sanctuary

Editorial – Weighed and Wanting

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“The Lord is soon to come; there must be a refining, winnowing process in every church, for there are among us wicked men who do not love the truth. There is need of a transformation of character. Will the church arise and put on her beautiful garments, the righteousness of Christ? It is soon to be seen who are vessels unto honor.”

Malachi 3:18–4:2, first part, is quoted and then she writes, “Here are brought plainly to view those who will be vessels unto honor; for they will receive the latter rain. Every soul that continues in sin in the face of the light now shining upon our pathway, will be blinded and accept the delusions of Satan. We are now nearing the close of this world’s history. …

“Time, precious time, has been lost in wanderings and backslidings from God. Every character is to be weighed in the balances of the sanctuary; if the moral character and spiritual advancement do not correspond with the opportunities and blessings, ‘wanting’ [Daniel 5:27] is written against the name. …

“All who claim to be children of God should seek daily to understand why they believe by searching the Scriptures for themselves. Those who humbly study the character of Jesus will reflect his image more and more. The descent of the Holy Spirit upon the church is looked forward to as in the future; but it is the privilege of the church to have it now. Seek for it, pray for it, believe for it. We must have it, and Heaven is waiting to bestow it. …

“Trials are to come upon God’s people and the tares are to be separated from the wheat. But let not Ephraim envy Judah any more, and Judah will no more vex Ephraim. Kind, tender, compassionate words will flow out from sanctified hearts and lips. It is essential that we be united, and if we all seek the meekness and the lowliness of Christ, we shall have the mind of Christ, and there will be unity of spirit.”

Taken from The Review and Herald, March 19, 1895.

Question & Answer – How do the animal sacrifices represent Christ?

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I believe the following type-antitype chart will help you to understand the correlation between animal sacrifices and how they represented Christ.

Leviticus 4:3, 23, 28. The animal was to be without blemish. 1 Peter 1:19. Christ was “without blemish and without spot.”
Leviticus 4:4, 14. The offering was to be brought before the Lord to the door of the sanctuary. Hebrews 4:15, 16. “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
Leviticus 4:4; Numbers 5:7. The sinner laid his hand on the head of the offering, thus acknowledging his sins. 1 John 1:9. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.”
Leviticus 4:29. The sinner slew the sin-offering; he took the life of the lamb with his own hands. Isaiah 53:10. Christ’s soul was made an offering for sin. Criminals often lived for days upon the cross; it was the awful burden of the sins of the world that slew Christ.
Leviticus 4:5–7, 17, 18. In some offerings the blood was taken into the sanctuary and sprinkled before the Lord. Hebrews 9:12. “By His own blood He [Christ] entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.”
Leviticus 10:16–18. When the blood was not taken into the sanctuary, a portion of the flesh was eaten by the priest in the holy place; thus in type the priest bore “the iniquity of the congregation to make atonement for them before the Lord.” 1 Peter 2:24. This was a type of the One “Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”
Leviticus 4:31; 7:30. The sinner with his own hands was to separate all the fat from the sin-offering, the fat typifying sin. Psalm 37:20. Isaiah 1:16. We are not only to confess past sins, but we are to examine our own hearts and put away evil habits. “Cease to do evil.”
Leviticus 4:31. The fat is all burned to ashes in the court of the sanctuary. Malachi 4:1–3. All sin and sinners will be burned to ashes on the earth.
Leviticus 4:7, 18, 25, 30. The blood of every sin-offering was poured on the ground at the bottom of the brazen altar in the court. Ephesians 1:14. Christ purchased the earth as well as its inhabitants by His death on the cross.

The Cross and Its Shadow, by Stephen N. Haskell, reprint by The Review and Herald Publishing Company, 130, 131.

Ready for His Appearing

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Even though, in the Millerite movement of 1844, there was a spirit of love that we have never seen since, Ellen White said that they were not yet ready for the Lord to come. They had unreserved consecration. They had received the Holy Spirit and were born-again Christians. They were ready to die and to come up again in the first resurrection. They sought the Saviour’s approval every day and they were serving Jesus with an undivided heart. They were without question the saints of God in their generation. They were perfect in the same sense that Noah and the other Bible characters were described in the Bible as being perfect. Yet, they were not ready for Christ’s return.

To answer the question, “What was it they lacked and needed to be ready?” we need to first study the atonement. Even though the investigative judgment and the atonement take place at the same time in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary, they are not the same thing. Ellen White wrote, “Attended by heavenly angels, our great High Priest enters the holy of holies [in 1844] and there appears in the presence of God to engage in the last acts of His ministration in behalf of man—to perform the work of investigative judgment and to make an atonement for all who are shown to be entitled to its benefits.” The Great Controversy, 480.

In 1977 an Anglican clergyman by the name of Geoffrey Paxton wrote a book called The Shaking of Adventism. In his book he states that we are in a life and death struggle as to the nature of the gospel. A friend of mine said, “Laodicea has been a long time in a life and death struggle as to the nature of the gospel and she has lost.” The reason he said that is because of what we have in recent years published in our official writings concerning the atonement.

The atonement is an exceedingly important subject. Ellen White wrote in 1906: “The sanctuary question is the foundation of our faith.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 4, 248. She also said, “We are in the great day of atonement, and the sacred work of Christ for the people of God that is going on at the present time in the heavenly sanctuary should be our constant study.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 520.

The word atonement has more than one meaning in Inspired writings and the failure to distinguish between the different ways this word is used is one of the reasons for the confusion of voices in Adventism today about this subject. The three meanings of the word atonement I have found in the Inspired writings are as follows:

  1. A sacrifice, or an attainment of a penalty, or reparation, or compensation, or payment of a debt, or paying a price, or giving a ransom.

If you are a Christian, then you know that Jesus accomplished all of these things on the cross. When we use the word atonement in that sense we understand that Jesus made a full, complete and perfect atonement on the cross. So the first meaning of atonement is connected with the cross and the death of Jesus.

Several statements about this are as follows:

“Christ made a full and complete sacrifice, a sacrifice sufficient to save every son and daughter of Adam who should show repentance toward God for having transgressed His law, and manifest faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 664.

“On the cross of Christ, the Saviour made an atonement for the fallen race.” The Signs of the Times, December 17, 1902.

“He planted the cross between heaven and earth, and when the Father beheld the sacrifice of His Son, He bowed before it in recognition of its perfection. ‘It is enough,’ He said. ‘The atonement is complete.’ ” The Review and Herald, September 24, 1901.

“Type met antitype in the death of Christ, the Lamb slain for the sins of the world. Our great High Priest has made the only sacrifice that is of any value in our salvation. When He offered Himself on the cross, a perfect atonement was made for the sins of the people.” Lift Him Up, 319.

That is the first meaning of atonement: a sacrifice, a ransom to pay a debt and Jesus fully paid the debt on the cross of Calvary.

However, in Inspired writings, that is not the only meaning or the main meaning of the word atonement.

  1. A second meaning of the word atonement: mainly to receive forgiveness of sins. Very clearly in Bible and Spirit of Prophecy writings, atonement refers to receiving forgiveness of sins or pardon. In Leviticus 4:27–31: “If anyone of the common people sins unintentionally by doing something against any of the commandments of the Lord in anything which ought not to be done and is guilty, or if his sin which he has sinned comes to his knowledge, then he shall bring as his offering a kid of the goats, a female without blemish, for his sin which he has sinned. And he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering, and kill the sin offering at the place of the burnt offering. Then the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and pour all the remaining blood at the base of the altar. He shall remove all its fat, as fat is removed from the sacrifice of the peace offering; and the priest shall burn it on the altar for a sweet aroma to the Lord. So the priest shall make atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him.”

Notice that once the sacrifice has been made, a priest is involved who, with the blood or flesh of the sacrifice, makes an atonement for you and then you are forgiven. However, before this forgiveness could be given there was an important step. “And it shall be, when he is guilty in any of these matters, that he shall confess that he has sinned in that thing.” Leviticus 5:5.

A person had to make specific confession, and then it says, “He shall offer the second as a burnt offering according to the prescribed manner. So the priest shall make atonement on his behalf for his sin which he has committed, and it shall be forgiven him.” Leviticus 5:10.

Over and over again the Bible says that the priest will make atonement, and when the priest makes atonement you will be pardoned or forgiven. Once forgiven there is no more guilt. Many people in our world suffer various damaging sicknesses as a result of their guilt. It was not God’s will for the Israelites to wait until the end of the year. The people could come any day to confess their sins and receive atonement, but they had to have the services of a priest in order to have forgiveness.

  1. A more profound meaning of the word atonement, a third meaning, is found in Leviticus 16:29, 30. “This shall be a statute forever for you: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger who dwells among you. For on that day the priest shall make atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the Lord.”

This was not the same atonement that they received during the year. On this Day of Atonement they would be cleansed and their sins would be removed and they would no longer be sinners.

“In the typical system, which was a shadow of the sacrifice and priesthood of Christ, the cleansing of the sanctuary was the last service performed by the high priest in the yearly round of ministration. It was the closing work of the atonement—a removal or putting away of sin from Israel. It prefigured the closing work in the ministration of our High Priest in heaven, in the removal or blotting out of the sins of His people, which are registered in the heavenly records.” The Great Controversy, 352.

Ellen White wrote in 1846: “I believe the Sanctuary to be cleansed at the end of the 2300 days is the New Jerusalem Temple, of which Christ is a minister. The Lord shew me in vision, more than one year ago, that Brother Crosier had the true light, on the cleansing of the Sanctuary.” A Word to the Little Flock, 12.

In 1846 the other churches were saying to Crosier that the atonement was all done at the cross. He says, “But again, they say that 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 Law of Moses, 41.

All of the Adventist pioneers understood the same thing. James White described it in about 1872 or 1874. He said concerning Jesus, “He dwelt among men full of grace and truth, lived our example, died our sacrifice, was raised for our justification, ascended on high to be our only Mediator in the sanctuary in Heaven where, with His own blood, He makes atonement for our sins, which atonement so far from being made on the cross, which was but the offering of the sacrifice, is the very last portion of His work as priest, according to the example of the Levitical priesthood.” Fundamental Principles of Seventh-day Adventists, 4. Crosier, James White and all of the Adventist pioneers believed this.

In 1889 it was written this way: “Christ was raised for our justification and ascended on high to be our only mediator in the sanctuary in heaven where, through the merits of His shed blood He procures pardon and forgiveness.” It sounds just about the same but is not quite the same.” Adventist Year Book of Statistics, 1889, 147.

In 1894 we describe it like this: “Where, through the atoning merits of His shed blood He secures pardon and forgiveness.” Fundamental Principles of Seventh-day Adventists, 147. This does not sound too bad but it is not the same—we had changed it.

In the 1931 Seventh-day Adventist Year Book the definition was really changed. In fact neither the word atonement nor anything like it ever appears. It states: “He died for our sins on the cross, was raised from the dead, and ascended to the Father where He ever lives to make intercession for us.” Intercession does have to do with the investigative judgment but the intercession is not the atonement. Atonement is not even mentioned.

All four of these statements were unofficial, but the General Conference Committee in 1950 passed a resolution that no change be made in the 1931 statement except by the General Conference in session when adequate notice of such intention had been published. So to summarize this was how it was changed:

  1. In 1872 we said, With His own blood He makes atonement.
  2. In 1889 we said, Through the merit of His blood He secures pardon.
  3. In 1894 we said, Through the atoning merits of His blood He secures pardon.
  4. In 1931 we said, He ever lives to make intersession for us.

Things got worse. In 1957 a book was published called Questions on Doctrines, and on page 354 it stated: “When, therefore, one hears an Adventist say, or reads in Adventist literature—even in the writings of Ellen G. White—that Christ is making atonement now, it should be understood that we mean simply that Christ is now making application of the benefits of His sacrificial atonement He made on the cross.”

According to that, Christ is not even making atonement for us up in heaven anymore. It was all done at the cross and He is just applying benefits. This is a 180 degree turn from where our pioneers stood. Adventists were called a cult and one reason was because the other churches said that the atonement was all over at the cross and our pioneers said “No, it was not.” The atonement has not been completed yet. It is being conducted in the sanctuary in heaven right now. Some of our leaders thought we ought to make peace with these people; so they tried to state our beliefs in a way that would be acceptable to them.

The following is what appeared in Ministry Magazine, in February, 1957. You need to know before you read this statement that this is a lie. It said, “The sacrificial act on the cross is a complete and final atonement for man’s sin.” That is a lie!

What does God say about this? “The ministration of the priest throughout the year in the first apartment of the sanctuary, ‘within the veil’ (Hebrews 6:19) which formed the door and separated the holy place from the outer court, represents the work of ministration upon which Christ entered at His ascension. It was the work of the priest in the daily ministration to present before God the blood of the sin offering, also the incense which ascended with the prayers of Israel. So did Christ plead His blood before the Father in behalf of sinners, and present before Him also, with the precious fragrance of His own righteousness, the prayers of penitent believers. Such was the work of ministration in the first apartment of the sanctuary in heaven.” The Great Controversy, 420, 421.

“For eighteen centuries this work of ministration continued in the first apartment of the sanctuary. The blood of Christ, pleaded in behalf of penitent believers, secured their pardon and acceptance with the Father, yet their sins still remained upon the books of record. As in the typical service there was a work of atonement at the close of the year, so before Christ’s work for the redemption of men is completed there is a work of atonement for the removal of sin from the sanctuary. This is the service which began when the 2300 days ended.” Ibid., 421. (Emphasis added.)

