One of the most common accusations made against Seventh-day Adventists is that our sanctuary doctrine somehow denies the full atonement of Jesus Christ.
Critics ask: If Jesus said, “It is finished” on the cross, why do Adventists teach that Christ continues an atoning ministry in the heavenly sanctuary?
It's an important question.
In this article, you will learn that Adventists absolutely believe that Christ’s sacrifice at Calvary was complete. His death was sufficient. His blood was shed once for all. Nothing can ever be added to His sacrifice.
But does the Bible teach that everything involved in atonement ended at the cross? Let's let the Scriptures answer that question.
What Does Atonement Mean?
The principal Old Testament word translated “atonement” is the Hebrew word kaphar.
Depending upon the context, the word can carry ideas such as:
- cleansing,
- forgiveness,
- pardon,
- purging,
- reconciliation,
- making satisfaction,
- or dealing with hostility between two parties.
This immediately tells us something important. Biblical atonement is broader than simply saying: “Christ died.”
Sacrifice is absolutely essential to atonement, but Scripture also describes priestly actions performed after the sacrifice had been slain as also making atonement.
This distinction is the foundation of our sanctuary message.
Penal Substitutionary Atonement
Much of the Evangelical world believes in something called Penal Substitutionary Atonement (PSA). In simple terms, PSA adherents teach that Jesus stood in our place, took the blame and the punishment we owed, and paid the price so we could be forgiven.
While Adventists also believe in the substitutionary nature of Christ's atonement, we do not believe in the Penal substitutionary atonement as commonly taught by many Evangelicals. One of the reasons for this is that PSA is commonly framed in a manner that suggests God punished Christ with our punishment. While this may sound like a strange position to take, there are a few texts that seem to support this view. One popular text is Isaiah 53:4, which says,
"Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted."
If we are to take this text at face value without any further context, we would have to agree that God literally smote Christ. However, Adventists understand that when God allows something to come to pass, He is often portrayed as doing it. We see a perfect example of this in Job 13:15:
"Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him."
If you're familiar with this story, you know that God was not the One who slayed Job; it was actually Satan. However, Job's account of his trials and tribulations portrayed God as performing the punishment He allowed. With this full context, we can see that God didn't literally smite Christ, but rather He allowed Christ to be smitten.
The second and biggest reason Adventists don't adhere to the way PSA is commonly taught is based upon how penal is viewed. Penal is a legal word for punishment. Thus, proponents of PSA see the atonement as being fully complete when Jesus suffered the penalty on the cross.
Here are a few texts that are used to confirm this view:
Romans 3:25 says, "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God."
Hebrews 10:10 says, "By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."
John 19:30 says, "When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished."
Due to the interpretation of the aforementioned texts, along with many others, supporters of PSA confine the atonement solely to the cross.
However, because Adventists don't agree with all the tenets of PSA, we are often accused of not believing in the finished work of Christ. Nonetheless, this assertion is completely false. Notice how Ellen White dispels this false narrative:
"Man broke the law. Christ came to this earth to make an atonement for transgression. His atonement was complete in every part. As He hung on the cross, He could say, “It is finished.” The demands of justice were satisfied. The way to the throne of grace was opened for every sinner." ST July 31, 1901
As you can see, Adventists do teach that Christ's atonement was complete at the cross; however, we also believe that Christ continued His atonement in the heavenly sanctuary.
If we were to simplify the difference between Penal Substitutionary Atonement as commonly taught by Evangelicals vs. the Substitutionary Atonement as commonly taught by Adventists, we would say that mainstream Christians teach a front-loaded atonement centered around the cross, and Adventist Christians believe in a phased atonement that encompasses Christ's sacrifice and Priesthood.
Atonement in three phases
The sanctuary had three primary areas:
- The Courtyard
- The Holy Place
- The Most Holy Place
As Adventists, we should understand that an atoning ministry can be seen in connection with all three areas. Let's examine this theory a little further:
Atonement in the Courtyard
Leviticus 1:4 says concerning the burnt offering:
“And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.”
