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 Saviour’s change of ministration, and they saw that He was now
officiating before the ark of God, pleading His blood in behalf of sinners."
{CIHS 163.2}
"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 —the law that was spoken by God
Himself amid the thunders of Sinai and written with His own finger on the
tables of stone." {CIHS 164.1}
"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 Saviour’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.” Psalm 119:89; 111:7, 8." {CIHS 165.1}
"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." {CIHS 165.2}
"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 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." {CIHS 166.1}
"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 openeth,
and no man shutteth; and shutteth,
and no man openeth,” had declared: “Behold, I have
set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it.” Revelation 3:7, 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." {CIHS 166.2}
"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 Saviour’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 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, 433-436." {CIHS 167.1}
"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."—The Great
Controversy, 454. {CIHS 168.1}