Fundamental PrinciplesDevelopment over one hundred forty-three years

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The Atonement

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Charles Wesley1750

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Jesus is interceding for us while Satan (whose name means “accuser”) is accusing us, pointing out our sins

and frailties before God, just as he did with Job (Job 1:6–12). But the accusations fall upon deaf ears in heaven, because Jesus’ work on the cross paid our sin debt in full; therefore, God always sees in His children the

perfect righteousness of Jesus. When Jesus died on the cross, His righteousness (perfect holiness) was imputed to us, while our sin was imputed to Him at His death.

This is the great exchange Paul talks about in 2 Corinthians 5:21. That took away forever our sinful state before God, so God can accept us as blameless before Him. (https://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-

interceding.html)

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“In studying this part of the atonement, we are entering a field that is distinctly Adventist, and in which we differ from

all other denominations. This is our unique contribution to religion and theology, that which ‘has made us a

separate people, and has given character and power to our work.’ Counsels to

Editors and Writers, p. 54” (M. L. Andreasen, Letters to the Churches, p. 62).

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Satan is striving continually to bring in fanciful suppositions in regard to the sanctuary, degrading the wonderful

representations of God and the ministry of Christ for our salvation into something that suits the carnal mind. He removes its

presiding power from the hearts of believers . . .

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and supplies its place with fantastic theories invented to make void the truths of the

atonement, and destroy our confidence in the doctrines which we have held sacred since the third angel’s message was first

given. Thus he would rob us of our faith in the very message that has made us a

separate people, and has given character and power to our work. (CW 53.3)

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“The serious student of the atonement is likely to be perplexed when he consults the Spirit of

Prophecy to find two sets of apparently contradictory statements in regard to the atonement. He will find that when Christ

‘offered Himself on the cross, a perfect atonement was made for the sins of the people.’ Signs of the Times, June 28, 1899. He will find that the Father bowed before the cross ‘in recognition

of its perfection. “It is enough,” He said, “the atonement is complete.”’ Review and Herald, September 24, 1901.” (Andreasen, Ibid., p. 58)

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“The first set of statements says that the atonement was made on the cross; the other says that the final atonement was made 1800

years later. I have found seven statements that the atonement was on the cross; I have twenty-

two statements that the final atonement was made in heaven. Both of these figures are

doubtless incomplete; for there may be others that have escaped my attention. It is evident,

however, that I may not accept one set of statements and reject the other if I wish to

arrive at truth.” (Ibid.)

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But in Great Controversy he will find this: ‘At the conclusion of the 2300 days, in 1844, Christ entered

the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary, to perform the closing work of the atonement.’ p. 422. In Patriarchs and Prophets p. 357, I read that sins will

‘stand on record in the sanctuary until the final atonement.’ (in 1844) Page 358 states that in ‘the final

atonement the sins of the truly penitent are to be blotted from the records of heaven.’ Early Writings, p. 253, says that ‘Jesus entered the most holy of the heavenly at the end of the 2300 days of Daniel 8, to

make the final atonement.’” (Ibid.)

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That is the tremendous scope of the sacrificial act of the cross a

complete, perfect, and final atonement for man’s sin. (LeRoy Froom, “The Priestly Application

of the Atoning Act,” Ministry, February 1957

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“This was in distinct contradiction to Mrs. White’s pronouncement that the final atonement began in 1844. I thought that this might be a misprint, and

wrote to Washington calling attention to the matter, but found it was not a misprint but an

official and approved statement. If we still hold the Spirit of Prophecy as of authority, we therefore

have two contradictory beliefs: the final atonement was made at the cross; the final

atonement began in 1844.” (Andreasen, Ibid., p. 58)

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Definition atonement“Failure to define the term ‘atonement’ adequately has led to misunderstanding . . . While most Christians have defined the word in terms of Christ’s death, Sabbatarian Adventists followed Miller and defined it in terms of Christ’s priestly intercession and later also of Christ’s final ministry in the investigative judgment of the Most Holy Place. The essential argument was that only a priest could make atonement; hence, Christ could not make atonement until He became our high priest in heaven.” (Frank Holbrook, Doctrine of the Sanctuary: A Historical Survey, pp. 169, 170)

Principle #2 That there is one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the eternal Father . . . our only mediator in the sanctuary in Heaven, where, with his own blood he makes atonement for our sins; which atonement so far from being made on the cross, which was but the offering of the sacrifice, is the very last portion of his work as priest according to the example of the Levitical priesthood, which foreshadowed and prefigured the ministry of our Lord in Heaven.

