Scripture:

Within the tabernacle, God made his presence dwell directly over the mercy seat on the ark of the covenant in the most holy place. The ark is God’s throne. Within his throne God placed his law which he calls his testimony as a revelation of his character and righteousness. When humanity desecrated his law, they became unrighteous and were separated from His presence. On the Day of Atonement, the high priest would enter the most holy place, and could only do so with sacrificial atonement blood. The high priest would sprinkle the blood directly onto the ark of the covenant containing the righteous law which the people had broken, and the blood atoned for all the sins of the people. Scripture teaches that the tabernacle was a shadow and tutor to teach humanity God's plan of how He was going to do the work of reconciling man to himself. God came into the flesh to become both the atonement sacrifice and the final high priest. Long before 1844 as Ellen teaches, indeed by the time the book of Hebrews was written, Jesus was said to have already entered into the direct presence of God upon his ascension, and as high priest, he had already carried with him his own blood. As the levitical high priest would sprinkle the blood onto the mercy seat of God’s throne, so did Jesus as the ultimate high priest, carry in his own blood to make atonement for all sin for all people for all time; final atonement. Then he sat down at the right hand of God, who sits on the ark in the most holy place, where he is now the permanent intercessor and mediator between God and humanity. 

• “And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments. And it came about when Moses was coming down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the testimony were in Moses’ hand), that Moses did not know that the skin on his face shone because of his speaking with Him.” Exodus 34: 27-29

 

• “At that time the Lord said to me, ‘Cut out for yourself two tablets of stone like the former ones, and come up to Me on the mountain, and make an ark of wood for yourself. I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets which you shattered, and you shall put them in the ark.’ So I made an ark of acacia wood and cut out two tablets of stone like the former ones, and went up on the mountain with the two tablets in my hand. He wrote on the tablets, like the former writing, the Ten Commandments which the Lord had spoken to you on the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly; and the Lord gave them to me. Then I turned and came down from the mountain and put the tablets in the ark which I had made; and there they are, as the Lord commanded me.” Deuteronomy 10:1-5

 

• “And when He had finished speaking with him upon Mount Sinai, He gave Moses the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written by the finger of God.” Exodus 31:18

 

• “And you shall put into the ark the testimony which I shall give you. And you shall make a mercy seat of pure gold…And you shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony which I shall give you. And there I will meet with you; and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you…” Exodus 25: 16, 21-22

 

• “How blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord. How blessed are those who observe His testimonies, who seek Him with all their heart…Revive me according to Thy lovingkindness, so that I may keep the testimony of Thy mouth. Forever, O Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven. Thy faithfulness continues throughout all generations…Thou hast commanded thy testimonies in righteousness and exceeding faithfulness…Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Thy law is truth…Thy testimonies are righteous forever…Of old I have known from Thy testimonies, that Thou hast founded them forever.” Psalm 119: 1-2, 88-90, 138, 142, 144, 151-152

 

• “Clouds and thick darkness surround Him; Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. Fire goes before Him And burns up His adversaries round about. His lightnings lit up the world; The earth saw and trembled. The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. The heavens declare His righteousness, and all the peoples have seen His glory.” Psalm 97:2-6

 

• “Thy throne is established from of old; Thou are from everlasting…Thy testimonies are fully confirmed.” Psalm 93: 2, 5

 

• “He is enthroned above the cherubim, let the earth shake.” Psalm 99:1

 

• “...bring in the ark of the testimony there within the veil; and the veil shall serve for you as a partition between the holy and the holy of holies. And you shall put the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony in the holy of holies.” Exodus 26:33-34

 

• "Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the atoning cover which is on the ark, or he will die; I will appear in the cloud over the atoning cover. Aaron shall enter the Holy Place with this: with a bull as a sin offering and a ram as a burnt offering...Then he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering, which is for the people, and bring it's blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the atoning cover...he may make atonement for himself...and for all the assembly of Israel...for it is on this day that atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you; you will be clean from all your sins before the LORD...you shall have this as a permanent statute, to make atonement for the sons of Israel for all their sins once every year."  Leviticus 16

 

• Hebrews 7:24 “Jesus, on the other hand, because he continues forever, holds his priesthood permanently. Therefore He is also able to save forever those who come to God through Him, since he always lives to make intercession for them… (27) who has no daily need, like those high priests to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because he did this for all time when he offered up himself…(8:1) Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens…(9:2) For a tabernacle was equipped, the outer sanctuary, in which were the lampstand, the table, and the sacred bread; this is called the Holy Place. Behind the second veil there was a tabernacle which is called the most holy place, having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant… and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the atoning cover…(6) the priests are continually entering the outer tabernacle, performing the divine worship, but into the second, only the high priest enters once a year, not without taking blood which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance…(11) But when Christ appeared as high priest of the good things having come, he entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made by hands, that is, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood, he entered the holy place once for all time, having obtained eternal redemption…(24) For Christ did not enter a holy place made by hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into Heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us (Presence of God dwells in the most holy place); nor was it that He would offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year (outer tabernacle was entered daily, only the most holy place was entered year by year) with blood that is not his own…(10:12) but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward untill his enemies are made a footstool for his feet. For by one offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified…(19) since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, through His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith.” Hebrews 7-10

 

Ellen G. White:

Jesus did not enter God’s presence in the most holy place until 1844, and final atonement had still not been finished. 

• “I saw that the present test on the Sabbath could not come, until the mediation of Jesus in the Holy Place was finished; and he had passed within the second veil; therefore, Christians, who fell asleep before the door was opened in the Most Holy, when the midnight cry was finished, at the seventh month 1844; and had not kept the true Sabbath, now rest in hope.” The Present Truth, vol. 1, no. 3, Aug. 1849

 

• “I was shown what did take place in heaven at the close of the prophetic periods in 1844. As Jesus ended His ministration in the holy place and closed the door of that apartment, a great darkness settled upon those who had heard and rejected the message of His coming, and they lost sight of Him…As the priest entered the most holy once a year to cleanse the earthly sanctuary, so Jesus entered the most holy of the heavenly, at the end of the 2300 days of Daniel 8, in 1844, to make a final atonement for all who could be benefited by His mediation, and thus to cleanse the sanctuary.” Early Writings, p. 251-253