Bible Study Guides – Hebrews 9:6–14

May 11-17, 2003

MEMORY VERSE: “Ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, . . . But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” 1 Peter 1:18, 19.

SUGGESTED READING: Selected Messages, Book 1, 237, 238.

INTRODUCTION: “Christ was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. To many it has been a mystery why so many sacrificial offerings were required in the old dispensation, why so many bleeding victims were led to the altar. But the great truth that was to be kept before men, and imprinted upon mind and heart, was this, ‘Without shedding of blood is no remission.’ In every bleeding sacrifice was typified ‘the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.’ ” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 932.

1 What was signified by the services performed in the two apartments of the earthly sanctuary? Hebrews 9:6–8.

NOTE: “God expressly directed that every offering presented for the service of the sanctuary should be ‘without blemish.’ Exodus 12:5. . . . Only an offering ‘without blemish’ could be a symbol of His perfect purity who was to offer Himself as ‘a lamb without blemish and without spot.’ 1 Peter 1:19. The apostle Paul points to these sacrifices as an illustration of what the followers of Christ are to become. He says, ‘I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.’ Romans 12:1. We are to give ourselves to the service of God, and we should seek to make the offering as nearly perfect as possible.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 352, 353.

2 What was the purpose of the earthly sanctuary? Hebrews 9:9, first part.

NOTE: “Not only the sanctuary itself, but the ministration of the priests, was to ‘serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things.’ Hebrews 8:5.

“The people were taught each day, by means of types and shadows, the great truths relative to the advent of Christ as Redeemer, Priest, and King; and once each year their minds were carried forward to the closing events of the great controversy between Christ and Satan, the final purification of the universe from sin and sinners. The sacrifices and offerings of the Mosaic ritual were ever pointing toward a better service, even a heavenly.” The Faith I Live By, 195.

3 What could the sacrifices offered in the earthly sanctuary not do? Hebrews 9:9, last part, 10.

NOTE: “The types and shadows of the sacrificial service, with the prophecies, gave the Israelites a veiled, indistinct view of the mercy and grace to be brought to the world by the revelation of Christ. . . . Christ became the propitiation for man’s sin. He proffered His perfection of character in the place of man’s sinfulness. He took upon Himself the curse of disobedience. The sacrifices and offerings pointed forward to the sacrifice He was to make. The slain lamb typified the Lamb that was to take away the sin of the world.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 237.

4 Where does our High Priest minister? Hebrews 8:1, 2; 9:11.

NOTE: “The sanctuary in Heaven, in which Jesus ministers in our behalf, is the great original, of which the sanctuary built by Moses was a copy. . . . The matchless splendor of the earthly tabernacle reflected to human vision the glories of that heavenly temple where Christ our forerunner ministers for us before the throne of God.” The Great Controversy (1888), 413, 414.

5 As our High Priest, what sacrifice did He offer? Hebrews 9:12.

NOTE: “In the Temple service, when the animal brought as a sacrifice was slain, the high priest, clothed in white robes, caught in his hand the blood that gushed forth, and cast it in the direction of the tabernacle or Temple. This was done seven times, as an expression of perfection. So Christ, the great antitype, Himself both high priest and victim, clothed with His own spotless robes of righteousness, after giving His life for the world, cast the virtue of His offering, a crimson current, in the direction of the Holy Place, reconciling man to God through the blood of the cross.—Manuscript 101, 1897, pp. 11, 12. (‘The True High Priest,’ September, 1897.)” Manuscript Releases, vol. 4, 244.

6 How often does Christ have to offer a sacrifice? Hebrews 9:12, 24–26.

NOTE: “He [Paul] makes plain the work of the Redeemer as the great high priest of mankind—the One who through the sacrifice of His own life was to make atonement for sin once for all, and was then to take up His ministry in the heavenly sanctuary.” The Acts of the Apostles, 246.

7 What does the blood of Christ do for us? Hebrews 9:13, 14.

NOTE: “Many who profess to be followers of Christ have not that earnest and unselfish devotion to his cause that he requires of them. They give their attention to temporal matters, and train their minds for business, in order to benefit themselves thereby. But God calls for them to come more closely into union with him, that he may mold and train them for his work. A solemn statement was made to ancient Israel that the man who should remain unclean, and refuse to purify himself, should be cut off from among the congregation. This has a special meaning for us. If it was necessary in ancient times for the unclean to be purified by the blood of sprinkling, how essential for those living in the perils of the last days, exposed to the fierce temptations of Satan, to have the blood of Christ applied to their hearts daily.” Review and Herald, January 9, 1883.

8 With what are we redeemed? 1 Peter 1:18, 19.

NOTE: “All men have been bought with this infinite price [the precious blood of Jesus]. By pouring the whole treasury of heaven into this world, by giving us in Christ all heaven, God has purchased the will, the affections, the mind, the soul, of every human being. Whether believers or unbelievers, all men are the Lord’s property. All are called to do service for Him, and for the manner in which they have met this claim, all will be required to render an account at the great judgment day.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 326.

9 What is the blood of Christ called? Hebrews 13:20.

NOTE: “Let those who are oppressed under a sense of sin remember that there is hope for them. The salvation of the human race has ever been the object of the councils of heaven. The covenant of mercy was made before the foundation of the world. It has existed from all eternity, and is called the everlasting covenant. So surely as there never was a time when God was not, so surely there never was a moment when it was not the delight of the eternal mind to manifest His grace to humanity.” The Signs of the Times, June 12, 1901.

10 When did the first sanctuary cease to stand as a sanctuary? Matthew 23:38; 27:50, 51.

NOTE: “When the loud cry, ‘It is finished,’ came from the lips of Christ, the priests were officiating in the temple. It was the hour of the evening sacrifice. The lamb representing Christ had been brought to be slain. Clothed in his significant and beautiful dress, the priest stood with lifted knife, as did Abraham when he was about to slay his son. With intense interest the people were looking on. But the earth trembles and quakes; for the Lord Himself draws near. With a rending noise the inner veil of the temple is torn from top to bottom by an unseen hand, throwing open to the gaze of the multitude a place once filled with the presence of God. . . .

“All is terror and confusion. The priest is about to slay the victim; but the knife drops from his nerveless hand, and the lamb escapes. Type has met antitype in the death of God’s Son. The great sacrifice has been made. The way into the holiest is laid open. A new and living way is prepared for all. No longer need sinful, sorrowing humanity await the coming of the high priest. Henceforth the Saviour was to officiate as priest and advocate in the heaven of heavens. It was as if a living voice had spoken to the worshipers: There is now an end to all sacrifices and offerings for sin.” The Desire of Ages, 756, 757.

11 What secured the pardon of transgressions that were committed under the first covenant? Hebrews 9:14, 15.

NOTE: “Christ is our Mediator and officiating High Priest in the presence of the Father. He was shown to John as a Lamb that had been slain, as in the very act of pouring out His blood in the sinner’s behalf. When the law of God is set before the sinner, showing him the depth of his sins, he should then be pointed to the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world. He should be taught repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 395.

12 Since Christ did not begin His priestly work of offering His own blood until after the crucifixion and ascension, how could the sins of those under the first covenant be pardoned? Galatians 3:17; Hebrews 6:13–18.

NOTE: “The Abrahamic covenant was ratified by the blood of Christ, and it is called the ‘second,’ or ‘new,’ covenant, because the blood by which it was sealed was shed after the blood of the first covenant. That the new covenant was valid in the days of Abraham is evident from the fact that it was then confirmed both by the promise and by the oath of God—the ‘two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie.’ Hebrews 6:18.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 371.