Sabbath Afternoon

Prayer Thought

The messengers of the cross must arm themselves with watchfulness and prayer, and move forward with faith and courage, working always in the name of Jesus. They must exalt Christ as man's mediator in the heavenly sanctuary, the One in whom all the sacrifices of the Old Testament dispensation centered, and through whose atoning sacrifice the transgressors of God's law may find peace and pardon. {AA 230.2}

Memory Text

“For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us” (Hebrews 9:24, NKJV).

This week's SS Lesson will dive into the deeper meaning of our Sanctuary doctrine where Christ ascended to heaven which He as the only one who can unveil the Most Holy Place. He being victorious over death - the new covenant had been established. He takes the rule and begins His High Priestly Ministry in our behalf. His ascension marks the spark of His great mission to fulfill the frameworks of Salvation.

Outline of the Study

Sunday: How to Come Before God? Jesus Before the Father

Heb. 9:23, 24; 6:19, 20; 11:10, 13-1; Exo. 23:14-17; Deut. 16:16; John 19:14; Mat. 27:45-50; Lev. 23:10-12; Ps. 42:2; 27:8; 105:4; 2Chron. 7:14

Monday: God’s Invitation - Fear Before His Presence

Heb. 12:18-21; Exo. 19:3, 4, 10-15; 24:9-11; 20:18-21; 34:4-8; Deut. 5:25-27; 4:10; 9:19; Ps. 111:10; Prov. 1:7; 9:10; 10:27

Tuesday: The Need of a Veil - An Impenetrable Veil

Exo. 33:3, 7, 12-20; 38:18; 36:37; 26:31-35; Lev. 16:1, 2; 10:1-3; Num. 1:51, 53; 3:10; John 1:14-18

Wednesday: The New and Living Way Through the Veil

Heb. 5:1-10; 7:1-8:13; 10:19-22; 2:10; 6:19, 20; 9:18-21; Exo. 19:4-6; 40; Lev. 8, 9

Thursday: Coming Into His Presence - They Will See His Face

Heb. 12:22-24; 11:1; 4:14, 16; 10:23; 6:4, 5, 19; 7:22; Rev. 7:15-17; 21:1-4; 22:1-5; Num. 6:24-26

Friday: Further Study and Meditation

Sunday: How to Come Before God? Jesus Before the Father

Heb. 9:23, 24; 6:19, 20; 11:10, 13-1; Exo. 23:14-17; Deut. 16:16; John 19:14; Mat. 27:45-50; Lev. 23:10-12; Ps. 42:2; 27:8; 105:4; 2Chron. 7:14

“For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;” (Hebrews 9:24)

The Greatness of the Work

As he pondered these things in his heart, Paul understood more and more clearly the meaning of his call "to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God." 1 Corinthians 1:1. His call had come, "not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father." Galatians 1:1. The greatness of the work before him led him to give much study to the Holy Scriptures, in order that he might preach the gospel "not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect," "but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power," that the faith of all who heard "should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." 1 Cor. 1:17; 2:4, 5. {AA 127.1}

Ascend Unto the Father

But Christ raised His hand, saying, Detain Me not; “for I am not yet ascended to My Father: but go to My brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto My Father, and your Father; and to My God, and your God.” And Mary went her way to the disciples with the joyful message. {CSA 43.3}

The enemies of Jesus vented their rage upon Him as He hung upon the cross. Priests, rulers, and scribes joined with the mob in mocking the dying Saviour. At the baptism and at the transfiguration, the voice of God had been heard proclaiming Christ as His Son. Again, just before Christ’s betrayal, the Father had spoken, witnessing to His divinity. But now the voice from heaven was silent. No testimony in Christ’s favor was heard. Alone He suffered abuse and mockery from wicked men.— {CTr 278.5}

Consider the following

The Israelites had to show up before God at the sanctuary three times a year (Exodus 34:22-23). Those feasts represented specific moments when Jesus would come before the Father as our representative in our place:

Feast of the Weeks (Passover): Jesus died the day of the Passover sacrifice, during the evening sacrifice (John 18:39, Luke 23:44-46); Jesus was resurrected the day the wave sheaf (first fruits) was offered. He came to the Father to be approved by Him (Leviticus 23:10-11; John 20:17)

Feast of the Firstfruits (Pentecost): After Jesus ascended, He was exalted. He inaugurated the Heavenly Sanctuary and sent the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:33)

Feast of the Harvest (Tabernacles): In His Eternal Kingdom, Jesus will take us with Him to the place He’s preparing. He will introduce us to God (John 14:2-3; 1Thessalonians 4:17; Revelation 22:3-4)

Please visit this site for a deeper understanding of the above Feast. Click or copy-paste to a browser.

