Monday, October 28, 2013

"Atonement: Purification Offering"

Sabbath School Today
With the 1888 Message Dynamic
The Sanctuary
Lesson 5: "Atonement: Purification Offering"
Our purpose is not to pass over the same ground that the lesson study has adequately covered regarding the daily sacrifices performed in the ancient tabernacle. Rather, our objective is to bring to bear the practical application of the sin offering as it is focused in the 1888 message.
    _____________________________________ 
Christ is the Sin-bearer. He takes the sin and guilt of the race as the Lamb of God. He cancels our debt. Ellen G. White writes: "His garment of human flesh was rent as He hung on the cross, the sin-bearer of the race. ... He has qualified Himself to be not only man's representative, but his advocate, so that every soul, if he will, may say, I have a Friend at court." [1] "The guilt of every descendant of Adam of every age was pressing upon His [Christ's] heart ... He, the sin-bearer, endures judicial punishment for iniquity and becomes sin itself for man." [2]
Justice is certain. God cannot abrogate that law. Sin brings its own penalty--death. Not the cessation of life which we now call "death" (the Bible calls that "sleep"). The real thing is the "second death," the total conscious end of all hope, the total realization of ultimate condemnation. Christ has met that claim of justice: He has paid the penalty for that common sin of humanity in His death on His cross. He has borne the total guilt for the world. Therefore there can be no further penalty of eternal death for any sinner unless he chooses to reject the forgiveness given him by the great Sin-bearer.
Romans 3:19-25 tells us clearly that our guilt is, in reality, that of murdering the Son of God. "All the world may become guilty before God." "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." And Jesus reminds us how this is true: whatsoever "ye have done unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me" (Matt. 25:40). And Isaiah 53:6 tells us that the Lord (the Father!) has laid all this iniquity upon Christ our sin-bearer. You and I are convicted sinners (and all that that implies) pardoned, set free, acquitted--yes!
Christ indeed redeemed the entire human race by His sacrifice, "abolished [the second] death," uprooted the fear that haunts mankind, has "drawn the sting of all the powers ranged against us," chained Satan and his evil "principalities" to His triumphal chariot in His victory procession, cancelled the "handwritten" record of our trespasses which we ourselves had signed as our indebtedness to be paid for by our own second death, and reversed the "condemnation" that came on "all men" in Adam, pronouncing on "all men" a glorious "verdict of acquittal."
The love (agape) of God in Christ our Substitute convicts of sin. This work of the Holy Spirit draws us to confess and forsake our sin. "Laying our hands" on the Sacrifice we confess responsibility for the murder of the Son of God.
The real problem is not particularized "sins," but the sin of sins--taking part at Calvary. You begin to realize that the sin of somebody else (bad as it may be!) would be your sin, but for the grace of a Saviour. And before heaven's sensitive x-ray vision of your heart-baggage, you see at last that the sin of Calvary is in your heart. The sin of the world is your sin (that's the case of all of us). By nature you are innately no better than anyone else; you share the world's guilt. You are a part of a lost human family that desperately needs to be saved. But the Good News gets on stage now--you have a Saviour, and you can begin to share with Him a repentance for the sins of the world.
Sin can never be truly forgiven in an experiential way until "we confess our sins" (1 John 1:9). But if we have never learned what our sin really is, how can we truly "confess" it? Multitudes stumble along never knowing true forgiveness. They have to rack their brains to think of something bad enough to "confess." So, ugly realities keep popping up and they find besetting sin continually transmuted into cherished sin. [3] A thousand temptations do not equal even one sin unless we cherish them. Having a sinful nature is not sin; yielding to it is.
We cannot cherish one sin if the heart appreciates the length, and breadth, and depth, and height of the love that led the Son of God to go to hell to find us there. That is what "believing" is defined to be in John 3:16. Say "No!" to temptation, a thousand times a day if necessary. Let the Good News set you free in glorious liberty. Christ "was in all points tempted like as [you] are, yet without sin" (Heb.4:15), and even though you are tempted you too may overcome "even as [He] also overcame" (Rev. 3:21). And that's today; you don't need to wait until your deathbed. Like Christ, you will learn instantaneously to tell the devil, "Get thee behind me!"
Faith appreciates what it the cost the Son to purchase forgiveness.Agape constrains the sinner's heart to let the blood of Christ cleanse and purify it from sin.
Our favorite text for forgiveness is 1 John 1:9: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." That text is often misunderstood as a virtual license to go on sinning. Just keep on sinning, confessing your sins, and you'll keep on being forgiven. But what is Bible forgiveness? Is it merely pardon that justifies sin? No, the Greek word in this verse for "forgive" means to take away sin, here and now, to do the "washing" with the "blood of Christ" (Rev. 1:5). Is anything more precious than such cleansing?
We read in 1 John 4:8 that "God is agape." And what is agape? Verse 9 tells us it is the motivation that led the Father to give His only begotten Son to die for us "that we might live through Him." It is a special kind of love that is willing to die the second death so that we might live eternal life. It is a love that is willing to go to hell so that we might go to heaven. It is a love that chooses to die on a cross rather than indulge self. If "God is agape," and if Jesus is the Son of God, then in His incarnation Jesus is agape in human flesh. When He came to earth He laid aside all the prerogatives of divinity, but He could not empty Himself of agape. And that's why He chose not to sin--He chose a cross instead.
But there are counterfeits! How can we tell the difference? Why are so many preaching "love, love, love," yet the listeners sense no need to overcome sin itself? There's nothing wrong with love itself if we know the right idea of it when the Bible says "God is love." We assume our natural egocentric human idea. It's impossible for an honest heart to hear, to understand, to contemplate, to "survey" thatagape displayed in the "wondrous cross," and then go on in captivity to sin.
Sin is recorded in the heavenly sanctuary. God takes responsibility for the removal of sin in the hour of His judgment. The sinner's concern is for the honor of God in His need for vindication. We are His witnesses before the universe of the saving and delivering power of the blood. The Good News is, when God wins His case, we are included in it.
--Paul E. Penno
Endnotes:
[1] "Caiaphas," The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, June 12, 1900.
[2] The Story of Redemption, p. 225.
[3] A "besetting sin" is one that dogs our footsteps even after we think we're converted. It tries to drag us back into the abyss of guilt. The dictionary defines "beset" as "to attack from all sides; harass or besiege; to surround or hem in." It's not the sin you cherish; it's the one outside your will that tries to hang on like a leech. It's the clamor of our sinful flesh banging on the heart's door again. If you open the door even a crack, you invite it to enter and become a "cherished sin." So, ugly realities keep popping up and they find besetting sin continually transmuted into cherished sin. A thousand temptations do not equal even one sin unless we cherish them. Having a sinful nature is not sin; yielding to it is.
Note: “Sabbath School Today” and Pastor Paul Penno’s video of this lesson are on the Internet at: http://1888mpm.org
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Friday, October 25, 2013

