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Section Titles
Two Sanctuaries
The
Sanctuary in Heaven
Two Apartments
Christ Not a Priest Before He Came to Earth
Types Not Found in the Melchizedec Priesthood
Within the Veil
The Throne of
God
Christ's Ministry in the First Apartment
The Cleansing of the Sanctuary
The
Scapegoat
A Work of Judgment
The Heavenly Sanctuary to Be Cleansed
A
Threefold Decree
The Seventieth Week
Christ's Priestly Ministry
The
Investigative Judgment
The Law of the Judgment
Mr. Canright strenuously objects, in chapter 7 of his
book, to the teaching of the Seventh-day Adventists regarding the judgment and
the cleansing of the sanctuary. He brands it as “fanaticism,” and
holds it up to public ridicule. As in his treatment of many other subjects, he
freely misstates the Seventh-day Adventist position, and confuses the issue in
the mind of the reader by making false charges against some of the former
leaders of that church. He says in his first paragraph that this is an
important issue, and urges his readers to study into it carefully.
In order to aid in the careful study of this subject, we
present in the following pages a brief statement of the teachings of the
Seventh-day Adventists on the subject of the cleansing of the sanctuary and its
relation to the judgment and the law of God.
In the Bible two sanctuaries of God are spoken of. One
is called the earthly tabernacle, one the heavenly. One was built by Moses in
the wilderness, and the other was built by God in heaven. One was only a type;
the other, the antitype, or true tabernacle. The services of the tabernacle on
earth were performed by the members of the Aaronic priesthood; those of the
heavenly, by Jesus Christ,
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who is our High Priest. (Hebrews 8:1, 2.) In the earthly
sanctuary the blood of animals was offered daily as a type of the sacrifice of
Christ, who had promised to become the sinner's substitute. In the heavenly
Jesus presents His own blood as the sacrificial atonement for the sins of His
people.
Of the earthly tabernacle the Lord said to Moses:
“Let them make Me a sanctuary; that I may dwell
among them. According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the
tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye
make it.” “And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I
shall give thee.” “And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the
ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.”
And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the
mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the
testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the
children of Israel.” Exodus 25:8, 9, 16, 21, 22.
And after carefully instructing Moses how to make
certain other furnishings, such as altars, table, candlestick, etc., he added:
“Look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in
the mount.” Verse 40.
Of the heavenly sanctuary we read:
“Now of the things which we have spoken this is the
sum: We have such an High Priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of
the Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true
tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. For every high priest is
ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this
Man have somewhat also to offer. For if He were on earth, He should not be a
priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:
who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was
admonished
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of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See,
saith He, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in
the mount.” Hebrews 8:1-5.
Thus it is clearly revealed that there were two
sanctuaries: an earthly (or, as rendered in Hebrews 9:1, A.R.V., “a
sanctuary of the world”), and a heavenly. The “sanctuary of the
world” was a type of the heavenly, and its services were only “the
example and shadow of heavenly things.” The heavenly is “the true
tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.” The high priests in
the earthly sanctuary offered “gifts and sacrifices,” and it was
necessary that Christ, the Priest of the heavenly sanctuary, “have
somewhat also to offer.”
The sanctuary of this world, with its typical services,
was only a temporary arrangement made by God, by which to teach the people the
great fundamental truth of the gospel; i.e., that remission of sins is
essential to eternal life, and can be secured only through the shed blood of
the Lamb of God, who would die as a ransom for men, and whose death was
typified by the blood of animals. This temporary typical arrangement was to
continue only until the death of Jesus, after which time it would have no
further meaning, since it was simply a shadow of the cross. Thus we read:
“The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into
the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was
yet standing: which was a figure for the time then present, in which were
offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service
perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; which stood only in meats and drinks,
and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of
reformation. But Christ
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being come a 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. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of a
heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: how
much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered
Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the
living God?” Hebrews 9:8-14.
Here we see that Paul refers to the sanctuary in the
wilderness as “the first tabernacle.” Hence there must have been a
second.
The first “was a figure for the time then
present.” Its service was “imposed on them until the time of
reformation”—the opening of the gospel dispensation.
Christ is stated to be a “High Priest of …
a greater and more perfect tabernacle.” He ministers not “the
blood of goats and calves,” but “His own blood.”
“Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances
of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary” (Hebrews 9:1), but Christ is a
minister of a “more perfect tabernacle.” Verse 11.
From the foregoing scriptures there can be no question
that the Bible clearly reveals two distinct sanctuaries of God, one of which is
the true, and of which the other was a type, or shadow.
Some maintain that all heaven is the sanctuary, but that
teaching clearly contradicts the plain statements of Scripture. Paul speaks of
the second as a heavenly sanctuary,
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but that does not mean that it is heaven itself. Heaven is
not the sanctuary, but the sanctuary is in heaven. This is very
definitely revealed in Revelation 11:19, which says, “The temple of God
was opened in heaven.” John does not say heaven was opened, but that the
temple of God was opened in heaven. This temple is the sanctuary, for there was
seen in it the ark of the testament.
In Hebrews 9:23 it is very definitely stated that the
earthly sanctuary was a pattern “of things in the
heavens”—not a pattern of heaven, but of things in the
heavens. The heavenly sanctuary, therefore, is located in heaven, and is
called the true and more perfect tabernacle, as compared with the one that was
on earth.
A study of the heavenly sanctuary shows us that it is
furnished in the same way as was the earthly. In Revelation 1:12 John speaks of
seeing the candlesticks in the heavenly sanctuary; in Revelation 11:19 he sees
the ark of the testimony; and in Revelation 8:3 he sees the altar of incense
and the golden censer. In Hebrews 8:4, 5, we are told that the earthly
sanctuary was built after a pattern, and that it was a “shadow of heavenly
things.” If that is true, then the shadow that was on the earth must of
necessity reveal what is in heaven; in essential arrangements the two must be
the same. Also the typical services performed in the earthly must find their
antitype in the heavenly. In this way only could the earthly be a shadow of the
heavenly.
