sanctuary

The Sanctuary Made Simple – Chapter 4

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by Lawrence M. Nelson

The Sanctuary Made Simple bookChapter Four – Christ The Mathematician

This chapter features Christ as the Mathematician, and will present even more evidence of the perfect wisdom and knowledge of our God, and His love and care for each of us.

Mathematics, the most exact science known to man, is the tool we will use as we explore one of the most profound prophecies found in all of the Bible. We shall establish by mathematical proof that Jesus was the Messiah, the Anointed and Holy One of Israel, the Savior of the world. This proof has its foundation in Bible prophecy and events relating to the sanctuary service.

Would you dare to predict precisely what will happen a year from now, or a week, or even tomorrow, concerning the events to take place in this world? Yet, God’s Book boldly predicted, nearly five hundred years in advance, the exact year when Jesus Christ would begin to cleanse the sanctuary in heaven before He returns to take His people home.

We will begin with the eighth chapter of Daniel. In this chapter God gave a vision of what was to take place at a later date. We will read from Daniel’s own account of how the angel was commissioned to explain every detail of this vision to him, so that he might thoroughly understand it. Here is a portion of this amazing prediction in Daniel 8:14, ‘And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” You will notice that God commanded Gabriel, the highest angel of heaven, to instruct Daniel. Notice carefully Daniel 8:16, “Make this man to understand this vision.” Now as Gabriel began to open up the mind of Daniel to the great events that were to transpire in the future, Daniel was so overwhelmed that he fainted. So the angel left him until he recovered.

When Daniel recuperated, he prayed for his instructor to return, and to finish the job of interpretation. Daniel states: “Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, . . . Gabriel . . . touched me . . . and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.” Daniel 9:21, 22. So the angel Gabriel returned to finish the explanation that was interrupted when Daniel fainted. Then the angel begins to explain the meaning of the 2300 days of prophecy. He begins in verse twenty-four of Daniel, chapter 9: “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.”

Notice the first two words, seventy weeks. This is a measure of time. Gabriel begins by stating, “seventy weeks are determined upon thy people.” When this prophecy was given, the Jewish people were God’s chosen people. So this first part deals especially with the Jewish nation, for he said, “determined upon thy people, and upon thy holy city,” which refers to Jerusalem.

Now the word determined, in the original Hebrew, means to “cut off’. In other words, the seventy weeks are a segment, or a part of the 2300 days, which Gabriel said were allotted to the Jews.

Now we are ready for our first arithmetic problem. We have 2300 days, and from this number we must subtract 70 weeks. . . but wait! We can’t subtract weeks from days without first changing the weeks into days. Remember, there are seven days in a week; so, as you consider problem #1, we take the number of weeks, (70), and multiply this number by 7, which equals 490 days – (70 x 7 = 490). Then we subtract the 490 days from the 2300 days, and this leaves 1810 days.

Fig. #1

70 weeks x 7 days in a week = 490 days

2300 days – 490 days = 1810 days

Now you can see that the 2300 days were divided into two sections: The first section of 490 days were allotted to the Jews. The second section of 1810 days were allotted to the Gentiles. This will enable us to discover the date when the heavenly sanctuary is to be cleansed.

Before going further in our calculations, we must remember that in prophetic time, a day stands for a year. Ezekiel 4:6, “I have appointed thee each day for a year.” According to this rule, 2300 days is equal to 2300 literal years; so this first section of 490 years is for the Jews, and the remaining 1810 years for the Gentiles. The close of this prophetic time period brings us to the actual year when the Lord will cleanse the sanctuary in heaven.

In order to go ahead with our project of measuring time, we need a starting date. The 2300 years do not mean much to us unless we know what year the time prophecy was to begin. For example, I could tell you that Martin Luther, the great Protestant reformer, lived for sixty-three years, and this is a fact of history; however, if I tell you that Luther was born in 1683 and he lived for sixty-three years, you would know the year he died. You would know this by adding sixty-three years to the date of his birth. Simple enough? Yes, it is simple arithmetic.

The Lord knew that we would need this additional fact, so He gave us the starting date of this 2300 year prophecy. But, where can we find it? We read that the angel instructed Daniel that the 70 weeks, or the 490 year period, was to begin at the time the decree was given to restore and to rebuild Jerusalem. You remember that Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed Jerusalem, but God had said the time would come when it was to be rebuilt. We learn about this decree in Ezra 6:14. Talking about the temple, it says, “And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes the king of Persia.” This tells us that there were three kings involved in issuing this decree, and Ezra received the final authority to restore the temple in the year 457 B.C., from Artaxerxes, who was the king of Persia. Where is the proof of this? We find it in a letter from Artaxerxes to Ezra, confirming this authority. Read it in Ezra 7:12-28.

This gives us the starting point. The date of this decree was 457 B.C. You will find that date in the margin of some editions of the King James version of the Bible; also, history has verified this event, and it has also been established by concurrent eclipses. There is positively no question concerning this date. God tells us we are to count the first 490 years of this prophecy from the date when the command was given to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, which was issued in the fall of 457 B.C. — 457 years before Christ.

Now get ready for something startling–a real thriller! This prophecy, given to Daniel some five hundred years before Christ was born, actually foretold when the Messiah was to begin His ministry. Look closely at these words in Daniel 9:25, “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks.”

Now we’re ready to do some more arithmetic.

Fig. #2

7 weeks + 60 weeks + 2 weeks = 69 weeks

69 weeks x 7 days in a week = 483 days, or years
483 – 457 (date of the decree) = 26
26 + 1 (plus 8-9 months since decree was issued in the fall of the year.) = 27 A.D. — date Christ began His earthly ministry.

Let’s add together these 7 weeks, threescore weeks (20 + 20 + 20), and two weeks. The total is 69 weeks. And remember, a day in prophecy stands for a year; so 69 weeks must be multiplied by 7, (the number of days in a week), which total 483 days, or years. This leads us to the very date that the Messiah was to begin His mission. Now in order to keep our arithmetic simple, we will subtract 457, (the date of the decree), from 483, (the number of years involved), which gives a total of 26 years. But since there is not a 0-1 year starting point, and the decree was issued in the last part of the year, a full year must be added which takes us to AD. 27, the exact date when Christ was to begin His earthly ministry. Isn’t this marvelous?

Let’s notice a few more things in this amazing prophecy. What special event happened in A.D. 27? The Scripture records, a crowd gathered on the banks of the Jordan River. As John is baptizing, Jesus comes and asks to be baptized. When John looks at Jesus, he recognizes that he is in the presence of a Holy Life; and he shrinks from granting His request, saying, “I have need to be baptized of you.” But Jesus looks at John and says: “Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness.” Matthew 3:15. And so John, under the inspiration of God, announces to all those gathered on the banks of the Jordan, that Jesus is the Savior of the world, by pointing to Jesus, and saying, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:29. Then John leads Jesus down into the river, buries Him under the water, and brings him up out of the water. Immediately the heavens are opened; the Holy Spirit comes down in the likeness of a dove, and the Father declares from heaven that Jesus is His very own Son. ‘And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved son; in thee I am well pleased.” Luke 3:22.

After this anointing and the forty days of temptation, Jesus began His work, in the fall of 27 AD–exactly at the precise time that had been prophesied. Jesus Himself recognized this time prophecy, for He began to preach by saying, “The time is fulfilled.” Mark 1:15. What time? The 483 year time prophecy of Daniel 9:25. The words, “the time is fulfilled” tell us that Jesus knew all about the prophecy of Daniel. And why not? For it was He Himself, through the angel Gabriel, who had instructed Daniel. He had prophesied that “69 weeks” after the decree went forth, the Messiah would be here on this earth to commence His work. And when the 69 weeks ended, the Messiah, Jesus, did appear on time. Immediately He began to preach, “The time is fulfilled.”

Tell me, friend, is there anyone in this wide world who can tell what is going to happen a year from now? I couldn’t even tell you what’s going to happen tomorrow. But there is a Book, the Word of God, that revealed exactly what would happen hundreds of years later. The Bible is truly a divine book; for it told exactly the very year when Christ would appear–A.D. 27.

This date of 27 A.D. brings us close to the end of the 69 weeks. How many weeks are left? (Remember Daniel 9:24–“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people.”) Yes, there is just one week left. And what a week it was! Read verse 27, ‘And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.” If you cut a week in half, how many days are there to the mid point? One-half of seven days is 3-½ days. According to prophetic time, you remember, 3-½ days equals 3-½ years. Here the Bible is stating that in the midst of the last week of the 70 the Messiah would be cut off. Notice Daniel 9:26, (‘And he shall) be cut off but not for himself” Can you fathom the great love of God speaking in these words? Certainly the Son of God did not deserve to die–just as the lamb in the sacrificial offering did not deserve to die. Christ was not guilty of any sin. Even the Roman governor who sentenced Christ to die said, “I find no fault in him.” Nevertheless, He was cut off, sacrificed–but not for Himself. He was cut off, friend, for you and for me. “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5.

Gabriel told Daniel, “. . . in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.” Daniel 9:27. How? By offering Himself as the supreme Sacrifice on the cross, the sacrificial system of the sanctuary was no longer necessary; because Jesus, the great Lamb of God, became the offering, and died the sinner’s death as his substitute.

Now, here’s a little more arithmetic for us to do. We have established the year of 27 A.D.; but prophecy adds 3-½ more years to this date, so we now have 30-½ years, which brings us to the exact date when the Son of God was to be sacrificed. Isn’t this amazing? Yes, it was in 31 A.D. as Jesus hung on the cross, that He uttered those unforgettable words: “It is finished.”

Fig. #3

70 weeks – 69 weeks = 1 week
1 week = 7 days divided by 2 = 3-½ days, prophetic Years!

27 A.D. (In the fall)
+3-½ years
30-½ years A.D. — since the prophecy brings us to the fall — by adding ½ year it gives us 31 A.D. in the spring.

What happened in the earthly sanctuary on the date 31 A.D.? The veil that divided the holy from the most holy in the temple, was ripped from the top to the bottom by an unseen hand, signifying that the earthly sacrifices no longer held any meaning. The sacrifice of the Lamb of God was complete. “And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.” Mark 15:37, 38.

For some fifteen hundred years the Jews had been offering a Iamb during the feast of the Passover. If the Jews had only studied the wonderful 2300-day prophecy, in the light of the typical service of the sanctuary, they could have known when Messiah would appear, and–the year, the month, the day, and the hour when Christ would be sacrificed, for the exact time when the Passover lamb was to be killed was at 3:00 p.m. according to Jewish law.

Just think of it, more than five hundred years before it took place, His death had been prophesied in specific detail. This amazing historical fact maintains the certainty of God’s word, in that it is established by mathematical calculation that Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God and the Savior of the world. Now, look at Fig. #4. You will note the date of 31 A.D. (Spring), taken from figure number 3. Now add the remaining 3-½ years and you will see that the total is 34A.D., (fall).

Fig. #4

31 A.D. — spring
+ 3-½ years
34 A.D. — fall

What happened at this specific time, A.D. 34? This was the time when Stephen, the first Christian martyr, was stoned to death by the Jews during the persecution of the followers of Christ. It was then that the newly-formed Christian church went out from Jerusalem to spread the gospel to the Gentiles–to every nation on this earth.

Thus far, in this study we have covered the first 490 years of the 2300 year prophecy, including the year when the gospel would go to the Gentiles. Now we move into the second segment of the time prophecy–the period of 1,810 days or years. What was to happen at the end of the second segment of the 2300 year prophecy? “Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” Daniel 8:14. Now look at figure #5. Adding 1,810 years to 34 AD., brings us forward in time to the year 1844. At this date, according to the prophecy, the cleansing of the sanctuary in heaven was to begin.