Notice, the atonement involves not just applying benefits for something that was done 2000 years ago. It involves a continuing work of atonement, which is going on at this time to remove sin from God’s people.

Another statement on this: “As anciently the sins of the people were by faith placed upon the sin offering and through its blood transferred, in figure, to the earthly sanctuary, so in the new covenant the sins of the repentant are by faith placed upon Christ and transferred, in fact, to the heavenly sanctuary. And as the typical cleansing of the earthly was accomplished by the removal of the sins by which it had been polluted, so the actual cleansing of the heavenly is to be accomplished by the removal, or blotting out, of the sins which are there recorded.” Ibid., 421, 422. [Emphasis added.]

Why is it so important that we understand sanctuary truths? There is a story about an argument in which two young men got into about whether or not they needed to keep the Sabbath. One argued that it didn’t matter, but the other one said, “If you are right and I am wrong, it doesn’t matter because I will be able to go to heaven anyway. But if I am right and you are wrong you won’t be going to heaven.”

Some people say that it does not matter what we are studying here. Well, if we are wrong, it doesn’t matter. We will be able to go to heaven anyway. If the Adventist pioneers were right, the people who have rejected this teaching are not going to make it because this teaching involves understanding how you can be ready for Jesus to come. This is the reason that the people in 1844 were not ready for Jesus to come. They were ready to die and to be raised in the first resurrection but they were not ready to be translated. Why? Because they had not received the atonement. If they were not ready to be translated because they had not received the atonement, will you be ready to be translated if you have not received the atonement?

There are three meanings to the atonement. It is described sometimes in the Spirit of Prophecy for the ransom that is paid—which Jesus paid on the cross. It is used other times to describe forgiveness of sins, the work of the daily or the first apartment of the sanctuary. It is also used to describe the work of the Day of Atonement when you are cleansed from all of your sins. Many times Ellen White and the pioneers used the atonement in the context of the removal of sins.

We are told that the sanctuary was the very center of Christ’s work on behalf of men and it concerns every soul living upon the earth. (The Great Controversy, 488.) It is in the sanctuary in heaven where the cases of all people are going to be decided.

The investigative judgment will determine whether you will be part of the atonement in which your sins are removed or blotted out.

In Revelation 3:17, last part, in the message to the Laodicean church, Jesus revealed to us our real problem: “You do not know that you are wretched.” The Bible tells us what makes a person wretched. In Romans 7:24, it says, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” Paul recognizes that he is wretched and wants to be delivered from that state. He has sin within that he has never overcome. He is in bondage to it. Read the whole chapter of Romans 7 that describes the problem with Laodicea—you do not know that you are wretched. You think that everything is okay. However, you can never meet the Lord in peace and go to heaven while in a wretched condition.

Ellen White wrote, “The sanctuary question is the foundation of our faith.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 4, 248. We are in the great Day of Atonement. This should be our constant study.

The final atonement removes your sins from you. When the final atonement is over, those who receive of that atonement are no longer forgiven sinners anymore—they are no longer sinners. This final atonement removes sin from every person who is saved. The final atonement is made for the dead first and finally for the living.

The problem today is that God’s professed people are not at all ready to receive the final atonement. Let’s suppose that it is time for the final atonement, but I have a sin in my life that I don’t want to overcome. Will it do any good for Jesus to remove all my sins if I sin again the next day? In order to be ready to receive the final atonement, a person has to have quit sinning. This is described in the Old as well as in the New Testament.

You will want the following Scripture fulfilled in your life. “Behold, the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving [inscription] thereof, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.” Zechariah 3:9 KJV. That is the final atonement. Your sins will be taken away and blotted out. You will no longer be a sinner.

The plan of salvation involves a complete restoration from everything that has been ruined and lost by sin. It will not be complete for you until your sins are removed.

Ellen Write wrote about the fact of our self-deception. Many are being preached into heaven. You cannot live for the devil all of your life and then the last two minutes of your life ask the Lord to save you. That is not how the plan of salvation works. It did not even work that way for the thief on the cross. The thief on the cross was sanctified before he died. Ellen White said, “What is it that constitutes the wretchedness, the nakedness, of those who feel rich and increased with goods? It is the want of the righteousness of Christ. In their own righteousness they are represented as clothed with filthy rags, and yet in this condition they flatter themselves that they are clothed upon with Christ’s righteousness. …” Our High Calling, 349. Could any deception be greater than this?

Do not deceive yourself. In order to be ready for the final atonement, you must be clothed in the righteousness of Christ. God is preparing a people today that will be translated. Those people have to be ready and willing to have all of their sins removed.

(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.

Introduction to the Atonement

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During the late 1830s and early 1840s there were many hundreds of ministers who united in preaching the first angel’s message of Revelation 14:6 and 7. In fact, some have claimed there might have been as many as 2,000. The message was preached in Great Britain, Europe, and America, as well as other countries and mission stations worldwide. The leading proponent of the doctrine of the imminent second advent in America was a farmer by the name of William Miller, who later received a license from the Baptist church to preach. So great was the interest that was aroused by this teaching that every mission station around the world heard the news. In some countries there was the greatest religious interest that had ever been seen since the reformation in the 16th century.

What They Believed

In Daniel 8:14 it says, “And he said to me, ‘For two thousand and three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.’ ”

William Miller was a keen student of Bible prophecy for some years, and he understood from Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel the fourth chapter that in a symbolic Bible time prophecy, a prophetic day equaled a literal year. With this understanding he began searching for the start of the time period, for once he knew that, he would also know when it ended.

Studying Daniel 8 and 9, he found that Daniel 9 was an explanation by an angel from heaven to Daniel the prophet concerning the vision he had of the 2300 days and that 490 days were cut off from that time period. He searched for the date of when the decree went forward to allow God’s people to restore and build Jerusalem and determined that the decree went out in 457 B.C.

Research by the best Bible scholars and historians have actually verified and established the date that William Miller came up with.

If you know the starting date for the 2300 days, you can determine the time when it would end. However, the initial calculation did not take account of the fact that there was no zero years. In going from 1 B.C. to A.D. 1, you only progress one year; so you need to add a year in any time calculation that spans that period of time. In their initial calculations, they did not take this into account; so it was first thought that the 2300 year prophecy ended in 1843. Later they figured out that it actually ended in 1844.

It was widely believed at that time by Christians of all different faiths that the sanctuary was the earth. If that were the case and the sanctuary was to be cleansed, they assumed that that would mean that at the end of the 2300 days, Christ would come to cleanse the world with fire. Many people were convinced and gave up everything in order to be a part of the reformation movement which was going through all the churches immediately prior to that time.

One of the prominent preachers of the judgment hour message—was a young minister of the Congregational church by the name of Charles Fitch. He designed a figure based on the description in Daniel 2 that could be taken apart, as well as the 1843 chart. He joined the second advent movement twice. He was one of the first ministers to take a public stand on Miller’s side, believing that Miller’s interpretation of Bible prophecy was correct. A short time later when he saw that he would not only have to endure opposition but that he would be deprived of his fashionable church in Boston, he backed away. Not too long after this when he moved to another parish in New Jersey, he had a true conversion experience when he discovered Jesus Christ for himself as his true and personal Saviour. When that happened, he gladly sacrificed his congregation in order to bring the good news about the return of Jesus and His righteousness to many other congregations.

Charles Fitch had six children, four of whom had died. As you can imagine, this gave him a heightened longing for the second coming of Christ. Not long before October 22, 1844 on a chilly day, Charles Fitch baptized three successive groups of converts outdoors. After the first group had been baptized and they were coming out of the water a second group arrived who also wanted to be baptized. Instead of going home to change out of his cold clothes he went back down and baptized them. As the second group were coming out of the water a third group came and down he went again into the cold water so they could be baptized. There were many people being baptized in those days. According to the records I have seen, James White was supposed to have preached and converted about 1000 people in the last six weeks before October 22, 1844. There were many who believed the judgment was at hand and they wanted to be ready for Jesus to come.

Apparently, as a result of the overexposure, shortly afterward, Charles Fitch became ill and on Monday, October 14, 1844, he died. The Millerite paper called The Midnight Cry reported on his death as follows: “His widow and fatherless children are now at Cleveland confidently expecting the coming of our Lord, to gather the scattered members of our family, in a few days. Sister Fitch is smiling and happy.”

They really expected to be reunited in eight days. You can imagine what would have happened on October 21. The two surviving children would be asking their mother, “When are we going to see Daddy again? Will it be tomorrow?” “Yes, dears” the mother would have said. “When Jesus comes back, He will wake up Daddy and your sleeping brothers and sisters and then we will be a whole happy family again forever.” But on Tuesday night, October 22, those two children would be sobbing to their weeping mother and saying, “Why didn’t Daddy come back today?” There were many other families in a similar situation on October 22. There were mothers and fathers who had lost children who were expecting to see, not only Jesus, but to be reunited with their children again. There were people who had lost their parents to consumption, tuberculosis, or some other common disease of those days that were expecting to see Jesus and be united with their families again on that day. But, Jesus did not return on October 22 and that day went down in history as the great disappointment.

One of the advent believers by the name of Hiram Edson wrote about it later. He said: “We confidently expected to see Jesus and all the holy angels with Him. And that His voice would call up Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the ancient worthies, and our near and dear friends which had been torn from us by death. Our expectations were raised high, and thus we looked for our coming Lord until the clock tolled twelve at midnight.” But as the clock chimed the hour, their hearts sank. Nothing could be heard except the doleful rhythm of the clock. They knew then that the day had passed and their disappointment became a certainty. Said Edson: “Our fondest hopes and expectations were blasted and such a spirit of weeping came over us as I never experienced before. We wept and wept till the day dawned.”

Edson had invited others to his house on October 22 to meet the Lord. He said good-bye to the people that refused the invitation, expecting never to see them again. In the wee hours of the morning as they were weeping, Edson began to think about his experience as an Adventist expecting the eminent return of his Lord. He thought of the peace and joy that he had had. He thought of the different people he had won to Christ and he believed that the Lord had been leading them. He then had doubts come into his mind. Was there no heaven? Was there no eternal life? Was there no New Jerusalem? Was everything about the Christian religion just a mirage? A battle raged in his mind.

Around the dawn of the day, some of the people slipped back to their desolate homes. But of those that were left, finally Hiram Edson said, “Let’s go out to the barn.” So they followed him out to the barn and went into an empty granary, closed the door and prayed. He said that they kept praying until they had the assurance that God was going to answer their prayer and He was going to explain to them what had gone wrong. Why hadn’t Jesus come? And when they had the assurance that God was going to answer their prayer and that He was in some way going to explain to them what had happened, they got up, opened the door, went back into the house and ate breakfast.

Shortly after breakfast Hiram Edson said to one of his friends that was with him, “Let’s go and visit some of the people we have won to Christ and some neighbors to encourage them.” The other friend agreed and they went. But they did not go by way of the road because the Millerites, or Adventists, were held in derision on October 23, 1844. They took a shortcut and went through a corn field. Edson said he was about midway across the corn field when, all of a sudden, as he looked up, it seemed to him that the heavens opened before him and that he saw Jesus Christ as his High Priest going into the most holy place of the sanctuary in heaven. His mind was impressed that yesterday, October 22, 1844, was not the day that Jesus would leave the sanctuary and come to this earth, but it was the day when He would go into the second apartment of the heavenly sanctuary, because He still had a work to do there for His people. Many things went across his mind in just a few seconds. He thought about Revelation 10 and he saw that there was an exact prophecy of the experience of the Adventist people. Meanwhile his companion was walking on across the field and after awhile he noticed that nobody was with him. He had also been absorbed in his own thoughts. He looked back and saw Hiram Edson some distance back, and called to him to ask why he was waiting so long. Hiram Edson answered, “The Lord has just answered our prayer.” That moment has truthfully been spoken of as the birth moment of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, of the second advent movement.

Later, Hiram Edson and a few friends got together and began to diligently search the prophecies again. They found out what the Bible teaches about the sanctuary. They found what the Bible teaches about the investigative judgment, as James White called it. The outgrowth was that the second advent movement was born again and became the Seventh-day Adventist church.

Adventists believe that we have far more light today than did those in 1844. We do have far more spiritual light than they did at that time. Ellen White had not yet received her first vision. However, as I have studied the beginning of the second advent movement, I have become strongly convicted that in some ways we are far behind where they were in our spiritual experience, and if we are ever going to surpass them in our spiritual experience, we are going to have to first reach the level that they had attained.

Ellen White talked about the experience these people had as they were expecting the Lord to come in 1844. She said, “I remember when we were looking for the Saviour to come in 1844, how great was the anxiety of each to know that his own heart was right before God. When we met together, the question would be asked by one and another, ‘Brethren, have you seen anything in me that is not right? I know that we are often blind to our own faults, and if you have seen anything wrong in me, I want you to tell me.’ Sometimes errors would be pointed out, and we would all bow before God and seek forgiveness. If any variance or alienation existed, we felt that we could not separate until all were in harmony. Sometimes brethren who had difficulty would be seen going away together to some secret place to plead with God, and they would return with their hearts knit together in love. The sweet spirit of peace was in our assemblies, and the glory of God was around us. The faces of the believers shone with the light of heaven.” Historical Sketches of the Foreign Missions of the Seventh-day Adventists, 213.

