By John Thiel, The Sanctuary Series, study 7, mp3

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.

Luke 24:25 Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: 26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? 27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

When He was speaking to them explaining they were fools and they should have known, where did he commence?

Beginning at Moses

That is where He began and He spoke to them things concerning himself. The work of Jesus and His salvation activity was laid out in Moses.

Luke 24:44 And he said unto them, These [are] the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the Law of Moses, and [in] the prophets, and [in] the psalms, concerning me. 45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,

This is a very important scripture in terms of our study. He says, while I was yet with you, I told you that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses concerning Jesus. In the Law of Moses which the sanctuary was the centre of, everything needed to be fulfilled about Jesus, everything. That is what He said, all things need to be fulfilled concerning Him.

As we reflect on what Jesus may have shared with them and examining all the things pertaining to Jesus in the earthly sanctuary that pointed to the fulfillment of what Jesus was coming to do, we begin at the point of Him being crucified as that is what they were so disappointed in.

Why Was Jesus Crucified?

He said, didn’t you know that what happened in the sanctuary that the slaying of the lamb was the crucifixion that I had to die as a lamb slain from the beginning of the world? As we look at the cross, we look immediately at the sanctuary which Jesus was showing. Where was Jesus crucified? Where is that the sacrifice of the sanctuary service at the altar of sacrifice?

The sinner had to come and confess his sins on the sacrifice. The sheep, goat, ram or bullock and then he had to slay the sacrifice. That was identified as the sacrifice for the sins that Jesus came to make. A lot of the sacrifices that were slain, the blood was caught and taken into the temple and sprinkled in front of the veil or put on the horns of the altar or the priest ate some of that sacrifice and carried it inside of him as he went into the sanctuary. A lot of the sacrifice was either burnt on the altar or taken outside of the camp and burnt outside. Observe what that referred to.

Hebrews 13:10 We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle. 11 For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp. 12 Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. 13 Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. 14 For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.

What is this saying? When Jesus was crucified, He was crucified outside of the gate. He was crucified outside of the sanctuary. He was not sacrificed in the heavenly sanctuary, He was sacrificed in the court and the lamb that was burnt represented Him and His blood was taken later on. It says we have no continuing city but we seek one to come. He was not the lamb in heaven, but here on earth. The sacrifice took place outside of the sanctuary in the court. That brings out that the part of Jesus’ activity was fulfilled on earth. The work of salvation in regards to Jesus was commenced here on earth.

John 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

The work of salvation commenced by Jesus coming into this world. He was crucified on this planet in this world outside of the heavenly sanctuary in the court. That is an important principle to note as the heavenly sanctuary is the sanctuary and the earth is the court where Jesus was crucified. We need to be in the sanctuary after we have accepted the work of Jesus as the lamb. He came to this earth to save us into the court of the sanctuary. This earth is the court.

Hebrews 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

When Jesus was on earth, He was offered to bear the sins of many as the sacrifice in the Hebrew sanctuary typified the sins laid upon the sin offering and there was the fulfilment of Jesus coming to this earth and being offered to bear our sins. The part fulfilled regarding Jesus in the Law of Moses was merely the cross, the sacrifice at that time on earth.

1 John 3:7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. 8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

He was manifested here on earth to destroy the works of the devil. That is what the sacrifice is all about, to destroy the work of the devil in the lives of the people. When Jesus was here on earth, the sacrifice in the courtyard was fulfilled according to the Law of Moses.

Hebrews 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

He came to destroy the works of the devil. How? He took life on earth in the court and partook with us of our flesh and blood so He could die and by dying destroy the power of death. That is all that was fulfilled on earth in the earthly sanctuary symbolism the altar of sacrifice. He was also baptised on earth which is the laver. These two things have to do with the plan of salvation.

This is the activity that Jesus entered into for man. He said all things must be fulfilled so that was only a portion of the Law of Moses that he fulfilled. This is what we must do here on earth as He has come to fulfill the Law of Moses on earth.

