The Judaizers are ignorant and befuddled about the truth concerning redemption. They do not have the Lord's gospel of redemption for the sinners. Their understanding of Christ's redemption is altogether based on their way of interpreting Old Testament prophecies. This interpretation is peculiar and childish. Their basic principle of prophetic interpretation is to regard a day in the Bible as a year.
First, they base their argument on God's word to the Israelites in Numbers 14:34: "According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, for every day a year, you shall bear your iniquities, forty years, and you shall know My displeasure." The Israelites spent forty days to spy out the land. Because of their unbelief, Jehovah punished them by allowing them to wander in the wilderness for forty years so that they would know His displeasure. God's punishment of the Israelites with forty years of wandering is unrelated to prophecy. One cannot take this word and say that in every instance a day should be interpreted as a year. There is no prophetic significance in this passage. It is not a prophecy. God merely stated that He would punish the Israelites for forty years. Yet this forms the basis of these ones' interpretation of the prophecies. Can this be a principle in prophetic interpretation? We will prove the error of such an assumption from the Bible.
Second, the Judaizers promote this teaching by using Ezekiel 4:4-6. Jehovah told Ezekiel to lie upon his left side for three hundred and ninety days on behalf of the iniquities of the house of Israel and to lie upon his right side for forty days on behalf of the iniquities of the house of Judah. Each day would account for a year of their iniquities. Here again the issue is punishment. It was one day for a year. If it was one year for a day of iniquities, Ezekiel would have needed to lie on his bed all his life. Here God told Ezekiel only to lie for a day for every year of the Israelites' iniquities. Other than these two instances, there is no other place in the Old Testament that takes a day as a year. Both these cases refer to punishment, not to prophecy. Suppose a mother wants to spank her child three times. Is that a prophecy or is that a punishment? Clearly that is a punishment, not a prophecy; it has nothing to do with prophecy. The stories spoken of in these two passages are clearly related to God's punishment of the Israelites. They are the only two cases where such a parallel is drawn, and they are isolated cases. This application is not general and does not apply to every instance. It is very dangerous to take these two things and apply them as principles to prophetic interpretation.
Many verses in the Bible refer to a day as a day and to a year as a year. No one can say that these passages are wrong. In the Bible a day is a day, not a year. We can prove this with many verses. In Genesis 7:4 God said, "For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights." If we take the Judaizers' word, a day would be a year, and this would mean that God would have to wait for seven years before He would send the rain. But verse 10 says that after seven days the flood came and deluged the earth. Verse 12 says that for forty days and nights the rain fell. The forty days and nights were actual days and nights; they were not forty years.
In Genesis 40:12 Joseph interpreted the dream to the butler, saying, "The three branches are three days." Verse 13 says, "Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head, and restore thee unto thy place." Verse 20 says, "And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants." The butler indeed resumed his service. Here three days means three days, not three years.
In Joshua 1:11 Joshua commanded the officers of the people to say to the congregation, "Prepare provisions for yourselves, for in three days you are crossing this Jordan to enter and possess the land which Jehovah your God is giving you to possess." Joshua 3:2 says, "And at the end of three days..." In verse 16 the people followed the ark and crossed the Jordan. Here again three days meant three days, not three years.
In the New Testament, Matthew 12:40 says, "For just as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights." Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights, not three years. We know that the Lord rose up from the dead after three days, not three years.
In Revelation 2:10 the Lord told the church in Smyrna: "You will have tribulation for ten days." Ten days is ten days, not ten years.
Revelation 20:2 and 4 say that Satan will be bound for a thousand years and that God's overcomers and the martyrs will reign for a thousand years. If a day equals a year, this would mean 365,000 years. This is wrong; it is entirely without any scriptural basis.
From the above verses, we see that a day is a day and a year is a year. There is no prophecy which says that a day should be treated as a year. Only curious minds invented such principles as a day for a year. The two passages that the Judaizers quote are not related to prophecy. They base their understanding of redemption on their interpretation of prophecy according to the day-year postulate. This is wrong.
Another error of the Judaizers is their interpretation of the vision in Daniel 8. They explain Daniel 8:3-25 by saying that the little horn refers to Rome. This is altogether wrong and in darkness. Daniel saw the vision of the ram in 8:3 and 4 and the vision of the male goat in verses 5 to 14. In verses 20 and 21 he interprets the ram to be Persia, and the male goat to be the king of Greece. (Of course, to new ones we need not give such details.) Verse 5 says that the male goat has a conspicuous horn between his eyes. Verse 8 says that this horn was broken, and in its place four conspicuous ones came up toward the four winds of heaven. After a while these four horns also passed away. Verse 9 then says that out of one of them came forth a little horn, which grew very great toward the south, toward the east, and toward that which was beautiful. And it grew great. Here we have three periods. The big horn refers to Alexander; he was the first king of Greece. Verse 22 says that after this horn was broken, four other horns were produced. This refers to the four kingdoms produced by the Greek empire after the time of Alexander. Verse 23 says that when the transgressions of these four kingdoms were filled up, a king would arise, which would be the little horn. This means that in the future, a little horn will come. This is the Antichrist. Daniel 8:9-14 tells us about this little horn. According to this passage, the little horn is exceedingly fierce. "That which is beautiful" in verse 9 refers to the land of Judah. To cause some of the host and some of the stars to fall to the earth and to trample them refers to the arrogance of the Antichrist who will attempt to confront God and to destroy His sanctuary. Because of the transgression, he will throw down the truth and the sacrifices among the children of Israel, and he will take action and prosper. When will all these be fulfilled? Verse 14 says, "For two thousand three hundred nights and days; then the sanctuary will be restored."
