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Atonement

Etymology. The word "atonement" comes from the Hebrew words kippur (singular) and kippurim (plural). It is also transliterated as kaphar or kopher. Its most literal meaning is "to cover". First used in the story of Noah and the Flood, Genesis 6:14, "Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it [w-kaphar’ta] inside and out with pitch." Covering the ark with pitch meant the boat could repel water and not sink. Atonement is understood to be a covering, a ransom, a payment of wrongs committed so as not to (sink and) perish. Besides atonement, the Hebrew word is also translated as pacify, make propitiation, or expiation. In English, the word "atonement" originally meant "at-one-ment", that is, being "at one", in harmony, with someone.

Covering typology

Covering typology is found throughout the Bible. Here are several examples.

Covering garments of light. As per EGW, Adam and Eve were originally clothed with garments of light.The covering was from God and symbolized their innocence.

  • 8LtMs, Ms 9, 1893, par. 22: But Adam and Eve fell, and the garment of light no longer covered them...
  • RH November 15, 1898, par. 10: Adam and Eve both ate of the fruit, and obtained a knowledge which, had they obeyed God, they would never have had,—an experience in disobedience and disloyalty to God,—the knowledge that they were naked. The garment of innocence, a covering from God, which surrounded them, departed; and they supplied the place of this heavenly garment by sewing together fig-leaves for aprons.

Covering of skins. After the Fall, Adam and Eve were ashamed and hid from the presence of God. They sewed fig leaves together to cover their nakedness. The recognition of their nakedness represented their need for atonement. After confronting them, God made for them garments of skins. "And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them" (Genesis 3:21).

Many assume that this was the first animal sacrifice performed by God Himself in order to provide the garments of skin. But this need not be the case. Which is easier for God: To make garments of skin "out of nothing" (ex nihilo) by just speaking them into existence, or to have to kill an animal, skin it, get rid of the carcass, cure the skin, cut it into a tailored pattern, make thread to sew, and then sew the pattern together? Besides, as per EGW, Adam witnessed the first death from his own hand.

  • 1SP 53.1: When Adam, according to God's special directions, made an offering for sin, it was to him a most painful ceremony. His hand must be raised to take life, which God alone could give, and make an offering for sin. It was the first time he had witnessed death. As he looked upon the bleeding victim, writhing in the agonies of death, he was to look forward by faith to the Son of God, whom the victim prefigured, who was to die man's sacrifice.

Covering of righteousness. The coverings God made for the first couple was symbolic of Christ one day providing the robe of his own righteousness.

  • Isaiah 61:10: I will rejoice greatly in the Lord, My soul will exult in my God; For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
  • Revelation 3:18: I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.
  • 12LtMs, Ms 145, 1897, par. 5: The Lord Jesus Christ had prepared a covering, the robe of His own righteousness, that He will put on every repenting, believing soul who by faith will receive it. Said John, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” [John 1:29.] Sin is the transgression of the law. Christ died to make it possible for every man to have his sins taken away.

Covering of gold over the mercy seat. The mercy seat (Hebrew: ha-kapōreṯ) was the gold lid over the Ark of the Covenant. This was connected with the ritual service performed on the Day of Atonement (Hebrew: Yom Kippur). The Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament) translates the mercy seat as hilasterion ("thing that atones").

Coverings of the high priest. On the Day of Atonement, the high priest wore two sets of garments—golden and (white) linen. During the service, on the occasions when he entered the Most Holy Place, the high priest changed into his linen garments, and then changed back to his golden garments upon exiting. The linen garments consisted of white trousers (akin to boxer shorts), white coat, white sash (akin to a belt) and a white turban.

  • Leviticus 16:4: He shall put on the holy linen coat and shall have the linen undergarment on his body, and he shall tie the linen sash around his waist, and wear the linen turban; these are the holy garments. He shall bathe his body in water and then put them on.

Covering of the veil. The veil that separated the Holy from the Most Holy Place in the Tabernacle was also used as a covering for the Ark of the Covenant whenever it was to be moved. It was before the veil that the blood of sacrifice was sprinkled. Upon the veil were embroidered angelic figures. It was before the veil that the golden altar stood on which incense was burned. The Old Testament referred to this veil as "the veil of the covering" or "the covering veil" (Exodus 35:12; 39:34; 40:21; and Numbers 4:5).

