DATE OF PUBLICATION: Dec. 2004
Sanctuary Events after the Crucifixion
What happened in A.D. 31, shortly after Calvary? Some
are saying that, at that time, Christ entered the Most Holy Place, sat
down, became supreme king, and began His reign. This brief study is
intended to explain the truth about this matter.
Of course, if the above assertion is correct, then there was no mediation
in the first apartment of the heavenly Sanctuary after Calvary for 18
centuries; and Christ did not enter the Most Holy Place in 1844 and begin
the Investigative Judgment. It will not end with a close of probation; and
we are all saved at the cross. Some are even declaring that Christ’s
kingship on His throne of glory began on Resurrection Day. At issue here are five points and their timing: The
kingdom, the enthronement, the work in the two apartments, the mediation
of Christ, and His coronation. This study will primarily focus on information from the
Spirit of Prophecy; I have thoroughly covered every aspect of this from a
Biblical standpoint in my low-cost book, Biblical Defense. If you
do not have a copy, purchase one. Better yet, buy a small, low-cost boxful
and share them with fellow Advent believers. Where did Christ go Sunday morning after He arose, and
why? Early on the morning of the first day of the week, when
Mary met Christ in the garden, He said to her, "Touch Me not; for I have
not yet ascended to My Father" (John 20:17). The Greek word for
"touch me" is mistranslated in the KJV. Apto means "touch." But
aptomai is reflexive and, instead of meaning "touch me," it means
"detain me." Although not knowing the original language of the New
Testament, Ellen White gave the correct meaning of aptomai in DA
790. When Mary fell at His feet ("springing toward Him," as she
worshiped him), Ellen White accurately quoted the verse as "detain Me
not." Christ said that He went all the way to heaven that
day! It was not until late that afternoon that He walked with the two
disciples to Emmaus and afterward appeared to most of the disciples in the
upper room. When Christ went to heaven that day, did He receive the
kingdom? No. Was He enthroned? No. Was He made king? No. The rumors you
are hearing are not true. We are told why Christ went to heaven: to hear the
assurance from the Father that His sacrifice was accepted. Then He
returned to earth for a time. "Jesus refused to receive the homage of His people
until He had the assurance that His sacrifice was accepted by the
Father. He ascended to the heavenly courts, and from God Himself heard
the assurance that His atonement for the sins of men had been ample,
that through His blood all might gain eternal life."—Desire of Ages,
790. Does Christ have a kingdom now? Yes, He does. He now rules on a throne; but it is not a
throne of glory as you may be told. It is a mediatorial throne. "The work of Christ as man’s intercessor is presented
in that beautiful prophecy of Zechariah concerning Him ‘whose name is
the Branch.’ Says the prophet: ‘He shall build the temple of the Lord;
and He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon His [the
Father’s] throne; and He shall be a priest upon His throne: and the
counsel of peace shall be between Them both.’ Zechariah 6:12, 13."—Great
Controversy 415-416. Not until later will He sit on a throne of glory. "He ‘shall sit and rule upon His throne; and He shall
be a priest upon His throne.’ Not now ‘upon the throne of His glory’;
the kingdom of glory has not yet been ushered in. Not until His work as
a mediator shall be ended will God ‘give unto Him the throne of His
father David,’ a kingdom of which ‘there shall be no end.’ Luke 1:32,
33. As a priest, Christ is now set down with the Father in His throne."
Revelation 3:21."—Ibid., 416. When did Christ begin to sit upon that throne? When He ascended, forty days later. But it was not, at
that time, His own throne. "Christ had ascended to heaven in the form of
humanity. The disciples had beheld the cloud receive Him. The same Jesus
who had walked and talked and prayed with them; who had broken bread
with them; who had been with them in their boats on the lake; and who
had that very day toiled with them up the ascent of Olivet,—the same
Jesus had now gone to share His Father’s throne."—Desire of Ages,
832. According to that, Christ began ruling in His kingdom
in A.D. 31. His kingdom is not, at this time, a literal kingdom—but
a spiritual kingdom. Christ rules it as a mediator. "Before leaving His disciples, Christ plainly stated
the nature of His kingdom. He called to their minds what He had
previously told them concerning it. He declared that it was not His
purpose to establish in this world a temporal, but a spiritual kingdom.
