It is done! What is done?

“And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And He said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.” (Rev. 21:5,6).

God the Father spoke this. This is similar to what Jesus said at the beginning of the Revelation.

“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.…. Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last….” (Rev. 1:8,11).

The introduction and the conclusion are both spoken as if apart from the Revelation drama. They are preliminaries and But the difference is who is speaking. At the beginning it was the Son who was speaking, and at the end it is the Father speaking. This is significant. But, why should this be?

I believe a clue to this is found in Revelation 11. Revelation 4 through 11 gives the reader a concise storyline of the whole drama of seven seals and seven trumpets. And chapters 12 through 18 give details to be brought into the base storyline of chapters 4-11.

This Revelation chapter 4 through 11 storyline is the great controversy between God and Satan. The Son of God as the only one qualified to free His Father from the wily accusations of Lucifer, thus He alone can open the book sealed with seven permanent seals. Satan thought he check-mated the omniscient One.

In revelation chapter 11 we see the conclusion of the seals and trumpets, which laid out God’s rescue plan and His kingdom’s in the great controversy when the final conflict among the nations of earth begin just prior to the final plagues being poured out.

“And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.” (Rev. 11:15).

The last word from heaven at the end of the plagues is, It is done. “And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.” (Rev. 16:17).

But, this, “It is done!” from Him “that sat upon the throne” (Rev. 21:5) is not the “It is finished” (John 19:30), that Jesus cried.

When Jesus cried out from the cross, “It is finished”, He gave the final crushing blow to Satan, by dying a victor over the great destroyer of God and men. Then Jesus would continue His crushing blow as He ascended to push the devil beyond hearing distance, confining him to Earth.

“And there was war in heaven: Michael and His angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” (Rev. 12:7-12).

That began the ramping up of Satan’s final attempt to libel the Father. To prevent the salvation of Christ, he fought the gospel spread by moving into the church and fighting Christ from within His own earthly organization.

The Father allowed this to happen when His own people lost their first love for His Son. An enemy has always been permitted to oppose God’s people, whether it was the antedeluvians against the Adamites, or the Hitites against the Hebrew patriarchs, or the Amalekites against children of Israel, or the Philistines against the nation of Israel or the four empires against the post-exilic Jews. Later against the church the devil created the Gnostic Nicolaitans and still later the apostatizing church fathers, and finally the papacy until Jesus returns.

“The LORD hath sworn that the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.” (Ex. 17:16).

So, everything of redemption wasn’t finished at the cross. All was finished that was needed for God’s provision in Christ. But, that almighty provision needed to be implemented and tried. Ultimately the provision was for Christ’s High Priestly ministry of His own blood, which would end in the heavenly sanctuary’s need to be cleansed. Not alone would 6,000 years of His propitiation for His saints’ be dealt with for cleansing the sanctuary, but the blasphemous doctrines against God’s character would be completely and utterly cleansed from the generation that would be received up at His return.

That generation would be sealed and settled in the truth about God. That generation will be specially privileged because they will be privy of every nuanced lie manufactured by Satan against the Law of God.

Once that final generation has preached the truth of God to the whole world for a witness to every nation, then the seventh angel will blow the trumpet and God will be free from every construct devised against Him. He will take positive measures to restore everything lost to Satan’s revolt.

“The second woe [the sixth trumpet] is past; and, behold, the third woe [seventh trumpet] cometh quickly.

And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.

And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,

Saying, We give Thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because Thou hast taken to Thee Thy great power, and hast reigned.

And the nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that Thou shouldest give reward unto Thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear Thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.” (Rev. 11:14-18).

That last scene of angry nations and God’s wrath come speaks of the third angels’ message.

“And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,

The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:

And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.” (Rev. 14:9-11).

So the third angel’s “wine of the wrath of God…poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation”, and being “tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb”, will be such as happened constantly during Christ’s earthly ministry whenever He met demoniacs. For example “There met Him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with Thee, Jesus, Thou Son of God? art Thou come hither to torment us before the time?” (Matt. 8:28,29). Therefore, the condition of the wicked, after the seventh angel blows his trumpet in heaven, is all about devil possession because the Holy Spirit of Christ will be inundating the world trough His 144,000 giving the everlasting gospel.

“And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.” (Rev. 11:19).

“And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened:

And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.

And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.

And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from His power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.” (Rev. 15:5-8).

After the nations’ war against the great whore and against each other, the plagues will fall upon a wholly wicked world, and the final destruction will come with all the asteroids and meteors that Jesus pushes ahead of His angelic/divine entourage on the way to Earth. Those flaming hail stones will smash every city to rubble and “the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” (2Pet. 3:10). That magnificent crescendo will end the six millennia long contest of Lucifer against God.

 “And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, IT IS DONE.

And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.

And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.

And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.

And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.” (Rev. 16:17-21).

“IT IS DONE.” (Rev. 16:17).

God’s Law immutable, inescapable

“For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.” (2Cor. 13:8).

We cannot even dare to think to change God’s Law. All we can do is accept His Law and conform to its requirements, or its consequences.

