What does the Cleansing of the Heavenly Sanctuary mean according to Adventist Theology?
When God Judges
Understanding the Cleansing of the Heavenly Sanctuary in Adventist Theology
Prayer Thought:
"The Sanctuary: A Pillar of Adventist Faith"
The Sanctuary a Point of Special Attack.-- In the future, deception of every kind is to arise, and we want solid ground for our feet. We want solid pillars for the building. Not one pin is to be removed from that which the Lord has established. The enemy will bring in false theories, such as the doctrine that there is no sanctuary. This is one of the points on which there will be a departing from the faith. Where shall we find safety unless it be in the truths that the Lord has been giving for the last fifty years?-- Review and Herald, May 25, 1905. {CW 53.2}
PURPOSE - To help us understand our theology with regards to the Sanctuary doctrine, a peculiar knowledge of God’s judgment.
INTRODUCTION:
Definition:
What is the Heavenly Sanctuary? (Hebrews 8:2, 5)
Purpose of the Sanctuary:
Its role in the plan of salvation.
Connection to the earthly sanctuary as a type (Hebrews 9:23-24).
Biblical Foundation for the Cleansing of the Sanctuary
Key Scriptures:
Daniel 8:14: "Unto 2,300 days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed."
Hebrews 9:11-12: Christ's high priestly ministry in the Heavenly Sanctuary.
The Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16):
How the earthly Day of Atonement prefigures the Heavenly Sanctuary cleansing.
Historical Context: 1844 and the Great Disappointment
Prophetic Timeline:
Overview of the 2,300-day prophecy (Daniel 8:14; 9:24-27).
The Great Disappointment:
How the understanding of the sanctuary doctrine developed post-1844.
The Doctrine of Investigative Judgment
Definition and Purpose:
What is the investigative judgment?
It is while men are still dwelling upon the earth that the work of investigative judgment takes place in the courts of heaven. The lives of all His professed followers pass in review before God. All are examined according to the record of the books of heaven, and according to his deeds the destiny of each is forever fixed. {COL 310.2}
Christ’s Role as High Priest:
Mediator and Judge (Hebrews 4:14-16).
Will any less be required of us in this antitypical day of atonement, when Christ in the Sanctuary above is pleading in behalf of his people, and the final, irrevocable decision is to be pronounced upon every case? {RH, March 22, 1887 par. 9}
In 1844 our great High Priest entered the most holy place of the heavenly Sanctuary, to begin the work of the investigative Judgment. The cases of the righteous dead have been passing in review before God. When that work shall be completed, judgment is to be pronounced upon the living. How precious, how important are these solemn moments!
Implications for Believers:
Judgment and the cleansing process in our lives.
Each of us has a case pending in the court of heaven. We are individually to be judged according to the deeds done in the body. In the typical service, when the work of atonement was performed by the high priest in the most holy place of the earthly sanctuary, the people were required to afflict their souls before God, and confess their sins, that they might be atoned for and blotted out.
Implications for Believers:
Judgment and the cleansing process in our lives.
What is our condition in this fearful and solemn time? Alas, what pride is prevailing in the church, what hypocrisy, what deception, what love of dress, frivolity, and amusement, what desire for the supremacy!
All these sins have clouded the mind, so that eternal things have not been discerned. Shall we not search the Scripture, that we may know where we are in this world's history? Shall we not become intelligent in regard to the work that is being accomplished for us at this time, and the position that we as sinners should occupy while this work of atonement is going forward? If we have any regard for our souls' salvation, we must make a decided change. We must seek the Lord with true penitence; we must with deep contrition of soul confess our sins, that they may be blotted out. {RH, March 22, 1887 par. 10}
Significance of the Cleansing of the Sanctuary
God’s Justice and Mercy:
How the doctrine reveals God’s character.
Justice and judgment are the habitation of his throne. In Christ mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Christ himself gave the law from Mount Sinai, and he has not lessened a jot or tittle of its claims. He has given his own life to atone for man's transgression of the law, and to enable him to obey its precepts. Justice is satisfied with the divine sacrifice. Through the merits of Christ God can be just and justify the sinner who believes in Jesus. {ST, October 10, 1892 par. 2}
Assurance for Believers:
The cleansing signifies Christ's ongoing work for humanity’s salvation.
