Think about this for just a moment. The plan of redemption. It is one of the greatest accomplishments of design the world has ever seen or ever will see. It will be upon the minds of the redeemed throughout eternity. It is a design, so powerful, so filled with glory, that we can barely grasp its magnitude today.
Yet, it is we, those who live upon this world that are the beneficiaries of this magnificent design. I am not able to fully express the magnificence behind this design. So it would behoove us to allow the past to speak.
The sins of the world were laid upon the Lord Jesus, and he died for those sins according to the Scriptures. The blood of the Lamb of God, which was shed for our transgressions of God’s law, is that by which our High Priest enters the heavenly sanctuary (Hebrews 9:12), and which, as our advocate, he offers for us in that sanctuary. Hebrews 12:24; 1 Peter 1:2; 1 John 2:1, 2. His great work, which began with the act of bearing the sins of the world at his death, he here carries forward by pleading the cause of penitent sinners and presenting for them his blood, which had been shed as the great sacrifice for the sins of the world. The work in the earthly sanctuary was essentially the same thing. The sins were there laid upon the victim, which was then slain. The blood of that sacrifice, bearing that guilt, was sprinkled in the sanctuary to make reconciliation for the sinner. Leviticus 4:4-6. And thus, in the shadow of heavenly things, we see the guilt of the people transferred to the sanctuary itself. This can be easily understood. And it is a plain fact that its great design was to give an example of heavenly things. As the sin of him who came to God through the offering of blood by the high priest, was, through that blood, transferred to the sanctuary itself, so it is in the substance. He who bore our sins at his death offers for us his blood in the heavenly sanctuary. But when he comes again, he is “without sin” (Hebrews 9:28); his great work for the removal of sin is fully completed before he comes again. We now inquire respecting the removal of the sins of the church, or host, from the sanctuary. We have seen that only 490 of the 2300 years belonged to the earthly sanctuary and that the remaining 1810 years belong to the true sanctuary, which Gabriel introduces to Daniel in his explanation in chapter 9; consequently, the sanctuary to be cleansed from the sins of the church, or host, at the end of the 2300 years, is the heavenly sanctuary. We have also examined those portions of the Bible that explain how and why the earthly sanctuary was cleansed, and have seen that that cleansing was accomplished, not by fire, but by blood. We have seen that that work was ordained for the express purpose of shadowing forth the work in the heavenly sanctuary. And we have also seen that the sins of those who come to God through our great High Priest are communicated to the sanctuary as was the case in the type. But we are not left without direct testimony on this important point. The apostle Paul states the fact of the cleansing of the earthly and the heavenly sanctuaries and plainly affirms that the latter must be cleansed for the same reason that the former had been. He speaks as follows: “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood, and without shedding of blood is no remission. It was, therefore, necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into “Heaven” itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.” Hebrews 9:22-24. Two important facts are stated in this portion of Scripture. 1. The earthly sanctuary was cleansed by blood. 2. The heavenly sanctuary must be cleansed by better sacrifice, that is, by the blood of Christ. It is plain, then, that the idea of cleansing the sanctuary by fire has no support in the Bible. S23D 88.2
Think about this for just a moment longer, if you will. You had the Sanctuary that was built by Moses and the Children Israel shortly after they left the land of Egypt. The land filled with Idols and false worship. Now, our Heavenly Father, longed to reveal to the Children of Israel, the plan of redemption. So that they might have hope and come to know the love of God for His Children, in this world and the world to come. To provide them with the true understanding of worship, that would be found in the plan of redemption.
Look at it this way. If you had a child, who was suffering, of a most virulent virus. The child that you had nurtured, loved, provided for, watched grow. You were there when she was born. A child of your heart. Yet, you are watching her die. Then someone tells you how she can be healed, they not only tell you, they literally come to your home and help you through the process of saving your child’s life. Would you be grateful? Would this not change your life? Would you not want others to know the blessing you received and share with others the lessons of healing you have learned?
