The Serious Implications of the
Antitypical
Day of Atonement—Part
3
Psa 77:13 Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary:
who is so great a God as our God?
Psa 77:14 Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy
strength among the people.
Psa 77:15 Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob
and Joseph. Selah.
“As a people, we should be earnest students of
prophecy; we should not rest until we become intelligent
in regard to the subject of the sanctuary, which is brought out in the visions of Daniel
and John.”—Evangelism, pp. 222, 223.
What you are
about to discover are the most serious realizations associated with true
Christianity. God’s ways are indeed found in the Sanctuary Service which was to
be a lesson book for the redemption of His people. The lesson book has been
denigrated to the Doctrine of the Nicolaitans, only believe and rely on grace
and faith. It is safe to rely on grace and faith if the two P’s of grace are
appropriated in the life of the believer. The following grave implications are
involved. This document is but an overview of the following topics which I will
develop in-depth in a following series.
·
The Sanctuary Service
·
Implications of the Antitypical Day of Atonement since 1844,
versus the Feast Day Celebrations.
·
How sins have gone in beforehand to Judgment prior to 1844. 1Ti 5:24 Some
men's sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they
follow after.
·
The fact of the God act of regeneration of the bride and all men
of all ages.
·
The Midnight Cry of 1844 to all ten virgins, Matthew 25, for
they all slumbered and slept.
·
The Investigative Judgment as taught by the Sanctuary Service in
Scripture.
·
The marriage of Christ to His bride, His church, in the heavenly
Sanctuary, before He comes.
·
The shut-door implications of Revelation 3.
·
The two P’s of grace.
·
The Three Persons of the Godhead.
***
The following is a
copy of the book by Ellen G. White, which was put online by Vance Ferrell. I
add some notations that I identify as notes by me. rwb
CHRIST in His
SANCTUARY
A
Compilation from the Writings of Ellen G. White
“The subject of the sanctuary and the investigative
judgment should be clearly understood by the
people of God.”-The Great Controversy, page 488.
“I know that the sanctuary question stands in
righteousness and truth, just as we have held it for so many years. It is the
enemy that leads minds off on sidetracks. He is pleased when those who know the
truth become engrossed in collecting scriptures to pile around erroneous
theories, which have no foundation in truth. The scriptures thus used are
misapplied; they were not given to substantiate error, but to strengthen
truth.”-Gospel Workers, page 303.
PACIFIC
PRESS PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION
Mountain
View, California
Oshawa,
Ontario
Contents
1.
The Sanctuary Truth-An Introduction
2.
Christ in the Sacrificial System
3.
The Heavenly Sanctuary in Miniature
4.
The Gospel in Type and Antitype
5.
The judgment Message Stirs America
6.
Daniel 8. 14 and Steps in God's Mysterious Leadings
7.
The End of the 2300 Days
8.
The Glorious Temple in Heaven
9.
Our High Priest in the Holy of Holies
10.
Christ's Closing ministry in the Heavenly Sanctuary
Copyright
@ 1969, by Pacific Press publishing Association
Litho in United
States of America. All Rights Reserved
Library
of Congress Catalog Card No. 70-94869
Six
printings, 75,000
ISBN
0-8163-0128-X
Part 3
In
nearly every town there were scores, in some, hundreds, converted as a result
of his preaching. In many places Protestant churches of nearly all
denominations were thrown open to him, and the invitations to labor usually
came from the ministers
Page
61
of the several congregations. It was his invariable rule not to
labor in any place to which he had not been invited, yet he soon found himself
unable to comply with half the requests that poured in upon him.
EVIDENCES
OF DIVINE BLESSING
Many
who did not accept his views as to the exact time of the second
advent were convinced of the certainty and nearness of Christ's coming
and their need of preparation. In some of the large cities his work produced a
marked impression. Liquor dealers abandoned the traffic and turned their shops
into meeting rooms; gambling dens were broken up; infidels, deists,
Universalists, and even the most abandoned profligates were reformed, some of
whom had not entered a house of worship for years. Prayer meetings were
established by the various denominations, in different quarters, at almost
every hour, businessmen assembling at midday for prayer and praise. There was no
extravagant excitement, but an almost universal
solemnity on the minds of the people. His work, like
that of the early Reformers, tended rather to convince the understanding and
arouse the conscience than merely to excite the emotions.
In
1833 Miller received a license to preach, from the Baptist Church, of which he
was a member. A large number of the ministers of his denomination also approved
his work, and it was with their formal sanction that he continued his labors.
He traveled and preached unceasingly, though his personal labors were confined
principally to the New England and Middle States. For several years his
expenses were met wholly from his own private purse, and he never afterward
received enough to meet the expense of travel to the places where he was
invited. Thus his public labors, so far from being a pecuniary benefit, were a
heavy tax upon his property, which gradually diminished during this period of
his life. He was the father of a large family, but as they were all frugal and
industrious, his farm sufficed for their maintenance as well as his own.
Page 62
THE
LAST OF THE SIGNS
In
1833, two years after Miller began to present in public the evidences of
Christ's soon coming, the last of the signs appeared which were promised by the
Savior as tokens of His second advent. Said Jesus: “The stars
shall fall from heaven.”
Matthew
24:29. And John in the Revelation declared, as he beheld in vision the scenes
that should herald the day of God:
“The
stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casts her untimely
figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.”
Revelation
6:13. This prophecy received a striking and impressive fulfillment in the great
meteoric shower of November 13,
1833.
That was the most extensive and wonderful display of falling stars which has
ever been recorded; “the whole
firmament, over all the United States, being then, for
hours, in fiery commotion. No celestial phenomenon has ever occurred
in this country, since its first settlement, which was viewed with
such intense admiration by one class in the community, or
with so much dread and alarm by another.” “Its
sublimity and awful beauty still linger in many minds. . . . Never did rain
fall much thicker than the meteors fell toward the earth; east,
west, north. and south, it was the same. In a word,
the whole
heavens seemed in motion.... The display, as described in Professor
Silliman's journal, was seen all over North America....
From
two o'clock until broad daylight, the sky being perfectly serene and cloudless,
an incessant play of dazzlingly brilliant
luminosities was kept up in the whole heavens.”-R. M. Devens, American Progress; or, The
Great Events of the Greatest
Century, ch. 28, pars. 1-5. . .
In
the New York Journal of Commerce of November 14, 1833, appeared a long article
regarding this wonderful phenomenon, containing this statement: “No philosopher
or scholar has told or recorded an event, I suppose, like that of
yesterday morning. A prophet eighteen hundred years ago
foretold it exactly, if we will be at the trouble of
understand stars
falling to mean falling stars.... in the only sense in which it is
possible to be literally true.”
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63
Thus
was displayed the last of those signs of His coming, concerning which Jesus
bade His disciples: “When ye shall see all these things, know that it is near,
even at the doors.” Matthew 24:33. After these signs, John beheld, as the great
event next impending, the heavens departing as a scroll, while the earth
quaked, mountains and islands removed out of their places, and the wicked in
terror sought to flee from the presence of the Son of man. Revelation 6:12-17.
Many who witnessed the falling of the stars, looked upon it as a
herald of the coming judgment, “an awful type, a sure forerunner, a merciful
sign, of that great and dreadful day.” -”The Old Countryman,” in Portland
Evening Advertiser,
Nov.
26, 1833. Thus the attention of the people was directed to the fulfillment of
prophecy, and many were led to give heed
to the warning of the second advent.
THE
BIBLE AND THE BIBLE ONLY
William
Miller possessed strong mental powers, disciplined by thought and study; and he
added to these the wisdom of
heaven by connecting himself with the Source of wisdom. He was a man
of sterling worth, who could not but command
respect and esteem wherever integrity of character and moral excellence
were valued. Uniting true kindness of heart with
Christian
humility and the power of self-control, he was attentive and affable to all, ready
to listen to the opinions of others
and to weigh their arguments. Without passion or excitement he
tested all theories and doctrines by the word of God, and
his sound reasoning and thorough knowledge of the Scriptures
enabled him to refute error and expose falsehood.
Yet
he did not prosecute his work without bitter opposition. As with earlier
Reformers, the truths which he presented were not received with favor by
popular religious teachers. As these could not maintain their position by the
Scriptures, they were driven to resort to the sayings and doctrines of men, to
the traditions of the Fathers. But the word of God was the only testimony
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64
accepted by the preachers of the advent truth. “The Bible, and the Bible
only,” was their watchword. The lack of Scripture argument on the part of their
opponents was supplied by ridicule and scoffing. Time, means, and talents were
employed in maligning those whose only offense was that they looked with joy
for the return of their Lord and were striving to live holy lives and to exhort
others to prepare for His appearing. . .
The
instigator of all evil sought not only to counteract the effect of the advent
message, but to destroy the messenger himself. Miller made a practical
application of Scripture truth to the hearts of his hearers, reproving their
sins and disturbing their self-satisfaction, and his plain and cutting words
aroused their enmity. The opposition manifested by church members toward his
message emboldened the baser classes to go to greater lengths; and enemies
plotted to take his life as he should leave the place of meeting. But holy
angels were in the throng, and one of these, in the form of a man, took the arm
of this servant of the Lord and led him in safety from the angry mob. His work
was not yet done, and Satan and his emissaries were disappointed in their
purpose.
Despite
all opposition, the interest in the advent movement had continued to increase.
From scores and hundreds, the congregations had grown to as many thousands.
Large accessions had been made to the various churches, but after a
time the spirit of opposition was manifested even against these
converts, and the churches began to take disciplinary steps
with those who had embraced Miller's views. This action called forth
a response from his pen, in an address to Christians of
all denominations, urging that if his doctrines were false, he
should be shown his error from the Scriptures.
“What
have we believed,” he said, “that we have not been commanded to believe by the
word of God, which you yourselves allow is the rule, and only rule, of our
faith and practice? What have we done that should call down such virulent
denunciations against us from pulpit and press, and give you just cause to ex-
Page
65
clude us
[Adventists] from your churches and
fellowship?” If we are wrong, pray show us wherein
consists our wrong. Show us from the word of God that we are in error;
we have had ridicule enough; that can never convince us that we
are in the wrong; the word of God alone can change our
views. Our conclusions have been formed deliberately and prayerfully,
as we have seen the evidence in the Scriptures.” -
Bliss,
pages 250, 252....