The sacrifice took place in the courtyard. The victim died as a substitute for the sinner. This points unmistakably to Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us at Calvary.
However, it must also be understood that even though Christ’s sacrifice was complete, the earthly sanctuary service did not end when the animal died.
Atonement in the Holy Place
Leviticus 6:30 makes an important statement:
“And no sin offering, whereof any of the blood is brought into the tabernacle of the congregation to reconcile withal in the holy place, shall be eaten…”
Other translations render this as blood being brought into the sanctuary “to make atonement in the Holy Place.”
Notice what has happened. The sacrifice has already died. Yet the priest takes the blood produced by that completed sacrifice and ministers it inside the sanctuary.
And Scripture still calls this atonement.
That means the death of the sacrifice did not terminate everything the Bible describes as atoning ministry. The sacrifice provided the blood. The priest then ministered that blood.
Atonement in the Most Holy Place
Once each year came the great Day of Atonement.
Leviticus 23:27–28 says:
“Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement…”
On this day, the high priest entered the Most Holy Place. Leviticus 16:33 gives a remarkable summary:
“And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation.”
The entire sanctuary system came together in this annual service.
Atonement involved:
- the altar,
- the sanctuary,
- the priesthood,
- and the people.
1Chronicles 6:49 provides a similar summary of Aaron’s ministry:
“But Aaron and his sons offered upon the altar of the burnt offering, and on the altar of incense, and were appointed for all the work of the place most holy, and to make an atonement for Israel…”
The courtyard altar, the altar of incense, and the work of the Most Holy Place were all brought together in one description of the priestly ministry. Thus, the atonement was not front-loaded at the moment the offering was sacrificed; the atonement was phased throughout the sacrificial service.
The Sacrifice Was Finished—But the High Priest Still Ministers
John 19:30 says, "When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost."
But notice what Revelation 16:17 says:
"...and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done."
We should be able to see that when Jesus' sacrificial atonement was complete, He said, "It is finished." However, we should also see that when Christ's sanctuary atonement was complete, God said, "It is done."
It should be understood that Adventists are not denying Christ's sacrificial atonement. His sacrifice was complete. However, we also recognize the Savior's continuing atoning work in the heavenly sanctuary.
What is Christ's atoning work in the heavenly sanctuary? Hebrews 2:17 reveals this when it says,
"Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people."
Notice, this reconciliation for the sins of the people began after Christ resurrected as our High Priest. This does not negate His work on the cross; it simply reveals that another phase of atonement continued in the sanctuary.
So the question is not: Was Christ’s sacrifice complete? The question is: Did His completed sacrifice eliminate the need for His subsequent work as our High Priest? The Bible’s answer is no. Jesus is both our Sacrifice and our High Priest. Calvary provided the blood upon which His heavenly ministry is based.
Hebrews 7:25 reveals this when it says:
“Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”
John 2:1 corroborates this idea when it says:
“If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”
Think of a Courtroom
Imagine that you are guilty and owe a penalty you cannot pay. Your lawyer steps forward and pays the entire penalty for you. The debt is marked: PAID IN FULL.
That is what we would call "good news," right?
However, I want you to also imagine that after your debt has been paid in full, your lawyer tells you that he is going before the judge to intercede on your behalf.
Let me ask you a question: Has your penalty somehow become unpaid? No. The price is still fully paid. But your advocate still must represent you before the judge.
That is similar to the biblical picture of Christ's atoning ministry.
Calvary does not become incomplete because Christ intercedes. Rather, His intercession is effective because Calvary was complete.
The Final Cleansing of the Sanctuary
Hebrews 9:23 speaks of the purification of the heavenly things:
“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.”
Adventists understand this in light of the Day of Atonement. In the earthly sanctuary, sinners could receive genuine forgiveness before the annual Day of Atonement. Leviticus 4:26 says:
“...the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his sin, and it shall be forgiven him.”
