Dedication, or Cleansing ?
A WRITER in an Adventist paper in the East, opposing the faith of Seventh-day Adventists on the "cleansing of the sanctuary," makes the following declaration:— "When under the law blood was applied to inanimate things, it was for their dedication, and not to remove pollution." This was copied into, and highly recommended by another professedly Adventist paper, by which we are led to suppose that they consider it a valuable addition to their theological lore. Notwithstanding their high estimate of it, we are free to express our surprise that any man who has any reputation as a Bible student and a writer, would risk it by making such a statement. It is true that the covenant made with Israel was dedicated with blood; and this was done by sprinkling blood upon both the book and the people. But as the declaration was specially aimed at the sprinkling of blood in the sanctuary, we affirm, and will prove our affirmation, that, (1) The sanctuary was not dedicated with blood; and (2) Blood was applied to the articles in both apartments of the sanctuary every year, not for dedication, as it was dedicated or consecrated once for all, but "to remove pollution." 1. When the tabernacle was completed and to be set up, the Lord gave direction concerning its preparation for service, and said: "And thou shalt take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle, and all that is therein, and thou shalt hallow it, and all the vessels thereof, and it shall be holy. And thou shalt anoint the altar of the burnt offering, and all his vessels, and sanctify the altar; and it shall be an altar most holy. And thou shalt anoint the laver and his foot, and sanctify it." Ex. 40:9-11. Again, there is given an account of the fulfilling of this order, as follows: "And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was therein, and sanctified them. And he sprinkled thereof upon the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all his vessels, both the laver and his foot, to sanctify them. And he poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron's head, and anointed him, to sanctify him." Lev. 8:10-12. The order for this act of consecration was also given in Ex. 30:25-30; and that this was an act of consecration is fully proved by the last of these verses: "And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office." In addition to this, blood with oil was sprinkled upon Aaron and his sons, as a part of their consecration, Lev. 29:21, 22; and the blood was also applied to the altar of burnt-offering, but not to the vessels of the sanctuary, either in the holy or the most holy. 2. Blood was applied every year to the vessels of the sanctuary, both of the holy and the most holy. There is not a hint of dedicating them anew for priestly service every year; the idea is absurd. But it is most explicitly stated for what the blood was applied to them "year by year continually." The whole ceremony is minutely described in Lev. 16. After making atonement for himself and his house, Aaron was commanded to make atonement for the people, as follows: "Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy-seat, and before the mercy-seat; and he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins; and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness. . . . And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the Lord, and make an atonement for it; . . . And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel." Lev. 16:15-19. This was done "once every year," namely upon the day of atonement, which was the tenth day of the seventh month. And precisely the same idea is presented in Eze. 43:20, where it is said concerning the altar: "And thou shalt cleanse and purge it." Of the latter word as here used, Gesenius defines it: "to make atonement, to expiate." Now query; for what was atonement or expiation to be made for the sanctuary—the holy and the most holy, with their vessels? Had they committed sin? No; it was for the removal of the sins of the people; because of their uncleanness, and because the sanctuary remained among them in the midst of their uncleanness. Lev. 16:16. Language could not more explicitly express the fact that the application of the blood of the sin offering was for the removal of pollution. This service for the sins of the people could not take place in the sanctuary unless it had been consecrated or hallowed for that purpose, and this was effected, as we have seen, by anointing it with oil. 3. We can go further, and disprove the assertion of that writer by the scriptures which speak of other ceremonies, or other occasions. When the congregation sinned they were to bring their offering, and the priest was to take the blood, "and sprinkle it seven times before the Lord, even before the vail," not within the vail, for this was not spoken of the day of atonement. "And he shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar which is before the Lord, that is in the tabernacle of the congregation, . . . and the priest shall make an atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them." Lev. 4:13-20. And so in other texts. No doctrine is more clearly proved in the Bible than that of the cleansing of the sanctuary, namely, that blood was applied to the mercy-seat, the altar, etc., for the removal of pollution, that is, for the sins of the people. This was the appointed way for the removal of sins, and there was no other. But the question arises, Was sin actually blotted out or removed by such application of the blood of the sin offering? No; because it was "not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sin." Heb. 10:4. What purpose did they then serve? They served "unto the example and shadow of heavenly things." The service of the priest in the sanctuary on earth was only a shadow or type of the service of our priest, the Son of God, in the sanctuary and the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, in the heavens. Heb. 8:1-5. In the heavenly sanctuary is done in fact what was done in a figure in the earthly. And the same doctrine of the application of blood to inanimate things for sin, or for the removal of pollution, is clearly taught in this letter to the Hebrews. Thus in Heb. 9:14 it is said that the blood of Christ shall "purge the conscience." This does not refer to dedication! but to cleansing. And the same word is used in reference to the sanctuary—the holy places—in the heavens. "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood there is no remission." Now mark, not the introduction of another subject, but the conclusion from this: "It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified [purged] with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into Heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us." Verses 22-24. There is a sanctuary in Heaven, of which that on earth was a type; there is a priest of that sanctuary of which those on earth were types; and as on earth, so in Heaven, the sanctuary, or "the holy places," is cleansed, purged, or purified, by the blood of the sin offering. And, both in type and in fact, the holy places commit no sin, but are defiled by "the uncleanness of the children of Israel," or the sins of the people, which the high priest bears into the presence of "the Judge of all." And with these plain facts before us, made so very plain in all the scriptures, we repeat our assured belief that he who says that blood was not applied to inanimate things to remove pollution, or to make atonement for sin, but only for their dedication, hazards his reputation either as a Bible student and a correct writer, or for candor. And we are forced to believe that those papers which publish and recommend such statements are influenced by prejudice rather than knowledge of and regard for the truth of the divine word on this important subject. To this generation those truths are of the greatest importance. We live in the day whereof it was written by the prophet: "Then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." Dan. 8:13, 14. In the day when it is proclaimed to all people: "Fear God and give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment is come." Rev. 14:6, 7. Soon will our high priest finish his sanctuary work and come to reap the harvest of the earth. Then will the careless, the unconcerned, the unprepared, and all who say in their hearts, "My Lord delayeth his coming," be forever rejected. For it will be as it was in the days of Noah; they who heed the warning and take refuge in the ark will be saved. And they who are worldly, self-loving, and presumptuous, will be forever cut off.