DIFFERENT
RESPONSES
And
why were the doctrine and preaching of Christ's second coming so unwelcome to the
churches? While to the wicked the advent of the Lord brings woe and desolation,
to the righteous it is fraught with joy and hope. This great truth had been the
consolation of God's faithful ones through all the ages; why had it become,
like its Author, “a stone of stumbling” and “a
rock of offense” to His professed people? It was our Lord Himself
who promised His disciples: If I go and prepare a place
for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself. John 14:1
It
was the compassionate Savior, who, anticipating the loneliness and sorrow of
His followers, commissioned angels to comfort them with the assurance that He
would come again in person, even as He went into heaven. As the disciples stood
gazing intently upward to catch the last glimpse of Him whom they loved, their
attention was arrested by the words: “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up
into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from
you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into
heaven!' Acts 1:11. Hope was kindled afresh by the
angel's message. The disciples “returned to Jerusalem with great joy: and were
continually in the temple, praising and blessing God.” Luke 24:52, 53. They
were not rejoicing because Jesus had been separated from them and they were
left to struggle with the trials and temptations of the world, but because of
the angel's assurance that He would come again.
The
proclamation of Christ’s coming should now be, as when
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66
made by the angels to the shepherds of Bethlehem, good tidings of
great joy. Those who really love the Savior cannot but hail with gladness the
announcement founded upon the word of God that He in whom their hopes of
eternal life are centered is coming again, not to be insulted, despised, and
rejected, as at His first advent, but in power and glory, to redeem His
people. It is those who do not love the Savior that desire Him to remain away,
and there can be no more conclusive evidence that the churches have departed
from God than
the irritation and animosity excited by this Heaven-sent message.
Those
who accepted the advent doctrine were roused to the necessity of repentance and
humiliation before God. Many had long been halting between Christ and the
world; now they felt that it was time to take a stand.... Christians were
quickened to new spiritual life. They were made to feel that time was short, that what they had to do for their fellow men must be
done quickly. Earth receded, eternity seemed to open before them, and the soul,
with all that pertained to its immortal weal or woe, was felt to eclipse every
temporal object. The Spirit of God rested upon them and gave power to their
earnest appeals to their brethren, as well as to sinners, to prepare for the
day of God. The silent testimony of their daily life was a constant rebuke to
formal and unconsecrated church members. These did not wish to be disturbed in
their pursuit of pleasure, their devotion to money-making, and their ambition
for worldly honor. Hence the enmity and opposition excited against the advent faith
and those who proclaimed it.
INVESTIGATION
DISCOURAGED
As
the arguments from the prophetic periods were found to be impregnable, opposers
endeavored to discourage
investigation of the subject by teaching that the
prophecies were sealed. . . .
Ministers
and people declared that the prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation were
incomprehensible mysteries. But Christ directed His disciples to the words of
the prophet Daniel con-
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67
cerning events to take
place in their time, and said: 'Who reads, let him understand,” Matthew 24:15.
And the assertion that the Revelation is a mystery, not to be understood, is
contradicted by the very title of the book: “The
Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him, to show unto His
servants things which must shortly come to pass.... Blessed is he that
reads, and they that hear the words of this prophecy,
and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at
hand.” Revelation 1: 13....
In
view of the testimony of Inspiration, how dare men teach that the Revelation is
a mystery beyond the reach of human understanding? It is a
mystery revealed, a book opened. The study of the Revelation directs the
mind to the prophecies of Daniel, and both present most important instruction,
given of God to men, concerning events to take place at the close of this
world's history.
To
John were opened scenes of deep and thrilling interest in the experience of the
church. He saw the position, dangers, conflicts, and final deliverance of the
people of God. He records the closing messages which are to ripen the harvest
of the earth, either as sheaves for the heavenly garner or as fagots for the
fires of destruction. Subjects of vast importance were revealed to him,
especially for the last church, that those who should turn from error to truth
might be instructed concerning the perils and conflicts before them. None need
be in darkness in regard to what is coming upon the earth.
Why,
then, this widespread ignorance concerning an important part of Holy Writ? Why
this general reluctance to investigate its teachings? It is the result of a
studied effort of the prince of darkness to conceal from men that which reveals
his deceptions. For this reason, Christ the Revelator, foreseeing the warfare
that would be waged against the study of the
Revelation,
pronounced a blessing upon all who should read, hear, and observe the words of
the prophecy-The Great
Controversy,
pages 317-342.
Page
68
STUDY
QUESTIONS
1.
What kind of man was William Miller?
2.
What method of study did Miller use in his search of the Bible?
3.
The doctrine of the world's conversion has led to what evil results?
4. In what way did the text Daniel 8:14 become
particularly significant?
5.
Miller was led to link the cleansing of the sanctuary with the second coming of
Christ. What generally accepted view misled him?
6.
How and when did Jesus become “the Anointed One? How and when did the
“sacrifice and oblation” cease?
7.
How were these events significant to the 2300-day prophecy of Daniel 8:14?
8.
Miller spent seven years in earnest Bible study. How many were given to initial
exploration? How many to careful
review?
9. For what reasons did Miller hesitate to begin preaching?
10.
In what way was Miller's preaching similar to that of
the early Reformers?
11.
Why did Miller's preaching, like that of the Reformers, arouse opposition by
“popular religious teachers'. How did these
teachers make up for their lack of Scripture argument?
12.
Why was the preaching of Christ's second coming so unwelcome to the churches?
How did this same preaching affect
those who accepted it?
13.
Against what are those who read, hear, and observe the words of Revelation's
prophecy protected?
Page 69
6.
Daniel 8:14 and Steps in God's Mysterious Leading
The
work of God in the earth presents, from age to age, striking similarity in
every great reformation or religious movement.
The
principles of God's dealing with men are ever the same. The important movements
of the present have their parallel in
those of the past, and the experience of the church in former ages
has lessons of great value for our own time.
No
truth is more clearly taught in the Bible than that God by His Holy Spirit
especially directs His servants on earth in the great movements for the
carrying forward of the work of salvation. Men are instruments in the hand of
God, employed by Him to accomplish His purposes of grace and mercy. Each has
his part to act; to each is granted a measure of light, adapted to the
necessities of his time, and sufficient to enable him
to perform the work which God has given him to do. But no man, however honored
of Heaven, has ever attained to a full understanding of the great plan of
redemption, or even to a perfect appreciation of the divine purpose in the work
for his own time. Men do not fully understand what God would accomplish by the
work which He gives them to do; they do not comprehend, in all its bearings,
the message which they utter in His name....
Even
the prophets who were favored with the special illumination of the Spirit did
not fully comprehend the import of the revelations committed to them. The
meaning was to be unfolded from age to age, as the people of God should need
the instruction therein contained. . .
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70
Yet
while it was not given to the prophets to understand fully the things revealed
to them, they earnestly sought to obtain all the light which God had been
pleased to make manifest. They “inquired and searched diligently,” “searching
what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did
signify.” What a lesson to the people of God in the Christian age, for whose
benefit these prophecies were given to His servants! “Unto whom it was
revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister.” Witness
those holy men of God as they “inquired and searched diligently” concerning
revelations given them for generations that were yet unborn. Contrast
their holy zeal with the listless unconcern with which the favored ones of
later ages treat this gift of Heaven. What a rebuke to the ease loving,
world-loving indifference which is content to declare that the prophecies
cannot be understood!
THE
EXPERIENCE OF THE APOSTLES PROVIDES AN OBJECT LESSON
Though
the finite minds of men are inadequate to enter into the counsels of the
Infinite One, or to understand fully the working out of His purposes, yet often
it is because of some error or neglect on their own part that they so dimly
comprehend the messages of Heaven. Not infrequently the minds of the people,
and even of God's servants, are so blinded
by human opinions, the traditions and false teaching of men, that
they are able only partially to grasp the great things which
He
has revealed in His word. Thus it was with the disciples
of Christ, even when the Savior was with them in person. Their
minds had become imbued with the popular conception of the Messiah as
a temporal prince, who was to exalt Israel to the
throne of the universal empire, and they could not understand the meaning
of His words foretelling His sufferings and death.
Christ
Himself had sent them forth with the message: “The time is fulfilled, and the
kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the
gospel.” Mark 1:15. That message was based on
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71
the prophecy of Daniel 9. The sixty-nine weeks were declared by the
angel to extend to “the Messiah the Prince,” and with high hopes and joyful
anticipations the disciples looked forward to the establishment of Messiah's
kingdom at Jerusalem to rule over the whole earth.
They
preached the message which Christ had committed to them, though they themselves
misapprehended its meaning. While their announcement was founded on Daniel
9:25, they did not see, in the next verse of the same chapter, that Messiah was
to be cut off. From their very birth their hearts had been set upon the
anticipated glory of an earthly empire, and this blinded their understanding
alike to the specifications of the prophecy and to the words of Christ.
They
performed their duty in presenting to the Jewish nation the invitation of
mercy, and then, at the very time
when they expected to see their Lord ascend the throne of David,
they beheld Him seized as a malefactor, scourged,
derided, and condemned, and lifted up on the cross of Calvary. What
despair and anguish wrung the hearts of those disciples
during the days while their Lord was sleeping in the tomb!
Christ
had come at the exact time and in the manner foretold by prophecy. The
testimony of Scripture had been
fulfilled in every detail of His ministry. He had
preached the message of salvation, and “His word was with power.” The
hearts of His hearers had witnessed that it was of Heaven. The word
and the Spirit of God attested the divine commission of
His
Son. . . .
The
announcement which had been made by the disciples in the name of the Lord was
in every particular correct, and the events to which it pointed were even then
taking place. “The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand,” had been
their message. At the expiration of “the time” the sixty-nine weeks of Daniel
9, which were to extend to the Messiah, “the Anointed One”-Christ had received
the anointing of the Spirit after His baptism by John in Jordan. And the
“kingdom of God” which they had declared to be at hand was established by the
death
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72
of Christ. This kingdom was not, as they had been taught to
believe, an earthly empire. Nor was it that future, immortal kingdom which
shall be set up when “the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the
kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of
the Most High;” that everlasting kingdom, in which “all dominions shall serve
and obey Him.” Daniel 7:27.
As
used in the Bible, the expression “kingdom of God” is employed to designate
both the kingdom of grace and the kingdom of glory. The kingdom of grace is
brought to view by Paul in the Epistle to the Hebrews. After pointing to
Christ,
the compassionate intercessor who is “touched with the feeling of
our infirmities,” the apostle says: “Let us therefore come
boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find
grace.” Hebrews 4:15, 16. The throne of grace
represents the kingdom of grace; for the existence of a
throne implies the existence of a kingdom. In many of His parables
Christ
uses the expression 1he kingdom of heaven” to designate the work of divine
grace upon the hearts of men. So the throne of glory represents the kingdom of
glory; and this kingdom is referred to in the Savior's words:
“When
the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then
shall He sit upon the throne of His
glory: and before Him shall be gathered all nations.” Matthew 25:31, 32. This kingdom is yet future. It is not to
be set up
until the second advent of Christ.
