In Seventh-Day Adventist theology, sins were not forgiven at the cross itself; instead, the cross served as the place where the atoning sacrifice was made. According to their teachings, sins would only be erased during a process known as the Investigative Judgment, which they believe began in 1844 within a heavenly sanctuary. This judgment involves Jesus reviewing the life records of all who have professed faith in Him, from Adam and Eve to the present. The goal of this examination is to determine whether their actions and lives are consistent with their profession of faith. If any sins remain unconfessed in a person’s record, their name will be removed from the Book of Life.

Under this framework, only those who are deemed worthy of receiving the benefits of Christ’s atonement must have confessed every sin and achieved a state of sinless perfection. At this point, their sins are removed from the heavenly sanctuary and transferred to Satan. Adventists believe that Satan, depicted as the scapegoat in Leviticus 16, is ultimately responsible for the existence and effects of sin. As such, he must bear the final penalty for sin.

It is crucial to note that the Seventh-Day Adventist understanding of “atonement” significantly differs from traditional Christian theology. In mainstream Christianity, atonement refers to the complete and finished work of Christ on the cross, where sins are forgiven and salvation is secured. However, Adventists use the term to describe their unique doctrines of the heavenly sanctuary and Investigative Judgment. This interpretation is elaborated on in Adventist scholarly works such as Salvation: Contours of Adventist Soteriology, which outlines their distinctive beliefs about redemption and the role of the heavenly judgment.

“One of the most debated topics of Christian theology is expressed in these questions: Why the cross? What really happened at the cross? The answers to these questions have been widely debated under the general heading of the atonement. But when Seventh-day Adventists (SDA) approach the matter of atonement, an immediate dilemma is perceived. When Adventists talk about the atonement, they refer specifically to what Jesus is doing now in the heavenly sanctuary. On the other hand, when scholars outside the Seventh-day Adventist Church discuss the atonement, they refer specifically to the cross of Jesus Christ and what God was doing there.” ^[1]

Leviticus 16:10 describes the scapegoat as having a role in the process of atonement, which suggests that the Adventist Church views Satan as playing a part in removing sin. This interpretation aligns with their belief that, at the end of the Investigative Judgment, sins are transferred from the heavenly sanctuary to Satan, whom they identify as the ultimate scapegoat. By attributing this role to Satan, they see him as bearing responsibility for the existence of sin and its consequences.

This perspective is reflected in the Adventist Church’s official teachings, as documented in their publication, Seventh-Day Adventists Believe, an exposition of their 28 Fundamental Beliefs. The section discussing their understanding of atonement and the sanctuary doctrine includes references to this interpretation in the footnotes. These notes emphasize their unique theological framework, which differs significantly from mainstream Christian interpretations of atonement. Through this, they assert that Satan, as the instigator of sin, must bear the final penalty, making him a key figure in their view of the ultimate resolution of sin.

“If Azazel represents Satan, how can scripture connect him with the atonement? As the high priest, after having cleansed the sanctuary, placed the sins on Azazel, who was forever removed from God’s people, so Christ, after having cleansed the heavenly sanctuary, will place the confessed and forgiven sins of His people on Satan, who will then be forever removed from the saved. [Begin SDA Bible Commentary] “How fitting that the closing act of the drama of God’s dealings with sin should be a returning upon the head of Satan of all the sin and guilt that, issuing from him originally, once brought such tragedy to the lives of those now freed of sin by Christ’s atoning blood. Thus the cycle is completed, the drama ended. Only when Satan, the instigator of all sin, is finally removed can it truly be said that sin is forever blotted out of God’s universe. In this accommodated sense we may understand that the scapegoat has a part in the ‘atonement’ (Leviticus 16:10). With the righteous saved, the wicked ‘cut off’, and Satan no more, then, not till then, will the universe be in a state of perfect harmony as it was originally before sin entered.” [2]

The Bible does not support the idea that the scapegoat represents responsibility, a concept that is essential to the Adventist interpretation. Leviticus never suggests this. Instead, this view originates solely from Ellen G. White. In Scripture, the scapegoat symbolizes expiation—the removal of sins from the people. Leviticus 16:5 explains that two goats were required for the sin offering because a single goat could not accomplish both the payment for sin (through death) and the removal of sin from the people. A dead goat could not carry away sins. However, Jesus Christ can, as He is far greater than any animal sacrifice. Jesus fulfills all aspects of the laws, sacrifices, and offerings, including the scapegoat, as the ultimate and perfect sacrifice.

Under the Old Testament law, all sacrificial animals, including the scapegoat, had to be without blemish (Leviticus 22:20-21). Satan, by contrast, does not meet this standard. Jesus, on the other hand, is without blemish and perfectly fulfills this requirement. Just as the scapegoat carried away the sins of the people, Jesus takes away the sins of the world. He is the Lamb of God (John 1:29) who bore our sins in His body on the cross (1 Peter 2:24), removing them and paying the penalty for them in full.

