The blood as a transport medium for sin?

PeterDona

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I had a conversation with my SDA friend today.
He has on numerous occasions presented to me the idea that all sin in the end will be put on Satan, and quoted a ritual in I guess Leviticus as basis for that belief.
Today he went further and speculated how the blood functioned as a kind of transport medium for sin. So the idea was that when sacrifices were made in the temple, the sin was moved from the person to the temple, and so once a year the priest would go in and cleanse the temple with special sacrifices, and so the sin would be moved away from the temple.

I can see how this idea explain the statements about cleansing the uncleanness of the temple and the holy things.

But for me, the idea has always been that blood paid the price for sin, rather than being a transport medium for sin.

Would be happy if someone here is trained enough to elaborate.

Blessings
 

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Yay, how to start ....
I had a conversation with my SDA friend today.
He has on numerous occasions presented to me the idea that all sin in the end will be put on Satan, and quoted a ritual in I guess Leviticus as basis for that belief.
Today he went further and speculated how the blood functioned as a kind of transport medium for sin. So the idea was that when sacrifices were made in the temple, the sin was moved from the person to the temple, and so once a year the priest would go in and cleanse the temple with special sacrifices, and so the sin would be moved away from the temple.

I can see how this idea explain the statements about cleansing the uncleanness of the temple and the holy things.

But for me, the idea has always been that blood paid the price for sin, rather than being a transport medium for sin.

Would be happy if someone here is trained enough to elaborate.

Blessings
The Jewish High Priest went into the Holy of Holies, taking the blood of the sacrifice, and sprinkling it on the Mercy Seat, under which was the tablets of the Law. This was a symbol of the blood covering the Law. It provided redemption for the sin of believers, but the blood sacrifice lasted only one year.

This is how David was able to say, "Blessed is he whose transgression is covered"

When Jesus shed His blood and offered in the heavenly Holy of Holies, it covered the Law permanently for every person who receives Christ. This what it means for sin to be "under the blood".

The blood of Christ covers sin, does not transport it anywhere. For the believer, the penalty for sin was paid in full when Jesus died on the cross for us. Jesus transported His blood (not our sins) to the heavenly Holy of Holies to be offered up to the Father as the full price to be paid for our permanent redemption.
 
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Gary K

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So where should I go if I want to ask questions on SDA theology? Is there a better forum?
Peter,

There aren't any real active SDA forums any more. There used to be years ago but they have all slowed down to a small trickle of posters.

I'm not sure what your friend was addressing as there isn't enough evidence/scripture given to understand exactly what he was referring to. Yes, the blood trail was as you say it is, but that ritual was based in faith as salvation has always been by faith. So the transfer of sins, in reality, was by faith just as it is now. By faith the ancient Hebrews saw that the Messiah to come was to be sacrificed for their sins, and the entire religious economy of Israel was built around that. As they were looking forward to Jesus' life, death and resurrection, they needed more symbolism to understand it than we do who can look back at it and see the reality of Jesus in the scriptures. To me it took much more faith to look forward to events that had not happened yet, than it does to look back at history.

The main differences between the OT and the NT is that the OT looked forward to Christ, and the NT looks back to Christ. Salvation was by the same exact mechanism of faith then as it is now, and the requirements for salvation are still the same. We must believe that the spotless Son of God was slain for our sins and that by our trust in His sacrifice and our surrender of our hearts to Him and our repentance of, and reformation from, sin we are accepted in Christ and His blood covers us. Just like David prayed for a new heart and a right spirit within him so we must do the same.
 
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PeterDona

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@Gary K thanks for taking time to answer the post.
Yes I guess my conversation with my friend becomes a bit theological at times. He is also very much into the description of the temple, both in the books of Moses and in Revelation. This may be due to the focus of his congregation and not a general focus of the SDA.

It is a fascinating topic to understand how even the jewish priests could not recognize Messiah when he came.

God bless you
 
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Gary K

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@Gary K thanks for taking time to answer the post.
Yes I guess my conversation with my friend becomes a bit theological at times. He is also very much into the description of the temple, both in the books of Moses and in Revelation. This may be due to the focus of his congregation and not a general focus of the SDA.

It is a fascinating topic to understand how even the jewish priests could not recognize Messiah when he came.

God bless you
The temple services are a fascinating study. I agree with that. The temple and it's services were the entire plan of salvation in symbols. Study it in depth and it reveals much that is not really apparent in any other Bible study.

That the Jewish leadership couldn't, or wouldn't, recognize Jesus when He came ought to be a big time warning for us for it shows how the devil can blind us to spiritual realities if we get to the point that our study is purely theological and not about improving our relationship with God. The Jews were no worse or better than we are, speaking in terms of our fallen natures and our bent towards sin. We are just as susceptible as they were to the devils temptations and distractions.
 
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tall73

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1. I do not agree with the Adventist position.
2. Your friend was referring to the following:


As anciently the sins of the people were by faith placed upon the sin offering and through its blood transferred, in figure, to the earthly sanctuary, so in the new covenant the sins of the repentant are by faith placed upon Christ and transferred, in fact, to the heavenly sanctuary. And as the typical cleansing of the earthly was accomplished by the removal of the sins by which it had been polluted, so the actual cleansing of the heavenly is to be accomplished by the removal, or blotting out, of the sins which are there recorded. But before this can be accomplished, there must be an examination of the books of record to determine who, through repentance of sin and faith in Christ, are entitled to the benefits of His atonement. (Great Controversy, 421)

For a fairly scholarly presentation on the subject you can read Roy Gane's NIV Application Commentary on Leviticus and Deuteronomy.

For a more popular approach you can read Gane's "Altar Call", free online:

Gane, Altar Call index

Roy Gane teaches at Andrews Theological Seminary.


Of course, you could just start by reading the relevant passages in the Great Controversy, as while some Adventists will disagree with one scholar or another, very few would disagree with Ellen White's major published works.


Points I agree on with Adventists:

a. There is transfer of sin in the sanctuary service at times, for instance, the sins of the person are confessed over the animal before it is killed.

b. There is a cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary by our High Priest, Christ Jesus.

However, I do not see the sin offering as a vehicle for transmitting sin to the sanctuary, but will not debate here as it is a fellowship area. If you want you can take up the topic in the sabbath and the law sub category. You will find a number of folks who discuss there, Adventists and otherwise, who have an interest in such subjects, and debate is allowed there.

Sabbath and The Law
 
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