The Sanctuary in Light of the Cross
In Light of the Cross Study Guide Number 8
In the early 1800s a Baptist farmer by the name of William Miller began earnestly studying his Bible and ran across a remarkable discovery in Daniel 8:14. He read, “Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” William realized this prophecy was part of the 70 week prophecy in Daniel 9. Daniel 9:25 tells us this time prophecy begins at the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem after their seventy years in captivity. That decree came from King Cyrus in 457 BC. So William added 2300 days to 457 BC taking out the zero as there was no Zero year, and came to 1844. Notice in Ezekiel 4:6 it tells us a day stands for a year in Bible prophecy. William then understood that in 1844 the sanctuary would be cleansed. This sanctuary cleansing reminded him of the Day of Atonement which fell on October 22 of the year 1844. William Miller had the date right but what he thought was the cleansing of the sanctuary turned out not to be so at all. Poor William Miller and many others thought the cleaning of the sanctuary would be the coming of Jesus when He will return and cleanse the earth with fire. So they expected Jesus to come back to take them home on October 22, 1844. They were so excited! Many sold all they had, spent their time and money spreading the news of Jesus’ soon advent. William Miller himself traveled around holding tent meetings using charts showing what he believed to be the prophecy of Jesus returning in 1844. Many made fun of him, and when he would tell people they should give their hearts to Jesus before He comes that October, many asked “What if He does not return?” I liked William’s answer as he assured people they should give their hearts to Jesus, not because He is coming soon, but because He died for them. That is true; we love Jesus because He first loved us.
Sadly, William and his friends had a bitter lesson to learn. Revelation 10 talks about this bitter disappointment when it describes the book John had to eat. I believe that book is the book of Daniel and this “great disappointment.” I guess I don’t need to tell you that Jesus did not return in 1844. When the people realized Jesus was not coming on that day they wept and wept. To them all was lost. But some, who did not really love Jesus and were only getting ready because He was coming again, quickly went back to their old way of life. But those who really loved Jesus because He died for them and first loved them kept studying their Bibles to see where they went wrong. What they found was a remarkable discovery. Let’s take a look.
William and his friends made a mistake in setting a certain day for Jesus to return. By the way there is also no mention of the sanctuary being the earth. So William was wrong in both thinking the cleansing of the sanctuary would be the second coming. But even though they made a mistake Jesus did not forsake them! Jesus loves us way too much to give up on us just because we don’t understand the entire Bible, or have some wrong ideas. But if we truly love Jesus as we continue to study, He will lead us into all truth (John 16:13).
Those who still loved Jesus and kept studying found an answer in a text in Malachi which explained where Jesus whom they were seeking would actually come to.
Where does Malachi 3:1 say the Lord would come to?
Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple.
So upon further study and review they found the prophecy of Daniel 8:14 would be fulfilled by Jesus cleaning the sanctuary or His temple. So Just as the High priest went into the Most Holy place on the Day of Atonement to cleanse the sanctuary of all sin (See Leviticus 16 and Leviticus 23:27-30) so Jesus had gone into the heavenly sanctuary (See Hebrews 3:1 and 8:1-4) to cleanse our sins. So they indeed had the time right, but instead of Jesus coming to this earth in 1844 He entered the final phase of His ministry in the sanctuary.
What question is asked in Malachi 3:2?
But 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.
The question is who will be able to stand when Jesus returns. Revelation 6:17 asks the same question. Revelation 7 describes a people who have in their own lives the seal ofGod’s character, so they may stand the day of His coming and never ever see death!
What does Malachi 3:3, 4 tell us Jesus will be doing in the temple or Sanctuary?
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. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years.
The Levites represented the church in Malachi’s time. So what Jesus has begun cleaning in 1844 is His church, preparing them to have His Character so when he returns they will be able to stand in the day of His appearing. Millions who have died will go to heaven in the resurrection when Jesus returns, but Jesus is also preparing a people who, like Elijah will stand firm for righteousness ( See James 5:16,17) and never see death (See 2 Kings 2:11) .
Remember the sanctuary is like a church and a church is not so much a building as it is a people. So the cleansing of the Sanctuary is not so much about a place being cleansed as it is about a people being cleansed.
Why did God want a sanctuary in the first place? Exodus 25:8
And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.
We are the real Sanctuary God wants to dwell in. “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost [which is] in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own” (1 Corinthians 6:19)? So when we study about the ministry of the Old Testament Sanctuary or the ministry of Jesus in the heavenly Sanctuary what we are really seeing are object lessons of what Jesus wants to do in the real Sanctuary of our hearts. So when we read about the cleansing of the Sanctuary in Daniel 8:14 it is really talking about our hearts being cleansed.
