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The Crossin
Volume 22, Number 12December 2007
The Seventh-day SabbathChrist Our RighteousnessThe Immutable Law of God
 
The Non-Immortality of the SoulThe Three Angels’ MessagesThe Sanctuary
 
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“A 
nd the temple was lled
with smoke from theglory of God, and fromhis power; and no man was able toenter into the temple, till the sevenplagues of the seven angels were
fullled.” Revelation 15:8.Chapter 15 of Revelation talks
about the redeemed standingupon the sea of glass, having got-ten the victory over the beast, hisimage, his mark and the number
of his name. They are all praisingthe Lord and singing.Aer that, John looks upon an
-other scene and he sees the temple
and the ark of the covenant:“. . . John saw the temple of God
open in heaven, and in the temple
the ark of his covenant. ‘I looked,
and, behold, the temple of the tab-ernacle of the testimony in heaven
was opened; . . . and the templewas lled with smoke from the
glory of God, and from his power;and no man was able to enter intothe temple, till the seven plagues
of the seven angels were fullled.’”
 
ST, March 12, 1896.
Then the angels come out of thetemple and they have the seven lastplagues, given to them by one of
the four beasts. Then John sees thetemple ll with smoke and no one
was able to enter it, not until the
seven last plagues were fullled:
“…no man was able to enter intothe temple, till the seven plagues
of the seven angels were fullled.”Revelation 15:8 (last part).As I considered what the mean
-ing was for the smoke, my mindwent to Jesus during His cruci-
xion. Remember when He was
hanging upon the cross and thedarkness came? God brought thedarkness so no one could see His
Son’s nal agonies:“In the thick darkness, God
veiled the last human agony of
His Son. . . . Through long hours
of agony Christ had been gazed
upon by the jeering multitude.
Now He was mercifully hidden by
the mantle of God.” DA 754.
Even now it brings tears to
my eyes as I consider what Jesus
was going through, and what His
Father was also going through. It
was so bad, so painful, so agoniz-ing, that the Father could not allow
anyone to see His Son suer anymore. And so the darkness en
-
veloped Jesus. Even the angels inheaven refused to look upon Jesus’expiring agony:
“Angels witnessed with amaze-ment the despairing agony of theSon of God, so much greater than
his physical pain that the laerwas hardly felt by him. The hosts
of Heaven veiled their faces from
the fearful sight.” 3SP 163.Nature itself also: “Inanimatenature expressed a sympathy withits insulted and dying Author. The
sun refused to look upon the aw-
ful scene. Its full, bright rays were
illuminating the earth at midday,when suddenly it seemed to be
 bloed out.” Ibid.
God would not, could not, letHis Son be seen during His last
suering hours. God used thedarkness to veil His Son.
Now we have a new scene in
which the Father has to nally let
go of His children, those that have
refused, aer every evidence has
 been given, to yield to Him and
come home. Now the punishments
of the seven last plagues are about
to fall. And just before the plagues
start, the temple, where God re-
sides, lls with smoke where noman can enter.
Could it be that God does notwant anyone to see His agony?Can you imagine the pain He isabout to feel, and the agonized
expression upon His face as He
sees His wayward children, whohave refused Him over and over,
 begin to suer from the results
of the plagues?What pain does He feel? What
eects does the suering of His
created children have upon Him?How does God look as He wit-nesses these things?Even we sinful beings, whenwe are in anguish, wish to hide
our faces. We want no one to lookupon our suering countenanceand turn away from view.Is that what the Father is doing
with the smoke in His temple, His
dwelling place? I don’t know aboutyou, but that just breaks my heart.It makes me love Him that muchmore. It causes me to want to serveHim and to tell everyone I know
what a wonderful God is my God!What does it do to you?
“The LORD hath appeared of oldunto me, saying, Yea, I have lovedthee with an everlasting love: there
-
fore with lovingkindness have Idrawn thee.” Jeremiah 31:3.
 Joe Olson serves as theexecutive director andchairman of the boardof Hope International.He also travels as aninternational speaker.
Editorial
   P   h  o   t  o  s  :   ©    H  e  m  e  r  a   P   h  o   t  o   O   b   j  e  c   t  s   C   D   (  n  o   t  e   b  o  o   k   )  ;   i   S   t  o  c   k   P   h  o   t  o .  c  o  m   (   b  a  c   k  g  r  o  u  n   d   )
2
Our Firm Foundation
 
O M
-
It is the mission of Hope International
and the editors of
Our Firm Foundation
to clearly present
Christ and His truth. The days remaining for this worldare few, and we must work quickly. We must boldly
proclaim the historic truths of Adventism that place
us on so rm a foundation in the midst of this troubledworld.—
Editors
Executive Director:
Joe Olson
executivedirector@hopeint.org
Editor:
Heidi Heiks
editorial@hopeint.org
Bookstore Manager:
Kaye Olson
shipping@hopeint.org
Hope For Health Center:
Heather Olson, R.N.
hopeforhealth@hopeint.org
Layout & Design:
Paul & Mihaela Williams
MontanaDigitalCreations.comMontanaMusicalCreations.com
Our Firm Foundation
is published monthly by:
Hope International
P.O. Box 220Knoxville, IL 61448 USA
Phone: (309) 343-1844 
Monday–Thursday: 8:00
am
–5:00
pm
,
Central TimeFriday: 8:00
am
–12:00
pm
,
Central Time
Fax: (309) 343-3721Email:
oce@hopeint.or
g
Web:
www.hopeint.or
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A H I
Hope International is a lay ministry founded, supported,and operated by Seventh-day Adventists to assist God’s
Church in the proclamation of the Everlasting Gospel inevery way that is consistent with the principles of God
as revealed in Inspiration.
I  W
We are accepting article-length manuscripts (1850 to 2250words) for possible publication in
Our Firm Foundation
.We prefer that submissions be submied in Word .docformat as a computer le. Include a digital pictureand a short bio. Please address all correspondence toeditorial@hopeint.org.
S I:
See page 30
S & S Tx:
See page 30
Content credited in this publication is the property of its respective owner(s), and is licensed or usedwith permission. Other items are the property of Hope International.Cover Photo: © Paul Williams (clouds); Higher Clips CD (cross)Background Photo - page 3: © Paul Williams
Product Catalog Historical Footnotes  News Watch  Letters to the Editor 
 page 29 page 28 page 26 page 31
 
Table of Contents
Editorial - Joe Olson
 Why Smoke in the emple?
Peter Laurin
Te Cross in Heaven
 What Jesus has done for us affects unfallen beings through-out the universe.
Ellen G. White
Our Besetting Sins
“Seeing nothing but deformity in ourselves, we shall fix oureyes in faith upon Jesus.”
Heidi Heiks
Understanding Aright the “Daily,”Scripturally and Historically –
Part 11
In this final segment, Daniel’s two Hebrew wordsfor “vision” are explained ...
 Jean Handwerk
Pickle’s Pickle
Heather Olson, R.N., C.H.
o Eat Meat or Not to Eat Meat:HA is the Question — Part wo
Volume 22, Number 12 December 2007
of 00

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