VOLUME 2

ISSUE 5/6

SEPTEMBEROCTOBER

NOVEMBERDECEMBER

2001

CONTENTS

3HAS THE SABBATH BECOME

OUR CHRIST?

6CLEANSING THE HEAVENLY

SACTUARY

13RECEIVING GOD’S REST

IN CHRIST

16THE ROMAN CATHOLIC

CHURCH AND THE DECALOGUE

21RIGHTEOUSNESS BEYOND

THE LAW

Mission: To proclaim the good news of the new covenant gospel of grace in Christ and tocombat the errors of legalism and false religion.

Motto: Truth needs no other foundation than honest investigation under the guidance ofthe Holy Spirit and a willingness to follow truth when it is revealed.

Message: “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is agift of God; not of works, that no one should boast.” Ephesians 2:8,9

I

Life Assurance Ministries (LAM), IncLife Assurance Ministries, Inc.PO Box 11587Glendale, AZ 85318.

DALE RATZLAFF

HistoryAbout a year ago I resigned from the

pastorate of Christian Community Churchso that I could devote more time to LifeAssurance Ministries. My associate pastor,Tom Tomforde, took over the church, and itis doing well. Because of my experienceand training, I feel God has uniquely calledme to this aspect of ministry. There aremany thousands—some estimate as manyas a million—former Seventh-dayAdventists. Many of these people are notinvolved in a healthy, Christ-centeredchurch. They need help in workingthrough the many doctrinal questions thatall “formers” have before they can becomespiritually free and well.

Prior to my resignation several peoplehad indicated a willingness to help sup-port LAM if we could form a non-profitcorporation so their donations would betax deductible. Therefore, I separated LifeAssurance Ministries into two entities:LAM Publishers that oversees the bookministry of LAM, and LAM, Inc. which is anon-profit corporation with a 501(c)(3)designation from the IRS and controlledby a board of directors. Our initial planwas to send a simple, little newsletter tothe approximately 3,000 names then onLAM’s mailing list. The goal was to encour-age these people in their walk with Christand help them “work through” Adventistissues. However, after seeing the first

newsletter that I had ready, Richard Tinkersuggested that he format it. Wow! What adifference! After the first issue was sentout, we received many requests from ourreaders to add names to our mailing list,and it soon ballooned to approximately13,000.

The purpose of Proclamation is to minis-ter primarily to former or inquiringSeventh-day Adventists as well as othertransitional sabbatarian groups like theWorldwide Church of God. However, manyof the names sent in to us are currentlymembers of the SDA church. We havereceived hundreds of letters from thoseon our mailing list, including a number ofSDA pastors and some administrators.Most—not all—have responded very pos-itively to Proclamation.

PresentThe expense of adding the additional

names has been huge. In addition to theextra printing costs, we now send hun-dreds of Proclamations to other countrieswith mailing costs of from $2.30 each to$2.60 each. We also send numerous copiesof Proclamation to Canada with postagecosts of $1.10 each. Each month it appearsthat we will not have enough money toprint and send out the next issue. Severaltimes key donors, without our request, butin answer to our prayers, have helpedmeet our expenses with large donationsof six to ten thousand dollars. If you arereceiving your Proclamation free, it is

because God has led someone else tosend in the funds!

To date no one has received any salaryfrom LAM, Inc. with the exception that I didreceive several thousand dollars from adonor to help print The Sabbath and TheLord’s Day. However, this did not go intomy pocket, but into inventory that maytake a number of years to sell. We have notpaid the contributing writers toProclamation nor have we paid RichardTinker, who does such an outstanding jobdesigning each issue. We all, withoutexception, see our work as ministry.

FutureSome of you are supporting this min-

istry very liberally.We thank you for yourliberality.We would ask all those receivingProclamation to pray for this ministry.Wehave had so many answers to prayer thatwe know this ministry is God’s will! Manyhundreds of people have written or calledthanking us for helping them to place theirfaith in Christ alone, in His Word alone, andto trust His grace alone through faith!

We hope LAM, Inc. will be able to spon-sor a “Former SDA Pastor’s Summit”—aweekend of meetings where each pastorcould give his “story” and share his discov-eries. Several have indicated a desire to dothis. Tapes could be made of these presen-tations and these would be a powerfulministry tool.

We have several more former SDA pas-tors, and others as well, who want to con-tribute articles to Proclamation.We feel thereare many more subjects that need to bedeveloped.

Please join us in prayer that we will makethe good news of Christ simple, clear andcentral in all we do.

B A C K page

Looking at the past, present andfuture of LAM, Inc.

SPECIAL DOUBLE ISSUE!

pulled my Freightliner truck and trailer loadedwith hay onto Tafoya’s truck scale, opened thedoor, climbed out of the cab and suddenly I wasapproached by two angry men wanting to fight.

It was late in the afternoon when Big Geneand I pulled off the levy road by the Sacramento

River a few miles East of Woodland, California, toget a load of alfalfa hay. Before we finished load-ing the 25 tons of hay we ran out of daylight, butby turning on the clearance lights we hadenough light to stack the bails straight. Whendone, we tied down and started for Woodlandwhere we were to weigh our load.

Big Gene was my capable helper and alsodrove truck for me on occasion. His real namewas Gene Williams, but everyone called him BigGene. Yes, he was big and black. He must haveweighed about 250 lbs., and at night about allyou could see was the white of his eyes. Heclaimed to be able to put 400 lbs. over his head,

and I believed him. He used to like to show off hisstrength, especially if there was anyone around toimpress. I saw him take a three-wire bail of alfalfahay weighing between 120 and 130 lbs. and,standing on the ground next to the truck, throw iton the top layer of bails on a nearly loaded truck.He would stand with his back to the truck, pullone end of the bail up to his waist, then withboth hay hooks he would snap the bail up overhis head, and with a mighty push from his armsthe bail went up to the top. I also saw him liftwith one hand a 10 x 22 truck tire mounted on asteel rim and put in into the back of a pickup. Yes,Big Gene was big, black and strong. He was agood helper!

The air was still and hot that night when wefinished loading, and Big Gene was going shirt-less. We drove through the hay field toward thelevy road that was considerably higher than thefield. The little narrow road that went from thefield to the top of the levy was very steep. So I putthe truck in the lowest gear and started crawlingup toward the narrow, two-lane road on the topof the levy. Just before we reached the top we

Many of us have grown up with the continualadmonition, “get ready, get ready get ready…”

On being ready

Big Gene and the present crisis

CONTINUED ON PAGE 28

Mail letters and donations to:

Life Assurance MinistriesPO Box 11587

Glendale, AZ 85318

Proclamation!

Proclamation!

Proclamation!

Proclamation!

SEPTEMBER –DECEMBER

2001

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SEPTEMBER –DECEMBER2001

Seasons greetingsAs we approach another Christmas season our

thoughts are directed back to the Christ event.While the world is full of anxiety, we can experi-ence the peace that passes understanding.Because of the birth, life, death and resurrectionof Christ, we have been reconciled to God, and

there is now no condemnation to those who arein Christ Jesus! As the world is running here andthere seeking to destroy the evil of terrorism, wewho have believed can enter His rest.“Thesethings I have spoken to you, so that in Me youmay have peace. In the world you have tribula-tion, but take courage; I have overcome theworld,” John 16:33. It is our hope and prayer thatevery one of our readers will be drawn into acloser relationship with Christ during thisChristmas season. May God bless you!

Double IssueBecause we are late in getting out the

September/October Proclamation we decided toinclude the November/December with it in oneenlarged issue. Thanks for your understanding.

Virus AttackOn October 20 we were hit with a nasty virus

that completely destroyed our main hard drive,and it also wiped out the back up drive in thesame computer. We had to revert to another

backup outside the computer from September20. Thankfully, we were able to rebuild all the datafrom hard copies; however, we did lose the namesthat were added, changed, or deleted from ourmailing lists during this time. Therefore, if yousent in new names, changes of address or cancel-lations during this time, please re-send them. Weapologize for this inconvenience. We now keeptwo mirror-image hard drives outside the com-puter that are backed up daily.

Covenant UnderstandingSeveral SDAs, including one SDA pastor, have

corresponded with me stating that the positiontaken by Dr. Reiner in the last Proclamation doesnot represent the Adventist position on thecovenants. To clarify this I asked Dr. Bacchiocchi towrite a three-page article which would specifical-ly address the following: What is the oldcovenant? What are the signs of the oldcovenant? What is the new covenant? What arethe signs of the new covenant? What is the differ-ence between the covenants? Which covenantare Christians now under? However, he declinedour invitation.

Response to Greg Taylor’s ManifestoTens of thousands of people on the Internet

have been sent an evaluation by Dr. Bacchiocchiof former SDA pastor Greg Taylor’s Manifesto. Thiswe believe to be filled with twisted facts andcharacter assassination. Greg decided not toanswer the charges. However, I asked him torespond to me so I would know the facts of thematter. He has given me permission to post this.Find it at http://www.ratzlaf.com/downloads. Wealways seek the truth! Truth can stand the test ofinvestigation!

Truth can stand the test of investigation

Editor’s C O M M E N T S

As the world is running here and there seek-ing to destroy the evil of terrorism, we who

have believed can enter His rest.

PublisherLife Assurance Ministries, Inc.