Christ coming in the flesh is often described as Christ's divinity being "veiled" in humanity. Thus, the inner veil of the Tabernacle represented Christ's flesh (or humanity). It was Christ's humanity, his life and death, that became our covering. After Jesus' death on the cross, "the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45). This symbolized the discontinuance of the sacrificial system because a better offering had been made with better promises (Hebrews 8:6; 10:12).

Covering of the cloud of incense. On the Day of Atonement, when the high priest went beyond the veil into the Most Holy Place, a cloud of incense was burned and served as a veil over the presence of God (i.e. the Shekinah Glory).

Dual Atonement

The daily sacrifice. The daily sacrifice has to do with two lambs that were sacrificed in the Sanctuary on a daily basis throughout the year (Numbers 28:1-8). They were sacrificed "between the evenings," one at around 9:00 A.M and the other at around 3:00 P.M. The daily sacrifice foreshadowed how Jesus would be nailed to the cross in the morning and die in the afternoon, at about the same time the lambs were slain.

The yearly sacrifice - Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). This was a sacrificial service performed once a year on the tenth day of Tishri, the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar (Leviticus 23:27-28). It was the culmination of the daily sacrifices (or atonements) made throughout the year. The Day of Atonement represented the final atonement (or final judgment) after which the sanctuary, the priesthood and the people were cleansed (Leviticus 16:30, 33). In the Hebrew, the Day of Atonement is really the Day of "Atonements" (kippurim, plural). This is noted and explained in Calvin's Commentary on Leviticus 23:27 (see StudyLight.org).

According to Jewish tradition, on the first day of Tishri (Rosh Hashanah), God condemns the wicked to death. Then, during the 10 days of Awe (between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur) God inscribes the names of the righteous in the Book of Life. People who fall between the two categories have until Yom Kippur to perform “teshuvah,” or repentance. The Day of Atonement is the most sacred day of the year. It is sometimes referred to as the "Sabbath of Sabbaths." Even non-observant Jews participate in religious services on Yom Kippur, causing synagogue attendance to soar. Any Jew who performed work or failed to fast on that day was cut off from the people (Leviticus 23:28-29).

Dual atonement. In the sacrificial system there were two necessary atonements. The first is the daily or continual sacrifice typified in the spring Passover festival. The second is the yearly fall Day of Atonement festival. In the letter to the Hebrews, Hebrews 8:3 speaks to the first and Hebrews 9:23 speaks to the second.

  • Hebrews 8:3: For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer.
  • Hebrews 9:23: Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

The first was necessary for forgiveness (Leviticus 4) and the second was necessary for cleansing (Leviticus 16). The cleansing was that of the Sanctuary, the priesthood and the people. The cleansing of the Sanctuary itself involved the cleansing of the Most Holy and Holy Places and the cleansing of the Altar of the Court.

Receiving the atonement of reconciliation (Leviticus 4) was not complete without the cleansing work of Leviticus 16. As 1 John 1:9 tells us, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [first atonement] our sins and to cleanse us [second atonement] from all unrighteousness." As Leviticus 16 tells us, yet a second act of atonement was required. Again, the first was not complete without the second.

  • Leviticus 16:16: Thus he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins. And so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which dwells with them in the midst of their uncleannesses.
  • Leviticus 16:30: For on this day shall atonement be made for you to cleanse you. You shall be clean before Yahweh from all your sins.

EGW expressed this dual atonement concept in the following quotes. She describes this second atonement as the "final atonement" for sin.

  • PP 357.5: The blood of Christ, while it was to release the repentant sinner from the condemnation of the law, was not to cancel the sin; it would stand on record in the sanctuary until the final atonement; so in the type the blood of the sin offering removed the sin from the penitent, but it rested in the sanctuary until the Day of Atonement.
  • GC 489.1: The intercession of Christ in man’s behalf in the sanctuary above is as essential to the plan of salvation as was His death upon the cross. By His death He began that work which after His resurrection He ascended to complete in heaven.
  • 25LtMs, Ms 69, 1912, par. 47: When Christ, the mediator, burst the bands of the tomb, and ascended on high to minister for man, He first entered the holy place, where, by virtue of His own sacrifice, He made an offering for the sins of men. With intercession and pleadings He presented before God the prayers and repentance and faith of His people, purified by the incense of His own merits. He next entered the most holy place to make an atonement for the sins of the people and cleanse the sanctuary. His work as high priest completes the divine plan of redemption by making the final atonement for sin.