The earthly sanctuary was divided into two
apartments—the holy place and the most holy. At the entrance to the first
apartment, or room, was a linen veil or curtain.
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Between the two apartments or rooms was a second veil,
separating the first apartment, or holy place, from the second, or most holy
place; as it is written: “The veil shall divide unto you between the holy
place and the most holy.” Exodus 26:33.
This division of the sanctuary into two apartments was
absolutely essential for the performance of the typical service. The respective
work performed in the two had a very different meaning. The service in the
first apartment typified the bringing of confessed sins into the sanctuary,
while that of the second apartment had to do with their removal. Without the
service in the first apartment the service in the second would have no meaning.
If the sins of the people were not first brought into the sanctuary through the
daily ministration, there could of course be no cleansing or removal of sins on
the Day of Atonement.
Now since the earthly sanctuary was a shadow cast by the
heavenly, and since in the earthly there were two apartments, there must
necessarily be two apartments in the heavenly. A single shaft, with one source
of light, cannot cast a double shadow. Just so a sanctuary in heaven having
only one room, could never cast a shadow upon earth with two. And further, a
heavenly sanctuary in which the priestly service was performed in only one
room, could not be typified by the service of a sanctuary with two rooms, where
the services of the respective rooms had an altogether different meaning. If in
the heavenly there be no first apartment service, then the entire typical
service of the first apartment had no meaning, and finds no antitype in the
work of our High Priest in heaven. Such a conclusion is unthinkable. It would
destroy with one stroke the significance of the entire typical service.
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In Hebrews 9:8 we learn that there was no priestly
service performed in the heavenly sanctuary until the earthly had come to its
close: “The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of
all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet
standing.” Christ therefore was not ministering in the heavenly sanctuary
before He came to the earth. The services in the earthly had to come to a
close, and the priesthood had to be changed from the sons of Aaron to Christ,
before the way was open for services to begin in the sanctuary in heaven.
The offering of animals in the earthly sanctuary was an
expression of faith on the part of the people that Jesus, the Lamb of God,
would come and die to redeem them from sin. Therefore, the moment Jesus died on
the cross the shadow met the substance, and the typical service lost its
meaning. From that time on, that service could no longer point forward to the
death of Christ.
The death of Jesus took place at the hour of the evening
sacrifice, and in Jerusalem the priest was busy with this service. The lamb for
the evening offering had been brought, but just at that moment Jesus expired on
the cross and the veil of the temple was rent in twain. Thus God indicated that
the glory of His presence had departed from the earthly temple, and that the
efficacy of the types and shadows had suddenly come to an end.
“Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that
was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing
it to His cross; and having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a show
of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Let no man therefore judge you in
meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holy day, or of the new moon, or of the
sabbath days: which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of
Christ.” Colossians 2:14-17.
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Thus the law of the earthly priesthood, the law of the
meat offerings and drink offerings, the law concerning yearly sabbath and holy
days, with the whole typical service, was nailed to the cross. When the nails
pierced the hands and feet of Jesus and His blood flowed, the blood of the
sacrificial lamb had no further meaning. The time had come of which Jesus spoke
to the woman of Samaria at the well when He said, “The hour cometh, when
ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the
Father.” John 4:21. They could worship God now by going straight to Jesus,
their Advocate and High Priest, for the way into the heavenly sanctuary was
made manifest. He had taken away the first that He might establish the second.
(See Hebrews 10:8, 9.)
Christ was not a priest before He came to the earth.
Therefore He was not performing a priestly service in the heavenly sanctuary
before that time. His priesthood could not begin until the priesthood of Aaron
had closed. It was this changing of the priesthood that made necessary the
abolition of the ceremonial law which governed the priestly ministry. “For
the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the
law.” Hebrews 7:12.
Before Christ could serve as priest, it was necessary
that He should have an offering to present to God. Said the apostle:
“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.
Christ shed His blood that He might have something to offer. The earthly priest
offered the blood of animals, but He came not to offer the blood of bulls and
goats and lambs, but to offer
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His own blood; therefore His priestly service could not
begin until after His blood had been shed.
Paul very definitely tells us that the earthly priests
were taken from among the people whom they were to serve, in order that they
might have compassion on the people and understand their infirmities.
“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: who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that
are out of the way; for that he himself is compassed with infirmity.”
Hebrews 5:1, 2.
Thus the priests were not brought in from some distant
part of the world, from some nation which did not understand the needs and
sufferings of the people whom they would serve, but they were taken from among
their brethren.
Paul tells us that this was true also of Christ. Before
He could serve as a priest on man's behalf, He must Himself become a man.
“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of
flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through
death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and
deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to
bondage. For verily He took not on Him the nature of angels; but He took on Him
the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behoved Him to be made like
unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in
things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
For in that He Himself has suffered being tempted, He is able to succour them
that are tempted.” Hebrews 2:14-18.
“We have not a High Priest which cannot be touched
with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points
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tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore
come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace
to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:15, 16.
Thus in all things He was made like His brethren. Why?
That He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest. Therefore, Christ was not
a priest until after He had become man and had suffered on man's behalf.
Why do we emphasize this point? for the reason that this
shows conclusively that all the priestly work of Christ in the heavenly
sanctuary has had to be performed since the cross. None of it was done before
He came to earth. In the earthly sanctuary the priest served in the first
apartment and then in the second apartment, and the service was an example, or
type, of the service of Christ. Therefore Christ must serve in both the first
and second apartments of the heavenly sanctuary, and His service in both these
apartments must come after the cross. The priest served first in the first
apartment. Therefore, if the types mean anything to us, they show that when
Christ went to heaven as a priest, He began His service in the first apartment,
whereas His ministry in the second apartment was to come at a subsequent
time.
