The Sanctuary

Psalm 77:13 — Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?

There is no better way to get acquainted with Jesus Christ than to study the sanctuary in all its phases and activities.

God has set up the sanctuary system of types on earth to teach of the coming Messiah, His sacrifice, His work in heaven and the final result of sin.

Fig leaves, and an innocent lamb

After the fall of Adam and Eve, they attempted to cover themselves with fig leaves to hide their guilt and shame.

Genesis 3:7 — And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

They tried to cover their sins by their own works, but the wages of sin is death, and cannot be covered by the good works of man. To cover their nakedness God had to kill an innocent lamb — a symbol of the death of Christ.

After the inception of sin in the world, God announced His plan of salvation. A curse was pronounced on the serpent, the representative of Satan.

Genesis 3:15 — And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

God promised a “seed” (Christ) that would be born of a woman, a descendant of Adam and Eve. Satan would “bruise” Christ’s heel, but Christ would eventually “bruise” Satan’s head, through the death of Jesus.

From the start of the sacrificial system, the death of an animal was to point forward to the death of Christ as atonement for the sins of humanity. Since the fall of man until now, there has been continual unfolding of the plan of God to redeem humanity through the sacrifice of Christ.

Abel brought an animal to offer as a sacrifice, showing faith in the coming of Christ as his Redeemer, and his sacrifice was accepted by God. Cain brought fruits — offerings of works — but his sacrifice was not accepted.

Genesis 4:3-5 — And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

A pattern of the true sanctuary in heaven

We all need to keep the subject of the sanctuary in mind.

The significance of the Jewish economy is not yet fully comprehended. Truths vast and profound are shadowed forth in its rites and symbols.

— Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 133

God forbid that anything from human lips should lessen the belief of God’s people in the truth that there is a sanctuary in heaven, and that a pattern of this sanctuary was once built on earth.

It is God’s desire for His people to become familiar with this pattern as a type of the true sanctuary in heaven.

All through history God tried to reveal His love to mankind, but Satan is always trying to discredit and misrepresent Him. Through the sacrifices and offerings brought to the earthly sanctuary, the children of Israel were to lay hold of the merits of a saviour to come.

Let them make me a sanctuary

Exodus 25:8 — And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.

God gave the command to build the sanctuary and the way it should be erected. Exodus 25 to 27 describe exactly how Moses and the Israelites should build the sanctuary. Chapters 37 and 38 make it clear that the sanctuary was built exactly as they were instructed.

The sanctuary in the wilderness was a model of the real one in heaven.

Exodus 25:40 — And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount.

Acts 7:44 — Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as he had appointed, speaking unto Moses, that he should make it according to the fashion that he had seen.

Hebrews 8:1-5 — Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law: Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.

God presented before Moses in the mount a view of the heavenly sanctuary, and commanded him to make all things according to the pattern shown him.

— Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 343

All these directions were carefully recorded by Moses, who communicated them to the leaders of the people. By studying the model here on earth, we can learn about the true tabernacle in heaven and what Jesus is doing for us there.

When Jesus came during the first advent, the Jews were busy looking for a “King of Kings” and never even realised when He came. They totally missed the greatest event of their time because they did not study the sanctuary service properly.

We should be careful not to fall in the same trap and miss the opportunity of knowing what Christ is now doing on our behalf.

No plan of man’s devising

God was the architect and master designer of the earthly sanctuary that was built for His worship. In the sanctuary we can find the system of true worship.

No plan of man’s devising entered in the construction of the sanctuary. This is how it was meant to be, for no plan of man, no activities carried on in man’s wisdom or strength, can efface the effects of sin and restore the race to its original innocence.

It is of the most importance that all should thoroughly investigate these subjects, and be able to give every one that asketh them a reason for the hope that is in them.

1 Peter 3:15 — But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.

The Jewish tabernacle was a type of the Christian church… The church on earth, composed of those who are faithful and loyal to God, is the “true tabernacle,” whereof the Redeemer is minister. God, and not man, pitched this tabernacle on a high, elevated platform. This tabernacle is Christ’s body, and from north, south, east, and west He gathers those who compose it.

— SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 931

The materials and the colours

God instructed what kinds of material and the colours were to be used in building the sanctuary.

Exodus 25:3-7 — And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass, And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, And rams’ skins dyed red, and badgers’ skins, and shittim wood, Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense, Onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breastplate.

Exodus 25:10 — And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.

Exodus 28:15 — And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work; after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shalt thou make it.

The instructions, and the instructions carried out

The instruction:

Exodus 27:9 — And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen of an hundred cubits long for one side.

Carried out:

Exodus 38:9 — And he made the court: on the south side southward the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, an hundred cubits.

The sacred tent was enclosed in an area called the court, which was surrounded by hangings, or screens of fine linen suspended from pillars of brass. The entrance to this enclosure was at the eastern end. It was closed by curtains of costly material and beautiful workmanship. The hangings being only about half as high as the walls of the tabernacle, the building could be seen by the people outside.

The altar

The erection of an altar was the initial step toward fellowship with God. Throughout history it was the pivotal centre of worship service; until it was established, there could be no other ministry.

Before they built the tabernacle in the wilderness, they had been instructed to make an altar of either earth or of stone. If made of stone, the stones could not be shaped or hewn. It had to be built of just “field stone”, laid up without putting a tool upon the stones.

Exodus 20:24-26 — An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee. And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it. Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.

All the true altars pointed to the coming sacrifice of Christ the Lamb of God; therefore it was holy and not to be desecrated.

Exodus 40:6 — And thou shalt set the altar of the burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation.

The instruction:

Exodus 27:1 — And thou shalt make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three cubits.

They constructed the altar according to the specific instructions God gave them.

Exodus 38:1 — And he made the altar of burnt offering of shittim wood: five cubits was the length thereof, and five cubits the breadth thereof; it was foursquare; and three cubits the height thereof.

The altar was the first “furniture” to be seen on entering the court. The sacrifice of the Lamb is to be our first consideration.

Exodus 29:36-37 — And thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin offering for atonement: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an atonement for it, and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it. Seven days thou shalt make an atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and it shall be an altar most holy: whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy.

Leviticus 8:10-11 — And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was therein, and sanctified them. And he sprinkled thereof upon the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all his vessels, both the laver and his foot, to sanctify them.

God is holy

God is holy. We sometimes fail to set God on high; we try to bring Him down to our level. Everything about the sanctuary pointed out the holiness of God, how meticulous He is, and impressed upon the sinner his need for a saviour and the reverence that we must bring before God.

It took seven days and many sacrificial offerings to consecrate the altar of burnt offering. Every piece of furniture, pots, pans and the rest had to be consecrated for use only in the service of the holy God. We do not show proper respect and reverence for the sanctuary and its service nowadays.

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On what Christ is now doing in the heavenly sanctuary, Time Shall Be No More takes up Daniel 8:14 and the cleansing of the sanctuary at the end of the 2300 days. On the Christ the whole system points to, Getting to Know Jesus takes up Philippians 3:10 and what it means to know Him personally. On the church that carries this message, The Church and Its Mission names the sanctuary in heaven as one of its seven pillars.

If this study has raised something you would like to talk through, the team reads every message: ask a Bible question, or send a prayer request.