EditorDale Ratzlaff

DesignerRichard Tinker

Life Assurance Ministries, Inc.Board of Directors

Dale Ratzlaff, president, CFOCarolyn Ratzlaff, Secretary

Bruce HeinrichColleen TinkerRichard Tinker

© 2001 Life Assurance Ministries, IncPO Box 11587, Glendale, AZ 85318

All rights reserved.Phone: 623-572-9549

Website:www.LifeAssuranceMinistries.org

E-mail: dale@ratzlaf.com

Proclamation!

Proclamation!

Disappointed with Dr. Reiner’s view as theSDA view.

I was disappointed that Proclamation present-ed Dr. Reiner’s view of the covenants as if it wasthe SDA position.While there are variant viewsamong Adventist on some aspects of thecovenants, just as there are among evangelicals,Dr. Reiner’s concepts are much different from thegeneral view. For example, Reiner’s position thatthe law has not yet been written in our hearts isquite contrary to the Adventist’s position, andbased on your response to Dr. Reiner, it is notyour view either. For Dr. Reiner to state the TenCommandments are not part of the “oldcovenant”is not the general Adventist position,nor is it yours, according to your response.Wecould go on with the discrepancies in Dr. Reiner’sarticle and the general SDA position. I wish amore representative source had been chosen foryour publication.—From a SDA pastor.

Another excellent issue!Thank you for another excellent issue of

Proclamation! [We] enjoy this publication verymuch and look forward to each issue. Friends ofours, who also receive it, are equally impressed.You and your staff and the authors you select doa first class job for a quality publication.

I always get encouraged by reading itThank your for Proclamation. I always get

encouraged by reading it. May [the] Lord blessyou and give you strength for the work you aredoing. I am praying for you and LAM.

You are a lost person according to the BibleWe hope and pray God will cause you to have

a pure heart and change your terrible destructionof people who you are misleading in your maga-zine. God used to strike people down in the OldTestament and New when they withheld God’smoney, etc.!! You are a lost person according tothe Bible. Read Rev. 21, Rev. 22:14-18, Rev. 12:17,Isa. 66:23.Take us off your list!

A lot more soul satisfyingI particularly enjoyed reading your Editor’s

Comments page and your article on “Paul and theAfterlife in 2 Corinthians 5:1-9.”I related well towhat you wrote and am thankful that you broughtit to my and your readers’attention. I have readthis and other similar passages many times,andhave never dared take them at face value before.They did not fit the conservative SDA conditional-ist position on the afterlife,so I passed over with-out daring to think for myself what Paul reallymeant.The negative comments from some of yourreaders are always very hurtful,offensive and rudeand I always wish I had not read them.I am gladthat most comments are positive and supportive

of your ministry.Just like most others who haveleft the SDA church,we find ourselves somewhatcut off from our former friends.The gap widenswith each passing year.We wish they would readand study Scripture and books by a host of otherChristian authors, for themselves,without havingsome conservative party-line SDA theologianinterpret for them.Members of our family,our ownsiblings,are reluctant to read anything that isn’tprinted and published by an SDA church-ownedand governed publishing company.We knowbecause we have sent them copies of books wehave read in the hopes they will read them,and iffor no other reason,understand why we are nolonger members of their church.Rather, theychoose to challenge and warn of the conse-quences of our position,particularly at our agewhen we should be strong in the “faith”.…Certainly “the good news of the new covenantgospel of grace in Christ”is a lot more soul satisfy-ing than “the errors of legalism and false religion,”but each one has to find that out individually,under the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

Spoke so accurately of our own experienceColleen Moore Tinker’s “How I discovered the

Bible”was excellent, and spoke so accurately ofour own experience. Along with your many, manysupporters, we also pray for the success of yourunique ministry with its unique mission to thosewho have chosen to walk in grace rather thanlegalism.

What does that tell you!!!I do not appreciate receiving your paper, and

what it says about the church I work with. Do youhave anything else to say except derogatorycomments about the Adventist church? Justremember God has blessed this movementabundantly.What does that tell you!!!

Steer Bible believing Christians back to thetruth of the Gospel

Several months back I was introduced to yourbook, Sabbath in Crisis.Your book has been instru-mental here the U.S.Virgin Islands to steer Biblebelieving Christians back to the truth of theGospel of Christ.The U.S.Virgin Islands is heavilypopulated by Seventh-day Adventists, especiallySt.Thomas.

Start a “Former SDA Congregation”.Thank you for the Informer Pack that you

have sent… I have been a SDA worker since 1958until I retired at the age of 65. I have served theLord in the SDA organization in the followingcapacities: Ministerial Intern, Church Pastor,District Pastor, Mission Departmental Director,Academy Principal, and College Professor,Thehighest position I held in the SDA denomination,

except being an ordained minister, was __ in __.Never in my life have I come across the readingmaterials like what you have sent me except thistime…Initially, I plan to bring all of these materi-als to the __ that I could share them to the SDAsthere to start a “Former SDA Congregation”.

Satan must surely be blessingSatan must surely be blessing your ministry

since your pamphlet looks quite professional.There is no doubt in our minds that God hasnothing to do with your ministry… your litera-ture goes directly into the garbage…

How can we share the gospel of Jesus effec-tively to the SDAs?

…You may know Mark Finley…was here inPort Moresby recently (July 9 -22) and ministeredtheir “gospel”which was also broadcast live onsatellite TV. Many thousands predominantly SDAsconverged on the main stadium. Although theevent was peaceful following the political crisis afew days back, the message was heard by manybut as usual caused a lot of disturbances in otherdenominations.The SDA saw the opportunity todeclare their church as the true remnant churchin the daily papers and declared all others asfalse. As a result over 2,000 were baptized intothe SDA church. Brother, how can we share thegospel of Jesus effectively to the SDA followersand prevent them from being misguided fromthe truth by people like Finley?

Astounding admissions concerning EGWDale, Just wanted to drop you a note and say

thanks again for the books.We have already readthem more then once. I have been dialoging agood bit with Dr. __ __ at the Adventist Seminary.He has made some astounding admissions con-cerning EGW but all of them in his opinion are not“enough”to throw her out. I have posted my testi-mony on ellenwhite.org and have gotten somegood responses, it’s in the “what’s new”section.

Thank you for helping me understand truth.Dear Dale, After three years of research, study

and prayer, my husband and I have requested ournames be removed for the SDA membership.Wetruly enjoy reading the articles in Proclamation.They are so uplifting in contrast to the articles itthe Adventist Review…Please use our gift to con-tinue to send to the addresses currently on yourmailing list.

L E T T E R S to the Editor

The Good News!But the angel said to them,“Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you

good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the cityof David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.“Thiswill be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in amanger.” And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of theheavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, Andon earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” Luke 2:10-14

Letter “through”the editorDear “SDA Pastor,”You take me harshly to task

in Proclamation, May/June. Space is limited, sohere my brief reply is selective. First, I am gratefulto Dale for hosting my essays, especially as I donot accept his organization’s every viewpoint. Heneed never have offered had your leaders andeven scholars whom I first approached heededEllen White’s repeated plea, CWE 33-51, againstPharisaism in ignoring let alone ridiculing anyonewho differs on doctrine—even yourFundamentals, 44! Even if he or she is sincerelyastray,“Beneath an appearance of hatred andcontempt… may be hidden a soul that the graceof Christ will rescue”, MB 130.

Secondly, the Spirit of truth, Jn. 14:17; 15:26;16:13, moves no one to erect then demolish menof mere straw. Ellen White’s genuine devotee willfaithfully “treat every man as honest”, 6T 122. Itamazes me that even Decalogians who chideother converts over God’s Fourth Commandmentcan abuse his Ninth so recklessly.The least of ithere is your ludicrous claim that I know nothingabout Scripture or the Ellen White corpus.Theworst of it is your virtual, inane charge of sheermendacity.

Thirdly,although it is a very minor detail, Iaccept your correction,via Holy Writ, that the sanc-tuary bread was renewed each Sabbath,not dayby day.But why do you multiply mere words in thefar weightier matter of the atoning blood,day byday, for the sins of common individuals on which isfounded your entire dogma of an investigativejudgment of individuals since 1844? Lev.4:27-35 isperfectly clear in this matter.Nor is there any otherpath for the day-by-day sins of any common indi-vidual to pollute the earthly Holy Place!

No important doctrine ever hangs upon theobscure interpretation of this or that lonely Biblereference! It is taught clearly, explicitly andrepeatedly. Indeed, as I watch the desperate gym-nastics of SDAs to bolster their crucial belief, I canbut ask, If God really wished such sin to registerday by day within that Holy Place, why not pre-cisely the same extremely simple procedure asfor a priest, 5-7, or the entire nation, 16-18? Thevery fact that there is a stark contrast betweenthe blood manipulations of the two groups ofsacrifices is eloquent testimony that the SDAChurch is striving to obliterate a patent distinc-tion which God himself established!

However, despite my comprehensiveresearch, I could still be mistaken, and am onlyinterested in the truth. I therefore have a sincereoffer for you. If you can persuade Dale to devotesome space on his web site, if not his journal, to acivil discussion, not a debate, strictly on this sin-gle foundational point, I am prepared to meetyou over the open Bible for a few briefexchanges. Nor should the subject deter you. For

Ellen White even admits:“If the pillars of our faithwill not stand the test of investigation, it is timethat we knew it”, CWE 44.

I am not your conscience. So I expect nothingof you, even if the very foundation of your 1844dogma lacks support in “sound arguments,that… will bear the closest and most searchingscrutiny”, 40.

