As Seventh-day Adventists, we share the same Bible with other Christians, yet our interpretation of the Biblical passages about the heavenly sanctuary sets us apart. During the intertestamental period the notion of a timeless, immaterial heaven began to compete with the belief in a real, physical heavenly sanctuary. By the sixth century A.D. the timeless heaven had largely taken over. The Protestant Reformers revived the focus on Jesus as our personal Intercessor, yet they retained the spiritualized interpretation of the Biblical passages about the heavenly sanctuary.
To understand how we came to interpret those passages differently, we need to examine how the Millerites viewed the sanctuary. In 1818 William Miller was captivated by Daniel’s words. “Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” (Daniel 8:14) To identify that sanctuary, he studied every Biblical reference to “sanctuary,” “temple,” or “tabernacle.” He identified seven sanctuaries, but because Judah was no longer God’s people, and their temple was lying in ruins, Miller concluded that only the earth and the saints needed cleansing. He believed that this cleansing would occur at Christ’s second coming. Applying the year-day principle to the 2300 days, and starting from 457 B.C., he concluded that Christ’s coming was very soon, in his lifetime. Now all of this was based on a real earthly and heavenly sanctuary.
In our day many people hold deep misunderstandings about the character of God, especially when it comes to suffering and tragedies under the watchcare of an all-powerful God. A striking example of this problem appears in Daniel 10. Sometime after receiving a “great vision” Daniel heard these words. “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words.” (Daniel 10:12)
Notice that Daniel’s words were heard “from the first day.” That was three weeks ago! Why did this angel come to Daniel only after three full weeks? The angel himself answers this question. “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days.” (Daniel 10:13) How is this possible? How could an angel sent by God be “withstood” for three weeks? This story reveals a serious conflict between the forces of light and darkness. God is not exercising all of His power. The enemy must be granted some genuine freedom to act within certain rules, which God does not arbitrarily modify.
There must be a cosmic conflict between God’s kingdom and the devil’s kingdom, which cannot be based on sheer power. Scripture elsewhere identifies this as a conflict over character, caused by the devil’s allegations against God. Since allegations cannot be settled by force, God can effectively answer these allegations only by demonstration. This kind of conflict is possible only if God has committed Himself to work within stated rules in which His kingdom can be opposed. We need to see what might take place if God gave the enemy some room to make his case.
We have named this cosmic conflict “The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan.” Accordingly, the devil has some real power within which he works. Because of Adam and Eve’s decision, John writes that “the whole world lieth in wickedness.” (1 John 5:19) This world looks like a war zone because it is one. It is not a war of sheer power, but one over love. To clarify and simplify God’s words and actions, He decided to give Israel and us an object lesson to understand His character—the real and physical earthly sanctuary.
Suppose, as we journey homeward, we get interested in where that little road over there might lead, or where this path over here might go. Jesus would likely say, “Keep your eyes on the main track and keep following—the way through the sanctuary.”
The Jews, when the Messiah came 2,000 years ago, knew most of the Old Testament by heart; but they rejected the One those writings foretold, while quoting Scripture in the process. I hope that many will find Jesus in a very special way as He is revealed in the sanctuary
Now the sanctuary in heaven is just as real as the one Moses made on earth. There are many problems that are filling this world. Some of us have problems with sickness, financial difficulties, troubles in the home. But God has a bigger problem. You and I can help solve this problem. God’s problem is how to save sinners without saving sin, how to destroy sin without destroying sinners, how to get rid of sin without getting rid of you and me, how to take us to heaven without taking along some infection that will spread this awful epidemic throughout the universe. There are people who think that God ought to just forgive everybody and take them to heaven. But if God were to do that, He would perpetuate sin, and sin is the monster that is responsible for every problem in this world. God can’t take sinners to heaven with their sins. To separate sin from sinners is a great problem, even to God.
The question is: Will God ever be able to produce a people that are safe, free from sin, so He can close the sanctuary? This is the heart of the third angel’s message. In the sanctuary we find that God is able to finish what He began. For it is written, “Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” (Daniel 8:14) You notice it doesn’t say, “Then shall the sanctuary remain in the process of being cleansed throughout all eternity.”
