FIRST QUARTER 2020

SABBATH SCHOOL INSIGHT #9

FEBRUARY 29, 2020

“FROM CONTAMINATION TO PURIFICATION” - REVISED

 

When I consider Daniel chapter 8 it gives me pause because this chapter has great significance for Seventh-Day Adventists. It is because of Daniel chapter 8 that there was a great disappointment and because of Daniel chapter 8, Revelation 10 found its fulfillment.

After being bitterly disappointed most of those early advent believers fell away in discouragement. A small group, however, believed that God was in that movement and in their experience and went back to the study of the prophecy to find their error. What God revealed through the study of His word was eye opening and essential. They discovered that the sanctuary in Daniel 8:14 was not the earth, as was the commonly held Christian belief, but was the sanctuary in heaven.

Out of the ashes of that disappointment experience came an understanding of the heavenly sanctuary that would prove to be the solid rock foundation needed to finish the reformation and to carry the advent movement and the everlasting gospel though the final eschaton to the second coming of Jesus.

Unveiled to the advent believers was an understanding of scripture, the gospel, and prophecy that here to for had not been realized. They were brought to see a clear and accurate view of the sanctuary service on earth which was a type or shadow of the sanctuary in heaven. They were given a lens to see through to sharpen their understanding of scripture, and guide in their gospel conclusions, and pave the way for their prophetic interpretation. A sanctuary hermeneutic emerged or rather was restored.

So, as we dive into chapter 8 let us keep this path in mind as we discover what details God is enlarging upon in this vision. Let’s first consider some general points about the vision and then we will focus in.

As we saw last week Daniel 7 was a repetition and enlargement of Daniel 2. And likewise, Daniel 8 follows that same repeat and enlarge pattern of Daniel 2 and 7. Daniel 8 is similar in so many ways to Daniel 7 but there are some notable differences. First, this is the first chapter of the book of Daniel that is written in Hebrew. Also, the beasts or animals of the Daniel 8 prophecy are clean animals and animals used in the sanctuary service in contrast to the beasts in Daniel 7. This should give the clue that the details to be enlarged upon will give focus to the sanctuary which is essentially the gospel according to Moses’. The enlargement is about the gospel and its contamination and subsequent purification. The cleansing of the sanctuary is also language to inform our understanding of the judgment scene in Daniel 7 and vice versa.

Daniel 8, unlike Daniel 2 and 7, does not start with Babylon as Babylon’s dominion was about to pass away. But rather starts with the ram representing Medo-Persian dominion, followed by the goat with the one large horn that was broken and divided into four notable horns representing the dominion of Greece. And out of one of the four notable horns emerges a little horn power representing Rome in both pagan and papal phases.

In Daniel 8, the little horn power waxes great to the host of heaven and there is a similar description to the exploits of this little horn to that given in Daniel 7 with the end result of truth being cast to the ground.

But the question is, what truth? What truth would be cast to the ground? The truth about the sanctuary and by extension the gospel would be cast to the ground by this little horn power. During the 1,260 years of spiritual darkness and deepening of the falling away, a false priesthood was set up in place of Christ’s high priestly ministry and a substitute for every phase of the sanctuary service was erected by this church of the dark ages. Gospel contamination would be the results.

The visions then give the good news. Unto 2,300 days and then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. 2,300 prophetic years would pass and the truth that would be thrown to the ground would be restored and the redemption plan brought to completion.

Essential to the cleansing of this sanctuary, however, was the understanding that there was a sanctuary in heaven that needed to be cleansed to begin with. In addition, was the understanding of what was involved in this Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16) as indicated in the shadow of the earthly sanctuary service to inform the significance of the heavenly.

What is a bit surprising is that this Sabbath School lesson barely mentions anything about what is involved in this event of Daniel 8:14 except to remind us that we cannot stand in this time without the blood of Jesus. While it is vital and essential to know that it is by the blood of Christ gives us forgiveness and allows us to stand can stand in the time of the anti-typical Day of Atonement it can hardly be said that this is the entire thrust of the Day of Atonement nor even the main point to be conveyed to the advent believers who went through that great disappointment or to us today.

From beginning to end the entire sanctuary service teaches us that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. This however is not unique to the Day of Atonement and thus while being foundational can hardly be the main point for us to take away from the cleansing of the sanctuary. More was conveyed by the cleansing of the sanctuary truth revealed to O.R.L. Crosier, J.V. Hines, H. Edson, J. White, and others who for fifteen months studied this out. Their findings were published approximately 15 months after the great disappointment (see Crosier’s original article in the Day Star Extra, 1846, Adventist Pioneer Library).

Nowhere in this week’s lesson is there mention of the fact that the day of atonement is a day of solemn assembly where the people were intimately involved in putting away all sin and that the work of the High Priest is not only for His people but is also in His people. This was unique to the Day of Atonement as compared to the rest of the sanctuary service and was commonly understood among Seventh-Day Adventists. To deemphasize or worse yet neglect this understanding would be a critical mistake.

 

A.T. Jones put it this way:

“This cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary began in A.D. 1844, and in the very nature of the case must soon close. We are now living in the great day of atonement. Now is the time when it is urgent upon every soul to confess his sins, to put away all his transgressions, to be partaker of the intercession of Christ, to wash his robes and make them white in the blood of the Lamb. For soon the mystery of God will be finished, the work of the gospel will be closed, and the unmixed wrath of God and the Lamb will be poured upon all the wicked of the earth.” (Signs of the Times, Sept. 16, 1886)

And since the angel’s explanation for Daniel 8 continues in Daniel 9, one has to consider the words of Daniel 9 to fully understand the meaning of the cleansing of the Sanctuary. See Daniel 9:24.