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The understanding of the atonement expanded from

Miller’s . . .

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1. Atonement/reconciliation may be applied to Christ’s death. His death reconciled the world to God in the sense that it made expiation for sin (Rom 5:10,11; 2 Cor 5:18).

Reconcile—katallassō, (to be) reconcile

Atonement—katallagē, reconciliation

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After his ascension, our Saviour began his work as our high priest. . . . In harmony

with the typical service, he began his ministration in the holy place, and at the

termination of the prophetic days in 1844 . . . he entered the most holy to perform the last division of his solemn work,—to cleanse the

sanctuary. . . . (4SP 265.2)

2. Atonement/reconciliation may be applied to Christ’s priestly mediation of His merits. His intercession reconciles repentant sinners to God as taught by the type (Lev 4:30, 31).

Atonement—kipper, kapar—to make an atonement, make reconciliation, purge, to cover, make propitiation, cleanse from sin

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1 John 2:2—propitiation, hilasmos, an appeasing of the wrath and the gaining of the good will of an offended person

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The Majesty of Heaven is standing before the Father, pleading, My

blood, my blood; spare the sinner a little longer for my sake. (Ellen

White, RH April 19, 1870, par. 14)

3. Atonement/reconciliation may be applied to the investigative judgment, the antitypical day of atonement that commenced in 1844. In this Second Apartment phase of Christ’s priestly ministry He makes final atonement for His people by reaffirming all genuine believers—blotting out the records of their sins—and by bringing the sin problem to an end. This atonement by judgment (typified by the ritual of the Day of Atonement) reconciles or restores harmony once more to the universe (Lev 16; Eph 1:10).

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This service involves a work of investigation, a work of judgment; and it immediately precedes

the coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory; for when He comes, every case has been decided. Says Jesus: “My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work

shall be.” Revelation 22:12. It is this work of judgment, immediately preceding the second advent, that is announced in the first angel’s

message of Revelation 14:7: “Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is

come.” (GC 352.2)

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In the great day of final award, the dead are to be “judged out of those things

which were written in the books, according to their works.” Revelation

20:12. Then by virtue of the atoning blood of Christ, the sins of all the truly penitent will be blotted from the books of heaven.

Thus the sanctuary will be freed, or cleansed, from the record of sin. (PP 357)

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In the type, this great work of atonement, or blotting out of sins, was represented by the services of

the Day of Atonement—the cleansing of the earthly sanctuary, which was accomplished by the

removal, by virtue of the blood of the sin offering, of the sins by which

it had been polluted. (PP 357.6)

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“God keeps an account with each man. Whenever a prayer for forgiveness ascends to God from a true heart, God forgives. But sometimes men change their minds. They repent of their repentance. They show by

their lives that their repentance is not permanent. And so God, instead of forgiving

absolutely and finally, marks forgiveness against men’s names and waits with the final blotting out of sins until they have had time

to think the matter through.

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“If at the end of their lives they are still of the same mind, God counts them faithful, and in the day of judgment their record is

finally cleared. So in Israel of old. When the Day of Atonement rolled around, each

offender had a chance to show that he was still of the same mind and wanted

forgiveness. If he was, the sin was blotted out, and he was completely cleansed” (M.

L. Andreasen, The Sanctuary Service, p. 177).

The finishing of the work of atonement—Daniel 7: 9, 10; Revelation 14:7

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Daniel 8:14

Finishing of the work of atonement—Daniel 7: 9, 10; Revelation 14:7—a cleansing of the records AND

The preparation of a people to abide in the day of his coming—a cleansing of sin in the person

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Daniel 8:14

Instead of the prophecy of Daniel 8:14 referring to the purifying of the earth, it was now plain that it pointed to the closing work of our High Priest in heaven, the finishing of the atonement, and the preparing of the people to abide the day of His coming. (1T 58.3)

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Perfect, complete atonement on the cross—forgiveness, justification (Leviticus )

The final atonement—the blotting out or cleansing of the record of our sins, and the cleansing of our lives from sin (Leviticus 16:30; Revelation 20:12; Daniel 7:9, 10; Revelation 14:7)

Two phases . . .

