But the conscientious believer in “present truth” will ask at this point, Will not this conclusion destroy the truths of the sanctuary so vital to the first angel’s message? Will it not undermine the truth and the message of 1844? To which I answer, No indeed; but on the other hand, it clears that movement of errors that have impeded its progress from the beginning. No movement will lose by changing error for truth. The question may be asked? If Christ began his work in the holy of holies at his ascension, then what was the work that began in 1844?
The work which began in 1844 is the work which the Scriptures of truth say should begin at the end of 2,300 days, viz: the cleansing of the sanctuary. If I should quote the text thus, would I quote it correctly? “Unto 2,300 days then shall atonement be made for iniquity.” Everyone familiar with this scripture would immediately correct me and say, It does not say that atonement shall be made for iniquity, but that the sanctuary shall be cleansed. But, in our teaching, we have made the cleansing of the sanctuary to mean the atonement for iniquity; whereas the Scriptures place the atonement for iniquity within the seventy weeks, and not at the end of the 2,300 days.
THE ATONEMENT FOR INIQUITY.
Dan. 9:24 reads thus:
“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make atonement for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.”
It will be noticed that I have used the words “atonement for iniquity” instead of “reconciliation for iniquity” and the reason why I have done this is that the word here translated “reconciliation” is Kepher, and is the word used for “atonement” in Lev. 16, in describing the work of the day of atonement. It is translated “to atone for iniquity” in the Lesser or Jewish translation.
And now since the Scriptures declare that the atonement for iniquity was made within the seventy weeks, but that the sanctuary is not cleansed until the end of the 2,300 days, what right have we to deny that the “atonement for iniquity” was made within the seventy weeks, and to teach that it was made at the end of 2,300 days? And where in type did the High Priest make atonement for iniquity? Assuredly, “within the veil,” in the holy of holies. If, therefore, our great High Priest, Christ, made atonement for iniquity within the seventy weeks, it follows that he must have entered “within the veil,” into the holy of holies, in order to make that atonement, before the seventy weeks were ended. Sixty-nine of those weeks reached to the baptism of Christ at the river Jordan. The seventieth week reached to the cutting off of the Jews, as God’s depository for his truth.
It was during this same time that he ascended to the heavenly courts, and received from the Father the assurance that his sacrifice was accepted. “Jesus refused to receive the homage of his people until he had the assurance that his sacrifice was accepted by the Father. He ascended to the heavenly courts, and from God himself heard the assurance that the atonement for the sins of man had been ample, that through his blood – all might gain eternal life.” “Desire of Ages,” Subsc. Ed’n. p. 790; Trade Ed’n. p.949.
In harmony with this statement of Daniel that atonement was made within the seventy weeks, we find the apostle Paul, bearing positive testimony. However, before introducing it, let us go back and interrogate the patriarchs as to the meaning of their sacrifices:
Questioner: Abel, what do you mean by offering this lamb? Does the blood of this innocent lamb atone for your sin?
Abel: No, no. This offering is but a channel by which I acknowledge my sin, and express my faith in the promise of God to put my sins upon his Son, whose death will pay the penalty of my sin.
Q: Abel, can you tell me when this great transaction will take place?
A: No, I cannot.
Q: Abraham, what do you mean by offering this lamb? Can the blood of an animal atone for the sin of man?
Abraham: Oh, no; it is but a channel through which I confess my sin to be worthy of death, and an expression of my faith in the promise of God to find in his Son a substitute for me, who, dying in my stead, shall pay the penalty of my sin.
Q: Abraham, can you tell me when it will be?
A: I cannot.
Q: Daniel, what do you mean by this offering which you offer? Many of your people have come to consider the death of this lamb to be the atonement for the sinner. Is this the way you regard it?
Daniel: Oh, no; it is but a channel through which the sinner acknowledges his guilt, and manifests his faith in the promise of God to place our sins upon his Son, whose death shall atone for our sins.
Q: Daniel, can you give me any idea as to when this long expected event shall take place?
D: Yes, the Lord has shown me that it will take place within the seventy weeks, for he has said that “seventy weeks are determined upon thy people to make atonement for iniquity;” and in-asmuch as sixty-nine weeks are to reach to Messiah who makes this atonement; consequently, this great event takes place sometime during the seventieth week.
Q: Paul, why have you ceased to offer a lamb as a sin-offering?
