The Restoration of the Sanctuary As seen in the Protestant Reformation and the Second Advent Movement Introduction: From the very beginning of his rebellion, satan has wanted to take over God's throne. God says of him, How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. (Isa 14:12-14) We are going to trace down through history satan's attempts to take over God's throne. So first we need to discover a few things about God's throne. When God came down upon Mt. Sinai to proclaim His law the Bible says, there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. (Ex. 24:10). Two verses later God says to Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of [the] stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them. (Exod 24:12) [brackets indicate literal rendering in Hebrew]. In Hebrew that verse literally says, I will give thee tables of the stone. What stone? The only stone mentioned previous to this is the sapphire foundation under God's throne. So apparently God carved the Ten Commandments out of this blue, sapphire foundation that supports His throne. This shows us that God's law is the foundation of His government in Heaven and on Earth. Later God gave the Children of Israel a special reminder of this when He commanded them to put fringes on the borders of their garments, with a blue ribbon in each fringe. He said, And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring: That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God. I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD your God. (Num 15:39-41)
So the fringe with the blue ribbon was to remind them to obey God's law, which was likely written on tablets of blue, sapphire stone, that had been carved out of the very foundation of God's throne. After the Sanctuary had been built, God commanded Moses to place the Ten Commandments in the Ark of the Covenant, which was located in the second room of the Sanctuary, called the Most Holy Place. This Ark of the Covenant was symbolic of God's throne. The lid of the Ark was called the Mercy Seat. Above the Mercy Seat dwelt the Shekinah a visible manifestation of God's glory. Under the Mercy Seat were the stone tablets with the Ten Commandments written on them. So we see that this was a symbolic representation of God's throne with the sapphire foundation under it. Thus the Children of Israel were shown that God's law is the foundation of His government. So what did satan choose to attack in his quest to take over the throne of God? He attacked God's law, saying it was unjust and could not be obeyed. He attacked the very foundation of God's throne! The prophecy of Daniel 8-9 tells us how satan would work through a certain little horn power to tread under foot God's Sanctuary. Of course God's literal Sanctuary, where He sits enthroned, is located in Heaven that is where John the Revelator saw it and it cannot be touched by satan or by any earthy power. But the beautiful truths of salvation which were represented by the Sanctuary were indeed trodden underfoot by the little horn for 1,260 years. God's Word was taken away from the people and chained to convent walls. It was obscured in ancient languages that the common people did not understand. Then priests and popes instituted false doctrines in place of the beautiful truths which were symbolized by the Sanctuary. But this little horn power would not be allowed to work it's will forever. Towards the close of the 1,260 years God began to raise up men who would restore the truths of the gospel which had been trampled underfoot during those long ages of darkness. Eventually this movement became known as the Protestant Reformation. These men came from many different backgrounds and many different countries, but they discovered the same truths from God's Word and began to preach them with zeal and courage. So now we are going to look at each part of the Sanctuary and what gospel truths were symbolized by those parts; and we are also going to see how the Protestant Reformers restored these truths to their proper place in the Sanctuary.
Restoring the Courtyard: The Courtyard that surrounded the Sanctuary contained the Altar of Burnt Offering and the Laver. Above the Sanctuary was the Pillar of Cloud. 1. Christ, who is the Word of God, was in the cloudy pillar, the invisible leader of of the Children of Israel. The Bible is also the Word of God; but during the dark ages it was locked away from the common people, and the Popes and Priests put their own traditions and teachings in the place of the Bible. They taught that the Popes were infallible and stood in the place of Christ Himself. But the Reformers rejected the authority of the Pope, and they restored the Bible to the people as the one and only infallible guide on this earth. They denied the claim of the Pontiffs to be the head of the church and accepted only Christ as the head of the church, and the Bible as the only infallible revelation of His will. 2. The white curtain that surrounded the courtyard of the Sanctuary was a symbol of purity. The Reformers fearlessly condemned the corruptions in the church of Rome. They clearly showed the iniquity practiced by Popes, Priests, and people. They taught that Christians must live pure and holy lives according to God's Word that Christ's church must be a pure church. They also taught that the church must be freed from the corrupting customs and traditions brought in by half converted pagans during the preceding centuries of darkness. 3. The front entrance of the Sanctuary had curtains of blue, purple, and scarlet. It represented that Christ is the only door by which we can approach the Father. The Reformers taught that neither Popes, nor Priests, nor Prelates, can stand between us and God. Each one of us can approach God for ourselves. The colors of the curtain represent the way in which we must approach God. The scarlet color represents Christ's blood that covers us and cleanses us from sin, so we can approach God. The Blue represents God's Holy Law. We must allow the Holy Spirit to write this law in our hearts so it will transform our character. The Purple represents royalty, a symbol of our adoption into the family of God, by which we become kings and priests unto God. 4. The Priest in the courtyard, next to the Altar of Burnt Offering, is a symbol of Christ; He is both
