Sanctuary Alive : The Beggining of the End

Introduction

The end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century is a very significant time in the earth’s history. The year 1798 was the end of papal rule in Europe with the capture of the pope by the French General Berthier under Napoleon. This period also brings a close to the Protestant Reformation that had started in the 1300’s and a surge in church growth. It also brings a new world power onto the scene, the United States. And, it brings to fulfillment the 2,300 day prophecy by the prophet Daniel.

Before We Start

Dear Lord. As we get into this important time in earth’s history, help us to understand your plan for our salvation. We thank you for your love and care for us. Amen.

The End Is Near

We can now say that we are living in the time of the end. There is only a short time left. How long? Nobody knows. But if you can read the signs of the times, you can see for yourself that this world cannot last much longer.We see wars happening all around the world, and each year they get worse. We have natural (or un-natural) calamities occurring with more frequency and with greater force and covering greater areas. We have floods, tsunamis, earthquakes, droughts, nuclear disasters, everything you could possibly think of. We hear of new diseases that we have never had before. Regular bacteria are now becoming “super- bugs” which cannot be killed. Our world today is not the same world it was even only 20 years ago. Food contamination such as E. Coli and Salmonella are now common occurrences. How much longer? Revelation 7:1-3 says, “And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. 2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, 3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.” We can truly say today that those angels are slowly loosening their hold on the four winds, and when they finally let go, time’s up. Let’s look at the four items we mentioned in the introduction regarding the late 1700’s to early 1800’s.

The End Of Papal Rule

As we talked about in an earlier lesson, the papacy became the de facto government of Europe in A.D. 538. According to Daniel and Revelation, this power (beast) was given 1,260 years until it receives a “deadly wound”. In other words, Papal Rome would rule Europe from A.D. 538 until A.D. 1798 at which time, Rome would lose its power to govern through some type of wound. That’s exactly what happened. We saw in Lesson Five, that Clovis, king of the Franks set up the papacy to be favored in A.D. 508. Emperor Justinian recognized the spiritual power of Rome and Papal Rome took over the temporal government when it removed the last three Arian tribes. It then ruled until 1798 when General Berthier of France under Napoleon, entered the Vatican, captured Pope Pius IV and took him prisoner back to France where he died. This was the deadly wound. Since that time, the papacy has not had any temporal power. As we see from the following verses, this time period has been expressed a number of ways. In Daniel 7:25, time equals a 360 day year, times equals 2 years, and dividing of time equals a half year. Three and a half years equals 3 1/2 times 360 equals 1,260 days or 42 months. Using the day-year principle, this gives us 1,260 years. Dan 7:25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. According to this verse, the little horn will talk against the principles of God, it will persecute the saints, it will change times and laws, and it will last for 1,260 years. We’ve seen that the papacy fits all these criteria. Dan 12:7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished. This verse says that the power would scatter or weaken the people who follow Jesus. This would occur over the 1,260 years.Rev 12:6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. Rev 12:14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. The woman. or God’s church, would have a wilderness experience over the 1,260 years, but God would sustain His church during that time. Rev 11:2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. This verse refers to the outer court of the sanctuary. He says that the holy principles of God will be trampled on for 42 months which is 1,260 days (years). Rev 13:5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. This power who speaks against God would last 1,260 years. This time period of 1,260 prophetic days or actual years is repeated over and over to make sure that it is not mistaken. God wants tomake sure you understand. Satan also wants to make sure you are confused. He tries to divert your attention from him by providing “alternate” interpretations using different means of interpreting prophecy. We can be sure of at least one thing, the papal system was taken out of power forcibly in A.D. 1798 and that meets the criteria of a “deadly wound”. The capture and death of the pope resulted in a great spiritual awakening around the world. Bible scholars began to study their Bibles with a renewed interest. The vision of Daniel concerning the 2,300 days began to be studied with more interest. God had sealed up that portion (see verse below) of the vision so people would not understand it, but now as people started to study the prophecies of Daniel 8 and Revelation, they began to see that the 2,300 day prophecy was about to be fulfilled. Dan 9:24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