Paul: Because the great sacrifice to which the sin-offering pointed has been offered. Daniel declared that within the seventy weeks, atonement for iniquity would be made, and the seventy weeks are in the past, and the promised atonement has been made.
TESTIMONY OF THE APOSTLE PAUL.
“For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices, which they offered year by year make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshipers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year; for it is not possible for the blood of bulls and of goats to take away sins. Wherefore, when he cometh into the world, he saith: Sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not, but a body hast thou prepared me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come: In the volume of the book it is written of me, to do thy will, O my God… By the which will we have been sanctified (R.V.) through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down at the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he bath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.” Heb. 10:1-14.
Thus, we have it clearly stated by the apostle Paul that the great sacrifice so long looked forward to by the patriarchs, promised of God within the seventy weeks, had taken place when the apostle Paul wrote the book of Hebrews. Nothing is more clearly stated in the Hebrew letter than that Christ at the time the letter was written, had made the one great offering which was typified by the sacrificial system. This is evident from the scripture we have just quoted, and from the one which follows:
“But Christ being come an High Priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; 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. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh, 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. 9:11-14.
“When he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. Heb. 1:3.
Thus, it is stated again and again that Christ at the time of the writing of this epistle, had offered his blood to God on behalf of sin, in fulfillment of the yearly typical offering of the high priest on the mercy seat. The argument has been made that although Christ shed his blood at Calvary, as the antitype of the Lord’s goat slain on the day of atonement, yet he did not sprinkle the blood on the mercy seat in satisfaction for the sinner’s transgression of the law, until 1844. But what a violation of the type we have here! Every careful reader of the Old Testament knows that as soon as the high priest had caught the blood of the Lord’s goat, he went immediately “within the veil,” not stopping for a moment in the first apartment, but passing immediately to the holy of holies, he sprinkled the blood upon the mercy seat, and there made atonement for iniquity, the blood being evidence that the death of the sinner, who had broken the law, had taken place.
I appeal to the candour of the reader: Does not Christ, after he has died as the sinner’s substitute, and has been raised from the dead, and is about to enter into the presence of him “who dwelleth between the cherubim,” – is he not then in the position of the high priest on the day of atonement, when he has caught the blood of the Lord’s goat, and is prepared to enter “within the veil,” and sprinkle that blood on the mercy seat? No man can deny this truth. Then why stop him in the first apartment for eighteen hundred years before he sprinkles that blood? The high priest did not stop in the first apartment, but passed immediately into the second.
CLEANSING THE SANCTUARY.
The question may now be asked: What was the work which began at the end of the 2,300 days? or in other words, What is the cleansing of the sanctuary? Inasmuch as it has been shown that the atonement for iniquity was made within the seventy weeks, it is evident that the cleansing of the sanctuary after 1844 cannot be the work of atonement for iniquity, for that work according to the Scriptures, was accomplished within the seventy weeks. But someone will ask, Did not the atonement for iniquity cleanse the sanctuary? No, for if it did, there would be no announcement that the sanctuary would be cleansed after 2,300 days. The very fact that the Lord separates the atonement for iniquity and the cleansing of the sanctuary by more than 1800 years, proves positively that the atonement for iniquity is not the cleansing of the sanctuary, and that the cleansing of the sanctuary is not the atonement for iniquity.
One reason why the atonement for iniquity, made within the seventy weeks, did not cleanse the sanctuary, is because there are two sinners involved in every sin of man; and the atonement for iniquity, made within the seventy weeks, was an atonement made for but one of these sinners, and not for the other. The two sinners involved in man’s sinning are, Satan, the instigator of all sin, and man, the agent through whom he works. “The spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.” Eph. 2:2. “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.” He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar and the father of it.” John 8:44. “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil.” I John 3:8.
All will admit that wherever the righteousness of God appears in a man, there the Spirit of God is at work, and that wherever unrighteousness appears in a man, there the spirit of Satan is at work. You cannot separate unrighteousness from the working of Satan any more than you can separate righteousness from the working of God. Consequently, there is involved in every sin of man two sinners, Satan, the instigator, and man, the agent. While there is but one act of sin, there are two guilty parties to that one sin. Satan is guilty of instigating the sinner to sin, and the sinner is guilty of yielding himself to perform the sinful act. Let it be illustrated thus
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Satan |
Satan’s Guilt |
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Man’s Sin |
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Man |
Man’s Guilt |
From the above illustration, it is evident that while there is one act of sin wrought by the hand of man, there are two guilty parties involved. One of them is Satan, who persuaded man to commit the sinful act, and the other is man, who yielded to the tempter.