the Priest and the Lamb. The Reformers restored the truth that Christ is the only Priest who mediates for us before God. It is to Him that we are to confess our sins, not to an earthly priest in a confessional booth. Christ is our only mediator before God. He is the only one who can forgive our sins. The Popes cannot pardon sin; indulgences, pilgrimages, relics, and penances cannot free the soul from sin, or it's penalty. Only Christ, the Lamb of God, who sacrificed Himself for our sins, can bring us pardon by taking those sins upon Himself. 5. The Laver, which stands before the door of the Sanctuary, represents Baptism, a symbol of the cleansing and rebirth that Christians receive as they become part of Christ's church. Many of the Reformers rejected infant baptism, which had been taught for centuries by the Catholic church, as unbiblical and restored the truth about true baptism and it's meaning for the Christian. Restoring the Holy Place: Now that we have looked at the Courtyard of the Sanctuary we will move on to studying the first room of the Sanctuary, called the Holy Place. In this room were the Table of Shewbread, the Seven-branch Candlestick, and the Altar of Incense. It was in the the Courtyard and the Holy Place that the Daily Ministration took place. The Daily Ministration was symbolic of the process of Justification. In simple terms, Justification means being forgiven of sins and being considered as though we had not sinned. So now we will look at how the different parts of the Holy Place were restored during the Protestant Reformation. 6. As mentioned above, the Holy Place of the Sanctuary symbolizes the concept of Justification. The truth that Christ's death atones for our sins and brings us Justification had been obscured for centuries by the Roman church, but this truth was restored by the Protestant Reformers. 7. The Table of Shewbread has the same meaning as the Passover, or the Lord's Supper. On this golden table were placed two stacks of unleavened bread together with grape juice. These items symbolize Christ's body and blood which we are symbolically to eat and drink. But the Roman church corrupted these symbols and declared that the priests had the power to turn the wafer into the actual body of Christ, during their celebration of the Mass. The Reformers rejected this teaching and restored the true meaning of the Lord's supper. 8. The Golden Candlestick represents the Spirit of God, which is a principle agent in the conversion of the human heart. During the dark ages the Romanists considered conversion to be merely an assent to certain doctrinal beliefs. If people would not willingly make such an
assent to the doctrines of Rome, then the priests and inquisitioners could resort to threats and torture to force such conversion upon them. Thus entire nations were converted to the teachings of Rome (those who would not convert were put to death). But the Reformers rejected such methods of conversion. They taught that the only true conversion is a complete change and regeneration of the heart, wrought out by the Holy Spirit. This will result in a complete change in the outward life of the person, producing in them the Fruits of the Spirit. This is the only kind of conversion acceptable to God. 9. The Altar of Incense, which stands before the door to the Most Holy Place, represents Christ's intercession for us in the Heavenly Sanctuary. During the dark ages the Roman church taught that the Virgin Mary and the Saints could intercede for us in Heaven. But the Reformers rejected this doctrine and restored the truth that Christ is our one and only Mediator before God. Restoring the Most Holy Place: As we have seen, the Courtyard and the Holy Place of the Sanctuary were restored during the Protestant Reformation, which took place near the close of the 1,260 years. Finally, in 1798 this period of 1,260 years ended and the Papacy lost it's power when the pope was taken captive by the French army. Thus the Papacy received it's deadly wound. The Protestant Reformation had effectually restored the Bible to the people and had restored the two outermost parts of the Sanctuary. But sadly, the children of the Reformers stopped reforming; and God had to raise up a new movement to carry on the restoration of the Sanctuary - And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. (Isa 58:12) Another prophetic time period is brought to view in the prophecy of Daniel 8-9 a period of 2,300 years. Daniel was told that at the end of this 2,300 years the Sanctuary would be cleansed. The end of this period was fast approaching! In the early 1830's God began to raise up the great Second Advent Movement to carry on the restoration of the Sanctuary. In different locations all over the world God began to prompt men to study the prophecies and proclaim the message of Christ's soon Second Advent. It was a worldwide movement that rose up simultaneously all over the globe, and in many cases the preachers of Christ's soon Second Advent had never even met each other, or knew of each other. One of the first preachers of the Second Advent in America was William Miller. His message was especially based on the 2,300 year prophecy in Daniel 8-9. The message grew very quickly in America and out of that movement came the Seventh-day Adventist movement. So now we are going to look at what parts of the Sanctuary were restored during this time period.