I was born into a Seventh-day Adventist family. I have attended a Seventh-day Adventist church since babyhood. Unless I was sick in bed, I have always been in a Seventh-day Adventist church somewhere every Sabbath. I have never seen what I just described. I have never seen anything like that in my lifetime. We lost what they had in 1844 and have never recovered it. We are going to have to recover it if we are going to be ready for the Lord to come.

I want to be right with my God. I want to be right with my fellow men. If you see anything in me that is not right, please tell me, I want to know. Ellen White wrote, “If any variance or alienation existed, we felt that we could not separate until all were in harmony.” Ibid.

I have never seen anything like that in Adventism in all of my life. She also said, “… brethren who had difficulty would be seen going away together to some secret place to plead with God, and they would return with their hearts knit together in love.” Ibid. I have never seen this love between the brethren.

We have much more theological information than these pioneers had; we understand many things about theology that they did not understand, but they had something that has been lost that we have never yet recovered. If we had what they had, we would not see Adventist churches and institutions splitting up all over the world.

Here is another statement Ellen White wrote about their experiences:

“With diligent searching of heart and humble confessions we came prayerfully up to the time of expectation. Every morning we felt that it was our first work to secure the evidence that our lives were right before God. Our interest for one another increased; we prayed much with and for one another. We assembled in the orchards and groves to commune with God and to offer up our petitions to Him, feeling more fully in His presence when surrounded by His natural works. The joys of salvation were more necessary to us than our food and drink. If clouds obscured our minds, we dared not rest or sleep till they were swept away by the consciousness of our acceptance with the Lord.” Testimonies, vol. 1, 55.

Ellen White also says in The Great Controversy, 401: “Of all the great religious movements since the days of the apostles, none have been more free from human imperfection and the wiles of Satan than was that of the autumn of 1844. Even now, after the lapse of many years, all who shared in that movement and who have stood firm upon the platform of truth still feel the holy influence of that blessed work and bear witness that it was of God.”

“Like showers of rain upon the thirsty earth, the Spirit of grace descended upon the earnest seekers. Those who expected soon to stand face to face with their Redeemer felt a solemn joy that was unutterable. The softening, subduing power of the Holy Spirit melted the heart as His blessing was bestowed in rich measure upon the faithful, believing ones.” Ibid., 402.

Do you want to be ready for Jesus to come? Are you getting ready for Jesus to come? Notice what Ellen White says about these people. In The Great Controversy, 424, she says, “But the people were not yet ready to meet their Lord. There was still a work of preparation to be accomplished for them.”

Is that work of preparation taking place in your life? Remember, we cannot surpass the experience that they had until we get up to the experience they had. They had an experience of brotherly love. They had an experience in Christian unity and harmony and working together that I have never seen anywhere in Adventism during my lifetime. But it is going to happen again. Notice what it says in The Great Controversy, 464: “Before the final visitation of God’s judgments upon the earth there will be among the people of the Lord such a revival of primitive godliness as has not been witnessed since apostolic times.”

There is going to be a revival of primitive godliness that will go even beyond what they had in 1844. But we are not up to that yet. There will be a revival of primitive godliness that has not been seen since the time of the apostles. When Jesus returns there is going to be a group of people that are described by the apostle Paul in Ephesians 5:25–27 KJV: “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it; That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, That He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.”

The church is going to triumph before Jesus returns. If you and I do not develop the primitive godliness that we just read about in The Great Controversy, 464; if we do not develop the character that is described in Ephesians 5:25–27, we may make any claim we want, such as that we are just part of the church militant, as though that gives us an excuse to maintain our character deficiencies and deformities and think that we are going to be saved some way.

God never gives us instruction that is not needed. He never gives us a warning that we do not need. He never tells us something that is not absolutely the truth. One of the things that we should all be convinced of, if we have studied Bible history and spiritual history since the time when the Bible was written, is that God never tells a lie. God always says exactly the truth.

When Jesus was with His disciples, He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me” (John 13:21). When He said that to His disciples, they were in perplexity and they began to look at each other. They began to say, “Lord is it I?” They said that because they had been with Jesus long enough to find out that anything that Jesus said turned out to be exactly the truth.

God will have a church that is spotless and without blemish. The devil says this will never happen and does his best to prevent it. Many people today do not believe it possible and also say, “Well, I am not perfect and you are not perfect and nobody will ever be perfect in this world.” It may appear impossible, but the apostle Paul said that the Lord was going to cleanse His church. Jesus cleansed the temple two times when He was here, once at the beginning of His ministry and once at the close. In the same way, in the final period of earth’s history, the Lord will cleanse His people at the beginning and again at the end. In 1844, the Lord did cleanse His people. This was the first cleansing of the temple, or God’s church in this world. Before October 22, 1844, there were between 50,000 and 100,000 people in the United States alone that said they were expecting the Lord to come. But after the great disappointment there were few who hung on to their faith like Hiram Edson, who turned to the Lord pleading for God to show where they went wrong—to show them the truth.

Just as the church was cleansed once at the beginning of the second advent movement, the church will be cleansed at the end. Are we in that cleansing now? After the church was cleansed in 1844, instead of there being 50,000 to 100,000, there were only a few dozen people left. There is coming a time when God will have a cleansed and purified church that is without spot or wrinkle or any type of blemish (Ephesians 5:27)—the people will be holy. There is no question about that because God said it will happen. The question to ask yourself is, “When God does cleanse and purify His church, will I still be part of it?”

Sometimes I feel like quaking when people claim with great self-confidence, “we are the remnant church.” I do not argue about that statement, but the word remnant refers to what is left at the end and we are not quite there yet. There are many people who are part of the church today who will not endure to the end. Only those who submit to the cleansing and purifying process will be able to stand at the end of the period of the investigative judgment. The course chosen now, day-by-day, enduring daily tests, will determine how we are going to come out in the great crisis that we are all facing.

I would suggest that we take time each day to pray and ask the Lord to reveal those character traits that need to be removed. Ask for the eye salve to be able to see the flaws and wrinkles that need to be straightened out so that we will be ready for Jesus to come.

Pray to experience the brotherly love that the Adventist pioneers had who were part of the Philadelphia church. They had something that we must regain if we are going to be ready for Jesus to come. There will be some who will regain this experience. This question is, “Will I be one of them?”

(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.

Facing Life’s Judgment Day Unafraid!

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When I was a boy of some nine years of age, my father, a plaster contractor, made a verbal agreement with a builder at which time I happened to be present. During the construction of the house the builder demanded my father do that which he had never agreed to do. It was not long after this incident that my dad received a court summons to appear before a judge and give answer to serious charges. My father secured a lawyer to represent him and I was informed that I must also attend because the judge would ask me some questions. I was afraid.

When the court date arrived Dad and I entered the stateliest structure that I had ever seen. Keep in mind I lived in a humble home with nothing over the windows and a bare floor, but here I was walking on marble and even the walls were covered with marble. Everyone present seemed to be so intent with what was taking place. I spied a policeman leading a hand-cuffed prisoner off to jail. It wasn’t a good feeling to a nine-year-old. I was afraid.

When we arrived at the judge’s chamber, an officer opened the tall door and Dad and I entered. My boyish heart began to beat so that I actually shook. I saw the judge seated on a raised platform, below was a table around which lawyers were talking. Dad squeezed my hand as we sat down and whispered, “Just tell the truth. Don’t be afraid.”

As the court trial proceeded I shall never forget as Dad walked to the witness stand and was asked to swear to tell the truth. Dad looked at the judge and replied, “For religious reasons I refuse to swear, but I affirm to tell nothing but the truth.” After many questions Dad returned to his seat.

Then the judge looked at me. His smiling face seemed to quiet my fears. He spoke kindly. “Son,” he said, “Come stand here and don’t be afraid and you just tell me exactly what you heard.” I looked at Dad; his loving eyes gave me courage. Then I told the judge the best I could what I heard my father and the builder say. Then the judge spoke: “I believe that I have heard the truth from this small boy.” Looking at my father he said, “You have been exonerated. The court rules in your favor. Case dismissed.”

I trust that you will not be alarmed when I state that both you and I, who have professed faith in Jesus and have accepted Him as our Savior, will be examined before the eternal God of the universe in the coming investigative judgment day, which will take place in heaven’s sanctuary. And we need not be afraid because we have forsaken every sin and humbly asked for forgiveness. This makes it possible for Jesus our High Priest to mediate for us; that is, to act as our spiritual Lawyer. Remember He has never lost a case He has accepted in which to present His righteousness in our behalf to cover our sinful past. No wonder we need not be afraid. Praise God!

As we study this final atonement which is now taking place in heaven’s sanctuary day by day, may the Holy Spirit awaken our minds to realize how soon our life’s record will be examined and a decision rendered to which there will be no appeal. May God help us to overcome every wrong word and action and by His divine grace live daily, ready to see Jesus come and may our names be placed in His book of life.

The most solemn description of the investigative judgment now taking place in heaven’s sanctuary is found in Daniel 7:9, 10, 13, 14: “I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, Whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool: His throne was like the fiery flame, and His wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him: thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.” … “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, One like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought Him near before Him. And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.”

Inspiration continues in The Great Controversy, page 480: “The coming of Christ here described is not His second coming to the earth. He comes to the Ancient of Days in heaven to receive dominion and glory and a kingdom, which will be given Him at the close of His work as a mediator. It is this coming, and not His second advent to the earth, that was foretold in prophecy to take place at the termination of the 2300 days in 1844. Attended by heavenly angels, our great High Priest enters the holy of holies and there appears in the presence of God to engage in the last acts of His ministration in behalf of man—to perform the work of investigative judgment and to make an atonement for all who are shown to be entitled to its benefits.”

The investigative judgment makes possible the final atonement which takes place in heaven’s sanctuary. This divine doctrine became one of the pillars of our faith. No other religious body in the world believes this great truth. Why? Perhaps it would be good for us to briefly examine the evangelical claim that Christ’s death on Calvary was a final and finished atonement for sin. There is a vast difference between what the churches of Babylon teach and what is taught by God’s remnant people.

The word atone means to make amends, to be in agreement and to reconcile. Most Protestants believe that Jesus died on the cross and shed His blood to save any person who accepts His sacrifice and therefore nothing more is needed. But the question is, Did the Savior’s death on the cross make an atonement for the sinner with God providing for a full agreement or is the blood which was shed by Christ now being administered by Christ in heaven’s sanctuary making the final atonement?

Every Seventh-day Adventist should be familiar with the Old Testament sanctuary service that God gave to Moses revealing the total plan of salvation through Jesus Christ. Permit me to briefly describe it. In order for a person who sinned to be forgiven, he must bring a lamb to be slain and offered on the altar of sacrifice, which was located at the entrance to the earthly sanctuary. Here it was the duty of the priest to instruct the sinner that the lamb he was about to sacrifice represented the coming Messiah, Who would become the Lamb of God to die for his sins. The sinner, having understood this divine truth, would then confess his sin by placing his hands on the lamb’s head and then slay the lamb, knowing that someday in the future, his confessed sin would slay the Lamb of God. Thus by faith in the coming Messiah’s death, his sins would be forgiven.

But there was much more than forgiveness to be obtained in this sacrifice, for the priest was to catch some of the blood in the bowl and carry it within the sanctuary, where he then dipped his fingers into it and sprinkled the blood before the veil as well as on the horns of the altar. Just behind this altar was the veil and behind the veil was the ark containing the ten commandments and above the law was the mercy seat, representing the throne of God. It was here through the mercy of God that the final atonement was completed and the sin was blotted out. How we should praise God for the mercy seat, for we all have sinned by breaking God’s divine law and are thus doomed to die. As the Bible states, “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), but through the mercy of God Christ covers man’s sins with His precious blood which blots out the sin so that we can finally be at-one-ment with God, which makes it possible for our Father to accept us as though we have never sinned.

The sanctuary service reveals the total plan of redemption with an atonement at the cross providing forgiveness and a final atonement in heaven’s sanctuary making us fit to live in heaven. But this wonderful knowledge of salvation’s plan was lost sight of through the traditions taught by the Old Testament priests and during the Dark Ages when the Bible containing this sanctuary doctrine was taken from the people. In order to prepare a people for translation at the end of the world, the Lord began to bring to the fore knowledge about the plan of salvation to a lost world.

God led Wycliffe to translate the Bible from the Latin to the people’s language in the year A.D. 1370, which made it possible some years later to be printed and circulated widely. Next, God led John Huss to discover that the Bible only was infallible and not the teachings of the church fathers. This was followed by the Holy Spirit opening the eyes of Martin Luther to discover that great truth that the just shall live by faith (Romans 1:17). Likewise, John Calvin found the truth of salvation by grace. Then came John Wesley, who preached the new birth, and Roger Williams, who began to baptize by emersion.

Step by step, just as quickly as the people could grasp these forgotten truths that were hidden during the Dark Ages, God again revealed these eternal truths. By the year 1844 it was time to begin to call attention to the sanctuary, to the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, and to the second coming of Christ. As a result, God’s remnant church developed, preaching the three angels’ messages declaring with mighty power the investigative judgment which was now taking place. Thus the full sanctuary truth was proclaimed to prepare a people for the second coming.

“Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, Who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man” (Hebrews 8:1, 2). “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:14–16).

Did you notice heaven’s invitation, “Let us come boldly unto the throne of grace”? God is here declaring, Be not afraid of the investigative judgment if you have confessed and transferred your sins into heaven’s sanctuary because the Savior’s precious blood will cover all such sins with Christ’s robe of righteousness.

