Of all our doctrines, the sanctuary theme is one in which we have merely begun to unearth spiritual truths. Ellen White remarked, “[The sanctuary] opened to view a complete system of truth, connected and harmonious, showing that God’s hand had directed the great advent movement and revealing present duty as it brought to light the position and work of His people. . . . Light from the sanctuary illumined the past, the present, and the future.”1
A key lesson derived from the sanctuary is balance. We often think of two poles and measuring the midpoint as the center. But the sanctuary posits, not two reference points, but three: the courtyard, the holy place, and the most holy place. Here are some relationships in which their triangulation is seen:
As an eschatological timeline, the courtyard represents Christ’s ministry while He was on this earth, providing the redemptive blood to commence the heavenly sanctuary system of salvation. The holy place was where Christ ministered from His ascension to 1844, when the sanctuary was to be cleansed. The most holy place corresponds to this cleansing investigative judgment leading up to the end. Seeing there is no fourth room, the High Priest exits the same way He entered, returning to earth.
In salvation the courtyard parallels justification, with the blood and water corresponding to imputed righteousness. The holy place parallels sanctification, with the bread and light corresponding to imparted righteousness. And the most holy place points to glorification, when we, through the merits of our High Priest, will be able to directly see God someday.
Last, different ecclesiological communities tend to revolve around aspects of sections of the sanctuary. Evangelicals rightfully extol the cross of Christ as seen in the Lamb of God in the courtyard, but tend to prematurely end their passion there. Roman Catholics emphasize the vessel of their church to provide sanctification through the sacraments (e.g., the bread of the Eucharist) and sacramentals such as candles (lights) and incense. Pentecostals and charismatics proclaim the era of power, looking forward to glorification through the intimate face-to-face contact with the divine.
Where are Adventists? Not one, not two, but all three are to be rightfully balanced with each other. We celebrate the sacrifice of Jesus, the intercession of Jesus, and the judgment of Jesus. We balance justification, sanctification, and glorification. We are prophetically told that the congregations of the blood, of the holy, and of power will unite based on an earthly sanctuary.2 Let us unite followers of Jesus from all over the world and point souls to Christ’s ministry in the heavenly sanctuary.
1 Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1911), p. 423.
2 Ellen G. White, Maranatha (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1976), p. 190.
