The Great Second Advent Movement: Its Rise and Progress

The Sanctuary Service a Type of the True

When the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, he proclaimed in the audience of all the camp his law of moral precepts, and gave them a copy of the same on stone, graven by his own finger, that they might continually be pointed forward to that Saviour who would finally make a sacrifice of himself for them; and that by virtue of his precious blood their sins might be cleansed away, he had a sanctuary erected in the wilderness. This tabernacle, or sanctuary, in all its construction, Moses was admonished to make exactly like the pattern which the Lord showed to him in the mount. ²⁹ The service in this sanctuary was a shadow of the real service of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary. ³⁰ While the purpose of God in the offerings and sacrifices of the sanctuary was to keep before men a shadow of “good things to come,” ³¹ Satan’s effort was to lead the people to regard the offering itself, instead of Christ and his actual service, of which this was only an example. Thus he sought to lead them to trust in their own works for salvation. GSAM 45.1

It was the Lord’s purpose to be the ruler of his people,—the Israelites,—to fight their battles and subdue the nations. He had his method of ruling, as is shown by the following text: “When he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he divided their land to them by lot. And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet.” ³² GSAM 45.2