The Proliferation of Churches

The 1800’s saw a growth of churches, but most of them were not following the teachings of the reformers. Joseph Smith started the Mormon church in the early 1800’s before he died in 1844. In the late 1800’s, Mary Baker Eddy started the Church of Christ, Scientist. The Zion Watchtower Tract Society became the Jehovah’s Witnesses in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. The Fox sisters were instrumental in starting the Spiritualist Movement in the late 1800’s. Although they later recanted and said it had all been a hoax, nevertheless the movement continued to grow after their deaths. In the last hundred and fifty years, new denominations have sprouted up all over the place . Many of these new denominations have little to do with Christianity. Satan is really trying to confuse everyone. The more people he can divert away from Christ, the happier he is. It’s interesting to note that the beginnings of the theory of evolution was put into print in 1844 (Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation).

The New World

This time period also saw the establishment of a new power, the United States of America. Revelation 13 describes the emergence of this power.Rev 13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. This verse talks about a power rising from the sea. Before we look at the verse about the US, let’s look at Revelation 17:1 and vs 15. Rev 17:1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: Rev 17:15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. The Bible tells us that waters is a symbol for population. The beast in Revelation 13:1 which came from the sea, came from a populated area. Rev 13:11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. This verse describes a power that comes from the earth or an unpopulated area. If you read the first part of Revelation 13, you will see that this beast or power comes after the captivity of the beast power from the sea. The United States is the only country that fits this description.

The End of the 2,300 Day Prophecy

As Bible scholars began to study the prophecies, people started to preach about the coming of Christ. Johann Albrecht Bengel was born in Germany in 1687 and became a renowned Lutheran scholar and Bible expositor. He was accused of manipulating calendars to espouse his beliefs of the second coming, but even in the early to mid 1700’s, he had already identified the end of the 2,300 days as being within a few years of the 1844 date. Francois Samuel Robert Louis Gaussen was born in Switzerland in 1790. He becameinvolved with the Swiss reformer Farel. He also studied the prophecies of Daniel and disagreed with William Miller not on the time, but the event. He believed that the world would be converted at the end of the 2,300 days.Joseph Wolff was born a Jew. At an early age he was told that Jesus was the Messiah and had been crucified. He at once went home and read Isaiah 51 and realized that what he had heard was true. He continued his religious studies until 1821 when he started to travel around the world and preach the gospel. He was known as “missionary to the world”. It is said that there were seven hundred preachers in England who were preaching the message of Jesus’ second coming in 1844. Manuel Lacunza, was a Jesuit priest who was born in Santiago, Chile in 1731. He began to study prophecy and wrote under the pen name “Rabbi Juan Josaphat Ben-Ezra” to protect his identity. In 1790, he wrote his 3 volume “The Coming of the Messiah in Glory andMajesty”. This was secretly published in Spain in 1810 and a second edition was printed in London in 1816. The Spanish Inquisition placed it on the list of banned books in 1819. William Miller whom we talked about in the previous lesson, carried the work mainly to the eastern United States but his influence was carried far beyond that. It is said that his followers numbered up to half a million until the day after Christ was supposed to come but didn’t. There was a tremendous breaking away until only a handful of about 50 were left. This was known as “The Great Disappointment”.

The Two Great Disappointments

The Bible talks of a great disappointment when Jesus was on this earth. If you read the gospels, people were ready to crown Jesus king, yet only a few short hours later, He was being crucified on the cross. Can you imagine that disappointment. When that happened, what was left was a small handful of people, the 11 disciples and a few other close friends. Their disappointment came from a lack of understanding. Jesus had foretold His death many times, but they did not understand. The disappointment in Miller’s time also came from a lack of understanding. The belief at that time was that the earth was the sanctuary and the cleansing of the sanctuary meant that the earth would be destroyed and recreated. It wasn’t until the day after the disappointment when a man named Hiram Edson, while walking through a corn field, had a vision or a dream about the heavenly sanctuary. This led the small group that remained, to deeper Bible study to understand the heavenly sanctuary.

