of atonement, he went in
before God to present the blood of the sin-offering in behalf of all
Israel who truly repented of their sins. So Christ had only completed one
part of His work as our intercessor, to enter upon another portion of the
work, and He still pleaded His blood before the Father in behalf of
sinners.

This subject was not understood by Adventists in 1844. After the passing
of the time when the Saviour was expected, they still believed His coming
to be near; they held that they had reached an important crisis, and that
the work of Christ as man's intercessor before God, had ceased. It
appeared to them to be taught in the Bible, that man's probation would
close a short time before the actual coming of the Lord in the clouds of
heaven. This seemed evident from those scriptures which point to a time
when men will seek, knock, and cry at the door of mercy, and it will not
be opened. And it was a question with them whether the date to which they
had looked for the coming of Christ might not rather mark the beginning of
this period which was immediately to precede His coming. Having given the
warning of the judgment near, they felt that their work for the world was
done, and they lost their burden of soul for the salvation of sinners,
while the bold and blasphemous scoffing of the ungodly seemed to them
another evidence that the Spirit of God had been withdrawn from the
rejecters of His mercy. All this confirmed them in the belief that
probation had ended, or, as they then expressed it, "the door of mercy was
shut."

But clearer light came with the investigation of the sanctuary question.
They now saw that they were correct in believing that the end of the 2300
days in 1844 marked an important crisis. But while it was true that that
door of hope and mercy by which men had for eighteen hundred years found
access to God, was closed, another door was opened, and forgiveness of
sins was offered to men through the intercession of Christ in the most
holy. One part of His ministration had closed, only to give place to
another. There was still an "open door" to the heavenly sanctuary, where
Christ was ministering in the sinner's behalf.

Now was seen the application of those words of Christ in the Revelation,
addressed to the church at this very time: "These things saith He that is
holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David, He that openeth, and
no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; I know thy