Lesson 9
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*August 25 - 31 |
The Heavenly Sanctuary
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THE PRIEST STANDS IN THE COURT OF THE TEMPLE in Jerusalem ready to offer a lamb as sacrifice. As he raises the knife to kill the victim, the earth convulses. Terrified, he drops the knife, and the lamb escapes. Over the din of the earthquake he hears a loud ripping noise as an unseen hand rends the veil of the Temple from top to bottom.
"Across town, black clouds enshroud a cross. When Jesus, the Passover Lamb of God, calls out, 'It is finished!' He dies for the sins of the world.
"The very event the Temple services have pointed to through the centuries has taken place. . . .
"But there is more to salvation history. It reaches beyond the cross. Jesus' resurrection and ascension direct our attention to the heavenly sanctuary, where, no longer the Lamb, He ministers as priest. The once-for-all sacrifice has been offered (Heb. 9:28); now He makes available to all the benefits of this atoning sacrifice."—Seventh-day Adventists Believe . . . , p. 313.
In the next two weeks we'll see the plan of salvation unfolded as we study the doctrine of the heavenly sanctuary and what it teaches us about Christ's ministry in our behalf.
THE WEEK AT A GLANCE: Is the sanctuary in heaven a literal place or just something spiritual? If real, why? Why would God, who knows everything, need a sanctuary? What's the purpose of a heavenly sanctuary and its ministry? What is Christ doing there? What does the book of Revelation teach about the sanctuary? And finally, why has the doctrine come under so much attack?
MEMORY TEXT: "The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord in on his heavenly throne" (Psalm 11:4, NIV).
(Please study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, September 1).
The Bible calls the earthly sanctuary a "shadow" of the heavenly. What is greater or more real-a shadow or the reality behind the shadow? For example, what is more real, your hand, or the shadow it casts?
The point is this: If the earthly sanctuary and its service were real, yet these functioned only as shadows of the heavenly, what does this tell us about the literalness of the heavenly sanctuary?
To discover the major differences between the earthly and heavenly
sanctuaries, complete the chart below.
THE EARTHLY SANCTUARY |
THE HEAVENLY SANCTUARY |
| human-made (Exod. 25:8) | set up/pitched by ____________________ (Heb. 8:1, 2) |
| a ________________ and ____________________ of what is in heaven (Heb. 8:5) | the true tabernacle (Heb. 8:2) |
| the sanctuary sacrifices and feasts were repeated year after year (Heb. 10:1) | Christ's sacrifice was __________________________________ (Heb. 10:10). |
In vision Daniel saw the heavenly sanctuary as a real place. He witnessed the Son of man before the Ancient of Days in the final judgment (Daniel 7), and he saw that an earthly power would conceal Christ's ministry in the heavenly sanctuary between the time He would begin His work there and its cleansing (chapter 8). Then Daniel chapter 9, the 70-week prophecy—in the context of the anointing of the "holy of holies" indicates the start of Christ's ministry in the sanctuary above.
What is the danger of spiritualizing away the reality of the heavenly
sanctuary, especially in light of clear biblical evidence that it is real?
At the same time, what's more important, the literalness of the sanctuary
in heaven or the ministry that it represents?
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"Thy way, 0 God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?"
(Ps.
77:13).
One of the important questions regarding the heavenly sanctuary deals with the reason for its existence. The earthly, as we saw last week, was designed to teach humans about the plan of redemption. But why a heavenly sanctuary? What's it needed for? Does God really need some edifice in heaven in order to save humanity? Or is there another purpose?
Look up these following verses. What do they all have in common?
Gen. 22:11, 12 ____________________________________________________________________
Job 2:1 _________________________________________________________________________
Dan. 7:10 _______________________________________________________________________
Eph. 3:10 _______________________________________________________________________
Rev.
15:5, 6
__________________________________________________________________
The problem of sin, salvation, and evil, though being waged on earth, involves heaven. Sin didn't begin on earth; sin began in heaven (Isa. 14:12-14), with the rebellion of Lucifer and a third of the angels. The sin problem has, therefore, heavenly consequences. All the universe is involved (Rom. 8:22) in the issues dealing with sin and rebellion.
Could it be, then, that the heavenly sanctuary helps teach the onlooking universe about salvation just as the earthly one teaches us? God doesn't need a sanctuary in heaven; it is there, instead, for the rest of the universe to see how God deals openly and fairly with rebellion.
