Christ in His Sanctuary

Christ in His Sanctuary
Ellen G. White
1969
Copyright © 2013
Ellen G. White Estate, Inc.
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i
ii
A Compilation from the Writings of Ellen G. White
“The subject of the sanctuary and the investigative judgment

should be clearly understood by the people of God.”—The Great
Controversy, 488.
“I know that the sanctuary question stands in righteousness and
truth, just as we have held it for so many years. It is the enemy that
leads minds off on sidetracks. He is pleased when those who know
the truth become engrossed in collecting scriptures to pile around
erroneous theories, which have no foundation in truth. The scriptures
thus used are misapplied; they were not given to substantiate error,
but to strengthen truth.”—Gospel Workers, 303. [2]
Contents
Information about this Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i
The Sanctuary Truth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
An Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
The End of the 2300 Days . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
A Truth Established by the Witness of the Holy Spirit . . . . . . ix
The Sanctuary and the Sabbath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
The Sanctuary Truth Under Fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xii
Points Sustained Only by Misused Scriptures . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv
The Reality of the Heavenly Sanctuary Affirmed . . . . . . . . . xvi
The Ark and the Law in the Heavenly Sanctuary . . . . . . . . . xvii
Last-Day Delusions Will Involve Vital Truth . . . . . . . . . . . . xviii
With Eyes Fixed on the Sanctuary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xix
This Little Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xx
Christ in the Sacrificial System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
The Sacred Character of God’s Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Man Offers His First Sacrifice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Study Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
The Heavenly Sanctuary in Miniature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
The Tabernacle and Its Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
The Priests and Their Attire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
The Urim and Thummim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
The Services of the Sanctuary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
The Day of Atonement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
A Figure of Things in the Heavens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Cleansed From the Record of Sin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Study Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
The Gospel in Type and Antitype . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Perfect According to the Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
A Temple of Unrivaled Splendor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
God Tokens His Acceptance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
The Antitype Lost Sight Of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
The Temple Services Lost Their Significance . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Eyes Turned to the True Sacrifice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Our High Priest, Our Advocate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
iv
Contents v
Study Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
The Judgment Message Stirs America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
The Study of the Prophecies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
The Impact of Bible Chronology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
The Prophecy of Daniel 8:14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
The Duty to Tell Others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
A Religious Awakening Begins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Evidences of Divine Blessing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
The Last of the Signs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
The Bible and the Bible Only . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Differing Responses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Investigation Discouraged . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Study Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Daniel 8:14 And Steps in God’s Mysterious Leadings . . . . . . . . 67
The Experience of the Apostles Provides an Object Lesson . . 68
The Lesson of 1844 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Study Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
The End of the 2300 Days . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Waiting in Calm Expectancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
The Scriptures Reexamined . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Types in the Sanctuary Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Disappointed, But Faith in God’s Word Unshaken . . . . . . . . . 80
Study Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
The Glorious Temple in Heaven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Integrity of the Prophetic Periods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
The Sanctuary of the Old Covenant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
The New-Covenant Sanctuary in the Heavens . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
The Glories of the Earthly Sanctuary and the Heavenly Temple87
Christ’s Ministry in the Heavenly Sanctuary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Determining the Sanctuary of Daniel 8:14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Practical Lessons From the Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
But a Type of Heavenly Realities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
The Cleansing of the Heavenly Sanctuary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Study Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Our High Priest in the Holy of Holies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Scriptural Foundations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Ministry in the Two Apartments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
The Opening of Another Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
vi Christ in His Sanctuary
The Tragic Result of Rejecting God’s Warning Message . . . 104

The Sanctuary and the Sabbath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Study Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Christ’s Closing Ministry in the Heavenly Sanctuary . . . . . . . . 109
Whose Cases Considered? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
God’s Law the Standard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Jesus the Advocate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
The Courtroom Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
The Closing Scenes of the Antitypical Service . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Judged by the Unerring Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Perfecting Holiness in the Fear of God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Now in the Day of Atonement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Study Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
The Sanctuary Truth
An Introduction*
Writing of what must be accomplished by the emerging Seventh-
day Adventist Church before the Lord shall come, Ellen G. White
in 1883 said:
“The minds of believers were to be directed to the heavenly
sanctuary, where Christ had entered to make atonement for His
people.”—Selected Messages, 1:67.
In a crisis in 1906, in which certain of the basic teachings of
Seventh-day Adventists were threatened, she wrote:
“The correct understanding of the ministration in the heavenly
sanctuary is the foundation of our faith.”—Evangelism, 221.
The End of the 2300 Days

Among the prophecies forming the foundation of the advent
awakening of the 1830’s and the early 1840’s was the prophecy of
Daniel 8:14: “Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall
the sanctuary be cleansed.” Ellen White, who passed through the
experience, explains concerning the application of this prophecy:
“In common with the rest of the Christian world, Adventists then
held that the earth, or some portion of it, was the sanctuary. They
understood that the cleansing of the sanctuary was the purification [4]
of the earth by the fires of the last great day, and that this would take
place at the second advent. Hence the conclusion that Christ would
return to the earth in 1844.”—The Great Controversy, 409.
This prophetic period came to its close on October 22, 1844. The
disappointment to those who expected to meet their Lord on that day
was great. Hiram Edson, a careful Bible student in mid-New York
* An introductory chapter prepared in the office of the Ellen G. White Estate, provid-
ing the historical setting for the E. G. White chapters and other of her materials selected
for the study of the sanctuary truth as understood and taught by Seventh-day Adventists.
vii
viii Christ in His Sanctuary
State, describes what took place among the company of believers of

which he was a part:
“Our expectations were raised high, and thus we looked for our
coming Lord until the clock tolled twelve at midnight. The day had
then passed, and our disappointment had become a certainty. Our
fondest hopes and expectations were blasted, and such a spirit of
weeping came over us as I never experienced before. It seemed that
the loss of all earthly friends could have been no comparison. We
wept and wept, till the day dawn....
“I mused in my heart, saying: ‘My advent experience has been
the brightest of all my Christian experience.... Has the Bible proved
a failure? Is there no God, no heaven, no golden city, no Paradise?
Is all this but a cunningly devised fable? Is there no reality to our
fondest hopes and expectations?’...
“I began to feel there might be light and help for us in our distress.
I said to some of the brethren: ‘Let us go to the barn.’ We entered
the granary, shut the doors about us, and bowed before the Lord. We
prayed earnestly, for we felt our necessity. We continued in earnest
prayer until the witness of the Spirit was given that our prayers
were accepted, and that light should be given—our disappointment
explained, made clear and satisfactory.
“After breakfast I said to one of my brethren, ‘Let us go and
see and encourage some of our brethren.’ We started, and while
passing through a large field, I was stopped about midway of the
field. Heaven seemed open to my view, and I saw distinctly and
clearly that instead of our High Priest coining out of the most holy
place of the heavenly sanctuary to this earth on the tenth day of the
[5] seventh month, at the end of the 2300 days, He, for the first time,
entered on that day into the second apartment of that sanctuary, and
that He had a work to perform in the most holy place before coming
to the earth; that He came to the marriage, or in other words, to the
Ancient of Days, to receive a kingdom, dominion, and glory; and
that we must wait for His return from the wedding. And my mind
was directed to the tenth chapter of Revelation, where I could see
the vision had spoken and did not lie.”—Unpublished manuscript
published in part in The Review and Herald, June 23, 1921.
There followed a careful investigation of the scriptures that
touched on this subject—particularly those in Hebrews—by Hi-
Sanctuary Truth ix
ram Edson and two close associates, Dr. F. B. Hahn, a physician,

and O. R. L. Crosier, a teacher. The result of this joint study was
written up by Crosier and was published, first in The Day Dawn,
a paper of limited circulation, and then in rewritten and enlarged
form in a special issue of the Day-Star, on February 7, 1846. This
was a more widely read Adventist journal, published at Cincinnati,
Ohio. Through this medium it reached a number of the disappointed
Advent believers. The rather lengthy presentation, well supported
by Scripture, brought hope and courage to their hearts as it clearly
showed that the sanctuary to be cleansed at the end of the 2300 days
is in heaven, and not on earth, as they had believed earlier.
>Ellen G. White, in a statement written on April 21, 1847,
declared in endorsement of the Crosier article on the sanctuary
question:
“The Lord showed me in vision, more than one year ago, that
Brother Crosier had the true light, on the cleansing of the sanctuary,
etc.; and that it was His will, that Brother Crosier should write out
the view which he gave us in the Day-Star Extra, February 7, 1846. I
feel fully authorized by the Lord, to recommend that Extra, to every
saint.”—A Word to the Little Flock, 12.
At a later time she wrote of the rapid development of doctrinal
understanding which followed the disappointment:
“The passing of the time in 1844 was a period of great events, [6]
opening to our astonished eyes the cleansing of the sanctuary tran-
spiring in heaven, and having decided relation to God’s people upon
the earth.” Manuscript 13, 1889, published in Counsels to Writers
and Editors, 30.
A Truth Established by the Witness of the Holy Spirit

The visions given to Ellen White, while not running ahead of
Bible study, confirmed the soundness of the position that an impor-
tant phase of Christ’s ministry in the heavenly sanctuary was entered
upon on October 22, 1844. Gradually the breadth and depth of the
subject opened before the Advent believers. Looking back on the
experience in later years, she recalled their study and the manifest
evidences of God’s guiding hand:
x Christ in His Sanctuary
“Many of our people do not realize how firmly the foundation

of our faith has been laid. My husband, Elder Joseph Bates, Father
Pierce,* Elder [Hiram] Edson, and others who were keen, noble,
and true, were among those who, after the passing of the time in
1844, searched for the truth as for hidden treasure. I met with them,
and we studied and prayed earnestly. Often we remained together
until late at night, and sometimes through the entire night, praying
for light and studying the Word. Again and again these brethren
came together to study the Bible, in order that they might know its
meaning, and be prepared to teach it with power. When they came to
the point in their study where they said, ‘We can do nothing more,’
the Spirit of the Lord would come upon me, I would be taken off in
vision, and a clear explanation of the passages we had been studying
would be given me, with instruction as to how we were to labor and
teach effectively. Thus light was given that helped us to understand
the scriptures in regard to Christ, His mission, and His priesthood.
[7] A line of truth extending from that time to the time when we shall
enter the City of God, was made plain to me, and I gave to others
the instruction that the Lord had given me.
“During this whole time I could not understand the reasoning
of the brethren. My mind was locked, as it were, and I could not
comprehend the meaning of the scriptures we were studying. This
was one of the greatest sorrows of my life. I was in this condition
of mind until all the principal points of our faith were made clear
to our minds, in harmony with the Word of God. The brethren
knew that when not in vision, I could not understand these matters,
and they accepted as light direct from heaven the revelations given
.”—Selected Messages, 1:206, 207.
The realization that Christ had entered the most holy place in the
heavenly sanctuary to begin His closing ministry in our behalf, typi-
fied in the sanctuary service observed by Israel of old, solemnized
the hearts of our pioneer Adventists. The truths were so clear, so
grand, so vital, that it was difficult to sense that upon them rested the
responsibility of imparting this light to others. Ellen White wrote of
the certainty of their position:
* Older brethren among the pioneers are here thus reminiscently referred to. “Father
Pierce” was Stephen Pierce, who served in ministerial and administrative work in the
early days.
Sanctuary Truth xi
“We are to be established in the faith, in the light of the truth

given us in our early experience. At that time one error after another
pressed in upon us; ministers and doctors brought in new doctrines.
We would search the Scriptures with much prayer, and the Holy
Spirit would bring the truth to our minds. Sometimes whole nights
would be devoted to searching the Scriptures, and earnestly asking
God for guidance. Companies of devoted men and women assembled
for this purpose. The power of God would come upon me, and I was
enabled clearly to define what is truth and what is error.
“As the points of our faith were thus established, our feet were
placed upon a solid foundation. We accepted the truth point by
point, under the demonstration of the Holy Spirit. I would be taken
off in vision, and explanations would be given me. I was given
illustrations of heavenly things, and of the sanctuary, so that we
were placed where light was shining on us in clear, distinct rays. [8]
truth, just as we have held it for so many years.”—Gospel Workers,
302, 303.
The pioneers of the movement saw the sanctuary truth as basic to
the whole structure of Seventh-day Adventist doctrine. James White,
in 1850, republished the essential portions of the first presentation
of the subject by O. R. L. Crosier, and commented:
“The subject of the sanctuary should be carefully examined, as it
lies at the foundation of our faith and hope.”—The Advent Review
(special combined number).
The Sanctuary and the Sabbath

It was in the setting of a view of the heavenly sanctuary that the
Sabbath truth was confirmed in the vision given to Ellen White on
April 3, 1847, at the Howland home in Topsham, Maine. Of this she
writes:
“We felt an unusual spirit of prayer. And as we prayed the Holy
Ghost fell upon us. We were very happy. Soon I was lost to earthly
things and was wrapped in a vision of God’s glory. I saw an angel
flying swiftly to me. He quickly carried me from the earth to the
Holy City. In the city I saw a temple, which I entered. I passed
through a door before I came to the first veil. This veil was raised,
xii Christ in His Sanctuary
and I passed into the holy place. Here I saw the altar of incense,
the candlestick with seven lamps, and the table on which was the
shewbread. After viewing the glory of the holy, Jesus raised the
second veil and I passed into the holy of holies.
“In the holiest I saw an ark; on the top and sides of it was purest
gold. On each end of the ark was a lovely cherub, with its wings
spread out over it. Their faces were turned toward each other, and
they looked downward. Between the angels was a golden censer.
Above the ark, where the angels stood, was an exceeding bright
glory, that appeared like a throne where God dwelt. Jesus stood
[9] by the ark, and as the saints’ prayers came up to Him, the incense
in the censer would smoke, and He would offer up their prayers
with the smoke of the incense to His Father. In the ark was the
golden pot of manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of
stone which folded together like a book. Jesus opened them, and I
saw the Ten Commandments written on them with the finger of God.
On one table were four, and on the other six. The four on the first
table shone brighter than the other six. But the fourth, the Sabbath
commandment, shone above them all; for the Sabbath was set apart
to be kept in honor of God’s holy name. The holy Sabbath looked
glorious—a halo of glory was all around it. I saw that the Sabbath
commandment was not nailed to the cross. If it was, the other nine
commandments were; and we are at liberty to break them all, as well
as to break the fourth. I saw that God had not changed the Sabbath,
for He never changes.”—Early Writings, 32, 33.
The Sanctuary Truth Under Fire

While there were those who saw clearly the binding claims of
God’s law and began to observe the Seventh-day Sabbath as set forth
in the law of God, they encountered strong opposition. Of this and
the reasons for it, Ellen White explains:
“Many and earnest were the efforts made to overthrow their
faith. None could fail to see that if the earthly sanctuary was a figure
or pattern of the heavenly, the law deposited in the ark on earth
was an exact transcript of the law in the ark in heaven; and that an
acceptance of the truth concerning the heavenly sanctuary involved
an acknowledgment of the claims of God’s law, and the obligation
Sanctuary Truth xiii
of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. Here was the secret of

the bitter and determined opposition to the harmonious exposition of
the Scriptures that revealed the ministration of Christ in the heavenly
sanctuary.”—The Great Controversy, 435.
It is little wonder that those in subsequent years defecting from
the Seventh-day Adventist Church should make the sanctuary truth
a point of opposition. It was so with Elders Snook and Brinkerhof, [10]
conference officers in Iowa, who withdrew in the middle 1860’s, and
with D. M. Canright, an influential minister, who left the Seventh-
day Adventist Church in 1887 to become a bitter enemy and critic.
Nor is it strange that the pantheistic views at the turn of the century,
espoused and advocated by both medical and ministerial workers,
should strike directly at this fundamental doctrine. It was in this
setting that Ellen White in warning words wrote on November 20,
1905:
“To those medical missionaries and ministers who have been
drinking in the scientific sophistries and bewitching fables against
which you have been warned, I would say, Your souls are in peril.
The world must know where you are standing and where Seventh-
day Adventists are standing. God calls for all who have accepted
these soul-destroying delusions no longer to halt between two opin-
ions. If the Lord be God, follow Him.
“Satan, with all his host is on the battlefield. Christ’s soldiers
are now to rally round the bloodstained banner of Emmanuel. In the
name of the Lord, leave the black banner of the prince of darkness,
and take your position with the Prince of heaven.
“‘He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.’ Read your Bibles. From
higher ground, under the instruction given me of God, I present these
things before you. The time is near when the deceptive powers of
satanic agencies will be fully developed. On one side is Christ, who
has been given all power in heaven and earth. On the other side is
Satan, continually exercising his power to allure, to deceive with
strong, spiritualistic sophistries, to remove God out of the place that
He should occupy in the minds of men.
“Satan is striving continually to bring in fanciful suppositions
in regard to the sanctuary, degrading the wonderful representations
of God and the ministry of Christ for our salvation into something
that suits the carnal mind. He removes its presiding power from
xiv Christ in His Sanctuary
the hearts of believers, and supplies its place with fantastic theories
invented to make void the truths of the atonement, and destroy our
[11] confidence in the doctrines which we have held sacred since the
third angel’s message was first given. Thus he would rob us of our
faith in the very message that has made us a separate people, and
has given character and power to our work.”—Special Testimonies,
Series B, No. 7, pp. 16, 17.
It was in the setting of this pantheistic crisis that Ellen White,
attending the General Conference session of 1905, declared in words
significant to us today:
“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?”—Counsels to Writers and Editors, 53.
The pantheistic views, so earnestly advocated by some, Ellen
White declared, would “do away with God” (Special Testimonies,
Series B, No. 7, p. 16) and invalidate the sanctuary truth.
At about the same time one of our ministers, whom we will
identify as “Elder G,” espoused the view that when Christ went back
to heaven after his ministry on earth, He went into the presence of
God, and that where God is, must be the most holy place, therefore
on October 22, 1844, there was no entering into the most holy place
in the heavenly sanctuary as we believed and taught. These two
concepts, both of which struck at the doctrine of the sanctuary as we
held it, led Ellen White several times to refer to the soundness and
integrity of this point of faith. In 1904 she wrote:
“They (the children of God) will not, by their words and acts,
lead anyone to doubt in regard to the distinct personality of God, or
in regard to the sanctuary and its ministry.
“We all need to keep the subject of the sanctuary in mind. God
forbid that the clatter of words coming from human lips should
[12] lessen the belief of our people in the truth that there is a sanctuary
in heaven, and that a pattern of this sanctuary was once built on this
earth. God desires His people to become familiar with this pattern,
Sanctuary Truth xv
keeping ever before their minds the heavenly sanctuary, where God
is all and in all. We must keep our minds braced by prayer and a
study of God’s Word, that we may grasp these truths.”—E. G. White
Letter 233, 1904.
Points Sustained Only by Misused Scriptures

Writing particularly of “Elder G’s” work in undermining confi-
dence in the sanctuary truth in 1905, Ellen White pointed out the
unsoundness of his use of Scripture evidence and the dependability
of our understanding of the sanctuary truth. This is what she said:
“I have been pleading with the Lord for strength and wisdom to
reproduce the writings of the witnesses who were confirmed in the
faith and in the early history of the message. After the passing of
the time in 1844 they received the light and walked in the light, and
when the men claiming to have new light would come in with their
wonderful messages regarding various points of Scripture, we had,
through the moving of the Holy Spirit, testimonies right to the point,
which cut off the influence of such messages as Elder G has been
devoting his time to presenting. This poor man has been working
decidedly against the truth that the Holy Spirit has confirmed.
“When the power of God testifies as to what is truth, that truth
is to stand forever as the truth. No after suppositions contrary to
the light God has given are to be entertained. Men will arise with
interpretations of Scripture which are to them truth, but which are
not truth. The truth for this time God has given us as a foundation
for our faith. He Himself has taught us what is truth. One will
arise, and still another, with new light, which contradicts the light
that God has given under the demonstration of His Holy Spirit. A
few are still alive who passed through the experience gained in the
establishment of this truth. God has graciously spared their lives to
repeat, and repeat till the close of their lives, the experience through [13]
which they passed even as did John the apostle till the very close of
his life. And the standard-bearers who have fallen in death are to
speak through the reprinting of their writings. I am instructed that
thus their voices are to be heard. They are to bear their testimony as
to what constitutes the truth for this time.
xvi Christ in His Sanctuary
“We are not to receive the words of those who come with a
message that contradicts the special points of our faith. They gather
together a mass of Scripture, and pile it as proof around their asserted
theories. This has been done over and over again during the past
fifty years. And while the Scriptures are God’s Word, and are to be
respected, the application of them, if such application moves one
pillar from the foundation that God has sustained these fifty years,
is a great mistake. He who makes such an application knows not
the wonderful demonstration of the Holy Spirit that gave power and
force to the past messages that have come to the people of God.
“Elder G’s proofs are not reliable. If received, they would destroy
the faith of God’s people in the truth that has made us what we are.
“We must be decided on this subject; for the points that he is
trying to prove by Scripture, are not sound. They do not prove that
the past experience of God’s people was a fallacy. We had the truth;
we were directed by the angels of God. It was under the guidance
of the Holy Spirit that the presentation of the, sanctuary question
was given. It is eloquence for everyone to keep silent in regard to
the features of our faith in which they acted no part. God never
contradicts Himself. Scripture proofs are misapplied if forced to
testify to that which is not true. Another and still another will arise
and bring in supposedly great light, and make their assertions. But
we stand by the old landmarks.”—Selected Messages, 1:160-162.
The Reality of the Heavenly Sanctuary Affirmed

[14] Repeatedly we find in the Ellen G. White writings statements on
the reality of the heavenly sanctuary, its furnishings, and its ministry.
One such was penned in the 1880’s as she described the experience
of the Advent believers following the disappointment:
“In their investigation they learned, that the earthly sanctuary,
built by Moses at the command of God, according to the pattern
shown him in the mount, was ‘a figure for the time then present, in
which were offered both gifts and sacrifices;’ that its two holy places
were ‘patterns of things in the heavens;’ that Christ, our great High
Priest, is ‘a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle,
which the Lord pitched, and not man.’...
Sanctuary Truth xvii
“The sanctuary in heaven, in which Jesus ministers in our behalf,

is the great original, of which the sanctuary built by Moses was a
copy....
“The matchless splendor of the earthly tabernacle reflected to
human vision the glories of that heavenly temple where Christ our
forerunner ministers for us before the throne of God.
“As the sanctuary on earth had two apartments, the holy and the
most holy, so there are two holy places in the sanctuary in heaven.
And the ark containing the law of God, the altar of incense, and other
instruments of service found in the sanctuary below, have also their
counterpart in the sanctuary above. In holy vision the apostle John
was permitted to enter heaven, and he there beheld the candlestick
and the altar of incense, and as ‘the temple of God was opened,’ he
beheld also ‘the ark of His testament.’ [Revelation 4:5; 8:3; 11:19.]
“Those who were seeking for the truth found indisputable proof
of the existence of a sanctuary in heaven. Moses made the earthly
sanctuary after a pattern which was shown him. Paul declares that
that pattern was the true sanctuary which is in heaven. John testifies
that he saw it in heaven.”—Spirit of Prophecy, 4:260, 261.
Earlier she had written with emphasis on the furniture:
“I was also shown a sanctuary upon the earth containing two
apartments. It resembled the one in heaven, and I was told that it
was a figure of the heavenly. The furniture of the first apartment [15]
of the earthly sanctuary was like that in the first apartment of the
heavenly. The veil was lifted, and I looked into the holy of holies,
and saw that the furniture was the same as in the most holy place in
the heavenly sanctuary.”—Early Writings, 252, 253.
The Ark and the Law in the Heavenly Sanctuary

On different occasions she spoke and wrote of the ark in the
most holy place in the heavenly sanctuary. One such statement was
made in a sermon preached in Torero, Sweden, in 1886.
“I warn you, Do not place your influence against God’s com-
mandments. That law is just as Jehovah wrote it in the temple of
heaven. Man may trample upon its copy here below, but the original
is kept in the ark of God in heaven; and on the cover of this ark, right
above that law, is the mercy seat. Jesus stands right there before that
xviii Christ in His Sanctuary
ark to mediate for man.”—Ellen G. White Comments, The S.D.A.

