The Biblical Sanctuary Mo3f

in Historical Perspec3ve
 Ancient Christianity
• Most early Chris.an writers discerned a correla.on between the
earthly tabernacle and the true tabernacle, yet they generally
considered the church to be the true tabernacle. They s.ll maintained
the idea of Christ as the heavenly high priest, but they generally
focused on spiritual ac.vi.es and locali.es on earth. Because they
assumed that Plato’s metaphysical concep.ons were based on Moses,
the prophets, and the ancient Hebrews, early Chris.an writers
considered their adop.on of Plato’s ideas and presupposi.ons
suitable.
The believers were viewed as the sanctuary, the Church Fathers
iden.fied the soul of each believer as the Most Holy Place.
• Origen (c. 185-254) was probably one of the most prolific and influen.al
early Chris.an theologians. Strongly influenced by Platonic philosophy
and the works of Philo and Clement of Alexandria (150-215), he aimed
at geRng beyond the literal or plain meaning of a given biblical passage
to its hidden spiritual meaning by use of the allegorical method of
interpreta.on.
• Origen employed the allegorical method by linking OT and NT passages
“on the basis of christological and typological connec.ons already
established in the New Testament or already familiar from Chris.an
tradi.on and early Chris.an wri.ngs.”
• His rather structured applica.on of the allegorical method of
interpre.ng Scripture is evident from his consistent interpreta.on of the
“temple” as a symbol of the church as Christ’s body.”
Heavenly Realms/Mysteries:
• Some early Christian writers explicitly linked the sanctuary to the
heavenly realms, yet it should be noted that most of these statements
remain somewhat ambiguous and that the same writers often
interpret the biblical sanctuary motif in different ways.
• Athanasius saw a type-antitype correlation between the Levitical
priesthood and Christ’s high-priestly ministry, he remained
ambiguous regarding the nature of the heavenly sanctuary when he
stated that the “service performed in the Tabernacle was a type of
the heavenly mysteries.” Interestingly, he mentioned Christ’s high-
priestly ministry frequently in the context of his sacrifice at the cross.
The Church:
• A number of early Chris.an writers interpreted the earthly tabernacle
as an imita.on and representa.on of the coming ecclesia. Thus,
although Ephrem the Syrian stressed the similari.es between the
earthly and the heavenly tabernacles, one should no.ce that he
emphasized how the transient and temporal earthly tabernacle
pointed to the church, “the perfect prototype which lasts forever.”
• He suggested that “all those ancient religious ins.tu.ons were
shadows and symbols of this ins.tu.on of the church, which is
established in its spirituality and divinity before him,” implying that
this was the pa[ern that Moses had been shown and ordered to build
(Exod 25:9).
Spiritual Ac4vi4es:
• Other writers extended the spiritual interpretation of biblical
passages on the heavenly sanctuary to all kinds of religious and
spiritual activities on earth. Thus, while Origen acknowledged that the
tabernacle could be seen as representative of the whole world, he
also suggested that every “individual can have an image of the world
in [himself].” He argued that every person is able to “fulfill the form of
the sanctuary in [himself]” and each soul can “act the part of [a]
priest.”
 The Medieval Church
• Medieval writers con0nued to assume the philosophical founda0ons of
Platonism and to apply the allegorical method of interpre0ng Scripture.
• Some writers went to great lengths to interpret almost every minute detail
of the ancient Jewish tabernacle and its rites, whereas others (such as
Anselm of Canterbury) had nothing to say concerning the sanctuary or
Christ’s high priestly ministry. It was especially in the wri0ngs of Thomas
Aquinas that the heavenly sanctuary service was replaced by the sacraments
and ac0vi0es of human priests.
• Thus O’Collins and Jones suggest that it is in his wri0ngs that “Christ and his
sacraments form a bridge between human ac0vity and God. In par0cular, the
Eucharist becomes the sacramental means of entry into the offering and
fruits of Christ’s priestly sacrifice.” It was during this 0me that the
sacraments received increasing significance as the means of grace.
