.” Hebrews 6:20. There the light from the cross of Calvary is reflected. There we may gain a clearer insight into the mysteries of redemption.

The Two Apartments of the Heavenly Sanctuary

In Chapter 5 it was pointed out that the earthly tabernacle, with its two apartments, was a copy, shadow, figure, and pattern of the sanctuary in heaven. To the Jewish mind two apartments were synonymous with the sanctuary.

The writer of Hebrews shows that Christ’s sanctuary is the great original of which the one pitched by Moses was a copy. In doing so he makes no attempt to dislodge the idea of two apartments in the New Covenant sanctuary. On the contrary, he reinforces it by his reticence to show otherwise, just as the New Testament’s reticence to re-emphasize the Sabbath is the greatest argument for its continuance.

The writer of Hebrews never says that Christ enters a holy place (singular); but in every case the Greek says “holy places” (plural).

Two Apartments Seen

The Great Controversy, p. 414-415:

The holy places of the sanctuary in heaven are represented by the two apartments in the sanctuary on earth. As in vision the apostle John was granted a view of the temple of God in heaven, he beheld there “seven lamps of fire burning before the throne,” Revelation 4:5. He saw an angel “having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.” Revelation 8:3.

Here the prophet was permitted to behold the first apartment of the sanctuary in heaven; and he saw there the “seven lamps of fire,” and the “golden altar,” represented by the golden candlestick and the altar of incense in the sanctuary on earth. Again, “the temple of God was opened,” (Revelation 11:19) and he looked within the inner veil, upon the holy of holies.

Early Writings, p. 251-253:

I was then bidden to take notice of the two apartments of the heavenly sanctuary. The curtain, or door, was opened, and I was permitted to enter. In the first apartment I saw the candlestick with seven lamps, the table of shewbread, the altar of incense, and the censer....The curtain which separated the two apartments was of different colors and material, with a beautiful border, in which were figures wrought of gold to represent angels. The veil was lifted, and I looked into the second apartment. I saw there an ark which had the appearance of being of the finest gold...

I was also shown the sanctuary upon the earth containing two apartments. It resembled the one in heaven, and I was told that it was a figure of the heavenly. The furniture of the first apartment of the earthly sanctuary was like that in the first apartment of the heavenly. The veil was lifted, and I looked into the holy of holies and saw that the furniture was the same as in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary. The priest ministered in both apartments of the earthly....I saw that Jesus ministered in both apartments of the heavenly sanctuary.

Let the mind of the reader find no objection to the idea of two apartments in the heavenly sanctuary. Neither will it be profitable to speculate concerning the dimensions or the manner of construction of the heavenly temple where Christ performs His ministry before the Father and the countless millions of angels.

If Inspiration has seen fit to indicate that there are two apartments in the heavenly sanctuary, and then confirms it for the minds of the Remnant through the messenger of the Remnant, it should be sufficient for the child of faith. If God sees fit to guide the minds of His “little children” in such a way, is it not safe to abide by the instruction that He has given in His infinite wisdom?

False Philosophy

These remarks are made for the benefit of some who find it more “scholarly” to reject the concept of two apartments in the heavenly temple.

“It is a primitive and juvenile conception,” they say.

Well, maybe God gave the children of Israel a primitive and juvenile conception of the gospel when He gave them the sanctuary ritual. But they would not have merited His favor if they had thought their faculties too advanced to abide by His revelation. Indeed, they would have incurred His signal displeasure.

Even now God condescends to give His people instruction in a simple way, so that their limited faculties may comprehend His mysterious ways. The trusting child of faith will be content to leave it just where God sees fit to leave it, remembering that his own wisdom is foolishness with God.

So then, let no one presumptuously circumvent the clear revelations of the Spirit of God to substitute the vagaries of man’s puny “scholarship,” vain philosophy, and intrusion into those things which he has not seen.

The Two Ministries of the Heavenly Sanctuary

The earthly sanctuary service consisted of two well defined divisions: the daily and the yearly service. Paul sums it up as follows:

Hebrews 9

6 Now when these things were thus ordained, the priest went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God.

7 But into the second went the high priest alone once every year.

The daily service was for the daily reconciliation and atonement of sinners. The yearly service (called the cleansing of the sanctuary or Day of Atonement) was for the final reconciliation and atonement of sinners.

Even so, when the heavenly service was ordained, the ministry of Christ was to consist of two great divisions:

The daily (continual) reconciliation and atoning of sinners in the first apartment, and

The final reconciliation and atoning of sinners in the second apartment.

This latter ministry occurs during the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary, or Day of Atonement.

These two divisions of Christ’s mediatorial work are consecutive. The first began after His resurrection. And as the second apartment ministry was performed in the earthly at the close of the Jewish year, so Christ’s ministry in the second apartment is only performed at the closing up of His heavenly ministry—during…

Daniel 12

4 ...the time of the end.

This, as will be proved later, is confirmed by the testimony of Daniel 7:9-13; 8:14, and much of the book of Revelation.

15. The Continual Ministry of Christ: The First Apartment

AFTER His ascension, Jesus began the first phase of His ministry before the Father in the first apartment of the heavenly sanctuary.

Revelation 4

1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven:…

2 ...and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and One sat on the throne.

3 And He that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.

5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne...

Revelation 5

6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain…

11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands.

The Continual Burnt Offering and Sin Offering

It is true that Christ was once offered and did once make an atoning sacrifice for all sin. The finality and efficacy of this act has already been stressed. Yet Jesus in His continual ministry is the antitype of the continual burnt offering. Unlike the earthly offerings, where repeatedly the victims had to die to supply the blood of atonement, Christ’s death never has to be repeated.

However, He is represented as being in heaven as a Lamb that has just been slain. In His glorified form He bears before the Father the marks of His humiliation, and the evidence of His sacrifice. The presence of our crucified Lord is so vivid before the throne, that He appears as if now in the act of being offered. Thus our High Priest perpetuates His sacrifice, providing a continual atonement for all men.

Continual Atonement in Heaven

We may look heavenward and see reflected in the continual ministry of Christ the sacrifice for our continual sins. The cross of Christ is not a thing of Atonement an hour, or a day, but it stretches from Eden in Heaven lost to Eden restored. We do not have to look back to Calvary. We may look up and see Him lifted up from the earth, drawing all men unto Him. In the presence of God there is an ever-living Sacrifice and an ever-living Priest to offer the newly shed blood for our sins.

Fundamentals of Christian Education, p. 370:

Our Saviour is in the sanctuary pleading in our behalf. He is our interceding High Priest, making an atoning sacrifice for us, pleading in our behalf the efficacy of His blood.

Youth’s Instructor, April 16, 1903:

Jesus stands before the Father, continually offering a sacrifice for the sins of the world. He is the minister of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man....But because of the continual commission of sin, the atoning sacrifice of a heavenly Mediator is essential. Jesus, our great high priest, officiates for us in the presence of God, offering in our behalf His shed blood.

Christ Our Continual Sin Offering

Jesus is not only the offering provided (the burnt offering); He may be the offering appropriated (the sin offering). Let us liken our position to the sinner in the daily service of the earthly ritual. When he sinned the record was registered before the holy law of God. He was condemned to die. He brought his sacrifice and transferred his sin to it. The priest, by eating the flesh of the sin offering, bore the penitent’s guilt. Through the blood of his own offering, the priest transferred the sin to the first apartment of the sanctuary. He sprinkled the blood in the holy place to record the penitent’s pardon and justification.

Now we have sinned. God’s penmen have accurately recorded the sin in the books that will be opened in the judgment of the most holy place. We look up and see the Lamb of God, as it were, just freshly laid on the altar for us. We look to our merciful and faithful High Priest. The spilled blood and our mighty Advocate ready to apply the blood on our behalf generates faith in our Lord’s ministry. We flee to Him as our Substitute and Sin-bearer, and transfer our sin to Him.

By virtue of His perpetual sacrifice and atoning blood, He makes atonement for our sin before the Father, and transfers it to the sanctuary. Through…

Hebrews 12

24 ...the blood of sprinkling,

–He records our pardon and justification in heaven, while at the same time we are freed from sin and have…

Hebrews 10

22 ...our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience.

The Review & Herald, February 27, 1900:

By pledging His own life, Christ has made himself responsible for every man and woman on the earth. He stands in the presence of God, saying, “Father, I take upon myself the guilt of that soul. It means death to him if he is left to bear it. If he repents, he shall be forgiven. My blood shall cleanse him from all sin, I gave my life for the sins of the world.”

Manuscript 21, 1895:

Today He [Christ] is making an atonement for us before the Father.

1 John 2

1 If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

Pointing to the palms of His hands, pierced by the fury and prejudice of wicked men, He says of us,

Isaiah 49

16 I have graven you upon the palms of my hands.

The Father bows in recognition of the price paid for humanity, and the angels approach the cross of Calvary with reverence. What a sacrifice is this! Who can fathom it!

The Great Controversy, page 421:

As anciently the sins of the people were by faith placed upon the sin offering, and through its blood transferred, in figure, to the earthly sanctuary; so in the new covenant the sins of the repentant are by faith placed upon Christ, and transferred, in fact, to the heavenly sanctuary.

There is a fountain filled with blood,

Drawn from Immanuel’s veins;

And sinners plunged beneath that flood,

Lose all their guilty stains.

The dying thief rejoiced to see

That fountain in his day;

And there may I, though vile as he,

Wash all my sins away.

You dying Lamb! Your precious blood

Shall never lose its power,

Till all the ransomed church of God

Are saved to sin no more.

E’er since by faith I saw that stream

Your flowing wounds supply,

Redeeming love has been my theme,

And shall be till I die.63 William Cowper, Hymn: There is a Fountain, 1772.

The Altar of Incense

Revelation 8

3 And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.

4 And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.

Intercession of Christ

Perhaps no other figure more mightily represents Christ as man’s Intercessor before the Father as the priest before the altar of incense. Man may approach God through his Lord, Jesus Christ. Jesus takes the stammering prayer of the contrite, and as an all-powerful Advocate, personally offers the prayer before the throne of Jehovah with the merits of His own fragrant life. The cloud of incense represents the covering of Christ’s imputed righteousness.

The Father delights to hear the petition offered through Christ, and the client of Jesus is accepted in the Beloved. Not one sincere prayer is lost, for the prayer of the worshiper becomes the prayer of Christ, and his request becomes Christ’s request.

Patriarchs and Prophets, page 353:

The incense, ascending with the prayers of Israel, represents the merits and intercession of Christ, His perfect righteousness, which through faith is imputed to His people, and which can alone make the worship of sinful beings acceptable to God.

Manuscript 14, 1901:

In the service of the Jewish priesthood we are continually reminded of the sacrifice and intercession of Christ. All who come to Christ today are to remember that His merit is the incense that mingles with the prayers of those who repent of their sins and receive pardon and mercy and grace. Our need of Christ’s intercession is constant.

Then let our struggling souls rise up in the faith of the continual intercession of Christ before the golden altar. We may unite our weakness in faith with His faith, and our feeble prayers with His eloquent prayers. It is in Him and through Him that we may prevail with God.

The Table of Shewbread

John 6

48 I am that Bread of life.

50 This is the Bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.

51 I am the living Bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this Bread, he shall live forever: and the Bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

57 As the living Father has sent me, and I live by the Father; so he that eats me, even he shall live by me.

Christ the Bread of Life

Men have no life of their own, physical or spiritual, but Christ gave His life to men.

Acts 17

28 In Him we live, and move, and have our being.

It is through His continuing ministry that Christ continues to give His life unto the world. The unbelieving world is unmindful that they receive the temporal blessings of life through the ministry of Christ in heaven above, but, let Him step out of that ministry at the close of probation, and the world will suffer the want of all things. Not one, saint or sinner, lives for one solitary day, but he is nourished by the life of Christ.

Eating His Flesh

When we come to Him in true faith, He is the Bread of Life to our souls. Jesus says that we must eat His flesh and drink His blood.

John 6

55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.

56 He that eats my flesh, and drinks my blood dwells in me, and I in him.

There is no need for us to strive among ourselves as did the Jews when they said,

52 How can this man give us His flesh to eat?

They did not see that Christ was God manifested in their own flesh and blood; nor did they see any beauty or comeliness in the perfection of that divine life. Let us understand that by His incarnation, Christ poured His divinity into human flesh, and we may partake of that divine life.

2 Peter 1

4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these we may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

We are to behold, cherish and partake of the life which He lived in our flesh, making that life our life. Thus we may eat of the living Bread. As the child grows by eating, so we may grow up into the full stature of Christ by partaking of His life.

His Life in the Word

We partake of the life of Christ through the Word. Jesus said:

John 6

63 The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.

The written Word reveals the Living Word, and we receive Christ in our lives by keeping His sayings.

John 14

23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

By “obeying the truth,”64 1 Peter 1 22 Seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that you love one another with a pure heart fervently. which comes by a personal, diligent and daily search of the Scriptures, we are to advance in sanctification through the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

If a Christian neglects to search the Scriptures, he can expect nothing but spiritual starvation and barrenness of soul. He must study the Word for himself. He must feed on the Word continually. The nourishment of the past will not suffice for the present, much less for the future.

As the priests renewed the bread Sabbath by Sabbath, so Christ draws near Sabbath by Sabbath to give a new infilling of “meat in due season”65 Matthew 24 45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his Lord has made ruler over His household, to give them meat in due season? to those who follow Him by faith.

The Seven Lamps of Fire

John the Revelator was shown in the antitype of the seven-branched candlestick the work of the…

Revelation 4

5 ...seven Spirits of God.

The greatest of all the gifts of Christ—the Holy Spirit—is dispensed to men through the ministry of heaven’s High Priest.

Promise of the Spirit

John 14

16 And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever;

17 Even the Spirit of truth...

26 The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

John 15

26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceeds from the Father, He shall testify of me.

John 16

7 It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you.

8 And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:…

12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but you cannot bear them now.

13 Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come.

14 He shall glorify me: for He shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.

Spirit Convicts of Sin

The first office of the Spirit is to convict of sin. How precious it is to have that conviction sent to our hearts, for it is the work of the Comforter. It is part of the comfort of God to convict us of sin, because the same hand that convicts holds out the pardon.

The Spirit of God searches our hearts and knows all our sins. We have no grounds for becoming discouraged when the Spirit drives conviction home to our hearts, making those sins which seemed small in our eyes appear as God sees them. God knows the heart and the depths of degradation to which it falls. The Spirit who exposes the enormity of sin unveils the crucified One bearing and suffering for that sin.

Spirit Woos to Christ

The Spirit then woos and draws the sinner to Christ.

Steps to Christ, p. 21:

If he does not resist, he will be drawn to Jesus; a knowledge of the plan of salvation will lead him to the foot of the cross in repentance for his sins, which have caused the sufferings of God’s dear Son.

When the sinner surrenders to Christ, the Spirit makes the death and resurrection of Christ effective in his experience. By death he is released from the bondage of sin, and by the power of the resurrection of Christ he is raised in newness of life. He is renewed by the Holy Ghost.

Titus 3

5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.

Holy Spirit Regenerates

The Desire of Ages, p. 671:

The Spirit was to be given as a regenerating agent, and without this the sacrifice of Christ would have been of no avail. The power of evil had been strengthening for centuries, and the submission of men to this satanic captivity was amazing. Sin could be resisted and overcome only through the mighty agency of the Third Person of the Godhead, who would come with no modified energy, but in the fullness of divine power.

It is the Spirit that makes effectual what has been wrought out by the world’s Redeemer. It is by the Spirit that the heart is made pure. Through the Spirit the believer becomes a partaker of the divine nature. Christ has given His Spirit as a divine power to overcome all hereditary and cultivated tendencies to evil, and to impress His own character upon His church.

Holy Spirit Seals

The Holy Spirit also seals the believer in Jesus.

Ephesians 1

13 After that you believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.

Ephesians 4

30 And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption.

2 Corinthians 1 [RSV]

22 He has put His seal upon us and given us His Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

This work of sealing the believer is none other than the fulfillment of the New Covenant promise:

Hebrews 10

15 Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that He had said before,

16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;

17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

Thus the Spirit seals the law in the disciple,66 Isaiah 8 16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. and the law of the kingdom of heaven is written upon the tables of the heart. The seal becomes his title to his acceptance into the family of God, for:

Romans 8

15 ...[he has] received the Spirit of adoption, whereby [he cries], Abba, Father.

16 The Spirit itself bears witness with [his] spirit that [he is the child] of God.

It is a seal that:

Colossians 1

13 [God] has delivered [him] from the power of darkness, and has translated [him] into the kingdom of His dear Son.

Rejoicing that his name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, he says with Christ,

Psalm 40

8 I delight to do your will, O my God; yea, your law is within my heart.

Guides Into All Truth

The Spirit of God works in union with the word of God, not apart from it. It is vain for a man to think that he can be filled with the Spirit of God without being filled with the word of God. Conversely, it is vain for anyone to think that he can be filled with the word of God without being filled with the Spirit of God.

In Zechariah 4 there is a vision of the candlestick receiving light from the Old and New Testaments. Even so, the believer may receive light from the Word only through the aid of the Holy Spirit.

John 16

13 Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth...and He will show you things to come.

1 John 2

27 But the anointing which you have received of Him abides in you, and you need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teaches you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it has taught you, you shall abide in Him.

Steps to Christ, p. 70:

The Spirit of truth is the only effectual teacher of divine truth.

Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 408:

Without the Spirit of God a knowledge of His word of God is of no avail. The theory of truth, unaccompanied by the Holy Spirit, cannot quicken the soul or sanctify the heart.

Imparts Power Over Sin

The Holy Spirit is given to the Christian as an overcoming power. This holds because the Spirit imparts the life of Christ. Christ’s life is a sinless, victorious life.

Many Christians talk as if it is impossible to overcome sin. Do they not know that all the powers of hell cannot prevail against the life of Christ? Then let each believer arise and come to his great High Priest to receive the gift of the Spirit. Let him pray that this quickening, recuperative and transforming power might be his in the battle against sin.

Luke 11

13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children; how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?

Would to God that every Christian was as earnest and as anxious about this matter as his High Priest is.

Fundamentals of Christian Education, p. 537:

We are not willing enough to trouble the Lord with our petitions and to ask; Him for the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Lord wants us to trouble Him in this matter.

The Desire of Ages, p. 311:

Christ always separates the contrite soul from sin. He came to destroy the works of the devil, and He has made provision that the Holy Spirit shall be imparted to every repentant soul, to keep him from sinning....There is no excuse for sinning. A holy temper, a Christlike life, is accessible to every repenting, believing child of God.

The Desire of Ages, p. 490:

The omnipotent power of the Holy Spirit is the defense of every contrite soul. Not one that in penitence and faith has claimed His protection will Christ permit to pass under the enemy’s power. The Saviour is by the side of His tempted and tried ones. With Him there can be no such thing as failure, loss, impossibility, or defeat; we can do all things. through Him who strengthens us.

Intercession of the Spirit

The Spirit, knowing the needs of the Christian, helps his infirmities and makes intercession for him before the throne of Omnipotence with a fervency beyond utterance.

Romans 8

26 Likewise the Spirit also helps our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

27 And He that searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

Christ cannot be everywhere present; yet through His Spirit He is everywhere present. The Spirit brings the presence of Christ to the believer, and makes known to him the things of God. He fills the Christian’s heart with the love of God and his life with the fruit of the Spirit.

As the child of God continues to follow his High Priest by faith, Christ continues to dispense to him the greatest of all gifts.

Power for Witnessing

The Spirit of God is given as a power for witnessing. Jesus breathes on His waiting disciples the Holy Ghost, and says,

Mark 16

15 Go into all the world, and preach the gospel.

Acts 1

8 You shall receive power, after the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Every Christian is commanded to witness for Christ in the power of Pentecostal fire, and every preacher may preach…

1 Corinthians 2

1 ...in demonstration of the Spirit, and of power.

The following passages by Samuel Chadwick are worthy of note:

The command to tarry in the city until there came the enduement of power from on high proves that the one essential equipment of the Church is the gift of the Holy Ghost. Nothing else avails for the real work of the Church. For much that is undertaken by the Church He is not necessary. The Holy Ghost is no more needed to run bazaars, social clubs, institutions, and picnics, than He is to run a circus. These may be necessary adjuncts of the modern Church, but it is not for power to run these things that we need to tarry. Religious service and organized institutions do not constitute a Christian Church, and these may flourish without the gift of Pentecostal fire.

The Church that is man-managed instead of God-governed is doomed to failure. A ministry that is College-trained but not Spirit filled works no miracles. The Church that multiplies committees and neglects prayer may be fussy, noisy, enterprising, but it labors in vain and spends its strength for nought. It is possible to excel in mechanics and fail in dynamic. There is a superabundance of machinery; what is wanting is power. To run an organization needs no God. Man can supply energy, enterprise, and enthusiasm for things human. The real work of the Church depends upon power of the Spirit.

The Presence of the Spirit is vital and central to the work of the Church. Nothing else avails. Apart from Him wisdom becomes folly, and strength weakness....Scholarship is blind to spiritual truth till He reveals. Worship is idolatry till He inspires. Preaching is powerless if it be not a demonstration of His power. Prayer is vain unless He energize. Human resources of learning and organization, wealth and enthusiasm, reform and philanthropy, are worse than useless if there by no Holy Ghost in them. The Church always fails at the point of self-confidence. When the Church is run on the same lines as a circus, there may be crowds, but there is no Shekinah.…

Miracles are the direct work of His power, and without a miracle the Church cannot live. The carnal can argue, but it is the Spirit that convicts. Education can civilize, but it is being born of the Spirit that saves. The energy of the flesh can run bazaars, organize amusements, and raise millions; but it is the presence of the Holy Spirit that makes a Temple of the Living God.

The root-trouble of the present distress is that the Church has more faith in the world and the flesh than in the Holy Ghost, and things will get no better till we get back to His realized presence and power. The breath of the four winds would turn death into life and dry bones into mighty armies, but it only comes by prayer.

The work of God is not by might or by the power of men, but by His Spirit. It is by Him the truth convicts and converts, sanctifies and saves. The philosophies of men fail, but the Word of God in the demonstration of the Spirit prevails. Our wants are many and our faults innumerable, but they are all comprehended in our lack of the Holy Ghost. We want nothing but fire.67 Samuel Chadwick, The Way to Pentecost, Section from Chapter II.

One statement from Ellen G. White will suffice:

Selected Messages, Vol. 1, p. 441:

The Holy Spirit is wanting in our work....What we need is a baptism of the Holy Spirit. Without this we are no more fitted to go forth to the world than were the disciples after the crucifixion of their Lord.

Summary

The Holy Spirit does the following:

Convicts of sin.

Woos to Christ.

Regenerates the penitent.

Seals the believer.

Through the Word guides into all truth.

Imparts the life of Christ to the believer for power over sin.

Intercedes for the Christian.

Gives power for witnessing.

John saw the seven lamps of fire (the Seven Spirits of God) where Christ was carrying forward His continual ministry in the heavenly sanctuary. Seven is the number of completeness and perfection. Through Christ’s sanctuary service, the Holy Spirit is dispensed that God’s eternal purpose might be carried forward to its consummation.

Following by Faith

Having traced the wonderful benefits of the continual ministry of Christ, it cannot be too highly stressed that each worshiper in the New Covenant ministry must follow the service by faith.68 Perhaps a review of Chapter 7, subheading “Following the Daily Service by Faith,” p. 145-146, may serve to emphasize this important principle. If a faith that followed, participated, and worked in harmony with the priest was essential in the Jewish ritual, how much more essential it is in the sanctuary of Christ. Consider these words from Hebrews:

Eternal Within the Vail

Hebrews 6

19 We have [a hope] as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters into that within the vail;

20 Where the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made a high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

Hebrews 10

19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest [Greek: “holy places”] by the blood of Jesus,

20 By a new and living way, which He has consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh;

21 And having a high priest over the house of God;

22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.

Hebrews 12

22 But you are come unto Mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,

24 And to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaks better things than that of Abel.

Living Temple

That we must enter by faith into the work of our High Priest is further emphasized when it is realized that the Lord does not only…

Isaiah 57

15 ...dwell in the high and holy place, [but,] with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit.

Each believer is not only a priest with Christ to offer up spiritual sacrifices,69 1 Peter 2 4 To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, 5 You also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. but he is also the spiritual house and temple of the Lord.70 See Chapter 5, subheading “The Living Temple of God,” p. 115-118. As the sinner looks heavenward in faith to the precious sprinkling of the blood of Jesus for his justification, he should realize too that the same work is performed in his own soul temple: for as Jesus sprinkles the blood for him in heaven, his heart is sprinkled from an evil conscience.

Hebrews 10

22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

His request that:

Matthew 6

10 The will of God be done on earth as it is in heaven,

–is a prayer that as verily as the temple in heaven is the dwelling place of God, his life is yielded as...

Ephesians 2

22 ...a habitation of God through the Spirit.

The temple has been yielded, and purified of sin;

Let Thy Shekinah glory now shine forth from within

And all the earth keep silent, the body henceforth be

Thy silent, gentle servant, moved only as by Thee.71 Frances Ridley Havergal, Hymn: Live Out Thy Life Within Me.

The believer looks heavenward in faith to the “table of shewbread” for the Bread of life. It is then that he, as the living temple of God upon earth, becomes a channel of spiritual nourishment to those needing the Bread of life. As the disciples distributed the bread which came from the Saviour’s hand to the multitude, so the Christian will deal the Bread of life to hungering souls. As the man with the midnight visitor pleaded for bread to give his guest, so the man of God will plead with Christ for supplies of grace to minister to those within his care.

The believer looks heavenward in faith to the “seven lamps of fire” for the light of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit brings to his heart light from the Word and the impartation of the life of Christ. The Christian then becomes the light of the world.

Never should he forget that while the written Word is the light of the Christian, the Word made flesh is the light of the world. The Christian’s life is the only book that the world can read.

The believer looks heavenward in faith to the altar of incense where his High Priest offers up his prayers to the Father, and where Jesus himself prays for His people. Being clothed with the righteousness of Christ, the Christian himself becomes an “altar of incense” to those about him. Being interested in the salvation of others, he intercedes for them with fervent petitions before the throne of grace.

Conclusion

It is a wonderful privilege to follow Christ’s sanctuary service by faith; but it is a terrible thing to fail to follow by faith. This was forcefully demonstrated in Apostolic times.

When Christ yielded up His life, the vail of the earthly temple was rent in two by the Lord. This signified that the earthly service was at an end, and that the new ministry was to be carried forward in heaven. The faith of the waiting disciples entered with Christ into the heavenly sanctuary. Their faith reached higher and higher, until it laid hold of the benefits of Christ’s ministry. Then they received the outpouring of the Spirit—the former rain.

On the other hand, the Jews who failed to recognize the change in the sanctuary service were left in perfect darkness. They carried on their useless ceremonies, but they had changed leaders without knowing it.

The reader is asked to take particular note of the above instance, as important repetitions will be cited as we progress in the study of Christ’s mediatorial work.

A Provisional Ministry

Christ’s first apartment or continual ministry is essentially a provisional one. This was plainly taught in the Levitical counterpart. Acceptance of the sinner and atonement for his sin was provided in the daily service, but it was only provisional. The finality of the work was effected only on the Day of Atonement.

Even so, in Christ’s continual ministry, no final decision is made concerning any soul. He may be justified, but he is not saved as a “once and for all” act. The Christian must continue to the end of the sanctuary service. It is possible for him to turn back and repent of his repentance. He may even…

Hebrews 10

29 ...tread under foot the Son of God,...count the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and [do] despite unto the Spirit of grace.

Let us cite some instances of the provisional nature in the first apartment ministry.

1. Record of Sin Remains

Sin may be forgiven through the daily ministry of Christ, but it is not blotted out from the books of record. The blotting out of sins can only be accomplished when our High Priest enters the most holy place.

The Saviour illustrated the difference between the forgiveness and the blotting out of sin in the parable of the two debtors.

Matthew 18

23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.

24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.

25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.

26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshiped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.

27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.

28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him a hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that you owe.

29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.

30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.

31 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.

32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O you wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt, because you desired me:

33 Should not you also have had compassion on your fellowservant, even as I had pity on you?

34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.

Source: Parables of the New Testament, 1871 Here a servant owed his king a great sum. When the servant begged mercy the king freely forgave him all.

Then the forgiven servant went out and refused to forgive his fellow servant a paltry debt. When this unforgiving action came to the ears of the king, he was wroth, and he cast the servant, whom he had previously forgiven, into prison for his debt.

Source: Beautiful Life of Christ, 1889 Then Jesus drew the lesson:

35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if you from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

A similar instance is recorded in Ezekiel 18, where God states the manner of His dealing with righteous and wicked men who change their course of action.

