Chapter Twenty
Three
What is the Sanctuary?
The scripture which above all others had been
both the foundation and the central pillar of the advent faith was the
declaration: “Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary
be cleansed.” Daniel 8:14. These had been familiar words to all believers in the
Lord’s soon coming. By the lips of thousands was this prophecy repeated as the
watchword of their faith. All felt that upon the events therein foretold
depended their brightest expectations and most cherished hopes. These prophetic
days had been shown to terminate in the autumn of 1844. In common with the rest
of the Christian world, Adventists then held that the earth, or some portion of
it, was the sanctuary. They understood that the cleansing of the sanctuary was
the purification of the earth by the fires of the last great day, and that this
would take place at the second advent. Hence the conclusion that Christ would
return to the earth in 1844.
But the appointed time had passed, and the Lord
had not appeared. The believers knew that God’s word could not fail; their
interpretation of the prophecy must be at fault; but where was the mistake? Many
rashly cut the knot of difficulty by denying that the 2300 days ended in 1844.
No reason could be given for this except that Christ had not come at the time
they expected Him. They argued that if the prophetic days had ended in 1844,
Christ would then have returned to cleanse the sanctuary by the purification of
the earth by fire; and that since He had not come, the days could not have
ended.
To accept this conclusion was to renounce the
former reckoning of the prophetic periods. The 2300 days had been found to begin
when the commandment of Artaxerxes for the restoration and building of Jerusalem
went into effect, in the autumn of 457 B.C. Taking this as the starting
point, there was perfect harmony in the application of all the events foretold
in the explanation of that period in Daniel
9:25-27. Sixty-nine weeks, the first 483 of the 2300 years, were to reach to
the Messiah, the Anointed One; and Christ’s baptism and anointing by the Holy
Spirit, A.D. 27, exactly fulfilled the specification. In the midst of the
seventieth week, Messiah was to be cut off. Three and a half years after His
baptism, Christ was crucified, in the spring of A.D. 31. The seventy weeks, or
490 years, were to pertain especially to the Jews. At the expiration of this
period the nation sealed its rejection of Christ by the persecution of His
disciples, and the apostles turned to the Gentiles, A.D. 34. The first 490 years
of the 2300 having then ended, 1810 years would remain. From A.D. 34, 1810 years
extend to 1844. “Then,” said the angel, “shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” All
the preceding specifications of the prophecy had been unquestionably fulfilled
at the time appointed.
With this reckoning, all was clear and
harmonious, except that it was not seen that any event answering to the
cleansing of the sanctuary had taken place in 1844. To deny that the days ended
at that time was to involve the whole question in confusion, and to renounce
positions which had been established by unmistakable fulfillments of prophecy.
But God had led His people in the great advent
movement; His power and glory had attended the work, and He would not permit it
to end in darkness and disappointment, to be reproached as a false and fanatical
excitement. He would not leave His word involved in doubt and uncertainty.
Though many abandoned their former reckoning of the prophetic periods and denied
the correctness of the movement based thereon, others were unwilling to renounce
points of faith and experience that were sustained by the Scriptures and by the
witness of the Spirit of God. They believed that they had adopted sound
principles of interpretation in their study of the prophecies, and that it was
their duty to hold fast the truths already gained, and to continue the same
course of Biblical research. With earnest prayer they reviewed their position
and studied the Scriptures to discover their mistake. As they could see no error
in their reckoning of the prophetic periods, they were led to examine more
closely the subject of the sanctuary.
In their investigation they learned that there is
no Scripture evidence sustaining the popular view that the earth is the
sanctuary; but they found in the Bible a full explanation of the subject of the
sanctuary, its nature, location, and services; the testimony of the sacred
writers being so clear and ample as to place the matter beyond all question. The
apostle Paul, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, says: “Then verily the first
covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary. For
there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the
table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary. And after the second
veil, the tabernacle which is called the holiest of all; which had the golden
censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was
the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of
the covenant; and over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercy seat.”
Hebrews 9:1-5.
