WAS THE ATONEMENT FINISHED AT THE CROSS?

Psalm 69:27-28 ...'Add iniquity unto their iniquity: and let them not come into thy righteousness. Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.'

The majority of professed Christians in the world do not understand the significance of the above verse, due to a wrong understanding of the atonement, and it is my prayer that you will seriously and prayerfully study this page and subject to find out the truth, so that instead of your name being blotted out of the book of life, your sins may be blotted out.

The popular teaching within the churches today says the atonement was finished at the cross and that Christ completed His atoning work for us at Calvary. Those who believe the atonement was finished at the cross, totally ignore the important shadows and types that were setup in Old Testament times, which were to be literally fulfilled in Christ.

We will show you on this page that it was impossible for the atonement to be finished at the cross. And yes, we will deal with the famous words "it is FINISHED" and also what Paul said further down the page.

What does it mean if something is a "shadow"? If you follow a shadow, will it just disappear? No. A shadow is cast by a real object and if you follow that shadow, you will come to the reality. This is what the Old Testament types and shadows were for. They were to bring us to the reality that is in Christ. They were to teach the Jews and us what Christ was going to fulfil. And this is the important point to remember. Christ was to actually fulfil the types and shadows in the Old Testament. Why do you think the Old Testament finishes with the command from God to "Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded him." (Malachi 4:4)? Because the types and shadows in the law of Moses teaches us beautiful truths about what Christ was to fulfil. Let's look at the types and shadows concerning sin and making atonement for sin:

SIN OFFERING - Leviticus 4:27-35 ...'And if any one of the common people sin through ignorance ... or if his sin, which he hath sinned, come to his knowledge: then he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a female without blemish, for his sin which he hath sinned. And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering, and slay the sin offering in the place of the burnt offering ... And if he bring a lamb for a sin offering, he shall bring it a female without blemish. And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering, and slay it for a sin offering in the place where they kill the burnt offering. And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar ... and the priest shall make an atonement for his sin that he hath committed, and it shall be forgiven him.'

Leviticus 4:13-20 ...'And if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance, and the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done somewhat against any of the commandments of the Lord ... When the sin, which they have sinned against it, is known, then the congregation shall offer a young bullock for the sin ... and the bullock shall be killed before the Lord. And the priest that is anointed shall bring of the bullock's blood to the tabernacle of the congregation ... And the priest shall dip his finger in some of the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before the Lord, even before the vail ... and the priest shall make an atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them.'

Numbers 15:27-28 ...'And if any soul sin through ignorance, then he shall bring a she goat of the first year for a sin offering. And the priest shall make an atonement for the soul that sinneth ignorantly, when he sinneth by ignorance before the Lord, to make an atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him.'

Let's just think about this for a moment. We can clearly see above what was to happen when a person, or the whole congregation sinned. And remember, the whole congregation bore the sin of one person as shown in Joshua 7, regarding Achan and also Numbers 15:24. Now, was the above 'shadow' and 'type' to be fulfilled in Christ? Yes, no doubt. But let us look at what was involved. The sinner had to offer and slay an 'innocent' animal 'without blemish.' This clearly pointed to the fulfillment in Christ, our perfect 'lamb without blemish' who was slain for us on the cross at Calvary. Now my question is, did it end there? Was that "job done"? Did slaying the animal 'make atonement' for the sinner? No. As you can clearly see from the 'shadow' and 'type' in Leviticus and Numbers above, a priest was appointed to then take that blood, transferring the sin to the sanctuary to 'make atonement' for the sinner. The sinner did not receive atonement from just the slaying of the innocent animal. The sinner received final atonement through the work of the priest - "THE PRIEST shall MAKE ATONEMENT."

Do you see this? Remember, a shadow HAS to meet it's REALITY, it does not just disappear. And how many realities are in this picture? 1-Sacrifice offering, 2-Priest to make atonement. There are TWO realities to be fulfilled from the 'shadows' and 'types'. Christ was not just to fulfil the role of sacrifice offering. He was also to fulfil the role of High Priest to make atonement for us.

Leviticus 4:16-17 ...'And the priest that is anointed shall bring of the bullock's blood to the tabernacle of the congregation: And the priest shall dip his finger in some of the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before the Lord, even before the vail.'