The
kingdom of grace was instituted immediately after the fall of man, when a plan
was devised for the redemption of the guilty race. It then existed in the
purpose and by the promise of God; and through faith, men could become its
subjects. Yet it was not actually established until the death of Christ. Even
after entering upon His earthly mission, the Savior, wearied with the
stubbornness and ingratitude of men, might have drawn back from the sacrifice
of Calvary. In Gethsemane the cup of woe trembled in His hand. He might even
then have wiped the blood and
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73
sweat from His brow and have left the guilty race to perish in their
iniquity. Had He done this, there could have been no redemption for fallen men.
But
when the Savior yielded up His life, and with His expiring breath cried out, 1t
is finished,” then the fulfillment of the
plan of redemption was assured. The promise of salvation made to the
sinful pair in Eden was ratified. The kingdom of grace, which had before
existed by the promise of God, was then established.
Thus
the death of Christ-the very event which the disciples had looked upon as the
final destruction of their hope was that which made it forever sure. While it
had brought them a cruel disappointment, it was the climax of proof that their
belief had been correct. The event that had filled them with mourning and
despair was that which opened the door of hope to every child of Adam, and in
which centered the future life and eternal happiness of all God's faithful ones
in all the ages....
After
His resurrection Jesus appeared to His disciples on the way to Emmaus, and,
“beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the
Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” Luke 24:27.
The hearts of the disciples were stirred. Faith was kindled. They were
“begotten again into a lively hope” even before Jesus revealed Himself to them.
It was His purpose to enlighten their understanding and to fasten their faith
upon the “sure word of prophecy.” He wished the truth to take firm root in
their minds, not merely because it was supported by His personal testimony, but
because of the unquestionable evidence presented by the symbols and shadows of
the typical law, and by the prophecies of the Old Testament. It was needful for
the followers of Christ to have an intelligent faith,
not only in their own behalf, but that they might carry the knowledge of Christ
to the world. And as the very first step in imparting this knowledge, Jesus
directed the disciples to “Moses and all the prophets.” Such was the testimony
given by the risen Savior to the value and importance of the Old Testament
Scriptures.
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74
What
a change was wrought in the hearts of the disciples as they looked once more on
the loved countenance of their Master! Luke 24:32. In a more complete and
perfect sense than ever before they had 1ound Him, of whom Moses in the law,
and the prophets, did write.” The uncertainty, the anguish, the despair, gave
place to perfect assurance, to unclouded faith. What marvel that after His
ascension they “were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God.” The people, knowing only of the Savior's ignominious
death, looked to see in their faces the expression of sorrow, confusion, and
defeat; but they saw there gladness and triumph. What a preparation these
disciples had received for the work before them!
THE
LESSON OF 1844
The
experience of the disciples who preached the “gospel
of the kingdom” at the first advent of Christ, had its counterpart in the
experience of those who proclaimed the message of His second advent. As the
disciples went out preaching, 'The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at
hand,” so Miller and his associates proclaimed that the longest and last
prophetic period brought to view in the Bible was about to expire, that the
judgment was at hand, and the everlasting kingdom was to be ushered in. The
preaching of the disciples in regard to time was based on the seventy weeks of
Daniel 9. The message given by Miller and his associates announced the
termination of the 2300 days of Daniel 8: 14, of which the seventy weeks form a
part. The preaching of each was based upon the fulfillment of a different
portion of the same great prophetic period.
Like
the first disciples, William Miller and his associates did not, themselves,
fully comprehend the import of the message which they bore. Errors that had
been long established in the church prevented them from arriving at a correct
interpretation of an important point in the prophecy. Therefore, though they
proclaimed the message which God had committed to them to be given to the
world, yet through a misapprehension of its
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75
meaning they suffered
disappointment.
In
explaining Daniel 8:14, “Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the
sanctuary be cleansed,” Miller, as has been stated, adopted the generally
received view that the earth is the sanctuary, and he believed that the
cleansing of the sanctuary represented the purification of the earth by fire at
the coming of the Lord. When, therefore, he found that the close of the 2300
days was definitely foretold, he concluded that this revealed the time of the second advent.
His
error resulted from accepting the popular view as to what constitutes the
sanctuary. In the typical system, which was a shadow of the sacrifice and
priesthood of Christ, the cleansing of the sanctuary was the last service
performed by the high priest in the yearly round of ministration. It was the
closing work of the atonement-a removal or putting away of sin from Israel. It
prefigured the closing work in the ministration of our High Priest
in heaven, in the removal or blotting out of the sins of His
people, which are registered in the heavenly records. This service involves a
work of investigation, a work of judgment; and it immediately precedes the
coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory; for when
He comes, every case has been decided. Says Jesus: “My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”
Revelation 22:12. It is this work of judgment, immediately preceding the second advent, that is announced in the first angel's
message of Revelation 14:7: Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of
His judgment is come.
Those
who proclaimed this warning gave the right message at the right time. But as the early disciples declared. 'The time is fulfilled,
and the kingdom of God is at hand,” based on the prophecy of Daniel 9, while
they failed to perceive that the death of the Messiah was foretold in the same
scripture, so Miller and his associates preached the message based on Daniel
8:14 and Revelation 14:7, and failed to see that there were still other
messages brought to view in Revelation 14, which were also to
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be given before the advent of the Lord. As the disciples were
mistaken in regard to the kingdom to be set up at the end of the seventy weeks,
so Adventists were mistaken in regard to the event to take place at the
expiration of the 2300 days. In both cases there was an acceptance of, or rather
an adherence to, popular errors that blinded the mind to the truth. Both
classes fulfilled the will of God in delivering the message which He desired to
be given, and both, through their own misapprehension of their message,
suffered disappointment.
Yet
God accomplished His own beneficent purpose in permitting the warning of the
judgment to be given just as it was. The great day was at hand, and in His
providence the people were brought to the test of a definite time, in order to
reveal to them what was in their hearts. The message was designed for the
testing and purification of the church. They were to be led to see whether
their affections were set upon this world or upon Christ and heaven. They
professed to love the Savior; now they were to prove their love. Were they
ready to renounce their worldly hopes and ambitions, and welcome with joy the
advent of their Lord? The message was designed to enable them to discern their
true spiritual state; it was sent in mercy to arouse them to seek the Lord with
repentance and humiliation.
The
disappointment also, though the result of their own misapprehension of the
message which they gave, was to be overruled for good. It would test the hearts
of those who had professed to receive the warning. In the face of their
disappointment would they rashly give up their experience and cast away their
confidence in God's word? or would they, in prayer and
humility, seek to discern where they had failed to comprehend the significance
of the prophecy? How many had moved from fear, or from impulse and excitement?
How many were halfhearted and unbelieving? Multitudes professed to love the
appearing of the Lord. When called to endure the scoffs and reproach of the
world, and the test of delay and
disappointment, would they renounce the faith? Because they
did not immediately
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understand the dealings of God with them, would they
cast aside truths sustained by the clearest testimony of His word?
This
test would reveal the strength of those who with real faith had obeyed what
they believed to be the teaching of the word and the Spirit of God. It would
teach them, as only such an experience could, the danger of accepting the
theories and interpretations of men, instead of making the Bible its own
interpreter. To the children of faith the perplexity and sorrow resulting from
their error would work the needed correction. They would be led to a closer
study of the prophetic word. They would be taught to examine more carefully the
foundation of their faith, and to reject everything, however widely accepted by
the Christian world, that was not founded upon the Scriptures of truth.
With
these believers, as with the first disciples, that which in the hour of trial
seemed dark to their understanding would afterward be made plain. When they
should see the “end of the Lord” they would know that, notwithstanding the
trial resulting from their errors, His purposes of love toward them had been
steadily fulfilling. They would learn by a blessed experience that He is “very
pitiful, and of tender mercy;” that all His paths “are mercy and truth unto
such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.” - The Great Controversy, pages
343-354.
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STUDY
QUESTIONS
1.
What truth is very “clearly taught” in the Bible?
2. Did
God's servants, including the prophets, always fully understand their messages
and work?
3.
Why is it that men often so dimly comprehend the messages of heaven?
4.
Although the message heralded by the disciples of Jesus was correct, what led
them to misconceptions as
to its intent and ultimately to their disappointment?
5.
What two meanings does the Biblical term “kingdom of God” have?
When
will these “kingdoms” be set up?
6.
What method did Jesus employ to lead the disciples to a correct understanding of
His mission and their
work?
7.
Name some parallels which may be drawn between the experience of the disciples
and the Advent
believers of 1844.
8.
What two vital lessons were learned by the disappointed Adventists of 1844?
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7.
The End of the 2300 Days
A
great religious awakening under the proclamation of Christ's soon coming is
foretold in the prophecy of the first angel's message of Revelation 14. An
angel is seen flying “in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to
preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and
tongue, and people.” “With a loud voice” he proclaims the message: “Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is
come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the
fountains of waters.” Verses 6, 7.
The
fact that an angel is said to be the herald of this warning is significant. By
the purity, the glory, and the power of the heavenly messenger, divine wisdom
has been pleased to represent the exalted character of the work to be
accomplished by the message and the power and glory that were to attend it. And
the angel's flight “in the midst of heaven,” the 1oud voice” with which the
warning is tittered, and its promulgation to all “that dwell on the earth,”-”to
every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,”-give evidence of the
rapidity and world-wide extent of the movement....
Like
the great Reformation of the sixteenth century, the advent movement appeared in
different countries of Christendom at the same time. In both Europe and America
men of faith and prayer were led to the study of the prophecies, and, tracing
down the inspired record, they saw convincing evidence that the end of all
things was at hand. In different lands there were
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isolated bodies of Christians who, solely by the study of the
Scriptures, arrived at the belief that the Savior's advent was near....
To
William Miller and his colaborers it was given to
preach the warning in America. This country became the center of the great
advent movement. It was here that the prophecy of the first angel's message had
its most direct fulfillment. The writings of Miller and his associates were
carried to distant lands. Wherever missionaries had penetrated in all the world, were sent the glad tidings of Christ's speedy
return. Far and wide spread the message of the everlasting gospel: “Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is
come.” . . .
WAITING
IN CALM EXPECTANCY
With
unspeakable desire those who had received the message watched for the coming of
their Savior. The time when they expected to meet Him was at hand. They
approached this hour with a calm solemnity. They rested in sweet communion with
God, an earnest of the peace that was to be theirs in the bright hereafter.
None who experienced this hope and trust can forget those precious hours of
waiting.
For
some weeks preceding the time, worldly business was for the most part laid
aside. The sincere believers carefully examined every thought and emotion of
their hearts as if upon their deathbeds and in a few hours to close their eyes
upon earthly scenes. There was no making of “ascension robes”; but all felt the
need of internal evidence that they were prepared to meet the Savior; their
white robes were purity of soul, characters cleansed from sin by the atoning
blood of Christ.
