p. 8 | The Sanctuary

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D. C. · Oct 27, 1904

The Sanctuary

It has been suggested that during this conference the truths which made us a separate and distinct people should be presented, as the present generation of Seventh-day Adventists know but little of the way in which the truth that makes us a peculiar people was first developed. The truth has come to us as a system. Many of us have embraced it because our fathers believed it, others because it appeared so clear when it was first presented to us. But few realize how the truth of the third angel’s message was brought out link by link from the Bible.

When the time passed in 1844, there were none who believed the truth as we now hold it. All believed the prophecies that brought us to that time. Then began a greater searching of the Bible than had ever been, probably, at any time since the days of the apostles. They went over and over the old arguments concerning the prophecies that pointed to 1844, and after most thorough examination they could see no other conclusion than that the prophetic periods terminated at that time. As they studied, they began to see one link of truth after another; and as these truths unfolded to the pioneers,—I have reference to such men as Elders James White, J. N. Andrews, Uriah Smith, and J. H. Waggoner,—they did not dare present that truth to the people until they had made it a special subject of prayer and the spirit of prophecy set its seal to it. That was the way the foundation was laid, step by step, until they found they had a system of truth, and understood the third angel’s message as it has been brought to us. At the present time there is but little realizing sense of this, and, in fact, it seems to me that we have been drifting away from the old landmarks, and are in such a condition that, when the test comes, as it surely will, many will be shaken out.

I will call your attention to the eighth and ninth chapters of Daniel. The application of the prophecy contained in these two chapters at one time stirred the world. They were the basis of the preaching of Joseph Wolf in Asia and Europe and in the islands of the sea, of Edward Irving in England, of William Miller in America, and of others who led out in different parts of the world. Unknown to one another, these men preached the central truth that made a separate and distinct people. The truths which they presented from the prophecies of the eighth and ninth chapters of Daniel, have been lost sight of to a certain extent. I have been told by some that they had been taught that we no longer need these prophecies; we need simply faith in Christ.

Now, my friends, let us see if we do not need these prophecies. When Moses brought Israel out from the land of Egypt, his last work was to recount the dealings of God with his people.

About six years before Jerusalem was destroyed, Paul wrote to the Hebrews not to cast away their confidence, but to remember the days when they were illuminated,—to learn the history of the past, and to “call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions.”

And so it has been again and again. When God has raised up a people, and they have lost the spirit of the message that made them a distinct people, he has called upon them to review the past.

In that eighth chapter of Daniel we have a wonderful prophecy. If I should simply go over the theory of it, you would say, We all understand it. And doubtless you do. You know what Daniel saw in the eighth chapter—a ram having two horns, and the higher came up last; a rough goat, with a notable horn between his eyes, and the goat came close to the ram, and stamped him under his feet. Then Daniel saw that horn broken, and four stand up for it, and out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, and put Christ and the saints to death. The angel’s explanation is so plain that any child ten years old can understand it. The angel Gabriel said the ram represented the kings of Media and Persia, the rough goat the king of Grecia, and the great horn the first king. And then he spoke of the little horn that grew out of one of the four that came up when that notable horn was broken. This little horn represented the power that would put the saints to death, and it waxed exceeding great.

I wish to consider the thirteenth and fourteenth verses of the eighth chapter: “Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” “Well,” says one, “that pertains to the past.” I think it does, and also to the present.

Let us notice carefully two or three texts of scripture. In the seventeenth verse of the eighth chapter I read, “Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision.” When will this vision be understood?—In the time of the end. Shall we ever pass the time of the end before the Lord comes?—No. Then will there be something in this vision that is present truth until the second coming of Christ?—I think so. [Elder Johnson: “The Danish Bible says it belongs to the time of the end.”]

We will now read the twenty-sixth verse: “And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.” That is, there will be many days before the vision will be understood; or in other words, when Daniel lived, there were many days before the time of the end.

In the ninth and tenth verses of the twelfth chapter, we read: “And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.”

Now I wish you to notice these three verses which I have read. Concerning the vision in the eighth chapter, the angel Gabriel said it would be understood after many days, in the time of the end. In the twelfth chapter we read that the words the angel spoke to Daniel were closed up and sealed till the time of the end.

How many wicked persons will understand the eighth chapter of Daniel in the time of the end?—None. Do you believe that not a single wicked person on the earth will understand the eighth chapter of Daniel?—Yes. How many of the wise will understand it?—All. Now suppose I should put the question another way, How many of you are trying to understand what is unfolded in the eighth chapter of Daniel, that you have not previously understood? Does our salvation depend on our understanding something there that the wicked do not understand? Will it ever, then, become a past truth, and not a present truth? The wise—the really wise before God—will get something out of that book that no wicked person will ever get; and when they get it, they will get salvation. Then, should we not study the book of Daniel? There is something in the eighth chapter of Daniel that is practical, that will give one an experience in the things of God, and we can not be safe without it. No other conclusion can be drawn from these expressions, and if we had no other expression to show the importance of the study of the eighth chapter of Daniel, it seems to me that every Seventh-day Adventist should be aroused to know what there is there that we have not understood.

What experience can I get out of that chapter, and where does it lie? It is not simply in the fact that the ram represented Media and Persia, the rough goat Grecia, the great horn the first king, that when it was broken four stood up for it, and a power was to arise that would put the saints to death and continue down to the end. I will tell you what there is in that chapter that is not explained by the angel, and that is the sanctuary question, not only the sanctuary question, but the time of cleansing the sanctuary.