So the sin offering was made, which pointed to Christ on the cross, but there is something else that happened AFTER the sin offering was made, which we can see above. The priest was to 'mediate' for that person or congregation, taking the blood into the sanctuary to make atonement for the people. So those who stop at the cross and say Christ's work of atonement was complete are missing the important part the priest played in the 'type', which was also to meet it's reality in Christ.

So those who believe the atonement was finished at the cross need to ask themselves some serious questions:

1 - The atonement was made by the priest. Who was the appointed priest at Calvary?

2 - The atonement was made in the sanctuary by the priest. Calvary was not the sanctuary.

Now Paul confirms what we are saying on this page without question in the book of Hebrews, chapters 8 and 9. Let us carefully examine what Paul says in the following verses in Hebrews:

Hebrews 8:1-4 ...'Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law.'

Look at what Paul said regarding Jesus being our High Priest. If he were on earth, He COULD NOT be our priest. This means Jesus could NOT be our priest at the same time as when He was our sacrifice on earth. The role of High Priest had to come AFTER His resurrection and ascension to heaven, because as you can also see from Hebrews above, Jesus was to be a "minister of the sanctuary" in heaven, "of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man." So Jesus was to become our High Priest after His sacrifice and return to heaven. But to do what? To fulfil the 'shadow' and 'type' as given in the old covenant - to make atonement for us. Look at Hebrews 9:

Hebrews 9:6-26 ...'Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. But 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: 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: Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices ... But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us ... For 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: Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.'

As you can see clearly above, Christ entered into the heavenly sanctuary, the TRUE tabernacle of which the earthly was a copy, there to fulfil the role of High Priest, of which the earthly priest was a 'type' of Christ mediating for the people to make atonement for them and their sins with blood. This role Christ could NOT fulfil while on earth. His role on earth was the role of 'offering' and 'sacrifice'. Only AFTER this was accomplished was Christ then able to BECOME our Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5) and make atonement for our sins.

Are we saying that the sacrifice of Christ on the cross was not the atonement? No. What we are saying, as the Bible clearly lays out, is that Calvary was the BEGINNING of the atonement. The offering of the spotless animal in the Old Testament 'type' was the beginning of the atonement. But it was the priest who completed that atonement for sinners. Jesus dying on the cross was the beginning of His atoning work. Now He is in heaven as our High Priest FINISHING the atonement.

Look at what it says in the last verse of Hebrews 9:26 above. What does it mean where it says "in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin"? To 'put away sin' means to 'cleanse' to 'make clean', 'reconcile', 'purify', 'sanctify' - to ATONE, to make us 'at-one-ment' with God. So clearly, the atonement did not finish at the cross, it began at the cross. And Jesus is now making final atonement for us in the heavenly sanctuary as our High Priest and Mediator before the Father.

This now brings us onto another 'type' in the covenant model, which points to the final atonement work that Christ was to fulfil. God instituted a ceremony called 'the day of atonement', which was to be performed only once a year on the tenth day of the seventh month by the High Priest alone. Let us take a look at the Bible verses concerning this ceremony:

Leviticus 16:2-30 ...'And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat. Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering ... And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering ... And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for the scapegoat. And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the Lord's lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering. But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness ... Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat. And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel ... And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat: And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness ... And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you: For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the Lord.'

Wow! This was an incredible ceremony and yet so many professed Christians cannot see the importance of this 'type' and 'shadow' that was to be fulfilled by Christ. We learned earlier in this page that the sins of the people were transferred onto the sacrificial animal, and then into the sanctuary by the mediation of the priest. Were the sins of the people counted as forgiven any time of the year, if by faith they offered the sacrifice and the priest made atonement for their sacrifice in the sanctuary? Yes, absolutely, the sins of the people were forgiven at any time when their offering was made and the priest made atonement for them. But their sins were NOT 'blotted out' at that time. They were still 'on record' in the sanctuary. And this is where the day of atonement came into play on the tenth day of the seventh month each year.

The day of atonement had a number of purposes. It was a type of judgment of the people, which is why they had to "afflict their souls", and it was also for the complete removal of sins from the people and from the records in the sanctuary, which is why the 'live scape goat' received the sins and was led into the wilderness away from the sanctuary and the congregation. And this day of atonement 'type', the removal of sin, was NOT completed by Christ on the cross. No, it is now being fulfilled by Christ our High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary. So what importance does this have for us today? Let us think about some things regarding the day of atonement:

Was atonement made for the sinner who was not grieved over their sins and continued to live in self pleasure seeking and sin?