Romans 6:5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also [in the likeness] of [his] resurrection: 6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with [him], that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.

Here is the plan of salvation in the Law of Moses that was fulfilled by Jesus and is to be fulfilled in us by the plan of salvation and the death and the sacrifice that was done in the court. All things must be fulfilled in the Law of Moses concerning Jesus.

Most people only look at what Jesus did at the cross if they don’t understand the sanctuary service. Like the disciples, they didn’t register that Jesus was the Lamb of God that was now fulfilling the sacrifice of the Hebrew sanctuary typified. Today Christians don’t realise what was typified in the sanctuary involved many other aspects of the plan of salvation. All that people look at is what Jesus did 2000 years ago but we have much more in the sanctuary that Jesus said He has come to fulfil.

All things were to be fulfilled. To make the sacrifice of Jesus effective of salvation, the sanctuary shows His continuing work after the cross. What did Jesus do after the cross for our salvation? It is typified in the sanctuary. It is only the people who study the Hebrew sanctuary intelligently to what Jesus said of all things being fulfilled who can understand the full plan of salvation.

Hebrews 10:12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;

After He had been on earth and made a sacrifice for sin for all time, what did He do? He left earth and sat on the right hand of the Father. What does that mean that Jesus went and left the outer court and went to sit on the right hand of the Father in heaven? What does that mean?

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;

He sits on the right of the Father. He is set at the right hand of the majesty in heaven doing what?

Hebrews 8:2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.

What sanctuary is He talking about? The one that the Lord pitched.

Hebrews 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 shewed to thee in the mount.

When Moses was told to build the sanctuary he was shown the pattern which is the sanctuary, the true tabernacle with the Lord pitched and not man. When Jesus was the lamb slain in the cross experience, where did He go? He went to the very sanctuary that the Lord pitched and not man. What did He do? Did He just sit beside the Father? In sitting on the right side of the Lord in heaven He was becoming a minster of the sanctuary in heaven.

Most people do not understand that in the heaven sanctuary there are two apartments. When He went to sit at the right hand of the majesty of heaven, people think He went straight into the holy place as it says He sat at the right hand of God in heaven. We remember His Word that all things must be fulfilled in the Law of Moses concerning Him. In the Law of Moses the priest when He sacrificed the lamb then went into the holy place in the first apartment of the sanctuary. When Jesus left, where did He go? What did He do when He went there? He sat at the right hand which means He was a minister of the sanctuary.

Hebrews 2:17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto [his] brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things [pertaining] to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.

On earth, in the courtyard there was the lamb and salvation through the death of Christ but now Jesus becomes not the sacrifice anymore, He’s been the sacrifice. Now He is a priest in the heavenly sanctuary. What is He doing there? He’s died already but now He applies His death as our priest to make reconciliation for the sins of the people and that is what He is doing now.

Hebrews 2:18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.

Here on earth He was suffering the cross and He was the lamb that carried the sins of the people but then the priest took the blood of the lamb and went into the sanctuary to do the work of reconciliation. That is what we need to now pursue in our research.

When the lamb was slain, the blood was taken or the priest ate the sin offering, some of it. In that sin offering were the sins that were contained and confessed upon that animal. As this was taken into the priest he became a sin bearer, the blood that was shed was the sin bearing agency as well. Jesus became our priest and took the sins that He ingested like the priest ingested the sin offering. Jesus took with Him our experience into the sanctuary in heaven and the application of His blood. That was the work of the priest in the work of salvation, our wonderful priest the Lord Jesus. The offering was a sin offering which now the priest communicated into the sanctuary in heaven.

Hebrews 9:24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, [which are] the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:

He went not in the temple made with hands but as a priest He went to heaven itself and when it says into heaven itself to appear in the presence of God for us, He went into the heavenly sanctuary, not just heaven as so many people read. It was into the very throne room of the heavenly sanctuary.