Fig. #5

34 A.D. — fall
+1810 (See figure #1)
1844 A.D. — fall

Now we are ready to consider what is to take place within the heavenly sanctuary in the fall of the year 1844. We shall discover in the next chapter that in the process of cleansing the sanctuary, each of us must give an account (in the investigative judgment) showing that the blood of Christ has covered every sin. This will determine our future.

This chapter has revealed that Christ was truly the Lamb; slain as prophesied on the day when the Passover lamb was killed. The Passover sacrifice and ritual was a reminder of Israel’s deliverance from Egyptian bondage, but it also pointed forward to the greater deliverance from sin, as revealed in the wonderful sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. The apostle Paul speaks of Him as Christ our Passover, sacrificed for us.

You remember the story of how the destroying angel passed through the land of Egypt to kill the firstborn of man and beast. Every house of Israel was spared because the head of every dwelling had killed a lamb and placed some of its blood on the doorpost of the home; but, there was death in every Egyptian household. Friend, soon the destroying angel of God will once again carry out His orders to destroy all sinners in this world. Only those who have accepted the blood of Christ in their behalf will escape the wrath of God. Now is the time for us to make sure that the Lamb of God has covered us with His blood. Remember the promise of Exodus 12:13, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.

And so, by the process of mathematics, we have established without question that Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God. But, we have also learned something of even greater significance; that in the fall of 1844 Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, entered the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary to do His work of judging each individual case and to cleanse the sanctuary. The cleansing work is done by Christ, Who, with His own blood, blots out the forgiven sins of His redeemed–the sins which were recorded in the books of Heaven.

If through Christ’s righteousness our lives have been prepared through repentance, confession and surrender so that we are declared right with God at the judgment, this final atonement will be made for you and for me.

Chapter 5 ⇒

The Sanctuary Made Simple – Chapter 3

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by Lawrence M. Nelson

The Sanctuary Made Simple bookChapter Three – Christ The Priest

The greatest theme of the Bible is Jesus, and His divine plan whereby sinners can be separated from sin and given eternal life. What a wonderful Savior! What marvelous love! How thrilling is salvation’s story as unfolded in the sanctuary.

In this chapter, we shall discover that Christ is our High Priest who shed His precious blood on Calvary, as the Lamb of God. “Without blemish and without spot.” I Peter 1:19. Symbolically, Christ takes His very own blood into the heavenly sanctuary making it possible for Him, as High Priest, to separate us from our sins and then present us before God, the Father, as though we had never sinned.

Let us begin by reading from the New Testament. “Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” Hebrews 9:11, 12. Could anything possibly be more thrilling and wonderful? This means that heaven can be ours. Praise God! We don’t have to die the second death, but we can live forever in peace and security with Jesus. How can we comprehend such wondrous redemption?

How marvelous to know that at this very moment, Jesus Christ is within the heavenly sanctuary where He is appearing before God in our behalf Ellen White wrote of this in The Great Controversy, pg. 489.

“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.”

Praise God for the cross! We could not have been saved without it. We should also praise God for the truth that is taught only within the Seventh-day Adventist message, which reveals how the merits of the cross can be applied to the individual sinner. A work that is as necessary as the cross to our salvation.

Consider carefully, “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.” Hebrews 4:14. When we hear the strange “new theology” of Babylon being preached in some pulpits, that salvation full and complete was made at Calvary’s cross, and that there is no such thing as a heavenly sanctuary, don’t ever listen to this doctrine of Satan! Never let such evil thoughts enter your mind.

Now let us explore the need for a high priest in God’s plan to save us. Why do we need a high priest? The Bible gives us the answer. “Every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.” Hebrews 8:3. Notice the two reasons for our needing a high priest. First, he was to offer gifts. And secondly, he was to offer sacrifices. Now we know all about gifts, for we have both given and received gifts. But what about a sacrifice? What is a sacrifice for? Again, the Bible explains, Every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. Hebrews 5:1. Now we have found what we were searching for. The sacrifice is for sin!

Suppose that under the sanctuary system of the Old Testament I have sinned, and I brought an offering for my sacrifice. I cannot take it into the sanctuary, for only the priest can enter this place. Why is this? Because God dwells there. A sinner would be instantly destroyed, should he appear before God. So, a way must be found for my gift and my sacrifice to be carried into the sanctuary before the very presence of God that I may be accepted. Therefore, I need a priest to do this for me. These facts are very important because,

“The correct understanding of the ministration in the heavenly sanctuary is the foundation of our faith.” Evangelism, pg. 221.

Let us review how an individual is to secure eternal forgiveness for his sins. Man was to bring a lamb as a sacrifice for his sin. He was then to place his hands on the lamb’s head and confess his sin over the substitute. In this way his sin was transferred to the sacrifice. And then the man is to slay the sacrifice by his own hand. Now, there is nothing more that he could do, but his sacrifice is incomplete. This is why he needs a priest. Notice what the priest can do for him. The priest takes the shed blood and carries it within the sanctuary; for this is absolutely necessary to bring justification to the sinner. If we are to be forgiven, justified, and redeemed, we should understand what the priest is doing with the blood. “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. For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer” Hebrews 8:1-3.

In the previous chapter, we discovered that Christ represented the Iamb, which man must have for a sacrifice. The scriptures also teach that it is equally important that the priest have something to present before God. The fact is–Christ is the priest and He is also the sacrifice! Now to help us understand this great truth, Paul further explains, “For if he (Christ) was on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law.” Hebrews 8:4. These words were written while the Jewish temple was still in existence in Jerusalem, and the priests were daily carrying out their duties. But, Paul is explaining that since Jesus is in heaven, He is now the priest in the heavenly sanctuary. Listen as he continues, “Who serve unto (as) the example and shadow of heavenly things.” Hebrews 8:5. It is so clear! The word “shadow” means that the work of the priest on earth was a shadowy outline of the movements of our great high priest in the heavenly sanctuary.

Let me illustrate. I was once a counselor in a summer youth camp, in which there was a problem child under my care. Now during the rest period, every child was expected to lie on his cot and sleep. But this child decided to slip out of his cot and get into some mischief He made sure to stay behind the building so I could not see him. But, he forgot about his shadow. I was able to observe everything that he was doing by watching his shadow, and just so, as we study what went on in the earthly sanctuary, we can understand the importance of what Christ is now doing for us in the heavenly sanctuary.

Please bear with me as I review once more for clarity. In Leviticus 4 verses 32 and 33, we find the sinner bringing his sacrificial Iamb to the tabernacle for his sins. The next thing he does is lay his hands on its head, and confess his sin over the head of the Iamb, thereby transferring his sin to the lamb. He then took the life of the victim. Now, the sinner has done everything that he can do. At this point, the priest takes over in the man’s behalf. What does the priest do? The blood of the substitute was brought into the sanctuary in one of two ways. Either the priest ate a designated portion of the sin offering and thus carried it in his person into the sanctuary, or he carried it into the sanctuary as described by the blood of the bullock: “And the priest that is anointed shall take of the bullock’s blood, and bring it to the tabernacle of the congregation.” Leviticus 4:5.

Now, what does the priest do with this blood which he takes into the sanctuary? “The priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the Lord, before the veil of the sanctuary. And the priest shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the Lord, which is in the tabernacle.” Leviticus 4:6, 7. God instructed just what the priest was to do. Only the priest could do this, and only Jesus Christ, our High Priest who is presently in the heavenly sanctuary, can perform this work for us now.

But the Israelites had a part to act in cooperation with their high priest. They were not only to repent but to make amends as recorded in Leviticus 6:1-7. “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, “If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the Lord, and lie unto his neighbor in that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing taken away by violence, or hath deceived his neighbor; or have found that which was lost, and lieth concerning it, and sweareth falsely; in any of all these that a man doeth, sinning therein: Then it shall he, because lie hath sinned, and is guilty, that lie shall restore that which he took violently away, or the thing which he hath deceitfully gotten, or that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing which he found, or all that about which he hath sworn falsely; he shall even restore it in the principal, and shall add the fifth part more thereto, and give it unto him to whom it appertaineth, in the day of his trespass offering. And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the Lord, a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest: And the priest shall make an atonement for him before the Lord: and it shall be forgiven him for any thing of all that he hath done in trespassing therein.

The same principle applies today: First we go to our heavenly High Priest. He,

“. . . sends the Holy Spirit to bring us to repentance.” I Selected Messages, pg. 393.

We must make amends to those whom we have wronged, thus showing, not only our desire to be forgiven, but also to forsake our sins. In other words, we are to give to Jesus, our Substitute, all of our sins. Listen to the words of Christ in Matthew 5:23, 24: “Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar; and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.” Once the sinner has done his part as required, then the blood can be applied in his behalf by the priest for his atonement.

Here comes a question, What does blood represent? Listen carefully, meditate upon it, memorize it, and never, never forget it. The inspired word of God tells us, “The life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.” Leviticus 17:11. This is so important, “The life of the flesh is in the blood.” What a gem of truth. The blood represents the life. Therefore, Christ’s blood represents His life.

Now, pause and do some reasoning. Isn’t your very life in your blood? For example, if you happen to cut your jugular vein and don’t do anything about it, you will quickly bleed to death. And this is why, when we encounter a serious accident, in which we are losing a tremendous amount of blood, for example, from a lacerated limb, quickly we apply a tourniquet to stop the flow. Why? So we will not die. The very life of Jesus was poured out on Calvary in His shed blood. Of this the prophet wrote, “Thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin.” Isaiah 53:10. Christ poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, because He bore the sins of many, and made intercession for the transgressor.

Now let’s go back to verse six of Leviticus 4. “The priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the Lord, before the veil of the sanctuary.” Did you notice that the blood was placed on the horns of the altar, before the veil? What did this mean? Well, step with me into the sanctuary and you will notice that a veil is hanging just before the ark containing the law of God, the Ten Commandments, which were written by the finger of God on two tables of stone. And just above the law is the mercy seat, which represents the very throne of God, where we can obtain mercy through the sacrifice and the ministry of Christ our High Priest.

Think this through carefully. Every individual is to be measured by the character standard of the law. All of us have transgressed that law through sin, so we are doomed to die. For we read, “As by one man sin entered the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” Romans 5:12. But wait! I don’t have to die. And you don’t have to die. The great truth is that God doesn’t want any of us to die. So how can we be saved? Someone had to die for us, and that someone was the Son of God.

This is why Jesus came to this world, to live under the law of God, in our flesh, without committing one sin. So that when He went to the cross, He could give a perfect life as a substitute for you and me. This is what makes it possible for Christ, Who is now in the heavenly sanctuary, to present His blood in our behalf. “But Christ being come an high priest, . . .by His blood entered into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for all of us.” Hebrews 9:11, 12. Yes, the law said I must die; but Jesus, our great High Priest, with His own blood, stands before that very law, the throne of God, to represent you and me, who are sinners. He paid the supreme price on Calvary by His perfect life which He now presents before the Father in our behalf. And He will do this for you and me this very moment, if we but ask Him.

I like the way that Charles Wesley contemplated the sacrifice of Jesus as he wrote of how our High Priest presents His blood in our behalf before God. “Arise, my soul, arise, shake off thy guilty fears. The bleeding Savior, in my behalf, appears. Before the throne, my assuredness stands, My name is written on his hands. He ever lives above for me to intercede; His all redeeming love, His precious blood to plead. His blood was shed for all our race, and sprinkled now, the throne of grace. Five bleeding wounds He bares, received on Calvary, they pour effectual prayers. They strongly speak for me, Forgive him! Oh, forgive! they cry, Nor let the contrite sinner die.” How we should praise God for the provision in which Jesus Christ is interceding before God as our High Priest for you and me.