But if your stance obviously passes the BereanTest, Acts 17:11, I make this solemn pledge beforethousands of readers: I will settle down withsome competent Bible teacher to work throughthis doctrine, so crucial to the raison d’être of theSDA Church, with a view, should there be no gen-uine doctrinal obstacles, to baptism.

Either way, my offer gives you the opportunityto demonstrate the veracity of your vigorousobjections and the sincerity of your profession ofallegiance to both sacred Scripture and EllenWhite’s writings.—Fred Mazzaferri

Hard questionsDale, I have a few questions: If one had

enough faith would he have to pray? Does a littlechild have to plead with his parent to feed andsupport him? As one’s faith grows should thesubstance of one’s prayer change…If man hadnot sinned would we know about God’s graceand mercy? Was it necessary for God to containthe attributes of grace and mercy when theywere not needed? Will the most forgiven be thehappiest even with less reward?

Praying for spiritual wisdomI have been praying to God for a long time for

the spiritual wisdom of knowing the Lord’s will inhow I should view the Big 10, as a Christian, livingby grace through faith in the Son of God. I havehad some difficulty receiving the visions of EllenWhite that add to the word of God. I have hadquestions in my spirit about he cleansing of theSanctuary teaching in 1844. I accept the first timevision, in Daniel, that takes us to Christ and seemsto be perfect.The investigative judgment I havesome doubts that raise questions.We preach thatrighteousness is by grace through faith and thenwe turn right around and say we have to keepthe whole law or we will be our of here. I havestepped down from serving as an Elder in mychurch in __ to have more freedom to receivefrom the Holy Spirit some answers to these ques-tions that have been troubling me…

The Devil loves to try to shake the confidenceof believers

I found Jerry Gladson’s article entitled “Re-thinking Life After Death”(May/June, 2001) inter-esting and informative, yet somewhat troubling.It showed a good deal of study. He is correct insaying that“the differentiating teachings, such as

the Sabbath, the three angel’s messages, and thestate of the dead, became symbols of identity. ...Adventists still cling to these points of identity....”It is true that “soul sleep”is one of the SDA “identi-ty factors”which, along with the Sabbath, wasborrowed from other Christians. It is also correctthat the intermediate state is not always clearlydefined in Scripture. It is only made clear inChrist. He should be our emphasis, and if He is,Christ will draw all men who hear his voice untohim, and into his “one fold,”… What troubles mesomewhat about Gladson’s review of theScriptural and historical evidence relative to thewhole subject of the intermediate state is that hedoes not seem to clearly differentiate betweenmerely earthly traditional and cultural beliefs onthe one hand, and inspired heavenly teachingsfrom above on the other, especially holding upthe teachings and example of Christ. He appearsto give tradition and inspiration equal billing,which seems directly contrary to Christ’s teach-ings and example. On this subject Gladson seemsconfused himself, and he projects not clarity butconfusion to others. Naturalism andSupernaturalism are indiscriminately given con-sideration without clear distinction, and theeffect is distortion, doubt, and perplexity ratherthan trust, faith, and hope. Christ spoke withauthority, not as the Scribes and Pharisees,because he knew the Scriptures and the powerof God, which he told them they did notknow…Thankfully Gladson’s article ends on a tri-umphant note:“my salvation doesn’t depend onhaving all the answers. It depends on Christ, whosaid,‘I am the resurrection and the life…”

Spoke to a packed crowd of 600You might be interested to know that I spoke

to a packed crowd of 600 here in Goroka on theSabbath vs. Sunday and some of the erroneousbeliefs of the SDA Church last Sunday night, andalso showed the film, with a very good response.Last night on the campus of the University ofGoroka I did the same thing again, as there is cur-rently a tremendous amount of interest and con-fusion on these things.Your books have proveninvaluable to me as I have studied and prepared!

Devil’s spirit behind your efforts.The tenor of your publication makes clear what

spirit is behind your efforts.The devil loves to try toshake the confidence of believers.He failed withJesus and by His grace it will fail with me.

Made the Christ-centered life quite realistic.Dear Colleen (Tinker), I enjoyed your front

page article. It was well written, and made thechallenge of transition from Adventism to theChrist-centered life quite realistic.The wholemagazine was excellent! Keep up the good work!

Proclamation!

Proclamation!

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L E T T E R S to the Editor

(This article was written some time ago while GregTaylor was senior pastor of Foster SDA Church inAsheville, North Carolina. It was submitted to severalSDA publications, but they refused to print it.)

I was sitting in the large camp meeting audi-torium surrounded with a couple thousand con-gregants for our annual gathering. The featuredspeaker for this section of the meeting was ayoung man who was sharing his personal testi-mony. He enthusiastically told his story of thepain of his addictive life and his rebellion againstGod. Then with tears in his eyes he told of hisconversion experience and His surrender toJesus. I was moved to tears. I let out a sponta-neous “amen”. But to my surprise there were justa few other muffled “Amen’s” in that large crowd. Ithought to myself that everyone must be sleepyafter the big Sabbath meal. But what happenednext came as a shock to me. The man continuedto tell his story and told about a friend he hadmet who shared with him the Sabbath message.He told the congregation how he became con-vinced of the truth of this doctrine and he start-ed keeping the Sabbath. Suddenly the congrega-tion erupted into hearty “amen’s” and even somecheers. I remember thinking to myself that day,there is something wrong with this picture.

Thank you for the SabbathWhen my family and I have the chance to trav-

el, we love to visit churches. We enjoy observinghow others do ministry within their local context.But one thing I have noticed recently that hasbeen typical of our churches ever since my child-

hood days is a prayer that starts something likethis.“Dear Lord, Thank you for the Sabbath...” Ihave become increasingly aware of this and haveconducted my own mental survey—unofficial ofcourse. Perhaps one time out of ten will I hear atsome point in the prayer...“Thank you for send-ing your Son Jesus…? Is there something wrongwith this picture?

More important than anythingRecently we had a couple of people from

unchurched backgrounds who started attendingour church. After some time of seeking and dis-covery they came to the point of surrender toJesus Christ. What a celebration it was when thesepeople who had formerly been so far from Godmade public their decision to follow Jesus in thewaters of baptism! Shortly after their decisionsthere was a “Net” evangelism series, and we invit-ed them to attend as an opportunity to deepentheir understanding of some of the doctrinalmaterial. I asked each of them after the series wasover what their reflections on it were. What Iheard hit me right between the eyes. Each ofthem individually mentioned the fact that therewere one or two nights that focused on Jesus andthe Gospel of grace, but most of it was on otherthings especially the Sabbath. One of them wentso far as to say,“the last half of the series wasalmost all about the Sabbath. They seemed tohammer it in night after night. Why is this somuch more important than everything else?”

I fumbled around a bit and explained that alot of our listeners are from other churches witha Sunday tradition.“We spend a lot of time on

GREG TAYLOR

“DEAR LORD,

THANK YOU

FOR THE

SABBATH…”

Jesus and Mosaic Ritual LawsIt appears that Jesus always let the moral and ethical considerations of a given situation dictate his actions regardless

of whether or not his actions were a violation of the Mosaic Ritual Law. Not only that, but it evident that on certain occa-

sions Jesus actually went out of his way to violate some of these ritual laws. Why did He do this? There are several good

reasons. Many of the ritual laws in some way dealt with sin. Jesus was sinless; therefore, some of these laws did not apply

to Him. Various Mosaic Ritual Laws were shadows of grace and pointed forward to the life, death and resurrection of Christ

and the Salvation purchased for us. Therefore, in many of the controversies regarding Christ's observance of ritual laws,

and specifically the Sabbath laws, as recorded in the Gospels, His goal was to move the people away from the ritual laws to

Himself. Now that He had come, the shadows of grace which were useful in pre-Christ days, actually kept the Jews from

accepting their Messiah. We, too, must be careful not to let the shadows of Christ keep us from accepting the risen Son

and the free, unmerited, grace of God!

that because it is a big issue for them.” But I wenthome that evening having to face the truth thatour Sabbath distinctive is often emphasized tothe virtual exclusion of the Gospel of JesusChrist. Is something wrong with this picture?

Over the nearly 20 years I have spent inAdventist ministry, I have regularly taught classesto our people in a variety of settings on the sub-ject of evangelism. Again, in my own informalunofficial survey, I have noticed that about a tento one ratio emerges. When asked to defend theSabbath doctrine, most good Adventists can puttogether a simple Bible study with a few texts asto why the Sabbath is important and viable. Onthe other hand these same people are far lesslikely to be able to explain the Gospel or give anytextual support for how to lead a friend to Christ.Even more frightening, most of these cannot givea clear testimony as to their own conversionexperience. There is something wrong with thispicture.

Parallels JudaismI cannot help but think of the parallel empha-

sis in Judaism at the time of Jesus. No other insti-tution was as important in Judaism. It wasbelieved to be more critical to the Jewish com-munity than all the other commands of the Torahcombined.1 God’s forgiveness was attached toSabbath keeping. It was regarded as a primarymethod of witnessing. God’s gifts and privilegeswere attached to it. Above all it was believed thatthe final redemption hinged on proper obser-vance of Sabbath. Rabbi Simeon Ben Yochai said:“If Israel were to keep two Sabbaths according tothe laws thereof, they would be redeemed imme-diately.”2 To the Jews of Jesus’ day, the Sabbathhad taken on a salvation significance. TheSabbath had in many respects become theirChrist. This Sabbath emphasis had become so allpervasive that they rejected the “Lord of theSabbath” when He appeared.