The sanctuary to which Paul here refers was the
tabernacle built by Moses at the command of God as the earthly dwelling place of
the Most High. “Let them make Me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them” (Exodus
25:8), was the direction given to Moses while in the mount with God. The
Israelites were journeying through the wilderness, and
the
tabernacle was so constructed that it could be removed from place to place; yet
it was a structure of great magnificence. Its walls consisted of upright boards
heavily plated with gold and set in sockets of silver, while the roof was formed
of a series of curtains, or coverings, the outer of skins, the innermost of fine
linen beautifully wrought with figures of cherubim. Besides the outer court,
which contained the altar of burnt offering, the tabernacle itself
consisted of
two apartments called the holy and the most holy place, separated by a rich and
beautiful curtain, or veil; a similar veil closed the entrance to the first
apartment.
In the holy place was the candlestick, on the
south, with its seven lamps giving light to the sanctuary both by day and by
night; on the north stood the table of shewbread; and before the veil separating
the holy from the most holy was the golden altar of incense, from which the
cloud of fragrance, with the prayers of Israel, was daily ascending before God.
In the most holy place stood the ark, a chest of
precious wood overlaid with gold, the depository of the two tables of stone upon
which God had inscribed the law of Ten Commandments. Above the ark, and forming
the cover to the sacred chest, was the mercy seat, a magnificent piece of
workmanship, surmounted by two cherubim, one at each end, and all wrought of
solid gold. In this apartment the divine presence was manifested in the cloud of
glory between
the cherubim.
After the settlement of the Hebrews in Canaan,
the tabernacle was replaced by the temple of Solomon, which, though a permanent
structure and upon a larger scale, observed the same proportions, and was
similarly furnished. In this form the sanctuary existed—except while it lay in
ruins in Daniel’s time—until its destruction by the Romans, in A.D. 70.
This is the only sanctuary that ever existed on
the earth, of which the Bible gives any information. This was declared by Paul
to be the sanctuary of the first covenant. But has the new covenant no
sanctuary?
Turning again to the book of Hebrews, the seekers
for truth found that the existence of a second, or new-covenant sanctuary, was
implied in the words of Paul already quoted: "Then verily the first covenant had
also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary.” And the use of
the word "also” intimates that Paul has before made mention of this sanctuary.
Turning back to the beginning of the previous chapter, they read: “Now of the
things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an High Priest, who is
set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a Minister of
the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.”
Hebrews 8:1, 2.
Here is revealed the sanctuary of the new covenant. The
sanctuary of the first covenant was pitched by man, built by
Moses; this is pitched by the Lord, not by man. In that
sanctuary the earthly priests performed their service; in this,
Christ, our great High Priest, ministers at God’s right hand.
One sanctuary was on earth, the other is in heaven.
Further, the tabernacle built by Moses was made
after a pattern. The Lord directed him: “According to all that I show thee,
after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments
thereof, even so shall ye make it.” And again the charge was given, “Look that
thou make them after their pattern, which was showed thee in the mount.”
Exodus 25:9,
40. And Paul says that the first tabernacle “was a figure for the time then
present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices;” that its holy places
were “patterns of things in the heavens;” that the priests who offered gifts
according to the law served “unto the example and shadow of heavenly things,”
and that “Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are
the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence
of God for us.”
Hebrews 9:9,
23;
8:5;
9:24.
The sanctuary in heaven, in which Jesus
ministers in our behalf, is the great original, of which the sanctuary built by
Moses was a copy. God placed His Spirit upon the builders of the earthly
sanctuary. The artistic skill displayed in its construction was a manifestation
of divine wisdom. The walls had the appearance of massive gold, reflecting in
every direction the light of the seven lamps of the golden candlestick. The
table of shewbread and the altar of incense glittered like burnished gold. The
gorgeous curtain which formed the ceiling, inwrought with figures of angels in
blue and purple and scarlet, added to the beauty of the scene. And beyond the
second veil was the holy Shekinah, the visible manifestation of God’s glory,
before which none but the high priest could enter and live.
The matchless splendor of the earthly tabernacle
reflected to human vision the glories of that heavenly temple where Christ our
forerunner ministers for us before the throne of God. The abiding place of the
King of kings, where thousand thousands minister unto Him, and ten thousand
times ten thousand stand before Him (Daniel
7:10); that temple, filled with the glory of the eternal throne, where
seraphim, its shining guardians, veil their faces in adoration, could find, in
the most magnificent structure ever reared by human hands, but a faint
reflection of its vastness and glory. Yet important truths concerning the
heavenly sanctuary and the great work there carried forward for man’s redemption
were taught by the earthly sanctuary and its services.