Ezekiel 18

20 The soul that sins, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

21 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he has committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.

22 All his transgressions that he has committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he has done he shall live.

23 Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? says the Lord God: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?

24 But when the righteous turns away from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All his righteousness that he has done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he has trespassed, and in his sin that he has sinned, in them shall he die.

The righteous man who turns apostate has his forgiveness canceled, and he finds himself in the position of the unforgiving servant.

Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 251.

It is true that he may once have received forgiveness; but his unmerciful spirit shows that he now rejects God’s pardoning love. He has separated himself from God, and is in the same condition as before he was forgiven. He has denied his repentance, and his sins are upon him as if he had not repented.

The situation is well summed up by these two statements:

The Great Controversy, p. 421:

The blood of Christ, pleaded in behalf of penitent believers, secured their pardon and acceptance with the Father, yet their sins still remained upon the books of record.

The Great Controversy, p. 485:

Since the dead are to be judged out of the things written in the books, it is impossible that the sins of men should be blotted out until after the judgment at which their cases are to be investigated.

No Final Atonement

The repentant sinner receives atonement for his sins during the daily ministry, but it is not a final atonement. He may receive the final atonement only through Christ’s ministry in the most holy place. As with the blotting out of sins, final atonement can only be effected for the Christian at the judgment.

No Final Seal

When a man accepts Christ, he is sealed with the Holy Spirit. Although the Spirit seals the law in his heart, his life will involve progress and growth. Since sanctification is not an instantaneous work, it is evident that this sealing is not fully accomplished through the daily ministry.

The Acts of the Apostles, p. 477:

Each day he must renew his consecration, each day do battle with evil. Old habits, hereditary tendencies to wrong, will strive for the mastery, and against these he is to be ever on guard, striving in Christ’s strength for victory.

The seal which a believer receives at justification is conditional. It cannot be final while it is still probationary.

We must now turn our attention to Christ’s ministry in the second apartment whereby the provisional work becomes the final work for each true worshiper.

16. Christ in the Most Holy:
The Time Revealed

Revelation 10

1 And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:

2 And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth,

5 And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,

6 And swore by Him that lives for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer:

7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as He has declared to His servants the prophets.

8 And the voice which I heard from heaven spoke unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which stands upon the sea and upon the earth.

10 And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up.

THE reader is asked to note the following points concerning the above passage:

1. The Angel is Christ

The Being referred to with His foot on the sea and the earth is Christ himself.72 Compare with Revelation 1:14-16; 5:5.

The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 971:

The mighty angel who instructed John was no less a personage than Jesus Christ. Setting His right foot on the sea, and His left upon the dry land, shows the part which He is acting in the closing scenes of the great controversy with Satan. This position denotes His supreme power and authority over the whole earth.

Source: Biblia, 1751 2. Book of Daniel

The book which He unseals is the portion of the prophecies of Daniel pertaining to the time of the end.

Daniel 12

4 But you, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when He held up His right hand and His left hand unto heaven, and swore by Him that lives for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and a half; and when He shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.73 It will be seen at once that this passage from Daniel 12 is complementary to the passage in Revelation 10. In Daniel the book is sealed; in Revelation the same book is unsealed.

3. Unsealed After 1798

The time of the unsealing of Daniel was after 1798—at the end of the “time, times and a half,” or 1260 years of Papal supremacy.74 See Daniel 7:25; Revelation 11:2, 12:6, 14; 13:5. From 538 to 1798 AD the Papacy scattered the power of God’s people. The Septuagint Version puts the latter part of Daniel 12:7 thus:

“When the dispersion is ended they shall know all these things.”

When the dispersion was ended—at the close of the 1260 years in 1798 AD—the people of God were given the knowledge of the prophecies in Daniel which pertained to the time of the end. The expression “many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall be increased,” was a forecast of the great revival of prophetic exposition that would take place at the opening of the nineteenth century. When the period of Papal supremacy was over, Christ unsealed for His people the great and vital truths that were for His church in the last days.

4. Worldwide Message

The unsealing of the prophecies of Daniel would lead to a mighty, worldwide message.

The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 971:

The angel’s position, with one foot on the sea, and the other on the land, signifies the wide extent of the proclamation of the message. It will cross the broad waters and be proclaimed in other countries, even to all the world.

5. To Finish the Mystery

This last, mighty message pertains to the finishing of the mystery of God. Paul tells us the mystery of God is…

Colossians 1

27 Christ in you the hope of Glory.

And he adds,

28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ.

Therefore Christ’s announcement that the mystery of God would be finished signified that the time had about come for Him to bring to completion the gospel work of making every man perfect in Christ. His likeness was to be fully formed in every believer.

6. Christ to Enter Most Holy

The finishing of the mystery of God refers to the completion of Christ’s blessed ministry in the heavenly sanctuary, for only His ministry in that sanctuary will…

Hebrews 10

1 ...make the comers thereunto perfect.

This closing ministry transpires in the second apartment. Christ’s solemn announcement signified that He was about to enter the most holy place to bring to completion the work of salvation.

In announcing the finishing of the mystery of God, Christ referred His people to the unsealed prophecies of Daniel. Were there any prophecies in Daniel pertaining to Christ’s entrance into the most holy place? There were!

Daniel 7

9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of Days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like the pure wool: His throne was like the fiery flame, and His wheels as burning fire.

10 ...the judgment was set, and the books were opened.

13 I saw in the night visions, 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.

7. Time Revealed

Daniel 8

14 Unto two thousand and three hundred days, then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.

The first passage describes Christ’s coming before the Father for the “investigative” judgment—the antitypical Day of Atonement which transpires in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary.

The second passage, under the figure of the cleansing of the sanctuary, gives the date of His entrance into the most holy.75 This cleansing (Hebrew: tsadaq meaning “to put in rightful condition,” “to be put right,” “to cleanse”) refers to the yearly service of the Day of Atonement when the high priest entered the most holy place for the first time. Inasmuch as 2300 prophetic days would reach from Daniel’s time to well into the Christian dispensation, the sanctuary referred to must be the one in heaven. The Jewish sanctuary was destroyed in 70 AD. The cleansing of the sanctuary refers to the work of Christ in the most holy place. Daniel 9:25-27 discloses the starting point of the 2300 years—from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem in 457 BC.76 See Ezra chapter 7. This time prophecy, therefore, reaches to 1844 AD.77 For a detailed explanation of these important time prophecies in Daniel the reader is referred to any Seventh-day Adventist publication on this subject.

Source: Heinrich Halmen, SRA Church Most Holy Entered in 1844

From all this we may know that in 1844 Christ entered the most holy place to begin the final phase of His heavenly ministry, a ministry that would finish the mystery of God—restore in every believer the full image of Jesus.

17. Christ in the Most Holy:
The Significance Revealed

The First Message

Revelation 14

6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,

7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

THE end of the 2300 days—1844—pointed to the time when Christ as our great High Priest began the second phase of His sanctuary ministry. In our study of the earthly sanctuary, we found that when the high priest entered the most holy place, it was a typical day of judgment. So then 1844 would mark the commencement of the judgmental phase of the ministry of Christ.

The Judgment Scene

The prophet Daniel saw this judgment scene in vision:

Daniel 7

9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of Days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like the pure wool: His throne was like the fiery flame, and His wheels as burning fire.

10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him; thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him; the judgment was set, and the books were opened.

13 I saw in the night visions, 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.

14 And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should serve Him.

The Lord’s messenger to the Remnant records this scene as follows:

Early Writings, p. 55:

I saw the Father rise from the throne, and in a flaming chariot go into the holy of holies within the veil, and sit down. Then Jesus rose up from the throne....He raised His right arm, and we heard His lovely voice saying,

“Wait here; I am going to my Father to receive the kingdom; keep your garments spotless, and in a little while I will return from the wedding and receive you to myself.”

Then a cloudy chariot, with wheels like flaming fire, surrounded by angels, came to where Jesus was. He stepped into the chariot and was borne to the holiest, where the Father sat. There I beheld Jesus, a great High Priest, standing before the Father.

Early Writings, p. 251:

I was shown what did take place in heaven at the close of the prophetic periods in 1844. As Jesus ended His ministration in the holy place and closed the door of that apartment, a great darkness settled upon those who had heard and rejected the message of His coming, and they lost sight of Him.

Jesus then clothed himself with precious garments. Around the bottom of His robe was a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate. A breastplate of curious work was suspended from His shoulders. As He moved, this glittered like diamonds, magnifying letters which looked like names written or engraved upon the breastplate. Upon His head was something which had the appearance of a crown. When fully attired, He was surrounded by angels, and in a flaming chariot He passed within the second veil.

God had a people upon the earth tracing down the prophecies in holy faith. Before 1844 and since 1844 they have proclaimed the truth of the judgmental ministry of Christ.78 Before 1844, God’s people did not fully understand the message of the first angel, yet they proclaimed the right message at the right time. Hence the proclamation of the message symbolized by the first angel of Revelation 14:

Revelation 14

7 Fear God and give glory to Him: for the hour of His judgment is come.

The Books Opened

Daniel says,

Daniel 7

10 The judgment was set, and the books were opened.

Source: Bible Readings, 1888 A book of life contains the names of all who have entered the service of Christ.

Luke 10

20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

Philippians 4

3 And I entreat you also, true yoke-fellow, help those women which labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellow-laborers, whose names are in the book of life.

Daniel 12

1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great Prince which stands for the children of your people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time your people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

Revelation 21

27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defiles, neither whatsoever works abomination, or makes a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

A book of remembrance contains the record of the righteous deeds of God’s people.

Malachi 3

16 Then they that feared the Lord spoke often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name.

Nehemiah 13

14 Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and wipe not out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, and for the offices thereof.

Psalm 56

8 You tell my wanderings: put my tears into your bottle: are they not in your book?

There is also a record of the sins of men.

Ecclesiastes 12

14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

Matthew 12

36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

37 For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned.

1 Corinthians 4

5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.

Isaiah 65

6 Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom,

7 Your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, says the Lord, which have burned incense upon the mountains, and blasphemed me upon the hills: therefore will I measure their former work into their bosom.

The Great Controversy, p. 486-487:

Angels of God witnessed each sin, and registered it in the unerring record...As the features of the countenance are reproduced with unerring accuracy on the polished plate of the artist, so the character is faithfully delineated in the books above.

In the typical service, only those who had come before God with confession and repentance, and whose sins, through the blood of the sin-offering, were transferred to the sanctuary, had a part in the service of the day of atonement. So in the great day of final atonement and investigative judgment, the only cases considered are those of the professed people of God. The judgment of the wicked is a distinct and separate work, and takes place at a later period.

1 Peter 4

17 Judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel?

Records in Most Holy Place

The Levitical record (Leviticus chapter 16) shows that there was a work of cleansing the recorded sins in the most holy place. This typified the cleansing or blotting out of the sins of the faithful from the records of sin in the most holy place.79 Editor’s note: The idea that the cleansing of the Sanctuary was limited to the cleansing of the records of sin was a mistake held by the early Awakening movement. It is sin that is cleansed, not just records. The records are updated to indicate the transfer of sin, but the record of sin cannot be wholly erased, else the saved will have no story of victory to tell when they reach heaven. This mistake was rectified during the ministry of F. T. Wright, whose ministry continued after the Awakening movement left the scene. See the booklet, Acceptable Confession, in the chapter, “In the Light of the Judgment,” for the proper view of the cleansing of the Sanctuary.

As each name comes up in judgment, the life’s record is examined. Is every sin confessed and forsaken? If so, it will be evident in the sprinkled blood of Christ’s continual ministry. If the sin has been sent beforehand to judgment80 1 Timothy 5 24 Some men’s sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after. —transferred to the first apartment of the sanctuary through the Sin Offering and Sin Bearer—then Christ himself has taken the responsibility for the sin, and there is no condemnation for the believer in Jesus.

On the other hand, if there is a record of sin with no corresponding transfer of the guilt and sprinkling of the pardoning blood (i.e., the sin has not been confessed and forsaken), then the law of God condemns the sinner to death as the bearer of the sin.

The Great Controversy, p. 480:

Beginning with those who first lived upon the earth, our Advocate presents the cases of each successive generation, and closes with the living. Every name is mentioned, every case closely investigated. Names are accepted, names rejected. When any have sins remaining upon the books of record, unrepented of and unforgiven, their names will be blotted out of the book of life, and the record of their good deeds will be erased from the book of remembrance. The Lord declared to Moses,

Exodus 32

33 Whosoever has sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.

And says the prophet Ezekiel,

Ezekiel 18

24 When the righteous turns away from his righteousness, and commits iniquity,...all his righteousness that he has done shall not be mentioned.

Record of Sin Blotted Out

The Great Controversy, p. 483:

All who have truly repented of sin, and by faith claimed the blood of Christ as their atoning sacrifice, have had pardon entered against their names in the books of heaven; as they have become partakers of the righteousness of Christ, and their characters are found to be in harmony with the law of God, their sins will be blotted out, and they themselves will be accounted worthy of eternal life. The Lord declares, by the prophet Isaiah,

Isaiah 43

25 I, even I, am He that blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and will not remember your sins.

Said Jesus:

Revelation 3

5 He that overcomes, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before His angels.

Reader, how is your record and standing before God? This is your great judgment hour. Soon, you do not know how soon, the Judge of all the earth will declare in reference to your name,

Daniel 5

27 Weighed in the balances and found…(?)

Although Christ has made full provision for your salvation, it rests with you to make your calling and election sure.

Philippians 2

12 Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Remember that during this great day of atonement, the continual service for the acceptance of Christ and for the forgiveness of sin is still carried on as it was in the typical Day of Atonement.

Early Writings, p. 48:

Jesus is in His holy temple and will now accept our sacrifices, our prayers, and our confessions of faults and sins and will pardon all the transgressions of Israel, that they may be blotted out before He leaves the sanctuary.

When at length the last candidate for heaven has been examined, Jesus ceases His ministry in the most holy and makes the solemn announcement,

Revelation 22

11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.

The decision is final and irrevocable.

Sins Removed from Holy

When the typical high priest finished his ministry in the most holy place, he went out into the holy place, and in his character of a mediator, took the sins which had been transferred to the first apartment upon himself, and bore them from the sanctuary.

Even so, Jesus, having completed the blotting out of the records of sins in the most holy, tarries a moment in the holy place,81 Early Writings, p. 280-281: “Jesus tarried a moment in the outer apartment of the heavenly sanctuary, and the sins which had been confessed while He was in the most holy place were placed upon Satan, the originator of sin, who must suffer their punishment.” where He takes the actual sins of God’s people and bears them from the sanctuary.82 The record of sin which takes place upon committal and the transfer of guilt which takes place upon confession, must not be confused. The investigative judgment, in the most holy, deals with the record of the sin. The removal of the sins from the holy place concerns the sins that have been confessed and transferred beforehand to judgment. These sins will be placed upon Satan, the originator of all sin.83 See The Great Controversy, p. 658.

The Second Message

Revelation 14

8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.

First Message Rejected

The preaching of the first angel’s message before 1844 was God’s means of arousing and restoring the reformed Churches. Some three hundred years before, they had marched out of Rome with an open Bible and a gospel to proclaim. But torn by dissension, perverted by the unforsaken wine (doctrines) of Romanism, and corrupted by worldliness, they were…

Revelation 3

2 ...ready to die.

Yet the churches, as a body, turned their backs upon God’s message and scorned His messengers. In 1844, fifty thousand Adventists (those who accepted the first angel’s message) left their churches in the United States where the message of the first angel was widely proclaimed.

Results of Rejecting Message

The Great Controversy, p. 583:

In rejecting the truth, men reject its Author.

God was forced to turn His face of light and love from the rejectors of His advancing light, and a condition of darkness and spiritual death settled upon the churches in 1844. It was widely recognized, and commented upon even in the Press.

God’s people, having preached the first message and witnessed its general rejection, and having noted the marked moral declension of the churches, saw the significance of the second message announcing the fall of Babylon. In Revelation 17, John gives a presentation of Babylon,

Revelation 17

5 ...the mother of harlots.

The portrayal of “the mother” is so clear and forceful, that if the Bishop of Rome sat for his portrait no clearer picture could be rendered of his institution. The fact of Babylon being “a mother,” signifies that she has daughters:

The Great Controversy, p. 382:

...churches that cling to her doctrines and traditions, and follow her example of sacrificing the truth and the approval of God, in order to form an unlawful alliance with the world.

Since the second angel follows the announcement of the judgment, it will be seen that the message not only embraces the Roman Church, but more particularly applies to Protestant bodies which rejected the light from heaven in 1844. The term “Babylon” is derived from “Babel,” and signifies confusion. This is especially applicable to the multitude of Protestant sects with their divergent teachings, and yet all professing allegiance to the Scriptures.

When the Jews refused the light of heaven and rejected the change of the sanctuary ministry, they fell into darkness. Similarly, when the Protestant bodies failed to accept the advancing light and refused to follow Christ in His change of ministry in 1844, they were left in darkness. The following vision from the messenger to the Remnant described the rejection as follows:

Early Writings, p. 54-56:

I saw a throne, and on it sat the Father and the Son....Before the throne I saw the Advent people—the church and the world. I saw two companies, one bowed down before the throne, deeply interested, while the other stood uninterested and careless....

I saw the Father rise from the throne, and in a flaming chariot go into the holy of holies within the veil, and sit down. Then Jesus rose up from the throne, and the most of those who were bowed down arose with Him....Those who rose up with Jesus would send up their faith to Him in the holiest, and pray, “My Father, give us your Spirit.” Then Jesus would breathe upon them the Holy Ghost. In that breath was light, power, and much love, joy, and peace.

Changing Leaders

I turned to look at the company who were still bowed before the throne; they did not know that Jesus had left it. Satan appeared to be by the throne, trying to carry on the work of God. I saw them look up to the throne, and pray, “Father, give us your Spirit.” Satan would then breathe upon them an unholy influence; in it there was light and much power, but no sweet love, joy, and peace.

What a sad picture of a people who were once the favored of God. They changed leaders and did not know it! How much like the history of the Jews! Let us beware that we do not repeat their history in rejecting heaven-sent light.

The Third Message

Revelation 14

9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,

10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation.

The light shining from the holy of holies where Jesus now ministers, unveils the meaning of the third message.

The Ten Commandments Seen

In 1844 the minds of God’s people were directed to the heavenly temple. The angel said,

Revelation 11

1 Rise, and measure [examine, study] the temple.

As their attention was fixed on the wonderful significance of Christ’s last great ministry, they saw that…

19 The temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament.

Light from the most holy place brought to view God’s ten commandment law, the standard in this day of Judgment. The Apostle James says,

James 2

12 So speak you, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.

The Beast and Its Mark

Light from the prophecies unmasked the wicked work of the man of sin (the Papal “beast” or kingdom); and God’s people knew that in opposing and exalting himself above God,84 2 Thessalonians 2 4 Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. the Papacy had tampered with Jehovah’s eternal law. The Papacy had removed the seal from God’s law by substituting the pagan Sunday in the place of God’s seventh-day Sabbath as the day of rest and worship. Having accomplished this, Rome extolled her power and authority by pointing to Sunday as the MARK of her institution.

The Image of the Beast

The message of the third angel not only warns against the beast, but the image of the beast. Here are two powers that will unite to promote the worship of Sunday.

To understand how the image of the beast will be formed we must understand how the beast (Papacy) itself was formed. Apostasy led the early church to seek the support of the civil power to enforce her dogmas. Having lost the power of God she sought the forbidden power of the state. As the Revelator beheld the Papal power being led into captivity in 1798,85 Revelation 13 10 He that leads into captivity shall go into captivity: he that kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. he…

Revelation 13

Source: Daniel and the Revelation, 1897 11 ...beheld another beast [power] coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb.

This beast represents Protestant America, which arose as the Papacy went into eclipse in 1798. Just as apostasy in the early church led to the formation of the church-state system of the Papacy, the apostasy of Protestantism in its rejection of the first angel’s message prepares the way for the formation of an image of the Papal system in the United States of America.

The Great Controversy, p. 445:

When the leading churches of the United States, uniting upon such points of doctrine as are held by them in common, shall influence the state to enforce their decrees and to sustain their institutions, then Protestant America will have formed an image of the Roman hierarchy, and the infliction of civil penalties upon dissenters will inevitably result.

Sunday Enforced

Thus Protestant America will speak as a dragon:

Revelation 13

11 ...and he spoke as a dragon.

12 And he exercises all the power of the first beast [Papacy] before him, and causes the earth and them that dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

This foretells the restoration of papal power through the agency of Protestantism.

13 And he does great wonders, so that he makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,

14 And deceives them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.

15 And he had power to give life to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

16 And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

Such is the destined course of Protestantism because of its rejection of heaven-sent light. First she experiences a moral fall after her refusal of the everlasting gospel of the first angel, and becomes numbered with Babylon. She changes leaders without knowing it.

Then the devil leads her over the same ground as “the mother of harlots”—to take the arm of the state and to enforce homage of Sunday. Through her influence she restores the lost ascendancy of the “man of sin,” and…

Revelation 13

3 ...all the world [wonders] after the beast [Papacy].

Satan imbues mother [Rome] and daughters [Protestant bodies] with his own attributes of hatred toward those who…

Revelation 14

12 ...keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

Revelation 12

17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Through this agency he leads the world to join him in rebellion against heaven.

Thus Sunday (the Mark of the Beast) will be enforced as the day of rest and worship. Those who refuse to comply will be proscribed, spoken against, ridiculed and visited with civil penalties. It will be finally decreed that they are worthy of death.

But in warring against God’s people the powers of earth war against the God of heaven. Hence God’s terrible warning:

Revelation 14

9 If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead or in his hand,

10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation.

The Seal of God

In contradistinction to those who will honor Romanism in the observance of Sunday, the Revelator sees those who heed the warning represented by the third angel, and he says these…

Revelation 14

12 ...keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

They will honor God in this crisis hour, by observing the sign of God’s authority—the seventh-day Sabbath,—and will receive the seal of the living God.

Revelation 14

1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with Him a hundred forty and four thousand, having His Father’s name written in their foreheads.

Revelation 7

2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,

3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.

4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed a hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.

On this issue of allegiance to the law of God (a controversy which began in heaven between Christ and Satan), the world will be divided into two camps. The contest is between the commandments of God and the commandments of men. And while men take sides in the great conflict, the judgment passes in the sanctuary above.

Two Classes Developed

Two classes will be developed in this great period of the judgment:

Those who have the seal, mark, name or character of God, being the antitype of those who on the Jewish day of atonement were numbered in their lot with the Lord’s goat.86 See Revelation 14:1; 7:2-4; 12:17; 14:12; Ezekiel 9:4.

Those who have the seal, mark, name, or character of the beast, being the antitype of those who on the Jewish day of atonement were cut off from Israel and were numbered in their lot with Azazel. These will eventually be sent with Satan into eternal destruction.87 See Revelation 14:8-10; 13:16; 16:3; 17:8.

Revelation 14 clearly teaches that when this threefold message has accomplished its mission among every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, Christ will come. John says,

Revelation 14

14 I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud One sat like unto the Son of man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle.

Summary of Revelation 14 Message

The message is the everlasting gospel in the setting of the great Day of Atonement. It points to the ministry of Christ in the most holy place.

Let us trace, side by side, the course of the accepters and rejecters of the first angel’s message.

Those Who Accept	Those Who Reject
1. They forsake Babylon, which stands for all sin and transgression.	1. They become Babylon, the synagogue of Satan. Hence the Second Angel’s Message.
2. They stand for and to the “commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” All these are imbued with the character of God and receive His seal.	2. Satan leads them to exalt Sunday, enforce it by law and persecute God’s people. All these are imbued with the character of Satan and receive his mark. Hence the Third Angel’s Message.
3. They gain the victory over the beast, his image, and his mark, and receive the gift of eternal life.	3. They receive the wrath of God unmingled with mercy: first in the seven last plagues; then in the second death.

The Cleansing Work for Israel

The Heart of the Message

So far in our consideration of the significance of Christ’s ministry in the holy of holies, we have only considered the skeleton or framework of the message. Now we must look at its heart—the everlasting gospel. Christ longs for the manifestation of himself through His people.

God’s Purpose for the Jews

God chose the Jewish nation to make known His character, to reveal His purpose of salvation for all men, and to finish His work upon the earth. He gave them every opportunity to fulfill His will. He bore long with their blindness.

Finally, God declared through the prophet Daniel that He would grant her a final 490 years of probationary time (Daniel 9:24-27) in which to fulfill His purpose for humanity:

Daniel 9

24 To finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness.

During the last years of its allotted time, Christ came to the Jewish nation to reveal the way. Through acceptance of Jesus Christ, the Jewish nation could have verily finished transgression in their lives, made an end of all sin in their experience, made reconciliation for all iniquity, and accepted the perfect, everlasting righteousness (sinlessness) of Christ in the place of all sin and sinning. Thus, through the glory of the power of the gift of God, theirs would have been the joy and privilege to witness to all peoples the finishing of the mystery of God.

But the Jews cast Christ out and chose Barabbas. Handing the Prince of life over to the Roman authorities as an imposter, they chose Caesar as their king. Jesus came to give them life. They murdered Him.

Then for three and a half years after the death of Jesus, the gospel was preached to the unrepentant nation. When Stephen was stoned in 34 AD, the Jewish nation sealed their rejection of salvation. In fulfillment of the warning of Christ, the “vineyard” was taken from them and given to the Gentiles.

God’s Purpose for the Church

What God wished to accomplish in the Jewish nation, He purposes to accomplish in His Church—to finish all transgression and sin, and to bring in everlasting righteousness. In 1844 the hour had struck for God to accomplish this work—the finishing of the mystery of God. This is the heart of the three-fold message of Revelation 14.

The third angel’s message is direct from the most holy place. Only as we continue to fix our attention on that stupendous event in 1844 will we understand the solemn import of the last mighty gospel work, and be able to comprehend the plan and purpose of the everlasting gospel of Revelation 14.88 The message of Revelation 14 is often called “the third angel’s message,” but it includes the other two messages. The third message only focuses the climax of the last warning to the world, while the first message contains the everlasting gospel upon which the whole of Revelation depends.

Early Writings, p. 254:

The minds of all who embrace this message [of the third angel] are directed to the most holy place, where Jesus stands before the ark, making His final intercession for all those for whom mercy still lingers...

Early Writings, p. 256:

...the third angel was pointing them to the most holy place...

Perfection is the Aim of Christ’s Ministry

What is the meaning of Christ’s work in the most holy place? He went there in 1844 to finish the mystery of God; that is, to finalize the gospel plan of redeeming men from all sin and sealing in their characters the perfect image of Jesus.

Is not this the plan and purpose of the blessed ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ? Indeed so! The Jewish ministry with its earthly priesthood, carnal ordinances, and blood of bulls and goats could not take away sins and make the comers thereunto perfect.

Hebrews 9

10 Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.

Hebrews 10

1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.

2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshipers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.

3 But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.

4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.

But the new covenant ministry of Christ was ordained to do this work.

Jesus united His divinity with our fallen nature and lived a perfect, sinless life.

He died to make an atonement for all sin.

He rose again for our justification.

He ascended into heaven as High Priest in order to make effective and operative in every believer that which He accomplished on earth.

For eighteen centuries He carried forward His continual ministry of accepting sinners, regenerating the penitent, and sanctifying (a process) His followers.

But this work is to have an end. Christ wants to see His moral image completed in each of His children. That perfect character and sinless life which He wrought out as Jesus of Nazareth is to be fully reproduced in His people. If the heavenly sanctuary ministry could not bring perfection of character to the believer, it would be a failure. Thank God for the promise that the mystery of God (perfection in Christ) will be finished; and for the knowledge of Jesus now in the most holy doing this work for His people.

Cleansing the Soul Temple

The message will only be grasped and appreciated as it is seen to be in the setting of the antitypical Day of Atonement, or cleansing of the sanctuary. In the heavenly most holy place, the record of each penitent’s sins will be cleansed, or blotted out.

Now, in the consideration of this point, we must not be as blind as the Jews who perceived a work of cleansing only in the sanctuary where the priest ministered. Each worshiper is the sanctuary of God.89 See Chapter 5, subheading “The Living Temple of God,” p. 115-118.. The very real work of cleansing on this Day of Atonement is to be accomplished in the soul temple of each worshiper who participates in the service, as it is written,

Leviticus 16

30 On that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you that you may be clean from all your sins before the Lord.

So then, on this judgmental Day of Atonement, whoever knows only of a cleansing work in the sanctuary in heaven is ignorant of the purpose of God for him in this day of final cleansing. God designs to cleanse and blot out all sin, not alone from His records in the most holy place, but in the lives of His people.

