“We are now living in the great day of atonement. In the typical service, while the high priest was making the atonement for Israel, all were required to afflict their souls by repentance of sin and humiliation before the Lord, lest they be cut off from among the people. In like manner, all who would have their names retained in the book of life should now, in the few remaining days of their probation, afflict their souls before God by sorrow for sin and true repentance. ere must be deep, faithful searching of heart. The light, frivolous spirit indulged by so many professed Christians must be put away” (GC 489, 490).
Paradoxically, those who gather with Christ at the sanctuary and afflict their souls will have the deepest peace, the greatest joy in all the world. God gives us this experience as we gather at the sanctuary, as we behold the cross, and as we meditate on what our great High Priest is doing.
“We are in the great day of atonement, and the sacred work of Christ for the people of God that is going on at the present time in the heavenly sanctuary should be our constant study. We should teach our children what the typical Day of Atonement signified and that it was a special season of great humiliation and confession of sins before God. The antitypical day of atonement is to be of the same character” (5T 520). God’s call for solemnity isn’t just for the old folks. “Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children” (Joel 2:15, 16). Youth must share in the experience.
“The ministers of the Lord [must] weep between the porch and the altar,” saying, “Spare thy people, O Lord” (Joel 2:17). And in answer to the intercession and humbling of soul, He sends the latter rain from the most holy place. “The Lord will do great things” (verse 21) if we will meet the conditions. Marvellous experiences await those who will pay the price. Isn’t it worthwhile focusing everything on what Heaven is focused on—getting rid of sin?
On the typical Day of Atonement, the Lord commanded a complete fast. “The whole congregation of Israel were to spend the day in solemn humiliation before God, with prayer, fasting, and deep searching of heart” (GC 419, 420). What is the lesson for us? Let us not brush it aside, saying, “Of course, we can’t go without eating since 1844.” Perhaps we shall find a key in this inspired statement: “The true fasting which should be recommended to all, is abstinence from every stimulating kind of food, and the proper use of wholesome, simple food, which God has provided in abundance” (“fruits, grains, nuts and vegetables simply prepared constitute the true fast”) (CD 90).
God presents no stinted, overstrict program. He has provided good food in abundance and wants us to select wisely, enjoying those things which will give us the best health, for “the condition of the body affects the condition of the soul” (Ev 261). Clearly, our habits of eating and drinking affect our ability to comprehend spiritual truth and to make the proper response. That’s why we have health reform. Its purpose is not merely to save us from lung cancer and coronary attacks, but to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. It “is a part of the third angel’s message” (4T 486).
“Those who are slaves to appetite will fail in perfecting Christian character” (3T 492). Israel on the Day of Atonement exhibited complete control of appetite in a total fast, but it may require more self-control to eat only proper foods in proper amounts day by day than to abstain from food entirely for one day. Blessed indeed are those who have learned to “eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!” (Ecclesiastes 10:17).
But man’s soul, as well as his body, must be nourished. As the people of Israel gathered at the sanctuary on the Day of Atonement, what do you think they would have done with the TV and the radio? While Aaron ministered in the most holy place sprinkling the blood on the mercy seat, can you imagine a group gathered in one of the tents listening to a comedian cracking jokes?
As we were eating breakfast at one of our junior camps the director said to me, “It takes half the week that the juniors are here to get them quieted down from what they have learned on TV so that we can do a little with them before they go home.” He added, “We have discovered that the average SDA junior watches almost as much TV as the average non-Adventist his age.”
And what are they learning? Not very much that will point the way into the sanctuary. The average sixteen-year-old in America has already witnessed 20,000 homicides—20,000 times he has seen human life snuffed out! “Oh,” somebody retorts, “almost all that is justification. Everybody knows it is make-believe.”
One of the professors at a church University handed me a newspaper from a nearby city with the headline about a three-year-old boy who had just shot his mother. When the sheriff came to investigate, he couldn’t believe that a three-year-old would know how to handle a gun. So he took the weapon, made sure that all the shells were out of it, and put it within reach of the little fellow. At once he picked it up and aimed it at the sheriff. Where do you think he learned that? “By beholding we become changed” (COL 355).
I cannot tell you what to do with your TV, your radio, your newspaper, but I can assure you that the more time you spend with them, the less time you will have with Jesus at the most holy place. Truly, the more time we devote to communion with the Saviour the less time we will want to spend keeping up with the world’s trash, trivia, and trouble. (Today would include - internet, video games, mobile phones, videos and computers)
Thank God, many of our people are spending time with the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy. I rejoice when our leaders call for revival and reformation. Let us respond and find Jesus at the mercy seat.
Many wonder how they can find time for personal devotions. Isn’t it strange that although labour and time-saving devices surround us, it seems harder than ever before to find time to be alone with God? Perhaps I can point out a secret that will solve the problem. Did you ever try to pay tithe from the money that was left after you had met all your expenses? Did it work? Probably not. The best method is to pay the tithe first. God blesses, and nine tenths with His blessing goes farther than ten tenths without it.
Why not try the same plan in budgeting your time? Make the hour of personal devotion first— first in importance, first in the day. Then you will have enough time with the Bible, the Desire of Ages, the Great Controversy, and the other inspired volumes. Yes, “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). R&R WDF