The holy places of the sanctuary in heaven are
represented by the two apartments in the sanctuary on earth. As in vision the
apostle John was granted a view of the temple of God in heaven, he beheld there
“seven lamps of fire burning before the throne.”
Revelation 4:5. He saw
an
angel “having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that
he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which
was before the throne.”
Revelation 8:3. Here the prophet was permitted to behold the first apartment
of the sanctuary in heaven; and he saw there the “seven lamps of fire” and “the
golden altar,” represented by the golden candlestick and the altar of incense in
the sanctuary on earth. Again, “the temple of God was opened” (Revelation
11:19), and he looked within the inner veil, upon the holy of holies. Here
he beheld “the ark of His testament,” represented by the sacred chest
constructed by Moses to contain the law of God.
Thus those who were studying the subject found
indisputable proof of the existence of a sanctuary in heaven. Moses made the
earthly sanctuary after a pattern which was shown him. Paul teaches that that
pattern was the true sanctuary which is in heaven. And John testifies that he
saw it in heaven.
In the temple in heaven, the dwelling place of
God, His throne is established in
righteousness and judgment. In the most holy place is His law, the great rule of
right by which all mankind are tested. The ark that enshrines the tables of the
law is covered with the mercy seat, before which Christ pleads His blood in the
sinner’s behalf. Thus is represented the union of justice and mercy in the plan
of human redemption. This union infinite wisdom alone could devise and infinite
power accomplish; it is a union that fills all heaven with wonder and adoration.
The cherubim of the earthly sanctuary, looking reverently down upon the mercy
seat, represent the interest with which the heavenly host contemplate the work
of redemption. This is the mystery of mercy into which angels desire to
look—that God can be just while He justifies the repenting sinner and renews His
intercourse with the fallen race; that Christ could stoop to raise unnumbered
multitudes from the abyss of ruin and clothe them with the spotless garments of
His own righteousness to unite with angels who have never fallen and to dwell
forever in the presence of God.
The work of Christ as man’s intercessor is
presented in that beautiful prophecy of Zechariah concerning Him "whose name is
the Branch.” Says the prophet: “He shall build the temple of the Lord; and He
shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon His [the Father’s] throne; and
He shall be a priest upon His throne: and the counsel of peace shall be
between Them both.”
Zechariah 6:12, 13.
“He shall build the temple of the Lord.” By His
sacrifice and mediation Christ is both the foundation and the builder of the
church of God. The apostle Paul points to Him as “the chief Cornerstone; in whom
all the building fitly framed together groweth into an holy temple in the Lord:
in whom ye also,” he says, “are builded together for an habitation of God
through the Spirit.”
Ephesians 2:20-22.
“He shall bear the glory.” To Christ belongs the
glory of redemption for the fallen race. Through the eternal ages, the song of
the ransomed ones will be: “Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins
in His own blood, . . . to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever.”
Revelation 1:5, 6.
He “shall sit and rule upon His throne; and He
shall be a priest upon His throne.” Not now “upon the throne of His glory;” the
kingdom of glory has not yet been ushered in. Not until His work as a mediator
shall be ended will God "give unto Him the throne of His father David,” a
kingdom
of which “there shall be no end.”
Luke 1:32, 33. As a priest, Christ is now set down with the Father in His
throne.
Revelation 3:21. Upon the throne with the eternal, self-existent One is He
who “hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows,” who “was in all points
tempted like as we are, yet without sin,” that He might be “able to succor them
that are tempted.” “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father.”
Isaiah 53:4;
Hebrews 4:15;
2:18;
1 John 2:1. His intercession is that of a pierced and broken body, of a
spotless life. The wounded hands, the pierced side, the marred feet, plead for
fallen man, whose redemption was purchased at such infinite cost.
“And the counsel of peace shall be between Them
both.” The love of the Father, no less than of the Son, is the fountain of
salvation for the lost race. Said Jesus to His disciples before He went away: “I
say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: for the Father Himself
loveth you.”
John 16:26, 27. God was “in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself.”
2 Corinthians 5:19. And in the ministration in the sanctuary above, “the
counsel of peace shall be between Them both.” “God so loved the world,
that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not
perish, but have everlasting life.”
John 3:16.
