Within the past week I was sent a paper written by a local church elder in another state, who is also a retired Seventh-day Adventist pastor. The paper presumes to dispute the basic teachings of what has come to be known as Last Generation Theology, and attempts to do so primarily on the basis of the writings of Ellen G. White.
Among the claims made in this paper are: (1) that God’s people have no role whatsoever in the delaying or hastening of Jesus’ return; (2) that while justifying righteousness saves the believer, sanctifying righteousness does not; (3) that according to Ellen White, Jesus in His humanity never had to contend with fallen inclinations or passions within Himself; and (4) that the cleansing of the sanctuary in heaven from the sins of God’s people is unrelated to the cleansing of the hearts and lives of Christians here on earth.
On the basis of both Scripture and the writings of Ellen White, the latter often called the Spirit of Prophecy, each of the above claims is demonstrably false. We have addressed most if not all these issues in previous articles on this website, and will likely do so again. But the present article will focus on the fourth of these claims: that the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary is something apart from the cleansing of the hearts and lives of earthly believers. In the words of the paper in question:
It is true that we need to be cleansing our bodies and minds from sin but that is not related to the Cleansing of the Sanctuary in Heaven. The work in the Heavenly Sanctuary is a work that Christ is doing for us, not in us.
But is this the teaching of Scripture, and of the writings of the Spirit of Prophecy? Let’s consider the evidence.
The Cleansing of the Old Testament Sanctuary
During the days of the Old Testament sanctuary service, beginning with the wilderness tabernacle built by Moses and continuing with the successive temples built by Solomon and Zerubbabel, sinners were required to bring sin offerings to these facilities as a means of atonement. This process included, among other things, the laying of hands by the sinner on the head of the sacrificial victim ((Lev. 4:4,15,24,29), the confession of sin by the sinner (Lev. 5:5), the slaying of the sacrificial victim by the sinner (Lev. 4:4,15,24; 5:8; 7:2), and the mediation of sacrificial blood by the priests in the sanctuary (Lev. 4:16-20; 25-26,30-31,34-35; 5:9-10; 7:1-7). At times it was also required that the priests eat the flesh of the sin offering within the sanctuary (Lev. 10:16-18).
On the annual Day of Atonement, the sins transferred to the sanctuary by the above rituals were removed from the sanctuary by the blood of the Lord’s goat (Lev. 16:15-29), thus “reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar” (verse 20). Then the sins of the people were placed on the head of the scapegoat, which was then taken away to die in the wilderness (verses 21-22).
But the Bible is clear that this ceremony was not merely about removing the record of sin from the sanctuary. It was also about cleansing the people themselves from sin. In Leviticus 23 this point comes through with particular clarity:
Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord.
And ye shall do no work in that same day; for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Lord your God.
For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people (Lev. 23:27-29).
We now understand in greater depth what is meant in Leviticus 16, where the purpose of the Day of Atonement is articulated as follows:
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 (Lev. 16:30).
One has a difficult time reconciling these verses with the notion that the cleansing of the sanctuary is something God does for His people, but not in them. In order for God’s people to be right with Him on that momentous day, they were to search and surrender their hearts to divine purification, in concert with the work of the earthly high priest in cleansing the sanctuary from the sins there recorded. We will see that the same holds true with the antitypical service now taking place in the heavenly sanctuary, which began when Daniel’s 2,300-day prophecy ended in 1844 (Dan. 8:14).
The Antitypical Cleansing of the Sanctuary
In the antitypical Day of Atonement now in progress, the books of heaven are opened and the records examined (Dan. 7:9-14), for the purpose of deciding who among God’s professed people will have their names retained in the book of life (Ex. 32:32-33; Dan. 12:1). In the book of Revelation it becomes clear what conditions must be fulfilled for the saints to have their names retained in God’s book of life:
He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment, and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life; but I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels (Rev. 3:5).
The scenes depicted in Daniel 7 and Daniel 12, with the books open and the heavenly inquest into professed believers’ lives in progress, is briefly referenced in the above verse from Revelation. As in the ancient Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:30; 23:28-30), the afflicting of the soul and cleansing from sin—the overcoming of which Jesus speaks in Revelation 3:5—form an essential part of the antitypical atonement process.
The writings of Ellen White elaborate further on this phase of the atonement, describing the duties of God’s end-time people during the antitypical Day of Atonement, which echo the ancient admonitions regarding the spiritual work necessary during this momentous time:
While the investigative judgment is going forward in heaven, while the sins of penitent believers are being removed from the sanctuary, there is to be a special work of purification, of putting away of sin, among God’s people upon earth [1].
Christ and angels work in the hearts of the children of men. The church above united with the church below is warring the good warfare upon the earth. There must be a purifying of the soul here upon the earth, in harmony with Christ’s cleansing of the sanctuary in heaven [2].
Christ is cleansing the heavenly sanctuary from the sins of the people, and it is the work of all who are laborers together with God to be cleansing the sanctuary of the soul from everything that is offensive to Him [3].
We are in the day of atonement, and we are to work in harmony with Christ’s work of cleansing the sanctuary from the sins of the people. Let no man who desires to be found with the wedding garment on, resist our Lord in His office work. As He is, so will His followers be in this world. We must now set before the people the work which by faith we see our great High-priest accomplishing in the heavenly sanctuary. Those who do not sympathize with Jesus in His work in the heavenly courts, who do not cleanse the soul temple of every defilement, but who engage in some enterprise not in harmony with this work, are joining with the enemy of God and man in leading minds away from the truth and work for this time [4].
Let every soul now humble himself or herself before God, for now we are surely living in the great Day of Atonement. The cases even now of many are passing in review before God, for they are to sleep in their graves a little season. Your profession of faith is not your guarantee in that day, but the state of your affections. Is the soul-temple cleansed of its defilement? Are my sins confessed and am I repenting of them before God, that they may be blotted out? [5].
Conclusion: The Cleansing of the Two Temples
It should be clear to the reader that as in the ancient ritual, the antitypical Day of Atonement involves the cleansing of two temples—the temple in heaven and the soul temple on earth. The one is clearly and irrevocably dependent on the other. Ellen White is clear that for a people to be successfully prepared to stand in the great day of God, the atoning work of Jesus in heaven must be understood:
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 [6].
REFERENCES
1. Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 425.
2. ----Maranatha, p. 249.
3. ----Manuscript Releases, vol. 11, p. 55.
4. ----Review and Herald, Jan. 21, 1890.
5. ----Last Day Events, p. 72.
6. ----Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 575.
Pastor Kevin Paulson holds a Bachelor’s degree in theology from Pacific Union College, a Master of Arts in systematic theology from Loma Linda University, and a Master of Divinity from the SDA Theological Seminary at Andrews University. He served the Greater New York Conference of Seventh-day Adventists for ten years as a Bible instructor, evangelist, and local pastor. He writes regularly for Liberty magazine and does script writing for various evangelistic ministries within the denomination. He continues to hold evangelistic and revival meetings throughout the North American Division and beyond, and is a sought-after seminar speaker relative to current issues in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He presently resides in Berrien Springs, Michigan