SYNOPSIS OF THE PRESENT TRUTH.
By Uriah Smith
(THE SANCTUARY, CONTINUED.) We have now seen that the earth is not the sanctuary; that the land of Canaan is not the sanctuary; and that the church is not the sanctuary. The land of Canaan was simply the place where the typical sanctuary was located; and the church was and is simply the worshipers connected with it. We now inquire, 5. WHAT IS THE SANCTUARY? Turn to the revelation of St. John, and while bearing continually in mind that he is looking not to any spot on earth, nor to the church, but into Heaven as he declares, Rev. 4:1, mark some of the objects which he there beholds. First, he beholds a door opened in Heaven. Chap. 4:1. Mark, he does not say that he saw Heaven opened, but he saw a door opened in Heaven. He then sees seven lamps of fire burning before the throne. Verse 5. Again he beholds an angel with a golden censer offering incense upon the golden altar which was before the throne. Rev. 8:3. Again, he sees the temple of God opened in Heaven, (mark, he does not see Heaven opened, but the temple of God opened in Heaven) and there beholds the ark of his testament. Rev. 11:19. But we know nothing of the golden candlestick, the golden censer, the altar of incense, or the ark of the testament, only as they are connected with the sanctuary. We are therefore justified in the conclusion that these are the patterns from which the earthly vessels were formed; and, as they are inseparable from the sanctuary, that there exists in Heaven a literal sanctuary also, the antitype of the earthly building. But we may as well come to direct testimony since we have it in the word of God abundantly furnished to our hand. We take it for granted that the reader is well acquainted with at least the first seven chapters of the book of Hebrews. Paul there discourses upon the new covenant and the superiority of Christ's priesthood over that of Aaron's. He then opens in the eighth chapter as follows: "Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the Heavens; a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man." He declares plainly in chapter 9:23, 24, that the holy places made with hands were "figures of the true," and that the earthly tabernacle and its sacred vessels, were "patterns of things in the Heavens." Here is positive testimony that there is a tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man, and that this tabernacle is in the Heavens, (not Heaven itself,) and that Christ is the minister thereof. But, perhaps some are ready to inquire, Do you believe that there are literal things in Heaven, that there is a real sanctuary there? We answer, Just as much as we believe that a real one ever existed on this earth. Just as literal and real as we believe the antitype of the offerings connected with the sanctuary to be, namely Jesus, who offered himself the great sacrifice for the world on Calvary, —so literal and real do we believe the antitype of the sanctuary itself, to be. We know that the popular mystical method of interpretation has so long clothed Heaven and heavenly things in fog and vapor, that many are ready to start at the idea; but we choose rather to take the word of God, unstrained through the "coal sack" of the fathers, or the traditions of the church. With a few Scripture testimonies concerning the existence of this temple in Heaven, and a few of its declarations that it is the great original of which the earthly was but a type, figure, or pattern, we close this part of the subject. Rev. 11:19. "And the temple of God was opened in Heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament." Rev. 14:17. "And another angel came out of the temple which is in Heaven." Rev. 15:5. "And after that I looked and behold 'the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in Heaven was opened.'" Rev. 16:17. "And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of Heaven from the throne, saying, It is done." Ps. 11:4. "The Lord is in his holy temple: the Lord's throne is in Heaven." Heb. 9:11, 12. "But Christ being come an High Priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, he entered in once into the holy place having obtained eternal redemption for us." Heb. 8:1, 2, has already been quoted. This heavenly sanctuary is called by Jesus "my Fathers house;" [John 14:2;] by David, Habakkuk, and John, "the temple of God in Heaven;" [Ps. 11:4; Hab. 2:20; Rev. 11:19;] God's "holy habitation." Zech. 2:13; Jer. 25:30; Rev. 16:17. See also Ps. 102:19; Jer. 17:12; 2 Sam. 22:7; Ps. 18:6; Isa. 6:1-6; Rev. 7:15; 13:6; 14:15, 17; 16:1, 7. If after this testimony any yet doubt respecting the existence of this building in Heaven, we know not what more we can say to them. If these texts can be set aside, any number of similar ones might be. But if the word of the Lord has any authority in settling such questions, this question is settled.