Bible Commentary 1:1109.
And in 1903 she again wrote of the reality of the heavenly sanc-
tuary:
“I could say much regarding the sanctuary; the ark containing
the law of God; the cover of the ark, which is the mercy seat; the
angels at either end of the ark; and other things connected with the
heavenly sanctuary and with the great day of atonement. I could say
much regarding the mysteries of heaven; but my lips are closed. I
have no inclination to try to describe them.”—Ellen G. White Letter
253, 1903.
Last-Day Delusions Will Involve Vital Truth

It is clear that our adversary, Satan, will try to unsettle the faith of
God’s people in the doctrine of the sanctuary in these “latter days.”
Ellen White wrote:
“The Saviour foretold that in the latter days false prophets would
appear, and draw away disciples after them; and also that those who
in this time of peril should stand faithful to the truth that is specified
[16] in the book of Revelation, would have to meet doctrinal errors so
specious that, if it were possible, the very elect would be deceived.
“God would have every true sentiment prevail. Satan can skill-
fully play the game of life with many souls, and he acts in a most
underhanded, deceptive manner to spoil the faith of the people of
God and to discourage them. ... He works today as he worked in
heaven—to divide the people of God in the very last stage of this
earth’s history. He seeks to create dissension, and to arouse con-
tention and discussion, and to remove if possible the old landmarks
of truth committed to God’s people. He tries to make it appear as if
the Lord contradicts Himself.
“It is when Satan appears as an angel of light, that he takes souls
in his snare, deceiving them. Men who pretend to have been taught
of God, will adopt fallacious theories, and in their teaching will so
adorn these fallacies as to bring in Satanic delusions. Thus Satan
will be introduced as an angel of light, and will have opportunity to
present his pleasing fables.
Sanctuary Truth xix
“These false prophets will have to be met. They will make an

effort to deceive many, by leading them to accept false theories.
Many scriptures will be misapplied in such a way that deceptive
theories will apparently be based upon the words that God has spo-
ken. Precious truth will be appropriated to substantiate and establish
error. These false prophets, who claim to be taught of God, will take
beautiful scriptures that have been given to adorn the truth, and will
use them as a robe of righteousness to cover false and dangerous
theories. And even some of those who in times past the Lord has
honored, will depart so far from the truth as to advocate misleading
theories regarding many phases of truth, including the sanctuary
question.”—Manuscript 11, 1906. (Emphasis supplied.)
A few weeks later she added these words on the importance of a
correct understanding of this truth:
truth, just as we have held it for so many years. It is the enemy that
leads minds off on sidetracks. He is pleased when those who know [17]
the truth become engrossed in collecting scriptures to pile around
erroneous theories, which have no foundation in truth. The scriptures
thus used are misapplied; they were not given to substantiate error,
but to strengthen truth.”—Gospel Workers, 303.
With Eyes Fixed on the Sanctuary

At no time are we to lose sight of the important work being done
in our behalf in the sanctuary in heaven. We are admonished:
“As a people, we should be earnest students of prophecy; we
should not rest until we become intelligent in regard to the subject
of the sanctuary, which is brought out in the visions of Daniel and
John. This subject sheds great light on our present position and
work, and gives us unmistakable proof that God has led us in our
past experience. It explains our disappointment in 1844, showing
us that the sanctuary to be cleansed was not the earth, as we had
supposed, but that Christ then entered into the most holy apartment
of the heavenly sanctuary, and is there performing the closing work
of His priestly office, in fulfillment of the words of the angel to the
prophet Daniel, ‘Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then
shall the sanctuary be cleansed.’
xx Christ in His Sanctuary
“Our faith in reference to the messages of the first, second,

and third angels was correct. The great waymarks we have passed
are immovable. Although the hosts of hell may try to tear them
from their foundation, and triumph in the thought that they have
succeeded, yet they do not succeed. These pillars of truth stand firm
as the eternal hills, unmoved by all the efforts of men combined
with those of Satan and his host. We can learn much, and should
be constantly searching the Scriptures to see if these things are
so. God’s people are now to have their eyes fixed on the heavenly
sanctuary, where the final ministration of our great High Priest in the
work of the judgment is going forward,—where He is interceding
[18] for His people.”—Evangelism, 222, 223.
This Little Book

Except for a few footnotes and the study questions which follow
each chapter, the materials which follow are exclusively from the
pen of Ellen G. White and consist primarily of chapters from Patri-
archs and Prophets and The Great Controversy, with some bridging
materials drawn together from various E. G. White published writ-
ings. In each case the source is given. As most readers will have at
hand the E. G. White books, it has seemed unnecessary here, where
brevity is desirable, to include portions of chapters not immediately
relevant to the subject—Christ in His sanctuary.
[19] The White Trustees.
Christ in the Sacrificial System*
The sin of our first parents brought guilt and sorrow upon the
world, and had it not been for the goodness and mercy of God, would
have plunged the race into hopeless despair.1
The fall of man filled all heaven with sorrow. The world that
God had made was blighted with the curse of sin and inhabited by
beings doomed to misery and death. There appeared no escape for
those who had transgressed the law....
But divine love had conceived a plan whereby man might be
redeemed. The broken law of God demanded the life of the sinner. In
all the universe there was but one who could, in behalf of man, satisfy
its claims. Since the divine law is as sacred as God Himself, only
one equal with God could make atonement for its transgression.2
To man the first intimation of redemption was communicated
in the sentence pronounced upon Satan in the garden. The Lord
declared, “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and
between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou
shalt bruise his heel.” Genesis 3:15. This sentence, uttered in the
hearing of our first parents, was to them a promise. While it foretold
war between man and Satan, it declared that the power of the great
adversary would finally be broken.... Though they must suffer from
the power of their mighty foe, they could look forward to final
victory.3 [20]
Heavenly angels more fully opened to our first parents the plan
that had been devised for their salvation. Adam and his companion
were assured that notwithstanding their great sin, they were not to
be abandoned to the control of Satan. The Son of God had offered
to atone, with His own life, for their transgression. A period of
* The statements comprising this chapter are drawn from Patriarchs and Prophets and
other E. G. White published materials.
1 Patriarchs and Prophets, 61.
3 Patriarchs and Prophets, 65, 66.
21
22 Christ in His Sanctuary
probation would be granted them, and through repentance, and faith

in Christ, they might again become the children of God.
The Sacred Character of God’s Law

The sacrifice demanded by their transgression, revealed to Adam
and Eve the sacred character of the law of God; and they saw, as
they had never seen before, the guilt of sin, and its dire results.4
The law of God existed before man was created. The angels were
governed by it. Satan fell because he transgressed the principles of
God’s government. After Adam and Eve were created, God made
known to them His law. It was not then written, but was rehearsed
to them by Jehovah....
After Adam’s sin and fall, nothing was taken from the law of
God. The principles of the Ten Commandments existed before the
fall, and were of a character suited to the condition of a holy order
of beings.5
The principles were more explicitly stated to man after the fall,
and worded to meet the case of fallen intelligences. This was nec-
essary in consequence of the minds of men being blinded by trans-
gression.6
A system was then established requiring the sacrificing of beasts,
to keep before fallen man that which the serpent made Eve disbelieve,
that the penalty of disobedience is death. The transgression of God’s
law made it necessary for Christ to die a sacrifice, and thus make
a way possible for man to escape the penalty, and yet the honor of
God’s law be preserved. The system of sacrifices was to teach man
humility, in view of his fallen condition, and lead him to repentance,
[21] and to trust in God alone, through the promised Redeemer, for pardon
for past transgression of His law.7
The very system of sacrifices was devised by Christ, and given
to Adam as typifying a Saviour to come.8

5 Spirit of Prophecy, 1:261.
6 Signs of the Times, April 15, 1875.
7 Spirit of Prophecy, 1:261, 262.
8 Signs of the Times, July 15, 1880.
Christ in the Sacrificial System 23
Man Offers His First Sacrifice

To Adam, the offering of the first sacrifice was a most painful
ceremony. His hand must be raised to take life, which only God
could give. It was the first time he had ever witnessed death, and he
knew that had he been obedient to God, there would have been no
death of man or beast. As he slew the innocent victim, he trembled
at the thought that his sin must shed the blood of the spotless Lamb
of God. This scene gave him a deeper and more vivid sense of the
greatness of his transgression, which nothing but the death of God’s
dear Son could expiate. And he marveled at the infinite goodness
that would give such a ransom to save the guilty. A star of hope
illumined the dark and terrible future and relieved it of its utter
desolation.9
Adam was commanded to teach his descendants the fear of the
Lord, and, by his example and humble obedience, teach them to
highly regard the offerings which typified a Saviour to come. Adam
carefully treasured what God had revealed to him, and handed it
down by word of mouth to his children and children’s children.10
At the cherubim-guarded gate of Paradise the glory of God was
revealed, and hither came the first worshipers. Here their altars were
reared, and their offerings presented.11
In the sacrificial offering on every altar was seen a Redeemer.
With the cloud of incense arose from every contrite heart the prayer
that God would accept their offerings as showing faith in the coming
Saviour.12
The sacrificial system, committed to Adam, was...perverted by
his descendants. Superstition, idolatry, cruelty, and licentiousness
corrupted the simple and significant service that God had appointed.
Through long intercourse with idolaters, the people of Israel had [22]
mingled many heathen customs with their worship; therefore the
Lord gave them at Sinai definite instruction concerning the sacrificial
service. 13
10 Spiritof Prophecy, 1:59.
11 Patriarchs and Prophets, 83, 84.
12 The Review and Herald, March 2, 1886.
Study Questions
1. Why could only one equal with God make atonement for
transgression of divine law? (19)
2. What meaning did the declaration of Genesis 3:15 have for
Satan? For Adam and Eve? (19)
3. Why was a period of probation granted? (20)
4. What were the purposes of the system of sacrifices? (20, 21)
5. For what reasons was the first sacrifice by Adam a “painful
ceremony”? (21)
6. Where did Adam and Eve set up their first altars? Is this
[23] significant? (21)
The Heavenly Sanctuary in Miniature
The command was communicated to Moses while in the mount

with God, “Let them make Me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among
them;” and full directions were given for the construction of the
tabernacle. By their apostasy the Israelites forfeited the blessing
of the divine Presence, and for the time rendered impossible the
erection of a sanctuary for God among them. But after they were
again taken into favor with Heaven, the great leader proceeded to
execute the divine command.
Chosen men were especially endowed by God with skill and
wisdom for the construction of the sacred building. God Himself
gave to Moses the plan of that structure, with particular directions as
to its size and form, the materials to be employed, and every article of
furniture which it was to contain. The holy places made with hands
were to be “figures of the true,” “patterns of things in the heavens”
(Hebrews 9:24, 23)—a miniature representation of the heavenly
temple where Christ, our great High Priest, after offering His life
as a sacrifice, was to minister in the sinner s behalf. God presented
before Moses in the mount a view of the heavenly sanctuary, and
commanded him to make all things according to the pattern shown
him. All these directions were carefully recorded by Moses, who
communicated them to the leaders of the people.
For the building of the sanctuary great and expensive prepara-
tions were necessary; a large amount of the most precious and costly
material was required; yet the Lord accepted only freewill offerings. [24]
“Of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take
My offering” was the divine command repeated by Moses to the
congregation. Devotion to God and a spirit of sacrifice were the first
requisites in preparing a dwelling place for the Most High.
All the people responded with one accord. “They came, every
one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made
willing, and they brought the Lord’s offering to the work of the
tabernacle of the congregation, and for all His service, and for the
25
holy garments. And they came, both men and women, as many as
were willinghearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings,
and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered, offered
an offering of gold unto the Lord.”
“And every man with whom was found blue, and purple, and
scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, and rams’ skins dyed red, and
sealskins, brought them. Everyone that did offer an offering of silver
and brass brought the Lord’s offering: and every man, with whom
was found acacia wood for any work of the service, brought it.
“And all the women that were wisehearted did spin with their
hands, and brought that which they had spun, the blue, and the
purple, the scarlet, and the fine linen. And all the women whose
heart stirred them up in wisdom spun the goats’ hair.
“And the rulers brought the onyx stones, and the stones to be
set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate; and the spice, and the oil;
for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense.”
Exodus 35:23-28, R.V.
While the building of the sanctuary was in progress the people,
old and young—men, women, and children—continued to bring
their offerings, until those in charge of the work found that they had
enough, and even more than could be used. And Moses caused to be
proclaimed throughout the camp, “Let neither man nor woman make
any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were
restrained from bringing.” The murmurings of the Israelites and the
[25] visitations of God’s judgments because of their sins are recorded
as a warning to after-generations. And their devotion, their zeal
and liberality, are an example worthy of imitation. All who love
the worship of God and prize the blessing of His sacred presence
will manifest the same spirit of sacrifice in preparing a house where
He may meet with them. They will desire to bring to the Lord an
offering of the very best that they possess. A house built for God
should not be left in debt, for He is thereby dishonored. An amount
sufficient to accomplish the work should be freely given, that the
workmen may be able to say,...“Bring no more offerings.”
Heavenly Sanctuary in Miniature 27
The Tabernacle and Its Construction

The tabernacle was so constructed that it could be taken apart
and borne with the Israelites in all their journeyings. It was therefore
small, being not more than fifty-five feet in length, and eighteen in
breadth and height. Yet it was a magnificent structure. The wood
employed for the building and its furniture was that of the acacia tree,
which was less subject to decay than any other to be obtained at Sinai.
The walls consisted of upright boards, set in silver sockets, and held
firm by pillars and connecting bars; and all were overlaid with gold,
giving to the building the appearance of solid gold. The roof was
formed of four sets of curtains, the innermost of “fine twined linen,
and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubim of cunning work;”
the other three respectively were of goats’ hair, rams’ skins dyed
red, and sealskins, so arranged as to afford complete protection.
The building was divided into two apartments by a rich and
beautiful curtain, or veil, suspended from gold-plated pillars; and
a similar veil closed the entrance of the first apartment. These,
like the inner covering, which formed the ceiling, were of the most
gorgeous colors, blue, purple, and scarlet, beautifully arranged,
while inwrought with threads of gold and silver were cherubim to
represent the angelic host who are connected with the work of the
heavenly sanctuary and who are ministering spirits to the people of
God on earth. [26]
The sacred tent was enclosed in an open space called the court,
which was surrounded by hangings, or screens, of fine linen, sus-
pended from pillars of brass. The entrance to this enclosure was
at the eastern end. It was closed by curtains of costly material and
beautiful workmanship, though inferior to those of the sanctuary.
The hangings of the court being only about half as high as the walls
of the tabernacle, the building could be plainly seen by the people
without. In the court, and nearest the entrance, stood the brazen altar
of burnt offering. Upon this altar were consumed all the sacrifices
made by fire unto the Lord, and its horns were sprinkled with the
atoning blood. Between the altar and the door of the tabernacle was
the laver, which was also of brass, made from the mirrors that had
been the freewill offering of the women of Israel. At the laver the
priests were to wash their hands and their feet whenever they went
into the sacred apartments, or approached the altar to offer a burnt

offering unto the Lord.
In the first apartment, or holy place, were the table of showbread,
the candlestick, or lampstand, and the altar of incense. The table of
showbread stood on the north. With its ornamental crown, it was
overlaid with pure gold. On this table the priests were each Sabbath
to place twelve cakes, arranged in two piles, and sprinkled with
frankincense. The loaves that were removed, being accounted holy,
were to be eaten by the priests. On the south was the seven-branched
candlestick, with its seven lamps. Its branches were ornamented
with exquisitely wrought flowers, resembling lilies, and the whole
was made from one solid piece of gold. There being no windows in
the tabernacle, the lamps were never all extinguished at one time, but
shed their light by day and by night. Just before the veil separating
the holy place from the most holy and the immediate presence of
God, stood the golden altar of incense. Upon this altar the priest
was to bum incense every morning and evening; its horns were
touched with the blood of the sin offering, and it was sprinkled with
blood upon the great Day of Atonement. The fire upon this altar
[27] was kindled by God Himself and was sacredly cherished. Day and
night the holy incense diffused its fragrance throughout the sacred
apartments, and without, far around the tabernacle.
Beyond the inner veil was the holy of holies, where centered the
symbolic service of atonement and intercession, and which formed
the connecting link between heaven and earth. In this apartment
was the ark, a chest of acacia wood, overlaid within and without
with gold, and having a crown of gold about the top. It was made
as a depository for the tables of stone, upon which God Himself
had inscribed the Ten Commandments. Hence it was called the
ark of God’s testament, or the ark of the covenant, since the Ten
Commandments were the basis of the covenant made between God
and Israel.
The cover of the sacred chest was called the mercy seat. This
was wrought of one solid piece of gold, and was surmounted by
golden cherubim, one standing on each end. One wing of each angel
was stretched forth on high, while the other was folded over the
body (see Ezekiel 1:11) in token of reverence and humility. The
position of the cherubim, with their faces turned toward each other,
and looking reverently downward toward the ark, represented the

reverence with which the heavenly host regard the law of God and
their interest in the plan of redemption.
Above the mercy seat was the Shekinah, the manifestation of
the divine Presence; and from between the cherubim, God made
known His will. Divine messages were sometimes communicated
to the high priest by a voice from the cloud. Sometimes a light fell
upon the angel at the right, to signify approval or acceptance, or a
shadow or cloud rested upon the one at the left to reveal disapproval
or rejection.
The law of God, enshrined within the ark, was the great rule
of righteousness and judgment. That law pronounced death upon
the transgressor; but above the law was the mercy seat, upon which
the presence of God was revealed, and from which, by virtue of
the atonement, pardon was granted to the repentant sinner. Thus in
the work of Christ for our redemption, symbolized by the sanctuary [28]
service, “mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace
have kissed each other.” Psalm 85:10.
No language can describe the glory of the scene presented within
the sanctuary—the gold-plated walls reflecting the light from the
golden candlestick, the brilliant hues of the richly embroidered
curtains with their shining angels, the table, and the altar of incense,
glittering with gold; beyond the second veil the sacred ark, with
its mystic cherubim, and above it the holy Shekinah, the visible
manifestation of Jehovah’s presence; all but a dim reflection of the
glories of the temple of God in heaven, the great center of the work
for man’s redemption.
A period of about half a year was occupied in the building of
the tabernacle. When it was completed, Moses examined all the
work of the builders, comparing it with the pattern shown him in
the mount and the directions he had received from God. “As the
Lord had commanded, even so had they done it: and Moses blessed
them.” With eager interest the multitudes of Israel crowded around to
look upon the sacred structure. While they were contemplating the
scene with reverent satisfaction, the pillar of cloud floated over the
sanctuary and, descending, enveloped it. “And the glory of the Lord
filled the tabernacle.” There was a revealing of the divine majesty,
and for a time even Moses could not enter. With deep emotion the
people beheld the token that the work of their hands was accepted.
There were no loud demonstrations of rejoicing. A solemn awe
rested upon all. But the gladness of their hearts welled up in tears
of joy, and they murmured low, earnest words of gratitude that God
had condescended to abide with them.
The Priests and Their Attire

By divine direction the tribe of Levi was set apart for the service
of the sanctuary. In the earliest times every man was the priest of his
own household. In the days of Abraham the priesthood was regarded
as the birthright of the eldest son. Now, instead of the first-born
[29] of all Israel, the Lord accepted the tribe of Levi for the work of
the sanctuary. By this signal honor He manifested His approval
of their fidelity, both in adhering to His service and in executing
His judgments when Israel apostatized in the worship of the golden
calf. The priesthood, however, was restricted to the family of Aaron.
Aaron and his sons alone were permitted to minister before the Lord;
the rest of the tribe were entrusted with the charge of the tabernacle
and its furniture, and they were to attend upon the priests in their
ministration, but they were not to sacrifice, to bum incense, or to see
the holy things till they were covered.
In accordance with their office, a special dress was appointed for
the priests. “Thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother,
for glory and for beauty,” was the divine direction to Moses. The
robe of the common priest was of white linen, and woven in one
piece. It extended nearly to the feet and was confined about the waist
by a white linen girdle embroidered in blue, purple, and red. A linen
turban, or miter, completed his outer costume. Moses at the burning
bush was directed to put off his sandals, for the ground whereon
he stood was holy. So the priests were not to enter the sanctuary
with shoes upon their feet. Particles of dust cleaving to them would
desecrate the holy place. They were to leave their shoes in the court
before entering the sanctuary, and also to wash both their hands and
their feet before ministering in the tabernacle or at the altar of burnt
offering. Thus was constantly taught the lesson that all defilement
must be put away from those who would approach into the presence
of God.
The garments of the high priest were of costly material and

beautiful workmanship, befitting his exalted station. In addition to
the linen dress of the common priest, he wore a robe of blue, also
woven in one piece. Around the skirt it was ornamented with golden
bells, and pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet. Outside of this
was the ephod, a shorter garment of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and
white. It was confined by a girdle of the same colors, beautifully
wrought. The ephod was sleeveless, and on its gold-embroidered [30]
shoulder pieces were set two onyx stones, bearing the names of the
twelve tribes of Israel.
Over the ephod was the breastplate, the most sacred of the
priestly vestments. This was of the same material as the ephod.
It was in the form of a square, measuring a span, and was suspended
from the shoulders by a cord of blue from golden rings. The border
was formed of a variety of precious stones, the same that form the
twelve foundations of the City of God. Within the border were
twelve stones set in gold, arranged in rows of four, and, like those
in the shoulder pieces, engraved with the names of the tribes. The
Lord’s direction was, “Aaron shall bear the names of the children of
Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth
in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the Lord continually.”
Exodus 28:29. So Christ, the great High Priest, pleading His blood
before the Father in the sinner’s behalf, bears upon His heart the
name of every repentant, believing soul. Says the psalmist, “I am
poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me.” Psalm 40:17.
The Urim and Thummim

At the right and left of the breastplate were two large stones of
great brilliancy. These were known as the Urim and Thummim.
By them the will of God was made known through the high priest.
When questions were brought for decision before the Lord, a halo
of light encircling the precious stone at the right was a token of the
divine consent or approval, while a cloud shadowing the stone at the
left was an evidence of denial or disapprobation.
The miter of the high priest consisted of the white linen turban,
having attached to it by a lace of blue, a gold plate bearing the
inscription, “Holiness of Jehovah.” Everything connected with the
apparel and deportment of the priests was to be such as to impress

the beholder with a sense of the holiness of God, the sacredness of
His worship, and the purity required of those who came into His
[31] presence.
The Services of the Sanctuary*