The short answer is absolutley not! As we read above in Leviticus 16, the people were to "afflict their souls" during this annual ceremony, the day of atonement. And look at what it says in Leviticus 23 concerning this:

Leviticus 23:27-29 ...'Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord ... For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people.'

So as we can see, those who were not afflicted during this time, those who were not grieved by their sins and sought to put them away completely, sacrificing all to the Lord, would be 'cut off' from among the people. So if Jesus is fulfilling this day of atonement 'type' in heaven, 'blotting out' our sins from the record books, to make final atonement for us, what should we be doing as His people? We should be deeply grieved over our sins and be seeking to turn away from all sin, putting them away, allowing Christ to completely cleanse us of all sin, giving us complete victory over them.

This is what Christ is doing now in heaven during this 'anti-typical' day of atonement. He is not only blotting out our sins from the record books in the heavenly sanctuary, 'cleansing' the sanctuary. He is seeking to blot out sin FROM OUR LIVES, cleansing our 'body temple.' But those who continue living for this world, living in wilful sin and self pleasure seeking will NOT receive atonement and will be 'CUT OFF' from among God's people! Do you see the importance of this?

2 Peter 3:11 ...'Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness.'

The 'cleansing' of the heavenly sanctuary of sin, the literal fulfillment of the day of atonement began in 1844, of which the 2300 day prophecy of Daniel pointed to. PLEASE SEE OUR PAGE 2300 DAY PROPHECY OF DANIEL for the truth on this.

Now if Jesus made complete atonement on the cross, then all past and future sins of everyone who accepts the sacrifice of Christ has been completely atoned for already, and therefore those people are saved, no matter what they do after accepting the sacrifice of Christ. This is what 'once saved, always saved' people believe. They believe once our names are in the book of life in heaven, we cannot be lost. But the Bible teaches otherwise!

Revelation 3:5 ...'He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.'

For Jesus to say that those who 'OVERCOME' He will NOT blot out their names from the book of life, tells us that He WILL blot out the names of those who do NOT overcome. Can you see the role of Jesus as our High Priest in Revelation 3 above? He is making final atonement for us with the Father in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary, of which the earthly was a copy. And it is only those who abide by faith in Jesus, surrendering and sacrificing ALL to Him, allowing Jesus to cleanse us from ALL sin, making us 'overcomers', who will REMAIN in the book of life.

You only need to look at the 'type' God gave us in the Old Testament. Look at how many Jews were destroyed and forever LOST due to their continued sinful lives and disobedience. And yet these were 'God's people.' The same applies to us today. If we 'claim' to have faith in Jesus, but continue to live worldly lives of sin and disobedience to God's will, then we too will be destroyed and forever lost. This is why God gave us these 'types' in the Old Testament, to teach us and lead us in the ways of righteousness.

Please also see our page SAVED IN SIN OR FROM SIN?

Many people read what Paul said in Romans 5 ..."For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement." (Romans 5:10-11)

This seems to suggest we have already received atonement. But the problem is, many people will take the odd verse here and there and build a whole teaching upon it, ignoring the rest of scripture regarding the same issue. First of all, Paul clearly states that it was the death of Christ that 'reconciled' us to God, but it is 'by His life' that we are SAVED. Without the resurrection, the death of Christ would do nothing for us. So this alone shows the atoning work was not completed on the cross. The second point is, when did Paul write the above? When Jesus was on the cross? No! Paul wrote this statement many years after Christ had ascended back to heaven and was AT THIS POINT Paul's High Priest, offering His own blood in the heavenly sanctuary before the Father for the people's sins. So yes, Paul is right in saying that they have 'now received the atonement', as Christ was AT THIS POINT IN WRITING Paul's High Priest in heaven. But Paul was not saying that the atonement was completed on the cross, neither was he saying that the ENTIRE atonement work was done at the time of writing.

So let us dig deeper to get a fuller understanding of what Paul was saying.

During the day of Pentecost, Peter preached to the crowd and said the following ... "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." (Acts 2:38). That word 'remission' signifies pardon and forgiveness, which is what a person receives when he repents of his sins and is baptized. But let us look at what else Peter said:

Acts 3:19 ...'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.'