Now the work in the first apartment of the earthly
sanctuary required a much longer period than the work in the second. Day by day
throughout the year the priest ministered in the holy place, and one day in the
year he ministered in the most holy. So if we follow that in the antitype in
heaven, we conclude that it was necessary that christ should go first into the
first apartment, and that He should serve a much longer period there than He
would terward serve in the most holy place.
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Types Not Found in the Melchizedec Priesthood
Some argue that the types of Christ's priestly ministry
are to be found not in the Levitical priesthood but in the Melchizedec
priesthood. But we inquire, Where is the record of Melchizedec's priestly
ministry? What kind of sacrifices did he offer? What was the order of the
services performed? If the types are to be found in his priestly service, it is
important that we understand them, in order that we may also understand the
work of Christ, the antitype. But we find no record of the priestly ministry of
Melchizedec. We find no shedding of blood, no offering of sacrifices, no work
of atonement. But we do find all this Set forth in the work of the Levitical
priests. In their ministry every detail of the work of Christ in the heavenly
sanctuary is clearly taught. If we reject the Levitical priesthood, we are left
entirely without a typical ministration. If we accept it, we have a typical
service which teaches every principle essential to the plan of redemption.
We are left in no uncertainty on this important point.
In speaking of Christ, Paul declares: “If He were on earth, He should not
be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the
law: who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things.” Hebrews
8:4, 5. Thus it is the service of the priests who served under the law
that is to be taken as an example of the work of Christ in heaven. These were
the Levites. They were designated as priests by the law of Moses. Their gifts
were offered according to the law that governed the ceremonial service, and
here Paul definitely declares their service to be “the example and shadow
of heavenly things.” The types of Christ in His priestly service are found
only in them.
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But in what respect, then, was Christ a priest after the
order of Melchizedec? (Hebrews 7:21.) Just this: Melchizedec was not a priest
under the law of Moses. He did not become a priest by inheritance. He was
“without father, without mother, and without descent” (margin,
“pedigree”) (Hebrews 7:3); that is, he could not trace his genealogy
to the tribe of Levi, and thus prove that he was a priest by inheritance. The
sons of Aaron were priests because their father was priest. It was an
inheritance. But Melchizedec became a priest in another way.
Just so it was with Christ. He was not of the tribe of
Levi but sprang out of Judah. By the law He had no inheritance in the priestly
ministry. He was without priestly parentage or pedigree.
“He of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to
another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar. For it is evident
that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning
priesthood. And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of
Melchisedec there ariseth another Priest, who is made, not after the law of a
carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life.” Hebrews
7:13-16.
Jesus was made a priest by an oath of God, for the
Scripture says, “Not without an oath He was made priest.” Hebrews
7:20. It was this change that made necessary a change of the law which
designated that the Levites should be the priests; “for the priesthood
being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law”;
“for the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of
the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for
evermore.” Hebrews 7:12, 28. In this respect therefore Christ was a priest
after the order
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of Melchizedec, but the types of Christ's ministration in
His capacity as High Priest are found only in the Levitical service.
In view of these considerations we must therefore urge
again that since the earthly priest performed his first service in the first
apartment of the sanctuary, which consumed the greater part of his time and
labor, so must Christ begin His ministry in the first apartment of the heavenly
sanctuary, and continue there a much longer period than that required for His
service in the second. And since the service of the earthly priests in the most
holy place came at the end of the yearly round, so must Christ's work in the
second apartment come at the close of His priestly ministry, and not at the
beginning. He could not therefore, upon His ascension to heaven, have entered
immediately upon His work in the most holy place, for His work in the first
apartment had not yet been performed.
Someone may say, Did not Christ go immediately within
the veil? Certainly He did. This is clearly stated in Hebrews 6:19, 20:
“Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and
which entereth into that within the veil; whither the Forerunner is for us
entered, even Jesus, made a High Priest for ever after the order of
Melchisedec.”
But does this prove that He went immediately into the
most holy place? If there were only one veil in the sanctuary, then it might
seem to indicate that He did, but there were two veils. In Hebrews 9:3, Paul
says distinctly that there is a second veil. “After the second veil, the
tabernacle which is called the holiest of all.”
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The fact that there were two veils is also clearly set
forth in Exodus 26:31-36:
“Thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and
scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubim shall it be made:
and thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of shittim wood overlaid with gold:
their hooks shall be of gold, upon the four sockets of silver. And thou shalt
hang up the vail under the taches, that thou mayest bring in thither within the
vail the ark of the testimony: and the vail shall divide unto you between the
holy place and the most holy. And thou shalt put the mercy seat upon the ark of
the testimony in the most holy place. And thou shalt set the table without the
vail, and the candlestick over against the table on the side of the tabernacle
toward the south: and thou shalt put the table on the north side. And thou
shalt make a hanging for the door of the tent, of blue, and purple, and
scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework.”
One of these cloth hangings was at the entrance to the
first apartment, and the other served as a dividing veil between the two rooms.
When Paul refers to the dividing veil, he calls it “the second veil”;
but when he refers to the first veil, he just says “the veil.”
Therefore, when he declared that Christ had gone within the veil, he of course
meant into the first apartment, beyond the first veil. He did not say He had
gone through two veils, nor did he say He had gone within the second veil.
Therefore, when Christ went to heaven and passed within the veil, it was to
begin His ministry in the first apartment of the heavenly sanctuary.
John tells us very definitely in Revelation 1:12, 13,
that he saw Christ ministering in the place where the golden candlesticks are:
“I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw
seven golden
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candlesticks; and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one
like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt
about the paps with a golden girdle.” The candlesticks were in the first
apartment and it is here that John declares that Christ was serving at the time
he saw Him in vision.
In Hebrews 8:1 we are told that our High Priest is
“set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.”