May I ask you a personal question? Have you ever trembled in fear at the thought that someday you must approach God’s throne and stand in judgment? Just listen to this:

“Every man’s work passes in review before God and is registered for faithfulness or unfaithfulness. Opposite each name in the book of heaven is entered with terrible exactness every work, every selfish act, every unfulfilled duty, every secret sin, with every artful, dissembling. Heaven sent warnings of reproof 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, for the law of God is the standard by which the character and lives of men will be tested in the judgment, says the wise man. “Fear God, and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work unto judgment.” Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14. The Great Controversy, pg. 482.

I ask again, have you ever been troubled in fear at the thought that someday you must approach God’s throne and stand in judgment? If you are right with God you need not be fearful. For your High Priest, Jesus Christ, will be your Advocate. He will go in before the Father to represent you. Wonder of wonders! Who is in a better position to present your case before God than Jesus Christ for He is the Son of God? He knows the Father.

Let me ask you another question, have you made it possible for Jesus, your High Priest, to appear before the Father for you? You know you are a sinner because the Bible says so. And you are in desperate need of help. Let me suggest what you should do. In your mind you should go to Calvary and watch Jesus die for you. Then follow Him by faith as He rises from the dead and returns to heaven. Follow Him by faith as He enters the heavenly sanctuary, into the very presence of God. There, He will offer His blood for you. Listen in faith as Christ presents your name before God the Father. If you will do this, it will fill your heart with assurance. If you are right with God you need never, never, fear the coming judgment. Christ “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. Now you can understand how Jesus Christ is able to present you faultless before the throne.

May I ask another question, what kind of blood is it that is sprinkled in the sanctuary before God? The answer is the blood of the divine sin-bearer. This is very important, we must fully understand this, since the life is in the blood. Would you permit me to make this personal? If I have repented of all known sin my sins have been transferred to Christ, the Substitute. So, as Christ goes in before the Father’s throne, bearing my sins in His blood they are then transferred to the altar by figuratively sprinkling His blood. Now you are ready for an astounding truth! There is now no more known sin in me. My sins have been transferred into the sanctuary. My sins have been separated from me. What a wonderful thought! What a wonderful truth!

Have you transferred your sin to the Lamb of God, thus permitting Him to transfer them to the sanctuary in heaven? So very few true Christians seem to actually understand that their sins have been separated from them through Christ’s work in the sanctuary service. We have the promise “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” John 1:9. And friend, to be cleansed is to be separated from your sins. “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, (and) whose sin is covered.” Psalm 32:1. Thank God, Jesus can cover our sins with His precious blood within the heavenly sanctuary.

But remember, you cannot transfer your sins and still keep them. Now think it through; if you should have a piece of property, and you decide to transfer that property to somebody else; you sign a deed, you have it witnessed, and recorded–do you still own that property? Absolutely not! It now belongs to another. There is no way that you can transfer your sins to the Lord Jesus Christ and still keep them. So many professed Christians, somehow, never rest in the total forgiveness, that Jesus Christ has separated them from their sins. They have missed the point completely. The sinner must come to the place in this life, that he not only asks Jesus to take his sins, but believes that he has done so. He must also believe that even the record of his sins will someday be separated from him forever–blotted out in the final atonement (See Acts 3:19). PRAISE GOD!

Chapter 4 ⇒

The Sanctuary Made Simple – Chapter 2

by

by Lawrence M. Nelson

The Sanctuary Made Simple bookChapter Two – Christ The Lamb

A pastor was deeply troubled about his own personal battle with sin. Somehow, he seemed to lack the moral courage to gain a victory. The struggle became so severe that when he went to sleep one night, he had a nightmare in which he saw a man whipping Christ in Pilate’s judgment hall. Watching the lash as it buried itself in Christ’s bleeding back, he could not stand to think of anyone wounding the Lord Jesus. In his dream, he rushed forward, seized the man and began to struggle with him. Suddenly, this brute of a man turned his face and the pastor screamed in terror and awoke. For the face of the man whipping Jesus was none other than his own face. You see, in allowing sin to gain the mastery of his life, he was wounding the Lord Jesus Christ. It was an experience he would never forget.

This true story illustrates the following scripture: “They shall look upon me whom they have pierced.” Zechariah 12:10. How little do we realize the pain that we cause the Lord Jesus when we continue in our same sins. How little do we realize the disappointment that we heap upon our Lord when we do not gain a victory. How unworthy we are of His great love.

Isaiah also expressed how our sinful ways cause our Lord to suffer. “He (Jesus) is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him: the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter.” Isaiah 53:3-7.

What a description! Did you notice these words–rejected, despised, stricken, smitten, afflicted, wounded, bruised, oppressed, and then the statement–“The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. For he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter.”

As the apostle Paul meditated upon the tremendous sacrifice of Christ, he marveled in amazement. And if we would look at the cross, we, too, would join Paul in these words, “I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Roman 8:38.

Now when the Lord Jesus was baptized, John the Baptist declared, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:29. From that very moment, the eyes of men began to focus on Christ. Every word, every act performed in his three and one-half years of ministry leading Him to the cross, reveals Him to be the Lamb of God. But in one sense, the sacrifice of Jesus did not commence at Calvary. For in the book of Revelation, we read that Christ was “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Revelation 13:8. God in His great love knowing the future, before there was sin, provided a plan of salvation before the world was created.

The moment that sin entered the Garden of Eden, all heaven was filled with sorrow, for apparently the inhabitants of this world were doomed to death. But God’s plan was ready to redeem man. The moment the divine law had been broken by man, Christ was ready to make an atonement for man’s transgression. He would take upon Himself man’s sin, and redeem him.

Listen, how this mystery of redemption was unfolded.

“Christ then made known to the angelic host that a way of escape had been made for lost man. He told them that He had been pleading with His Father, and had offered to give His life a ransom. To take the sentence of death upon Himself that through Him man might find pardon, that through time merits of His blood, and obedience to the law of God, they could have the favor of God, and be brought into the beautiful garden and eat of the fruit of the tree of life.” The Story of Redemption, pg. 42.

Such a plan of love is almost impossible to fully explain; no wonder the redeemed in heaven will ever search to comprehend the mystery of such love. So, in this short study, we can only begin to understand the depth of this wonderful love, and to see why God has chosen the sanctuary system as a kindergarten display to help us in our learning process.

Let’s put on our “thinking caps” now. Why did Christ come to this earth to die? In the description of the heavenly sanctuary, which you find in the New Testament, there is no mention of an outer court. Only in the Old Testament do you find the outer court connected with the sanctuary. It was only in the earthly sanctuary that the outer court existed. There was a reason for this. The sacrifice of Christ was not to take place in heaven, for there can be no death in heaven. Therefore, Christ must come to the court of the earthly sanctuary, to be the lamb, to die for sin. Paul describes the experience of Christ in these words, “Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Philippians 2:6-8.

Can you grasp it? Imagine! Christ, who was equal with God, descended from heaven’s purity, lowered Himself below the level of an angel, became a man of our flesh and was born a helpless babe in a manger. Not to be a man like Adam was when he was formed in perfection. Oh, no! But a man after the consequences of four thousand years of sin. Born into a world filled with sorrow, misery, disease, death and every conceivable temptation. Then, when Christ’s mission was to come to an end, He would be subjected to every insult and torture that Satan could conceive of. For He must die as a guilty sinner. His last hour would be so terrible, that even the angels must veil their faces rather than look upon Him. And finally, because He bore our sins He must endure the anguish of the lost. He is separated from His Father’s love because the guilt of the entire world rests upon Him.

Ellen White paints a touching picture of what took place. Listen:

“The spotless son of God hung upon the cross. His flesh, lacerated with stripes. Those hands, so often reached out in blessing, nailed to wooden bars. Those fret, so tireless on ministries of love, spiked to a tree. That royal head, pierced by the crown of thorns. Those quivering lips, shaped in a cry of woe. And all that He endured; the blood drops that flowed from His head, His hands, His feet. The agony that wracked his frame, and the unutterable anguish that filled His soul at the hiding of His Father’s face speaks to each child of humanity, declaring, “it is for thee that the son of God consents to bear this burden of guilt. For thee, He spoils the domain of death and opens the gate of paradise. He, who stilled the angry waves and walked the foam-capped billows, who made devils tremble and disease to flee. Who opened blind eyes, and called forth the dead to life offers himself upon the cross as a sacrifice. And this, from love, to thee. He, the bearer, endures the wrath of divine justice, and for thy sake, becomes sin itself.” The Desire of Ages, pg. 755.

What words! If only we could fully comprehend.

Now the question: How is the precious blood of Christ, the Lamb, applied to you, and to me individually? Let us turn to Leviticus, the fourth chapter, beginning with verse twenty-seven. For only the sanctuary explains in detail how the blood of Christ can be applied to us as individuals. “If any one of the common people sin through ignorance, while he doeth somewhat against any of the commandments of the Lord concerning things which ought not to be done, and be guilty; he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a female without blemish, for his sin which he hath sinned.” Leviticus 4:28. Now, in bringing the sacrifice, whether it was a kid of the goats, or of a lamb, or of any other animal, remember this, the sacrifice represented the Lord Jesus Christ. Secondly, the sinner must transfer his sin to the sacrifice. Verse twenty-nine, “He shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering. . .” You see, in his act of laying his hands on the head is implied the confession and transfer of the sin to the sinner’s substitute.

Then comes step number three: After the sin has been transferred to the sacrifice, the victim must be slain. Why? Because the wages of sin is death. The broken law of God demands the penalty of death. “He shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering.” And then the scripture adds, “and slay the sin offering. . .” Leviticus 4:29. It was by this method that God taught men that there was a way of escape from sin. That a substitute, the Lamb of God, could die for our sins. But, remember, it was the sinner’s hand that was always to slay the sacrifice. Every sinner must comprehend this great truth before he is ready to overcome sin in his life. Sin must be paid for in death! Since Christ is our substitute, we must understand that our sins took the life of Christ. When we realize the enormity of the cost of sin, we will determine to overcome sin with a hatred that is akin to God’s hatred of sin. And then, and only then, are we ready to live in a land where there will be no more sin! What a tragedy that so few of us seem to grasp this lesson.

So, the sacrificial offerings were ordained by God to teach each sinner, who earnestly desires forgiveness, that he must acknowledge his sin, repent of his sin, bring his sin to Christ, and ask Christ to take his sin. He must acknowledge his part in the crucifixion of Christ, and he must realize that sin causes death. He must accept Christ by faith and take hold of His divine power that will give him a hatred for sin and enable him to stop sinning; then he can rejoice in his redemption.

This sacrificial plan has a much broader and deeper purpose than the salvation of mankind. For Christ came to this earth to die, not only to save man and to ransom the world, but He came to vindicate the character of God before the universe. Why? Because the great conflict between good and evil began when God’s law was challenged in heaven and caused war in heaven. “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Revelation 12:7, 8.

Every being, throughout the entire universe of God, was interested in the outcome of Christ’s sacrifice. For this would determine whether God or Satan would be victorious. This is why the Savior looked forward to His crucifixion when He said, “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” John 12:31. Thus it was, that Christ’s death on Calvary would not only make it possible for man to be forgiven and heaven to be accessible to him, but it would also justify God before the entire unfallen universe. It would establish the law of God forever, and testify to the fact that sin is death.

