Tag / Understanding Sacrifice

by In Light Of The Cross

The Final Goal of the Sacrifice

In this week’s Sabbath School lesson, I read,

… I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the LORD of hosts.” Haggai 2:7-9 NKJV

I was already familiar with the meaning of this passage, that even though the latter temple was not filled with the temporal splendor of the former temple, it would be filled with greater glory than the former, when the Son of God bodily entered the temple. I paused, though, and wondered if that was the final goal. I also question if we, as Seventh-day Adventists, are missing the final goal when considering the heavenly sanctuary as greater than the earthly sanctuary. Of course it is “greater,” but is the sanctuary in heaven the final goal? Was the latter sanctuary the final goal? What is the final goal

Then I considered these passages,

Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Ephesians 2:19-22 NKJV

For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:14-19 NKJV

To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. Colossians 1:27-28 NKJV

These passages may remind you of similar passages, but you may already see where I am going with this. Even if the latter earthly sanctuary was filled with more glory than the former, what good does that do me today? Even if the heavenly sanctuary is filled with more glory than either earthly sanctuary, what good does that do me today down here on earth, unless my heart becomes God’s sanctuary? For our theology to be balanced and correct, we must see beyond the earthly temporal sanctuaries and realize that the goal is not even met in the heavenly sanctuary. The real goal is for God to dwell in our hearts and lives.

As Seventh-day Adventists, we talk about being the remnant church and restoring the church to how it was in the New Testament before the compromises of the Dark Ages. That is correct, but it still is not the goal.

The final goal of Christ’s sacrifice and the Gospel is to restore people into the image of God that man was created with before the fall. The final goal is also to restore our relationship with God to how it was before the fall. In other words, the goal of the Gospel goes way beyond restoring a people to how they were before the Dark Ages; the goal of the Gospel goes back to restoring people to how they were created to be before the fall.

What happened in the earthly sanctuary and what is happening now in the heavenly sanctuary are amazing. But what is more amazing is what God, through His Son and the Holy Spirit, is actively doing in our hearts today.

You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. 2 Corinthians 3:2-3 NKJV

People today can’t visibly see Christ entering the latter temple mentioned in Haggai. However, they can visibly see the results of Christ living in our hearts today, which is the real goal.

You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.

by In Light Of The Cross

6: Understanding Sacrifice-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School class, May 10, 2025.

Main Theme: This week we will look at some of the themes of sacrifice that inform our understanding of Jesus, the slain Lamb, the clear protagonist of the throne room scene. He is accepted as worthy, where no one else is, and His unique worthiness speaks volumes about what the Lord was doing through the sacrificial system. It reveals Him as a God of infinite love who made the ultimate sacrifice, an act that we, and the other intelligences in the universe, will marvel at for eternity.

Read in Class: Read in Class: Isaiah 1:2-25 and Psalm 51:17. Have the class share the main idea of these passages.

Study: What important lessons about sacrifice are taught here?

Apply: Read Hebrews 10:3-10. What does this teach us about the ultimate goal of Christ’s sacrifice? What does His sacrifice lead us to beyond forgiveness?

Share: In the NLT 1 Peter 2:24 tells us Jesus died so we can live for what is right. Your friend asks you how Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross has helped you to live a righteous life. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Exodus 12:1-11, Isaiah 53:7-8, and Revelation 5:6. Ask the class to share the main idea of these passages.

Study: What do these verses teach us about Jesus as the Passover sacrifice? What does that mean for each of us?

Apply: What are ways that we can better reflect the perfect character of Jesus in our own lives?

Share: Your friend is an animal lover and tells you she can’t understand why God had the Israelites kill so many innocent animals at the passover as well as in the daily sacrifices afterwards. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Haggai 2:7-9. Ask the class to describe the main idea of this passage.

Study: As the second temple was being constructed, the prophet Haggai made an astonishing promise: the new temple would be more glorious than the previous one. What was meant by that prophecy?

Apply: The cross is by far the greatest manifestation of God’s love. What are other ways we can see and experience the reality of God’s love?

Share: Your friend says it’s great that God filled a temple on the other side of the world with His glory two thousand years ago, but what good does that do us? What do you tell your friend? See Ephesians 3:17-19.

Read in Class: Isaiah 6:1-5 and Revelation 4:7-11. Have the class share the main idea of these passages.

Study: What elements of these two visions are similar? Pay attention to the order of events: What subject is presented first? What comes next? What truth about God is being stressed in these visions?

Apply: How does the cross help you understand God’s love for sinners and His hatred for sin?

Share: Can you think of someone you could share the plan of salvation with this week?