Some argue that this constitutes evidence that Christ went immediately into the
most holy place, since it is presumed that the throne of God is there, and that
it corresponds to the ark of the earthly sanctuary. But we do not find that the
ark is called God's throne, but find very clear indications that the throne of
God is movable, that it moves about from place to place as need requires, being
conveyed by living creatures who are capable of moving about with the swiftness
of lightning. (See Ezekiel 1.)
We also know that the throne of God must be movable from
what Daniel tells us in chapter 7:9, 10, of his prophecy. Here he describes the
beginning of the work of judgment. He says: “I beheld until the thrones
were placed [margin], and the Ancient of days did sit.” This indicates
that God would move His throne when the time should come for the opening of the
judgment. In Revelation 4:2, 5, it is recorded that John saw the throne in the
first apartment of the sanctuary, for he says he beheld it in the place where
the seven lamps were.
Thus it seems that the throne of God moves about whither
God wishes to go, and therefore, wherever God is, the throne is present. He is
not limited to one little corner.
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As King Solomon said in his prayer to God when he dedicated
the temple in Jerusalem: “Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot
contain Thee; how much less this house that I have builded.” 1 Kings 8:27.
When we are told, therefore, that Christ sat down on the throne at the time of
His ascension, that should not be taken to mean that He went at that time into
the most holy place of the sanctuary; for we learn from a careful study of the
sure word of prophecy that God did not occupy the throne in the most holy place
of the sanctuary until the time came for the opening of the judgment in
1844.
What was the work of Christ in the first apartment of
the heavenly sanctuary? Was there anything for Him to do there? We answer:
Jesus' ministry in the first apartment was to plead the merits of His
righteousness and of His shed blood in behalf of sinners in the earth who had
and who should yet accept Him. He had extended the invitation, “Look unto
Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth,” and it was only through
the ministry of His blood that He was able thus to save.
In 1 John 2:1, Jesus is said to be our
“advocate.” In Romans 3:34, Paul states that He “maketh
intercession for us.” John the revelator sees Him in the holy place before
the golden altar, offering up incense with the prayers of the saints; and Jesus
Himself declared that He would confess before His Father those who confessed
Him before men. (See Matthew 10:32.)
This, then, was His work in the first apartment of the
sanctuary. As sinners came to God for pardon and would plead the shed blood of
Jesus on their behalf, Jesus became
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their Advocate and made intercession for them before God. He
offered up their prayers with sweet incense before the Father, and pleaded that
since His blood had been shed on behalf of sinners, and since these had
accepted Him as their sacrifice, they might receive pardon. Yea, more, He
offered to take away the guilt of their sin, and to impute to them His life of
righteousness. Thus by accepting Jesus as their substitute and sacrifice, the
sins of the sinners were transferred from themselves to the heavenly sanctuary,
where Christ was ministering, and where the sins would remain until blotted out
in the investigative judgment.
Thus Jesus performed a continual service in the first
apartment after His ascension to heaven. Just as in the earthly sanctuary the
altar fires were to be kept burning continually, in readiness to consume the
sacrifices of sinners who should seek pardon, so Christ stood ready, day and
night continually, to receive sinners and offer His shed blood in their behalf.
His standing invitation to sinners is: “Come unto Me, all ye that labour
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” He gives rest by taking
away their load of sin, lifting the burden entirely from their shoulders. He
beareth away the sins of the world.
Thus did Christ minister as High Priest in the holy
place, receiving there the sins of the people who came unto God by Him. And
thus the heavenly sanctuary has become defiled by the sins of men. From this
defilement it requires cleansing at the close of His priestly ministry.
Daniel 8:14 introduces us to a work called the cleansing
of the sanctuary: “He said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred
days; then shall the sanctuary be
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cleansed.” In Hebrews 9:6, 7, Paul mentions the fact
that in the sanctuary service on earth the priests served daily in the first
apartment, but that the high priest went into the second apartment only once
each year. During the daily ministration in the first apartment the sins of the
children of Israel accumulated in the sanctuary. The arrangement was that when
one committed sin in the camp of Israel, he should bring a lamb or other sin
offering, place his hands upon its head, and confess his sins over it. Thus the
sins of the individual were in type transferred to the sacrifice. Then the
animal was killed, and a portion of its blood put on the horns of the altar of
burnt offering. The rest of the blood was poured out at the base of this altar,
and the flesh was taken into the holy place of the sanctuary, where it was
eaten by the priest. This service typified the transfer of the sin from the
individual to the sanctuary, and thus the repentant sinner went away free. This
slaying of the sacrifice prefigured the death of the Lamb of God, who was to be
slain for the sins of the world. The bringing of sin offerings to the sanctuary
continued for the whole year, until the tenth day of the seventh month. On that
day the sanctuary was to be cleansed.
The book of Leviticus, chapter 16, tells about the
cleansing of the earthly sanctuary. Full details are given here as to what
happened on that day. Two goats were brought before the priest, who was to cast
lots on them, thus choosing one to be the Lord's goat and the other Azazel's.
(Azazel is the enemy, or adversary.) In other words, one goat was to represent
the Lord, and the other God's adversary, Satan. When the lots were cast and the
Lord's goat was selected, it was slain, and the priest carried its blood into
the sanctuary, beyond the second veil,
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into the most holy place. Verse 15 says that he was to
sprinkle the blood on the mercy seat and before it, and this was to “make
an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of
Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he
do for the tabernacle of the congregation.” Verse 16. Thus this special
service was a cleansing service. It was to accomplish the cleansing of the holy
place from the sins of the people.
This is further emphasized in verse 19, where we read:
“He shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and
cleanse it.” The cleansing, then, was accomplished by the sprinkling of
the blood. But from what does he cleanse it? “He shall cleanse it, and
hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.” Verse
19. So the cleansing of the sanctuary was a cleansing from sin. This is
definitely established. It was not a cleansing from physical, but from
spiritual defilement.
