Sanctuary Lesson 22 – Present Truth through the Sanctuary

Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary; who is so great a God as our God? - Psalms 77:13

It is no surprise that Satan would try to get rid of the truths of the sanctuary, for it leads us back into the presence of God.  Adam and Eve were in the presence of God until they sinned and were cast out of the garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1-24).  Jesus lived and died for all of humanity to open the way back to the presence of the Father (John 14:6; Hebrews 10:20). 

Let's turn to Daniel 8:12-13.
- According to these verses, what will happen to the sanctuary?
  • Answer (highlight to read): It will be trampled under foot.
Let's turn to Daniel 7:25; 8-24-25.
- According to these verses, what will the Antichrist power try to do to God's law?
  • Answer: He shall intend to change the times and law.
- According to these verses, what will the Antichrist power try to do God's people?
  • Answer: He shall persecute and destroy God's people.
Let's turn to Hosea 4:6.
- According to this verse, what happens to God's people when they lack knowledge?
  • Answer: They are destroyed.
No period in history was so dark spiritually as the Dark Ages, as Satan through Papal Rome worked to remove the truths of the sanctuary and their light.  What Satan cannot destroy outright, he will make a counterfeit to lead people away from the truth.

Let's take another look at the sanctuary model:
  1. Altar of burnt offering - sacrifice of Christ on the cross - we "die" daily to sin as we follow Christ (Mark 8:34; 1 Corinthians 5:13)
  2. Laver - cleansing of sin symbolized by baptism (Romans 6:3-4)
  3. Table of shewbread - reading the Word of God to know God (John 6:48)
  4. Altar of incense - prayer and intercession (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25)
  5. Seven-branched candlestick - the filling of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:18-20)
  6. Most Holy Place - the ark of the covenant - contains the Ten Commandments and the mercy seat at which Christ pleads our forgiveness (Hebrews 4:14-15; 9:4-5, 11, 15)
During the Dark Ages, the sanctuary was trampled underfoot and counterfeited:
  1. Altar of burnt offerings - penances and indulgences (Daniel 8:11; Romans 12:1) - One must earn their way into heaven by good deads, mortification, or buy your way with money.  There is no crucifixion of self or Christ
  2. Laver - infant baptism, baptism by sprinkling of water or oil, etc. (Ephesians 4:5) - No longer baptism by immersion, which is a symbol of death to the old life.
  3. Table of shewbread - only the clergy can read the Bible (2 Timothy 4:2-3) - No one knows the truths of the Bible, as they have no have no access to a Bible.
  4. Altar of incense - prayers only go through the priests, the Virgin Mary, or the saints (Matthew 23:9) - Everyone asks the priest to pray or intercede on their behalf.  The saints must give their blessings for prayers to be granted.
  5. Seven-branched candlestick - no evangelizing to people, only coercion  (Daniel 7:25) - Individuals without knowledge cannot evangelize.  The church forces people to either believe or be killed (e.g. being burnt on the stake)
  6. Most Holy Place - commandments of God changed, the power of the pope (Daniel 7:25; Luke 5:21; Revelation 13:5) - The loss of the 2nd and 4th commandments.  The pope is the one who grants forgiveness from a throne.
It seems hard to believe, but all this did take place during the Dark Ages!  For example, let's take the Ten Commandments.  Turn to Exodus 20:1-17 and compare with the "Ten Commandments" as given in a traditional Catholic catechism:
  1. I am the LORD your God: you shall not have strange Gods before me.
  2. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
  3. Remember to keep holy the LORD'S Day.
  4. Honor your father and your mother.
  5. You shall not kill.
  6. You shall not commit adultery.
  7. You shall not steal.
  8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
  9. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife.
  10. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife.
Let's turn to Acts 14:16-17.
- According to these verses, does God leave Himself without a witness?
  • Answer: No
God never leaves Himself without a witness!  During the Dark Ages, God raised up individuals, light bearers with a present truth to restore what had been lost.

Restoration:
  1. "The just shall live by faith" - Martin Luther emphasized that faith can only come by faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior, not by works - altar of burnt offering restored
  2. John Smyth emphasized baptism by immersion - laver restored
  3. Gutenberg and John Wycliffe - The Bible is printed and translated into the common language of the people - table of shewbread restored
  4. John Calvin emphasized devotions and prayer - prayer does not go through a human mediator or intercessor - altar of incense restored
  5. "If one is a Christian, one must live like it" - John Wesley and missionary societies emphasized evangelism - altar of incense restored
  6. William Miller began a movement preaching that Jesus would soon return on October 22, 1844. Although they were greatly disappointed, it led to the study of prophecy and the realization that Jesus had in reality entered the Most Holy Place as the High Priest for humanity's Day of Atonement. This would lead to the start of a group that emphasized a return to the keeping of the seventh-day Sabbath - Most Holy place restored, Jesus as our High Priest restored, the Ten Commandments restored
Friend, if we lived at any other time in history, it would be our duty as Christians to be with the group who has the present truth.  What is present truth for us today?

Let's turn to Revelation 14:6-11.
- According to these verses, who are we to fear and give glory to?
  • Answer: God
- According to these verses, who has fallen and why?
  • Answer: Babylon has fallen because she has made the nations drink the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
- According to these verses, what happens to those who worship the beast or his image (in thought or in action)?
  • Answer: He will drink the wine of the wrath of God.
Friend, the three angels' messages are present truth for our generation!  Judgment has come, as we have learned in our lessons on the sanctuary.  We are called to worship God, who has made all of creation.  Babylon (false Christian religion) has been revealed as the counterfeit that it is.  God is calling us to reject the mark of the beast (enforced Sunday worship) and worship Him on the day He has chosen - the Sabbath.  If we worship God in spirit and truth, embracing all Ten Commandments, God promises that He write His law into our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33; Hebrews 10:16).

Friend, will you accept the present truth of the sanctuary and the three angels' messages?  Are you willing to stand up and share this truth? 


Happy Sabbath!

A Short Prayer