• Writing around the early 7th century, Oecumenius suggested that the
mercy seat signified Christ. Assuming that the altar of incense actually
stood in the Most Holy Place of the OT tabernacle (Heb 9:3, 4), he
concluded that the high priest went into the Most Holy Place twice a
day to burn incense (Exod 30:7, 8). This idea conflicted, of course,
with the biblical statement that the high priest entered the Most Holy
Place only once a year (Heb 9:7; Exod 30:10).
• In order to solve this conflict Oecumenius argued that the high priest
went into the Most Holy Place only once a year with blood; at other
times he entered it with the offering of incense.
• Bede (672-735) interpreted all items in the Most Holy Place as
symbolic of Christ. Thus he argued that the golden urn signified
Christ’s soul, the budding rod the invincible power of Christ’s
priesthood, and the tablets of the law “all knowledge of the Father’s
secrets and all power of judgment . . . in Christ.” At the same time,
Bede followed John Cassian’s line of thought by also applying these
items to the personal spirituality of a believer.
• Thus the ark signified the holy church, with the incorruptible wood of
the ark being a figure of holy souls. The different items were
reminders of the continual meditation on God’s law (tables of stone),
the guarantee of Christ’s incarnation (golden urn), and a sharing in his
kingship and priesthood (Aaron’s rod). As the cherubim were set over
the mercy seat, so the city of God—that is, the holy church—was built
upon a mountain which is Christ Himself.
Reformation and Post-Reformation Times
• Although the Reforma/on brought about a new
understanding of the role and importance of
Scripture, of jus/fica/on by grace through faith, and
of the func/on of the sacraments and Mass, it failed
to remove the philosophical founda/ons and
presupposi/ons of Platonism that had influenced
Chris/an theology and prac/ce for more than a
millennium.
Martin Luther (1483-1546) was aware of three interpretations of the OT
tabernacle. Since his primary statements on the biblical sanctuary stem
from his lectures on the Epistles to the Hebrews given between April 1517
and March 1518, period. The first view Luther treated was reminiscent of
the view advocated by Theodoret of Cyrus, suggesting that the tabernacle
prefigured the entire universe, with the Most Holy Place representing the
celestial and invisible world, the Holy Place symbolizing the visible world,
and the veil referring to the starry sky. Yet, Luther disagreed with that view
because he thought it was “somewhat forced” and did “violence to the
text.”
The second view understood the tabernacle “tropologically,” suggesting it
referred to the world in “man himself.” Demonstrating some similarities to
the views of several early Christian writers, this view proposed that the
Most Holy Place pointed to the “higher part of reason [which] dwells
among the things that are invisible and belong to God” (the intellect),
whereas the Holy Place referred to “the lower reason which . . . is
illumined by the light of natural reason” (reason).
• Luther failed to comment on this second view, yet since he quickly
turned to the third view and continued to elaborate on the sanctuary
based on that third approach, it may be assumed that he favored the
last view. According to that final view, the apostolic writer of Hebrews
was referring to “a kind of spiritual world” or “the holy church of
God.”
• Moving through salvation history, Luther argued that the court of the
temple referred to the synagogue; his reasoning was that the
synagogue depended on the five books of Moses, which corresponded
to the height of the court (five cubits).
• Holy Place was then pointing to the “church militant” and the Most
Holy Place to the “church triumphant.”
• The different pieces of furniture in the tabernacle were equated with
different aspects of the spiritual life of the church, the believer, and
Christ’s nature and acts of salvation.
 Early Seventh-day Adven4sts
• Seventh-day Adven/sts esteem the doctrine of
Christ’s ministry in the heavenly sanctuary as one of
their official fundamental beliefs. Since a number of
scholars have already researched the historical
development of the sanctuary doctrine in the 19th
century, the present sec/on will summarize these
developments only briefly.
• The Millerites of the late 1830s and early 1840s placed much
emphasis on the prophecies and the prophetic time periods of Daniel
and Revelation, and the cleansing of the sanctuary at the end of the
2,300 evening-mornings (Dan 8:14) received particular attention in
this context. Interpreting the “sanctuary” as both the church and the
earth, they classified the cleansing as a two-dimensional horizontal
process. Accordingly, they believed that the church was cleansed
spiritually and the earth was cleansed by fire at the literal second
coming of Christ.