The Jewish Festivals

In order to understand a little more of the heavenly sanctuary and its services, we need to look at the earthly sanctuary and its services back in the days of Moses. If you remember from Lesson Three, we talked about the various festivals and feasts that the Israelites were instructed to keep. Of all of these festivals, the second last festival was the Day of Atonement, announced by the Blowing of the Trumpets, followed by the Feast of Tabernacles or Feast of Booths. The first of these feasts were fulfilled by Jesus. He was crucified on the Passover, and He returned to heaven briefly for the Wave Sheaf on the day He arose. He also ascended to heaven 40 days after the Passover with the saints who were resurrected when He was. This was the first fruits who were presented to God, This was then followed by the Pentecost where the Holy Spirit was given to the disciples. All thatwas left to fulfill was the Blowing of the Trumpets to call the people to the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles.

The Sacrificial System

In the Jewish sanctuary services, whenever a person sinned, they would bring a sacrifice to the sanctuary, place their hands on the head of the sacrificial animal and then kill the animal. By placing their hands on the head of the animal, they were symbolically transferring their sins to the animal. After killing the animal, by slitting its throat, they would catch the blood in a bowl and the blood, symbolically carrying the sin, would then be either poured out at the base of the altar of sacrifice or placed on the horns of the Altar of Incense or sprinkled before the veil separating the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. Leviticus 4:3 If the priest that is anointed do sin according to the sin of the people; then let him bring for his sin, which he hath sinned, a young bullock without blemish unto the LORD for a sin offering. 4 And he shall bring the bullock unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before theLORD; and shall lay his hand upon the bullock's head, and kill the bullock before the LORD. 5 And the priest that is anointed shall take of the bullock's blood, and bring it to the tabernacle of the congregation: 6 And the priest shall dip his finger in the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the LORD, before the vail of the sanctuary. 7 And the priest shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the LORD, which is in the tabernacle of the congregation; and shall pour all the blood of the bullock at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at thedoor of the tabernacle of the congregation. Leviticus 3:2 And he shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and kill it at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron's sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. Leviticus 4:13 And if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance, and the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which should not be done, and are guilty; 14 When the sin, which they have sinned against it, is known, then the congregation shall offer a young bullock for the sin, and bring him before the tabernacle of thecongregation. 15 And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullock before the LORD: and the bullock shall be killed before the LORD. 16 And the priest that is anointed shall bring of the bullock's blood to the tabernacle of the congregation: 17 And the priest shall dip his finger in some of the blood, and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD, even before the vail. 18 And he shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar which is before the LORD, that is in the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall pour out all the blood at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. As you can see from reading these texts, there was a lot of blood that was spilt. You can imagine that if this is happening every day, thesanctuary would be polluted. This is what sin does. It pollutes the sanctuary. This is what Satan did to the heavenly sanctuary.

What Was The Day Of Atonement?

When God gave Moses directions about the sanctuary, He told Moses that there was to be a Day of Atonement once a year, on the tenth day of the seventh month. Exod 30:10 And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonements:once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations: it is most holy unto the LORD. Lev 23:26 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 27 Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD. 28 And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God. 29 For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. 30 And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. 31 Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 32 It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath. This Day of Atonement was the most solemn day of the year. This was the day that the sanctuary was to be cleansed. Throughout the entire year, as the sins, in the form of blood, polluted the sanctuary, the sanctuary needed to go through a cleansing experience. But it was more than a cleansing experience for the sanctuary, it was also a cleansing time for the priests and the people.

The Blowing Of The Trumpets

The Day of Atonement was preceded by the Blowing of the Trumpets. This was nine days before the Day of Atonement. Lev 23:23 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 24 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. The Blowing of the Trumpets announced the coming Day of Atonement to the entire camp. This gave everyone nine days to prepare. They were to cleanse their homes and themselves to get ready for the Day of Atonement. Num 29:1 And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work: it is a day of blowing the trumpets unto you. 2 And ye shall offer a burnt offering for a sweet savour unto the LORD; one young bullock, one ram, and seven lambs of the first year withoutblemish: 3 And their meat offering shall be of flour mingled with oil, three tenth deals for a bullock, and two tenth deals for a ram, 4 And one tenth deal for one lamb, throughout the seven lambs: 5 And one kid of the goats for a sin offering, to make an atonement for you: 6 Beside the burnt offering of the month, and his meat offering, and the daily burnt offering, and his meat offering, and their drink offerings, according unto their manner, for a sweet savour, a sacrifice made by fire unto the LORD.