“In the typical service, only those who had come before God with confession and repentance, and whose sins, through the blood of the sin-offering, were transferred to the sanctuary, had a part in the service of the day of atonement. So in the great day of final atonement and investigative judgment the only cases considered are those of the professed people of God. The judgment of the wicked is a distinct and separate work, and takes place at a later period. ‘Judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel’ (I Peter 4:17)?

“The books of record in Heaven, in which the names and the deeds of men are registered, are to determine the decisions of the judgment.” The Great Controversy, 480. This quotation and all remaining quotes are taken from The Great Controversy, the chapter entitled, “Facing Life’s Record.”

In recent years we have entered the computer age. Today it is possible to place your life’s history on a tiny speck of a chip. At any time, by the push of a button, there can appear on the screen a record of all your health problems or your financial condition. Instantly, you can see how much money you may have in the bank, or how much debt you owe, and even a record of a failure to make a payment on time. Furthermore, your record will reveal details of your commitment to a religion, a record of every place you have lived, of travels abroad, and your marital status.

Oh, I could go on and on. If man can produce such records of your life never doubt that God keeps an unerring record of your sins. Inspiration states: “ ‘God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.’ ‘Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.’ Says the Saviour: ‘By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned’ (Ecclesiastes 12:14; Matthew 12:36, 37). The secret purposes and motives appear in the unerring register; for God ‘will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts’ (1 Corinthians 4:5). ‘Behold, it is written before Me, … your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith the Lord’ (Isaiah 65:6, 7).

“Every man’s work passes in review before God and is registered for faithfulness or unfaithfulness. Opposite each name in the books of heaven is entered with terrible exactness every wrong word, every selfish act, every unfulfilled duty, and every secret sin, with every artful dissembling. Heaven-sent warnings or reproofs neglected, wasted moments, unimproved opportunities, the influence exerted for good or for evil, with its far-reaching results, all are chronicled by the recording angel.” Ibid., 481, 482.

But beloved, do not fear for those who are accounted worthy; that is, those who have confessed and forsaken their sins. Such are assured, “Jesus will appear as their advocate, to plead in their behalf before God. ‘If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous’ (I John 2:1). ‘For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.’ ‘Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them’ (Hebrews 9:24; 7:25).” Ibid., 482.

Oh, beloved, could anyone ask more of our Savior? Not only did He die for our sins, making an atonement on the cross, assuring us of forgiveness, but now as our High Priest in heaven’s sanctuary, He is making a final atonement by pleading the sinner’s case before God the Father, revealing that not only are our sins forgiven, but also that His blood has blotted out all such records. He is ready to cover us with robes of His righteousness so that we may stand before God as being absolutely sinless. Oh, I know you will want to join me in praising His name! Standing sinless before God is the result of the final atonement that Christ is now making for all those who have successfully met the requirements of this investigative judgment.

This is what the Holy Spirit has revealed: “All who have truly repented of sin, and by faith claimed the blood of Christ as their atoning sacrifice, have had pardon entered against their names in the books of heaven; as they have become partakers of the righteousness of Christ, and their characters are found to be in harmony with the law of God, their sins will be blotted out, and they themselves will be accounted worthy of eternal life. The Lord declares, by the prophet Isaiah: ‘I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for Mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins’ (Isaiah 43:25). Said Jesus: ‘He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels’ (Revelation 3:5).” Ibid., 483. [Emphasis added.]

And what’s more: “The divine intercessor presents the plea that all who have overcome through faith in His blood be forgiven their transgressions, that they be restored to their Eden home, and crowned as joint heirs with Himself to ‘the first dominion’ (Micah 4:8).” Ibid., 484.

Beloved, there is still more: “… Christ now asks that this plan be carried into effect as if man had never fallen. He asks for His people not only pardon and justification, full and complete, but a share in His glory and a seat upon His throne.” Ibid. Oh friend, may God help us to comprehend those words, to share His glory and a seat on His throne. Such thoughts go far beyond the ability to comprehend. No wonder Ellen White was inspired to write, “The intercession of Christ in man’s behalf in the sanctuary above is as essential to the plan of salvation as was His death upon the cross. By His death He began that work which after His resurrection He ascended to complete in heaven. We must by faith enter within the veil, ‘whither the forerunner is for us entered’ (Hebrews 6:20). There the light from the cross of Calvary is reflected. There we may gain a clearer insight into the mysteries of redemption. The salvation of man is accomplished at an infinite expense to heaven; the sacrifice made is equal to the broadest demands of the broken law of God. Jesus has opened the way to the Father’s throne, and through His mediation the sincere desire of all who come to Him in faith may be presented before God.” Ibid., 489.

This is a wonderful promise beyond our expectations. This is why we need never be afraid of the investigative judgment with Christ as our Mediator—never, never be afraid. However, friend, there is something I must remind you of that should awaken every nerve within you. So note this carefully. Probation will soon close. Now is the time to make absolutely sure that Christ will mediate on your behalf, for Inspiration declares, “The judgment is now passing in the sanctuary above. For many years this work has been in progress. Soon—none know how soon—it will pass to the cases of the living. In the awful presence of God our lives are to come up in review. At this time above all others it behooves every soul to heed the Saviour’s admonition: ‘Watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is’ (Mark 13:33). ‘If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee’ (Revelation 3:3).” Ibid., 490.

“We are now living in the great day of atonement. In the typical service, while the high priest was making the atonement for Israel, all were required to afflict their souls by repentance of sin and humiliation before the Lord, lest they be cut off from among the people. In like manner, all who would have their names retained in the book of life should now, in the few remaining days of their probation, afflict their souls before God by sorrow for sin and true repentance. There must be deep, faithful searching of heart. The light, frivolous spirit indulged by so many professed Christians must be put away. There is earnest warfare before all who would subdue the evil tendencies that strive for the mastery. The work of preparation is an individual work. We are not saved in groups. The purity and devotion of one will not offset the want of these qualities in another. Though all nations are to pass in judgment before God, yet He will examine the case of each individual with as close and searching scrutiny as if there were not another being upon the earth. Everyone must be tested and found without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.” Ibid., 489, 490.

“ ‘Watch ye therefore: … lest coming suddenly He finds you sleeping’ (Mark 13:35, 36). Perilous is the condition of those who, growing weary of their watch, turn to the attractions of the world. While the man of business is absorbed in the pursuit of gain, while the pleasure lover is seeking indulgence, while the daughter of fashion is arranging her adornments—it may be in that hour the Judge of all the earth will pronounce the sentence: ‘Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting’ (Daniel 5:27).” Ibid., 491.

Dear child of God, with such counsel as this, we need not be afraid if we follow Christ as our Example and daily pray to God, Not my will but as Thou wilt. May God help us to heed His instruction and daily live unafraid, ready to see Jesus come.

For more than fifty years, Lawrence Nelson served the Seventh-day Adventist Church as a church pastor, evangelist, and then in Conference, Union, and General Conference leadership. When God laid upon him the responsibility to “tell it like it is” to alert the people how the church was leading them into the worldwide ecumenical movement, he was forbidden to preach in any church within the Oregon Conference. Elder Nelson passed to his rest on April 18, 2012.

A Better Sacrifice

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The apostle Paul had a far better education than the other apostles, other than what Jesus gave to him. The apostles had three and a half years with Jesus, but they did not have anything like the apostle Paul’s knowledge of the Scriptures and of the history of Israel. The three and a half years that the apostles had with Jesus could be compared to the two years in which Ellen White tells us that Paul was personally instructed by Jesus in the desert of Arabia before he set out upon his ministry. The instruction by Jesus, added to the background of information that Paul had, gave him an advantage.

He understood some things more quickly and more fully than the other apostles, for example: the difference between the two laws, the moral law and the ceremonial law. I did a little exercise once that was an eye opener to myself. I isolated every New Testament witness from Jesus, John the Baptist, then all the New Testament writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul and so on. I put to each writer, as it were, the question: What do you have to say about the two laws? From every single one, except the apostle Paul, the answer was absolute silence. If you did not have the writings of the apostle Paul in the New Testament, you would have no way of knowing that the ceremonial law is passed away. He is the only one who ever mentioned it.

A possible exception is in Acts 15:10. Peter made a statement which could be understood to mean that the ceremonial law was passed away. “Why tempt ye God, to put a yoke on the neck of the disciples, which neither we nor our fathers were able to bear.” We presume that he was talking about the ceremonial law as misinterpreted by the priesthood of his time, which was indeed a yoke, very, very difficult to bear.

The apostle Paul understood clearly how the doors of the church were to be opened to the Gentiles. Paul tells us in the first two chapters of Galatians how Peter was having a little trouble with that concept, even though he had been involved in God’s instruction on the matter. If you go to Romans 10 and 11, you see how Paul reaches into his knowledge of the writings of Isaiah to show that this was right and proper and was entirely in harmony with God’s great plan of salvation.

There is one more thing that the apostle Paul understood better than the other apostles—the destruction of the city of Jerusalem and the temple. “Now,” you may say, “all the disciples knew that. They were talking to Jesus about it on the Mount of Olives when Jesus said that ‘there will not be left one stone upon another.’” Yes, they understood that, but they thought it was going to be at the second coming of Christ. I do not think that Paul made that mistake. And here I am not just relying on my own thinking, I am borrowing a thought from Elder M.L. Andreason. Some of you older folks may remember Elder Andreason. He was one of the finest Bible scholars we ever had in our church—a very great and good man. He believed that the apostle Paul wrote the book of Hebrews because he knew that the temple was going to be destroyed and he knew what an awful shock that would be to the Jewish Christians. The Jewish people, even though they became Christians, loved that temple. It was to them the symbol of Israel. Paul realized that they needed some help, otherwise they would become confused and disheartened and perhaps even discouraged when that temple was torn down, which was to be only a short while ahead. Se he set out to show, in the book of Hebrews, that we have something better.

I believe the word better is the key word in the book of Hebrews. In this book you find the words better, higher, more excellent, and more perfect.

In the first chapter of Hebrews, Paul begins by arguing that Christ is better than the angels. “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; being made so much better than the angels.” Hebrews 1:1-4. He quotes from Psalm 110:5, and says, to what angel did the Lord ever talk like that, like he talked to His Son? In Hebrews 1:6, you see that “all the angels of God worship Him.” In verse seven and in verse 13, quoting again from Psalm 110, he makes a reference to the angels. To what angel did He ever say, “Sit on My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool”?

In chapter 3, Paul goes on to argue that Christ is better than Moses. He compares Moses to the one who is faithful in the house, but he says that Christ is the Son of the Builder of the house. And that puts him higher than Moses.

In chapter 5, verses 4 and 5 and onward, he argues that Christ is better than Abraham. He says that because Abraham paid tithe to Melchisedec and Jesus is a priest after the order of Melchisedec, Jesus is better than Abraham. Then as a sub-point, he says, the Levites descended from Abraham, so Jesus is better than the Levites. In Hebrews 5:4,5 Jesus is better than Aaron. Then in Hebrews 7:19, “For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.” “By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.” Verse 22. Then, in Hebrews 8:1, he considers the sanctuary and says that we have a better sanctuary, one that is made without hands, in the kingdom of God. He goes on to say we have a better High Priest. Look especially at Hebrews 8:6, “But now hath he obtained a more excellent [better] ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.” So it is better, better, better all the way through.

Now, let us look back over this for just a moment. Jesus is better than the angels. Jesus is better than Moses. Jesus is better than Aaron and the Levites. Jesus is better than Abraham. We have a better hope. We have a better testament. We have a better sanctuary. We have a more excellent ministry, a better covenant and better promises. And then he settles in on the point, a better Sacrifice. Look back to Hebrews 7:26,27, “For such an high Priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for His own sins, and then for the people’s: for this He did once, when He offered up Himself.” He is going to pick up this thought and enlarge on it in about fifteen more verses, which we want to notice. The sacrifice is better because it only had to be made once.

In Hebrews 9:23,24, Paul is talking about the dedication of the earthly as compared to the dedication of the heavenly tabernacle. “It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens [those are the earthly things, of course] should be purified with these [that is, with the blood of calves and goats and so forth]; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. [When you meet someone who says, “What are you talking about, ‘cleanse the heavenly sanctuary’? How could anything defile the heavenly sanctuary?” you just show them Hebrews 9:23.] For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.” Hebrews 9:24.

Take your pencil in your hand and be prepared to do a little marking. We are going to show you the words once in contrast with the word often. I would like to suggest that you circle the word once and underline the words that mean repeated, frequent or often. Beginning with Hebrews 9:25-10:3; “Nor yet that he should offer Himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; for then must He often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men 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. 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 comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? [They would not make sacrifices again if the first sacrifice was fully adequate, fully complete.] because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.” [Verses 4-9 are parenthetical. We are going to skip those.] Let us read verses 10-14: “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: but this man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made His footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.”

What is Paul trying to prove? He is trying to prove that you do not compare the sacrifice of Christ with the sacrifice of an animal, except in a symbolic sense. The animal sacrifices made on earth were right; they were good, but they cannot be compared with the sacrifice of Christ, which only had to be made once. The reason it only had to be made once is that it was fully adequate; it was not weak or faulty in any way; it was absolutely perfect and complete. We need to take note of this and notice how carefully our beloved messenger to the remnant, Ellen White, followed the thinking and the writings of the apostles, especially of the apostle Paul, because she writes about the sacrifice of Christ in the very same way that Paul did. Unfortunately, this has not always been understood correctly by her readers.