• Eventually they reached the conclusion that the 2,300 evening-
mornings would conclude with Christ’s return on October 22, 1844.
When the expected event did not materialize on that date, a number
of different solutions were proposed to explain the disappointment.
• The majority of the Millerites maintained the basic horizontal
interpretation of the sanctuary and the cleansing, yet they calculated new
dates for the end of the 2,300 evening-mornings (Albany Adventists).
• The minority held fast to the calculation of that time period but
reinterpreted the expected event in one form or another (Bridegroom
Adventists). Most of these Bridegroom Adventists “spiritualized away” the
expected coming of Christ, claiming that he had already returned on that
date, albeit spiritually (Spiritualizers). Yet, there was also a small group of
Bridegroom Adventists which interpreted the sanctuary as a heavenly
sanctuary, suggesting that at the end of the 2,300 evening-mornings Christ
did not return to the earth but rather entered the Most Holy Place of the
heavenly sanctuary for the first time to commence the Day of Atonement
(Literalists).
• Thus, instead of viewing the cleansing of the sanctuary as a horizontal
process, they interpreted the cleansing as a two-dimensional vertical
process (heavenly sanctuary and church).
• This small group of Literalists discovered several other biblical teachings,
such as the seventh-day Sabbath and the end-time gift of prophecy, and
they later became known as Sabbatarian Adventists. In the spring of 1847,
these Sabbatarian Adventists began linking the seventh-day Sabbath to the
heavenly sanctuary.
• They observed that Rev 11:19 provides a look at the Ark of the Covenant in
the Most Holy Place of the heavenly temple, something that is usually only
seen by the high priest on the Day of Atonement. They further noted that
following this introduction to the eschatological part of the Book of
Revelation were descriptions of a people “who keep the commandments of
God” (Rev 12:17; 14:12). They concluded that it was the looking into the
inner sanctum of the heavenly temple that gave a new emphasis to God’s
law.
• In fact, the discovery of the continued significance of the rather neglected
fourth commandment, the seventh-day Sabbath, came after the antitypical
Day of Atonement commenced. Thus, not only did the sanctuary message
give more weight to the seventh-day Sabbath, but the connection between
these two doctrinal elements made the Sabbatarian Adventists realize that
they were a prophetically foretold movement.
• It was through the study of the Bible that Sabbatarian Adven0sts came to
believe that the heavenly sanctuary was a literal, objec0ve reality located
in the heavenly Jerusalem.
• This discovery was confirmed by the visions of Ellen G. White. While they
therefore opposed all acempts to spiritualize the physical reality of Jesus,
the Father, heaven, and the sanctuary, they also emphasized that “the
sanctuary of the new covenant is not on earth, but in heaven.”
• That discovery cons0tuted a hermeneu0cal and philosophical shie that set
them apart from other Millerite groups and religious denomina0ons and
had even more ramifica0ons for other theological beliefs. This simple
understanding would inevitably break with the concep0on of reality as
0meless that had reigned in Chris0an theology for centuries.
• Although Sabbatarian Adven0sts believed in the necessity of a truly
spiritual experience and the importance of spiritual gies, from a
philosophical perspec0ve they were avowed materialists and opposed to
any form of spiritualiza0on.
• They viewed heaven as a tangible spa.al place where the saints will
live in their resurrected material bodies. Thus they were not only
opposed to spiritualizing interpreta.ons of Scripture but also to the
spiritualis.c (i.e. demonic) manifesta.ons that emerged in the early
1850s.
• The sanctuary allowed the integra.on of the seventh-day Sabbath,
the third angel’s message, and the sealing into a coherent theological
system. Increasingly, Sabbatarian Adven.sts recognized that the
sanctuary doctrine did not only unlock “the mystery of the
disappointment” but also “opened to view a complete system of
truth.” They frequently depicted it as the great central doctrine that
connected all their beliefs into a coherent and harmonious system of
truth.
• Sabbatarian Adven.sts saw that the sanctuary doctrine and this
broader system of truth explained their past experience and gave
them an iden.ty, a message, and a worldwide mission.