The believer is the temple of the living God. His character and personality bear the records of his sins, even though those sins have been pardoned and he has been cleansed of guilt through the daily ministry. In the inner sanctuary of the soul, each sin has left its record. Ellen White recognized this when she wrote concerning transgressors:

Testimonies to Ministers, p. 447:

Now it may be you can repent. But even if pardon is written against your names, you will sustain terrible loss; for the scars you have made upon your souls will remain.

But now, on this great day of final and complete cleansing, God designs to cleanse the sanctuary and complete His work of moral perfection. It is a solemn work. On this Day of Atonement each worshiper must surrender his life in faith to this atoning ministry of Christ to obtain a complete cleansing.

On the part of each candidate for the seal of God, there must be a deep, heart-searching work, even as the Jews of old were required to gather at their sanctuary with prayer, fasting, and deep searching of heart. The Spirit of God must reach to the very depths of each worshiper’s heart while the believer throws open its recesses to the ministry of the most holy. Then through the final atonement, he is cleansed completely and forever from all sin.

A Work of Purification

The Spirit of prophecy illustrates this great cleansing work of Revelation 14 by citing the prophecy of Malachi.

The Great Controversy, p. 425:

Says the prophet:

Malachi 3

2 Who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appears? for He is like a refiner’s fire, and like fuller’s soap:

3 And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.

Those who are living upon the earth when the intercession of Christ shall cease in the sanctuary above, are to stand in the sight of a holy God without a mediator. Their robes must be spotless, their characters must be purified from sin by the blood of sprinkling. Through the grace of God and their own diligent effort, they must be conquerors in the battle with evil.

While the investigative judgment is going forward in heaven, while the sins of penitent believers are being removed from the sanctuary, there is to be a special work of purification, of putting away of sin, among God’s people upon earth. This work is more clearly presented in the messages of Revelation 14.

The Seal of God

When this cleansing work is accomplished for a believer, his character will be cleansed from every defect and spot, and he will reflect the image of Jesus fully.

Early Writings, p. 71:

Those who receive the seal of the living God and are protected in the time of trouble must reflect the image of Jesus fully.

Testimonies to the Church, vol. 5, p. 367:

Not one of us will ever receive the seal of God while our characters have one spot or stain upon them.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit,90 Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 267: Mark this point with care: Those who receive the pure mark of truth, wrought in them by the power of the Holy Ghost, represented by a mark by the man in linen, are those “that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done” in the church. Their love for purity and the honor and glory of God is such, and they have so clear a view of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, that they are represented as being in agony, even sighing and crying. Read the 9th chapter of Ezekiel.” the law (character) of God will be sealed in him for all eternity. Thus will be realized in his experience, the complete fulfillment of the New Covenant promise:

Jeremiah 31

34 I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

Hebrews 8

10 I will put my laws into their minds, and write them in their hearts.

The Great Controversy, p. 485:

Thus will be realized the complete fulfillment of the new-covenant promise:

Jeremiah 31

34 I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

Jeremiah 50

20 In those days, and in that time, says the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found.

Isaiah 4

2 In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.

3 And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remains in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even everyone that is written among the living in Jerusalem.

Latter Rain, Refreshing, Loud Cry of the Third Angel

The terms used in the above heading are quite familiar to students of the Spirit of Prophecy, and are known to be terms applied to the final outpouring of the Holy Spirit on God’s people.

Early Writings, p. 271:

I heard those clothed with the armor speak forth the truth with great power. It had effect. Many had been bound; some wives by their husbands, and some children by their parents. The honest who had been prevented from hearing the truth now eagerly laid hold upon it. All fear of their relatives was gone, and the truth alone was exalted to them. They had been hungering and thirsting for truth; it was dearer and more precious than life.

I asked what had made this great change. An angel answered, “It is the latter rain, the refreshing from the presence of the Lord, the loud cry of the third angel.”

They are Bible terms referring to the power of earth’s last mighty message under the direction of the Holy Ghost. They represent the one and the same event.

The Latter Rain: Joel 2:23-32.

The Refreshing: Acts 3:19.

The Loud Cry: Revelation 14:9 (with Revelation 18:1-4).

Latter Rain After Sins Blotted Out

It is imperative to observe that the latter rain will only fall on those who have participated in the cleansing work of Revelation 14, and who have purified their characters from every taint of sin through the final atonement of the most holy place. This refreshing can only be received by those who have their sins blotted out in the investigative judgment.91 Editor’s note: This idea, that the latter rain came after the judgment, was one of the few mistakes in the early “Awakening” message. It was later corrected as the message continued under the ministry of F. T. Wright. I have included Fred’s article on Acts 3:19 in the Appendix which covers the basic argument. For a deeper explanation, see the book, Last Day Events, Chapter 12 “The Timing of the Judgment of the Living.” This is the clear teaching of Acts, Joel, and Revelation. The Apostle Peter apparently summing up the message of Joel 2, said:

Acts 3

19 Repent therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out [in the investigative judgment92 See The Great Controversy, 1888 edition, p. 612, where the words “[in the investigative judgment]” are inserted after the words “blotted out,” i.e.: “...that your sins may be blotted out [in the investigative Judgment], when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and He shall send Jesus.” ] when [Greek: “in order that”93 The word “when” comes from the Greek word hopos which means “in order that,” “that,” or “so that.” In the Authorized Version it is predominantly translated “that.” Acts 3:19 is the only place where it is translated “when.” Hopos always introduces a purpose clause. The sense of the text is that sins must be blotted out for the purpose of realizing the times of refreshing. The reader is recommended to refer to any other reliable version. ] times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.

In this Peter virtually says:

Be converted;

Have your sins blotted out (at the investigative judgment);

Then you will receive the latter rain.

It is evident therefore, that the latter rain or refreshing falls only on those who have been cleansed from every trace of sin through the final ministry of Jesus, purified in character by his final atoning act, and perfected in holiness through the cleansing of the sanctuary.

Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 214:

Not one of us will ever receive the seal of God while our characters have one spot or stain upon them. It is left with us to remedy the defects in our characters, to cleanse the soul temple of every defilement. Then the latter rain will fall upon us as the early rain fell upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost.

Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 619:

The refreshing or power of God comes only on those who have prepared themselves for it by doing the work which God bids them, namely, cleansing themselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit and perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Early Writings, p. 71:

I saw that none could share the “refreshing” unless they obtain the victory over every besetment, over pride, selfishness, love of the world, and over every wrong word and action.

Fullness of Spirit after Seal

God designs to have a people who will appropriate the benefits of the final atonement of Christ. Even as the fullness of the Spirit was given to Christ as a seal,94 John 3 34 For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God: for God gives not the Spirit by measure unto him. John 6 27 Labor not for the meat which perishes, but for that meat which endures unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for Him has God the Father sealed. Acts 10 38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him. the fullness of the Spirit will seal each saint.95 Ephesians 1 13 In whom you also trusted, after that you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that you believed, you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. Ephesians 4 30 And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption. 2 Corinthians 1 22 Who has also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. Testimonies for the Church, vol 3, p. 267: “Unless they repent, and leave the work of Satan in oppressing those who have the burden of the work and in holding up the hands of sinners in Zion, they will never receive the mark of God’s sealing approval. They will fall in the general destruction of the wicked, represented by the work of the five men bearing slaughter weapons. Mark this point with care: Those who receive the pure mark of truth, wrought in them by the power of the Holy Ghost, represented by a mark by the man in linen, are those “that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done” in the church. Their love for purity and the honor and glory of God is such, and they have so clear a view of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, that they are represented as being in agony, even sighing and crying. Read the 9th chapter of Ezekiel.” Then the power of the Spirit will attend his earthly witness, as he testified to the glory and power of Christ’s atoning ministry with the loud voice of the third angel.

Revelation 18

1 I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.

2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues.

Revelation 18 Angel Unites with Third

It is not hard to determine that the mighty movement symbolized by this angel is part of the three-fold message of Revelation 14. Ellen G. White elucidates this as follows:

Early Writings, p. 277-279:

I saw another mighty angel commissioned to descend to the earth, to unite his voice with the third angel, and give power and force to his message. Great power and glory were imparted to the angel, and as he descended, the earth was lightened with his glory. The light which attended this angel penetrated everywhere, as he cried mightily, with a strong voice,

Revelation 18

2 Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and the cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

The message of the fall of Babylon, as given by the second angel, is repeated, with the additional mention of the corruptions which have been entering the churches since 1844. The work of this angel comes in at the right time to join in the last great work of the third angel’s message as it swells to a loud cry. And the people of God are thus prepared to stand in the hour of temptation which they are soon to meet. I saw a great light resting upon them, and they united to fearlessly proclaim the third angel’s message.

...This message seemed to be an addition to the third message, joining it as the midnight cry joined the second angel’s message in 1844. The glory of God rested upon the patient, waiting saints, and they fearlessly gave the last solemn warning, proclaiming the fall of Babylon and calling upon God’s people to come out of her that they might escape her fearful doom...

Servants of God, endowed with power from on high, with their faces lighted up, and shining with holy consecration, went forth to proclaim the message from heaven. Souls that were scattered all through the religious bodies answered to the call, and the precious were hurried out of the doomed churches, as Lot was hurried out of Sodom before her destruction.

God’s people were strengthened by the excellent glory which rested upon them in rich abundance, and prepared them to endure the hour of temptation. I heard everywhere a multitude of voices saying,

Revelation 14

12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

Comes with Sealing

The above passage shows that this message will be sounded by a people lighted with the glory of God, and clothed with mighty power from on high.96 The Angel symbolizes the people of God; hence it is the people who have the glory of God. The glory of God is the name and character of God.

Exodus 33

18 And he [Moses] said, I beseech You, show me your glory.

19 And He said, I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.

Exodus 34

6 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,

7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

The name of God is the seal of God.

Revelation 7

2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,

3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.

4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed a hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.

Revelation 14

1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with Him a hundred forty and four thousand, having His Father’s name written in their foreheads.

When the people of God receive, believe and appropriate the benefits of the everlasting gospel of Revelation 14, they will have:

the seal of God, which is

the name of God, which is

the character of God, which is

the glory of God.

Thus the angel of Revelation 18 will unite his voice with the third angel to swell his message to a loud cry.

So then, let us observe again, that the people who give the loud cry have entered into the judgmental ministry of Christ, passed through the final cleansing of this Day of Atonement, and received the seal of God.

Conclusion

The Fullness of the Gospel

The everlasting gospel of Revelation 14, announcing the work of Christ in the most holy place, is the good news that the blessed ministry of Jesus in this Day of Atonement will finish transgression in the heart, make an end of all sin in the character, and usher into the life of the believer the perfect sinlessness of the life of Jesus.

Here the news is heralded that Jesus is doing His great, final work; and it will be done in the life of every soul who accepts the message, follows the ministry in true faith, and claims for himself the benefits of his merciful High Priest. Thus the third angel’s message is the fullness of the gospel revealed and demonstrated in the lives of those who accept the message.

No previous generation has heard such a proclamation of the gospel. The full blaze of the everlasting gospel has been reserved for the last generation. All who truly accept this message will be clothed with the character of God, and filled with His fullness. Their lives will be a living representation of the law of God.

Reader, will you not see that the three-fold message is not a mere argument of a 2,300 day prophecy, a judgment in heaven, a cry against darkened churches, and an argument about a keeping of a day? It is the unveiling of the full gospel plan of complete redemption from all sin. The purpose of the message is to perfect a people who will vindicate Calvary.

Read Revelation 14 again, compare it with Revelation 7, and you will see a people who have truly accepted the message. Its practical results will be demonstrated in their lives. They have the seal of God—the Father’s name—in their foreheads. That is, they have the character of God. They reflect the image of Jesus fully. They stand without fault before the throne of God. They prove to all the universe that fallen humanity can keep God’s holy law—the transcript of His character.

These saints reveal to all the world the character of the Lamb, a character that is attained by them, and sealed in them as a result of following the Lamb by faith in His sanctuary ministry.

The Primary Purpose of the Message

This is the primary purpose of the Advent movement: to prepare a people to stand in, the great day of God. We hear a lot about “finishing the work.” Is it not time that God’s people knew what “finishing the work” means? Is it not time for them to understand how the message is to finish all transgression in their lives, to make an end of all sin in their experience, and to seal them with the everlasting sinlessness of Christ?

Many are of the opinion (indeed they are taught it) that when the present proclamation of the Advent message goes to all the world, the work will be finished. Alas, such miscomprehension of finishing the mystery of God! Why, every soul in the world could become Adventists as Adventists are today, and still the work would not be finished. Why? Christ must have a finished work in the soul. His image must be fully formed in His people.

So then, unless Advent preachers are:

preaching a message that will bring to the hearers the seal of the living God,

proclaiming a faith that will perfect the hearers,

teaching in a cogent manner how the full image of Jesus is to be attained,

–they are not preaching a message calculated to finish the work of God on the earth.

The Secondary Purpose of the Message

The secondary purpose of the Advent movement—the gospel to all the world—depends upon the primary objective. Unless the church achieves this primary objective, she will certainly never achieve her secondary objective.

The latter rain and loud cry is required to carry the everlasting gospel to all the world. But this efficiency can only be received by those who pass through the final cleansing of this Day of Atonement, and receive the seal of God.

Then in the power of the Holy Ghost, they will witness and demonstrate to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, the glory of the ministry of Jesus in the most holy place.

Source: van der Gouwen, 1703 - Rijksstudio

18. Christ in the Most Holy:
The Delay Revealed

Following By Faith

THE ministry of Christ is only effective and operative for His people as they follow Him by faith. Firstly, as the sinner is drawn by the power of Christ’s love, his faith lays hold on the provisions of the daily ministry:

He stands at the altar of burnt offering and claims the Lamb of God as his atoning sacrifice.

He looks in faith to his High Priest to make the death of Christ operative in his life.

He dies with Christ.

Through the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit, he rises with Christ in newness of life.

Daily he looks to his merciful and faithful High Priest for strength and grace in time of need.

Eventually he realizes that Christ has entered the most holy place to finish all transgression in his life, and make a final end of all sin in his soul temple, and to bring into his experience the perfect, everlasting righteousness of Christ.

The believer could not have this wonderful work accomplished for him unless he understood what Christ wants to do for him, and then followed in the work by faith.

The service of the sanctuary demands a continuing and growing faith, a faith that will be with Christ step by step.

If a man’s faith will not allow that Christ can free him from the slavery of sin, he could not be delivered from sin.

If a believer’s faith would not allow that Christ could keep him from falling into his old sin through the power of His daily ministry, then he could not be kept from sin.

Similarly, if a believer’s faith will not enter with Christ into the most holy place to finish the work of perfecting his character, then he would never realize the benefits of Christ’s final atonement.

Advent Body of 1844: Philadelphian Experience

In 1844, God had a people upon the earth who realized that Jesus had entered upon His finishing work in the sanctuary above. In reverent faith they followed their great High Priest in His change of ministry.

Within Second Veil

Ellen White explains their experience as follows:

Early Writings, p. 254-255:

I saw the third angel pointing upward, showing the disappointed ones the way to the holiest of the heavenly sanctuary. As they by faith enter the most holy, they find Jesus, and hope and joy spring up anew….

It was represented to me that the remnant followed Jesus into the most holy place and beheld the ark and the mercy seat, and were captivated with their glory. Jesus then raised the cover of the ark, and lo! the tables of stone, with the ten commandments written upon them.

Early Writings, p. 256:

Many saw the perfect chain of truth in the angels’ messages, and gladly received them in their order, and followed Jesus by faith into the heavenly sanctuary.

God blessed His dear people who followed their Saviour by faith into the most holy place.

Early Writings, p. 55:

Those who rose up with Jesus would send up their faith to Him in the holiest, and pray, “My Father, give us your Spirit.” Then Jesus would breathe upon them the Holy Ghost. In that breath was light, power, and much love, joy, and peace.

Writing of their experience, the servant of the Lord said:

Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 534:

When the truth we now cherish was first seen to be Bible truth, how very strange it appeared, and how strong was the opposition we had to meet in presenting it to the people for the first time; but how earnest and sincere were the obedient, truth-loving laborers! We were indeed a peculiar people.

We were few in numbers, without wealth, without worldly wisdom or worldly honors; and yet we believed God and were strong and successful, a terror to evildoers. Our love for one another was steadfast; it was not easily shaken. Then the power of God was manifested among us, the sick were healed, and there was much calm, sweet, holy joy.

Philadelphian Experience

Christ’s message to the church of Philadelphia was applicable to the church at this time:

Revelation 3

7 And to the angel of the church of Philadelphia write: These things says He that is holy, He that is true, He that has the key of David, He that opens, and no man shuts; and shuts, and no man opens;

8 I know your works: behold, I have set before you an open door, and no man can shut it: for you have a little strength, and have kept my word, and have not denied my name.

10 Because you have kept the word of my patience, I also will keep you from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which you have, that no man take your crown.

12 Him that overcomes will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

In 1853, James White, the pioneer leader of the Advent movement, wrote:

The Review and Herald, December 6, 1853:

In mercy He reached forth His hand, and enabled the Advent people in 1844 to break the cords of sectarianism that bound them, that they, the Philadelphian Church, might be disciplined and guided into the kingdom by the order and pure doctrines of the gospel.

Without the Veil

Now let us pause to mark what befell those who failed to heed the message and to follow Christ into the most holy place. Writing concerning them, the servant of the Lord said:

Early Writings, p. 56:

I turned to look at the company who were still bowed before the throne; they did not know that Jesus had left it. Satan appeared to be by the throne, trying to carry on the work of God. I saw them look up to the throne, and pray, “Father, give us your Spirit.” Satan would then breathe upon them an unholy influence; in it there was light and much power, but no sweet love, joy, and peace.

A Deceived Experience

Early Writings, p. 259-261:

I was pointed back to the proclamation of the first advent of Christ....Satan led on those who rejected the message of John to go still farther, to reject and crucify Christ. In doing this they placed themselves where they could not receive the blessing on the day of Pentecost, which would have taught them the way into the heavenly sanctuary.

The rending of the veil of the temple showed that the Jewish sacrifices and ordinances would no longer be received. The great Sacrifice had been offered and had been accepted, and the Holy Spirit which descended on the day of Pentecost carried the minds of the disciples from the earthly sanctuary to the heavenly, where Jesus had entered by His own blood, to shed upon His disciples the benefits of His atonement.

But the Jews were left in total darkness. They lost all the light which they might have had upon the plan of salvation, and still trusted in their useless sacrifices and offerings. The heavenly sanctuary had taken the place of the earthly, yet they had no knowledge of the change. Therefore they could not be benefited by the mediation of Christ in the holy place….

I saw that as the Jews crucified Jesus, so the nominal churches had crucified these messages, and therefore they have no knowledge of the way into the most holy and they cannot be benefited by the intercession of Jesus there. Like the Jews, who offered their useless sacrifices, they offer up their useless prayers to the apartment which Jesus has left; and Satan, pleased with the deception, assumes a religious character, and leads the minds of these professed Christians to himself, working with his power, his signs and lying wonders, to fasten them in his snare.

Failure after 1844: Laodicean Experience

The faith of the early church rose to appropriate the benefits of the first apartment ministry of Christ; and in the power of that ministry they went forth into all the world, conquering and to conquer. In the same way, it was the will of God that the faith of this church enter the second apartment, rise higher and higher until it appropriated the benefits of that ministry (the seal of a perfect character), and then in the power and the glory of that ministry, lighten the whole earth with the loud cry of the third angel.

The faith of Israel entered the most holy place in 1844; but we will now see how it failed to grasp the power and the efficiency that should have been theirs through the benefits of the second apartment. The faith of Israel wavered, and never appropriated the blessings which God was waiting to bestow on her.

The Great Controversy, p. 457-458:

The history of ancient Israel is a striking illustration of the past experience of the Adventist body. God led His people in the Advent movement, even as He led the children of Israel from Egypt. In the great disappointment their faith was tested as was that of the Hebrews at the Red Sea. Had they still trusted to the guiding hand that had been with them in their past experience, they would have seen of the salvation of God. If all who had labored unitedly in the work in 1844, had received the third angel’s message and proclaimed it in the power of the Holy Spirit, the Lord would have wrought mightily with their efforts. A flood of light would have been shed upon the world. Years ago the inhabitants of the earth would have been warned, the closing work completed, and Christ would have come for the redemption of His people.

A Wavering Faith

It was not the will of God that Israel should wander forty years in the wilderness; He desired to lead them directly to the land of Canaan, and establish them there, a holy, happy people. But “they could not enter in because of unbelief.” Because of their backsliding and apostasy, they perished in the desert, and others were raised up to enter the promised land.

In like manner, it was not the will of God that the coming of Christ should be so long delayed, and His people should remain so many years in this world of sin and sorrow. But unbelief separated them from God. As they refused to do the work which He had appointed them, others were raised up to proclaim the message. In mercy to the world, Jesus delays His coming, that sinners may have an opportunity to hear the warning, and find in Him a shelter before the wrath of God shall be poured out.

Let these points be noted from the above passage:

Shortly after 1844 the church of God should have finished the work of God and entered the heavenly Canaan.

They remained in the wilderness as verily as Israel of old remained in the wilderness.

Unbelief kept Israel of old in the wilderness. Unbelief kept the Adventists from realizing the finishing of the mystery of God. The Advent body did not see what the Lord had for them.

Unbelief Forestalled Finished Work

A prominent Adventist preacher of the last century, amplifying this thought said:

It was not the will of God that the coming of Christ should be so long delayed, and His people remain so many years in this world of sin and sorrow. Ah, we are responsible for that. Is not that so? In what thing are we guilty? Unbelief. But what was in the hearts of Israel that caused their unbelief? Egypt, Egypt, Egypt! What, then, has been in the hearts of these people that has caused this unbelief and this holding back from God? Egypt, as certainly as Egypt ever did over yonder. Spiritually that which is Egypt—the world, idolatry, darkness, which is unbelief. The word “unbelief” expresses it all. You know that the very word “Egypt” is a symbol of darkness.97 A. T. Jones, General Conference Daily Bulletin, Lecture: “Spiritual Egypt,” March 5, 1897.

The Advent people, not believing that God wanted to finish transgression, make an end of sins, and usher everlasting righteousness into their lives through the ministry of the most holy, could not receive the fullness of the outpouring of the Spirit which should have been theirs to give the loud cry of the third angel.

Since the work of the gospel can only be finished as it is finished in the lives of God’s people, it is evident that the Advent body did not perform the work calculated to finish the mystery of God.

Although the church in the Philadelphian condition in 1844 began to enter into the most holy place, the body did not hold fast to the promise that Jesus would…

Revelation 3

12 ...write upon him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God...and my new name.

The Laodicean Experience

Instead of receiving the seal of God through faith in the cleansing ministry of God, they fell away into the Laodicean condition.

Revelation 3

14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things says the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

15 I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot…

16 So then because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth.

17 Because you say, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and know not that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

18 I counsel you to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that you may be rich; and white raiment, that you may be clothed, and that the shame of your nakedness do not appear; and anoint your eyes with eyesalve, that you may see.

19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

It is interesting to note that in the early Advent publications before 1852, the Laodicean state was applied to those Adventists who failed to accept the third angel’s message and follow Christ by faith into the most holy. It was natural that such a refusal to follow their Lord would place them in a condition of spiritual blindness, wretchedness, poverty and ignorance.

But in 1852 the servant of the Lord began to apply the Laodicean message to the people who in 1844 were represented as following Christ into the second apartment.

Early Writings, p. 107-108:

As I have of late looked around to find the humble followers of the meek and lowly Jesus, my mind has been much exercised. Many who profess to be looking for the speedy coming of Christ are becoming conformed to this world and seek more earnestly the applause of those around them than the approbation of God. They are cold and formal, like the nominal churches from which they but a short time since separated. The words addressed to the Laodicean church describe their present condition perfectly, (see Revelation 3:14-20). They are “neither cold nor hot,” “but lukewarm.” And unless they heed the counsel of the “faithful and true witness,” and zealously repent and obtain “gold tried in the fire,” “white raiment,” and “eyesalve,” He will spew them out of His mouth.

Faith Not in Most Holy

In the years following 1852, the servant of the Lord began to apply the Laodicean message with increased earnestness and urgency to the true Advent body which was established on the three angels’ messages of Revelation 14. What could this mean, other than the solemn fact that the faith of Israel was not really with Christ in the most holy place? In 1890, the servant of the Lord wrote these words:

The Review & Herald, February 25, 1890:

The slumbering church must be aroused, awakened out of its spiritual lethargy, to a realization of the important duties which have been left undone. The people have not entered into the holy place,98 “Holy place” here obviously refers to the second apartment. where Jesus has gone to make an atonement for His children.

These remarks should be too plain to be misunderstood:

“The people have not entered

into the Holy Place.”

In a nutshell, this was the root cause of the Laodicean condition. The peril of Laodicea is one of self-deception. What Christ asserts she contradicts. What she asserts Christ contradicts.

As the Greek of the word “Laodicea” could suggest, the people live under the sounding of the judgment hour message. No doubt Laodicea thinks she has entered the most holy place, and she boasts of her achievement:

Does she not know about the three angels’ messages?

Are not her scholars proving to the world beyond all doubt the unassailability of her 2,300 day prophecy?

Are not her books and printing presses proclaiming the Sabbath truth to all the world?

Does she not know Christ entered the most holy place in 1844?

Yes, Laodicea knows and believes all this. Viewing with pride her spiritual inheritance, she says,

“What lack I yet?”

She knows the mechanics of her message, but she is ignorant of the dynamic of it. She knows only the skeleton and framework of it, but she has no vision of its heart.

If her eyes could be opened to catch a glimpse of her glorious High Priest in this great judgment hour, she would understand that Christ is waiting to take her rags and give in return the perfect sinlessness of the life of Christ. If Jesus would anoint her eyes, she would see Him in the most holy, waiting to seal His church with the perfection of His own character.

Modern Israel has not caught the vision of the everlasting gospel of Revelation 14. She has not entered by faith into the mighty experience of the benefits of Christ’s second apartment ministry. Instead, she has refused to advance in her conception of the gospel beyond the first apartment experience of the early reformers.

The 1888 Message

God designed to correct the Laodicean condition through an awakening message which He brought to His people in 1888. It was a message that pointed the church to the heart of Revelation 14—righteousness by faith. Accordingly, God raised up two young men—Elders E. J. Waggoner and A. T. Jones—and sent them with the everlasting gospel under the power and demonstration of the Holy Spirit to correct the spiritual malady of Laodicea. The work of these men was endorsed by the Spirit of Prophecy, and in the several years following 1888, Ellen White constantly referred to them in a special sense as the Lord’s “messengers.”

A Message Sent

Testimonies to Ministers, p. 91-92:

The Lord in His great mercy sent a most precious message to His people through Elders Waggoner and Jones. This message was to bring more prominently before the world the uplifted Saviour, the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. It presented justification through faith in the Surety; it invited the people to receive the righteousness of Christ, which is made manifest in obedience to all the commandments of God.

Many had lost sight of Jesus. They needed to have their eyes directed to His divine person, His merits, and His changeless love for the human family. All power is given into His hands, that He may dispense rich gifts unto men, imparting the priceless gift of His own righteousness to the helpless human agent.

This is the message that God commanded to be given to the world. It is the third angel’s message, which is to be proclaimed with a loud voice, and attended with the outpouring of His Spirit in a large measure.

Testimonies to Ministers, p. 93:

For years the church had been looking to man, and expecting much from man, but not looking to Jesus, in whom our hopes of eternal life are centered. Therefore God gave to His servants a testimony that presented the truth as it is in Jesus, which is the third angel’s message, in clear, distinct lines.

Selected Messages, vol. 1, p. 363:

The loud cry of the third angel has already begun in the revelation of the righteousness of Christ, the sin-pardoning Redeemer. This is the beginning of the light of the angel whose glory shall fill the whole earth.

Review & Herald, April 1, 1890:

Several have written to me, inquiring if the message of justification by faith is the third angel’s message, and I have answered, “It is the third angel’s message in verity.”

Significance of 1888 Message

The above passages will enable us to focus the significance of the 1888 message. They prove to us that this preaching of righteousness by faith was:

The verity, center, or heart of the third angel’s message;

The beginning of the loud cry.

By combining this evidence with what we have proved in the last chapter, we may reduce the significance of the 1888 message to a proposition of simple logic.

1. Major premise: The heart of the third angel’s message is the work of Christ in the most holy place.

Minor premise: The 1888 message was the heart of the third angel’s message.

Conclusion: Therefore the 1888 message concerned the work of Christ in the most holy place.