Throughout our short probation of 70, 80, 90, 100 years the human race has tried endlessly to skirt the great Law of God. And our little experiments only proved one thing—we have committed extreme foolishness and ended up with nothing but egg all over our faces. The consequences to disobedience are our public declarations, regardless whether we ever publicly admit to the consequences from our mouths. We wear our consequences. Our facial expressions exude them. Consequences hang from our bodies every time we look in the mirror. We can’t find enough fig leaves to make them disappear. The consequences to disobeying the universal Law of God are immutable and inescapable.

I am a speck in this world, called Earth. Our world is an invisible dot in our galaxy, called the Milky Way. Our gargantuan Milky Way galaxy is but an invisible speck in the rest of the Father’s universe, the home of immense space.

“When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained;

What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that Thou visitest him?” (Ps. 8:3,4).

What am I to the laws that govern the universe? Nothing? Less than nothing? What can I do to alter any law of the Creator? It’s humorous to think it. It would be daunting to try; yet the rebellious keep thinking they can accomplish it with impunity. Isn’t that the definition of insanity?

The Law of God, the Ten Commandments, have a depth that will take eternity to study, because of the complexity of the human being and of creation. But the Ten Commandments are also so very basic that children understand them. They are boiled down to the simple principle:

“All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.” (Matt. 7:12).

As we go along in life we are rewarded for how we treat others. Are we considerate of their needs? Are we merciful? At the same time are we truthful, with our own faults as well as theirs? Jesus has much to say about mercy and truth. They are the perfect combination, the perfect expression of God’s character, His Law, and His ways.

“For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations.” (Ps. 100:5).

“All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.” (Ps. 25:10).

“Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” (Ps. 85:10).

“I will cry unto God Most High; unto God that performeth all things for me.

He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth His mercy and His truth.” (Ps. 57:2,3).

“Justice and judgment are the habitation of Thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before Thy face.

Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of Thy countenance.” (Ps. 89:14,15).

“By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.” (Prov. 16:6).

“Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart.” (Prov. 3:3).

God’s mercy, Christ’s mercy endure forever. And so does Their truth. Those two overarching principles are the basis for all laws that govern our psychological, emotional, and spiritual health, which in turn affect our physical health. Mercy and truth. Never truth without mercy; and never mercy without truth. Our Creators illustrate these principles in the give and take, and the take and give, seen on our planet and in the cosmos.

Whenever we transgress any law there are repercussions. Breaking laws of nature, i.e. gravity, illustrates the most obvious consequences of injury and death. But breaking civil laws also eventually end in like punishments. Then there is the moral Law, the Ten Commandments. Besides the aspects of stealing and killing overlapping civil and moral law, there is honoring the wisdom and appreciating the love of our parents. There is adultery and fornication, coveting and lusting. Disobeying these has devastating consequences to the disobedient and to their victims.

“Destruction and misery are in their ways: and the way of peace have they not known.” (Rom. 3:16,17).

“Sin is the transgression of the law.” (1Jn. 3:4).

God must deal with our sin. But, sin also corrupts every fiber of our being. Sin is like the hormones that affect every nerve in our body, driving us to do what we can’t control. Truth and mercy are the only cure. Solid, unvarnished truth, stinging our conscience and pride, must be laid against the thick roots of our sinfulness. But our initial response to being stung is rebellion. We cannot discern the mercy and love behind the sting. It always takes time to resolve the sting of reproof. Job, whose punishment was literally stinging him, is an example of us all.

Certainly, his moral friends exacerbated his problem by not mixing mercy with their truth. This only perpetuated his determination in self-justification, self-preservation, and self-exaltation, which no doubt were the cause of his afflictions.

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23).

Yet, the Lord Jesus had mercy on Job, but must wait for a break in his determined rationalizations.

Moses, who wrote the Job account, did not deny that Job justified himself, and even glorified himself.

“Job … justified himself rather than God.” (Job 32:2).

“…The young men saw me, and hid themselves: and the aged arose, and stood up.

The princes refrained talking, and laid their hand on their mouth.

The nobles held their peace, and their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth.

When the ear heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me.” (Job 29:8-11).

“If I have walked with vanity, or if my foot hath hasted to deceit;

Let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may know mine integrity.

If my step hath turned out of the way, and mine heart walked after mine eyes, and if any blot hath cleaved to mine hands;

Then let me sow, and let another eat; yea, let my offspring be rooted out.

If mine heart have been deceived by a woman, or if I have laid wait at my neighbour’s door;

Then let my wife grind unto another, and let others bow down upon her.” (Job 31:5-10).

“If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail;

Or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof;

(For from my youth he was brought up with me, as with a father, and I have guided her from my mother’s womb;)

If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering;

If his loins have not blessed me, and if he were not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;

If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, when I saw my help in the gate:

Then let mine arm fall from my shoulder blade, and mine arm be broken from the bone.” (Job 31:16-22).