I want to show you something that may surprise some of you if you have not had occasion to study into this. The writer of the book Seventh-day Adventists Believe, religiously followed the language of Ellen White. Let us settle something in our minds before we go any further. Ellen White wrote in Selected Messages, book 1, 20: “Different meanings are expressed by the same word; there is not one word for each distinct idea.” Would you consider for a moment the word fast. If a horse can run with speed, he is fast. If you tie him to the tree so he cannot run at all, he is fast to the tree. If you go without food, that is a fast. If a woman has loose morals, she is fast. Just think of all the different ways the word fast is used. Take, for example the word gamble. This is one of the most frequent little tricks that you will hear some people use, and it is strictly a trick. You are talking about the gambling dens in Las Vegas, shall we say, and a person says to you, “Do you gamble?” Gamble is being defined as the playing of a game of chance. You say, “No, I do not gamble.” He switches definitions and says, “You gamble every time you cross the street.” Now gamble is being defined as the acceptance of an unavoidable risk. That is quite different from playing a game of chance. You see that kind of thing in the writings of people who are either careless or deceitful; I do not know which. We will leave that to the Lord. But to switch definitions of a word in the middle of a discussion without telling the reader that you are changing your definitions, creates confusion.

Now Seventh-day Adventists should not have any trouble with the idea that people in different groups use the same words with different meanings, because their heads are filled with Adventist jargon. (Jargon is what the English teachers call this sort of thing.) For example: What does “the work” mean to you? You know what it means—taking the third angel’s message to all the world; that is “the work.” Now, if you walk up to an Episcopalian minister and ask him what “the work” means, will he tell you that it is taking the third angel’s message to all the world? I do not think so. “Are you going to have a part in the loud cry?” You ask someone who is not an Adventist that question and see what kind of a look they give you. The finishing of the message, the loud cry, the work, the truth, to take stand for the truth, the Spirit of Prophecy, to have an effort—these are examples of Adventist language. “Brother so and so had an effort down in a certain city.” You tell some non-Adventist that and see what kind of a blank look you get. We Seventh-day Adventists have a lot of words that we use with our own definitions.

Now, Ellen White uses certain words that Calvinists use, but she does not use them with Calvinistic definitions. Get that clear before we start. She is not using these words with Calvinistic definitions; she is using them with Pauline definitions (The definitions given by the apostle Paul.) For example, here are eleven references in which Ellen White uses the word atonement and puts with it the word made:

“He bore the curse of the law for the sinner, made an atonement for him.” God’s Amazing Grace, 117

“He has made an atonement for us.” In Heavenly Places, 71

“Christ has made an atonement for the sins of the world.” Lift Him Up, 245

“Christ has made an atonement for you.” Medical Ministry, 44

“But Christ has made atonement for every sinner.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 4, 1178

“Jesus has made atonement for all sins of ignorance.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1145

“He made an atonement for every repenting, believing soul.” That I May Know Him, 100

“The Saviour made an atonement for the fallen race.” Signs of the Times, Dec. 17, 1902

Look carefully at this one. This combines making and made:

“He has withdrawn from human sight into the immediate presence of God. There he is making intercession for those who by faith come to God. He presents them to the Father, saying, ‘By the marks of the nails in My hands, I claim pardon for them. I have made an atonement for them.’” Signs of the Times, December 30, 1903

He makes atonement by pointing to the cross saying, “I have done it. I have made it.” He does not shed his blood again before the Father’s throne.

“Jesus…made an atonement for us.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 14, 81

“He has made an atonement for sin.” Battle Creek Letters, 56

Now some examples for the words full atonement still using a Pauline definition.

“Christ made a full atonement.” Lift Him Up, 345

“How full the atonement of the Savior for our guilt! [Notice the language.] The Redeemer, with a heart of unalterable love, still pleads [not sheds] His sacred blood in the sinner’s behalf.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 124

“The precious blood of Christ was of such value that a full atonement was made for the guilty soul, and this was to Paul his ‘glory.’” Signs of the Times, November 24, 1890

In the next quote, Ellen White is talking about the soldiers outside the tomb of Christ and how they could not face the heavenly messenger sent to relieve the Son of God from the debt of sin for which He had become responsible:

“And for which He had now made a full atonement.” Youth’s Instructor, May 2, 1901

The word complete.

“God has accepted the offering of His Son as a complete atonement for the sins of the world.” The Faith I Live By, 91

“In the wisdom of God it was complete [the sacrifice of Christ].” Signs of the Times, December 30, 1889

“In every part His sacrifice was perfect; for He could make a complete atonement for sin.” The Youth’s Instructor, June 14, 1900

“We are to rejoice that the atonement is complete; Christ is our complete Saviour.” Review and Herald, November 11, 1890

“His atonement was complete in every part.” Signs of the Times, July 31, 1901

She is talking about quality, you see. “He made a complete sacrifice to God.” Faith I Live By, 50

Please notice carefully the language in the following quotation:

“He [Christ] planted the cross between heaven and earth, and when the Father beheld the sacrifice of His Son, He [the Father] bowed before it in recognition of its perfection. ‘It is enough,’ He said. ‘The atonement is complete.’” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7A, 459

These quotations are talking about quality. The sacrifice is absolutely faultless. It is total; it is complete. Nothing more needs to be added to that sacrifice.

The word perfect.

“A perfect atonement was made.” Lift Him Up, 319

“Then a perfect atonement was made.” That I May Know Him, 73

Then we have the words making an atonement. This is the present tense, now.

“Now, while our great High Priest is making the atonement for us, we should seek to become perfect in Christ.” Great Controversy, 623

“And now, while the precious Saviour is making an atonement for us.” Maranatha, 275

Ellen White applies the words made atonement, full atonement, complete atonement, finished atonement and perfect atonement to the sacrifice, but there is one word that she never applies to the sacrifice, that is the word final.We have references of this type:

“So in the great day of final atonement and investigative judgment.” Great Controversy, 480

“The blood of Christ, while it is to release the repentant sinner from the condemnation of the law, was not to cancel the sin; it was to stand on record in the sanctuary until the final atonement.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 357

“His work as High Priest completes the divine plan of redemption by making atonement for sin.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 10, 157

“As the priests in the earthly sanctuary entered the Most Holy once a year to cleanse the sanctuary, Jesus entered the Most Holy of the heavenly, at the end of the 2300 days of Daniel 8, in 1844, to make a final atonement for all who could be benefited by His mediation, and to cleanse the sanctuary.” Spiritual Gifts, vol. 1, 161

Ellen White uses this language, but not with Calvinistic definitions. She is using Pauline definitions (definitions that she gathers from the apostle Paul), and she uses all of these words made atonement, full atonement, complete atonement, finished atonement and perfect atonement referring to the perfection of the sacrifice. Then she turns her attention to the priesthood and talks about the final atonement being made now, which, again, is strictly following Scripture.

If you turn to the book of Leviticus and read the first fifteen chapters, you will find there, eighteen descriptions of a person coming to the sanctuary with a sacrifice; in every one of those eighteen cases, it says the atonement is made. Then turn to chapter sixteen and you will find five statements that on the great Day of Atonement the high priest makes atonement for those very same people who brought their sacrifice every day throughout the year, and had atonement made for themselves. So, there is perfect Biblical background for describing what Jesus is doing now in the courts of heaven as “making an atonement.”

The apostle Paul was afraid that the people were fastening their faith to a building. What happens to your faith if the building is destroyed? What is the lesson for us?

  • Do not fasten your faith to any building, any number of buildings or any worldwide aggregate of buildings. They may be swept away.
  • Do no fasten your faith to a priesthood that may be swept away—a ministry, we would say, that may be swept away. If all of the ministers were gone, would that do anything to Jesus Christ? He is still there. Do not fasten your faith to a ministry that might be swept away.
  • Do not fasten your faith to a church organization that might be swept away. I did not say will be swept away; I said might be swept away. I do not know, but I am prepared for anything now, as I see what is happening in the organization.
  • Fasten your faith to Jesus Christ. He is better than all of these things.
  • Fasten your faith to His Word and to His counsels, the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy. You can sweep away the buildings; you can sweep away the organization; but you still have the Word of God.
  • Fasten your faith to His promise that where two or three are gathered together, He will be present there; and that is the church. That is the highest, purest and best definition of the church.

The End

The Lamb Opens the Holy Place

by

Forty days after Jesus was raised from the dead, He and His disciples were walking toward Bethany. When they reached the crest of the Mount of Olives, “He lifted up His hands and blessed them. While He was blessing them, He left them and was taken up into heaven.” “He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid Him from their sight” (Luke 24:50, 51; Acts 1:9).

Many years later when John was on the Isle of Patmos, he was shown in vision the arrival of Jesus in heaven after His ascension.

Beginning with Revelation 4:1, John gives a detailed description of the setting in which Jesus appeared. Struggling to find words to adequately describe the glories of the scene before him, he writes,

“After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.’ At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with Someone sitting on it. And the One who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne” (Revelation 4:1–3).

Who was sitting on this throne before which the “Lamb, looking as if it had been slain” (Revelation 5:6), was standing? It is God the Father, the Ancient of Days, the great ruler of the universe. He is the One who “so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16 KJV). This is the One before whom the Lamb is standing.

“Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing” (Revelation 4:4, 5).

“As in vision the apostle John was granted a view of the temple of God in heaven, he beheld there ‘seven lamps of fire burning before the throne’ (Revelation 4:5). He saw an angel ‘having a golden censer; and there was given unto Him much incense, that He should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne’ (Revelation 8:3). Here the prophet was permitted to behold the first apartment of the sanctuary in heaven; and he saw there the ‘seven lamps of fire’ and ‘the golden altar,’ represented by the golden candlestick and the altar of incense in the sanctuary on earth.” The Great Controversy, 414, 415.

In the sanctuary on earth, the lampstand was located in the first apartment. So we see that Revelation 4 is a description of the scene taking place in the holy place of the sanctuary in heaven at the time Jesus ascended from this earth.

“Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.

“In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. … Day and night they never stop saying: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.’ Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and worship Him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: ‘You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they were created and have their being’ ” (Revelation 4:8–11).

In the midst of this glorious celebration, John describes the appearance of Jesus as He comes before the Father. “Then, midway between the throne and the four living creatures, I saw a Lamb standing among the Elders. He looked as if He had been offered in sacrifice …” (Revelation 5:6 WNT).

In Revelation 4 and 5, John is describing the vastness and glory of the sanctuary in heaven and the inauguration of Jesus as our high priest.

“The matchless splendor of the earthly tabernacle reflected to human vision the glories of that heavenly temple where Christ our forerunner ministers for us before the throne of God. The abiding place of the King of kings, where thousand thousands minister unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stand before Him (Daniel 7:10); that temple, filled with the glory of the eternal throne, where seraphim, its shining guardians, veil their faces in adoration, could find, in the most magnificent structure ever reared by human hands, but a faint reflection of its vastness and glory.” The Great Controversy, 414.

Ever since this celebration of the opening of the holy place in the sanctuary in heaven, Christ, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, has been ministering His blood for the remission of our sins in this sacred place. “The point … of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being” (Hebrews 8:1, 2).

The following is another description of this same event as recorded in The Desire of Ages, 833–835:

“All heaven was waiting to welcome the Saviour to the celestial courts. As He ascended, He led the way, and the multitude of captives set free at His resurrection followed. The heavenly host, with shouts and acclamations of praise and celestial song, attended the joyous train.

“As they drew near to the city of God, the challenge is given by the escorting angels –

‘Lift up your heads, O ye gates;

And be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors;

And the King of glory shall come in.’

Joyfully the waiting sentinels respond –

‘Who is this King of glory?’

“This they say, not because they know not who He is, but because they would hear the answer of exalted praise –

‘The Lord strong and mighty,

The Lord mighty in battle!

Lift up your heads, O ye gates;

Even lift them up, ye everlasting doors;

And the King of glory shall come in.’

“Again is heard the challenge, ‘Who is this King of glory?’ for the angels never weary of hearing His name exalted. The escorting angels make reply –

‘The Lord of hosts;

He is the King of glory’

(Psalm 24:7–10).

“Then the portals of the city of God are opened wide, and the angelic throng sweep through the gates amid a burst of rapturous music.

“There is the throne, and around it the rainbow of promise. There are cherubim and seraphim. The commanders of the angel hosts, the sons of God, the representatives of the unfallen worlds, are assembled. The heavenly council before which Lucifer had accused God and His Son, the representatives of those sinless realms over which Satan had thought to establish his dominion—all are there to welcome the Redeemer. They are eager to celebrate His triumph and to glorify their King.

“But He waves them back. Not yet; He cannot now receive the coronet of glory and the royal robe. He enters into the presence of His Father. He points to His wounded head, the pierced side, the marred feet; He lifts His hands, bearing the print of nails. He points to the tokens of His triumph; He presents to God the wave sheaf, those raised with Him as representatives of that great multitude who shall come forth from the grave at His second coming. He approaches the Father, with whom there is joy over one sinner that repents; who rejoices over one with singing. Before the foundations of the earth were laid, the Father and the Son had united in a covenant to redeem man if he should be overcome by Satan. They had clasped Their hands in a solemn pledge that Christ should become the surety for the human race. This pledge Christ has fulfilled. When upon the cross He cried out, ‘It is finished,’ He addressed the Father. The compact had been fully carried out. Now He declares: Father, it is finished. I have done Thy will, O My God. I have completed the work of redemption. If Thy justice is satisfied, ‘I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am’ (John 19:30; 17:24).

