Sunday
June 19
1. CHRIST, A MINISTER OF THE SANCTUARY
a. In Old Testament times, what was the purpose of the daily atonement? Leviticus 4:13, 20, 26, 31, 35. Although the sins of the people were forgiven in the daily atonement, what was the purpose of the yearly atonement? Leviticus 16:16, 30, 33.
“Under the Mosaic system the cleansing of the sanctuary, or the great Day of Atonement, occurred on the tenth day of the seventh Jewish month (Leviticus 16:29–34), when the high priest, having made an atonement for all Israel, and thus removed their sins from the sanctuary, came forth and blessed the people.”—The Great Controversy, p. 400.
b. When the sins accumulated in the sanctuary were removed and put on the head of the live goat (who was sent away “unto a land not inhabited” “by the hand of a fit man” Leviticus 16:21, 22), what did this man have to do before entering the camp? Leviticus 16:26.
c. When could the people know for sure that they were cleansed—exonerated from the sins they had confessed and that had been forgiven in the daily atonement? Leviticus 16:29, 30, 33, 34.
Monday
June 20
2. THE THRONE OF GRACE—WHERE?
a. What was done in the earthly sanctuary to “serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things” (Hebrews 8:5)? Therefore, where do we have a High Priest, and what is He doing for us? Hebrews 9:11, 12; 1 John 2:1, 2.
b. Where is the throne of grace to which we are invited to come with our prayers? Hebrews 4:16; Revelation 8:3.
c. When our sins are confessed and forgiven in answer to our daily prayers (1 John 1:9; Matthew 6:12), are they blotted out immediately? If not, where do they go and for what purpose? 1 Timothy 5:24.
“Some men’s sins are open beforehand, confessed in penitence, and forsaken, and they go beforehand to judgment. Pardon is written over against the names of these men. But other men’s sins follow after, and are not put away by repentance and confession, and these sins will stand registered against them in the books of heaven.”—The SDA Bible Commentary [E. G. White Comments], vol. 7, p. 916.
“Be ready and anxious to confess your faults and forsake them, that your mistakes and sins may go beforehand to judgment and be blotted out.”—Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 331.
d. Concerning our duty to eradicate sin in the church, what warning should we always bear in mind? Matthew 13:27–30.
“God has precious ones in His church; there are also men and women who are as tares among the wheat. But the Lord does not give you or anyone else the office of saying who are tares and who are wheat. We may see and condemn the faults of others, while we have greater faults which we have never realized, but which are distinctly seen by others.”—Ibid., pp. 333, 334.
Tuesday
June 21
3. OUR ONLY MEDIATOR
a. What was taught to God’s people from the beginning of the world? Hebrews 9:22 (second part); John 1:29; Revelation 13:8 (second part).
“There is only one channel and that is accessible to all, and through that channel a rich and abundant forgiveness awaits the penitent, contrite soul and the darkest sins are forgiven.
“These lessons were taught to the chosen people of God thousands of years ago, and repeated in various symbols and figures, that the work of truth might be riveted in every heart, that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. The great lesson embodied in the sacrifice of every bleeding victim, impressed in every ceremony, inculcated by God Himself, was that through the blood of Christ alone is forgiveness of sins.”—The SDA Bible Commentary [E. G. White Comments], vol. 7, p. 913.
b. Who is our only Mediator and Saviour, and how did He obtain our redemption? John 14:6; 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 9:12.
c. Since access to Him has been opened in the sanctuary, what are we advised to do? Hebrews 10:19–22. Where are God’s people worshipping by faith in the time of the end—and what do they see? Revelation 11:1, 19.
d. What else do they see by faith? Daniel 7:9, 10. What do they understand? Revelation 14:7; Acts 3:19.
“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.
Wednesday
June 22
4. IN THE END OF THE WORLD
a. When the work of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary is understood, what deception clearly stands out? Daniel 8:13.
“The so-called intercession of the saints is the greatest falsehood that can be invented. Priests and rulers have no right to interpose between Christ and the souls for whom He has died, as though invested with the Saviour’s attributes, and able to pardon transgression and sin.”—The SDA Bible Commentary [E. G. White Comments], vol. 7, p. 913.
“The church’s claim to the right to pardon leads the Romanist to feel at liberty to sin; and the ordinance of confession, without which her pardon is not granted, tends also to give license to evil.”—The Great Controversy, p. 567.
b. How can we become “complete” in Christ? Colossians 2:10; 4:12.
“Through [Christ’s] sacrifice, human beings may reach the high ideal set before them, and hear at last the words, ‘Ye are complete in him,’ not having your own righteousness, but the righteousness that He wrought out for you.”—The SDA Bible Commentary [E. G. White Comments], vol. 7, p. 907.
c. How does Paul refer to the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary at “the end of the world,” just before Christ’s return? Hebrews 9:23–28.
“In the typical service the high priest, having made the atonement for Israel, came forth and blessed the congregation. So Christ, at the close of His work as mediator, will appear, ‘without sin unto salvation’ (Hebrews 9:28), to bless His waiting people with eternal life. As the priest, in removing the sins from the sanctuary, confessed them upon the head of the scapegoat, so Christ will place all these sins upon Satan, the originator and instigator of sin. The scapegoat, bearing the sins of Israel, was sent away ‘unto a land not inhabited’ (Leviticus 16:22); so Satan, bearing the guilt of all the sins which he has caused God’s people to commit, will be for a thousand years confined to the earth, which will then be desolate, without inhabitant, and he will at last suffer the full penalty of sin in the fires that shall destroy all the wicked.”—The Great Controversy, pp. 485, 486.
Thursday
June 23
5. VICTORY STILL POSSIBLE!
a. In view of the shortness of time remaining for our sins to be blotted out, what should be our most urgent priority? 2 Corinthians 4:5–7; 6:2; Philippians 2:5.
“Satan triumphs when he hears the professed follower of Christ offering excuses for his defects of character. Sin unrepented of, unconfessed, can never be blotted from the books of God’s record. Through faithful, thorough confession of sin, the heart is cleansed from its moral impurity. There must be a forsaking of the sins the Lord has reproved before the soul can stand acquitted before God. . . .
“It is Satan’s work to tempt; it is man’s work to resist, and, in the name and strength of Jesus, to say, ‘It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve’ (Matthew 4:10).”—The Signs of the Times, December 13, 1899.
“Life, with its marvelous privileges and opportunities, will soon be ended. The time for improvement in character will be past. Unless our sins are now repented of, and blotted out by the blood of the Lamb, they will stand in the ledger of heaven to confront us in the coming day. Then let us earnestly examine ourselves in the light of God’s Word, seeking to discover every defect of character, that we may wash our robes and make them white in the blood of the Lamb.”—The Review and Herald, April 21, 1910.
Friday
June 24
PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS
a. Explain the difference between the daily and the yearly atonements.
b. What way was opened before us by the death of Christ? For what purpose, and how, do we enter the heavenly sanctuary?
c. After our sins have been confessed and pardoned, day by day, where do they go before they can be blotted out?
d. On the basis of Hebrews 9:23–28, explain the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary in the time of the end, before Christ’s return.
e. What opportunity, which is still available to us, will soon pass away?