Appendix Five: The
Cleansing of the Sanctuary or Pre-Advent Judgment.1
Bible prophecy in Revelation and Daniel cannot be
properly understood without an appreciation of the ancient Jewish sanctuary
services. Of the various sanctuary activities the so called cleansing of the
sanctuary on the Day of Atonement is one of the most important to understand.
This cleansing of the sanctuary (also referred to as a judgment) is mentioned in
Dan. 8:14 (Please read 4.
Revelation 14-7b - The hour of His judgment is come if you have not
already done so). To explain more about the cleansing of the sanctuary is the
purpose of this web page.
Note: Please click
"View" then "Refresh" to make sure you have the latest
edition of this page. To view a footnote, click on the hyperlinked number
and after reading the footnote click on the "Back" icon of your web
browser (or use File => Go To => Back) to take you back to where you were
in the main text.
To really find out we need to study the cleansing
of the Old Testament sanctuary as described in the book of Leviticus,2
especially chapter 16 (Please refer to Fig.1 at the end of INTRODUCTION
TO REVELATION for a diagram of the sanctuary). This occurred on the annual
Day of Atonement. It is described as a time of judgment as well as
cleansing in the Bible (Le. 23: 26-32 ).3
In the sanctuary service of ancient Israel the
symbolic transfer of sin from the sinner to an animal, then to the
priest, 4 and then to the sanctuary went on daily
(Le. 4: 4-6). Then, once a year, the sanctuary was cleansed from the
sin that had been symbolically transferred to it. This "cleansing of the
sanctuary" occurred on the annual Day of Atonement described in Leviticus
chapter 16. The cleansing was done using "clean" blood (ie. blood
which had no sin confessed over it) from a sacrificed bull and goat
(Le.16:11-20). These animals represented Christ whose blood -- life 5
-- has cleansing power.6 The "clean"
blood was used to transfer the sin symbolically to a second live goat
(Le.16:21). The blood of this live goat was never spilt and therefore it cannot
represent cleansing through the shed blood Christ.7
This live goat is a fit symbol of Satan who, in the end, gets rightly blamed for
all the sin he has been the author of.8 The live
goat is banished into the wilderness (Le. 16: 21 cf. Re. 20: 1-3). It is
important for us to note that the people were also to be cleansed on the Day of
Atonement. (Le. 16: 30).
Both the Old Testament wilderness sanctuary and
the temple at Jerusalem were models or patterns of the great sanctuary in
heaven.9 As mentioned previously, 10
the courtyard area (please refer to Fig. 1) of the sanctuary was symbolic of
Christ's ministry on earth and the tent or temple building itself, with
the Holy Place and Most Holy Place, represented Christ's future work of
mediation in heaven. Thus the annual Day of Atonement, like the other
services conducted in the tent or temple building, must be symbolic of some
great event of the heavenly sanctuary. It represented a great judgment
ministry involving both the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary and the
"sanctuary" of God's people on earth.11
It was in 1844, at the end of the 2300-year time prophecy, that Christ began
this Most Holy Place 12 ministry of judgment.
The pre-advent judgment or cleansing of the
sanctuary that began in 1844 prepares the way for Christ's second coming.
This judgment must involve an examination of the "books" of record
(Dan. 7: 10; 12: 1; Re. 3: 5; Ps. 56: 8; 69: 28; Phil. 4: 3). The examination of
these books reveals who, among those who have professed to be God's followers,
are really His (Mt. 7:21-23;12:36,37;16:27; Eze. Chapter 18; Mt. 25:31-46). When
Jesus comes He has already decided on the rewards and His angels know who
to collect to take to heaven.13
The investigation of the books involves the judgment of those who are dead
as well as those were living.14
This judgment must at least partly be for the benefit of the angels and the rest
of the universe who are observing the conflict between God and Satan (cf. Job
chapter 1 and 2).15 God's
character is vindicated in His dealings with humanity and Satan's Kingdom (cf.
Re. 15: 3,4; 16: 5-6; 19: 2).
The above truth about a pre-advent judgment
clashes with the common belief that people go to heaven or hell at death --
because this erroneous belief means people are judged when they die. The
falseness of this belief is shown by understanding the truth about what happens
when we die (see Appendix
Seven- What happens when you die?).
Also if was the first page of this web site that
you came to, before proceeding please go to the Home
Page: Bible Prophecy - Revelation's Most Urgent Health Warning!. This will
save you time and help avoid misunderstandings. Thankyou.
Footnotes
1. For a more detailed study
on this subject please see, White E. G. The Great Controversy, Oakland
CA, Pacific Press; also called The Triumph of God's Love, Calif., Pacific
Press, 1950 or Cosmic Conflict, Washington, Review & Herald, 1989,
Chapters 23, 24 and 28.
2. There are various links between
Dan. chapters 8 & 9 and Leviticus. These include sanctuary animals and
sanctuary terms. In Dan. 8: 14 the Hebrew term for cleansed is tsadaq. In
Leviticus chapter 16 it is taher. The word tsadaq means both to
cleanse and to justify (See J. Strong. A concise Dictionary of the words in
The Hebrew Bible with their renderings in the Authorised English Version by J.
Strong in Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Number 6663).
