The Sanctuary | AdventAI

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Sep 1, 1863

The Sanctuary.

(Continued.)

BEFORE we proceed further with the subject of the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary, we must stop a moment to remove an obstruction that lies at this point, like a stumbling block directly across the path of many; and that is the idea, that there is anything in heaven to be cleansed. "What?" is their exclamation of surprise, "is there anything in heaven that needs cleansing? anything there that is impure?" And they are even ready to spurn the whole theory of the sanctuary, here presented, on account of this, to them, unpardonable feature. But let us look at the idea, and meet it fairly. Was there not a work of cleansing to be performed in the earthly sanctuary? There was. Where was the necessity for this? Into the most holy place, for instance, no man entered, except the high priest, and he but once a year. Was there anything there physically impure? All are obliged to confess there was not. And yet it had to be cleansed, the most holy, as well as the holy place. Why was this? Because the sins of the people had been transferred to it, and from them it must be freed. The work of cleansing was not the removing of physical uncleanness, but simply a ceremony by which the sins of the people were removed and borne away forever. So in the antitype. There is nothing literally impure or unclean in the heavenly sanctuary; but the sins of those who have sought pardon through the merits of Jesus, have been transferred there, and all the cleansing it is to undergo, is the removal of these. Simply this, and nothing more. No mind can fail to understand, and none need revolt at such an idea.

But however objectionable any may still be disposed to make it appear, the question is settled by positive declarations of the apostle Paul, which there is no evading. He states in plain and unequivocal terms, that the heavenly sanctuary must be cleansed. Listen to his language. Heb. ix, 21-24. "Moreover he [Moses] sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry. [Referring to the ancient sanctuary and its service.] And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood there is no remission. It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these, [the blood of goats and calves, verse 19,] but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these."

Nothing can be, we say it emphatically, nothing can be, plainer and more definite than this. The "tabernacle and vessels of the ministry," "patterns of things in the heavens," were cleansed with the blood of calves and goats. We have already noted its performance, through the ministry of the priesthood. It was necessary, says the Apostle, that it should be cleansed with these. Why? Because without the shedding of blood there is no remission. Remission, and not physical uncleanness, is the burden of the Apostle's argument. The sanctuary must be cleansed; the imputed guilt must be removed. He then goes on to argue that for the same reason, the heavenly things themselves, of which the earthly were a figure, must be cleansed or purified, but with better sacrifices than those of the type. What is this better sacrifice? The sacrifice of our Lord himself. Heb. ix, 13, 14, 26. Why was a better sacrifice needed? Because the blood of bulls and goats could not take away sin [chap. x, 4]; but yet the law was satisfied with that service for the time being, in anticipation of the great and effectual sacrifice which was thus prefigured. The blood of this better sacrifice does take away sin. It is this blood that is ministered in the heavenly sanctuary in behalf of man, and by this at last, that the heavenly holy places themselves are to be purified and cleansed. Those, therefore, who object to a work of cleansing in heaven, take issue with Paul, not with us; and those who contemn and ridicule the idea, are heaping their contumely and reproach, not upon us, but upon the inspired language of that holy apostle.

There is another idea which may lie with weight in some minds against the existence of a sanctuary in heaven; and that is the fact, that Daniel speaks of its being trodden under foot. How, it has been asked, can a sanctuary in heaven be trodden under foot? And it has been urged as one of the greatest recommendations of the view that the earth or land of Canaan is the sanctuary, that they are both eminently susceptible of being in that condition. We inquire, then, How much does the prophecy comprehend in the term, "to tread under foot?" The same text [Dan. viii, 13] speaks of treading the host [the worshipers connected with the sanctuary] under foot also. Does this mean that people would literally get them under their feet and stamp upon them? By no means. What then does the expression mean? We shall define it, to oppress or perform any act prejudicial to the interests of another; and this definition the following quotations will sustain: 1. The same prophecy [Dan. viii] represents the little horn as casting the truth to the ground, and casting down the stars, and stamping upon them. We all know what this means; or if not, verse 24 of the same chapter furnishes an explanation; namely, "he shall destroy wonderfully the mighty and the holy people." 2. Paul shows us that wicked men, apostates, even tread "under foot" (this is his expression) the Son of God, who is minister of the heavenly sanctuary. Heb. x, 29. They do it by setting him at naught, counting the blood of the covenant wherewith they were sanctified, an unholy thing, and doing despite unto the Spirit of grace. Why may not the heavenly sanctuary itself, in an equal sense, and in an equal degree, be trodden under foot also?