It is understandable in light of the Pharisaicalviews regarding the Sabbath, that they saw Jesusdisregard of their Sabbath Halakah (rabbinic tra-dition intended to protect the Sabbath) as athreat to the whole System of Judaism. They sawJesus as delaying the coming of redemptioneven though He came as the divine agent of it.“For this reason the Jews tried all the harder tokill Him; not only was He breaking the Sabbath,but He was even calling God His own father,making Himself equal with God.”3 Sabbath was

one of the primary reasons for their rejection ofJesus as the Messiah. It had taken the place ofChrist in their thinking and practice. The Sabbathhad been given as an illustration of grace, but ithad instead become the antithesis of grace. Therest that had pointed forward to the rest ofredemption, had become an end in itself. In thatsense the Sabbath had become for them anAntichrist. What a tragedy!

So today, the Sabbath provides beautiful sym-bolism of spiritual rest in Christ,4 but it is not restin Christ in and of itself. It is a wonderful illustra-tion of salvation by faith, but it is not salvation byfaith. It is a glorious picture of the Gospel, but it isnot the Gospel. Even though it is one of the pil-lars of our doctrinal belief system, it is not thefoundation. Jesus is the foundation, the chief cor-nerstone.

While virtually none of us would ever think ofputting the Sabbath before or in place of Christ,we must face the reality that at the grass rootslevel many of our people have gotten the wrongpicture. Therefore it is our responsibility as pas-tors, educators, evangelists, and administrators, tointentionally resist anything that might cause usto communicate or perpetuate the wrongemphasis. The truth of the matter is that many ofour people are clear on the Sabbath doctrineand other distinctives, and fuzzy on the gospel.Therefore we must redouble our efforts to keepthe Main Thing, the main thing.

Sabbath emphasisFor example when the name Seventh-day

Adventist is spoken or read, the first words areabout the Sabbath. I know that we chose thename to clearly distinguish ourselves from otherAdventists. The name has served us well. But Iknow when people ask me what denomination Irepresent and I tell them, the first question theyask me is about the Seventh-day part of it. I haveseldom been asked about the Adventist part. If Iam not careful I can get into a little Bible studyon the Sabbath in the scriptures and miss theopportunity to talk about Jesus and His literalsoon return. I can miss the chance in the distinc-tive to talk about the main thing.

The same is true with our evangelism. Becauseof the distinctive nature of our Sabbath under-standing, we tend to spend far more time on itand much less time on the Gospel proportion-ately. We must somehow change this emphasis.Jesus said,“But I, when I am lifted up… will draw

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we stay and work for the salvation of oth-ers, even in the dangerous and wickedcities? Many are fearful of the possibleevents looming on the horizon, wonder-ing how to evaluate what is going on.

Meditating on my experience with BigGene and the truths of Scripture has ledme to two main conclusions regarding thecurrent events. First, we must remainengaged in life and continue in our every-day jobs, unless God directs otherwise.Weare to live for him every day no matterwhere we are or what we are doing.Theparable of the talents teaches us that weare to stay engaged in life and commerce.Jesus commended the servant who wasoccupied in business, not the one whowithdrew for fear and hid his talent. Inthese dangerous times, we may find our-selves in harm’s way, as did the New YorkFire Fighters. But let us, like them, thinkmore of the salvation of others than ofsaving our own physical life. Let us eachbe found doing our duty when Christcomes.

Second, we are not to fight the enemydirectly, but our job is to stay close to our“Big Gene”—our Lord and Master whocan fight the enemy for us. Herein liesour safety.“Even though I walk throughthe valley of the shadow of death, I fearno evil, for You are with me; Your rod andYour staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4That night Big Gene did not have a shep-

herd’s rod, but for the occasion, nothingwas more comforting to me than to seethat steel cheater bar in Big Gene’s out-stretched right hand!

It is at times like these that our faith istested. Do we really trust Christ? We saywe trust him for the next life, but howcan we do that unless we trust Him inthis life? When we know the truth of thegospel we are set free—free from con-demnation and guilt, free from the fear ofdeath, free from the fear of life and whatit may bring, free to serve in newness oflife and free to live “life in the Spirit”.

Paul learned this as he faced hardshipand suffering. Listen to his words,“For wedo not want you to be unaware, brethren,of our affliction which came to us in Asia,that we were burdened excessively,beyond our strength, so that we despairedeven of life; indeed, we had the sentenceof death within ourselves so that wewould not trust in ourselves, but in Godwho raises the dead; who delivered usfrom so great a peril of death, and willdeliver us, He on whom we have set ourhope. And He will yet deliver us.” 2 Cor.1:8-10 “But in all these things we over-whelmingly conquer through Him wholoved us. For I am convinced that neitherdeath, nor life, nor angels, nor principali-ties, nor things present, nor things tocome, nor powers, nor height, nor depth,nor any other created thing, will be able to

separate us from the love of God, which isin Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:37-39

Yes,“There will be signs in sun andmoon and stars, and on the earth dismayamong nations, in perplexity at the roar-ing of the sea and the waves, men faint-ing from fear and the expectation of thethings which are coming upon the world;for the powers of the heavens will beshaken. Then they will see the Son ofMan coming in a cloud with power andgreat glory. [Now note how we are tolive] But when these things begin to takeplace, straighten up and lift up yourheads, because your redemption is draw-ing near.” Luke 21:25-28

Many of us have grown up with thecontinual admonition,“get ready, getready get ready,” but we never experi-enced the assurance of being readybecause we were trusting partly to Christand partly to ourselves. Yet Jesus taughtthat we could be ready.“You too, beready; for the Son of Man is coming at anhour that you do not expect.” Luke 12:40Therefore, our present duty is first to con-tinue to live for Christ in whatever placewe may find ourselves and not withdrawin fear. Let our witness be a life free fromfear and full of assurance. Second, let uslift up our heads knowing that we canface these difficult and uncertain timesbecause our “Big Gene” is by our side, andHe will win the battle!

“THE LAST

HALF OF THE

SERIES WAS

ALMOST ALL

ABOUT THE

SABBATH.

THEY SEEMED

TO HAMMER IT

IN NIGHT

AFTER NIGHT.”

could see by the lights that a car wascoming down the levy road. However, Idid not want to stop to let the car go bybecause to do so I would have had tostop on the steepest part of the hill—something no trucker wants to do. SoI kept going and the car, which hadplenty of time, stopped for me. Afterwe gained our speed and came to astraight section of the road, Iexpected the car to pass. However,instead of passing, he pulled just alittle to the left and shined hishigh lights into my mirror. He

kept this up during ourten mile ride intoWoodland.“Just somecrazy driver.” Ithought.

When we got tothe scale we had aroutine we alwaysfollowed. The driverwould get out of thetruck and go into thescalehouse and givethe weighmaster theneeded informationso he could make

the weight cer-tificate. The

helper—wecalled himthe

“swamper”—would take the “cheaterbar” and thump the tires to make surethey were all properly inflated. Ourcheater bar was made form a hard, steelaxle shaft and was a little over two feetlong. Big Gene took the cheater bar andbegan thumping the tires on the passen-ger side of the truck. I climbed out of thecab and was getting ready to go into thescalehouse when I noticed the car whichhad been following us drove into thescalehouse yard. Now I could see it wasan old pickup and it stopped by the sideof our trailer. Just then two angry menjumped out and came up to me, ready tofight.“What’s the idea of pulling out infront of us?” they demanded. I was in theprime of my life, but I was never a fighter,nor was I about to start a fighting careerthat night with these two husky, angrymen. There were lots of lights around thescalehouse, but the weighmaster couldnot see what was going on because thetruckload of hay blocked his vision, so hewas of no help to me. As Big Gene round-ed the back of the truck he immediatelytook in the scene and stealthily crept upbehind the men. With steel cheater bar inhis raised and outstretched right hand,he came to my side and said,“You guyswant something?”The large muscles ofBig Gene’s arms and chest glistened inthe lights—A picture etched deep in mymemory I will never forget. There was amoment of intense silence as the twomen comprehended the situation. Then,without a word, they quickly turned,jumped in their old pickup, and droveaway, never to be encountered again.

Today, our country faces terrorist ene-mies bent on our destruction. We are alsotold that our real enemy—the devil—goes about as a roaring lion seekingwhom he may devour. Perhaps these twoenemies are closely allied as terrorists.Satan seems to have the same goal ofdestroying as many people, even inno-cent people, as possible.