When Adam and Eve accepted Satan’s proposition, Satan declared this world to be his, because they had chosen him as their ruler. Satan did not believe that it was possible for God to forgive man. But God’s love had already provided a plan by giving His only begotten Son to pay the death penalty for our sins. Thus the Lamb of God became the way of escape for mankind.

This very earth which was claimed by Satan, became the theater in which God has chosen to redeem man, and to justify Himself before the whole universe. This is the meaning of Christ’s last words on the cross. “It is finished.” John 19:30. At the moment Christ died, there was a mighty shout of triumph that rang throughout every world in the universe. The contest had been decided, Jesus had gained the victory. Satan had revealed himself as a liar, and a murderer. Christ, in human flesh proved that man can keep the law of God. Little wonder that the greatest excitement the universe has ever known was the moment that Jesus Christ triumphed over Satan, when He died on Calvary’s cross. And someday, someday very soon, Jesus is coming back to this earth again, and the final act in this controversy between Christ and Satan will be over.

Are you ready for the greatest adventure of your life? Are you ready to live with Christ in heaven, where there will be no more sin; no more death, where every moment will be filled with joy, peace, and happiness? Are you ready to experience a sinless life for eternity? If so, you must overcome sin here and now, as taught in the sanctuary system instituted by God Himself.

Some time ago, the newspapers told a story of a little girl who had been playing in the garage where she found a pop bottle. It looked just like the one that contained the kind of drink that her mother occasionally gave her from the refrigerator. She took the bottle, and drained the fluid to the last drop. It didn’t taste quite like what she had expected, but in her childish thinking, she thought it was some new kind of drink. But soon she began to experience terrible pain in her stomach.. .She ran to mother and complained. Her mother rushed her to the hospital, but help was too late. The little girl paid with her life, for the substance in the bottle was not soda pop, it was deadly weed poison! Sin is just like a weed killer. It seems that many of us do not realize that we are already poisoned with sin, and that we will die from its deadly poison, but God has the antidote. “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12.

Never forget, God has provided a way of escape. And that way, friend, is through Jesus Christ the Lamb. He is ready to help you this very moment. Jesus tells us, “I stand at the door, and knock, lf any man hear my voice and open the door I will come in to him, amid will sup with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20. Christ, the Lamb, is knocking at your heart’s door. He wants to come in. Will you let Him be your Lamb who is able to take all sin out of your life?

Chapter 3 ⇒

The Sanctuary Made Simple – Chapter 1

by

by Lawrence M. Nelson

The Sanctuary Made Simple bookChapter One – Christ The Way

Let us begin with some wonderful good news! GOD LOVES YOU! He loves us so much, that He wants us to come and live with Him. Many times when we see friends we really like, we say, “Why don’t you come and stay with us for a couple of days? We have a spare bedroom. Come and stay a week, or more.” But, that’s not what is meant if you say, “Come and live with me.” That’s a permanent request! God will never be satisfied until we dwell in heaven with Him forever. That is why He said these words in John 14:1-3,

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself that where I am, there ye may be also.”

God loves us so much, He is waiting for the day when we can live with Him for eternity!

This brings us to our very first big question: Why are we not in heaven today? Why has Jesus not returned as He promised? Could it be a problem of distance? I think not, for Christ has often come to this earth. You will recall that He spent seven days here during the creation week, and He often came and visited with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Actually, He used to take walks with Enoch! And, He visited old Abraham and ate with him in his tent. He talked with Moses on Mount Sinai. And for years He abode in the cloud above the sanctuary in the desert. We read of Jesus coming to this earth as a babe in Bethlehem, and He lived with man for thirty-three years. So, it is very clear from the scriptures that Christ has been here many times. Distance is no barrier with Christ!

Let’s look at it another way. Could it be a problem of time? Maybe it’s not yet time for Christ to return. However, nearly every sign Christ predicted for the end-time events has already taken place, or is presently taking shape before our very eyes. Skeptics, atheists, and politicians all agree that something great is about to happen! What then is the problem? Why hasn’t Christ come?

I believe I can state the reason in these few simple words: God has a big problem! How can He save the sinner without saving the sin? How can He destroy sin without destroying the sinner? Putting it very bluntly, how can God get rid of sin without getting rid of you and me? How can He take us to heaven without taking the infectious sin with us. That would spread death throughout the universe. Let me tell you; God has a big, big problem!

Now some theologians claim that they have the answer to God’s problem. Like indulgent parents, who believe that their children will outgrow their evil ways when they become adults, they teach that they need only be shown enough love. But, experience reveals that they are dead wrong! In the same manner, there are some indulgent theologians who are teaching that if we just preach enough love, the people will believe God and receive salvation. After all, God is so full of mercy, grace and forgiveness, that He does not demand total obedience.

They assert that Christ gave all men unconditional salvation at the cross, and all man has to do is to “believe”. The sinner need not be concerned if he continues to sin. After all, he was born to sin and it is impossible in this life to stop sinning. Some even teach that when Jesus comes the second time He will give every sinner a new heart (mind) instantly, so that they will never sin again. Thus the sin problem will be solved! – Don’t you believe it! This is a teaching that is a concoction of the devil himself.

The servant of the Lord has written:

“This goody-goody religion that makes light of sin and that is forever dwelling upon the love of God to the sinner, encourages the sinner to believe that God will save him while he continues in sin and he knows it to be sin. This is the way that many are doing who profess to believe present truth. The truth is kept apart from their life, and this is the reason it has no more power to convict and convert the soul.” 3 Selected Messages, p. 155.

Think it through, if Christ were to perform such a miracle as the instant transformation of mind and character, from sin to righteousness, when He comes, then the atheists would be right in blaming God for all the evils that are in this earth. Could not God have made His followers, even from the days of Adam, instantly sinless whenever they claimed to believe in Him? Don’t be misled by these false new theology teachings. God does have a way to solve the sin problem. A way to save His people from their sins, not in their sins. God’s way is clearly taught to us in the sanctuary services, as the blood of the Lamb is administered therein.

You will remember that Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” John 14:6. And if we follow Him into the sanctuary where He is ministering today, we will understand His way. This is indeed good news, for Jesus Christ can solve the sin problem, making eternal life possible for every sinner who will accept Christ’s sacrifice and follow His way of separating our sins from us. Praise God! He tells us, “Thy way, Oh God, is in the sanctuary.” Psalms 77:13.

Now let’s take a look at the scriptures, for they reveal that there is, today, a sanctuary in heaven and that in Old Testament times there was a sanctuary on this earth. First, let us read from Hebrews 8:1, 2. You will notice that this verse is referring to the sanctuary in heaven. “We have such an high priest, who is 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.” Turning to the ninth chapter of Hebrews, we read about the earthly sanctuary in verse 12, “the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle made.”

Now, since we have found that the New Testament declares that there is a sanctuary in heaven, and that there was a sanctuary on this earth, let’s turn to the Old Testament and read about the sanctuary that was here on this earth. In Exodus 25:8, God said, “Let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.”

The sanctuary on earth teaches us, through symbols, how God solves the sin problem from His sanctuary above. We are enabled to understand how He can separate sin from the sinner as it is done in the sanctuary services. In fact, there were three parts to the earthly sanctuary: the outer court, the holy place, and the most holy place. In each of these locations a separate service was performed: one in the outer court, one in the holy place, and one within the most holy place. We shall study these three separate services so we can learn how to co-operate with Christ as He solves our sin problem. When Christ has finally separated sin from us, we will eventually be able to join our Savior in heaven and live with Him where there will be no more sin!

I know that all of us are longing to be with our Savior in heaven. But what will make this possible? The final act of the disposition of sin from the sinner did not take place at the cross, as so many teach and believe. Rather, the final act of making an atonement for sin takes place within the most holy place of the sanctuary in heaven. This is why we read in The Great Controversy, pg. 489,

“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 , for by His death He began that work which after His resurrection He ascended to complete in heaven.”

Nothing could be stated more clearly. There is a work, now going on in the heavenly sanctuary, that is essential for the final atonement of our sins. The sacrifice on the cross did not separate sin from the individual sinner, but made a “provision”, whereby Christ paid the penalty for the sins of those who would avail themselves of the provision.

Thus, the final, or eternal, disposition of sin that takes place in the second apartment of the sanctuary can never be accomplished until the work in the first apartment is completed. Likewise, the work in the first apartment cannot take place until the sacrifice has been made in the outer court on the altar. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to remember that these three separate steps are necessary to eternally separate sin from the sinner.

When God instructed Moses to build this earthly sanctuary, He commanded, “Make it after the pattern.” However, there was one exception. When it came to writing the law of Jehovah, God said, “Moses, I’ll do this.” Notice His words, Exodus 31:18, “And he gave unto Moses, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.”

Everything found within the earthly sanctuary was made by men except the Ten Commandments.

These were written in stone by the immortal finger of God Almighty. The importance of this act was emphasized when Moses broke the tables of stone to show his displeasure of Israel’s idolatry. God did not say, “Moses, make another copy and put it in the ark.” Oh no! God said, “Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto me into the mount, and make thee an ark of wood. And I will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which thou brakest, and thou shalt put them in the ark.”

Deuteronomy 10:1, 2. It was God who wrote the law the second time with His divine finger. Thus, the Ten Commandments are lifted up above the rest of the entire Bible, for God Himself wrote the Ten Commandments.

The sixty-six books which compose God’s Word were written by men under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, but the Ten Commandments were written by God Himself! Why? Because God wanted no human element to deface His divine law. The Ten Commandments are a copy of the law in heaven which expresses God’s holy character. So when we read them, we are dealing with the great original, the law of God that is safely secured within the heavenly sanctuary above.

You will recall that some sixty years after Christ was crucified, had risen, and had returned to heaven, God opened the heavenly sanctuary to John in vision. And what did he see? He writes, “And the temple was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament.” Revelation 11:19. After the cross, all eyes are to focus on the heavenly sanctuary in which can be seen the law of God. And why was this? Because God wants those of us who are living in these last days, to know that there is a right and a wrong way to live. We are told, “. . .for by the law is the knowledge of’ sin.” Romans 3:20. In Phillip’s translation it reads like this, “It is the straight edge of the law that shows how crooked we are. The law is actually the transcript of the character of God. In the book, The Story of Redemption, pg. 19, we read that God, speaking of His Ten Commandments, has exalted them to be equal to Himself. And then in The Desire of Ages, pg. 308, speaking of this law of God, it tells us:

“. . . the precepts of’ the Decalogue are as immutable as the throne of God.”

They are a transcript of His character. And so, when you consider and study the law of God, you are studying the very character of God Himself.

Now, in the most holy apartment of the sanctuary, we are brought face to face with God’s law. For there it is, in the ark, representing His character, the divine rule of life. In Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14, we have been commanded, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil.” The apostle James makes it very clear in James 2:10-12, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”

For He that said, “Do not commit adultery”, said also, “Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.” Yes, there is a penalty for breaking God’s law, and that penalty is death! For God states, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Ezekiel 18:4. As you read the scriptures you will find that this truth is emphasized in many other verses, such as: “The wages of sin is death.” Romans 6:23; and “All have sinned.” Romans 3:23. So we all stand as sinners before God’s law!

Now this brings us back to the sin problem, doesn’t it? Since we have all sinned, how is it possible for God to separate our sins from us so we can be taken to heaven and live with Jesus, instead of dying for our sins as the law demands?