In the sanctuary, God solves the problem of saving sinners without saving sin. He separates sin from sinners so that He can burn up the sin without burning up the sinners. This is infinitely expensive. When God faced the problem of how to save sinners without perpetuating sin, He saw the cross erected on Calvary. And God so loved the world that He gave His darling Son to die that death. O what a price. His dying agonies tell us something of the pain that our transgressions have caused. The only cure for sin is to know something of its cost.
Suppose I am carrying a vase with beautiful flowers, and I drop it. There it lies in a hundred pieces. I think, “Well, that’s too bad. I wish I hadn’t done that. But I’ll pay for it.” So I go to the pastor and say, “Brother, I’m sorry. I broke this vase. I want to get you another one. What does it cost?” I assume $10 ought to take care of it. But when I notice that he looks quite solemn, I say, “What’s the matter, friend? You look sad.” He replies, “I have to tell you. That vase is an antique. It’s been handed down in the family for a number of generations. There’s only one other vase like it in the world. It’s in a New York city antique shop. The price is $10,000.” Tell me, friends, and don’t take it lightly. Am I sorrier now than I was two minutes ago? What happened? I found out the cost. I’m afraid that the reason we’re not very sorry about sin is that we don’t sense what it costs. We find ourselves going over and over again the cycle of sinning and repenting, sinning and repenting! Believe me, we will never stop sinning and stay stopped until we know the awful cost of sin.
It is in the true sanctuary and its services that we learn this lesson. Why are there two rooms in the sanctuary, and why is there a court out in front—three different places in which a service is ministered? The reason there are three places is that there are three jobs to do. And that’s why there are three places: the court, the holy place, and the most holy place. We need to study and understand what Jesus does in each of the three places, and what our part is in cooperating with Him; then we can join with Him in getting this sin problem solved for all eternity.
The great purpose of the third angel’s message is to focus our attention on the present work of Jesus in the most holy place. But there can be no work done in the most holy place until there’s a work done in the holy place. And there can be no work done in the holy place until there’s a work done in the court. The center of all this is in the most holy, in the ark—the eternal law of God. When it came to the law, God said, “Moses, I’ll make this.” And God wrote it with His own finger. To show how important this point is, when Moses in his righteous wrath threw down the tables of the law and broke them, did God say, “Moses, you make a copy and put it in? No. He said, “Bring me two tables of stone and I will write again according to the first writing the commandments.” The Ten Commandments are lifted far above all the rest of the Bible. This is that which God Himself wrote. Moses, the prophets, and the apostles wrote the Scriptures. But God did not entrust the writing of His law to any human hand. He set it apart from all the rest of the writings, and He had it put in the ark. Why? Because the law is a copy of the one in heaven.
The altar of sacrifice is a copy of the heavenly altar; the ark of the covenant is a copy of the heavenly ark, and the law is a copy of the heavenly law. It is important that we understand that we are dealing, not with the sanctuary that Moses made, but with the sanctuary in heaven. We’re dealing, not with the law that Moses put in back there, but with the great original, the law of God in the temple in heaven. The purpose of this law is to tell us what’s right and what’s wrong. When sinners think they’re clean, it’s because they haven’t looked into the mirror of this law. The great problem for God is how He is going to cancel out death for us and take us to heaven, yet not let any sin in. How is He going to get rid of the sin and not the sinner?
The Courtyard
In the court of the sanctuary, the process starts. We could not go where He was, so He came where we are. The Bible deals with sin as something that can be transferred from one person to another, from one place to another. The sanctuary service is to get the sin transferred away from the sinner to somebody who will deal with it. The sinner transfers the sin from himself to the substitute. Now his sin is on the substitute. The man was guilty, but now the substitute is guilty. It must die. Why? Because sin has been transferred to it. The substitute must die.
Now, who is going to slay the substitute? Right here is one of the most vital points in the whole sanctuary service. The sinner must slay the sacrifice. Why? Because it was his sin that made the death necessary. Sin causes death. I must die; or the substitute must die for me, killed by my hand. We need to realize this before we can comprehend what goes on in the holy place and most holy place. The blood that is ministered within the veil must be shed in the court. Zechariah 12:10 says “they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.” As you read this text I want you to see two pictures. First, see the man at the altar as he confesses his sin on the head of the substitute and takes the knife and slays the sacrifice. He looks into the eyes of that innocent lamb. He sees a guiltless creature dying for him—dying because of his sin and slain by his own hand. What did that load of sin do to the lamb back then? It took its life. What did it do the Lamb of God on Calvary? It took His life. Has sin ever made you feel that bad? This is the cure for sin. And nothing that the priest can do inside the sanctuary can take the place of what has to happen to you and me at the altar.
