Doctrine

A Needed Cleansing

by

The literal translation of Daniel 8:14 is: “Unto evenings and mornings, two thousand three hundred, then shall the holy place [or the temple or the sanctuary] be cleansed [or restored to its rightful state, or made right].”

Historically, that is the way Seventh-day Adventists have explained this verse and though true, a deeper study of God’s word reveals even more.

Jesus cleansed the sanctuary twice, once at the beginning of His ministry and again at the close. The Jewish religion demanded perfect animal sacrifices for the forgiveness of sins, and businesses had been established in the temple court to sell animals for this purpose. There was much corruption in the court, and many of the offerings brought by the people were rejected and considered imperfect, forcing the people to buy from the traders. These could only be purchased with “temple shekels,” so moneychangers had set up tables for their trade and became rich due to their unfair transactions. Many of the poor who came to the temple with their offering were unable to purchase another offering when theirs was rejected. Jesus saw the distress of the poor, who thought that without the shedding of blood there would be no forgiveness and they would be lost.

John records that when Jesus entered and saw what was happening, He made a scourge out of cords, turned over the tables and, with the money rolling to the floor, He drove out the merchants with their sheep and oxen, saying to them, “Take these things out of here.” The merchants fled (John 2:15, 16) leaving only the poor and the children.

“With searching glance, Christ takes in the scene before Him as He stands upon the steps of the temple court. With prophetic eye He looks into futurity, and sees not only years, but centuries and ages. He sees how priests and rulers will turn the needy from their right, and forbid that the gospel shall be preached to the poor.” The Desire of Ages, 157.

Peter said, “Through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you.” II Peter 2:3 KJV. Jesus said, “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ” Luke 19:46.

In speaking those things, Jesus quoted from the Old Testament, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.” Isaiah 56:7. Notice it said all people, not just the Jews. “Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of thieves in your eyes?” Jeremiah 7:11.

When Jesus had cleansed the temple of the phonies and profiteers, the poor people came in. In the book, The Desire of Ages, we read that the cleansing of the temple is an illustration of the church.

The Lord said, “Let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.” Exodus 25:8. The sanctuary or temple was not only to be an illustration that God wants to dwell among His people but also what each person was supposed to be. “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For ‘the two,’ He says, ‘shall become one flesh.’ But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” I Corinthians 6:15–19.

Paul says that your body is to be a temple. The same word for body is used for temple or sanctuary; these are interchangeable words. Your body is to be a temple, a sanctuary, for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus came to the temple, He said, “It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all people, but you have made it a den of thieves” (Matthew 21:13).

The Holy Spirit could not work on people while they were in that place, for it was a noisy house of merchandise and Jesus called it a den of thieves. All of the commercialism, the buying and selling, had to be removed in order for it to become a temple again—it had to be cleansed.

Consider here what the apostle Paul is talking about on an individual level. He said, “Your body is to be a member of Christ.” Should I then take what is supposed to be a member of Christ and make it the body of a harlot? Let’s paraphrase it. Can the Holy Spirit dwell within me if I am living in sin?

The first thing that the Holy Spirit does, when coming to a person to address his mind, is convict of sin. The Bible says, “And when He [the Spirit of Truth] has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” John 16:8. This is happening today. The Holy Spirit attempts to do this with every person in the world who has not committed the unpardonable sin. When the Holy Spirit decides that there is nothing more He can do for a person, they are in a very grievous situation, for by rejecting the Holy Spirit they reject the only means available to be convicted of sin and repent. They have then committed the unpardonable sin and are lost.

The devil knows this better than anyone and is busy trying to get your life so busy and noisy that you do not hear the still small voice. He has, it seems, a million ways to do this. Parents often experience talking to their small child when the child doesn’t hear because his mind is occupied with something else. The devil’s plan is to get your mind so occupied with things that may not necessarily be sinful; it could be making a living. He doesn’t care what it is as long as your mind is totally preoccupied so you cannot hear the voice of the Holy Spirit.

Remember, the first thing the Holy Spirit does is convict that person of sin, no matter who they are or of what faith, whether Adventist, Muslim, Buddhist or atheist. The Bible says that the true Light enlightens every man that was born into the world (John 1:9). It is the Holy Spirit that speaks to people convicting them of sin. Even in countries devoid of the knowledge of the true God there is some concept of right and wrong.

If you are willing to give up sin, the Holy Spirit will come into your heart, transform your life, and purify your heart to be His dwelling place. Ellen White talks about the fact that there are people who have never heard the name of Christ in heathen countries who will not perish because they were willing to listen and act on the promptings of the Holy Spirit. “In the depths of heathenism, men who have had no knowledge of the written law of God, who have never even heard the name of Christ, have been kind to His servants, protecting them at the risk of their own lives. Their acts show the working of a divine power. The Holy Spirit has implanted the grace of Christ in the heart of the savage, quickening his sympathies contrary to his nature, contrary to his education. The ‘Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world’ (John 1:9), is shining in his soul; and this light, if heeded, will guide his feet to the kingdom of God.” Ye Shall Receive Power, 157.

Paul said, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.” I Corinthians 3:16–17. When talking about the sanctuary or the temple, the Bible is not just talking about individuals. God’s church is His sanctuary. The word temple means a dwelling place for a deity.

When I was a child, while my parents were missionaries in Burma, which is now called Myamar, it was interesting to visit, as tourists, a Buddhist pagoda. All shoes had to be removed before entering the temple and inside was a huge idol of Buddha. Buddhists reverently knelt down before it and worshiped the statue. The temple was a dwelling place for that deity.

For Christians, a temple of God is where the God of heaven dwells. It was God’s desire that every created being, from the highest angel of heaven down to man, be a temple where His Spirit could reside. But because of sin, man ceased to be a temple for God. The Holy Spirit cannot dwell in any heart that is living in sin. In order for the Spirit to dwell in the heart again, the temple must be cleansed.

The Christian church is a temple, a habitation, a dwelling place for God. “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God [the church], having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” Ephesians 2:19–22.

The building here spoken about is a living building, one that, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple. Ellen White has a long discussion about this in The Acts of the Apostles, 595–600. She talks about this building that has been slowly ascending through the centuries—the Christian church. “Upon the foundation that Christ Himself had laid, the apostles built the church of God.” “Through the ages that have passed since the days of the apostles, the building of God’s temple has never ceased.” Ibid., 595, 598.

Daniel 8:14 says that the temple—the sanctuary—is going to be cleansed, made right, restored to its rightful state. Seventh-day Adventists teach that this began in 1844. There was a cleansing of the church in 1844, and the results were very disturbing. When the midnight cry was given, up to 100,000 people came out from all churches and became Adventists. At that time they did not have a clear understanding of Daniel 8:14, that judgment was to commence, and believed that the cleansing of the sanctuary would be the coming of Christ. God had His hand over their misunderstanding. When that cleansing was over, and because of their great disappointment, there were not very many people left.

Remember, when Jesus was here He cleansed the temple twice, once at the beginning and again at the close of His ministry. That is happening again. There was a cleansing of the temple in 1844 at the beginning of the Day of Judgment, and there is another cleansing of the temple at the end of the Day of Judgment.

So, when will the temple (God’s church) be cleansed? People believe that either the church will be cleansed when Jesus comes or at least right after He comes. That belief opens up the view that we will keep sinning and confessing and sinning and confessing until Jesus comes, after which, in an instant, He will change you into His image and cleanse you. Many Seventh-day Adventists are being taught this today.

However, it does not matter how many people believe something; if it is not in the Bible, you cannot depend on it, and that teaching is not in the Bible. In Revelation 22:11, 12, it says, “He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.” That statement refers to the time before Jesus comes, for the next verse says, “And [connecting the sentence before] behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.” Notice, the cleansing does not happen when Jesus comes, but He comes to give the reward to those who are already cleansed. When Jesus comes, whoever is cleansed is going to stay cleansed and whoever is not cleansed is never going to be cleansed.

Some say that this refers to right at the end of time, but are we not now living at the end of time? Will time go on for another 100 or 200 years, or do you believe that time could close up really quickly? If we are, in fact, living at the end of time, shouldn’t the church be becoming better and better? But if I believe that I am approaching the end of time, should things in my church be getting worse and worse, and then expect Jesus to magically change it at some point? You cannot find that cleansing operation anywhere in the Bible.

Since the late 1950s the Seventh-day Adventist Church has been moving directly contrary to the counsel of the Spirit of Prophecy, but the popular belief is that there is no need to worry because the Lord is going to straighten it all out. Today, 60 years later, the same explanation is given, but how is this to be done?

The Jews taught that their church was to be cleansed and purified before the Messiah could come. That is one of the reasons they could not accept Jesus. The Bible teaches how the church is to be cleansed with an illustration that, at first reading, appears to apply to husbands and wives. Look at Ephesians 5:25–27: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.”

Consider this illustration from the laundry. When your clothes get dirty, you take them to the laundry. Then they are put through the washing machine that is supposed to get the spots out, and the garments come out clean. Once the spots are out, the garments are ironed to remove the wrinkles, then they should be ready to put on again. The same is true with the church. It is God’s sanctuary, and it is to be cleansed to the point that it is holy and without blemish.

Daniel 8:14 says that after two thousand three hundred evenings or mornings or days, the sanctuary is going to be cleansed, restored to its rightful state, made right. For over 150 years Seventh-day Adventists have taught that this cleansing began in 1844.

The cleansing of the sanctuary and the purification of the church are one and the same thing. The sanctuary in heaven cannot be cleansed while the church on earth gets more and more defiled. That is impossible. Revelation 22:11, 12 says that the church on earth will be cleansed and purified by the close of probation, because after that time there can be no more cleansing. At that time it is declared to be either clean or unclean. It is either filthy or not filthy. It is either righteous or unrighteous. God is going to have a church, not just one individual here and there that is holy and without blemish, but a church.

The Jews were trapped into thinking the church would be purified in the future and the Messiah could not come until that happened. The church today could fall for the same deception, and Jesus will come while we are still waiting for the miracle cleansing to take place.

Consider just how much like the Jews we are. “Now as they came down from the mountain [the Mount of Transfiguration], Jesus commanded them, saying, ‘Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.’ And His disciples asked Him, saying, ‘Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?’ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things. But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands.’ ” Matthew 17:9–12.

The Jews had said that Jesus of Nazareth could not possibly be the Messiah. We know that, because of the Old Testament prophecy that says before the Messiah comes, Elijah has to come first (Malachi 4:5). We have sent representatives to ask John the Baptist, and he said that he was not Elijah. They thought they had a watertight proof, and thousands of people rejected the Messiah on the basis of that evidence that was proved to them from the Bible. By the way, the reason John the Baptist told them that he was not Elijah is because the question they asked him was, “Are you the man that dealt with Ahab and Jezebel?” John the Baptist was not the man who had dealt with Ahab and Jezebel, but was he Elijah the prophet? The angel said so to his father, Zechariah: “And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Luke 1:16, 17. Jesus also confirmed it: “For this is he of whom it is written: ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.’ ” Matthew 11:10. What the Jews were looking to happen in the future had already happened. It was in the past.

This is one of the biggest dangers of conservative Seventh-day Adventists. The liberals do not even believe in the cleansing of the sanctuary, but the conservatives do and believe it to be in the future.

Ellen White wrote, “I saw that many were neglecting the preparation so needful and were looking to the time of ‘refreshing’ and the ‘latter rain’ to fit them to stand in the day of the Lord and to live in His sight. Oh, how many I saw in the time of trouble without a shelter! They had neglected the needful preparation; therefore they could not receive the refreshing that all must have to fit them to live in the sight of a holy God. Those who refuse to be hewed by the prophets and fail to purify their souls in obeying the whole truth, and who are willing to believe that their condition is far better than it really is, will come up to the time of the falling of the plagues, and then see that they needed to be hewed and squared for the building. But there will be no time then to do it and no Mediator to plead their cause before the Father.” Early Writings, 71.

