The Restoration of the Sanctuary of Witness
Christ's Acts of Salvation
The Restoration of the Sanctuary of Witness
It is the restoration of the sanctuary and the work connected therewith of which Moses and all the prophets speak. The redemption of the kingdom of heaven depends as much on the restoration of the sanctuary of faith as the redemption of the inheritance of the natural tribes of Israel depended on the sanctuary they brought with them from the wilderness. By means of this tabernacle of witness they conquered their enemies. The triumphal march in connection with the tabernacle under the leadership of Joshua was a shadow of the triumphal procession of the tabernacle of faith when the time arrives when the Messiah, the spiritual Joshua, in front of the spiritual seed conquers the nations and, by means of the testimony and power, takes in the whole earth in order to divide it up to the true heirs of the kingdom of heaven.
The wonderful revelations of the prophet Daniel are dealing principally with the trampling down of the sanctuary and the final restoration thereof. But as long as one does not understand that the work of the sanctuary is a continuous whole from beginning to end, although it undergoes changes at certain times, as from the tabernacle to Solomon's glorious temple, and, later, through the coming of Christ, from a material temple to a temple of faith, one cannot understand the prophecies concerning it.
The angel revealed to Daniel that the fourth universal kingdom, Rome, was to develop its great power even to the host of heaven, and to the Prince of this host, and shall take from Him the "daily" (that which belongs to the sanctuary) , and cast down the sanctuary. It will cast the truth to the ground and prosper so that it will trample under foot both sanctuary and the host, namely, the host belonging to the spiritual Prince, the Messiah. While all this desolation is placed before the prophet, he hears someone ask the angel, who reveals these things, how long the vision shall be concerning the desolation of the sanctuary, and the answer he received was: "Unto two thousand three hundred days" (margin, "evening morning") . (Dan. 8:10-14.)
These "days" are prophetic and indicate as many solar years, which may be seen from the following and similar testimonies: Numbers 14:34; Ez. 4:5.
The same as faith, prior to Christ's coming, was enclosed in the law, or within its frame, so also was the tabernacle of faith enclosed within the material temple, hence this prophecy concerns both the material temple in Jerusalem and the temple of faith which appeared through Christ, or at the coming in the world of the Beginner of faith. The reckoning, according to evening and morning, is due to the fact that the work of faith belongs to the day of the Lord, and that this day, like the natural day, is divided into evening and morning. The evening work extended from the birth of Christ to the destruction of Jerusalem, after this the long night entered in, called the "time of the Gentiles," during which time the heathen temple work with its priesthood have flourished in the sphere of faith.
Between the birth of Christ and the Constantinian ecclesiastic conference in Nic ea in the year 325, the tabernacle of faith developed, and in this tabernacle the priests of the world murdered 50,000 of Christ's followers or representatives of faith, who gave testimony in the sanctuary of faith. This shows that the sanctuary of faith was very active during this time. However, these 325 years are included in the 2300 years the angel showed to Daniel, that is, they belong to the length of time measured off for the suppressed state of the sanctuary in relation to the world-religion and its temple work, but it is not counted in when it concerns the latter. The trampling down of the work of faith had its actual beginning when the world-religion, at the Nicaean meeting, swallowed up the temple of faith. Hence the length of time for the suppression in its entirety is 2625 years, which the angel calls a closer attention to in the 12th chapter, namely, that there are first 1290 days (years) from the taking away of the daily sacrifice from the sanctuary of faith, because the desolating abomination (the influence and power of the world-religion) was set up in the sphere of faith or of the gospel, then he adds to these 1290 prophetic days 1335 days, and together these are 2625.
These 2625 years comprise the entire length of time measured off for the world-religion to encroach on the work of the kingdom of heaven, both with respect to the prefigurative work, with which the natural seed was connected, and the spiritual work or that of faith, with which the spiritual seed is associated. This length of time begins with the captivity of the ten tribes, then called the house of Israel, when, about 724 B. C. they were carried as captives to Assyria.
With respect to the termination 2625 years' period, one should pay attention to the fact that the Anno Dominii reckoning, which the Catholic Church introduced to replace the Roman reckoning, misleads about five years. Christ was not bore} in year one, but about five years prior to this, but although this reckoning has thus misplaced the birth of Christ, it is nevertheless generally accepted by Christendom. These five years ought therefore to be subtracted from the 2625 years at their termination.
Seeing that we are drawing close to the termination of this long period, we have all reasons to look forward to great events, which will prepare the way for the restoration of the temple of faith, for it is to this temple the Messiah shall come "suddenly."