The Day of Atonement Ceremony

Nine days after the Blowing of the Trumpets, on the tenth day of the seventh month, the entire camp celebrated the Day of Atonement. The High Priest went through special ceremonies to wash and purify himself. This was the holiest day of the year and this was the day that the high priest went into the Most Holy Place of the Sanctuary and stood before the Mercy Seat in the presence of God. Let’s read about this special day in Leviticus chapter 16.Lev 16:2 And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat. 3 Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering. 4 He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on. 5 And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering. 6 And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house. So we see that the High Priest had special instructions for cleansing for that Holy Day. Lev 16:7 And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat. 9 And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD'S lot fell,and offer him for a sin offering. 10 But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.Part of the ceremony involved two young goats. On the north side of the courtyard was a large urn containing two lots. One lot was for the Lord and one lot was for the scapegoat. The priest would put his hands in the urn and take out the two lots, one in each hand. He would then place his hands over the head of each goat and open his hands to see which goat was destined for the Lord and which goat as the scapegoat. They would then mark the goats appropriately for later use in the ceremony. Lev 16:11 And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself: 12 And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail: 13 And he shall put theincense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not: 14 And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times. This first offering of the blood of the bull was for the sins of the High Priest. After the High Priest would offer the Blood and Incense before the mercy seat, he would then come back out of the Most Holy Place to kill the goat for the sins of the people. Lev 16:15 Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat: 16 And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness. 17 And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make anatonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel. 18 And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the LORD, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about. 19 And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel. When the High Priest returns to the Most Holy Place, he does it with the blood of the goat to atone for the sins of the people. He completes the cleansing process and returns to the courtyard to attend to the scapegoat. When he returns to the courtyard, he is carrying (symbolically) all the sins that have been placed in the sanctuary during the past year. At this point, he lays his hands on the head of the live goat and transfers the sins of the people onto live goat. This live goat is then led into the desert and left there. It is not killed. Lev 16:20 And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat: 21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: 22 And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness. At this point, the special ceremonies are over so the High Priest returns to the Holy Place, changes his clothes and returns to the courtyard to offer a sacrifice for him and the people. Lev 16:23 And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there: 24 And he shall wash his flesh with water in the holy place, and put on his garments, and come forth, and offer his burnt offering, and the burnt offering of the people, and make an atonement for himself, and for the people. 25 And the fat of the sin offering shall he burn upon the altar. 26 And he that let go the goat for the scapegoat shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward come into the camp. 27 And the bullock for the sin offering, and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall one carry forth without the camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung. 28 And he that burneth them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp. Now while all this is going on at the sanctuary, the people have their own duties to perform. Their duties are to humble themselves before the Lord and to examine themselves to see that they have no sin that they are clinging to. As we continue in these lessons you will see that we are in the Day of Atonement right now, ever since October 22, 1844. Lev 16:29 And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you: 30 For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD. 31 It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever. Lev 16:32 And the priest, whom he shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate tominister in the priest's office in his father's stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the holy garments: 33 And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of thecongregation. 34 And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he did as the LORD commanded Moses.

What is the Significance of This?