He was not to reign as an earthly king on David’s throne."—Ibid.,
820. For more on this meditorial, spiritual kingdom, read
Acts of the Apostles, 30, and Desire of Ages, 333. So then, this spiritual kingdom actually began in A.D.
31. Is it the only kingdom Christ ever rules over? No, Although the spiritual kingdom was instituted
immediately after man’s fall, it was not established until Christ’s death,
when the basis for it was laid. But there is also a second, later kingdom
that Christ will one day rule over. Here is a passage which clearly
explains about both kingdoms: "As used in the Bible, the expression ‘kingdom of
God’ is employed to designate both the kingdom of grace and the kingdom
of glory. The kingdom of grace is brought to view by Paul in the Epistle
to the Hebrews. After pointing to Christ, the compassionate intercessor
who is ‘touched with the feeling of our infirmities,’ the apostle says:
‘Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may
obtain mercy, and find grace.’ Hebrews 4:15, 16. The throne of grace
represents the kingdom of grace; for the existence of a throne implies
the existence of a kingdom. In many of His parables Christ uses the
expression ‘the kingdom of heaven’ to designate the work of divine grace
upon the hearts of men. "So the throne of glory represents the kingdom of
glory; and this kingdom is referred to in the Saviour’s words: ‘When the
Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him,
then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: and before Him shall be
gathered all nations.’ Matthew 25:31, 32. This kingdom is yet future. It
is not to be set up until the second advent of Christ. "The kingdom of grace was instituted immediately
after the fall of man, when a plan was devised for the redemption of the
guilty race. It then existed in the purpose and by the promise of God;
and through faith, men could become its subjects. Yet it was not
actually established until the death of Christ."—Great Controversy,
347-348. So Christ receives the kingdom of glory at His Second
Advent? He will actually receive it at the close of human
probation, when He forever ends His mediatorial work. But it is not set
up—that is, does not actually begin—until Christ returns to earth for the
subjects of that kingdom. " ‘And, behold, one like the Son of man came with the
clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him
near before Him. And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a
kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: His
dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away.’ Daniel
7:13, 14. The coming of Christ here described is not His second coming
to the earth. He comes to the Ancient of Days in heaven to receive
dominion and glory and a kingdom, which will be given Him at the close
of His work as a mediator."—Great Controversy, 479-480. Thus we see that it is when the spiritual kingdom ends,
the mediatorial kingdom,—that Christ receives the literal kingdom. The end of Christ’s kingdom of grace is also called
"the marriage." Prior to that, the wedding guests (the ten virgins) go
into the wedding. But it is not completed until the end of Christ’s
mediation and investigative judgment. For a better understanding of this,
read Great Controversy, 426-427. Will Christ share this literal kingdom with us? And, if
so, when will that happen? Here is the answer. Notice that everything Ellen White
writes is in total agreement with the Bible: "Not until the personal advent of Christ can His
people receive the kingdom. The Saviour said: ‘When the Son of man shall
come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit
upon the throne of His glory: and before Him shall be gathered all
nations: and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd
divideth his sheep from the goats: and He shall set the sheep on His
right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them
on His right hand, Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’ Matthew 25:31-34.
"We have seen by the scriptures just given that when
the Son of man comes, the dead are raised incorruptible and the living
are changed. By this great change they are prepared to receive the
kingdom; for Paul says: ‘Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of
God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.’ 1 Corinthians 15:50.
Man in his present state is mortal, corruptible; but the kingdom of God
will be incorruptible, enduring forever. Therefore man in his present
state cannot enter into the kingdom of God. But when Jesus comes, He
confers immortality upon His people; and then He calls them to inherit
the kingdom of which they have hitherto been only heirs."—Great
Controversy, 322-323. I want to have a part in that kingdom! How can I be
ready? "We believe without a doubt that Christ is soon
coming. This is not a fable to us; it is a reality. We have no doubt,
neither have we had a doubt for years, that the doctrines we hold today
are present truth, and that we are nearing the judgment. We are
preparing to meet Him who, escorted by a retinue of holy angels, is to
appear in the clouds of heaven to give the faithful and the just the
finishing touch of immortality. "When He comes He is not to cleanse us of our sins,
to remove from us the defects in our characters, or to cure us of the
infirmities of our tempers and dispositions. If wrought for us at all,
this work will all be accomplished before that time. "When the Lord comes, those who are holy will be holy
still. Those who have preserved their bodies and spirits in holiness, in
sanctification and honor, will then receive the finishing touch of
immortality. But those who are unjust, unsanctified, and filthy will
remain so forever. No work will then be done for them to remove their
defects and give them holy characters. The Refiner does not then sit to
pursue His refining process and remove their sins and their corruption.
