JESUS STILL SHEDS HIS SACRED BLOOD IN THE HEAVENLY SANCTUARY

True sorrow for sin brings the penitent soul near to the bleeding side of Jesus. There he may effectually plead for pardon, and obtain grace to conquer; there his darkened understanding may be enlightened, and the stony heart transformed to a heart of flesh. There the rebellious sinner is subdued, and his will brought into conformity to the will of God. - Mrs. E. G. White {ST, February 4, 1897 par. 19} Christ as high priest within the veil so immortalized Calvary that though He liveth unto God, He dies continually to sin {1SM 343.2} Hebrews 9:14,15 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: 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? He has carried His blood into the sanctuary, and will cleanse us from every sin. Since Jesus has made such an infinite sacrifice for us, how cruel it is that we should remain indifferent Your only safety is in coming to Christ, and ceasing from sin this very moment. {ST, August 29, 1892 par. 5} _________________________________________________________________ A revelation Gods people need to know and understand Isaiah 43:19 Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. Ezekiel 38:14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when My people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it? If Jesus still sheds His sacred blood in the Heavenly sanctuary shall we not know it? Should not we be very sure, and consider that this revelation of Christ has been held last that by the Hand of God our eyes were holden that (we) should not know Him? (Luke 24:16)

Surely if this is a true revelation meaning, if we already have the light revealed that Jesus still sheds His sacred blood in heaven, surely this light from God is necessary to us receiving the Final Atonement. Surely if God has revealed this from heaven to the church, the living saints will all confess this truth. The Truth of the heavenly sanctuary was committed only to Seventh Day Adventists Seventh Day Adventists received the truth of Gods sanctuary by direct revelation from heaven. SDAs have confessed that the earthly sanctuary stood unto the example and shadow of heavenly things. We have taught that Moses was admonished of God when he was commissioned of God to make the tabernacle in the wilderness: See, saith (God), that thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount. Hebrews 8:5 EGW has confessed that, And what was done in type in the ministration of the earthly sanctuary is done in reality in the ministration of the heavenlysanctuarySays the apostle Paul, "Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us." Hebrews 9:24. {The Great Controversy page 420.2} The Book of Hebrews Seventh Day Adventists have confessed for years that Pauls exposition in the book of Hebrews about the purpose and teaching of the Hebrew sanctuary is exactly as it reads in the Bible. In the book of Hebrews Paul systematically shows how that every type and specification of the earthly sanctuary, which the Jews held in such lofty reverence, has been fulfilled in Christ; but Paul clearly demonstrated how that in every way Christs ministry is far greater and more perfect! Paul showed how that everything which is glorious and beloved in the earthly types is fulfilled in reality in the heavenly anti-type which is the very image of those things (Heb.10:1). In the heavenly sanctuary we have in reality, Jesus - our Great High Priest, Who ever liveth to make intercession for the Israel of God. There, in heaven, is found all of the glorious furniture whose types were in the earthly sanctuary: the candlestick, and the table, and the showbread, the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with goldthe tables of the covenant; and over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat. Paul shows us in the heavenly sanctuary we find better sacrifices, because Jesus hath appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

What about Christs blood? We have confessed that all of these things which Paul expounded upon were true, and we believe are in reality and literally in heaven. But there is one very important type which was CENTRAL to Pauls forceful testimony in the book of Hebrews, which SDAs have not confessed is present in reality THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST. SDAs have acknowledged that Christ shed His blood upon Calvarys Cross, when from the wound in His side forthwith came there out blood and water. This we have acknowledged with the rest of the professed Christian world, who have not the light upon the sanctuary. But the Corporate SDA church has neither confessed that Jesus blood is in reality brought into the heavenly sanctuary nor have they confessed that Jesus even today still sheds His sacred blood Nor has the SDA church prior to this time taught that when we pray to Jesus for forgiveness of sins which we have committed, that then will flow forth afresh the life-giving blood, symbolized by the flowing of the living water for Israel. Jesus still sheds His sacred blood Now, even now, it is manifest that The Redeemer, with a heart of unalterable love, still sheds His sacred blood in the sinner's behalf. {The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, January 9, 1883 par. 21} God has given command that this is the light to be made known unto all those who shall yet strive to enter in at the strait gate they (who) will grow up into Christ, and will partake largely of His Spirit. First though, we must be very clear on the Biblical principles of why Jesus must needs still shed His sacred blood, even now, after so long a time (Heb 4:7).