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Our great High Priest completed the sacrificial offering of Himself when He suffered without the gate. Then a perfect atonement was made

for the sins of the people. Jesus is our Advocate, our High Priest, our Intercessor. Our

present position therefore is like that of the Israelites, standing in the outer court, waiting and looking for that blessed hope, the glorious

appearing of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.—Manuscript 128, 1897. (7ABC 459.8)

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The blood of Christ, while it was to release the repentant sinner from the condemnation

of the law, was not to cancel the sin; it would stand on record in the sanctuary until the final atonement; so in the type the blood of the sin offering removed the sin from the penitent, but it rested in the sanctuary until

the day of atonement. (CCh 348.1)

Ephesians 5:25, 26—Christ died for our sanctification and our cleansing

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John 3:16

Romans 5:18

2 Corinthians 5:19

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The love of the Father . . .

Principle #2 That there is one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the eternal Father . . . our only mediator in the sanctuary in Heaven, where, with his own blood he makes atonement for our sins; which atonement so far from being made on the cross, which was but the offering of the sacrifice, is the very last portion of his work as priest according to the example of the Levitical priesthood, which foreshadowed and prefigured the ministry of our Lord in Heaven.

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1931

#14—. . . the priestly work of our Lord is the antitype of the work of the Jewish priests of the former dispensation; that this heavenly sanctuary is the one to be cleansed at the end of the 2300 days in Dan. 8:14; its cleansing being, as in the type, a work of judgment, beginning with the entrance of Christ as the high priest upon the judgment phase of His ministry in the heavenly sanctuary foreshadowed, in the earthly service of cleansing the sanctuary on the day of atonement.

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#24—There is a sanctuary in heaven, the true tabernacle that the Lord set up and not humans. In it Christ ministers on our behalf, making available to believers the benefits of His atoning sacrifice offered once for all on the cross. At His ascension, He was inaugurated as our great High Priest and, began His intercessory ministry, which was typified by the work of the high priest in the holy place of the earthly sanctuary. In 1844, at the end of the prophetic period of 2300 days, He entered the second and last phase of His atoning ministry, which was typified by the work of the high priest in the most holy place of the earthly sanctuary.

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2017

And what is this second and last phase of his

atoning ministry?

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It is a work of investigative judgment which is part of the ultimate disposition of all sin, typified by the cleansing of the ancient Hebrew sanctuary on the Day of Atonement. In that typical service the sanctuary was cleansed with the blood of animal sacrifices, but the heavenly things are purified with the perfect sacrifice of the blood of Jesus. The investigative judgment reveals to heavenly intelligences who among the dead are asleep in Christ and therefore, in Him, are deemed worthy to have part in the first resurrection.

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It also makes manifest who among the living are abiding in Christ, keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, and in Him, therefore, are ready for translation into His everlasting kingdom. This judgment vindicates the justice of God in saving those who believe in Jesus. It declares that those who have remained loyal to God shall receive the kingdom. The completion of this ministry of Christ will mark the close of human probation before the Second Advent. (Lev. 16; Num. 14:34; Ezek. 4:6; Dan. 7:9–27; 8:13, 14; 9:24–27; Heb. 1:3; 2:16, 17; 4:14–16; 8:1–5; 9:11–28; 10:19–22; Rev. 8:3–5; 11:19; 14:6, 7; 20:12; 14:12; 22:11, 12.)

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What is missing?

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“Character is not created. It is made; it is developed; it is built through manifold tests and temptations and trials. God at first gives a light

test, then a little stronger, and still a little stronger. Little by little resistance to temptations

grows stronger, and after a while certain temptations cease to be temptations. A man may have a great struggle with tobacco; but at last he is victorious, and his victory may be so complete

that tobacco is a temptation no longer.

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“Thus, ideally, it should be with every temptation. Holiness is not attained in a day. ‘Redemption is

that process by which the soul is trained for heaven. Desire of Ages, p. 330. A man may gain

victories every day, but still may not have attained. Even Paul had to admit that he had not ‘already

attained, either were already perfect.’ But undaunted he exclaims, ‘I follow after that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended

of Jesus Christ.’” Philippians 3:12 (M. L. Andreasen, “The Atonement,” Letters to the

Churches, p. 66).

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In the intercessory prayer of Jesus with his Father, he claimed that he had fulfilled the conditions which made it obligatory upon the Father to fulfill his part of the contract

made in Heaven, with regard to fallen man. He prayed: “I have finished the

work which thou gavest me to do. [That is, he had wrought out a righteous character on earth as an example for men to follow.]

(3SP 260)