The question that comes to us is,“Howdo we live in these times?” Should we runto the hills for our own safety? Or should

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all men to myself.”5 We must make Jesus Christand Him Crucified the heart and soul of all weteach and model. We must train our people inthe essentials of salvation and then teach themhow to take others to the foot of the cross. This iswhere all the power for life change is found.“Ofall professing Christians, Seventh-day Adventistsshould be foremost in uplifting Christ before theworld. The proclamation of the third angels mes-sage calls for presentation of the Sabbath truth.This truth, with the others included in the mes-sage is to be proclaimed; but the great center ofattraction, Christ Jesus, must not be left out. It isat the cross of Christ that mercy and truth meettogether, and righteousness and peace kiss eachother. The sinner must be led to look to Calvary:with the simple faith of a little child...”6

Keep the Main Thing the main thingRecently I spent a few days on a spiritual

retreat. I was alone with God and nature for theentire time. In the stillness and quietness of thatplace reading the Word, praying and journaling,the message that kept coming to me was myown need to know the Lord far more than I do. Imust fall in love with Jesus and walk with him asEnoch did so long ago. Then I must lift up Jesus. Imust focus on Jesus. I must tell those whom Godhas trusted to my care how to truly find relation-ship with Christ and grow in Jesus. Because whenI, as a man of prayer and filled with the HolySpirit, preach Jesus, real life change will takeplace. It will be contagious. People will be attract-ed to the one who alone can save and the onewho changes minds and hearts. I came awayfrom that retreat with my personal marchingorders, much like Paul’s,“For I resolved to knownothing while I was with you except Jesus Christand Him crucified.”7 In other words I am to keepthe Main Thing the main thing. I must then trustthat the Holy Spirit will do His job of guiding Hispeople into all truth. He will bring conviction ofsin. He will change hearts.

I want to challenge my partners in ministry. Ibelieve this is from the Lord. Let us intentionally liftup Jesus.Teach the Gospel faithfully. Let us examineand reexamine our ministry focus. Let us diligently,carefully, and prayerfully analyze our methods andour presentations so we truly communicate what ismost important. God is faithful.When we put HisSon truly in the center, the fruit will come!

In my mind’s eye, I imagine a day whenAdventists are known for their love for Jesus

rather than primarily their Sabbath observanceor eating practices. I like to visualize a trainedlaity that is armed with a clear understanding ofGrace and a personal testimony of a saving rela-tionship with Jesus. I see churches that are thriv-ing, caring communities extending the gracethey have received to their neighbors andfriends. I imagine worship services that are filledwith praise and worship because of real lifechange through Christ and the power of HisSpirit; the church of Acts 2:42-47 realized in ourgeneration. I see our communities gatheringaround and asking us how they too can be savedand enter into such a loving community. Then, Iimagine people asking us to teach them every-thing we know about Jesus and the truths of Hisword. Is this an impossible dream? No, not at all.Jesus promises it if we lift Him up, and make theMain thing, the main thing.

Greg and His wife Paula served the Foster churchfor 8 years.They have two sons, Jordan, 11, andMatthew, 9. Pray for them as they seek new ministryopportunities to proclaim the gospel of God’s grace.

Endnotes1Kenneth A. Strand, Editor, The Sabbath In Scripture and History,(Review and Herald, 1982), p 71.

2Ibid, p. 71-72.3John 5:18. (NIV)4Samuele Bacchiocchi, The Sabbath under Crossfire, (BiblicalPerspectives,1998), p.131.

5John 12:32 (NIV)6Ellen G.White, Gospel Workers, (Review and Herald, 1920) p. 156-157.

7I Cor. 2:2 (NIV)

I IMAGINE A

DAY WHEN

ADVENTISTS

ARE KNOWN

FOR THEIR

LOVE FOR

JESUS RATHER

THAN

PRIMARILY

THEIR

SABBATH…

Big Gene and the present crisis CONTINUED FROM FRONT

Praying For YouCarolyn and I recently attended a “Praying For You” training session

on Relational Prayer Witnessing. We felt it was excellent! The concept issimple, Biblical and it works. Choose from one to three people you wantto see come to Christ. Call them and ask,“Is there anything in your lifethat I might pray for this week?” Pray daily for this need. Include in yourprayer (1) that Satan be bound from their lives; (2) that God would cre-ate in them a spiritual hunger; (3) that they would respond to the gospelof Christ; and (4) that God would save them by His sovereign grace.Then call them about once each week and ask them how things aregoing and how you can pray for them the coming week. For more infor-mation see: www.prayingforyou.org.

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FormerAdventist.com is a websitededicated to helping those strugglingwith Adventism to find truth, fellowship,and prayer support.

Central to the site is a live forum onwhich people can ask questions, talkabout their experiences and doubts, andreceive others’ support, input, and prayer.

The site also features first person sto-ries of many who have left the Adventistchurch.They vary from deeply personalaccounts to scholarly studies outlining thebiblical research of several who discov-ered the reality of the New Covenant.Email to the webmaster tells how the sto-

ries provide insight to those who are seek-ing to understand Adventism and affirma-tion to those who are struggling to leave.

Also available on the site are the week-ly Bible studies our Redlands, California,group of Former Adventist Fellowship isstudying. Included are studies on thebooks of Galatians and 1 Corinthians aswell as most of the book of Hebrews. Ourgroup is currently studying Hebrews, andthe studies on our website will be com-plete in just a few weeks since we post thestudies as we progress through the book.Following Hebrews we will begin to study2 Corinthians.

We have dedicated this site to onecause: lifting Jesus up. Every day we prayfor the Holy Spirit to be present.We askGod to bless each person who visits thesite with truth, support, peace, and assur-ance.We praise God for his faithfulness tous and for his promise to complete thework he begins in us. (Philippians 1:6)

“I am not ashamed of the gospel,because it is the power of God for the sal-vation of everyone who believes…”(Romans 1:16, NIV)

Following are examples of email sentto the webmaster at formeradventist.com.Pray for these seekers of truth.

“We are thrilled to find you guys. Mywife and I were both raised Adventist. Wehave been in turmoil for years with theseissues and had no one with whom to talkabout it from the Adventist perspective.Right now I know of maybe 10 Adventistslocally that are in the process of comingout. My wife’s cousin (an Adventist pastor)is leaving the church in search of anotherChristian ministry. He and his wife spentthe last five days with us studying andpraying about all the issues, and we feelwe must leave the SDA church. Thanks forthe web site; it is really helpful.”

“I just came across this web site today.I couldn’t have found it at a better time. Ididn’t go to church for a few years becauseI was recovering from a lot of guilt that Ihad been suffering from being anAdventist. I pretty much thought that Iwould not get into heaven no matter whatI did, so why go to church at all? Eventually[my husband and I] found our homechurch we are at now. We have been here

two years and it feels so much nicer thanthe Adventist church we had belonged to.

“I started running with an oldAdventist girlfriend of mine…I have beengoing to things with her and doing herstudies with her, thinking it wouldn’thurt.…I am falling back into those feel-ings of ‘what if they are right [and] I amgoing to lose my salvation?‘

I don’t know why I wrote all this. I justwanted to voice this to someone whoprobably knows where I am right now. TheAdventist church leaves very strong holdson a person once you have been a part ofthem.”

“What a shame you let liberalismcreep into your religious life and destroyyour relation with Jesus. You need toreview your thinking and follow Jesus ineverything, not just the Fords, theRatzlaffs, and other so-called theologians.

“I belong to the S.D.A. church but havealways had problems with some of the

things in the church [such as] E.G. White. Iwas raised as a Baptist and became amember of the S.D.A. church about 35years ago. Today I and my family went tothe church that I went to as a kid andenjoyed it very much. I feel guilty for feel-ing this way, but it was so good to hearthose songs of childhood again. I sit andwonder if I did wrong and [if] I got themark of the beast because I enjoy thischurch family so much.”

“Kindly advise if you know of any formerAdventists in [an African country]. I need tomake contact with someone/anyone whocan be of help to me as I have just starteddiscovering stuff, and I need to move on fromhere with more studies. Is it possible to sendme a link to start a good Bible Study with myfamily? I’ve been downloading stories fromformer Adventists and am intrigued andencouraged knowing that others have gonethrough what we are now experiencing.Weare still a long way off—only discovered allof this about 3 months ago.”

“I think you guys are a bunch of theDevil’s instruments out there to deceivethe world. I’m sure the only reason you leftthe church was because of your evilnatures that couldn’t let you fellowshipwith the church. You yourselves know thatyou are preparing the world for the timesof trouble that are spoken of, and I’m notscared of you devils.”

“I just ran across this web site, and thestories here have been so helpful to me.Having been raised Adventist all of my life,I can identify with many of the stories, andeven though I continue to respect[Adventist] beliefs and ways of worshipingGod, they continue to try and persuade meto accept their special ‘truth’. It leaves littleroom for relationships. Have any of youever been separated from your families asthe result of leaving Adventism?”

“I need support as I no longer callmyself an Adventist. I no longer believe inthe doctrines and teachings.”

penitent believers, so the priest in the daily min-istration sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice inthe holy place in the sinner’s behalf.

The blood of Christ, while it was to releasethe repentant sinner from the condemnation ofthe law, was not to cancel the sin; it would standon record in the sanctuary until the final atone-ment; so in the type the blood of the sin offeringremoved the sin from the penitent, but it restedin the sanctuary until the Day of Atonement.

In the great day of final award, the dead areto be “judged out of those things which werewritten in the books, according to their works.”Revelation 20:12. Then by virtue of the atoningblood of Christ, the sins of all the truly penitentwill be blotted from the books of heaven. Thusthe sanctuary will be... cleansed... from the recordof sin. In the type, this great work of atonement,or blotting out of sins, was represented by theservices of the Day of Atonement—the cleans-ing of the earthly sanctuary, which was accom-plished by the removal, by virtue of the blood ofthe sin offering, of the sins by which it had beenpolluted.29

Ellen White also offers this spectacular portraitof what she thinks happened in heaven in 1844:

I saw the Father rise from the throne, and in aflaming chariot go into the holy of holies withinthe veil, and sit down. Then Jesus rose from thethrone... Then a cloudy chariot, with wheels likeflaming fire, surrounded by angels, came towhere Jesus was. He stepped into the chariotand was borne to the holiest, where the Fathersat. There I beheld Jesus, a great High Priest,standing before the Father.30

That is, she appears to view God’s thronebefore 1844 in the heavenly Holy Place, eventhough the Shekinah glory dwelt above the arkwithin the Most Holy Place of the earthly taberna-cle, Lev. 16:2! If the details of the earthly structureare to be applied as strictly as she claims in

G etting right to the point, what ofDaniel 9:23:“It was necessary… forthe copies of the heavenly things tobe purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenlythings themselves with better sacrifices thanthese”? Does this pet, Seventh-day Adventist ref-erence prove its dogma of ridding God’s heavenlytemple of the accumulated pollution from therecords of the sins of God’s people? By no means!