“The voice of God is heard proclaiming that justice is satisfied. Satan is vanquished. Christ’s toiling, struggling ones on earth are ‘accepted in the Beloved’ (Ephesians 1:6). Before the heavenly angels and the representatives of unfallen worlds, they are declared justified. Where He is, there His church shall be. ‘Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other’ (Psalm 85:10). The Father’s arms encircle His Son, and the word is given, ‘Let all the angels of God worship Him’ (Hebrews 1:6).

“With joy unutterable, rulers and principalities and powers acknowledge the supremacy of the Prince of life. The angel host prostrate themselves before Him, while the glad shout fills all the courts of heaven, ‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing’ (Revelation 5:12).

“Songs of triumph mingle with the music from angel harps, till heaven seems to overflow with joy and praise. Love has conquered. The lost is found. Heaven rings with voices in lofty strains proclaiming, ‘Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever’ (Revelation 5:13).

“From that scene of heavenly joy, there comes back to us on earth the echo of Christ’s own wonderful words, ‘I ascend unto My Father, and your Father; and to My God, and your God’ (John 20:17). The family of heaven and the family of earth are one. For us our Lord ascended, and for us He lives. ‘Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them’ ” (Hebrews 7:25).

Excerpts from High Priest & Coming King, by Maurice Hoppe, pages 42–47.

(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 Sanctuary Made Simple – Chapter 7

by Lawrence M. Nelson

The Sanctuary Made Simple bookChapter Seven – Christ The Answer

As we have pointed out in our study, once a year, the earthly sanctuary was to be cleansed. The day on which this event took place was called the Day of Atonement. It was a great and solemn day for the children of Israel. It was particularly holy also, for no one was permitted to do any work on this day. It was the keystone of the sacrificial system. Any man, woman, or child who did not make the needed preparation in afflicting his soul, making sure that his every sin had been taken into the sanctuary and separated from him, was to be cut off from the people of Israel. We read of this in Leviticus 23:29, “For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people.” And so the Day of Atonement was a solemn occasion, for everyone had to examine himself to make sure that every sin in his life had been carried within the sanctuary.

In a short review, let us quickly enumerate once more the steps by which sin was separated from the sinner, and carried into the sanctuary. You remember, first the sinner must experience true contrition and repentance, represented by bringing a specified animal for sacrifice to the door of the tabernacle. There, he placed his hands upon its head, and confessed his sin, thus transferring his sin to the lamb. Then, with his own hand, he had to take a knife and slay the victim, for the innocent victim must die for his sins. Next, the priest would bring a bowl and take of the blood from the Iamb, which now in type carried the sin, which he then brought within the sanctuary, and sprinkled it upon the veil. In this way, the man’s sin was forgiven, and transferred into the sanctuary. You can readily see that during the year, with a great number of people, that there was an enormous accumulation of sin within the tabernacle. But once a year, God purposed that these sins would be removed from the sanctuary by a cleansing process. In our last study, we learned that the priest would take the blood of the sin offering, and enter within the most holy, and there sprinkle the blood upon the mercy seat. Thus signifying that the terms of the broken law had been satisfied. Then, symbolically, he would gather the sins and take them out of the sanctuary, and place them all upon the head of the scapegoat, which would be led away from the camp of Israel into the wilderness to die. In this manner, the sanctuary was cleansed on the great Day of Atonement.

We have discovered that the Lord Jesus Christ entered the heavenly sanctuary’s most holy place within the veil in October 1844, to conduct a final atonement process in the heavenly sanctuary since that date. This has been taking place for over 150 years now, and this work, I believe, will soon be finished. Any individual who has not made sure that every sin is confessed and forgiven will be separated forever from God when the final act of atonement is made; for Jesus will stand up and declare, “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and He that is filthy, let him be filthy still, and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still” Revelation 22:11. Our only hope is in Jesus Christ’s power to enable a sinner to overcome sin. Thus Christ is the only answer to the sin problem.

But, today Satan is spreading abroad a new philosophy which is completely contrary to the sanctuary services and its teaching. He is leading men to think that their sin will be winked at by God, or will not be discovered before Jesus comes. ln Numbers 32:23, we are admonished with words that would be well to ponder, “Behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out.”

Some years ago, a traveling newspaper correspondent observed a man carrying an old cane with some peculiar carvings on it. He thought very little of it, until two months later he was in the same vicinity and learned that an elderly man and his wife had been beaten to death. No one seemed to know why the murders had been committed, for the elderly couple had been loved by all. This man and his wife had been beaten to death with some kind of a stick. The correspondent went to the authorities, and gave them a description of the man he had seen with a strange looking cane. Six months later, the police found the man and brought him to justice. The judge was seated, the jury chosen, but the man had an alibi for every indictment. It seemed that the court couldn’t prove a thing against him. The judge was actually beginning to believe that maybe they had the wrong man, and the jury felt likewise. Until, the door of the courtroom opened and the newspaper correspondent walked down the aisle, in his hand he carried the blood-stained cane that he had found in the woods near the victim’s home. When the man who was accused of this brutal slaying saw the cane, his face suddenly turned white, and he began to tremble. Then everyone in the courtroom knew that he was guilty . . . be sure your sin will find you out!

There are many today who think that they can give a reasonable answer as to why they don’t surrender their sins to Jesus, and ask Him to plead their case before God. These individuals are also able to convince their pastors that they are pretty good and they are headed for the kingdom. But, God knows! And there are wives who deceive their husbands, leading them to think that they have been true to their marriage vows; but God knows! And there are some sons and daughters who convince their parents that they are just about perfect; but God knows! Some even have the ability to convince themselves that they are quite religious, and somehow will be saved when Jesus comes; but God knows! The Lord declares, “Shall not God search this out? For he knoweth the secrets of the heart.” Psalm 44:21.

Let’s bring this closer home to us as individuals. Imagine with me that there is a certain young man who has a wife and two children. This young man–we’ll call him Jim–is a good looking fellow; he has an excellent job and is a fine citizen. He pays his taxes, is well thought of in the community, he may even go to church. But, all the time he is under the conviction that he should come to Jesus and confess his sins, so he can be cleansed with His blood. However, Jim never gets around to doing what he knows he ought to do. Why? Well, maybe it is the Sabbath. He knows that the Bible teaches that the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord his God. He knows that it’s a part of the divine law and he should keep it. But, there is a problem, maybe it just isn’t convenient to honor God’s day. Maybe he is having a struggle over returning tithe to God. He knows that ten percent of his income belongs to the Lord. Jim has so many blessings, a beautiful wife and two little girls, a car, a lovely home, but he also wants many other things. He feels he just can’t afford to pay tithe; or so he thinks. Maybe he has a problem with some secret bad habit, like smoking, or having an occasional drink with the boys after work. He doesn’t think anybody knows about this, but you see, God knows! Or it could be the love of some pleasure that in his heart he knows is contrary to God, but he just can’t seem to give it up. Perhaps the real issue in his mind is that he has never been baptized. He knows what God’s word says in John 3:5, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” But he has continued to put it off. The issue here is–a young man with sin in his life.

Now, let us suppose that one day something happens that Jim didn’t plan on. He might have been thinking deeply about his work, and without looking, he starts across the street. Suddenly he is hit by a car, and his life is instantly snuffed out! The funeral is held in the church which is filled to capacity with many of his friends. The pastor, thinking that Jim was ready for the kingdom, presents a wonderful eulogy; but what do you think? Can God accept this young man? Can Jim, now dead, do anything to correct his faulty, sinful record left on the books of heaven? What does God say about our condition when we are dead? For “the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they anymore a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun. . . . Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.” Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6, 10.

The word of God has made it very clear that since Jim is dead he cannot do anything to correct his past mistakes. He’s dead, he’s buried; but is this the end? Oh, no! We read in God’s word that this man must now be judged. In the book of Hebrews 9:27, are these words: “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”

Now we have arrived at the crucial issue having to do with the judgment and the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary.

In the autumn of 1844, when Jesus Christ stepped in before the throne of God within the most holy place the judgment proceedings began. There are no words in the Bible that are more striking than those describing this judgment scene. “I beheld till the thrones were cast down (placed) and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.” Daniel 7:9, 10.

Consider what happened when this great court of God convened in heaven in the year 1844. The first case would be that of Abel, who had been murdered by his brother Cain, for he was the first man to die in this world. Abel was a sinner, for–“all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23. Yet, he believed in the Savior, and did as God had required. He took a Iamb and confessed his sins over it transferring them to the Iamb, and then with his own hand, he slew the sacrifice. When the books were opened, in which were recorded the sins of Abel, Jesus Christ was standing before God, pleading for Abel. “I have covered his sins with my blood. I want him to live in heaven with us.” God looks at Jesus, and then speaks those wonderful words: “Retain his name in the Book of Life.”

Next case, . . .we don’t know whose name came up next, but eventually Cain died and let us suppose that his name came up next. Was Cain a religious man? You would hardly think so, since the Bible says he murdered his brother. But, look a little closer. You will find that indeed he was quite a religious man. Cain thought himself righteous and came to God with a thank offering. Only he made no confession of sin. Instead of bringing a lamb for a sacrifice for his sins, he decided that he would go out to his garden and dig up some vegetables for his sacrifice. He built an altar, and placed the fruit of his labor upon the altar as an offering. Then he knelt down and prayed, asking God to accept his offering. But, God would not accept this substitute for sin. No one can ever earn salvation by his self righteousness. Remember the words of Hebrews 9:22, “Without the shedding of blood is no remission.” Cain presumed upon God’s mercy and grace. He did not bring a sacrificial lamb, representing Christ. And God will never accept a counterfeit. Since God would not accept his counterfeit sacrifice Cain became so angry that he killed his brother, Abel. All this is recorded in the books of heaven. As the books were opened and the record was revealed, could Jesus stand up as Cain’s advocate? As far as we know, He could not. There is nothing in the Bible to indicate that Cain ever accepted Jesus. He did not obey the requirements of Christ as outlined in the sacrificial system of the sanctuary. Can you imagine the sorrow of Jesus as God says, “Put Cain’s name in the book of death.”

And so, the judgment goes on for all people who ever lived on this earth. Everyone is judged according to the records in the books of heaven. Each individual is accepted or rejected as determined by the answer to one question: Has the blood of Christ covered his/her sins?

Now let’s go back to the funeral of this young man, Jim, who was killed by an automobile. A person may live a fairly good life, but not obey God in his daily living. What happens to him in the judgment? Did Christ do everything for Jim that he might be saved? Watch Jesus as He points to the nail prints in His hands, and to the wound in His side, and then says, ‘Father, I gave my life for that young man. Father, I died on Calvary, what more could I have done for him? But, he would not obey; he would not accept my sacrifice as provided. Therefore, I cannot cover his sins with my blood.” Slowly, but surely God says, “Put his name in the book of death.”

Am I making this too real? The sanctuary services are simple to understand. Friend, this is exactly what is going on in the heavenly sanctuary today. The cleansing of the sanctuary in heaven is real!

“Soon, none know how soon, the judgment will pass to the living.” Great Controversy, 1888 Edition, pg. 490.

lt makes us think seriously, doesn’t it? Are we ready for our names to come up before God?

There is more to the story of Jim’s experience even though his name was blotted out of the book of life. This is not the end for Jim as we shall see.

When Jesus comes the second time a resurrection will take place. “The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” I Thessalonians 4:16, 17. In this first resurrection, when Jesus returns to this earth, Jim will not come forth from his grave. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life will be raised in the first resurrection.

Now, what about Jim’s family? Let’s say that as time went on, his wife and daughters lived faithfully; keeping the commandments of God, making sure every sin was confessed and covered by the blood of Jesus until the day they, too, went into the grave. When Jesus comes in the clouds with ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands of angels, He looks upon the graves of His sleeping saints and calls for the righteous to come forth. This mother and daughters will come out of their graves clothed in immortality. No doubt, Jim’s wife will look around for her husband, and the girls will be looking for dad. When they see that his grave beside theirs has not been opened, tears fill their eyes, but God says that He shall wipe away all tears. Then with overwhelming joy they are lifted up by the angels to meet the Lord in the air and taken to heaven where they will spend the next one thousand years. “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.” Revelation 20:6.

But, what about Jim–where is he–what will happen to him? Regarding the second resurrection, Revelation 20:5 says, “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.” At the end of the thousand years, Jesus is going to come back to this earth the third time with all His living saints, and He will also bring with him that great city, the New Jerusalem. As Jesus descends to the earth, the second resurrection of the dead takes place. It is the resurrection of the wicked. The Bible speaks of them as the sands of the seashore, or humanly speaking, they are without number! These still have the same spirit of rebellion and resistance to God’s requirements as they had while living on the earth.

Picture with me, Jim, as he comes forth in this final resurrection. He looks around, and sees the city of God, the New Jerusalem. He is troubled, and says, “That’s strange, this isn’t like what I used to read in my Bible.” and then, he sees the wicked of all ages milling around, what a sight! Something is wrong. Then he remembers that he did not obey God, and follow Christ in the way of salvation as taught in the sanctuary service. He did not repent and confess his sins. He did not transfer his sins to Jesus and accept His death for his sins. He did not allow Christ to take his sins into the sanctuary, and separate those sins from his sinful heart.