For this answer let’s go back to the sanctuary and discover the first step in this process of separating sin from the sinner. This act was performed in the court of the sanctuary. God describes what actually takes place there. “If anyone of the common people sin through ignorance, while he doeth somewhat against any of the commandments of the Lord concerning things which ought not to be done, and be guilty; or if his sin which he hath sinned, come to his knowledge: Then he shall bring his offering, a kid of the goats, a female without blemish, for his sin which he hast sinned.” Leviticus 4:27. Then what did the sinner do?. “And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering, and slay the sin offering in the place of the burnt offering. And the priest shall take of the blood thereof with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar, and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven.” But how could this be accomplished? As you read verses five and six of the same chapter, it says, “The priest that is anointed shall take of the bullock’s blood, and bring it the tabernacle of the congregation.” So the priest brings this blood inside the sanctuary. “And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the Lord, before the veil of the sanctuary.”

Again we find the three requirements that must be followed. This man has sinned, he has broken the law. He deserves to die for his sin. But God doesn’t want him to die, so the Holy Spirit convicts the man of his sin; he repents and seeks forgiveness of the Lord; he wants to live and not die. He believes in, and accepts Christ as his Savior. God in His great love has provided a way for the sinner to become guiltless before God, even as though he had never sinned.

But the sinner must faithfully follow the divine plan if he is to be granted such forgiveness and is to be separated from his sin. First, a lamb must be brought to the court of the sanctuary as a sacrifice. Next, he must place his hands on the head of the Iamb and confess his sin over its head. In doing this, he will transfer his sin to the Iamb, which becomes his substitute. He then takes this lamb, places it on the altar, and with his own hand takes a knife and cuts the throat of the innocent victim. Thus, taking the victim’s life for his sin, rather than dying for his own sin. Next, the blood is caught in a bowl, the priest takes the blood into the sanctuary’s holy place and it is sprinkled before the law.

Now you ask, why must the blood be taken into the sanctuary? Because the blood represents the life of the victim. In Leviticus 17:11 it plainly states, “The life of the flesh is in the blood.” And the life of the innocent victim must be presented before the Lord; before His law, to fulfill its requirement. Now, since the guilty man has transferred his sin to the Iamb, the substitute now bears the guilt and must die for the sin which was transferred to it.

Isn’t there any other way that God can separate sin from us? The answer is: Absolutely not! For God states: “Without the shedding of blood (there) is no remission.” Hebrews 9:22. Are you thinking this through very carefully? You see, the substitute must die. And who must slay the substitute? The sinner! Because, it is his sin that made the death necessary!

Let’s look at the reality of this plan of salvation. Whom does the lamb represent? John the Baptist explained this in unmistakable words as Jesus came to him to be baptized. John said, speaking of Jesus, “Behold the lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” And this is why Jesus came to this world. He came to save us; to die for us! Now you understand that since sin causes death, either I must die, or a substitute must die by my own hand. This, then, is the basic lesson we learn in our study of God’s way to separate sin from us.

Please, let me enact once more this word-picture, as the sinner takes a knife, and slays the innocent victim. Watch with me as the Iamb experiences the death throbs and dies. The guiltless, dying for the sinner; dying because of another’s sin. And now quickly, look in faith to the Lamb of God, and behold Jesus Christ the Lamb, dying on Calvary for our sins. Remember, Peter wrote, “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.” I Peter 2:24. What happened to that Iamb on the altar? The Iamb died! What did our sins do to Christ on Calvary? They took His life–it was we who took Christ’s life!

Millions are acquainted with the historical fact of Calvary. They like to go to the “holy land” and visit the very spot where Jesus died. But, so very few of them ever realize that it was their sin that crucified the Lamb of God. They have never understood what Zechariah wrote in Chapter 12, verse 10, “They shall look upon me whom they have pierced.” Have you gone in faith to Calvary and there, discovered Christ dying on the cross in your place, realizing that it was your sins that took His life? Tell me, honestly, have you felt guilty for the death of Christ? Have you envisioned the Lord Jesus as your substitute, dying in your place?

One of the saddest funerals that I have ever conducted will help us to understand the results of Christ’s death on the cross. In the casket lay the body of a very small boy, the only son of the grieving parents. This tiny tot had died by an accident which was caused by his father, for he did not know that his small son had followed him to the garage. When the father backed the car out of the garage, he killed the child instantly. Although this was an accident, I cannot describe the grief that I beheld in the father’s face. When your mind contemplates Calvary, you behold Christ the Lamb dying your death. You know His death was not an accident because His death was caused by our devilish sins. Christ dying on the cross as our substitute, bearing our sins, helps us to realize the meaning of Calvary. We cannot help but cry out, “Oh God, is this what I have done to your dear Son? Is this the price of my salvation?”

Tell me, if that father who by accident killed his little precious son, should someday have another son, do you think that he would be more careful in the future as he backs his car out of the garage? You can be sure he will never want to repeat that tragedy again.

So likewise, when we go to Calvary, and see Jesus dying in our place, crucified for our sins, our heart breaks. For we know it was our sin that put Him there, and we never want to repeat that sin again. Instead, we cry out, “Oh God, take this sin away from me, and let Calvary give me such a hatred of sin that I will never, never commit such a sin again.

Christ is the only way in which sin can be separated from the sinner. “God will provide Himself a lamb.” Genesis 22:8.

Chapter 2 ⇒

Your Last Chance to be Saved

by

by Cody Francis

Your Last Chance to be SavedOur world keeps racing on. We have coined the term the “rat race” to describe our race of life. Everyone is busy and has so much to do. There is a living to make, a house to clean, meals to prepare, automobiles to maintain, children’s activities to attend, and on and on the list goes. We go through the routines scarcely thinking about anything other than how to make it through the day. So it was thousands of years ago. “Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be when the Son of Man is revealed.” Luke 17:28-30. When Sodom was destroyed, the focus of every mind was right here on the things of this earth–eating, drinking, buying, selling, etc. They were too busy to think of eternal realities and did not know that they were speeding toward their last chance to be saved. Their eternal destiny was soon to be forever decided. It was soon to be forever fixed in the unchangeable records of heaven. It is the same today. The prophecies of both Daniel and Revelation focus upon this most solemn time in this earth’s history–the time of judgment. The judgment has eternal consequences for every person that has ever lived upon this earth, yet rarely does this most important event even enter our minds. We rush on through life little realizing that, very soon, our eternal destiny will be forever decided. This fixing of every man, woman and child’s destiny is one of the most awesome and fearful events ever to occur. We cannot, with safety, overlook the importance and solemnity of this event, because it is our last chance to be saved. Thus, God’s Great Judgment Day is a topic that demands our attention and careful study.

The Hour of His Judgment

Revelation tells us of three last messages that are to go to the entire world. In these three messages is contained the last message of mercy to the perishing world. God, through these messages, is pleading to His people. These messages must not be overlooked, for if we overlook them, we are overlooking the loving God who is sending them to us. Our decision upon these messages will determine our eternal destiny. In the very first of these messages, the truth and importance of the judgment is forced home upon our minds. “Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth–to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people–saying with a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.'” Revelation 14:6, 7. This angel [or messenger, the Greek word angelos means “messenger”] has a most startling message that goes to the entire earth. He is not commissioned to take this message to one privileged part of the world, but it is his work to take this message to every inhabitant. God attaches such importance to this message that, He decrees that it must go to every corner of the earth, and the central point of this message is that the hour of God’s judgment has come. We are exhorted to worship the Creator specifically because His judgment has now come. Apparently, God’s judgment begins while the hubbub of life is still going on! The judgment has to be going on while the earth is still inhabited with nations, tribes, etc. for it would be futile to send a message if there was no one to send it to. Could it possibly be, then, that the great judgment day is now going on? Is it possible that the hour of God’s judgment has already begun?

“Because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” Acts 17:31. Paul was a deep student of prophecy and he knew that God had appointed a day for the judgment to begin. We know that we will not know when the Second Coming will occur, for Jesus said, “But of that day and hour no one knows, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” Matthew 24:36. We will not know the time for the Second Coming. We can rest assured that if anyone tries to tell us that they know when the Second Coming will be, they are a false prophet, for no one knows the day nor the hour of Jesus Second Coming. But we are told that there is a set day for the judgment to begin. God has furthermore promised, “Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants, the prophets.” Amos 3:7. Since there is an appointed day for the judgment to begin, and the Lord will do nothing without telling us through the prophets, and since a message goes to all the world saying that the judgment has come, we can conclude that God has revealed, somewhere, in the prophetic writings of the Bible when His Great Judgment Day will begin. It is only left for us, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, to dig deep and find out when and where it is.

Paul was very clear that there was going to be a time for the judgment, but at the same time he knew that it was not in his day. “Now, as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, ‘Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you.'” Acts 24:25. As Paul was giving his defense before Felix [which turned into an appeal for Felix to give his heart to the Lord], a powerful part of his argument was the judgment to come. In Paul’s day, the judgment was still to come. This is repeated again and again throughout the Scriptures. “But the Lord shall endure forever; He has prepared His throne for judgment. He shall judge the world in righteousness, and He shall administer judgment for the peoples in uprightness.” “Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!” Psalms 9:7, 8; Matthew 10:15. The Psalmist, Jesus, and Paul testify that the judgment was still in the future; but nearly two thousand years have transpired since then, is that still the case?

This is not the only information that we have about when the judgment will come. It is an unarguable fact, that the judgment had not occurred in David’s, Jesus’ or Paul’s day, but it must occur before Jesus comes again. “He who is unjust; let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still. And behold, I am coming quickly and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.” Revelation 22:11, 12. The final decree of the judgment is here recorded. The solemn declaration that it is too late to change. Those who have followed in the course of sin will stay that way, and those who have chosen to follow Jesus, no matter what, will be pronounced righteous and holy still. But then, directly after this closing decree of the judgment is given, Jesus says that He is coming quickly. Jesus’ Second Coming occurs right after the judgment closes. Furthermore, Jesus says that His reward is with Him. If he is coming again and His reward is with Him, it must have already been decided in the judgment who was given the reward and what reward they were given. Without a doubt then, the judgment takes place BEFORE Jesus comes again. Thus not only was the judgment still future in the apostles day, but it must take place shortly before Jesus comes again. Could we be in this most solemn event right now?

The Judgment in Heaven

“I watched till thrones were put in place, and the Ancient of Days was seated; his garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, its wheels a burning fire; a fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him; Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The judgment was seated, and the books were opened.” Daniel 7:9, 10, margin. In verses 3 to 8, the successive rise and fall of the great empires of Bible prophecy is pictured, along with the rise of the anti-christ power in verse 8; then the next major event that Daniel sees happening is the judgment of God. This judgment does not occur on this earth, for the Son of Man is said to come to the Ancient of Days [the Father]. “I was watching in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him.” Daniel 7:13. This is a judgment that occurs in heaven with Jesus [the Son of Man] and the Father [the Ancient of Days] and all of the myriads of angels assisting and watching with intense interest. It does not take place here on this earth, but rather takes place in heaven. (Subpoenaed to the Trial of Life is the first booklet on the judgment in this series and thoroughly discusses why the judgment, what goes on in the judgment, who the players are in the judgment, the results of the judgment, etc. It may be helpful to read that booklet first.)

John likewise saw the judgment beginning in heaven. “The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that you should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, and those who fear Your name, small and great, and should destroy those who destroy the earth. Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple.” Revelation 11:18, 19. John saw when the time came for the dead to be judged, and notice that it is associated with the temple of God, which is in heaven. Once again, it is seen that this judgment takes place in heaven shortly before Jesus comes again the second time. (Revelation 22:11, 12.)