So the Lord sent Elihu to help His servant Job. Elihu spoke with great eloquence and humility, explaining what Job already knew of the ways that God works, only to save His children. Mercy and truth—love at its finest— Elihu showed Job, who was still smarting from his bodily condition. Yet, even when this messenger of the Lord brought mercy and truth to Job he maintained his perfect innocence in the matter of his affliction. What Job needed was repentance, which should eventually have been forthcoming. But sin was preventing it. A massive humbling was needed to make the opening in his converted heart, and then repentance could come forth. But, a prophet, such as Elihu in an ancient caste system, still could not get through to his elder.

So, not being infinitely more perfect than Job and not giving up on him, the Lord got involved. Personal involvement equates to personal attention; and personal attention equates to love. And this Person’s involvement and attention came with a thunderous volume that Job could not shut his mind to. Jesus shut down His servant. Job allowed for the resolution of his physical and spiritual stinging. He was humbled, accepting of reproof, and turned around. And others eventually also admit to their error and their sting is resolved.

“He that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” (John 3:21).

But, unlike Job, “multitudes, multitudes” (Joel 3:14) ultimately do reject the truth. With all their heart, to the very end they deny any wrong-doing. Jesus’ Spirit of truth and comfort cannot penetrate their thick walls of denial.

“Light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” (John 3:19,20).

All sinners are the same. They are born equally, stubbornly resistant to reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness. What makes the difference between those who accept the truth and those who won’t? The difference is in who sees or doesn’t see God’s efforts to come from the heart of an earthly friend, and ultimately the Friend from heaven. The difference is in who chooses to look and live.

“For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:17,18).

Only the comprehension of love brings down the high walls of pride of supposed right-doing and denial of any wrong-doing. And the combination of mercy and truth is love. Will the sinner see this? Will accelerating Job-like repercussions permit him or her to peek out of fused eyelids and to perk up ear-plugged ears? Will they allow for the Lord’s representatives—His people, His animal kingdom, His flowers and trees and mountains and sky, His written word—to speak for Him and be His involvement and attention? Or, will they wait until He descends from heaven in crashing bedlam and destruction? “Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and He shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.” (Isa. 13:9).

“This is the will of Him that sent Me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life” (John 6:40).

“All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me; and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out…. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent Me, that of all which He hath given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.” (John 6:37,39).

Will they see Jesus’ love surrounding every word of merciful truth, and be saved from themselves forever, in this life and throughout all of eternity?

Desmon Ford's evangelical stance on the Law's condemnation of sin when he rejected the investigative judgment

“For as the Father hath life in Himself; so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself; and hath given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of man.” (John 5:26,27).

The following is an excerpt from a book review, as recorded in Spectrum Magazine.

“Ford saw the fear caused by the notion of a heavenly investigation into the deeds of every human being, preceding the close of probation and the Second Advent. The doctrine, Ford observed, caused many Adventists to question their standing with God, and to doubt whether they were fit to be saved. For Ford, this uncertainty was incompatible with the Gospel. For decades, Ford tried to point out the problem.”

“That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent Him.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” (John 5:23,24).

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the Law of sin and death.” (Rom. 8:1,2).

Do John 5:23 and Romans 8:1 contradict the investigative judgment? Exactly what does Jesus mean in John 5:27?

Jesus executes judgment upon all who are lost. And He has the right to be the one for that because He has suffered all of our pains, traumas, and temptations. Before He ever drops a bomb on a sinner, He had His Father drop a hydrogen bomb on Himself in Gethsemane to Golgotha.

And what about John 5:24 and Romans 8:1? What do the following verses say about condemnation in the Christian life? Is condemnation admissible for a Christian? Or can he, must he, reject all condemnation and simply live carefree?

“Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.” (Rom. 11:22).

Once blessed of God, not always blessed of God. Once saved, not always saved. Evangelicals don’t believe this because they essentially believe in Catholicism. Jesus came to preach truth and grace, not grace only. But, apostate Evangelicalism has “received not a love of the truth, that they might be saved” (2Thess. 2:10). This is why they can’t love the biblical doctrine of condemnation. They worship Ashtoreth, the Queen of grace and grace only, the goddess “whom all Asia and the world worshippeth.” (Acts 19:27).

“For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,

But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:

Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

For we know Him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto Me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge His people.

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Heb. 10:26-31).

“And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him:

For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth.

If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is He whom the Father chasteneth not?

But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.” (Heb. 12:5-8).

 “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.

For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.

For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.

Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.

But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.” (Heb. 10:35-39).

“But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.

But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.

For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward His name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.

And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end:

That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” (Heb. 6:8-12).

Condemnation must be admissible for a Christian. If he must reject all condemnation and live carefree, then doesn’t he live like the Zidonians of ancient times? “… they dwelt careless, after the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure; and there was no magistrate in the land, that might put them to shame in any thing.” (Jdg. 18:7). Well, one might say, “The Zidonians were pagan, but we are Christians and live righteously.”