When you and I come to Calvary, we see Somebody that has been slain not by accident but by our deliberate, presumptuous sin. We see the One whom we have slain by our transgression of God’s law. And we say, “Is this the price? Is that what it costs? Is there no other way?” No, there is no other way. When you and I come to Calvary and see what our sin has done to Christ, we’ll not need to have anybody beg us to be good. When our hearts are broken over sin, when we see what our transgression has done to Jesus, we’ll say, “Oh, Lord, take it away. Please take it away forever.”
Do you have some sin that you need to bring to Jesus? Ask Him to make it real to you that He died for you, that the pain of your sin breaks His heart. Give that sin to Jesus. He is anxious to take it. Have our hands driven the nails? Have we taken the spear and pierced His heart? Here is our prayer. “We come just now and bring our sins and place them on that dear head that was wounded by us. Forgive us for every sin in the long black catalog. Just now, we lay these sins on Jesus, the spotless Lamb of God. We thank Thee that, in this process, sin is separated from us. By faith we claim the cleansing blood. We believe that Jesus has died in our place and has taken our sins that we may go free.”
“Just as I am, without one plea, But that Thy blood was shed for me, And that Thou bid’st me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come.” [Christian hymn]
“Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest forever after the order of Melchisedec.” (Hebrews 6:19,20)
“The subject of the sanctuary and the investigative judgment should be clearly understood by the people of God.” (8T 315) There should be nothing vague about the sanctuary for a Seventh-day Adventist. It is very real and tangible. Our hope is anchored within the veil where Jesus is.
“We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand 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)
When the Surgeon General announced that scientific research showed that cigarettes caused lung cancer, a very small percentage of smokers stopped; the rest kept puffing on. But the tobacco companies decided to carry on research. Was it the purpose of helping people quit tobacco? No. It was to see if they couldn’t turn up some scientific evidence that tobacco wasn’t so bad after all. This illustrates the popular attitude toward sin. Most people want something which will assure them that sin isn’t so bad after all, that that they can go on sinning and still get to heaven.
I hope that we are looking for a way to get rid of sin. This is the goal of the sanctuary services. “But now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.” (Hebrews 9:26) He is going to do away with sin, eradicate it, erase it, blot it out, put an end to it. The whole sin problem is going to be solved in and through the sanctuary by the work of Jesus. In our daily studies let us look at the typical service as described in Leviticus 4, 5, and 6. Ten times in these three chapters we have precisely the same wording: “the priest shall make an atonement.” God wanted Israel to understand two things: first, that they couldn’t make the atonement; and second, that the priest could do it, and would do it, if they would cooperate.
Ellen White speaks of the word “atonement” as “at-one-ment.” Man and God are to be brought together, not by man changing God, but by God changing man. We are not Universalists. The Bible does not teach that there is anything in the plan of salvation which makes it possible by any act of God to just sweep all mankind into heaven. That would make heaven a place of eternal torment. God is going to take everybody to heaven who would be happy there; any sin remaining in us would make us unhappy in heaven, as it makes people unhappy on earth.
The atonement has to do with something more than canceling the penalty for sin; it deals with sin itself. Isaiah 59:2 says “But your iniquities have separates between you and your God.” It is sin that separates. The atonement gets sin out of the way, and man and God are brought together again. As long as sin remains between man and God, He still needs an atonement. So the priest must make an atonement for him. In Lev. 4 the man who wanted to be forgiven brought his offering, and we need to bring our offering. So we come with our Lamb, the Son of God. The sinner was to lay his hand on the sacrifice, so that the sin was transferred from the sinner to the substitute. Then the substitute was killed. Who killed it? The sinner killed it, showing that it is our sins that have slain Jesus.
The Holy Place
“And the priest shall dip his finger in some of the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before the Lord, even before the veil. And he shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar which is before the Lord, that is in the tabernacle of the congregation.” (Leviticus 4: 17,18) From the court where the substitute had been slain by the sinner, the priest carried the blood into the sanctuary. The blood staining the sanctuary provided forgiveness. “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.” (Psalm 32:1) In this sprinkled blood in the sanctuary, we see the forgiveness of sin provided by a Savior who laid down His life for us. Our sin is covered by His life.