Daniel probably used this term because it was the best one to describe cleansing
in terms of the pre-advent judgment. In Hebrew poetry tsadaq is used
synonymously with words for clean or pure. For example Job 4:17, "Shall
mortal man be more just (tsadaq) than God? Shall a man be more pure (taher)
than his maker?" Dan. 9 emphasises sacrifice and anointing, Christ as
the sacrifice. Dan. 8 emphasises the Holy Place ministry of the sanctuary
(which was the focus of the exceedingly great horn' s attack) and then the Most
Holy Place ministry which is the focus of the cleansing of the sanctuary, Christ
as the priest. Dan. 7 emphasises Christ as the king.
3. Any person who was not afflicted
in soul on that day was to be cut off from the people. Also God said he would
destroy anybody who did not follow the prescribed rest from secular work.
4. Le.10: 17, 18.
5. Le. 17: 11-14; Ge. 9: 4.
6. Heb. 9: 11-14; 23-28.
7. Heb. 9: 22.
8. Cf. Ps. 7: 16; Pr. 26: 27; Gal.
6: 7.
9. Heb. 8:1-5; 9:23,24.
10. See INTRODUCTION
TO REVELATION 6 (d).
11. Let us look at the question of
which sanctuary is being cleansed in Daniel chapter 8 another way: Six
sanctuaries or temples are mentioned in the Bible. These are:
(1). The sanctuary constructed by Moses in the wilderness (Ex. 25: 8).
(2). The temple at Jerusalem which replaced Moses' sanctuary (1Ch. 22: 19).
(3). The heavenly sanctuary (Heb. 8: 2; 9: 23, 24. See also the sanctuary scenes
in the book of Revelation).
(4). Christ's body (Jn. 2: 20, 21).
(5). The Christian church (Eph. 2: 19-22).
(6). The bodies of individual Christians (1Co. 6: 19).
The vision of Daniel 8 refers to the "time of the end" -- vs. 17. By
studying Daniel 11: 35 and 12: 7-10 along with Daniel 7: 25 we can see
that the "time of the end" when Daniel's prophecies would be unsealed
started at the end of the 1260 years of persecution ie. 1798. Therefore, the
sanctuary to be cleansed cannot refer to Moses' sanctuary or the temple at
Jerusalem. The temple, which replaced Moses' sanctuary, was destroyed in AD 70.
Christ has no need of cleansing, being perfect. Therefore the sanctuary of
Daniel 8 must involve the one in heaven and the Christian church with its
individual members.
12. Some people have assumed from
the book of Hebrews that Jesus, on His ascension, went directly to His Most Holy
Place ministry (Heb. 1:3; 6:19,20; 9:8,12; 10:19). However, we need to remember
that this book is not talking about which apartment Jesus went into, but the
superiority of His priesthood. Also, we need to remember that the presence of
the Father is not always in the Most Holy Place because He obviously has a
mobile throne (see for example Eze. chapter 1, Dan. chapter 7). The only place
in Hebrews where the Most Holy Place is specifically designated is in chapter 9
verse 3 where the Greek term is Hagia Hagion. If the author wanted to
designate the Most Holy Place elsewhere then this is the definite term.
Regarding Heb. 6:19,20, the sanctuary had two veils -- see Fig. 1. in INTRODUCTION
TO REVELATION
13. Re. 22:12; Mk. 13:27. That
Jesus takes His people to heaven, rather than landing on the earth, see Jn.
14:1-3 and 1Th. 4: 16,17 (for further study see eg. Maxwell C. M., God Cares
Vol. 2, Boise Idaho, Pacific Press Pub. Assoc., 1985, p. 487-521).
14. Re. 3: 5 indicates the
possibility of being blotted out from the book of life. No doubt this is a
reference to the pre-advent judgment. Re. 11: 18, 19 refers to the judgment of
the dead in the context of the Most Holy Place being unveiled (The Most Holy
Place was the apartment of the sanctuary especially connected with the services
of the Day of Atonement). Re. 22: 12 indicates that Christ has decided who gets
which rewards before He comes. See also 1 Pe. 4: 5. How will the judgment
of the living be accomplished? I believe it is related to each
reasoning person in the whole world having to decide whether or not to receive
the mark of the beast (See 7.
Revelation 14:9-11 -- If any man worship the beast and his image...).
15. Why would God need to examine
the books to know who are really His? It must be for the benefit of created
beings observing the conflict between God and Satan. Scripture does indicate
that the universe is judging and observing God's character and activities. (Mt.
5: 16; Ro. 3: 4 NKJV; Eph. 3: 10).
David Bird compiled the web site.
Copyright © 2000, David Bird. Web site address: http://www.lis.net.au/~dbird/
Visitors to this web site are
most welcome to contact David Bird at dbird@lis.net.au
with questions, criticisms or suggestions -- or if you believe you've found a
mistake (e.g. in a Bible reference). I am a fellow pilgrim in need of God's
grace like anyone else. A reply will be sent as soon as practical, but may take
a few days.
The contents of this web page may be freely copied and
distributed on the condition that it is copied and distributed in its
entirety (space images may be omitted). Please ask if you want to
just use a part of it.
power_links
Want
a hard copy of this web site's message? The book Sabbath Challenge, Sabbath
Delight! may be the answer: 
Download
in PDF