Sunday
February 14
1. THE YEARLY SERVICE
a. In the earthly tabernacle service, when did the investigation and blotting out of the confessed sins of God’s people occur? Leviticus 16:29, 30.
b. When and how often did the high priest enter the second apartment of the sanctuary? Leviticus 16:15–17, 24, 34; Hebrews 9:6, 7.
“No mortal eye but that of the high priest was to look upon the inner apartment of the sanctuary. Only once a year could the priest enter there, and that after the most careful and solemn preparation. With trembling he went in before God, and the people in reverent silence awaited his return, their hearts uplifted in earnest prayer for the divine blessing. Before the mercy seat the high priest made the atonement for Israel; and in the cloud of glory, God met with him. His stay here beyond the accustomed time filled them with fear, lest because of their sins or his own he had been slain by the glory of the Lord.”—Ibid., p. 352.
Monday
February 15
2. SINS BLOTTED OUT
a. What was the high priest to do after making the final yearly atonement? Leviticus 16:20–22. What will happen at the end of the antitypical Day of Atonement?
“Since Satan is the originator of sin, the direct instigator of all the sins that caused the death of the Son of God, justice demands that Satan shall suffer the final punishment. Christ’s work for the redemption of men and the purification of the universe from sin will be closed by the removal of sin from the heavenly sanctuary and the placing of these sins upon Satan, who will bear the final penalty. So in the typical service, the yearly round of ministration closed with the purification of the sanctuary, and the confessing of the sins on the head of the scapegoat.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 358.
b. In reference to the sins of the people, what was the main difference between the daily service and the yearly service? Leviticus 4:20; 16:30. What does the yearly atonement symbolize, and how should it affect our attitude toward God’s Word?
“In the ministration of the tabernacle, and of the temple that afterward took its place, the people were taught each day the great truths relative to Christ’s death and ministration, and once each year their minds were carried forward to the closing events of the great controversy between Christ and Satan, the final purification of the universe from sin and sinners.”—Ibid.
“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. 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.”—Ibid., pp. 357, 358.
“The word of God is the only fixed, changeless thing that the world knows. . . . It not only causes men to discern what is truth, but it unmasks the soul, and presents men to themselves as perishing sinners, and calls upon them to repent and to be converted, that their sins may be blotted out, and stand no longer against them.”—The Bible Echo, May 28, 1894.
Tuesday
February 16
3. A HEAVENLY MINISTRY
a. Could Jesus enter the heavenly sanctuary while the earthly (the figure of the heavenly) was still operating? Hebrews 9:8, 9.
“When Jesus at His ascension entered by His own blood into the heavenly sanctuary to shed upon His disciples the blessings of His mediation, the Jews were left in total darkness to continue their useless sacrifices and offerings. The ministration of types and shadows had ceased. That door by which men had formerly found access to God was no longer open. The Jews had refused to seek Him in the only way whereby He could then be found, through the ministration in the sanctuary in heaven. Therefore they found no communion with God. To them the door was shut. They had no knowledge of Christ as the true sacrifice and the only mediator before God; hence they could not receive the benefits of His mediation.”—The Great Controversy, p. 430.
b. What are the differences between the earthly and the heavenly sanctuaries that make the one in heaven of greater value? Hebrews 9:11, 12, 22, 23.
“After His ascension, our Saviour was to begin His work as our High Priest. Says Paul, ‘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’ (Hebrews 9:24). As Christ’s ministration was to consist of two great divisions, each occupying a period of time and having a distinctive place in the heavenly sanctuary, so the typical ministration consisted of two divisions, the daily and the yearly service, and to each a department of the tabernacle was devoted.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 357.
“Now is the time for us to make sure work for eternity. Christ is pleading in our behalf. Shall we offer ourselves as a free, acceptable sacrifice? Shall we cover up our sins, or shall we confess them, that we may find mercy and grace to help in every time of need? While Christ is pleading in our behalf, shall we not put away and loathe the sins that caused the Son of God such great suffering and death? While Jesus is showing compassion for us, shall we not have compassion for ourselves? Shall we not pour out our souls in repentance and contrition, and receive the promise of a new heart?”—The General Conference Bulletin, October 1, 1899.
Wednesday
February 17
4. TIME FOR THE CLEANSING
a. When would Jesus, our High Priest, remove our sins from the heavenly sanctuary? Daniel 8:14. According to the apostle Peter, when should the blotting out of sins take place? Acts 3:19–21.
“The prophecies which were fulfilled in the outpouring of the former rain at the opening of the gospel are again to be fulfilled in the latter rain at its close. Here are ‘the times of refreshing’ to which the apostle Peter looked forward when he said: ‘Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out [in the investigative Judgment], when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and he shall send Jesus’ (Acts 3:19, 20).”—The Great Controversy (1888), p. 611.
b. How can you prove that the investigative judgment begins before Christ’s second coming, and that the first angel’s message must begin just prior to the opening of the investigative judgment? Revelation 14:6, 7, 14, 15.
“The work of the investigative judgment and the blotting out of sins is to be accomplished before the second advent of the Lord. Since the dead are to be judged out of the things written in the books, it is impossible that the sins of men should be blotted out until after the judgment at which their cases are to be investigated. But the apostle Peter distinctly states that the sins of believers will be blotted out ‘when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and He shall send Jesus Christ’ (Acts 3:19, 20). When the investigative judgment closes, Christ will come, and His reward will be with Him to give to every man as his work shall be.”—The Great Controversy, p. 485.
“As the books of record are opened in the judgment, the lives of all who have believed on Jesus come in review before God. Beginning with those who first lived upon the earth, our Advocate presents the cases of each successive generation, and closes with the living. Every name is mentioned, every case closely investigated. Names are accepted, names rejected. When any have sins remaining upon the books of record, unrepented of and unforgiven, their names will be blotted out of the book of life, and the record of their good deeds will be erased from the book of God’s remembrance.”—Ibid., p. 483.
Thursday
February 18
5. NO TIME FOR DELAY
a. On what condition will our sins be blotted out in the judgment? Acts 3:19.
“The Lord reads every secret of the heart. He knows all things. You may now close the book of your remembrance, in order to escape confessing your sins; but when the judgment shall sit, and the books shall be opened, you cannot close them. The recording angel has testified that which is true. All that you have tried to conceal and forget is registered, and will be read to you when it is too late for wrongs to be righted. Then you will be overwhelmed with despair. O, it is a terrible thing that so many are trifling with eternal interests, closing the heart against any course of action which shall involve confession!”—The Review and Herald, December, 16, 1890.
b. What warning must we urgently consider in light of the first angel’s message? Hebrews 3:7, 8; 2 Corinthians 6:2; Ezekiel 18:24.
“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 Great Controversy, pp. 430, 431.
Friday
February 19
PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS
a. When we consider the yearly service in the Hebrew religious system, which day was held as the most important?
b. Describe the atonement and its results.
c. Why is the heavenly sanctuary service of greater value than the earthly?
d. How does the first angel’s message announce the time for the beginning of the investigative judgment?
e. What must we do in order to have our sins blotted out before the close of probation?