Category Archives: The Sanctuary Series
14. The Refreshment of the Sabbath in the Sanctuary
John Thiel
Audio: Refreshment of the Sabbath
This study enters into a research of an aspect in the heavenly sanctuary in the most holy place. Ellen White received the vision and she came into the heavenly sanctuary in the vision.
In the city I saw a temple, which I entered. I passed through a door before I came to the first veil. This veil was raised, and I passed into the holy place. Here I saw the altar of incense, the candlestick with seven lamps, and the table on which was the shewbread. After viewing the glory of the holy, Jesus raised the second veil and I passed into the holy of holies. {EW 32.2} Read the rest of this entry
8. Reflecting the Work of Salvation in the Most Holy Place
John Thiel
Audio: The Work of Salvation Reflected in the Most Holy Place
Our last study went as far as the work of salvation up to the holy place. After Jesus had been sacrificed on the cross for us which was here on earth the outer court, He then became a priest. He progressed in His work by taking with Him our sins and brought them before God in the heavenly sanctuary. As He went there the first thing He dealt with was the candlesticks in the heavenly sanctuary. The apostles were waiting as He said wait till I send you the Spirit. The candlestick in heaven was the seven spirits of God that were close to the throne of God. When Jesus lit the candlesticks as it were, He actually sent the Holy Spirit and fire came down on the heads of the disciples just as the candles were burning in the symbolic picture. Flames came upon their head. Read the rest of this entry
28 The Scapegoat
John Thiel
Audio: The Scapegoat
This study is a conclusion of the whole sanctuary service. The scapegoat was the last activity in the sanctuary. Everything that was written in the Law of Moses was to be fulfilled concerning Christ and the whole plan of salvation. Everything that the sanctuary unveils, Gods way in the sanctuary, leaves us with one more item.
Leviticus 16:20 And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy [place], and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat: Read the rest of this entry
07 Reflecting the Work of Salvation in the Sanctuary
John Thiel
Audio: The Work of Salvation
This study is the detail of the gospel service, the actual saving work of Jesus. It is looking at the work of salvation as typified in the sanctuary. The Hebrew sanctuary is a prophetic picture of what the gospel of Jesus Christ is all about.
If the disciples would have meditated about the sanctuary services as Jesus was speaking to them, they would have realised that Jesus sacrifice on the cross had to take place instead of getting so bitterly disappointed. He had to remind them of that when he was resurrected and He had to show them they were actually fools. The two disciples were walking on the road to Emmaus. They were bitterly disappointed and they were talking to a stranger walking with them and they didn’t realise who it was. Read the rest of this entry
27. The Science of Prayer
John Thiel
Audio: The Science of Prayer
Our brain is a living computer and our prayers are recorded in the altar of incense where the angels stand. It is the altar of incense which is the altar between the angels that have the coals between them. There are the wheels within wheels that record everything. Everything God says is recorded by those instrumentalities. Under the altar the people who were slain for their faith are crying. It is the recording of those prayers that are coming up before the Lord. This is equivalent to the earthly sanctuary altar of incense. Jesus in the last days ever since his ascension to heaven is there as the priest offering the prayers of the saints. Since 1844 he is in the most holy place. Prayer is very much part of the sanctuary ministration. The angel with the censor offers up the prayers of the saints and it is all part of the message of the sanctuary when we look into the subject of prayer. Looking at the time in which we are living in the last days, the work of the sanctuary is energetically going on with Jesus there in the holy place with the censor. Read the rest of this entry
26 God’s Way of Unity in the Sanctuary
John Thiel
Audio: God’s Way of Unity in the Sanctuary
The whole subject of the sanctuary has been a doctrine that communicates unity from heaven to earth. The sanctuary built by the Hebrews was a copy of the sanctuary in heaven. There was a unifying concept. Also the body of Christ was a sanctuary. The body of Jesus was also an exercise of unity in that whole doctrine as also the church being the body of Christ was connected with the sanctuary because the church is also a sanctuary. All the sanctuary applications are all communicating the concept of unity just from that perspective. Read the rest of this entry
24. No Strange Fire In the Temple
John Thiel
Audio: No Strange Fire in the Temple
From the creation and fall of man to the present time, there has been a continual unfolding of the plan of God for the redemption, through Christ, of the fallen race. The tabernacle and temple of God on earth were patterned after the original in heaven. Around the sanctuary and its solemn services mystically gathered the grand truths which were to be developed through succeeding generations. {FLB 194.2}