Would
that there were still with the professed people of God the
same spirit of heart searching, the same earnest, determined faith. Had
they continued thus to humble themselves before the Lord and press their
petitions at the mercy seat they would be in possession of a far richer
experience than they now have. There is too little prayer, too little real
conviction of sin, and
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the lack of living faith leaves many destitute of the grace so
richly provided by our Redeemer.
God
designed to prove His people. His hand covered a mistake in the reckoning of
the prophetic periods. Adventists did not discover the error, nor was it
discovered by the most learned of their opponents. The latter said: “Your
reckoning of the prophetic periods is correct. Some great event is about to
take place; but it is not what Mr. Miller predicts; it is the conversion of the
world, and not the second advent of Christ.”
The
time of expectation passed, and Christ did not appear for the deliverance of
His people. Those who with sincere faith and love had looked for their Savior, experienced a bitter disappointment. Yet the
purposes of God were being accomplished; He was testing the hearts of those who
professed to be waiting for His appearing. There were among them many who had
been actuated by no higher motive than fear. Their profession of faith had not
affected their hearts or their lives. When the expected event failed to take
place, these persons declared that they were not disappointed; they had never
believed that Christ would come. They were among the first to ridicule the
sorrow of the true believers.
But
Jesus and all the heavenly host looked with love and
sympathy upon the tried and faithful yet disappointed ones. Could the veil
separating the visible from the invisible world have been swept back, angels
would have been seen drawing near to these steadfast souls and shielding them
from the shafts of Satan-The Great Controversy, pages 355-374.
THE
SCRIPTUIRES REEXAMINED
When
the time passed at which the Lord's coming was first expected,-in the spring of
1844,-those who had looked in faith for His appearing were for a season
involved in doubt and uncertainty. While the world regarded them as having been
utterly defeated and proved to have been cherishing a delusion, their source of
consolation was still the word of God.
Many
continued
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to search the Scriptures, examining anew the evidences of their faith
and carefully studying the prophecies to obtain further light. The Bible
testimony in support of their position seemed clear and conclusive. Signs which
could not be mistaken pointed to the coming of Christ as near. The special
blessing of the Lord, both in the conversion of sinners and the revival of
spiritual life among Christians, had testified that the message was of Heaven.
And though the believers could not explain their disappointment, they felt
assured that God had led them in their past experience.
Interwoven
with prophecies which they had regarded as applying to the time of the second
advent was instruction specially adapted to their state of uncertainty and
suspense, and encouraging them to wait patiently in the faith that what was now
dark to their understanding would in due time be made plain....
In
the summer of 1844, midway between the time when it had been first thought that
the 2300 days would end, and the autumn of the same year, to which it was
afterward found that they extended, the message was proclaimed in the very
words of Scripture: “Behold, the Bridegroom comes!”
That
which led to this movement was the discovery that the decree of Artaxerxes for
the restoration of Jerusalem, which formed the starting point for the period of
the 2300 days, went into effect in the autumn of the year 457 BC., and not at
the beginning of the year, as had been formerly believed. Reckoning from the
autumn of 457, the 2300 years terminate in the autumn of 1844.
TYPES
IN THE SANCTUARY SERVICE
Arguments
drawn from the Old Testament types also pointed to the autumn as the time when
the event represented by the “cleansing of the sanctuary” must take place. This
was made very clear as attention was given to the manner in which the types
relating to the first advent of Christ had been fulfilled.
The
slaying of the Passover lamb was a shadow of the death
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of Christ. Says Paul: “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.”
1 Corinthians 5:7. The sheaf of first fruits, which at the time of the Passover
was waved before the Lord, was typical of the resurrection of Christ....
These
types were fulfilled, not only as to the event, but as to the time. On the
fourteenth day of the first Jewish month, the very day and month on which for
fifteen long centuries the Passover lamb had been slain, Christ, having eaten
the Passover with His disciples, instituted that feast which was to commemorate
His own death as 1he Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world.” That
same night He was taken by wicked hands to be crucified and slain. And as the
antitype of the wave sheaf our Lord was raised from the dead on the third day,
“the first fruits of them that slept,” a sample of all the resurrected just,
whose “vile body” shall be changed, and 1ashioned like unto His glorious body.”
Verse 20; Philippians 3:21.
In
like manner the types which relate to the second advent
must be fulfilled at the time pointed out in the symbolic service. Under the
Mosaic system the cleansing of the sanctuary, or the great Day of Atonement,
occurred on the tenth day of the seventh Jewish month (Leviticus 16:29-34),
when the high priest, having made an atonement for all Israel, and thus removed
their sins from the sanctuary, came forth and blessed the people. So it was
believed that Christ, our great High Priest, would appear to purify the earth
by the destruction of sin and sinners, and to bless His waiting people with
immortality. The tenth day of the seventh month, the great Day of Atonement,
the time of the cleansing of the sanctuary, which in the year 1844 fell upon
the twenty-second of October, was regarded as the time of the Lord's coming.
This was in harmony with the proofs already presented that the 2300 days would
terminate in the autumn, and the conclusion seemed irresistible....
Carefully
and solemnly those who received the message came up to the time when they hoped
to meet their Lord. Every morn-
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ing they felt that
it was their first duty to secure the evidence of their acceptance with God. Their
hearts were closely united, and they prayed much with and for one another. They
often met together in secluded places to commune with God, and the voice of
intercession ascended to heaven from the fields and groves. The assurance of
the Savior's approval was more necessary to them than their daily food; and if
a cloud darkened their minds, they did not rest until it was swept away. As
they felt the witness of pardoning grace, they longed to behold Him whom their
souls loved.
DISAPPOINTED,
BUT FAITH IN GOD'S WORD UNSHAKEN
But
again they were destined to disappointment. The time of expectation passed, and
their Savior did not appear. With unwavering confidence they had looked forward
to His coming, and now they felt as did Mary when, coming to the Savior's tomb
and finding it empty, she exclaimed with weeping: “They have taken away my
Lord, and I know not where they have laid Him.” John 20:13....
The
world had been looking on, expecting that if the time passed and Christ did not
appear, the whole system of Adventism would be given up. But while many, under
strong temptation, yielded their faith, there were some who stood firm. The
fruits of the advent movement, the spirit of humility and heart searching, of
renouncing of the world and reformation of life, which had attended the work,
testified that it was of God. They dared not deny that the power of the Holy
Spirit had witnessed to the preaching of the second advent,
and they could detect no error in their reckoning of the prophetic periods. The
ablest of their opponents had not succeeded in overthrowing their system of
prophetic interpretation.
They
could not consent, without Bible evidence, to renounce positions which had been
reached through earnest, prayerful study of the Scriptures, by minds enlightened
by the Spirit of God and hearts burning with its living power; positions which
had withstood the most searching criticisms and
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the most bitter opposition of popular religious teachers and
worldly-wise men, and which had stood firm against the combined forces of
learning and eloquence, and the taunts and revilings alike of the honorable and
the base.
True,
there had been a failure as to the expected event, but even this could not
shake their faith in the word of God. God did not forsake His people; His
Spirit still abode with those who did not rashly deny the light which they had
received, and denounce the advent movement. In the Epistle to the Hebrews are
words of encouragement and warning for the tried, waiting ones at this crisis:
“Cast not away therefore your confidence, which bath great recompense of
reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God,
ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and He that shall come
will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, My soul shall have no
pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition;
but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.”
Hebrews
10:35-39.
That
this admonition is addressed to the church in the last days is evident from the
words pointing to the nearness of the Lord's coming: “For yet a little while,
and He that shall come will come and will not tarry.” And it is plainly implied
that there would be a seeming delay and that the Lord would appear to tarry.
The instruction here given is especially adapted to the experience of
Adventists at this time. The people here addressed were in danger of making
shipwreck of faith. They had done the will of God in following the guidance of
His Spirit and His word; yet they could not understand His purpose in their
past experience, nor could they discern the pathway before them, and they were
tempted to doubt whether God had indeed been leading them. At this time the
words were applicable: “Now the just shall live by faith.”
As
the bright light of the “midnight cry” had shone upon their pathway, and they
had seen the prophecies unsealed and the
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rapidly fulfilling signs telling that the coming of Christ was near,
they had walked, as it were, by sight. But now, bowed down by disappointed
hopes, they could stand only by faith in God and in His word. The scoffing world were saying: -You have been deceived. Give up your
faith, and say that the advent movement was of Satan.” But God's word declared:
If any man draw back, My soul shall have no pleasure
in him.” To renounce their faith now, and deny the power of the Holy Spirit
which had attended the message, would be drawing back toward perdition. They
were encouraged to steadfastness by the words of Paul: “Cast not away therefore
your confidence;” “ye have need of patience,” 1or yet a little while, and He
that shall come will come, and will not tarry.” Their only safe course was to
cherish the light which they had already received of God, hold fast to His
promises, and continue to search the Scriptures, and patiently wait and watch
to receive further light.-The Great Controversy, pages 391-408.
STUDY
QUESTIONS
1.
How is the “exalted character” of the message of the first angel of Revelation
14 represented? In what three ways are the
rapidity and worldwide extent of the movement indicated?
2.
How widely was the warning message given?
3.
What “robes” did the waiting Adventists prepare for Christ's second coming?
4.
What was the “source of consolation” for the Adventists after their first
disappointment in the spring of 1844?
5.
What was the Scripture message proclaimed during the summer of 1844?
6.
How did a study of types and antitypes lead to the establishment Of the important date of October 22, 1844?
7.
Name some of the things the Adventists did to prepare for the expected coming
of Christ.
8.
The fruits of the advent movement “testified it was of God.” What were those
fruits?
9.
What Scripture admonition is addressed to the church in the last days?
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8.
The Glorious Temple in Heaven
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.
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INTEGRITY
OF TIME PROPHETIC PERIODS
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 BC. 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, AD. 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 AD. 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, AD. 34. The first 490 years of the 2300 having then ended, 1810 years
would remain. From AD. 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
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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.
THE
SANCTUARY OF THE OLD COVENANT
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 show bread; 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
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it was a structure of great magnificence.
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 AD. 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?
THE
NEW-COVENANT SANCTUARY IN THE HEAVENS
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
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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
GLORIES OF THE EARTHLY SANCTUARY AND THE HEAVENLY TEMPLE
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....
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
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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.
CHIRIST'S
MINISTRY IN THE HEAVENLY SANCTUARY
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.
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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 1he chief Cornerstone; in whom all the building fitly framed
together grows into an holy temple in the Lord: in
whom ye also,” he says, “are built 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 forever 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 514; Hebrews 4:15; 2:18; 1 John 2A. 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.
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“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
loves 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 believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John
3:16.