The context makes it quite clear that a compari-son is being drawn between the earthly and theheavenly sanctuaries, specifically in terms of theirdedication before employment.There is no hint ineither the antitype or the type that the sanctuarylong in use, is being cleansed of the accumulatedsins of God’s people. In fact, the reference to remis-sion (forgiveness), 22b, is virtually a parenthesisanticipating 26-28. It does not dictate the meaningof either the typical or the antitypical cleansing.

Where did Christ go when he ascended to hisFather in Heaven?

What Ellen White Claims

Ellen White expresses her belief and its impor-tant theological implications with perfect clarity:

After His ascension, our Saviour was to beginHis work as our High Priest. Says Paul,“Christ isnot entered into the holy places made withhands, which are the figures of the true; but intoheaven itself, now to appear in the presence ofGod for us” Hebrews 9:24. As Christ’s ministrationwas to consist of two great divisions, each occu-pying a period of time and having a distinctiveplace in the heavenly sanctuary, so the typicalministration consisted of two divisions, the dailyand the yearly service, and to each a departmentof the tabernacle was devoted.

As Christ at His ascension appeared in thepresence of God to plead His blood in behalf of

Seventh-day Adventism’s dogma of an investigative

Cleansing the Heavenly Sanctuary

Part T H R E E

DR. FRED MAZZAFERRI

FormerAdventist.com

A website for former Adventists by LAM, Inc. board members Richard and Colleen Tinker

to established ritual customs. I was taught thatthe communion bread must be made out ofwhole-wheat flour and olive oil. I was almost scan-dalized when I visited a church that used whiteflour! It was instructive to me that a detailedrecipe was given in the old covenant law for thebread of the presence and how it should be laidout as an “everlasting covenant”10 In the newcovenant, however, no such details are given. New

covenant righteousness deals with heart issues,not rituals. Some argue over which way to bap-tize: forward, backward, three times, in the nameof Jesus only or in the name of the Father, Sonand Holy Spirit. We could even extend it to sprin-kling or immersion.11 Again, the most importantthing is our commitment to Christ, inviting Him tobe Lord and Master of our lives! Anytime ritualsbecome the important thing, the moral and ethi-cal nature of new covenant righteousness is com-promised.

Righteousness Beyond the Law—Found Only InChrist

New-covenant Christians have a much highermodel to pattern after than the old covenant law.There is nothing in the new covenant or “livingunder grace” that opens any door to willfully liv-ing in sin. Rather, new covenant morality is aboveand beyond that of the law. When we say thisthere are two considerations that must beemphasized lest we misunderstand the goodnews of the gospel. The first is motive. When liv-ing under the law there is a motive to try to per-fectly keep the law so that we can be accepted.This, as many of us can testify, is continually frus-trating if we take the law seriously, be it the bibli-cal law or the writings of Ellen G. White. There aremany who instruct others to “keep the Sabbath”when there are few--probably no one--who havekept it according to the biblical law, let alone EllenWhite’s numerous laws regarding Sabbath keep-ing.12 However, the new covenant motive is differ-

ent. Our sanctified living is not done from themotive of trying to be good enough to be accept-ed. Rather, it springs from the fact of acceptance!We live like sons and daughters of God becausethat is who we are! Our goal is to live like the kindof person we now are in Christ!

The second consideration we must understandis that new covenant righteousness is found onlyin Christ! We look to Him and Him alone as ourRepresentative and Substitute! If we are Christ’sthen we, with the Apostle Paul may say,

More than that, I count all things to be loss inview of the surpassing value of knowing ChristJesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the lossof all things, and count them but rubbish so thatI may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, nothaving a righteousness of my own derived fromthe Law, but that which is through faith in Christ,the righteousness which comes from God on thebasis of faith, Phil. 3:8-9

Hopefully, we have answered the questionsregarding the “righteousness of the law” for thesincere seekers of truth. We believe that the NewTestament teaches that the law came to a func-tional end with Christ. Now we have moral andethical principles above and beyond that of thelaw. We have life in the Spirit that empowers us tofollow after the example of Christ. We can by faithclaim Christ’s righteousness which far surpassesthe righteousness of the law. Yes, we can entertrue rest in Christ, the rest that remains for thosewho believe.

Endnotes1See Riggle,The Sabbath and the Lord’s Day, p. 51-61 for the bibli-cal support for this statement.

2See Mark 1:25.

3See Lev. 15:19–25.

4John 11:11.

5Acts 10, 11; Rom. 14:14.

6See Alan Watson, Jesus and the Law [University of Georgia Press,1996] for many more examples.

7John 9:6.

8Note the stress on “working”in John 5:17; 9:3–6.

9See Matt. 28:18–20.

10Lev. 24:5–8.

11As a pastor I have always baptized by immersion as I think thisis the biblical model and more fully follows the symbol of thereality.We must, however, keep ritual in its place and not allow itto take precedence over the ethical and moral commitment ofthe person being baptized.

12See Ratzlaff, Sabbath in Crisis, pp. 57–59; 306–309.

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understanding its heavenly reality, she may have ahuge problem here, unless God moved from theMost Holy Place to the Holy Place before 1844.Even her statement that in Isa. 6:1-7 Isaiah viewedGod’s glory enthroned in the temple’s Most HolyPlace is of little help in clarifying where shethought his throne was before Calvary, for sheclearly identifies this temple as both the earthy31

and the heavenly!32

At very least, then, the clear inference is thatshe thought God moved from the Most HolyPlace to the Holy Place of his sanctuary as soon asChrist rose and returned to his home in heaven.

Ellen White also has much more to say aboutChrist’s actual work in heaven’s Most Holy Place:

In the typical service only those who hadcome before God with confession and repen-tance, and whose sins, through the blood of thesin offering, were transferred to the sanctuaryhad a part in the service of the Day ofAtonement. So in the great day of final atone-ment and investigative judgment the only casesconsidered are those of the professed people ofGod. The judgment of the wicked is a distinctand separate work, and takes place at a laterperiod.“Judgment must begin at the householdof God…” 1 Peter 4:17.

The books of record in heaven…, are to deter-mine the decisions of the judgment. Says theprophet Daniel:“The judgment was set, and thebooks were opened”The Revelator, describingthe same scene, adds:“Another book wasopened, which is the book of life: and the deadwere judged out of those things which werewritten in the books, according to their works”Revelation 20:12.33

She quotes several references in support of herconfident assertion that the Book of Life recordsthe names of all of those who have ever enteredGod’s sacred service,34 that the book of remem-brance details all of their good deeds,35 and thathuman sins are also listed.36 She then continues:

As the books of record are opened in thejudgment, the lives of all who have believed onJesus come in review before God. Beginning withthose who first lived upon the earth, ourAdvocate presents the cases of each successivegeneration, and closes with the living. Everyname is mentioned, every case investigated.

Names are accepted, names rejected. When anyhave sins remaining upon the books of record,unrepented of and unforgiven, their names willbe blotted out of the book of life, and the recordof their good deeds will be erased from the bookof God’s remembrance. The Lord declared toMoses:“Whosoever hath sinned against Me, himwill I blot out of My book.” Exodus 32:33. Andsays the prophet Ezekiel:“When the righteousturneth away from his righteousness, and com-mitteth iniquity,… [sic] all his righteousness thathe hath done shall not be mentioned.” Ezekiel18:24.

All who have truly repented of sin, and byfaith claimed the blood of Christ as their atoningsacrifice, have had pardon entered against theirnames in the books of heaven; as they havebecome partakers of the righteousness of Christ,and their characters are found to be in harmonywith the law of God, their sins will be blotted out,and they themselves will be accounted worthy ofeternal life. The Lord declares, by the prophetIsaiah:“I, even I, am He that blotteth out thytransgressions for Mine own sake, and will notremember thy sins,” Isaiah 43:25. Said Jesus:“Hethat overcometh, the same shall be clothed inwhite raiment; and I will not blot out his nameout of the book of life, but will confess his namebefore My Father, and before His angels.”“Whosoever… shall confess Me before men, himwill I confess also before My Father which is inheaven. But whosoever shall deny Me beforemen, him will I also deny before My Father whichis in heaven.” Revelation 3:5; Matthew 10:32, 33.37

It is beyond the bounds of this brief study toassess all of Ellen White’s teachings on the close ofthe Investigative Judgment;38 but a final word isapropos. Its work, with the blotting out of sins, is

accomplished before the second advent of theLord. Since the dead are to be judged out of thethings written in the books, it is impossible thatthe sins of men should be blotted out until afterthe judgment at which their cases are to beinvestigated. But the apostle Peter distinctlystates that the sins of believers will be blottedout “when the times of refreshing shall comefrom the presence of the Lord; and He shall sendJesus Christ.” Acts 3:19, 20. When the investiga-tive judgment closes, Christ will come…39

[Ellen White] appears

to view God’s throne

before 1844 in the

heavenly Holy Place,

even though the

Shekinah glory dwelt

above the ark within

the Most Holy Place of

the earthly tabernacle.

judgment through Ellen White’s eyes:

New-covenant Christians have a

much higher model to pattern

after than the old covenant law.