“Lessons From the Sanctuary”

Fourth Quarter 2013 Adult Sabbath School Lessons
“Lessons From the Sanctuary”
For the week of October 26, 2013

This week's lesson focuses on the Lord's instruction to Moses when He said "to let them build a sanctuary for Me that I might dwell among them" Exodus 25:8.
 
Do you know what it's like when you're trying to take a picture of, say, a house, and you can't get the whole picture in your view finder until you back up?
 
In our Insights discussion today, we're going to take a few steps back to get some perspective on the sanctuary.
 
The teacher’s quarterly states that after studying this lesson, “the student will comprehend God’s beauty, truth, and goodness in the sanctuary and will “choose to experience not only ‘sanctuary prayer’ but ‘sanctuary life.’ “
 
The sanctuary message not only conveys beauty, truth, and goodness, it is the reason for the existence of the Seventh-day Adventist movement. The sanctuary doctrine reveals that sin will be eradicated from the universe once and for all.  Throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity, Christ will tabernacle with us. Where we now see in a mirror, then we will see face to face.

The sanctuary message explains how this re-uniting will take place.

Ever since the Adam and Eve forfeited their right to live in Eden, the first sanctuary on earth, Christ has been seeking to re-gain fellowship with His bride. It isn't complicated. Christ wants to live with us. He desires our companionship and fellowship. We were created in His image. We are His family. The sanctuary gives hope that someday -- hopefully soon -- Christ will again dwell with His people, His bride, enjoying the open, face to face communication that freedom from sin brings.

