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The Gospel in the Sanctuary

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Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Aug 13, 1908

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 85, No. 33.

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The Gospel in the Sanctuary

By L. A. HOOPES

L. A. HOOPES
(Concluded)
There is a way by which all may come to the Father. That way is Christ. “By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh.” The “veil,” the “door,” and the “hangings of the court,” were all of “fine twined linen, of blue, and purple, and scarlet.” What a beautiful illustration of “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever.”
The fine linen, the blue, the purple, and the scarlet, are all fit emblems of the various experiences in the triumphal march of the Man of Calvary from the cross to the throne.
In this object-lesson of the Pentateuch are wonderful revelations of the One who has undertaken our salvation.
As one meditates upon the plan, the first thing one sees in the sanctuary service, is the scarlet color. What does the crimson tide—the blood of millions of innocent creatures—signify? Only one answer can be given. The blood which has been poured out by the altar for so many centuries meets its great antitype in the One who, “with his own blood, suffered without the gate.” What an unfolding of the love of God is here represented! What a depth of meaning every part of the sanctuary service has! “And I, if I be lifted up, . . . will draw all men unto me.” The dreadful curse of sin, with all its direful results, is seen in its true setting as the mystery of the great sacrifice is studied. The symbols of the curse are on the four corners of the altar of sacrifice. And they indicate that the victims daily sacrificed thereon were for the whole world. “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world.”
The crown of thorns, the pierced hands, and the riven side are for the world. 2 Cor. 5: 18, 19. “He had horns coming out of his hand: and there was the hiding of his power.” Hab. 3: 4.
The next article of furniture is the laver. It stands just outside the door of the tabernacle. Just inside is the “table of the bread of his presence.” “The ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s supper are two monumental pillars, one without and one within the church. Upon these ordinances Christ has inscribed the name of the true God. Christ has made baptism the sign of entrance to his spiritual kingdom.”—“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. VI, page 91.
In entering the sanctuary, we are attracted by the steady glow of the seven lamps of the seven golden candlesticks. The first thought is, “Jesus the light of the world;” then, “Ye the the light of the world;” then, “Command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always.” Ex. 27: 20.
How interwoven this symbol is in all the teachings of both the Old and the New Testament. We must get the oil of grace that flows from these “two olive-trees,” the Old and the New Testament, else our lights will go out.
Another symbolic service aids us in this very thing. It is at the golden table of the bread of his presence. Christ, the bountiful supplier of every temporal and spiritual need, is here typified. “I am the bread of life.” “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” And this word is the light of the world. Thus the table of the bread of his presence and the seven lamps have a wonderfully close application in gospel work.
But what a debt of gratitude we owe to God for making such wondrous provisions for our salvation! How shall we pay the debt we owe? We can at least tell him that we love him, and adore him for every provision of his grace. Where shall we do this?—At the golden altar. Thank God it is a golden altar. “The Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which can not be uttered.” Rom. 8: 26. It is our Advocate who is represented by this altar. And while there may be a definite and a distinct altar in heaven, yet the service at the golden altar in a most peculiar sense, represents the mysterious union of Christ and his followers before the throne of God. “It was the work of the priest in the daily ministration to present before God the blood of the sin-offering, also the incense which ascended with the prayers of Israel. So did Christ plead his blood before the Father in behalf of sinners, and present before him also, with the precious fragrance of his own righteousness, the prayers of penitent believers.”—“Great Controversy,” page 421.
The fire on this altar was kept constantly burning. It was “gold tried in the fire,” “the love of God with abiding faith.” A heart purified by faith, and that works by love, will always desire to be near this altar. The secret of our power, and of our success, lies in the fact that we keep close to this altar. It is here that we learn the mysteries of his will.It is here that we learn to meet the attacks of the enemy of our souls. It is here that we receive the command to go forward. Like one of old, it is here that we learn how to wrestle with God and prevail. It is here that “the latter rain,” “the refreshing,” becomes a very definite factor in our gospel work. It is here that the thousands of promises in God’s Word become a blessed reality in our very lives. The great difficulty with us is that we live at too great a distance from the Father. He will not rest satisfied until his ransomed ones are seated by his side. “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me on my throne.” We must enter within the veil. What a clearing of ourselves must take place before we can enter. Only “he that hath clean hands, and a pure heart,” can enter there. What unspeakable glory fills that place! Who can stand in his presence?—Only One. Jesus is that One. We are complete in him.
Well has the psalmist said, “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” Ps. 19: 7. This law—“God’s ten words, brief, comprehensive, and authoritative”—constitutes the very foundation of his government of love. It is the very transcript of his character, and the stability of the universe.
What a depth of meaning every feature of the sanctuary has!
“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, of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.”
Cooranbong, N. S. W.