SEVENTH-DAY
ADVENTISTS’ PLAN OF SALVATION
Russell Earl
Kelly, PHD
September 23,
2023
The
Born-Again Experience
Like most
conservative Christians, Seventh-day Adventists believe in being born again by
personal confession of sins and acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.
Soul-Sleep:
Annihilation
Seventh-day
Adventists believe in soul-sleep, rather annihilationism. The “soul” is the
person; it ceases to exist at death and is re-created at the resurrection of
all the dead for the Great White Throne judgment in Revelation 20.
Conditional
Atonement
Like
Arminians, Seventh-day Adventists believe that true believers still possess
free will and can choose to stop believing, fall into habitual sin and fall
from grace. They teach that the atonement was not complete at Calvary
(GC4210-421). Arminians believe that names can be blotted out of the book of
life (Ex 32:32-33; Deut 29:20; Rev 3:5). The SDA “condition” is literal
sinlessness” (GC486-487).
Daniel
8:14
“The scripture
which above all others had been both the foundation and the central part of the
advent faith was the declaration, “Unto two thousand three hundred days, then
shall the sanctuary be cleansed, Daniel 8:14.’” (GC409)
The unique SDA
interpretation of Daniel 8:14 intertwines their plan of salvation, books in
heaven, the cleansing of the sanctuary and the investigative judgment. Together,
they are the same doctrine.
The
Plan of Salvation
Those who have
accepted Christ have been conditionally saved by continued faith. They will
only remain saved as long as they continue to confess, repent of and renounce
every sin. John 8:31 “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If
ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed.” However, for
Seventh-day Adventists, this means reaching sinless perfection. Read The Great
Controversy, by Ellen G. White, Conflict Series, chapter 28, pages 479-491,
especially 486-487.
The
Books of Heaven
Unlike most
Arminians who teach a possible, but rare, fall into habitual sin, SDAs teach
that unconfessed and unrepented sin will cause one to fall from grace, almost
always after death. Names will be blotted out only after Jesus has researched
that professed believer in the books of heaven. Unless sinless, those who have
already died have no assurance of salvation (GC486-487).
According to
Ellen G. White it is almost impossible for anybody to be saved. “Our acts, our
words, even our most secret motives, all have their weight in deciding our
destiny for well or for woe. Though they may be forgotten by us, they will
bear their testimony to justify or condemn” (GC482, 486-487).
Sacrificial
Blood Defiles God’s Sanctuary
SDAs teach
that the sacrificial blood does not wash away sin at the entrance to the
sanctuary when the sacrifice dies and sheds its blood. They teach that the
blood of the sacrifice subsequently defiled both the sanctuary on earth and in
heaven itself.
“A substitute
was accepted in the sinner’s stead; but the sin was not cancelled by the blood
of the victim. A means was provided by which
it was transferred to the sanctuary. By the offering of blood, the sinner
acknowledged the authority of the law, confessed his guilt in transgression,
and expressed his desire for pardon through faith in a Redeemer to come; but
he was not yet entirely released from the condemnation of the law” (GC420).
“For eighteen centuries (until 1844) … 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” (GC421).
Jesus’
Sacrificial Blood Carries
Sins
into the Sanctuary and Continues Defiling it.
“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” (GC421). Jesus is a greater
defiler than pagan Rome or papal Rome in Daniel 8:9-14.
The
Cleansing of the Sanctuary
Extremely
unique to Seventh-day Adventism is its cultic doctrine of the cleansing of the
sanctuary in heaven. They teach that the confessed, forgiven and forsaken sins
of believers have been brought into the heavenly sanctuary and have defiled
God’s dwelling place (GC421). In the New Covenant, Jesus is the High Priest who
is still carrying atoned sins into the heavenly sanctuary to defile it (GC421).
And, by linking Daniel 8:14 with Leviticus 16’s Day of Atonement, Jesus must
cleanse the sanctuary before His second coming.
The
Investigative Judgment
When the
heavenly sanctuary has been cleansed from its defiling atoned sins of God’s
people, the plan of salvation can be completed and Jesus will return as King of
Kings. Beginning with the first to die, and, with Satan at His side, Jesus
began reading the books of heaven on October 22, 1844, the SDA end of Daniel’s
2300 day-years of prophecy. Jesus meticulously reads every recorded deed and
thought to determine if the person died with every sin confessed and forsaken.
Names are blotted out of the book of life. This investigation has already
lasted 179 years.
“Jesus does
not forgive their sins, but shows their penitence and faith, claiming
for them forgiveness” (GC484). “Sins that have not been repented of and
forsaken will not be pardoned and blotted out of the record” (GC486).
Without
a Mediator at Second Coming
For those
living when Jesus returns, the SDA doctrine of salvation will become clear. Believers
will not be able to repent and receive forgiveness after Jesus leaves heaven as
king. Since Jesus will cease His priestly ministry (SDAs teach) and will put on
His King of Kings garment, no sin committed afterwards can be mediated and
believers must have achieved a state of sinless perfection. They will appear
before Christ without a mediator (GC425).
………………………….………………
SOME ERRORS OF
SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISM
1. SACRIFICIAL BLOOD DEFILES: The most
disagreeable doctrine concerns the SDA teaching that the sacrificial blood
carried by Old Testament priests and Jesus carries sin into the sanctuary and
defiles it.