For a broader perspective on this topic, I’ve selected the Postlogue to his book, And Then Shall the Sanctuary Be Cleansed, by Donald K. Short, which I believe succinctly embraces this larger view of the sanctuary and the relevance of its message for the church today:
 
“The travail and the distress, the heartbreak and anguish that this generation has caused the Divine Bridegroom, must be understood by the bride before the divine Suitor can be sure she really wants Him and is sincere about getting married. She will have to sense that her insult to the Heavenly Lover is the supreme sin of all time. This will bring to her consciousness the terrible truth that her last sin is greater than her first sin at the cross.
 
“For centuries vivid verbal portraits of the agony at the cross have been painted. Artists have added their graphic talents, producing pictures to impress the eye. But all these scenes have been only a feeble concept to portray Christ’s suffering and death, scarcely piercing our conscience so that our repentance remains but the shadow of the real. The repentance of the ages is yet future, awaiting the bride’s understanding and conviction. It is this repentance that will make the atonement effective to the sin-plagued heart of humanity.
 
“God can free us from our hidden moral deformities only in proportion to our internal conviction of them. Our escape from sin can be no greater than our seeing sin for what it is and hating it enough to cease sinning. Repentance can only be as deep and sincere as the conviction which grips us.
 
“We sin because we are tempted and drawn away by our own lusts (James 1:14). These sinful desires disguise themselves as thoroughly as the serpent hid his motives in the garden of Eden. The lustful inward whisper of pleasure and happiness leads us to follow the road to destruction. Only conviction can save us from the subtle lies of these egocentric desires. Conviction becomes the reality. Our petty, selfish, disgusting aspirations are unveiled in the light from the cross. In that light the things which once appeared sweet and full of promise become loathsome and repulsive.
 
“The depth of this conviction is the depth of our repentance and this depth measures our conversion and freedom from sin. This conviction overcomes the temptation to continually measure what is wrong with certain desires and ambitions, and instead truth and love become the criterion and driving force. It is not enough to flagellate ourselves with the sentiment that it was our personal sins that crucified Jesus. Sorrow emanating from such emotion is at best only typical, only a shadow. Sympathy for His suffering can hide an unconscious inward glee that He was the one to suffer and we escaped.
 
“The unveiled message of Calvary is that Christ’s death is a death to sin. We will fully understand how our sin caused our Lord’s death when we have tasted from the same cup and been baptized with the same baptism. When we die that death our appreciation will be the measure of our repentance and our conviction and our total life experience.
 
“The resurrection of the Saviour is a pledge that the terrible darkness and anguish that beat upon the consciousness of all humanity are not irreversible. Those who understand the promise, “then shall the sanctuary be cleansed,” will understand its implementation, and forsaking all others accept the Bridegroom for eternity. The despair and anguish of their convictions provide the heat that purifies the gold and seals the betrothal.
 
“It is then that we overcome even as He also overcame. The cross will have done its work for all eternity.”

-Patti Guthrie

Friday, October 18, 2013

Sacrifice: “Living on the Altar”

Fourth Quarter 2013 Adult Sabbath School Lessons
“Living on the Altar”
For the week of October 19, 2013

In Romans 12:1, Paul invites us to become living sacrifices.  Let us read the text,


“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”

Most animal sacrifices take place on an altar, and are too dreadful to consider even occasionally, let alone on a daily basis.  However, as gruesome as an animal sacrifice may seem, we modern readers need to become familiar with the old testament sacrificial system, as it accurately symbolizes various aspects of Christ’s sacrificial death on our behalf. The Greek word for ‘sacrifice’ or ‘victim’ is thusia: which is the noun form.  The verb form is thuo, which means to kill by fire or immolate, slay or slaughter.  In addition, the word for ‘living’ in Greek is zao, it is the root word for zoe, the word used for eternal life. But, Paul uses another word for life in relation to Sin, bios.  To become a living sacrifice as Paul suggests, these opposing ideas must be reconciled in our minds. A cursory reading of our lesson’s memory text (stated above) can elicit the question, how can we live eternally while at the same time die daily? God’s principle of living as a sacrifice, is stated in Galatians, and says, “I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Gal 2:20).

