The Atonement by J. H. Waggoner

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Aug 30, 1864

The Atonement.

By J. H. Waggoner

BY ELD. J. H. WAGGONER. (Continued.)

JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH; ITS RELATION TO THE ATONEMENT.

A QUESTION naturally arises here in regard to the present justification of the believer. If the blotting out of sin, it may be said, is the work of the judgment in the cleansing of the sanctuary, which is certainly the last work of the Priest, then the sins of the saints stand on record till that time; how, or in what sense, then, are they justified? I answer, by faith; this faith necessarily looks to a future fact. I have before shown that justification and salvation are not identical. But here it will be necessary to examine the relation that the duties of the gospel sustain to the work of the atonement. "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins," is the commandment of inspiration. From this it has been inferred that sin is remitted in the act of baptism, for which I can see no warrant; certainly no such thing is there expressed. That the terms signify in order to the remission of sin, I need not stop to argue; and it is too much to claim that in laboring in order to gain a certain object, that object must be obtained in the very act of laboring. God told his people that they should have life—eternal life—if they kept his commandments, which, to the faithful, will be fulfilled "when Christ who is our life shall appear," and not till then. I understand that the declaration above quoted from the apostle Peter in Acts ii, 38, points to the same fact as that in chap. iii, 19. The remission of sin, is the work of the judgment; and the believer must stand justified by faith, looking to the Priest for the accomplishment of his hope. But that the sin is not really blotted out, or atonement made at baptism, or at any other period of probation is proved by the word of the Lord to Ezekiel, xviii, 26: "When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die." Again in chap. xxxiii, 13: "All his righteousness shall not be remembered." That is, he shall be treated as though he had never been righteous. Now the righteousness of the righteous is by faith; therefore if he turn and commit iniquity he shall be treated as if he never had faith; his justification is annulled—he falls from grace.

For a demonstration of the truthfulness of this view, we look to the cases of the faithful who lived before the time of Christ. Were it admitted that the atonement was made at the death of Christ, it would still remain a fact in the cases of the patriarchs and prophets that their sins were not atoned for, not actually blotted out till the blood was shed by which they are blotted out. But they were justified by faith, and died in that justified state, looking forward to the work of Christ when the object of their faith should be realized; when his blood should take away the sins of which they had already repented; or in other words, when the atonement should be made.

The position of an individual justified by faith may be illustrated thus: A. owes B. a sum which he is not able to pay, and C. engages to take the responsibility of the debt on certain conditions; and in order to make it sure, C. deposits with B. sufficient to cover the amount. Now it is stipulated that if A. fulfills the conditions, B. shall cancel the debt from the deposit made by C. And as long as A. is faithfully fulfilling the conditions, so long is B. satisfied in regard to the debt; and of course he will not trouble A. for it, knowing it is secure. Thus A. is accounted just, in the sight of B., though not really just in himself because he fails to pay a just debt. He is considered as just, or justified through obedience to the conditions of C., who is his surety. But if A. refuses or neglects to fulfill the conditions, the deposit of C. no longer avails for him; he falls from the favor of B. which he had enjoyed through this arrangement, and the debt stands against him as fully as though C. had never engaged to pay it on any condition.

That this is a true representation of the position of the penitent, is evident from the declarations that "he that endureth unto the end"—he that is "faithful unto death," shall be saved: while he that is justified by faith, may, by disobedience lose that justification, and his righteousness will not be remembered. The blood of Jesus is the bounteous supply—the rich deposit where all may find a covering for their sins; but whether their sins are actually atoned for and removed by that blood, depends upon their acceptance of it and their faithfulness to the conditions of acceptance.

Justification by faith and reconciliation are very closely allied, but the atonement is subsequent to both. If we are justified or reconciled and so continue to the end, we may hope that our sins will be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; this work is effected in the most holy place, where the ark of the testament is; this place is opened in Heaven under the sounding of the seventh trumpet; and this trumpet ushers in the judgment of the dead, the coming of Christ without sin unto salvation to them that look for him; the giving reward to all his servants, and the destruction of them that corrupt the earth. These events pass beyond the bounds of human probation, and close up the dispensation of the gospel.

Having traced this subject thus far; having found what the atonement is; by whom and where it is made; and also for whom, we may turn back to "first principles" and again consider the law of God, and the position it occupies under the gospel. In the type, the testimony—the law—was put into the ark, in the most holy place: and it was over the law that the blood of the covenant was sprinkled by the high priest on the day of the atonement. The glory of God was above the cherubim; these were upon the mercy-seat, and this was upon the ark in which was the law.