First,
sacrificial blood washes away sins (Rev 1:5;
7:14). It cleanses and brings total forgiveness; it does not defile. Exodus 12:13
“When I see the blood, I will pass over you.” Acts 20:28 Christ has “purchased”
believers with “His own blood.” Rom 3:25 “through faith in the blood to declare
his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past.” Rom 5:9
“being now justified by his blood.” 1 Cor 11:25 “the new testament
in my blood.” Col 1:14 “In whom we have redemption through his blood,
even the forgiveness of sins.” Heb 9:14 “How much more shall the blood
of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge
your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” “Heb 9:22 “without
shedding of blood is no remission.” 1 Peter 1:19 “But with the precious
blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” 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.” 1 Peter 1:19 “But with the
precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” Rev 1:5 “washed us from our sins in his
own blood.” Rev 5:9 thou “hast redeemed us to God by thy blood.” Rev
7:14 “washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
The blood of
the sin and trespass offering is always called “most holy.” In Exodus 24:4-8
sacrificial blood made holy both the covenant and the people. In Exodus 20:20-21,
Leviticus 8:14-15 and 30:9 the sacrificial blood made the priests and their
garments holy and prepared the altar for use.
When the
sacrifice died as a sin offering at the entrance of the sanctuary, the payment
for the confessed sin was complete and the sin itself was exterminated. The
ministering “most holy” priest collected the “most holy” blood of the now “most
holy” sin and trespass offering and either placed it on the ‘most holy” altar
or ate portions of the “most holy” sacrifice (Ex 29:37; 30:26-29; Lev 6:17-18,
25-27; 12:8; Num 18:9).
Read the
verses above again and the underlined words. No Christian should teach that the
blood of Christ defiles! The Passover blood allowed God to pass over sins.
Without blemish or spot, Christ’s precious blood provides forgiveness,
justification, our purchase price, remission of sins, redemption, washes away
sin and cleanses believers. It is pure blaspheme to blame Christ’s blood for defiling
God’s throne.
2. GOD IS NOT
OMNISCIENT: It has already taken 179 years (1844 to 2023) for Christ to examine
the books of heaven and finally blot out previously atoned sin --- and He is
still defiling God’s throne every time he ministers to believers!!! By teaching
that God does not know who will be saved in the future, SDAs deny the
Omniscience of God concerning the final state of believers. The necessity of the
Investigate Judgment means they do not believe that God has foreknowledge of everything
in the future. See Isaiah 46:10).
3. SACRIFICIAL
BLOOD BOTH CLEANS AND DEFILLES: SDAs teach that the identical ritual of
confessing sins over a sacrifice daily throughout the year and yearly on the
Day of Atonement have opposite effects. The daily brings partial atonement and
defiles the sanctuary while the yearly cleanses the sanctuary. Yet, the Day of
Atonement sacrifice includes 10 days of intense soul-searching for unconfessed
sins (Lev 23:27-34; Rev 7:14).
4. ATONED SIN DOES NOT PASS THE DOORWAY: Sins
did not enter the sanctuary through the sacrificial system;
they were always washed away at the entrance where the sacrifice was offered
and its blood was shed. See Lev 1:3; 3:2; 4:4, etc.
Beginning in
Leviticus 4:20 “a sin offering … and the priest shall make an atonement for
them, and it shall be forgiven them.” “Atonement” occurs 49 times in Leviticus.
The blood of the sacrificial sin offering made aa full atonement for those sins
confessed over it. It was not a partial
atonement. God does not require double payment for the same sins.
Those who
entered the sanctuary grounds with any uncleanness were cut off (Lev 22:3).
Unclean priests were put to death (Ex 12:19; 23:18; 29:44-45; 34:25; Lev 2:11;
6:17; 10:12; 23:17). All of the offerings were “most holy” (Lev 6:17, 25; 7:1;
Num 18:7-10).
5. JESUS, AS ANTICHRIST DEFILES: SDAs make Jesus
the Antichrist who is responsible for bringing sins into the heavenly sanctuary
to defile it. While pagan Rome only destroyed the earthly sanctuary (Dan 8:9-10
per SDAs) and papal Rome only replaced it with the confessional (Daniel 8:11-12
per SDA theology), Jesus Himself personally brought atoned sins of believers into
the heavenly sanctuary and defiled it Dan 8:13-14). This is utter confusion.
6. WITHOUT A
MEDIATOR: God knows the end from the beginning and is just. He will not cast
out life-long believers for minor unconfessed sins. First John 1:9 promises
that God goes beyond forgiving known sins to “cleanse us from all
unrighteousness” --- that includes forgotten unconfessed sins.
The SDA plan
of salvation requires Jesus to first read the books in heaven in order to
determine who died with every sin repented and forsaken (GC483-484). First John
1:9 is not quoted in The Great Controversy which teaches that God
does not forgive forgotten and unconfessed sins.
7. DANIEL
8:9-14: SDAs fail to interpret Daniel
8:9-14 as a whole. They fail to see that their interpretation makes Jesus
Himself the Antichrist responsible to bringing sins into the sanctuary and
defiling it.
8. THE PURPOSE
OF SACRIFICIAL BLOOD BEING CARRIED INTO THE SANCTUARY: It recorded the payment
for sins (Jer 17:1); it was evidence that the price had been paid. .
9. HOW THE
SANCTUARY WAS DEFILED: The earthly sanctuary was defiled by its location “in
the midst” of a sinful people (Lev 16:16). Lev 15:31 “Thus shall ye separate
the children of Israel from their uncleanness; that they die not in their
uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle that is among them.” Num 19:20 “But
the man that shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be
cut off from among the congregation, because he hath defiled the sanctuary of
the LORD: the water of separation hath not been sprinkled upon him; he is
unclean.” See also Lev 18:28; 20:3; Num 5:2-3; 19:13; 35:34; Eze 2:62.