2. Major premise: The loud cry can only be given by a people who have the seal of God.99 Editor’s note: The sealing out of sin takes place constantly, as God reveals sin, and we confess it and forsake it. While it is true that those who expect the Holy Spirit in latter rain power, must be living up to all the light that God has shown up to that point, it is not true to suppose that no further light will be given after that. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit will cause much more light to come from God, and this will be followed by more sealing. This work will not be finished until the Holy Spirit’s power is withdrawn, at the closing of the gospel call to the world, and at that time, the judgment of the living will take place. For a deeper study of this subject, see the book, Last Day Events, by F. T. Wright.

Minor premise: The 1888 message was to usher in the loud cry.

Conclusion: Therefore the 1888 message was to bring the seal of God to God’s people.

In directing the minds of God’s people to the ministry of Jesus in the most holy place, the 1888 message of righteousness by faith was a more mature conception of the gospel than had previously been perceived. It was righteousness by faith in the setting of Revelation 14, a gospel work consistent with the cleansing of the sanctuary. The message pertained directly to the finishing of the mystery of God.

Let the significance of the 1888 preaching of righteousness by faith be clearly fixed in the mind of the reader. Only as we have our understanding directed to the work that Christ is doing in the second apartment, will we have any conception of the power and magnificence of the 1888 message.

The time had surely come when God wished to finish transgression, to make an end of sins, and to usher everlasting righteousness into the lives of His people. The people had not entered into the second apartment where Jesus was waiting to blot out all their sins. In 1888 the hour had struck for God to lighten the earth with the glory of the heavenly ministry of Jesus.

For years the church had maintained its 2300 day prophecy, and had proclaimed that Jesus had entered the most holy place in 1844 for the cleansing of the sanctuary. But she had failed to apply the benefits of that mighty doctrine. She had neglected to demonstrate to the world what the second apartment ministry of Jesus could accomplish in the lives of men.

Now God, through His chosen messengers, presented Jesus to His people as the heavenly merchantman, with riches sufficient to save fallen humanity to the uttermost, and fill them with all the fullness of God.

Perhaps the reader would be interested to read an extract of the doctrine of one of the Lord’s “messengers,” and so catch a glimmer of the light that was to lighten the earth with its glory. Following is the closing chapters of A. T. Jones’ The Consecrated Way to Christian Perfection.100 Although published 1905 it was first written soon after 1888.

The Times of Refreshing101 A. T. Jones, The Consecrated Way, Chapter 16.

And now, in this time of the consummation of the hope of all the ages, in this time when the true sanctuary is truly to be cleansed, in this time when the work of the gospel is to be completed and the mystery of God indeed finished—now is the time of all the times that ever were in the world, when the believers in Jesus—the blessed objects of His glorious priesthood and wondrous intercessions in the true sanctuary —shall be partakers of the full measure of His heavenly grace; and shall have in their lives transgression finished, an end of sins and reconciliation for iniquity made forevermore, and in the perfection of truth, everlasting righteousness brought in.

This is precisely and alone the purpose of the priesthood and ministry of Christ in the true sanctuary. Is not that priesthood sufficient? Is not His ministry effectual to accomplish its purpose? Most assuredly. Only by that means can it be possible for this thing ever to be accomplished. No soul can ever himself finish transgression, or make an end of sins, or make reconciliation for iniquity, or bring in everlasting righteousness, in his own life. For that ever to be done, it must be done alone by the priesthood and ministry of Him who gave himself, and who was given, that He might accomplish this very thing for every soul, and present every soul “holy and unblameable and unreprovable” in the sight of God.

Everyone whose heart is inclined to truth and right desires that this thing shall be done. Only the priesthood and ministry of Christ can do it. Now is the time of the complete and effectual doing of it for evermore. Then let us believe in Him who is doing this, and trust Him in the doing of it, that He does it completely and for evermore.

This is the time, and this is the work, of which it is written, that “there should be delay no longer.” And why should there be delay any longer? When the priesthood of our great High Priest is efficient, and when His sacrifice and ministry are all-sufficient, in that which is promised and in that for which every believer hopes, then why should there be delay any longer in the finishing of transgression, the making an end of sin, the making of reconciliation for iniquity, and the bringing in of everlasting righteousness, to each believing soul?

Then let us trust Him to do that which He has given himself to do, and which He alone can possibly do. Let us trust Him in this, and receive in its fullness all that belongs to every soul who believes in and implicitly trusts the Apostle and High Priest of our profession—Christ Jesus.

We have seen that the little horn—the man of sin, the mystery of iniquity—has put his own earthly, human, and sinful priesthood, ministry, and sanctuary in the place of the heavenly and holy priesthood, ministry and sanctuary. In this priesthood and service of the mystery of iniquity, the sinner confesses his sins to the priest, and goes on sinning. Indeed, in that priesthood and ministry there is no power to do anything else than to go on sinning; even after they have confessed their sins.

But, sad as the question may be, is it not too true that those who are not of the mystery of iniquity, but who really believe in Jesus and in His priesthood and ministry—is it not too true that even these also confess their sins, and then go on sinning?

But is this fair to our great High Priest, to His sacrifice, and to His blessed ministry? Is it fair that we should thus put Him, His sacrifice and His ministry, practically upon a level with that of the “abomination of desolation,” and to say that in Him and in His ministry there is no more power or virtue than there is in that of the “mystery of iniquity"?

May the Lord forever save His church and people this day, with no more delay, from thus bringing down so low our great High Priest, His awful sacrifice, and His glorious ministry. Let our trust in our great High Priest be true, and let it be truly implicit.

By Protestants there is often remark made of the blind unwisdom of Catholics in their so fully trusting to the priest. And, with respect to any earthly priesthood, the thought is correct. And yet implicit trust of the priest is eternally right; but it must be trust of the right Priest. Such trust in a false priesthood is most ruinous; but the principle of implicit trust in the Priest is eternally right. And Jesus Christ is the right Priest.

Therefore every one who believes in Jesus Christ, in the sacrifice which He has made, in the priesthood and ministry which He exercises in the true sanctuary, must not only confess his sins, but he must then forever implicitly trust that true High Priest in His ministry in the true sanctuary to finish transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, in his heart and life.

Everlasting righteousness, remember. Not a righteousness for today, and sin tomorrow, and righteousness again and sin again. That is not everlasting righteousness. Everlasting righteousness is righteousness that is brought in and stays everlastingly in the life of him who has believed and confessed, and who still further believes and receives this everlasting righteousness in the place of all sin and all sinning. This alone is eternal redemption from sin. And this unspeakable blessing is the gracious gift of God by the heavenly ministry which He has established in our behalf in the priesthood and ministry of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary.

Accordingly, today, just now, “while it is called today,” as never before, the word of God to all people is,

Acts 3

19 Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come [RV: that so there may come seasons of refreshing,] from the presence of the Lord;

20 And He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:

21 Whom the heavens must receive until the time of restitution of all things.

The time of the coming of the Lord and the restitution of all things is indeed at the very doors. And when Jesus comes, it is to take His people unto himself. It is to present to himself His glorious church, “not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing,” but that is “holy and without blemish.” It is to see himself perfectly reflected in all His saints.

And before He comes thus, His people must be in that condition. Before He comes we must have been brought to that state of perfection in the complete image of Jesus. Ephesians 4:7, 8, 11-13. And this state of perfection, this developing in each believer the complete image of Jesus—this is the finishing of the mystery of God, which is “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” This consummation is accomplished in the cleansing of the sanctuary, which is the finishing of the mystery of God, which is the final finishing of transgression, the making of a complete end of sins, the making of reconciliation for iniquity, the bringing in of everlasting righteousness, the sealing up of the vision and prophecy, and the anointing of the most Holy.

The present time being the time when the coming of Jesus and the restitution of all things is at the very doors; and this final perfecting of the saints having necessarily to precede the coming of the Lord and the restitution of all things; we know by every evidence, that now we are in the times of refreshing—the time of the latter rain. And as certainly as that is so, we are also in the time of the utter blotting out of all sins that have ever been against us. And the blotting out of sins is exactly this thing of the cleansing of the sanctuary; it is the finishing of all transgression in our lives; it is the making an end of all sins in our character; it is the bringing in of the very righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ, to abide alone everlastingly.

This blotting out of sins must precede the receiving of the refreshing of the latter rain. For it is only upon those who have the blessing of Abraham that the promise of the Spirit comes; and it is only those who are redeemed from sin, upon whom the blessing of Abraham comes. Galatians 3:13-14.

Therefore now as never before, we are to repent and be converted, that our sins may be blotted out, and everlasting righteousness brought in: and this, in order that the fullness of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit shall be ours in this time of the refreshing of the latter rain. And all this must be done in order that the harvest-ripening message of the gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world with that power from on high by which the earth shall be lightened with its glory.

Conclusion102 A. T. Jones, The Consecrated Way, Chapter 17.

Christ the Lord, the Son of God, came down from heaven and was made flesh, and dwelt among men as the Son of man. This is an eternal fixture in the Christian faith.

He died on the cross of Calvary for our offenses. This is an eternal fixture in the Christian faith.

He arose from the dead for our justification. This is an eternal fixture in the Christian faith.

He ascended to heaven as our Advocate, and as such sits on the right hand of the throne of God. This is an eternal fixture of the Christian faith.

He is a priest upon His Father’s throne—a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec. This is an eternal fixture in the Christian faith.

At the right hand of God, upon the throne of God, as priest upon His throne, Christ is a “minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched and not man.” This is an eternal fixture of the Christian faith.

And He will come again in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, to take His people unto himself, to present to himself His glorious church, and to judge the world. This is an eternal fixture in the Christian faith.

That Christ lived in the flesh, died on the cross, rose from the dead, ascended to heaven and sits on the right hand of the throne of God in heaven, must be an eternal fixture in the faith of every Christian, in order for that faith to be true and full.

That this same Jesus is a priest at the right hand of God on that throne, must be an eternal fixture in the faith of every Christian, in order for that faith to be true and full.

That Christ the Son of God, as priest at the right hand of God upon His throne, is there a “minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man,” must be an eternal fixture in the faith of every Christian, in order for that faith to be true and full.

And this true faith in Christ the Son of God as that true priest, in that true ministry, of that true sanctuary, at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; that His priesthood and ministry finishes transgression, and makes an end of sins, and makes reconciliation for iniquity, and brings in everlasting righteousness—this true faith will make every comer thereunto perfect. It will prepare him for the seal of God, and for the final anointing of the Most Holy.

By this true faith, every soul who is of this true faith can certainly know that in him and in his life, transgression is finished and an end of sins made; that reconciliation is made for all the iniquity of his life; and that everlasting righteousness is brought in to reign in his life for evermore. This he can know with perfect certainty, for the Word of God says so, and true faith comes by hearing the Word of God.

All who are of this true faith can know all this just as truly as they can know that Christ is at the right hand of the throne of God. They can know it just as truly as they can know that He is Priest upon that throne. They can know it just as truly as they can know that He is there a “minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.” All this can be known just as truly as any statement of the Word of God can be known; for the Word of God plainly states it all.

Therefore in this time, let every believer in Jesus rise up in the strength of this true faith, implicitly trusting the merit of our great High Priest in His holy ministry and intercession for us.

In the confidence of this true faith, let every believer in Jesus take a long breath of restfulness for ever, in thankfulness to God that this thing is accomplished; that transgression is finished in your life, that you are done with the wicked thing forever: that an end of sins is made in your life, and that you are free from it forever: that reconciliation for iniquity is made, and that you are cleansed from it forever by the precious blood of sprinkling: and that everlasting righteousness is brought into your life to reign for evermore, to uphold you, to guide you, to save you, in the fullness of that eternal redemption which, through the blood of Christ, is brought to every believer in Jesus our Great High Priest and true Intercessor.

And then in the righteousness, the peace, and the power of this true faith, let every soul who knows it spread abroad to all people and to the end of the world the glorious news of the priesthood of Christ, of the cleansing of the sanctuary, of the finishing of the mystery of God, of the times of refreshing come, and of the soon coming of the Lord “to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired in all them that believe... in that day,” and to “present to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing,” but “holy and without blemish.”

Hebrews 8

1 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such a High Priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;

2 A Minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.

Hebrews 10

19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,

20 By a new and living way, which He has consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh;

21 And having a high priest over the house of God;

22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

And,

23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for He is faithful that promised.

[end of quote from The Consecrated Way]

The 1888 Message’s Reception

The Verdict of Time

That the message of 1888 was never fully experienced needs no argument to maintain. It is self-evident. It is the indisputable verdict of time.

Has the church of God risen to the occasion of the cleansing of the sanctuary?

Has she entered by faith into the atoning ministry of Christ, a ministry that finishes transgression, iniquity and sin, replacing it with the everlasting sinlessness of Christ?

Have the people received the seal, name, character of God and have they lightened the earth with the glory of it?

Has the church demonstrated to all the world by its, perfected character that Christ is in the most holy place?

We all know that this work has not been done.

Not Luther’s Message

Those who maintain that the 1888 message was merely a preaching of righteousness by faith such as was preached by Luther and Wesley demonstrate their lack of comprehension of the everlasting gospel of Revelation 14. Luther never had the third angel’s message in verity. Wesley did not have the message of the loud cry. Their experience in the righteousness of Christ naturally never advanced beyond the light and benefits of the first apartment ministry of Christ.

The fact that Laodicea passes over 1888 by proudly claiming to be preaching Luther’s message of righteousness by faith is the most glaring admission of blindness and refusal of the light from heaven. Why are we as a people sending up our faith to God for a first apartment experience in righteousness by faith? Is not this in itself the evidence that we have failed to enter by faith into the second apartment?

We have seen what happened to the Jews who rested and boasted in the law of Moses, while refusing to accept the One to whom the law of Moses pointed.

We have seen what befell the Protestant bodies that trampled underfoot the messages of the three angels and refused to recognize that Jesus had changed His ministry.

With the solemn lessons from those of the past who failed to keep pace with the light, many Adventists today assert that they have not rejected the message of righteousness by faith; for they say they believe what Luther taught. Oh Laodicea, what are you doing with the doctrine of the cleansing of the sanctuary and the mighty finishing work of Jesus now in progress, yet perfectly content to remain with Luther and Wesley, yea, even with the Protestant churches, in the first apartment?

The doctrine of the investigative judgment is relegated to a dry, chronological proof of the 2300 days, a factual concept of a work in heaven, while it has no force in the experience of the church. No wonder there has been no latter rain, and no loud cry.

We have given our enemies the opportunity to rise up declaring that our doctrine of the cleansing of sanctuary is “flat,” “unimportant,” “naive”—a great “face-saving,” “philosophical phenomenon.” May God forgive us, and grant us the grace to arise and roll away the reproach from the mightiest message ever committed to mortals.

Jones on Rejection of the Message

In the 1893 General Conference Session, A. T. Jones made these pointed remarks:

What then did the brethren reject at Minneapolis?

[Some in the congregation:] “The loud cry.”

Then what did the brethren in that fearful position in which they stood reject at Minneapolis? They rejected the latter rain—the loud cry of the third angel’s message.

And brethren, the time has come to take up tonight what we there rejected. Not a soul of us has ever been able to dream yet the wonderful blessing that God had for us at Minneapolis, and which we would have been enjoying these four years, if hearts had been ready to receive the message which God sent. We would have been four years ahead, we would have been in the midst of the wonders of the loud cry itself, tonight. Did not the Spirit of prophecy tell us there at that time that the blessing was hanging over our heads?103 1893 General Conference Bulletin, study No. 7 of series “The Third Angel’s Message.”

Could any honest inquirer want clearer testimony that the light that is to lighten the whole earth with its glory has been shut away from the world? The church did not take up the loud cry, much less comprehend the light of the angel of Revelation 18:1.

The Blessings Brought Through 1888

Yet God loved His people with an everlasting love, and bore patiently with them. He did not cast them off, but persevered with the message of righteousness by faith. Although righteousness by faith in the full blaze and glory of the most holy place was not comprehended, much less accepted, the preaching of the merits of a sin-pardoning Redeemer helped to alleviate the Laodicean condition, accomplished much good in the church, and brought great blessings to God’s people. The servant of the Lord could write:

Review & Herald, July 23, 1889:

We thank the Lord with all the heart that we have precious light to present before the people, and we rejoice that we have a message for this time which, is present truth. The tidings that Christ is our righteousness has brought relief to many, many souls, and God says to His people, “Go forward.”

The message to the Laodicean church is applicable to our condition. How plainly is pictured the position of those who think they have all the truth, who take pride in their knowledge of the word of God, while its sanctifying power has not been felt in their lives. The fervor of the love of God is wanting in their hearts, but it is this very fervor of love that makes God’s people the light of the world....

In every meeting since the General Conference, souls have eagerly accepted the precious message of the righteousness of Christ. We thank God that there are souls who realize that they are in need of something which they do not possess, —gold of faith and love, white raiment of Christ’s righteousness, eyesalve of spiritual discernment. If you possess these precious gifts, the temple of the human soul will not be like a desecrated shrine. Brethren and sisters, I call upon you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, to work where God works. Now is the day of gracious opportunity and privilege.

Encouragement to the Church

God continued to bless and lead His church, and to prosper its growth throughout the world. In 1907 the servant of the Lord expressed this confidence in the Advent movement:

Selected Messages, vol. 2, p. 397:

The evidence we have had for the past fifty years of the presence of the Spirit of God with us as a people, will stand the test of those who are now arraying themselves on the side of the enemy and bracing themselves against the message of God.

Selected Messages, vol. 2, p. 396:

We should remember that the church, enfeebled and defective though it be, is the only object on earth on which Christ bestows His supreme regard. He is constantly watching it with solicitude, and strengthening it by His Holy Spirit.

Selected Messages, vol. 2, p. 390:

We cannot now step off the foundation that God has established. We cannot now enter any new organization; for this would mean apostasy from the truth.

Let us receive the encouragements of God’s continuing love and care for His people with humble hearts, not taking the glory to ourselves.

Romans 11

20 Be not highminded, but fear.

Not for our righteousness, or for the uprightness of our heart, does the Lord continue to recognize us as His people above all peoples.

Deuteronomy 9

6 Understand therefore, that the Lord your God gives you not this good land to possess it for your righteousness; for you are a stiffnecked people.

7 Remember, and forget not, how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day you did depart out of the land of Egypt [1844], until you came unto this place, you have been rebellious against the Lord.

The Wisdom of God

Oh, the depth of the wisdom and mercy of God! He could not lead His beloved church into an experience consistent with the cleansing of the sanctuary, but He continued to grant her the blessings of the gospel. The work of the third angel could not sound with its loud voice, yet through His people, God proceeded to sow the seeds of the everlasting gospel of Revelation 14.

How well He knows that His word will not return unto Him void. That seed will yet spring up, blossom, and bear the fruit of a perfected people ready and waiting for their Lord. Eventually He will have a people to comprehend the light from the most holy place, to obey the requirements of the Day of Atonement, and to receive the mighty efficiency of the closing mediation of Christ.

Message Not Yet Received

While we hold fast that which we have, not forgetting the way the Lord has led us, let us recognize that we have not yet laid hold of the verity of the third angel’s message. In 1924, A. G. Daniells,104 A. G. Daniells is by no means cited as an authority on the 1888 message itself, but as a witness to its reception. There is no evidence that he perceived its real significance, yet he testified in 1924 that the message was not then laid hold of. twenty years president of the General Conference, wrote concerning the message:

The message has never been received, nor proclaimed, nor given free course as it should have been in order to convey to the church the measureless blessings that were wrapped within it.105 A. G. Daniells, Christ Our Righteousness, p. 47.

Perhaps it is superfluous to quote at length to establish what is evident to a candid investigator of the third angel’s message.

Has there been heralded a message of the ministry of our Lord in the sanctuary, a ministry that if entered into by faith, will finish transgression, make an end of all sin, and usher into the life the sinlessness of Christ?

Is the third angel sounding his full gospel light with a loud cry?

Is the world lightened with the glory of the character of God through a people who reflect that character?

Is the power and glory of the Priesthood of Jesus being truly sounded, a Priesthood that can take away all sin from the life and place the soul where he will neither be defiled any more with the corruptions of the world or overthrown by the tempter’s devices?

We must answer, No! Then the third angel’s message has not yet been truly preached, much less finished. We have been sounding the introduction, and erecting the scaffolding.

When will the church of God do something about the delay, and arise and deliver to perishing souls its mighty message of complete deliverance and victory over all sin, through their High Priest in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary?

Source: Calmet - Apparatus Biblicus, 1723

Source: Charming Bible Stories, 1894

19. Christ in the Most Holy:
The Awakening Revealed

Matthew 25

1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.

2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:

4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go out to meet Him.

7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.

8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone [margin: “going”] out.

9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so, lest there be not enough for us and you; but go you rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.

10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with Him to the marriage: and the door was shut.

THIS parable of the ten virgins is especially applicable to the church of God at this time. It is not hard to determine where we stand in this parable. Christ portrayed our condition perfectly when He said,

5 While the Bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

The Tarrying Time

Sufficient evidence has already been cited to show that the finishing of God’s work has been delayed through our unbelief, and that the coming of Christ has been forestalled through our failure to proclaim the loud cry of the third angel. The Spirit of prophecy reveals that we are years behind, living on borrowed time. Yet we are asleep, as it is written,

5 ...they all slumbered and slept.

This is why the Bridegroom tarries. While we sleep, the mighty Advocate waits before the Father to apply the benefits of His final atonement.

The Foolish

Many are of the opinion that the church is flourishing, and that prosperity is upon all her borders. They sleep on in carnal security, blind to the tragedy on the doorstep. They cry,

Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 77:

“Peace, peace,” when the Lord has not spoken peace.106 See also Jeremiah 6:14; 8:11.

Perfectly satisfied with their own condition, blissfully ignorant of their own spiritual declension, they neglect the oil of grace.

They have lamps (Bibles and a profession of the third angel’s message), but they are destitute of the oil of divine enlightenment. They are the foolish virgins.

The Wise

Thank God all are not being rocked to sleep in total abandonment to the crying need of the hour. There are wise virgins.

While the darkness and lack of comprehension of the true nature of the third angel’s message causes them also to be represented in a state of slumber, they are not blind to the fact that the Bridegroom tarries. They know something is amiss.

As the night wears on and the deepening darkness becomes apparent, they search their Bibles and pray to God for the gift of divine enlightenment. They realize that they are in a state of drowsiness, yet they resist the spirit of the fatal sleep. They seek to ascertain the cause of their condition. They search for clearer light on the work of the Bridegroom. They pray for the quickening power of the Holy Spirit.

The Awakening

Matthew 25

6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold the Bridegroom comes; go out to meet Him.

Selected Messages, vol. 1, p. 124:

If Satan had his way, there would never be another awakening, great or small, to the end of time.

He would keep the people asleep in their present condition until the Day of Atonement would be ended. Then, not having acquired the full stature of Christ through His closing mediation, they would be unsheltered in the time of trouble.

But this is not in God’s order. He will send an awakening message to His church. It will do its work. In response to it,

The Great Controversy, p. 464:

There will be, among the people of the Lord, such a revival of primitive godliness as has not been witnessed since apostolic times.

The cry, “Behold the Bridegroom comes” is at midnight—the darkest hour. Are not the midnight shadows now gathering? It is evident by the condition of the world. It is evident by the condition of the professed people of God. Not only is Satan leading the world captive, but by heresies, delusions, every wind of doctrine, and the spirit of conformity to the world, he advances his cause among the professed people of God.

What is this cry at midnight which stirs the church from slumber? It will become apparent as we progress.

The Meaning of the Marriage

The cry at midnight arouses the virgins, and the wise go into the marriage. Before we can understand what it means to go into the marriage, we must understand what is meant by the marriage.

Marriage in the Most Holy

Firstly, the marriage represents the work of Christ in the most holy place. The virgins are...

The Great Controversy, p. 427:

...not to be present in person at the marriage; for it takes place in heaven, while they are upon the earth. The followers of Christ are to “wait for their Lord, when He will return from the wedding.” Luke 12:36.

In 1844 Christ came to the Ancient of Days in the most holy place to make up His jewels and receive the kingdom...

Revelation 21

2 ...prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Daniel 7

14 And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

Early Writings, p. 251:

I saw that while Jesus was in the most holy place He would be married to the New Jerusalem.

Union of Divinity with Humanity

Secondly, the marriage represents a work to be accomplished in the experience of God’s people. Since the wise virgins go into the marriage, it is a definite experience for them to participate in. The most simple, yet explanatory definition of the marriage is found in these words:

Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 307:

By the marriage is represented the union of humanity with divinity.107 Although this comment is made concerning a different parable to Matthew 25, nevertheless “the same figure of the marriage is introduced.” See The Great Controversy, p. 428.

The union of divinity with humanity took place when Christ became flesh. He united His divine nature with our fallen nature. Then He lived out a perfect, sinless life in our flesh. Jesus did not for a moment cherish sin, or have a sinful desire, propensity, or inclination. His victory over the flesh was complete and absolute.

But this blessed truth must not be left there: it must be applied. Christ accomplished this in order that we, who are sinful by nature might be partakers of the divine nature and live the same life that He lived. When our humanity is as fully united to His divinity in our own life, as His divinity was united to our humanity in His life, then it will be true in our experience that the flesh will be completely subjected, and in our transformed, spiritual natures, we will have no inclination, propensity, desire, or relish for sin.

Through Christ’s ministry in the holy of holies, humanity is to be fully united (married) to divinity. Hence the significance of the final atonement: at-one-ment. While it is true that a Christian is married to Christ at conversion, the union is not fully accomplished until the judgment. When his faith reaches to the last supreme act of the atonement, he will be fully united (“married”) to divinity for eternity. Then he will be as sinless in the flesh as Christ was sinless in the flesh.

Christ’s perfect humanity is the standard which His true followers must possess to pass through the last scenes of earth’s history. God must have, and will have a people to reveal the full stature of Christ. All those who work in harmony with Christ in the cleansing of the sanctuary will reach this standard.

Review & Herald, June 10, 1902:

Are we striving with all our power to attain to the stature of men and women in Christ? Are we seeking for His fullness, ever pressing toward the mark set before us—the perfection of His character? When the Lord’s people reach this mark they will be sealed in their foreheads. Filled with the Spirit, they will be complete in Christ, and the recording angel will declare, “It is finished.”

Into the Marriage

In response to the cry at midnight, “Behold the Bridegroom comes,” the parable plainly states that the wise arise and go “in with Him to the marriage.” This means that by faith they enter into the most holy place where Jesus is making His final atonement.

The Great Controversy, page 427:

...they are to understand His work, and to follow Him by faith as He goes in before God. It is in this sense that they are said to go into the marriage.

We have repeatedly traced how the sanctuary service involves faith on the part of God’s people—a faith that rests upon an intelligent understanding of Christ’s ministry, and appropriates the benefits of each progressive move in the sanctuary service. Paul admonishes us...

Hebrews 10

19 ...to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.

So far we have not entered into the second apartment experience of righteousness by faith. We have not laid claim to the benefits of Christ’s closing work in the sanctuary. We have never comprehended the real truth of the third angel’s message. Indeed, the message has never been received, nor proclaimed, as it should have been. Thus we sleep. We could do well to ponder these poignant remarks:

Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 575:

All need to become more intelligent in regard to the work of the atonement, which is going on in the sanctuary above. When this grand truth is seen and understood, those who hold it will work in harmony with Christ to prepare a people to stand in the great day of God, and their efforts will be successful.

The Cry Defined

The statement indicates that the “grand truth” has not been seen and understood. It also points out that it will be seen and understood. When it is, those who hold it will follow Christ by faith in His closing ministry, and be prepared in character for the great day of God. This is the nature of the cry at midnight,

“Go out to meet Him.”

Light, precious light, breaks upon God’s people. It is light from the most holy place. They see their great High Priest. They understand His work. By events transpiring upon the earth they will know that the time has come for them to be judged in the courts above.

The test on the mark of the beast will be concurrent with the judgment of the living. When the image is set up and the mark is enforced, God’s people will know that the time of sealing has come. They will realize that in this great, final test against the delusions of Satan, and in the contest with the beast, his image, and his mark, they must receive the seal of God.108 See The Great Controversy, p. 605.

Pressed in on all sides by their enemies, there is only one way of escape—they must go into the most holy place by faith, and plead and agonize for the benefits of Christ’s final atonement.

Going Into the Most Holy

In the night of sleeping, the wise virgins have prepared themselves for the terrible emergency. They have searched the Scriptures for light on the work of their Saviour. They have sent their sins beforehand to judgment. Every night they have gone to rest with every sin confessed. They have received the Spirit of God into their lives.

