From Here to Forever

A Work of Judgment

In the new covenant the sins of the repentant are by faith placed upon Christ and transferred in fact to the heavenly sanctuary. And as the typical cleansing of the earthly sanctuary was accomplished by the removal of the sins by which it had been polluted, so the actual cleansing of the heavenly is accomplished by the removal, or blotting out, of the sins there recorded. But before this can be accomplished there must be an examination of the books of record to determine who, through repentance 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—prior to the coming of Christ, for when He comes, His reward is with Him to give to every man according to his works. Revelation 22:12. HF 260.2

Thus those who followed the light of the prophetic word saw that, instead of coming to the earth at the termination of the 2300 days in 1844, Christ entered the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary to perform the closing work of atonement preparatory to His coming. HF 260.3

When Christ by virtue of His blood removes the sins of His people from the heavenly sanctuary at the close of His ministry, He will place them upon Satan, who must bear the final penalty. The scapegoat was sent away into a land not inhabited, never to come again into the congregation of Israel. So will Satan 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. HF 260.4