10. ENTIRE SANCTUARY REQUIRED CLEANSING: SDAs
do not teach that the entire earthly sanctuary required periodic cleansing
because of its location in the midst of a sinful people. It is wrong to stress
the necessary cleansing of the Most Holy Place and ignore the remainder of the
sanctuary (Lev 16:16-20).
11. LEVITICUS
16 AND DANIEL 8:14 CONTRAST: SDAs fail to see a disconnect between Leviticus
16’s one-day, Day of Atonement to 179+ years and ignore the two different Hebrew
words used for “cleansing” in Leviticus 16 (taheer) and in Daniel “tsadaq”
(righteous).
13. SATAN IN
THE MOST HOLY PLACE: SDAs teach that Satan is alongside Jesus in the Most Holy
Place accusing believers while Jesus is examining the books of heaven (GC484). Satan
is not omni-present like God.
14. SINS OF
IGNORANCE: SDAs say very little about Israel’s judges and judicial system. In
reality the priests only ministered minor sins of ignorance or accident and
only those sins would be recorded in God’s book of remembrance. See Leviticus
11, 13,, 14, 15, 19; Num 5. Presumptuous sins and willful sins were handled by
the judges and would not be recorded in the books inside the Most Holy Place. See
Exodus 21:24; 22:18, 20; 30:21; 31:14; Leviticus 7:21, 25-27; 10 all; 18 all; 20
all; 24:16, 20; Deut 19:21. The guilty persons “bore their own iniquity. See
Numbers 5:31; 30:15; Ezekiel 18:20.
15. WILLIAM
MILLER WAS A FARLSE PROPHET: Jesus did not return to earth in 1844, earth did
not burn up in 1844 and those who rejected his message were not Babylon. SDAs refuse
to admit that William Miller was a false prophet and call his message the first
angel’s message of Revelation 14. Miller’s “judgment” message was the second
coming of Christ to destroy earth by fire in 1844. They also teach that the
second angel’s message of Revelation 14 occurred in the summer of 1844. Today,
SDAs teach nothing in common with William Miller who admitted error and
returned to his local church.
………………………………………………..
A CONDENSED SUMMARY OF ELLEN G. WHITE’S FALSE
TEACHINGS:
……………………………………………..
Pages are from
The Great Controversy, Confllict Series, Volume 5, 1888, 1907, 1911,
1939, 1950.
GC305, 306,
333: [An earthquake in 1755, a dark day in 1780 and a star shower in 1833 were
signs of the soon coming of Christ.]
GC324, 336,
339, 351: [William Miller was a true prophet who prophesied of the
Investigative Judgment.]
GC334-335: The
1840 fall of the Ottoman Empire fulfilled Revelation 9.
GC335: William
Miller possessed the wisdom of heaven. His thorough knowledge of the Scripture
enabled him to refute error and expose falsehood.
GC351-352: As
Jesus’ disciples were mistaken about the kingdom being at hand, early
Adventists were mistaken about the second coming. … Both fulfilled the will of
God.
GC354: God
accomplished His own beneficent purpose in permitting the [false] warning of
the judgment to be given just as it was.
**GC373-374: God’s
hand covered a mistake in the reckoning of the prophetic periods. (SC from
spring 1844 to October 22, 1844)
GC379: The
first angel’s message of Revelation 14 … was designed to separate the professed
people of God.
Correction: In
other words, those who rejected Miller should have stayed with him. Miller’s
message was false; his “judgment” was earth destroyed by fire.
GC379-380: The
unscriptural hope of a temporal millennium was abandoned.
Correction: Miller’s
view of a destroyed earth would also destroy the later SDA view of Satan on a
desolate earth 1000 years.
GC380: The
message [Miller’s] which God had sent for the testing and purification of the
church … In refusing the warning of the first angel [Miller] they rejected the means which
heaven had provided for their restoration. … Here was the cause of …
backsliding … in 1844.
GC389: The
second angel’s message of Revelation 14 was first preached in the summer of
1844.
CORRECTION: Miller
preached “Babylon is fallen” when most of his followers returned to their own
churches. See GC391.
GC401: Of all
the great religious movements since the days of the apostles, none have been more
free from human imperfection and the wiles of Satan than was that of the summer
of 1844.
CORRECTION: This
refers to a time when Adventists were still preaching the end of earth by fire
in October 1844.
GC405: Miller
fulfilled prophecy …
GC405-406: The
ablest of their opponents had not succeeded in overthrowing their system of
prophetic interpretation.
***GC410: But
God had led His people in the great advent movement.
GC417: “… the
sanctuary to which it (Dan 8:14) refers must be the sanctuary of the new
covenant.
CORRECTION: This is a fundamental error which completely ignores the context
of Daniel 8:1-13 and, especially, the question it answers from Daniel 8:13. It
also demands that 2300 “evenings and mornings) could only be interpreted as
prophetic years rather than literal days or even 1150 literal days. The
sanctuary of the new covenant was inaugurated when Christ ascended to the right
hand of the Father and began ministering there as a high priest and was the
entire sanctuary --- not just one room. The one “day” Day of Atonement
lasted one “day.” When SDAs claim that Christ has been ministering in the holy
place of the heavenly sanctuary since his ascension, they inadvertently admit
that he inaugurated the entire sanctuary at that time.
***GC417: “Is there anything in heaven to be cleansed? … It was
therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be
purified with these [the blood of animals]; but the heavenly things themselves
with better sacrifices than these" (Hebrews 9:22, 23), even the precious
blood of Christ.
