September 1, 2022 | Silver Spring, Maryland, United States | Ted N.C. Wilson, President, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
Greetings, friends. Today we conclude our three-part series on what Jesus is doing in heaven right now, as we consider “Christ’s Ministry in the Heavenly Sanctuary.” This is our Seventh-day Adventist Fundamental Belief #24, as outlined on the adventist.org website shown at the bottom of the screen.
Earlier, we saw how the earthly sanctuary and all of its services pointed to Jesus, the Lamb of God. But once Jesus came to earth and took the consequences of sin for us by dying on the cross, He ended the need for animal sacrifices. Jesus is the only True Sacrifice who can provide for our salvation.
After His resurrection and ascension, Christ began His ministry in the heavenly Sanctuary, where he serves as our Advocate and Intercessor. “It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us,” we read in Romans 8:34. He stands between us and Satan, and also connects us directly to the Father.
Jesus’ ministry of intercession gives us the opportunity to experience salvation. When we ask for forgiveness, He applies His blood to cover our sins. He also serves as our High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary.
Some may wonder, however, if Christ’s sacrifice was enough, what is left to do in the heavenly sanctuary?
It’s helpful to remember that in the earthly tabernacle, after the lamb was slain, its blood was sprinkled inside the sanctuary, symbolically transferring the sin into the sanctuary. The sinner was forgiven, but their sin remained in the sanctuary. And just like the earthly service had a yearly Day of Atonement to clean sin out of the sanctuary, the heavenly Sanctuary must also be cleansed.
But what does it mean to “cleanse the Sanctuary?” In Heaven, a record is kept of every person’s life, chronicling everything we have ever said or done. These records are what will be studied during the judgment. The Bible tells us, “For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Eccl. 12:14).
When we ask forgiveness, Jesus “is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). And while He is delighted to forgive our sins, He also has the responsibility of getting rid of them.
The prophet Daniel was shown the heavenly Sanctuary and its cleansing in a vision from God. During this vision, he saw an overview of future world events. Then he heard an interesting discussion.
“How long will the vision be?” asks a “holy one” in Daniel 8:13. Another “holy one” answers: “For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed” (Dan. 8:14).
In studying this prophecy, Bible scholars found this time period represents twenty-three hundred years. Daniel 9:25 explains the beginning of this prophecy would occur when “the command to restore and build Jerusalem” was given. This command was given by King Artaxerxes in 457 B.C. Beginning at this date, the end of the prophecy would be in the year 1844 A.D.
In the 1800s, a group of believers who read these prophecies believed the earth was the sanctuary, and that the cleansing of the sanctuary would be at the Second Coming of Jesus. Just as the earthly sanctuary was cleansed on the Day of Atonement, they believed Jesus would return on the Day of Atonement in 1844, which fell on October 22 of that year. Imagine their great disappointment when Jesus didn’t come when they expected!
However, through more prayer and Bible study, it was found the Bible didn’t teach that the earth was the sanctuary. They saw that God had a heavenly Sanctuary. Just as animal sacrifices were a type of the antitype of Jesus’ sacrifice, the earthly Day of Atonement was the type, while the cleansing of the Heavenly Sanctuary was the antitype. Instead of returning to earth on the Day of Atonement, God the Father and Jesus, God the Son, began the process of cleansing the heavenly sanctuary in the Most Holy Place.
Jesus’ blood is enough to cover the sins of every person who has ever lived. However, there must be a time of investigation: Whose sins does He need to cover? Who has made the decision to accept His gift of forgiveness? Who has committed their life to Him?
Daniel, when seeing the judgment in vision wrote, “I watched till thrones were put in place, and the Ancient of Days was seated . . . His throne was a fiery flame, its wheels a burning fire . . . a thousand thousands ministered to Him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated, and the books were opened” (Daniel 7:9, 10).
As the books of record are reviewed, the case of every person is decided.
The prophet Zechariah also talks about this courtroom scene, and describes it this way:
Joshua, a high priest, is “standing before the Angel of the Lord.” Satan is “at his right hand to oppose him” (Zech. 3:1).
Joshua realizes he is “clothed with filthy garments” (Zech. 3:3) and stands there, embarrassed, as Satan accuses him. His past sins come up as a reason why he shouldn’t be accepted by God.
Then a voice rings out, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan!” (Zech. 3:2). The Lord, the righteous Judge, looks at Joshua. “Take away the filthy garments from him,” (Zech. 3:4), He commands. Then the Lord says to Joshua, “See I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes”(Zech. 3:4).
Friends, just like Joshua, we come to the judgment in dirty clothes. The prophet Isaiah writes, “All our righteousnesses are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). But “If we confess our sins, He [Jesus] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Jesus cleans us up and gives us His own robe of righteousness. When we surrender to Him, He will guide our case through the judgment. He is on our side! He promises, “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels” (Rev. 3:5).
Our part is to confess our sins, accept His gift of forgiveness, and commit our life to His leading. He rejoices to save us! We don’t need to fear the judgment with Jesus by our side.
Soon the words will be spoken, “He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still” (Rev. 22:11). Once these words are spoken, the case of every person will have been decided—those who are for and those who are against God. As much as God’s heart of love wants to save every person, He respects the choices each person has made. Jesus will have finished His work of intercession. The last sin has been blotted out. The heavenly sanctuary has been cleansed of sin.
After the cleansing of the heavenly Sanctuary, Jesus will return to earth and all who have chosen to accept His gift of salvation will join Him and His angels in the air, ready to go to heaven.
Right now, Jesus lingers in the heavenly sanctuary. He is ready to forgive our sins as soon as we are ready to confess. He is ready to credit the price He paid to our account. Have you accepted His gift of forgiveness and cleansing? If not, I invite you to do so just now as we pray together. Father in heaven. Thank you for sending Jesus. To pay the price for our sins. To give us his robe of righteousness, to give us his sanctifying power in our lives, to become more and more like Christ. Thank you for this gift of salvation. Lord, we now entrust ourselves into your hands, asking that you will guide us through the judgment. Or How can we lose if we confess our sins and place ourselves on Jesus side? He will take us through. Thank you for hearing us in this prayer and for the powerful, wonderful privilege of salvation through Jesus Christ in whose name we ask it. Amen.