Loopholes In the Great Controversy? Part 4

George Whitefield was a famed English evangelist in the 1700s. He led many meetings where hundreds of people come to Christ. His ministry had great affect around England and was instrumental in sparking a revival in the land. Yet for all the good he did, he was not without his critics. He very often received letters of criticism, mockery, or hateful correction. Sometimes he would become discouraged by the letters, but he soon learned that the best response to a critic was openness and honesty. After receiving a letter of personal attack he wrote one simple reply to its sender:

“I thank you heartily for your letter. As for what you and my other enemies are saying against me, I know worse things about myself than you will ever say about me.”

With Love in Christ, George Whitefield

Source: Daily in the Word, February 22, 2011

Where are we in the Great War?

Lucifer Rebelled

Accusations against God.

God is not loving.

God is not trustworthy.

God’s government is not good.

“I could do better”

God’s law is not necessary.

Fall of Adam and Eve

We joined Satan’s rebellion.

Christ promised to save us.

Universe is watching

Truth is unfolding.

God proves accusations wrong.

Cross:

God is love.

God is trustworthy.

God’s law is just.

God’s law can be kept.

God can save repentant sinners.

So....

Why are we still here?

If all the questions

in the GC were solved

at the cross,

why are we still here?

Perhaps they weren’t

solved completely.

How Does the Old Testament Sanctuary Explain More?

The sanctuary on earth

was just a mini model

of the sanctuary in heaven.

Hebrews 8:1–2 ESV

Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand — of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man.

In heaven,

there is a sanctuary

That God built!

Jesus is the true Priest.

Earthly sanctuary,

just a little tent to

help us understand

what Jesus is actually doing

in heaven as Priest.

Help us understand

more about the

plan of salvation.

What about the 7 feast days?

There are lost of

different denominations

that keep the Sabbath.

SDA church is by far

the largest one.

Among those denominations

most of them

also keep the feast days.

What are these feast days,

why don’t we keep them?

Previous sermon

go into much more detail.

Seven Feasts:

Passover

Unleavened Bread

First Fruits

Pentecost

Trumpets

Day of Atonement

Tabernacles

The argument was that it was unfair that atheists had no recognized days for their religion as other religions did. The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the passionate presentation by the lawyer, the judge banged his gavel declaring, “Case dismissed.'” The lawyer immediately stood and objected to the ruling saying, “Your honor, how can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas, Easter, etc. The Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah, and Hanukkah. Yet my client and all other atheists have no such holidays.” The judge leaned forward in his chair and said, “But you do. Your client, counsel, is woefully ignorant.”

The lawyer said, “Your Honor, we are unaware of any special observance or holiday for atheists.”

The judge said, “The calendar shows April 1st is April Fools Day, and Psalm 14:1 states: 'The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.' Thus, it is the opinion of this court, that if your client says there is no God, then he is a fool. Therefore, April 1st is his day. Court is adjourned.”—Source Unknown

Spring Feasts

The first 3

Passover

Unleavened Bread

First Fruits

happen consecutively.

First Month

14th - Passover

15th - Unleavened Bread (1 week)

16th - First Fruits

Main thing we need to know

each feast

Jesus fulfilling

aspect of the

plan of salvation.

Passover

Jesus died

exact day - 14th of day of 1st month.

Jesus represents

lamb that dies

to save us from

destroying Angel.

Jesus died to

save us from our sins.

Paul says:

1 Corinthians 5:7 ESV

Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.

A pastor stood at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and watched as a man in tears lay a wreath at the base of the memorial. The pastor put his hand on the man’s shoulder, and the man said, “Twenty-five years ago he stepped into the line of fire for me, the least I can do is say, ‘Thanks.’”

Jesus did that

on the cross for us.

He took stepped into

the line of fire

Died the Second Death.

But He did more

answering questions

of the GC.

He wasn’t just

saving sinners from earth.

He was on a mission

to make the universe

secure from

lies of Satan.

Cross:

God is love.

God is trustworthy.

God’s law is just.

God’s law can be kept.

God can save repentant sinners.

Unleavened Bread

Starts the next day.

7 days,

no yeast in the house.

Yeast represents sin.

Matthew 16:6 ESV

Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

Leaven (yeast) = sin.

During feast,

took leaven from house.

Jesus fulfilled this by

cleansing the world of sin.

A little boy and his father were driving down a country road on a beautiful spring afternoon. Suddenly out of nowhere a bumblebee flew in the car window. Since the little boy was deathly allergic to bee stings he became petrified. His father quickly reached out, grabbed the bee, squeezed it in his hand, and then released it. But as soon as he let it go, the young son became frantic once again as it buzzed by the little boy.

The father sensed his son’s terror. Once again he reached out his hand, but this time he pointed to this hand. There, stuck in his skin was the stinger of the bee. “You see this?” he asked. “You don’t need to be afraid anymore. I’ve taken the sting for you.”