DETERMINING
THE SANCTUARY OF DANIEL 8:14
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 1rue 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
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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.
PRACTICAL
LESSONS FROM THE TYPES
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
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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. Me 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 remains among them in the midst
of their uncleanness.” An atonement was also to be
made for the altar, to “cleanse it, and hallow it 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
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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.
BUT
A TYPE OF HEAVENLY REALITIES
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
Savior 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.
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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 entered 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.
THE
CLEANSING OF THE HEAVENLY SANCTUARY
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.
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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
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be blotted from existence in the final destruction of
sin and sinners.-The Great Controversy, pages 409-422.
STUDY
QUESTIONS
1.
What important place did Daniel 8:14 take in the Advent faith and teaching?
2.
How did many of the Millerites rashly explain the
disappointment?
3.
When the disappointed Adventists, who clung to the evidence of God's leading in
their experience, could find no error in
their reckoning of the prophetic periods, what did they begin to
examine?
4.
What discovery did the believers make in regard to the identity of the
sanctuary?
5.
What did they discover to be the sanctuary of the first covenant? The sanctuary of the new covenant?
6.
What sanctuary was cleansed at the end of the 2300 days?
7.
What is the cleansing of the sanctuary in heaven? Why does it have to take
place before the second coming of Christ?
8.
What is “remission of sins”?
9.
Note the parallel between the services of the Old Testament sanctuary and the
sanctuary in heaven.
10
By what means were the sins of the repentant sinner transferred to the heavenly
sanctuary?
11.
Instead of coming to this earth on October 22, 1844, what did Jesus do?
12.
How is the sanctuary in heaven 1reed, or cleansed, from the record of sin”?
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9.
Our High Priest in the Holy of Holies
The
subject of the sanctuary was the key which unlocked the mystery of the
disappointment of 1844. It opened to view a complete system of truth, connected
and harmonious, showing that God's hand had directed the great advent movement
and revealing present duty as it brought to light the position and work of His
people. As the disciples of Jesus after the terrible night of their anguish and
disappointment were “glad when they saw the Lord,” so did those now rejoice who
had looked in faith for His second coming. They had expected Him to appear in
glory to give reward to His servants. As their hopes were disappointed, they
had lost sight of Jesus, and with Mary at the sepulcher they cried: “They have
taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid Him.” Now in the holy
of holies they again beheld Him, their compassionate High Priest, soon to
appear as their king and deliverer. Light from the sanctuary illumined the
past, the present, and the future. They knew that God had led them by His
unerring providence. Though, like the first disciples, they themselves had
failed to understand the message which they bore, yet it had been in every
respect correct. In proclaiming it they had fulfilled the purpose of God, and
their labor had not been in vain in the Lord. Begotten “again unto a lively
hope,” they rejoiced “with joy unspeakable and full of glory.”
Both
the prophecy of Daniel 8:14, “Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then
shall the sanctuary be cleansed,” and
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the first angel's message, “Fear God, and give glory to Him; for
the hour of His judgment is come,” pointed to Christ's ministration in the most
holy place, to the investigative judgment, and not to the coming of Christ for
the redemption of His people and the destruction of the wicked. The mistake had
not been in the reckoning of the prophetic periods, but in the event to take
place at the end of the 2300 days. Through this error the believers had
suffered disappointment, yet all that was foretold by the prophecy, and all
that they had any Scripture warrant to expect, had been accomplished. At the
very time when they were lamenting the failure of their hopes, the event had
taken place which was foretold by the message, and which must be fulfilled
before the Lord could appear to give reward to His servants. Christ had come,
not to the earth, as they expected, but, as foreshadowed in the type, to the
most holy place of the temple of God in heaven. He is represented by the
prophet Daniel as coming at this time to the Ancient of Days: I saw in the
night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of
heaven, and came”-not to the earth, but-”to the Ancient of Days, and they
brought Him near before Him.” Daniel 7:13.
This
coming is foretold also by the prophet Malachi: “The Lord, whom ye seek, shall
suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, whom ye
delight in: behold, He shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.” Malachi 3:1. The
coming of the Lord to His temple was sudden, unexpected, to His people. They
were not looking for Him there. They expected Him to come to earth, “in flaming
fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel.”
2 Thessalonians 1: 8.
But
the people were not yet ready to meet their Lord. There was still a work of
preparation to be accomplished for them. Light was to be given, directing their
minds to the temple of God in heaven; and as they should by faith follow their
High Priest in His ministration there, new duties would be revealed.
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Another
message of warning and instruction was to be given to the church.
Says
the prophet: “Who may abide the day of His coming? and
who shall stand when He appears? for He is like a refiner's fire, and like
fullers' soap: and He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He
shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may
offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.” Malachi
12, 3. Those who are living upon the earth when the intercession of
Christ shall cease in the sanctuary above are to stand in the sight of a holy
God without a mediator. Their robes must be spotless,
their characters must be purified from sin by the blood of sprinkling. Through
the grace of God and their own diligent effort they must be conquerors in the
battle with evil. While the investigative judgment is going forward in heaven,
while the sins of penitent believers are being removed from the sanctuary,
there is to be a special work of purification, of putting away of sin, among
God's people upon earth. This work is
more clearly presented in the messages of Revelation 14.
When
this work shall have been accomplished, the followers of Christ will be ready
for His appearing. “Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant
unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years.” Malachi 14. Then the church which our Lord at His coming is
to receive to Himself will be a “glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle,
or any such thing.” Ephesians 5:27. Then she will look forth as the morning,
fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners.” Song
of Solomon 6:10.
Besides
the coming of the Lord to His temple, Malachi also foretells His second advent,
His coming for the execution of the judgment, in these words: “And I will come near
to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and
against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that
oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn
aside the stranger from his right, and
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fear not Me, says the Lord of hosts.” Malachi 15.
Jude refers to the same scene when he says, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten
thousands of His saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that
are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds.” Jude 14,
15. This coming, and the coming of the Lord to His
temple, are distinct and separate events.
SCRIPTURAL
FOUNDATIONS
The
coming of Christ as our high priest to the most holy place, for the cleansing
of the sanctuary, brought to view in Daniel 8:14; the coming of the Son of man
to the Ancient of Days, as presented in Daniel 7:13; and the coming of the Lord
to His temple, foretold by Malachi, are descriptions of the same event; and
this is also represented by the coming of the bridegroom to the marriage,
described by Christ in the parable of the ten virgins, of Matthew 25.
In
the summer and autumn of 1844 the proclamation, “Behold, the Bridegroom comes,”
was given. The two classes represented by the wise and foolish virgins were
then developed-one class who looked with joy to the Lord's appearing, and who
had been diligently preparing to meet Him; another class that, influenced by
fear and acting from impulse, had been satisfied with a theory of the truth,
but were destitute of the grace of God. In the parable, when the bridegroom
came, “they that were ready went in with him to the marriage.” The coming of
the bridegroom, here brought to view, takes place before the marriage. The
marriage represents the reception by Christ of His kingdom. The Holy City, the
New Jerusalem, which is the capital and representative of the kingdom, is
called “the bride, the Lamb's wife.” Said the angel to John:
“Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.” “He carried
me away in the spirit,” says the prophet, “and showed me that great city, the
holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.” Revelation
2L9, 10. Clearly, then, the bride represents the Holy City, and the
virgins that go out to meet the bridegroom are a symbol of the church. In
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the Revelation the people of God are said to be the guests at the
marriage supper. Revelation 19:9. If guests, they cannot be represented also as
the bride. Christ, as stated by the prophet Daniel, will receive from the Ancient
of Days in heaven, “dominion, and glory, and a kingdom;” He will receive the
New Jerusalem, the capital of His kingdom, “prepared as a bride adorned for her
husband.” Daniel 7:14; Revelation 21:2. Having received the kingdom, He will
come in His glory, as King of kings and Lord of lords, for the redemption of
His people, who are to “sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob,” at His
table in His kingdom (Matthew 8:11; Luke 22:30), to partake of the marriage
supper of the Lamb.
The
proclamation, “Behold, the Bridegroom comes,” in the summer of 1844, led
thousands to expect the immediate advent of the Lord. At the appointed time the
Bridegroom came, not to the earth, as the people expected, but to the Ancient
of Days in heaven, to the marriage, the reception of His kingdom. “They that
were ready went in with Him to the marriage: and the door was shut.” They were
not to be present in person at the marriage; for it takes place in heaven,
while they are upon the earth. The followers of Christ are to “wait for their
Lord, when He will return from the wedding.” Luke 12:36. But they are to
understand His work, and to follow Him by faith as He goes in before God. It is
in this sense that they are said to go in to the marriage.
In
the parable it was those that had oil in their vessels with their lamps that
went in to the marriage. Those who, with a knowledge of the truth from the
Scriptures, had also the Spirit and grace of God, and who, in the night of
their bitter trial, had patiently waited, searching the Bible for clearer
light-these saw the truth concerning the sanctuary in heaven and the Savior's
change in ministration, and by faith they followed Him in His work in the
sanctuary above. And all who through the testimony of the Scriptures accept the
same truths, following Christ by faith as He enters in before God to perform
the last work of mediation, and at its close to receive His kingdom-all these
are
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represented as going in to the marriage.
In
the parable of Matthew 22 the same figure of the marriage is introduced, and
the investigative judgment is clearly represented as taking place before the
marriage. Previous to the wedding the king comes in to see the guests, to see
if all are attired in the wedding garment, the spotless robe of character washed
and made white in the blood of the Lamb. Matthew 22:11; Revelation 7:14. He who
is found wanting is cast out, but all who upon examination are seen to have the
wedding garment on are accepted of God and accounted worthy of a share in His
kingdom and a seat upon His throne. This work of examination of character, of
determining who are prepared for the kingdom of God, is that of the
investigative judgment, the closing work in the sanctuary above.
When
the work of investigation shall be ended, when the cases of those who in all
ages have professed to be followers of Christ have been examined and decided,
then, and not till then, probation will close, and the door of mercy will be
shut. Thus in the one short sentence, “They that were ready went in with Him to
the marriage: and the door was shut,” we are carried down through the Savior's
final ministration, to the time when the great work for man's salvation shall
be completed.
MINISTRY
IN THE TWO APARTMENTS
In the
service of the earthly sanctuary, which, as we have seen, is a figure of the
service in the heavenly, when the high priest on the Day of Atonement entered
the most holy place, the ministration in the first apartment ceased. God
commanded: “There shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he
goes in to make an atonement in the holy place, until
he comes out.” Leviticus 16:17. So when Christ entered the holy of holies to
perform the closing work of the atonement, He ceased His ministration in the
first apartment. But when the ministration in the first apartment ended, the
ministration in the second apartment began. When in the typical service the
high priest
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left the holy on the Day of Atonement, he went in before God to
present the blood of the sin offering in behalf of all Israel who truly
repented of their sins. So Christ had only completed one part of His work as
our intercessor, to enter upon another portion of the work, and He still
pleaded His blood before the Father in behalf of sinners.