“For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end.” (Heb. 3:14). How do the words in Hebrews 3:14 agree with the modern, popular, condemnation-free grace of the Evangelical Christians? It doesn’t agree with them. And it was a favorite verse for Ellen White. The verse says that for some reason we don’t fully partake of Christ until the end of our lives, or the end of the world, whichever comes first. How then can we have everlasting life starting today, as John 5:24 says.

When Jesus liberated captive Israel and gave them the gospel, as He has done to us, why did He inaugurate the ministration of condemnation?

“Thou hast led captivity captive: Thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them.” (Ps. 68:18). If Israel came into condemnation daily, as well as annually on the Day of Atonement, why should not the Christian?

The Israelites lived under Christ’s blessedness.

“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them,

The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:

The LORD make His face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:

The LORD lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

And they shall put My name upon the children of Israel; and I will bless them.” (Num. 6:22-27).

“Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now the LORD thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude.” (Deut. 10:22).

But also under His condemnation.

“Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the LORD thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the LORD hath brought me in to possess this land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD doth drive them out from before thee.

Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that He may perform the word which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Understand therefore, that the LORD thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiffnecked people.” (Deut. 9:4-6).

“And I looked, and, behold, ye had sinned against the LORD your God, and had made you a molten calf: ye had turned aside quickly out of the way which the LORD had commanded you.

And I took the two tables, and cast them out of my two hands, and brake them before your eyes.

And I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and forty nights: I did neither eat bread, nor drink water, because of all your sins which ye sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger.

For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure, wherewith the LORD was wroth against you to destroy you. But the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also.

And the LORD was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him: and I prayed for Aaron also the same time.

And I took your sin, the calf which ye had made, and burnt it with fire, and stamped it, and ground it very small, even until it was as small as dust: and I cast the dust thereof into the brook that descended out of the mount.

And at Taberah, and at Massah, and at Kibrothhattaavah, ye provoked the LORD to wrath.

Likewise when the LORD sent you from Kadeshbarnea, saying, Go up and possess the land which I have given you; then ye rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God, and ye believed him not, nor hearkened to His voice.

Ye have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you.” (Deut. 9:16-24).

“Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.

Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.

For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for?

And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?

Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons.” (Deut. 4:5-9).

“Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the LORD thy God chasteneth thee. Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, to walk in His ways, and to fear Him.” (Deut. 8:5,6).

“Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear Him.” (Ps. 103:13).

“Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse;

A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day:

And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.” (Deut. 11:26-28).

Isn’t the new covenant as full of condemnation?                                                                                                                                                 

“… the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

Who will render to every man according to his deeds:

To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:

But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,

Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile” (Rom. 2:5-9). When will God render a Christian eternal life? On “the day of wrath”, i.e. the Day of Judgment? On what criteria, Faith? No. “according to his deeds”, “to them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality”. Does Paul conflict with Jesus’ promise in John 5:24? I doubt it since Jesus inspired every word of scripture.

The condemnation from which Jesus promised to protect the Christian is not the same condemnation of the Father’s judgment Day in the end. So, why is this? Because a Christian can be without condemnation and have peace with God, and then lose it.

“When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;

Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” (Matt. 13:19-23).

“Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:

But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.

But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.

So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?

He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?

But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.

Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.” (Matt. 13:24-30).

“And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:

And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.

Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matt. 22:11-14).

“Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.

And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.

But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.

And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.” (Matt. 25:7-10).

Thus the need for the investigative judgment. If you want to be deceived, get rid of the investigative judgment, and you will have smooth ride down a massive roller coaster into hell.

“Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.

For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.

For we which have believed do enter into rest, as He said, As I have sworn in My wrath, if they shall enter into My rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.” (Heb. 4:1-3).

So why is the whole Bible full of promises and blessings, and warnings and curses, even the New Testament? Because…

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jer. 17:9).

“O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Rom. 7:24).

Not even Desmond Ford and the Evangelicals know their own heart. Thus we have this exhortation, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” (2Cor. 13:5).

“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith” doesn’t sound completely definite. That should cause us to tremble. The fear of God is healthy. “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” (Phil. 2:12).

And we have this corollary…

“The word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” (Heb. 4:12,13).

“For in Him we live, and move, and have our being;… For we are also His offspring.” (Acts 17:28).

“O LORD, Thou hast searched me, and known me.

Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, Thou understandest my thought afar off.

Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.

For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, Thou knowest it altogether.

Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid Thine hand upon me.” (Ps. 139:1-5).

“O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the Law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.…

But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you.…

For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.” (Rom. 7:24,25;8:11,22,23).

“For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him who hath subjected the same in hope,

Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.” (Rom. 8:19-21).

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1Jn. 1:8).

Then the investigative judgment is a necessity, and any truly born-again Christian will own up to the investigative judgment, and be thankful for it, for his own sake.

Another look at Hebrews chapters 6 through 13 to know if Jesus ascended directly to the heavenly Holy Place or the heavenly Most Holy

“Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.” (Heb. 6:19).