1 John 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for [the sins of] the whole world.

When Jesus was crucified He was the sin bearing sacrifice but now He is our priest so that when we sin we have an advocate there. It is not only the sacrifice but we have a priest working in the sanctuary to save us from sin. The saving from sin is not only confined to the sacrifice but it is also to be fulfilled by the priestly work.

1 Timothy 2:5 For [there is] one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

Before He was a man slain and now He is a man as our priest and mediator between mankind and God. The man Christ Jesus, He is our priest there. Jesus carries all who understand His work and absorb themselves with Him. Now He has left this planet and gone into the sanctuary in heaven and as He goes there, He carries us with our sins there as that is what the priest did in the earthly sanctuary. Notice how He expresses this and how He connects His sacrifice on earth with us.

John 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. 25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. 26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will [my] Father honour.

What has Jesus summarised? His death as the corn of wheat that falls into the ground. If He didn’t do that, He wouldn’t have been able to produce much fruit. Then He says, if you the sinner, don’t do what Jesus did, if we don’t follow Him into that action, if I love my life, I shall lose it but if I hate my life in this world I will keep it. I’m to follow Jesus in His death and resurrection. This is what happens here on earth but now He says if you want to serve me hereafter, follow me still so that where I am, there you shall be also.

The priest had on His breast the names of the children of Israel. The children by faith were to go with the priest into the holy place. In the plan of salvation when we have accepted and acted on the actual work of what Jesus is done, we are to intelligently continue to go with Him as He goes into the holy place of the heavenly sanctuary. He says follow me that where I am you maybe also. Like the Israelites we are to go by faith letting Jesus carry me with Him into the sanctuary above. That is what was to be fulfilled. We will be honoured together with Jesus if we will do that.

Colossians 3:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, [who is] our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

He is heaven doing His high priestly work and as He sits on the right hand of God and we are to be there where He is sitting on the right hand of God.

Colossians 3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

Notice how these living activities are outlined.

Colossians 3:4 When Christ, [who is] our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

We are to by faith accept the fact that I am in Christ and Christ is in me and as He is in the sanctuary above as my priest pleading my case, I am there with Him so when He finishes his work, if I am dead, my life is hid with Christ in God that when He appears again, He will bring me with Him. It is written that when He comes again He will bring His people with him. They are with Him in a transitional reality because we are in Christ. He carries the priest in the Hebrew sanctuary and he carries the people on His chest. We go livingly with Jesus.

Colossians 3:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

Be there, set your affections there. If you know exactly what Jesus your high priest is doing, you can be consciously participating with Him. This is why the sanctuary study is so important as I’m there and my mind is occupied with Him as He is there and I’m here on this planet in physical form. In the heavenly sanctuary above Gods people worship there.

Revelation 11:1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. 2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty [and] two months.

The court was what? The earth but the people in the sanctuary are in heaven worshiping there. When Jesus went with all of us into heaven as our priest, we are worshipping there. That is where our mind is and where we are occupied with what He is doing. Follow Him in the actions of what He is doing.

The priest of the earthly sanctuary went with the offering and with His work in the first apartment. Did Jesus deal with the things of the heavenly sanctuary that are typified in the first apartment of the heavenly sanctuary and the symbolism of the earthly sanctuary? Remember what the priest had to do when they first inaugurated the earthly sanctuary. The priest had to light the candlesticks. Let’s see if Jesus went to heaven and dealt with the candlesticks in the work of salvation. John the revelator is hearing in the vision someone talking to Jim.

Revelation 1:12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;

Who is He? He is the priest. Where is He? In what part of the sanctuary is He? Where is He ministering? Among the candlesticks that is what He was doing when He went to heaven. When He went there to deal with the candlesticks examine it. Are there candlesticks in heaven? We see Jesus dealing with those candlesticks in heaven.

Revelation 4:5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and [there were] seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

There were seven lamps before the throne in heaven and those seven lamps are the seven spirits of God that are before the throne. If you look in the first apartment there is the altar of incense which has a crown around it. It is a throne. In front of the throne to the right are the candlesticks. Jesus is in the midst of the seven lamps in heaven which contain the seven spirits. When Jesus left this earth, what was the first thing that Jesus had to do for the salvation of man?