2300 Days

The book of Daniel is a progressive book; it is continually building upon the last vision. In Daniel 2, the rise and fall of the four successive empires is portrayed. Then in Daniel 7 the view is expanded to include the anti-christ and also the judgment. In Daniel 8 the scene becomes much fuller yet. Not only are the empires and the anti-christ foretold, but the climax of the vision zeroes in and pinpoints the judgment. “Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who was speaking, ‘How long will the vision be, concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot?’ And he said to me, ‘For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.'” Daniel 8:13, 14. In verses 3, 4 a ram is pictured, which represented Medo-Persia. (verse 20) The Medo-Persian empire lasted from around 538-331 BC. After that, in verses 5-8 there is shown a male goat which is none other than Greece, (verse 21) and Alexander the Great, its first king. The Grecian empire ruled from approximately 331-168 BC. In verses 9-11 is shown a little horn arising from one of the four winds, which history reveals to be the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire continued to rule from about 168 BC to AD 476. (For a much fuller description and history see Steps to Life’s booklet, Why Hitler Lost.) After that, by comparing II Thessalonians 2:3, 4; Daniel 7:25; Revelation 13:5-7 with verse 12 is seen the anti-christ power, or the papacy. The Papacy continued from AD 538-1798. (For a Scriptural documentation on the anti-christ power see Steps to Life’s booklet, Surviving the Great Tribulation.) After Daniel was shown these earthly powers that had trampled upon God’s people, who were persecuting those who were following God’s Word all of the way, he was shown two holy beings in conversation regarding these desolating powers to come to God’s people. The assurance was given that “For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.” Daniel 8:14. Thus, sometime after 1798 a process was going to begin that was the means of delivering God’s people from the persecuting powers. What is this process? Daniel 7 the chapter that Daniel 8 was building upon, answers that question for us. “But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, [the anti-christ power that has worn out the saints, verse 25] to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.” Daniel 7:26, 27. It is the JUDGMENT that sits and takes away the powers that have persecuted God’s people, and gives the kingdom to God’s true people.

Just as Paul preached, and as John saw in heaven, there is a prophecy that tells us when the judgment begins. It is perhaps the focal point of the book of Daniel. “And he said to me, ‘For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.” Daniel 8:14. The time period here given is the longest prophetic time period given in the Bible. It covers a vast amount of time, for the angel Gabriel in explaining it says, “And the vision of the evening and morning which was told is true; therefore seal up the vision, for it refers to many days in the future.” Daniel 8:26. The part of the vision of the two thousand three hundred days [literally “evenings and mornings”] is true, but it is for many days in the future. Two thousand three hundred days may not seem like such a long time to us. After all, it is only a little less than six and a half years, but there is something that we must always remember when studying Bible prophecy. The prophecies are given in symbols. Obviously, a ram and male goat do not make any sense to us unless we understand that they symbolically represent their respective nations. So, a day in Bible prophecy is a symbol that is used again and again. A day in Bible prophecy represents a year. “According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely forty years, and you shall know My rejection.” Numbers 14:34. “I have laid on you a day for each year.” Ezekiel 4:6. The children of Israel were forced to wander in the wilderness for forty years. God did not just pick a number out of a hat. It was how long the spies were spying out Canaan, and because of their unbelief, they were required to wander for forty years. It was one day for a year. It was the same with Ezekiel. The Lord had him lay on his side a day for each year. Thus we see a principle that comes up again and again throughout Daniel and Revelation–a day in Bible prophecy equals a year. Then it isn’t so hard for us to understand why Gabriel said that the prophecy was for many days in the future. It was not just six and a half years; it was for two thousand three hundred years. A long prophecy that extends many days into the future!

The Explanation

As we notice in Daniel 8, all of the vision is explained in the latter part of the chapter. Not just are the symbols given, but in some instances, the empires themselves are given by name. Gabriel was explaining this vision in very straightforward terms, but then something happened. Gabriel began to explain the part of the vision referring to the two thousand three hundred years (verse 26), but Daniel could bear it no longer. “And I, Daniel, fainted and was sick for days; afterward I arose and went about the king’s business. I was astonished by the vision, but no one understood it.” Daniel 8:27. Daniel’s concern for this latter part of the vision was so great that when Gabriel began to explain it to him, he fainted. It then became useless for Gabriel to continue explaining the vision, since Daniel had fainted. You cannot explain something to someone who has fainted. The explanation of the twenty three hundred days/years was stopped. Then Daniel states that no one understood the vision. What part did they not understand? Did the ram confuse them? No, it was clearly explained to be Medo-Persia. Did the male goat astonish them? No, it was emphatically explained to be Greece. What part was causing the consternation? The only part of the vision that was not explained–the two thousand three hundred days/years.

As this was something that was terribly distressing to Daniel, he did what all Christians should do when they do not understand something. He studied God’s Word and sought the Lord earnestly in prayer. In Daniel 9:4-19 is recorded the beautiful prayer of repentance and confession for the sins of Daniel’s people. Then in answer to Daniel’s prayer, Gabriel returned (verse 21) saying, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand. At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved; therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision:” Daniel 9:22, 23. Daniel was in great perplexity regarding the vision of the two thousand three hundred days/years, and so had he pled with the Lord for forgiveness and understanding. In answer to Daniel’s strong supplications, Gabriel returned with a message of comfort and hope that he was going to give him skill to understand the vision. Then he begins his explanation.

“Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;” Daniel 9:24, 25. Seventy weeks are “cut off” [the Hebrew word, chathak literally means “cut off”] for the Jewish people and for the earthly city of Jerusalem. How does seventy weeks being “cut off” explain the previous vision of the twenty-three hundred days/years? Gabriel is telling Daniel that the seventy weeks of prophetic time are cut out of the original twenty-three hundred days/years. Thus, if we can determine the starting date for the seventy prophetic weeks, we will also have the starting date for the twenty-three hundred days/years.

By looking at the seventy weeks, we see that there is indeed a clear starting point given. “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, until Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks” Daniel 9:25. It could not be stated clearer. When the decree is given to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, this is when the time period of the seventy weeks is to begin, and consequently that is when the two thousand three hundred days/years would begin as well. It was when the decree was given to both restore and rebuild Jerusalem that this great time period, extending to the judgment, was to begin. As we turn to the pages of Scripture again, we see that there was indeed a decree given for the restoration and the rebuilding of Jerusalem. At the time the vision was given, Jerusalem was destroyed, the temple was in ruins and the land of Israel was basically uninhabited. But within a few years that would begin to change. When this change occurred the prophetic time periods were to begin.

By turning to the book of Ezra we see the actual decree recorded for future generations. God made sure that these time periods were recorded in His Word, because He knew we would need these decrees in order to understand the seventy week prophecy and the prophecy that gives the starting date for the great judgment day. “So the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they built and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the command of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.” Ezra 6:14. Ezra records for us that there were actually three decrees given commanding to rebuild the broken down city of Jerusalem. Which of the decrees marks the starting time for these time periods? While there were three decrees, there was actually only one that fits the two prerequisites in Daniel 9–“to restore and rebuild.” The first two dealt with the rebuilding of the temple and the city, but there was only one that both restored and rebuilt Jerusalem. This is the last decree given by Artaxerxes. The entire decree is recorded in Ezra 7:12-26. In this decree is found encouragement for the Jews who desired to return to Jerusalem to do so (verse 13, 14.) There are provisions given for rebuilding of the temple (verse 19-22) and then there is the setting up of magistrates and judges to “judge all the people that are beyond the river” (verse 25, KJV) and the exemption of the workers at the temple from “tax, tribute, or custom.” (verse 24.) This decree, then, not only commands and provides for the rebuilding of the temple and Jerusalem, but it also restores, to a certain extent, the liberty and the self-government of the Jewish people. Thus, it is the only decree that matches the requirements given in Daniel 9, and the date that we must use for the reckoning of the prophecies. When was this decree given? Once again, the Bible is not silent on this, either. “And Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.” Ezra 7:8. History bears out that the first year of Artaxerxes’ reign was in 464 BC, thus the seventh year would be 457 BC (464 – 7 = 457.) It was in the fifth month of the seventh year, or around the fall of 457 BC that Ezra came to Jerusalem and the decree was able to go into effect. By the study of the Bible and history, then, we have been able to arrive at the date that was given for the beginning of the prophecies–457 BC.

The Messiah’s Ministry and Death

It would be well for us to briefly review the seventy weeks of Daniel 9, before looking more in depth into the two thousand three hundred days/years. [A much fuller study to the seventy weeks is found in Steps to Life’s booklet, The Rapture and Israel’s Future]. The seventy weeks and the twenty three hundred days/years are inseparably connected. They both begin at the same starting date. They both deal with the sanctuary. (Daniel 8:14; 9:24.) One foretells the first phase of the plan of salvation, the other predicts the second and final phase. One prophesies of the Saviour’s earthly ministry, the other tells of the Saviour’s heavenly ministry. One happens on this earth and “seals up the vision and prophecy” (9:24) so we can be certain that the second, which happens in heaven, will occur.

In the explanation of the twenty three hundred days/years, Gabriel begins by telling Daniel that there are seventy weeks allotted to the Jewish people and to their city, Jerusalem. It was during these seventy weeks that they were to finish the end of sins, etc. Israel had been in rebellion against God from day one. The Lord had loved them and taken them as his own special people, but they were continuing to rebel against their loving God. Daniel was afraid that because of Israel’s continued rebellion and backsliding, the Lord would cast them away altogether. Daniel had pled that the Lord would hear and forgive Israel’s sins again. Gabriel, in answer to Daniel’s consternation regarding the twenty-three hundred days and his concern that God was going to disown his people, said that God was still going to give Israel another seventy weeks to repent and turn to Him. Seventy weeks is not a very long time–only 490 days [70 weeks x 7 days in a week = 490 days] or less than a year and a half to be exact, but we must remember the prophetic day for a year principle. (Numbers 14:34; Ezra 4:6.) Not 490 literal days, but 490 prophetic years. Thus God was going to bear with His rebellious people for another 490 years (Matthew 18:21, 22.) During this time, He was going to work for them in a way that He had not done before–He was going to send His own Son to call them to repentance.

“Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times.” Daniel 9:25. There was going to be sixty-nine weeks until the Messiah was to come. Sixty-nine weeks would be 483 prophetic years [69 weeks x 7 days in a week = 483 days or prophetic years]. Reckoning from the starting point of 457 BC and adding 483 years, it brings us down to AD 27. [483 – 457 BC = AD 26; but then you must add one year to account for the absence of a zero year in the BC/AD time-line, so 26 + 1 = AD 27.] Sure enough, we find that exactly at the appointed time Jesus was baptized and anointed to His mission as the Messiah. [“Messiah” is a Hebrew word meaning “anointed one,” just as “Christ” is a Greek word meaning “anointed one.”] At Jesus’ baptism, He was anointed with the Holy Spirit (Acts 10: 37, 38.) His baptism occurred, as divinely predicted, in the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar. (Luke 3:1-3, 21, 22.) The fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar was none other than AD 27. The Lord had revealed five hundred years earlier, to His prophet Daniel, the exact time of Jesus’ baptism.

