OUR ADVOCATE IN THE TRUE TABERNACLE.
By M. H. Brown
AS THE tabernacle built by Moses was a pattern of the true tabernacle in heaven, which the Lord pitched and not man, so the service of the Levitical priests was an example or shadow of the work of our great High Priest, or Advocate, in the temple in heaven. Heb. 8: 1-5. And as the tabernacle built by Moses had two apartments and a ministration in each, so Christ, our Advocate, ministers in both apartments of the true tabernacle, performing a service in each. We also know from the type that Christ's work in the most holy place of the true tabernacle must be the close of his priestly service, and will consist in the final work of removing sin from the tabernacle, or the cleansing of the sanctuary. It should ever be remembered that the sanctuary or tabernacle built by Moses was made as a dwelling place for God, whose love for fallen man had led him to provide a gracious plan for saving him from sin and death; and that in that sanctuary a daily service or ministration was carried forward by which sin was transferred from the repentant sinner to the sanctuary, and a yearly service for its final removal. Hence the sanctuary was not only the dwelling place of a pure and holy God, but he suffered it to be defiled by sin for a time, that guilty man might be cleansed from sin and saved from death. As this was the case in the type, we know that a similar work will be performed by our Advocate, inasmuch as the typical service was given to teach us in regard to Christ's work in the heavenly sanctuary. Christ bore "our sins in his own body on the tree," as our Sacrifice. 1 Peter 2: 24. He "died for our sins." 1 Cor. 15: 3. Having given his life, or shed his blood for us, he ascended to the tabernacle in heaven (Heb. 8: 1, 2), entering with his own blood (Heb. 9: 12) to advocate the cause of guilty man, who, because of sin, is worthy of death. "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." Heb. 9: 24. Hence the blessed promise, "If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." 1 John 2: 1. As the sins of the people were borne into the worldly tabernacle by the priests through the confession of the sinner and the blood or flesh of the offering, so now, in the antitype, when we confess our sins, they are borne into the true tabernacle by our great High Priest. In Scripture language, they go "before to judgment" (1 Tim. 5: 24), and Christ, our Advocate, pleads the merits of his precious blood in our behalf. The Cleansing of the Sanctuary.
Thus, day by day, and year by year, the sins of God's people are transferred to the sanctuary in heaven, and, as in the type, their removal becomes necessary. The removal of these sins from the sanctuary, as we learn from the type, is the close of the round of service, and is performed on the great day of atonement. This service is called the cleansing of the sanctuary. The sanctuary is cleansed, not from physical impurity, of which there is none in heaven, but from sin. We should remember, also, that the sanctuary has not been polluted by sin committed in it, but by sins transferred to it through the work6of our Advocate, and that such transference of sins is in order to secure their final removal and blotting out, that they may be remembered no more. The Fall of Satan and His Angels.
Some may think it inconsistent with the character of God and the purity of heaven to have any sin or defilement there. The reader will notice, however, that the angels that sinned were among the inhabitants of heaven, and that sin had its origin there. Sin originated with him who, next to Christ, stood highest in the favor of God, and mightiest in power and glory among the inhabitants of heaven. Before his fall Lucifer was the covering cherub, holy and undefiled. The prophet declares, "Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee." Eze. 28: 15. Peace and joy, in perfect submission to the will of heaven, existed throughout the angelic host. Love to God was supreme, love for one another impartial. Such was the condition that existed for ages before the entrance of sin. He was not immediately dethroned when he first ventured to indulge the spirit of discontent and insubordination, or even when he began to present his false claim and lying representations before the loyal angels. Long was he retained in heaven. Again and again was he offered pardon on condition of repentance and submission. Such efforts as God alone could make, were made to convince him of his error, and restore him to the path of rectitude. God would preserve the order of the heavens, and had Lucifer been willing to return to his allegiance, humble and obedient, he would have been re-established in his office as covering cherub. But as he stubbornly justified his course and maintained that he had no need of repentance, it became necessary for the Lord of heaven to vindicate the honor of his throne, and Satan and all who sympathized with him were cast out. See 2 Peter 2: 4; Jude 6.—Great Controversy, vol. 4. If God permitted Satan and his angels while committing sin to remain in heaven for a time, that his character might be vindicated, and permitted the sins of his erring but repentant children to be borne by his own dear Son as our sacrifice on Calvary's cross, surely it is reasonable and consistent for God to permit our Advocate to bear those sins in the temple above, that finally they may be forever removed. We can easily conceive that God can consistently permit sin in heaven, in this way, for a time, if his plan provides for its ultimate removal, and a vindication of his character and his government. This is vastly different from permitting sin or sinners to remain in heaven throughout eternity. Sanctuary Cleansed by the Blood of Christ.
By the study of the type we are held to the conclusion that Christ will perform a work in the true tabernacle, called the cleansing of the sanctuary, and that it will take place on the great day of atonement. We are not obliged, however, to depend upon logical conclusions, or upon obvious or necessary inferences, for we have positive Scripture testimony which declares that "it was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these [that is, the blood of calves and goats, Heb. 9: 19-22]; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these." Verse 23. This plainly teaches that "the heavenly things [that is, the true tabernacle and its furniture] should be purified [cleansed], with better sacrifices than these," "the better sacrifices" clearly referring to Christ, whose blood is efficacious in washing away sin and cleansing from all its defilement. Under the Levitical priesthood there were "many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death." Heb. 7: 23. The period of one year was appointed for a complete round of service, closing, as we have seen, on the tenth day of the seventh month with the service called the cleansing of the sanctuary. Thus the entire work of Christ as priest was represented by the service of one priest, before death should cut short his work. In other words, the Lord designed that the ministration of each priest should symbolize as fully as possible the service of our Advocate in the heavenly temple. Heavenly things cannot be perfectly represented by earthly things. Hence we read that "the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices, which they offered year by year continually, make the comers thereunto perfect." Heb. 10: 1. Those sacrifices "can never take away sins." Verse 11. "But this man [Christ], after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever [that is, a sacrifice all-sufficient in merit for all time], sat down on the right hand of God." "For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified [that is, his one offering is amply sufficient to perfect his people]." Verses 12, 14. His offering is said to be "once for all." Verse 10. The same truth is also clearly taught in Heb. 7: 26, 27; 9: 24-28. With Christ's work in the true sanctuary, as with his offering, it is "once for all." He ministers "once for all" in each apartment. That is sufficient. His work is efficacious. It need not be repeated. In the type there was a continuous daily service throughout the year in the first apartment, till the day of atonement, when the service was concluded by the cleansing of the sanctuary. This represented the work of our High Priest, who continues the service in the first apartment of the true tabernacle till the work begins in the second apartment, on the great day of atonement. His work in each apartment is "once for all," as symbolized by each yearly round of service in the type.