Inclusive of the Daniel 9:24 explanation by the angel, A.T. Jones says this during the 1903 General Conference Session. (Please note Jones is speaking and many of the sentences are long and almost run on in nature. So read his transcribed words slowly and carefully - emphasis supplied):

‘This is what the angel said, and this is what he preached in the twenty-three hundred days: “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.” Any preaching of the sanctuary, any study of the sanctuary, any proclamation of the sanctuary, that does not preach and proclaim the finishing of transgression in the life of him who preaches it; that does not mean, and manifest itself in, the making an end of sins in his life; that does not include the making reconciliation of iniquity in him who gives the message; that does not bring everlasting righteousness into the life of him who is preaching; is not preaching the message of the cleansing of the sanctuary at all. The messenger leaves out the very thing that the angel of God, in presenting it, makes the substance of the whole story.

Yet brethren are in this audience today who know of men who could run the gamut of the twenty-three hundred days, giving by rote every chapter and every verse, yet who did not know in their lives the finishing of transgression, that did not know the making an end of their sins, who knew no reconciliation for their own iniquity, and had no everlasting righteousness brought in to keep them back from sinning. You know that that is so. Then that kind of preaching of the sanctuary and of its cleansing will never bring the cleansing of the sanctuary, and will never bring us to the end. No, sir.

There is a cleansing of the sanctuary in heaven. That is true. And while that is going on in heaven, and there is the making an end of sins there, and a reconciliation of iniquity there, and finishing of transgression there, and all that, yet if that is not also done in the saints and believers on the earth, then that cleansing of the sanctuary can never end. We never could, in that case, come to the end of this world. So, the cleansing of the church of the saints on earth must keep equal pace, must be exactly in proportion with the cleansing of the sanctuary in heaven, or that church will not be up to date.

Now let me put it the other way; Though I preach the finishing of transgression in the lives of individuals; and though I preach the making an end of sins, and the making of reconciliation for iniquity, and the bringing in of everlasting righteousness, in the life of the individual; and yet do not preach with it the sanctuary and its cleansing, that is not the third angel’s message. That great day cannot come till the sanctuary is cleansed. The sanctuary cannot be cleansed until transgression is finished in your life and mine; till an end of sins is made in your life and mine; and reconciliation made for the sins that have been committed; and then, oh, then, in place of it all, everlasting righteousness brought in, to hold us steady in the path of righteousness.

You know what difficulties we have had of keeping righteousness in the life. We love it; we give ourselves to it, in surrender; but this comes up, and that comes up, and the other, and we grow feeble, and fail, and lose the power of that righteousness out of the life that alone can make it everlasting righteousness. Oh, then, in this Seventh-day Adventist Church, amongst these people who stand as belonging to the church, there is need of such a cleansing of the sanctuary, such an idea of the cleansing of the sanctuary as will finish transgression in the life of every Seventh-day Adventist, will make an end of sins there, and will make reconciliation for all the sins that have ever been there, and bring in, oh, to bring in everlasting righteousness, a righteousness that comes to stay, a righteousness that comes to abide, a righteousness that comes to rule, everlastingly, and to keep us unto that everlasting inheritance, and take us to everlasting mansions!

Your hearts and minds witness that only that can be any true cleansing of the sanctuary. And your hearts and minds will witness also to this, that if there can be such consecration, such surrender, as that; if there can be the receiving of such cleansing as that; and belonging to the church, indeed as this is; the giving of this message, the finishing of this work, with delay no longer, can be accomplished in the generation that remains.

And, brethren, your hearts will testify also that without these things we can talk, and talk, and talk, about it, and it all be true; but we can talk it all, and it will not finish in this generation.

Then here we are. Now shall we not, oh, shall we not, truly give ourselves to belong, literally to belong, to the church, loving the church, giving ourselves for it, giving ourselves to it, that thus we may be cleansed in this day of the cleansing of the sanctuary, with the washing of water by the Word; that Christ may present it to Himself, as He has been longing, longing, all these years to do, a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but holy and without blemish?’ (General Conference Bulletin 1903, 43)

 

May we never forget that so many went through such an agonizing disappointment to learn the lessons of the sanctuary and that it is because of their disappointment that the blessing has come to us today. Let us not forget what it really means to follow our High Priest into the Most Holy Place. Let our gospel language and teaching not come short of the message for this time. Let there not be ambiguity to our gospel message and to which apartment of the sanctuary we are standing. The disappointment that so many met in 1844 will scarcely compare to the eternal disappointment those will face who discover they have been lingering in the Holy Place and refusing the Most Holy Place work of the One Who gave His life and risked the eternal security of the universe to bring this cleansing to us. And while their eternal disappointment will be greater, it will barely be a whimper compared to the disappointment He will experience when they are at last lost. The greatest disappointment of all will be His when they stand legally justified (Romans 3:23, 24; 5:18; 2 Corinthians 5:19; Titus 2:11) yet refused the cleansing that He so freely would have done for them. May we not find ourselves in that multitude. My prayer is that we all may by faith follow Him into the Most Holy Place and cooperate with the cleansing work He is doing for us and in us.

 

Maranatha,

~ Kelly Kinsley