CORRECTION: Hebrews 9:22,23 refers to an inauguration ceremony,
not the Day of Atonement. Actually, there were three different times that the
earthly sanctuary/Temple was “cleansed”: (1) its inauguration, (2) its
re-dedication/restoration after being defiled and (3) Day of Atonement. EGW and
SDAs confuse the actual “restoration” cleansing required from Daniel 8:11-12
with the Day of Atonement cleansing of Leviticus 16. SDAs create their own
confusion by disconnecting 8:9-13 from 8:14. The Hebrew word for “cleansed” in
Daniel 8:14 (tsadaq) is never associated with the Day of Atonement cleansing in
Leviticus 16 (taheer).
CORRECTION: The “cleansing” described in Hebrews 9:13-14 is neither
the second (re-dedication), nor the third (Day of Atonement) which required sin
to be confessed over the sacrifices. Rather, it was the first (inauguration) of
both the old and new covenants which did not require sin to be confessed
over the sacrifices (Exodus 24:3-8).
GC417-418: But how could there be sin connected with the
sanctuary, either in heaven or upon the earth?
CORRECTION: Fundamental error. Atoned sin never entered
either sanctuary. The sin ceased to exist the moment the sacrifice died (Ex
12:13; Lev 4:20, 26, 31, 35; 5:10, 13, 16, 18. EGW keeps repeating Hebrews 9:22
but does not apply it to the moment the sacrificial blood was shed. Every
aspect of both sanctuaries reflected the sinless holiness of God. The two
sanctuaries are vastly different because the earthly sanctuary was located in
the middle of millions of sinners, whereas the heavenly sanctuary is not, and
could not possibly contain sin which cannot abide in the Presence of God. See
chapter 11 of my book, Exposing Seventh-day Adventism. Willful sins were
punished by judges. There was no sacrifice prescribed for willful sins (Ex 21:
17, 23-25; 31 14; Lev 20 2; 24:16).
GC418: The ministration of the earthly sanctuary consisted of two
divisions; the priests ministered daily in the holy place, while once a year
the high priest performed a special work of atonement in the most holy, for the
cleansing of the sanctuary.
CORRECTION: Atonement and cleansing were performed every day of
the year. Atonement was pronounced after every sacrifice. The entire sanctuary
was cleansed before it entered service (Ex 29:36; 2 Chron 29:15), lepers'
houses (Lev 14:49), Levites (Numb 8:6) and, especially, individual sins (Ps
51:2). Since there was such a great importance placed upon clean and unclean, it
is wrong to limit cleansing to the residual cleansing of the Day of Atonement
(Lev 10:10). Also, "the special work of atonement in the most holy"
is really "the special work of atonement which began in the most holy and
spread to include the entire sanctuary; this fact really annuls the SDA
interpretation.
GC418 Day by day the repentant sinner brought his offerings to the
door of the tabernacle, placing his hand upon the victim's head, confessed his
sin, thus in figure transferring them from himself to the innocent
sacrifice.
CORRECTION: At the door of the tabernacle the blood of the perfect
sinless substitute sacrifice (Jesus Christ) atoned for and washed away the sin
at the instant He died. Christ "did not know sin" before or at
Calvary. God the Father (not the sinner) "made Him to be sin for us"
(2 Cor 5:21) --- He legally imputed sin to Christ. Christ did not become a
sinner; He was affected by sin but not infected by it.
GC418: The animal was then slain. "Without shedding of
blood," says the apostle, there no remission of sin. The life of the flesh
is in the blood." Hebrews 9:22; Leviticus 17:11.
COMMENT: Yes, yes, yes. Remission of sin occurred the moment the
sacrifice died as the blood was shed on a daily basis. Again, the instant
the Substitute died, its blood atoned for and washed away the sin. The sin
itself did not enter into and defile the sacrificial blood, the priest or the
sanctuary!!! Everything and every person in the sanctuary must maintain
holiness at all times in order for the sanctuary to function properly. Words
such as "And the priest
shall make an atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them" occur
over 40 times in Leviticus alone.
GC418: The blood representing the forfeited life whose guilt
the victim bore, was carried by the priest into the holy place, and
sprinkled before the veil, behind which was the ark containing the law that the
sinner had transgressed.
CORRECTION: "No! No! No!" A thousand times
"No!" The blood, representing the holy, perfect, sinless, life of
the Substitute sacrifice, was evidence (the receipt) that the perfect
redemption price had been paid!!! The blood recorded the finished atonement and
redemption. Jeremiah 17:1 reads "The sin of Judah is written with a pen of
iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is graven upon the table of their
heart, and upon the horns of your altars.” At least in this quotation, EGW
correctly identifies “the holy place” and “the veil.”
GC418: By this ceremony the sin was, through the blood,
transferred in figure to the sanctuary.
Again, No, no, no. THIS IS A GREAT FUNDAMENTAL ERROR: Although EGW
once softens the language to "record of sins," her declaration that
"sin [itself] was transferred [by Jesus Himself] through the blood"
is predominant. God would never allow the Most Holy Place to be defiled; such
would stop the entire sanctuary service. Records do not defile. As will be seen soon in following statements, beginning here,
Seventh-day Adventism makes its greatest error!!!
GC418: In some cases the blood was not taken into the holy place,
but the flesh was to be eaten by the priest, as Moses directed the sons of
Aaron saying “God has given it unto you to bear the iniquity of the
congregation.” Leviticus 10:17. Both ceremonies alike symbolized the transfer
of the sin from the penitent to the sanctuary.