Not only the sanctuary itself, but the ministration of the priests,
was to “serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things.”
Hebrews 8:5. Thus it was of great importance; and the Lord, through
Moses, gave the most definite and explicit instruction concerning
every point of this typical service. The ministration of the sanctuary
consisted of two divisions, a daily and a yearly service. The daily
service was performed at the altar of burnt offering in the court of
the tabernacle and in the holy place; while the yearly service was in
the most holy.
No mortal eye but that of the high priest was to look upon the
inner apartment of the sanctuary. Only once a year could the priest
enter there, and that after the most careful and solemn preparation.
With trembling he went in before God, and the people in reverent
silence awaited his return, their hearts uplifted in earnest prayer for
the divine blessing. Before the mercy seat the high priest made the
atonement for Israel; and in the cloud of glory, God met with him.
His stay here beyond the accustomed time filled them with fear, lest
because of their sins or his own he had been slain by the glory of the
Lord.
The daily service consisted of the morning and evening burnt
offering, the offering of sweet incense on the golden altar, and the
special offerings for individual sins. And there were also offerings
for sabbaths, new moons, and special feasts.
Every morning and evening a lamb of a year old was burned
upon the altar, with its appropriate meat offering, thus symbolizing
the daily consecration of the nation to Jehovah, and their constant
dependence upon the atoning blood of Christ. God expressly directed
* Note:
“After The Completion Of The Tabernacle He [God] Communicated With
Moses From The Cloud Of Glory Above The Mercy Seat, And Gave Him Full Directions
Concerning The System Of Offerings And The Forms Of Worship To Be Maintained In
The Sanctuary.”—Patriarchs And Prophets, 364, 365.
that every offering presented for the service of the sanctuary should
be “without blemish.” Exodus 12:5. The priests were to examine
all animals brought as a sacrifice, and were to reject every one in [32]
which a defect was discovered. Only an offering “without blemish”
could be a symbol of His perfect purity who was to offer Himself
as “a lamb without blemish and without spot.” 1 Peter 1:19. The
apostle Paul points to these sacrifices as an illustration of what
the followers of Christ are to become. He says, “I beseech you
therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your
bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your
reasonable service.” Romans 12:1. We are to give ourselves to the
service of God, and we should seek to make the offering as nearly
perfect as possible. God will not be pleased with anything less than
the best we can offer. Those who love Him with all the heart, will
desire to give Him the best service of the life, and they will be
constantly seeking to bring every power of their being into harmony
with the laws that will promote their ability to do His will.
In the offering of incense the priest was brought more directly
into the presence of God than in any other act of the daily minis-
tration, As the inner veil of the sanctuary did not extend to the top
of the building, the glory of God, which was manifested above the
mercy seat, was partially visible from the first apartment. When the
priest offered incense before the Lord, he looked toward the ark; and
as the cloud of incense arose, the divine glory descended upon the
mercy seat and filled the most holy place, and often so filled both
apartments that the priest was obliged to retire to the door of the
tabernacle. As in that typical service the priest looked by faith to the
mercy seat which he could not see, so the people of God are now to
direct their prayers to Christ, their great High Priest, who, unseen
by human vision, is pleading in their behalf in the sanctuary above.
The incense, ascending with the prayers of Israel, represents the
merits and intercession of Christ, His perfect righteousness, which
through faith is imputed to His people, and which can alone make
the worship of sinful beings acceptable to God. Before the veil of
the most holy place was an altar of perpetual intercession, before
the holy, an altar of continual atonement. By blood and by incense [33]
God was to be approached—symbols pointing to the great Mediator,
through whom sinners may approach Jehovah, and through whom
alone mercy and salvation can be granted to the repentant, believing

soul.
As the priests morning and evening entered the holy place at
the time of incense, the daily sacrifice was ready to be offered upon
the altar in the court without. This was a time of intense interest to
the worshipers who assembled at the tabernacle. Before entering
into the presence of God through the ministration of the priest, they
were to engage in earnest searching of heart and confession of sin.
They united in silent prayer, with their faces toward the holy place.
Thus their petitions ascended with the cloud of incense, while faith
laid hold upon the merits of the promised Saviour prefigured by
the atoning sacrifice. The hours appointed for the morning and
the evening sacrifice were regarded as sacred, and they came to be
observed as the set time for worship throughout the Jewish nation.
And when in later times the Jews were scattered as captives in
distant lands, they still at the appointed hour turned their faces toward
Jerusalem and offered up their petitions to the God of Israel. In this
custom Christians have an example for morning and evening prayer.
While God condemns a mere round of ceremonies, without the spirit
of worship, He looks with great pleasure upon those who love Him,
bowing morning and evening to seek pardon for sins committed and
to present their requests for needed blessings.
The showbread was kept ever before the Lord as a perpetual
offering. Thus it was a part of the daily sacrifice. It was called
showbread, or “bread of the presence,” because it was ever before
the face of the Lord. It was an acknowledgment of man’s dependence
upon God for both temporal and spiritual food, and that it is received
only through the mediation of Christ. God had fed Israel in the
wilderness with bread from heaven, and they were still dependent
upon His bounty, both for temporal food and spiritual blessings.
Both the manna and the showbread pointed to Christ, the living
[34] Bread, who is ever in the presence of God for us. He Himself said,
“I am the living Bread which came down from heaven.” John 6:48-
51. Frankincense was placed upon the loaves. When the bread
was removed every Sabbath, to be replaced by fresh loaves, the
frankincense was burned upon the altar as a memorial before God.
The most important part of the daily ministration was the service
performed in behalf of individuals. The repentant sinner brought
his offering to the door of the tabernacle, and, placing his hand
upon the victim’s head, confessed his sins, thus in figure transferring
them from himself to the innocent sacrifice. By his own hand the
animal was then slain, and the blood was carried by the priest into
the holy place and sprinkled before the veil, behind which was the
ark containing the law that the sinner had transgressed. By this
ceremony the sin was, through the blood, transferred in figure to
the sanctuary. In some cases the blood was not taken into the holy
place; but the flesh was then to be eaten by the priest, as Moses
directed the sons of Aaron, saying, “God hath given it you to bear
the iniquity of the congregation.” Leviticus 10:17.* Both ceremonies
alike symbolized the transfer of the sin from the penitent to the
sanctuary.
Such was the work that went on day by day throughout the year.
The sins of Israel being thus transferred to the sanctuary, the holy
places were defiled, and a special work became necessary for the [35]
removal of the sins. God commanded that an atonement be made
for each of the sacred apartments, as for the altar, to “cleanse it, and
hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.” Leviticus
16:19.
* NOTE: When a sin offering was presented for a priest or for the whole congregation,
the blood was carried into the holy place and sprinkled before the veil and placed upon
the horns of the golden altar. The fat was consumed upon the altar of burnt offering in the
court, but the body of the victim was burned without the camp. See Leviticus 4:1-21.
When, however, the offering was for a ruler or for one of the people, the blood was not
taken into the holy place, but the flesh was to be eaten by the priest, as the Lord directed
Moses. See Leviticus 6:26; 4:22-35.
Thus, as the author describes elsewhere: “The sins of the people were transferred in
figure to the officiating priest, who was a mediator for the people. The priest could not
himself become an offering for sin, and make an atonement with his life, for he was also
a sinner. Therefore, instead of suffering death himself, he killed a lamb without blemish;
the penalty of sin was transferred to the innocent beast, which thus became his immediate
substitute, and typified the perfect offering of Jesus Christ. Through the blood of this
victim, man looked forward by faith to the blood of Christ which would atone for the sins
of the world.”—Selected Messages, 1:230.
The Day of Atonement

Once a year, on the great Day of Atonement, the priest entered
the most holy place for the cleansing of the sanctuary. The work
there performed completed the yearly round of ministration.
On the Day of Atonement two kids of the goats were brought
to the door of the tabernacle, and lots were cast upon them, “one
lot for the Lord, and the other lot for the scapegoat.” The goat upon
which the first lot fell was to be slain as a sin offering for the people.
And the priest was to bring his blood within the veil, and sprinkle
it upon the mercy seat. “And he shall make an atonement for the
holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and
because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do
for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them
in the midst of their uncleanness.”
“And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live
goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel,
and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the
head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit
man into the wilderness: and the goat shall bear upon him all their
iniquities unto a land not inhabited.” Not until the goat had been thus
sent away did the people regard themselves as freed from the burden
of their sins. Every man was to afflict his soul while the work of
atonement was going forward. All business was laid aside, and the
whole congregation of Israel spent the day in solemn humiliation
before God, with prayer, fasting, and deep searching of heart.
Important truths concerning the atonement were taught the peo-
[36] ple by this yearly service. In the sin offerings presented during
the year, a substitute had been accepted in the sinner’s stead; but
the blood of the victim had not made full atonement for the sin. It
had only provided a means by which the sin was transferred to the
sanctuary. By the offering of blood, the sinner acknowledged the
authority of the law, confessed the guilt of his transgression, and
expressed his faith in Him who was to take away the sin of the world;
but he was not entirely released from the condemnation of the law.
On the Day of Atonement the high priest, having taken an offering
for the congregation, went into the most holy place with the blood
and sprinkled it upon the mercy seat, above the tables of the law.
Thus the claims of the law, which demanded the life of the sinner,
were satisfied. Then in his character of mediator the priest took the
sins upon himself, and, leaving the sanctuary, he bore with him the
burden of Israel’s guilt. At the door of the tabernacle he laid his
hands upon the head of the scapegoat and confessed over him “all the
iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all
their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat.” And as the goat
bearing these sins was sent away, they were, with him, regarded as
forever separated from the people. Such was the service performed
“unto the example and shadow of heavenly things.” Hebrews 8:5.
A Figure of Things in the Heavens

As has been stated, the earthly sanctuary was built by Moses
according to the pattern shown him in the mount. It was “a figure
for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacri-
fices;” its two holy places were “patterns of things in the heavens;”
Christ, our great High Priest, is “a minister of the sanctuary, and of
the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.” Hebrews
9:9, 23; 8:2. As in vision the apostle John was granted a view of
the temple of God in heaven, he beheld there “seven lamps of fire
burning before the throne.” He saw an angel “having a golden censer;
and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it
with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before [37]
the throne.” Revelation 4:5; 8:3. Here the prophet was permitted to
behold the first apartment of the sanctuary in heaven; and he saw
there the “seven lamps of fire” and the “golden altar” represented by
the golden candlestick and the altar of incense in the sanctuary on
earth. Again, “the temple of God was opened” (Revelation 11:19),
and he looked within the inner veil, upon the holy of holies. Here he
beheld “the ark of His testament” (Revelation 11:19), represented
by the sacred chest constructed by Moses to contain the law of God.
Moses made the earthly sanctuary, “according to the fashion that
he had seen.” Paul declares that “the tabernacle, and all the vessels
of the ministry,” when completed, were “the patterns of things in the
heavens.” Acts 7:44; Hebrews 9:21, 23. And John says that he saw
the sanctuary in heaven. That sanctuary, in which Jesus ministers
in our behalf, is the great original, of which the sanctuary built by

Moses was a copy.
The heavenly temple, the abiding place of the King of kings,
where “thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times
ten thousand stood before Him” (Daniel 7:10), that temple filled
with the glory of the eternal throne, where seraphim, its shining
guardians, veil their faces in adoration—no earthly structure could
represent its vastness and its glory. Yet important truths concerning
the heavenly sanctuary and the great work there carried forward for
man’s redemption were to be taught by the earthly sanctuary and its
services.
After His ascension, our Saviour was to begin His work as our
High Priest. Says Paul, “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.” Hebrews 9:24.
As Christ’s ministration was to consist of two great divisions, each
occupying a period of time and having a distinctive place in the
heavenly sanctuary, so the typical ministration consisted of two
divisions, the daily and the yearly service, and to each a department
[38] of the tabernacle was devoted.
As Christ at His ascension appeared in the presence of God to
plead His blood in behalf of penitent believers, so the priest in the
daily ministration sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice in the holy
place in the sinner’s behalf.
The blood of Christ, while it was to release the repentant sinner
from the condemnation of the law, was not to cancel the sin; it would
stand on record in the sanctuary until the final atonement; so in the
type the blood of the sin offering removed the sin from the penitent,
but it rested in the sanctuary until the Day of Atonement.
Cleansed From the Record of Sin

In the great day of final award, the dead are to be “judged out
of those things which were written in the books, according to their
works.” Revelation 20:12. Then by virtue of the atoning blood of
Christ, the sins of all the truly penitent will be blotted from the
books of heaven. Thus the sanctuary will be freed, or cleansed,
from the record of sin. In the type, this great work of atonement,
or blotting out of sins, was represented by the services of the Day

of Atonement—the cleansing of the earthly sanctuary, which was
accomplished by the removal, by virtue of the blood of the sin
offering, of the sins by which it had been polluted.
As in the final atonement the sins of the truly penitent are to
be blotted from the records of heaven, no more to be remembered
or come into mind, so in the type they were borne away into the
wilderness, forever separated from the congregation.
Since Satan is the originator of sin, the direct instigator of all
the sins that caused the death of the Son of God, justice demands
that Satan shall suffer the final punishment. Christ’s work for the
redemption of men and the purification of the universe from sin will
be closed by the removal of sin from the heavenly sanctuary and the
placing of these sins upon Satan, who will bear the final penalty. So
in the typical service, the yearly round of ministration closed with
the purification of the sanctuary, and the confessing of the sins on
the head of the scapegoat. [39]
Thus in the ministration of the tabernacle, and of the temple that
afterward took its place, the people were taught each day the great
truths relative to Christ’s death and ministration, and once each year
their minds were carried forward to the closing events of the great
controversy between Christ and Satan, the final purification of the
universe from sin and sinners.—Patriarchs and Prophets, 343-358.
Study Questions
1. What were the “first requisites” for preparing the sanctuary in
the wilderness? (23)
2. What formed the basis for the plan for this sanctuary? How
was it obtained? (23)
3. Is there significance to incense fragrance diffusing throughout
the sanctuary and “far around the tabernacle”? (26, 27, 32, 33)
4. What was the manifestation of the divine Presence, and where
did it appear? (27)
5. The law and the mercy seat were both in the most holy place.
Why is this so? (27)
6. Why was the breastplate the most sacred of the priestly vest-
ments? (30)
7. What three things were to be impressed upon Israel by the

apparel and deportment of the priests? (30)
8. Why was the instruction on every part of the sanctuary services
so explicit and definite? (30, 31)
9. How was the fact that the animal sacrifices were “without
blemish” of double significance? (31, 32)
10. The offering of incense and blood was simultaneous. Why
was this so? (32, 33)
11. In what two ways was sin transferred from the penitent to
the sanctuary? (34)
12. When and how was the sanctuary cleansed from the sins of
the people? (35, 36)
13. What objects did John see as in vision he viewed the first and
second apartments of the heavenly sanctuary? What of its vastness
and glory? (36)
14. How are the daily and yearly services of the sanctuary
connected to each other? Apply this to Christ’s ministry as our High
Priest and the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary from the record
[40] of sin. (37, 38)
The Gospel in Type and Antitype*
The long-cherished plan of David to erect a temple to the Lord,

Solomon wisely carried out. For seven years Jerusalem was filled
with busy workers engaged in leveling the chosen site, in building
vast retaining walls, in laying broad foundations,—“great stones,
costly stones, and hewed stones,”—in shaping the heavy timbers
brought from the Lebanon forests, and in erecting the magnificent
sanctuary. 1 Kings 5:17.
Simultaneously with the preparation of wood and stone, to which
task many thousands were bending their energies, the manufacture
of the furnishings for the temple was steadily progressing under
the leadership of Hiram of Tyre, “a cunning man, endued with
understanding,...skillful to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in
iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and
in crimson.” 2 Chronicles 2:13, 14.
Perfect According to the Patterns

Thus as the building on Mount Moriah was noiselessly upreared
with “stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there
was neither hammer nor ax nor any tool of iron heard in the house,
while it was in building,” the beautiful fittings were perfected accord- [41]
ing to the patterns committed by David to his son, “all the vessels
that were for the house of God.” 1 Kings 6:7; 2 Chronicles 4:19.
These included the altar of incense, the table of shewbread, the can-
dlestick and lamps, with the vessels and instruments connected with
the ministrations of the priests in the holy place, all “of gold, and that
perfect gold.” 2 Chronicles 4:21. The brazen furniture,—the altar of
burnt offering, the great laver supported by twelve oxen, the lavers
of smaller size, with many other vessels,—“in the plain of Jordan
*A chapter compiled from several E. G. White sources inserted here to provide a
bridge between the typical sanctuary service on earth and the antitypical service in the
heavenly sanctuary.
41
did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and
Zeredathah.” 2 Chronicles 4:17. These furnishings were provided in
abundance, that there should be no lack.
A Temple of Unrivaled Splendor

Of surpassing beauty and unrivaled splendor was the palatial
building which Solomon and his associates erected for God and His
worship. Garnished with precious stones, surrounded by spacious
courts with magnificent approaches, and lined with carved cedar and
burnished gold, the temple structure, with its broidered hangings and
rich furnishings, was a fit emblem of the living church of God on
earth, which through the ages has been building in accordance with
the divine pattern, with materials that have been likened to “gold,
silver, precious stones,” “polished after the similitude of a palace.” 1
Corinthians 3:12; Psalm 144:12.1
A most splendid sanctuary had been made, according to the
pattern showed to Moses in the mount, and afterward presented by
the Lord to David. In addition to the cherubim on the top of the ark,
Solomon made two other angels of larger size, standing at each end
of the ark, representing the heavenly angels guarding the law of God.
It is impossible to describe the beauty and splendor of this sanctuary.
Into this place the sacred ark was borne with solemn reverence by
the priests, and set in its place beneath the wings of the two stately
[42] cherubim that stood upon the floor.
God Tokens His Acceptance

The sacred choir lifted their voices in praise to God, and the
melody of their voices was accompanied by all kinds of musical
instruments. And while the courts of the temple resounded with
praise, the cloud of God’s glory took possession of the house, as it
had formerly filled the wilderness tabernacle. “And it came to pass,
when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud
filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to
minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled
the house of the Lord.” 1 Kings 8:10, 11.
1 Prophets and Kings, 35, 36.
Gospel in Type and Antitype 43
Like the earthly sanctuary built by Moses according to the pattern

shown him in the mount, Solomon’s temple, with all its services,
was “a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both
gifts and sacrifices;” its two holy places were “patterns of things
in the heavens;” Christ, our great High Priest, is “a minister of the
sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and
not man.” [Hebrews 8:2.] 2
The whole system of types and symbols was a compacted
prophecy of the gospel, a presentation in which were bound up
the promises of redemption. 3
The Antitype Lost Sight Of

The Lord Jesus was the foundation of the whole Jewish econ-
omy. Its imposing services were of divine appointment. They were
designed to teach the people that at the time appointed One would
come to whom those ceremonies pointed. 4
As they departed from God, the Jews in a great degree lost sight
of the teaching of the ritual service. That service had been instituted
by Christ Himself. In every part it was a symbol of Him; and it
had been full of vitality and spiritual beauty. But the Jews lost the
spiritual life from their ceremonies, and clung to the dead forms.
They trusted to the sacrifices and ordinances themselves, instead
of resting upon Him to whom they pointed. In order to supply the
place of that which they had lost, the priests and rabbis multiplied [43]
requirements of their own; and the more rigid they grew, the less of
the love of God was manifested. 5
The Temple Services Lost Their Significance

Christ was the foundation and life of the temple. Its services
were typical of the sacrifice of the Son of God. The priesthood was
established to represent the mediatorial character and work of Christ.
The entire plan of sacrificial worship was a foreshadowing of the
Saviours death to redeem the world. There would be no efficacy in
2 The Review and Herald, November 9, 1905.
3 The Acts of the Apostles, 14.
4 Christ’s Object Lessons, 34.
5 The Desire of Ages, 29.
these offerings when the great event toward which they had pointed
for ages was consummated.
Since the whole ritual economy was symbolical of Christ, it had
no value apart from Him. When the Jews sealed their rejection of
Christ by delivering Him to death, they rejected all that gave signif-
icance to the temple and its services. Its sacredness had departed.
It was doomed to destruction. From that day sacrificial offerings
and the service connected with them were meaningless. Like the
offering of Cain, they did not express faith in the Saviour. In putting
Christ to death, the Jews virtually destroyed their temple. When
Christ was crucified, the inner veil of the temple was rent in twain
from top to bottom, signifying that the great final sacrifice had been
made, and that the system of sacrificial offerings was forever at an
end.
“In three days I will raise it up.” In the Saviour’s death the
powers of darkness seemed to prevail, and they exulted in their
victory. But from the rent sepulcher of Joseph, Jesus came forth a
conqueror. “Having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a
show of them openly, triumphing over them.” Colossians 2:15. By
virtue of His death and resurrection He became the minister of the
“true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.” Hebrews
8:2. Men reared the Jewish tabernacle; men builded the Jewish
temple; but the sanctuary above, of which the earthly was a type,
was built by no human architect. “Behold the Man whose name is
[44] The Branch;...He shall build the temple of the Lord; and He shall
bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon His throne; and He shall
be a priest upon His throne.” Zechariah 6:12, 13.
Eyes Turned to the True Sacrifice

The sacrificial service that had pointed to Christ passed away;
but the eyes of men were turned to the true sacrifice for the sins of
the world. The earthly priesthood ceased; but we look to Jesus, the
minister of the new covenant, and “to the blood of sprinkling, that
speaketh better things than that of Abel.” “The way into the holiest
of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was
yet standing:...but Christ being come an high priest of good things
to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with
Gospel in Type and Antitype 45
hands, ... by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place,
having obtained eternal redemption for us.” Hebrews 12:24; 9:8-12.
“Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that
come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession
for them.” Hebrews 7:25. Though the ministration was to be removed
from the earthly to the heavenly temple; though the sanctuary and
our great high priest would be invisible to human sight, yet the
disciples were to suffer no loss thereby. They would realize no break
in their communion, and no diminution of power because of the
Saviour’s absence. While Jesus ministers in the sanctuary above, He
is still by His Spirit the minister of the church on earth. 6
Our High Priest, Our Advocate

“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; nor yet that He should offer
Himself often as the high priest entereth into the holy place every
year with the blood of others; for then must He often have suffered
since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the
world hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.” [45]
[Hebrews 9:24-26.] “This man, after He had offered one sacrifice for
sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God.” [Hebrews 10:12.]
Christ entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal
redemption for us. “Wherefore He is able also to save them to the
uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make
intercession for them.” [Hebrews 7:25.] He has qualified Himself
to be not only man’s representative, but his advocate, so that every
soul, if he will, may say, I have a Friend at court, a High Priest who
is touched with the feeling of my infirmities. 7
The sanctuary in heaven is the very center of Christ’s work in
behalf of men. It concerns every soul living upon the earth. It opens
to view the plan of redemption, bringing us down to the very close
of time, and revealing the triumphant issue of the contest between
righteousness and sin. It is of the utmost importance that all should
6 The Desire of Ages, 165, 166.
7 The Review and Herald, June 12, 1900.
thoroughly investigate these subjects, and be able to give to every

[46] one that asketh them a reason for the hope that is in them. 8
Study Questions
1. In what unique way was Solomon’s temple constructed? (40)
2. Of what was the temple an emblem? (41)
3. How did God show His approval of the temple when it was
completed? (42)
4. Around whom was the entire Jewish economy formed? (42)
5. When the Jews lost the spiritual life of their ceremonies, what
did they do? (42, 43)
6. When and how did the temple lose its significance and sacred-
ness? (43)
7. To what point and to whom was man then to look for a
ministry significant to his salvation? (44)
8. Jesus is man’s “representative” as well as his “advocate.”
[47] What is the difference between these two functions? (44, 45)
8 The Review and Herald, November 9, 1905.