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What the Word of God States

Where Christ Went in Returning to his Father

Our first quest is the location of God’s throne.However, the humility and wisdom of Solomonare crucial prerequisites to analysis:“The heavens,even the highest heaven, cannot contain you.How much less this temple I have built!”, 1 Ki. 8:27.Moreover, God’s throne can be mobile, Eze. 1Regardless, whatever its reality, Scripture oftenspeaks of God’s throne in terms of the heavenlytemple, as in Ps. 11:4; Rev. 16:17. Specifically, he is“enthroned between the cherubim”,40 a manifestreference to the earthly type in Ex. 25:22.41 In starkcontrast, nowhere does it hint that his throne isever within any Holy Place of his temple above.Likewise, if the earthly sanctuary does teach usanything, it confirms that, whatever may be theheavenly reality of its Most Holy Place, there andthere alone is the throne of him whom sinfulhumanity cannot approach without a Mediator.

Beyond quibble, it follows that, when the resur-rected Christ ascended to heaven, he returned tothat “Most Holy Place”. For the NT repeatedlystates that,“after he had provided purification forsins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majestyin heaven?’42 In fact, it is specifically as our HighPriest that Christ “sat down at the right hand ofthe throne of the Majesty in heaven, and... servesin the sanctuary the true tabernacle set up by theLord, not by man”, Heb. 8:1f. There he is “interced-ing for us”, Ro. 8:34. And there “he waits for hisenemies to be made his footstool,” Heb. 10:13.

Even if Christ’s sitting down is read as inaugu-ration, as when a delegate is seated at a confer-ence, nothing here even remotely hints that hedid anything other than return to heaven to com-mence his High-priestly service in whatever pass-es for its Most Holy Place. In fact, Seventh-dayAdventism’s efforts to read some Holy-place serv-ice in such references is just as sterile as a Sunday-keeper quoting Acts 20:7,1 Cor. 16:2 or Rev. l:10against regular worship on the seventh-daySabbath!43

But by no means does the decisive evidenceend there. Heb. 6:19 assures us that our hope“enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered...,having become a high priest forever”, NASB. Thedecisive phrase within the veil makes patent refer-ence to the heavenly sanctuary. But which curtaindoes the author have in mind, the outer or theinner? The most credible answer comes inanswering another: How would the initial recipi-

ents of this epistle have grasped these words?There is only one sure answer. They would haverecognized them as a specific OT quotation fromthe Septuagint.

Of more than 40 such quotations in the epistle,the vast majority come from this Greek transla-tion, often precisely or almost so, rather than fromthe Hebrew original. This is no place to subject mylay readers to the totally unfamiliar Greek text ofScripture. But this point is so important that per-haps I can be pardoned for this single, fleetingcomparison, with its relative clarity in lay eyes:

εισ το αγιον εσωτερον του καταπετασµατοσLev. 16:2, Septuagint;

εισ το εσωτερον του καταπετασµατοσHeb. 6:19.

There can be no quibble whatever that Lev.16:2 has the Most Holy Place specifically in mind.It is no surprise, then, that the vast majority ofcommentators conclude that the apostle hasheaven’s inner sanctum, not some mere HolyPlace, likewise in mind in his close citation assur-ing his flock that “Jesus... has entered on ourbehalf”, Heb. 6:20. Seventh-day Adventism’s apolo-gist G. W. Rice could not dissent more, and hisobjections are certainly well worth assessing.However, here I will not burden my lay readerswith more than a selection of the higher points ofmy detailed critique, which I relegate to a distantTechnical Excursus, where those who wish mayignore it completely.

Above all, the adverb esoteron, used here as apreposition, is very rare, even in the Septuagint. Itappears a meager six times, 44 most often withkatapetasma,45 the noun for curtain. In strikingcontrast, the preposition en, which easily offersthe identical sense within, occurs around 2,000times! Can there be even the slightest doubt,then, how the apostle’s highly OT-literate flockheard him as he applied esoteron as a prepositionto the noun katapetasma, especially when it is notused as a preposition anywhere else in the entireNT? None at all! They would most certainly havegrasped that he was referring to the inner sanc-tum, not merely some Holy Place, of the heavenlysanctuary.

Nor does the fact that the curtain here has nonumeral, unlike 9:3, introduce any doubt. For thecurtain is likewise unnumbered in 10:20. Therethe extremely striking metaphor of Christ’s sacrifi-cial body as a curtain before ta hagia is bestunderstood in terms of the tearing in two of the

Righteousness Beyond the Law—New TestamentAgreement

Some have defined righteousness as “perfectobedience to the law.”This may be true for oldcovenant righteousness, but it falls far below thatpresented in the new covenant. Note how the fol-lowing New Testament references associate lawand righteousness.

But now apart from the Law the righteousnessof God has been manifested, being witnessed bythe Law and the Prophets, Rom. 3:21. For thepromise to Abraham or to his descendants thathe would be heir of the world was not throughthe Law, but through the righteousness of faith.For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith ismade void and the promise is nullified; Rom. 4:13-14. What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who didnot pursue righteousness, attained righteousness,even the righteousness which is by faith; butIsrael, pursuing a law of righteousness, did notarrive at that law. Rom. 9:30-31. For not knowingabout God’s righteousness and seeking to estab-lish their own, they did not subject themselves tothe righteousness of God. For Christ is the end ofthe law for righteousness to everyone whobelieves. Rom. 10:3-4.“I do not nullify the grace ofGod, for if righteousness comes through the Law,then Christ died needlessly.” Gal. 2:21.You have

been severed from Christ, you who are seeking tobe justified by law; you have fallen from grace.Gal. 5:4. …and may be found in Him, not having arighteousness of my own derived from the Law,but that which is through faith in Christ, the right-eousness which comes from God on the basis offaith. Phil. 3:9.

Personal IllustrationsWhen I was a seminary student I worked nights

at the YMCA in Benton Harbor, Mich. About mid-night one cold winter night, I was crossing thestreet with the manager of the YMCA. We came toan intersection where the facing light was red.There were no cars in sight in any direction.However, I, a good law keeper, stood there waiting

for the light to turn green. Suddenly, I realized myfriend was walking into the red light. He said tome,“You are still under law. I am under grace.”While his statement may not fully apply, neverthe-less it was instructive. The law of red and greenlights was designed to prevent accidents. Howeverin our case there was no chance to get hit by apassing car as none was in sight. It was thereforeappropriate to violate the letter of the law as longas it did not violate the principle of safety—aslong as no legalistic cops were watching!

The other day I was at the busy post office get-ting LAM’s mail. A mother was there with twosmall girls. As they approached the parking lotshe said,“Now you must take Mommy’s hand asthere are many cars here.”This was a very goodlaw for two little girls; however, don’t put your 16year old boy under the same law! Rather, as soonas he is old enough, teach the principle of “safetyfirst”! That principle will serve him well the rest ofhis life no matter what the circumstances.

I believe this is the way we should consider theold covenant laws. They are holy, just and goodfor the conditions and people to whom they weregiven. Now, however, life in the Spirit moves us tolive beyond the letter of the law to follow theprinciples taught by Christ and written on ourheart by the Holy Spirit. We are no longer chil-dren; we are sons and daughters of God.

Biblical TeachingBut before faith came, we were kept in cus-

tody under the law, being shut up to the faithwhich was later to be revealed. Therefore the Lawhas become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so thatwe may be justified by faith. But now that faithhas come, we are no longer under a tutor. For youare all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.Gal. 3:23-26; But when the fullness of the timecame, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman,born under the Law, so that He might redeemthose who were under the Law, that we mightreceive the adoption as sons. Gal. 4:4-5. But nowthat you have come to know God, or rather to beknown by God, how is it that you turn back againto the weak and worthless elemental things, towhich you desire to be enslaved all over again?You observe days and months and seasons andyears. I fear for you, that perhaps I have laboredover you in vain. Gal. 4:9-11

Righteousness Beyond the Law—Moral vs.Ritual

New covenant Christians must be diligenthere. It is human nature to give moral significance

Beyond quibble, it

follows that, when the

resurrected Christ

ascended to heaven, he

returned to that “Most

Holy Place”. For the NT

repeatedly states that,

“after he had provided

purification for sins, he

sat down at the right

hand of the Majesty

in heaven.”

We are no longer children, we are

sons and daughters of God.

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inner curtain of the earthly temple the momenthe died. In fact, the noun katapetasma appearsoutside the epistle to the Hebrews when the syn-optic Gospels report this detail, and then entirelyalone!46 However, one clear, almost passing, refer-ence hardly excuses me from evaluating by farthe paramount evidence in the Book of Hebrews,the protracted, specific comparison between theearthly and heavenly sanctuary services, 8-10. Butfirst, the entire scene is very well set by an equallycompelling comparison, albeit general, betweenChrist’s heavenly priesthood and the earthly type.