Another way to look at it is using the theological terms "justification" for the first (daily) and "sanctification" for the second (yearly). One is forgiveness of sin, the other is total eradication of sin and blotting out the record in heaven.

The "blotting out of sin" in the heavenly sanctuary through the final atonement will occur prior to the second coming while the righteous living are still on earth, yet unglorified. The 144,000 (Revelation 7:4; 14:1, 3) represent the group which will be without a mediator for a short period of time prior to Christ's second coming. “Let us strive with all the power that God has given us to be among the hundred and forty-four thousand" RH March 9, 1905, par. 4.

Single atonement. Single atonement is the belief that Jesus died on the cross and that is all the atonement I will ever need. Thus, what Jesus is doing in heaven as our high priest (Hebrews 2:17) is applying what he already did on the cross. It denies Christ performing a second or "final" atonement in heaven. Seventh-day Adventists held to a dual atonement belief for roughly the first 100 years of the Church's existence. Since the mid-1950s, however, as stated in Questions on Doctrine, Adventists now hold to a single atonement belief.

  • "This sacrifice, referring to Calvary, was completely efficacious. It provided complete atonement for all mankind." —Questions on Doctrine, p. 357.
  • "Jesus our surety entered the "holy places," and appeared in the presence of God for us. But it was not with the hope of obtaining something for us at that time, or at some future time. No! He had already obtained it for us on the cross." —Questions on Doctrine, p. 381, emphasis in original.
  • “They do not believe as some of their earlier teachers taught, that Jesus’ atoning work was not complete on Calvary. ... but instead that He was still carrying on a second ministering work since 1844. This idea is also totally repudiated.” --Donald Grey Barnhouse, "Are Seventh-day Adventists Christians?" Eternity 7.9 (Sept. 1956): 6-

Andreasen regarding "Questions on Doctrine."

  • M. L. Andreasen, Letters to the Churches, p. 100 (also archived): Much confusion in regard to the atonement arises from a neglect to recognize the two divisions of the atonement. Note what is said of John the Baptist: “He did not distinguish clearly the two phases of Christ’s work—as a suffering sacrifice, and a conquering king.” Desire of Ages, pp. 136, 137. The book Questions on Doctrine makes the same mistake. It does not distinguish clearly; in fact it does not distinguish at all; it does not seem to know of the two phases; hence the confusion.

Early Adventists

The early Adventists made the sanctuary service, and particularly the final atonement in heaven, the center of their message. Uriah Smith summarizes their understanding in a five-point statement in RH, June 14, 1887, "Questions on the Sanctuary" which says:

  1. That the sanctuary and priesthood of the Mosaic dispensation represented in shadow the sanctuary and priesthood of the present or Christian dispensation (Hebrews 8:5).
  2. That this Sanctuary and priesthood are in heaven, resembling the former as nearly as heavenly things may resemble the earthly (Hebrews 9:23, 24).
  3. That the ministry of Christ, our great high priest, in the heavenly Sanctuary is composed of two great divisions, as in the type ; first, in the first apartment, or holy place, and, secondly, in the second apartment, or most holy place.
  4. That the beginning of his ministry in the second apartment is marked by the great prophetic period of 2,300 days (Dan. 8:14), and began when those days ended in 1844.
  5. That the ministry he is now performing in the second apartment of the' heavenly temple, is "the atonement" (Leviticus 16:17), the "cleansing of the Sanctuary" (Daniel 8:14), the "investigative Judgment" (Daniel 7:10), the "finishing of the mystery of God" (Revelation 10:7; 11:15, 19), which will complete Christ's work as priest, consummate the plan of salvation, terminate human probation, decide every case for eternity, and bring Christ to his throne of eternal dominion.

The "hour of judgment" of the first angel in Revelation 14:6-7 was understood to be the work of the final atonement or "cleansing the sanctuary" had begun at the end of the 2300-day prophecy (Daniel 8:14) which was believed to have ended of 1844. The idea of Christ ministering in the heavenly sanctuary as our high priest is not original with Adventists since the letter to the Hebrews speaks to this. The new idea, however, was that this ministry beginning in 1844 was the final atonement and essential for our salvation.

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