The agencies through which Satan has all along stood up against the worship of God, are the daily, and transgression of desolation, or Paganism and Papacy. He has done this by erecting rival sanctuaries to the sanctuary of Jehovah, and endeavoring to turn mankind away from the worship of the true God to the unsanctified rites of heathenism. For instance, in the days of Samuel and the judges, one of Satan's rival sanctuaries was the temple of Dagon where the Philistines worshiped. Jud. xvi, 23, 24. After Solomon had erected the glorious temple upon mount Moriah, Jeroboam erected a rival sanctuary at Bethel, and drew away ten of the twelve tribes to the worship of golden calves. 1 Kings xii, 29-33. In the days of Nebuchadnezzar, the rival sanctuary of Satan was found in the temple of old Belus at Babylon; and great was his triumph when he was able to deposit the sacred vessels of Jehovah's tabernacle in the palace of his heathen deity. 2 Chron. xxxvi, 7. And still later, a sanctuary of the Devil turns up at Rome, under the name of the Pantheon, or "asylum of all the gods." Dan. viii, 11.

And when the gospel dispensation was ushered in, when the shadow reached the substance, and the type gave place to the antitype, and the sanctuary in heaven took the place of the tabernacle on earth, how did Satan change his mode of opposition? He baptized his heathen deities, and called them Christian. The Pantheon, or "asylum of all the gods," easily became the "sanctuary of all the saints;" and the statue of Jupiter, by an easy metamorphosis became that of Paul or Peter. But more than this: he here set up in his temple at Rome, a blasphemous being, a monster Man of Sin, who should exalt himself above all that is called God, and turn away mankind from the mediation of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary, by pretending to dispense those favors which are the prerogative of Deity alone. Thus the Papacy has trodden under foot the "host," the "holy city," the sanctuary above and its minister, by wearing out the saints of the Most High, and lifting up his voice in blasphemy against God, his tabernacle and them that dwell in heaven. Rev. xiii, 6.

With the conviction that this objection is now entirely removed, we turn again to our subject, the cleansing of the sanctuary. The nature of this cleansing we now understand. It is accomplished by blood not by fire. We understand also the ceremony by which it was performed, through a change in the ministration from the holy to the most holy place.

We conclude, then, that at the end of the 2300 days, when it was said that the sanctuary should be cleansed, the ministration in heaven was changed from the holy to the most holy place: in other words, that in 1844, in the autumn of that year, our great High Priest, commenced the last act of his priestly ministration in the most holy place of the tabernacle above. Are there any to whom it seems presumption to pretend to understand what is being accomplished in heaven? Of such then we would inquire, Have not the 2300 days ended? and was it not said that at their termination the sanctuary should be cleansed? and are we not to reason concerning the sanctuary, from these objects and from that work, which the voice of inspiration declares to us, were the shadow which it cast on earth? Of what use is a type, if we may not, from it, derive some knowledge respecting its antitype?

In the light of these facts of what infinite importance does the subject of the sanctuary become! The whole plan and work of salvation for a lost world is involved therein. How momentous the subject of its cleansing—the final close of the Saviour's redeeming work! And if this last act in the great scheme is now being accomplished, what truth could more vitally concern our perishing race! This finished, the final decision will have passed upon all men; the fiat of the Almighty will have gone forth, "He that is filthy, let him be filthy still, and he that is holy, let him be holy still." Rev. xxii, 11. Momentous period! May he whose mediation for a rebel world is about to close, deeply impress our hearts, with those emotions which this mighty truth is calculated to inspire.

THE SCAPE-GOAT.

The ministry in the most holy being finished, it yet remained for the priest to bear out the sins from the sanctuary, place them upon the head of the scape-goat and send him away by the hand of a fit man into a land not inhabited. Lev. xvi, 20-22. This ceremony as performed in the type we have already noticed. We now inquire, what service connected with the more perfect tabernacle, answers to this, and to what being shall we look, as the one shadowed forth anciently by the literal and typical goat, as, loaded with the sins of Israel, he went forth from the camp to be heard of no more forever? This point demands more particular notice, as here, again, we are led to differ very materially from the views which have generally obtained upon this subject.

Because John says, [chap. i, 29,] "Behold the Lamb of God which taketh, (margin, beareth,) away the sins of the world," and because it is said of the scape-goat that he "shall bear upon him all their iniquities into a land not inhabited," [Lev. xvi, 22,] it has been concluded, by some, that the latter is a type of the former.

From the view, however, that Christ is the antitype of the scape-goat, we are compelled to differ, for what we shall offer as very plain reasons:

1. If Christ, in bearing the sin of the world, fulfilled the antitype of the scape-goat, he must have accomplished it at the crucifixion; for Peter says of him, "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree." 1 Pet. ii, 24. But in the type the goat was not sent away till after the cleansing of the sanctuary; hence the antitype of this work cannot be performed till after the termination of the 2300 days; for it is not till after those days have ended that the sanctuary is cleansed. Dan. viii, 14; Heb. ix, 23. It is therefore impossible to carry this work back to the crucifixion of Christ, which was even before he commenced his ministration in the sanctuary above; and therefore he cannot be the antitype of the scape-goat.

2. Christ is our great High Priest, the minister of the sanctuary; but the goat is something to be sent away by the priest; therefore he cannot be the priest himself; in other words, he cannot in this dispensation be Christ; but he must be a being whom Christ, after he has loaded him with the sins borne from the sanctuary, can send away into a land not inhabited.

