I was shown the grievous disappointment of the people of God that
they did not see Jesus at the expected time. They knew not why
their Saviour did not come; for they could see no evidence that
prophetic time had not ended. Said the angel, "Has God's
word failed? Has God failed to fulfill His promises? No; He has
fulfilled all that He promised. Jesus has risen up and shut the
door of the holy place of the heavenly sanctuary and has opened
a door into the most holy place and entered in to cleanse the
sanctuary. All who wait patiently shall understand the mystery.
Man has erred; but there has been no failure on the part of God.
All was accomplished that God promised; but man erroneously believed
the earth to be the sanctuary to be cleansed at the end of the
prophetic periods. It is man's expectation, not the promise of
God, that has failed."
Jesus sent His angels to direct the minds of the disappointed
ones to the most holy place, where He had gone to cleanse the
sanctuary and make a special atonement for Israel. Jesus told
the angels that all who found Him would understand the work which
He was to perform. I saw that while Jesus was in the most holy
place He would be married to the New Jerusalem; and after His
work should be accomplished in the holiest, He would descend to
the earth in kingly power and take to Himself the precious ones
who had patiently waited His return.
I was shown what did take place in heaven at the close of the
prophetic periods in 1844. As Jesus ended His ministration in
the holy place and closed the door of that apartment, a great
darkness settled upon those who had heard and rejected the message
of His coming, and they lost sight of Him. Jesus then clothed
Himself with precious garments. Around the bottom of His robe
was a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate. A breastplate
of curious work was suspended from His shoulders. As He moved,
this glittered like diamonds, magnifying letters which looked
like names written or engraved upon the breastplate. Upon His
head was something which had the appearance of a crown. When fully
attired, He was surrounded by angels, and in a flaming chariot
He passed within the second veil.
I was then bidden to take notice of the two apartments of the
heavenly sanctuary. The curtain, or door, was opened, and I was
permitted to enter. In the first apartment I saw the candlestick
with seven lamps, the table of shewbread, the altar of incense,
and the censer. All the furniture of this apartment looked like
purest gold and reflected the image of the one who entered the
place. The curtain which separated the two apartments was of different
colors and material, with a beautiful border, in which were figures
wrought of gold to represent angels. The veil was lifted, and
I looked into the second apartment. I saw there an ark which had
the appearance of being of the finest gold. As a border around
the top of the ark, was most beautiful work representing crowns.
In the ark were tables of stone containing the ten commandments.
Two lovely cherubs, one on each end of the ark, stood with their
wings outstretched above it, and touching each other above the
head of Jesus as He stood before the mercy seat. Their faces were
turned toward each other, and they looked downward to the ark,
representing all the angelic host looking with interest at the
law of God. Between the cherubim was a golden censer, and as the
prayers of the saints, offered in faith, came up to Jesus, and
He presented them to His father, a cloud of fragrance arose from
the incense, looking like smoke of most beautiful colors. Above
the place where Jesus stood, before the ark, was exceedingly bright
glory that I could not look upon; it appeared like the throne
of God. As the incense ascended to the Father, the excellent glory
came from the throne to Jesus, and from Him it was shed upon those
whose prayers had come up like sweet incense. Light poured upon
Jesus in rich abundance and overshadowed the mercy seat, and the
train of glory filled the temple. I could not long look upon the
surpassing brightness. No language can describe it. I was overwhelmed
and turned from the majesty and glory of the scene.
I was also shown a sanctuary upon the earth containing two apartments.
It resembled the one in heaven, and I was told that it was a figure
of the heavenly. The furniture of the first apartment of the earthly
sanctuary was like that in the first apartment of the heavenly.
The veil was lifted, and I looked into the holy of holies and
saw that the furniture was the same as in the most holy place
of the heavenly sanctuary. The priest ministered in both apartments
of the earthly. He went daily into the first apartment, but entered
the most holy only once a year, to cleanse it from the sins which
had been conveyed there. I saw that Jesus ministered in both apartments
of the heavenly sanctuary. The priests entered into the earthly
with the blood of an animal as an offering for sin. Christ entered
into the heavenly sanctuary by the offering of His own blood.
The earthly priests were removed by death; therefore they could
not continue long; but Jesus was a priest forever. Through the
sacrifices and offerings brought to the earthly sanctuary, the
children of Israel were to lay hold of the merits of a Saviour
to come. And in the wisdom of God the particulars of this work
were given us that we might, by looking to them, understand the
work of Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary.
As Jesus died on Calvary, He cried, "It is finished,"
and the veil of the temple was rent in twain, from the top to
the bottom. This was to show that the services of the earthly
sanctuary were forever finished, and that God would no more meet
with the priests in their earthly temple, to accept their sacrifices.
The blood of Jesus was then shed, which was to be offered by Himself
in the heavenly sanctuary. As the priest entered the most holy
once a year to cleanse the earthly sanctuary, so Jesus entered
the most holy of the heavenly, at the end of the 2300 days of
Daniel 8, in 1844, to make a final atonement for all who could
be benefited by His mediation, and thus to cleanse the sanctuary.