The Writer of Hebrews (Paul), or the Writers of Hebrews (Paul, Silas, and Luke?) (WoH) was seeking every opportunity to remind the Hebrew Christians of the self-sacrifice of High Priest Messiah. The Jewish believers were in great danger of abandoning the gospel and WoH couldn’t let them forget what he had personally, previously taught them. Their turning back to the obsolete animal sacrificial system would have immediately robbed them of faith in Christ. Their hearts would have gravitated directly to the old and decayed, superseded truth from Eden and would have left the present truth of the Messiah’s coming. The apostle must dissuade them of this. So he fell back onto his depth of scriptural knowledge to create a probing treatise that they could not easily overlook. “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause He is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.” (Heb. 9:14-17).

Hebrews chapter 7 shows most of the contrasts between old and new covenants, always showing that the old was worse than the new and the new being better than the old, as listed in the table below.

Worst	Best
After the law of a carnal commandment	After the power of an endless life
Priests after Levi, without an oath, temporary	Priest after Melchesidec, sworn with an oath, perpetual
Priests died, were corrupt, unfeeling, have infirmities	High Priest is touched with the feelings of our infirmities, separate from sinners, made higher than the heavens
The first tabernacle (earthly)	The holiest of all (heavenly)
Weakness and unprofitableness	By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament
Could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;	The bringing in of a better hope [made us perfect]; by the which we draw nigh unto God.
The earthly temple a figure for the time then present	Until the time of reformation when the earthly temple no longer stood
Only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances purifying the flesh	The blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit, offered Himself without spot to God [shall] purge our conscience
Dead works	Serve the living God
This building made with hands	A greater and more perfect tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man
By the blood of goats and calves	By His own blood
Change of many priests because of death	One High Priest, unchangeable priesthood
Priests who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, faulty ministry	Christ has a more excellent ministry, by how much also He is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.
The first tabernacle	The true tabernacle

The book of Hebrews is much about contrasts between the heavenly and the earthly tabernacles to show the Jewish Christians why to not return to and get caught up in the glitz and glamour of the decayed, Babylonian-influenced Jewish religion. The power of externals and the appeal to carnal stimulation is as strong a temptation today as the early Jewish Christians faced.

“Many Protestants suppose that the Catholic religion is unattractive and that its worship is a dull, meaningless round of ceremony. Here they mistake. While Romanism is based upon deception, it is not a coarse and clumsy imposture. The religious service of the Roman Church is a most impressive ceremonial. Its gorgeous display and solemn rites fascinate the senses of the people and silence the voice of reason and of conscience. The eye is charmed. Magnificent churches, imposing processions, golden altars, jeweled shrines, choice paintings, and exquisite sculpture appeal to the love of beauty. The ear also is captivated. The music is unsurpassed. The rich notes of the deep-toned organ, blending with the melody of many voices as it swells through the lofty domes and pillared aisles of her grand cathedrals, cannot fail to impress the mind with awe and reverence. 

     This outward splendor, pomp, and ceremony, that only mocks the longings of the sin-sick soul, is an evidence of inward corruption. The religion of Christ needs not such attractions to recommend it. In the light shining from the cross, true Christianity appears so pure and lovely that no external decorations can enhance its true worth. It is the beauty of holiness, a meek and quiet spirit, which is of value with God. 

     Brilliancy of style is not necessarily an index of pure, elevated thought. High conceptions of art, delicate refinement of taste, often exist in minds that are earthly and sensual. They are often employed by Satan to lead men to forget the necessities of the soul, to lose sight of the future, immortal life, to turn away from their infinite Helper, and to live for this world alone. 

     A religion of externals is attractive to the unrenewed heart. The pomp and ceremony of the Catholic worship has a seductive, bewitching power, by which many are deceived; and they come to look upon the Roman Church as the very gate of heaven. None but those who have planted their feet firmly upon the foundation of truth, and whose hearts are renewed by the Spirit of God, are proof against her influence. Thousands who have not an experimental knowledge of Christ will be led to accept the forms of godliness without the power. Such a religion is just what the multitudes desire. 

     The church’s claim to the right to pardon leads the Romanist to feel at liberty to sin; and the ordinance of confession, without which her pardon is not granted, tends also to give license to evil. He who kneels before fallen man, and opens in confession the secret thoughts and imaginations of his heart, is debasing his manhood and degrading every noble instinct of his soul. In unfolding the sins of his life to a priest,--an erring, sinful mortal, and too often corrupted with wine and licentiousness,--his standard of character is lowered, and he is defiled in consequence. His thought of God is degraded to the likeness of fallen humanity, for the priest stands as a representative of God. This degrading confession of man to man is the secret spring from which has flowed much of the evil that is defiling the world and fitting it for the final destruction. Yet to him who loves self-indulgence, it is more pleasing to confess to a fellow mortal than to open the soul to God. It is more palatable to human nature to do penance than to renounce sin; it is easier to mortify the flesh by sackcloth and nettles and galling chains than to crucify fleshly lusts. Heavy is the yoke which the carnal heart is willing to bear rather than bow to the yoke of Christ.” Great Controversy, p. 566, 567.