The First Thing Jesus Did for Man

Jesus made a promise.

John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 [Even] the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 26 But the Comforter, [which is] the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

In the plan and work of salvation Jesus said, when I leave I’m going to send you another comforter to teach, help and save you. He commands them to wait for the Spirit to come to them.

Acts 1:4 And, being assembled together with [them], commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, [saith he], ye have heard of me. 5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

Jesus says, When I leave this earth you are to wait to receive the Holy Spirit. What happened?

Acts 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

Notice what rested upon them. Each person had a little flame burning on top of the head. What was the candlestick? Flames burning. What did we read the heavenly candle stick is? The Seven Spirits of God. There is an instrument in heaven where the holy oil as per Zerubbabel’s vision of the olive trees and channels where the oil went and then the candlestick was illuminated by the oil going into the candlestick. Not by might, not by power but my spirit saith the Lord.

He was revealing that the heavenly instruments carry the Holy Spirit and it was poured as Jesus worked with the candlesticks in the heave sanctuary it was ascending on the church. Prayerfully before the Father He said let us send the spirit now and the light of the candlesticks was illuminated. This was the very issue

Revelation 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

You can see how the heavenly sanctuary and the people on earth are intimately connected. What Jesus was doing when He did something with the heavenly candlesticks it is what He did on earth through the Holy Spirit to illuminate the churches. The work of salvation is the work of Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary doing something that will bring the Holy Spirit and illuminate the church in salvation.

The Holy Spirit is the one who comes into the people and works as priest in the heart and illuminates everything in the heart. From the point in time the work in heaven was enacted on earth, the Holy Spirit the dual priesthood began to do His work in the church. That is part of the work that Jesus was doing among the candlesticks. The priest went into the holy place and the other part He did was that He attended to the table of shewbread. The table of shewbread had twelve loaves of bread on it.

The Work of the Priest in Regard to the Shewbread

Deuteronomy 8:3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy Fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every [word] that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.

To be saved not only are we to be illuminated by the Holy Spirit, we are to be eating the bread. That means to live by every word that proceeds out of Gods mouth. That is also part of the plan of the work of salvation. The priest in the heavenly sanctuary was dealing with the bread. The manna they ate was also placed in the ark of the testament as well.

1 Chronicles 9:32 And [other] of their brethren, of the sons of the Kohathites, [were] over the showbread, to prepare [it] every sabbath.

In the Hebrew sanctuary there was a new set of loaves put there. Everything that was done in the Law of Moses had to be fulfilled by Jesus. Jesus as our priest in the heavenly sanctuary tended to the shewbread. Remember what Jesus said in reference to Him being the bread of life.

John 6:60 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.

What is the bread that comes down from heaven?

John 6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

We are saved by eating the bread.

John 6:52 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us [his] flesh to eat? 53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. 54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. 58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your Fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

Jesus was symbolised by the bread in the earthly sanctuary and Jesus is in the heavenly sanctuary and the table of shewbread has a crown around it. That means it’s where Jesus sits. It’s a throne. Jesus is that bread of life. What was He meaning and doing in the heavenly sanctuary. Not only was He sending the Holy Spirit but He was also sending the word Himself, the word of Himself. He is the word and He explains it to the people that didn’t know what He was talking about.

John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, [they] are spirit, and [they] are life.

The word is part of the plan of salvation. The candlestick, the Holy Spirit, the fire that burns and the bread (Jesus Word) are active agencies in the plan of salvation and was Jesus in the holy place sending it down. Did you notice every Sabbath they renewed the loaves of bread? Is that not what Sabbath keeping is all about? The Lord brings us fresh bread on the Sabbath day and that bread we eat on the Sabbath is to last all the week as on the next Sabbath, fresh loaves are put there. The plan of salvation activity has the Sabbath being part of the eating of the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ. The Sabbath is important in this picture.