Since all of our lessons in this series are in light of the Cross we must ask ourselves what the cleansing of the sanctuary has to do with the Cross.
When they pierced the side of Jesus on the Cross what two things flowed out?
But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. John 19:34
Why is the blood important?
And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. Hebrews 9:22
Remission means forgiveness. Just as the priest in the earthly sanctuary presented the blood of a lamb for forgiveness, likewise Jesus, our High Priest presents His own blood for our forgiveness.
Why is the water important?
And thus shalt thou do unto them, to cleanse them: Sprinkle water of purifying upon them, and let them shave all their flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and [so] make themselves clean. Numbers 8:7
The water symbolizes the power of Jesus’ love transforming and purifying our sin polluted hearts. You see when we realize that our sins have caused Jesus to suffer and die for us, we want more than forgiveness; we also want victory over those sins that cause Jesus pain. And Jesus promises both forgiveness and victory when we read in 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” We can do nothing to earn forgiveness or even a clean heart, but Jesus offers them to us both for free, courtesy of the Cross!
“In the cleansing of the temple, Jesus was announcing His mission as the Messiah, and entering upon His work. That temple, erected for the abode of the divine Presence, was designed to be an object lesson for Israel and for the world. From eternal ages it was God's purpose that every created being, from the bright and holy seraph to man, should be a temple for the indwelling of the Creator. Because of sin, humanity ceased to be a temple for God. Darkened and defiled by evil, the heart of man no longer revealed the glory of the Divine One. But by the incarnation of the Son of God, the purpose of Heaven is fulfilled. God dwells in humanity, and through saving grace the heart of man becomes again His temple. God designed that the temple at Jerusalem should be a continual witness to the high destiny open to every soul. But the Jews had not understood the significance of the building they regarded with so much pride. They did not yield themselves as holy temples for the Divine Spirit. The courts of the temple at Jerusalem, filled with the tumult of unholy traffic, represented all too truly the temple of the heart, defiled by the presence of sensual passion and unholy thoughts. In cleansing the temple from the world's buyers and sellers, Jesus announced His mission to cleanse the heart from the defilement of sin,--from the earthly desires, the selfish lusts, the evil habits, that corrupt the soul. "The Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, He shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But 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." Mal. 3:1-3.
"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are." 1 Cor. 3:16, 17. No man can of himself cast out the evil throng that have taken possession of the heart. Only Christ can cleanse the soul temple. But He will not force an entrance. He comes not into the heart as to the temple of old; but He says, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him." Rev. 3:20. He will come, not for one day merely; for He says, "I will dwell in them, and walk in them; . . . and they shall be My people." "He will subdue our iniquities; and Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea." 2 Cor. 6:16; Micah 7:19. His presence will cleanse and sanctify the soul, so that it may be a holy temple unto the Lord, and "an habitation of God through the Spirit." Eph. 2:21, 22. {Desire of Ages 161}
What is Jesus preparing for us before He returns?
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if [it were] not [so], I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, [there] ye may be also. John 14: 1-3
Surely it is not taking Jesus two thousand years to build literal mansions in heaven after it only took Him six days to create the earth. The word “mansions” in the Greek means abodes or dwelling places. Jesus is working in the sanctuary of our hearts preparing a place where He can dwell right inside of us, so that “I may dwell among them” Exodus 25:8 and so that “Where I am there ye may be also.” (John 14:3) This is not a work done with bricks and mortar but with fleshy human hearts.
What promise do we have that Jesus will have this work completed before He returns?
Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform [it] until the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6
Jesus wants to come into the heart of our sanctuary and sup with us feeding us His righteousness so that we can be together. Think about it! Jesus loves you so much that out of all the places in the Universe He could be, the one place He wants to be is with you! This is why He died for us and became the sacrificial lamb. (John 1:29) He could have stayed in heaven surrounded by luxuries and wonderful angels but He chose to leave it all for you! He gave up His throne for a Cross, He gave up His royal robes and was mocked and ridiculed, He gave up His Crown for a Crown of thorns. He even gave up His life! And what does He hope to gain for all that He has sacrificed? He desires your heart. Jesus has made it blatantly clear, He is obsessed with you! He is in love with you! We can’t cover the entire Sanctuary in one lesson or even a thousand! But one thing becomes clear the more we study the Sanctuary message. Jesus died for us so He could remove sin from our hearts and live right with us. There is nowhere else in this universe Jesus wants to be than with us! “Let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.” Exodus 25:8
Will you let Jesus make your heart a sanctuary so He can be with you?
For Further Study on the Sanctuary