23. God’s Way of Healing in the Sanctuary
John Thiel
Audio: God’s Way of Healing
There are a large number of subjects that come out of the sanctuary and as we look at these subjects, they continue to expand in their subject matter. Each point and truth becomes broader and wider. Every subject we have looked at so far has laid out the basics. Each subject on its own continues to widen. We could go on into eternity studying all the different subjects that come out of the sanctuary and they will continue to increase in their depth. The sanctuary unfolds truths that get deeper and deeper. Read the rest of this entry
21. Unquestioning Obedience
John Thiel
Audio: Unquestioning Obedience
An aspect of the sanctuary in heaven which the earthly sanctuary typified was the on the Ark of the Covenant, the Shekinah glory where Gods glory shone and it represented his throne in heaven. The day of the atonement represented in type the beginning of the hour of God’s judgement. Daniel 7:9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment [was] white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne [was like] the fiery flame, [and] his wheels [as] burning fire. Read the rest of this entry
20. Understanding The Way of Judgement in the Sanctuary
John Thiel
Audio: Understanding the Way of Judgement In the Sanctuary
Once we get information as to what is right and wrong in regards to actions, we fall into a danger of becoming judgemental and judging by what we see and making certain conclusions which don’t help anyone. Our careful study into judgment, the way that we judge must be revealed to us as it is from the sanctuary.
Isaiah 55:8 For my thoughts [are] not your thoughts, neither [are] your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
55:9 For [as] the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
God’s ways of judgment are not your ways, they are distant. They are as distant as the heaven is form the earth and higher. Our comprehension of judging is something that we are in need of understanding as God’s way otherwise our own way will be completed out of heavens sway and we will have no admittance there. We are to tune into God’s way of judgment. To whom will God show his way of judging because his way is over and above mans way? Mans way is so different and can God really reveal it if it is so different? Read the rest of this entry
17. God’s Way of Dress in the Sanctuary Part 1
John Thiel
Audio: Gods Way of Dress
God’s ways are different to our ways.
Psalms 63:1 O God, thou [art] my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;
63:2 To see thy power and thy glory, so [as] I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Read the rest of this entry
16 God’s Way of Organisation in the Sanctuary
John Thiel
Audio: God’s Way of Organisation
Psalms 63:1 O God, thou [art] my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;
63:2 To see thy power and thy glory, so [as] I have seen thee in the sanctuary.
63:3 Because thy lovingkindness [is] better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Read the rest of this entry
22 God’s Way of Music as Reflected in the Sanctuary
John Thiel
Music is another one of those points of personal sensitivity which is very hard to address to try and help people in. But I thank God for the sanctuary as there it reveals something to help us to be able to handle it. Music is simply a sequence of vibrations that come to our sense of hearing to which we respond according to our hereditary and cultivated background.
15 The Refreshment Of The Sabbath And How It Becomes Polluted
John Thiel
Audio: The Refreshment of the Sabbath
In the sanctuary are the Ten Commandments and around the Sabbath is a halo that is brighter than all the other commandments. The Sabbath is the day that is the day of the Lord our God and therefore Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath. The Sabbath has everything to do with our relationship with God. The Sabbath is to be the seal of God because in the Sabbath is the seal, name and title and domain that he rules. The true keeping of the Sabbath contains the seal of God. It is not so much in being a Sabbath keeper. Read the rest of this entry
11 The Presiding Influence of the Sanctuary Doctrine
John Thiel
Audio: The Presiding Influence of the Sanctuary Doctrine
The Hebrew sanctuary was a symbol and it contained the prophetic symbolism of the realities of the plan of salvation. The work of Jesus was that he gave his life at the cross and he worked as a priest for a period of time in the holy place and the most holy place. The message of these last days since 1844 is the Day of Atonement and of Jesus our high priest examining our lives in the judgment. In such a serious time in which we are living it is important we have comfort in the high priest. Jesus is also the sanctuary, his body. Our body is a sanctuary and there is also the heavenly sanctuary. There are many different sanctuary object lessons. This subject is important and it has to do with the saving activity of our soul. Read the rest of this entry
12 The Investigative Judgement by Jesus (What Should My Diet Be?)
John Thiel
Audio: The Investigative Judegment by Jesus
The sanctuary message was the key that unlocked the disappointment of 1844.