We see that Jesus fulfilled the other feasts to date so this Day of Atonement is obviously something to be fulfilled by Jesus also. Let’s examine this ceremony step by step but with Jesus as the High priest. The Blowing of the Trumpets was the preaching of Lacunza, Joseph Wolff, William Miller and others who were preaching about the coming of Jesus which was expected to happen in 1844. As mentioned previously, they got the time right but the event wrong. However, they were definitely blowing the trumpets. Daniel 8:14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” With so many people preaching that something important was going to happen in 1844, we have to realize that something important WAS going to happen. If we look back at the day of Atonement in the Old Testament, and if we see the state of the world around us today, itmakes a lot of sense that Jesus is fulfilling the role of the High priest in the heavenly sanctuary today. On the Day of Atonement, the High Priest entered into the Most Holy Place in the sanctuary to cleanse the sins of the people. We can draw from this that on October 22, 1844, Jesus went into the Most Holy Place in the heavenly sanctuary to cleanse the heavenly sanctuary of all the sins of His people that have happened since Adam. When Jesus entered into the Most Holy Place, instead of the blood of animals, He presented His blood before the Mercy Seat of God. It was His blood that paid for our sins.Revelation 22:12 says, ‘Behold I come quickly and my reward with me…” Revelation 11: 1 Says, “And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.” By looking at these two verses we can come to two conclusions: 1. When Jesus comes, He already knows who He is going to reward 2. He is going to “measure” those people who are in the temple, in other words, those who believe in Him. To measure means to judge. This means that before He returns to this earth, He is going through a judgment phase. But the people being judged are the righteous not the wicked. He will have plenty of time to do that later as we will see in another lesson. Revelation also talks about a sealing of God’s people before He returns. He cannot seal His people until He knows who are faithful to Him. This can only happen through the judgment process. Rev 7:1 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. 2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, 3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. Once Jesus has cleansed His people from their sins and they are sealed with the Seal of God, His duties in the Most Holy Place are over. He leaves the Sanctuary with but two more things to do. He changes His priestly robes and puts on His kingly robes. The last act is to take all the sins of the people and place them on the head of the scapegoat and lead the scapegoat into the desert. Who is the scapegoat? Satan. All the sins of the righteous are placed on the head of Satan and he is bound for a thousand years. We will cover that in a later lesson.

What Comes After The Day of Atonement?

The next festival that came soon after the Day of Atonement was the Feast of Tabernacles or Feast of Booths. The Israelites made booths of boughs and stayed in them for a week. Lev 23:42 Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: 43 That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. I’m looking forward to living in these booths in heaven to celebrate our deliverance from this old earth.

No More Time Prophecies

Rev 10:6 And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: The first eleven chapters of Revelation deal with the period from the first century to the early 1800’s, with the exception of the seventhtrumpet and the seventh seal. Daniel’s time period of 2,300 days ends in 1844 and his 1,290 days ends in 1798 and the 1,335 days end in 1844. Revelation’s 1,260 days ends in 1798. These are almost all the time prophecies with the exception of the two time prophecies in the 5th and 6th trumpets. The last of these two ended in 1840 (I know we haven’t covered this). There are no more time prophecies left in the Bible that go past 1844. Some people try to say that the seven trumpets start after 1844, but if you go back to Daniel 2, he presents the entire history of the world in the image of the dream. Another item that places the trumpets before 1844 is the fact that the seven trumpets start with the angel at the altar of incense in the Holy Place. If you recognize that 1844 represents the time when Jesus entered into the Most Holy Place in the heavenly sanctuary, then the seven trumpets must start before 1844. Besides, prophecy students have placed the 5th trumpet ending in 1449 and the 6th trumpet ending in 1840. The verse above in Revelation 10:6 just confirms that we are in the very last days. If you put the verse in context you will see that John is still to preach. That means that time will continue for a while longer. The above paragraphs explain why historicists interpret this text to mean that there will be no more prophecies relating to time between now and when Jesus returns.

Review

I hope by now, that you see the importance of the end of the 2,300 day prophecy. It ‘s exciting to see things drawing to a close and to know that God is coming soon. Let’s review the things that happened at the end of this time period. 1. The end of papal rule in Europe 2. The growth of so many churches to confuse people 3. The beginning of the United States of America 4. The growth of spiritual knowledge and the preaching of the second coming. The event was wrong but the date wasn’t 5. The end of the 2300 day prophecy 6.The increase of knowledge into the sanctuary and its services 7. The parallels between the Old Testament sanctuary and Jesus’ ministry in heaven on our behalf

How Does This Show The Love Of God?

God has given us all this information. He wants us to know what will happen before it happens. When Jesus was born, God provided John the Baptist to lead people to Jesus. At the end of the 2,300 days, God raised people to preach His message. HE WANTS US TO KNOW. God does not want anyone to be lost. He is doing everything He can to bring us closer to Him. At the final judgment, people will know that they, and they only, are responsible for the fact that they are lost. They will recognize that God did all He could but they refused His FREE GIFT of eternal life. He tells us, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30) It’s up to you.

The Beggining of the End