Look at the heavenly judgment scene in Daniel 7; this judgment is not taking place in a vacuum. Instead, it is unfolding before an untold number of heavenly beings (vss. 10, 11). What does their presence teach us about the involvement and interest of the onlooking universe regarding the plan of salvation? Why would it be important that God deal openly with sin before all His creation? See The Great Controversy, p. 415. |
The Bible is explicit: Christ's work for us did not end after the Cross. He is now in the heavenly sanctuary, ministering as our Great High Priest (Heb. 8:1, 2).
"Who is he that condemneth? It [Lev. 4:31] is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us" (Rom. 8:34, emphasis supplied).
"The intercession of Christ in man's behalf ... 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."—The Great Controversy, p. 489.
When Jesus shouted "It is finished," what was finished? At the same time,
what was not finished?
Besides being our sacrifice, Jesus is also our High Priest. In the earthly "shadow," after an animal was sacrificed, the priest would take the blood and "make an atonement for" the sinner (Lev. 4:31). The priest did for sinners what sinners could never do for themselves. In short, the priest functioned as an intercessor.
The earthly sanctuary, however, only prefigured the life, death, and high-priestly ministry of Christ. Though the sacrifice was made once and for all (Heb. 7:27), Christ as our High Priest even now "maketh intercession" for us. Why do we need an intercessor? For the same reason the sinner in Israel did—our sin. In the same way that sinners needed the priest as often as they sinned, we need Jesus as well, who applies His merits in our behalf. Our continual sin means we have continual need for an intercessor. That Intercessor, of course, is Jesus, who presents His blood, His righteousness, in behalf of repentant sinners (see 1 John 2:1). This is what the Bible means when it says that "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" (Heb. 7:25).
| However much emphasis we as a church place on the heavenly sanctuary,
we must remember that salvation is not found in the structure itself any
more than in the earthly "shadow." Salvation is found only in Jesus,
who through His ministry in the heavenly sanctuary constantly makes available
the merits of His sacrifice for all who come in true faith and repentance.
How does the knowledge that we have an Intercessor ministering in our
behalf in heaven give us comfort, especially when we fall?
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What role does the heavenly sanctuary play in the end-time visions of
Revelation?
Rev.
11:19;
14:15,
17;
15:5-8;
16:10.
There are sixteen references to the heavenly sanctuary in the book of Revelation. Some of the words these references use to name the sanctuary include temple, sanctuary, and tabernacle. In John's portrayal the major scenes of the drama of redemption are linked to the heavenly sanctuary. Throughout John's visions there is an ongoing interplay—sometimes cooperative, at other times antagonistic—between earth and the sanctuary. There's a cooperative interplay when, for example, the saints receive messages of encouragement sent from the sanctuary (Rev. 21:3); in contrast, there's antagonistic interplay when angels send plagues from the sanctuary to the powers that oppose God (16:1).
Look up the following verses in Revelation. What sanctuary imagery do you find in each one? Try to find other examples as well.
Rev. 1:12 _______________________________________________________________________
Rev. 5:6 ________________________________________________________________________
Rev. 7:14 _______________________________________________________________________
Rev. 8:3, 4 ______________________________________________________________________
Rev.
11:19 _________________________________________________________________
Revelation portrays the heavenly sanctuary as the control center of redemption and always views the Lamb in the sanctuary setting. Redemption messages originate from God's heavenly throne room. The security of the saints is based on the sanctuary activities of God and the Lamb. Judgment comes from the sanctuary, and end-time events are directed from it.
| "One thing will certainly be understood from the study of
Revelation—that the connection between God and His people is close and
decided."—Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers,
p. 114. The doctrine of the heavenly
sanctuary, as depicted in Revelation, shows this close connection between
heaven and earth. In what ways is knowledge of this connection assuring?
In what ways, however, could it be
discomforting? |
What is it about the sanctuary that has made it a special object of attack
by Satan?
Dan.
8:11, 12;
Rev.
13:6.
The sanctuary focuses on Jesus' ministry on behalf of sinners. It clearly reveals and highlights God's abounding grace to fallen humanity. The sanctuary teaches us how, with God's help, we not only have continual forgiveness for sin but can have victory over sin. In Eden, Adam and Eve experienced face-to-face communion with God. Sin destroyed that communication. The sanctuary, however, assures us that God is near, that He is compassionate, and that He has provided a way for us to approach Him.