As God looked down upon his law, the very basis of his government, his justice was aroused, for his law was violated. But mercy interposed; the high priest entered with the blood that brings remission, that had been offered to vindicate the majesty of the law. The blood was sprinkled "upon the mercy seat and before the mercy seat." Again the Lord looks down upon his law, but between him and the law is the mercy seat sprinkled with the blood of the victim; the law is honored; its penalty has been enforced; a substitute has been accepted; and the penitent sinner is pardoned. We notice that here was a real law, taking hold of the moral relations of God's creatures; that here was actual transgression, on the part of the creatures a disregard of moral obligations. But under the Aaronic priesthood there was no actual taking away of that sin; it remained to be taken away by the blood of Christ. Therefore Christ officiates in behalf of that same law, as Paul shows in Heb. ix, 15; and therefore the ark of his testament in Heaven contains that same law, where Jesus offers his own blood. Our High Priest has declared that he delighted to do the will of God, yea, the law was in his heart: he magnified the law and made it honorable; he upheld it in his life; he honored it in his death by suffering its penalty to indicate its justice; he pleads his blood in Heaven in behalf of those who have broken it. You who claim that God's law is abolished—look to his heavenly temple where Jesus our great High Priest is, and behold it there safely lodged in the ark. You who say that the law is changed—behold the original in Heaven, of which a copy only was given to Israel. Did not God speak it with his own voice? Did he not write it with his own finger? Did he not give it as a rule of holiness, of life? Was it not perfect? Did it not contain the whole duty of man? Yes; and by it God will bring every work into judgment. Here is that justice and judgment which are the habitation of his throne. Psa. lxxxix, 14. What evidence have you that the heavenly record of God's immutable will has been changed? You may mutilate the copy he has given you, you may strike out the name of the Holy One, and insert a term of reproach in the stead, but with him is neither variableness nor shadow of turning.

THE SCAPE-GOAT.

I have said, in remarking on Dr. Barnes' view of the death of Christ, that pardon is not absolute, but relative. By this I mean that God never will disregard the claims of his law and of justice; that in forgiving the sinner so that he may escape the penalty, it is by transferring the sin to another who bears it in his stead, and suffers for him. This is still further shown by the action of the priest on the day of atonement. His service did not end with cleansing the sanctuary, or in blotting out the sins of the people from the book of judgment. The sin still existed, though they were cleansed; and it was removed from the presence of God to another object.

Two goats were presented before the Lord, and lots were cast for them; one to be a sin offering, to be slain, the blood of which was sprinkled in the sanctuary; the other for a scape-goat, which was not slain, and concerning which the priest took no action till after the atonement was made. It has been supposed that this goat was also a type of Christ; a supposition for which I see no foundation in the Scriptures.

Some authors consider that, as the sin offering typified the crucified Saviour, so the scape-goat presented alive before the Lord typified the Lord as risen for the justification of his people. But this view is inadmissible from the order of the service. We notice that, 1. The goat was slain as a sin offering; this typified the death of Christ on Calvary. 2. The priest took the blood and went into the sanctuary for the people; this typified the risen Saviour going into "heaven itself, by his own blood, to appear in the presence of God for us." 3. After he had made an end of reconciling the holies, that is, after the atonement was fully made in the sanctuary, then the priest brought the live goat and laid both his hands upon the head of the goat, and confessed over him the sins of the children of Israel, putting them upon the head of the goat; this must certainly typify something in the future to be performed after the Sanctuary in Heaven is cleansed. But the sins placed on the scape-goat can be only of those who have "afflicted their souls," and are accepted of God, for those who are impenitent and continue to transgress the law of God bear their own sins—their sins are on their own heads. And when the sins of God's people have been transferred through the priest to the sanctuary of God, and from thence removed to the head of the scape-goat, the goat is then sent away to "a land not inhabited," and there "let go," or caused to remain. And by this it is clearly seen that the pardon of sin is relative; that the sin is removed from the penitent believer only by transfer, and the being to whom they are so removed is not pardoned, but sent away with the sins upon him.

There is something analogous to this in the New Testament, and it accords with the meaning of Lev. xvi, 8, as given by reputable authorities. "The Hebrew word for scape-goat as given in the margin of Lev. xvi, 8, is azazel. On this verse, Jenks in his Comprehensive Commentary remarks, 'Scape-goat. See different opinions in Bochart. Spencer, after the oldest opinion of the Hebrews and Christians, thinks azazel is the name of the Devil; and so Rosenmuller, whom see. The Syriac has Azzail, the angel (strong one) who revolted." The Devil is evidently here pointed out. Thus we have the definition of the Scripture term in two ancient languages, with the oldest opinion of the Christians in favor of the view that the scape-goat is a type of Satan.

"In the common acceptation of the word, the term scape-goat is applied to any miserable vagabond who has become obnoxious to the claims of justice; and while it is revolting to all our conceptions of the character and glory of Christ, to apply this term to him, it must strike every one as a very appropriate designation of the Devil, who is styled in the Scriptures, the accuser, adversary, angel of the bottomless pit, Beelzebub, Belial, dragon, enemy, evil spirit, father of lies, murderer, prince of devils, serpent, tempter, &c., &c."