CORRECTION: This is the greatest error of the SDA view of the
sanctuary. Sacrificial blood "atones," "cleans” and “washes
away” sin! (Ex 29:36; Lev 12:8; 14:20, 53; 16:30; Numb 8:21). Sacrificial blood
does not “transfer” sin from the sinner to the sanctuary. No sin entered the
sanctuary through the atonement ritual! Sacrificial blood never “defiles”
anything! Everything about the priest, his physical body, his clothing, his
anointing, and his deportment within the sanctuary, must be holy and without
blemish! Everything about the sacrificial animal must also be “most holy” or it
would be rejected! When any part of the sanctuary was defiled, such as with
Antiochus Epiphanes in 168 B. C., the entire ritual immediately ceased. The SDA
doctrine insults the holiness of God and turns the Most Holy Place of the
entire universe into the most defiled place with the accumulated atoned sins of
every believer since Adam! (See Ex 33:22, 23; Lev 16:13; Isa 6:3-5; Lev
6:25-27; Numb 18: 9; Lev 4:20; 5:6; 6:7; 7:6; Heb 9:13, 14). It is
contradictory to teach that everything about the sanctuary was either holy or
most holy while teaching that the priests routinely defiled it through their
daily ministry of blood. The priests merely bore the responsibility of
mediating sins.
CORRECTION: Lost in this discussion is the indirect and
inadvertent admission by SDAs that Jesus is the WHO, the Source, the ONE who
DEFILES the sanctuary by literally bringing the sins of believers into it.
GC418: Such was the work that went on day by day throughout the
year. The sins of Israel were thus transferred to the sanctuary, and a
special work became necessary for their removal.
CORRECTION: This is EGW and SDA cultic doctrine at its
contradictory worst. It forces them to teach that the daily sacrifices
(representing Jesus as priest, sacrifice and His blood) “defiled” the sanctuary
while the identical yearly Day of Atonement sacrifice “cleansed” it. However,
SDAs dare not equate the word “transfer” with “defile.” Neither would they ever
blame Jesus for defiling the sanctuary even though it is clearly what they
teach! The Bible does not teach that the purpose of the Day of Atonement was to
remove previously forgiven sins which had been placed there via sacrificial
atonement blood! It was only for residual sin (Lev 16:29, 31; 23; 27, 32).
GC418-419: God commanded that an atonement be made for each of
the sacred apartments. "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 remaineth among them in the
midst of their uncleanness.' An atonement was also to be made for the altar
"to cleanse it and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of
Israel." Leviticus 16:16, 19.
CORRECTION: There is a serious problem here for SDAs. While EGW
admits that the entire sanctuary was cleansed on the Day of Atonement, both she
and other SDAs tend to ignore this statement. It means that Jesus was
ministering in a defiled holy place until 1844.
GC419: Once a year, on the great Day of Atonement, the [high]
priest entered the most holy place for the cleansing of the sanctuary. The work
there performed completed the yearly round of ministration. On the Day
of Atonement two kids of the goats were brought to the door of the tabernacle,
and lots were cast upon them, "one for the Lord and the other lot for the
scapegoat." Verse 8.
CORRECTION: (1) No mention is made of the high priest's personal
sin offering because Jesus had no sin and such is not patterning fulfillment
(16:3, 6). (2) Neither is mention made that both goats from the congregation
were for one sin-offering (16:5) as this disagrees with the SDA
interpretation of the scapegoat at Satan. (3) Again, no mention is made that
the entire sanctuary was cleansed on the Day of Atonement.
GC419: The goat upon which fell the lot for the Lord was to be
slain as a sin offering for the people.
CORRECTION: When both goats were presented before the LORD for one
sin offerings (Lev 16:5, 7), both goats became most holy (Num 18:9). Both goats
were equal because the lot could have fallen on either (16:8). The first goat
would immediately die for the LORD (16:8, 9); the second goat became a living
sacrifice to carry the memory of sins away (16:10; Heb 8:12). Compare Leviticus
14:54. Both goats were types of Jesus Christ.
GC419: And the priest was to bring his blood within the veil
and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat and before the mercy seat. The blood was
also to be sprinkled upon the altar of incense which was before the veil.
CORRECTION: EGW has no problem interpreting "within the
veil" correctly here compared to pages 420-421. Also, she fails to point
out that the entire sanctuary was cleansed on the Day of Atonement (Lev 16:16).
GC419: "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:
and the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not
inhabited. Verses 21, 22. The scapegoat came no more into the camp of Israel,
and the man who led him away was required to wash himself and his
clothing with water before returning to the camp.
CORRECTION: Far from being a reference to Satan, "presented
alive before the LORD" ensures that the scapegoat is a holy living
sacrifice "to make an atonement with him" (16:10; Num 18:9). The high
priest literally placed both his hands upon both goats. If the scapegoat had represented
Satan, he would have been defiled. The fact that neither the high priest nor
the man who led the goat out were required to offer sin offerings after their
tasks proves that they were not handling sin (16:24, 26). Both only had to wash
with water.
Gc419-420: The whole ceremony was designed to impress the
Israelites with the holiness of God and His abhorrence of sin and, further to show
them that they could not come in contact with sin without becoming polluted.
Every man was required to afflict his soul while the work of atonement
was going forward. All business was to be laid aside, and the whole
congregation of Israel were to spend the day in solemn humiliation before God,
with prayer, fasting and deep searching of heart.
