E. G. White Stresses Sanctuary Study
The Advent movement was born in the sanctuary, grew with the unique understanding of Daniel 8:14, which is in fact the only original contribution Seventh-day Adventists have made to Christian truth. Undergirding the entire theological structure of Adventism is the grand doctrine of the sanctuary.
As the following Spirit of Prophecy statements indicate, Inspiration repeatedly stresses the great importance of understanding the sanctuary truth:
"The scripture which above all others had been both the foundation and central pillar of the advent faith was the declaration, 'Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.' "-SR 375.
"The correct understanding of the ministration in the heavenly sanctuary is the foundation of our faith."-Ev 221.
"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. ... Light from the sanctuary illumined the past, the present, and the future."-GC 423.
"We are in the great Day of Atonement, and the sacred work of Christ for the people of God that is going on at the present time in the heavenly sanctuary should be our constant study."-5T 520.
"But such subjects as the sanctuary, in connection with the 2300 days, the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, are perfectly calculated to explain the past Advent movement and show what our present position is, establish the faith of the doubting, and give certainty to the glorious future. These, I have frequently seen, were the principal subjects on which the messengers should dwell."-EW 63.
"The subject of the sanctuary and the investigative judgment should be clearly understood by the people of God. All need a knowledge for themselves of the position and work of their great High Priest. Otherwise it will be impossible for them to exercise the faith which is essential at this time or to occupy the position which God designs them to fill."-GC 488.
"The intercession of Christ in man's behalf in the sanctuary above is as essential to the plan of salvation as was His death upon the cross."-GC 489.
"As a people, we should be earnest students of prophecy; we should not rest until we become intelligent in regard to the subject of the sanctuary, which is brought out in the visions of Daniel and John. This subject sheds great light on our present position and work, and gives us unmistakable proof that God has led us in our past experience."-Ev 222, 223.
"The passing of the time in 1844 was a period of great events, opening to our astonished eyes the cleansing of the sanctuary transpiring in heaven, and having decided relation to God's people upon the earth. ..."-CW 30.
Key to Finishing the Work
The unfolding of the message and work of the Advent body came as a direct result of unfolding the meaning of Daniel 8:14. When William Miller gained his first understanding of Daniel 8:14, the first angel's message of Revelation 14:7 began to sound. When further light on Daniel 8:14 came to Samuel Snow, the second angel's message went with the power of the "Midnight Cry." There was intensive study on the sanctuary after the "Great Disappointment" of 1844. And when the Advent believers followed their High Priest into the most holy place, the third angel's message was born. (EW 254, 260, 261)
For the church today, the searching question is this:
If the unfolding understanding of Daniel 8:14 brought the first, then the second, and then the third angels' messages, should not the full revelation of Daniel 8:14 bring the light of that mighty fourth angel who is yet to join the third angel, swelling his voice to a loud cry? (Rev. 18:1)
This thought is not mere speculation. In one striking statement the servant of the Lord shows that a better understanding of Daniel 8:14 holds the very key to finishing the work:
"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."-5T 575.
The above quotation should be compared with this impressive vision:
"In the night season I was in my dreams in a large meeting, with ministers, their wives, and their children. I wondered that the company present was mostly made up of ministers and their families. The prophecy of Malachi was brought before them in connection with Daniel, Zephaniah, Haggai, and Zechariah. The teaching of these books was carefully investigated. The building of the temple, and the temple service, were considered. There was close searching of the Scriptures in regard to the sacred character of all that appertained to the temple service. Through the prophets, God has given a delineation of what will come to pass in the last days of this earth's history; and the Jewish economy is full of instruction for us. ...
"All these things were closely studied by the company before me in my dream. Scripture was compared with scripture, and application was made of the word of God to our own time. After a diligent searching of the Scriptures, there was a period of silence. A very solemn impression was made upon the people. The deep moving of the Spirit of God was manifest among us."-RH, Feb. 4, 1902.
Since Daniel 8:14 holds the key to receiving the latter rain and finishing the work, a consideration of this historic truth is not a matter of ordinary concern. It is indeed the key to explain the past Laodicean complacency and the future triumph of the Advent Movement. God's people desperately need to restudy and rediscover the significance of the truth which not only gave birth to Adventism, but which will end the Laodicean stalemate and start the church in its final march to victory.
Today, due emphasis is not being given to the sanctuary doctrine. Satan would have it so, for he knows that it is this "very message that has made us a separate people, and has given character and power to our work."-CW 54.
When the subjects of the sanctuary, the judgment of the living, and kindred truths are set forth before the churches in a vital way, many of the flock exclaim, "I have not heard a subject like this presented for many years!"