Throughout history, God’s people have had a very poor track record of recognizing when prophecy is fulfilled right in front of their eyes. Most did not recognize what was going on when Elijah was here. They did not recognize what was happening when Jeremiah said, if you will do what I tell you to do, the temple will not be destroyed and your city will not be destroyed.

God’s church at the time missed Elijah the prophet when he came. They missed the Messiah when He came. When the Messiah was crucified, even the disciples did not get it. In the book, The Desire of Ages, Ellen White names only two people, Nicodemus and Mary Magdalene, who understood what was happening when it happened. When Mary Magdalene saw Jesus hanging on the cross, she knew He was there because of her sins. Nicodemus understood because Jesus had told him that “the Son of man [would] be lifted up.” John 3:14. As he witnessed the crucifixion it came together in his mind though few others recognized it.

It is easy to understand prophecy when we look into the future and we can recognize when prophecy has been fulfilled in the past, but when prophecy is being fulfilled right in front of our eyes our track record is poor. This leaves us in a dangerous position for there is not going to be a future chance to change course. What the Holy Spirit is trying to tell us is important. The Seventh-day Adventist Church has been given the understanding on the cleansing of the sanctuary, and we are living in the time when it is happening—the sanctuary is being cleansed now, the church is being purified now.

The plan of salvation is not going to go on forever. Jesus said, “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Matthew 24:44. He did not say, “get ready” but “be ready.” Individually we must be cleansed, and God is going to have a group of people, a church that is cleansed, purified and holy without blemish. Whoever is not cleansed will be removed. The angels are the reapers, and before the final judgment they will gather the tares together and bind them into bundles.

We are living at the end of the period of time that is predicted. There is no time to procrastinate. Do not hang on to your darling sins and say, “I’ll do it tomorrow. I’ll wait for the church triumphant.” When the church is triumphant it will be too late. The time to plead for the Holy Spirit to cleanse each heart of all its vileness, unholy thoughts, feelings and actions is now. We cannot make ourselves clean. Jesus is our high priest in the sanctuary in heaven, and He is in the business of cleansing each one who comes to Him with repentance.

(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New King James Version.)

Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church of Free Seventh-day Adventists in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

Second Advent Era of Prophecy

by

The second advent era of prophecies began in about A.D. 1845 and continued to about A.D. 1915. The purpose of this era of prophecy is to prepare the world for the close of probation and the restoration of the kingdom of glory. The spirit of prophecy in the second advent movement places much emphasis on the purification of God’s people and the putting away of sin. It gives a detailed account of the day of atonement process in the most holy place of the sanctuary of the new covenant in heaven and the application of Christ’s blood to atone for the confessed sins of His people.

We have seen how Satan led the Jewish church to misapply the Old Testament prophecies. We have seen the successful attack Satan made against the “daily ministry” of Jesus in the holy place.

In the second advent movement, in our day, Satan is continuing his all-out war against the ministry of Jesus in the most holy place of the sanctuary of the new covenant in heaven.

Revelation 12:17 says, “Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring—those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.”

Today Satan is making his final attack against the sanctuary message. The devil is prowling around “like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” I Peter 5:8. He is destroying the faith of the people in the testimony of Jesus—the spirit of prophecy—as revealed in the life and writings of Ellen G. White, and misconstruing the whole sanctuary message. We know that the remnant —“the woman,” the church—obey the sanctuary message because they obey the commandments of God which are located in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary. They have gone to Jesus, have confessed their sins, and Christ has given them power to obey the truth. Notice what Ellen White said about this warfare in a morning talk at Battle Creek, Michigan, January 29, 1890:

“We want [need] to understand the time in which we live. We do not half understand it. [In 1890 she says the people did not understand 50 percent of the time in which they live.] We do not half take it in. [How much do you understand of the sanctuary message today?] My heart trembles in me when I think of what a foe we have to meet, and how poorly we are prepared to meet him. The trials of the children of Israel, and their attitude just before the first coming of Christ, have been presented before me again and again to illustrate the position of the people of God in their experience before the second coming of Christ.” The Review and Herald, February 18, 1890.

What happened to the Jews at the first coming of Christ? They did not accept Jesus as their Saviour and His ascension to open the holy place of the sanctuary of the new covenant in heaven. We have the same attitude today in the second advent movement as the Jews had during the first advent. They should have understood the work of Jesus in the daily service. We should today understand the work of Jesus in the most holy place of the sanctuary in heaven.

In 1844 the sanctuary message was not understood. But Daniel 8:14 says that it will be restored to its rightful state, and that has been fulfilled.

Daniel 8:14 RSV says, “And he said to him, ‘For two thousand and three hundred evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary shall be restored to its rightful state.’ ” The New American Standard Bible (NASB) says: “And he said to me, ‘For 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the holy place will be properly restored.’ ” This has been completely fulfilled. Many today do not know much about the heavenly sanctuary.

Today we have a complete record of the pioneer’s research on the sanctuary message and what they believed. The Great Controversy has four full chapters on this message:

Chapter 23, pages 409–422, “What is the Sanctuary?” is a record of the development of the pioneer’s understanding of the sanctuary. Chapter 24, pages 423–432, “In the Holy of Holies,” completely explains Christ’s ministry in the judgment. Chapter 25, pages 433–450, “God’s Law Immutable,” outlines the pioneers’ understanding as to what is involved in the sanctuary message. They understood that the Three Angels’ Messages were a warning to the world not to reject the teaching regarding the ministry of Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary. Chapter 28, pages 479–491, “Facing Life’s Record,” presents crucial information regarding our records that are being reviewed in the most holy place during the investigative judgment in our day.

In addition, much more information about the sanctuary is given throughout The Great Controversy. Additional information is found in Patriarchs and Prophets, 343–358; 634–637; The Desire of Ages, 785–801; Acts of the Apostles, 38, 39, 593–602 and Early Writings, 54, 55; 232–236; 237–239; 250–260 which include the first, second and third angels’ messages.

Why should we be in trouble with our understanding of the sanctuary message when all of this information concerning the ministration of Jesus in the sanctuary in heaven is available to us? We are told that Satan is conducting a war against this message. (See Revelation 12:17.) The following is a list of some of the battles he has directed in his effort to destroy these precious truths.

  1. The 1888 General Conference in Minneapolis. This is more tragic in light of the fact that in 1888 the first complete addition of The Great Controversy was published. At that conference, the book was available which contained these four chapters and all of the other information. It was their privilege to make plans to distribute this precious truth to the world at that conference. But this did not happen.
  2. By the turn of the century pantheism was introduced into the second advent movement. Dr. Kellogg began to teach pantheistic concepts to the sanitarium staff. The significance of this is important when you understand that the sanitarium staff had a larger business than the General Conference. It had more people, more employees and more finances than the General Conference itself. The Battle Creek Sanitarium also had a wider sphere of influence. Through Dr. Kellogg’s writings and through students who were trained under him, pantheistic theories spread everywhere. Pantheism teaches that God is in everything. He is in the book, the pew, in nature and in ourselves—all we need to do is to improve the god within us and we will be like God. Thus pantheism obviates the need for an intercessor and makes Christ’s role as high priest pointless. The church was so confused on the sanctuary message that they could not fight the battle, so God took it into His own hand and in 1902 burned down the sanitarium. They could not understand why it burned, so they planned to rebuild it. The officers of the General Conference asked Dr. Kellogg to write a book on medical missionary work to raise funds for a new sanitarium but on one condition. He was not to put anything in there about pantheism. This resulted in the book, The Living Temple.

Ellen White was instructed to tell the leaders not to print that book. Against her counsel, the manuscript was sent to the Review and Herald for publication; they set the type and were ready to run the presses. On December 29, 1902, the Review and Herald Publishing Association burned down. God was fighting the battle Himself to get His church back on the right foundation. Dr. Kellogg was not to be defeated; he went to another publisher in Battle Creek and had the book published himself.

  1. The church had not recovered from this battle when, in 1905, A. F. Ballenger came from England with a whole document on the sanctuary to present to the General Conference. In that document, he asserted that there was no sanctuary in heaven and that the atonement was completed at the cross.

In 1905 Ellen White wrote, “I declare in the name of the Lord that the most dangerous heresies are seeking to find entrance among us as a people, and Elder Ballenger is making spoil of his own soul. … There is not truth in the explanations of Scripture that Elder Ballenger and those associated with him are presenting. The words are right but misapplied to vindicate error.” Manuscript Release No. 760, page 4.

That is exactly what the Jews did in the first advent; that is exactly what the Protestant churches did in the early advent awakening. They accepted error; they misapplied the Scriptures. The article continues,

“God forbids your course of action—making the blessed Scriptures, by grouping them in your way, to testify to build up a falsehood.

“Let us all cling to the established truth of the sanctuary. … The men who have lost their hold on the truths of the sanctuary question … had better pray more and talk less. I testify in the name of the Lord that Elder Ballenger is led by satanic agencies and spiritualistic, invisible leaders.” That was written in 1905. Ellen White died in 1915. Her battle was over, but 15 years later a statement of 22 fundamental beliefs was written in 1931 containing men’s explanations of the Scriptures. It was changed quite a few times, but in 1980, it became an official document of the Seventh-day Adventist church. This document, with the church manual, has become the equivalent of a creed, just like the rest of the Protestant churches have and this statement of beliefs has been changed quite a few times since then.

  1. During this same time Desmond Ford attacked the sanctuary message. He asserted that the atonement was completed at the cross. He basically denied the whole sanctuary message with the same end result as A. F. Ballenger.

However, that was not the end of Satan’s battle against the sanctuary message.

  1. The Evangelical Compromise – Dr. Walter Martin, an Evangelical Christian apologist, published a book in 1955 on cults, in which he indicated his opposition to Adventist teachings in a brief paragraph in the inaugural edition of his book The Rise of the Cults (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1955). Word got to the General Conference that Seventh-day Adventists were being presented to the public as a cult. They did not want that to happen. They wanted to be considered a mainline church. Negotiations were started with Dr. Walter Martin and Dr. Donald Barnhouse on how to state the fundamental beliefs so that the church could be accepted as a mainline church. In his book, Our Evangelical Earthquake (Harvestime Books, Altamont, Tennessee, 2009), Vance Farrell has documented these negotiations and the whole history of that apostasy and fundamental beliefs.

The whole idea of Christ’s blood to atone for sin in the heavenly sanctuary had to be deleted to become a mainline church because of the Evangelicals’ objection to that doctrine and to the first angel’s message.

  1. Spiritual Formation – Today we are in the midst of the worst apostasy yet. Spiritual formation is sweeping the churches. Seventh-day Adventist universities and ministers are being trained and offered degrees in these spiritualistic teachings, which goes directly against the sanctuary message and Christ’s work in the heavenly sanctuary.

We are in a swirl of apostasy today. But we can claim the promise that the sanctuary message will be restored.

“For the past fifty years every phase of heresy has been brought to bear upon us, to becloud our minds regarding the teaching of the Word—especially concerning the ministration of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary, and the message of heaven for these last days as given by the angels of the fourteenth chapter of Revelation. … But the waymarks which have made us what we are, are to be preserved, and they will be preserved as God has signified through His Word and through the testimony of His Spirit.” Ibid., 7.

No matter how bad the apostasy gets, there will be a remnant that will preserve the new covenant and sanctuary messages.

“He calls upon us to hold firmly, with the grip of faith, to the fundamental principles that are based upon unquestionable authority. Manuscript 44, 1905.” Ibid.