 •The Meaning of the Intercessory
Ministry of Jesus Christ on Our Behalf in
the Heavenly Sanctuary
 Biblical Affirma4on
• The Bible powerfully declares that Jesus Christ is presently in heaven
(Mark 16:19; Luke 24:50-51; Acts 1:9-11) and is interceding for
humans (hinted to in Rom 5:10-21, but explicitly taught in Rom 8:34;
1 John 2:1).
• This fundamental teaching attests that Christ’s intermediatory role is
urgently needed to accomplish the plan of salvation. Jesus Christ is
our Intercessor and serves as our Mediator, our High Priest, in the
heavenly sanctuary (Heb 4:15-16; 8:1-2).
• The author of Hebrews presents the most elaborate picture of Jesus
Christ as our High Priest and Mediator/Intercessor who is alive and
makes intercession for sinners (Heb 7:25).
What Christ’s Intercessory Ministry Does Not
Mean
• It is necessary to underline what the intercessory ministry of
Jesus Christ in the heavenly sanctuary does not mean.
• It does not imply that Jesus has to (1) plead with the
Heavenly Father or beg Him to forgive our sins; (2) appease
an angry God; (3) change the Father's attitude toward us;
nor (4) reconcile God with humanity.
• Jesus and the Heavenly Father are not involved in a celestial
arm-wrestling match to ascertain who is stronger in order to
show either favour or anger toward humans.
• If Jesus Christ needed to appease an angry heavenly Father, then He
would not be different from pagan gods that necessitate pacifica.on
and their anger expiated with sacrifices and gims.
• One cannot buy God’s favour thus Jesus does not need to plead with
the Father on our behalf but is sa.sfying God’s righteousness/jus.ce
in dealing with sin, thus He is both “just and the jus.fier of the one
who has faith in Jesus” (Rom 3:26 NKJV).
Our Heavenly Father loves people (Deut 33:3), and He and Christ are
united in their efforts to save humanity.
Christ’s Twofold Ministry
• Christ’s role as Intercessor is twofold:
(1) revealing and ministering the mysteries of God’s goodness and
richness to humankind, and
(2) presenting our existential needs to God and securing our salvation.
In other words, His intercessory ministry is both a revelatory and
redemptive process for humanity forming one unit that cannot be
separated. Alister McGrath correctly explains that “the presence of God
in Christ is intended to mediate between a transcendent God and fallen
humanity.
First of all, Jesus being divine (John 1:1-3; Rom 9:5; Col
1:15-18) represents the Godhead. As the Mediator,
meaning Communicator, of the divine, He reveals the
Father, His character, and all the values of the Godhead
(MaT 11:27; Luke 10:22; John 1:14-18; 17:6), because
He and the Father are one (John 10:30).
Even the Old Testament paints the picture of God
media/ng for His people (1 Sam 2:25; Job 16:20). Christ
also discloses the Holy Spirit by explaining the Spirit’s
ministry (John 14:16-17; 15:26-27) of also interceding
(entynchanein) for the saints.
• Jesus is the best self-revelaGon of God, He is the revealer of
truth, because He is the Life, the Truth, and the Way (John
14:6; cf. Exod 34:6-7). He is not only revealing God and
proclaiming the Word of God, but He is Himself the
RevelaGon and the personified Word of God, God in the flesh
(John 1:1-3; Col 2:9).
• In His humanity, He was exegeGng, i.e., giving a right
interpretaGon of the true character of His heavenly Father
(John 1:18c). On this existenGal knowledge depends eternal
life (John 17:3). He wants to break the circle of lies about the
Godhead and rebuild a loving and trusGng relaGonship
between Himself and humanity.
What Does the Intercessory Ministry of Jesus
Christ on Our Behalf Mean?
• On the basis of the previous biblical, theological, and linguistic
observations, we can proceed with four definitions of Christ’s
intercessory ministry for us:
I. Christ Meets the Father in Order to Help
A. Assistance with Daily Struggles, Problems, and Tempta<ons
Jesus Christ and the heavenly Father meet together in order to help
humans with their everyday problems and enable them to be victorious
Chris.ans. All heaven (the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit) is
united in helping us in our struggles with sin, Satan, and tempta.ons,
because without His assistance we are powerless and cannot resist evil,
change, and spiritually grow (John 15:5; Phil 4:13).