But let us look further. This service represents the transfer of sin from the sinner, though the substitute, into the sanctuary. It was the sin, placed on the head of the sacrifice, that caused it to be slain. So the sin was on the sacrifice when it died. Then that blood was carried into the sanctuary, bearing the sin. That’s how the sin got into the sanctuary. As the lamb wouldn’t have died if the sin wouldn’t have been put on it, so Jesus wouldn’t have died if our sins hadn’t been put on Him. On the cross He died for us, but in the sanctuary He lives for us. Thus our sins are transferred from us to the sanctuary, from earth to heaven.
Where are your sins just now? They are either on earth or in heaven. They’re either on your heart or through the blood of Jesus, they have been transferred to the heavenly sanctuary. I hope you know for sure that your sin is covered by the blood of Jesus there in the sanctuary. Guilt, fear, worry, concern over sin is driving the people of this world sick and crazy. Bring your sin to the sanctuary, put it on the Lamb of God, confess it, give it to Him, let His death take the place of your death, let Him be your sinbearer. If that load is left on you, it will crush out your life.
I want you to see something interesting in Leviticus 5:5: “When he shall be guilty in one of these things, that he shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing.” Be specific. God wants us to be specific in our confessions. Jesus is never going to take your sin unless you turn loose of it. He’s not going to grab it from you. You must come and give that sin to Jesus. You must see Him die for you and then, by faith, see Him go into the sanctuary and cover your sin. Then you will know that your sin has been transferred, in fact, to the heavenly sanctuary.
Is this the end of it? No, this is the beginning. But this is about as far as most people get. They think of Jesus as a priest up there that forgives sin. But do you know what the purpose of taking the sins into the sanctuary is? It’s to get rid of them. It’s to finally blot them out. And covering and blotting out are not the same thing.
“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: for I will pardon them whom I reserve.” (Jeremiah 50:20) God is going to do a thorough work of getting rid of sin. The purpose of Jesus dying is to make an end of sin.
The Most Holy Place
On the Day of Atonement the high priest came out of the inner sanctuary bearing the sins of the entire year and put them on the scapegoat. Where had they been all the year? In the sanctuary. The purpose of putting them in there was to get them out. It is like a laundry. Every week we’re getting the clothes in and we’re getting them out. The sanctuary is God’s laundry. The purpose of getting the clothes in is to get them out. But there is something done about them while they’re in there. They go in dirty; they come out clean. But the laundry is going to close. A big sign says, “This laundry will close December 31.” I can imagine people in little groups saying, “What in the world are we going to do?” Then suppose we see another sign that says, “Classes are now being held daily about how to keep your clothes clean so you won’t need the laundry.” Would you attend? If you wanted to wear clean clothes you would attend those classes so you wouldn’t need the laundry any more. TODAY classes are being held in the heavenly sanctuary. God is teaching us how to stay clean from sin for the rest of eternity. It can be done; it will be done. There’s got to come an end to the stream of sins that we are sending in. It is a fact that the cleansing of our sins is going to close, and close soon.
Are you sure that your sins are in the sanctuary right now? Do you have something in your life that needs to come out? Do you want to be certain that your sins are covered? Do you want to get rid of them? Then put those sins on the Lamb. Just now talk to Jesus. Give Him your sins. He will take them.
“For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the Lord.” (Lev. 16:30) Let us never forget that “what was done in type in the ministration of the earthly sanctuary is done in reality in the ministration of the heavenly sanctuary.” (GC 420) When the Day of Atonement closed, there was a clean sanctuary and a clean people. Will God have a clean heavenly sanctuary? But what about the people? Will they be clean, too? Well, unless the people get clean, the sanctuary can never be clean.
The purpose of the sacrifices in the daily service was to get the sins into the sanctuary. But the purpose of the sprinkling of the blood on the Day of Atonement was to get the sins out of the sanctuary. Ephesians 5:27 tells us why there must be a cleansing. “That He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” No spots left, not even a wrinkle. This is a very good laundry.
