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Chapter 23—The Open Mystery of the Sanctuary
The scripture which above all others had been both the founda-
tion and the central pillar of the advent faith was the declaration,
“Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanc-
tuary be cleansed.”
Daniel 8:14
. These had been familiar words
to all believers in the Lord’s soon coming. But the Lord had not
appeared. The believers knew that God’s Word could not fail; their
interpretation of the prophecy must be at fault. But where was the
mistake?
God had led His people in the great advent movement. He would
not permit it to end in darkness and disappointment, reproached as
false and fanatical. Though many abandoned their reckoning of the
prophetic periods and denied the movement based thereon, others
were unwilling to renounce points of faith and experience sustained
by the Scriptures and the Spirit of God. It was their duty to hold
fast the truths already gained. With earnest prayer they studied the
Scriptures to discover their mistake. As they could see no error in
their reckoning of the prophetic periods, they examined more closely
the subject of the sanctuary.
They learned that there is no Scripture evidence sustaining the
popular view that the earth is the sanctuary; but they found a full
explanation of the sanctuary, its nature, location, and services:
“Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine
service and a worldly sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle made;
the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shew-
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bread; which is called the sanctuary. And after the second veil, the
tabernacle which is called the holiest of all; which had the golden
censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold,
wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that
budded, and the tables of the covenant; and over it the cherubims of
gold shadowing the mercy seat.”
Hebrews 9:1-5
.
The “sanctuary” was the tabernacle built by Moses at the com-
mand of God as the earthly dwelling place of the Most High. “Let
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