“The third angel closes his message thus: ‘Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus’ (Revelation 14:12). As he repeated these words, he pointed to the heavenly sanctuary. The minds of all who embrace this message are directed to the most holy place.” Early Writings, 254.

“The third angel was pointing them to the most holy place, and those who had had an experience in the past messages were pointing them the way to the heavenly sanctuary. Many saw the perfect chain of truth in the angels’ messages, and gladly received them in their order, and followed Jesus by faith into the heavenly sanctuary. These messages were represented to me as an anchor to the people of God. Those who understand and receive them will be kept from being swept away by the many delusions of Satan.” Ibid., 256.

This anchor—this “perfect chain of truth,” the sanctuary message—is the foundation and central pillar of the Christian faith. Cling to this “perfect chain of truth”—lay hold on that anchor.

These truths “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.” The Great Controversy, 423.

“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.” Ibid., 488.

If you do not have a clear understanding of the sanctuary message, begin to study it diligently now, because you cannot be a worker for God in the time of the latter rain without understanding it. It is that critical.

The sanctuary message will be restored and will be the center and focus of the latter rain.

“Only those who have been diligent students of the Scriptures and who have received the love of the truth will be shielded from the powerful delusion that takes the world captive. By the Bible testimony these will detect the deceiver in his disguise. To all the testing time will come.” Ibid., 625. “As the crowning act in the great drama of deception, Satan himself will personate Christ. … Then, in his assumed character of Christ, he claims to have changed the Sabbath to Sunday, and commands all to hallow the day which he has blessed.” Ibid., 624.

This is the great final test. We will not have time to get the message straight after the close of probation. We need to get on the right foundation now while Christ is still our Mediator in the heavenly sanctuary.

This is urgent, because we are told that probation will close sooner for the faithful believers, before the loud cry. Those who stand on the true foundation of the new covenant and its sanctuary are sealed at the beginning of the loud cry when the latter rain—the power and glory of the Holy Spirit—is poured out in full measure on the true people of God.

“The light that was shed upon the waiting ones penetrated everywhere, and those in the churches who had any light, who had not heard and rejected the three messages, obeyed the call and left the fallen churches.” Early Writings, 278.

“The time of God’s destructive judgments is the time of mercy for those who have no opportunity to learn what is truth. Tenderly will the Lord look upon them. His heart of mercy is touched; his hand is still stretched out to save, while the door is closed to those who would not enter. Large numbers will be admitted who in these last days hear the truth for the first time.” The Review and Herald, July 5, 1906.

“While the door is closed to those who would not enter” refers to the foolish virgins that come up to the time of the latter rain and find they are not on the foundation of the sanctuary truth. They do not know what it is about, and they have misconceptions about the sanctuary message.

There is a powerful false sanctuary message today. The difference between the true and the false is simply an understanding of the atonement process during which Christ blots out the sins of His repentant people in the heavenly sanctuary.

The false message talks about Christ’s ministry in the holy place. It may even talk about His ministry in the most holy place and the cleansing of the sanctuary, but it does not talk about the need for confession and separation from sin now. Probation is soon to close and there is little time to get ready. The third angel’s message is all about the new covenant—the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus (Revelation 14:12). We need to give the true third angel’s message that points people to the heavenly sanctuary. If you have not been to the heavenly sanctuary and confessed your own sins, it is impossible to give the third angel’s message. I plead with you today to get on the right foundation with Jesus Christ—the foundation of the new covenant and the sanctuary of the new covenant, Christ’s ministry in the most holy place—and the seven pillars of the faith that rest on this eternal truth. These truths provide an anchor for you, and this anchor will hold during the time of storm soon to break upon us.

The third era of prophecy has been given to help the people in the second advent movement prepare for the time when their name will come up in the judgment, for the close of probation and for eternal life. Each era of prophecy fulfills a specific purpose in the great plan of salvation.

(Emphasis in quoted references has been added. Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New International Version.)

Maurice Hoppe is Director of the Steps to Life training programs and a member of the Steps to Life Board. The Training Program for Ministers and Church Leaders is a correspondence course that prepares individuals to serve as pastors or Bible workers. Preparing for the Final Conflict is a correspondence course for the laity. Both of these courses teach present truth that will be an anchor for the soul during the storm of opposition and persecution just ahead. He and his wife also have a correspondence course offered through Revelation Ministry. He can be contacted at: mauricehoppe@stepstolife.org.

The Sabbath a Sign

by

“Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy.’ ”
Exodus 31:13

“Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” Of what do you first think when you hear these words?

What do these words of the first sentence of the fourth commandment really mean? I would like to begin by considering some important but solemn information from the past. We need to really think about the following questions, not just rehearse the words on auto pilot. God calls us to dig deep, to think and to reason. Did the Jews believe that the true day of worship was on the seventh day of the week? Did they have guidelines as to what the Sabbath was about and how to keep it? Yet, and here is a thought that is staggering to my mind, with this Sabbath doctrine, or truth, and their dedication to this truth, they crucified the Messiah, the Lord and Creator of the Sabbath, and the very central figure of their religious beliefs. Then, in consequence, they were completely and utterly destroyed as a nation. The question is, What happened? What went wrong? How is it they could keep the seventh day Sabbath and yet be utterly lost and destroyed? Does that situation startle and alarm you? It should. It pertains directly to us.

In our quest for an answer let’s first go to the fourth commandment itself. The very first sentence says, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” Exodus 20:8 KJV. I propose to you that here is the very heart of the matter. The very first sentence of the fourth commandment is just that, a command. It says of the Sabbath that we are “to keep it holy.” Understanding and acting upon this command is essential to our salvation. God didn’t just say, “Remember the Sabbath day to go to church,” or “Remember the Sabbath day to catch up on your rest” or “Remember the Sabbath and don’t go to work on that day.” He said, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” Just what does that mean in terms of personal and practical application?

The Desire of Ages, 283 gives a very short, succinct explanation. “In order to keep the Sabbath holy, men must themselves be holy.” We need now to ask ourselves a question in order to rightly comprehend the significance of our situation in relation to God’s command to “keep the Sabbath day holy.” The question is this, Are we holy? Are you holy? Am I holy? Just in case there is any doubt about that, let’s turn to several texts and see what God has to say about that.

Jeremiah 13:23 says, “Can an Ethiopian change his skin or a leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil.” Jeremiah 17:9 KJV adds, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?” These texts and many others decisively answer that question. We are not and cannot be holy of ourselves. It is impossible.

If God commands us to keep the Sabbath day holy (and He does have the right and the authority to do so, does He not?) and we have no hope of being holy, it sounds like He is requiring something of us that we cannot do. But is this our situation, our predicament? No, it is not. God does not require something of us that is not possible for us to do. So how do we reconcile this situation? God requires us to keep the Sabbath holy. In order to keep the Sabbath holy, we must be holy. We are not holy and have no way to make ourselves holy. So what is the solution to this problem in which we find ourselves?

In Exodus 31:13 we read, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy.’ ” Here is our answer. God says, “I am the Lord, who makes you holy.” Isn’t that a wonderful promise? Consider the following beautiful and profound statement: “The Sabbath given to the world as the sign of God as the Creator is also the sign of Him as the Sanctifier. The power that created all things is the power that re-creates the soul in His own likeness.” God’s Amazing Grace, 156.

Do you or I have the power to bring ourselves back to a likeness of the image of God? No. Adam and Eve, after their sin, “were told that their nature had become depraved by sin.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 61. Later in the same book, on page 595, it says, “Sin has marred and well-nigh obliterated the image of God in man.” And The Review and Herald, February 4, 1890, says, “Man cannot possibly meet the demands of the law of God in human strength alone. His offerings, his works, will all be tainted with sin.”

We are not holy. It is impossible for us to make ourselves holy. But God, in His love, in His mercy has provided the solution. Since we have no power or capability whatsoever to change our state of degradation, of having a depraved nature, He created the plan of salvation to rescue us from this dilemma. Patriarchs and Prophets, 595, says it this way: “It was to restore this [the image of God—holiness] that the plan of salvation was devised.”

The Father and His Son devised the great and wonderful plan of salvation on our behalf such that we can have God’s image, His holiness, recreated in our souls. So in order to really keep the Sabbath holy we must understand and implement in our lives the great plan of salvation, the new covenant. It is impossible to obey the fourth commandment without the plan of salvation, or the new covenant. Is it any wonder that under Inspiration these words were spoken, “Those who would share the benefits of the Saviour’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.” The Great Controversy, 488. It is only through the plan of salvation, carried out in the heavenly sanctuary, that we can obey God’s command to keep the Sabbath day holy, because there is no other way that we can become holy.

Let’s review what we have covered so far.

1 God says, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.”

2 In order to keep the Sabbath holy, we must be holy.

3 We are not holy. Our natures are depraved by sin.

4 We cannot meet the demands of the law of God in human strength alone.

5 God has devised a plan whereby our natures can be recreated in His image; whereby we can become holy. It is known as the plan of salvation, the new covenant.

6 As we accept this plan of salvation in our lives, we can now obey God’s command to keep the Sabbath holy.
Let’s go back to our example of the Jews. We left our earlier discussion of the Jews without answering the question, Did they keep the Sabbath day holy?” Let’s look at that now. Remember first, that in order to keep the Sabbath day holy we must ourselves be holy. We just learned that it is through Christ alone and the plan of salvation carried out in the sanctuary of heaven that we can become holy. How do we become holy? We become holy by going to Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary. It is there that we confess our sins and overcome them in the strength of Jesus.

Now, did the Jews as a nation accept this plan and go to Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary? No. Rather than transfer their confession from the “shadow,” that is the ceremonies of the earthly sanctuary, to the true “High Priest” in the “true tabernacle” in heaven, the very next morning after Jesus’ death they resumed their sacrifices in their earthly temple. They continued these useless sacrifices for the next 40 years. By doing this they rejected the One true Sacrifice, the offer of the only One who could make them holy. So did they have the slightest hope of being holy? Not the least. Could they and did they keep the Sabbath holy? No, they could not, and they did not. They rejected and crucified the very One who gave His life to secure for them forgiveness, pardon, and a holy character, and then rejected His ministry on their behalf in the sanctuary in heaven! Therefore, they could not become holy, and since they were not holy, they could not obey God’s command to “keep the Sabbath holy.”

Now, what connection is there between the Jews and what they did and us today? In the book Counsels for the Church, 262, it says, “To us as to Israel the Sabbath is given ‘for a perpetual covenant’ (Exodus 31:16). To those who reverence His holy day the Sabbath is a sign that God recognizes them as His chosen people. It is a pledge that He will fulfill to them His covenant. In other words, He will sanctify us, or make us holy. Every soul who accepts the sign of God’s government places himself under the divine, everlasting covenant [also known as the plan of salvation].”

So if we truly keep the Sabbath holy, it is a sign that we have accepted God’s plan, God’s covenant for the “restoration in the human soul of the image of God.” Education, 371.

It is impossible to keep the Sabbath day holy if we do not connect to the great plan of salvation, the new covenant, made by God the Father and Jesus and which is carried out in the “true tabernacle” (Hebrews 8:2), the sanctuary in heaven. We do not want to repeat the fatal mistake made by the Jews in rejecting the ministration of Jesus, our great High Priest in heaven. This plan of salvation is our only option for obeying God’s command to “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.”

I invite you to make the commitment to “permit nothing to interfere with [your] their duty to perfect holiness in the fear of God” (The Great Controversy, 488), and thereby fulfill the command of God, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” Exodus 20:8.

(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New International Version.)

Brenda Douay is a staff member at Steps to Life. She may be contacted by email at: brendadouay@stepstolife.org.