The Judgment Message Stirs America
An upright, honest-hearted farmer, who had been led to doubt

the divine authority of the Scriptures, yet who sincerely desired to
know the truth, was the man specially chosen of God to lead out
in the proclamation of Christ’s second coming. Like many other
reformers, William Miller had in early life battled with poverty and
had thus learned the great lessons of energy and self-denial. The
members of the family from which he sprang were characterized by
an independent, liberty-loving spirit, by capability of endurance, and
ardent patriotism—traits which were also prominent in his character.
His father was a captain in the army of the Revolution, and to the
sacrifices which he made in the struggles and sufferings of that
stormy period may be traced the straitened circumstances of Miller’s
early life.
He had a sound physical constitution, and even in childhood
gave evidence of more than ordinary intellectual strength. As he
grew older, this became more marked. His mind was active and well
developed, and he had a keen thirst for knowledge. Though he did
not enjoy the advantages of a collegiate education, his love of study
and a habit of careful thought and close criticism rendered him a
man of sound judgment and comprehensive views. He possessed
an irreproachable moral character and an enviable reputation, being
generally esteemed for integrity, thrift, and benevolence. By dint
of energy and application he early acquired a competence, though
his habits of study were still maintained. He filled various civil and
military offices with credit, and the avenues to wealth and honor [48]
seemed wide open to him.
His mother was a woman of sterling piety, and in childhood, he
had been subject to religious impressions. In early manhood, how-
ever, he was thrown into the society of deists, whose influence was
the stronger from the fact that they were mostly good citizens and
men of humane and benevolent disposition. Living, as they did, in
the midst of Christian institutions, their characters had been to some
47
extent molded by their surroundings. For the excellencies which

won them respect and confidence they were indebted to the Bible;
and yet these good gifts were so perverted as to exert an influence
against the word of God. By association with these men, Miller was
led to adopt their sentiments. The current interpretations of Scripture
presented difficulties which seemed to him insurmountable; yet his
new belief, while setting aside the Bible, offered nothing better to
take its place, and he remained far from satisfied. He continued to
hold these views, however, for about twelve years. But at the age
of thirty-four the Holy Spirit impressed his heart with a sense of his
condition as a sinner. He found in his former belief no assurance of
happiness beyond the grave. The future was dark and gloomy....
In this state he continued for some months. “Suddenly,” he says,
“the character of a Saviour was vividly impressed upon my mind.
It seemed that there might be a being so good and compassionate
as to himself atone for our transgressions, and thereby save us from
suffering the penalty of sin. I immediately felt how lovely such a
being must be, and imagined that I could cast myself into the arms
of, and trust in the mercy of, such a one. But the question arose,
How can it be proved that such a being does exist? Aside from the
Bible, I found that I could get no evidence of the existence of such a
Saviour, or even of a future state. ...
“I saw that the Bible did bring to view just such a Saviour as I
needed; and I was perplexed to find how an uninspired book should
develop principles so perfectly adapted to the wants of a fallen world.
[49] I was constrained to admit that the Scriptures must be a revelation
from God. They became my delight; and in Jesus I found a friend.
The Saviour became to me the chiefest among ten thousand; and the
Scriptures, which before were dark and contradictory, now became
the lamp to my feet and light to my path. My mind became settled
and satisfied. I found the Lord God to be a Rock in the midst of
the ocean of life. The Bible now became my chief study, and I can
truly say, I searched it with great delight. I found the half was never
told me. I wondered why I had not seen its beauty and glory before,
and marveled that I could have ever rejected it. I found everything
revealed that my heart could desire, and a remedy for every disease
of the soul. I lost all taste for other reading, and applied my heart to
Judgment Message Stirs America 49
get wisdom from God.”—S. Bliss, Memoirs of Wm. Miller, pages

65-67.
Miller publicly professed his faith in the religion which he had
despised. But his infidel associates were not slow to bring forward all
those arguments which he himself had often urged against the divine
authority of the Scriptures. He was not then prepared to answer
them; but he reasoned that if the Bible is a revelation from God, it
must be consistent with itself; and that as it was given for man’s
instruction, it must be adapted to his understanding. He determined
to study the Scriptures for himself, and ascertain if every apparent
contradiction could not be harmonized.
Endeavoring to lay aside all preconceived opinions, and dispens-
ing with commentaries, he compared scripture with scripture by the
aid of the marginal references and the concordance. He pursued his
study in a regular and methodical manner; beginning with Genesis,
and reading verse by verse, he proceeded no faster than the meaning
of the several passages so unfolded as to leave him free from all em-
barrassment. When he found anything obscure, it was his custom to
compare it with every other text which seemed to have any reference
to the matter under consideration. Every word was permitted to have
its proper bearing upon the subject of the text, and if his view of it
harmonized with every collateral passage, it ceased to be a difficulty. [50]
Thus whenever he met with a passage hard to be understood he
found an explanation in some other portion of the Scriptures. As
he studied with earnest prayer for divine enlightenment, that which
had before appeared dark to his understanding was made clear. He
experienced the truth of the psalmist’s words: “The entrance of Thy
words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.” Psalm
119:130.
The Study of the Prophecies

With intense interest he studied the books of Daniel and the
Revelation, employing the same principles of interpretation as in
the other scriptures, and found, to his great joy, that the prophetic
symbols could be understood. He saw that the prophecies, so far
as they had been fulfilled, had been fulfilled literally; that all the
various figures, metaphors, parables, similitudes, etc., were either
explained in their immediate connection, or the terms in which they

were expressed were defined in other scriptures, and when thus
explained, were to be literally understood. “I was thus satisfied,”
he says, “that the Bible is a system of revealed truths, so clearly
and simply given that the wayfaring man, though a fool, need not
err therein.”—Bliss, page 70. Link after link of the chain of truth
rewarded his efforts, as step by step he traced down the great lines
of prophecy. Angels of heaven were guiding his mind and opening
the Scriptures to his understanding.
Taking the manner in which the prophecies had been fulfilled in
the past as a criterion by which to judge of the fulfillment of those
which were still future, he became satisfied that the popular view of
the spiritual reign of Christ—a temporal millennium before the end
of the world—was not sustained by the word of God. This doctrine,
pointing to a thousand years of righteousness and peace before the
personal coming of the Lord, put far off the terrors of the day of
God. But, pleasing though it may be, it is contrary to the teachings
[51] of Christ and His apostles, who declared that the wheat and the tares
are to grow together until the harvest, the end of the world; that “evil
men and seducers shall wax worse and worse;” that “in the last days
perilous times shall come;” and that the kingdom of darkness shall
continue until the advent of the Lord and shall be consumed with
the spirit of His mouth and be destroyed with the brightness of His
coming. Matthew 13:30, 38-41; 2 Timothy 3:13, 1; 2 Thessalonians
2:8.
The doctrine of the world’s conversion and the spiritual reign
of Christ was not held by the apostolic church. It was not generally
accepted by Christians until about the beginning of the eighteenth
century. Like every other error, its results were evil. It taught men to
look far in the future for the coming of the Lord and prevented them
from giving heed to the signs heralding His approach. It induced
a feeling of confidence and security that was not well founded and
led many to neglect the preparation necessary in order to meet their
Lord.
Miller found the literal, personal coming of Christ to be plainly
taught in the Scriptures. Says Paul: “The Lord Himself shall descend
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with
the trump of God.” 2 Thessalonians 4:16. And the Saviour declares:
“They shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with
power and great glory.” “For as the lightning cometh out of the east,
and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son
of man be.” Matthew 24:30, 27. He is to be accompanied by all the
hosts of heaven. “The Son of man shall come in His glory, and all
the holy angels with Him.” Matthew 25:31. “And He shall send His
angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together
His elect.” Matthew 24:31.
At His coming the righteous dead will be raised, and the righ-
teous living will be changed. “We shall not all sleep,” says Paul,
“but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,
at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be
raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible [52]
must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”
1 Corinthians 15:51-53. And in his letter to the Thessalonians, after
describing the coming of the Lord, he says: “The dead in Christ
shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught
up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and
so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17.
Not until the personal advent of Christ can His people receive
the kingdom. The Saviour said: “When the Son of man shall come
in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit
upon the throne of His glory: and before Him shall be gathered all
nations: and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd
divideth his sheep from the goats: and He shall set the sheep on
His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say
unto them on His right hand, Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit
the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
Matthew 25:31-34. We have seen by the scriptures just given that
when the Son of man comes, the dead are raised incorruptible and
the living are changed. By this great change they are prepared to
receive the kingdom; for Paul says: “Flesh and blood cannot inherit
the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.” 1
Corinthians 15:50. Man in his present state is mortal, corruptible;
but the kingdom of God will be incorruptible, enduring forever.
Therefore man in his present state cannot enter into the kingdom
of God. But when Jesus comes, He confers immortality upon His
people; and then He calls them to inherit the kingdom of which they
have hitherto been only heirs.
These and other scriptures clearly proved to Miller’s mind that
the events which were generally expected to take place before the
coming of Christ, such as the universal reign of peace and the setting
up of the kingdom of God upon the earth, were to be subsequent to
the second advent. Furthermore, all the signs of the times and the
condition of the world corresponded to the prophetic description of
[53] the last days. He was forced to the conclusion, from the study of
Scripture alone, that the period allotted for the continuance of the
earth in its present state was about to close.
The Impact of Bible Chronology

“Another kind of evidence that vitally affected my mind,” he
says, “was the chronology of the Scriptures. ... I found that pre-
dicted events, which had been fulfilled in the past, often occurred
within a given time. The one hundred and twenty years to the flood
(Genesis 6:3); the seven days that were to precede it, with forty days
of predicted rain (Genesis 7:4); the four hundred years of the sojourn
of Abraham’s seed (Genesis 15:13); the three days of the butlers and
baker’s dreams (Genesis 40:12-20); the seven years of Pharaoh’s
(Genesis 41:28-54); the forty years in the wilderness (Numbers
14:34); the three and a half years of famine (1 Kings 17:1) [see
Luke 4:25;]...the seventy years’ captivity (Jeremiah 25:11); Neb-
uchadnezzar’s seven times (Daniel 4:13-16); and the seven weeks,
threescore and two weeks, and the one week, making seventy weeks,
determined upon the Jews (Daniel 9:24-27),—the events limited
by these times were all once only a matter of prophecy, and were
fulfilled in accordance with the predictions.”—Bliss, pages 74, 75.
When, therefore, he found, in his study of the Bible, various
chronological periods that, according to his understanding of them,
extended to the second coming of Christ, he could not but regard
them as the “times before appointed,” which God had revealed unto
His servants. “The secret things,” says Moses, “belong unto the
Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us
and to our children forever;” and the Lord declares by the prophet
Amos, that He “will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto
His servants the prophets.” Deuteronomy 29:29; Amos 3:7. The

students of God’s word may, then, confidently expect to find the
most stupendous event to take place in human history clearly pointed
out in the Scriptures of truth. [54]
“As I was fully convinced,” says Miller, “that all Scripture given
by inspiration of God is profitable (2 Timothy 3:16); that it came not
at any time by the will of man, but was written as holy men were
moved by the Holy Ghost (2 Peter 1:21), and was written ‘for our
learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures
might have hope’ (Romans 15:4), I could but regard the chronolog-
ical portions of the Bible as being as much a portion of the word
of God, and as much entitled to our serious consideration, as any
other portion of the Scriptures. I therefore felt that in endeavoring
to comprehend what God had in His mercy seen fit to reveal to us, I
had no right to pass over the prophetic periods.”—Bliss, page 75.
The Prophecy of Daniel 8:14

The prophecy which seemed most clearly to reveal the time of
the second advent was that of Daniel 8:14: “Unto two thousand and
three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” Following
his rule of making Scripture its own interpreter, Miller learned that
a day in symbolic prophecy represents a year (Numbers 14:34;
Ezekiel 4:6); he saw that the period of 2300 prophetic days, or literal
years, would extend far beyond the close of the Jewish dispensation,
hence it could not refer to the sanctuary of that dispensation. Miller
accepted the generally received view that in the Christian age the
earth is the sanctuary, and he therefore understood that the cleansing
of the sanctuary foretold in Daniel 8:14 represented the purification
of the earth by fire at the second coming of Christ. If, then, the
correct starting point could be found for the 2300 days, he concluded
that the time of the second advent could be readily ascertained....
With a new and deeper earnestness, Miller continued the exami-
nation of the prophecies, whole nights as well as days being devoted
to the study of what now appeared of such stupendous importance
and all-absorbing interest. In the eighth chapter of Daniel he could
find no clue to the starting point of the 2300 days; the angel Gabriel, [55]
though commanded to make Daniel understand the vision, gave him
only a partial explanation. As the terrible persecution to befall the

church was unfolded to the prophet’s vision, physical strength gave
way. He could endure no more, and the angel left him for a time.
Daniel “fainted, and was sick certain days.” “And I was astonished
at the vision,” he says, “but none understood it.”
Yet God had bidden His messenger: “Make this man to under-
stand the vision.” That commission must be fulfilled. In obedience
to it, the angel, some time afterward, returned to Daniel, saying: “I
am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding:” “therefore
understand the matter, and consider the vision.” Daniel 8:27, 16;
9:22, 23, 25-27. There was one important point in the vision of
chapter 8 which had been left unexplained, namely, that relating to
time—the period of the 2300 days; therefore the angel, in resuming
his explanation, dwells chiefly upon the subject of time:
“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy
Holy City.... Know therefore and understand, that from the going
forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto
the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two
weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous
times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut
off, but not for Himself.... And He shall confirm the covenant with
many for one week: and in the midst of the week He shall cause the
sacrifice and the oblation to cease.”
The angel had been sent to Daniel for the express purpose of
explaining to him the point which he had failed to understand in the
vision of the eighth chapter, the statement relative to time—“unto
two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be
cleansed.” After bidding Daniel “understand the matter, and consider
the vision,” the very first words of the angel are: “Seventy weeks are
determined upon thy people and upon thy Holy City.” The word here
[56] translated “determined” literally signifies “cut off.” Seventy weeks,
representing 490 years, are declared by the angel to be cut off, as
specially pertaining to the Jews. But from what were they cut off?
As the 2300 days was the only period of time mentioned in chapter
8, it must be the period from which the seventy weeks were cut off;
the seventy weeks must therefore be a part of the 2300 days, and the
two periods must begin together. The seventy weeks were declared
by the angel to date from the going forth of the commandment to
restore and build Jerusalem. If the date of this commandment could

be found, then the starting point for the great period of the 2300
days would be ascertained.
In the seventh chapter of Ezra the decree is found. Verses 12-26.
In its completest form it was issued by Artaxerxes, king of Persia,
457 B.C. But in Ezra 6:14 the house of the Lord at Jerusalem is
said to have been built “according to the commandment [“decree,”
margin] of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.” These
three kings, in originating, reaffirming, and completing the decree,
brought it to the perfection required by the prophecy to mark the
beginning of the 2300 years. Taking 457 B.C., the time when the
decree was completed, as the date of the commandment, every
specification of the prophecy concerning the seventy weeks was
seen to have been fulfilled.
“From the going forth of the commandment to restore and to
build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks,
and threescore and two weeks”—namely, sixty-nine weeks, or 483
years. The decree of Artaxerxes went into effect in the autumn of 457
B.C. From this date, 483 years extend to the autumn of A.D. 27.* At
that time this prophecy was fulfilled. The word “Messiah” signifies [57]
“the Anointed One.” In the autumn of A.D. 27 Christ was baptized
by John and received the anointing of the Spirit. The apostle Peter
testifies that “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost
and with power.” Acts 10:38. And the Saviour Himself declared:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me
to preach the gospel to the poor.” Luke 4:18. After His baptism He
went into Galilee, “preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and
saying, The time is fulfilled.” Mark 1:14, 15.
“And He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week.”
The “week” here brought to view is the last one of the seventy; it
* NOTE: According to Jewish reckoning the fifth month (Ab) of the seventh year
of Artaxerxes’ reign was from July 23 to August 21, 457 B.C. After Ezra’s arrival in
Jerusalem in the autumn of the year, the decree of the king went into effect. For the
certainty of the date 457 B.C. being the seventh year of Artaxerxes, see S. H. Horn and L.
H. Wood, The Chronology of Ezra 7 (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing
Assn., 1953 and 1969); E. G. Kraeling, The Brooklyn Museum Aramaic Papyri (New
Haven or London, 1953), pp. 191-193; The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
(Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Assn., 1954), Vol. 3, pp. 97-110.
is the last seven years of the period allotted especially to the Jews.
During this time, extending from A.D. 27 to A.D. 34, Christ, at
first in person and afterward by His disciples, extended the gospel
invitation especially to the Jews. As the apostles went forth with
the good tidings of the kingdom, the Saviour’s direction was: “Go
not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans
enter ye not: but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
Matthew 10:5, 6.
“In the midst of the week He shall cause the sacrifice and the
oblation to cease.” In A.D. 31, three and a half years after His
baptism, our Lord was crucified. With the great sacrifice offered
upon Calvary, ended that system of offerings which for four thousand
years had pointed forward to the Lamb of God. Type had met
antitype, and all the sacrifices and oblations of the ceremonial system
were there to cease.
The seventy weeks, or 490 years, especially allotted to the Jews,
ended, as we have seen, in A.D. 34. At that time, through the action
of the Jewish Sanhedrin, the nation sealed its rejection of the gospel
by the martyrdom of Stephen and the persecution of the followers
of Christ. Then the message of salvation, no longer restricted to
the chosen people, was given to the world. The disciples, forced
by persecution to flee from Jerusalem, “went everywhere preaching
the word.” “Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached
[58] Christ unto them.” Peter, divinely guided, opened the gospel to the
centurion of Caesarea, the God-fearing Cornelius; and the ardent
Paul, won to the faith of Christ, was commissioned to carry the glad
tidings “far hence unto the Gentiles.” Acts 8:4, 5; 22:21.
Thus far every specification of the prophecies is strikingly ful-
filled, and the beginning of the seventy weeks is fixed beyond ques-
tion at 457 B.C., and their expiration in A.D. 34. From this data
there is no difficulty in finding the termination of the 2300 days. The
seventy weeks—490 days—having been cut off from the 2300, there
were 1810 days remaining. After the end of 490 days, the 1810 days
were still to be fulfilled. From A.D. 34, 1810 years extend to 1844.
Consequently the 2300 days of Daniel 8:14 terminate in 1844. At
the expiration of this great prophetic period, upon the testimony of
the angel of God, “the sanctuary shall be cleansed.” Thus the time
of the cleansing of the sanctuary—which was almost universally
believed to take place at the second advent—was definitely pointed

out.
Miller and his associates at first believed that the 2300 days
would terminate in the spring of 1844, whereas the prophecy points
to the autumn of that year. The misapprehension of this point brought
disappointment and perplexity to those who had fixed upon the
earlier date as the time of the Lord’s coming. But this did not in the
least affect the strength of the argument showing that the 2300 days
terminated in the year 1844, and that the great event represented by
the cleansing of the sanctuary must then take place.
The Duty to Tell Others

Entering upon the study of the Scriptures as he had done, in
order to prove that they were a revelation from God, Miller had not,
at the outset, the slightest expectation of reaching the conclusion
at which he had now arrived.... But the Scripture evidence was too
clear and forcible to be set aside.
He had devoted two years to the study of the Bible, when, in
1818, he reached the solemn conviction that in about twenty-five [59]
years Christ would appear for the redemption of His people. “I need
not speak,” says Miller, “of the joy that filled my heart in view of
the delightful prospect, nor of the ardent longings of my soul for a
participation in the joys of the redeemed. The Bible was now to me a
new book. It was indeed a feast of reason; all that was dark, mystical,
or obscure to me in its teachings, had been dissipated from my mind
before the clear light that now dawned from its sacred pages; and, oh,
how bright and glorious the truth appeared! All the contradictions
and inconsistencies I had before found in the word were gone; and
although there were many portions of which I was not satisfied I
had a full understanding, yet so much light had emanated from it to
the illumination of my before darkened mind, that I felt a delight
in studying the Scripture which I had not before supposed could be
derived from its teachings.”—Bliss, pages 76, 77.
“With the solemn conviction that such momentous events were
predicted in the Scriptures to be fulfilled in so short a space of time,
the question came home to me with mighty power regarding my
duty to the world, in view of the evidence that had affected my own
mind.”—Bliss, page 81. He could not but feel that it was his duty
to impart to others the light which he had received. He expected to
encounter opposition from the ungodly, but was confident that all
Christians would rejoice in the hope of meeting the Saviour whom
they professed to love. His only fear was that in their great joy at
the prospect of glorious deliverance, so soon to be consummated,
many would receive the doctrine without sufficiently examining the
Scriptures in demonstration of its truth. He therefore hesitated to
present it, lest he should be in error and be the means of misleading
others. He was thus led to review the evidences in support of the
conclusions at which he had arrived, and to consider carefully every
difficulty which presented itself to his mind. He found that objections
vanished before the light of God’s words, as mist before the rays
of the sun. Five years spent thus left him fully convinced of the
[60] correctness of his position.
And now the duty of making known to others what he believed
to be so clearly taught in the Scriptures, urged itself with new force
upon him....
He began to present his views in private as he had opportunity,
praying that some minister might feel their force and devote himself
to their promulgation. But he could not banish the conviction that
he had a personal duty to perform in giving the warning. The words
were ever recurring to his mind: “Go and tell it to the world; their
blood will I require at thy hand.” For nine years he waited, the burden
still pressing upon his soul, until in 1831 he for the first time publicly
gave the reasons of his faith.
A Religious Awakening Begins

It was only at the solicitation of his brethren, in whose words
he heard the call of God, that Miller consented to present his views
in public. He was now fifty years of age, unaccustomed to public
speaking, and burdened with a sense of unfitness for the work before
him. But from the first his labors were blessed in a remarkable
manner to the salvation of souls. His first lecture was followed by a
religious awakening in which thirteen entire families, with the ex-
ception of two persons, were converted. He was immediately urged
to speak in other places, and in nearly every place his labor resulted
in a revival of the work of God. Sinners were converted, Christians

were roused to greater consecration, and deists and infidels were led
to acknowledge the truth of the Bible and the Christian religion. The
testimony of those among whom he labored was: “A class of minds
are reached by him not within the influence of other men.”—Bliss,
page 138. His preaching was calculated to arouse the public mind
to the great things of religion and to check the growing worldliness
and sensuality of the age.
In nearly every town there were scores, in some, hundreds,
converted as a result of his preaching. In many places Protestant
churches of nearly all denominations were thrown open to him, and
the invitations to labor usually came from the ministers of the several [61]
congregations. It was his invariable rule not to labor in any place to
which he had not been invited, yet he soon found himself unable to
comply with half the requests that poured in upon him.
Evidences of Divine Blessing

Many who did not accept his views as to the exact time of the sec-
ond advent were convinced of the certainty and nearness of Christ’s
coming and their need of preparation. In some of the large cities his
work produced a marked impression. Liquor dealers abandoned the
traffic and turned their shops into meeting rooms; gambling dens
were broken up; infidels, deists, Universalists, and even the most
abandoned profligates were reformed, some of whom had not en-
tered a house of worship for years. Prayer meetings were established
by the various denominations, in different quarters, at almost ev-
ery hour, businessmen assembling at midday for prayer and praise.
There was no extravagant excitement, but an almost universal solem-
nity on the minds of the people. His work, like that of the early
Reformers, tended rather to convince the understanding and arouse
the conscience than merely to excite the emotions.
In 1833 Miller received a license to preach, from the Baptist
Church, of which he was a member. A large number of the minis-
ters of his denomination also approved his work, and it was with
their formal sanction that he continued his labors. He traveled and
preached unceasingly, though his personal labors were confined
principally to the New England and Middle States. For several years
his expenses were met wholly from his own private purse, and he
never afterward received enough to meet the expense of travel to
the places where he was invited. Thus his public labors, so far from
being a pecuniary benefit, were a heavy tax upon his property, which
gradually diminished during this period of his life. He was the father
of a large family, but as they were all frugal and industrious, his farm
[62] sufficed for their maintenance as well as his own.
The Last of the Signs

In 1833, two years after Miller began to present in public the
evidences of Christ’s soon coming, the last of the signs appeared
which were promised by the Saviour as tokens of His second advent.
Said Jesus: “The stars shall fall from heaven.” Matthew 24:29. And
John in the Revelation declared, as he beheld in vision the scenes that
should herald the day of God: “The stars of heaven fell unto the earth,
even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a
mighty wind.” Revelation 6:13. This prophecy received a striking
and impressive fulfillment in the great meteoric shower of November
13, 1833. That was the most extensive and wonderful display of
falling stars which has ever been recorded; “the whole firmament,
over all the United States, being then, for hours, in fiery commotion!
No celestial phenomenon has ever occurred in this country, since
its first settlement, which was viewed with such intense admiration
by one class in the community, or with so much dread and alarm by
another.” “Its sublimity and awful beauty still linger in many minds....
Never did rain fall much thicker than the meteors fell toward the
earth; east, west, north, and south, it was the same. In a word, the
whole heavens seemed in motion.... The display, as described in
Professor Silliman’s Journal, was seen all over North America....
From two o’clock until broad daylight, the sky being perfectly serene
and cloudless, an incessant play of dazzlingly brilliant luminosities
was kept up in the whole heavens.”—R. M. Devens, American
Progress; or, The Great Events of the Greatest Century, ch. 28, pars.
1-5....
In the New York Journal of Commerce of November 14, 1833,
appeared a long article regarding this wonderful phenomenon, con-
taining this statement: “No philosopher or scholar has told or
recorded an event, I suppose, like that of yesterday morning. A

prophet eighteen hundred years ago foretold it exactly, if we will be
at the trouble of understand stars falling to mean falling stars, ... in
the only sense in which it is possible to be literally true.” [63]
Thus was displayed the last of those signs of His coming, con-
cerning which Jesus bade His disciples: “When ye shall see all these
things, know that it is near, even at the doors.” Matthew 24:33. After
these signs, John beheld, as the great event next impending, the
heavens departing as a scroll, while the earth quaked, mountains and
islands removed out of their places, and the wicked in terror sought
to flee from the presence of the Son of man. Revelation 6:12-17.
Many who witnessed the falling of the stars, looked upon it as a
herald of the coming judgment, “an awful type, a sure forerunner,
a merciful sign, of that great and dreadful day.”—“The Old Coun-
tryman,” in Portland Evening Advertiser, Nov. 26, 1833. Thus the
attention of the people was directed to the fulfillment of prophecy,
and many were led to give heed to the warning of the second ad-
vent....
The Bible and the Bible Only