CORRECTION: Again, notice that neither the high priest nor the
person handling the scapegoat were required to offer a sin offering for
becoming defiled. The one-day Day of Atonement was symbolic of one final
Judgment Day in which God would once-for-all time deal with sin (Heb 10:1-14).
Israelites afflicted their souls to reveal any residual un-confessed and
un-atoned sins from the previous year. Since SDAs cannot cease doing
business every day for over 178 years, the prophetic symbolism is lost (Lev
16:29, 31; 23:27, 32).
GC420: Important truths concerning the atonement are taught by the
typical service. A substitute was accepted in the sinner's behalf.
COMMENT: Ellen G. White has changed from saying "the blood
represents the forfeited life of the victim" to the correct saying "a
substitute was accepted in the sinner's behalf."
GC420: … but the sin was not canceled by the blood of the
victim.
CORRECTION: This is insane unbiblical theology! In other words,
"the perfect sinless blood of Jesus Christ was unable to completely atone
for and wash away sin when first confessed." Then why keep repeating
Hebrews 9:22 “without the shedding of blood is no remission”? When the
sacrificial blood was shed daily at the entrance to the sanctuary,
remission occurred. The phrase “and the priest shall make an atonement for
them, and it shall be forgiven” occurs in Leviticus 4:20, 26, 31, 35; 5:10, 13,
16, 18; 6:7; 19:22). Indeed, the sin was canceled because the debt had been
fully paid. The responsibility for the atonement sin was transferred ---
not the sin itself. There is no mention of the transfer of sin into the
sanctuary in the Bible.
GC420: A means was thus provided by which it was transferred to
the sanctuary.
GREAT ERROR: Here is born the Seventh-day Adventist doctrine of
the Investigative Judgment to remove atoned sins which have defiled the
heavenly sanctuary.
GREAT ERROR: (1) Pagan Rome literally defiled the literal sanctuary
with its army in A. D. 70 per the SDA interpretation of Daniel 8:9-10. (2)
Papal Rome spiritually defiled the sanctuary with its theology and confessional
in A. D.121t5 per the SDA interpretation of Daniel 8:10-12. (3) Jesus Himself
becomes the worst defiler by transferring atoned sins of believers into the
heavenly sanctuary per the SDA interpretation of Daniel 8:14. Therefore, Jesus
is the Anti-Christ little horn of Daniel 8. Although they must strongly deny
such obvious consequence and blame the sins of believers, in context, “transfer
sin” and “defile” mean the same thing! The WHO is Jesus and the HOW is “using
the sins of the saints.”
GC420: By the offering of blood the sinner acknowledged the
authority of the law, confessed his guilt in transgression, and expressed his
desire for pardon through faith in a Redeemer to come; but he was not yet
entirely released from the condemnation of the law.
CORRECTION: This is another example of SDA theology at its worst.
Ellen G. White failed to grasp that the sinner was offering the perfect sinless
blood of Jesus Christ which certainly released the sinner from the condemnation
of the law. The perfect sacrifice had been brought and accepted; Jesus’
life-blood had been shed; the atonement-redemption price had been fully paid,
and the priest had announced “it shall be forgiven” (Lev 4:26, 31, 35; 5:10,
13, 16, 18; 6:7; 19:22). Yet EGW erroneously says that the sinner was “not yet
entirely released from the condemnation of the law.” Thus, none can be in heaven
and none can have assurance of salvation until their records had been
scrutinized sometime after 1844.
GC420: On the Day of Atonement the high priest, having taken an
offering from the congregation, went into the most holy place with the blood of
this offering, and sprinkled it upon the mercy seat, directly over the law
to make satisfaction for its claims.
CORRECTION: No, no, no. “To show that satisfaction had been
made and accepted the moment the sacrificial offering died.” This compares to
when Christ uttered from the cross, “It is finished.” Like every other daily,
weekly and seasonal sin offering, the meaning was to prove that
satisfaction had already been made! This was a most holy spotless sin
offering which had been presented before the LORD (Lev 16:5, 7; Numb 18:9) and
the residual sins of the congregation (which had remained to be confessed) had
been confessed over it (Lev 16:29, 31; 23:27, 32). Again, satisfaction was made
the instant the sin offering died (Ex 12:13). Its blood was brought into the
Most Holy Place as proof, or evidence, that the payment had already been
made (Jer 17:1). Since God does not require double atonement for the same sins,
the Day of Atonement ritual was not a second redemption for sins covered by the
daily ministration. Rather, it was a final residual cleansing of all remaining
“un-atoned” sinfulness of Israel. Atoned sins are the only ones which do not
defile! (See Lev 15:31; 18:28; Numb 5:2, 3; 19:13; 35:34; compare Lev 16:16-20,
30).
CORRECTION: If confessed and atoned DAILY sins defiled the
sanctuary, so also would confessed and atoned YEARLY sins defile it. This
means that, while Jesus has been removing sins from the heavenly sanctuary
since 1844, He has also been daily transferring sins to it and daily defiling
it by daily forgiveness.
GC420: Then, in his character of mediator, he [the high priest]
took the sins upon himself and bore them from the sanctuary. [to place upon
the scapegoat]
CORRECTION: The cost of forgiven sins had been paid. As occurred
daily, the high priest now removed the record of forgiven sins from the
sanctuary to the scapegoat. If the high priest had touched sin, he would have
been instantly defiled, unfit to serve and would require another sin offering
for cleansing. The Bible does not state
that the high priest on the Day of Atonement removed sins from the Most Holy
Place. Exactly as in daily sin offerings, the residual sins of all Israel had
been atoned and washed away the instant the LORD's goat died at the doorway (Ex
12:13; Heb 9:22). The record of all atoned sins was removed from the entire
sanctuary --- beginning with the Most Holy Place. Read Leviticus 16:16. Compare
with the last phrase of 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."