If, as is argued by some, the cleansing of the sanctuary
consisted only in the removal of idols brought into it when Israel was in
apostasy, that could have been done with men's hands. No blood would be
necessary for such a work; but this cleansing of the sanctuary was accomplished
with blood. “He shall sprinkle of the blood, … and cleanse it, and
hallow it.” Now the priest could not have removed the idols out of the
sanctuary by simply sprinkling blood on them. The only uncleanness that can be
cleansed by blood is that of sin. Therefore the cleansing of the sanctuary that
is brought to view here is a spiritual cleansing from the sins of the people
which had been received there.
The transfer, in figure, of the sins of the people
went
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forward day after day during the entire year, until the Day
of Atonement. Thus there was a constant accumulation of sins in the sanctuary,
and by these sins it was defiled. For this reason the cleansing, or purging, of
sin from the sanctuary became necessary. Thus the Lord said:
“He [the high priest] shall make an atonement for
the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and
because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the
tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their
uncleanness.” Leviticus 16:16.
After the atonement was thus made for the sins of the
people, the high priest passed out of the sanctuary, bearing the accumulated
sins of the year out with him, and the live goat was brought. Placing his hands
upon the head of the goat, the high priest confessed over it “all the
iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their
sins, putting them upon the head of the goat.” Leviticus 16:21. Thus there
was a removal of sin from the sanctuary, a cleansing from spiritual defilement.
The sins that had accumulated there were now all disposed of as they were
placed upon the head of the goat, which was sent away into the wilderness to
die.
Why was this second goat necessary? Did not the blood of
the first goat atone for the sins of the people? Yes, it must be so. Verse 20
indicates that when the scapegoat was brought, the priest had already made an
end of reconciling the sanctuary. “When he hath made an end of reconciling
the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall
bring the live goat.” What part, then,
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did Satan's goat have in the removal of sin? Just this:
Satan is the instigator of all sin. He is primarily responsible for the sins of
all men, and the death of Christ does not atone for his share of the
responsibility and guilt. Therefore when our sins have been atoned for by the
blood of Christ, Satan must yet answer for his part in those same sins. That is
why they are eventually placed upon his head and he is made to suffer for them.
He has no part in atoning for man's guilt, but he must suffer for his own guilt
in leading men into sin.
This work of the cleansing of the earthly sanctuary was
a work of judgment. This is indicated in Leviticus 23:27-30.
“Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there
shall be a Day of Atonement: it shall be a holy convocation unto you; and ye
shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. And
ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a Day of Atonement, to make an
atonement for you before the Lord your God. For whatsoever soul it be that
shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his
people. And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in the same day, the same
soul will I destroy from among his people.”
The Jewish people always recognized the Day of Atonement
as a judgment day. Even to the present time it is so regarded. The following is
a copy of a statement published in a Jewish paper in the city of San Francisco
in 1892. The Jewish Day of Atonement was coming on, and the rabbi issued this
announcement:
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“The monitory sounds of the shophar [trumpet] are
to be heard every morning in the orthodox synagogues, advising preparation for
the day of memorial and of the final judgment of Yom Kippur
[Yom—day, Kippur—atonement].”—Jewish
Exponent, September, 1892.
In 1902 Isador Meyer, a Jewish rabbi, spoke of the Jew
on the Day of Atonement as follows:
“He is also summoned by the voice of the same
trumpet, or shophar, to scrutinize retrospectively his actions of the past
year, while he stands trembling before the all-seeing eye of Eternal Justice
sitting on the throne of judgment.”
From this we see that the cleansing of the earthly
sanctuary on the Day of Atonement was a work of judgment. And the cleansing of
the earthly sanctuary was a type of the cleansing of the heavenly. Therefore it
follows unquestionably that the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary is a work
of judgment also.
Let us now return to Daniel's prophecy, “Unto two
thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.”
Daniel 8:14. The beginning and ending of the 2300 days is made very clear in
the prophecy. In Daniel 9:24-27 this period is divided and subdivided in such a
way as to leave us in no uncertainty whatever. Note the words of the
prophecy:
“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. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the
commandment
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to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the
Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be
built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
“And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah
be cut off, but not for Himself: and the people of the prince that shall come
shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a
flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. 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, and for the overspreading
of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and
that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”
Now we can be absolutely certain that we have the right
dates for the beginning and ending of this period if we begin counting from the
cross. From that as the starting point in our reckoning, we can count backward
to find the beginning and forward to find the close. The first 69½ weeks
of this period were to reach down to the cross. At the end of 69½ weeks
or 486½ years (reckoning a prophetic day as a literal year), the
sacrifice and oblation was to cease (verse 27), which signified that at that
time the earthly sanctuary service would come to an end.
The event which terminated the earthly service was the
crucifixion of Jesus, therefore we know that when Christ was crucified,
69½ weeks, or 486½ literal years, of the 2300-year period had
passed. We have only to figure back 486½ years to 457 B.C., to find the
correct starting point; and forward 1813½ years to 1844, to find the end
of the period. It is clear, therefore, that the earthly sanctuary came to an
end before the close of the 2300 days of Daniel 8:14, and that this prophecy
could not refer to its cleansing. Since there were still 1813½ years of
the 2300-year
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period to be fulfilled after the cross, we must of necessity
conclude that this prophecy of Daniel refers to the only sanctuary that was in
existence at that time, that is, the heavenly.
Let us take it in another way. The period of seventy
weeks, or 490 days, brought to view in the scripture already quoted, is only a
division of the full period of 2300 days. The seventy weeks also had several
divisions, each terminating with some definite event, such as the completion of
the work of rebuilding Jerusalem, the baptism of the Saviour, the cutting off
(or crucifixion) of the Messiah, and the completion of the time of the Jews.
Taking the Bible method of reckoning prophetic time, i. e., each prophetic day
for a literal year (Ezekiel 4:6), these seventy weeks, or 490 days, would equal
490 literal years, and they would date from 457 B.C., at which time the final
and complete decree to restore Jerusalem went forth.