Now, when Christ made the atonement within the seventy weeks, he made the atonement for the guilt of man, and not for the guilt of Satan, which was unpardonable. It must be evident to the reader that when Christ made atonement at the mercy seat on account of the iniquities of men, he did not make an atonement for the iniquities of Satan; and consequently man’s sin still remains on the books of record in the heavenly sanctuary, not now against man, but charged against the other guilty party, Satan.
WHY TWO GOATS.
And this is why there were two goats chosen on the day of atonement to deal with the sins of the sanctuary. On this great day, there were two atonements made, the first on the mercy seat, on account of the iniquities of man; the other atonement on the head of the scapegoat, the type of the instigator of sin, Satan. The first atonement was made with the blood of the Lord’s goat, and the second atonement was made upon the head of the scapegoat. The first atonement was made in mercy on behalf of the guilty man; the second atonement was made in judgment upon the head of the type of Satan. The first atonement is made in mercy, with the blood of the substitute; the second atonement is made in judgment upon the head of the offender himself.
This atonement in judgment is brought clearly to view in the case of Achan’s sin as recorded in Joshua 7. God said to Israel, “Neither will I be with you any more except ye destroy the accursed from among you,” (12th verse). Here, God declares that he is not at one with Israel, and that he will not be “at one” with them until they have destroyed the accursed thing; but when they have destroyed the accursed thing, he promises to be at one with them again. Therefore when every man in Israel throws a stone at Achan, thereby repudiating Achan’s sin, and taking sides with God against him, atonement is made in judgment upon the head of Achan, and Israel and God are “at one.” Although the word “atonement” is not used in this scripture, yet it is very clearly inferred. However in Num. 25, we have God separated from Israel again by the sin of Baal-Peor. Phineas, the high priest, rises up from among the praying lsraelites, and with his javelin destroys the offenders. Of this act, God says:
“Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace: And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel.” Verses 12,13.
The Psalmist in speaking of this act of Phineas, says:” Then stood up Phineas and executed judgment; and the plague was stayed.” Ps. 106:30. Here, we have an atonement made in judgment, similar to the atonement that was made upon the head of the scapegoat. God calls upon man not only to accept the atonement for iniquity that was made on his behalf at the mercy seat, but he asks man to join with him in condemning to banishment for ever from the congregation of Israel, him who was the instigator and author of man’s sin.
Let me repeat the illustration given above:
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Satan |
Satan’s Guilt |
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Man’s Sin |
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Man |
Man’s Guilt |
Now, when a substitute is found for man, and this substitute takes man’s place, and dies, his death atones for man’s share of the guilt of his sin. Thus:
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Satan |
Satan’s Guilt |
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Man’s Sin |
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Christ |
Man’s Guilt |
But man’s sin still remains on the record books, – still defiles the sanctuary, not any longer against man, but against Satan, who is guilty of man’s sin, and so long as man’s sin defiles the sanctuary so long the sanctuary cannot be said to have been cleansed. It is true that the atonement for iniquity disposed of man’s share of the guilt of that sin, but as it did not touch Satan’s share of that guilt, it remains in the sanctuary until the judgment sits and it is placed upon the head of the original offender, and the sanctuary is cleansed.
THE ATONEMENT IN JUDGEMENT
And now we can see what work began in 1844. The Lord began with the work of atonement which is made in judgment, and which has for its goal the head of the scapegoat. When he had made the atonement for iniquity on behalf of men, (as promised in Dan. 9:24), when he had by himself purged our sins, he sat down on the right hand of the throne of God, or as brought to view in Heb. 10:12, “This man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down at the right hand of God: from henceforth expecting (waiting) until his enemies be made his footstool.” The scriptures place a time of waiting between the atonement that was made for iniquity in mercy at the mercy seat, and the final atonement that is to be made in judgment upon the head of the enemy of God. When our great High Priest had made atonement for our iniquities at the mercy seat, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting for men to accept of this atonement and separate from Satan, so that when the long-deferred heel of judgment shall come down upon Satan, the sinner, for whom Christ made atonement, would not perish with him. This is the meaning of the “waiting” that has taken place since Christ took his seat at the right hand of God.
