Hebrews 6:19-20 (New International Version) proclaims, “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” This powerful text anchors Christian faith in the completed redemptive work of Christ and His priestly ministry in heaven.
However, within Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) theology, this passage has generated long-standing debate. The SDA Church maintains that Jesus’ entrance into the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary occurred not at His ascension but in 1844, marking the beginning of what they term the investigative judgment. In contrast, the book of Hebrews presents Christ as having entered the inner sanctuary, the Most Holy Place, immediately after His ascension.
This essay examines the biblical, historical, and theological evidence concerning Christ’s entrance “behind the veil,” demonstrating that the book of Hebrews affirms His immediate access to the Most Holy Place at His ascension, thus challenging the traditional Adventist timeline.
The Seventh-day Adventist Doctrine of the Heavenly Sanctuary
Seventh-day Adventist theology teaches that upon His ascension, Christ began His high priestly ministry in the heavenly sanctuary (White, 1911). This ministry, they argue, parallels the two phases of the Levitical priesthood: the daily service (in the Holy Place) and the yearly service (in the Most Holy Place). The “daily” phase began in A.D. 31 when Christ ascended to intercede for humanity, while the “yearly” phase, the investigative judgment, began in 1844 when Christ allegedly entered the Most Holy Place to commence judgment.
Yet, as Desmond Ford (1980) points out, the book of Hebrews clearly states that Christ entered the Most Holy Place immediately upon His ascension. Ford emphasizes that Hebrews depicts Christ’s completed redemptive work and His current presence before God’s throne, not a delayed phase inaugurated 1,810 years later.
Shifting Adventist Interpretations of “Within the Veil”
Historically, early SDA writers such as Uriah Smith and M. L. Andreasen interpreted the phrase “within the veil” in Hebrews 6:19 as referring to the first veil, the curtain separating the courtyard from the Holy Place. However, later SDA scholars, including E. E. Andross, reinterpreted the phrase to mean “within the second veil,” i.e., the Most Holy Place (Andross, 1912).
Andross argued that after Calvary, Christ “passed within the veil of the heavenly sanctuary and anointed the ark of the testament,” likening this to Moses’ consecration of the earthly sanctuary in Leviticus 8. This reinterpretation implicitly locates Christ’s post-ascension ministry in the Most Holy Place, marking a significant doctrinal shift within Adventism itself.
This internal inconsistency raises the central theological question: Where did Christ go when He ascended into heaven?
Christ’s Ascension and Entrance into the Most Holy Place
Hebrews 6:19–20 explicitly teaches that Christ “entered the inner sanctuary behind the curtain.” The Greek verb eisēlthen (“has entered”) is in the aorist tense, denoting a completed past action. Therefore, Christ’s entrance into the Most Holy Place occurred at His ascension, not in 1844.
The author of Hebrews later affirms that Jesus “sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven” (Heb. 1:3, NIV), signifying the completion of His sacrificial and priestly work. As Ford (1980) notes, “God’s throne, in the sanctuary setting of Hebrews, corresponds to the ark in the Most Holy Place. His presence on the throne corresponds to the Shekinah above the ark” (p. 82).
Furthermore, Hebrews 10:19-20 confirms believers’ access to “the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,” made possible “through the curtain, that is, His body.” This imagery directly alludes to the tearing of the temple veil at Christ’s death (Matt. 27:50–51), symbolizing humanity’s direct access to God’s presence.
Ellen G. White’s Interpretation of the Torn Veil
Ellen G. White’s writings align closely with the New Testament description of Christ’s priestly ministry. She explained that the tearing of the temple veil at Christ’s death symbolized the end of the earthly sacrificial system and the opening of access to God:
“When Christ was crucified, the inner veil of the temple was rent in twain from top to bottom, signifying that the great final sacrifice had been made.” (The Desire of Ages, p. 165).
White further elaborated,
“The way into the holiest is laid open. A new and living way is prepared for all” (The Desire of Ages, p. 757).
Thus, White understood the rending of the veil as opening the way into the Most Holy Place, consistent with the biblical imagery of Hebrews 10:20.
Old Testament Usage of “Within the Veil”
The Old Testament consistently uses the expression “within the veil” (mi-beth la-paroketh) to refer to the Most Holy Place, where the ark of the covenant and mercy seat resided. The phrase appears five times: Exodus 26:33; Leviticus 16:2, 12, 15; and Numbers 18:7, and in every instance, it denotes the inner apartment of the sanctuary.
For example, Exodus 26:33 commands Moses to “bring in within the veil the ark of the testimony,” clearly identifying the veil as the divider between the Holy and Most Holy Places. Likewise, Leviticus 16:2 warns Aaron not to enter “within the veil before the mercy seat” except on the Day of Atonement. Desmond Ford (1980) notes that four of these five occurrences “are unequivocal because of their contexts” (p. 134), conclusively linking the phrase to the Most Holy Place.
Conflicting Adventist Interpretations
In The Present Truth (March 1850), Ellen White explicitly paraphrased Hebrews 6:19, writing that believers have their “hope, like an anchor of the soul, cast within the second veil.” This statement shows she understood the passage as referring to the Most Holy Place.
However, the Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary (Nichol, 1957) disagrees, asserting that because Hebrews 9:3 specifies the “second veil,” the unqualified term “veil” in Hebrews 6:19 must refer to the first veil, leading only into the Holy Place.
This discrepancy exposes a theological contradiction: either Ellen White or the SDA Commentary’s interpretation must be mistaken, as both cannot simultaneously be correct.
Conclusion
A close exegetical reading of Hebrews, supported by Old Testament typology and Ellen G. White’s own statements, reveals that Christ entered the Most Holy Place immediately upon His ascension, not in 1844. The rending of the temple veil at Calvary symbolized the believer’s open access to God’s throne through Christ’s atoning work.
The Greek text, historical Adventist writings, and the theological continuity of Scripture all point to a single truth: Christ’s priestly ministry in the heavenly Most Holy Place began when He ascended, securing the believer’s hope “as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure” (Heb. 6:19).
In light of this, the 1844 investigative judgment doctrine stands on unstable exegetical ground. The believer’s confidence rests not on a delayed phase of redemption but on the completed work of Christ, who “entered once for all into the Most Holy Place, having obtained eternal redemption” (Heb. 9:12, NIV).
References
Andross, E. E. (1912). A More Excellent Service. Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press.
Ford, D. (1980). Daniel 8:14, The Day of Atonement, and the Investigative Judgment. Casselberry, FL: Euangelion Press.
Nichol, F. D. (Ed.). (1957). The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary (Vol. 7). Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association.
White, E. G. (1911). The Desire of Ages. Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press.
White, E. G. (1850, March). “The Present Truth.”
The Holy Bible, New International Version. (2011). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
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