GC420: Placing his hands upon the head of the scapegoat, he
confessed over him all these sins, thus in figure transferring them
from himself to the goat. The goat then bore them away, and they were
regarded as forever separated from the people.
CORRECTION: Atoned sins never made it past the doorway where the
sacrifice died! And the high priest certainly did not carry “sins” inside the
sanctuary because he would have been defiled and unclean! The scapegoat, the
equal second half of the ONE most holy sin offering from the people (16:7),
presented a visual demonstration to Israel that even their residual sins were
forever removed. “All these sins” refers, not to previously confessed and
atoned sin, but to the residual general sinfulness of Israel. See Lev 16:16-20,
30. It is noteworthy that neither the high priest nor person who handled the
second goat was considered defiled afterwards. Since the New Covenant sanctuary
in heaven is not located “in the midst of a sinful people,” then it does not
require a later corresponding Day of Atonement ritual. The cleansing described
in Hebrews 9 is comparable, not to the Day of Atonement, but to the
inauguration to begin the new ministry. Compare Exodus 24:4-8 and 29 with
Hebrews 9:17-22.
GC420: Such was the service performed "unto the example and
shadow of heavenly things." And what was done in type in the ministration
of the earthly sanctuary is done in reality in the ministration of the heavenly
sanctuary.
CORRECTION: How much “example” was actually performed in the heavenly
sanctuary (Hebrews 8:5)? Almost every text in Hebrews 8 and 9 is contrast, not
fulfillment. Hebrews 9:9 says the old ritual was “a figure for the time then
present.” It seems that SDAs only want to keep the Day of Atonement and even then,
they do not make it a whole year as per their guiding principle.
CORRECTION: The "real" heavenly sanctuary already
existed during Old Testament times. Did Christ mediate sins since Adam and Eve
in it? Was there a yearly Day of Atonement every year in the heavenly sanctuary?
CORRECTION: Since Jesus is both priest and sacrifice, SDAs
inadvertently make Jesus the guilty defiler of the sanctuary transferring sin
to it. Their theology has Jesus bearing His own “sin-laden” blood into the
sanctuary and defiling it. This is very obviously wrong.
GC420: The ministration of the priest throughout the year in the
first apartment of the sanctuary, “within the veil” which formed the
door and separated the holy place from the outer court, represents the work of
ministration upon which Christ entered at His ascension.
CORRECTION: This is goofy theology laughed at by all Bible
scholars outside Adventism. It was invented as a weak attempt to justify the
1844 false interpretation where Christ, for the first time since His death, entered
the Most Holy Place in haven over 1800 years after Calvary.
GC421: So did Christ plead His blood before the Father in behalf
of sinners, and present before Him also with the precious fragrance of His own
righteousness the prayers of penitent believers. Such was the work of
ministration in the first apartment of the sanctuary in heaven.
COMMENT: This is the first time Ellen G. White has referred to the
priest as Christ and to the blood as His blood. It has previously been
"the blood represented the forfeited life of the sinner" (GC418).
GC421: Thither [only into the holy place] the faith of Christ's
disciples followed Him as He ascended from their sight. Here their hopes
centered, "which hope we have," said Paul, "as an anchor of the
soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the vail;
whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made a high priest
forever.”
CORRECTION: Again, EGW teaches that “within the veil” only refers
to the veil between the outer courtyard and first compartment. No other church denomination
has dared offer such a different explanation of where Jesus ascended.
GC421: “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own
blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal
redemption for us.” Hebrews 6:19, 20; 9:12.
CORRECTION: Compare GC414-415. SDAs are the only group who teach
that Christ only ministered in the Holy Place (instead of the Most Holy Place)
from his ascension until 1844. EGW takes the reference to “within the veil”
from Hebrews 6:19 and changes it into the outer veil instead of the inner veil.
However, with one exception (Heb. 9:3), five of six references to “veil” in the
New Testament refer to the veil between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place
--- not to the curtain separating the Holy Place from the courtyard (Mt 27:51;
Mk 15:38; Lk 23:45). Also, the phrase, “within the veil (vail)” occurs six (6)
times in the Old Testament and always refers to the Most Holy Place,
particularly on the Day of Atonement in Leviticus 16. See Ex 26:33; Lev 16:2,
12, 15; Nu 18:7. The phrase, “without the veil (vail)” occurs four (4) times in
the Old Testament and always refers to the Most Holy Place. See Ex 26:35;
27:21; 40:22; Lev 24:3.
The “holy place” from Hebrews 9:12 (except for SDAs) is
universally understood by Greek scholars and Bible translators as referring to
the Most Holy Place (NKJV and NIV) of “heaven itself” (9:24). Again, the
context of Hebrews 9:12 is that of inauguration of the New Covenant and not
that of the Day of Atonement. Compare 9:18-21 with Moses’ inauguration in
Exodus 24:3-8.
GC421: For eighteen centuries this work of ministration continued
[only] in the first apartment of the sanctuary [the holy place]. 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.
CORRETION: This is an SDA oddity. While the Father and the Law are
located inside the Most Holy Place, Christ was not there until 1844. While
“pardon and acceptance” had been “secured,” they really were not because a
reversal might occur when Jesus read the books. No Bible texts validate that the
atoned sins themselves literally “remain on the books of record.” While it is
true that Arminian Methodists believe one can fall from grace, they attribute
the fall to unconfessed sins following an initial justification experience.