This
subject was not understood by Adventists in 1844. After the passing of the time
when the Savior was expected, they still believed His coming to be near; they
held that they had reached an important crisis and that the work of Christ as
man's intercessor before God had ceased. It appeared to them to be taught in
the Bible that man's probation would close a short time before the actual
coming of the Lord in the clouds of heaven. This seemed evident from those
scriptures which point to a time when men will seek, knock, and cry at the door
of mercy, and it will not be opened. And it was a question with them whether
the date to which they had looked for the coming of Christ might not rather
mark the beginning of this period which was immediately to precede His coming.
Having given the warning of the judgment near, they felt that their work for
the world was done, and they lost their burden of soul for the salvation of
sinners, while the bold and blasphemous scoffing of the ungodly seemed to them another evidence that the Spirit of God had been withdrawn
from the rejecters of His mercy. All this confirmed them in the belief that
probation had ended, or, as they then expressed it, “the door of mercy was
shut.”
THE
OPENING OF ANOTHER DOOR
But
clearer light came with the investigation of the sanctuary question. They now
saw that they were correct in believing that the end of the 2300 days in 1844
marked an important crisis. But while it was true that that door of hope and
mercy by which men had for eighteen hundred years found access to God, was
closed, another door was opened, and forgiveness of sins was offered to men
through the intercession of Christ in the most
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holy. One part of His ministration had closed, only to give place to
another. There was still an “open door” to the heavenly sanctuary, where Christ
was ministering in the sinner's behalf.
Now
was seen the application of those words of Christ in the Revelation, addressed
to the church at this very time: “These things saith He that is holy, He that
is true, He that hath the key of David, He that opens, and no man shuts; and
shuts, and no man opens; I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an
open door, and no man can shut it.” Revelation 17,8.
It
is those who by faith follow Jesus in the great work of the atonement who
receive the benefits of His mediation in their behalf, while those who reject
the light which brings to view this work of ministration are not benefited
thereby. The Jews who rejected the light given at Christ's first advent, and
refused to believe on Him as the Savior of the world, could not
receive pardon through Him. When Jesus at His ascension entered by His
own blood into the heavenly sanctuary to shed
upon His disciples the blessings of His mediation, the Jews were
left in total darkness to continue their useless sacrifices and
offerings. The ministration of types and shadows had
ceased. That door by which men had formerly found access to God
was no longer open. The Jews had refused to seek Him in the only
way whereby He could then be found, through the
ministration in the sanctuary in heaven. Therefore they
found no communion with God. To them the door was shut. They
had no knowledge of Christ as the true sacrifice and the only
mediator before God; hence they could not receive the benefits
of His mediation.
The
condition of the unbelieving Jews illustrates the condition of the careless and
unbelieving among professed Christians, who are willingly ignorant of the work of
our merciful High Priest. In the typical service, when the high priest entered
the most holy place, all Israel were required to gather about the sanctuary and
in the most solemn manner humble their souls before God, that they might
receive the pardon of their sins and
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not be cut off from the congregation. How much more essential in
this antitypical Day of Atonement that we understand the work of our High
Priest and know what duties are required of us.
THE
TRAGIC RESULT OF REJECTING GOD'S WARNING MESSAGE
Men
cannot with impunity reject the warning which God in mercy sends them. A
message was sent from heaven to the world in Noah's day, and their salvation
depended upon the manner in which they treated that message. Because they
rejected the warning, the Spirit of God was withdrawn from the sinful race, and
they perished in the waters of the Flood. In the time of Abraham, mercy ceased
to plead with the guilty inhabitants of Sodom, and all but Lot with his wife
and two daughters were consumed by the fire sent down from heaven. So in the days of Christ. The Son of God declared to the
unbelieving Jews of that generation: “Your house is left unto you desolate.”
Matthew 23:38. Looking down to the last days, the same Infinite Power declares,
concerning those who “received not the love of the truth, that they might be
saved”: “For this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should
believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but
had pleasure in unrighteousness.” 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12. As they reject the
teachings of His word, God withdraws His Spirit and leaves them to the
deceptions which they love.
But
Christ still intercedes in man's behalf, and light will be given to those who
seek it. Though this was not at first understood by Adventists, it was
afterward made plain as the Scriptures which define their true position began
to open
before them.
The
passing of the time in 1844 was followed by a period of great trial to those
who still held the advent faith. Their only relief, so far as ascertaining
their true position was concerned, was the light which directed their minds to
the sanctuary above. Some renounced their faith in their former reckoning of
the prophetic periods and ascribed to human or satanic agencies the powerful
influence of the Holy Spirit which had attended the
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advent movement. Another class firmly held that the Lord had led them
in their past experience; and as they waited and watched and prayed to know the
will of God they saw that their great High Priest had entered upon another work
of ministration, and, following Him by faith, they were led to see also the
closing work of the church. They had a clearer understanding of the first and
second angels' messages, and were prepared to receive and give to the world the
solemn warning of the third angel of Revelation 14.-The Great
Controversy,
pages 423-432.
THE
SANCTUARY AND THE SABBATH
“The
temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of
His testament.” Revelation 11:19. The ark of God's testament is in the holy of
holies, the second apartment of the sanctuary. In the ministration of the
earthly tabernacle, which served “unto the example and shadow of heavenly
things,” this apartment was opened only upon the great Day of Atonement for the
cleansing of the sanctuary. Therefore the announcement that the temple of God
was opened in heaven and the ark of His testament was seen points to the
opening of the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary in 1844 as Christ
entered there to perform the closing work of the atonement. Those who by faith
followed their great High Priest as He entered upon His ministry in the most
holy place, beheld the ark of His testament. As they
had studied the subject of the sanctuary they had come to understand the
Savior's change of ministration, and they saw that He was now officiating
before the ark of God, pleading His blood in behalf of sinners.
The
ark in the tabernacle on earth contained the two tables of stone, upon which
were inscribed the precepts of the law of God. The ark was merely a receptacle
for the tables of the law, and the presence of these divine precepts gave to it
its value
and sacredness. When the temple of God was opened in heaven, the
ark of His testament was seen. Within the holy of holies, in the sanctuary in
heaven, the divine law is sacredly enshrined
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- the law that was
spoken by God Himself amid the thunders of Sinai and written with His own
finger on the tables of stone.
The
law of God in the sanctuary in heaven is the great original, of which the
precepts inscribed upon the tables of stone and recorded by Moses in the
Pentateuch were an unerring transcript. Those who arrived at an understanding
of this important point were thus led to see the sacred, unchanging character
of the divine law. They saw, as never before, the force of the Savior's words:
“Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from
the law.” Matthew 5:18. The law of God, being a revelation of His will, a
transcript of His character, must forever endure, “as a faithful witness in
heaven.” Not one command has been annulled; not a jot or tittle has been
changed. Says the psalmist: “Forever, O Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven.”
“All His commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever.” Psalms
119:89;
111:7,
8.
In
the very bosom of the Decalogue is the fourth commandment, as it was first
proclaimed: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou
labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy
God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor
thy daughter, thy manservant. nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy
stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and
earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore
the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.” Exodus 20:8-11.
The
Spirit of God impressed the hearts of those students of His word. The
conviction was urged upon them that they had ignorantly transgressed this
precept by disregarding the Creator's rest day. They began to examine the
reasons for observing the first day of the week instead of the day which God
had sanctified. They could find no evidence in the Scriptures that the fourth
commandment had been abolished, or that the Sabbath had been changed; the
blessing which first hallowed the seventh day had never been removed. They had
been honestly
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seeking to know and to do God's will; now, as they saw themselves
transgressors of His law, sorrow filled their hearts, and they manifested their
loyalty to God by keeping His Sabbath holy.
Many
and earnest were the efforts made to overthrow their faith. None could fail to
see that if the earthly sanctuary was a figure or pattern of the heavenly, the
law deposited in the ark on earth was an exact transcript of the law in the ark
in heaven; and that an acceptance of the truth concerning the heavenly
sanctuary involved an acknowledgment of the claims of God's law and the
obligation of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. Here was the secret of the
bitter and determined opposition to the harmonious exposition of the Scriptures
that revealed the ministration of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary.
Men
sought to close the door which God had opened, and to open the door which He
had closed. But “He that opens, and no man shuts; and shuts, and no man opens,”
had declared: “Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut
it.” Revelation 17, 8. Christ had opened the door, or
ministration, of the most holy place, light was shining from that open door of
the sanctuary in heaven, and the fourth commandment was shown to be included in
the law which is there
enshrined; what God had established, no man could
overthrow.
Those
who had accepted the light concerning the mediation of Christ and the
perpetuity of the law of God found that these were the truths presented in
Revelation 14. The messages of this chapter constitute a threefold warning
which is to prepare the inhabitants of the earth for the Lord's second coming.
The announcement, “The hour of His judgment is come,” points to the closing
work of Christ's ministration for the salvation of men. It heralds a truth
which must be proclaimed until the Savior's intercession shall cease and He
shall return to the earth to take His people to Himself. The work of judgment
which began in 1844 must continue until the cases of all are decided, both of
the living and the dead; hence it will extend to the close of human probation.
That men may be prepared to stand in the
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judgment, the message commands them to “Fear God, and give glory to
Him,” “and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the
fountains of waters.” The result of an acceptance of these messages is given in
the word: “Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of
Jesus.” In order to be prepared for the judgment, it is necessary that men
should keep the law of God. That law will be the standard of character in the
judgment-The Great Controversy, pages 433436.
Those
who received the light concerning the sanctuary and the immutability of the law
of God were filled with joy and wonder as they saw the beauty and harmony of
the system of truth that opened to their understanding.-Ibid., p. 454.
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STUDY
QUESTIONS
1.
What was the key that unlocked the mystery of the 1844 disappointment?
2.
Quote the two Bible texts that point to Christ's ministration in the most holy
place.
3. Which
“coming” of Christ is depicted in Daniel 7:13 and Malachi 3:1?
4.
While the sins of penitent believers are being removed from heaven's sanctuary,
what are these same believers to be
doing on earth?
5.
The wise and foolish virgins represent what two classes among advent believers
of the summer and autumn of 1844?
6.
What is the bride of Christ?
7.
Who are the “guests” at the wedding?
8.
How does the parable of Matthew 22 picture the work of judgment?
9.
Why did Adventists for a time after the disappointment lose their burden for
the salvation of sinners?
10.