Principles we must understand To understand the reason Jesus must needs still shed His sacred blood, we are called to study what God has taught us in the Book of Hebrews. We should come to this study with the humility of a learner, with a contrite heart... Let us begin with a quote from the Spirit of Prophecy: The typical shadows of the Jewish tabernacle no longer possess any virtue. A daily and yearly typical atonement is no longer to be made, but the atoning sacrifice through a mediator is essential because of the constant commission of sin. Jesus is officiating in the presence of God, offering up His shed blood, as it had been a lamb slain. Jesus presents the oblation offered for every offense and every shortcoming of the sinner. {Selected Messages Volume 1 page 343.4}

We as a people are still, to this very day, sinning constantly; even SDAs who know that we have been in the GREAT ANTITYPICAL DAY OF ATONEMENT since 1844! (according to Daniel 8:14, 9:24-27 the seventy weeks being cut off from the 2300 days of 8:14; considering a day means a year in prophetic time) We know that Jesus is waiting for a people who will take hold of His strength and believe the gospel so that He can make them perfect. Let us study some principles, and clear up some errors which have hidden important truths, by more humbly considering light which has already been revealed.

Without shedding of blood there is no remission of sins The Holy Ghost through Paul reveals in the book of Hebrews the following eternal truth, a truth we shall verily be studying through all eternity: And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. Hebrews 9:22 The Jews saw in the sacrificial offerings the symbol of Christ whose blood was shed for the salvation of the world. All these offerings were to typify Christ and to rivet the great truth in their hearts that the blood of Jesus Christ alone cleanseth from all sin, and without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. Some wonder why God desired so many sacrifices and appointed the offering of so many bleeding victims in the Jewish economy. Every dying victim was a type of Christ, which lesson was impressed on mind and heart in the most solemn, sacred ceremony, and explained definitely by the priests. Sacrifices were explicitly planned by God Himself to teach this great and momentous truth, that through the blood of Christ alone there is forgiveness of sins. {Selected Messages Volume 1 pages 106, 107} Heaven tells us that by decree, by Law, in accordance with the great principles of Gods character: Justice and Mercy there can only be remission of sins by the shedding of Christs blood. We know that Gods Seventh Day Adventist church is sure of this truth. There has been a misunderstanding though, which has veiled SDAs from seeing more of Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary. This misunderstanding probably has come to us, borrowed from Christian tradition and which has yet to have been corrected through the light which has been with us in the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy. We know and belief the following to be true:

When Christ died upon the cross of Calvary, a new and living way was opened to both Jew and Gentile. The Saviour was henceforth to officiate as Priest and Advocate in the Heaven of heavens. From henceforth the blood of beasts offered for sin was valueless; for the Lamb of God had died for the sins of the world. {Spirit of Prophecy Volume 3 page 167.1} Jesus died for the sins of the world Jesus had laid upon Him all the sins of a lost world. This was an infinite sacrifice which Christ made in our behalf which we did not initiate. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners (enemies), Christ died for us. Romans 5:6,8,10 But when Jesus was crucified on the Cross of Calvary, the Bible also says that His sacrifice was for this cause as well: 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. (Heb. 9:15) Jesus also shed His blood for the remission of the particular sins individuals under the First Testament confessed as they sacrificed a sin offering and had faith that its blood represented the blood of the Lamb of God Who would Himself come and by HIS blood remission of sin would be granted. These were sacrifices made by penitent, believing saints and they brought their sin offerings to the sanctuary desiring to be forgiven; these followed Gods revealed plan for the pardoning of sin saying Thy way, O Lord, is in the sanctuary So upon the Cross Jesus had laid upon Him all the sins of a guilty race it is thus revealed to us in scripture: For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Cor. 5:21 The LORD hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all. Isa. 53:6 Christ became sin itself for us in Gods sight and received Gods just wrath against sin in totality an infinite sacrifice. Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Thy Way, O Lord, is in the Sanctuary