However, here SDAs refer to previously confessed and atoned sins still on the
books of heaven. Ps 51:7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me,
and I shall be whiter than snow. Ps 103:12 As far as the east is from the west,
so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
GC421: As in the typical service there was a work of atonement at
the close of the year …
CORRECTION: The “work of atonement” at the end of the year did not
involve previously confessed and atoned sins. Rather, it involved yet
unconfessed and yet unforgiven residual sins. It compared to a seasonal
house-cleaning.
GC421: This is the service which began when the 2300 days
ended. At that time, as foretold by Daniel the prophet [GC479; Dan. 7:9,
10], our High Priest entered the most holy, to perform the last division
of His solemn work --- to cleanse the sanctuary.
CORRECTION: To SDAs in 1844, this sounded like Jesus might return soon.
It has taken Ellen G. White 421 pages to justify the existence of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church following the false prophecy of 1844 by William
Miller. Yet it has already taken an Omniscient God over 178 years to research
the books of heaven to determine who shall finally be saved. In reality, the
"one-day" Day of Atonement prophesied Christ's "one-day"
act of once-for-all-time redemption at Calvary (Heb 9:24-26). The First and
Second Angels’ Messages (“from God” EGW earlier wrote) preached by Miller have
now been completely rejected by SDAs and replaced by the much worse false
doctrine of the Investigative Judgment. Daniel 8:14 is now the cornerstone of
Seventh-day Adventism.
GC421: As anciently the SINS of the people were placed by faith
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.
CORRECTION: Both examples are wrong! The sins were washed away by
the blood of the innocent sacrifice at the moment the sacrifice died. Here is
positive proof that SDAs teach that Jesus Christ Himself is personally
responsible for transferring sins to the heavenly sanctuary and defiling it! It
is absolutely incredible that SDAs make Jesus Christ, the sinless
Substitute and Sacrifice, into the Anti-Christ responsible for carrying sins
into the heavenly sanctuary and defiling the Most Holy Place in heaven! “Yes,”
they say, the very same atoning and purifying blood of Jesus Christ is also defiling
blood which carries SIN into the holiest place in the Universe and pollutes
it! Therefore, the worst offender is not the "little horn" but Jesus
Christ Himself.
GC421-422: And as the typical cleansing of the earthly was
accomplished by the removal of the SINS by which it had been polluted [by
Jesus], so the actual cleansing of the heavenly is to be accomplished by the
removal, or blotting out, of the SINS which are there recorded.
CORRECTION: This is speaking of blotting out sins which have
already been forgiven an atoned. At this point EGW does say “sins which are
there recorded.” However, all of her other quotations plainly say “sins”
which have “defiled” heaven. Mere “records” of sins would not defile, yet,
according to EGW, heaven is defiled by atoned sins of believers which were
carried there by Jesus through His blood.
GC422: But before this can be accomplished, there must be an
examination of the books of record to determine who, through repentance and
faith in Christ, are entitled to the benefits of his atonement.
CORRECTION: Notice “to determine.” This cancels the previous
statement that “pardon and acceptance” is already secured
(GC421). Otherwise, there would be no reason to examine the lives of the
faithful. And, by extension, it also means that nobody is in heaven yet because
nobody can claim to have been fully saved before 1844.
GC422: It was seen also that, while the sin offering pointed to
Christ as a sacrifice and the high priest represented Christ as a mediator, the
scapegoat typified Satan, the author of sin, upon whom the SINS of the truly
penitent will finally be placed. When the high priest, by virtue of the
blood of the sin offering, removed the SINS from the sanctuary, he placed
THEM upon the scapegoat.
CORRECTION: How can the blood of the sin offering “remove” sins
when the blood of the sin offering “placed” sins there?
GC422: When Christ, by virtue of His own blood, removes the SINS
of His people from the heavenly sanctuary at the close of His ministration, He
will place THEM upon Satan, who, in the execution of the judgment, must bear
the final penalty.
CORRECTION: Again, SDAs
dare not admit they teach that “Christ, by virtue of His own blood, PLACED the
SINS of His people INTO the heavenly sanctuary.”
GC422: The scapegoat was sent away into a land not inhabited,
never to come again into the congregation of Israel. So will Satan be forever
banished from the presence of God and His people, and he will be blotted from
existence in the final destruction of sin and sinners.
CORRECTION: As a final review: (1) Both goats were chosen by the
congregation as ONE sin offering (Lev 16:5). (2) When sacrificial animals were
"presented before the LORD" they became "most holy" (Lev
16:7; Nu 18:9). (3) The scapegoat was presented as a living sin offering
similar to Leviticus 14:53. And (4) if the high priest and goat-handler had
contacted sin, they would have been required to bring a sin offering.
GC423: The subject of the sanctuary was the key which unlocked
the mystery of the disappointment of 1844.
CORRECTION: It was the excuse for not admitting Miller’s error. It
was a greater error to explain a lesser error.
CONCLUSION: This is just a
very small sample of EGW errors catalogued on my web site, Exposing Seventh-day
Adventism. As a theologian, I get dizzy reading the utter absurdity and
nonsense found in The Great Controversy.
Russell Earl Kelly, PHD.
Author of Exposing Seventh-day Adventism
1211 Bluefield Ave
Elizabethton, Tn 37643
706-401-1276
Russell Earl Kelly, PHD.
Author of Exposing Seventh-day Adventism
1211 Bluefield Ave
Elizabethton, Tn 37643
706-401-1276