We find this threefold decree given first by Cyrus, the
king of Persia (Ezra 1:2-4), repeated by Darius (Ezra 6:6-12), and again
repeated by Artaxerxes (Ezra 7: 12-26). In Ezra 6:14 we read these words:
“The elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered
through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo.
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
king of Persia.”
The commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem was,
then, according to the Scripture itself, a threefold decree, given lastly by
Artaxerxes in 457 B.C. From this
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date, therefore, we begin to count that long period of 2300
years reaching to 1844.
Seven weeks, or forty-nine years, of this time were to
cover the period of the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Forty-nine years this side of
457 B.C., would bring us to 408 B.C., the year in which the reconstruction work
was completed.
Sixty-nine weeks, 483 years, were to reach to Messiah
the Prince. This would bring us to A.D. 27, and that is the year when Jesus was
baptized of John in the Jordan, upon which occasion He was anointed, receiving
the gift of the Holy Spirit without measure (John 3:34), and was proclaimed the
son of God by a voice from heaven. (See Luke 3:21, 22; Acts 10:38.)
In the midst (middle) of the last, or seventieth, week,
Messiah was to be cut off. A week would be seven prophetic days, or literal
years, and half a week would be three and a half years. Christ was anointed for
His earthly ministry in A.D. 27. Three and a half years later, or in A.D. 31,
He was cut off by crucifixion.
The whole of the last, or seventieth, week was to be
devoted especially to the Jews. “He shall confirm the covenant with many
for one week.” Daniel 9:27. This was fulfilled by Christ's personal
ministry of three and a half years, and by the ministry of His apostles, who
for another three and a half years labored almost exclusively for the Jews.
After that time the Jews were no longer to be considered the specially chosen
people of God.
Beginning with Christ's ministry in A.D. 27, this week,
or seven literal years, would reach to A.D. 34. It was in that year that
Stephen was martyred, Paul was sent to the
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Gentiles, and the Jewish nation, as such, was rejected. In
rejecting Christ and His gospel, they had rejected the only means of salvation,
and God could no longer count them His chosen people. Soon after this it was
boldly announced that the disciples had turned to the Gentiles.
“Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It
was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but
seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life,
lo, we turn to the Gentiles. For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have
set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation
unto the ends of the earth.” Acts 13:46, 47.
This first division of the 2300-day prophecy—the
seventy weeks—absolutely confirms the fact that we have the correct
starting date for the entire period. Figured from the year 457 as a starting
point, every detail of the prophecy works out to perfection; and therefore
shows beyond all doubt that the initial date is correct.
This evidently was one of the reasons this subdivision
of the prophecy was made. This seventy-week period was to “seal up”
(make sure) the vision and prophecy. It serves to prove the starting point.
When we therefore take 457 B.C., as the date for beginning this period of 2300
prophetic days, or literal years, it clearly brings us down to the year A.D.
1844. Or, to state it another way: The first seventy weeks, or 490 years,
reached down to A.D. 34. The difference between 490 years and 2300 years is
1810, and if we add 1810 years to A.D. 34, we have A.D. 1844. The 2300-year
prophecy ended, therefore, in 1844. The evidence of this is absolutely
conclusive, as the subdivisions of the prophecy leave no room whatever for
doubt.
But what was to happen at the end of the 2300 years?
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“He said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred
days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” Daniel 8:14. The time
had come for the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary.
As we have already seen, the only sanctuary of God in
existence in 1844 was the heavenly sanctuary. The earthly sanctuary, with its
services, had passed away, having no further meaning after the cross; and the
priesthood had changed from the sons of Aaron to Christ. At the time of
Christ's ascension He began His priestly ministry in the sanctuary above as our
High Priest. But this ministry was performed in the “holy place,” or
first room of the tabernacle. The second apartment, within the dividing veil,
known as the “holy of holies,” was not to be entered except on the
Day of Atonement, when the sanctuary was to be cleansed from sin.
The time for this event to take place in heaven arrived
in 1844. In Daniel 8:17, where the angel explains to Daniel the prophecy of the
2300 years, he declares, “At the time of the end shall be the
vision.” This expression is used in numerous places in the Bible to
designate a little period of time just before the return of our Lord, and
during which the final preparations for that event are being made both in
heaven and upon earth. The heavenly sanctuary, therefore, was to be cleansed in
“the time of the end,” and the actual work was to begin in the year
A.D. 1844.
This is in harmony with the type, for in the earthly
sanctuary the priest, as we have already seen, spent the greater part of the
year in the first apartment; and only a short time at the close of the yearly
round in the most holy
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place, where he would be engaged in the work of cleansing
the sanctuary. So in heaven Jesus went first into the first apartment, and
served there as priest until 1844. That corresponded to the long period spent
by the priest in the first apartment on earth. He entered the second apartment
in 1844, in the last end of His priestly ministry, to do a short work, and to
make an end of sin. That work is called the cleansing of the sanctuary.
But it may be asked: Is there anything in heaven that
needs to be cleansed? Yes, there is sin. As we have already observed, the
cleansing of the sanctuary is not a cleansing from physical defilement but a
spiritual cleansing, and has to do with the removal of the record and
defilement of sin. In 1 Timothy 5:24 we are told: “Some men's sins are
open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow
after.” Those who have through the years accepted Jesus as their sacrifice
have been sending their sins into the sanctuary for judgment.
The only way that sin can get into the sanctuary is by
confession and the offering of a substitutionary sacrifice. Therefore only the
sins of those who have accepted Christ as their Redeemer are found there. The
sins of the wicked have never been brought into the sanctuary, and so
unrepentant sinners will have to be judged at a later time. Judgment begins at
the house of God; the righteous will be judged first. Thus all confessed sins
are transferred to the sanctuary, and in this manner the sanctuary is
defiled.