Let us consider what this would mean if someone were the literal sacrifice.  Once on the altar, we’d hope they would stay there until self was consumed.  But unfortunately, we have all seen self rise in those we thought were beyond that level of selfishness, such as when Moses struck the rock twice, or when King David took Bathsheba or how about when Martha had anxious care and reported her sister Mary to Jesus.  Since we are to die to self daily, when we resist, others are negatively impacted, as is obvious from our previous examples.  This reminds me of the warning Jesus gave regarding the choice to be sacrificed, "If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire" (Matt. 18:8, NKJV).  In other words, if self rises through the members of your body cut them off and discard them. Jesus was not, of course, recommending amputation, but was using imagery to emphasize the importance of separation from sin.  Instead of self-amputation, what the Lord requires of us is willingness to allow Him to remove objectionable selfish traits of character, much as a surgeon would, with skill and precision. Paul calls this our reasonable service.

It is through this continual process of sacrifice that our minds are renewed, our characters transformed (Romans 12:2). This gives evidence of the goodness, perfection, and acceptable will of God.  All those who have gone before us have endured this process, the patriarchs, the prophets, Christ’s true followers, and even Christ Himself (Hebrews 11).  All have been living sacrifices. Of Christ it is said,” For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted” (Hebrews 2:18).

In other words, He endured the same process He puts us through so, that He could be our empathetic helper as we die daily. And, Paul adds, in Hebrew 4:15, “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”

Because Christ went through the process victoriously, by faith, trusting in His Father’s goodness, those who are actively watching are growing in their belief that He can be trusted, and like Isaac, they too will be willing to be placed on the altar. Ellen White sums this up well. Let us read,

"Greater is He that is in the heart of the faithful, than he that controls the hearts of unbelievers. Complain not bitterly of the trial which comes upon you, but let your eyes be directed to Christ, who has clothed His divinity with humanity, in order that we may understand how great His interest in us is, since He has identified Himself with suffering humanity. He tasted the cup of human sorrow, He was afflicted in all our afflictions, He was made perfect through suffering, tempted in all points like as humanity is tempted, in order that He might succor those who are in temptation" (YRP 131).

Now many answer the call to be sacrificed, but once on the altar they grow weary and discouraged by the length of the process and gradually free themselves from that which they consider as unnecessary suffering. But, it is not really the suffering that makes them leave: it is instead their distrust of Christ; it is unbelief.  In the history of the Israelites it can be seen that most left the altar because they did not believe (Hebrews 3: 19). In contrast, the Gentiles, who heard the word in faith, were gladly sacrificed on the altar and remained there until the work was complete.  Paul warns us to be careful less we remove ourselves from the altar as did the Jews.  Let us read the warning in Hebrews 3:12,


“Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.”

The question to us is, will we trust Jesus enough to remain on the altar?  When the sacrifice of an animal takes place, the animal is bound so it will not jump off. Isaac too allowed himself to be bound, Jesus Himself although a willing sacrifice, was nailed to His cross. Will we allow the Lord to do whatever it takes, both, for us to remain on the altar and to be sacrificed?

-Raul Diaz

Saturday, October 12, 2013

2ND ANNUAL GOSPEL SUMMIT

You are cordially invited to come aside to bask in the sunshine of God's love at the
2ND ANNUAL GOSPEL SUMMIT

being held at:
Oaklands Park Seventh-day Adventist Church
711 N. Maney Avenue
Murfreesboro, TN  37130
 
Begins: Thursday, October 31 at 7:00pm
Ends: Saturday, November 2 at 9:00pm
 
If you missed the Gospel Summit last year, you do not want to miss
The Message of the Third Angel
A Revolution of Righteousness
 
The 3 Angels of Revelation 14 have been sounding since 1844, that's nearly 170 years ago!  Is there more to the story? Have we missed a vital note in the symphony that will climax with the victorious
song of Moses and the Lamb?