William Miller possessed strong mental powers, disciplined by
thought and study; and he added to these the wisdom of heaven
by connecting himself with the Source of wisdom. He was a man
of sterling worth, who could not but command respect and esteem
wherever integrity of character and moral excellence were valued.
Uniting true kindness of heart with Christian humility and the power
of self-control, he was attentive and affable to all, ready to listen
to the opinions of others and to weigh their arguments. Without
passion or excitement he tested all theories and doctrines by the
word of God, and his sound reasoning and thorough knowledge of
the Scriptures enabled him to refute error and expose falsehood.
Yet he did not prosecute his work without bitter opposition.
As with earlier Reformers, the truths which he presented were not
received with favor by popular religious teachers. As these could
not maintain their position by the Scriptures, they were driven to
resort to the sayings and doctrines of men, to the traditions of the
Fathers. But the word of God was the only testimony accepted by [64]
the preachers of the advent truth. “The Bible, and the Bible only,”
was their watchword. The lack of Scripture argument on the part of
their opponents was supplied by ridicule and scoffing. Time, means,
and talents were employed in maligning those whose only offense
was that they looked with joy for the return of their Lord and were
striving to live holy lives and to exhort others to prepare for His
appearing....
The instigator of all evil sought not only to counteract the effect
of the advent message, but to destroy the messenger himself. Miller
made a practical application of Scripture truth to the hearts of his
hearers, reproving their sins and disturbing their self-satisfaction,
and his plain and cutting words aroused their enmity. The opposition
manifested by church members toward his message emboldened the
baser classes to go to greater lengths; and enemies plotted to take
his life as he should leave the place of meeting. But holy angels
were in the throng, and one of these, in the form of a man, took the
arm of this servant of the Lord and led him in safety from the angry
mob. His work was not yet done, and Satan and his emissaries were
disappointed in their purpose.
Despite all opposition, the interest in the advent movement had
continued to increase. From scores and hundreds, the congregations
had grown to as many thousands. Large accessions had been made
to the various churches, but after a time the spirit of opposition was
manifested even against these converts, and the churches began to
take disciplinary steps with those who had embraced Miller’s views.
This action called forth a response from his pen, in an address to
Christians of all denominations, urging that if his doctrines were
false, he should be shown his error from the Scriptures.
“What have we believed,” he said, “that we have not been com-
manded to believe by the word of God, which you yourselves allow
is the rule, and only rule, of our faith and practice? What have we
done that should call down such virulent denunciations against us
[65] from pulpit and press, and give you just cause to exclude us [Ad-
ventists] from your churches and fellowship?” “If we are wrong,
pray show us wherein consists our wrong. Show us from the word
of God that we are in error; we have had ridicule enough; that
can never convince us that we are in the wrong; the word of God
alone can change our views. Our conclusions have been formed
deliberately and prayerfully, as we have seen the evidence in the

Scriptures.”—Bliss, pages 250, 252....
Differing Responses
And why were the doctrine and preaching of Christ’s second
coming so unwelcome to the churches? While to the wicked the
advent of the Lord brings woe and desolation, to the righteous it is
fraught with joy and hope. This great truth had been the consolation
of God’s faithful ones through all the ages; why had it become,
like its Author, “a stone of stumbling” and “a rock of offense” to
His professed people? It was our Lord Himself who promised His
disciples: “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again,
and receive you unto Myself.” John 14:3.
It was the compassionate Saviour, who, anticipating the loneli-
ness and sorrow of His followers, commissioned angels to comfort
them with the assurance that He would come again in person, even as
He went into heaven. As the disciples stood gazing intently upward
to catch the last glimpse of Him whom they loved, their attention
was arrested by the words: “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing
up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into
heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into
heaven.” Acts 1:11. Hope was kindled afresh by the angel’s mes-
sage. The disciples “returned to Jerusalem with great joy: and were
continually in the temple, praising and blessing God.” Luke 24:52,
53. They were not rejoicing because Jesus had been separated from
them and they were left to struggle with the trials and temptations of
the world, but because of the angel’s assurance that He would come
again.
The proclamation of Christ’s coming should now be, as when [66]
made by the angels to the shepherds of Bethlehem, good tidings of
great joy. Those who really love the Saviour cannot but hail with
gladness the announcement founded upon the word of God that He
in whom their hopes of eternal life are centered is coming again,
not to be insulted, despised, and rejected, as at His first advent, but
in power and glory, to redeem His people. It is those who do not
love the Saviour that desire Him to remain away, and there can be
no more conclusive evidence that the churches have departed from
God than the irritation and animosity excited by this Heaven-sent

message.
Those who accepted the advent doctrine were roused to the
necessity of repentance and humiliation before God. Many had
long been halting between Christ and the world; now they felt that
it was time to take a stand.... Christians were quickened to new
spiritual life. They were made to feel that time was short, that what
they had to do for their fellow men must be done quickly. Earth
receded, eternity seemed to open before them, and the soul, with
all that pertained to its immortal weal or woe, was felt to eclipse
every temporal object. The Spirit of God rested upon them and gave
power to their earnest appeals to their brethren, as well as to sinners,
to prepare for the day of God. The silent testimony of their daily life
was a constant rebuke to formal and unconsecrated church members.
These did not wish to be disturbed in their pursuit of pleasure, their
devotion to money-making, and their ambition for worldly honor.
Hence the enmity and opposition excited against the advent faith
and those who proclaimed it.
Investigation Discouraged
As the arguments from the prophetic periods were found to be
impregnable, opposers endeavored to discourage investigation of the
subject by teaching that the prophecies were sealed....
Ministers and people declared that the prophecies of Daniel
and the Revelation were incomprehensible mysteries. But Christ
[67] directed His disciples to the words of the prophet Daniel concerning
events to take place in their time, and said: “Whoso readeth, let him
understand.” Matthew 24:15. And the assertion that the Revelation
is a mystery, not to be understood, is contradicted by the very title
of the book: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto
Him, to show unto His servants things which must shortly come to
pass.... Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of
this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for
the time is at hand.” Revelation 1:1-3....
In view of the testimony of Inspiration, how dare men teach
that the Revelation is a mystery beyond the reach of human under-
standing? It is a mystery revealed, a book opened. The study of the
Revelation directs the mind to the prophecies of Daniel, and both

present most important instruction, given of God to men, concerning
events to take place at the close of this world’s history.
To John were opened scenes of deep and thrilling interest in the
experience of the church. He saw the position, dangers, conflicts,
and final deliverance of the people of God. He records the closing
messages which are to ripen the harvest of the earth, either as sheaves
for the heavenly garner or as fagots for the fires of destruction.
Subjects of vast importance were revealed to him, especially for the
last church, that those who should turn from error to truth might be
instructed concerning the perils and conflicts before them. None
need be in darkness in regard to what is coming upon the earth.
Why, then, this widespread ignorance concerning an important
part of Holy Writ? Why this general reluctance to investigate its
teachings? It is the result of a studied effort of the prince of dark-
ness to conceal from men that which reveals his deceptions. For
this reason, Christ the Revelator, foreseeing the warfare that would
be waged against the study of the Revelation, pronounced a bless-
ing upon all who should read, hear, and observe the words of the
prophecy.—The Great Controversy, 317-342. [68]
Study Questions
1. What kind of man was William Miller? (47, 63)
2. What method of study did Miller use in his search of the
Bible? (49, 50)
3. The doctrine of the world’s conversion has led to what evil
results? (51)
4. In what way did the text Daniel 8:14 become particularly
significant? (54)
5. Miller was led to link the cleansing of the sanctuary with the
second coming of Christ. What generally accepted view misled him?
(54)
6. How and when did Jesus become “the Anointed One”? How
and when did the “sacrifice and oblation” cease? (56, 57)
7. How were these events significant to the 2300-day prophecy
of Daniel 8:14? (57, 58)
8. Miller spent seven years in earnest Bible study. How many

were given to initial exploration? How many to careful review?
(58-61)
9. For what reasons did Miller hesitate to begin preaching? (60)
10. In what way was Miller’s preaching similar to that of the
early Reformers? (61)
11. Why did Miller’s preaching, like that of the Reformers,
arouse opposition by “popular religious teachers”? How did these
teachers make up for their lack of Scripture argument? (63, 64)
12. Why was the preaching of Christ’s second coming so unwel-
come to the churches? How did this same preaching affect those
who accepted it? (65, 66)
13. Against what are those who read, hear, and observe the
[69] words of Revelation’s prophecy protected? (67)
Daniel 8:14 And Steps in God’s Mysterious
Leadings
The work of God in the earth presents, from age to age, a striking
similarity in every great reformation or religious movement. The
principles of God’s dealing with men are ever the same. The impor-
tant movements of the present have their parallel in those of the past,
and the experience of the church in former ages has lessons of great
value for our own time.
No truth is more clearly taught in the Bible than that God by
His Holy Spirit especially directs His servants on earth in the great
movements for the carrying forward of the work of salvation. Men
are instruments in the hand of God, employed by Him to accomplish
His purposes of grace and mercy. Each has his part to act; to each
is granted a measure of light, adapted to the necessities of his time,
and sufficient to enable him to perform the work which God has
given him to do. But no man, however honored of Heaven, has
ever attained to a full understanding of the great plan of redemption,
or even to a perfect appreciation of the divine purpose in the work
for his own time. Men do not fully understand what God would
accomplish by the work which He gives them to do; they do not
comprehend, in all its bearings, the message which they utter in His
name....
Even the prophets who were favored with the special illumination
of the Spirit did not fully comprehend the import of the revelations
committed to them. The meaning was to be unfolded from age
to age, as the people of God should need the instruction therein
contained.... [70]
Yet while it was not given to the prophets to understand fully
the things revealed to them, they earnestly sought to obtain all the
light which God had been pleased to make manifest. They “inquired
and searched diligently,” “searching what, or what manner of time
the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify.” What a lesson
to the people of God in the Christian age, for whose benefit these
67
prophecies were given to His servants! “Unto whom it was revealed,

that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister.” Witness
those holy men of God as they “inquired and searched diligently”
concerning revelations given them for generations that were yet
unborn. Contrast their holy zeal with the listless unconcern with
which the favored ones of later ages treat this gift of Heaven. What a
rebuke to the ease-loving, world-loving indifference which is content
to declare that the prophecies cannot be understood!
The Experience of the Apostles Provides an Object Lesson

Though the finite minds of men are inadequate to enter into the
counsels of the Infinite One, or to understand fully the working out
of His purposes, yet often it is because of some error or neglect
on their own part that they so dimly comprehend the messages of
Heaven. Not infrequently the minds of the people, and even of God’s
servants, are so blinded by human opinions, the traditions and false
teaching of men, that they are able only partially to grasp the great
things which He has revealed in His word. Thus it was with the
disciples of Christ, even when the Saviour was with them in person.
Their minds had become imbued with the popular conception of the
Messiah as a temporal prince, who was to exalt Israel to the throne
of the universal empire, and they could not understand the meaning
of His words foretelling His sufferings and death.
Christ Himself had sent them forth with the message: “The time
is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe
[71] the gospel.” Mark 1:15. That message was based on the prophecy
of Daniel 9. The sixty-nine weeks were declared by the angel to
extend to “the Messiah the Prince,” and with high hopes and joyful
anticipations the disciples looked forward to the establishment of
Messiah’s kingdom at Jerusalem to rule over the whole earth.
They preached the message which Christ had committed to them,
though they themselves misapprehended its meaning. While their
announcement was founded on Daniel 9:25, they did not see, in
the next verse of the same chapter, that Messiah was to be cut off.
>From their very birth their hearts had been set upon the anticipated
glory of an earthly empire, and this blinded their understanding alike
to the specifications of the prophecy and to the words of Christ.
Daniel 8:14 And Steps in God’s Mysterious Leadings 69
They performed their duty in presenting to the Jewish nation the

invitation of mercy, and then, at the very time when they expected to
see their Lord ascend the throne of David, they beheld Him seized
as a malefactor, scourged, derided, and condemned, and lifted up on
the cross of Calvary. What despair and anguish wrung the hearts of
those disciples during the days while their Lord was sleeping in the
tomb!
Christ had come at the exact time and in the manner foretold by
prophecy. The testimony of Scripture had been fulfilled in every
detail of His ministry. He had preached the message of salvation, and
“His word was with power.” The hearts of His hearers had witnessed
that it was of Heaven. The word and the Spirit of God attested the
divine commission of His Son....
The announcement which had been made by the disciples in the
name of the Lord was in every particular correct, and the events to
which it pointed were even then taking place. “The time is fulfilled,
the kingdom of God is at hand,” had been their message. At the
expiration of “the time”—the sixty-nine weeks of Daniel 9, which
were to extend to the Messiah, “the Anointed One”—Christ had
received the anointing of the Spirit after His baptism by John in
Jordan. And the “kingdom of God” which they had declared to be at
hand was established by the death of Christ. This kingdom was not, [72]
as they had been taught to believe, an earthly empire. Nor was it that
future, immortal kingdom which shall be set up when “the kingdom
and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole
heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High;”
that everlasting kingdom, in which “all dominions shall serve and
obey Him.” Daniel 7:27.
As used in the Bible, the expression “kingdom of God” is em-
ployed to designate both the kingdom of grace and the kingdom
of glory. The kingdom of grace is brought to view by Paul in the
Epistle to the Hebrews. After pointing to Christ, the compassionate
intercessor who is “touched with the feeling of our infirmities,” the
apostle says: “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace,
that we may obtain mercy, and find grace.” Hebrews 4:15, 16. The
throne of grace represents the kingdom of grace; for the existence of
a throne implies the existence of a kingdom. In many of His parables
Christ uses the expression “the kingdom of heaven” to designate the

work of divine grace upon the hearts of men.
So the throne of glory represents the kingdom of glory; and this
kingdom is referred to in the Saviour’s words: “When the Son of
man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then
shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: and before Him shall be
gathered all nations.” Matthew 25:31, 32. This kingdom is yet future.
It is not to be set up until the second advent of Christ.
The kingdom of grace was instituted immediately after the fall
of man, when a plan was devised for the redemption of the guilty
race. It then existed in the purpose and by the promise of God; and
through faith, men could become its subjects. Yet it was not actually
established until the death of Christ. Even after entering upon His
earthly mission, the Saviour, wearied with the stubbornness and
ingratitude of men, might have drawn back from the sacrifice of
Calvary. In Gethsemane the cup of woe trembled in His hand. He
[73] might even then have wiped the blood-sweat from His brow and
have left the guilty race to perish in their iniquity. Had He done this,
there could have been no redemption for fallen men. But when the
Saviour yielded up His life, and with His expiring breath cried out,
“It is finished,” then the fulfillment of the plan of redemption was
assured. The promise of salvation made to the sinful pair in Eden
was ratified. The kingdom of grace, which had before existed by the
promise of God, was then established.
Thus the death of Christ—the very event which the disciples
had looked upon as the final destruction of their hope—was that
which made it forever sure. While it had brought them a cruel
disappointment, it was the climax of proof that their belief had been
correct. The event that had filled them with mourning and despair
was that which opened the door of hope to every child of Adam, and
in which centered the future life and eternal happiness of all God’s
faithful ones in all the ages....
After His resurrection Jesus appeared to His disciples on the
way to Emmaus, and, “beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He
expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning
Himself.” Luke 24:27. The hearts of the disciples were stirred.
Faith was kindled. They were “begotten again into a lively hope”
even before Jesus revealed Himself to them. It was His purpose
to enlighten their understanding and to fasten their faith upon the

“sure word of prophecy.” He wished the truth to take firm root in
their minds, not merely because it was supported by His personal
testimony, but because of the unquestionable evidence presented by
the symbols and shadows of the typical law, and by the prophecies
of the Old Testament. It was needful for the followers of Christ to
have an intelligent faith, not only in their own behalf, but that they
might carry the knowledge of Christ to the world. And as the very
first step in imparting this knowledge, Jesus directed the disciples
to “Moses and all the prophets.” Such was the testimony given by
the risen Saviour to the value and importance of the Old Testament
Scriptures. [74]
What a change was wrought in the hearts of the disciples as
they looked once more on the loved countenance of their Master!
Luke 24:32. In a more complete and perfect sense than ever before
they had “found Him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets,
did write.” The uncertainty, the anguish, the despair, gave place to
perfect assurance, to unclouded faith. What marvel that after His
ascension they “were continually in the temple, praising and blessing
God.” The people, knowing only of the Saviour’s ignominious death,
looked to see in their faces the expression of sorrow, confusion, and
defeat; but they saw there gladness and triumph. What a preparation
these disciples had received for the work before them!...
The Lesson of 1844

The experience of the disciples who preached the “gospel of
the kingdom” at the first advent of Christ, had its counterpart in
the experience of those who proclaimed the message of His second
advent. As the disciples went out preaching, “The time is fulfilled,
the kingdom of God is at hand,” so Miller and his associates pro-
claimed that the longest and last prophetic period brought to view in
the Bible was about to expire, that the judgment was at hand, and
the everlasting kingdom was to be ushered in. The preaching of
the disciples in regard to time was based on the seventy weeks of
Daniel 9. The message given by Miller and his associates announced
the termination of the 2300 days of Daniel 8:14, of which the sev-
enty weeks form a part. The preaching of each was based upon the
fulfillment of a different portion of the same great prophetic period.
Like the first disciples, William Miller and his associates did not,
themselves, fully comprehend the import of the message which they
bore. Errors that had been long established in the church prevented
them from arriving at a correct interpretation of an important point in
the prophecy. Therefore, though they proclaimed the message which
God had committed to them to be given to the world, yet through a
[75] misapprehension of its meaning they suffered disappointment.
In explaining Daniel 8:14, “Unto two thousand and three hundred
days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed,” Miller, as has been stated,
adopted the generally received view that the earth is the sanctuary,
and he believed that the cleansing of the sanctuary represented the
purification of the earth by fire at the coming of the Lord. When,
therefore, he found that the close of the 2300 days was definitely
foretold, he concluded that this revealed the time of the second
advent. His error resulted from accepting the popular view as to
what constitutes the sanctuary.
In the typical system, which was a shadow of the sacrifice and
priesthood of Christ, the cleansing of the sanctuary was the last ser-
vice 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.”
Those who proclaimed this warning gave the right message at the
right time. But as the early disciples declared, “The time is fulfilled,
and the kingdom of God is at hand,” based on the prophecy of Daniel
9, while they failed to perceive that the death of the Messiah was
foretold in the same scripture, so Miller and his associates preached
the message based on Daniel 8:14 and Revelation 14:7, and failed to
see that there were still other messages brought to view in Revelation
14, which were also to be given before the advent of the Lord. As [76]
the disciples were mistaken in regard to the kingdom to be set up
at the end of the seventy weeks, so Adventists were mistaken in
regard to the event to take place at the expiration of the 2300 days.
In both cases there was an acceptance of, or rather an adherence
to, popular errors that blinded the mind to the truth. Both classes
fulfilled the will of God in delivering the message which He desired
to be given, and both, through their own misapprehension of their
message, suffered disappointment.
Yet God accomplished His own beneficent purpose in permitting
the warning of the judgment to be given just as it was. The great day
was at hand, and in His providence the people were brought to the
test of a definite time, in order to reveal to them what was in their
hearts. The message was designed for the testing and purification
of the church. They were to be led to see whether their affections
were set upon this world or upon Christ and heaven. They professed
to love the Saviour; now they were to prove their love. Were they
ready to renounce their worldly hopes and ambitions, and welcome
with joy the advent of their Lord? The message was designed to
enable them to discern their true spiritual state; it was sent in mercy
to arouse them to seek the Lord with repentance and humiliation.
The disappointment also, though the result of their own misap-
prehension of the message which they gave, was to be overruled for
good. It would test the hearts of those who had professed to receive
the warning. In the face of their disappointment would they rashly
give up their experience and cast away their confidence in God’s
word? or would they, in prayer and humility, seek to discern where
they had failed to comprehend the significance of the prophecy?
How many had moved from fear, or from impulse and excitement?
How many were halfhearted and unbelieving? Multitudes professed
to love the appearing of the Lord. When called to endure the scoffs
and reproach of the world, and the test of delay and disappointment,
would they renounce the faith? Because they did not immediately [77]
understand the dealings of God with them, would they cast aside
truths sustained by the clearest testimony of His word?
This test would reveal the strength of those who with real faith
had obeyed what they believed to be the teaching of the word and
the Spirit of God. It would teach them, as only such an experience
could, the danger of accepting the theories and interpretations of
men, instead of making the Bible its own interpreter. To the children
of faith the perplexity and sorrow resulting from their error would
work the needed correction. They would be led to a closer study of
the prophetic word. They would be taught to examine more carefully
the foundation of their faith, and to reject everything, however widely
accepted by the Christian world, that was not founded upon the
Scriptures of truth.
With these believers, as with the first disciples, that which in the
hour of trial seemed dark to their understanding would afterward be
made plain. When they should see the “end of the Lord” they would
know that, notwithstanding the trial resulting from their errors, His
purposes of love toward them had been steadily fulfilling. They
would learn by a blessed experience that He is “very pitiful, and of
tender mercy;” that all His paths “are mercy and truth unto such as
keep His covenant and His testimonies.”—The Great Controversy,
[78] 343-354.
Study Questions
1. What truth is very “clearly taught” in the Bible? (69)
2. Did God’s servants, including the prophets, always fully
understand their messages and work? (69)
3. Why is it that men often so dimly comprehend the messages
of heaven? (70)
4. Although the message heralded by the disciples of Jesus
was correct, what led them to misconceptions as to its intent and
ultimately to their disappointment? (70-72)
5. What two meanings does the Biblical term “kingdom of God”
have? When will these “kingdoms” be set up? (72)
6. What method did Jesus employ to lead the disciples to a
correct understanding of His mission and their work? (73)
7. Name some parallels which may be drawn between the expe-
rience of the disciples and the Advent believers of 1844. (74-76)
8. What two vital lessons were learned by the disappointed

Adventists of 1844? (77) [79]
The End of the 2300 Days
A great religious awakening under the proclamation of Christ’s

soon coming is foretold in the prophecy of the first angel’s message
of Revelation 14. An angel is seen flying “in the midst of heaven,
having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the
earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.”
“With a loud voice” he proclaims the message: “Fear God, and give
glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship
Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of
waters.” Verses 6, 7.
The fact that an angel is said to be the herald of this warning is
significant. By the purity, the glory, and the power of the heavenly
messenger, divine wisdom has been pleased to represent the exalted
character of the work to be accomplished by the message and the
power and glory that were to attend it. And the angel’s flight “in
the midst of heaven,” the “loud voice” with which the warning is
uttered, and its promulgation to all “that dwell on the earth,”—“to
every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,”—give evidence
of the rapidity and world-wide extent of the movement. ...
Like the great Reformation of the sixteenth century, the advent
movement appeared in different countries of Christendom at the
same time. In both Europe and America men of faith and prayer were
led to the study of the prophecies, and, tracing down the inspired
record, they saw convincing evidence that the end of all things was
[80] at hand. In different lands there were isolated bodies of Christians
who, solely by the study of the Scriptures, arrived at the belief that
the Saviour’s advent was near....
To William Miller and his colaborers it was given to preach the
warning in America. This country became the center of the great
advent movement. It was here that the prophecy of the first angel’s
message had its most direct fulfillment. The writings of Miller and
his associates were carried to distant lands. Wherever missionaries
had penetrated in all the world, were sent the glad tidings of Christ’s
76
End of the 2300 Days 77
speedy return. Far and wide spread the message of the everlasting
gospel: “Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His
judgment is come.”...
Waiting in Calm Expectancy

With unspeakable desire those who had received the message
watched for the coming of their Saviour. The time when they ex-
pected to meet Him was at hand. They approached this hour with
a calm solemnity. They rested in sweet communion with God, an
earnest of the peace that was to be theirs in the bright hereafter.
None who experienced this hope and trust can forget those precious
hours of waiting.
For some weeks preceding the time, worldly business was for
the most part laid aside. The sincere believers carefully examined
every thought and emotion of their hearts as if upon their deathbeds
and in a few hours to close their eyes upon earthly scenes. There
was no making of “ascension robes”; but all felt the need of internal
evidence that they were prepared to meet the Saviour; their white
robes were purity of soul—characters cleansed from sin by the
atoning blood of Christ.
Would that there were still with the professed people of God the
same spirit of heart searching, the same earnest, determined faith.
Had they continued thus to humble themselves before the Lord and
press their petitions at the mercy seat they would be in possession of
a far richer experience than they now have. There is too little prayer,
too little real conviction of sin, and the lack of living faith leaves [81]
many destitute of the grace so richly provided by our Redeemer.
God designed to prove His people. His hand covered a mistake
in the reckoning of the prophetic periods. Adventists did not dis-
cover the error, nor was it discovered by the most learned of their
opponents. The latter said: “Your reckoning of the prophetic periods
is correct. Some great event is about to take place; but it is not what
Mr. Miller predicts; it is the conversion of the world, and not the
second advent of Christ.”
The time of expectation passed, and Christ did not appear for the
deliverance of His people. Those who with sincere faith and love
had looked for their Saviour, experienced a bitter disappointment.
Yet the purposes of God were being accomplished; He was testing

the hearts of those who professed to be waiting for His appearing.
There were among them many who had been actuated by no higher
motive than fear. Their profession of faith had not affected their
hearts or their lives. When the expected event failed to take place,
these persons declared that they were not disappointed; they had
never believed that Christ would come. They were among the first
to ridicule the sorrow of the true believers.
But Jesus and all the heavenly host looked with love and sym-
pathy upon the tried and faithful yet disappointed ones. Could the
veil separating the visible from the invisible world have been swept
back, angels would have been seen drawing near to these stead-
fast souls and shielding them from the shafts of Satan.—The Great
Controversy, 355-374.
The Scriptures Reexamined