Therefore, Christ was unable to be his advocate before God. Christ would have gladly covered his sins with His blood and blotted them out. So the scripture is finally fulfilled, “Be sure your sins will find you out,” as fire comes down from God out of heaven, and devours Jim with his unforgiven sins.

But this need never happen to you or me–not when Christ has provided such a wonderful way of escape. Remember, there is no one in this world who has gone too far in the depths of sin but Jesus can forgive and save. Isaiah tell us, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Isaiah 1:18. There is hope for every one of us. “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Hebrews 7:25.

Yes! Jesus is the answer. He alone can save us. In His righteousness He can present your case before the Father, and He can pronounce you as one who has never sinned. This may sound too good to be real, but it is true. Do not hesitate–come boldly to Jesus. The Savior will make an atonement for you and be your personal Advocate. Remember, Christ is the answer to all your sins and to all your needs.

End

The Sanctuary Made Simple – Chapter 6

by Lawrence M. Nelson

The Sanctuary Made Simple bookChapter Six – Christ The Advocate

In chapter four as we studied Daniel 8:14, we discovered some amazing facts concerning a prophecy that covered some 2,300 years of this world’s history: “Unto two thousand and three hundred days, then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” This great time prophecy was divided into two sections. The first section covered 490 years; the second a remaining 1,810 years of this prophecy, which brings us to the fall of 1844 A.D. Now, the prophet wrote of this exact date, read it again in Daniel 8:14: “And the angel said unto me, unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.”

Before we can understand what is meant by the words, “then shall the sanctuary be cleansed,” we must understand which sanctuary is being referred to, for you will recall that there are two sanctuaries mentioned in the Bible; one during the time of Moses which continued until Christ, and the other that was, and is, in heaven. The author of the book of Hebrews wrote in Hebrews 9:1: “Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine services, and a worldly sanctuary.” The time period covered by this first covenant extended from Moses to the cross. Paul is telling us of the sanctuary that was here on this earth. He describes it in the next four verses: “For there was a tabernacle made: the first, wherein is called the sanctuary. And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all (Holy): which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; And over it the Cherubims of glory shadowing the mercy seat,” Now, no one can mistake what Paul is talking about: He is describing the earthly sanctuary, (or tabernacle that was erected in the wilderness), and referring to such articles that were found therein, such as the golden pot containing manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded.

The earthly tabernacle services were performed until the day when Solomon’s temple was built; then continued in the temple until the building was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. Later, in the days of Zechariah the prophet, the temple was rebuilt. This was the sanctuary of the first covenant that was standing in the days when Christ was here on earth.

Now you recall that the priest went into the first apartment of the sanctuary every day of the year to perform the work of separating sin from the sinners. There was only one day of the year in which the high priest could go beyond the veil that separated the first and the second apartments and enter the holy of holies. This was on the Day of Atonement when he entered into the second apartment for the purpose of cleansing it. The sanctuary pointed to the Lord Jesus Christ as our redeemer. The entire sanctuary service was symbolic of Christ’s priestly ministry, and Christ was represented in every sacrifice.

But, remember that every article connected with the sanctuary pointed to the Lord Jesus Christ as our redeemer: The golden candlestick was symbolic of Jesus–the light of the world, as He said, “I am the light of the world.” John 8:12. The shewbread represented Jesus Christ, who said, “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger.” He was the true bread that came down from heaven, on Whom we can feed and live forever. The altar of incense revealed Christ as our Intercessor and Redeemer, pleading our case before God. The mercy seat, symbolizing God’s throne, depicts our atonement, He who gives us pardon through the merits of His blood. The altar of burnt offering or sacrifice, served to present Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, Who offered Himself to die for us. And there was the layer, which pointed to Christ as the One Who cleanses us and makes us acceptable before the very presence of our great God.

It is a marvelous revelation that the entire sanctuary service was symbolic of Christ’s priestly ministry. He was represented in every sacrifice, and fulfilled both phases of the priesthood–the first by dying for fallen man, and the second by pleading before the Father for every repentant sinner. But all of these things–the articles and furnishings of the earthly sanctuary, as well as the system of animal sacrifices and all of the offerings and services performed by the priests–came to an end when Christ, the Lamb of God, hung on the cross, dying,–when He cried, “It is finished!”; and the inner veil of the temple was ripped from the top to the bottom. This represented Christ’s body being torn in death.

When Christ ascended to heaven, He entered not “into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God for us:” So, the earthly sanctuary came to an end. Remember, it was destroyed in A.D. 70 by the Roman army.

“Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: we have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.” Hebrews 8:1, 2. This sanctuary that is to be cleansed, is the sanctuary that is in heaven, where Jesus is now mediating. The worldly sanctuary was for the first covenant. The heavenly sanctuary is concerned with the new, or everlasting covenant. In other words, the new covenant took the place of the old covenant, when it was established by the blood of Christ on Calvary’s cross. This heavenly sanctuary, then, took the place of the earthly sanctuary. The earthly priest had ministered in the earthly sanctuary until Christ was crucified but, when the Lamb of God offered His life once and for all, Jesus entered into heaven to administer His blood for us in the heavenly sanctuary as our High Priest.

The priests, under the old covenant, performed their ministry in relationship to the Ten Commandments. So, Jesus Christ our high priest, now in heaven, under the new covenant performs His ministry in relation to these same Ten Commandments; the original law of God. We read in Hebrews 8:8-10: “Behold the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.” Now notice this– “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.” What is God saying? He says that under the new covenant, He is going to take away sin out of our hearts, and He says, “I will give you a new heart, and write my law in your heart.” You notice God did not say, “I will abolish my covenant, and give you a new law.” and neither did He say, “I will give grace to supersede the Ten Commandments.” What God is really trying to tell us is that because of His grace, He will write His law in our hearts, and bring our lives into conformity to His precepts. Isn’t that simple? Perhaps I should say isn’t that beautiful? To think that God would do this for us?

Now you can easily see that during a year’s time, there would be a multitude of sins that had gathered in the earthly sanctuary. This is what made it necessary to cleanse the sanctuary, or blot out the record of those sins, and take them out of the sanctuary as described in Leviticus 16. And so it was, that there was a day known as “The Day of Atonement”, in which the sanctuary was cleansed. Two goats of the same age were brought before the high priest. He would cast lots; one was chosen to be sacrificed and would be killed, and its blood would be taken within the sanctuary and sprinkled on the mercy seat to satisfy the claims of the law. In order to do this, the priest must go within the veil, into the most holy place, which could only be done once a year. In performing this act he would, figuratively, gather up all the sins that had been forgiven and take them with him out of the sanctuary and place his hands upon the scapegoat, transferring all of these sins to the scapegoat (Satan), which would then be taken out into the wilderness to die. In this manner, all sins were removed from the sanctuary, thus it could be said, the sanctuary was now cleansed.

All that transpired in the earthly sanctuary was a type, a pattern, or a shadow of the work that Christ is now performing in the heavenly sanctuary. So Christ, with his own blood, pleads for us before the Father in heaven. I John 2:1, “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

What we need to fully understand is the work that Jesus our personal advocate is now doing in the heavenly sanctuary during the final atonement. So few Christians have any concept of the sanctuary, in which the Lord is not only our intercessor, and our mediator, but our advocate. Think of it. If we will accept Christ and fully surrender our hearts to Him, He will personally plead His blood for us. It’s almost too good to be true! Our Elder Brother in heaven pleading before God for you and for me. This is what happens when we confess our sins to the Lord. He rises up before the Father in heaven, holding up those nail-pierced hands, saying, “Father, My blood, My blood, I have shed My blood for these dear ones. By the merits of My sacrifice on Calvary, I now plead that you accept My sinless life for these sinful lives.”

I think a poet has given this picture in beautiful words: “Father, I bring this repentant child to Thee, to claim Thy pardon yet once again. Receive him at My hands, for he is Mine. Look not on him. He cannot bear Thy glance. Look thou on Me; his vileness, I will hide. I am his Advocate. By that unchanged, unchanging oath of Mine, by each pure drop of blood I lost for him, by all the sorrows graven on My soul, by every wound I bear, I claim it due. Father, Father divine, I cannot have him lost. He is a precious soul, for whom I died. Sin hath nearly destroyed him, but sin hath died in Me. Death hath pursued him, but I have conquered death. Satan hath bound him, but Satan is My slave. Father, hear not him, not him, but Me. I would not have him lost for all the world. Thou for My glory hath ordained and made.” What a beautiful picture the poet has described. How thankful we should be for such an advocate as we have in Jesus Christ, who is before the throne of God now, pleading our case. This is why it tells us in Hebrews 7:25, “Wherefore he (Christ) is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”

From 34 A.D. until 1844 Christ ministered within the first apartment of the sanctuary, according to the terms of the new covenant. But, in 1844, Christ entered within the veil, just as the priest in the earthly sanctuary did on the Day of Atonement to cleanse the sanctuary. This is what we read in Daniel 8:14, “Unto two thousand three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” So Christ our high priest left the first apartment, of the heavenly sanctuary in 1844 and entered the second apartment to finish His mediatorial work, to become our Advocate.

Soon, very soon, Jesus is going to finish the cleansing work. And He will throw down His censer as the great High Priest, and He will say as we read in Revelation 22:11, “He That is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.” After that decree is issued, there will be no more appeal by our Advocate. For Christ has now been in the second apartment of the sanctuary since 1844. For over 150 years Christ has been officiating in the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary. First, for the righteous dead and He will end with the judgment of the living. Soon, oh so soon, He is going to return, as it says in the scripture, “without sin unto salvation.” (“Without sin” means that He is dealing, not with the sin problem but to take His people home to heaven.)

Please permit me to illustrate the importance of having an advocate. There was an accountant employed in the capital city of Russia many years ago. He knew that the auditors were coming, and that they would discover that he was bankrupt. He had embezzled the money for his own purpose. This could mean only one thing; his life would be taken. As he brooded over his fatal mistake, he drew up a list of all the debts that he owed, and he wrote at the bottom of that list the question: Who is going to pay for all of these debts? In the turmoil of his mind, he fell asleep at his desk.

Now it so happened that Alexander I, the Czar of Russia, was making a tour of that very building in which this man slept at his desk. As he entered this accountant’s office, he saw that the man was sleeping. He went over to the desk and saw the paper lying on the desk. He picked it up and read the list of this man’s debts. And when he read the question, “Who is going to pay all of this debt? He was suddenly seized with a good impulse. He took out his golden pen, and he wrote these words, “I Alexander.” Can you imagine the thrill of this man when he awoke? He knew his master’s signature and knew that his master would pay. He had been saved from death!

This is exactly what Christ is doing for us today. What a terrible list of sins are on the record books of heaven. If you and I were to look at our own sins on our records, we would feel hopeless. But, thank God, Jesus Christ will say to all who have confessed and repented, “I will blot out your sins.” Thank God, our Advocate is sufficient. Just now, He stands ready to wash away your sins, and when the times of refreshing shall come, to blot them out forever.

We dare not presume on Christ’s mercies. Sinners who have not repented of their sins, will not have the privilege of having Christ as their Advocate. Verily, Christ will say to them, “Depart from Me, ye that work iniquity;” these will bear their own guilt and punishment, and after the 1,000 years will suffer in the lake of fire.

Friend, we need to put ourselves in the hands of Jesus Christ this very moment; in the hands of our great Advocate, for He alone can save us.

Chapter 7 ⇒

The Sanctuary Made Simple – Chapter 5

by Lawrence M. Nelson

The Sanctuary Made Simple bookChapter Five – Christ The Atonement

Let us mention again that one of the most fundamental factors of the Christian life is conversion. Every professed Christian needs to experience the peace of mind that conversion brings. This is indeed the longing of the heart. Repentance and conversion is urged by Peter as a prerequisite to the blotting out of sins. The blotting out of sins is another very important factor in the plan of salvation.

The basis of this study is found in Acts 3:19, “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out”–when? “When the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.” We realize that man can never be fully satisfied and have unquestioned peace of mind until he knows that every known sin has been confessed, forsaken, and forgiven. Then he can look forward to that day when the record of his sins will be permanently blotted out by the finger of God. When is that time? “When the times of refreshing shall come.”

This time has been defined by inspiration as the time of the judgment, the latter rain, and the sealing. The refreshing is poured out from the sanctuary above. This is why we must carefully study what takes place within the sanctuary, concerning the sins which have been brought in by virtue of Christ’s blood and His work of substitution. Hebrews 9:6, 7 tells us, “Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always in to 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.”

Who ministered in the first apartment? The priest. How often? Every day. Who went into the most holy place? Only the High Priest. How often? Only once a year. And what did he take with him? He took blood–the atoning blood. You see, the path into the sanctuary is a blood-stained path, and inside there is more blood–on the horns of the brazen altar, on the golden altar, and there is blood on the Mercy Seat. The blood always represents the sacrifice of Christ. This is beautifully brought out in The Great Controversy, page 416,

“His (Christ’s) intercession is that of a pierced side, the marred feet plead for fallen man, whose redemption was purchased at such infinite cost. The earthly sanctuary had to be purified, or cleansed by the blood of animals. But what about the heavenly sanctuary? The book of Hebrews states that the heavenly things must be purified with a “better sacrifice”. This refers, of course, to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and the shedding of His blood. Again in The Great Controversy, pages 417, 418

“The cleansing, both in the typical and in real service, must be accomplished with blood: In the former, with the blood of animals; in the later, with the blood of Christ. Paul states, as the reason why this cleansing must be performed with blood, is that without shedding of blood is no remission.

