The
Antitypical Day of Atonement and Current SDA Discussions on Last Generation
Theology
Click to go to our Home PageDear Reader, 1Ti 5:24
Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment;
and some [men] they follow after. The
following treatise was presented on an SDA Internet forum by a man named
Wally. I felt it to be so thorough and representative of such serious truth
that I am publishing it for all to read. Ron *** I believe
that: (b) Dan . 9 :24, while referring primarily (c) Dan . 8:14 is the same as Malachi (d) Lev . 16 :30 is referring to the (e)
This special cleansing is made possible by Christ making a (g)
This special experience of the blotting out of sins brings (h)
Without this final atonement of the most holy place it would (i) Men in this last generation must receive
this final atonement (j) The
sealing of the living (Rev . 7 :2,
3) takes place prior to (k) The
door of mercy will close to those who have known the truth 1 . Acts 3 :19 has
an eschatological meaning . "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your
sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from
the presence of the Lord;" But
nowhere does it suggest that the latter rain prepares us for the judgment . Below are the same points as above but with more details and references: 1.
Acts 3 :19 has an
eschatological meaning . Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted
out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the
Lord; 2. In
its eschatological meaning it points us to the judgment in the most holy place . Therefore, because
of (1) hidden sinfulness and (2) the record of sin, sinless perfection of character is not
attained in what we might call "the daily" experience - to
use the symbolism of
the sanctuary . Now, if perfection
is not experienced at conversion, nor in that daily walk of being sanctified, when and where
is it found? Perfection-in
the The third angel,
whose message is to perfect a people for the great day of God, points to the most holy place : "The third angel closes his
message thus : `Here
is the patience of the
saints : here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the fanth of Jesus.' As he repeated these words, he pointed to the
heavenly sanctuary . The minds of all who embrace this message are
directed to the most holy place, . . . I saw the third angel pointing upward. . . . to the
holiest of the heavenly sanctuary . . . the third angel was
pointing them to the most holy place, . .
."-Early Writings, pp. 254-256. It is evident,
therefore, that we shall find the experience which the third angel is calling for, if we will direct
our minds by faith to the most holy place . What is this work in the
most holy place of the sanctuary that will perfect the saints? "As the
priest entered the most holy once a year to cleanse the earthly sanctuary, so Jesus entered the most holy of the heavenly, at the end of
the 2300 days of Daniel 8, in 1844, to make a final atonement for all who
could be benefited by His mediation, and thus to cleanse the sanctuary."-Ibid., p .
253 . 3.
Our preparation
for the blotting out of sin in the judgment is to repent and to be converted . Any man who is
converted and remains in a state
of conversion will stand in the judgment and receive the blotting out of sins. There is a difference between the gospel
being preached for the forgiveness of sins and the gospel being preached for
the blotting out of sin. Always, and today, there is abundant provision for
the forgiveness of sins. In our generation comes the provision for the
blotting out of sin. And the blotting out of sin is what will prepare the way
for the coming of the Lord; and the blotting out of sin is the ministry of
our High Priest in in the
most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary.. But absolute
sinless perfection is impossible without the blotting out of sins and the perfecting latter rain
. (Acts 3 :19 RV ; 5T 475 ;
TM 506 ; 4T 367) . It is the
"cleansing of the sanctuary" (final atonement) which finishes the mystery of God (Dan . 8 :14 ; Rev . 10 :6, 7) . Did the gospel
preaching in past ages develop a church without spot or wrinkle, a church appearing in "untainted
purity and spotless perfection," a church fully prepared for translation? The
answer is no! Only
after the ministry of Jesus in the most holy place "will
the followers of Christ be ready for His appearing ." GC 425 . By
growing daily in the divine life, he
will not attain to the full stature of a perfect man in Christ until his probation ceases ." 4T 367 . Ellen
G. White As
Quoted In Sanctuary Institute
Syllabus No. 3 "The
righteous [in the time of trouble] will not cease their earnest agonizing cries for deliverance . They
cannot bring to mind any
particular sins, but in their whole life they can see but little good. Their sins had gone beforehand to judgment, and pardon had been written . Their sins had been borne
away into the land of forgetfulness, and they could not bring
them to remembrance ." -Spiritual
Gifts, Vol. 3, . 135 . "
. . while they have a deep sense of their
unworthiness, they will have no concealed wrongs to reveal . Their sins will have been blotted out by the atoning blood of Christ, and they cannot bring them to remembrance" Patriarchs and Prophets, . 202 . ".
