The Sanctuary
The Sanctuary
Today we are going to stop and take a 2nd look at (Daniel 8:13-14) “13 Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who was speaking, “How long will the vision be, concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot?”
14 And he said to me, “For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.”’
These two verses are full of information and this is the first time we see the 2300 day prophecy although this is also very important topic, we will cover it more in the next chapter. We also see the sanctuary and the cleansing of it. This is what I would like to look at today.
Daniel hears a conversation between two celestial beings. What the first being is saying we are not told but the 2nd one asks “How long will the vision be” the answer is “For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.”
There are two questions I hope to answer for you in this posting.
The first question is: What is the sanctuary?
There are several views on what the sanctuary is, such as the earth, the land of Canaan, and the heavenly sanctuary. To shorten the posting I will address the latter one which is the true sanctuary (Daniel 8 ) is referring too and as you read this post you will be able to see this as well, but if you have questions feel free to post your comments.
The sanctuary referred to here is the temple in heaven (Hebrews 8:1, 2) calls it the “…true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man,” to which is expressly given the name “the sanctuary,” and which is located in “the heavens.” We see that it is very clear that the first sanctuary built by Moses was copy of the sanctuary in heaven or as some have called it the sanctuary of the first covenant. This is where the earthly priests would perform their ministry.
Let’s look at (Hebrews 9:11-15) “But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.”
From this we see that not only is there a heavenly sanctuary but Christ is the High Priest of the new covenant, and here is where He performs His ministry.
And if we need any other confirmation that the sanctuary built by Moses was a copy just look at (Exodus 25:9) “According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it” (25:40; 26:30; 27:8; Acts 7:44) adds further clarification of this point.
So we see that the Bible says the tabernacle of Moses was the sanctuary of the first covenant. The book of Hebrews testifies again that Moses did make it according to the pattern, and that the pattern was from the true tabernacle in heaven. And John bears testimony as an eyewitness that he saw it there. What further testimony do we need?
Now if we look we will see that the sanctuary established by the Hebrews in the exodus from Egypt, which was the sanctuary of the first covenant and copy of the true tabernacle in heaven, which is the sanctuary of the new covenant. Now we see how a sanctuary service has been provided from the Exodus to the end of probation (for information on the close of probation see my post on the close of probation part 1 and 2).
I know we are moving fast but the topic of the sanctuary is a large topic so I am trying to give you a quick over view, so this is where you must take what I commented about and continue to study on your own. I will give you all the bible references I used at the end of the posting.
The second question is: What is the cleansing they are speaking of?
What we have been talking about so far is just incidental to the main question in the prophecy. Again that question is: What is the cleansing? We go back to (v.14) and it says “And he said to me, “For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.” But it was important that we establish what the sanctuary is before we could examine the question of its cleansing.
With both sanctuaries there is a cleansing connected with it, now there are some of the readers that will question the fact that anything in heaven needs cleansing, but the book of Hebrews clearly affirms the cleansing of both the early and the heavenly sanctuary. (Hebrews 9:22-23) “And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission. Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.” We see that both must be cleansed, but the heavenly one, must be cleansed with a better sacrifice, the blood of Christ.
So let’s take a quick look at how this is done. The fact that heavenly things are to be cleansed does not prove that there is any physical impurity in heaven, for this is not the type of cleansing the scriptures are talking about. The remission of sin and the putting away of sin, is the work to be done, the cleansing, therefore is not physical cleansing, but a cleansing of from sin.
By his confession, by the slaying if the victim, and by the ministry of the priest, the sin of the individual was transformed from himself to the sanctuary. Day by day this work went forward and by this process the sanctuary became the receptacle of the sins of the congregation. But this was not the final disposition of these sins. The accumulated guilt was removed by a special service for the cleansing of the sanctuary. This service, occupied one day in the year, the tenth day of the seventh month, this was called the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16). This service was for the purpose of cleansing the people from their sins, and also for cleansing the sanctuary, and its sacred vessels from the sins of the people (Leviticus 16:16, 30, 33). (Hebrews 8:2) says that Christ is the Minister of the true sanctuary, and in (v.5) says that the priest serve “the copy and shadow of the heavenly things.” In other words, the work of the earthly priest was a shadow of heavenly things.
Just as the priest in the earthly sanctuary ministered in both compartments of the earthly tabernacle, Christ also ministers in both compartments of the heavenly tabernacle. This is stated plainly in (Hebrews 9:21-24). Therefore the service performed by Christ in the heavenly sanctuary corresponds to the work of the priest in the earthly sanctuary. But as we saw in (Leviticus 16) the work in the most holy place was a special work and as such was only preformed once a year. So just as the earthly sanctuary the work by Christ in the second compartment or the most holy place must also be special work, and constitutes the close of his work and our High Priest with the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary.
The continual transfer of sins to the heavenly sanctuary makes its cleansing necessary on the same ground that a the like work was required in the earthly sanctuary. Now there is an important distinction between the two ministrations that must be made here, the practice of cleansing of the sanctuary was needed yearly, but as (Hebrews 7:25) states “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” because of this the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary must only be completed once and for all.
Do you begin to see the importance of the heavenly sanctuary and the ministry of Christ and how it is an interracial part of the plan of salvation? Do you see that the whole plan of salvation is centered here, and when it is done, probation will end and the case of the saved and the lost will be eternally decided? Once the cleansing of the sanctuary is complete the plan of salvation is forever finished.
Ellen White Statements:
“Occasions of irritation to the Jews were constantly arising from their contact with the Roman soldiery. Detachments of troops were stationed at different points throughout Judea and Galilee, and their presence reminded the people of their own degradation as a nation. With bitterness of soul they heard the loud blast of the trumpet and saw the troops forming around the standard of Rome and bowing in homage to this symbol of her power. Collisions between the people and the soldiers were frequent, and these inflamed the popular hatred. Often as some Roman official with his guard of soldiers hastened from point to point, he would seize upon the Jewish peasants who were laboring in the field and compel them to carry burdens up the mountainside or render any other service that might be needed. This was in accordance with the Roman law and custom, and resistance to such demands only called forth taunts and cruelty. Every day deepened in the hearts of the people the longing to cast off the Roman yoke. Especially among the bold, rough-handed Galileans the spirit of insurrection was rife. Capernaum, being a border town, was the seat of a Roman garrison, and even while Jesus was teaching, the sight of a company of soldiers recalled to His hearers the bitter thought of Israel’s humiliation. The people looked eagerly to Christ, hoping that He was the One who was to humble the pride of Rome.” {MB 69.2}
Last thoughts:
The day will come when all will hear the words of (Revelation 14:7) “…Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.” This is what the prophecy of Daniel is all about and why it is so important that we study the Bibles.
I cannot stress enough how important it is that we all make the effort to understand what Daniel is saying, there are many books that can help you to understand as well I will post some of them on the books page over the next few days.
References
(Heb. 8:1-5; 4:14-16; 9:11-28; 10:19-22; 1:3; 2:16, 17)
(Dan. 7:9-27; 8:13, 14; 9:24-27)
(Num. 14:34)
(Eze. 4:6)
(Lev. 16)
(Rev. 14:6, 7; 20:12; 14:12; 22:12.)
About bobh6
40 Days of study 
It has taken me years to understand what I do about the sanctuary. When I was a young christian, my eyes would glaze over and I would wonder why is this important. Many years later, I still have a lot to learn but I have learned so much through the help of the Holy
Spirit. This was a great beginning Bobby. There is so much but it is all so important.