The subject of the sanctuary was the key which unlocked the mystery of the disappointment of 1844. It opened to view a complete system of truth, connected and harmonious, showing that God’s hand had directed the great advent movement and revealing present duty as it brought to light the position and work of His people. {GC 423.1} Read the rest of this entry
13. My Life and Health Principles
John Thiel
On the Day of Atonement when our life comes up before the Lord in the most holy place and we are being judged, it is a very serious occasion. It is a life and death hour of judgement. As it is so serious and far reaching, the anti-typical Day of Atonement was given for us to understand they were to fast, pray and examine themselves closely. Since 1844 that fast was represented to us to be the health reform. The subject of the health reform has everything to do with the third angel’s message as it pointed us to the work of Jesus in the sanctuary. The angels pointed the disappointed ones to Jesus in the most holy place. As they discovered him there, the subject of the sanctuary was that system of truth illuminated to them. The health reform is the right arm of the three angel’s messages. Read the rest of this entry
10. The Comfort of the High Priest
John Thiel
Audio: The Comfort of the High Priest
Hebrews 8:1 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;
8:2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.
8:3 For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore [it is] of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.
8:4 For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:
8:5 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 showed to thee in the mount. Read the rest of this entry
09 Was the Atonement Completed at the Cross?
John Thiel
The sanctuary relates to our salvation. We have studied the meaning of the different furniture. The courtyard of the sanctuary had the altar of sacrifice which was where the animal was slain and represented the sacrifice of Jesus when He died on the cross as our sins slew Him. He was the lamb that was sacrificed. If the sinner comes to the cross of Jesus they can release themselves by confessing all to Him. The priest ate part of that sacrifice and took the blood and sprinkled it in the holy place at altar of incense. That is the way that the sins of every sinner were through Christ was recorded and transferred in the sanctuary with pardon written against their sins. The seven golden sticks represented the light in the life of the Christian. Read the rest of this entry
06 The Priesthood of the Three Sanctuaries
John Thiel
Audio: The Priesthood of the Three Sanctuaries
We have been studying the three sanctuaries – the Hebrew sanctuary which was the tent that was set up, the temple that Solomon built, the heavenly sanctuary and the body temple sanctuary.
The sanctuary on earth was a copy of the one in heaven, the true sanctuary that the Lord pitched and not man. Jesus said that He was going to go be with His Father to prepare a place for us. Jesus said destroy this temple and He would raise it again in three days as He was referring to His body temple. Read the rest of this entry
5. The Sanctuary of the Body
John Thiel
Audio: The Sanctuary of the Body
In our last study we looked at the sanctuary of the heart, the sanctuary in the court and the two apartments. We saw the brain of the body was the two apartment sanctuary. We will now enter into a more protracted study in reference to the physiology of the body as a whole. This study is precisely what the Spirit of God has brought to the attention of those who are meant to be presenting God’s word. Read the rest of this entry
2. Christ in the Hebrew Sanctuary Part 1
John Thiel
Audio: Christ in the Hebrew Sanctuary Part 1
In our last study we learnt that God wants to come very close to sinners and to the Hebrews back then who He used to illustrate this.