3. The goat was sent away from Israel into a land not inhabited, to be heard of no more forever. But Christ will dwell in the midst of his people, the true Israel of faith.

4. It is impossible that two goats, one of which was chosen by the Lord and is called the Lord's, and was for a sin-offering, while the other is not so called, but was left to perform an entirely different office;—it is impossible that these both should typify the same person.

From these considerations we think it must be evident to every one that Christ cannot be the antitype of the Levitical scape-goat. Who then can be? We answer, The Devil; and our reasons for this position are at hand:

1. We know of only two beings which any one has ever thought could possibly be typified by the scape-goat; and these are Christ and Satan. We have shown above that the goat cannot be a type of Christ; we must therefore look to the Devil for its fulfillment.

2. The Hebrew word for scape-goat, as given in the margin of Lev. xvi, 8, is Azazel. On this verse, Jenks in his Comprehensive Commentary remarks, "Scape-goat. See diff. opin. in Bochart. Spencer after the oldest opinion of the Hebrews and Christians, thinks Azazel is the name of the Devil; and so Rosenmüller, whom see. The Syriac has, Azzail, the angel (strong one) who revolted." The Devil is here evidently pointed out. Thus we have the definition of the Scripture term in two ancient languages, with the oldest opinion of the Christians in favor of the view that the scape-goat is a type of Satan.

3. In the common acceptation of the word, the term scape-goat is applied to any miserable vagabond who has become obnoxious to the claims of justice; and while it is revolting to all our conceptions of the character and glory of Christ, to apply this term to him, it must strike every one as a very appropriate designation of the Devil, who is styled in the Scriptures, the accuser, adversary, angel of the bottomless pit, Beelzebub, Belial, dragon, enemy, evil spirit, father of lies, murderer, prince of devils, serpent, tempter, &c., &c.

4. Our fourth reason for this position is the very striking manner in which it harmonizes with the events to transpire in connection with the cleansing of the heavenly Sanctuary, as far as revealed to us in the Scriptures of truth.

We beheld in the type, 1. The sin of the transgressor imparted to the victim. 2. We see that sin borne in by the priest in the blood of the offering, into the sanctuary. 3. On the tenth day of the seventh month we see the priest with the blood of the sin-offering for the people, remove all these sins from the sanctuary, and lay them upon the head of the scape-goat. 4. The goat bears them away into a land not inhabited.

Answering to these events in the type, we behold in the antitype, 1. The great offering for the world made on Calvary. 2. The sins of all those who avail themselves of the merits of Christ's shed blood, by faith in him, in that blood are borne into the sanctuary. 3. After Christ, the minister of the true tabernacle, Heb. viii, 2, has finished his ministration, he will remove the sins of his people from the sanctuary, and lay them upon the head of their author, the antitypical scape-goat, the Devil. 4. The Devil will be sent away with them into a land not inhabited.

If we want a description of this event in plain terms we find it in Rev. xx, 1-3: "And I saw an angel come down from heaven having the key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years should be fulfilled."

But if Satan is the antitypical scape-goat, it may be objected that he shares with Christ the honor of making the atonement. Not at all. The atonement is all made, the servants of God are pardoned and their sins all removed from them, and from the sanctuary, before the Devil is brought to take any part in the transaction. And what is the part he there performs? Simply receiving upon himself the infinite weight of sins which he has instigated, and being sent away under their intolerable load.

And here we would ask, What could be more fitting than that the author and instigator of all sin should receive the guilt of those transgressions which he has incited mortals to commit, but of which they have repented, back upon his own head? And what could be a more striking antitype of the ancient ceremony of sending away the scape-goat into the wilderness, than the act of the mighty angel in binding Satan and casting him into the bottomless pit at the commencement of the thousand years.

This is a point of transcendent interest to every believer. Then the sins of God's people will be borne away to be remembered no more forever. Then he who instigated them, will have received them back again. Then the serpent's head will have been bruised by the seed of the woman. Then the "strong man armed," (Satan,) will have been bound by a stronger than he, (Christ,) and the house of the strong man (the grave) spoiled of its goods, the saints. Matt. xii, 29; Heb. ii, 14. Then will the work of the enemy, in sowing tares among the wheat, [Matt. xiii, 24-30,] be forever remedied, the tares will have been gathered into bundles to burn, and the wheat gathered into the garner. Then our great High Priest will have come forth from the sanctuary to pronounce the everlasting blessing upon his waiting people. Then shall we have come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels. Then will the redeemed, placing the foot of triumph upon the world, the flesh and the Devil, raise their glad voices in the song of Moses and the Lamb. O glorious day! May the Lord hasten it in his good time. Who would not, in view of this, take up the petition of the beloved John, "Even so, come Lord Jesus!"

These are scenes to which the children of hope in this lower world love to look forward. On these hang their brightest anticipations. These are the very portals to the glorious city, and to their eternal inheritance.

(To be continued.)