Meat In Due Season - 9. The Ceremonial Harvest (google.com)

Meat In Due Season - 18. The Judgment and the Seven Seals (google.com)

Monday: God’s Invitation - Fear Before His Presence

Heb. 12:18-21; Exo. 19:3, 4, 10-15; 24:9-11; 20:18-21; 34:4-8; Deut. 5:25-27; 4:10; 9:19; Ps. 111:10; Prov. 1:7; 9:10; 10:27

“And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, ‘I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.’” (Hebrews 12:21)

Mission of Mercy: God's Justice and Judgment

Christ in His teaching linked with the warning of judgment the invitation of mercy. "The Son of man is not come," He said, "to destroy men's lives, but to save them." Luke 9:56. "God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved." John 3:17. His mission of mercy in its relation to God's justice and judgment is illustrated in the parable of the barren fig tree. {COL 212.1}

By the parable Christ showed that they were themselves at that very time rejecting the invitation of mercy, the call to God's kingdom. He showed that the invitation which they had slighted was to be sent to those whom they despised, those from whom they had drawn away their garments as if they were lepers to be shunned. {COL 219.1}

Abiding Closely by God's Word

The Lord has made you a steward of means. I thank my heavenly Father for impressing you to identify your interests with the work of advancing His kingdom in our world. The safest rule of action is to abide closely by God's Word. The Christian is given the invitation to carry his burdens to God in prayer, and to fasten himself closely to Christ by the cords of living faith.{DG 107.4}

Consider the following

Fear before His presence.

Paul graphically described the moment God showed Himself to Israel at Sinai to speak to them (Hebrews 12:18-21).

Their faith faltered, so they asked Moses to mediate between God and them (Deuteronomy 5:27). That was not God’s original plan. God wanted His people to come close to Him and to share His holiness, mercy, and compassion (Exodus 19:13b; 34:6-7).

"Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise." Psalm 100:2-4. And of all who keep "the Sabbath from polluting it," the Lord declares, "Even them will I bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer." Isaiah 56:6, 7. {DA 288.1}

Tuesday: The Need of a Veil - An Impenetrable Veil

Exo. 33:3, 7, 12-20; 38:18; 36:37; 26:31-35; Lev. 16:1, 2; 10:1-3; Num. 1:51, 53; 3:10; John 1:14-18

“And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.’” (Leviticus 16:2)

God Covers His Glory to Impart Rich Blessings

Oh, for a living, active faith! We need it; we must have it, or we shall faint and fail in the day of trial. The darkness that will then rest upon our path must not discourage us or drive us to despair. It is the veil with which God covers His glory when He comes to impart rich blessings. We should know this by our past experience. In that day when God has a controversy with His people this experience will be a source of comfort and hope. {CCh 334.3}

A Veil is God's Mercy in Figures

Anciently believers were saved by the same Saviour as now, but it was a God veiled. They saw God's mercy in figures. . . . Christ's sacrifice is the glorious fulfillment of the whole Jewish economy. . . . When as a sinless offering Christ bowed His head and died, when by the Almighty's unseen hand the veil of the temple was rent in twain, a new and living way was opened. All can now approach God through the merits of Christ. It is because the veil has been rent that men can draw nigh to God. They need not depend on priest or ceremonial sacrifice. Liberty is given to all to go directly to God through a personal Saviour. {AG 155.5}

Consider the following

Impenetrable veil.

There was a human security perimeter around the Sanctuary (the Levites) so people wouldn’t come too close to God and die. The priests were the connection between God and the people. We are priests today, and we are called to connect God with those who don’t know Him yet.

A veil prevented the worshipers from entering the Sanctuary (they could only enter during the day). A second veil could only be crossed by those who had a special covenant with God, the priests. A third veil prevented everyone except the high priest from having direct contact with God.

Jesus is the Veil that allows God to live within us without us being consumed (1 Corinthians 3:16).

"The whole mind, the whole soul, the whole heart, and the whole strength are purchased by the blood of the Son of God." {AG 155.6}

Wednesday: The New and Living Way Through the Veil

Heb. 5:1-10; 7:1-8:13; 10:19-22; 2:10; 6:19, 20; 9:18-21; Exo. 19:4-6; 40; Lev. 8, 9

Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; (Heb. 10:19-20, KJV)

Cleansing Efficacy of Christ's Grace

The spirit of stubborn resistance is taken away, and a life-giving power takes possession of mind and heart. This experience you need daily to have. As the repentant sinner pleads for the cleansing efficacy of Christ's grace, a voice speaks to him, saying, "A new heart will I give thee. The soul is cleansed, the highest powers of the being are roused to action." {BCL 66.2}

Jesus: Rich Abundance of Light and Glory

The curtain, or door, was opened, and I was permitted to enter. In the first apartment I saw the candlestick with seven lamps, which looked rich and glorious; also the table on which was the shew-bread, and the altar of incense, and the censer. All the furniture of this apartment looked like purest gold, and reflected the image of the one who entered that place. The curtain which separated these two apartments looked glorious... Light and glory poured upon Jesus in rich abundance, and overshadowed the mercy-seat, and the train of the glory filled the temple. I could not long look upon the glory. No language can describe it. I was overwhelmed, and turned from the majesty and glory of the scene. {1SG 158.1}

Consider the following

The new and living way.