Just Wait Until We’re Perfect

by

It is my most sincere hope that you, the reader, do not have any excuse for waiting any longer to take the Advent message to the world. Ours is the last message of mercy to a world whose probation is fast closing. I have a bond of sympathy for the people in the world, for I was once one of them. I had nothing and thought I had everything. I was about to die and did not realize I was missing out on heaven. Unfortunately our enemy, the enemy of all truth, is constantly at work, especially among Adventists. An old error, which I call Perfect -ionism, has been stealthily reintroduced into our ranks and it threatens to undo many well-meaning Adventists.

The error is usually presented something like this. “You need to get your home life straightened out first. The home is the first mission field. You ought to sell off your business, take the money and move your family into the wilderness away from all worldly influences so that you can concentrate on you and your family. Then, when all that is in order, you can go to work for the Lord.” I have even heard Adventists claim that you cannot do anything that the Lord can bless until you are perfect.

Praise the Lord that we have Scripture to go to when faced with counsel like this!

Job, whom Inspiration calls perfect, never considered himself anything but a sinful man. He even says that he could never think of himself as perfect. “Though I were perfect, yet would I not know my soul: I would despise my life.” Job 9:21.

Anyone who decides that he or she is now ready to work for the Lord, because he or she has put away all sin, condemns himself or herself, for we can plainly read, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” I John 1:8. Thus in following the theology that we have to be perfect before we can evangelize, we condemn ourselves to either never evangelize or to self-deception.

Sister White has given us very plain counsel regarding how we will see ourselves even after having successfully resisted the mark of the beast. “Soon our eyes were drawn to the east, for a small black cloud had appeared, about half as large as a man’s hand, which we all knew was the sign of the Son of man. We all in solemn silence gazed on the cloud as it drew nearer and became lighter, glorious, and still more glorious, till it was a great white cloud. The bottom appeared like fire; a rainbow was over the cloud, while around it were ten thousand angels, singing a most lovely song; and upon it sat the Son of man. His hair was white and curly and lay on His shoulders; and upon His head were many crowns. His feet had the appearance of fire; in His right hand was a sharp sickle; in His left, a silver trumpet. His eyes were as a flame of fire, which searched His children through and through. Then all faces gathered paleness, and those that God had rejected gathered blackness. Then we all cried out, ‘Who shall be able to stand? Is my robe spotless?’ Then the angels ceased to sing, and there was some time of awful silence, when Jesus spoke: ‘Those who have clean hands and pure hearts shall be able to stand; My grace is sufficient for you.’ At this our faces lighted up, and joy filled every heart. And the angels struck a note higher and sang again, while the cloud drew still nearer the earth.” Early Writings, 15, 16. Even the saints at the second coming do not think of themselves as perfect or sinless.

In the Bible we can easily find multiple cases of Jesus sending out very imperfect disciples to evangelize.

In Luke 9:1–6 we read of the twelve being sent out long before Pentecost. This was even before Calvary. Not only was Peter there who would deny Jesus, but Judas, the betrayer, was there too!

“Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick. And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece. And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart. And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them. And they departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where.” Even Judas and Peter were out there preaching and healing with authority over devils. What a spectacle that must have been to perfect angels! Judas counting his coins and lusting after more and yet preaching the gospel effectively and even casting out demons!

That the twelve must have had marvelous success is shown in Luke 9:14. We read of the size of the crowd that gathered to hear Jesus speak following their evangelization. “For they were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, Make them sit down by fifties in a company.” There were 5000 men, probably another 5000 women, and who knows how many children? 10,000 adults brought in by 12 sinful, self-centered disciples is an average of over 830 adults brought in per evangelist. What Adventist today can claim 830 souls brought in to hear the message? How are you, dear reader, doing? Have you gathered in 830 souls to listen to the truth? If not, do not wait until you think you are perfect, that time will never come until it is all too late to evangelize anyone on this planet!

Jesus must not have thought He made a mistake in sending out the twelve faulty, sinful, position-seeking disciples, for He repeated His action a little later. “After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.” ” And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.” Luke 10:1,17.

The Spirit of Prophecy also speaks plainly of working effectively for the Lord even before you are perfect. Mrs. White calls the Samaritan woman at the well a heathen and yet records that it was her testimony which converted many to Christ.

“The most important discourse that Inspiration has given us, Christ preached to only one listener. As He sat upon the well to rest, for He was weary, a Samaritan woman came to draw water; He saw an opportunity to reach her mind, and through her to reach the minds of the Samaritans, who were in great darkness and error. Although weary, He presented the truths of His spiritual kingdom, which charmed the heathen woman and filled her with admiration for Christ. She went forth publishing the news: ‘Come, see a man which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?’ This woman’s testimony converted many to a belief in Christ. Through her report many came to hear Him for themselves and believed because of His own word.

“However small may be the number of interested listeners, if the heart is reached and the understanding convinced, they can, like the Samaritan woman, carry a report which will raise the interest of hundreds to investigate for themselves.” Testimonies, vol. 3, 217.

Here was this wonderful Samaritan woman, living with a man who was not her husband, charmed by Jesus, that preached the gospel she had heard, bringing a large number to Christ. Jesus did not tell her to go home and get her home life straight before she started bringing others to Him!

If Jesus could use a heathen woman, Peter, and even Judas to spread the gospel—He can also use sinners like you and me. As witness to this, our first open Bible study session held in the Kalispell Public Library, netted two non-Adventist families in attendance who were eagerly looking forward to coming back next week. Jesus is blessing the work of several frail, sinful people. None of us is even thinking that we are perfect or that we will be in the kingdom because of what we have done for Jesus. But we can all be sure that we will be left out of His kingdom if we do nothing. True love for Jesus demands that we spread the word. We believe in stepping fast toward perfection of character but a vital part of this journey is sharing our faith. Only as we become workers in the vineyard can we best overcome evil, grow in grace and not backslide and receive the Holy Spirit.

“Strength to resist evil is best gained by aggressive service.” The Acts of the Apostles, 105.

“The only way to grow in grace is to be interestedly doing the very work Christ has enjoined upon us to do,—interestedly engaged to the very extent of our ability to be helping and blessing those who need the help we can give them. This is the only way we can grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Christians who are constantly growing in earnestness, in zeal, in fervor, in love,—such Christians never backslide. They are becoming more closely identified with the Saviour in all his plans. They are partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. Their wisdom is increasing, their ability how to work. They seem to comprehend the largest plans. They are ready to engage in the most stirring enterprises, and they have no room for slothfulness; they cannot find a place for stagnation.” Review of Herald, June 7, 1887.

“As the knowledge of the truth is received, let it be imparted to those who are in darkness, without God and without hope in the world. In such labor there is a variety of minds to deal with, and God will greatly bless His servants as they look to Him for wisdom. The Holy Spirit will come to all who are begging for the bread of life to give to their neighbors.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 90.

The End

Sanctuary, part 4

by

The next event of that day after the Sanctuary was cleansed, was putting all of the iniquities and transgressions of the children of Israel upon the head of the scapegoat and sending him away into a land not inhabited, or of separation. It is supposed by almost everyone that this goat typified Christ in some of His offices, and that the type was fulfilled at the first Advent. From this opinion, I must differ; because:

  1. The goat was not sent away till after the High Priest had made an end of cleansing the Sanctuary, (see Leviticus 16:20-21); hence, that event cannot meet its antitype after the end of the 2300 days.
  2. It was sent away from Israel into the wilderness, a land not inhabited, to receive them. If our blessed Saviour is its antitype, He also must be sent away, not His body alone, but soul and body: for the goat was sent away alive, not to, nor into this people; neither into heaven, for that is not a wilderness or land not inhabited.
  3. It received and retained all the iniquities of Israel; but when Christ appears the second time, He will be “without sin.”
  4. The goat received the iniquities from the hands of the priest; and he sent it away. As Christ is the Priest, the goat must be something else besides Himself, which He can send away.
  5. This was one of two goats chosen for that day, one was the Lord’s and offered for a sin offering; but the other was not called the Lord’s, neither offered as a sacrifice. Its only office was to receive the iniquities from the priest after he had cleansed the Sanctuary from them, and bear them into a land not inhabited, leaving the Sanctuary, priest, and people behind and free from their iniquities. (See Leviticus 16: 7-10, 22)
  6. The Hebrew name of the scapegoat as will be seen from the margin of verse 9 is “Azazel.” On this verse, William Jenks in his Complete Commentary has the following remarks:” (Scapegoat.) See different opinion in Bochart Spencer, after the oldest opinion of the Hebrews and Christians, thinks Azazel is the name of the devil; and so Rosenmire, whom see. The Syriac has Azazel, the angel, (Stongone) who revolted.”
  7. At the appearing of Christ, as taught from Revelation 20, Satan is to be bound and cast into the bottomless pit, which act and place are significantly symbolized by the ancient High Priest sending the scapegoat into a separate and uninhabited wilderness.
  8. Thus we have the Scripture, the definition of the name into ancient languages both spoken at the same time, and the oldest opinion of the Christians in favor of regarding the scapegoat as a type of Satan. In the common use of the term, men always associate it with something mean, calling the greatest villains and refugees from justice scapegoats. Ignorance of the law and its meaning is the only possible origin that can be assigned for the opinion that the scapegoat was a type of Christ.

Differences Between the Scape Goat and Christ

Because it is said, “The goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities into a land not inhabited.” Leviticus 16:23, and John said, “Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh [margin, beareth] away the sin of the world,” (John 1:29), it is concluded without further thought that the former was the type of the later. But a little attention to the law will show that the sins were borne from the people by the priest, and from the priest by the goat. First, they are imparted to the victim. Second, the priest bore them in its blood to the Sanctuary. Third, after cleansing them from it on the tenth day of the seventh month, he bore them to the scapegoat. And fourth, the goat finally bore them away beyond the camp of Israel to the wilderness.

This was the legal process; and when fulfilled, the author of sins will have received them back again, (but the ungodly will bear their own sins) and his head will have been bruised by the seed of the woman. The “strong man armed” will have been bound by a stronger than he, “and his house [the grave] spoiled of its goods [the saints].” (See Matthew 12:29; Leviticus 11:21,22; Leviticus 16:21,22) The thousand years imprisonment of Satan will have begun, and the saints will have entered upon their millennial reign with Christ.

The Sanctuary must be cleansed before Christ appears because:

  1. He “was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” Hebrews 9:28. Now His last act in bearing the sins of many is to bear them from the Sanctuary after He has cleansed it. As He does not appear till after having borne the sins of many, and then without sin; it is manifest that the Sanctuary must be cleansed before He appears.
  2. The host is still under the indignation after the Sanctuary is cleansed, Daniel 8. Both the Sanctuary and the host were trodden under foot. “Unto 2300 days then shall the Sanctuary be cleansed,” or justified (margin). This is the first point in the explanation, and after this Daniel still “sought for the meaning of the vision.” Gabriel came “to make him know what should be in the last end of the indignation.” In the explanation which follows, he says nothing about the Sanctuary, because that had been explained by the Wonderful Numberer. He now tells him about the host upon whom the last end of the indignation still rests after the Sanctuary is cleansed.