The focus will be on the 3rd Angel with an emphasis on justification/righteousness by the faith of Jesus. This Gospel Summit will be a most rewarding spiritual retreat with messages, testimonies, deep Bible studying, music and prayer. Speakers will include Kymone Hinds, Nwamiko Madden, Pucky Fordham, Oliver Nelson, Fred Bischoff, Mark Duncan and others. Bring with you all who are hungering for
spiritual meat and living water.

There is NO registration fee. However, pre-registration is appreciated for the preparation of materials.

To pre-register or for more information please:

Call OR Text: 314-363-5325

Meals will be provided at a cost of $25 per person which includes a light dinner on Thursday night, 2 meals on Friday and 2 meals on Sabbath. Please make your check payable to:

 Pastor William Pergerson and mail it to:

Gospel Summit
Pastor William Pergerson
21285 County Highway Z
Cornell, WI 54732

Thursday, October 03, 2013

“The Heavenly Sanctuary”

Fourth Quarter 2013 Adult Sabbath School Lessons
“The Heavenly Sanctuary”
For the week of Oct. 5, 2013

I want to begin this lesson with a personal experience regarding the sanctuary in heaven. Upon entering pastoral duties in a church, I was confronted with a paper written by a scholar who denounced the teaching of the sanctuary in heaven. Three persons each gave me a copy of this paper. I knew that in time I would have to deal publically with this scholarly paper. When doing a sermon series dealing with the book of Daniel that time finally came.

During the week of preparation for the upcoming Sabbath sermon, the Lord impressed my mind with a simple question to ask the congregation. During that sermon I mentioned to the congregation the following: “If someone tells you there is no sanctuary in heaven, do not argue with him/her. Ask the person the following question: ‘Oh, have you been to heaven to see that there is no sanctuary there?’” Next I said: “If he says ‘No,’ then you can consider the statement as hearsay.” I continued: “The next thing for you to do is to search the Bible about what it says concerning the subject. If it says there is no sanctuary in heaven, then accept it. However, if the Bible says there is a sanctuary in heaven, it will be best to accept that.”

You can imagine the brisk activity that simple question caused within the congregation. A few became hostile, while others breathed a sigh of relief when they heard some answers regarding the sanctuary message. Not one who denied the existence of a real sanctuary in heaven could muster an argument against it. At least one who disbelieved in a literal heavenly temple had an about face and decided to looked into the subject from a biblical viewpoint rather than to accept a non-provable negative interpretive assertions. Notice what the Testimony of Jesus has to say about the denial of the heavenly sanctuary by some among us:
 

The enemy will bring in false theories, such as the doctrine that there is no sanctuary. This is one of the points on which there will be a departing from the faith.1
 
Satan is striving continually to bring in fanciful suppositions in regard to the sanctuary, degrading the wonderful representations of God and the ministry of Christ for our salvation into something that suits the carnal mind. He removes its presiding power from the hearts of believers, and supplies its place with fantastic theories invented to make void the truths of the atonement, and destroy our confidence in the doctrines which we have held sacred since the third angel's message was first given. Thus he would rob us of our faith in the very message that has made us a separate people, and has given character and power to our work.2
 
This, then, brings us to the lesson for the week at hand. We will consider two aspects of the heavenly sanctuary ministry. These are: its literalness and a few of its functions. While it is true that the functions of the sanctuary are the most important part of the sanctuary message, its architecture and architectural furnishings are referred to in several Bible passages. This too is important. Heb 8-10 deals with the literalness along with functions of the heavenly temple. Likewise in the book of Revelation which has abundant evidence of a heavenly sanctuary (see 1:12-13; chapters 4 and 5; 8:2-6; 11:19; 15:5). The book of Psalms also mentions the sanctuary or temple and constituent parts over 100 times. And of course the prophet Daniel wrote concerning the sanctuary in heaven as a place of judgment (Dan 7:-13; 8:14).

The most important elements of the heavenly sanctuary are its functions. One such function is that it is God’s dwelling place. However, this brings to mind questions concerning the relationship of God to a dwelling place. Does He need this in light of the fact He is omnipresent (Jer 2: 23-24; Psa 139; Acts 17:24-28)? Since God is ever present in all places at all times, why does He dwell in a temple? In addition to these questions, there is another, how long has there been a temple?