10. The message proclaimed by the Advent preachers was based on the understanding that the cleansing of the Sanctuary spoken of in Daniel 8-9 would take place on the Day of Atonement in 1844. The early Advent believers proclaimed the First Angel's Message - The hour of His Judgment is come! This brought to view Christ's ministry in the Most Holy Place of the Heavenly Sanctuary. This phase of His ministry had long been lost sight of during the darkness of the Papal reign. But now it was once again brought to the attention of the Christian world, especially as the Advent believers gained a clearer understanding of it after 1844. In the paragraphs above we saw that the Holy Place ministry represents the process of Justification; in the same way the Most Holy Place ministry represents the process of Sanctification the cleansing of all sin out of the life. This is the preparatory process for Christ's Second Coming, when we will go to live among the sinless beings in Heaven. Unfortunately this truth about the cleansing of the Sanctuary was rejected by most of the Christian world, and as a result they experienced a moral fall in 1844, as described by the Second Angel's Message. 11. The Ten Commandments were brought to the view of the Second Advent believers when Hiram Edson had a vision of the Heavenly Sanctuary on October 23, 1844. And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament. (Rev 11:19). As they studied the Heavenly Sanctuary they realized that the Ark of the Covenant in Heaven contains the Ten Commandments, just as the Ark on earth had. And they soon realized that all the Ten Commandments must be obeyed, including the 4 th Commandment, which tells us to keep the Seventh-day Sabbath. This is what the First Angel's Message means when it tells us to, worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. (Compare Ex. 20:11 with Rev. 14:7). The Sabbath is a sign or seal that God sanctifies us makes us holy which is our necessary preparation for the Judgment, which was brought to view in the First Angel's Message (see Ex. 31:13; Rev. 14:6-7). The Second Advent believers began keeping the Seventh-day Sabbath shortly after 1844. They soon began proclaiming the Third Angel's Message as well, which brings to view the Mark of the Beast the counterfeit worship day which was instituted by the Little Horn power so many centuries before. The Third Angel's Message ends by speaking of those that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. (Rev. 14:12) Thus the Ten Commandments were restored to their rightful place.
12. The pot of manna symbolizes that that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live. (Deut. 8:3) This was the core principle of the Protestant Reformation, and it is also the core principle of the Seventh-day Adventist Movement the Word of God is our standard of faith and doctrine. The pot of Manna also reminds us of how God gave the Children of Israel a simple, healthful, vegetarian diet in the wilderness. It reminds us that as we near the Heavenly Canaan land, we too are to be diligently following the principles of Health Reform that have been given us. 13. Aaron's rod that budded and blossomed was a sign to the Israelites that Aaron was God's chosen High Priest. The people who were led by Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, had lost sight of the truth that God had specifically chosen Aaron as the High Priest to minister before Him. But the budding of the rods once again brought to view the fact that Aaron was God's chosen High Priest. In the same way, the antitypical Day of Atonement in 1844 brought to view the ministry of Christ as our High Priest in the Most Holy Place of the Heavenly Sanctuary. Christ's High Priesthood had to some degree been understood by the Reformers, but in a great measure it was again lost sight of by their followers in later centuries. So it was necessary for it to once again be brought to the view of the Christian world; and this was accomplished by the preaching of the Three Angel's Messages around 1844. At this point we find that nearly all the Sanctuary had been restored the Protestant Reformation had restored the first two parts of the Sanctuary, and the Second Advent Movement, which became the Seventh-day Adventist movement, had restored many of the articles in the Most Holy Place. But there was one article in the Sanctuary that had not yet been restored the Book of the Covenant! Who would restore the Book of the Covenant? The children of the Protestant Reformers had stopped reforming. Most of the children of the early Advent believers had stopped reforming. In fact, they were actively teaching that the Book of the Covenant was no longer needed that it had been nailed to the cross, even though the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy upheld the Book of the Covenant as an integral part of God's moral law (see footnotes below). Who would restore the Book of the Covenant to it's proper place in the Sanctuary? Once again God raised up men in all parts of the world, from many different backgrounds, some of them Adventist, others who came out of nominal Sunday churches, were raised up to carry on the restoration of the Sanctuary. 14. The Book of the Covenant is being restored even as we speak. There are thousands of people all over the world preaching that the Book of the Covenant is a part of God's moral law and should still be obeyed. The restoration of the Sanctuary is nearly complete. Do you want to join in repairing the breaches?
A Call For Laborers: As in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, so now today we need laborers to carry on the work of restoring the Sanctuary. We need workers who will take all the truths of the Sanctuary that were restored by the Protestant Reformers, the Advent Reformers, and those who have come after them, and carry those truths forward, as well as to carry on the work of the restoring the parts of the Sanctuary that are currently in progress. Footnotes on the Book of the Covenant: Contrary to popular belief the Book of the Covenant was not part of the ceremonial law. These laws that God gave to Moses were not shadowy types to pass away with the death of Christ they were to be binding upon man in every age as long as time should last. (RH, May 6, 1875 par. 10) Through all time they are to be perpetuated. (FE, 393.2) We are under obligation to fulfill these specifications; for in so doing we fulfill the specifications of the law of God. (RH, December 18, 1894 par. 6, 7}. In the day of judgment we shall be asked whether we have lived in harmony with these specifications. (AUCR, March 25, 1907 par. 3) The terms of the Covenant have not changed. They are the same as they were in the days of Israel. (see 1MR, 108.2; 114. par. 1-3; 122.1; SW, March 1, 1904 par. 40-44; June 7, 1904; ST, March 21, 1895 par. 1). (For more information see this link: www.seekbibletruth.org). Lev 18:5 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD. Lev 26:14 But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments; Lev 26:15 And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant: Lev 26:16 I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. Lev 26:17 And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.... Deu 4:1 Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you. Deu 4:8 And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?
Deu 8:11 Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: Deu 6:6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: Deu 6:7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. Deu 6:8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. Deu 6:9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. Deu 11:1 Therefore thou shalt love the LORD thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, alway.