The Christian does not need to be afraid of death because Christ has taken the sting out of death and sin.

1 Corinthians 15:55-56: “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.”

First Fruits

During this feast,

they took grain

first harvest of year

celebrated the harvest.

The spiritual harvest

of the earth happens

at the Second Coming

when saints resurrect.

A man and his five-year old son were driving past a cemetery and noticed a large pile of dirt next to a freshly dug grave when the little boy said, “Look, Dad, one got out!”

Next time you drive past a cemetery, think of the One Whom the grave could not hold.

Source: Unknown

But Jesus

like the firstfruits

of the harvest because

He already resurrected.

Jesus came out of tomb,

on the day of the

firstfruits feast.

Paul says:

1 Corinthians 15:20 ESV

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

Pentecost

Means 50 days,

because it happens

50 days latter.

Exactly 50 days after

during the feast,

Holy Spirit is Poured out.

Acts 2:1–4 ESV

When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. — And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

It happened

on the exact day.

The planned symbolism

fulfilled in each

of the Spring Feast.

The were fulfilled

around Jesus death.

During Christ’s 1st coming.

Fall Feast

Fall feasts also have

symbolic fulfillment

as part of the

plan of Salvation.

But these feasts,

occur closer to

2nd coming.

Feast of Trumpets

The purpose of this feast

was to tell everyone

Day of Atonement was

almost upon them.

Everyone must be warned

about the coming

Day of Judgment.

I’ll explain how

this was fulfilled shortly.

Day of Atonement

The day of Atonement,

as I already said,

was a day of Judgment.

On this day,

(as some other feasts)

special sacrificial ceremony.

Remember,

sanctuary was a place

people came with sacrifices

every day

throughout the year.

But during feast days,

special sacrifices.

Of the fests,

none was more solemn

than the Day of Atonement.

(Day of Judgment).

To understand

special sacrifice

on the day of Atonement

it would be helpful if

we review how they

use the sanctuary

daily, throughout year.

Daily Service

Sinner convicted of wrong

feels guilty and

wants to be cleansed.

Bring sacrifice

(like a lamb)

to the temple.

Sinner places hand on lamb

makes confession to God

kills the lamb.

(sinner does it).

Priest does rest

brings blood into

the holy place.

Great Controversy Chapter 23—What Is the Sanctuary?

Important truths concerning the atonement are taught by the typical service. A substitute was accepted in the sinner’s stead; but

We must understand,

during this service

“the sin was not canceled”.

Most teach that,

during this service

sinner is forgiven

that is.

What we must understand

not quite that simple.

There was more

than one step

in the forgiveness

process.

Atonement and complete cleansing

was a two-stage process.

This was just

the first stage.

During this stage

sins are not fully forgiven.

Instead,

they are symbolically

transferred to

stay in the sanctuary.

Great Controversy Chapter 23—What Is the Sanctuary?

By the offering of blood the sinner

This daily service,

the first phase of atonement

was completed at the cross.

Jesus, Lamb of God

died for the sins of world.

As Christians,

we look to what Christ

accomplished at the cross

as essential for our salvation.

By faith,

we accept His sacrifice,

express faith in

His saving grace.

This act of faith

is the first stage of

cleansing

forgiveness

atonement

salvation.

Great Controversy Chapter 23—What Is the Sanctuary?

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. It was the work of the priest in the daily ministration to present before God the blood of the sin offering

...

Great Controversy Chapter 23—What Is the Sanctuary?

For eighteen centuries this work of ministration continued in the first apartment of the sanctuary. The blood of Christ, pleaded in behalf of penitent believers, secured their pardon and acceptance with the Father,

A beautiful young mother in New York City reterned to the building in which her little infant lay asleep and was appalled to see the building in flames. The firemen could not restrain her and she dashed through the flames and rescued her child, but in doing so, she was so severely burned that her face was horribly disfigured for life. When she looked at her face in the glass after it was healed, she was shocked at her disfigurement, but was comforted by the thought that when her little girl grew up she would appreciate the sacrifice that her mother had made to rescue her. The little child did grow up to be a young woman of uncommon beauty.

One day there was an excursion up the river and both mother and daughter went. The beautiful daughter was on the front deck surrounded by a host of admirers, laughing and talking. The disfigured mother was on the rear deck looking after the wraps and other things. The mother had occasion to go to the front deck to speak to her daughter. As she drew near, a young man asked the beautiful young girl, “Who is that hideous looking woman?” In a low tone, the beautiful daughter said, “I don’t know.”

Yearly Service

During the special feast

the yearly Day of Atonement

there was another

sacrificial ceremony.

This yearly service

would teach the

second phase of

the atonement.

On this day

“Day of Judgment”

The High Priest

make a sacrifice.