Jesus is not only Veil that allows God to live in us. He is also an open Veil that created a new way to God’s presence.

This new way is the new covenant that Jesus sealed with His blood (Matthew 26:28).

Before Jesus died, Satan was in God’s presence to constantly accuse us (Zechariah 3:1). However, Jesus began His high priest ministry in the Heavenly Sanctuary after He ascended. Satan was permanently expelled from Heaven, and Jesus came before the Father as our advocate. (Revelation 12:7-11; 1 John. 2:1).

The earthly priests were removed by death, therefore they could not continue long; but Jesus, I saw, was a priest forever. Through the sacrifices and offerings brought to the earthly Sanctuary, the children of Israel were to lay hold of the merits of a Saviour to come. And in the wisdom of God the particulars of this work were given us that we might look back to them, and understand the work of Jesus in the heavenly Sanctuary. {1SG 160.1}

For a deeper consideration on this study, please visit this site. click or copy-paste into a browser.

Meat In Due Season - An Exposition of Biblical-Prophetic Interpretation on Rev. 4-8 (google.com)

Thursday: Coming Into His Presence - They Will See His Face

Heb. 12:22-24; 11:1; 4:14, 16; 10:23; 6:4, 5, 19; 7:22; Rev. 7:15-17; 21:1-4; 22:1-5; Num. 6:24-26

“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels,” (Hebrews 12:22)

Saviours Shall Come Upon Mt. Zion

And saviours shall come upon mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Lord's." "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call." Obad. 1:17-21; Joel 2:32. {TN8: 63.2}

Creation Upon Every Dwelling Place in Mt. Zion

"In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem: When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning. And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence. And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain." Isa. 4:2-6. {1TG12: 25.3}

"In the last days," says Micah in his forecast of the time in which the first fruits stand with the Lamb on Mount Zion, and in which the second fruits leave Babylon to go to Mount Zion, "it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. {7SC7-12: 9.2.7}

Additional studies can be found in the site below, please click or copy-paste to a browser.

Meat In Due Season - 2. The 144,000 (google.com)

Meat In Due Season - 3. The Great Multitude (google.com)

Consider the following

Coming into His presence.

God’s manifestation at Sinai was surrounded by darkness. In this verse, Paul introduces a different manifestation, this time full of glory and light: Mount Zion, the Heavenly Jerusalem, the choir of angels praising God, God siting on His throne and making the “firstborn” that He bought with His blood righteous, and Jesus as our mediator (Hebrews 12:22-24).

This is a vision of the day we will celebrate the Feast of the Tabernacles with Jesus in Heaven. But it is more than that, it’s a vision for today. We are already there! We have already come to God’s presence!

Our representative is already there. Let’s walk every day “as seeing Him who is invisible” (Hebrews 11:27).

Friday: Further Study and Meditation

"And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. {Micah 4:1-4}

The kingdom-church conclusively, therefore, must be "set up" before the Devil turns upon the remnant, those who are left behind and who are then being gathered, and against whom he comes to war because they refuse to worship him in the person of the beast and his image (Rev. 13:15). {7SC7-12: 10.1.3}

Question to Ponder

1. What marks the moment of the new covenant which provides us means through which we can approach God boldly through faith?

2. On what basis does God's assurance of salvation was set? Is it not enough that Christ hath sacrifice Himself on the cross?

3. Is it God's plan that the people will respond negatively to His offer? or It is Peoples' unfaithfulness that causes them all to act opposite to what is expected of them?

4. What are the conditions that we can draw closer to God?

5. Is it possible that God allowed to be accused by Satan through his human agent, what should they be?

From the Pen of Inspiration

“The intercession of Christ in man's behalf in the sanctuary above is as essential to the plan of salvation as was His death upon the cross. By His death He began that work which after His resurrection He ascended to complete in heaven. We must by faith enter within the veil, ‘whither the forerunner is for us entered.’ Hebrews 6:20 […] Jesus has opened the way to the Father's throne, and through His mediation the sincere desire of all who come to Him in faith may be presented before God.” E. G. W. (The Great Controversy, cp. 28, p. 489)

SSL-Q1-10-Jesus-Opens-the-Way-through-the-Veil (fliphtml5.com)