I remember the time when the book of Daniel was opened, and those two verses were quoted. It sent a thrill through the congregation. All felt that there was life in it, and that there was salvation in it, and it opened up a vein of thought that brought to their souls peace, life, and light; and I remember more than that. When I began to observe the Sabbath, in 1853, we had a great burden to go where there were First-day Adventists, and hang up the chart and preach to them. When we visited the sick, we hung up the chart and preached to them the third angel’s message. One case in particular comes to my mind. While visiting a sick woman, I became interested in explaining the sanctuary question. When I had finished, the tears were running down her face, and she said, “I shall keep the law of God.” Many thus embraced the Sabbath in those days, and when men embraced the Sabbath in that way, they did not give it up. They did not become discouraged; they had something that kept them. They saw the Sabbath question from a different standpoint than simply the fact that the Bible teaches it from Genesis to Revelation. They saw truth in it.

I do not know that I need to say much in reference to the time. The ninth chapter is an explanation of the time. A question has been raised about the connection between the eighth and ninth chapters. Now I do not know any ground for any argument whatever to disconnect them, because the reading itself establishes their connection. Let me put two or three texts together, and I think all will see it. In the eighth chapter and sixteenth verse the Lord says to the angel, “Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.” The one who gave the command was no other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice what Daniel says in the twenty-seventh verse: “And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king’s business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it.” Then, did Gabriel explain that vision so it was understood?—No, he did not.

Let me read in the ninth chapter and twenty-first verse what the angel said to Daniel when he came to him: “Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. And he informed me, and talked to me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.” Daniel did not understand the vision at this time. Gabriel’s name is mentioned only twice in the Old Testament,—when Christ said, “Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision,” and when Daniel, after praying and seeking God, said, “The man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision,” etc. Does that not identify him—the very one I saw in the vision, the very one whom the Lord told to make me understand the vision? And Gabriel says, “I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.” Now I do not know how to present this subject any clearer than it is set before us in those two chapters taken together.

That is not all. Notice what he says further. “At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to show thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand

the matter and consider the vision.” The first thing he would naturally think of would be the point he did not understand. Now, says the angel, think of the vision. Why?—For “I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.”

The first words of explanation were, “Seventy weeks are determined,” or cut off, “for thy people.” Cut off from what? There is only one period in all the book of Daniel from which they could be cut off. Seventy prophetic weeks would be four hundred and ninety days, and a day standing for a year, and seven days for a week, seventy weeks would be four hundred and ninety years. Four hundred and ninety years are cut off. All scholars agree that the Hebrew word signifies “cut off.” Then there must be a longer period from which it is taken. The angel said to him, I have come to give thee skill and understanding. The first words are, Seventy weeks are cut off for thy people—cut off from the twenty-three hundred days. How do you know it is twenty-three hundred days?—Because it could not be cut off from nothing, and that is the only period given in the Bible from which it could be taken. To my mind it would be folly to raise a question whether those chapters are connected or not.

Seventy weeks are cut off for thy people. During this time they were to have special advantages, and the gospel would be given to them. At the end of seventy weeks, it would go to all the world. Sixty-nine weeks reached to Messiah the Prince; that is, sixty-nine of the seventy. There is one week at the end of sixty-nine to make up the seventy, and in the midst of this week—the seventieth week—he will cause the sacrifice and oblations to cease. Now what caused their sacrifices and oblations to cease?—The death of Christ.

Notice we have three periods given: (1) the seventy weeks, at the end of which the gospel will go to the world; (2) sixty-nine weeks, which reach to Messiah the Prince; (3) the seventieth week, in the midst of which the Saviour was crucified.

The starting-point of the twenty-three hundred days is given in the twenty-fifth verse of the ninth chapter. “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks. The streets shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.” If I can find when the gospel went everywhere to the Gentile world, then I can find every date, for they all have the same starting-point; and the seventy weeks are to reach to the time when the gospel was to go to the world, and be no longer confined to the Jewish nation. If I find that date, then I can subtract that year of our Lord from the 490 years; that will give me the starting-point. If I can find when Christ became Messiah the Prince,—so recognized in the New Testament,—I can go back and find the same starting-point.

If I can find when he was crucified, going back the same way I can find the starting-point. Or if I can find the date of the commandment to restore Jerusalem, that will establish all the other dates. A harmony here seals up the vision and establishes the twenty-three hundred days.

I will read two or three texts which I know must be familiar to many of you. “Therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word.” Acts 8:1-4. You will notice your marginal date is A. D. 34. If I subtract A. D. 33½ from the seventy weeks, or four hundred and ninety years, I will have 456½ B. C. It is very simple.

In the first chapter of John we find that the word “Messiah” means “the anointed one.” “Messiah” is the Hebrew and “Christ” is the Greek form for the English word “anointed.” In the tenth chapter of Acts and the thirty-eighth verse we read that Jesus was anointed with the Holy Ghost and with power, and went about doing good. Then when did he receive the Holy Ghost?—At his baptism. Now turn to the third chapter of Luke or Matthew, to the record of his baptism, and you will find in the margin the date A. D. 27. Take 26½ from 483 years—or sixty-nine weeks—and you have just the same date, 456½.

When did the commandment go forth? You will find a record of it in the seventh chapter of Ezra, and the date in the margin is 457, or in other words, 456½. Ezra 7:9 shows that half of the year had passed when the decree went into effect. That date is established by more than twenty eclipses, and seven historical facts given in Luke 3:1-3 show when John began to preach, which was six months before the Saviour entered upon his ministry. To question the position taken in 1844 is to deny the plain facts given in the Scripture; for when you subtract 490 from 2300, you have only 1810 left, and adding 1810 to A. D. 34, you have 1844.

(To be concluded)

The Sanctuary*

The Sanctuary