To understand what Jesus accomplished for us all in His shedding His sacred blood upon the Cross, we must again study what is revealed in the sanctuary. In the earthly sanctuary there were two types of offerings. There were offerings ordained by God as atoning sacrifices for Israel corporately, or as a whole group, and there were offerings which were initiated by and for individuals, which including sin offerings for remission of individual sins. The morning and evening sacrifices of a lamb for a burnt offering were of the nature of atonement for Israel as a whole group. This was fulfilled in Jesus death on the Cross, as well as making atonement for the individual sins of those believers in Him from under the First Testament. When the loud cry, "It is finished," came from the lips of Christ, the priests were officiating in the temple. It was the hour of the evening sacrifice. The lamb representing Christ had been brought to be slain The priest is about to slay the victim; but the knife drops from his nerveless hand, and the lamb escapes. Type has met antitype in the death of God's Son. The great sacrifice has been made. The way into the holiest is laid open. A new and living way is prepared for all. {The Desire of Ages page 756.5-757.1} Jesus death on the cross gave mankind another probation to be tested and tried In that Jesus on the Cross died for the sins of the whole world, consider what Spirit of Prophecy reveals concerning His sacrifice: A great and infinite sacrifice has been made, that man may have another trial. God provides that man may have another probation, and his efforts to keep the law are made acceptable through Christ. "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." {The Signs of the Times, November 24, 1887 par. 8} If God could have changed one iota of His law, Jesus need not have come to our world to suffer and die; but He who was equal with the Father came and suffered even the death of the cross, to give man another probation. {The Bible Echo, June 11, 1894 par. 6} Certainly here, when EGW says man she refers to all mankind or the human race. This was the position of the human race after man divorced himself from God by transgression. Then he was no longer entitled to a breath of air, a ray of sunshine, or a particle of food. And the reason why man was not annihilated was because God so loved him that He made the gift of His dear Son that He should suffer the penalty of his transgression. Christ proposed to become man's surety and substitute, that man,

through matchless grace, should have another trial--a second probation--having the experience of Adam and Eve as a warning not to transgress God's law as they did. {1888 Materials page 814.1}

These expressions all refer to what Jesus did for the human race corporately; even as the morning and evening sacrifice in the earthly sanctuary, which was not initiated by any person desiring forgiveness of personal sin, but was made for Israel as a whole, corporately. We must still bring our spotless Offering for sin to the sanctuary Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God? Psalms 77:13 The second probation offered the human race is given to us corporately, as a group. Just as in ancient Israel, an individual man would not be justified in neglecting to bring His sin offering to the sanctuary, or in the prior times of the Patriarchs, to th e altar of burnt sacrifice, because there is made an offering called the morning and evening burnt offering. He would find in the Judgment that his presumptuous neglect will be judged as having trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing Heb.10:29 Every man is required to bring their own individual sin offering to atone for his transgression, and not to simply rely upon the offering made for the whole nation. The purpose of the Blood in the sanctuary service Important truths concerning the atonement are taught by the typical service. A substitute was accepted in the sinner's stead; butthe sin was not canceled by the blood of the victim. A means was thus provided by which it was transferred to the sanctuary. {The Great Controversy page 420.1} In the service of the sanctuary, simply confessing our sins in contrition of heart, while releasing us from the penalty of the Law, does not cancel our sin. But God has made a plan by which sin could finally be atoned for completely and canceled altogether from the books of record. Only those sins which are confessed and recorded in the heavenly sanctuary are eligible to be finally blotted out or canceled. And the blood of the Sacrifice is the means by which the confessed sins are transferred to the sanctuary:

Day by day the repentant sinner brought his offering to the door of the tabernacle and, placing his hand upon the victim's head, confessed his sins, thus in figure transferring them from himself to the innocent sacrifice. The animal was then slain. "Without shedding of blood," says the apostle, there is no remission of sin. "The life

of the flesh is in the blood." Leviticus 17:11. The broken law of God demanded the life of the transgressor. The blood, representing the forfeited life of the sinner, whose guilt the victim bore, was carried by the priest into the holy place and sprinkled before the veil, behind which was the ark containing the law that the sinner had transgressed. By this ceremony the sin was, through the blood, transferred in figure to the sanctuary. In some cases the blood was not taken into the holy place; but the flesh was then to be eaten by the priest, as Moses directed the sons of Aaron, saying: "God hath given it you to bear the iniquity of the congregation." Leviticus 10:17. Both ceremonies alike symbolized the transfer of the sin from the penitent to the sanctuary. Such was the work that went on, day by day, throughout the year. The sins of Israel were thus transferred to the sanctuary, and a special work became necessary for their removal {The Great Controversy page 418-419.1} This is why Ellen G. White speaking through the Spirit of Prophecy declares to us several times that: He (Jesus) has taken the blood of the atonement into the holiest of all {ST, April 19, 1905 par. 4} He has carried His blood into the sanctuary, and will cleanse us from every sin {ST, August 29, 1892 par. 4} Jesus blood must be brought into the heavenly sanctuary and sprinkled, thus providing the means by which our sins are transferred to the sanctuary books of record. Only the sins thus transferred are eligible to be blotted out at the end of Christs High Priestly ministration when He shall conclude the services of this present antitypical Day of Atonement. The book of Hebrews and the Spirit of Prophecy teaches that blood MUST be brought into the Sanctuary Let us look at what the Holy Ghost inspired Paul to write about the blood of the sacrifice: 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 Heb 9:7 Paul makes it very clear that when the High Priest enters the Most Holy Place, HE MUST HAVE BLOOD. Paul repeats this again to be sure that we understand that though the blood is shed in the outer court, it must needs be brought into the sanctuary:

For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp. Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. (Heb. 13:11,12) Again Paul shows that what happened with the blood of the beasts in the typical service takes place also in the heavenly service. The blood of Jesus Christ, Gods Son MUST be brought into the Holy Places of the Sanctuary, because it is used in the service there: Thus Christ in his own spotless righteousness, after shedding his precious blood, entered into the heavenly sanctuary to minister in the sinner's behalf. And there the crimson current is brought into the service of reconciling God to man. {RH, January 9, 1883 par. 6} In the following quote EGW stresses that the High Priest is not to go into the Holiest of All without blood: God intended that these great leaders of His people should be representatives of Christ. Aaron bore the names of Israel upon his breast. He communicated to the people the will of God. He entered the most holy place on the Day of Atonement, "not without blood," as a mediator for all Israel. He came forth from that work to bless the congregation, as Christ will come forth to bless His waiting people when His work of atonement in their behalf shall be ended. {Patriarchs and Prophets page 426.1} Jesus still taking new sins upon Him in heaven This truth is manifest in this startling confession from the pen of EGW in the Spirit of Prophecy: "I Will Take Their Sins."What is Christ doing in heaven? He is interceding for us. By His work the threshold of heaven is flushed with the glory of God which will shine upon every soul who will open the windows of the soul heavenward. As the prayers of the sincere and contrite ones ascend to heaven Christ says to the Father, "I will take their sins. Let them stand before you innocent." AsHe takes their sins from them, He fills their hearts with the glorious light of truth and love (MS 28, 1901). {SDA Bible Commentary Vol 7 page 930.16} Why should Jesus say to the Father I will take their sins? It is manifest, without shedding of blood is no remission. Today we must confess our individual sins and bring our individual offering for sin, which is Jesus the Lamb of God, to the sanctuary which is in heaven even as the faithful under the First Testament were required to do. Even now, just as in the Levitical service, once Jesus takes our sins

upon Himself, those sins are then transferred to the records of the sanctuary by His sacred blood, there to remain until the close work of the Day of Atonement. Hebrews Chapter 9: the purpose of the sanctuary fulfilled in the heavenly Let us turn to the book of Hebrews chapter 9 and study how God explains the purpose of the typical ministration in the earthly sanctuary. Here, under the Power of the Holy Ghost, Paul forcefully shows that all elements of the typical service are fulfilled in heaven: the High Priest, the apartments of the sanctuary, the furniture, the ultimate purpose of the sanctuary and of course blood of the offering, which accomplishes this purpose. But Paul makes it very clear that true purpose of the sanctuary could not be fulfilled while the first was yet standing in these words: The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing And why? Paul says that the earthly sanctuary, while it was ordained by God, still could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience Hebrews 9:4 Paul then repeats this thought again when he shows that it is manifest that the offerings offered in the earthly sanctuary can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. And why do we know they could not? For then would they not have ceased to be offered? Because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. Hebrews 10:1,2 We are clearly taught that the true purpose of the sanctuary is to make the comers thereunto perfect. The purpose of the sanctuary is that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. The ministry of the sanctuary is to make a people perfect, as pertaining to the conscience. This will be fulfilled when the sins of the repentant people of God are blotted out at the close of Christs ministration on the Day of Atonement: The blood of Christ, while it was to release the repentant sinner from the condemnation of the law, was not to cancel the sin; it would stand on record in the sanctuary until the final atonement; so in the type the blood of the sin offering