What do the words 'may be' and 'shall come' mean? They mean something that is going to happen in the future. The people were to 'repent and be converted' so that their sins could be 'blotted out.' So we can clearly see that the atoning work of 'blotting out' sins does not take place at 'repentance', neither did it take place at the cross, but rather was a FUTURE event, as Peter said. What did the Jews have to do on the day of atonement as we read previously? They had to 'afflict their souls.' They had to be deeply grieved by their sins and be CONVERTED, turning away from sin, so that their sins could be 'removed' from the sanctuary and 'blotted out.'

Now, let us think about something. When the Jew who sinned had by faith slain the animal as an offering and the priest presented the blood in the sanctuary, what did that Jew receive? That Jew received forgiveness and atonement for his sin. The sin was removed from the person, to the slain animal and then taken into the sanctuary. And what does a person today who faithfully accepts the sacrifice of Christ, repenting of their sin receive? They receive forgiveness and atonement for their sin, just as Paul said in Romans 5. Their sin has been removed from them by Christ's sacrifice and placed in the heavenly sanctuary.

But as Peter clearly confirmed, preaching on the day of Pentecost, that sin has NOT been 'blotted out' yet and therefore that person has NOT received COMPLETE atonement. And we know this because as we read in Revelation 3:5, a person who does not overcome, instead of having their sins blotted out of the record books, they will have their names blotted out of the book of life!

This is why Paul said in Titus 3:8 that we should 'be careful to maintain good works.' Because it is not through our first profession of faith that blots our sins out. It is through a continued life of faith, a life of complete surrender and sacrifice to the Lord that our sins may be blotted out, and thus receive the FINAL atonement.

This is why this message is so important. Because many in the churches are continuing to live lives of sin and pleasure seeking, instead of being grieved of their sins and allowing Christ to give them the victory over them. So instead of their sins being blotted out, their names are going to be blotted out of the book of life! Please wake up!

Psalm 69:27-28 ...'Add iniquity unto their iniquity: and let them not come into thy righteousness. Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.'

The statement by Christ on the cross - "it is finished" - is probably the most used text to support the idea that the atonement was completed at the cross. But again, as we said above, we cannot use just one or two verses to build a doctrine, when the rest of scripture goes against what you believe those couple of verse to mean. So as good Bible students, we are to examine the WHOLE council of God, which will clear up any confusion regarding one or two verses.

Christians today make the assumption that the word 'it' in Jesus' statement means the atoning work. And yet we read in Hebrews that Christ is now our High Priest, mediating [making atonement] for us in the heavenly sanctuary, fulfilling the Old covenant type. So how could the word 'it' in Jesus' statement mean the atoning WORK is finished, when He is still working for us in heaven as our High Priest? Do you see the problem with making assumptions and ignoring the rest of scripture? No wonder there is so much confusion among the various churches today!

So what did Jesus mean when He said "it is finished"? (John 19:30)

There are a number of things we can point this statement to. First of all, what was the battle that had been raging for the previous 4000 years? The battle between Christ and Satan. The battle between right and wrong, good and evil. This battle will not be over completely until Satan and all his followers are destroyed in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10-15). However, the 'claim' of ownership over this world that Satan had previous to the cross came to an 'END.' Before the cross, Satan accused this world of its sins and claimed that we are all just as guilty of death because of sin as He is (Rev.12:10). But God had the answer. He was to send His own Son (Romans 8:3), to become one of us and sacrifice His perfect life for us and set us free FROM sin:

Revelation 12:9-11 ...'And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.'

So what was 'finished' at the cross? Satan's claim to this world and his accusing humanity of not being able to obey God's law was now finished, as Jesus showed that humanity CAN live by faith and obedience to the Father's will, and the blood of Christ was now able to 'wash away' our sins and set us free from the snare of sin. The redemption of the lost race was forever made certain. Heaven was made eternally secure against the accusations and deceptions that Satan would instigate. Also, Satan's false charge over God's character was now null and void, because God showed through Christ that He is a God of love and Satan is exposed as evil.

Christ had won! And Satan's kingdom was 'FINISHED'! The destruction of sin and Satan was made sure!

What else was 'finished' at the cross? Well, what had been going on for the past 4000 years since the fall of Adam and Eve? The sacrificial system, whereby man could only come back into communion with God through animal sacrifices (providing it was done in faith, pointing to Jesus). This was a continual, daily occurance whereby animal offerings were made to 'atone' for the sins of the people. But now, type had met anti-type. The veil in the temple was torn in two (Matt.27:51), showing that this system of sacrifices was now 'FINISHED.' People could now, by faith alone, come "boldly to the throne of grace" (Heb.4:15-16).