Now, in obedience to the mighty cry, “Go out to meet Him,” they comprehend the awful significance of what it means to go into “the marriage.” Having put away their sins, they have boldness in the day of judgment109 1 John 4 17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as He is, so are we in this world. to…

Hebrews 10

19 ...enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.

When the soul comes face to face with death in this solemn time, they have faith in the promises of God. The servant of the Lord vividly describes the experience of the church of God as it rises to the great duty which has been heretofore left undone—entering into the most holy place:

Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 472-475:

Zechariah’s vision of Joshua and the Angel applies with peculiar force to the experience of God’s people in the closing up of the great day of atonement. The remnant church will be brought into great trial and distress. Those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus will feel the ire of the dragon and his hosts.

Satan numbers the world as his subjects, he has gained control of the apostate churches; but here is a little company that are resisting his supremacy. If he could blot them from the earth, his triumph would be complete. As he influenced the heathen nations to destroy Israel, so in the near future he will stir up the wicked powers of the earth to destroy the people of God.

All will be required to render obedience to human edicts in violation of the divine law. Those who will be true to God and to duty will be menaced, denounced, and proscribed. They will “be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolk, and friends.”

Their only hope is in the mercy of God; their only defense will be prayer. As Joshua was pleading before the Angel so the remnant church, with brokenness of heart and earnest faith, will plead for pardon and deliverance through Jesus their Advocate. They are fully conscious of the sinfulness of their lives, they see their weakness and unworthiness, and as they look upon themselves they are ready to despair.

The tempter stands by to accuse them, as he stood by to resist Joshua. He points to their filthy garments, their defective characters. He presents their weakness and folly, their sins of ingratitude, their unlikeness to Christ, which has dishonored their Redeemer. He endeavors to affright the soul with the thought that their ease is hopeless, that the stain of their defilement will never be washed away. He hopes to so destroy their faith that they will yield to his temptations, turn from their allegiance to God, and receive the mark of the beast….

But while the followers of Christ have sinned, they have not given themselves to the control of evil. They have put away their sins, and have sought the Lord in humility and contrition, and the Divine Advocate pleads in their behalf. He who has been most abused by their ingratitude, who knows their sin, and also their repentance, declares: “The Lord rebuke you, O Satan. I gave my life for these souls. They are graven upon the palms of my hands.”

The assaults of Satan are strong, his delusions are terrible; but the Lord’s eye is upon his people. Their affliction is great, the flames of the furnace seem about to consume them; but Jesus will bring them forth as gold tried in the fire. Their earthliness must be removed that the image of Christ may be perfectly reflected; unbelief must be overcome, faith, hope, and patience are to be developed....

As the people of God afflict their souls before Him, pleading for purity of heart, the command is given, “Take away the filthy garments from them,” and the encouraging words are spoken, “Behold, I have caused your iniquity to pass from you, and I will clothe you with change of raiment.” The spotless robe of Christ’s righteousness is placed upon the tried, tempted, yet faithful children of God. The despised remnant are clothed in glorious apparel, never more to be defiled by the corruptions of the world.

Their names are retained in the Lamb’s book of life, enrolled among the faithful of all ages. They have resisted the wiles of the deceiver; they have not been turned from their loyalty by the dragon’s roar. Now they are eternally secure from the tempter’s devices. Their sins are transferred to the originator of sin.

And the remnant are not only pardoned and accepted, but honored. A “fair mitre” is set upon their heads. They are to be as kings and priests unto God. While Satan was urging his accusations, and seeking to destroy this company, holy angels, unseen, were passing to and fro, placing upon them the seal of the living God.

The Great Controversy, p. 483-484:

The deepest interest manifested among men in the decisions of earthly tribunals but faintly represents the interest evinced in the heavenly courts when the names entered in the book of life come up in review before the Judge of all the earth. The divine Intercessor presents the plea that all who have overcome through faith in His blood be forgiven their transgressions, that they be restored to their Eden home, and crowned as joint heirs with himself to the “first dominion”...

While Jesus is pleading for the subjects of His grace, Satan accuses them before God as transgressors. The great deceiver has sought to lead them into skepticism, to cause them to lose confidence in God, to separate themselves from His love, and to break His law. Now he points to the record of their lives, to the defects of character, the unlikeness to Christ, which has dishonored their Redeemer, to all the sins that he has tempted them to commit, and because of these he claims them as his subjects.

Jesus does not excuse their sins, but shows their penitence and faith, and, claiming for them forgiveness, He lifts His wounded hands before the Father and the holy angels, saying, “I know them by name, I have graven them on the palms of my hands. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.” And to the accuser of His people He declares, “The Lord rebuke you, O Satan; even the Lord that has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?” Christ will clothe His faithful ones with His own righteousness, that He may present them to His Father “a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.”

Blotting Out Record

The above statements demonstrate that the blotting out of the record of sin is not only a work which transpires in the books of record; it transpires also in the characters of God’s people. The believer also is the temple of God. Each sin has left its record upon the inner sanctuary of the soul.

Through the provisions of the daily ministry, Christ was like the physician who removes the cause of the disease and arrests its progress, yet leaves the scars. Although the believer has been transformed by regeneration, and has experienced the sanctifying power of the truth, his character still bears the record of sins.

The Great Controversy, p. 484:

...he [Satan] points to the record of their lives, to the defects of character...

But now, as he enters into the most holy place, and afflicts his soul before God, the Holy Spirit operates upon his soul to its fullest convicting measure. The believer sees his utter deficiency of character, and realizes he is far short of the full stature of Christ. It is an awful experience for him, but since he has previously put away all known sin, he has the faith to cling to the mercy of Jesus.

While he lays bare his heart to the ministry of the most holy, the Holy Spirit searches to the last remnants of sin in his character. He pleads for the atoning blood, and in the last supreme effort of faith and abandonment of self in surrender to God, he appropriates the benefits of the final atonement. Jesus says: “Take away his filthy garments”—his defective character. His death to sin is complete: he is clothed in the full stature of Christ’s character, and is sealed with the seal of the living God. Humanity is fully “married” to divinity.110 Editor’s note: This paragraph, and the few before it, might leave the impression that the seal of God is achieved by one great act of faith. This is not the case. The process by which sin is recognized, confessed and forsaken, and the Holy Spirit seals the heart against that sin, is a continual process, otherwise called sanctification. While it is a work of faith, it is a series of steps, not a “once for all” instantaneous step. Please see the booklet Facing the Judgment, by F. T. Wright for further clarity on this topic.

The Shaking Time

The parable of the ten virgins brings to view a separation among the people of God. In response to the cry, “Go out to meet Him,” the wise arise and go into “the marriage.” The foolish, being unprepared, have no part in this sealing work.

Testimonies to Ministers, p. 234:

The time of the judgment is a most solemn period, when the Lord gathers His own from among the tares.

Ellen G. White’s description of “the shaking” vividly portrays this great work of separation in the church of God. It will be noticed that this passage describes the same experience as quoted from the vision of “Joshua and the Angel.” Its setting is also the anti-typical Day of Atonement, when Israel gathers at the sanctuary in agonizing prayer and deep searching of heart.

Early Writings, p. 269-270:

I saw some, with strong faith and agonizing cries, pleading with God. Their countenances were pale and marked with deep anxiety, expressive of their internal struggle. Firmness and great earnestness was expressed in their countenances; large drops of perspiration fell from their foreheads. Now and then their faces would light up with the marks of God’s approbation, and again the same solemn, earnest, anxious look would settle upon them.

Evil angels crowded around, pressing darkness upon them to shut out Jesus from their view, that their eyes might be drawn to the darkness that surrounded them, and thus they be led to distrust God and murmur against Him. Their only safety was in keeping their eyes directed upward. Angels of God had charge over His people, and as the poisonous atmosphere of evil angels was pressed around these anxious ones, the heavenly angels were continually wafting their wings over them to scatter the thick darkness.

As the praying ones continued their earnest cries, at times a ray of light from Jesus came to them, to encourage their hearts and light up their countenances. Some, I saw, did not participate in this work of agonizing and pleading. They seemed indifferent and careless. They were not resisting the darkness around them, and it shut them in like a thick cloud.

The angels of God left these and went to the aid of the earnest, praying ones. I saw angels of God hasten to the assistance of all who were struggling with all their power to resist the evil angels and trying to help themselves by calling upon God with perseverance. But His angels left those who made no effort to help themselves, and I lost sight of them.

Two classes are brought to view: those who participate in the agonizing at the sanctuary, and those who do not participate.

Leviticus 23

29 For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people.

As the Jews who failed to follow Christ into the heavenly sanctuary, were left in darkness, as the Protestant churches which failed to accept Christ’s change of ministry in 1844 were left in darkness, so those within the church who fail to answer the call to enter the most holy place for the last great cleansing will be left in perfect darkness.

A terrible time of separation is here brought to view. The final test of the beast and his image is contemporary with the judgment of the living. Many forsake the truth and join the enemies of God’s people. Chaff like a cloud is borne away from even the most flourishing sections of the church. Many stars among God’s people go out in darkness. Company after company abandon the third angel’s message. The great majority even of those who now appear genuine Adventists prove to be base metal.111 These remarks are based on Ellen G. White’s Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 80-82; vol. 8, p. 41; The Great Controversy, p. 608.

Selected Messages, vol. 2, page 380:

The church may appear as about to fall, but it does not fall. It remains, while the sinners in Zion will be sifted out—the chaff separated from the precious wheat. This is a terrible ordeal, but nevertheless it must take place. None but those who have been overcoming by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony will be found with the loyal and true, without spot or stain of sin, without guile in their mouths.

Thus the church of God is purified, each member filled with the fullness of the Spirit, and all ready to sound the loud cry of the third angel.

Conclusion: A Challenge

Before God’s people today there is an open door into the holy of holies which no man can shut.

Revelation 3

8 I know your works: behold, I have set before you an open door, and no man can shut it: for you have a little strength, and have kept my word, and have not denied my name.

There the Bridegroom waits to apply the benefits of His final atonement. He cannot do this unless His people arouse from their lethargy, enter by faith into His work, and cooperate with Him.

Is it not time to…

Joel 2

15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, [to] sanctify a fast, [to] call a solemn assembly:

16 [To] gather the people, [to] sanctify the congregation, [to] assemble the elders, [and to] gather the children…

–to the sanctuary of God in this Day of Atonement? Is it not…

Romans 13

11 ...high time to awake out of sleep,

–and enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus? Jesus is waiting to bestow an experience upon His church that will fit it to finish the work of God.

There is much talk about finishing the work. Is it not then proper to enter the most holy place and finish the work? There is no other way to finish the work. Therefore to refuse to go into the holiest to receive the seal of God is to refuse to finish the work.

Then is it not proper for God’s people to be called to go forth to meet the Bridegroom in the most holy place? We do not have to wait for the beast and his image to appear on the scene. God holds them back until His people move into line.

Then let us gather at the sanctuary to receive the blessing that Jesus has so long waited to bestow. May the Holy Spirit, the only effective teacher of divine truth, call forth the sleeping virgins with the cry:

“Behold the Bridegroom comes;
go out to meet Him.”

To heed this call will mean the seal of God. A failure to respond will mean the mark of the beast; for those who refuse to enter into the second apartment will become part of Babylon. They will be led on by Satan to persecute their former brethren.

As the Jews who refused to follow the new sanctuary service persecuted the early church; as the Protestant Churches who refused to follow Christ’s change of ministry in 1844 will set up the image to persecute God’s people; so it is inevitable that those who do not go into the most holy by faith to meet the Bridegroom, will become persecutors of the saints of God.

No longer can God’s people halt between two opinions. Either they must go into the most holy, or refuse to go in and be left to the delusions of Satan. The response to this call will determine whether they will receive the perfect righteousness of Christ for eternity, or be left without the final atonement, unsheltered in the day of God.

Reader, what is your response to the cry: “Behold the Bridegroom comes; go out to meet Him”?

20. Christ in the Most Holy:
The Glory Revealed

A Finished Pattern

WHEN Moses built the earthly tabernacle, he was commanded to make all things according to the pattern shown to him in the mount.

Exodus 40

16 Thus did Moses: according to all the Lord commanded him, so did he.

19 And he spread abroad the tent over the tabernacle...as the Lord commanded Moses.

21 And he brought the ark into the tabernacle...as the Lord commanded Moses.

23 And he set the bread in order upon it before the Lord; as the Lord commanded Moses.

25 And he lighted the lamps before the Lord; as the Lord commanded Moses.

27 And he burnt sweet incense thereon; as the Lord commanded Moses.

29 And he put the altar of burnt offering by the door of the tabernacle...as the Lord commanded Moses.

33 So Moses finished the work.

34 Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

Now we are to fashion our temples according to the Pattern which we see in the Mount of God.

Hebrews 12

22 But you are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,

24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaks better things than that of Abel.

That Pattern is Jesus—His sinless life and perfect character.112 See p. 229-237. When we, through cooperating with divine grace, build our temples in all things as the Lord commanded by the Pattern shown us; when, like Moses, we “finish the work,” “the glory of the Lord” will fill “the tabernacle.” The angel of Revelation 18 will unite his voice with the third angel to swell his message into a loud cry.

A Glorified Church

Revelation 18

1 I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.

Isaiah 60

1 Arise, shine; for your light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.

2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon you, and His glory shall be seen upon you.

The time when the glory of God’s last message breaks upon the earth is midnight;—a time when there will exist in Christendom a state of spiritual declension similar to that which prevailed in the first centuries. We see from the prophecies that as God’s people move into line in obedience to God’s last awakening message to the church, the forces of evil gather for the last great conflict.

Revelation 17

17 For God has put in their hearts to fulfill His will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

While God’s church has been gathering at the sanctuary, the apostate churches have been uniting with spiritualism and taking the strong arm of civil power. As the angel descends with the glory and power of God, the papal beast ascends with all its former power.

Revelation 17

8 The beast that you saw was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

When the people of God partake of the glory of the angel of Revelation 18, the message against the beast, his image, and mark will be fully given. The message of Revelation 18, uniting with the third angel’s message, will proclaim:

Revelation 18

2 Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues.

The people of God are well equipped to deliver earth’s last message. They have entered into the most holy place, passed the judgment, and received the blotting out of all their sins.113 Editor’s note: This idea was, as mentioned earlier, a misconception in the early Awakening movement. The judgment of the living takes place after the Latter Rain/Loud Cry, not before it. See the book, Last Day Events, by F. T. Wright for further insight. The sinners have been purged from the church. The purified and perfectly united body are glorified with the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

Prophets and Kings, p. 725:

Clad in the armor of Christ’s righteousness, the church is to enter upon her final conflict. “Fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners,” she is to go forth into all the world conquering and to conquer.

A further description of the church at this time is given by the Spirit of Prophecy immediately following the account of the shaking:

Early Writings, p. 270-271:

Said the angel, “Listen!” Soon I heard a voice like many musical instruments all sounding in perfect strains, sweet and harmonious. It surpassed any music I had ever heard, seeming to be full of mercy, compassion and elevating, holy joy. It thrilled through my whole being.

Said the angel, “Look!” My attention was then turned to the company I had seen, who were mightily shaken. I was shown those whom I had before seen weeping and praying in agony of spirit. The company of guardian angels around them had been doubled, and they were clothed with an armor from their head to their feet. They moved in exact order, like a company of soldiers.

Their countenances expressed the severe conflict which they had endured, the agonizing struggle they had passed through. Yet their features, marked with severe internal anguish, now shone with the light and glory of heaven. They had obtained the victory, and it called forth from them the deepest gratitude and holy, sacred joy.

The numbers of this company had lessened. Some had been shaken out and left by the way. The careless and indifferent, who did not join with those who prized victory and salvation enough to perseveringly plead and agonize for it, did not obtain it, and they were left behind in darkness, and their places were immediately filled by others taking hold of the truth and coming into the ranks. Evil angels still pressed around them, but could have no power over them.

I heard those clothed with the armor speak forth the truth with great power. It had effect. Many had been bound; some wives by their husbands, and some children by their parents. The honest who had been prevented from hearing the truth now eagerly laid hold upon it. All fear of their relatives was gone, and the truth alone was exalted to them. They had been hungering and thirsting for truth; it was dearer and more precious than life.

I asked what had made this great change. An angel answered, “It is the latter rain, the refreshing from the presence of the Lord, the loud cry of the third angel.”

In another place the servant of the Lord writes:

The Great Controversy, p. 611-612:

The angel who unites in the proclamation of the third angel’s message, is to lighten the whole earth with his glory. A work of world-wide extent and unwonted power is here foretold. The Advent Movement of 1840-44 was a glorious manifestation of the power of God; the first angel’s message was carried to every missionary station in the world, and in some countries there was the greatest religious interest which has been witnessed in any land since the Reformation of the sixteenth century; but these are to be exceeded by the mighty movement under the last warning of the third angel.

The work will be similar to that of the day of Pentecost. As the “former rain” was given, in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the opening of the gospel, to cause the upspringing of the precious seed, so the “latter rain” will be given at its close, for the ripening of the harvest.

Hosea 6

3 Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: His going forth is prepared as the morning; and He shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.

Joel 2

23 Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for He has given you the former rain moderately, and He will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain.

Acts 2

17 In the last days, says God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh.

21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

The great work of the gospel is not to close with less manifestation of the power of God than marked its opening. The prophecies which were fulfilled in the outpouring of the former rain at the opening of the gospel, are again to be fulfilled in the latter rain at its close. Here are “the times of refreshing” to which the apostle Peter looked forward when he said,

Acts 3

19 Repent therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out [in the investigative judgment], when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and He shall send Jesus.

Servants of God, with their faces lighted up and shining with holy consecration, will hasten from place to place to proclaim the message from heaven. By thousands of voices, all over the earth, the warning will be given.

The Final Gathering

Micah 4

1 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.

2 And many nations shall come and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

Isaiah 4

2 In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely...

4 When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the Spirit of judgment, and by the Spirit of burning.

Isaiah 35

1 The desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.

2 It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing... they shall see the glory of the Lord and the excellency of our God…

5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped…

8 And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called the way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it.

Isaiah 44

22 I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, your transgressions, and as a cloud, your sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed you.

23 Sing, O you heavens; for the Lord has done it: shout, you lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, you mountains, O forest and every tree therein: for the Lord has redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.

Isaiah 55

5 Behold, you shall call a nation that you know not, and nations that knew you not shall run unto you because of the Lord your God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for He has glorified you.

Isaiah 60

3 And the Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

4 Lift up your eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far, and your daughters shall be nursed at your side.

5 Then you shall see, and flow together, and your heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto you, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto you.

These are encouraging prophecies for the church of God. Although persecution will rage, and the powers of evil will be mighty to deceive, thousands will be converted in a day under the loud cry of the third angel. The message of the Priesthood of Christ will be proclaimed in demonstration of the spirit and with power.

Multitudes have never heard words like these before, and many lay hold of the truth. As they do, they will be sealed with the character of God, and their allegiance to Jehovah’s rest day will be the sign of their place in the sealed church. Those who reject the last message will accept the token of rebellion against heaven (Sunday), and be marked with the character of Satan.

The Mystery Finished

The light finally penetrates everywhere. All have taken their side for or against the light from heaven. In the final test all have either developed the character of God or the character of Satan. When the last soul is won to the kingdom of God, sealed through Christ’s ministry in the most holy place, Jesus ceases His intercession in the sanctuary.

Early Writings, p. 279-280:

Then I saw Jesus, who had been ministering before the ark containing the ten commandments, throw down the censer. He raised His hands, and with a loud voice said, “It is done.” And all the angelic host laid off their crowns as Jesus made the solemn declaration,

Revelation 22

11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.

The mystery of God is finished.

21. God’s Eternal Purpose Consummated

Daniel 12

1 At that time shall Michael stand up [the close of probation], the great prince which stands for the children of your people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time shall they be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

The Time of Trouble

ON THE one hand it is a time of trouble for the wicked—all those left without the seal of God. When Jesus ceases His intercession in the most holy place, they will be unsheltered by divine mercy. Heretofore they have abused the mercies of God and have been unmindful of the benefits of a Mediator between God and guilty men. But when Jesus steps out from between the wicked and a holy God, they will reap the harvest of their own transgression.

As warned by the third angel, they drink…

Revelation 14

10 ...the wine of the wrath of God,

–in the seven last plagues.114 See Revelation 15:6 and Revelation 16. They have chosen Satan as their leader; now he takes complete control of them, and they have no protection either from his satanic cruelty or the strife of their own ungoverned passions. In a very short space, the earth becomes a vast sink of corruption.

Isaiah 24

5 The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.

On the other hand it is a time of trouble for the righteous. When the plagues begin to fall, the wicked are enraged. Led on by Satan, they conspire to blot the Sabbath-keepers from the earth.

Jeremiah 30

7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.

As Jacob wrestled with God for deliverance from the hand of Esau, God’s people will plead to God for deliverance from their enemies. It is not for their own safety that they pray, but for God to be vindicated as the earth defies His government.

The time of trouble is not a needless torture for God’s people, but a needful time of preparation for eternity. Their characters, cleansed from every trace of sin through the cleansing of the sanctuary, must now be matured and polished by affliction. Faith, patience and hope must be exercised. They will be sorely tested, yet they are eternally secure. They prove to the universe that fallen humanity may keep God’s law perfectly. God’s name and law are vindicated in His people.

Second Coming of Christ

When the character of Christ is perfectly reproduced in His people, it is time for Him to...

Ephesians 5

27 ...present...to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

It is time also for Christ to reveal himself as King of kings and Lord of lords, and put down rebellion.

Psalm 119

126 It is time for you, Lord, to work: for they have made void your law.

Isaiah 26

21 The Lord comes out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity.

Matthew 24

27 For as the lightning comes out of the east, and shines even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be..

30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Revelation 1

7 Behold, He comes with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him.

Revelation 6

15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;

16 And said to the mountains, and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:

17 For the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Isaiah 25

9 And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.

The Resurrection of the Righteous

1 Thessalonians 4

16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

1 Corinthians 15

51 Behold I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality.

54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

At his coming Christ destroys the wicked from the face of the earth:

Isaiah 26

21 For, behold, the Lord comes out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.

Jeremiah 25

31 A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the Lord has a controversy with the nations, He will plead with all flesh; He will give them that are wicked to the sword, says the Lord.

32 Thus says the Lord of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.

33 And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.

Isaiah 24

1 Behold, the Lord makes the earth empty, and makes it waste, and turns it upside down, and scatters abroad the inhabitants thereof.

3 The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the Lord has spoken this word.

5 The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.

6 Therefore has the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.

Source: Redon, 1899 - Rijksstudio Sins Transferred to Satan

Then Satan is taken as the Scapegoat to bear the sins of God’s people. When Jesus finished blotting out the records of the faithful in the holy of holies, He tarried a moment in the outer apartment; and in His character of a mediator, He bore the sins of God’s people from the sanctuary.

The Great Controversy, p. 658:

Now the event takes place, foreshadowed in the last solemn service of the day of atonement. When the ministration in the holy of holies had been completed, and the sins of Israel had been removed from the sanctuary by virtue of the blood of the sin-offering then the scapegoat was presented alive before the Lord; and in presence of the congregation the high priest confessed over him “all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat.”

In like manner, when the work of atonement in the heavenly sanctuary has been completed, then in the presence of God and heavenly angels, and the host of the redeemed, the sins of God’s people will be placed upon Satan, he will be declared guilty of all the evil which he has caused them to commit. And as the scapegoat was sent away into a land not inhabited, so Satan will be banished to the desolate earth, an uninhabited and dreary wilderness.

The Millennium

While Satan is bound to the desolate earth for a thousand years to reflect upon the course of his apostasy, and to survey the ruin he has caused,115 See Revelation 20:1-3; Jeremiah 4:23-27; Isaiah 14:12-20. God’s people, in union with Christ, are in heaven, judging the wicked, the devil and his angels.

1 Corinthians 4

5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.

Daniel 7

22 Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.

Revelation 20

4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

6 Blessed and holy is he that has part in the first resurrection: on such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

New Jerusalem Comes Down

After the thousand years are expired, Christ and the redeemed return to the earth.

Zechariah 14

4 And His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

5 And you shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, you shall flee, like as you fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with you.

The holy city, the New Jerusalem, comes down from God out of heaven.

Revelation 21

2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Resurrection of Wicked – Execution of Judgment

Then, according to the word of God, the wicked dead are raised to suffer with Satan and his angels the execution of the final judgment.

Isaiah 24

22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.

Revelation 20

7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison.

Satan, no longer inactive, places himself in control of the risen hosts, and leads them to attack the holy city.

8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sands of the sea.

9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Thus will perish all sin and sinners in the cleansing fires of the last day. Each sinner will receive punishment according to his deeds. The wicked will be no more, and rebellion shall not rise up the second time.

Obadiah 1

16 For as you have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been.

Nahum 1

9 What do you imagine against the Lord? He will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time.

The Saints’ Inheritance

The time has arrived for God’s eternal purpose to be consummated. According to His glorious purpose which He planned in Christ, He fore-ordained His people to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the delight of His will.

Ephesians 1

5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.

As His children, they bear His likeness:

4 ...holy, and without blame before Him in love.

Now God delights to give to them the eternal inheritance—the earth made new, freed from the curse of sin, and restored to its Edenic beauty.

Revelation 21

1 And I saw a new [renewed] heaven and a new [renewed] earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away.

Isaiah 45

18 Thus says the Lord...that formed the earth and made it; He has established it, He created it not in vain, He formed it to be inhabited.

Psalm 37

29 The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever.

Isaiah 32

18 My people shall dwell in a peaceful habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.

Isaiah 60

18 Violence shall no more be heard in your land, wasting nor destruction within your borders; but you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise.

Isaiah 65

21 They shall build houses, and inhabit them; and shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.

22 They shall not build, and another inhabit: they shall not plant, and another eat...mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

Revelation 21

4 There shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things have passed away.

God’s Purpose Consummated

For the first time since the beginning of evil, the universe is clean. Now all things, animate and inanimate, bear the Creator’s name and display His glory. All things are gathered together in one in Christ,

1 Corinthians 15

28 ...that God may be all and in all.

Revelation 5

13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing and honor, and glory, and power be unto Him that sits upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever.

In the ages to come God shows unto His people the surpassing wealth of His favor in His kindness through Jesus Christ

Ephesians 2

7 That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

They follow the Lamb and bask in the light of His face.

Revelation 14

4 These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

Revelation 22

3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him:

4 And they shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads.

Their immortal minds contemplate the wealth that God has lavished on them in the gift of Christ. As the years of eternity unfold, theirs is the joy of studying the inexhaustible riches of God’s eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Ephesians 3

8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;

9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world has been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

11 According to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:

12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of Him.

APPENDIX

Another Look at Acts 3:19

By F. T. Wright

This article, published in The Messenger of Living Righteousness of January/February 1966, is included in the Appendix to correct a misconception held in the early “Awakening” movement, which error is expressed in Chapter 17 of this book, in the subsection “Latter Rain After Sins Blotted Out.” The mistake is based on a misinterpretation of Acts 3:19, so the correct interpretation is here presented.

Does not Acts 3:19 prove conclusively that only upon those who have had their sins blotted from the Sanctuary in the judgment can the Latter Rain fall?

THIS Scripture means just what it says, as does every other text in the Inspired Word. But, like all other Scriptures, it can be made to speak a very different to its intended message if is lifted out of its context and considered apart from the rest of the evidence of the Word.

The Bible Is Its Own Dictionary

And it is a fact of the plainest truth that when this text is studied in the light of its context, and along with the rest of the evidence in the word on the subject of the blotting out of sins and the times of refreshing, it offers no proof at all that the Latter Rain can come on those only who have passed the judgment of the living. In fact it supports the opposite position fully, and entirely.

Ever bear in mind that no Bible truth can be established on one text alone. If it could then Revelation 20:10116 Revelation 20 10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. taken alone would seem to strongly justify the belief that there is to be an eternally burning hell. But when viewed in the light of the rest of the Word, this view cannot be sustained and a deeper study of this Scripture is needed.

Such a study soon reveals that the Bible uses the term “forever” in a different sense to that used in normal modern English. And it is a sound principle of Bible study that you must take the Bible definition of the word if you are to understand the Bible meaning. To discover the Bible use of the word requires the study of the use of that word as it is used in Scripture. By this means, its meaning soon becomes crystal clear.

Just as the correct understanding of Revelation 20:10 depends on a clear understanding of the Bible definition of the terms used, so also does a correct understanding of Acts 3:19 depend on a correct understanding of the Bible definition of the term: “blotting out.” And we shall find that the Bible meaning differs from the usual meaning.

The term “to blot out,” is usually understood to mean to wipe out, to erase, to smear away, to stamp into non-existence, to obliterate. If that is the meaning then a certain thing could be blotted out only once. That is obvious.