A Priest Forever in the Order of Meichizedek

The serious student of typology in the Book ofHebrews is warned from the very start that thereis no point-by-point likeness between the type,Jesus our High Priest, and the antitype, the earthlypriests, even their high-priestly head. The latter,like Aaron, 5:4, were Levites, 7:5; the former is ‘“apriest forever, in the order of Melchizedek”’, 5:6 47

of the tribe of Judah, 7:13f. The latter were bothsinful, 5:2f, and mortal, 7:23; the former is both sin-less, 26-28, and immortal, 3, 16f., 21, 24f. But aboveall, the earthly priests’ constant round of daily andyearly sacrifices was no final solution to the sinproblem.48 In starkest contrast, Christ’s once-for-allself-sacrifice49 is the all-sufficient solution.50

Such contrasts hardly hint that, in its specifictypology, the epistle will reveal any close analogybetween the heavenly sanctuary and its earthlyshadow, in which these respective ministries center.

Ta Hagia

To read the very esteemed NIV, there is noquibble where Jesus went in returning to heaven:“he entered the Most Holy Place”, Heb. 9:12.Compare the GNB. However, both the RSV and its“off-spring” the NRSV say “the Holy Place”, like theNASB, while the NEB simply has “the sanctuary”.

Such confusion obtains through uncertaintyover the import of ta hagia, the Greek adjectiveemployed as a plural noun, which Jesus enteredupon his Ascension. While it is completely impos-sible to do the important subject full justicehere,51 the following survey should suffice for layreaders. This “noun” first appears in 8:2 definingthe sphere of service of our High Priest. Here itequates with the true tabernacle (skene = tent), incontrast to the earthly tabernacle, exactly as in9:24. This makes far better sense if ta hagiadenotes heaven’s entire temple instead of its Holy

Place or Most Holy Place, if this temple has morethan a single “apartment”. Indeed, as it was heavenitself which Christ entered, 24f, there is no hint ofany specific Holy-place or Most-holy-place min-istry in 8:1f. Moreover, as Jesus’ service follows hisseating beside his Father, 8:1, the notion of mov-ing from one room to another, or starting a newphase of service, at any later time is foreign to theentire book.

On one hand, the until of 1:13, the since thattime of 10:13 and the dynamics of 9:23-28 allimply that our High Priest never leaves hisFather’s presence once in heaven. Compare theforceful once for all in 9:12, with precisely thesame singular nuance as in 7:27 and 10:10.Indeed, he entered heaven specifically “to appearfor us in God’s presence”, 9:24. On the other, nowthat access to ta hagia has been revealed, 9:8, it isnot Christ our great High Priest alone whom weapproach freely and confidently, but God theheavenly Father himself, 7:19, 25; 10:22, seatedupon his supreme throne of grace, 4:16.

The “noun” ta hagia appears above all in 9, withpatent typological overtones. In its only singularoccurrence (hagion) in the entire book, 1, it clearlydenotes the whole wilderness sanctuary treatedin the remainder of the passage to 10. This isdescribed quite uniquely as “a tent..., the firstone,... called the Holy Place [hagia]”, 2, togetherwith “a tent called the Holy of Holies” [hagia ofhagia], NRSV. Such specific expressions have theirunmistakable genesis in the Septuagint. Forexample, within the Septuagint, skene repeatedlydesignates the composite sanctuary especially inExodus, Leviticus and Numbers. Conversely, how-ever, skene is never numbered in the Septuagintas it is in Heb. 9. Indeed, Ex. 26:6 specificallydeclares that “the tabernacle [skene] is a unit?”Compare 11.

The apostle seems to be rather more faithful tohis sources with his employment of hagion. For inEx. 26:33 the inner curtain serves as a partition‘“between the Holy Place [hagion] and the MostHoly Place of [hagion of hagia]”’ (my translation).However, it is not until 1 Ki. 8:8 that at last we findthe Holy Place labeled ta hagia, the room in frontof dabir, which transliterates the Hebrew noun forthe inner sanctum of Solomon’s temple. Likewise,there is no certain description of the Most HolyPlace as hagia of hagia, as in Heb. 9:3, until 1 Ki.8:6, where it is explicitly equated with dabir. ‘Withthe wilderness skënë in specific view, like the Bookof Hebrews, the Septuagint applies the unquali-fied adjective hagion quite indiscriminately, in the

I say to you that everyone who is angry with hisbrother shall be guilty before the court; andwhoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-noth-ing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court;and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guiltyenough to go into the fiery hell.” Mt. 5:21-22

Here Jesus refers to the sixth commandment.This is not an exact quote because “shall be guiltyto the court” is not in the O. T. Scripture yet isappropriate and was true in Jewish law. Note howJesus modifies and expands this moral law byshowing that the evil passions of anger and

angry, insulting talk are sins that when committedbring guilt worthy of fiery hell.

In Matt. 5:27, 28 Jesus does the same thingwith the seventh commandment. He modifiesand expands the act of adultery to include eventhe look and thought of lust.

Of special interest is Matt. 5:33–37 where Jesusrefers to the law of vows found in Num. 30:2;Deut. 23:21–23. I list this in the “moral law” sectionbecause making a vow (promise) to God is cer-tainly a moral act and should be seen as anexpansion of “You shall not bear false witnessagainst your neighbor” which, by itself, is a verynarrow law.

“Again, you have heard that the ancients weretold, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall ful-fill your vows to the Lord.’“But I say to you, makeno oath at all, either by heaven, for it is thethrone of God, or by the earth, for it is the foot-stool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is the cityof the great King.“Nor shall you make an oath byyour head, for you cannot make one hair whiteor black.“But let your statement be,‘Yes, yes’ or‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil. Mt.5:33-37

Granted, the Jews of Jesus’ day were abusingvows; however, a careful reading of the abovestatement compared with the Old Testament lawindicates that Jesus is condemning somethingpermitted, even approved, in the Law. But how didhe change it? He modified it and expanded it in

such a way that it would correct the abuse theJews were making of vows which were within theletter of the Mosaic Code.

In Matt. 5:43–48 Jesus said,“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall

love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’“But Isay to you, love your enemies and pray for thosewho persecute you, so that you may be sons ofyour Father who is in heaven; for He causes Hissun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendsrain on the righteous and the unrighteous.“For ifyou love those who love you, what reward doyou have? Do not even the tax collectors do thesame? “If you greet only your brothers, whatmore are you doing than others? Do not eventhe Gentiles do the same? “Therefore you are tobe perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

While Scripture does not say,“hate yourenemy,” we should not be too quick to condemnthe Jewish leaders for teaching this, for it could beimplied from other portions of the law. There aremany statements in the law that show a distinc-tion in the moral and ethical nature of how anIsraelite was to treat a fellow Israelite comparedto how he was to treat a foreigner. For example,

You shall not charge interest to your country-men: interest on money, food, or anything thatmay be loaned at interest. You may charge inter-est to a foreigner, but to your countrymen youshall not charge interest… Deut. 23:19, 20

Therefore, when Jesus speaks about loving ourenemies, He modifies and expands the Mosaicmoral law beyond ethnic boundaries to include(foreign) enemies who persecute us!

It may be of interest to many of our readershow Ellen White interpreted this verse (loving ourneighbors) as she was “shown by God” in vision.See http://www.ratzlaf.com/downloads.htm.

While there are many other examples thatcould be given, we can now make a generalizedsummary of Christ’s attitude toward the morallaws in the Mosaic Code.

1. Jesus modified and expanded the morallaws of the Old Testament, raising their moral andethical considerations beyond that of the writtenlaw.

2. Jesus modified and expanded the morallaws of the Old Testament, changing them fromlegal rules to moral and ethical principles.

3. Jesus modified and expanded the scope ofthe moral laws of the Old Testament, movingthem beyond laws for Israel alone to ethical andmoral principles for every nation, tongue, andpeople.9

The serious student of

typology in the Book of

Hebrews is warned

from the very start that

there is no point-by-

point likeness between

the type, Jesus our High

Priest, and the anti-

type, the earthly

priests, even their high-

priestly head.

Jesus modified and expanded the

moral laws of the Old Testament

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singular, to both its Holy Place, as in Ex. 26:33, andits Most Holy Place, as in Lev. i6:2. However, some30 relevant times, it refers to the full skënë, as inEx. 30:13; 36:3; Lev. 4:6; Nu. 3:3!. Nu. 4:16 evenequates the whole skënë and the hagion.Unqualified, hagia also means the full sanctuarysome 15 relevant times, as in Ex. 36:1, 8; Lev. 10:4;19:30; Nu. 3:28; 8:19. There are no clear cases of itdenoting either the Holy or the Most Holy Place.So no careful exegete will appeal to theSeptuagint to claim that ta hagia denotes heav-en’s Most Holy Place. If the Septuagint mostmoves him, he will opt for the full temple. If theapostle’s voice in Heb. 9:2 speaks loudest to him,his vote will go to what passes there for somemere Holy Place.

However, an astute exegete will suspend alljudgment till the apostle is through. Havingsketched the OT Holy and Most Holy Places, heturns to their services. The first, used day after day,is still called the first tent, 8, while the second,used only once a year, is still called the second(tent), 7.

It is crucial to our appreciation of Christ’sHigh-priestly ministry, then, to grasp the spiritualintent of the earthly services surveyed in 8-10.The chief question is, ‘What does the apostlemean by ta hagia and first skene in 8? Clearly, tahagia is the heavenly temple, but in what form?Leaving the crucial, broader context of theremainder of the chapter aside for now, thisdepends upon whether he still means by thefirst skene