The Jews continuously offered animal sacrifices, but now Christ made that one and complete sacrifice which would bring salvation to all who would receive ... "By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God." (Heb.10:10-12)

That 'one sacrifice' offered by Christ was a COMPLETE sacrifice. There is nothing that can be added to the sacrifice of Christ. It was a perfect and complete offering, and it was that 'offering', that sacrifice of Christ which was 'FINISHED.' Nothing more in the way of 'offering' to cover sins was needed, as the blood of Christ, offered once for all, was complete!

The plan of redeeming mankind from Satan was now complete and 'finished.' But the 'atonement', the work of making man 'at-one' with God had just begun!

There are many people in the Seventh-day Adventist Church today who now believe just like the other churches, that the atonement was finished at the cross. So I have added this section, whereby I will give quotes from our pioneers and Sister White to show that this was not the position of Ellen White or our pioneers. Our pioneers believed, just as we have laid out in this page, that the work of atonement began on the cross and will continue until Jesus 'stands up' at the close of probation.

There is a document written by Owen Crosier, one of our pioneers, called 'The Day-Star Extra - The Sanctuary', written in 1846. In this document, Crosier lays out the truth regarding the sanctuary and the atonement. He confirms what we have confirmed on this page, that the atonement was NOT completed on the cross, but the cross was PART of the atoning work, and Christ CONTINUES the atoning work in heaven. You can download a copy of this document HERE. Now what is of interest is a comment from Sister White concerning this document written by Crosier:

"I believe the Sanctuary, to be cleansed at the end of the 2300 days, is the New Jerusalem Temple, of which Christ is a minister. The Lord shew me in vision, more than one year ago, that Brother Crosier had the true light, on the cleansing of the Sanctuary, and that it was his will, that Brother C. should write out the view which he gave us in the Day-Star, Extra, February 7, 1846. I feel fully authorized by the Lord, to recommend that Extra, to every saint. I pray that these lines may prove a blessing to you, and all the dear children who may read them." (E.White, A Word to the Little Flock, p.12-13)

So we can see that the Lord showed Ellen White in vision (divine revelation) that brother Crosier's view on this was "THE TRUTH". Now let us examine Ellen White's own words regarding the continuing atoning work of Christ:

"When Christ, the Mediator, burst the bands of the tomb, and ascended on high to minister for man, He first entered the holy place, where, by virtue of His own sacrifice, He made an offering for the sins of men. With intercession and pleadings He presented before God the prayers and repentance and faith of His people, purified by the incense of His own merits. He next entered the Most Holy Place, to make an atonement for the sins of the people, and cleanse the sanctuary. His work as high priest completes the divine plan of redemption by making the final atonement for sin." (E.White, MR, Vol.11, pgr.54)

"At the crucifixion, as Jesus died on Calvary, he cried, It is finished, and the vail of the temple was rent in twain, from the top to the bottom. This was to show that the services of the earthly Sanctuary were forever finished, and that God would no more meet with them in their earthly temple, to accept their sacrifices. The blood of Jesus was then shed, which was to be ministered by himself in the heavenly Sanctuary. As the priests in the earthly Sanctuary entered the Most Holy once a year to cleanse the Sanctuary, Jesus entered the Most Holy of the heavenly, at the end of the 2300 days of Dan, viii, in 1844, to make a final atonement for all who could be benefited by his mediation, and to cleanse the Sanctuary." (E.White, Spiritual Gifts, Vol.1, p.162)

"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" (E.White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p.357)

So we can clearly see that Sister White and our pioneers believed the atonement did NOT finish at the cross, but was to continue in heaven, where Christ would 'mediate' for us in presenting His blood to not only cleanse us of sin, but also to blot out our sins from the record books. Friends, we are living in that anti-typical 'day of atonement', whereby we are to 'afflict our souls' for the sins we have committed. We are to be deeply grieved of our sins and surrender all to Christ, so that He can fully cleanse us and give us complete victory over sin. But those who think that we need not get victory over sin now, are in danger of having their names blotted out of the book of life, rather than having their sins blotted out. What do you want to hold onto? Sin and death? Or Jesus and life?

Jude 1:23-25 ...'And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.'

Revelation 14:12 ...'Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.'