Question: What is the difference between the ransom and the sin offering?

Answer: The ransom and the sin-offering are two separate views of the atonement between God and man. The ransom refers to our Lord Jesus as a perfect man, the One who died as a 

corresponding price for Father Adam, as we read in 1 Tim. 2: 5, 6: “The man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” This is more of a condensed view.

The sin-offering is another view, yet in perfect harmony with the ransom. The sin-offering pictures not only the sacrifice of our Lord, but also how God accepts, and how our Lord uses the merit of His human sacrifice. The first use was to impute, rather than apply His human merit on behalf of and to the Church and the rest of the household of faith (all the spirit-begotten, including the Great Company). This began at Pentecost and continued throughout the Gospel Age, until these classes completed their course in death. This is shown in the type by the sacrifice of the bullock, our Lord Jesus as a man, the first sin-offering on the Day of Atonement.

The second sin-offering on the Day of Atonement was the Lord’s goat, the Church in their humanity, pictured not as individuals, but as a class. They suffered and died throughout the Gospel Age with Christ, so that in due time they could reign with Him (2 Tim. 2: 12; Rom. 8: 17, 18). At the end of the Gospel Age, the Christ, Head and Body, will present the second sin-offering before God, and upon its acceptance, the second use of the merit of our Lord’s ransom sacrifice will begin. This use will be the application of our Lord’s human merit, as distinct from the imputed use of His merit. Thus, the sin-offering shows the manner in which the Ransom sacrifice is effective for the world.

The imputational use of Jesus’ merit for the Gospel Age beneficiaries of the ransom meant that Jesus made a loan of credit for the Church and the household of faith. This loan the Father accepted as a reckoned purchase, enabling them to receive a reckoned righteousness by faith. On the other hand, the applicational use of Jesus’ merit for the world during the Millennial Age means that Jesus will make an actual purchase of the world, which the Father will accept. As a result, the world will gradually receive an actual righteousness, as they prove obedient.

‍