NAME: Lanz Cameron Khrystoffer D.
Ege
DATE/TIME: 07/09/20 6:00AM to 9:00AM
LOCATION: Home
COURSE: Studies on the Doctrine of the Sanctuary
Reading Log No.3: Sanctuaries of Salvation from the book “The
Atoning Priesthood of Jesus Christ” by Frank B. Holbrook.
PUBLISHER: Review and Herald Publishing Association
ANNOTATION:
Oftentimes we ask (and I am one of them) why Jesus takes so
long in heaven after his ascension and it has been 2,000 years
already since He last stepped foot on the earth. Back then when
I was young, I would think that probably He is “enjoying” the
comfort in heaven after His time here on earth that I sympathize
with Christians who would think that it could be that Jesus
could have forgotten about us. Thankfully, the Biblical truth
about this is far better and glorious than anything our finite
minds could grasp about. Jesus is now ministering for us in the
true and genuine sanctuary in heaven (Heb. 8:2)
It is highly important for us to know and understand better
the heavenly realities of the High Priestly ministry of Jesus in
the heavenly sanctuary with its parallels found in the Old
Testament. Here we find that there is a “definite, vertical
relationship” between the earthly sanctuary and the heavenly
sanctuary.
While Moses is not the originator of the tabernacle and its
services, God gave to Moses the plan to build the sanctuary
“after the pattern” (Exo. 25:8, 9, 40. The Hebrew word for
pattern (tabnit) occurs 23 times in the Old Testament and
“carries the nuance of a three-dimensional model, shape, or form
or of a plan, a set of written specifications” (1 Chr. 28:11-
19). Which is why Moses in vision, did not only receive
instructions but also some kind of three-dimentional model of
the structure he was to build. This further notes that this
points to a higher reality – a heavenly dwelling place of God.
Researches in Archaeology has further shed light on this topic
(such as Leonhard Goppelt) that Frank Cross Jr. could tell us
this goes back to the “idea that the earthly sanctuary is the
counterpart of the dwelling place of a diety.”
This truth is further amplified in the Book of Hebrews as
it compares and contrasts the earthly and heavenly sanctuaries
(Heb. 8:2-5; 9:11,12,23,24). It also points to the fact that
Jesus is our true and better High Priest (Heb. 8:2-5) and that
the Old Testament earthly sanctuary was a shadow of things to
come (Heb. 10:1) of which the substance is Jesus Christ (Col.
2:17.
The Book of Revelation also refers to the reality of the
Heavenly Sanctuary as its author, John testifies that he saw the
heavenly sanctuary-temple and some of its components in vision
such as angels exiting from the Temple (Rev. 14:15, 17; 15:6),
the tabernacle of testimony (Rev. 15:5), the seven lamps (Rev.
4:5), the Ark of the Covenant (Rev. 11:19), and Jesus as the
true lamb (Rev. 5:11-14).
It is also important to note that in the reading, the
author clarifies for us clearly the nature of the Heavenly
Sanctuary and its earthly type when he states that “While
desiring to understand Christ’s priestly ministry in the
heavenly sanctuary, we must not expect to find an exact one-to-
one correspondence between the earthly and heavenly
sanctuaries”. He makes this clear as lots of Christians,
especially Seventh-day Adventists still make this mistake in
analogy wherein they contend for an exact one-to-one
correspondence in every detail with regards to the nature of the
Sanctuary. Furthermore, he stresses the fact that “the earthly
sanctuaries of Israel only faintly reflect the glories of the
celestial abode of Deity, and Christ’s ministry deals with the
moral and spiritual aspects of salvation and not with the
sprinkling of physical blood” and he continues this by saying
“When we speak about heaven and the heavenly sanctuary, we are
talking about celestial things that are far beyond human
comprehension. Hence, in order for God to communicate to us, He
must do so by representing those heavenly realities in human
terms and symbols familiar to us. The heavenly sanctuary-temple
and its activities are, therefore, represented to the prophets
(and thereby to us) in the forms of the earthly sanctuary and
its symbols”. The Sanctuary provides for us a “pictorial
representation of salvation realities” to focus our eyes on the
better and much glorious work on Jesus Christ on our behalf in
the context of the Great Controversy and not so much on physical
details and “heavenly geography”.
The Day of Atonement is also alluded to in the book of
Hebrews to emphasize the all-sufficiency and the finality of the
atoning sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf. Calvary fulfills the
Day of Atonement type but does not exhaust it as it also has its
eschatological aspects. In passages like Heb. 9:6,7; 9:25-26;
10:1-4 all point out that the ministry and sacrifice of Jesus
for us is better than the sacrifices and services of the Old
Testament sanctuary. It is His blood that purifies us from sin
and He has given eternal redemption as a result (Heb. 9;12).
Frank Holbrook doesn’t expand much on the “Most Holy
Place/Sanctuary” translation debate but rather gives us the
reasons for why scholars and translators think the way they do.
He contends that the main point of Hebrews 8 and 9 is to point
us that by virtue of Jesus Christ, the veil that separates us
from God has been torn apart and we can now go boldly before His
presence. He does admit however, that majority of scholars opt
for the Most Holy Place rendition on specific passages in
Hebrews 9 and that the key for a correct understanding of the
disputed passages lies in its context.
In light of these truths on the Heavenly Sanctuary, let us
take full advantage of the hope and assurance that our “Great
High Priest” has done in our behalf securing for us our eternal
redemption.
PERSONAL GLEANINGS:
I have learned so much from this reading and I enjoy the
hours I spent learning and soaking up these truths. The topic of
the Heavenly Sanctuary has always fascinated me even as a young
boy of 12 as it answers my questions of why Jesus Christ hasn’t
come back. I appreciated the stress of the book of Hebrews that
Jesus is better than the Old Testament services and sacrifices.
He is the One pointed in the OT who fulfills the symbols of the
earthly sanctuary. The reading also provides help for any
interested student of the Sanctuary to better understand its
dual nature.
Personally, I can share this truth to people who are
somewhat confused as to why Jesus hasn’t come back yet and also,
people who have not experienced the joy of the assurance of
salvation as many often do.
I can apply these ideas in my future pastoral ministry by
always emphasizing Jesus and the Cross in every preaching and
teaching especially on the topic of the Sanctuary. Most often in
my experience, the debates that arise on the pews every Sabbath
on the Sanctuary centers around Celestial Geography and every
minute physical details of the sanctuary and how it is
symbolized in the New Testament, and therefore loses its real
meaning to our members.
A thematical and exegetical bible study on Leviticus and
Hebrews would do well to educate our members of this great Bible
truth. Not only would they appreciate the learnings but they
will be assured just as the first century Jewish Christians of
which the Book of Hebrews was specifically addressed to were in
the hope and assurance that Jesus ministering for them in the
genuine sanctuary in Heaven and has provided the sacrifice once
and for all for their eternal salvation.