. . in the final atonement the sins of the
truly penitent are to be
blotted from the records of heaven, no more to'be remembered or come into mind, . . ."-Ibid., . 358. "But
while they have a deep sense of their unworthiness, they have no concealed wrongs to reveal . Their
sins have gone beforehand to
judgment, and have been blotted out, and they cannot bring them to remembrance ."-Great Controversy, . 620. Yet the
work of grace is not completed. The latter rain,
which is the baptism of divine love in all its fullness, is needed to bring the believer to perfection (cf. Testimonies to Ministers, . 506). It
is the baptism of divine love in the latter rain that perfects the conscience, seals the believer, and blots out sin. Those who have this final covering will be able to live in the sight of a holy God without a
mediator during the period of the seven last plagues. Those without the seal of God
will be tormented day and night by their own consciences in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb (Revelation 14:10,
11). How thankful we should be that God has promised the perfecting latter rain to prepare a people for the
great day of God (cf . Early Writings, .
71 ; Testimonies to
Ministers, . 506) . "Not even by a thought could our Saviour be brought to yield to
the power of temptation . . . . This is the
condition in which those must be found who shall stand in the time of trouble ."-Great Controversy, 623. Not even by a thought will the sealed saints defile their minds . Love thinks no evil . "Their
sins have gone beforehand to judgment, and have been blotted out ; and they cannot bring them to
remembrance."-Ibid., . 620. This
does not mean an amnesia to past events, but as the context of
the statement
shows, as God's people review the events of their lives, they have no more conscience of sins. They cannot
bring their past sins (their wrong thoughts and
feelings) to remembrance . Love thinks no evil. Those who are made perfect in love by
the anointing of the latter rain will not bring to mind any past thought
or feeling of sin . This is what our High Priest promises to do for us while He ministers
in the most holy lace : "For
on that day shall the priest make an atonement for
you, to cleanse
you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the Lord" (Leviticus 16 :30). When
God indeed has such a people, who are settled in their faith in Him,
who will no longer think evil of Him, then He will rejoice over a people who will be like Him. Sin will have been
blotted out of their hearts' experience. Such saints will never sin
again, for they would not distrust God sufficiently to sin again. Such
people will not fail in the great day of test and trial, for love never faileth . The thoughts and feelings of sin, so long associated with the events of life, will not come into mind. This is the experience that God
has for His children in the cleansing of the sanctuary brought to view in
Daniel 8 :14. This is what the apostle Peter calls the blotting out of
sins . This is what the apostle Paul
calls the perfecting of the conscience. This is what John the beloved calls being made perfect in the love which
casts out all doubt and fear . This is
what the Revelator calls the seal of the living God . This is what the prophet Joel calls the latter rain . This
is what Ellen G . White
calls the final atonement . It is the everlasting
gospel, fully unfolded, fully experienced by those who live in this hour of His
judgment. 4.
Our preparation for the latter rain is to repent and to be converted, and those who remain converted will
receive the perfecting latter rain . 5.
Acts 3 :19 certainly shows that the latter rain is not given to prepare
for the judgment. Along with the blotting out of sins, it is the blessing of
the judgment. The
Spirit of Prophecy says that the latter rain
empowers the saints to give the loud cry, fits them to live through the
time of trouble, and prepares them for the Advent of Christ (Early Writings, . 71, 85, 86
; Testimonies to Ministers, . 506). But nowhere does it suggest that the
latter rain prepares us for the judgment . Those who expect the latter rain to prepare them for
the judgment wait
in
vain . Rather, the latter rain is the blessing of the judgment (Joel 2 ; Testimonies,
Vol . 1, . 179-183 ;
Vol . 5, . 473-475) . Gathering at the Sanctuary Before
the Decree It will be too late for us to arise with our empty vessels and lamps when the
great Sabbath test comes, and with it the judgment of the living
and latter rain . The time of the loud cry will not be a
time of mercy for those who have had an opportunity to know what is
truth . It will be a time of
mercy for those only who have never heard or rejected the
third angel's message
(see Early Writings, p. 278 ;.S.D.A. Bible Commentary, Vol. 7, p .
979) . So God is telling us that the antitypical day of atonement gathering must take
place in the church just before the decree goes forth . We have been
warned many times in the Spirit of Proph- -26- ecy
that those who have not made
the needful preparation will not be able to
receive the latter rain . It will then be too late (see Early Writings, pp. 71, 270, 271 ; Testimonies to Ministers, pp.
506, 507) . The judgment of the living will
have found them destitute
of the wedding garment ; they will have appeared in the shame of
their own nakedness in the great testing time ; and they
will have been shaken out of the Lamb's book of life . In the
darkness of eternal separation from God, they will neither discern nor
recognize the latter rain, even though it might be
falling all around them (see Testimonies to
Ministers,, p. 507) . Oh,
who can afford to be passed by when the Holy Spirit, represented by
the man with the writer's inkhorn, will pass
through the church with the seal of God? To be passed by then will be to be passed by forever. 6.
Since the blotting out of sins is inseparably linked to the latter rain,
and since the latter rain is a great final work of grace in the lives of the
saints (Testimonies to Ministers, . 506), it is forever certain that the blotting out of sins is a mighty experience . It is
more than a judicial
cleansing of a record of sin in heaven . It will blot out the record
of sin from the minds of the saints (Great Controversy, . 670; Patriarchs
and Pro hets, . 538, 202 ; S iritual
Gifts, Vol. 3, . 135; Hebrews
10:1-31 ; Jeremiah 50 :20). 7.