The question, What is the sanctuary? is clearly
answered in the Scriptures. The term
“sanctuary,” as used in the Bible, refers, first, to the tabernacle built by
Moses, as a pattern of heavenly things; and, secondly, to the “true tabernacle”
in heaven, to which the earthly sanctuary pointed. At the death of Christ the
typical service ended. The “true tabernacle” in heaven is the sanctuary of the
new covenant. And as the prophecy of
Daniel 8:14 is fulfilled in this dispensation, the sanctuary to which it
refers must be the sanctuary of the new covenant. At the termination of the 2300
days, in 1844, there had been no sanctuary on earth for many centuries. Thus the
prophecy, “Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be
cleansed,” unquestionably points to the sanctuary in heaven.
But the most important question remains to be
answered: What is the cleansing of the sanctuary? That there was such a service
in connection with the earthly sanctuary is stated in the Old Testament
Scriptures. But can there be anything in heaven to be cleansed? In Hebrews 9 the
cleansing of both the earthly and the heavenly sanctuary is plainly taught.
"Almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of
blood is no remission. It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in
the heavens should be purified with these [the blood of animals]; but the
heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these” (Hebrews
9:22, 23), even the precious blood of Christ.
The cleansing, both in the typical and in the
real service, must be accomplished with blood: in the former, with the blood of
animals; in the latter, with the blood of Christ. Paul states, as the reason why
this cleansing must be performed with blood, that without shedding of blood is
no remission. Remission, or putting away of sin, is the work to be
accomplished. But how could there be sin connected with the sanctuary, either in
heaven or upon the earth? This may be learned by reference to the symbolic
service; for the priests who officiated on earth, served “unto the example and
shadow of heavenly things.”
Hebrews 8:5.
The ministration of the earthly sanctuary
consisted of two divisions; the priests ministered daily in the holy place,
while once a year the high priest performed a special work of atonement in the
most holy, for the cleansing of the sanctuary. Day by day the repentant sinner
brought his
offering to the door of the tabernacle and, placing his hand upon the victim’s
head, confessed his sins, thus in figure transferring them from himself to the
innocent sacrifice. The animal was then slain. “Without shedding of blood,” says
the apostle, there is no remission of sin. “The life of the flesh is in the
blood.”
Leviticus 17:11. The broken law of God demanded the life of the
transgressor. The blood, representing the forfeited life of the sinner, whose
guilt the victim bore, was carried by the priest into the holy place and
sprinkled before the veil, behind which was the ark containing the law that the
sinner had transgressed. By this ceremony the sin was, through the blood,
transferred in figure to the sanctuary. In some cases the blood was not taken
into the holy place; but the flesh was then to be eaten by the priest, as Moses
directed the sons of Aaron, saying: “God hath given it you to bear the iniquity
of the congregation.”
Leviticus 10:17. Both ceremonies alike symbolized the transfer of the sin
from the penitent to the sanctuary.
Such was the work that went on, day by day,
throughout the year. The sins of Israel were thus transferred to the sanctuary,
and a special work became necessary for their removal. God commanded that an
atonement be made for each of the sacred apartments. “He shall make an atonement
for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and
because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the
tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their
uncleanness.” An atonement was also to be made for the altar, to “cleanse it,
and hallow if from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.”
Leviticus 16:16, 19.
Once a year, on the great Day of Atonement, the
priest entered the most holy place for the cleansing of the sanctuary. The work
there performed completed the yearly round of ministration. On the Day of
Atonement two kids of the goats were brought to the door of the tabernacle, and
lots were cast upon them, “one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for the
scapegoat.”
Verse 8. The goat upon which fell the lot for the Lord was to be slain as a
sin offering for the people. And the priest was to bring his blood within the
veil and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat and before the mercy seat. The blood
was also to be sprinkled upon the altar of incense that was before the veil.
“And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head
of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of
Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the
head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the
wilderness: and the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land
not inhabited.”
Verses 21, 22. The scapegoat came no more into the camp of Israel, and the
man who led him away was required to wash himself and his clothing with water
before returning to the camp.
The whole ceremony was designed to impress the Israelites with the holiness of
God and His abhorrence of sin; and, further, to show them that they could not
come in contact with sin without becoming polluted. Every man was required to
afflict his soul while this work of atonement was going forward. All business
was to be laid aside, and the whole congregation of Israel were to spend the day
in solemn humiliation before God, with prayer, fasting, and deep searching of
heart.