But there comes a time when the original offender must be dealt with; there comes a time when the judgment begins, when the cleansing of the sanctuary must begin, when the judgment is set, and the books are opened, when the cases of men are investigated, not to see whether Christ made an atonement for them – for he made reconciliation for the sins of the whole world, (see Rom 5:8-11,18,20, II Cor 5:19-21; I John 2:2; Lev. 16:33), but to see who have and have not accepted this reconciliation. Those who have rejected the atonement will be cut off from among the people of God; and at the close of this judgment the sins of men, which are held now against their originator, Satan, will be placed upon his head, and he will suffer, not as the substitute for sinning man, but he will suffer for his own guilt in causing men to sin.
A SAD MISTAKE.
And right here, through a misunderstanding of the sanctuary, a sad mistake has been made. Not understanding the foregoing, some have taken a position regarding the day of atonement, which really makes Satan man’s Savior instead of Jesus Christ. The reader will certainly admit that if Satan suffers any or all of man’s guilt, which man deserved himself to suffer, to that extent Satan becomes man’s savior. But the devil is not man’s substitute and savior. That place and glory belongs alone to Jesus Christ, “who gave himself for our sins.”
For fear the reader may think l am wrongly stating the position, I will here quote from standard works wherein it is declared that the devil and not Christ, is the one who is really punished for man’s guilt. I shrink from bringing to light these terrible quotations and should this paper fall into the hands of any of the enemies of my people, let me say here that while thus making Satan to be the substitute and savior of men is a logical result of a misunderstanding of the sanctuary service, yet it has not been logically followed by all those who preach the glorious gospel of the blessed God among them.
My first quotation is from the work, entitled “Looking unto Jesus.” On page 268 I find these words:
“If Satan is punished for the sins of the righteous, are not those sins, it is asked, punished twice, once in the person of Christ, who suffered for our sins, and again in the person of Satan, upon whom they are finally laid?”
Now, let the reader note this statement carefully. Three positions are open to be taken. The first position would be to state that God does punish the guilt of sin twice, once in the person of his Son, and again in the person of Satan. The second position would be to deny that God punishes the same guilt twice, by stating that the guilt which God laid on his Son, was man’s share of the guilt, and not the same guilt that was laid upon Satan, which guilt was his own share in man’s transgression. The third position is to deny that Christ really bore man’s guilt, and that this guilt is borne by Satan. The reader will note that in the following quotation, the author takes the third position, and denies that Christ bore man’s guilt, asserting that Satan bears it himself:
“The trouble arises from a misapprehension of the part which Christ acts as our substitute. The idea seems to be generally entertained that Christ in his own person suffered all the punishment, that is, the bodily agony, due to the sins of all the saved, which they themselves would have endured, had they been lost. This leaves those who believe in eternal misery to grapple with an insurmountable problem; and it leads to the most ultra Calvinism. . . . We have seen from the type that the removal of sin from the penitent did not cancel the sin itself, but only transferred it to some other party who was then held in place of the sinner. The forgiveness was relative, not absolute; that is, as relating to the sinner it was forgiven, but the sin itself was considered still in existence to be disposed of in some other way. Christ has done for us in fact, what the ancient offering did for the sinner in figure; that is, he has provided a means through which sin, with its guilt, may be removed from us, and transferred to some other party (the devil). Thus, we can be saved; but the sin must meet its just deserts in some other quarter.”
“Let us now consider where this desert in the case of the sinner, would naturally fall. Sin did not have its origin with mankind. They were not the original agents of this evil, but were seduced and led away under the power of temptation by another (Satan)…. The practice of sin may, therefore, be represented as a partnership business. Satan is the senior partner, the sinner the junior. The latter having been seduced into that position, is allowed, under certain conditions, to leave the company, and step out from under the obligations of the firm. Upon whom will these responsibilities then fall? Upon the only remaining member of the firm, of course, the instigator of the whole evil business, the senior partner, Satan. If the sinner chooses to maintain the partnership in that illegitimate business, he can do so, and receive in his own person at last the punishment of his deeds. But it is in his power, if he so desires, to change his present relation to that commerce of hell, unite himself to Christ, and leave his former business with him (Satan) who is the head of the firm, and primarily responsible for it all.”
In this quotation, we have the terrible statement that Christ does not suffer all the punishment, that is, the bodily agony due to the sins of all the saved, which they would themselves have endured had they been lost, but that Satan suffers for this guilt, thus making Satan the real substitute and sin-bearer in place of Jesus Christ.