removed the sin from the penitent, but it rested in the sanctuary until the Day of Atonement. In the great day of final award, the dead are to be "judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works." Revelation 20:12. Then by virtue of the atoning blood of Christ, the sins of all the truly penitent will be blotted from the books of heaven. Thus the sanctuary will be freed, or cleansed, from the record of sin. In the type, this great work of atonement, or blotting out of sins, was represented by the services of the Day of Atonement--the cleansing of the earthly sanctuary, which was accomplished by the removal, by virtue of the blood of the sin offering, of the sins by which it had been polluted. As in the final atonement the sins of the truly penitent are to be blotted from the records of heaven, no more to be remembered or come into mind, so in the type they were borne away into the wilderness, forever separated from the congregation. {Patriarchs and Prophets page 357.5-358.1} So God shows us from the book of Hebrews and in the testimony of the Spirit of Prophecy: Such was the service performed "unto the example and shadow of heavenly things." And what was done in type in the ministration of the earthly sanctuary is done in reality in the ministration of the heavenly sanctuary. {The Great Controversy page 420.2} And only those sins, transferred to the heavenly sanctuary by the blood of Christ, are eligible to be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord Though He is still our offering for sin, The Savior is not to be sacrificed a second time The rock which, smitten by the command of God, sent forth its living waters, was a symbol of Christ, smitten and bruised that by His blood a fountain might be prepared for the salvation of perishing man. As the rock had been once smitten, so Christ was to be "once offered, to bear the sins of many." But when Moses rashly smote the rock at Kadesh, the beautiful symbol of Christ was marred. Our Saviour was not to be sacrificed a second time. As the great offering was made but once, it is only necessary for those who seek the blessings of his grace to ask in Jesus' name,-to pour forth the heart's desires in penitential prayer. Such prayer will bring before the Lord of hosts the wounds of Jesus, and then will flow forth afresh the lifegiving blood, symbolized by the flowing of the living water for thirsting Israel. {The Signs of the Times, October 7, 1880 par. 2}

Penitential prayer means prayer with confessing of sins. No, Christ is not to be Crucified a second time, but like the Rock in the wilderness which was smitten once, we now only speak to the Rock (Num.20:8) and then will flow forth afresh the lifegiving blood.

How can we say that the blood in heaven is symbolic? We now declare: THE BURDEN OF PROVIDING PROOF AND EVIDENCE IS NOT THERFORE, PROVING JESUS STILL SHEDS HIS SACRED BLOOD IN THE HEAVENLY SANCTUARY; IT IS RATHER UPON ANY WHO BELIEVE THERE IS NO LITERAL, ACTUAL BLOOD IN THE HEAVENLY SANCTUARY TO SHOW CONCLUSIVELY THAT JESUS IS NOT STILL SHEDDING HIS SACRED BLOOD The message will be carried not so much by argument as by the deep conviction of the Spirit of God. {The Great Controversy page 612.2} Yet nonetheless, we shall continue our study, so that the pure in heart might have more evidence that they might lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil (Heb.6:18, 19) More than three witnesses from the Spirit of Prophecy What does EGW have to say about these things in the writings of the Spirit of Prophecy? Children of the Lord, how precious is the promise! How full the atonement of the Saviour for our guilt! The Redeemer, with a heart of unalterable love, still sheds His sacred blood in the sinner's behalf. The wounded hands, the pierced side, the marred feet, plead eloquently for fallen man, whose redemption is purchased at so great a cost. Oh, matchless condescension! Time nor events can lessen the efficacy of the atoning sacrifice. As the fragrant cloud of incense rose acceptably to Heaven, and Aaron sprinkled the blood upon the mercy-seat of ancient Israel, and cleansed the people from guilt, so the merits of the slain Lamb are accepted by God today as a purifier from the defilement of sin. {The Review and Herald, January 9, 1883 par. 21} Our hearts should be full of hope and joy, and we should be able to say with grateful tongues, Christ is risen, and is at the right hand of God to make intercession for us. He has carried His blood into the sanctuary, and will cleanse us from every sin. Since Jesus has made such an infinite sacrifice for us, how cruel it is that we should remain indifferent Your only safety is in coming to Christ, and ceasing from sin this very moment. {The Signs of the Times, August 29, 1892 par. 4,5}