What, then, was the Adventist interpretation of the “shut door” immediately
after the disappointment?
11.
What later was found to be the “open door,” and who opened it?
12.
As the temple in heaven was opened, what was revealed?
13.
What relationship exists between the law of God enshrined in the heavenly
sanctuary and the law deposited in the ark in
the earthly sanctuary?
14.
With this revelation of God's law to what did earnest Bible study lead?
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10.
Christ's Closing Ministry in the Heavenly Sanctuary
The
preaching of a definite time for the judgment, in the giving of the first
message, was ordered of God. The computation
of the prophetic periods on which that message was based, placing
the close of the 2300 days in the autumn of 1844, stands
without impeachment.-The Great Controversy, page 457.
I
beheld,” says the prophet Daniel, “till thrones were placed, and One that was Ancient of Days did sit: His raiment was white as
snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool; His throne was fiery flames, and
the wheels thereof burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from
before Him: thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten
thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.” Daniel 7:9, 10, RV.
Thus
was presented to the prophet's vision the great and solemn day when the
characters and the lives of men should pass in review before the judge of all
the earth, and to every man should be rendered “according to his works.” The
Ancient of Days is God the Father. Says the psalmist: “Before the mountains
were brought forth, or ever Thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even
from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God.” Psalm 90:2. It is He, the
source of all being, and the fountain of all law, that is to preside in the
judgment. And holy angels as ministers and witnesses, in number ten thousand
times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands,” attend this great tribunal.
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“And,
behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the
Ancient of Days, and they brought
Him near before Him. And there was given Him dominion, and glory,
and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: His
dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away.” Daniel 7:13,
14. The
coming of Christ here described is not His second coming to the earth.
He comes to the Ancient of Days in heaven to receive dominion and glory and a
kingdom, which will be given Him at the close of His work as a mediator. It is
this coming, and not His second advent to the earth, that was foretold in
prophecy to take place at the termination of the 2300 days in 1844. Attended by
heavenly angels, our great High Priest enters the holy of holies and there
appears in the presence of God to engage in the last acts of His ministration
in behalf of man-to perform the work of investigative judgment and to make an
atonement for all who are shown to be entitled to its benefits.
WHOSE CASES CONSIDERED?
In
the typical service only those who had come before God with confession and
repentance, and whose sins, through the blood of the sin offering, were
transferred to the sanctuary, had a part in the service of the Day of
Atonement. So in the great day of final atonement and investigative judgment
the only cases considered are those of the professed people of God. The
judgment of the wicked is a distinct and separate work, and takes place at a
later period. “Judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the
gospel?” 1 Peter 4:17.
The
books of record in heaven, in which the names and the deeds of men are
registered, are to determine the decisions of the judgment. Says the prophet
Daniel: “The judgment was set, and the books were opened.” The revelator,
describing the same scene, adds: “Another book was opened, which is the book of
life: and the dead were judged out of those things which
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were written in the books, according to their works.” Revelation
20:12.
The
book of life contains the names of all who have ever entered the service of
God. Jesus bade His disciples. “Rejoice, because your names are written in
heaven.” Luke 10:20. Paul speaks of his faithful fellow workers, “whose names
are in the book of life.” Philippians 4:1. Daniel, looking down to “a time of
trouble, such as never was,” declares that God's people shall be delivered,
“everyone that shall be found written in the book.” And the revelator says that
those only shall enter the city of God whose names “are written in the Lamb's
book of life.” Daniel 12: 1; Revelation 21:27.
“A
book of remembrance” is written before God, in which are recorded the good
deeds of “them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name.” Malachi
3:16. Their words of faith, their acts of love, are registered in heaven.
Nehemiah refers to this when he says: “Remember me, O my God. . . . and wipe not out my good deeds that I have done for the
house of my God.” Nehemiah 13:14. In the book of God's remembrance every deed
of righteousness is immortalized. There every temptation resisted, every evil
overcome, every word of tender pity expressed, is faithfully chronicled. And
every act of sacrifice, every suffering and sorrow endured for Christ's sake,
is recorded. Says the psalmist: “Thou tellest my
wanderings: put Thou my tears into Thy bottle: are they not in Thy book?” Psalm
56:8.
There
is a record also of the sins of men. “For God shall bring every work into
judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good,
or whether it be evil.” “Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give
account thereof in the day of judgment.” Says the Savior: “By thy words thou
shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” Ecclesiastes
12:14; Matthew 12:36, 37. The secret purposes and motives appear in the
unerring register; for God “will bring to light the hidden things of darkness,
and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts.” 1 Corinthians 4:5. “Behold,
it is written
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before Me, . . . your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers
together, saith the Lord.” Isaiah 65:6, 7.
Every
man's work passes in review before God and is registered for faithfulness or unfaithfulness.
Opposite each name in the books of heaven is entered with terrible exactness
every wrong word, every selfish act, every unfulfilled duty, and every secret
sin, with every artful dissembling. Heaven-sent warnings or reproofs neglected,
wasted moments, unimproved opportunities, the influence exerted for good or for
evil, with its far-reaching results, all are chronicled by the recording angel.
GOD'S
LAW THE STANDARD
The
law of God is the standard by which the characters and the lives of men will be
tested in the judgment. Says the wise man: “Fear God, and keep His
commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work
into judgment.” Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14. The apostle James admonishes his
brethren: “So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall
be judged by the law of liberty.” James 2:12.
Those
who in the judgment are “accounted worthy” will have a part in the resurrection
of the just. Jesus said: “They which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that
world, and the resurrection from the dead, . . . are
equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the
resurrection.” Luke 20:35, 36. And again He declares that 1hey that have done
good” shall come forth “unto the resurrection of life.” John 5:29. The
righteous dead will not be raised until after the judgment at which they are
accounted worthy of “the resurrection of life.” Hence they will not be present
in person at the tribunal when their records are examined and their cases
decided.
JESUS
THE ADVOCATE
Jesus
will appear as their advocate, to plead in their behalf before God. If any man
sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” 1 John
2:1. “For Christ is
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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.” “Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost
that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever lives to make intercession for
them.” Hebrews 9:24;7:25.
As
the books of record are opened in the judgment, the lives of all who have
believed on Jesus come in review before God. Beginning with those who first
lived upon the earth, our Advocate presents the cases of each successive
generation, and closes with the living. Every name is mentioned, every case
closely investigated. Names are accepted, names rejected. When any have sins
remaining upon the books of record, unrepented of and
unforgiven, their names will be blotted out of the book of life, and the record
of their good deeds will be erased from the book of God's remembrance. The Lord
declared to Moses: “Whosoever hath sinned against Me,
him will I blot out of My book.” Exodus 32:33. And says the prophet Ezekiel:
“When the righteous turneth away from his
righteousness, and commits iniquity, . . . all his
righteousness that he bath done shall not be mentioned.” Ezekiel 18:24.
All
who have truly repented of sin, and by faith claimed the blood of Christ as
their atoning sacrifice, have had pardon entered against their names in the
books of heaven; as they have become partakers of the righteousness of Christ,
and their characters are found to be in harmony with the law of God, their sins
will be blotted out, and they themselves will be accounted worthy of eternal
life. The Lord declares, by the prophet Isaiah: 1, even 1, am He that blots out
thy transgressions for Mine own sake, and will not
remember thy sins.” Isaiah 43:25. Said Jesus: “He that overcomes, the same
shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the
book of life, but I will confess his name before My Father, and before His
angels.” “Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before
men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven. But whosoever
shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny be-
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fore My Father which is in heaven.” Revelation 15; Matthew 10:32,
33.
THE
COURTROOM SCENE
The
deepest interest manifested among men in the decisions of earthly tribunals but
faintly represents the interest evinced in the heavenly courts when the names
entered in the book of life come up in review before the judge of all the
earth. The divine Intercessor presents the plea that all who have overcome
through faith in His blood be forgiven their transgressions, that they be
restored to their Eden home, and crowned as joint heirs with Himself
to “the first dominion.” Micah 4:8. Satan in his efforts to deceive and tempt
our race had thought to frustrate the divine plan in man's creation; but Christ
now asks that this plan be carried into effect as if man had never fallen. He
asks for His people not only pardon and justification, full and complete, but a
share in His glory and a seat upon His throne.
While
Jesus is pleading for the subjects of His grace, Satan accuses them before God
as transgressors. The great deceiver has sought to lead them into skepticism,
to cause them to lose confidence in God, to separate themselves
from His love, and to break His law. Now he points to the record of their
lives, to the defects of character, the unlikeness to Christ, which has
dishonored their Redeemer, to all the sins that he has tempted them to commit,
and because of these he claims them as his subjects.
Jesus
does not excuse their sins, but shows their penitence and faith, and, claiming
for them forgiveness, He lifts His wounded hands before the Father and the holy
angels, saying: I know them by name. I have graven them on the palms of My hands. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken
and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.” Psalm 51:17. And to the
accuser of His people He declares: “The Lord rebuke
thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not
this a brand plucked out of the fire?” Zechariah 12, Christ
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will clothe His faithful ones with His own righteousness, that He
may present them to His Father “a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle,
or any such thing.” Ephesians 5:27. Their names stand enrolled in the book of
life, and concerning them it is written: “They shall walk with Me in white: for they are worthy.” Revelation 3:4.
Thus
will be realized the complete fulfillment of the new covenant promise: I will
forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more ... .. In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the
iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins
of Judah, and they shall not be found.” Jeremiah 31:34; 50:20. In that day
shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the
earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. And it
shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remains in
Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even everyone that is written among the living
in Jerusalem,” Isaiah 4:2, 3.
The
work of the investigative judgment and the blotting out of sins is to be
accomplished before the second advent of the Lord. Since the dead are to be
judged out of the things written in the books, it is impossible that the sins
of men should be blotted out until after the judgment at which their cases are
to be investigated. But the apostle Peter distinctly states that the sins of
believers will be blotted out “when the times of refreshing shall come from the
presence of the Lord; and He shall send Jesus Christ.” Acts
3:19, 20. When the investigative judgment closes, Christ will come, and
His reward will be with Him to give to every man as his work shall be.
THE
CLOSING SCENES OF THE ANTITYPICAL SERVICE
In the
typical service the high priest, having made the atonement for Israel, came
forth and blessed the congregation. So Christ, at the close of His work as
mediator, will appear, “without sin unto salvation” (Hebrews 9:28), to bless
His waiting people with eternal life. As the priest, in removing the sins from
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the sanctuary, confessed them upon the head of the scapegoat, so
Christ will place all these sins upon Satan, the originator and instigator of
sin. The scapegoat, bearing the sins of Israel, was sent away “unto a land not
inhabited” (Leviticus 16:22); so Satan, bearing the guilt of all the sins which
he has caused God's people to commit, will be for a thousand years confined to
the earth, which will then be desolate, without inhabitant, and he will at last
suffer the full penalty of sin in the fires that shall destroy all the wicked.
