The Order of Events in the Judgment.
By John Nevins Andrews
Rev. 15 : 5–7. “And after that I looked, and, Behold the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened; and the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth forever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.” This opening of the heavenly temple which is followed by the pouring out of the unmingled wrath of God, is an event connected with the closing up of human probation. And it is certain that we have in this case, the opening of the holiest of all, here called the tabernacle of the testimony. The expression, “tabernacle of the testimony,” is a familiar term taken from the Old Testament, and is precisely equivalent to “tabernacle of the ten commandments.” In proof of this, take the use of this term in the Bible. We begin with the first use of the Hebrew word, qehdooth, and trace it through the books of Moses. Thus it occurs for the first time in Ex. 16 : 34 : “Aaron laid it up before the testimony.” That is to say, he laid up the pot of manna before the ark of the ten commandments. See Heb. 9 : 4. The next is Ex. 25 : 16 : “Thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee.” This was the ten commandments. See Ex. 31 : 18 ; Deut. 10 : 4, 5. Again, Ex. 25 : 21, “In the ark thou shalt put the testimony,” i. e., the ten commandments. See 1 Kings 8 : 9. And now the ark itself takes its name from what was put in it. Ex. 25 : 22 : “The two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony.” Ex. 26 : 33, 34 : “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.” Here we have the ark of the ten commandments assigned to the most holy place of the tabernacle, and the mercy-seat placed over the ark. Presently we shall find that this testimony gives name to the tabernacle itself. As we read onward we find in Ex. 27 : 21 ; 30 : 6, 26, 36 ; 31 : 7, 18 ; 32 : 15 ; 34 : 29, the terms “testimony,” “tables of the testimony,” “ark of the testimony,” each time, by testimony, meaning definitely the ten commandments. The term, “tabernacle of testimony,” occurs for the first time in Ex. 38 : 21. Thus we see that the testimony of the Almighty gives name to the tables on which it was written; to the ark in which the tables were placed; and to the tabernacle itself, whose second apartment received the ark. Next, we thrice read of the ark of the testimony, Ex. 39 : 35 ; 40 : 3, 5. And now we are brought to the acts of Moses in setting up the sanctuary. It is said, Ex. 40 : 20 : “He took and put the testimony into the ark,” i. e., he put the law of God therein. Then he placed the ark itself within the tabernacle, and covered the ark of the testimony by hanging up the second vail. Ex. 40 : 21. In Lev. 16 : 13, the mercy-seat is said to be upon the testimony. In Lev. 24 : 3, the vail which hides the ark is called the vail of the testimony. Next, we read of the tabernacle of the testimony in Num. 1 : 50, 53. Next, of the ark of the testimony, Num. 4 : 5 ; 7 : 89 ; Josh. 4 : 16. Next, of the tent of the testimony, Num. 9 : 15, and of the testimony itself, Num. 17 : 10. Next, of the tabernacle of witness, or testimony (for the two words are synonymous), Num. 10 : 11 ; 17 : 7, 8 ; 18 : 2. In all these texts it is certain that the ten commandments are called the testimony, and that they give name to the tables, to the ark, to the vail, and to the tabernacle, especially to the second apartment. This term has therefore a well-defined meaning in the Scriptures. By the testimony, the tables of the testimony, the ark of the testimony, the vail of the testimony, and the tabernacle of the testimony, are meant respectively the ten commandments (Ex. 31 : 18) ; the tables of the ten commandments (Ex. 32 : 15) ; the ark of the ten commandments (Ex. 40 : 20) ; the vail of the ten commandments (Ex. 40 : 21 ; Lev. 24 : 3) ; and the tabernacle of the ten commandments, Num. 9 : 15 ; 10 : 11. The term, “tabernacle of witness,” or “testimony,” does therefore definitely signify the tabernacle of the ten commandments. Now it is remarkable that this term occurs twice in the New Testament. In Acts 7 : 44, the tabernacle of witness, i. e., of the ten commandments, is mentioned, referring to the earthly sanctuary. And in Rev. 15 : 5, the heavenly sanctuary is designated by this same term, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven; and we have proved conclusively that this is equivalent to the temple of the tabernacle of the ten commandments in heaven. This text is therefore a plain reference to the most holy place of the heavenly temple, and to the law of God deposited therein, which gives name to the building. This apartment of the heavenly temple is opened just prior to the pouring out of the plagues. But we have a second statement of the opening of the most holy place of the temple in heaven. Thus we read of the events under the seventh trumpet: Rev. 11 : 19 : “And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament; and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.”
Here is disclosed to our view the second apartment of the heavenly temple, and here is shown the grand central object, which gives name to the tabernacle itself. It is the ark of God, sometimes called the ark of the covenant, or testament (Num. 10 : 33 ; Heb. 9 : 4) and sometimes the ark of the testimony, Ex. 25 : 22. It is because the heavenly temple contains the ark of God’s testimony that it is itself called the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven. And the ark itself is not empty; It contains what Rev. 11 : 19, calls God’s testament, and what Rev. 15 : 5, calls “the testimony in heaven.” And these two terms must signify the ten commandments, and cannot signify anything else. The existence of the temple in heaven, and the fact that it has two holy places like the sanctuary of the first covenant, have been clearly proved. The judgment work in the second apartment remains to engage our attention. J. N. A.