The heavenly sanctuary has been in existence at least since the creation of this world. Jeremiah referred to God’s throne and sanctuary existing from a point of time connected to the beginning: “A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary” (Jer 17:12). Jeremiah’s words reflect the farthest point in time for earth which was “in the beginning” when God created earth (Gen 1:1).
The key to the question as to why God dwells in a sanctuary is found in His instruction to Moses: “Let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them” (Ex 25:8). God wants to be with us. His name is called “Immanuel” literally meaning “God with us” (Isa 7:14). Our heavenly Father longs to be with His created beings. He wants to interact with us. Jesus revealed God’s longing when He was born into the human race to dwell with us as “Immanuel” (Matt 1:23).

Today God dwells also with angels—“between the cherubim” (Psa 80:1; 99:1; Isa 37:16). He longs to be close to His creatures. And the angels love to dwell in the house of the Lord. God also longs for the day when you and I and all the redeemed will be taken to heaven to dwell in His house for ever. Jesus went to heaven to prepare “rooms” for us in the “Father’s house” (John 14:1-3, NIV), which is the heavenly temple.

Does God need a place to dwell in? Of course not. But the fact that He does reveals attributes of His character that are blessings to us by His personal presence in the Person of the Holy Sprit. In the teacher’s comments for this week’s lesson there is a thought provoking statement:
 

It is vital to grasp that the original purpose of the heavenly sanctuary was to reveal part of the essential nature of God’s character—“Immanuel”—God with us. That God condescends to live in a heavenly sanctuary among the created heavenly beings reveals that He is not aloof, distant, cold and forbidding. He longs to be close to His creatures, and to dwell with us.3

Not only is the temple in heaven God’s dwelling place. In the book of Revelation the sanctuary is the place of worship for angels and for those who have been redeemed from earth, (either through translation and resurrection from the grave) (Rev 4:1-11; 5:8-14).
Was there a sanctuary in heaven before sin entered the universe? Yes. Lucifer as the covering cherub was there as a participant in the worship services (Eze 28:17). This was his place of worship until he “desecrated your (his) sanctuaries” (holy places) (v 18, NIV). Then he started a war in heaven, in which he thought he could unseat God from the worship center.

Lucifer attempted to “sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north” (Isa 14:13). The NIV calls this “mount of the congregation” “the mount of assembly.” Lucifer wanted to break into God’s house of worship which is also His residence.
Lucifer, too late learned that God’s temple in heaven is not only His dwelling place and creation’s worship place, but that it is also the courtroom where he is judged, condemned and sentenced to eternal death. It is this function of the heavenly sanctuary—the investigative judgment—that we Seventh-day Adventists mostly dwell upon. This we must do, but we must not forget the other above mentioned and very important functions of God’s heavenly sanctuary.

In closing, there is another vitally important function of the heavenly temple that must be considered. In Revelation, the Lamb metaphor is the “key” to the sanctuary and to the book. Most of the twenty-eight references to Christ the Lamb occur in worship passages and center on salvation more than judgment. The Lamb fulfills the promise of God to establish righteousness, depicting redemption through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. In Rev 5:6 a slain lamb is seen in the midst of the throne which is located in the heart of the temple. This is a revelation of Christ crucified as the central attraction in the heavenly sanctuary. It reveals the self-sacrificing love and mercy of Christ and of the Father and His government. But that is not all.

In Revelation the Lamb of God has two aspects: a sacrificial Lamb and a military Lamb (Rev 5:6; 12:11; 13:8; 17:14). They are interconnected, standing as the heart of the book depicting the two sides of God’s activity—His mercy and his justice. So we observe the two primary motifs: the sacrificial lamb metaphor united with the metaphorical Lamb Leader, Ruler and Judge. The two are combined here, just as God’s mercy and His justice meet in the Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world. It is the sacrifice of the Lamb that exalts the temple in heaven along with its other functions we have considered in this lesson—of God’s dwelling place and of creation’s house of worship along with God’s judgment.

-Jerry Finneman
 

1. Review and Herald, May 25, 1905.
2. Special Testimonies, Series B, No. 7, p. 17. (1905); Counsels to Writers and Editors, p. 53-54.
3. Adult Teachers Sabbath School Bible Study Guide, Oct | Nov | Dec, 2013, p. 16.