No wonder Satan hates the sanctuary truth.
Why is knowledge of Christ as our High Priest so important to our
understanding?
In Daniel 8 the little-horn power targets the sanctuary. He is portrayed as taking away its "daily sacrifice," or daily ministry. He also takes away the place of the sanctuary (vss. 11, 12). Later John also witnessed the same attacks against the sanctuary. The leopard-like beast, acting on the basis of power given him by the dragon, "opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven" (Rev. 13:6, NASB).
"It becomes apparent at once that Satan's warfare against God focuses upon God's sanctuary and God's throne, and thereby upon His sovereignty. . . . The truth from the sanctuary explains the final end of sin, the final rescue from death and destruction, the judgments of God upon men and nations, and the establishment of God's everlasting kingdom. That is the goal toward which the whole creation moves. To understand this, one must take seriously the Bible truths that issue from the sanctuary."—Edward Heppenstall, Our High Priest (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Assoc., 1972), pp. 18, 19.
| Jaime has a Christian friend who mocks the Adventist understanding
of the heavenly sanctuary. "Christ finished everything at the Cross!"
the friend says. Looking at what we have studied so far, how
could Jamie help expand his friend's knowledge of the plan of salvation?
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FURTHER STUDY: Read in 1 Kings 8:56-61 the speech Solomon gave at the dedication of the temple. Considering the nature of the heavenly sanctuary, of which the temple services were a shadow, why are these words so appropriate?
Also read Early Writings, pp.
250-253.
As Jesus died on Calvary, He cried, 'It is finished,' and the veil of the temple was rent in twain, from the top to the bottom. This was to show that the services of the earthly sanctuary were forever finished, and that God would no more meet with the priests in their earthly temple, to accept their sacrifices. The blood of Jesus was then shed, which was to be offered by Himself in the heavenly sanctuary. As the priest entered the most holy once a year to cleanse the earthly sanctuary, so Jesus entered the most holy of the heavenly, at the end of the 2300 days of Daniel 8, in 1844, to make a final atonement for all who could be benefitted by His mediation, and thus to cleanse the sanctuary."—Early Writings, p. 253.
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SUMMARY: The heavenly sanctuary
is where Christ—before the onlooking universe—ministers the merits
of His sacrifice in our behalf. When we sin, we have an Intercessor who applies
His perfect righteousness in our behalf. The importance of this truth has
made the sanctuary and what it teaches a special target of Satan's
wrath.
Francoise Monnier
Beatriz Chavez stood dazed as the prison cell door slammed behind her. How could she, a Christian, have ended up in prison? Despair threatened to overwhelm her as she sank onto the narrow cell bed.
Beatriz thought she was doing her friend a favor when she cosigned for her loan. But when the woman skipped town, the bank told Beatriz to pay. But Beatriz could not pay off the loan. At first she thought the bank's lawyers were just trying to frighten her when they threatened to take her to court, but they weren't, and the judge sentenced Beatriz to a year in prison.
Beatriz had been a Christian most of her life and an Adventist for three years. But now she wondered if God had forgotten her. Now what? she asked herself.
As Beatriz got acquainted with the prisoners and heard their stories, her heart was stirred. She began sharing her faith with the women and offered to study the Bible with them. But she wanted to do more. With the prison administration's permission, Beatriz arranged with women from an Adventist church an hour from the prison to come and teach them about nutrition, household skills, and money management. The church women saw other needs, and they arranged for lawyers to provide free legal advice and for medical personnel to treat the women and their children's medical needs.
Beatriz heard about the difficulties the prisoners' families faced, and she urged the church members to visit these families and help them. The church women began distributing clothes, food, and other necessities to these families. They held cooking and nutrition classes and arranged for sponsors to pay the children's school fees so they would not miss out on their education.
As women's release dates neared, the church women worked to help prepare the women to find work and reenter society. And they held evangelistic meetings, inside and outside the prison. Some members of this church had already helped build a chapel for the nearest men's prison; they decided to do the same for the women's prison.
Beatriz was released from prison, but the women from Santa Cruz continue working with those left behind. Once Beatriz wondered what good could come from being sent to prison, but today she rejoices over the 28 women who have been baptized and some 50 more who are studying the Bible inside the prison. A number of them have requested baptism.
Beatriz Chavez lives in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Francoise Monnier is Women's Ministries Director of the Bolivian Union.
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