But the Bible meaning differs somewhat from that, as we shall soon demonstrate, and, inasmuch as the whole matter of the blotting out of sins is a transaction taking place in the Sanctuary, we shall find the evidence that we are seeking there, better than anywhere else. And there we shall find that the term does not mean “to wipe out,” or “to obliterate from existence,” but “to remove,” or “to take away.” True, this removing is so complete that the sin is obliterated from the place where it was, but not from existence. That which has been blotted out or removed from the one place is put into or onto another.

Blotting Out of Sins

So we turn to the blotting out of sins that is to take place after the judgment. We know that the cleansing of the Sanctuary is to be accomplished by the blotting out of sins which have accumulated there up till the judgment. Now notice how specifically and exactly we are told what that blotting out is.

The Great Controversy, p. 421-422:

As anciently the sins of the people were by faith placed upon the sin offering, and through its blood transferred in figure to the earthly sanctuary; so in the new covenant the sins of the repentant are by faith placed upon Christ, and transferred, in fact, to the heavenly sanctuary. And as the typical cleansing of the earthly was accomplished by the removal of the sins by which it had been polluted, so the actual cleansing of the heavenly is to be accomplished by the removal, or blotting out of the sins that are there recorded.

Now notice how in connection with the sanctuary service the term “blotting out” is defined as being a removal from the one place to another. The one place is the sanctuary. The other is the scapegoat. A. T. Jones understood it as we read in the The Consecrated Way to Christian Perfection, p. 118:

The cleansing of the sanctuary as to the sanctuary itself, was the taking out of and away from the sanctuary all the transgressions of the people which, by the service of the priests, had been taken into the sanctuary during the service of the year.

Now notice carefully that what is at this time taken out of, and away from, the sanctuary, has previously been taken out of, and away from, the sinner to be put into the sanctuary. In other words, that which has previously been effected in the repentant one to provide his cleansing, is now repeated in the sanctuary. And if the repetition is called a blotting out of sins, what must the original be but also a blotting out of sins.

In other words, sin is first blotted out of the sinner by being removed from him and placed in the sanctuary. This blotting out must take place before the judgment. Then that which has been previously removed from or blotted out of the sinner is now removed or blotted from the sanctuary.

We are well aware that the term “blotting out of sins” is not generally understood at the present time to apply to the removing of the sins from the person in the daily experience, but this was very much the view held in the early days of the Advent Message. So Crozier understood it when he said on page 14 of The Sanctuary:

From these texts we learn that the words atone, cleanse, reconcile, purify, purge, pardon, sanctify, hallow, forgive, justify, redeem, blot out, and some others are used to signify the same work.

So also E. J. Waggoner understood it for he wrote in the The Review and Herald, September 30, 1902 as follows:

We need to be on guard against the idea that the blotting out of sin is merely as the passing of a sponge over a slate, or an entry in a ledger, to balance the account. This is not the blotting out of sin....The blotting out of sin is the erasing of it from the nature, the being of man. “The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin.”

These men had a broader and much more correct understanding of the blotting out of sins and it is because we have allowed our concept of it to become so narrowed that we have failed to understand the message of Acts 3:19.

Which Blotting Out?

It is plainly evident that there are two blottings out of sin, and that being so, the question immediately arises,

“To which was Peter referring in particular when he addressed the people at the temple gate that day so long ago?”

Let us turn to the Scriptures and see. In the previous chapter Peter had been preaching to this crowd that had assembled at the sound of the outpouring of the Spirit. He was preaching to a crowd of people unconverted and guilty of the crucifixion of Jesus. And to that crowd he pressed home the charge of their sin with telling force, for he accused them of slaying the Son of God. And when they were convicted to the heart he said to them,

Acts 2

38 Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Now it is evident to all that Peter here was making the call to basic repentance and that the remission of sins spoken of was the remission from the individual to the sanctuary in the daily experience.

Let us now compare this with the experience at the gate of the temple and we will find that it is identical. Once again Peter was addressing an unconverted audience. It was not the same group that had heard him previously for he pressed home to them the same charge that he had laid upon the others; the crucifixion of Christ. And when he had laid on them that same straight testimony then he called on them to repent just as he had done on the previous group.

Acts 3

19 Repent therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.

While the actual words were slightly different, the meaning was the same exactly. Let us compare them side by side.

Acts 2:38	Acts 3:19
Repent	Repent
Be baptized	Be converted
For the remission of sins	That sins may be blotted out
To receive the Holy Ghost	That times of refreshing may come

One of the great beauties of the inspired Word is that the same truth will be expressed several times in different passages in different words. The message is the same but the expression of it is different so that the reader is better able to grasp through the varied expressions something more of the fullness of the meaning.

Thus the message of Daniel 9:24117 Daniel 9 24 Seventy weeks are determined upon your people and upon your holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. is repeated in Revelation 10:7.118 Revelation 10 7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as He has declared to His servants the prophets. Both Scriptures say the same thing only in different words and as we compare them we understand the truth that much more clearly. Likewise, Peter said the same thing in Acts 3:19 that he had said in Acts 2:38.

Both verses begin with the same word, “Repent,” and in both cases are addressed to an unconverted audience. To the first he said, “Be baptized,” while to the second he said, “Be converted.” What difference is there? There is none because to be baptized is to be converted. Now, as has already been clearly shown, remittance, or removing, or taking away of sin, is exactly the blotting out of sin, and the result in both cases is to receive the Holy Spirit, which reception is indeed a time of refreshing.

Now there is no fair denying that each of the steps called for in these two verses is dependent on the step before it being taken.

Conversion or baptism can never be unless there is first repentance.

Likewise there can never be a time of refreshing except there have been a remitting or blotting out of sin from the believer.

The word “when,” as translated in the Authorized Version, is more correctly translated “that,” or “so that,” with the definite idea of purpose in it. That is to say,

“Your sins are to be blotted out so that times of refreshing may come.”

And this is exactly right, and as it only can be in the life’s experience.

Notice too, that it is not only “a time” of refreshing but “times,” plural, and inasmuch as the verse carries the idea of purpose in it:

“Your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come,”

–it is evident that each time of refreshing, can come only upon there being a blotting out of the sin first. A careful study of the experience of the remission, or blotting out, of sin in the daily experience, shows this to be the exact order of events.

This subject is treated in careful detail in our previous, publication, entitled Acceptable Confession, the points of which we will but summarize here.

The individual is convicted of sin, and repenting of it, comes to the sanctuary with his offering.

Over the head of this he confesses his sin, which is more than just the guilt, but the sinfulness as well, and the sin is blotted out of him so completely that only a vacuum remains where the sin was.

The sin which is blotted out of him is remitted or sent into the sanctuary and defiles it.

Now and only now can the Spirit of God come into the person.

The vacuum must be made first so that there is room provided for the admission of the Holy Spirit. He comes into the space where the sin was. Therefore it is true and strictly true that the sin must first be blotted out, so that the time of refreshing may come. For every time that there is a receiving of the presence of the Holy Spirit, it is indeed a time of refreshing. And this will be, and in fact must be, an oft-repeated experience, for we do not see all of our sinfulness at once. We see it more and more, and must repent again and again along the way, and receive more and still more of the Holy Spirit as more and more of the sin is blotted out, and room is made for the Spirit to enter.

And so on till the ultimate time of refreshing is reached in the mighty outpouring of the Latter Rain to which Peter definitely looked forward as the richest fulfillment of the experience of the blotting of sin from the soul.

So it is clear that Peter was calling on those people to enter into the personal experience of the blotting out of sins in their daily lives, and when applied to that experience, the order of events in Acts 3:19 is strictly and exactly right.

Blotting Out of Sins from the Sanctuary

Now we turn to the next blotting out of sins, namely from the Sanctuary to the scapegoat, which blotting out of sins can only take place after the judgment. And we must frankly recognize the fact that there is an application of Acts 3:19 to this blotting out too. And this application is made by the Spirit of Prophecy so that we must consider the way in which that application is made by that source of Inspiration.

Now a very natural assumption is that whatever relationship exists between the blotting out of sins and the times of refreshing in the daily experience, will be identical in the final experience. But it is the exact opposite. In the daily, the blotting of sin must precede the times of refreshing. But in the final, the times of refreshing must precede the blotting of sin from the sanctuary.

Apart from Acts 3:19 there is evidence upon evidence to prove this, but there is not the space to spell all that out just here. But we will take up two very important arguments to sustain the above contention.

We know that there are two experiences of justification. There is the justification we receive on conversion which is provisional upon our finally passing the scrutiny of the judgment, and there is the justification,—full and complete.—given to us in the judgment. And each becomes ours subsequent to a blotting out of sin.

The blotting out of sin in each case is the experience of justification. But there is a reversal in the order of events: what is so in the daily, is exactly reversed in the final. Let us read it in the Bible. Paul says:

Romans 3

28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified without the deeds of the law.

And this is absolutely true, for the unjustified man just simply cannot do even the first deeds of the law. He must become justified; he must receive forgiveness by having his sins blotted out, or remitted, and receiving the righteous life of Christ through the Spirit, before he can keep the law at all. Justification comes first, and the deeds of the law after. That is the order in the daily experience.

But in the judgment it is exactly the opposite. Read it there in plain language. The same Paul, writing by the inspiration of the same Holy Spirit, said when speaking of the judgment,

Romans 2

13 For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the Law shall be justified.

And while this is the plain opposite of the text just quoted, it is also absolutely true, but only in the judgment. In the first case we must be justified before we keep the law. But in the Judgment, we must be doers of the law before we can be justified. Read the context to this verse in Romans 2 and you will see that the whole discussion is on the conditions to be found in the judgment.

And so it is that in every single instance where the Spirit of Prophecy quotes Acts 3:19 it quotes it in a way that is in harmony with this principle. We all know that the Revised Version was often quoted when it gave a clearer meaning to the Scripture. In the Revised Version the word “when” is replaced by “that,” but with unfailing consistency, Sister White always uses the translation “when,” in every instance where she quotes this Scripture.

And it must be very apparent that the word “when” gives a different meaning to the verse, so that in two places she actually paraphrases the verse to convey the exact meaning that she intended. These are as follows:

The Review and Herald, August 28, 1883:

Are we by repentance and confession sending our sins beforehand to judgment that they may be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come?

And again:

The Review and Herald, October 21, 1884:

An effort was made to arouse them by presenting our true position in the antitypical day of atonement when every man should afflict his soul before God, when sins should be confessed and go beforehand to judgment that when the times of refreshing shall come they may be blotted out.

There is no question that the author is referring to the blotting out of sins from the heavenly sanctuary and not the previous blotting out of sins from the soul in these statements. Now read the way that the statement is worded and see that the opposite order of events is stated. See what it says?

“The sins will be blotted out when the times of refreshing come,”

–which is but to say that the sins cannot be blotted out until the times of refreshing do come. Therefore the times of refreshing must come first, before the blotting out of sins. It is just the same as saying,

“There has been a long drought, but the grass will grow again when the rains come.”

Now we all know that the falling of the rain must come before the grass will grow. Again we might say to one,

“Hurry and get ready so that you might meet Henry when the train comes in.”

Now we know that the train must come in and actually finish coming in and be stopped at the platform before you will meet Henry as he alights from the carriage.

Thus Acts 3:19 provides no contradiction with the rest of the Scripture and means exactly what it says when applied as Peter applied it on the days after Pentecost.

And when given a wider application than the original one, then it must be given that application in harmony with the principle that the order of events in regard to justification, or the blotting out of sins, is reversed in the judgment.

Autobiography: 1933-1963

By Robert Brinsmead

This transcript is from an autobiographical reflection given by Robert Brinsmead at a public meeting in 1963 in the USA. Robert recounts his life life story, from the beginning up to that time.

Robert Brinsmead, along with his brother John, began what was later called the “Awakening” message within the Seventh-day Adventist church in the early 1960s. It was a revival of the 1888 message (a special gospel message brought by two young ministers to the Seventh-day Adventist church in 1888).

IN THE story that I propose to tell, I want to try and tell it in as straightforward and frank a way as possible, to help you understand some of the things that have arisen and are transpiring at the present time.

1933-1940: Early Childhood

I was born in 1933, during the Depression, of a farming family. I was the last of eight children in the family. My parents were farmers. We were a farming people in the state of Victoria, right down in the southern end of Australia. They were of about twenty-five years standing Adventist when I was born. That means it would be going on for fifty years now since my parents were Adventists.

My mother was from Church of England background,—the lower Church of England,—they were a quite strict Church of England family. And my father was of Methodist stock: Wesleyan. I guess that the manner in which the Wesleyans of those days used to keep the Sabbath [Sunday] would put most Adventists to shame today. That was the case back there about fifty years ago.

It was nearly fifty years ago that my family were brought into the Adventist truth and embraced the message. They became health reformers as soon as they accepted the message. I know that they didn’t accept the message in parts or bits, and then after a number of years become health reformers, in the sense of leaving off things like meat and harmful food; but they changed immediately, even before they were baptized.

I can always remember in our home, we weren’t a family of saints. I guess we were quite a boisterous family with six boys, and me the youngest. But, however, we were always blessed with the fact that there was always worship in our home.

My mother was a particularly good story-teller. There was hardly a story of the Bible that I didn’t know by about seven years of age,—never going to bed without that. Baths were taken before sundown, and any argument settled before the going down of the sun, and the shoes lined up along the wall, and an evening sing-song when the sun was going down.

I don’t think there was any of us musical; my mother could play a little bit. And some of us could scarcely keep a tune. But however it was a joyful noise.

1940-1945: The SDA Reform Movement

When I was about seven years of age, at the beginning of the War years, one by the name of D. Nicolici came to Australia. I think that’s a name that most of you have heard of. He was one of the leaders of the German Reform movement. He came to Australia at the time when the war question was a very live issue in the Australasian Union.

The result was it was early in the War years that my father and mother and my elder sister,—who was a that time a young woman, she was in her early twenties, much older than I was (I was seven),—joined the Reform movement.

Looking back on those years, although I was seven years of age, I can remember quite a bit. If religion was ever a serious thing before, it certainly was then. I can distinctly remember that the Reform meant to us: home-made bread; a fast once every Sabbath. It wasn’t such a good idea to me, but we used to endure it as boys. And study of the Scriptures was very earnestly taken up.

I can even remember at times when we would go off for a weekend and spend a weekend out in the country,—of course we lived in the country,—but we’d go away sometimes and there we would study the message. The history of the Advent movement was well-known to us even as boys, even as small children.

With the continued Bible study in the family, it wasn’t long before it produced further results, because it was after about three years, coming down to about 1944,—I don’t remember whether it was 1944 or 1945,—that my mother and my father and my elder sister left the Reform movement. When they left the Reform movement, they managed to take about forty members out of the movement there in Australia. And they were, you might say, some of the key members of the church of the Reform movement.

And the result was that it never recovered from the blow as far as the Australasian Division is concerned. Since then it has pretty well died out altogether. Well that brings us down near the close of the War years.

1945-1947: Return to Adventism–Move to North NSW

We were isolated members. We never went to a regular church, because there wasn’t any regular church around. When we left the Reform, we continued to be isolated members. We lived down in the country area in Victoria.

The two eldest girls left home and became school teachers, but the last four in the family were four boys, and the farm was getting too small for us, because two of the boys were growing up and we wanted more land. So we shifted from Victoria–right down in the southern end of Australia–a thousand miles up further north, up into the sub-tropical area, to the banana area, where we commenced banana farming.

Still again that was an isolated area. So we never got to go to a regular church out there either. We were still right out in the country.

At that time John had left school–he was only about fourteen–he left school quite early. He’s the brother who is over here with me. He never had what you’d call very much formal education. I continued going on to high school until I graduated in 1949.

We were out in the country, way up beneath the McPherson Ranges right on the New South Wales-Queensland border. And there were a few Adventist families who were isolated with us, who lived out in that region. And so it was our custom to gather together Sabbath by Sabbath. And we had very enjoyable Sabbaths out there in the home in the midst of the wild in Australia–a very beautiful area.

There was no regular preacher there and as far as preaching is concerned, the lot fell to my father. He was not qualified to be a preacher in the normal sense of the word. However, he wasn’t lacking for study and had plenty of enthusiasm. And I can remember as a boy, he was quite long-winded. Some might say I take after him. We would sometimes shake the time-mat when we thought it was time for him to stop.

However, folk seemed to enjoy the studies. And particularly my sister and my father continued quite vigorous study. I was only a teenager at that time and I followed it with more than casual interest, although I wasn’t a very vigorous participator at that time. I had my high school studies to pursue.

1947-1948: R. A. Grieve

In 1947 and going on to 1948, as the result of study of the sanctuary question and the truth of righteousness by faith we discovered that the great work in the heavenly sanctuary, which we know as the final atonement or the blotting out of sins, must transpire before God’s people could receive the Latter Rain.

The Latter Rain has always been quite a question in our church. Why has it been delayed? What will bring the Latter Rain to God’s people? And here the evidence seemed quite clear to us that in the relation between the Day of Atonement and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the Investigative Judgment must come to the believer and his sins must be blotted out before he can participate in the Loud Cry.

Back in those days it was a doctrine that wasn’t generally understood. I suppose it was quite advanced for those days. So much so that it wasn’t long before the nearest minister came out to see us. The reason was that when some of these truths began to come into practice there was quite a lively interest manifested out there in the bush. Whereas there were just a few stray people who used to gather from Sabbath to Sabbath–out there in an isolated area, it wasn’t long before it was quite common for forty to fifty people to go right out in the country to spend the Sabbath out there. And I must admit that when some of these truths came into focus, it wasn’t so hard to endure a two hour sitting of my father’s preaching.

So the nearest minister–who came from Murwillumbah, came out to see what was going on. This man was supposed to be an authority on the Sanctuary question, well-recognized in many parts of the Australasian field. And when he found that there was a group of people who believed that the blotting out of sins was to take place before the close of probation in the experience of God’s people, this seemed to him to be a very dangerous teaching, because he believed that the sins of God’s people would not be blotted out until they were placed on the scapegoat–and that was after the close of probation.

And when he discovered that these people, who were ignorant farmers, did not surrender their understanding of the matter into his hands, he considered that such people should not be tolerated in church fellowship.

So the President came up and I can still remember the meeting with the nearest minister and the President. The local minister got up to have his say on the question, and then my sister presented a few points. And it wasn’t very long before the man was in deep water. And the President was rather nice about the whole matter. He said,

“Well, I think this warrants further study. I admit that I don’t know too much about it myself. And I think it would be a good idea if our good pastor here studied into it more too. And we’ll see how things develop.”

We lived right on the Queensland-New South Wales border. That Conference President was from North New South Wales. Now we lived in the New South Wales conference, technically speaking–isolated members. My sister Hope Taylor and her husband [Lionel] lived over in the Queensland Conference. So the Queensland Conference was interested and wondering what was going on too. They arranged a meeting in 1948 in the Queensland Conference. And there was a handful of workers there–Pastor Hooper was the president.

And my sister presented a study on certain features of our faith and pointed out that God’s people were to receive the victory over the beast and the image, over the number of his name by faith, the same as we receive victory over sin. The great work was to be accomplished in God’s people on the anti-typical Day of Atonement before the work could go forward under the power of the Loud Cry.

Special attention was drawn to this passage of Spirit of Prophecy in Early Writings, p. 269, where it speaks of the Shaking, and a group of God’s people with “strong faith and agonizing cries.” The ministers were particularly interested in this passage. It seemed quite new to most of them, that this tremendous experience was to take place before the Latter Rain would come to the church. The meeting was very cordial and ended cordially. And the President expressed his appreciation of the study.

Then there was one man who stood up and he was R. A. Grieve, who was a minister in the Conference. And he said,

“I’ve got something to say, because I think I see something in this study that the rest of you ministers don’t see. This is new to me. If it’s true, it leads to far-reaching conclusions. I want to give it further study. But if it’s true, we’re not going to finish the work as a church, the way we’re going. We’re not going to finish it in our present capacity. There are going to have to be some tremendous changes made before the work is finally finished.”

This is true. Well the meeting ended.

There was a doctor who had quite a deal of material in his library. He made two or three trips to America and he used to bring back different stuff. And it was just a few months after that meeting that we discovered in his library a book by A. T. Jones called The Consecrated Way to Christian Perfection. I don’t know how many of you have read it. Some of you have read the book, it’s only a small book. But we recommend it for any of you to read.

A. T. Jones, of course, was one of the men raised up of God to give the message back in the last century. While reading this book we were very interested, particularly as the very doctrine that was presented at that Conference in 1948 was found in the writings of A. T. Jones. We never knew it at that time. But it was about six months after that meeting in the Queensland conference that we came across The Consecrated way to Christian Perfection, where the same teaching is brought out there in his book.119 Editor’s note: Robert is referring to a statement from Consecrated Way, chapter 16, “The Times of Refreshing,” which states: “This blotting out of sins must precede the receiving of the refreshing of the latter rain.” While Jones does not elaborate on the exact timing of events, it is clear that God’s people must be cleansed from known and revealed sins to allow the Holy Spirit to come in. It does not follow that therefore their cases are judged in the courts of Heaven. A further cleansing can still take place under the time of the power of the Holy Spirit, as in the case of Peter, who received the Holy Spirit, yet made a mistake in separating from the Gentile believers (as recorded in Galatians 2:11-14).

At the same time, R. A. Grieve became president of Queensland Conference. He gave some consideration to the question that was brought up. And then as soon as the man became president–I don’t whether there is any connection, but it was at the same time,—he vigorously turned against the teaching on the blotting out of sins. So much so, that this man began a re-study of fundamental Adventist positions and, in trying to oppose the truth, he took a new position.

Now most Adventists thought that this wonderful blotting out of sins is what would take place later, and the Latter Rain earlier. It didn’t take Grieve long to see that the position that was usually adopted could not be substantiated, either from the Scriptures or from the writings of Sister White. So he adopted a new position. He said the blotting out of sins must take place before God’s people go forward in the experience of the Latter Rain. That is clear Scripture that cannot be denied. But, he said, the blotting out of sins doesn’t take place here in the Most Holy Place, in the Investigative Judgment. The blotting out of sins takes place at conversion. He held the position that the blotting out of sins took place at conversion.

And so he began a study of Protestant literature–Campbell Morgan and some others, and he moved the truth of the Final Atonement; he took it out of the Most Holy Place and put it back at the altar,–the completed work of atonement on Calvary, not just a completed sacrificial atonement but a completed work of atonement,—and that a believer receives the full atonement the moment he accepts Christ and therefore at that time his sin would be blotted out.

When this position was adopted by the Queensland President, as far as we could gather, the whole Conference constituency, as far as the workers go, followed him entirely. If there was any dissenting voice, we never heard any, although this teaching was absolutely contrary to the fundamental Adventist position.

Then along with that, as Grieve continued to study, and as his teaching on the blotting out of sins in the Latter Rain was centered around the teaching of perfection–God’s people in the last days were to have a special experience, and they were to give the final demonstration to the world of the saving power of Christ in their own lives,—he began to do a study of the very basis of the Christian doctrine and of the Christian experience.

Grieve was no fool. And he knew that this position of perfection of Christian character was based on the doctrine of the Incarnation of Christ, that Christ partook of man’s fallen nature and lived a sinless life. Therefore if fallen man was completely united with Christ’s divinity, he would also live a sinless life, and the 144,000 would live such a life.

When he began to move this doctrine of of the final atonement, of the blotting out of sins, from the Most Holy Place of the Sanctuary, he also began a study of the nature of Christ. And he adopted the general consensus Protestant position that Christ did not partake of man’s fallen nature, but he took the nature of Adam before Adam fell, and that God’s people would still be sinning and repenting right up until Jesus comes in the clouds of heaven.

He believed that while they lived in fallen human nature, they could not expect anything else, but be sinning and repenting until Jesus comes in the clouds of heaven; but they were protected by the completed work of atonement, not here, but the completed work of atonement that was made on Calvary. This was a new position to fundamental Adventism.

But these two points began to be urged by the Conference President there in Queensland, and his position was adopted by his workers in that area and they began preaching it from the pulpit. I can even remember that in 1954 some of this material got into the Australasian Record, which is the official paper of the Australasian Division, where it stated straight out that as soon as a person accepts Jesus, there remains no trace and no record of the man’s sins–they are completely blotted out, gone forever.

Well, some of the lay people in the Queensland Conference did not go along with this new teaching. They knew what the true Adventist position was. They were a very small minority, but they would not accept this position.

But Grieve was very insistent in urging his views. In fact he was convinced that these teachings that he was propagating to Seventh-day Adventism everywhere, he believed that this was just what was needed to save the church from its legalistic position. And he was all for pushing through this new theology to the church.

But there were some lay people who were making some noise. They weren’t making a great lot of noise then, but at least it was disturbing to him. And particularly with my sister living in that Conference, Grieve found a very handy scapegoat because:

She opposed his position, and

She had a Reform background.

So, as Conference President, with the people looking up to him, it was very easy for him to say,

“Well there you are. These people have Reform background. They are still causing us trouble. The best thing we can do with them is put them out of the church.”

And so quite an agitation commenced in the Queensland Conference and it also got down over the border. Our family lived right on the border.

1953: Baptism

To go back a bit, in 1949 I left high school, and I decided to go farming. I joined my brothers growing bananas. And then the next farm began to be a bit small for us, so some remained behind and some went further on. I went up a thousand miles further north, way up in the tropical north of Australia and began cane farming up there in 1953.

It was right in the time that the controversy was raging in Queensland on the questions of our doctrine. At that time I was about nineteen years of age. I wasn’t baptized at that stage. I probably would have been beforehand, only the spiritual climate wasn’t very conducive to acceptance in the church where I was, and we were isolated members anyway.

But we moved up there in the tropical north and I was a thousand miles away from the center of activity. And the local pastor was a very nice fellow. And so I took the opportunity and was baptized into church membership, I think it was in 1953.

1954: Conversion and Decision to Go to College

In 1954 my sister, her husband and a few other members in the Queensland conference were disfellowshipped. And it was right on this point, mainly on the teaching of the Investigative Judgment. R. A. Grieve came to my sister’s home at one time, and she said to him,

“Well, Pastor Grieve, sit down with me with The Great Controversy. We’ll read three chapters together and leave it at that.”

He wouldn’t read The Great Controversy. It was evident why–the man didn’t accept the Spirit of Prophecy. Although he didn’t come out and say it straight to the people at that stage.

So in 1954, disfellowshipping began and a few members were disfellowshipped–not a large number. And Grieve, being very anxious to stamp out any of this heresy (as he called it,) that was in danger of upsetting his program of introducing this new theology into the church, not only was content in disfellowshipping certain members from the church but he even took measures that the churches vote that these people be refused permission even to set foot on any church property. So they were forbidden even to come to church on the Sabbath, or to be seen in the building.

I can remember one case where one fellow,—it wasn’t even a church building, but they were having a regional meeting,— and he had friends stopping with him who were Adventists. So they said,

“Would you drive us along to this meeting tonight?”

He said,

“Well, I’m not supposed to go along.”

Well they said,

“Bring us there.”

It was only a general hall, I think. So they persuaded him to go along. He was going to stay out in the car, and they said,

“No, come in and sit with us. They won’t hurt you.”

So he went in. I think he knew more about the atmosphere than they did. Well the result was that they took the man’s arms and legs, put him out the door and threw him down the stairs. So that caused a little bit of interest among some of the people. Some of them wondered what was going on.

Well at this stage, I was farming up in northern Queensland and I was living by myself. I lived in the paddock, in an iron building, and we were pretty busy farming. I was in partnership, working from early morning till late at night. I was a baptized member of the church. I would study the Bible daily. But I had no real experience with the Lord. Looking back, I would say that I was an unregenerate church member.

It was about this time, in 1954, when disfellowshipping started in the Queensland conference, that I came face to face with the Lord in a very real way. It was probably providential that I used to live by myself in those days. It does a man good to live by himself for a time. Often today we get caught up in the world’s activity and association so much that a person has no time to think, to be alone with God.

I remember much of my spare time (and I didn’t have much) I used to do a bit of reading. But there wasn’t much reading of spiritual things, but it wasn’t the worst literature that I used to read. But I used to waste my time reading worthless stuff.

About this time, Lord spoke to me and called me to follow Him in a very real way. And when I looked upon my past life it seemed so empty and worthless and I was wasting my time reading a lot of this trash and so on. I was so indignant with it that I got the whole lot, cleaned it out of the room, made a great fire and burned the lot of it, with a great deal of indignation.

Before this we used to discuss righteousness by faith: imputed and imparted righteousness. My experience was to pray for the Lord to forgive my sins, and go on committing them just the same. I knew it wasn’t satisfactory. The realization came to me that if a person lived such as I, although he was a professed believer in Christ, he was still under condemnation. And so in this experience, all I can remember is I took hold by faith. And Christ came to me as a living experience: not only a theory of righteousness by faith, but I took hold of a new life, which was in reality a divine life.