At the cross, Jesus dealt with sin completely and decisively. Hebrews 9:26 states that He put sin away by sacrificing Himself. Now, He sits on His heavenly throne as both Priest and King, reigning while His enemies are being made His footstool (Hebrews 10:12-13). Sin is not transferred to Heaven for storage or investigation, nor is it later transferred to Satan. One of the key promises of the New Covenant is that God will no longer remember the sins of His people (Jeremiah 31:34, Hebrews 8:12). This is because Jesus has already accomplished the work of removing those sins through His sacrifice.

Professor L. Michael Morales, in his book Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord? explains this nicely: (Emphasis is mine)

“The scapegoat’s role should be understood in conjunction with that of the goat that is sacrificed. As an elimination rite the azazel goat ritual is often probed in isolation, from a redactional and/or comparative religion approach. Within the context of Leviticus 16, however, the rite is fully integrated as part of one complete ceremony, associated particularly with the young goat that is sacrificed. For example, while two rams are also used on the Day of Atonement, as ascension offerings for the priestly house and for Israel respectively, yet these two animals are not brought together in the same fashion as are the two goats. The text is quite careful to portray the goats as a set: the high priest takes them both from the congregation of Israel, presents them both together before YHWH at the door of the tent of meeting, and then casts lots for them both. The instructions for the high priest in Leviticus 16:5, moreover, refer to both goats together as a single purification offering: ‘He will take from the congregation of the sons of Israel male goats as a purification offering.’ To be sure, the expulsion rite is not an offering in the technical sense. Nevertheless, in removing sin, the scapegoat’s function fits the precise significance of ḥaṭṭā’t as ‘purification’, and, combined with the blood manipulation of the sacrificed goat, completes the picture of atonement. Indeed, there is historical precedent for understanding these goats to be identical in appearance, and chosen expressly because of this likeness, as if it were one goat accomplishing two different aspects of atonement—purification and expiation, cleansing from sin’s pollution and the removal of sin’s guilt.” ^[3]

By identifying Satan as the scapegoat, the Adventist Church assigns part of Jesus’s redemptive work to Satan. This effectively makes Satan a co-redeemer with Christ, as the role of the scapegoat was crucial for removing sins from the people—an essential aspect of redemption. While the Adventist Church denies this conclusion, it is the logical outcome of their position. Redemption requires not only the payment of the penalty for sin (death) but also the removal of sin. If this task is attributed to Satan, it positions him as the ultimate sin-bearer and the one responsible for expiating the sins of believers, which is a deeply blasphemous idea.

Ironically, Ellen G. White, considered the authoritative voice of the Adventist Church, made conflicting statements on this issue. She repeatedly wrote that Satan is the scapegoat (or ‘typifies’ Satan):

“It was seen, also, that while the sin-offering pointed to Christ as a sacrifice, and the high priest represented Christ as a mediator, the scape-goat typified Satan, the author of sin, upon whom the sins of the truly penitent will finally be placed.” ^[4]

But then described Jesus as the scapegoat:

“Some apply the solemn type, the scape goat, to Satan. This is not correct. He cannot bear his own sins. At the choosing of Barabbas, Pilate washed his hands. He cannot be represented as the scape goat…Christ was the scape goat, which the type represents. He alone can be represented by the goat borne into the wilderness. He alone, over whom death had no power, was able to bear our sins” (The Scapegoat in the Writings of Ellen G. White, Alberto R. Timm, Ellen White Estate, [taken from the internet on Oct 26, 2013]; Manuscript 112, 1897).

Note: This is the only quote wherein Ellen White distinctly identified the scapegoat as Christ. Perhaps, God has preserved this statement as a proof of what Ellen White actually believed. If the Church would accept this statement to be a true revelation from God, then the whole doctrine of the sanctuary crumbles to the ground! For this reason they ignore this statement. [5]

This contradiction creates a significant inconsistency in Adventist theology, especially since the church regards White’s writings as divinely inspired and error-free.

To address this contradiction, the Adventist Church has argued that the statement referring to Jesus as the scapegoat was never officially published. However, Ellen G. White herself claimed that she never wrote a single heretical sentence and declared that “whatever contradicts God’s word, we may be sure proceeds from Satan.” ^[6] This leaves readers to draw their own conclusions about the implications of her contradictory teachings.

In Christian Love,

^[1] Jon Paulien, “Atonement: Accomplished at the Cross,” in Salvation: Contours of Adventist Soteriology, ed. Martin F. Hanna, Darius W. Jankiewicz, and John W. Reeve (Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Press, 2018), 189.

[2] Seventh-Day Adventists Believe, Ch. 24: The Investigative Judgment and Heavenly Sanctuary, pg. 369.

^[3] L. Michael Morales, Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord?: A Biblical Theology of the Book of Leviticus, ed. D. A. Carson, vol. 37, New Studies in Biblical Theology (England; Downers Grove, IL: Apollos; InterVarsity Press, 2015).

^[4] Ellen Gould White, The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan; Great Controversy (Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1888), 422.

[5] “The Scapegoat – Ellen White Truth,” accessed December 23, 2024, https://www.ellen-white-truth.com/gems-from-other-books/the-scapegoat/.

^[6] Ellen Gould White, The Story of Patriarchs and Prophets as Illustrated in the Lives of Holy Men of Old, vol. 1, Conflict of the Ages Series (Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1890), 55.