Atonement in Symbols – Part 1

1. Atonement in Symbols – Part 1 Lesson 6

2. The Sanctuary Service • This week • How the daily services worked and what they meant. • Next week • How the Day of Atonement worked and what it meant.

3. The Sanctuary Service • All of this, and especially the Day of Atonement, is vitally connected to Seventh-day Adventist beliefs.

4. The Sanctuary Service • Fundamental Belief No. 24. Christ's Ministry in the Heavenly Sanctuary: There is a sanctuary in heaven, the true tabernacle which the Lord set up and not man. In it Christ ministers on our behalf, making available to believers the benefits of His atoning sacrifice offered once for all on the cross. He was inaugurated as our great High Priest and began His intercessory ministry at the time of His ascension. In 1844, at the end of the prophetic period of 2300 days, He entered the second and last phase of His atoning ministry. It is a work of investigative judgment which is part of the ultimate disposition of all sin, typified by the cleansing of the ancient Hebrew sanctuary on the Day of Atonement. In that typical service the sanctuary was cleansed with the blood of animal sacrifices, but the heavenly things are purified with the perfect sacrifice of the blood of Jesus. The investigative judgment reveals to heavenly intelligences who among the dead are asleep in Christ and therefore, in Him, are deemed worthy to have part in the first resurrection. It also makes manifest who among the living are abiding in Christ, keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, and in Him, therefore, are ready for translation into His everlasting kingdom. This judgment vindicates the justice of God in saving those who believe in Jesus. It declares that those who have remained loyal to God shall receive the kingdom. The completion of this ministry of Christ will mark the close of human probation before the Second Advent. (Heb. 8:1-5; 4:14-16; 9:11-28; 10:19-22; 1:3; 2:16, 17; Dan. 7:9-27; 8:13, 14; 9:24-27; Num. 14:34; Eze. 4:6; Lev. 16; Rev. 14:6, 7; 20:12; 14:12; 22:12.)

5. The Issue of Sacrifices • “In the Bible the sacrificial system was established in order to • “illustrate how God was going to solve the problem of sin. • “At the center of the service was the blood of the sacrificial animal. The life of the animal was poured out so that the life of the repentant sinner could be saved. • “The animal was a symbol of Jesus, who would give His life in place of ours.”

6. The Issue of Sacrifices • The theology of sacrifice remains an issue, not only for religions that continue to practice rituals of sacrifice, but also for those religions that have animal sacrifice in their scriptures, traditions, or histories, even if sacrifice is no longer made. Religions offer a number of reasons for why sacrifices are offered. • Gods need sacrifice to sustain themselves and their power, without which they are diminished. • Sacrificed goods are used to make a bargain with the god, who has promised some favour in return for the sacrifice. • The lives or blood of sacrificial victims contains some other supernatural power whose offering pleases the god.

7. Religion in Egypt • The gods of Egypt. “They had human forms but were much more powerful; yet like humans, they got angry, despaired, fought with one another, had children, and fell in love. They lived lives that were very much like those of the people who worshipped them, the ancient Egyptians.”

8. Religion in Egypt • “There were numerous gods, but rather than living on an isolated mountain or in an unreachable heaven, many of them lived invisibly in the mortal world, acting through sacred sites, items, animals, or even chosen people. Furthermore, the spirits of the deceased, if remembered and honored, could aid and guide the living from the Afterlife.”

9. Religion in Egypt • “Rituals centered around offerings, but there were certainly numerous other rituals, including many daily functions such as washing and clothing the gods (or at least the statue of the gods). Other rituals took the form of celebrations when, for example, one god might be taken to visit the cult center of another, and it was during these festivals that common Egyptians probably came closest to their gods, for at other times they were prohibited from the sanctuaries that housed the cult statues.”

10. Human Sacrifices in Egypt • The ritual killing of human beings as part of the offerings presented to the gods on a regular basis, or on special occasions. • Retainer sacrifice, or the killing of domestic servants to bury them along with their master.