2 Corinthians 5

17 Old things have passed away and behold all things have become new.

Steps to Christ, p. 58 [paraphrase]:

The things I once hated I now love; the things I once loved I now hate.

Well it was a wonderful experience. There was sunshine for about a week. I had to drive up and down the paddock on the tractor, tilling the soil and so on.

I had a very remarkable experience at that time. I can’t explain it; I don’t know the nature of it. But at that time when that experience came to me, thoughts began to go through my mind of the whole picture of the plan of salvation, the things that we used to discuss at our homes in childhood, but even things that I had never understood before; all these began coming to my mind, just rushing through. I couldn’t remember them, they were just there. And I could see myself preaching. I couldn’t understand that either. But all these thoughts were going through my mind, things that I had never understood before in my life. Well, it lasted about a week.

During that time, deciding what was to happen with my life, the Lord gave me the conviction to go to College. I’d never thought of it before. I never had any desire to go. I was content with being a farmer and being about that business. So I promised the Lord that at the start of the College year I would go to College.

Into Darkness and Out

Well after a few days of this experience, something else came upon me. The darkness descended. And I can distinctly remember that now there were all sorts of other thoughts going through my mind.

If ever I felt the power of Satan and the evil angels, I felt it then. And I was involved in a struggle. I don’t know how long it lasted, whether it was a month or six weeks, I forget. I don’t know how long. It seemed almost an eternity. But I doubted everything I had ever believed. I had never doubted the existence of God before, but now I doubted everything.

Also I had never been given to bad language in my life. Although I remember one person who came to work for me from time to time on the farm, and he was addicted to foul language. And it got into my head somehow. But at that time as the Devil came in with his darkness, it seemed as if the Lord forsook me—at least regarding the experience that I had. Every foul thought went through my mind and I couldn’t stop it. Do what I like, I couldn’t stop it.

The devil came on and said,

“Right; now you’ve committed the unpardonable sin. You’re just desperately wicked. You might as well give up.”

I knew if I gave up, or it felt at that time if I gave up, that would be the end. I couldn’t explain the nature of the experience.

Well, what I did then was get out my Bible and get out the Testimonies. We had a little gas light. You put carbide in and water on top of it and you’d put a match on the top. That’s the light I had. And by the light of that Carbide light, far into the night, night after night, I began to read.

When I would come across a treasured passage from the Spirit of Prophecy, I’d mark it, and I’d linger on it. I’d let my mind take it in. And I’d take hold and accept that by faith, and go on to something else. I went through Early Writings, I went through The Desire of Ages, I went right through The Great Controversy: marking and getting the material out. This was not material to give to anybody else, this was to save me. This is what I was interested in at that present time.

I can remember there, I lived alone. In my old cane bag I would take the Scriptures and the Spirit of Prophecy. Wrestling with the powers of darkness I would take a passage of the Scripture, I would take a passage of the Spirit of Prophecy. I could see that I had not a thing to depend upon in this world, but the Word of God only–nothing else.

And so as I’d take a scripture, and sometimes and hope would come to my heart, and I’d burst out in song upon the night air. And I guess that if someone were around at that time, they would have thought there was something wrong with me. That didn’t matter when God and the angels smiled. However, the experience, as far as that struggle, it left. I just looked upon it, as I went through it, as if the clouds would come over and you can’t see the sun.

We lived in an area where there was the greatest rainfall in Australia,–1950 I think it was. They had 311 inches in one year. Gives you an idea how much it can rain up there for a start. When the rain starts in the wet season of that area, if the clouds come down and hang over the mountains and you’d never see the sun for day and day, after a time you’d always be tempted to ask,

“Well, I wonder if the sun exists?”

But, you see, when the clouds went and the sun came out, well it was more glorious than ever. And so I used to think of that as a type of an experience. Anybody can feel they are exercising faith, or feel that they are partaking largely of the Spirit of the Lord, and that they are right on the mountain-top and everything is going good. But the time to exercise faith is when you can’t even see the sun. And the clouds are overhead, but the only thing you depend on is faith. You know that the sun is there, although the clouds are in between. And sooner or later, if you hang on long enough, the sun will shine through again, just like it used to do in that climate up there. When the sun shines through again, it is more glorious than it has ever been. Well, I never forgot that experience.

One thing I learned was that you can’t trust in your feelings, you can only trust in the sure Word of God, the only thing that we’ve got to build on in this world.

Matthew 24

35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my Word shall not pass away.

1955: First year at Avondale College

Before going to College I had opportunity to do a few months study and I thought I was busy, but when the experience came, I seemed to have plenty of time to study.

1955 came and I went down south. College was nearly two thousand miles away. On the way south I called in on my brother John and convinced him that he ought to come to College with me. So he joined me for College in 1955. We got down to College about two weeks after the College year had started. And they accepted us into College just quickly like that.

But we learned when we got there that the Faculty had a meeting in the College to decide whether to allow us to stay there or not. Now the reason why is because this president, R. A. Grieve, who lived up in the Queensland Conference, because of his report. He considered us to be dangerous down here in College. And so they had a meeting, and some said,

“Well, we’d better put these boys out of College before they cause any trouble.”

Although I had never had anything to do with any church affairs at all up to that stage; never been involved in a thing, neither my brother nor myself. But there were at least two men there, we heard, who said,

“No, let’s wait till the trouble comes.”

So we stayed in College. I can remember that there was a distinct aloofness among some of the ministerial students; not so much among the ordinary run of students in the College, but among some of the ministerial students. They were going for the ministry, and I suppose they thought that they should keep in good company.

Well it wasn’t very long before Bible classes started, and we got into a friendly discussion with the teacher in the Bible class. Curiosity got the better of two of the ministerial students after we had been there about two or three weeks. So one of them came around, and then two of them came around, and they said,

“Well, we want to study with you. We want you to give us a study and we want you to tell us what you’ve got. Will you give us a study?”

And so we said,

“Sure, we’ll give you a study.”

So they said,

“All right then. Well, here’s what our plan is. At five o’clock in the morning we’ll have a study.”

I think it was five o’clock,–it might have been four o’clock,—but it was very early in the morning while the College was still wrapped in slumber. They said,

“We’ll start at that time.”

We got up in the morning and the two boys were ready with their books under their arms, papers and pencils. And they said,

“Well, we’ll go over to the music studio.”

And although the College was still wrapped in slumber, they said,

“We’ll go round this way, and you go round that way, and we’ll meet you over there.”

So we went over. And in the College studio there was a big blackboard on the wall, very nice. And I took a piece of chalk and gave the boys a study on righteousness by faith. Just a very simple study on three points, I can still remember it:

Imputed Righteousness,

Imparted Righteousness, and

Everlasting Righteousness.

Well, on the first two points,—imputed and imparted righteousness, or justification and sanctification,—I could speak in a measure, fresh from my own experience. And as touching the third point, everlasting righteousness,—the final work in the Most Holy Place where the final work would be done in the final atonement for God’s people, and they would be secured evermore from the devices of Satan; they would be cleansed and clothed with the armor of Christ’s righteousness for eternity,—I could at least expect to speak from the conviction which I had, that the judgment of the living was very soon upon us, and this work had to be done very quickly.

And as the boys listened, they listened spellbound. They expressed that they had never heard anything like it before. And before, their study had been a study of theology, but this was not just theology–this was something real to them. And they couldn’t keep it to themselves and so they began to talk to some of the other ministerial boys about the place.

Very soon afterwards the room where John and I were situated, became as busy as a doctor’s surgery,–boys coming in and out all day long, and night too. And conviction began to take hold of them that the judgment of the living was right upon us, that there was an urgent work of preparation.

I can remember some of the boys, when lights were out, they would take their torches and begin reading some of the strong passages of the Spirit of Prophecy. There were some requesting prayer, and confessing their sins, and getting ready. And so there was quite a stir in the Boys Hall.

There were also some whose prejudice was so great that they became alarmed. I can remember that in the program for the college, there were some of the prayer bands praying that the conviction of the judgment would take hold of all the boys, and others were praying that the Lord would stamp out this terrible heresy that had taken hold of some of the students.

So there were quite a few interested, and it looked as if there was going to be quite a revival in the place. But it wasn’t long before it died out. A few stories started getting around (I have a good idea who started it, but that doesn’t matter), which said,

“But this is just Shepherd’s Rod. Look out! You’ll get caught.”

And some of the ministerial students who quickly embraced this, they began to leave it just as quickly, because they thought they would get themselves into hot water, and they didn’t want that.

The result was, where there was manifested a large interest, a meeting was called in one of the minister’s homes, one of the Bible teachers. And we had a discussion down there. He invited us down to the home and there was quite a number of others there. And I can remember that when the shaking, as it were, came among them, that there was for the time being one student left, out of many, who manifested an interest in the subject. There was only one left.

And some of the men who were very keen, well when they’d see us walking along the campus, they’d say g’day to us very quickly, if they did say that at all, and keep going. But, however, some of them, began taking up interest more quietly this time. And, instead of rushing in and taking hold of it, they began to study it more quietly, and to investigate some of the subjects. But there was quite an interest manifested with some of the students.

The Spirit of Prophecy was a very dead thing in the College. It wasn’t really studied in the classes. You’d go right through the College and you wouldn’t notice a Spirit of Prophecy book. But when interest was aroused, the Spirit of Prophecy–the Testimonies— would get pulled down from the shelves, and different students used to read them.

After that things settled down somewhat, and John and I settled down to very earnest study that year. We had a lot to study. And we felt we had a lot of ground to make up. We did most of our own study by ourselves. We went to classes, and we had about four subjects each. We went along to the classes more or less as a break from our own study program that year.

That year the Assistant College Librarian was interested in the message and he came along and said,

“We have here in the library the studies of Waggoner and Jones.”

And he pulled them out of the library, and we dusted the covers off them. They hadn’t been read for years. And we were interested in the message of 1888. We knew there was quite a deal in the Spirit of Prophecy about the light that came to the church in 1888. So we got down these studies of Waggoner and Jones,–there was quite a pile of them all together,—and we began studying the message that was brought to the church back there, approximately seventy years ago.

Well, I can never forget myself the wonderful revelation of truth that came in the study of the Waggoner and Jones material. We took their writings almost line by line, and read it and searched it, and compared it with the Spirit of Prophecy. And I shall never forget as vast vistas of truth began to open to my mind as I read their studies on righteousness by faith. It was evident that here was a conception of the everlasting gospel of justification by faith, far more deep, far more beautiful than was ever presented in the church. It wasn’t commonly taught. It was quite evident that here was something that, although it was written years ago, you could read the Spirit of God in the writings there.

I learned things from the writings of Waggoner and Jones that I had not learned from the study of the Spirit of Prophecy, some things were brought out more powerfully and more forcefully. Although afterwards, we found that when we went back to the Testimonies, there were the same truths there. And particularly Jones with some of his sermons. Jones seemed to be a very rugged character, but he’d speak in a very forceful, dynamic and rugged way. You could tell by reading his writings that righteousness by faith was very precious and very clear. This message we compared with the great sanctuary truth.

A degree of controversy was still on. The issue on the atonement and the nature of Christ hadn’t spread right over the Australasian Division. Well we came to the end of 1955–College year ended.

1956

1956 came around. My brother didn’t return to college with me, and I returned to College alone. And in that year I took only three subjects; I wanted to pursue mainly my own studies in the College. And the climate began to change somewhat. In 1956 the head Bible teacher of the College got me to teach some of the Bible classes–it was mainly Daniel and Revelation. He used to have a clash in subjects one period out of three, and so I used to teach the Daniel and Revelation class once a week.

I just mention this to illustrate that the strange atmosphere of suspicion wasn’t so strong. In fact, I used to get along quite well with the head Bible teacher. We became quite close friends.

And I remember when we went to College,–the first year with this Bible teacher,–we began studying Romans and Galatians. I remember when we were studying the book of Galatians, he said that the law here was the ceremonial law. And he was presenting it as merely the ceremonial law. So I began throwing him a few thoughts, that it was especially the moral law that the apostle Paul was speaking about. So we used to get into discussion in class. I’d say it was mainly the moral law, and he’d say it was the ceremonial law.

I remember some of the students came to me, and they said,

“Now listen, we want to give you a tip. If you want to get ‘A’s’ from this teacher, don’t contradict what he says in class.”

Well, personally, I never found that was so. I found him quite liberal, and I remember before the book of Galatians was finished, he was teaching that both ceremonial and moral law were in it. And quite a few other incidents like that arose.

Well, 1956 was an interesting year. There were some significant developments. One significant development in 1956 was that R. A. Grieve was transferred from the Queensland Conference over to the New Zealand Conference. That’s just over the sea, about 1500 miles.

We were close friends with some of the New Zealanders who were interested in the message of righteousness by faith and kindred subjects. And when we heard that Grieve was going over to the New Zealand Conference, we supplied them with quite a deal of material from Waggoner and Jones, and information on the sanctuary, the blotting out of sins.

And they went back to New Zealand at the end of the College year 1955-1956. College there ends at the end of the year. And it happened that they beat R. A. Grieve over to New Zealand and began getting this material around the New Zealand Conference, among the lay people mainly, and making a preparation for R. A. Grieve to go over there.

So he got over there, and there was more agitation in New Zealand than there was in Queensland, because more people were ready for Grieve when he got there. The same pattern followed in New Zealand. The ministry on the whole, for the most part began teaching his theology. And the lay people who were ready, objected.

And so he began to be more dogmatic on his point on the final atonement–on the completed work of atonement here, and his theory on the nature of Christ.—he began to stress that more strenuously in the New Zealand Conference. In fact, his views began to be more and more radical.

Interestingly enough, that very year I saw a Photostat copy of correspondence that had passed between a leading man in Washington and R. A. Grieve, where it was as plain as anything that one of the figures from Washington was in sympathy with Grieve’s position.

“Why,” he said to Grieve, “You are right. I agree with you. But,” he cautioned, “let’s go along together. Let’s go steady. Don’t rush things.”

A little while later the manuscript Questions on Doctrine came out. We heard about the wonderful event of some “great men of the world,” as it was told over there in Australia, who were beginning to sit up and take notice of Adventism. So everybody was to get ready for the Loud Cry, because now the great men of the world were going to recognize us as Christians, and so on. So I heard about this book going out.

And 250 manuscripts were sent around the world to leading men in the world. And one of the men who got it was the head Bible teacher of the Australasian Missionary College. I don’t know whether he ever read it, but he gave the manuscript to me to read. I was very interested in reading it.

So I read the manuscript. I knew who wrote the manuscript, and I knew who was responsible for the writing of Questions on Doctrine. And there in the book were the two same positions that Grieve took. Admittedly, some of the points, particularly on the atonement, were not as radically expressed as Grieve had expressed. But, nevertheless, the same theme was in the book Questions on Doctrine. And not only that, I knew that one of the authors of Questions on Doctrine was the man who was writing to Grieve, whose correspondence I had seen, who had sympathized with Grieve’s position.

So I read the book. When the Bible teacher asked me what I thought of it after I’d read it, I said well much of it was good–good material in the book. I’d certainly like a copy of it myself when it came out. But I had to shake my head on some of these themes like the atonement and the nature of Christ,–particularly I mentioned to him the nature of Christ. I said,

“Well, my position has been that this teaching is antichrist. The old Adventists, our pioneers taught, (and I mentioned some of the Adventist writers) and believed that this position was antichrist. And they wrote straight out that it was antichrist. And I can’t help agreeing with these men. And that position is very unfortunate that it ever came in.”

Well, to return to the R. A. Grieve issue, apparently he didn’t altogether take the advice he had received from overseas in America, because they advised him to go steady, not to push his views too quickly or too radically, because he might get into difficulty. But Grieve took the work of the blotting out of sins out of the Most Holy Place. He said that doesn’t take place here, it takes place here in the experience of the Christian. He said if there is no record in the heavenly sanctuary, therefore,

John 5 [RV]

24 He that hears my word, and believes on Him that sent me, has eternal life, and shall not come into judgment,

Or as in the KJV, “shall not come into condemnation.” His reasoning was,

“He that believes in me shall not come into judgment. You see, if there’s no record kept of the believer, what’s the use of judging him? So there’s no record for the Christian, no judgment for the believer in Christ.”

So he took that position. It wasn’t long before the judgment was gone, so the 2300 days were gone also. There was so much noise made in the New Zealand Division,–it wasn’t by the ministry, it was by the laity,–that the Division leaders thought that they’d better do something about it. And so Grieve was brought over and called to answer for some of his positions.

Quite a strange turn of events, because he was called to answer on two points of his faith. One was on this work of the judgment, the final atonement. And he was doing away with fundamental Adventism. And the second was the nature of Christ.

At that time the Australasian Division couldn’t go along with either position. But at the very time when Grieve was there with the leaders of the Australasian Division, answering for his faith, the new position came out from Washington on the nature of Christ. So they let him go and only dealt with him on the atonement.

I can remember at College when Bible teachers used to teach one thing on the nature of Christ and as suddenly as that (snaps fingers), when news came out from certain ones of Washington that this was to be the new line of our theology, the position was changed as quick as that.

Men who were once adamant that the teaching that “Jesus never took our fallen nature” was the anti-Christian teaching,—the doctrine of antichrist,—were just as strenuously teaching the other view. It wasn’t long after the issue arose in 1959, that they advised certain ministerial students that if they wished to abide by the old view of the nature of Christ, that they weren’t acceptable as ministerial students in the College.

Regarding the Grieve issue: because he wouldn’t surrender his position on the judgment and the 2300 days, they relieved him; they let him out of his position to think it over for a while. And in a matter of about two weeks the man had given up the Sabbath, the law of God and everything.

But the ground he went over was very logical. First of all, he said,

First point: “No record of sin for the believer. Sins are blotted out at conversion.”

Second point: “If there’s no record there’s no judgment.”

And the third point: “If there’s no judgment, there’s no law.”

There would be two more logical steps, but I don’t know whether he has gone that far. Because if there is no law, there is no sin; and if there is no sin, you don’t need a Saviour.

I met the man after he had left the church and joined up with the Sunday-keeping Church of Christ and was writing tracts against Adventism. He mentioned the two things he left the Adventist church on. He wrote an article called In Chains of Adventism. He left the church on the atonement and the nature of Christ.

“The reason how I found the truth,” he said, “was that I came in contact with a small group of people in Queensland. And they were teaching certain things, and I began re-studying the whole position of Adventist theology, and I found the light and so I left the church.”

He claimed, interestingly enough, that…

“Since I left the church, the Adventist church is coming over with me on these two positions, which I left the church on.”

First of all, I met him in the Brisbane markets. I met Grieve up there and said to him,

"Well, you left the church now, you don’t believe in Mrs. White. Tell me, according to the teachings of Mrs. White, who was right in the controversy in Queensland? Was the ministry right? Were you right? Is the Conference right? Or were those lay people right? You know the writings of Mrs White.”

He said,

“Well, there was no question. They were right [according to the writings of Ellen G. White]. That’s why I stand where I am today. I began restudying the whole position. So, I found the truth.”

He also showed me in his home copies of correspondence that he had received from a certain figure in Washington, that one and the same man was one of the men responsible for writing the book Questions on Doctrine, and without a shadow of doubt he had received quite a deal of encouragement in his theological position from this certain individual.

1957: Back to the Farm; Research on Daniel

Well, 1956 ended College. I left College just before the end of the College year with the help of my other brother down in Victoria to do some work. I wasn’t sure of my future, whether I’d go for the ministry or not. Things didn’t seem too conducive. And so I thought that I would wait.

So I returned to the farm in 1957. Went back sugar-farming for a while, and I thought I would wait up there for some time. While I was there I began writing a few notes on the book of Daniel with the material I had available.

And then, near the end of 1957, I went down south to the College area again for several reasons. One was that I wanted to finish writing the research on Daniel, which later I called, Vision by The Hiddekel. I think some of you have heard of that book.

And the other reason was that I wanted to get myself a wife. I was writing at that time to a Miss Valorie Mann–some of you know. I returned back to College at the end of 1957, and I found the atmosphere there quite good. I was quite well received. In fact, I was thinking of completing the ministerial course.

When I put my name down for the next College year, they held an election at the end of every year to vote for the next member of the President of the Ministerial League of the College ministerial students. And I was surprised when the student body voted me in as President of the Ministerial League.

1958: Return to College

In 1958 I returned to College. And that was a fairly heavy year in my studies. I think I had about ten subjects to do in one year, which was about a double load, because I had three subjects from 1956 to pick up, and I was doing two studies by correspondence, and also the normal full course.

I had lost interest in the manuscript I had written, Vision by the Hiddekel. It was only in a rough form. So some friends up north wanted to copy it and put it out in mimeographed form. I was a bit hesitant about it, because things were sailing along pretty well at College by this stage. The climate seemed to be quite good and it looked as though I was going to settle right down to sail right through and finish the ministerial. And the Lord was going to open up the way there for me to enter the ministry after all.

So that was 1958. And the College year ended pretty quietly.

I might say just one thing I’ve neglected to mention. During the years at College it was customary for me to meet with different students, either in prayer bands or to discuss the Bible with them, and we had a big chart made which was about 16 feet long x 8 feet deep on the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation which took up almost one side of the wall in my room at College. And so the students used to come in and we used to gather around this big prophetic chart with all the beasts, trumpets, seals and churches all on the one chart, synchronizing them together. And we had quite a number of studies at the foot of that chart. And we used to study the message of righteousness by faith, and so on, there at the College. That was 1955, 1956, and 1958.

I might say that all during this time the understanding of the message of righteousness by faith and the great sanctuary truth began developing in my mind as well as in the minds of some others. As early as 1956 I was able to set down the basic positions on the same message as I’m preaching at the present time. Only of course it has developed more fully in my mind. And I didn’t know whether I could present it or not, or whether the time had come to present it. Some of the things then seemed quite revolutionary, I guess.

I remember trying an experiment at College in 1956. We used to have a Bible class every Sabbath morning, where there were, I suppose, about twenty students gathered together. And I tried presenting an outline on the importance of the Sanctuary, showing that the work in the Most Holy Place, the Cleansing of the Sanctuary was an experience; it wasn’t just something that took place in the heavens but it was an experience in the lives of God’s people, and we were to enter into it by faith, and we had to cooperate with Christ for the great experience of the Cleansing of the Sanctuary, and then would follow the Latter Rain.

Well I don’t think the message got through. I don’t know why, I suppose it was because the time had not come for those things to be generally received. But it probably accounts for the fact why I returned to the farm in 1957. I thought I would wait a while and see what would happen.

Well, 1958 came and ended. The year went off smoothly. I can remember that I made some remarks in a letter to my brother Lawrence up in North Queensland about how things were going quite well down there at College.

“I’m no longer regarded as a heretic anymore.”

I was quite proud of the fact.

“I teach Bible classes in the College. I take some of the Chapel exercises. And I’m President of the Ministerial league. So the brethren don’t worry anything about it. So things are really fine down here now.”

My brother wrote back and said,

“Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you.”

A couple of significant things happened in 1958. For the first time we got the manuscript by Wieland and Short. It came to Australia in 1958. We read that. And then also we began hearing M. L. Andreasen’s agitation. Some of his letters got to Australia. And we saw the first evidence of a stirring.

We were interested in Wieland and Short’s manuscript, not because of all the detail on 1888, that wasn’t the thing that struck our attention about Wieland and Short, because we were already aware of the issue of 1888. But here were two men who perceived that the cleansing of the sanctuary was an experience for the remnant church.

The 1888 message was not just Luther’s message, it was not just Wesley’s message, but it was the great message of righteousness by faith. In the very words of Wieland and Short: “parallel and consistent with the great work of the cleansing of the sanctuary.” Here were two men in 1958 who were writing of the very things that we were interested in at that time.

Well, College year passed, and I thought,

“Well, I’m coming back for my last year at College; I’ll graduate next year.”

I had a few secular subjects to polish off–I’d finished all the Bible classes. And I already had my grades. And I just had to do a few subjects in my last year. And there were a few copies of the manuscript Vision by the Hiddekel in circulation, not many, and I wasn’t too anxious in giving them to anybody. But a few friends up north had a few copies of it.

I can remember that as I was leaving College to go canvassing during the vacation before the next year came up, I handed it in to one of the head Bible teachers and said,

“What do you think I ought to do with this manuscript Vision by the Hiddekel?”

I was quite willing to withdraw anything. I wasn’t anxious to make an issue over it. I thought someone might take exception to some of the views there on the king of the north.

So I went canvassing during that vacation. And two significant things happened between 1958-1959.

Forced Termination of College

One was that I got notice not to come back to College, that my acceptance was rescinded. One of the reasons given was the manuscript, Vision by the Hiddekel.

But that is not the reason given now. I can think that wasn’t the real true reason because I’d handed Vision by the Hiddekel in and I’d asked the brethren’s advice what I ought to do with it anyway. So they said that they thought “there were some seeds of criticism in it.” These were the very words used. They didn’t say there was criticism in it, they said there were “seeds of criticism” in it.

So I got the news,–I was canvassing at that time,–that they didn’t want me back at College for the last year. I had somehow guessed what it was. It wasn’t the College, it was some of the leading brethren in the administration. Reports got back to them from time to time of my influence in the College with some of the ministerial students of the study groups that we used to have there. Although everything used to go off quietly, some of them were getting out into the field with some of these ideas on the sanctuary, on righteousness by faith, and they thought that this was upsetting the students.

And also there was an agitation beginning on Questions on Doctrine. I wasn’t promoting any agitation on it, although I was opposed to its positions on a couple of major points. There was an agitation beginning in America, and Andreasen’s letters were starting to get around the Australian field. And I didn’t think they wanted any upset happening in the College for the 1959 year. I think that the brethren wanted to avoid the embarrassment of figuring out what to do with me when I graduated.

So I got the news. I wasn’t greatly shocked. But it did come as a surprise. I could have understood if they tried to put me out in 1956. I could almost have understood if they had put me out in 1955 with the great “Grieve” issue going. But everything was going so smoothly by 1958-9. If the brethren only knew it, I was getting ready to eat out of their hand, as it were. Everything seemed to be ready to sail just clean through.

So I remember at that time I was canvassing. And I didn’t canvass for a couple of days. I went to the beach and sat down and thought about it for a while. I remember one day I slept the whole day out in the sun on the sand at the beach down there in Tasmania, right down at the bottom of Australia. I slept the whole day in the sun. I got up after a good sleep and I was alright.

Marriage

Another significant thing happened. During that vacation, I took unto myself a wife. Now, you might ask, what was her attitude to this new development? Perhaps one comment is sufficient. When Valorie left for College, her father had expressed one wish to her. He said,

“Whatever you do, don’t marry a Conference yes-man.”

And all that I can say is, as he probably realizes now, that his prayer and wish was answered far more abundantly than he asked for or thought.

1959: Writing and Sickness

Well, a decision had to be made what to do: whether I was to return to the farm, or whether I’d return to the College area. I wasn’t going to go to College, but we had arranged for our home, for a place of accommodation in the village, just near the College. And so I was impressed to stay on there at College. I would stay there until the Lord directed me to go elsewhere.

The home was arranged. And I’d set my sails there to settle down that year for study, so I stayed in the area of the College. Also we wanted to still contact a few students who were interested. We went back and lived just near the College.

Now I was interested to get to the bottom of why I wasn’t allowed back to College. I had a good idea, but I thought I’d find out. So I went along to College and I’d meet one of the leading teachers and I’d ask him what was the score. And he’d say,

“Well, I don’t know.”

He didn’t know anything about it, and I’d go along to another leading man and say,

“Well, what’s going on here? This is an institution of learning. Even if you do disagree with a man, how can you put a person out of College for this?”

Well, I must admit some of them were very embarrassed about the whole situation. But all the sense that I could get was to go and see Pastor Clifford. He was the president of the Australasian Division.

So I very soon learned that there was one man in particular who had a vast amount of influence in the Australasian Division. He seemed to have a tremendous influence in every Conference, a tremendous influence in the College. And I soon learned that it wasn’t really the College which was responsible for refusing my re-admittance there, but it was the Australasian Division.

So I went along to the office and had a couple of meetings with Pastor Clifford. He had viewed my activities with great alarm, to say the last. So I had a talk with him for quite a while. We never really got on to discuss any doctrine, except that we discussed a few points in the Vision by the Hiddekel.

And so I got home and thought about it for a while, and I thought, well I could see the issues developing on the sanctuary, on righteousness by faith. It seemed to me that the light was so clear that sooner or later it would go forward, it would awaken God’s people in the church, and eventually go forth and light the whole earth with the glory of God.