We can summarize the above in this way: 1) The little horn is the Antichrist, which will come out of Greece. 2) He will carry out his activities within the sanctuary. During the tribulation, the Israelites will have a rebuilt sanctuary and will offer sacrifices there. But the sacrificial service will be handed over to the Antichrist. 3) The sanctuary will be delivered to the Antichrist for 2,300 days. This is the period of time during which the Antichrist will occupy the sanctuary.
Based on Daniel 8:14, the Judaizers concocted the theory that when the Lord died on the cross, He shed His blood to redeem us from sin; yet the job was not completed. He had to wait until 2,300 years were fulfilled, when He would come again and bring the redeeming blood to heaven, that is, to the heavenly sanctuary. He would then cleanse the sanctuary and come back. They say that a day is a year, and 2,300 days means 2,300 years. But one cannot make a day a year here in Daniel 8 because the sanctuary was never trampled for that long. The Judaizers start counting from 457 B.C., the time of the little horn. This brings them to the year A.D. 1844. They say that this is the time when the little horn trampled the sanctuary. But this is contrary to facts. Their interpretation is unfounded. The 2,300 days in 8:14 are literally 2,300 nights and 2,300 days. It cannot refer to 2,300 years.
From where did this interpretation of the Judaizers come? In the last century there was a man called William Miller, who was with the Seventh-day Adventists. After he read Daniel 8, he proposed interpreting a day as a year and taught that from the time the sanctuary was trampled, which was 457 B.C., until A.D. 1844, there were 2,300 years. He expected the Lord to come by 1844. In that year he sold all he had. He got rid of all his belongings and went up to the mountain in the afternoon to wait for the Lord. When the Lord did not come as expected, he said that his calculation was wrong, and that the Lord should come in November of that year instead. When November came around, the Lord still did not come. Those who followed him and who had sold all their possessions fell into a very embarrassing condition. After this incident, many went back to the world. This is a terrible teaching of the Judaizers. But there are about two hundred thousand people who believe in this. How do they explain Miller's blunder? They say that the Lord did not come to the earth in 1844, but entered the heavenly sanctuary. In 1844 the Lord Jesus ascended to heaven and entered the sanctuary. Later, He also entered the Holy of Holies. Some naturally ask, "What has the Lord been doing in the sanctuary since 1844?" They say that He is there as the priest. They say that the Lord did not cleanse the sanctuary until 1844 and that He is there as the priest and is continuing the cleansing work. This is absolutely wrong. For the Judaizers to emphasize the Sabbath is one thing, but when they touch the Lord's person and His work, they touch something serious. They say that the Lord did not enter the sanctuary to do the cleansing work until 1844. This heretical teaching of the Judaizers is too absurd. Yet many children of God choose to believe in them.
Let us see what the Bible says about the Lord's blood and His redemption. First, the Bible shows us that redemption is carried out on the altar. Leviticus 4:5 and 7 say that the blood of atonement is shed on the altar. Verse 20 and 26 show us clearly that as soon as the blood is shed on the altar, God forgives man. Once the priest offers the sacrifice on the altar, man's sin is forgiven. There is no need to enter the sanctuary. Many sins are absolved without the priest entering the sanctuary. Verses 7 and 18 say that for ordinary sins, the priest can offer sacrifices on the altar to absolve a sinner's guilt. We have to remember that there is no need to enter the sanctuary for the atonement of sin.
Second, the Judaizers say that before 1844, the Lord remained only in the Holy Place during the 2,300 year period and that He did not enter the inner sanctuary. This is unscriptural. Matthew 27:51 clearly tells us that when the Lord died, the veil in the temple was split from top to bottom. The temple became one, and there was no longer a division into two compartments. Which compartment are the Judaizers trying to re-enact? Hebrews 9:2-3 and 10:19-20 both show that there are not two compartments in the sanctuary any longer; there is only one place. We are brought directly into the Holy of Holies. It is hard to understand why the Judaizers insist that the Lord was in the Holy Place, the outer compartment. They say that the Lord did not enter the Holy of Holies until 1844. But before 1844 an entrance was secured for Christians to boldly enter the Holy of Holies already. What a heresy we have here! According to their teaching, prior to 1844 the veil was still with us, and the way to the Holy of Holies was still not manifest. Yet all the while Christians had been able to enter boldly the Holy of Holies! In other words, Christians entered the Holy of Holies before Christ did. What a heresy this is! The Judaizers have indeed introduced heretical Jewish teachings into the church.