Thus the great plan of redemption will reach its accomplishment in the final
eradication of sin and the deliverance of all who have been willing to renounce
evil.
JUDGED
BY THE UNERRING RECORDS
At
the time appointed for the judgment-the close of the 2300 days, in 1844began
the work of investigation and blotting out of sins. All who have ever taken
upon themselves the name of Christ must pass its searching scrutiny. Both the
living and the dead are to be judged “out of those things which were written in
the books, according to their works.”
Sins
that have not been repented of and forsaken will not be pardoned and blotted
out of the books of record, but will stand to witness against the sinner in the
day of God. He may have committed his evil deeds in the light of day or in the
darkness of night; but they were open and manifest before Him with whom we have
to do. Angels of God witnessed each sin and registered it in the unerring
records. Sin may be concealed, denied, covered up from father, mother, wife,
children, and associates; no one but the guilty actors may cherish the least
suspicion of the wrong; but it is laid bare before the intelligences of heaven.
The darkness of the darkest night, the secrecy of all deceptive arts, is not
sufficient to veil one thought from the knowledge of the Eternal. God has an
exact record of every unjust account and every unfair dealing.
He is not deceived by appearances of piety. He makes no mistakes in His
estimation of character. Men may be deceived by those
who are corrupt in
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heart, but God pierces all disguises and reads the inner life.
How
solemn is the thought! Day after day, passing into eternity, bears its burden of
records for the books of heaven. Words once spoken, deeds once done, can never
be recalled. Angels have registered both the good and the evil. The mightiest
conqueror upon the earth cannot call back the record of even a single day. Our
acts, our words, even our most secret motives, all have their weight in
deciding our destiny for weal or woe. Though they may be forgotten by us, they
will bear their testimony to justify or condemn.
As the features of the countenance are reproduced with unerring
accuracy on the polished plate of the artist, so the character is faithfully
delineated in the books above. Yet how little solicitude is felt concerning
that record which is to meet the gaze of heavenly beings. Could the veil which
separates the visible from the invisible world be swept back, and the children
of men behold an angel recording every word and deed, which they must meet
again in the judgment, how many words that are daily uttered would remain
unspoken, how many deeds would remain undone.
In
the judgment the use made of every talent will be scrutinized. How have we
employed the capital lent us of Heaven? Will the Lord at His coming receive His
own with usury? Have we improved the powers entrusted us, in hand and heart and
brain, to the glory of God and the blessing of the world? How have we used our
time, our pen, our voice, our money, our influence? What have we done for
Christ, in the person of the poor, the afflicted, the orphan, or the widow? God
has made us the depositaries of His holy word; what have we done with the light
and truth given us to make men wise unto salvation? No value is attached to a
mere profession of faith in Christ; only the love which is shown by works is
counted genuine. Yet it is love alone which in the sight of Heaven makes any
act of value. Whatever is done from love, however small it may appear in the
estimation of men, is accepted and rewarded of God.
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The
hidden selfishness of men stands revealed in the books of heaven. There is the
record of unfulfilled duties to their fellow men, of forgetfulness of the
Savior's claims. There they will see how often were given to Satan the time,
thought, and strength that belonged to Christ. Sad is the record which angels
bear to heaven. Intelligent beings, professed followers of Christ, are absorbed
in the acquirement of worldly possessions or the enjoyment of earthly
pleasures. Money, time, and strength are sacrificed for display and
self-indulgence; but few are the moments devoted to prayer, to the searching of
the Scriptures, to humiliation of soul and confession of sin.
Satan
invents unnumbered schemes to occupy our minds, that they may not dwell upon
the very work with which we ought to be best acquainted. The arch deceiver
hates the great truths that bring to view an atoning sacrifice and an
all-powerful mediator. He knows that with him everything depends on his
diverting minds from Jesus and His truth.
PERFECTING
HOLINESS IN THE FEAR OF GOD
Those
who would share the benefits of the Savior's mediation should permit nothing to
interfere with their duty to perfect holiness in the fear of God. The precious
hours, instead of being given to pleasure, to display, or to gain seeking,
should be devoted to an earnest, prayerful study of the word of truth. The
subject of the sanctuary and the investigative judgment should be clearly
understood by the people of God. All need a knowledge
for themselves of the position and work of their great High Priest. Otherwise
it will be impossible for them to exercise the faith which is essential at this
time or to occupy the position which God designs them to fill. Every individual
has a soul to save or to lose. Each has a case pending at the bar of God. Each
must meet the great judge face to face. How important, then, that every mind
contemplate often the solemn scene when the judgment shall sit and the books
shall be opened, when, with Daniel, every individual must stand in his lot, at
the end of the days.
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All
who have received the light upon these subjects are to bear testimony of the great
truths which God has committed to them. The sanctuary in heaven is the very
center of Christ's work in behalf of men. It concerns every soul living upon
the earth. It opens to view the plan of redemption, bringing us down to the
very close of time and revealing the triumphant issue of the contest between
righteousness and sin. It is of the utmost importance that all should
thoroughly investigate these subjects and be able to give an answer to everyone
that asks them a reason of the hope that is in them.
The
intercession of Christ in man's behalf in the sanctuary above is as essential
to the plan of salvation as was His death upon the cross. By His death He began
that work which after His resurrection He ascended to complete in heaven. We
must by faith enter within the veil, “whither the forerunner is for us
entered.” Hebrews 6:20. There the light from the cross of Calvary is reflected.
There we may gain a clearer insight into the mysteries of redemption. The
salvation of man is accomplished at an infinite expense to heaven; the
sacrifice made is equal to the broadest demands of the broken law of God. Jesus
has opened the way to the Father's throne, and through His mediation the
sincere desire of all who come to Him in faith may be presented before God.
“He
that covers his sins shall not prosper: but who confesses and forsakes them
shall have mercy.” Proverbs 28:13. If those who hide and excuse their faults
could see how Satan exults over them, how he taunts Christ and holy angels with
their course, they would make haste to confess their sins and to put them away.
Through defects in the character, Satan works to gain control of the whole
mind, and he knows that if these defects are cherished, he will succeed.
Therefore he is constantly seeking to deceive the followers of Christ with his
fatal sophistry that it is impossible for them to overcome. But Jesus pleads in
their behalf His wounded hands, His bruised body; and He declares to all who
would follow Him: “My grace is sufficient
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for thee.” 2 Corinthians 12:9. “Take My yoke upon you, and learn of
Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall
find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My
burden is light.” Matthew 11:29, 30. Let none, then, regard
their defects as incurable. God will give faith and grace to overcome
them.
NOW
IN THE DAY OF ATONEMENT
We
are now living in the great day of atonement. In the
typical service, while the high priest was making the atonement for Israel, all
were required to afflict their souls by repentance of sin and humiliation
before the Lord, lest they be cut off from among the people. In like manner,
all who would have their names retained in the book of life should now, in the
few remaining days of their probation, afflict their souls before God by sorrow
for sin and true repentance. There must be deep, faithful searching of heart.
The light, frivolous spirit indulged by so many professed Christians must be
put away. There is earnest warfare before all who would subdue the evil
tendencies that strive for the mastery. The work of preparation is an
individual work. We are not saved in groups. The purity and devotion of one
will not offset the want of these qualities in another. Though all nations are
to pass in judgment before God, yet He will examine the case of each individual
with as close and searching scrutiny as if there were not another being upon
the earth. Everyone must be tested and found without spot or wrinkle or any
such thing.
Solemn
are the scenes connected with the closing work of the atonement. Momentous are
the interests involved therein. The judgment is now passing in the sanctuary
above. For many years this work has been in progress. Soon-none know how
soon-it will pass to the cases of the living. In the awful presence of God our
lives are to come up in review. At this time above all others it behooves every
soul to heed the Savior's admonition: “Watch and pray: for ye know not when the
time is.” Mark 13:33. If therefore thou shall not watch, I will come on thee
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as a thief, and thou shall not know what hour I will come upon
thee.” Revelation 13.
When
the work of the investigative judgment closes, the destiny of all will have
been decided for life or death. Probation is ended a short time before the
appearing of the Lord in the clouds of heaven. Christ in the Revelation,
looking forward to that time, declares: “He that is unjust, let him be unjust
still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy
still; and he that is righteous let him be righteous still: and he that is
holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his
work shall be.” Revelation 22:11, 12.
The
righteous and the wicked will still be living upon the earth in their mortal
state-men will be planting and building, eating and drinking, all unconscious
that the final, irrevocable decision has been pronounced in the sanctuary
above. Before the Flood, after Noah entered the ark, God shut him in and shut
the ungodly out; but for seven days the people, knowing not that their doom was
fixed, continued their careless, pleasure loving life and mocked the warnings
of impending judgment. “So,” says the Savior, “shall also the coming of the Son
of man be.” Matthew 24:39. Silently, unnoticed as the midnight thief, will come
the decisive hour which marks the fixing of every man's destiny, the final
withdrawal of mercy's offer to guilty men.
“Watch
ye therefore: . . . lest coming suddenly He find you
sleeping.” Mark 13:35, 36. Perilous is the condition of those who, growing
weary of their watch, turn to the attractions of the world. While the man of
business is absorbed in the pursuit of gain, while the pleasure lover is
seeking indulgence, while the daughter of fashion is arranging her
adornments-it may be in that hour the judge of all the earth will pronounce the
sentence: “Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.” Daniel
5:27.-The Great Controversy, pages 479-491.
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STUDY
QUESTIONS
1.
What takes place at Christ's “coming” described in Daniel 7:13, 14?
2.
Which cases only are considered in the investigative judgment?
3.
Certain names only are recorded in the book of life. Who are they?
4.
How much does the book of remembrance contain?
5.
What other “record” is carefully kept?
6. In
the investigative judgment, what two things happen if there are sins remaining
on the books of record?
7. At what time are forgiven sins blotted out-when they are
forgiven, or at the final judgment? Why?
8.
What guilt will Satan bear? How is this fact illustrated in the Old Testament
sanctuary service?
9.
In addition to actions, what other things are considered in the judgment?
10.
How is any act we commit given value?
11.
Two acts of Christ have equal value in the plan of salvation. What are they?
12.
How does Satan “taunt” Christ and holy angels in the judgment? What does he
claim it is impossible for men to do?
What
is the answer to this claim?
13.
How should we use the remaining days of probation?
Harvestime Books Resource Library
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Part 1: https://omega77.tripod.com/dayofatonementimplications1.htm
Part
2 https://omega77.tripod.com/dayofatonementimplications2.htm