And so not wishing to create an issue over any minor matter of Daniel 11, on who was the King of the North and what would the King of the North do. I realized that in 1888, the controversy came in on the law in Galatians before the message came, and it stirred up bitterness and agitation among some of the brethren. So I wrote to the Australasian Division President and said,

“Alright then, I’ll withdraw the manuscript Vision by the Hiddekel.”

Only a handful of them got out. But I let him know that I was going to be cooperative, as far as possible. I went to see him again and mentioned to him that there was something that a number of us were interested in: it was on the great message of the sanctuary, the reality and the meaning of the open door, and the work of the final atonement in the Most Holy Place of the Sanctuary.

One thing became very evident right from the outset. The brethren gave me the impression at least–I may be wrong, although I don’t think so,–they weren’t interested in any hearing anyway. The suggestion was more or less brushed aside.

But I settled down in 1959 to write the book, God’s Eternal Purpose, to write out the gospel of Jesus Christ in the light of the sanctuary service. I might mention one experience I had writing this book.

The idea came into my head in 1958. I wrote an outline of God’s Eternal Purpose when I was at College. I had no prospect of ever finishing it because I never had time to finish it. But I got the time in 1959 because I was let out of College, so I decided to devote some time to the writing of this book.

I remember as I was approaching the final chapters and the outline was in my mind, and the thoughts were coming to my mind. I went outside to chop some wood for the house and put my foot on a nail. My foot swelled up pretty big. I went down and got a couple of tetanus injections, and tried to continue writing while the thoughts were coming to my mind. I wanted to finish it. Meanwhile, I had one foot in hot and cold water to try and ease the pain.

But then the Asian flu came to Australia, and I was taken with a very severe epidemic. There was a number in Australia who lost their lives from it. I went down with a temperature of about 106° F. The fever started on Sunday and went night after night through that week, and Valorie was up night after night trying to fight it, and bring the temperature down. I was semi-delirious at night-time, half-stupid with the fever. It got mid-way during the week and I was getting weaker and weaker.

As we got near the end of the week, I was getting pretty weak, and Val was tired. And she went over to see one of the boys at College–one of our friends–with a note I sent over to him, saying,

“Would you come over tonight and look after me because Valorie is so tired she can’t stay up, and wants someone to look after me tonight and get this temperature down if it comes up again.”

I was feeling that if I went on another one or two nights I’d be just about finished, with such a high temperature. It was Friday evening when Valorie went off to get permission for this student to come across, and the sun was going down on Friday afternoon. All this was in my mind.

The sun was going down and the Sabbath was coming on, and I began meditating on the Scriptures, and just lying there in my bed. My mind turned to Hebrews chapter one. And as I lay there on my bed, just meditating, at that time I was so weak with the flu I couldn’t speak–just only in a whisper. And I couldn’t walk, I could barely stand on my feet. But I’d lay on my back and began saying Hebrews 1 off by heart.

Hebrews 1

1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

2 Has in these last days spoken unto us by his Son…

3 ...the express image of his person...

8 ...Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever…

10 You, Lord, in the beginning have laid the foundation of the earth...

My mind was going down, contemplating on Christ the great Creator, the Sustainer and Creator of heaven and earth. Here was the contemplation of Christ, the Majesty of Heaven–Hebrews 1. Getting down to the end of Hebrews 1, I began to say the Scripture aloud, instead of saying it to myself. As I began to say it aloud, I felt my voice get a bit of power, and no one was in the house. I began to repeat the Scripture off by heart. And when I came into Hebrews 2, the more so.

Hebrews 2

9 ...we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death.

And the reality of that Scripture,—in a way that I cannot explain, but I can only remember it,—the reality of that Scripture came to me as never before. I knew it was Scripture that I knew off by heart. I’d read it many a time, but somehow the tremendous reality of it came to me.

Jesus in Hebrews 1: the Creator, the great eternal God. And then we see Jesus in Hebrews 2, not just where man was before man was created, but running underneath the man to succor him, to hold him up, to stop him from falling; down here in man’s place; the gift of Christ for the sons of men. And I began repeating Hebrews 2.

The Lord drew nigh in a very remarkable manner, in a way that I cannot explain. I could not finish repeating Hebrews 2. I could not repeat saying it off by heart–it was too much for me. The only thing I could do, because the reality of God’s presence and the gift of himself for me was so tremendous, the only thing that I could was just weep, and also weep for joy.

It came in my consciousness at that time,–I can remember with distinctness,—that the thing to know was that Christ died for my sins. But somehow experience can sometimes transcend knowledge. But the recognition of the fact that Christ was crucified for me, and the gift of the eternal God,–this person whom I saw in Hebrews 1,—was given for me, and given to me personally, and that He came for the sufferings to me: that came home to me with tremendous reality.

And as I began thinking about it, just lying down in my bed, in the meantime Valorie and Milton had come inside the house and they were in the kitchen. And I was thinking about this and meditating upon this, and as I was so doing, somehow the Lord revealed to me, just like that the thought came into my mind,

“Well, the Lord wills to heal you,—He’ll rebuke that fever.”

And it seemed such a small thing, an easy thing, for the Lord to do. It so blessed my soul that just to rebuke that fever, that was just the smallest thing for the Lord to do. And so I took hold by faith, just like that. And something like the thrill of an electric shock went up my spine, and I jumped out of bed. And Milton and Valorie came in to see what was going on: and I was healed!

So we had a season of prayer of thanksgiving and we sang some hymns. I was still weak, I got back into bed, took it easy–I thought that was wise. And I took a few days to get my strength back. But the fever had completely gone–just like that.

After I got out of bed, I finished the book God’s Eternal Purpose. And I was thankful to God I was able to finish the book in the light of the revelation that the Lord had given me. And I mentioned to the leaders of the Australasian Division I had a book. I didn’t think they were interested in it. Anyhow, maybe I had the wrong attitude. Well their attitude was,

“Well yes, we have a New Light Committee. If you accept our decision, if you give us a commitment that you’ll abide by our decision, then we’ll read your manuscript.”

So I thought it would be a good idea to read the manuscript first and I’d see what their opinion of it was, before I decided whether I would accept their decision or not. But their attitude was:

“You abide by our decision, you give a commitment that you will accept our finding, then we’ll examine the manuscript.”

So I said,

“No thanks, I can’t do it. I’m a Protestant. You choose a hundred responsible brethren around the field–we’ll choose fifty each, and send it around for them to examine. If none of them see light in it, I’ll drop it, if some see light in it, send it overseas, and let them examine it over there.”

The Brethren said,

“Well, we can’t bypass our standard committees. This is our procedure. We cannot alter it for any one man.”

And so I left the manuscript just for a while on the side. The decision came again: what to do? I had studied long enough, and I did know that you couldn’t just keep on studying and studying.

And we thought that perhaps we might go back farming. We had a farm up north, and were quite happy to go back there. We almost made the decision to go back farming again, when we got an invitation to go down to Victoria to visit a young minister there and some of his friends just before we went up north.

The Benalla Meeting in Victoria

And so we went down to Victoria. And when the news got around that we were in the area, there was a very significant meeting at Benalla. Some of you read about it in the Church Triumphant.

A number of people gathered together, most of them workers–about 21 workers altogether: one ordained minister, one worker, a couple of workers, and some canvassers and some school teachers—gathered together in this young minister’s home on Sabbath afternoon and Saturday night. And they had asked me to present the Sanctuary message, lay all the cards on the table, as it were. And I was able to speak to them for four hours. I spoke for two hours, we had an hour’s break, and also I spoke for another two hours.

Well, looking back, I think that was probably one of the most, if not the most remarkable meeting I’d ever been at in my life. And those who were there testified to the same. I cannot remember much of what I said at that time, except that the whole significance of the Sanctuary was outlined over that period of four hours.

Folks there sat through it as if it had just passed in a few minutes. And with one accord, everyone in the room testified to the very marked presence of the Holy Spirit there at that meeting. So much so that it seemed that the Spirit of God in a remarkable manner had set His seal to the preaching of the Sanctuary truth and the call to the Marriage in a very remarkable way.

The result was that within a few days, invitations had come in from various parts of Victoria to speak to various groups. Within four or five days, the Brethren up at the Australasian Division had heard about this Bible Study in the home of this young minister. He was promptly dismissed from the work, and the few others who attended were threatened.

Well the message spread very rapidly all over Victoria in a matter of days. Then after that we went back north up to Brisbane again. And the message began spreading over Australia and over the New Zealand field. When we went up to Brisbane, there was very strenuous opposition up there to the message–the same as it was in various parts of Victoria.

I remember one young school teacher from Victoria was dismissed from the work, and the reason for his dismissal was very remarkable. What happened was this.

There was a young man in Brisbane who was a social worker, quite prominent in the church, quite well thought of. And he got sick. It wasn’t long after I had my own experience with sickness. And he was in hospital, very desperately ill. He had had two operations on peritonitis, and an abscess developed down in his bowel. And he was just weak and emaciated in hospital with this abscess, and he was going under the third operation. His case was very critical. I had never met him before. So this school teacher said to me,

“Come up and see Tom. He’s in hospital. He’s a very nice fellow. And he’s desperately ill. He could just go like that. So let’s come up and visit him.”

So he took me up to hospital to visit Tom. he looked a very poor sight indeed there in bed. And we talked with him and prayed with him. And then the next day I went back and I had a very brief Bible study with him, just on Christ and His great work in the sanctuary, the simplicity of the gospel as it’s seen in the light of the sanctuary. Tom enjoyed the study very much. That was Friday.

The next day was Sabbath, and Tom was to go on to his operation Sabbath afternoon. So the school teacher friend of mine and I–we went up to have special prayer with Tom. And I remember sitting at his bedside. And I talked to him–that he was seriously ill and he ought to face the fact. And we discussed it over,

“To live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

And Tom had dedicated his life to Christ. And we discussed his hope of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. And his hope was in Christ, built on nothing less. And so we discussed it–well, if anything happened to him, “to die is gain.” There is nothing to worry about, death is just a moment of sleep. But there is a work to do for Christ. And we would commit his case into the hand of the Lord.

Well we prayed there very earnestly for Tom. And somehow the conviction came to us that there was the will of the Lord to heal him, and we prayed there very earnestly for him. And we left him in good spirits, but very, very ill.

His operation was to be on the Sabbath afternoon, and we went round on Sabbath night to see how Tom was recovering from his operation. We went up into the room and to the bed where Tom was, and there was Tom sitting up in the bed. And we thought, well that was a quick way to recover from an operation such as that! So we said,

“What happened?”

Tom was sitting there with a very different look on his face. Much of his color had returned. And he was sitting up in bed as large as life. And we said,

“What happened?”

He said,

“They came to me, and the abscess wasn’t there–it was gone.”

In a little while Tom was out of bed. And he got to studying the great message of the sanctuary. He accepted it, and the Conference was so annoyed there in the Queensland area that they called the school teacher in and they said,

“Well, why did you take Brinsmead up and introduce him to Tom?”

And he said,

“Well, the boy was sick. He was dying, desperate, in hospital. We went up and prayed for him. What’s wrong with that? What is more, the Lord healed him, too.”

So the result was that the school teacher–he was let out of his work too. And dismissals followed in almost every department of the work over there–only the Australasian Division. Nevertheless the work spread, and there was a general acceptance of it–not large numbers, but in different parts of Australasia the message was laid hold of by a group of people. And the Australasian Division opposed it. You might say,

“What method did they use to oppose it?”

Well, they used this method. They didn’t attack the doctrine. I don’t know whether they examined the doctrine. This book wasn’t published at that time, it wasn’t out. I had at that time handed it in to the publishers to run off the press. But they said,

“Well, let’s have a look at Vision by the Hiddekel.”

Six months before that, it had already been withdrawn. And I’d written to the Division, and said,

“Well I don’t want to court any trouble over that.”

So it was withdrawn. But that didn’t matter. They got the Vision by the Hiddekel. And then they began with anything I’d ever written–studies and so on. And they asked me for some studies, and I sent down to the President a heap of studies. And he sent them back. Evidently he found no error in the doctrinal presentation.

But they found a little manuscript written which was called Developments before and after the Minneapolis 1888 Conference. I wrote it while I was a freshman at College–a compilation of statements from Sister White on 1888. And I wrote it because we wanted people to read this material of Waggoner and Jones. And in order to stimulate interest in the writings of Waggoner and Jones, I had written this little compilation so that they’d read of the message that was presented,—to awaken their interest so that they’d want to read Waggoner and Jones for themselves.

Well the result was, I’d collected statements from here, there and everywhere. If I saw a good statement from someone else who had written anything on 1888 I’d say,

“Well there’s a good statement. I think I’ll put that in my compilation.”

Well I did a little bit of that, although most of it was from original sources. But it happened that the Brethren found four mistakes in that compilation, written back in 1955, although it was long since out of circulation. I never even had a personal copy of it myself. They found four mistakes, and in Vision by the Hiddekel they found one error of quotation where this phrase “by some” was left out, which was copied from this 1888 collection from 1955–that’s where it came from.

One was a wrong reference, one was two words left out–“by some,” and another one was a statement by A. T. Jones, which I thought in my research was made by Ellen G. White. And the other statement was more or less a quibble over context.

So they had these four statements–these “four errors” (you’d almost classify them as typographical errors) which were very insignificant–extremely so. If anybody wants to examine them you can see them.

But large meetings were called all over the Australasian Division–you have no idea. A tremendous amount of money must have been spent calling workers’ meetings, calling great gatherings all over Australia, where they stood up and read these mistakes. They said,

“Now there is an agitation on at the present time. We want you people to know the basis of these agitations. The basis is, of course, an attack against the church. and it’s only made up by misused statements of the Spirit of Prophecy, garbled, put out of their context, words added to, words taken away.”

And they’d stand up and say,

“Now we’ll read you an example of how these people misread the Spirit of Prophecy.”

And they’d read four or five. And they didn’t have very many to read, so they took the manuscript of Wieland and Short, which they attributed to me—not directly—but they attributed it to me–1888 Re-Examined. And they picked the mistakes out of Wieland and Short, which they added to my account–because four or five mistakes wasn’t enough. And they said, for instance,

“Brinsmead claims that...”

No serious attempt, just a collection of statements. And so they said,

“This is a sample of the misuse and the garbling of the Testimonies. This is what this agitation is based upon. We could go on reading statement after statement, but this is just a few of the typical errors that are used.”

By that means the message was spread in Australia. It caused prejudice in the minds of the vast majority of people. And yet, here and there, there were people who would listen and say,

“Well, so what. That’s a little mistake made, that’s a typographical error.”

And some would say,

“We’ve seen them even in the public books. Plenty of those have got about.”

And some people would say,

“Well, why are they going to so much trouble, going from place to place, calling meetings? When we come here, we don’t hear the doctrine, but we hear these mistakes over and over again.”

The story was told here there and everywhere. And so some began inquiring. So by means of this, the message was spread, rather than hindered.

However it did raise up enemies. I was told by a worker, who was present at one of the workers’ meetings in Brisbane, where they pointed out these errors and gave a big story how the whole Spirit of Prophecy was misused.

“You know,” he said, “the feeling in that workers’ meeting was so intense, that if you’d walked in there–pastor so-and-so had them worked up to such a pitch against you–they’d have just about torn you to bits.”

Well, I could have laughed. I thought,

“Well maybe that’s an exaggeration.”

1960: New Zealand

But the same sort of meeting was held in New Zealand. And my brother and I went to New Zealand in the beginning of 1960, and our first day in New Zealand was New Year’s Day. There was Camp time on in New Zealand.

By the way, I was still a member of the church officially and still in good and regular standing. So we heard that there were some friends of ours at the campground in New Zealand. And they wanted to meet us. They were there at the camp. So my brother and I went onto the Camp ground to meet these friends of ours.

We never got a chance to meet our friends there, because someone must have spotted us. Quickly we were mobbed by about twenty ministers. It was Friday afternoon and Sabbath was coming on. I’m sorry to say that the spirit there was anything but the best. It was very much like a football brawl. They wanted to get us off the ground in a hurry, and things were so intense that we were willing to go too. So someone sings out,

“Bring the police. So we’ll put ’em off the ground.”

So I said,

“Sure, bring the police. They’ll put us off in a very decent manner. They’ll take us off.”

But one or two of the workers were rolling up their sleeves on the side and said,

“Well, we don’t need the police. We’ll do it ourselves.”

Apparently they wanted the pleasure of doing it themselves. But then a strange incident happened. There were about twenty men,–workers. Later on one worker who wasn’t a minister was watching just from a distance, and he told us that everyone in that brawl,–because you could hardly call it anything else,–was a meat-eater, which probably explains their attitude: if a man can’t control his passions.

But it was a strange thing. I wanted to get away from the ugly scene, certainly didn’t want to prolong it. But some of the ministers wanted to take us off the ground this way, and some wanted to take us off that way–and they couldn’t agree among themselves. So a number of them would say,

“Go this way.”

I’d say,

“All right, we’ll go this way.”

And some of them would say,

“No, go that way.”

And we’d turn and try and go that way. But the man in the middle, who was the leading man there was singing out the order, and so we’d try and go his way, and they’d jump in front of us and tell us to go the other way. And then we’d try and go the other way, and they’d send us back this way. And then some began to sing out,

“See how impossible they are! We can’t do anything with them.”

So this went on for maybe five or ten minutes, and the scene was so disgraceful,–really it was,–that in the end I was quite upset over the whole affair. And I said to them in the end,

“Brethren, you are behaving like a lot of wild beasts. This is shocking, this is shocking!”

At that time I heard a shout from behind, and another minister came in. He was a Maori. He was a very thick-set man, powerfully built. He moved in, we could hear his voice above everybody else.

“Move out of the way,”

–he said. he pushed three or four workers this way and three or four workers that way, and he stood in the midst of the lot of them.

“Out,” he said. “Out!”

He cleared a track in the midst of them. He said,

“Leave these brethren alone. Treat them like human beings. Now come on,” he said. “You follow me.”

So everything died away, and we walked off the camp ground. I don’t know why the thing happened that way, but it turned out for the good. One was that a few lay people saw the whole scene. They saw it and were eyewitnesses of it. And the news spread around the ground.

We’d felt impressed to go to New Zealand, but we never had any plans when we got there. We didn’t know where we were going to preach, or where we were going to go. We knew that there were people there who wanted to meet us. And the result was that from there invitations came from one end of New Zealand to the other.

We were a full month, night after night, preaching–ten here, twenty there, fifteen here, another twenty here,–little groups all over New Zealand. Sometimes John went one way and I went another. It was amazing how the way opened up for the preaching of the message. That was in 1960 in New Zealand, and there was quite a large number of people who were rejoicing in the call to the sanctuary at that time.

1961: America

Well the books and pamphlets began to come off the press. There was one man in America with his ears open, and it was A. L. Hudson. He wanted to know what was going on over there. And he wrote to everybody he could. He wrote to ministers, he wrote to workers, he wrote to laity. He tried to get to both sides of it, he wanted to know the theology of it.

And why Hudson was very interested in it–he was interested in following this manuscript by Wieland and Short. He believed that was the message of God. Wieland and Short had requested that the General Conference President go back and examine the 1888 message. The submissions were rejected. Wieland and Short had handed the matter over to providence, and said,

“Right, we’ll rest it there.”

And Hudson was waiting for the Lord to work somewhere else. And so he wanted to know what was the theology of the agitation. And he saw it was a development, the next step, from Wieland and Short. He saw it was based on the sanctuary. Hudson was very interested in the concept of the true and the false Christ, and how to distinguish between the true and the false Christ himself. And so he published The Open Door and The Church Triumphant. You may have read The Open Door.

The result was that we got a lot of correspondence from doctors, from ministers, and from laity from America, some of them requesting that we come over here to America. However, we didn’t do anything about the request to come. We thought if it was the Lord’s will to come, we’d leave it in the hands of Providence and wait. And so we waited. And we corresponded with a few of the folk in America about some of these things.

Getting near the end of 1960, I was seeking the Lord what to do–was impressed that I ought to answer the call that some were making that I come to America. And some of the ones who were interested in the message over there felt the same way. And I thought,

“Well, if convictions were true, they’ll keep.”

So they did keep, and we began corresponding with Hudson. And Hudson thought,

“Well, it’d be a good thing to come to America, but I don’t feel the time is right yet.”

And so he wrote over and said,

“No, the time is not ready to come to America.”

And so I was willing to say,

“Well right, it’s not time to go yet, so I’m going to leave it.”

But the Lord had convicted me particularly that the time was ripe to go. We had no plan, so a few of us met together and decided who would accompany me. There were about a dozen believers that met together, who believed in standing for the message over there, and we had prayer and counsel together. And after a time it was decided that my brother John would best accompany me over here to America.

We had no plans when we came here. We kept it quiet from Australia. We didn’t want any more prejudice here than we could help. So we kept it quiet until the time. We said,

“Let the brethren in Australia, let our friends know we’ve gone to America, when we’re in America.”

The day came for us to catch the plane. And we got on the plane. And I remember as John and I were walking up to the plane, there even was a touch of humor in the fact.

“Well, here we are. We’re going to America. We’ve kept it pretty quiet, haven’t we?”

We were almost congratulating ourselves with the fact that here we were. The next thing that the folk would know, we’d be over in America. And we might have a chance to meet some of the people over there before the prejudice began, because prejudice is a terrible thing to meet.

Well we were just walking up onto the plane into the big Boeing 707, to sit down in our seats, and who should be sitting right next to us, but the three leading men in the Australasian Division. They were going to Fiji. But at the moment, we didn’t know whether they were going on to San Francisco. We were listening, and we thought,

“Well, maybe they heard that we are going, and they are going over there too.”

Or something–we didn’t know. It seemed to be so strange–them sitting right next to us. So a hostess came down the aisle and asked each passenger,

“Where are you going to?”

And she leaned across to the brethren and said,

“Well, where are you going to?”

And John and I listened like this, you know.

“Fiji.”

And then the next thing–the hostess came over here to us.

“And where are you gentlemen going to?”

And you could see the Australasian brethren straining to hear...

“San Francisco.”

Well the result was that when we got to America, a letter had gone to America from the leaders of the Australasian Division. And so some of you saw the reprint of the letter in The Church Triumphant. They wrote a letter from Fiji telling these brethren over here that we were on our way and,

“Look out.”

And of course that got among the field and was exaggerated. But we got to America. We had no plans. We got to Hudson’s place. And Hudson is–those of you who know him–he’s quite a cautious and cool customer, you know. He was interested, but I don’t think he wanted to be caught out on anything. So we had a few studies at Hudson’s place. And he has of course listened carefully and followed the doctrinal position of the message, and gave publicity to it in The Church Triumphant.

Before we got to America, our position had been that we were entirely self-supporting. We had never accepted neither tithes nor offerings–not even offerings for support. We paid our own way across to America. I sold my motor car, our piano and even some of the furniture to get enough money to get across here. Although I’ve got an investment in a small property over there–but I didn’t sell that.

So we got across here to America and the calls started coming in so prolifically from different parts. It was evident that we never had the finances to meet the calls–plane and petrol fares. So the result was, I took the position, and talked it over with Hudson, it was quite legitimate to accept expenses.

And Hudson put a little notice in The Church Triumphant to those who had invited us to take studies at places–it would be quite in order for them to send in to an expense account that he was opening, and mentioned there that we weren’t calling for tithe whatsoever. As a matter of fact some people sent in tithe and mentioned that it was tithe, and that was returned to them.

In America calls came in from everywhere, and the result was the way was opened up for the preaching of the “Call to the Sanctuary” here in America. Well, you folks know about that.

In April 1961 we went to the General Conference. We met with five of the brethren over there. By the way, I’ll mention that the first thing that I did when I got to America–I rang up the leading brethren in Washington. I said,

“We’ll come straight to Washington, if you’re interested. We believe this is urgent, otherwise we wouldn’t be here.”

That was the conviction of our heart–desperately urgent. But we’d come straight to Washington and meet the brethren. The brethren weren’t interested at that time. They said,

“Well, before we can have a hearing, we want to get into contact with the Australasian Division. We want to hear their side of the story. We want to know what their position is.”

And so they took the time to find out all about us from the Australasian Division, which made it even harder for them really, because once they found out the Australasian Division’s attitude, it’s very hard for them to go contrary to what another Division would say.

But however, after a delay of two or three months, and we’d gone up and down the West Coast here. The message had spread far and wide. Then the way was opened up. We met with a special committee over there in the General Conference. There were five brethren there. We met with them over about three days. We presented a study for them for about four hours. And then after that we listened to their counsel on the subject. We listened very earnestly.

The meetings were very cordial and a friendly atmosphere. The atmosphere was much better than the Australasian Division. We were pleased that they didn’t take the position of the Australasian Division that:

“We won’t even consider it, till you promise that you’ll abide by our decision,”

–a position as such I don’t think that anybody can conscientiously take with a small group of men.

But we met with the brethren there and the atmosphere was cordial. We listened to their counsel. We wrote it down. And after, we felt that we didn’t receive much in the way of help, because I don’t think they had one serious doctrinal objection to the message.

Some of you have read their answers to it. If there is any doctrinal objection to the message, if there is any serious, weighty argument against it, it’s yet to come forth. There may be, I don’t know. There may have been one or two things on the perimeter.

I think we should take the position of Sister White. She mentioned Waggoner and Jones’ message in 1888. She said:

Gospel Workers, p. 301:

No one has said that we shall find perfection in any man’s investigations.

So if you expect perfection in any man’s investigations, of course you’ll be disappointed. And if you’re not disappointed, you’ll be deceived, because it won’t be perfect anyway. I’m not saying they won’t find things on the perimeter, or things to quibble about. But we say in all seriousness, there hasn’t been from anybody in any quarter, one serious objection yet to the message. There hasn’t been one that has been sustained.

So I got back. I didn’t know whether I would continue preaching or not. And the brethren gave me the counsel to go to Arabia like the apostle Paul for three years and “sort yourself out.” And that may have been good counsel, I don’t know. But the only thing I could do was to take it to the Lord.

And I didn’t know whether I would continue or not. I waited down at Loma Linda for a period of quite a few weeks, seeking what the Lord’s will would be on the subject. The brethren warned me, if I continued to preach that I would be relieved of my membership in the church. Of course I don’t think that should affect one if he has a call to do anything, but I think a person should consider consequences.

And you know the story from that. I recognized that the highest officers of this church had voiced themselves in opposition, requested me to stop preaching. I realized the seriousness of the fact, but I decided to go on preaching in spite of that. I realized also that this is a decision for which I’ll have to stand before the judgment bar of Christ and answer for the decision which I have made.

I don’t know from here on what the future holds. I came across a statement someone gave to me. From time to time I had to make the decision, even from week to week, and from day to day. Shall I continue? Shall I stop? I don’t know next week whether I’ll stop or not.

Now in safety I know it’s to ask the Lord at each step: Is this the way He would have me go? But I was given this statement at a time of crisis in my own personal experience not very long ago. Someone gave me this, I don’t know who wrote it. But I read it. And it was a source of encouragement. It’s called:

Keep at Your Work

The Lord has given to every man his work. It is his business to do it, and the devil’s business to hinder him—if he can. So, sure as God gives a man a work to do, Satan will try to hinder him. He may present other things more promising; he may allure you by worldly prospect; he may assault you with slander, torment you with false accusations, set you to work defending your character, employ pious persons to lie about you, editors to assail you, and excellent men to slander you.

You may have Pilate and Herod, Ananias and Caiaphas all combined against you, and Judas standing by to sell you for 30 pieces of silver. And you may wonder why all these things have come to pass. Can you not see that the whole thing is brought about through the craft of the devil, to draw you off from your work and hinder your obedience to Christ?

Keep about your work. Do not flinch because the lion roars. Do not stop to stone the devil’s dogs. Do not fool around your time chasing the devil’s rabbits. Do your work; let liars lie; let sectarians quarrel; let editors publish; let the devil do his worst. But see to it that nothing hinders you from fulfilling the work God has given you.

He had not sent you to make money; He has not commanded you to get rich. He has never bidden you to defend your character nor has He bidden you to contradict falsehoods about yourself which Satan and his servants may start to peddle. If you do these things you will do nothing else; you will be at work for yourself and not for the Lord.

Keep about your work. Let your aim be as steady as a star. Let the world brawl and bubble. You may be assaulted, wrangled, insulted, slandered, wounded, and rejected. You may be chased by foes, abused by them, forsaken by friend, despised and rejected of men, but see to it that with steadfast determination and with unfaltering zeal you pursue that great purpose of your life and the object of your being until at last you can say:

“I have finished the work which you, dear God, have given me to do.”120 Carlyle B. Haynes, Living Evangelism, (unsourced quote), 1937.