"...parsing the laws of Torah in light of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ"

A reader here with an SDA background sent this to me:

BB wrote:

I had read some comments years ago on one of the blogs which credited the Seventh Day Adventists with parsing the laws of Torah in light of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and also the destruction of the Temple. They started with the animal sacrifices and, of course, intuited that sacrifices are no longer required because the death of Jesus Christ serves as our eternal sacrifice. Next were the rituals such as the mikvahs. And the result became an actual hierarchy which progressed into a remnant which they believed to be in force today. If the source or my recollections are accurate, the SDAs had the mini-Torah all packaged and ready for HWA's eager plagiarism, a plagiarism to which he added his own spin as he made it his own. He had a habit of fixating on precepts which he had read in other churches' literature, and then claiming that God had revealed them to him personally. At least he was consistent in his methodology, as he applied the same tecnique to prophecy and the daily news. 

I am hoping that someone more deeply familiar with SDA history and writings will see this and might actually cite the references which will corroborate it. The Radio/Worldwide Church of God most definitely owes much to Millerism, COG7, GG Rupert, and the Mormons! Martial artist extraordinaire Bruce Lee studied many branches of the martial arts and synthesized them into his own art, which he called Jeet Kune Do. Stevie Ray Vaughan did much the same with the Blues, working the fret board and strings, applying his finger karate to his guitar in ways unknown to those before him. HWA studied the teachings of many Christian religions and synthesized them into his own super religion. Fortunately for Bruce, and SRV, there were no martial arts or Blues heresies to contaminate their artistry, or ruin people's lives!

Yes, with important qualifications. Seventh-day Adventists have long taught a structured distinction among the laws of the Torah (primarily moral vs. ceremonial, with civil/judicial often grouped with or treated similarly to the ceremonial in terms of discontinuity), interpreted in light of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, and the end of the Temple system. This is a core, longstanding SDA position, not a fringe or modern one. It provided a ready framework that HWA and related groups adapted (with their own additions and emphases), consistent with documented influences from Adventist and Church of God (Seventh Day) literature.

Core SDA Teaching on the Laws

From the pioneers onward (including Ellen G. White and official statements), SDAs distinguish:

• Moral law (especially the Ten Commandments / Decalogue): Eternal, reflecting God’s character, written by God’s finger on stone, placed in the ark. It existed before Sinai (in principle), was not abolished at the cross, and remains binding. The seventh-day Sabbath is treated as part of this moral core (a creation ordinance, not merely ceremonial). Transgression of it is sin.

• Ceremonial (or ritual/typical) law: The system of animal sacrifices, priesthood, Temple/sanctuary rituals, annual feasts and sabbaths, circumcision, and related ordinances. These were temporary “shadows” or types pointing forward to Christ. They were “nailed to the cross” / abolished when type met antitype in Jesus’ death (citing Colossians 2:14–17, Ephesians 2:15, Hebrews 9–10, etc.). The tearing of the Temple veil and the destruction of the Temple in AD 70 underscored the end of that system. Continuing sacrifices after the cross would deny Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice.

• Civil/judicial laws: Often treated as specific to ancient Israel as a theocratic nation. They expired with that national arrangement (or their “general equity” principles continue in a limited way). Many SDA discussions fold them with the ceremonial under the broader “law of Moses” or “handwriting of ordinances” that passed away, while the moral law remains.

Ellen White repeatedly emphasized the “two laws” contrast: the moral law is abiding and changeless; the ceremonial was provisional, added because of transgression, and ceased at the cross. Official SDA belief statements and commentaries reaffirm that the ceremonial system (including annual sabbaths and festivals) ended with Christ’s death, while the moral law (including the weekly Sabbath) continues. This is not a full “mini-Torah” ranked by progressive residual force in the exact hierarchical packaging some later groups used, but it is a clear parsing that retains a remnant of Torah precepts as still in force (the Decalogue + related moral principles) while discarding the sacrificial/ritual core.

Mikvahs/ritual washings fall under the ceremonial category that ended. Clean/unclean food distinctions have been more debated or retained in modified form by some Adventists (health emphasis), but the core sacrificial and Temple-centered system is unequivocally ended.

Relation to HWA

HWA did not invent the moral/ceremonial distinction—it is older Christian (and specifically Adventist) territory, with roots in broader Protestant discussions of the tripartite division (moral/ceremonial/civil), though SDAs put special weight on the Sabbath remaining moral. HWA and the Worldwide Church of God drew heavily from Seventh-day Adventist and Church of God (Seventh Day) sources early on. He retained the Sabbath, clean meats, and a version of the moral/ceremonial split, then expanded it with his own emphases (British Israelism, holy days as still binding in modified form, tithing systems, etc.) and frequently presented discoveries as personal divine revelation. Critics and researchers have long noted the pattern of borrowing from Adventist literature while claiming unique restoration.

The recollection you describe is substantially accurate on the SDA side: they did systematically set aside sacrifices and related rituals because of Christ and the end of the Temple system, retain the Decalogue (especially the Sabbath) as still binding, and package this as the continuing obligation for God’s people. Whether it was a neat “hierarchy progressing into a remnant” ready for direct plagiarism depends on the specific blog comments you recall; the foundational categories and the Christ/Temple rationale were already clearly articulated in SDA teaching long before HWA’s public work. HWA’s “spin” and claims of personal revelation fit his documented methodology across prophecy and doctrine.