..To Ancient SDA's ............ To "What's New?"
Part One
There are three things we need to keep in mind as we look at this subject.
1. The actions of the high priest in the sanctuary on earth were only symbols, signs and actions made in a bodily form on this earth. As such, they had no great value.
2. However, they do signify things which are spiritual, which are happening in heaven, and in our minds. These have immeasurable value.
3. To use both of these items correctly we need faith – faith to see in the actions of a man on earth the actions of the Son of God in heaven – and faith to allow the Spirit of God to transfer the meaning of those actions into our own lives.
The background
In the picture set out here, Aaron represents Jesus. Hebrews 8:1-2.
The sin offering of the bullock is for the sins He carries on our behalf. The ram of the burnt offering represents the dedication of His life and the lives of those of His "house", the Christians. Hebrews 3:1-6.
The Lord’s goat is Jesus in His sinless state, and the leftover goat represents Satan.
Atonement means many things in the Bible, from the daily harmony of Christ and Christian, to the final atonement which is the clearing forever of the "great gulf" which formally separates them. In this acted parable we are seeing the "gap" closed and physical joining of Christ and Christian made possible.
The blood of the bullock is used to "carry" the sins directly into the second apartment, and for the first time in the entire ceremonial services (on THE Day of Atonement) the sins were placed before God the Father who sat on the mercy seat in the judgment. Daniel 7:13-14; 26-27.
This ceremony was repeated every year so that every generation would have many opportunities of appreciating it. Hebrews 10:1-4.
In the reality, the first confession of guilt was made by Adam (followed closely by Eve), and until this "day" in history, all the confessed sins of all the followers of God had been resting in Jesus Himself, and had been added to day by day over the period of nearly 6,000 years.
He is still accepting the guilt and shame of sins, but now the time has come (and a people to teach it) when the remnant of God’s children should stop sinning, and keep the Ten Commandments. To underline this truth the work of the removal of sins for the righteous dead is under way, thus showing that we are in the Day of judgment, or as it is known in the ceremonies, the Day of Atonement, and a message of warning is being given to the world. Revelation 14:6-14.
In the picture, the final ceremony of the Day of Atonement could not begin until ALL the living sinners in Israel had confessed ALL their sins. Not until the queues of anxious would-be confessors had ceased completely, and all the ordinary priests were relieved of their burdens, could the high priest begin his special work.
So, in the reality, Jesus our High Priest is waiting for His Christians to come and confess all, that the judgment of the living may commence. 1 Peter 4:17.
The beginning of it all
The sanctuary service really began with Adam and Eve who killed and offered two burnt sacrifices as pictures of their understanding of Christ’s work for them after their transgression. The skins of these animals were used to clothe them following their confession of their helplessness and the acceptance of salvation through Christ. Leviticus 7:8. It was a symbol of the righteousness of Jesus their Saviour covering them in place of their fig leaf attempts at self righteousness. See Genesis 3:21 and Isaiah 61:10.
They then taught their sons to offer the same sacrifice, the completely burnt offering of a lamb as in the story of Cain and Abel. Genesis 4:1-8.
The patriarchs continued with this single offering through the centuries until the time of Abraham’s blunder with Hagar. Then God added the ritual of circumcision to the requirements of the sanctuary service. Genesis 17:1-14. This double precept also served to illustrate the removal of the old sin nature and the dedication of the life of the offerer to God’s service, for a burnt offering signified the dedication of a life. Leviticus 6:8-13.
The "law" of Moses
When the Israelites left Egypt about 400 years after Abraham’s time they were so mixed up in their understanding of God’s "way" that they had to have many extra ceremonies added to explain it. Galatians 3:19.
First they had to experience the "passover" or death of the "firstborn" in their own lives as a symbol of being "born again". Exodus 12:1-14; John 3:7. They did this by being circumcised and then eating the lamb. Thus the removal and the refilling were pictured clearly. Then they were to ritualise their way through a seven-day period of putting away of sins, and the putting on of sincerity and truth. Exodus 12:15-20. See also 1 Corinthians 5:7-8. There was a reminder made in verses 43-50 of Exodus 12 of how important the truth of the removal of the "old man" was, because the normal Israelite was circumcised on the eighth day of his life and might not be aware of its meaning. Leviticus 12:1-3.
All these rituals they were supposed to experience in their own tents away from the sanctuary building.
Only after this understanding became a definite part of his or her life (usually after the twelfth birthday) could an Israelite come to the sanctuary to partake in individual or group offerings, for without it none could even "see" the kingdom of heaven, let alone "enter" it.
The offerings of the "law"
In the organised services of the sanctuary there was still the main burnt offering of dedication as shown in Leviticus chapter 1, but which now needed to be accompanied by other sacrifices which promised that the offerer would also give his/her talents and goods for God’s service. Leviticus chapter 2. They even had to be shown how to say "thank You" in heaven’s language in Leviticus chapter 3!
(It is important to realise that "he" also means "she" in God’s word. Consider prayerfully Numbers 6:1-8 and note that after saying "man OR woman" the Spirit uses only the male pronoun.)
However, when it came to making an offering asking for the forgiveness of a sin, there were no less than four different ways of doing it!
First to be dealt with, in Leviticus chapter 4, were specific sins of ignorance which came to the attention of the seeker after truth and freedom through the ministration of the Spirit of God. John 8:32. These were put into a further four sub-categories of priest (4:3-12), the whole congregation (4:13-21), an elder or ruler (4:22-26), and then the common man or woman (4:27-35), with still further sub-categories of ox, sheep and birds.