Thus Christ in His own spotless righteousness, after shedding His precious blood, entered into the heavenly sanctuary to minister in the sinner's behalf. And there the crimson current is brought into the service of reconciling God to man. {The Review and Herald, January 9, 1883 par. 6} Still bearing humanity, He ascended to heaven, triumphant and victorious. He has taken the blood of the atonement into the holiest of all, sprinkled it upon the mercy-seat and His own garments, and blessed the people. Soon He will appear the second time to declare that there is no more sacrifice for sin. {The Signs of the Times, April 19, 1905 par. 4} He has taken the blood of the atonement, sprinkled it upon the mercy-seat and his own garments, and blessed the people.Soon He will appear the second time to declare that there is no more sacrifice for sin. {The Review and Herald, November 13, 1913 par. 11} He has taken the blood of HIS atonement into the holiest of all, sprinkled it upon the mercy-seat and his own garments, and blessed the people. Soon He will appear the second time to declare that there is no more sacrifice for sin. {The Youths Instructor, July 25, 1901 par. 4} Christ as high priest within the veil so immortalized Calvary that though He liveth unto God, He dies continually to sin, and thus if any man sin, he has an advocate with the Father because of the constant commission of sin. Jesus is officiating in the presence of God, offering up His shed blood, as it had been a Lamb slain. {Selected Messages Volume 1 page 343.1,4} Christ is our Mediator and officiating High Priest in the presence of the Father. He was shown to John as a Lamb that had been slain, as in the very act of pouring out His blood in the sinner's behalf. When the law of God is set before the sinner, showing him the depth of his sins, he should then be pointed to the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world. He should be taught repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Thus will the labor of Christ's representative be in harmony with His work in the heavenly sanctuary. {4T 395.2} The smitten rock was a figure of Christ, and through this symbol the most precious spiritual truths are taught. As the life-giving waters flowed from the smitten rock, so from Christ, "smitten of God," "wounded for our transgressions," "bruised for our iniquities" (Isaiah 53:4, 5), the stream of salvation flows for a lost race. As the rock had been once smitten, so Christ was to be "once offered to bear the sins of many." Hebrews 9:28. Our Saviour was not to be sacrificed a second time; and it is only

necessary for those who seek the blessings of His grace to ask in the name of Jesus, pouring forth the heart's desire in penitential prayer. Such prayer will bring before the Lord of hosts the wounds of Jesus, and then will flow forth afresh the lifegiving blood, symbolized by the flowing of the living water for Israel. {Patriarchs and Prophets page 411.3} JESUS WILL NOT ALWAYS BLEED EGW warned us that Soon He will appear the second time to declare that there is no more sacrifice for sin. This is a very solemn thought when we understand as we do now, that Jesus still sheds His sacred blood. Behold what was written by EGW in the book Early Writings, and let us with this knowledge act and pray in accordance with the light which now revealed: Then I saw Jesus lay off His priestly attire and clothe Himself with His most kingly robes. Upon His head were many crowns, a crown within a crown. Surrounded by the angelic host, He left heaven. The plagues were falling upon the inhabitants of the earth. Some were denouncing God and cursing Him. Others rushed to the people of God and begged to be taught how they might escape His judgments. But the saints had nothing for them. The last tear for sinners had been shed, the last agonizing prayer offered, the last burden borne, the last warning given. The sweet voice of mercy was no more to invite them. When the saints, and all heaven, were interested for their salvation, they had no interest for themselves. Life and death had been set before them. Many desired life, but made no effort to obtain it. They did not choose life, and now there was no atoning blood to cleanse the guilty, no compassionate Saviour to plead for them, and cry, "Spare, spare the sinner a little longer." All heaven had united with Jesus, as they heard the fearful words, "It is done. It is finished." The plan of salvation had been accomplished, but few had chosen to accept it. And as mercy's sweet voice died away, fear and horror seized the wicked. With terrible distinctness they heard the words, "Too late! too late!" {Early Writings page 281.1} Your only safety is in coming to Christ, and ceasing from sin this very moment. {The Signs of the Times, August 29, 1892 par. 5} Accept the light which heaven has sent and be blessed by the vision of Christ Saints, let us receive the light and knowledge God is communicating to us so that the work shall be finished and we shall receive the fullness of the latter rain of Christs Spirit This is represented as the pardoning blood, inseparably connected with the resurrection and life of our Redeemer, illustrated by the ever-flowing stream that proceeds from the throne of God, the water of the river of life. (Letter 87, 1894). {SDA Bible Commentary Volume 7 page 948.1}

As we assimilate and grow up in this truth, we shall truly see Jesus as He is and then shall that prophecy be fulfilled: And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. Zechariah 12:9,10 "And they also which pierced Him." These words apply not only to the men who pierced Christ when He hung on the cross of Calvary, but to those who by evilspeaking and wrong-doing are piercing Him today. Daily He suffers the agonies of the crucifixion. {ST, January 28, 1903 par. 8} How long must Jesus bleed for us? Jesus in heaven is still shedding His sacred blood for you and I, because of the sins which we still choose to commitbut How long Saints, how long? 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: 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? Hebrews 9:14,15