Our life is to be bound up with the life of Christ; we are to draw constantly from Him, partaking of Him, the living Bread that came down from heaven, drawing from a fountain ever fresh, ever giving forth its abundant treasures. If we keep the Lord ever before us, allowing our hearts to go out in thanksgiving and praise to Him, we shall have a continual freshness in our religious life. Our prayers will take the form of a conversation with God as we would talk with a friend. He will speak His mysteries to us personally. Often there will come to us a sweet joyful sense of the presence of Jesus. Often our hearts will burn within us as He draws nigh to commune with us as He did with Enoch. When this is in truth the experience of the Christian, there is seen in his life a simplicity, a humility, meekness, and lowliness of heart, that show to all with whom he associates that he has been with Jesus and learned of Him. {COL 129.3}

Our life is to be bound with the life of Christ. Draw from a fountain ever fresh, the living bread is Jesus. He tended to that aspect of our salvation when He was in the holy place of the heavenly sanctuary. The other instrument was the altar of incense.

The Prophecy of the Seven Trumpets

This is the history of the world through its war periods from the beginning of the fall of the Roman Empire after Jesus left through to the end of all wars.

Revelation 8:2 And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. 3 And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer [it] with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.

A Golden Altar before the Throne

When we look at that in the detail, the whole throne structure is connected. Here at this present time you can see there was the angel, the minister ministering at the altar of incense. He had a censor and he took coals from the altar before the throne.

Revelation 8:4 And the smoke of the incense, [which came] with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.

It ascended up before the Lord, the incense with the prayers of the saints. This angel is none other but Jesus our priest administering at the altar of incense in the heavenly sanctuary. He was there in that first apartment doing that work. We have this beautiful meditation of the plan of salvation that our prayers must be mingled with the work of our high priest, our priest at the altar.

Christ has pledged Himself to be our substitute and surety, and He neglects no one. There is an inexhaustible fund of perfect obedience accruing from His obedience. In heaven His merits, His self-denial and self-sacrifice, are treasured up as incense to be offered up with the prayers of His people. {HP 69.3}

What is the incense? He is there as our priest mingling His self denial, self sacrifice and His merits with our prayers. That is a real living activity. The prayers ascend to the throne of God from the altar of incense. The throne of God is on top of the altar of incense in the heavenly sanctuary.

As the sinner’s sincere, humble prayers ascend to the throne of God, Christ mingles with them the merits of His life of perfect obedience. Our prayers are made fragrant by this incense. . . . {HP 69.3}

How can my prayers be heard? They must be made fragrant by His work as He understands us. They are His self-sacrifice, denial and merits that come up together with our prayers.

We speak with Jesus Christ as we walk by the way, and He says, “I am at thy right hand.” We may walk in daily companionship with Christ. When we breathe out our desire, it may be inaudible to any human ear, but that word cannot die away into silence nor can it be lost, though the activities of business are going on. Nothing can drown the soul’s desire. It rises above the din of the street, above the noise of machinery, to the heavenly courts. It is God to whom we are speaking, and the prayer is heard. {HP 69.5}

Why is the prayer heard? It is mingled with Christ. These are precious activities of salvation that are done by Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary in cooperation with the priest in our hearts. There Jesus tends to the spiritual well-being working for the human race a place in heaven by working with the candlestick, table of shewbread and the altar of incense working with us in that.

The Holy Spirit is directly interacting with that. In Revelation 1:20 it says the churches are the seven candlesticks through which the Holy Spirit the oil lights. The church of God in the seven periods of earth’s history is the experience of Jesus working in the sanctuary among those candlesticks. The work of salvation is taking place in the seven periods of earth’s history.