11. Sacrifices in Canaan • 1) FIRST LAMB/KID SACRIFICE - The First NightThis very ancient sacrificial holiday of nomadic shepherds is conducted by the head of the family, standing on the sacred bomah, the High Place, facing West. A sacred, limping, mourning dance is performed around the sacrificial animal. The sacrifice takes place at dusk. When it is done, all present kiss each other first over right shoulder or on the right cheek, then on left. Each head of household daubs their tent posts with the animal's blood. The animal is roasted whole after dark. It is forbidden to break any of its bones or to leave any part of it uneaten or unburned by sunrise. After several hours of fire-stoking and spit-turning to cook the whole animal, the meal takes place late in the night. All inedible or uneaten parts are burned in a separate firepit. It takes about 5 people to eat a whole lamb, so one would be sacrificed per household. While waiting for the lamb to roast, people kept each other awake telling stories, singing and dancing.

12. The Hebrew Sanctuary

13. Lesson Introduction • “In the Bible the sacrificial system was established in order to illustratehow God was going to solve the problem of sin. • “At the center of the service was the blood of the sacrificial animal. • “The life of the animal was poured out so that the life of the repentant sinner could be saved. • “The animal was a symbol of Jesus, who would give His life in place of ours.”

14. Lesson Introduction • “When repentant sinners brought their sacrifices to the Lord, they were acknowledging that they were sinners who deserved death. • “But they also were manifesting faith, trusting that the Lord would grant them forgiveness by accepting the life of the sacrificial victim in their stead. • “Assuming responsibility for our sin is indispensable (this is known as repentance and confession). Only those who, in the light of the Cross, see themselves as sinners in need of forgiveness and humbly find in Christ the Lamb of God that takes away their sin will experience cleansing.

15. Early Church Application • “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” (1 Peter 1: 18, 19).

16. History of the Sacrificial System Cain and Abel Animal Skins in Eden Abraham’s Sacrifice Noah After the Flood “For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.” Lev. 17:11

17. Meaning of the Sacrificial System • “In the Bible, the sacrificial victim and the repentant sinner who brought it were identified with each other so closely that the life of the animal stood for the life of the person, and the animal's blood became a means of atonement” (Lev 17:11).

18. Meaning of the Sacrificial System • “ . . . became a means of atonement” (Lev 17:11). • Only in the person’s mind, not in reality. An animal cannot atone for a person.

19. Meaning of the Sacrificial System • “. . . the sacrificial act was an act of salvation.” • “ . . . the death of sacrificial victims had a symbolic function only.” • “. . . the killing of the sacrificial animal also illustrated the seriousness of sin and the costliness of forgiveness.”

20. Meaning of the Sacrificial System Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” “At the moment sin entered into the world, God instituted a sacrificial system that had these symbolic and teaching functions. The first sacrifice that Adam and Eve offered was a wonderful explosion of hope in the coming Redeemer, a hope offered in the midst of the pain of guilt and death.”

21. Contemporary Sacrificial Systems • Pagan and animistic religious rites. • In the Americas Haitian voodoo Obeah – Caribbean Islands Santería – Spanish Caribbean Brazil - Kardecists Changó Brazil - Umbanda

22. Monday- Sin and Impurity • “Impurity is considered as damaging to the covenant relationship as a moral sin itself. • “The instructions concerning impurity have the purpose of motivating the Israelites to avoid anything that could contaminate them.

23. Monday- Sin and Impurity • “The biblical concept of impurity indicates that humans are almost in a natural state of contamination existing in an environment that is fundamentally unclean. They need cleansing in order to be free to approach the Lord. This cleansing was primarily possible through the blood of the sacrificial victim (Lev. 12:8).

24. Monday- Sin and Impurity • “The laws regarding purifica­tion instructed them concerning how they could be restored to a state of purity before the Lord.”

25. Monday- Sin and Impurity • “There are several sources of impurity, some of which are unavoidable. • “For example, there is the contamination that a woman incurs during childbirth (Leviticus 12). In this case the contamination is the result of the blood discharge that accompanies the childbirth (Lev. 12:4, 5, 7; see also Lev. 15:19—30 for another kind of uncleanliness). • “A man with a blood discharge was also considered unclean (Lev. 15:1—15; see also vss. 16—18).”

26. Monday- Sin and Impurity • “But there was also a theological interest. The impure person was not allowed to come into contact with other people and was excluded from the sanctuary. “Impurity” thus becomes a metaphor to express a person's alienation from God and others. • “In those cases the individual was a carrier, a contaminating agent; therefore, he or she was forbidden to contact anybody else or any holy thing.”

27. Monday- Sin and Impurity • Hygienic concerns • “The Lord will keep you free from every disease. He will not inflict on you the horrible diseases you knew in Egypt.” (Deut 7:15).