Another quotation to the same end is found in the “Bible Students’ Library,” entitled “The Judgment: Its Events and Their Order,” page 81. In explaining the sanctuary service, and the part the scapegoat takes, the author says:
“Every sin committed by man is instigated by Satan. This part of the transgression is the sin of Satan alone, and belongs solely to him, whether the man repents or not. But consenting to the tempter, and obeying him, is the sin of the one tempted. This part of the transgression, will, in the case of all who avail themselves of the work of the great High Priest be placed upon the anti-typical scapegoat Satan, and he will have to bear the full punishment of such sin.”
Thus again, Satan is made to bear the guilt which properly belonged to man, as well as his own guilt in connection with man’s sin. Before I found these quotations in our books, I discovered that the logic of our position, concerning the Day of Atonement, would make Satan instead of Christ man’s substitute and savior; and on consulting these works, I found unhappily that my fears were too true. Now I do not feel like condemning these men. They wrote according to the best light they had, and if clearer light comes to us, let us correct their mistakes and go on in that “light which shineth more and more unto the perfect day.”
THE TRUTH CLEARLY STATED.
It is with joy that I present a quotation from a later author, who, while not correcting the premises upon which the foregoing errors are built, yet repudiates the terrible conclusion and presents the truth as it is in Christ.
“Satan is the author and instigator of all sin, hence he is guilty of every sin which has ever been committed. He deceives and tempts into sin, and is, therefore, justly held responsible for it. By yielding to Satan’s temptations man becomes a partner in Satan’s guilt. Satan does not bear the sins of the righteous as Christ bore the sins of the world on Calvary. Christ gave himself as a voluntary offering for sin. He took the penalty of the law upon himself, dying in our room and stead, that we might live. Satan does not die for our sins, because he is not a sin offering. As a vehicle he bears away the sins of the righteous, because he is guilty of them all. He planned them, and executed them as far as he is able, and therefore in being punished for them he will be punished only for his own guilt.” M.H. Brown, in Christ Our Advocate, p.108.
Those who make the scapegoat to represent Christ, have no opportunity to throw stones on this occasion, for they make Jesus Christ, after he has risen from the dead, and is freed from sin, – they make him so unclean that he must be driven forever from the camp of Israel, and separated from his people for whom he died; and that is too abhorrent to be entertained for a moment.
ILLUSTRATING THE TRUTH.
But the reader may ask, Does it not plainly state that “the priest shall confess over the head of the scapegoat all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, and all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat?” Yes, it does say so, but the illustration given above clearly explains it. I will here introduce it again:
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Scape Goat |
Scape Goat’s Guilt |
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Israel’s Sins |
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Israel |
Israel’s Guilt |
And now when the Lord’s goat dies as Israel’s substitute and its blood is sprinkled above the broken law, upon the mercy seat, Israel’s guilt is met on the day of atonement; but the reader will notice that the scapegoat has still charged against him the sins of Israel, and must needs meet his own guilt pertaining thereto. Now let us leave the type and illustrate the reality:
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Satan |
Satan’s Guilt |
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World’s Sin |
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World |
World’s Guilt |
And now, let us introduce the world’s substitute, Jesus Christ.
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Satan |
Satan’s Guilt |
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world’s Sin |
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Christ |
World’s Guilt |
Thus it is seen that when Christ becomes the substitute for the world, and tastes death for every man, he meets in his death the penalty which should have been inflicted upon the world. But this leaves Satan still guilty of the sins which he caused the world to commit; and it is this guilt that Christ never bore on Calvary, which falls upon the head of Satan at the conclusion of the judgment. And all those who “neglect so great salvation,” or reject the atonement so freely made for them in the death of Christ, must be cut off with Satan at the close of the judgment. This is the work which began in 1844, and will close with the placing upon Satan the guilt of the sins of all the world, – not the guilt which Christ bore, but his own guilt, which he himself must bear.
Before leaving this point, let me emphasize the fact, that if Satan bears the guilt of the sin which man himself should have borne, but did not bear, either in himself, or in his substitute, Christ, then Satan becomes to that extent man’s substitute and savior. But God forbid that we should give to Satan the credit of that great salvation which was wrought out by Jesus Christ, when he suffered the penalty of the world’s sin upon Calvary; and rob the Son of God of the glory which alone belongs to him, the marks of which, in his hands, feet, and side, are to constitute his unspeakable glory throughout the ceaseless cycles of eternity.
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