Leviticus 16:30 ESV

For on this day shall atonement be made for you to cleanse you. You shall be clean before the Lord from all your sins.

Two goats

Lord’s goat

Scapegoat.

Go into Most Holy Place.

Put blood on mercy seat.

Come back out,

to the scapegoat

take all the sins

confessed and stored in sanctuary

place them on scapegoate.

Leviticus 16:21 ESV

And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness.

Scapegoat = Satan.

He will be

held responsible

for sins of the world

that he tempted and

rebellion he created.

This ceremony was called

“cleansing of sanctuary”

because it cleansed sins

stored there throughout year.

Leviticus 16:16 ESV

Thus he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins. And so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which dwells with them in the midst of their uncleannesses.

During cleansing

of the sanctuary

it wasn’t about

physically cleaning

a building.

Cleansing of Sanctuary

was cleansing of sins there.

By extension,

this was actually,

cleansing of the sins

of the people who

confessed those sins

throughout the year.

But it was called

“day of judgment.”

What was judgment?

Well...

Not all sins

were cleansed away.

Leviticus 23:26–27 ESV

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Now on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be for you a time of holy convocation, and you shall afflict yourselves and present a food offering to the Lord.

Gets more specific:

Leviticus 23:30 ESV

And whoever does any work on that very day, that person I will destroy from among his people.

So there were some,

who were not

cleansed...

who were not

forgiven!

The people who did not

affict their souls

were not forgiven...

But what does that mean?

Practical Forgiveness.

If person says,

I’m sorry but

does not acts sorry.

You begin to wonder,

if they really are

sorry at all.

If they go on

to willfully and purposefully

sin against you,

disregarding your hurt,

you may think twice

about letting go of

your forgiveness for them.

God is same.

when someone prays,

“Lord, I’m sorry,

please forgive me.”

Christ records

confession next to that sin

in the sanctuary in heaven.

But that sin,

is not fully forgiven.

God waits to see

if we are truly repentant,

seeking for victory

over this besetting sin.

As we are experiencing

power of sanctification

God-given power of

victory over that sin

we complete the

second stage of forgiveness.

At that time,

God blots out sin.

The record of that sin

is removed from

the books of heaven

(blotted out!)

Great Controversy Chapter 23—What Is the 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 which are there recorded.

...

Great Controversy Chapter 23—What Is the Sanctuary?

But before this can be accomplished, there must be an

The Feast of the Day of Atonement

was called the day of Judgment

because on that day,

God investigated who

was truly repentant.

Those who were

repentant had been

experiencing sanctification

Godly power of transformation.

There was a king who had suffered much from his rebellious subjects. But one day they surrendered their arms, threw themselves at his feet, and begged for mercy. He pardoned them all. One of his friends said to him, “Did you not say that every rebel should die?”

“Yes,” replied the king, “but I see no rebels here.”

Now that we

understand that

process of cleansing from sin,

we can ask...

When Would This Cleansing Occur For Us?

As we say,

Spring Feasts

fulfilled around 1st Advent.

Fall Feasts

fulfilled around 2nd Advent.

Trumpets

The Feast of Trumpets

warning that Judgment day

was almost upon us.

When did that happen?

Greg Covered this

in the SDA History Class.

William Miller

studied 2300 days

Daniel 8:14 ESV

And he said to me, “For 2,300 evenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary shall be restored to its rightful state.”

Calculated date correctly

1844.

S. S. Snow calculated exact day:

Oct 22, 1844.

That was to be

the date of the

Day of Atonement

in the year 1844.

The final eruption of Mount St. Helens in May of 1980 was not a sudden event. For two months prior to the massive blast—the most deadly and destructive in American history—earthquakes and volcanic activity signaled a major event was underway. Authorities had plenty of time to sound the alarm and warn those living nearby of the looming danger. Yet despite the seriousness of the threat, some people chose to disregard the warnings.

Probably the best known of those who refused to evacuate was Harry Randall Truman. The eighty-three year old man was the owner and caretaker at the Mount St. Helens Lodge at Spirit Lake. He had survived the sinking of his troop ship by a German submarine off the coast of Ireland during World War I, and he was not about to leave just because scientists thought there was danger. Truman told reporters, “I don't have any idea whether it will blow. But I don't believe it to the point that I'm going to pack up.” On May 18, 1980, Truman and his lodge were buried beneath 150 feet of mud and debris from the volcanic eruption. His body was never found.

In 1844,

God was send

a special warning

to the world that

judgment was about to begin.

Great Disappointment

There was a problem.

They calculated

the date correctly.

They knew it was

cleansing of Sanctuary.

“Day of Judgment”

But they thought

this was in reference

to the 2nd Coming.

They told everyone:

“Day of Judgment is here”

“Jesus is coming”

Oct. 22, 1844.