When the time passed at which the Lord’s coming was first ex-
pected,—in the spring of 1844,—those who had looked in faith for
His appearing were for a season involved in doubt and uncertainty.
While the world regarded them as having been utterly defeated and
proved to have been cherishing a delusion, their source of conso-
[82] lation was still the word of God. Many continued to search the
Scriptures, examining anew the evidences of their faith and carefully
studying the prophecies to obtain further light. The Bible testimony
in support of their position seemed clear and conclusive. Signs which
could not be mistaken pointed to the coming of Christ as near. The
special blessing of the Lord, both in the conversion of sinners and
the revival of spiritual life among Christians, had testified that the
message was of Heaven. And though the believers could not explain
their disappointment, they felt assured that God had led them in their
past experience.
Interwoven with prophecies which they had regarded as applying
to the time of the second advent was instruction specially adapted to
their state of uncertainty and suspense, and encouraging them to wait
patiently in the faith that what was now dark to their understanding
would in due time be made plain....
In the summer of 1844, midway between the time when it had

been first thought that the 2300 days would end, and the autumn of
the same year, to which it was afterward found that they extended,
the message was proclaimed in the very words of Scripture: “Behold,
the Bridegroom cometh!”
That which led to this movement was the discovery that the
decree of Artaxerxes for the restoration of Jerusalem, which formed
the starting point for the period of the 2300 days, went into effect
in the autumn of the year 457 B.C., and not at the beginning of the
year, as had been formerly believed. Reckoning from the autumn of
457, the 2300 years terminate in the autumn of 1844.
Types in the Sanctuary Service

Arguments drawn from the Old Testament types also pointed to
the autumn as the time when the event represented by the “cleansing
of the sanctuary” must take place. This was made very clear as
attention was given to the manner in which the types relating to the
first advent of Christ had been fulfilled.
The slaying of the Passover lamb was a shadow of the death [83]
of Christ. Says Paul: “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.” 1
Corinthians 5:7. The sheaf of first fruits, which at the time of the
Passover was waved before the Lord, was typical of the resurrection
of Christ....
These types were fulfilled, not only as to the event, but as to the
time. On the fourteenth day of the first Jewish month, the very day
and month on which for fifteen long centuries the Passover lamb
had been slain, Christ, having eaten the Passover with His disciples,
instituted that feast which was to commemorate His own death as
“the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John
1:29 That same night He was taken by wicked hands to be crucified
and slain. And as the antitype of the wave sheaf our Lord was raised
from the dead on the third day, “the first fruits of them that slept,” 1
Corinthians 15:20 a sample of all the resurrected just, whose “vile
body” shall be changed, and “fashioned like unto His glorious body.”
Philippians 3:21.
In like manner the types which relate to the second advent must
be fulfilled at the time pointed out in the symbolic service. Under
the Mosaic system the cleansing of the sanctuary, or the great Day
of Atonement, occurred on the tenth day of the seventh Jewish
month (Leviticus 16:29-34), when the high priest, having made
an atonement for all Israel, and thus removed their sins from the
sanctuary, came forth and blessed the people. So it was believed that
Christ, our great High Priest, would appear to purify the earth by the
destruction of sin and sinners, and to bless His waiting people with
immortality. The tenth day of the seventh month, the great Day of
Atonement, the time of the cleansing of the sanctuary, which in the
year 1844 fell upon the twenty-second of October, was regarded as
the time of the Lord’s coming. This was in harmony with the proofs
already presented that the 2300 days would terminate in the autumn,
and the conclusion seemed irresistible....
Carefully and solemnly those who received the message came
[84] up to the time when they hoped to meet their Lord. Every morning
they felt that it was their first duty to secure the evidence of their
acceptance with God. Their hearts were closely united, and they
prayed much with and for one another. They often met together in
secluded places to commune with God, and the voice of intercession
ascended to heaven from the fields and groves. The assurance of
the Saviour’s approval was more necessary to them than their daily
food; and if a cloud darkened their minds, they did not rest until it
was swept away. As they felt the witness of pardoning grace, they
longed to behold Him whom their souls loved.
Disappointed, But Faith in God’s Word Unshaken

But again they were destined to disappointment. The time of ex-
pectation passed, and their Saviour did not appear. With unwavering
confidence they had looked forward to His coming, and now they
felt as did Mary when, coming to the Saviour’s tomb and finding
it empty, she exclaimed with weeping: “They have taken away my
Lord, and I know not where they have laid Him.” John 20:13....
The world had been looking on, expecting that if the time passed
and Christ did not appear, the whole system of Adventism would be
given up. But while many, under strong temptation, yielded their
faith, there were some who stood firm. The fruits of the advent
movement, the spirit of humility and heart searching, of renouncing
of the world and reformation of life, which had attended the work,
testified that it was of God. They dared not deny that the power of
the Holy Spirit had witnessed to the preaching of the second advent,
and they could detect no error in their reckoning of the prophetic
periods. The ablest of their opponents had not succeeded in over-
throwing their system of prophetic interpretation. They could not
consent, without Bible evidence, to renounce positions which had
been reached through earnest, prayerful study of the Scriptures, by
minds enlightened by the Spirit of God and hearts burning with its
living power; positions which had withstood the most searching crit-
icisms and the most bitter opposition of popular religious teachers [85]
and worldly-wise men, and which had stood firm against the com-
bined forces of learning and eloquence, and the taunts and revilings
alike of the honorable and the base.
True, there had been a failure as to the expected event, but even
this could not shake their faith in the word of God....
God did not forsake His people; His Spirit still abode with those
who did not rashly deny the light which they had received, and
denounce the advent movement. In the Epistle to the Hebrews are
words of encouragement and warning for the tried, waiting ones at
this crisis: “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath
great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after
ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet
a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry.
Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, My soul
shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw
back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the
soul.” Hebrews 10:35-39.
That this admonition is addressed to the church in the last days is
evident from the words pointing to the nearness of the Lord’s coming:
“For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come and will not
tarry.” And it is plainly implied that there would be a seeming delay
and that the Lord would appear to tarry. The instruction here given
is especially adapted to the experience of Adventists at this time.
The people here addressed were in danger of making shipwreck of
faith. They had done the will of God in following the guidance of
His Spirit and His word; yet they could not understand His purpose
in their past experience, nor could they discern the pathway before
them, and they were tempted to doubt whether God had indeed been
leading them. At this time the words were applicable: “Now the just
shall live by faith.”
As the bright light of the “midnight cry” had shone upon their
[86] pathway, and they had seen the prophecies unsealed and the rapidly
fulfilling signs telling that the coming of Christ was near, they had
walked, as it were, by sight. But now, bowed down by disappointed
hopes, they could stand only by faith in God and in His word. The
scoffing world were saying: “You have been deceived. Give up
your faith, and say that the advent movement was of Satan.” But
God’s word declared: “If any man draw back, My soul shall have no
pleasure in him.”
To renounce their faith now, and deny the power of the Holy
Spirit which had attended the message, would be drawing back
toward perdition. They were encouraged to steadfastness by the
words of Paul: “Cast not away therefore your confidence;” “ye have
need of patience,” “for yet a little while, and He that shall come
will come, and will not tarry.” Their only safe course was to cherish
the light which they had already received of God, hold fast to His
promises, and continue to search the Scriptures, and patiently wait
and watch to receive further light.—The Great Controversy, 391-408.
Study Questions
1. How is the “exalted character” of the message of the first
angel of Revelation 14 represented? In what three ways are the
rapidity and worldwide extent of the movement indicated? (79)
2. How widely was the warning message given? (79, 80)
3. What “robes” did the waiting Adventists prepare for Christ’s
second coming? (80)
4. What was the “source of consolation” for the Adventists after
their first disappointment in the spring of 1844? (81, 82)
5. What was the Scripture message proclaimed during the sum-
mer of 1844? (82)
6. How did a study of types and antitypes lead to the establish-
ment of the important date of October 22, 1844? (82, 83)
7. Name some of the things the Adventists did to prepare for the
expected coming of Christ. (83, 84)
8. The fruits of the advent movement “testified it was of God.”

What were those fruits? (84)
9. What Scripture admonition is addressed to the church in the
last days? (86) [87]
The Glorious Temple in Heaven
The scripture which above all others had been both the founda-
tion and the central pillar of the advent faith was the declaration:
“Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary
be cleansed.” Daniel 8:14. These had been familiar words to all be-
lievers in the Lord’s soon coming. By the lips of thousands was this
prophecy repeated as the watchword of their faith. All felt that upon
the events therein foretold depended their brightest expectations and
most cherished hopes. These prophetic days had been shown to
terminate in the autumn of 1844. In common with the rest of the
Christian world. Adventists then held that the earth, or some portion
of it, was the sanctuary. They understood that the cleansing of the
sanctuary was the purification of the earth by the fires of the last
great day, and that this would take place at the second advent. Hence
the conclusion that Christ would return to the earth in 1844.
But the appointed time had passed, and the Lord had not ap-
peared. The believers knew that God’s word could not fail; their
interpretation of the prophecy must be at fault; but where was the
mistake? Many rashly cut the knot of difficulty by denying that the
2300 days ended in 1844. No reason could be given for this except
that Christ had not come at the time they expected Him. They argued
that if the prophetic days had ended in 1844, Christ would then have
returned to cleanse the sanctuary by the purification of the earth by
[88] fire; and that since He had not come, the days could not have ended.
Integrity of the Prophetic Periods

To accept this conclusion was to renounce the former reckon-
ing of the prophetic periods. The 2300 days had been found to
begin when the commandment of Artaxerxes for the restoration and
building of Jerusalem went into effect, in the autumn of 457 B.C.
Taking this as the starting point, there was perfect harmony in the
application of all the events foretold in the explanation of that pe-
84
Glorious Temple in Heaven 85
riod in Daniel 9:25-27. Sixty-nine weeks, the first 483 of the 2300
years, were to reach to the Messiah, the Anointed One; and Christ’s
baptism and anointing by the Holy Spirit, A.D. 27, exactly fulfilled
the specification. In the midst of the seventieth week, Messiah was
to be cut off. Three and a half years after His baptism, Christ was
crucified, in the spring of A.D. 31. The seventy weeks, or 490
years, were to pertain especially to the Jews. At the expiration of
this period the nation sealed its rejection of Christ by the persecu-
tion of His disciples, and the apostles turned to the Gentiles, A.D.
34. The first 490 years of the 2300 having then ended, 1810 years
would remain. From A.D. 34, 1810 years extend to 1844. “Then,”
said the angel, “shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” All the preceding
specifications of the prophecy had been unquestionably fulfilled at
the time appointed.
With this reckoning, all was clear and harmonious, except that
it was not seen that any event answering to the cleansing of the
sanctuary had taken place in 1844. To deny that the days ended
at that time was to involve the whole question in confusion, and
to renounce positions which had been established by unmistakable
fulfillments of prophecy.
But God had led His people in the great advent movement; His
power and glory had attended the work, and He would not permit it
to end in darkness and disappointment, to be reproached as a false
and fanatical excitement. He would not leave His word involved
in doubt and uncertainty. Though many abandoned their former
reckoning of the prophetic periods and denied the correctness of the
movement based thereon, others were unwilling to renounce points [89]
of faith and experience that were sustained by the Scriptures and by
the witness of the Spirit of God. They believed that they had adopted
sound principles of interpretation in their study of the prophecies,
and that it was their duty to hold fast the truths already gained, and to
continue the same course of Biblical research. With earnest prayer
they reviewed their position and studied the Scriptures to discover
their mistake. As they could see no error in their reckoning of the
prophetic periods, they were led to examine more closely the subject
of the sanctuary.
The Sanctuary of the Old Covenant

In their investigation they learned that there is no Scripture ev-
idence sustaining the popular view that the earth is the sanctuary;
but they found in the Bible a full explanation of the subject of the
sanctuary, its nature, location, and services; the testimony of the
sacred writers being so clear and ample as to place the matter be-
yond all question. The apostle Paul, in the Epistle to the Hebrews,
says: “Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine
service, and a worldly sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle made;
the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shew-
bread; which is called the sanctuary. And after the second veil, the
tabernacle which is called the holiest of all; which had the golden
censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold,
wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that
budded, and the tables of the covenant; and over it the cherubims of
glory shadowing the mercy seat.” Hebrews 9:1-5.
The sanctuary to which Paul here refers was the tabernacle built
by Moses at the command of God as the earthly dwelling place of
the Most High. “Let them make Me a sanctuary; that I may dwell
among them” (Exodus 25:8), was the direction given to Moses while
in the mount with God. The Israelites were journeying through
the wilderness, and the tabernacle was so constructed that it could
[90] be removed from place to place; yet it was a structure of great
magnificence....
After the settlement of the Hebrews in Canaan, the tabernacle
was replaced by the temple of Solomon, which, though a permanent
structure and upon a larger scale, observed the same proportions, and
was similarly furnished. In this form the sanctuary existed—except
while it lay in ruins in Daniel’s time—until its destruction by the
Romans, in A.D. 70.
This is the only sanctuary that ever existed on the earth, of which
the Bible gives any information. This was declared by Paul to be
the sanctuary of the first covenant. But has the new covenant no
sanctuary?
The New-Covenant Sanctuary in the Heavens

Turning again to the book of Hebrews, the seekers for truth
found that the existence of a second, or new-covenant sanctuary, was
implied in the words of Paul already quoted: “Then verily the first
covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanc-
tuary.” And the use of the word “also” intimates that Paul has before
made mention of this sanctuary. Turning back to the beginning of
the previous chapter, they read: “Now of the things which we have
spoken this is the sum: We have such an High Priest, who is set on
the right band 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.” Hebrews 8:1, 2.
Here is revealed the sanctuary of the new covenant. The sanctu-
ary of the first covenant was pitched by man, built by Moses; this
is pitched by the Lord, not by man. In that sanctuary the earthly
priests performed their service; in this, Christ, our great High Priest,
ministers at God’s right hand. One sanctuary was on earth, the other
is in heaven.
Further, the tabernacle built by Moses was made after a pattern.
The Lord directed him: “According to all that I show thee, after
the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments
thereof, even so shall ye make it.” And again the charge was given, [91]
“Look that thou make them after their pattern, which was showed
thee in the mount.” Exodus 25:9, 40. And Paul says that the first
tabernacle “was a figure for the time then present, in which were
offered both gifts and sacrifices;” that its holy places were “patterns
of things in the heavens;” that the priests who offered gifts according
to the law served “unto the example and shadow of heavenly things,”
and that “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.” Hebrews 9:9, 23; 8:5; 9:24.
The Glories of the Earthly Sanctuary and the Heavenly Temple

The sanctuary in heaven, in which Jesus ministers in our behalf,
is the great original, of which the sanctuary built by Moses was a
copy....
The matchless splendor of the earthly tabernacle reflected to

human vision the glories of that heavenly temple where Christ our
forerunner ministers for us before the throne of God. The abiding
place of the King of kings, where thousand thousands minister unto
Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stand before Him (Daniel
7:10); that temple, filled with the glory of the eternal throne, where
seraphim, its shining guardians, veil their faces in adoration, could
find, in the most magnificent structure ever reared by human hands,
but a faint reflection of its vastness and glory. Yet important truths
concerning the heavenly sanctuary and the great work there carried
forward for man’s redemption were taught by the earthly sanctuary
and its services.
The holy places of the sanctuary in heaven are represented by the
two apartments in the sanctuary on earth. As in vision the apostle
John was granted a view of the temple of God in heaven, he beheld
there “seven lamps of fire burning before the throne.” Revelation
4:5. He saw an angel “having a golden censer; and there was given
unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all
[92] saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.” Revelation
8:3. Here the prophet was permitted to behold the first apartment of
the sanctuary in heaven; and he saw there the “seven lamps of fire”
and “the golden altar,” represented by the golden candlestick and
the altar of incense in the sanctuary on earth. Again, “the temple
of God was opened” (Revelation 11:19), and he looked within the
inner veil, upon the holy of holies. Here he beheld “the ark of His
testament,” represented by the sacred chest constructed by Moses to
contain the law of God.
Thus those who were studying the subject found indisputable
proof of the existence of a sanctuary in heaven. Moses made the
earthly sanctuary after a pattern which was shown him. Paul teaches
that that pattern was the true sanctuary which is in heaven. And John
testifies that he saw it in heaven.
Christ’s Ministry in the Heavenly Sanctuary

In the temple in heaven, the dwelling place of God, His throne is
established in righteousness and judgment. In the most holy place is
His law, the great rule of right by which all mankind are tested. The
ark that enshrines the tables of the law is covered with the mercy
seat, before which Christ pleads His blood in the sinner’s behalf.
Thus is represented the union of justice and mercy in the plan of
human redemption. This union infinite wisdom alone could devise
and infinite power accomplish; it is a union that fills all heaven
with wonder and adoration. The cherubim of the earthly sanctuary,
looking reverently down upon the mercy seat, represent the interest
with which the heavenly host contemplate the work of redemption.
This is the mystery of mercy into which angels desire to look—that
God can be just while He justifies the repenting sinner and renews
His intercourse with the fallen race; that Christ could stoop to raise
unnumbered multitudes from the abyss of ruin and clothe them with
the spotless garments of His own righteousness to unite with angels
who have never fallen and to dwell forever in the presence of God. [93]
The work of Christ as man’s intercessor is presented in that
beautiful prophecy of Zechariah concerning Him “whose name is
the Branch.” Says the prophet: “He shall build the temple of the
Lord; and He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon His
[the Father’s] throne; and He shall be a priest upon His throne: and
the counsel of peace shall be between Them both.” Zechariah 6:12,
13.
“He shall build the temple of the Lord.” By His sacrifice and
mediation Christ is both the foundation and the builder of the church
of God. The apostle Paul points to Him as “the chief Cornerstone;
in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth into an holy
temple in the Lord: in whom ye also,” he says, “are builded together
for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” Ephesians 2:20-22.
“He shall bear the glory.” To Christ belongs the glory of redemp-
tion for the fallen race. Through the eternal ages, the song of the
ransomed ones will be: “Unto Him that loved us, and washed us
from our sins in His own blood, ... to Him be glory and dominion
forever and ever.” Revelation 1:5, 6.
He “shall sit and rule upon His throne; and He shall be a priest
upon His throne.” Not now “upon the throne of His glory;” the
kingdom of glory has not yet been ushered in. Not until His work
as a mediator shall be ended will God “give unto Him the throne
of His father David,” a kingdom of which “there shall be no end.”
Luke 1:32, 33. As a priest, Christ is now set down with the Father
in His throne. Revelation 3:21. Upon the throne with the eternal,
self-existent One is He who “hath borne our griefs, and carried our
sorrows,” who “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without
sin,” that He might be “able to succor them that are tempted.” “If
any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father.” Isaiah 53:4;
Hebrews 4:15; 2:18; 1 John 2:1. His intercession is that of a pierced
and broken body, of a spotless life. The wounded hands, the pierced
side, the marred feet, plead for fallen man, whose redemption was
[94] purchased at such infinite cost.
“And the counsel of peace shall be between Them both.” The
love of the Father, no less than of the Son, is the fountain of salvation
for the lost race. Said Jesus to His disciples before He went away:
“I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: for the
Father Himself loveth you.” John 16:26, 27. God was “in Christ,
reconciling the world unto Himself.” 2 Corinthians 5:19. And in
the ministration in the sanctuary above, “the counsel of peace shall
be between Them both.” “God so loved the world, that He gave
His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not
perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16.
Determining the Sanctuary of Daniel 8:14

The question, What is the sanctuary? is clearly answered in the
Scriptures. The term “sanctuary,” as used in the Bible, refers, first,
to the tabernacle built by Moses, as a pattern of heavenly things; and,
secondly, to the “true tabernacle” in heaven, to which the earthly
sanctuary pointed. At the death of Christ the typical service ended.
The “true tabernacle” in heaven is the sanctuary of the new covenant.
And as the prophecy of Daniel 8:14 is fulfilled in this dispensation,
the sanctuary to which it refers must be the sanctuary of the new
covenant. At the termination of the 2300 days, in 1844, there had
been no sanctuary on earth for many centuries. Thus the prophecy,
“Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary
be cleansed,” unquestionably points to the sanctuary in heaven.
But the most important question remains to be answered: What
is the cleansing of the sanctuary? That there was such a service in
connection with the earthly sanctuary is stated in the Old Testament
Scriptures. But can there be anything in heaven to be cleansed?
In Hebrews 9 the cleansing of both the earthly and the heavenly

sanctuary is plainly taught. “Almost all things are by the law purged
with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. It was
therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should
be purified with these [the blood of animals]; but the heavenly things [95]
themselves with better sacrifices than these” (Hebrews 9:22, 23),
even the precious blood of Christ.
Practical Lessons From the Types

The cleansing both in the typical and in the real service, must be
accomplished with blood: in the former, with the blood of animals;
in the latter, with the blood of Christ. Paul states, as the reason why
this cleansing must be performed with blood, that without shedding
of blood is no remission. Remission, or putting away of sin, is the
work to be accomplished. But how could there be sin connected
with the sanctuary, either in heaven or upon the earth? This may
be learned by reference to the symbolic service; for the priests who
officiated on earth, served “unto the example and shadow of heavenly
things.” Hebrews 8:5.
The ministration of the earthly sanctuary consisted of two divi-
sions; the priests ministered daily in the holy place, while once a
year the high priest performed a special work of atonement in the
most holy, for the cleansing of the sanctuary. Day by day the repen-
tant sinner brought his offering to the door of the tabernacle and,
placing his hand upon the victim’s head, confessed his sins, thus
in figure transferring them from himself to the innocent sacrifice.
The animal was then slain. “Without shedding of blood,” says the
apostle, there is no remission of sin. “The life of the flesh is in
the blood.” Leviticus 17:11. The broken law of God demanded the
life of the transgressor. The blood, representing the forfeited life
of the sinner, whose guilt the victim bore, was carried by the priest
into the holy place and sprinkled before the veil, behind which was
the ark containing the law that the sinner had transgressed. By this
ceremony the sin was, through the blood, transferred in figure to the
sanctuary. In some cases the blood was not taken into the holy place;
but the flesh was then to be eaten by the priest, as Moses directed
the sons of Aaron, saying: “God hath given it you to bear the iniq- [96]
uity of the congregation.” Leviticus 10:17. Both ceremonies alike

symbolized the transfer of the sin from the penitent to the sanctuary.
Such was the work that went on, day by day, throughout the year.
The sins of Israel were thus transferred to the sanctuary, and a special
work became necessary for their removal. God commanded that an
atonement be made for each of the sacred apartments. “He shall
make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness
of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all
their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation,
that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness.” An
atonement was also to be made for the altar, to “cleanse it, and
hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.” Leviticus
16:16, 19.
Once a year, on the great Day of Atonement, the priest entered
the most holy place for the cleansing of the sanctuary. The work
there performed completed the yearly round of ministration. On the
Day of Atonement two kids of the goats were brought to the door
of the tabernacle, and lots were cast upon them, “one lot for the
Lord, and the other lot for the scapegoat.” Verse 8. The goat upon
which fell the lot for the Lord was to be slain as a sin offering for
the people. And the priest was to bring his blood within the veil and
sprinkle it upon the mercy seat and before the mercy seat. The blood
was also to be sprinkled upon the altar of incense that was before
the veil.
“And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live
goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel,
and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the
head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit
man into the wilderness: and the goat shall bear upon him all their
iniquities unto a land not inhabited.” Verses 21, 22. The scapegoat
came no more into the camp of Israel, and the man who led him
away was required to wash himself and his clothing with water
before returning to the camp.
[97] The whole ceremony was designed to impress the Israelites with
the holiness of God and His abhorrence of sin; and, further, to show
them that they could not come in contact with sin without becoming
polluted. Every man was required to afflict his soul while this work
of atonement was going forward. All business was to be laid aside,
and the whole congregation of Israel were to spend the day in solemn
humiliation before God, with prayer, fasting, and deep searching of
heart.
Important truths concerning the atonement are taught by the
typical service. A substitute was accepted in the sinner’s stead; but
the sin was not canceled by the blood of the victim. A means was
thus provided by which it was transferred to the sanctuary. By the
offering of blood the sinner acknowledged the authority of the law,
confessed his guilt in transgression, and expressed his desire for
pardon through faith in a Redeemer to come; but he was not yet
entirely released from the condemnation of the law. On the Day
of Atonement the high priest, having taken an offering from the
congregation, went into the most holy place with the blood of this
offering, and sprinkled it upon the mercy seat, directly over the law,
to make satisfaction for its claims. Then, in his character of mediator,
he took the sins upon himself and bore them from the sanctuary.
Placing his hands upon the head of the scapegoat, he confessed over
him all these sins, thus in figure transferring them from himself to
the goat. The goat then bore them away, and they were regarded as
forever separated from the people.
But a Type of Heavenly Realities