Had they received the word of God sent to them, they would not now be in darkness. "For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh; that their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgment of the mystery of God, and the Father, and of Christ" [Colossians 2:1, 2]. {15MR 91.2}
Practical Applications for Today
Spiritual Preparation:
Living in the "Day of Atonement" period.
The finishing of one duty is to be the preparation for the performance of the next. But you have neglected one duty to grasp another that the Lord has not given you. Thus your spiritual eyesight has been beclouded, as it was beclouded in Australia.--Letter 194, 1902, p. 5. (To Elder A. G. Daniells, Dec. 7, 1902.)
It is the wisdom of minister and people to hold themselves always in a spiritual preparation for anything that may occur. Let all follow the example of Hezekiah. Let us pour out the soul in humiliation and fasting and prayer. {16MR 17.3}
Call to Holiness and Repentance:
How this doctrine should impact personal conduct and faith.
John called every class to repentance. To the Pharisees and Sadducees he said, Flee from the wrath to come. Your claims to Abraham as your father are not of the least value to you. They will not impart to you pure principles and holiness of character. Ceremonial sacrifices possess no value unless you discern their object, the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world. You turn from God's requirements and follow your own perverted ideas; and you lose those characteristics which constitute you children of Abraham. {2SM 149.2}
Our gracious God still bears long with the impenitent. He gives them light from heaven, that they may understand the holiness of His character, and the justice of His requirements. He calls them to repentance, and assures them of His willingness to forgive. But if they continue to reject His mercy, the mandate goes forth devoting them to destruction (ST Aug. 24, 1882). {2BC 1016.5}
Common Misunderstandings and Clarifications
Misconceptions about Judgment:
Is God’s judgment punitive or redemptive?
By his death he showed the immutability of the law of God. He illustrated this truth by laying the foundation in his own death, erecting a cross as its center and glory. In his redemptive plan he embraces man, placing him once more on vantage ground with God, that his moral capacity might be recognized as amenable to God, who is the Supreme Ruler. {PH086 8.1}
Men are to become the subjects of Christ's kingdom. Through the divine power imputed to them, they are to return to their allegiance. By laws and resources God has ordained a heavenly communication with man's spiritual life, that in its action is as mysterious as the science and operation of the wind. (John 3:7, 8.)
Clarifying the Role of Grace:
The balance between faith and works in the judgment process.
Christ's subjects are those who keep his commandments. These only are counted as his subjects. If after the light has come, the disobedient continue in transgression, they are subjects of the kingdom of the prince of this world. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. {PH086 9.1}
But the heavenly principles that distinguish those who are one with Christ from those who are one with the world have become almost indistinguishable. The professed people of Christ are no longer a separate and peculiar people. The line of demarcation is indistinct. People are subordinating themselves to the world, to its practises, its customs, its selfishness. The church has gone over to the world in transgression of the law, when the world should have come over to the church in obedience to the law. Daily the church is becoming converted to the world. Professing Christians are slaves of mammon. Their indulgence of appetite, and extravagant expenditure of money for selfish gratification, greatly dishonors God.
Conclusion: The Cleansing and Christ’s Return
Future Fulfillment:
Connection to the Second Coming (Revelation 22:12).
In the typical system, which was a shadow of the sacrifice and priesthood of Christ, the cleansing of the sanctuary was the last service performed by the high priest in the yearly round of ministration. It was the closing work of the atonement --a removal or putting away of sin from Israel. It prefigured the closing work in the ministration of our High Priest in heaven, in the removal or blotting out of the sins of His people, which are registered in the heavenly records. This service involves a work of investigation, a work of judgment; and it immediately precedes the coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory; for when He comes, every case has been decided. Says Jesus: "My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be." Revelation 22:12. It is this work of judgment, immediately preceding the second advent, that is announced in the first angel's message of Revelation 14:7: "Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come." {GC 352.2}
Final Victory:
How the cleansing of the sanctuary culminates in the eradication of sin.
They are filled with hatred against those who serve him, and soon, very soon, will be fought the last great battle between good and evil. The earth is to be the battlefield --the scene of the final contest and the final victory. Here, where for so long Satan has led men against God, rebellion is to be forever suppressed. {RH, May 13, 1902 par. 13}
God's people are to bear a hold, decided testimony for the truth, unfolding the purposes of God by the witness of pen and voice. In place after place, they are to proclaim the message of God's word. By converted, sanctified, holy men and women the message of warning is to be proclaimed, that the prayer may be answered, "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." {RH, May 13, 1902 par. 14}
To God Be the Glory!