You and I must bring our sacrifice to the door of the sanctuary, confess our sins, slay the sacrifice, and trust the priest to sprinkle the blood within the veil, that our sins may be transferred from us to the heavenly sanctuary. But that isn’t the end of the matter. Only through the final work of the Day of Atonement can sins be blotted out forever. On this day there was no service of putting hands on the Lord’s goat to transfer sin to him. The sins this goat was to pay for were already in the sanctuary. The purpose of slaying animals in the daily service was to get the sin in; the slaying of the Lord’s goat on the Day of Atonement was to get the sins out. Inspiration calls this “the final atonement.” We need the cross, we need the mediatorial work of Jesus in the Holy Place, and we need His final atonement in the Most Holy Place.
This is a distinctive Seventh-day Adventist contribution to the salvation story, and a more complete understanding of the plan of salvation. In your imagination, see the scapegoat, and Aaron, with his hands on the scapegoat, confessing over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel. Now watch the goat being led off. Where are the sins? They’re gone. Israel will never see them again. I hope that in this moment we shall see our great High Priest in heaven, with wounded hands, bearing our sins in the sanctuary. In the heavenly service there is only one Lamb, and so for each sin He must suffer anew. Thus, concerning those who keep on sinning when they know better, it is written that “they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame.” (Hebrews 6:6)
Jesus hung on a cross of wood for six hours, that you and I might understand something of how He hangs on a cross of pain for six thousand years. Sin hurt Him when it started; it’s been hurting Him ever since. The priest, after the sacrifice is offered in the court, must bear those sins in the sanctuary. How long must He bear them? Until the blood is sprinkled on the mercy seat and the high priest brings those sins out and puts them on the scapegoat. “Christ Jesus is represented as continually standing at the altar, momentarily offering up the sacrifice for the sins of the world.” (1SM 343) Is He offering it up today? Yes. “The atoning sacrifice through a Mediator is essential because of the constant commission of sin.” (1SM 344) Are you glad there is a Priest who is willing to bear your sins? I am glad He is still in business.
When we stop sinning, Jesus can close the sanctuary. This must happen before He returns to claim His children. God can’t blot sin out up there as long as we keep on sinning down here. You see, our Savior respects our power of choice, not only at the beginning of our Christian life, but all the way through. I must come to Jesus at the door of the sanctuary and say, “Jesus, I’m sorry for this sin; I have broken your law. I’m through with this sin. I want you to take it. I never want to see it again.” And Jesus does it. He says, “I’ve got it, and I’ll be glad to keep it forever; but if you ever want it back, let me know—you can have it back.” We can have an angry temper back, criticism, gossip, withholding tithe, breaking the Sabbath. The final atonement cannot come until the people of God have reached the point where they are through with sin forever.
“Some few in every generation resisted his every artifice. Enoch and Elijah are the correct representatives of what the race might be through faith in Jesus Christ if they chose to be.” (RH March 3, 1874) Enoch and Elijah are pictures of what the 144,000 will be before Jesus returns. And the fact that so few reach that goal must never limit our conception of the power of God and the purpose of God. For 4,000 years men were offered salvation in anticipation of what Jesus would do on the cross. And for 2,000 more years men were offered the privilege of entering into the experience of getting done with sin in anticipation of what Jesus would do in the Most Holy Place. This is mankind’s last chance. Probation IS closing soon.
This is the first time in the history of the world when the whole church reaches this experience. Sad to say, many who now profess His name will have to be cleaned out because they would not be cleaned up. This generation is given the opportunity to “stand…without a Mediator” after the sanctuary is closed. (GC 425)
Faith is simply believing what God says when you can’t see. That’s how Israel got through the Red Sea, that’s how the walls of Jericho came down, and that’s how you and I are going to enter into this experience. It must be; it will be, because the honor of God is at stake.
On Friday mother is getting the house all cleaned up for Sabbath. Right now she’s mopping the kitchen, but as she’s just about through, in comes one of the boys with muddy feet and walks across the floor. What will mother do now? Well, she’ll do some more mopping. And about the time she has that taken care of, in comes Mary from school and her feet are muddy, too. That leaves a track. How long will it take mother in get the kitchen cleaned up? That depends on when people quit tracking in mud. Remember that the sins that defile the sanctuary are not the sins of infidels. It’s the transgressions of the people of God that makes a stream of defiling sins in the temple above. When can the sanctuary be cleansed? Not until the stream stops. Shall we send Him the word that we’re heart to heart with Him in getting rid of sin?