The prophecy did not end with Jesus’ baptism, though. It predicted an even more important event. “And after sixty-two weeks [the seven weeks was how long it took to rebuild Jerusalem and after the rebuilding of Jerusalem, as brought to view in the last part of verse 25, it would only be another sixty-two weeks] Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself;” Daniel 9:26. The Messiah was going to be cut off! Being cut off is a clear reference to His death. “He was cut off from the land of the living;” Isaiah 53:8. Sometime during the seventieth week the Messiah was to die for the sins of the people, but it zeroes in and gives us the exact time that He was to be “cut off.” “Then He shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.” Daniel 9:27. In the middle of the week, a stop was put to sacrifice and offering. How did this happen? Jesus died on the cross as our spotless lamb of God and it is now futile to offer sacrifices, because He, the Great Sacrifice, has already been offered for us. “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure… then He said, ‘Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.’ He takes away the first that He may establish the second.” Hebrews 10:5, 6, 9. When Jesus came and died on the cross for us, He took away the first covenant with all its animal sacrifices, and thus brought “an end to sacrifice and offering.” This occurred exactly in the middle of the week just as the Lord had foretold. One half of a week is three and a half days, which in prophecy would equate to three and a half years. By adding three and a half years to the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, we come to the spring of AD 31, the exact time when Jesus offered up Himself for our sins. [Adding three years to the fall of AD 27 brings us to the fall of AD 30; and adding another half year takes us over into the spring of AD 31]. Prophecy was fulfilled to the very day.

At Jesus’ ascension into heaven, the “Most Holy,” Jesus were anointed to the priestly and mediatorial work that began then. (Daniel 9:24; Hebrews 1:8, 9; 7:28 KJV.) Thus, Daniel 9 had predicted, not only the life and ministry of the Son of God, but also the beginning of His work in heaven. Jesus began His intercessory work for His people, but then at the end of the seventieth week, in AD 34, when Stephen was stoned, He stood in judgment upon His unrepentant people. (Acts 7:56; Ezekiel 44:24) Israel had refused to repent and now the fearful consequences had come. Instead of receiving and accepting God’s own Son, they nailed Him to the cross. Instead of believing the messages of warning that the Lord sent through His apostles on the day of Pentecost and afterward, they stoned them. Probation had closed upon the nation of Israel and now the gospel began to go to the Gentiles. (Acts 8:4; 9:15; 10:28.) The seventy weeks had ended. The events that had been predicted five hundred years earlier happened to the very letter of what God had said. The “vision and the prophecy” was sealed up. (Daniel 9:24) The events that were to occur on this earth happened exactly as predicted, and it was certain that the previous vision of the two thousand three hundred days/years which was to occur in heaven would be fulfilled to the very letter as well.

When Does the Judgment Begin?

Having briefly investigated the seventy weeks, it is now important to go back to the two thousand three hundred days/years and see how the seventy weeks fit into the twenty-three hundred days/years. We have seen that the seventy weeks were “cut off” from the twenty-three hundred years, and consequently, the starting time for the seventy weeks would be the same starting time for the twenty-three hundred years. Having seen from history, and the Bible, that the starting date is 457 BC, all that we should need to do is calculate the time in order to discover when the judgment begins. Adding two thousand three hundred days to 457 BC brings us up to AD 1844. (2300 – 457 = 1843 + 1 year to account for the missing zero year = 1844) The same date is arrived at by adding the remaining 1810 years (2300 – 490 = 1810) to AD 34, the end of the seventy weeks that were cut off from the twenty-three hundred days. (1810 + 34 AD = 1844.) However you look at it, the only feasible date that the two thousand three hundred days/years could end is in 1844. There is no other starting date that can be found other than 457 BC. There is no other time period that the seventy weeks could have been “cut off” from, than the two thousand three hundred days/years. There is no other vision that Gabriel could have been explaining in Daniel 9, than the unexplained vision of Daniel 8, or the two thousand three hundred days/years. The two thousand three hundred days/years cannot be taken as literal days, for Daniel 9 is an explanation of Daniel 8. There is not even the remotest possibility of thinking that the seventy weeks are literal days. Would God give such an important prophecy as the twenty-three hundred days/years without giving a starting date? Would Gabriel say that the seventy weeks were “cut off” and then not have them be, in reality, cut off? Would the Lord send Gabriel to explain a vision that did not need to be explained? The repeated answer is a definitive NO! The only way that chapters eight and nine of Daniel make any sense is to understand that the two thousand three hundred days/years begin in 457 BC and end in 1844.

The question that we now have to consider is what happened in 1844, and why is to so important? We have already seen that it is talking specifically about the Judgment Day of God, but why does it say, “then the sanctuary shall be cleansed”? Daniel 8:14. What sanctuary was to be cleansed? There was no sanctuary existing on earth in 1844. Then where does this grand judgment, or cleansing, take place?

The Sanctuary

When God led the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, He directed that they make Him a sanctuary. “And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.” Exodus 25:8. This sanctuary was what the Israelites carried through the wilderness and then was set up in Shiloh. (Joshua 18:1) The sanctuary stayed here until David moved it to Jerusalem (II Samuel 6:17-18), but then Solomon built a permanent temple. (I Kings 6:1-14) Through the continued apostasy of the children of Israel that temple was finally destroyed by the Babylonians. (II Chronicles 36:18, 19) Then upon the return of the captives from their exile, they built another temple. (Ezra 6:14, 15.) But this temple too, as Jesus predicted, was destroyed, “Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” Matthew 24:2. In AD 70, the Roman General, Titus, came and totally destroyed and burned the city of Jerusalem, along with the temple. (Luke 21:20.) Not one stone of that massive structure was left standing upon another. Were any of these sanctuaries existing in 1844? No. The last temple had been destroyed for over 1700 years by 1844. Was God aware that this would happen? Of course. God predicts and controls the future. He knew that there would not be an earthly sanctuary standing in 1844, at the time when the sanctuary was to be cleansed. What, then, could He have in mind? How is this amazing prophecy fulfilled?

After Jesus death upon the cross, as we have already noted, the sacrifices had no value, for Jesus had done away with them by the offering of His body. The rituals and services of the temple also passed away as insignificant at that time. No longer was there any need for the earthly sanctuary service, for Jesus had come and done away with the types of the old covenant. (Colossians 2:14-17.) The earthly sanctuary was no longer needed. Because of the abolition of the earthly sanctuary services at the cross, there is another sanctuary brought to view in the New Testament. This is not the shadowy types of the good things to come (Hebrews 10:1) or a part of the first covenant which was faulty, growing old and ready to vanish, (Hebrews 8:7, 13) but this sanctuary was one “established on better promises.” (Hebrews 8:6.)

When the Lord commanded the children of Israel to build Him a sanctuary, He did not leave it up to them to decide what it looked like and how to design it. He gave them very specific instructions. “And see to it that you make them according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain.” Exodus 25:40. The Lord gave Moses a specific pattern and commanded that it be made exactly like the plan that he was shown. Why was it so important that Moses follow the details of this pattern? It was because this pattern was to act as a picture of the real sanctuary in heaven. The book of Hebrews elaborates on this at great length. “Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at 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 erected, and not man…who serve the copy and the shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, ‘See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.'” Hebrews 8:1, 2, 5. Paul quotes from this same verse in Exodus, and makes the point that the earthly sanctuary was just a “copy and shadow of heavenly things.” The earthly sanctuary was a replica of what the real sanctuary in heaven looks like. This is the sanctuary that is established upon better promises. This is the “true tabernacle.” This is the sanctuary that the Lord built, and not man. This is true of no other sanctuary. The Lord directed in the building of the other sanctuaries, but it was men working as God gave them skill that built the earthly sanctuaries. But there was no man who laid a hand upon the sanctuary that is in heaven–it was the Lord alone who built this sanctuary. It is this sanctuary in heaven that Gabriel was speaking about when he said, “to anoint the Most Holy.” (Daniel 9:24). It is this sanctuary in heaven that Jesus ascended to and began His mediatorial work as our Great High Priest. (Hebrews 4:14-16; 6:20; 8:1) It is the heavenly sanctuary that all of the types and shadows of the earthly sanctuary were pointing forward to. “But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but their His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place [the Greek word hagia literally means “holy places”] once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.” Hebrews 9:11, 12. Clearly, Christ was anointed as our High Priest, not of this poor earthly sanctuary which was only a shadowy type, but he became a High Priest of the “greater and more perfect tabernacle,” that is the heavenly tabernacle or sanctuary. This tabernacle is not of this creation for it is in heaven and was constructed in heaven. Not only did He enter that heavenly sanctuary, but He entered it with His own blood. He is not mediating with the faulty blood of bulls and goats, but is ministering with His own precious blood. From these passages there is no doubt that there is indeed a sanctuary in heaven, and it is at this sanctuary where Christ is now ministering for our salvation. If we deny that there is a heavenly sanctuary, we are denying that Christ is our High Priest, for if there were no sanctuary there would be no High Priest. No, the Bible is full of evidence of our Saviour’s work as Great High Priest for our salvation. There is a sanctuary not made with hands in the heavens, and there is a High Priest ministering for us right now.

In the book of Hebrews, not only does it validate the truth of a heavenly sanctuary for us, but it also tells us how this sanctuary looks. “Then indeed, even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary. For a tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary; and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All, which had the golden alter of incense and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.” Hebrews 9:1-5. A splendid description of the earthly sanctuary is given, attempting to show the dazzling glory and beauty that surrounds it, making sure to note that it was a part of the first covenant and not the heavenly, but the earthly sanctuary. Then, later on in the chapter he refers to this earthly sanctuary by another name, giving us a faint idea of what the heavenly sanctuary looks like. “For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;” Hebrews 9:24. Jesus did not go into this earthly sanctuary of the first covenant, but into the sanctuary of the second covenant–the heavenly sanctuary. After giving a detailed description of the appearance of the earthly sanctuary, he gives the earthly sanctuary a most revealing name–“copies of the true.” Which sanctuary then is the true? Undoubtedly, the sanctuary in heaven. What was the earthly sanctuary? It was a copy, or a picture, of the true one in heaven. Thus, by looking at the earthly sanctuary with all of its furniture and ceremonies, we can get a glimpse of what the heavenly sanctuary looks like and what work will go on there. That is why the Lord was so specific that the pattern of the earthly sanctuary was followed exactly. If they did not follow the pattern exactly it would not be the perfect copy, or picture, of the true heavenly sanctuary of the new covenant. But they did follow the pattern God had given, so that we can now study the apartments, furniture, and ceremonies of the earthly sanctuary to learn of the heavenly sanctuary.

Revelation also reveals that there is a sanctuary in heaven. The articles of the heavenly sanctuary keep appearing again and again throughout Revelation. In fact, it appears so much that we can derive that the book of Revelation was actually given from the heavenly sanctuary itself. “Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands,” Revelation 1:12. In the very first chapter this theme is introduced. John sees Jesus standing in the middle of seven golden lampstands. Where were these lampstands from? They were an article of furniture in the first apartment of the sanctuary. “Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. And he was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.” Revelation 8:3. Now, John sees an angel ministering before the golden altar. Once again this golden altar was in the first apartment of the heavenly sanctuary. A golden altar is again pictured in Revelation 9:13. “Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple.” Revelation 11:19. This time there is a difference. It is still an article of furniture from the sanctuary, but this time it is from the second apartment, or the Most Holy Place. It is the most sacred piece of the entire temple. It is the Ark of the Covenant in which the Ten Commandments were kept. Continuing on through the book of Revelation, voices coming from the temple are heard (Revelation 16:1, 17,) angels are seen coming from the temple (Revelation 14:15, 17; 15:6) and the temple is opened and filled with smoke. (Revelation 15:5, 8.) Definitely the temple, or the sanctuary in heaven, plays a prominent part in the last prophetic messages for God’s people. It can also be seen from Revelation that not only is there a sanctuary in heaven, but there is the furniture of the sanctuary, and there are the two apartments of the heavenly sanctuary just like there were the two apartments of the earthly sanctuary.