28. Monday- Sin and Impurity • “In fact, impurity is usually associated with death. It is connected with dead bodies (Num. 6:6, 7, 11), diseases (Leviticus 13, 14), blood discharge (a way of letting life run away), and the emission of semen, which is the “seed” of life. The leper was totally impure and considered as dead (Num. 12:9—12).

29. Monday- Sin and Impurity • What causes “impurity?” • Anything that produces or even represents “death.” literally or symbolically. • Anything that represents “life” but is misused so as to produce “death” — even symbolically. • E.g. monthly menstrual period or discharge of semen. • Anything that is hygienically unsafe or infectious.

30. Monday- Sin and Impurity • Theologically, all this has to do with the issue of “original sin.” • Human beings are “unclean” by nature. • There is nothing anyone can do about it. • Only the sacrifice/atonement of Jesus can change a human being’s status from “death” to “life.”

31. Tuesday – Kinds of Sacrifices • Bulls • “If the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, he must bring to the Lord a young bull without defect as a sin offering for the sin he has committed.” • “If the whole Israelite community sins unintentionally . . . the assembly must bring a young bull as a sin offering.” • Goats • “When a leader sins unintentionally . . . he must bring as his offering a male goat without defect.” • “If a member of the community sins unintentionally . . . he must bring as his offering for the sin he committed a female goat without defect.” —Leviticus 4

32. Tuesday – Kinds of Sacrifices • “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). • “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.” (Rom 5:12-13).

33. Tuesday – What Do We Learn? • “First, the type of animal brought as a sin offering depended on the financial condition of the individual (Lev. 5:7—12), • “which showed that the Lord was sensitive to the financial situation of the people. For us, the point shouldn't be missed: Salvation through Christ is for all peo­ple, regardless of their status in the world. • “Second, the sacrificial victim was expected to be unblemished, healthy, and without physical defects (Lev. 4:3). • The sinner was defective and morally blemished, but the sacrificial victim that represented the Lamb of God wasn't.”

34. Tuesday – What Do We Learn? • “Another important point to remember: • “The sin offering atones for both unintentional and intentional sin (Lev. 5:1—5) and ritual impurity (Lev. 12:6, 7). • “What's the moral lesson for us? • It's that there was no sin that God could not forgive if the sinner repented from it. • Moral and ritual impurity was symbolically removed from repentant sinners through the sacrificial blood. But, in fact, only the blood of Christ could cleanse from sin. • The great news for us, prefigured in these sacrifices, is that no matter our past, no matter how badly we have fallen, we can, through Jesus, find restitution, healing, forgiveness, and cleansing.

35. Summary • Atonement and animal sacrifices • Sin and impurity • The sacrifices • The Removal of Sin and Impurity • Other Sacrifices

36. Wednesday – The Removal • When the repentant sinner brought the sacrificial victim to the sanctuary, the sinner placed a hand on the head of the animal and leaned on it. In the daily sacrifices the laying on of hands was associated with the phrase “be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him” (Lev. 1:4, NIV), indicating that the sinner fully identified with the sacrificial victim. The sacrificial victim was at that moment standing for him or her before God, bearing the sin of the individual.

37. Wednesday – The Removal • Because of the violation of the covenant, sinners were heading toward—death, but that death was actualized in the sacrificial victim, not in the repentant sinner, whose life was then spared by God. Sin and penalty cannot be separated from each other.

38. Wednesday – The Elimination Process • Sin has to be eliminated at two levels: Next Week’s Lesson Personal Corporate

39. Wednesday – The Elimination Process • What happened to confessed sins? • “Another ritual was the bringing of the blood into the sanctuary, the means by which sin was brought there.” • “When sin was not taken inside the sanctuary in this manner, sin was transferred to it through the priest.”

40. Wednesday – The Elimination Process • What did all these “transfers” mean? • “God was assuming responsibility for the sin of repentant sinners. This pointed to Christ’s high-priestly ministry on our behalf.”

41. Thursday – Other Offerings • Burnt offerings – Total consecration to the Lord. • Votive offerings (For a vow) • Freewill offerings (For personal devotion) • Peace/Fellowship Offerings (eaten by the persons) • A joyful occasion • Communal/fellowship strength

42. Thursday – Other Offerings • Meal offerings • Fruits of the land • Expressing of gratitude • The “salt of the covenant” (Lev. 2:13). • Salt was a preservative • An expression of the person’s willingness to preserve the covenant relationship with the Lord.