This is all to be done in these hours of probation. It is now that this
work is to be accomplished for us."—2 Testimonies, 355. Oh, how we all want to be there! "The white-robed ones who surround the throne of God
are not composed of that company who were lovers of pleasure more than
lovers of God, and who choose to drift with the current rather than to
breast the waves of opposition. All who remain pure and uncorrupted from
the spirit and influence prevailing at this time will have stern
conflicts. They will come through great tribulations; they will wash
their robes of character, and make them white in the blood of the Lamb.
These will sing the song of triumph in the kingdom of glory. Those who
suffer with Christ will be partakers of His glory."—Counsels on
Health, 264. But I heard that Christ received His coronation on His
resurrection day? In a sense, Christ’s true coronation day was when He
died on Calvary; for it laid the basis for His kingdom of grace and later
kingdom of glory. "In the place of His exaltation to the throne of
David they were to witness His crucifixion. This was to be indeed His
true coronation."—Desire of Ages, 379. But, although Christ’s kingdom of glory begins at the
Second Advent, His final coronation does not occur until after His third
advent, just before those who have proven themselves to be incorrigibly
wicked perish forever. "As if entranced, the wicked have looked upon the
coronation of the Son of God."—Great Controversy, 668. "In the presence of the assembled inhabitants of
earth and heaven the final coronation of the Son of God takes place. And
now, invested with supreme majesty and power, the King of kings
pronounces sentence upon the rebels against His government and executes
justice upon those who have transgressed His law and oppressed His
people."—Great Controversy, 666. But that is not the end of the matter. Christ, our
wonderful Redeemer, also places crowns on the heads of His faithful
ones—so they can reign with Him in the eternal kingdom of peace and light! He gives the crowns to His beloved as soon as they
reach heaven after the Second Advent, when He entered upon His kingdom of
glory. "Then I saw a very great number of angels bring from
the city glorious crowns—a crown for every saint, with his name written
thereon. As Jesus called for the crowns, angels presented them to Him,
and with His own right hand, the lovely Jesus placed the crowns on the
heads of the saints. In the same manner the angels brought the harps,
and Jesus presented them also to the saints. The commanding angels first
struck the note, and then every voice was raised in grateful, happy
praise, and every hand skillfully swept over the strings of the harp,
sending forth melodious music in rich and perfect strains. Then I saw
Jesus lead the redeemed company to the gate of the city. He laid hold of
the gate and swung it back on its glittering hinges and bade the nations
that had kept the truth enter in."—Early Writings, 288. (Also see GC
645-646.) That kingdom will embrace all the kingdoms of the
world. "His kingdom would not be established in earthly
triumph and with worldly honor and display . . This kingdom would
embrace all the kingdoms of the world, and then the power and glory of
Satan would cease."—5 Bible Commentary 1079. If Christ begins His mediatorial work after Calvary—but
not on His ascension day—when does it actually begin? What is the timing
when Christ enters the Sanctuary in heaven to begin His work? Christ died on Friday and arose early on the first day
of the week. After speaking with Mary, He went to heaven and received from
the Father the assurance that His sacrifice was acceptable as the basis
for a complete atonement. He then returned to earth and appeared that
evening to two disciples on their way to Emmaus, and then to the disciples
in the upper room. But the atonement was not yet completed. It had to be
individually applied to those who would accept it. More on this later. Forty days elapsed between Christ’s resurrection and
His ascension. His mediation in the first apartment of the heavenly
Sanctuary was soon to begin; but first He had to be "enthroned" into that
ministry. As soon as this ceremony was completed, He began His ministry as
our great High Priest. "Christ’s ascension to heaven was the signal that His
followers were to receive the promised blessing. For this they were to
wait before they entered upon their work. When Christ passed within the
heavenly gates, He was enthroned amidst the adoration of the angels. As
soon as this ceremony was completed, the Holy Spirit descended upon the
disciples in rich currents, and Christ was indeed glorified, even with
the glory which He had with the Father from all eternity. The
Pentecostal outpouring was Heaven’s communication that the Redeemer’s
inauguration was accomplished. According to His promise He had sent the
Holy Spirit from heaven to His followers as a token that He had, as
priest and king, received all authority in heaven and on earth, and was