In Rev. xx, there is something that bears a striking analogy to the action of the High Priest in regard to the scape-goat, and is, doubtless, a fulfillment of that type. This scripture, ushering in the first resurrection—the resurrection of the just, who are raised at the coming of Christ certainly refers to a period beyond human probation, and therefore after the sanctuary is cleansed. An angel is seen to come down from Heaven, and bind the dragon, which is the Devil, and cast him into the bottomless pit, where he is shut up a thousand years. By reference to the scripture use of this term abyss, (rendered bottomless pit), we find the very idea of Lev. xvi, 21, 22, carried out, for it is literally a desert waste, void, or land not inhabited. In every place where the term is used in such a manner as to determine a locality, it is connected with the earth, or a part of the earth. In Rev. ix, at the sounding of the fifth trumpet, the abyss was opened and locusts came out, &c. This describes the action of the Mahometan power. In chap. xi, the beast that ascends out of the abyss is said to make war against the two witnesses and to kill them. By careful expositors of prophecy this is referred to the French revolution. In chap. xvii, the seven-headed and ten-horned beast is said to ascend out of the abyss. Chap. xiii, 1–10, refers to the same beast in another phase of its existence, and these chapters clearly point out European powers. Thus far we find it confined to the earth. Paul in Rom. x, 7, uses this term in the same manner. "Who shall ascend into the deep? that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead." The abyss, here rendered deep, in other places rendered bottomless pit, refers to the grave, or at most to the state of death. In Gen. i, 2, "and darkness was upon the face of the deep," the abyss points out a void, waste, or uninhabitable, state of the earth; and in no case, where it is possible to trace its connection, has it any other location but the earth.

Two facts only need noticing to show the perfect fulfillment of the types in the scripture under consideration. (1.) Satan is called the prince of the power of the air. By his creation as an exalted angel he has the power of traversing the air as well as the earth. To deprive him of that power and confine him to the earth would fulfill Rev. xx. (2.) When Satan is bound, at the coming of Christ, the earth will be desolated and left without an inhabitant. As a very brief summary of the proof on this point, I offer the following facts and scriptures:

At the coming of Christ the saints will ascend to meet the Lord in the air, and be taken to those mansions which he has gone to prepare for them. 1 Thess. iv, 16, 17; John xiii, 33–36; xiv, 1–3.

The wicked will all be destroyed from the face of the earth at that time. 2 Thess. i, 6–8; Rev. xix, 11–21; compare, Heb. xii, 25, 26; Rev. xvi, 17; Joel, iii, 9–16, with Jer. xxv, 15–33. Note: Paul says the voice of the Lord will be heard but once from Heaven. John says this is just before Christ comes as a thief. Joel says it is in the day of the great battle, and the treading of the winepress of the wrath of God. See also Rev. xiv, 14–20. Jeremiah says all the nations shall drink of the wine cup of God's fury, and "all the wicked" be given to the sword. Now when the righteous are taken away from the earth, and all the wicked slain, the earth will be left empty, and without inhabitants. Therefore the following scriptures refer to that time. Jer. iv, 19–29; verse 23 says the earth was without form and void; in the same chaotic state in which it was when first created, before the Spirit of God, in formative power, moved upon the face of the deep—the abyss. Isa. xxiv, 1, 17–21; Zeph. i, 2, 14–18. Thus the facts of scripture clearly show that the binding of the Devil and his confinement in the abyss, "a land not inhabited," exactly answers to the type of the scape-goat.

"But if Satan is the antitypical scape-goat, it may be objected that he shares with Christ the honor of making the atonement. Not at all. The atonement is all made, the servants of God are pardoned and their sins all removed from them, and from the sanctuary, before the Devil is brought to take any part in the transaction. And what is the part he then performs? Simply of receiving upon himself the infinite weight of sins which he has instigated, and being sent away under their intolerable load."

"And here we would ask, What could be more fitting than that the author and instigator of all sin should receive the guilt of those transgressions which he has incited mortals to commit, but of which they have repented, back upon his own head? And what could be a more striking antitype of the ancient ceremony of sending away the scape-goat into the wilderness, than the act of the mighty angel in binding Satan and casting him into the bottomless pit at the commencement of the thousand years?"

"This is a point of transcendent interest to every believer. Then the sins of God's people will be borne away to be remembered no more forever. Then he who instigated them, will have received them back again. Then the serpent's head will have been bruised by the seed of the woman. Then the 'strong man armed,' (Satan,) will have been bound by a stronger than he, (Christ,) and the house of the strong man, (the grave,) spoiled of its goods, the saints. Matt. xii, 29; Heb. ii, 14. Then will the work of the enemy in sowing tares among the wheat, [Matt. xiii, 24–45,] be forever remedied, the tares will have been gathered into bundles to burn, and the wheat gathered into the garner. Then our great High Priest will have come forth from the sanctuary to pronounce the everlasting blessing upon his waiting people. Then shall we have come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels. Then will the redeemed, placing the foot of triumph upon the world, the flesh, and the Devil, raise their glad voices in the song of Moses and the Lamb. Oh, glorious day! May the Lord hasten it in his good time. Who would not, in view of this, take up the petition of the beloved John. 'Even so, come Lord Jesus!'"

(To be continued.)