Anything and everything today connected with Babylonian religion is simply a new and improved version of the ancient, lustrous golden calf and “immaculate” heathen deities. Outwardly everything appears different to the religions of the ancient past. But, in principle nothing has changed. Preventing the Jewish believers from this is what WoH was striving for.

I also see another paradigm in the epistle to the Hebrews, which I will try to amplify by using the Strong’s Concordance numbering system, and The Interlinear Greek to English New Testament, by George Ricker Berry. In his rendition of the New Testament he has given the original Greek words and his own interpretation, which, following the Greek words I will add with quotation marks. In this paradigm I see that WoH made zero effort to say that Jesus went directly into the heavenly Most Holy Place (MHP). Rather, throughout the entire book of Hebrews he consistently wrote that Jesus entered into the heavenly temple in general. By consistently using the Koine Greek hagia or hagion, he makes it abundantly clear that Christ ascended to the heavenly sanctuary as a whole, and thus necessarily performing His ministry in the first compartment, the Holy Place, G39 hagia, hagion, “holy place” or “holy places”. WoH generalized about the heavenly temple because he understood the principle of type-antitype that Jesus had inculcated into the earthly temple economy when He gave it to Moses. Although WoH seemed limited in how much to write, he was very familiar with the details of the earthly temple system, and therefore understood the implications built into its two compartments and its court. The type-antitype principle forced into the earthly sanctuary’s abstract theology the revelation that Messiah, for a period of time, must enter into a post-sacrificial offering, heavenly propitiatory work before closing up that defiling work with a Day of Atonement (DoA) special cleanse of His Father’s hermetically sealed, emergency room-triage unit style sanctuary. And His self-sacrifice was sufficient for even that. Nothing is more caustic to all impurity than the pure “ashes of an [unobtrusive, spotless, young, diffident, meek, self-effacing, reserved, quietly blinking, lovely] Heifer” (Heb. 9:13), Jesus Christ our Lord.

The early church was baptized in wonder, and amazed enough simply to know that Jesus began the heavenly ministry prescribed by the Mosaic temple economy. “For Christ,” wrote WoH, “is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself [“the holiest of all^G39 hagion “holies” (Heb. 9:8)], now to appear in the presence of God for us.” (Heb. 9:24). The early church’s focus was not on a Day of Atonement at all. The many references to the temple by WoH were not of the MHP or the second veil, but of the sanctuary as a whole. He consistently spoke of Jesus passing through “the” veil into the whole heavenly sanctuary. That veil must have been the first veil, not the second, since the only way to enter the whole earthly building, and thus the whole heavenly, was to enter through the first veil. This grand retinue David was privileged to foresee.

“Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.

Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.

Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.

Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory.” (Ps. 24:7-10).

“Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

Being made so much better than the angels, as He hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

For unto which of the angels said He [God the Father] at any time, THOU ART MY SON, THIS DAY HAVE I BEGOTTEN THEE? And again, I WILL BE TO HIM A FATHER, AND HE SHALL BE TO ME A SON?” (Heb. 1:3-5).

“LET ALL THE ANGELS OF GOD WORSHIP HIM.” (Heb. 1:6).

There was no reason for WoH to specify which veil of the heavenly sanctuary it was that Christ entered because common sense made it the first veil. Entering heaven and walking among the churches in John’s Revelation meant Jesus Messiah was pleading His sacrifice before God and sending Their Spirit (see Revelation 1:12,13; 5:6) for reassurance that He was completing His mission to overcome their sins and sinful natures. His entering the whole heavenly sanctuary was enough for the first generation Christians.

And, indeed, entering the whole heavenly sanctuary is what Jesus had done. And that’s the only place He entered. If His entering the heavenly Holy Place to minister His self-sacrifice doesn’t “purge [our] conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Heb. 9:14), then we haven’t submitted to the Law of God and surrendered to the cross of Christ. We don’t have the Spirit of the Son. We are not converted and are yet carnal. And to seek to eek out of the book of Hebrews what isn’t there is to be ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. It ends in straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel. We want something more than what Jesus gave us. We want hyper-grace, which side-steps the condemnation of God, especially at this late hour in the time of the end, the investigative judgment. Therefore we swallow a lie from the deceiver because we won’t accept the truth. “Heavy is the yoke which the carnal heart is willing to bear rather than bow to the yoke of Christ.” Great Controversy, p. 567.

So, let’s look at each verse and hear WoH speak of the whole sanctuary and not just of the Most Holy Place. Hebrews chapter 7 is full of contrasts between old and new covenants, with its animal sacrifices contrasted to the sacrifice of the Son of God, the priests being weak as opposed to nothing pleasing their Saviour’s strong love more than to intercede before God for them, the earthly priests’ ministries ending by death while Christ had an endless intercession, the priests cannot be touched with the people’s deepest infirmities while our High Priest’s heart is touched and He touches theirs (see 1 Sam. 10:26), the new heavenly ministry necessitated a change in the whole ceremonial law and covenant, disannulling it, etc. (see Hebrews 7:12, 18). The message to the Hebrew Christians was to alert and to convince the early Jewish church to not cave to the persecution pressuring them to return to the corrupted earthly system. But this study’s purpose regards today’s new issue over the book of Hebrews, that nothing in Hebrews chapter 7 refers to the issue of a specific MHP, an earthly high priest entering it, or Christ Himself ascending to it. It speaks of Christ as High Priest after the order of Melchisedec, but only to contrast the superior Son of God and His sacrifice to the inferior earthly priesthood and sacrificial system, just as Hebrews chapter 9 contrasts the superior heavenly sanctuary to the inferior earthly.  So I will skip chapter 7, but picking up at its last verse simply for a context to chapters 8 and 9. Then I will leave a short comment for each verse of those chapters.