The last end of the indignation is evidently the bitter persecutions, and the severe and searching trial of God’s people, after the Sanctuary is cleansed, and before the indignation is made to cease in the destruction of the little Horn, the fruit and the successor of the Assyrian. (See Daniel 8:25; Isaiah 10:12; 25:3) The Sanctuary must be cleansed before the resurrection; for the Lord has provided a comforting message for His people, telling them that it is done. “Comfort ye, comfort ye My people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her that the warfare [margin, appointed time] is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” Isaiah 40:1,2 (See Isaiah 11:1)

Deliverance of God’s People

Jerusalem and the Lord’s people are here spoken of as the Sanctuary and the host in Daniel 8. His people, when Jerusalem’s appointed time is accomplished, are affected and are to be comforted by telling them that her iniquity is pardoned. This must be New Jerusalem; for there was never any time set for pardoning the iniquity of the Old Jerusalem, which must have had iniquity of some kind and from some source, else she could not be pardoned of it. The fact that the Lord has commanded to comfort His people by telling them that Jerusalem’s iniquity is pardoned, is proof positive that she had iniquity, and that it will be removed before His people are delivered and enter her with songs and everlasting joy. This message is similar to that in Isaiah 52:9. After the good and peaceful tidings have been published, saying unto Zion, thy God reigneth, it is declared, “The Lord has comforted His people, He hath redeemed Jerusalem.” Jerusalem was in a state from which she had to be redeemed, and that before the resurrection; for the next verse says, “All the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.”

The End

Sanctuary, part 3

by

As this legal system, which we have been considering, was only a “shadow,” a “figure” and “patterns” of no value in itself only to teach us the nature of that perfect system of redemption which is its “body,” the “things themselves,” which was devised in the councils of heaven, and is being wrought out by “the only Begotten of the Father;” let us, guided by the Spirit of truth, learn the solemn realities thus shadowed forth. By these patterns, finite as we are, we may, like Paul, extend our research beyond the limits of our natural vision to the “heavenly things themselves.” Here we find the entire ministry of the law fulfilled in Christ, Who was anointed with the Holy Ghost and by His own blood entered His Sanctuary , heaven itself, when He ascended to the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, as “A minister of the Holies,” etc., Hebrews 8:6, 2. Paul, after speaking of the daily services in the Holy and the yearly in the Holy of Holies, says, “The Holy Ghost this signifying that the way of the Holies was not yet made manifest; while as the first tabernacle was yet standing, which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered” etc., “until the time of reformation. But Christ being an High Priest of the good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands,” “by His own blood He entered (on or into) the holy things.” Hebrews 9:8–12

The “things” are “good in themselves,” “holy,” or “heavenly,” and in “heaven itself,” where Christ has entered as our High Priest to “minister” for us; and those “holy things” “in heaven” are connected with the “greater and more perfect tabernacle,” “which the Lord pitched and not man”; the same as the holy things of the first covenant were connected with their tabernacle, Hebrews 9:1–5; and all those holy things together make the Sanctuary. The Holies (two) verse 8, the way of which was not made manifest till the time of reformation when Christ shed His own blood, belong to His “greater and more perfect tabernacle,” spoken of in the next verse. I translate the names literally because they are not literal in our common version. The Douay Bible has them as here given. The blood of Christ is the way or means by which He, as our High Priest was to enter both apartments of the heavenly tabernacle. Now if there be but one place in the heavens, as many say, why were there two in the figure? And why, in applying the figure, does Paul speak of two? Perhaps those who “despise the law” and “corrupt the covenant of Levi” can explain this; if not, we advise them to abide by Paul’s exposition of the matter. [See Hebrews 9:6–15.]

Christ Enters The First Compartment

Hebrews 6:19, 20 is supposed to prove that Christ entered the Holy of Holies at His ascension, because Paul said that He had entered within the veil. But the veil which divides between the Holy and the Holy of Holies is “the second veil,” Hebrews 9:3; hence there are two veils, and that in Hebrews 6, being the first of which he speaks, must be the first veil, which hung before the Holy and in Exodus was called a curtain. When He entered within the veil, He entered His tabernacle, of course the Holy, as that was the first apartment; and our hope, as an anchor of the soul, enters within the veil, i.e., the atonement of both apartments, including both the forgiveness and the blotting out of sins.

Those who hold that Christ entered the Holy of Holies at, and has been ministering therein ever since, His ascension, also believe, as of course they must, that the atonement of the Gospel Dispensation is the antitype of the atonement made on the tenth day of the seventh month under the law. If this is so, the events of the legal tenth day have had their antitypes during the Gospel Dispensation. The first event in the atonement service of that day was the cleansing of the Sanctuary, as we have seen from Leviticus 16. Then, upon their theory, the Sanctuary of the new covenant was cleansed in the early part of the Gospel Dispensation.

Evidence is not wanting that neither the earth nor Palestine, their Sanctuaries, was then cleansed. I call them their Sanctuaries, for they are not the Lord’s. But if the Lord’s new covenant Sanctuary was then cleansed, the 2300 days ended then; but if they are years, which we all believe, they extend 1810 years beyond the 70 weeks, and the last of those weeks was the first of the new covenant or Gospel Dispensation. The fact that those days reach 1810 years beyond the 70 weeks and that the Sanctuary could not be cleansed till the end of those days is demonstration that the antitype of the legal tenth day is not the Gospel Dispensation. Again, if the atonement of that day is typical of the atonement of the Gospel Dispensation, then the atonement made in the Holy, Hebrews 9:6, previous to that day, was finished before the Gospel Dispensation began. It has been shown that that atonement was made for the forgiveness of sins, and I have found no evidence that such an atonement was made on the tenth day of the seventh month. The Gospel Dispensation began with the preaching of Christ; and if it is the antitype of the legal tenth day, one of these two things is true: either the Saviour, instead of fulfilling, has destroyed the greater part of the law, the daily service of the Holy which occupied the whole year except one day, the tenth of the seventh month; or else He fulfilled the whole law except one three hundred and sixtieth part of it before the Gospel Dispensation began and before He was anointed as the Messiah to fulfil the law and the prophets. One of these two conclusions is inevitable on the hypotheses that the Gospel Dispensation and the atonement made in it, is the antitype of the legal tenth day and the atonement made in it. Upon which of these horns will they hang? If on the former, the declaration, “I came not to destroy the law,” pierces them; but if they choose the latter, it then becomes them to prove that the law, which had a shadow of good things to come, was fulfilled within itself, that the shadow and substance filled the same place and time; also they will need to prove that the entire atonement for the forgiveness of sins was made before the Lamb was slain with whose blood the atonement was to be made. Now it must be clear to every one that if the antitype of the yearly service (Hebrews 9:7) began at the first Advent, the antitype of the daily [sacrificial service] (Hebrews 9:6) had been previously fulfilled; and, as the atonement for forgiveness was a part of that daily [sacrificial] service, they are involved in the conclusion that there has been no forgiveness of sins under the Gospel Dispensation. Such a theory is wholly at war with the entire genius of the Gospel Dispensation and stands rebuked, not only by Moses and Paul, but by the teaching and works of our Saviour and His commission to His apostles, by their subsequent teaching, and the history of the Christian church. But again, they say the atonement was made and finished on Calvary when the Lamb of God expired. So men have taught us, and so the churches and world believe; but it is none the more true or sacred on that account if unsupported by Divine authority. Perhaps few or none who hold that opinion have ever tested the foundation on which it rests.

The Foundation Of A False Theory

  1. If the atonement was made on Calvary, by whom was it made? The making of the atonement is the work of a Priest, but who officiated on Calvary? – Roman soldiers and wicked Jews.
  2. The slaying of the victim was not making the atonement: the sinner slew the victim, Leviticus 4:1–4, 13–15, etc.; after that the priest took the blood and made the atonement. (See Leviticus 4:5–12, 16–21.)
  3. Christ was the appointed High Priest to make the atonement, and He certainly could not have acted in that capacity till after His resurrection. We have no record of His doing any thing on earth after His resurrection, which could be called the atonement.
  4. The atonement was made in the Sanctuary, but Calvary was not such a place.
  5. He could not, according to Hebrews 8:4, make the atonement while on earth. “If He were on earth, He should not be a Priest.” The Levitical was the earthly priesthood, the Divine, the heavenly.
  6. Therefore, He did not begin the work of making the atonement, whatever the nature of that work may be, till after His ascension, when by His own blood He entered His heavenly Sanctuary for us.

Let us now examine a few texts that appear to speak of the atonement as passed. Romans 5:11: “By Whom we have now received the atonement,” (margin, reconciliation). This passage clearly shows a present possession of the atonement at that time the apostle wrote, but it by no means proves that the entire atonement was then in the past.

When the Saviour was about to be taken up from His apostles, He “commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father,” which came on the day of Pentecost when they were all “baptized with the Holy Ghost.” Christ had entered His Father’s house, the Sanctuary, as High Priest, and began His intercession for His people by “praying the Father” for “another Comforter,” John 14:15. “And having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost,” Acts 2:33, He shed it down upon His waiting apostles. Then, in compliance with their commission, Peter, at the third hour of the day began to preach, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins,” Acts 2:38. This word remission, signifies forgiveness, pardon or more literally, sending away of sins.

Now put by the side of this text another on this point from his discourse at the ninth hour of the same day, Acts 3:19, “Repent ye therefore; and be converted that your sins may be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.” Here he exhorts to repentance and conversion (turning away from sins); for what purpose? “That your sins may be (future) blotted out.” Every one can see that the blotting out of sins does not take place at repentance and conversion, but follows, and must of necessity be preceded by them. Repentance, conversion, and baptism had then become imperative duties in the present tense; and when performed, those doing them “washed away,” Acts 22:16, remitted, or sent away from them their sins, (see Acts 2:28); and of course are forgiven and have “received the atonement”; but they had not received it entire at that time because their sins were not yet blotted out.

The Process Of The Atonement

How far then had they advanced in the reconciling process? Just so far as the individual under the law had when he had confessed his sin, brought his victim to the door of the tabernacle, laid his hand upon it, slew it, and the priest had with its blood entered the Holy and sprinkled it before the veil and upon the altar and thus made an atonement for him, and he was forgiven. Only that was the type, and this the reality. That prepared for the cleansing of the great day of atonement, this for the blotting out of sins “when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord, and He shall send Jesus.” Acts 3:19. Hence, “by Whom we have now received the atonement” is the same as “by whom we have received forgiveness of sin.” At this point the man is “made free from sin.” The Lamb on Calvary’s cross is our victim slain; “Jesus the Mediator of the new Covenant” “in the heavens” is our interceding High Priest, making atonement with His own blood, by and with which He entered there. The essence of the process is the same as in the “shadow.” First, convinced of sin; second, repentance and confession; third, present the divine sacrifice bleeding. This done in faith and sincerity, we can do no more; no more is required.

Then in the heavenly Sanctuary, our High Priest with his own blood makes the atonement and we are forgiven. 1 Peter 2:24: “Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree.” (See also Matthew 8:17; Isaiah 53:4–12.) His body is the “one sacrifice” for repenting mortals to which their sins are imputed and through whose blood in the hands of an active Priest they are conveyed to the heavenly Sanctuary. That was offered “once for all,” “on the tree;” and all who would avail themselves of its merits must through faith, there receive it as theirs, bleeding at the hands of sinful mortals like themselves. After thus obtaining the atonement of forgiveness we must “maintain good works,” not the “deeds of the law;” but “being dead to sin should live unto righteousness.” This work we all understand to be peculiar to the Gospel Dispensation.

An inferential objection arises, which in many minds overwhelms any amount of Bible argument on this point. It is, New Jerusalem cannot be defiled, hence needs no cleansing; therefore, New Jerusalem is not the Sanctuary. A very summary process of inferential deduction truly, especially for those who have said so much on the insufficiency of mere inferential testimony. We would advise them to review the grounds of their faith and see how many and strong arguments they have for the earth or Palestine being the Sanctuary and how many objections to the Sanctuary of the new covenant being where its Priest is, that are not entirely inferential; and then in place of their inferences, take the plain testimony of the Word and teach it. But how was the Sanctuary defiled?