John the Revelator calls this final work of grace the seal of the living God (Revelation 7:2-4) . It will be the saints' protection for the time when they must live without a Mediator in the heavenly sanctuary . 8.
As surely as we live in the hour when His judgment is come (Revelation 14
:7), just so surely do we live
in the time when Jesus is waiting to blot out our sins and to give us the latter rain . The door to the most holy place is open (Revelation 3:8) ; we are invited to
enter the sanctuary by
faith to claim the benefit of His judgment ministration . What is
holding us from the reception of these mighty blessings upon the church? Just as soon as we
thoroughly repent and turn to God, sending all our sins beforehand to the judgment, the High Priest can blot out our sins and
give us the latter rain . In Acts 3 :19 the purpose
clause introduced by
ho -6s an implies suddenness. When God's people make the needful preparation, the latter rain will come suddenly . Our
High Priest will come suddenly with the blessing of the final atonement (Malachi 3:1-3) . The Lord will come
suddenly to reveal the closing glory of the gospel dispensation (Isaiah 40 :2-9) . The High Priest will not delay
when the congregation repents and turns to Him with all their heart (Joel
2 : 15-28). Christ
will answer suddenly with the abundant showers of the latter rain . What a promise! What a warning to be ready! Oh, for repentant hearts and converted lives in readiness for His
sudden coming in
judgment! The end of all things is surely upon us. To the sanctuary, 0 The Latter Rain It is important
that we notice the relationship of the latter rain to this work of final atonement or blotting out of sins . After Joel calls
God's people to afflict their souls at the sanctuary, he promises that God will "restore the years that
the locust hath eaten"-the evil ravages of sin upon the
soul-by sending' the latter rain to His people (Joel 2 :23-28) . Peter, commenting upon this prophecy, says, "Repent ye
therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when
the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the
Lord" (Acts 3 :19)
. It is the latter rain
which blots out sin from the experience of Christ ministers in the heavenly temple, but the Spirit ministers in the soul
temple, applying the benefits of Christ's work to the
individual soul who connects with that ministry . Thus when Christ removes the record of sin from the
books of heaven, the Spirit
does the corresponding work in the soul temple. So too, when Christ retains the name in the book of life after that
candidate is judged, the Holy Spirit seals the mind so that it retains
the moral image of God (see Eph . 4
:30 ; Testimonies, Vol. 3, p. 267) . That it is the baptism of the latter rain which completes this work of
grace in the life is made clear by the following statement : "The latter rain, falling near the close of the
season, ripens the grain and prepares it
for the sickle . . . . The ripening of the grain represents the completion
of the work of God's grace in the soul . By the power of the Holy Spirit the moral image of God is
to be perfected in the character
. We are to be wholly transformed into the likeness of Christ . . .
. Unless the early showers have done their work, the latter rain
can bring no seed to perfection ."-Testimonies to
Ministers, p. 506. (see
also Early Writings, p . 271) . The latter rain, therefore, is the blessing of the most
holy place, and will not
come until we make the necessary preparation, enter the judgment of
the living, and receive the final atonement. Then sins
are blotted out "when the times of refreshing . . . come from the
presence of the Lord" (Acts 3 :19)
. Those who receive the seal of God through the anointing
of the Spirit will herald the final message of mercy in the loud
cry of the third angel's
message . (This is made plain in some of
the great prophecies of the Bible . Compare Isa . 44 :22, 23 with 55 :5 ; 62 :2, 3 ;
Rev. 3 :12 ; 14 :1 ; and Ezek. 43 :1-3 with Rev . 7 :2
; 18 :1) . Those
converted during the loud cry will also enter the judgment of
the living and receive the blotting out of sins and sealing
through the baptism of the latter rain . When the
last soul has been sealed, probation will close for all . The speed with which the work will close when these times of
refreshing come defies any adequate description . God is simply waiting for His
people to awake to the realities of the great day of atonement . >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 4. The Latter Rain,
Loud Cry After the
gathering at the sanctuary in affliction of soul comes the latter rain . This is very clearly presented in the second chapter of Joel, and also in Ellen G . White's comments in
Testimonies, Vol. 1, pp. 179-183 . The final outpouring of the
Spirit on the church is brought to view in Revelation 18 : 1 . Another mighty angel is brought to view as descending to the earth to unite
his voice with the third angel . Thus the third message is given with
the "loud cry," the final warning to be given to all the world
. All are thereby brought to take their stand and then probation closes for all . The latter rain also perfects the saints,
enabling them to stand during the time of the seven last plagues without a
Mediator in the sanctuary, and then to meet the Son of man as He
comes in power and great glory. |