In the earthly sanctuary service man confessed his sins
over the lamb, which was slain on his behalf, and thus the sins were, in type,
transferred to the sanctuary.
Just so, I am a sinner; Jesus is my sacrificial Lamb and
also my High Priest. He has died for me, but His death is
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of no avail to me until I accept Him as my substitute. When
I do accept Him I then confess my sins to God through Him, just as the man in
Israel confessed his sins over his offering. And thus my sins are transferred
from myself to the sanctuary above, where Christ ministers as priest on my
behalf. He takes away my sins, and gives me His righteousness. But where does
He take them? He takes them to the sanctuary, where He is ministering as
priest; and although they are forgiven, the record of them must there remain
until they are blotted out in the judgment.
Someone may say: I thought that when Christ forgave my
sins, He took them clear away. Yes, He did, so far as you are concerned. He
promises to make us as white as snow. But this does not mean that the sins are
finally disposed of. He takes them from us, but the record is still there. We
are free because we have accepted Him as our substitute and sin bearer, but the
record of sin is held in the sanctuary.
Someone else may say: But was not the death of Christ on
the cross a complete atonement for sin? We answer the question by asking
another: In the earthly sanctuary, when the goat was brought and killed in the
outer court by the altar, was the atonement completed by that act? No, the
blood had to be taken into the sanctuary and brought into contact with the
broken law and the sins of the people. There was a priestly work to be
performed after the shedding of the blood.
So when Christ died on the cross He had fulfilled the
type of the Lord's goat being slain, but the atonement could not be complete
until the blood He had shed on the
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cross was offered before God and His broken law in the
sanctuary. Therefore the death of Christ on the cross was not the completion of
the atonement. It was a part of the work of atonement, but the priestly work
was all to follow. The offering of the blood before the law and before the
throne had not yet taken place. If the atonement was completed at the cross,
then why did Jesus become a priest? What priestly work was there to do? There
would be none. The fact that Christ became a priest shows that there was a
priestly service to be performed in the heavenly sanctuary in order to make the
work of atonement effective and complete.
It may be asked, Is it not possible that after Christ
made the sacrifice He went back to heaven, and immediately performed His
priestly work, including the cleansing of the sanctuary, and closed it all up
in just a little while? Possibly He might have thus dispensed with the sins of
those who lived before the cross, but if Christ finished His priestly work
immediately upon His ascension, then those born since are eternally lost,
having no High Priest, no Advocate, no priestly service for sins. Christ could
not go into heaven and offer His blood to the Father on my behalf, as my
substitute, until I had decided that I wanted Him to act for me. His ministry
in heaven does not avail for me until I accept Him as my sacrifice and priest.
He died for me 1,900 years ago, but His death is not counted for me until I
accept Him.
Therefore the work of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary
could not be completed until the work of redemption is completed. The offering
of the blood of Christ in heaven is a continual offering. He died only once,
but every time a sinner comes to God through Him, He pleads His shed
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blood on his behalf, and in that moment the sacrifice of
Christ becomes efficacious in that man's case.
Another may ask, Why could not Christ have immediately
blotted out the sins of the people? Why wait until after 1844? We reply: There
must come first an investigation of the records. That is essential. Here is a
man who has accepted Christ. His sins have gone on before him into the
sanctuary, but Christ cannot blot those sins out of the record until the man's
life is finished, or until probation closes for him. Why not? Because he may
not continue in faith, and we are told in Ezekiel 33:12, 13, that if the
righteous man turns away from his righteousness, all the righteousness that he
has done shall not be remembered. If he does not continue in faith, all his
past sins will come back upon him again. Jesus does not plead before the throne
of God in the final judgment for one who has died in sin. He cannot plead His
blood in behalf of one who, though once a Christian, refuses to continue in His
grace. Thus before the Lord can blot out the sins from the record books, a very
careful examination has to be made to see whether those who accepted Christ
have remained true. “Be thou faithful unto death,” says the
Scripture, “and I will give thee a crown of life.” Revelation 2:10.
It is not the beginning of the race that gives assurance of the crown of life;
it is the successful finishing.
The cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary necessarily is a
work of judgment, just as was the cleansing of the earthly. When this work is
completed, probation will close and Christ's priestly ministry on behalf of
sinners will cease.
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There are two phases to any work of judgment. One is the
trying of the case, the searching of the records, the hearing of the witnesses,
and the pronouncing of the sentence. The other is the work of executing that
sentence after the case has been fully tried and the decision rendered. The
first is the investigative judgment; the other, the executive judgment.
When God's judgment begins, it begins with those who
have at some time in life accepted the plan of salvation, and have been
numbered with the household of God. Their names have been written in the Lamb's
book of life, and the judgment determines whether their names should be
eternally retained there, or whether they should be blotted out from the book
of life. Thus Peter declares: “The time is come that judgment must begin
at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them
that obey not the gospel of God?” 1 Peter 4:17.
This phase of the judgment work—the investigation
of the records of the righteous—is carried on while people still live on
the earth, and while the call to repentance is still being sounded throughout
the nations. Thus we read:
“I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven,
having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and
to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice,
Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and
worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of
waters.” Revelation 14:6, 7.
Here is a solemn announcement that is to be carried to
all nations and kindreds and tongues, and the burden of the message is,
“The hour of His judgment is come.” It is a warning direct from
heaven that the judgment has
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begun, and that men should hasten to worship God and give
glory to Him. Since it would begin first with those who lived in Adam's time,
and who are now dead, there would yet be time for those still living upon the
earth to make their peace with God, and hence the final appeal from heaven for
men to prepare for that great and solemn hour when their own names would be
called in review before God. This message, announcing that “the hour of
God's judgment is come,” was due to go to the nations in A.D. 1844,
for that is the time pointed out by the prophecy as the starting point of the
judgment, and it was in the year 1844 that the pioneers of the people who are
now called Seventh-day Adventists discovered this mighty truth and began to
herald it to the world. They believe, therefore, that they are literally
fulfilling this prophecy of Revelation 14:6, 7, and that they have as solemn a
commission from God as did Jonah when he was sent to warn Nineveh of its
impending destruction.