The Earthly Sanctuary Had To Be Cleansed

The Sanctuary of the Old Testament, being on earth, could be, and was, defiled in various ways—by an unclean person entering it. “She shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the Sanctuary, until the days of her purifying be fulfilled.” Leviticus 12:4. It could be profaned by the high priest going out of it while the anointing oil was upon him for the dead (see Leviticus 21:12) and by a man’s negotiating to purify himself. (See Numbers 17:20; 19:20.) All of the chief of the priests and of the people polluted it by transgressing very much after all the abominations of the heathen. (See 2 Chronicles 36:14.) “Surely, because thou hast defiled My Sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations (idolatry), therefore will I diminish thee.” Ezekiel 5:11

“Moreover this they have done unto Me; they have defiled My Sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned My Sabbaths: for when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into My Sanctuary to profane it.” Ezekiel 23:38, 39. “Her priests have polluted the Sanctuary; they have done violence to the law.” Zephaniah 3:4. Antiochus polluted it by offering swine flesh upon its altar. (See 1 Maccabees 1:20–24.) From these texts we can clearly see that it was moral rather than physical uncleanness that defiled the Sanctuary in the sight of the Lord. True, it did become physically unclean, but that uncleanness had to be removed before the atonement was made by which it was reconciled or cleansed. (See 2 Chronicles 29.) And that, we have seen, was the law of cleansing, Leviticus, chapters 12 to 15; the object must be made visibly clean, so to speak, so that we would call it clean, to prepare it for its real cleansing with blood. Now no one supposes that New Jerusalem is unclean or ever has been, as its type was when overrun, desecrated, and desolated by Syrian, Chaldean, or Roman soldiery, or trode by wicked priests. Even if it were, the removing of such defilement would not be the cleansing it was to undergo at the end of the 2300 days. The Sanctuary was unclean in some sense, or else it would not need to be cleansed; and it must in some way have received its uncleanness from man. Removed, as the heavenly Sanctuary is from the midst of mortals and entered only by our Forerunner, Jesus, made an High Priest, it can only be defiled by mortals through His agency, and for them cleansed by the same agency. The legal typical process of defiling and cleansing the Sanctuary through the agency of the priest has been examined. With that in our minds, let us go to the New Testament. Paul says, Colossians 1:19, 20: “For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell, and having made (margin, making) peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him I say, whether they be things on earth or things in heaven.” When “things on earth” are spoken of in connection or contrast with “things in heaven,” no one can understand them all to be in the same place. “Things in heaven” are to be reconciled as well as “things on earth.”

The Heavenly Sanctuary Cleansed

If they needed reconciling, they were unreconciled; if unreconciled, then unclean in some sense in His sight. The blood of Christ is the means, and Christ Himself the agent of reconciling to the Father both the things in heaven and the things on earth. People have an idea that in heaven, where our Saviour has gone, everything is and always was perfect beyond change or improvement. But He said, “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” John 14:2. He went into heaven, and Paul says that the “building of God, an house not made with hands” is in the heavens. 2 Corinthians 5:1

For what did He go to His Father’s house? “To prepare a place for you.” Then it was unprepared; and when He has prepared it, He will come again and take us to Himself. Again, Hebrews 9:23: “It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.” What were the patterns? “The tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry,” verse 21, which constituted the worldly Sanctuary, verse 1. What were the heavenly things themselves? The greater and more perfect tabernacle (see verse 11), and the good things and the holy things (see verses 11, 12). These are all in heaven itself. “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself.” Verse 24. Paul here shows that it was as necessary to purify the heavenly things as it was to purify their patterns, the worldly.

The End

Christian Patriotism, part 2

by

Lo, the people shall dwell alone and not be reckoned among the nations, He plainly declared His will that His church should be forever separated from the nations of this earth. But, contrary to His expressed will, and against His solemn protest, Israel set up a kingdom that they might be “like all the nations.” God wanted not only Israel, but that all people on the earth, should know that He is better than all other gods, that He is a better King than all other kings, that He is a better Ruler than all other rulers, that He is a better Lawgiver than all other lawgivers, that His law is better than all other laws, and that His government is better than all other governments. (See Deuteronomy 4:5, 6.)

But Israel would not have it so. Israel would be like all the nations. And so it has been, from that day to this. God has never been allowed by His professed people to reveal Himself to the world as He really is.

“Like all the nations.” The Israelites did not realize that to be in this respect unlike other nations was a special privilege and blessing. God had separated the Israelites from every other people, to make them His own peculiar treasure. But they, disregarding this high honor, eagerly desired to imitate the example of the heathen! And still the longing to conform to worldly practices and customs exists among the professed people of God. As they depart from the Lord they become ambitious for the gains and honors of the world. Christians are constantly seeking to imitate the practices of those who worship the god of this world. Many urge that by uniting with worldlings and conforming to their customs they might exert a stronger influence over the ungodly. But all who pursue this course thereby separate from the Source of their strength. Becoming the friends of the world, they are the enemies of God. For the sake of earthly distinction they sacrifice the unspeakable honor to which God has called them, of showing forth the praises of Him who hath called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. 1 Peter 2:9

With idolaters, religion always has been, and still is, a part of the government. In heathen systems, religion and the governments are always united; while in the true system, the genuine Christian system, they are always separate. And this was the lesson which God taught to Nebuchadnezzar. (See Daniel 3.) In a way in which it was impossible not to understand, the Lord showed to that king that he had nothing whatever to do with the religion, nor with the directing of the worship, of the people. The Lord had brought all nations into subjection to King Nebuchadnezzar as to their bodily service; but now, by an unmistakable evidence, this same Lord showed to King Nebuchadnezzar that He had given him no power nor jurisdiction whatever in their souls’ service. In things between men and God, the king was plainly and forcibly given to understand that he had nothing whatever to do. To the rulers of the Medo-Persian empire, God taught the separation of religion and the state—that with man’s relationship to God, rulers and state can have nothing whatever to do. (See Daniel 6.)

That is divine testimony, published to all the world, that innocence before God is found in the man who disregards any human law that interferes with his service to God. It is also divine testimony that the man who disregards such laws, in so doing does “no hurt” to the king, to the State, nor to society. The lessons in the book of Daniel teach to all people that no religious or ecclesiastical institution or rite has any right to any place in the law. And that when, against right, it is put into the law, it gains no force whatever from that, and is to receive no respect nor recognition whatever.

Our Duty to God and the State

Jesus Christ came to reveal to men the kingdom of God. Of it He said: “My kingdom is not of this world.” John 18:36. Christ says in another place, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s.” Matt. 22:21. In that time, the head of the Roman Empire was Caesar. He was set before the people as God; the people were required to worship him as God; that system was essentially a union of religion and the State. In view of this, when Jesus said, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s.” He denied to Caesar, and so to the State, every attribute, or even claim, of divinity. He showed that another than Caesar is God. Thus He entirely separated Caesar and God. He entirely separated between the things which are due to Caesar and those which are due to God. The things that are due to Caesar are not to be rendered to God. The things due to God are not to be rendered to Caesar. These are two distinct realms, two distinct personages, and two distinct fields of duty. Therefore, in these words Jesus taught as plainly as it is possible to do, the complete separation of religion and the State; that no State can ever rightly require anything that is due to God; and that when it is required by the State, it is not to be rendered.

The government under which Jesus lived was corrupt and oppressive; on every hand were crying abuses—extortion, intolerance, and grinding cruelty. Yet the Saviour attempted no civil reforms. He attacked no national abuses, nor condemned the national enemies. He did not interfere with the authority or administration of those in power. He who was our example kept aloof from earthly governments. Not because He was indifferent to the woes of men, but because the remedy did not lie in merely human and external measures. To be efficient, the cure must reach men individually, and must regenerate the heart.

Not by the decisions of courts or councils or legislative assemblies, not by the patronage of worldly great men, is the kingdom of Christ established, but by the implanting of Christ’s nature in humanity through the work of the Holy Spirit. “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name; which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:12, 13. Here is the only power that can work the uplifting of mankind. And the human agency for the accomplishment of this work is the teaching and practicing of the word of God. (See Desire of Ages, 509.)

The conduct of Christ, the Example, was totally separate in all things from politics and the affairs of the State. Christianity, therefore, is the total separation of the believer in Christ from politics and all the affairs of the State, the total separation of religion and the State in the individual believer in Christ.

Our Relationship to the State

In Romans 13 and 14 is one of the strongest of the many strong treatises that there are in the Bible upon the total separation of religion and the State—the separation between that which is due to God and that which is due to Caesar. After recognition of the right of the State to be and require subjection and tribute, Paul marked the sphere of men’s relation to the state: “Owe no man anything, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love they neighbor as thyself.” Romans 13:8–10. Now everybody knows, and Paul knew as well as anybody ever knew, that there are other commandments of the very law from which he quoted these. Why did he leave these entirely out (the first four commandments) and say “if there be any other commandment it is briefly comprehended in this saying namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself?” Why—the simple reason that he was writing of men’s relationship and responsibility to the powers that be, to the State; and he was laying down the principle that when men have recognized the right of the State to be, have paid the required tribute, and have fulfilled all obligations to their neighbors, there is nothing more for them to render to the State; there is no other commandment in that sphere, and therefore no other duty to be performed toward the powers that be.

Thus the Scripture distinctly sets the limit of the jurisdiction or the requirements of the State, at recognition of right to be, tribute, and the relationship of man to man in working no ill to his neighbor. Beyond this the State has no right to go.

State Not To Control Which Day We Worship On

But the Word of the Lord does not stop here; it positively prohibits the powers that be from touching the relationship or obligation of men to God. “One man esteemeth one day above another; another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day to the Lord he doth not regard it.” Romans 14:5, 6. The matter of the observance of a day, the duty to esteem one day above another, is not comprehended in that part of the law which relates to neighbors; nor is it comprised in the duties designated as marking the sphere of the powers that be. It is in that part of the law which, by the words “if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,” is definitely excluded from all cognizance of the powers that be.

The observance of a day, the duty to esteem one day above another, is due solely to God. For “he that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord,” Romans 14:6, not to men. It is comprehended in that part of the law which details man’s relationship to God alone, and concerning which to God alone every one is to give account himself. (See Romans 14:12.) Therefore, the powers that be, all men, and all combinations of men, are definitely commanded by the Lord to let every man alone in the matter of the observance of a day. On that subject all are commanded to “let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.” And this, because it is an obligation due solely to God, and “every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” Ibid.

How different are the ways of professed Christians today from the Christianity of the New Testament! The vast mass of professed Christians today, in hunting for another commandment in the sphere of the powers that be, would inevitably write it thus: If there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt do no work on the first day of the week, commonly called Sunday.

But the Christianity of the New Testament, in defining the sphere of the powers that be, says, “If there by any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself;” and then, as to the observance of a day, commands the powers that be, and all men, and all combinations of men: “Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. . . .every one of us shall give account of himself to God . . . Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant?”

The day to be esteemed above others is the Sabbath of the Lord. “Render therefore . . . unto God the things that are God’s.” Matthew 22:21. And any man who does not esteem that day above others, who does not regard it unto the Lord, but esteems every day alike, is responsible to God alone and must render account of it himself to God, and not to man. While the thing that he does is wrong, it is a kind of wrong for which he is responsible to God, and not to the powers that be.

All this also conclusively shows that any movement on the part of the powers that be, or of men or combinations of men through the powers that be, to require the observance of a day or to cause men to esteem one day above another is a plain joining together of what is God’s and what is Caesar’s, is a positive union of religion and the State.

