Sabbath Afternoon - February 19
Memory Text:
“For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.” KJV — Hebrews 10:14
The enemy would like to deceive us one way or another, he cares not which, and we should not give him any occasion. Says Paul: "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the Author and finisher of our faith; Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Heb. 12:1, 2.)
Sunday - February 20
Why Were Sacrifices Needed?
Genesis 15:6-21, Jeremiah 34:8-22
“God chose Israel to reveal His character to men. He desired them to be as wells of salvation in the world. To them were committed the oracles of heaven, the revelation of God's will. In the early days of Israel the nations of the world, through corrupt practices, had lost the knowledge of God. They had once known Him; but because “they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, ... their foolish heart was darkened.” Romans 1:21. Yet in His mercy God did not blot them out of existence. He purposed to give them an opportunity of again becoming acquainted with Him through His chosen people. Through the teachings of the sacrificial service, Christ was to be uplifted before all nations, and all who would look to Him should live. Christ was the foundation of the Jewish economy. The whole system of types and symbols was a compacted prophecy of the gospel, a presentation in which were bound up the promises of redemption.” AA 14.1
Monday - February 21
Diverse Kinds of Sacrifices
Ephesians 3:14-19
Broadly speaking, the law of Moses consists of three parts. The first is the Ceremonial law, the law of the temple – the sacrificial law. This law, of course, we today must not observe, except in antitype, for it foreshadowed things to come, particularly Christ’s first advent. Thus it is that if we had lived in Old Testament times and had failed to comply with the sacrificial law and system of that day, we would thereby have demonstrated unbelief in Christ, Who was to come. But since we are living in the Christian era, if we should now observe the typical sacrificial law and system, we should thereby demonstrate unbelief in Christ, Who has come.
Tuesday - February 22
Jesus’ Perfect Sacrifice
Hebrews 7:27; 10:10
How is Jesus’ Sacrifice described in the above passages?
“The plan of redemption, embracing the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ, was first preached to Adam. It was to him the star of hope, lighting up the dark and dreaded future. Adam saw that Christ was the only door of hope through which he could enter and have life. The plan of saving sinners through Christ alone was the same in the days of Adam, Noah, Abraham, and every successive generation of those who lived before the advent of Christ, as it is in our day. The patriarchs, prophets, and all the holy martyrs from righteous Abel, looked forward to a coming Saviour, in whom they showed their faith by sacrificial offerings. At the crucifixion the typical system of sacrifices was done away by the great antitypical offering. The sacrifice of beasts shadowed forth the sinless offering of God's dear Son, and pointed forward to his death upon the cross. But at the crucifixion type met antitype, and the typical system there ceased; but not one jot or tittle of the moral code was abrogated at the death of Christ. ST August 7, 1879, par. 3
“The Son of God is the center of the great plan of redemption, which unit plan covers all dispensations. He is “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” He is the Redeemer of the fallen sons and daughters of Adam in all the ages of human probation. “Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.” Christ is the substance or body which cast its shadow back into former dispensations. And when Christ died the shadow ceased. The transgression of the moral code made the shadowy system necessary. And at the death of Christ, which event had been shadowed forth by the blood of beasts from the time of Adam, these offerings, and not the law of God, the violation of which had made them necessary, was abolished.” ST August 7, 1879, par. 4
Wednesday - February 23
The Cross and the Cost of Forgiveness
Hebrews 9:22-28
What does the above passage say about the work of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary?
In the earthly sanctuary the high priest (typifying Christ) officiated first in the holy apartment throughout the year, then upon the day of Atonement, the day of cleansing the sanctuary and judging the people, he officiated in the Most Holy for one day only. This twofold service signifies that in the heavenly sanctuary, the High priest, Christ, must necessarily first officiate in the holy apartment up to the antitypical day of Atonement, then during that day, He must officiate in the Most Holy apartment, before the throne. Thus the earthly services, too, repudiate the idea that Christ entered the Most Holy apartment of the heavenly sanctuary immediately after His ascension.
Very plainly, then, the ceremonial system reveals that from the time Christ “sat on the right hand of God” (Mark 16:19), where the “river of water of life” is, to the time that He and the Father moved to the throne in the sanctuary, where “the sea of glass” is (Dan. 7:9, 10; Rev. 4.6), He officiated in our behalf as a high priest in “the holy place” (Heb. 9:12); and that at the same time, conjointly with the Father, on the eternal sovereign throne (“the throne of God and of the Lamb”), He ruled the sinless universe.
From the foregoing facts, clear and distinct, the only tenable conclusion to be drawn is that Christ, immediately after His ascension, rather than entering within the veil in the sanctuary, sat down at the right hand of His Father, in Paradise and from there carried on His work in the holy apartment of the sanctuary.
“Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, Who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched, and not man.” Heb. 8:1, 2. “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.” Heb. 9:24. Indeed, “now once in the end of the world hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Heb. 9:26, 27) – the cleansing of the sanctuary (Dan. 8:14).
“I know that the sanctuary question stands in righteousness and truth, just as we have held it for so many years...” GW 303.1
Thursday - February 24
Judgment and the Character of God
Romans 3:21-26; 1:16, 17; 5:8
What does Redemption in the Cross for the forgiveness of our sins reveal about God?
Plainly, therefore, the judgment is to begin and the sanctuary to be cleansed, not before, but after the fulfillment of the period for those appointed to die. The judging being consistent with the records found in the books of heaven, the names, therefore, of those who are found unworthy, without the “wedding garment” on, are blotted from the books. Thus is the sanctuary cleansed. Speaking of the commencement of this work of judging and cleansing, the angel said unto Daniel: “Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” Dan. 8:14.
Since the cleansing, accordingly takes place at the termination of the 2,300 days and since it is, as we have seen, the judgment, which takes place “in the end of the world” (Heb. 9:26), consequently the termination of the days, and the beginning of the mediatorial judicial work of Christ are, upon the authority of Inspiration Itself, timed to the end of the world. Hence, conclusively, the 2,300 days do not end in the days of Antiochus Epiphanes, as some teach they do…
Friday - February 25
Further Study
“Then came divine submission to His Father's will. “For this cause,” He said, “came I unto this hour. Father, glorify Thy name.” Only through the death of Christ could Satan's kingdom be overthrown. Only thus could man be redeemed, and God be glorified. Jesus consented to the agony, He accepted the sacrifice. The Majesty of heaven consented to suffer as the Sin Bearer. “Father, glorify Thy name,” He said. As Christ spoke these words, a response came from the cloud which hovered above His head: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” Christ's whole life, from the manger to the time when these words were spoken, had glorified God; and in the coming trial His divine-human sufferings would indeed glorify His Father's name.” DA 624.4