The opening of the judgment in the heavenly sanctuary in
1844 is graphically described by the prophet Daniel. Said he: “I beheld
till thrones were placed, and One that was ancient of days did sit: His raiment
was white as snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool; His throne was
fiery flames, and the wheels thereof burning fire. A fiery stream issued and
came forth from before Him: thousands of thousands ministered unto Him, and ten
thousand times ten thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the
books were opened.” Daniel 7:9, 10, A.R.V.
Thus we see that the judging is done from books of
record, in which is recorded “every secret thing,” even to
“every idle word that men shall speak.”
So, then, there is a time of judgment. It
corresponds
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to the Day of Atonement in the earthly sanctuary service.
And in that day of judgment the record books in heaven are opened and searched.
After this investigation sins are blotted out as Jesus pleads His spilled blood
in behalf of sinners who trusted in Him for salvation, and who remained
faithful to the end. In the cases of those who have proved unfaithful, the
record of the sin remains against them.
During the judgment the names of those who were once
Christians but who have given up their faith in Christ, are blotted out of the
book of life. But the promise abides: “He that overcometh, the same shall
be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book
of life, but I will confess his name before My Father, and before His
angels.” Revelation 3:5.
It is clearly stated in the Scripture that this blotting
out of sins is to take place just before the return of Jesus. Thus Peter
declares:
“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your
sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the
presence of the Lord; and He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached
unto you: whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all
things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the
world began.” Acts 3:19-21.
It is to be at the time of refreshing, which is the
outpouring of the latter rain upon the remnant church. (See Acts 2:17; Joel
2:28-32.) It will be just before Jesus comes. It will be just before the
“restitution of all things.” Therefore it will be in the very last
days of the world's history, and this blotting out of sins is the result of the
investigative judgment, and constitutes a work of cleansing
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the heavenly sanctuary, where the record of all the sins of
God's people has been kept.
The mere fact that one at some time in life has become a
Christian and has united with the church, is no guarantee of his final
salvation. Said Jesus, “He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall
be saved.” Matthew 24:13. And again we read: “Be thou faithful unto
death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” Revelation 2:10.
The doctrine of “once in grace, always in
grace,” will not do. There are thousands who start well, but who
“cast away” their “confidence” (Hebrews 10:35), and who in
the final judgment will be weighed and found wanting. This is clearly set forth
in Ezekiel's prophecy, as follows:
“When the righteous turneth away from his
righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the
abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness
that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath
trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.”
“Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his
ways, saith the Lord God. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your
transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.” Ezekiel 18:24,
30.
The idea of a final judgment of the righteous is also
conveyed by other passages of Scripture. In the parable of the wicked servant,
narrated in Matthew 18:23-35, the thought is conveyed that even though one is
forgiven and accepted of God, if he goes out from the merciful presence of his
Lord, and treats his fellow servant unmercifully and cruelly, he will at last
find himself condemned without mercy.
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In the parable a servant who had just been forgiven a
great debt by his lord, beat his fellow servant who owed him a small sum, and
even cast him into prison. When his lord learned of this, he judged him worthy
of the severest punishment, even though he had previously been forgiven all his
debt; and “so likewise,” said Jesus, “shall My heavenly Father
do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother
their trespasses.”
When the work of the investigative judgment is
completed, and Christ is about to return, to reward every man according as his
work shall be, then the divine fiat will go forth from the throne, fixing the
destiny of every soul: “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he
which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be
righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.” Revelation
22:11.
At that solemn moment human probation will be closed
forever. The righteous will be sealed for eternal life, and the
“unjust” and “filthy” must remain so until they receive
their just reward of eternal death.
Every judiciary must have a code by which the cases
brought before the court are tried. Without this, trial would be a farce, and
the decisions rendered, a travesty on justice. God must of necessity,
therefore, have a law by which He will test men's lives, a standard by which
they will be measured; and if so, surely in this solemn hour, when court week
has actually begun and cases are already being tried, it behooves every man to
inquire seriously what that standard, or code, is, and to take the necessary
steps to bring his life into harmony with it before his name is called.
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We inquire, therefore, What is the standard of God's
judgment? What is the code that will be used by the Ancient of days? And the
reply comes from the Sacred Book, clear as a voice from heaven:
“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.” Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14.
And again:
“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.” James 2:10-12.
And the third time the answer is given:
“Blessed are they that do His commandments, that
they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates
into the city.” Revelation 22:14.
Could God have made it plainer or more easily
understood? The standard of the judgment will be God's Ten Commandments that
were spoken by His mighty voice from Sinai, of which, according to Christ's
sermon on the mount, not one jot or tittle has passed away. (See Matthew 5:18.)
This law has ten distinct and definite points. James declares that a man may
“keep the whole law” except just one point, and still be pronounced
guilty in the judgment. Do not allow yourself to be deceived, therefore, into
believing that nine points of the law will suffice, and the Sabbath point can
be dropped out as nonessential.
Mr. Canright's “nine-commandment law” which
he
[305]
tries to discover in the New Testament, which has no
Sabbath, will not do. It is one point short. And that one point is just what
James warns us about. We may keep the nine points faithfully, but that will not
suffice. “Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point,
he is guilty of all.” James 2:10. When our names are called before the
tribunal of heaven, it will be a full, complete moral code, without the change
of a jot or a tittle, by which we will be measured. If we are short on one
point the sentence can be only, “Weighed in the balance, and found
wanting.”
“We must all appear before the judgment seat of
Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to
that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” 2 Corinthians 5:10.
“He that rejecteth Me, and receiveth not My words, hath One that judgeth
him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last
day.” John 12:48.