SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH.
By Uriah Smith
NUMBER TWENTY-TWO.
* THE CLEANSING OF THE SANCTUARY. HAVING become satisfied of the existence of a Sanctuary in heaven, a true tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man, the subject of its ministration and cleansing can furnish little ground for dispute. On this point, as on every other concerning the glorious heavenly things, and the more excellent ministry of the Malchisedec priesthood, in the person of our Lord, we must reason from type to antitype, from earth to heaven. The priests on earth, says Paul, serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things. This being so, it follows that the work connected with the earthly tabernacle, was the example and shadow of a like work in heaven. Listen, then, to a brief and simple statement of The Ministration and Cleansing of the earthly Sanctuary. This ministration was accomplished by the Levitical order of priesthood, and consisted of two great divisions: the daily ministration in the holy place, and the work in the most holy place at the end of the year. The daily ministration embraced the regular morning and evening burnt offering (Ex. 29:38-43), the burning of sweet incense on the golden altar, every morning when the high priest dressed the lamps, and every evening when he lighted them (Ex. 30), also, the additional work appointed for the Sabbaths of the Lord, and the annual sabbaths, new moons and feasts (Num. 28; 29), besides the particular work to be accomplished for individuals as they should present their offerings throughout the year. This latter was an important part of the service and was performed as follows: Whoever had sinned brought his victim, that was to be offered up for him, to the door of the tabernacle. He then laid his hand upon the head of the victim and confessed his sin, when the victim was accepted in his stead. The offering was then slain on account of that persons transgression, and the blood was used by the priest in his ministry for the penitent at the Sanctuary. Lev. 1; 3; 4. Thus the sin of the individual was transferred first to the victim, and then to the Sanctuary itself. In this manner went the typical service forward throughout the year. Day after day, week after week, month after month, we behold the victim of expiation brought up before the door of the tabernacle. We see the transgressor confessing over him his sin, and thus transferring to him his guilt. He hereby acknowledged that he had sinned and was worthy of death. The law demands the life of the transgressor. But a substitute was provided. The guilt was imputed to the victim and his life paid the forfeit. The priest took of his blood (and the blood of it is the life thereof, Lev. 17:11, 14), and with the sinners confession of sin, and the blood as an evidence that life had been taken for that sin, acted as a mediator in behalf of the sinner before the Lord. These three things were necessary in this work: the confession of sin, the blood of the sacrifice, and the work of the priest. The confession without the sacrifice would have accomplished nothing. The blood without the confession would not have availed anything, and the confession and blood both, without the ministry of the priest would have been ineffectual. But with all three combined, the service was accepted, and the sin was transferred from the sinner to the Sanctuary. The Sanctuary thenceforth became the receptacle of the offender's sin. A continual transfer of sins from the people to the Sanctuary, thus went on through the year. But what at length became of these sins? Were they suffered to remain perpetually in the Sanctuary? They were not. There was another ministration at the close of the year, by which they were forever removed from the Sanctuary, and a final disposition made of them. This was the yearly ministration or the cleansing of the Sanctuary. Lev. 16. It took place on the tenth day of the seventh month. Verse 29. To accomplish this, the work of the high priest was changed from the holy place, to the most holy, within the vail. Here he entered with the blood of a bullock as a sin-offering for himself. Verse 3. He was then to take of the congregation of the children of Israel, (verse 5,) two kids of the goats for a sin-offering. Upon these he was to cast lots, (verse 8,) one lot for the Lord and the other for the scape-goat. He then offered up the goat upon which the lot fell for the Lord, for a sin-offering for the people, (verse 15,) and bore his blood within the vail, and sprinkled it with his finger upon the mercy-seat eastward, and before the mercy-seat seven times. This blood was offered for two purposes: 1. To make an atonement for the transgression of the children of Israel in all their sins. 2. To cleanse, or make atonement for the holy Sanctuary. This fact is plainly stated in Lev. 16:15-22. In the foregoing testimony, we have presented before our minds a general outline of the ministration and cleansing of the earthly Sanctuary. This was performed unto the example and shadow of heavenly things. From this, therefore, we are to reason concerning.
U. S.