3. Is Isaiah 14 talking of Satan's Pre-Sin Fall or Not?
Oct 12, 2024
A thought for future publication
Read Isa. 14 from beginning to end, not just verses 12-15 as people often do. Does it seem that Satan's pre-sin defeat is described? I did that, and I realized that associating this with Satan's that fall seemed off. Before getting there, let's start in 12-15. In Isa. 14:14, we learn that Satan is trying to ascend to heaven, but verse 15 tells us that he's cast down after doing that. If Satan wasn't in Heaven in the first place, that would mean that he was cast down once before. That would imply Satan was cast down twice. Moreover, he is described as "you who laid the nations low" (14:12). How would that happen before Satan is cast out of Heaven? I can think of two other times that Satan was cast: at the cross (Rev. 12:10-11) and during the millennium (Rev. 20:1-3). Let's read the rest of the Isa. 14 to determine if either of these seems more suitable. The introduction to taunt against him says that this passage is a verse of victory, to be taken up "when the Lord has given you rest from your pain and turmoil..." Considering the victory over Babylon context, we might think of the victory cry of Revelation 12:12, "Rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them!" While that is true, don't forget that "woe to yo, o earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath..." The victory for humanity doesn't seem finished here. There are other clues in Isa. 14:
1. "The whole earth is at rest and quiet" (7)
2. The cypress, which were subject to woodcutters, no longer are cut down (8)
3. People look back on him and recall the deeds of him "who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms" (16).
4. The rest of the evil people are dead (18).
5. Sheol is stirred up, preparing to meet the ruler (9), but is cast out from the grave (19, 20). It is as if he has been punished, but the punishment of death has not reached him yet.
6. He is cast into "the far reaches of the pit" (15).
These details sound a lot like Satan's state during the millennium. Cast into the bottomless pit, yet not dead. The desolate earth, made bad by Satan's works, comes to rest and is given time to rest. This seems to be a suitable fulfillment of Satan's millennium confinement. I'd be curious to know what the rest of you think!
2. Issues and a Solution to Adventism's Largest Critique
Oct 12, 2024
A thought for future publication
If Adventists had the opportunity to solve virtually all the critiques of the Adventist sanctuary doctrine, would they take it? After careful study, there appears to be a solution. Here are the current issues the Adventist church faces:
1. The massive time jump between the cross and 1844 feels strange.
2. Even Adventist scholars recognize that Hebrews 6:19 says Christ entered within the veil, the Most Holy Place, in the 1st century. They have argued that this entrance into the Most Holy Place is an anointing/inaugural work (Davidson: Exod 40: 1-9; Lev 8: 10-12; Num 7:1), not the Day of Atonement. However, considering how Hebrews 9:7 is presented, the writer of Hebrews might only be aware of the Day of Atonement entrance into the Most Holy Place (Heb. 9:7), not an inaugural context.
3. The previous two issues have had some discussion, but there has been no discussion about the following topic: Revelation 11:1-2 presents the following: measure the temple, altar, and worshippers, but hold off on measuring the outer court, for that is to be trampled for 1,260 days. In other words, it seems unlikely that it happens after the 42 weeks/1,260 days (538-1798; i.e., before 1844). It either happens before or during that time period. Within the two verses, there are several indicators that this time period is related to the Day of Atonement. Several prominent Adventist Revelation scholars have recognized that the elements measured—the temple, altar, and worshippers—are only found together in the rest of the Bible on the Day of Atonement. In addition, the measuring of the temple is often credited to Ezekiel's temple vision (Ezk. 40-48), which comes to Ezekiel on the Day of Atonement. As such, Revelation scholars have seen Day of Atonement context in the 1,260-day period of measuring the temple.
4. In addition, in my research of Ezekiel (Adventists have not studied the sanctuary doctrine in light of Ezekiel before), I noticed that the temple inauguration (Ezk. 43:18-24) and the Day of Atonement (Ezk. 45:18-20) intersect, such implying that there is a relationship between the two. Regarding the temple inauguration, the sacrifice types and the process associated with them is nearly identical to the Day of Atonement. Regarding the Day of Atonement, it has moved from the 10th day of the 7th month to the 1st day of the 1st month, the same day the tabernacle was inaugurated (Exod. 40:1). In addition, the whole atoning of the sanctuary is accomplished in the courtyard, mainly by atoning the altar, just as the inaugural rite atoned for the altar.
To summarize, there is biblical evidence that some portions of atoning the sanctuary happened before 1844.
I have found a solution to all of these issues, and the solution still allows the 1844 date of the Day of Atonement/Investigative Judgement, when goat's blood is brought into the sanctuary, to be maintained while also explaining atonement before 1844. Feel free to contact me if you want more information, but this information will stay private until it is fully developed.
1. Are We Wrong: The Symbolic Identity of the Goat for Azazel (The Scapegoat)
September 30, 2024
Adventists have long argued that the live goat on the Day of Atonement is Satan, but this has become increasingly more challenging as today’s Adventist scholars continue to adjust their views to match today’s understanding of Leviticus 16. This paper argues for a modified view of the Azazel ritual in light of today’s scholarship, and its implications would resolve almost all sources of evangelical criticism against our interpretation of the rite while allowing for the millennium judgment to find a proper place in the Adventist sanctuary doctrine.