Heb 7:28  For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the [ceremonial] law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore. The grand finale of the chapter’s stance of the new covenant’s effectiveness contrasted with the old covenant’s ineffectiveness.

Heb 8:1  Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an High Priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; Heb 8:2  A minister of the sanctuary^G39 hagion “holies”, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. New direction in the discussion—the sanctuary. No reference to DoA or specifically MHP.

Heb 8:3  For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this Man have somewhat also to offer. Heb 8:4  For if He were on earth, He should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law: As with chapter 7, the effectiveness of the new covenant over the old is due to the better gift and precious sacrifice of Christ’s own body and blood, Spirit and soul. A change of covenant and ceremonial law from earthly Zion to heavenly Zion. No reference to DoA or MHP.

Heb 8:5  Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle^G4633: for, See, saith He, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount. Strengthening the doctrine of the heavenly ministry versus the earthly one in the Jerusalem temple. No reference to DoA or MHP.

Heb 8:6  But now hath He obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also He is the Mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. Heb 8:7  For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. The change in covenant and ceremonial law, strengthening the doctrine of the heavenly ministry versus the earthly one in the Jerusalem temple. No reference to DoA or MHP.

Heb 8:8  For finding fault with them [old covenant and lesser promises, and therefore weakened spiritual resolve against sin among the people], He saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: Heb 8:9  Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in My covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. Heb 8:10  For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put My laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to Me a people: Heb 8:11  And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know Me, from the least to the greatest. Heb 8:12  For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. Strengthening the doctrine of the heavenly ministry versus the earthly one in the Jerusalem temple. No reference to DoA or MHP.

Heb 8:13  In that He saith, A new covenant, He hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.

The change in covenant and ceremonial law, strengthening the doctrine of the heavenly ministry versus the earthly one in the Jerusalem temple. The effectiveness of the new covenant contrasted with the ineffectiveness of old covenant. No reference to DoA or MHP.

 Heb 9:1  Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary^G39 hagion “sanctuary”. WoH has detailed knowledge of both earthly sanctuary ministries inferring that WoH acknowledges same in heavenly antitype arrangement.

Heb 9:2  For there was a tabernacle^G4633 made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary^G39 hagia “holy”. Detailed knowledge of both earthly sanctuary ministries infers WoH acknowledges same with heavenly antitype arrangement.

Heb 9:3  And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all^{G39 G39} hagia hagion “holy of holies”; Detailed knowledge of both earthly sanctuary ministries infers WoH acknowledges same with heavenly antitype arrangement.

Heb 9:4  Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; Detailed knowledge of both earthly sanctuary ministries infers WoH acknowledges same with heavenly antitype arrangement.

Heb 9:5  And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly. Detailed knowledge of both earthly sanctuary ministries infers WoH acknowledges same with heavenly antitype arrangement.

Heb 9:6  Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. Detailed knowledge of both earthly sanctuary ministries infers WoH acknowledges same with heavenly antitype arrangement.

Heb 9:7  But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people: Detailed knowledge of both earthly sanctuary ministries infers WoH acknowledges same with heavenly antitype arrangement. The use of “once” does not necessarily assume a DoA or an ascension directly to the MHP. WoH uses the singularity of the events to emphasize the greatness of all things related to the heavenly component over the earthly carnal ordinances in this type-antitype theological structure.

Heb 9:8  The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all^G39 hagion “holies” was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: Heb 9:9  Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; This verse reinforces that WoH was not referring to the MHP only. The way into the Holy Places hagion, the heavenly sanctuary, not the heavenly “Holiest of all ^{G39 G39}” (Heb. 9:3) Most Holy Place hagia hagion was manifested after the first tabernacle ceased to stand. WoH was relating to the chapter 7 issues of every sort of carnal, imperfect ritual, rather than to the issue of “within the veil” for perfect peace with God and perfect victory over sin. WoH was encompassing the whole earthly system bound up in its temple, which he had just described in the previous seven verses.

Heb 9:10  Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation. Related to carnal ceremonies until the arrival of the “within the veil” issue for victory over sin. The earthly foods, drinks, washings, ordinances was a temporary system until the new light on the heavenly ministry of verse 8 would be manifested. WoH still does not relate this to the DoA or specifically the MHP.

Heb 9:11  But Christ being come an High Priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle^G4633, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building: Heb 9:12  Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place^G39 hagia “holies”, having obtained eternal redemption for us. After His “one” sacrifice Christ entered “once” the heavenly sanctuary—this does not speak of the heavenly Most Holy Place, but of the greater and more perfect heavenly tabernacle.