Important truths concerning the atonement are
taught by the typical service. A substitute was accepted in the sinner’s stead;
but the sin was not canceled by the blood of the victim. A means was thus
provided by which it was transferred to the sanctuary. By the offering of blood
the sinner acknowledged the authority of the law, confessed his guilt in
transgression, and expressed his desire for pardon through faith in a Redeemer
to come; but he was not yet entirely released from the condemnation of the law.
On the Day of Atonement the high priest, having taken an offering from the
congregation, went into the most holy place with the blood of this offering, and
sprinkled it upon the mercy seat, directly over the law, to make satisfaction
for its claims. Then, in his character of mediator, he took the sins upon
himself and bore them from the sanctuary. Placing his hands upon the head of the
scapegoat, he confessed over him all these sins, thus in figure transferring
them from himself to the goat. The goat then bore them away, and they were
regarded as forever separated from the people.
Such was the service performed “unto the example and
shadow of heavenly things.” And what was done in type in
the ministration of the earthly sanctuary is done in reality
in the ministration of the heavenly sanctuary. After His
ascension our Saviour began His work as our high priest. Says
Paul: “Christ is not entered into the holy places made with
hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven
itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.”
Hebrews 9:24.
The ministration of the priest throughout the
year in the first apartment of the sanctuary, “within the veil” which formed the
door and separated the holy place from the outer court, represents the work of
ministration upon which Christ entered at His ascension. It was the work of the
priest in the daily ministration to present before God the blood of the sin
offering, also the incense which ascended with the prayers of Israel. So did
Christ plead His blood before the Father in behalf of sinners, and present
before Him also, with the precious fragrance of His own righteousness, the
prayers of penitent believers. Such was the work of ministration in the first
apartment of the sanctuary in heaven.
Thither the faith of Christ’s disciples followed
Him as He ascended from their sight. Here their hopes centered, “which hope we
have,” said Paul, “as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which
entereth into that within the veil; whither the forerunner is for us entered,
even Jesus, made an high priest forever.” “Neither by the blood of goats and
calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having
obtained eternal redemption for us.”
Hebrews 6:19, 20;
9:12.
For eighteen centuries this work of ministration continued
in the first apartment of the sanctuary. The blood of Christ,
pleaded in behalf of penitent believers, secured their pardon
and acceptance with the Father, yet their sins still remained
upon the books of record. As in the typical service there was
a work of atonement at the close of the year, so before Christ’s
work for the redemption of men is completed there is a work
of atonement for the removal of sin from the sanctuary. This
is the service which began when the 2300 days ended. At
that time, as foretold by Daniel the prophet, our High Priest
entered the most holy, to perform the last division of His
solemn work—to cleanse the sanctuary.
As anciently the sins of the people were by faith
placed upon the sin offering and through its blood transferred, in figure, to
the earthly sanctuary, so in the new covenant the sins of the repentant are by
faith placed upon Christ and transferred, in fact, to the heavenly sanctuary.
And as the typical cleansing of the earthly was accomplished by the removal of
the sins by which it had been polluted, so the actual cleansing of the heavenly
is to be accomplished by the removal, or blotting out, of the sins which are
there recorded. But before this can be accomplished, there must be an
examination of the books of record to determine who, through repentance of sin
and faith in Christ, are entitled to the benefits of His atonement. The
cleansing of the sanctuary therefore involves a work of investigation—a work of
judgment. This work must be performed prior to the coming of Christ to redeem
His people; for when He comes, His reward is with Him to give to every man
according to his works.
Revelation 22:12.
Thus those who followed in the light of the
prophetic word saw that, instead of coming to the earth at the termination of
the 2300 days in 1844, Christ then entered the most holy place of the heavenly
sanctuary to perform the closing work of atonement preparatory to His coming.
It was seen, also, that while the sin offering
pointed to Christ as a sacrifice, and the high priest represented Christ as a
mediator, the
scapegoat
typified Satan, the author of sin, upon whom the sins of the truly penitent will
finally be placed. When the high priest, by virtue of the blood of the sin
offering, removed the sins from the sanctuary, he placed them upon the
scapegoat. When Christ, by virtue of His own blood, removes the sins of His
people from the heavenly sanctuary at the close of His ministration, He will
place them upon Satan, who, in the execution of the judgment, must bear the
final penalty. The scapegoat was sent away into a land not inhabited, never to
come again into the congregation of Israel. So will Satan be forever banished
from the presence of God and His people, and he will be blotted from existence
in the final destruction of sin and sinners. -Great Controversy,
409.1 - 422.2
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