What does Ellen White write about...
Adventistische Schriften über: "Adam came to worship before the entrance of Eden and offered his sacrifice on an altar he had erected there, facing east."
Answer
According to the provided documents, the first worshipers, including Adam, Cain, and Abel, presented their offerings and reared their altars at the cherubim-guarded gate of Paradise. While the texts confirm that Adam performed these sacrifices as a penitential acknowledgment of his sin and a reminder of the promised Redeemer, they do not explicitly state that he faced east while doing so. Instead, historical descriptions of later sanctuary services mention that worshipers turned away from the east to avoid sun worship.
The First Worshipers at the Gate of Eden
»At the cherubim-guarded gate of Paradise the glory of God was revealed, and hither came the first worshipers. Here their altars were reared, and their offerings presented. It was here that Cain and Abel had brought their sacrifices, and God had condescended to communicate with them.«
Adam's First Sacrifice and the Star of Hope
»To Adam, the offering of the first sacrifice was a most painful ceremony. His hand must be raised to take life, which only God could give. It was the first time he had ever witnessed death, and he knew that had he been obedient to God, there would have been no death of man or beast. As he slew the innocent victim, he trembled at the thought that his sin must shed the blood of the spotless Lamb of God. ... A star of hope illumined the dark and terrible future and relieved it of its utter desolation.«
The Significance of the Sacrificial Offering
»When Adam, according to God's special directions, made an offering for sin, it was to him a most painful ceremony. His hand must be raised to take life, which God alone could give, and make an offering for sin. ... This ceremonial offering, ordained of God, was to be a perpetual reminder to Adam of his guilt, and also a penitential acknowledgment of his sin. This act of taking life gave Adam a deeper and more perfect sense of his transgression, which nothing less than the death of God's dear Son could expiate.«
The Direction of Worship in Later Sanctuaries
»In yet another and most comprehensive way the Lord taught his people to shun every indication of the worship of the sun. As has been shown, the devotees of the sun worshiped with their faces toward the east. When God established his worship with the children of Israel ... the door of that sanctuary (the temple also) was always toward the east, in order that all who would sacrifice to Jehovah and worship him, would in so doing turn their backs upon the sun and its worship.«
Original Sources (English)
Stephan Krol
Founder of EGW Vision
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Hello, I am Stephan Krol. I started this Ellen White website to make the writings of Ellen G. White and the Adventist pioneers easier to access for everyone.
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