The End

Sanctuary, part 2

by

The priesthood of the worldly Sanctuary of the first covenant belonged to the sons of Levi; but that of the heavenly, of the better covenant, to the Son of God. He fulfills both the priesthood of Melchisedec and Aaron. In some respects, the priesthood of Christ resembles that of Melchisedec, and in others that of Aaron or Levi. 1.) He was “made an High Priest forever, after the order of Melchisedec.” Taxis, rendered order, properly signifies “series, succession.” Christ, like Melchisedec, had no priestly descent of pedigree; (See Hebrews 7:3 [margin] i.e.) he never followed nor will have a successor in office; and “because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable Priesthood,” (which passeth not from one to another; margin.) Verse 24. The priesthood of Levi to be continuous had many and a succession of priests, “because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death.” Verse 23. 2.) Being after the order of Melchisedec, He is superior to the sons of Levi because he blessed and received tithes from them in Abraham. Verses 1, 7, 9, 10. 3.) He is King and Priest; a King by birth, being from the tribe of Judah, and a Priest by the oath of His Father. Verses 14, 21. 4.) Being Himself perfect, and His priesthood unending, He is able to “perfect forever” and “save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Verse 25. He was not called after the order of Aaron, i.e. not in his succession but this does not at all prove that the priesthood of Aaron was not typical of the priesthood of Christ. Paul distinctly shows that it is.

1.) After calling upon us to “consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession (religion), Christ Jesus,” he lays the foundation of the investigation by drawing the analogy between Moses over his house (olkos, people) and Christ over His (Hebrews 3:1-6), and says: “Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after.” This clearly shows that the Mosaic economy was typical of the divine. 2.) He shows that He was called of God to be an High Priest “as was Aaron,” Hebrews 5:1-5. 3.) Like Aaron and his sons, He took upon Him flesh and blood, the seed of Abraham, “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin,” was made “perfect through suffering,” and “in all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren; that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.” Hebrews 2:4. 4.) Both were ordained for men in things pertaining to God: that (they might) offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.” Hebrews 5:1, 8:3

Typical of Christ’s Ministry

5.) Paul evidently considered the Levitical priesthood typical of Christ’s from the pains he takes to explain the analogies and contrasts between them. 6.) “And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death, but this Man, because He continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.” 7.) “Who needeth not daily, as those high priests to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins, and then for the people’s for this He did once when He offered up Himself.” 8.) “For the law maketh men high priests which have infimity; but the word of the oath which was since the law, maketh the Son who is consecrated (perfected, margin) for evermore.” Hebrews 7:23-28. 9.) “But now hath He obtained a more excellent ministry” than theirs. Hebrews 8:6 10.) “By how much also He is the Mediator of a better covenant” than theirs; Hebrews 8:6. 11.) “But Christ being come an High Priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle” than theirs. Hebrews 9:11. 12.) “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood, He entered in once into the holy place.” Verse 12. 13.) “For if the blood of bulls and of goats and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh; how much more shall the blood of Christ, Who, through the eternal spirit offered Himself without spot to God purge your conscience.” Verses 13, 14. 14.) “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself. Verse 24. 15.) “Nor yet that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;” but now once in the end of the world hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.” Verses 25, 26. 16.) “And as it is appointed unto [the] men [priests] once to die, but after this the judgment: so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” Verses 27, 28

17.) “For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually, make the corners thereunto perfect;” but “by one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.” Hebrews 10:14. 18.) “It is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins,” “but a body hast Thou prepared Me.” Verses 4, 5. These are a part of the contrasts or comparisons the apostle draws between the Levitical priesthood and Christ’s, and there is a resemblance in every instance; but Christ’s is superior to Levi’s.—I add one more. Hebrews 8:4, 5. “For if He were on earth He should not be a priest, seeing that there (many, they) are priests that offer gifts according to the law: who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things.”

The Substance and its Shadow

The features of the substance always bear a resemblance to those of the shadow, hence the “heavenly things” referred to in this text must be priestly service “in the heavens” (see verses 1, 2) performed by our High Priest in His Sanctuary; for if the shadow is service, the substance is service also.

As the priests of the law served unto the example and shadow of the heavenly service, we can from their service learn something of the nature of the heavenly service. “Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle; for, See saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount.”

None can deny that, in obedience to this admonition, Moses made or instituted the Levitical priesthood; it was then “according to the pattern” which the Lord showed him, and that pattern was of heavenly things. (See Hebrews 9:23.) If there was not another text to prove that the Levitical priesthood was typical of the Divine, this would abundantly do it. Yet some are even denying this obvious import of the priesthood; but if this is not its import, I can see no meaning in it. It is an idle round of ceremonies without sense or use, as it did not perfect those for whom it was performed; but looked upon as typical of the heavenly, it is replete with the most important instruction. As this is the application made of it by the New Testament, so we must regard it, while we examine the atonement made under the Levitical priesthood.

“Now when these things [the worldly Sanctuary with its two apartments and the furniture in each] were thus ordained, the priests went always [daily, Hebrews 7:27; 10:11] into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God.

“But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people.” Hebrews 9:6, 7

Daily and Yearly Services

Here Paul divides the services of the Levitical priesthood into two classes—one daily in the Holy and the other yearly in the Holy of Holies.

Their stated daily services, performed in the Holy and at the brazen altar in the court before the tabernacle, consisted of a burnt offering of two lambs, one in the morning and the other at even, with a meat offering which was one tenth of an ephah of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil; and a drink offering which was one-fourth of an hin of strong wine. The meat-offering was burnt with the lamb, and the drink offering was poured in the Holy. (See Exodus 29:38-42; Numbers 28:3-8.) In connection with this, they burned on the golden altar in the Holy, sweet incense, which was a very rich perfume, when they dressed and lighted the lamps every evening and morning. (See Exodus 30:34-38; 31:11; 30:7-9.) The same was afterwards done at the Temple. 1 Chronicles 16:37-40; 2 Chronicles 2:4; 13:3, 4-12; 31:3; Ezra 3:3.)

This did not atone for sins either individually or collectively. The daily service described was a sort of continual intercession, but the making of atonement was a special work for which special directions are given. Different words are used both in the Old Testament and New to express the same idea as Atonement.

Examples—From the following texts we learn that the words atone, cleanse, reconcile, purify, purge, pardon, sanctify, hallow, forgive, justify, redeem, blot out, and some others, are used to signify the same work, viz., bringing into favor with God; and in all cases, blood is the means, and sometimes blood and water. Exodus 29:36: “Thou shalt cleanse the altar when thou hast made an atonement for it.”—Leviticus 12:8: “The priest shall make an atonement for her and she shall be clean.” Leviticus 14:2: “This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing.” Verse 21: “The priest shall make an atonement for him and he shall be clean.” Leviticus 14:2: The atonement could not be made for him till after he was healed of the leprosy, (see Leviticus 13:45, 46.) Till he was healed, he had to dwell alone without the camp. Then, Leviticus 14:3, 4. “The priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look, and behold if the plague of the leprosy be healed in the leper; then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean,” etc. The law was the same in cleansing a house form the leprosy. (See verses 33-57.) The stones affected with the plague were removed and the house “scraped within round about” and then repaired with new material.

Physical uncleanness is now all removed and we would call it clean, but not so; it is only just prepared to be cleansed according to the law. Verse 48: “And he shall take to cleanse the house two birds” etc. Verse 48: “And he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird” etc. Verses 52, 53: “And make an atonement for the house, and it shall be clean.” Leviticus 16:18, 19: “And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.” Leviticus 8:15: “And Moses took the blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about with his fingers and purified the altar round about with his fingers and purified the altar, and poured the blood at the bottom of the altar, and sanctified it, to make reconciliation upon it.” 2 Chronicles 29:29. 2 Chronicles 29:24: “And they made reconciliation with their blood upon the altar, to make an atonement for all Israel,” Jeremiah 33:8: “I will cleanse them from all their iniquities…and I will pardon all their iniquities.” Romans 5:9-11: “Being now justified by His blood….by Whom we have now received the atonement.” 2 Corinthians 5:17-19: “Who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 2:16: “And that he might reconcile both unto God.” Hebrews 9:13, 14: “The blood of bulls sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh; but the blood of Christ shall purge our conscience from dead works.” He is the Mediator for the “redemption of the transgressions,” and to “perfect forever them that are sanctified,” Hebrews 10:14. Ephesians 1:7: “In Whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our sins.” Acts 3:19: “Be converted that your sins may be blotted out.”

The atonement is the great idea of the Law, as well as the Gospel; and as the design of that of was to teach us that of the Gospel, it is very important to be understood. The atonement which the priest made for the people in connection with their daily ministration was different from that made on the tenth day of the seventh month. In making the former, they went no further than into the Holy; but to make the latter, they entered the Holy of Holies—the former was made for individual cases, the latter for the whole nation of Israel collectively—the former was made for the forgiveness of sins, the latter for blotting them out—the former could be made at any time, the latter only on the tenth day of the seventh month. Hence, the former may be called the daily atonement, and the latter the yearly; or the former the individual, and the latter the national atonement.

Individual Atonement

The individual atonement for the forgiveness of sins was made for a single person, or for the whole congregation in case they were collectively guilty of some sin. The first chapter of Leviticus gives directions for the burnt offering, the second for the meat offering, the third for the peace offering, and the fourth for the sin offering, which, as its name implies, was an offering for sins, in which he who offered it attained forgiveness of his sins. The trespass offering, Leviticus 5; 6:1-7, was similar to the sin-offering. “If a soul sin through ignorance,” Leviticus 4:2, “when he knoweth of it, then shall he be guilty,” Leviticus 5:3. “And it shall be when he shall be guilty in any of these things, that he shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing.” Verse 5

From Numbers 5:6-8, it appears that confession and restitution are necessary in all cases before the atonement could be made for the individual. “When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass against the Lord, and that person be guilty; then they shall recompense his trespass with the principle thereof, and add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him against whom he hath trespassed.”

Then he or the elders (if it was for the congregation) brought the victim for the sin or trespass offering to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation on the north side of the altar of burnt offering in the court (see Leviticus 4:24; 1:11; 17:1-7); there he (or the elders) laid his hand on its head and killed it. (See Leviticus 4:2-4, 13-15, 22-24, 27-29.) Then, the victim being presented and slain, the priest that was anointed took some of the blood into the Holy, and with his finger sprinkled it before the veil of the Sanctuary and put some of it upon the horns of the altar of incense, then poured the remainder of the blood at the bottom of the altar. Thus he made an atonement for the individual, and his sin was forgiven. (See Leviticus 4:5-10, 16-20, 25, 26, 30-35.) The carcasses of the sin offering were taken without the camp and burned “in a clean place.” Leviticus 4:11, 12, 21

It should be distinctly remembered that the priest did not begin his duties till he obtained the blood of the victim, they were all performed in the court (the enclosure of the Sanctuary), and the atonement thus made was only for the forgiveness of sins. These points are expressly taught in this chapter and the following one on the trespass offering. Here is an atonement, to make which, the priests only entered the Holy; and to make it they could enter that apartment “always” or “daily.” “But into the second [the Holy of Holies] went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people [laos, nation].” Hebrews 9:7. This defines the yearly to be.

