February 15, 2024 | Silver Spring, Maryland, United States | Ted N.C. Wilson, President, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
Greetings, friends. Have you ever wondered what Jesus has been doing in heaven since His ascension nearly 2,000 years ago? Well, fortunately, we don’t have to wonder because as we study the Bible, the mystery is clearly unfolded to us through the sanctuary service.
In our previous video, we reviewed the earthly sanctuary services as depicted in the Old Testament books of Exodus and Leviticus, as well as the New Testament book of Hebrews. We saw how the earthly sanctuary was a pattern of the real sanctuary in heaven and how, by studying the earthly sanctuary, we can understand what is taking place in the heavenly sanctuary now.
After Christ ascended to heaven, our Savior began His work as our High Priest. Hebrews 9:24 tells us “Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.”
In The Great Controversy, we read, “The ministration of the priest throughout the year in the first apartment of the sanctuary, ‘within the veil’ which formed the door and separated the holy place from the outer court, represents the work of ministration upon which Christ entered at His ascension.”
As part of his daily work in the earthly sanctuary, the priest presented before God the blood of the sin offering, and the incense which ascended, representing the prayers of the people. In the same way, we are told, “Christ [did] plead His blood before the Father in behalf of sinners, and present before Him also, with the precious fragrance of His own righteousness, the prayers of penitent believers. Such was the work of ministration in the first apartment of the sanctuary in heaven” (pp. 420, 421).
The apostle Paul wrote in Hebrews 6:19,20 — “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever . . .”
Hebrews 9:12 describes Jesus entering the heavenly sanctuary: “neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us” (KJV).
Inspiration tells us, that “for eighteen centuries this work of ministration continued in the first apartment of the sanctuary. The blood of Christ, pleaded in behalf of penitent believers, secured their pardon and acceptance with the Father, yet their sins still remained upon the books of record” (The Great Controversy, p. 421).
Furthermore, just as there was a work of atonement at the end of the year in the typical service of the earthly sanctuary, “so before Christ’s work for the redemption of men is completed there is a work of atonement for the removal of sin from the sanctuary” (The Great Controversy, p. 421).
The pen of Inspiration assures us, “This is the service which began when the 2300 days ended. At that time, as foretold by Daniel the prophet, our High Priest entered the most holy, to perform the last division of His solemn work—to cleanse the sanctuary” (The Great Controversy, p. 421).
Just as in the days of Israel the sins of the people were by faith placed upon the sin offering and through its blood transferred, symbolically, to the earthly sanctuary, so in the new covenant the sins of those who repent are, “by faith, placed upon Christ and transferred, in fact, to the heavenly sanctuary” (The Great Controversy, p. 421).
Furthermore, just as the cleansing of the earthly sanctuary was accomplished by the removal of the sins transferred there, so the actual cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary will be accomplished by the removal, or “blotting out,” of the sins which are recorded there.
For this to be accomplished, however, “there must be an examination of the books of record to determine who, through repentance of sin and faith in Christ, are entitled to the benefits of His atonement. The cleansing of the sanctuary therefore involves a work of investigation—a work of judgment” (The Great Controversy, p. 422).
We understand this judgment must take place before Christ’s Second Coming, because Jesus tells us in Revelation 22:12 that when He comes, His reward is with Him, “to give to every one according to his work.”
This all became clear to the early Advent believers after their great disappointment. As they continued studying the Scriptures, they came to realize that instead of coming to cleanse the earth at the end of the 2300 days in 1844, “Christ then entered the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary to perform the closing work of atonement preparatory to His coming” (The Great Controversy, p. 422).
They also understood more clearly that while the sin offering pointed to Christ as a sacrifice, and the high priest represented Christ as a mediator, the scapegoat represented Satan, the author of sin.
“When Christ, by virtue of His own blood, removes the sins of His people from the heavenly sanctuary at the close of His ministration, He will place them upon Satan, who in the execution of the judgment, must bear the final penalty,” wrote Ellen White. (The Great Controversy, p. 422).
Friends, we are given the marvelous assurance that one day Satan will be “forever banished from the presence of God and His people, and he will be blotted from existence in the final destruction of sin and sinners” (The Great Controversy, p. 422).
What a wonderful, incredible, future we can look forward to! A time when there will be no more sin, no more pain and suffering, “for the former things have passed away.” “Behold,” Jesus says, “I make all things new” (Rev. 21:4,5).
My brothers and sisters, are you ready for Jesus to come? He is ministering for you and for me in the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary right now. We have nothing to fear in the judgment when we are safe in Him, for He promises “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). I invite you, if you have not already done so, to surrender your heart fully to Him right now as we pray together.
Father in heaven, what a magnificent plan of salvation. What a magnificent opportunity by faith to depend completely on the grace and the sacrifice of Christ accepting His righteousness as ours because He offers it to us freely if we submit to Him. Thank you, Lord, for the wonderful understanding of Christ our righteousness. We owe everything to Christ, our Creator, our Sacrifice, our High Priest, our Judge, our Redeemer, and our coming King and our best friend. We thank you for all of this. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.