As we look in the New Testament and at the new covenant, the answer to our question about which sanctuary could be cleansed in 1844 is strikingly answered. There was no earthly sanctuary. They had all been destroyed for hundreds of years before 1844. But there was a heavenly sanctuary, and just as Daniel [in Daniel 7] had previously seen the judgment taking place in heaven, so in Daniel 8, he sees the judgment beginning in the sanctuary which is, undoubtedly, in heaven. We are coming close to being able to fit the puzzle pieces of the climatic twenty three hundred days/years prophecy together, but first, we need to look at one more thing. What was the cleansing of the sanctuary?

The Cleansing of the Sanctuary

The crux and the climax of the entire vision of Daniel 8 was the prophecy relating to the “cleansing of the sanctuary.” The “cleansing of the sanctuary” was simply another term for the most solemn of the yearly sacred assemblies known as the Day of Atonement. Speaking of the Day of Atonement, Moses records, “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. It is a sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever. And the priest, who is anointed and consecrated to minister as priest in his father’s place, shall make atonement, and put on linen clothes, the holy garments; then he shall make atonement for the Holy Sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tabernacle of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the congregation.” Leviticus 16:30-33. It can be seen that on the Day of Atonement was when the final atonement was made for the sanctuary and for the children of Israel. The people were finally cleansed from all of their sins and an atonement, or cleansing, was made for the sanctuary.

By cleansing the sanctuary, the sins of the children of Israel were also cleansed. Throughout the year, when a man sinned he would bring a sacrifice to atone for his sin. He would slay the lamb with his own hand and the sacrifice was offered upon the altar. The priest then transferred the blood into the sanctuary. Day by day, the blood built up in the sanctuary, until the Day of Atonement. The blood was a record of all the sins that the children of Israel had committed, but it was on the Day of Atonement that the sanctuary was cleansed from the record of sin that had continually built up. Thus, not only did the Day of Atonement cleanse the record of sins from the sanctuary, but it also symbolically blotted out the people’s sins. The people were forgiven when they brought their lamb to be sacrificed, but the record was not blotted out. It was on this most solemn of all days that the sins were actually blotted out. It was a solemn day of judgment when the sins were blotted out as it is graphically described in the Bible. “And you shall do no work on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the Lord your God. For any person who is not afflicted of soul on that same day, he shall be cut off from his people. And any person who does any work on that same day, that person I will destroy from among his people.” Leviticus 23:28-30. There was no doubt in the ancient Israelites mind. This was the most solemn day of judgment, and if he did not unite in soul searching he was cut off from the people of God. It was the most solemn and serious day of the entire year for the Jews. It was the time when destinies were decided and lives were fixed–it was their last chance to be saved.

On this solemn day the High Priest went alone into the Most Holy Place of the sanctuary, and it was there the final atonement was made. “Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering, which is for the people, bring its blood inside the veil, do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkle it on the mercy seat and before the mercy seat.” Leviticus 16:15. This was the only time that the High Priest entered into the second apartment of the sanctuary. Every day the priests ministered about the first apartment, trimming the lamps, burning incense and transferring the blood of the sin offering to the sanctuary, but only once a year, on the Day of Atonement, did the High Priest alone minister in the Holy of Holies. In this second apartment was the Ark of the Covenant containing the Ten Commandment Law, and the mercy seat on top. The priest would then sprinkle the blood upon the mercy seat and by so doing make an atonement for, and cleanse the sanctuary.

The Heavenly Sanctuary Cleansed

Some have questioned if the heavenly sanctuary really needs to be cleansed, but as we have already seen, the Bible explicitly answers this for us. “Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in presence of God for us;” Hebrews 9:23, 24, margin. There is no room for doubt, the heavenly sanctuary does indeed need to be cleansed. Paul says that it was necessary for the earthly sanctuary (the pattern of the things in heaven) to be cleansed with “the blood of goats and calves,” but the heavenly sanctuary will be cleansed with better sacrifices than that, even “with His own blood.” Hebrews 9:12. What is it that needs to be cleansed from the sanctuary above? What could possibly be impure in that world of perfection? Sin and sinners written in the books. So the judgment solves the problem of impurity in the heavenly sanctuary. Those who “add iniquity to their iniquity,… Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.” Psalms 69:27, 28. During the judgment, sin and sinners are blotted from the book of records, and thus the heavenly sanctuary is cleansed from the impurity that has symbolically been heaped upon it for centuries.

As everything in the old covenant was a “shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things,” Hebrews 10:1, so it is with the Day of Atonement. As the sinner brought his lamb and confessed his sins upon the head of the lamb, so we, under the new covenant, come to Christ accepting Him as our Lamb (John 1:29; I Peter 1:19) and confess our sins unto Him. (I John 1:9; Proverbs 28:13) He then forgives us on the merits of His sacrifice. (Romans 3:24-26.) But as in the earthly service, the record of the sins is still in heaven and it is not until the close of the judgment that the sins are completely blotted out. (Acts 3:19) The judgment determines whether the lives of God’s people match their profession. (see Steps to Life’s booklet, Subpoenaed to the Trial of Life.) Those who have loved their Lord enough to follow Him and keep His commandments will be retained in the book of life (John 14:15; I John 2:3, 4; Revelation 22:14) and their sins will be blotted out. Those who cling to their life of sin and lawlessness will have their names blotted from the book of life. (Exodus 32:32, 33; Revelation 3:5) Thus the sanctuary in heaven will be cleansed from sin–either the sin itself, or the sinners who cling to sin, will be blotted out.

By looking at the symbolic service of the old covenant, it is explicitly taught that the plan of salvation did not end at the sacrifice of the lamb. There was still a final atonement needing to be made, and so it is in the New Covenant as well. Jesus’ sacrifice upon the cross was all sufficient and was a complete sacrifice. He said, “It is finished,” and every word is true. God’s justice was fully vindicate and the devil was soundly defeated, but there was still more to the plan of salvation than just that. “It shall be imputed to us who believed in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offense, and was raised because of our justification.” Romans 4:24, 25. Jesus’ sacrifice upon the cross was for our offenses, or for our sins, and it perfectly paid the price, but there was more. He was raised for our justification. If it was completely over on the cross, everything would have been complete and there would have been no need for anything more, but the inspired record states that he was “raised because of our justification.” Our justification could not be accomplished without His resurrection. Something else needed to occur. That something else is His intercession at the right hand of God, and then the final cleansing of the sanctuary. (Romans 8:34, Acts 17:31) Because Jesus said, “It is finished,” does not mean that everything was completed, for it is recorded in Revelation that He will say the same thing at least two other times. “Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, ‘It is done!'” “And He said to me, ‘It is done! I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End.” Revelation 16:17; 21:6. The atonement upon the cross was, without a doubt, complete and all-sufficient, but as in the typical service, there was still more. That is why Jesus ascended to heaven, and that is why Gabriel told Daniel that the sanctuary was still to be cleansed.

What Happened in 1844?

We have seen that the “sanctuary” was to be “cleansed,” and when we do the arithmetic, the only possible date that we can come up with is 1844. There was no earthly sanctuary at this time, but there was indeed a heavenly sanctuary to which Jesus ascended after His resurrection. What then occurred in 1844?

Because the “holy places” of the earthly sanctuary were merely “copies of the true,” (Hebrews 9:24) and there were two apartments, we can have no doubt that in the heavenly sanctuary there are, likewise, two apartments. Not only do we know that the heavenly sanctuary looks like the earthly one, but also the services of the earthly sanctuary represented what the services of the heavenly sanctuary would be like as well. “For if He [speaking of Jesus, the minister of the sanctuary of the new covenant] were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law; who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things,” Hebrews 9:3, 4. The priests of the old covenant ministered according to the “copy and shadow of heavenly things.” Their ministration was a representation of what would occur under the new covenant. As on the yearly Passover, the innocent lamb was slain, Jesus, the Lamb of God, was crucified for our sins on Calvary. The feast of weeks represented the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost. Likewise the Day of Atonement pointed forward to the day of judgment that was to take place. In the earthly Day of Atonement, the High Priest went into the second apartment only once a year, and from this we can conclude that Jesus also will enter once into the second apartment of the heavenly sanctuary. As the Day of Atonement was when the sanctuary was cleansed in the typical service, once again, we can understand that when Jesus enters the second apartment in heaven it will be for the cleansing of the sanctuary. As the Day of Atonement was the day of judgment in the earthly service, we can be certain that when Jesus enters the second apartment to cleanse the sanctuary, it will be the day of judgment. What then happened in 1844? In fulfillment of the well verified prophecy of Daniel 8:14, Jesus entered into the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary to do the final work of atonement and to cleanse the sanctuary from the stain of sin that has, year by year, decade by decade built up. In fact, it was October 22, 1844 (the Day of Atonement was on October 22 in 1844), that the great judgment day began. It is the only legitimate understanding of the prophecies of both Daniel and Revelation.

There is even further evidence from Revelation that this is exactly what happened. John does not write of the exact time, but he certainly tells us about the time when Jesus will enter the most holy place. “Then the seventh angel sounded:… Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple.” Revelation 11:15, 19. At the sounding of the seventh angel, John writes that the temple in heaven was opened and he saw the Ark of the Covenant. The veil into the second apartment of the heavenly sanctuary was lifted and John peered into the most holy place where the work of judgment began. The Ark of the Covenant was only kept in the second apartment and this is the only thing that John could have seen. As the second apartment was only entered on the Day of Atonement, or the cleansing of the sanctuary, this was the cleansing of the sanctuary that John saw beginning in 1844. As we compare scripture with scripture, there can be do doubt about it–Jesus entered into the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary in 1844 to cleanse the sanctuary and conclude the plan of salvation.

It is Done!

The judgment began in 1844 and has been going on ever since. We are living in the most grand and solemn time of this earth’s history. Right now is the time when the judgment is going on in the courts above. As the Day of Atonement was a time of soul searching and self-examination, so today we must always bear in mind that the great judgment day of God is going on right now. We may not be able to see it. We may not personally be called before God’s judgment bar, but it is going on none-the-less, and the results will be no less final. It is the last chance for the inhabitants of this world to be saved! Very soon the command will be issued, “It is done!” Revelation 16:17; 21:6. It will then be too late. If we are not following the Lord all the way at that time, we will be left outside the holy city. The final decree will be pronounced and we will be on the wrong side. “He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.” Revelation 22:11. All will one day be on one side or the other. We may be able to ride the fence now, but then we will be all for the Lord or all against Him. Indeed it is a fearful and solemn time to be alive, for it is our last chance to be saved, but for those who are following Jesus wherever He leads and doing whatever He asks, it is not fearful, it is not scary. It is the most joyous time for it means that very soon we will be with our Savior for the ceaseless ages of eternity. “Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, until the indignation is past. For behold, the Lord comes out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; the earth will also disclose her blood, and will no more cover her slain.” Isaiah 26:20, 21.

All emphasis the authors unless otherwise stated.
All texts from the New King James Version unless otherwise noted.

Sources:

  • The Great Controversy, Ellen G. White, Review and Herald, 1911
  • God Predicts Your Future, John J. Grosboll, Steps to Life, 1994
  • Messiah in His Sanctuary, F.C. Gilbert, reprinted by Leaves of Autumn, 1991
  • Daniel and the Revelation, Uriah Smith, Southern Publishing Association, 1944
  • Subpoenaed to the Trial of Life, Cody Francis, Steps to Life, 1999

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