But Jesus never came...

Well,

to be more precise,

He never came to the earth.

It was the:

Day of Judgment

Cleansing of Sanctuary

Day of Atonement.

Instead of coming

to the earth,

Jesus came to

Most Holy Place

in the Sanctuary above

to begin the

final work

of Atonement.

Great Controversy Chapter 23—What Is the Sanctuary?

As in the typical service there was a work of atonement at the close of the year, so before Christ’s work for the redemption of men is completed there is a work of atonement for the removal of sin from the sanctuary. This is the service which began when the 2300 days ended.

...

Great Controversy Chapter 23—What Is the Sanctuary?

Thus those who followed in the light of the prophetic word saw that, instead of coming to the earth at the termination of the 2300 days in 1844, Christ then entered the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary to perform the closing work of atonement preparatory to His coming.

Since 1844,

we live in the

day of Judgment.

Christ has begun

final stage of atonement.

But if you remember,

cleansing of sanctuary

actually cleansing of people.

And the people

were required to

cooperate with this cleansing

by “afflicting their souls.”

This means they were

searching their heart.

Allowing Christ to

cleanse every corner.

Empowering us to

be truly repentant of

sins we have

sought confession for.

Great Controversy Chapter 24—In the Holy of Holies

In the typical service, when the high priest entered the most holy place, all Israel were required to gather about the sanctuary and in the most solemn manner humble their souls before God, that they might receive the pardon of their sins and not be cut off from the congregation.

—

How much more essential in this antitypical Day of Atonement that we understand the work of our High Priest and know what duties are required of us.

The story is told of a prosecuting attorney in a small town courthouse called his first witness, an elderly woman, to the stand. He approached her and asked, “Mrs. Jones, do you know me?”

She responded, “Why, yes, I do know you, Mr. Williams. I’ve known you since you were a young boy. And, frankly, you’ve been a big disappointment to me. You lie, you cheat, you manipulate people and talk about them behind their backs. You think you’re a rising big shot, but you haven’t the brains to realize you will never amount to anything more than a two-bit paper pusher. Yes, I know you.”

The lawyer was stunned. Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across the room and asked, “Mrs. Jones, do you know the defense attorney?”

She replied, “Why, of course I do. I’ve known Mr. Bradley since he was a youngster, too. I used to baby-sit him. And he, too, has been a real disappointment to me. He’s lazy, bigoted, and has a drinking problem. The man can’t build a normal relationship with anyone, and his law practice is one of the shoddiest in the entire state. Yes, I know him.”

At this point, the judge rapped the courtroom to silence and called both lawyers to the bench. In a very quiet voice, he said with menace, “If either of you ask her if she knows me, I’ll hold you both in contempt of court!”

Final Atonement

I must return

question started with:

If the cross solved the questions in the Great Controversy, why are still here?

The answer:

clearly the cross

did not solve all problems.

It only solved

first stage of atonement.

Here we stand

in the final stage

of the atonement process.

Are you cooperating

with this cleansing?

Where are we at in the process?

Which of the Feasts have happened?

Passover = Cross

Unleavened Bread = Jesus Cleanses Word of Sin

First Fruits = Christ’s Resurrection

Pentecost = Outpouring of Holy Spirit on Church

Trumpets = Loud Cry Preceding 1844

Day of Atonement = 1844 to Present

Tabernacles = Heaven after 2nd Coming

Why Don’t We Keep the Feast Days?

Because they were

symbolic ceremonies

that were types

they were prophecies

of the plan of salvation.

Once Christ fulfilled

each of them

type met antitype

we didn’t need them

anymore.

The Signs of the Times June 3, 1886: The Permanence of Truth

He came just as the prophecies foretold that he would come. In his life and death, type met antitype, and the rites and ceremonies of the Jewish church found their fulfillment.

In May of 1948 three men robbed a bank in Hoyt, Kansas, getting away with $1,000. Shortly thereafter two men were killed in a car wreck, and police thought they were the robbers and the case was closed. Four years later, however, something unusual happened. On a Sunday morning at the Seward Avenue Baptist Church a young man named Al Johnson stepped to the pulpit and revealed to the congregation that the day before he had gone to the district attorney and confessed his role in the crime.

“I thought about the bank robbery many times,” Johnson, who was a teenager when the crime occurred, said, “I prayed about it and asked the Lord to give me an answer. It seemed that He would give me only one answer and that was to give myself up.”

He returned money to bank.

Went to police, confessed.

Appeal

We have completed

all the feasts

before 2nd Coming.

Time for serious spirituality

“Afflict Souls”

Pursue Repentant

Pursue Sanctification

though God’s

grace

power.

Still have,

more questions...

Why are we still here?

Why is the cleansing time

taking so long?

How does

final events

Book of Revelation

bring this to resolution?

Stay tuned.