The names of the seven churches are symbolic of the church in different periods of the Christian Era. The number 7 indicates completeness, and is symbolic of the fact that the messages extend to the end of time, while the symbols used reveal the condition of the church at different periods in the history of the world. {AA 585.3}

If the candlesticks were left to mere human care, the flickering flame would languish and die; but He is the true watchman in the Lord’s house, the true warden of the temple courts. His continued care and sustaining grace are the source of life and light. {AA 586.1}

Christ is represented holding the seven stars. What Jesus commenced in heaven continues through until finally all the earth’s history has been taken care of over the whole seven church periods. He is in constant communion with His people.

Christ is spoken of as walking in the midst of the golden candlesticks. Thus is symbolized His relation to the churches. He is in constant communication with His people. He knows their true state. He observes their order, their piety, their devotion. Although He is high priest and mediator in the sanctuary above, yet He is represented as walking up and down in the midst of His churches on the earth. With untiring wakefulness and unremitting vigilance, He watches to see whether the light of any of His sentinels is burning dim or going out. {AA 586.1}

Can you see Him saving us as He is working in the heavenly sanctuary? The plan of salvation is a living activity that is constantly at work to save us. If we only had Jesus dying on the cross, that would not be a total fulfillment of everything that the Law of Moses had to communicate. It had to be the rest of it. We see that by our understanding of this, we can intelligently do what Jesus says, “That where I am you may be also. You can cooperate with me because in the heavenly sanctuary I’m taking care of the candlesticks, I’m giving the word fresh on Sabbath. I’m praying with you, I’m giving my merits together with your prayers.” As you cooperate with Jesus like that as the disciples and as the Christian church understood that Jesus was there doing that, they could be with Him.

Thither the faith of Christ’s disciples followed Him as He ascended from their sight. Here their hopes centered, “which hope we have,” said Paul, “as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest forever.” “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” Hebrews 6:19, 20; 9:12. {GC 421.1}

For eighteen centuries this work of ministration continued in the first apartment of the sanctuary. The blood of Christ, pleaded in behalf of penitent believers, secured their pardon and acceptance with the Father, yet their sins still remained upon the books of record. As in the typical service there was a work of atonement at the close of the year, so before Christ’s work for the redemption of men is completed there is a work of atonement for the removal of sin from the sanctuary. {GC 421.2}

This was another part of the high priests work on the Day of the Atonement. We have just covered that which He did for 1800 years.

This is the service which began when the 2300 days ended. At that time, as foretold by Daniel the prophet, our High Priest entered the most holy, to perform the last division of His solemn work–to cleanse the sanctuary. {GC 421.2}

As anciently the sins of the people were by faith placed upon the sin offering and through its blood transferred, in figure, to the earthly sanctuary, so 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 was accomplished by the removal of the sins by which it had been polluted, so the actual cleansing of the heavenly is to be accomplished by the removal, or blotting out, of the sins which are there recorded. {GC 421.3}

We have covered the beautiful work that Jesus said must be fulfilled which was in the Law of Moses. We have covered the sacrifice, baptism, the priest taking the sacrifice and offering Himself the lamb as high priest before the Father with the blood and sin upon Him transferring to the books of heaven. All this has been going on and in our next study we will explore the work of salvation as He finishes the fulfillment of all that was written in the Law of Moses – ‘Reflecting the Work of Salvation in the Most Holy Place’.

The great plan of redemption, as revealed in the closing work of these last days, should receive close examination. The scenes connected with the sanctuary above should make such an impression upon the minds and hearts of all that they may be able to impress others. All need to become more intelligent in regard to the work of the atonement, which is going on in the sanctuary above. When this grand truth is seen and understood, those who hold it will work in harmony with Christ to prepare a people to stand in the great day of God, and their efforts will be successful. By study, contemplation, and prayer God’s people will be elevated above common, earthly thoughts and feelings, and will be brought into harmony with Christ and His great work of cleansing the sanctuary above from the sins of the people. Their faith will go with Him into the sanctuary, and the worshipers on earth will be carefully reviewing their lives and comparing their characters with the great standard of righteousness. {5T 575.1}

We need to understand the last work in the most holy place.

Amen.