National Atonement

The Lord “speaks particularly” of the national Atonement in Leviticus 16: “And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron, thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the veil, before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat:” Verse 2. For what purpose and when could he enter it? “To make an atonement for the children of Israel [the whole nation] for all their sins once a year” “on the tenth day of the seventh month.” Verses 34, 29. This was the most important day of the year. The whole nation, having had their sins previously forgiven by the atonement made in the Holy, now assemble about their Sanctuary, while the High Priest, attired in his holy garments for glory and beauty (see Exodus 28:4) having the golden bells on the hem of his robe that his sound may be heard when he goeth in before the Lord, the breast plate of judgment on his heart, with their names therein that he may bear their judgment, also in it the Urim and Thummim (light and perfection), and the plate of pure gold, the holy crown, (see Leviticus 8:9: Exodus 28:36), with “Holiness to the Lord” engraved upon it, placed upon the forefront of his miter that he may bear the iniquities of the holy things, enters the Holy of Holies to make an atonement to cleanse them that they may be clean from all their sins before the Lord.” Verse 30. The victims for the atonement of this day were, for the priest himself, a young bullock for a sin offering (see verse 3), and for the people, two goats; one for a sin offering and the other for the scapegoat, and a ram for a burnt offering. (See verses 5-8. He killed or caused to be killed the bullock for a sin offering for himself. (See Verse 11.) “And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the Lord, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bringing it within the veil; and he shall put the incense upon the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not; and he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy sea eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times,” Verses 12-14. So much, in preparation to make an atonement for the people; a description of which follows:

“Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the veil, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat; and he shall make an atonement for [cleanse, see marginal references] the holy place [within the veil, verse 2], because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for [i.e. atone for or cleanse] the tabernacle of the congregation [the Holy], that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness.” Verses 15, 16. “And he shall go out [of the Holy of Holies] unto the altar that is before the Lord [in the Holy], and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood [for himself] of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat [for the people], and put it upon the horns of the altar round about. And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.” Verses 18, 19. The altar was the golden altar of incense in the Holy upon which the blood of individual atonement was sprinkled during the daily ministration. Thus it received the uncleanness from which it is now cleansed. Exodus 30:10: “Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonements.” We see from Leviticus 16:20 that at this stage of the work, “he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar,” i.e. the Holy of Holies, the Holy, and the altar in the latter.

We have before seen that atone, reconcile, cleanse, etc., signify the same hence, at this stage he has made an end of cleansing those places. As the blood of atonements for the forgiveness of sins was not sprinkled in the court, but in the tabernacle only, the entire work of cleansing the Sanctuary was performed within the tabernacle. These were holy things, yet cleansed yearly. The holy place within the veil contained the ark of the covenant , covered with the mercy seat and overshadowed by the cherubim’s, between which the Lord dwelt in the cloud of divine glory. Who would think of calling such a place unclean? Yet the Lord provided at the time, yea, before, it was built, that it should be annually cleansed. It was by blood, and not by fire, that this Sanctuary, which was a type of the new covenant Sanctuary, was cleansed.

The high priest on this day “bore the iniquities of the holy things which the children of Israel hallowed in all their holy gifts.” Exodus 28:38. these holy things composed the Sanctuary. Numbers 18:1 “And the Lord said unto Aaron, Thou, and thy sons, and thy father’s house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the Sanctuary.” This “iniquity of the Sanctuary” we have learned was not its own property, but the children of Israel’s, God’s own people’s, which it had received from the them. And this transfer of iniquity from the people to their Sanctuary was not a mere casualty, incident on scenes of lawless rebellion, bloodshed or idolatry among themselves, not the devastation of an enemy; but it was according to the original arrangement and regular operation of this typical system. For we must bear in mind that all the instructions were given to Moses and Aaron before the erection of the Sanctuary. Provision was made to make atonement for sins committed in ignorance; but not till after they were known; (See Leviticus 4:14, 5:3-6); then, of course, they became sins of knowledge. Then the individual bore his iniquity (Leviticus 5:1-17; 7:1-8) till he presented his offering to the priest and slew it. The priest made an atonement with the blood (see Leviticus 17:11), and he was then forgiven and free from his iniquity.

Sin Transferred

Now at what point did the individual cease to bear his iniquity? Evidently, when he had presented his victim slain, he had then done his part. Through what medium was his iniquity conveyed to the Sanctuary? Through his victim, or rather its blood, when the priest took and sprinkled it before the veil and on the altar. Thus the iniquity was communicated to their Sanctuary. The first thing done for the people on the tenth day of the seventh month was to cleanse it, thence by the same means, the application of blood. This done, the high priest bore the “iniquity of Sanctuary” for the people “to make atonement for them.” Leviticus 10:17. “And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place [within the veil], and the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar [or when he hath cleansed the Sanctuary], he shall bring the live goat: 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 into a land not inhabited (margin, of separation). Leviticus 16:2-20. This was the only office of the scapegoat, to finally receive and bear away from Israel all their iniquities into an uninhabited wilderness and there retain them, leaving Israel at their Sanctuary and the priest to complete the atonement of the day by burning the fat of the sin offerings and offering the two rams for burnt offerings on the brazen altar in the court. (See verses 24, 25.) The burning without the camp of the carcasses of the sin offerings closed the services of this important day. (See verse 27.)

Death and Sunset

by

I once listened to a certain preacher who, when speaking of death, said substantially: “Though the Bible represents that man really dies, as in the expression ‘Abraham is dead’ (John 8:52), yet we are to no more take the statement literally than we are the oft-repeated declarations about the sun’s rising and setting. It, as a matter of fact, does not really rise and set, but only appears to. So man does not really die; the Bible only speaks of appearances when it says, ‘Man dieth’ (Job 14:19). We only appear to die as the sun appears to set. We also hear people continually talking about sunrise and sunset, and we talk about it, and so do astronomers even, who know better; yet we all speak of merely what seems to be, and not of reality.”

  1. The Bible does not set out to teach astronomy. If it did, it certainly would not teach that the sun rises and sets when it does not. It is not a text-book of natural science. Man is its subject, and not the sun, moon, and stars. It tells of his creation—how he came to be, of the place he occupies in creation, of his capabilities and powers, of his nature, of his condition in death, and of his ultimate destiny. It instructs in regard to all this, because it is this that lies in the field of its design, and we must take what we find as a rigid reality. This is not the place for “appearances,” but for realities. The Bible as a revelation has to do with man, and its declarations are to be taken as they stand, without any gloss. The preacher’s idea was that only the body died, the man himself living right on as before; so when the Bible says, “Abraham is dead,” “Moses my servant is dead,” “Your fathers did eat manna, and are dead” (John 8:52; Joshua 1:2; John 6:58), and the like, it means that only their bodies died, but their souls did not.
  1. We can but regard this as a piece of thorough, theological quackery, the smallest and most shameful kind of trifling with sacred things. It is taking the whole question for granted. How does he know that only the body dies, and the soul or spirit does not? Not from anything the Bible says, but simply because he thinks so, and is going to have it so anyway, if he does have to ride rough-shod over Scripture, reason, and common sense. The Bible tells us that “man dieth and wasteth away; yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?” In Heaven? No. In hell? No. “Man lieth down, and riseth not; till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep” (Job 14:10–12); the same man “that liveth,” “dieth,” and “lieth down” in death, not the body of man as distinguished from the intelligence, but The difference is he is dead. “Devout men carried Stephen to his burial” (Acts 8:2). Stephen was dead, and they went and buried him. Some say a man cannot be buried, but his body can be. The real man goes into another state of existence; but the Bible tells us that the first Christian martyr was buried—somewhat of a difference.
  1. The Bible informs us that “the dead know not anything” (Ecclesiastes 9:5); that their love and hatred and envy is now perished (verse 6); that “they are extinct” (Isaiah 43:17); that those that have been long dead are in darkness (Psalm 143:3; Lamentation 3:6); that in the day of death the “thoughts perish” (Psalm 146:4); that “the dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence” (Psalm 115:17); and that the dead in Christ shall come forth from their graves when the Lord comes to judgment (1 Thessalonians 4:14–16). Then no part of man remains alive from death to the resurrection. In order for man to live again, he must die (Job 14:14; Revelation 20:5). So when the Bible says “Abraham died” (Genesis 25:8), we believe it wholly, not in part.
  1. Men say that the sun rises and sets, yet they know that really it does not. So we say men die, but we know they do not really. Now do we know as precisely that men do not literally die as we know that the sun does not literally rise? No. Science demonstrates that the sun, as related to the earth, is stationary. Every school boy knows that. But does science demonstrate that a part of man remains alive after a part of him dies? No. On the contrary, facts strongly indicate that consciousness is destroyed in death. Men can demonstrate that the sun does not rise and set, but they cannot show that a man is alive when he is dead. [All emphasis author’s.]

The Review and Herald, May 3, 1881.

Christian Patriotism, part 1

by

The complete separation of religion and the State is Christian. Unswerving loyalty to this principle is Christian patriotism. This is not a mere sentiment of side issue of Christianity. It is one of the fundamental principles and chief characteristics of Christianity.

The Bible, not merely the New Testament but the whole Book, is the Book of Christianity. The New Testament is not a revelation new and distinct from the Old; it is the culmination of the revelation begun in the Old Testament.

The Old Testament and the New are one book—one consistent, harmonious revelation of God through Jesus Christ—because Jesus Christ is the revelation of God before the world was made, when the world was made and through all the history of the world from the beginning to end.

The first chapter of Genesis is Christian as certainly as is the first chapter of John. The book of Genesis is Christian as really is the book of Revelation, or any other book in the Bible. We repeat, therefore, that the whole Bible is the book of Christianity, the Book of the Christian religion, the revelation of God through Jesus Christ.

And the separation of religion and the State is one of the great thoughts of this great Book. It is one of the leading principles of that Book which for man is the source of all sound principle.

Many people think that the two or three expressions of Christ as recorded in the New Testament are all that the Bible contains on the subject of the separation of Church and State, and many others are disposed even to argue against these passages and to modify them by other passages from the Old Testament. But separation of religion and the State is one of the original thoughts of the Bible and reaches from the beginning to the end of the Book. Neither the Book nor this subject can be fairly understood in reference to this matter till this is clearly defined in the mind.

We purpose here to give a series of studies of the Bible, from beginning to end, on this great subject of Christian patriotism or the separation of religion and State.

Being one of the great thoughts of the Bible, one of the great thoughts of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ, this subject is of vital importance to men everywhere in their relations to God, and not merely in their relations to the State. It is a principle that is involved in the daily experience of the Christian in his relation to God and not merely an abstract question that man can stand, as it were, apart from and view simply as a speculative question of the relations between religion and the State.

The ways of God are right. His Word is the only certain light, the only sure truth. The principles which He has announced are the only safe principles for the guidance of men. We hope, and shall seriously endeavor, to make each study so plain that every reader can easily see and readily grasp the truth of it in very principle. We shall begin at the beginning.

“The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel… thou shalt love the Lord our God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. This is the first commandment.

“And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:29-31

“On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Matthew 22:40. These two commandments exist in the very nature, and circumstances of existence, of any two intelligent creatures in the universe.

When the first intelligence was created and there was not creature but himself; as he owed to his Creator his existence, as he owed to God all that he was or could be, heart, soul, might, mind, and strength; it devolved upon him to render to God the tribute of all this and to love God with all his heart, and all his soul, and all his mind, and all his strength. And this is the first of all the commandments. It is first in the very nature and existence of the first, and of every other, intelligent creature.

But in the second of these would have no place if there were but one intelligent creature in the universe; for then he would have no neighbor. But when the second one was created, the first of all the commandments was first with him equally with the other one; and now the second great commandment exists in the very nature and existence of these two intelligent creatures, as certainly as the first great commandment existed in the nature and existence of the first one.

Each of the two created intelligences owes to the Lord all that he is or has and all that he could ever rightly have. Neither of them has anything that is self-derived. Each owes all to God. There is between them no ground of preference, and this because of the honor which each owes to God; because to each, God is all in all. Therefore, the second great commandment exists as certainly as the first; and it exists in the nature and circumstance of the very existence of intelligent creatures. Consequently, “There is none other commandment greater than these.”

These two commandments, then, exist in the nature of cherubim, seraphim, angels and men. As soon as the man was created, the first of all the commandments was there, even though there had been no other creature in the universe. And as soon as the woman was created, these two great commandments were there. And there was none other commandment greater than these.