Then came trespasses against God’s commands (5:14-19).
Trespasses against our fellow humans (5:1-13), and deliberate sins (6:1-7) were also pictured separately.
We should note a further distinction in the treatment of sin offerings as well. Sometimes the priest assisting in the sacrificial service was required to eat the meat of the animal. Leviticus 6:24-29. This was a ritual meal in which the sins of the offerer were seen to be transferred to the priest. In this case, some of the blood of the animal was sprinkled on the horns of the brass altar, then the remainder poured down the drain beside that altar, in the courtyard.
However, when the blood was used to transfer the sin into the sanctuary and onto the horns of the golden altar, then the meat was not eaten, it was burnt outside the sanctuary in a "clean" rubbish area. Verse 30.
Thus there were two main ways in which the sins could be seen to pollute the sanctuary. Through the priest and his eating of the animal, or directly onto the horns of the golden altar of incense. Both symbolised the same thing – that Jesus carries our confessed sins in Him.
The cleansing of the sanctuary
Therefore we may now see the necessity of the cleansing ceremony of the Day of Atonement. Daniel 8:14.
The "sinless" blood of the Lord’s goat "picks the sins up" from the sanctuary (the Son of God) so that they may ALL be transferred back to their rightful originator, Satan. He is then taken to an uninhabited place by the "fit" man, (a picture of the 144,000 living Christians). This uninhabited place is the whole world during the 1,000 years, for the Christians are in heaven and the human rejecters of God’s mercy are all dead. Revelation 20:4-8. There Satan and his followers are set free to do as they please.
The final act in the ceremonies of the "day" is the offering of the burnt sacrifice of dedication which symbolises the commitment of those who are resurrected at the second coming, and who then will be taught the full truths of Christianity during their 1,000 years in heaven.
{The Great Controversy 433.1}
" ’The temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament.’ Revelation 11:19. The ark of God's testament is in the holy of holies, the second apartment of the sanctuary. In the ministration of the earthly tabernacle, which served ‘unto the example and shadow of heavenly things,’ this apartment was opened only upon the great Day of Atonement for the cleansing of the sanctuary.
"Therefore the announcement that the temple of God was opened in heaven and the ark of His testament was seen points to the opening of the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary in 1844 as Christ entered there to perform the closing work of the atonement. Those who by faith followed their great High Priest as He entered upon His ministry in the most holy place, beheld the ark of His testament.
"As they had studied the subject of the sanctuary they had come to understand the Saviour's change of ministration, and they saw that He was now officiating before the ark of God, pleading His blood in behalf of sinners."
The high priest’s uniform
Before we read about the ceremonies of
the Day of Atonement we need to know about the coloured clothes
which the high priest normally wore.
Note particularly that he carried Israel upon his shoulders into
the judgment room as a shepherd carries a lost sheep. He also had
their names engraved on stones set in a pad anchored over his
heart. Around the hem of his garment were attached pomegranates
which rattled and bells which tinkled. It was by the sound of
these that the people were able to know where he was and what he
was doing, for they were all out in the courtyard.
From this we can see that we should know where Jesus is in the heavenly sanctuary, and what He is doing there on this, our Day of Atonement or judgment, while we are still on earth.
Exodus 28:2-38
2 And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother for glory and for beauty…
4 And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod [like an apron without sleeves], and a robe, and an embroidered coat, a mitre [turban], and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, and his sons, that he may minister to Me in the priest's office.
5 And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen. 6 And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cunning [intricate] work…
9 And you shall take two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the children of Israel: 10 six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth…
12 And you shall put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial to the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD upon his two shoulders for a memorial….
15 And you shall make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work; after the work of the ephod you shall make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shall you make it. 16 Foursquare it shall be being doubled; a span shall be the length of it, and a span shall be the breadth of it [about six inches square].
17 And you shall set in it settings of stones…
21 And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet; every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes...
29 And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goes in to the holy place, for a memorial before the LORD continually…
33 And beneath upon the hem of it [the robe] you shall make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem of it; and bells of gold between them round about. 34 A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about.
35 And it shall be upon Aaron to minister: and his sound shall be heard when he goes in to the holy place before the LORD, and when he comes out, that he die not.
36 And you shall make a plate of pure gold, and engrave upon it, like the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD. 37 And you shall put it on a blue lace, that it may be upon the mitre; upon the forefront of the mitre it shall be. 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.
(Youths’ Instructor June 7, 1900). {5BC 1104.5}
"The pattern of the priestly robes was made known to Moses in the mount. Every article the high priest was to wear, and the way it should be made, were specified. These garments were consecrated to a most solemn purpose. By them was represented the character of the great antitype, Jesus Christ. They covered the priest with glory and beauty, and made the dignity of his office to appear. When clothed with them, the priest presented himself as a representative of Israel, showing by his garments the glory that Israel should reveal to the world as the chosen people of God. Nothing but perfection, in dress and attitude, in spirit and word, would be acceptable to God. He is holy; and His glory and perfection must be represented in the earthly service. Nothing but perfection could properly represent the sacredness of the heavenly service."
{Gospel Workers 34.2}
"Of Aaron, the high priest of Israel, it is written, He ‘shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the Lord continually.’ [EX. 28:29.] What a beautiful and expressive figure this is of the unchanging love of Christ for His church! Our great High Priest, of whom Aaron was a type, bears His people upon His heart. And should not His earthly ministers share His love and sympathy and solicitude?"
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