Exodus 25:8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. Read the rest of this entry
4. The Sanctuary of the Heart
John Thiel
In the first few studies of this series of Christ in the Sanctuary we saw that Christ is found in three sanctuaries – the Hebrew sanctuary, the sanctuary of His body, the heavenly sanctuary. We also observed the detail of what Christ was according to the Hebrew sanctuary. The furniture and the structure of the Hebrew sanctuary identifying each item which points to Jesus. Read the rest of this entry
3. Christ in the Hebrew Sanctuary Part 2
John Thiel
We are looking at Christ in the Hebrew sanctuary. In our last study we looked at the furniture and the structure of the sanctuary gaining from it the symbolisms that depicted Jesus Christ. In this study we are looking at Christ in the sanctuary service itself. Read the rest of this entry
1. Christ in the Sanctuary
John Thiel
Audio: Christ in the Sanctuary
We are commencing a new series of studies on the sanctuary and we are studying the sanctuary in heaven which the Hebrew sanctuary was a copy of. This subject is distinctive of the Seventh Day Adventist faith. The early Adventists brought this out of the scriptures in all its beauty. The three angel’s messages are depicted in the studying of the sanctuary. It is sad that one hundred and fifty years on, this subject seems to have lost its glamour in the eyes of Adventists in general. It is looked upon as a doctrinal argument and to many people the study of the sanctuary is not a necessity. This is a sad observation.
It is the purpose of this series to revive the pristine appreciation that struck Adventism when they went through their disappointment of 1844 when they understood what the three angel’s messages were. A great system of truth was established with the sanctuary and its various facets of application. As God calls the Israelites to erect the sanctuary in the Hebrew experience in the wilderness, this particular study is to explore in the introduction of the whole series and the real purpose of the sanctuary and its dimensions. What is the real purpose of the study in the first place?
Exodus 25:8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. Read the rest of this entry
19. Dress Reform in the Sanctuary Part 3
John Thiel
We are learning the meaning of God’s way in the sanctuary.
Isaiah 55:8 For my thoughts [are] not your thoughts, neither [are] your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
55:9 For [as] the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
It was through the appreciation of the detail of the sanctuary we came to know God’s ways. Here is a scripture explaining how we come to know God and his ways;
Ezekiel 43:7 And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, [neither] they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places.
43:8 In their setting of their threshold by my thresholds, and their post by my posts, and the wall between me and them, they have even defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed: wherefore I have consumed them in mine anger.
43:9 Now let them put away their whoredom, and the carcases of their kings, far from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them for ever.
43:10 Thou son of man, show the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities: and let them measure the pattern.
43:11 And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, show them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof: and write [it] in their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them. Read the rest of this entry
18 Dress Reform and the Sanctuary Part 2
John Thiel
God’s way in the sanctuary is the way of holiness.
Isaiah 35:8 And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it [shall be] for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err [therein]. Read the rest of this entry
Dress Reform and the Sanctuary
John Thiel
We are researching Gods ways in a series of studies on the Sanctuary. When it comes to the subject of dress, unfailingly it is one of those subjects that we always fall into difficulty with. It is imperative we look at the subject in the framework of the Sanctuary. This study deals with the true motive of dress reform and the motivation behind dress reform. When the motivation is correct, then your dress will be correct. If you look at it from the perspective of what is the requirement of dress without the beautiful inspiration of the sanctuary, it is only looking at the fruits of the tree instead the roots of the tree. You are trying to pick off fruits that aren’t good and place good fruits on there when the tree needs to be dealt with. It is of vital importance to understand the subject of the dress reform. The word of God dealing with the covering of the human body in the sanctuary is what we are looking at. When we studied the sanctuary in relation to the soul and the heart, we discovered that the courtyard of the temple is our body and that our mind and brain with the seat of the affections is in another part. The part of the brain which is the intellectual part is the first apartment and the forehead or the frontal lobe is the most holy place.
Our body is the courtyard. As you look at that courtyard of the Hebrew sanctuary, what is it surrounded by? White Linen. That white linen was of a certain height so that a person on the outside could not see in. It was well covered by the white linen. The body is to be covered with righteousness. The sanctuary itself was not to be seen into. You had coverings one after the other. Under the Woven Goat hair covering was the blue purple and scarlet. You will notice that each layer covered it so thoroughly that you couldn’t see through. It was a covered sanctuary. In the human representation of the priest, what do we read in reference to the covering of the priest? Read the rest of this entry
25. The Internet Headquarters of the Universe
John Thiel
Audio: The Internet Headquarters of the Universe
The Hebrew sanctuary was a copy of the sanctuary in heaven.
Exodus 25:9 According to all that I show thee, [after] the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make [it]. Read the rest of this entry
