Christ in the Sacrificial System*

The sin of our first parents brought guilt and sorrow upon the
world, and had it not been for the goodness and mercy of God, would
have plunged the race into hopeless despair.1
The fall of man filled all heaven with sorrow. The world that
God had made was blighted with the curse of sin and inhabited by
beings doomed to misery and death. There appeared no escape for
those who had transgressed the law....
But divine love had conceived a plan whereby man might be
redeemed. The broken law of God demanded the life of the sinner. In
all the universe there was but one who could, in behalf of man, satisfy
its claims. Since the divine law is as sacred as God Himself, only
one equal with God could make atonement for its transgression.2
To man the first intimation of redemption was communicated
in the sentence pronounced upon Satan in the garden. The Lord
declared, “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and
between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou
shalt bruise his heel.” Genesis 3:15. This sentence, uttered in the
hearing of our first parents, was to them a promise. While it foretold
war between man and Satan, it declared that the power of the great
adversary would finally be broken.... Though they must suffer from
the power of their mighty foe, they could look forward to final
victory.3

The Sacred Character of God’s Law

The sacrifice demanded by their transgression, revealed to Adam
and Eve the sacred character of the law of God; and they saw, as
they had never seen before, the guilt of sin, and its dire results.4
The law of God existed before man was created. The angels were
governed by it. Satan fell because he transgressed the principles of
God’s government. After Adam and Eve were created, God made
known to them His law. It was not then written, but was rehearsed
to them by Jehovah....
After Adam’s sin and fall, nothing was taken from the law of
God. The principles of the Ten Commandments existed before the
fall, and were of a character suited to the condition of a holy order
of beings.5
The principles were more explicitly stated to man after the fall,
and worded to meet the case of fallen intelligences. This was necessary
in consequence of the minds of men being blinded by transgression.
6
A system was then established requiring the sacrificing of beasts,
to keep before fallen man that which the serpent made Eve disbelieve,
that the penalty of disobedience is death. The transgression of God’s
law made it necessary for Christ to die a sacrifice, and thus make
a way possible for man to escape the penalty, and yet the honor of
God’s law be preserved. The system of sacrifices was to teach man
humility, in view of his fallen condition, and lead him to repentance,
[21] and to trust in God alone, through the promised Redeemer, for pardon
for past transgression of His law.7