B. Impar<ng the Holy Spirit
The first tangible result of that mee.ng amer Christ’s ascension was the
sending of the Holy Spirit and giving Him to the believers (Acts 2).
 C. Praying for Us
Jesus’s intercession is also compared to His praying for us. By
praying for His followers, He helps them to become strong in
faith and be united in love and truth (see John 17). Jesus’s
intercessory prayer for His disciples and the successive
generaGons of His followers is that they be a model of that
unity and faithful.
D. Our Best Perfumed with Christ’s Merits
Through Christ’s mediatory work, our Intercessor needs to
perfect even our best acGons that spring from our graGtude to
God’s kindness (see Rev 8:3-4). For example, our prayers,
worship, obedience, our best praises coming from graGtude to
God, all need His purificaGon.
 E. Empowering to be Witnesses
Jesus Christ as our Intercessor helps His followers to be
connected with Him and be active in His Church. “To be in the
church is to be in Christ, and to be in Christ is to be in the
church.”
“One is not ‘in Christ’ because of being ‘in the church,’ but one is
‘in the church’ because of being ‘in Christ.’ . . . To be saved is to
be in Christ, and to be a Christian is to be a member of the
church.”
Jesus gives to His followers the Holy Spirit to be His faithful
witnesses: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit
comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in
all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Act 1:8).
II. Christ Completely Saves
Jesus Christ jus.fies and saves (Zech 3:1-7; Rom 8:1). As a result we
iden.fy with Him (Rom 6:1-4; Eph 2:4-10). He is our Subs.tute and
Representa.ve because He died for our sins (1 Cor 1:30; 15:3; 2 Cor
5:21). His subs.tu.onary death brought victory over the evil forces and
Satan. He defeated death (Rom 6:24; 1 Cor 15:21-22, 26, 54-55), which
is why He can now give His followers eternal life (John 5:24-25; 11:25).
Jesus Christ iden.fies with us, one to one, and this iden.fica.on is so
close that it is compared to the most sensi.ve part of our body: the
pupil of our eye. “For this is what the LORD Almighty says: . . . ‘whoever
touches you touches the apple of his [Lord’s] eye” (Zech 2:8). “The King
will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these
brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me’” (Ma[ 25:40).
III. Christ Changes and Transforms
• Salvation means healing (Pss 6:2; 41:4; Jer 17:14; Hos 14:4) and
transformation (Rom 12:1-2; 2 Cor 6:14; 1 Thess 5:23-24). Jesus Christ
did not come to save us “in” sin but “from” sin (Matt 1:21). He desires
our sanctification (1 Thess 4:3-4; Heb 12:14; 13:12) by walking
humbly with the Lord (Micah 6:8), persevering (Rev 12:14), and living
with eyes fixed on Him (Heb 12:1-2).
• In this way, we will more and more reflect the character of God (2 Cor
3:18). Hebrews 4:16 eloquently spells out why the intercessory
ministry of our High Priest41 is needed for us: “Let us then approach
the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy
and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
 IV. Christ Vindicates/Defends His People
• Jesus Christ vindicates His children against the accusa0ons of Satan. The book of
Job gives insight into Satan’s charges against God’s followers (Job being a
typological figure for them), and how God stands against Satan and for them (see
Job 1:8-9; 2:4; 42).
• Jesus Christ as our Intercessor vindicates His people in front of the whole
universe (see Dan 7:9-10, 13-14, 22; Eph 3:10-11). He is both our Advocate and
Judge at the same 0me, so we can look forward with bold assurance and without
fear to the day of judgment (1 John 2:28; 4:17). For who He is, for what He
accomplished, and for what He does, He deserves to be eternally praised (Rom
9:5; Rev 5:9-10, 12-13).
• Jesus Christ is our Intercessor un0l the close of proba0on (see Rev 15:7-8; 22:11).
However, this does not mean that aeer this 0me believers live without Christ
(but only without His specific role and ministry as their Intercessor) and the help
of the Holy Spirit. We will never live on our own independent of Him. This
dependence will be maintained throughout eternity (Rev 22:1-4).