The Holy Spirit and the Sanctuary by Elbridge M. Adams

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D.C. · Jan 6, 1916

The Holy Spirit and the Sanctuary

By Elbridge M. Adams

The Holy Spirit — No. 5

The Holy Spirit and the Sanctuary

ELBRIDGE M. ADAMS

THE heavenly sanctuary is to us very important; for it is through it that the great plan of salvation is worked out. And the Holy Spirit is associated vitally in the work of man’s redemption. “The Spirit was to be given as a regenerating agency, and without this the sacrifice of Christ would have been of no avail.” We should, therefore, expect to see manifestations of the Spirit in connection with the work of Christ our Saviour in the sanctuary. Accordingly there are recorded two special outpourings of this heavenly power coincident with important events in Christ’s ministry. And a third is still future, but, nevertheless, certain, for God has promised it.

Pentecost

Paul, in Eph. 1:19, 20, speaks of “the exceeding greatness of His power to usward who believe.” And he compares it to “the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places.” The setting of Jesus “on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens” we understand, from Heb. 8:1; 1:3, and other scriptures, to mean his exaltation to the priesthood. It was the beginning of his work as our high priest in heaven.

In explaining the wonderful manifestation on Pentecost, Peter says: “This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this which ye now see and hear.” And when Peter stood before the council, he refers to Pentecost in these words: “Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.” Acts 5:31, 32. Here he plainly says that the Holy Ghost is a witness that God had exalted Christ “to be a Prince and a Saviour,” particularly mentioning “repentance,” and the “forgiveness of sins,” which clearly is accomplished by virtue of the sanctuary service.

What was Pentecost? What else it may have meant and accomplished, it was the divine announcement to the world that Jesus had entered upon his mediatorial work in the heavenly sanctuary.

“Christ’s ascension to heaven was the signal that his followers were to receive the promised blessing. For this they were to wait before they entered upon their work. When Christ passed within the heavenly gates, he was enthroned amidst the adoration of the angels. As soon as this ceremony was completed, the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples in rich currents, and Christ was indeed glorified, even with the glory which he had with the Father from all eternity. The Pentecostal outpouring was Heaven’s communication that the Redeemer’s inauguration was accomplished. According to his promise he had sent the Holy Spirit from heaven to his followers as a token that he had, as priest and king, received all authority in heaven and on earth, and was the Anointed One over his people.”—“Acts of the Apostles,” pages 38, 39.

The Midnight Cry

The prophecy of Revelation 10, which so clearly refers to the advent movement of 1844, not only represents the angel “clothed with a cloud,” which may refer to the part of the message that was not understood, but he is said to be a “mighty angel;” . . . his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire.” Moreover he “cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth.” His might, his lionlike voice, and the exceeding brightness of his appearance, would indicate the power that attended that message.

A few words from the pen of Sister White will refresh our memories regarding the mighty power that accompanied the preaching of the first and second angels’ messages:—

“Near the close of the second angel’s message, I saw a great light from heaven shining upon the people of God. The rays of this light seemed bright as the sun. And I heard the voices of angels crying, ‘Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.’

“This was the midnight cry, which was to give power to the second angel’s message. Angels were sent from heaven to arouse the discouraged saints, and prepare them for the great work before them. . . .

“In every part of the land, light was given upon the second angel’s message, and the cry melted the hearts of thousands. It went from city to city, and from village to village, until the waiting people of God were fully aroused. In many churches the message was not permitted to be given, and a large company who had the living testimony left these fallen churches. A mighty work was accomplished by the midnight cry. The message was heart-searching, leading the believers to seek a living experience for themselves. They knew that they could not lean upon one another.

“The saints anxiously waited for their Lord, with fasting, watching, and almost constant prayer.”—“Early Writings,” page 238.

“It was only at the solicitation of his brethren, in whose words he heard the call of God, that Miller consented to present his views in public. He was now fifty years of age, unaccustomed to public speaking, and burdened with a sense of unfitness for the work before him. But from the first, his labors were blessed in a remarkable manner to the salvation of souls. His first lecture was followed by a religious awakening, in which thirteen entire families, with the exception of two persons, were converted. He was immediately urged to speak in other places, and in nearly every place his labor resulted in a revival of the work of God. Sinners were converted, Christians were roused to greater consecration, and deists and infidels were led to acknowledge the truth of the Bible and the Christian religion. The testimony of those among whom he labored was, ‘A class of minds is reached by him not within the influence of other men.’ His preaching was calculated to arouse the public mind to the great things of religion, and to check the growing worldliness and sensuality of the age.

“In nearly every town there were scores, in some, hundreds, converted as the result of his preaching. In many places Protestant churches of nearly all denominations were thrown open to him; and the invitations to labor usually came from the ministers of the several congregations. It was his invariable rule not to labor in any place to which he had not been invited, yet he soon found himself unable to comply with half the requests that poured in upon him.

“Many who did not accept his views as to the exact time of the second advent, were convinced of the certainty and nearness of Christ’s coming and their need of preparation. In some of the large cities his work produced a marked impression. Liquor dealers abandoned the traffic, and turned their shops into meeting rooms; gambling dens were broken up; infidels, deists, Universalists, and even the most abandoned profligates were reformed, some of whom had not entered a house of worship for years. Prayer meetings were established by the various denominations, in different quarters, at almost every hour, business men assembling at midday for prayer and praise. There was no extravagant excitement, but an almost universal solemnity on the minds of the people. His work, like that of the early Reformers, tended rather to convince the understanding and arouse the conscience than merely to excite the emotions.”—“The Great Controversy,” pages 331, 332.

This great movement culminated in what we know as the “midnight cry.” And it was at the close of the midnight cry that Jesus entered the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary. “Christians who fell asleep before the door was opened into the most holy, when the midnight cry was finished, at the seventh month, 1844, and who had not kept the true Sabbath, now rest in hope.”—“Early Writings,” pages 42, 43.