Right now we need a little help from inspiration. “We are in the great day of atonement, and the sacred work of Christ for the people of God that is going on at the present time in the heavenly sanctuary should be our constant study. We should teach our children what the typical Day of Atonement signified.” (5T 520)
“When this grand truth is seen and understood, those who hold it will work in harmony with Christ to prepare a people to stand in the great day of God, and their efforts will be successful.” (5T 575) Did you catch the last phrase? We will FINISH the work. Jesus will come. It is the goal of the sanctuary to bring us to that blessed experience where God, looking upon His church, sees His image reflected fully. He cannot forgive our sins unless we confess them, and He cannot blot out our sins unless, by His grace, we have overcome them. He says He’s going to put away sin, eradicate it, do away with it, blot it out. Are you with Him in this? Do you want Him to?
When He comes the second time, no longer is He the sinbearer. His sinbearing has accomplished its purpose. Sin is blotted out before He comes back to this world. It is cleansed from the sanctuary because it has been cleansed from the hearts and lives of His people. He finds His church “without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing.” (Eph. 5:27) Is there power in the blood of Jesus to finally present a people that have been cleansed from all sin?
Of course we all know that it isn’t as bad to lose your temper as it is to get drunk, is it? But if I knew that tomorrow morning, unless I got down and prayed earnestly to Jesus I’d probably get drunk before nightfall, I think I would pray earnestly. But we think our sins are different. It’s just a matter of telling some foolish story, or just some gossip or criticism. We think, almost everybody does that, so there’s nothing so serious to pray about. Do you see our problem?
The sanctuary in heaven is never going to close as long as we keep having emergencies—getting angry with our spouse or our children. If that’s our program—anger and forgiveness, anger and forgiveness—then the emergency hospital must stay open.
Is it really true? Is there coming a time when there will be no more offering for sin? I’d hate to think this must go on forever. I greatly appreciate the mercy of God in turning His temple into an emergency hospital to deal with my emergency of sin. But I’d hate to think we were going to keep Him busy at it throughout eternity.
Do we remember the new covenant? “I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them.” (Heb. 10:16) God does the writing. We bring Him the tables of the heart—our brain, our forebrain. What we look at, what we hear, what we taste or smell or feel; these are the things which are registered in those brain cells and become part of us. How much time are we giving God to write His law in our minds and hearts? The people who are going to have their sins blotted out in the final atonement are those who today and yesterday and tomorrow are giving God time to write His law in their minds and hearts.
There won’t be saved ones at the close of probation who don’t know about the Sabbath. It will be the seal of God in their foreheads. To have it in the mind is to know it. To have it in the heart is to love it. When the law of God is written in the mind and heart through the blood of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, then it will be safe to close the sanctuary. And it isn’t hard to keep from committing adultery if you really love your wife. It isn’t hard to keep from stealing if you love your fellowman. It isn’t hard to obey father and mother if you love them. This whole thing is easy, if you have enough love. Where can we get that love? We’ll get it at the sanctuary. The Man Christ Jesus offers to come into my heart and live that law in me.
When I see what sin has done to Him and still does to Him, I don’t want it any more. The whole universe, one day, will vote for sin to be burned up and all the sinners with it. And how can I have that experience right now? Desire of Ages, p. 83, has a great suggestion. “It would be well for us to spend a thoughtful hour each day in contemplation of the life of Christ. We should take it point by point, and let the imagination grasp each scene, especially the closing ones. As we thus dwell upon His great sacrifice for us, our confidence in Him will be more constant, our love will be quickened, and we shall be more deeply imbued with His spirit.”
Would you like to make Jesus happy? Would you like to ease the pain and lighten the load on His heart? Just tell Him you appreciate what He’s done. And tell Him that even if the TV and radio get less time, Jesus in the sanctuary is going to get more time in your life from now on. Give Him time every day to write His law in your heart.
Is there really a sanctuary in heaven? Is Jesus really there? Do our sins really hurt Him because He loves us? Can we really bring joy to His heart by letting Him write His law in our minds? Will you enter into a covenant with Jesus to give Him the time every day to write His law in your heart? Will you give up sin as fast as He points it out, and have the faith to believe in His power to keep you from it?
Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole;
I want Thee forever to live in my soul;
Break down every idol, cast out every foe;
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.