What is remission? Ellen White continues,

“Remission, or putting away of sin, is the work to be accomplished.”

We read in Hebrews 9:23, 24, “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. For Christ is not entered into the holy place made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God for us.

Those last, beautiful words–to appear in the presence of God for us–are wonderful. This Scripture is telling us that Jesus was not just loaned to us for a few years some two thousand years ago. Jesus was given to us as a gift–even forever! When He returned to heaven, He did so as our elder brother, to personally represent us to His Father. As Christ entered heaven, He carried the sins of the world by the virtue of His blood into the first apartment of the heavenly sanctuary.

For 1,810 years the Lord represented His people there in the first apartment, as the typical priest in the sanctuary of old went into the sanctuary every day. But now note a change. Once a year the high priest went into the second apartment. Just so, Christ entered into the second apartment once in the year 1844. Now I hope you are following carefully. I’m asking a question–how often did the high priest go into the second apartment? Only once a year. Will Jesus Christ do this every year? No, absolutely not! Why not? Because He does this only once, in the times of the end. And He will continue to minister in this apartment until His work is completed. Notice the words in Hebrews 9:26, “But now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.” You know that expression, “the end of the world”, refers to the very last days before Christ comes a second time. And so the question–what is His purpose in entering the most holy apartment at the time of the end? The Scriptures says, “to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” Now that’s a very strong term, to put away. This term is used in the Bible to describe a man who divorces his wife. Such a man is said “to put away” his wife. So you see, Jesus is in the business of divorcing sin from His people in this end-time; in fact, there is no other solution for this troubled world. No peace conferences will ever permanently succeed, and no new world order of the United Nations will be able to get rid of the sin problem. This problem will ever remain until it is finally solved in the sanctuary by the eradication of the sin that is now taking place in the end time.

Since 1844, what has been happening in the second apartment within the heavenly sanctuary? Our great High Priest has been performing the work of the investigative judgment, making an atonement for all who are shown to be entitled to its benefits.

In the Great Controversy, page 422, we read:

“At the termination of the 2300 days in 1844, Christ then entered the most holy place to perform the closing work of atonement preparatory to His coming.

“This is the service which began when the 2300 days ended. At that time, as foretold by Daniel the prophet, our High Priest entered the most holy, to perform the last division of His solemn work-to cleanse the sanctuary.” (ibid.) page 421).

Also in Testimonies, Vol. 5, page 520, are these challenging words,

“The sacred work of Christ for the people of God that is going on at the present time in the heavenly sanctuary should be our constant study.”

From these references we can see there was a big difference between what went on in the two apartments. In the first apartment the sins of the penitent were transferred into the sanctuary by the substitute. But in the second apartment, the blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat, in order to erase or blot out the sin. This is what took place during the annual Day of Atonement. Turn to Leviticus 16:5. There we will discover what the ancient priest did in the most holy place on this Day of Atonement. ‘And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering” Now notice, two goats were brought to the priest, and lots were cast to see which one would represent the Lord’s goat, and which one would represent the scapegoat. “And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for the scapegoat. And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the Lord’s lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering.” Leviticus 16:8, 9.

You will notice that the Lord’s goat was killed for a sin offering, and verse fifteen tells us what was done with the blood of that offering. It says, “Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the veil”, you will see he is carrying it into the most holy place. And what is the priest to do with it? “And sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat”. So, the blood of the Lord’s goat was taken into the sanctuary, into the most holy, and sprinkled upon the mercy seat in the second apartment. This now provided full and final atonement. But that’s not all that happened. Verses twenty and twenty-one, ‘And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, 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.

I like the way Ellen White writes about this in the book, Patriarchs and Prophets, page 356,

“On the Day of Atonement, the high priest, having taken an offering for the congregation, went into the most holy place with the blood and sprinkled it upon the mercy seat, above the tables of the law. Thus the claims of the law, which demanded the life of the sinner, were satisfied. Then, in his character of mediator, the priest took the sins upon himself and, leaving the sanctuary, he bore with him the burden of Israel’s guilt. At the door of the tabernacle, he laid his hands upon the head of the scapegoat . . . And as the goat bearing these sins was sent away, they were with him, regarded as forever separated from the people. Such was the service performed “unto the example and shadow of heavenly things.” Hebrews 8:5.

The scapegoat represents Satan, so, in the final act taking place on the Day of Atonement, the scapegoat, or Satan, is led into the desert–led there to die.

After the 1,000 years, in the fires of the second death, Satan will receive punishment. He will suffer not only for his own sins, but also for the sins of all the redeemed saints that were placed upon his head in the closing act of the final atonement. We are told that he will suffer longer than any other created being.

May I picture this for you? We are watching a man, leading a scapegoat away from the sanctuary. Why is he leading him away? Because the scapegoat has upon it the confessed and forsaken sins of God’s people. Who placed them on the scapegoat? The high priest. Where did the priest get these sins? It is interesting to note that he carried a portion of the sins in his own body; because, according to the instructions, sometimes he was to eat part of the burnt sacrificial offering. The other sins he carried from the holy place of the sanctuary. Do you remember how the sins came to be in there? Yes, they were put there by means of the blood that was carried into the sanctuary by the priest. These were the sins that the sinner had confessed over the head of the substitute. Thus, transferring his sins to the substitute, and the lamb or animal was slain by the sinner. So now we can see that there are two steps that must be taken in separating sin from the sinner. First, the sin must be transferred from the sinner into the first apartment of the sanctuary, and in the second step there is a work to be done in getting those sins out of the sanctuary.

Here is a very simple illustration of the separation process. Every city has a laundry and on Monday, you will usually find people bringing their dirty clothes to the laundry. For what purpose? To get their clothes cleaned. This is what a laundry is for, isn’t that right? The clothes go in soiled, and they come out clean. Paul uses this same figure of speech in Ephesians 5, beginning with verse twenty-five. He says, “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; Why? That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should he holy and without blemish.”

The sanctuary furnishes us a complete laundry service for the church, enabling the people of God to be cleansed so they can welcome the return of the Lord without fear. The church members are to be waiting for His return–fully washed and clean. But God can only wash and cleanse us from the sins that we have turned over to Him. It must be our first business to be sure that our sin-soiled garments get into the hands of our great High Priest to be cleansed in the sanctuary, so that they are not left in our mind’s dirty laundry hamper.

How do we give our sin-soiled garments to Christ to be cleansed? Verily, it is by repenting, giving up our sins, and by asking our merciful High Priest to take them all away. We must go in faith to Calvary and behold Jesus, shedding His blood for us. Then, by faith, we must follow our resurrected Savior as He transfers our sins through the efficacy of His blood to the heavenly sanctuary. Yet, there is more! On the final Day of Atonement, Christ will, as He “sprinkles” His blood on the mercy seat, blot out every trace of even the record of our sins! In this last act He will carry them from the sanctuary, and place them upon the scapegoat–Satan.

Here comes a big question. Why is it that when we confess our sins, they are not blotted out immediately? Let me picture it in this way: Pretend I am holding a chalkboard, and on this chalkboard I write the word SIN. Can you see it in your mind? This word represents the sin of a man who has come to the Lord Jesus to be forgiven. What does Jesus Christ do? The Lord wants the man never to see the sin again, so He takes the sin into the sanctuary and sprinkles His blood over it. If you could look into the record of heaven now, you would find that this sin is indeed covered with the precious blood of Jesus. The man is forgiven, and is pardoned. To illustrate this, suppose I take a handkerchief and hold it over the word SIN. Now you can’t see the word. Why? Because it is covered with the handkerchief, SIN is still there. So, there is something further that must be done; the word SIN must be erased or blotted out. Now imagine that I take the same handkerchief and erase SIN from the blackboard. You can’t see it anymore. In Psalm 32:1 notice two words which have a distinct connection, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.” Friend, when our sins are forgiven, they are covered. But, remember Acts 3:19, 20, “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out”, When? “when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you.” This tells us that before Jesus comes again, He is going to “blot out” the sins that have been covered–provided, of course, that you and I have met the conditions.

The experience of Jacob illustrates for us the necessity of meeting the conditions of salvation. Patriarchs and Prophets, page 202,

“Had not Jacob previously repented of his sin in obtaining the birthright by fraud, God could not have heard his prayer and mercifully preserved his life.”

The next words are for us:

“So, in the time of trouble, lf the people of God had unconfessed sins to appear before them while tortured with fear and anguish, they would be overwhelmed; despair would cut off their faith, and they could not have confidence to plead with God for deliverance. But while they have a deep sense of’ their unworthiness, they will have no concealed wrongs to reveal. (Why?) Their sins will have been blotted out by the atoning blood of Christ, and they cannot bring them into remembrance.”

This makes me feel like shouting–Praise God!

We need to be aware of the enemy’s tactics,

“Satan leads many to believe that God will overlook their unfaithfulness in the minor affairs of life; but the Lord shows in His dealing with Jacob that He can in no wise sanction or tolerate evil. All who endeavor to excuse or conceal their sins, and permit them to remain on the books of heaven, unconfessed and unforgiven, will be overcome by Satan.” (Ibid)

Again we ask why are sins not blotted out immediately when confessed? Again, I must illustrate.

Some years ago, the Adventist message came to the hearts of a father and mother. Being impressed by the Holy Spirit that it was the truth, they accepted the message. But this father had been a heavy user of tobacco. He had chewed tobacco since he was a little boy; in fact, when he was only nine years old, he used to take it out of his daddy’s pocket; so the habit had a powerful hold upon him. However, when he accepted the gospel, he put away his tobacco. But, again and again, the pull of that old habit would come upon him. His wife used to tell how he would take the plug of tobacco out of his pocket and throw it into the cornfield–just as far as he could–and with renewed determination, start the day aright. Nevertheless, sometimes right after dinner, his wife would look out of the window and see him in the cornfield, walking up and down the rows. Now what do you think he was looking for? You guessed it; he was looking for that plug of tobacco. But thank God, the day finally came when he threw the tobacco away forever, and for the next sixty years the man had complete victory over that habit, Thank God, dear friend–there is power in the blood of the Lamb.

That reminds me of one of those old hymns we used to sing–I’m glad it has reappeared in our Church Hymnal–“Would you be free from your burden of sin? There’s power in the blood, power in the blood; Would you o’er evil a victory win? There’s wonderful power in the blood.” You see, God didn’t hide that plug of tobacco, although He could have done it. No–the man had to make his own decision and gain the victory through the power of God.

We can see from the references we have read, that God does not blot out our sins forever–the moment we ask forgiveness; for He knows the struggles of man, and the power of sin. He respects your power of choice, which means that if sometime later on you might want the sin back, God will not interfere. This is explained in, Patriarchs amid Prophets, page 357,

“The blood of Christ, while it was to release the repentant sinner from the condemnation of the law, was not to cancel the sin; it would stand on record in the sanctuary until the final atonement; so in the type the blood of’ the sin offering removed the sin from the penitent, but it rested in the sanctuary until the Day of Atonement. In the great day of final award, the dead are to be “judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their work. Revelation 20:12. Then by virtue of the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, the sins of all the truly penitent will be blotted from the books of heaven. Thus the sanctuary will be freed or cleansed from the records of sin.”

Don’t you just want to praise God for what is happening in heaven’s sanctuary today and for the time of final atonement?

Not long ago a mother came to a minister with tears in her eyes, asking him to pray for her son. Between her broken sobs, she told of how her boy had lived a life of sin, and eventually, was put in the penitentiary as a criminal. Let me ask you, whom do you think suffered the most, the boy in the prison cell, or the mother, alone in her home? In her heartbreak, she cried out to the minister, “Oh pastor, pray for my boy.” She couldn’t think about anything else, her boy was all that she was living for.

I must tell you that Jesus Christ is now in the heavenly sanctuary for the purpose of taking sin out of your life. Why? Because He bore our sins in His body on the cross, and continues to bear our sins until the completion of the final atonement when He places them upon Satan. It is thus that Christ will continue to experience pain until our sins are eradicated, forever separated from us for an eternity. When we really comprehend how the Lord suffers for our sins, surely, we will want to do something about it. Was there a way to heal that mother’s hurt as she wept for her son who was in the penitentiary? Of course, there is a way.. Suppose her son would sit down in his cell and write a letter to his mother and say, “I’ve seen the terrible things that I have done; I have not only broken the law, but I have broken your heart. I have asked God to forgive me, and now my dear mother, I am asking you to forgive me. By the grace of God, I am going to walk straight from now on.” What do you suppose would happen to that mother? Would the pain in the heart stop? You better believe it would. Her tears of sorrow would be changed to tears of boundless joy.

Listen friend, it is written that there is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents. Just now, as you behold your great High Priest standing at the mercy seat in the sanctuary above, holding up His wounded hands before the Father pleading for you; remember, there is pain deep in His heart because of your sins; but by accepting Jesus as your personal Savior, you may bring joy to your Lord. He will not only cover your sins, but in these last hours just before probation closes, He will blot them all out. It is only through Christ that the bands of sin can be broken. It is only through Christ’s work in the sanctuary above, with our cooperation, that sin can be separated from the sinner for an eternity.

Chapter 6 ⇒