In Defense of the Faith

Christ’s Priestly Ministry

As we have already seen, the only sanctuary of God in existence in 1844 was the heavenly sanctuary. The earthly sanctuary, with its services, had passed away, having no further meaning after the cross; and the priesthood had changed from the sons of Aaron to Christ. At the time of Christ’s ascension He began His priestly ministry in the sanctuary above as our High Priest. But this ministry was performed in the “holy place,” or first room of the tabernacle. The second apartment, within the dividing veil, known as the “holy of holies,” was not to be entered except on the Day of Atonement, when the sanctuary was to be cleansed from sin. DOF 294.1

The time for this event to take place in heaven arrived in 1844. In Daniel 8:17, where the angel explains to Daniel the prophecy of the 2300 years, he declares, “At the time of the end shall be the vision.” This expression is used in numerous places in the Bible to designate a little period of time just before the return of our Lord, and during which the final preparations for that event are being made both in heaven and upon earth. The heavenly sanctuary, therefore, was to be cleansed in “the time of the end,” and the actual work was to begin in the year AD. 1844. DOF 294.2

This is in harmony with the type, for in the earthly sanctuary the priest, as we have already seen, spent the greater part of the year in the first apartment; and only a short time at the close of the yearly round in the most holy place, where he would be engaged in the work of cleansing the sanctuary. So in heaven Jesus went first into the first apartment, and served there as priest until 1844. That corresponded to the long period spent by the priest in the first apartment on earth. He entered the second apartment in 1844, in the last end of His priestly ministry, to do a short work, and to make an end of sin. That work is called the cleansing of the sanctuary. DOF 294.3

But it may be asked: Is there anything in heaven that needs to be cleansed? Yes, there is sin. As we have already observed, the cleansing of the sanctuary is not a cleansing from physical defilement but a spiritual cleansing, and has to do with the removal of the record and defilement of sin. In 1 Timothy 5:24 we are told: “Some men’s sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after.” Those who have through the years accepted Jesus as their sacrifice have been sending their sins into the sanctuary for judgment. DOF 295.1

The only way that sin can get into the sanctuary is by confession and the offering of a substitutionary sacrifice. Therefore only the sins of those who have accepted Christ as their Redeemer are found there. The sins of the wicked have never been brought into the sanctuary, and so unrepentant sinners will have to be judged at a later time judgment begins at the house of God; the righteous will be judged first. Thus all confessed sins are transferred to the sanctuary, and in this manner the sanctuary is defiled. DOF 295.2

In the earthly sanctuary service man confessed his sins over the lamb, which was slain on his behalf, and thus the sins were, in type, transferred to the sanctuary. DOF 295.3

Just so, I am a sinner; Jesus is my sacrificial Lamb and also my High Priest. He has died for me, but His death is of no avail to me until I accept Him as my substitute. When I do accept Him I then confess my sins to God through Him, just as the man in Israel confessed his sins over his offering. And thus my sins are transferred from myself to the sanctuary above, where Christ ministers as priest on my behalf. He takes away my sins, and gives me His righteousness. But where does He take them? He takes them to the sanctuary, where He is ministering as priest; and although they are forgiven, the record of them must there remain until they are blotted out in the judgment. DOF 295.4

Someone may say: I thought that when Christ forgave my sins, He took them clear away. Yes, He did, so far as you are concerned. He promises to make us as white as snow. But this does not mean that the sins are finally disposed of. He takes them from us, but the record is still there. We are free because we have accepted Him as our substitute and sin bearer, but the record of sin is held in the sanctuary. DOF 296.1

Someone else may say: But was not the death of Christ on the cross a complete atonement for sin? We answer the question by asking another: In the earthly sanctuary, when the goat was brought and killed in the outer court by the altar, was the atonement completed by that act? No, the blood had to be taken into the sanctuary and brought into contact with the broken law and the sins of the people. There was a priestly work to be performed after the shedding of the blood. DOF 296.2

So when Christ died on the cross He had fulfilled the type of the Lord’s goat being slain, but the atonement could not be complete until the blood He had shed on the cross was offered before God and His broken law in the sanctuary. Therefore the death of Christ on the cross was not the completion of the atonement. It was a part of the work of atonement, but the priestly work was all to follow. The offering of the blood before the law and before the throne had not yet taken place. If the atonement was completed at the cross, then why did Jesus become a priest? What priestly work was there to do? There would be none. The fact that Christ became a priest shows that there was a priestly service to be performed in the heavenly sanctuary in order to make the work of atonement effective and complete. DOF 296.3

It may be asked, Is it not possible that after Christ made the sacrifice He went back to heaven, and immediately performed His priestly work, including the cleansing of the sanctuary, and closed it all zip in just a little while? Possibly He might have thus dispensed with the sins of those who lived before the cross, but if Christ finished His priestly work immediately upon His ascension, then those born since are eternally lost, having no High Priest, no Advocate, no priestly service for sins. Christ could not go into heaven and offer His blood to the Father on my behalf, as my substitute, until I had decided that I wanted Him to act for me. His ministry in heaven does not avail for me until I accept Him as my sacrifice and priest. He died for me 1,900 years ago, but His death is not counted for me until I accept Him. DOF 297.1

Therefore the work of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary could not be completed until the work of redemption is completed. The offering of the blood of Christ in heaven is a continual offering. He died only once, but every time a sinner comes to God through Him, He pleads His shed blood on his behalf, and in that moment the sacrifice of Christ becomes efficacious in that man’s case. DOF 297.2

Another may ask, Why could not Christ have immediately blotted out the sins of the people? Why wait until after 1844? We reply: There must come first an investigation of the records. That is essential. Here is a man who has accepted Christ. His sins have gone on before him into the sanctuary, but Christ cannot blot those sins out of the record until the man’s life is finished, or until probation closes for him. Why not? Because he may not continue in faith, and we are told in Ezekiel 33:12, 13, that if the righteous man turns away from his righteousness, all the righteousness that he has done shall not be remembered. If he does not continue in faith, all his past sins will come back upon him again. Jesus does not plead before the throne of God in the final judgment for one who has died in sin. He cannot plead His blood in behalf of one who, though once a Christian, refuses to continue in His grace. Thus before the Lord can blot out the sins from the record books, a very careful examination has to be made to see whether those who accepted Christ have remained true. “Be thou faithful unto death,” says the Scripture, “and I will give thee a crown of life.” Revelation 2:10. It is not the beginning of the race that gives assurance of the crown of life; it is the successful finishing. DOF 298.1