Heb 9:13  For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: In this sentence WoH was speaking broadly in his argument to reclaim the faith of his fellow persecuted Jewish Christians. “The blood of bulls and goats” was related to DoA or MHP, but “the ashes of an heifer” was not necessarily related to DoA or MHP. The ashes of a spotless heifer was introduced by Jesus to reveal His total destruction by which He would ordain His High Priestly ministry, as Eleazar took that earthly highest office immediately after accomplishing the red heifer ceremony (see Numbers 19:3; 20:23-29). But, since “the blood of bulls and goats” was not the only facet of this argument bullet, the issue was not a DoA or MHP issue. The statement bullet was to remove fealty to the earthly temple and its many rituals.

Heb 9:14  How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? This offering and purging relates to Calvary, and infers nothing relating to the MHP or DoA, but rather it infers a HP experience, which followed the daily sacrificial offering of a slain animal and a slain heart. For, “the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.” (Heb. 7:19).

Heb 9:15  And for this cause He is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. This concerns High Priest Jesus’ new covenant ministry “within the veil” of whole heavenly sanctuary and acts as precursor to verse 26, “in the end of the [age]”, the age of the old covenant. It regards the end of the first testament age and the transgressions arising from the weak, unprofitable, decayed and waning old covenant—thus it regards the redemptive new covenant’s reformation of the old covenant and the transgression due to its failures prior to the heavenly “Holiest of all” sanctuary becoming manifested. It specifies the first veil into sanctuary.

Heb 9:16  For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. Heb 9:17  For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth. These verses speak of the testator’s death before the better testament has any power. By the death of the better sacrifice the unprofitable old system was changed. This speaks of ordaining, dedicating a new system, purifying the heavenly sanctuary, rather than relating to DoA or solely the MHP.

Heb 9:18  Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood. This again equates the offering of Christ to Mosaic temple dedication, not to Day of Atonement.

Heb 9:19  For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, Heb 9:20  Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you. Heb 9:21  Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle^G4633, and all the vessels of the ministry. More of temple dedication, and unrelated to Day of Atonement.

Heb 9:22  And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. This speaks of Christ’s offering of Himself in the heavenly court (Earth).

Heb 9:23  It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. More of the type and the true temple dedications, and unrelated to DoA and the MHP.

Heb 9:24  For Christ is not entered into the holy places^G39 hagia “holies” made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: This clearly speaks to Christ entering, not an earthly, but heavenly holy places, heaven, the Holiest of all. “Now” has the power of “once”, used together in verse 26, “now once”, “now” not necessarily beginning a period, but certainly ending one, “in the end of the world^G165 [aion ‘age’, ‘eon’]”. Therefore, the message of this verse is simply a reiteration and a building crescendo: “Now” at the end of the old testament we see manifested the true tabernacle, the Holiest of all, which is “heaven itself”. Once again, unrelated to DoA and the MHP.

Heb 9:25  Nor yet that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place^G39 hagia “holies”, “sanctuary” every year with blood of others; This is a comparison with the Day of Atonement because of the word “high priest” and “every year”, but only for the purpose of saying that the new covenant Sacrifice died only once at the end of the court typical period, i.e. the Old Testament. Dying “once” makes its offering infinitely better than the most spotless of spotless earthly yearlings. This verse’s comparison seems to carry over from chapter 7. This verse does not infer that Jesus ascended to the MHP to accomplish the Day of Atonement since Hebrews 9:12 already said, “by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us”.

Heb 9:26  For then must He often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world^G165 [aion “age”, “eon”] hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. This speaks to the end of the old covenant dispensation, not to the end of the world.

Heb 9:27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: Heb 9:28  So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation. This is the finale of the building crescendo. It does not specify which compartment of the heavenly sanctuary that Christ will exit, but in keeping with the earthly tabernacle and the loyalty of WoH to the earthly construct, as he declared in Hebrews 8:4,5, it can be assumed that, as one dies and sleeps for a potentially long time before Judgment Day, WoH expected a long time period before Christ would finish His work of purifying His people and cleansing the sanctuary, and then appearing the second time without sin. “There are priests that offer gifts according to the law: who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith He, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.” (Heb. 8:4,5). WoH holds true to the earthly format, superimposing it onto the heavenly program.

Thus, our Adventist forefathers were correct in their interpretation of Hebrews chapters 8 and 9. The original Advent movement and platform hold true. The investigative judgment holds true. Let us afflict our souls at this late hour, rather than involve ourselves with the new Baal-peor celebration apostasy. Let us allow nothing to distract us from Day of Atonement preparation, not exciting worship, not soothing music, not the darkness all around attempting to crush our faith in Jesus’ heavenly cleansing. Let’s not even permit religious doubt-filled disputation, atheism or atheology to take us off the trail of truth. The Spirit of Prophecy and scripture, prayerfully and carefully studied, provide for our only guiding light today.