The man was forgiven. Nevertheless, Leviticus 16 still required a later cleansing of the sanctuary. This gives us an important distinction:
Forgiveness of the sinner and the final removal of the record and consequences of sin are related, but they are not presented as exactly the same event in the sanctuary type.
Adventists understand the final ministry of Christ in the Most Holy Place as the antitypical fulfillment of this cleansing work.
Forgiveness and the Blotting Out of Sin
Acts 3:19-20 says:
“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you.”
Adventists see the biblical concept of the blotting out of sin as corresponding with the final removal of sin represented by the Day of Atonement.
This does not mean that believers are only partially forgiven before that time. We believe that forgiveness is real.
The sanctuary simply teaches that God’s solution to sin involves more than forgiving the sinner. Ultimately, God removes sin itself from His people, His sanctuary, and finally from His universe.
The Judgment Is Good News for Those Who Are in Christ
This is an area where Adventists should emphasize assurance more strongly.
- The message should not simply be: “You are being judged.”
- It should also be: “If you are in Christ, you have an Advocate in the judgment.”
Jesus is not merely the sacrifice who died for us. He is also the High Priest who ministers for us. He is our Advocate. He is our Mediator. And His ministry rests entirely upon the sacrifice that He completed at Calvary.
Jesus fulfills the entire sanctuary system. Therefore, the sanctuary doctrine does not diminish the cross; it actually magnifies what the cross accomplished. And that is why Seventh-day Adventists teach atonement after the cross.
1. If my sins are forgiven, then how are they in the heavenly sanctuary?
I don't wish to trivialize the work of Christ, but to simplify this, I want you to think of the sanctuary like a household vacuum cleaner. Although the one vacuuming the carpet fully purifies it of dirt and cleanses it from all grime, it's understood that the dirt and grime get transferred into the vacuum cleaner to be discarded at a later date.
To metaphorically connect this to the sanctuary, we should understand that the individual vacumming the carpet represents Jesus.
Just as the vacummer purfies the carpet from dirt and cleanses it from grime, Jesus forgives us our sins, cleanses us from all unrighteousness (1John 1:9).
However, just like the dirt was gathered and contained inside the vacuum's canister or filter, Christ cleanses us from our sins and transferrs them to the filter of the heavenly sanctuary.
And just like the the person vacuuming ultimately emptied the trapped dirt and grime into the trash, one day Christ will discard our atoned sins upon the scapegoat.
This everyday chore beautifully illustrates the phases of the sanctuary service: first, the active cleansing of our lives, and finally, the ultimate disposal and eradication of sin.
2. What Happens If a Forgiven Person Rejects God?
Jesus addresses an important principle in Matthew 18 through the parable of the unforgiving servant.
A servant owed his king an enormous debt.
He could not pay.
He pleaded for mercy.
Matthew 18:27 says:
“Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.”
Notice, the debt was genuinely forgiven. But afterward the same servant refused to forgive someone who owed him a much smaller amount.
When the king learned what happened, the previous judgment returned.
Jesus concludes:
“So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.”
The lesson is sobering. A past experience of forgiveness does not mean God won't return the debt back on the forgiven if they later reject the One forgiving their sins.
We are called not merely to come to Christ, but to remain in Christ.
3. Doesn't the Bible say there is no condemnation?
The Christian should not live in terror of the judgment.
But neither should we remove judgment from the gospel simply because judgment makes us uncomfortable.
Jesus said: “Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.” — Matthew 12:36
Solomon wrote: “For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” — Ecclesiastes 12:14
And Paul said: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ…”
— 2 Corinthians 5:10
The existence of judgment does not mean that we are saved by our works. Christ remains the foundation of salvation.
Regarding condemnation, Romans 8:1 does declare:
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.”
Thus, the qualifier is those who are in Christ. This means that as long as we stay in the arms of the Savior, there is no need to fear the judgment. Our fear comes only as a result of rejecting the sacrifice of Jesus.
