Ellen White Describes Jesus’ Levitical Garments
The FAF Conference was a blessing! Thank you and God be praised for your ministry. I was unable to join the zoom meeting due to differences in our time zones; however, I watched the YouTube stream. Each presentation made an impact on me.
During the Q&A Session, there was a question about Jesus’ role as the High Priest and where we’re told that he is dressed as a Levitical priest. Please allow me to share where in Ellen White’s writings we can find such description apart from the Adventist artwork.
In Early Writings page 55, Ellen White describes a vision she allegedly received which portrays Christ as the High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary:
“I saw the Father rise from the throne, and in a flaming chariot go into the holy of holies within the veil, and sit down. Then Jesus rose up from the throne, and the most of those who were bowed down arose with Him. I did not see one ray of light pass from Jesus to the careless multitude after He arose, and they were left in perfect darkness. Those who arose when Jesus did, kept their eyes fixed on Him as He left the throne and led them out a little way. Then He raised His right arm, and we heard His lovely voice saying, ‘Wait here; I am going to My Father to receive the kingdom; keep your garments spotless, and in a little while I will return from the wedding and receive you to Myself.’ Then a cloudy chariot, with wheels like flaming fire, surrounded by angels, came to where Jesus was. He stepped into the chariot and was borne to the holiest, where the Father sat. There I beheld Jesus, a great High Priest, standing before the Father. On the hem of His garment was a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate.”
According to Exodus 28:33-35, Aaron and his sons who succeed him were to wear bells and pomegranates on the hem of their robes. In another place, she gives a more detailed description of the Adventist Levitical high priest:
“I was then shown what did take place in heaven as the prophetic periods ended in 1844. I saw that as the ministration of Jesus in the Holy place ended, and he closed the door of that apartment, a great darkness settled upon those who had heard, and had rejected the messages of Christ’s coming, and they lost sight of him. Jesus then clothed himself with precious garments. Around the bottom of his robe was a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate. He had suspended from his shoulders a breastplate of curious work. And as he moved, it glittered like diamonds, magnifying letters which looked like names written, or engraven upon the breastplate. After he was fully attired, with something upon his head which looked like a crown, angels surrounded him, and in a flaming chariot he passed within the second veil. I was then bid to take notice of the two apartments of the heavenly Sanctuary. The curtain, or door, was opened, and I was permitted to enter” (Spiritual Gifts. Volume 1 pg.158
I found it quite interesting (but now not so surprised!) that she is ignorant of the instructions God gave to Moses regarding the clothing Aaron must wear in the second apartment. In Leviticus 16:2-4, 31-32, Aaron wears nothing but a linen tunic, linen trousers, linen sash and a linen turban when he ministers in the Most Holy Place on the Day of Atonement. How is it that Jesus (who supposedly is the anti-type of the Levitical priest type) wears garments other than these? The embroidered robes were reserved for the first apartment and courtyard ministry.
As I am on this topic, I might as well make mention of another bizarre statement: “The most important part of the daily ministration was the service performed in behalf of individuals. … By his own hand the animal was then slain, and the blood 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. By this ceremony the sin was, through the blood, transferred in figure to the sanctuary” (Patriarchs and Prophets, p.354).
No, Ellen. No so! Blood was not carried into the Holy Place on a daily basis. There were at least two occasions when blood was carried into the Holy Place and sprinkled before the veil:
- When a priest sinned (Leviticus 4:3-12);
- When the whole Israelite community sinned (Leviticus 4:13-21)
Rather than carry blood into the Holy Place on a daily basis, the priest was to eat a portion of the sacrifice. He thus became the “sin-bearer” taking the sin unto himself, and bearing that sin in the sanctuary as his own to receive God’s judgement of sin as though it was his own. In so doing the priest represented Christ who was our sin-bearer and who received God’s judgement on our behalf.
So much for speaking on behalf of God that God couldn’t get his messages in order!
I thought I would also share this with you. I followed your suggestion and began reading Bible. I no longer fear reading Scripture and hearing that delusional woman’s voice. Now, I hear Christ and his sweet voice. Jesus has brought a change in my heart, and I am ever thankful to him for bringing me out of darkness and error into light and truth. Please pray for me that I might grow in his strength and grace, and be equipped to share my newfound faith with my Adventist friends and family.
May God continue to richly bless you!
—VIA EMAIL
Response: Thank you so much for sharing these sources. I’m thankful that the conference was helpful to you!
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