Such was the service performed “unto the example and shadow
of heavenly things.” And what was done in type in the ministration
of the earthly sanctuary is done in reality in the ministration of the
heavenly sanctuary. After His ascension our Saviour began His work
as our high priest. Says Paul: “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.” Hebrews
9:24. [98]
The ministration of the priest throughout the year in the first
apartment of the sanctuary, “within the veil” which formed the door
and separated the holy place from the outer court, represents the
work of ministration upon which Christ entered at His ascension. It
was the work of the priest in the daily ministration to present before
God the blood of the sin offering, also the incense which ascended
with the prayers of Israel. So did Christ plead His blood before the
Father in behalf of sinners, and present before Him also, with the
precious fragrance of His own righteousness, the prayers of penitent
believers. Such was the work of ministration in the first apartment
of the sanctuary in heaven.
Thither the faith of Christ’s disciples followed Him as He as-
cended from their sight. Here their hopes centered, “which hope we
have,” said Paul, “as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast,
and which entereth into that within the veil; whither the forerunner
is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest forever.” “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.” Hebrews 6:19, 20; 9:12.
The Cleansing of the Heavenly Sanctuary

For eighteen centuries this work of ministration continued in
the first apartment of the sanctuary. The blood of Christ, pleaded
in behalf of penitent believers, secured their pardon and acceptance
with the Father, yet their sins still remained upon the books of record.
As in the typical service there was a work of atonement at the close
of the year, so before Christ’s work for the redemption of men is
completed there is a work of atonement for the removal of sin from
the sanctuary. This is the service which began when the 2300 days
ended. At that time, as foretold by Daniel the prophet, our High
Priest entered the most holy, to perform the last division of His
[99] solemn work—to cleanse the sanctuary.
As anciently the sins of the people were by faith placed upon the
sin offering and through its blood transferred, in figure, to the earthly
sanctuary, so in the new covenant the sins of the repentant are by faith
placed upon Christ and transferred, in fact, to the heavenly sanctuary.
And as the typical cleansing of the earthly was accomplished by
the removal of the sins by which it had been polluted, so the actual
cleansing of the heavenly is to be accomplished by the removal, or
blotting out, of the sins which are there recorded. But before this
can be accomplished, there must be an examination of the books
of record to determine who, through repentance of sin and faith in
Christ, are entitled to the benefits of His atonement. The cleansing
of the sanctuary therefore involves a work of investigation—a work
of judgment. This work must be performed prior to the coming of

Christ to redeem His people; for when He comes, His reward is with
Him to give to every man according to his works. Revelation 22:12.
Thus those who followed in the light of the prophetic word saw
that, instead of coming to the earth at the termination of the 2300
days in 1844, Christ then entered the most holy place of the heavenly
sanctuary to perform the closing work of atonement preparatory to
His coming.
It was seen, also, that while the sin offering pointed to Christ
as a sacrifice, and the high priest represented Christ as a mediator,
the scapegoat typified Satan, the author of sin, upon whom the sins
of the truly penitent will finally be placed. When the high priest,
by virtue of the blood of the sin offering, removed the sins from
the sanctuary, he placed them upon the scapegoat. When Christ,
by virtue of His own blood, removes the sins of His people from
the heavenly sanctuary at the close of His ministration, He will
place them upon Satan, who, in the execution of the judgment, must
bear the final penalty. The scapegoat was sent away into a land not
inhabited, never to come again into the congregation of Israel. So
will Satan be forever banished from the presence of God and His
people, and he will be blotted from existence in the final destruction [100]
of sin and sinners.—The Great Controversy, 409-422.
Study Questions
1. What important place did Daniel 8:14 take in the Advent faith
and teaching? (87)
2. How did many of the Millerites rashly explain the disappoint-
ment? (87)
3. When the disappointed Adventists, who clung to the evidence
of God’s leading in their experience, could find no error in their
reckoning of the prophetic periods, what did they begin to examine?
(89, 90)
4. What discovery did the believers make in regard to the identity
of the sanctuary? (90, 91)
5. What did they discover to be the sanctuary of the first
covenant? The sanctuary of the new covenant? (90, 91)
6. What sanctuary was cleansed at the end of the 2300 days?

(94)
7. What is the cleansing of the sanctuary in heaven? Why does
it have to take place before the second coming of Christ? (94-100)
8. What is “remission of sins”? (95)
9. Note the parallel between the services of the Old Testament
sanctuary and the sanctuary in heaven. (94-100)
10. By what means were the sins of the repentant sinner trans-
ferred to the heavenly sanctuary? (99)
11. Instead of coming to this earth on October 22, 1844, what
did Jesus do? (99)
12. How is the sanctuary in heaven “freed, or cleansed, from the
[101] record of sin”? (99; see also 38, 39)
Our High Priest in the Holy of Holies
The subject of the sanctuary was the key which unlocked the
mystery of the disappointment of 1844. It opened to view a complete
system of truth, connected and harmonious, showing that God’s
hand had directed the great advent movement and revealing present
duty as it brought to light the position and work of His people.
As the disciples of Jesus after the terrible night of their anguish
and disappointment were “glad when they saw the Lord,” so did
those now rejoice who had looked in faith for His second coming.
They had expected Him to appear in glory to give reward to His
servants. As their hopes were disappointed, they had lost sight of
Jesus, and with Mary at the sepulcher they cried: “They have taken
away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid Him.” Now
in the holy of holies they again beheld Him, their compassionate
High Priest, soon to appear as their king and deliverer. Light from
the sanctuary illumined the past, the present, and the future. They
knew that God had led them by His unerring providence. Though,
like the first disciples, they themselves had failed to understand the
message which they bore, yet it had been in every respect correct.
In proclaiming it they had fulfilled the purpose of God, and their
labor had not been in vain in the Lord. Begotten “again unto a lively
hope,” they rejoiced “with joy unspeakable and full of glory.”
Both the prophecy of Daniel 8:14, “Unto two thousand and three
hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed,” and the first [102]
angel’s message, “Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of
His judgment is come,” pointed to Christ’s ministration in the most
holy place, to the investigative judgment, and not to the coming of
Christ for the redemption of His people and the destruction of the
wicked. The mistake had not been in the reckoning of the prophetic
periods, but in the event to take place at the end of the 2300 days.
Through this error the believers had suffered disappointment, yet all
that was foretold by the prophecy, and all that they had any Scripture
warrant to expect, had been accomplished. At the very time when
97
they were lamenting the failure of their hopes, the event had taken
place which was foretold by the message, and which must be fulfilled
before the Lord could appear to give reward to His servants.
Christ had come, not to the earth, as they expected, but, as
foreshadowed in the type, to the most holy place of the temple of
God in heaven. He is represented by the prophet Daniel as coming
at this time to the Ancient of Days: “I saw in the night visions, and,
behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven,
and came”—not to the earth, but—“to the Ancient of Days, and they
brought Him near before Him.” Daniel 7:13.
This coming is foretold also by the prophet Malachi: “The Lord,
whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Mes-
senger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, He shall come,
saith the Lord of hosts.” Malachi 3:1. The coming of the Lord to
His temple was sudden, unexpected, to His people. They were not
looking for Him there. They expected Him to come to earth, “in
flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that
obey not the gospel.” 2 Thessalonians 1:8.
But the people were not yet ready to meet their Lord. There was
still a work of preparation to be accomplished for them. Light was to
be given, directing their minds to the temple of God in heaven; and
as they should by faith follow their High Priest in His ministration
[103] there, new duties would be revealed. Another message of warning
and instruction was to be given to the church.
Says the prophet: “Who may abide the day of His coming? and
who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a refiner’s fire,
and like fullers’ soap: and He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of
silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as
gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in
righteousness.” Malachi 3:2, 3. Those who are living upon the earth
when the intercession of Christ shall cease in the sanctuary above
are to stand in the sight of a holy God without a mediator. Their
robes must be spotless, their characters must be purified from sin
by the blood of sprinkling. Through the grace of God and their own
diligent effort they must be conquerors in the battle with evil. While
the investigative judgment is going forward in heaven, while the sins
of penitent believers are being removed from the sanctuary, there is
to be a special work of purification, of putting away of sin, among
Our High Priest in the Holy of Holies 99
God’s people upon earth. This work is more clearly presented in the
messages of Revelation 14.
When this work shall have been accomplished, the followers of
Christ will be ready for His appearing. “Then shall the offering of
Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of
old, and as in former years.” Malachi 3:4. Then the church which
our Lord at His coming is to receive to Himself will be a “glorious
church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.” Ephesians
5:27. Then she will look “forth as the morning, fair as the moon,
clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners.” Song of
Solomon 6:10.
Besides the coming of the Lord to His temple, Malachi also
foretells His second advent, His coming for the execution of the
judgment, in these words: “And I will come near to you to judgment;
and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the
adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress
the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that
turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not Me, saith the [104]
Lord of hosts.” Malachi 3:5. Jude refers to the same scene when he
says, “Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints,
to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly
among them of all their ungodly deeds.” Jude 14, 15. This coming,
and the coming of the Lord to His temple, are distinct and separate
events.
Scriptural Foundations
The coming of Christ as our high priest to the most holy place,
for the cleansing of the sanctuary, brought to view in Daniel 8:14;
the coming of the Son of man to the Ancient of Days, as presented
in Daniel 7:13; and the coming of the Lord to His temple, foretold
by Malachi, are descriptions of the same event; and this is also rep-
resented by the coming of the bridegroom to the marriage, described
by Christ in the parable of the ten virgins, of Matthew 25.
In the summer and autumn of 1844 the proclamation, “Behold,
the Bridegroom cometh,” was given. The two classes represented
by the wise and foolish virgins were then developed—one class
who looked with joy to the Lord’s appearing, and who had been
diligently preparing to meet Him; another class that, influenced by

fear and acting from impulse, had been satisfied with a theory of
the truth, but were destitute of the grace of God. In the parable,
when the bridegroom came, “they that were ready went in with
him to the marriage.” The coming of the bridegroom, here brought
to view, takes place before the marriage. The marriage represents
the reception by Christ of His kingdom. The Holy City, the New
Jerusalem, which is the capital and representative of the kingdom, is
called “the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” Said the angel to John: “Come
hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” “He carried me
away in the spirit,” says the prophet, “and showed me that great city,
the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.” Revelation
21:9, 10. Clearly, then, the bride represents the Holy City, and
the virgins that go out to meet the bridegroom are a symbol of the
[105] church. In the Revelation the people of God are said to be the
guests at the marriage supper. Revelation 19:9. If guests, they
cannot be represented also as the bride. Christ, as stated by the
prophet Daniel, will receive from the Ancient of Days in heaven,
“dominion, and glory, and a kingdom;” He will receive the New
Jerusalem, the capital of His kingdom, “prepared as a bride adorned
for her husband.” Daniel 7:14; Revelation 21:2. Having received
the kingdom, He will come in His glory, as King of kings and Lord
of lords, for the redemption of His people, who are to “sit down
with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob,” at His table in His kingdom
(Matthew 8:11; Luke 22:30), to partake of the marriage supper of
the Lamb.
The proclamation, “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh,” in the
summer of 1844, led thousands to expect the immediate advent of
the Lord. At the appointed time the Bridegroom came, not to the
earth, as the people expected, but to the Ancient of Days in heaven,
to the marriage, the reception of His kingdom. “They that were
ready went in with Him to the marriage: and the door was shut.”
They were not to be present in person at the marriage; for it takes
place in heaven, while they are upon the earth. The followers of
Christ are to “wait for their Lord, when He will return from the
wedding.” Luke 12:36. But they are to understand His work, and to
follow Him by faith as He goes in before God. It is in this sense that
they are said to go in to the marriage.
In the parable it was those that had oil in their vessels with their
lamps that went in to the marriage. Those who, with a knowledge
of the truth from the Scriptures, had also the Spirit and grace of
God, and who, in the night of their bitter trial, had patiently waited,
searching the Bible for clearer light—these saw the truth concerning
the sanctuary in heaven and the Saviour’s change in ministration,
and by faith they followed Him in His work in the sanctuary above.
And all who through the testimony of the Scriptures accept the
same truths, following Christ by faith as He enters in before God to
perform the last work of mediation, and at its close to receive His
kingdom—all these are represented as going in to the marriage. [106]
In the parable of Matthew 22 the same figure of the marriage is
introduced, and the investigative judgment is clearly represented as
taking place before the marriage. Previous to the wedding the king
comes in to see the guests, to see if all are attired in the wedding
garment, the spotless robe of character washed and made white in
the blood of the Lamb. Matthew 22:11; Revelation 7:14. He who is
found wanting is cast out, but all who upon examination are seen to
have the wedding garment on are accepted of God and accounted
worthy of a share in His kingdom and a seat upon His throne. This
work of examination of character, of determining who are prepared
for the kingdom of God, is that of the investigative judgment, the
closing work in the sanctuary above.
When the work of investigation shall be ended, when the cases
of those who in all ages have professed to be followers of Christ
have been examined and decided, then, and not till then, probation
will close, and the door of mercy will be shut. Thus in the one
short sentence, “They that were ready went in with Him to the
marriage: and the door was shut,” we are carried down through the
Saviour’s final ministration, to the time when the great work for
man’s salvation shall be completed.
Ministry in the Two Apartments

In the service of the earthly sanctuary, which, as we have seen,
is a figure of the service in the heavenly, when the high priest on
the Day of Atonement entered the most holy place, the ministration
in the first apartment ceased. God commanded: “There shall be
no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to

make an atonement in the holy place, until he comes out.” Leviticus
16:17. So when Christ entered the holy of holies to perform the
closing work of the atonement, He ceased His ministration in the
first apartment. But when the ministration in the first apartment
ended, the ministration in the second apartment began. When in the
[107] typical service the high priest left the holy on the Day of Atonement,
he went in before God to present the blood of the sin offering in
behalf of all Israel who truly repented of their sins. So Christ had
only completed one part of His work as our intercessor, to enter
upon another portion of the work, and He still pleaded His blood
before the Father in behalf of sinners.
This subject was not understood by Adventists in 1844. After
the passing of the time when the Saviour was expected, they still
believed His coming to be near; they held that they had reached an
important crisis and that the work of Christ as man’s intercessor
before God had ceased. It appeared to them to be taught in the
Bible that man’s probation would close a short time before the actual
coming of the Lord in the clouds of heaven. This seemed evident
from those scriptures which point to a time when men will seek,
knock, and cry at the door of mercy, and it will not be opened. And it
was a question with them whether the date to which they had looked
for the coming of Christ might not rather mark the beginning of this
period which was immediately to precede His coming. Having given
the warning of the judgment near, they felt that their work for the
world was done, and they lost their burden of soul for the salvation
of sinners, while the bold and blasphemous scoffing of the ungodly
seemed to them another evidence that the Spirit of God had been
withdrawn from the rejecters of His mercy. All this confirmed them
in the belief that probation had ended, or, as they then expressed it,
“the door of mercy was shut.”
The Opening of Another Door

But clearer light came with the investigation of the sanctuary
question. They now saw that they were correct in believing that
the end of the 2300 days in 1844 marked an important crisis. But
while it was true that that door of hope and mercy by which men
had for eighteen hundred years found access to God, was closed,
another door was opened, and forgiveness of sins was offered to
men through the intercession of Christ in the most holy. One part [108]
of His ministration had closed, only to give place to another. There
was still an “open door” to the heavenly sanctuary, where Christ was
ministering in the sinner’s behalf.
Now was seen the application of those words of Christ in the
Revelation, addressed to the church at this very time: “These things
saith He that is holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David,
He that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man
openeth; I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open
door, and no man can shut it.” Revelation 3:7, 8.
It is those who by faith follow Jesus in the great work of the
atonement who receive the benefits of His mediation in their behalf,
while those who reject the light which brings to view this work
of ministration are not benefited thereby. The Jews who rejected
the light given at Christ’s first advent, and refused to believe on
Him as the Saviour of the world, could not receive pardon through
Him. When Jesus at His ascension entered by His own blood into
the heavenly sanctuary to shed upon His disciples the blessings
of His mediation, the Jews were left in total darkness to continue
their useless sacrifices and offerings. The ministration of types and
shadows had ceased. That door by which men had formerly found
access to God was no longer open. The Jews had refused to seek
Him in the only way whereby He could then be found, through the
ministration in the sanctuary in heaven. Therefore they found no
communion with God. To them the door was shut. They had no
knowledge of Christ as the true sacrifice and the only mediator before
God; hence they could not receive the benefits of His mediation.
The condition of the unbelieving Jews illustrates the condition
of the careless and unbelieving among professed Christians, who
are willingly ignorant of the work of our merciful High Priest. In
the typical service, when the high priest entered the most holy place,
all Israel were required to gather about the sanctuary and in the
most solemn manner humble their souls before God, that they might
receive the pardon of their sins and not be cut off from the congrega- [109]
tion. How much more essential in this antitypical Day of Atonement
that we understand the work of our High Priest and know what duties
are required of us.
The Tragic Result of Rejecting God’s Warning Message

Men cannot with impunity reject the warning which God in
mercy sends them. A message was sent from heaven to the world in
Noah’s day, and their salvation depended upon the manner in which
they treated that message. Because they rejected the warning, the
Spirit of God was withdrawn from the sinful race, and they perished
in the waters of the Flood. In the time of Abraham, mercy ceased to
plead with the guilty inhabitants of Sodom, and all but Lot with his
wife and two daughters were consumed by the fire sent down from
heaven. So in the days of Christ. The Son of God declared to the
unbelieving Jews of that generation: “Your house is left unto you
desolate.” Matthew 23:38. Looking down to the last days, the same
Infinite Power declares, concerning those who “received not the love
of the truth, that they might be saved”: “For this cause God shall
send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they
all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure
in unrighteousness.” 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12. As they reject the
teachings of His word, God withdraws His Spirit and leaves them to
the deceptions which they love.
But Christ still intercedes in man’s behalf, and light will be given
to those who seek it. Though this was not at first understood by
Adventists, it was afterward made plain as the Scriptures which
define their true position began to open before them.
The passing of the time in 1844 was followed by a period of
great trial to those who still held the advent faith. Their only relief,
so far as ascertaining their true position was concerned, was the light
which directed their minds to the sanctuary above. Some renounced
their faith in their former reckoning of the prophetic periods and
ascribed to human or satanic agencies the powerful influence of the
[110] Holy Spirit which had attended the advent movement. Another class
firmly held that the Lord had led them in their past experience; and
as they waited and watched and prayed to know the will of God they
saw that their great High Priest had entered upon another work of
ministration, and, following Him by faith, they were led to see also
the closing work of the church. They had a clearer understanding of

the first and second angels’ messages, and were prepared to receive
and give to the world the solemn warning of the third angel of
Revelation 14.—The Great Controversy, 423-432.
The Sanctuary and the Sabbath

“The temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in
His temple the ark of His testament.” Revelation 11:19. The ark of
God’s testament is in the holy of holies, the second apartment of the
sanctuary. In the ministration of the earthly tabernacle, which served
“unto the example and shadow of heavenly things,” this apartment
was opened only upon the great Day of Atonement for the cleansing
of the sanctuary. Therefore the announcement that the temple of God
was opened in heaven and the ark of His testament was seen points
to the opening of the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary
in 1844 as Christ entered there to perform the closing work of the
atonement. Those who by faith followed their great High Priest as
He entered upon His ministry in the most holy place, beheld the ark
of His testament. As they had studied the subject of the sanctuary
they had come to understand the Saviour’s change of ministration,
and they saw that He was now officiating before the ark of God,
pleading His blood in behalf of sinners.
The ark in the tabernacle on earth contained the two tables of
stone, upon which were inscribed the precepts of the law of God.
The ark was merely a receptacle for the tables of the law, and the
presence of these divine precepts gave to it its value and sacredness.
When the temple of God was opened in heaven, the ark of His
testament was seen. Within the holy of holies, in the sanctuary in
heaven, the divine law is sacredly enshrined —the law that was [111]
spoken by God Himself amid the thunders of Sinai and written with
His own finger on the tables of stone.
The law of God in the sanctuary in heaven is the great original,
of which the precepts inscribed upon the tables of stone and recorded
by Moses in the Pentateuch were an unerring transcript. Those who
arrived at an understanding of this important point were thus led
to see the sacred, unchanging character of the divine law. They
saw, as never before, the force of the Saviour s words: “Till heaven
and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the
law.” Matthew 5:18. The law of God, being a revelation of His
will, a transcript of His character, must forever endure, “as a faithful
witness in heaven.” Not one command has been annulled; not a jot
or tittle has been changed. Says the psalmist: “Forever, O Lord, Thy
word is settled in heaven.” “All His commandments are sure. They
stand fast for ever and ever.” Psalm 119:89; 111:7, 8.
In the very bosom of the Decalogue is the fourth commandment,
as it was first proclaimed: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it
holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh
day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any
work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy
maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that
in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed
the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.” Exodus 20:8-11.
The Spirit of God impressed the hearts of those students of His
word. The conviction was urged upon them that they had ignorantly
transgressed this precept by disregarding the Creator’s rest day. They
began to examine the reasons for observing the first day of the week
instead of the day which God had sanctified. They could find no
evidence in the Scriptures that the fourth commandment had been
abolished, or that the Sabbath had been changed; the blessing which
first hallowed the seventh day had never been removed. They had
[112] been honestly seeking to know and to do God’s will; now, as they
saw themselves transgressors of His law, sorrow filled their hearts,
and they manifested their loyalty to God by keeping His Sabbath
holy.
Many and earnest were the efforts made to overthrow their faith.
None could fail to see that if the earthly sanctuary was a figure
or pattern of the heavenly, the law deposited in the ark on earth
was an exact transcript of the law in the ark in heaven; and that an
acceptance of the truth concerning the heavenly sanctuary involved
an acknowledgment of the claims of God’s law and the obligation of
the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. Here was the secret of the
bitter and determined opposition to the harmonious exposition of the
Scriptures that revealed the ministration of Christ in the heavenly
sanctuary. Men sought to close the door which God had opened, and
to open the door which He had closed. But “He that openeth, and
no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth,” had declared:
“Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut
it.” Revelation 3:7, 8. Christ had opened the door, or ministration,
of the most holy place, light was shining from that open door of
the sanctuary in heaven, and the fourth commandment was shown
to be included in the law which is there enshrined; what God had
established, no man could overthrow.
Those who had accepted the light concerning the mediation of
Christ and the perpetuity of the law of God found that these were
the truths presented in Revelation 14. The messages of this chapter
constitute a threefold warning which is to prepare the inhabitants of
the earth for the Lord’s second coming. The announcement, “The
hour of His judgment is come,” points to the closing work of Christ’s
ministration for the salvation of men. It heralds a truth which must
be proclaimed until the Saviour’s intercession shall cease and He
shall return to the earth to take His people to Himself. The work of
judgment which began in 1844 must continue until the cases of all
are decided, both of the living and the dead; hence it will extend to
the close of human probation. That men may be prepared to stand in
the judgment, the message commands them to “fear God, and give [113]
glory to Him,” “and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and
the sea, and the fountains of waters.” The result of an acceptance
of these messages is given in the word: “Here are they that keep
the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” In order to be
prepared for the judgment, it is necessary that men should keep
the law of God. That law will be the standard of character in the
judgment.—The Great Controversy, 433-436.
Those who received the light concerning the sanctuary and the
immutability of the law of God were filled with joy and wonder as
they saw the beauty and harmony of the system of truth that opened
to their understanding.—The Great Controversy, 454. [114]
Study Questions
1. What was the key that unlocked the mystery of the 1844
disappointment? (101)
2. Quote the two Bible texts that point to Christ’s ministration in

the most holy place. (101, 102)
3. Which “coming” of Christ is depicted in Daniel 7:13 and
Malachi 3:1? (102)
4. While the sins of penitent believers are being removed from
heaven’s sanctuary, what are these same believers to be doing on
earth? (103)
5. The wise and foolish virgins represent what two classes among
advent believers of the summer and autumn of 1844? (104)
6. What is the bride of Christ? (104, 105)
7. Who are the “guests” at the wedding? (104, 105)
8. How does the parable of Matthew 22 picture the work of
judgment? (106)
9. Why did Adventists for a time after the disappointment lose
their burden for the salvation of sinners? (.107)
10. What, then, was the Adventist interpretation of the “shut
door” immediately after the disappointment? (107)
11. What later was found to be the “open door,” and who opened
it? (107,108)
12. As the temple in heaven was opened, what was revealed?
(110)
13. What relationship exists between the law of God enshrined
in the heavenly sanctuary and the law deposited in the ark in the
earthly sanctuary? (111)
14. With this revelation of God’s law to what did earnest Bible
[115] study lead? (111-113)
Christ’s Closing Ministry in the Heavenly Sanctuary
The preaching of a definite time for the judgment, in the giving

of the first message, was ordered of God. The computation of
the prophetic periods on which that message was based, placing
the close of the 2300 days in the autumn of 1844, stands without
impeachment.—The Great Controversy, 457.
“I beheld,” says the prophet Daniel, “till thrones were placed,
and One that was Ancient of Days did sit: His raiment was white as
snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool; His throne was fiery
flames, and the wheels thereof burning fire. A fiery stream issued
and came forth from before Him: thousand thousands ministered
unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him:
the judgment was set, and the books were opened.” Daniel 7:9, 10,
R.V.
Thus was presented to the prophet’s vision the great and solemn
day when the characters and the lives of men should pass in review
before the Judge of all the earth, and to every man should be rendered
“according to his works.” The Ancient of Days is God the Father.
Says the psalmist: “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever
Thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to
everlasting, Thou art God.” Psalm 90:2. It is He, the source of all
being, and the fountain of all law, that is to preside in the judgment.
And holy angels as ministers and witnesses, in number “ten thousand
times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands,” attend this great
tribunal. [116]
“And, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of
heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him
near before Him. And there was given Him dominion, and glory,
and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve
Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass
away.” Daniel 7:13, 14. The coming of Christ here described is
not His second coming to the earth. He comes to the Ancient of
Days in heaven to receive dominion and glory and a kingdom, which
109
will be given Him at the close of His work as a mediator. It is this

coming, and not His second advent to the earth, that was foretold in
prophecy to take place at the termination of the 2300 days in 1844.
Attended by heavenly angels, our great High Priest enters the holy
of holies and there appears in the presence of God to engage in the
last acts of His ministration in behalf of man—to perform the work
of investigative judgment and to make an atonement for all who are
shown to be entitled to its benefits.
Whose Cases Considered?