It is of grave concern that for the first time in the history of the publishing work, Book and Bible Houses are not carrying a book devoted to the sanctuary. Throughout Adventist history, books on the sanctuary by such authors as Smith, Haskell, Gilbert, and Andreasen, have always been obtainable. Currently the church has nothing.
In 1958 Elder D.K. Short presented a remarkable illustration of the potential of the truth contained in Daniel 8:14. He wrote:
"In recent years in scientific circles, there has been an eloquent portrayal of the immense potential in the hands of the Remnant Church. In the year 1905, Albert Einstein formulated his equation of the theory of special relativity. Forty years later, in the year 1945, as a direct result of the theory, the first atomic bomb was exploded and the atomic age was born. In 1905, only a theory existed, only a few symbols recorded on paper, but inherent in these was power to move mountains and to produce light equal to the sun. It took forty years for the formula of Einstein to become a living vital creation, eminent proof of the premise.
"A little over one hundred years ago, there was given to the Seventh-day Adventist forefathers a formula, an equation, that is still to a large degree but a record on paper. To date the equation has not been truly tried. Yet inherent in this equation is the sum total of the power of the Creator of the universe. Adventists have within their reach a power that is to lighten the whole earth with a glory never before seen by mortal man. The truth in the possession of this people is fit to overshadow every gem of thought conceived by all the philosophers of past ages. It is not simply a pleasing rhetorical phrase that this people is to be the 'head.'
"The pioneers of this message, by prayer, faith and study of God's Word, established a bastion of truth that cannot be gainsaid by Satan and all his angels. The pioneers had 'present truth,' and it is still true today, but it is not present truth. The truth of Einstein's equation has not altered nor diminished one particle to this day, yet the real truth of his formula was proved in the product that it created. That made it 'present truth.' The truth of the formula in the hands of the Remnant Church is to be found in the product that it creates. Though one hundred years have gone by, and the earth still waits to be 'lightened with His glory,' the equation still is only a theory; yet it will be proven, the product is certain and the result sure." [1]
Conservatism and Liberalism
Elder Short's position on Daniel 8:14 is neither "conservative" nor "liberal." The conservative is one who adheres to the "good old doctrines," yet is content merely to repeat what the fathers said, without seeking the reality and dynamic relevance of the faith of the pioneers. With the conservative, truth loses its power because it ceases to become "present truth." On the other hand, there is a growing liberal element in the church which has no reverence for the pioneer sanctuary faith of Adventism. To this class, Daniel 8:14 has no great significance; indeed, there is a growing segment of "intellectuals" that has no faith at all in the historic understanding of Daniel 8:14.
The true stance must be between conservatism and liberalism. (Ellen White never used either term with favorable connotations.) Present truth anchors itself in the established positions of the past, yet gives life to that truth by an increased understanding of its relevancy to the church of God. Elder R.J. Wieland sums it up in the following remarks:
"If so few of our youth or even ministers have a firm conviction that the Lord will return within their lifetime, how many have an intelligent and meaningful conviction that 1844 is significant? If the concept of the 'investigative judgment' is confined to a perusal of the records of the dead since Abel's time, and if that phase of the 'judgment' was nearly completed by the time Great Controversy was written (cf. p. 490), and if its progress is determined by the consecutive investigation of cases, why the inexplicable delay and silence of seventy, eighty, or more years? Thoughtful people will simply ask whether the heavenly Court has been temporarily recessed, or whether its judicial 'machinery' has proved too cumbersome to handle the unexpected explosion in world population since Great Controversy was written. It would not be surprising if some thoughtful and honest people should tend to relegate the whole idea of the 'investigative judgment' and the 'final atonement' to the Adventist attic, along with the Reform Dress. Have we a responsibility in the crisis? Will a neglected aspect of Christology supply the spiritual deficiency?"
"We are driven relentlessly by the exigencies of history and the irrepressible thought development of mankind to penetrate more deeply the meaning of our own doctrinal heritage. The one doctrine unique to Seventh-day Adventists is that of the 'cleansing of the sanctuary,' the 'final atonement.' We cannot 'demythologize' it, because there is not 'myth' in it; but we must at least de-ossify it, de-mystify it, get it down out of the musty theological attic where it has been relegated, practicalize and vitalize it. If not, we shall merit the pity of eternity." [2]
This publication will not be concerned with the validity of the 2300 days or the commencement of the judgment and blotting out of sins in 1844. (GC 486) A group of Godly scholars spent an entire generation establishing these things. But while holding to established truths, one must not be content with the mere form and outline of eschatological events; rather, he must seek to understand the real essence of the sanctuary-that the opening of the most holy place in 1844 is the opening of the full revelation of the gospel which is to lighten the earth with its glory.
"For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the Lord." - Moses
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