Third, we have to note that in the atoning work in the Old Testament, only the high priest was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies; no other person was allowed to enter. Leviticus 16:17 says, "No man shall be in the tent of meeting when he goes in to make propiation for himself in the holy of holies." When the high priest was making sacrifices of atonement, no one could enter the tabernacle. If the Lord is doing the atoning work in the Holy of Holies, none of us can enter the sanctuary. It is impossible for God to leave the Lord in the Holy Place while fellowshipping with us in the Holy of Holies. It is equally impossible for us to be in the Holy of Holies before the Lord is in the Holy of Holies. The Judaizers have confused the gospel completely.
Fourth, another serious problem raised by the Judaizers is that according to them our High Priest, the Lord Jesus, was still making atonement for sin in the Holy Place in 1844. But how could sin be in the Holy Place at that time? The Judaizers say that the Lord's blood brought sin into the Holy Place. But we believe that the Lord's blood cleanses us from sin; His blood did not carry our sin into the sanctuary. It is a blasphemy to say this. It is a serious heresy. The Lord accomplished redemption when He died on the cross. Mrs. White said that the Lord's blood carried our sin to the Holy Place. What a blasphemy! In 1 Corinthians 15:17 Paul told the Corinthians that if Christ had not been raised, their faith was futile and they would still be in their sins. Romans 4:25 also says that the Lord was delivered for our offenses and was raised for our justification. Before the Lord resurrected, our sins were forgiven already. This is the reason the Lord could resurrect. If the Son of God was not successful in redeeming our sins, He could not have resurrected; He would have been detained by God. But some are saying that before 1844, the problem of sin was still not resolved. If that is the case, the Lord could not have resurrected. The Lord has indeed resurrected, and our sins are indeed over. Since the Lord has resurrected, He is no longer in the outer sanctuary. This teaching is absolutely unscriptural, and it is a heresy.
Fifth, the Bible tells us that the Lord has entered the Holy of Holies and has appeared before God for us (Heb. 9:24), testifying that the sins of those on earth are atoned. He brought the blood before the throne of grace, which is in the Holy of Holies. When God sees the blood, He answers man's prayer and forgives his sins. This is the real fact. What the Judaizers are saying is heresy, a very serious heresy.
Sixth, the Lord Jesus' offering of the sacrifice of sin and His becoming the High Priest are two different things. The Bible only says that the Lord redeemed us from sin by becoming a sacrifice Himself. It does not say that the Lord became the High Priest for the purpose of atoning our sins. Hebrews 4:15 and 16 say that the Lord Jesus acts as our High Priest to take care of our weaknesses, not our sins. Taking care of sin and taking care of weaknesses are two entirely different things. The Lord is not taking care of our sin in heaven now. He is sympathizing with our weaknesses and interceding for us.
Seventh, we have to be clear about the relationship between the Lord becoming our High Priest and His dealing with our sins. Hebrews 3:1, 8:1, 10:12, and 12:2 all tell us that as our priest the Lord Jesus has sat down on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty on high. Since He has sat down, it means that He has finished the cleansing work in us. This is the reason He sat down. Christianity gives us first the sacrifice to deal with our sins before giving us the priest to deal with our weaknesses. This is not the case with the Judaizers. With them the two things occur at the same time. We have to read Hebrew 10:12 to the new ones: "But this One, having offered one sacrifice for sins, sat down forever on the right hand of God." He sat down before God before He was a priest to us. The priests in the Old Testament, as Hebrews 10:11 indicates, stood daily before God to minister to Him. The Lord presented His blood to God once, and He sat down. He did not continue atoning for sin; He sat down. Hebrews 9:26 says, "But now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested for the putting away of sin through the sacrifice of Himself." Hebrews 10:17-18 also says that the Lord will not remember our sins and lawlessnesses anymore. Since the sins are forgiven, there is no need to sacrifice for sin anymore. One sacrifice for sin is enough. The Judaizers try to drag us back to the Jewish position of the Old Testament. They do not want us to see the clear redemptive work of the Lord. This is indeed an evil teaching.
We have to know that the 2,300 days is the period when the Antichrist will trample under his feet the sanctuary of the Jews. The Judaizers say that there is the need to purify the sanctuary because the blood brought to the sanctuary carried sin with it, defiling the sanctuary so that the sanctuary must be purified before the Lord can come back. This is another evil teaching of the Judaizers. We have to reject this heresy utterly. We cannot have fellowship with Catholics, and we cannot have fellowship with the Judaizers either. They are blasphemers of the Lord. We have no way to communicate with them, because they do not have the right perception of things. We cannot tolerate any teaching that infringes upon the person or work of Christ; such teaching is heresy. If we are careless in this matter, we are not a true lover of the Lord.