In the typical service only those who had come before God with
confession and repentance, and whose sins, through the blood of
the sin offering, were transferred to the sanctuary, had a part in
the service of the Day of Atonement. So in the great day of final
atonement and investigative judgment the only cases considered are
those of the professed people of God. The judgment of the wicked
is a distinct and separate work, and takes place at a later period.
“Judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at
us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel?” 1 Peter
4:17.
The books of record in heaven, in which the names and the
deeds of men are registered, are to determine the decisions of the
judgment. Says the prophet Daniel: “The judgment was set, and the
books were opened.” The revelator, describing the same scene, adds:
“Another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead
[117] were judged out of those things which were written in the books,
according to their works.” Revelation 20:12.
The book of life contains the names of all who have ever entered
the service of God. Jesus bade His disciples: “Rejoice, because your
names are written in heaven.” Luke 10:20. Paul speaks of his faithful
fellow workers, “whose names are in the book of life.” Philippians
4:3. Daniel, looking down to “a time of trouble, such as never was,”
declares that God’s people shall be delivered, “everyone that shall
be found written in the book.” And the revelator says that those only
shall enter the city of God whose names “are written in the Lamb’s
book of life.” Daniel 12:1; Revelation 21:27.
Christ’s Closing Ministry in the Heavenly Sanctuary 111
“A book of remembrance” is written before God, in which are

recorded the good deeds of “them that feared the Lord, and that
thought upon His name.” Malachi 3:16. Their words of faith, their
acts of love, are registered in heaven. Nehemiah refers to this when
he says: “Remember me, O my God,...and wipe not out my good
deeds that I have done for the house of my God.” Nehemiah 13:14.
In the book of God’s remembrance every deed of righteousness is
immortalized. There every temptation resisted, every evil overcome,
every word of tender pity expressed, is faithfully chronicled. And
every act of sacrifice, every suffering and sorrow endured for Christ’s
sake, is recorded. Says the psalmist: “Thou tellest my wanderings:
put Thou my tears into Thy bottle: are they not in Thy book?” Psalm
56:8.
There is a record also of the sins of men. “For God shall bring
every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be
good, or whether it be evil.” “Every idle word that men shall speak,
they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.” Says the
Saviour: “By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words
thou shalt be condemned.” Ecclesiastes 12:14; Matthew 12:36, 37.
The secret purposes and motives appear in the unerring register; for
God “will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make
manifest the counsels of the hearts.” 1 Corinthians 4:5. “Behold,
it is written before Me,...your iniquities, and the iniquities of your [118]
fathers together, saith the Lord.” Isaiah 65:6, 7.
Every man’s work passes in review before God and is registered
for faithfulness or unfaithfulness. Opposite each name in the books
of heaven is entered with terrible exactness every wrong word, every
selfish act, every unfulfilled duty, and every secret sin, with every
artful dissembling. Heaven-sent warnings or reproofs neglected,
wasted moments, unimproved opportunities, the influence exerted
for good or for evil, with its far-reaching results, all are chronicled
by the recording angel.
God’s Law the Standard

The law of God is the standard by which the characters and the
lives of men will be tested in the judgment. Says the wise man:
“Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty
of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment.” Ecclesiastes
12:13, 14. The apostle James admonishes his brethren: “So speak
ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.”
James 2:12.
Those who in the judgment are “accounted worthy” will have
a part in the resurrection of the just. Jesus said: “They which shall
be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from
the dead,...are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God,
being the children of the resurrection.” Luke 20:35, 36. And again
He declares that “they that have done good” shall come forth “unto
the resurrection of life.” John 5:29. The righteous dead will not be
raised until after the judgment at which they are accounted worthy of
“the resurrection of life.” Hence they will not be present in person at
the tribunal when their records are examined and their cases decided.
Jesus the Advocate

Jesus will appear as their advocate, to plead in their behalf before
God. “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus
[119] Christ the righteous.” 1 John 2:1. “For 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.”
“Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come
unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for
them.” Hebrews 9:24; 7:25.
As the books of record are opened in the judgment, the lives of all
who have believed on Jesus come in review before God. Beginning
with those who first lived upon the earth, our Advocate presents
the cases of each successive generation, and closes with the living.
Every name is mentioned, every case closely investigated. Names
are accepted, names rejected. When any have sins remaining upon
the books of record, unrepented of and unforgiven, their names
will be blotted out of the book of life, and the record of their good
deeds will be erased from the book of God’s remembrance. The
Lord declared to Moses: “Whosoever hath sinned against Me, him
will I blot out of My book.” Exodus 32:33. And says the prophet
Ezekiel: “When the righteous turneth away from his righteousness,
and committeth iniquity, ... all his righteousness that he hath done
shall not be mentioned.” Ezekiel 18:24.
All who have truly repented of sin, and by faith claimed the blood
of Christ as their atoning sacrifice, have had pardon entered against
their names in the books of heaven; as they have become partakers
of the righteousness of Christ, and their characters are found to be
in harmony with the law of God, their sins will be blotted out, and
they themselves will be accounted worthy of eternal life. The Lord
declares, by the prophet Isaiah: “I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy
transgressions for Mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.”
Isaiah 43:25. Said Jesus: “He that overcometh, the same shall be
clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the
book of life, but I will confess his name before My Father, and before
His angels.” “Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men,
him will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven. But
whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before [120]
My Father which is in heaven.” Revelation 3:5; Matthew 10:32, 33.
The Courtroom Scene

The deepest interest manifested among men in the decisions of
earthly tribunals but faintly represents the interest evinced in the
heavenly courts when the names entered in the book of life come up
in review before the Judge of all the earth. The divine Intercessor
presents the plea that all who have overcome through faith in His
blood be forgiven their transgressions, that they be restored to their
Eden home, and crowned as joint heirs with Himself to “the first
dominion.” Micah 4:8. Satan in his efforts to deceive and tempt our
race had thought to frustrate the divine plan in man’s creation; but
Christ now asks that this plan be carried into effect as if man had
never fallen. He asks for His people not only pardon and justification,
full and complete, but a share in His glory and a seat upon His throne.
While Jesus is pleading for the subjects of His grace, Satan
accuses them before God as transgressors. The great deceiver has
sought to lead them into skepticism, to cause them to lose confidence
in God, to separate themselves from His love, and to break His law.
Now he points to the record of their lives, to the defects of character,
the unlikeness to Christ, which has dishonored their Redeemer, to all
the sins that he has tempted them to commit, and because of these
he claims them as his subjects.
Jesus does not excuse their sins, but shows their penitence and
faith, and, claiming for them forgiveness, He lifts His wounded
hands before the Father and the holy angels, saying: I know them by
name. I have graven them on the palms of My hands. “The sacrifices
of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God,
Thou wilt not despise.” Psalm 51:17. And to the accuser of His
people He declares: “The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord
that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked
[121] out of the fire?” Zechariah 3:2. Christ will clothe His faithful ones
with His own righteousness, that He may present them to His Father
“a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.”
Ephesians 5:27. Their names stand enrolled in the book of life, and
concerning them it is written: “They shall walk with Me in white:
for they are worthy.” Revelation 3:4.
Thus will be realized the complete fulfillment of the new-
covenant promise: “I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember
their sin no more.” “In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord,
the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none;
and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found.” Jeremiah 31:34;
50:20. “In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and
glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for
them that are escaped of Israel. And it shall come to pass, that he that
is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called
holy, even everyone that is written among the living in Jerusalem.”
Isaiah 4:2, 3.
The work of the investigative judgment and the blotting out of
sins is to be accomplished before the second advent of the Lord.
Since the dead are to be judged out of the things written in the books,
it is impossible that the sins of men should be blotted out until after
the judgment at which their cases are to be investigated. But the
apostle Peter distinctly states that the sins of believers will be blotted
out “when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of
the Lord; and He shall send Jesus Christ.” Acts 3:19, 20. When the
investigative judgment closes, Christ will come, and His reward will
be with Him to give to every man as his work shall be.
The Closing Scenes of the Antitypical Service

In the typical service the high priest, having made the atonement
for Israel, came forth and blessed the congregation. So Christ, at
the close of His work as mediator, will appear, “without sin unto
salvation” (Hebrews 9:28), to bless His waiting people with eternal
life. As the priest, in removing the sins from the sanctuary, confessed [122]
them upon the head of the scapegoat, so Christ will place all these
sins upon Satan, the originator and instigator of sin. The scapegoat,
bearing the sins of Israel, was sent away “unto a land not inhabited”
(Leviticus 16:22); so Satan, bearing the guilt of all the sins which
he has caused God’s people to commit, will be for a thousand years
confined to the earth, which will then be desolate, without inhabitant,
and he will at last suffer the full penalty of sin in the fires that shall
destroy all the wicked. Thus the great plan of redemption will reach
its accomplishment in the final eradication of sin and the deliverance
of all who have been willing to renounce evil.
Judged by the Unerring Records

At the time appointed for the judgment—the close of the 2300
days, in 1844—began the work of investigation and blotting out of
sins. All who have ever taken upon themselves the name of Christ
must pass its searching scrutiny. Both the living and the dead are
to be judged “out of those things which were written in the books,
according to their works.”
Sins that have not been repented of and forsaken will not be
pardoned and blotted out of the books of record, but will stand to
witness against the sinner in the day of God. He may have committed
his evil deeds in the light of day or in the darkness of night; but they
were open and manifest before Him with whom we have to do.
Angels of God witnessed each sin and registered it in the unerring
records. Sin may be concealed, denied, covered up from father,
mother, wife, children, and associates; no one but the guilty actors
may cherish the least suspicion of the wrong; but it is laid bare before
the intelligences of heaven. The darkness of the darkest night, the
secrecy of all deceptive arts, is not sufficient to veil one thought
from the knowledge of the Eternal. God has an exact record of
every unjust account and every unfair dealing. He is not deceived

by appearances of piety. He makes no mistakes in His estimation of
[123] character. Men may be deceived by those who are corrupt in heart,
but God pierces all disguises and reads the inner life.
How solemn is the thought! Day after day, passing into eternity,
bears its burden of records for the books of heaven. Words once spo-
ken, deeds once done, can never be recalled. Angels have registered
both the good and the evil. The mightiest conqueror upon the earth
cannot call back the record of even a single day. Our acts, our words,
even our most secret motives, all have their weight in deciding our
destiny for weal or woe. Though they may be forgotten by us, they
will bear their testimony to justify or condemn.
As the features of the countenance are reproduced with unerring
accuracy on the polished plate of the artist, so the character is faith-
fully delineated in the books above. Yet how little solicitude is felt
concerning that record which is to meet the gaze of heavenly beings.
Could the veil which separates the visible from the invisible world
be swept back, and the children of men behold an angel recording
every word and deed, which they must meet again in the judgment,
how many words that are daily uttered would remain unspoken, how
many deeds would remain undone.
In the judgment the use made of every talent will be scrutinized.
How have we employed the capital lent us of Heaven? Will the Lord
at His coming receive His own with usury? Have we improved the
powers entrusted us, in hand and heart and brain, to the glory of
God and the blessing of the world? How have we used our time,
our pen, our voice, our money, our influence? What have we done
for Christ, in the person of the poor, the afflicted, the orphan, or the
widow? God has made us the depositaries of His holy word; what
have we done with the light and truth given us to make men wise
unto salvation? No value is attached to a mere profession of faith in
Christ; only the love which is shown by works is counted genuine.
Yet it is love alone which in the sight of Heaven makes any act of
value. Whatever is done from love, however small it may appear in
[124] the estimation of men, is accepted and rewarded of God.
The hidden selfishness of men stands revealed in the books of
heaven. There is the record of unfulfilled duties to their fellow
men, of forgetfulness of the Saviour’s claims. There they will see
how often were given to Satan the time, thought, and strength that
belonged to Christ. Sad is the record which angels bear to heaven.
Intelligent beings, professed followers of Christ, are absorbed in
the acquirement of worldly possessions or the enjoyment of earthly
pleasures. Money, time, and strength are sacrificed for display and
self-indulgence; but few are the moments devoted to prayer, to the
searching of the Scriptures, to humiliation of soul and confession of
sin.
Satan invents unnumbered schemes to occupy our minds, that
they may not dwell upon the very work with which we ought to be
best acquainted. The archdeceiver hates the great truths that bring to
view an atoning sacrifice and an all-powerful mediator. He knows
that with him everything depends on his diverting minds from Jesus
and His truth.
Perfecting Holiness in the Fear of God

Those who would share the benefits of the Saviour’s mediation
should permit nothing to interfere with their duty to perfect holiness
in the fear of God. The precious hours, instead of being given to
pleasure, to display, or to gain seeking, should be devoted to an
earnest, prayerful study of the word of truth. The subject of the sanc-
tuary and the investigative judgment should be clearly understood
by the people of God. All need a knowledge for themselves of the
position and work of their great High Priest. Otherwise it will be
impossible for them to exercise the faith which is essential at this
time or to occupy the position which God designs them to fill. Every
individual has a soul to save or to lose. Each has a case pending at
the bar of God. Each must meet the great judge face to face. How
important, then, that every mind contemplate often the solemn scene
when the judgment shall sit and the books shall be opened, when,
with Daniel, every individual must stand in his lot, at the end of the
days. [125]
All who have received the light upon these subjects are to bear
testimony of the great truths which God has committed to them. The
sanctuary in heaven is the very center of Christ’s work in behalf
of men. It concerns every soul living upon the earth. It opens to
view the plan of redemption, bringing us down to the very close
of time and revealing the triumphant issue of the contest between

righteousness and sin. It is of the utmost importance that all should
thoroughly investigate these subjects and be able to give an answer
to everyone that asketh them a reason of the hope that is in them.
The intercession of Christ in man’s behalf in the sanctuary above
is as essential to the plan of salvation as was His death upon the
cross. By His death He began that work which after His resurrection
He ascended to complete in heaven. We must by faith enter within
the veil, “whither the forerunner is for us entered.” Hebrews 6:20.
There the light from the cross of Calvary is reflected. There we
may gain a clearer insight into the mysteries of redemption. The
salvation of man is accomplished at an infinite expense to heaven;
the sacrifice made is equal to the broadest demands of the broken
law of God. Jesus has opened the way to the Father’s throne, and
through His mediation the sincere desire of all who come to Him in
faith may be presented before God.
“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth
and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” Proverbs 28:13. If those who
hide and excuse their faults could see how Satan exults over them,
how he taunts Christ and holy angels with their course, they would
make haste to confess their sins and to put them away. Through
defects in the character, Satan works to gain control of the whole
mind, and he knows that if these defects are cherished, he will
succeed. Therefore he is constantly seeking to deceive the followers
of Christ with his fatal sophistry that it is impossible for them to
overcome. But Jesus pleads in their behalf His wounded hands, His
bruised body; and He declares to all who would follow Him: “My
[126] grace is sufficient for thee.” 2 Corinthians 12:9. “Take My yoke
upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye
shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden
is light.” Matthew 11:29, 30. Let none, then, regard their defects as
incurable. God will give faith and grace to overcome them.
Now in the Day of Atonement

We are now living in the great day of atonement. In the typical
service, while the high priest was making the atonement for Israel,
all were required to afflict their souls by repentance of sin and humil-
iation before the Lord, lest they be cut off from among the people. In
like manner, all who would have their names retained in the book of
life should now, in the few remaining days of their probation, afflict
their souls before God by sorrow for sin and true repentance. There
must be deep, faithful searching of heart. The light, frivolous spirit
indulged by so many professed Christians must be put away. There
is earnest warfare before all who would subdue the evil tendencies
that strive for the mastery. The work of preparation is an individual
work. We are not saved in groups. The purity and devotion of one
will not offset the want of these qualities in another. Though all
nations are to pass in judgment before God, yet He will examine
the case of each individual with as close and searching scrutiny as
if there were not another being upon the earth. Everyone must be
tested and found without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.
Solemn are the scenes connected with the closing work of the
atonement. Momentous are the interests involved therein. The
judgment is now passing in the sanctuary above. For many years
this work has been in progress. Soon—none know how soon—it
will pass to the cases of the living. In the awful presence of God
our lives are to come up in review. At this time above all others it
behooves every soul to heed the Saviour’s admonition: “Watch and
pray: for ye know not when the time is.” Mark 13:33. “If therefore
thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt [127]
not know what hour I will come upon thee.” Revelation 3:3.
When the work of the investigative judgment closes, the destiny
of all will have been decided for life or death. Probation is ended a
short time before the appearing of the Lord in the clouds of heaven.
Christ in the Revelation, looking forward to that time, declares: “He
that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him
be filthy still: and he that is righteous let him be righteous still: and
he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly;
and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work
shall be.” Revelation 22:11, 12.
The righteous and the wicked will still be living upon the earth
in their mortal state—men will be planting and building, eating and
drinking, all unconscious that the final, irrevocable decision has
been pronounced in the sanctuary above. Before the Flood, after
Noah entered the ark, God shut him in and shut the ungodly out;
but for seven days the people, knowing not that their doom was
fixed, continued their careless, pleasure-loving life and mocked the
warnings of impending judgment. “So,” says the Saviour, “shall
also the coming of the Son of man be.” Matthew 24:39. Silently,
unnoticed as the midnight thief, will come the decisive hour which
marks the fixing of every man’s destiny, the final withdrawal of
mercy’s offer to guilty men.
“Watch ye therefore:...lest coming suddenly He find you sleep-
ing.” Mark 13:35, 36. Perilous is the condition of those who, growing
weary of their watch, turn to the attractions of the world. While the
man of business is absorbed in the pursuit of gain, while the pleasure
lover is seeking indulgence, while the daughter of fashion is arrang-
ing her adornments—it may be in that hour the Judge of all the earth
will pronounce the sentence: “Thou art weighed in the balances, and
[128] art found wanting.” Daniel 5:27.—The Great Controversy, 479-491.
Study Questions
1. What takes place at Christ’s “coming” described in Daniel
7:13, 14? (115)
2. Which cases only are considered in the investigative judg-
ment? (116)
3. Certain names only are recorded in the book of life. Who are
they? (117)
4. How much does the book of remembrance contain? (117)
5. What other “record” is carefully kept? (117, 118)
6. In the investigative judgment, what two things happen if there
are sins remaining on the books of record? (119)
7. At what time are forgiven sins blotted out—when they are
forgiven, or at the final judgment? Why? (121)
8. What guilt will Satan bear? How is this fact illustrated in the
Old Testament sanctuary service? (122)
9. In addition to actions, what other things are considered in the
judgment? (123, 124)
10. How is any act we commit given value? (123)
11. Two acts of Christ have equal value in the plan of salvation.
What are they? (125)
12. How does Satan “taunt” Christ and holy angels in the judg-
ment? What does he claim it is impossible for men to do? What is
the answer to this claim? (125,126)
13. How should we use the remaining days of probation? (126,
127)

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“The subject of the sanctuary and the investigative judgment

The Tragic Result of Rejecting God’s Warning Message . . . 104

The End of the 2300 Days

State, describes what took place among the company of believers of

ram Edson and two close associates, Dr. F. B. Hahn, a physician,

A Truth Established by the Witness of the Holy Spirit

“Many of our people do not realize how firmly the foundation

“We are to be established in the faith, in the light of the truth

The Sanctuary and the Sabbath

The Sanctuary Truth Under Fire

of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. Here was the secret of

Points Sustained Only by Misused Scriptures

The Reality of the Heavenly Sanctuary Affirmed

“The sanctuary in heaven, in which Jesus ministers in our behalf,

The Ark and the Law in the Heavenly Sanctuary

ark to mediate for man.”—Ellen G. White Comments, The S.D.A.

Last-Day Delusions Will Involve Vital Truth

“These false prophets will have to be met. They will make an

With Eyes Fixed on the Sanctuary

“Our faith in reference to the messages of the first, second,

This Little Book

probation would be granted them, and through repentance, and faith

The Sacred Character of God’s Law

4 Patriarchs and Prophets, 66.

Man Offers His First Sacrifice

The command was communicated to Moses while in the mount

The Tabernacle and Its Construction

into the sacred apartments, or approached the altar to offer a burnt

and looking reverently downward toward the ark, represented the

The Priests and Their Attire

The garments of the high priest were of costly material and

The Urim and Thummim

apparel and deportment of the priests was to be such as to impress

The Services of the Sanctuary*

alone mercy and salvation can be granted to the repentant, believing

The Day of Atonement

A Figure of Things in the Heavens

in our behalf, is the great original, of which the sanctuary built by

Cleansed From the Record of Sin

or blotting out of sins, was represented by the services of the Day

7. What three things were to be impressed upon Israel by the

The long-cherished plan of David to erect a temple to the Lord,

Perfect According to the Patterns

A Temple of Unrivaled Splendor

God Tokens His Acceptance

Like the earthly sanctuary built by Moses according to the pattern

The Antitype Lost Sight Of

The Temple Services Lost Their Significance

Eyes Turned to the True Sacrifice

Our High Priest, Our Advocate

thoroughly investigate these subjects, and be able to give to every

8 The Review and Herald, November 9, 1905.

An upright, honest-hearted farmer, who had been led to doubt

extent molded by their surroundings. For the excellencies which

get wisdom from God.”—S. Bliss, Memoirs of Wm. Miller, pages

The Study of the Prophecies

explained in their immediate connection, or the terms in which they