the Anointed One over His people."—Acts of the Apostles, 38-39. Well, then, how long did that preparatory ceremony
take? We know its length from the book of Acts. After Christ
ascended to heaven (Acts 1:9), His disciples gathered together and
earnestly prayed for guidance and help in carrying forward the awesome
task before them: telling all the world about salvation through their Lord
and Saviour, Jesus Christ. They had been told to "wait" for the promised
Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4, 8). This prayer session was interspersed with daily
witnessing in Jerusalem (Luke 24:50-53). We are specifically told
that ten days after the ascension, there occurred a dramatic outpouring of
the Holy Spirit. That correlates with the above-quoted passage (AA
38-39), which explains that this outpouring came when the preparatory,
mediatorial enthronement ceremony had been completed in heaven. On that
tenth day, Christ actually began His first apartment mediation. "The Pentecostal outpouring was Heaven’s
communication that the Redeemer’s inauguration was accomplished."—Acts
of the Apostles, 39. Many had assumed that the ten-day interlude was solely
to provide time for the disciples to earnestly pray for help. But, in
reality, a second objective—the preparatory ceremony preceding Christ’s
Sanctuary priesthood—also needed to be fulfilled. As usual, Ellen White’s explanation in Acts of the
Apostles, 38-39, carefully agrees with Scripture. I agree that ten days was needed for the disciples to
get ready; but where in Scripture does it say that the priest could not
begin his work in the Sanctuary until the tenth day? We find it in the book of Leviticus, which carefully
describes, in detail, many aspects of the earthly ministry of the priests
in the tabernacle. The ceremony was different in various aspects (because
it was earthly and involved washings of sinful priests and sacrifices of
animal blood for them); yet the timing is identical. You will find the
passage in Leviticus 8:1 to 9:24, which describes the dedicatory
service to prepare earthly priests for their work, prior to beginning it.
The events of the first day in the earthly tabernacle are explained in
8:1-34. The next seven days are described in 8:35. The eighth
of those seven days (day two to eight) is detailed in chapter 9
(especially note 9:1). That totals ten days. On that tenth day, after the final offerings to cover
his own sinfulness were offered, the high priest did something very
significant: "And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the
congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the
Lord appeared unto all the people. And there came a fire out from before
the Lord, and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat:
which when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces."—Leviticus
9:23-24. Christ’s enthronement, that is, the beginning of His
mediatorial work in the first apartment, was signalized by the outpouring
of the Holy Spirit on the disciples. "After Christ’s ascension His enthronement in His
mediatorial kingdom was signalized by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
On the day of Pentecost the Spirit was given."—Christ’s Object
Lessons, 120. (Similar: My Life Today, 47.) In the typical service, on the tenth day, fire came
from the Lord and burned up the sacrifice on the altar of burnt offering
in the outer court. In the antitypical service, the Lord sent the Holy
Spirit, amid an appearance of fire, on the disciples. This symbolism is
rich in meaning. Not only was Christ dedicated to His work, but also His
disciples, who that day became Apostles. We too can yield our lives anew
to Christ’s service and be used in His service. But remember that a single
dedication is not enough; it must be renewed daily, hourly. I want to understand more about the mediation of
Christ, what He did in the first apartment, when He entered the second
apartment, and what is being done during the investigative judgment now in
progress. Where can I learn this? Beware of the theologians! What you want is Inspired
counsel. A clear, concise—yet nicely detailed—explanation is to be found
in chapters 23, 24, and 28 of Great Controversy. Pray for
guidance, read it carefully, and then read it several more times. "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. 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. "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. But
before this can be accomplished, there must be an examination of the
books of record to determine who, through repentance of sin and faith in
Christ, are entitled to the benefits of His atonement. The cleansing of
the sanctuary therefore involves a work of investigation—a work of
judgment. This work must be performed prior to the coming of Christ to
redeem His people; for when He comes, His reward is with Him to give to
every man according to his works. Revelation 22:12."—Great
Controversy, 421-422. Read Early Writings, 55-56. May our kind Father
bless you in your continued study of His Word. —vf |
